I recently viewed an article on characters that the TV show “Smallville” ruined and characters that they got right. As a fan of the show, I was interested in this list, and I mostly agree with the writer of this particular article’s assessment (just for the record, let me report that the author stated that Smallville ruined the character of Doomsday, a character who appeared in season 8 of the show. I disagree with the author’s opinion; I think they added a lot of depth to Doomsday).
The author of this article’s remarks on the character of
Jor-El, Superman’s biological father, in particular, caught my eye. This was a character that was put in the ‘ruined’
category. “Smallville’s interpretation of Jor-El was quite odd,” this author
begins. “Whereas Jor-El has
traditionally been used as an absentee – but very mindful – father figure who
imparts his wisdom to Superman via the Fortress of Solitude, Smallville’s Jor-El was much more
strict. In fact, he often acted like a
villain.
That’s not inherently a bad thing, but Smallville’s Jor-El was a wildly inconsistent character. One moment, he’s a caring father, then he starts acting openly hostile to his son. He will be coerced into forgiveness, but then trap Lois Lane in a cage of pure energy. Jor-El was whatever the writers needed him to be.” I wholeheartedly agree. Incidentally, the link can be found here.
It dawned on me as I thought about this: on Father’s Day isn’t it fitting to look at a character who was so "wildly inconsistent"? Isn’t it true that everyone has moments where they act completely out of character? Don’t we all have episodes where we acted quite inconsistently? I’m not a father, but I know that’s true for myself. Furthermore, there’s a marvelous quote from Jor-El to Clark in the series finale of the show, that I want to share in a minute, but the power of the words holds even more weight when you consider the battles that Clark and Jor-El waged to get to that moment.
By contrast, this article went on to state that one of the
characters that “Smallville” got
right was Jonathan Kent (played superbly by John Schneider). Once again, I completely agree. Jonathan, as I see it, was/is a picture of
unconditional love. His love for his son
makes me think of the love of my own father, Jerry Bauer. Like Jonathan Kent, my dad passed away
earlier than anyone thought he would.
But even eight years after his passing, I still miss Dad’s love,
guidance, and protection (I’ll share one story about why I say this next time,
God willing). To sum it all up for now,
I honor my dad this Father’s Day. I
contend that Clark Kent wouldn’t have been the man he became without the
influence of Jonathan Kent; in the same way, I wouldn’t be the man I am with
Jerry Bauer, my dad, a true man of God.
In this series finale of “Smallville” Clark Kent is finally ready to take on the mantle of being
Superman for the first time. The
Superman suit is in the Fortress of Solitude, and before Clark dons it, we are
treated to a touching scene between Clark and Jor-El. Clark says, “I shouldn’t have tried to push
away my Kryptonian side. My strength
lies in accepting it; accepting you.” “You
honor me,” Jor-El replies. “A father’s
pride cannot be measured in words, but know that I’m proud of you, son.” “You have no idea how long I’ve waited to
hear you say that,” Clark responds. “We’ve
been down a long road, Kal-El – one paved with difficult trials. Those trials are behind you now. Any father can only hope that one day is humbled
by the feats of his son. But it is your
soul, Kal-El, of which I am most proud.”
In conclusion, I want to encourage you fathers to express
your love and admiration to your son (and/or daughter), as Jor-El did in the
described scene above. Maybe you never
have, or maybe it’s just been a while.
Tomorrow is not guaranteed. Don’t
put it off. Never withhold a sincere
expression of love and appreciation to your children. To express these words will lift their
spirits, just as they did Clark’s.
Happy Father’s Day,
Kevin
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