CHRISTMAS 2017 REVIEW: SMALLVILLE – THE CHRISTMAS EPISODES

MAIN CAST

Tom Welling (The Fog)
Kristin Kreuk (Beauty and The Beast)
Michael Rosenbaum (Cursed)
Erica Durance (The Butterfly Effect 2)
Allison Mack (Riese)
John Glover (Batman & Robin)
Annette O’Toole (IT)
John Schneider (The Dukes of Hazzard)
Aaron Ashmore (The Skulls 2)

LEXMAS

GUEST CAST

Kenneth Welsh (The Day After Tomorrow)
Alisen Down (Stargate Universe)
Adrian Holmes (Cabin In The Woods)
Jerry Wasserman (Watchmen)

Lex drives into a dark alley to meet Griff, who is being paid to do whatever Lex wants to destroy Jonathan in the race for State Senator. Lex hesitates and says that he wants 24 hours to decide if he wants to go down that path. As he heads for his car, he is mugged and shot, and left for dead in the street.

Lex’s Dream: It is Christmas Eve. Lex wakes up, shocked to see a very pregnant Lana in bed next to him. He also has a young son, Alexander. Lex lifts up his shirt and sees the scar on his side from the gun shot. His dead mother, Lillian, appears to Lex and says that it is not a dream and this can be his life if he makes the right choices. Lex is then seen to be lying unconscious in an alley.

Reality: At the farm, the Kents are getting ready for Christmas, and Clark has invited Lana to spend it with them. Clark gets an urgent call from Chloe, who is still at the Planet . The scene shifts to Lex being transported to the hospital as the doctors try to save his life. He slips back into his dream.

Lana says that it has been seven years since Lionel cut Lex out of the family fortune. He takes his son to go buy a Christmas tree. At the tree farm, Lex sees Clark and Chloe. Clark is now a full-fledged reporter at the Daily Planet and Chloe is publishing a book next month exposing LuthorCorp with Lex’s help.

In reality, Lionel is speaking with the doctors at the Hospital and demands to speak to the doctor in charge in order to push a risky surgery. In Metropolis, Clark meets Chloe at the Planet, and she explains that her Teamsters went on strike, and the thousands of presents they collected for Toys for Tots will be undelivered unless he helps her out. Clark agrees to help her distribute the toys. While zipping through the city, he sees a man dressed in a Santa Claus costume about to jump off a building with a liquor bottle in his hand. He says he was going to jump because the Christmas spirit is dead. Clark objects and tells him about how he gave up his first Christmas with Lana to help Chloe deliver toys. When Santa falls off, Clark saves him and sends him on his way. Dr. Scanlan explains to Lionel that Lex will most likely be paralyzed from the chest down because he is too unstable for surgery or transfer. Despite this, Lionel transfers Lex to the Davis Clinic in Metropolis for immediate but extremely risky surgery.

In the alternate reality, Lex and Lana Luthor go to the party at the Kents’ house. Jonathan Kent is now the current State Senator. He says that Lex is the best man he knows and announces that Lex will receive the Kansas Humanitarian Award. Lex steps outside where his mother’s spirit is. He marvels that he’s never been happier and she tells him that he could have this happiness in reality if he makes the right choice. He doesn’t understand but when he asks for more information, she disappears. Clark approaches and muses that he and Lana didn’t work out because Lex became a man she could love. However, they are still on good terms. Their conversation is interrupted by Martha, who reports that Lana has gone into labor. Lana delivers a baby girl on Christmas Eve. However, she starts to rapidly lose blood. Lex goes to Lionel in the Luthor Mansion to beg for resources to save his wife, but Lionel refuses to help them because Lex betrayed him seven years ago by dropping out of the Senate race. He tells him that he has no son. Lana dies and Lillian appears again. Lex tells her that he doesn’t want this alternate reality because everyone he’s ever loved has died. Reality: The man dressed as Santa Claus appears at the Daily Planet and offers to help Chloe with the gifts because Clark was willing to give up his Christmas with Lana. After Chloe reluctantly accepts Santa’s help, he and all the presents disappear. Back at the Kents’ party, Chloe tells Clark about the presents disappearing and says she thinks that he may have possibly been Santa Claus. Clark and Lana spend their first Christmas together as it snows. Lex wakes up with Lionel at his bedside. He is upset with Lionel for ordering surgery with very low odds of survival, asking him, “How dare you play God with my life?” When Griff asks Lex what his choice was, Lex decides that he will do anything it takes to win the Senate race. Lex says his only wish is to live happily ever after and the key to that is money and power because “once you have those two things, you can secure everything else.” In her reflection in the window, Lillian cries over the choice Lex just made and then disappears.

An amazing episode, its basically a dark version of It’s A Wonderful life showing what could of happened if Lex had taken different choices, but as he awakes he’s learnt to take what he wants. The Santa story was fun Chloe left wondering if it really was Santa.

GEMINI

GUEST CAST

Michael Cassidy (Argo)
Tim Guinee (Iron Man)

Lois Lane and Grant Gabriel are kissing in a storage closet in the Daily Planet. She tells him that she doesn’t want to write the Lex Luthor exposé since it might raise eyebrows about her relationship with Grant. However, Grant says that Lex requested her. Meanwhile, Chloe Sullivan is trying to call Clark Kent, who has been missing for two weeks. Chloe has been covering for him in his absence, explaining that he is in Minnesota, but she is starting to get worried. Lois catches up with Chloe, who gives her all her research on LuthorCorp. While looking through the papers, Lois hears a phone ringing. Despite the fact that it doesn’t belong to her, she answers it and hears a mysterious caller tell her that Chloe has a bomb on her. If she doesn’t stop ignoring him, Chloe will die.

At the Luthor Mansion, Lex is fencing with Grant. Grant asks Lex to request that someone else besides Lois write the article since Lois has a way of uncovering significant facts, but Lex denies having anything to hide. Even though Grant seems to be concerned, Lex affirms that he always wins. The caller, whose name is Adrian Cross, is talking to Lois, telling her that he is an escaped clone from LuthorCorp. His body is aging at a rapid rate and he expects to die very soon. While she is talking to him, Lois attempts to send Chloe an e-mail to warn her, but her internet line is cut. Adrian calls her again and warns her not to disobey him. Frightened, Lois looks around the basement of the Daily Planet for men on phones. She spots a suspicious-looking delivery man and follows him into a secluded room, then attacks him. However, the man is innocent and he begins to walk away. He falls back toward Lois, dead from being stabbed with a pair of scissors. Lois’ cell phone rings and Adrian warns her to keep her mouth shut. Clark suddenly reappears on the Kent Farm to find Lana in the barn. He reveals that he was unable to find Kara. Lana tells him she has decided to stop obsessing over Lex, but Clark says he wants to see what she’s uncovered. She takes Clark to her secret room in the Isis Foundation, now filled with non-functioning surveillance equipment. Clark finds a folder on Project Scion and Lana shows him the vial filled with black liquid that she thought she destroyed when she wrecked his lab. Clark tells her that she couldn’t have destroyed alien technology, so she decides to show him more. Lois is still attempting to warn Chloe about the bomb. This time, she tries to get a woman to deliver a manila envelope to Chloe which has the warning written on the back. The woman hands the letter to Chloe, who tells Lois that Clark is back and she is leaving to go visit him. At this time, Lois receives a text message from Adrian, warning Lois not to tell Chloe anything. Chloe suspects that something is bothering Lois, but Lois doesn’t say anything.

 

Lana takes Clark to a LuthorCorp lab where Project Scion was tested and shows him Casey Brock, a woman who was found suffering from toxic levels of metal poisoning. Overnight, the amount of metal in her bloodstream dropped dramatically, meaning that whatever was in her bloodstream had left. Clark states that her incoherent speech patterns are actually Kryptonian and writes down what she is murmuring. Jimmy and Chloe both get into an elevator and share an awkward moment. They recall a Christmas party last year, when Chloe was still dating Jimmy. Chloe turns the envelope over and reads Lois’ warning message about the bomb. At this moment, the elevator suddenly brakes, trapping Chloe and Jimmy with the bomb.

