The episode originally aired on May 21, 2002; Alfred Gough and Miles Millar wrote the script, and Greg Beeman directed.

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.

Effectively blaming the problem on Lex (Michael Rosenbaum), Lionel informs his son he wants him to return to Metropolis.

Clark (Tom Welling), Pete (Sam Jones III), Chloe (Allison Mack), and Lana (Kristin Kreuk) make plans for the spring formal.

Whitney (Eric Johnson) informs Lana that he is enlisting in the Marine Corps, and he leaves for basic training the day of the dance.

Nixon goes to the Luthor mansion and steals the octagonal key, and immediately returns to the storm cellar with a video camera.

When thinking of how to end the first season, two things were clear to Alfred Gough and Miles Millar: the final episode would have the school prom, and there would be tornadoes.

[2] The episode would mark the departure of Eric Johnson as series star Whitney Fordman, though he would return as a special guest in seasons two and four.

According to Beeman, the episode would start very calm and then begin to build upon itself:"I began with Lex being blasted by the wind from the helicopter landing as Lionel arrives to shut the plant down.

[2]The hard part of filming was controlling the buildup; Beeman wanted to build the drama, visuals, and the wind from the storm up together.

Beeman believes that "Tempest" proves exactly what he thought about Smallville, that the show is "seen and experienced from the point of view of a teenager".

For "Tempest", this boils down to: the departure of Whitney, which causes distress in Lana; the experimental relationship between Clark and Chloe, who are trying to figure out whether or not "they'll be in love"; the evilness of Roger Nixon, and how Jonathan fights to protect his family; and the battle between father and son (Lionel and Lex).

The band quickly learned that filming a live performance for a television show is not as straight forward as its sounds.

[7] Mike Walsh was worried about filming the moment when a beam breaks inside the Luthor mansion, from the wind generated by the storm, and lands on top of Lionel.

[10] For Lex, this episode featured the moment when he finally began to contemplate what his life would be like if his father was no longer a part of it.

[17] Eric Moro of Mania.com believed that "Tempest" proved Smallville could "utilize the supernatural as a metaphor for teenage life", and that the finale managed to "recap the theme of the entire season, brought every dangling plot point to a head and closed with an ending sure to bring viewers back for a second season of super-entertainment".