It all comes down to this. Ten years of Smallville ends tonight with a two hour event.
This is very bizarre. I was talking to Ron about the end of Smallville recently and we remarked about how strange it will be to not have the show around anymore. It's been a constant for so long, and not just in our personal lives but in the life of iFanboy too. We started the same year Smallville did and it's always been a part of the culture here. Not having to prep next week's Smallvillle post is going to be really weird and kind of sad. An era is definitely over.
But let's not get all maudlin about it! Let's have some fun. To celebrate, we're going to have a live chat during the east coast broadcast of Smallville (sorry, other time zones!).
You have to log into the live blog widget below to participate in the live chat and when you do, we ask that you use your iFanboy screen name just so we know who's who.
Fair Warning: We are expecting more than the usual band of regulars around here tonight and everyone is welcome to join in… unless you are here specifically to cause trouble or to make fun of the show and its fans. People who aren't here to enjoy the show and just want to ruin everyone else's fun will find themselves bounced out of here.
Up, up, and away!
Previous Smallville Week Articles:
Smallville: The Best Episodes
Smallville: The Best Characters
Smallville: The Best DCU Guest Stars
Smallville: The Best Moments
After Smallville; 5 More DC Comics We'd LIke To See on TV
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I marathoned the show via dvd a few years back and gave up about half way through season 5 but still occasionly check out clips on youtube. I have set the dvr to record it tonight though.
While I won’t be joining the chat as I can’t really multitask very well, I want to thank you guys on behalf of everyone for always protecting the integrity of the site and the fans. That warning you posted at the end is unfortunate but I’m really glad you put it there. It’s what sets you guys apart. Good for you. Let people like what they like.
Boner at maximum level.
K, who else gets goose bumps when they hear the john williams theme?
@WeaklyRoll Every single time.
Even I am DVRing this.
Cool you’re having a chat. I’m DVRing and starting an hour behind; ordering food and drink for viewing party.
Here’s to 10 years.
My fianc
rock on freaky bro !!!
Time to pull my son (9 yrs old) off The Force Unleashed2 and get to Smallville. Been a fast 10 yrs, enjoy gang!
Apokolis…
Stuck in the Atlanta Hyatt with no CW, can’t watch until I get back to Philly tuesday. I’ll have to avoid the internet for a few days
Nice to see that: A) DC will still be publishing in 2018; and B) they can still hold the line at $2.99.
It’s be a wild 10 year ride that’s for damn sure. I’m with you guys in spirit, in body however I’ll be ignoring the internet until tomorrow when I can watch this starting….NOW. (Enjoy everyone!)
So far so good. Really excited to see how Chloie ended up with a kid seven years in the future
I started watching this show in eigth grade, now it’s ending the same week I’m graduating from college. Weird.
Highlights = Gary Frank’s art OMFG so awesome, (Spoilers!) Tess dies (at least that was awesome for me since I have always hated that character), Chloe’s son might just become Speedy (fingers crossed), & finally, even though it was for less than 5 minutes of the show, just to hear the Superman John Williams theme played in the background when Tom Welling stepped onto that rooftop and opened up his shirt to change into his birthright. That moment above all others throughout the entire show left me the most satisfied, joyful, and appreciated. Now for the dissaponting moments (or lack there of before the last 5 minutes) of the show. First of all WHERRE WAS CAPTAIN COLD?!?!?!?!? BLACK MANTA?!?!?!? TOYMAN?!?!?!?!? THE ENTIRE LEGION OF DOOM?!?!?!?!?!?!?!!?! I mean all of that hype from last episode & absolutely nothing came out of it. What a serious waste & speaking of that fight (if you could call it that at all) between Clark & Darkseid was over right before (or during) commercial break. I mean first you’re gonna not have him appear in hus full form but posses Lionel Luthor, & now you’re really screwing the pooch on the fights too? And the last & probably the least important disappointment really is the fact that we never ever ever get to see a proper close up shot of Tom in the suit. Sure we get the awesome shirt opening ending to reveal the S on his chest, but no clear flight with the S in full spectacle? No punches against Polar-I mean Apokolips (but seriously looked a lot like Polaris from All-Star Superman) & don’t tell me about limited budgets, if they had enough to finally have him fly (again), have Apokolips & Superman in space (which I did not expect to see at all) then why not have a few more scene devoted to Superman kicking ass & actually making the audience feel like there was danger to be feared. Also 7 years to get married again? What happend he had to get used to being Superman for almost another decade before he could get married? Overall despite my clear negativity to the first 115 minutes of the series finale, those last 5 minutes really do make it all worthwile. 10 years of the man of steel, becomming the man of steel. R.I.P. Smallville
Who DOESN’T get goosebumps when they hear that theme? I can’t wait to see this. There’s a lot to pack into two hours … Clark/Kal-El’s first flight … the wedding … the cape and tights … defeat of Darkseid … return of Luthor … oy! Overcome with anticipation just thinking about it!
