S03.13: What Kills You Only Makes You Stronger

[scarynikki12]

 

[scarynikki12]

A month since Lex got out (and Bizarro ate Otis, RIP). Looks like the school year's over too.

I really don't think the world is missing anything with Frog Boy being grounded.

Sigh, Chrissy's knocked up. Guys, condoms exist and are sold in bulk every day.

We're rooting for you Lois! Go get Super-laid! 

On a more serious note bravo to how that was handled.  

Looks like their sexy times went well so here's to more in between whatever shenanigans Lex pulls.

Sarah and Sophie are happy about the baby while Lana's heart breaks just a little. 

Lex murdered Judge Reagan. Guess it's time for those shenanigans.

Natalie isn't your granddaughter Lane. Also I fully expect Gretchen to be a Lex plant.

I get the ease of two people in the family who can fly but surely someone will notice your cars left behind? Small detail but still.

Gretchen just took Lane's phone. Yep, she's a baddie. Oh is she Miss Tessmacher?

Otis is alive??? Bizarro only ate his ear? I guess it makes sense. He gets his power from a red sun so he can't be at the same level he was previously.

Ha, the horror on everyone's faces when Clark suggested matching shirts. Do it! Do it! Do it! Lean into the dork!

I mean, John Henry never lived in Metropolis on this Earth so he doesn't know what it's like either. What matters are his sexy times with Lana so we'll overlook it.  

Lex kidnapped Lane so he could get his Superman beeper thingy? That makes sense. He thinks the only one left to protect Lois is Superman so I'm thinking Frog Boy will show up to spoil the fun.

It's nice that Lex feels loyal to Otis and it's not a one way relationship.

Lex hates Superman because, among other reasons, he's from another planet yet he's all in on Bizarro. Guess it's ok when it's your weapon right Lex?

So Lex spent this past month murdering Bizarro over and over to make him stronger than Superman. This man is ruthless.

DID LEX JUST CREATE DOOMSDAY????

Coach is still an ass to Jon. It would be more honest if he just walked around town telling everyone how much he hates him rather than these mind games.

Kyle if you're going to propose...criiiiiiiiinge. I hate public proposals.

Superman is going against Lex with the meteor shower overhead. Niiiiice choice.

Lex there is no scenario on Earth where Lois would just take your word as to your innocence. She needs evidence which all pointed your way. Yes, she'd believe certain people in similar scenarios but she'd still want evidence to back it up.

Let's get this out of the way. The Doomsday CGI isn't great but I don't care. I care about the destruction he'll bring.

I think Supes should throw Doomsday into the Sun. Surely he can't come back from that kind of death?

Hey Metropolis bystanders? GET OUT OF THERE! 

I love a season finale montage.

Supes and Dooms going to battle on the moon. Very cool. 

[baldryanr]

It's an interesting twist that Lex seems to consider Lois his arch enemy and Superman is just the annoying bodyguard.  Although if he really wanted Lois dead then hey, Superman can't exactly intervene right now and you're in Smallville. 

Clark, if you are worried about Jordan mentioning his "talents" in public then don't talk about it in a crowded diner!  Seriously, this is what the family dinner table is for.

Given how close Metropolis and Smallville seem to be these days, I don't think that's the biggest obstacle to a relationship.

Superman should just fly into the sun for the power boost - it's almost as empowering as a montage of past episodes!

[Terrafamilia]

I knew Gretchen was too good to be true the way she was hanging all over Sam.

Did Superman stir up a bunch of moondust in his wake as he flew to smack BizarroDoomsday on the moon? I don't think that works without air to disturb - but then again, we heard BizarroDoomsday roar. 🤨

I suppose we'll never find out what was up with the thumb-drive Lana found in the mayor's office that Peia destroyed and why she murdered former mayor. Nothing super-important I suppose, just an excuse to come to town and wreck havoc.

[DanaK]

The interlude where Lois was ready for sexytimes with Clark was handled so well

I still feel the violence that Lex brings is too ugly for this show, including he and his people killing Bizarro over and over again

A cliffhanger? Nooo. It will be interesting to see how the resolve it next season

[historylover820]

Well, we know Superman will be all right. They're not going to kill off Superman in the opening five minutes of the season premiere. But, still really liked that Lex created Doomsday out of Bizarro Zombie Superman. Yeah, the CGI was a little dodgy, but it still looked better than Batman V Superman's version of Doomsday, and on a tremendously smaller budget!

