Smallville (TV Series) Apocalypse (2008) User Reviews

A fun romp through an alternate universe Smallville

[pocceygirl · 9/10 · 6 May 2008]

This episode definitely lives up to it's place as the 150th episode. I admit, I was skeptical when I heard that it was going to be a clichéd "What if I never existed?" type storyline, but I think Smallville pulled it off.

Clark gets a message from Kara that Brianiac is going to destroy him as a child on Krypton. He has a way to go back and save himself, but chooses not to because he thinks the world and his friends' lives will be better if he had never come to Smallville. As he explains this to Chloe, his Kryptonian key flares to life and the next thing he knows, he's standing in a world where he never existed. It turns out that he was right about his friends being better off, but the world definitely needs Superman.

The episode was well-paced with some fun Superman lore references that you normally don't see on Smallville: Jimmy in a bow-tie, Lex as President, Clark in a dorky suit. There's also some great continuity from earlier seasons: Sheriff Adams is still alive, as is Jonathan Kent, Lana is in Paris.

I didn't like the recycled shots of the rising nuclear missiles and the shot of Smallville. The old Smallville shot was especially jarring when it was a setup for a street scene that was definitely not the usual downtown Smallville scenery.

I didn't think the special effects in this episode were up to Smallville's usual standards. The bullet Lex fires seemed a little overdone, ditto for when Kara punches out a wall. Krypton's explosion sequence seemed familiar, I'm wondering if it was recycled from something else?

The acting was well done. Especially the Lex-Clark and Lois-Clark scenes. I suppose that as an actor himself, Tom Welling knows how to get the best from other actors. I recommend watching Tom closely after Kara "handles" Brainiac. The first time I saw the episode I thought his acting was a little off, but after seeing the ending twist, I think he's spot-on. I think Clark knows. It'll be interesting to see what happens in future episodes.

Enter Lois and Clark 😁

[kmwika · 10/10 · 3 June 2021]

The Lana and Clark storyline has dragged on for too long, almost to the point of becoming irritating. Here we get a glimpse of what "Lois and Clark" has to offer and I must say I enjoyed it. It made me look forward to the next seasons.

World without a Superman...

[cc_young4 · 8/10 · 2 May 2008]

As far as Season Seven episodes go, "Apocalypse" was one of the better ones especially when compared to last week's disaster "Sleeper". While it may not have been quite what I was expecting, the prospect of an Earth without Clark was still interesting to see. Lois and Chloe were both the ace reporters we all knew they'd become but there were still some major changes. A deceased character makes another appearance after a long absence, there is another member of the Kent family, Kara was raised by the Luthors and Lex, allied with Brainiac, is the President of the United States! He still doesn't like Clark and is still the evil madman only with even more power!

The episode was a unique one because we are able to see what would have happened to the world we know if the Last Son of Krypton had not landed years before. While a little slow at some points, the climactic battle on an exploding Krypton and the surprising ending to the episode made up for that! I would say that this is my fourth fav of the season just behind "Persona", "Siren" and "Descent".

Apocalypse

[Colcatron · 9/10 · 21 April 2011]

Smallville meets It's a Wonderful Life in the episode "Apocalypse". When Clark wishes that he'd never arrived on Earth, he's shown an alternate reality where his life never happened. As Clark wanders around Smallville and Metropolis, he learns how each of his friends and family members would have ended up differently without him. Some had their lives seem to turn out fine (Lana and Chloe), and others are in a bad spot (Lois and Kara). Behind the scenes Lex is the President of the United States and as expected, ruining pretty much everyone's lives.

This is one of the most enjoyable episodes of season 7. It's always fun to see characters in different situations, particularly what Lex would do with unlimited power. You do have to suspend disbelief a little bit with Lex as president, as his age would only be about 28 years old here, and presumably already near the end of at least one term in office. a 24 year old elected president is a bit of a stretch. There's also a major plot hole, as Lex would have plunged his car into a river in the pilot episode and died had Clark never been there, but it's possible that with Kara having been found by Lionel instead, she may have saved Lex at that moment. I have no problem overlooking some of the plot holes since "Apocalypse" is so enjoyable overall.

My one major complaint is how Clark's character has been developing. It's one thing to have a moody teenager in early seasons complaining "Oh I'm such a failure. All I've done is ruin everyone's lives. I wish I'd never been born." But to have Clark REPEATEDLY wallowing in his own self pity, now in his early 20s, just makes him come across as whiny and annoying. It would only get worse from this point, as Clark will spend the majority of season 8 complaining and whining. Clark is a grown man at this point, and when every other character around him accepts their faults and pushes themselves to be mature and responsible, it just makes Clark come across as pathetic at this point. You add on top of that that he's the future Superman, and this constant complaining almost makes him unlikeable.

