Was there a point to the memory loss plot?

[xrayvision]

With Chloe getting her memories back this episode, was there really a point to Clark not wanting her to remember in Abyss?

I'm curious to read any thoughts out there.

[ClarkyBoy14]

Same thing I was wondering.

Right now, the only thing I can think of is that Chloe might find out somehow and it could drive a wedge between Clark and her, possibly pushing her closer to Davis or something.

Or maybe PS3 just wanted to see how the fans would react.

[Iluvgreen]

I was thinking the same thing. But it seems like the writters like to tease us like that. :p

[Firebunny]

It's like Lois' affair with Grant last season. There is no consequence. There is no point.

[Deana]

I would say they are desperately trying to give Chloe story lines that don't include her being Clark's person search engine. That was a huge mistake.

He works at Daily Planet so he can do that himself.

It also could be foreshadowing consequences of her being so involved with Clark's secret. Even if her mind is erased, she is too deep within his secret for it not to eventually catch up to her.

[ManOfSteel87]

Her memory loss was the starting point for both Clark and Chloe realizing that her Brainiac attack resulted in more than just a higher IQ.

Clark showed that he is becoming more Superman-like by making the decision to remove her memories of his secret in order to keep her safe, despite the fact that she was not only his best friend, but a close ally and protector of his secret.

I thought the big revelation Chloe is going to have in Hex would have to do with rediscovering Clark's secret. Now, I also think the revelation Chloe will have will have to do with finding out that Clark had in fact taken these memories from her which could cause some tensions between the two.

[HeartChakraBabe]

Considering all the outrage that it spawned, I'd say the point was to get the fans riled, and cause a stir; see how it was received. And it did mix things up a bit, because it was quite unexpected. I myself admit to being outraged beyond words. I'm just relieved it was rectified!!

[I_am_LEX]

Not everything in life has a real point. I do think this had a small one. Perhaps it was so that Clark would realize that no matter what he does, no matter who knows his secret or not, people will always be in danger... that's just the way it is. Clark now knows that whether someone knows the truth or not, with his enemies, it won't matter. Brainiac picked Chloe because she was friends with Clark, not because she knew the truth about him.

[fuchsiaRose]

Yes the point was to waste our time. Oh, and tarnishing Superman by making him the type of person who condones "mind rape" was just an added bonus. :rolleyes:

[ClarkyBoy14]

It also could be foreshadowing consequences of her being so involved with Clark's secret. Even if her mind is erased, she is too deep within his secret for it not to eventually catch up to her.

That's a good possibility.

[unfocused]

I'm thinking it's going to be revisited later in the season. Possibly setting up Allison to leave the show if there is another season, or just turning it into one of those lessons that Superman has learned in other stories about how not everyone agrees with the decisions he makes. If Chloe finds out, there will most likely be a touching conversation between the two.

As far as the notion that the memory wipe was pointless since she gets her memories just two episodes later... is fair. But I'm hoping it was for a reason, as I still believe the arc can be a great one if it has proper closure.

[ClarkyBoy14]

Yes the point was to waste our time. Oh, and tarnishing Superman by making him the type of person who condones "mind rape" was just an added bonus. :rolleyes:

Didn't the same thing happen in Superman II?

[warriorrenegade]

I guess to create conflict with Clark and Chloe. Chloe doesn't know Clark erased her mind...how is she going to react when she finds out? It's the only reason really , to create drama nothing more.

[xrayvision]

One thing I noticed was how Clark withheld telling Chloe that he took her memories away and that she withheld telling Clark how she killed Sebastian in Identity. I wonder if these secrets will come back to play a factor.

[thehenry89]

This is the first time the whole season the PS3 have messed up arch-wise.

[warriorrenegade]

Question. Is Chloe even aware she killed Sebastian? Cause I don't remember her even mentioning it ever. Or has she?

[fuchsiaRose]

Didn't the same thing happen in Superman II?
Most people are not fans of the mind wipe crap in the movies.

[Ginx]

This is the first time the whole season the PS3 have messed up arch-wise.

I don't feel that it's a mess-up more maybe of a do-over or lining Chloe up for something else.

[6-Super-Man -5]

Yeah, I'm not sure.

[green_arrow_girl358]

um....to freak us out

[xrayvision]

Question. Is Chloe even aware she killed Sebastian? Cause I don't remember her even mentioning it ever. Or has she?

She was herself when she killed him. Brainiac could care less about protecting Clark's secret.

[I_am_LEX]

Perhaps this is so that in the future, he wont "wipe" memories because he'll know from experience that its not the answer. I mean, you can't know something you don't know. Duh. This happened so he'd know there is always another way.

[susangail]

Not really. Freaking us out isn't much of a point.

[davidbrenton]

Clark was supposed to grow and realize that he cannot control people's lives, however the writers seemed to miss that big ol boat.

Welcome back, SuperDuh!

[Holo]

I believe the whole point of it was to get Brainiac in the fortress.

[ClarkyBoy14]

Most people are not fans of the mind wipe crap in the movies.

Regardless, Smallville didn't make Superman someone who condones "mind-rape," that was already going on before Smallville was even thought of, if it happened in the movie as well.

----- Added 38 Seconds later -----

I hope this gets revisited, because it seems really pointless right now.

[pizzahead2490]

this was weird to me also. so what was the point of all this drama about mind rape???

[unfocused]

Question. Is Chloe even aware she killed Sebastian? Cause I don't remember her even mentioning it ever. Or has she?

Chloe probably never mentioned killing Sebastian because, well... it's first degree murder. And punishable by death in the state of Kansas.

So I'm guessing Chloe is gonna wanna keep that lil secret to herself. Besides, why wouldn't have Chloe been aware of murdering a man? She made it obvious that she went to see Sebastian to find out how much he knew about Clark and what his intentions were with that knowledge, and when Sebastian made it clear that he wanted revenge against Clark, she then murdered him. Sounds like a misguided, albeit loyal, sidekick to me...

And like xrayvision said, BrainIAC could care less about protecting Clark's secret.

[Krypto~Luan]

I thought uit was obvious..i think clark even said it.
It was to protect her. Keep her away from harm by keeping her blind. She was in more trouble knowing, thats what clark thought

[kaam]

I am not going to regress further on this subject because we don't have the whole picture yet. We need to put things into perspective and wait for further episodes before jumping to any conclusions.

[pizzahead2490]

I am not going to regress further on this subject because we don't have the whole picture yet. We need to put things into perspective and wait for further episodes before jumping to any conclusions.

i know what you mean. its like i enjoyed this episode so much i am actuallly excited to see the next 3. i do not know what they will bring so i dont want to say they will be awful cuz lois lane aint in there. cuz this eppy was friggin awesome to me:D

it was weird about the whole mide wipe thing but it is very imporatnt that not to jump to conclusions cuz we do not know what the future brings;)

[kaam]

i know what you mean. its like i enjoyed this episode so much i am actuallly excited to see the next 3. i do not know what they will bring so i dont want to say they will be awful cuz lois lane aint in there. cuz this eppy was friggin awesome to me:D

it was weird about the whole mide wipe thing but it is very imporatnt that not to jump to conclusions cuz we do not know what the future brings;)
That's exactly how I feel too. I am still thinking about the whole episode (and probably will watch a couple more times tomorrow before doing a recap next Thursday) since we just got of a long hiatus and we only have some pieces of the puzzle.

[Hugo]

This episode was great! I think Chole finding out about the mind-wipe would be an intresting way to create drama and tension between Clark and his unofficial sidekick. If AM wants to leave the show this could be away to give her an exit, as some other people have mentioned. I know that Johns is busy with comics and everything but I wouldn't mind if he wrote an additional episode or two before the end of the series whenever that may be.

