S01.E02: Heritage

[scarynikki12]

Quote

While adjusting to their new lives in Smallville, Lois and Clark make an important decision concerning one of their sons.

 

 

[scarynikki12]

The twins just staring at Clark as he flew up and down from the roof was a delight. I want as many “Dad is Superman” stares as we can get.

Captain Luthor is handsome. Just an observation. He doesn’t seem to know Kal-El and Clark Kent are the same person so that’s interesting. And comes from a world with evil Superman so I get it but some reconnaissance is your friend in this case Captain. 

Just like that Jonathan is the insecure twin. Flying, Fortress of Solitude, and not being a big man at school will do that. I do want to see Jon in the Fortress soon.

I like that there’s still issues with Jordan and showing powers didn’t solve everything.

I’m loving the brotherly love. Keep this up and avoid the temptation to sibling swap CW! 

I love seeing Lois in journalist mode. And the twins facepalmed when she started questioning Morgan Edge haha. But my favorite thing is how Clark clearly enjoys that Lois is the Alpha of the family.

Morgan Edge rewriting Lois Lane is my villain origin story. He will rue the day he screwed her over and I can’t wait. 

[cambridgeguy]

Clark really is oblivious if taking Jonathan to the Fortress never crossed his mind.  Powers or not he deserves the Kryptonian history lesson as much as Jordan.

And apparently the Smallville newspaper is following the Iris West model of having as few employees as possible.

[Primal Slayer]

It was just as good as the premiere!

Seeing the twins in awe of their dad as he just causally uses his powers around the house was funny and a nice touch. Clark taking Jonathan to the Fortress so quickly was nice but the place seems a bit damp...it needs some sprucing up from just being a rock in the ground that takes a crystal. This Jor-El seems rather direct and cold, not sure if its just the hologram of it all or just showing us which type of Krypton we are dealing with post COIE. I REALLY wish they would've shown two pods escaping Krypton instead of 2. I just need some type of Kara acknowledgment.

Capt.Luthor coming from an Injustice type world is great! Along with seeing evil Superman decked out in his Elseworlds uniform. 2 episodes and 3 outfits! I am here for it! I assume that this Luthor is also a genius so  I hope he is able to establish himself quickly and throw on a suit and tie. Thats how I like my Lex's. 

Lois was great in this episode, I am enjoying her subplot and them not ignoring who she is (unlike Flash w/Iris being a reporter). I feel like her vs. Morgan Edge will be very fun. Though I do wish that The Daily Planet was a bit more fleshed out before she quit, introduce some of her co-workers, make us care more that she is quitting instead of using our knowledge of who she is and how important the DP is to the Super-mythos. And I need to know where Perry is! He better not be dead.

[Diapason Untuned]

Show continues to be good. Lois is a delight. I love how she just walks in, quits her job and walks out to get herself another job the same day. I want to be like her when I grow up. 😄 

Come to think of it, Jimmy started running a small town paper in Supergirl. It'd be nice if the show at least acknowledged that.

Please show, don't start with General Lane mistrusting Clark. The man is his son-in-law, and this Luthor dude is going around destroying nuclear reactors as bluffs. I'm actually liking General Lane kind of, for the first time in how long, or even ever.

7 minutes ago, cambridgeguy said:

Clark really is oblivious if taking Jonathan to the Fortress never crossed his mind.  Powers or not he deserves the Kryptonian history lesson as much as Jordan.

Yeah, this is what will rip your family apart, not telling them the truth.

 

Quote

And apparently the Smallville newspaper is following the Iris West model of having as few employees as possible.

Small town papers have it hard.

[Primal Slayer]

It is funny that we have 3 shows that have reporters as major characters and only two episodes in an this show definitely showcases it best. Definitely better than The Flash writers handle Iris being a reporter.

[shapeshifter]

I really liked the introduction of complex social issues, from micro (family) to macro (global) and everything in between, including class, gender, and possibly race.
--I was thinking Grandpa dissing half-human grandson's ratings on the non-human rating device was a kind of metaphor for biracial issues.

Dear Show, please don't fall down any love triangle manholes. 
I loved the first few seasons of Smallville, and a couple of seasons of Arrow, and at least a season of Supergirl, and the first (most recent?) season of Stargirl. 
Just give me a couple of good seasons of this show.
Okay? 

Edited March 3, 2021 by shapeshifter

[Diapason Untuned]

25 minutes ago, Primal Slayer said:

It is funny that we have 3 shows that have reporters as major characters and only two episodes in an this show definitely showcases it best. Definitely better than The Flash writers handle Iris being a reporter.

Probably because this is, for the moment at least, a purely journalistic storyline. Flash tried something similar with Black Hole, but it didn't really feel much like a journalism thing but an extension of Team Flash business. 

[thuganomics85]

I know Clark doesn't want to abuse his powers, but he could have saved a lot time if he just flew the moving camper to the Kent Farm.  At least he used his powers to repair the roof!  Loved the sons being wowed by that.  Hope we get more of those scenes going forward.

