Ep 4.22 - Commencement

[darkphoenix21]

As something to do I've been re-watching the series season by season; not the entire seasons just the first/last few episodes of each season and some episodes in between "Commencement" has stuck out as the number 1 episode of the series....Salvation coming in a close second. Commencement had everything you would want....great scenes, special effects and a season finale that had you on the edge of your seat.

[Supermania]

I think that Commencement was a good season finale...it was very tense and the special effects were awesome. I think it also signified change in the show as it moved from its teen high school settings to mature adult settings. It definitely got me wanting more...

[KalEltheBoyscout]

For nine seasons this was probably the most epic 50 minutes of "Smallville" ever....and then a little episode called "Salvation" come along and rocked my socks off. But this is about "Commencement" and after rewatching that, it still has the same effect. They spent a lot of money making it look as cool as possible and they suceeded. I mean, the awesome shots of Clark saving the boy, the meteor shower tearing the town apart, the union of the 3 stones, and finally Clark being transported to the Arctic, it was all just mindblowing. And I loved how determined and heroic Clark was portrayed by Tom. Just flat-out amazing episode!!!

[CUDDYBUDDY]

Best Part:

"I Don't Have The Stone!"
*Noise*
(Oh S*** I do have it)

[SVFAN89]

Best episode of Smallville!

This is my favorite episode of Smallville so far. Once the series finale rolls around, I'm sure that will become the best, but for now Commencement is still the most amazing episode IMO.
There are very few flaws with this episode. Season 4 went out with a bang!

[MarvelL]

One of my favorite episodes

[Supsfan]

One of my favorite episodes

This episode would have been awesome if it was the series finale(with an added extra 5-10 minutes), what knocks it down a couple notches for me is I thought Arrival was a terrible payoff to all the stuff they set up in this episode

[jon-el87]

We see the conclusion of the stones plotline. I do think, that they should've had Clark already have aquired two, before this episode. He aquired the first one, in the season premiere, than he doesn't aquire the other two until the season finale (and manages to get his hands on both of them, under a few hours). Clark and Lana only interact once in the episode, when she shows up in the barn, to give him the stone. She somehow knows that it's meant for him. The only way, that I can make that scene make any sense, is if it's either Martian Manhunter posing as Lana (And implanted false memories in her mind) or that he used his telepathy, to make her give Clark the stone. MM wasn't supposed to interfere, unless it was absolutely necessary. And I'd definitely call Brainiac is about to arrive and Clark's only completed 1/3 of a task, absolutely necessary.

The episode also sees the ultimate demise of both Isobel and Mrs. Teague. Still have no idea, if one of them was supposed to be the big bad for the season. Mrs. Teague never even met Clark (might not even have known that he existed) and both of them are taken out, in the opening scene. You'd expect a big bad to have some final confrontation with the hero.

Jason makes a last minute appearance, after having been shot and fallen to his death, in the previous episode. That bit felt unnecessary. A character we've already seen die, shows up for 3,5 minutes, only to them die again. Only so that the Kents can be in peril (which they already are, with the approaching meteor shower).

Really disliked the fact that they put a ticking clock on the episode. When the meteors enter the atmosphere, the clock states that it's 45 minutes left, until they hit Smallville. Which isn't likely.

Otherwise, I pretty much enjoyed the episode. The almost complete lack of Clark-Lana interaction, means that one can largely skip her scenes, without affecting the episode.

[jon-el87]

I quite like how they shot the graduation. The majority of the graduating class are only visible through shots too far away, for you to make a positive I.D. of the their faces. Throughout the show's first four seasons, we had been introduced to many of Clark's classmates: Paul Chan ("Drone"), Megan Calder ("Hereafter"), Rhonda/Felice Chandler ("Drone" and "Devoted") and so on. Some only appeared once or a few times. However, because of the way that they shot the graduation scene, they opened up to the possibility that many of Clark's established classmates (who haven't been killed or locked up) are in the crowd of students. Without the hazzle of bringing back all the original actors, just for the sake of consistency. I mean, imagine them trying to get Amy Adams back (in 2005), just so that she can stand in the background, with the other students. We'd get a brief glimpse of her (many would miss it). Just imagine the cost of having to bring back all of those actors, for something most aren't even going to notice (they couldn't even bring back the guy who played Principal Reynolds in S2). No, they made the right choice by keeping most of the students in an extreme long shot. It creates the illusion of them being there, without having to bring in the original actors.