Meanwhile, Lois notices an “out of service” sign on the elevator. She begins to walk toward it, but is stopped by Adrian, who is holding the detonator in his hand and demanding his story. In the elevator, Chloe empties her pocketbook to search for the bomb. She finds It, disguised as Chloe’s Secret Santa gift. Back in a Daily Planet office, Lois is showing Adrian her article about LuthorCorp’s first clone. Adrian tells her about his family and his Christmas memories, then reveals that they were all fictitious memories downloaded into his brain. Lois promises to publish the story if Adrian will let Chloe go, but Adrian has another mission for Lois. She must force Lex to confess what he’s done. Chloe is trying to call Clark in the elevator, but Jimmy is annoyed that Chloe would call Clark before she would call 911. The cell phone breaks when Chloe accidentally drops it.

Lois goes to her interview with Lex wearing a hidden camera and a device in her ear which allows Adrian to talk to her. If she can’t get a confession from Lex, Adrian will kill Chloe. At the same time, Clark and Lana go to the Daily Planet to see if Chloe can translate the code that Casey Brock was mumbling, but they can’t find her. Grant and Lex are both waiting for Lois, but they are surprised with her first question, a demand to know about Project Gemini. Adrian is still communicating with her through her earpiece, telling her exactly what to do. Lex claims he doesn’t have anything to do with cloning and he denies knowing a man named Adrian. Adrian orders Lois to aim a gun at Grant to get Lex to confess. Lois begins ranting about Adrian’s life story. Lex knocks her out and finds the hidden camera she was wearing. Shortly after, Adrian enters and tells Lex and Grant about more of his memories. Grant soon realizes that they have the exact same memories, even talking about their past experiences simultaneously. Adrian also says that they have the same DNA and history, only Adrian was a failed experiment and Grant was a successful one. In an outburst of anger, Lex shoots and kills Adrian, saying he was just a mistake. In his last seconds of life, Adrian presses the button on the bomb’s detonator. In a state of panic, Chloe and Jimmy bang on the elevator door, but no one can hear them. Thinking she is about to die, she confesses to Jimmy that she is a meteor freak. They share one last kiss as the detonater ticks down to the final seconds. In the basement of the Daily Planet, Lana turns on Lois’ computer screen and sees the email that Lois attempted to send Chloe, warning her about the bomb. Clark uses his super-hearing to locate the sound of the bomb, then he runs to the staircase, soars to an upper floor and superspeeds to the rescue. He opens the elevator door and finds Chloe and Jimmy kissing before he throws the bomb off the building roof, where it explodes harmlessly. Chloe and Jimmy are stunned to find that they are unharmed with the elevator doors open and many people staring at them.After Lois wakes up, Lex tells her that Chloe is fine, but Lois says she will expose his project to the world. Lex retorts by telling Lois that she has no evidence, and he recently bought the Daily Planet. Since he is now Lois’ boss, there is no way she can write the article.

 Jimmy catches up with Chloe and they talk about what happened. He wishes Chloe trusted him more to tell him about her meteor infection, but Chloe just says she had trouble accepting herself. Chloe demonstrates her powers for him by healing a cut on his finger. Even though this was not a major injury, Chloe still feels some slight internal pain from using her healing powers. Jimmy promises to keep Chloe’s powers a secret. While Lex is receiving the acquisition papers for the Daily Planet, Grant enters his office, sarcastically congratulating him for purchasing the Daily Planet. He is sick of always being under Lex’s control and is outraged for being nothing more than an experiment. Lex declares that all he wanted was a family, but Grant is anxious to break free from his control. Later, Grant visits Lois at the Talon apartment. Contrary to her first impression, she is not fired, in fact, Lex requested that she stay. Grant then breaks up with Lois, since he thinks their relationship is too complicated, especially after what happened today.Back at the Kent Farm, Chloe and Clark discuss the possibility of the Brain InterActive Construct’s return. The Kryptonian code Clark wrote down was an error message that a system encounters when it can’t boot up. Each time the code repeats, it learns from its mistakes and is getting closer to actually loading. Clark warns Chloe that the black fluid has evolved into technology willing to kill. Once Chloe leaves and Lana returns home, Clark and Lana share a warm moment. As they embrace, Clark’s face flashes white and his skin distorts, revealing that “Clark” has actually been Bizarro the entire time. Meanwhile, the real Clark is frozen in the Fortress of Solitude.

A great Christmas episode especially for Chloe and Jimmy, and that shocker ending when you find out Lana has been talking to Bizarro all the time and not Clark is just amazing.

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REVIEW: SMALLVILLE: ABOSOLUTE JUSTICE

MAIN CAST

Tom Welling (The Fog)
Allison Mack (American Odyssey)
Erica Durance (The Butterfly Effect 2)
Cassidy Freeman (The Vampire Diaries)
Justin Hartley (This Is Us)

RECURRING / NOTABLE GUEST CAST

Pam Grier (Jackie brown)
Phil Morris (Star Trek III)
Alessandra Juliani (Man of Steel)
Michael Shanks (Stargate SG.1)
Brent Stait (Androemda)
Britt Irvin (V)
Wesley MacInnes (The Phantoms)

As Chloe Sullivan tries to get in touch with Clark Kent, she finds herself cornered in an alleyway by a man named Sylvester Pemberton, who is wielding a staff that has the ability to control light. As Sylvester attempts to inform Chloe that he is a friend, an assassin known as Icicle attacks and Sylvester is ultimately killed. Chloe and Clark go to the hospital to investigate the truth behind Sylvester, which ultimately leads them to the Daily Planet archive room. There, Clark and Chloe discover documents and an old 16 mm film that identifies Sylvester as part of a team of “criminals”, which includes: Carter Hall, Kent Nelson, Jay Garrick, Alan Scott, Ted Grant, Abigail Hunkel, Wesley Dodds, and Al Pratt. In the documentary footage, Sylvester and the rest of his team are systematically arrested, but because of allegations of jury tampering, falsified evidence, and lack of connection all of the individuals are released.

While Clark and Chloe are looking into the criminal group, Icicle tracks down and kills Wesley Dodds. Following Dodds’ death, Clark tracks down Carter Hall, believing him to be Icicle’s next target. Clark finds Hall at a museum; he also finds Kent Nelson, who is mumbling incoherently to himself and clutching onto a small bag. Using his X-ray vision, Clark sees a helmet inside the bag, which turns on its own and looks back at Clark. Having enough of Clark’s questions, Carter sends Clark on his way. Meanwhile, Chloe sends Oliver Queen after Sylvester’s staff. Unfortunately, high school sophomore Courtney Whitmore has already taken the staff. Before Oliver can get the staff from her, Kent shows up and uses the staff to teleport both him and Courtney back to the museum. Here, it is revealed that Sylvester’s team was actually a group of superheroes led by Carter Hall, who went by the codename “Hawkman”. The group called themselves the “Justice Society of America”. Courtney, who was Sylvester’s protégé, Kent and Carter band together to find Sylvester’s killer. As such, Kent places the Helmet of Nabu back on and transforms into “Doctor Fate”.

After investigating Dodds and Pemberton’s deaths, Clark and Chloe believe they have located the killer at the psychiatric ward of Metropolis General Hospital. When they arrive, they find the individual, Joar Mahkent, in a vegetative state and Doctor Fate reading his mind. Doctor Fate then sees Clark’s fate and teleports Clark and himself to the museum. Meanwhile, the real assassin is revealed to be Joar’s son, who is killing the Justice Society members for putting his father in that vegetative state decades earlier. Hired by an organization known as Checkmate, and instructed by Agent Amanda Waller, Icicle sets his sights on Courtney. Oliver tracks down Courtney—who calls herself “Stargirl”—and realizes that she is setting herself up as bait to lure Icicle out. Icicle arrives, but Oliver interrupts Courtney’s plan. As a result, Hawkman grabs Oliver, throws him through the Watchtower window, and then threatens to do worse if Oliver interferes again.

