Smallville (2001 - 2011): Review By Corey W.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9vrfEoc8_g (Play this over and over until you finish reading this review)

*spoilers throughout*

Before I dig deeply into the series finale of one of the greatest, most epic series to ever be aired before my eyes, I'd like to dedicate a couple of paragraphs to the series itself. For ten long years, an entire decade, I've dedicated myself to a journey that I never saw coming. When the show first started, I'm sure a lot of people never thought it'd last a whole decade, even when the show reached its five-year landmark, I only expected a season or two more; the show consisting of the pre-adventures of the famous DC hero Superman, I only figured he'd have to put on the costume sooner or later.

Over the years, we've noticed that Smallville has taken the Superman mythology to a whole new approach, sometimes changing things from the comics. You would think that would piss off some loyal fans to the DC Universe, but the differences from Smallville to the actual Superman Universe clicks just about right in every season. Being all fine by me the entire time, I've enjoyed seeing this different take on the Superman story. Never really caring before how Clark Kent dealt with his "differences" from other high-school kids growing up never became a thought that crossed my mind, and when I found out about the series I thought it was going to define the word lame in every angle. After seeing the show, I regretted that comment deeply because it instantly became my new weekly obsession, for ten whole years.

One of the greatest things that comes from Smallville, well in my experience at least, is that I grew up with the show and as I grew up, Clark Kent and the characters around him grew up as well. Fours seasons would go by on the series and high-school was over for these characters, and then college, and then reality would hit them all. Your literally watching a whole decade in the lives of these characters and thinking of how the show was when it started to how it is now, there are so many differences that I think I should go through. Starting off with Clark as a fourteen year old freshman, the show has now escalated to him getting his job at the Daily Planet. A lot has happened in the last ten years with the characters in this series, especially with the main setting of where it takes place, so I think I should dedicate some paragraphs to season breakdowns.

SEASON ONE:

You all know who Clark Kent is, but do you know how he was when he was in high-school? He was just like any other teenager, only different. Being fourteen years old, Clark was in love with the beautiful Lana Lang, someone who he'd thought would never be possible to actually be with. Having the best two friends in the world, Pete and Chloe Sullivan (a computer nerd with an addiction to finding truth and letting her curiosity get to the worst of her, becomes the biggest help to Clark throughout his troubles) Being the son of Jonathan and Martha Kent, they have both showed Clark to the planet he was never born on and guide him through the times when he feels like an outcast. After saving a younger Lex Luthor in a car accident, the two form a large bonding and soon become the best of friends. Throughout the season, you discover Lex's reason to going to Smallville: in order to find a fertilizar plant that connects to the meteor shower that brought Clark to Smallville. In the season, every week we see Clark fight a new meteor-freak (someone exposed to meteor rock) with the help of Pete and Chloe. But, can he keep his secret from them?

BEST EPISODES OF THE SEASON:

1. Pilot: The episode that started the epic ten-year journey of Clark Kent's transformation into the Man of Steel.

2.Hourglass: Clark meets a women named Cassandra Carver, who was blinded during the meteor shower and can now see the future.

3. Crush: Chloe falls or a telekinetic seeking revenge on a surgeon. Lex deals with a childhood nanny while Clark is jealous of Lana.

SEASON TWO:

After receiving new powers, heat vision, but learning of red kryptonite (something that brings out the dark side in Clark), Clark finally shares his secret with Pete. The seasons continues with weekly battles against meteor-freaks in Smallville, and Lana moves in with Chloe and her family and becomes closer to her. An epic battle between Lionel Luther and Lex escalates for LuthorCorp. The season takes place during Clark and his friends' sophomore year at Smallville High.

BEST EPISODES OF THE SEASON:

1. "RED"

2. "RYAN"

3. "WITNESS"

SEASON THREE:

After exiling himself to Metropolis, Clark returns to Smallville to face against all of his problems. In this season, Clark meets Perry White, learns more about Jor-El, and even harnesses a new ability. Finding the fortress and agreeing to fulfil his father's (Jor-El's) destiny, Clark moves closer to learning of his Kryptonian heritage. Chloe also gets sucked into dealing with Lex Luthor, and regrets it when struggling to find a way out of it. It all happens in their Junior year at Smallville high.

