S01.E15: Last Sons Of Krypton

[scarynikki12]

Quote

In the action-packed season finale, Superman's worst nightmare comes to life, and Lois confronts Leslie Larr.

 

 

[scarynikki12]

Wow Clark found Jordan quickly and confirmed the eradication.

I agree with Lois that she and Jon need to help Jordan. Clark can handle everything else.

Since Lane refuses to get examined I’m ready for him to die of internal bleeding.

Clark’s butt looks excellent in the suit and I thank whoever (Tom C?) made the decision for a slow-mo fighting shot.

Kyle gets a Big Damn Hero moment.

We revisit a moment from the show’s opening montage when Jordan was first diagnosed with anxiety. Lois gets to him and brings him back plus there’s a group hug with Snuggle Muffin.

Edge all you had to do was stop by the damn farm and you’d have a family. Martha would have embraced you with no hesitation and Clark would have been delighted to have a brother. So, naturally, you thought possession and world destruction was the way to go.

Yay for a cleanup montage! Nice to see Smallville coming together. Lana still doesn’t trust the mayor though and she’s totally right.

Supes going on the record with Chrissy. Smart man.

Cushing barbecue! Kyle’s reinstated and sharing his sauce recipe with Lois.

I like Lois co-owning a newspaper. Now hire Clark for some stories.

Guess Lane isn’t going to drop dead. That’s good. I suspect he’ll have a hard time not being the guy in charge but we’ll see.

Laying Jor to rest on the Kent farm is nice.

I guess Natalie made it to post-Crisis Earth Prime after all. Now things are going to get weird.

[Primal Slayer]

It was an ok finale, overall really good season...totally hated the ending though. Of course im sure they'll spend S2 explaining how Natalie got to E1 but...I didnt need this type of "happy ending". I rather they explore Natasha Irons instead of Natalie Irons...and we already had John explore his feelings with Lois and now we have to explore Natalies feelings with Lois being not her mother but a version of her mother. I knew it'd be her in the pod but I was hoping it'd be Powergirl.

[AimingforYoko]

And the Kent boys get a step-sister! Should be fun. I was wondering what the bridge into the next season was going to be.

A lot of the angst has been drained out of the kids, but they're teens, they'll come up with something. Like Jordan wants to give up the goods to Sarah. (No, that wasn't a euphemism.)

 

[bettername2come]

Aw, I'm happy. A cliffhanger that doesn't leave me worried about the characters. Lois looked like she was going to be sick when she saw Natalie.

So, Jonathan's arm is healed? Just give the boy powers.  (Not convinced he wasn't the one flying them back down after Jordan took back control.)

I knew Jordan's mental illness was going to play a role in his ability to fight through mind control. 

I do love the Cushings being great community members. I'm glad I can just plain like Kyle moving forward. 

The Cushing barbecue at the end reminded me of the ending of Falcon and Winter Soldier. 

I didn't see the Jor-El funeral coming. It was a nice touch. 

I'm really not sure I care about Natalie enough to have her stay. Like, yes, I'm glad (not surprised) that she's alive, and I would love to see some weirdo bonding between the boys and their not-sister, but I don't really know what her role can be going forward. 

[Noneofyourbusiness]

All this nonsense about "saving our people" when there's an entire city of Kryptonians in orbit.

[cambridgeguy]

Looks like Lois is going the Iris West route of (co)-owning a newspaper.  I'm sure she'll be like Iris and go with a staff that can be counted on one hand with fingers to spare.  She really shouldn't need her brownstone money, though.  The world's best investigative journalist could easily sign a lucrative book deal worth millions if she ever needs some cash.

 

[legaleagle53]

2 minutes ago, cambridgeguy said:

Looks like Lois is going the Iris West route of (co)-owning a newspaper.  I'm sure she'll be like Iris and go with a staff that can be counted on one hand with fingers to spare.  She really shouldn't need her brownstone money, though.  The world's best investigative journalist could easily sign a lucrative book deal worth millions if she ever needs some cash.

