There's a whole lot about destiny in this episode. Clark thinks it's his destiny to stay on Earth, but everyone else is like, "But it's our destiny not to get turned into human slaves, so use the damned Book of Rao and ship the Kandorians off to another planet already!" He's reluctant, since he would get transported right along with them. He changes his mind when he goes to confront a silent Jor-El about the matter and finds a half-burnt Tess in the Fortress, wounded by Zod when she finally decides to pick a side to atone for her sins. Chloe is so devastated by this decision that she can't even say goodbye to him... or something. Clark goes off to say goodbye to Lois, but things are complicated by the fact that Zod has now met with Lois and sort of convinced her he's the Blur. He also convinces her to do a little digging into Clark's business, which leads her to the Jor-El journal hidden in his loft, which makes her realize Clark's been keeping secrets. She begs him to tell her the truth; when he doesn't, she thinks he's working against the Blur and pickpockets the Book of Rao to bring to Zod. Once she realizes Zod's not really the Blur, he gets all super pissy and tries to kill her. The actual Blur saves her (while managing to stay entirely hidden in shadows) so she gives him not just the Book of Rao but a big ol' smooch, as well. He whooshes away and she's like, "I'd recognize that pizza roll-flavored kiss anywhere!"
Meanwhile, Chloe has sent Hawk Man, Stargirl, Cyborg, and the Black Canary to different places around the world where Zod's soldiers have started declaring war against the humans by vandalizing all our cool monuments and pyramids. Zod effectively cuts off communication between Watchtower and the heroes, but Oliver presents Chloe with a gift: a super cool satellite he had put in orbit just for such an occasion. Aw, sweet. All he has to do is crawl around the vents of some building to activate the uplink, which he does successfully, but is almost immediately descended upon by unknown foes. He and Chloe declare their love for each other via walkie-talkies just before he gasps out, "They're not Kandorians!" and the connection goes dead. A hint as to who the mysterious attackers might be comes in the form of a grandmotherly woman who pays a visit to Tess's hospital room. That'll be covered in the recap.
Clark goes to confront Zod on a dark and rainy Metropolis rooftop. There, Tess has hidden a special console into which the Book of Rao is to be inserted like a one-way bus ticket to Nowheresville. Naturally, Zod has brought his soldiers with him. Clark tries to sell them on the concept of going to another planet, but Zod starts beating him up. During this, Zod apparently forgets his super-soldiers have super-hearing, because they hear him whispering about how he killed Faora and his unborn child. The soldiers, realizing their leader has been lying to them, turn against Zod and go willingly to their new home when Clark activates the Book. Zod's not so willing, however, and whips out a blue Kryptonite dagger that's so long it might almost be called a spear of sorts. Hmm! He blathers about preferring to rule in Hell than kneel in Heaven, seeing as how the blue K depowers both himself and Clark. A manly, well-orchestrated and visually pleasing fight ensues. Clark, standing on the ledge of this rooftop, lets himself by speared and falls backwards toward the streets below, clutching the dagger as he goes. Zod, now no longer depowered by the Kryptonite, ends up zapped away by Heavenly light from above. To be continued season.... But check back for the recap in a few days in the meantime.
Discuss this episode in our forums, then see what other superbeings have crossed Clark in our guide to the Heroes and Villains of Smallville!
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Previously on Smallville: Dr. Fate told Clark he would lead a "silver age" of heroism; Clark started training with Jor-El and wore his hair with bangs; Alia used blue Kryptonite to briefly take away Clark's powers; Chloe was reticent to accept gifts from her new beau, Oliver; Clark worried he wasn't enough for Lois since she was so hung up on his Blur identity; Lois decided she shouldn't meet the Blur face-to-face because he needed to protect them anonymously; Tess heard a disembodied voice tell her she was the savior of Kandor and Zod arrived nekkid on Earth; the Kandorians arrived on Earth thanks to some magical cloning technology; Lois worked with Perry White and Checkmate; Clark accidentally gave Zod super-powers when he gave Zod his blood; Zod then gave his soldiers super powers by giving them his blood; Faora told Clark Zod was looking for the powerful "Book of Rao" which was actually a golden metal disk; Zod killed her for betraying him and in the process killed his unborn child; he pinned the death on humans but Clark told the Kandorians that was a lie; Clark looked all over for the Book of Rao but couldn't find it; Martha, who turned out to be the mysterious Red Queen, schooled Tess about saving the planet; Martha gave the Book of Rao to Clark and told him it would transport all the Kandorians to "another plane of existence" but he'd be taken along with them; Zod pretended to be the Blur to enlist Lois's help doing his dirty work; Clark, as the Blur, cut ties with Lois, telling her if anyone called her as the Blur, she shouldn't believe them; Lois got a note from the Blur asking to finally meet her.
