Martha Kent, in the wine cellar, wearing a Black Dahlia costume and packing heat. I had a whole rant prepared about this but really, it's not worth it. You were either okay with this or you weren't. I wasn't. As I mentioned above, I've got no problems with most of the changes they've made to this character over the years; in fact a lot of them added necessary depth to an archetype that had gotten a little dusty. But that's the point; Martha Kent is an archetypal character. She serves a very specific function to the Superman mythos and all of this cloak and dagger, behind the scenes, let's make her edgy by giving her a gun crap is so completely at odds to that purpose that it begs the question; why even use this character?
—Julian Finn
on Smallville, "Hostage"
on Smallville, "Hostage" I suspect that most modern viewers find it easier to identify with a Snow White who fights back. Spending years asleep in a glass coffin waiting to be awakend by "True Love's Kiss" is hopefully not something that girls today aspire to. We can fight for what we want, and we have a good chance of getting it.
— Elizabeth Waters, Sword and Sorceress XXVII introduction.
