Loved it? Hated it? What did you think of "Power?"

[Clark/Lois-fan]

I hated the episode. Just one more ep with L*n*- and then it's forever "see ya"

[Nimkong]

This episode is the worst of the season.I only liked the flashback.The plot sucked and the clana scenes were the worst ever

[BigT]

Not in this show. Yeah, Lana is his first love but also the woman if he had a choice would be his soulmate. The woman he would be with.

Even in Crimson when he was under the influence of Red K and a horndog and Lois was throwing herself at him, he still chose to go crash Lana's engagement party instead of having sex with Lois. He rejected her in the bedroom and then ditched her again when he kidnapped Lana to propose to her in his loft.

And with the ep Bride, that's 3 times Clark left Lois for Lana.

This show was never about Clark and Lois. It was always about Clark and Lana in terms of main romantic couple.

That's the way this show has been written. That's the truth.

Now if your talking about the comics, Superman movies and Lois and Clark, yeah, Lois is the love of Clark's life. But in this rendition of the mythos, it's Lana Lang.

You can keep on telling yourself that all you want but the fact of the matter remains that Lois Lane is INDEED Clark Kent's true love! Yes! Even in this show!

[biggumt]

I loved how they got in that shot of the DP globe at the end during the clana scene.

[Simba_Muffy]

WTF was that?

[KneelBeforeSmallville]

This episode really killed season 8 for me. It had a great momentum going but Power killed it. The Scene at the end is visually stunning but it was ment for clois, ontop of the DP i mean cmon?

[ck123]

excellent^^

[Superboogie]

It's expected that Clark would move on since Kristin left the show for good.

TPTB have always worked that way. They hardly ever mention any cast member that's left the show.

Heck even when Lois left after Bride, Clark acted like she didn't exist while he was with Lana...and she was coming back!

Now if Clark moved on from Lana but she was coming back after a short while, then I would agree that Clark moved on too quickly. But since Lana is no longer with the show, I didn't expect TPTB to linger on Clark's Lana loss.

Yeah, because he couldn't have Lana. His first choice. Can't forget that. That's canon.

But did Clark know Kristin left the show?

[Simba_Muffy]

No comment.

[Clio80]

WORST EPISODE EVER!!! Pure bull%"$%#$

[Gershom]

One of the worst of the entire series

Does everyone need to get super powers? Give me a break. Clark turning from his feelings for Lois in a snap of a finger betrays his character and integrity. I loved Lana, lovely actress, but her story line of almost 7 years was done and the writers should have realized this.

[Bally]

This episode really killed season 8 for me. It had a great momentum going but Power killed it. The Scene at the end is visually stunning but it was ment for clois, ontop of the DP i mean cmon?

Killed? Not quite. Derailed? Absolutely. Season 8 had been moving along so well. The season-long arc of Davis/Doomsday and the Davis/Jimmy/Chloe triangle had promise. Tess was a fine new addition to the show, with unclear motives and a very Lex-like interest in Clark. Clark was now working at the Daily Planet and had amped up the hero factor with the RBB persona. Lois was taking centre stage as the female lead and Erica was on tip top form. We saw the Legion introduced. Lana's return initially wasn't that bad.

And then Power came along. If this episode had been included in season 7, it wouldn't have got nearly as negative a reaction even though the basic idea is idiotic. Lana had already sampled what it's like having Clark's abilities in Wrath and the consequences weren't great for her, so why she thought having superpowers would make her an equal of Clark's is a monumental misjudgement. Plus it was derivative of the Bride in Kill Bill part 2, and Wolverine's back story in the X-Men movie franchise.

The season never recovered after Requiem because they chose to show that Clark and Lana couldn't be together because of outside interference instead of a mature realisation that their day was done. It left them with a Lois who struggled with her emotions, and a Davis/Chimmie love triangle that ruined Jimmy, made Chloe look foolish and dragged on far too long.

[jon-el87]

For reasons unknown to myself, I decided to rewatch this and "Requiem". I guess this could be seen as a preview of things to come: The later DC/CW shows, where everyone has to become a superhero.

If I remember correctly, the writers gave Kreuk some saying in Lana's development this season. That was a mistake. Barely a month after this episode aired, Kreuk's movie, Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li, was released (which was panned by critics and flopped at the box office). And she, probably, wanted to do something similar with Lana (hoping it would help promote her movie or something).

