Happy 200th Smallville!

Tomorrow night marks an event very rarely seen in television history. Tom Welling and the cast of Smallville will join TV shows like The Simpsons and Cheers in airing it’s 200th episode. I’ve watched Smallville since the very first airing in 2001 and since  then have gotten several people hooked on the show. In college my friends and I would gather around the TV, eat pizza, drink some beers, and watch Smallville before heading to the bars. Those nights made this great show that much more special for me. A few years back I vowed to stop watching Smallville because I felt like it had gotten ridiculous, but something my friend Andrew said changed my mind.

“Smallville is like your kid. You watched it when it was young and cute, and over the years it has matured into something weird that you can barely stand to watch. But through it all you have to keep watching it out of loyalty and love for what it is, or used to be.”

They were words that have stuck with me, and now that Smallville is in its final season things seem to be looking up for the show, or maybe my expectations have just been set low. In any event, Friday night I will be tuning in to see Clark Kent take one step closer to becoming the Man of Steel.  To commemorate this occasion here are my top 25 Smallville episodes in the order in which they aired. Spoiler Alert: none of them are from seasons 8 & 9.

1) Season 1: Episode 1: Pilot

We are introduced to Clark Kent and Lex Luthor, who are destined to be mortal enemies, but when Lex hits Clark with his car and Clark saves his life it is the beginning of a friendship everyone knows is doomed.

This was also the WB's first season without it's signature show, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but when I saw the high school trio of Clark, Chloe and Pete act towards each other it's like Buffy, Willow, and Xander all over.

CLASSIC QUOTE:

Clark: What are you trying to tell me, Dad? That I'm from another planet?

Clark: I suppose you stashed my spaceship in the attic?

Jonathan: Actually... it's in the storm cellar.

2) Season 1: Episode 21: Tempest

After a great 1st season with a new freak of the week every episode that was after Lana we see the characters heading to the dance where Remy Zero is performing, Lana's boyfriend Whitney is off to the Marines, and Clark is trying to figure out his feeling for Lana and Chloe. A tornado hits Smallville just as Lex's father, played wonderfully by John Glover, closes the Smallville plant and makes Lex looks like a fool. In the episode we see how far Clark's relationships have come and how far they have yet to go.

3) Season 2: Episode 4: Red

Clark buys his class ring against his father's wishes, unfortunately it's jewel is made of red meteor rock that turns Clark into a bad boy, finally giving Clark the nerve to kiss Lana and looking to get out of Smallville and be rich through his abilities.

CLASSIC QUOTE:

[Clark is looking at Chloe and Lana]

Clark: Did you know that Chloe had a birthmark on her cheek?

Pete: No, she doesn't.

Clark: Not that cheek.

Pete: Are you doing what I think you're doing? Clark, that's Chloe you're scoping, man!

Clark: Not just Chloe.

4) Season 2: Episode 8: Ryan

I love this episode because we get to see Clark's determination to try and save someone his powers can't help him save. The mind reading Ryan has come back and finds out he has a tumor that is going to kill. Clark does everything in his power to try and help, but with all his abilities Clark must learn there are some battles he can't fight.

CLASSIC QUOTE:

Lex: In life, the road to darkness is a journey, not a light switch.

Ryan: You should remember that, Lex.

5) Season 2: Episode 14: Rush

Pete slips Clark some red kryptonite thanks to a bug that makes Chloe and him act bad just as Clark and Lana are about to go on their first official date. At this point in the series I was screaming at the TV for Clark and Lana to get together.

6) Season 2: Episode 17: Rosetta

Who better to tell the current Clark Kent where he comes from, and what happened to his home planet than the man who made us all believe a man can fly, Christopher Reeves. Reeves plays Dr. Swan, a scientist who contacts Clark to tell him about his origins. This episode is a great passing of the torch from one generation to another. The last half of this episode is unbeatable.

CLASSIC QUOTE:

Clark: Why me? There must be a reason why I was sent to this planet.

Dr. Virgil Swann: You won't find the answers by looking to the stars. It's a journey you'll have to take by looking inside yourself.

7) Season 2: Episode 22: Calling

It's Clark's birthday and Lana gives him what he always wanted, a real life, not on Red K., kiss. Lex is about to get married for the second time in the season and has doubts about whether he can trust his fiancee, and everyone is searching for a vial that contains Clark's blood.

8) Season 2: Episode 23: Exodus

Clark leaves Lex without best man on his wedding day, hurts Chloe's feeling by not telling her about he and Lana, and in trying to defy his birth father he accidentally turns his parent's truck upside down, allowing his mother to loose the baby inside of her. How does he plan to solve this? Grab his Red K. ring and head out of town leaving Lana in tears. Way to man up Clark!

CLASSIC QUOTE:

Lana: The Clark Kent I know wouldn't run away from his problems.

