The series follows the adventures of the young Clark Kent (Tom Welling) in the town of Smallville, Kansas, before he becomes Superman.

Jonathan Kent (John Schneider) and Lex Luthor (Michael Rosenbaum) learn the results of the senatorial election and the life of someone Clark loves is taken from him.

The episode received generally positive reviews from commentators, who felt that Jonathan's death was both emotional and pivotal.

Clark Kent (Tom Welling) sits in his loft holding a piece of coal, waiting for Lana Lang (Kristin Kreuk) to arrive.

Afterward, Clark reveals what he did to his parents, Jonathan and Martha Kent (John Schneider and Annette O'Toole), who tell him that he is old enough to make decisions on his own without the advice of his father.

Lois Lane (Erica Durance) holds an election party for Jonathan at the Talon, where his supporters learn that he has defeated Lex Luthor (Michael Rosenbaum) in the Kansas State Senate race.

Jor-El then provides a crystal that will allow Clark to reset the day, but warns him that the universe will find someone else's life to exchange for Lana's.

Upset, Clark goes to Metropolis and tells Chloe Sullivan (Allison Mack) everything, including how he had already lived the day, and his proposal to Lana.

Jonathan goes to the farm after receiving a mysterious call during the party, and is greeted by Lionel Luthor (John Glover).

[2] Once the basic plot was decided, a group of Smallville writers used whiteboards to flesh out the story, and the details were arranged.

After the main story line was developed, the supervising producers presented it to several of the executive vice presidents at The WB Television Network.

[3] According to writers Kelly Souders and Brian Peterson, "Reckoning" had been chosen as the episode's title before the script had been finalized.

[3] According to Souders, Jonathan Kent's death had been requested by executive producers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar at the "beginning of the season", and that the idea was specifically planned to be featured in the show's 100th episode.

[16] It aired in the United Kingdom on E4 on March 27 the same year and reached 375,000 viewers, making it the fourth most–watched program that week.

Various critics felt that the death of Jonathan Kent was a poignantly emotional choice, although others expressed their desire that Lang would have died.

[13] He called the scenes leading up to the funeral "quite moving" and noted that the loss of Jonathan Kent was a blow, not only for the series' main characters, but also for the audience itself.

[13] Omar Gallaga from Television Without Pity gave the episode a B– and wrote that the death of Jonathan Kent "still stings".

[20] Furthermore, he argued that the presence of clips at Jonathan's funeral from "Reckoning" in the eighth season premiere "Odyssey" helped to "subtly resituate and creatively reboot the Smallville universe" during the show's later life.

Gough and Millar wrote that the episode was a "tour de force of writing, directing, and acting".

[2] Producer Rob Maier was particularly proud of the final cut, noting that "the highlight of season five was the hundredth episode "Reckoning".