20 Best Superman TV Episodes Of All Time
15. "Covenant" - Smallville
The third season of Smallville saw the show begin to really find its voice, producing some spectacular television. Episodes like "Exile" and "Perry" really dug into the elements of Clark that would define his journey to becoming Superman, while "Hereafter" and "Memoria" showed us what kind of impact he could have on the people around him. "Covenant", the season finale, was the cap to this fantastic season.
With the introduction of one version of Kara, a neat trick that the Superman comics have used quite often, we see debts from previous seasons coming to pass. The truth about Jonathan Kent's deal with Jor-El, a plot element first established in the season premiere, came home to roost. Having been granted the ability to bring his son home, Jonathan promised he would deliver Clark to Jor-El.
This honest struggle between two fathers who claim ownership to their son gives "Covenant" a sense of almost operatic weight. It feels like some kind of superhero Shakespeare story, while also paying off the other father-son struggle between Lex and his duplicitous father Lionel.
The episode ends with a bleak montage, as all of our characters are thrust into some dangerous new situations. Jonathan is left for dead, Lex is poisoned and Clark is in a fetal position about to be "reborn" by Jor-El. It's a dark and brilliant ending that sets up a mountain of stories to come for the show.