joe_b

They did exactly what I was expecting:

Hokeyboy

You always knew that Lex was going to , but I like the way in which it was done. Specifically the redemption of the character who did the deed!

RocShemp

I think it would have worked better had Lx0 been brought to life with no memory of who/what he was. Sure, it still doesn't answer why Darkseid would even bring him to life (I'm sure there were scores of other willing hosts more suitable than old Lionel), how Lex would manage not to immediately find the old Veritas journals, especially with the immediate looming question of "who's this dead chick in my office?"

BTW, what happened to Emile? All that development between him and Tess and he just vanishes.

yourlocalcinema

I may be alone in this, but while I agree with most of joe_b's complaints, nothing bothered me nearly as much as the weird bookend device with Chloe and the comic book. WTF? Minus that, I was actually pretty happy with the last 30 minutes, and the rest was the same blend of good & bad that's typical for the series, which was fitting.

PhantomStranger

Smallville was given the choice of using the Christopher Reeve costume or the ugly Superman Returns suit, the show went with a redesigned Superman Returns costume. That was a very questionable choice. At least they made the S symbol a little better.
The bookends did not do much for me either, I was scared at the closing one they were going to reveal the entire show

anomynous

I was happy with it

PhantomStranger

joe_b

That omission bothers me as well. Her "healing tears" kept bringing her to the brink of death. She used those twice, as I recall. I assumed she would use them one last time to save someone important, thereby sacrificing herself and not being able to resuscitate. They completely dropped that after Al and Miles walked from the show. I'm certain that killing Jimmy and ditching Kara was also never on the cards until the new show runners were brought in.

Another omission I always found glaring: Dr. Virgil Swann having a link to the Kawatche caves. Remember, the octagonal key was seemingly sucked into the wall as Lionel and Jonathan were fighting for it in season 3. Then we cut to Virgil, who has the key in a box and is looking on with an unreadable expression. After Christopher Reeve's death, they just had Clark receive the key in envelope with a note from Dr. Swann. There was never an explanation of how he intercepted it. It made me think the doctor originally had more involvement in manipulating Clark to achieve his "destiny". I always assumed that the Jor-El from the caves was not the genuine article. Remember how he was always "These people are weak, my son -- you must rule them." in those early seasons? It made me think that perhaps Dr. Swann was being set up as a villain, posing as Jor-El in order to get Clark to obey his commands -- or at least testing him to make sure his character was strong enough that he wouldn't use his powers as a threat to earth. I hate that they never addressed that plot point.

boredsilly

I watched the finale, after bailing on the show 4 or 5 seasons ago. I did peek in from time to time, but only for the occasional ep. So saying that I thought the finale was awful isn't really fair, as I'm not invested in these current stories. However, there was a time when I was invested in these characters, and outside of seeing Lex again, everything felt very flat.

One thing I did find weird is the show's need to set things in motion for the future. This show is so much it's own thing, I didn't see any reason to have Lex be mind wiped, or to reintroduce a new Jimmy Olsen. Since Smallville is essentially dead, only to live on in books and comics, that felt unnecessary. Even though I haven't liked the show in a long time, I was always cool with it going it's own way.

yourlocalcinema

They've been doing that little by little all season. They tried to insert the glasses into Clark's life (a little late) and they recently retconned the Zod chronology to fit in with canon. I agree that they probably should have just let it be its own version of events, but at least they've been consistent with trying to "fix" things.

GuessWho

Full disclosure.

A tear and slight chokeup when Jonathan gace Clark the suit in the fortress.

Full-on man tears when he said "Tell the minister I'll be late" and the Williams score kicked in.

stingermck

Spoilers be damned, this needs to be watched over and over

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starseed1981

Absolutley flawless. That tops The Shield, Friday Night Lights and Six Feet Under as my favorite finale of all time.

Ranger

It was just OK, we knew the very end would be good. Overall, finale was better than I expected.

joe_b

Seeing that last shot again, it looks a bit like the sheild was added in with CG.

Double_Oh_7

Better than SFU? Come on...

RocShemp

The current showrunners even forgot that Chloe has Doctor Fate's helmet. We're lucky they even remembered Chloe was a character in this show.

I seem to recall that the plan with Dr. Swann was to reveal him as a villain but Christopher Reeve's untimely death ended those plans.

DGibFen

Maybe it's just me, but I hope that the Donner/Reeve/Williams Superman ends with Smallville. I know it's the "iconic" version to most people our age, but I'm ready for Superman to move beyond that. It would have been nice to see an ending that didn't rely on that crutch. (Here's hoping that Nolan and Snyder are smart enough to figure that out.)

DarthVong

For me I just think that Williams theme for Superman is perfect. It's kinda like The Lone Ranger theme, or James Bond. It's just one of those pieces that fits.

yourlocalcinema

Anyone have an HD version of this money shot?

riley_dude

I thought the writing was pretty solid with some really good character moments. Other than Tess dying and the CGI Superman, I thought it was a fitting end.

Boogie76

I can see the complaints, but as someone who bailed on the show years ago, I was watching this hoping that it would do nothing more than capture the essence of the Superman mythos. I though the show was solid overall and the last 15 minutes nailed it. Yes the CGI was poor, but damn it could have been stick figures with the Williams score and I would have been happy. I agree with DarthVong. The Williams theme is just iconic. A Superman without it is like Bond or Indiana Jones without their themes.

PhantomStranger

As long as Superman exists in any form, that John Williams music should be playing alongside him. It is one of those things that has become an integral part of the character.

Sonic

I agree..I get this goosebump feeling and I want to jump up and fly lol

DarthVong

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