Season 8 of Smallville was the first year without original showrunners Gough and Millar, and the first season without Michael Rosenbaum as Lex Luthor. The new showrunners moved the show more towards the Superman from the comics, with Clark officially taking on an alter ego as a superhero, although not yet Superman in name or costume. To fill the gap of Lex Luthor they introduced a variation of the comics villain of Doomsday, writing him primarily in a human form. The season was divisive for many reasons, many of those reasons, and after sitting down to watch the entire season as a whole for the first time in years, I decided to review and rank all of the episodes.
22 – Doomsday (Episode 22)
I still vividly remember the reactions and disappointment I felt watching this for the first time in 2009. The season had already gone off the rails with the David/Doomsday story arc, but like everyone else watching I was holding out hope we would at least get a good battle scene in the finale. We didn’t. And the biggest disappointment of all is that they spent all season building a showdown between Clark and the ultimate destroyer, only to have the “fight” be one tackle with no resolution. . There was obviously a thought about bringing Doomsday back at some point in the future, as when Clark finally reappears he gives nothing more than “I don’t know what happened”. While I’m thankful they ended the Doomsday story here, it just added one extra layer of frustration t The entire Davis/Doomsday arc had run its course already and was growing tiresome to watch. You add to that the surprise fate of a major character, and convoluted twist involving them that may have worked with better writing and less complicated delivery. In the end, the biggest issue I see with this episode is that it plays out like a jumbled patch job of what may have been a completely different story. Think of Joss Whedon’s Justice League film. There are unusually long pauses in almost all dialogue scenes in the first 2/3, almost like they had to cut a lot of footage that wasn’t working and needed to fill the air time with awkward pauses. Multiple scenes or story points are glossed over and make very little sense. Even at the end of the episode Clark is asked what happened and he responds with “I’m not sure”. This was the moment where longtime viewers of Smallville either checked out and gave up on the show, or stuck around for the last 2 seasons. o have absolutely no conclusion. Even the David Bloome side of the story ended in a way that more or less undoes everything they tried to develop throughout the season.. I could probably only come up with a handful of episodes overall that I’d consider worse through the entire run of the series.
21 – Power (Episode 13)
Putting it as nicely as I can, this is a dumpster fire of an episode where the dumpster is filled with human waste. They had already gone the route of having Lana with powers the previous season, and now we’re right back there again, except now Lana has more than overstayed her welcome as a character, and she was actively standing in the way of more interesting stories. I get that you had to write something big for her if she had to be brought back, but there’s no way this was the best idea. Half the episode are flashbacks of Lana training with some random mercenary character in a damp basement, which just feels ridiculous for her character at this point in the show. Then there’s a convenient kryptonite powered suit that literally has to be grafted onto someone’s skin after their flesh is burned away, which is so over the top and really only necessary for the following episode. The editing does no favors, as the episode jumps all over the place. Here you have an overly complicated plot with too many characters having different motives, none of which are properly explained, and the production just causes disjointed confusion. Bringing a type of Lex cameo did help to wrap up stories to a certain extent, although I believe with how much he was mentioned and involved throughout the season prior to this, the producers probably believed they could get Rosenbaum back, and this was just the episode it became clear that wasn’t going to happen. There were so many better uses for Lana if she did have to come back, and this starts a 2 episode arc that will wrap her up in the worst way possible.
20 – Beast (Episode 20)
Episode after episode I try my hardest to find the good in the Davis/Doomsday story, but the longer it ran on the more frustrated I always get. Davis’ obsession with Chloe officially makes no sense, and I feel for Sam Witwer having to deliver lines of dialogue like “A world without Chloe?” Chloe’s determination to save Davis almost makes sense in this episode, as she tries to plead to Clark to not banish him to the Phantom Zone as everyone deserves a chance to be saved, but we have basically never seen Chloe make that argument with any other character, and this one is a full fledged serial killer and monster. It just becomes frustrating to watch the show try and make Chloe and Davis a thing while Jimmy has been shoved aside. Speaking of Jimmy, if the show hadn’t damaged his character enough at this point then might as well make him a pill popping drug addict. The only thing I like about that side plot is it gives Oliver something to do on the show for the first time in months. I honestly believe the producers misjudged how much space there was to fill in 22 episodes, because there’s so little story to tell, and at this point 3 episodes left. Perhaps they learned from the mistake in trying to force a villain character into so many episodes, because in the following seasons the villains are used a lot more sparingly.