(Although, honestly... I started laughing at the fight on the moon, because I was so having Superman IV images with Supes battling Nuclear Man).

I agree with the poster above -- no public proposals. 

Who else is very surprised that Jordan didn't get involved in the fray to save his Dad? Especially when he said that he doesn't hear Clark breathing. I was expecting Lois to say "Go."

It did kind of feel like "Well, let's wrap up the supporting characters here!" finale.

[Affogato]

2 minutes ago, historylover820 said:

 

Who else is very surprised that Jordan didn't get involved in the fray to save his Dad? Especially when he said that he doesn't hear Clark breathing. I was expecting Lois to say "Go."

 

Didn't want Jordan to die too. 

[historylover820]

1 minute ago, Affogato said:

Didn't want Jordan to die too. 

Yeah, I know. But I'm just surprised.

[opus]

I wonder if the ending would have been different if they hadn’t gotten the late announced renewal.

[rmontro]

My memory may be faulty on this, but weren't they sort of teasing a Doomsday reveal back when they originally introduced Bizarro Superman?  Makes me wonder if the plan all along was to turn him into Doomsday.  I like the way they take aspects from the comics (like Doomsday's origin), but put their own twist on it.  

I also liked the scene where Lois was ready to get intimate with Clark.  A lot of the romantic scenes on this show are a little cringey, but this one was cool.

[baldryanr]

2 hours ago, rmontro said:

My memory may be faulty on this, but weren't they sort of teasing a Doomsday reveal back when they originally introduced Bizarro Superman?  Makes me wonder if the plan all along was to turn him into Doomsday.  I like the way they take aspects from the comics (like Doomsday's origin), but put their own twist on it.  

Yes, when he first appeared the suit he was wearing seemed like a play on what Doomsday had in the comics.  That plus the grunting and killing, of course.

It's nice that they're close, but Sam and Natalie telling other people they're grandfather and granddaughter has to lead to some followup questions from regular people.  Given her age she can't tell people she's Lois's daughter without making it seem like she cheated on Clark, so is she passing herself off as Lucy's kid?  Is there a third Lane sibling we've never heard of?

[Lady Calypso]

So, as an episode, I actually really did like it. It had a lot of great moments, a lot of character development and set up a lot for future episodes. The Lex/Bizarro scenes were fantastic and the ending was so much fun to watch. They really saved their budget for this, and it paid off. 

As a finale, however? Especially given the circumstances, I did not like it one bit. It didn't feel like a finale at all. They REALLY risked not getting renewed and pissing off the fanbase by having such a major cliffhanger like this. Imagine the show being cancelled and we ended on this, with set-up but no closure, and a cliffhanger, to boot. 

Yes, the show got renewed and that's great, but they got lucky with their risk. It could have easily gone the other way and they either had knowledge that they were getting renewed when writing and shooting this finale, or they hoped that it would be enough for a renewal. 

The episode had some nice moments, and it DID set up for all the supporting characters to leave; the Irons will go off to Metropolis, Lana might go with John Henry to Metropolis (or at least go visit there a lot), maybe Sarah will take off with either Lana or Kyle/Chrissy. But Sam has the worst send-off. The last we see of him, he's getting tased by his girlfriend and "taken care of" offscreen. So, what, he's either dead or we just will hear how he got saved but took off for reasons, and neither sound optimal.

I like Kyle/Chrissy, but a baby and proposal felt too rushed. 

I'm glad Clark sat down with Jordan to really talk to him about his behaviour. I knew Jordan would come around if someone would just tell him that he was behaving badly. I'm glad he apologized to Sarah and she accepted it but didn't just move past it. It will have some serious consequences to their relationship, at least.

Jon...doesn't get much to do but get teased by Coach Gaines, who I guess still holds a grudge from last season? Eh, what a shitty potential ending for Jon if this was the series finale.

