So the reasons for an actor leaving a series are always unclear in Hollywood, but very often it comes down to money, either they’re asking too much, or the producers aren’t willing to pay enough. Or sometimes they just get bored. Which after seven seasons, it is perfectly reasonable for an actor to do. But the thing is…Smallville didn’t end. It kept around.

But when you have a major character vital to the story, you have to keep them around…somehow. And so they have. With misfigured clones, obscure text messages, horribly burned versions of Lex, guys in the shadows, a guy with a facemask etc. The strange thing is, that in the last few seasons, Smallville has gotten remarkably good…at least in terms of producing stuff that those of us that like the genre actually want to watch. So since this is the final season, it might be nice if the “Real” Lex Luthor would finally please stand up, especially given all of the build up and prophesy nonsense that took part in the early seasons. So they’ve finally set things up where it could THEORETICALLY happen, and there is even an episode named “Luthor” except it is apparently Lionel Luthor (Lex’s father). Having said that, both Rossbom and Tom Welling have expressed an interest in him returning to the show and they have this whole weird child clone thing set up…but no one is saying anything….so who knows.

And in other news…Allison Mack is finally coming back to the show in the middle of the season for five episodes. One wonders if there will be “clones” of her in the meantime to fill the role…..