Superman & Lois
As you all know, I was a big fan of season one of "Superman & Lois." It was a great show that may be one of the best DC shows that the CW has produced. I said what I said. So, I think it goes without saying that I am excited to find out where they are going to take things in season two. We are covering three episodes in this post, so let's get to it.
"What Lies Beneath"
Clark Kent: "Is everything okay?"
[seeing Jonathan and looking around.]
Clark Kent: "Where's Candice?"
Lois Lane: "You knew she was here?"
Clark kent: "Yeah, I dropped them both off after practice. What happened?"
Lois Lane: "Go up to your room."
Jonathan Kent: "Happily."
Lois Lane: "What happened is that I came home to find our not-even-old-enough-to-drive son in bed half-naked with Candice."
Clark Kent: "Jonathan, come on, man. What are you thinking?"
Lois Lane: "He's 15 years old and home alone with his new girlfriend. It's pretty obvious what he was thinking."
Clark Kent: "What? You mean... no, th... I never would've done that when I was his age."
Lois Lane: "Well, then, he clearly takes after his mother."
The Kent family is trying to get back into a groove three months after the kerfuffle with Tal Rho. Natalie and John Henry are struggling to come to some sort of understanding now that Nat is back on this Earth. Lana is working with a promising mayoral candidate to oust Mayor Dean. Lois is clashing with everyone: her husband, her sons and Chrissy. Superman is clashing with Sam Lane's replacement at the DOD, Lt. Gen. Mitch Anderson and with painful visions. All that and Sarah returns from camp and doesn't seem super happy to see Jordan.
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| Chrissy vs Lois |
Welcome back to the Lois Lane show. This premiere episode wastes no time in reminding all of us that she is the real star of this show. Sorry, Superman. The appearance of Natalie Irons has really thrown Lois for a loop and she's not handling things well. Bitsie Tulloch, as usual, kills it here. She's full on confrontational with everyone. It's not the best time for her to walk in on Jonathan shirtless with his new girlfriend Candice. I love when normal teenager/parent conflict pushes its way into this show. This causes an argument between Lois and Clark and I love that. Lois and Clark are seemingly the perfect couple and its nice to see them actually have a fight. Like, I don't want there to ever be this "will they or won't they" break up dynamic, but I do want to see them have fights because married couples fight, even if it is wonderful the majority of the time.
Lois' issues are leaking into every aspect of her life, including her partnership with Chrissy at paper. Lois is not happy with any of the people that Chrissy is interviewing. None of the people that Chrissy has found meet the Lois Lane standard. Which I mean, they are like Twitter "journalists" so I can't say that I really blame Lois for not being impressed. But Chrissy makes a valid point that they can't run the paper by themselves so maybe Lois needs to give someone a chance.
Lois finally reveals that the reason that she has been so angry for the past three months is because of how she reacted when Natalie showed up. She was upset because she felt nothing for Natalie. She expected to fee some sort of motherly instinct for her but she didn't and the guilt has been eating her up. Clark rightly tells her that it's normal for her to feel that way since she's not actually Nat's mother. Clark is hitting her with the reason but reason is being over ridden by emotion here. It's another powerhouse seen from Tulloch who knocks it out of the park. She finally meets with Natalie, who is struggling herself with acclimating to this new world. This leads to the Irons moving in with the Kents and Natalie attending Smallville High.
A quick check in with our other main characters. Lana is still upset with how Mayor Dean treated the Lang-Cushing's during the Morgan Edge debacle. So she has thrown herself into helping Daniel Hart win the Smallville mayoral election. You kind of see where things are going here. Why would they have some unknown guy run for mayor instead of Lana? Sarah returns from camp clearly with a secret and I think we all know that she cheated on Jordan at camp. We will leave it at that since it will be a bigger part of the next two episodes.
That leaves us with Superman. He is not meshing with Lt Gen Anderson. Anderson wants Superman to put America first, but he refuses. I am glad they are kind of pushing this narrative. As Superman tells Anderson, he belongs to the world, not just to the United States and he's not going to put America's interests first. The US government not love that he saved a North Korean nuclear submarine, but Superman just sees people in danger. Superman is not only having issues with the DOD, he's also having debilitating visions that throw him for a loop in inconvenient times. The DOD has a back up plan for Superman's seeming lack of patriotism. The young people that we briefly touched on last season are being sent into these situations wearing the crest of the House of El. Superman is not pleased.
I loved that scene with Superman the the submarine. I'm still kind of in awe with how "Superman & Lois" use their special effects budget. They can't have a ton of money, but it feels like they really make the most of it. It looks really impressive and you have to give them their flowers. The episode ends with something punching its way out of the Smallville mines.