 

Imagine what she could make just from writing Superman's biography (except for the secret-identity thing)!

[thuganomics85]

Good to know that heroically saving someone from a burning building will finally get the Smallville citizens to quit treating you like a pariah, and go to your kick-ass barbecues again.  Kyle is way more forgiving than I am, because I would have least only let the ones who weren't dickbags to me get the best of the meats!  But I'm glad it worked out for them and I'm curious to see where this goes.  It looks like Kyle's got his job back, but I wonder if the shot of Lana looking at the mayor might be hinting at her running for office.

Fun finale, even if most of it was predictable.  Zeta-Ro Jordan did some damage, but the real Jordan was saved thanks to the power of family and love.  I did like that while Lois going into his mind played a huge part, it looked like Jonathan telling him he still loved him (while being almost choked to death) was the final nudge that got him to snap out of it.  It will take more than being possessed by an evil alien to come in between family!

Pleasantly surprised that none of the regulars died.  Usually Arrowverse shows like to have at least one big death in the first season to increase the stakes/bring in the drama and angst, but this show was wisely like "Nah, we're cool."

Lois buys half of the Gazette and is going to be partners with Chrissy now.  Might be interesting. 

Jordan and Sarah continue to be close, but I have to imagine he has to tell her the truth at some point, in order to make this relationship work for good.  Meanwhile, Jordan is still making eyes Tegan, so he's at least got that going for him.

Sam is retiring?

Looks like Morgan might not be done for, although I have to imagine he's back in the Krypto prison now.  Also wonder if we'll see more of Leslie Larr next season.

Cool that Tom Cavanagh got to direct this one.

Episodes ends with another ship crashing into the farm and it's.... Natalie Irons?!

All in all, pretty great first season: possibly the best one out of the Arrowverse.  The show just feels like it's already on solid footing and everything involved seems more confident compared to the norm.  I hope they keep it up and I'll be cautious optimistic for now.  Tyler Hoechlin and Elizabeth Tulloch have really proven themselves to be the perfect fit for Clark/Supes and Lois, and might be my favorite versions of the characters yet.  The rest of the cast is great too, with a special shoutout to Jordan Elsass, who has somehow made Jonathan one of my favorite characters here, which I never would have predicted.  Can't wait to see how next season turns out!

[miasth]

Smidge suspicious about this being the Natalie JHI knew.  Though it would be cruel for her not to be after everything JHI been through.  I wonder how she got to this universe and how did she find JHI? Her ship linked to his tech but this seems to be after arrival.  This also brought to mind what I been wondering since learning JHI backstory-did evil Supes cross over into this universe as well? 

This is going to be a bit awkward with Lois. I hope they do not ignore the whole different Earth different people with Natalie.

Tal stating he just wanted a family...he still doesn't see. As i said in a previous post the irony is he has a family a great one but he chucked it away.  His being all about Krypton and resurrecting it makes me suspect that even if Tal was not greeted with hostility upon landing on Earth he still would have turned out this way. 

Sarah's facial expression when she saw Supes and Lois talking made me wonder if she was starting to figure it out. 

Mamabear Lois. Loved how they circled back to Lois helping Jordan through his mental health struggles and had her pull him out if the black hole he was in now.

Lots to look forward to in Season 2. I am going to miss this show. 

Edited August 18, 2021 by miasth

[tvwatchergordis]

What an end to an amazing freshman season! By George was the finale good! I think Superman and Lois just became my favorite superhero show and favorite Superman media ever. Another episode that felt like a movie rather than just a simple tv episode. S&L knows how to up the stakes, wow. The writers just get Superman thru and thru like the rest of it's characters too.

Tyler Hoechlin outdid himself this episode, he'll forever be my favorite SM it'll be really hard for another actor to outdo him in this role.  I'll always love Christopher Reeve but yeah Tyler has surpassed him for me. Plus his chemistry with Bitsie gets better and better because man was it intense this episode. 

