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the boy of steel next season?
by Kate O'Hare
Zap2it
It's not easy being an adolescent superhero. But at least the young Clark
Kent doesn't have to face the threat of cancellation: As one of The WB's
brightest lights, "Smallville," the story of Superman's earthly boyhood, got the
news early that it was being renewed for next year.
So executive producer Al Gough can talk about the challenges and triumphs of the past season on the teen-Superman drama, and some of the plans for next year.
In Season 2, Kansas teen Clark Kent (Tom Welling) learned his alien parents intended him to rule Earth. At the same time, his unrequited love, classmate Lana Lang (Kristin Kreuk), explored her own family history and dealt with the tragic death of former boyfriend Whitney (Eric Johnson).
"Season 1 was, 'Who am I?'" Gough says. "Season 2 was really, 'Where am I from?' To us, it's the adopted kid looking into his biological parents. Once you find out who you are, are they people you want to know, or do you wish you'd never asked those questions at all?"
"We also played more with the Clark-Lana relationship. Last year, Whitney was the obstacle between them. But this year, it was really about -- and it's a classic superhero dilemma -- Clark's secrets. Can you really have any sort of intimacy if you can't be completely honest with somebody? So it's always a question of, do I save the world, or do I have a life? He's started to wrestle with those questions."
"Also, we were able to flesh out Lana's character and dimensionalize her more. She started to question Clark, and obviously she's come around to the fact that he's going to have secrets in his life, and is she willing to accept him for that, knowing that he does, obviously, love her?"
At the same time, student investigative journalist Chloe Sullivan (Allison Mack), who pines for Clark much as he pines for Lana, has come to a breaking point, both in her emotional and professional life. When her school paper, The Torch, was destroyed, ruthless tycoon Lionel Luthor (John Glover) stepped in as an unlikely patron.
"That will continue into next year," Gough reveals. "How many times can she be jilted by Clark? That turns into resentment. Where will that take their friendship, and will that ultimately put Clark's secret in jeopardy, now that Lionel Luthor has obviously taken an interest in Chloe and her work studying the Kryptonite?"
"As Lionel Luthor tends to do with people he either perceives as a threat or a help, he co-opts them. You see that dance played out in the season finale."
Also, unlike last year, Season 3 will not pick up on the heels of Season 2. "There will be a cliffhanger element to the show," Gough admits, "but it won't be like Season 2, where it started three minutes after Season 1. It will pick up three months later. We're going to play the summer."
In the meantime, there's the ongoing dance between Clark and his future nemesis, Lex Luthor (Michael Rosenbaum), son of Lionel. Lex currently considers Clark a friend, but that hasn't stopped him from trying to figure out Clark's secrets. But, as of right now, Lex has not quite strayed over to the Dark Side.
In an earlier interview, John Schneider, who plays Clark's adopted father, farmer Jonathan Kent, wondered if Jonathan's hostility to Lex might contribute to the younger Luthor becoming the archvillain of the Superman comics.
"I'm right about him," Schneider said, "but what I fear is the lack of acceptance on Jonathan's part for Lex is one of the contributing factors in him becoming the evil character that he does."
"Absolutely," Gough agrees. "He senses there's something about Lex that's bad. Ultimately, he's correct. But of all the mitigating factors in Lex's life, there is a certain culpability on Jonathan's part."
Speaking of Lex, Gough points out, "As I always say, Clark Kent has lied to Lex Luthor much more than Lex Luthor's lied to Clark Kent. At this point, Lex is still struggling. There is that part of him that is always striving to do the right thing, but will the hands of fate ultimately push him over the edge? But it isn't for lack of trying. You can never say that Lex Luthor didn't try to do the right thing."
While Gough says that Superman's true love, Lois Lane, probably won't show up until Season 4, expect a few other visitors from the Superman universe -- and DC Comics in general -- in the coming year.
"Our hope is in Season 3, and I put it out there, is that you will see Bruce Wayne. This year, we really want to make it happen. You could also see Perry White and Jimmy Olsen this year."
Although he can't reveal his casting wish list for Bruce Wayne, Gough has a type in mind. "Basically about Lex's age, and he's more of a darker, brooding figure. At this stage in their lives, I don't think Clark and Bruce get along, because they are, in a weird way, opposite sides of the coin.
"One's grown up under the guidance of very loving parents, and one has grown up without parents and feels the need to avenge their murder. Bruce is not Batman yet, but again you see, as you do with Clark, the seeds of the man he will become."
As for the Boy of Steel, Gough asks, "Now that Clark has all this information about his past, and what he believes his destiny to be, how will he take that and move into the future?"
