S01.E10: Oh Mother, Where Art Thou?

[scarynikki12]

Quote

Lana reaches out to Lois and Clark when Kyle starts behaving strangely.

 

 

[scarynikki12]

So he meant brother literally. Still calling him Edge. 

Kent Family Time! Clark confirmed with everyone that they’d be ok before flying to the Fortress. Everyone talking and being supportive. I love it. 

Lois punched Kyle, hee. I guess the steel jaw happens during a later treatment.

Lana is enthralled by seeing Superman while Lois is “yeah you get used to it let’s go”.

Whoever is possessing Kyle just threatened Jon. The line to kick his ass forms to the left y’all.

Lana offering herself up as a guinea pig was badass and welcome to the show Lara. Sounds like they added voice distortion for when Lara was speaking.

I love the distinction between the Els and Jonathan and Martha for Clark. The Els are important but he didn’t know them until adulthood so they’re Mother and Father. The Kents raised him and taught him everything he knows so they’re Mom and Dad.

It’s a shame Edge isn’t having this conversation with Kara. She also knows the pain of losing a planet and could sympathize with him while not letting him kill anyone.

That image of Superman flying away from dozens of Kryptonians was something. And it’s nice for the twins to witness Dad’s heroics first hand.

[AimingforYoko]

So Kal's mother's consciousness was placed in the body of someone he dated*. Holy Oedipus Rex, Superman!

*-Unclear what "dating" meant in this canon.

Nothing's perfect, but this show is really exceeding my expectations.

[bettername2come]

The Kent family being open and honest about what they know gives me life. Loved Jonathan saying he wouldn't apologize for telling the truth. I also love and hate that he's now got an arch nemesis in whoever possessed Kyle. I'm glad Lois got to punch Possessed Kyle in the face with kryptonite. I liked the the little trio with Sarah and the twins. I like that they've given Lara more purpose here with her inventing the consciousness storing technology. I loved Clark trying to talk kindly and be reasonable with Edge. Yeah, Edge has a reason to be screwed up, but still he's a diabolical murderer, so who cares what he wants.  Seriously, Lara just abandoned her first kid? Rude. 

More and more I'm thinking Berlanti's idea for this show was "Everwood but with Superman."

It was kind of nice to have no Jordan powers this week. Guess he's saving it for next week when he's listening to the whole planet to find Dad. 

Lana's gonna remember the conversation and know Clark's Superman, isn't she?

[Primal Slayer]

This felt like a mid-season finale.

This shows's weakest episodes are still stronger than anything else in the Arrowverse at the moment though but I really do not like what they did with Lara and giving Clark a half brother who also arrived to Earth before him. We have a kid from Lara's side of the family survive, her and her husbands kid survived, and his brothers kid survive...I just...no..I don't like it. It's to much. To many twists. 

But I loved the lara/Clark scene, it was a great scene even if she was speaking through Lana. 

[thuganomics85]

So, Morgan Edge really is Superman/Kal-El's brother, huh?  Yep, apparently Lara was initially paired/married with someone else, but left him for Jor-El, which apparently was quite a scandal (I do wonder what divorce is like on Krypton?)  And then Morgan was sent to Earth first once they first realized Krypton was in trouble, but instead of landing in a nice cornfield in Kansas, he crashed somewhere in England, where the folks.... weren't too kind.  Definitely a bit on the nose, but I do like how they show once again how important it was that Clark was found by good people like Martha and Jonathan, and helped make him the man he is now.  Granted, even without that rough childhood, it still feels like Morgan just simply thinks humans are inferior no matter what, so I don't if anyone would have been able to fix that mindset or not.

Loved Lana's reaction to "Superman" and getting use to being close to someone who I imagine is quite iconic and larger than life in this universe.  But I definitely noticed her reaction to Superman calling her by her name.  I wonder if she's going to notice that the way he says it is very similar to how Clark says it...

Of course Lois would apparently just tell her dad and his army squad to hold back and let her go in first to confront Kyle, because she's got a piece of Kryptonite with her and isn't afraid to use it!

Lara taking over Lana's body to help save the day was great.  Never would have predicted Lana would end up being so awesome.

Credit to Erik Valdez for actually making me feel invested more in Kyle than I would have expected.  I hope Kyle is able to get his act together now, and be there for Lana and Sarah going forward.

Jonathan might not have superpowers still, but he apparently is a master with dropping truth bombs and getting shit done that way!  Of course, it looks like his gun skills last week might have made himself someone's mortal enemy which is... troubling.

Clark using his own power to take out the rest of the Kryptonians apparently will put him out of commission for a bit.  At first, I was wondering if this was a way to have him powerless a bit to save on the budget, but judging from next week's previews, it might be to 

Spoiler

have him passed out for a bit, so that we can get a good old flashback episode!

Show continues to be one of the highlights of this season.

[cdnalor]

15 minutes ago, Primal Slayer said:

This felt like a mid-season finale.

This shows's weakest episodes are still stronger than anything else in the Arrowverse at the moment though but I really do not like what they did with Lara and giving Clark a half brother who also arrived to Earth before him. We have a kid from Lara's side of the family survive, her and her husbands kid survived, and his brothers kid survive...I just...no..I don't like it. It's to much. To many twists. 

But I loved the lara/Clark scene, it was a great scene even if she was speaking through Lana. 

Yeah, the idea that Superman is the last survivor of a dying planet is really taking a beating what with big brother Edge landing here first and cousin Kara having been sent to babysit Kal-El so technically also senior to him.  Just too many Kryptonians popping up for my taste.

It reminds me of how Barry Allen is supposed to be the fastest man alive, except for all the other speedsters he comes across.

[Chicago Redshirt]

As always, a lot to like.

At the top of the list was Lana becoming Lara on a couple accounts. It seems to me in the whole Superman mythology, Lara has not really gotten all that much attention as an independent person who did things. Other than in Superman II, where they threw her in because they couldn't afford Brando to replay Jor-El again, Lara barely gets a mention. I'm trying to think if I ever knew her maiden name. So to make her important is pretty cool. 

My ears perked up with the mention of the Eradicator.

Spoiler

In the same comic arc that gave us John Henry Irons as "Steel," there was a replacement Superman who turned  out to be a Kryptonian device called the Eradicator which had as its purpose to preserve and restore Kryptonian heritage, so it was interesting to see the show's spin on it. 

The show always manages to do the right blend of Super-action and family warmth. But the mix of horror was good too. Alt-Kyle was pretty creepy.

As to the stuff that wasn't quite as awesome as the rest. 

I guess I lose my prediction that Edge was really Zod. Whomp wah. I sort of like that his story is the flip of Superman's. But it seems to me that there's a pretty big hole that he has been on Earth longer than Superman and a) seemingly doesn't know that Kal-El is Clark Kent b)  laid low for two decades of Clark being Superman without reaching out to his brother. 

It seems implausible that Edge managed to convert so many people without no one -- and particularly Supes -- noticing. 

It also seemed like instead of all following him, maybe some of the several dozen Kryptonians might have wanted to hang back. 

How is it that none of the possessed Smallvillians were airborne when they lost their powers and end up going splat instead of just waking up on the ground?

[madhacker]

my 2 cents:

The Eradicator? oh boy.....Clark's gonna regret saving it if they're using ideas from the comics (just google it guys, trust me it's too complicated). But if it means that Lara will be uploaded into the Fortress then I'm all for that.

Lara wants Kal to tell her about her grandsons? y'know they were within walking distance. Lois could've distracted Sarah for a few minutes and given the twins the opportunity to meet her (sorta).