I had a feeling that Jon wouldn't be getting powers this episode. IMO this episode cemented that he's staying human rather than Kryptonian. There were multiple opportunities to show that he has some abilities like his brother but the show chose not to do that. Sure the writers can decide to finally make him have powers in the future but if it does happen it won't be til many seasons later(if we get way more that is) For me though he's fine the way he is. He's still a hero in his own right just like Lois. And I think that's the intention for Jon to be like his mother with his father's heart of a hero but without abilities. I also feel like the focus will be on him more next season but we'll see. an yes to him finally having a Love interest!

Speaking of Lois man was she bad ass this ep and proves why I love her so much. The way she braved Zeta-Rho's/Jordan's min to get her son back was amazing. Also her scene with Leslie Larr showed how fearless she is. 

I hated seeing Clark have to fight his own son but at least it wasn't the whole episode. The brother scene <3. Jonathan saying ILY to Jordan + Jordan immediately coming back shows how pure the brotherly love is. Nice touch having love bring Jordan back just like his father. The Kents are full of love. 

I felt bad for Tal all he wanted was a family and since he's not dead I have a feeling he'll be back in the future. Along with Leslie Larr.

Sam retired! wow! he's grown a lot.

As for the cliff...... whoa! on one hand it's great to see Natalie Irons and John deserves happiness but please don't ruin this show with an unnecessary love triangle. It's clear that Lois doesn't have any feelings for JHI other than friendship but they share the a bond now because of Nat. I have to believe that this show won't fall into stupid CW soap opera territory but at the same time it's hard to trust XD. I hope they just continue to be friends and help Natalie out when she needs it. Nothing more.

As to if Natalie is technically Lois' or not? I'm confused. Yes that Lois died way pre-crisis but since post crisis there's only one version of the multiverse/one original person I don't know. Technically there's only one Lois Lane now so does she share that daughter with John? Earth Prime's Lois was pregnant with a girl(also gonna be named Natalie) but that baby was Clark's not John's.... so that means it's not this Nat. Ugh this is so confusing I hope S2 clears it up. I want Natalie to not be genetically tied to Lois at all. Let her just be a mother figure, not her real mother somehow. 

Also this show just laughed at the face of haters who called it whitewashed. See it can be diverse. And, I hope that there's more diversity added in the future.

 I can't wait to see what Natalie brings to the table next season.

I'm gonna miss this show so much during hiatus. I hope at least we get a premiere date soon as to make the wait less. 

 

Edited August 18, 2021 by tvwatchergordis
Typos

[ukgirl71]

I am incredibly impressed that they put such fabulous CGI into this episode, when filming only finished on 1 July.  The budget put into this show is stunningly good, and well used.

The action was tightly written and beautifully played.  All the main players had their moment to shine.  The “extraordinary humans” were my MVPs again in this episode.  Never underestimate Mama Lois, and what she risked to save Jordan.  And Jon, sweet, sweet Jon, fighting for his brother in the middle of a choke-hold.  By the way, how did the boys stay upright even when Jordan had expelled Zeta-Rho?  Does that suggest Jordan’s (or even Jon’s) powers of flight are beginning to manifest themselves?

I loved the mirroring of the “Jorrrrr-dannnnnn” from both parents, not to mention the shot of Clark flying over Rome, Paris, London etc. 

Unpopular opinion it may be, but I didn’t really like the last 10 minutes - the town re-building scene, the barbecue, was just a little schmaltzy for my taste.  I am curious though, what they’re going to do with Sam now, and how often he’ll appear.  I would have liked John Henry to have made a move to helping the DOD - with Sam gone, there’ll be no one there who knows who Superman really is.  I’m not wild about Natalie’s appearance and all the angst that might trigger - I don’t like attention being taken away from the core Kents.  I could do with a strong, long-running storyline for the Cushings next season, minimal Smallville-ness, and no more Leslie or Edge (and definitely no redemption arc please).  And apologies for the negativity, but I don’t like Chrissy.

