Boy. Things aren’t looking bright from Smallville, are they? With Superman incarcerated and facing charges of treason and with Jonathan’s increasingly dire situation finally reaching its breaking point, things are looking bleaker than ever. Still, there’s plenty for us to chew on this week, so let’s dive right in and take a look at Superman & Lois‘s “Anti-Hero.”
Oh, and spoilers throughout. But you knew that. Right?
1. Brothers, Reunited
I certainly had my hopes up when Tal-Roh showed up in this season that we would eventually see a transition from the animosity between him and Kal to something of a begrudging bond form as they are forced to work together in the face of a common enemy. I was hoping for a Vegeta arc, in other words, and I’m happy to say that that seems to be the way things are going. A lot of this episode is dedicated to the fallout from last week’s pretty heavy closing moments as Superman is arrested and incarcerated on charges of treason against the United States simply because he can’t trust Anderson enough to tell him where Bizarro is. And for good reason too and this episode turns what was a gradual slope towards antagonism for Anderson to outright jumping off a cliff headfirst into villain territory. Seems like I was a tad optimistic last week when I thought Anderson might be able to set aside his differences with Superman to work together. Instead, the pressure continually mounting on him from the brass to answer for his call to send in two inexperienced kids to fight a Kryptonian menace and the realisation that Superman lied to him in order to stall for time so that he and Tal-Roh can make their escape leads to a pretty intense moment of conflict in Tal’s Fortress.
I wish I could have a begrudging respect for Anderson, that I could see his point of view and understand why he thinks his actions are justified, but, honestly, he came off as almost cartoonishly antagonistic here. From torturing Tal to sending in a book of unpowered mooks to find Bizarro at the coordinates Superman gave him (which makes him the dumbest guy in the world because he already knows this threat can tear through even superpowered assets like cardboard) to finally going off the deep-end and taking the fight to Superman and Tal while hopped up on XK, he’s a lost some of that relatable and understandable perspective that he’s had previously. Sure, it does end up leading to Tal taking several bullets for Kal which cements the possibility for their eventual reconnection and, in a fairly shocking twist, Anderson actually manages to kill Bizarro before approaching Ally and offering her the other pendant. Now, I liked a lot of how this episode paced and structured this episode leading to this turning point as it really feels like it’s about to shake things up in a big way. Seeing the rekindling of the two sons of Krypton’s brotherhood and having the episode turn on Kal’s decision to fly off and save Tal, even if it meant leaving Bizarro to the hands of Anderson and leading to his demise, it’s pretty compelling stuff. I really wasn’t expecting Bizarro’s death this far ahead of the inevitable climactic conflict between Superman and Ally. It’s a massive shakeup for the season going forward, but I do think that ending with Anderson going AWOL and Superman being able to patch up his relationship with the DOD after bringing Tal back to their prison was a little… neat. Still, beggars can’t be choosers, and I eagerly await Adam Raynor’s eventual turn as Uncle Tal.
2. Brothers, Interrupted
I’m going to get into Jonathan’s arc in this episode with more specificity in a minute, but I wanted to touch on the parallels between what’s going on with Kal and Tal and the continued fracturing of Jonathan and Jordan’s fraternal bond. Throughout the entirety of the first season, there was a sense that the boys were joined at the hip no matter what. That no matter how big of a problem may come between them, they’d be able to talk it out and support each other and find away to move forward together, their brotherly bond intact. Here, though, I think we’ve finally seen the thing that pulls these two kids apart, at least for the time being. Sure, Jordan’s disappointment in Jonathan after finding out exactly why he’s been so off lately was handled well last week, but we’ve reached a whole ‘nother level now that Jonathan’s been caught with a supply of XK.
Continued belowAs disappointed and rightly furious as Lois and Clark might feel, nothing compares to seeing how far Jon has pushed Jordan away. His need to be special, to overcome what he sees are the barriers placed upon him by his incredibly ordinary physiology, has left him more isolated and alone than he’s ever been. There’s nothing here to suggest that this is something Jordan and Jonathan will be able to just hug out and move past in a couple episode’s time. This is one of those irrevocable moments in time where things don’t get to just go back to the way things were. I’ve gone from feeling incredulously disappointed in Jon’s actions to just plain sad to see the sorry state he’s left himself in and how easily he’s managed to burn the bridge that he and Jordan both relied on to get through the unstable, chaotic life they now lead as the sons of Superman. It’s an arc running parallel to what their dad and uncle are going through in reverse. Kind of like a twisted reflection, y’know. Almost like… there’s a theme running through the season as a whole. I just can’t quite put my finger on it. In all seriousness, though, this arc for Jonathan has been heartbreaking for me and as glad as I am to see the show handling the fallout from his decisions and actions in a compelling and honest way, it does leave feeling sadder and sadder each week to watch him toss away his family, and, most importantly, his brother’s, trust in him.
