The CW's Smallville is well into its final season, and thus far, it has delivered in a way it hasn't in a few years. Knowing that the end is near has given the writers the freedom to move forward with some long-simmering plots, and Clark (Tom Welling) has finally grown as a person and a hero. He's wearing more red and blue instead of black! Some fantastic guest stars have been brought, or brought back, into the mix, and there are plenty more coming.
This week's entry, "Abandoned", dealt with the abandonment by their biological parents of two main characters: Clark and Tess (Cassidy Freeman). Each have been stunted in their emotional growth, and unable to fully develop into who they're going to be because of these dark moments in their past. Each had to come face to face with what they had buried, and see their parents in a new light in order to move on.
Clark came out of the experience much better for it. He got to see, as more than a disembodied voice this time, his father Jor-El. The body was played by Julian Sands, as he was in a prior episode, even though he is usually voiced by Terrance Stamp. Clark's mother, Lara (Helen Slater) was also there. Clark finally realized that they sent him to earth by himself out of love, not disappointment. They didn't wish to send their son away alone, but felt they had no choice. He also saw that they were proud of him and loved him, which healed Clark enough to consider taking his relationship with Lois (Erica Durance) to the next step.
Clark and Lois's evolving romance has been a focal point of the tenth season so far, and is satisfying in a way it has never been. In a recent episode, Clark traveled to the future and saw himself with Lois, and it seemed to give him a new lease on his feelings for her.
The same episode also showed Superman for the first time, even if it was just a brief glimpse. For fans who worried about the series getting the rights to the famous suit or the name, it appears that those issues have cleared up, and in the best way possible. Hopefully we will get a glimpse of this Clark as Tom Welling before the final credits role at the end of the year.
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