The eighth season of Smallville began airing on September 18, 2008, on The CW television network, and concluded its initial airing on May 14, 2009 with 22 episodes.
Summary[]
This season began a few weeks after the Fortress' icy collapse, as new LuthorCorp executive Tess Mercer investigated Lex's whereabouts. With Lex out of the way, Clark had to face two new foes: Tess Mercer and Davis. Tess proved to be as inscrutable as she is cunning, and became an enigmatic new presence in everyone's lives. It wasn't long before Tess' attention turned to Clark.
This season, Clark Kent moved closer than ever to embracing his destiny as the iconic superhero he will become. Spending less time in his hometown and more time in the big city of Metropolis, Clark came across a multitude of DC characters (including Plastique; the Legion of Super-Heroes; Winslow Schott; Zatanna; and more) as he began his career at the Daily Planet working opposite Lois Lane. With Clark and Lois thrust into such close proximity, sparks began to fly and feelings started to surface that came as a surprise to both of them. At the same time, Clark began to realize the balancing act he must perform as he explored his dual identities as both reporter and superhero. Clark soon discovered he wasn't the only Kryptonian on Earth, as the "Ultimate Destroyer" threatened the human race.
Clark was not alone in facing formidable challenges this season. Oliver Queen found himself at a crossroads, forced to travel through some dark terrain – especially when demons from his past were reawakened. Oliver ultimately began to question his role as a superhero, just as Clark was embracing his own.
After Brainiac's attack on Chloe Sullivan at the end of last season, she developed new abilities, which she hid from Jimmy Olsen. She accepted Jimmy's marriage proposal but became surprisingly open to a new acquaintance, Davis Bloome. Davis and Chloe quickly developed a friendship, but it soon became clear that he had a secret of his own. Trying to juggle her new career at the Isis Foundation, planning a wedding, her growing relationship with Davis, her Brainiac infection, and her ongoing commitment to Clark, Chloe had her hands full this year.
Kara Kent returned after she was freed from the Phantom Zone and went in search of Kandor, the lost city from Krypton. Lana Lang also returned to Smallville to finally complete her revenge on Lex Luthor by stealing his last life-line, a power-suit. Lana's return was short-lived when Lex forced Clark and Lana to part for good by contaminating her with Kryptonite. Lex was then killed by Oliver, but Lex's knowledge of Clark was passed on to Tess through a series of journals.
Jimmy made it his mission to investigate Metropolis' newest mysterious hero, whom he nicknamed "the Red-Blue Blur," and came dangerously close to unearthing Clark's secret while simultaneously planning his wedding to Chloe. As he thought his life was coming together, everything was ripped apart by Doomsday and Jimmy was hospitalized with life-threatening injuries. As he recovered from his attack, he became addicted to drugs and soon ended up facing the beast for a second time.
As the Justice League, Chloe, Tess, Jimmy and Clark tried to overcome Doomsday in their own ways, the lives of everyone hung in the balance, especially as Doomsday's defeat was linked to the Orb. The orb convinced Tess that she would be the savior of Kandor. However, it soon released something more ominous, a naked man appeared surrounded by the symbol of Zod burned into the ground, posing a new threat in Clark's future.
Opening Credits[]
The Season 8 credits mostly include footage from seasons 4-7, and the Season 8 episodes Odyssey, Plastique and Instinct. The credits for each episode include the following:
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Recurring Characters[]
The following Recurring Characters appear in more than one episode this season:
- George - Mike Dopud 5/22
- Lana Lang - Kristin Kreuk 5/22
- Doomsday - Dario Delacio 5/22
- Eva Greer - Anna Williams 4/22
- John Jones - Phil Morris 3/22
- Regan Matthews - Ari Cohen 3/22
- Tess' Assistant - Daren A. Herbert 3/22
- Brainiac - James Marsters (1/22) and Allison Mack (2/22) 3/22
- Lex Luthor - Kevin Miller (2/22), Matt Adler (1/22), and Connor Stanhope (1/22) 3/22[1]
- Emil Hamilton - Alessandro Juliani 3/22
- Dinah Lance - Alaina Huffman 2/22
- Kat - Sara Canning 2/22
- Bette Sans Souci - Jessica Parker Kennedy 2/22
- Colin - Jason Poulsen 2/22
- Edward Groll - Bill Mondy 2/22
- Jesse Watts - Max Train 2/22
- Rokk Krinn - Ryan Kennedy 2/22
- Randall Brady - Stephen Lobo 2/22
The following Recurring Characters appear in only one episode this season, but also appear in other seasons:
- Arthur Curry - Alan Ritchson
- Shelby - Bud
- Faora - Erica Durance
- Jonathan Kent - John Schneider
- Martha Kent- Annette O'Toole
- Kara Kent - Laura Vandervoort