This is a lot of set up, but there is enough here to draw you in and get curious about what the second season has in store.
Grade: B+
"The Ties That Bind"
Tal-Rho: "Impressive, isn't it? All that remains of our Kryptonian heritage."
Jordan Kent: "I like Dad's Fortress better."
Tal-Rho: "Well, taste is subjective, I suppose."
Superman's visions are getting worse. After some trepidation, he goes with a supposedly powerless Tal-Rho to his desert fortress where he is met with the hologram of his mother, Lara, who may know the cause of his visions. But is Tal really powerless or is he playing possum? And can Jordan protect his father? Things between Lois and Chrissy get even rockier when Chrissy gives Lois a heads up about a podcast that is claiming that Lois coerced and bribed sources in a story about a self help guru named Ally Alston. Lois is steadfast that Alston almost caused the suicide of her sister, Lucy.
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| Lana for mayor? |
Much like the season premiere, a lot of this second episode is spent setting up the storylines that we will follow for the remainder of the season. Let's take a look at these storylines from ones I'm least to most interested in.
I don't care at all about Jonathan and the football team and his douchebag, dudebro nemesis, Timmy. The reveal that Timmy is 'roided out made me audibly groan. I could not care less about a teenage steroids scandal. I really hope that there is more to it than what we are being given right now, but currently, it's a bore.
Then, there is Sarah and Jordan. Sarah continues to hide something from Jordan and as the episode progresses, it becomes clear that Sarah kissed a girl at camp. When she blows Jordan off to go work on a car with Natalie everything really clicks. I am super into Sarah being bisexual and I love the idea of her and Natalie being a couple but I'm not sure if that is what's going to happen. I don't really like Jordan and his clingy, whininess. I know you're supposed to feel bad for him when Sarah finally reveals what happened, but honestly, all I can think of is how she could do better. I am sure we are going to be spending a lot of time this season with this teenage romance and I'm not here for it.
Lana's amazing mayoral candidate drops out of the race leaving her holding the bag. Kyle encourages her to run instead and I like this journey for Lana. It makes sense. The show has kind of been setting Lana up as the Smallville heir apparent to Martha Kent and I think her becoming mayor really fits that narrative. I'm interested to see where it goes.
Now that Lois has worked through her feelings about Natalie, she is back to focusing on the paper with Chrissy. Chrissy and Lois don't seem to have fully recovered from Lois not being totally transparent with Chrissy last season during the DOD occupation of Smallville. Her distrust rears its ugly head when she confronts Lois about the Ally Alston situation. Lois exposed Alston as a cult leader and initially tries to pooh pooh Chrissy's worries about these accusations that Lois coerced her sources on the story. I can see where Lois is coming from. When you are a high profile reporter routinely taking down big targets then you're bound to make enemies and that's all she sees this as. I get why Lois would tell Chrissy to chill and not worry about it, particularly if things like this have blown over in the past. The issue here is that Lois looks at the Gazette similarly to the Planet even though they aren't the same. Things take a turn for the more serious when the podcast reveals that one of Lois' sources is ready to recant and Chrissy pushes Lois to reveal the unnamed source that Lois has been protecting. Lois reveals that it is her sister, Lucy. I'm really curious where this Ally Alston plot line is going. And I'm excited for Lucy Lane to make her "Superman & Lois" debut.
Finally, Superman is still having his visions. They are getting worse. Superman thinks it might have something to do with the exposure to the Eradicator last season. He goes to see Tal-Rho who initially just toys with him but when a vision disrupts Superman when he is trying to stop Phillip Karnowski, he relents and takes Tal-Rho to his desert fortress. I like a lot about this. I am glad they aren't just forgetting about Tal-Rho. It's nice that Jordan goes with his dad to protect him and watch his back. It's kind of cute. It was nice to see Lara interact with her sons not in the body of Lana Lang. I feel like Lara doesn't get a lot of play. It seems to always be about Jor-El, so it's great to see her here and the back and forth between Tal and Lara is impactful. It's not surprising when Tal reveals he actually does have his powers and turns on Superman. We get to see Jordan in action and he's not awful.
I do think it's a little unbelievable that there wasn't some way for Superman to confirm that Tal-Rho didn't have his powers. Like, why are you taking this guys word after everything that he did last season? It's kind of ridiculous. Superman is smarter than that.
Lara does provide her son with some worthwhile information. The visions coincide with a cosmological event aka the tremors in the mine. The mystery of the mines deepens as Dr Faulkner enters the scene. We love an evil scientist and we are definitely getting that with Faulkner. I'm interested to see what her plan is and what she wants with the creature in the mines.
