Smallville: Tempest

"Tempest" is the twenty-first episode and season finale of the first season of the WB original series Smallville. The episode originally aired on May 21, 2002; Alfred Gough and Miles Millar wrote the script, and Greg Beeman directed. In the episode's narrative, Lex attempts to forge his own destiny away from LuthorCorp; Whitney leaves Smallville for the Marines; Roger Nixon discovers Clark's secret and attempts to expose him to the world; and Lana is pulled into a tornado. Director Greg Beeman attempted to create a visual theme among the characters that would parallel the approaching storm. The episode would mark the departure of Eric Johnson as Whitney Fordman, though he would return as a special guest in seasons two and four. Although the Smallville finale pulled in just over half of the viewership attained by the pilot episode, it was still favorably received by critics. It was also nominated for two awards.