The fourth season of Smallville takes a turn for the worst. While it has some great and memorable moments, it's in some ways arguably the worst season of the series.

 

It's not all bad. The production quality continues to rise from the previous seasons, and the acting is better than it was at the beginning. We get some great additions to the series including Lois Lane and Flash (who, of course, is not actually Flash yet). Mostly it's the writing that has gone downhill, and without good stories all the characters, production, and anything else good can only do so much.

 

The biggest negative is the witch and stones story arc. You probably know about the stones, but let me summarize it for those that don't. Three Kryptonian stones were brought to Earth at some point in the distant past. They were left guarded but sought after by numerous people throughout history. It's Clark's charge to find them and unite them before humans do. And there are a lot of humans looking for them.

 

Why is this such a bad story? Because there is no satisfactory explanation given for the purpose of the stones. By that I don't mean what they ultimately do since we find that out, but I mean the purpose for placing them on Earth rather than sending them with Clark (which is what happens in other Superman stories). No indication is ever given that the Kryptonians are able to see the future so how would they know to leave the stones for Clark? One episode calls into question whether or not they were left for Clark at all, but that is never explored further. What would have been the purpose for them exploring Earth and leaving such dangerous artifacts behind if not for Clark, and if for him why leave them so far in advance knowing humans finding them would be devastating (see Jor El’s reaction in the last episode)? If they had the foreknowledge to leave them why could they not also foresee their own destruction therefore negating the need to send Clark to Earth in the first place? There are many possible explanations, but none of them quite pan out with the information presented.

 

To me this is a lot like the tales of Neman from last season. It's something to add mystery to the Superman legend that can be stretched out across many episodes, but it's like the writers had an idea they threw in because they liked how it sounded without having all the details wrapped up after which they shifted focus hoping we would care more about current events than explanations of the past.

 

I could have possibly overlooked the weakness of this part of the story if not for the additional weakness of the witch storyline. Lana is possessed by the spirit of a witch who was burned at the stake many years ago. By rubbing a symbol on the witch’s tomb Lana allows the spirit to enter her and give her a mystical tattoo that matches a symbol in the Smallville caves. So already we’re descending into farther depths of cheesy although not yet any more so than some of the other strange moments. But it gets worse.

 

**MINOR SPOILER HERE**

Supposedly Lana’s boyfriend’s mother orchestrated their meeting and the events that lead to Lana’s possession. This is totally illogical even by Smallville standards given that Genevieve has no expressed powers of any kind. If she had the natural ability to orchestrate events like the story would suggest then not even the Luthors would be able to match that. Since Genevieve is proven to be no match for the Luthors it’s unlikely she could so precisely control the random events that she supposedly does, at least not without direct and noticeable intervention.

**NO MORE SPOILERS**

 

The weakness of the witch plot and involvement of Genevieve is compounded by the weakness of the stones story arc to which it is so closely tied. If either idea had been stronger it could have helped the other, but the weakness of one hurts the other all the more. I'm sure someone will think, "It's just a TV show! Why do you need an explanation for everything?" Because there's a logic to every universe, and understanding that logic plays a part in how much the viewer will enjoy the stories in which we invest ourselves. With such a huge dip in the presentation of that logic the illusion of the series is broken, and the viewer is left disenfranchised. It may be only a TV show, but if this were the continual quality of the series I would find something else more worth my time. Thankfully this is the exception rather than the rule for Smallville, and there are some positive aspects that I mentioned earlier.

 

I wasn’t sure at first how much I was going to like this incarnation of Lois. She’s crass, troubled, and addicted to everything. As time goes on, though, we see her struggle to rise above. She’s a strong person, and the influence of the Kents gives her a foothold to improve herself. She’s not going to become a successful reporter overnight, but we see her become less of a person that sees life as a big party to be passed idly. While I still love Chloe, I think Lois is a great and well-portrayed character showing the potential to become Superman's soul mate. I only wish they would start bringing the two together a little more. I want to see them develop a relationship worthy of lore before the series ends. I'm afraid that they will drag it out so long that they will cheapen it, but time will have to tell.

 

This season begins introducing some known names outside of the Daily Planet. The Flash AKA Bart Allen is the first. There are a number of Justice League nods, and Clark tries to be Bart’s moral compass which foreshadows the leader that we know Superman will one day be. We finally get a known villain as well. As far as I can remember all of the adversaries shown so far, with the exception of Lex, of course, have been inventions of the series rather than translated from the literature. Mxyzptlk is, like everyone else - reinvented but retaining a familiarity. One thing he and Bart do is to begin setting a precedent for heroes and villains that have nothing to do with the meteor freaks who have dominated the show so far.

 

Acting has been improving continuously. In this season it planes off mostly although Tom gets more emotional than usual and does a great job with it. Annette has some fluttering moments where she doesn't seem as strong as what I'm used to from her, but those are few. So while not a huge improvement over last season (which didn't need a huge improvement), this one maintains a good level.

 

Visual effects are good. While occasionally still flawed they are usually realistic and sharp. If nothing else this season is more consistent with its quality.