Superhero Profiles

Smallville 7.20 "Arctic" season finale - review

by Grace on May 15th, 2008

Smallville episode 7.20: Arctic (season finale)
Airdate: May 15, 2008

This episode really felt like the last day of school before senior year. You know you’ll see your friends again after the summer, but also know that when school opens in the fall - it’s your last year together.

Knowing that “Arctic” is the last episode before the final year begins in the fall, and the fact that two of the main actors are leaving the show… this episode brings a lot of nostalgia and closures with it… but on to the review first.

After his cover was blown at St. Christopher’s church, Edward Teague escapes to South America in a chartered jet. Unfortunately, Kara intercepted his plans and acting as a stewardess, demanded the location of the device that controls Kal El. In threat of his life, Teague reveals the name of Lex Luthor.

At the mansion, Lex learns that two of his advance teams to the arctic simply vanished. Jimmy enters the room and Lex tells him to get Lois off his back by helping her find some false information - an oil drilling expedition. Otherwise, he’ll drop Chloe back into the lap of the Dept. of Domestic Security.

At the farm, Lois tells Clark that an internship position at the Daily planet has just opened, and Clark would be perfect for it. Her spiel of Clark being destined for greater things in life than working on a farm, she hit bulls eye without knowing it. Chloe interrupts the conversation to tell Clark that Teague’s plane went down an hour after take off. Chloe and Clark go to the Isis Foundation and hacking the NTSB, Chloe gets the blackbox recording. Clark zeroes in to hear Kara’s conversation with Teague about Lex.

Kara goes to the mansion and finds the orb, but it turns out that she can’t use it. Clark appears immediately from behind her and Kara tells him that she didn’t want anyone controlling Clark. She will do everything she can to save the planet, even when Clark won’t. She kicks Clark on the head when he tried to stop her.

Lex finds Kara waiting for him at the mansion. She talks about Veritas - the secret society formed to control a powerful alien from another planet. Lex denies any knowledge of it, until Kara tells him that the she and the Traveler are from the same planet. When Kara shows her powers to Lex, he realizes that she’s the angel that saved him from drowning. Kara convinces Lex that it is his destiny to defeat the Traveler, and points that the orb contains directions to his fortress. When Lex asked why she would turned her back a fellow Kryptonian, Kara replies that she was wrong about the Traveler - he will destroy earth.

At the farm, Clark was getting ready to use the green kryptonite to weaken Kara, in hopes that she will not cause anymore harm. But Chloe insists that she can do it, and without Clark. He reluctantly agrees. At the talon, Chloe calls Kara on her cell phone and when she appears, Chloe shoves the green rock towards her but nothing happens. That’s when Kara transformed into Brainiac! He drills a hole into Chloe to drain her energy when a bright light envelopes Chloe and Brainiac got scared! “What the hell are you?!”

Chloe gets admitted to Smallville Medical Center and Clark visits her, sorry that she got into trouble for his sake. When she suddenly opened her eyes, he realized she crossed path with Brainiac and not Kara.

Brainiac has grown weak. Chloe’s powers had drained him of his, and he goes to an electric grid to revive himself. Clark finds Brainiac there and tells him to bring back Lana, Chloe and Kara. Brainiac taunts him that the only way these women are going to heal back is if Clark kills him - and Clark doesn’t have the guts to kill a man. To which Clark’s classic reply is - you’re not man, you’re a machine, and destroys Brainiac right there. Way to go, Kal El!

Meanwhile, Jimmy had given Lois the wrong information from Lex but was feeling so bad about it - the guy can’t lie - so he returns to Lex to tell him he can’t hurt his own friends. Lex admires Jimmy for his integrity and walks away.

With Brainiac dead, Chloe and Lana both recover. Clark visits Lana at the hospital but she had already gone, with only a video left for Clark to watch. Lara said her goodbyes to Clark and admits that as long as she is in his life, she is holding him back from his destiny. As if on cue, Lois Lane enters the room, sees Clark in tears and receives him in her arms in a hug. It was a beautiful farewell from what can never be, to welcome what the future of Clark Kent is going to hold - in the arms of Lois Lane!

Meanwhile, Chloe and Jimmy are now at the Talon and he proposes his love for her, with a ring! Well, a fake one… just then, government agents rush in and takes her away! Chloe’s last words before being dragged away “tell Clark!”, which, must be always weird to hear from a boyfriend’s point of view.

Still, Jimmy did find Clark at the farm. Clark found out three things in that one-sentence-rush-of-words from Jimmy - Chloe gets arrested, he made a deal with Lex, and Lex is at the arctic.

Lex finds himself now at the Fortress of Solitude, mesmerized with what he saw. Clark flies in and the old friends exchange barbs. Lex thought he was being betrayed - that he could have helped Clark become the hero. But he now understood that this is his destiny, his birthright, to destroy the Traveler before he destroys earth. Clark on the other hand, was pleading with Lex that his life is in Lex’s hands and that by using the orb Clark will lose control over his own life. But Lex triumphantly declares that Kal El will never threaten the world again, and plunges the orb into the crystals. Clark weakens more and more, and the Fortress starts crumbling. Lex has the last words - “i loved you like a brother but it has to end this way. I’m sorry.”

The Fortress disappears from sight.

Season finale ends.

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POSTED IN: Recap and Review, Smallville, season 7