Smallville comment: "Red" and Clark's virginity

[fajrdrako]

While sitting and writing here, I am taping episodes of Smallville for a friend, and just listened again to the line in "Red", where Clark says he just had the best night of his life.

That always bothered me, if the producers intended him to be and remain a virgin: what made it the best night of his life, if not sex with Jessie?

This time through, it made more sense to me without the sexual connotation, given the casualness with which he said it. He might, after all, be referring to the freedom he took to do whatever he want. Perhaps his reason for saying it is irrelevant: it was an offhand comment intended to disturb his parents and establish his autonomy, along the lines of "I can do anything I want, and I love it."

Zero consequences, hmm?

Which begs the issue of what did happen with Jessie, but I think I can stop dutifully pretending in my stories that Jessie got his virginity. That can be Lex's, all Lex's.

Comments

[walkingowl.livejournal.com]

I always have tried to avoid falling into the pattern of assumptions, especially regarding adolescents and their behavior. Each person -- even the ficitonal ones -- is an individual, under no obligation to live up to the various statistics that float around about the sexual activities engaged in by this or that percentage of the adolescent population.

With this in mind, I've never had a problem telling myself that Clark and Jessie didn't engage in sex, that night. Clark was running on impulse, indulging in all the stuff he'd been keeping himself from indulging in for many years, and I do mean all -- he was jumping from one entertaining diversion to another, very short attention span, just trying to make up for lost time, and perhaps he made moves on Jessie, she brushed him off, and (not being a rapist at heart) Clark turned his back on the idea for the time being, the night being full of many other possibilities and Lana, his dream date, still being out there for him to pursue under the light of the new day to come.

I hope that doesn't sound lame. I truly don't think they had sex that night, because I truly don't think that Clark (or any other adolescent) was completely non-thinking, just reacting to hormones.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I always have tried to avoid falling into the pattern of assumptions, especially regarding adolescents and their behavior

Well, me too. And I really don't think my interpretation was based on assumptions, but on my assessment of the characters in the episode.

Clark was running on impulse, indulging in all the stuff he'd been keeping himself from indulging in for many years, and I do mean all -- he was jumping from one entertaining diversion to another, very short attention span

And prehaps, if sex was a main goal, he'd have gone for Lana or Lex rather than Jessie? Just a thought.

perhaps he made moves on Jessie, she brushed him off

Now, that I can't believe - that she'd brush him off. I think Jessie wanted Clark from the moment she set eyes on him. I might be biased, and of course that's only my interpretation of a character we barely get to know, but I can't imagine her saying 'no' to him - for a number of reasons.

I truly don't think they had sex that night, because I truly don't think that Clark (or any other adolescent) was completely non-thinking, just reacting to hormones

I think he was, a combination of hormones and impulse, but the hormones might have been leading him in many directions, and Jessie may have been irrelevant.

[walkingowl.livejournal.com]

Ah. I left something out. Thanks for directing my attention back to it.

I think that Jessie might have pushed Clark off her if he'd made a move, because I think she was much more attracted to, and interested in, him when he was unattainable, and acting pure and virginal. Just a thought, there.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

We see Jessie quite differently, then - I think by the end of the episode she was quite afraid of him, but until that point I think she wanted him very much. But as usual I would be quick to change my theory if I thought of a story plot or theme based on another interpretation that 'worked' for me.