Ratings for Smallvilles second season were up 23% from the same point last year. It also surpassed 7th HeavenasThe WB's most popular show. Gough contributes much of the second season's success to the family dynamic between Clark and his parents, whose emotional core provided a large part of the appeal, as was the move away from the overused "freak of the week" storylines. Gough stated, "Most of the time (on TV), the kids are smart, the parents are clueless and they never talk to each other. Ours is the antithesis of that. He turns to them and relies on their guidance."[1]Smallville's adjustment proved successful, as the second season averaged 6.3 million viewers, up from 5.9 million viewers in season one. That was also a move to #113 overall in the Neilsen ratings, up from #115 the year before.[2][3] The season's fourth episode, "Red", the season's seventeenth episode "Rosetta", and the season finale, "Exodus", were selected in The Futon Critic's 50 best episodes of 2002 and 2003, respectively. "Red" placed 9th,[4] while "Rosetta" placed 22nd,[5] and "Exodus" placed 35th.[6]
The season received mostly favorable reviews. IGN's Jeremy Conrad, gave the second season a score of 8.7/10, stating it was "a clear improvement over season [one]... This season has better pacing, more interesting story arcs, better special effects, and more importantly, better episodes." When referring to Christopher Reeve's guest appearance on the show, the review went as far as calling it "the best [episode] the show has delivered in its current lifespan... Reeve is the best special guest star yet."[7] Another review called the show "excelent" and called the acting of Tom Welling, Michael Rosenbaum and Kristin Kreuk "phenomenal".[8] Jennifer Contino from Sequential Tart, a comic-book website, observed that the season was more about "the characters and their relationships", rather than the show's reputable "villian-of-the-week" style. She complimpented the red kryptonite that the season introduced into the series, stating, "It's fun to see heroes turn bad or see the good guy become a little tarnished or confused."[9]