You could tell this episode was written with COVID-19 writing restrictions in the fact that under normal circumstances, Clark would've called Kara in for backup. Oh hell with this threat, he'd be safe calling in everybody in the League, including the Legends.

[dwmarch]

14 minutes ago, Chicago Redshirt said:

How is it that none of the possessed Smallvillians were airborne when they lost their powers and end up going splat instead of just waking up on the ground?

Hitting the ground knocked the last bit of Kryptonian out of them?

When Lois told Lana/Lara that Supes' mom was named Martha I thought Lana/Lara was going to say "that's weird, that's my mom's name too."

I guess after the revelations of the past couple episodes Superman isn't surprised by the DoD having a mobile kryptonite tanning booth but I feel like it should bother him a bit.

I still need an explanation for why no one recognizes Superman and Clark Kent as being the same person. Lana should see Superman standing next to Lois and notice that if you put Supes in civilian clothes and put glasses on him he'd be identical to Clark Kent! They have the same voice, same hair, same mannerisms... is there some low-level hypnosis going on here?

[legaleagle53]

5 minutes ago, dwmarch said:

I still need an explanation for why no one recognizes Superman and Clark Kent as being the same person. Lana should see Superman standing next to Lois and notice that if you put Supes in civilian clothes and put glasses on him he'd be identical to Clark Kent! They have the same voice, same hair, same mannerisms... is there some low-level hypnosis going on here?

No, it's just a commonly-accepted trope that harks back to the days when people  believed that "men seldom make passes at girls who wear glasses." It's the same reason that nobody except for Cat Grant and Lex Luthor  ever did the math and figured out that Kara Danvers and Supergirl are the same woman. Just roll with it.

Edited June 16, 2021 by legaleagle53

[Cthulhudrew]

"How are we going to eliminate the threat and save all the people of Smallville?"

"I'll create a solar flare while we're all flying hundreds of feet in the Earth's atmosphere, and it will wipe out the Kryptonian engrams and depower the people!"

"... but... won't that make them all fall to the ground and go splat?"

"Admittedly, it's a plan still in progress."

[anamika]

Not a fan of the show using the usual crap 'ticking time bomb' scenario to justify torturing Krypto-Kyle. The military using torture is even worse considering the connotations.

Do the writers realize that Jonathan is only 14? He's like the most level-headed character in this show and seems to be the shoulder everyone cries on.  Let him be bratty and impulsive like Sarah and Jordan. Though after his speech to Sam about trusting family in the last episode, he's back to doubting whether his dad can go evil on this earth because of his Kryptonian family.

So Lara's sunstone crystal was stolen and that's why only Holo dad was present to help Superman. She doesn't seem to care for her first son as much as she does for Kal-el though. Still have no idea how human bodies develop powers just because Kryptonian consciousness are downloaded into them. I guess we just have to go with it.

Edited June 16, 2021 by anamika

[Cthulhudrew]

3 hours ago, bettername2come said:

Lana's gonna remember the conversation and know Clark's Superman, isn't she?

I think that Thuganomics85 nailed it:

3 hours ago, thuganomics85 said:

But I definitely noticed her reaction to Superman calling her by her name.  I wonder if she's going to notice that the way he says it is very similar to how Clark says it...

That was definitely what I was thinking during that scene.

Then again, I thought that Clark's "brother" would turn out to be the alternate universe Kal-El, so what do I know?

Just now, anamika said:

So Lara's sunstone crystal was stolen and that's why only Holo dad was present to help Superman.

For a second, I thought they were going to have her turn evil like her firstborn (so glad they didn't go that route).

It does look like her consciousness will be reunited with Zor-El, which is kind of cool. As is discovering that Zor-El isn't just a programmed recreation, but actually his real consciousness existing within the Fortress of Solitude. I wonder if the two of them will get "real" bodies again next season?

[cambridgeguy]

Does one of the show's writers hate the British?  Immediately pointing a gun at and shooting a kid seems like a bit of an overreaction. 

Did Lara actually name her gizmo the Eradicator?  That's a really weird choice for something designed to preserve memories - it'd be like naming an e-book reader the Destroyer.

[anamika]

6 hours ago, Cthulhudrew said:

For a second, I thought they were going to have her turn evil like her firstborn (so glad they didn't go that route).

I did wonder why Clarke just didn't take her to meet her first born. One of the reasons for why Edge is doing all this is to see his mother. Wouldn't Lara be more persuasive on why this is wrong than Clarke.

Plus, why didn't Edge just download her consciousness into someone in the first place - what was he waiting for. I would think his mother, that he waited so long to meet would be the first person he would bring back.

Either these are just plot holes or there's more to this story.

[Chicago Redshirt]

5 minutes ago, anamika said:

I did wonder why Clarke just didn't take her to meet her first born. One of the reasons for why Edge is doing all this is to see his mother. Wouldn't Lara be more persuasive on why this is wrong than Clarke.

Plus, why didn't Edge just download her consciousness into someone in the first place - what was he waiting for. I would think his mother, that he waited so long to meet would be the first person he would bring back.

Either these are just plot holes or there's more to this story.

The in-show reason why Lana/Lara was not taken to meet Edge and try to persuade him was because her expertise was needed to devise a way to un-body snatch people. I don't think that Edge was going to be persuaded by Lara or anyone at that point.

I was just thinking about why Edge didn't resurrect Lara as one of his first options. He clearly should have been able to, given that Our Heroes did within hours and his greater familiarity with the device.

The best fanwanking I can come up with:

1. Edge knows that the process is generally unstable and has resulted in the deaths of most who have undergone it. That may mean the loss of the Kryptonian consciousness as well. So Edge has not been willing to risk his own mother until the process is more secure. To me this theory has a problem in that the consciousness is basically a sophisticated code/program. So presumably the code could be duplicated and Lara could be downloaded into as many people as one might want with no corruption or loss to the code. The writers could establish, though, that the consciousness of people just can't be duplicated for reasons.

2.  Edge knows or suspects Lara would disapprove of his corruption of the Eradicator and doesn't want her resurrected ever, or at least until she basically is in no position to thwart his resurrection of Krypton.

[Lady Calypso]

For me, this was an interesting but also a weaker episode of the season for me. I was surprised that some of this was happening as early into the series as it did; seeing Clark's biological mother in episode 10 was not something I would have predicted; that I would have assumed to happen in the season finale. And having Kyle's Kryptonian host already be ejected from his body wasn't something I expected one episode after the reveal (though, with Krypto-Kyle's threat toward Jonathan, that is guaranteed for that Kryptonian to show up again in another body in the future).

It really wasn't a bad episode and it had a lot of great character moments. But I think I left the episode having more questions than answers, if that makes sense. Yes, add me to the confusion on how all the humans didn't just die when the Kryptonians were expelled from their bodies mid-flight.

The scenes with Lara/Clark were well done. I like that Clark just spilled everything to his mother without hesitation, despite the fact that she DID lie to him about her other family. 

Morgan Edge's backstory is....ok, I guess. I expected that he would have had a less pleasant introduction on Earth but, to be fair, he was the one who shot first as a kid so it was kind of his fault for being locked up. At least they established that he was dangerous from the moment he landed on Earth, so I don't think him landing on a nice family farm would have changed anything. He was already gearing up to blast the couple when he was shot. 

I guess Morgan has a backup plan in place. It sounds like he can re-raise his army at some point, so I'm curious to how he'll do that. 

