Tom Welling - Blog Posts
You were all too late. This was my last straw…
I’m doing it.
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I did it >/////<…
Yes, Clark. I'll marry you.
—Lana Lang, Smallville, "Reckoning" (Erased Timeline)
You smell a m a z i n g.
—Lana, Smallville, “Thirst”
Clark Kent is Insane (Smallville)
I'm on the Smallville bandwagon, and I'm currently on season 7. I've seen some posts that find it unbelievable that people weren't interested in and crazy in love with Clark and stuff. I'm convinced that people stayed away from him because they thought he was crazy, or was that guy that always had something weird happening to him. It's obvious that Clark is attractive, but there's also another side to it besides his looks.
Clark would find himself in situations that would make people scratch their heads. Put yourselves in the perspective of the Smallville citizens.
I'm going to give some examples from season 1 (can't remember which episode)
Clark's powers get transferred to another boy named Eric Summers, and once Eric finds out about these abilities he exploits them. Clark tries to talk Eric into not being a bad person, and that ends with Clark getting smashed into the top of a car, bleeding from his nose and all. A lot of his school mates saw that, and word apparently travels fast in small towns. Everyone certainly found out.
In another episode, Earl Jenkins (played by Tony Todd) is a victim of the Luthors, and while Clark's class is on a school trip, the character holds the students hostage in order to threaten the Luthors. Whatever experiments Luthor corp did on him makes him shake violently, and anything he comes into contact with will shake uncontrollably as well (can't remember if it results in death). It's best to stay away from this guy. What does Clark do? Try's to speak to the guy and convince him not to do this, and stuff like that. Basically, the same thing he did with Eric Summers. It doesn't get him heavily injured, but it could've made things worse.
Clark would also go through a thing where his personality flips. Not knowing he's on red kryptonite, everyone probably felt like they were interacting with a completely different person, but with Clark's face. Everyone's just like "Clark Kent is letting his intrusive thoughts win?" And he would mysteriously forget what's transpired (due to switching bodies or his mind being taken over). He would be genuinely confused, and is frighteningly proceeding as if nothing's happened, despite being aware that something wrong has taken place, thanks to him or involving him.
When Clark accidentally causes his mum's miscarriage, the first thing he does is crashout. He puts on the red kryptonite and rides of to Metropolis. I'm pretty sure he was gone for months, robbing from atms and getting into fights with people.
When Nathan Dean (the banshee guy) showed up (around season 3-ish), Clark lost his sight temporarily... even though it's everyone's ears that suffered. That's weird.
Onwards, Clark would suspiciously be at the scene of a crime or some kind of incident. He's always involved in police business, and playing "investigator" with Chloe and Pete. Always on his way to save people, and do something that everyone will immediately think is stupid.
Around season 3 or 4, Clark marries Alicia. A literal stalker who tried to harm Lana Lang (the it girl of Smallville). Once he comes back from his honeymoon, looking all guilty, everyone whispers while side eyeing him. And of all things Mr and Mrs Kent are mad about, it's the fact that Clark married illegally (both Alicia and him were underage), and that he disregarded how sacred marriage is (even though he was on red kryptonite). That was terrible writing, but I don't remember them being too angry about Alicia.
There's also that time (can't remember if it was season 5 or 6) when Clark and Lois crash Lex and Lana's dinner party where they're celebrating their engagement. Clark and Lois are dressed as bikers, informal leather jacket outfits. They must've looked insane to everyone at that party, Lex especially. And then Clark proceeded to ruin the pregnancy announcement for Lex and Lana (he did it for the lolz).
Every time Clark is doing (or about to do) something everyone is probably side eyeing him, and thinking "What's he about to do this time?"
What's worse is that his parents don't seem to be doing anything about it. They don't appear to be worried about the fact that he might potentially be having occasional psychotic breaks, and other mental disorders going on with him. He's got main character syndrome, and a hero complex. Insert other mental disorders and illnesses of your choosing, because I'm not a psychiatrist nor am I trained in knowing about mental health.
If the writers intended on this, knowing that they couldn't make Tom Welling look like a pathetic dork, then it's a good call. Can't make him dweebish? Make him look insane. Even if Clark was a nerd, and looked like one, everyone would still be fawning over him (me especially). But fawning over a crazy person is risky because of how unpredictable they are. Not only that, but we've seen girls fawn over him before, albeit harbouring bad intent (to some degree for most). And of course, Chloe was super interested in him, and Lana would get jealous and shocked from whatever relationship he had outside of her, even when she was with another guy.
That's my Smallville theory.