^ A lot of people have been saying that.
This season has left behind a lot of the flaws that plagued the show... well, one really, endless Clana... but it's also left behind the best part of the show which was the compelling ongoing storylines of the villians. Lex and Lionel were the best parts of the show, but even Brainiac and the Teagues were well drawn characters.
Tess Mercer is just a waste, you could put any actor or actress in that role, there is no personality. And what's been lost is the duplicity of the show's villians, which was what made them so much fun to watch week after week. There was that part of Lionel that made you want to try to trust him. The false good guy that Lex built up around himself. Brainiac worming his way into Clark's trust at the beginning.
You could see how these villians were accomplishing their plots, it was fun, you could see how they were screwing people over and getting away with it. Occasionally you had to recharge your disbelief, sure, but every season Glover was still so much fun to watch.
What we've got this season, which is just a continuation of the popular 'Justice Season', is plenty of DC guest stars. As I'm catching up on 'The Batman' animated series this year, every week we're getting Martian Manhunter, Flash, Green Arrow, Green Lantern, etc. And Smallville is just following this formula.
Yes, it's cool to watch, and no surprise it's popular. "Never thought I'd see the Legion live action..." Well, I said at the time that I'd never thought I'd see the Justice League live action. Same thing just getting done over. It's fun, it's classic old school comic crossovers to boost sales.
If they'd been doing this from the start, the series would have lasted maybe 2 seasons, I'd bet. A fun 2 seasons for fanboys, but there's really only so far you can go with it.
It fits the final season, it's good to get this out there, I'm glad of it. But it's only "the best season ever" because of what was built up beforehand.
That one drives me nuts! 