Still not sure if Captain Luthor is a version of Lex or a descendant, but it looks like he is from another planet (universe?) where Superman was evil, and Luthor was part of a resistance that included his own version of Sam Lane.  Curious to see more of that.  Especially since it would be interesting to see Tyler Hoechlin play a more evil version of the character.

Morgan Edge makes his first appearance here in the form of Adam Rayner.  Not completely thrilled since I wasn't a fan of his performance on Tyrant years ago, but he was solid enough here so far.  It helps that I'm finding this story with Lois wanting to bring him down to be one of the more compelling ideas so far.  Certainly helps that the writers seems to have a better handle on writing about journalism compared to Supergirl (which gets way too heavy-handed and sloppy at times) and The Flash (I can't even really begin to touch on that mess) so far.  Hope they don't mess it up!  Continue to enjoy Elizabeth Tulloch as Lois.  Night and day compared to her work as Juliette on Grimm (to be fair, she got better as the show went on.)

I obviously think Clark is sincere about wanting to be a better father, but he really is making some mistakes here that he should have saw coming a mile away.  Even without powers, he really should have brought Jonathan to the Fortress of Solitude as well, since it would be wise for him to know this stuff, plus make him feel included.  I guess various villains and infinite crises can't compare to raising teenagers!

Kyle is still an annoying dick.  Can't make heads or tails of Lana, because she puts up a friendly front, but there are times I feel like she's faking it.

Looks like it is Angus Macfayden who will be playing this version of Jor-El.  Not sure what to make of Jor-El being played by Robert the Bruce (yeah, yeah, I know Angus has a distinguished career, but I'll always think of Braveheart first!)

The Clark/Sam argument was silly, because it was a case of Clark not even bothering to tell the full story and shut it all down with a "Dude, they found the fucking spaceship!  What was I suppose to say?!" retort.

All the school stuff was typical "teenage drama" bits, but the actors made it work for the most part.  I like Sarah, even though I'm not wild about the whole "Yeah, my boyfriend might be a bullying jerk, but there's more to him!" story.

Pretty good second episode, I think.

Edited March 3, 2021 by thuganomics85

[Jediknight]

1 hour ago, scarynikki12 said:

I’m loving the brotherly love. Keep this up and avoid the temptation to sibling swap CW!

Yeah, Jonathan and Jordan's relationship is a highlight.  It's clear they've always had each other's backs, and always loved each other.  And I'm gonna say it, that's the reason Jordan failed his test.  His powers were unlocked protecting his brother, they both have powers, but they're the key to each other's powers.

Sarah, your boyfriend isn't sweet.  He was willing to seriously injure Jordan over a kiss, and wouldn't let go of his drive for revenge even after you told him to knock it off.

You never go to war with Lois, that's just a losing battle.

[tennisgurl]

I am still really loving this show, this was a great follow up to the pilot. The family dynamics are still really strong and they are doing a lot to set up the supporting cast. Lois and Clark have such a great relationship, I totally buy them as a married couple that have been together for years, have been through a lot together and have come out stronger. They are setting up a lot quickly, but not so quickly that I feel like I am getting whiplash. 

The twins starring at their dad in awe as he used his powers to do household chores was awesome, as were their double facepalms at Lois standing up at the town meeting. I continue to really like the relationship between the twins, they bicker and get mad at each other but they also very clearly love each other and enjoy hanging out despite their differences. They always have each others backs and support each other, I am pretty sure that we are going to find out that Jordan's powers can only be triggered now if his brother is in trouble. Maybe we will find out Jonathan has powers if something happens to Jordan? There is a lot going on between them, especially now that Jordan has powers and Jonathan doesent, but also a really strong feeling of closeness. 

I hope that Clark takes them both to the fortress in the future, they're both equally half Kryptonian even if only Jordan has powers. I know that being a superhero and a dad must be tough, but that seems like a pretty obvious parenting goof. I guess punching bad guys is the easy part of his day...

I really like what they are doing with Lois, I totally called it last week that she would end up at the Smallville Gazette. I like the one quirky fangirl who works there, and this show is already doing a much better job at portraying journalism than most of the Arrowverse shows. It helps that this actually seems like something a journalist would be investigating in the real world, although I am sure that Morgan Edge will be a supervillain who wants to use Smallvills resources to build a clone army or something. They do a great job at making Lois tough (complete with a serious mom voice when she needs the boys to get moving) and a real force to be reckoned with as a journalist but also very warm and loving with her family. 

Kyle is still an asshole, I guess Lana and her daughter have the same taste in men. Aggressive petty jerks that they say are actually secretly nice sometimes. The teen stuff is actually not bad, its not overly angsty and they seem to be thankfully avoiding a creepy sibling love triangle. 