[cambridgeguy]

4 hours ago, tvwatchergordis said:

As to if Natalie is technically Lois' or not? I'm confused. Yes that Lois died way pre-crisis but since post crisis there's only one version of the multiverse/one original person I don't know. Technically there's only one Lois Lane now so does she share that daughter with John? Earth Prime's Lois was pregnant with a girl(also gonna be named Natalie) but that baby was Clark's not John's.... so that means it's not this Nat. Ugh this is so confusing I hope S2 clears it up. I want Natalie to not be genetically tied to Lois at all. Let her just be a mother figure, not her real mother somehow. 

Arrowverse characters are maddeningly inconsistent about this (see Earth-2 Laurel and Quentin) but this Natalie is not the daughter of Earth-Prime Lois, period.  You didn't see Barry calling 90's Flash or Jay Garrick dad.

[Chris24601]

11 hours ago, Noneofyourbusiness said:

All this nonsense about "saving our people" when there's an entire city of Kryptonians in orbit.

What happened on Supergirl stays on Supergirl; doubly so since it’s ending with this last batch of episodes.

The fact is the ONLY crossover all season to even put this show in the same universe as the Arrowverse was a cameo by John Diggle to deliver some tech and act disapproving of General Lane. Other than having clearly worked with Clark in the past, he could have been anyone.

I am also solidly of the opinion that this served as a strength for the season rather than a weakness. The show didn’t require ANY real knowledge of the rest of the Arrowverse. There were oblique references to Crisis and multiple Earths, but that knowledge was applied directly to the plot as a foreshadowing of what could happen here.

Frankly, if they really wanted to, they could still just declare the Diggle we saw was actually Earth-2 Diggle (very similar to Earth-1 Diggle) and say Superman & Lois actually takes place on the same Earth as Stargirl.

It almost feels like it’d be a better fit there too. The shared focus on family and legacy, similar cinematography and shorter more focused seasons, easily explains all the differences between S&L and Supergirl, retroactively explains why the ISA didn’t just conquer the world after destroying the JSA (because Superman was around... he can’t be everywhere, but he does explain why they’d stay hidden).

As to Nat showing up at the end; I’m happy for John and, given that this show has been very good about people acknowledging the doppelgängers are different people (but also that it IS weird because of the similarities) the healthiest approach for everyone would probably be to consider Nat to be Lois’ niece (i.e. her mom was basically Lois’ identical twin). That would allow them to have a relationship that acknowledges the connection but in a way that reinforces Lois is NOT her mother and is also easy to explain both among themselves and to other people (i.e. the boys can introduce Nat as their cousin and it’s even true from a certain point of view).

[Lady Calypso]

What a strong season finale. It really cemented that S&L is one of the strongest Arrowverse shows to date. I know shows like Arrow and The Flash had strong first seasons, but this one, for me, was on another level of strong. 

I loved that each main character got their moment to shine. JHI, especially, got some really nice scenes, both action-wise and character-wise. He got to help stop The Eradicator from destroying the world, almost sacrificing his life in the process before Superman saved him, and there were some really nice parallels with that from the pilot, especially when the pilot had Clark and John fighting each other, to them fighting with each other. 

Actually, they really went in on the parallels this episode. They really contrasted shots from the pilot with shots from the finale. It was a nice bookend to the first season.

I love how Lois AND Jonathan saved Jordan. From Lois going into Jordan and Zeta-Rho's mind to convince Jordan to fight, to Jonathan protecting his mother and then helping to get through to Jordan, the final piece to break Jordan through from the possession. 

The Cushings even got some nice moments, and Kyle got a hero's slow-mo walk shot! No surprise they decided to stay and I did love the barbeque scene, despite the fact that it should be, like, November and it should not be warm enough for them all to be in t-shirts and barbequing outside.

Sam retiring? That just means that there's nobody on Superman's side completely for season 2. Sam expressed early on that he was the one most actively fighting for Superman in the DOD. If it wasn't for him, Superman likely wouldn't have as much freedom as does now. So with Sam gone, now Superman has to convince an entirely new general that he's worth it and with what just happened with Edge, that's probably going to eat up a lot of Superman's time, which doesn't thrill me, but makes sense. 

