After 10 years of building up Clark Kent as the greatest super hero the world will know, and a final season that introduced/reintroduced a cadre of iconic, dangerous foes, one could be forgiven for expecting the two-part finale to be a masterpiece of epic proportions. One would be mistaken. (One would also be ignoring the overall low quality of the entire show that preceded it, but that's another story.) Instead of the ultimate showdown between Superman and his strongest opponents, we get:
A pointless framing device that contributes nothing to the plot and, in fact, raises more questions. Two long and completely unnecessary subplots about wedding jitters and more idiocy of the time-to-discard-the-people-who-helped-me-thus-far variety, continued from the end of the last episode. A 2 minute long showcase of the show's special effects going from awful to mediocre over the years (also something about Clark helping people). The unexpected return of Lex Luthor, just because. The Unholy Trinity being unceremoniously triple-killed by Oliver Queen with ordinary arrows fired from an ordinary bow. About 10 seconds of Darkseid's poorly-rendered head, and another 15 seconds of said villain (but not in his own form, of course—we're on a budget here, remember?) combating our hero by using telekinesis, which is subsequently overcome by Clark's flight, leading to Clark OHKOing Darkseid by flying through him. A few shots of Apokolips closing in (undetected until the last second) from far enough away that no details would need to be rendered. Superman (finally) pushing Apokolips away, carefully filmed to avoid showing any actual, y'know, activity. The abrupt and gratuitous (not to mention completely ignored) murder of Tess, complete with a last-ditch effort to do some major good that appears to succeed, then is mysteriously reset by the end of the episode.
Speaking of the end, we also get a nice little glimpse of a 'happily ever after' where everyone is cheerful and beaming while their worst nightmare comes true.
In short, if you're looking for a lack of payoff, Smallville's final episode is the perfect place for you.
A pointless framing device that contributes nothing to the plot and, in fact, raises more questions. Two long and completely unnecessary subplots about wedding jitters and more idiocy of the time-to-discard-the-people-who-helped-me-thus-far variety, continued from the end of the last episode. A 2 minute long showcase of the show's special effects going from awful to mediocre over the years (also something about Clark helping people). The unexpected return of Lex Luthor, just because. The Unholy Trinity being unceremoniously triple-killed by Oliver Queen with ordinary arrows fired from an ordinary bow. About 10 seconds of Darkseid's poorly-rendered head, and another 15 seconds of said villain (but not in his own form, of course—we're on a budget here, remember?) combating our hero by using telekinesis, which is subsequently overcome by Clark's flight, leading to Clark OHKOing Darkseid by flying through him. A few shots of Apokolips closing in (undetected until the last second) from far enough away that no details would need to be rendered. Superman (finally) pushing Apokolips away, carefully filmed to avoid showing any actual, y'know, activity. The abrupt and gratuitous (not to mention completely ignored) murder of Tess, complete with a last-ditch effort to do some major good that appears to succeed, then is mysteriously reset by the end of the episode.
Speaking of the end, we also get a nice little glimpse of a 'happily ever after' where everyone is cheerful and beaming while their worst nightmare comes true.
In short, if you're looking for a lack of payoff, Smallville's final episode is the perfect place for you.