I really hope that General Lane doesent turn into his sometimes "That Superman is a threat!" characterization, I like the version that is more understanding and reasonable better. Clark should have told him that the boys found the ship and that Jordan's powers activated, the jig was pretty much up. It would have been way worse if they just kept lying to them at that point, eventually it becomes less "keeping secrets to protect the kids" and more "gaslighting the kids because we don't want to have an awkward conversation". We also find out that Captain Luthor is from a world where Superman was evil, and either he thinks that this Superman is evil and is hiding it, or that he will end up becoming evil later and he is basically trying to kill him before he gets the chance to go bad. Its alright Clark, just tell Lex your moms name was Martha, and this will all get sorted out. 

[memememe76]

Ellie from Degrassi The Next Generation! 

I am really enjoying the show, its cinematic scope, majestic score and devotion to family dynamics. 

[dwmarch]

I'm enjoying this show and I'm happy that it's airing on Tuesdays since all my usual shows tend to pile up on Fridays.

The Smallville reporter looks almost identical to Bruce Willis' girlfriend Fabienne from Pulp Fiction. I am not sure if that was an intentional choice or not. We'll have to see if she starts going on about blueberry pancakes or wondering whose chopper this is.

Captain Luthor may have a super-suit and some inside information that's helping him but how far does he expect to get by continually pissing Superman off? He's already dragged you into space, chucked you into the ground and would have twisted your head clean off (as I believe I suggested in episode 1) if you had actually been in your suit. The one you have already fought cuts a whole squad down at a time and this one has the same power! And your idea is to push him towards doing that? Sit down with him, have a nice cup of tea and calmly discuss the dangers of superpowers. I bet he'd appreciate being able to talk it over with someone other than Lois and his domineering father-in-law. Of course that would be one boring-ass show but still... Superman offered peace and Luthor is going to regret not taking him up on it.

[Primal Slayer]

Maybe because its more of the small town feel? But Smallville feels a lot more developed/lived in compared to Gotham which Im having issues with. Especially since the two shows shoot in the same location and follow the same protocols. The world they've set up in these two episodes just feels bigger.

[scarynikki12]

35 minutes ago, dwmarch said:

Sit down with him, have a nice cup of tea and calmly discuss the dangers of superpowers. I bet he'd appreciate being able to talk it over with someone other than Lois and his domineering father-in-law. Of course that would be one boring-ass show but still...

Personally I think this scenario sounds amazing and I’m now so sad it won’t happen. 

[Lantern7]

Good episode. Lois joining the newspaper lady is a timely plot, given how "old school" journalism outlets like newspapers are overshadowed by web sites and conglomerates. The real question is if Morgan Edge rolls up waving a contract that would prevent Lois from writing anywhere else but the Daily Planet. I know, she's going to be gnawing on his ankles for a while, but it would be a legitimate claim. Maybe there's a "I can leave if my husband gets fired" clause. I'm hoping the lady is a better representative of journalism than Snapper Carr in the second season of Supergirl. I think the main requirement to play him was perpetual exasperation towards Kara.

[Apparently, her name is Chrissy Beppo. Bit of a Silver Age shoutout, but I don't think it'll go beyond names. I like to think her name would've been Chloe Sullivan had Allison Mack not gotten into a goddamn sex cult and basically killed the character off in any continuity]

Gotta keep the names straight. Jonathan is named for Jonathan Kent (Earth Daddy), and he's the one without powers. Jordan seems to be named for Jor-El (Krypton Daddy), and he's the one with powers . . . except that Hologram Ghost Grandpa Jor-El (whose physique doesn't fit my definition of the character, even after Man of Steel mostly blew things up) says that he doesn't have powers, or that the powers are about one-hundredth of Clark's. I'm hoping that we don't get too cliche with the plot. For instance, I'd want Jonathan to test himself. I dunno . . . maybe try to jump high or something that wouldn't result in severe injury. I would allow either son to joke about putting on a cape and jumping off the roof.

I don't think Captain Luthor is necessarily the whitest hat, especially since he ha no problems fucking up a platoon to get Clark's attention. I like the look of a grizzled veteran who really believes Superman is a threat. In his defense, he might have come from the DCEU timeline. Even if that Superman never broke bad, the collateral damage alone would push him from being the "ideal" Superman.

1 hour ago, dwmarch said:

The Smallville reporter looks almost identical to Bruce Willis' girlfriend Fabienne from Pulp Fiction. I am not sure if that was an intentional choice or not. We'll have to see if she starts going on about blueberry pancakes or wondering whose chopper this is.

"What's that?" "It's a chopper." "Whose chopper is that?" "Zod's." "Who's Zod?" "Zod's dead, baby. Zod's dead."

1 hour ago, tennisgurl said:

Kyle is still an asshole,

I don't think Kyle will grow a second dimension beyond "Morgan Edge is doing good for this town!" We'd end up with the same arguments with Lois, and he's an asshole only because we know Edge is a bastard. "Look, Kyle, here are pictures of last year's Christmas party at the Planet. Here he is riding on the backs of poor people, staying long enough to hand out $20 Best Buy gift cards." "He's gonna make Smallville better!" "Better than the Smallville version? Oh, yeah, that's such a high bar to clear. Also, fuck your sunglasses."

