Love it? Hated it ? what do you think of ' ZOD'

[shy175223]

What did you think of the Season Premiere say it right, here.

[superhippie2000]

I just traveled back in time 3 days to tell you that the episode was really cool and a lot of cool stuff happened.

[shy175223]

cool, don't spoil it for the rest of us though :)

[Kara15]

Originally posted by superhippie2000
I just traveled back in time 3 days to tell you that the episode was really cool and a lot of cool stuff happened.


:rotfl: :rotfl: I wish I could time travel forward three days. :p

[Clarkified]

Toda is the big day!!! I can't wait I'm so hyped!! :D :D :D

[F-Stop Blues]

I can't believe the wait is over. It always seem like an eternity during the summer but it really comes quick.

[Kal-El-Krypton]

8 more hours before it shows here :(

[superhippie2000]

i really hope its good. it is very exciting but like last year i wonder if people will wonder if the episode was really good or if it was just the long wait that makes it hyped up more then it should. either way i will enjoy it.

[TrevorH]

Hah I have never posted in one of these top forum topics and I have chatted in every episode topic last season. Mainly because once the episode is actualy over the forum blows up and you cant even get on and when you do there are already about 200 replys saying what you were about to indepth :p so I will put my 2cents in now I suppose. Episode looks like it will top season 5 opener as a great set up episode for season 6 I am just guesisng it will top 5 since it is spoiled just a smuch and has alot of great setups and story lines to build on and really get this series moving, no more somewhate semi-boring days on the farm dealing with girl trouble or some petty power meteor freaks, battle for the world round one begin!

[F-Stop Blues]

I have to say that even with all the problems I've had with Smallville and all the bad episodes, I am very proud of our little show about Superman reaching its 6th season. I thought this was a 3 season show tops, but its really made a name for its self and I'm happy about that.

[CptnCardboard]

I'm so excited for tonight... I FINALLY managed to catch up (I got into the show right before season 5 started, and I refused to watch a single episode until I'd seen all of 1-4... And by then, the season was already over....)

[AndyBear1980]

I'm watching it right now...and so far loving it!

[superhippie2000]

ya its going really good and the phantom zone creatures awsome and martha and jor els talk shows jor el as a good guy for once

[Valterra]

I really wanted to watch this but my stupid Direc Tv won't work and I can't. So does anyone know if this will be aired again later in the year so that the foliage from the trees will be gone?

[superhippie2000]

damn raya that evil witch seting clark up errrrrrr

[AndyBear1980]

So far it's excellent (IMO).
The Phantom zone is really great. (And may I say Tom looks really good :) )
Chloe and Lionel's scenes were really good too. Kickass Chloe!
Jimmy's intro to Chloe was pretty good. "This isn't because I didn't call you is it?" haha
Martha and Jor-El's talk was awesome. Although, yet again, all Lois is doing is lay there unconscious.
Wow...Lana and the hand...That was one hell of a scene, even though a bit brutal.

Looking forward to the second halkf now :D

[Aloof]

AMAZING! I absolutely loved it!

[Bobbythe2nd]

WoW!!!! I really thought this was going to be awful, but boy was I wrong....in a big way! Could possibly be the best season premiere so far. If not, its close to it. Kudos to the writers!!! Well done! I loved it!!!!!!!!!!

[EricN68]

My faith in the show is completely restored. sure, I would have liked a 2-hour episode, or a two-parter, but given one part ... they did a great job. Wonderful stuff.

[ShadowSpectre]

I thought it was spectacular. The Zod fight, the Lois and Clark moment, The Phantom Zone and seeing General Zod's soul that looked like Terrance Stamp leave Lex's body was awesome. And of course. "My father sends his regards,beech!"

[Kara15]

WOW! I loved this episode!! Although I have to admit that the ending kind of bummed me out. No more Jor-El or FOS(And right as Clark is about to accept him), The MB is back, and it looks like there is no hope of Chlark either.

[Rosa76]

Loved it !!! :D Want More . :p

[cayayofm]

I dont want to be the first here to bash it, because we all know its coming, I just will say for now that I was a little dissapointed, I expected more and it felt rushed. I felt the exposition was too out there, like we wont get it..... and What exactly does Zod nedded from Lana, besides hooking up?

[asatar]

No one else thought that the resolution of the end of the world was a bit too quick? I really liked the episode, but I think the fight sequence between Zod and Clark could have been longer--just a thought.

Zod needed an heir for his bloodline.

As far as I'm concerned, the worst event that could happen--Zod being freed--has already occured and been resolved. I'm curious as to what way the writers will take the rest of season 6.

[vyperman7]

Originally posted by asatar
No one else thought that the resolution of the end of the world was a bit too quick? I really liked the episode, but I think the fight sequence between Zod and Clark could have been longer--just a thought.

You should come to expect short fight scenes by now. With the amount of stuff they had to fit in, you should have known there would not be enough time to have a good drawn out fight. Smallville has never really given us a good fight with the acception of Chloe/Lana in Delete.

[cayayofm]

I felt the same about the episode, this was supposed to be epic, end of the world big, but oh no, wait, we need Clark to mope about Lana at the end of the episode because this is a Smallville episode.

[vanilla_bandit]

Just amazing. I didn't expect it to be this good. Arrival kind of pales in comparison to the greatness of this episode IMO.

[sassy_reporter]

I wasn't too into it. I agree with cayayofm that it felt rushed b/c they spent an entire season setting Zod up and it's over way too quickly! I wanted more interactions between people. However, I did enjoy seeing the chloe/jimmy/clark scene at the end, the kneel before zod scene and the lois at the hospital scene at the end, but it's my least favorite season opener. :-\

[Son of Kal-El20]

I haven't seen it yet( I live on the westcoast) so I'm not reading anybody's replies. I can't wait to see it though.

[ChaaBreh]

Yeah, I loved the look of the Phantom Zone, it reminded me of the comics. They really should just do 24 episodes per season, have a 2-hour premiere and a 2-hour season finale, and really give it a movie feel.

There was more action in the premier tonite than there was in Superman Returns!

I loved the Lois and Clark moment and the Chlames is sooo cute!

[F-Stop Blues]

Originally posted by cayayofm
I felt the same about the episode, this was supposed to be epic, end of the world big, but oh no, wait, we need Clark to mope about Lana at the end of the episode because this is a Smallville episode.


I didnt find Clark that mopey about Lana. He didnt even eerily watch her at the hospital. He always does that. And I really liked the fight. I didnt think it was too quick. I mean it wasnt Rocky-Creed or anything but it was exciting imo.

[STFanatic]

It seemed too short, this should have been a two hour episode, as soon as it got good it was over. What was there though was AWESOME!!!
OH, was that Zod at the end or another Phantom?

[sassy_reporter]

I didn't think he was mopey about lana. I think he's just mopey about everything in general because basically he has no one. Lois is all like eww don't touch me, lex is evil, lana is with lex, and chloe now has jimmy. I think he's just feeling blue about being alone!

[Poweranimals]

That was the best episode of anything ever.

[Ireallylikethisshow]

LOVE IT! I WANT MORE! *runs around like a crazy fan*

[beatles4]

Fast moving episode, lots of good action and drama, even a bit of humour with Lois and Clark. I loved it! Yeah, too short for sure.

[Ticket2theMoon]

Yeah, I think that was just mourning his solitude, as it were. Even Jor-El has been taken away. Was that because Zod destroyed the dagger? That was my husband's speculation.

[attitudejc]

I LOVED this episode...for once i didn't feel rushed like alll the others...im still taking it all in..:o..so..gimme a few and i can talk about it..:p

[cayayofm]

I was trying to be a little sarcastic about the Lana thing. However he did mentioned her, but that is besides the point. Like sassy repoted mentined the biggest dissapoinment is that we spent a whole year trying to free Zod to get rid of him in 30 minutes. This highlights again the trend of the Smallville writters to build up something big, leave us hanging to comeback to a quickly resolution.

It will had been better if they had builded up and released Zod around episode 18 or 19 last season and have a huge race of 3 or 4 episode to an explosive season finale.

[sassy_reporter]

Yeah, and I'd liked to have seen more of the drama in the phantom zone. It came out a little over the top for me without the proper development, and I think in general, I'm not a huge fan of DeKnight's writing (some exceptions of course)--it's always a little cheesy somehow.The stakes didn't feel high enough with the short resolution of everything nice and neat. My main complaint is that everything just felt too short! I'm going to watch it again though. There were scenes I really liked regardless!

[EricN68]

Originally posted by Ticket2theMoon
Yeah, I think that was just mourning his solitude, as it were. Even Jor-El has been taken away. Was that because Zod destroyed the dagger? That was my husband's speculation.

Another possibility is that it took the last bit of Jor-El's power to send Martha and Lois back to the caves.

I do wish they'd made that a bit more evident, if so.

[Red K 5]

I LOVED IT

[smallvillereporter27]

I actually didn't find it too short. I thought it was good the length it was. But OMG, a lot of good stuff happened and a lot of things were left open for the season. The phantom zone scenes were amazing and the Lex(Zod)/Clark fight was probably one of the best parts of the episode. And of course Chloe and Jimmy were adorable! Next weeks episode looks....eh. I don't know...maybe it was just the way they promoted it. Overall the episode was excellent. A well deserved 9.5/10!

[spideyfan]

Originally posted by Poweranimals
That was the best episode of anything ever.

lol...good way to put it

great episode albeit a little rushed at the end...

9/10

leaves off for a GREAT season though :)
*knocks on wood*

[PaulNeb]

Oh gee. Where do I start? After a long summer of speculation, arguement, gnashing of teeth and other genreal (sic) mayhem, the premier is here and, to quote the great one, "And away we go!"

Zod: What a <expletive deleted>!!! Perfect! He's supposed to be one.

Martha: Her place as Clark's moral compass is firmly cemented. And blessed by Jor-el too. How sweet.

Lois: "Right turn, Clyde." Are we retconning Lois' character back to the start of S4? Call it a gut feeling, but I think it's comming.

Lana: Her and Lex deserve each other. Nuff said about that ship. I do have to wonder just how much Lana is going to piece together. She's not dumb.

Lex: Speak of the devil. He's not a dummy either, and he's holding a good sized chunk of that "hard disk" from the ship. "I want to make up for what I did... by conquering the world."

Lionel: Hmmmmm... Lionel can translate Kryptonian now. Verrrrry interesting.

Jimmy: Nice job, when they throw a monkey wrench into the gears and you like it. I'm going to enjoy watching this.

Chloe: Call me a pessimist, but with the introduction of Jimmy and the general tone of the entire episode, I think that Chloe's star may be setting. I'm going to have to wait and see, but I fear that the most original character on Smallville may be nearing the end of her existance.

Jor-el: Just when you finally get it right, you get killed off. Nice heroic exit though. Or did you download yourself into Lionel???

Clark: Well, the show is all about him, and tonight, it was. I thought that the scene with Lois was a little bit forced after the last two seasons. Maybe a bit too abrupt. The scene with Chloe was done rather well, even if it was one of the "worst case" outcomes for Chlark. He almost seemed to be disappointed when Chloe brushed off their kiss as nothing. And his meeting with Jimmy just made it that much better of a scene.

Overall, I was very happy with the episode. It could have been longer (two parts), but even so, they did manage to tell the story in a single episode. Well, two, if you count Vessel. That beats the four they took for the S2/S3 story.

And my favorite line of the whole episode was "My father sends his regards." That line and the judicious use of Black-K (with the real Superman "S") was absolutely perfect.

The roller coaster ride has begun!
:D :D :D :D :D

[sassy_reporter]

"My father sends his regards." was totally awesome!

When did Lois say "Right turn, Clyde" ?

[warriorrenegade]

I liked the episode. I was scared it would seem rushed, but I believe they did a good job. It felt as if there was more than there actually was< does that make sense?

I loved the PZ it looked way cool and those Phantoms were awesome loved their explaination for them. Also loved the scene where Clark was drawn into the PZ that was cool. The only real problem I had was the lack luster fight.

For once I would love to see the "Superfight" to end all fights, but I've given up. Really the entire episode Clark was getting his ass kicked. Now I know Clark would'nt put up to much of a fight against Zod but come on! He could've at least thrown one punch, hes supposed to be Superman for Godsakes. Maybe instead of Jor-EL leading Clark towards his destiny, he should instead show Clark how to fight.

Oh was it just me or did anyone else feel like Zods intro where he started talking with Lana sound forced? Nah maybe it was just me. After that it seemed MR found his niche and did a good job afterwards.

I'd say over-all I'd give this episode a 7 out of 10. The fight killed it for me.

[PaulNeb]

Originally posted by sassy_reporter
When did Lois say "Right turn, Clyde" ?

She didn't. It's a line from a Clint Eastwood movie. Clyde in an oranatang (sp?) and after Eastwood's character say that line, Clyde punches some guy that was beside the truck the were in. I never saw the movie, only that little clip.

My point iss that it's a very abrupt change in direction for those two characters with a very solid impact (as in a punch to the jaw).

[sassy_reporter]

I loved Lois from season 4. I was disappointed that she seemed to lose the sort of banter/spunk she had with clark in the beginning of season 4. If they bring it back I"ll be super happy but who knows? :-\

[Best Episode - 321]

I thought it was a good episode and the writing and directing was exceptional. For DeKnight to actually be able to fit all that into one episode was a testament to his writing skills. Wish it was more than one episode, but I'll look at it for what it was, a thrilling conclusion to last season's finale.

[LexLuv180]

I really enjoyed it. I wasn't crazy about last seasons finale so was skeptical about this one, but it turned out very good. Lana's acting is improving each season, the Phantom Zone was truly eerie, the two Kryptonians were great, and the ending fight with the assistant was killed was perfect (if not depressing). Everything worked well - I'm all giddy for another season! The only thing I didn't care for was the introduction of Jimmy Olsen at this stage, as I wasn't crazy about the Lois being introduced either.

[Best Episode - 321]

James!?

[Tomsgurl88]

I was LOVING the Chlois hand moment!!!! It's starting!!! LOL Did anyone else cringe when Lana had to pull out that blade from her hand? And call me crazy but who think's Clark was gonna start a relationship with Chloe if she wasnt like oh it was nothing Clark? Overall it was AWESOME!!!

[firefly2000]

I loved every second. I even loved the part where Clark knows that he's lost Chloe to another guy, even though it broke my heart.

I can't wait till next week!!!

[gj430]

I liked the episode but I was a little disappointed that Clark didn't throw one punch. It would have been nice for him to punch him after Zod was punching him on the rock. It went from a fight to Zod beating on Clark and Clark tricking him. Other than that I liked pretty much everthing else. The beginning with Clark falling into the PZ was cool. I liked that Nam-ek was played by the same guy. I think Aethyr may have been recast because you didn't see her face and her voice sounded different. I liked the Raya stuff and the explaination of how Clark could get out. But I still don't understand why they destroyed the criminals bodies and put them in the PZ. I mean why not just either put there bodies in the Zone or just kill them. Plus are there some corporal Criminals and some Phantom Criminals in the Zone and Why. Next, how was Brainac copies destroyed but not the ship. Now after what happened with Zod is the ship and Brainiac gone for good. I thought the Zod and Lana stuff was ok. What happened to the rest of the Black Box when Clark heat visioned it. I thought the flying and fight was cool except I just wish Clark would have fought back a little, at least one punch. I wonder if Lana wonders how Martha got the knife. I thought it was cool that she was willing to kill Lex and admit to Martha she was wrong. It was more than I gave her credit for. Maybe the writers are trying to redeem her a little in our eyes. I liked the Chloe and Jimmy stuff, but I felt bad for Clark. I liked how he looked a little dejected about what happend like he wanted to be with her, but it wasn't to akward. I was alittle suprised how she passed it off so quickly and didn't seem to think that Clark would be a little hurt she passed him off for Jimmy so fast. But it was big of CLark to let it happed without making a big deal. I bet he just wants her to be happy. I thought she was going to atleast explain that she had dated Jummy before or something she just kinda left it up to him to figue out. I liked jimmy though I though AA did a good job. I liked when they first saw each other again and the Grow 'em big commment with Clark. I thought the Scene with Lois and CLark was pretty funny. The were a little freaked that there might be a little something there. I thought it was funny that she thought the Fortress might be heaven too. Aside from the lack of Clark punch it was good. and even though it may have been cool to have a 2 parter I liked it mostly I would give it a 8 out 10. Also the Phantom Zod was badass so maybe I'll bump it up to a 8.5

"Kneel Before Zod."

[smallvillecrazygurl04]

I loved tonights episode, it was so mindblowing. I loved how Zod/Lex kicked alot of ass in this episode. Also, I thought that the PZ was great as well. Overal I was quite pleased with this premire episode. I hope all of the season 6 episodes are this awesome as well.

[gbrewer83]

In my humble opinion, tonights Smallville was the worst episode ever. Lexod was very disappointing, and was Clark even in this show. I mean does anybody else feel like Clark is being completly taking out of the show. It was like watching the Lex and Lana Show: With Other Superman Characters. Oh, and when Lana tells Lex she almost killed him, I was like no I think he broke the dagger and almost killed you, idiot. Worst use of Smallville talent. Best part when Clark and Lois held hands. Clois all the way. Now, I know I may be in the minority, but who's with me on this.

[xrayvision]

I'm somewhat disappointed for the following reasons:

1. An episode with so much going on should have taken place instead over 2 episodes (like I posted after Vessel aired). They should have made it a 2-parter like Exile & Phoenix.

2. The Phantom Zone. I liked it, but not the characters. The ghosts of the Phantom Zone were way too fake. It is also against the entire purpose of the Phantom Zone, which is to hold someone's body forever without killing/destroying them. This makes no sense to me. I couldn't understand too much of what that girl was telling Clark. It seems like all those PZ characters are now on Earth as it appeared to me that they were all sucked out and dispersed all over Earth. If that ghost in Argentina was that of Zod, then he should be able to possess anyone he wants (according to the retcon of the events in Solitude). Something tells me this won't happen (because he can't just possess someone just like that) & if it doesn't then the retcon itself is a lie (since if Fine opened the portal, it had to be his body since his soul can't possess a body without the FOS dagger). If that ghost in Argentina wasn't Zod but someone else, then this show is turning into Supernatural with Kryptonians replacing the demons that are running around, and that is just stupid for Smallville.

3. They completely wasted a great character (Milton Fine) for having a crappy Zod who couldn't even last for episode 6-2. I was hoping to see Fine again. The great threat to end the world, Zod, was beaten so damn quickly. I was right again when I said forget about Zod and have Fine be Clark's main enemy. They could have saved Zod for later.