It's been a slow burn so far and I still have faith in "Superman & Lois" but we are going to need some answers soon.
Grade: B
"The Thing in the Mines"
Clark Kent: "I feel like a complete and utter failure."
Lois Lane: "Welcome to the world of parenting."
Superman's visions are getting worse and worse. They are causing him to rage out and lose control, scaring his wife, kids and father-in-law. Sam helps John Henry get access to the mines where he is ambushed by Faulkner. Superman heads to the mines where he finally confronts the thing in the mines that has been causing his disruptive visions. Lois and Sam have it out over Lucy and Ally Alston. Lana dives in to the mayoral race and Jonathan gets embroiled in the Smallville High steroid scandal.
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| Father/daughter bonding. |
Now, this is more like it. The show has been on kind of a slow burn since it returned for season two but things are revealed in this episode. I think we have to start with the biggest reveal of the episode. The big bad that Superman will be going against for the remainder of this sophomore season. Superman heads to the mines and is confronted by someone in like a welder's costume. The show does a really great bait and switch. I really assumed that the reveal of the big bad was going to be Doomsday and I can't have been the only one. If you're a Superman fan, you have to recognize that outfit. It's what Doomsday was wearing in the comics until we got the face reveal. So, when Superman finally punches half of that welder's mask off the figure and what we see is actually a gray skinned, scarred version of himself... a bizarre version... I have to tell you I was shook. I am ready for more Bizarro. He takes off in the midst of his battle with the Man of Steel and lands at the arctic Fortress of Solitude. What does he want there? How did he get in the mines? Is this because of the X-Kryptonite? So many questions and I'm excited to learn the answers.
Leading up to the Bizarro/Superman confrontation things aren't going great for Superman. The visions he's having are getting worse to the point where he is blacking out and lashing out at his sons and his wife. I don't always agree with Sam Lane, but I am with him when he talks about how scary this is for all of us. If Superman loses control then it can cause problems for everyone and it's scary to see Clark lashing out his sons. I don't care how many times I see Clark unleashing his heat vision into the palms of his hands it will always be very unsettling. It's unclear how the reveal of Bizarro will affect Superman and these visions. Will they continue while he's on the loose? Will they get worse? I have a feeling they will.
I'm ready to see John Henry Irons and Superman go full team up. It was pretty cool for John Henry to go full Iron Man when he suited up. Natalie is ready to help her dad spruce up the suit so I am psyched to see what the Steel 2.0 suit is going to look like.
Sam Lane makes his triumphant season two return to "Superman & Lois." He's living his best retired life. Fishing. Then he gets called in to help his family. The relationship between Lois and Sam Lane is one of the most interesting parental relationships in comics and they are doing it in justice here. Just when you think the two have come to some understanding something else comes up. Here it is that Sam never read the Ally Alston article that Lois wrote and that Lois feels like her dad is never on her side. Broken record alert but Dylan Walsh and Bitsie Tulloch kill these scenes. They feel like an actual father and daughter. It's great to see Sam actually read Lois' article, take responsibility for his fatherly failings and set up a meeting between his two daughters after years of estrangement. But it's not Lucy that ends up meeting with Lois, it's Ally Alston. I am super interested in where this storyline is going and how it's going to fit in the overall season two narrative.
The other portions of the episode aren't as strong as the others. Lana falters initially with her mayoral decision but after a heart to heart with Sarah, she decides to really be herself to ingratiate herself with voters. She does an Instagram live cooking and answering her constituents questions. I have to give it up to Lana and her handling of the situation with Sarah and her girl on girl kiss. Lana is non plussed. She praises Sarah's individuality and strength and let this be an example to parents everywhere.
The steroid storyline gets a little deeper when it's revealed that the steroids are crushed up X-K and that Jonathan's girlfriend, Candice, selling them. And Jonathan wants to start taking them. Oh Jonathan. I actually really like you and I don't want you to do this. The teenage steroid storyline is still the one that I am feeling the least. And what is Jordan up to? Well, he's trying to tell Sarah his secret because he looooovvveess her. Honestly, if I was Sarah and this kid was giving me a family heirloom necklace/promise ring, I'd be running for the hills. Sarah feels smarter than this. At least Clark convinces Jordan to give it a year before he reveals their secrets to her. But will he? I'm not convinced.
Grade: A-
Next up, Lois and Chrissy go on the hunt for Lucy and Sarah's quinceanara is happening.
What did you all think of these opening season two episodes? Are you excited for Bizarro? Which storylines are you most excited about? Least excited about? Is Kyle going to get something to do? Let me know in the comments.
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