Clark and Lois had some very nice moments, at least. 

Overall, great episode, shitty finale. Even though we know it's not the end now, it's a shitty finale because nothing really happened and it's all set-up for a season we may not see for another year. They left it on a really serious cliffhanger that we now need to wait a year for. 

[Affogato]

4 hours ago, baldryanr said:

Yes, when he first appeared the suit he was wearing seemed like a play on what Doomsday had in the comics.  That plus the grunting and killing, of course.

It's nice that they're close, but Sam and Natalie telling other people they're grandfather and granddaughter has to lead to some followup questions from regular people.  Given her age she can't tell people she's Lois's daughter without making it seem like she cheated on Clark, so is she passing herself off as Lucy's kid?  Is there a third Lane sibling we've never heard of?

Like people call their parents friends 'uncle' and 'aunt'.

Edited June 28, 2023 by Affogato

[BeautifulFlower]

2 hours ago, Lady Calypso said:

 

Yes, the show got renewed and that's great, but they got lucky with their risk. It could have easily gone the other way and they either had knowledge that they were getting renewed when writing and shooting this finale, or they hoped that it would be enough for a renewal. 

 

Well,when they announced the renewal, they said they have been negotiating for months. I interpreted as they were told they have a chance to be renewed once they figure out who to cut.

[Affogato]

I thought the Kyle/Chrissy baby, public proposal, was very rushed.  I also thought the vomit, I'm pregnant trope was really ... well... rushed. Still, it does give us an idea of what those characters are doing for the next nine months and that probably covers the rest of the show. Then, going forward, they will be together running their paper and fire department and raising their (probably) son. Got it. One problem solved.

I'm guessing that when they wrote this show they decided to kind of resolve all the  side characters (with openings for continuing stories), in case they were not renewed. I'm even guessing this is standard for a lot of shows that know they are on the cusp of being cancelled.  Kyle and Chrissy (who's pregnancy makes her less likely to endanger herself while investigating),  Metropolis, Steel Industries. Lana up in the air, but may eventually run for a statewide position. She obviously has things happening in the future and I'd think she would be one of the characters that will recur, as both Clark and Lois's friend and confidant. Sarah and Sophie will decide which parent to stay with long term. Jonathan resolves that coach issue, and he really didn't have much of a story this season, just a new actor fitting into a role established by another actor. Jordan gets a good talking to and is made to apologize. The Kents going to Europe for vacation, preferably in matching t shirts.  Sam Lane getting a new girlfriend would be part of his overall arc.

The question is how much of the doomsday/luthor storyline was planned. I loved that last shot on the moon, which looked like fantastic cover art, but people have mentioned that some of the cgi looked a bit rushed. The show could have ended with one shorter battle, Clark winning, but we see that Luthor is still working on Bizarro and there will be trouble in the future, because there is always trouble. Happy ending, trouble in the future.  I sort of hope one of the showrunners opens up about this, although comicon isn't looking promising.

It still seems to me that Mannheim's connection to Bizarro is a loose end. Not the connection, but that no one knows it.  Also. How did Luthor know that by killing Bizarro repeatedly he could create Doomsday. I mean, that seems like a really random leap to me. Of course doomsday is also fairly unkillable, too. I wonder if he will dig deep and bring up a spark of sentience next season? Will Tal Rho make an appearance and call his brother out?

 

I want to add that I did like the episode, but it seemed like it should have taken several hours to cover the same ground. The Clark and Lois moments were well done and not rushed at all.

13 hours ago, historylover820 said:

Yeah, I know. But I'm just surprised.

If something killed superman Jordan and Lois would realize that Jordan wouldn't have a chance.

Edited June 28, 2023 by Affogato

[Affogato]

3 hours ago, Lady Calypso said:

So, as an episode, I actually really did like it. It had a lot of great moments, a lot of character development and set up a lot for future episodes. The Lex/Bizarro scenes were fantastic and the ending was so much fun to watch. They really saved their

Overall, great episode, shitty finale. Even though we know it's not the end now, it's a shitty finale because nothing really happened and it's all set-up for a season we may not see for another year. They left it on a really serious cliffhanger that we now need to wait a year for. 