4. What happened to the ship? Is it in Argentina?

5. Chloe, last we saw her was on the ground, but in this episode she was in a different position. Not that I wish her ill-will, but this to me was a cop-out.

6. Chloe. After a season of liking her, I really didn't like the way she blew off Clark. It seems to me that she forgot everything that just happened and everything she endured with Clark. This is the 1st time I liked Lois more than her.

7. Lex as Zod. I still don't like it. I don't buy how Zod in a human's body (no matter what was done to it) can kick Clark's butt that bad when he has never been exposed to a yellow sun. I still say give Zod his own body.

8. Clark. If he was going to fight Zod, why didn't he take 5 seconds to grab the lead box w/ green-k to weaken him. Very very stupid. This was my main problem with him. He was also very mopey (I don't blame him as he now has nothing other than Martha). Having nobody & nothing to do outside of college is why I wanted to see him train w/ Jor-El this season and battle his alter personality Kal-El. This would let the other characters fend for themselves and be more appreciative of him. Major ass kickings from Kal-El with him learning more after each battle and getting more offense in following battles would also show progress on his part. Combine this with fallout of Lexana and blackmail w/ Lex using Genevieve's murder against Lana (with Chloe, a returned Pete, and sporadically Clark helping out by digging skeletons out of Lex's closet--like Dr. Crosby) would to me make for a much more interesting season.

9. Jimmy Olsen. He was a jerk, nothing like Superman's (and Clark Kent's) pal should be. It annoyed me how nobody said "Hey don't I know you from somewhere?".

Here is what I liked:

1. Clark-Zod fight (could have been longer, but it was somewhat like I described the Clark vs. Kal-El fights I would have all season long if I were TPTB)

2. Jor-El/Martha scene in the FOS. This was maybe my favorite part of the episode.

3. Lionel. I wish instead that he with Jor-El inside broke Clark free early in the episode from the PZ and that Clark would have had more interaction with Zod. But I'm interested in the symbols and POWER he wrote. It looks like evil Lionel is back, but that may have been something to mislead us. I would rather have him be a good guy and for the events involving him from last season to have meant something. At this point, there is room for only 1 evil Luthor and it must be Lex.

4. Lana. My problem this time is that she had a very different mindset than she did in Vessel. It was too night/day. But this was a nice change from last season. I think this is how they should have made her after the breakup. I did really feel bad for her after her hand was stabbed. They better make her sport that bandage for several episodes to come. After all, Lana can't heal faster than the Son of God.

5. Lois, but this again was so far different than we have seen before. i guess one can take it as a reciprocation of Lois hugging Clark in Arrival. I just hope she is nothing like she was in season 4. That was just too annoying.

Overall, this episode doesn't thrill me as it should have after the magic of seeing it the 1st time has passed. I still like Exile and Arrival (maybe even Crusade) so much more than this episode. I am looking forward to next week's episode and it looks better than this one.

By the way, was the girl Kryptonian from Arrival in this episode? I saw another Kryptonian (besides the girl who Clark spoke to and the dude from Arrival) in a black robe. Was that her? Or someone else?

One final note to TPTB: Please, please bring back Pete. Clark needs a friend badly, and it doesn't seem like Chloe will be filling that role as well anymore.

[AlphaSigmaOne]

I concur wholeheartedly.

[clarksmuse]

I definitely agree with you that Lana telling Lex she almost killed him was.... completely insanely wrong, because that wasn't what happened... but I was satisfied with the rest of the epi, for the most part.

[Zod in my pocket]

naysayers naysayers, there's always some of em

[Ticket2theMoon]

She DID almost kill him, the dagger was inches away from killing him. He stopped it and then beat the crap out of her, yeah, but she did come really close to succeeding, all things considered.

[gj430]

I thought it was pretty good but I wish Clark had punched once. I know I've said it on other threads but I was just kinda looking forward to Clark getting at least one punch in. I do wish Clark would have been in the episode a little more but it was understandable with him being in the Zone and so many other things going on. Plus I think Sneeze will have him alot so that will be good.

[smallvillecrazygurl04]

That's true, it was like Clark got kicked out of Smallville. And he wasn't in control anymore, There was nothing but Lex & Lana scenes throughout the whole episode. They should of showed more of Clark, Chloe, and Lois. but I did liked the episode, but it could of turned out alot better

[gbrewer83]

Just to let everybody know I'm not putting down this season of Smallville, because I love this show, and honestly I try not to complain about Smallville in general. This episode just really made me mad, it had so much potential and didn't deliver any of it. I mean I did like the phantom zone, Clois hand holding, and the talk Clark had with Martha, but other than that, the show stunk, fight stunk, and yes Lana still stunk.

[sstray72]

I actually believe that this episode had Clark at his most Supermanliest. :D I loved it.

[RamonaE]

Originally posted by sstray72
I actually believe that this episode had Clark at his most Supermanliest. :D I loved it.

I agree. There was one moment, after he beat Zod where I actually thought Clark was going to start flying.

[sstray72]

I loved the shot of Clark lifting the beam away from Martha and Lionel.

[coasterprincess]

overall I was really pleased. Some good points... (yes some were already mentioned...but are worth mentioning again)

~Clark coming to terms with Jor-El...better late than never. It was nice to see Jor-El in a more positive light and Clark being more accepting of his Kryptonian side.
~Jor-El/Martha interaction. It's one of those things I never thought about...and wondered why I didn't think of it sooner once I saw it.
~"My father sends his regards."....not going to lie here...I did a total fangirl scream when I saw the S.

Stuff I'm on the fence about...(only time will tell)
~Jimmy Olson. He's a cutie, but I'm not sure I'm a fan of him starting a relationship with Chloe (though I did like Clark's disappointment/recovery regarding the kiss...well done Tom)
~Lois...the scene with her and Clark was very cute foreshadowing, but I"m not sure I want them messing around with her character...maybe it's just a near-death experience thing that we won't have to deal with later.

Not a fan of...

~Lana and Lex..."I would have done the same thing." Gee nothing says "I love you" quite like being willing to sacrifice you after being taken over by an alien. I still don't get the two of them together.

Overall...I can't wait till next week.

[artteach]

For being a big farm raised Kansas boy with a tough guy for a dad, Clark is quite the wimp. Let him at least get a shot or two in on Lex, the hounds of Zod, Raya, the phantoms, anyone. Reminded me of Superman Returns when Clark loses his powers and is kicked all over. Is Kal really this much of a wuss. Johnathan must be rolling over in his grave.

[chole_fan]

I really enjoyed the episode and Clark's role in it. Sure, the fight with Zod was a little one sided and too short, but this is a TV show and not a multi-million dollar hollywood movie. They can only do so much with what they have. I personally thought they resolved the fight well, with Clark tricking Zod and using the /s\ to destroy him. His line was great too "My father sends his regards"! Perfect, IMO.

Anyway, for all its faults, it was still a great episode!:D

[clarksmuse]

Originally posted by RamonaE
I agree. There was one moment, after he beat Zod where I actually thought Clark was going to start flying.

I actually said that when they cut to the commercial: Clark, you're not gonna fly?? :lol:

[RamonaE]

Originally posted by clarksmuse
I actually said that when they cut to the commercial: Clark, you're not gonna fly?? :lol:

Yeah? Didn't it look like he was going to fly? They even started playing that, "he's going to fly" music.

[myankskent]

I just didn't like the fact that Lexod flew. Only Clark should fly on this show since we rarely get to see it. But I have to admit, I really liked this episode and I never thought that I'd say that going into it. However, this is a premier which are all usually good. They could just as easily go back into the same old nonsense next week. But for now, very good show.

[alaina106]

Zod was awesome! I was so exicted for the episode for the entire summer. At the end when I saw one of the phantoms on earth it was uh-oh now whats going to happen considering the Fortress is dead. I so can't wait until next weeks episode!

[sstray72]

DeKnight did a hell of a job with this one. I had low expectations and it blew me away. I gave him props on his myspace page... even though I flamed him a bit for that whole no Chlark thing... :lol: Less bitter now though. :p

[BadToad]

Mostly loved it. A few nitpicks here and there, but it hit more then it missed.

And I LOVED Clark in it, and thats always my main focus. He was awesome. :D

[Laniidae]

Waves Hi To EVERYONE !!!

Still watching the episode, It's LA Time
The phantoms in the phantom zone.....desert landscape
took me by surprise. I thought they were Dementors and the
Raya chick some Fremen-planet Dune escapee with Expecto-petroum powers.

Sorry, sleepy......need coffee to make it through this episode.

Waves Hi !!! *yawn*

Oh, and Zod seems to have the Power of PC

The phantom zone looks more like a Stargate episode

and can some nice person please tell me what the CW network means?????

[Leviathan]

Great episode! Starts the season off nice and action packed, and we've got a few plot lines opening already. Think we are going to have a hit season on our hands.

[KryptoKnight]

THE best season opener hands down!
Shoulda been 2 hours minimum but STILL THE BEST!

[MBCorp]

I enjoyed it quite a bit...it made me feel a bit more optimistic about the upcoming season. I thought it was going to be rushed, but it was actually pretty well paced. Much better than what I was expecting.

~Lana and Lex..."I would have done the same thing." Gee nothing says "I love you" quite like being willing to sacrifice you after being taken over by an alien. I still don't get the two of them together.

They are the most twisted couple ever. I mean, seriously.

[seraphim]

Very good episode!!

[gbrewer83]

Originally posted by Laniidae
can some nice person please tell me what the CW network means?????

Basically the C stand for CBS who owned UPN and the W stand for WB, and the CW is a merger of UPN and the WB. Hope that helps you.


Premiere still stunk.

[katieishere]

Hands down this was a premier to remember. The action was great, the growth they've set up for Clark, and the great use of characters al worked together to give us an impressive opener.

I'll admit, I was not an inital fan of Lexod's and Lana's acting in the initial scene. It was stilted and calm in a situation that should have had a feeling of urgency and panic from her and smug satisfaction from him. But that quickly morphed into awesomess from the rest of the characters. Chloe and Lionel interacted very well in their opener. They projected a sense of determination and sadness, both knowing what they had to do and not knowing if either would make it. I don't really have much to say about Martha's opener mainly because the setting was so unbelievable. She and Lois were just a little chilly after having crashed in the Arctic tundra? Not so much.

But moving on from individual scenes, I really want to comment on the amazing storyline they mapped out for the rest of the season. Jor-El's words to Martha about her being the best guide he could have picked fof his son was absolutely touching, and her role was pretty much defined then and there. That role was further reinforced in the final scene with her and Clark as she states that it's the hardships that give us heroes, and that heroes are needed to inspire us all.

I know all the romantic Chlarkers out there are dying over Chloe's casual disregard of Clark when it was clear that he was FINALLY interested in her, but I just loved it. She has been an excellent friend to him this past year, and that friendship would only be ruined by any romantic interactions right now. I adore her additional incorporation into comic canon by writing Jimmy Olsen in as her love interest. That just completes the circle for me, and really takes a great step into moving closer to SmallivilleClark becoming the SupermanClark I know and love. Also, the removal of Chloe as a lovelorn friend, paired with Clark's disstance from Lana, is crucial for his personal growth. All along the complaint out of many fans is that Clark is too self-centered/lovefocused/dense. I attributed alot of that to the writers need to keep the love triange going, as well as to the restraints put on the character to not be Superman yet. A lot of that has been freed, and Clark's isolation I believe will lend itself to more episodes where he has to rely on himself, and he will be opened to more experiences due to the lack of time the writers have to spend on the Clana/Chlark drama.

Moving on... I was never really a Lana fan. At first she was just a pretty face who had a lot of screen time. Then the writers created ridiculous plotlines - aka witches - to give her character relevance, which again took up way too much screen time. Finaly, in the fifth season, her character was given a little bit more credibility with her actual relationship with Clark, her drive to find out about the spaceship, and then her subsequent relationship with Lex. But never have I seen Lana be as strong a character as she was tonight. Good Lord, give that girl a pat on the back, she finally earned her slice of pie. From challenging Zod and asking the question we were all wondering, why he hadn't killed her already, to taking a spike through the hand then going back and selling her body to kill the body of the man she loved, Lana took it harder than she ever had before and she really came through. Hears to you, little lady, let's hope this wonderful trend of relevance continues!

And of course the awesomeness of the fight that was 5 years in the making. Lex and Clark battling. This is where I personally believe MR earned his stripes as Zod. He was brutal, smug, haughty, rigid and hateful. I felt Zod was completely different from Lex b/c Lex is typically a bit sympathetic, not as emotionally controlled, and jovially smug as opposed to disdainfully smug. Clark also stepped up to the plate as well. At first I thought he was doing what he was always doing... running head first into the situation then needing someone else to bail him out. but by the end I realized he actually had a plan. He came in and destroyed what was needed to save the world, began the battle with Zod. During the scene I was impressed with the whole boulder situation b/c it was so incongruous, but I was also wondering why Clark wasn't fighting back at all. Then, after he gave in without any token resistance at all I realized he was just playing into Zod's heightened sense of superiority. That trick with the shield was just awesome, and a great foreshadow of the type of style Superman becomes known for. I love love loved it.

In summation I just want to say three things. This premiere was definitely one of the best thanks to the season arc it created and the exceptional acting done by it's cast. Lana's character was raised to new heights of relevance and I certainly hope they keep it. And finally, the absence of a angst-ridden Clark had better lend itself to a more reflective and openminded Clark who uses this time alone to do some long overdue mental growth.

[Teller]

It stunk.

It stunk so bad I feel asleep.

[loistickyfingerz]

I thought it was a decent episode. I enjoyed Clark's character development, and I loved the intro of Jimmy, but I think that's just the fangirl in me.

I was dissapointed, noticably for the first time ever, in the graphics and backgrounds. It looked really bad, like they were on a soap opera set or something. I think this new CW budget might be a bad thing for the overall quality of the show. They seemed to spend all their extra cash on the flying and phantom F/xs, and the sets, lighting, background and background CGI suffered big time.

The shot of the DP in Metropolis looked like something out of a 1999 video game. Nothing like the vivid and realistic shots I am used to on SV. I hope this is not a new trend of the new network: Cut budget on cinimatography to add in flashy guest stars.

[superpyscho]

WHAT AN AMAZING EPISODE AND SEASON OPENER. It was better than superman returns!

Good:
Awesome opening scene in the PZ
Cute bad ass chick in the PZ
awesome monster SPFX in the PZ
Clark was good in the PZ
LL kicking mob ass
MK meeting Jor-el
Fast-paced movie like scenes
Lana getting stabbed, lol
semi intimate moment with lois and clark
powerful fight scene
Rosenbaum playing zod

Bad:
No return of Alana De La Garza
Jimmy Olsen is an annoying character
I wish the FOS and Jor-el weren't totally gone though

[SVsleuth]

I had low expectations going into this season, but I really enjoyed this episode. I loved the fact that Clark beat Zod by having a plan, rather than with brute force - I think it moves him closer to being Superman. I have to say that I had been very disillusioned in Season 5, and found very few episodes thst I would watch over again. But THIS one I'm certain I will watch many times. DeKnight did a great job. Favorite line: "My father sends his regards." Clark is become comfortable with his Kryptonian heritage, embracing it, embracing Jor-El as his father, and actualy following closely in his footsteps. He truly is his father's son, and is much more comfortable being Kal-El as well as Clark - almost as if he will become more comfortable being Kal-El than being Clark - which will lead him to become Superman, with Clark Kent as his disguise.

[kavalier]

That season premiere was absolutely, unqualifiedly awesome! It was the best season premiere that Smallville has ever had, hands down, and I know that is saying a lot. I still cant figure out how the makers of this show managed to fit so many fantastic moments into one single episode, even with all the commercials.

There were many great feats to this episode. A mindblowing Phantom Zone, Martha in the Fortress, great chemistry between Chloe and Jimmy, Lionel and Chloe doing some Double Dragon in the streets, the phenomenal fight scene between Clark and Zod, the hotness of Raya. But I must say that the greatest feat of this episode (and I cant believe I am actually saying this) was the fact that Steven DeKnight finally wrote an episode that made Lana a cool character. Despite being impaled and beaten, this girl came out fighting! Whats not to like about that? No Lana rocked in this episode which to me seems like a defiance of the laws of nature. But its true.

And then there's Michael Rosenbaum. Dont get me started on this guy. Can somebody please give him an Emmy for being the best Lex Luthor ever! The guy just rocks. Hes probably my favorite actor on TV right now. Yeah, Id pretty much stand by that statement.

Well, this episode blew me away. It wrapped everything up from Season Five really, really well. Now I am truly primed for Season Six, and based on the fact that this show has done nothing but improve by leaps and bounds over the past year, I think we can pretty much expect another fantastic 22 episodes. This is one of the only shows I know of that has, with the exception of a dip in Season 4, gotten better each season and there is no sign of it stopping now.

[Kii]

I felt that the episode was a tad bit rushed, seemed like certain scenes were cut out. In an ideal world, the premiere should of been made into a two-parter. But overall, much better than I had expected.

Here's my character breakdown:

Clark: He was great in this episode. The scenes in the PZ were great, loved how he was like, "WTF?" When he saw he was bleeding. I kind of wanted him to at least stagger as he got out of the PZ, not just superspeed right away.

Lana: I actually liked her in this episode, first time in awhile. The fireplace rod through the hand was pretty damn cool. One thing that irked me, was why did she go back to the Kent farm, and why wasn't she the least bit curious that Martha Kent has a dagger that she claims to be able to kill Zod? They didn't have to play it out, but she could have at least said, "Where did you get this?" But then again, I guess it would cause far too many problems so I guess it was okay. :\

Martha: The scene with her and Jor-El was awesome. I still don't like the fact that she woke up after the crash and Lois didn't.

Lionel: Not a very huge role, but still cool. The ending with him seemingly translating Kyrptonian was very interesting.

Lex/Zod: MR was great as Zod, captured the character perfectly. I really wish we could have seen Zod wreak more havoc, but oh well. Lex's hand healing up after the burned in "House of El" symbol was interesting.

Chloe: I honestly did not like Chloe in this episode, at least not when she was interacting with Clark. When she was with Jimmy I thought it was cute as hell, but with Clark. MEH She should of practically LEPT onto Clark, not just, "Hey, here's a hug."

Lois: Ehh, the awkward hand part in the hospital gave me a chuckle.

Jor-El: The writers finally show that Jor-El truly is a good guy and he "dies." Him saying that he was proud of the Kents for raising Kal-El was touching.

