IGN: What's it like knowing that the show is, pretty much, in the past for you and you're completely done filming it?
Cassidy Freeman: It feels very satisfying. I enjoyed the experience so much and I also think that it was time for the show to end, so I accept that and you move on. It's one of those beautiful things, you know? It's almost like a funeral where you're not really that sad. You're just so happy that you're celebrating what you had… That's a sad way to think about. [Laughs] "It's a funeral!" But you're celebrating the ten year life of something.
IGN: What was it like on the set at the very end?
Freeman: Well, you know Tom [Welling] and Justin [Hartley] made a lot of fun of me and Erica [Durance]. We'd be like, "This is our last scene in the Watchtower! This is our last scene… wearing this shirt!" We were just really aware how "last" everything was and they made fun of us for it. But I think we all prepared very well and I think knowing at the beginning of the season that it was the end was a really beautiful way to be able to gauge where your emotions were and how to say goodbye to everyone and do it well.
IGN: Let's talk about this week's episode, "Kent." You're once again interacting with "Clark Luthor" from Earth 2. How does Tess react to that?
Freeman: He comes back, so obviously Tess is wondering why and also worried, because she knows how dangerous he is and how he has a lack of moral aptitude. She wants to be in control of the situation and she always feels like it's her fault, because she brought all of this onto this world. She kind of brought the alternate world [here], so I think she puts a lot of pressure on her own shoulders to be able to fix it and obviously, he wants to be there forever.
IGN: How is it working with Tom when he's playing such a different take on his character?
Freeman: It's fun. I think Tom sometimes has difficulty with it, because he's been playing the same character for so long. I think it's exciting for him but also a little nerve-wracking, but we all really cheer him on. We're like, "You're such a badass! Clark Luthor is such a badass!" And I think he takes that… Plus, he dresses more badass and his hair is more badass.
IGN: This season, we got some huge reveals on Tess and her true origins. Was it exciting for you to learn that she was in fact a Luthor?
Freeman: It was very exciting for me to learn that. When my hair was red, I had the idea that she might actually be a Luthor, hoping that would work itself out. And I think that with the ability of John Glover to come back and also Michael [Rosenbaum] to come back, that was such a very rewarding twist to my character. And I remember when [Smallville showrunners] Kelly [Souders] and Brian [Peterson] told me about it, right before we started shooting Season 10, I was like, "Awesome!" It solidified a lot for her, you know? Tess was kind of a floaty character. I think she played the parts that needed to be played and I think her being a Luthor really solidified her presence in the show and her story.
IGN: Like you mentioned, she's kind of gone back and forth in her loyalties. Without giving away what happens, were you satisfied with how she ends up in the finale?
Freeman: I'm very satisfied with how everything ends in the finale. I love it. I read it and I called Kelly and Brian and told them what a beautiful job they did and it's really fitting. Everything's really, really beautiful.
IGN: So let me ask about finally getting to work with Michael Rosenbaum.
Freeman: Yeah, right?!
IGN: Was it great to finally get to play that dynamic?
Freeman: Yeah. I've been calling him "Rosendouche," not to his face, for so long. I finally got to call him Rosendouche to his face! People told me so many stories about him and he was obviously a presence that was very missed on set. I never felt that people thought I was taking his place, but it was nice. It felt like a completing of the story, bringing him back and him coming back. So yeah, it was very satisfying.
IGN: [Laughs] Okay, I have to ask, where did the name "Rosendouche" come from?
Freeman: I don't know! I think I like the word douchebag. I think it's one of those swearwords that's not really a swearword, because it's actually a thing. But it's like how you can say "bitch" on TV now. Bitch is still a bad word – you're not actually talking about a female dog. And douchebag is something you can say instead of a real bad word and I just… It's vintage to me, so I like it! [Laughs]
IGN: When I spoke to John Glover a few months ago, he had glowing things to say about you. Has it been a lot of fun to work with him?
Freeman: Oh, I call him G Love and the Special Sauce. John Glover is incredible. I could not have asked for a cooler guy to play my dad and also to learn from. You work with the same people over and over again. Not that Erica and Tom and Justin aren't incredible – they really are. But you throw someone like that in, who has such history and so much experience working in film, television and theater and you just want to sit next to him and talk the whole time. He's super playful and really giving and a joy. He's such a joy.
IGN: Fans have been very curious about the end of the show and the transition of Clark into Superman. Were you excited to see them get to play that out, however they do it?
Freeman: Yeah, I think it's difficult. Because it's so touchy! What do you do and what are the rules and who thinks what? I'm excited for it to keep moving in that direction, because I think that brings closure to the series and I think it's puts a beautiful bow on the end of it. But the way that they did it I thought was really smart and interesting and I think that the fans will like it a lot.
IGN: What else can you say about what's to come for Tess in the final episodes of the show?
Freeman: This is what I love about the end and Tess, is that in the finale -- and this whole season kind of, since she found out she's a Luthor -- she has this big question mark over her head. And you know, there are those moments where Oliver and Clark are like, "Can we trust her?" And finding out she's adopted and all this emotional stuff. She has a choice. She has a very human choice in the show, whether she wants to be good or she wants to be bad. And she knows that going with one team means one thing and going with one team means the other. And she can't play both sides of the coin. One team has accepted her and is good and she feels good [with them]. And one team is her family. And we all feel some connection to our family. Blood is thicker than water and all that. That's her big decision in the finale and it's a cool, human thing to have on a show filled with superheroes.
theboywonder: IMO she is the one good thing to come of Season 8 and I hope she gets a cool ending come May 13th when the 10 year show comes to an end. I love Smallville but haters feel free to express your wrath below!