The latest season of Smallville recently concluded, and I have to say that it went out with a bang. But what did I really think of this season, as a whole?

Did it fly forward or drag down?

READ ON!

NOTE: Reviews for Quest and Arctic are not to be found on this site. As you know, the blog has stagnated for sometime. But if you read my last post, you know that it has returned in awesome full-force, as you will be able to find rehashes for the seasons of LOST, and Battlestar Galactica fairly soon.

But for now, enjoy my thoughts on the most recent season of Smallville, just weeks before the release of the seventh season onto DVD.

Also stay tuned for my prehash of the eighth season of Smallville later this week.

Well, another season of Smallville has come and gone. A lot transpired within this season in just twenty short episodes. As with most television seasons this past year, season 7 of Smallville was recently affected by the writer’s strike. For those of you living in a bubble, the writer’s strike was a bit of a squabble that the WGA union had against the corporate moguls of the TV industry. Given that the writer’s strike affected the natural flow of the season, did it make it any less enjoyable? ABSOLUTELY NOT!!!!

This episode marked quite a few lasts. thie first of those lasts, and most notable, is Lex Luthor. Michael Rosenbaum had made it quite clear in press junkets and interviews that the seventh season would be the last for him as Lex. Now, while was a sad thing for the fans, it did make for some great Lex storylines along this season’s way. Not only that but I felt that Rosenbaum was his strongest this season more so than any other season in the show’s history, and I have felt that he had a grasp on the character that no other actor (including Hackman and Spacey) ever seemed to even touch. I will truly miss Michael Rosenbaum on the show but I can only hope that he will return to Smallville once again, as he is one of the core foundations as to what makes this show so wonderful.

In seasons past, many characters from the DC Comics Universe have popped in and out of Smallville from time to time and it has been equally enjoyable. What makes Smallville’s twists on these characters coming in is they are able to bring these characters and interconnect them to Clark’s history and the Superman mythos itself.

This season was no exception as we had not several DC Comics characters introduced. The first of which was just a wonderful addition to the show and really shook things up for all the characters on the show. That chracater being the chracter of Kara Kent (AKA Supergirl). Now, myself, I was not a huuuge Supergirl fan, but overall enjoyed the character’s presence in the comics and aother Superman related media she had placed herself in. Smallville was no exception, as I genuinely loved the version that they went with in Smallville.

With Kara’s addition to the show, it definitely gave Clark a kind of window to his biological family on Krypton, which is always nice. I really appreciate the Kryptonian back story on Clark Kent/Kal-El that we can get on Smallville. It makes it that much more interesting. These certain Kryptonian elements also paved the way for characters such as Zor-El and Lara (played by none other than 1980’s Supergirl, Helen Slater) to come in and shake things up evern further.

Another thing this character did while on Smallville was interact and be fascinated by Smallville’s own bald-headed billionaire, Lex Luthor. Now, in the comics, Supergirl and Lex Luthor have had a very interesting dynamic that has been fun to watch in said comics. To see that dynamic sort of unfold on screen was very interesting and to see the two actors playing those iconic characters was even more fascinating.

But how can I talk about Supergirl’s portryal on Smallville without mentioning the “portrayer” herself? Laura Vandervoort seemed to step out of the comics with her portrayal of this charcater. I think when Smallville brings in these characters from the comics onto the series, the actors that go with them are believable enough to be in the comics. It’s awesome. But not only did Vandervoort’s looks lend her the role of Supergirl, just everything about her seemed to display the essence of Supergirl. It was wonderful to watch.

Another character that was brought in at the end of season six and carried over into season seven was the character of Bizarro. Now, if you’ve read my review of the season six finale, Phantom, you know that Bizarro was one of my favorite villains from Superman’s rogue gallery.  Now, in season six, we did not get to see much of Bizarro, but ion season seven, he was really fleshed out. Now, I may not know much, but I believe Bizarro was one of the first victims of the writer’s strike. I do not pretend to know what the writer’s overall plan for Bizarro was, but it was my understanding that Bizarro was going to be much of a recurring villain in Smallville, as Kara was a recurring hero. I thought it was not cool how so easily they disposed of Bizarro in that momentous episode, Persona. But I truly enjoyed Bizarro’s small arc on Smallville for what it was. As with Supergirl, there are many versions of Bizarro in the comics to choose from and I thought it wise that they sort of combined the different versions and made it into a very unique version of Bizarro that was truly enjoyable to watch.