[DWBSR620]

Just throwing this out there and that is maybe, somehow it wiped Brainiac clean of some of Clark's past perhaps. Does Brainiac know Superman's secret identity? Other than that more then likely it was just a plot to get Clark to take Brainiac to the FOS where Clark's voice activates the FOS thus giving Brainiac access to infect the system there. Take care.


Peace To All :cool:

[Liquid-Prince]

Was there ever!

[ginnyfan]

Maybe they are up to something with Chloe's memory. Maybe it was pointless. At this point I'm not sure.

[davidbrenton]

Maybe next, people are going to start forgeting Chloe.

It's Jor-El's punishment of Clark for taking away her memories of him.

She doesn't exist in the future, because nobody from the present remembers her.

That's sad. They all forget about her before she's even gone.

[MeKa]

Tptb wanted to piss on Chlark. Deconstructing all things Chlark is a major theme this season. So yeah, no reason.

[topping82]

I think there was a reason that made perfect sense to me. Chloe's memories were taken so Braniac continued to have a place to hide.

The way I see it is that the purpose of Chloe losing all of her memories to begin with was to get Braniac to the fortress so he could take over.

Braniac knew Clark would do something this stupid (like go to Jor-El, and have him restore only part of Chloe's memories), which is why he started taking Chloe's memories to begin with. It was all part of his plan. He wanted Clark to take his host to the fortress.

Clark was mistaken in thinking Jor-El had defeated Brainiac, which I don't understand why because Jor-El warned him that he could only transfer kryptonian code back into her memories. He didn't heal her. Braniac never left her completely. I believe Braniac was able to hide out in the part of her memories Clark didn't restore, so when Braniac was really defeated, that aspect of Chloe's memories were completely returned because they were never gone to begin with.

This is how I saw it from the beginning, so I'm surprised why so many people are confused by this. I never thought Chloe was re-infected when she entered the fortress, only finally completely take over by Braniac. Braniac never left her, which is why Doomsday came for her in "Bride." Her memory of Clark's secret needed to be taken so she would be a sitting duck when she got married and Doomsday came for her. Without knowing the secret, she had no way of protecting herself from Braniac's plan (since she's oblivious to it), and no way of protecting people from getting hurt like Jimmy.

Anyway, that's what the purpose was IMO, though I STILL want Clark to face the music. He shouldn't be allowed to walk free. It was still wrong what he did, and hope his mistake will be later addressed this season.

[myankskent]

The point of the memory loss was to create drama. It created drama in "Abyss" and it appears to be creating drama currently because Clark didn't look terribly happy that Chloe knew the secret again. I think that he feels that as long as she knows, she will be in danger given how close she is to everything that goes on. Also, Brainiac may be destroyed but Doomsday still took her away from the wedding and Clark knows that Doomsday is still out there.

[bobsuncorp]

I wrote this on another thread under the same subject - here it is:

I think it made Abyss pointless

Totally. I saw Abyss as Chloe's swansong. An episode dedicated to a much loved character, because although she was in the following episode, she was no longer Clark's confidante and sidekick. When she "rescued" Clark from being removed from her memory by dragging him into another memory we saw how desperate she was to protect how much he meant to her.

I fully expected to have Chloe leave the show, but for Allison Mack to remain playing another character This is exactly what happened with the character of Fred in Angel. She literally died and was reborn as another character. The actress still gets work but the show has an injection of "new blood" (no pun intended) and the shake up that always comes from killing off a main character. They even had a closing sequence that showed Fred leaving home - her whole life ahead of her, full of hope - and knowing the horrible fate in her future made the whole scene very touching.

I felt that touched with Abyss (this has suddenly turned into a rant about that episode - apologies) because I honestly thought that Chloe had died, but didn't have to feel guilty knowing that AM still had a job, and probably one that she welcomed as actors always love playing different roles whenever they can.

So to find out that Brainiac was dealt with in a single episode (although to be fair to have him and Doomsday would be a bit much) was indeed saying that Abyss was pointless in that regard. I can't help but wonder if there was a gap in filming the three episodes (I can never work out the filming schedule based on the broadcast schedule) and the creators heard some fan's opinions that Clark needs a confidante and so restored Chloe.

So having moaned about all of the above, I will now close by contradicting myself because I am one of those fans who think Clark needs Chloe to fulfill that role at this stage in his life.

Confused?

I think there was a reason that made perfect sense to me. Chloe's memories were taken so Braniac continued to have a place to hide.

The way I see it is that the purpose of Chloe losing all of her memories to begin with was to get Braniac to the fortress so he could take over.

Braniac knew Clark would do something this stupid (like go to Jor-El, and have him restore only part of Chloe's memories), which is why he started taking Chloe's memories to begin with. It was all part of his plan. He wanted Clark to take his host to the fortress.

Clark was mistaken in thinking Jor-El had defeated Brainiac, which I don't understand why because Jor-El warned him that he could only transfer kryptonian code back into her memories. He didn't heal her. Braniac never left her completely. I believe Braniac was able to hide out in the part of her memories Clark didn't restore, so when Braniac was really defeated, that aspect of Chloe's memories were completely returned because they were never gone to begin with.

Love that theory dude, congrats!

[mr lane]

I think there was a reason that made perfect sense to me. Chloe's memories were taken so Braniac continued to have a place to hide.

The way I see it is that the purpose of Chloe losing all of her memories to begin with was to get Braniac to the fortress so he could take over.

Braniac knew Clark would do something this stupid (like go to Jor-El, and have him restore only part of Chloe's memories), which is why he started taking Chloe's memories to begin with. It was all part of his plan. He wanted Clark to take his host to the fortress.

Clark was mistaken in thinking Jor-El had defeated Brainiac, which I don't understand why because Jor-El warned him that he could only transfer kryptonian code back into her memories. He didn't heal her. Braniac never left her completely. I believe Braniac was able to hide out in the part of her memories Clark didn't restore, so when Braniac was really defeated, that aspect of Chloe's memories were completely returned because they were never gone to begin with.

This is how I saw it from the beginning, so I'm surprised why so many people are confused by this. I never thought Chloe was re-infected when she entered the fortress, only finally completely take over by Braniac. Braniac never left her, which is why Doomsday came for her in "Bride." Her memory of Clark's secret needed to be taken so she would be a sitting duck when she got married and Doomsday came for her. Without knowing the secret, she had no way of protecting herself from Braniac's plan (since she's oblivious to it), and no way of protecting people from getting hurt like Jimmy.

Anyway, that's what the purpose was IMO, though I STILL want Clark to face the music. He shouldn't be allowed to walk free. It was still wrong what he did, and hope his mistake will be later addressed this season.

This is exactly what I was thinking and going to post. Chloe losing her memory wasn't pointless it had a purpose and it was apart of Brainiac's big plan to convert Davis to Doomsday and he needed Chloe for that.

In Abyss when she forgot everyone she only rememeberd Davis and went to him which caused Davis to love (obsess?) her even more. I agree when she was totally obvlivious to what was going on her wedding it made it easier for Davis/Doomsday to take her.

I've always said Brainic is 5 steps ahead of Clark and he always knew what Clark was going to do he may have gotten away with it if the Legion hadn't showed up.

[ClumsyGRL]

Yep, the point was.. well, i don't know!!!!maybe pure entertainment, and the fact that PS3 like to play us like puppets!!!!

[optinox]

Jor-El tried to help chloe, he did extact brainiac from her, but brainiacs plot has been ongoing since he came to earth, he sets out multiple traps/plans at once incase the others fail. Everything was briefly explained, if you listen and read between the lines. Brainiac altered time when he took Kara back to kryton, he tried killing baby clark and failed, but he also attached DD to clarks ship. He then infected the ones clark loves, lana, kara, chloe, he used chloe as vessel knowing clarks closeness to her. Having infected her but not having full control he seeked out DD, and lured DD human form by pretending to be attracted to davis. Everything falls in place and makes sense, the point of the memory loss was to show that clark wanted to something right and try to make things right for chloe, because he felt guilt that chloe was in danger because of knowing his secret, he had the chance to ask Jor-El to wipe her mind and chose to do that. Unfortunately brainiacs plan was to get clark to take chloe to the fortress so he could take it over and carry on with his other plans.

