Diggle drops by a dramatic Superman & Lois
The battle for Superman's soul takes center stage in an emotionally affecting episode
TV Reviews Lois
Forgot the Lanas, Laras, and Larrs, this week’s Superman
& Lois kicks off the era of the Johns! Specifically Jon Kent, John Henry Irons,
and Arrowverse crossover guest star John Diggle (David Ramsey), who all
have prominent roles to play in tonight’s episode. Despite the potential confusion of having multiple major characters
with the same name, “Through
The Valley Of Death” is actually one of the most straightforward episodes we’ve
had in this jam-packed back half of the season. The show returns from its brief hiatus with an episode
all about the battle for Superman’s soul. As Edge tries to infuse Clark’s body with General Zod’s consciousness, Irons and the DOD make plans to kill the newly corrupted Man of Steel, while Lois and the boys fight to save their dad. And that simple set of stakes leads
to one of the most emotionally affecting hours of the series.
So
much of that stems from Bitsie Tulloch. While Tulloch is great at playing Lois’
steely reporter side, she’s even better at tapping into her inner vulnerabilities.
Instead of trying to turn Lois into a “strong female character” in the
reductive sense, Superman & Lois is true to the limitations of her circumstances and the way she reacts within them. Lois initially tries her best
to stay cool, calm, and collected in the face of Clark’s latest brush with
danger. But as everyone around becomes increasingly convinced that the only way
to save the world is to kill Superman, Lois grows more emotionally desperate,
which lets Tulloch hit some of the same heartbreaking notes of desperation she did back in “Holding
The Wrench.” As Superman & Lois sees it, however, Lois’ strength comes not from her ability to keep it together at all times, but from the unwavering courage of her convictions—particularly her faith in her husband and her confidence in the decisions she makes.
What
I love most about “Through
The Valley Of Death” is how much it revolves around people making emotional appeals
to one another. The idea that you can be a hero with words as much as with physical
strength is one of my favorite Superman tropes (and something Supergirl frequently
excels at too). And it’s all over this episode. Lois may be physically limited
in how much she can do to save her husband, but she makes a huge move in
deciding to reveal his real identity to Irons. Lois’ speech is the calculated move of a
pragmatic strategist mixed with the emotional appeal of a worried wife, and Tulloch
conveys both of those ideas beautifully.
So
does Jordan Elsass as Jonathan reaches out to Irons with his own emotional
appeal. It’s a lovely moment of a son echoing his mother,
not to mention a nice callback to the video footage Jonathan saw back in “Holding The
Wrench.” While Lois asks Irons to believe in the possibility of hope, Jonathan acknowledges
the depth of pain that Irons has experienced too. Elsass is heartbreaking as Jonathan tacitly asks Irons not to put the Lane-Kents through that same pain: “You seemed like a really good dad. But I just want you to know, this guy you’re about to kill, he’s a really good dad too.”
Though
Irons denies it in the moment, both speeches clearly resonant with him. (Wolé Parks does some really great silent reacting during Jonathan’s plea.) And in
the episode’s ultimate grace note, Irons also winds up using his words to
save the day. Even as Clark breaks through his mind control long enough to beg
Irons to kill him, Irons doesn’t take the
easy way out. Instead he delivers a speech infused with tough love and even a
little resentment, which is a nice way to subvert the classic “I know you’re still in there!” superhero trope with something a bit more emotionally complex.
Irons will never fully let go of the trauma he experienced on his own Earth, but his time with the Lane-Kents has allowed him to reconnect with a sense of hope. He knows how hard he would fight to get back to his family, and he trusts that Clark will fight just as hard to get back to his too. Irons’ speech makes a sharp contrast with the vulnerability that Lois and Jonathan showed. Yet it turns out that tough love is exactly what Clark needs to hear in order to find the will to fight just a little bit harder to free himself from Zod. It’s a great way to bring Irons firmly onto Team Supes without losing the character’s slightly more hardened edge in the process.