BEST EPISODES OF THE SEASON:

1. "Extinction"

2. "Exile"

3. "Whisper"

SEASON FOUR:

Clark returns to Smallville, but not as his usual self. Starting off with an epic introduction to Lois Lane (Whoo!), she comes to investigate the death of her cousin, Chloe. Lana also returns to Smallville with her new boyfriend (played by Jensen Ackles of "Supernatural"). Clark tries to make his senior year of high-school as normal as possible, and doesn't want to worry anymore about his destiny that Jor-El has in store for him, so he tries out for the high-school football team. And with his strength, you can imagine the star he becomes. Secrets and lies bring Clark and Lana further apart as well, but, might it just bring them closer in the end?

BEST EPISODES OF THE SEASON:

1. "RUN"

2. "UNSAFE"

3. "KYRPTO"

SEASON FIVE:

Two disciples of General Zod go to Smallville in search of Kal-El, and with a new Fortress of Solitude built in the Artic, Clark prepares for whatever Jor-El has in store for him against any evil. Lex Luthor breaks his friendship with Clark when digging to much into his secret, and Clark's college professor Fine has secrets of his own, secretly being Brainiac. As Clark and Lana's relationship grows, Clark struggles to make choices that will escalate his future, and may even have to choose between the love of his life and the man who raised him. With the death of his father, Clark takes one-step further into his journey of becoming Superman.

BEST EPISODES OF THE SEASON:

1. "Reckoning".

2. "Lexmas"

3. "Vessel"

SEASON SIX:

Providing the show's first look into the Phantom Zone, season six had a pretty epic start. In this season, plenty of new characters are introduced to the show, especially Oliver Queen, was has an attraction to Lois Lane. Other characters as well as Martian Manhunter and Jimmy Olsen. When a few prisoners of the Phantom Zone escape, Clark must deal with the aftermath and when Lana discovers she is pregnant, she accepts his proposal of marriage, which hurts Clark dearly. Also in this season, Lana and Lex's relationship dissolve when she discovers the truth about her pregnancy---and Clark's secret! As Lex's Level 33.1 project advances, a whole lot happens in Smallville in its explosive sixth season! Oh, and who the heck is the Green Arrow?!

BEST EPISODES OF THE SEASON:

1. REUNION

2. JUSTICE

3. ARROW

SEASON SEVEN:

A season where Clark learns much more about himself and his Kryptonian background, when he meets his cousin Kara, who you probably know mostly as Supergirl. When Lana returns to Smallville, she reunites with Clark and begins dating him again. With an enemy in Brainiac from Clark and a enemy of Lex in Lana, fuses temper this season that deal with love, betrayal, and choices. Jimmy Olsen and Chloe Sullivan begin a unexpected relationship, as well. A big hit also happens in season seven: Lex buys the Daily Planet! Is this a sign that Clark will be working there soon? *HINT HINT*. This is also the final season for both Lex Luthor and Lana Lang.

Best Episodes of the Season:

1. Bizarro

2. Wrath

3. Antarctic

SEASON EIGHT:

One of the darkest seasons since the third, Doomsday comes to Smallville. Will this be the end of our beloved hero already? Facing odd blackouts from the newest character in the series, Davis, Chloe finds a strange helping in him and doesn't want to let go of him too easy. Clark, who believes Davis is a threat to Smallville and Metropolis, dukes out with Chloe all season who isn't going to let David die too quickly. But, when Doomsday destroys Chloe's dream wedding with Jimmy, also leading to his death, can Davis rid away of his curse? Or is his life going to have to be the sacrifice? Also: Clark says his last goodbyes to Lana Lang when a horrible occurrence drifts them apart forever.