[Cthulhudrew]

I get that Jordan is the "special needs" kid and they want to figure out the deal with his powers*, but shouldn't Jonathan also get the Kryptonian Heritage introduction? It's just as much a part of his family history.

 

*I'm betting that Jonathan and Jordan will somehow "complete" one another with the powers; like maybe because they have half-Kryptonian DNA they need to be in close proximity or something weird.

[Cthulhudrew]

2 hours ago, Lantern7 said:

I don't think Kyle will grow a second dimension beyond "Morgan Edge is doing good for this town!" 

I thought they were sort of getting there with him with the BBQ scene, but if they don't go a little further, and give him some dimensions, it will really suck. Not the least of which because it begs the question, "WTF does Lana see in him?"

Then again, that might be all there is to it. It would certainly explain Sarah and her boyfriend, if obliviousness is genetic.

[arc]

ROFL. "You ruined their childhood, Clark." As if Clark had just told them Santa isn't real. How is this ruining their childhood? He told them why he ducks out of their lives every now and then: because he's Superman and he's responding to emergencies. That's way better than having a dad abandon you at random moments for bad reasons!

What is this Smallville? Is it a farming town or a mining town? Because those are two very different things.

It's fun how political this show is. Morgan Edge coming to Smallville could be read as a take on Amazon's HQ2 nonsense, or the kind of nonsense Foxconn pulled off in Wisconsin. Also, Edge owning the Daily Planet has a resonance with Jeff Bezos owning the Washington Post, which I vaguely understand is still able to to write stories about Amazon, even unflattering ones.

It's obvious they're doing some kind of power split where Jordan can release the power but Jonathan collects and stores it or something. Or maybe both can do both but need to be in proximity. So basically what @Cthulhudrew said.

Wait wait wait, these salt of the earth country folk call grilling "barbecue"?????????? I want to see twenty four hour smoked briskets and pulled pork, not grilled hamburgers, you fake ass nu-country-listening poseurs!!!

I guess this Sam Lane is less anti-Superman than most other versions, but it's still ridiculous the military doesn't have anything worthwhile to shoot at dollar store Master Chief.

"Find this guy" -- man, you're the one with the super-senses, Clark. 

What's with Morgan Edge's accent? Is this "mid-Atlantic"?

Jonathan's football career is toast. Not because the offensive line was sandbagging him or (some) teammates stole his playbook, but because his coach is too dumb to notice his offensive line was sandbagging him. Coach like that, Jonathan's going nowhere. Too bad he didn't pick up a sport like baseball or basketball where individual greatness can shine more easily.

Also, if Clark feels secure enough to fly around his Smallville house, right out in the open, in daylight, not at superspeed, then he should just install holo-Gramps at home.

Edited March 3, 2021 by arc

[Affogato]

I suppose Jonathan didn’t go to the fortress so we can fond out later that jonathan is all solar battery and Jordan ls all specific powers. So jon can flood Jor with enough energy for one blast and, if they are together, they can be a superhero. 
 

whoops realize the guy above me said that. 
 

So Lois’s father should talk to Clark about this new intelligence.  

Edited March 3, 2021 by Affogato

[cambridgeguy]

5 hours ago, Lantern7 said:

except that Hologram Ghost Grandpa Jor-El (whose physique doesn't fit my definition of the character, even after Man of Steel mostly blew things up) says that he doesn't have powers, or that the powers are about one-hundredth of Clark's.

And depending on how strong Superman is in this universe 1/100th of Clark's strength and speed is still pretty good! Maybe not blue suit and red cape good, but better than the Bat family as a baseline.

And boy, did Lois walk into that one.  She just let Edge paint her as the a holier than thou outsider who doesn't want a new source of jobs to come into Smallville.  People who are suffering are not going to have the patience to deal with that.

[Writing Wrongs]

9 hours ago, cambridgeguy said:

Clark really is oblivious if taking Jonathan to the Fortress never crossed his mind.  Powers or not he deserves the Kryptonian history lesson as much as Jordan.

Agreed. I still think Jon will have powers.

[greekmom]

I just don't buy the fact that Jonathan doesn't have any powers.  The first scene in episode one shows how he threw a football and cut the tire rope with that. I do think that their powers are tied to them being twins.  I did find Jor-el a bit of  a dick ("Why did you bring your son to me Kal-El?") Uh so they can know their Kryptonian heritage dad?? Regardless if they have powers or not, they are still half Kryptonian.  I wonder what Jor-El thought, that Clark/Superman will never find a spouse? 

I don't like the Morgan Edge storyline.  Since Luthor knows so much about Superman you know that Lane blabbed so they can fight evil Superman in the alt universe.  Honestly, why don't ppl just talk?  How is Luthor so sure that this Superman is evil? And why is their "dog tags" with the Superman symbol?  Wouldn't it be something else?

[cambridgeguy]

12 minutes ago, greekmom said:

I wonder what Jor-El thought, that Clark/Superman will never find a spouse? 

Still better than Brando Jor-El, who insisted that he give up his powers (and I'm not sure why Clark needed permission from his holodad anyway).

