Narratively, “Holding The Wrench” is a John Henry Irons episode. It starts with Irons in military custody, threatening to kill Superman no matter what. And it ends with him newly freed, embracing his civilian identity, and setting off to forge a new life on Earth-Prime. He’s not quite onboard with the idea of working alongside Superman yet, but he’s accepted that this Earth’s version of the Man of Steel isn’t a threat either. It’s a great outline for a compelling redemption arc. The problem is that “Holding The Wrench” doesn’t really give him one.
That’s because, emotionally, “Holding The Wrench” is a Lois Lane episode. It opens with a therapy scene where she starts to share everything she’s been holding inside and how much it’s been affecting her. There are two big things that cause Lois to spiral this week. The first is learning about the alternate universe version of herself that married Irons and had a daughter name Natalie. And the second is watching Jonathan nearly die in an RV boobytrap before Clark swoops in to save him at the very last second. (It’s a chilling setpiece, and the best piece of action in the episode.)
An understandably overwhelmed Lois lashes out at Jonathan for snooping around Irons’ RV without her—going so far as to tell him that if he had died it would’ve been his own fault. But it turns out Lois is just covering up her own sense of guilt and shame. Jonathan’s near fatal accident brings up the trauma of a miscarriage she had some 13 years ago, when the twins were about 18 months old. Lois threw herself into work and parenting to cope, and never really gave herself the time to process the loss of a baby she and Clark planned to name Natalie. So—as often happens with unprocessed grief—the pain eventually bursts out as anger. Lois is still looking for someone to blame for a tragedy that was ultimately no one’s fault.
Ostensibly, it’s that experience that allows Lois to break through to Irons and stop him from killing Superman with a Kryptonite spear the DOD has on hand in “Room 7734.” But the problem is that “Holding The Wrench” doesn’t spend enough time with Irons—or on his relationship to this version of Lois—to really make that climax land emotionally. “Holding The Wrench” goes out of its way to drill home the idea that even after years of processing and even with the help of a supportive husband and a great therapist, Lois still finds it incredibly hard to unpack her trauma and forgive herself for her perceived failings. That makes it really hard to believe that Irons can go from wanting to stab Superman in the chest to fully letting go of his anger in the blink of an eye.
After patiently building up to the Irons reveal all season, it’s weird how quickly “Holding The Wrench” rushes through his redemption—especially when this scattered episode makes time for an extended subplot about Sarah’s talent show audition, of all things. While I’m sure Irons will be back before the season is out, why wrap up this portion of his arc so quickly? Why use Lois’ journey as a stand-in for his own, rather than giving both characters a chance to shine? Why would you want less Wolé Parks, when he’s already emerging as one of Superman & Lois’ most compelling players—certainly more so than General Lane or the random X-Kryptonite-infused DOD soldier who gets involved tonight?
Given that interviews after last week’s episode confirmed that the John Henry Irons idea didn’t come about until the writers were already working on the season, I’m wondering if Superman & Lois might have gone through some dramatic retooling over the course of these early episodes. And perhaps the occasional clunkiness of “Holding The Wrench” is the result of that. Clark is so casual in the way he mentions that Lois suspects Morgan Edge is uploading alien sentience into his X-Kryptonite subjects that I barely had time to write “huh?” in my notes before the show had already moved on. These first eight episodes have already cycled through what feels like half a dozen potential Big Bads, and Superman & Lois now lands on “Evil Kryptonians” as its latest threat—sending Irons off into the sunset in the process.
But I’m just not sure Superman & Lois needs a conventional Big Bad in the way the show clearly thinks it does. The best moments in this episode are the ones that feel closer to This Is Us than Smallville. Bitsie Tulloch is gut-wrenchingly great in Lois’ therapy scenes, and it’s nice to see a mainstream superhero TV tackle a topic that’s often unfairly treated as a social taboo. Lois’ therapist rightly points out that even though miscarriages are common, they can still be traumatic. And the scenes of Lois processing her grief and guilt are incredibly compelling—as is the scene where she tearfully apologizes to Jonathan and opens up about the difficulty of being a non-powered person in a family of superheroes.
