Superman & Lois
This premiere season just keeps getting better and better. I'm really hoping they are able to stick the landing. Fingers crossed. Let's get into it.
"O Mother, Where Art Thou?"
Superman: "you know, you don't have to do this. There's always another way."
Lana Lang Cushing: "I don't think you really believe that. Also, did Superman just lie to me?"
Superman: "It's not lying, I'm just, uh... I'm just an optimist."
Lana Lang Cushing: "I guess that's what makes you a hero."
Superman: "You're the hero right now, Lana."
Morgan Edge reveals that he is the brother of Kal-El. His Kryptonian name is Tal-Rho and he is the son of Zeta-Rho and Superman's mother, Lara Lor-Van. They were a genetic match, but Lara fell in love with Jor-El. Tal was sent to Earth, but his reception was not as warm as Kal's. It turns out that Lara created the Eradicator, the device that is placing the Kryptonian consciousness in the people of Smallville. Lara meant for it as a way to keep Krypton alive rather than replace an entire race which is what Edge/Tal intends. Lana agrees to house Lara's consciousness to find a solution. Will the return of the mother end this brotherly feud?
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| War table. |
These two episodes are maybe two of my favorite episodes of "Superman & Lois" to date. Overall, they are quieter episodes, but I think that is why they work so well. Overall, the first season has been about family and what we will do for them and the toll they take on us as people and new layers are added to that with the revelation that Morgan Edge is not just a human housing a Kryptonian consciousness, he is a Kryptonian himself. This revelation could be heavy handed and make you roll your eyes but I think it is handled really well. Lara and Zeta-Rho were deemed genetic matches, but love conquers all, even in Krypton.
Tal-Rho was sent to Earth ahead of the baby Kal-El and wasn't received by a kindly farm family who yearned for a child. Instead, he landed in the English countryside and was confronted by a scared farmer with a shotgun. And the farmer's first inclination was to shoot young Tal-Rho. Things are all coming into focus. We learn later that Tal was captured and experimented on leaving him with little love for the human race. Tal tries to get Kal to join him, which doesn't work, and the two have a brief skirmish before Tal takes off, giving Superman a deadline. Superman realizes that this means that Tal needs more time for something so that gives them more time to figure out a counter attack.
The Lang Cushings have been in crisis for the entirety of this first season and things are worse than they've ever been. When Lois comes to visit, Kyle reveals that his Kryptonian persona has taken over and Lois takes him down before General Lane's men show up. It was weirdly cathartic watching Lois smack Kyle around with Kryptonite after he's been such a douche to her this whole first season.
Lana feels responsible for a lot of what is happening, particularly since she chose candidates for Edge's "leadership program." It's for this reason that she volunteers to house the consciousness of Lara Lor-Van. Well, the fight she had with Sarah probably had something to do with it. Emmanuel Chiriqui is really great in this episode. She's been fantastic as Lana but this episode really gives her a lot of things to play and she smashes it out of the park. I've questioned the decision to not have Lana know Clark's secret, but that decision really pays dividends here. The scene where Superman half-heartedly tries to talk Lana out of her decision has so many layers and subtext. The chemistry between Tyler Hoechlin and Chiriqui is crackling and you see why these two people loved each other at one point.
It's nice to see Lara Lor-Van get her due. It feels like there's a lot of talk about Jor-El in the Superman mythology but Lara is sometimes left by the wayside. It's nice that the show is highlighting this and Lara enters the pantheon of strong women and mothers that the show is cultivating. It's great that she created the Eradicator and wanted to preserve Krypton etc, but this thing is so ill defined at this point. I get that it is a deus ex machina but the scene where they are talking about and explaining it is probably the one weak moment in the episode.
You know I haven't been the biggest fans of the Kent boys but I have to say, Jonathan is really growing on me. He shines in this episode. He's had it with the bullshit and he's letting everyone know it. Whether he's coming (relatively) clean with Sarah about Kyle or letting his grandpa have it in regards to letting Sarah see her dad, Jonathan is really killing it and he hope he keeps it up.
The plan to have Superman use the Eradicator to create a flare that de-powers the Smallville Kryptonians works only leaving Leslie and Tal-Rho. It also leaves Superman powerless and weakened in the Arctic.
