So it looks like this is going to be it: The final season of Smallville. Will season 8 go out with a bang - or a laughable whimper? Let’s see how things start…
In the season 7 finale they actually went easy on the cliffhangers - all we had was Chloe (Allison Mack) being hauled off by Federal agents, Lex (Michael Rosenbaum) activating the device that would control Clark, and both he and Clark (Tom Welling) apparently buried under tons of ice in the Fortress of Solitude.
There are major, detailed spoilers in this review.
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This episode opens in a makeshift camp in the Arctic set up by LutherCorp in order to find Lex. We soon meet a woman who is destined to take the place of Lex on the show as the manipulative baddie: Tess Mercer (played by Cassidy Freeman).
Mercer is a VP from some never before mentioned branch of LuthorCorp, and for no reason given - she has been left in control of the company. Immediately we see that she is not the nicest person you’ll ever meet as she asserts herself with Lex’s right hand man/bodyguard.
Soon a mysterious man arrives and it’s soon obvious that it is Oliver Queen (aka Green Arrow, played by Justin Hartley). He is joined promptly by Black Canary (Alaina Kalanj) and Aquaman (Alan Ritchson) and of course they wreak havoc and soon have control of the camp. Unfortunately, it turns out to be no help in locating Clark (or Lex, who is still missing).
So far, so good… but come back from the first commercial break and we find Lois Lane (Erica Durance) sniffing around the Luthor mansion in no less than a French maid costume.
I kid you not.
Mercer shows up knowing who Lois really is and there’s a minor confrontation showing neither of them is intimidated by the other. It turns out Chloe was NOT arrested by the Feds, but was instead spirited away by Lex’s private army to a facility in Montana.
Chloe at this point thinks she is in the government’s hands and is given the choice to help track down terrorists or go to prison for 20 years. How can she help? It seems that she now has a new power - the ability to process information faster than a supercomputer.
Oliver refuses to give up on his search for Clark, even when the other two members of the soon to be Justice League throw in the towel. It turns out that Clark has ended up in Russia, without his powers, and is being held captive as basically slave labor. He tries to escape but without powers is no match for a bunch of armed men.
Meanwhile Chloe decides to help her captors, by decoding an encoded satellite transmission, pulling out cell phone numbers. When she gets to the third one, she recognizes it as Oliver Queen’s and refuses to help further (and figures out this isn’t the government).
Back in Russia, Clark demonstrates that even without his powers he still has balls as he tries repeatedly to escape and takes a two by four to his captor. These scenes were actually pretty damned cool, and actually made mild-mannered Clark look pretty bad-ass. At this point Queen shows up, fakes a fistfight with Clark and figures a way to get him out of there.
Clark is determined to rescue Chloe, powers or not so he and Queen head to the facility in Montana (where Aquaman and Black Canary are being held after Chloe helped track them down). It turns out that the “control” aspect of the Veritas device that was so much the focus of last season was that it would just remove Clark’s super-powers, not turn him into some super-automaton.
On a side note: So far, the only really silly thing was the French maid costume - at this point it occurred to me that the episode has been pretty solid so far. Also, the female replacement for Lex is going to have to grow on me… I’m still not sure about her as a character.
Of course when Clark and Oliver arrive, Lois also happens to be there (ah, coincidence) and she and Clark knock out a couple of guards, with Lois grabbing the handgun. She carries it like she knows what she’s doing, and I thought she was pretty convincing.
Lex’s bodyguard doses Green Arrow with a drug that makes him obey commands for a short period of time, and for some reason the bodyguard tells him to find out where Lex is. At this point I didn’t think any of the facility staff knew that Clark was there, so how the heck was Oliver supposed to find out where Lex is?
Anyway, in a cool scene that follows, Green Arrow confronts Clark and shoots him just above the heart with an arrow as a warning. When Clark says he doesn’t know where Lex is he is shot straight through the heart and it looks like he’s done for (yeah, right). Chloe shows up and is ready to use her healing power to save Clark - except that she no longer has it.
That was pretty effective, and Clark saw his life flash before his eyes: His mom and dad, Lana, the farm, etc. Just as he fades, Martian Manhunter shows up out of nowhere and whisks Clark into space, towards the healing power (for Clark) of the Sun.
