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Superman & Lois: The Perks of Not Being a Wallflower

"Is creepy lurking one of your superpowers now?"

Another family-oriented episode. It was mostly about being a good parent by listening. And interestingly, not listening.

After years of practice, Clark hears everything in the entire world, alerting him to, say, a bridge collapsing in China. This is truly awful when you think about it. How is Clark not nuts? It also adds an uncomfortable aspect to being married to the guy, as in no privacy for Lois, ever.

After years of being oblivious, the twins have to face this new and uncomfortable fact about dear old dad while working through their obsession with football. Jonathan still felt like football was his thing, and when Jordan tried out for the team, Jonathan understandably felt like his space had been invaded. As it turned out, Jordan was simply trying to keep Jonathan safe. Jordan even doubled down on the maturity by apologizing to Sean for kissing Sarah.

Was that really it, though? Is Jordan genuinely uninterested in being a football star, something that might attract Sarah? Or is Jordan unconsciously rubbing in his superior strength? This week's Most Obvious Symbolism was the numbers on the twins' football jerseys. Jordan's was 24 and Jonathan's 12, as if Jordan's power on the field was twice that of Jonathan's.



I also noticed that everything on this show is still so colorless. They could have gone for bright costumes and sunshine on that football field; instead, it was wet and dirty and the boys all wore washed out off-white uniforms. And I really liked the opening scene where Lois was choosing from a selection of dull paint colors for the living room, and Jonathan said that Clark's choice looked like poop.

Clark managed to cope with this new audio difficulty by at first distancing himself from the twins and the football angst, and then becoming the new assistant coach. That told the boys clearly that he was there for them and supporting their choices. All it really lacked was a flashback to a teenage Clark in Smallville, reluctantly obeying Jonathan senior's instructions not to try out for sports.

Lois has learned to live with Clark's superhearing, something that might destroy most marriages. Maybe that sort of privacy loss is balanced by something other investigative reporters don't have – a Superman panic button. It must give her a sense of security that other reporters will never have. It's almost not fair. I kept thinking that Lois's new boss Chrissy is also in serious danger from Morgan Edge, and Chrissy's not married to Superman.

When Lois was threatened in that motel room, I loved that she picked up a pen and stabbed the guy, competition for this week's Most Obvious Symbolism, before she clicked the Summon Superman button. That fight in the motel room was huge fun to watch and effectively illustrated that Clark thinks while he fights. He certainly couldn't have expected a superpowered opponent, but when the guy wouldn't go down, Clark froze him before bouncing him around. It's always a challenge coming up with a threat for someone as powerful as Superman, so good on them.

How did Morgan Edge acquire superpowered minions? Why did Larr, the woman with the heat vision, take out the motel guy? And she has a team? This can't be good.

In other news, Lana and Kyle Cushing have a disintegrating marriage, complicated by Sarah's suicide attempt last year. Lana made the absolutely horrible parental and management mistake of confronting Sarah right in front of a dozen of her peers. Lana, when someone has a performance problem, you talk with them about it privately. Especially when it's your daughter.

Where are they going with the unhappy Cushing family? I assume there won't be romantic good-old-days sparks between Clark and Lana, since Lois is in the picture. How close were they when they were teens? Did they just date casually? I've been encouraged since I like Emmanuelle Chriqui a lot more than Kristin Kreuk, but I'm still not interested in the Cushing family. Make me interested, guys. I'm waiting.

Bits:

— Jordan came up with several more nicknames for the hologram of his grandfather. My favorite this week was Jonathan's, though: "Jor-El DeBarge."

— Morgan Edge has apparently made Sharon Powell's son Derek disappear from a nearby town called New Carthage. Not a great name for a town, by the way. The old Carthage kept getting sacked.

— Who will pay for Lois's burned out car? Does the Smallville Gazette have that sort of budget? Will Geico cover it?

— Jonathan: "What's the point of having something special if you're not actually allowed to be special?"

I liked this one; it raised a Superman-related marital issue I'd never considered before. Three out of four paint samples? What do you guys think?

Billie
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Billie Doux loves good television and spends way too much time writing about it.

4 comments:

  1. Lana won't win mother of the year anytime soon. Still, poor her.
    I'm loving this series. Can Pete Ross come around maybe?
    Chrissy Beppo had better pray Lois is around for her.

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    Replies
    1. I really want Pete to show up too! I’m also worried about Chrissy. I hope nothing happens to her.

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  2. I have never really felt the weight of the World Clark must feel 100% of the time until this show. As much as the twins have valid complaints, as does Lois and her Father. Clark is literally juggling and feeling the weight of multiple worlds and the guilt that comes from missing out on one.

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    Replies
    1. This show is SO good at showing exactly why Superman is not boring! Despite all his power, he still struggles. In a lot of ways, the extra power creates more struggles. Also in spite of his power, he’s still full of heart and relatable!

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