Season synopsis
Contains spoilers for this season and earlier seasons.
Clark begins the season believing Lana was killed in a car bombing, but she is alive and has fled Lex, settling in Shanghai under another identity. Clark’s battle with Bizarro breaks Reeves Dam, and he must stop the resulting flood. After meeting his cousin Kara, Clark faces Brainiac and threats tied to Krypton. Kara’s memories are altered, and Brainiac later impersonates her, leaving Clark unsure whom to trust. Lana returns to Smallville, but her fear of Lex’s control remains central to her choices.
At LuthorCorp, Lex turns the secret society Veritas and its prophecy about the Traveler into a way to control Clark. His fixation deepens when he uncovers that Grant Gabriel is a clone of his supposedly dead younger brother Julian, while Lionel tries to keep Clark hidden. Lex kills Lionel, then pursues the Traveler’s identity through the surviving Veritas members. Clark and Kara’s attempts to stop Brainiac pull Chloe into danger; the attack leaves Chloe and Lana incapacitated, and Clark must defeat Brainiac to restore them. Jimmy is pressured to spy on Chloe, putting their relationship under strain.
In the finale, Lana wakes from her coma, leaves Clark a goodbye recording and decides she cannot stay. Brainiac, disguised as Kara, sends Lex to the Fortress, where Lex learns Clark is the Traveler. Lex activates the Orb, and the Fortress collapses around both men; their immediate fates are not shown. The Department of Domestic Security arrests Chloe, interrupting Jimmy’s attempt to propose. Clark’s secret is exposed to the person who once knew him best.