Beware of spoilers for the episode in the article. Please do not continue reading if you haven’t watched the episode yet and you are not okay with being spoiled.
Introduction :
The show returns for season 3 as it picks right up from where the 2nd season finale left off with the Kents entering the newly formed Fortress of solitude with one big change from season 2 being of course that Jonathan Kent has been recast and he is now played by Michael Bishop replacing Jordan Elsass who left the show for personal reasons. The scene brings all the feels as I think this is the first time we've seen Lois at the Fortress outside of flashbacks and the first time Jonathan has been in the fortress at all throughout the series, going to the fortress has mostly been Clark and Jordan's thing. The scene is also important as it's the first time both Kent boys get to finally meet a version of their grandmother. The episode follows this Kent family scene up with a montage of the main cast being really happy which means it probably won't last too long if we follow old-timey television traditions.
Clark and Lois :
Clark and Lois have been spending more romantic time together as a couple and it's clear out of the gate that Lois's determination to get Bruno Manheim will bring some drama and conflict later in the season. Lois's determination as a reporter is both her greatest asset and biggest flaw since it has placed her in a lot of dangerous situations both throughout this show and the comics. Clark and Lois are probably in the best place they have been as a couple in a while.This circles back to Clark and Lois having very different feelings about Lois potentially being pregnant. Lois is excited and Clark isn't really sure until the boys birthday when they watch childhood videos of the boys and he gets on board.
Clark :
Clark is settling into his Super Dad role this season as he is continuing to train Jordan on how to control his powers with some epic flight training scenes this episode. Clark being petty at being called an old man was really funny, he really was holding back for Jordan's sake when they were flying. The flying scene reminded me a lot of Omni Man's and Invincible's training scenes on the Invincible tv series, especially regarding Omni Man holding back using his full power. Clark is of course a better Dad than Omni Man as a distinction.
Jordan is also clearly still a little young and immature , raising teenagers can be a headache on it's own for parents but having a teenager with superpowers adds a different dynamic (Jordan's mistakes cannot only put himself in danger but also get people killed). Clark was right to be mad as Jordan's failure to listen to him nearly caused way more damage than what would have happened if Jordan listened to his Dad and flew straight home.
John Henry bumping into Clark at a pharmacy was awkwardly funny. I'm glad that because we are three seasons into the show Clark also has his own guy friend in John. I hope we get more scenes of them being friends this season. Their friendship has grown a lot from John believing Superman was dangerous and trying to kill him to John giving Clark couple advice two seasons later.
Lois :
Lois teaching Jonathan to drive and saying Clark was a terrible driver in response to Jon saying he should have asked his Dad to teach him was also another interesting funny note. It makes sense for Superman to be a horrible driver, he doesn't have to drive and he can basically fly anywhere around the world faster than a plane. I'm convinced if most people had the power to fly they wouldn't drive at all, it would feel like too much of a downgrade.It's great the show was able to focus on smaller light hearted moments, those are truly what made the episode standout to me. Lois being a panicked Mum during the driving scene was very realistic and funny too , she went fully into Mum mode. Lois is a multi-layered character.
On the work side, Lois is continuing on her Bruno Manheim warpath and she finds out from her earth's John Henry's sister Doctor Irons that she might be pregnant. Lois and Lana are also in a good place again this season. I love that they are bonding as women and supporting each other and I'm ready to move on from that aspect of season 2 I didn't enjoy as it felt unnecessary.On paper Lois as a character seems like a person who would struggle a lot with making friends owing to her being an intrepid reporter but she is able to connect to people and that is what makes her different thats were her and Clark are similar and it explains why Clark was drawn to her. Lois is a good person who is interested in doing good and once her fire is lit she will see it through until she burns it out herself when her goal is reached. That's why she won't let this Bruno Manheim story go away. Lois's face when Doctor Irons told her she wasn't pregnant was heartbreaking. Bitsie Tulloch did such a great job going throughout this episode as Lois went through an interesting range of emotions in this episode.
Jordan and Sarah :
The former lovebirds are getting used to their new normal as just friends but after having personally watched enough teen dramas I'm convinced that as soon as Jordan starts dating someone else Sarah will probably want him back romantically. I feel their scenes were maybe my least favorite. Their scenes were fine on their own but I think season 2 soured whatever progress they made with them as a couple and it may be okay for them to never get back together again unless the writers actually want to make viewers start caring about them as a couple. The couple has their fans but the unnecessary drama in season 2 with Sarah kissing someone else and then seeming to gaslight Jordan was just so weird. Jordan and Sarah are supposed to parallel Clark and Lois as a younger couple but they don't have the healthy relationship that Clark and Lois have so their relationship has unfortunately come across in an annoying way particularly last season. This issue is fixable going forward if the writers do better, I have some faith in them.