“Through
The Valley Of Death” not only weaves together just about every major storyline
of the season, it also hits on all the thematic beats that have made Superman
& Lois feel so original. Like “Loyal Subjekts,” it’s another episode
that easily could’ve been a season finale, particularly in how
quickly and definitively Clark and Irons team up to take down Edge. The Cushings even get a sweet family bonding subplot that puts an optimistic
button on their season-long storyline and serves as a nice contrast to all the drama the
Lane-Kents face this week.
So where does Superman & Lois go from here? Back to Edge, I guess. Though the ending of this episode is a little confusing in how rushed it is, it seems like Edge blows up the Eradicator in order to fuse with it and then let himself be captured as part of some yet-to-be-revealed master plan. As with most plot-heavy elements of Superman & Lois, it’s an idea that’s less compelling than the small-scale character stuff the show does best. “Through The Valley Of Death” gets the balance right, though, and hopefully sets a template for the final three episodes of the season to follow.
Stray
observations
- Given
how pointedly this series has ignored the rest of the Arrowverse (even its own parent series!), it’s wild how casually Superman & Lois throws
Diggle into the mix with absolutely no explanation of who he is or how Lois
knows him. I’m very curious how that played for viewers who don’t know the character from
his days on Arrow. - The whole sequence of Jordan scanning the Earth for his dad
and then communicating with him across continents was very well done. - Has Kyle always had such a thick Southern accent? Didn’t he grow up in Smallville?
- Big week for little sisters: The episode opens with Irons searching for this Earth’s
version of his younger sister, and the Cushings finally remember they have a second daughter. - There’s some excellent scoring in the montage where Clark regains control of his mind by remembering moments with his family.
- 10/10 for that golden-hour superhero kiss!
80 Comments
I loved the Diggle-Lois hug: they went through Crisis together!
I also liked the kids being a little scared of John Henry Irons when he showed up at the end & apologizing for hitting him with the truckBitsie Tulloch as Lois continues to be just great & scenes with Lois & Lana really are particularly great
I also like Jonathan being impressed by the suit. It fits with his interest in the weapons in the RV, which needs a cool name by the way. I have a feeling we’re moving toward Jonathan wanting a supersuit so he can help Jordan and his dad.
At the minimum, there needed to be some acknowledgement that Steel’s suit was supercool.
I hope, if he sticks around, that they do a version of his suit that’s more Steel than Luthor’s super suit. Love those bolts! And making it human face would be awesome if they could pull it off.
Was this the last show on the Diggle Tour? I feel like I missed where he dealt with the Green Lantern calling he was hit with on The Flash.
I can’t remember him on Supergirl, so that’s probably still to come.
He’s still appearing in Supergirl. According to Ramsey in an interview, there was no guarantee which order the episodes would air in due to COVID, so I’m not surprised his dialogue here is ambiguous.
Nope, still got Supergirl to go.
Supergirl will be his finale. It’s too bad he couldn’t have gotten on Black Lightning too.
Given how pointedly this series has ignored the rest of the Arrowverse (even its own parent series!), it’s wild how casually Superman & Lois throws Diggle into the mix with absolutely no explanation of who he is or how Lois knows him. I’m very curious how that played for viewers who don’t know the character from his days on Arrow.John Diggle’s the best character in the Arrowverse IMO. When he’s not guest starring on shows, every character should be asking each other “where’s Dig?”
this cat Drips is one baaad mutha…
CW’s DiggleComing 2038
I really liked Diggle’s grudging respect for John Henry Irons & being appropriately impressed that he is from another earth, while still calling him on his shit. Dig is the best.Also I appreciate Dig getting a tour of the ArrowVerse shows this season but would be glad for Lyla to start joining him
I would expect Lyla to be a little too tied to a desk to be able to travel. That’s probably why she sends John.
Plus who knows if she has residual guilt — the whole Harbinger gig kinda went sideways.
