Summary
Smallvillebecome one of the most successful series in theDC Universeafter its long 10-season run, but some details and stories have aged poorly. With 217 installments,Smallvillehas many rewatchable episodes, butit also has a similar number of episodes that do not hold up.Beginning in October 2001 and finishing in May 2011, the series has now aged significantly, but gives a good encapsulation of the 2000s era. Even if components of this do not hold up, the series needs to be recognized as a product of its time for the good and bad that that entails.
Superhero television has changed significantly sinceSmallvilleaired. The series attempted many spinoffs that did not come together, including asnub of Alan Ritchson’s Aquaman, whereasteam-up and spinoff series afterward became a focal fixture during the reign of the Arrowverse. Character and social dynamics have changed in contemporary culture too, and the pop culture products that come out of that have changed as a result. Following this, despite being an excellent and influential series, it makes sense thatSmallvillehas some unsavory episodes and stories that do not hold up well.
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10Amy Adams In “Craving” Has Some Outdated Ideas About Weight
The Depiction Of Eating Disorders In Season 1 Episode 7 Is Uncomfortable
Before she became Lois Lane in the DCEU,Amy Adams appeared in Superman’s lowest pointinSmallvilleas a high school student with an eating disorder. Adams plays Jodi, and this episode attempts to show some of her struggles with her body and consumption.Jodi is shunned at school, and turns to vegetable shakes in an attempt to lose weight.Due to meteor rock inclusion, the shakes lead Jodi to go on a violent eating spree throughout the city.
This depiction of hunger or craving as a monster of the week feels incredibly outdated. Cultural conversations around body positivity have reframed how weight is discussed, andseeing a character reduced to an ugly monster due to their relationship with food is crude and crass. The episode does a poor job with the themes it sets up, and turns a very real, human body experience into something gross and deplorable.
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9"Heat" Shows An Uncomfortable Relationship With A Twisted Power Dynamic
Season 2 Episode 23 Features A Strange Abuse Of Power By A Teacher
In “Heat”, Clark comes under the sexual influence of his teacher, Desirée Atkins.This is not the only time thatSmallvilleexplored a relationship between a teacher and a student, but it might be the most salacious version.Atkins is heavily sexualized in each of her scenes, and uses this as weapon. She seduces Lex, Jonathan, and Clark with her powers before trying to hurt each of them.
While the episode certainly does not encourage student and teacher relationships, this dynamic is still uncomfortable given Clark’s implied age, and"Heat" spends too much time allowing Atkins to flaunt her sexuality in front of Clark.As she tries to seduce him, the camera runs over her body and treats her with a high level of objectification. Clark’s heat vision blossoms out of this sexual experience, using it to play into the metaphor of awakening sexuality, and it’s hard to watch.
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8Zatanna Uses Magic To Get Clark To Kiss Her In “Warrior”
Season 9 Episode 12 Makes Some Disturbing Choices About Consent
Clark visits WonderCon in this season 9 episode, which introduces Zatanna to theSmallvilleuniverse.After some twists and turns involving a charmed comic book, Zatanna ends up throwing herself at Clark. Clark is still committed to Lois, so this does not work. Zatanna then uses magic to put a spell on Clark so that she can kiss him. Clark does not want this, but this infraction is not framed as a violation.
Because Zatanna is a beautiful woman, Clark’s being violated by her is not seen as a serious offensein the show.Instead, it is played off flirtingly, and Clark’s admission to Lois about what happened is the most challenging thing to come out of it. Clark is robbed of his consent and is used by Zatanna, but the framing of the series does not allow this to be shown accurately. Instead, the two part on good terms, and Zatanna was nearly given her own spinoff series.
7An Assistant Football Coach Is In A Relationship With Lana When She Is A Student
Jensen Ackles Played The Season 4 Villain In An Inappropriate Relationship With Lana
Granted,Smallvilleis aware of how inappropriate a relationship between a school employee and a student is.However, just as this did not stop the show from exploring one in “Heat,” it also did not stop the show from exploiting this dynamic throughout season 4.Lana and Jason Teague share a romantic relationship throughout the season, and understanding his position as an assistant coach makes this hard to watch.
The dynamics between school staff and students are delicate, and enormous power is given to the older employees.Resorting to a relationship with a student, even if it preceded his employment there, is an awful misuse of that power.Fortunately for the show, this crumbled when Jason was revealed to be a villain. Their relationship ended with season 4, and Lana was given the chance to move on.
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6The Smallville Justice League Looks Laughable Compared To Later Iterations
Smallville Nearly Launched A Justice League Spinoff Featuring Green Arrow
Superhero storytelling was necessarily smaller in the 2000s, and no series had yet pulled off a bigAvengers-like teamup.Smallvilletried to do so with the introduction of characters like Aquaman and Green Arrow, although the depictions of the heroes felt of a cheap quality. While the Arrowverse would later revolutionize how superhero team-ups on television could work,Smallvillespent many episodes setting up a Justice League and introducing characters like Doctor Fate and Martian Manhunter.
