LOVED IT? HATED IT? How Was the 'Season Finale'!?

[Tacosupes]

As a regular episode in the series, Commencement was ok. But as A season finale , Commencement sucked! BAd! Nothing really happened, Clark found the stones big deal. The stupid part is he only made an effort to look for the other two stones once the whole season, and that was only to follow Lana's little tail to China and maybe join the mile high club. It was so cheap and stupid how Clark found the last two stones in like ten minutes. I t made the whole season look just like a lot of boring attempts to STALL us from seeing the fortress of solitude untill season 5. That's why I hated it, plus the fact that Clark didn't fly at the end and destroy the meteors with heat vision.

Commencement should not be the meter stick to measure a season finale, Exodus, or my favorite, COVENANT should be. Seriously seasons one two and three had better finales than 4 and 5, but commencement was definitely the biggest stinker I've ever seen, especially after all the hype that it was going to be 90 minutes. The only good thing about it was the fortress of solitude, and the fact that it was extra long.



Vessel was three times better than Commencement, even though it was shorter. The only bad thing about Vessel is I had to stomach more Lex and Lana b.s., but you cant fault the writers of the finale for that, its the producers who forced that to happen like 4 episodes prior. Vessel was better because Clark fights Lex and Brainiac, as opposed to a lame cat fight between Lana and Mrs. Teague, and Jonathan with a crazed Jason. LAme lame lame, Vessel had the main event fights, covenant had the "B"-listers. And the shot where Clark pulls the knife on Lex was nasty. Classic. Top that, lame second( and illogical, where are all these kryptonite meteors coming from now if Krypton is destroyed) meteor shower. Ho hum. they couldn't think of anything better?

[aqua]

Vessel was the worst episode of the series, barely beating out Reckoning.

[Crazy4Smallville]

Boy... they seemed to pull out all the stops, didn't they? I was on the edge of my seat the whole episode. With no word on next season's renewal yet, I'm not sure if I could live with that ending should it not be picked up. It just has to picked up!

I have to start off with Clark in the Phantom Zone - Has the boy not got super speed as one of his abilities? I suppose having it doesn't guarantee super reflexes. When it comes to Smallville, I think by this point in time no one should ever just stand and stare at any object. If you see a shiny thing in the sky... RUN! But, Clark hasn't been known to have super intelligence... yet.

So, how is Boy Wonder going to get himself out of this one? Will Daddy Dearest have to help him out again. For a dead man, Jor-El seems to be pretty handy. He might actually get to enjoy that eternal rest if his son would just learn to do what he tells him. Yet, I suppose that if Jor-El would speak a little plainer, Clark might understand. This time however, "Kill the Vessel" seemed pretty straight forward to me. It didn't sound like "Try to attack the Kryptonian computer that you've destroyed twice already... you never know... third time might be the charm." Oh, Clark's loyalties are so misguided.

Well, I'll admit that I was wrong about Lana. I had this small glimmer of hope that she had been using Lex, while all along still loving Clark, to find the answers that nobody wanted to give her. Instead, I get saddled with a misguided, selfish, moronic prude, who can't see farther than her own stuck up nose and has a huge memory problem. I'm asking the same thing, "How could she have ever loved Clark?" She's never loved herself. You can't love someone else unless you first love yourself. That's always been Lana's problem. She tries to find her identity by wrapping it up into someone else. She's dependent on the affections of others to validate her own. She's a mess and I'm glad Clark is finally moving on.

Okay... I know many of you are waiting for this part (Chloe & Clark). But, before I get into that, I have to express this one point.... THEY BETTER NOT KILL HER!!!! She's the best character on this show. She's the backbone of it... and if it weren't for her, our hero wouldn't look as good as he does. She's the most selfless character. I'll say, she's even the true hero. She's the model that Clark will use to shape his own super identity, because Chloe has spelled it all out for him. What to do, how to act, how to be selfless and diligent, how to sacrifice and serve, how to put your desires second to your call in life, how to be a hero. She doesn't have super strength in her hands, but she has strength of character. She's not faster than a speeding bullet, but have you seen anyone hack into security faster than her? She's not able to leap tall buildings in a single bound, but she's able to make giant leaps into whatever she's put her mind to. She's not an alien from another world, but there's no one else just like her.

It's time for Chloe to become that catalyst... but, NOT YET! Give her just a little more time with Clark. Just one more moment - to hear that validation that her sacrifice wasn't for nothing. To hear the words that she's longed to hear for years. To see his eyes finally looking back at her -with no shadows of another woman. Even if it's just a short while... it would be justice. Isn't that what Clark is for.... truth & justice? Chloe deserves both. But, then she can't stick around too long or else she'll become the shadow of the other woman to Lois.

When Clark was walking away from Chloe and he hesitated, I screamed at my television for him to turn around and kiss her. Then, Chloe did it for me and he definitely kissed back and not because of a physical attraction - because of an emotional one. He loves her and always have. He's beginning to understand what love is - and it ain't Lana Lang.

I'm hoping that Jor-El will once again use Lionel to help save Chloe - because she's going to somehow help free Clark from the Phantom Zone. She knows how to use the cave to get to the Fortress of Solitude and she'll go get help from Jor-El. Her helping... will cost her dearly -as she mentioned.

I think Lionel will die by the hands of Lex/Zod.

Okay... now to the supervillian I've waited five years to see... Lex Luthor. This is the BEST version of Lex Luthor in the history of Lex Luthor's. This is the bar for everyone else to try and live up to, but I doubt that will happen. Probably, forever in my heart - Michael Rosenbaum's portrayal of Lex will be the true one for me. He does a fantastic job! How bad did Lex look on the rooftop of LuthorCorp? I know that right now he's Zod... but, before Zod took control, Lex showed his true colors. He finally let down his guard and revealed what I've known about him since the first episode. I knew his infatuation with Lana wasn't because he loved her and she fit into his profile... but that he desired her because she belonged to Clark. Lex has always wanted everything that Clark had, but he wasn't willing to be what Clark is to get it. Clark is so loved, because of the way that he loves. Lex doesn't know how to love, he knows how to take, manipulate and play mind games. You can't reap what you didn't sow. You can't have grapes if you've planted corn. It's soooo good to see him finally embracing his destiny. NOW, the story really starts.

