S01.E09: Loyal Subjekts

[scarynikki12]

Quote

Lois, Chrissy and Clark team up to piece together the significance of Smallville to Morgan Edge.

 

 

[scarynikki12]

I love a journalism montage. The show is so nice to me.

So Edge really is downloading Kryptonians into human hosts. I was thinking he was just enhancing them.

Love the Kents teasing Jordan about Sarah and then Jordan teases Jon about Cute Popular Girl.

I like how Kyle’s behavior could easily be him getting the download or just overcompensating for disappointing Sarah. No surprise that it was the download. Kyle went straight to Edge and begged to be part of the inner circle. Next time read a self help book. You can get them free at the library.

Clark’s bewilderment at all the bullet bruises was too funny. That’s exactly how I’d expect a mostly invincible man to react.

So the Kryptonite gas infected Clark and it passed onto Jordan. Burning out the kryptonite looked brutal. I briefly thought Clark was going to fly him to the sun which would have been cool.

Jon saw his father and his twin get sick and his mom’s fear. The three people he loves most in the world. And it was all because of his grandfather. Lane’s lucky all that happened was getting yelled at.

So Edge is Kryptonian. Laid out well. I’m not sure if the brother comment is supposed to be literal or not but I can’t wait to find out. 

[The Crazed Spruce]

...Okay, that's a twist.

[AimingforYoko]

C'mon show, don't tell me I have to like Sam Lane now. And it looks like those anti-Kryptonian weapons are actually going to come in handy.

[bettername2come]

I love that part of Lois's planning/building the team speech in the beginning involved calling Clark a great reporter. I mean, I know he is, but I still like to hear it.

I really wasn't expecting continued respiratory issues from last week, much less that he'd infect Jordan, but it worked really well. I knew when Clark got hit so many times that we'd get a shirtless Tyler Hoechlin later. Thank you, show. 

"Where are you going?" - "Oh, to make a scene." I'm loving Elizabeth Tulloch's Lois more and more. I loved her confronting her dad, but Jonathan's confrontation was even better for me because "I could never be scared of my family" was a surprisingly powerful line. 

I did not call Kyle being possessed. Which I feel I should have. But him being the fire chief, it still didn't seem implausible that Lana might've sent him to check on the Kents. 

The acting on this show is just great. 

So, I'm wondering if Superman in the alt-world was also one of the possessed people?

[Lady Calypso]

13 minutes ago, scarynikki12 said:

I like how Kyle’s behavior could easily be him getting the download or just overcompensating for disappointing Sarah. No surprise that it was the download. Kyle went straight to Edge and begged to be part of the inner circle. Next time read a self help book. You can get them free at the library.

It's disappointing, for sure, but I also feel some sympathy toward Kyle right now. We have seen how manipulative Edge is. He's also withholding privy information to these subjects on what he's doing. He's telling them enough to get them to agree, but not enough to have them make their own informed choices. So, in reality, if these people really realized that they were being hosts of an army that would destroy the world, almost all of them would not agree. So now, Kyle made a shitty choice and he has to live with the consequences, but they've added layers to him these last few episodes that aren't just him being Edge's fan.

I figured he might be possessed with his weird new demeanour this episode, but it was subtle enough where I wasn't sure. 

Lois is badass. Going to confront Edge, damn the consequences, was great. Lana was also in top form. It sucks that she couldn't have foreseen Edge's threat as something that was already set in motion. 

Jonathan standing up to his grandfather was fantastic. They even added a little more humanity to Sam this episode. He isn't wrong about wanting weapons against Kryptonians just in case, but his mistake was not informing Superman, seeing as he's also his son-in-law. 

Poor Jordan. Jonathan may be getting the emotional brunt, but Jordan's gotten the physical brunt of things lately. I loved his scene with Clark in the Fortress. More of that, please! 

I was very surprised they followed through with the gas, but it sucks that the unforeseen consequences affected Jordan too. 

Finally, I can't say I was expecting the reveal with Edge, but I'm also not surprised. Him having powers as well makes total sense.

[cambridgeguy]

I like Lois but storming into Edge's conference room isn't really helping her credibility.  Being Lois Lane, ace reporter, isn't enough to convince skeptical townsfolk and they're less likely to listen to Clark as well. 

And geez Sarah, at least tell Jonathan why he should avoid popular girl.  "Trust me" isn't going to be enough to deter a teenage boy from a cute girl.

 

[scarynikki12]

2 minutes ago, Lady Calypso said:

It's disappointing, for sure, but I also feel some sympathy toward Kyle right now. We have seen how manipulative Edge is. He's also withholding privy information to these subjects on what he's doing. He's telling them enough to get them to agree, but not enough to have them make their own informed choices. So, in reality, if these people really realized that they were being hosts of an army that would destroy the world, almost all of them would not agree. So now, Kyle made a shitty choice and he has to live with the consequences, but they've added layers to him these last few episodes that aren't just him being Edge's fan.

