Last week’s debut of Superman and Lois showed this CW show would be different from its predecessors. This show would focus more on the personal aspect and family than the superhero story. Sometimes a show starts one way but then veers another. Not the case here. If anything Episode 2 doubles down on the family premise. So mush so that the greatest enemy of the Kent family may be the Kent family itself. Perhaps the grass was greener in Metropolis.
Grass Was Greener – The Truth of Smallville
The goal of relocating to Smallville was to slow life down and focus on reuniting the family. Only now that life is beginning, everyone is finding out how rough life can be, even in Smallville. Jonathan pays the price for Jordan kissing Sarah. Her boyfriend and his posse steal Jonathan’s football playbook and harass him at every turn. Jordan finds out he has powers only to find out he doesn’t have powers. Lois loses her reporter power when Morgan Edge rewrites her stories, and Clark keeps getting pulled away for Superman duty.
The family looks like it will splinter, but with all great family shows, when things get tough the family pulls together. It may be a bit melodramatic, but it’s also refreshing to see the family pull together and reinforce each other when things get tough. They realize what the others have done for them, and they can weather this together as a family.
Grass Was Greener – The Enemies of the Show
The first villain turns Elizabeth Tulloch’s Lois into a character with purpose. Not only does she prove to be the backbone of the Kent family, but her war with Mogul Morgan Edge takes hold and purpose. Edge took over the Daily Planet and is now making moves on Smallville.
Lois sets herself up as the everyday hero, even if it costs her her position at the Daily Planet. Looks like Lois Lane is going small school with the Smallville Gazette. I love her confrontation with Edge when her ‘best writing since he took over’ is a note simply saying ‘I quit’. Then when a loyalist tells Lois Edge will crush her, she comes back with ‘let him try’. This is the Lois that has been missing since the days of Margot Kidder.
Then we have Superman’s nemesis as teased by the pilot’s ending. Of course its a Luthor but he’s black and has an armored suit and ship beyond this age’s technology. Episode 2 shows us what’s really happening. This Luthor comes from another world where he serves Lois’ father against an evil Superman wearing the infamous black suit.
Luthor’s Superman kills the General and many other soldiers. This ignites the hatred this Luthor holds for Kal-El. The way Luthor interacts with his ship’s AI also says he can be reasonable. Luthor fears Superman for what he did to his world, but he also acknowledges this world’s Superman is not at the same tipping point as his. Can a balance be found?
Grass Was Greener – The Father Returns
Last week it was reported Angus Macfadyen would play the role of Jor-El, Superman’s father. When he first materializes, I had to do a double take. It barely looked like the Macfadyen I remembered and it really did not sound like him. His voice carried a thick, aristocratic snobbery to it, and his outfit and movement seemed reminiscent of Luke Skywalker from the Sequel trilogy of Star Wars.
We will surely see more of him as the show progresses, but will he be more help or hinderance. He emphatically tells Kal-El that Jordan does not possess the genetic make-up needed to be ‘Superboy’. Human genetics are too weak according to Jor-El. Is he wrong? Or will Jordan come into his powers later?
Then again, when everything points left, look right. Could this be a show misdirection. Jordan has feeble powers. Combine this with his diagnosed mental disorder and ask your self this – How would Jordan react if he loses the potential, but Jonathan grows into his powers to become the real Superboy? I don’t see that going well and posing a possible fracture in the seasons to come. We shall see.
Grass Was Greener – A Couple of Small Problems
The one big problem I have is a CW/Arrowverse problem. After the events stemming from the Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover from last season, I think Superman and Lois may be creating a plot fracture. The Flash spent all of the post-Crisis episodes saying there is only one Earth now. If this is the case, where is Luthor coming from? There should not be another Earth that exists.
We have awhile for the show to explain all this and I think it will, but will it agree with the Arrowverse, single-Earth set-up? Or will it strike out further on its own? If this show stands apart from the Arrowverse I won’t complain. It really does not need the other shows to succeed. In fact I think the other shows may drawn this one down by crossing over.
The second small problem may not be a problem. The episode I saw had two scenes with Superman in space that were rendered horribly. We are talking previz/story board level bad, but this may have simply been an unfinished cut. Let’s hope the final cut looks better.
What did you think of Superman and Lois’ second episode? What stood out to you? Head over to DC Fanatics on Facebook and let us know what you thought.