On rewatch, Clark has a nice subtle emotional arc in this episode too. He clearly knows that the name “Natalie” is a trigger for Lois, and he finds a way to be a supportive partner without putting pressure on her—reminding Lois that it’s okay to ask for help and encouraging her to find it in a professional if she’s not able to confide in him. It’s also refreshing that he’s immediately willing to change his approach with Irons once he understands more about his foe’s past. You can see Superman’s empathy in action in the fact that he doesn’t hold a grudge; he changes his mind with new information.
With so much to like in “Holding The Wrench,” perhaps I’m being too critical of the episode’s narrative failings when it’s first and foremost trying to work on an emotional level. Again, Tulloch is so incredibly moving that it basically justifies the whole thing. But, ideally, a successful episode of television has both emotional weight and some semblance of narrative cohesion. And while “Holding The Wrench” nails one side of that equation, it drops the ball on the other.
Stray observations
- Another abrupt shift: The Kent boys quit football when that once felt like it was going to be the heart of the show.
- There’s some really dark Jonathan-related stuff in this episode. He watches a video of his Alt Universe dad murder his Alt Universe mom, and then immediately decides to try to arm himself with a weapon. I’m worried about what the future holds for our sweet little Kent twin!
- I love that the first thing Lana did after getting her new job with Morgan Edge was get a serious businesswoman haircut.
- Just to praise Tulloch’s performance some more, I particularly love the way she plays Lois’ apology to Jonathan. She starts out in put-together mom mode, but almost immediately loses it and basically ends up begging for forgiveness in a way that feels so deeply vulnerable. It’s great, great work.
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I love how this episode reestablishes that this version of Superman is a beast when it comes to tolerating the effects of Kryptonite. Reeve, Cavill, Routh would all be curled up in pain, and Welling would pretty much be dead as soon as the first grenade went off. It just makes for a much more interesting fight when Superman is inconvenienced as opposed to incapacitated with someone wailing on him. That Lois stops Irons from delivering a killing blow with a spear seems like a not-so-subtle jab at BvS.While I’m sure Irons will be back before the season is out, why wrap up this portion of his arc so quickly?Definitely weird that the government would let Irons go, much less give him back his murder RV as is. I wouldn’t be surprised if his arc just continues next episode, but the ending with him driving off feels like it could’ve easily been the final scene of the season.I’m sure Jonathan will get powers as the series goes on, but it’s nice giving him this specific bond with Lois right now and it helps steer the character away from the “jealous resentment” route which does seem to be simmering.
That Lois stops Irons from delivering a killing blow with a spear seems like a not-so-subtle jab at BvS.No. Because the writers of these shows don’t spend every waking hour thinking about how they can stick it to a movie they hated. This reminds me of that time when two separate idiotic articles thought a line in Young Justice season 3 about Superman and Batman fighting was also a jab at BvS.
climb off Snyder’s dick already
Cavill’s Superman had an extended battle with Batman even after being exposed to Kryptonite for the first time and used a Kryptonite spear to kill Doomsday.
As with every other episode this season, this episode was great in a vacuum. Tulloch was amazing this episode, and her lash out against Jonathan was so over the top you can understand why she immediately sought therapy to sort out her feelings. The apology was also very heartfelt. And hey, Jordan wasn’t too insufferable this week! I do think Kyle probably isn’t surviving Season 2, though.But, as with every other episode this season, the constant dodging around the other Arrowverse shows, specifically its own parent show, continue to frustrate me. Lois tells Jonathan all about multiple universes, but neglects to tell him they were all destroyed a few months ago, or that he was a baby in the previous timeline or that this Earth isn’t even their original Earth (technically). Superman decides to immediately head into the Kryptonite room without bothering to get either version of the Anti-Kryptonite suits from Supergirl. Sam himself has a giant ass load of Kryptonite when the other shows went out of their way to say that most of the “natural” stuff was done, forcing Lena to make artificial Krytonite, and this show doesn’t explain where it came from. I guess Ollie restocked the planet when he remade it?
General Lane told Clark it was synthetic Kryptonite.It was a bit weird that with all the talk of Kryptonians, Kara hasn’t been mentioned. Unless this is set after Supergirl’s current season and they’re trying to avoid spoilers/don’t know how that series is ending?