Of course we know that Martha and Lois survive the plane - which is driven by Brainiac or is it? When Zod come through - doesn't Braniac disappear? If he does - who's flying the plane now? Hmmm? How they're going to get out of this one, I don't know. But, they must survive because of canon - unless they want to change cannon. (**Martha and Lois dies, Chloe assumes Lois' identity, etc, etc. ) Oops, sorry! Got a little carried away in land of wishful thinking.

So many questions left unanswered... and so much time to wait to find out the answers.

Well... here's to another agonizing summer of rolling theories and candid speculations.

Till next time,
T.L. Gray

[DorkMatter]

It wasn't the best episode I've ever seen in every way, but it may be the first episode I can remember, after five seasons, that made me feel that the show was actually headed in some direction, and that's definitely worth something (even if the big reset button will be pushed next season). It was also exciting and fun, despite the sloppy writing.

[Tacosupes]

Well a lot of people here said Commencement sucked when it first came out, now a year later they say its the second coming. Go figure.

[DarthRageFist]

Originally posted by Raul Rigel
yea i think alot of people set their expectations a little too high

I expected the finale to have good writing, directing, and cliffhangers that actually mattered. I guess my expectations were too high. :rolleyes:

[myankskent]

I always loved commencement and the reason why is because they had a new ship arrive at the end and the fortress of solitude was definitely going to be seen in season 5. Vessel leaves me with nothing to look forward to in season 6. How am I supposed to look forward to Zod leaving Lex's body and for Lex to forget everything that happened?

[Space_Ninja_3000]

Vessel Review: Excellent. Look, I watch this show to be entertained, period. I was entertained. Mission accomplished. Some people seem to analyze this show waaaaaay too much; Stop it. It's annoying. Get a life.

So why was I entertained? First, I liked how they piled on the dilemmas. This always is a great plot device. I reminds me of old Star Trek episodes where Kirk and the gang would be in these crazy binds in the last 10 minutes of the show. The best ones: the dilemma of whether to kill Lex (or to kill in general), the collapse of civilization across the globe, and Clark's entrapment in the Phantom Zone. These three are so compelling that I found Martha, Lois, Chloe, Lionel, and Lana's dilemmas to be boring in comparison.

In particular, I liked the collapse of civilization. Why? Because this is the first time we see Clark dealing with a situation that threatens the world. Not just his friends or Smallville...the whole damn world people. That is what Superman is about, dealing with threats to humanity. My only gripe, they should've stretched out the events of the last 2 episodes over 4-5 episodes. The devolution to savage rioting was too fast. But, I loved the ending shot of the world turning dark as the PZ rotated away--in terms of magnitude of consequences, it is by far the most dramatic moment in the series ever. I mean, we know Clark will get out, but what a bind to be in. Global collapse of social order, an evil Kryptonian on Earth, and Clark trapped in the PZ. Great set up.

What I didn't like:
1.) Zod's vessel. This is Superman, not Ghostbusters. But, I generally didn't like how Fine and Zod were done anyway. Problems: first, Where does Fine's powers come from? Did he have them on Krypton or did Earth enhance his technology like it does Kryptonians? Did Zod know he would have God-like abilities on Earth, did he know Fine was programmed to release him? Did he know he was to be released on Earth? These are pretty basic and important questions.
2.)The virus. I liked the idea of releasing a super-virus, so I was disappointed they turned that into a red herring. But here is where the show gets confusing. Fine seemed to suggest that humans were inferior insects to Kryptonians that should be wiped out. He presumably turned off the world's juice to throw humanity into turmoil, but why? To make humanity suffer? To distract Clark? To destroy humanity? If it was to destroy humanity a super virus would've been faster. So let's assume it wasn't to destroy humanity, why turn off the juice? Surely, no amount of human technology would be able to stop Zod, and Zod surely would prefer to dominate a planet with at least some modicum of technology rather than a collection of societies living in the Stone Ages. Zod simply wouldn't need to shut off the world's juice to conquer the Earth IF he knew he had super powers on Earth. And if he didn't know he had super powers on Earth, why would he or other Kryptonians program Fine to reduce a planet's technology to the dark ages? If somebody can explain this to me please do.
3.) Super Lex: First, I don't believe Lex would simply accept that Fine gave his superpowers. It would've have been better if Fine secretly set up Lex in a situation to make him believe he acquired them some other way. I mean, the guy was sucked up in Fine's ship and told Lana he was "being prepared." Now, that can't be good. Lex is, if anything, extremely shrewd, so he would've been questioning why Fine would do this to him especially if Lex knew Fine was bent on invading/destroying Earth. What would've been more effective is if Zod appeared, realized his abilities, infected Lex with powers in order to recruit him to defeat Kal-El but with a way to dump Lex immediately after doing this. This would be interesting b/c Lex could learn more about Krypton etc. including the presence of Kal-El on Earth without ever finding out who Clark is. The whole Lex possessed thing sucks b/c we know he'll have to lose his memory and this device is just old.

So, while I ranted a while on these three things, overall I still really enjoyed the show.

Season 5: way better than 4. Not as consistent as 2 or 3, but had many great moments & maybe some of the best moments of the series ever.

If I could tell the writers one thing...PLEASE, write season six like it WILL BE THE LAST SEASON. Get some brass ones and commit 100% to whatever you do. Just do it. No half-stepping. No filler episodes, no stand-alones. Come up with 1-3 main arcs and that's all every one of the 22 episodes should be about. All the episodes should flow from one to the next like the last two of season 5.

[Hoosier]

holy crap..the craziest every...

CRAZIEST SCENE: clark caught the car coming into the daily planet...spun with super speed and just tucked chloe under him and just stopped it with his hand....the lighting, the effect, the pose....it was the perfect scene in that episode

[ZoZo]

Originally posted by myankskent
I always loved commencement and the reason why is because they had a new ship arrive at the end and the fortress of solitude was definitely going to be seen in season 5. Vessel leaves me with nothing to look forward to in season 6. How am I supposed to look forward to Zod leaving Lex's body and for Lex to forget everything that happened?

[JorEl23]

is this thread a joke?

[DarthRageFist]

Originally posted by Space_Ninja_3000
Vessel Review: Excellent. Look, I watch this show to be entertained, period. I was entertained. Mission accomplished. Some people seem to analyze this show waaaaaay too much; Stop it. It's annoying. Get a life.