I think that we saw a lot of the material for the next year compacted into this season, particularly the stuff for characters like kyle and Chrissy.

Poor Clark, apparently he will have to spend a year up there on the moon, kicking up moondust.

14 hours ago, DanaK said:

The interlude where Lois was ready for sexytimes with Clark was handled so well

I still feel the violence that Lex brings is too ugly for this show, including he and his people killing Bizarro over and over again

A cliffhanger? Nooo. It will be interesting to see how the resolve it next season

Well, Lex is a sadist and a bully. If the show realistically depicts a struggle with cancer, social anxiety, relationships in general, it follows that a violent and sadistic bully is going to be shown realistically.

[blackwing]

Good episode but I agree that as a season and possible series finale, it sucked.  I know they had been negotiating for months with CW, but there was a very real chance that the show was going to get cancelled.  This episode must have been in the can a while back, long before the renewal announcement was made.  Knowing that they were ending the season on this cliffhanger, with a very real possibility of cancellation, is a huge disservice to fans.

Then again, perhaps they were already told that they were going to have to lose all the supporting characters, because there was an out written for each of them to leave town.

I wonder what the plan was going to be for Season 4.  No doubt maybe "Superman is dead" and then Jordan and John Henry become the town protectors.  But now John Henry will be gone, and I really hope we don't spend a chunk of the season with Jordan and his goggles.  Hopefully Superman survives.

I don't fully understand how killing Bizarro over and over again would make him stronger and turn him into the grotesque Doomsday.  How would Lex have known that?  Mannheim studied Bizarro for months.  Lex gets out of prison and instantly knows exactly what to do with/to him?

I noticed that Sam mentioned that the boys are halfway done with high school.  They were definitely just starting freshman year at the start of the series in Season 1.  So it took three seasons IRL to get through two years on the show?  I guess it's posisble.  They definitely were about to turn 16 at the end of Season 2, that was when Tal bought them those trucks.  Most people turn 16 sometime during sophomore year, depending on the school system it could probably be as early as September/October.  We saw their birthday party at the beginning of this season, which must have happened not long after Ally was defeated.  So maybe Season 2 is supposed to have occurred over the course of just a few weeks or a month.  And Season 3 took us through the school year.  But the odd thing is, I don't recall that we actually saw winter on this season.  Did we?

By the way, based on last week's episode that Luthor was released from a Kansas prison, I think the show is definitely trying to establish that Metropolis is in Kansas.  However, the screenshot we saw of Metropolis in this episode is definitely Chicago, with CGI to remove the more well-known buildings like the Sears Tower and the John Hancock Center (I refuse to call them by whatever the current-day names are).

Metropolis as seen on the show:

 

Chicago:

The Sears Tower has been replaced by the tall silver building at about 1/3 in from the left.  And the John Hancock Center, the black trapezoidal building in between the assymetric Trump Tower and the squarish white Aon Center, appears to be wiped completely from Metropolis.

 

7 hours ago, baldryanr said:

It's nice that they're close, but Sam and Natalie telling other people they're grandfather and granddaughter has to lead to some followup questions from regular people.  Given her age she can't tell people she's Lois's daughter without making it seem like she cheated on Clark, so is she passing herself off as Lucy's kid?  Is there a third Lane sibling we've never heard of?

4 hours ago, Affogato said:

Like people call their parents friends 'uncle' and 'aunt'.

I think it's way different than calling parents' close friends uncle and aunt.  That usually is done only one way, as a sign of respect from the child to the elders.  It doesn't go both ways, the older person never calls the younger one "nephew" or "niece".   Here, Sam was calling Natalie his granddaughter.  I don't think it can be explained that Sam was just calling her that because she's his grandsons' friend.  It'd be weird and creepy.  

Instead, my explanation would be that after the Awful Ally Alston Affair, I would assume many people are aware of the different parallel worlds and how close they came to being merged with another world.  This is also a world in which Kryptonians possessed many of the town residents.  I can easily see people understanding that Natalie is Sam's granddaughter from an alternate world.

[Quark]

It was a good episode, and the fight scene at the end was very cool, but this season has been pretty mediocre.