I snark on Kyle a lot but I do feel sympathy for him. I'm glad that he's taking his promise to stay sober seriously and that plus his hero worship of Edge made him requesting to join the program make perfect sense. He was terrified of what may have happened during the blackout so I hope he joins Lana as a source for Lois.

[thuganomics85]

So, Sam Lane's anti-Kryptonian weapons not only have still kept Superman/Clark in a weaken state (but still stronger than humans at least), it somehow is contagious and even infected Jordan as well: leading to him almost choking to death via his ice powers.  Yeah, Sam, you kind of messed things up here.  At least he did help out at the end, acknowledged his mistakes, and I do think he is sincere about wanting to protect his family.  But I do think he's going to have quite a bit to make-up for, considering how bad this almost turned out for everyone.

Oh, shit!  Kyle secretly joined Morgan's program and is now possessed by a Kryptonian (well, sometimes at least)!  And I was just starting to like him after he stepped up for Sarah this time (when, ironically, it was Jordan that had to leave her hanging.)  But I do feel bad for him.  It was the wrong call, but I can buy that he was desperate enough to change his life around and it's understandable that he wouldn't expect that Morgan's program is about downloading alien brains into human bodies....

Liking this version of Lana, but she really isn't good at the whole undercover thing.

Love both Lois and Clark getting their journalism on.  Just like old times!

This episode's reasons for why I continue to think Jonathan is the best: a) he continues to still try and help Jordan on the Sarah front like a good wingman brother, b) is there for his mom when she is in a bad spot and needs a good word/hug and c) calls his general grandfather a coward to his face.  Go, Jonathan!  But I do worry something is going to happen with his crush on this mysterious girl.  Really wish Sarah would just say what the big deal is instead of just being cagey.

Finally, it looks like there is more to Morgan Edge as he not only has powers as well, but he called Superman brother, so does this mean he's actually Kryptonian as well?  I wonder what his Kryptonian name will end up being!

Edited June 9, 2021 by thuganomics85

[Lantern7]

Huh. Ice snot. Interesting take on the traditional ice breath. It was like Jordan caught a literal cold. And yes, Clark coping with bruises was pretty funny.

Wait, so Edge is grafting Kryptonian personalities onto newly-enhanced human bodies? It would be funny if this related to the Reign storyline from Supergirl, but I doubt it would be. Great swerve in Kyle getting "improved," where it explains his disappearances. Here I was thinking he was just a failure as a husband and father. Right now, I'm assuming Edge is actually one of Clark's canon playmates, but I'm probably wrong about that too.

[shapeshifter]

52 minutes ago, thuganomics85 said:

Finally, it looks like there is more to Morgan Edge as he not only has powers as well, but he called Superman brother, so does this mean he's actually Kryptonian as well?  I wonder what his Kryptonian name will end up being!

Well, twins tend to run in families, so maybe Morgan Edge is literally Clark's Evil Twin?

[legaleagle53]

4 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

Well, twins tend to run in families, so maybe Morgan Edge is literally Clark's Evil Twin?

Except that it's not the father who determines whether there will be twins. It's the mother, since she's the one who produces two egg cells at the same time to be fertilized during conception. So any genetic predisposition to having twins would come from Lois through her female ancestors, not from Clark.

Edited June 9, 2021 by legaleagle53

[tennisgurl]

Looking back I totally should have seen the Kyle twist coming, but it really managed to surprise me. I really have grown to feel bad for Kyle, as bad of a choice as this was he really did do it because he wanted to do better for his family. He really was trying, and while he is a very flawed person its clear that he loves his family which is what lead him here. Plus, I highly doubt Morgan Edge told him about the whole "stick alien spirits into your body" part of his self help plan. 

Another great episode, so much was going on but it never felt rushed or too busy, balancing lots of characters and subplots. So Sam's Kryptonite gas actually managed to hurt Clark enough that he struggled with some normal bank robbers and got bruised up, but even worse is that its spread to Jordan (Kryptonian flu really sucks) and he is basically drowning in ice. Way to go Sam, this is why you tell your family why your creating weapons that could be used to kill your son in law. I get why Sam created these things, and they will clearly be very useful very soon, but keeping it a secret makes it seem like he's afraid of his own family and is just sitting around ready to use it on them. He at least stepped it up at the end to protect Jonathan and Lois and by the end he even admitted that he messed up, so there is some progress being made. 

The security guard in Mexico asking Clark if he was alright made me smile, even if Clark was clearly freaked out by what was happening with him. I really liked them having Clark teaming up with Lois to investigate more, Clark might be focusing on other things now but he is a great journalist at heart and I loved the two of them working together. Of course Lois runs right into Morgan Edge's office and starts yelling at him, despite her conversations about being safe with Jonathan last episode. Do as I say not as I do! But for real, I love Lois's spunk. She's a great example of how a character can be a badass without being able to do roundhouse kicks and punch walls. 

