Smallville S5 E1 – Arrival

Preview

Smallville picks up right where season four left off in the explosive season five premiere, “Arrival.” Following the destructive second meteor shower, Clark is transported to the frozen Arctic, where he finally constructs the iconic Fortress of Solitude using the ancient crystal. But standing between Clark and his destiny is a severe warning from Jor-El, not to mention a pair of deadly Kryptonian disciples of General Zod who drop out of the sky looking for blood.

Back in Kansas, Smallville is in ruins, and Lex is determined to pry secrets out of both Lana and Chloe after witnessing otherworldly events. Clark faces an impossible choice between finishing his Kryptonian training or abandoning his duties to save the people he loves, a decision that Jor-El warns will carry devastating consequences for his powers and his future.

Episode Review

Season five kicks off with one of the biggest identity shifts in the history of Smallville. The show moves past the “high school with meteor rocks” formula and firmly embraces grand DC comic lore. Dropping Clark right into the North Pole to throw the crystal and construct the Fortress of Solitude pays serious tribute to the 1978 Donner film, giving longtime Superman fans plenty to cheer for.

The pacing here rarely lets up. The tension between Clark and Lex shifts into a darker gear, especially when Lex starts showing up with an intimidating, predatory demeanor toward both Lana and Chloe. Michael Rosenbaum brings out Lex’s relentless obsession, and Allison Mack finally gets Chloe into the inner circle in a scene that feels completely earned after four seasons of almost-reveals. The dialogue between Clark and Chloe inside the Fortress gives the show the warmth it sorely needs amid all the alien hostility and falling rocks.

The episode manages to juggle a lot of moving parts: Lana being terrorized in a field, Jonathan and Martha trapped in their ruined farmhouse, the disciples searching for Kal-El, and Jor-El delivering another fatherly ultimatum. It’s thrilling, bold, and marks an energetic leap into adulthood for the series.

Star Power & “Freak of the Week”

Main Cast:

• Tom Welling as Clark Kent
• Kristin Kreuk as Lana Lang
• Michael Rosenbaum as Lex Luthor
• Erica Durance as Lois Lane (now promoted to the main opening credits!)
• Allison Mack as Chloe Sullivan
• John Schneider as Jonathan Kent
• Annette O’Toole as Martha Kent
• John Glover as Lionel Luthor

Freak(s) of the Week:

Rather than our usual dose of a mutated teenager with a grudge, this premiere upgrades to intergalactic threats:

• Leonard Roberts as Nam-Ek & Alana De La Garza as Aethyr: These two disciples of Zod emerge from the black spaceship wearing matching black trenchcoats and mean scowls. Roberts brings pure brute force, while De La Garza (best known later as Connie Rubirosa on Law & Order and Isobel Castille on FBI) radiates cold, lethal precision. They aren’t meteor-infected high schoolers; they are full-fledged Kryptonians who shrug off shotgun blasts, crush bones, and force Clark to use his brain instead of just his fists.
• James Marsters as Milton Fine / Brainiac (Cameo): While barely on screen for a minute at the tail end, Marsters—beloved by genre fans as Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer—makes an unforgettable debut emerging from the liquid metallic center of the ship.

Special Effects Showcase

“Arrival” had a massive budget for a WB premiere, and you can see every cent of it on screen—even if some 2005 CGI has aged like unpasteurized milk.

• The Fortress Creation: The wide shots of the Fortress rising out of the snow remain impressive. The crystal growth effect, complete with translucent ice spires shooting into the sky, captures the cinematic scale they were aiming for.
• The Black Ship: The landing crater and the sleek, matte-black geometry of the Kryptonian ship look ominous and solid.
• The Aged/Rough CGI: The super-speed dashes and heat-vision beams still look decent, but the transformation sequence where Brainiac’s liquid mercury coalesces into a human form definitely screams mid-2000s standard-definition television. It’s rubbery and a little floaty by today’s standards, though conceptually it was terrifying at the time. The super-jumping physics when Nam-Ek and Aethyr leap onto roofs also have that unmistakable wire-work float.

Music & Track Listing

Mark Snow’s orchestral score does heavy lifting here, incorporating grand, cinematic swells and haunting choral arrangements that echo John Williams without ripping him off outright.