I like how Jonathan is the voice of reason and very open to telling the truth to Sarah. I get Jordan wanting to protect her, but I also get Jonathan just wanting her to know the truth. It did seem to help a lot, so that's good. And Jonathan's scenes with Sam continue to thrive. Yes, Jonathan is only fourteen years old so it may seem a little out of his depth to be this wise, but I love it and it's been entertaining to see him stand up to his grandfather. He really does have a big heart and he's so empathic toward people. And he also has an arch enemy now! Welcome to the Superhero-Verse, Jon! 

I'm guessing the show is just conveniently forgetting about Supergirl. Ok, then. 

11 hours ago, thuganomics85 said:

Loved Lana's reaction to "Superman" and getting use to being close to someone who I imagine is quite iconic and larger than life in this universe.  But I definitely noticed her reaction to Superman calling her by her name.  I wonder if she's going to notice that the way he says it is very similar to how Clark says it...

That would be very interesting and a less common way for someone to discover a superhero's secret identity. And Lana's already been shown to be intuitive about small details, so I'd love for her to be in on the family secret, along with the rest of her family. I don't want this to be dragged out for multiple seasons, like other shows have done.

[legaleagle53]

8 hours ago, Cthulhudrew said:

It does look like her consciousness will be reunited with Zor-El, which is kind of cool. As is discovering that Zor-El isn't just a programmed recreation, but actually his real consciousness existing within the Fortress of Solitude. I wonder if the two of them will get "real" bodies again next season?

Jor-El. Zor-El is Kara's father and is married to Alura, who is currently living in Argo City, while Zor-El is currently hanging out with Kara in National City after just having been released from the Phantom Zone.

[Writing Wrongs]

I know people keep bringing up Kara, but I prefer it if the other Arrowverse shows stay away from this one.

[Unclejosh]

Plus isnt Supergirl cancelled and completed filming?

[Paloma]

4 hours ago, Lady Calypso said:

15 hours ago, thuganomics85 said:

Loved Lana's reaction to "Superman" and getting use to being close to someone who I imagine is quite iconic and larger than life in this universe.  But I definitely noticed her reaction to Superman calling her by her name.  I wonder if she's going to notice that the way he says it is very similar to how Clark says it...

That would be very interesting and a less common way for someone to discover a superhero's secret identity.

I guess I haven't been paying close enough attention, because I didn't notice anything special about how Clark/Superman says her name or about her reaction to it. Can someone clue me in on how he says it that is different enough from how other people say it to stand out?

Maybe this will be answered in a future episode, but I'm confused about Lara's invention and Edge's use of it. First, did Lara invent it for the purpose of preserving the consciousness of all Kryptonians, or only certain ones? Even if only certain ones, I can't imagine that Lara (who is supposed to be good, right?) would preserve the consciousness of power-hungry, evil people who would want to enslave or commit genocide against the people of another planet. So when Edge obtained this invention (and how did he obtain it anyway?) and started using it on people, why did all of them apparently become power-hungry, evil killers? Or was the turning evil a result of his "Executive Program" brainwashing rather than just going through the machine? 

Also, why was his assistant the only one left standing? Is it just because she had gone through the process long enough ago for the consciousness transfer to be complete, while all the others were recent enough to not be complete?

Last but not least, what happened to all the consciousnesses (I guess that's the plural) that were knocked out of the hosts? Do they still exist in some form (like a computer backup) so they can be put in other people? Are they in the glowy device that Lara/Lana was handling and that Superman was clutching when he weakly crawled to the Fortress of Solitude?

[jcin617]

Lara:  "The Eradicator was never meant to supplant host consciousnesses!" 
Me: "Then why did you name it 'The Eradicator'."

Anyway, if it just transfers consciousness, where do the super abilities come from?   Because that implies it also mucks around with a host's physiology (which clearly it does).   When they erased the Kryptonian consciousnesses from the Smallvillians, curious why they didn't just fall out of the sky and go splat.    

Also:  how did they know where to find Lara's consciousness?   I guess Edge had already found it, but hadn't downloaded it yet...?

[tennisgurl]

So Edge really is Clark's actual half brother, darn those evil relatives, always showing up when your least expecting them. This really felt like a season or midseason finale, I am surprised that they had so much happening relatively early, including stopping Edge's evil plan (or at least this one) and meeting Lara, they are really moving quickly. I think that is mostly a good thing, so many Arrowverse shows tend to move WAY too slow, dragging out plots for ages, but I I hope that they don't go too fast at the same time. Its interesting that they are using so many different parts of the Superman mythology, like Edge's plan being pretty similar to General Zod's plan from Man of Steel, the whole "Kryptonian's and their arranged marriage thing" which has popped in and out of the mythology for years depending on how Krypton was being portrayed, most recently it was a major part of the prequel show Krypton, and more than a few comics have done alternate universe stories where Clark ended up with people much less nice than the Kents, leading to a very different or darker Superman. 

This is exactly why Lois and Clark were right to tell the boys about Clark, every time parents hide these huge family secrets from their kids it always backfires, coming out at the worst possible time while shit is already going down and making everything worse, isn't that right Jor-El? Never thought to mention Clark's half brother, forgot that tiny little detail? It sucks that Edge was so badly treated when he got to Earth and was almost shot by the Anti Kents before being kidnapped by evil government types, but that doesn't even get close to justifying what he is trying to do, as Clark pointed out. Plus, it looked like kid Edge came to Earth in the first place looking to take over and was already shooting to kill as soon as he saw the couple, even before they shot at him, so even if he was found by the British Kents, I feel like he still would have ended up like this. I kept waiting for them to bring Lara to him to try and talk him down, one of his goals was seeing his mother again after all, but that never happened, maybe they're saving that for later if Lara comes back? It does suck that she apparently left behind her first born and now doesn't seem to care about him at all, but maybe she lost him in the Kryptonian custody battle? I like that we are getting more of Lara as an individual, a lot of Superman stories mostly focus on Jor-El alone and the El's as a couple, Lara doesn't get to do her own thing very much.

Glad that everyone was saved, although Edge seems pretty confident in his next plan. It was awesome of Lana to volunteer to host Lara to help save the day, hopefully this brings the Cushings together again, they have been through a whole lot. 

Good news Jon, you now have arch nemesis, making you an official Arrowverse hero! Bad news, there's a deranged murderous Kryptonian spirit out there that still wants to kill you. 

A lot of good effects this week, especially the big shot of the possessed people all flying at Clark as he superheroes the spirits out of them. Luckily they all had invisible parachutes when they lost the ability to fly. 

I don't need Kara to actually show up on the show, but I would like at least a mention with all of this Krypton stuff happening. They could just throw in a line about how they tried to call her but couldn't reach her, as she spent most of her last season arc out of reach in the Phantom Zone. 

Edited June 17, 2021 by tennisgurl

[Chris24601]

2 hours ago, Writing Wrongs said:

I know people keep bringing up Kara, but I prefer it if the other Arrowverse shows stay away from this one.

I feel generally the same, but I’d make an exception for Star-Girl and a reveal that Superman & Lois is actually taking place on Earth 2. His initial costume is right out of the Golden Age, putting it in line with the original JSA’s looks and both have similar higher production values which would make a crossover feel less jarring between them. It would also explain various casting and history changes without needing “Crisis” as the excuse.

In the comics, Superman didn’t actually join the Society or League until many years later, but said he’d come if they ever needed help... which could be used to explain his absence when the ISA attacked (they never got the call out), but also why the ISA wasn’t just able to take over once the JSA was out of the way because Superman was still around and, as seen here, REALLY REALLY GOOD at what he does.

