Season 3, Episode 13: “What Kills You Only Makes You Stronger” (SPOILERS)

[herolee10]

PROMO:



OFFICIAL DESCRIPTION:

SEASON FINALE- All of Smallville comes together to view a meteor shower, Lex Luthor (guest star Michael Cudlitz “The Walking Dead”) makes his move.

 

[vantheman77]

Lex Luthor is sending a message to Superman and Lois tonight.

 

[The Caped Knight]

Wait Luthor turned Bizzaro into Doomsday?!

 

[vantheman77]

Yep and there was speculation about Bizarro/ Doomsday. Looking good and it feels like a reverse of 2nd season.

 

[squeekness]

Wait Luthor turned Bizzaro into Doomsday?!

Kinda looks that way.

 

[vantheman77]

Awesome fight and a great end to season 3.

 

[The Caped Knight]

For a tv budget not bad for a season finale fight

 

[squeekness]

I think if this didn't have another season I'd be ticked off at having this one end like this. I hate cliffhanger endings.

 

[Primal Slayer]

I dont know...it wasnt a BAD episode but the cliffhanger was meh. Of all the things to cliffhang on, Superman mid battle with yet another Kryptonian turned Doomsday rip-off wasnt what I was expecting.

Obviously we see what they were saving their budget up for and the fight itself was ok.

Hitting on the other tropes was a bit much. Surprise pregnancy to add a pinch of drama for Lana and co? The usual wicked girlfriend. Those could've been executed a bit better.

The Lois/Clark scenes were great as usual.

But idk, I was expecting something more exicting to leave us off on.

 

[KaijuDude1992]

Damn they definitely left us on a cliffhanger which is what I had a feeling would happen once they introduced Doomsday, because there was no way they were going resolve that fight in one episode.

For a tv show and on a much lower budget that battle was pretty badass if a little rushed getting there and I get the feeling next season is going to be heavily focused on The Death of Superman arc.

I really enjoyed the finale overall though.

 

[Web-Head]

What a day to be a Superman fan. Exciting finale fight that had me on the edge of my seat for parts of it and a better cliffhanger than I expected. Still not sure how I feel about this version of Lex but a lot of setups for season 4, so really glad it didn't get canned. Gonna be a long wait though

 

[Slick]

What much can I say a great end to easily the best season yet and I can’t wait for season 4. All the emotional and action bits hit to a pretty epic cliffhanger.

 

[Sithborg]

Wait Luthor turned Bizzaro into Doomsday?!

Spoiled myself a little bit, but I am just laughing at how we have come full circle from the early Season 2 speculation.

 

[Silver Surfer]

That scene when Clark makes a comeback mid space flight was epic. Doomsday is gonna get whupped.

One thing this show has gotten consistently right is that Superman is, was, and will always be the baddest mofo in all of Comic Book fiction.

 

[flickchick85]

Welp, guess we know why they were conserving their budget all season! And honestly should've been able to predict this from the episode title lol.

Spoiled myself a little bit, but I am just laughing at how we have come full circle from the early Season 2 speculation.

I'm quite confident that was all part of the plan.

So yeah. Great finale. Doomsday usually leaves me cold, but it's safe to say this is the first time I've actually been invested in a Doomsday story.

Not sure how I feel about the "if you just keep killing Bizarro, he becomes Doomsday" thing, because, like....why? And why would Lex know that? Does that mean Clark becomes more powerful if you kill him, too??? I suppose that's one easy way to explain him returning after his apparent death. We'll just have to see.
LOVED the Clark/Lois stuff in the beginning. Had me swooning.

Also really liked that speech Clark gave to Jordan at the restaurant.

Really wondering what Lex's endgame is here, because it can't just be, "unleash an un-killable monster on the world so it kills Superman and then REALLY no one can stop it." This Lex has plenty of menace to him, but I'm not sure I'm seeing the "cunning genius" aspects yet. Hopefully they bring that next season.

Moon battle Moon battle Moon battle!!!! Sorry, I love a Superman moon battle. That whole bit in space was glorious.

Overall, yeah, best season of the show thus far. My only real complaint is there was no proper ending, so I'm happier than ever that we got S4!!! What a f***ing legendary day to be a Superman fan!!!!