Bruno Manheim turned out to be a pretty poor big bad, which is sad, as the writers could have done so much more with Chad Coleman, as he is a brilliant actor.

I'm struggling to think what this season even achieved. The only things of note that occurred was the creation of Doomsday, Lex out of prison and Chrissy being pregnant (all of which happened in the last episode). 

[tennisgurl]

That would be a good season finale but definitely not a series finale. I'm curious if some parts of this episode would have been changed if they did not get renewed, we hopefully wouldn't have ended on a cliffhanger. You could see them shuffling off the whole supporting cast and giving them reasons to leave Smallville/the show now that the cast has been gutted, which I am really unhappy about. I'm very happy that we are getting another season, but this show isn't the same without its supporting cast. This would have been a pretty lame sendoff for the whole show so I am really glad that the show won in that stare off with the network. 

Its pretty funny that we all thought that Bizzaro was going to be Doomsday, but now he's Doomsday for real. Poor Bizzaro Clark, he can just never catch a break, it was rough watching all of the ways that he was killed and killed and mutilated. This version of Lex really is a nasty piece of work, but he certainly is a threatening villain, and I'm glad he's so different than the Jon Cryer version. I liked that version of Lex, but its cool to get this very different take. Its also interesting that he's so much more focused on Lois than on Superman, I guess that's due to Lois being the one to actually end him to jail. 

The CGI on Doomsday and on the moon were a bit wonky, but pretty good for a CW budget, and the fight itself was really well done. Especially Superman and Doomsday fighting on the moon, it was so comic book, I love it.

That better not be the last we see of Sam, at least the rest of the supporting characters are getting decent endings before being exiled. This is probably my favorite version of Sam Lane we have gotten in a Superman story, he's still a hardass and can be very morally ambiguous, but he's much more likable and reasonable than most versions we get, who a lot of times is just some asshole who exists to create conflict. His relationship with Lois, Clark, and the rest of the family is way more interesting and endearing than being more antagonistic and icy. I knew that his new girlfriend was too good to be true, but I loved the twins and Nat's reactions to meeting his new girlfriend, their jaws were practically on the ground. With all of the focus on getting the supporting characters wrapped up I feel like we hardly got to see the twins, so thank god this isn't the last we'll see of them, especially Jon.

The scenes with Lois and Clark were all really cute, I loved their excitement to go on a big family trip to Uncle Tal's Italian villa and the romantic scene between Clark and Lois where Lois was finally ready to be intimate with him again. This has been a really good season and as disappointed as I am to lose so much of the cast, I'm glad that this isn't the end of the show.

[Affogato]

1 hour ago, blackwing said:

Good episode but I agree that as a season and possible series finale, it sucked.  I know they had been negotiating for months with CW, but there was a very real chance that the show was going to get cancelled.  This episode must have been in the can a while back, long before the renewal announcement was made.  Knowing that they were ending the season on this cliffhanger, with a very real possibility of cancellation, is a huge disservice to fans.

Then again, perhaps they were already told that they were going to have to lose all the supporting characters, because there was an out written for each of them to leave town.

I wonder what the plan was going to be for Season 4.  No doubt maybe "Superman is dead" and then Jordan and John Henry become the town protectors.  But now John Henry will be gone, and I really hope we don't spend a chunk of the season with Jordan and his goggles.  Hopefully Superman survives.

I don't fully understand how killing Bizarro over and over again would make him stronger and turn him into the grotesque Doomsday.  How would Lex have known that?  Mannheim studied Bizarro for months.  Lex gets out of prison and instantly knows exactly what to do with/to him?

I noticed that Sam mentioned that the boys are halfway done with high school.  They were definitely just starting freshman year at the start of the series in Season 1.  So it took three seasons IRL to get through two years on the show?  I guess it's posisble.  They definitely were about to turn 16 at the end of Season 2, that was when Tal bought them those trucks.  Most people turn 16 sometime during sophomore year, depending on the school system it could probably be as early as September/October.  We saw their birthday party at the beginning of this season, which must have happened not long after Ally was defeated.  So maybe Season 2 is supposed to have occurred over the course of just a few weeks or a month.  And Season 3 took us through the school year.  But the odd thing is, I don't recall that we actually saw winter on this season.  Did we?