Also of note, even though it’s now part of the Earth Prime continuity; the adventures of “Mr. & Mrs. Superman” were a longstanding staple of the Pre-Crisis Earth-2 where Superman and Lois had been married for many many years before it happened on Earth-1/Prime.

Finally, both series have a similar focus on family and legacy which make them a stronger match where they explore similar issues from different viewpoints.

So, yeah, I think they should scrap the plans to put this show on Earth 1, especially with Supergirl and Black Lightning ending and Flash and Legends both being long in the tooth.

With those factors in play I think it just makes more sense I’d think to put Superman & Lois into the same universe as the show that’s only a year older than it and let those grow their own group of linked series.

Edited June 16, 2021 by Chris24601

[ukgirl71]

I don’t know why, but I’m kinda gutted that Edge is actually Superman’s (half)brother.  I suppose, not being familiar with any comic book lore, it’s a bit out of left-field for me.     
My admiration for Lana has grown - she really stepped up to the plate, and I’m glad she was (mostly) brought up to speed with the Smallville craziness.  I want her to find out about Clark before the end of the season - if not her, then Sarah.   I had a huge grin on my face when Jon told her what was going on, and when Jon called Sam out again.
I was puzzled why they didn’t voice-modulate Lana a bit more obviously though when she was housing Lara.  And now I’m curious to see if Lara gets a “physical” consciousness in the Fortress, and who plays her.  The AV Kryptonian parents have all been known (for me, at least) actors.  What interests me even more is who was inhabiting Kyle - please make it Zod, or a worthy villain at least, given the threat to Jon, and the fact that Krypton-Kyle is completely bat-crazy.  I could see that playing out in the finale in some way.  It wasn’t just a throwaway threat.
Tyler did a beautiful job in his conversation with Lara - tender and gentle.  Though I’d love to know why she doesn’t seem to give a monkey’s about her elder son.
Overall, not one of my favourite episodes, but still a good study in nature versus nurture, and the dynamics of families.
 

[PAForrest]

9 hours ago, Lady Calypso said:

For me, this was an interesting but also a weaker episode of the season for me. I was surprised that some of this was happening as early into the series as it did; seeing Clark's biological mother in episode 10 was not something I would have predicted; that I would have assumed to happen in the season finale. And having Kyle's Kryptonian host already be ejected from his body wasn't something I expected one episode after the reveal (though, with Krypto-Kyle's threat toward Jonathan, that is guaranteed for that Kryptonian to show up again in another body in the future).

It really wasn't a bad episode and it had a lot of great character moments. But I think I left the episode having more questions than answers, if that makes sense. Yes, add me to the confusion on how all the humans didn't just die when the Kryptonians were expelled from their bodies mid-flight.

Yeah, all those humans should have burst on impact like watermelons, plummeting from space like they did. I guess somehow Clark was able to insure they all got to the ground safely and we just didn't see it? Or we're not supposed to put that much thought into it. I'm assuming the writer would like us to go with the last one.

I've gotta say I really didn't think they'd make Edge Supe's real bro. It feels off, mytharc-wise, that mom just happened to have another family, then abandoned her first kid who also just happened to get shipped to Earth before Kal-El? I think Zod breaking out from the Phantom Zone would have made a lot more sense.

It sucks that Edge had a rougher go of it than Clark did, but being greeted by a bunch of gun-toting Brits doesn't quite compute. Now if he'd landed in some place like Texas, it'd be much easier to buy.

I agree things feel like they're moving very fast - which isn't really a bad thing. It's better than dragging everything out with secrets and lies like they usually do on CW shows - like they did on Smallville. Were they not convinced they'd get another season or something? I guess we wait and see what else Edge and LL have up their sleeves. Apparently LL is the one Smallvillian who completed the transformation, that's why she wasn't ejected.

Is Kyle's parasite really going to set his sights on a 14 year old boy as his #1 Nemesis? Wow, Jon just hit the big time.  Though I'm not entirely unconvinced yet that someone - maybe same said parasite - isn't going to take over Jon eventually. Unless this guy was just posturing - and this episode did spend a lot of time with people standing around being expositional. But for now it feels like this one Kryptonian has plans for Jonathan.

Is Lana going to remember any of Lara's conversation with Superman? I have to assume some of it is going to bleed through eventually. It certainly was ballsy of Lana to offer herself up as host.

The episode was a little clunky, but the storyline shifted forward with literally everyone in Smallville now being on the same page with all the alien haps going on around them.

[norcalgal]

3 hours ago, ukgirl71 said:

Overall, not one of my favourite episodes, but still a good study in nature versus nurture, and the dynamics of families.

THIS!  I'm almost at the point of despairing over all the mythology (Eradicator - and how exactly does it work!?  Half brother?).  I don't watch any Arrowverse shows besides this one (if it's even part of the Arrowverse), nor have I read Superman comics. I hope all the mythology won't get too convoluted/confusing.

[legaleagle53]

7 hours ago, Unclejosh said:

Plus isnt Supergirl cancelled and completed filming?

I'm not sure about having completed filming but it has NOT been canceled. The decision to make the current season the last one came from the showrunners, not the network. And it wouldn't matter if it were canceled in any event, because crossovers with at least Kara and Alex are always possible.

[Chris24601]

1 hour ago, PAForrest said:

Yeah, all those humans should have burst on impact like watermelons, plummeting from space like they did. I guess somehow Clark was able to insure they all got to the ground safely and we just didn't see it? Or we're not supposed to put that much thought into it. I'm assuming the writer would like us to go with the last one.

While Lara was possessing Lana she mentioned that after the Kryptonian consciousness was removed the powers would begin to fade; i.e. it wasn't a lightswitch on the powers, just the Kryptonian consciousnesses.

Basically the energy wave hit, the consciousnesses were wiped away and the people dropped out of the sky, but would have still had the invulnerability for a few minutes (or maybe longer); long enough to not splatter on impact.

[Cthulhudrew]

11 hours ago, legaleagle53 said:

Jor-El. Zor-El is Kara's father and is married to Alura, who is currently living in Argo City, while Zor-El is currently hanging out with Kara in National City after just having been released from the Phantom Zone.

D'oh!!! I knew that. 😔

[bethy]

Poor Clark. He was rightly upset to find out he had a hitherto unknown brother. The little family confab before Clark headed to the Fortress of Solitude was awesome. I loved that they had the camera on Tyler's foot at the start of the scene and he was shaking it/bouncing it. What a great way to show how unsettled Clark was. Plus Lois and Jordan and Jon all giving him little nods to tell them they'd be fine if he went to find out what was going on was super sweet. Kent Family feels for the win!

Edited June 17, 2021 by bethy

[Snapdragon]

This is the first episode of this series that I didn't like.  I don't mind tv series coming up with their own original characters outside the comics  (shout out to Harley Quinn) but randomly giving Superman a half-brother is too much for me.  Also, did Superman's mom just abandon her older son?  Because, wow, that makes her an awful person and because of that, the scene with her and Superman was just kinda gross since she seemed to give no craps about talking with her other son.   

Count me in with those who expected the Kryptonian possessed humans to go "splat" when they hit the ground.  They should have thrown in a line about having just enough of their residual powers to get them to land safely or something.  

[BeautifulFlower]

I'm seeing confused on why Leslie wasn't affected by the solar flare thing. Rewatching the scene, was she with the other Kryptonians? It didn't look like it to me. Plus, at the end, she was surprised to find out it was only Edge left. If she was with the group, she wouldn't be surprised.