The last DC Comics character that comes to mind to enter the Smallville realm this season was the character of Black Canary. Now, I will be the firstto say that I know absolutely nothing about Black Canary. About the only thing I do know about that particular character is the fact that her and Green Arrow have an off-again/on-again relationship. But I did particularly like how, like all DC Characters brought into Smallville, she was weaved nicely into the universe that Smallville has set up in the past seven years. I thought her particular arc in the episode she debuted in was very intersting to watch, but I would’ve loved to see that arc kind of played out over several episodes. And like with Bizarro, I have a feeling that she was another victim of the writer’s strike and that she was originally meant to be palyed out over several episodes instead of the one she was in. But I anticipate her return to Smallville very soon, as she had great chemistry with Justin Hartley (Green Arrow), and you know he’ll be back.

But just as this season brought in a few new characters, it also brought some old characters back. Some who fans were looking forward to returning, and some who fans were not execting to ever see again.

One such character was the character of Brainiac, as played by James Marsters. Now, the fifth season of Smallville was a mixed bag for me. It was strong in parts and it was weak in parts. But one of the strengths that it had was the addition of James Marsters as Brainiac. Mr. Marsters is better known to the geek community as  Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spinoff series, Angel. He brought that same heart and depth that he brought to that role into Brainiac and really reinfused the series just as he had a couple of seasons back. It was truly amazing to see that familiar face back on the scene, up to his old tricks once again. I truly loved it.

When Brainiac did return, I had initially wondered what he was up to, as Marsters bring that deliciousness to the role, but with episodes such as Veritas and Apocalypse, you knew exactly what he was up to: trying as hard as he can to release General Zod from the Phantom Zone.

Another character that made his comeback in this seventh season of Smallville that fans were hoping would return after his departure in the fan-favorite episode, Justice, was the Emerald Archer himself: Green Arrow. I think anytime Justin Hartley is on screen, the man just hbrings his A,B, and C-games to the table and just steals the show from everyone. It is truly awesome to watch. Aside fom the goatee, he is Oliver Queen, sucked straight out of the comics. I particularly enjoy any scenes he has with Clark. His relationship with Clark reminds me very much of Batman and Superman’s relationship in the comics, as they seem to butt heads a lot. It is fun to see those two go at it, because Clark doesn’t have many male friends on the show and it’s nice to see that once in a while.

It has been announced, though that Green Arrow will be returning to Smallville on a much more regular basis, which is very interesting to me, as I particularly enjoy seeing his character on Smallville, and his interactions with not just Clark, but also Chloe and even Lex Luthor.

Now, the next character is a character that fans and casual watchers alike have been waiting to see on the show, and that is the character of Pete Ross. Now, longtime fans of the show know that Pete jsut took off at the end of season 3, and was never seen again. Now there have been many attempts by the producers of the show to get Pete back on the show in some capacity. But between finding the right story and scheduling conflicts by the actor himself, nothing would work out. Finally,  the stars aligned and Pete was able to return to Smallville.

However, his return was a little lukewarm for me for several reasons. The first reason being, as Tolkien put it, “the manner of [his] return.” I did not like the fact the writers of Smallville neglected Pete’s return to giving him meteor powers like some season 1 FOTW. I really did not like that. It just seemed a waste. I would rather have had some of the early ideas they were throwing around for the Pete character (i.e. Pete being on Clark’s opposing football team or Chloe’s prom date in season 4) than this filler crap. I figure if Pete is being brought in so late in the series, I figured he would maybe help Chloe and Clark investigate something Lex might be up to. I think it would make a great dichotomy for Chloe and Pete to be a great sidekick to Clark in those kind of investigating scuffles. But instead we got Strideville.

The second reason I did not appreciate Pete’s return was the fact that he had not changed at all since we had last left him. I would’ve liked to see a different Pete than the one we left back in season 3. Like ,maybe he had learned to deal with Clark’s secret as a fact of life like Chloe did, rather than being all paranoid about it. I mean, seriously, would he really have to worry about things like Kryptonite outside of Smallville? I think not.

