Superman & Lois
When we last left things in Smallville, they weren't great. Superman had been missing for 33 days since he disappeared into the portal to Bizarro World. And the Kents were confronted by Jonathan's other self. It's time to find out what happened to Superman in the inverse world. Let's get to it.
"Bizarros in a Bizarro World"
Kal-El: "To me, everyone's worth saving."
Superman is in Bizarro World and things aren't great. Their Ally Alston is close to taking over and now that her other half is there with the pendants, she might be unstoppable. Superman is trying to stop her but the red sun is depleting his powers. He's confronted by the Jonathan of Bizarro World, Jon-El, who is actually working for Ally. Through various flashbacks, we find out what the Els of Bizarro World have been through and how the Superman of Bizarro World turned in to the twisted incarnation that died on Superman's world.
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| Kal-El has looked better. |
I am a big fan of alternate worlds in media. I think it probably stems from the many, many years I read comic books. DC and Marvel each have their own multiverses. There are multitudes of stories about familiar characters who are similar but different than the ones that we know about. Bizarro World has been around for 60 years, but I think this is really the first time that we have seen it in live action. There have been versions of Bizarro on other live action Superman shows, but Supes has never crossed over to his opposite's own world before, that I can recall. If I'm wrong, I'm sure there will be someone who reads this that points it out and you can correct me in the comments.
I am kind of obsessed with this version of Bizarro World. It keeps some classic elements that comic fans will recognize. The world is square which is awesome to see. One of my favorite moments of the episode is when Superman files into space and sees the cube shaped planet for the first time. There is the red sun that is slowly zapping Superman's powers. In the comics, the people of Bizarro world speak backwards, everything is the opposite of our world including the things that they say. It makes everyone sound a little dopey and it's for sure primarily used for comedic effect. That wouldn't really work here. They want this to be a real threat but Bizarro World should still be kind of ridiculous.
The way the show makes that happen is by having Bizarro World kind of stuck in the early '00's where everyone is permanently stuck in their emo phase. It's great. I mean, look at Jordan's hair. He looks like he is heading to a My Chemical Romance concert at all time. Lois' bangs! Lana as a like heavy metal bar wench. Chrissy's short, red streaked Kelly Rowland-style bob. The computers in the Gazette are iMacs, like the old style ones that were different colors. If you grew up in that time, I'm sure you were loving everything that you were seeing, just like I am.
The episode gives you the story from multiple perspectives while shifting back and forth from the past and the present. It's a gimmick, but in this case, the gimmick works. The impact that Clark's secret has had on his family and loved ones has been an ongoing theme since the series began and this season is really focusing down on it. So people aren't confused, I'll be referring to the Superman of Bizarro World as Bizarro. In Bizarro World, Bizarro's identity is public knowledge and his family, collective known as the El's, are celebrities. Bizarro is definitely getting high on his own supply. He and the family go to some sort of event and Bizarro is so busy taking selfies with his adoring fans that he doesn't notice a window washer almost die. Jon-El saves him, coming into his powers for the first time.
It's interesting to watch Jon-El be a hero on Bizarro World. He's surrounded by image consultants. They give him a hand symbol to brand himself. Jon-El is definitely giving OG Superboy vibes with his leather jacket and the haircut, which is why I had a good chuckle when Jordan suggested the name for Jon-El. It's clear that Jon-El has become disillusioned with his famous father a while ago and nothing happening while they are working together is changing that. I love seeing the parallels between Jon-El and Bizarro's relationship and Clark and Jonathan. I have to give it up to Jordan Elsass. I've been kind of hard on him because of how much I hate the drugs storyline, but he does great here. He sells this and it doesn't feel like a cheap ploy when he joins Bizarro Ally.
I would have maybe liked the other Bizarro versions of the characters to be more different from their non Bizarro World counterparts. There isn't much difference between the Lois, Jordan and Sam Lane of Bizarro World. I mean, Elizabeth Tulloch continues to kill it. I love an impassioned Lois speech and the one she gives to Jon-El at the DOD is one of the top five we've had on the show so far. I also felt like the cut to Tal Rho's flashbacks in the midst of the big act three battle didn't accomplish much. They probably didn't need all of that to establish he and Bizarro Lana's relationship and his promise to Bizarro.
The act three battle is great. It's one of the most ruthless battles we've seen on the show. Jon-El continues down the destructive path that Ally Alston has placed him on. He's already killed the Bizarro Mitchell Anderson and he finishes the job by killing our Earth's Anderson for Ally's pendants. Superman isn't able to stop the Ally's from merging, but Tal Rho allows him to escape to pursue Jon-El, who has Ally's pendants, through the portal to save his son. Which, puts us back where the last episode, with Jon-El arriving on the Kent's land, just as Jonathan arrives.
We've been waiting all season to go to Bizarro World and this episode doesn't disappoint. It gives us a fresh take on the concept and things are ramping up as we head towards the end of season two.
Grade: A-
"Truth and Consequences"
Lois Lane: "You know, sometimes when I'm working through a really big problem, I write all of it down in a letter."