19 – Injustice (Episode 21)
A couple of minor villains return in an unspectacular and slightly convoluted filler episode to stretch out the Doomsday arc. The problem is that this is the penultimate episode of the season, and the Doomsday story was already failing, but had at least had bigger moments. This adds nothing to it other than communicating the show needed to fill out one more episode in their count before getting to the finale. The flip flop twist involving Chloe could almost work if it wasn’t for the fact that the first half of the episode makes you believe that she’s finally coming to her senses, only to have the 2nd episode scream to the audience “Just kidding. We’re legitimately flushing her character down the toilet now”. I have the slightest bit of forgiveness for the mediocrity of this episode thanks to the one amusing scene where Oliver in Green Arrow costume is almost caught breaking into Tess’ place, so he strips down and hops in bed. Hilarious scene, but in no way does it fit anything else in this episode.
18 – Odyssey (Episode 1)
There’s a lot going on in this episode, and at the same time not enough substance. It’s certainly not a bad episode, but with several Justice League characters, the introduction of a new character with Tess, as well as all the regular cast having their own sub plots, nothing is given enough time to develop. Chloe’s held in a top secret facility and thanks to Brainiac is now apparently a human super computer as well. Lois is undercover as both a maid and security guard, Clark has lost his powers and is held prisoner by the Russian mob hauling fish. By the time everything comes together and the episode slows down and focuses, it becomes quite good. The appearance of the Martian Manhunter saving Clark is the highlight, along with the final scene between Clark and Lois at the Daily Planet, which is exactly the type of scene that works to get the audience excited about the direction of the show moving closer to traditional Superman territory.
17 – Bloodline (Episode 8)
I was never a fan of how the Phantom Zone had been portrayed before on the show, and the depiction of Supergirl was rushed and mishandled in the previous season. I don’t consider this to be a great course correction by any means, but it’s a slight course correction on both. Like a lot of season 8 episodes, the plot is a bit too much of a stretch, and is only there to push forward the larger story arcs of the season. In this case, having Clark and Lois randomly zapped into The Phantom Zone doesn’t play like a natural story, but it accomplishes the job of setting up their rapport. The exposition from Faora to explain the Davis/Doomsday connection to Zod is at least well explained. It’s a little cheap to have ended the previous season with Supergirl being sent to The Phantom Zone, quite easily be able to get out, and a very poor explanation given as to why she hasn’t left yet, but in the end this episode sets up her next appearance that would perfectly complete her character arc in Season 10.
16 – Eternal (Episode 18)
Maybe the one episode from the 2nd half of Season 8 that comes close to telling the Davis/Doomsday story in an enjoyable way. The issue I have with it really comes down to how the show continues to try and rewrite their own history and lore season after season. Flashbacks showing child Davis landing in the first meteor shower intercutting with footage from the pilot episode are well edited. I struggle with the child portrayal of Davis being so well adapted. Considering he just landed on an alien world, has no idea who he is, where he comes from, is being poked, prodded and questioned from the moment he wakes up, we see him just running around playing swords with young Lex and communicating in perfect english. It is good to see Tess developing as her own character and not just being “female Lex”. Showcasing the human side of Davis could have worked better if the ball hadn’t been dropped time and time again following this, especially with how the character ended up. There was just no proper closure to what they were going for here.
15 – Turbulence (Episode 16)
After Jimmy had been clumsily written out of the show for a month and a half, he finally comes back with a decent sub plot involving him witnessing Davis’ attacks, but his imagination is called into question is a pretty rational way. I like the idea of Jimmy being the one character who knows what’s going on and nobody believing him, and the scene in the back of the ambulance between Jimmy and Davis is really strong and promising. This is something that could have been drawn out for multiple episodes, but sadly the show just has Jimmy get upset at Chloe for always taking everyone’s side against his (which he actually has a good point) and then following this episode we have Jimmy wasted away on a pill addiction instead of trying to bring down Davis. As a stand alone story this is decent, but the rest of the season wasted a great setup. The B story with Clark escorting Tess on a flight, and having his identity questioned makes sense for where they were intending to go with Tess, but its a very forgettable introduction to that plot point.
