What is your favorite Smallville season?

[TheSecretVampire]

Season 9 is my favorite. Tons of Lois/Clark action and Zod was a great villain for the season.

[super_j_man]

Right now I'm in the middle of season 7 of my SV rewatch. It's funny how my fandom of the show is slowly coming back and I'm remembering the good times I had watching the show.

Season 1 - I had forgotten how good this season was, probably one of the best. The writing of the character relationships was so well done. Clark/Lex, Clark/parents, Clark/friends, everything was good. I really don't have much complaints. Even though there are episodes like Craving that just have a bad A plot, the episodes are still pretty enjoyable.

Best of S1: Pilot, Hothead, Hourglass, Rogue, Leech, Tempest

Season 2 - Not quite as good as season 1 or 3 IMO but it's still pretty great. The one thing I didn't like in this was Chloe. She got on my nerves. But I loved seeing CR in Rosetta and seeing Clark start to learn about his destiny. It ends with Clark running away from his destiny, which I'll admit is not the most shining Clark moment, but it sets up some interesting dynamics for the 3rd season.

Best of S2: Vortex, Red, Insurgence, Fever, Rosetta, Calling, Exodus

Season 3 - The best season of them all! Starting with Exile, we see Clark struggle with the mistakes he made in Exodus and the impact it had on his relationships. The relationships between the characters is still so well written and with this season, the relationship between Lex and his father is pushed to the extreme. The Lex/Lionel dynamic is what makes this the best season. MR's performance in Shattered, the revelation of Lionel and his liver disease, the episode Memoria and Clark's blood playing a key role in the season. It also ends with the best 3 minutes a season can end on.

Best of S3: Exile, Shattered, Delete, Memoria, Covenant

Season 4: This season had it's awesome episodes. The finale was epic. But this season was riddled with so many bad story arcs, the worst one being Lana/Isobel. Jason's character wasn't really handled well. The football arc was really unnecessary and really made no sense. The stones arc was okay but could have been so much better. But again it does have some of the best episodes of the series.

Best of S4: Crusade, Run, Transference, Onyx, Commencement

Season 5 - IMO, this first half of season 5 is the best the show has ever been especially the first three episodes (yes I know supsfan we disagree on this ). The first three episodes are all 10s for me. The introduction of Brainiac was great. And then the 100th episode. I really liked the 100th episode, but it's the rest of the season that kinda stunk for me. It wasn't a crapfest like Hypnotic or the main plot of Void, it was just very underwhelming. I hated the main plot of Void but I did find it had its redeemable moments. The only episode that really stands out to me in the second half was Oracle. The finale was very disappointing and underwhelming. It could have been so much better.

Best of S5: Arrival, Mortal, Hidden, Splinter, Reckoning, Oracle

Season 6 - This season had its moments and good episodes with the Green Arrow arc, the 33.1 arc and the Zoners arc but I found this season to be a kind of a mess. I just didn't like the overall direction this show was taking. Besides the end of the episode Fallout where Clark says he's willing to accept his destiny, he doesn't do much as far as character growth. In fact, thanks to Clexana he actually regresses. I didn't hate Lana in the first 5 seasons but in season 6 it's almost as if Lana is distracting to Clark. One step forward, two steps back. Had Clark been written better this season, this would have a much finer season. He did have his moments though in Rage and Justice where he does kinda act "Superman"-ly but then he just blows it later on. This is when even I get frustrated by all the Lana pinning that Clark does.

Best of S6: Zod, Arrow, Rage, Reunion, Justice, Crimson (despite the Clexana drama), Prototype, Phantom (Hydro would have been on this list had Clark not been relegated to B plot. Wither also comes close to be one of my favorites TBH. We just needed a better Clark/Gloria confrontation and could have done with the Lexana sex.)

And I'm not quite done with season 7 yet so I'm going to save my comments on it for now. What I will say is that so far, it's better than I remember.

Season 3
Season 1
Season 5 - the good out weighs the bad here
Season 2
Season 4
Season 6

Seasons 4 & 6 are almost equal in my mind. I just have to rank 4 a little higher for Crusade and Commence and 6 a little lower for Clexana.

I put season 5 ahead of 2 mainly for season 5's good moments. If the second half of season 5 was as good as the first, it would probably be my favorite season.

[Supsfan]

Season 4: But this season was riddled with so many bad story arcs, the worst one being Lana/Isobel. Jason's character wasn't really handled well.

