Smallville S3, E22 – “Covenant”

Hello there, fellow Smallville fans! Welcome back to Smallville Reviews. If you’re ready for some high-stakes teenage angst mixed with alien destiny, you’ve come to the right place. Grab your Kryptonite-free snacks, and let’s dive into one of the wildest finales in TV history.

Preview:

A girl claiming to be from Krypton arrives at the Kent farm with a message for Clark: it’s time to come home. (Interesting since there is no home, but whatever) While Clark struggles with the idea of leaving his life in Smallville behind, a massive secret involving a deal between Jonathan and Jor-El finally comes to light, threatening to tear the Kent family apart forever.

Meanwhile, the walls are closing in on Lionel Luthor as Chloe and Lex prepare to testify against him. But Lionel isn’t going down without a fight, and as the clock ticks down, the lives of everyone Clark loves hang in the balance. Will Clark embrace his Kryptonian heritage, or will the weight of his secrets crush everything he’s built?

Episode Review

Starring: Tom Welling, Kristin Kreuk, Michael Rosenbaum, Sam Jones III (mentioned), Allison Mack, John Glover, Annette O’Toole, and John Schneider.

The “Freak of the Week”: This week’s “freak” is a bit more sophisticated than your average meteor-infected teen. We’re introduced to Kara (played by a pre-Supernatural and Wonder Woman pilot Adrianne Palicki). She shows up naked (because that’s how Kryptonians roll, apparently) claiming to be from Clark’s home planet. Of course, the twist is that she isn’t actually Kara Zor-El (the cousin we meet later in Season 7). She’s actually Lindsay Harrison, a local girl abducted during the meteor shower and “reprogrammed” by Jor-El to lure Clark away. Talk about a glow-up with a dark side. Really though Jor_El is in control and is the real Freak of the Week. S – Tier

Special Effects:

For 2004, the effects are actually pretty decent, though some have aged like a fine glass of milk. The scene where Kara vaporizes Agent Loder’s car is a standout with lots of bright lights to distract you from the fact that it’s mostly a CGI explosion. However, the “floating” scenes and the Kawatche cave light-show still have that slightly “early 2000s screensaver” vibe. Clark getting snapped before getting snapped was a thing was kind of cool too.

Music:

The music in this episode is top-tier. It transitions from catchy alt-rock to one of the most hauntingly beautiful classical montages in the series.

• “Missing” by Evanescence
• “One Moment More” by Mindy Smith
• “Requiem in D Minor, K. 626: Lacrimosa” by Mozart (This is the epic track during the ending montage—chills every time!)

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

“Covenant” earns a perfect 5 stars for delivering a emotionally devastating, high-stakes finale that brings Season 3’s themes to a powerful conclusion. The episode succeeds on every level—mythology advancement, character development, emotional impact, and cliffhanger effectiveness. This is peak Smallville. It’s dramatic, it’s heartbreaking, and it leaves every single plot thread in a tangled, explosive mess. I don’t think I have ever seen so many cliffhangers in one show.

Lessons & The Road to Superman

This episode is a masterclass in the burden of destiny. Clark spends the whole episode trying to be “just Clark,” but the universe (and his AI dad) won’t let him.

The Lessons: You can’t run from who you are, especially if your dad made a supernatural deal with an alien cave.

Jor-El’s manipulation of Clark through fear and deception continues to establish a complicated father-son relationship that contrasts sharply with Jonathan Kent’s unconditional love. This dynamic reinforces why Superman is fundamentally a hero despite growing up with godlike powers—the Kents taught him compassion, sacrifice, and moral courage. Jor-El’s harsh methods serve as a cautionary tale about power without humanity.

The betrayal he feels from Lex when Lionel gives him the key to the “Room of Obsession” is a pivotal moment. It’s the final nail in the coffin of their friendship, pushing Clark further away from humanity and closer to the isolated figure of Kal-El. This is the “darkest before the dawn” phase of his journey; he has to lose everything to realize what he needs to protect.

