Holy peak. Holy peak. Holy peak. Holy peak. Holy peak. Holy peak. Holy peak. Holy peak. Holy peak. 

I’m at a loss for words. Comic book storytelling. This is pure, unfiltered, essential… comic book storytelling: actions, and consequences. I thought I was watching Spider-Man for a second because this is *exactly* what I love to see from my superhero entertainment; the hero being depressed, having a shit day, all while dealing with (a metaphor for) substance abuse! It’s so heavy, emotionally charged, vulnerable, *raw*. 

I didn’t for a second believe they were going to kill off the baby—despite Superman literally never having a brother (I thought they might’ve done a different take), but man… what a bold move. Not only was it extremely shocking to me, but it also adds so much nuance to almost every single character/relationship. Clark’s bond with his parents—for the first time in his life is broken; and so *he* feels broken. The way Jonathan looks at Clark… there’s mostly disappointment, but with a hint of resentment. In Clark’s mind, his parents have just reaffirmed his biggest fear: that he’s an *alien* who was sent to Earth to cause nothing but pain and suffering. Whoever came up with the idea to have Clark misinterpret Jor-El’s message was a genius, because it takes something as simple as connecting him to his lineage and twists it into a very powerful & meaningful part of his journey to discover himself. Even the visuals link up with this (I love when visuals are intentionally directed), like when Clark put his hand on the glass window in the hospital? Almost as if he wanted to *feel* his parents’ love but *wasn’t* able to. This probably wasn’t even intentional but there’s an affinity between that scene and a mother feeling her unborn baby by putting her hand on her stomach—and given with what happened earlier in the scene… that’s heart-wrenchingly depressing. Like fuck me… Tom Welling’s performance here is the best it’s ever been; to the point where I wish he was *always* this good (because most of the time he’s really not). The crater scene??? I was genuinely blown away when it panned to Clark’s face… we’ve never seen him like *that*. I don’t particularly like the goofiness of the ending though, because it’s played as an emotional scene yet Clark is wearing the dumbest shades imaginable—so it comes off as intentionally comedic, but Lana’s reaction is the polar opposite of that… which makes it really weird! It’s not that big of a deal, and certainly not enough to take away half a star. I just wish he had a more gradual change. 

Everyone else is incredible too. John Schneider, Kristin Kreuk, and John Glover are insane and give standout performances. Allison Mack is the one exception, her “evil” side is way too cringe. There’s no subtly there whatsoever. She’s trying her hardest to be a mustache twirling villain and it is *not* working (again, it’s not enough to take away half a star). 

But perhaps the biggest shock was the Lex storyline. It can’t be as simple as Helen drugging and abandoning him right? Because I fully believed in their relationship. That’s heartbreaking. If it is what it seems then Lex’s downfall will absolutely begin next season. No way is he going to put in the effort of being a better person if misery is all that comes from it. It’d be interesting if Lex actually became close to Lionel in the sense of not shying away from his heritage—instead embracing it. A team up would be entertaining as fuck. GOD I LOVE how his scene in the cave linked in with Pete’s character too! What a moment. EVERYTHING IN HERE IS PEAK PEAK PEAK I’M IN LOVE

Specials

Season 1

Season 2

Season 3

Season 4

Season 5

Season 6

Season 7

Season 8

Season 9

Season 10