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 third episode was a great swan song for General Sam Lane's character. Sam has always done what he thought was best for his daughters and this episode was a great reflection of that.
Lois Lane :
Lois is barely coping with losing Clark even though she is still keeping it together by doing her job as a reporter, she writes an article to inform the world Superman is gone. Lois is truly her father's daughter and she tends to hide how she feels a lot to project strength, Clark was really the only other person besides her sons she allowed herself to be vulnerable with. Since Clark is gone it feels like she has her walls up again because she doesn’t feel like she can break down because her boys need her.
Jonathan's gift :
The combination of stress from Superman's death and his strained relationship with his brother was finally the spark that Jon needed to ignite his Kryptonite genes. The scene with Jon getting his powers was pretty cool. Whilst I initially didn't know how to feel when I saw the show basically speed through Jon learning to use and master his powers quickly, I feel that might have been a great source of long-term conflict between the brothers with Jordan feeling he had to work harder than Jon who had it easy which was how Jordan felt about Jon before he got powers.
The creative decision to make Jon naturally gifted in that way makes sense (Jon was always naturally athletically gifted even without his powers). Jon getting powers subverts expectations by changing up the dynamic between the boys but it also feels unfortunate since this is the last season of the show and we will never see how having two Superboys would work on the show in a long-term sense. Part of me feels like DC should reconsider keeping this show around, there is still so much story left to tell and from this season it appears that it's possible to make the budget of the show work. If Superman Legacy is a hit it will likely be 2/3 more years before we get a sequel of that film. So Superman and Lois could easily last 2/3 more seasons before that sequel materializes. There is space for a Superman series to thrive.
General Lane :
We got a lot of flashbacks of Sam in this episode, it was pretty funny that the writers did the Superman glasses reveal and Sam was in denial that Clark was Superman until he took off his glasses like he did with Lana. It was also revealed through the flashbacks that General Lane didn't initially give Clark his blessing to marry Lois and he only later changed his mind when he realized that Clark was going to protect Lois. That makes sense since Sam and Lois seemed a bit estranged when the show began in season 1. Sam walked Lois down the aisle, whilst Sam has always had his differences with Lois he has always been there for her and their family when it counts and this episode hammered that point home.
Sam proposed for Jon to start training when Lois told him Jon had powers now but Lois was hesitant to let her son do it. I understand her mindset about this, Doomsday just killed Superman so Jon flying about with training wheels is extremely dangerous. It's simply two soon and he is too green. Sam suggests building a DOD team around Jon to train him (and keep him safe) and he promises Lois that he won't train Jon secretly like he did with Jordan (which show's growth for stubborn Grandpa Sam). Sam's story this episode also dealt with the subplot of Sam searching for a serum which ended up having surprising ramifications later in the episode.
Lois ultimately changed her mind and decided to let Jon train. We got a Jon and Lois scene where she admitted to him that she regretted not informing the boys about their powers sooner than they did. Sam was right though Jon is a natural leader and he reassured his Mum he still has a lot to learn and wants to learn it. Jon is a bit like Clark in that sense. The boys are going to need to work together to defeat Lex now more than ever but Jon having powers is probably going to cause some more conflict between them.
Lois's choice :
Lois's rash decision last episode under duress from Lex when she chose to save one of her sons over the other came back to bite her. Lex waltzed into the Kent farm barn and told Jordan the truth in an effort to turn Jordan against his mother by insinuating that Jonathan is her favorite son. Lois was stuck between a rock and a hard place when she made that decision, how do you ask a parent to pick which child to save ? Lois made the most logical choice since she wasn't sure if either of her sons were in danger so she chose to save the son without powers in the hope that Jordan could protect himself.
Jordan is however still a bit immature and isn't seeing that. He acts more bratty than Jon, last episode he flew right into Lex's kryptonite trap, if Lex wanted to kill him he would have done that but he clearly doesn't want that at least not yet. Lex wants to isolate Lois by eliminating people she loves even if it means turning them all against her. Lex doesn't care about Jonathan since he believes Jon doesn't have powers. Jordan is a teenage boy so I can understand why he isn't being rational about this and reacted the way he did but it is still annoying.
The Henry's :
Natalie and John Henry made their first appearance of the season this episode, likely due to the budget cuts. Sam offered Natalie and John Henry jobs at the DOD and Natalie was clearly annoyed she would have to postpone going to the DOD special school for gifted teens.
The Henry's accepted Sam's job offer to work full time for the DOD just in the nick of time as Doomsday attacked the DOD under Lex's orders. The Henry's went after Doomsday and they almost got themselves killed. Sam, who had been accidentally shot by Jonell Jones (a DOD soldier working for Lex) decided to sacrifice himself to save everyone at the DOD. Sam intended to find an appropriate donor but ultimately decided to inject himself with the serum ( from season 1 Morgan Edge used to turn Smallville residents into kryptonians) when he realized Doomsday was going to kill him, Doomsday is probably the most brutal villain the show has ever had. Sam refused to tell Lex his daughter's location and Doomsday snapped his neck. John Henry flew to the fortress with Sam's body and Lara performed the surgical procedure on Superman to transfer Sam's heart into Superman's body.
Final scene :
I saw some online discourse about the season premiere with some people complaining about Tyler's role possibly being limited this season due to the budget but he is featured a lot in the first three episodes for an arc involving his character's death, and with episode 3 ending with Superman waking up we should be getting a lot of Superman this season.
Other Thoughts :
1. Jon went through accelerated healing, ice breath, super hearing, X-ray vision, super strength and flight in the span record time. Jordan totally looked really annoyed at it Jon being so good quickly.
2. We got a mention of Kyle Cushing buying Chrissy Beppo a car (which Jon overheard with his super hearing).
3. Jordan and Jon wearing Sam's Hawaiian shirt during the funeral scene was a cool subtle way to honor their grandfather.
4. We got a sweet short scene with Clark and Martha during Sam's flashbacks. I wish we got more Martha scenes on the show before she passed away even though her death was the inciting incident that got the Kent's to move to Smallville in season 1 so I get why it didn't happen.
5. I wish the Henry's had a bigger role in the episode but I do appreciate that the show seems more intentional with how it's using it's supporting cast this season.
6. Sam's hologram farewell to Lois was heartbreaking. All I can say is justice for Grandpa Sam.
7. Episode 3 of the show was written by Brett Fletcher and Todd Helbing and directed by David Giuntoli (Elizabeth Tulloch's husband).
Verdict :
It finally happened after four seasons of fans being divided about whether Jon should get powers or not , the writers finally did it in an episode that had many big changes for the show going forward. I can’t wait for next weeks episode.
Rating:
1.Story: 9/10
2.Visuals: 9/10
3.Sound: 9/10
4.Performance: 9/10
5.Overall: 9/10
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