And Natalie shows up! I thought they'd bring her in for the season 2 finale, but always expected her to come back as the Big Finale cliffhanger. I guess it makes sense for her to show up now, and it will give Lois such an enriching plot next season, along with John and even Jonathan, who already talked about wanting to meet her. 

Seriously, I am looking forward to season 2 and hope that even with the flaws that this season did have (as few as there were, there were still some), I hope they can make this show even better than season 1, which really ate through the big twists fast. 

[dwmarch]

Does the rest of the family know that JHI and Lois were married in JHI's universe? Because if not... awkward!

[PAForrest]

I knew Natalie would show up eventually, but honestly I began to forget about her over the last 2 or 3 episodes. And now that she's here and the actress has already been made a regular, I suspect what this really means is that Lois's maternal attention will be split between her boys and Natalie - even though she's not this Nat's mom. Given that Jordan comes first in the Kent family, I fear this means Jon will be pushed aside just a little bit more than he already was in the first season. I hope not, but I do think they're going to play up the miscarriage angle, making Lois want to be a mother to this Nat. Can't say I'd like that very much.

The Edge storyline was weak and all over the place, IMO. Edge was only moderately interesting to me when there was mystery attached to him at the beginning of the season. But as soon as we knew who he was, which happened surprisingly fast, he instantly turned into a 2-dimensional cartoon villain caricature. If he's still around next season, we'll have to see if that changes to some extent.

The paper had to be saved to give Lois a platform, so Lois becoming co-owner with Chrissy was a fine result.

Is Sam Lane still going to be around post-retirement? Yes, I predict Supes will have problems with whoever is in charge of the DOD next season.

Kyle keeps his job as fire chief in Smallville, and Lana runs for mayor? Obviously she needs a job too.

The best thing about this show for me is the casting of Tyler and Elizabeth as Clark and Lois. They really make it work, they have a lot of chemistry between them. The storytelling needs tweaking, though. And if the kids are supposed to be important players in the Kents' lives, then we need writers who have enough interest to write for both brothers. They each need strong individual roles and stories, and that just didn't happen in season one WRT Jon. I'm not convinced it's going to happen next year either.

Having read the post-finale interview with the showrunner in TV Line, I came away with the impression he never intended to give Jon powers, nor does he have a lot of interest in him as a character in his own right. I'm annoyed that I care so much about what does or does not happen with this kid, but Jordan E. has done what he could with what little he was given to make him a very charming character. I just hope someone on the writing staff steps up and does better by him next year, especially if Jon is already going to be competing with Natalie for storyline attention as one of the non-powered kids.

Edited August 18, 2021 by PAForrest

[Athena5217]

29 minutes ago, dwmarch said:

Does the rest of the family know that JHI and Lois were married in JHI's universe? Because if not... awkward!

I’m pretty sure all the Kents know this. I remember Jonathan seeing alternate Earth footage of alternate Lois and JHI together when he went into the trailer with Lois.

Edited August 18, 2021 by Athena5217
Correct typo

[DanaK]

Love this show and Clark and Lois's relationship and really enjoyed this first season. Pretty good finale

[Chicago Redshirt]

I too enjoyed the finale a lot. But as good as the episode was, it still has nits to pick....

The bad guys' efforts just didn't make much sense. In general, why not just eradicate people covertly? Why stop at just a half-dozen at a time? Why do the unnamed bad guys not actually do anything, like try to outflank Superman, use the time-honored technique of threatening civilians to draw him out or force him to surrender? Why not threaten his family again to get him to stand down and be re-eradicated? Why stop at just targeting one of Kal-El's sons for eradication when you can literally target everyone he knows?

Why doesn't Zeta-Rho just play dumb like he's not in control of Jordan if he feels he needs to lure/distract Superman? He could easily send Superman on a wild goose chase by yelling "Dad" and then flying wherever in the world a few minutes later and doing it again. Or by saying, "Edge told me his plan involved an armada of spaceshps that he has stationed near Pluto."