Also, SG season 1 was full of Kryptonians doing exactly what JHI was afraid of.
Given how much of Seasons 1 and 3 of Supergirl have been retconned, it wouldn’t surprise me if Astra and Non were junked too.
It’d be even funnier if the original plans for Season 3 had been kept, where it turned out Kara’s mom was the one behind the Worldkillers and that Kara herself was going to be one as well.
wow, that plot for season 3 would have been sooo much better than the stupid witches thing they had to do
I don’t know for certain, but I think with the uncertainty over when each show would air, it was just easier to avoid referencing the other shows. Almost all Arrowverse shows seem to be avoiding winks and nods this season. (Except for Legends who tried to visit the DEO, which was hilarious.)
I am kind of tired of the kryptonite trope, which is supposed to be rare but a lot of bad guys(or worried good guys) seem to find it/make it somehow. By this time you would think Supes had anti-K defenses to access since he’s been doing this longer than his cousin who already has that suit.
But, as with every other episode this season, the constant dodging around the other Arrowverse shows, specifically its own parent show, continue to frustrate me. I can appreciate the show taking a year to establish itself and not constantly bombard new viewers with (admittedly weird) continuity snarls. Also in-universe the kids just learned their dad is Superman and one of them has powers – adding “oh hey there was only Jonathan before and he was a baby but Crisis changed everything” would probably break someone’s mind. The other continuity bits didn’t occur to me, I was probably too impressed by Superman shrugging off the Kryptonite attacks.
I mean, that’s just, like, the frosting on the cake. I mean, in addition to all the perfect chances to mention Kara, or even Argo (though going by this season of Supergirl, Argo might not exist anymore), there’s the big fact that the show mostly takes place in Smallville, yet Kara’s mom doesn’t appear in any episode whatsoever! I can understand not making her a regular, but you’d figure she’d have shown up at Martha’s funeral or the Harvest Funeral. The show actually confused me early on because they named Jonathan’s girlfriend Eliza, making me think he was dating Kara’s mom.
Wait, what? Kara’s mom doesn’t live anywhere near Smallville. She lives somewhere on the Pacific coast while Smallville is in Kansas.
Er, sorry, Midvale, not Smallville. Got ‘em confused due to the Midvale episodes having so many references to the Smallville TV show.
Unfortunately, I think it is pretty clear at this point that they are intentionally NOT mentioning the other “arrowverse” shows. Whether that is because this show and stargirl are partnered with HBO and the other are not, or they just want this show not to be tied to the others is anyone’s guess (I think it is the first)
This show has felt very unArrowverse like and I think that’s for the better. Because if they tried to pull a story like Lois’s on one of the other shows it would have probably been really hokey and melodramatic feeling instead of genuinely affecting like it was here.Poor Jon, just can’t catch a break can he? Loses his football dreams, gets his hand smashed, gets to see his mom get graphically killed by his dad, and nearly gets killed in a murder van.
You can have shows like this without ignoring the whole Arrowverse. A few references to other shows should not be a problem. What was the whole point of Crisis? Marvel moved on after Endgame, but they have not ignored all that came before and, instead, is building on the previous universe without ignoring it.
They referenced Crisis last week and this week. They implied that’s how John got here.
The cinematography definitely helps, as does the extra care given to the scripts. The Arrowverse itself was a step above Smallville so it’s nice to see an ongoing evolution of the format.
I’m calling it now. Morgan Edge is going to be revealed as Zod.
Bitsie Tulloch is excellent. It’s the type of performance that’d be up for an Emmy if it wasn’t on a superhero show.
Lois basically stops Irons from impaling Superman by saying “Save … Natalie!” She doesn’t actually say it, but there’s a similar redemption shorthand to BVS. The stuff around it is better written so it’s less unintentionally comedic.
Glad you made that connection. From the throwdown with kryptonite gas to the spear, this episode (after the last two weeks that seemed like a more subtle refutation of BvS) this one was a giant F you to BvS’s surface level themes.
BvS really does live rent free in you guys’ heads doesn’t it.Anyway, this was a great episode.