By the way, based on last week's episode that Luthor was released from a Kansas prison, I think the show is definitely trying to establish that Metropolis is in Kansas.  However, the screenshot we saw of Metropolis in this episode is definitely Chicago, with CGI to remove the more well-known buildings like the Sears Tower and the John Hancock Center (I refuse to call them by whatever the current-day names are).

Metropolis as seen on the show:

 

Chicago:

The Sears Tower has been replaced by the tall silver building at about 1/3 in from the left.  And the John Hancock Center, the black trapezoidal building in between the assymetric Trump Tower and the squarish white Aon Center, appears to be wiped completely from Metropolis.

 

I think it's way different than calling parents' close friends uncle and aunt.  That usually is done only one way, as a sign of respect from the child to the elders.  It doesn't go both ways, the older person never calls the younger one "nephew" or "niece".   Here, Sam was calling Natalie his granddaughter.  I don't think it can be explained that Sam was just calling her that because she's his grandsons' friend.  It'd be weird and creepy.  

Instead, my explanation would be that after the Awful Ally Alston Affair, I would assume many people are aware of the different parallel worlds and how close they came to being merged with another world.  This is also a world in which Kryptonians possessed many of the town residents.  I can easily see people understanding that Natalie is Sam's granddaughter from an alternate world.

The chicago thing is interesting, I wouldn't have noticed.

The two years of high school thing is odd, although perhaps the writer was Canadian? I was thinking that the show might naturally wrap up at the end of their senior year.

Well, we know why he calls Natalie his granddaughter and she calls him grandfather--they worked out the relationship for themselves. .  Add in that the Irons lived with the Kents for a while when they came to town and people very likely don't know how close the family was in Metropolis.

Not that I actually care, mind you. But it isn't particularly creepy. People do that kind of thing.

On the other hand why would people assume she is his granddaughter from another world? Unless that is really really common that is kind of a stretch.

Edited June 28, 2023 by Affogato

[Chicago Redshirt]

3 hours ago, Quark said:

It was a good episode, and the fight scene at the end was very cool, but this season has been pretty mediocre.

Bruno Manheim turned out to be a pretty poor big bad, which is sad, as the writers could have done so much more with Chad Coleman, as he is a brilliant actor.

I'm struggling to think what this season even achieved. The only things of note that occurred was the creation of Doomsday, Lex out of prison and Chrissy being pregnant (all of which happened in the last episode). 

My mileage varied.

Bruno to me was not a big bad. He literally was the lesser evil to Lex. And Bruno was pretty good medium-bad in his own right, with him and Peia being a mirror to Clark and Lois. I like Bruno better as a recurring villain than Ally certainly and even more than Morgan Edge.

Other things this season achieved IMO:
1. Lois's battle with cancer and the Kents coming together to support her gave everyone pretty good material to work with.

2. A further move away from the villain of the week formula it and other shows have leaned on so hard. Indeed, there were some eps where there were almost no superheroics at all.

3. The introduction and development of Jon 2.0. I really liked that, unlike the first two seasons, the writers didn't seem focused on how hard they could make him the universe's whipping boy and they had him start carving out a place for himself.

4. The development of Jordan into a fledgling hero and as being about more than his love for Sarah. Other than his stupid Hobbit haircut, he rarely annoyed me, which is not something I could say about previous seasons.

I could probably go on.

[Jediknight]

Every live action Clark/Spuerman vs Doomsday fight we've gotten has sucked, till now.  That was freaking awesome.

[Affogato]

18 hours ago, Chicago Redshirt said:

3. The introduction and development of Jon 2.0. I really liked that, unlike the first two seasons, the writers didn't seem focused on how hard they could make him the universe's whipping boy and they had him start carving out a place for himself.

 

I honestly don't think Jonathan was ever a whipping boy. Yes, he lost his position as prom king/quarterback when the family moves, but he always has a place as a human level hero, standing up for what he believes is right. Neither brother gets a lot of attention, but that is the parenting struggle of their parents, and Jordan is presented as someone who needs a lot of specific attention, which he also doesn't get. I think Jordan Elsass just has the charisma that makes some people want to snuggle him and defend him, a very specific sort of little boy hurt comfort thing. I think Michael Bishop can, long term, thank his lucky stars he doesn't have this cross to bear and is a better actor for it.