And now the season finale of Smallville! The ninth season finale. Holy crap, that's a lot of season finales.
A cute little biplane putters along the Metropolis skyline, pulling behind it a sign that reads, "Metropolis World's Fair 2013." Now you know it's the future. And that World's Fairs still exist. Lois is arguing with Perry White in his office. You just see the vague shape of a man and his name stenciled on the door. Now you know that Perry White will be editor of the paper within three years. And that there was apparently some kind anticipated problem with 2012 that didn't come to pass, much like Y2K, or so Lois argues. On her way out the door, she tells him, "Not to fear, White, if there's a scandal in the Pentagon, yours truly will be the one to find it." She's got her hair all done up in a twist and is wearing a smart business suit and heavy-rimmed geek-chic glasses. No sooner has she walked away from the office than an office drone descends upon her. He tells her the State Department has called her seven times and the Dalai Lama has sent her a fruit basket, which he thrusts upon her. It also looks more like a flower arrangement than a fruit basket. Those crazy Buddhists. "Clark's at the deli," the drone says. "He wants to know if you want pastrami or roast beef." Lois scoffs about Clark's forgetful nature. She stomps into the elevator, the drone close behind. "There's something else," he says almost apologetically as he hands her a newspaper. She whips it open with an exasperated sigh. "Lex Luthor Announces Run For Presidency," the headline screams. There's a nice picture of Michael Rosenbaum from early in the show. Lois is pissed that Lex is running for president and Perry White has her on the Pentagon story. Why is this presidential bid news to her if the paper she works at is running the story? Also, way to jump the gun, Lex. She stomps out of the elevator and towards her desk. There's a familiar whoosh and she finds Clark's desk suddenly unoccupied save for his glasses and still-moving chair. She doesn't seem surprised at all. A portly older gentleman starts running through the office, shouting, "The news plane lost power! It's heading straight for the Daily Planet!" Lois shouts at an unseen "Olsen" to take pictures. "Look! Up in the sky!" shouts the older gentleman. She gets to the window just in time to see the red blur of a cape whooshing through the sky. The imperiled biplane is reflected in the globe atop the building as Dr. Fate's voice echoes, "Your fate is utterly binding. You will lead this generation, as Hawkman once led ours." A tiny Superman-shaped blur saves the plane, steering it away from the building.
Clark gasps and wakes up in the present day. He sits up, startled to find himself on the ratty old sofa in his barn loft. On the table beside him is a box from his mom. The attached note reads, "If you choose to stay. Love, Mom." As he opens the box, heroic music begins to play. We see reflected in his eyes the bright red-and-yellow S-shield on a blue background. Why would Martha give him his costume? Where did she get it? Who knows? It is pretty cool, though. Clark's like, "Man, everyone's totally gonna see my package in this! Awesome!" Somebody save... Well, there's no one to save right now. Sorry, Remy Zero!
Metropolis, night. There's a tower that looks sort of like Watchtower's moodier, gothier cousin. Lois opens an arched door near the top of it and steps out onto a courtyard/rooftop that's enclosed by decorative iron gates and lamps. There's a big stone pedestal near the door and some gargoyles... oh, hey! Is this the place that he likes to pose while looking all Emo and brooding? Not sure they've shown us the whole building before. Anyway, Lois finds a man waiting for her at the ledge, clad in a long, black leather coat. "I thought you said we'd never talk again," Lois says. The man turns and walks toward her. It's Zod, naturally. Lois doesn't seem especially pleased. "How can you be the Blur?" She saw him get shot by Dr. Chisolm so she knows he's not super. He super-zips around her to prove himself. "My powers cured me," he says. He's wearing an S-shield on his black T-shirt. Pretty sure he's also wearing high heels, based on the way he's towering over Lois here. Kudos to Zod for going whole-hog. Lois is skeptical that Clark's "mild-mannered FBI friend" is the one always saving her. She should also be skeptical that he's suddenly English, but maybe she figures the American accent was a ruse. Zod calls her his hero for risking her life to save his. "My hero told me not to trust anyone who said he was the Blur," she says. She makes for the door, but he calls after her, begging for her help. She pauses. "Someone has come dangerously close to discovering who I am, and if they do they could destroy everything I've worked for." He tells her it's Clark, which makes her scoff. Zod tries to convince her that Clark's been trying to come between them. "He knows what we mean to each other," he says. Lois admits that Clark's been jealous at times, but still doesn't believe him. Zod compliments her investigative abilities and tells her to dig a little deeper. "I guarantee you'll find that Clark Kent is not who he says he is."
