The Eighth Season

Smallville is a television drama about the younger days of the renowned superhero Superman. The show is based on characters from DC Comics and loosely follows the development of Clark Kent into Superman. In the series' early seasons, it focused on Clark building friendships and enemies, learning about his alien heritage, understanding his destiny as a savior, and saving people from bad guys as they appeared. In season eight, Clark's gets closer to becoming the iconic Superman, as well as battles Earth's biggest threat. For more details about this series, please review to DVD Talk's reviews of season one, season two, season three, season four, season five, season six, season seven, season seven (Blu-ray), and season eight (Blu-ray).

This review of Smallville's eighth season was my first experience with the series. It has always been on my to-watch-list, but for various reasons I have not had the time to get into it. Oddly enough, I own the first five seasons on DVD. It is also worth noting that I am not a comic book fan and do not know anything about the comic book history of Superman or other characters from the DC Universe. Regardless of my lack of experience with the show and comics, I found season eight of Smallville to be enticing and exciting. It is super-charged with drama, action, science fiction, and plenty of intrigue. This season has two major story arcs, which include Clark moving closer to fulfilling his destiny as Superman and a new villain who has the potential to destroy mankind. The story arcs are intriguing and include many subplots and developments as Clark, friends, and enemies deal with the latest crisis at hand.

At the end of season seven, things were not looking good for Clark and gang. Clark had his final showdown with Brainiac, who trapped Kara in the Phantom Zone and did something to Chloe. Lana awoke from her coma, only to leave Clark and Smallville behind. The Department of Domestic Security took Chloe into custody as Jimmy proposed. And finally, Clark chased Lex to the Fortress of Solitude. While there, it was destroyed and collapsed on them. As season eight begins, no one knows the whereabouts of Clark or Lex. Oliver and his team are looking for Clark. At the same time, Tess Mercer (Cassidy Freeman) takes over LuthorCorp and she is determined Lex is alive. Meanwhile, Chloe is being held in a secret LuthorCorp facility and is tricked into using her abilities to hunt Oliver, Arthur Curry, and Dinah Lance. LuthorCorp is using the information to capture them. It is a pretty eventful season premiere and ends with a lot of curious developments for the remainder of the season.

After things settle down, Clark decides it is time to take a step closer to his destiny. He gets a job as a reporter at the Daily Planet, sharing a desk with a stunned Lois. He uses his new position in the heart of Metropolis to help more people and stirs up talk about a "red-blue-blur". As the season progresses, Clark learns more about himself, what he is capable of, and what he should be capable of. This development is crucial to him becoming Superman. There are also some romantic sparks between Lois and Clark, which are complicated when Lana makes a brief return in Metropolis.

The other major development this season is about the new character Davis Bloome (Sam Witwer). Davis is an emergency medical technician and while on the scene of an explosion, he meets Chloe. Almost immediately, something develops between Davis and Chloe. As the season develops, the Davis-Chloe romance is subdued by her feelings for Jimmy. At the same time, Davis is slowly taken over by a darkness inside of him... and ultimately becoming the villain known as Doomsday, who is the world's biggest threat. This story arc is the real meat of the season, as there is a lot of intrigue behind each development.

Another pretty big storyline revolves around Chloe. During season seven, she was attacked by Brainiac. His knowledge and ability to understand things somehow transferred to Chloe, which was Brainiac's way of preserving himself. At first, Chloe's new abilities were harmless. She uses them on occasion; despite Clark's reluctance. Unfortunately, side effects eventually kick in and Chloe slowly turns into something else. This storyline is complemented by time travelers from the 31st century, which makes for an exciting development.

As for the rest of the season, there are plenty of other enticing storylines and subplots. Tess makes for an interesting character. Since I have not seen earlier seasons, I cannot compare her to the Luthors. However, she tends to take on many common traits of villains. She is conniving, smart, and willing to do whatever it takes to get her way. Throughout the season, she comes off as a mysterious character with many hidden agendas. She even forms of her team of heroes.

While the season story arcs tended to be strong, there were some episodes that felt out of place with weird plots. For example, in "Committed" Chloe and Jimmy celebrate their recent engagement. After the party, they are abducted by a masked man. He has been kidnapping couples all over Metropolis, hooking them up to lie detectors, and if they lie, their significant other gets a massive shock that can lead to death. While the episode provides some important character development, the episode storyline did not feel in place with the rest of the season. There are few other episodes that also seem out of place.

Overall, Smallville's eighth season offers some enticing drama with strong season story arcs, episodes, and a mythology that is easy to get hooked on. Things were rough when I started season eight and I did not really understand the relationships amongst the characters. I had to read up on a lot of the show's history and characters. However, as the season progressed, I quickly found myself wanting to know what would happen next. I was happily surprised to find this season's developments were full of enticing drama and action. There were some dry moments that the drama felt too thick and plotlines out of place, but the season as a whole came off strong.

