Last week my BuddyTV colleague wrote an article about why Smallville is better than Heroes. If you didn't believe it already, last night's episode of Smallville was proof. In the best episode of the show I've ever seen, the Doomsday storyline came front and center, moving the show into an impressive and fascinating direction.

A good super hero needs a great villain, and while Lex Luthor eventually becomes Superman's archnemesis, Smallville spent many years developing the strained friendship between Clark and Lex, never letting him be a pure villain until late last season when Lex killed his own father. Season 8 doesn't have that conflict, because Doomsday, as Jor-El informed Clark, is “the Ultimate Destroyer,” a creature whose sole function is to kill. Now that's a villain.

The rise of Doomsday has been coming since the start of this season, and those little pieces are coming together beautifully. It's almost reminiscent of the way Buffy the Vampire Slayer would set up its Big Bads, the season-long villains who were set on bringing about the apocalypse.

The final scene of last night's episode of Smallville played out as if it were ripped from the pages of a comic book. Jor-El explained the dire situation and the impending destruction, and Clark, like every great super hero, vowed to defeat it without a moment's hesitation. But that wasn't the end, and after Clark's confidence, we saw the true rise of evil as Brainiac took control of the Fortress of Solitude.

The appearance of the Dark Fortress as Brainiac warned, “Doomsday's coming,” was as ominous and brilliant a set-up as any comic book-inspired show could hope to achieve. It's exactly the kind of thing Heroes should be doing, and ironically, it's possible Smallville just undercut the impact of that other show. This Monday's episode of Heroes is called “It's Coming,” and after last night's episode of Smallville, it will be impossible not to draw comparisons between the two.


Best in Show:

Best Quote: “The truth is, my brain's just a little fried, literally.” - Chloe, in possibly the first ever instance of a TV character using the word “literally” correctly

Best Scene: Chloe's memory of Dark Thursday. While the final scene was great, I suspect Chloe's memory of Dark Thursday wasn't just so Smallville could recreate a memorable scene, but rather a brilliant piece of foreshadowing about what's to come. The General Zod-Brainiac connection is key to unlocking the mystery of Doomsday, and now it seems as though Dark Thursday may have been, in some way, the beginning of Doomsday.

Best User Comment: "Am I the only one who squealed like a little girl when he kissed her?" - Raya0607, about the Davis/Chloe kiss


What was your favorite quote and scene from last night's episode of Smallville?  Let us know by commenting below, and also check out our Recap of "Abyss."


-John Kubicek, BuddyTV Senior Writer
(Image courtesy of the CW)