I love how you lecture those of us who didn't like the show by saying we overanalyzed it. :rolleyes: I can't overanalyze what's clearly in front of me. There's a fine line between suspension of disbelief and insulting one's intelligence. IMHO this show tends to cross that line a lot. That's all.

Please don't tell others who simply don't share your point of view to "get a life". Did you even stop to think before you typed that? You're on a Smallville message board for crying out loud! :lol:

The fact is that some of us were not as entertained as you were with the finale. I'll let you have your point of view. Now how about you let us have ours?

[Sydafex7]

Originally posted by Space_Ninja_3000
Vessel Review: Excellent. Look, I watch this show to be entertained, period. I was entertained. Mission accomplished. Some people seem to analyze this show waaaaaay too much; Stop it. It's annoying. Get a life.

So why was I entertained? First, I liked how they piled on the dilemmas. This always is a great plot device. I reminds me of old Star Trek episodes where Kirk and the gang would be in these crazy binds in the last 10 minutes of the show. The best ones: the dilemma of whether to kill Lex (or to kill in general), the collapse of civilization across the globe, and Clark's entrapment in the Phantom Zone. These three are so compelling that I found Martha, Lois, Chloe, Lionel, and Lana's dilemmas to be boring in comparison.

In particular, I liked the collapse of civilization. Why? Because this is the first time we see Clark dealing with a situation that threatens the world. Not just his friends or Smallville...the whole damn world people. That is what Superman is about, dealing with threats to humanity. My only gripe, they should've stretched out the events of the last 2 episodes over 4-5 episodes. The devolution to savage rioting was too fast. But, I loved the ending shot of the world turning dark as the PZ rotated away--in terms of magnitude of consequences, it is by far the most dramatic moment in the series ever. I mean, we know Clark will get out, but what a bind to be in. Global collapse of social order, an evil Kryptonian on Earth, and Clark trapped in the PZ. Great set up.

What I didn't like:
1.) Zod's vessel. This is Superman, not Ghostbusters. But, I generally didn't like how Fine and Zod were done anyway. Problems: first, Where does Fine's powers come from? Did he have them on Krypton or did Earth enhance his technology like it does Kryptonians? Did Zod know he would have God-like abilities on Earth, did he know Fine was programmed to release him? Did he know he was to be released on Earth? These are pretty basic and important questions.
2.)The virus. I liked the idea of releasing a super-virus, so I was disappointed they turned that into a red herring. But here is where the show gets confusing. Fine seemed to suggest that humans were inferior insects to Kryptonians that should be wiped out. He presumably turned off the world's juice to throw humanity into turmoil, but why? To make humanity suffer? To distract Clark? To destroy humanity? If it was to destroy humanity a super virus would've been faster. So let's assume it wasn't to destroy humanity, why turn off the juice? Surely, no amount of human technology would be able to stop Zod, and Zod surely would prefer to dominate a planet with at least some modicum of technology rather than a collection of societies living in the Stone Ages. Zod simply wouldn't need to shut off the world's juice to conquer the Earth IF he knew he had super powers on Earth. And if he didn't know he had super powers on Earth, why would he or other Kryptonians program Fine to reduce a planet's technology to the dark ages? If somebody can explain this to me please do.
3.) Super Lex: First, I don't believe Lex would simply accept that Fine gave his superpowers. It would've have been better if Fine secretly set up Lex in a situation to make him believe he acquired them some other way. I mean, the guy was sucked up in Fine's ship and told Lana he was "being prepared." Now, that can't be good. Lex is, if anything, extremely shrewd, so he would've been questioning why Fine would do this to him especially if Lex knew Fine was bent on invading/destroying Earth. What would've been more effective is if Zod appeared, realized his abilities, infected Lex with powers in order to recruit him to defeat Kal-El but with a way to dump Lex immediately after doing this. This would be interesting b/c Lex could learn more about Krypton etc. including the presence of Kal-El on Earth without ever finding out who Clark is. The whole Lex possessed thing sucks b/c we know he'll have to lose his memory and this device is just old.

So, while I ranted a while on these three things, overall I still really enjoyed the show.

Season 5: way better than 4. Not as consistent as 2 or 3, but had many great moments & maybe some of the best moments of the series ever.

If I could tell the writers one thing...PLEASE, write season six like it WILL BE THE LAST SEASON. Get some brass ones and commit 100% to whatever you do. Just do it. No half-stepping. No filler episodes, no stand-alones. Come up with 1-3 main arcs and that's all every one of the 22 episodes should be about. All the episodes should flow from one to the next like the last two of season 5.

Wow, you think seasons 2 and 3 are more consistent than 5? Season 5 has been the most consistent to date. It also has had the BEST continuity to date, the best storylines to date and even the episodes we consider "fillers" had at least one main story line running through it.

[Watching Smallville]

I think my problem with the Season Finale (other than some sporadic silliness in the writing) was that it was only about Lex. I can't remember anything that happened to Clark in this episode except that he ended up in the Phantom Zone. Yes, there was the knife business, but I don't feel like he took any initiative -- not like he has in other season finales. Lana spent the episode following Lex around.

An episode that centers on one character shouldn't be a Season Finale -- I think where it left the characters is a great finale, but the build up to the ending didn't have enough going on with the other main 2 characters. Unless I've suddenly got amnesia.

This is what I remember about the other characters:
Lois and Martha get trapped on a plane.
Lionel gets slammed against a winshield.
Chloe kisses Clark.
Clark gets sucked up into the phantom Zone.
Lana runs up to the roof of LuthorCorp, kisses Zod.

Everything else is Lex. I love Lex, but I want more balance in a Season Finale.

[MBCorp]

Originally posted by Watching Smallville
I think my problem with the Season Finale (other than some sporadic silliness in the writing) was that it was only about Lex. I can't remember anything that happened to Clark in this episode except that he ended up in the Phantom Zone. Yes, there was the knife business, but I don't feel like he took any initiative -- not like he has in other season finales. Lana spent the episode following Lex around.

An episode that centers on one character shouldn't be a Season Finale -- I think where it left the characters is a great finale, but the build up to the ending didn't have enough going on with the other main 2 characters. Unless I've suddenly got amnesia.