I am surprised by how moved I was by that. A fantastic finale, worthy of the world’s greatest hero. I am impressed.
@SpiderTitan The Legion of Doom was never going to appear again. That was just suggesting what was to come in Clark’s future. The show was also never about the fights. it was about Clark becoming Superman. It wasn’t about him doing badass stuff, it was about him accepting his destiny. It was handled perfectly.
I hate to be a party pooper but what the hell was that? After ten years of waiting there wasn’t even a good shot of clark as Superman. The first thing they do once he has the outfit is renact Superman Returns, really?! And what was up with comic, admittaly I missed about 5 seasons but how can there be a comic explaing how clark is Superman while clark is Superman?
Awesome finale!!! I enjoyed it alot. Pretty emotional. Thanks to Conor and Paul for a fun live chat throughout the episode.
@LBolt They didn’t re-eanct Superman Returns. Superman making his debut saving a plane that Lois is a passenger on has been a trope of Superman since 1986. The comics was from 7 years in the future. Did you miss the graphic that explained that?
In a world wrought with disappointing endings, tonight’s episode was anything but.
Did they ever call him Superman at the ending?
@MikefromGotham No.
I was a freshman in High-School when this show started and have not stopped watching since. I’ve now had a little while to process the finale and I have to say I’m satisfied. Like Conor mentioned in an earlier post, the show was never about Clark doing badass things; it was about him accepting his destiny and his impact on those around him and vice-versa.
“REMY ZERO!” 😀
Conor thanks so much for putting this live chat together!
When “Smallville” first began, I was in seventh grade, and honestly it’s hard for me to remember a time when I didn’t wonder how things were going to turn out for Clark, Lana, and the rest of the gang. Kristin Kreuk’s Lana Lang was my first major crush on a fictional character, for crying out loud! 😀
For as long as I’ve been reading comics, I’ve been watching “Smallville”.
I’m really going to miss having it to look forward to/discuss/debate week in and week out, season to season.
A pitch-perfect ending; long live “Smallville”! 😀
I’m watching it now, plus reading that live chat. Not bad for the first hour. What I didn’t know was that the actor who played Pete Ross was arrested. So I wiki’d him. He also made and released a sex tape with his girlfriend. Will be sentanced in June. Could get 20 years.
I have only watched smallville on and off the first few seasons, just wondering what season does the DCU start showing up more often?
@tdog Season 4/5.
Superman
I’m super drunk and in DC. I can’t wait to get home an watch my DVRed episode of Smallville…for the last time.
I think it was a very satisfying ending to the show. Kudos to all.
I was greatly dissappointed by this episode. I understand that this show is a drama. I understand that it isn’t about superman but about Clark Kent and his growth, but honestly this was an extremely boring 2 hours. For this series finale there should have been reapperances by old characters, a grandiose fight between superman and darkseid or at LEAST a good conversation between Lex and Clark. The comic thing was gimmicky, the writing was bad as usual and I couldn’t even be excited when the suit or the flight came because it was presented in the lamest way possible. I’m quite glad this show is over. *drops mic*
I just finished it and I was deeply satisfied with it. For 10 years we waited for this moment. It’s kind of like watching a long term investment pay off.
I know the show isn’t for everyone. I’m a DC man and a Superman fan and sometimes I find some faults, but with every adaptation you have to take the bad with the good. Yes, the Darkseid thing wasn’t perfect and yes it felt like they short changed Alternate Lionel. But in the end the show wasn’t about that.
When he got the suit, flew up and put it on, I got chills. When the end happened, the Williams’ theme kicked in and we saw Clark on the roof doing the shirt rip…if your knuckles weren’t white, your heart wasn’t pounding and there wasn’t a smile on your face…well, I pretty much got that covered for all of us.