Meanwhile, Checkmate sends Lois Lane an anonymous package that provides her with the truth about the Justice Society. Clark awakens at the museum, where Doctor Fate informs Clark that his fate is to lead a new generation of superheroes, and that he will one day conquer his greatest enemy, Lex Luthor. Oliver and John Jones show up at the museum to rescue Clark, unaware that Hawkman, Doctor Fate, and Stargirl are actually heroes. Banding together, the group splits up into pairs to locate Icicle. While on patrol, Doctor Fate and John Jones are attacked by Icicle. Before Doctor Fate is killed, he uses his abilities to restore John’s Martian powers. While John lies unconscious, Icicle steals Doctor Fate’s helmet and acquires the powers that go with it.

Clark and the others regroup at Watchtower, where Icicle arrives to kill the rest of the Justice Society and avenge his father. At first, Clark, Hawkman, Stargirl, and Green Arrow have trouble taking down Icicle and his new abilities. When John arrives, the group is finally able to defeat Icicle. Afterward, Carter tells Clark that he and Courtney have located the surviving members of the Justice Society, their children, and their protégés in order to build a new team of superheroes for today’s generation. Back at the Daily Planet, Lois publishes her article on the Justice Society, revealing them to be a team of superheroes who were lambasted by the government, and falsely imprisoned. Icicle is transported back to Checkmate, where Agent Waller subsequently kills him after informing Icicle that he was a part of the new Suicide Squad. Afterward, Tess Mercer is revealed to be an agent of Checkmate.

To sum things up the people involved in this episode’s creation did a great job, the performers included. The cold blooded killer was scary. Some dialogs were smart, others hilarious, specially Green Arrow’s ones, and I’m sure the references for comics fans were numerous. There were also plenty of intriguing developments.

REVIEW: SMALLVILLE – THIRST

MAIN CAST

Tom Welling (The Fog)
Kristin Kreuk (Beauty and The Beast)
Michael Rosenbaum (Cursed)
Allison Mack (The Ant Bully)

GUEST

Carrie Fisher (Star Wars)
James Marsters (Buffy)
Brooke Nevin (Infestation)

Chloe is at the Daily Planet headquarters in Metropolis interviewing for a job with the new editor-in-chief, Pauline Kahn. Ms. Kahn is unimpressed with the column Chloe wrote in high school and tells her that Lionel’s arm-twisting is the only reason she ever got the opportunity. She dismisses Chloe, but Chloe tells her that she doesn’t expect special treatment and is willing to work her way up to the top. Pauline Kahn tells her that she will consider hiring her if she produces a good story. Switch to Chloe’s narration as she continues to work on her report on the Tri-Psi sorority. At their sorority house, a pizza boy arrives and the girls invite him into the hot tub. During the make-out session, the girls suddenly start biting him, he begins to scream and the water turns blood red.

Clark goes to visit Lana at her theater and then steps into her apartment to find her packing. She tells him that she’s applied for late acceptance to Met U, but there is no longer any housing available, so she is considering a sorority. Clark is disappointed and suggests her go to CKU with him, but she assures him that nothing will change between them. Clark is in Professor Milton Fine’s history course. After the lecture, Professor Fine is approached by Lex Luthor. Lex accuses him of researching certain LuthorCorp projects that have yet to gain public knowledge. He asks him if Clark Kent is providing the information, but Fine denies Clark’s involvement. Lex reminds Fine that he has great influence in the CKU review board.

The Tri-Psi sorority head, Buffy Sanders introduces her group as the prettiest and most exclusive sorority. Lana is one of the pledges and is surprised to find out that she is the only one that has been picked to join. They tell her that there is one more initiation ritual, and it is revealed that the entire sorority are vampires. They bite Lana and she becomes part of the sisterhood. Fine goes to the Mansion and tells Lex that he doesn’t have to investigate his past, because he will provide him with anything he wants to know. He gives Lex a file on himself and tells Lex that he knows he is using funding from the University to conduct LuthorCorp experiments. Lex seems to back off, but when Fine leaves, Lex sends a guard to follow him.

Chloe’s roommate Karen is dismantling her mini version of the Wall of Weird when she arrives home. She is angry about the wall, and even angrier that Lana Lang is asleep in Chloe’s bed. Karen storms away and Chloe tries to revive Lana. She is groggy and lethargic, and Chloe thinks she is hungover from the pledge party. Clark arrives and Chloe leaves her in his care. He asks if she’s feeling ok and she says she’s fine and starts making out with him. Clark is surprised and confused by her aggressive advances and she gets annoyed by his reluctance and leaves. The guard finds Professor Fine at Warehouse 15. When he approaches and says he shouldn’t be touching what isn’t his, but Fine claims otherwise. He extends a metal projectile from his hand, kills the guard, and goes back to examining the Black Ship.
.Chloe’s investigation continues and she reports that Lana and her new friends have fun throwing each other off the house’s balcony and getting drunk. Clark is worried about Lana’s strange behavior and Chloe tells him that she’s been investigating the sorority and has uncovered some strange details. None of the sisters ever leave the sorority, and it is the most exclusive one on campus. She makes a plan to infiltrate their Halloween party and brings Clark along. They split up to locate Lana. Clark ducks into a bedroom where Buffy catches him rummaging. She orders him to leave, but she is distracted by someone at her door. When she turns back to Clark, he is gone. Chloe finds Lana dancing and making out with other boys and pulls her to the side. She asks her about how she’s been acting and Lana bites her. Chloe calls Clark for help and he uses his super-hearing to find her. He arrives to catch Chloe just as she passes out, astonished to see Lana standing over her with a mouth full of bloody, pointed teeth. Clark takes Chloe to the hospital where the doctor reports that she has a rare strain of the rabies virus which is preventing her red blood cells from regenerating. They can treat her but they don’t know the cure. Professor Fine arrives at the hospital, claiming to be visiting a sick colleague. He asks about Chloe’s condition and Clark admits that he thinks she was attacked by a vampire. Fine looks at Chloe’s chart and tells him to ask Lex about Project 1138.

Back at the Tri-Psi sorority, the other girls are mad at Lana for leaving a victim alive. They tell her that Clark was snooping around and she has to clean up her mess by bringing him back so they can finish him off, or Lana will be the one they feed off instead. Clark goes to the Luthor Mansion and demands that Lex tell him about the Project. Lex leads Clark into the library carrying a metal briefcase. He explains that six years ago, Buffy Sanders was trapped outside Smallville in a cave but was rescued by LuthorCorp. The cave was found to contain meteor rock-infected stalactites that had mutated the vampire bats living there. A LuthorCorp worker was also bitten and developed vampire-like symptoms like strength, fangs, and light sensitivity, but they were able to cure him. He opens the case to reveal vials of the serum, kept active by a large fragment of meteor rock. Clark starts to feel ill and backs away just as an overhead window breaks. Lana appears and jumps to the floor. She knocks Lex out and attacks Clark. Clark is weakened by the kryptonite and Lana bites him. After sucking his blood, she is able to shoot heat from her eyes. Clark is able to grab one of the syringes with the antidote in it before Lana takes him back to the sorority house.

The girls lay him on the hearth of the fireplace and prepare to feed on him. Lana doesn’t want to kill him and suggests they just turn him into a vampire as well. The girls explain there is no room for him in a sorority. Buffy doesn’t care what Lana wants and when Lana stands in her way, she knocks her to the floor. Buffy then tries to kill Lana, but she uses her heat vision to vaporize Buffy and the other vampires run away in fear. Lana prepares to turn Clark into a vampire but he is able to stab her heart with the antidote and restore her to normal. Clark and Lana are walking along campus when he tentatively asks how much she remembered. She admits that it’s all a little fuzzy, but she remembers biting him and says she felt his love for her and his strength. She says she misses being with him. Clark goes to the Luthor Mansion to thank Lex for saving the girls’ lives. Lex gets Clark to admit that Professor Fine is the one who told him about Project 1138 and tells him that Fine is obtaining highly classified documents. He warns Clark to stay away from Fine.

