Oh I totally agree. It wanes. I sorta started the next episode and even Lex loses his shine. Lionel remains steady.
keep watching, I PROMISE you there is a really good Lex episode coming up you are going to LOVE and he shines again and gets back his shine.just right around the corner.
i KNEW you would feel the same way i do. EVERY person i know of that watched that show when it first came out that i have spoken with over the years,they all told me the SAME thing,that they did not think the fourth season was as exiting as the first 3 seasons. the ONLY person i know of that still watched it after the fourth season is a friend of a friend of mine,i dont know him,have only been to his house once,he has ALL ten seasons but the guy is one weird fruitcake so no surprise there.
i can cut some slack to the people who kept on watching it and watched the first 7 seasons like that one poster who came on and said he did,im sure you remember him? I cut those people slack and dont say there mind is screwed up because they probably have a good reason,like maybe they still wanted to keep watching it cause Lana still remained on the show or because Lex still remained on the show so it was STILL enjoyable for them to watch for that reason maybe.
Im sure they had SOME kind of a good reason to keep on,its the people that STILL watched it AFTER season 7 i have a serious problem with and have to believe there is something mentally wrong with them to have kept watching the show because after season 7,both Lex and Lana left the show so WHY anybody at that point would still want to keep watching the show,there is something seriously wrong with them in the head.

they had to have been dropped on the head when they were a baby to continue watching that crap they put out after that. watching it up till season 7 i can tolerate even though i dont agree with their decison watching it after that? i dont want to know that person,there is something SERIOUSLY wrong with them,they are fu cked in the head. they are obviously weird fruitcakes like that friend of a friend of mine. i only met him once,havent seen him sense then i met him SEVERAL years ago.
other than that one weird fruitcake i met who is not even a friend of mine,everybody i have talked with over the years,they all said the same thing,that it lost its magic after the 3rd season. you are only the second person who did not watch it when it came out that i got to watch it later on,i told you about that former co worker i had and she told me her her son whom she watched it with,that in season four sure enough,HE started getting tired of it. He got tired of it because season four did not have the magic the first 3 seasons did.
i have another friend who i am VERY confidant will watch the show as you have and tell me what he thinks as well,i know him pretty well so he;ll watch it.and i GUARANTEE he will ALSO start to not like it as much when season four comes around.
my barber said she would start watching it as well,at least the pilot episode and she said if she likes the pilot episode like i am sure she will,she will watch the rest of the episodes and talk with me about them as you have.
i cant call her up and ask her if she has because they have a rule about worker/client relationships i know i dont need to explain to you about.you know about that stuff.
even the site that promoted the show the most kryptonsite,EVEN they had a thread back then titled DO YOU THINK SMALLVILLE HAS LOST ITS MAGIC IT HAD THE FIRST 3 SEASONS? and to no surprise,many posted there and agreed with the thread starter so its pretty safe to say a good portion of watchers lost interest in it after the fourth season.