It was nice to see someone basically say “Hold up, the multiverse still exists!?”. We’ve known it was reborn with everything else since the end of Crisis but the writers went out of their way to make it clear that as far as the residents of Earth Prime are concerned, it was gone forever. Even though S&L have known Irons is from an alternate Earth for months now, no one seemed shocked that it wasn’t gone like they all thought.Which makes me wonder about Jay Garrick on Flash tonight. The caption said Keystone City but made no mention of what Earth it was one, as I recall he was based on Earth 3 and spent time on Earth 2 to train Jesse Quick and thus was lost post Crisis. I don’t know if this is the start of the characters finding out that isn’t the case or the writers just tip toeing around the issue and pretending that never happened.Seeing Digg also makes me happy because it reminds the audience that S&L is indeed set on Earth Prime, despite the discrepancies like Kal’s heat vision now being red instead of blue and the fortress looking totally different than it does on Supergirl. I do hope the boys will mention wanting to see Aunt Kara with Melissa making a handful of cameos every season in the news few years.
I feel like it’s ambiguous just when Irons arrived. I’ve always assumed on the sliding scale of comic time he came over during the merging of the Earths during Crisis and just hid out. Like he’s not confirming a new multiverse, just that Earths merged and doppelgängers appeared like Beth in Batwoman s1.Not sure what’s going on with Jay Garrick, I think we’re supposed to assume he’s on Earth Prime and the writers just glossed over him being merged over.
I believe Jay is also slated to appear in Stargirl, so he may call Earth-2 his home.
I believe Jay is also slated to appear in Stargirl, so he may call Earth-2 his home.It would be super frustrating if the Jay on Stargirl ends up being a non-related Jay that just also happens to be played by JWS. I think someone’s confirmed it’s the same Jay, but simultaneously that Jay Garrick is one of the founding JSA members, so who knows.
Given the theory that there are infinite realities based on the fact that different choices produce different timelines there will always be some type of multiverse. If you take the premise that Earth Prime was a collapse of the multiverse into one timeline as soon as choices start being made the timelines will theoretically start splitting off again.
“despite the discrepancies like Kal’s heat vision now being red instead of blue…”That one’s pretty easy though, isn’t it? Blue heat vision is by definition hotter than red heat vision, and they’ve already gone out of their way to establish that Supergirl is stronger than Superman.
When Superman shouted out to Jordon from the Badlands, I instantly thought of when a weak and wounded Luke Skywalker reached out to Leia in The Empire Strikes Back. Just goes to show that family bonding runs deep, Force-sensitive, super-powered or otherwise.
Since we have Dig making a big appearance here, what more Arrowverse characters can we expect in Superman and Lois? Ray and Nora Palmer taking a vacation in Metropolis? The Reverse-Flash trying to eliminate Jordan as a future threat? Kara giving a call from National City? The Joker visiting Smallville incognito?
Heck, at least let Jimmy call Lois up now that they’re both back in the newspapers game.
I vote for Jonathan, Jordan, Sarah, or even Sophie, getting a fairy godmother. Then we can have Nora, Ray and some craziness.
I’m surprised this plot thread was resolved so quickly. This totally could’ve lasted until the season finale. Additionally, its weird to think they brought up Zod(!) as the mind forced into Clark’s consciousness, and nothing much is really done with it. It’s feeling like David Ramsey did his deal with Berlanti and the CW, and the shows scrambled afterwards to figure out how to fit him in. While it was nice to see him interact with Lois and General Lane, the part was pretty superfluous. Also he and Lois didn’t really have a previous rapport or any shared time onscreen, so the hug is a slight stretch and you have to fill in the blanks. The Cushings had such a quintessential “happy moment before tragedy strikes” that it’s difficult now to imagine that one of them won’t die by the season’s end. And for all we know it could be Lana, not Kyle.
