When I was younger, I used to watch a lot of television. Though my appetite for television shows as dwindled recently after the ending of several of my favorite shows (namely 24, Heroes, and Lost), I still flip through the channels once a week or so- just to see what's on. I've not been able to really find something that truly captures my attention other than Glee or Big Bang Theory. I thought to try Bones or Castle. Firefly was okay. I'm only halfway through it and I can't seem to understand why it's such a big cult. In some episodes, it's very... cheesy, to put it mildly. V went boring for me. American Idol was just repetitive. And Will and Grace? I've seen every re-run they play.
Smallville, though, that was one that always intrigued me- even after the dull seasons. I haven't seen the past two seasons, mind you, but it's getting to its final season this upcoming year, I think. Or it's on its final season now. I haven't been keeping up with it for awhile, especially after- spoiler alert- they killed Doomsday and Jimmy in one dramatic finale. They took Lex Luthor off the show (no doubt because the actor was sick and tired of the same role over and over and over again... It was probably like deja-vu to him all the time), and they eventually even took Green Arrow off the show (I mean, come on, Oliver Queen was cute, funny, and had a dark past- everything a fan girl wanted in a guy!) along with Chloe Sullivan (the best sidekick character ever in television existence). The thing, though, that always intrigued me about the show was that you knew what would happen. I guess it made things no fun because you knew that Clark would end up as Superman, Lois would end up being in love with him (though she could deny it all she wanted), Lex would be a super villain, and the troubles of Superman would, seemingly, never end.
I guess that concept got me thinking: Lex is expected to go evil, so most people see him as a villain in the show- even before he actually falls to corruption. Personally, I think that pre-corrupted Lex was the best character of the series (though Oliver is a close second... maybe first... or second... or first....), but that's just an opinion. In the first seasons of the show, you see Lex as emotionally abused, backstabbed constantly, and almost assassinated probably a hundred times. His father conspires against him, drugs him, throws him in a psych ward at some point, and things just go downhill from there. And, throughout the entirety of the series, you see a transformation of a man who meant very well to a monster who was bent on vengeance and taking over the world.
And the audience expected it.
What if the world was a television show, and your life was a comic book? What if you were supposed to be Lex Luthor and you were supposed to turn into a monster? Wouldn't it be odd, if you were the villain all along? Everyone sees themselves as a protagonist, and the people that oppose you- they must be the villains. Lex was nefarious in the movies and comics- and even towards the end of Smallville. But did he ever think he was the hero?
What if the world was watching your life as it played through your high school and college years, watching the little fledgling of an adult as they slowly turned to corruption? What if the things you did were precursors to disaster later on? What if your best friend ended up being your nemesis? And what if you were destined to be in a lifelong struggle against them?
I'm an idealist. I don't like to say that there is necessarily good or evil, because, maybe there was a reason that someone did something bad, and we're just too narrow-minded to understand why. Because I know that I've done things that people could classify as "bad", and not understand the motivation. Because I've seen people try to justify actions and it never seems right to me. I think there's a standard we're all conditioned to following- holding the door open for little old ladies is good, and murdering people is bad. Perhaps evil is based off of perspective. Or perhaps it's based off something greater than the human mind can comprehend.
But wouldn't it be interesting if you were destined to be a villain? Wouldn't it be interesting if the world was waiting for you to don your tights and put on your cape and save the world? It'd be so ironic. So hilarious. So perfect, in some cases.
If it's any comfort, there are people watching your life. You might not end up as Clark Kent or Lex Luthor- you might not end up on television, but every action has a reaction, doesn't it? Even if it's not tangible, it's still there.
And these are the things that I ponder...
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