I did want to bring up the major things that happened this season, and that storyline being the Veritas storyline. I really loved this storyline. It was really one of Smallville’s best work. It really is a storyline that goes back to Smallville’s roots in its pilot. I just really loved it. This was a plotline that, pre-strike, was initially intended to go for only two episodes. But with the strike resolved, they were able to stretch out the plotline for not two episodes, but for six. It was truly a joy to watch this storyline unfold.

What I liked about this Veritas storyline, it really wraps up the storyline of the Luthors very nicely. In the six episodes that this storyline encompassed, you learned that Lionel was part of a secret society called Veritas, which was founded by Virgil Swann (Christopher Reeve) to be dedicated to protecting an intergalactic being known as the Traveler (who is in reality Clark Kent). It had a lot of religious roots as Superman’s whole character and story throughout the comics, movies, and TV Shows seems to have. I did really appreciate seeing that flesh out onscreen.
Like I said, it really seemed to kind of conclude the storyline with the Luthors. For as we all know, due to Veritas being thrown into the mix, it ended with a clash that longtime fans of the show have been waiting almost seven seasons to see. That being the clash of Lionel and Lex Luthor.

Now, from the beginning, we know that Lex is destined to become the evil Luthor that we know from comics lore and in the momentous episode, Descent, we saw that happen. What played a big part of that “descent” (for lack of a better word) was the murder of his own father. I had always felt that what we saw in that episode would definitely transpire in the series, and that it was only a matter of time before Lex would follow in his father’s footsteps and it did happen.

The only downside of that was that it did mean that Lionel did have to leave the show. Next to Lex himself, Lionel is one of my favorite characters on this show. He has had the most interesting character arc out of anyone on this show as he has transitioned from a very despicable villain of the show to a willing emissary of Jor-El, the biological father of Clark Kent, was as wonderful to watch as Lex’s descent from being a tortured soul to a the “villain of the story.” Farewell, John Glover. You will be missed.

Another Luthor that will be missed is none other than Lex Luthor himself. As I mentioned earlier, this was Michael Rosenbaum’s last season playing our favorite bald-headed billionaire. But I feel that the character went out with a bang. I think everything that was set up about Lex from the pilot was fully played out from start to finish. I love that Lex had truly discovered the secret of Clark Kent, as he had been desperately trying to find out that secret for almost seven seasons. I loved watching that revelation take place within Lex. Rosenbaum played that to magnificence.

Do I feel the show will suffer due to the loss of the Luthors in the coming seasons? I do not. In Superman’s history, there is  a period of Clark’s life where he and Lex werwe friends, a period where they were estranged and a period where Clark and Lex had truly divided as people. I believe we have seen two of those periods play out over the course of the series, and now we need to see Clark’s life without Lex, and how that will affect his imminent destiny as Earth’s greatest hero. , for one, am very intrigued to see how Clark’s destiny will play out now that the Luthors aren’t tangled in it. However, it was wonderful to see them tangled with Clark Kent on the show. I think Lionel and Lex’s absence from the show will be quite the game-change for the show.

Another departure (of sorts) that we were treated to this season was the departure of Kristin Kreuk as a regular stay on Smallville. From the pilot, Lana Lang has been set as the love interest for Clark, and even the subject of interest for Lex. It will be quite interesting tio see what will be the romantic subject of Smallville once Lana is gone more often from the series. It’ll be another interesting game-change for Smallville.

All-in-all, this was a very complicated and twisted season, which for Smallville is saying a lot. I loved all the new characters that were brought in as well as the departures that we were treated to this season. My only real complaint for this season was I did not like that Lana and Clark got back together so easily in this season. Their relationship this season, after everything that happened in the past two seasons between those two. I just thought it was a cheap move on the part of the writers.

But, like I said, loved the season. I cannot wait to see how the series goes from here. It’ll be awesome to how it plays out with the game-changes that it has undergone with the series missing Lana and the Luthors. But Smallville has survived other game-changes in its past and I think it’ll survive this one. I for one, can’t wait for season 8.

TOP FIVE FAVORITE EPISODES:

DESCENT

APOCALYPSE

PERSONA

TRAVELER

BLUE

LEAST FAVORITE EPISODE:

HERO

RATING: 8/10