**Previously On Smallville: What You May Have Missed**

Written by Russ Dimino

As Smallville's impressive 10 year run comes to a close, fans everywhere are on the edge of their seats waiting to see how the series will end. Will Clark finally fly? Will he don the tights and cape? Which of our favorite characters will be coming back for one last hurrah? No doubt even viewers who have been away from the series for awhile will be tuning in to see how it all wraps up. Have you missed a few episodes... or maybe a few seasons? Are you worried you won't know what's going on? Or maybe you need to get a friend up to speed before your big finale party? Never fear! Here's a "cheat sheet" on where everyone's at now, some important recent events, and even what happened to some characters that are not so likely to show up in the finale!

CLARK KENT is working at the Daily Planet, wearing glasses, and perfecting his "mild mannered" persona while in public. The people of Metropolis are aware that there is a superhero in their midst, but they are not calling him Superman just yet... they refer to him as "The Blur," because he is never around long enough to be seen. Clark does have a red and blue costume that he wears when savingpeople, but it's not THE costume. The Superman costume that we all know and love does exist; Martha gave it to Clark at the end of season 9. It is currently in the Fortress of Solitude, because Jor-El told Clark he was not ready for it yet.

LOIS LANE is in on Clark's secret, having discovered that he was The Blur at the end of season 9/start of season 10. She is helping him develop his bumbling secret identity and encourages him to wear the glasses in public. Lois and Clark are engaged to be married, and the wedding day is coming up fast, although the most recent episode ended with Lois ready to call off the wedding for fear that she is holding Clark back from being the hero he is meant to be.

LEX LUTHOR learned Clark's secret in season 7. The two confronted each other in the Fortress of Solitude, which collapsed around them when Lex activated a kryptonian artifact (Michael Rosenbaum's last appearance to date). Lex resurfaced in season 8, heavily scarred and mostly lurking in the background. He continued to manipulate and mastermind until he was presumably killed in an explosion set by Green Arrow. Season 10 revealed that Lex had made clones of himself in an effort to heal his damaged body. Most of the clones were killed in a lab explosion. The only one to survive was actually a hybrid of Lex's DNA and Clark Kent's. Initially calling himself Alexander, this clone came to befriend Clark and now goes by the name Conner Kent. The real Lex, though, is still believed to be deceased.

LIONEL LUTHOR was killed by Lex in season 7, when Lex pushed him out a window of the LuthorCorp building. However, in season 10, a kryptonian "Mirror Box" relic sent Clark to an alternate universe where he was raised by Lionel instead of the Kents. When Clark returned home, he inadvertently brought that universe's Lionel back with him. This Lionel attempted to reclaim LuthorCorp, but was discredited when it was revealed that his fingerprints do not match the "real" Lionel's (they are a mirror image). This Lionel was last seen standing over Lex's grave, wishing for his son's return.

DARKSEID is the "big bad" of season 10. In the comics, Darkseid is the warlord ruler of the planet Apokolips, who dreams of enslaving humanity. Thus far, Smallville has portrayed him mostly as a force, referred to as "the darkness," who possesses people and turns them evil. Darkseid has, however, appeared as a smoke-like apparition at various times as well. His followers on earth include Granny Goodness, Gordon Godfrey, and Desaad. An omega symbol indicates that someone has been possessed by the darkness.

CHLOE SULLIVAN left her journalism career behind when Lex Luthor fired her from the Daily Planet in season 7. She went on to become a vital part of the emerging Justice League in the role of Watchtower, where she would monitor and oversee their communications systems, helping them fight crime from behind the scenes. Over time, Chloe fell in love with Oliver Queen, The Green Arrow. The two were secretly married in season 10, on the night of Clark's bachelor party. In Chloe's last appearance to date, she told Clark that she has committed herself to traveling the world, seeking out other heroes and helping them realize their potential.