Episode Guide

1. Odyssey: The Justice League, led by the Green Arrow, hits the Arctic in search of Clark, who disappeared after the fortress collapsed. The team immediately has a confrontation with the new CEO of Luthorcorp, Tess Mercer. Meanwhile, Chloe is being held prisoner by a suspicious group who has discovered she has a new power, and Clark has been stripped of his powers by Jor-El.
2. Plastique: It's Clark's first day at the Daily Planet with Lois, and the pair are immediately thrown together on a story when a bus explodes outside the office. Clark rescues Bette, a young girl who bonds with Chloe over their shared meteor abilities, but Bette is hiding a big secret. Paramedic Davis Bloom arrives in Metropolis and is drawn to Chloe.
3. Toxic: Oliver collapses at a charity event and reveals he only has 24 hours to live. Clark and Chloe call Davis for help but his prognosis is grim. Delirious, Oliver flashes back to when he was stranded on an island and first learned how to use a bow and arrow. He also recalls meeting Tess for the first time on that island after she had been kidnapped by a drug runner. Meanwhile, Chloe decides to use her new powers to help save Oliver, shocking Clark.
4. Instinct: Tess and her team perform tests on Clark's crystal that she had retrieved from the arctic, causing it to send a beam of light into the universe. This triggers the arrival of Maxima, a queen from the planet Almerac, who is searching for her soulmate, who she believes sent the signal. Unfortunately, Maxima's power is too great for mortal men and her kiss kills them. The seductive Maxima arrives in Metropolis and begins her search, starting with Jimmy.
5. Committed: After they leave their engagement party, Chloe and Jimmy are abducted by a psychotic jeweler who was emotionally scarred by his wife's infidelity and is now kidnapping couples and subjecting them to a kryptonite-enhanced lie detector that shocks them if they lie. The abductor asks Chloe if she is in love with anyone else. Meanwhile, in an effort to find Chloe and Jimmy, Clark and Lois pose as a couple and are kidnapped themselves, then asked how they feel about each other. Allison Mack and Erica Durance also star.
6. Prey: Clark looks into a recent attack in a theater that may be the work of a serial killer. Suspecting it could be someone who is meteor-infected, he demands that Chloe release the names of the people she is counseling at the Isis Foundation, which causes a rift between the friends. Davis fears that his blackouts could mean that he is the serial killer and collects evidence that may implicate him. Fearing the worst, he confesses his suspicions to Chloe.
7. Identity: Jimmy snaps a picture of Clark super-speeding to save Lois from a mugger and manages to catch a red and blue blur on film. Jimmy shows it to Tess who decides to run it on the front page of the Daily Planet. Clark fears his identity will be discovered so he asks Chloe to run interference with Jimmy, but she refuses.
8. Bloodline: Clark receives an anonymous package containing the crystal that Tess found in the Arctic. When he removes the crystal, it activates and sends him and a visiting Lois to the Phantom Zone where they run into Kara. Kara opens a portal for Lois to return but Zod's wife Faora escapes with her and takes over Lois' body. A possessed Lois goes on a rampage in Metropolis.
9. Abyss: Brainiac begins removing Chloe's memories one by one until the only person she remembers is Davis. Clark realizes the only way to stop Brainiac from taking over Chloe's mind is to rebuild the Fortress and ask Jor-El to heal her.
10. Bride: It's Chloe and Jimmy's wedding day and the two prepare to walk down the aisle at the Kent farm. Meanwhile, Oliver tells Clark he thinks he's discovered where Lex is hiding and takes off to Cuba to confront him. However, when he arrives, Oliver is shocked to find Lana instead. Clark and Lois grow closer but chaos ensues when Doomsday crashes the wedding and tries to kidnap Chloe.
11. Legion: The aftermath of Doomsday's attack on Chloe and Jimmy's wedding leaves Clark in shock, but before he can search for the kidnapped Chloe, The Persuader appears and attacks him. Rokk, Imra and Garth, also known as The Legion, step in from the future to help vanquish the Persuader and the group realizes Brainiac has taken over Chloe once again. Meanwhile, up at the Fortress, Chloe, as Brainiac, informs Davis he is Doomsday and was created to kill "the other Kryptonian" and destroy the world.

