Despite having rewritten the ep twice in longish fics that were happily well-received lo these many years ago, I have never actually watched Tempus, Anyone? until last night.
I would never have been able to write Lana from a sympathetic perspective if I had seen and heard her in action, rather than just reading the transcripts. Whew!
Props to the actress for making Lana so solidly unlikeable, especially with her gestures and posture. I completely understand why so many fans find her so repugnant, although I do still think she's overly reviled. She's certainly not the best one for Clark, but that does not automatically make her a bad person. Canon clearly shows that she accepted Clark and offered him comfort, even if we don't care for her approach.
Also, Herb is one of my own least-liked characters, but I was impressed by how he gave poor alt!Clark some hope at the end. That doesn't come across as clearly as the transcript as it does onscreen, either.
