The following contains MAJOR SPOILERS for "Arctic," the seventh season finale of The CW's "Smallville."

"Arctic? makes an impressive opening with a full recap of the major events of the seventh season with an epic-toned score from Mark Snow and a ghostly message from beyond the grave by Lionel Luthor (John Glover).

Beginning with the secret of Veritas and Lex?s (Michael Rosenbaum) recent dark steps, the sequence also covers all of the character developments that have taken place including the awakening of Kara (Laura Vandervoort), Lana?s (Kristen Kreuk) confinement, Chloe?s (Allison Mack) meteor infection and some cryptic Kryptonian threats. It very nicely sets the overall tone of the episode and outlines everything that is at stake.

However, all of the character relationships -- compelling though they are -- serve as a warm up to the main event: Lex finally discovering the truth about Clark (Tom Welling), locating the Fortress of Solitude and using the orb device that will give him complete control over the last son of Krypton.

What makes Lex such a fantastic villain on the show is that he believes he is the hero and is working to make the world a safer place. Through his secret investigations into Clark Kent, Government projects, 33.1 experiments and finally his quest to control the traveler, he has constantly justified his actions through a desire to save mankind (in the same way as his childhood hero Warrior Angel). How ironic it is that in doing so he was destined to become the villain he desired to thwart.

Unfortunately, their confrontation doesn?t come until the final moments and leaves so much unsaid and even more unfinished. Seven years of each character should have amounted to more than three minutes of shouting in the Arctic fortress and a snazzy lightshow. Here?s hoping next season includes everything ?Arctic? did not.

What Worked

Robert Picardo as the troubled billionaire on the run from not only recent events but also his past as a member of the Veritas clan was certainly a lot better than his time as a misguided monk last week. And thankfully his scenes were over by the opening credits allowing the episode to move onto more pressing and tougher issues, ?Kara? as a super-villain for example. It was brilliant to see Vandervoort don the dark cape and become a baddie on the series as one of the many regrets about her time on the series this year is that we have yet to see her encounter red kryptonite.

One of the elements that have been developed throughout this season though is the reporting duo of Lois (Erica Durance) and Jimmy (Aaron Ashmore) and the pair have made a brilliant team. But with Lex trying to evade the power of the press and forcing Jimmy to act as a double agent (only without the suaveness of his previous 007 adventure), the already entertaining partnership became just that little bit more engaging ... especially when Lois instantly spots Jimmy?s tall-tales.

The entire Lex-Jimmy arrangement was reminiscent of the bargain Chloe made during the third season ... a bargain that eventually led to Lionel?s imprisonment. Is this perhaps a little foreshadowing into the future of Lex Luthor?

It was also great to see James Marsters back as Milton Fine (although the circumstances of his appearance come as no great surprise). But what was even better was his Kryptonian antics with Chloe. The best part of the reporter-wannabe?s screen time this year has been a combination of her closeness with Clark and also the limited exploration of her meteor induced powers. And in a few moments with the former ?Buffy? baddie the real extent of her abilities were revealed.

His reappearance also triggered a short (yet timelessly significant) battle between Clark and the Kryptonian Brain Interactive Construct in which the man of steel makes the decision to kill his adversary. The fact that Brainiac is a machine is only a minor triviality -- Clark Kent chose to kill.

What Didn?t Work

Why hasn?t Lex realized that Clark Kent is the traveler before now? All of those close calls with death with Clark unscathed, an obsession with bizarre cave paintings and of course Kara Kent revealing her origins to Lex and he still needs to ask her who it is. Looks like Lionel?s hard earned cash covering the admission to Excelsior Academy didn?t include an education.

Lana?s goodbye, touching though it was, would have had a larger impact had it been done in person and seemed more of an afterthought. The character has been a large part of the series and - even though she will be back -- deserved a bigger sendoff than a night at blockbuster. The scene was saved from complete disaster thanks to Welling?s strong performance and also the waiting arms of Lois Lane.

Giving Credit Where Credit Is Due

"Smallville" stars Tom Welling, Michael Rosenbaum, Allison Mack, Erica Durance, Aaron Ashmore and Laura Vandervoort, and airs Thursday nights at 9 p.m. on The CW. ?Arctic? was written by Don Whitehead and Holly Henderson, and was directed by Tod Slavkin.

Alan Stanley Blair is the assistant news editor for Airlock Alpha and its sister site Rabid Doll. He is currently studying for a diploma in freelance journalism and can be reached at anytime at ablair@airlockalpha.com.

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