Jordan Kent: "Are you serious? A letter?'
Lois Lane: "Yeah. It helps me take a breath and process my emotions. And then when everything is laid out in front of me, I can hone in on what it is exactly that I'm trying to communicate. I think you should try that instead of texting her."
Superman returns from Bizarro World just in time to save Jonathan from merging with Jon-El. Jon-El escapes and Clark tries to locate him, using the visions that Jonathan is having to try to stop him. He isn't able to achieve his goal because of an awkward run-in with Lana. Jon-El notices this and uses Lana to bait a trap for Superman. Meanwhile, more arguments are happening between the Kent parents and the twins over whether or not they should be keeping Clark's secret from everyone.
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| Kryptonite surgery. |
I mentioned in the last recap, that Clark's secret was a driving force in this series and it seems like that is coming to a head. As I was watching this episode, I was pretty sure that this would eventually culminate with Clark at least revealing his secret to Lana, but will he stop there? Will we see Clark reveal his secret to the entire world like the El's of Bizarro World? We will have to wait and see. But, I definitely wasn't expecting Clark to reveal his secret to Lana at the end of this episode. After Lana saves Superman by removing the shards of Kryptonite that were embedded in his chest from the makeshift bomb that Jon-El created, Superman visits Lana and they have a conversation that is full of subtext. At one point, it feels like Lana is inviting Superman in and being flirty, but Superman is pained. You can tell he wants to tell his lifelong best friend who he is, but he doesn't.
Clark consults with the family about telling Lana and before he can even get the words out they are telling him to do it. This leads to one of the best scenes in the series before. Clark appears in the road in front of Lana's truck. Tyler Hoechlin and Emmanuelle Chiriqui kill it in this scene. Everything about it is perfect. The music swells. The nuances. Clark removing his glasses and letting them hang at his side. The look on Lana's face as she makes the connections. Clark hovering in the air and then using his freeze breath to frost over the tree. Lana breathing out, "You're Superman." It's great. I was tearing up watching it. It made me extremely excited to watch the next episode.
The rest of this episode is great. It's maybe the best episode of season two so far. Everything that leads up to this moment is really good. The set up is what makes that final moment so good. The Kent family drama is at a ten. The boys want to reveal the secret, but Lois and Clark are stuck on how they shouldn't. Even as evidence mounts, that maybe it wouldn't be a terrible idea.
I know I sometimes complain about the teen drama in this show but after it was missing in the last episode, I kind of missed it. It's great to have this super serious stuff with Jon-El but then there's the stuff with Jordan and Sarah which is treated with the same gravitas. I love that. When you're a teenager, stuff like a break up feels like the end of the world and I enjoy that the show conveys that even when real life end of the world stuff is happening. It's not reinventing the wheel, but it's still great.
Lois is such a great mom and we get so many scenes of her being an amazing one in this episode. She's being exasperated and disapproving during the conversation with Clark and Jonathan about Candice and she's not being those things towards Clark. She's confiscating the phone from Jordan so he stops sending psychotic amounts of texts to Sarah. She's regaling Sarah with tales of her terrible teenage boyfriends. And when she reveals to Jordan that she talked to Sarah at Lana's new office without talking to him first, she does something that parents rarely do. She admits she was wrong and she apologizes. It's really refreshing. And I hope Clark takes some notes. I'm really needing a mending to happen between Jonathan and Clark sooner rather than later.
Jon-El is a great villain because he looks like Jonathan and the people of Smallville know him so they are trusting of him. And more kudos to Jordan Elsass as he continues to make Jon-El a menacing force. Just standing in Sarah's rearview, you're concerned and him violently throwing Lana into that cabinet is a pretty shocking act of violence, not because its graphic, but because its unexpected and because it's Jonathan doing it. And the fact that it's Jon-El doesn't lessen the impact.
I'm going to do something I rarely do and give kudos to Jordan. Jordan is probably my least favorite character, but he has some great moments here. He fights Jon-El to protect his family and he flies for the first time which is pretty major. I enjoyed how he didn't even realize he was doing it at first and then when he does, he immediately has a panic attack and passes out, which, honestly, is pretty relatable content. Luckily, Superman shows up to save them both. I can't really convey how wildly satisfying it is to watch Jordan in the sky knocking Jon-El ass over tit.
My only quibble with this episode and its minor is that they really need to figure out something to do with the Irons if they are going to keep them as main characters on the show. This whole subplot of them trying to make a device to stop Jonathan's visions and getting confronted by Bizarro Lana in the mines is just a convenient way to stop Bizarro Lana from getting out of the mines. I'm willing to trust the creative team here and believe they have big plans for the father/daughter duo, but I'm going to need to start to see them take shape soon.
Grade: A
Next up, the boys still think their parents are keeping secrets and Lois hunts for Lucy.
Two really great episodes. What did you all think? How did you feel about this version of Bizarro World? Did you choke up when Clark revealed his secret to Lana? If you haven't seen this episode, do you think we are heading towards a Superman without a secret identity? Let me know in the comments.
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