I am not going to try and say Lana storyarc in Season 4 was in anyway good BUT here is how I view it, if Lana is off doing her own thing and not bringing down Clark that has to be worth something. Let's be honest here was Lana running the Talon in Season 1 or Lana meets her biological father in Season 2 storylines that made you want to watch the show? (I am going to take a wild guess here for most people and say No). Beyond that we got some other Lana doozies in S3 like Adam Knight or Lana wants to go to Paris(which I would argue are as equally as bad as witch Lana or even worse). Just the simple fact for the most part we avoided the Clana drama of Season 3 or later seasons(which many times had a bad habit of dragging down an episode) is a huge plus in my books for Season 4. Sure the show probably would have been more enjoyable to me if Lana was completely written out of the season and they took the time they focused on her storyline to focus on other characters in storylines I care more about, but the simple fact she was off for the most part doing her own thing makes it much easier to watch Clark's storyline in that season. I like to refer to Season 4 as the happy season because for the most part Clark seemed happy and well adjusted the entire season, I think separating Clark and Lana for the bulk of Season 4 had alot to do with that. It just seems that to often when people try and use Lana's Season 4 storyline as a reason why Season 4 was bad they completely ignore other Lana plots that were as bad or worse in other seasons(yet don't cite that as a negative for that season) or ignore how the Lana plots of early seasons really didn't add much to the show(unless one was hugely into the character of Lana)

In terms of Lana storylines that dragged down the show, I think the Late S5/Season 6 Clexana triangle did way more damage to the show then Lana's plotlines in Season 4(since unlike Jason/Lana, Clexana was a key storyline of the season and brought down Clark with it). I would also argue Season 4 Lana was miles ahead of Season 3 Lana storylines when you factor in the Clana drama. I think the best way to desribe Lana's involvement in Season 4 was overall her character's storylines and plots she was involved in were less of a negative then many seasons and because of that reason alone I will call that a positive. Now if Lana storylines for most of the series were great and a huge reason I watched the show, I might view Season 4 storyarcs for her more negatively but I am basically marking Season 4 in terms of Lana on a curve(where the bulk of my opinion of how good/bad the plot is is based on how much it drags down Clark with it because I have very low expectations for the plot itself).

In terms of Lana Storylines by Season(taking in all her plotlines) this is how I rate things

Season 1
Season 2
------gap------
Season 4
------gap------
Season 7
Season 5
Season 3
Season 6

[President_Luthor]

This is a much harder question for me to answer, with so many factors to consider. Some seasons were enjoyable to watch, but had episodes or story arcs with a negative impact on Clark's destiny trajectory. Other seasons were not as enjoyable, but had critical destiny checkpoints that Clark absolutely had to go through to become Superman.

And the days where I could name episodes off the top of my head are behind me, but I still have my general impressions of the seasons. So where to begin, in no particular order ...

These are a few of the seasons that I did enjoy, good and bad, flaws and all:

Season 3 - Despite some bad episodes, I felt that TPTB had gotten their act together this season and had, if not a clear(er) vision of where they wanted to go with SV, at least it seemed they had the notion of where they were headed going foward. The 'stuff of legends' Clark-Lex rivalry -- probably the main story arc that kept me watching through all 10 seasons, above JL appearances and relationship drama -- continued its progress. Some of the series' best Lex eps. were in this season.

And, in hindsight, it was for the best that they wrote off Pete in S3, realizing that they squandered whatever potential they might have had plotwise with him by knowing Clark's secret. It turned out that Chloe became the confidant and sounding board Pete might have been had it gone that way. Clana was still there but didn't annoy me as much -- but there were 7 more seasons ahead. Lots more time for Clark 'n Lana to irk me, lol.

Season 4 - Lois Lane, witches and stones. A lot has been said about season 4, both positive and negative. Overall, I did enjoy watching it despite my reservations about the time TPTB dedicated to Jason Teague and Lana's subplot with the stones and Lana's witchy ways. This is time that could have been spent developing Lois Lane's S4 entry into the SV universe and/or further solidifying the Clark vs. Lex tension. To be frank, the Teague-stones arc should have been shorter and ended mid-season.

S4 would be an example of where, in order to make Lana and her continued involvement in Clark's life relevant post-high school, her story arc would be at the cost of others: especially in setting up Lois Lane in the SV universe, and to some extent Clark vs. Lex arc.

Some of the dangling loose ends of S4, which would have been strikes against it, re: the Teagues and their conspiracy would get some resolution in S7 with the Veritas story arc. It's not as big an issue now as it had been for me at the time.

Season 6 - Yeah, it was all about drama. If you hated any and all forms of Clana without qualification, you might feel otherwise, but in the context of driving a final wedge in Clark and Lex's strained friendship this season was a soapy, and admittedly, guilty pleasure. There were the introductions of potential Justice Leaguers, which I didn't mind, especially Green Arrow. And Chloe fans, I count myself among them, saw further character development with her - including a budding relationship with Jimmy Olsen, and the tension Lana's relationship with Lex had placed on their own strained friendship. Hated 'good times' Lexana, loved Lexana 'on the rocks' as it spiraled into oblivion, haha!