Bitsie Tulloch as Juliette/ Eve on Grimm always gave her all despite the often awful writing for the character (the amnesia storyline…) It is nice to see her being given first-rate material and knocking it out of the park
I’m still angry at the writers for what they did to her character in Grimm.
Juliette was so underdeveloped. They went whole seasons where her being a veterinarian was not mentioned & eventually she just wasn’t one anymore, apparently
You’d think her skills would come in useful when dealing with Wesen …My biggest complaint was the fact that at the start, her relationship with Nick was low-key but strong, a haven for him after all the violence and drama in his cop and Grimm lives. But God forbid TV writers depict a healthy relationship. 🙄
There were like two episodes where Juliette’s veterinarian expertise was useful & it makes no sense to me why they just dropped that
To keep it as short and polite as I can, my perspective on Grimm -> S&L is that Tulloch deserves a lot of credit for honing her craft in the interim.Grimm had a lot of problems, but I remember constantly thinking to myself that Tulloch’s lack of preparation for a lead role was especially, consistently obvious. Ironically, though, her on-show pairing – the lead! – was the second-worst actor in that bunch. Oh, to be a fly in the microwave on Pence’s forehead for how those two got cast as the ostensible leads of a network TV show. I bet it was a particularly absurd bit of Hollywood politics and economics.
But hey, that’s a personal success story right there. However it happened, she did the work and the payoff is obvious. I’ve been nothing but pleasantly surprised this entire season. It’s not just the better material. It’s her.
Yet another great episode. Tulloch was stellar. I suppose I could agree that the turn-around time from JHI was a little short, but on the other hand I don’t want every arc to be some picture-perfect storybook balanced-obligated script. Some will take awhile, others can be brief, and even some can be just little rando accentuated moments (such as the singing and piano stuff in this episode). If they are trying to make this show’s world feel lived in, then the inconsistent ebbs and flows should be expected.My most favorite part about this episode was that fast sequence of Lois screaming out of her mind to Clark to go save Jonathan. That shit was legit genuine panic-inducing, something I haven’t felt in awhile from any of these superhero shows and films.
That was a really tense scene – but also kind of weirdly out of nowhere, after the AI was so dumb it just said ‘welcome to Luthor’s van!’ to Clark. Which almost makes sense, given it was retroactively revealed that it hadn’t even realized JHI wasn’t its old user. But him rewriting it so easily at the end of this episode just made it weirder that he hadn’t bothered before? It took five seconds. Maybe ditch the AI guns and invest in a real f-ing padlock for your weapons cache?Also, just weird that General Lane goes from ‘let’s torture this MF-er for info!’ to ‘you’re now free to move about the country,’ offscreen, after the not-stabbing. Although, I suppose that’s kind of in keeping with the usual comic-book logic of ‘well, you used to be a mass-murderer, but now you’ve reformed I guess, so… mulligan?’ Like, the Stranger tried to blow up China, didn’t he? Is that just out of Sam’s jurisdiction? If we ‘need JHI’s help’ against the X-Kryptonite people… shouldn’t Sam have at least asked him to stay in room hELL and make more weapons? Did Superman leave all the kryptonite there?I generally like this show, but the realism of things like the family drama, emotional lives of the characters, great scenes like Lois and Jonathan 1 & 2 or her at therapy, just make it so much more clunkily obvious when things that happen are inexplicable beyond ‘plot demands a sacrifice at the altar of illogic!’
That scene was great, moments where a superpowered character instantly races to the aid of their family without second thought or hesitation always get me for some reason, and Tulloch sold the panic incredibly well. A great episode for her in particular, and I loved Clark’s acceptance that while he would do anything he could to help his wife, he knows he isn’t necessarily the person she needs right now.