Jonathan just continues to be the absolute best, being there to support his mom when she's upset, being a wingman for Jordan with Sarah, and best of all, called Sam out on all of is crap, even calling him a coward. Jon telling Sam that he would never be afraid of his family whether or not they had powers was a great moment, hopefully that really sinks in for Sam. Being called a coward and read for filth by your teenage grandson is probably something that should make you rethink your life choices. Of course he isn't going to live in fear of what his dad or brother could hypothetically do with their powers, he knows who they are and he knows that they're powers doesn't change that or make them anything but his dad and twin brother. Meanwhile, Jordan was not having a good episode at all, being stuck with a nasty ice breath cold that is freezing him from the inside and can only be cured by his dad frying him. What a day. I always love when they end the episodes with Jordan and Jonathan talking about whatever went on with them that episode, they have such great sibling chemistry. 

So is Morgan Edge an actual Kryptonian by birth, or is he a Kryptonian ghost possessing a human guy named Morgan Edge? I would buy either one, and the important thing is that he has powers and is about to start some shit. Is he going to be Clark's literal brother or is he saying brother in more of the way of them both being from Krypton? Again, could buy either one. Was all the talk about Jonathan not being afraid of his family for having powers foreshadowing an evil uncle arriving? Evil relatives do tend to show up pretty frequently in fictionland, they're all just constantly coming out of the woodwork to show up at the worst possible time to ruin peoples days. Of course, when I first saw the guy floating around, my first thought was "well we've had Lex, we've had Brainiac, its about time the Arrowverse met General Zod..." 

[Chicago Redshirt]

12 minutes ago, tennisgurl said:

So is Morgan Edge an actual Kryptonian by birth, or is he a Kryptonian ghost possessing a human guy named Morgan Edge? I would buy either one, and the important thing is that he has powers and is about to start some shit. Is he going to be Clark's literal brother or is he saying brother in more of the way of them both being from Krypton? Again, could buy either one. Was all the talk about Jonathan not being afraid of his family for having powers foreshadowing an evil uncle arriving? Evil relatives do tend to show up pretty frequently in fictionland, they're all just constantly coming out of the woodwork to show up at the worst possible time to ruin peoples days. Of course, when I first saw the guy floating around, my first thought was "well we've had Lex, we've had Brainiac, its about time the Arrowverse met General Zod..." 

"Morgan Edge" is claiming that he is a Kryptonian from birth who got his powers by landing here. Of course, he could be lying, or the could could be throwing us a curve (a la "Captain Luthor.") 

My speculation has been that he is somehow Zod, and we'll see if that pays off or if I will quietly pretend I never threw it out there. 

In the good ol' pre-Crisis days, a brainwashed Superman fought Kara thinking she was Zod, and we did get a glimpse of "Zod." He kinda looked like an older version of Edge:

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0316515/?ref_=tt_cl_t14

[kickingnames]

Sympathy for everybody! You get some sympathy, and you get some sympathy.....

It’s weird — during the opening lead up to Morgan Edge, I just assumed that was from Kyle’s viewpoint walking into Edge’s office. Then we the episode proper started, I completely forgot about that thought — right up until Kyle started explaining that he’d blacked out. I did feel bad for him being so confused as to how he ended up in that field.

I am absolutely not here for soft teenage romance tropes, but this episode managed to make me feel bad for both Jordan and Sarah. Sarah’s so sensitive to the men in her life bailing on her at crucial emotional moments. Between her dad and Jordan, those particular moments are going to end up getting worse before they get better.

And I hate that Jordan might lose his only new friend just because he inconveniently began to freeze to death from the inside out. Poor kid. And yes, I know, last week I specifically told Clark to hug his other son — but his moment with Jordan this week was very sweet and very needed. It was so nice to see both boys being understanding and comforting with their parents. The Kent family is just going through the wringer right now — individually and collectively.

Also, yes please to Gen. Lane sticking around to clean up the mess he made that nearly cost him a grandchild. Communication is key, sir. If only he could have communicated his concerns and intentions to Clark as clearly as both Lois and Jonathan did to him, maybe all this could have been avoided.

 I too thought of Zod when I saw Edge’s Kryptonian suit. It’ll be interesting to see how that turns out.

Edited June 9, 2021 by kickingnames
Verbs are important

[Cthulhudrew]

Do they not stock lunch-sized paper bags in Smallville? 😲

[anamika]

I wonder if John Henry Irons know that Jonathan took his weapons or is he going to get a surprise when he opens his weapons cabinet and be like damn those meddling kids!

Also, cannot Clark just park his car outside Edge's office and eavesdrop on his evil plans - that would be so much more faster than them going the old fashioned investigative journalism route.

Edited June 9, 2021 by anamika

[AnimeMania]

4 hours ago, bettername2come said:

Jonathan's confrontation was even better for me because "I could never be scared of my family" was a surprisingly powerful line. 

Since Jonathan is scared of his Granddad and a Granddad is part of your family, Jonathan just contradicted himself.  

[Cthulhudrew]

3 hours ago, legaleagle53 said:

Except that it's not the father who determines whether there will be twins. It's the mother, since she's the one who produces two egg cells at the same time to be fertilized during conception. So any genetic predisposition to having twins would come from Lois through her female ancestors, not from Clark.