14 – Plastique (Episode 2)
This episode works as your traditional Smallville freak of the week one off, but more importantly, it fully introduces the Clark and Lois Daily Planet rapport that is so important to the final 3 seasons. The progression of various sub plots is done well, particularly Chloe and Jimmy’s engagement being revealed. Considering how poor the Davis Bloome and Doomsday story would end, his introduction is not so bad, including the early scenes with Chloe before their relationship became annoying and nauseating to watch. Plastique as a character is done fairly well compared to the comics version, with some added depth and sympathy. The opening bus explosion is one of the more spectacular sequences of the season, but more for the chaos afterwards as police and EMT rescues are attempted. The one downside is the final climax is extremely brief and underwhelming.
13 – Requiem (Episode 14)
It is possible to have a solid story in a solid episode with decent execution, and have it ruined by the wrong placement in the series. That’s the case with Power. Having an epic, tragic and teary goodbye to Lana as a character would have worked brilliantly in Seasons 6 or 7, but my guess is the reduced episode count in Season 7 due to the writers strike forced them to bench Lana’s final story arc for Season 8. Even considering that, the much better idea would have been to write Lana back in for the earlier part of this season, then you could be done with it and move onto Clark and Lois after that. Putting this story 2/3 of the way through the season was just frustrating timing, and I think it forces the audience to resent Lana as a character. The final scene between Clark and Lana is a little too sappy for my taste, and I think the audience at this point was probably cheering for Lana and Clark’s tragic ending just so that we could get back to Lois. I also think you should have just done one scene on the rooftop, and not extend the sappy goodbye into multiple scenes. In a perfect world Lana could have come back and had no romantic subplot with Clark. Just have them working as allies. The best part of this episode is the portrayal of the Toyman. It’s just the right balance between comic book silliness and sinister megalomaniac.
12 – Prey (Episode 6)
Although it would be in the following episode ‘Identity’ that the idea of Clark acting as a proper superhero would culminate, the groundwork is all laid here in ‘Prey’ with John Jones/Martian Manhunter guiding Clark towards being more active, Chloe questioning whether Clark would be accepted if he was was known by the public, and Jimmy investigating the possibility of a superhero in Metropolis. This is also the episode where the Davis/Doomsday story starts to take shape, and considering how poorly it would end up, the potential was here with mystery and some terror being introduced. Pairing Davis up with Jimmy for the episode is what makes it more memorable. Davis was saddled with only Chloe for almost the entire season, so having a different character to play off of for once was a nice change of pace. We also get to see Chloe working with meteor freaks as a mentor, something that was sadly barely used in the show. The villain reveal is a little weak, which hurts the episode slightly. You can see the potential for where the season could have gone though, if there was better planning and execution after this.
11 – Stiletto (Episode 19)
At this point in the season the show was already circling the drain, and the quality of writing in “Stiletto” is no improvement, but I actually commend it for being a refreshingly dumb and pointless one off. There is a massive plot hole that it took me years to pick up on, but I feel now I will never be able to get over. Lois fabricates a story about a masked superhero named Stiletto, her editor refuses to publish it, yet in the entire episode everyone in the city seems to know who Stiletto is, and there’s even a blog dedicated to this fictitious character that was never published in the paper. The best part of this episode is the final phone call between Lois and Clark (as The Blur) which perfectly sets up their dynamic going into the next season. This season had plenty of Clark and Lois interactions, but the one missing piece was the Lois and alter ego dynamic to push it closer to Superman territory. If this were in any other season it would probably be close to a bottom 5 episode, but in a season as flawed and at times unpleasant as season 8, I’ll gladly take a little bit of silly fun.
10 -Abyss (Episode 9)
The show leans very heavily into sci-fi territory in ‘Abyss’, with Chloe’s memories playing out like scenes out of Inception, which itself was not even released yet. The storyline of Chloe being infected by Brainiac was never memorable enough to care about, partly because it never seemed consistent. One week she was reading text and computer screens like a machine, the next she was trapped in her own memories. I will say in ‘Abyss’ they at least give it the proper development in the episode itself. It presents an interesting enough premise that works particularly well when placing Chloe inside scenes from previous seasons. My only wish is that the Brainiac story had ended here, as the few that followed were again inconsistent, and the Brainiac angle never lended itself as well to Chloe’s character again after this.