13 minutes ago, greekmom said:

How is Luthor so sure that this Superman is evil? And why is their "dog tags" with the Superman symbol?  Wouldn't it be something else?

If he's like many villains he probably thinks that power corrupts, so eventually Supes will turn evil.  It also means that he should either be trying to recruit or kill Kara as well, but that's not going to happen. 

And yeah, the dog tags is ridiculous.  Imagine a bunch of Union soliders in the Civil War - make sure you carry around this little picture of the confederate flag.  Never forget who the enemy is!

[Paloma]

9 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

We also find out that Captain Luthor is from a world where Superman was evil, and either he thinks that this Superman is evil and is hiding it, or that he will end up becoming evil later and he is basically trying to kill him before he gets the chance to go bad.

So this is basically the "Would it be right to kill Hitler as a baby?" dilemma that is often used in alternate history stories?

[shapeshifter]

1 hour ago, greekmom said:

I just don't buy the fact that Jonathan doesn't have any powers.  The first scene in episode one shows how he threw a football and cut the tire rope with that. I do think that their powers are tied to them being twins.  I did find Jor-el a bit of  a dick ("Why did you bring your son to me Kal-El?") Uh so they can know their Kryptonian heritage dad?? Regardless if they have powers or not, they are still half Kryptonian.  I wonder what Jor-El thought, that Clark/Superman will never find a spouse? 

To me it looks like a way to explore racism without visible racial differences. 

[Lady Calypso]

A solid second episode. I like that Lois got a lot more to do than I was expecting. Her journalism story about Morgan Edge was well done. It sets up a conflict with her and one of the antagonists that will actually be interesting to see play out.

So, this Captain Luthor (probably from another universe of some sort...maybe a splintered one as a result of Crisis? Is that even possible?) comes from a world where Superman was evil and killed tons of people. At least they set up his reasons, which...at least are understandable. He's not just "rah rah Superman is bad because he has powers so I have to stop him!" or whatever. He's obviously dead wrong, but at least they explained WHY he's so insistent and how he even tried to talk to General Lane about taking Superman down. It makes the story ten times more interesting and not really cliche.

It was good to see Jonathan's first day of school compared to Jordan's first day of training. Seeing Jonathan struggle because of what Jordan had done (consequences!) was set up well for some tension with the brothers for a bit. And Jordan overhearing his dick of a grandfather proclaim that Jordan would not be able to control his powers consistently because of his DNA? I assume that is a lie or that will change over time, because I can't see the show just having Jordan randomly use his powers instead of having control.

I know Jonathan will gain powers eventually, but I've figured out that I'm much more intrigued with seeing Human Jonathan bond with Human Lois. I already see that dynamic being set up with parents and children.

[BooBear]

1 hour ago, Lady Calypso said:

A solid second episode. I like that Lois got a lot more to do than I was expecting. Her journalism story about Morgan Edge was well done. It sets up a conflict with her and one of the antagonists that will actually be interesting to see play out.

I enjoy seeing Lois as a mature intelligent adult who also happens to be a good journalist. I also like that not everything is an "avengers level event" somethings need a reporter... somethings need Superman. 

Something I was wondering if they were going to touch on because (and maybe I just haven't read the comics) what does it mean if Supes is "infecting" humanity with Kryptonian DNA? That is an interesting question.  Probably more interesting than Supes just coming here in the first place.   If found out that probably could really be an upset. 

Perhaps the AI was like the Oricle from the Matrix and told Jordan he didn't have powers because maybe that was what it thought was best for the teen to hear. 

Love all the relationships on the show. Lois and Clark act like a real husband and wife and even thought the kids might not act like that I sure wish it was how all siblings were with each other. 

One thing that is really bothering me... why isn't Lana's daughter not giving her boyfriend the boot. That character seems problematic and is in danger of falling into a trope. 

[Primal Slayer]

I personally hope the twins powers arent tied to one another since they are fraternal twins after all. Had they been identical then it would be a fun/creative storyline where they need one another to be Super but since they arent....id like to just get some of the Supe powers, maybe rip off Kon-El and get Tactile Telekinesis

[tvmom]

20 minutes ago, Primal Slayer said:

I personally hope the twins powers aren't tied to one another since they are fraternal twins after all. 

I agree. I'd like to see each of the them manifest powers independent of the other.

[Primal Slayer]

Quote

Superman & Lois (1.25 mil/0.3, read post mortem) slipped 25 percent from last week’s well-watched launch

 

https://tvline.com/2021/03/03/tv-ratings-flash-season-7-premiere-new-amsterdam-season-3/

 

Harsh drop, 8pm is likely better for it

Edited March 3, 2021 by Primal Slayer

[Paloma]

4 hours ago, Lady Calypso said:

I'm much more intrigued with seeing Human Jonathan bond with Human Lois. I already see that dynamic being set up with parents and children.