Smallville is over, but they ended on such a high note 🙂
Clark’s coming of age story was great, and a proper end to the show. On the other hand, the Darkseid storyline was horrible. I don’t think there should’ve been a big bad this season. If anything, they should’ve paid tribute to the past ten years, and brought back every guest star that ever appeared on the show. Lastly, gotta love the extra cheese they piled on during the last scene.
So good!
It will be repeated again on Thursday night the 19th.
Matthew
Perfect ending. That last shot literally sent shivers down my spine. Time to rewatch it sans commercials.
Chloe and Oliver kissing with Apokolips in the sky behind them…I want a poster of that!
Good last episode.
Watching the finale of “Smallville” left me…. unsatisfied.
10 years of Clark finding his way, to lose it, to find it again ended with stock footage and not a single decent shot of him in uniform. The one bright spot about the whole affair was the return of Lex. He said it himself, heros are defined by their villains and he was the best enemy a Superman could ask for, though you couldn’t tell that cause nobody says the S word on “Smallville”. Well, no one but Lana, maybe that’s why she was forgotten after season 8? And no mention of Pete “REMY ZERO” Ross? SMH… for a long time after this.
This finale was something I had to think about. And the more I thought about it, the more I liked it. First reaction was …heh. Second reaction – That was pretty cool. Third reaction – I really liked this.
I think the highlight of the finale for me was Clark and Jonathan Kent talking in the barn. I thought that was incredibly touching and one of the highest emotional points for me for the series.
And I’m with Conor on this one, the show wasn’t about the fights it was about him becoming Superman, so I understand what they did with the finale and quite honestly they couldn’t have ended it in a better way. Me and my friend Kent (his real name) were humming the John Williams score after it was over. I’m probably going to watch the finale again this week.
Yeah, I pretty much expected a quick flying blur in the last second of the show so this exceeded that low bar. Would it have been nice to have a clear non-CGI closeup of Welling in the suit? Sure, but I’ll live with it.
The Clark/Lex scene was nice, but why undermine it by giving him a memory wipe? Is it really important that Lex not know who Clark is or suspect the mild mannered reporter is actually Superman?
“Smallville” is its own thing; it made its own path, and nobody was that upset that LEX KNOWS (oh no!), so for the show to not only counteract a status quo established in the SAME EPISODE, but wipe Lex’s entire relationship with Clark and character development over Seasons 1 to 7 in Smallville was a sloppy move. Trust your audience writers. We’ve got out on plenty of limbs with you before.
Do you think iFanboy will do a podcast or podcast series recapping/reviewing or sharing final thoughts on the entire series?
I’m still really confused about the whole comic thing. I get that it is 7 years later but the final scene shows us that Clark is still Superman in that time and is still keeping it a secret so how can there be a comic book published that explains his whole story?
I should add though that while I thought it was cheesy and a bit rushed I still had fun watching it and now I want to go back and watch the whole series again. I hope it gets added to Netflix Instant Watch and that the Complete Boxset comes out on blu-ray, I was suprised at how good some of the clips from the early years looked in high-def.
@LukeB I think they stated in a previous thread that they were
Overall I was very satisfied. Gonna be a little weird not having it come back next year after spending a decade of my life commited to it.
My favorite moments in the finale episode:
*The reading of the Smallvile comic book (yeah that’s big for me as it acknowledges the comic book background of the story)
*The confrontation between Lex and Clark
*Clark’s first flight
*The wreckage of the Luthorcorp sign to form Lexcorp
*Clark’s second flight when he wore the costume
*Superman saving the plane (that never gets old)
*The comic book nod of Lex becoming president
I also like the fact that they tied up everyone’s story neatly to endup where they should be to fit right in to the continuity of the comic books. Well, almost everyone to be exact. Oliver Queen’s ultimate fate of becoming Green Arrow and settling in Star City was never handled. But all in all, it was a satisfying series finale. It’s not perfect but it got the job done.
I give it a B.
BTW, while some might find fault and consider the mind wiping of lex as disregarding Smallville’s own continuity that it established, I consider it as giving respect to the established history of the characters and their story. After all, Smallville was meant to be a story before Superman became Superman. They just chose to stick with that goal and let be what’s already been established. And I applaud them for it.
Whoa. As I wrote my comment, it sent shivers down my spine. I just realized that this show was a part of half my life. For 10 years I watched it, and now it’s gone. Every beginning does have its end. <sigh>
Smallville you will be missed.