Still there's enough to like about this episode to overlook the minor flaws.

Almost a Wonderful Life

[tomasmmc-77198 · 10/10 · 30 April 2023]

Considering this is just season 7, here the writers did a great job by bringing in some allusions to Superman. I loved the idea of showing a world where Clark never came to Earth. Like in the classic Christmas movie, the protagonist seems to think that his existence is a mistake, only to realize that it's the opposite. It's pretty interesting. Chloe engaged to some guy. Lana, happily married in Paris. Jonathan and Martha, enjoying his birthday in a ship. Smallville, saved from the meteor freaks by Lex. Lois, editor of the Daily Planet. Jimmy, top photographer. Lex, president. Where did it go wrong?

Brainiac, as usual. The mastermind, who intends to use Lex so he can extinct most of Humankind, and populate it back with kryptonians, including Zod. Really, he is the best villain of the whole story, besides Lex. Clark is not rival for them, not when Lex got the knowledge of his weakness. The world comes to an end, as Jor-El reveals it was an illusion. What was lovely of this, were the winks to Superman's future. Because Clark realizes that his life will take place in the Daily Planet, with Lois and Jimmy. Lana is out of the picture, and Lois gets to be the confident, the one who puts the suit and glasses to Clark Kent. Just like is meant to be. Their scenes were enjoyable, even though it wasn't really serious. He got to tell her about his identity, and asked her to trust him. The best of Clois in season 7.

Then, the ending is sort of confusing, indeed, probably convenient (Clark traveling in time in a second) but it had to turn out like it did. Brainiac couldn't kill baby Clark in Krypton, and being overpowered by Clark and Kara was logical. But what fixes it, is the end. Brainiac pretends defeat one more time just to infect Kara, and survive. Lana remains in coma, and not even Lex's doctors can help her. Clark grows desperate, until Lois comes to cheer him up. The last scene was nice. In the alternate world, she invited him for a drinks at O'Malley, and in the present, she actually got him on board for it. Their relationship keeps evolving. Even if he was stuck on Lana's coma, he knows life is not over. Lois reminds him of that.

To finish, probably visual effects are not quite ok on this episode, but the rest, it's pretty good. I felt Laura Vandervoort, Michael Rosenbaum, and James Marsters did a great job. Tom and Erica's chemistry as Clark and Lois can be noticed. Ashmore, thumbs up for Jimmy Olsen.

An excellent episode

[cc86862000 · 10/10 · 3 September 2008]

I believe that Tom Welling did a fairly good job of directing this episode with Clark not deciding whether or not Clark should actually go back in time to save himself. It was interesting that Clark had to be shown what life would be without him that convinced Clark to go and save himself. I also liked the fact that Erica Durance was actually wearing a skirt which I liked to see and wish Erica would wear skirts and dresses more. Erica also was the perfect damsel in distress and Erica should be the damsel in distress a lot more. I also found it interesting that Lois thought Clark was a meteor freak which Clark denied but I think Clark should not have denied he was a meteor freak because it would have been more difficult for Clark to explain to Lois that he is an actual alien from a different planet. If Clark were to tell Lois the truth I don't think Lois would believe Clark and would probably try to have Clark committed to an insane asylum. I still think Erica should wear skirts and dresses more which makes Lois the ultimate perfect damsel in distress.

Time Travel is Risky Writing

[Rcwilkinson123 · 7/10 · 6 May 2008]

Clark Kent sees what the world would be like without him in a milestone of an episode, the 150th of "Smallville." Clark realizes that a lot of grief and sorrow has come through him. He is reluctant to go back in time to Krypton to save Kara, and himself, because of the bad that in his mind is all his fault. Because of this (constant) self-evaluation, he wishes he had never been born. Jor-El shows him how incorrect Clark is in making that wish.

Once he sees how much danger the world would be under without him, Clark decides to return back in time to Krypton.

While an interesting episode in a 'It's A Wonderful Life' sort of format, it's unfortunate to see Clark still blaming himself for everything that has gone wrong with events near him. However, after emerging from the alternate reality, at least he realizes how much good he has brought to the world, and how much worse it could be without him. However, scenes from Krypton at the end of the episode tamper with the previous episodes of the show and the very basis of the myth. Basically, the writers' decision to go with a back-in-time conflict infringes upon previous established and epic facts that will leave you loving or hating this episode. Fortunately, a lot of their fans liked it.