Chloe’s report concludes with the knowledge that all the girls were cured, including herself. Her roommate transferred, so Lana was able to move in with her. She gives the article to Pauline Kahn, but Kahn claims that they don’t print tabloid stories. Chloe counters with the research she did for the article including interviews, CDC reports, and eyewitness accounts. Kahn changes her mind, says that Chloe has potential, and agrees to hire her. Chloe is thrilled to start her dream career in the basement of the Daily Planet.

A strange episode for Smallville, it is probably the weakest episode out of all 10 seasons, but it is still intriguing. Carrie Fisher is the highlight of the episode , thou many believe she should of got a bigger part. James Marsters shines as he all does in the part of Brainiac. Kristin Kreuk sexing it up as vampire was fun to see. all in all an okay episode and worth watching over Halloween.

REVIEW: SMALLVILLE – SPELL

MAIN CAST

Tom Welling (The Fog)
Kristin Kreuk (Beauty and The Beast)
Michael Rosenbaum (Cursed)
Jensen Ackles (Supernatural)
Allison Mack (The Ant Bully)
Annette O’ Toole (Superman 3)
John Schneider (Nip/Tuck)
Erica Durance (The Butterfly Effect 2)

In France in 1604, three women, Countess Margaret Isobel Thoreaux, Madelyn Hibbins, and Brianna Withridge, are about to be burned at the stake, after having been convicted of practicing witchcraft. The leader, Isobel, is approached by Magistrate Wilkins, and she asks him if he has come to enjoy his handiwork. He then strikes her across the face and tells her she may yet escape the pyre’s flames if she tells him of the three stones of power. When she asks for her spellbook, she spits blood onto the marked page, directly onto an illustration that is identical to the tattoo on Lana Lang’s back. She casts a Latin spell and a tattoo identical to Lana’s appears on her back. As the three witches are burned, Isobel curses the crowd and vows to rise again, stating that the stones and vengeance will be hers.

In Smallville, Lana and Jason are sitting by the fire in her Talon apartment. She shows him a spellbook belonging to the Countess Thoreaux, saying she maxed out her credit card to buy it on eBay. When Lana touches the page stained with Isobel’s blood, the fire roars up and her eyes shine violet as Isobel possesses her body. When Jason asks if Lana is all right, she says she’s never been better. Lois pulls up outside the Kent barn carrying boxes of party decorations. She informs Clark that the barn is the new venue for Chloe’s upcoming surprise birthday party the next day. Clark objects, saying his parents are out of town and he has a representative from Princeton University coming to visit. Lois doesn’t care and begins to unload the party goods.
Lois and Chloe show up at Lana’s apartment, where they find her doing a strange chemistry experiment, making some sort of potion. Lois notices Lana’s behavior and reminds her that it’s her job to keep Chloe busy until the party. Lana/Isobel, preoccupied with her ingredient list, waves Lois off. The next ingredient on the list is “hair of two virgins.” She takes a hair out of her own head, then one from Lois. Lois’ turns out to be unacceptable, so when they leave, Lana heads out to find another virginal hair. She walks into the Kent home to find Clark wrapping a large present. She offers to help him with it, then proceeds to try and kiss Clark. Confused, he backs away. Lana sidles up to him and, using the gift-wrapping shears, tries to cut a lock of his hair off. The scissors break and Clark asks what she’s doing. She sputters that she needs a lock of his hair for a scrapbook she’s making. Annoyed, Clark gives her some of his hair and she promptly leaves to get the next ingredient on her list.
At the Luthor mansion, Lana/Isobel observes Lex practicing his piano-playing. She asks Lex if he has any vintage wine, “for the party”. Lex produces a bottle, but then Isobel notices the manuscript displayed in Lex’s study. Angry, she casts a spell that makes it disappear, then freezes Lex in place. Explaining that the map wasn’t meant for Lex, she releases him and casts a spell, bewitching Lex to play the piano forever. Chloe and Lois find Lana/Isobel in the woods assembling her potion. Isobel convinces them to drink a toast. When they do, they are possessed by Isobel’s fellow witches, Madelyn (Chloe) and Brianna (Lois). She explains that they will continue their quest to find the Stones of Power, but Madelyn and Brianna point out that this is the quest that got them killed in the first place. They convince Isobel to let them attend Chloe’s party first. At the Kent barn, a worried Clark tries to keep the wild party under control. When the three witches show up, they decide to liven up the party. They cast a spell and all the party goers, including Clark, are suddenly dancing in various states of undress. As scheduled, the Princeton representative comes to interview Clark and Clark makes a “great” first impression.  The day after, Clark awakens in the barn to the aftermath of the wild party. He realizes he blew his interview and goes to talk to Lex for help. He finds Lex, his fingers bloody, still playing the piano.

He breaks the spell by physically removing him from it. Lex tells him that Lana is the one who cast the spell, so Clark leaves to try and stop the three. He finds Lana/Isobel at her apartment, where he arrives just in time to catch Jason, whom Isobel has thrown out the window after he attempted to burn her spellbook upon realizing that she was now in possession of Lana’s body. Isobel leaves Clark a message to meet him at the barn. He meets the three witches, but at first had no clue that they were in fact witches. Mistaking Clark as being like everyone else despite his speed, Brianna strikes Clark with a large wheel using magical telekinesis; but quickly realized that his invulnerability made it so it had no effect on him. Isobel, surprised, but not frightened, notes that Clark is more than just quick. Using her own magical telekinesis, Madelyn tossed several tools at Clark, but he destroyed them with his heat vision. The witches then become disgruntled; now seeing Clark as a threat to their plans (though they see him as a sorcerer rather than an alien). Isobel tries to kill Clark with a death-based spell, but only succeeding in seriously wounding and stunning him. To ensure that he stays out of their way, the witches remove Clark’s shirt and drain his abilities.
The three chain Clark to a post in the barn and try to pry more information of the stones out of him after realizing that he is connected to them and knows where one is hidden. After magically seducing the answer out of him, Isobel and her cohorts leave Clark chained up and depart for the Kawatche Caves. Jason finds and helps Clark escape and he goes after them. In the caves, Isobel tries to obtain the relic, but it glows and burns her hand. Clark shows up and catches the relic before it hits the ground, restoring his powers. Before the witches can take his powers away once again, Clark burns the spellbook with his heat vision and all four teens are knocked unconscious from the explosion. Upon waking, everybody has been restored to normal. Lana, Chloe, and Lois are confused, but alright.  Clark has to explain the raucous barn party to his parents. He also remarks that magic is real and can truly hurt him. Lex goes to see Lana at her apartment at the Talon and explains to Lana that he was the one to get Jason fired, not Clark, saying he had only her best interest in mind. Lana comes to apologize to Clark as he is cleaning up the barn. She tells him the whole story of the Countess and shows him the tattoo. She asks Clark what it means and he lies that he doesn’t know. In the caves, Lex studies the cave drawing identical to Lana’s tattoo.An intresting episode of Smallville showing the ladies of Smallville in different light, the episode is an important one as it shows that magic can harm the future man of steel.