Yes, I picked up on that right away, having experienced that dynamic from both sides (as an adolescent I was closer to my father and often angry at my mother, and my adolescent daughter was closer to her father and often angry at me). It's a pretty common family dynamic, but the added element of one parent and child sharing "superness" makes it more intriguing. 

[Cthulhudrew]

6 hours ago, cambridgeguy said:

If he's like many villains he probably thinks that power corrupts, so eventually Supes will turn evil.  It also means that he should either be trying to recruit or kill Kara as well, but that's not going to happen. 

I agree this seems to be the idea behind Captain El's motivations (I'm just going to keep calling him Captain El until it sticks as his supervillain name).

What is kind of sociopathic though, is that he seems determined to force Clark to become evil in order to prove a point, rather than either accept that this Clark is a different person, or wait to see if the maxim of power corrupting actually turns out to be true on its own accord.

Also, when General Lane flipped the dogtag over, the "HELL" is shown to be written in a font that makes it read "7734." Anyone have any idea what the significance of this number might be? A secret code of some sort? Access key to a top-secret DOD Superman Killing Weapons Vault?

Edited March 3, 2021 by Cthulhudrew

[legaleagle53]

13 hours ago, Lantern7 said:

Good episode. Lois joining the newspaper lady is a timely plot, given how "old school" journalism outlets like newspapers are overshadowed by web sites and conglomerates. The real question is if Morgan Edge rolls up waving a contract that would prevent Lois from writing anywhere else but the Daily Planet. I know, she's going to be gnawing on his ankles for a while, but it would be a legitimate claim. Maybe there's a "I can leave if my husband gets fired" clause. I'm hoping the lady is a better representative of journalism than Snapper Carr in the second season of Supergirl. I think the main requirement to play him was perpetual exasperation towards Kara.

 

Non-compete clauses are notoriously difficult to enforce if they're too broad in scope with regard to either length or geographic reach. For example, a clause that would forbid Lois from working for any other newspaper anywhere in the country for any length of time, or a clause that would forbid her to work for any other paper in the Daily Planet's marketing area for say, five years, would almost certainly be laughed out of court the moment Morgan tried to enforce it.

[Affogato]

3 hours ago, BooBear said:

 

Something I was wondering if they were going to touch on because (and maybe I just haven't read the comics) what does it mean if Supes is "infecting" humanity with Kryptonian DNA? That is an interesting question.  Probably more interesting than Supes just coming here in the first place.   If found out that probably could really be 

http://www.rawbw.com/~svw/superman.html

“man of steel woman of Kleenex” by Larry Niven. Says it is reprinted by permission. 

[ukgirl71]

I didn’t expect the twins’ relationship to be my favourite thing about this episode - Jordan and Alex are portraying it really well, the bickering and the protectiveness are note perfect so far - I just hope they don’t wreck it with a love triangle, but I do expect Jonathan to develop his powers sooner or later.  The description of Jor-El as “Hologramps” made me laugh. I also loved Lois the lioness, from her authoritative “Mom” voice to the fierce growl of “let him try” to the fellow reporter at the Planet who warned that Edge would destroy her.  I kinda hope we don’t see to much of Lana and Kyle every week, cos I find them both one nite and a little irritating.  I like the fact that Luthor is not a simple ‘bad guy’, but instead is motivated by his experiences of another world’s evil Kal El.  And I reckon he’s planted enough doubts already in General Lane, so it will be interesting to see how that father/son in law dynamic changes.

Edited March 3, 2021 by ukgirl71
Forgot to add a bit.

[blackwing]

17 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Dear Show, please don't fall down any love triangle manholes. 
I loved the first few seasons of Smallville, and a couple of seasons of Arrow, and at least a season of Supergirl, and the first (most recent?) season of Stargirl. 
Just give me a couple of good seasons of this show.
Okay? 

Agreed... I watched "Smallville" in the early years and then quit for some reason.  Can't remember why.  It was definitely before Lois Lane and Oliver Queen showed up.  Just lost interest.  I was a faithful "Arrow" watcher until they brought back alternate Laurel and the show increasingly focused on the one called Mister Terrific (he was not terrific at all, he was very lame) and the angry Hispanic guy (sorry, cannot remember his name but he was not very well liked).

I like the actors that play Clark and Lois, I think they work well together and I really do buy them as a couple.  Even though Lois seems like she's about 40 and Clark seems early 30s.  Did he have the twins when he was 18?  That doesn't at all fit with the timeline... he met Lois when we was at the Planet so he had to at least be 22, probably around 25?  Or is Clark also supposed to be around 40 here and the actor just looks young?

[arc]

1 hour ago, Cthulhudrew said:

Also, when General Lane flipped the dogtag over, the "HELL" is shown to be written in a font that makes it read "7734." Anyone have any idea what the significance of this number might be?

It’s a nod to a US military anti-Kryptonian program from the comics.

I think it’s ridiculous the bad guy sacrificed both his ship and his power armor for so little gain.

[norcalgal]

Rather than copy/paste each and every post in this thread, I will just say ITA to all the responses - ALL of them. You've all hit on points about this episode (or the show in general) that I thought of as well.