Season 8 - New producers had taken over, and this was the season they made their mark. Tess was introduced to essentially carry the Luthor banner going forward and on the whole she delivered (she became one of my favourite characters by series' end). For Chloe fans, this was arguably the most interesting season for her. She had new powers, was embroiled in potentially dangerous relationship with Davis Bloome and had reached what may have been the nadir of her friendship with Clark. We can't forget Clark and Lois at the Planet. And, in one word: Zatanna, whose own entry into the SV universe turned to be not as bad as I had expected.

And quickly, some good moments I liked among the other seasons:

Season 5 and anything Brainiac-related, but Clark's college life was a non-issue as he spent so little time there!

Season 7 - Clark and Lex's confrontation at the FoS and Veritas bringing some closure to Teague conspiracy loose end, but S7 time spent on Kara was time that otherwise could have been dedicated to setting up that Clark-Lex showdown more effectively.

Season 1's Pilot and Clark personal-growth moments -they did happen amidst the FOTWs.

Season 2 and Lex taking steps that we know will lead to friction with Clark, Pete knowing the secret (this should have been good for him, but instead set him on the path to irrelevancy). Wasn't a big fan of the time spent on h.s. melodrama with Clana and Chlark but they had their entertaining moments. And good or bad, Red-K raises its character-defiling head in all its alien glory this season!

Season 9 - Zod story arc was alright, more Tess and the Justice Society episodes.

Season 10 that brought the series to an appropriate, destiny-fulfilling end. Should it have taken 10 seasons for CK to get there is another issue, but with the seasons they had, SV seemed to hit most of the right notes in the final season.

If I had the choice of buying any season on DVD first, I would likely go with S3.

[intercooledgn]

Personally Season 9 is my favorite. The whole series was EXCELLENT, but I feel season nine really sets us up for his destiny as well as most other characters have matured quite a bit! Just my .02 :-)

[Nimkong]

Season 10- Great ending to a great series. Only a few filler episodes and a lot of awesome mythology episodes. I also like how they brought back the old main cast members. Plus the finale was fantastic IMO


Season 9- Great season with the best plot arc in the series with the intro of Major Zod. I loved how In almost every episode they introduced a character from DC comics. Had a couple of bad episodes in the 2nd half tho. The finale was my favorite finale in the series.


Season 8- Yes I know that the 2nd half had some of the worst episodes in the series. But if it wasent a bad episode then it was a fantastic one. Davis is one of my favorite characters on the show and Bride is my favorite episode in the series. The finale is definatly my least favorite finale tho.


Season 1- A very simple season but that's what's so great about it. The filler episodes were fresh and easy to enjoy. The pilot is a great intro that will get you hooked. Only a few episodes I don't like (Craving, Reaper) but many I enjoy and that I consider classics (Leech ,Metamorphosis, Stray). The finale is still awesome to this day even if it is simple.


Season 6- A little rocky but overall an enjoyable season. Liked the phantom storyline and how Oliver was a recurring character. The biggest fault in the season is without a doubt the Lex-Lana-Clark love triangle. Way too much of a soap-opera IMO. Great finale that will make your jaw drop.


Season 3-Very good season and definitely the darkest one. My biggest gripe was how a lot of the episodes were just forgettable (Magnetic, Delete, Legacy). I know this is a lot of peoples favorite season and I can see why. The greatest Lex and Chloe arcs are in this season. The finale is fantastic because of all the chaos.


Season 2- Good season but overall just another repeat of season 1 IMO. Many filler episodes just didn't feel original and were ridiculous (Redux, Dichotic, Nocturne). Kind of just a plain old season that didn't bring anything particularly exciting. Good finale.


Season 4- Definitely the most ridiculous season with a lot of terrible episodes (Faade, Devoted, ageless and they list goes on) But you just have to realize that this season was made to be fun and it sure as hell is. The finale is one of the best of the series.


Season 7- I call this the "pointless" season. Nothing exciting really happens and the plots don't really matter in the end. Kara was a bland character and Lana coming back was pretty annoying. Nothing really bad; this season was just boring. The finale was also very bland.


Season 5-The first 3 episodes were promising but the season quickly crumbled. This season was the first season that wasn't in high school, promising us a mature season. But that never happened. Instead we get vampires, strippers and girls that are crazy enough to shave their head for a man. The 100th episode was great tho. The finale was solid.

[vyperman7]

S1 - Favorite season hands down. Clark was likeable, Clana was bearable, Lex/Lionel dynamic was great, and there was a ton of great foreshadowing and one liners. Plus Tempest was effective as a finale.

S3 - Second favorite for the focus on the Luthors and variety of enjoyable eps. Covenant is still my favorite finale.

S2- Some awesome eps and Clark's origins being explored. Chloe is annoying as hell in this season especially since she won't accept any blame in the Chlark situation. Clark tried to ask her out and she pulled the friends' card and also made up meeting a guy.

S4 - Has grown on me a lot. Like the football arc and some awesome eps in this season.

[Wellingismysuperman]

Season 10 for me .