Clark wakes up back in the barn with Martian Manhunter there - powers restored. Unfortunately the Sun takes power away from MM, and he’s now just a regular guy. I thought this was terrible, because MM is supposed to be a member of the Justice League… but of course on Sci-Fi/Fantasy TV shows everything is reversible. 
Clark decides based upon his near death experience that it’s time to leave the farm behind - so at long last, we DO seem to FINALLY be moving towards the Superman mythos we know and love.
There were allusions to his need for a double identity and even a joke about him needing a form-fitting costume.
In the end, Clark has just gotten an entry level reporter job at the Daily Planet, sitting right across from Lois Lane.
Nice.
Overall I’d say this season is starting off as a VAST improvement over last season, and the ending actually left me with a sense that just MAYBE we’ll be blessed by having less soap opera-ish crap on the show. I really don’t have much to nitpick about this episode that I haven’t already mentioned, and considering my critical eye towards Smallville, that’s really saying something.
My only real concern at this point revolves around the fact that they MUST put some closure on the Lex/Clark situation: Lex is missing but we KNOW he’s not dead - and he finally knows about Clark’s powers.
I’m hoping this final season opener was not a fluke and the show holds up to a better standard of quality than it has recently. I’m actually looking forward to watching it this season with a little bit of excitement and anticipation.
Go figure. 
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54 Comments
I will agree that this season opener was stronger than I had anticipated, and that last beat with Clark and Lois, that was really good. But as I’m happy with this week’s show, the scenes from next week make me want to cry. It appears to be another “freak of the weak” but only time will tell. At least Clark get’s some new duds!
Wow,,, talk about throwing Superman film/Comic canon out the window ,,,,,,,,
Next week wont be a freak of the week, its plastique, shes a villian who later on becomes a hero in the DC universe.
And its not throwing the canon away, Smallville producers have always stated that the show is a re-imagining of the superman origin.
What verb would you like to use ????
“a re-imagining of the superman origin”, Is the same thing as suspending/throwing out canon…
Get real…
It all seemed a bit too contrived & forced, especially the Lois parts. She’s at the Luthor Mansion in a french maid outfit & exactly when did she become “intrepid reporter”? She sexed up a Luthor Clone to get in the DP. The actress is mediocre at best.
Hopefully, we are not going to have to sit through the “Adventures of BimboLois & Clark.”
It’s a fair twist on an old tale that keeps it interesting for the uninitiated, and a little fresh for those who have seen every other rendition of Superman.
I liked the opener too. I hope the energy keeps up. Hope I said, hope.
I liked it too.
Give Tess a backstory though .
In the comics,
Lex had a sister who didnt know of her true origins at first.
If they were related that might explain why he basically left her the company.
Just a thought .
After a season that destroyed Clark’s character, this season premiere was a vast improvement. I hope the show gets a 9th season.
If Michael Rosenbaum doesn’t return at all, it would be pointless to do a search for Lex storyline. Tess has major shoes to fill.
All I care about is a proactive Clark accepting his destiny on his own accord and his relationships with other characters. Anything that has nothing to do with Clark’s journey is extraneous.
I loved the season premiere!
I’m so glad they’re moving away from the Clark/Lana storyline and forward to Clark/Lois. I thought last nights episode was very strong and I found Lois’s French maid bit very funny and very Lois. At the end of the episode, I loved the playful banter between Clark & Lois. It was nice to see him smile for a change. Tom Welling has really grown into a fine actor
and it doesn’t hurt that he is gorgeous to look at.
Nice overview of the episode, but you forgot one thing that bugged me last night: Chloe said yes to Jimmy’s proposal
This girl has more than paid her dues and deserves Clark giving her a chance! I did hear rumors of there being an episode exploring this, but I’m hoping for more than that!
Gary - I was thinking the same thing about Tess last night. I was wondering if having her sit at the same desk that both Lionel and Lex and possessed might be a foreshadowing of her being a Luthor.
All in all, it was a pretty good episode and I am so glad that Lana is gone!
I don’t remember where I read it but it was suggested that Tess Mercer might be paying homage.