Watchtower, and it's suddenly daytime. Chloe's got on her snazzy green leather jacket again. She's talking to Oliver by video chat. His smiling face is on multiple monitors around the place as she moves around, checking computers. She's having a hard time tracking down the Kandorians. "It's like they vanished into thin air!" Oliver: "You know, that might have something to do with the fact that they can fly." Chloe chuckles. "Sarcasm noted." They have a nice rapport that makes me wish the show had spent more time on their relationship this season. Oliver wonders if the Kandorians haven't left the planet, but Chloe's sure they're still here because Zod needs people to rule over. "I have a feeling that the War of the Worlds is coming soon to a planet near you," she says. Oliver says he's heading home: "If a war breaks out, I want to be in the foxhole with you." Chloe seems surprised and not all that pleased to hear it, which makes Oliver remember that he's dating Little Miss Commitmentphobe. He tries to cover by awkwardly stammering out an explanation that doesn't quite come. So Chloe offers, "Because we need to protect Watchtower's database." Oliver's like, "Uh, yeah... that's it!" He stammers a bit more then signs off. Cute.
Clark whooshes in and Chloe debriefs him about getting the other heroes mobilized and armed with the Kryptonite weapons. Clark thinks that will only stall the Kandorians. "It's only a matter of time before Zod commands his soldiers to bring the world to its knees." Clark gives Chloe the Book of Rao. She's quite impressed with it, despite the fact that it looks pretty much like all the other Krypto-disks we've seen so far. She wonders how Martha even knew about it. Good question. Care to give it a try, Clark? "When Lionel died, she inherited the Kryptonian library." Uh... all right. "It's no surprise that Zod would lie," Clark says. "The Book of Rao is not a bible; it was created by Jor-El to send the Kandorians to another world -- a world they could call their own." Zod probably didn't so much as lie as the writers didn't decide until most of the way through the season that a bible wasn't going to get them to a season finale. Chloe gets all excited to fire up the disk, but Clark tells her he'd be sent away along with the Kandorians. "I know my destiny is here," he says. "I've seen it." Clark goes on to say that Dr. Fate saw his destiny, too, and then there were all those stupid trials Jor-El concocted. Clark is adamant about staying on Earth. The whole while Clark is talking, you can see the scenarios playing out in Chloe's head. She wants him to stay, she's been his friend forever, but... "What if every trial has just been a preparation for you to make the ultimate sacrifice?" Clark doesn't think that's the case, because Jor-El would be lecturing him about it instead of keeping his stupid disembodied voice out of it. Chloe thinks it might be Jor-El's way of saying Clark needs to make the decision on his own. Clark, getting a bit huffy, still insists there has to be another way. "Jor-El did not tell you to stay here and be our guardian," Chloe argues. "Are you saying it's selfish for me to try to save people?" he asks. Well, now that you mention it... But that's not what Chloe thinks. "You think I want you to go?" she asks, her tone demanding and passionate. "Clark, I can't imagine being in this world without you." Neither can the CW, apparently. She reminds him there's still a team of heroes here to protect Earth. She says, quietly, "Maybe your true purpose is to lead your own people." Sad, heroic music plays. Clark stares at the air.