 

[vantheman77]

The 4th season premiere has to start with the Superman/ Doomsday battle picking up where the 3rd season finale left off. No lazy time jump. It's a Smallville trick if you look at how Smallville's 1st season ended and how it's 2nd season began with a tornado.

 

[herolee10]

Did we ever find out why Bruno had the old Mayor killed? I don't think that was ever resolved.

 

[The Caped Knight]

Where's the meteor shower?!

 

[OrbOfConfusion]

Curious how they intend to write out most of the cast. Maybe they say the Cushings', Irons,' and most people got tired of waiting for Superman to come back from space and moved out of town.

 

[ArmsHeldOut]

I've got to say, as a Superman fan and a fan of comics in general, I'm so effing proud of this show. I was totally expecting them to reveal some lame "miracle cure" for Lois's breast cancer, but they fooled me. They fooled me and bravely stayed the course. Not only was Lois's cancer story handled with the utmost depth and respect it deserves, but in having the character undergo a double mastectomy, she experienced a kind of loss that's both lasting and irrevocable. And that's something we rarely, if ever, see in the world of fictional superheroes, where perceptions of mortality are continually diluted by far too many character resurrections, reversed paralysis, and the like. So, kudos to the cast and crew. Week after week, they continue to impress me.

Overall, this was a very entertaining season finale! Not a huge fan of Cudlitz's unrefined take on Lex, but what he lacks in terms of characterization, he makes up for in sheer ruthlessness. I liked that all of the various couples had their intimate moments together. I wish I could say that Doomsday's reveal came as a shock, but the Interweb was determined to spoil that for me yesterday. lol Still enjoyed the showdown between Supes and his horny (not that kind of horny, ya pervs! ) nemesis immensely, though! There was actually a moment during the brawl where Hoechin conveyed just the right balance of concern, dread and authority in trying to deter Jordan from entering the fray, and it was all in the eyes.

What else can I say? I'm really going to miss Sam and some of the other characters like Lana, Chrissy and John Henry (even if they're brought back for guest appearances or what have you). Not going to end this on a dour note, though. With Corenswet and Brosnahan having just been confirmed for Legacy, I was already on a high going into this finale. And to top it all off, they played my beloved Soundgarden's "Blow Up the Outside World" during the climactic battle??? Doesn't get much better than that!

 

[squeekness]

Where's the meteor shower?!

I know, right? Lol...

 

[vantheman77]

The rating for the season finale was 744K. This was the second-highest rated episode. Season premiere was the highest rated.

 

[Disneyfan]

The could do their version of the death of Superman. They have Steel (Reoccurring does not mean gone at least for him. I see him in the premiere)already and their version of Superboy(Jordan getting a hair cut and a more colorful suit). The only person the do not have is the Eradicator... but if the bring his brother back... Just this time those three are not trying to pretend to be Superman they are trying protect what he loves most.. from Luthor. He is the bog bad now.

I see Nat going tot he DOD camp. The rest of Cushing staying in Smallville and Lois moving to Metropolis to be better protected. He can't go after he if she is working in plain site and at the Dailey Planet ...unless this version is deeply stupid..

I fear General Lane is dead.

 

[Gaultheria]

This was one of those checking-my-watch episodes.

As a plot element, strength versus strength only works as punctuation. It needs to be brief, or else it turns into clutter and noise. In contrast to this episode, I found Krypton's Doomsday -- the stalking terror in the tunnels -- to be a much more compelling threat, with a more menacing appearance (due to his tightly-wound but contained rage) when they did show him.

I don't normally notice the artificiality of CGI and green screen effects, but it really stood out this episode.

On the positive side, Superman carrying an iceberg, in what could have been the series finale, was a nice visual callback to the series premiere.

 

[Gaultheria]

Not sure how I feel about the "if you just keep killing Bizarro, he becomes Doomsday" thing, because, like....why? And why would Lex know that?

Gretchen is probably Gretchen Kelly from the comics, but knowing how this show likes to combine characters, she might also be Gretchen Goode from Young Justice, and that would give Lex access to all sorts of information and plot devices.