[bettername2come]

8 minutes ago, BeautifulFlower said:

I'm seeing confused on why Leslie wasn't affected by the solar flare thing. Rewatching the scene, was she with the other Kryptonians? It didn't look like it to me. Plus, at the end, she was surprised to find out it was only Edge left. If she was with the group, she wouldn't be surprised.

I think the idea is that it's not reversible after a certain period, but she had hers months ago. There was definitely a time crunch. 

[Chicago Redshirt]

21 minutes ago, BeautifulFlower said:

I'm seeing confused on why Leslie wasn't affected by the solar flare thing. Rewatching the scene, was she with the other Kryptonians? It didn't look like it to me. Plus, at the end, she was surprised to find out it was only Edge left. If she was with the group, she wouldn't be surprised.

I don't think Leslie was with the pack of Kryptonians. If memory serves, Edge yelled at her and sent her off to do some Random Task.

42 minutes ago, Snapdragon said:

This is the first episode of this series that I didn't like.  I don't mind tv series coming up with their own original characters outside the comics  (shout out to Harley Quinn) but randomly giving Superman a half-brother is too much for me.  Also, did Superman's mom just abandon her older son?  Because, wow, that makes her an awful person and because of that, the scene with her and Superman was just kinda gross since she seemed to give no craps about talking with her other son.   

Count me in with those who expected the Kryptonian possessed humans to go "splat" when they hit the ground.  They should have thrown in a line about having just enough of their residual powers to get them to land safely or something.  

We have yet to hear much about this series' version of Krypton, but in a lot of modern interpretations, Kryptonians often don't reproduce the old-fashioned way but through genetic engineering. So reading a little into Lara's explanation, she and Edge's dad were meant to have an arranged marriage based on genetics, baby Edge was cooked up in a lab, but then Lara broke things off to be with Jor-El and pissed off Papa Edge. Papa Edge went ahead and created Edge and stole Lara's special crystal doodad. So if that is the case, it would explain why Lara has no maternal feelings for Edge and why Edge didn't particularly care to resurrect Lara.

2 hours ago, PAForrest said:

I've gotta say I really didn't think they'd make Edge Supe's real bro. It feels off, mytharc-wise, that mom just happened to have another family, then abandoned her first kid who also just happened to get shipped to Earth before Kal-El? I think Zod breaking out from the Phantom Zone would have made a lot more sense.

...

I agree things feel like they're moving very fast - which isn't really a bad thing. It's better than dragging everything out with secrets and lies like they usually do on CW shows - like they did on Smallville. Were they not convinced they'd get another season or something? I guess we wait and see what else Edge and LL have up their sleeves. Apparently LL is the one Smallvillian who completed the transformation, that's why she wasn't ejected.

Is Kyle's parasite really going to set his sights on a 14 year old boy as his #1 Nemesis? Wow, Jon just hit the big time.  Though I'm not entirely unconvinced yet that someone - maybe same said parasite - isn't going to take over Jon eventually. Unless this guy was just posturing - and this episode did spend a lot of time with people standing around being expositional. But for now it feels like this one Kryptonian has plans for Jonathan.

I hope they adopt my explanation above for why Lara didn't really have a connection with Edge and vice versa.

I suppose there is counting chickens before they are hatched, but in a world where the lowest rated Black Lightning got 4 seasons, Supergirl got 6, Arrow got 8, Flash has 7 and counting, and Batwoman got a second season despite losing the original lead and is renewed for a third, I'm fairly confident that the showrunners would be confident that unless they did something crazy, they would make it to two. 

I don't remember seeing Leslie anywhere in the vicinity of the rest of the K-mob.

I am sure Kyle's parasite could have multitasked and used his super-powers to kiss Edge's butt AND kill Jonathan AND do other stuff simultaneously.

6 hours ago, ukgirl71 said:

 What interests me even more is who was inhabiting Kyle - please make it Zod, or a worthy villain at least, given the threat to Jon, and the fact that Krypton-Kyle is completely bat-crazy.  I could see that playing out in the finale in some way.  It wasn’t just a throwaway threat.
Tyler did a beautiful job in his conversation with Lara - tender and gentle.  Though I’d love to know why she doesn’t seem to give a monkey’s about her elder son.
 

I'd hope Zod would have better things to do than to play second fiddle to Edge. Also, the classic Zod IMO would be too aloof and above things to bother with the pettiness of vowing vengeance against a 14-year-old human. I am fine with him just being unnamed Kryptonian or a new creation. I am operating under the assumption that he and everyone else is cured, although I'm sure the writers could come up with some reason why his Kryptonian consciousness/powers remained on some level where the majority did not. (For instance, that he was being bathed in Kryptonite at the time somehow limiting the effects of Lara's reversal energy.)

I do think it is possible that Lara does know and love Edge, but I think my theory of him being created with no involvement with Laura other than prior donation of her genetic material would explain it. 

8 hours ago, jcin617 said:

Lara:  "The Eradicator was never meant to supplant host consciousnesses!" 
Me: "Then why did you name it 'The Eradicator'."

Anyway, if it just transfers consciousness, where do the super abilities come from?   Because that implies it also mucks around with a host's physiology (which clearly it does).   When they erased the Kryptonian consciousnesses from the Smallvillians, curious why they didn't just fall out of the sky and go splat.    

Also:  how did they know where to find Lara's consciousness?   I guess Edge had already found it, but hadn't downloaded it yet...?

I was under the impression that the device had the Eradicator component that was combined with the MRI like component, and the first part installed the consciousness and the MRI thing gave powers.

I assume there was a directory of Kryptonian consciousnesses to choose from.

9 hours ago, Paloma said:

I guess I haven't been paying close enough attention, because I didn't notice anything special about how Clark/Superman says her name or about her reaction to it. Can someone clue me in on how he says it that is different enough from how other people say it to stand out?

Maybe this will be answered in a future episode, but I'm confused about Lara's invention and Edge's use of it. First, did Lara invent it for the purpose of preserving the consciousness of all Kryptonians, or only certain ones? Even if only certain ones, I can't imagine that Lara (who is supposed to be good, right?) would preserve the consciousness of power-hungry, evil people who would want to enslave or commit genocide against the people of another planet. So when Edge obtained this invention (and how did he obtain it anyway?) and started using it on people, why did all of them apparently become power-hungry, evil killers? Or was the turning evil a result of his "Executive Program" brainwashing rather than just going through the machine? 

Also, why was his assistant the only one left standing? Is it just because she had gone through the process long enough ago for the consciousness transfer to be complete, while all the others were recent enough to not be complete?

Last but not least, what happened to all the consciousnesses (I guess that's the plural) that were knocked out of the hosts? Do they still exist in some form (like a computer backup) so they can be put in other people? Are they in the glowy device that Lara/Lana was handling and that Superman was clutching when he weakly crawled to the Fortress of Solitude?

I think the fact that Superman knew Lana's first name when he would have no reason to and used it is arguably significant. Superman has rarely been to Smallville (as far as Lana knows) and would have little reason to know who the heck she is. Again, it may be leaning on other incarnations of the character, in specific the Chris Reeve version. But the way I would think of Superman is that he would be formal and polite. If he even had been told by Lois or someone with the Army that "this is Lana Lang and she's volunteering to host your mother" he would refer to her as "Ms. Lang." or "ma'am."