Fortress of Solitude. Zod flies through the frigid Arctic air. For some reason, his contrail is black and smoky. Maybe he's secretly the Smoke Monster from Lost. As soon as he lands inside, he starts going off on a pissy little tirade. "You've refused to speak to me, Jor-El," he gripes. "Now I'll make sure you'll never speak to your son again!" He's also going to unfriend Jor-El on FaceBook, write a mean limerick about him on the bathroom wall, and make bunny ears behind Jor-El's head in all their school pictures. He goes over to the crystal console, but before he can ZOD SMASH! the thing to pieces, he hears footsteps approaching. Tess steps into view. "You're not welcome here," Zod pouts. Yeah, no girls allowed in the treehouse, missy. Tess saunters over to him, gloating about finally finding the place after two years of searching. "How did you get here?" Zod asks. "I flew," Tess says. Zod, never one to pass up an opportunity to make use of his Earth Lit 101 class, compares her to Icarus, flying where he didn't belong. "Icarus was on an ego trip," Tess says. "But I have a higher calling." That... kind of sounds like an ego trip. She's seen the error of her ways and wants to redeem herself. She gives him a flirty look. Zod shoves her into a wall of crystals, pissed that she hid the Book of Rao from him. But it's not Zod's forgiveness she wants. She reaches into her pocket for some Krypto-brass knuckles and proceeds to punch the snot out of him. She rails on him for enslaving humanity in the future she saw, and killing Clark. For some reason, she lets him crawl far enough away from her that the Kryptonite no longer weakens him. "You touched the sun when you freed me from the orb," he says. "You're about to learn what it feels like to get burned." He shoots fire out of his eyes at her. She screams in agony and wishes she'd brought a Kryptonite projectile instead of a melee weapon. Commercials.
Back from the break, Clark zips into the Fortress, calling for Jor-El. "I know you told me to save Zod, but I won't if it means leaving everyone I promised to protect." Alien daddy remains silent, so Clark goes on: "My destiny is here on Earth, and everything you trained me for was for another purpose, then it was a waste." He pledges to stay and asks for another way to stop Zod. He notices that the crystal console has been smashed to bits. "Your father can't help you anymore," Zod says behind him. Turning to face him, Clark looks like he tastes the hot, acid yumminess of bile. Zod nah-nah-nee-boo-boos about how his people have taken over the planet and there's nothing Clark can do to stop him. "You want war, but it doesn't have to be like this," Clark pleads. Oh my God, give it up. I'm a tree-hugging liberal, and I still say drop a Kryptonite bomb on them all and let Rao sort it out. Zod blusters about how it's always like this. "Might," he says with plenty of spittle, "makes right!" Clark looks at Zod like he's a crazy person, because he is. "Only the strong survive," Zod goes on, because he's not out of trite things to say. "Have you learned nothing from the natural world which you love so muuuuuch?" he asks, drawing out the last in a really bizarre way. Mr. Blue, what is with your line delivery? Clark still goes on about wanting to save people who seem evil, because, "At their core, everyone is worth saving." Zod scoffs, but Clark clarifies that he's saving Zod from making the same mistake Faora did. What, getting knocked up? Zod gets twitchy and quiet. He doesn't believe Clark knows anything about redemption, but Clark tells him about that time he killed Jonathan. "My Earth father warned me not to play god," he says, "not to reach for power that's not mine, but I tempted fate, and because of that he died." Clark tells Zod he has to forgive himself. But then he goes and screws the pooch by telling Zod that his "team" has Kryptonite weapons. He tells Zod to end it now. "You can't win," he says. "I know my destiny." "And I know mine," Zod says, flying straight up out of the Fortress. Clark looks at the ground, all sad, which is when he notices Tess lying on the floor some distance away. He rushes over to her and finds half her face burnt and spackled with raspberry jam. He picks her up and whooshes away.
Daily Planet, dawn. Lois arrives to find a package from Perry White. Priority overnight, from Nairobi to Kansas, even. That must've cost a pretty penny. Inside there's a plane ticket for her. "You never give up, do you, Perry?" She makes a sad face and goes over to Clark's computer. She searches his files for any references to the Blur and pulls up beaucoups de folders. Most of them are news articles, some are surveillance snapshots. There's one picture of Zod standing in a crowd. Lois sighs.
Metropolis General. An old woman sits in the hallway, her face obscured by a babushka, her gnarled hands knitting a beige sweater. Nearby, Two-Face Tess is lying in a hospital room, her bed surrounded by a clear plastic screen. She sees Clark standing by the foot of her bed and stammers out an apology for tracking Corben to the Fortress. She was only trying to protect Clark, she says. Clark shows her the Book of Rao, saying he can't use it now even if he wanted to, because Zod smushed the console. Tess reveals the location of a heretofore unseen new console that she rescued from the rubble of the demolished solar towers. How very lucky! She tells him she moved the console to his "crow's nest above the city." "Clark, this is my last chance to atone for my sins," she says. "You are the only one who can save us, and you've run out of time." Every word she speaks is shaky and pained. "The war has already begun," she tells him.