At least, that's the way it works with human anatomy. 🤭

No, but I think you're probably right (obv there is enough genetic compatibility for interbreeding). 

At this point, my suspicion is that "Edge" is the evil-Superman from Irons' world, but he changed his appearance somehow (Kryptonian tech? Future tech like Eobard Thawne used?) and replaced Morgan Edge of this world to acquire his financial resources for the X-Kryptonite mining.

[shapeshifter]

2 hours ago, Cthulhudrew said:

At this point, my suspicion is that "Edge" is the evil-Superman from Irons' world, but he changed his appearance somehow (Kryptonian tech? Future tech like Eobard Thawne used?) and replaced Morgan Edge of this world to acquire his financial resources for the X-Kryptonite mining.

This makes a lot of sense, but I’m still hung up on his self identification as Superman’s “brother.”  Exactly what does that mean?  
Tune in next week!…

[arc]

I legit do not remember how Lois & co came to the (correct) conclusion that Edge is stuffing Kryptonian powers and minds into Smallville people. It seems like a complete ass pull. But hey, at least they remembered that Clark has been a solid reporter before and maybe even that it might be a better use of his time than coaching football.

ROFL. One of the country's worst HS football coaches continues his reign of error: "you gotta work on closing that deal like you close your locker"... Coach said this like 20 seconds after Jonathan half-closed his locker and didn't re-lock the padlock.

This bit would probably be just as suited to last episode, but when Sam Lane says the kryptonite weapons were a last resort -- how was Rosetti able to use them? Actual nukes have layers and layers of protection so they can't just be fired by some rando grunt with physical access. Sloppy work, General.

Why couldn't Mr X-Ray Vision + Superhearing figure out that his own son's lungs were filling with fluid? Also, why would the synthetic kryptonite gas from last episode also be a bioweapon? Plus, radioactive atoms don't multiply like a virus does. We have to suspend a lot of disbelief for a show like this but this is way too much for no good reason.

It also strikes me that as much as Sam Lane and the US government rely on Superman to pitch in with some super-help, maybe they should have worked on remedies and antidotes for their anti-Superman weapons in case they didn't want to kill him after all.

So with all this time since Jordan had to leave before the talent show (musical revue?), did Jonathan never text or call Lana to tell her anything??

All this multi-generational parenting stuff only highlights what a shame it was they killed Martha in the pilot. It would have been great if she was here this episode, and also all the other episodes.

The Edge reveal was pretty good. Hope the Kents have John Henry Iron's cell phone, cause now would be a good time to send him a text. Also a few hours ago when they were attacked by super Smallvillians.

4 hours ago, Cthulhudrew said:

Do they not stock lunch-sized paper bags in Smallville? 😲

You wouldn't understand the good ol down home small town ways, you big city elitist! (my paraphrase of half of the pilot's dialogue)

[BeautifulFlower]

Did Clark super speed off in the diner in front of people?

[Paloma]

7 hours ago, Cthulhudrew said:

Do they not stock lunch-sized paper bags in Smallville? 😲

They're growing boys so they need bigger bags!

3 minutes ago, BeautifulFlower said:

Did Clark super speed off in the diner in front of people?

Looked that way to me, but maybe it was sufficiently high speed that it was not visible to ordinary humans.

[AnimeMania]

7 hours ago, Cthulhudrew said:

Do they not stock lunch-sized paper bags in Smallville? 😲

I wasn't sure if they were made out of paper, maybe they were made out of some reusable material. That would be on brand for a TV show. Something like these Tyvek "paper looking" lunch bags.

[FnkyChkn34]

10 hours ago, Cthulhudrew said:

Do they not stock lunch-sized paper bags in Smallville? 😲

Or is that lunch-sized, for two 14 year old boys, one who is a great athlete and the other who is Kryptonian? 🤣

[bettername2come]

2 hours ago, AnimeMania said:

I wasn't sure if they were made out of paper, maybe they were made out of some reusable material. That would be on brand for a TV show. Something like these Tyvek "paper looking" lunch bags.

I swear I saw a snap or something at the top like it was reusable.

[rmontro]

10 hours ago, AnimeMania said:

Since Jonathan is scared of his Granddad and a Granddad is part of your family, Jonathan just contradicted himself.  

I also thought it was a bit hypocritical of Jonathan to rip Grandpa for having anti-kryptonian weapons when he himself is also keeping one stashed in the barn.  I know the motivation is a little different, but still. 

[cambridgeguy]

9 minutes ago, rmontro said:

I also thought it was a bit hypocritical of Jonathan to rip Grandpa for having anti-kryptonian weapons when he himself is also keeping one stashed in the barn.  I know the motivation is a little different, but still. 

Jon probably feels comfortable taking the high ground since he didn't sanction the development of the weapon, he just "borrowed" it.  Speaking of Jon, it looked like he wasn't wearing his cast.  That's pretty quick healing from what was supposed to be a devastating broken arm.

[rmontro]

1 hour ago, cambridgeguy said:

That's pretty quick healing from what was supposed to be a devastating broken arm.

Convenient scripting or super healing?

