Taking Flight - Smallville Finale

Another great show ended its run recently, the CW’s Smallville. After 10 seasons and 216 episodes, Clark finally embraced his Kryptonian destiny and became Superman. When I sat down to watch the series premiere with my mom I don’t think that I ever imagined that I would still be watching the show 10 years later and that the show would be as big as it is today.

I don’t think that many super hero shows could pull off the success that Smallville achieved and the fact that it went on for 10 seasons is a testament to the crew that worked on the show. The show may have changed a few things from the comics and had their own characters but overall they stayed true to the Superman franchise which was nice. The show originally started as a ‘villain of the week’ show where Clark had a different villain to beat by the end of every episode. As interesting as this was this format could only carry the show for so long. In season 5 it became clear that the show was trying to change from ‘villain of the week’ to ‘overall story arcs’. Seasons 5 and 6 became the awkward transition period that for most fans were rough to get through but it all paid off starting in season 7 when it was clear that the show was now tying in the larger DC universe into the Smallville mythos. Opening the show to larger story arcs and bringing in fan favorite characters created some exciting moments that the Smallville fans thrived on.

*If you have not seen the finale then be warned of spoiler past this point.


So here we are at the end of the road. Would the finale live up to everything that fans have wanted for so long? Or would the last bit of Smallville leave a sour taste in our mouth? Right from the start I feel they missed an opportunity when they named the episode “Finale”. I know they probably wanted to stay away from “Superman” but I very much liked the commercial tagline “Believe”. Moving beyond the episode title I felt the finale had some brilliant touching moments. The romantic and emotional moments between Lois and Clark that made the show feel like it was definitely coming together and felt right. As well as moments between Clark and Martha Kent and Clark and Jonathon Kent. These moments between Clark and his parents made you think back to the early years of the show and gave the finale great emotional range. The deepness of these scenes was counteracted by the ones involving Darkseid’s story. The character of Darkseid was a shallow comparison to that of the Darkseid from the comics and the fact that Oliver (Green Arrow) was able to take out his prophets with his regular bow (instead of the Bow of Orion) with a simple shot was a little anti-climactic. Speaking of anti-climactic, Michael Rosenbaum’s return was a mix of feelings. On one hand it was amazing to see him back as Lex Luther and the tension that instantly builds between him and Clark is what we loved about his scenes in the past. He instantly commanded Clark and the viewers’ submission to his power and it was a glimpse of the Lex that we love. Furthering my point that the episode should have been called “Believe”, I loved the scene where Lois bust in on the Secretary on Air Force 1. The speech that she gives in order to stop him from nuking the planet Apokolips where she pleads that he let the American people see that they where right in voting down the VRA (Vigilante Registration Act) and give them something to believe in was brilliant writing. 

Then the moments that we have all been waiting for started to roll in. We get a series montage of Clark’s moments of heroism with a subtle Superman tone to the music playing in the background that would make any fan smile. It’s here that Clark realizes that he’s always been a hero. He just now has to believe in himself. Then we see Clark momentarily flying before flying through Darkseid and this moment made my jaw drop. Flash forward to Clark in the Fortress of Solitude and being told by Jor-El that he proud of him was a fantastic moment. Having Jor-El say your abilities may be from him but his experiences from Smallville and his friends and family are what turned him into a hero was a touching moment. Then to make things more emotional, we see Jonathon Kent hand off the Superman suit to Clark.

Then the moment finally came. The moment. Clark takes off and truly flies for the first time and changes into the Superman suit. We get to see Clark (although it’s a CG Clark) in the suit as he zips off to save Air Force 1 from crashing. As he grips the plane and looks at Lois we see the golden ‘S’ on his cape that made the moment feel more real. Then Clark zips away again to save the day and he pushes Apokolips away curing ‘the darkness’ from the humans. That’s right, he pushed an entire planet away. That was a little hard to believe but oh well. Then we see him floating in space as the camera pans around in a 360 motion around him and his flowing cape - which was awesome! But then he flies away again without really letting the people down below see him. Wasn’t this supposed to be his unveiling to the world? Aren’t people supposed to see him and his face for that to work? It feels weird that most "Superman" shots of Clark were CG but I was too excited to complain and loved seeing him in the suit!

Although there may have been some points of this finale that wasn’t up to par the closing sequence made everything worth while and certainly excited me as a fan. A Daily Planet employee shouts about a bomb in the city and we hear John Williams’ Superman theme play as Clark rushes to the roof. Hearing the actual Superman theme playing put a huge smile on my face. Then Clark tosses aside his jacket and glasses, runs toward the camera, and rips open his shirt and reveals the Superman suit underneath. Then the credits role and we see that the show (while still playing the John Williams theme) are using credits modeled after the movie credits (words outlined in blue coming out at the screen). This combination made the moment of closure feel profound.

It's been a great 10 years and  I would like to thank the cast and crew of Smallville for all the dedication and amazing memories they have given us throughout the years. This show was truly amazing and I'll always think of Smallville fondly when I think of Superman now.

“They may not be perfect but  I believe even in the darkest soul there’s always hope. People want to believe in something greater. It may be easier to hate, but it’s stronger to love.” 
–Clark Kent