*BEWARE SEASON FINALE SPOILERS BELOW*

Few may remember, but The WB had originally wanted to do a series revolving around a young Bruce Wayne training to become Batman. Having loved the numerous flashback episodes from Batman: The Animated Series with Bruce training with escape artists and ninja masters, I couldn’t help but love the idea. But then, the whole thing fell through, and WB announced they were making Smallville instead. Initially, I didn’t see the appeal, but dammit if that first episode didn’t hook me in. It was a surprisingly fresh take on the character. There was this great contemporary logic to everything, especially in terms of Clark’s arrival from Krypton, with not only his ship arriving but the whole meteor shower that essentially affected the whole town of Smallville. Lana Lang lost her parents, Lex Luthor lost his hair, and we got scores of citizens who gained strange abilities due to their exposure to Kryptonite. This gave Clark plenty of worthy adversaries, especially since Lex and Clark start out as friends.

And with Michael Rosenbaum we have, undeniably, my favorite (live-action) Lex Luthor of all-time. The evolution of his friendship with Clark was damn near flawless, and seeing them become enemies is still one of the show’s strengths. The irony being that they’re both lying douchbags who have never trusted each other with their whole truths. Although, you actually feel sorry for Lex at times. Everyone he’s ever wanted to trust has screwed him over; his father, Clark, BOTH of his wives, etc. It’s nice to see that kind of evolution in a character.

But I don’t know if it’s enough anymore. Over the last six years, fans have gone from loving the show to downright hating it, and I’m starting to see where they’re coming from. A major point of contention has undoubtedly been Lana Lang. Nothing has been more frustrating than seeing her relationship with Clark unfold, as every step they took forward was immediately followed by two steps taken back. Not to mention how long it’s taken her to figure out Clark’s secret! SIX YEARS?!?! I’m sorry, but after the man saved her from a tornado at the end of season one, she should have been pressin’ HARD to find out how he pulled off that trick! Even after that, hints were droppin’ like anvils from the sky for the next five years! I guess that’s what happens when you’re as profoundly self-involved as Lana.

Then there are the 1001 uses from Kryptonite. Beyond people whose bodies were directly affected by Kryptonite’s radiation, you had people processing it for everything from fertilizer for gardening, to tattoo ink and steroids, and it was even uses as a substitute for Nitrus Oxide in street racing cars!! And it’s just gotten worse with the revelation that Clark’s friend and confidant Chloe also possesses abilities from exposure to Kryptonite. Watch last night’s season finale and cringe as Chloe grieves of her cousin, Lois Lane’s dead body after she meets the stabby end of a combat knife, only to be brought back to life with Chloe’s kryptonite-infused tears!! WTF?!?!

Speaking of Lois Lane, another element of Smallville that’s wearing thin is the loose continuity. On the one had, the inclusion of so many elements from the Superman mythos before their time practically forces the audience to view Smallville as its own self-contained continuity with no bearing on Clark actually becoming Superman, which I’ve always liked. Some of it works, but some of it doesn’t. I’ve never liked Metropolis’ close proximity to the town Smallville, like it’s merely an hour’s drive away. But that’s minor compared to things like, oh, I don’t know. . . . Jimmy Olsen dating Chloe!! Now, it’s taken me a while to accept Lois Lane’s inclusion in the series, but it’s worked because her interactions with Clark still fit well in comparison to the comics. In the case of Jimmy, however, he’s a romantic foil. Regardless of how much Clark pines after Lana, seeing Jimmy with Chloe makes him jealous. It’s a complete overhaul of the dynamic between the two characters, and it just feels very forced. And while I’ve enjoyed the idea that Clark’s arrival in Smallville was somewhat pre-ordained, a lot of what’s followed has been handled rather poorly. Clark losing his powers, Jor-El essentially saying he’ll kill someone Clark loves if he doesn’t do what he says, and the inclusion of Zod and Brainiac, all seemed half-hearted in terms of execution, at least in terms of the ways all those things were resolved. The Phantom Zone elements from this season have been interesting, though. Not to mention the introduction of Martain Manhunter and Green Arrow.

But how much more can the show really do? How much more can these characters evolve. Clark and Lex both seem to be on their set paths towards being the characters we know from the regular Superman universe, and I think we’ve done every possible variation of a Kryptonite power there is to do without it getting silly (wait, never mind, I just remember the Kryptonite racing fuel!). At some point, the book has to close on Smallville, because it’s starting to feel like an X-Files scenario. The show seems long past the point of the creators having a straightforward plan of how the show should end, and now they’re just making up stuff as they go along.