[ukgirl71]

First of all, I’ll get the shallow out of the way.  I hope the make-up artist who applied the bruises to Tyler realised just how many people they were doing that for, taking one for a very large team 😂   Before his lungs started packing up, I got WAY too much of a laugh with Jordan’s super-snot!!
I actually get where General Lane is coming from - he’s a practical military man of long-standing - he prepares for every possible worst-case scenario.  I’m glad he and Lois reached an understanding, cos I think they’re gonna need him.
Hats off for the staging of the Mexican bank robbery, showing the elegant effortlessness of Superman in action, even when ham-strung by the effects of pseudo-Kryptonite.  And I loved the way the Lois//Edge confrontation in the boardroom was placed as well - she looked so small in her surroundings, but remained magnificently, defiantly “make a scene” Lois.

Lana needs to become a little more subtle if she doesn’t want to end up in the CAT scan machine.  I eeked the moment at the school when she was talking to Emily and I thought she’d already been “got.”

Sweet Jon, reminding Lois her lesson about them being “extraordinary humans” from last week.  And taking the murder van guns - smart boy!  I want him to see the Fortress - soon!
I LOVE shows that throw me twists I don’t see coming, and the Kyle one was one of the biggest yet.  Yes to the double-bluff with Emily/Kyle. We did get a hint when Sarah snarked that he’d had a “personality crisis”, but I genuinely did not predict that moment in the barn. It says a lot about Clark that he didn’t floor him, but just left him in a field outside of town.   I wonder does the fact that Kyle is now “infected” mean there’s a chance for the human hosts at the end of the season?  It seemed to me that Kyle’s “switch-flick” wasn’t as pronounced as with the other subjekts.

I'm glad we actually got an acknowledgement of Clark’s reporter skills - more please!  
I’m not familiar with the mythology around Superman, but I’m fascinated with who Edge actually is?  I’m assuming not a literal brother, but could he be someone who also took over John Henry Irons’ DarkSupe, to undermine the good work of the House of El on that other world, and then hitched a ride to Earth Prime?

[Snapdragon]

I mean, Edge has got to be Zod, right?  Who's somehow putting the consciousness of his soldiers stuck in the Phantom Zone into humans?  Maybe the events in Crisis allowed him to escape somehow and he's been working on this for the past 15 years?  Which would make Leslie Larrs really Faora then?  Or (as someone up thread suggested) is he actually the evil Superman from Irons's world who's putting the evil Kryptonians from his universe into this Earth's humans?  Or did that universe's Superman get bodysnatched by Zod and that's why he turned evil in the first place?  So many possibilities!

 

Edited June 9, 2021 by Snapdragon

[arc]

10 hours ago, ukgirl71 said:

Before his lungs started packing up, I got WAY too much of a laugh with Jordan’s super-snot!!

I thought it was super snot too, but it's just accidental freeze breath causing frost.

(BTW, in every other use of the power, Supes has to blow really hard. He doesn't just subtract heat out of the room like Jordan did when he was sick in his bedroom. But TBH subtracting heat is not any dumber than blowing super hard (see also SMBC for more on that).

Good for (edit, whoops) Jonathan for stealing some guns, I guess, but this also makes JHI look extra dumb now that it means he just took off in his RV without taking inventory first.

Edited June 10, 2021 by arc

[PAForrest]

3 hours ago, arc said:

Good for Jordan for stealing some guns, I guess...

Actually, it was good for JONATHAN stealing the guns. And, yeah, it doesn't make sense that JHI wouldn't check his van first before leaving, but whatever, he's gone for now. I'm guessing he'll figure it out soon enough, and that will be the reason he returns.

As for what Jon said to his grandfather ... weeeeeellll, I'm not so sure Jon is telling Sam the whole truth. I'm sure it's the truth he wants to believe, that his father and brother would never hurt himself and Lois. But that's not true as Jordan already hurt his brother, and Jon did watch Superman kill Lois on another world. I'm guessing he hasn't told anyone that yet. But Jon's superpower is his unwavering devotion to his family, so he'll always want to trust them even if on some level he knows now, like Sam Lane knows, he needs to be prepared for the worst.

I think he likely also stole the guns precisely because he feels powerless within a powered-up family, and having those weapons gives him an ability to protect his family, especially himself and Lois - like he did in this episode.

I'm surprised I'm the only one who totally expected Kyle to become a Kryptonian host - I even said it after last week's episode. I knew when they did that slo-mo thing in the beginning of the episode that it was Kyle coming in to become his "best self". It makes sense, and not just because he had little purpose before now. But the way he keeps disappointing his family makes him the perfect candidate for a quickie self-improvement program.

The only surprise I see with this turn of events is how quickly it was discovered by everyone that this is what's happening to Kyle and the others. Which I'm guessing means we're going to see a way to separate the Kryptonian parasites from their hosts at some point. Though I have no idea how Lois and Clark jumped from assuming Edge was using the x-Kryptonite to power up the Smallvillians to Invasion of the Body Snatchers in one fell swoop. It's like we're missing an episode somewhere, some crucial clues and facts we weren't privy to.

