Finale

What a long and inspiring journey it was ! It's how I felt after watching the Finale. 10 seasons to find the strength to put one foot in front of the other in our daily life. 10 seasons to witness the birth of heroes we can relate to. 10 seasons to entertain ourselves but more important to educate us. Despite its flaws long time fans had found in the show what they needed. Role models ? A weekly dose of Lois & Clark moments ? A fictional family ? The matter what we were hoping for it was inevitable that our expectations would be high. I can't imagine how hard it must have been for the dream team behind Smallville to produce such an episode on time and budget. In the end what they have achieved is remarkable in many ways but the critic within can't help taking over the geeky fanboy, but sleek, I have always been.

Indeed this last installment reminded me a lot of Doomsday, season 8's finale. The action scenes were numerous but they were far too short and some of them were just rushed, specially the one with Green Arrow. At times it should even make you wonder what happened but thankfully the church sequence was a brilliant mix of love and percussive fighting. The continuity between some scenes was also quite weak and an awkward editing didn't help. Still there were a few good surprises like some creative camera movements but overall I found the story was unbalanced and even boring at times. I was specially annoyed by the speech Lois gave on the plan because it just didn't make sense considering what her audience knew. She had no arguments to back it up beside her strong belief and her words weren't nothing like the inspiring ones in season 8's Idol.

Don't get me wrong I liked our love birds dance and the guests were surprising but when Clark Kent became Superman I just didn't believe in it. It's simple I think we never saw him from head to toes dressed up as the superhero we all dreamed of. The camera kept dancing between obscure close-ups and long distance filming of a vulgar CG doll in tights. And the very end was also quite disappointing considering Lois wasn't featured in it. There was nothing memorable about it when I was expecting a classic scene with Superman on top of a building with his cape flying in the wind. The cult moment we all expected just didn't happen. I suspect the producers were only able to afford a limited Superman license, restricting its use on the show. But in my humble opinion he doesn't belong to its creators nor to the bunch of capitalist egoists who manage and sell his rights to stuff their greedy pockets. If it wasn't for his fans the franchise would already be dead. I'm also convinced things would have been completely different if Christopher Reeve was still alive. His few appearances as Doctor Virgil Swann were soulwarming and I have no doubt his soul is disappointed, if not annoyed, that Tom Welling wasn't allowed to embrace Superman like him. After so much hard work and considering his extraordinary metamorphosis across the 10 seasons Welling deserved better than that. He is Clark Kent. He is The Blur. But his portrayal of Superman remained grounded for selfish and absurd reasons. They should have let him be the true superhero we all wished for ! Open the license, free Superman !

But despite all these flaws there were still plenty of elements that I enjoyed. The first would be the dark, apocalyptic and tragic ambiance. It was quite immersive thanks to good visual effects, well designed sets and trembling cameras. Only a car chase and some rare outdoor scenes jarred with the rest. As for the acting I was almost intimidated to see so many talented performers on screen. Naming just one wouldn't be fair to the others because overall they all did a tremendous job. The wicked story lines their characters were involved in were also quite exciting and even shocking at times. From ecstatic joy to deep sorrow they really succeeded in moving us for one last time. Also I found their approach, in terms of writing specially, quite respectful of comics. Chloe telling an epic story to a little boy was heartwarming and linking the end to some past episode was interesting and well thought. And even if these vivid gems could never hide what went wrong I can only admit that I'm not ready to forget about the epic scene in the barn, even if the flashbacks looked more like heavy fan service. Doomsday ? Zod ? His dark period ? These were probably the most important trials that shaped him as The Man of Steel. Still Darkseid was well rendered in its CG form and we couldn't have dreamed of a better actor to portray his evil human form. But ultimately the one thing I'll save in a secret room of my memory are the beautiful and dramatic Lois & Clark moments. From the theatrical apartment sequence to the church one Erica Durance & Tom Welling's chemistry was stellar and served by a writing reminiscent of divine episodes like Charade and Salvation.

Note : Even if the Finale didn't live up enough to my expectations I would like to congratulate the minds behind the show because their work really inspired me. Everyone on the show should be proud of what they have accomplished because producing 22 episodes per year during a decade with so many great ones is just unbelievable ! Thanks from all my heart and soul.

Ten years ago Smallville came to our screens with lofty ambitions. Fans of the Superman mythology were both excited and critical about a show that aimed to document Clark Kent's journey from simple farm boy to one of the most recognised icons of the 20th century.