- The voice of Jor-El - Terence Stamp
- Winslow Schott - Chris Gauthier
- Linda Lake - Tori Spelling
- Newspaper Stand Worker - Joe Maffei
- Lionel Luthor - John Glover
- Zatanna Zatara - Serinda Swan
- Jeff Hage - Evan C. Schulte
- Zod - Sam Witwer
- Bart Allen - Kyle Gallner
- James Bartholomew Olsen - Ryan Harder
Recurring Locations[]
- Smallville
- Metropolis
- Edge City
- Other
Episode List: 2008-2009[]
| Image | Title | Writer(s) | Director(s) | Airdate | # |
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Odyssey | Writer: Todd Slavkin, Darren Swimmer, Kelly Souders & Brian Peterson | Director: Kevin Fair | September 18, 2008 | #153 801 |
| The Justice League, led by the Green Arrow, hits the Arctic in search of Clark, who disappeared after the Fortress collapsed. The team immediately has a confrontation with the new CEO of LuthorCorp, Tess Mercer. Meanwhile, Chloe is being held prisoner by a suspicious group who has discovered she has a new power, and Clark has been stripped of his powers by Jor-El. | |||||
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Plastique | Writer: Holly Henderson & Don Whitehead | Director: Rick Rosenthal | September 25, 2008 | #154 802 |
| It's Clark's first day at the Daily Planet with Lois, and the pair are immediately thrown together on a story when a bus explodes outside the office. Clark rescues Bette, a young girl who bonds with Chloe over their shared meteor abilities, but Bette is hiding a big secret. Paramedic Davis Bloome arrives in Metropolis and is drawn to Chloe. | |||||
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Toxic | Writer: Caroline Dries | Director: Mairzee Almas | October 2, 2008 | #155 803 |
| Oliver collapses at a charity event and reveals he only has 12 hours to live. Clark and Chloe call Davis for help. Delirious, Oliver flashes back to when he was stranded on an island and first learned how to use a bow and arrow. He also recalls meeting Tess on the island after she had been kidnapped by a drug runner. Meanwhile, Chloe decides to use her new powers to help save Oliver, shocking Clark. | |||||
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Instinct | Writer: Al Septien & Turi Meyer | Director: James Conway | October 9, 2008 | #156 804 |
| Tess and her team perform tests on Clark's crystal that she had retrieved from the Arctic, which attracts Maxima, queen of planet Almerac, to Earth to search for her Kryptonian soulmate. Unfortunately, Maxima's power is too great for mortal men and her kiss kills them. The seductive Maxima begins her search, starting with Jimmy. | |||||
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Committed | Writer: Bryan Miller | Director: Glen Winter | October 16, 2008 | #157 805 |
| Chloe and Jimmy are abducted by a psychotic jeweler who was emotionally scarred by his wife's infidelity and is now kidnapping couples and subjecting them to a kryptonite-enhanced lie detector that shocks them if they lie. The abductor asks Chloe if she is in love with anyone else. Meanwhile, in an effort to find Chloe and Jimmy, Clark and Lois pose as a couple and are kidnapped themselves, then asked how they feel about each other. | |||||
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Prey | Writer: Brian Peterson & Kelly Souders | Director: Michael Rohl | October 23, 2008 | #158 806 |
| Clark investigates a recent attack that may be the work of a serial killer. Suspecting it could be a meteor-freak, he demands that Chloe release the names of members of the Isis Foundation, which causes a rift between the friends. Davis fears that his blackouts could mean that he is the serial killer and collects evidence that may implicate him. Fearing the worst, he confesses his suspicions to Chloe. | |||||
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Identity | Writer: Todd Slavkin & Darren Swimmer | Director: Mairzee Almas | October 30, 2008 | #159 807 |
| Jimmy snaps a picture of Clark super-speeding to save Lois from a mugger and manages to catch a red and blue blur on film. Jimmy shows it to Tess who decides to run it on the front page of the Daily Planet. Clark fears his identity will be discovered so he asks Chloe to run interference with Jimmy, but she has a better idea. | |||||
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Bloodline | Writer: Caroline Dries | Director: Michael Rohl | November 6, 2008 | #160 808 |
| Clark receives an anonymous package containing the crystal that Tess found in the Arctic. When he removes the crystal, it activates and sends him and a visiting Lois to the Phantom Zone where they run into Kara. Kara opens a portal for Lois to return but Zod's wife Faora escapes with her and takes over Lois' body. A possessed Lois goes on a rampage in Metropolis. | |||||
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Abyss | Writer: Don Whitehead & Holly Henderson | Director: Kevin Fair | November 13, 2008 | #161 809 |