This is what I remember about the other characters:
Lois and Martha get trapped on a plane.
Lionel gets slammed against a winshield.
Chloe kisses Clark.
Clark gets sucked up into the phantom Zone.
Lana runs up to the roof of LuthorCorp, kisses Zod.

Everything else is Lex. I love Lex, but I want more balance in a Season Finale.

And the sad thing is it wasn't even about Lex growing and developing into his iconic self, it was just about him being "prepared" for Zod. So in a way it wasn't even about Lex as a character. Maybe if they would have concentrated more on him going power hungry because of his powers, but they didn't even do that.

[DarthRageFist]

Originally posted by MBCorp
And the sad thing is it wasn't even about Lex growing and developing into his iconic self, it was just about him being "prepared" for Zod. So in a way it wasn't even about Lex as a character. Maybe if they would have concentrated more on him going power hungry because of his powers, but they didn't even do that.

The funny thing is that after we're all being shown the preparation and arrival of Zod we never get to see why he's such a bad guy. We may have been told what he's done in the past but unless we get to see him do something horrible now then he's not that scary.

In fact, Zod doesn't do anything after he throws Clark into the Phantom Zone except make out with Lana. Oh, terrifying! I'm on the edge of my seat! What will Zod do next? Watch out! He's going to eat dinner! RUN!!!!!

I really hope they can clean up some of this mess for the sixth season. If not, it's going to be another bumpy and unintentionally hilarious ride.

[Watching Smallville]

Originally posted by MBCorp
And the sad thing is it wasn't even about Lex growing and developing into his iconic self, it was just about him being "prepared" for Zod. So in a way it wasn't even about Lex as a character. Maybe if they would have concentrated more on him going power hungry because of his powers, but they didn't even do that. Yes!

Which means the finale wasn't about any of the three characters at all. That's more than enough to make it a disappointment. (BTW, I love your new avatar.)


Originally posted by DarthRageFist
The funny thing is that after we're all being shown the preparation and arrival of Zod we never get to see why he's such a bad guy. We may have been told what he's done in the past but unless we get to see him do something horrible now then he's not that scary.

In fact, Zod doesn't do anything after he throws Clark into the Phantom Zone except make out with Lana. Oh, terrifying! I'm on the edge of my seat! What will Zod do next? Watch out! He's going to eat dinner! RUN!!!!!

I really hope they can clean up some of this mess for the sixth season. If not, it's going to be another bumpy and unintentionally hilarious ride. What would have been so much better than rioting because the lights go out is rioting because of something Zod had done -- which would show us why he's such a threat to mankind. You've got a great point, DarthRageFist. Funny, too. :D

[myankskent]

Originally posted by DarthRageFist
The funny thing is that after we're all being shown the preparation and arrival of Zod we never get to see why he's such a bad guy. We may have been told what he's done in the past but unless we get to see him do something horrible now then he's not that scary.

In fact, Zod doesn't do anything after he throws Clark into the Phantom Zone except make out with Lana. Oh, terrifying! I'm on the edge of my seat! What will Zod do next? Watch out! He's going to eat dinner! RUN!!!!!

I really hope they can clean up some of this mess for the sixth season. If not, it's going to be another bumpy and unintentionally hilarious ride.
:rotfl: Great post, couldn't have said it better myself.

[mortalreckoning]

'The funny thing is that after we're all being shown the preparation and arrival of Zod we never get to see why he's such a bad guy. We may have been told what he's done in the past but unless we get to see him do something horrible now then he's not that scary.'

it's hardly a 'cliffhanger' if they give everything away, LOL...
I hope to see Zod 'get busy' in the premiere or even across the first few shows in Season 6

but I would agree that it would be seriously stupid if they never show him DOING evil, before he is thwarted/eliminated/removed to the PZ ;-)

[Sydafex7]

Originally posted by Watching Smallville
I think my problem with the Season Finale (other than some sporadic silliness in the writing) was that it was only about Lex. I can't remember anything that happened to Clark in this episode except that he ended up in the Phantom Zone. Yes, there was the knife business, but I don't feel like he took any initiative -- not like he has in other season finales. Lana spent the episode following Lex around.

An episode that centers on one character shouldn't be a Season Finale -- I think where it left the characters is a great finale, but the build up to the ending didn't have enough going on with the other main 2 characters. Unless I've suddenly got amnesia.

This is what I remember about the other characters:
Lois and Martha get trapped on a plane.
Lionel gets slammed against a winshield.
Chloe kisses Clark.
Clark gets sucked up into the phantom Zone.
Lana runs up to the roof of LuthorCorp, kisses Zod.

Everything else is Lex. I love Lex, but I want more balance in a Season Finale.

Honestly, all other finalies have been (your right) dealing with all other characters, but if you think about it, Lex ahs never had THAT much of a part in the other finalies.

In season 1 he was left with a decision to let his dad live or die (not that big of a deal) In season 2, it dealt with Clark and thats really about it (lex was presumed dead) In season 3 Lex was left (at the very very end, almost out of nowhere) poisoned. The poison story line was dumped after the season 4 premier. In Season 4, Lec had NOTHING. He was trying to gather up the stones and was left in the caves with chloe, it wasnt even a cliff hanger with him.

In season 5 he had an actual story. The other thing is technically, it didnt focus on Lex, it really focused on Zond being brought to Earth. The fact that he used Lex as a vessel is what made it *seem* as as if it centered on Lex, but that was really Zod inside of Lex, so it really dealt with Zod even though MR got to play that part.

[Watching Smallville]

I don't mind the focus on Lex -- which really wasn't a focus on Lex :rolleyes: -- I just wanted the characters to be doing something. In the last season finale, Clark was trying to get the stones, Lana was trying to keep lex from getting the stone, Lex was trying to get the stones -- it's all about the stones, but everyone was DOING something. And the season before that, Lana was going to Paris, and Clark was testifying and dealing with Kara, and so on and so on. In this finale, it seemed like everyone was just reacting to outside forces. Maybe that's okay, but it left me feeling like it was very passive for the main characters.