[Mars Investigations]

There's no way that we've seen the last of this plot thread. Don't count it out yet.

[AndiGirl]

Maybe it was more about Clark then Chloe?
Just to show us the extent he's willing to go to to protect those that he loves?
I still dont think it was a wise decision...but he made a hard choice and did what he thought was best.

[Kevin24]

Maybe it was more about Clark then Chloe?
Just to show us the extent he's willing to go to to protect those that he loves?
I still dont think it was a wise decision...but he made a hard choice and did what he thought was best.

I agree with you and think it was more about what Clark is willing to do to protect people and making the choices he thinks are right to the best of his ability.

[dreamsofnever]

Maybe it was more about Clark then Chloe?
Just to show us the extent he's willing to go to to protect those that he loves?
I still dont think it was a wise decision...but he made a hard choice and did what he thought was best.

I'm hoping this will show Clark that whether someone knows his secret or not, they could still be in danger.

I'm sick of him carrying it around and thinking that he can't tell anyone because they'll end up dead, or leaving town, or in constant peril.

Now, I get that he can't tell everyone, but he needs to realize that it's okay to tell the people he trusts above all.

Knowing about what he can do and who he really is doesn't put them in danger so much as living in the center of weirdness (Smallville) does. And Clark needs a confidante, so feeling like he has to keep his secret inside and keep it from everyone is unfortunate.

Yeah, I hope we haven't seen the end of this and the consequences/realization are still coming for Clark!

[Delylah]

I think there was a reason that made perfect sense to me. Chloe's memories were taken so Braniac continued to have a place to hide.

The way I see it is that the purpose of Chloe losing all of her memories to begin with was to get Braniac to the fortress so he could take over.



That explains why she lost all her memories in the first place. What it doesn't explain is the point of Clark making the request of Jor-El to NOT restore the memories that had anything to do with Clark's secret. I expected there to be some fallout from that, but here we are two episodes later and it's been magically undone, *poof* Chloe remembers Clark's secret again. Which makes the request...kind of pointless, other than to give Clark a moment during Bride where he felt really guilty about everything he's put Chloe through over the past 4 years (give or take), since she described it as a "weight having been mysteriously lifted from her shoulders."

If they never address it again, then it was indeed pointless. I'll wait and see what happens before passing judgment. 'Til then...it's useful for writing fanfic, at least.

[ekoo]

But Chloe didn't refer to Clark's alien secret... I honestly, until I cam on the boards, didn't think she knew, I thought she might be referring to something else entirely...

[Kal26]

I think it could have easily been left out, but to me, one point was to get an emotional response from viewers. I took it like a gun shot to the heart when Chloe didn't remember Clark's secret anymore, and was hoping that she'd get her memory back. In that respect, it left me hanging. Another point, and the real purpose in my opinion, was to show Clark that his secret will effect those around him whether they know it or not. The people he loves will always be in danger, so he may as well share himself with them as much as possible. I believe this realization is what may lead him to be open about his true identity with the world. He has no reason to hide, and he should be proud of who he is.

[biggkoz]

You think ps3 were sitting around in the meeting room and said "hey lets have chloe lose her memory about clark and then see how the fans react"...."yeah ok lets do that"

I doubt that happen.

[Kal26]

I think they sit around and think of ways to keep fans on the edge of their seats, yes. That's how shows like Smallville last for 8 or more seasons, and keep people interested for 8 or so years. Just like when Clark lost his memories, or when Chloe was "dead". Part of writing, or producing a good show is knowing what to do to keep fans emotionally attached to that show.

[Bizarrolover]

I think chloe knows what clark did but she's not going to bring up the matter right now (we still have half of the season!). Two things might have happened. Either she understands Clark did what he thought best or she's planning a comeback. She did sounded a bit annoyed when he brought up the subject (he's so transparent, it was obvious he was digging for information and she realized that immediately). I posted this in another thread, but after watching the episode a second time, I think that Chloe's 'I hope you'll do what is best for the world and not me' has a lot to do with Rokk's warning about Clark being very careful in the days to come. I'm sure the consequences of the 'memory wipe' are still out there, but it has nothing to do with a simple lecture from Chloe to Clark.

[xrayvision]

I think there was a reason that made perfect sense to me. Chloe's memories were taken so Braniac continued to have a place to hide.

The way I see it is that the purpose of Chloe losing all of her memories to begin with was to get Braniac to the fortress so he could take over.

Braniac knew Clark would do something this stupid (like go to Jor-El, and have him restore only part of Chloe's memories), which is why he started taking Chloe's memories to begin with. It was all part of his plan. He wanted Clark to take his host to the fortress.

Clark was mistaken in thinking Jor-El had defeated Brainiac, which I don't understand why because Jor-El warned him that he could only transfer kryptonian code back into her memories. He didn't heal her. Braniac never left her completely. I believe Braniac was able to hide out in the part of her memories Clark didn't restore, so when Braniac was really defeated, that aspect of Chloe's memories were completely returned because they were never gone to begin with.

This is how I saw it from the beginning, so I'm surprised why so many people are confused by this. I never thought Chloe was re-infected when she entered the fortress, only finally completely take over by Braniac. Braniac never left her, which is why Doomsday came for her in "Bride." Her memory of Clark's secret needed to be taken so she would be a sitting duck when she got married and Doomsday came for her. Without knowing the secret, she had no way of protecting herself from Braniac's plan (since she's oblivious to it), and no way of protecting people from getting hurt like Jimmy.

Anyway, that's what the purpose was IMO, though I STILL want Clark to face the music. He shouldn't be allowed to walk free. It was still wrong what he did, and hope his mistake will be later addressed this season.

Good post, but there is something I don't entirely agree with. I think Brainiac's plan was to get Clark to take her to the FOS. He did that by making Chloe lose all her memories. The way I see it, Brainiac's plan A was to draw Davis to the FOS after breaking down Chloe and then taking over her. But Clark interrupted that plan, yet did not suspect that there was a plan B, which was that by taking Chloe to the FOS, he allowed Brainiac to take over the FOS, which was in fact Brainiac's main plan. I think had Brainiac succeeded in removing all of Chloe's memories, he would have taken over her body and still made his way into the FOS after using Chloe to lure Davis there. So getting into the FOS was his end game. My main point is that Clark taking her memories away had nothing to do with his plan for Chloe. It was Clark's way of protecting Chloe. But I'm curious as to why it was done since she remembers everything anyway. Perhaps to show emphasize Chloe's innocence in Bride when she was kidnapped. Or perhaps to exploit the secrets she & Clark are keeping from one another in an upcoming episode. Perhaps it will be a lesson for Clark in becoming Superman and keeping his friends at a distance. Then again, he seems to know that already since he doesn't want her knowing his secret.

----- Added 14 Minutes later -----

Another point, and the real purpose in my opinion, was to show Clark that his secret will effect those around him whether they know it or not. The people he loves will always be in danger, so he may as well share himself with them as much as possible. I believe this realization is what may lead him to be open about his true identity with the world. He has no reason to hide, and he should be proud of who he is.

I think you may be onto something. There was an episode where he said that one day he hoped that he wouldn't have to hide himself from the world. I think this memory wipe thing could be a followup to that. The only thing is that we're not really sure if people who are around him are still in danger from not knowing his secret. It's true Chloe's memories were taken away, but she was still deeply involved in Clark's secret and was already in too deep with Davis/Doomsday & became his target. Lois on the other hand never knew his secret and was never in the type of danger that Chloe was in. In fact, we know that the only reason Lois gets into trouble is due to her own curiosity and desire to expose things she believes are unjust. She was never targeted by Brainiac or countless meteor freaks in the way Martha, Chloe or Lana were.

