5 Reasons Smallville Fans Just Can't Help But Hate Lana Lang
Kristin Kreuk's Lana Lang was one of the most polarizing characters on Smallville.
Despite being an integral part of the show, a close friend to Clark Kent and his main love interest, she has received her fair share of criticism from the show's fans.
Even 12 years after the series finale, fans are still taking to social media to discuss Lana and what went wrong with her arc. So let's dive into the reasons why Smallville fans hate this character.
Lana overstayed her role in Smallville
The main complaint that fans have about Lana is that her story has dragged on too long. Lana was introduced as a small-town girl with dreams of leaving Smallville. And she finally found a way out at the end of Season 3 when she went to art school in France.
Many fans feel that this would have been a great way to end her arc, but the writers kept shoving Lana into different roles for four more seasons. This made many of Lana's storylines feel forced and out of character.
The Lex storyline
One of those storylines was Lana's marriage to Lex Luthor, which annoyed a lot of people.
The couple married in Season 6 because Lex, who had been in love with Lana for many years, faked her pregnancy, which ironically also became the reason for their marriage to break up.
But not only did Lana divorce Lex, she also faked her own death to punish him. Fans felt it was too dark for her.
Lana didn't have enough personality
Fans also think that although the show focused on Lana and her romantic storylines, Lois Lane and Chloe Sullivan had much more personality and their dynamic with Clark was more interesting to watch.
Jonathan Kent's death
Fans were upset when Clark traded Jonathan's life for Lana's in Season 5. At the time, many viewers would have preferred the writers to kill Lana off. Jonathan still had stories to tell, while Lana was holding the show back in many ways.
Clana relationship
Fans agree that the worst part was that Lana was holding back Clark's development as a character. His obsession with Lana for more than seven years did not serve him or his storylines well. Lana's presence in Clark's life prevented the writers from developing his other relationships. The twist that frustrated many fans was that Lana's return in Season 8 damaged the Lois/Clark relationship, which at the time felt much more genuine than Clana.