May 13, 2011 – the final episode of Smalvlille aired on The CW. After 218 episodes of Tom Welling as a young Clark Kent, he finally took flight toward his destiny.
Anyone who knows me personally (and perhaps, many who don’t) know what an important role Smallville the series played in my life. I might not be writing about TV today if not for Smallville. The CW might not have its many superhero-based shows without Smallville coming in first to pave the way. Coming to an end was a personal experience as well as a professional one. We all knew the end would come someday, and perhaps the notion that the show even got 10 years might be a surprise if we were to tell our younger selves about it.
Setting the record straight, I was definitely not a “shipper.” I rooted for Clark to end up with his cape, and I sort of got what I wanted. Which isn’t to say that the final minutes of the finale – complete with adaptations of John Williams’ iconic scores – didn’t make me smile with glee. I was also very excited to see Michael Rosenbaum back as Lex Luthor – it’s hard to believe there was a time that I thought that maybe “Arctic” was the last we’d ever see of him. Honestly, I still don’t like the notion that Lex’s memories were mostly wiped – but it is what it is. It’s just like how I was so excited that Aaron Ashmore’s appearance was kept a surprise… until his name appeared in the credits. Oops. Wish they had saved that one for later. I still don’t understand how and why Superman’s “inspiration” stopped Darkseid so easily, when it seemed like such a difficult task only a few episodes earlier, but oh well.
I am grateful for all Smallville gave me, but I was excited to see what would happen next in life. Yes, it’s a crime Smallville was so successful for the network and the studio yet they never had a spinoff. What’s that all about? Still, I felt almost like Clark when all was said and done… I was free… I could fly. No more shipper wars and fans fighting, I thought. I wasn’t aware of the Olicity around the corner…. it gets worse.
With all that said…
I feel Smallville hasn’t always gotten its due for the impact it had on television. At ten seasons, it is one of the most successful series in the history of Warner Bros. Television. Alfred Gough and Miles Millar created a concept that could endure for a decade, with talented people shepherding the series along with them. To a generation, Tom Welling was their Superman Clark Kent. If you look around the Internet, there’s plenty of evidence of this: When a website posts something about Smallville, it drives traffic. Whenever Michael Rosenbaum has a Smallville guest on “Inside of You,” the numbers surely go up. Podcasts talking about the series thrive, when I can remember a time when all we had was the excellent SHoE. Convention appearances, real and virtual, are now a thing, now even attended by Tom Welling himself – who would’ve expected that? The cast of Smallville gets to see the fan love… though, if it were up to me, I’d want to see a 20th anniversary panel at Comic-Con (or a virtual one) with creators Gough and Millar present. And invite Annette O’Toole already — I haven’t seen her at any events – perhaps she’s too busy or uninterested – but she was by far one of my favorite Smallville people to interact with.
I’m okay with no continuation of Smallville beyond the Season 11 comics and the appearances of Tom Welling and Erica Durance in Crisis on Infinite Earths which was truly one of my favorite things, seeing them talk and banter like it’s 2010 all over again. Sometimes it’s better for “what happens next” to happen only in our imaginations, where surely Clark, Lois, Oliver, Chloe, Lex, Lana, and everyone else continued to have adventures. With that said, I wouldn’t be disappointed if I saw the characters again someplace, but it’s not a requirement…. more like it would be a very pleasant surprise. After all, I thought the final moments of “Finale” were the end for these characters, as they usually had been with the Superman franchise… little did I know that door would someday open and the possibilities would be there.
When Smallville began, the “Freak of the Week” concept was a very clever way to build that world: Kryptonite, or “meteor rocks” as we called them then, exaggerated impulses. The show continued to explore DC Comics mythology over the years, with Impulse, Aquaman, Green Arrow, Lois Lane and more introduced over time. The series introduced us to fantastic original characters like Lionel Luthor, Tess Mercer, and Chloe Sullivan, and employed so many fantastic actors that I would feel like I’d miss out on someone if I were to specifically call them out… though I will say Michael Rosenbaum is the best Lex Luthor ever, with Jon Cryer a close second place.
Smallville gave us such epic moments. The tornado. Leaping a tall building in a single bound. Christopher Reeve. “Shattered.” Lonely Lex in “Memoria.” “Kal” taking flight. The introduction of Lois. Clark and Bart racing. Meteor showers. “Reckoning.” The exploding baby. The Justice League. Supergirl. Clark vs. Zod. The helicopter rescue in “Homecoming.” The phone booth transformation in “Booster.” And that’s barely scratching the surface. Yes, there were the “shipper wars” at times which could be frustrating, but one thing the series did, especially in its earlier years, was it made an effort to give every character agency and importance. Even if, say, Clark was dating Lana at the time, Chloe was his best confidante. And hey, if people cared so much to back certain pairings, then obviously these characters were so well loved that we’d be rooting for them. This would only truly be bad if the audience became apathetic, and Smallville never let its viewers get to that point, even with over 200 episodes.
It’s interesting to think that even in 2011, social media and the Internet weren’t what they are today. While Twitter and Facebook did exist, a lot of the Smallville discussion still happened on the KryptonSite Forums (they still exist!) In fact, I invite everyone to check in and share their memories on this ten-year anniversary of the final episode.
So, again, thank you to everyone who has visited KryptonSite over the years, who bought the companion guides, who posted on the forums…. thank you to the great friends that I’ve made along the way, as a result of this show… and most especially, thank you to everyone involved with Smallville. It was a great 10-year ride and I can’t believe it’s been a decade since then. Always holding on…
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Fun to take a walk down memory lane. I had a deeply love/hate relationship with Smallville. When it was great, it was epic and when it was bad, it was painful in a way I don't think any show every will be again for me. And what you kindly characterized as giving all characters a chance to shine, I called playing mind games with the audience, lol. I freely claimed PTSD (Post Traumatic Smallville Disorder) for years after in the way it broke my ability to trust the story seeming to be told actually was being told and not something I was mistakenly inferring. (I'm convinced now I wasn't mistaken just that they were keeping all options open Haha) ***But Smallville also created some of the most memorable moments in my viewing experience despite ensuing misdirection and backpedaling. They in particular excelled at music montages over the years. Like the soring aria sung while Lionel had his glorious mane shaved in prison even as he remotely arranged to seemingly decimate his enemies (Boom goes Chloe's safehouse!) or the heartrending version of Time After Time by Eva Cassidy played as snow gently fell over Johnathan Kent's fresh grave as Clark mourns or the opener of season 7 where a power ballad matched the strength and uncertainty all the characters faced after life changing events (Lex is in jail, Chloe burns her death certificate, Kara begins her search for Baby Kal-El, and Gasp! Lana faked her death lol).
The highs were high and the lows (Clark using his heat vision to bring down two skyscrapers way to reminiscent of 911) very low, but I'll never forget the ride and the many friendships made along the way. ***One nitpick, as divided as Olicity vs Lolliver may have been in the Arrow fandom, I'd say nothing touches the three pronged shipping war that was Clana, Chlark and Clois!