Despite the anticlimactic nature of that snippet, there's another surprise coming, and it's covered entirely in black. Mama Kent has a present and it shows the transition from The Blur's shadowy trenchcoat to a burst of primary colors - the red, blue and yellow basics of Superman.

Let's break down the episode, but not in the way those unknown threats broke down the steel air duct that trapped Ollie. Really, does anyone know what that was about? Then again, the Chlollie fans probably blacked out right after he kissed her in the Watchtower.

Tess and The Fortress
After realizing last week that she needs to atone for her sins, Tess sides with Clark and tries to stop Zod's plans. She flies to the Fortress, he compares her to Icarus, but despite her rejection of the metaphor, she falls down like he does - burnt.

Clark saves her and she apologizes at the hospital, where she tells him about the alternative to using the Book of Rao. Thus, he arrives at his decision. But despite Tess' salvation of her soul here, there's another mystery leaving us hanging. A woman with lethal knitting needles enters the scene and closes the door on her deathbed.

From Heroes to One
The writers took note of how successful "Absolute Justice" was, so we really did expect to see the JSA again. Too bad they didn't join the showdown, and we were all led to believe that they'd battle to the death with the icon-effacing Kandorians. But Clark's all for peace, so these heroes are stuck on Chloe's computer screens while he faces his destiny alone.

Rao, Revelations
The episode had a lot to do with Lois finding out who the Blur was, especially since she thought it was Zod. He keeps toying with her emotions, pointing the finger at Clark, and leading the girl astray.

After Clark's heartfelt goodbye in the Kent farm, she goes ahead and deceives him by snatching the Book of Rao from his pocket. Such a sweet girl. Anyway, he finds out about this and realizes that Lois is in danger.

Again, he saves her after Zod throws her towards a telephone booth (how significant!) and pulls her into a kiss in a dark alley. A few milliseconds after he leaves, Lois finally realizes that The Blur = Clark. Whew.

The Battle and the Exile
Now that Clark has The Book of Rao, he flies off and faces Zod and the Kandorians with only five minutes left in the episode. Quick! A swift account!

The army learns that their leader lied to them. They ask Clark to take them to the new world. Sunlight from the sky steals their bodies and it rains! Zod brings out a Blue Kryptonite dagger. He and Clark battle it out, throwing punches here and there. But Zod stabs Clark!

Big mistake.

Zod's desire to stay behind has been foiled by the fact that the dagger's safe in Clark's stomach. He gets beamed up, to face his doom at the hands of the Kandorians, so that wrapped up nicely. At last, the Smallville season finale closes off and leaves us with so many questions with the cliffhanger it produced. Like who's going to save our hero from his descent?

See More Photos of Zod and Clark in the Finale

And we thank the writers for all that, because now we have so many things to ponder while waiting for Superman's flight next season.  

(Image Courtesy of the CW)