Glad Superman & Lois finally acknowledged the rest of Earth-Prime. And more Dig is always a plus. The fact that they have never once name dropped Kara still irks me though. Even a reason why she can’t help, like that time Arrow said Constantine was in Hell, would be nice. Speaking of which, I miss Oliver.
Sucks Diggle isn’t allowed to be GL, particularly since green lanterns and their ability to mimic Kryptonite would’ve really come in handy.
Let’s presume the events of the season take place while the Super Friends are trying to rescue Kara from the Phantom Zone.
Steel hammers Zod right out of Superman’s noggin before he can say his catchphrase! I’m glad we got that possessed Superman out of the way quickly instead of dragging it out though.
Assuming the entirety of Superman & Lois takes place during the Season 5 finale/Season 6 premiere of Supergirl, that still doesn’t work out. Supergirl was only in the Phantom Zone for, in-universe, no more than 2 weeks, at best. S&L has had at least a month pass by from Episode 1 until now.
Nah Kara was in there much much longer given Luthor’s trial. But yeah no one bothered to even mention her?!
Come on now. This is the Arrowverse. You know damn well there wasn’t any major time skips regarding Luthor’s trial. You think the writers know how the court system works?
Or how time works?
The ones who wrote that trial sure as hell don’t.
There hasn’t been a single trial in any Arrowverse show that even has minimal realism in it. Night Court is vastly more accurate than any Arrowverse show has been.
I could do two weeks standing on my head!
It was a good bit of acting, editing, and glowing eye effects that the show accomplished in order to convincingly show Clark struggling with being possessed.* It’s a trope that can come off as silly or campy when done less successfully. (Going all the way back to Captain Kirk slamming himself into walls!) I was impressed that it worked here.*It maybe is a sign of the times that each Era gets its own focus on a particular Superman superpower. Christopher Reeve = flightBrandon Routh = X-ray vision (creepy)Cavill/Hoechlin = heat vision (and its inherent horror)
DC’s really been driving the heat vision horror for the past decade with Supes, including not just the movies and TV but the New 52, Injustice, and the Suicide Squad game.
I love it, this was great. I’ve missed this show these past few weeks.I loved the story with Irons as everyone tried to appeal to him as he was still unwilling to let go his chance at revenge to the point that even Lois and Jon getting personal with him didn’t fully convince him. But then at the end he saw what everyone was trying to tell him.The reveal that Zod was the one inside Clark was an interesting reveal since Zod had apparently showed up on Earth in the flesh in the past (According to Supergirl, if that means anything). But also did Edge have to put Zod into Clark in the other universe or did Clark join him willingly. Since apparently he had been a hero on that Earth prior to his turn.The Cushing family stuff was nice but yeah the whole time they were messing around with the hose I was just wondering where the other daughter was, until she showed up at the end.The Diggle cameos have been fun but I do wonder if they’re going anywhere. Like I assume we’ll find out on Supergirl since that’ll be the last one. Or maybe not.
The Cushing family stuff was nice but yeah the whole time they were messing around with the hose I was just wondering where the other daughter was, until she showed up at the end. Another minor plot point the show has seemingly trimmed along the way, but the Cushings act like the younger daughter has been away at camp or something for an extended period, and I don’t know if that was ever discussed. I think the last time we saw her was when Tag kidnapped Sarah?
A few episodes ago they sent Sophie, the younger daughter, to stay with friends/relatives. Since she had no clue what had happened, I have to wonder just how far away she was.