 

REVIEW: SMALLVILLE – SEASON 1-10

CAST

Tom Welling (The Fog)
Kristin Kreuk (Beauty and the Beast)
Michael Rosenbaum (Urban Legend)
Eric Johnson (Flash Gordon)
Sam Jones III (Glory Road)
Allison Mack (Superman/Batman: Public Enemies)
Annette O’ Toole (IT)
John Schneider (Desperate Housewives)
John Glover (Robocop 2)
Erica Durance (The Butterfly Effect 2)
Jensen Ackles (Supernatural)
Aaron Ashmore (The Skulls 2)
Justin Hartley (Chuck)
Laura Vandervoort (Bitten)
Cassidy Freeman (Yellowbrickroad)
Sam Witwer (Being Human)
Callum Blue (Dead Like Me)

RECURRING / NOTABLE GUEST STARS

Sarah-Jane Redmond (V)
Chad Donella (Final Destination)
Gabrielle Rose (Catch and Release)
Jason Connery (Wishmaster 3)
Hiro Kanagawa (Heroes Reborn)
David Paetkau (Flashpoint)
Lizzy Caplan (Cloverfield)
Mitchell Kosterman (White Noise)
Michael Coristine (Get Over It)
Eric Christian Olsen (Tru Calling)
Jackie Burroughs (The Dead Zone)
George Murdock (Star Trek V)
Amy Adams (Batman V Superman)
Malcolm Stewart (Timecop)
Joe Morton (Terminator 2)
Robert Wisden (Watchmen)
Tony Todd (Chuck)
Kelly Brook (The Italian Job)
Azura Skye (Red Dragon)
Rick Peters (Veronica Mars)
Kevin McNulty (Elektra)
Tom O’Brien (The Accused)
Shawn Ashmore (X-Men)
Kavan Smith (Stargate SG.1)
Evangeline Lilly (Lost)
Corin Nemec (Parker Lewis Can’t Lose)
Cameron Dye (Valley Girl)
Eric Breker (Walking Tall)
Jud Tyler (That 70s Show)
Nicki Clyne (Saved)
Ryan Kelley (Teen Wolf)
Brandy Ledford (Andromeda)
Rekha Sharma (Dark Angel)
Tiffany Lyndall-Knight (Wolf Creek: The Series)
Marguerite Moreau (Easy)
Shonda Farr (Crossroads)
Adam Brody (The OC)
Kevan Ohtsji (Godzilla)
Aaron Douglas (Battlestar Galactica)
Krista Allen (The Final Destination)
Sara Downing (Roswell)
Sean Faris (The Brotherhood 2)
Richard Moll (Scary Movie 2)
Gwynyth Walsh (Star Trek: Generations)
Maggie Lawson (Two and a Half Men)
George Coe (The Entity)
Richard Gant (Rocky V)
Neil Grayston (Wonderfalls)
Patrick Cassidy (Lois & Clark)
Martin Cummins (Dark Angel)
William B. Davis (The X-Files)
Jonathan Taylor Thomas (Home Imporvement)
Emmanuelle Vaugier (Two and a Half Men)
David Richmond-Peck (V)
Tamara Feldman (Hatchet)
Gordon Tootoosis (Legends of The Fall)
Byron Mann (Arrow)
Adrianne Palicki (Agents of Shield)
Colin Cunningham (Elektra)
Jill Teed (Highlander: The Series)
Paul McGillion (Stargate: Atlantis)
Rob LaBelle (Jack Frost)
Paul Wesley (The Vampire Diaries)
Cristopher Reeve (Superman: The Movie)
Camille Mitchell (Caprica)
Steve Bacic (Andromeda)
Michael Adamthwaite (Sucker Punch)
Zachery Ty Bryan (Fast and Furious 3)
Neil Flynn (Scrubs)
Jodelle Ferland (Kingdom Hospital)
Terence Stamp (Superman 1 & 2)
Rutger Hauer (Blade Runner)
Ryan Robbins (Arrow)
Francoise Yip (Robocop: Prime Directives)
Jesse Metcalfe (Dallas)
Katharine Isabelle (Ginger Snaps)
Christopher Shyer (V)
John DeSantis (The New Addams Family)
Michael McKean (This Is Spinal Tap)
Lorena Gale (Battlestar Galactica)
Kendall Cross (X-Men 2)
Michael Dangerfield (Catwoman)
Ian Somerhalder (The Vampire Diaries)
Missy Peregrym (Heroes)
Meghan Ory (Dark Angel)
Ryan Merriman (Final Destination 3)
Sarah Carter (D.O.A.)
Lynda Boyd (Power Rangers In Space)
Tahmoh Penikett (Battlestar Galactica)
Gary Hudson (Mutant X)
Teryl Rothery (Stargate SG.1)
Nathaniel Arcand (Pathfinder)
Amber Rothwell (Andromeda)
Brandon Jay McLaren (Power Rangers SPD)
Margot Kidder (The Amityville Horror)
Ona Grauer (V)
Michael Ironside (Scanners)
Amanda Walsh (Disturbia)
Kyle Gallner (Veronica Mars)
Trent Ford (The Island)
Jane Seymour (Wedding Crashers)
Cobie Smulders (How I Met Your Mother)
John Pyper-Ferguson (Caprica)
Derek Hamilton (Ripper)
Peyton List (The Flash)
Chris Carmack (Into The Blue 2)
John Novak (Wishmaster 3 & 4)
Nolan Gerard Funk (Arrow)
Peter Wingfield (Highlander: The Series)
Beatrice Rosen (Chasing Liberty)
Kandyse McClure (Battlestar Galactica)
Jonathan Bennett (Veronica Mars)
Tom Butler (Blade: The Series)
Steven Grayhm (White Chicks)
David Orth (The Lost World)
James Marsters (Buffy)
Leonard Roberts (Heroes)
Alana De La Garza (Scorpion)
Kenny Johnson (Bates Motel)
Johnny Lewis (Felon)
Alan Ritchson (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)
Carrie Fisher (Star Wars)
Erica Cerra (The 100)
Brooke Nevin (Infestation)
Top Wopat (Django Unchained)
Noah Danby (Bitten)
Alisen Down (Case 39)
Adrian Holmes (Arrow)
Jorge Vargas (Power Rangers Ninja Storm)
Annie Burgstede (CSI)
Sarah Lind (Wolfcop)
Denise Quinones (Aquman 2006)
Lee Thompson Young (Flashforward)
Nichole Hiltz (Bones)
Mackenzie Gray (Man of Steel)
Emily Hirst (Blade: The Series)
Anne Marie Deluise (Goosebumps)
Callum Rennie (Legends of Tomorrow)
Ian Tracey (Bates Motel)
Alex Scarlis (8mm 2)
Jody Thompson (Flash Gordon)
Pascale Hutton (Sanctuary)
Lochlyn Munro (Little man)
Amber McDonald (Gloria)
Lucas Grabeel (Milk)
Bow Wow (Like Mike)
Dave Bautista (Guardians of The Galaxy)
Mike Dopud (Stargate Universe)
Phil Morris (Meet The Spartans)
Tori Spelling (Scary Movie 2)
Matthew Walker (Alone In The Dark)
Greyston Holt (Bitten)
Benjamin Ayres (The Vampire Diaries)
Lynda Carter (Wonder Woman)
Emily Holmes (Dark Angel)
Gerard Plunkett (Sucker Punch)
Anna Galvin (Caprica)
Michael Cassidy (Batman V Superman)
Tom McBeath (Bates Motel)
Peter Bryant (Dark Angel)
Kim Coates (The Amityville Curse)
Christina Milian (be Cool)
Christopher Jacot (Mutant X)
Helen Slater (Supergirl)
Christopher Heyerdahl (Sanctuary)
Elyse Levesque (Stargate Universe)
Tim Guinee (Stargate SG.1)
Marc McClure (Superman: The Movie)
Alaina Huffman (Painkiller Jane)
Gina Holden (Flash Gordon)
Anne Openshaw (The Grey)
Robert Picardo (Star Trek: Voyager)
Ari Cohen (Gangland Undercover)
Donnelly Rhodes (Battlestar Galactica)
Sara Canning (The Vampire Diaries)
Jessica Parker Kennedy (The Secret Circle)
Charlotte Sullivan (Defendor)
Anna Williams (Blonde and Blonder)
Kyle Schmid (Arrow)
Ryan Kennedy (Caprica)
Alexz Johnson (Devil’s Diary)
Calum Worthy (Daydream Nation)
Dario Delacio (War)
Ty Olsson (Izombie)
Alessandro Juliani (Man of Steel)
Ted Whittall (Beauty and The Beast)
Chris Gauthier (Watchmen)
Stephen Lobo (Painkiller jane)
Serinda Swan (Tron Legacy)
Connor Stanhope (American Mary)
Dominic Zamprogna (Odyssey 5)
Nels Lennarson (Sanctuary)
Brendan Flecther (Bloodrayne 3)
Anna Mae Wills (2012)
Monique Ganderton (American Ultra)
Sharon Taylor (Stargate: Atlantis)
Brian Austin Green (Termiantor: TSCC)
Steph Song (War)
Elise Gatien (Izombie)
Emilie Ullerup (Sanctuary)
Julian Sands (Gotham)
Dean Cain (Lois & Clark)
Allison Scagliotti (Warehouse 13)
Dylan Neal (Arrow)
David Gallagher (Super 8)
Anita Torrance (Caprica)
Pam Grier (jackie Brown)
Michael Shanks (Stargate SG.1)
Brent Stait (Androemda)
Britt Irvin (V)
Wesley MacInnes (Warcraft)
Jim Shield (Final Destination 3)
Roger Haskett (Paycheck)
Ken Lawson (Descendants)
Erica Carroll (Apollo 18)
Crystal Lowe (Poison Ivy 4)
Sean Rogerson (Bitten)
Odessa Rae (Hard Candy)
Jonthan Walker (Red)
Gil Bellows (Flashforward)
Blu Mankuma (Robocop: The Series)
Keri Lynn Pratt (Cruel Intentions 2)
Bradley Stryker (The Lizzie Borden Chronicles)
Sahar Biniaz (Watchmen)
Lexa Doig (Andromeda)
Christine Willes (Dead Like me)
Steve Byers (Mutant X)
Teri Hatcher (Lois & Clark)
Lindsay Hartley (All My ChildreN)
Michael Hogan (Battlestar Galctica)
James Kidnie (Arrow)
Aleks Paunovic (Mutant X)
Sebastian Spence (First wave)
Aliyah O’Brien (If I Stay)