[unfocused]

I think you may be onto something. There was an episode where he said that one day he hoped that he wouldn't have to hide himself from the world. I think this memory wipe thing could be a followup to that. The only thing is that we're not really sure if people who are around him are still in danger from not knowing his secret. It's true Chloe's memories were taken away, but she was still deeply involved in Clark's secret and was already in too deep with Davis/Doomsday & became his target. Lois on the other hand never knew his secret and was never in the type of danger that Chloe was in. In fact, we know that the only reason Lois gets into trouble is due to her own curiosity and desire to expose things she believes are unjust. She was never targeted by Brainiac or countless meteor freaks in the way Martha, Chloe or Lana were.

I agree. Knowing Clark's secret has brought Chloe closer to him in a way that other good friends like Lois aren't. And that has put Chloe in more dangerous situations than Lois has been in. It's true that just being around Clark can be dangerous, the writers emphasized this when Lana left him after getting trampled by the horse in S3. But it is undeniable that villains will use the closest person to a hero in order to defeat them. And because of that connection between Clark and Chloe, the secret, she was very close to him in ways that his other friends aren't. Even knowing the secret, she didn't have to be so close to him, but because of the secret, she was.

[Xanusus]

Yes the point was to waste our time. Oh, and tarnishing Superman by making him the type of person who condones "mind rape" was just an added bonus. :rolleyes:

THANK YOU! now I don't have to repeat it.

But maybe they also did it so they could later make Chloe get righteously indignant about it and have Clark be on the losing end of yet another moral dilemma. WOOT!

So when it acts like a domino in helping her run over to Davis, Clark can say "IT'S ALL MY FAULT" just for old time's sake.

[ColdPlay3r]

brainaic infects chloe
clark takes chloe 2 FOS
every1 happy but brainiac secretly infects FOS
DD brought chloe back 2 reinfect her

POINT = i hav no idea lol, keep brainiac hidden from clark? he seemed surprised that brainy was still alive

[cklookalike89]

Thats exactly what i was thinking when i watched it...how does she even get her memories back????

[RedKRules]

The only point I got from it was .... Brainiac is away more smart than Jor El and Clark together! :lol:

[Demien]

No, I don't think there was a point

[FlashInSV]

I was wondering about that myself. I was expecting the memory wipe to last longer than two episodes...But maybe we haven't seen everything yet. Maybe there's more to this story

[Marissa]

I don't know if there was a point. When it happend, I was really pissed. So maybe it was just entertainment.. We'll see, maybe there's something going to happen next.

[umm]

Yes the point was to waste our time. Oh, and tarnishing Superman by making him the type of person who condones "mind rape" was just an added bonus. :rolleyes:

Well, he did had it coming! Quite a bid!

[SnowBird]

Like many of the Smallville plots, we have to take a wait and see what happens and sometimes even into the next season. I don't think we have seen the last of this plot of Chloe's memory loss of Clark's secret. It will probably rise up at the most unexpected time, imo.

[zorasuperman]

seeing as how things went as of now i was like so wat was the point of chloes memory being erased?
but it may come in play l8r on

[Kal26]

In fact, we know that the only reason Lois gets into trouble is due to her own curiosity and desire to expose things she believes are unjust. She was never targeted by Brainiac or countless meteor freaks in the way Martha, Chloe or Lana were.

Very true. I guess time will tell. Chloe has kind of been stuck in the middle many times because she know Clark's secret. I think it's also true that Chloe was only targeted by Brainiac because of her closeness to Clark. However, she may not have ended up being so close to Clark unless she knew the secret, so it's hard to use her as an example either way. I think one thing that was made clear to Clark in Lois and Clark was that Lois would end up in trouble with or without knowing he was Superman, or that Superman would save her. They had that debate numerous times, but we haven't really seen that on Smallville until now with Chloe's memory. As you pointed out though, we have no control to test it against, because people that don't, or have never known about him haven't been in quite the same types of situations that Chloe, Lana, Martha, Pete, and John have. Except that Lana didn't know about Clark when she was mixed up with Zod. That's something that should be brought to light. I'll mention that Lois was targeted by Maxima based on Clark's fondness for her, but It's not something I would use as an example because it lasted all of about 10 seconds, and Lois wasn't really harmed. I guess I should also point out that Lana was in danger countless times before she knew Clark's secret as well. I think Clark is going to realize that bad stuff will happen to people with or without knowledge of his secret. In fact knowing Clark's secret could have actually helped her avoid a lot of pain, and heartache with Lex, and the whole Zod situation. If she would have known about Clark, she would have never been in that situation.

[marcella]

To make an episode pointless(aka Abyss)

[Who]

Well it was a great season swirve/shocker. Other than that I think it shows Clark has some trust issues. He is trying to fight baddies and protect his friends. I think Clark needs to trust his friends more. I think Ollie pointed this out earlier in the season. Lana pointed it out again in Legion. He needs to learn that he is not alone in his fight for good.
The consequence of Chloe not knowing Clark's secret lead to her kidnap in Bride. She would have known about Clark's weakness with the Kryptonite, got Clark away from it, and Clark could have potentionally stopped Doomsday from taking Chloe away and infecting her with Brainaic.

[Hopefulsuicide]

im kinda going back and forth on this one

on the one hand, it feels like all that emotion and anger and all the time spent fighting against Clark's right to decide whether she gets to keep her own memories was basically for nothing... cause straight away she has them back...

but on the other hand, i've had something consistent to post about for the Bride to Legion gap... so they sort of did the job well, if their intention was just to stir things up

however this kind of 'stunt' doesnt make a good tv show and will seem odd when re watching the season, so i hope they do re adress it

there are definately certain things that cannot be ignored. the memory wipe, and the death of sebastion are two of those things. if they are never again mentioned i will be very dissapointed

[unfocused]

Well it was a great season swirve/shocker. Other than that I think it shows Clark has some trust issues. He is trying to fight baddies and protect his friends. I think Clark needs to trust his friends more. I think Ollie pointed this out earlier in the season. Lana pointed it out again in Legion. He needs to learn that he is not alone in his fight for good.
I agree, but I do like seeing a hero learn that lesson. It's an interesting story for a hero to learn that he isn't alone, and that there are other heroes out there that he can trust.

The consequence of Chloe not knowing Clark's secret lead to her kidnap in Bride. She would have known about Clark's weakness with the Kryptonite, got Clark away from it, and Clark could have potentionally stopped Doomsday from taking Chloe away and infecting her with Brainaic.
But that doesn't make sense. Lana already did that. As soon as Doomsday threw Clark into the loft, Lana went up there to see if he was alright. By the time he recuperated from the krytponite, Doomsday had taken Chloe. Besides, I doubt Doomsday would have just stood there and watch Chloe run up the steps to go check on Clark. He would have went after her.

Chloe not knowing the secret is not what got her captured by Doomsday. Doomsday being as powerful as he is... is what got Chloe captured by Doomsday.

[Mickey_Bickey]

im kinda going back and forth on this one

on the one hand, it feels like all that emotion and anger and all the time spent fighting against Clark's right to decide whether she gets to keep her own memories was basically for nothing... cause straight away she has them back...

but on the other hand, i've had something consistent to post about for the Bride to Legion gap... so they sort of did the job well, if their intention was just to stir things up

however this kind of 'stunt' doesnt make a good tv show and will seem odd when re watching the season, so i hope they do re adress it

there are definately certain things that cannot be ignored. the memory wipe, and the death of sebastion are two of those things. if they are never again mentioned i will be very dissapointed

I have to say I was blown away by Chloe killing Sebastian! What a scene, something totally unexpected just like that last scene in Abyss....chilling to say the least! Loved both by the way. It showed how many layers there really is to her character by going to that level to make sure her friend and the world is safe. Chloe knows that Clark's destiny is far greater than anyone can imagine, and by doing what she did she was protecting not only Clark but the people he will go on to save one day. I'm so glad that her memories are back. I do think they need to touch upon both like you said.