Dang, this show is good. Thots:“That makes it really hard to believe that Irons can go from wanting to stab Superman in the chest to fully letting go of his anger in the blink of an eye.”Nahh, all that requires is that John Henry Irons is a good man who understands that he has to be better than rage and grief have made him. Why do people have so much trouble with that idea these days, that sometimes the right thing isn’t the emotionally comfortable thing? JHI still doesn’t trust Superman, but neither can he justify treating him like a villain.“It’s also refreshing that he’s immediately willing to change his approach with Irons once he understands more about his foe’s past. You can see Superman’s empathy in action in the fact that he doesn’t hold a grudge; he changes his mind with new information.”I really liked that about this episode, and overall how this show depicts people with a measure of emotional intelligence.Superman really should have shared with JHI the possibility that X-Kryptonite overwrites people’s personalities. And one or the other of them (or Lois) should float the possibility that the “evil” Superman’s personality got overwritten the same way.About that synthetic kryptonite, I have a fan theory about kryptonite: it is not radioactive. Rather, it is a crystal that distorts yellow sun energy and renders it lethal to Kryptonians. That would explain how it’s possible to construct versions of kryptonite out of earth materials, how you can destroy kryptonite by dissolving it in acid, and any number of peculiarities that don’t ordinarily hold with radioactive substances. Yeah I’m overthinking this, but I also think it holds up. ALSO — nerds prepare to fight me — in the olden days, kryptonite was harmless to unpowered Kryptonians. I will suggest that, without yellow sun energy to power a Kryptonian, or if for some reason they could not process yellow sun energy (like if they’d been gold kryptonited), there was no mechanism for kryptonite to harm them.
I like the cut of your jib! Especially the notion that Evil Superman was Good Superman until his personality was overwritten – that’s a neat idea.
Narratively speaking, the show has to have Superman turn evil, otherwise JHI was just plain wrong, and that serves nobody (least of all the plot). But I could see JHI not understanding that there was a deeper reason than, Superman is disloyal to earth. And to be sure, that would not fly with the audience.I totally see Lois and the boys pleading with Clark to fight it, to be the man that she loves, the dad that inspires, the dad who tells them to never quit. And maybe that’s all it takes for our Superman to succeed where the other failed.
Just catching up on this episode late, but your point here:I totally see Lois and the boys pleading with Clark to fight it, to be the man that she loves, the dad that inspires, the dad who tells them to never quit. And maybe that’s all it takes for our Superman to succeed where the other failed.Is clearly the most important. The starkest difference between Steel’s world and this one is that Steel’s Superman didn’t have Lois or the boys in his life; we saw how Lois and Natalie drove John Henry Irons to be the best man he could be, including fighting overwhelming odds because it was the right thing to do — and I fully expect that to happen here too.
I hope the boys are done with football for good, especially since this was preempted for basketball last night. Local affiliates ought to at least warn viewers of that in advance on the next episode commercials!
I agree. Massively irritating in the NYC area. I imagine that this can still happen if the local teams are playing again simultaneously in the next few weeks.
On the other hand seeing the extended cuts on the app is refreshing.
Both episodes (last week’s and this) are on Saturday starting at 8 on WPIX 11, The Knicks at least will be out by then, because, well… they’re the Knicks.
It was really stupid to let a superpowered kid use his powers to play football & potentially maim other non-powered kids. I hope they are finally realizing this in-show
This is a totally valid point and simultaneously, I’m also happy they subverted the age old “great powers, great responsibility/you were put on this Earth to do more” chestnut and just let Jordan play.
This was a WHOLE THING on the TV series Smallville.
I hope we get a random cut to the Smallville coach watching the Crows lose in frustration now that the team’s lost its star LB. The local Skip Bayless equivalent will probably start calling for his firing soon.
The issue I had was that it seemed like they cut out scenes that would have worked. Like we I get they needed to pay attention to the other main family, but I would have liked to see Clark checking on Jonathan or Jonathan and Jordan’s conversation (that they clearly had on the way home) about what happened. So, I guess weirdly stuffed? But also the editor thought they needed a come down from last week?
CW should campaign hard for an emmy with this ep. Also Snyder, THIS is how you do it.
Snyder would hate this version of Superman.
It’s fascinating that JHI said Clark would side with “his” people. Both Snyder’s Superman and this one are focused on exploring the fact that Clark isn’t biologically human, but while Snyder is fundamentally obsessed with Superman as a being of power and how power makes him alienated, this show is eviscerating that argument and returning time and time again that Superman is Superman BECAUSE of his humanity. Like the episode two weeks ago showed, he’s constantly tested and has to rein himself in and it’s a constant struggle, but he does it because he’s Superman. Snyder seems convinced that Superman would never rein himself in, he’s just out for self-interest.