3. Family Values, And A Lack Thereof
Lana’s mayoral campaign has certainly taken a backseat for the past couple episodes and that’s understandable as the focus shifted to the revelation of Kyle’s infidelity and the fallout of that as the show examines what that means for this family moving forward. What it means, it seems like, is yet more hardship for Lana and Sarah. While Lana is left to pick up the pieces of her life and face a future as a single mother to two daughters and the weight of seeing her family break in the same way as hers did when she was young, Sarah is left wondering what kind of a relationship she can now have with Kyle. If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a million times, but the genuine and earnest character drama is the core of what makes Superman & Lois such a special show and one worth tuning into each week and nothing exemplifies that more than the Cushing/Cortez/Lane family.
It’s incredibly ordinary family drama and while it could easily stand on its own merits from the writing to the acting, it’s the way the show juxtaposes that drama with what’s going on with Superman and his family. I remember reading somewhere a Grant Morrison quote where they expounded upon their idea that Superman can still have relatable drama, it’s just blown up to a ludicrous scale by the necessity of who he is and what he can do. When he needs to take his dog for a walk, he makes a roundtrip to Saturn and back. Superman & Lois embraces that by showing the ways in which the intense stakes at the heart of the Kent family drama isn’t a million miles away from what the ordinary people of Smallville are going through and giving the audience a glimpse of that through the specific lens of Lana, Sarah and Kyle continues to be the oft overlooked gem at the very core of this story. With Lana now realising she has to take the fight to Mayor Dean as he passive aggressively smears her name across town and Sarah exploring the ways in which she can still have Kyle in her life even if he and Lana are now irrevocably separated, it shows that there’s yet more drama to be found in this family as the season progresses. In almost any other show, I would have easily guessed that this family’s side stories would be the most insufferable distraction from the interesting stuff that Superman is doing, but this episode reiterates that this family is just as dynamic and interesting as anything the Kents are going through.
Continued below4. When Good Kids Break Bad
Woof. Y’know, I was dreading the moment that Lois and Clark would find out about Jonathan’s XK usage, but I never expected it to come this soon or blow up in the way that it has. Lois and Clark certainly have every right to be angry and disappointed in Jon, but seeing them get that frustrated was a seriously intimidating turn. We’ve seen Lois be the hard-ass, putting-her-foot-down parent before and often Clark will back her up in his own generally comforting way, but the last moments of this episode as Clark reads Jonathan the riot act really hit me where it hurts. We’ve seen Superman angry before, sure, but Clark? Sweet, gentle Clark Kent who only wants the best for his family and would support his sons through anything? He’s not here anymore. No more Mr. Nice Superman.
It’s gut-wrenching seeing him like this and it’s worse knowing how justified it is. I will hand it to Jonathan that his decision not to rat out his girlfriend and put her in harm’s way is a commendable way of standing by his principles, but she him break down in tears as he realises that he’s simply not as indestructible as he thinks he is. There’s an irony, there, that he thought he could get away with all of this. That it’s wouldn’t be such a “big deal” and now that it finally hits him that he’s well and truly screwed his life up and broken his parents and his brother’s trust on him, all I can see is a scared little boy coming to understand how the consequences of his dumb, poorly thought out decisions isn’t something you can brush off and move on from. I really do have to commend Superman & Lois for the way they’ve been handling this story. It’s managed to avoid the pitfalls of XK becoming this show’s Smallville meteor shower and how it tackles the pretty ruthless reality of teenage drug use while still operating within the bounds of what a Superman show can get away with. This isn’t exactly Euphoria or anything, but could have been a damn sight less tactful, especially considering that this is coming from a CW show.
5. Breaking Points
I knew this season was going to get darker. I knew the stakes were going to be raised and the problems our heroes were going to have to face would escalate. What I didn’t guess would be just how dark this show has gotten. Everything is reaching its breaking point. Lois and Clark’s ability to trust their sons to do the right thing. Lois’s integrity as a journalist. Superman’s relationship with the DOD. Even the stability of Lana and Kyle’s marriage. It’s all either broken or breaking and now that we’re firmly staring down the barrel of this season’s second half, I have to admit that I have no idea how much further this show can push these characters around. I mean, I had no idea how Superman & Lois could top such a stellar first impression with it’s first season as it went into its second. Hell, I had no idea how they could even top the Pilot and it just kept getting better and better.
Now that Anderson is off the grid and working with Ally Alston and especially know that Bizarro is dead, things seem bleaker than ever. I mean, for Christ’s sake, John Henry hasn’t been seen or heard from in weeks. Certainly a part of that could be that show either didn’t know quite what to do with him and Natalie going forward or even that Wolé Parks and Tayler Buck’s availability was in question, but within the context of the story it’s yet another problem to mount atop the ever growing pile of problems facing our heroes. I have no idea where we go next. This season has continually left me guessing and this episode ending with a dead Bizarro and Ally having both pendants means that nothing good is likely to happen any time soon. As long as they can keep making this increasingly dark and heavy drama mean something for the characters and their worlds going forward and not falling into the trap of simply making things darker and bleaker for the sake of it, I cannot wait to see what they’ll throw at us next and where we’ll end up by the end of this season.
