My Future for Smallville

I would have Clark in the phantom zone for a time not just for his character to reflect on who he is but also because I am fed up with everything being resolved in the season opener and everything reverts back to normal i.e Clark + Lana etc. I would also kill off Lionel even if he is a great character and superbly played by john glover as long as he remains in Smallville Lexs character can never step out of his shadow and develop into the future Lex Luthor. I understand Smallville takes liberties with the mythology but some things have to happen in order for there to be a superman. This is just my opinion however feel free to disagree.