Lana Lang:
Lana is clearly dealing with too much as the Mayor of Smallville between being responsible for fixing the old Mayor's messes , getting threatened by Mayor Dean and also her divorce she is under so much pressure. Mayor Dean needs to go eventually the guy really is terrible "a little fungus isn't going to do any harm", really Dean you're endangering children. George is no longer the Mayor and he needs to back off and let Lana be the Mayor. As a step forward for Lana's character at the end of the episode Lana manages to sign her divorce papers with Kyle closing the chapter of their marriage. It seems the writers might be setting up Lana and John Henry as a couple and also alternatively Chrissy and Kyle. I'm open to seeing how this plays out.
Natalie :
Natalie got the short end of the stick as a character in season 2 with her character feeling like she was mostly used for most of the 2nd season to create conflict for other characters. Focusing on Natalie and Sam Lane's grand daughter and grandfather relationship was a highlight of this episode. Sam using the horror movie date to try to recruit Natalie into the DOD academy was a bit of a low blow as Natalie believed that Sam just wanted to spend time with her. I completely get why Natalie was hurt, Sam is still Sam.
I'm glad John confronted Sam about his behavior with Natalie.I see this storyline as potentially a way for Sam to make up for his mistakes with Lois and Lucy, grandparents tend to have better relationships with grandchildren generally as a result of having the time honored gift of introspection and analyzing their faults and mistakes as human beings. Sam has a better relationship with the boys than he had with his daughters and I can see him serving a similar role for Natalie. Whilst Sam isn't her actual grandfather he kind of is at the same time genetically just like Lois is genetically her mother and Jon and Jordan are her half brothers genetically. They are the closest thing she has to family. Sam's conversation with John Henry made him realize his mistake and he genuinely apologized to Natalie which knowing Sam's character after three seasons was really hard for him to do.Superman and Lois is so good because the quieter character moments are great too, it's not just the budget and cinematography that makes this show good.
Thoughts on the recast Jonathan Kent so far :
Michael Bishop fits right in with the rest of the cast and he looks more like he could be Jordan's actor's actual twin facial feature wise. I liked Jordan and Jonathan's scene on the Kent's farmhouse porch. Jonathan is aware that his life path will be different from Jordan since he doesn't have powers. Jonathan has felt a bit left behind by his Dad since Jordan got powers and I wonder if that will come back in a major way this season again. Jordan and Jonathan seem to have switched roles with Jordan getting to spend more time with Clark and Jonathan no longer being the "favorite"- the assumption that was there at the start of the series because of Jonanthan being big on sports. I don't think Clark thinks about this much but that's most likely how it feels to Jonathan even though he acts mostly unbothered, not having powers in a family of people with powers might affect his sense of self-worth. I'm glad Jonathan passed his drivers test and they were pulling Clark's leg. Lois being emotional about the test and being hugged by Jon was really sweet. I can't wait to see what the writers have in store for Jon this season.
The Montage :
The party montage with flashbacks of the boys as kids was so good ,it was unfortunate that the moment was ruined a bit by Clark having to fly off to save the world. The small moment of Lois nodding at Clark that he could go to save the world was a great reminder of why Lois is the perfect partner for Clark, they are so different but they just work so well together and support each other.
Glorious showdown /Metropolis sequence:
During the boys party Clark flies to Metropolis and he has a showdown with Atom Man (Henry Miller) introduced in the flashback scenes of episode 11 of the first season ( A Brief Reminiscence In-Between Cataclysmic Events ) . Henry now has powers just like Superman which makes for a very interesting visual fight sequence. The shows VFX department is great. The visual shot of Superman walking out of the fire was particularly memorable and was followed up on with equally impressive shots of Superman and Atom Man flying around Metropolis fighting each other.
Last scene revelations :
The audience was introduced to this seasons big villain Bruno Manheim (portrayed by Chad Coleman) and it was confirmed that Bruno was indeed experimenting on Atom Man. It was also confirmed that the mysterious villain with a white rose mask (the character has a very uniquely creepy look for a villain) that Clark sees earlier in the episode duriong his fight with Atom Man was indeed working for Bruno.
Conclusion :
The 3rd season premire was very eventful and can easily be summarized as being made to remind audiences about all of the things they love about this show. If this season keeps this up I believe season 3 might just be the best season of the show yet for audiences with a solid mix of great character moments, story and the amazing cinematography the show has become so well known for.
Join me weekly for more reviews of the third season of Superman and Lois on the CW.
"What did you think of the season's premiere episode ?"
"What are your hopes for the rest of the season ?"
"Do you think this season is off to a great start ?"
Let us know in the comments below.
