Superman & Lois
One thing I forgot to mention in my recap of the pilot was the amazing performances by Tyler Hoechlin and Elizabeth Tulloch. I was a fan of Hoechlin from the moment he appeared on "Supergirl" and he continues to be great on this show, giving different shades of Superman. Tulloch is the perfect Lois Lane, headstrong and bullheaded, but loving and maternal. Neither really has made a misstep yet portraying these classic characters and that is saying something.
"Heritage"
Lois Lane: "You re-wrote my story."
Morgan Edge: "Ms. Lane, I won't have my paper printing this kind of nonsense."
Lois Lane: "That's what I thought."
Morgan Edge: [she tosses an envelope onto the table] "What's this?"
Lois Lane: "That is the best writing I have done since you took over."
Leslie: "He's going to crush you."
Lois Lane: "Let him try."
The Kent family officially moves to Smallville. Things aren't going the best. The football team is hazing Jonathan because of Jordan kissing Sarah. Clark and Jordan's testing of Jordan's powers at the Fortress don't produce the results that either are looking for. Lois is struggling to expose Morgan Edge, particularly since he owns the Daily Planet. Not to mention, the citizens of Smallville aren't too keen on an outsider going after their golden goose. Then there is the mysterious Captain Luthor scouring the world for Kryptonite. Can the Kents make this move really work for them all?
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| Dude... |
Second episodes are very much usually extensions of the pilot and "Heritage" is very much pilot part 2. To the point that I wondered why they just didn't make it a two-hour premiere. The episode isn't bad, but it finishes setting up the series and gives us a better idea of how this first season is going to look.
I remember when "Superman & Lois" premiered, there was a lot of talk about how the show is about Superman being a bad dad. If you haven't watched the show and you have heard that too and are concerned, I can tell you it is definitely not that. It's about Clark not being the perfect dad. I know people like to think that the Big Blue Boy Scout would find parenting a breeze, but that isn't realistic. And it makes for a better series, if Clark struggles, the way all parents of teens struggle. Throw in depression and burgeoning superpowers, you get the impression that Clark would rather go up against Captain Luthor than with his own kids.
With Clark and Jordan, it's one step forward and two steps back. Clark flies Jordan to the Fortress of Solitude where he "meets" his Kryptonian grandfather, Jor-El and learns the history of his father's home planet. They test him again, but the results aren't what father or son were looking for. It turns out that Jordan has only a fraction of his father's Kryptonian powers and he's basically a human with a few extras. Jordan hears this and reacts... badly. This sort of thing is why, narratively, it makes more sense to give Jordan powers than Jonathan. With his depression and anxiety, Jordan years to be special and he thinks these powers will finally make that happen. Clark feels like this will finally be what helps him forge a better connection with Jordan and at the end of the episode they are both still kind of floundering.
Jonathan is struggling in a different way. He left a pretty great life in Metropolis. Starting varsity as a freshman, a girlfriend. Now he's in a new school. Second string. And he's getting bullied. It's an interesting role reversal and I want to see how it goes. Right now, Jonathan seems pretty well adjusted. He's not taking things out on Jordan or acting out. But that could change. I think Jonathan's journey this season is the one I'm most unsure of how it will play out.
We learn more about Captain Luthor in this episode. He's trying to stockpile Kryptonite to use against Superman to stop him from destroying Earth like he destroyed Luthor's world. It's not a huge shock when you find out that Luthor is from an alternate Earth with an evil Supes, but it's not obvious enough that you see it coming. There is still friction between Sam Lane and Clark particularly when Lane finds out that Clark told the boys his secret. Add in Superman finding out that Lane possesses most of the world's Kryptonite and we are looking at a powder keg that is looking to explode. Not to mention that Captain Luthor had a special bond with his world's Lane that he's looking to capitalize on.
Finally, we've got Lois. She's trying to figure out what Edge wants with Smallville and trying to prevent it from becoming like New Carthage. One thing I like about this plotline is that even though we all know that Edge is a bad guy and Lois is right, it still shows both sides and why the citizens of Smallville would not heed Lois' warnings. I mean, Kyle may be the biggest douchebag in town, but Lois isn't looking the best here either. I was a little surprised that Lois thought the Planet would publish a hit piece on the guy that owns the paper. You'd think she'd know that wouldn't go down. But I'll accept this logic lapse since it leads to her quitting which is a great scene. I'm already loving the dynamic between Lois and Chrissy Beppo, her boss at the Smallville Gazette.