| Brainiac begins removing Chloe's memories one by one until the only person she remembers is Davis. Clark realizes the only way to stop Brainiac from taking over Chloe's mind is to rebuild the Fortress of Solitude and ask Jor-El to heal her. | |||||
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Bride | Writer: Al Septien & Turi Meyer | Director: Jeannot Szwarc | November 20, 2008 | #162 810 |
| Chloe is excited that she's marrying Jimmy. Meanwhile, Oliver tells Clark he thinks he's discovered where Lex is hiding and takes off to Cuba to confront him. However, when he arrives, Oliver is shocked to find Lana instead. Clark and Lois grow closer but chaos ensues when Doomsday crashes the wedding and tries to kidnap Chloe. | |||||
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Legion | Writer: Geoff Johns | Director: Glen Winter | January 15, 2009 | #163 811 |
| The aftermath of Doomsday's attack on Chloe and Jimmy's wedding leaves Clark in shock, but before he can search for the kidnapped Chloe, The Persuader appears and attacks him. Rokk, Imra and Garth, also known as The Legion, step in from the future to help vanquish the Persuader and the group realizes Brainiac has taken over Chloe once again. Meanwhile, up at the Fortress, Chloe, as Brainiac, informs Davis he is Doomsday and was created to kill “the other Kryptonian” and destroy the world. | |||||
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Bulletproof | Writer: Bryan Miller | Director: Morgan Beggs | January 22, 2009 | #164 812 |
| Clark discovers John Jones was shot while working as a police officer, so Clark dons the uniform and goes undercover to find the culprit. Meanwhile, Lana confronts Tess and tells her Lex isn’t the man she thinks he is. Lana’s shocking news forces Tess to reevaluate her position as the head of Luthorcorp. | |||||
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Power | Writer: Todd Slavkin & Darren Swimmer | Director: Allison Mack | January 29, 2009 | #165 813 |
| Clark finds Tess in Lana's ransacked apartment and realizes Lana is missing. Tess tells him Lex is still alive and may have kidnapped Lana and finally reveals the truth about what happened to Lana after she awoke from her Brainiac-induced coma. Meanwhile, Tess breaks into a secret LuthorCorp facility and is shocked at what she discovers. | |||||
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Requiem | Writer: Holly Henderson & Don Whitehead | Director: Michael Rohl | February 5, 2009 | #166 814 |
| An explosion at LuthorCorp kills all the Board members and injures Oliver, who was there to announce the merger of his company with LuthorCorp. Oliver believes that Lex is responsible for the blast, but Clark and Lana learn that the bomber is Winslow Schott, a toymaker and former Queen Industries employee with a grudge against Oliver. | |||||
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Infamous | Writer: Caroline Dries | Director: Glen Winter | March 12, 2009 | #167 815 |
| Linda Lake returns to Metropolis and threatens to expose Clark’s secret unless he promises to give her exclusive information on the Red-Blue Blur so she can become a star reporter again. Refusing to be blackmailed, Clark tells Lois his secret and asks her to write his story for The Daily Planet. | |||||
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Turbulence | Writer: Al Septien & Turi Meyer | Director: Kevin Fair | March 19, 2009 | #168 816 |
| Tess invites Clark to a press conference out of town but when an explosion rocks the private jet they are on, Clark must figure out how to save them without Tess learning his secret. Unbeknownst to Clark, Tess orchestrated the explosion to get Clark to reveal his powers. Meanwhile, Davis discovers a surprising way to control the monster within. | |||||
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Hex | Writer: Bryan Miller | Director: Mairzee Almas | March 26, 2009 | #169 817 |
| At Chloe's birthday party, a mysterious magician named Zatanna grants Chloe's wish to be more like Lois by turning her into Lois for the day. Zatanna asks Oliver for help to get her father’s book of spells so she can conjure up his spirit but not before also granting Clark his deepest wish. | |||||
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Eternal | Writer: Brian Peterson & Kelly Souders | Director: James Marshall | April 2, 2009 | #170 818 |
| Tess tries and fails to kill Davis. In order to try and explain his destiny, she captures him and unveils his past with the Luthors. Meanwhile, Clark and Chloe discover Davis' secret. | |||||
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Stiletto | Writer: Caroline Dries | Director: Kevin Fair | April 23, 2009 | #171 819 |