Plot Synopsis & Breakdown

The episode kicks off with a bang (literally) as a naked girl with superpowers walks out of a light beam. She calls herself Kara and tells Clark they are the last of their kind. She’s got all the powers: strength, speed, and she can even fly (lucky girl).

The drama at the Kent farm hits a boiling point when Jonathan admits he made a deal with Jor-El: he’d get the power to bring Clark home from Metropolis if he promised to eventually give Clark back to Jor-El. Martha is understandably livid, and Clark feels like a pawn in a game played by two fathers.

Over in Luthor-land, Lex and Chloe are ready to put Lionel behind bars. Lionel, ever the mastermind, tries to play the “I’m dying of liver disease” card, but no one is buying it. Clark finds Lex’s secret room filled with maps, lead boxes, and obsession and officially ends their friendship.

The Ending Montage (The “Lacrimosa” Sequence):

• Lana leaves for Paris, crying as she looks at the flower Clark left without seeing her after he caught her with Lex.
• Lionel gets his head shaved in prison (the birth of the classic Lex look, but on his dad!).
• Lex is poisoned and collapses, clutching his chest.
• Chloe and her dad enter a safe house that immediately explodes into a fireball.
• Jonathan is choked unconscious by Jor-El in the caves.
• Clark finally gives in, steps into the cave wall, and vanishes into the light to be “reborn.”

Kara’s arrival and claim

• A naked blonde girl walks out of the woods, is hit by a car without injury, and later flies to save a boy from a burning farmhouse, revealing Kryptonian‑level powers.
• She appears at the Kent farm, calls Clark “Kal‑El,” says she is Kara from Krypton, and insists Jor‑El sent her to bring him to fulfill his destiny.

Jonathan’s “covenant” with Jor‑El

• Kara confronts Jonathan, saying he “broke the covenant,” and forces him to admit he bargained with Jor‑El for temporary powers to bring Clark back from Metropolis, promising that one day he would return Clark to Jor‑El.
• Martha and Clark are horrified that Jonathan made this deal in secret, and Kara kills FBI agent Loder by turning his car and everything inside to dust when he spies on the Kents.

Clark, Lex, and Lionel

• Clark discovers Lex has secretly built a replica of the Kent loft and other surveillance‑type material to study him, shattering Clark’s trust even though Lex believes he’s just seeking the truth about the weirdness around Clark.
• Clark testifies against Lionel about the murder of Lionel’s parents; Lionel is denied bail and later reveals to Lex Luthor that he has a terminal liver disease, but Lex still moves to bring him down.

Lana’s departure

• Clark races to the airport, sees her say goodbye to Lex, but chooses not to approach; Lana only finds the white rose he left behind as she leaves for Paris.

Chloe and Lionel’s retaliation

• Chloe agrees to testify against Lionel and is placed in protective custody with her father Gabe, moving into a safe house arranged by the authorities.
• The moment Chloe and Gabe enter the new house, it explodes in a massive fireball, implying Lionel has retaliated and leaving Chloe’s fate unknown.

Kara’s true identity and Clark’s choice

• Clark’s friends arrange to test Kara’s fingerprints and learn she is actually Lindsay Harrison, a girl who went missing during the original meteor shower, now possessed or used by Jor‑El rather than a true Kryptonian.
• Jonathan confronts “Kara” and Jor‑El in the Kawatche caves; Jor‑El makes Kara vanish, then uses an energy whip to strangle Jonathan, forcing Clark to choose between obeying or letting his father die.

Final montage of cliffhangers

• To save Jonathan, Clark steps into the cave wall of light and disappears, with Jor‑El declaring that his son will “be reborn” as Clark floats in a void.
• Simultaneously, a Kryptonian symbol burns into the Kent farm fields as Martha watches, Lionel’s head is shaved in prison, Lex collapses choking after drinking poisoned brandy, and Chloe’s house detonates, leaving multiple characters seemingly dead or in peril to close out season 3.

Photos

Talk Ville Podcast – COVENANT (S3E22) w/ SAM JONES III

Short but sweet, nice to see them all buddy buddy. For Sam it seemed almost cathartic.