[Sydafex7]

Originally posted by Watching Smallville
I don't mind the focus on Lex -- which really wasn't a focus on Lex :rolleyes: -- I just wanted the characters to be doing something. In the last season finale, Clark was trying to get the stones, Lana was trying to keep lex from getting the stone, Lex was trying to get the stones -- it's all about the stones, but everyone was DOING something. And the season before that, Lana was going to Paris, and Clark was testifying and dealing with Kara, and so on and so on. In this finale, it seemed like everyone was just reacting to outside forces. Maybe that's okay, but it left me feeling like it was very passive for the main characters.

Well in your previous post you said you didnt like how it focused on Lex, so I was saying that in that past finalies, Lex has never had much of a cliffhanger. The biggest cliffhanger he has had was his plane crashing, which isnt even a cliff hanger because we all know he survives (same with his season 3 "poisoning"). Lex and Clark are *the* main characters on the show, and Lex has *never* has never had the spotlight in a finalie, so that's why I enjoyed this one, and didnt mind the other characters not having much.

I mean honestly, why *does* everyone need something major to do? Is that realistic? I don't think so. Sure, having all characters doing something significant to the main story makes for some great T.V, but why do we feel as if everyone needs something significant? To me, even though Smallville is indeed about Clark Kent, rotation is nice and Season 5 was Lex's turn.

[Watching Smallville]

What I was trying to say is that the show didn't have a balance. I thought it should focus on all three main characters, not just one. And I guess I like everyone to have something major to do because it's the finale - and because that's usually the SV finale tradition.

[Sydafex7]

Well, with the finales I've seen, they've always focused on Clark and that's really about it. They've never really balanced it between the 3. Someone has always been left out and that is usually Lex. To me it seems as if they realized last season Lex had absolutely nothing in the way of a story line and so they gave him one. If that means others, who usually *have a main storyline, get the shaft, then me personally am ok with that because for the last 5 seaons Lex has never been the focus, it's always Clark and yes, it is a show about Clark but it's every bit as much of a show about the rise of Les Luthor as it is the rise of Superman.

Anways, It's late. I see your point and everyone elses, but to me, Lex deserves the main spotlight for a change, as does Michael Rosenbaum which is why I loved the Finale.("finale" is definitely the correct spelling for that word.. lol. can't believe I was spelling it with an "i". Next time would someone please correct me? :)

[DarthRageFist]

Originally posted by mortalreckoning
it's hardly a 'cliffhanger' if they give everything away, LOL...
I hope to see Zod 'get busy' in the premiere or even across the first few shows in Season 6

but I would agree that it would be seriously stupid if they never show him DOING evil, before he is thwarted/eliminated/removed to the PZ ;-)

You're missing my point. I'm not saying that they should've given everything away. They should have shown us why Zod is such a big threat to the world in the cliffhanger. Here's an example: After Lana walks up to Zod, he should have picked her up by her neck and held her over the edge of the building. CUT! Now that would've been a great cliffhanger. Also, it would've established just how dangerous Zod is.

Instead, we get the do nothing Zod in the finale. Here comes Zod! He's asking for directions to Radio Shack! RUN!!!!

Hopefully Zod will wake up and actually be evil in season 6.

[DarthRageFist]

Hey, look what I found! It appears to be a lost scene from Smallville! Check it out:

Somewhere in space...

Brainiac: "Okay Zod, here's the plan. I'm going to travel to Earth and-"

Zod: "Earth? What is that? Stop making up imaginary planets Brainiac."

Brainiac: "Actually Zod, Earth is the planet where Kal-El-"

Zod: "What did I just say? Shut up and kneel before Zod!"

Brainiac: "Well Zod, that's the thing. You're body was destroyed on Krypton."

Zod: "What?!? When did this happen to me? If my body was destroyed then what am I?"

Brainiac: "You're a spirit....or something. But don't worry, I have a plan."

Zod: "Great. You're last plan worked really well. I ended up getting my body destroyed and now I'm stuck in limbo talking with a stupid machine."

Brainiac: "Just listen Zod. I'm gonna go to Earth and trick Kal-El into freeing you from the Phantom Zone."

Zod: "What good would that do me? I have no body!"

Brainiac: "Good point. Hey, how about you inhabit Kal-El's body? Ghosts can do that kind of stuff."

Zod: "Okay, but what if that fails?"

Brainiac: "Let's see....how about I give his arch enemy his powers and you can inhabit his body? That could work!"

Zod: "Wait, you can just give people super powers?"

Brainiac: "Yeah. That's one of the abilities that the Kryptonians installed in me. I didn't know why at the time but I'm sure glad they did it now. Then, when you're free, throw that magical Phantom Zone ring into the air and Clark will be sucked in automatically."

Zod: "This sounds good but why the heck do you need me to do this? It sounds like you could do this yourself? Are you sure this isn't just some cheap cameo for me? I deserve more than that!"

Brainiac: "Well...I need you because....well...because someone has to make out with Lana! Yeah, that's it."

Zod: "Okay, this sounds like a good plan but once I'm free this "Earth" name has got to go."

Brainiac: "Why? What's wrong with the name Earth? It sounds good to-"

Zod: "Silence! When I'm released it shall forever be known as.....Planet Houston!"

Brainiac: "Actually, that's a city on Ear-"

Zod: "Shut up and kneel before the spirit of Zod!"

[Watching Smallville]

Originally posted by Sydafex7
Well, with the finales I've seen, they've always focused on Clark and that's really about it. They've never really balanced it between the 3. Someone has always been left out and that is usually Lex. To me it seems as if they realized last season Lex had absolutely nothing in the way of a story line and so they gave him one. If that means others, who usually *have a main storyline, get the shaft, then me personally am ok with that because for the last 5 seaons Lex has never been the focus, it's always Clark and yes, it is a show about Clark but it's every bit as much of a show about the rise of Les Luthor as it is the rise of Superman.

Anways, It's late. I see your point and everyone elses, but to me, Lex deserves the main spotlight for a change, as does Michael Rosenbaum which is why I loved the Finale.("finale" is definitely the correct spelling for that word.. lol. can't believe I was spelling it with an "i". Next time would someone please correct me? :) I think Lex has had some of the most interesting cliffhangers of the series. He went down in a plane, he got poisoned after testifying against his father, he had to decide whether to let Lionel die in a tornado storm. Last year's was the only year he had a rather luke-warm finale. I think the show usually does right by Lex in the last episode.