Maybe it is that Superman is truly indestructible or that the Man of Steel, who was picked recently as one of the Top 10 American pop culture icons, is so respected that not even Hollywood would dare tug on his cape, because “Smallville” is another successful small screen version of the strange visitor from another planet. Of course, the great irony is that this time around there is no cape to tug on because this television series is about Clark Kent, years before he put on the suit with the big red “S,” when he was still in high school, his powers were just starting to kick in, and the girl in his life with the double L name was Lana Lang.

Keep in mind that when Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel created the Man of Steel in 1939 there was no Superboy until 1949, when he began part of the futuristic Legion of Super-Heroes. All we knew about the early days is that just before the doomed planet Krypton exploded to fragments, a scientist placed his infant son within an experimental rocket ship, launching it toward earth. When the vessel reached our planet, the child was found by an elderly couple, the Kents. They adopted the super tyke and with love and guidance shaped the boy’s future. As he grew older Clark Kent learned to hurdle skyscrapers, leap an eighth of a mile, raise tremendous weights, run faster than a streamline train, and that nothing less than a bursting shell could penetrate his skin. When his foster parents passed away, Clark decided he must turn his titanic strength into channels that would benefit mankind. The key part of “Smallville” is that creators Alfred Gough and Miles Millar go back to the simple beginning, with young Clark (Tom Welling) growing up on the Kent farm with Martha (Annette O’Toole) and Jonathan (John Schneider). From the “Superboy” comic books the series borrows the characters of girl next-door Lana Lang (Kristin Kreuk) and best buddy Pete Ross (Sam Jones III). But in addition to covering the basics, Gough and Millar come up with a key triad of additions to the original Smallville mythos.

First, they add young Lex Luthor (Michael Rosenbaum) to the mix, knowing that he and Superman are fated to be (im)mortal enemies, but that for the present he and Clark are friends (after Clark saves Lex’s life in a car accident that should have killed them both). The key thing is that they truly are friends and that “Smallville” is as much about how Lex would become a super villain as it is about how Clark would become a super hero. Throw into the mix Daddy Dearest in the form of Lionel Luthor (John Glover), and Lex would have already pulled all of his hair out if it were not for what happened that fateful day in Smallville.

Second, is the brilliant reconceptualization of Superman’s arrival on earth where the small spacecraft shows up in the middle of a shower of glowing green meteors that are all that remains of the planet Krypton. As much as the little boy in that spaceship, those meteors change Smallville forever, turning a little girl into an orphans and a young boy bald, and the small Kansas town into the self proclaimed meteor capital of the world. More importantly, those little green rocks will have continue to have an impact as they cause a series of mutations with which young Clark will have to contend. This also accounts for the great in-joke that Clark always becomes a bumbling idiot around Lana because she wears a locket made of kryptonite. Third, there is the multi-purpose character of Chloe Sullivan (Allison Mack). The driving force of the Smallville High School student newspaper her “Wall of the Weird” documents all the strange things that have happened around Smallville since the meteor shower, making her the show’s resident mistress of exposition.

But she is also the tragic figure who longs for Clark the way he casts puppy dog glances at Lana, creating a nice example of teenage love triangle pathos. Overall, Miller and Gough had created an extremely solid premise for their series, which creates multi-dynamics for all of the plotlines. The first season (2001) is book ended by some great special effects, with the devastating arrival of the meteors in the pilot and the three twisters becoming one in the thrilling cliffhanger finale. My only serious complaint is that Schneider’s Jonathan Kent has too much of an angry edge, which takes away from his font of parental wisdom. Martha really needs to mellow him out so that he cuts Clark some slack. I understand that Jonathan is motivated by fears and concerns about his son, but I always liked the gentle influence personified by Glenn Ford in the first Christopher Reeve “Superman” film. Turning adolescent traumas into mutant monsters of the week is a hit and miss proposition, but that was true of the first season of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” as well, and look at how well that series turned out. Yes, we can also throw into the mix that Clark and Lana are played by a couple of cute young actors. Welling is not too serious as the kid who is going to grow up to be the hero who stands for truth, justice, and the American way, and I was going to say Kruek was the WB’s new Katie Holmes except after her soft-core Lana scene in the school swimming pool goes way beyond the world’s biggest collection of midriff revealing tops. But the bottom line here is that either the Clark-Lana or the Clark-Lex would be enough to make this a good show and “Smallville” has both of them and a lot more, including the brilliant metaphor of the scarecrow immortalized in the DVD collection’s cover shot.

Starting a moment after the season one finale Smallville continues the story of Clark’s younger years. This season really stands out in memory, the sheer quality of the episodes is amazing, there are more memorable episodes in this series than in any other combined. Furthermore there is a movement away from “freak of the wekk” episodes, with several episodes reveolving around the characters and their backstory, not monsters and threats to them. Clark’s identity (as Kal-Ell is revealed to him, as is the fate of Krypton), Pete find oout about Clark’s secret, Red K causes havoc turning Clark into a moralless teenager, secrets about Clark’s adoption and Lex’s brother are revealed, Clark lays on his deathbed and Clark is told to leave Smallville and complete his father’s quest to rule the planet.

Along with these arks, there is the continuing storyline of Chloe and Clark, that was left hanging in Tempest, this slops both Clark and Lana coming closer as Chloe looks on sadly. Clark’s adoption is revealed to have been organised by Lionel Luthor (who is also blinded at the beginning of the season), Lionel and Lex jokel against each other as Lionel quashes Lexcorp, and Clark is appauled by the intrustions of his father. This is one of my favourite season, as it was for the viewing figures (check wiki), characters continue to eveolve and change, and leaving a fantastic cliifhanger which I won’t spoil. If you liked Season 1 you’ll love this, if you loved season 1 you’ll be overjoyed

Season 3 veers constantly between dark and light – light: Perry White arrives in Smallville – played fabulously and hilariously by Annette O’Toole’s real-life husband Michael McKean (note that they have no scenes together), the fact that Jor-El chose the Kents to raise his son; dark: Clark’s antics on Red Kryptonite resulting in serious health issues for Jonathan Kent, Lex’s forays into insanity and back again. There are mainly stand-alone stories this year, although there is the double-headed cliffhanger of Chloe’s apparent death and Clark being stripped of his humanity to be reborn as Kal-El. The actors continue to raise their game, although Sam Jones III seems to be phased out as the season progresses: a sure sign of his departure before the finale.

