Smallville: All 10 seasons ranked from worst to best

5. Season 5

Season 5 was a turning point for Smallville because the vast majority of the show’s focus was moved to Metropolis. It made a lot of sense because the characters had all graduated from high school and now was the time to start the next chapter of the story. For some of the characters, that meant college, for others it meant interning at the Daily Planet.

This was when Smallville really started to evolve into a superhero series. Not only did we have many of the aforementioned Superman aspects come into play, we also saw Clark and Chloe begin to work together to fight crime. That was a long time coming, so now that Chloe finally knew Clark’s secret, it breathed new life into the show. The show had finally pulled the band-aid off on that and it benefited it a great deal – something it could have also learned from when it came to Clark and Lana.

There were other standout elements, including the introduction of the Fortress of Solitude and the game-changing 100th episode that still leaves you floored even on a rewatch.

Smallville grew up in season 5 in all the right ways. It certainly missed some of that nostalgia that the earlier seasons were known for, but it successfully evolved into a more streamlined superhero show here. While seasons 6 and 7 would drop that ball, season 5 certainly kicked off the new era on a high.