Jimmy: I had my apprehensions about the character, but he seemed to grow on me. "Is this because I didn't call?" :lol:

The Fight: Although it was short, I felt it was one of the coolest fights this show has had. Zod punching the crap out of Clark was very cool. Clark could of at least gotten in ONE damn punch in, but meh. Zod's flight was interesting, looked a little odd how he swooped down and back up. "My father gives his regards" was a great line. +1

Overall: I give the episode about a 9/10. Some of the special effects were a bit cheeseball, but some were good, gotta love Terrance Stamp's Zod coming out of Lex. The ending bothered me a bit. Are all the inmates that were released "ghosts" or are only some of them? At first, I thought it was ridiculous that TPTB could release five or six Kryptonians, but then I remembered that not ALL of the inmates were Kryptonian.

Edit:

Originally posted by loistickyfingerz

I was dissapointed, noticably for the first time ever, in the graphics and backgrounds. It looked really bad, like they were on a soap opera set or something. I think this new CW budget might be a bad thing for the overall quality of the show. They seemed to spend all their extra cash on the flying and phantom F/xs, and the sets, lighting, background and background CGI suffered big time.



I forgot to point that out in my original post, but yeah the look of the episode was very different from past seasons.

[Spirit Detective]

I loved "Zod". It was everything that "Vessel" was not! I loved how Zod tortured Lana in this episode. It really made up for the whole Zodana kiss in Vessel.
Great Episode!

[Fantasmic17]

I think that "Zod" was an OUTSTANDING start to this season! I think that the switch of componies from WB to CW was a very posotive thing to do, and it will ultimately make the show more enjoyable.

[vyperman7]

Originally posted by Spirit Detective
I loved "Zod". It was everything that "Vessel" was not! I loved how Zod tortured Lana in this episode. It really made up for the whole Zodana kiss in Vessel.
Great Episode!

I find it hilarious that a selling point for so many people is Lana being tortured. If you go over to SDK's blog on MySpace, so many people are saying one of the reasons they loved the episode was because of what happened to Lana.

They have done such a terrible job with the character over the years that the audience actually takes pleasure in her getting tortured. That says something :D

[teddybairs]

Probably the best Smallville episode I've seen in a long time. I've been waiting for someone to set Clark straight on Jor-El since oh about season 2 or 3. "My father sends his regards", given the history, was probably one of the most loaded and powerful lines I have ever heard delivered because of everything it represents in the changes in Clark.

Also thought the release of the other, oh about six, kryptonians (Raya, Nam-Ek, Aethyr, and the other two or three which went through the gate) would make for some interesting future episodes. Hopefully Raya will be able to get the Fortress running again. She's probably the only one who can, being Jor-El's assistant she would be able to repair the technology he designed. And we all know the FOS works perfectly in Clark's future.

Also, whether or not they were mortally injured in the phantom Zone makes little difference, once they get under the Yellow Sun all of their injuries will heal just like Clark's.

The only thing that would make this season perfect now is the blue "flaming crow" suit, and then Clark will be complete.

[jack1487]

All I can say is that it was awesome, great job by everyone....

Jack

[Autumn]

First of all, I’d like to say that I really enjoyed the episode, but there were some things I didn’t like about it as well.

Here’s my take on the episode. I also thought I’d do a character breakdown:

Clark: I loved the PZ scenes. They were very Star Wars/Harry Potterish (that’s not really a word, but oh well). I really liked the look of the Phantoms. But anyway, I liked most of things about Clark in this episode. He seemed to step out of the whiny Clark a little bit. There was a touch of it in the end, but that was nothing compared to other seasons. I loved the scene between Chloe and Clark. He finally seemed to reveal that he had some feelings for her. But I didn’t get the whole Lois and Clark hand holding thing. Way too cheesy and a bit of a lightswitch. I loved the whole crystal with the S on it!

Chloe: I always love Chloe, but thought they could have given her more to do. I don’t really like the whole Chloe and Jimmy thing. I thought they should have been more awkward, instead of just being all excited to see each other. It seemed too quick, and way too contrived. Poor Chloe. Both of her cousins get the guys she seems to care about. Lois gets Clark, and Lucy gets Jimmy. I still think they should have Chlark and then ultimately Chluce (Chloe and Bruce Wayne)

Lois: She didn’t have much to do in this episode. But that whole “heaven” scene was gag worthy in my opinion. The dialogue was painful, and Clark holding her hand came across as a little strange to me. I know it was hinting toward their future, and that they end up together. But it seriously bothers me sometimes. I don’t feel their chemistry. I think the writers need to find a better way of moving forward Lois and Clark without having cheesy dialogue in a lightswitch scene.

Martha: I loved all of her scenes. The Martha and Jor-El talk was great!

Lionel: I almost jumped out of my chair, I was so excited when Lionel saved Chloe. Totally loved John Glover’s interpretation. I think Lionel definitely sees Chloe as more than just your average reporter. (John Glover said so in the commentary. Says Lionel is kind of attracted to her and is intrigued by her brain; so now every scene I watch with Chloe and Lionel I laugh a little, but in a good way) And the end scene, interpreting the Kryptonian symbols was awesome!

Lex: I loved him as Zod. He played it really cool, and almost expressionless. Good performance. Does anyone else get the vibe that perhaps Zod and Jor-El used to be friends like Clark and Lex? I think there might be a bit of a parallel. Well I think it would be a cool storyline. I thought it was a little bit of a cop out though to pull out the amnesia trick again. A little overplayed. I loved the Zod/Clark fight though.

Lana: More interesting than usual. I think she could have been a little darker. But for the most part, I liked her in this episode. I hope her and Lex don’t end any time soon. I didn’t get the whole Lana in the Kent barn scene. It was kind of strange. She seemed to get away pretty easy.

Jimmy: I liked his interpretation of the character. But, I think he said C.K. too quickly. So basically I liked him, as long as he’s not with Chloe. Just my opinion.

So overall, I really liked it; although I was kind of sad to not see John Schneider on the cast anymore. He’ll be missed! I’m just not feeling the whole Lois and Clark thing, and the whole Chloe and Jimmy thing. I really hope they don’t move Lois up into being the new Lana. No thank you! By the end of season 6 I hope to see Chloe and Clark together.

[teddybairs]

One more thought, Martha seems to be liked by pretty much everyone she meets. Lex sees her as a mother figure, Lionel sees some sort of replacement for his wife, and now even Jor-El! He gives Jonathan a rash of it, but then turns around and gushes with appreciation and gratitude to Martha! It was almost like "Everyone loves Martha, bad guy and good guy alike!" Don't get me wrong, I thought the scene in the FOS with Jor-El and Martha was great and definitely refreshing, but so far, we haven't met too many characters that didn't like Martha Kent.

Also, I know a lot of fans of Smallville really want to see Clark end up with Chloe, I wouldn't mind it myself, but we all know that he's got to end up with Lois! There's no real way around this! They had to do something to push them in that direction of something more than Brother/Sister annoying each other. She had his kid in Superman Returns for crying out loud! Quit pining over Chlark or Clana or any other hook-up because he HAS to end up with Lois. There's no way around this, whether we want him to or not.

[vikingjedi]

Good episode. I didn't think it was great but definitely worth watching. So many questions left to be answered. What will happen to the FOS? Is Jor-El really gone? Does Lex remember anything when he was Zod, could he have been lying to Lana? Where is Brainiac? Why was Lionel writing down Krypt. symbols, was he lying about his connection with Jor-El?

My favorite part was the end where Clark met Chloe and Jimmy Olsen. It was like the roles were being reversed and it was obvious Clark was jealous. I think it adds another dimension to their relationship. Instead of Clark being led around all the time by Chloe like last season it looks like he'll have to make his own decisions and thats a great move by the writers IMO.

[Lara-el]

I loved the season premiere! Finally Clark is getting out of whining mode and into more mature. The phantom zone was great and as a huge Clois fan loved the scene of Clark and Lois holding hands. Huge hint of the future. Also I liked Jimmy. The hint that Chloe and him getting together is great. She needs to find someone and stop pining for Clark. I like their friendship and think if they did pursue more it would ruin their relationship forever. You all know that Clark and Lois is legendary! The Lana and Zod scenes were brutal, but I loved it!

[ginnyfan]

THIS IS MY 1000TH POST!!! Yay! :D

"Every world needs it's heroes, Clark. They inspire us to be better than we are and they protect us from the darkness that's just around the corner." Martha Kent to Clark Kent.

Who woulda thunk it! I'm watchin' a Superman show!!!

This is the first time that I've really felt that I was watching a Superman, rather than a Super-teen, show. This show was explosive. Not just action/special effects wise but also emotionally.

Seeing the Phantom Zone was very cool. As Clark was falling down what seemed like a long Crystalline tunnel... the transition from Clark being pressed up against the glass to the tunnel to the sand was really fun. It seemed to suggest that the sand was made up of tiny Crystals.

I enjoyed Raya. It was a really heartfelt performance. I'm kind of sorry she's being replaced. I enjoyed seeing Clark among aliens and hearing some of the back-story of why the phantom zone was formed... etc. etc. Those freaky things that attacked Clark... Weird. Cool. Unexpected. Well anyway I really enjoyed Clark and Raya's scenes especially when she tells Clark about Jor-el and Lara's sacrifice. Wonderful.

The opening credits are still very cool... The Zod flight ooohhh!


Zod and Lana. I like that Lana suggested that Lex save people with his powers. Zod flight w/Lana in tow as Chloe and Lionel look on.

Oh back up... I absolutely loved Lionel saving Chloe. Wonderful!!! Was Lionel lying to everyone about the connection being gone? Does he still know Kryptonian? Is Clark right in his suggestion that now that Jor-el's influence is gone Lionel may use what he knows for evil?

Zod takes something out of the black ship. The hard drive? What is that disk. He plans to remake earth into a planet like Krypton.

I have never loved Lana more than I did when she tore that sword/piece of wood/poker... whatever it was out of her hand. The look on her face... The growl... I love Lana. :) She really was fighting hard to save Lex. I love the moment where Martha and Lionel give Lana the knife. It just felt like they were handing her the world.

Martha also had a wonderful amazon woman moment too. Martha saves Lois. Dragging Lois all the way into the fortress. I loved her conversation with Jor-el. I got teary when Jor-el said goodbye and the lights went dim. Later Clark says he doesn't answer when Clark tries to talk to him. I hope he comes back :( I love that he says Clark's "destiny is now his own." I also love the thank you he gave to Martha. Jor-el trusts Martha with the fate of the world. Martha looked really beautiful in this scene... dishevelled but beautiful. :)

So Braniac was a part of the fortress. Putting the knife into brainic not only destroyed the Milton Fines that were running around and deactivated the black ship, it made a hole in the fortress that released Zod. Hmm...

Raya nurses Clark. Love these scenes. The Phantoms... Criminals so bad that they are sentenced to eternity in the phantom zone. Their bodies are destroyed and their essences roam the "zone" forever. These are the things that escaped. Which also makes me wonder... will Zod's essence... the thing that was forced out of Lex... will that roam the earth now too? Can it come into physical contact with anyone? "You truly are your father's son." Clark is starting to see that Jor-el was a hero.

Chloe and Jimmy reunite! I love the goofy looks on their faces. Reminds me of Season 1 Chloe. Jimmy really brings that fun, quirky, silly side of Chloe out. I love it!

Yay they got the original Nam-ek... I don't know about the other one Aether? Nice cover for not having her though... She kept her face covered so you could only see her eyes. I loved the opening of the portal to get out of the Phantom Zone... And that his blood opened it... Those freaky creatures got out too... And there is the issue of the bloody knife that Raya had.

So six freaky monsters and Clark land... Wonderful! "Where is he?" Wonderful.

The. Fight. Was. Awesome.

Clark destroys the peice of Brainiac Zod needed to complete his mission. Zod beats Clark down. And here's my favorite part: Clark figures out a way, on his own, to stop Zod without killing Lex. Very, very cool. OK he had some help from Raya... :)

The Clois. The yummy, yummy clois. Yes. I love that the fortress, something Clark has tried to avoid for a year in his quest to hold onto the hope that one day he can just fit in and be normal... is described by Lois as heaven. That's just perfect. I love that he tries to hedge and form a logical explanation for her "vision" but she doesn't need his explanation... she's already come up with her own. The hand holding. The awkwardness. They just belong together pure and simple. :D Lois is so cute! OK.. I'm done!

Lex and Lana reunion. Lex remembers nothing... Or so he says... "Look, I can never make up for what happened. All I can do is try to move forward and try to rebuild everything I've damaged." "That might not be easy." "Nothing worth it ever is." Talking about Smallville, Metropolis and Lexana. (giggle)

Clark/Chloe/Jimmy - Chloe's love for Clark has really deepened. I think it happened in season 5 and I think Allison Mack talked about it a little to TV Guide but I don't remember what she said. But her love for him is so beyond crushes and shipping. Anyway that's what I saw in the hug. Not a romantic love or a sexual love but a love that's deeper than both. Ok, ok I'm done. So I love that Clark is... open to hearing Chloe's assessment of the kiss. I love that Chloe says (and she might as well have looked into the camera at the fans! It reminds me of the final Clana loft scene) "Don't worry Clark it was the end of the world. It's not like I'm expecting us to hook up or anything." I think Clark was prepared to do the awkward shuffle AGAIN... Thank the goodness that's not the case... Then we see why... Jimmy. Again he brings out the Season 1 funness in Chloe. I love how he's territorial. I love that he calls Chloe "bright eyes." I love Clark seeing Chloe give Jimmy that smile... that special smile... HA! Get over it Clark you had your chance! I LOVE Clark's reaction to Jimmy's "CK." I feel like I'm watching Superman!

Well now we know... the mysterious person Clark is talking to in the promo is Martha. :) Great scene. Clark put Raya's crystal into the fortress. The fortress is dead. "I don't know where to go from here." Martha tells him to follow his heart. Clark is seeing Kryptonians in a new late thanks to Jor-el dying for Krypton and Raya dying to save Clark.

Lionel is deciphering the symbols. Finds the symbol for "Power." Is Jor-el back or does he remember more than he lets on? Lex is examining a piece of the black ship's hard drive (or whatever it is.) Does he remember more than he lets on? Does Lionel's "Power" symbol refer to the fragment of the black ship?

The episode is still not over! Argentina... there's a flying phantom there... Clark's lucky he landed in Smallville... Or did he will himself there like with the tornadoes in Season 1. So there are six Phantoms and perhaps Zod is the seventh. Now we know why Zod needed Lex's body. He must have gotten the eternal sentence.

So Lionel, Lex and Phantoms are held up as potential threats.

This episode was wonderful! Here's hoping they will maintain this standard. But thoughts of a certain guest star with the initial T.S. (sigh) I won't go there...

Fantastic Episode! Best Smallville Premiere Ever!!!

[Naman is 1#]

Originally posted by vyperman7
I find it hilarious that a selling point for so many people is Lana being tortured. If you go over to SDK's blog on MySpace, so many people are saying one of the reasons they loved the episode was because of what happened to Lana.

They have done such a terrible job with the character over the years that the audience actually takes pleasure in her getting tortured. That says something :D

:lol: I know some people are so sick. For me the premiere was just medicore, SV has had much better premieres (like 3,4,5) than this one. I rate this on 7/10. I like the Zod/Clark fight even though it felt a little rushed and then Clark touching lois's hand in the hospital was cool (foreshawdowing):D The phantom zone was just blah for me. Its nice to see Chloe finally getting someone in her life(Jimmy) cuz Clark(IMO) isnt going to want her in the way she wants him. I'm starting to get used to the nice Lionel and maybe Martha and him could hook up in the future (ok I don't believe I just said that). Lana took a beating (poor Lana) and Lex, well its just nice to see Zod leave his body:rolleyes:. Hopfully season 6 will be a dandee:D will wait and see.;)

[RMF]

The action-adventure portion of the episode was enjoyable, but I thought we got shortchanged on the fallout. We did get the reflective scene between Clark and Martha, which was very nicely done, but otherwise the reactions of the characters were too brief or absent. We don't see Clark realizing Lex is still alive. Lex, for his part, just wakes up in the medical center and even though he can't remember anything after he went to the field with Lana (natch), he somehow knows he had a hand in the chaos around him. Chloe visits the vending machines rather than asking Clark how the world got saved. Lana goes from shredding Clark for talking about killing Lex to almost doing it herself, but there's no followup interaction between the two of them.

[samuelm7]

I thought it was a superlative episode but I am perturbed by the possibility that season 6 might evolve into a Phanton Zone Villain
of the Week syndrome, much like the Freak of The Week episodes
of prior seasons.

Incidentally, I'm 50 years old, was born with cerebral palsy, and
spent two years in a children's hospital between 1960-1962. My
reading material then was mostly Superman comics--they are probably worth a small fortune now. Anyway, I'm probably
the oldest individual here.

[Lastsunofkrypton]

As far as the fortress is concerned, obviously it was damaged when Clark inadvertently opened the phantom zone through Brainiac. However, didn't everyone notice when Martha decided to go back and told Jor-el to send her, it seemed that the fortress used up its remaining power to do so, and directly afterward the fortress dimmed down so show its final demise.

[vyperman7]

WOW!!

I am so happy that I was wrong about this episode. I think the trick to enjoying Smallville is to go into an episode with low expectations.

Zod was a great episode. Especially when you compare it to Vessel last season.

THREE CHEERS FOR ACTUAL CONTINUITY!!!!

- The stuff with the PZ was great. I loved the reference to the House of El. I really liked how Clark learned more about who his father truly was. I also really liked the development with the Phantom spirits and how they were the worst of the worst so to speak. It is a nice tie in to the name "Phantom Zone". This makes the storyline with not getting to see Zod a little more tolerable. In terms of the story that has been set in Smallville, it is only fitting that Zod wasn't in corporeal form. I also really enjoyed the continuity with Arrival and how they got the Nam-EK character. I also really liked how it was the same actor that played the role. I hate it when they re-cast a character.

- Lionel is a BAD ASS. He was really showing off his Suicide Slum background whooping ass on the rioters. When JG let out that primevil yell and started charging on them I almost wanted to start cheering. Just totally awesome.

- Lana was likeable in this episode to my suprise. She wasn't annoying and Kristin Kruek did a fantastic job in this episode. One of the few times she actually impressed me.

- The Lod/Lana interaction was actually great. Loved seeing Lana getting stabbed and tossed around too. MR rocked the house as Zod. I hated the fact that Zod took over Lex. But MR brought Zod to life. He did an excellent job in my opinion, and actually made the performance believeable. I thought it was extremely funny how he talked in the third person.

- The Chloe/Clark interaction was fantastic. The Chlark shipper in me was a bit dissapointed. But I LOVED the fact that Clark showed dissapointment and jealousy over JO. Now with the show's past I doubt that they will do a good job developing this.