9 – Toxic (Episode 3)
It’s the first and last good Oliver Queen/Green Arrow episode of the season. It’s a shame that a character as well established, important to the series continuity, and perfectly performed by Justin Hartley was treated as such an afterthought in Seasons 7 and 8, because he would have brought a lot of much needed entertainment to the show. The working of flashbacks of his time shipwrecked, and the involvement of Tess in that backstory adds a lot to both characters. Considering what a unique twist it was to have Tess’ story tied to Oliver, it’s a shame they only brought it up a few more times throughout the season. Even during the present day story there was more complexity to Tess’ character than there would be for the rest of the season. The show needed more elements to differentiate her from Lex, and this episode shows both a sympathetic and cold side to her character. The episode also features a great scene between Lois and Oliver as he’s unconscious in the hospital, which combined with the scene between her and Clark at the end wrap up the Lois and Oliver dynamic 2 seasons later. Even though the show had done a fair enough job or tying up their story it was a nice bonus touch that worked very well.
8 – Bulletproof (Episode 12)
I accept the fact that this is a completely disposable filler episode, and that the story hardly feels like it belongs in Smallville, but that’s one of the things I like about it. It’s not unusual to have Clark or anyone go undercover, but the fact that Clark is undercover as a street cop for the majority of this episode is what makes it feel more like Southland or NYPD Blue than Smallville. That and the villains have no powers other than abusing their position as police officers. There are some holes in the cops logic and motivation, and the climax scene makes you question why some characters get redeemed while others don’t. Overall this was a nice breather from some of the heavier episodes that preceded it, and those that would follow. Despite some questionable plot points, there is solid emotion and drama in the cop story, and it ties in really nicely with a brief opening and closing appearance of John Jones/Martian Manhunter.
7 – Infamous (Episode 15)
I’ll start by giving my one and only complaint about this episode. Bringing back Linda Lake was not the best fit for the alternate reality story of Clark’s powers becoming public. Linda is barely used, and is there for nothing more than the initial plot device to force Clark’s hand. It’s only because this is a returning character that I have issue with that, as I feel you could have written this as any random villain of the week, or better yet, make it Tess who’s threatening Clark, which fits in perfectly with her character arc for the rest of the season. Other than that I appreciate what they were going for. Everything from Clark and Lois’ interactions to the scenes of citizens freaking out and treating Clark like a celebrity, to the darker portion of the story involving the military’s distrust of Clark work perfectly. They all show different sides of what would probably actually happen if an alien superhero suddenly was revealed to the world. One major theme in Season 8 that was hit and miss was Clark’s dilemma with whether he should become a public symbol of hope, and just how much to reveal himself to the world. This episode is a great depiction of that in the season.
6 – Bride (Episode 10)
The episode that gave a bit of a pay off to every fan who had patiently waited to see Doomsday, and at the same time gave false hope that we would get anything better out of Doomsday in the rest of the season. This was already setup to be a big episode with the wedding between Chloe and Jimmy, adding to that how we were finally given the first glimpse of Clark and Lois as a potential couple, so the fact that it also featured a huge terrifying first glimpse at Doomsday was just icing on the cake. It’s sadly almost impossible to judge any of the great stuff in this episode without also dealing with how disappointing it was to see all the promise squandered almost immediately afterward. We get an amazing scene between Clark and Lois only to have the rug pulled out by the return of Lana. This was obviously meant to add drama, but the direction they took with Lana in the following episodes worked against the drama, and created resentment towards her as a character. The Doomsday attack is shot brilliantly, seen from the POV of a home video camera at the wedding. This added so much mystery, but in retrospect it was probably shot like that more to hide the inadequacies of the suit design. While it is impossible for me to not dwell on the disappointment of where the show went after this, if I try to forget everything I know and pretend I’m watching this for the first time, I still can feel the excitement at how tragic and chaotic this episode played out the first time around.
5 – Instinct (Episode 4)
More than other episode in Season 8, ‘Instinct’ would fit in perfectly in any of the earlier seasons. It’s over the top, edgy as far as Smallville standards go, and features a truly memorable villain, Maxima, straight out of the comics. There’s plenty that doesn’t make sense if you try and analyze the story for logic, but who cares when every scene is this much fun. There’s nothing like watching Clark and Jimmy awkwardly react to a sexually forceful supervillain. Like so many of the best moments in Season 8, the story allows a chance to develop Clark and Lois’ rapport with the first hint at jealousy. Although the episode on the surface could almost be considered filler, using the opportunity of Maxima to very subtly push Clark and Lois’ relationship forward is handled just right. After several seasons of Jimmy (rightfully so) being uneasy about Chloe and Clark, that occasionally annoying point is finally wrapped up once and for all with a really well played callback to Chloe’s love letter to Clark from season 1. That’s the type of continuity touch that rewards longtime fans.