Clark: The Clark Kent you know is a lie.

Lana: Why won't you let me in?

Clark: Because Lana, you won't like what you see.

9) Season 3: Episode 1: Exile

So by now you've figured out that I'm a sucker for the Red K. episodes. Clark has been running around Metropolis for months causing mischief and still feeling guilty over what he has done. Meanwhile back in Smallville his parents have to sell the farm and everyone else is attending Lex's funeral, who is trapped on a deserted island arguing with himself.

10) Season 4: Episode 1: Crusade

After months of being in a cave Clark returns as Kal-El and he can fly. Martha Kent must find a way to bring her family back together, and the only one to help her is Chloe's cousin, Lois Lane. The creators didn't want to bring in Lois till season 5, but after a bad season 3 they thought they weren't going to have a season 5. Good choice!

11) Season 4: Episode 4: Devoted

Cheerleaders dose their football boyfriends to make them love slaves just as Clark joins the football team. Chloe drinks the potion and becomes devoted to Clark as Lana's boyfriend, and now Clark's coach, drinks the mix and comes after Clark in a jealous rage.

12) Season 4: Episode 5: Run

Smallville starts to incorporate the rest of the DC Universe's heroes as the future Flash, Bart Allen, comes to town to steal Jonathan's wallet, and a map from Lex. Like the rest of the other heroes who guest star Clark has to set him straight before he gets himself in trouble with Lex.

CLASSIC QUOTE:

Clark: Chloe, this is my friend Bart. He's from--

Bart: The future.

Chloe: Really?

Bart: Yeah, I ran all the way back in time to tell you that we're still in love 100 years from now.

13) Season 4: Episode 11: Unsafe

The teleporting Alicia Baker returns from her incarceration after trying to kill Lana in season 3. Except this time she is somewhat sane, and her and Clark begin to date, knowing that they both have special abilities. But when Alicia's doctor begins to stalk her she slips Clark some Red K. and they are off to Las Vegas to get married.

CLASSIC QUOTE:

Alicia: Can we slow down, I want this to last forever.

Clark: I'm not sure if that's one of my abilities but I'll do my best.

14) Season 4: Episode 12: Pariah

I really liked Alicia. It gave Clark someone else to be with besides Lana, but unfortunately a meteor infected teen is framing her for attempted murder, and Clark doesn't know whether to believe Alicia or not.

15) Season 4: Episode 17: Onyx

After an experiment with black kryptonite Lex creates another Lex that is filled with all his bad intentions. Evil Lex goes around Smallville causing trouble with the real Lex trapped in the basement of his mansion. Evil Lex finds out Clark's secret and tries to force Clark to help him rule the world using a green kryptonite ring. This episode is a great way to show the man Lex will one day become. Great performance by Rosenbaum.

CLASSIC QUOTE:

Martha: What do you want?

Evil Lex: The world Mrs. Kent, and your son is going to help me get it.

16) Season 4: Episode 19: Blank

A meteor infected kid erases Clark memory, and with his parents out of town Chloe is the only one to take care of him. Lex tries to use this to take advantage of what Clark has been hiding from him for years.
CLASSIC QUOTE:

Clark: Chloe, I need you to be completely honest with me.

Chloe: Honest, huh?

Clark: What'd I do?

Chloe: You trusted me.

17) Season 5: Episode 1: Arrival

Clark creates the Fortress of Solitude in the Artic, followers of Zod come to Smallville in another meteor shower looking for Kal-El, and Chloe reveals to Clark she knows his secret. This season is right in the middle of Smallville at it's peak.

CLASSIC QUOTE:

Clark: I wasn't born anywhere near Smallville. In fact, I wasn't born anywhere near this galaxy.

Chloe: Okay. Okay, so that would then make you, like, an...

Clark: Yeah.

Chloe: Uh, but you... You look so...

Clark: Human? I'm still the same person.

Chloe: Clark, I... I... I think you're so amazing. You save people's lives and take zero credit for it. To me, you're more than just a hero. You're a superhero.

18) Season 5, Episode 9: Lexmas

On Christmas Eve Lex is shot and has a dream of what his life would be like if he makes the right choices. He is married to Lana, has a family, is best friends with Clark, and is the town's hero. Meanwhile back in the real world Chloe enlist Clark’s help to deliver hundreds of presents before morning.

19) Season 5, Episode 12: Reckoning

This episode is definitely one of my top 3, if not number one. Clark decides to come clean with Lana about everything. He takes her to the Fortress and proposes to her on the eve of his father’s and Lex’s Senate race. But when things go bad Jor-El turns back time and Clark chooses not to tell Lana his secret, hoping thinkgs will be different, a choice that costs another their life.

CLASSIC QUOTE:

Clark: I just don’t know how I’m supposed to be the man he wanted me to be without him here.