Many of the performers the series got were excellent in their roles. However, due to limited budget and scope,the look and feel of the Justice League throughoutSmallvillewas weak.Perhaps ifAlan Ritchson hadn’t been recast inAquaman’s spinoff series, the franchise could have successfully created a universe. Instead, as it stands, theSmallvilleJustice League feels small and unsatisfying.
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5Lex Groomed Lana From Early In The Series
The Relationship Between The Characters Led To An Odd Marriage In Season 6
The eventual relationship that blossoms between Lex and Lana is hard to watch. While both actors added much to the series throughout its run,Lex’s eventual pursuit of Lana in a romantic relationship feels difficult following his tutelage and support of her in prior seasons.His young friend Clark looks up to him and asks him for relationship advice in early seasons, and much of what Lex tells him ends up shaping Lana’s path throughout youth.
Using their past to lead to a pairing between the two is a poor choice.While they share charisma, this reframes their entire past to locate it within a pattern of grooming and control.This makes their storyline a complicated one to witness, especially when Lex tricks Lana into thinking she is pregnant later in the series. While the relationship would eventually dissolve, pursuing this pairing at all felt unnatural and to the show’s own detriment.
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4"Spell" Provides A Dated And Paranoid View On Witchcraft
Season 4 Episode 8 Does Not Seem To Understand Pagan Religion At All
One unfortunate pattern toSmallvilleis that Lana was poorly used throughout much of the series.Kreuk is an excellent performer was a unique charisma, and it is regrettable that so much of the show’s fumbling was around the use of her character. In this maligned episode, Lana, Chloe, and Lois are possessed by witches who were burned in the 17th century. Out for revenge, the witches take the girls on a rampage throughSmallville.
Much of the stories of witchcraft in the 17th century came out of paranoia rather than reality, and many people were hurt as a result.Capitalizing on this perception rather than exploring what witchcraft is and means is a cheap way to use this kind of story, especially since it’s relatively removed from the majority of Superman lore to begin with.As such, the episode feels goofy and shallow, without any real understanding of what pagan arts and their connections to nature actually mean to people.
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3Chloe’s Nice Girl Pining Over Clark Early In The Series Is Uncomfortable
Season 1 Chloe Is Much Different From The Character In Later Episodes
Phrases about nice guys finishing last have changed in recent years. WhenSmallvillebegan, this kind of idea was often shared in earnest. Following this,Clark’s friend Chloe Sullivan was created to fawn over him.She followed Clark in his life and resented his connection with Lana Lang, even as she made reluctant efforts to help him pursue her. Her love for Clark overshadowed her need to have him to herself, resulting in a strange, strained connection between the two.
It is unclear what the original endgame for Chloe was intended to be, as she was an original character created for the show and was likely never intended to be Clark’s true love.Through a modern lens, the kind of devotion Chloe shows is now recognized not as being “nice” but as objectifying one’s friends and cheapening that friendship for selfish purposes.Fortunately, this wound up not to be the case with Chloe, although the prospect made some early appearances uncomfortable.
2Clark’s Kryptonite-Fuelled Kissing With Lana In “Red” Raises Questions About Consent
Season 2 Episode 25’s Red Kryptonite Possession Leads To Uncomfortable Romance
Regrettably, Clark and Lana’s first kiss inSmallvilleis in the episode “Red”. During this episode, Clark becomes affected by Red Kryptonite, which removes his inhibitions and transforms him into an entirely different person. Hilariously edgier,Clark is outfitted in a leather jacket and sunglasses and rides a motorcycle.He seems little like the person he normally is, and it is clear that he is under the influence of something as he moves on Lana.
After a sweet and slow buildup over the first season, the first sparks of physical connection between Clark and Lana happening while Clark is not himself and unable to consent is deeply unsettling.This scene cheapens their connection and feels unfair to both parties.While more would blossom between the two in the following episodes and seasons, this kiss is a very poor choice that feels uncomfortable to revisit.
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1"Thirst" Objectifies Lana In Uncomfortable Ways
The Season 5 Episode 5 Vampire Episode Oversexualized Lana Lang
Smallville’s “Thirst” episode containsa story that Kristin Kreuk has expressed being angry with, with this frustration coming from how Lana was portrayed in this episode. The Halloween setting of the episode saw Lana joining a sorority. This in itself was out of character for Lana, butthe episode goes off the rails in exploring sexual urges when Lana discovers the sorority to be a front for attractive young vampires.Lana is turned, and spends the episode being objectified as she hunts for blood.
Kreuk recently talked about her experience with this episode onTalk Ville, and it seems to be the consensus that it was not true to the spirit of her character or theSmallvilleseries.Instead, the episode was built around the opportunity to objectify Lana, and to dress her up in a “super tight outfit”.This kind of exploitation has thankfully diminished in modern television, but makes episodes like this onedifficult to watch today.
Smallville
Cast
Smallville chronicles the journey of Clark Kent, portraying his origins from Krypton to his teenage years on Earth. The series explores his challenges and development leading towards his destiny as the iconic hero, Superman, set against the backdrop of Smallville, Kansas.