• “Precious” by Depeche Mode: Plays over the dramatic closing sequence as the dark liquid pours out from the alien spacecraft and takes the form of a naked Milton Fine (James Marsters), leading into the cliffhanger credits. It is easily one of the coolest licensed needle drops the series ever pulled off.

Rating

5 out of 5 Stars

A fantastic season premiere that shatters the high school status quo. It delivers the Fortress, strips Clark of his powers for a grounded mortal arc, pays off Chloe learning his secret, and drops a major comic villain tease at the end.

Complete Synopsis & Plot Breakdown

Following the catastrophic meteor strike on Smallville, Clark finds himself standing in the Arctic barrens holding the Knowledge Crystal. Obeying an inner pull, he hurls the crystal into the snow. In a dazzling display of crystalline geometry, the Fortress of Solitude erupts from the ice. Inside, Jor-El’s booming disembodied voice greets Clark as Kal-El, telling him it is time to begin his comprehensive training to become Earth’s protector.

However, Chloe Sullivan—who was swept into the cave portal along with Clark—wanders freezing through the Arctic outside. She collapses near the entrance, and Clark finds her shivering violently. Chloe begs Clark to use his heat vision or speed to save her, formally showing her hand: she knows what he can do. Jor-El warns Clark that leaving will interrupt his training and demands he return by sunset, or there will be dire consequences. Clark refuses to let Chloe die, wraps her in his coat, and sprints across continents to a hospital in Yukon. There, Chloe lovingly promises to keep his secret safe forever.

Meanwhile, back in Smallville, two imposing figures in black—Nam-Ek and Aethyr—step out of an alien vessel at the meteor site. They corner Lana, demanding to know the location of Kal-El. When she cannot answer, they begin a destructive rampage toward Smallville. Lex Luthor discovers the crash site and is baffled by what he sees, but his obsession quickly turns to Lana, whom he rescues from the crater.

Jonathan and Martha Kent survive their collapsed house, with Lois Lane rushing in to dig them out of the rubble. Lex tracks down Chloe at the hospital, attempting to probe her for information about Clark and the caves, but Chloe stonewalls him completely.

Clark returns to Smallville to stop the Kryptonian invaders. Realizing they possess powers equal to his own, he cannot defeat them in direct physical combat. Using his wits, Clark lures them back toward the Kawatche Caves. He tricks them into touching the portal threshold with a crystal, banishing both disciples directly into the Phantom Zone.

With the battle won, the sun sets. Clark realizes he failed to make it back to the Fortress by Jor-El’s deadline. The disembodied voice of Jor-El strips Clark of all his Kryptonian powers as punishment, rendering him a normal, vulnerable human being. Relieved to be “normal” for once, Clark reunites with Lana, and the two finally share a passionate, unburdened kiss.

In the final scene at the LuthorCorp facility, a pool of black liquid oozes out of the captured spacecraft, slowly shaping itself into a human male—Milton Fine.

Superman Lessons & Clark’s Journey

“Arrival” is a crucial milestone in Clark’s transformation into Superman:

• Duty vs. Humanity: Jor-El represents the stoic, cosmic responsibility of Superman, while the Kent upbringing represents the beating heart of the hero. Clark prioritizes saving Chloe’s life over accepting omnipotent knowledge. This solidifies Clark’s defining heroic trait: he will never sacrifice an individual for the “greater good.”
• Trusting Allies: Superman cannot carry the entire weight of the world in secret. By validating Chloe’s awareness and letting her in, Clark gains his first true confidante outside of his parents, planting the seeds for his future partnership with allies in Metropolis.
• Brain Over Brawn: Defeating Nam-Ek and Aethyr isn’t accomplished by punching harder—they match him blow for blow. Clark uses strategy, misdirection, and environmental awareness to banish them. Superman is often misunderstood as just an overpowered brute, but this episode highlights Clark’s tactical mind.
• Understanding Vulnerability: Losing his abilities at the episode’s climax forces Clark to understand what it means to be truly fragile, an experience that will ultimately make him a more empathetic, careful god among men once his powers return.

Photos

Talk Ville: ARRIVAL (S5E01) Tom Escapes the Phantom Zone, Lex Won’t Let Go of Lana & Who Farted?!

Review Notes

Well, I loved this episode, even if it is just a blatant rip off of the movies, (who gets writer credits on this?)

Best thing and the most Superman feeling I have had yet from Smallville, if this is where we are going I am 100% in! Braniac!