We have a lot happening this week including a major reveal shaking the status quo only four episodes in! What are our intrepid reporters up to? Read on to find out and beware of spoilers.
1. The Truth is in the Tabloids
This week starts like last week ended. Lois had her interview with Superman, but it didn’t get her the story she wanted. She is determined to get her answers and is frustrated that she didn’t get them from Superman.
There is a great moment where she puts her head on Clark’s shoulder and he tells her maybe Superman is just a nice guy with powers looking to help as many people as he can. She’d believe it if Clark had powers, but not this Superman guy. This moment is echoed at the end with Ivo. Their dynamic reminds me of how Superman & Lois depicts the relationship. Lois initially doesn’t trust Superman and she’s really into Clark.
Jimmy shows up with a stack of tabloid newspapers. Lois may be embarrassed to admit it to Clark, but this is a good idea in context. If no major news source is going to report on aliens they should see what hints they can gather from less-than-reputable sources. In fact the Metropolis Star has an interesting story about a flying boy in Smallville Kansas. When Clark sees this he rips the page out and puts it in his pocket.
2. Don’t Call Me Chief
Perry White interrupts by telling the three of them to come to his office. They assume they are in trouble for co-opting the storage room as their own workspace, but it turns out Perry wants to give them their first assignment.
Perry explains Cat Grant is doing a piece on Dr. Ivo; CEO of Amazo Tech. Perry wants them to get quotes to use for background. Clark brings up serious accusations against Ivo, but the chief makes it clear they only print what they can prove.
It’s their first assignment from the chief and our heroes are determined not to let Perry down. Jimmy brings all the camera equipment he can get his hands on, including a handy UV light. Lois, on the other hand, brings hard hitting questions for the Metropolis elite. The three get “black tie” looks befitting their characters especially Clark’s high school chess club suit.
Once at the event Lois throws away Cat’s suggested questions. Lois isn’t interested in a puff piece about an eligible bachelor. Lois wants a real story to impress Perry. This Lois doesn’t have the experience to get answers to her questions and comes up empty handed. Clark brings her a slice of cake to console her and suggests they go back to the assignment.
3. Dr. Ivo in Name Only
We are then introduced to the show’s take on Dr. Ivo. Being the narcissist he is, he does his own introduction. Like the DCEU’s take on Luthor, this Ivo is a tech bro CEO. The gala is his latest product unveiling.
Ivo is told by a board member he is broke and the board is planning a vote tonight. Ivo isn’t concerned, his newest product will redefine humanity and the money problems will go away.
Clark interrupts, and Ivo tries wooing him as a bro. Ivo’s big failure here is insulting Lois. This gives Clark the courage to follow Lois’s lead and he hits Ivo with some hard hitting questions. Clark’s journalistic courage doesn’t pay off as he’s immediately thrown out.
Clark is the one needing to be saved and Lois comes to the rescue. She lets him back into the building and offers to fix his torn jacket. This is my favorite scene in the episode. The color palette changes while Lois and Clark get a wonderfully tender moment. Lois ignores a call from her father (presumably the unnamed Task Force X member we saw in episode one) and opens up about their relationship. Lois tells Clark about her struggles at the Planet. She’s disappointed she’s been stuck as an intern for a whole year. Clark lets his guard down too and is so sweet to her. He puts on his Superman voice and is about to tell her the secret when Lois says that Superman is what has been throwing her off! She hates being lied to. The colors jump back to normal and the audience feels just like Clark in the moment. Thrown back to reality.
Continued belowAround the corner they hear a thud and stumble onto Ivo’s lab. Clark gets them in with a little super strength and they discover more stolen tech. Ivo is preparing his demonstration and is warned the tech caused out of control aggression in test groups. Ivo doesn’t need an excuse to be a bad guy though. Ivo gives us the classic “with this I’ll show them all” line with real villain energy.
Ivo comes back to the gala and introduces the new product as Parasite 1.0. I’m not sure why they chose Ivo for this. With all the Ivo/Amazo talk Parasite is the last villain I expected. It’s a weird choice to make Ivo into Parasite and use the Amazo name for a tech company. We have had several Parasites in the comics and the show could have used any of their names. Melding Ivo in there doesn’t give them anything extra to work with. The show has already been taking creative liberties with character backstories; Rudy Jones could have been a tech CEO. When Superman & Lois wanted to do Parasite and have it fit in with the theme of opposites and Bizarros they chose a version of the Parasite with a twin. Not a separate character they just called a Parasite.
Now we get our requisite Superman action. Parasite grabs that board member who told Ivo he was broke and holds him out a window. The ensuing panic gives Clark the perfect opportunity to change to Superman.
This is all just a trap for Superman to demonstrate Parasite 1.0 to the captive audience. Ivo’s assistant Alex—doing his best Gendo Ikari impression—turns on the “Amazo Panic Room” which also doubles as a power supply for the Parasite suit. The suit absorbs Superman’s attacks and redirects the energy which is where we get the Parasite name.
Jimmy and Lois jump into action. Lois punches the assistant in the face while apologizing to him. Jimmy’s UV light comes in handy in finding the right button to shut down the Amazo Panic Room.
Without his power supply Clark only needs to wear Parasite out. Superman avoids fighting until the suit begins to crush Ivo. Superman rips him from the suit and brings him to an ambulance for medical attention.
Clark is slowly beginning to realize some people don’t trust him immediately. Both Ivo and Lois don’t believe Superman is just there to help. I think this will inspire him to do something to win the city’s trust.
4. Jimmy the 3rd wheel
Clark and Lois show Jimmy the lab they discovered, but it has been all cleared out. They are left with no evidence Ivo was using stolen tech. Clark declares that he needs to figure this out; too many people are getting hurt. Then Lois gives him a kiss! She likes seeing him obsess over a story and I like seeing their relationship blossom.
Lois and Clark’s burgeoning relationship often leaves Jimmy out. When they are about to leave for the gala we see this could be their first date, but Jimmy jumps in excited to be working with his friends. When they get to the gala Lois and Clark go off to do their reporting and leave Jimmy behind. And now at the end of the episode Clark puts his jacket on a cold Lois and walks her back. Poor Jimmy is left to himself.
Lois and Jimmy are always risking their lives to help on this show. Neither of them are damsels to be rescued. I think Superman is going to bring them both closer to the action moving forward and Jimmy won’t feel like a 3rd wheel anymore.
5. The Secret Revealed
When Lois gets back to the planet she writes up the story and turns it in. Just as she is about to leave she notices the ripped out page from the Metropolis Star. She’s inspired to clear their board to refresh her Superman investigation. She’s left with one missing link. Lucky for her she is still wearing Clark’s jacket because in the pocket is what she has been looking for. Flying boy of Kansas, the missing link she needed. After a quick Clark and Superman montage, Lois puts it all together. Clark Kent is Superman. The credits end on a picture of Superman with Clark Kent glasses drawn on. Reminiscent of a moment from the Richard Donner Cut of Superman II.
I’m completely invested in the Lois and Clark of it all. The next episode is titled “You Will Believe a Man Can Lie” and it makes me excited to see how knowing the secret is going to change everything. While I may be baffled by the Ivo Parasite, the real mystery here is why they put it on Adult Swim at midnight. This show needs to be in front of every little kid with an interest in super heroes! Until next week I remain a little kid at heart.
