Smallville

Last week we reported the news that the contracts of certain Smallville actors will be up for renewal at the end of the current season.  The actors include Michael Rosenbaum, Kristin Kreuk, and Allison Mack.  While most fans seem to agree that losing Lex or Chloe would be detrimental to the series, there are many people who would love to see Lana Lang leave town and never return.  One of our readers, Batfan114, even responded with the rather harsh cry of "Die Lana Die!!!"  It seems that, for many people, the character of Lana has more than worn out her welcome.  Should Smallville really do away with her in the eighth season, and if so, how?

First of all, even if the producers did choose to get rid of Lana Lang, there's absolutely no chance that she'd kick the bucket.  While Smallville has taken occasional liberties with Superman mythology, killing off a major character that is still alive in Clark Kent's adult life simply wouldn't happen.  In the comic books, Lana eventually moves to Washington D.C. and becomes the CEO of LexCorp after Lex Luthor is ousted from the company.  Perhaps Smallville could ship Lana off on her own out-of-state job venture.

I think the biggest problem with Lana's character is that she has no real point on the show.  She's perpetually stuck in on-again, off-again romantic shenanigans with Clark (Tom Welling) without any clear purpose of her own.  This certainly isn't Kreuk's fault, as she can only play what she's been given, and I think it's been clear for a while that the writers have no idea what to do with Lana.  She's dealt with everything from a magical tattoo to faking her death to offing Bizarro, and still she's not very interesting.  It's as if the Smallville writers shoehorn her into whatever plot comes to mind, even if it's something that makes viewers slowly turn against her.

Fan reaction toward Lana actually reminds me of the way many viewers felt about Marissa Cooper (Mischa Barton) on The O.C.  She started off as the lovely girl next door who was supposed to be the primary love interest of the main character.  However, as time went on her plotlines became more outlandish and her character made decisions that were completely ridiculous.  The fact that she could land any man, and the occasional woman, that glanced her way also made her insufferable.  The result of all this fan hatred was Marissa being killed off in the show's season 3 finale.

Like I said, there's no chance that Lana will be killed off, but I do think that Smallville would be better off without her.  The writers wouldn't have to shoehorn her into plots, Clark would be free to explore interesting new relationships, and the show could focus more on the likes of Lex and Chloe.  If Kristin Kreuk decides not to come back for an eighth season, I certainly won't be shedding a tear.


- Don Williams, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
(Image courtesy of the CW)