Summary
Another great, entertaining episode, and with the show already renewed for a second season, it seems others must agree.
After a strong opening episode, there is always the nagging doubt that everything that was accomplished in the series opener may start to pale when the creative team realizes that it might be hard to maintain the initial fervor of the pilot. However, it would seem that the CW has all guns blazing, as Superman and Lois episode 2 has managed to keep up the high standard of the pilot episode.
In “Heritage”, the writing team is cruising with the plot threads introduced in the pilot. Captain Luthor is now on the hunt for Kryptonite, so he can stand up against Superman. Luthor’s story is expanded on, and we learn that instead of a generic Luthor businessman bad guy, we are slowly being allowed into the motivations of the character, and it is indeed a different spin on the usual dynamic. This Luthor seems to be from an alternate reality, and he has been witness to another Superman, but a Superman that has turned killer, destroying the world he inhabits. Luthor is now a Superman terminator, and Clark is his target. It is this part of the series that intrigues me most.
Jonathon and Jordan are facing their own subplots in Superman and Lois season 1, episode 3. Jonathon is not being accepted into the Smallville football team, and Jordan is being kept out of school as Lois is worried he may start to manifest more superpowers, endangering everyone. Instead, he gets to spend quality time with Super dad, who takes him to the Fortress of Solitude, where we see AI Jor-El who is testing Jordan to see if he will be as powerful as his old man. Spoilers, according to Jor-El, he won’t be. This attention leads to conflict between the siblings, but don’t worry, they sort it out.
Lois, in the meantime, is on the trail of why Morgan Edge is so interested in Smallville, and in true roving reporter style, uncovers a pattern that Edge has been making, moving into small towns, seemingly helping with the economies, but then leaving them high and dry. Trouble is, Edge owns the paper she writes for, so her expose is edited to hell and Lois decides that she is going to print and be damned, even if it’s in Smallville’s local rag.
The end of Superman and Lois season 1, episode 2 sees Luthor making plans to build a better battle armour, and we get a flashback to a world being ravaged by an evil Superman.
Superman and Lois is truly off to a good start, and despite the second episode being lighter on action and effects, it is lucky to have a tight enough script to fall back on. The leads are once again doing fine in the roles, but I still hope for a little more energy from Elizabeth Tulloch.
The storylines for the super sons are the only points that I find myself losing a little interest in, but I know that the CW has a demographic to appeal to, so I guess that explains the teenage angst stuff, but thankfully it’s not as over the top as it could have been, and the writers do seem to be trying to balance the ongoing storylines as best they can.
The Luthor thread is by far the most intriguing, and I find myself hoping that we get more of that kind of stuff, and I am sure that future episodes will eventually reveal everything we need to know.
Lois working for The Smallville Gazette seems a little contrived, I’m pretty sure that she must have realized that writing a story about her boss’ misgivings was going to get junked when he owns the paper she works for, but I guess they had to find a way to get her away from Metropolis altogether so the show could happen. I have no doubt Edge will eventually be toppled and Lois will make a triumphant return to The Planet.
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