#5-Exile
Season 3, Episode 1
Jonathan-"He wasn't ready! But you, you had to keep pushing him anyway, didn't you? What kind of a race are you people? No wonder you destroyed yourselves." "Exile" is one electrifying episode! Right from the start you're fully engaged in the story as Clark has become a big player in Metropolis and Lex has been pronounced dead! After an emotional and moving opening, enters the best action set piece the series ever did! A masked Clark takes down a bunch of bank robbers and unleashes his powers on the police of Metropolis. It's a shocking development for Clark but a truly fantastic sequence! It almost feels like a movie as you can tell the series got a major budget increase after Season 2. The show looks more polished with scenes look more vibrant and colorful. The whole cast really took it up a notch this episode and each character brought something to the table. Tom Welling is great showing Clark struggle between being a young criminal and emotionally overwhelmed by his decision. Kristin Kruek does some great work as Lana tracks down Clark and tries her best to bring him home. Allison Mack is spot on as Chloe tries to keep Clark's whereabouts a secret. John Glover's Lionel is vicious and brilliantly evil as always. Annette O' Toole and John Schneider really show here why they are probably by favorite version of the Kents as their parental concern for their son was so moving. John Schneider in particular gets a powerful scene where he and Jor-El finally meet and discuss the fate of their son. It's this scene that eventual leads to his tragic death Jonathan but to one of the most explosive endings to an episode. When Jonathan and Clark confront each other, it's just full of tension, especially when Clark send him flying into a wall. When Jonathan gets back up and super speeds toward Clark as they fall from Luthorcorp, my jaw dropped!
Rutger Hauer as Morgan Edge is probably my favorite villain from the early years. As the infamous DC villain, Morgan Edge is a mob boss and plays an excellent mentor to Clark's criminal prodigy. Of course, he quickly becomes Clark's enemy but it's a same the character wasn't used more throughout the series, but a great villain would have been overused by the writers anyway. "Exile" is one of the most action packed and emotionally engaging episodes of the series that excites me every time I watch it!
#4-Rosetta
Season 2, Episode 17
Dr. Swann-"You won't find the answers by looking at the stars. It's a journey you'll have to take by looking inside yourself. You must write your own destiny, Kal-El." Do I even have to explain why this episode is on my list? "Rosetta" is not only the one of the best episodes of the series, but one of the finest moments in TV history. Who would have thought one guest star could truly make an episode a must see event! But this wasn't just any guest star, this was the legendary and sadly late Christopher Reeves' first appearance on the show. Hard to believe Reeves doesn't appear until the end of the third act but it was so worth the wait! I can't tell you how many chills I get when Clark first meets Reeves' character, Dr. Virgil Swann and both discuss his origins with Superman theme music soaring through the background. It's probably the most powerful scenes of the series as both Welling and Reeves gives amazing performances as it feels like a passing of the torch (or cape as I should say) type event. Dr. Swann was the perfect role for Revees and his presence on the series really brought Smallville to a level of television it hadn't been to at that point!
The scenes before and after Swann's debut are actually very strong as well. The opening dream sequence is some of the best direction from a TV series I've ever seen, the scene where Clark burns the Kryptonian symbol on the side of the barn is chilling, there's great character development for both Lana and Chloe and Lex gets a terrific sub-plot with Dr. Walden. Not to mention, the final moments of "Rosetta" are nothing short of epic. Clark and Jonathan finally open Clark's spaceship and read Jor-El's last message to his son. It's incredible moment for both Clark and Jonathan as while Clark questions his purpose on Earth, his father confidents reassures his son that he's a force for good. Both father and son embrace as once again, amazing Superman theme blasts in the background! "Rosetta" is a real achievement for the series and hard to believe Christopher Reeves almost didn't accept the offer to be on the series! While I cherish this episode with every ounce of my heart, there are 3 episodes that I believe are slightly better than this magnificent episode.
#3-Shattered
Season 3, Episode 8
Lex-"Well, when people think you're insane and you're holding a rifle to their head, they, uh, tend to do what you ask." For me, "Shattered" is one of those episodes that get better every time you watch it. It's probably the most perfect episode of Smallville and that's saying a lot. There's nothing really bad I can say about the plot, the writing, acting, direction etc. The way the whole story of Lex's insanity unravels is so organic and thought-provoking; it's this episode that made me realize that this representation of the Lex Luthor might be the best ever! What an sensational idea to have Lex's descent into madness be apart of the reason why he eventually becomes the evil mastermind he's destined to be. I knew Michael Rosenbaum was up to the task and this was by far his best performance of the series! I still wonder to this day how he never got at least an Emmy nomination for his surreal performance. Is Lex really losing his mind? Is someone truly trying to make look crazy? The way Michael portrays this is simply profound. The rest of the cast are in top form as they deal with Lex's state of mind, especially Clark who finally shows how much Lex's friendship means to him. Again, I'm getting nostalgic for the early years as this was probably the best depiction of Clark and Lex's friendship. Even though something is seriously wrong with Lex and he could in fact have been insane, Clark sticks by Lex, even when he loses it on him several times. Than you have that memorable scene between Lex and Lionel as Lex delivers some of the best lines of the series and Lionel seems scared sh!tless.
