Following the massive season nine finale in May 2010, the tenth year of Smallville was revealed to be set as the Superman prequel’s final season. After having spent more than nine years with Clark Kent (Tom Welling) as he discovered himself before becoming the Man of Steel, our hero had one final trial to overcome. From taking on his biggest threat of all time in the form of Darkseid, Clark got where he needed to get so he could become Earth’s greatest hero. But just as Clark’s story was coming full circle, so did the other characters including Lois Lane (Erica Durance) and Lex Luthor as Michael Rosenbaum returned for the series finale.
From hitting another milestone episode with its 200th installment to finishing Clark’s journey, season ten came with its many ups and downs. With Welling and Durance set to reprise their Smallville roles in the Arrowverse’s Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover, it’s time to look through the final season’s best and worst episodes.
WORST: Patriot (Episode 9)
While we've seen a lot of great portrayals of Slade Wilson/Deathstroke in live-action TV and film, Smallville’s version was not one of them. The ninth episode titled “Patriot” featured Michael Hogan as a watered-down version of Slade who bared very little resemblance to his comic counterpart. We got a great return from Aquaman (Alan Ritchson) with the debut of his wife Mera (Elena Satine) with “Patriot” marked as Arthur Curry’s final appearance in the series. Regardless, Slade takes away a lot of the enjoyment from the episode.
BEST: Lazarus (Episode 1)
The final season premiere kicked off a lot of the great storylines for the tenth season. Lois got to bring Clark back from the abyss of life and death now that she knows his secret. We find Tess (Cassidy Freeman) alive at Cadmus Labs as she discovers Lex’s cloning project. While a young Alexander is saved by Tess, an older unstable one (Mackenzie Grey) escapes going after Clark.
From kidnapping Lois and planting bombs at the roof of the Daily Planet, this was a deliciously evil plot of Lex. While Clark stops him, rescues Lois and saves the Daily Planet globe in an amazing almost-flight sequence, “Lazarus” deals with Clark’s final struggle for the season. With Darkseid lurking around the corner, Jor-El makes it clear what Clark needs to do to overcome his final challenge. To top it off, John Schneider makes a beautiful return as Jonathan Kent’s spirit to comfort his son.
WORST: Ambush (Episode 7)
Once Lois and Clark finally got together, with no secrets in the way, you’d think that the worst was over. But the final season had a lot of episodes where something or someone was trying to get in the way of their happiness constantly. The seventh episode brings back General Lane (Michael Ironside) and Lucy Lane (Peyton List) for a messy family reunion. From the clash between the General and Clark to Lucy’s actions, “Ambush” is a headache of an episode that didn’t really need to play out the way it did.
BEST: Booster (Episode 17)
After his Legion and JSA episodes, DC Comics writer Geoff Johns returned to pen one final episode that introduced two big heroes. In the seventeenth episode, that became Welling’s final episode to direct, we meet Booster Gold (Eric Martsolf) and Jaime Reyes (Jaren Brandt Bartlett) who becomes Blue Beetle. As Booster travels from the future to Clark’s time, our hero is challenged by the man in gold.
It was intriguing to see Clark engage with another hero who knows him in the future while also giving him challenges. While the show’s take on Blue Beetle could have been better, Booster is the highlight of this episode along with Clark’s progression of developing his mild-mannered persona.
WORST: Masquerade (Episode 14)
The season did solid work with Granny Goodness (Christine Willes) and Gordon Godfrey (Michael Daingerfield) as part of Darkseid’s Prophets. When it came to Desaad (Steven Byers), Smallville didn’t represent a lot of his comic counterpart. The fourteenth episode made that abundantly clear as he went after Chloe (Allison Mack) to try corrupt her. But Chloe manages to fight back and in the end, Oliver is the one to get converted by Darkseid’s influence. This was one of the weaker aspects of the final season, mostly because of how late Oliver’s arc started.
BEST: Luthor (Episode 10)
Before The Flash and the other DC-CW shows explored the Multiverse, Smallville played with it in season ten. In "Luthor", we get introduced to Earth-2 where Clark was taken in by Lionel Luthor (John Glover) who raises him to become the vicious Ultraman.
As Ultraman terrorizes Earth-1, Clark witnesses the dark reality of Earth-2 while trying to return to his Earth. It makes you wish they had introduced the Multiverse concept sooner in the series.
WORST: Isis (Episode 5)
Despite finally coming clean to Lois about his secret, the fifth episode made sure to let the viewers wait till the very end. In “Isis”, as Lois and Clark are about to put all the cards on the table, Lois gets possessed by the spirit of DC Comics’ Isis. As much fun as it is to see Lois with powers, “Isis” was an irritating delay of the big moment between Lois and Clark where they can finally be together without any secrets.
BEST: Homecoming (Episode 4)
The 200th episode lived up to the meaning of celebrating a show’s past, present, and future. As Clark was conflicted with whether or not he could be a hero, Brainiac 5 (James Marsters) makes a visit from the future. During Lois and Clark’s homecoming, Brainy takes Clark on a journey to his past, present and future. It becomes an emotional hour as “Homecoming” visits crucial moments in both the past and present. But it’s when Clark accidentally goes to the future where the fun really begins. Clark gets the big reassurance that everything is going to work out. From having a great life with Lois to meeting his future self who is now the Man of Steel, Clark begins to feel hopeful again. “Homecoming” ends with Clark and Lois dancing in the barn while dropping the L-word to one another before Clark starts floating a little bit in the air.
WORST: Harvest (Episode 6)
Another episode that seemed to want to get in the way of Lois and Clark’s happiness was “Harvest.” In the sixth episode, the couple ends up in Meeker Springs that were hit by the first meteor storm. Because the storm left behind a ton of blue Kryptonite, it got into their water system that has kept the people healthy for all those years. Seeing it as a gift from God, the village sacrifices a young woman ever year in honor of the daughter who died in 1989. With Clark powerless, Lois becomes the sacrifice. Even though Clark saves her, “Harvest” is extremely unsettling and another block for the couple’s happiness.
BEST: Finale Part 1 & 2 (Episodes 21/22)
After ten long years, Clark finally became Superman. Clark takes down Darkseid as well as sharing one final scene with Lex. Despite a short showdown with Darkseid, it’s still unforgettable as Clark finally learned to fly. Lex sadly kills Tess as the Luthor siblings are finally reunited. But Tess came with a surprise as she erases Lex’s memories including the truth about Clark. Once Clark suits up in the Fortress and flies away, it’s full-on Superman. He saves Air Force One with Lois on it before epically pushing Apokolips back into space, freeing everyone of Darkseid’s control. The final minutes play out in the future, giving fans a last glimpse of Clark as Superman, including his happy life with Lois and a few super-cameos. Despite being on their way to get married, Clark will run late as he has to take off to save the day. The series then ends with Clark getting on the roof of the Daily Planet where he does the iconic shirt-rip, revealing S-shield as he takes off to save the day as Superman.