Finale (13 May 2011)

In Smallville's two-part series finale, Clark and Lois are getting ready for their wedding but not before Lois gets her "superhero's wife" cold feet. Meanwhile Oliver - secretly taken over ... See full summary »

Directors:

Greg Beeman, Kevin Fair

Writers:

Jerry Siegel (character created by: Superman), Joe Shuster (character created by: Superman),

Stars:

Tom Welling, Erica Durance, Cassidy Freeman

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Tom Welling	...	Clark Kent / Superman
Erica Durance	...	Lois Lane
Cassidy Freeman	...	Tess Mercer
Justin Hartley	...	Oliver Queen / Green Arrow
Allison Mack	...	Chloe Sullivan
Michael Rosenbaum	...	Lex Luthor
John Glover	...	Lionel Luthor / Darkseid
John Schneider	...	Jonathan Kent
Annette O'Toole	...	Martha Kent
Aaron Ashmore	...	Jimmy Olsen
Terence Stamp	...	Jor-El (voice)
Steve Byers	...	Desaad
Christine Willes	...	Granny Goodness
Michael Daingerfield	...	Gordon Godfrey
Laura Mennell	...	Janet Dawson

Storyline

In Smallville's two-part series finale, Clark and Lois are getting ready for their wedding but not before Lois gets her "superhero's wife" cold feet. Meanwhile Oliver - secretly taken over by the darkness - plots with the unholy trinity to get Clark out of the way - but not everything goes as he planned. Lionel tries to resurrect Lex who is in need of a heart. Clark consults Jor-El for one last time. Jor-El shows Clark who he was and who he has become now, in order to get him ready to take flight and save the world from annihilation and the darkness' control; his final trial to become the world's ultimate hero: Superman.

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Plot Keywords:

series finale | ritual | explosion

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Romance | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

TV-14

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 May 2011 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Tollin/Robbins Productions, Warner Bros. Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

84 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Due to commitment to other projects Michael Rosenbaum is wearing a bald-cap. In earlier episodes the actor shaved his head to achieve the iconic bald head.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Chloe Sullivan: "This is the story of an amazing boy who grew up in the fields of Kansas in a little town called Smallville. When he became a man, he believed the only way to seize his destiny was to turn his back on both his parents and refused to see the darkness descending on earth. But all that was about to change. He was about to face his greatest challenge."

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Connections

References My Favorite Martian (1963)

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Soundtracks

"Canon in D Major"
(uncredited)
Written by Johann Pachelbel

User Reviews

First-rate potential wasted by production constraints and vicious blasphemy (Bonus : Short anti-capitalism plea for a better tomorrow)

What a long and inspiring journey it was ! It's how I felt after watching the Finale. 10 seasons to find the strength to put one foot in front of the other in our daily life. 10 seasons to witness the birth of heroes we can relate to. 10 seasons to entertain ourselves but more important to educate us. Despite its flaws long time fans had found in the show what they needed. Role models ? A weekly dose of Lois & Clark moments ? A fictional family ? The matter what we were hoping for it was inevitable that our expectations would be high. I can't imagine how hard it must have been for the dream team behind Smallville to produce such an episode on time and budget. In the end what they have achieved is remarkable in many ways but the critic within can't help taking over the geeky fanboy, but sleek, I have always been.

Indeed this last installment reminded me a lot of Doomsday, season 8's finale. The action scenes were numerous but they were far too short and some of them were just rushed, specially the one with Green Arrow. At times it should even make you wonder what happened but thankfully the church sequence was a brilliant mix of love and percussive fighting. The continuity between some scenes was also quite weak and an awkward editing didn't help. Still there were a few good surprises like some creative camera movements but overall I found the story was unbalanced and even boring at times. I was specially annoyed by the speech Lois gave on the plan because it just didn't make sense considering what her audience knew. She had no arguments to back it up beside her strong belief and her words weren't nothing like the inspiring ones in season 8's Idol.

Don't get me wrong I liked our love birds dance and the guests were surprising but when Clark Kent became Superman I just didn't believe in it. It's simple I think we never saw him from head to toes dressed up as the superhero we all dreamed of. The camera kept dancing between obscure close-ups and long distance filming of a vulgar CG doll in tights. And the very end was also quite disappointing considering Lois wasn't featured in it. There was nothing memorable about it when I was expecting a classic scene with Superman on top of a building with his cape flying in the wind. The cult moment we all expected just didn't happen. I suspect the producers were only able to afford a limited Superman license, restricting its use on the show. But in my humble opinion he doesn't belong to its creators nor to the bunch of capitalist egoists who manage and sell his rights to stuff their greedy pockets. If it wasn't for his fans the franchise would already be dead. I'm also convinced things would have been completely different if Christopher Reeve was still alive. His few appearances as Doctor Virgil Swann were soulwarming and I have no doubt his soul is disappointed, if not annoyed, that Tom Welling wasn't allowed to embrace Superman like him. After so much hard work and considering his extraordinary metamorphosis across the 10 seasons Welling deserved better than that. He is Clark Kent. He is The Blur. But his portrayal of Superman remained grounded for selfish and absurd reasons. They should have let him be the true superhero we all wished for ! Open the license, free Superman !

But despite all these flaws there were still plenty of elements that I enjoyed. The first would be the dark, apocalyptic and tragic ambiance. It was quite immersive thanks to good visual effects, well designed sets and trembling cameras. Only a car chase and some rare outdoor scenes jarred with the rest. As for the acting I was almost intimidated to see so many talented performers on screen. Naming just one wouldn't be fair to the others because overall they all did a tremendous job. The wicked story lines their characters were involved in were also quite exciting and even shocking at times. From ecstatic joy to deep sorrow they really succeeded in moving us for one last time. Also I found their approach, in terms of writing specially, quite respectful of comics. Chloe telling an epic story to a little boy was heartwarming and linking the end to some past episode was interesting and well thought. And even if these vivid gems could never hide what went wrong I can only admit that I'm not ready to forget about the epic scene in the barn, even if the flashbacks looked more like heavy fan service. Doomsday ? Zod ? His dark period ? These were probably the most important trials that shaped him as The Man of Steel. Still Darkseid was well rendered in its CG form and we couldn't have dreamed of a better actor to portray his evil human form. But ultimately the one thing I'll save in a secret room of my memory are the beautiful and dramatic Lois & Clark moments. From the theatrical apartment sequence to the church one Erica Durance & Tom Welling's chemistry was stellar and served by a writing reminiscent of divine episodes like Charade and Salvation.

Note : Even if the Finale didn't live up enough to my expectations I would like to congratulate the minds behind the show because their work really inspired me. Everyone on the show should be proud of what they have accomplished because producing 22 episodes per year during a decade with so many great ones is just unbelievable ! Thanks from all my heart and soul.