[rmontro]

On 6/28/2023 at 11:39 AM, Affogato said:

Poor Clark, apparently he will have to spend a year up there on the moon, kicking up moondust.

Worse than that, he's got to fight Doomsday the whole time.  

Reminds me of the Original Star Trek episode, The Alternative Factor, where two aliens fight each other forever.  Or maybe more recently, "Dormammu, I've come to bargain".

[thuganomics85]

Well, it's certainly a good thing that this show is renewed because that would have been a hell of a cliffhanger to end things on!

Actually didn't predict that they were setting up Bizarro as Doomsday, although I guess the signs where there.  The way Lex went about it was surprisingly brutal: basically killing him over and over again, until he became stronger.  Definitely is on his way to being the nasty version of Lex I've seen in a while.  Honestly, I won't even complain about the CGI because it was miles better than most of the CW fare (hell, wasn't even as ugly as the most recent Flash film on the big screen....)

Looks like they were kind of aware that some of the supporting cast will have to go, because almost all of them are being set up in a way for the show to continue on without them.  Definitely think the Irons are going to Metropolis and assuming Sam wasn't killed, I can see him and the DOD mainly just being there as well (maybe someone else shows up as a new liaison on this show?)  Not sure about the Cushings or Chrissy though.  Can't see a reason they'd suddenly leave Smallville.  Then again, all we really know is that they won't be regulars going forward, so hopefully they will pop back in for at least an episode or two next season.

Still my favorite iteration of Clark/Lois.  Tyler Hoechin and Elizabeth Tulloch are just perfect together.

I imagine Jordan will be allowed to go back into the field sooner rather than later.  Still curious to see what the long term plan is for Jonathan though.

Overall, I really enjoyed the season.  Bruno made for an intriguing antagonist, Lois' cancer storyline hit in ways i wasn't expecting, and the family dynamics and performances continue to be stronger than ever.  I'm a little worried about the changes that will be in store, but I'm glad the show will be back for now.  I do hope they are prepared though, because it wouldn't surprise if next season ends up actually being the last one.  But I'll enjoy the ride while I can!

[historylover820]

On 6/28/2023 at 6:32 PM, Chicago Redshirt said:

2. A further move away from the villain of the week formula it and other shows have leaned on so hard. Indeed, there were some eps where there were almost no superheroics at all.

 

I think... and I can't remember which episode it is... but I think there's an episode this season that Superman didn't appear at all. It was just Clark.

I can't remember the episode, and my CW likes to freeze and lose signal, so it's possible that I missed seeing Superman in this one episode. But your comment reminded me of this thought.

[Affogato]

I think there is a full moon on Monday, so if you remember look up and see if you can see some new craters being formed.

[norcalgal]

On 6/28/2023 at 8:29 AM, Affogato said:

How did Luthor know that by killing Bizarro repeatedly he could create Doomsday

You’ve all posted many of my thoughts on this episode, so besides the above unanswered question, one other question I have: why would Lex think his creation won’t ever turn on him?!  Lex made BizDoom unkillable but thinks he will be able to control his monster indefinitely?  Suuuure

[scarynikki12]

In the flashback Lex blasted Bizarro with what looked like a yellow sunlight gun and then noticed him reviving. At first I think he assumed he was coming back to life after being killed and then went into experiment mode and started killing him over and over for proof. The fact of him self reviving told Lex how powerful he was and the experiment proved he was getting stronger as they went on.

[GHScorpiosRule]

I guess I’ll just sit at my table for one, because I didn’t find Cudlitz’s Luthor menacing or scary. He just came off as a thug. And a whiny one with his waah waah “I was INNOCENT!!” mantra.

To me, Lex is supposed to be a smart, cunning, urbane businessman who is also a villain. Give me Gene Hackman, Michael Rosenbaum, and Clancy!Fucking!Brown! Over this guy, who can be lumped in with Crier and Jesse-what’shisface.