"Superman & Lois" has taken a lot of the familiar trappings that you think about with Superman and either removed them or turned them on their head. We haven't really seen a modern Superman show set outside of Metropolis and the Daily Planet and with teenagers. I'm excited to see how things develop.
Grade: B+
"The Perks of Not Being a Wallflower"
Lois Lane: "Does this have too much blue in it?"
Clark Kent: "I still like the Huntsman's Tribute."
Jonathan Kent: "Dad, I'm pretty sure that's just slang for 'poop'."
Clark Kent: "Hey."
Lois Lane: "Jonathan. Don't be gross. Also, he's not wrong."
In order to stop the bullying, Jordan decides to use his more than human, but not quite Kryptonian level strength to join the football team and knock some of the meatheads around to earn their respect, behind Lois and Clark's back. A New Carthage woman brings Lois an incriminating voicemail from her missing son who was an Edge mine worker. This leads Lois to be attacked by the Superman level threat, Subjekt-11. After Sarah's attempted suicide last year, tensions are still high between Lana and her daughter.
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| I'm obsessed. |
"Superman & Lois" has a lot of balls in the air and a lot of plots that it's juggling. It's a lot for any show, particularly one that is brand new. And sadly, not every plot gets the time and space it needs to be really effective in this episode.
The plot point that probably suffers the most is what is going on between Lana Lang-Cushing and her daughter, Sarah. We learned in the pilot that Sarah had attempted suicide and she's been in therapy for the past year. She claims that she's OK and Lana isn't convinced. And to be fair, Sarah's actions aren't necessarily making it seem like she's fine. She quits the cheer team and puts her family's issues on blast at the diner. It culminates with a really great heart to hear between mother and daughter. Lana admitting that she doesn't cop to how unhappy she is because of how she was raised and she understands how Sarah dreading becoming her mother led to her depression is really impactful. But at the same time it feels like things are wrapped up a little too neatly with a little bow. I appreciate the show tackling the subject matter, but at the same time, they need to give it the space it needs.
Lois and the Morgan Edge plot line take some substantial steps forward here. Chrissy is a great influence on Lois. When Sharon Powell shows up at the Gazette with the story about her son, it seems like Lois is buying it, even though Sharon is clearly drunk. Lois is so gung ho that she needs someone like Chrissy to sort of keep her in check. This is lessened by the fact that Lois' car is firebombed shortly after she meets with Sharon so she's clearly on the right track.
The big action set piece of the episode is when Lois goes to meet Sharon at a seedy motel and finds her strangled and near death. She is attacked by a dude the credits say is Subjekt-11. The same guy who bombed her car. Superman shows up and I have to say this may change, but I am not getting sick of these slow mo shots of Superman busting through walls. I love that the show is giving us Superman level threats so they can really go all out. This fight is great. Brutal. Not what you usually see when you think of Superman fighting and I'm super into it. Subjekt-11 flees, but he's murdered by Edge's assistant, Leslie, with her... heat vision? The plot thickens.
The football plot interested me the least here. It felt like a recycled "Smallville" plot except the twist is that Jordan gets to actually play football and Clark didn't. There are a few nice moments like Jordan apologizing for kissing Sarah after knocking her boyfriend on his ass. Toxic masculinity for the win? We get a nice heart to heart between Clark and Jordan when dad finally relents. Jonathan continues to serve as the twin voice of reason when he advocates for his brother to Clark. Also, impressive Jor-El Debarge joke. RuPaul would be proud.
Finally, we get some dopey Clark moments which I absolutely love. He is in full embarrassing dad mode when he shows up at the school after listening in on the twins getting bulled. And he makes a reappearance at the end of the episode when he volunteers to help out the football team for free to get more time in with the boys. You have to hand it to Clark. He said he moved the family to Smallville to stop being such an absentee father and he is committed.
Grade: B
Next up, Superman helps with a prison transport and the Harvest Festival comes to Smallville.
What do you all think of "Superman & Lois." I'm still really loving it and glad I finally decided to give it a shot. Let me know your takes in the comments.
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