This^
No he wouldn’t. The guy isn’t half as petty as his haters are or how they make him out to be.
For a guy you hate so much, the man sure lives rent free in you people’s heads. Seriously, you won. Snyder isn’t involved in DC anymore. Supervillains hold less petty grudges.
climb off Snyder’s dick
I really thought this was stellar. Tulloch was obviously amazing, and they built that up in a slow, excellent way. I expect Irons will be back, but that was a bit unexpected. I remain incredibly pleased with and impressed by this show.
Two week’s in a row that this great show was delayed because of Nets Basketball on Channel 11 in NYC! Fuck the Nets! It’s not even the Knicks! Fucking Nets.Guess I will watch the show Saturday night.
It’s already available on CW’s On-Demand channel, if your cable has that.
Where would other Kryptonian intelligences be coming from? The Phantom Zone? We’ve already seen Supergirl make a mockery of the Zone- there doesn’t seem to be some large group of baddies (Jax-Ur etc) in the prison realm Jor-El discovered.
My theory is they were pulled through when John came to this earth. John inadvertently created the crisis in this universe.
That could work. “X-Kryptonite” was created by the energies of a reality breach and somehow linked to the kryptonians in the other world?
Or the writers have no clue and they’re making crap up as they go.
Now that would be interesting.
Clark is so casual in the way he mentions that Lois suspects Morgan Edge is uploading alien sentience into his X-Kryptonite subjects that I barely had time to write “huh?” in my notes before the show had already moved on.Yeah that definitely threw me and made me think something got cut somewhere. It was obvious they were giving out Kryptonian powers (though it originally seemed like only one power per person) but at no point did it seem like they were getting a Kryptonian ‘upload’.
When the first X-Kryptonite dude attacked Superman, he acts like he is a Kryptonian, not human, and even calls Clark one of “them” at one point. It was pretty clear they were rewriting the human mind during that scene, like the elves in Black Clover.
At the same time, that’s not how x-kryptonite works in the comics and I wish they’d stick closer to the source material.
So X-Kryptonite contains Kryptonians’ souls? Is it somehow linked to the Eradicator? Like, it’s Eradicator-style USB drives, able to rewire your brain and also, somehow, body?It would kind of make sense that it’s only occasionaly effective on humans, and otherwise just kills them; otherwise, one would assume that Lex and Edge would have found some way to use it without it changing their brains. Why has this never been encountered before? And why would this type of Kryptonite only be in Smallville? Unless it’s been created or altered by something associated with Kal-El’s ship? That’s why my money’s on some kind of Eradicator-type device/AI thing reprogramming regular Kryptonite to give Kal a taste of home? And maybe ‘improve’ him… or his kids, if he refuses…
It also immediately raises the question of why a Kryptonian consciousness would suddenly allow a human to access Kryptonian powers. Unfortunately that’s just baseline-level “lol shut up you nerd that’s not what the show is really about” territory for superhero shows.
There was maybe some indication that the personalities of the people who were getting powers was being altered, but yeah, that was a freaking huge logic leap they made there.
Calling it now. Edge is either one of alt Supes’ generals or, if they’re bold, alt Superman himself disguised.
Bitsie Tulloch really was amazing in this, you really felt her anger and fear when initially blowing up at Jonathan, and then her regret when she apologized to him. I hope Lois gets to meet alt-earth Natalie. So how did earth prime John Henry Irons die under mysterious circumstances? Was Edge involved? Luthor?Lana is doing her best to keep her family safe and protected but lying to poor dumb Kyle may not have been the best decision
As to Earth Prime’s John, its interesting it was six years ago which was also when Edge found that other Kryptonite ship. Which is what I think was behind that machine that they were trying to fix Derek in, so I sense that this is not exactly what happened on John’s Earth. Rather than just letting Kryptons take over human hosts, I think Edge is harvesting Kryptonite cells from one host (which is why its barely working).What will be curious about finding alt world Natalie, is that unless this is set in a future time from some of the other Arrowverse shows (like that six year time frame), and we will get our answer to that I would guess when Diggle visits, is how they would find her since John would have absolutely no idea what number his Earth was before Crisis or what happened after Crisis (since Stargirl’s Earth seemed to change numbers).