Add me to the chorus still liking this show. I saw the post about the dire drop in ratings from the pilot, so if the TV Gods are reading, please don't cancel this show too soon.

One last thing:  about the twins (hopefully) not needing to be in proximity to each other for their powers to activate - - - another dearly departed show I watched - The Gifted - had the premise where the twins needed to be physically close (touching in fact) for their powers to go Ultra Next Level. But the twins in The Gifted were of opposite genders.....

 

 

[Affogato]

1 hour ago, blackwing said:

Agreed... I watched "Smallville" in the early years and then quit for some reason.  Can't remember why.  It was definitely before Lois Lane and Oliver Queen showed up.  Just lost interest.  I was a faithful "Arrow" watcher until they brought back alternate Laurel and the show increasingly focused on the one called Mister Terrific (he was not terrific at all, he was very lame) and the angry Hispanic guy (sorry, cannot remember his name but he was not very well liked).

I like the actors that play Clark and Lois, I think they work well together and I really do buy them as a couple.  Even though Lois seems like she's about 40 and Clark seems early 30s.  Did he have the twins when he was 18?  That doesn't at all fit with the timeline... he met Lois when we was at the Planet so he had to at least be 22, probably around 25?  Or is Clark also supposed to be around 40 here and the actor just looks young?

I like comic green arrow and never got into the show. 
 

i think clarke would resist the effects of gravity. He would look younger, probably younger than he does look. 

[arc]

BTW, did Jor-El not include a holo Lara??? Is there no HoloGramma??? What a dick.

[Cthulhudrew]

3 hours ago, arc said:

I think it’s ridiculous the bad guy sacrificed both his ship and his power armor for so little gain.

I forgot to mention it, but yes- could not agree more here. That seemed completely ludicrous, especially since- at least thus far- Captain El doesn't seem to be the scientific and inventive genius many of his counterparts are.

[madhacker]

2 hours ago, arc said:

BTW, did Jor-El not include a holo Lara??? Is there no HoloGramma??? What a dick.

I'm hoping Berlanti is saving Lara for a future episode. One of my biggest pet peeves with Man of Steel was the fact that the krypto key only had an A.I. of Jor-El. But I'm really disappointed in this version of the Fortress compared to Supergirl or even Smallville. C'mon this is the freaking Fotress Of Solitude.

Morgan is gonna rue the day he crossed Lois. One of the few constants in the DC Universe is Bruce Wayne is the smartest guy on Earth and Lois Lane is not to be fucked with.

[miasth]

Again love Tyler and Elizabeth as Lois and Clark. Also love the relationship between Jon and Jor. I really hope the show does not trash it by going overboard on the angst.  Speculation but I foresee Jon having more issues than what was shown tonight. His outburst in this episode aside, he just seemed to he handling all these changes and and the effects a smidge too well.

Sarah needs to dump the boyfriend like yesterday. The beating and behavior toward Jon over a kiss done by his brother shows he has serious issues. Her father is a jerk and she gets involved with a jerk. 

This episode made me feel there is something off about Lana.

I was practically cheering go Lois when she walked in and out of the Daily Planet.

Clark....they are really showing that despite being Superman he is as flawed as anyone. He should take Jon to the fortress to see Krytpon's history at least.  Though Jon would be lucky to never meet Hologramps.

Captain Luther-while I can appreciate them taking  a different approach to a Luthor hatred of Kryptonians I fear this guy's behavior will just get more illogical with him steadfastly believing he is right.  It is like he knows and understands this is a different world/different people but at the same time he doesn't. A villain was needed but I am not sure I will like this part of the story. 

[Snapdragon]

I feel like Lana is going to turn out to be in on whatever Morgan Edge is up to.  She's just giving me really shady vibes and it seems like she's trying to re-direct Lois every time Edge's actions being suspect comes up.  As for her daughter, I can buy that Sarah would be dating a jerk but make excuses for his behavior because in reality, the majority of high school relationships are just drama.  

[Check Sanity]

2 hours ago, Snapdragon said:

I feel like Lana is going to turn out to be in on whatever Morgan Edge is up to.  She's just giving me really shady vibes and it seems like she's trying to re-direct Lois every time Edge's actions being suspect comes up.  As for her daughter, I can buy that Sarah would be dating a jerk but make excuses for his behavior because in reality, the majority of high school relationships are just drama.  

It could be Kyle that's in and Lana knows about it. Last episode it came off super unprofessional that Kyle knew anything about Martha's *bank account dealings*. Though it's also weird that they seem to communicate so much for a couple that doesn't seem close based on what their daughters have said. 

I'm curious how much the show is going to make Lana and Kyle make desperate bad decisions and flesh out their characters vs make them  active and conscious of their part in making things worse for Smallville. I can see there being a social issue element in terms of a small percentage of winners and the majority of the town losing. This is already proven to be the case with regards to Morgan Edge owning the bank. Edge is already in control of Lana's purse. Lana only recently learned about Edge owning her bank, but I think it will become significant later in what decisions she makes.