The pilot episode boasted an impressive budget and scope, dazzling viewers with special effects rarely seen on the small screen. Meanwhile, the believable Tom Welling demonstrated both the physicality and earnest integrity that defines the character of Superman throughout his many and varied incarnations. The stage was set, but these attributes alone did not guarantee a long running and successful television drama.

Fortunately, the supporting cast proved to be everything the longevity of the show required, with talents the likes of Erica Durance, Michael Rosenbaum, Kristin Kreuk, Allison Mack and John Glover selling the show to audiences and keeping them coming back for more. The guidance of Annette O'Toole and John Schneider as the Kent's, Clark's foster parents on earth, provided the show with its heart, and filled the characters with a warmth and amiability that was essential in anchoring the fantastical plots to a relatable morality.

This combined with weekly doses of explosive action, tender romance and larger than life villains ensured the show soared to the top of the ratings, and cameos from the likes of Christopher Reeve and Dean Cain helped shape the series into something of a Superman compendium, encompassing and paying homage to the popular iterations that had come before.

Suffice to say, the Finale pays the vast canon of the Superman universe justice, rounding off key story lines and treating us to the spectacle of Clark embracing his destiny as The Man of Steel in a double episode extravaganza.

Prepare to be blown away by the conclusion to a ten year saga that has won praise and recognition by fans the world over.

Three months after it was aired in the US, I in France just came at last to see Smallville's finale and... oh my God! I was screaming and laughing and crying in front of my screen: at last I was seeing the true Superman live again! Tom Welling was meant to wear the blue suit and red cape, he was made to be Superman; for the first time since the 1978 movie with regretted Christopher Reeve, I saw this symbol of hope, flying with his red cape in the wind and the mythical music theme of John Williams as a bonus. This final double episode was really satisfying, with beloved guest-stars and many brilliant ideas to link together the series with the universe of the comics. Of course, not everything was perfect, for example Lois and Clark's relationship was not quite as bubbly as usual, but they're cute nevertheless, and I believe that every fan found what they expected. I think we can congratulate Smallville's writers and producers for the coherence and inventiveness of the universe they created and its respect for its model. They took the stand for 10 years and they can be proud of their work.

Epic ending to a fantastic story, I got goosebumps and wet eyes. Thanks for the journey Smallville, Im sad its already ending here, but all good must end some day and better it ends at its peak.

All the actors through the series have done such a great job bringing the story to live, and my favorite is and will be Lois and Clarks relationship in the end, just wow, so natural that it almost feels like its not a movie 😁 Now I will proberly just start watching it all over again 😂😀😁

I wanted to check out this series because I had read Arrow compared to it quite a bit over the years. This series was ok but I would have quit seasons ago if not for the character of Oliver. He really embodied what a hero should be. His integrity, his comedic timing, saying so much with just a facial expression...I loved the CW series Arrow and their version of Oliver Queen. It is one of my all time favorite series. Justin Hartley's Oliver is different, but just as great. He kept me watching when the overall angst got to be too much. I actually liked so many characters - Lex, Lana, Lois, Lionel, Chloe, Jimmy, Martha, Tess and others...all such great portrayals, lots of depth and complexity. The only character I really did not like is Clark. Which is ironic because he is the central character. The longer the series went on, the less I liked him - to the point I just forwarded through many of his scenes. I found him to be the worst Clark/Superman I've ever watched. He was often so incredibly self-centered, lied to excess to EVERYONE who meant anything to him, REPEATEDLY. He was a horrible boyfriend to every one of his girlfriends. And he was so self-righteous! Ugh!! He held everyone else to a standard that he never set for himself. It would have been different if he grew and matured during the series into the kind of man a hero should be. But I didn't see it happen, not to the degree it should have. Probably because this version of Clark never had it in him like he should have. To the end, he still fell back into his whiny ways. Give me Dean Cain's or Tyler Hoechlin's versions of the character. Because they both showed character and integrity. I think they embody the kind of person I've always felt Clark/Superman should be. Still with flaws like we all have but they were/are both heroic. But Smallville's version of Clark was a major disappointment, over and over. I can't believe how much I disliked him. But all the other characters made it watchable and enjoyable.

And Oliver and Chloe's relationship was so great to watch that I could ignore Clark to see them and make it through to the end of the series.