Montage time! The Kandorians decide to go sightseeing around Earth, except instead of picking up souvenirs, they decide to set stuff on fire. The Great Wall of China is in flames... somehow. Maybe the anonymous, black-clad Kandorian standing atop the blazing fort brought gasoline with him. He's also burned Zod's "Z" symbol into a section of the wall. The Acropolis of Athens is similarly ablaze. Vala uses her heat vision to blast Zod's symbol into the Great Pyramids. Basqat does his part by branding the Washington Monument. You've disfigured America's most phallic monument! You're going to have to pay now. He sneers with satisfaction at his handiwork.
Watchtower. Chloe's set up a video conference with members of the JSA and JLA. Oliver's at her side, kitted out in his Green Arrow gear, while the rest report in from the locations attacked by the Kandorians. "I think we have a little more time before the UN gets involved," Chloe says. "All our Queen Industries contacts say our military friends believe this is just some hoax." That... seems unlikely. She asks the others for updates. Stargirl reports in from Washington: "No sign of the Kandorians after the attack." "Black Canary here," Dinah adds, sporting some crazy disco hair. "The story's the same here in Athens." "All I found in Giza are mummies," Hawkman reports. He advocates striking against the aliens first, but Oliver scoffs, calling him "Tweety." Heh. "We're dealing with super-powered aliens here." Hawkman accuses "Mr. Green Jeans" of being a coward. Chloe cuts in: "The Kandorians are Clark's people, so we're not going to take any sort of action until he's with us." John Jones agrees with Chloe, but Cyborg sides with Hawkman. They argue back and forth. The others start bickering amongst themselves. Hawkman, speaking over them all, says, "Zod's symbol says one thing: he wants a fight. I say we move now and cause some pain." Clark walks into the room, asking, "But at what cost?" Yeah, no kidding! The special effects budget would have to be astronomical! "The Kandorians have been led astray by Zod," Clark says. Heroic music plays. "I don't want to see them die any more than I want to lose any one of you." Everyone falls silent. Clark announces that he's going to use the Book of Rao to send the Kandorians away. "Once I lead my people to another world, I'll never be able to come back." The other heroes argue with him, but Clark insists it's the only peaceful way to end the threat. He tasks them with carrying on after he leaves. The world will still need them to fight other threats. "You'll have to work together to become the team that you were meant to be." The heroes agree and sign off with their respects. Chloe, tears in her eyes, says, "I'm proud of you," and leaves the room. Oliver stops Clark from going after her, telling him instead to go see Lois. Clark mopes about his problems with Lois lately. "You owe her the truth," Oliver says. Clark thinks it would hurt Lois more to know the truth just before he leaves. "I wouldn't do that to her," he says. Oliver tells him to go say goodbye anyway. Jesus, just do something to end this scene!
Gothy crow's nest. Basqat comes in for a landing on the rooftop and finds Zod already there. "General, have you retrieved the Book of Rao?" Zod just twitches, so Basqat gets antsy about "Kal-El" using it to kill them. Zod's asks, in the pissiest tone possible, "Do you not have a mission to complete?" Basqat tells him it's done; Kal-El's buds have been sent all over the world. Zod paces the rooftop a bit, musing about Kal-El being all alone in Metropolis. Basqat looks like he's starting to realize his boss is a little cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs, but informs the General that they've now cut off their communications and their satellites have been destroyed. "Then by dawn we'll have the Book of Rao," Zod says. "And this planet will be ours." Commercials.
