While they put a good spin on Lex's interpretation of the theory, the whole Indian caves thing they've been dragging for so long just doesn't do it for me - for one thing it has nothing to do with Superman mythos. And before anyone says 'but thats creative' - no, Kryptonians coming to Earth before Kal-El implies there could be dozens of them running around the galaxy.

I also don't like how easy it is to get powers just like Superman via Kryptonian technology or magic. But I guess thats what happens when a basic premise of the show is that Kryptonite gives people super powers.

Ok, on the positive side, something happened to Pete that seemed realistic for a change. And Lana/Chloe didn't have one of 'those' scenes with Clark.

Why would this be a problem? Because Superman is the "Last Son of Krypton?"

Of course, other Kryptonites in Superman comics were escaped from the Phantom Zone, so did that kill the concept of the Last Son of Krypton in the comics (and movies)? In any telling of the Superman mythos (that I've seen, I don't read the comics too much and haven't picked one up in a long time) there are other Kryptonians that creep up here and there. And if it's not a Kryptonian, it's people from Krypton's sister world (I forget the name of the planet, but apparently that is where Supergirl is from). So Smallville's creators did a "what if" and decided that maybe Jor El visited Earth to scout it out first. Why not? That doesn't take away from the Last Son of Krypton at all. Even if there are dozens of Kyrptonians running around the galaxy that were off world when Krypton went apocalyptic, there is still power in the story of Superman that he is the sole survivor of Krypton, the sole one chosen to go out from that world before it's doom, and he is still indeed the "Last Son of Krypton."

However, I will agree with you that they use kryptonite and Krypton too often to explain how people get powers. In the DC Uninverse, people get powers from a variety of means, and I wish they would utilize that more into the series.

So it takes Clark a year to figure out heat vision but this guy has it going perfectly in a couple hours.

I think that aspect has to do with the guy being instantly infused with all the powers from the knife. Most of Clark's powers have developed as part of his growth spurts; they weren't instantaneously given the moment he landed on Earth as in previous incarnations of the Superman mythos.

I don't mind the caves as it has been a minor plotpoint to the series and really hasn't <i>that</i> overused. It gives Clark clues to his past and future, not any different than say, the crystals from the Superman films. Because the cave element is public knowledge, it gives the show part of its major conflict with Clark and the Luthors, and puts him jeopardy at times. Clark and the Luthors are trying unlock the secrets of the cave before the other does. Without it, and if Clark only had the ship (now destroyed) to deal with, he would go undetected.

As you say the comics have had numerous other people turn up from Krypton - from Supergirl to the Phantom Zone criminals to Mon-El to Krypto. Some of them worked, some of them were silly, some just terrible. But thats because there are a lot of comics over a 60 year period. Smallville has what, 24 episodes a year? Is it too much to ask to keep some semblance of order? I'm not asking for realism - this is a show about aliens, but ancient Indian prophecies? What I'm basically knocking is the bad (or lack of) creativity on the writers' part.