[Sydafex7]

Originally posted by Watching Smallville
I think Lex has had some of the most interesting cliffhangers of the series. He went down in a plane, he got poisoned after testifying against his father, he had to decide whether to let Lionel die in a tornado storm. Last year's was the only year he had a rather luke-warm finale. I think the show usually does right by Lex in the last episode.

Well, Im really repeating myself. I've already explained why those cliffhangers aren't really cliffhangers but whatever, I'll explain it again.

We Already know Lex's furture. He lives. A Cliffhanger isn't a cliffhanger if you already know the outcome!!

Okay, his plane goes down. We know he doesn't die!! What type of cliffhanger is that??

OKay end of season 3 he gets "poisoned". We know he doesnt die!! On top of that, this cliffhanger sucked worse because season 4 opens up and Lex is runnin around in Egypt. "Wait, I thought he was poisoned!!". Then, he goes back to the plane and they give us some lame explanation: "Oh your bood has to be purified every 72 hours..." Okay so guess what?? Do we EVER see them purifying his blood EVER AGAIN on the show? Do they EVER mention it?? NO. It's not delt with EVER AGAIN.

Sorry, but LEx has NEVER had any good cliffhangers. EVER. Season 1 was fine. But that's it. just *fine*

It's definitely Lex's turn. Definitely. More power to them for having a finale based on Lex. He's the best villain in comic history. He deserves it.

[Watching Smallville]

Well, the same can be said for Clark's cliffhangers -- we know he'll return from Metropolis, we know he'll save Lana from the tornado, we know he'll emerge from the cave. I mean, we know he'll come out of the Phantom Zone.

I'm not saying Lex doesn't deserve a good cliffhanger, I'm saying, the entire episode could have shared the spotlight w/ the other characters. I don't think we have an argument here.

[Lilandra]

Oh!!!!! I like, I like!!!! From my point of view it's the best episode of the season! Lana and Zod... It's funny!

[myankskent]

Originally posted by Sydafex7
Well, Im really repeating myself. I've already explained why those cliffhangers aren't really cliffhangers but whatever, I'll explain it again.

We Already know Lex's furture. He lives. A Cliffhanger isn't a cliffhanger if you already know the outcome!!

Okay, his plane goes down. We know he doesn't die!! What type of cliffhanger is that??

OKay end of season 3 he gets "poisoned". We know he doesnt die!! On top of that, this cliffhanger sucked worse because season 4 opens up and Lex is runnin around in Egypt. "Wait, I thought he was poisoned!!". Then, he goes back to the plane and they give us some lame explanation: "Oh your bood has to be purified every 72 hours..." Okay so guess what?? Do we EVER see them purifying his blood EVER AGAIN on the show? Do they EVER mention it?? NO. It's not delt with EVER AGAIN.

Sorry, but LEx has NEVER had any good cliffhangers. EVER. Season 1 was fine. But that's it. just *fine*

It's definitely Lex's turn. Definitely. More power to them for having a finale based on Lex. He's the best villain in comic history. He deserves it.

So then maybe the cliffhangers should be more based on the other characters, if that's the case, because we don't know what is ultimately going to happen to Chloe, Lionel and Lana. But that would take away from what this show is really about, which is Clark and Lex, or at least it should be about that. Vessel certainly didn't stress that seeing as how Lex wasn't a part of the cliffhanger in vessel because Lex is not around.

[tomclarkie_rox]

i thought it was ok....not tooo GREAT!!!! i've watched all da seasons....though i loved da season 4 finale....commencement....it was awesome!!!! i though this time da epi wass toooo clustered!!! everything happend all of a sudden...ZoD/Lex....da riots....especially....was kinda bizarre n sudden!!!! i think da whole Jor-el part....Zod being "physically" destroyed....wud've been better if mentioned in earlier episodes....!!!!! i thought it was tooo crammed up...maybe its jus me!!!!
oh well.... it was ok....da ending as usual....clark disappearing once again....like every other season finale......though it was pretty edgy there!!!!!.....hope he comes back to earth sooon....not like weeks!!!!!

[Watching Smallville]

Originally posted by tomclarkie_rox
oh well.... it was ok....da ending as usual....clark disappearing once again....like every other season finale......though it was pretty edgy there!!!!!.....hope he comes back to earth sooon....not like weeks!!!!! Clark always spends his summers out of town. :lol:

[heavens_cry]

it was awesome

[CK&CK]

Despite a few things that I would have liked to have been done differently........I THOUGHT THIS EPISODE WAS AWESOME! Fine's ominous "Enjoy the Show".......and Lex after being possesed by ZOD was just so creepy!.......And of course the Chlark.

[rundstedt2001]

Originally posted by Jagoda
As a matter of fact I was a bit disappionted. My favourite episode from this season was 'Fragile'

Fragile? are u kidding me??? U dont mean that!

"Oracle" or "Hidden top my list!

Worst: Aquaman or Thirst(boy o boy those were stinkers)


Originally posted by JorEl23
is this thread a joke?

My thought exactly ! :)


Originally posted by aqua
Vessel was the worst episode of the series, barely beating out Reckoning.

Another one who can read my mind! ;)

[rundstedt2001]

IT SUCKED!!!!! WORST EVER!

[jimmyolsenblues]

Other then giving Lana alot of screen time during the season finale, I thought it was fantastic. Clark trapped, Zod free, Zod schooling Clark, I mean you right a better show.

[Sydafex7]

I did write a better episode on another thread... :D

[Kara15]

I voted "GOOD! NICE!"... I wish there had been more action and less Lexana talk. Not saying Lexana is bad; I just think their talk was a bit too long. Other than that, I liked this episode a lot. Not one of my favorite finales but it's still good.

[mfarhaniqbal33]

i voted good, becoz i thought they should have had more fight between lex n clark, n the whole lex n lana talk, i thought they should ve ended their talk instead of him shooting his hand but wid lana kissin him sayin i m ok wid it, n den dey come back at de end, i thought they could have cut the lana lex chat n put a bit more action in it

[KEakaCK]

Over all, it was a pretty awesome season...There were moments in some episodes that just got tiredsome and old but overall, it was pretty good.

[Liriel]

Not good. Average. Mediocre. But worth watching.

[Tacosupes]

I give it an eighty percent . Easily one of the best episodes of the season, its just Lanma and Lex suck, and I would rather Zod come forh in full form, not just some ghost. Other than that it was great.

