Superman & Lois
There was some news that broke about "Superman & Lois" this week. Jordan Elsass, the actor who plays Jonathan Kent, will not be returning for its upcoming third season. He is leaving to focus on his mental health. We support that and hope that everything works out for him. The role will be recast for season three. Let's get into it.
"Haywire"
Lois Lane: "Look, I'm kind of bored with the whole "faux-British accent, billionaire at a football game trying to fit in" con job."
Morgan Edge: "I can assure you, my accent is genuine. I was raised in..."
Lois Lane: "Oh my God, who cares?"
In Smallville, the vote to re-open the Shuster mines is approaching and Edge is doing his best to shut Lois down, including threatening to sue her for breach of contract if she publishes anything criticizing him. She asks Smallville's favorite son, Clark Kent, to speak out against Edge at the town hall. Clark Kent is stretched thin. He's trying to be there for his family, but Sam Lane is pressuring him to put his responsibilities as Superman first, particularly since Thadeus Killgrave is being transferred. If that wasn't enough, one of Jordan and Jonathan's teammates is exhibiting his own superpowers.
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| Intrepid reporters |
General Sam Lane is one of the OG bad dads and we get to see a lot of that in this episode. You wouldn't think that Sam had any kids of his own with the way that he reacts to Lois and Clark trying to be there for their kids. Luckily, Lois is there to always remind him, for better or for worse. It's clear that Sam took his vow to serve his country very seriously and that always came first. And unless he can reconcile that, there will always be friction between himself and the Kents. He doesn't understand that Clark views his work as Superman as a responsibility. But it isn't always his priority, particularly now that he has kids. It does feel like Sam is trying. He shows up at Jonathan (and unknowingly Jordan's) first home football game. That is Sam reaching out. But then, he gives the boys a speech about not bothering their dad who has more important things going on. And when it almost gets the boys hurt, Lois and Clark have strong words for Sam that may have some repercussions for them down the road. It seems like Sam is making some preparations for Superman's shifting priorities and is being influenced by his meeting with Captain Luthor.
Let's talk about how the star of this show so far is Lois Lane. Elizabeth Tulloch is murdering this role. She's perfect as Lois. Lois' story is the one that I am the most interested in. Lois isn't backing down. When Leslie shows up and threatens her, Lois heads right to the Shuster Mine to confront Edge. She may be a little nervous about it but she doesn't let it show. Edge gets his digs and threats in, but it is clear that he is a little shook about Lois going after him. As her former boss, she knows that when she gets a scent she's like a dog with a bone. And with the emotional connections she has with the town of Smallville, its going to be even worse. The episode gives her and Clark some believable conflict. Sometimes this perfect couple thing they have going on can be a little annoying. So, seeing Lois let Clark know how she really feels when he doesn't make it to the town hall is pretty refreshing. Plus, it leads to a great bonding session with Lana Lang. I definitely want to see these two interact more. Definitely a super strong episode for Lois overall.
I wasn't in love with the Superman sub plot this episode. I get it. It's a Superman show and I'm sure the writers feel like they can't NOT have an episode where there is some sort of action sequence, but maybe they should re-think that. I think the show should show audience how Superman's absence is affecting Metropolis, but I'm not sure bringing in this random villain, Thaddeus Killgrave, was the best way to do that? It's all over so quickly, that the whole thing barely registers. Fun fact: Brendan Fletcher, the actor who plays Killgrave, guest starred on "Smallville" and "Arrow."
I've been kind of lukewarm on the teenage stuff in "Superman & Lois" so far but I felt like this episode handled it maybe the best way it can. By giving Tag Harris powers it was giving "Smallville" vibes which I wasn't mad at. It gives Jordan more of a showcase to explore his abilities which we really haven't seen much of and it involves Superman in a more organic way. I did love that apparently there is a government run school for metahuman kids. I wonder if that will be important later on?
The "What is Morgan Edge Doing In Smallville" plot inches forward with a flashback to Saskatchewan six year prior and the discovery by edge of some sort of glowing orb. At the end of the episode, we learn that it's X-Kryptonite and that the Shuster mine is full of it. Oh and there's talk of resurrecting an army? I'm sure that'll go well.
Grade: B+
"The Best of Smallville"
Jonathan Kent: "harvest Fest? So, is that why you've been "Supermanning"all week? So you free up some time to go to this?"
Clark Kent: "It's a tradition! Goes all the way back to 1949 when Smallville was established. It's one of the best things about being here."
Lois Lane: "I have been hearing about this from your dad since we first started dating."
Jonathan Kent: "Bedtime stories to help you sleep, or what?"