- I LOVED the Clois handholding scene. There have been very few Clois moments I have loved that made me believe and this was one of them. The akwardness of it was great. It cracked me up to see the sincere look on Clark's face, and Lois still kept her "I hate Smallville" spcheel going. The look she gave Clark was funny and I thought TW nailed it when he turned his head away. It was a very small part of the episode, but one that I really enjoyed. Granted I still struggle to find real chemistry between Smallville's version of Clois. But it was still nice to see.

Martha/Jor-El in the FOS was great as well. The line that I loved was from Jor-El " I couldn't of chosen a brighter light to guide my son". It was also great when he thanked her. I am so glad that they are FINALLY portraying Jor-El as more of a heroic figure on the show than a villain.

As wrong as it seems, Martha and Lionel do have some chemistry. I will never be able to get used to the idea of Martha and Lionel getting into a relationship. But I do have to admit that they have chemistry together. You could feel it with the reunion hug.

Last but not least very good tail end of the episode. Loved the cliffhanger with Lionel still being able to receive Kryptonian info, I LOVED the Martha/Clark talk and how he said he didn't know where to go from here, and the end cliffhanger with the Phantom was very cool too.

Best Lines of the episode "My father sends his regards" and "Kneel before Zod".

This is the first episode in FOREVER that I have wanted to watch again after the initial airing on TV.

A few gripes :

- The fight was a letdown as I knew it would be. It was just way too damn short, and way too one sided. I wanted Clark to at least get one punch in. Just one. I did love the effects during the fight though. Seeing Clark get thrown out of the woods and skidding into the field was sweet.

- This storyline was just begging for a multiple episode arc. Just too big of a storyline to cram into one episode. I would have liked more development in the PZ and backhistory with the House of El/Jor-El. It also would have been sweet to actually see Lod storm the Pentagon. I do have to admit that the pacing of the episode was actually pretty good, but it still would have been so much better to get at least 2 or 3 episodes out of this.

- Lana just happening to go unconsious the second Clark shows up. She gets a metal rod shoved through her hand and pulls it out, along with getting flung into a wall, and she keeps consciousness. But she falls unconscious right when Clark gets there. It would have been more tolerable if she had lost consciousness when Lod flung Lana into the wall after she tried to stab him.

FANTASTIC EPISODE!

To my suprise the preview for next week's episode actually looks good and ties in with Zod. At least the second episode will have some connection.

[JD2]

I thought it was a great opener, loved the interaction between the characters. Not looking forward to Sexana, but everything else looks to be gold, and it will be nice to have Clark not moping around about some girl this season.

[maryjanewatson]

how much does everyone want to bet lana's hand will be just fine in the next episode?

sorry, but that is one thing that has always bugged me about smallville, their crap-timing in the 'healing wound' department.

[superman2001]

i thought the episode was great, one of my favorite Smallville Episodes ever, i think it,s going to be a great season, can,t wait to see Flash back on the show.

[vyperman7]

Originally posted by maryjanewatson
how much does everyone want to bet lana's hand will be just fine in the next episode?

sorry, but that is one thing that has always bugged me about smallville, their crap-timing in the 'healing wound' department.

It depends.

If they go forward a few months after what happened, it would make sense that her hand would be healed. However, if they don't make any note of moving forward that far and stay around the time Zod happened, then it would suck.

[CK&CK]

Great Episode.....even though at times I got the impression that budget cuts somehow affected the episode. The main gripe that I have though has to do with the lighting and color quality of the episode......and maybe at times.....the sound. Not only did the color seem faded (compared to last season), but it all looked like it was shot on a day with lots of overcast. I felt at times like I was watching an episode of "Supernatural". I definitely missed the rich colors of the usual Smallville standard. About the only place it worked well was in the Fortress.

Oh, and the new title sequence doesn't seem to flow as well as last year. It's just the first episode, but something tells me that the WB quality of the show hasn't moved over to the CW....yet.....or maybe they are just waiting to see how it does before they really put money into the show....who knows.

[Ares]

hated it

[tjpw fanatic]

Loved it. I enjoyed every second of it.

[CallMeClark]

That was an amazing Season Opener. I loved every second of it (well, I was pissed that the CW kept blacking out).

The Phantom Zone was done well. And the CGI is improving. The "phantoms" looked quite real. I also loved that Nam-Ek was there and they used the same actor. And for the record Raya didn't set Clark up. She had to go along with the other Kryptonians. Although I saw about five Kryptonians/Phantoms escape when Clark shot back to earth.

Lana, impaled again? Who would have quessed?

My FAVORITE SCENE of the episode would have to be a toss up between Martha in the Fortress (Wow, that was beautifly shot!) and Martha talking to a lonely Clark at the episode's end. I loved when she said, "We need hero's, they inspire us." I also liked the line in the Fortress when Jor-El tells Martha, "I could have not asked for a better light to guide my son." The writing is improving on Smallville, IMO.

As for Jimmy, he's was geeky funny but I didn't mind him. Although I think Clark feels something for Chloe. He looked a little let down when she said it was an "end of the world" moment. Our hero is alone, in a sense, and when Ollie comes he will only be more segregated by matched up couples...

Lex as Zod = very well done. And the fight scene, LOVED IT. The CGI Team deserves those awards.

Another great scene was with Lois and Clark in the hospital and he holds onto her hand.

But honestly Tom Welling and Annette O'Toole were the best acting in this episode. I have a feeling Martha going to be like Chloe was with season five.

Did anyone else find it so strange that Lionel is so good? :eek:

[Crazy4Smallville]

wowWOWwowWOWwowWOW

[Shadow116]

I also had low expectations going in but overall it blew me away.

[Kryptonian-Ronin]

I guess if we go in with low expectations, we will always be happy with the outcome.

If it stinks, we knew it, if its good, we are pleasantly surprised.


To me, it was what I expected.
The crap was there and the good stuff was there.
We shall see what this season holds.

There is potential for greatness -
Clark getting his act together.
Martha guiding her son.
Lionel perhaps holding what is left of Jor-El essence.
Lex finally going over the deep end, perhaps tormented by flashs of memories as Zod.


And the potential for crap:

The Justice leage crap
The Phantome Zone freak of the week show.
Lana issues
Chloe issues
Jimmy Issues




We shall see.

[Crazy4Smallville]

Wow, what an episode! I really enjoyed it. It was great to see, feel and hear something familiar amongst the world of change I've been going through lately.

The first episode after a long break is always the best for me. I thought the opening was fantastic with Clark in the Phantom Zone. I'm glad they used the same method from the Superman movies. I thought the graphics & special effects were great, especially when it came to the phantoms. I loved the continuity they have with Namek, but I thought the Phantom Zone fell a little short with the character of Raya. She started off strong, but then fell into a scripted information peddler. I was amazed though at how long her lip gloss lasted in the phantom zone, while poor Clark looked like his dehydrated lips would fall off at any moment. He must be a quick healer and learner. For someone who doesn't get hurt often, he can take pain pretty well.

I was a little disappointed with the opener. With a new network and a new season, I was hoping for a new opener. While I love the Remy Zero song, 'Save Me', I thought the rest could of changed. All they did was add a few new pictures to last year's intro. Perhaps next week, they'll have a better opener.

I loved that Martha and Lois went to the Fortress of Solitude. It wasn't a shocker that's where they ended up - seeing the snow-capped mountains gave it away, but it was refreshing to see Jor-El interacting with Martha. However, I think the conversation could have went down a little better than it did. Come on... this is Ma Kent speaking to the man she thinks has been responsible for her husband's death and her son's problems - I'd have a lot more questions to ask and a lot more to say than what she did. But, I understand time restrictions and needed to say what was necessary to move the plot along. I did love the fact that Lois thought she had died and went to heaven and her and Clark holding hands. It was a cute, touching moment.

I HATED the shaft that the Chlark moment fizzled. What the heck happened to all of Chloe's pent up emotions for Clark? It just disappeared in a matter of seconds at the sight of Jimmy Olsen. Now, granted - Chloe and Jimmy share a bond, but obviously not a strong one at this point - because they haven't even talked to each other for a couple of years. Here Chloe is, knowing everything about Clark and how great he is - and who she's carried an immense torch and love for over a decade and she loses sight of that in one moment? That bit of crap I can't seem to swallow. Clark seemed to have been considering a possible relationship with Chloe and he thought her feelings were true, to have her shoot him down before he even got his foot in the door. He's was great to back-up and let it go, but as a viewer who has strongly believed in the love that has been held between these two characters over the past six years - I felt cheated. I was really disappointed. While I do want to see Chloe persue a relationship with Jimmy - the way she just shut her feelings off - like simply turning a water spigot, didn't sit right with me.

Jimmy - I love the new Jimmy Olsen and I thought it was hilarious as he described his first day at the Daily Planet. I think he's going to do great! I loved the CK reference.

Lana - does the girl have to tempt EVERY man in the known galaxy? Is she the weakness of every member of the male population. Can she be something besides the object of desire or obsession??? If it isn't every run-of-the-mill FOTW, the football team, the local superhero, the arch nemesis that has fallen under her spell... she's now got the ultimate villian wanting her to have his heir. And they wonder why we 'women' don't like Lana. It's not Lana we don't like, but the way she's used and portrayed. She's the real Kryptonite of the show. While she may be able to kick some butt and take a beating, she never seems to have a blemish on that perfect face of hers. Is there any depth or substance to the girl?

Lionel - I loved that a few years ago, Lionel was trying to have Chloe killed and now we see him almost sacrificing himself to save her. What a turnaround. Also, he easily reconciled to the fact that he must kill his son, Lex. I think a little too quickly. While I agree - I can't help but to think that there is still part of the old manipulative Lionel in there somewhere. He's worked his whole life to develope the Lex we have before us - and to soo easily see that destroyed, I don't buy it. Besides, we know that he flat out lied to Martha about not being able to channel Jor-El anymore or not being able to understand Kryptonian. Perhaps he's not hearing Jor-El, but he's still retained some of his knowledge of the Kryptonian language. But, is he the new Lionel or the old one? It will be interesting to find out.

Lex/Zod - I loved it. I think Rosenbaum did an excellent job of being the mean, uncaring, manipulative overlord. It's a role I think he was meant to play. Being such the jokester he is, his playing serious bad dudes seem to work great for him. However, I do have one gripe and it deals with the delivery of the line I've waited to see for two years now.... "Kneel before Zod!" I was expecting a little bit more punch to that line. Terrance Stamp did such an impressionable delivery in Superman II, that he set the bar high. While Rosenbaum did an excellent job with the characterization of Zod, I think he missed the delivery of that particular line. BTW - I loved the phantom image of Stamp's Zod as he was pulled from Lex. AWESOME!

Clark - I saved the best for last and that's the way it should be. I thought Welling did an excellent job with Clark, other than perhaps being a little more overwhelmed and hurt in the Phantom Zone. I know he's a super man here on earth, but there he could be his young, inexperianced wimpy self. But, other than that - and that horrible bad judgement of not grabbing Chloe and laying one on her like he wanted to - he did a good job. There was this one moment when he got back from the Phantom Zone that I thought he was going to take off and fly - but he didn't. At the end of this series I better see the tights and the flight or else I will scream bloody horror. Clark's growing up and I think his vision of Jor-El is finally starting to change. He's starting to realize he's been wrong about him all this time and hopefully, will start to embrace his destiny, much like the way he embraced Lois' hand.

Well, that's about it for now. I'm sure I'm leaving a whole lot out, but that should have covered most of the major points.

Till next time!

[BOSOX671]

I liked the first episode, Annette O'Toole especially did a great job. My one complaint was that Clark couldnt get in ONE good shot? Just ONE SOLID PUNCH? Come on...give Clark more CREDIT!

[Kryptonian-Ronin]

It seems that Clark should take up boxing.

At least carry a can of mace, the T**T.

[Lightning Flash]

The season premiere was one of the greater episodes of the Series. I surely liked it, but I feel it was so rushed. But that's alright... b/c there was so much good stuff. There was Clois forshadow, Chlark rejection, and Lexodana, which I didn't like. I think the Lexodana was sort of awkward... tho, reasonable. The fight scene was pretty awesome, but wasn't the 'greatest' as AlMiles proclaimed it to be. Overall one of the best epis, I loved it. Another thing is that the FoS is gone for good? That sux...

[chlarkfan333]

I'm not picky especially when it comes to SV, so it's not surprising that I enjoyed the episode tremendously and cannot wait for new episodes.:)

I loved the fight scene although I'm with others when they say Clark should have gotten a few punches in. On the other hand, if he knew what he had to do (i.e. bring the symbol in contact with Lexod) why bother hitting an 'innocent' man who had once been his best friend. In a sense it made CK very noble (and Superman like).

The Fortress scene delivered well, IMO.

The only scene I was disappointed with was the Clois scene (and although I love Chlark, I am really hoping to warm up to Clois). It's not clear to me why Lois felt awkward about Clark's hand one hers.

The Chlark scene was exactly what I had expected and it was so refreshing to see Clark confused like that. AM kicked ass in that scene.

Lana's character I liked for the very first time in 5 years. She really showed strength of character.

I wasn't impressed by MR's Zod acting. Lex and Zod are too alike I think.

The PZ and the effects were pretty cool too.

Of all the season premieres, this is my favourite.

[Kryptonian-Ronin]

I would have liked to see LexZod more maniacal like, I mean stuck in the Phantom Zone for centuries, that must freak you out, heck I'd be harlotslapping everyone and accusing chestnuts of being lazy !

MR could have made him a bit more psychotic.

[OneWayFilms]

I think season 6 is off to a GREAT start. This TV premier certainly had more action and story than the entire SUPERMAN RETURNS summer film. THAT says ALOT about a tv show.

I also thought the special effects were amazing, th efight sequence might have been a tad short, but it still packed a great punch...I just wish Clark would have packed a great punch in there. LOL. I thought the line KNEEL BEFORE ZOD was a FANTASTIC tribute to Superman 2, and I almost cheered when I heard it, and then to see Mr.Stamps image AS Zod coming out of Lex was CLIMATIC.

Sure, I always thought the storytelling in Smallville was rushed, and MANY episodes wind up an entire plot in about 2 minutes, but I've come to expect that and it still doesn't take away my Smallville experience. The show STILL rocks.

I hope the rest of the season can live up to the WONDERFUL standard that was set tonight. If they keep this up, season 7 will certainly come and be HIGHLY successful.

[ubermenschlich]

Being over forty, I think my perspective is different. I would love to see some things different for the show. Loved the season opener. However, I know when this show ends, it will be another 5 to 10 years before another Superman related TV show will be on the air. I am just along for the ride.

[Vatusia]

Originally posted by katieishere
Hands down this was a premier to remember. The action was great, the growth they've set up for Clark, and the great use of characters al worked together to give us an impressive opener.

I'll admit, I was not an inital fan of Lexod's and Lana's acting in the initial scene. It was stilted and calm in a situation that should have had a feeling of urgency and panic from her and smug satisfaction from him. But that quickly morphed into awesomess from the rest of the characters. Chloe and Lionel interacted very well in their opener. They projected a sense of determination and sadness, both knowing what they had to do and not knowing if either would make it. I don't really have much to say about Martha's opener mainly because the setting was so unbelievable. She and Lois were just a little chilly after having crashed in the Arctic tundra? Not so much.

But moving on from individual scenes, I really want to comment on the amazing storyline they mapped out for the rest of the season. Jor-El's words to Martha about her being the best guide he could have picked fof his son was absolutely touching, and her role was pretty much defined then and there. That role was further reinforced in the final scene with her and Clark as she states that it's the hardships that give us heroes, and that heroes are needed to inspire us all.

I know all the romantic Chlarkers out there are dying over Chloe's casual disregard of Clark when it was clear that he was FINALLY interested in her, but I just loved it. She has been an excellent friend to him this past year, and that friendship would only be ruined by any romantic interactions right now. I adore her additional incorporation into comic canon by writing Jimmy Olsen in as her love interest. That just completes the circle for me, and really takes a great step into moving closer to SmallivilleClark becoming the SupermanClark I know and love. Also, the removal of Chloe as a lovelorn friend, paired with Clark's disstance from Lana, is crucial for his personal growth. All along the complaint out of many fans is that Clark is too self-centered/lovefocused/dense. I attributed alot of that to the writers need to keep the love triange going, as well as to the restraints put on the character to not be Superman yet. A lot of that has been freed, and Clark's isolation I believe will lend itself to more episodes where he has to rely on himself, and he will be opened to more experiences due to the lack of time the writers have to spend on the Clana/Chlark drama.

Moving on... I was never really a Lana fan. At first she was just a pretty face who had a lot of screen time. Then the writers created ridiculous plotlines - aka witches - to give her character relevance, which again took up way too much screen time. Finaly, in the fifth season, her character was given a little bit more credibility with her actual relationship with Clark, her drive to find out about the spaceship, and then her subsequent relationship with Lex. But never have I seen Lana be as strong a character as she was tonight. Good Lord, give that girl a pat on the back, she finally earned her slice of pie. From challenging Zod and asking the question we were all wondering, why he hadn't killed her already, to taking a spike through the hand then going back and selling her body to kill the body of the man she loved, Lana took it harder than she ever had before and she really came through. Hears to you, little lady, let's hope this wonderful trend of relevance continues!

And of course the awesomeness of the fight that was 5 years in the making. Lex and Clark battling. This is where I personally believe MR earned his stripes as Zod. He was brutal, smug, haughty, rigid and hateful. I felt Zod was completely different from Lex b/c Lex is typically a bit sympathetic, not as emotionally controlled, and jovially smug as opposed to disdainfully smug. Clark also stepped up to the plate as well. At first I thought he was doing what he was always doing... running head first into the situation then needing someone else to bail him out. but by the end I realized he actually had a plan. He came in and destroyed what was needed to save the world, began the battle with Zod. During the scene I was impressed with the whole boulder situation b/c it was so incongruous, but I was also wondering why Clark wasn't fighting back at all. Then, after he gave in without any token resistance at all I realized he was just playing into Zod's heightened sense of superiority. That trick with the shield was just awesome, and a great foreshadow of the type of style Superman becomes known for. I love love loved it.

In summation I just want to say three things. This premiere was definitely one of the best thanks to the season arc it created and the exceptional acting done by it's cast. Lana's character was raised to new heights of relevance and I certainly hope they keep it. And finally, the absence of a angst-ridden Clark had better lend itself to a more reflective and openminded Clark who uses this time alone to do some long overdue mental growth.