[unfocused]

You make an excellent point. Here I am defending Clark for doing something controversial in the name of protection (the memory wipe), and then feeling disappointed in Chloe for doing something for similar reasons, although far worse (murder), in the name of protection. Even though the two actions are different and deserve different consequences, they were both still done for essentially the same kind of reason; to protect someone.

[rebecavaldez]

It made us mad(well me) that her memory was taken?

[unfocused]

I guess so?

[Hopefulsuicide]

You make an excellent point. Here I am defending Clark for doing something controversial in the name of protection (the memory wipe), and then feeling disappointed in Chloe for doing something for similar reasons, although far worse (murder), in the name of protection. Even though the two actions are different and deserve different consequences, they were both still done for essentially the same kind of reason; to protect someone.

i find it harder to be mad at Chloe for what she did because we don't really understand why she did it, or the truth behind it yet... it seems shrouded in mystery, and a little unresolved

we pretty much know why Clark tryed to do the memory wipe, and i dont condone his reasons so can express my dissaproval much more openly

if it turns out Chloe really did kill sebastion just because he was a threat, and she was completely in control of herself etc, then i'll dissaprove of that too... they shouldnt be bringing down moral characters like Chloe and Clark with these immoral actions

[unfocused]

It makes sense that you allow yourself to be blind to the reasons why Chloe would kill a man. I, on the other hand, see that she did it out of loyalty and to protect Clark. And I'm not going to ignore that, but you can.

Sebastian had knowledge of Clark's secret, and as we all know, that knowledge is very dangerous, even more so in the wrong hands. (We've already seen what BrainIAC can do with knowledge of who Clark is and who is friends are.)

[Hopefulsuicide]

wow... you really do like to twist what i say dont you

i never said i was blind to her reasons... i said her reasons had not yet been stated or defined on the show and therefore i do not see any 'theory' about her reasons for killing him as FACT... it is fact that he was dangerous and dangerous people knowing his secret is a bad thing, but that doesnt mean there is no mystery in what happened...

as many have stated, we dont know the level of brainiacs control, or his intentions... we now know after legion that he was running some kind of programme to make davis have feelings for her... so who knows what else he was doing from within her

and even past that, it is a very OOC thing to do... a young girl killing in cold blood is nothing to simply breeze over

p.s. are you saying you will agree with Chloe's decision? you seem to be arguing that it was justified...

[IcedSun]

Option C- Piss off Chloe fans, pretty sure ;):p

[Bizarrolover]

wow... you really do like to twist what i say dont you

i never said i was blind to her reasons... i said her reasons had not yet been stated or defined on the show and therefore i do not see any 'theory' about her reasons for killing him as FACT... it is fact that he was dangerous and dangerous people knowing his secret is a bad thing, but that doesnt mean there is no mystery in what happened...


From what I've seen from the trailers, the matter will be adressed in a future episode. Anyway, I think the loyalty angle is questionable here. Chloe didn't know for sure what exactly Sebastian knew about Clark. She asked and his answer was 'enough'. We don't know if he was just bluffing (neither did she), if he knew clark was an alien or if the memory he saw (they made contact for just a second) was of Clark superspeeding to the apartment. So, just in case, Chloe killed the guy without even trying to find out the extent of his knowledge about Clark. That's really cold blooded. Chloe seemed pretty disturbed after the incident, so I guess that memory is going to haunt her.

[unfocused]

i never said i was blind to her reasons... i said her reasons had not yet been stated or defined on the show and therefore i do not see any 'theory' about her reasons for killing him as FACT... it is fact that he was dangerous and dangerous people knowing his secret is a bad thing, but that doesnt mean there is no mystery in what happened...
I don't see any mystery... it all makes perfect sense to me. Why others are confused, I just don't know.

as many have stated, we dont know the level of brainiacs control, or his intentions... we now know after legion that he was running some kind of programme to make davis have feelings for her... so who knows what else he was doing from within her
What control? The level of control he had over her was erasing her memories. If he had any real "control" over Chloe, he would have taken over her body (which is what he wanted to do). He was never shown to have any influence over her actions, so I won't waste my time believing he did and used it to influence her to murder a man.

and even past that, it is a very OOC thing to do... a young girl killing in cold blood is nothing to simply breeze over
Chloe not being loyal to Clark would be OOC. Chloe murdering a man out of loyalty to Clark just proves the extent she would go to in order to protect him. As Legion showed us the extent Clark would go to in order to protect Chloe.

p.s. are you saying you will agree with Chloe's decision? you seem to be arguing that it was justified...
Lol, right...

From what I've seen from the trailers, the matter will be adressed in a future episode. Anyway, I think the loyalty angle is questionable here. Chloe didn't know for sure what exactly Sebastian knew about Clark. She asked and his answer was 'enough'. We don't know if he was just bluffing (neither did she), if he knew clark was an alien or if the memory he saw (they made contact for just a second) was of Clark superspeeding to the apartment. So, just in case, Chloe killed the guy without even trying to find out the extent of his knowledge about Clark. That's really cold blooded. Chloe seemed pretty disturbed after the incident, so I guess that memory is going to haunt her.
So, if you don't think Chloe killed Sebastian out of loyalty to Clark, then why would she do it? Don't tell me you believe BrainIAC told her to...

[Hopefulsuicide]

I don't see any mystery... it all makes perfect sense to me. Why others are confused, I just don't know.

there is no point in me argueing about it with you... we will see... thats all i have to say


What control? The level of control he had over her was erasing her memories. If he had any real "control" over Chloe, he would have taken over her body (which is what he wanted to do). He was never shown to have any influence over her actions, so I won't waste my time believing he did and used it to influence her to murder a man.

So he was running a programmed that controlled Davis feelings for Chloe from within Chloe... but you can't even conceive that he was controlling any part of Chloe's actions?



Chloe not being loyal to Clark would be OOC. Chloe murdering a man out of loyalty to Clark just proves the extent she would go to in order to protect him. As Legion showed us the extent Clark would go to in order to protect Chloe.


Chloe in character would have gone to Clark with the information, and talked to him about what they could do to stop sebastion... cold blooded, no mercy, absolutely no chance to proove you aren't that much of a threat murder... OOC


Lol, right...


so your not defending Chloe's actions then... :confused:

[Bizarrolover]

So, if you don't think Chloe killed Sebastian out of loyalty to Clark, then why would she do it? Don't tell me you believe BrainIAC told her to...


LOL No! I don't think Brainiac told her, that was all Chloe, maybe a little corrupted by the Brainiac power, but Chloe's decision nontheless. I'm just saying that, if she did it out of loyalty, her 'devotion' to Clark was a little extreme. It's a very twisted kind of loyalty, the same kind loyatly that crazy girl in Fanatic showed towards Lex. Chloe killed a man without even trying to find out what he really knew about Clark. She calmly removed her gloves and killed him. She didn't hesitate, she almost looked pleased of what she was doing until she left the room. Loyalty or not, that was creepy. It's not the kind of loyalty I would like from a friend of mine.

[unfocused]

So he was running a programmed that controlled Davis feelings for Chloe from within Chloe... but you can't even conceive that he was controlling any part of Chloe's actions?
Well from my understanding, BrainIAC has that Kryptonian history with Doomsday, and as far as we know, he could have had a hand in creating Doomsday, since he was Zod's follower. That makes it very easy to believe he was controlling Davis' feelings through a program.