I like Sam Lane. I truly do believe he was always doing what he thought was best to protect the planet. And he's not wrong, so I'm glad he'll be sticking around.

I think when Edge called Supes "brother", he just meant he's a Kryptonian who came to earth the same time Kal-El did. Yeah, I think the safe bet at this point is that he's Zod. But obviously he could be someone else, though I doubt he's Kal-El's literal sibling.

When Chrissy called Lois and Clark about her findings with the name changes and the people who were original residents of Smallville, I honestly feared for her in that moment. I kept expecting one of Edge's people to come into the building behind her. Eeeek and whew!

Edited June 10, 2021 by PAForrest

[shapeshifter]

36 minutes ago, PAForrest said:

good for JONATHAN stealing the guns

Oy. True, but Dear Writers, maybe let's not glorify the stealing of guns and/or inspire teens to steal guns to save their family?

[rmontro]

6 hours ago, arc said:

I thought it was super snot too, but it's just accidental freeze breath causing frost.

Also known as super snot  :)

[Chris24601]

7 hours ago, Snapdragon said:

I mean, Edge has got to be Zod, right?

My guesses are either Zod, Superman from John Henry Irons' Earth, or an original character whose Kryptonian name was Mor-Gan. 😁

6 hours ago, arc said:

(BTW, in every other use of the power, Supes has to blow really hard. He doesn't just subtract heat out of the room like Jordan did when he was sick in his bedroom. But TBH subtracting heat is not any dumber than blowing super hard (see also SMBC for more on that).

Actually, I think they did a really good job explaining that. In order for a Kryptonian to be able to employ super-breath they'd need to suck in a massive volume of air. So you're compressing a massive amount of air and that air will initially heat up (because temperature is energy per volume... less volume, same energy equals more heat), but if you let it sit it will cool back down to room temperature (or body temperature in this case).

When you go in the reverse direction and expel the air though its the opposite (same energy, more volume equals way less heat; enough to turn it into a liquid... which is why pressurized liquid nitrogen canisters can be stored at room temperature; it only gets cold when its allowed to expand after leaving the pressurized canister). Hence why Superman's super-breath isn't just massive in volume, but is also super-cold.

Fun trivia from the Post-Crisis comics, this is also how Superman could operate in space. Its not that he doesn't have to breathe, its that his lungs can hold enough air that he's basically got a 30-60 minute (depending on the comic) oxygen supply compressed in his lungs.

And in Jordan's case, the issue was that his lungs were also filling up with fluid... that was freezing when he was exhaling and starting to clog up his lungs.

[moonshine71]

On 6/8/2021 at 10:13 PM, Lady Calypso said:

 

Jonathan standing up to his grandfather was fantastic. They even added a little more humanity to Sam this episode. He isn't wrong about wanting weapons against Kryptonians just in case, but his mistake was not informing Superman, seeing as he's also his son-in-law. 

 

Not sure I can agree w/ this about informing Superman about these weapons.

In the unlikely but potential catastrophic event that Superman were to go bad, I imagine you would want him to have little or no information about the existence of these weapons.

Then learning that Jonathon built himself a little stash of "solar powered" weapons that could hurt Kryptonians makes him a bit of a hypocrite.

How in the hell did he get those weapons, anyway? After he was barely rescued from the murder van, and then subsequently lambasted by Lois for going into the murder van alone, he snuck back into the murder van to get the weapons? And John Henry didn't bother to check out his van before he left and notice that a bunch of his weapons are gone?

[anamika]

1 hour ago, moonshine71 said:

Not sure I can agree w/ this about informing Superman about these weapons.

In the unlikely but potential catastrophic event that Superman were to go bad, I imagine you would want him to have little or no information about the existence of these weapons.

Then learning that Jonathon built himself a little stash of "solar powered" weapons that could hurt Kryptonians makes him a bit of a hypocrite.

How in the hell did he get those weapons, anyway? After he was barely rescued from the murder van, and then subsequently lambasted by Lois for going into the murder van alone, he snuck back into the murder van to get the weapons? And John Henry didn't bother to check out his van before he left and notice that a bunch of his weapons are gone?

I doubt Jonathan had those guns stashed away to shoot his father or brother. In those videos in the murder RV there were other Kryptonians shooting up the place as well.

The difference between Sam and Jonathan, IMO, is that Sam build those weapons to specifically hurt Superman and has been doing so for years in secret without telling Supes or lois about this. Jonathan saw a video of Kryptonians blowing up the place in an alt world and stole some weapons just in case.  Sam is scared of Superman going bad. Jonathan on the other hand seems to trust his dad - like any child would do.

Like, we can see both POVs. For Jon, Superman is his father. For Sam, he has a duty to protect the world. But we see him reconsider this episode when his grandson's life is in danger. It was different when it was just superman, but now those weapons affect Jordan as well, Sam reconsiders. Everything is different when it's family.