I don’t even think they know there’s a new multiverse yet, full stop. They think the multiverse is gone-gone.
But did she lie to Kyle? Does anyone seriously think he has “management potential”? Besides which, it would be all kinds of wrong for Lana to recommend her own husband for some fast track program.
Lana (to Kyle, viciously): “You would make an excellent drone”
Well, he’s the chief of the fire department so there’s got to be some leadership qualities going on.
Frequently in small towns people advance if they’re the only ones remotely competent and willing to do the job. To be honest, I went a lot further in a small company than I would have otherwise. Besides which, Kyle’s current job requires a different skill set from a business environment.
When Lois was in her therapy, at first I thought she was referring to JHI as to what terrible things she said, but then thought maybe he coaxed her to turn on Clark after seeing what happened on JHI’s world. I’m glad(but not really glad) that it ends up being more personal with Jonathon and a reveal of past trauma affecting things. I don’t think JHI is totally redeemed yet. I bet SM is still keeping an eye on him from afar and Irons is still not committed to working with our Supes. I’m sure in the end they will work together to fight the X-K infused bad guys. I’m guessing that Kyle will end up being one of few who do not reject the X-K and will be in the season finale’s great battle.
When Superman and the solider began fighting after they both got hit with the gas, I could not help but think of this:
May I ask the context of this?
This was a solid A for me, Caroline.One of the reasons why people don’t like Superman is that he’s “too powerful,” or a “Boy Scout,” which doesn’t ground him in a reality we recognize. To me, that’s his appeal, and it’s what makes him super. And here, for the first time, we see a Super Family — a family that is able to come together despite real pain. It may not resemble any family in real life, but that’s what makes this family such a joy to watch. The emotional honesty this family shows with each other is so poignant, I am moved every single episode. Lois’s “get out of my face!” was such a general’s daughter thing to say, and I believed every second of it.And then, the show subverts expectations when it has that aforementioned general be human as well. And it doubly subverts expectations when it’s General Lane who convinces Superman to have Lois “do what she does best.” A husband and a father talking about the woman they both love, without infantilizing or objectifying her. General Lane could easily be a Thunderbolt Ross, but he’s not.
Agree. I think they thought they needed a Luthor “crutch” for this first season where it really does not gel with the other plots. They should have maybe saved this plot for season 2.Although the performances are all great, the thought that some alternate guy from a destroyed Earth would go about fighting a new superman who (it is pretty obvious) is nothing like “his” superman on his Earth is really kind of weak, when you step back and think about it, since it can obviously be resolved pretty simply.
My usual random thoughts: 1. Clark’s powers come in handy for bodywork. I was wondering how they’d explain the damage to the truck to the neighbors. 2. “The Kryptonians are here”? What Kryptonians? There’s just Clark and Kara, and the show acts like she doesn’t exist. Does Irons think the x-kryptonite people are Kryptonians? 3. Parallel universes still exist? I thought the Crisis got rid of them. 4. Lois just now figures out words can be hurtful? 5. What is Leslie up to and does Kyle believe her or Lana? 6. Lois had a miscarriage? Was that always planned or did they make it up for story purposes? 7. Edge’s x-kryptonite people have infiltrated the Army? 8. Jordan has sure gotten over his anxiety, hasn’t he? 9. Lois’ speech to Irons was very Kara-like.10. The explanation for x-kryptonite makes less sense all the time.
It’s also refreshing that he’s immediately willing to change his approach with Irons once he understands more about his foe’s past. You can see Superman’s empathy in action in the fact that he doesn’t hold a grudge; he changes his mind with new information.
An amazing scene for Hoechlin there. I literally thought to myself, “Clark how are you so damn kind?”
I still don’t know if this show is in the Arrowverse or not? I’m used to other heroes not showing up and I’m used to the answer for weird changes being Speed Force or Crisis, but this show feels almost deliberately removed from the Arrowverse. I’m not saying the Legends need to show up, but we’re talking about literally making Kryptonians and the military developing synthetic Kryptonite and no one is even gonna mention in passing Supergirl?