Someone mentioned the other week that Jordan Elsass as Jonathan is the unsung MVP of the cast, and I think they had a point. Honestly, the entire cast is exemplary; but there are so many quiet scenes where Jordan just makes it work. The scene with Jonathan and John Henry Irons was a great example of that; his point about killing a good dad was spot-on, but Jordan really sold it.We were told in the promos that a hero would fall this week, and since they probably weren’t talking about literally in a gravitational sense, I’m going to toss out a guess: they were going to kill off Kyle – maybe have another Smallvilloid shoot him through his kitchen window – but they realized it was just a bit too dark, and put in a happy pancake ending instead.That plan for the red sun missile really looked like a Wile E. Coyote blueprint, and I’m relieved we didn’t get this:
I honestly did not care about the Langs. I felt they should have done more with Clark, Zod, Edge and the krptonians instead of the Langs
They’re the Cushings, and considering we’ll be spending more time with them than with the bad guys going forward, I think they made the right choice.Also if countless Smallvillers can’t tell Clark is Superman why shoukd a relative stranger like Irons who has hardly spent any time with the Kents? It’s a longstanding in-universe conceit that Clark is a good enough actor to throw anyone off the scent, otherwise there’d be no secret identity.
Honestly how did Irons not know Clark was superman he has seen both of them really close like how could he not figure it out he interacts with both of them face to face
“Big week for little sisters: The episode opens with Irons searching for this Earth’s version of his younger sister, and the Cushings finally remember they have a second daughter.”Now if only they remembered they had a third daughter.
“Given how pointedly this series has ignored the rest of the Arrowverse (even its own parent series!), it’s wild how casually Superman & Lois throws Diggle into the mix with absolutely no explanation of who he is or how Lois knows him.”It’s especially funny because they only ever shared the briefest of screen time together in Crisis. I don’t think they even exchanged any dialog between one another before now.
Really hope they have a flashback ep showing some post crisis teamups with the other heroes.
That’s one thing that struck me even in the Crisis finale; when Clark compliments Barry on setting up the Hall of Justice, the latter is clearly a little starstruck. The implication to me was that even if Oliver was still the first superhero in the Prime timeline (because of course), Clark might have started working in public not long after.
Post-Crisis, Jonathan and Jordan are 15 years old. Clark was clearly active as Superman for a while before marrying Lois and having children. Oliver has still only been the Arrow for about eight years. Therefore, Superman is definitely the first superhero in the post-Crisis timeline, having been active for probably something close to 20 years. (It was only ten at the beginning of Supergirl on her earth but Crisis happens during Supergirl Season 5, so let’s say Crisis added five years to his career.)
The Cushing’s have a third daughter??Yeah you have to infer a bit with Diggle and Lois, but it wouldn’t be nearly as fun if Diggle showed up and Lois had zero recognition of him. “Oh, right. Yeah. We met once before, right? Was it the last Crisis or the one before?” Or that could be hilarious.
Is Digg on some sort of CW tour?
Yep, it was supposed to lead to the crossover, but COVID stopped it.
Come on folks, just say Kara’s name once!
and she’ll crawl out of the mirror and kill you?
and she, Clark, the twins, Lois, and Steel can kick butt at least once before Supergirl ends.
Why did they only draw half of the dog? Or is he emerging from something?
um… 😀
Krypto is drawn front on (sorry, I don’t know the artistic term). If you look you can see one of his hind paws. No half a dog.
I think Crypto is at least in part covered by his cape. The dog is Crypto aka Superdog not to be confused with Underdog.
“Drop by for a wiggle, Diggle? What a giggle!”
I can now accept Superman and Lois as being in the Arrowverse if you jump ahead a year or two. That would be after Supergirl’s last season where we assume that she is not on Earth anymore. It would also (I assume) be after Flash’s last season which I am assuming is next year. I also noticed that Diggle did not have one of his “headaches” in this episode. He may be cured of those by now, and his powers are evolving. Let’s hope that there will be a Superman and Green Lantern crossover in the future.Also, wouldn’t Superman and Lois know Diggle from the last battle in Crisis?
Lois said she’s been involved with Supes for 20 years now so even though they don’t acknowledge it, this show is definitely taking place some 8-10 years post-Crisis and Superman is still the same age because Kal-El ages differently.That kiss at the end was a thing of beauty, I love this family.
The timeline was reset at the end of Crisis so we don’t know how long they had been together at that point. The show could still be taking place in more-or-less ”real time” relative to the other shows.