12. Bulletproof: Clark discovers John Jones was shot while working as a police officer, so Clark dons the uniform and goes undercover to find the culprit. Meanwhile, Lana confronts Tess and tells her Lex isn't the man she thinks he is. Lana's shocking news forces Tess to reevaluate her position as the head of Luthorcorp.
13. Power: Clark finds Tess in Lana's ransacked apartment and realizes Lana is missing. Tess tells him Lex is still alive and may have kidnapped Lana and finally reveals the truth about what happened to Lana after she awoke from her Brainiac-induced coma. Meanwhile, Tess breaks into a secret LuthorCorp facility and is shocked at what she discovers.
14. Requiem: An explosion at LuthorCorp kills all the Board members and injures Oliver, who was there to announce the merger of his company with LutherCorp. Oliver believes that Lex is responsible for the blast, but Clark and Lana learn that the bomber is Winslow Schott, a toymaker and former Queen Industries employee with a grudge against Oliver.
15. Infamous: Linda Lake returns to Metropolis and threatens to expose Clark's secret unless he promises to give her exclusive information on the red-blue blur so she can become a star reporter again. Refusing to be blackmailed, Clark tells Lois his secret and asks her to write his story for The Daily Planet.
16. Turbulence: Tess invites Clark to a press conference in New York but when an explosion rocks the private jet they are on, Clark must figure out how to save them without Tess learning his secret. Unbeknownst to Clark, Tess orchestrated the explosion to get Clark to reveal his powers. Meanwhile, Davis discovers a surprising way to control the monster within.
17. Hex: At Chloe's birthday party, a mysterious magician named Zatanna grants Chloe's wish to be more like Lois and switches the two into each other's bodies. Zatanna searches for her father's book of spells so she can conjure up his spirit but not before also granting Clark his deepest wish.
18. Eternal: Tess tries to kill Davis by blowing up his truck. However, after he escapes, she realizes she needs help to destroy him and turns to Clark. Tess reveals Davis' secret childhood with the Luthors and hints that she knows Clark's true identity. Meanwhile, Davis runs to Chloe for help.
19. Stiletto: Lois believes that she needs a big story to secure her reputation as a star reporter but the red/blue blur continues to elude her. However, after Chloe is mugged, Lois steps in to fend off one of the attackers and uses the opportunity to pretend a new superhero, Stiletto, has come to town and is giving exclusives to Lois. Clark is concerned Lois will hurt herself pretending to be a superhero but after he is captured by thugs with kryptonite, Lois steps in to save the day.
20. Beast: Clark discovers that Davis is still alive and confronts Chloe about protecting him. Oliver discovers Jimmy breaking into Chloe's apartment, but things get rapidly worse after Davis jumps from the shadows and attacks both of them.
21. Injustice: Chloe returns and begs Clark to kill Davis, claiming he can no longer keep the beast under control. Tess has assembled a team of meteor freaks, including Plastique, to track down Davis so Clark can kill him. However, things get out of hand once Tess' team discovers she is double-crossing them.
22. Doomsday: Oliver tells Clark he must kill Davis, as Doomsday is a serious threat and must be stopped at all costs. However, Clark struggles with taking a human life, so the Green Arrow and his team decide to take matters into their own hands. Lois takes on Tess, but the fight takes a shocking turn. Meanwhile, Chloe gets caught in the middle of Oliver and Clark's battle over killing Davis.

The DVD

Video:
The video is given in widescreen color with an aspect ratio of 1.78:1. The quality is good and offers a fairly sharp and clean picture. There is a grain and minor compression artifacts. There are also some hints of edge enhancement, but there is nothing that should interfere with your viewing experience.

Audio:
The audio in this release is given in English 5.1 Dolby digital surround sound. A dubbed track of Portuguese 2.0 Dolby digital stereo sound is also included. The audio track sounds very good. Dialogue comes off flat and music is rich and vibrant. It is also dynamic and makes good use of the surround sound capability. The release has subtitles in English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, and Thai.

Extras:

• Audio Commentaries: are included for episodes "Identity" with Mairzee Almas, Brian Peterson, and Cassidy Freeman, and "Legion" with Darren Swimmer, Tim Scanlan, and Geoff Johns,
• Deleted Scenes: are included for episodes "Plastique", "Instinct", "Legion", "Power", "Requiem", Turbulence", "Hex", "Eternal", "Beast", and "Injustice".
• In the Director's Chair: Behind the Lens And Calling the Shots with Allison Mack (19:10): The season eight episode "Power" was Allison Mack's first chance to direct an episode. This featurette is about her experiences, how she felt honored to direct, what she did to prepare, behind the scenes footage, and more. It stars Allison Mack, Cassidy Freeman, Todd Slavkin, Darren Swimmer, Rob Maier, Christopher Petry, Mairzee Almas, Glen Winter, and Andi Armaganian.
• Smallville's Doomsday: The Making of a Monster (15:22): is a behind the scenes making of featurette about the season's villain Doomsday. It stars Brian Peterson, Geoff Johns, Kelly Souders, Sam Witwer, Turi Meyer, Al Septien, and Bill Terezakis. First, they discuss the creativity behind Smallville's version of Doomsday. They wanted to make him a more tangible character than from the comic book. Instead of the having Doomsday just arrive in Metropolis as a Clark's biggest challenge, they integrated him into the story as a real person who struggles with turning into a killing machine. Second, they talk about designing his look and the costume/makeup. Third, they focus on the directing/filming aspect of Doomsday in action.

Final Thoughts:
Smallville is a new television series for me. Despite coming into it during its eighth season, I was able to pick up on a lot of past developments (from reading about the show on the Internet) and follow the season eight developments. I found the season had some very strong season story arcs, as well as simply fun and enjoyable plotlines. However, while the show clearly has its merits, it is not without flaws. There were some dry moments and odd developments that felt a little too much. Nevertheless, it is a solid season and comes recommended.