The good guys weren't all that much better. Again, when talking about the possibility of evil Superman, everyone was like, "Welp, we have no choice but to kill him." Whereas with Edge, Larr and their hench-Kryptonians, there doesn't seem to be a consideration at all of using lethal force, any of the weapons from 7734, etc. 

On another front, I don't mind the end result of Lois and Chrissy being partners going forward at the Smallville Gazette, but getting to this point is a little mindboggling. There's the notion that a multinational company would put down hard cash to buy out a newspaper with no apparent real estate or assets, one editor and one reporter, in a dying town. But then there's the notion that Lois would feel so attached to the place that she and Clark would sell their brownstone in Metropolis so that she could be part-owner. For comparison purposes, the net suggests a brownstone in Brooklyn averages $2 million, and a brownstone in NY proper is over $10 million. The notion that Lois would front even $500k for that business and mortgage the Kents' future (what if they want to return to Metropolis some day? Doesn't it make sense to hold on to the real estate since it will likely become more valuable?) is beyond suspension of disbelief. Also, it is not as though she couldn't just start up a website or podcast or blog dedicated to Smallville news at little to no cost. Also, her husband is Superman, who can literally turn coal into diamonds and who has a number of rich superhero and non-superhero friends. It's not like they needed to sell the brownstone to get money. 

[norcalgal]

15 hours ago, thuganomics85 said:

Good to know that heroically saving someone from a burning building will finally get the Smallville citizens to quit treating you like a pariah, and go to your kick-ass barbecues again.  Kyle is way more forgiving than I am, because I would have least only let the ones who weren't dickbags to me get the best of the meats!  But I'm glad it worked out for them and I'm curious to see where this goes.  It looks like Kyle's got his job back, but I wonder if the shot of Lana looking at the mayor might be hinting at her running for office.

Yes, I too would be more petty and unforgiving but I guess this firmly puts Kyle in the "good guy" column.

Jordan and Sarah continue to be close, but I have to imagine he has to tell her the truth at some point, in order to make this relationship work for good.  Meanwhile, Jordan is still making eyes Tegan, so he's at least got that going for him.

 

 

15 hours ago, miasth said:

Sarah's facial expression when she saw Supes and Lois talking made me wonder if she was starting to figure it out. 

The above two separate posts regarding Sarah. You'd think Sarah would start to get a clue since NO ONE answered her question about why Edge took *Jordan*.

10 hours ago, ukgirl71 said:

Unpopular opinion it may be, but I didn’t really like the last 10 minutes - the town re-building scene, the barbecue, was just a little schmaltzy for my taste.  I am curious though, what they’re going to do with Sam now, and how often he’ll appear.  I would have liked John Henry to have made a move to helping the DOD - with Sam gone, there’ll be no one there who knows who Superman really is.  I’m not wild about Natalie’s appearance and all the angst that might trigger - I don’t like attention being taken away from the core Kents.  I could do with a strong, long-running storyline for the Cushings next season, minimal Smallville-ness, and no more Leslie or Edge (and definitely no redemption arc please).  And apologies for the negativity, but I don’t like Chrissy.

 

2 hours ago, PAForrest said:

The Edge storyline was weak and all over the place, IMO. Edge was only moderately interesting to me when there was mystery attached to him at the beginning of the season. But as soon as we knew who he was, which happened surprisingly fast, he instantly turned into a 2-dimensional cartoon villain caricature. If he's still around next season, we'll have to see if that changes to some extent.

IA.

Lana runs for mayor? Obviously she needs a job too. 

Yep, I had this thought too...

The best thing about this show for me is the casting of Tyler and Elizabeth as Clark and Lois. They really make it work, they have a lot of chemistry between them. The storytelling needs tweaking, though. And if the kids are supposed to be important players in the Kents' lives, then we need writers who have enough interest to write for both brothers. They each need strong individual roles and stories, and that just didn't happen in season one WRT Jon. I'm not convinced it's going to happen next year either.