I'd imagine that Lara created the device to preserve consciousness, but she only was able to get X number of people stored before Krypton blew up. I also imagine that Edge either is selecting the people he thinks would be inherently most down with the "Replace all humans with Kryptonians" program, or is altering the consciousness of Kryptonians who might otherwise be peaceful into people who are brainwashed to do his bidding. It seems like it would be easy to buy into the notion "We're doing people a favor by letting them become a higher form of life and we'll be able to make this place a paradise."

It could be that Leslie had already been vested as a Kryptonian. Lara did say there was a point of no return. But it also seemed to me that Lara was not part of the posse trying to kill Clark and was off doing something else.

Again, speculation, but I am operating under the assumption that the Eradicator overwrites people's brains and the Kryptonian consciousnesses never get "downloaded" into the host body. So hypothetically one could make a million Laras if they had the XKryptonite to do so, rather than just one Lara and then having to move on to some other Kryptonian.

[Paloma]

7 hours ago, Chicago Redshirt said:

So reading a little into Lara's explanation, she and Edge's dad were meant to have an arranged marriage based on genetics, baby Edge was cooked up in a lab, but then Lara broke things off to be with Jor-El and pissed off Papa Edge. Papa Edge went ahead and created Edge and stole Lara's special crystal doodad. So if that is the case, it would explain why Lara has no maternal feelings for Edge and why Edge didn't particularly care to resurrect Lara.

Not quoting your whole post here, but thanks for your helpful answers. I particularly like your explanation for why Lara would not have maternal feelings for Edge--maybe she did not even know that baby Edge was created. (When she was talking to Superman, she talked about leaving her husband for Jor-El, but I don't remember whether she mentioned also leaving a child.) And if baby Edge was created in a lab without Lara's knowledge, Papa Edge probably told his son that his mother abandoned him (for a little extra revenge against Lara), thus further fueling Morgan Edge's anger against Superman.

7 hours ago, Chicago Redshirt said:

I assume there was a directory of Kryptonian consciousnesses to choose from.

I love the idea of a directory, but would whoever was making the directory know the psychological makeup of the Kryptonians included in it? I can see the directory including basic biographical information (name, birthyear, parents' names, occupation), but it seems unlikely that it would also include information such as "angry narcissist" or "high potential for evil." So even though I like this scenario: 

 

7 hours ago, Chicago Redshirt said:

I also imagine that Edge either is selecting the people he thinks would be inherently most down with the "Replace all humans with Kryptonians" program

 it seems unlikely that he would know which people would be down with this, unless the directory included criminals. But why would Lara and any presumably well-intentioned Kryptonians working with her want to preserve the consciousness of criminals? So I think your second scenario is more likely, that Morgan

7 hours ago, Chicago Redshirt said:

is altering the consciousness of Kryptonians who might otherwise be peaceful into people who are brainwashed to do his bidding.

 

[legaleagle53]

Jonathan Kent definitely takes after his mother. It's why he has no fear and why he was twice able to tell his Grandpa Lane off and get away with it.

And speaking of mothers, it's a shame that Lara's spirit couldn't have stuck around. When she spoke with Kal, I could see that she does feel genuine love for him and pride in what he's become. As she said, he's fulfilled every dream and wish that she's ever had for him, and it must have given her a real sense of closure to know that he's happy and has a stable family relationship of his own. I especially loved the way she lit up at the mention of her grandsons and wanted to know all about them. Perhaps someday the boys will get to meet Grandma Lara and see where their father gets so much of his compassion and empathy from.

[blackwing]

I enjoyed this episode and I'm glad there was some way to get Kyle and Emily back.  I hope Kyle becomes a better husband and father after realising what he almost lost permanently.  And I'd like to see more of Emily.

I guess Tag is still at the DoD jail and he wasn't created by Edge so he is still powered?  Maybe he comes back in a future episode.  Now I'm wondering how/why others can gain powers if all it takes is for Frodo to explode something.

I like the fact that Edge will be a full fledged superpowered villain.  But I'm tired of Leslie Larr and her stupid haircut and her smugness.

 

On 6/15/2021 at 9:14 PM, bettername2come said:

Lana's gonna remember the conversation and know Clark's Superman, isn't she?

When Kyle was possessed he said he blacked out and thus I don't think he remembers anything that "he" did as Kryptonian Kyle-El, so I don't think Lana will remember either.  However, the fact that next to Lois, Lana is the one person that should know everything about Clark, the fact that she can't recognise him as Superman is a bit unbelievable.  His voice is pretty much the same, isn't it?  His looks are pretty much the same.  I get that it's the Superman mythos that makes Clark unrecognisable as Superman, but still.

 

On 6/15/2021 at 10:13 PM, Chicago Redshirt said:

How is it that none of the possessed Smallvillians were airborne when they lost their powers and end up going splat instead of just waking up on the ground?

I am wondering the same.  They were flying in the air at top speed chasing Superman when the thing went boom like an EMP bomb.  Kyle was affected immediately, these people should have been affected immediately and lost their powers mid-air.  They should have all immediately dropped to the ground.  I guess the residual power enabled them to safely land, and collapse on the ground?  Uh uh.

12 hours ago, legaleagle53 said:

I'm not sure about [Supergirl] having completed filming but it has NOT been canceled. The decision to make the current season the last one came from the showrunners, not the network. And it wouldn't matter if it were canceled in any event, because crossovers with at least Kara and Alex are always possible.

Whether it was cancelled by the network or cancelled/ended by the producers, it's just semantics to me.  The show is done, therefore to me, it's cancelled and not coming back.  I suppose they could have the actress guest on the show, but do the Arrowverse shows do that post-cancellation?  I don't follow the rest of the shows but have any of the "Arrow" characters guested on other shows since "Arrow" was cancelled.

[legaleagle53]

11 minutes ago, blackwing said:

Whether it was cancelled by the network or cancelled/ended by the producers, it's just semantics to me.  The show is done, therefore to me, it's cancelled and not coming back.  I suppose they could have the actress guest on the show, but do the Arrowverse shows do that post-cancellation?  I don't follow the rest of the shows but have any of the "Arrow" characters guested on other shows since "Arrow" was cancelled.

John Diggle just did an episode of Batwoman, and

Spoiler

he's scheduled to pop up on most of the other Arrowverse shows as well, including this one. Its the closest we're going to get to a crossover arc this year.

 

Edited June 17, 2021 by legaleagle53

[Unclejosh]

15 hours ago, legaleagle53 said:

I'm not sure about having completed filming but it has NOT been canceled. The decision to make the current season the last one came from the showrunners, not the network. And it wouldn't matter if it were canceled in any event, because crossovers with at least Kara and Alex are always possible.

Regardless of semantics, the show is done.  It doesn't make sense to constantly reference characters on other shows if they are not airing in my opinion.  The only reason to do so is if you are positive of a potential appearance as some point and with the show no longer in production, that seems highly unlikely although I concede it is possible.  Personally I would prefer to just keep Supergirl in her own off-screen world.  If they do a crossover at some point, references should be kept to the characters that are in active shows and will appear and any others should be kept to a minimum or not referenced at all.

Again this is just my opinion.  For me I hate when references to other show characters are made when they won't be on the show. There is no point and just makes viewers ask questions the show cannot answer.

[Chicago Redshirt]

9 minutes ago, Unclejosh said:

Regardless of semantics, the show is done.  It doesn't make sense to constantly reference characters on other shows if they are not airing in my opinion.  The only reason to do so is if you are positive of a potential appearance as some point and with the show no longer in production, that seems highly unlikely although I concede it is possible.  Personally I would prefer to just keep Supergirl in her own off-screen world.  If they do a crossover at some point, references should be kept to the characters that are in active shows and will appear and any others should be kept to a minimum or not referenced at all.