I especially love the whole conspiracy angle of the episode with Lionel and Morgan Edge setting up the perfect crime of making Lex look delusional while both getting what they want. Morgan Edge returns with literally a new face as Patrick Bergin now takes on the role. He brings his own menacing twist to the role and does a fine job. The best scene of the episode is when Clark saving Lex's life by getting hit by Edge's car as Lex witnesses all this. It's the moment Lex has been waiting for since he met Clark but ironically, it only makes him look crazier as he's taken to Bell Reeve to stay locked up for how long, love how the writers played that scene out! "Shattered" is too amazing for words and one of the many reasons why Season 3 is without a doubt the best from this series.
#2-Arrival
Season 5, Episode 1
Jor-El-" Kal-El, you have traveled far. One journey has ended. A new journey is about to begin. Welcome home, my son!" If there is one thing that lost as a series throughout it's soon to be 9 year run is that it can't live up to the hype it sets up for certain eventful episodes. But exceptions like "Arrival" and it's superior predecessor, Smallville proved that it could live up to that hype and prove that it was the best Superman interpretation outside of the comics and iconic Christopher Reeves films! "Arrival" sees the series achieving half of what it set out to do: to make Clark Superman. There are aspects of this episode that pay tribute and even rival the first and beloved Superman film of 1978. First, the sequence of Clark watching the Fortress of Solitude rising from the frozen ground of the Arctic is a glorious moment for the series as well as when Clark slowly enters the Fortress and Jor-El welcomes Clark to the next phase of his destiny. Second, back in Smallville, the black ship that Lana just discovered, opens up and 2 powerful Kryptonian rise to wreck havoc on the police of Smallville. The scene where Nam-Ek and Aethyr using their heat vision to destroy everything in sight is one of the best action/special effects sequences I've ever seen for a TV series. It didn't feel like I was watching a series but an actual Superman film and it feels epic on every level. Both disciples of Zod was wonderful villains and I love ruthless they are on their search for Clark.
We also get a major milestone between Clark and Chloe, as Clark tells Chloe the whole truth about his powers and alien origins. Chloe accepts Clark completely tells him she thinks he's a superhero. It's this episode that began the great superhero/sidekick dynamic between Clark and Chloe that fans would come to adore, but it's also a moment that made them better friends. Lex continues to develop a cold hearted attitude as when he and Clark reunite, the animosity between them is so apparent. They aren't really close friends anymore and it's a great development. Another great scene is the wonderful Phantom Zone prism that Nam-Ek and Aethyr get trapped in. The end of the episode marks a new beginning for the series as Clark is left mortal with his destiny being murkier and a mysterious man rises from the black ship...is that Zod!? Fans as well as I went crazy! "Arrival" was a bold new chapter of Smallville that truly shows the series' greatness and set up the second half of Smallvile perfectly. But "Arrival" would not be as perfect as it was without...
#1-Commencement
Season 4, Episode 22
Jor-El-" If you don't unite them at once then you, my son, will be seared by a fire from the sky even you can't survive. The future of mankind rests in your hands, Kal-El." "...Commencement!' There is no greater episode of Smallville then the longest and most mind-blowing episode that this was. "Commencement" is everything Smallville is about, which is taking that next step to achieve your destiny which Clark did! The final entry of the high school years and almost feeling like a series finale, the writers pulled all the stops for this episode. Every scene is perfect, full of character development for every character. We had a somewhat of a closure scene between Clark and Lana, a great foreshadowing scene of Clark and Lois' iconic future, the last time Clark and Lex were truly friends, Jonathan telling Clark that raising him lead up to this moment and a second meteor shower arriving in Smallville bringing the series full circle. This is the first really big Superman-like mission for Clark as he not only has to saving the day but save the world from destruction. The episode is fast paced, despite it's longer than average run time and gains more intensity. The second meteor shower is better than the first one in the pilot and the special effects never looked more convincing. The best scene to come from this sequence is when Clark saves a little boy from getting him by a meteor rock. It's the Supermanliest save Clark ever did! Then you have Lex completely giving into his dark side and telling his father that he would grow up to be the son he wanted. It was a frightening development that really pushed Lex's development. I also loved how Chloe came to Clark's aid through all of it and would literally protect him to the very end without him knowing it.
But what makes this the greatest episode of Smallville are the final moments as after finally combining all 3 stones, a crystal forms that sends him to the Arctic. Even before Clark throw the crystal and the Superman theme began playing, we all knew what was about to happen and I was overjoyed as it seemed Clark was on the verge of becoming Superman. "Commencement" showed why Smallvile was a visionary series and why Superman has been an international legend for 70 years!