| Lois believes that she needs a big story to secure her reputation as a star reporter but the Red-Blue Blur continues to elude her. After Chloe is mugged, Lois uses the opportunity to pretend a new superhero, Stiletto, has come to town and is giving exclusives to Lois. Clark is concerned Lois will hurt herself pretending to be a superhero but after he is captured by thugs with kryptonite, Lois saves the day. | |||||
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Beast | Writer: Genevieve Sparling | Director: Michael Rohl | April 30, 2009 | #172 820 |
| Clark discovers that Davis is still alive and confronts Chloe about protecting him. Oliver discovers Jimmy breaking into Chloe’s apartment, but things get rapidly worse after Davis jumps from the shadows and attacks both of them. Later, Clark and Davis meet in the fortress and end up fighting each other. | |||||
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Injustice | Writer: Al Septien & Turi Meyer | Director: Tom Welling | May 7, 2009 | #173 821 |
| Chloe returns and begs Clark to kill Davis, claiming that Davis can no longer keep the beast under control. Tess has assembled a team of meteor freaks, including Plastique, to track down Davis so Clark can kill him. However, things get out of hand once Tess’ team discovers she is double-crossing them. | |||||
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Doomsday | Writer: Kelly Souders & Brian Peterson | Director: James Marshall | May 14, 2009 | #174 822 |
| Oliver tells Clark he must kill Davis, as Doomsday is a serious threat and must be stopped at all costs. However, Clark struggles with taking a human life, so the Green Arrow and his team decide to take matters into their own hands. Lois takes on Tess, but the fight takes a shocking turn. Meanwhile, Chloe takes matters into her own hands by using black kryptonite to separate Davis and Doomsday but Davis' human side proves to be just as evil as he and Jimmy kill each other. | |||||
Cast[]
- This is only the second season (along with Season Six) to have only seven main cast members, including: Clark, Chloe, Lois, Jimmy, Davis, Tess, and Oliver. All the other previous seasons had 8 cast members.
- With the departure of four regular cast members from Season 7, and the addition of three (Freeman, Witwer, and Hartley), this represents the biggest cast turnover in all of the series. Lex, Lana, Lionel and Kara are no longer regular characters. This is the first season in which Michael Rosenbaum and Kristin Kreuk are not series regulars (moving Allison Mack up to second billing). Laura Vandervoort and John Glover also do not return as series regulars. This also left only two remaining original cast members since the first episode of the series (Welling and Mack).
- Season Eight has a significant change in the number of appearances of its main cast. This is likely due to the rumored budget cuts. Previous seasons had the four lead characters; Clark, Lana, Lex and Chloe, appear in most if not all of the episodes, whereas secondary characters appear in anything from 13-22 episodes. However, as of this season, only Tom Welling and Allison Mack were contracted to appear in all episodes, while the remainder of the cast only appeared in 12-13 episodes, although Aaron's twelfth appearance in "Hex" was cut (something which also happened to him in "Traveler" in the previous season).
- Despite leaving the show as a regular cast member, Kristin Kreuk returned for five episodes starting with "Bride" and ending with "Requiem".
- Two new antagonists joined the cast: Tess Mercer played by Cassidy Freeman and Davis Bloome aka Doomsday played by Sam Witwer. Davis Bloome was written out of the series by the end of the season as he was killed after he was separated from his kryptonian persona by black kryptonite.
- Justin Hartley reprised his role as Oliver/Green Arrow but this time he was promoted to series regular.
- Despite Laura Vandervoort not being a main cast member this season, she returned as a guest star in "Bloodline".
- This is the first season which shows Lois Lane's hair color change from dirty-blonde to brown.
- James Marsters expressed interest in more appearances as Brainiac. However, to continue the storyline of Brainiac the producers explored the result of his confrontation with Chloe in "Arctic", which resulted in her receiving his powers as he slowly took possession of her. This storyline was an ongoing theme in the first 8 episodes, but took focus in "Abyss" and was used as a mid-season finale in "Bride". It concluded in "Legion" with Brainiac being sent to the future. Despite Allison Mack being used to represent Brainiac as Chloe, Marsters reprised his role as the voice of Brainiac in "Abyss", but was uncredited.[2]
- This season featured the most recurring appearances of Justice League members with Alan Ritchson and Alaina Huffman reprising their roles in this season's premiere as Arthur Curry and Dinah Lance respectively. Alaina Huffman also reappeared for the season finale "Doomsday", along with Kyle Gallner as Bart Allen.