ITA!!!

Random thoughts:  I felt the season finale was meh, but appreciated that it didn't have a "person in danger" cliffhanger.

Natalie going to be on the show next season?  Let's see how it goes, but I do echo others who posted they hope this doesn't mean Jon falls even farther in the pecking order in terms of Lois's attention/affection.

HOW has Smallville not figured out Clark Kent = Superman!?  We're supposed to believe NOT ONE Smallville resident wondered where Clark was in all this drama/crisis - esp. with his SON being kidnapped by Edge?!  Yeah, ok, sure! 

Edited August 18, 2021 by norcalgal

[Chicago Redshirt]

1 hour ago, norcalgal said:

HOW has Smallville not figured out Clark Kent = Superman!?  We're supposed to believe NOT ONE Smallville resident wondered where Clark was in all this drama/crisis - esp. with his SON being kidnapped by Edge?!  Yeah, ok, sure! 

This doesn't strike me as that odd. Most people (presumably) have no idea Jordan was taken by Edge. Presumably the Cushings are the only ones outside the Inner Circle who do, and presumably they didn't tell others.

The show hasn't really shown Clark to have gotten back in the mix of things in Smallville since the episode with the Town Fair. He quit being an assistant football coach, and as far as we know his only day job currently is running the Kent farm (if that). So it may be sad, but there doesn't seem like there are a lot of people who would miss Clark at the moment, and of course in the face of the threat Edge represented, there was no real reason for anyone to think, "Hey, where's Clark?" The only particular reason I could see people looking for him in particular would be to try and get info from him about the DOD and what's really going on, same as Teagan sought info from Jonathan.

[rmontro]

3 hours ago, Chicago Redshirt said:

The good guys weren't all that much better. Again, when talking about the possibility of evil Superman, everyone was like, "Welp, we have no choice but to kill him." Whereas with Edge, Larr and their hench-Kryptonians, there doesn't seem to be a consideration at all of using lethal force, any of the weapons from 7734, etc. 

I took that to be because in Eradicator form, those weapons weren't effective against Edge.  Although how they determined that, I'm not sure.  John had to use a particular weapon to get past his defenses.

Wow, Clark really married into a weird sort of love triangle/family triangle thing, didn't he?  Oh well, if anybody can handle it, he can.  And I was hoping John would stay around, which I guess this means he will now.

The thought of evil Superman following Natalie for the other universe is scary.  But I'd prefer we move on to different storylines next season.

[Chicago Redshirt]

51 minutes ago, rmontro said:

I took that to be because in Eradicator form, those weapons weren't effective against Edge.  Although how they determined that, I'm not sure.  John had to use a particular weapon to get past his defenses.

Wow, Clark really married into a weird sort of love triangle/family triangle thing, didn't he?  Oh well, if anybody can handle it, he can.  And I was hoping John would stay around, which I guess this means he will now.

The thought of evil Superman following Natalie for the other universe is scary.  But I'd prefer we move on to different storylines next season.

They knew that Eradicator was at least resistant to Kryptonite because he was able to get out of the cell. But that doesn't mean he was immune to higher levels of Kryptonite or Kryptonite delivered in other ways.

Even assuming Eradicator was immune to all the weaponry developed thus far  Zeta-Rho and the hench-Kryptonians presumably weren't. It would have been a smart thing to have JHI and regular military members have them at the ready. The "real reason" of course is because the show wants to toe the line where good guys don't kill. 

I am worried that the expanding cast will make it hard to find balance between people's stories.

We will now presumably have to service the stories of:

The 4 Kents plus a Lane.

The 2 Irons.

The 3.5 Cushings (it's OK if Sophie doesn't really get story arcs).

Chrissy.

Juggling 10 characters who are supposed to be at the forefront, plus a Big Bad, plus any recurring characters seems a lot.

Edited August 18, 2021 by Chicago Redshirt

[MissLucas]

That was a great way to close the season. I still can't believe nobody died! I'm actually glad that Jonathan remains without powers, it makes for much more interesting story lines. But I don't trust his love interest - at all!

