Smallville concluded its 10-season run without resolving a significant Lana Lang story. First beginning in 2001, Smallville tells the tale of a young Clark Kent (Tom Welling) developing his powers and learning about his Kryptonian origins on his journey to becoming Superman. Many characters central to the Superman mythos play important roles on Smallville, not the least of which is his high school girlfriend, Lana Lang (Kristin Kreuk).
On Smallville, Lana spends much of the show suspecting there is much more to Clark than meets the eye before eventually learning his secret in season 6. Smallville’s Lana Lang occasionally annoyed fans in trying to uncover the truth about Clark, but Lana’s need to know the truth is a core part of her identity. In Smallville season 2, Lana’s predilection for investigation leads her to discover a major reveal from her own past.
Lana Lang Found Her Real Father In Season 2
Lana had long believed that both her mother and father were killed in the meteor shower that Clark’s ship arrived to Smallville in. However, in Smallville season two, she discovers that her father is still alive. Specifically, Lana learns that her mother had been intimate with a man named Henry Small (Patrick Cassidy) when she and Lana’s father were separated. Though initially reluctant to welcome a teenage stranger into his life, Henry gradually strikes up a relationship with Lana, and DNA testing eventually confirms he is her father. However, their relationship is cut dissapointingly short.
In a heartbreaking moment, Smallville’s Lana Lang is forced to tearfully distance herself from him when she learns that Henry’s wife Jennifer (Eileen Pedde) is considering divorcing him due to Henry paying more attention to Lana than his own family. On its own, the scene of Lana and Henry parting ways in the Talon in the episode “Witness” is a powerful scene of the two being separated due to the needs of Henry’s nuclear family. Unfortunately, it also leaves a major gap in Henry and Lana’s father-daughter story on Smallville.
Why Lana’s Story With Her Father Lacked Closure
The problem with how Smallville handled Lana and Henry’s story is that it abandoned it without needing to. Jennifer’s description of Henry as a workaholic lawyer already neglecting his family fails to recognize the sudden change of Lana arriving in Henry’s life. Henry understandably wants to have the kind of loving relationship with his daughter Lana that Jonathan Kent has with Clark Kent on Smallville. There is no reason why he could not have done so while learning to be more attentive to Jennifer and his kids with her.
If anything, Lana’s sudden appearance brought Henry down to Earth more, realizing how much he had allowed his legal career to come at the expense of his family life. Lana never intended to pull Henry away from his family. Even if Henry needed to temporarily put his relationship with Lana on hold for the sake of his marriage, Lana being forced to permanently cut ties with Henry was an unfair sacrifice she had to make for Jennifer. Unfortunately, Henry Small never returned again after season 2, and with Lana Lang exiting Smallville in season 8, Henry and Lana never got the chance to reunite again.