Best Episodes of the Season:

1. Bloodline

2. Bride

3. Doomsday

SEASON NINE (My least favorite season of the series, to be honest):

When Watchtower opens, Clark and Chloe's partnership arises and the Blur continues to watch over Metropolis as its protector. Lois Lane becomes obsessed with anything on the Blur, Tess also becomes obsessed with Clark's origins as a Kryptonian. Clark also finds love in Lois Lane. FINALLY! Chloe feels disbanded to reunite with the Justice League team, where an epic two-hour episode takes place here in season nine. Wrecking havoc on Metropolis this time is General Zod. Can Clark convince other Kryptonians that Zod is leading them into the wrong choice or will he have to face an epic battle against them all in order to save the world? It all happens in season nine!

Best Episodes of the Season:

1. Savior

2. Absolute Justice Parts 1 and 2

3. Salvation

SEASON TEN:

It's the beginning of the end, with the final season of the epic ten-year series known only as, Smallville. With a marriage on the way between Clark and Lois, a Hero Registration Act brings people away from the heroes they once believed in, where Clark, Oliver, and others struggle to find their place against Slade. Awaiting a darkness coming from Darkseid as well, looking to be pointing fingers mostly at Oliver, a lot happens with Clark in his final step toward becoming the Man of Steel. Without giving too much away, Season Ten is an epic-conclusion to what has become my favorite series over the years.

Best Episodes of the Season:

1. Finale

2. Homecoming

3. Luthor

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One of the biggest attractions that lead me in every season is the awesome character development that comes from the show. I doubt anyone would stick with a TV series if they didn't care for any of the character, so without further a do I will present to you a description of just about every character in the Smallville Universe:

Clark Kent: (Seasons 1-10): Clark is obviously the main character of the series; he's the reason why we've all been watching the show the past ten years, to watch him walk down the path to where he finally puts on his red and blue tights and flies off as Superman. Clark in Smallville and Clark Kent in Superman are two different people. Clark is a strong man on the inside and he doesn't act all clumsy in order to hide away from his greatness. One of the biggest differences here is that Clark doesn't wear the glasses throughout the series. After being desperately in love with Lana Lang for years, Clark finds love and compassion in the daring Lois Lane, where the two share an epic TV romance for the last couple of years in the series. Clark's best friend is Pete in the first two seasons, where after that Chloe becomes his closest thing to a best friend. The son of Jor-El, Clark has a destiny that only he can fulfil. Struggling for ten long years to reach his fate, Clark finally becomes the hero he was destined to become: The Man of Steel.

Lex Luthor (Seasons 1-7): Known as Superman's greatest enemy, Lex remains a good friend of Clark's for the first few seasons of the show. Lex is a vile, aggressive, and obsessive man who tears away his relationship with Clark when trying to hard to dig into Clark's personal business--which could destroy Clark's secret. When the friendship between the two finds an ending, Lex does whatever he can do to attack Clark--one attack being where Lex falls in love with Lana Lang. After marrying Lana, the two have an emotional, violent falling and Lex is once again exiled from just about every character in Smallville. Duking it out with his father in just about every season for the power of LuthorCorp, Lex has a hard time keeping a father/son relationship with him, other than an untrusting one.

Chloe Sullivan (Seasons 1-10): Clark's superbly smart, "Lois Lane" kind of reporter (This was all before Lois entered the show) best friend, Chloe, introduces Clark to the "Wall of Weird" where they face against odd phenomenon's in Smallville that normally lead to battles against meteor freaks. Also being one to try and dig into Clark's secrets, Clark finds more trust in her than he does Lex Luthor. When Clark finally reveals his secret to Chloe, a little after Pete finds out, Chloe becomes the ultimate ally to Clark and if it wasn't for her, he'd barley be the hero he is in the series. Falling in love with Jimmy Olsen later in the series, Chloe is devastated when he is killed by Davis Bloom. This is Chloe's downfall and leads to her becoming the eyes and hears of what is called Watchtower. Bringing the Justice League together on more than one occasion, Chloe becomes a superwomen in of technology, literally being the biggest help to all heroes around the world. In season ten, Chloe falls in love with Oliver Queen, and the two end up marrying on a drunken night. Not being an actual character in the Superman Mythology, she was added in a couple of years ago as an official character of the Superman legacy.