I can conceive that BrainIAC had some form of influence over Chloe's decision to murder Sebastian (though not the action of actually doing it). But I just don't believe it. If I could see evidence that he influenced her decisions prior to the decision to murder a man, or even after that decision, then I would agree that it wasn't all Chloe. But I'm sorry, there is no evidence of that so I am not going to let myself believe in something that just isn't true or proven when all other indications point to her and her alone.

Chloe in character would have gone to Clark with the information, and talked to him about what they could do to stop sebastion... cold blooded, no mercy, absolutely no chance to proove you aren't that much of a threat murder... OOC
That's a fair point. But it brings up so many other questions. Like, why would BrainIAC want Sebastian dead? Why would Chloe hide something so serious and dangerous from Clark if you think she's so loyal? Don't tell me that now you think BrainIAC had so much control over her that he controlled her while she was unaware of it... Why would BrainIAC choose to influence her to do that single action yet he never influenced her to do any other actions, such as attacking Clark, or sabotaging him or anyone else? If BrainIAC did in fact have influence over Chloe, he would have brought her closer to Davis before the memory-erase, because that would have definitely helped his plan progress. So why didn't he do that? Chloe felt that admitted attraction to a good looking man, but she never once showed any signs that she wasn't controlling herself around him. There are still so many other questions that the "BrainIAC control/influence" brings up when there is another, simple answer that makes more sense... she did it to protect Clark. I'm not saying it was right, because it was a very misguided action, I'm just saying it makes more sense.

so your not defending Chloe's actions then... :confused:
Chloe's action to kill a man in Clark's name? Hell no.... Are you?

LOL No! I don't think Brainiac told her, that was all Chloe, maybe a little corrupted by the Brainiac power, but Chloe's decision nontheless. I'm just saying that, if she did it out of loyalty, her 'devotion' to Clark was a little extreme. It's a very twisted kind of loyalty, the same kind loyatly that crazy girl in Fanatic showed towards Lex. Chloe killed a man without even trying to find out what he really knew about Clark. She calmly removed her gloves and killed him. She didn't hesitate, she almost looked pleased of what she was doing until she left the room. Loyalty or not, that was creepy. It's not the kind of loyalty I would like from a friend of mine.
And I am sure Clark would feel the same way. You're right about it being extreme, I think Clark's loyalty to her is a bit extreme as well. Although, I did enjoy it when he scared the crap out of Lightning Lad with his "Chloe Sullivan does NOT die!" :lol:

[tyson08]

Same thing I was wondering.

Right now, the only thing I can think of is that Chloe might find out somehow and it could drive a wedge between Clark and her, possibly pushing her closer to Davis or something.

Or maybe PS3 just wanted to see how the fans would react.

Agreed.

[smallvillerocks45]

I think the point of taking Chloe's memory was to show Clark that she really wasn't any safer not knowing his secret.

[Jade4813]

I think the point of taking Chloe's memory was to show Clark that she really wasn't any safer not knowing his secret.

Couldn't this have been the lesson he learned after years of Lana not being any safer being in the dark? I mean, she didn't have a clue for YEARS and yet her life was imperiled left, right, and center. Did he think that Lana was simply the unluckiest woman alive?

[smallvillerocks45]

Well, technically, he thought Lana was safer not knowing - a lá the episode Reckoning. It seems that Clark believes certain people can handle only so many things at once. For example, earlier this season (during Plastique, I believe), Chloe reminded Clark of how much of her life she sacrifices to protect his secret. Thus, he wanted to help her transition into domestic bliss in an easier and safer manner. ...it didn't work, and that's the point.

It doesn't matter what people do and don't know about him - they're always equally in danger. In his world, they are all (not just Lana, not just Chloe or Pete, etc...) just as likely of being hit by a car as they are of being attacked by Doomsday - what matters is the choices that Clark (and one day, Superman) makes in response to those dangers. I think that this is why Superman eventually tells the world about himself. To offer hope, and let them know that he can't prevent bad guys from being or natural disasters from occurring, but he can do all in his power to save those around him from these various catastrophes.

[KansasKid]

Well, technically, he thought Lana was safer not knowing - a lá the episode Reckoning. It seems that Clark believes certain people can handle only so many things at once. For example, earlier this season (during Plastique, I believe), Chloe reminded Clark of how much of her life she sacrifices to protect his secret. Thus, he wanted to help her transition into domestic bliss in an easier and safer manner. ...it didn't work, and that's the point.

Agreed. Clark thought he was doing Chloe a favor, but the danger isn't just knowledge, it's also simple proximity. And as long as you're going to be in proximity, it's better to know that you need to watch out for yourself.

I was hoping that the outcome for this episode would be Chloe getting the memories back, and was pleasantly surprised when the writers did so. I'm really tired with the trite memory loss hacks over and over again, and it was good to, for the first time I can recall, see one get undone despite the hero's wishes and efforts.

[Serynarpc]

The only reason for it was to show how desperately Clark doesn't want Chloe to suffer as Pete did or be as manipulated as Lana was. That, or to have Lana have the righteous high ground on a moral issue.

Personally, I'm glad she has her memory back. She's always going to be the one throwing Kryptonite off Clark's chest.

[unfocused]

Not always, and not for much longer.

[actaeon]

It was pointless but it was fun while it lasted.

[Black Panda]

Didn't the same thing happen in Superman II?
Why yes it did. Superman used the kiss of Lethe on Lois because she was talking about how worried she was, how it was all too much to handle.

Most people are not fans of the mind wipe crap in the movies.A Superdickery move, but not as bad as Clark who basically knows Chloe can handle this as much as any human. So often Smallville comments on the mythos, and I think making this ever worse is a comment.

Why did Clark do it in the movie? Because he loved her and he wanted to spare her. It seemed like a cop out, and later comic developments prove him wrong about her emotional strength.

Why did Clark do it in the episode? Because he loved her and, he wanted to spare her. He had been manipulated into it by Brainiac. Earlier Smallville developments have shown us she was up to supporting him, that she threw herself into it. He thought that Chloe would keep putting herself at risk if she knew.

Why did the writer of Superman 2 do it in the movie? To return stuff to the status quo. At that point Lois and Clark never moved forward except in teases like this.

Why did the writers of Smallville do it? To tease you with the idea they would end that relationship. To emphasize how much that history matters, and to show us emotionally how it can not just be swept away.

Option C- Piss off Chloe fans, pretty sure ;):p
Yeah, it makes her history and her place in Clark's future a big huge issue. How will they resolve this... It underlines the conflict. Not that this is new, the writers do stuff like this all the time, Lanapedia anyone?


Right now, the only thing I can think of is that Chloe might find out somehow and it could drive a wedge between Clark and her, possibly pushing her closer to Davis or something.
Yeah, it may do that. Except shouldn't Chloe remember that Brainiac was desperately trying to push her to Davis -- If she really remembered all she thinks she does? I don't think she remembers everything or understands the full extent of the manipulation. I hope that will be explored.

One thing I noticed was how Clark withheld telling Chloe that he took her memories away and that she withheld telling Clark how she killed Sebastian in Identity. I wonder if these secrets will come back to play a factor.
I doubt she even remembers that myself. Yes, I'd like to see that come back. It was clearly Brainiac, but I like the idea of her discovering the extent of that slowly.

Maybe next, people are going to start forgeting Chloe.
Yeah, that's pretty much what Legion suggested. The writers have been hammering on Chloe's history with Lois SWF her for some time, cannon characters threatening to take her roles etc. I think we will get this conflict underlined again.

I fully expected to have Chloe leave the show, but for Allison Mack to remain playing another character
Or she could just use a pen name.

[zHeN_zHeN]

To show us that Chloe will always be involved in Clark's life whether she knows his secret or not.

[Pantalaimon]

I'm pretty confident they will get back to it later, in which case it will be something to tick Chloe off and, as someone else said, drive a wedge between her and Clark.

