Farewell to Smallville
It was sad to see this show go. I've watched Smallville for ten years, and while I finally lost interest in this season, it marks the end of an era.
The finale was solid. It may not have been the best Smallville episode ever, but it was by no means the worst. Clark had to engage in some unnecessary angst, but can to his senses in the end. Nice twist at the wedding. Frankly, if I'd been Chloe, I would not have said anything about the ring because I wouldn't have wanted to disrupt the ceremony when I might be wrong. And yet if Chloe hadn't done just that, the world would have been doomed. So it's a good thing I'm neither a superhero nor a sidekick. Seeing Martha walk through the farmhouse one last time before it was sold was appropriately sad. And I am so glad that Michael Rosenbaum came back. He may be a terrible Tanis, but he is Lex Luthor. Accept no substitutes.
On the other hand, Lex didn't really have much to do. I wanted to see him either team up with Clark or wreak major havoc. And I was absolutely disgusted with Tess' story. She was abused and mistreated throughout the series until the very end. Not even Oliver was tortured as much as Tess. Oh, and where was Pete during the wedding of his best friend?
As to the conflict with Darkside and Apocalypse, it was as impressive as Clark's battle with Doomsday. ;-)
Generally, I am not a Superman fan. I simply don't accept that some people are superior to others, and that's central to the Superman mythos. But Smallville was different. This Clark Kent was profoundly flawed, especially in his tendency to lie. It was an issue that resurfaced season after season, until finally when Clark repeated, "I have to lie to Lois to protect her," Brainiac responded drily, "She doesn't look very protected to me." This was a Clark who made mistakes, but who was a hero precisely because he always tried to fix them.
Thank you, Smallville, for all of the memories: Chloe and Jimmy's wedding (the best TV wedding in all fiction, and I'm saying this as a soap opera fan); Lex as cynical hero; a kick-ass Lois Lane; Clark's dark side (remember when he disrupted Lex and Lana's rehearsal dinner?); moral dilemmas which provoked great livejournal debates; gratuitous product placements (Accuvue to the rescue!). And I would like to point out that most of my predictions came true, although I must grudgingly admit that General Zod is not, infact, Kal-el's real father. (He should have been!)
It was inevitable that one day Clark would wear tights and fly. But I am glad that I got to know him and his friends before the day he transformed into Superman.
The finale was solid. It may not have been the best Smallville episode ever, but it was by no means the worst. Clark had to engage in some unnecessary angst, but can to his senses in the end. Nice twist at the wedding. Frankly, if I'd been Chloe, I would not have said anything about the ring because I wouldn't have wanted to disrupt the ceremony when I might be wrong. And yet if Chloe hadn't done just that, the world would have been doomed. So it's a good thing I'm neither a superhero nor a sidekick. Seeing Martha walk through the farmhouse one last time before it was sold was appropriately sad. And I am so glad that Michael Rosenbaum came back. He may be a terrible Tanis, but he is Lex Luthor. Accept no substitutes.
On the other hand, Lex didn't really have much to do. I wanted to see him either team up with Clark or wreak major havoc. And I was absolutely disgusted with Tess' story. She was abused and mistreated throughout the series until the very end. Not even Oliver was tortured as much as Tess. Oh, and where was Pete during the wedding of his best friend?
As to the conflict with Darkside and Apocalypse, it was as impressive as Clark's battle with Doomsday. ;-)
Generally, I am not a Superman fan. I simply don't accept that some people are superior to others, and that's central to the Superman mythos. But Smallville was different. This Clark Kent was profoundly flawed, especially in his tendency to lie. It was an issue that resurfaced season after season, until finally when Clark repeated, "I have to lie to Lois to protect her," Brainiac responded drily, "She doesn't look very protected to me." This was a Clark who made mistakes, but who was a hero precisely because he always tried to fix them.
Thank you, Smallville, for all of the memories: Chloe and Jimmy's wedding (the best TV wedding in all fiction, and I'm saying this as a soap opera fan); Lex as cynical hero; a kick-ass Lois Lane; Clark's dark side (remember when he disrupted Lex and Lana's rehearsal dinner?); moral dilemmas which provoked great livejournal debates; gratuitous product placements (Accuvue to the rescue!). And I would like to point out that most of my predictions came true, although I must grudgingly admit that General Zod is not, infact, Kal-el's real father. (He should have been!)
It was inevitable that one day Clark would wear tights and fly. But I am glad that I got to know him and his friends before the day he transformed into Superman.