SMALLVILLE (2001 - 2010) 6.09 "Subterranean"
Clark is THAT PERSON at Thanksgiving who will get into it with your racist step dad. One of the best things about SV's Clark Kent is his activist streak in farmboy clothes; how he calls out the people he loves even it's a perfect stranger on the other side getting the short end of the justice stick, even he has to stand in front of a bulldozer alone, even if he flips his "passing" privilege on its head and compares himself directly to an illegal immigrant, a town "Boo Radley" hidden away, and a stray dog that should not be euthanized but given a chance (that last one was astounding to me). I was working on meta for @smallvilleclexweek where I dig into the pattern of his advocacy. If this flu doesn't take me down first it will be fun to finish it and get others' thoughts. Who knew that in the big 2026 this would still be provocative :/
Clark Kent in Smallville did this thing sometimes with Jonathan and Martha that I found so great but also so funny where he would just compare whatever the situation was to their choice to adopt him or some other moral they taught him whenever they opposed him doing something he thought was right almost like he was daring them to contradict themselves.
This moment in Subterranean is obviously a fantastic example and also one of my fav lines from the show but the one I always think about is the one from Krypto, where Jonathan’s all “the dog’s too dangerous to be kept alive even if it’s not actively malicious.”
And Clark’s like “OH so any non-human being who is really strong and powerful should be put down regardless of the being’s intentions because it could be dangerous? Is that what you’re saying? Are you really gonna imply to your adopted teenage son that it would be better for human society that he be killed? Are you gonna do that? You gonna be that bad of a father?? HMMMM?”
And you just see Jonathan’s face go “Shiiiiiiit God damn it. He got me again using me against me! Craaap, now I gotta go along with the thing! Fuck!” and it’s so funny every single time.
Clark said “Nah, because if y’all are gonna have rules and morals, y’all better be fucking consistent, or I’m gonna guilt trip you so hard!”
And while it’s not just Jon and Martha, he does the “Oh so what you’re saying is…?” schtick to, he also gives a great one to General Lane in Ambush, but it’s funniest with them because it’s them being foiled by their own parenting😂.
God, this show was on in the 2000s and yet so many people somehow missed the message of it when it was THIS unsubtle! And people say “they ‘turned’ Superman woke”