 

Edited June 10, 2021 by anamika

[BeautifulFlower]

2 hours ago, anamika said:

I doubt Jonathan had those guns stashed away to shoot his father or brother. In those videos in the murder RV there were other Kryptonians shooting up the place as well.

The difference between Sam and Jonathan, IMO, is that Sam build those weapons to specifically hurt Superman and has been doing so for years in secret without telling Supes or lois about this. Jonathan saw a video of Kryptonians blowing up the place in an alt world and stole some weapons just in case.  Sam is scared of Superman going bad. Jonathan on the other hand seems to trust his dad - like any child would do.

 

 

Not only that, but Lois and Clark decided to tell Jonathan and Jordan everything that has been going since they arrived in Smallville. I'm pretty sure that information included the other X-Kryptonians that have attacked them. So I agree that he didn't take those weapons because of his father and brother. If I just learned about kryptonian like beings in my town trying to kill my father and mother, I would want to stack up on weapons to defeat them too.

[Lady Calypso]

4 hours ago, moonshine71 said:

Then learning that Jonathon built himself a little stash of "solar powered" weapons that could hurt Kryptonians makes him a bit of a hypocrite.

How in the hell did he get those weapons, anyway? After he was barely rescued from the murder van, and then subsequently lambasted by Lois for going into the murder van alone, he snuck back into the murder van to get the weapons? And John Henry didn't bother to check out his van before he left and notice that a bunch of his weapons are gone?

Not necessarily. Jon said it last episode that he was the only one in the family unarmed and, thus, defenseless. Obviously, Clark and Jordan have powers to protect themselves. Lois has the experience to protect herself in a different way. Jon is the only one untrained and unable to know what to do when in danger. And, with Jon knowing everything about what his parents are fighting against currently (don't forget Jon knows about the other Kryptonians and what Edge is doing), he knows that his family might be in danger and, thus, did the only thing he knows what to do. Plus, he's a fourteen year old kid, not a sixty+ year old man. He doesn't have the same knowledge and experiences that his grandfather does. All he knows is that his family could be in danger and he wants to be a part of helping to protect them. 

As for Sam not telling Superman, true in that an Evil Superman shouldn't have that knowledge, but that goes all the way back to the point that Sam doesn't trust Superman. Thus, he doesn't trust his own son-in-law. Yes, obviously this is a business and a professional partnership with the military and Superman. But he has every right to be pissed at Sam for withholding information that would be harmful for Superman. Sam can be right and wrong, in this case. Right in the weapons aspect and being prepared. Wrong in that he has shown that he does not trust the person he's working with, so obviously that'll create some tension. Superman knew about some Kryptonite being store on the facility, but knowing that it was actually development of dangerous, untested Kryptonite weapons is a different level.

[PAForrest]

1 hour ago, Lady Calypso said:

Not necessarily. Jon said it last episode that he was the only one in the family unarmed and, thus, defenseless.

The Previously even highlighted Jon's fear of being the only one unable to protect himself. And while Lois has a certain amount of street smarts and life experience, as we saw in this episode that means squat against a couple of Kryptonian parasites. If Jon hadn't rushed them to the barn and got a shot off at Emily and Other Guy, they would have killed them both before Clark got there. They would have killed them in the house if Sam hadn't suspected something was up and thrown in Kryptonite gas grenades in the nick of time. Kyle got the drop on them because they had no reason to suspect him until they saw the laser eyes. In other words, Lois can't physically defend Jon and herself against suped up beings without some special help or fire power.

My only quibble is we don't know when Jon went back to get the weapons or why JHI didn't know they were gone. Of course, JHI could have suspected the DOD took them when he was locked up - that's actually a perfectly reasonable assumption. If that happened, JHI wasn't getting them back and he would know that. But again, as with Clark, Lois, and Chrissy suddenly jumping to the conclusion that Edge was using Smallvillians as hosts, it feels like we're missing scenes. Maybe we are and we'll see them later when extras are released.

Edited June 10, 2021 by PAForrest

[MarkHB]

On 6/9/2021 at 7:35 AM, arc said:

I legit do not remember how Lois & co came to the (correct) conclusion that Edge is stuffing Kryptonian powers and minds into Smallville people. It seems like a complete ass pull.

This.  Does anyone have an idea as to how she came up with this?  Lois didn't even see the videos from Steel's home Earth, did she?

[anamika]

1 hour ago, BeautifulFlower said:

Not only that, but Lois and Clark decided to tell Jonathan and Jordan everything that has been going since they arrived in Smallville. I'm pretty sure that information included the other X-Kryptonians that have attacked them. So I agree that he didn't take those weapons because of his father and brother. If I just learned about kryptonian like beings in my town trying to kill my father and mother, I would want to stack up on weapons to defeat them too.

You are right, Clark and Lois would have told the boys about the X-Kryptonians. One of the issues I have with this show is that so much of the sharing of information happens off screen that it's hard to recall which characters know what.  So Jordan knows all about alt Natalie and alt Lois from Jonathan I guess. Does he know about evil alt Superman? And like mentioned above, how did Lois know that Edge is replacing human consciousness with Kryptonians? Did John Henry tell her offscreen? 

