TV episode review
US airdate 24 September 2010 (The CW)

Back from the dead, Clark Kent has father issues (with both Jor-El and Jonathan Kent) while concluding old business with Lex Luthor…

After a ridiculously complicated ninth season, Smallville won a final year to finally get Tom Welling’s super boy (who’s now far too old for the original teen role) into the tights and into the air.

The ‘proper’ super suit has finally made an appearance, but it is clear by the episode’s end that this is nothing but a huge tease, as the red, white and blue outfit is rapidly (and literally) put on ice (no doubt until the series’ grand finale).

There’s a lot of old business being dealt with in this episode, presumably in an effort to clear the decks for a fresher-feeling final season from here on in. So, the ghost of Lex Luthor is resurrected through his cloning facility and the series returns to an iconic Season One location for a final dramatic face-off.

That’s the core of the episode, but there are some unwelcome hangers on from last season (Tess, Oliver), while by the end of the episode Chloe’s fate looks rather uncertain. There’s much talk of a new threat (Deadshot), that seems to be incarnated by the smoke monster from Lost having found a new acting role. So, this is the same old stuff, but with a promise of something new (if only a final end to this decade-long super-saga). Brian J. Robb

VERDICT: 6/10