Smallville Producer Talks the 10th & Final Season

Smallville flies into its concluding season Friday night with a jaw-dropping episode so big, we just had to hit up exec-producer Kelly Souders for the super-deets. Up, up and away!
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TV Guide Magazine: The first episode back is amazing! So much happened in one hour. What is left?!
Souders: I know! Believe me, a lot. We're in the middle of it all, saying 'there's too much story! '"

TV Guide Magazine: So we get our first glimpse of Darkseid.
Souders: Yes.

TV Guide Magazine: Is he going to remain a CGI presence?
Souders: Um, I wouldn't say so. [Laughs] I think you'll see some more solid forms of him coming up quickly. Like episode 3.

TV Guide Magazine: So as he infects various characters?
Souders: Yeah. And for comics fans, there will be a lot of parts of the comics that will be woven into that storyline.

TV Guide Magazine: Like Gordon Godfrey (Michael Daingerfield) leading the anti-superhero movement in the "Supergirl" episode?
Souders: Yep, exactly.

TV Guide Magazine: What happened to the Chloe flashback that was supposed to be part of the season opener?
Souders: Well, as you can attest to, the season opener is jam-packed and it actually came in over, time-wise, and we had to make the very hard decision as to what we needed in the show for story purposes. And we have two scenes with Alison that were fantastic... which you will [eventually] see.

TV Guide Magazine: Later on in the season?
Souders: Yeah. They were really wonderful scenes, and there was an actual way we can use them later on.

TV Guide Magazine: And are we to believe that Oliver is being held by the Suicide Squad?
Souders: Oliver is having a very unfortunate day. [Laughs] And he's going to meet a very interesting character.

TV Guide Magazine: Are his scenes in the opener a nod to the torture sequence in Casino Royale?
Souders: Umm... maybe so. Justin's is such a trooper and he's always willing to do what he feels is best for the character. And this is an episode where Oliver is literally and figuratively stripped down to his bare essence, having to fight completely on his own.

TV Guide Magazine: There is so much great Clark stuff. The suit. The wave of the cape. The impression of flight... you are really firing it up.
Souders: I think we feel like it's been such an amazing and long run, that we don't want to hold anything back. We'd rather blow things out and have the chance to see it on film and give fans what they want to see than get to the end of the show and say, 'Oh God, we didn't have enough time to do it all.'"

TV Guide Magazine: Now, in next week's episode, we see Carter Hall (Hawkman) come back.
Souders: Yeah, we see Carter come back and he's a little different. We get to see the more human side of him, in a weird way. We get deeper inside his mind and delve into the character more.

TV Guide Magazine: And it seems like you're going a lot deeper into Clark's psyche, playing his own self-doubt with what Jor-El pulls in the opener.
Souders: It's a very cruel moment in Clark's life to have Jor-El do that to him. But he's really strong this season. It's been really interesting to watch the character — and Tom [Welling]. His performances have been fantastic,

TV Guide Magazine: His first scene with Jonathan (John Schneider)! I did not expect to get sop emotional over that.
Souders: Oh! I have seen it multiple times and I can say that I still cry every time I watch it. It was nice to see that relationship come back alive on film.

TV Guide Magazine: I am preparing myself emotionally for when we finally see Clark in the suit.
Souders: [Laughs] I have a sneaking suspicion you're not alone!

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