Smallville has returned for its tenth and final season. For those not familiar with Smallville, the series follows the journey of Clark Kent towards his final destiny: becoming the hero called Superman. After facing off with the likes of Doomsday and Zod, the question of remained of who would face Clark in his final journey. Could we see the return of Lex Luthor? Or is a new villain on the horizon? Let’s take a look at what happened…

“Lazarus”

Starting right from where last season ended, Clark allowed himself to be stabbed by Zod and leapt off the building, allowing Zod to be taken by the Book of Rao and exiled from Earth, but tumbling powerless to the ground and his imminent death. Lois Lane, who realized Clark’s identity as “The Blur” during a kiss in the finale, finds Clark dead, lying on the ground with the blue kryptonite dagger deep in his chest. During his “death,” Clark enters a dreamlike state where his Kryptonian father Jor-El berates him for his weakness. Jor-El criticizes Clark’s decision to sacrifice himself, and states that a great evil is coming. Clark finds a grave with his name on it and also sees a bald figure resembling Lex Luthor. Clark begs for a second chance, but Jor-El refuses. In the streets of Metropolis, Lois realizes the blue kryptonite is weakening him and removes the dagger, safely hiding before Clark resurrects under the Sun.

"The Blur" rises in the sunlight

With a new lease on life for Clark, the same has also come to Tess Mercer, who appears alive and completely healed after being brutally burned by Zod and flatlining in the finale. Much to Tess’ horror, she discovers herself in a facility where Lex Luthor attempted to clone himself to heal the wounds he received when he destroyed the Fortress of Solitude in the finale of season seven. Tess discovers a young boy, Alexander Luthor, who is a young clone of Lex. He also warns Tess too late that an imperfect, genetically flawed clone of Lex is being held in the facility, and Tess unwittingly releases the evil monster. Meanwhile, at Watchtower, Chloe desperately searches for her boyfriend Oliver Queen, when Green Arrow mysteriously disappeared after being attacked by a multitude of somethings that “are not Kandorians.”

Clark and Chloe investigate facilities where Lex may still be alive,. Clark heads to the Daily Planet, while Chloe heads to the JSA Headquarters. Clark and Lois share a cute moment where Lois specifically goes out her way to allow Clark to use his abilities without her “knowing” and maintains the disguise that she is unaware that Clark and “The Blur” are one in the same. Meanwhile, Chloe heads to find the helmet of Nabu, once worn by Dr. Fate and places the helmet on her head, seeing exactly what she needs of the future. We also find Oliver being interrogated by a mysterious stranger, but Oliver refuses to submit.

When Clark realizes where Chloe went, he finds her disabled and takes her to Emil Hamilton, who tries to analyze her condition. Chloe awakens, claiming to have seen the future and knows what to do. She sends Clark after the cloning facility, and sets out to complete her own “mission.” Clark arrives at the facility and saves Tess, whom he is surprised to see survive and raises off to Smallville where the Lex clone has set-up shop. The clone has taken Lois and strung her up like Clark once was as a scarecrow. He has also set explosives to detonate, destroying the Daily Planet Globe and killing many. Clark has t choose, and in his rage he nearly kills the Lex clone, stopping just in time, but as the clone dies from cellular deterioration. Clark races to the Smallville cornfields and saves Lois and then runs full speed to Metropolis, where he takes a giant leap and manages to catch the Globe before it falls to Earth.

"The Blur" catches the Daily Planet Globe just in time.

Having seemingly saved the day, Clark finds that Lois has left for an assignment in Africa, and Jor-El pulls Calrk to the fortress, where he explains the Dark Force preys on the weaknesses in the heart, and that Clark is too weak. He banishes Clark from the fortress, shutting it down and freezing the Superman suit in crystal.

As Clark laments his losses, Oliver is exchanged with another hooded prisoner, whose is later revealed to be Chloe, unknown to Oliver, as part of a prisoner exchange, saving Oliver, but leaving Chloe’s whereabouts a mystery. As Oliver searches for Chloe, Clark gets a visit from  his adopted (and deceased) father Jonathan Kent on the Kent farm, restoring his hope for the future and giving Clark an opposing viewpoint to Jor-El’s.

As the episode winds up, the platform where the Book of Rao was placed begins to leak out a dark shadow, and the Dark Force appears from the shadow, the villain looking up in the sky and growling.

A mysterious figure appears.