OLIVER QUEEN, a.k.a Green Arrow, has proven to be one of Clark's closest allies in the war on crime. Having no super powers, he fights criminals with the use of a bow and arrow. It was Oliver who first recruited the team of heroes who would become the Justice League. In season 10, Oliver went public with his secret identity, revealing to the world that he was the Green Arrow. His friendship with Clark may be headed toward a disastrous end, however. Oliver is the latest to succumb to the darkness (see DARKSEID), and he is in possession of gold kryptonite, a substance which could remove Clark's powers permanently.

TESS MERCER first appeared in season 8, taking over LuthorCorp when Lex went missing. Initially intent on carrying on the Luthor legacy, Tess had a change of heart when she learned that Lex had been secretly monitoring her every move for years. She learned Clark's secret from Lionel Luthor's journal, and she believed Clark was destined to be a savior to humanity. Her alliances and motives have shifted many times. She was a member of the shadowy organization known as Checkmate, and her desire for power led her to ally herself with the Kryptonian villain Major Zod. After being betrayed and nearly killed by Zod, Tess attempted to regain Clark's trust by assisting him and the other heroes, eventually taking over the Watchtower duties vacated by Chloe. In season 10, Tess learned that her birth father was actually Lionel Luthor, and that her birth name is Lutessa Lena Luthor. She is Lex Luthor's half sister, as they have different mothers.

LANA LANG married Lex Luthor in season 6, then faked her death to escape the marriage when she realized he was evil. Not long after Lana returned to Smallville, she was put into a catatonic state by Brainiac. She eventually recovered, but chose to leave Smallville at the end of season 7. She returned for several episodes in season 8, with the revelation that she had been training to bring down Lex Luthor. She then stole a prototype suit from Lex that gave her super powers. With these powers, she was able to save Clark from a potentially lethal kryptonite bomb blast, but she became permanently irradiated by it. She can no longer be near Clark without physically hurting him. She left to use her new powers to try to do good in the world. She has not been seen since season 8.

JIMMY OLSEN was a prominent character on the show starting in season 6. He was a photographer for the Daily Planet, and one of the first to recognize the presence of "The Blur" in Metropolis (see CLARK KENT). He and Chloe fell in love and were married in season 8, although their marriage was strained by Davis Bloome, who was obsessed with Chloe and tried to make Jimmy appear crazy. Just when it seemed Jimmy and Chloe would reconcile, Davis killed Jimmy. At the funeral, Jimmy's younger brother is seen sporting a bow tie, and Chloe gives him Jimmy's camera, implying that this boy will fill the traditional "Jimmy Olsen" role of the Superman mythology. Glimpses of the future in season 9 and 10 have indicated that the Daily Planet has a staff photographer going by the name of Jimmy Olsen.

PETE ROSS was the first of Clark's friends to ever learn his secret. However, the burden of knowing and having to hide that secret is what prompted Pete to leave Smallville at the end of season 3. He did make a return appearance in season 7, when he had temporarily gained super stretching-powers from chewing kryptonite-irradiated gum. These powers were gone by the episode's end.

MARTHA KENT is a United States Senator and has been living in Washington D.C. since the end of season 6. She has used her government connections to protect Clark and keep vital information about him out of the wrong hands. Her last appearance in season 9 revealed that she is in a romantic relationship with Perry White.

JONATHAN KENT died of a heart attack in season 5. He has, however, been seen in two forms in season 10. In the season premiere, he appeared to Clark at the Kent farm, telling him that he was proud of him and warning him of a coming threat. Whether this was a ghost, a figment of Clark's imagination, or something else entirely is not made clear. Clark also encountered a version of Jonathan Kent in the "Mirror Box" universe (see LIONEL LUTHOR above). This Jonathan was depressed, bitter, and destitute, but Clark managed to give him some hope and inspiration by telling him about the Jonathan who raised him.

There you have it - a quick "crash course" that should have you primed for the finale, allowing you to view it with minimal head-scratching! Whether you've watched the show from the start or discovered it recently, whether you tune in religiously every week or have been away for awhile and are coming back to see how it all ends, this finale is special. Because we know how it ends. We have known from the first episode that Clark Kent will become Superman. The twists and turns of how he would get there kept us coming back for more. And now, we are excited, because we have finally reached what we always knew what we would get to see in the end: The beginning.