Katie, I was gonna write a review, but you went and wrote it for me. I agree with everything you said. Well done.

Huzzah to the cast, to Steve DeKnight and to TPTB for giving us a really fantastic episode. On with Season 6! :)

[Godko]

I feel SDK did a magnificent job writing the episode and James Marshall did an awesome job directing it. I find myself saying "Oh my goodness", "Oh ****!" and many other words of excitement through the episode.

Jimmy & Chloe: I could definately see the sparkle in Chloe's eyes when she laid eyes on him again for the first time in many months. I must admit, the introduction with having a gun fired at him was somewhat funny. Not the best way to introduce someone, but Jimmy's humor about it lightened the mood. I like his outgoing personality and not being affraid to make a move as others look on (i.e Jimmy asking Chloe to dinner in front of Clark.)

Zod/Lex & Lana: The scene where they are making out, I just about gagged. I am one for the Clark and Lana relationship that I know will never happen. Almost makes me wish that TPTB didn't take the route of "what if..." with their relationship considering the way the mythos is actually written from the comics.

Lionel/Martha: I am wondering if Martha is going to give in and create a relationship with Lionel. I get mixed signals from her. I don't know if it has to do with the distress she finds herself in and Lionel just happens to be there to comfort her or what, but when Clark enters the picture, it's like "Thank god!", he can't do this or that. So, I really don't know what the story is with them.

Clark/Lana: I loved the fact that she stepped up to try and put the dagger through Lex as if she knew that that would be the only way to bring Clark back. I think that will be as much of the Clana relationship we'll ever see as they are trying to bury it as if nothing happened. Us, Clana fans will NEVER forget though.

Clark/Lois: As we all very well know, these two are destined to be together. We should expect that the memories of Lois and the FOS should have been depicted as "Heaven" as Clark tries to tell her it was the distress she was under that caused "halucinations".

Lionel: I am beginning to wonder if he was lying Martha about the connection he had with Jor-El. I say this because at the end of the episode, he draws a kryptonian symbol and writes "Power" under it. Maybe, the connection is lost, but he's managed to maintain the knowledge. We'll see in future episodes what all this means with clarification.

Lex: We should expect even though he was possessed by Zod and says he's going to fix the damage he's caused, it's all a cover up with his true intentions. Lex is still obsessed with the kryptonian items he comes across and demands to know more. I'm sure the disk that he possess at the end of the episode will still hold some meaning for the rest of the season.

Other things: The demon that is shown flying through Argentina is going to facinate me. I will be wonding what kind of purpose it is going to play in to the rest of the season, if anything. As we know, TPTB doesn't just merely place things in a story without making some use of it. It may not be the next few episodes that they touch on it, but eventually it will.

Again, overall, I rate this episode very high. It was well written and directed. The graphic effects were spectacular and just emphasised the dramatic aspect of the episode. I'm eager to see what the writers have in store for us for next week. Next week's episode is entitled "Sneeze". From what I've read, it's to be impressive and Clark finally gains yet another power... I'm not going to reveal it though... If you want to know what it is, browse over to http://www.kryptonsite.com/smallvillespoilers.htm and find out.

[Nine]

I'll be the first to admit I am no where near the fan of this series that the rest of you are. I knew of the show since it began, but I avoided it entirely until season 4. I only watched it then because of the introduction of Lois Lane. But the show couldn't hold me, and I lost interest again, following along only with the help of Kryptonsite and other fans of the show. It was only by a friend telling me I had to watch that I tuned in to this episode.

That being said; I loved it. If every episode of Smallville were like this one, I never would have quit watching. I agree that it felt rushed and should have been a two parter, but for what it was, I was entertained. I stopped everything I was doing to watch; a rareity for me and television. I don't think I moved even during the commerical breaks, afraid I'd miss something. So I will be tuning in next Thursday, and if this sort of work continues, I'll be a full fledge Smallville fan, albiet a bit late in the running.

And as for the Lois/Clark in the hospital scene, I loved it. Not because it established the beginning to their romance, but because I understood exactly what Lois meant with that look. Clark, trying to make a connection. Lois, telling him to get over it with her "...you're touching me." look, like he was some guy trying to pick her up in a bar.

And yay for Chloe for finally losing her doormatt status.

[caradoc]

A really good episode. I suppose it had to be rushed because of all the threads it needed to tie up so that the next one will be able to stand on its own. Some of the best acting we've seen, including for once Ms. Kruek. And spectacular sets -- the FOS, Phantom Zone, Metropolis in chaos, and even the Argentine waterfall at the end.

Whether or not this was the best episode ever, it is clearly the best produced.

[Fly by guy]

I liked that Lana showed courage and strength in her willingness to return to the mansion and try to kill Zod. I liked all of Lionel and Martha's scenes. I'll need to watch the episode again with less skepticism to determine if I am wrong in saying it was fair, nothing more.

I just rewatched the episode and my two main complaints are that I still didn't take the Lexod to heart. It could have easily been just Lex trying to control the world and make Lana have his sire. Second, I didn't like Lana not seeing Clark appear at the mansion. I know they want to wait before she learns the secret because that has been the "moonlighting" effect TPTB fear. They've had sex so the secret is all that's left for many viewers. If they weren't going to let Lana trust Clark again, why have her go to the barn looking for him? Why not Lionel? He used to be MR. All Powerful, now he's just a skirt chaser.
:rolleyes:

[Tomsgurl88]

Yeah i loved how strong Lana was in this episode, Kristin did a great job.

[tw190]

I have never been disappointed in a series premiere, not now, not ever. :)

Loved it!

[Nerial]

It was better than I thought it'd be. I still loathe the Lex/Zod idea, but I felt better about it after watching this episode.

I also loved seeing how Clark was transported from the Phantom Zone triangle into the Zone itself. That was cool.

There were things I didn't like, but overall, it was good. The phantoms were nifty, too.

[mfarhaniqbal33]

Well this episode proved to me that Smallville creater r no less better than anybody....GREAT EPISODE GREAT SEASON OPENER CANT WAIT FOR THE NEXT EPISODE.................GREAT JOB Loving the Episode ZOD.....if u missed it used Limewire search for Zod Smallville....and download it

[Drew]

Smallville never fails to have a great season opener. The special effects were awesome and so was the whole story.

I liked the creativity of the writers when they made the phantom zone. It really had a unique look to it, and it was done well.

I'm looking forward to how Lionels character will play out now. I don't know if he really does have a connection, or he just has retained all the knowledge of the Kryptonians. Either way, I think this will soon be the end of "Good Lionel".

I wonder what the big story arc of this season will be now.

[red-K glory]

I am overall impressed with "Zod", it was a good season opener! My only complaints are that the fight scene between Clark and Lexod was way too short and the fact that Clark and Chloe did not get together was very annoying. Other than that it was a good episode.

[Joelito]

Love it!

Great! Effects! :D

[axisoftime]

I thought it was great-1 of the best eps ever.I was hangin on every commercial break waitin to see what happens.

[Shadowlord367]

I loved it.

[I am the Superman]

I didnt like it, I would have liked it if the producers had came through with the fight scene. Once again it was terrible and thus it ruined the episode for me.

Clark didnt even get in a punch, NOT 1

[chlarkfan333]

Originally posted by I am the Superman
I didnt like it, I would have liked it if the producers had came through with the fight scene. Once again it was terrible and thus it ruined the episode for me.

Clark didnt even get in a punch, NOT 1

That's what actually sold the fight scene to me (other than the cool special effects).

Clark knew what he had to do to get rid of Zod and that didn't include bludgeoning him out of Lex. He did what he had to do. It was very Superman-like, IMO. The bottom line is possessed or not, Lex is still a human and was once his best friend.

[tjpw fanatic]

^^Amen to that! I could not agree more.

[maitriniazngurl]

I Loved it!! Wow!! I can't believe how Great it was!! Amazing!!

Probably the best season yet! Loved the moment when Lana told Lex.... "Perhaps you just understimate me..." Awsome!! Loved it!

It would be a lot better if there was just a bit of Clana moment...
:( Not even a little talk.

[Smallvilleprincess]

I saw it. It was wow Compared to all the other episodes of Smallville. I would pay 1000 dollars to see it again

[Space_Ninja_3000]

Originally posted by CK&CK
Great Episode.....even though at times I got the impression that budget cuts somehow affected the episode. The main gripe that I have though has to do with the lighting and color quality of the episode......and maybe at times.....the sound. Not only did the color seem faded (compared to last season), but it all looked like it was shot on a day with lots of overcast. I felt at times like I was watching an episode of "Supernatural". I definitely missed the rich colors of the usual Smallville standard. About the only place it worked well was in the Fortress.

Oh, and the new title sequence doesn't seem to flow as well as last year. It's just the first episode, but something tells me that the WB quality of the show hasn't moved over to the CW....yet.....or maybe they are just waiting to see how it does before they really put money into the show....who knows.

I agree on all these points.

Review: I really enjoyed this episode; not one dull or wasted moment. Some great lines, great scenes, and great action. I enjoyed this 43 minute show far more than Bryan Singer's bloated 2 hour + Superman film. Performances were strong as well, esp. Michael R. I liked that he did a new take on Zod different from Terence Stamp's performance. T. Welling was right on it in all his scenes esp. at the end of the show. The actress who portrayed Raia gave a fine performance too. The effects were exciting and I even enjoyed minor things like the image of the smoking buildings in Metropolis. Finally, the music was excellent; personally I would prefer standard scoring throughout the season punctuated only occasionally with pop songs for the right moments. Anyway, great epic show.

Criticisms: the depictions of the incorporeal beings in the PZ were silly; especially the ending scene which was a 9.0 on the cheese scale (although the footage of the falls was awesome). The smashed rock pieces Zod landed Clark on looked like pieces of foam. No Milton Fine? I also agree that it could have been a two-parter. But these are all minor issues and overall everybody in the cast and crew did a great job on this episode. I look forward to the rest of the season.

[F-Stop Blues]

I really enjoyed it. I was down on Vessel so I was down on this but it was excellent.

[GooN]

the GooN is back.

I thought this episode was quite good....had a real comic-book feel to it goin on...There was some good stuff in there, nothing that made me cringe yet so its a good start for season 6!

Those phantoms scared the crap outta me the way they move so quick, and the phantom zone didn't look like what i expected it to, was like i was watching Stargate for a minute (not that i watch Stargate)....

I don't see how the show can go back to a normal everyday high-school/college drama which it used to do after the first episodes in previous seasons....i hope this is a sign of the last season of smallville, and for it to finish with a bang..

[coco#1]

i LOVED it. it was cram packed with story content. im looking forward to see where they take the characters this year. and this looks like a good start. it seems like the producers will have a heads up on when the series will end and they will be given time to properly flesh out the characters and get them where they have to go so i think this and next season will see alot of growth(not that i would mind if it went beyond season 7.....Zod was a great beginning to what i think will be smallvilles best year ...nuff said

Originally posted by F-Stop Blues
I can't believe the wait is over. It always seem like an eternity during the summer but it really comes quick.


you will be dead before you know it :\

[NeoSuperman]

Great episode, even if it was rushed. I don't know why people are complaining about Clark not throwing one punch or that Jor-el is gone.

Clark not standing a chance is how it should be comic book/cartoon wise. As far as I remember, Brainiac kills Clark in a certain dimension when he goes back in time in the cartoons. A teenage superman should not be able to even land a punch on brainiac or General Zod. IF he was to land a punch, it should have been one that didn't even hurt Zod.

As for Jor-El and the FOS, we know they'll be back. They play a big part in Superman comics/cartoons/movies.

[coco#1]

Originally posted by chlarkfan333
That's what actually sold the fight scene to me (other than the cool special effects).

Clark knew what he had to do to get rid of Zod and that didn't include bludgeoning him out of Lex. He did what he had to do. It was very Superman-like, IMO. The bottom line is possessed or not, Lex is still a human and was once his best friend.

that is a perfect reply and one that had not accured to me yet. i couldent have said it better myself (had i thought of it first)

Originally posted by superhippie2000
ya its going really good and the phantom zone creatures awsome and martha and jor els talk shows jor el as a good guy for once

true. i kept rewinding jorels speech to martha, i really dug it

Originally posted by maitriniazngurl
I Loved it!! Wow!! I can't believe how Great it was!! Amazing!!

Probably the best season yet! Loved the moment when Lana told Lex.... "Perhaps you just understimate me..." Awsome!! Loved it!

It would be a lot better if there was just a bit of Clana moment...
:( Not even a little talk.

actually i think the clana days are over and it has to be if the characters are going to move on. clark/lana took their relationship to its logical conclusion. i would much rather see a clark/chloe relationship happen. i think that would be superr duperr

[EricN68]

Well ... Clark and Lana still have a relationship ... not boyfriend/girlfriend, but still there's a history there. And I'm certain we have not come to the end of their journey together (even if they are not a couple ever again, they need to come to some kind of closure that doesn't leave them hating each other). It needs to be bittersweet, not just bitter.

[Redkrypt]

Watch this episode after Oracle and Vessel and it will be the best story arc so far in SV.

Originally posted by EricN68
Well ... Clark and Lana still have a relationship ... not boyfriend/girlfriend, but still there's a history there. And I'm certain we have not come to the end of their journey together (even if they are not a couple ever again, they need to come to some kind of closure that doesn't leave them hating each other). It needs to be bittersweet, not just bitter.

Maybe or maybe not, in the comics Lana recents Clark for leaving her even after all those years since Superman appears.

[I am the Superman]

That's what actually sold the fight scene to me (other than the cool special effects).

Clark knew what he had to do to get rid of Zod and that didn't include bludgeoning him out of Lex. He did what he had to do. It was very Superman-like, IMO. The bottom line is possessed or not, Lex is still a human and was once his best friend.


We hardly ever get to see clark in a good battle, and this was a perfect opportunity. There needed to be a big brawl, and they failed to deliver.

[Smallville is the best]

I think that Zod was the best episode in smallville history. Well, it was my favorite at least. That was cool how Clark got out of the phantom zone and tricked zod into believing that he would neal down to him. The scene between Clark and Lois was cool. I cant wait for them to hook up. Lois is hot!

[PaulNeb]

I'm gonna have to agree with the folks that pointed out that Clark's not throwing a punch was deliberate and very intentional. He had a plan and executed it. It did not include trying to pound the heck out of Lex's body. The FX made up for the one-sidedness of the fight and Clark delivered a knockout punch with his one line.

[Angel Interceptor]

I won't get to see season six until the DVD release next septmber! But damnn it!!! We need some punches, come on! Let's get a bit of agression and attitude in there! We've seen it in Clark before but it never gets to go anywhere. Against bad guys that are his equal in strength it's all up for grabs! Come on! The action needs to be jacked up now.

I hope this seasons doesn't end up with just a load of freaks from the Phntom Zone instead of Freak of the weeks cos I was very pleased that season five virtually did away with that and the only powered guys in that season were well used and furthered the story.

[Timester]

Originally posted by vyperman7
WOW!!

I am so happy that I was wrong about this episode. I think the trick to enjoying Smallville is to go into an episode with low expectations.

Zod was a great episode. Especially when you compare it to Vessel last season.

THREE CHEERS FOR ACTUAL CONTINUITY!!!!

- The stuff with the PZ was great. I loved the reference to the House of El. I really liked how Clark learned more about who his father truly was. I also really liked the development with the Phantom spirits and how they were the worst of the worst so to speak. It is a nice tie in to the name "Phantom Zone". This makes the storyline with not getting to see Zod a little more tolerable. In terms of the story that has been set in Smallville, it is only fitting that Zod wasn't in corporeal form. I also really enjoyed the continuity with Arrival and how they got the Nam-EK character. I also really liked how it was the same actor that played the role. I hate it when they re-cast a character.

- Lionel is a BAD ASS. He was really showing off his Suicide Slum background whooping ass on the rioters. When JG let out that primevil yell and started charging on them I almost wanted to start cheering. Just totally awesome.

- Lana was likeable in this episode to my suprise. She wasn't annoying and Kristin Kruek did a fantastic job in this episode. One of the few times she actually impressed me.

- The Lod/Lana interaction was actually great. Loved seeing Lana getting stabbed and tossed around too. MR rocked the house as Zod. I hated the fact that Zod took over Lex. But MR brought Zod to life. He did an excellent job in my opinion, and actually made the performance believeable. I thought it was extremely funny how he talked in the third person.

- The Chloe/Clark interaction was fantastic. The Chlark shipper in me was a bit dissapointed. But I LOVED the fact that Clark showed dissapointment and jealousy over JO. Now with the show's past I doubt that they will do a good job developing this.

- I LOVED the Clois handholding scene. There have been very few Clois moments I have loved that made me believe and this was one of them. The akwardness of it was great. It cracked me up to see the sincere look on Clark's face, and Lois still kept her "I hate Smallville" spcheel going. The look she gave Clark was funny and I thought TW nailed it when he turned his head away. It was a very small part of the episode, but one that I really enjoyed. Granted I still struggle to find real chemistry between Smallville's version of Clois. But it was still nice to see.

Martha/Jor-El in the FOS was great as well. The line that I loved was from Jor-El " I couldn't of chosen a brighter light to guide my son". It was also great when he thanked her. I am so glad that they are FINALLY portraying Jor-El as more of a heroic figure on the show than a villain.

As wrong as it seems, Martha and Lionel do have some chemistry. I will never be able to get used to the idea of Martha and Lionel getting into a relationship. But I do have to admit that they have chemistry together. You could feel it with the reunion hug.

Last but not least very good tail end of the episode. Loved the cliffhanger with Lionel still being able to receive Kryptonian info, I LOVED the Martha/Clark talk and how he said he didn't know where to go from here, and the end cliffhanger with the Phantom was very cool too.

Best Lines of the episode "My father sends his regards" and "Kneel before Zod".

This is the first episode in FOREVER that I have wanted to watch again after the initial airing on TV.

A few gripes :

- The fight was a letdown as I knew it would be. It was just way too damn short, and way too one sided. I wanted Clark to at least get one punch in. Just one. I did love the effects during the fight though. Seeing Clark get thrown out of the woods and skidding into the field was sweet.

- This storyline was just begging for a multiple episode arc. Just too big of a storyline to cram into one episode. I would have liked more development in the PZ and backhistory with the House of El/Jor-El. It also would have been sweet to actually see Lod storm the Pentagon. I do have to admit that the pacing of the episode was actually pretty good, but it still would have been so much better to get at least 2 or 3 episodes out of this.

- Lana just happening to go unconsious the second Clark shows up. She gets a metal rod shoved through her hand and pulls it out, along with getting flung into a wall, and she keeps consciousness. But she falls unconscious right when Clark gets there. It would have been more tolerable if she had lost consciousness when Lod flung Lana into the wall after she tried to stab him.