Also this year Terence Stamp features more prominently as “The Voice of Jor-El” – an intense presence whose determination to enforce his will over his son clashes with the mortal man who raised him. The only drawback of this season is the lingering Clark & Lana love story – will-they, won’t they is fast becoming do they have to? This DVD set features a couple of commentaries although the blooper reel doesn’t contain as many gems as the one featured on series 2. Favourite episodes: Phoenix, Extinction, Perry, Relic, Whisper, Delete, Hereafter, Crisis, Truth, Memoria & Talisman.

In this season there are no stand-alone stories as all 22 episodes provide a piece of the puzzle which is finally revealed in the finale. Tom Welling transcends his previous work on the show as he begins to build his most successful on-screen partnerships – with Allison Mack’s Chloe who returns from the dead to become privy to Clark’s powers and takes the inital steps towards becoming his sidekick and confidante, and Erica Durance’s Lois Lane who crashes into his world and turns it completely upside down.

There are sparks aplenty between Welling & Durance – her face when confronted with her naked co-star in the opening episode is priceless – but the enduring Clark & Lana storyline continues to flare so the viewers have to make do with their hilarious banter and feigned dislike of each other. The only lowlight as far as Welling is concerned this year is Clark’s bewilderment that Lana could possibly move on from him – a trait resumed in Seasons 5 and 6 as Lana moves on yet again and Clark remains stuck in the “Clana mud”. Annette O’Toole also shines this year as Martha Kent steps into the spotlight to save her son. The rest of the cast also continue to shine and the calibre of guest stars keeps on rising, particularly in the season premiere when actress Margot Kidder cameos – ironically in the same episode Smallville’s incarnation of Lois Lane is launched. Favourite episodes: Crusade, Gone, Facade, Devoted, Bound, Pariah, Recruit, Krypto, Lucy, Blank & Commencement.

In the fifth season of Smallville, one chapter ends as another new and exciting chapter begins as Smallville is taken to new heights as the DC Universe is finally blown open as new characters make their appearances felt.

In season five, Clark’s relationship with Lana is at its peak, his friendship with Chloe has never been stronger, and he is finally coming to terms with the discovery of his Kyptonian heritage. But things in Smallville are about to change with the arrival of the mysterious Milton Fine (James Marsters) along with 2 Kryptonians bearing the symbol of ZOD. Whilst his relationship with his friends has never been stronger, Clark finds himself in direct confrontation with Lex Luthor as he is now forced to question whether he and the younger Luthor were ever friends.

Alongside the great continuity drama with the regular leads, this season also sees the arrival of 2 familiar faces from the DC Universe in form of Aquaman and Cyborg who cameo in this season alongside DC villain Brainiac.

James Marsters is a very welcome addition to the cast and plays Fine with confidence and arrogance while Michael Rosenbaum continues to steal the show. The pinnacle moment of the season also sees the very sad departure of a long staning term cast member in what still rates as Smallville’s saddest moment and greatest tear-jerker.

They say timing is everything, and for me the timing of watching season 6 of Smallville for the first time was perfect. Why is that? Because this was the season that introduced their take on Oliver Queen, aka Green Arrow, and I got hooked on the new show about him this last season on TV.

Of course, before we can get to new characters, we have a few cliffhangers to resolve. While all kinds of chaos is reigning down on the citizens of Earth thanks to the evil force that has taken over Lex Luther’s body (Michael Rosenbaum), Clark Kent (Tom Welling) can’t do much about it since he’s trapped in the Phantom Zone. While he does escape and manage to save the day, he unwittingly releases the evil prisoners from the Phantom Zone and must spend some time tracking them down this season. As things return to normal, characters explore new options. Lois Lane (Erica Durance) and Chloe Sullivan (Allison Mack) become roommates and Lois starts a new career as a reporter for a tabloid. They also both get new boyfriends in the two new characters that are introduced. Lois starts dating the previously mentioned Olive Queen (Justin Hartley) while Chloe falls for Jimmy Olsen (Aaron Ashmore), a young photographer at The Daily Planet. Lana Lang (Kistin Kreuk), meanwhile, has moved in with Lex and their relationship becomes more serious when she finds out she is pregnant. Chloe learns a very surprising secret and is reunited with her mom as played by TV’s Wonder Woman herself, Lynda Carter.

Other storylines of the season involve Clark and Oliver’s clashes over how to use their powers for good. Lex is collecting and hiding people with abilities. Those storylines clash when we see the first glimpse of the Justice League Smallville style. This season is really about the young adults. No one is in college any more (did they all drop out after one season or did they all graduate at lightning speed?) While Lionel Luther (John Glover) is still around being unclear in his intensions, Martha Kent (Annette O’Toole) is given very little to do. And before the season is over, one character makes an exit from the show.

Season 7 demonstrates a real maturity in terms of the characters and the wider Smallville universe. For the characters themselves we obviously have to start with Clark and Lex.

What I love about this series is that you don’t notice subtle changes that are going – its only when there is a sudden abrupt change that you realise that it had been going on for ages and you find yourself saying “Ah!”. Clark in this season is gradually waking up to the fact that his old life is practically gone – most friends and family have moved on. This really hits home with an episode that sees the (thankfully brief) return of Pete. This was a subtle episode that demonstrated that Pete and Clark are very different now – they are friends but have both moved on. Clark towards his greater destiny – Pete to his, well, lesser destiny. But the real tear jerker that forces Clark to face the changes is the video left by Lana in the series finale. Understated and brief – its all the more powerful. Lana functioned as a sort of bubble for Clark – a link back to his carefree past – her leaving all but cuts this.

For Lex – wow. Smallville always managed to avoid having him as a cartoon baddie. What really took off on this season was Lex rushing towards his destiny as the powerful enemy of the “Traveller”. We get to see the childhood of Lex and his inner struggles. The moment that he and Lionel have their final encounter – powerful stuff. But what really hits viewers is Lex’s view of what his destiny was. The link he has with the Traveller, the impact that has had on his life and how it will ultimately play out – this was biblical stuff.

For the overarching storylines of the series. Well a special mention goes to the Veritas saga. Debate rages on message boards across the land about whether or not writers had planned this from the start of the series. Regardless if they did – the Veritas storyline weaves together almost 7 years of storylines. Smallville has always managed to pull of the secret legends stories, particularly in Season 4 and 7. But there is a real epic storylines going in season 7. Other storylines worthy mention: the return of Brainiac – always a joy. Bizzaro is also great fun. Tom welling clearly enjoys playing a baddy instead of straight-laced Clark. That and he gets to wear a blue jacket and red tshirt, instead of vice versa. And Lionel finally meets his maker.

Technically this season shouldn’t have worked; the show’s main villain and arguably most popular character, Lex Luthor (Michael Rosenbaum) has now departed; secondly they were introducing a villain which was virtually impossible to bring to the big screen never mind a television series in Doomsday. However whilst a massive void had been created by Rosenbaum’s departure, it was filled suprisingly very well by the main cast of heroes who finally come into their own this season with performances and stories which intelligently test those who have big destinies to embrace in the Superman era to come. Tom Welling finally begins to take his final steps to becoming Superman and is starting to demonstrate how capapble as lead he is while bringing a new found presence to Clark Kent. There is also an increased number of on-screen scenes between Welling and Erica Durance’s Lois Lane and the result is a relationship which is as funny as it is touching and believable.