Anyone remember the first Superman movie from 1978? Who would Lex yell out for?
Eve Teschmacher. “Miss Teschmacherrrrr!”
A stretch? Maybe, but I thought it was an interesting coincidence.
Lana should have been gone, oh, I don’t know … four seasons ago. I remember somebody saying that the biggest problem with Smallville is that its basic theory is that the entire Superman mythos revolves around her … and let’s face it, she’s not a very strong character as portrayed — too passive aggressive, too fetishized.
There will be at least one episode this season where they explore the Clark/Chloe relationship - but with her having accepted Jimmy’s proposal I can tell you in advance that it’s going to bug the heck out of me to see that.
Clark ends up with Lois - anything else would just be a temporary situation.
Vic
I enjoyed the episode as well and when Clark said it’s time to leave the barn behind, I said “It’s about time!”. Now Chloe not being able to heal; I wondered if she just couldn’t heal Clark, or has she lost that ability totally? I don’t remember any episode where she actually healed Clark.
The Martian Manhunter will be back, Clark said he would. But I thought that the MM said that Jor-El took Clark’s powers because he Lex used the crystal, not that the crystal took Clark’s powers. In any event, this episode was far better than the ones from last season.
One other thing, they could use this thing with Lex as a way of him loosing his memory about Clark, or that Jor-El took that memory away.
Good point about the Chloe healing thing in regards to Clark. I still think her power has been replaced, though.
Vic
John’s comment about Clark leaving the Barn was dead on, but also felt a little bittersweet. He also makes a good point about Chloe , but that’s only because Clark never really needed healing until last nights episode. You are also right about the MM saying Jor-el took Clark’s powers. I heard that also.
I wasn’t that impressed by the season 8 opener. I thought it would be much interesting. I only enjoyed seening the green arrow, aquaman and siren…
Of all the shows that I have loved over the years, from MacGuyver and Airwolf to Tour of Duty and even the short-lived version of The Flash back in 1990, no other show has ever captured my heart like Smallville. I have every season on DVD and I still cry my eyes out when I watch the episode entitled “Ryan” from season 2 or “Reckoning” from season 5. I feel season 7 let me down, plain and simple. They presented some good ideas and there were memorable episodes, but for the most part, my show ook a nose dive. Then when I found out that in season 8 they were introducing Doomsday (my favorite villain) and that he was going to be a bartender…well, my heart pretty much gave up. But I must say,last night’s episode was solid. I’m not sure how Tess is going to be taken by fans of the show, and I find myself wondering if they will give us closure on Lex. But all in all, Supergirl’s gone, as well as the Lana-beast. YAY!!! I really miss Lionel though. LOL
I like the opener for the most part. I’ve always felt they would have to have some type of memory loss for Lex not to know who Clark is. I also think they may be holding out hope for a return of Michael Rosenbaum(at least briefly)for closure. I hope that happens, especially for the final episode. I won’t hold my breath though. It would be cool for Lois to have some memory loss too or else she’s going to recognize Clark as Superman immediately. Well, since he probably won’t become Supes until the final episode, who cares? They basically stole Doomsday’s comic origin and used it for Bizarro, so they have to come up with something else whatever that will be. Does anyone think we will see any version of Batman and Wonder Woman on the show before the end?
Now there’s an interesting thought. The same guys who said “no flights, no tights” ALSO said we’d never see Bruce Wayne on the show. But now… who knows?
Wouldn’t that be cool as hell?
Vic
The premiere was good, but i’m really disappointed that Michael Rosenbaum is not coming back for this season and supergirl. How are you guys going to leave the audience hangin’ with supergirl in the phantom zone and lex m.i.a.? If the rumors true, about this being the last season. Then you guys should know everyone is expecting somehting big to happen at the end. Is Clark Kent finally going to become superman? Are you guys thinking of coming out with a movie? Cause I know I am. This is a great show that I know everyone likes to watch. Everybody’s been asking if smallville ends, will they continue it at Metropolis. Title being Metroplois? I sure would like to be a part of that. Being a superman fanatic and all. I know my stuff. I have ideas. Here’s my e-mail kryptikplaya_69@yahoo.com you can contact me!