Again this is just my opinion.  For me I hate when references to other show characters are made when they won't be on the show. There is no point and just makes viewers ask questions the show cannot answer.

Fair enough. But the flipside is that even without the possibility of the actual characters appearing, it leaves a hole in the minds of other viewers who know that Superman has living relatives when those relatives never get so much as mentioned when it would seem natural to do so.

When talking about raising a super and a normal sibling, bringing up Alex and Kara would be natural, as would asking them for advice.

When Clark loses his mother, Kara would presumably show up to the funeral or at least someone would explain why she can't.

When Clark learns of new Kryptonite weapons developed by the government, it might be nice to give Kara a heads-up.

When Clark learns of someone creating bodysnatched Kryptonians, that's probably info he might want Kara to have.

The way TPTB seem to be handling things is to act as though the other Arrowverse shows don't exist. And that is in many ways a fine decision because it is easy to onramp people who don't know or care about Supergirl or the rest of it. But the trouble with creating a shared universe with its heroes is that you create an expectation that the characters will act as though they are in that universe and will call on each other. 

[Quark]

It was an ok episode, with a lot of holes. The main one being, as members have already said, why everyone didn't go splat when they hit the ground after Clark set off his solar flare.

Considering his ex-girlfriend became his Mother, I feel that the scenes between Clark and Lana should have been played with more weirdness. Emmanuelle Chriqui did a great job playing Lara, but I think Tyler Hoechlin could have been better. Although I did find Lara's line about wanting to know more about her grandkids bizarre considering the stakes. Maybe that's a Kryptonian thing though.

I don't really see the point in making Morgan Edge, Clark's literal brother. It adds nothing to the story. I don't get the sense that Edge being Kal-el's brother has added any more stakes to the situation. He's still a guy that wants Krypton to rise again and Clark wants to stop him. That's it.

[Chicago Redshirt]

7 hours ago, Quark said:

It was an ok episode, with a lot of holes. The main one being, as members have already said, why everyone didn't go splat when they hit the ground after Clark set off his solar flare.

Considering his ex-girlfriend became his Mother, I feel that the scenes between Clark and Lana should have been played with more weirdness. Emmanuelle Chriqui did a great job playing Lara, but I think Tyler Hoechlin could have been better. Although I did find Lara's line about wanting to know more about her grandkids bizarre considering the stakes. Maybe that's a Kryptonian thing though.

I don't really see the point in making Morgan Edge, Clark's literal brother. It adds nothing to the story. I don't get the sense that Edge being Kal-el's brother has added any more stakes to the situation. He's still a guy that wants Krypton to rise again and Clark wants to stop him. That's it.

It is kind of weird that Lara (or at least, this version of her) seemingly is sweet, sensitive and nurturing, while AI Jor-El seems to so far be an abrasive and indifferent douche. It definitely had me going, "Him?" (as in the running Arrested Development gag)

Now that could be just a programming flaw on either the part of Lara/Jor-El, or maybe Lara loves her some douches. 

As for making Edge Clark's literal half-brother, I suppose there's something to be said for it being a temptation for Clark and perhaps for Edge too.

Yes, unrelated Edge could try to tempt Clark to go pro-Kryptonian. But I would say there is a layer of tension/lure for Clark that it is his flesh-and-blood asking for him to join, and there's a layer of hope/blinders to Edge that maybe Clark would be part of the Kryptonian revolution rather than an obstacle because of them being half-brothers.

We obviously know that because he's Superman, Clark is not going to be tempted for even a second by this, but still... 

Like would the Star Wars OT have the same resonance if Darth Vader, Luke, Obi-Wan and Leia didn't have the relationships they did? If Darth was just an opportunistic guy who sensed Luke was powerful enough to help him overthrow the Emperor, and Luke sensed some good in Darth for no particular reason? If Leia just happened to be Force-sensitive and a friend rather than a sister?

Edited June 18, 2021 by Chicago Redshirt

[Chicago Redshirt]

11 hours ago, Paloma said:

Not quoting your whole post here, but thanks for your helpful answers. I particularly like your explanation for why Lara would not have maternal feelings for Edge--maybe she did not even know that baby Edge was created. (When she was talking to Superman, she talked about leaving her husband for Jor-El, but I don't remember whether she mentioned also leaving a child.) And if baby Edge was created in a lab without Lara's knowledge, Papa Edge probably told his son that his mother abandoned him (for a little extra revenge against Lara), thus further fueling Morgan Edge's anger against Superman.

I love the idea of a directory, but would whoever was making the directory know the psychological makeup of the Kryptonians included in it? I can see the directory including basic biographical information (name, birthyear, parents' names, occupation), but it seems unlikely that it would also include information such as "angry narcissist" or "high potential for evil." So even though I like this scenario: 

 

 it seems unlikely that he would know which people would be down with this, unless the directory included criminals. But why would Lara and any presumably well-intentioned Kryptonians working with her want to preserve the consciousness of criminals? So I think your second scenario is more likely, that Morgan

 

Again, just spitballing, but I wouldn't be surprised if there was enough info for people to make educated guesses about how people might turn out. By way of analogy, if there was a database with info on people from various regions from Earth, someone might select people of various nationalities/races/genders if they felt that would serve their agendas and maybe that would be adequate on average.

Then again, maybe a lot more is in the post-download brainwashing. 

[arc]

In retrospect it is kind of super bogus that Lara developed the braindump technology but only the holographic Jor-El is installed at the Fortress. ... Ah, this is addressed later in the episode -- her crystal was stolen back on Krypton. Makes a little sense, though I still think highly advanced societies should have better backup plans. Windows 10 (or 7? 8?) introduced automatic background hard drive defragmenting so we would no longer have to do it manually. Some day we'll have automatic data backups, and hopefully not that far off. It's crazy someone could just steal Lara's mind crystal.

By the way, did Lara learn English before she got uploaded?? And … when was she uploaded? Based on her comments to Clark, it was after they sent Clark off in the baby-sized spaceship. Which in most version of the story, happens literally as Krypton is exploding. But that leaves an incredibly small window of time for her ex to have stolen the crystal.

It is also pretty bogus that this super advanced technology is essentially air-gapped from the rest of Earth, such that Superman has to fly to the Fortress to talk to his Kryptonian dad('s AI duplicate). Imagine if they could just put holoGramps on speakerphone or Facetime from Smallville.

"I'll find them." Wait, Edge didn't put a lojack on his one-of-one Eradicator?????? He didn't even set up an alarm? Would it have been that hard to put up, say, an ultrasonic alarm if his incredibly crucial device gets stolen?

The "solar flare" power

Spoiler

is a relatively new power that first debuted in the comics only a few years ago. There's way too much to get into about New 52, but yeah, it's only like six years old.

On 6/16/2021 at 1:27 PM, Paloma said:

I guess I haven't been paying close enough attention, because I didn't notice anything special about how Clark/Superman says her name or about her reaction to it. Can someone clue me in on how he says it that is different enough from how other people say it to stand out?

It's not that he says it that differently (hah, shades of Megamind's "Metrocity") but that Lana noticeably reacted when he said it.

On 6/16/2021 at 1:27 PM, Paloma said:

Last but not least, what happened to all the consciousnesses (I guess that's the plural) that were knocked out of the hosts? Do they still exist in some form (like a computer backup) so they can be put in other people? Are they in the glowy device that Lara/Lana was handling and that Superman was clutching when he weakly crawled to the Fortress of Solitude?