4 – Identity (Episode 7)
If there was one thing that was done exceptionally well in this season, it was the slow and well planned emergence of Clark’s superhero alter ego, here named just the Red/Blue Blur and not Superman. The groundwork had been carefully laid in prior episodes, then the events in the opening of ‘Identity’ bring it into focus (pun intended) as Jimmy takes a blurry photo of Clark making a speedy save. One of the reasons this works is because Smallville had teased Clark either revealing his powers, or allowing a public alter ego to become known many times before, and never followed through, so the audience was in no way expecting for this story to end with him actually accepting a new identity. This is Jimmy’s best episode of season, and it has nothing to do with Chloe or Davis for a change. The villain also has a legitimate menacing power and presence. Maybe for the first time ever Smallville feels like its embracing more of a Superman story structure than Superboy, which is exciting as a fan, but it only works because the episode is so well written, directed and acted.
3 – Committed (Episode 5)
Smallville had already done a ‘Saw’ themed episode in Season 5 with ‘Mercy’ so it shouldn’t really work to repeat the same formula again, yet there’s something about ‘Committed’ that holds up as one of the most satisfying episodes of the season. The idea is beyond absurd, that some disgruntled jeweler wants to kidnap and murder young engaged couples after forcing them to take a lie detector test to prove their faithfulness. Writing it out reads as even more absurd than it comes across in the episode. The reason this works is because of a single scene where Lois and Clark, posing as an engaged couple, have to answer the kidnappers questions. It ends in a very emotional way, while still keeping enough questions open to prolong the Clark and Lois story. I do think this moment may have been better suited for later in the season, but the execution is flawless. Despite the rather dark premise, and the climax playing more sappy than anything, this is one of the funnier episodes of the season, featuring plenty of comical banter between Lois and Clark and Jimmy and Chloe.
2 – Hex (Episode 17)
One thing the 2nd half of Season 8 was lacking was some fun. This episode is such a blast putting a spin on the idea of a body swap comedy. Zatanna is a tough character to pull off in a serious way, but the writers actually make a smart choice by having everything that happens around her be the focus of the comedy, so that Zatanna herself comes off as a little more threatening. Without a doubt the funniest performance Tom Welling has ever had came in this episode, as Chloe (as Lois) tries to explain his powers to him after his memory has been wiped, and Clark continues coming up with rational explanations for everything, such as great acoustics to explain his hearing, poorly maintained door handles to explain his strength. While Welling is the one who really steals the show, Erica Durance’s performance as Chloe is also some of the funniest stuff the show had done in a long time. With all the goofiness and comedy the episode also manages to pull off one of the most heroic and exciting climaxes of the season as well. Zatanna as a character was written and performed so well by Serinda Swan that they rightfully brought her back as an annual guest appearance. I would never have guessed going in that Zatanna would be a character that would work so well.
1 – Legion (Episode 11)
If you watch ‘Legion’ back to back with Bride, it feels like an oddly light episode to follow what came before, but back when this aired on TV there were weeks off in between the mid season break. Unlike prior seasons that introduced fairly well known DC characters like The Flash, Aquaman, Green Arrow, Cyborg, I’m sure the Legion of Superheroes appealed mostly to hardcore fans of the comics, and as an extra treat the episode, was written by comic book writer Geoff Johns. Johns clearly understood the balance of being accurate to comics vs creating something easily accessible for a TV audience. Even though the Chloe/Brainiac story never made a lot of sense to me, it does tie up that story well enough. The 3 Legion characters are presented as fun and energetic, and the actors fit in with the tone of the show so well you’d almost think they had been there from the beginning. The episode uses the future based characters to add a bit of mystery to both Clark’s future as well as Chloe’s. The smartest thing in this episode was to translate the fact that Chloe never existed in the comics to the idea of her not being known to exist in the future. This added a ton of drama to the episode, season, and even seasons that followed. Legion is easily the highlight of the weakest season of Smallville, and an episode I would consider close to a top ten episode for the entire series.
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