We had already seen Lana get Kryptonian-like powers the previous season and not being able to handle it, even becoming dangerous. So, one could argue that Lana isn't suitable to have powers.

In the flashbacks, her trainer tells her that he isn't training to be someone else (i.e. Clark), he's training her to be Lana Lang. Bit of a contradiction when the episode's plot revolves around her aguiring powers similar to Clark's (i.e. she ends up becoming like Clark).

[jon-el87]

Rewatched this again a few months ago, as I wanted to give some more indepth thoughts, but haven't gotten around to posting a new comment.

In this episode, Lana acquires powers. But, that's not the problem. The comics have had her acquire superhuman abilities numerous times. Smallville is an adaptation and "adaptation" means to change, to adjust to make more appropriate. When it comes to comics, people often talk about canon, but there is little discussion about what is "canon". A question that becomes especially relevant, as DC keeps resetting continuity every few years. You call for fidelity, but fidelity to what? One specific era? One specific writer? Superman's been published since 1938. For most of that time, he'd starred in, at least, two montly books. Yet, some would insist that the show is only allowed to do stuff from after the John Byrne reboot in 1987 (which the comics had retconned at least twice, during the show's run). I'd like to argue that, as the comics have presented both Lanas who acquire powers and Lanas who haven't, the show could've gone either way. Like I previously said, the problem isn't that Lana acquired powers.

When Lana was introduced in season 1, she served as a potential love interest for Clark and occational damsel in distress (something I'd like to argue was already dated in 2001). Jump forward eight years to this episode and Clark is still running around, trying to save her. Seriously, this very episode have Clark running around, trying to save her AND pondering about whether or not he should re-enter a relationship with her. So, has Lana actually evolved much in eight seasons? Considering the earlier statement, the answer is "not very". Instead, we're showed a few scenes, where Lana submerges herself into ice water and touches hot metal, as a means to "make herself stronger". After very little character development, we're shown two scenes and are supposed to accept that she's changed.

I like the aspect that Lana had grown tired of constantly being victimized and decided to do something about it. However, first off, that plot had already been done in S2 ("Precipice"), after which Lana had just returned to her damsel in distress role (when it really should've been its conclusion). Second, I don't see how submerging herself into ice water and/or burning herself is supposed to end her victimhood. Part of which, looking back at previous seasons, seems to come from bad choices of boyfriends (that turns out to be evil and Clark having to come and save her), her being easily manipulated and (in S6 and S7) dating guys who attract dangerous people. So, the solution to her problem seems more like "learn not to be so gulible and pick better boyfriends". Instead, getting super powers is presented as the only way to end her victimhood.

On the DVD extras, the story of this episode is described as a female empowerment story. This I feel they have failed at. Lana ends her victimhood by getting super powers, not because of personal growth. She physically changes herself, to make herself a man's equal (meaning that the episode suggests that women need to physically change themselves, to become a man's equal). The whole thing also comes back to Clark, so she's changed herself FOR a man. Lana also says the she's his equal NOW. So, she viewed herself as his inferior before? So, does her getting powers have more to do with an inferiority complex?

Let's compare this episode to Tess becoming Red Tornado. I don't think anyone complained about that and that's because Tess actually got character development over four seasons. She starts out as Lex's henchperson, then begins to turn against him. She begins to try and better herself. To find redemption for past errors. By season 10, she's allowed to join the proto-League. Then she seemingly dies and is reborn as an A.I., which is followed by an extensive period in this state (and more character development), before creating a new body for herself. Becoming the Red Tornado. "Power", on the other hand, had no build-up. It doesn't come off as a pay-off to the character's journey (which feels like it's mostly been about her romantic relationships with men). It just comes out of nowhere.

The problem with the Lana arc of S8 was that the writers had no idea what to do with the character. They even admitted it on the commentary for "Legion". It was a character, that should've departed years ago. So, they just did a random thing, to motivate her departure. In all likelyhood, their reason for giving Lana the Prometheus suit was simply so they could have her become walking green K radiation in the next episode. They sad truth is that Lana had already departed in S7. So, her time in Smallville, in S8, was just a return visit for a few episodes. She could've just come back for Chloe's wedding, then stayed for a few episodes. To deal with unfinished business (like the Isis Foundation, which she owned). Then said goodbye in episode 14, with us being informed about what she's gonna do now. To give her closure. Doesn't have to be something spectacular. It could simply be that she's got a job and is moving somewhere.