FANTASTIC EPISODE!

To my suprise the preview for next week's episode actually looks good and ties in with Zod. At least the second episode will have some connection.

I finally saw the episode and Vyperman perfectly explains what I also think about "Zod". But Smallville always has good strong premieres (although rushed). Without talking about spoilers, I hope this year we don't get a "Magnetic"/"Spell"/"Reckoning" to kill the seconf half of the season.

[coco#1]

Originally posted by Teller
It stunk.

It stunk so bad I feel asleep.

but it`s still better than the Sopranos

[I am the Superman]

There were no punches, clark got his azz whipped and didnt even try to do anything about it, as usual. No Man would have just sat there and taken a beating like that.

[Chesay]

"Zod", the season premiere episode, was great and I enjoyed it immensely. Perhaps a bit more because the show hadn't been on with new episodes for awhile, but mainly because it was a tightly written story that had no glaring loose ends. Everyone, with the exception of poor Lois, had a nice "piece of the action" and the story moved along well.

It was interesting to see the writer's interpretation of the Phantom Zone and most novel for them to actually have created some phantoms for it and explained how they got that way. The idea of an "escape hatch" just in case anyone from the House of El found themselves trapped there was most enjoyable to watch.

My first thought regarding Lana was "Oh no, surely they are not going to have Lana save the day and focus the entire episode on her" but her character really was well done, solid, and credible to the storyline. Last season I was most puzzled that Zod would have any time or interest in an earth woman, but the explanation that Lex still existed to have some influence on Zod actually satisfied my mind on that account and was plausible.

Michael Rosenbaum did a superb job as Zod and his scenes as Lex with Lana were very well done. His concern over what he might have done while "under the influence" of Zod were touching and his curiosity over the fragment remaining from the black ship reminded me of the "old time" Lex similarly looking at the "key". He remains my favorite and I am not ashamed to say so.

Lionel and Martha uniting to fight the enemy made their relationship easier to understand and the chemistry excuseable. Given Jonathan's history with Lionel it has seemed unbelieveable that Martha would be as chummy as she has been without just cause. With just cause, it is actually fun to watch them together on screen because I don't feel as if I'm betraying Jonathan by doing so.

Chloe seemed to be won over again by Jimmy a bit too easily. If he had not called her, I would think she would be a bit wary of resuming a relationship so quickly. For me it was a missed opportunity on the part of the writers not to have her torn between her devotion to Clark and what still might be vs Jimmy who had not followed up on their "friendship". I want someone to love Chloe as she deserves to be loved and not used or discarded.

Lionel again is the puzzling one. I am totally confused as to whether he is good or bad and I fear as a character he himself is too. I enjoy him being on Clark's side and his knowledge being a bridge between him and Martha. Lionel and Chloe have proven to be wonderful creations for the Superman saga.

Finally, whoever came up with using the Zod image from Superman II when separating his essence from Lex deserves a lot of credit. It was a wonderful surprise.

Let's hope the writers can sustain such excellence throughout the season and that they didn't shoot the entire budget on this one episode. Can't wait until next week!

[Spider-Dan]

The season premier was AWESOME!!!! Unbelievable!

[thehenry89]

yeh it was pretty sweet

[coco#1]

Zod was a powerful soldier on Krypton,and Clark is just a kid on Earth as well as Krypton if it still existed. Powers being even (which they arent in this case) a kid cant beat a trained soldier/madman.......plus Clark wouldent hurt Lex`s body. Zod had to dominate the fight to make it that much more interesting. i think Clark should have been beat up more if time wasent a factor which in this case it is. this is a 42 minute tv show not a 2 hour movie

[DarkSolidus]

This was one of the worst episodes of smallville i've seen since the series started. Im getting the feeling the series won't make it past this season, probably won't even finish it.

This whole episode did not deliver a single minute of excitement, and it's because the producers keep resorting to the same old stupid formula, of creating incredible hype in the previous season finale, and then they just want to end the hype in the first episode of the following season, and with no apparent logic or fun, i mean there's so much potential here of what could have been done, but noooo, let's just end it like crap, its better that way, lets follow our usual tradition :) , that seems to be their way of thinking.

It's just so many senseless things here, clark finds a backdoor to the phantom zone (how convenient), he meets this girl who 2 minutes after meeting him is willing to sacrifice her life for him (**** talk about first impressions), mom and lois in a plane crash (another plane crash situation?), and they survive, where was fine flying them?, how did they end up in the fortress?, not supposed to ask such questions.

Clark gets out just in time to save lana (we know we've never seen that before), and of course just when he arrives she passes out so she doesnt see him using his powers, isn't it time she knows by now?, this has gotten so old its sickening, when i saw her pass out for the 15th in the show's history i almost had to change the channel, what a load of CRAP. And of course clark defeats zod with no apparent logic either, how did he know the stone he got would defeat Zod?, how did he know how it would work?, guess he just decided to give the stone to zod to see if he spared his life and maybe it backfired?. Not supposed to ask those question either.

And to finalize, they actually had the nerve to copy the Zod situation from superman II, did anyone in the production team of that series think this would actually add some points to the episode?, it's like the series is already repetitive and stupid enough they have to straight out copy the movie?.

It's sad what this series has become, i really liked it but i've come to realize, as much as many other people (the ratings are horrible right now), that it sucks and will probably die, because instead of creativity, all we see is the same crap over and over again.

[Timester]

Low expectition is the trick. I know, it shouldn't, but it helps.

[MBCorp]

Originally posted by Timester
Low expectition is the trick. I know, it shouldn't, but it helps.

Also knowing most of the spoilers in advance helps too. If I hadn't known that everything was going to be resolved in one episode then I probably would have been annoyed about that. As it is I knew in advance what it was going to be like and so I was not disappointed and ended up really enjoying the episode.

[Timester]

Originally posted by MBCorp
Also knowing most of the spoilers in advance helps too. If I hadn't known that everything was going to be resolved in one episode then I probably would have been annoyed about that. As it is I knew in advance what it was going to be like and so I was not disappointed and ended up really enjoying the episode.

Yep. And correcting some of glaring mistakes of "Vessel" also helped (like Lana actually caring about Metropolis).

[Billy Jor-El]

Well, at least one thing about Lana is that here she heard the name of planet Krypton, she even spoke the name. She just might make some sense out of Clark yet. He WAS right in that she needed to be away from Lex when he was inhabited by Zod (leave it to the BDA not to come clean and tell her what was really going on).

Gee, maybe she'll put it together about what Clark truly is...? Naw, it IS Lana after all :)

There were good parts of the opener, but it rushed through scenarios that would have been much more effective to carry them out for another ep or 2.

[shiner421]

Wow! the number of people here who got suckered in to thinking this was a great episode astounds me. In my opinion, the producers really dropped the ball, and I doubt I will even bother to finish watching the show after faithfully following it from the start. The whole zod issue should have taken at least 2 episodes to culminate, not one. The phantom Zone is supposed to be an impossible to escape unless someone outside gets you out, yet clark is in there for 5 minutes and pretty much just walks out. How disappointing and anticlimactic. Then, you have zod, someone who defeated an entire planet, a soldier that kicks clark's arse, and yet in the end is defeated by a handshake. I hated the fact that they used the same kneel before Zod routine. The writing on this show has been declining since season 2, and now has reached an all time low. For a while I thought that smallville had the potential to compete with Buffy The Vampire Slayer in terms of being a great show, but now I wouldnt even begin to compare the two. Ok, enough for now, I will be interested to read some replies to this, but remember people, this is my opinion only.

[DarkSolidus]

Originally posted by Billy Jor-El
There were good parts of the opener, but it rushed through scenarios that would have been much more effective to carry them out for another ep or 2.

Yeah that's the point, they have such much potential to explore here and develop, but they keep trying to crush it into one episode and thats that.
They couldve actually made it 2 or 3 and maybe add some of the heroes they've introduced in previous episodes, i dont know maybe flash and aquaman appearing together to get clark out of the zone and take on Zod?, that for example would have been awesome, but theres simply ZERO creativity, it's just close it however you want and lets get back to the basics...PURE CRAP

[PaulNeb]

Shiner421, you were not paying attention.

According to SV canon, Jor-el created the Phantom Zone. As a precaution, he built a back door into it in case any of his family was imprisoned there. Programmers do it all the time. Clark, being a member of Jor-el's family, could use that back door to escape, which he did. The girl was somewhat of a plot device to tell Clark about the door. She was nice eye candy too. Too bad she got killed.

And it wasn't the handshake that defeated Zod. It was that little Black Kryptonite signet that Clark had in his hand that defeated Zod. Clark's getting the stuffing beat out of him and kneeling was intentional to make Zod think that he was defeated. That way Zod would offer his hand as a sign of his mastery. Kind of a "Kiss the ring" thing, even though Zod wasn't wearing a ring. If Clark had fought back, Zod probably would have killed him outright.

[Jigga]

I thought this was a good start, but not great. It might have worked out better as a 2 parter rather than just one single episode. Clark literally stayed less than 24 hours in the PZ from what I gather during the episode. Where's the suffering in that? That Raya chick was just way too convenient with the shield emblem. I'm hoping she returns as a bad guy...Jor-El's jealous lover..uh..."assistant." They did leave a lot wide open for the season,which I guess is a good thing. For starters, it's quite obvious that he'll be facing greater dangers with the Kryptonian escapees so not a whole lot of FoTW. I'm hoping that they will be dropping a lot of screen time from the rest of the cast and have more Clark. I'm sad that they didn't have Clark beaten half to death by Zod. Looks like a mediocre start, maybe...just maybe it'll pick up mid-season. My vote is somewhere in between, which isn't up there.

[Welling_is_pretty]

Well, I loved it!
It had everything: romance, action, suspense, intrigue, cool plot twists and a Clark/Zod fight that was awesome (but WAY too short!).
It had wondefrul homages to past Superman stuff (the homage to Superman 2 and the one to Clark's landing on earth--notice that when he returned from the PZ he landed almost exactly as he did when he first arrived on earth? Except not in a ship, I mean. He made that big crater again. Cool.) and gave us hints of what is to come.
We got to see the 'S' for the first time (and how fitting is it that the symbol on the thing that protected Kal-El, freed him and brought him closer to his father will become the symbol he will eventually wear to protect the planet and all the people he loves? Such a cool touch from the writers!), we got to hear that Jor-El isn't the major jerk we all thought he was and Lana got the crap betean out of her! (ooops, sorry, just not a Lana fan.)

Some things that bugged me though:
first, it should have been a two parter. it felt so rushed and so many things were left unexplained,
Chloe giving up on Clark just when Clark seemed to have decided he wanted to be with her (argh! made me want to smack them both upside the head---with a shovel!),
and Clark's little "I have no one to talk to" line. WHAT ABOUT CHLOE, you BDA? Sure you can't talk to Lex or Lana anymore but Chloe, you know your best friend?!, is still around! sheesh!


But overall it was an exciting wonderful episode.
Great start to season 6.

[All about Clark]

Well I thought it was a great ep. And maybe it was because I understood what was happening. Raya's crystal negatively affected the phantoms (those that lost their bodies) which is what kept her safe. Zod was a phantom before being released, so obviously it would hurt him too. Clark knew it would affect him severely, he didn't need to know anything else.

Also, with so many spoilers you had to have known the just of it before it ever aired. If you didn't like the info, why watch the show. I also don't understand the Lana issue, you knew she wouldn't see Clark in action just yet.

[Poweranimals]

You know if people paid attention while watching the show, they wouldn't find so many "plot holes". And for the people expecting this to span out seven episodes long and the entire Justice League to randomly show up to help Clark get out of the Phantom Zone are just embarrasing.

[msw44]

Originally posted by vyperman7
WOW!!

I am so happy that I was wrong about this episode. I think the trick to enjoying Smallville is to go into an episode with low expectations.

Zod was a great episode. Especially when you compare it to Vessel last season.

THREE CHEERS FOR ACTUAL CONTINUITY!!!!

- The stuff with the PZ was great. I loved the reference to the House of El. I really liked how Clark learned more about who his father truly was. I also really liked the development with the Phantom spirits and how they were the worst of the worst so to speak. It is a nice tie in to the name "Phantom Zone". This makes the storyline with not getting to see Zod a little more tolerable. In terms of the story that has been set in Smallville, it is only fitting that Zod wasn't in corporeal form. I also really enjoyed the continuity with Arrival and how they got the Nam-EK character. I also really liked how it was the same actor that played the role. I hate it when they re-cast a character.

- Lionel is a BAD ASS. He was really showing off his Suicide Slum background whooping ass on the rioters. When JG let out that primevil yell and started charging on them I almost wanted to start cheering. Just totally awesome.

- Lana was likeable in this episode to my suprise. She wasn't annoying and Kristin Kruek did a fantastic job in this episode. One of the few times she actually impressed me.

- The Lod/Lana interaction was actually great. Loved seeing Lana getting stabbed and tossed around too. MR rocked the house as Zod. I hated the fact that Zod took over Lex. But MR brought Zod to life. He did an excellent job in my opinion, and actually made the performance believeable. I thought it was extremely funny how he talked in the third person.

- The Chloe/Clark interaction was fantastic. The Chlark shipper in me was a bit dissapointed. But I LOVED the fact that Clark showed dissapointment and jealousy over JO. Now with the show's past I doubt that they will do a good job developing this.

- I LOVED the Clois handholding scene. There have been very few Clois moments I have loved that made me believe and this was one of them. The akwardness of it was great. It cracked me up to see the sincere look on Clark's face, and Lois still kept her "I hate Smallville" spcheel going. The look she gave Clark was funny and I thought TW nailed it when he turned his head away. It was a very small part of the episode, but one that I really enjoyed. Granted I still struggle to find real chemistry between Smallville's version of Clois. But it was still nice to see.

Martha/Jor-El in the FOS was great as well. The line that I loved was from Jor-El " I couldn't of chosen a brighter light to guide my son". It was also great when he thanked her. I am so glad that they are FINALLY portraying Jor-El as more of a heroic figure on the show than a villain.

As wrong as it seems, Martha and Lionel do have some chemistry. I will never be able to get used to the idea of Martha and Lionel getting into a relationship. But I do have to admit that they have chemistry together. You could feel it with the reunion hug.

Last but not least very good tail end of the episode. Loved the cliffhanger with Lionel still being able to receive Kryptonian info, I LOVED the Martha/Clark talk and how he said he didn't know where to go from here, and the end cliffhanger with the Phantom was very cool too.

Best Lines of the episode "My father sends his regards" and "Kneel before Zod".

This is the first episode in FOREVER that I have wanted to watch again after the initial airing on TV.

A few gripes :

- The fight was a letdown as I knew it would be. It was just way too damn short, and way too one sided. I wanted Clark to at least get one punch in. Just one. I did love the effects during the fight though. Seeing Clark get thrown out of the woods and skidding into the field was sweet.

- This storyline was just begging for a multiple episode arc. Just too big of a storyline to cram into one episode. I would have liked more development in the PZ and backhistory with the House of El/Jor-El. It also would have been sweet to actually see Lod storm the Pentagon. I do have to admit that the pacing of the episode was actually pretty good, but it still would have been so much better to get at least 2 or 3 episodes out of this.

- Lana just happening to go unconsious the second Clark shows up. She gets a metal rod shoved through her hand and pulls it out, along with getting flung into a wall, and she keeps consciousness. But she falls unconscious right when Clark gets there. It would have been more tolerable if she had lost consciousness when Lod flung Lana into the wall after she tried to stab him.

FANTASTIC EPISODE!

To my suprise the preview for next week's episode actually looks good and ties in with Zod. At least the second episode will have some connection.

Vyperman! I haven't seen you since the Episode Wars! :)

Anyway, I would have to agree that this premier was better than I thought it was going to be. However, I felt some deja vu with last season's premier. Clark is in some unknown territory, comes back to save the day, goes to see the girl to talk about a "moment," and then we're left with a mysterious cliffhanger at the very end. However, I LOVED that Clark was finally showing jealousy over Chloe. :)

I would agree that Martha in the FOS was awesome, the moment between Clark and Lois was...adequately awkward, and Michael Rosenbaum was an amazing Zod! Lionel also rocks, and I love that he knows Clark's secret. I still don't like Lana though, and I will never like Lex and Lana together. NEVER. What I liked most about this episode was that at the end Lana showed distrust in Lex. I hope that their relationship is as shortlived and Clark and Lana's at end of S2/beginning of S3. :) I can't wait to find out how they bring back Jor-El. I think it's cool that Clark and Martha are starting to realise that he's not the bad guy anymore.

All in all, I'd give it an 8 (last season's premier got a 9.5). It was good, but it's hard to beat Arrival. I can't wait to see where the story leads!!

P.S. I just realised I used way too many smiley faces in this post.

[Smallville is the best]

I don't know what Dark Solidus is talking about, I think that episode was great( One of my favorites). That was a good season opener and it left me on the edge of my seat. There was a great ending showing 3 different stories that the producers can get some ideas off from. I can't wait for the nest episode.

[Flash_85]

I had high expectations for the show, and I was more than pleased with how it went.

[Farm_Girl]

I liked Zod overall, some very nice moments were there. Though Micheal's portrayal of Zod fell totally flat. He was much better as the evil Lex in "Onyx".

It would've been much better if there was a two part premiere, with more details, specially some scenes on Zod's causing destruction in Pentagon would've been really interesting. Moreover, they didn't show him using his Kryptonian abilities, which is why he looked only Lex to me, Zod wasn't there!!

[Smallville is the best]

In the beggining he acted more like Zod but by the end he was more like Lex. I agree.

[JerryKing]

I would prefer not to vote for either of the extremes; Zod was bland and disappointing, but not completely bad. It definitely wasn't the worst opener so far - that recognition would go to the "we all survive great big explosions and I, a teenager, kick a garrison of commandos unconscious" one - but it was rather dull.

[DarkSolidus]

Originally posted by Poweranimals
You know if people paid attention while watching the show, they wouldn't find so many "plot holes". And for the people expecting this to span out seven episodes long and the entire Justice League to randomly show up to help Clark get out of the Phantom Zone are just embarrasing.

If people paid attention?, haha man you must be joking, you could focus 100% activity of a brain on the show and it still wouldn't make sense, every part of that episode was ridiculous. And yes it should span out into more than 1 episode, when you build that much hype it shouldnt end so quickly.

So yeah the world is ending and Zod is gonna rule it, everything is solved right away and 3 episodes later Lex is having coffee and donuts with clark like every other season so far?, PURE CRAP.

