daibhidc | Smalville

The opening flashforward/dream was nicely done (and does the brief image of Lex suggest he might be returning?), and then Clark gets the Supersuit as a gift from Ma ... but then he doesn't wear it. Grr, it's bad enough he hasn't worn the glasses since their introduction.

The feeling that this is the big one is maintained by the League and Society both being involved (and we got another great Hawkman and Green Arrow scene - I love these because Ollie spends so much time being Smallville's Batman, it's nice to see him being Smallville's Green Arrow). And the Kandorians spread across the globe ... but don't actually do much. Which gets explained; they're there to distract the other heroes so Clark faces Zod alone. And then Clark gives an epic speech to the Justice Teams that really does make you feel like this is the future Superman, not some moody kid who hates his powers, which he comes across as all too often.

Best mythology gag: Ollie tells Chloe the Justice League has its own satellite. By which they mean a dedicated communications satellite, obviously, not an orbital headquarters

The Clark/Zod confrontation was well done. Of course Clark makes one more attempt to talk rationally to the Kandorians. And of course Zod slips up and accidentally reveals that Clark was telling the truth all along. And as the Kandorians tear off their armbands, we get one last "Kneel before Zod!" rant before the Book of Rao is activated.

Okay, so my prediction about the cliffhanger was wrong. Which is a shame because it occured to me afterwards that if the season had ended with Clark following the Kandorians, the opening episode of the next season could have riffed off the recent World of New Krypton/World Without Superman storyline in the comics, where Superman was on New Krypton, learning about his people and trying to stymie General Zod's machinations. Instead we have him falling, powerless, off a building, which can obviously be resolved by J'onn or Hawkman or someone flying to the rescue. Then again, the idea of Clark sacrificing himself to ensure Zod gets to the promised land is a beautiful payoff to the "give him a chance for Jor-El's sake"/"don't let him conquer Earth" dilemma. I thought it might end with Zod killing himself rather than lose, but this is a Clark who won't let that happen. Why, it's almost like he's Superman.