Lara said the consciousnesses would remain in the Eradicator, which is a welcome change from Hollywood writing normally thinking that copying a file is necessarily the same as moving it and thus deleting it from the original location.

On 6/16/2021 at 1:42 PM, jcin617 said:

Lara:  "The Eradicator was never meant to supplant host consciousnesses!" 
Me: "Then why did you name it 'The Eradicator'."

I agree that the name is plenty dumb, but

Spoiler

if I understand the comics wiki right, it was originally invented by xenophobic Kryptonians (actually a long ago ancestor of Kal-El) to 'eradicate' foreign influences and preserve Krypton. Doesn't really explain in-universe why this version, invented by a peaceful and not-xenophobic Lara Lor-Van, would be named that.

 

[Affogato]

13 hours ago, Quark said:

 

I don't really see the point in making Morgan Edge, Clark's literal brother. It adds nothing to the story. I don't get the sense that Edge being Kal-el's brother has added any more stakes to the situation. He's still a guy that wants Krypton to rise again and Clark wants to stop him. That's it.

It contrasts the family structure of Krypton with that of Earth . It points out how good Jonathan and Martha were compared to the people who greeted Edge. It is a way to add backstory. 
 

maybe future plotlines too. 

[Nialla]

I still have a niggle in my brain about why there's nary a mention of Kara in this series. An army of pseudo-Kryptonians, with an actual one in charge and related to Clark? Let's call in his cousin, who also remembers Krypton, yet is not trying to kill all humans.

I know the real world limitations behind the lack, but sometimes I think it would be better if we learned that this is a different world than Kara's.

Does anyone else think it's strange that no one in Smallville has noted the frequent DOD presence at the Kent farm? Or that the rest of the military folk with Gen. Lane haven't done the math and figured out he's Superman's father-in-law?

I really hope Lana does that math. After her willingness to risk her life to save the world, I think she's earned the right to know. I'd like her to figure it out on her own, but not quite believe it until she starts watching more closely. Very possible memories from her time as a host will bleed through.

Lara was not in a love match, and she said her ex stole her stone, so even if she had a role early in her elder son's life, it's very possible her ex tainted the well. Could Morgan now have the stone in his version of the Fortress of Solitude? Maybe his AI version of his father and his mother are all for his plans.

Edge appeared on Supergirl, so are we supposed to think he was always Kryptonian, or just write it off as a Crisis thing? And this origin story is so holy it's practically a religion. The first guy who saw him as a child was ready to shoot him on site, the rest of the locals were hunting him down, then somehow managed to lock him up for a time? How? Dude is full Kryptonian and could have easily gotten away.

How long has he been on earth, and how did he manage to keep his hatred of humanity in check to survive and become a rich businessman? It honestly would have made more sense to have it be a Kryptonian who took Edge as a host because he was rich and could do what he wanted.

I'm still not 100% sure that was the real story, or at least not the full version.

[scarynikki12]

It's all real world limitations. If this were meant to be a different world then Superman and Lois wouldn't have been in the final episode of Crisis. Since they were we know they're part of the same world as the other Arrowverse shows (aside from Stargirl which originally was on DC Universe like Titans and Doom Patrol). In the Before Times all the shows would know the basics of each other's filming schedules and airdates so that they coordinate crossovers but Covid restrictions alone made that impossible for this season, then things like shutting down filming due to quarantines add to that difficulty, and Melissa's maternity leave which was going on when both S&L and Supergirl started filming so she literally was not available even if they could have worked it out. So a lot of different things going on behind the scenes. I'd love to have seen Kara show up and offer Edge a different POV with the same basic history but it wasn't feasible due to real life so I'm ok with it.

Edge really being a Kryptonian I'm chalking up to Crisis. As far as Supergirl's Edge, if he was supposed to be Kryptonian pre-Crisis he was probably working on his download plan and didn't want to reveal himself until it was ready like he did with Superman. I think he'd welcome Kara to the team if he could turn her evil but he focused on Kal first because they're family.

[Chicago Redshirt]

2 hours ago, Nialla said:

I still have a niggle in my brain about why there's nary a mention of Kara in this series. An army of pseudo-Kryptonians, with an actual one in charge and related to Clark? Let's call in his cousin, who also remembers Krypton, yet is not trying to kill all humans.

I know the real world limitations behind the lack, but sometimes I think it would be better if we learned that this is a different world than Kara's.

Does anyone else think it's strange that no one in Smallville has noted the frequent DOD presence at the Kent farm? Or that the rest of the military folk with Gen. Lane haven't done the math and figured out he's Superman's father-in-law?

I really hope Lana does that math. After her willingness to risk her life to save the world, I think she's earned the right to know. I'd like her to figure it out on her own, but not quite believe it until she starts watching more closely. Very possible memories from her time as a host will bleed through.

Lara was not in a love match, and she said her ex stole her stone, so even if she had a role early in her elder son's life, it's very possible her ex tainted the well. Could Morgan now have the stone in his version of the Fortress of Solitude? Maybe his AI version of his father and his mother are all for his plans.

Edge appeared on Supergirl, so are we supposed to think he was always Kryptonian, or just write it off as a Crisis thing? And this origin story is so holy it's practically a religion. The first guy who saw him as a child was ready to shoot him on site, the rest of the locals were hunting him down, then somehow managed to lock him up for a time? How? Dude is full Kryptonian and could have easily gotten away.

How long has he been on earth, and how did he manage to keep his hatred of humanity in check to survive and become a rich businessman? It honestly would have made more sense to have it be a Kryptonian who took Edge as a host because he was rich and could do what he wanted.

I'm still not 100% sure that was the real story, or at least not the full version.

The real world limitations (Supergirl's actress being pregnant and the pandemic primary among them) could easily have been worked around if they wanted to. Just an off-handed line "Remind me to tell you about the time Cousin Kara went to her prom and her sister had to babysit her," or a text/e-mail from Kara and mission accomplished. TPTB want to go their own way, which I can kind of respect, but find kind of frustrating. 

I don't know if the Kent farm is close enough to its neighbors for the average Smallville resident to know about the DOD having set up shop there a number of times. The average military guy probably figures Lois is close to Superman, and is a target that needs to be protected both because of that and being Gen. Lane's daughter. It would be a stretch to think that Superman is really Sam's son-in-law. 

I assume we are to think that this Morgan Edge has nothing to do with the Morgan Edge played by Adrian Pasdar in Supergirl. 

If we are to believe Morgan's flashbacks, he arrived on Earth before Clark did and was captured as a teen. How the British held him is somewhat of a mystery, but maybe they lucked into having Kryptonite or something handy? Also, different Superman mythologies display development of powers differently. Like in the Silver Age Clark was essentially fully powered as a teen and even as a baby. In the 80s, the continuity was that he was basically normal until he got into his teens and then started developing his abilities. So it could be that on first arrival, Morgan had only begun being super and could be taken down.

I would imagine that someone with superhearing, speed and X-ray vision could pretty easily make a fortune in business without breaking a sweat or revealing himself. And that's even excluding using the full array of superpowers to mine precious metals, extort people, threaten competitors, etc.   

The part that would be hard to explain IMO is why Edge did not act sooner. He has (presumably) had knowledge of Kal-El for some time, with Superman having canonically been in operation for two decades. Similarly, he presumably has had the Eradicator for some time as well.