And if you actually believe this episode or this series is good right now, just check out the ratings on it, they're embarrasing, its like less than half it's best times.

The pure fact is no matter how much attention you pay, the show simply doesn't make sense anymore, the plot is stupid at best at this point.

[Miranda]

I have no idea when it will air here. Season 4 has just begun.

[RedBullet]

Shut up Debbie Downer

http://www.theslant.com/jam/images/downer.jpg

[I am the Superman]

Going in with low expectations and not reading the spoilers and everyone elses thoughts on the episode help.

[DarkSolidus]

Originally posted by I am the Superman
Going in with low expectations and not reading the spoilers and everyone elses thoughts on the episode help.

In other words expect the worst and u might enjoy it, LOL, i can understand that but that feels like a job, not like watching something good. I mean no sense in expecting the worst, this is supposed to be delivering entertainment, and if we have to have low expectations in order to enjoy it, might as well cancel it now (which is probably whats gonna happen anyways).

Originally posted by RedBullet
Shut up Debbie Downer

http://www.theslant.com/jam/images/downer.jpg

Did i hit a nerve telling you what you already know?, not my fault the series is crap right now. I used to like it.

[RedBullet]

Geesh, there was nothing wrong with the eppy, stop being so negative.

[Theshadow129x]

I liked it when i watched my second time through but the plot holes like Martha and Lois pissed me off! how couldu live in a plane crash if they were so high in the air? and if they survived how come they didnt freeze to death? they were in the arctic!!!! more than 20 degrees below. its nice to see them bring in new characters and add more development towards the characters to further the story like clark realizing he is alone having to realize he needs to grow up that was nice but there are things that holds the show back from being great likeit once was. they backtrack and regress a lot and it doesnt improve the show, it hurts it for alot of viewers but i did enjoy the episode

[DarkSolidus]

Originally posted by Theshadow129x
I liked it when i watched my second time through but the plot holes like Martha and Lois pissed me off! how couldu live in a plane crash if they were so high in the air? and if they survived how come they didnt freeze to death? they were in the arctic!!!! more than 20 degrees below. its nice to see them bring in new characters and add more development towards the characters to further the story like clark realizing he is alone having to realize he needs to grow up that was nice but there are things that holds the show back from being great likeit once was. they backtrack and regress a lot and it doesnt improve the show, it hurts it for alot of viewers but i did enjoy the episode

What you said but without the enjoying of the episode, and i don't think bringing Jimmy olsen to the crew is actually gonna add a lot of points, guys been there only one episode and already hoping for his funeral :D .
How do you really survive a plane crash like that and then not freeze to death?, always so convenient.

[DarkSolidus]

Pure Crap

[Kal El, Hero]

I think you're all taking it a bit extremely, I think it was a great episode. Truth be told, they rushed it and could have spread it over two or three episodes, even, but the material there was extremely good. If they follow up and provide good expansions of everything I watched today, then I'm expecting a few damn fine episodes.
Read my posts elsewhere and I am very skeptical, but TPTB have given us a great opening if they choose to expand on it. Don't be so negative until it's concluded and you're proven right, because it's got all the potential of a fantastic episode.

[vyperman7]

Originally posted by DarkSolidus
Pure Crap

Man posts like this bug me, especially in the threads that deal with episode reviews and thoughts.

If you thought the episode was crap. That is cool. I know that I have hated more than a few Smallville episodes in my time.

But at least say why you thought it was crap. The whole point of a message board should be to make posts that lead to discussion and to share your point of view.

[DarkSolidus]

Originally posted by vyperman7
Man posts like this bug me, especially in the threads that deal with episode reviews and thoughts.

If you thought the episode was crap. That is cool. I know that I have hated more than a few Smallville episodes in my time.

But at least say why you thought it was crap. The whole point of a message board should be to make posts that lead to discussion and to share your point of view.

Yeah you're def right, but thing is i had actually made a thread saying on why the episode was bad hehe and i didn't want to repeat it here, just put my vote that it sucks :D

But let me throw some thoughts for the sake of the thread. The entire episode was boring, nothing of what was done made sense, plane crashes people dont die of, blizzards that dont freeze people to death, devices that have no full explained function are used to defeat the villian, a line is copied out of the movie because theres simply no creativity anymore, i mean, its hard to count them all.

I used to like this series so much but this episode was honestly one of the most dissapointing ever, they wont develop what they promise, they just want to quickly solve all issues and not in an entertaining way. Give it two episodes for gods sake at least, like Exile/Phoenix, that was a good set of season openers. But this is just Pure Crap :) . The only part the episode would have been maybe a bit surprising, was letting lana see AT LAST clarks powers, but they had to repeat the same passing out seen they've done since season 1. Simply Pure Crap. I mean god, it's about time already, its the 6th season, you guys wont make a 7th, youre getting cancelled soon, DO IT ALREADY, let her know.

I hope i've lived up to the spirit of the thread vyperman :D.

[Timester]

Originally posted by DarkSolidus
But let me throw some thoughts for the sake of the thread. The entire episode was boring, nothing of what was done made sense, plane crashes people dont die of, blizzards that dont freeze people to death, devices that have no full explained function are used to defeat the villian, a line is copied out of the movie because theres simply no creativity anymore, i mean, its hard to count them all.

The line that hundred of fans begged to SDK to put it on the episode? Lets be serious, Smallville has way worst problems to us nitpicking the little details. I'm actually happy that "Zod" warped up alot of crap. I'm happy that finally we got a great season premise with the Phantoms. Finally something new. I said a couple of months ago that I wished that all Krypton-arcs were over this season. I got my wish with "Zod". Finally everyone moved on, I hope that Clark also move on.

[DarkSolidus]

Originally posted by Timester
The line that hundred of fans begged to SDK to put it on the episode? Lets be serious, Smallville has way worst problems to us nitpicking the little details. I'm actually happy that "Zod" warped up alot of crap. I'm happy that finally we got a great season premise with the Phantoms. Finally something new. I said a couple of months ago that I wished that all Krypton-arcs were over this season. I got my wish with "Zod". Finally everyone moved on, I hope that Clark also move on.

Little details? LOL, have you heard the line "It's all about the details" ?. Problem here is, its not the details really, is every minute of the entire episode, literally EVERYTHING doesn't make sense.

And you actually say we got something new?, another clark saving lana at the last moment, another lana passing out again not to see clarks powers, another plane crash, another episode full of promise that is ended in 40 minutes of senselessness because the writers wrote themselves into a situation they couldn't efficiently deliver. None of that sounds new to me, its same old same old. And people bring up the phantom zone, what was so great about it anyways?, we only got to see Clark walking around in special colored sand for like half an episode and then he got out after a brief (and boring) engagement with the kryptonians, what was so great about that?

I can understand if there are many die hard fans out there that enjoy anything the series brings up but this was frankly low quality, and i consider myself a fan.

But thats me:D

[All about Clark]

I didn't see Lois and Martha surviving a plane crash so unreal because they were both unconscious and lying flat. The snow would have provided a softer landing than asphalt. Also the Artic can have a big range in coldness and they didn't have far to go to the fortress. Martha cound have looked more miserable, but that's it IMO.

[DarkSolidus]

Everything is always a little too convenient, thats my problem with it, plane crash but they managed to survive, blizzard but they're luckly close enough to the fortress, cold in fortress but jor-el teleports them, Zod is kicking your ass but little device that you dont know how it works beats him by putting it in his hand, etc etc etc.
Just too convenient, everything always falls into place and thats simply stupid

[Kal El, Hero]

Actually, DarkSolidus, I agree with you, it's too convenient. I thought we were watching a show about aliens, identical in appearance to us Earthlings, exploring the youth of an alien who possesses (or will possess) abilities that defy any logic and scientific explanation known to humans. But while that all would have been too convenient for any realistic TV show, we're in fact watching what could almost be documentary, for how serious and realistic it should be...only it isn't, because it's let down by minor, insignificant, trivial conveniences...or did I get the whole show mixed up?
Get over it, darling.

[DarkSolidus]

Originally posted by Kal El, Hero
Actually, DarkSolidus, I agree with you, it's too convenient. I thought we were watching a show about aliens, identical in appearance to us Earthlings, exploring the youth of an alien who possesses (or will possess) abilities that defy any logic and scientific explanation known to humans. But while that all would have been too convenient for any realistic TV show, we're in fact watching what could almost be documentary, for how serious and realistic it should be...only it isn't, because it's let down by minor, insignificant, trivial conveniences...or did I get the whole show mixed up?
Get over it, darling.

Don't take it a little bit too far though....this may be a show about a guy with superpowers but that doesn't mean that everything that happens is acceptable....the show HAS to make sense to an extent and it simply doesn't. Now if you want to overlook the fact that it doesnt make sense even on its own terms, then thats your thing. The character is not real, but that doesnt mean the world and ITS HUMAN characters should not be, or the situations.

Whats next?, martha dodging bullets like Neo in the matrix and we're gonna accept it just because the series is about superman?
Come on....

[Timester]

Originally posted by DarkSolidus
Little details? LOL, have you heard the line "It's all about the details" ?. Problem here is, its not the details really, is every minute of the entire episode, literally EVERYTHING doesn't make sense.

And you actually say we got something new?, another clark saving lana at the last moment, another lana passing out again not to see clarks powers, another plane crash, another episode full of promise that is ended in 40 minutes of senselessness because the writers wrote themselves into a situation they couldn't efficiently deliver. None of that sounds new to me, its same old same old. And people bring up the phantom zone, what was so great about it anyways?, we only got to see Clark walking around in special colored sand for like half an episode and then he got out after a brief (and boring) engagement with the kryptonians, what was so great about that?

Yet again, I say, Smallville has glaring problems in terms of characters and story to even consider nitpicking. Another plane crash? What were you expecting of a plane without a pilot? Phantom Zone? You missed the part that the Phantoms are going to be the season arc this year? Smallville always, since season 1, had problems with the details, but it also had good stories to keep it up. Something that was lost in season 4. Something that I hope is back this season.

Characters and story should be the most important part of a show. But that's me.

:D

[DarkSolidus]

Originally posted by Timester
Yet again, I say, Smallville has glaring problems in terms of characters and story to even consider nitpicking. Another plane crash? What were you expecting of a plane without a pilot? Phantom Zone? You missed the part that the Phantoms are going to be the season arc this year? Smallville always, since season 1, had problems with the details, but it also had good stories to keep it up. Something that was lost in season 4. Something that I hope is back this season.

Characters and story should be the most important part of a show. But that's me.

:D

Totally agree that chars and story are the most important part of the show, but wheres the character quality here?, where is the story?, every time they bring up something worth watching they just end it faster than the rock can say "just bring it".

This Zod situation brought from last season could have been done a whole lot better, but they just closed it in the most ridiculous way possible. What happened to that possible story?, nothing, no time is invested in developing the situations, it just ends in the most abrupt way possible. Is it so difficult to actually dedicate more than 1 episode to saving the world?, it takes most movies 2 hours and some series a whole season, but Smallville can do it in 40 minutes. Simply...Boring....

[jimintn]

Overall I liked it, but I do agree it would have been better as a 2-parter. I do have some concerns, though.

We were told when they killed of paw Kent that it wasn't a "jump the shark", it was necessary to push Clark to embrace his destiny. Well how is he going to do that if the FOS is dead?

We all know that Lois and Clark end up working as journalists at the Daily Planet. Don't you think they need to start going to class sometime soon? Clark dropped out to help keep the farm going and Lois is working for Sen. Martha. When are they going to start down the road to reporterland?

I'll rewatch the episode to see, but I could have sworn that Lana looked over Lod's shoulder at Clark before she passed out. Will that be something they play with this season?

I loved the hint of foreshadowing between Lois and Clark at the hospital and I enjoyed the scene in the FOS with Martha and Jor-El.

I like Aaron as Jimmy, but I HATE it when shows reuse previous guests to play new roles and since he and Shawn do look the same (twins usually do, duh), I just can't get passed that.

I still love the show and hope it's on for a long time, but we have to be realistic. They couldn't stay in high school forever and they won't be in college forever either. The show will have to end eventually, but it'd be nice to see some of the superman legend start to take shape before they go.

[Drakaun]

It has been mentioned on this forum a lot, but in light of this discussion I thought I would say it again. You say the ratings are in the toilet compared to last years ratings, you have to realize that Smallville is on a new network that just formed, that is only available in very few places, hell even DirectTV doesn't get the CW, or so I have heard. Of course the ratings are going to be way lower than last years, because we lost half the viewers just by the mere fact they don't get the channel at all.

One episode so far in Season Six, I will not be as quick to jump to conclusions as you, one episode out of 22 ordered for this season, so 21 episodes to go, perhaps after at least the first five can I form an opinion on whether or not this season sucks.

[cloisinmyheart]

i LOVEd the episode. but i didnt get some parts.

so how does raya know jor-el? was she really his mistress, it sure seemed like it

and how come clark seems interested in both chloe and lois in this episode.
in the hospital, he held lois' hand affectionately and then later he seemed crushed when chloe said they were just friends.

which one is it?

[umm]

I don't think it's bad, I just wish they spent a little more effort on Allison Mack's credits.

[PaulNeb]

Originally posted by cloisinmyheart
so how does raya know jor-el? was she really his mistress, it sure seemed like it

She said she was his assistant. Barring any real evidence to the contrary, there is no reason to assume she's anything more than that. I will speculate that Jor-el's sending her into the PZ was more of an insurance policy than an act of altruism. Should CLark ever wind up there, he would need an ally to show him the gateway out.

and how come clark seems interested in both chloe and lois in this episode.
in the hospital, he held lois' hand affectionately and then later he seemed crushed when chloe said they were just friends.

which one is it?

Shoot, let the BDA chase both of them for a season. Since the two of them are cousins, they'll put him through the spin cycle big time. :rotfl:

[ISUZU]

Very good points by xrayvision.

I need to add - that some people on here were over joyed with this episode. I am sorry but this has got to be one of the worse season openings ever for Smallville. Things happened so quickly it was untrue. The most interaction that took place was between Zod and Lana - which was ok but the rest was just shamble of all sorts.

All I can say is that the next few episodes can only get better. The fight scene was totally one-sided with Clark getting hammered. We had no idea of what Lex's state of mind is now. Then we have no FOS proper with Jor-El's presence completely gone - which is strange considering he spoke to Martha (oh - liked the exchange of words between them ) - but maybe they can argue that the FOS is died due to Zod breaking the dagger. The only full praise I can give the episode was the phantom zone scenes - they did well on those effects.

What I am trying to say is that the episode did not leave a lasting impression on my mind. Its like I saw nothing for most of the 40 minutes or so.

[metropolis]

DarkSolidus, are you sure you were watching the same episode as the rest of us? First off, as was mentioned before, Clark knew what the medallion would do to Zod because Raya had used it to stave off the phantoms. Second, the fortress isn't in the arctic, it's in the Yukon in Canada. And the reason martha and lois convientley crashed there was because Jor-el brought them down, which was implied in the conversation Martha had with papa el. The show makes perfect sense, you just want to hate it for reasons the rest of us can never come to fathom.

[President_Luthor]

I really enjoyed this season premiere. We actually saw in the PZ a glimmer of Clark showing some real interest in his kryptonian heritage and how his path is linked to it. With all these people sacrificing on his behalf over the past few years, it seems that - finally - Clark is slowly starting to grasp what it might mean to be a hero. It's that side of Clark's evolution that I hope won't be tossed aside now that the premiere is over. Will he forget all those lessons he learned now that most of the Zod-PZ-kryptovirus crises have been wrapped up (for now -- see: Krypto-phantoms)?

I hope they stick to the theme of everyone moving on. Growth: it's something they should all be doing. Clark has stepped up to the plate with this premiere ... let's hope he doesn't strike out as the season progresses.

Lana had one of her grittiest moments of the series in this premiere - making the conscious choice to kill Lex/Zod. A pro-active Lana, not one who would just let things happen to her or have Clark somehow rescue her. Her TQ (Toughness Quotient) just went up a few points after this premiere! :eek:

Gotta love the Clois moment. They both nailed the awkwardness of the moment: Lois quickly getting the creeps about Clark's touchy-feely mood and Clark (naturally) being a bit late in realizing it. Don't worry, Lois -- he's still a BDA in spite of all hell breaking loose.

As for the arrival of Jimmy Olsen, we still get Chlark ... or should I say 'Bizarro Chlark', with the shoe being placed on the other foot. Clark now has to reconcile whatever feelings (platonic or not) he might have for Chloe, now that she's reunited with everyone's favourite Daily Planet shutterbug. I thought it was funny that Chloe, as an afterthought, suggested if Clark wanted to have dinner -- with them -- as well. Now Clark's the third wheel. Luckily he let them have their space or that would be one awkward dinner: "So, Chloe, about that sloppy wet one you planted on me when the Apocalyse was around the corner ..."

Lionel takes care of business. Who needs guns when Double-L can kick a$$ and take names all by himself, thanks! And -- he gets the girl in the end (Martha)!

And, in a rare demonstration of CK cunning and ingenuity, Clark doesn't allow Zod to bait him into a fight to the death, but exploits Zod's arrogance to con him and win a surprise upset victory. Jor-El sends his regards -- swwweeeeet! The question remains ... will Clark continue to show these sparks of ingenuity? Hopefully, Jimmy Olsen will keep Chloe preoccupied so that Clark can think for himself.

A FOTW showed up again -- the one burp in the premiere. That annual freak is known as AMNESIA. Lex gets it. Again.

"You weren't yourself Lex. It's not your fault." At least it came off as Lana trying to placate Lex's guilt at almost ending the world. Amazingly, Lana showed a whole lot of resilience this episode. Who'd have thought the ex-Smallville High cheerleader was going to be the "tough chick" this episode! (The girl ... pulled a blade ... impaled in her hand ... from a wall ...!!!) And -- she let Lex know that the trust they once had will need some rebuilding. TPTB want us to know one thing about Lana: she's tough now.

As quickly as the riot started -- it ended. It would have been nice to see a horde of riot police rounding up the looters and criminals and maybe Lionel directing the restoration of LuthorCorp. The realist in me would like to see 'how' things get back to normal (maybe we still will in later eps., like how Smalville recovered from the meteor shower in the previous season) -- but I can live with that since that time was spent with all those cool scenes in the PZ and a whole lot of Zod!

It looks like Clark and Lex could both be competing to see who can earn more trust from Lana. It would be incredible if Lana actually realizes on her own that neither of them are good for her. I could live with that instead of the kind of back-and-forth 'I love Lana / No, I love Lana more' shippery slop it could become if TPTB choose to fire up Yet Another Lana Love Triangle during this season. That's one phantom I hope stays in oblivion forever.