I don’t get that math at all. During Crisis their baby was turned into teen twins. If that meant they had to have met earlier, that would have been a Crisis effect, too. I also think they have managed pretty well to make Clark look older. I find myself staring and wondering how they do it, because nothing obvious has changed since his baby-faced introduction on Supergirl.
Well, he was introduced on Supergirl four years ago. His permanent 5 o’clock shadow also seems….well, more permanent than usual.
The confusion seems to stem from the fact that they didn’t say how old the twins were at the end of Crisis, so a lot of people just assumed they were still babies. But Diggle clearly hasn’t aged 15 years so the most logical explanation as I’ve said all along is that they were turned into teen twins, like you said.
I think it helps that Tyler Hoechlin really bulked up for this series and it gives his Superman a bit more gravitas. Or they gave him a muscle suit or some combination of both. I liked his appearances on Supergirl but in hindsight he looks really scrawny.
Tulloch remains fantastic. Lois has really been a strong part of this show, and has been integral to the plot, too. The idea of Superman’s innate humanity and soul is essential, and I’m glad to see the show emphasizing it this way. Like I say every week, I remain incredibly impressed by this show, and look forward to it every week.
These Dig guest spots have been the essence of cruel teasing. Last I checked, the actor has been super coy about what they’re actually leading up to, but frankly the guest appearances aren’t doing the work they need to do on their own. They’re also throwing the “please remember and/or ignore Crisis per this episode’s needs” issue into stark relief on multiple shows.As I’ve noted before, S&L is uniquely fraught when it comes to the Crisis-related issues. It’s very much trying to be its own thing, even down to its cinematography.For example, the idea of ARGUS and the DoD both existing in this world? Yeah, I literally mentioned that in a comment waaaaaaaay back in the beginning of this season. Once it’s confirmed (and brought to the forefront with a special guest appearance!) it raises so many fucking questions.When your planet has literally become a refugee haven for aliens, faced open and highly public alien invasions, and has witnessed the rise of the second age of metas (well, at least in recent documented history,) that’s about the time when the world’s various governments stop fucking around. They either shit (ramp up alien/meta/hypertech arms races and wars that quickly lead to world-ending crises of their own) or get off the pot (establish worldwide cooperation to make sure regular ‘ol humans have a fighting chance, or, far more rarely in the relevant fiction, decide to go all-in on the transition to a meta species, with the ruling class remaining the ruling class somehow.)
As usual, this show sets a high bar for what Arrowverse shows can be. My only complaint has to do with the advertising – “A Hero Will Fall” could only have been in reference to the 5 minutes that Kal-El was Zod, right? Because come on, that’s no fall, that’s basically sitting down to tie your shoes.On the plus side, this show has mastered the art of not hanging on to plot points longer than necessary, and Wolé Parks as Steel – can we get him his own show too? He is SO GOOD. We got backdoor pilots for Green Arrow & The Canaries and Painkiller, surely they can build a show concept around John Henry Irons!(A random thought hit me during the show, probably because it aired right after Flash – how fun and/or awful would it be if the Flash movie had both Parks and Shaquille O’Neal as multiversal Steels?)
I think “A hero will fall” was meant for the rest of the season. I’m worried for Sam unless we know he’s back for season two.
Always nice to see Diggle, but his presence felt jarring, as everything’s still supposed to be tied to the Arrowverse yet there are still a lot of discrepancies. However, with this bit of dialogue, Diggle’s got me thinking:“He’s Superman. I fought beside him. He’s the best we have. Oliver would have said that. Hell, they all would have.”Past tense for the other heroes? Could it perhaps be that this all happens after the current series of Flash and Supergirl have finished…? Life is full of mysteries.Also, this show is definitely the nicest-looking of the Arrowverse series. It never looks cheap (except for the Fortress-Cave), and always feels like it really is using most of a small town for locations.Johnathan’s plea to JHI, and Lois’s, might have got me in the feels. Might have. No, you’re crying!
