Despite being a Superman origin story, Smallville's early years also made use of a teen drama format that would've nearly been the show's biggest mistake. Back in the '00s, Smallville brought a superhero story to the small screen in an utterly unique way: the show followed Superman's teen years before he developed the majority of his powers, exploring his gradual transformation into the iconic hero. Smallville saw Tom Welling step into the role of Clark Kent, and the show gradually introduced a number of key characters from the Superman mythos (and a number of important DC figures, too).
Over the show's 10-season run, Smallville made many bold choices, and many of them pertained to how it approached its protagonist's story. This subtly led to something of an identity crisis, particularly in the early seasons, when any overt mention of anything Superman was strictly off-limits. Smallville resolved these issues during its run, going on to becoming one of the most well-regarded explorations of the character of Superman ever committed to screen.
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One of Smallville's early problems was its over-reliance on teen drama. This included convoluted high-school storylines, unnecessary love triangles, and the shoehorning of age-appropriate hangout spots for its characters to conveniently work in. Smallville made use of a number of teen drama staples in its earlier years, nearly destroying the show entirely. It wasn't until Smallville embraced its Superman origin story that it truly found its niche. However, had it not resolved its teen drama issues, Smallville would have been totally derailed by its weirdest and worst decisions.
Early on, Smallville put much of its focus on Clark's love for Lana Lang. This was a clear attempt to appeal to a teen audience with an ongoing romantic storyline, with Smallville developing its own "will-they-won't-they" couple dynamic, complete with their own love triangles. This was achieved in numerous ways throughout the show's run, first with the original Smallville character Whitney, then with another original creation in the form of Chloe Sullivan, both of which came between Clark and Lana with their own romantic feelings. Later, Smallville's Lex Luthor began competing for Lana's affection, dragging out the on-off nature of the show's central romantic relationship for even longer. However, this was entirely unnecessary, as Clark was always destined to end up with Lois Lane anyway, rendering all the Clark-Lana love triangles nothing more than futile, transparent attempts at teen drama.
The early seasons of Smallville also tapped into other teen drama trends. These included the bizarre inclusion of live bands in the show on a semi-regular basis, as well as the way Smallville established the Talon, a coffeehouse that seemed to cater exclusively to teens. Combined, these made the show's early years a particularly odd tonal jumble: Smallville's guest stars and settings seemed to be designed specifically to appeal to a teen audience rather than to tell a Superman origin story.
Luckily, Smallville finally moved away from its teen drama aspirations in earnest for season 5, and it began to more fully explore Clark's transformation into Superman. Had it not done so, the show would undoubtedly have been far less popular - though its later seasons weren't perfect, they did make good on its central premise in a way that its early years simply didn't. For its first seasons, Smallville stylized itself as something of a teen drama, and that wasn't something that ever truly fit with its Superman story.