Lol,,,Vic
A Justice League prequel,,,
Boy I’m totally outnumbered here…
KEL,, !!!!!!!!!!!!
Here me,,,
Use your powers…
Boy I’m totally outnumbered here…
KEL,, !!!!!!!!!!!!
(Correction)
Hear me,,,
Use your powers..
I am loosing the ablity ro speel corerctly.
Smallville is Smallville - it’s own thing. You’ve had 7 years to adjust to that.
If anything, this season will move it closer to being more inline with the comic book version, but the two will never meet.
Vic
That’s cool Vic, I know some that call me a tard cause I like Speed Racer…
Lol,,,,,
I have no intensions of being a troll here just kidding around.
My understanding is the problem with Batman and Wonder Woman appearances
are entirely legal issues .
Currently the show does not have the legal right to use those chracters
Those are the other two OF DCs big three and they are guarding them closely .
Particularly Batman .
But I wouldnt expect to see Diana either.
It was weak that cyborg and flash(YEA i KNOW THEY DONT CALL HIM THAT) dont’t apear- it mentioned that tey are also looking for him, weak..
-Tess macher- yes refrence homage to 78 movie…
Weak epidose, poor strukture, but I almost cryed at points- where the true superman spirit was revealed….
At least there is something new is happening. The show really does suffer fromt the absence of Lex though. I don’t know if thats because I’ve got so used to him over they years.
Maybe if they flesh out the Tess character a bit more.
Nice to see Lois getting knocked out… again. Its like every episode she is in shegets KO’d.
Just like what we predicted no lana=no big rating.most of fans don want to see another lois &clark story!
From what I’m reading everyone is thrilled about the 8th season. However, from what I seen the 8th season is going to be horrible…I thought that the season opener was a huge disappointment. I can tell that the season is being written by TOTALLY different people. There were two good things about the season premier though.
1. Lana GONE!!! Was seriously getting tired of that teenage LOVE mess.
2. Clark manning up and seemingly realizing that he was sent here for more than being in love with Lana.
One thing that I DON’T like is that it always seems they have to put a woman into a show to counteract men. This “Tess” character that replaces Luthor doesn’t go well with me…..hoping that things will change in the future. But from the season opener I can see this being the LAST of the smallville seasons if it doesnt shape up REAL quick.
My initial thoughts were she was a poor replacement for Lex but I think she should be given a chance. She might surprise. But probably won’t.
Things are a bit up in the air for season 8 right now, it could go either way.
JB:
Females have traditionally been added to shows for ratings. When Star Trek Voyager added “7 of 9″, they had the best ratings in a long time.
Back in the day, you could always tell when show was starting to lose it’s legs: They’d add a busty, hot looking woman to the cast.
I don’t mean to demean women, it just seems to be the pattern.
And JB: This IS the last season of Smallville. At least that’s what they’ve and we have been reporting for some time now.
Unless of course, by some miraculous fickle bit of fate, something they do with the show is a hit.
IE: In the comic, when Superman came up against Doomsday, they were ending the title because it had flat lined. But when readership increased by a factor of 10 I think it was, they scrapped their plans and brought the title back. I fear this might happen. Maybe that’s what will happen. Doomsday came through and cleaned house because he was a bad kryptonian weapon experiment.
I can see some of the heroes going down hard in the show, like they did in the comic.
I thought is was the most classic set of panels in the comic book, when supes first encountered Doomsy.
Doomsy slams him in the chest and he said something to the equivalent of : Is that the best you can do?
The next set of panels, we see supes flying backwards through the air, through large trees, houses and what not.
Now that was a great answer and a preview. All Doomsy wanted to do was kill everything. He was mad. Very mad at the world, as he was designed to be. (Or, they just instilled him with the emotions of a man who has to deal with the developing scenario of a divorce!)
B
I liked it quite a bit, some of the normal Smallville contrivances are ‘old’ but not worn old at least. Lois in particular, and the non-Lex but Lex-based person-in-charge. But I agree that giving time for a character to develop is important.
