For a site that has loads of articles about everything about Smallville, there seems to be a lot of haters of this show that need to make comments constantly bashing it. These are my views as a long-time fan of the show that will really miss it when it's gone.
What did Smallville give us? First, a compelling look at a character that has never been fleshed out before in live action: Clark Kent. Has it taken a long time for him to become Superman? Sure, but what person in life finds their purpose in life without a journey. This has been a crazy ride for a boy to find his destiny as a man. He has known that he wanted to help people for years, but struggled with how to best go about that. He has been lurking in the shadows as a silent savior for 10 years on television, and in my opinion, the VRA storyline had very compelling arguments against the heroes. We all heard about the Seattle vigilantes and thought them crazy. Why weren't the police trying to stop them? They're fools for doing this. This season has examined that from a certain point of view, while giving us fantastic rides along the way.
Second, nearly everyone loves the Reeve's films, but aside from Superman, Lex, and Lois, the rest of the characters are forgettable. We have gotten some truly great developments for the likes of Jonathan, Martha, Lex, Lois, General Lane, the creation of Lionel Luthor, Lana, the fledgling Justice League, Justice Society, Check Mate, Suicide Squad, Zod, Brainiac, Doomsday(yes I said it), Toyman, the Legion, Perry White, and countless others.
What did the Reeve's films give us that Smallville hasn't? Superman in costume that's it. Superman never had any epic fights. In fact, he has never even thrown a punch on film before. I'm a die-hard fan of those films, but that's not what this article is about.
Third, we have witnessed Clark develop his powers over time and learn to control them. Those are some of the best episodes that have aired. It has also come full-circle with Clark helping to train Connor as well.
Fourth, Superman: the movie takes us from Smallville then skips something like 12 years with Clark trapped in the fortress. Our Clark had to leave the fortress. He will still be Superman at the same time, we just got to see him develop into that character over time. We weren't forced to believe that he went in a boy and came out a man.
Has there been missteps and retcons along the way? Sure. Let's name a few. Lana was stretched out way too long. Leaving her in that Super-suit was mistake. However, the scene where she has to say goodbye was heart-wrenching. They should have brought her back and sent her off to be happy somewhere.
The lack of flight after all this time. They have been dragging their feet on this since season one, and there doesn't seem to be a reason for it.
The death of "Jimmy." That one took me over a year to get over, even though we were told he wasn't the real Jimmy. They should have just left him the way he was, or never introduce him at all. Most people liked him, and got over the age difference pretty quickly.
Season 4: Lana as a witch, and story lines that didn't match up with their own timeline. Enough said, but that was 6 years ago get over it.
Time for the things that people to need to stop complaining about. Green Arrow. In the comics he was always the money behind the league, so it made sense to bring him on. He was not a replacement for Batman.
Doomsday. They took a boring character that was only known for one thing and turned him into a compelling character. Was the fight short? Of course. Was everyone raving about how good that season was before the finale? Yes. How quickly we forget. They set it up for the confrontation that bring about the death of Superman, and Clark wasn't strong enough yet to defeat him anyway.
The subtle changes to characters. DC has retconned every character in their books over and over for since they started writing comics. Smallville didn't do anything new here. The JSA was spot-on, and so was the Legion. People who complain about these interpretations seem to forget that Geoff Johns wrote these episodes. The almighty of the DC Universe was responsible for them all.
This show has brought more life to the DC universe than any other live action movie or show has ever done. The Reeve's movies didn't do it. Lois & Clark didn't get anything right. Superman Returns did more harm than good. Did their versions make everyone happy? You can't please everyone, but at least they made an attempt to breathe life into the DC expanded universe.
When this show is over we will have over 200 hours of Superman on film to go back and enjoy. You'll appreciate it when it's gone. Try to love it while it's still here.