I’ve been an on and off fan of Smallville since it started. I dropped the show for a couple of seasons — I still don’t know what led to Pete leaving town — but I got back into it a couple of seasons ago and have been hooked ever since. There has been some great storytelling and there have also been some episodes that fell flat and once Michael Rosenbaum left the show that seemed to signal the death knell (and I like Kristin Kreuk, but I was over Lana a long time ago). What is Clark/Kal-El without Lex Luthor? I’m even willing to overlook the whole Davis Bloom/Doomsday season because once they introduced Zod and his followers, I was really hooked again. I thought last season was terrific but with the apparent vanquishment of Zod and the others, where can the show go?
I’m extremely happy with the first episode that’s kicking off the final season. After Clark was stabbed with the blue kryptonite dagger and fell off the roof of the skyscraper, we knew he would return but the question was how (the show was very heavy on Christian symbolism this week, wasn’t it). It was nice to see Lois pull the dagger out and then hide so Clark wouldn’t know that she knows he is the Blur, and I enjoyed the little cat and mouse game they played at the Daily Planet. I want more of that, but now it seems like Lois is going to be in Africa for a while so Clark can focus on fulfilling his destiny (and is anyone else thrilled that Teri Hatcher will be making an appearance as Lois’ mother?!).
My favorite character on Smallville has always been Chloe. I like that she’s been Clark’s confidante for all of these years and I’m glad she’s gone from sidekick to major player, especially with the creation of Watchtower. But I’m very concerned that she is not going to make it through the season since Chloe is not a character in the Superman canon. We are left with many questions this week concerning her and Oliver — who are the people who captured him, what do they want and why did Chloe sacrifice herself in exchange for Oliver? I love Chloe, I adore Alison Mack, and I am going to be heartbroken if she does not survive whatever she’s gotten herself into.
Now that Zod has been vanquished, Clark has learned that the true evil he must face was not Zod or even Lex — who has returned in various forms already — but himself, the evil that lurks within his own heart. This season is going to go to some pretty dark places before it’s all over. I’m not familiar with the new villain that was revealed at the end of the episode, but apparently it is Darkseid. At the moment, it looks like the Lost Smoke Monster crossed with Spider-Man’s Venom, but I’m sure we will see it take on a more solid form in the near future. For now, I’m really enjoying the small nods to the fans who have stuck through these past ten years — did anyone ever think the show would last this long? — with the return to the cornfield from the first episode, Terence Stamp as the voice of Jor-El and Pa Kent himself! This episode grabbed me from the beginning and I am anxiously waiting to see how the final season will unfold. Who do you want to see return before it’s all over?
Clacked by Chuck Duncan 
on Sep 24, 2010 @ 21:00 EST5EDT
I think the fact that the chick who plays Chole has opted not to renew her contract pretty much spells the end for her on the show. if she survives, who knows, but she has stated that she is only going to be in a couple of episodes.
It’s true Allison Mack is only appearing in a “handful” of episodes, but the producers are saying the exact number has yet to be determined. They also say Chloe will have a happy ending, so we’ll see.
Really looking forward to this season, and last night was a great start. Clark really shined in this episode, and I like where they’re going with Clark struggling against himself and how he fights evil, bringing up things like how he took down the buildings last year. And did anyone see what he was wearing in the promo? Not THE suit, but a nice step forward
And Chloe is actually in the comics now, she’s debuting in Action Comics #893, in a Jimmy-centric arc
That’s encouraging news about Chloe! About the suit, I wonder what everyone thinks about seeing the Brandon Routh, Superman Returns suit?
I’m kinda hoping they give Tom Welling his own version of the suit, since pretty much every other Superman has had their own version of it. But if it’s only going to be worn for the last episode, I can understand them not wanting to spend the money to design a new one
Considering that a CW television show can probably never afford a Superman suit that is anywhere near the same quality as the Superman Returns suit, I think that they might as well use it. Save the $ for the Darkseid showdown.
I’m hoping that since Alison Mack was in the credits she will be in more than 5 episodes this season. Without her the show takes a major hit in acting ability.
AC you should never pay attention to the credits for the first ep of Smallville, it will always have last season’s cast in it in order to clear up any story lines. Pay attention to next week’s opening & that’s your cast. Also, I’m sure they’d still put her in the opening, even if she was only on for 5 or so eps. They had Erica on there even though Lois was only in about half of the season.
I’ve been watching the show since it came on. Last season was the last straw for me. Since all the adults left (Jonathan, Martha, Lionel, even Lex), the only halfway decent actor left on the show was Allison Mack. And the plots veered from the semi-grounded to all-out comic book ridiculousness. I stopped watched a few shows into last season, and haven’t missed it. But hearing that Jonathan Kent and a few other of the original characters would be back this season, I’ve decided to give it a try. While this episode had a ton of the usual incoherent, badly filmed, ludicrously scripted genre elements, I did like Clark’s scene with his father. Even the Lex clone managed to capture something about Rosenbaum’s delivery and attitude–maybe it was the vocabulary. I liked all the references to the first seasons–Pete, the cross in the cornfield, even a mention of the bridge where Clark saved Lex’s life.
I hear that Rosenbaum still hasn’t agreed to return, which is unfortunate. John Glover is supposed to, and James Marsters, too. I’m not sure if Martha Kent will be appearing–I saw one episode last season where she showed up, but it seemed like they’d sucked her into the comic-book vortex, too.
I guess I’ll continue to watch, for the occasional moments of grace and decent characterization, and the callbacks to the show’s history. I expect a whole lot of incoherent alien/supervillian stuff, too.