Lana Lang: (Seasons 1-8): Clark's crush throughout the first seven seasons, fans across the nation always hoped for the two to find love together. Didn't fans realize she'd be out of Clark's life sooner or later, knowing he's destined to fall in love with Lois Lane? I won't lie, throughout the beginning of the season I too wished in some possible way Clark and Lana could screw with the mythology and be together. That was all until everything set in motion with Clark and Lois, of course. Lana is a weak character in the beginning, being the typical popular girl at school and boyfriend to the football captain. As the seasons go on, Lana becomes a kick-ass character that learns to take care of herself. In season eight, she is injected with kryptonite by Lex Luthor and must leave Smallville in order to keep Clark safe from her. Damn, what a sad episode that was.

Lois Lane (Seasons 4-10): Chloe's hilarious, bad-to-the-bone cousin comes to Smallville in the fourth season and instantly gets to know Clark when she moves in with him and his parents at their farmhouse during his senior year in high-school. Starting off with a sort of brother and sister kind of relationship, the two always bickering back and forth, as the seasons go on you start to see the flirtatiousness in Lois and attractions from Clark. In season nine, Clark sees his love for Lois, and the Blur really brings the two together. In season six, Lois was attracted to Oliver and soon found out he was the mysterious Green Arrow. When the two broke up, you knew that Lois and Clark were soon to be put together. Driven by the Red-Blue Blur (Clark's name before Superman), Clark has a hard time keeping his secret from Lois. When Clark kisses Lois as the Blue at the end of season nine, Lois pieces together that Clark is the Blur. In season ten, Clark proposes marriage to Lois and she becomes much more involved with his adventures toward his fated destiny as Superman.

Lionel Luthor: (Seasons 1-7. Returns in Season 10): The vicious father to Lex Luthor, Lionel is just as carnivore as his son. Being a big reason to most of the haste and crime in Metropolis, every character in the series is blackmailed by Lionel at least one throughout the series. Not being the biggest fan by everyone (especially Jonathan Kent), in the seventh season, Lionel actually becomes somewhat of an ally to Clark, being a huge protector to his secret. Murdered by his own son in the seventh season, Lionel returns in the tenth season, but from another universe where Lex is dead and Lionel is the one who found Clark in the fields on the day of the meteor shower. You can imagine how that might have gone.

Jonathan Kent: (Seasons 1-5): As the biggest role model to Clark, Jonathan works throughout Clark's high-school career to keep him safe from the world that could easily expose and destroys Clark's life with his secret. He is happily married to Martha Kent, and in the fifth season he runs for Senate of Kansas and wins. But, when Lana is killed after Clark proposes marriage to her, Jor-El allows Clark to shift back time and save Lana...but with a price. Not knowing his father's death would be in place of Lana's, Clark reaches his breaking-point. In season ten, Clark reunites with his father where he is warned of the darkness that is coming. He also returns in the other universe, but doesn't know Clark is his son, and hates him instead believing he is another Luthor. In the series finale, Jonathan is a somewhat inspiration and guidance to Clark, where he watches over Clark in his final moments as just a boy.

Martha Kent: (Seasons 1-6. Returns in Season 10): Mother to Clark Kent, her and her husband Jonathan found Clark as a boy on the day of the meteor shower and raised him as their own accepting his differences. After the tragic death of her husband, Martha takes over as senate of Kansas and leaves the farmhouse to Clark. In the ninth season, a Checkmate is formed and Clark soon learns that his mother is the Red Queen, all to protect him. In the tenth season, Martha is shot during a speech supporting the heroes of the world, where at this time people and the government are striking against superheroes as vigilantes. In this season, she also hands the deed of the farm over to Clark and Lois, where Clark decides to put it up for sale and move to Metropolis, taking one step closer to his Superhood. In the series finale, Martha is outraged at Clark for putting the farm up for sale, trying to remind him that forgetting everything in Smallville is the wrong way to go and that Smallville is the place that made him into the man he has become today.