Nods to the classic Lois and Clark relationship from the Superman story and the Smallville Lois and Clark's future are touched on in the alternate reality, which is a welcome story.

Tom Welling is a 'Good' Director, but this was a 'Bad' Episode

[sef_payne · 6/10 · 2 May 2008]

Many of you heard that this is the 150th episode, and is some sort of a milestone for the series. However, it just doesn't cut it in comparison to say the 100th episode.

All good things aside, the bad has to come first. I absolutely hate it when producers decide to recycle old footage. Footage that is not even there's. Looking back at Season 4 episode 10. They used a short clip from the movie Terminator 3. That was horrific enough to see Smallville stoop so low. No they recycle the EXACT same footage. Why oh Why?!?! Secondly, the story was a bit poor. The whole 'What if Clark Kent never existed' Tagline. Whats that got to do with the Veritas Secret (which is kind of the theme for this series besides Kara), and we all know he is going to become Superman Eventually.

Besides that, there were some good things to say. Namely the acting. Michael Rosenbaums acting was Superb. Far greater than his previous outings in this current season. Tom did a pretty good job in the Directors chair. Certain camera angles made me believe he was destined to be in Direction. Im sure his next time will be similar. Hydro was a Fantastic Epsidoe by Tom. It's such a shame this episode was so awful. But hey, it's not Tom's fault, blame the Producers!! Overall, a Solid effort. They had good intentions but went painfully wrong with one ridiculously bad decision.

6/10

Season 7- episode 18

[bashaikh · 2/10 · 7 April 2020]

Smallville is like the old soap opera " Bold and the beautiful" Episode after episode after season- just keeps revolving around the same few people with one or two addons who conveniently get killed, while the villan lex just keeps escaping death after death. Noone and nothing seems to be going anywhere. And kal-El is evolving at a snails pace

It's a not so wonderful life, as usual

[colaof · 2/10 · 6 June 2016]

While I appreciated the nods to classic Clark and Lois, this episode really didn't do it for me. It was cool to see an alternate version of events, but I can't help but disagree with the way things would have turned out. I find it hard to believe that without little ole Clark Kent Brainiac would get Lex elected President, which would then lead to Lex nuking the entire planet. As much as Clark already thinks the entire world revolves around him, this episode made me sick. For the entire series Clark's felt that everyone would have been better off if he never existed, and you know what I've agreed with him. Look how many lives that first meteor shower destroyed. I've gotten sick of Clark always feeling sorry for himself, but to have the fate of the entire world depend solely on his arrival in Smallville is utterly ridiculous IMO. I could continue this rant, but I feel the need to point out my biggest problem with this episode. At the end Lex shows up at the Kent Farm, and offers to try and help Lana, but Clark refuses to tell him anything about how she ended up catatonic in the first place. Why? Even if Lex's motives are less than pure, isn't it at the very least worth the risk if it helps Lana in the end? If someone I loved was in a similar state I would stop at nothing to try to help them. But no, Clark refuses to work with Lex, even when Lana, the woman he claims to love, life is at stake. So that means Clark would rather let Lana remain catatonic than give Lex the benefit of doubt for the sake of helping her. His distrust for Lex, and his own selfish need to keep his secret (which Lex pretty much already knows anyway) is obviously more important to him than Lana. Can't say that I'm surprised though. This is Clark after all. This episode was a joke.

Not living up to previous episodes greatness.

[m-47826 · 5/10 · 28 July 2023]

Sleeper put aside, this second half of season 7 has the show back to more thrilling storylines, and the two episodes prior to Lionel's death (Descent was already praised enough, for me to add anything), were Smallville back to form since season 6 errantries. I've read a lot of articles saying season 7 was dull and uneventful. I highly disagree, it went back to the series roots and some of it unanswered questions throughout the Veritas subplot. And now that Lex has finally become a full blown vilain. It's an important year for the series arc in general. One that will lead to Clark's finale battle against his kryptonian enemies. Look at me, I'm actually enjoying this... Apocalypse is another « what if » episode, where hopefully, brainiac is gone for good. It was nice to have James Marsters on the show, but I couldn't help but think of Spike, every time he was onscreen. He even had the same mimics and attitudes, in this episode in particular. It was a very below average and predictable episode (I was expecting Kara to drop that bottle of milk, at any moment...) but Lex and Clark's concern for Lana, gave us another great « detente moment » between the two frenemies. I wasn't very convinced by Lois's friendlier attitude, towards « Smallville » on the closing scene, but I have three whole seasons to get there. And let myself be convinced they are destined for each other.