[Diego*Chloe]

i called it!! i think the epiphany in Hex is about what Clark did to her blah blah some drama blah blah Chloe getting closer to Davis blah blah something big happens blah blah the end xD

[Hopefulsuicide]

That's a fair point. But it brings up so many other questions. Like, why would BrainIAC want Sebastian dead? Why would Chloe hide something so serious and dangerous from Clark if you think she's so loyal? Don't tell me that now you think BrainIAC had so much control over her that he controlled her while she was unaware of it... Why would BrainIAC choose to influence her to do that single action yet he never influenced her to do any other actions, such as attacking Clark, or sabotaging him or anyone else? If BrainIAC did in fact have influence over Chloe, he would have brought her closer to Davis before the memory-erase, because that would have definitely helped his plan progress. So why didn't he do that? Chloe felt that admitted attraction to a good looking man, but she never once showed any signs that she wasn't controlling herself around him. There are still so many other questions that the "BrainIAC control/influence" brings up when there is another, simple answer that makes more sense... she did it to protect Clark. I'm not saying it was right, because it was a very misguided action, I'm just saying it makes more sense.


i do understand, and sometimes the simplest explanation is the right one

but sometimes you grow very connected to the understanding of a character and you know who they are, what they are capable of. as Chloe has been portrayed for 8 years unshakingly as someone who would never kill anyone, i find the idea that all of a sudden she would just do it in cold blood, and that the fact that she was inhabited by an evil kryptonian computer at the time is just a coincidence

i think brainiac having some influence makes more sense

---

the other thing i think is ooc of Chloe at the moment is that we are not seeing any signs of guilt, any signs of looking back at it at all... i'd wouldn't be surprised if they end up having her not remember it...

[unfocused]

The influence theory does make sense. After discussing it so much I really can't deny it anymore, lol.

I agree that the murder was out of character for her, but murder has crossed her mind before. So even though it's hard to think Chloe would kill someone, it's actually not impossible. She has been around death for years, and she has never, to my recollection off hand, mourned the death of a meteor freak or bad guy. In Hydro, after Linda Lake, a coworker she knew, was killed, Chloe quite quickly moved on and brushed it off. When Lana asked her "how can you just do that?" Chloe actually thought she was referring to her passive, casual attitude towards Lake's death, so she even knows this about herself.

Of course, being blasé about death is not the same as murder... but to be fair, overloading a persons mind with information isn't exactly grotesque dismemberment either. There was nothing disgusting about the method she used to murder Sebastian. It was quick, clean, and simple. Hell, it couldn't even have been traced back to her.

As for the "OOC" angle... it's not terribly uncommon for someone to be spontaneous, inconsistent or unpredictable. It's not even uncommon for someone to have a lapse in judgment. So I really don't take the "Out Of Character" argument seriously at all. Was the murder an OOC act for Chloe? Of course. But that happens on television, it even happens in real life, all the time.

Another point that makes me believe Chloe killed Sebastian herself is that earlier in the episode, we see a quick scene that didn't seem to make sense at the time, and I wondered about it. It wasn't until afterward when someone mentioned it on the boards that I remembered and many pieces of the puzzle came together for me. In the scene, we see Chloe overworking her computer, and it crashes because of it. This is where she got the idea of the method of murder she used on Sebastian. She had no jerky, "gangster walk" movements, she didn't have that sly, low tone in her voice. She was nothing like the BrainIAC-controlled-Chloe when she killed Sebastian. There were absolutely no signs that BrainIAC was controlling or influencing Chloe to commit murder. The only decent argument about it is the timing at which the murder took place... while Chloe was infected. Had the murder scene been on it's own, then it would have been completely out of left field and not make any sense. But we actually see where Chloe gets her idea to murder Sebastian in a completely different, earlier scene. And BrainIAC, again, had nothing to do with that scene.

To be honest about the murder, I don't even think it's going to be brought up again, ever. And that's sad. But that just tells me that it was never meant to be such a confusing storyline to begin with. The writers' intentions were to just get rid of Sebastian as a threat in the most logical way possible, with a misguided action of murder. Not by having Lois kill him during the fight, or Clark kill him during savior-mode, but by having Chloe do it. And the purpose of Chloe committing the murder fit's perfectly well in this seasons theme of secret identities (Clark, Lana, Davis and even Lex). Clark is beginning to question the importance of his secret and who should know it and who shouldn't know it, while at the same time developing another identity for that secret, while at the same time becoming more active with his secret. It's no surprise that Clark would question the importance of his secret during a season when Chloe commits a terrible act to protect it.

[kyl-el]

I think that there could be quite a number of reasons other than getting the fan base all roused up.

The fact of the matter is that they've turned Chloe into such an important piece in the story that we need to understand that they can't just nix her from it. Clark has kind of become dependent on her abilities to make up for his present lack of intellect. Maybe in doing this they were trying to show Clark that he needs the help of those around him. The evidence of this was quite clear in this episode because he needed the help of the Legion to save her; he couldn't have done it himself. Ergo, Clark needs the help of people like Chloe, Oliver, and the rest of the Justice League...whether he agrees with it or not. I think that was sort of the point.

Also, if the memory loss would have been permanent, we would have had to deal with a pre-season 5 Chloe mentality. Her natural journalistic curiosity would have her trying to figure out Clark all over again and it wouldn't have been as interesting to watch for a second time around.

[jimmyolsenblues]

are we 100% certain chloe has all her memories back completely?

[Hopefulsuicide]

The influence theory does make sense. After discussing it so much I really can't deny it anymore, lol.

I agree that the murder was out of character for her, but murder has crossed her mind before. So even though it's hard to think Chloe would kill someone, it's actually not impossible. She has been around death for years, and she has never, to my recollection off hand, mourned the death of a meteor freak or bad guy. In Hydro, after Linda Lake, a coworker she knew, was killed, Chloe quite quickly moved on and brushed it off. When Lana asked her "how can you just do that?" Chloe actually thought she was referring to her passive, casual attitude towards Lake's death, so she even knows this about herself.

Of course, being blasé about death is not the same as murder... but to be fair, overloading a persons mind with information isn't exactly grotesque dismemberment either. There was nothing disgusting about the method she used to murder Sebastian. It was quick, clean, and simple. Hell, it couldn't even have been traced back to her.

As for the "OOC" angle... it's not terribly uncommon for someone to be spontaneous, inconsistent or unpredictable. It's not even uncommon for someone to have a lapse in judgment. So I really don't take the "Out Of Character" argument seriously at all. Was the murder an OOC act for Chloe? Of course. But that happens on television, it even happens in real life, all the time.

Another point that makes me believe Chloe killed Sebastian herself is that earlier in the episode, we see a quick scene that didn't seem to make sense at the time, and I wondered about it. It wasn't until afterward when someone mentioned it on the boards that I remembered and many pieces of the puzzle came together for me. In the scene, we see Chloe overworking her computer, and it crashes because of it. This is where she got the idea of the method of murder she used on Sebastian. She had no jerky, "gangster walk" movements, she didn't have that sly, low tone in her voice. She was nothing like the BrainIAC-controlled-Chloe when she killed Sebastian. There were absolutely no signs that BrainIAC was controlling or influencing Chloe to commit murder. The only decent argument about it is the timing at which the murder took place... while Chloe was infected. Had the murder scene been on it's own, then it would have been completely out of left field and not make any sense. But we actually see where Chloe gets her idea to murder Sebastian in a completely different, earlier scene. And BrainIAC, again, had nothing to do with that scene.