Lois Lane: [chuckles but stops after a look from Clark.]
Jordan Kent: "Either way, it doesn't sound like much of a festival. Just sounds like a whole bunch of people selling stuff."
Clark kent: "Not just sell. Share. You know, whatever they can, with anyone who needs it."
Lois Lane: "Think of it as Smallville's version of Burning Man."
Jonathan Kent: "Minus the fires and BO, I hope."
Harves Fest is Clark Kent's favorite time of year and he's determined to share the magic with his family particularly his reluctant boys. Unfortunately, it feels like the cards are stacked against him. Jonathan is struggling with living in Smallville and feeling like he's losing everything he built in Metropolis. Sharon Powell has returned with her thought missing son, Derek. Derek has his own issues. He is exhibiting Superman like powers that he can't control causing him to set fire to the majority of the Harvest Fest donations. It's not the best time for Captain Luthor to show up masquerading as a reporter and trying to get close to Lois.
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| Is it weird to make out on your mom's bench? |
I was really excited to watch this episode based on the description and I ended up being a little let down. I feel like "Superman & Lois" has had a lot of balls in the air since the pilot. And the writers, for the most part, have done a good job keeping them all in the air. But this was the first episode where I noticed a couple of them drop.
It felt like this episode was going to focus on the town of Smallville and particularly Clark's relationship with and grief over the death of his mother, Martha. The show has really kind of neglected that since the pilot so it was nice to see them pick back up on it. Clark is going through is mother's things in order to convert her room into an office for Lois. This leads to flashbacks of Clark's youth when he was masking up to stop Smallville robbers and arguing with Martha about whether his destiny lies in Smallville or something else. I would have loved for the episode to focus on this a little bit more. Maybe a couple more flashbacks to kind of flesh things out. Clark's relationship with his human parents is so important to him as a character, I want the show to kind of dive into this more. To really show him grieving and how the loss of his mother is impacting him. Instead, it feels like the show is banking on our past knowledge to fill in those gaps and instead use this to inform Clark's own parenting. And that is fine, but I wish we could've gotten both. That being said, I did love that moment at the end when Lana and the town dedicated the bench to Martha. It was very sweet.
I thought exploring the role reversal of the Kent boys would be interesting an organic way for there to be natural feeling conflict but it is over before it really starts. Jonathan is dumped by his Metropolis girlfriend, loses it on Clark when his pitch to move to Metropolis is rebuffed, goes on a teen drinking binge, is resentful of his brother and resolves all of this all in 44 minutes. It is enough to give you whiplash. I really thought this would continue over the course of the season or maybe at least the next few episodes, but nope. I just wasn't buying a lot of it. I wasn't buying that Clark would be so cavalier about all this, even with his past experiences with Martha fresh in his mind. Or that Jonathan would seemingly get over it so quickly. This could very well be revisited and I'll eat my words but at this point...
We get some answers when it comes to Morgan Edge's plot and the X-Kryptonite but more questions really. Is the X-Kryptonite bringing people back to life or is it depositing someone else in a different body that gives it Kryptonian powers that cause the bodies to burn out quickly? Initially I thought this was actually Derek Powell back from the dead but the way he talks to Superman, calling him Kal-El, etc, that doesn't seem to be the case. I'm pretty invested in this and I have some theories. I did enjoy the sequence of Superman pursuing Derek through cornfields and silos. If you're going to be in Smallville, then use that environment when you can.
It's only been five episodes but I'm already over the Lang-Cushing drama. In the last episode, it looked like Lana and Kyle were taking some steps towards finding common ground if their steamy kitchen make out session was any indication. But in this episode they are back to sniping at each other. It's not helpful that Kyle is so unlikable. The show keeps telling me what a stand up guy he is, which I can kind of see, but then he's making crude jokes with Lois about trigger warnings and getting drunk which is clearly a point of contention between himself his wife and daughter. I kind of want Kyle to get killed in some sort of self-sacrificing way already.
And finally, Captain Luthor has made his way to Smallville. Apparently, on every world, the best way to find Superman is to get close to Lois Lane. Luthor masquerades as a fellow reporter, Marcus Bridgewater. Lois is skeptical with good reason. It's not a huge surprise when we learn at the end of the episode that Luthor and Lois were an item on his Earth. Yeah, this is all going to work out great when he finds out Lois and Superman's relationship here.
This wasn't a terrible episode. Watchable. But erratic. Hopefully things get back on track next episode.
Grade: B-
Next up, Lois finds an unlikely ally against Edge and Clark helps Jonathan with a new power.
I'm still really enjoying this show and am excited to see where things are going. What about you all? Let me know in the comments.
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