Likewise other support characters like Chloe and Jimmy are tested by the new villain in town, Sam Witwer’s Davis Bloome who is a great unique character to the series who undergoes a menacing and horrific transformation as the season unfolds. There is also a welcome return from Justin Hartley’s Oliver Queen who now becomes a series regular after a successful stint in the sixth season and a brief cameo in the seventh. Queen’s character is also successful to the season’s story as his questionable methods bring him into conflict with Clark who is now trying to figure out what sort of hero he wants to become. The Doomsday story is a well written one in itself and Doomsday is interpreted in a way which is both unique in style yet never undermines the characters standing in the mythology. Sam Witwer is more than capable playing the villain, he lacks perhaps the charisma and flair of Rosenbaum, but the horror given off by his transformations is more than projected out of the screen. The same cannot be said for Cassidy Freeman whose Tess Mercer is terribly aimless and lacking in focus, in terms of a series villain, Rosenbaums absence is felt though not quite fatal.

The season is very well executed in tone, humour and story. There are many episodes which take the series much further and there are some more characters from the D.C Universe in episodes such as ‘Instinct’, ‘Legion’ and ‘Hex’. ‘Bride’, ‘Eternal’ and ‘Beast’ are also exceptional drama episodes featuring Doomsday which keeps building up the season to a final climatic battle.

It is unfortunate therefore that what prevents the season from achieving pure greatness is a series of misjudged stories which threaten to undermine every bit of progress Smallville made this season. The brief reintroduction of an old character in ‘Power’ and ‘Requiem’ was a terrible mistake and unpopular with viewers, as was the apparent demise of another important character. Also while the season does a sensational job in building up the tension towards the final episode, the final episode of the season itself is very weak and sadly anti-climactic. This is a shame since many may feel cheated by a poor resolution but on the plus side, the drama remains top notch throughout and the themes explored this season are never forgotten and never betrayed, even in the finale. Smallville has enjoyed a fantastic return to form overall this season and many fans will be left feeling hopefull of the action and drama to come in the ninth season. Well worth buying though this eighth season.

Season nine is the single greatest season Smallville has ever produced. The show has fully reached its potential and has created a tense, exciting, beautifully shot, clever and romantic season. One with interesting villains; conflicting needs; searching for the right questions; searching for the truth; love and hate and the fine line between it all; finding yourself and finding others. All with the strong undercurrent of destiny. There are around two ‘not so well executed’ episodes that fall short of their goals, but even those are not awful. The four or so main arcs of the season are: the return of a weirdly attractive and charismatic Zod, the blossoming relationship between Lois and Clark, the development of the Blur and the Justice Society. This is a season of triangles. Many carefully subtle and symbolic in nature: triangles between friends, triangles between enemies, the triangle for two. There was a distinct sense of care to this season, unlike the others — it actually felt as if the writers paid close attention to the small things which made the writing feel more cohesive. It’s certainly the case, because something as small as a hand gesture in one episode became a very significant thing later on.

The season opens with ‘Saviour’, as Lois miraculously returns without memory of where she’s been. The only thing hinting at a darker side to this is random flashes and visions, confusing memories. Are they dreams? Visions of a not-so-distant future? This is one of the mysteries of the first half of the season. I love this show but they I’ve never been so engaged as I have when Lois had those first flashes. It was well done and it was gratifying to see Smallville put together a coherent story arc which flowed into other arcs as the previous ones drew to a close. First time ever that I’d been excited to see where the mainplot went!

Tom Welling is now an executive producer so having more creative control over his character is obvious this season — it has a very positive impact on Clark. Clark finds himself being tested. Learning to cope with juggling an overly-inquisitive Lois, an alter-ego as the Blur whilst swiftly returning to his desk at the bullpen. But ultimately, a key theme of this season is his struggle to maintain a balance between who he is and what he could become. This season firmly asks: who will he become? There was some fantastic development for Clark as a character and his relationship with Lois Lane is centre stage the entire time. The writing for them is careful, precise, intimate and is wonderfully nuanced thanks to the actors. It was well established last season that Lois is in love with Clark, and Clark spends this season rightly demonstrating that he loves her back. The Lois and Clark relationship is one of my favourite arcs in season nine. It was so satisfying to see their romantic relationship moved forward without a painfully slow draw-out. There’s a lot of beautiful scenes shared between them and the writers do a brilliant job of showing (yes ‘showing’, not telling) exactly why Lois is the one for Clark.

Zod (Callum Blue) is a fantastic and compelling villain. His dalliances with Tess Mercer are mesmerising to watch. Oliver Queen returns, having hit rock bottom and kept going since the previous finale. There’s a triangle early in the season between Clark, Lois and Oliver. It’s very subtle and one can only be picked up on in a few frames a lot of the time — not something I’ve come to expect from Smallville, whose usual idea of ‘subtle’ is huge honking anvils landing on you when trying to convey something. It peeters away as Oliver grows and changes out of this darker period in his life. Lois develops as a reporter and finds a purpose in life she didn’t dream of before; her character arc was excellent and benefitted from Erica Durance appearing in 18 episodes instead of the usual 13 (yay!). We see the return of many superheroes as well as meet some new ones. I loved this as it’s one of my favourite parts of the series. I liked seeing Bart and Black Canary back in particular. Star Girl was awesome! The superhero epic Absolute Justice (two episodes smooshed together as one) was a highlight of the season and will surely make comic book fans happy. The finale, ‘Salvation’ was a fast paced good quality closing chapter. It set up the next season and moved the story forward at the same time as closing it. The finale fight scene also did not disappoint! For once! Salvation was very much a juggernaught of emotion which wasn’t cheap and empty like Doomsday, but had the weight of a great season of storytelling behind it. It really made all the difference.

This season is well structured with a fascinating story arc which sees time travel as a central concept. In many ways this plotline held far more tension and anticipation than the whole of the Doomsday arc did. I enjoyed feeling fascinated by Zod, insanely wanting answers as to what had happened to Lois when she disappeared, and could barely contain myself when all was revealed in the episode ‘Pandora’. Truly one of the best episodes of the series.

Smallville Season 10 is the culmination of a 10 year journey which set out to follow the life of a young Clark Kent as he accepts his destiny and becomes Superman. So did Smallville go out with a bang or a whimper?

I for one love the final season of Smallville….whenever you are trying to finish off a story it can be difficult especially with a character as iconic as Superman and with the weight of 10 years of expectation but amazingly it manages to produce an end that is befitting of a superman. This season really is all about how Clark Kent finally becomes Superman and almost every episodes deals with this acceptance of destiny. The season kicks of where season 9 ended with Clark Kent falling to his apparent death….this episode kicks off the season on the right note, with nods to the past seasons as well as hints for what the future holds. This season has so many memobrable episodes such as Homecoming, the 200th episode that is one of the best episodes have ever produced, other highlights include: Supergirl, Harvest, Abandoned, Luther, Icarus, Fortune (one of the funniset Smallville episodes ever!), Kent and Booster. You can see just by the number of episodes listed just how good the final season was.

However, what could make of break this season was the two part Finale in which we fianlly see Clark Kent embrace his destiny. I believe that this episode is one of the best finales ever produced, it is important to remember that Smallville is more about Clark Kent then Superman and as such this character takes the focus for the majority of the episode and it benifits for it. These episodes also include the return of Lex Luthor and I think that the scenes between him and Clark are perfect. Also, when Clark finally puts on the suit we get to see more Superman action then I’m sure anyone was expected. And the final scene is a perfect way to finsih the story.

Tom Welling has played Clark Kent for 10 years and every season we have seen him grow as and actor and a director and I think that he has managed to bring new life into this character and took him in a truely unique direction. Although, this show wouldn’t be what it is/was if it wasn’t for the rest of the supporting cast especially Erica Durance who in my mind is the best Lois Lane that the screen has seen and thanks to her acting she has become just as much of the Smallville story as Clark Kent himself.Thank you Smallville for 10 great years and for breathing new life into a an inconic character…you will be missed!