- Phil Morris returned as Martian Manhunter for multiple episodes, including "Odyssey", "Prey" and "Bulletproof".
- Despite Michael Rosenbaum's departure, Lex remained very present in the show with Tess carrying out his orders for the first half of the season. He also reappears in "Bride", as a silent, obscured character (explained by his injuries sustained after the Fortress of Solitude collapsed in "Arctic") and is apparently killed at the end of "Requiem". However, none of Lex's appearances in this season are played by Michael Rosenbaum.[3]
- This was Aaron Ashmore's last season as a main cast member as Jimmy was killed in the season finale.
- As of Doomsday, every main character except Lois knows Clark's secret.
- Allison Mack appeared in all 22 episodes this season, but the character Chloe Sullivan did not appear in "Injustice".
- Kara and Lana are the only two former main characters to appear in Season 8.
Notes[]
- Miles Millar and Alfred Gough left Smallville at the end of Season 7 and had no involvement with season 8.[4] Todd Slavkin, Darren Swimmer, Kelly Souders and Brian Peterson took over as Executive Producers after writing or producing for the show since Season Two.
- From the first episode of Season 8, Clark and Chloe are the only characters to appear as main cast members in every season, although Clark is the only one to appear in every episode.
- With Kristin Kreuk's guest appearances this year, she is the third character to appear in every season from Season One up to Season Eight.
- Allison Mack and Erica Durance both portray three different characters this season. Allison plays Chloe, Brainiac possessing Chloe's body (Legion), and Eva Greer disguised as Chloe (Injustice). Erica plays Lois, Faora possessing Lois' body (Bloodline), and Chloe who has been transformed into Lois ("Hex").
- Allison Mack made her directing debut in episode 13, "Power". Due to the writer's strike, she was unable to direct any episodes last season.
- In an annual fashion, Tom Welling directed "Injustice", his fourth time directing an episode after "Fragile", "Hydro", and "Apocalypse". He was originally set to direct "Hex" but this was re-scheduled due to him being ill during the time he was given to prepare.
- There are sixteen DC Comics characters that appear for the first time in this season, making a record: Davis; Bette Sans Souci (Plastique); Maxima; Faora; Persuader; the three founding members of the Legion of Super-Heroes: Rokk Krinn (Cosmic Boy), Imra Ardeen (Saturn Girl), and Garth Ranzz (Lightning Lad); Dan Turpin; Emil Hamilton; Winslow Schott (Toyman); Zatanna; Bruno Mannheim; and a proto-Injustice League featuring Plastique, Parasite, Livewire and Neutron. (However, Neutron's role is limited to a non-speaking part.)
- A seventeenth DC Comics character could be said to appear for the first time this season: Jimmy Olsen. As the show's Jimmy Olsen is laid to rest following his death, his full name is revealed to be Henry James Olsen. Chloe meets Henry's younger brother at the funeral and gives him Henry's camera.
- Chloe apparently died three times this season; in the alternate reality when she discovered Davis was Doomsday ("Infamous"), in Jimmy's drug-induced hallucination where he saw Doomsday killing her ("Turbulence"), and when Tess triggered the explosive chip in her head, however it was actually Eva Greer who had shape-shifted into the form of Chloe ("Injustice").
- Darren Swimmer and Todd Slavkin left the series after this season.[5]
- Black kryptonite reappears for the first time since Season Four.
- This the first season since Season Two that Red kryptonite hasn't been used or acknowledged.
- Scenes from "Pilot" are shown during "Eternal" with a new perspective, as it is revealed Davis Bloome also fell to Earth that day.
- Chloe and Jimmy get married, which is the third onscreen wedding on the show. The last one being in Season Six between Lex and Lana.
- This season shows the inside of the Phantom Zone for the second time ("Bloodline").
- Clark develops a dual identity for the first time, known as the Red-Blue Blur. Lois also tries this with her faux superhero, Stiletto. Meanwhile, Oliver and Davis both struggle with their other identities.
See also[]
Season Eight in Smallville
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Seasons in Smallville
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Promotional gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ Miller played Lex in Bride and Requiem. In Bride, Lex appeared, but didn't say anything. In Requiem, Lex spoke with his voice dubbed by Adler. Stanhope played young Lex in a flashback in Eternal.
- ↑ http://www.kryptonsite.com/smallvillespoilers.htm
- ↑ http://www.kryptonsite.com/news.htm
- ↑ http://www.kryptonsite.com/goughmillarletter.htm
- ↑ http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/showtracker/2009/02/melrose-place-r.html