Smallville! Smallville! Smallville! I will never forget the last scene with Clark ripping his shirt open to reveal the S……….
In tribute- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2oONnRVNVAs&feature=related
I got everything I wanted out of that finale and it was glorious.
I took seasons 7 and 8 off of smallville then came back at the end of season 9 got the seasons 7 8 and 9 on itunes I’m not gonna miss the show as much as other because it went on for to long but the finale realy brought it home for me its a show that realy made me care for the actors more than the characters and I was glad to see him finaly done the suit . I’m more interested in tom welling and erica durances acting after the show I feel they are to talented to be a part of the superman curse . So farewell to smalville the most sucsesfull comic show ever and a far better representive of superman than we get in film or comics .here’s hoping we can get another show of its lenght and quility
I shed tears, yes I did. Not boo-hooing, but the character stuff was all handled really well. The Superman sequences looked like animatics from Superman Returns, but overall I found it very satisfying. Glad to see that the complete series is coming out, so I can relive the experience in glorious HD all over again.
Overall this was a great finale. The did exactly what they set out to do. I could have used a little more of the “red blue and yellow” but thats just me being nitpicky. Also liked how they put the yellow “S” on the cape. BTW, For my money, Erica Durance plays the best Lois. She doesn’t get enough credit. It was so great to hear that Williams score at the end. I absolutely love that theme. Bless my wife for allowing me to use it as our entrance music at our wedding reception!
The wait till “The Man of Steel” comes out next year will feel like an eternity. Adios Smallville, 10 years well spent!
@conor Oh no I totally get that & really did not expect much out of the fights with the show’s history & all that, but it’s just the fact that they teased us about it & did not make it clear that they were apart of his future (apart from the obvious) or that they weren’t appearing in the finale. The producers made it seem like (at least to me) they were going to be a part of the Darkseid, Lex Luthor villains plan for the finale. But I digress, since it is over & it was, at least for those last 5 minutes, handled perfectly. I will agree with you on that.
@SpiderTitan I thought it was pretty clear myself.
I enjoyed it. Just watched it on the DVR. I would have loved to see just a few more minutes of Tom in the suit but was happy to see him in it. I think they handled the finale very well. The Lex parts were just exceptional, somethging I have missed from the show.
The reason they didn’t show Tom in the suit, is they didn’t want to pay for an actual suit to be made. This way they could spend more on the effects of Apokalyps and so forth. If you look closely on DVR, the suit that Johnathon hands Clark is not the ‘Superman Returns’ suit that is in the display. It is just some cheesy rubber thing. It was clear that they didn’t want to have a fitted suit constructed, or perhaps clear that Tom didn’t really want to wear one.
While I was hoping for a little more time for tom as “Superman”, it was in all a good ending. Seeing the ending makes me want to pop in a Superman DVD.
@Askanison Cheers
I actually liked that we never got a full shot of him in the suit. I thought it was kind of a tasteful decision. That way, it’s still a big moment when we see him rip the shirt.
Also, about the Darkseid fight… yeah, I already went through this with Doomsday. While I agree that it’s unfair to expect giant, bombastic fights on a TV show, I do feel that they shouldn’t spend the entire season hyping up the fight if that’s the case. ALL of season… what was it, 7? That whole friggin’ season was building up to the Doomsday fight, with Tess even saying that it was destined to shake the heavens, or something. Then we get nothing. Heroes had the same issue. You don’t need to end a season with a big fight (see Smallville season 1 for an example of how to do this well), but you do if your whole story arc is a build-up to it.
That said, I though the Darkseid thing was completely different. The fight with Lionel wasn’t really the fight. The fight was inspiring the populace to overcome the darkness. That was the big battle, which Superman won just by becoming Superman. A perfect ending to that storyline.
super yawn
gotta love the last scene
Really going to miss this show. The last few seasons have been phenomenal. Hope they eventually go the Buffy route and continue season 11 in comic form. If not…there’s always the DVD’s.
Loved the finale! My initial nitpick was that they didn’t call him Superman in the episode, but after watching it again, I found that they DID! After hurling Apokolips into space, they cut back to the comicbook that Chloe was reading to her son and she says Superman. I think she says:
“…and that’s the story of how the boy became Superman.”
It would be impossible to name any favorite moments … this finale for me was a singular favorite moment!
I just want to know when Smallville #1 hits the stands …
@boostergold4 – Haven’t they been continuing the story in comic form since 1938?