Martha: You’re his son. You know what the right thing is. Whether you’re father is here or not. You’re someone he was proud of. Someone he could look up too, and something tells me he won’t be the only one.

20) Season 5, Episode 22: Vessel

Lex has been chosen to be Zod’s vessel and Clark must stop Brainiac from releasing Zod and the destruction that is about to come. As much as Clark tries to warn Lex and Lana about the dangers they face they both end up hating him, and it all leads to my favorite Smallville scene of all time.

CLASSIC SCENE/QUOTE:

Lex: So what’d you decide Clark? Are you going to kill me?

Clark: You can’t blame me for this Lex. You brought this upon yourself.

Lex: Oh come on Clark, you love it! Ever since that day on the bridge, you've always seen yourself as my savior. The one thing that would pull me off the dark path I'd started. See, that's why you cling to the idea that there's still some good in me. You don't want to face the fact that you might have failed.

Clark: Or maybe I just can't believe that someone would have so little willpower.

Lex: It's a little hard to compete with the iron willpower it takes to kill one of your best friends. How did you know I was gonna come back like this?

Clark: You don't realize how much danger you're in.

Lex: You know, I used to think you had this... strong inner core. You were so virtuous. And yet you lie all the time. To me, to Lana, to all the people who cared about you. What kind of sick person would do that?

Clark: If you thought this friendship was so doomed from the beginning, then why did you fight so hard to keep it?

Lex: Because I wanted everything you had. The family, the inconspicuous life, the loyal girlfriend. Well, at least I walked away with the part you loved the most.

Clark: You're not yourself.

Lex: Or maybe I finally am.

21) Season 6, Episode 7: Rage

It’s Clark’s first Thanksgiving without his dad, and it could be a rough one. Lana is living with Lex, Lionel is smooching with his Mom, and Oliver, a.k.a Green Arrow, and Lois are in the outs. Clark finds out that Oliver is using a drug to make himself heal when he goes out crime fighting, but the drug makes him more unstable than Clark on Red K.

22) Season 6, Episode 11: Justice

Bart Allen is back in town, and he’s working for Oliver to take down Lex and his 33.1 facilities. When Lex captures Bart breaking into one of the facilities Clark tries to rescue him but runs into a little green trouble of his own. Watchtower, otherwise known as Chloe, must guide Green Arrow, Aquaman, and Cyborg to save them both.

CLASSIC QUOTE:

Bart: I want a lawyer.

Lex: And I want a ponytail. Disappointment abounds.

23) Season 6, Episode 13: Crimson

This is one of the episodes that are in the running as my favorite 3. It’s Valentine’s Day and a heart broken Lois finds some lipstick that makes her fall in love with the first person she sees, Clark Kent. Unfortunately for everyone else the lipstick is made of Red Kryptonite. One kiss and Clark persuades Lois to accompany him to Lex and Lana’s engagement dinner where they crash the party and Clark let’s everyone who is close to him have it. I love the Red K. episodes because all the frustration that Clark is too nice to say gets let out. Plus I’m sure Tom Welling loves getting to be bad every once and a while.

CLASSIC QUOTE:

Clark: So, you're saying that I wanna kiss Lois, and keep Chloe in my back pocket, while the whole time I'm still in love with Lana?

24) Season 7, Episode 16: Descent

This is it. The day Lex takes his final leap into the darkness by killing his own father, and Clark knows it was him. Lex turns to his father to tell him the secret of The Traveler, but ends up pushing him out the window. You can see the internal struggle in Lex has as he argues with a younger version of himself, eventually throwing that last part of goodness in him into the fire, literally.

CLASSIC QUOTE:

Clark: Jor-El died getting me on that ship. My dad died of a heart attack from the powers he took on protecting me. And now Lionel's been murdered protecting my secret.

Chloe: They did die for you, Clark. But ultimately, they died for all of us. There was a reason those men were in your life -- each of them added something to the man that you are today.

Clark: How could Lex have done it? How does a son murder his own father?

Chloe: Total absence of love. Some say that's the definition of evil.

25) Season 7: Episode 18: Apocalypse

Lana is in a catatonic state and with Brainiac run off with Kara Clark doesn’t know how to save the people he loves. Jor-El shows Clark what the world would be like if Clark never came to Smallville. Chloe and Lana are both happy in their other lives, but the rest of the world is in shambles. Lex is president, and along with Brainiac he’s going to unleash nuclear missiles unless Clark can stop them.

In May the last episode of this iconic TV show will end it's 10 years run.  My hope is that they go all out with the introduction of Jimmy Olsen and Perry White into The Daily Planet, and Clark puts on the Superman suit just in time to kick Darkseid's ass.  Of course if season 10 does end up being good I'll have to buy seasons 8 and 9 just to complete the collection.  Damn it..........