And also how stupid is Lex that he thinks he can control this Doomsday? Another STOOPID way of how it came to be.

So sick of Jordan’s whiny ass as well.

That said, I continue to LOVE Tyler’s Clark and the way he shows Lois his love and support. He and Elizabeth are just magic together.

Edited July 11, 2023 by GHScorpiosRule

[Maverick]

 Cudlitz did ok as a villain, but not Lex Luthor--especially the billionaire business man version.   Death metal loving biker denim isn't what comes to mind when i hear Lex Luthor.  Between how Peia described him and the way they styled that scene with him walking toward Smallville in the storm, I think they going for a riff on Randall Flagg from The Stand.

[Chicago Redshirt]

On 7/9/2023 at 8:36 PM, GHScorpiosRule said:

I guess I’ll just sit at my table for one, because I didn’t find Cudlitz’s Luthor menacing or scary. He just came off as a thug. And a whiny one with his waah waah “I was INNOCENT!!” mantra.

To me, Lex is supposed to be a smart, cunning, urbane businessman who is also a villain. Give me Gene Hackman, Michael Rosenbaum, and Clancy!Fucking!Brown! Over this guy, who can be lumped in with Crier and Jesse-what’shisface.

And also how stupid is Lex that he thinks he can control this Doomsday? Another STOOPID way of how it came to be.

So sick of Jordan’s whiny ass as well.

That said, I continue to LOVE Tyler’s Clark and the way he shows Lois his love and support. He and Elizabeth are just magic together.

You know, I think that the Lex last episode was more interesting and menacing than the Lex this episode. The show decided to take him in an over-the-top, in-your-face direction rather than continue the quiet menace direction.

The Lex last episode wouldn't have screamed at Lois. He wouldn't have to. He would have been snarky and condescending, yes. He would have insulted her that her fine reporting instincts did not tell her that something was fake about that recording, that he would have been so crude to have a voicemail confessing a murder IF he killed someone. He would have pointed out that a part of her wanted it to be true because she had spent so much time harassing him as an innocent man but unable to prove wrongdoing. He would have attacked her as a journalist in other ways -- pointing out that she went from the Daily Planet to a third-rate rag at the Gazette, that Ally Allston was right about how Lois was unethical in her reporting. He would sue her for her false reporting even though he doesn't have a prayer of winning just because he could with his billions. He would have congratulated her on surviving cancer and hinted that she should retire because of it. Or maybe even said something, like "You'll find the next chapter of your life every bit as difficult if you continue reporting. Do us both a favor: retire. I don't want to have to read another word by you."

 

I'm not sure if the Lex we saw last episode was a fluke, or if the Lex we saw in the season finale was the fluke.

[millennium]

So I sat through a 10-episode PSA for breast cancer and moral relativism, then the moment the show remembers it's premised on a COMIC BOOK and delivers  real villains and real action, not to mention a Soundgarden video ... it ends!

Why isn't Tyler Hoechlin being considered to play a big-screen Superman?  I've been watching Superman for more than 50 years, and this guy is as close as it gets IMO.   It feels like the Grant Gustin Syndrome all over again.

[norcalgal]

10 hours ago, millennium said:

Why isn't Tyler Hoechlin being considered to play a big-screen Superman?  I've been watching Superman for more than 50 years, and this guy is as close as it gets IMO.   It feels like the Grant Gustin Syndrome all over again.

Pardon if your question was rhetorical, but as it pertains to Superman Legacy, the movie Gunn is working on for DC, Gunn specifically wanted to focus on a young Clark, just starting out his career.  Tyler- great as he is - can’t realistically portray a guy in his early 20s.

[Affogato]

On 10/13/2023 at 12:32 PM, norcalgal said:

Pardon if your question was rhetorical, but as it pertains to Superman Legacy, the movie Gunn is working on for DC, Gunn specifically wanted to focus on a young Clark, just starting out his career.  Tyler- great as he is - can’t realistically portray a guy in his early 20s.

Also being in this show means he would come with baggage--I assume Gunn wants a fresh face, or at least a face that isn't associated with a superhero, or another version of the same hero. Yeah, neither Routh or Cavill worked for me.