With only one exception, all major characters that ever appeared on Smallville
were brought back for the series finale. The 2-hour episode first
reminded us why we cared for those characters in the first place. It
then tied some loose ends before (and after) leading us through an epic
and breathtaking — even if slightly imperfect — ending to the saga.
I
think any modern Superman story is bound to put Lois at the center.
It’s a sign of the times and a good one, too. Before this ultimate
episode, the series had already established Lois and Clark were made for
each other, so bringing Lana back would not have been helpful and could
have provided an unwelcome soap angle to a story that already had a lot
going on. That is why I think keeping Lana away made absolute sense. I
liked Chloe and Oliver discussing their own wedding and defining their
relationship without any of the angst that seemed to surround it lately.
The steps taken to bring Lois to reason and rein in Clark — who was
himself starting to doubt — provided for truly beautiful moments and
remarkable dialogues. Clark (to Lois): “You’re not in my way, Lois.
You’re by my side.” I think they did well to take the time to sort
things out. It ultimately gave us the closed-door scene which was one of
the best ever between the two. Welling was good but Durance was simply
perfect in a scene that summed up what Smallville has done with
these two characters over the years. One of my favorite scenes in the
whole episode was the close-up of Lois’s vows. The contrast between her
blatantly unfinished vows and Clark’s perfectly formatted piece spoke
volumes on the differences that make them such a good match.