[blackwing]

I agree that I don't understand why Clark couldn't have taken both sons to the Fortress.  Wouldn't they both deserve the right to learn about their heritage?  Even if one is supposedly powerless?  That said, I do like how supportive the football player is of the video gamer.  Gamer has apparently had social issues his entire life and Football Player has always been there for him.  It was nice to see.  I still think that both of them will eventually exhibit some latent powers.

Kyle is a schill for Morgan Edge, and I don't think Lana is much better.  Lana annoys me.  Is that the actress' normal voice?  I know she is Moroccan Canadian so she may have a different natural accent.  Here it comes across as some kind of caricature of what she thinks a midwestern farm accent should sound like.  She sounds like some combination of country bumpkin with a twinge of the flat nasal tones of Chicago and a touch of North Dakota you betcha.  It's so weird to me.

Last episode seemed to indicate that the Kents are comfortable but aren't super wealthy.  I doubt the farm was still a working farm when Martha was alive.  Is Clark going to turn it into a working farm again?  He has no income right now.  And now Lois has quit her presumably high paying job at the Daily Planet to go work for a one-person paper that probably can barely afford to pay her.  How is the family going to eat?  I doubt they will explain this at all.  I suppose the Smallville Gazette could start selling paid online subscriptions featuring the articles of world renowned Lois Lane, and therefore afford to pay her, but still.

[Paloma]

1 hour ago, blackwing said:

Last episode seemed to indicate that the Kents are comfortable but aren't super wealthy.  I doubt the farm was still a working farm when Martha was alive.  Is Clark going to turn it into a working farm again?  He has no income right now.  And now Lois has quit her presumably high paying job at the Daily Planet to go work for a one-person paper that probably can barely afford to pay her.  How is the family going to eat?  I doubt they will explain this at all.  I suppose the Smallville Gazette could start selling paid online subscriptions featuring the articles of world renowned Lois Lane, and therefore afford to pay her, but still.

Yea, I know the whole concept of Superman is fantasy, but since this show seems to be focusing at least in part on real-world domestic issues, I really want to see some explanation of the family's finances with Clark earning nothing and Lois working for a small-time paper that hasn't even been able to hire other staff.

[blackwing]

Other musings... even though Clark is Superman, the most powerful being on Earth, it does seem to me that Lois runs the family, like when she demanded that they were going to the Cushing barbecue and Clark told the boys to listen to their mother.  So, I'm curious as to the boys' names.  They have twin boys, and somehow the Type A strong woman Lois agreed to name both of them after both of Clark's fathers?  I get that the show wanted one named after Clark's biological father and the other named after his human father, for the symmetry I suppose, but still.  You would think that with twin boys and that if they are choosing family names, one would be named after each side of the family.  Shouldn't Sam Lane be miffed?

I was amused that the Kents drive a beaten looking station wagon (do they even make station wagons anymore?) and had all their possessions in a hitched trailer.  I guess they don't need any furniture.  I liked seeing them as an ordinary unassuming family, driving their possessions to their new home.

How far away is the closest neighbor?  Clark doesn't worry about people seeing him flying up to fix the antenna on the roof or whatever he was doing?  I would think that if the next door neighbor is close enough that you can see their house in the distance, that they might have binoculars and can at least see a person-shaped object flying up and down.

[PAForrest]

Two episodes in and I'm very surprised to find how much I'm actually liking this show. However, I do think the racism angle, intentional or not, with both Luthor and Sarah's BF cast as the bad guys of color was one big tone deaf misstep, and I hope we see a lot more shades of gray in the upcoming episodes. I'm not exactly confident that's going to happen with the BF, who ultimately I don't care about, but I'm glad we've already been shown that Luthor has a good reason for hating Superman as Supes destroyed the world he came from. We'll have to see how things progress this season with regard to Luthor's feelings about this particular iteration of Superman.

It doesn't make sense that Sam Lane be turned against his SiL on Luthor's say so. Sam should know Clark/Superman a lot better than that. However, I don't believe for a second his reasoning for stockpiling all that Kryptonite is solely to keep Clark safe. I think it's clear Sam really wants it around as a backup plan if he feels it's needed.

I agree that Alpha Lois is awesome. Having watched Elizabeth on Grimm, I wasn't confident she could really bring the gravitas to the role of Lois. But she does, and her chemistry with Tyler is spot on. I like the whole family dynamic, but I also agree that Clark made a big mistake not taking Jonathan to the Fortress as if he doesn't need to understand his father's family history as much as Jordan does. Shame on dad, and I don't blame Jonathan for feeling like the lesser son now, especially as the poor kid gave up a really good life to move to Smallville no questions asked. The brothers' relationship is heartwarming, though, and I hope it stays that way.

I don't like either Kyle or Lana, they probably deserve each other. And I question how innocent Lana is of the goings on at her bank and Morgan Edge's involvement with snapping up family farms in Smallville. Frankly Lana would be a lot more interesting if she does turn out to be the bad guy in this situation. And I'd love to see Lois take her down.