Thank You Smallville

I was going to write a review of the series finale of Smallville, but after the credits rolled, or should I say swooshed by, I realized that the only thing that I really wanted to say was “thank you.”

Thank you to the cast and crew for creating a show that I really loved.

For the last ten years I have been infuriated, uplifted and entertained by Smallville. I’m a huge Superman fan and  there was something about this incarnation that was really special.It wasn’t a perfect show. At times it was too dark, too whiny, and even too nonsensical. I could have lived without Clark going on a red kryptonite induced crime spree that tarnished everything he stood for, evil Jor-El, seven years of badly written Clark and Lana, wasted opportunity after opportunity with Lex and Lionel, The Great Jimmy “Henry” Olsen Switcheroo and that damn power suit debacle, but when it was all was said and done, Smallville did right by Superman and for that I’m grateful.

I really enjoyed the last episode of Smallville. There was no way that the finale could live up to ten years worth of expectations, but it gave me what I wanted --- iconic Jor-el, iconic Lois and Clark, the return of Lex, Lex and Tess finally meeting onscreen, and the birth of Superman.  

Speaking of Superman, the scene when he walks into the Fortress of Solitude as Clark and flies out as Superman is my favorite scene from the ENTIRE ten year run.

It was so satisfying to see Clark finally become Superman after all those years of him running away from his heritage, but this episode also made me understand for the first time why it took so long. When Lex was talking about how he couldn’t understand why Clark spent so many years hiding from his destiny, when he would have seized it, he articulated the main problem that I have had with Clark for years. But Clark’s answer, that it was his legacy to embrace when he was ready, put the whole show in perspective for me. I may have wanted him to become Superman sooner, but this Clark just wasn’t there yet. It had to happen when it was time.

I loved that there were so many nods to the various Superman incarnations in the finale. Loved the comic book reading at the beginning that hearkened back to the first scenes of Superman the Movie.  I loved the Lois and Clark kissing scene at the Daily Planet that was reminiscent of The Wedding Album. I loved how the Luthor Corp sign was destroyed and what was left of it spelled Lex Corp, a nod to the name of the Luthor empire in the comic. I loved the airplane scene in which Superman saves Lois and the President; it was reminiscent of both Superman Returns and their comic book meeting. I loved that we finally got to hear the Superman/Lois love theme from the movies, and of course, nothing was better than hearing the Superman theme at the end.

I also appreciated them bringing Aaron Ashmore back as Jimmy Olsen. It was the right thing to do and went a long way to righting one of the biggest wrongs in Smallville history.

I thought the Lex/Clark scenes were great. Michael and Tom have an amazing chemistry and I thought it was fantastic that while Clark was apologizing for not being able to save Lex from his darkness, Lex's expressions and words let it be known that he didn't want to be saved. Clark has carried the burden of Lex's fall for far to long, it was nice seeing Lex own it for a change.

Alt Lionel's devotion to Lex was an interesting plot twist. Not sure if I bought it, but I was so glad that The Magnificent Bastard got to be there when it all ended.

The scenes between Lex/Tess where pure perfection. I will never understand why Michael's last year was wasted chasing Lana when he could have been scheming with Tess. That would have been dynamic to watch. But the scene we got was powerful and the only way things could end, sorry Tess, but there can only be one Luthor.

It was also nice seeing Johnathan and Martha back and having Clark's parents there brought everything full circle.

I loved Clark and Lois’ journey to realizing that they belonged together, their door conversation was beautiful  and very reminiscent in look and feel of Lois and Clark. I’m a HUGE Clois shipper and I never expected to see it in Smallville, so I was thrilled when Lois was introduced, happy when they fell in love, and beyond ecstatic that we actually got to see an engagement and a wedding of sorts. To me, Clark didn’t really settle into himself until Lois was introduced. With Lana he was always trying to be perfect, with Lois he was himself, and his character was better served for it.

No episode is perfect, and I had quibbles with it like everybody else. No, we didn’t get to see a full body view of the suit. It was obvious that Tom Welling was CGI’d into the Superman costume, but so what? We got to see Superman and that's what matters. The producers and actors always said this was about Clark, so while I may have fantasized about Clark doing a flyby the Earth and winking at the camera as the screen faded to black, I feel that the final scene of him on the rooftop, opening his shirt to reveal the S underneath was the right way to go for a series that to its very end was about Clark, not Superman.

I also wasn't too fond of the insinuation that Chloe and Oliver stayed married and had a kid. I love Chloe. For so many years she was my favorite character, and I am so glad that she made it out of this series alive, but I have a thing against major breaks with comic continuity and Green Arrow does not end up with Chloe Sullivan. Still, its ambiguous enough so that those who want to believe the kid is his can, and those who don't, like me, won't.

With DC "rebranding" its line of Superman books, Smallville could really be the end of an era. There is talk about Superman's origins being changed, and as hard as it is to believe, Lois Lane's status in his life is now  in question. We might be entering a new age  for the Man of Steele and I am glad that Smallville was around to chronicle the old one. 

There are people who mock Superman as being too boring, too preachy and too perfect. There are those who mock his goodness, but I think the traits that people scoff at are the reasons he has been so popular for so long. To be a fan of Superman is to believe that there is real goodness in the world, and that somehow the light will always beat back the darkness that seems to be on the verge of overtaking us.

We believe that a man can fly because there is a part of us that never outgrows the need to believe that there is something bigger and better than us and all we have to do is look up to find it.