Watchtower. All the monitors have gone to static, which causes Chloe great consternation. She can't reach anybody. "It's like everyone I sent out there is a sitting duck and Zod's about to call a start to hunting season!" Oliver tries to calm her down, but she's growing more frantic by the second. "We're dealing with, like, a hundred Clarks here!" she says. In that case, you could probably just distract them all with Mad Libs. "I'm not sure I can dodge this speeding bullet," Chloe says. "You're not in it alone," Oliver reminds her. "We're a team, right? You've got me." She doesn't hear him because she's too busy gathering up things from her desk. "Hey," he says a little louder. He takes her by the arms and waits for her to finally look up at him. "Trust me," he says with a smile. She calms down for all of two seconds before she gets back to work trying to fix their technical difficulties. Oliver tells her he had a satellite launched into orbit, dedicated to Watchtower. That finally gets Chloe to stop. "We have our own satellite?" she practically squeals. "Why didn't you tell me this before?" "Well, it was sort of a gift," he says with a little-boy grin. Chloe couldn't be more thrilled, even though it means her birthday gift to him will now pale in comparison. He says the satellite's up, but he'll have to flip some switches at the Earth station before they can use it. Chloe fishes out some old walkie-talkies so they can keep in touch and hands him one, asking him to keep a low profile. He plants a kiss on her, then jokes about keeping a low profile while wearing green leather. She watches him leave with a mixture of pride and fear, and just a twinge of the burning thigh sweats, as Omar G. used to say.
Kent farm. Lois is digging around in the trunk in Clark's loft. It's mostly high school memorabilia, so when she finds a leather-bound journal, she assumes it's more of the same. "How could a guy who kept a journal in high school ever hurt anyone?" She smiles lovingly, but opens it and discovers it's Virgil Swann's journal with Kryptonian translations and a Veritas crest. Lois flips through the pages and finds them full of alien symbols and formulas. On the last page is the sketch that Faora made of the Book of Rao. Lois compares it to the sketch she showed Perry last week. She looks freaked, although it's a mystery why she finds it so disconcerting instead of assuming it's research for a story like her own. Clark comes up the stairs just then but for some reason doesn't see her nosing around. She puts on a tense smile. He's been looking for her. "I have something to tell you, and if I don't tell you now, I never will." Lois is listening, so he goes on about his relationships ending too soon, and how lost he felt last fall when he went away. "But when I came back to the bullpen, you were there waiting for me," he says. "You jumped out of your seat, you threw your arms around me, and the way that your eyes sparkled when you smiled, I just... I knew." He takes a breath and adds, "I just knew that you were the one I've always needed, and I needed you to know that." Lois looks distraught, so he prompts her to say something. She blurts out that Perry has offered her a job at the foreign desk in Kenya. That can't really be a promotion, can it? Clark looks sad, so he goes to the window and composes himself before turning around with a smile. "That's great, congratulations." She hasn't decided to go yet, so he stupidly asks her what would make her stay. "I would stay for you," she says. She would give up Africa to be with him. "But only if we stop keeping secrets from each other," she says quietly. Clark feigns ignorance, which comes naturally. Lois pleads with him to be honest, but he keeps insisting there's nothing else to tell her. He gives her an awkward hug and promises to watch over her. Lois leaves with tears in her eyes and we spend much too long watching Clark watching her go down the stairs.
Met Gen. Two-Face Tess has taken a turn for the worse. She starts convulsing as monitors beep and nurses and doctors rush in. Meanwhile, the grandmotherly woman outside continues knitting her beige sweater as if waiting for something to happen. Click-click go her needles. Whoever they hired to play this part is actually knitting and not just faking it, so cheers for that little detail. As she knits, we hear the staff working to save Tess, but they give up after a whopping 30 seconds or so. A doctor walks out of the room, glancing at his watch. "Time of death, 3:33PM.""The mystery woman stops knitting and walks into Tess's room. She purposefully closes the door behind her. Forum posters speculated that she's Granny Goodness, set to recruit Tess for Darkseid, but only time will tell if the show follows up on it. [Granny Goodness is skilled in the arts of torture and combat, but... knitting? A Female Fury needs not these things. - Z]
Satellite shenanigans. Oliver calls in to Chloe via walkie-talkie. "Houston, we got a problem." Chloe smiles at her silly man and asks if he's at the satellite station yet. He is, indeed, but he's a little lost. He crawls on his belly through a maze of air ducts. "I need you to be my own personal MapQuest, if you don't mind." He describes his surroundings and she finds his location on a paper map. She calls him "mole man" and directs him to a T-intersection in the ducts. Once he gets there, she tells him to look for a specific panel, which he finds quickly. He takes out a handy cordless screwdriver and opens the panel's faceplate. "You gotta admit," he says, "I know how to treat a girl on date night." She grins. "Sure, week you think we could just grab some Thai food and catch a movie?" Mm, sounds good. He pokes around in some wires and one of the monitors at Watchtower flickers on. Chloe rejoices. She tells Oliver to head back home as she goes to her desk's built-in computer to find him an easier way out. She's pleased to find a glowing green dot on the map that means the station's motion sensors have picked him up. She's significantly less pleased when a dozen red dots suddenly join him on the screen. An alarm sounds. "Oh, no, Ollie, you've got visitors," she says. "There's a whole swarm of them and they're closing in on you fast." She tells him to get out. As he starts backtracking, the metal walls of the ducts crumple around him as whoever is on the other side tries to punch their way inside. He crawls and crawls, but everywhere he goes he's met by unseen foes. "Chloe, if they find the signal, they'll trace me back to you!" he shouts. "I gotta go!" He cries out her name; she cries back to him. "I love you," he blurts out. After a slight pause, she answers back, "I love you!" She watches helplessly as the red dots converge on Oliver. His last words to her: "Chloe, they're not Kandorian!" Commercials.