[RamonaE]

Originally posted by DarkSolidus
This was one of the worst episodes of smallville i've seen since the series started. Im getting the feeling the series won't make it past this season, probably won't even finish it.

This whole episode did not deliver a single minute of excitement, and it's because the producers keep resorting to the same old stupid formula, of creating incredible hype in the previous season finale, and then they just want to end the hype in the first episode of the following season, and with no apparent logic or fun, i mean there's so much potential here of what could have been done, but noooo, let's just end it like crap, its better that way, lets follow our usual tradition :) , that seems to be their way of thinking.

It's just so many senseless things here, clark finds a backdoor to the phantom zone (how convenient), he meets this girl who 2 minutes after meeting him is willing to sacrifice her life for him (**** talk about first impressions), mom and lois in a plane crash (another plane crash situation?), and they survive, where was fine flying them?, how did they end up in the fortress?, not supposed to ask such questions.

Clark gets out just in time to save lana (we know we've never seen that before), and of course just when he arrives she passes out so she doesnt see him using his powers, isn't it time she knows by now?, this has gotten so old its sickening, when i saw her pass out for the 15th in the show's history i almost had to change the channel, what a load of CRAP. And of course clark defeats zod with no apparent logic either, how did he know the stone he got would defeat Zod?, how did he know how it would work?, guess he just decided to give the stone to zod to see if he spared his life and maybe it backfired?. Not supposed to ask those question either.

And to finalize, they actually had the nerve to copy the Zod situation from superman II, did anyone in the production team of that series think this would actually add some points to the episode?, it's like the series is already repetitive and stupid enough they have to straight out copy the movie?.

It's sad what this series has become, i really liked it but i've come to realize, as much as many other people (the ratings are horrible right now), that it sucks and will probably die, because instead of creativity, all we see is the same crap over and over again.

I hate to say this but I totally agree with you. I enjoyed certain aspects of the episode (mainly watching the characters--being that I enjoy the actors so much). But you were right, there wasn't a whole lot of substance in this season opener. The season finale was great but they really left us hanging here. The opener should have been 2 hours. There are way too many questions.

How the heck did Martha & Lois's plane crash in the FOS? Did Jor-el bring them there? I'm confused.

Clark found the way out of the PZ way too easily....way too easily. He was only there for like 5 minutes.

I thought that the episode could have been a lot better than it was.

However, I did enjoy the scene btw Chloe, Jimmy & Clark. I thought it was cute and I also enjoyed the scene btw Clark & Lois.

You have some valid points. Unfortunately people get so focused on their favorite charcters and the character development that they're not paying attention to the actual storyline and plot.

[metropolis]

Is everybody on this board completely deaf to the voice of reason?:rolleyes:

[RamonaE]

Originally posted by metropolis
Second, the fortress isn't in the arctic, it's in the Yukon in Canada.

Uhhh....the climate in the Yukon is arctic and subarctic?

Originally posted by metropolis
Is everybody on this board completely deaf to the voice of reason?:rolleyes:

Who appointed you the voice of reason?

[metropolis]

ok, let me tackle those points, in that particular order:


Well, true, the Yukon is arctic-ish, but you have to go a lot farther north to reach subzero tempertures. My point was that Martha and Lois should have been able to survive just fine, especially since they appeared bundled.


And when I say voice of reason, I mean anything that contradicts criticism. Face it, That aspect of this thread isn't getting much attention.

[RamonaE]

Originally posted by metropolis
ok, let me tackle those points, in that particular order:


Well, true, the Yukon is arctic-ish, but you have to go a lot farther north to reach subzero tempertures. My point was that Martha and Lois should have been able to survive just fine, especially since they appeared bundled.


And when I say voice of reason, I mean anything that contradicts criticism. Face it, That aspect of this thread isn't getting much attention.

Which aspect are you referring to?

I understand your point that Jor-el brought Lois & Martha's plane to the FOS. That doesn't really bother me.

Overall it just seemed like they had too many fires in the pot after the season finale:

Lois & Martha in a runaway plane.
Clark in the Phantom Zone.
Chloe & Lionel being attacked by thugs.
Lex transforming into Zod.

It was just too much for them to address properly in a 1 hour (actually 40 minutes w/commercials) show.

And I don't know where all the hype for Steven DeKnight came from this summer b/c he's horrible.

My point is that people should look at the actual storyline and plot and not just the character development. Smallville is big on character development (for some) but sometimes thin on plot.

[metropolis]

Originally posted by RamonaE
And I don't know where all the hype for Steven DeKnight came from this summer b/c he's horrible.


I'll forgive him for Ageless, because Run and Onyx were just that good. :)

[RamonaE]

Ageless is unforgivable. However, I did enjoy Onyx. I thought Run was ok though. The actor who played Flash made up for it.

[metropolis]

well, one of the few redeeming qualities about Ageless was that it was only a filler episode. But I digress, I think that Zod is his most impressive work to date

[impulse110779]

I'm just courious did you watch the show? the Show worked but yes thier were some things that would have been great this was a great opener that leads to a great season and as for the season not even finishing is ludicrus!! thank you please drive through.

[Kal2]

You people shouldn't bother with people like this 1, they're CLUELESS, and you're always gonna get some idiot who thinks that his/her opinion is fact, yeah.. pretty sad.

[metropolis]

Originally posted by Kal2
You people shouldn't bother with people like this 1, they're CLUELESS, and you're always gonna get some idiot who thinks that his/her opinion is fact, yeah.. pretty sad.

There, see, you just said the word of the day: opinion. Some people think that it was great, others think that it sucked. Neither one can be swayed the other way. Just say what you thought of it and stop trying to get other people to agree with you. :rolleyes:

[Krypto500]

Everyone will have a different opinion of the episode. That's the way all forms of entertainment work; everyone has a different perspective. That's the way it should be.

There was no way that this episode was going to please everyone. I'm not even sure turning it into a two-parter or a three- or four-episode mini-arc would have satisfied everyone.

SDK did his best. The sad truth is that, like any TV show or film, there will always be detractors.

Overall, I loved "Zod". I thought Rosenbaum nailed the Zod role, and I think the potential for character development after "Vessel" and this is enormous. The pace was perfect. The performances were strong. The ideas that came up - Clark's isolation, the fragment of the ship's hard drive, the escaped Phantom demons - set up a ton of ideas for the season.

But like a lot of people, I'm disappointed by the way the premiere resolved virtually everything that made "Vessel" a compelling finale. It felt like we were being cheated into thinking that the cliffhanger at the end of Season Five could generate real change in the show. This premiere wrapped up everything that made the Season Five finale dramatic and suspenseful. If that's going to be the consistent formula - if everything's going to be returned to the status quo within one episode - it kind of undermines the previous episode's drama and suspense.

[DarkSolidus]

Originally posted by Drakaun
It has been mentioned on this forum a lot, but in light of this discussion I thought I would say it again. You say the ratings are in the toilet compared to last years ratings, you have to realize that Smallville is on a new network that just formed, that is only available in very few places, hell even DirectTV doesn't get the CW, or so I have heard. Of course the ratings are going to be way lower than last years, because we lost half the viewers just by the mere fact they don't get the channel at all.


Smallville's ratings have been bad for years my friend, doesn't have anything to do with CW forming or anything of the sort, check out the last season, or the one before, they where horrible ratings, people actually question why hasnt it been cancelled yet since its usually the worse rated show in its timeslot if not in the entire week.
Its sad really.

Originally posted by metropolis
DarkSolidus, are you sure you were watching the same episode as the rest of us? First off, as was mentioned before, Clark knew what the medallion would do to Zod because Raya had used it to stave off the phantoms. Second, the fortress isn't in the arctic, it's in the Yukon in Canada. And the reason martha and lois convientley crashed there was because Jor-el brought them down, which was implied in the conversation Martha had with papa el. The show makes perfect sense, you just want to hate it for reasons the rest of us can never come to fathom.

Doesnt really matter if it was the artic or canada the point is it was freezing like hell, ill throw you there and see how many minutes you last. Secondly how do you know Jor-el brought it down?, where was the plane going in the first place?, i dont remember Jor-el saying he brought it down though i might have forgotten it, but in each case it doesn't make sense.

[Kryptonian-Ronin]

So I managed to watch it again.

When ever you see somethign again you always notice things that will make you either like it more or like it less.

Strangely enough, it made no difference.
The same feelings of "it could have been worse and it could have been better" were still there.

Fitting a 2 hour episode into 1 hour always leaves unanswered questions that people have to speculate to answer - case in point, we assume that Clark knew how to use the crystal because he saw Raya use it, even though when Raya use it, no phanthoms we "sucked into it".

The lionel thing, seeing it again it seems that he looks "surpised" that he can actually not only write kryptonian, but understand it, without being under Jor-el influence.

Lex, The writers still seem stuck on wether to bring out his dark side or not, so he still seems "conflicted"" at times.

The Zod fight scene was ok, no tgreat, but certainly one of the better ones we have seen ( though it wouldn't take much).
The way Clark deson't even TRY to fight back seems like he was setting him up for the oportunity to trap him, even Zod mentions how "disappointed" he is in Clark lack of resitence.

Lana- nice to see her more a intense and obviously full of super strength, considering she pulled out a metal poker stake from a colum of wood through her own hand !!
Some serious Chi woman !

Lois - LOL knocked out and in thought she was in heaven, crappy writing for her character, though the awkward moment between her and Clark shows that she does NOT have intereste in him, which as as it shoudl be.

Clark/Chloe and Jimmy -
I couldn't care less.


The phanthoms and Raya-
Raya is some good looking wool !
Hope her and Clark hook up, he needs a strong woman to help and guid him and she needs a man !!
All those decades/centuries in the PZ you KNOW she needs a man !!

The phanthoms are an obvious cop-out to add drama and danger to Clark, more reason for him to pursue he destiny bal, blah, blah.

Jor-El :
Gone but he will be back, oh yes, he will be back...IF he is gone at all...

All in all a god season premiere IF, and this is the thing, IF they BUILD on it and not lower the standard.

Season Premiers shoudl be starting points and thing shoudl get better and that is what has been lacking in Smallville, the CONSTANT increase in build up to the season finale.

Here is hoping that this season gets it right.

[Fish1941]

I enjoyed "Zod" very much. In fact, I consider it one of the better season premieres. I still shocked that an episode of "Smallville" turned out to be better than the 2.5 hour "Superman Returns".

[Kryptonian-Ronin]

Originally posted by Fish1941
I enjoyed "Zod" very much. In fact, I consider it one of the better season premieres. I still shocked that an episode of "Smallville" turned out to be better than the 2.5 hour "Superman Returns".

Don't be shocked, opinions are just that and nothing is ever everyones cup of tea.

We like what we like because we like it, period.

[Fish1941]

Originally posted by Kryptonian-Ronin
Don't be shocked, opinions are just that and nothing is ever everyones cup of tea.

We like what we like because we like it, period.


You don't understand. You seem to think I'm criticizing those who liked "Zod". I'm not. I enjoyed it, as well. In fact, I'm the one who is shocked that I would find an episode of "Smallville" superior to a movie like "Superman Returns".

[Kryptonian-Ronin]

Originally posted by Fish1941
You don't understand. You seem to think I'm criticizing those who liked "Zod". I'm not. I enjoyed it, as well. In fact, I'm the one who is shocked that I would find an episode of "Smallville" superior to a movie like "Superman Returns".

I though you were being critical of SR, not criticizing anyone.

[disciples of zod]

omg, this episode was awesome. the part where lex/zod and clark are flying is really cool. and the whole stabbing through the hand thing was NASTY! also, when lana says "if lex is really dead, then why waste your time with a primitive like me" was genius.

all in all, it was a good ep. keep up w/ more good eps...don't leave us hanging!!!!!!!!!!

[shirkie]

Stick to discussing "Zod," not other posters, guys.
shirkie

[RamonaE]

Originally posted by Kal2
You people shouldn't bother with people like this 1, they're CLUELESS, and you're always gonna get some idiot who thinks that his/her opinion is fact, yeah.. pretty sad.

Excuse me. Do not ever refer to me or anyone else on this board as an Idiot b/c you don't agree w/ someone.

I have PM'd you some additional thoughts. This level of rudeness is completely uncalled for.

[Deana]

I liked it. I was a bit put of that Chloe wasn't shown visiting Lois are showing any interest in her well being at all.

As a fan of the Chloe and Lois scenes, I was disappointed.

[Son of Kal-El20]

The episode was good. I liked the whole Sci Fi element of the episode. 'Zod' did have flaws though. The biggest flaw was the Zod/Clark confrontation which was really bad. The other flaw is Lana's KO which was a little TOO conveniant due to the fact Clark came in at the exact moment she got knocked out.

All in all, I give 'Zod' a 9/10. It would've been a 10 if Clark was like the George Reeves's Superman and actually punched and fought back( lately writers think it's sacrilege if Superman throws a punch).

[kazek]

Originally posted by Son of Kal-El20
The episode was good. I liked the whole Sci Fi element of the episode. 'Zod' did have flaws though. The biggest flaw was the Zod/Clark confrontation which was really bad. The other flaw is Lana's KO which was a little TOO conveniant due to the fact Clark came in at the exact moment she got knocked out.

All in all, I give 'Zod' a 9/10. It would've been a 10 if Clark was like the George Reeves's Superman and actually punched and fought back( lately writers think it's sacrilege if Superman throws a punch).

Yeah that was way too convinient. I wonder what Clark would have done had Lana been awake. I mean, Zod called him Kal-el and Clark used his heat vision. And this whole Zod issue was just too brief for my liking. I expected it to go on for atleast one episode and a maybe a little into another. And also the way Clark didn't do anything physical in the fight sucked...
I rate it......6/10

I wonder what else the whole season is going to show without being a total bore...
Will it even be the usual 22 episodes....???

[No-El26]

I have to admit, of all the season premiers of Smallville (all 6 of them...lol) this one has to be the best. Action from the word GO! I agree with some of you tho...Clark should have fought back more and I was very surprised there wasn't much happening between him and ZLex (like that? hehe). Martha Kent finally meeting Jor-El was a very nice touch...and what about those creatures from the Phantom Zone? Seems Clark certainly has a lot on his plate, not to mention Chloe meeting up with young Olsen (not sure about calling him James tho!), Lois to get with Green Arrow (how will that work?) and of course Lex and Lana. But if you ask me, this is the definitely the season when Clark really does begin why he was sent to Earth and who he is destined to become. Hmmm...now there is a thought: will Season 7 have him wear the famous costume?

[gj430]

At first I thought he should fight back too, but as I thought more about I think he didn't because he was trying to fake out Zod and make him think that he would be willing to submit to him.

[Redkrypt]

Originally posted by gj430
At first I thought he should fight back too, but as I thought more about I think he didn't because he was trying to fake out Zod and make him think that he would be willing to submit to him.

That is a pretty good hypotesis. This is my all-time favorite episode, it beat Red which I thought was impossible.

[Sweetie]

I liked it.Zod & Clark's confrontation was o.k.The scenes inside the PZ were cool.Chloé & Jimmy were so cute together.It's about time that Chloé finds a boyfriend,she deserved to be happy.Clois's moment was adorable.My biggest problem on that episode was Lana.She was useless.I will never understand why some fans find her so necessary anymore:\

[bobser]

I really liked it. The special effects were nice and the story line went along well too.

Some of the scenes felt choppy and I get the feeling there may have been some heavy editing. For instance, toward the end Clark was talking about Raya as if Ma' Kent already knew all the scoop.

Other than the choppiness, and it playing out more like a video game at times, it's good to have it back on. Very nice opener.

[kazek]

huh..how come Lana didn't ask about the origins of the dagger. When she walked into the barn of the kent farm she didn't seem a little bit curious about how and why Martha Kent had that dagger and how she knew it would work on Zod. Are we supposed to assume Lana now knows all about this Krypton business or was she just playing dumb....

Lana has always acted like someone that's always looking for the truth and reason behind all mysteries but this season she doesn't seem to be acting even rational in anyway....
That was plain dumb....

[Redkrypt]

That was only one episode. Surely, I wouldn't give a damn as long as it saves the planet. It alien, she knew that Lex was possesed by a alien. Please provide more to your conclusion, because u just rated it like a single episode.

[goldfish101]

idk oubout it

i guess its ok
but I dunno it was sort of boring

[rudyrusso]

there were too many special effects. keep this series drama based and it will always be good. other than that, it was very enjoyable. everyone still looks great. let's not kid ourselves, that why we tune in every week! erica durance doesn't grow on me, in fact, she seems to look worse every time. no talent, bad nose, and her mouth doesn't form words very well. at least kristin's lisp is played off with some charm.

[sonofkrypton]

Originally posted by STFanatic

OH, was that Zod at the end or another Phantom?

That was Zod... that was actually Jor-El... or at least the actor who plays his voice, Terrence Stamp... who actually plays Zod in the Superman films. :D

[No-El26]

Originally posted by sonofkrypton
That was Zod... that was actually Jor-El... or at least the actor who plays his voice, Terrence Stamp... who actually plays Zod in the Superman films. :D

trying to confuse everyone all the same time are we? hehe...

[ImInVinceible]

poor at best. the writing was unconvincing and it just felt really cheezy and cliche.

[fresh prince]

zod was ausome everything I expected I loved the phantom zone and how they showed the kryptonians from the first season that was great but it shoud of been a 2 or 3 part episode I woud of liked to seen lex as zod for at least one more episode it just felt to short.

[metropolis]

Originally posted by ImInVinceible
poor at best. the writing was unconvincing and it just felt really cheezy and cliche.


Well, you're certainly entitled to your opinion...just don't fall into the trap of trying to get others to agree with you. That's where you would come off as a jerk. ;)

[batmanbeyond13]

This episode made me want to see Superman 2 again. Seeing the actual Zod spirit or phantom come out of Lex was awesome. That phantom looked like the Zod from Superman 2.

[No-El26]

Originally posted by batmanbeyond13
This episode made me want to see Superman 2 again. Seeing the actual Zod spirit or phantom come out of Lex was awesome. That phantom looked like the Zod from Superman 2.

I second that...i was exactly the same when I saw it...such a resemblance indeed...:)

[MidgardDragon]

That's because they used footage of Terrance Stamp for the CGI effect, just in case anyone didn't know yet.

[azi]

Originally posted by MidgardDragon
That's because they used footage of Terrance Stamp for the CGI effect, just in case anyone didn't know yet.
Thanks, I didn't recognize him. Awesome, really love that scene.