Smallville is back! 10 years later, they’re back airing their final season. This is it. This is the season he finally flies. It’s the season the suit finds its way onto his body. Here he finally faces…Darkseid?
YES, Darkseid seems to be the big bad of the ultimate season of the show about the big blue Boy Scout. That’s probably the biggest draw this season, as he’s probably Superman’s greatest foe after Lex.
Somehow, there are big expectations for this season. I can tell you, this was the first season I would have considered myself excited for since the beginning of season 7 (which turned out to be an awful season…just like Season 8…). But do they live up to these crazy expectations? Check out the review after the cut!
In order to make it a bit easier to get out my thoughts, I’m going to adopt The Good/The Bad/The WTF. There was a little of everything here. While this episode was mostly good, it still doesn’t quite shake the hokeyness that can sometimes befall the show.
The Good: If you didn’t know, by now, Erica Durance is the best Lois I’ve ever seen. She’s headstrong, she’s funny, she’s jawdroppingly gorgeous, and she’s the perfect foil for Tom Welling, who can sometimes get lost in the role. She plays off his personality with just the right amount of enthusiasm and sarcasms, and I wouldn’t be surprised if she became a very influential role in the mythos of Superman.
Another moment of awesome was the inclusion of Cadmus Labs. Another bit of Lex’s legacy from before he met Clark, we saw just some of the projects going on in the mysterious lab. This little shop of horrors had a top shelf level of creepiness, from the dark room Tess finds herself in, to the failed experiments lining the walls. This was a place you did not want to be, and they did a great job of making it that way. It also foreshadowed the return of one of Lex, and while that didn’t QUITE live up to expectations, it was spectacular ambiance. Put simply, Lex is a total creep now.
The teasing of Clark’s rise to Superman was definitely a nice touch. He wasn’t in the suit yet, but there’s a definite reason why he’s not flying to wearing the suit. He needs to learn to not be so prideful and let it go to his head. This is certainly an important part of the Superman persona, and Clark as we know him isn’t the most humble of characters. He needs to be tempered and stop THINKING he’s the hero if he’s going to BE the Hero. That makes sense right? Of course it does.
Another great moment was seeing the return of John Schneider as Pa Kent. I firmly believe he was taken from us too soon on the series (would you believe it’s been almost 100 episodes since he died?). Here he provides the perfect counterpoint to Jor-El admittedly heavy handed parenting. He’s an encouraging as Jor-El is nasty. It was a really bittersweet moment over all, as I really missed his guiding hand. I hope he shows up more often in this Obi-Wan sort of role. That would be a treat.
The Bad: Let’s face it; it makes NO sense for a defunct newspaper from Smallville to be in the files over at the Daily Planet. Chloe’s not a reporter there anymore, and I doubt anyone would care to maintain it like it seemed it had been meticulously done. When I see Lois fishing around the Torch on her computer like its normal, I thought it was absolutely ridiculous rife with convenient storytelling.
While we had a classic moment between Lex (albeit a clone) and Clark, I felt that Clone!Lex’s plan to make him save Lois OR the Daily Planet logo was a complete miss. First of all, it’s been done a thousand times before, and secondly, the special effects did not pull it off. It was shiny, sure, but it was also really clunky to look at. The whole thing looked sadly dated, and it took me out of an otherwise excellent feat of “The Blur’s” strength. Third, this continues the problem I have with Lex’s character. He used to be beautifully conflicted and ambiguous, but now he might as well have a moustache to twirl.
Continued belowThen there was the fact Ollie was mysteriously taken out the story for some unknown reason. He tortured and beaten for no real reason and we never really find out why! Will we find out? We better. This better not go down and an unresolved issue, like Supergirl’s random migraine.
The WTF: Like I just said in “The Bad,” there was an odd moment when we saw Oliver kidnapped. We don’t really know WHY he was, or even where he went. All we know is that the US seems to have kidnapped him and beaten him to a bloody pulp. Yeah…ok.
Then there is the Attack of the Clones. The villain of the episode just happened to be an evil and demented (not to mention aged!) clone of Lex who once again twirled his moustache while trying to torture the Man of Steel. Really? This is what we get? Lame. Baby Lex is kind of adorable, but, why? Why is the Lex we know “dead?” I hope the reports of his demise are greatly exaggerated…because otherwise, it’s incredibly irritating.
OMGWTF DARKSEID DUSTCLOUD?! This one has the potential to be amazing; I just don’t know how to process it just yet. I just don’t know.
Overall: It was a really entertaining episode with just a few hiccups and head scratching moments. It actually feels good to be a Smallville watcher again. And that’s a weird realization.
Final Verdict: 7.0 — Tune in