Gothy crow's nest. Clark whooshes over to the big stone pedestal and lifts away the top of it, revealing the crystal console inside. There's an octagonal shaped indentation in the middle. Clark reaches into his pocket for the Book of Rao, but finds only lint. "Lois," he says with a frown.
Streets of Metropolis. Lois, stuffing the octagon into her jeans pocket, waits for the "Blur" to arrive. "I knew I could count on you," Zod says, walking up to her. She can't believe he was right about Clark. Now the "Blur" is the only one she can believe in. "My only regret," Zod says, "is I can see your heart break." He glances at her chest. Those aren't her heart, buddy. Lois turns away in tears. "It's not broken," she says in a quavering voice. "It's shattered." He places a comforting hand on her shoulder and promises never to deceive her. As she reaches up to touch his hand, a jolt of realization goes through her: These are not the meaty paws she caressed just weeks ago. He presses her for the Book of Rao, but she lies that she doesn't have it. "I hid it where I confessed to you that you were the most important person in my life." Zod gets pissed. Lois turns to leave, but Zod super-zips into her path. "I should have known better than to deceive the Blur's most devoted follower," he says. "Who the hell are you?" she asks. He's someone who likes to fling ladies into phone booths, that's who he is. He hurls Lois across the street and everything goes slo-mo. Clark zips onto the scene, punches Zod out of the way, then plucks Lois out of the air just as her elbow breaks through the booth's glass window. For some reason, she's unconscious as he sets her down on the pavement. He zips into the nearest alley when she starts to come to. She sees him standing in the shadows and goes to him, apologizing for thinking Zod was him. "Please say something," she says when he remains silent. She holds out the Book of Rao and he takes it, his fingers closing on her hand and pulling her toward him for a kiss. She doesn't seem so "shattered" about Clark anymore. They kiss and kiss as sad music plays. He zips away. Recognizing the full luciousness of the lips with which she just locked, Lois staggers out of the alley. "Clark!" she gasps.
Clark returns to the Gothy Tower with the Book of Rao. Before he can insert the disk into the console, Zod zooms out of the sky and lands in front of him. "You can't stop me, Zod. We're leaving this planet." Zod sneers. "I'm not going anywhere, and neither are they." Right on cue, his soldiers whoosh through the night sky and drop onto the rooftop. There's a whole assload of them. Clark's face goes, "Crap!" But he regains composure soon enough. "Having others finish the fight you started only proves what a coward you are." Zod points out that Clark's the one who likes to hide in shadows. "You've hidden, too," Clark spits back. "The truth! From them!" You could whittle Lincoln Logs out of some of Welling's delivery here. Clark addresses the gathering, Book of Rao upheld, and tells them it won't destroy them. "It will lead us to a better place," he says. "Another planet where we can live in peace." Martha only said it would lead them to another plane of existence; she never said it would be better than Earth. For all Clark knows, it could be some alternate reality populated entirely by Carrot Top clones, or all the restaurants are filled with screaming kids and jerk-asses who talk on their cell phones all night! Nonetheless, Clark promises that Krypton will live again in their rebuilt world. "This is just another deceit," Zod tells them. Clark turns to Zod. "What about your deceptions? If they knew the truth, they'd never follow you." Clark walks over to Vala, talking about Faora's wish to leave Zod, and how she was killed for it. Vala doesn't flinch. Clark turns back to Zod and asks, "But she wasn't the only one who paid the price, was she?" An enraged Zod grabs Clark by the lapels of his coat and shoves him up against a nearby wall. "Faora was a traitor," Zod says in Clark's ear. "Do you think I wanted to kill my own child?" "Zod" must be Kryptonian for "he who forgets important crap at important moments of the story," because he only just now remembers that his soldiers have super-hearing. He looks around and finds them all glaring back at him. He tries to save face by reminding them that Faora was a traitor, but they're not buying it. Vala is the first one to rip off her Nazi-esque soldier's armband and the others soon follow suit. "She would have betrayed us all!" Zod shouts, sounding more and more desperate by the second. Vala advances on him, but Basqat stops her because the script says it's Clark who has to fight Zod in the end. He promises they'll deal with Zod once they're "on their own soil." Soil if you're lucky. You could be going to a plane of existence where the ground is made entirely of elephant mucus. "Kal-El, take us home," Vala says. And if that doesn't work, perhaps Calgon can take you away. Clark slips the disk into the console and beams of bright yellow light erupt out of the crystals and straight into the night sky. One by one, the Kandorians are beamed up into the clouds. Clark lifts up his face, readying himself.
