Smallville's Executive Producers Talk About Returning Favorites In The Series Finale!

Interview by Craig Byrne

The final episode of Smallville airs on Friday, and this morning, The CW hosted a press Q&A with Executive Producers Kelly Souders and Brian Peterson.

Before the Q&A, they showed some clips from the finale, including Michael Rosenbaum's return to the series, which looks absolutely fantastic.

You'll surely read a lot more from this Q&A on KryptonSite and other media outlets in the coming days leading into May 13. For today, though, we've decided to focus on some of the returning favorites who are coming back for the last show - a list which includes Michael Rsoenbaum as Lex, Annette O'Toole as Martha, Allison Mack as Chloe, John Schneider as Jonathan (maybe?), and John Glover as Lionel Luthor.

Beware of spoilers within.

"We really wanted to keep this Clark's finale," Peterson prefaces, though he adds that Lex plays a "very interesting role." "There are a couple of big twists with Lex," Brian reveals, adding that there are more surprises beyond a clip that we were shown that implies that Lex wants to help Clark to defeat Darkseid.

Why would Smallville's Big Bad be doing something that appears to be good? "When we were thinking about Rosenbaum coming back and what our Smallville Lex's purpose was, it was always not quite what you expected, and much more human and emotional," Kelly Souders says. "We really went back to the pilot and we thought 'there's that guy who showed up and was totally personable, and super sympathetic, and just wanted to thank a guy for saving his life.' They're going to go on to be huge enemies, so what is it that's pivotal at this moment that's our Lex Luthor and our Clark Kent, and how do we wrap up the relationship that has been so complicated and so mixed with emotions for ten years?" she teases.

Another big return in the finale is John Schneider, looking very much alive as Jonathan Kent in some of the episodic promo stills. What kind of a role will he play in the finale? "I think it will become really clear, what role Jonathan plays and why he shows up the way he does in this episode. Every time I see certain moments with Jonathan, I definitely get a tear in my eye," Kelly says.

"We very purposely platformed his role in the finale with what we did in the premiere this year, with that final scene that Clark has with him in Lazarus. The whole point was to bookend the final season with Jonathan," Brian adds.

Also returning after what many thought would be her last episode in "Fortune" is Allison Mack as Chloe Sullivan. Brian Peterson is aware that many of the show's longtime fans want to know where her character will end up. "There are a lot of different ways people want Chloe to end, and so we service her character in a way that is right for who she was and who she is becoming," Brian says, adding that "she has a big moment with Clark where we get to see her shine."

Kelly Souders adds that the episode will also explain how Chloe interacts with the overall mythology. "Chloe fans should definitely stay tuned through the whole show," she teases.

"There's a certain thing that we give her that nobody got," Brian adds.

One person who will not be present for the final episode is Kristin Kreuk as Lana. "I think her role would have been much better in the 200th [episode], because it was about reunions and it was about high school and all of that," Brian explains. "Once that passed and we realized we weren't going to get her for that because she wasn't available, we didn't follow a Kristin thread."

Smallville's 10-year journey comes to an end May 13 on The CW. See a gallery of images from the episode! Come back later this week for more Finale goodness!

Return to the KryptonSite home page