To be honest about the murder, I don't even think it's going to be brought up again, ever. And that's sad. But that just tells me that it was never meant to be such a confusing storyline to begin with. The writers' intentions were to just get rid of Sebastian as a threat in the most logical way possible, with a misguided action of murder. Not by having Lois kill him during the fight, or Clark kill him during savior-mode, but by having Chloe do it. And the purpose of Chloe committing the murder fit's perfectly well in this seasons theme of secret identities (Clark, Lana, Davis and even Lex). Clark is beginning to question the importance of his secret and who should know it and who shouldn't know it, while at the same time developing another identity for that secret, while at the same time becoming more active with his secret. It's no surprise that Clark would question the importance of his secret during a season when Chloe commits a terrible act to protect it.

i agree with pretty much everything you've said. but i think the spontenaity and changeability of characters depends on a) the type of show and b) if that has happened much in the show before

smallville so far has shown itself to keep it's characters pretty steady, although some of them very gradually grow darker. that is not the case in this scene with Chloe.

but yeah, i'm starting to get worried it might never again be mentioned, which is a huge shame because it is such a big deal to kill someone, and if they only did it for a cheap thrill then it'd disrespectful to the fans

[Pantalaimon]

Well, it would be very cool if all of this (the murder, the weird back and forth with the memory) will lead to some big reveal later on in the season.

[Drakaun]

I don't know if anyone else pointed this out yet but I am at work and can only skim most of the forums right now. Do you think that maybe Jor El never really erased Chloe's memories but was already infected by brainiac during the process and brainiac did the erasing such as he was doing all along to get Clark to take Chloe to the fortress so he could infect it in the first place, if you recall in that episode Chloe lost all of her memory, or she at least thought she did. My guess is brainiac put some form of block on her memories of Clark's powers that was lifted when Brainiac was extracted from Chloe's body. That is how I saw it when watching this and why I don't feel it was a problem overall. The point of the memory loss was so Brainiac could make his evil plan come to fruition and that is it.

[jimmyolsenblues]

i am sorry to ask the same question again...please help me?
are we 100% certain that chloe got all her memories back?

[RedKRules]

I think she did, otherwise she wouldn´t have said ... Clark are we talking about your secret?

[Black Panda]

i am sorry to ask the same question again...please help me?
are we 100% certain that chloe got all her memories back?
She remembers Clark's powers, but no I am not convinced she remembers everything.

If she remembered the events of Abyss, she should remember Brainiac editing her memories of Clark's secret. Her comment to Clark doesn't quite jibe. Either she is sort of holding back on him, or she doesn't quite remember. Also, spoilers seem to indicate she's not making the Doomsday Davis connection, she should have a clue if she remembered the events of Abyss. Sebastian didn't come up, and she should be shaken by that.

[alejandrita439]

maybe in the future episodes
this will affect in some way the clark and chloe relationship

[kg1507]

I think she did, otherwise she wouldn´t have said ... Clark are we talking about your secret?


Yeah, I'm confused. Why would she say this if she didn't get all her memories back? Or did she? I mean, what else would she be talking about? I hope I don't sound like a complete moron lol

[jimmyolsenblues]

before chloe learned the truth about clark...didn't she already suspect something was different about clark.

[Sunny8]

In 'Identity' Clark went through a lot of trouble to make sure Jimmy did not discover that he was the "blue and red superdude". I think the point of him having Chloe's memories of his secret wiped was to show to what extent Clark would go to to make sure the people in his life are safe. He thinks that knowing his secret puts people in danger. If he could he would wipe Lana's memory and anyone else that he thinks will be endangered by knowing his secret.

[oqllcksmallville]

the point was the deepen the clark & chloe's chemistry ,
and it did .
it showed you how no matter what ,
their friendship will always prosper .
and they really are best friends . <3

[unfocused]

the point was the deepen the clark & chloe's chemistry ,
and it did .
it showed you how no matter what ,
their friendship will always prosper .
and they really are best friends . <3

I really love the way you type your sentences.

[Bizarrolover]

Yeah, I'm confused. Why would she say this if she didn't get all her memories back? Or did she? I mean, what else would she be talking about? I hope I don't sound like a complete moron lol


You don't sound like one, don't worry. Clark's question about her memory was more about finding out if Chloe recalled that he erased his memories in Abyss and not if she remembered his secret. Clarks feels guilty for taking that from her, though at the moment he thought he was doing the right thing.

[disciples of zod]

no

~K

[Black Panda]

before chloe learned the truth about clark...didn't she already suspect something was different about clark.
Well yes. That's part of what was so retarded about the memory wipe storyline and why it was clear it couldn't stand long. Logically it was a mess. It would have been a nightmare to deal with in the narrative other than as a quick gimmick.

On the other hand, a few little holes in season 8 doesn't seem too tricky to discover and handle. I hope/suspect we are not 100% done with the ramifications of the Chloiac arc.

Why would she say this if she didn't get all her memories back? Or did she?
I think there is a decent chance she thinks she's fine, but she's missing some info the audience has. It really doesn't make sense for her to defend Davis as vigorously as spoilers indicate if she recalled Brainiac's attempts to edit her memories. And again, it doesn't make sense for to act like Clark has no good reason to ask that question unless she's letting him stew a bit or honestly doesn't recall Abyss.

But all that is working on the theory that Smallville storytelling makes sense, which is an unreliable theory.

[Hopefulsuicide]

i have a theory...

maybe she remembers all her memories of when she was just Chloe, but when Brainiac was influencing her or controlling situations in some way, she doesnt remember

i.e. killing sebastion, moments with davis where brainiac was manipulating davis to fall for chloe (he said he was running a programme to make him have feelings for her)

though it still doesnt explain how she would remember marrying Jimmy but not remember that she didnt remember Clark's powers during that time... i mean does she remember getting out a meteor rock and shoving it in his face without a clue as to what was wrong with him? does she remember not even thinking to call out for Clark or wonder why he wasn't there saving her from the monster in the barn?

[stenochick]

Is there ever a point to Smallville memory loss plots (cough*Kara*cough)?

[Kuzz]

I have voted there was no point as in there was no point in the writers taking her memories away. But....

There was a point for doing it but they have just totaly threw the point out the window when they gave her, her memories back. I thought that (as she is not in superman methologies) this would be the start of them fading her out of smallville. Either kill her off or just make her leave smallville. I thought that it was the start of them fading her out but then they give her, her memories back that was just stupid man I really do not no what goes through the writers heads some times.

- Kuzz

[Black Panda]

maybe she remembers all her memories of when she was just Chloe, but when Brainiac was influencing her or controlling situations in some way, she doesnt remember
I do think the fact she states she doesn't remember the vows or the rest is there to indicate it's not complete. It does make some sense that she might have less recall of times she was more heavily manipulated.

though it still doesnt explain how she would remember marrying Jimmy but not remember that she didnt remember Clark's powers during that time... i mean does she remember getting out a meteor rock and shoving it in his face without a clue as to what was wrong with him? does she remember not even thinking to call out for Clark or wonder why he wasn't there saving her from the monster in the barn?
Yeah, the meteor rock was before "here comes the bride". If she remembered that it would be a pretty big clue that Clark had reason to believe she had lost her memories. The latter was post "here comes the bride" so we aren't supposed to think she remembers that at all.

Again, she might remember some, but be waiting for Clark to come clean.

[davidbrenton]

No, she said the last thing she remembered was her wedding.

[Cogito17]

At the moment, it doesn't seem to have much of a point... however...

My personal theory (without a whole lot of basis), is that it will eventually serve a purpose in the story. Earlier in the season Clark said something to Chloe along the lines of him being afraid that she will put her trust in the wrong person. At some point, I would guess that Chloe will discover that Clark erased her memories, causing her to turn to Davis, thus fulfilling Clark's earlier foreshadowing about her "putting her trust in the wrong person".

[Jedimaster_TTBaby]

I actually don't see the point in making Chloe lose her memory! It just frustrated me and IMO kinda damaged Chloe's story.

But

The season is not yet over and I hope they explain what was the point!