A heavy rain begins to fall. Why? Because it makes for a pretty fight scene. Before Clark can be sucked up into the light, Zod pulls a long, spear-like dagger from his coat. He unsheathes it, revealing a long, glowing blue blade. Clark realizes he's not being transported and looks over to see the blue Kryptonite weapon in Zod's hand. "I toad you," Zod says. "I'm not goin' anywhere!" Clark rushes him, grabbing him by the shoulders of his leather coat. "You knew the blue Kryptonite would prevent you from ascending like the others," Clark says, mostly for the viewer's benefit. Zod has a ready quote for the occasion: "Better to rule in hell than to serve in heaven!" He slashes Clark across the chest. Clark raises his hands and catches the cut across his forearms. Zod taunts him about fighting like a human. He tears off his coat and uses it to ensnare Zod's attacking arm. He flips Zod to the pavement. The action slows to a crawl so you can appreciate the beauty of two men going all Fight Club on each other. The downside to this is that the sound is also slowed, so that when one of them grunts or shouts, it sounds like they're gargling with molten lava and yak hair." "GAAAHHHHRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRLLL!" The spear falls from Zod's hand. Clark reaches for it, but Zod knocks him upside the head with a nearby stone. Clark reacts with an uppercut to Zod's jaw that sends him flying through the air. He lands with a crunch. Zod hops up and slo-mo punches Clark across the face like they're in Raging Bull. Blood flies out of Clark's mouth. They're still unpowered, right? How is little Zod so effectively beating big Clark's ass? Zod kicks Clark through a window. "GLLAARRROOOHHHFFF!" Clark lands on his back. Zod leaps upon him, blue Kryptonite spear upheld. "GGRRRRROOOOHHHHAAAHH!" Clark rolls away just in time and the spear connects with stone. Zod hops up, snarling, "Unlike you, I will lead from a throne, not from the shadows." He stabs toward Clark with the spear, but Clark grabs his hands. Zod forces him toward the rooftop ledge. "Every human, including the woman you love, will kneel... befoooohhh Zohhhd!" Strangely, he's not in slo-mo at the moment. Clark glances behind him, sees the city streets far below. "You already destroyed my first home," Clark says. "I won't let you take this one." He stops struggling against Zod and the spear finds its target in his ribs. Zod grins, letting loose of the weapon in his momentary triumph. As Clark and the blue Kryptonite blade begin to fall away from him and off the ledge, a golden light beams down on Zod. He looks into the rain, realizes he's got his powers back, and is drawn up into the sky. Clark falls, arms outstretched as if crucified, the blade still protruding from his ribs, and is swallowed up by blackness. To be continued...
So there you have the end of the ninth season. Thanks to everyone who's read these recaps and made my first regular gig here at TWoP so much fun. Hopefully, I'll see you back here fall. Until then, go work on your tans and don't go getting sucked up into alternate planes of existence. Or, if you do, send me a postcard!
Discuss this episode in our forums, then see what other superbeings have crossed Clark in our guide to the Heroes and Villains of Smallville!
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Tippi Blevins is going to backpack around Europe for the summer, then go eco-touring through Costa Rica to rescue sloths. Or maybe she'll just veg out at home. You can email her at b_tippi@yahoo.com, or find her on Twitter.