I’ve always said that Smallville never had any right to be as good as it is, consistently. When it first premiered, I saw a review that described it as “a bad idea executed nicely,” and that’s stuck with me. As ridiculous as the premise is — teenage Clark Kent grows up and veeeeeeeerry slowly becomes Superman — Smallville just keeps churning out good product. And since Michael Rosenbaum left at the end of Season 6, letting the show finally ditch the melodramatic cold war between Lex and Clark, Smallville has soared, introducing more and more legendary heroes and villains from DC Comics, and putting its own distinct twist on them.
Smallville has taught us that it’s the journey that matters, because after all, how the show would end is the one thing we’ve always known. The tenth and final season of the show has raised everything to a new high-water mark, with long-awaited, rewind-that-and-watch-it-again! moments in nearly every episode.
And now, after 10 years, we finally know when it will end. Clark finally heads up, up and away for good on Friday, May 13th, with a 2-hour finale event. Here’s what the CW says about the finale:
The story of a young Clark Kent (Tom Welling) and his journey to become the Man of Steel has captivated audiences for a decade. This final season, Clark attempts to find a balance between saving the world, which becomes even more difficult as the Vigilante Registration Act separates a nation, and spending time with his new fiancée Lois Lane (Erica Durance). Whether it’s donning glasses as a disguise, changing in a phone booth or learning how to fly, this season has put Clark closer to his destiny than ever before. Taking on Darkseid and battling the darkest of his demons, this two-hour event will send Clark soaring towards his birthright to secure his place in history as the world’s greatest protector.
How much you wanna bet the final episode’s title will be “Superman”?
Executive producers Brian Peterson and Kelly Souders are promising to wrap up every character and story arc while paying homage to all ten seasons of the show. They also seem to recognize the atmospherically-high expectations that fans have for the show’s final moments (I’d say with ten years to think about it, they no doubt have it all figured out).
Supernatural will be preempted on the 13th, but will return for a two-hour season finale on Friday, May 20th.