[xrayvision]

Originally posted by Liriel
Not good. Average. Mediocre. But worth watching.

That's what I thought. Worth watching, but otherwise nothing spectacular. Lex as Zod was a huge copout. I like Milton Fine as his own entity and wanted to see the same with Zod. I actually thought that having only Fine would have been good enough. Zod was not needed this early in Clark's life. Zod kind of came out from nowhere. Yes, his name was mentioned a few times, but the main focus of the season was tracking down the ship, and Clark still hasn't done it.

The riots were also something that weren't realistic. It would take much longer than that for such chaos to occur. The lack of any brains for Clark, Lana, and Lex has been sickening me. And the funny thing was that Clark (normally painted as the idiot) was the smartest of the 3 *in this episode* (I don't think he could have done anything at this point to avoid being overcome by Zod and Fine). I don't blame him for not killing Lex, since he was taught never to kill. Lex & Lana are truly acting like total jackasses. That chase scene at the beginning, Lana making her way 60 floors on the roof of Luthorcorp, Lex acting like an ass once he has powers not thinking that Fine would want something in return---all very foolish behavior.

I compare this finale to Covenant. Neither had that much action, but Covenant ended with what seemed to be a much darker ending than Vessel (with only Smallville being affected vs. the whole world). Those last few minutes of Covenant made me hate the MB like never before, while Vessel made me think of the Smallville universe as a world of clowns (especially Lex/Zod & Lana).

[Watching Smallville]

I would vote "uneven" if that were a choice. Some really great stuff, and some really lame stuff in the same episode.

[GatorTex]

Once, just once would I like to see a decent fight between Clark and another Kryptonian. So far, the only fight that has lived up to any billing has been Clark on Red K vs. good old Dad in the Season 3 openers. "Arrival" and "Vessel" have just been duds with anticipation overload.

[xrayvision]

They had a good one in Solitude between Clark & Fine, but it should have been longer. I think that should have been a preview of what should have been a longer fight in Vessel that they never had.

[GatorTex]

Originally posted by xrayvision
They had a good one in Solitude between Clark & Fine, but it should have been longer. I think that should have been a preview of what should have been a longer fight in Vessel that they never had.

Yeah, that one was pretty good but still too short. I want to see mass MAYHEM like 2 Kryptonians duking it out on Earth can really cause. Eye candy denied to a Television budget! Doh! :\

[InAFlash]

I was definitely disappointed with this episode. While there was some good stuff there were too many things that bothered me. Why for example does throwing the knife at Fine release Zod? And where did Zod get the ring that opens up the PZ? Are we to assume that Lex had it before Zod took over his body? It was also too predictable to have Clark sucked into the PZ. I would at least liked to have seen him put up a better fight than that. Lets hope the writers can redeem themselves next season.

[Wallis]

This finale probably ranks as the best episode of all five seasons, in my opinion, and as such, it would be a fitting end to the entire series.

The writers finally had the cajones to "spill the beans" regarding one of the major flaws in Smallville with Lex's last speech to Clark:

Lex: You love it! Ever since that day on the bridge, you've always seen yourself as my savior, the one thing that would pull me off the dark path I started. See, that's why you cling to the idea that there is still some good in me. You don't want to face the fact that yoiu might have failed. . . I used to think that you had this strong inner core. You were so virtuous. And yet, you lie all the time to me, to lie to all the people that cared about you. What kind of sick person would do that?

What's more is that the finale ends on another cliffhanger: Clark trapped in the Phantom Zone. And in light of how the writers have so drastically changed the Superboy-Superman saga (it is far afield from Superman of the '30s, '40s, '50s, et al, which changed the sage with each succeeding generation) that ending the series with Clark trapped in a "hell" of the writers making is a fitting end.

We, the audience, are now led to believe that Jor-el is really a sham, a manipulation of Zod to prepare Clark to be the vessel, that over the past five years Clark has been duped all along.

Lana is now a fitting paranoid (and quite pitiful) partner for a demonic Zod-Lex. This is a far cry from when O'Toole played the adoring Lana who married badly in the movies. There is no way Lana of Smallville will ever be connected to the Lana of the movies.

The writers love to dwell on the dark side of humanity, commenting quite ironically--and mistakenly--that a minor disaster or calamity instantaneously transforms most of humanity into rabid dogs.

We probably have seen the last of Chloe, an interesting addition to the Superman saga, but so incongruent to all of the preceding elements of the varying threads of Superman and so badly handled. It is both funny and tragic to follow Clark's heart for true love when the "right" woman is right in front of him, one who knows his secret and supports him absolutely completely to a fault.

And speaking of love life, at least the writers had a lot of fun with their word play regarding Lois, who as we all know will end up as Superman's girlfriend. It is the classic "can't see the forest because of the trees."

Yes, this would be a good time to end the series. It can be filed in an alternate time zone. It is a far cry from Christopher Reeve's rendition of a naive, bumbling Superman, now that Superboy here exhibits a real dark side. It is so far from the old serials of Superman that Kirk Alyn's acting depiction is long forgotten. And any attempt to tie into the short run of the Lois and Clark series has been rendered impossible.

[1.21 gigawatts]

Ehh, I thought it was decent. It could have been more, though. I went with "Good! Nice!"

[Mr. Wrong]

This episode definitely gave us a bit of everything including a cliff hanger ending. IMO whenever you try to cover all of the bases in an hour show like this, you tend to lose some credibility, and therefore leave some people disatisfied. However, for the most part, I thought they did a terrific job with it.

[Eckyboy]

Atrocious. A monkey with half a brain and some crayons could have written a more coherent and plausible story than this. Smallville jumped the Deep sea World never mind the shark with the whole Lex as Zod storyline.

[christian_kryptonian]

Season 5 finale definately beat the sh- er poop out of the Season 4 finale. The meteor shower was cool, but the cliffhangers in season 5 coupled with the visual effects made it like beter than all the previous seasons combined.

[red-K glory]

I thought the episode was awesome and I definitely can't wait for season 6!

[nash13heat]

I said great because it was...well...great! However, it wasn't as good as Commencement

[fatima]

I CAN'T WAIT FOR SEASON 6!