Oliver Queen: (Seasons 6-10): LuthorCorp's biggest rival, Oliver Queen, is also a night-time vigilante known as Green Arrow. At first being a susp*cion to Clark, he soon becomes one of his most trusted allies and best of friends. After falling for and loosing Lois, Oliver is never jealous of her and Clark's romance later on. Regretfully feeling as the cause to the death of Jimmy Olsen, he has his ups and downs as feeling like a true hero. Having a past romance with Tess Mercer, the two really have tension in the eighth season when Tess is introduced to the show. In season ten, Oliver falls in love with Chloe and the two remain happy, and as a great superhero couple. Not having any superpowers, he manages to get by with his badass arrow equipment.

Tess Mercer (Seasons 8-10): Stepping in as LuthorCorp's owner with Lionel dead and Lex absent, she becomes the female version of Lex Luthor, pretty much as a fill-in snake of the series with the two other dead and gone. I've always questioned why Tess was so much like Lex, and it isn't until season ten where that is all answered, learning that Tess is a Luthor and brother to Lex. When loosing trust in Lex in the eighth season, her character changes throughout all three seasons. In season ten, Tess takes over Watchtower while Chloe is absent and becomes a trusted ally to Clark.

Pete (Seasons 1-2): Clark's best friend in the beginning of the series, Pete always has Clark's back no matter what and after discovering Clark's secret, Pete starts to feel a lot closer to the Kent family. But, when Pete starts to feel pressure with keeping Clark's secret sage, he struggles to protect Clark from everything he promised him. Leaving Smallville to get away from everything he's learned, Pete only makes one more appearance throughout the series in seven season, where he is infected with kryptonite-infected bubblegum. It was a lame episode, and a bad way to say our goodbyes to Pete.

Kara Kent: (Season Seven): Known mostly as Supergirl, Kara is Clark's cousin who helps him find his place in the world throughout the seventh season. Trying to help Clark fly in the season, it doesn't work out for the best, but she does become the Kyrptonian family to Clark that he has always wanted. Seeing Kara in the series was fun while it lasted, and she does continue to make an appearance her and there up to the finale. Kara returns for an episode in season eight where Clark learns she is hunting down the family bloodline. Kara also returns in season ten, where Oliver saves her, but learns destiny might just make him in control from Darksied.

Davis Bloom: (Season Eight): The biggest character of season eight becomes a curiosity to Chloe with his strange, random blackouts that also lead to death. Destined as the monster, Doomsday, scheduled to kill Superman, Clark begins to fear Davis and the safety of Metropolis. Davis, seemingly innocent throughout the season and as the wickedly innocent victim to his curse, lets fear get to the worst of him and he ends up killing Jimmy Olsen in the finale, a month or so after destroying Chloe's wedding. Turning into Doomsday in the season eight finale, Clark and Doomsday duke it out in an epic battle an Clark Wins! Sure, in the real legacy, Superman dies but everyone should know by now: Smallville doesn't follow every pattern as the Superman mythology does.

These characters in the series have made Smallville a thrilling, fun, explosive ride for ten years. If it wasn't for the character development thanks to the Superman legacies, and writers behind some of the new ones, Smallville probably wouldn't have been as successful as it was. So, a big kudos to that!

One of the biggest pluses that came from the series finale isn't the epic conclusion where Clark finally becomes the Superman we knew he'd become, but it was able to see Lex Luthor once again! All throughout this season, fans have wondered if Michael Rosenbaum would return to the series for the ending. When we all found out that he was signed on for it, I think everyone knew Smallville would be ending perfectly and without any holes. One question arose though since Lex has assumedly died in the eighth season: How would Lex be returning to Smallville? Didn't he die in season eight? Is it going to be Lex's clone instead? If you remember in the season nine episode, "Absolute Justice", Clark was tipped that Lex was still alive but he never really took much from it. Throughout this season, its all been set-up that Lex would probably be returning as a clone. But, in the end, how does it all happen? In the series finale, Lionel sells his soul to Darksied and gives up his heart for Lx0, in order to give Lex a second chance at life. Lex is back, returning to his bantering ways with Clark, and even though it's the end for us, its really just the beginning for them.