They really whiffed on the casting of Lana’s firefighter husband. He just can’t shut off the unlikeable douche vibe even during the dad/daughter scenes, which bogs down the story whenever the plot needs us to feel sorry for him.
Agree to disagree. His scenes with his daughter (before he ditched her audition) were great. These scenes, and his dinner scenes with Lana last (?) episode showed that he can be a likable character (and why Lana would have married him).
Another stellar episode! I’m continuously impressed with how well this balances all the family drama with proper decent superheroics. I also really like how Superman didn’t think twice about zipping into a deadly situation (for him) to save someone who considered him an enemy – I’d like to think that that helped JHI decide not to kill Supes. After his grumpy farewell to Superman, I now want to see a spin-off where they’re roommates forced to share an apartment, and all the hilarity that ensues. SUPERMAN AND STEEL, coming to the CW next summer!
Three brief observations. The first is that, while I realize Clark moved the family to Smallville to protect them, he needs to at least put up the front of being a halfway-competent farmer. The shot of the dead fields in this episode did nothing to enhance that impression. And is farming — which requires a lot of hands-on attention, unlike newspaper work, where a reporter doesn’t need to be in the office — really the best profession for someone who needs to save the universe a couple of times a week? Maybe they could follow the Silver Age Ma and Pa Kent, who gave up the farm and opened a general store?
The second is that, while I realize that the relationship between employment and everyday life is not an issue in the Arrowverse (when was the last time we saw Barry either working or somehow making enough money to support STAR Labs and pay everyone’s salary?), what are the Kents doing for money? Clark is a crappy farmer and Lois is working part-time at the Smallville Bugle. I don’t think that’s bringing in a lot, and I don’t think their severance packages from the Planet were overly generous.
The third is that this show really needs to dump the Langs. The “Lana has a doomed pig-headed husband” plot is going nowhere, and the teenage love triangle may be there to appeal to the CW’s target audience, but is another series of badly-written tropes. (The audition scene was particularly egregious. Were I the theatre teacher, I’d have stopped her about 16 bars in.)
“Room 7734″I guess the US Army has a lot of guys who like upside-down calculator jokes, which are of course all the rage nowadays.
General Lane got that number from the dog tag that JHI gave him earlier in the season.
So i guess it really WAS that easy to make the AI call him by his real name and not Luther.I guess it just was for the twist reveal.
I think the original plan probably was for him just to be his Earth’s Luthor, but then when they started retooling the show over the covid break, they came up with the JHI idea and said “Okay, and the AI calls him Captain Luthor because…it’s dumb and he never reprogrammed it. Okay, moving on.”
I guess up until now he was so focused on killing this world’s Superman that he didn’t care much about being addressed by the wrong name. It may have also been a reminder to him of his own world and the family he thought he was fighting to avenge, now that he has begrudgingly accepted that this Superman isn’t the same one who killed his wife, he’s able to start anew in a sense. Of course, he still has the threat of Morgan Edge that I’m sure he’ll want to deal with, but that is more nebulous than seeking revenge against the man who killed your wife, so I understand Irons choosing now to reprogram the AI.
I finally got to see this after the delay because of Nets basketball.My goodness what and ending the scene with Lois and Johnatan made me cry like they were. Because he was so sad he made his mom so upset and she was broken for losing it on him and holding all of this in for years. Wonderful! I love this show.A reminder Marvel and Joss Whedon showed that women who can’t have kids are “monsters” this show just showed a women who lost a child before it’s birth is more human and has more levels of love and sorrow than most of us fucking men can ever understand or have.
I didn’t get that Marvel/Whedon said that Black Widow was a “monster” because she can’t have children. She considered herself a monster because she had been raised by her country (and the Red Room) to be a killer, and part of that was training was them making sure she couldn’t have children because that would interfere with them being able to continue being a Widow.They were in no way saying that any women that can’t have children are is a “monster”. That’s a fundamental misreading of that scene.
Tulloch did an amazing job. I felt her anger and worry so strongly. It sucks she had a miscarriage