I hadn’t picked up on Diggle’s use of the past tense until now but my explanation, as usual, is bad writing.
My usual random thoughts: 1. Lois tells JHI Clark has been “turned” but tells the boys everything’s going to be fine. Is this a whole family of liars? 2. How does Lois know Edge’s fortress is in the desert? IIRC, Clark had never been there until now. 3. Random Black firefighter clearly drew the short straw. 4. “You can do it but you’ve got to believe…” says the brother with no powers. And sure enough, Jordan can do in a few hours what it took Clark years to learn. And again, these people have no idea how sound works. 5. Lois and JHI are a perfect example of the show’s hope vs. despair theme. Very Supergirl. 6. And General Lane is lying too. What is it with this family? I get that it’s largely for dramatic purposes but maybe pull back just a little… 7. Okay, yeah, “red solar” energy depletes a Kryptonian’s powers but it shouldn’t cause pain. 8. Anyway, we finally know how JHI got to this universe. 9. And in true comic book fashion the military is going to build a complex gizmo overnight.10. In both families, the women are the bedrock.11. I knew it was only a matter of time before Lois spilled the beans to JHI. I wonder if part of his desire to get rid of Clark is because of Lois?12. Do Lana and Sarah really think the people who vandalized their house used watercolors? Anyway, the water fight was great.13. Why didn’t they make more than one red solar gizmo again? Even if JHI took out Clark he’d still need something to use on Edge—and maybe Leslie.15. Speaking of Leslie, where is she in all of this? Even if Clark and JHI deal with Edge, what about her? Yay! The writers finally remembered her at the very end.16. How far away has Sophie been that she doesn’t know what’s been going on? The next state?17. Obviously we’re not done with Edge yet.
This week’s shout-out to sensitive/non-toxic masculinity – I loved Lois giving Clark that protective back-hug at the kitchen table. It was such a small thing, but every other time I’ve seen that type of pose in a show, it’s a man being protective/possessive of a woman. Here, Lois isn’t letting Clark out of sight after what just happened and Clark is perfectly comfortable with being coddled and safe.
I just want to point out that we now have a Steel, Eradicator, and Superboy (Jordan) established in this show. It’s starting to feel like a subtle setup to a “Reign of the Supermen” storyline
I’m a little confused about the timeline between the CW shows. I watched Flash and Supergirl regularly through, and a couple of episodes beyond, Crisis so I’m pretty much a full season and change behind on those two. Isn’t Superman & Lois set several years in the future beyond Flash and Supergirl since Jordan and Jonathan are now teenagers or has time progressed on those shows too? Has Diggle been refusing the GL call for many years or did the Flash cameo happen in the same timeframe?
That happy scene with the Cushings really hit weird for me considering someone just tried to run them out of town. Not so much a contrast with the sombreness of the rest of the episode, as mood whiplash. Especially as it goes right back to the glum main plotline directly afterwards.
I guess maybe Zod’s consciousness may have been the only one Edge had left to use, but he seems like he would actually be a terrible choice. Edge is clearly a megalomaniac and probably wants to be the one in charge after the Kryptonians take over, so does he really want to enlist help from the guy who is ALSO a megalomaniac who wants to rule everything, and is famous for demanding that people kneel to him? Seems like they would be butting heads after not very long.So Edge has had his Fortress in the middle of the Badlands, which is a national park that attracts tons of tourists every year, and no one has noticed it after like 30 years or however long it’s been? At least Superman’s Fortress has the excuse of being up in the Arctic where no one really goes.They had some line of dialogue about how Superman’s hearing taps into the “background resonance frequency” or some nonsense, so is that supposed to explain how he can hear things from around the world faster than sound actually travels?
For people who aren’t familiar with the rest of the Arrowverse, the Diggle scenes felt shoehorned in to the point that I mostly just tuned them out. I got that he’d been important to someone at some point and that Lois knew him, but I have no idea why he was important to this show. Exceedingly unnecessary.