Grade: A-
"A Brief Reminiscence In-Between Cataclysmic Events"
Lois Lane: "I'm nervous."
Clark Kent: "I didn't think you got nervous."
Lois Lane: "Well, it's your mom, Clark. What if she doesn't like me?"
Clark Kent: [laughing] "That's not possible."
Lois Lane: "Maybe you haven't seen the reader mail section of the newspaper, but trust me, it's very possible."
It's a flashback episode. We see Clark heading to the Fortress for the first time. Coming back to Smallville. Getting his supersuit. Heading to Metropolis. Getting a job at the Daily Planet. Meeting and falling in love with Lois Lane. Proposing and marrying her. Having children. But there is an undercurrent to all this. Why is this trip down memory lane happening?
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| Look. Up in the sky. |
This is my favorite episode of "Superman & Lois" so far. And if I was trying to convince someone who wasn't sure about the show to watch, it's the episode I would show them. Well, at least the first half. If you're a fan of the Man of Steel, then this episode just shows that they know what they are doing. In the pilot of "Superman & Lois" we saw some brief flashbacks as sort of a prologue to get viewers up to speed, but this episode expands on that, giving us "Superman & Lois" take on the Superman mythology. And it's so freaking good.
The episode picks up with young Clark following Jor-El's Sunstone into the Arctic and creating the Fortress of Solitude. The Fortress of Solitude sprouting up is a much more harrowing experience in "Superman & Lois" then I've seen it be in other Superman media. You're basically caught in the middle of an earthquake and I appreciated the look of fear on young Clark's face when it's going on. That fear is soon replaced by awe when he enters the Fortress and meets the hologram of his biological father.
There is a brief little training montage which captures the joy of Clark realizing he can fly better than most Superman media has. Yes, I'm looking directly at you "Man of Steel." We get a heartwarming reunion between Clark and Martha and she doesn't have to wear the awful wig she wore in the first episode. She gives Clark his homemade super suit and mentions it might need something on its chest. It is all great, but the episode really makes its mark when Clark heads to Metropolis.
This show has really excelled at illustrating what makes the relationship between Lois and Clark one of the strongest in all of pop culture and it's great seeing that bond develop here. When Clark meets Lois in the bullpen of The Daily Planet it's love at first sight for him, but Lois is more concerned with her story. And she couldn't care less about the appearance of Superman. In fact, it's all the other reporters who are trying to get on the Superman beat. Lois is more concerned with minority owned businesses getting vandalized and set on fire and Nazi symbols being left at the scenes.
This really opens Clark's eyes to things that he should be focusing on as Superman. And how Superman can sometimes be a detriment to those that he is trying to help. The episode does a great job of illustrating the growing bond between Lois and Clark as they investigate together. They are hitting the beat. Working this story together and how they end up falling in love with each other.
My favorite scene in the episode is when Lois is interviewing Superman for the first time on camera. I love how it is in SD. When they take a break, Lois' producer mentions that Superman clearly has the hots for her and Lois brushes it off, finally admitting that she's fallen in love with Clark. It's a great moment, because of Superman's super hearing, and Lois realizing that he's heard everything she's said.
It's difficult to find superlatives to heap on this episode. The flashback sequence is genuinely perfect. And, there is a reason for all this. Around the time the twins are being born, Clark sees a shape that is revealed to be Edge/Tal-Rho. He is forcing Clark to relive these members to find a way to weaken the Man of Steel and get him to do what he wants.
The rest of the episode gets darker and darker. Tal destroys Jor-El's Sunstone. He tries to kill Lois, Jonathan and Jordan, but Superman shows up and is rarely able to barely save them in his weakened state. He gives himself up to Tal-Rho in order to save his family and Tal takes him back to his desert fortress where we meet the hologram of Zeta-Rho and more about why Tal is the way he is becomes clear. They soon use the Eradicator to start the process of eradicating Clark Kent from Kal-El. The episode ends with Lois calling John Henry to let him know it's happening just like he said it would.
With four episodes left in the season, things are going to get worse before they get better and I can't wait to see what happens.
Grade: A
Next up, Lois and John Henry try to find a plan they agree on to stop Edge and Lois and Chrissy work a story.
What do you all think? I'm really loving this show and it's a big surprise. Let me know your take in the comments.
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