I’m easy to please, having Aquaman and Black Canary along with Green Arrow pretty much made this a shoe-in for a fun show for me… And totally liked the fact that Clark manned up even without powers, but hopefully the vulnerability and dying will reappear as moments of doubt or concern when he finds himself in dire straits. Psychologically having experienced it should come into play some I hope.
People, How can you judge a whole season by only 1 episode!
How about you all relax, sit back and enjoy the ride. Yes I will miss the Lex/Clark Dynamic, but the fact that Clark has finally moved on from Lana makes this season perfect already. It can only get better. For someone who doesn’t know the whole Superman Lore, Smallville has been 1 of my top 5 go to shows. I can’t imagine a Thursday night without it and will miss it when it’s gone.
i liked how they changed lois’ look for the end scene, she looked very lois laneish
we can extrapolate from this first ep how things will probably unfold. No doubt everyone will bitch and moan at how ‘good’ Smallville used to be but you’ll be sad when its gone.
The departure of Lex does give is one thing to look forward to: his glorious comeback at the end! I think having Lex gone for the season will make his eventual return all the better.
There is absolutely NO indication at this point that Michael Rosenbaum will be returning to the show this season. At all.
Vic
Patti: I like your take on the issue and it’s a great point. That for someone who doesn’t know the Superman lore, it’s a good show for you.
Vic: Come on… short of Rosenbaum kicking the bucket I’m fairly certain he’ll be back, if only for the final finale, beit this season or beyond.
The production staff said no, he will not be back. Of course things could change.
One of the executive producers, Darren Swimmer, said “no Michael Rosenbaum at all this season. But to make up for it, they are introducing Samuel Witwer as Davis Bloome/Doomsday. ”
Trust me, I’d like to see Lex back too, but if we’re to believe what the producers are saying, then so be it.
lets hope they’re using a little bit of disinformation. I would like to see Lex back too.
But if he ain’t he ain’t. Although I doubt they would have left the Lex story so open if they didn’t have a resolution in mind somewhere down the line.
I can’t stand Lois. She ruins every scene. Chloe I can tolerate. Green Arrow doesn’t add much to the scene, but he can carry his scenes. The series definitely suffered without Lex and Lana. This series shouldn’t be called Smallville anymore.
Mandy, You’ll have to get past your feelings for Lois because she & Superman are destined to be together so she’s not going anywhere. And the Series isn’t called Smallville because of Lex & Lana, but because of Clark Kent who isn’t going anywhere either. I miss Lex also, but it was Michael’s choice to leave. Change is tough, but sometimes you can’t control it. I’m sure the writers would love for Lex to be around, but maybe for Clark’s growth, not having Lex on the show for a while will be a good thing. It will force him to grow and move on.
well i think that the new season will be exciting cos i love the part of clark leaving the farm and going to the city for a new job and i hope he becomes the hero over there….
and i love this season cos is going to be filled with excitement,and am waiting to know wht is going to happen to the relationship of clark n lana lang, clark n chloe n also clark n lois lane.
I’m hearing now that there may be a season 9 coming….WITHOUT LEX LUTHOR AGAIN!!! I suppose it’s going to be “the continuing story of the search for Lex”. CW, get a grip!
A season 9 would be terrific!
So far I’m really enjoying this season. Last Thursday’s episode was great. It was nice to see Oliver’s back story and how he became the Green Arrow. It was interesting how they connected him to Tess. The scene at the end between Oliver & Clark was good. Oliver was so right in his assesment of Clark. I think it was just what Clark needed to hear.
@Patti
I’m enjoying season 8 as well; but another season without Supes arch-enemy? Well, it’s just a rumor and if it’s true, maybe it will work. We’ll have to see.
smallville is the best show alive and coming from me I’m saying if they take out smallville before it finishes people and a lot of people will strike for it to come back but more lois and Clark time should be added.
So far, this is the best season ever! I love Clark & Lois together. It is so nice to see a playful side of Clark after all the years of him pining over Lana. There is a definite maturity to him this year. I’m also liking the whole Oliver/Tess storyline. It’ll be interesting to see where the writiers go with that. In the last episode, I loved Oliver’s face when he saw Clark & Lois
at the jewelers. That was classic.
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