The scene in the finale where Clark sees Lex for the first time since the seventh season finale was not just the most epic highlight in the episode, but one of the best moments in the entire series. Lex and Clark literally strike up the conversation that pulls the trigger on the destiny they have fated together. "Our history together hasn't even been writing yet." says Lex. "I will always be there to stop you, Lex." says Clark, and with an epic reply from Luthor, "Oh. I count on it". I can say that I have deeply missed these conversations between Lex and Clark since the seventh season. They were always written so tensely and perfect with rich, deep dialog. Since Rosenbaum left, the past three seasons have felt a little empty. One of the best qualities of the series was the chemistry between the two, because Rosenbaum and Tom Welling do have excellent chemistry. Seeing them in this short, but superbly big scene was a great little way to end the Clark Kent story, and begin the Superman one. Without this scene, the finale probably wouldn't have been as well-fitting or suiting.

Another great moment in the finale was the memory scene where Jor-El shows Clark all of his big achievements over the past ten years, leading to Clark finally gaining the ability to fly off and stop Apocalypse from entering Earth's atmosphere. Looking back on all of the memories from past episodes was epic and emotionally sad. I thought it was all crafted perfectly, and it honestly almost brought tears to my face finally realizing this epic journey was over....and only memories now would be able to satisfy me. That moment where Clark was flying, I'm not sure about you, but I had a huge smile on my face.

The first hour of the finale focuses more on love and fate than it does stopping Darksied from releasing Apocalypse, and it was absolutely beautiful. The scene where you hear Clark's vows to Lois and Lois's vows to Clark was breathtaking and the writing was fantastic. I also loved Jonathan Kent's ghost sequence where Clark is talking to him at his grave and he is there to guide Clark into the right direction to his fate. The big picture that Clark is supposed to learn from everything in this episode is to never forget everything that happened in Smallville, and watching every character try and make Clark realize this throughout the finale was great.

I thought the episode starting off showing years later from the finale was crafted pretty well. Showing Chloe with what appears to be her son, who you can also assume is Oliver's, telling the story of Clark from a comic-book entitled Smallville was pretty damn cool. From the start of the finale, you then know that Chloe might not be killed off, where a lot of people where expecting her to die. A character that was killed off, however, was Tess Mercer, which I actually never saw coming. Thinking Tess was a bitch in her first two seasons, I was actually kind of bummed when she died. Her last year on the show made her a likeable character. She went out really quick too, taking a blade to the stomach from her brother Lex Luthor. But, that doesn't mean she didn't go out like a badass. Whipping away Lex's memories of literally everything (Clark's secret, especially) was AWESOME and one of the best conclusions the show could have offered. The show cutting back to the years later thing, we even see a peak of Lex Luthor as President in the year 2018. I thought that was pretty sweet, as well. Seeing Perry White's name in the Daily Planet and Jimmy Olsen was quite the surprise too, and I thought Smallville did an excellent job bringing that all in. Clark Kent is also clumsy as ever in this time period, as he should be, and is still in love with Lois (She just knows of his secret, that's the only big difference). The series concluding with a cheesy Clark running off the Daily Planet rooftop and starting to take his shirt off in slow-motion was a great way to end it, making me think of the classic Superman stories from the 50s.

Ten years, folks. An entire decade I've spent watching Smallville and I don't regret a single minute of it. All of it, all of the adventures have come down to this epic final moment where I'm sure all us fans are pleased. There will always be more Superman stories to tell, but never again will we see a Smallville story featuring Tom Welling. It aches me knowing now that Smallville has reached its destiny. Seeing Clark put on that suit for the last ten minutes was damn epic, and it made me want Smallville to last another five seasons. Never has a series finale hit me so hard with emotion. Not even the "Lost" finale. Smallville, you will be missed, dearly.

"Never forget Smallville"-Jonathan Kent, Smallville Finale.

Don't worry...I won't. I promise.

-Screeny