[Fly by guy]

I waited nearly 3 months to rewatch the finale. It wasn't as bad as I originally thought, nor was it much better. I think in the original viewing I had high expectations based on the first four finales and I expected more from the writing and the characters and only got some really good special effects. The story had all the holes that Clark's lame excuses had throughout the show. My two biggest complaints were why did Clark throw the dagger at Fine knowing he needed it to stop ZOD, and why did he just stand there when Zod threw the bracklet to open the PZ? Why not speed toward Zod or get the hell away?
The Chlark kiss seemed less important and the final rooftop scene with Zod and Lana was almost cartoonish.
Now that Aquaman is gone, let's hope that SV becomes a priority again and they can get back to what made the show interesting, INTERESTING CHARACTERS, not characters that are 180 degrees from what we know that were and will be when Clark becomes Superman. He sure hasn't looked very super since about last November. Just MHO.

[SacredK]

The episode was awesome.

[poguemahone]

It was great, but it went so quick, when the credits started rolling I had to double check it had been on for an hour. Can't wait for season 6!

[laughingjellybean]

it was bomb-diggity good and all summer i have been going, AAAH!!! Make it season 6 already!!!

[firywynter]

I liked it, but it was rather abrupt.. I suppose it is just to make us viewers come back for the next season, lol.

[mikebb]

I enjoyed it. Seeing Lana & Lex as a couple was inevitable and was going to happen sooner or later, however, this shows how stupid this character (Lana) is... This relationship between these two should be interesting Season:6.

Mike

[Spirit Detective]

Can't wait for season 6.
Lana was more of a villain in this episode by helping Lex

[Shadowlord367]

I was so mad when lana's like "your talkin like were never ganna seach other again" like DEJA VU? Commencement anyone?

[TomWellingLover122]

Also Lana has become a DRAMA QUEEN!

Shadowlord367, that is the wrong season finale.....

[Lord Raiden]

Originally posted by Shadowlord367
I was so mad when lana's like "your talkin like were never ganna seach other again" like DEJA VU? Commencement anyone?

I couldn't agree with you anymore. That's exactly what Clark said to hear in Season 4's finale. I couldn't help but think...the writers need to do some actual writing.


Originally posted by TomWellingLover122
Shadowlord367, that is the wrong season finale.....

Actually, that episode is correct.

Anyway, I voted BAD simply because so much of it was forced and uneventful. I'm really looking forward to "Phantom" in a few weeks as I know it couldn't be any worse than "Vessel".

[alejandrita439]

i loved it :)

[e-µ-i]

So far the best finale on SV. I LOVE how Clark went to the Phantom zone, it's so tense, I can't wait to watch episode Zod.
Oh yeah, Chlark kiss - nice ! :P

[ZODisGOD]

This finale was epic. I just watched it again and enjoyed it even more than the first time. I loved the cliffhangers, Clark in the Phantom Zone being the best one.

[mr lane]

so im at work until 5 today and were usually slow so i brought my Season 5 box set with me and i just watched Oracle and Zod

and they made me remember why Season 5 has been my fave season and i still think it is

season 4 had some great stand alone eps but the season as a whole didnt work for me. commencement was great because of the visuals but Zod i still think was great

I realized after lex gained super powers and went to Lana the big speech he gave her about trusting her and what not

as he took out the gun and shot us hand to prove his abilities i thought it was some sort of call back to reckoning when Clark took lana to the FOS to show her his abilities

do we see the difference here? Lex uses a dark, fearful way to prove himself to lana while Clark chose the more ligher side of things

and also Lana looked confused and somewhat scared in Reckoning but in Zod her reaction was fearful she actually screamed a little after Lex shot himself

But she still chose to go with Clark in reckoning then with Lex in Zod although i think we can all assume that she was tricked in Zod

At the beginning I thought Lex had been tricked as well. Brainiac making him think he gave him a gift to protect man kind

but then the last scene in the Barn with clark before he became possessed by Zod he gave a big speech about his dark side and how he and clark were different

why would he give a speech like that unless he had thought about doing evil things with his powers? So was he really tricked after all? or did he have some sort of realization after gaining the abilities?

All in all i thought it was a great episode and rewatching it again made me remember that

I thought Lex with powers was a little weird but at least they took them away in the season 6 opener and mind wiped him

which is what they should have done with Lana in Season 8 :p

[SGuthrie27]

I LOVED "Vessel!" It was incredibly put together for me, and I'm not just saying that 'cause of the SWEET Chlark kiss toward the end of it (though that is a big factor). :D

--SGuthrie ><>' :)--

[NadiaBreca]

I Loved It! :)

[MjLaDy08]

I love it...

[Nimkong]

It was good but not what i expected.Liked the lex/brainic,MR acting as zod was terrific and the cliffhangers were tight

[SGuthrie27]

Re-watched it again. STILL awesome. The tension gets ratcheted up more and more as the episode progresses. I do want to know why so many folks went so completely psycho the instant that the power went out. And why did it automatically make so many of them bad drivers, too? And why'd Lionel's limo driver dude not just stomp on the accelerator to get them out of that mess? And were those creeps who dragged Chloe out of the car ever prosecuted? 'Cause I'll sue 'em for laying a finger on my favorite tiny blonde!!!!! LOL, okay, getting seriously off-topic there, but... Yeah, "Vessel" is awesome. Except when the humongous, snow-capped mountains of not-Kansas can be seen behind Lana in the introductory sequence while Lex is getting "Beam me up, Scotty'd." Oh, and the Chlarky kiss of Awesomeness STILL rules. It's the first time two series mains kissed in the Daily Planet, isn't it?! YAY for Chlark having done it first!!!! :D

[shaun0207]

Just finished rewatching this season. Did anybody else noticed that Zod/Lex had on a costume similar to the Blur's in Season 9?

[TECHWON]

one of my more favorite season finales next to the last season (season 9)

[vantheman77]

This episode had unnecessary stuff such as constant updates from Lana to Chloe to Clark. When Clark was looking out to the skies that something was suspicious, they had him ignored and that's not like Clark at all. The 5th season was about the Coming of Zod more than the so-called Superman-In-Training that AlMiles were boasting about. Vessel ended with Clark trapped in the Phantom Zone while Lex was possessed by Zod. The Clark/ Lex/ Lana triangle was starting to hit its peak.