[FnkyChkn34]

3 hours ago, Lady Calypso said:

Not necessarily. Jon said it last episode that he was the only one in the family unarmed and, thus, defenseless. Obviously, Clark and Jordan have powers to protect themselves. Lois has the experience to protect herself in a different way. Jon is the only one untrained and unable to know what to do when in danger. . . .

Jon also doesn't have the ELT, or whatever it's called - the direct pager to Superman.  Lois has that; she's "armed" at all times with Clark being able to defend her within nanoseconds.  Why they don't make a third (or fourth) to give to Jon is beyond me.  

[Affogato]

7 hours ago, moonshine71 said:

Not sure I can agree w/ this about informing Superman about these weapons.

In the unlikely but potential catastrophic event that Superman were to go bad, I imagine you would want him to have little or no information about the existence of these weapons.

I  kind of agree. I see why Lois would be angry, sure, but … every woman who trusts and then is abused by her husband has a father.  Etc. And we are talking about a huge potential threat to everyone in the world.

also It is literally (apparently) his job to think of these things. 
 

But that isn’t really the issue. Sam was trusted with the superman secret. He isn’t trusting them with his secrets. That makes him untrustworthy. 

[Cthulhudrew]

5 hours ago, MarkHB said:

This.  Does anyone have an idea as to how she came up with this?  Lois didn't even see the videos from Steel's home Earth, did she?

I think it was putting two ideas together: they knew that the X-Kryptonite was giving people Kryptonian powers. When Chrissy called Lois to tell her about the real names of two of the X-Kryptonians (Leslie Larr and that dead guy), they put that together with Clark's recollection that the other dead guy was saying that he wasn't himself that he felt like he was already dead, etc.

Still kind of a big leap to make, but that is the only tie I can think of that might have bridged that gap for them.

2 hours ago, FnkyChkn34 said:

Jon also doesn't have the ELT, or whatever it's called - the direct pager to Superman.  Lois has that; she's "armed" at all times with Clark being able to defend her within nanoseconds.  Why they don't make a third (or fourth) to give to Jon is beyond me.  

I thought they did give Jon and Jordan both an ELT in an earlier episode. Didn't Jordan use his when he had his ice-snot fit this episode?

[FnkyChkn34]

7 minutes ago, Cthulhudrew said:

I thought they did give Jon and Jordan both an ELT in an earlier episode. Didn't Jordan use his when he had his ice-snot fit this episode?

As far as I recall, they only gave one to Jordan.  Yes, he used it.  But I also recall in a previous episode that Jonathan had to tell Jordan to use it for something...  That was more evidence to make me think that Jon does not have his own.  

[Quark]

Enjoyable episode. Jordan is getting better.

I hope Kyle can be fixed.

[Cthulhudrew]

2 hours ago, FnkyChkn34 said:

As far as I recall, they only gave one to Jordan.  Yes, he used it.  But I also recall in a previous episode that Jonathan had to tell Jordan to use it for something...  That was more evidence to make me think that Jon does not have his own.  

That tracks. I think you are right. Yeah- they'd better get another one ready for him at this point.

[immortalfrieza]

On 6/8/2021 at 9:08 PM, bettername2come said:

I love that part of Lois's planning/building the team speech in the beginning involved calling Clark a great reporter. I mean, I know he is, but I still like to hear it.

I'd like to see it more. Clark Kent being called a great reporter isn't half as good as actually witnessing it, and let's be frank, in most media he isn't. Clark just happens to have a leg up on getting a story over everybody else because he's got superpowers he can use info on a story, and that's if he isn't part of the story and thus reporting on himself. It would be nice to see him walking around interviewing people and doing research and all the other things reporters have to actually do. Lois is the one who is actually doing this.

On 6/8/2021 at 9:13 PM, Lady Calypso said:

Lois is badass. Going to confront Edge, damn the consequences, was great.

Personally, I saw it less as badass and more like what Edge said it was: desperate. Lois storming in here and causing a scene accomplished precisely nothing and only succeeded in torpedoing her credibility by making her sound like a complete nutjob. Maybe if she had some actual arguments and evidence that people would actually listen to instead of "Morgan Edge is doing bad stuff! He's going to destroy who you are! I know it sounds crazy but you HAVE TO BELIEVE ME I TELLS YOU!"

10 hours ago, PAForrest said:

But again, as with Clark, Lois, and Chrissy suddenly jumping to the conclusion that Edge was using Smallvillians as hosts, it feels like we're missing scenes.

Clark met and fought a Kryptonian host who spoke the language before he self destructed. Then Lois and JHI saw the Kyptonian host machine not long before she was also nearly killed by another with Kryptonian powers. It's not really much of a leap at this point.

I keep thinking with each passing episode that Jonathan will either get exposed to X-Kryptonite and get powers, get turned into a host, or somesuch, even if he pulls a Jimmy Olsen and it only lasts for 2 episodes or so.

I find myself wondering if will ever see one of these implanted Kryptonians that isn't a complete psychopath.

Edited June 11, 2021 by immortalfrieza