I expected it to be Nathalie to emerge from that pod. Bit of a rough arrival for her. Not just seeing 'mom' but seeing her side by side with Superman. John will have a lot of explaining to do.

I really enjoyed this season. And I'm so glad for Bitsie Tulloch. I remember how much cr@p she had to take from Grimm's fandom.

[rmontro]

44 minutes ago, MissLucas said:

And I'm so glad for Bitsie Tulloch. I remember how much cr@p she had to take from Grimm's fandom.

I never watched Grimm.  Why did people give her cr@p?

[Noneofyourbusiness]

12 hours ago, Chris24601 said:

The fact is the ONLY crossover all season to even put this show in the same universe as the Arrowverse was a cameo by John Diggle to deliver some tech and act disapproving of General Lane. Other than having clearly worked with Clark in the past, he could have been anyone.

And mentioning Oliver.

Kara when Diggie comes to Supergirl for his final cameo: "So how was everyone in Smallville, Diggie?"

Diggie: "Great! No one there seems to remember you exist, though. Maybe we should be worried about a memory-eating supervillain."

Edited August 19, 2021 by Noneofyourbusiness

[kickingnames]

1 hour ago, MissLucas said:

I expected it to be Nathalie to emerge from that pod. Bit of a rough arrival for her. Not just seeing 'mom' but seeing her side by side with Superman. John will have a lot of explaining to do.

But she won’t instantly recognize Clark as Superman, will she? No one else (including her father) has. Now, how long it takes before someone clues her in is another matter.

[MissLucas]

1 hour ago, rmontro said:

I never watched Grimm.  Why did people give her cr@p?

Some disliked her character but others claimed she could not act and was ruining the show - add to that that she was the lead actor's real life girlfriend (they're married now) and you get a real toxic brew.

1 hour ago, kickingnames said:

But she won’t instantly recognize Clark as Superman, will she? No one else (including her father) has. Now, how long it takes before someone clues her in is another matter.

Opps, forgot about Clark's magic disguise - my bad!

Edited August 19, 2021 by MissLucas

[akg]

2 hours ago, MissLucas said:

Bit of a rough arrival for her. Not just seeing 'mom' but seeing her side by side with Superman. John will have a lot of explaining to do.

Hopefully they hold off on the Clark = Superman reveal. Just seeing her mom married to another guy is going to be bad enough.

I've apparently gotten very attached to Nat from just the flashbacks because I was very happy to see her at the end. Especially with the bonus of keeping her dad around. 

In addition to the Lois and Nat storylines we'll be seeing next season, I hope we get some of Nat with Jon. Jon bonded a bit with her dad over the suit and weaponry which was a Nat and John thing so they have a few things in common that could bring them together (or cause some rivalry). I'd love to see them navigating a sibling/cousin relationship.

4 hours ago, Chicago Redshirt said:

(it's OK if Sophie doesn't really get story arcs).

Lana's call to her mom as they were evacuating made me so happy. I had expected the writers to continue their trend of not acknowledging the youngest Cushing so it was a surprise to see she was remembered by her family. And her being with grandma retroactively explains every other disappearance for me.

On 8/17/2021 at 11:22 PM, thuganomics85 said:

it looked like Jonathan telling him he still loved him (while being almost choked to death) was the final nudge that got him to snap out of it

I loved that too. The twins relationship has consistently been one of my favorite parts of this show and it was nice to see that highlighted here.

13 hours ago, Chris24601 said:

the healthiest approach for everyone would probably be to consider Nat to be Lois’ niece (i.e. her mom was basically Lois’ identical twin). That would allow them to have a relationship that acknowledges the connection but in a way that reinforces Lois is NOT her mother and is also easy to explain both among themselves and to other people (i.e. the boys can introduce Nat as their cousin and it’s even true from a certain point of view).

I really like this take. Technically, there isn't a relationship there but that's not how things are going to feel for any of them. 

  

On 8/17/2021 at 10:13 PM, bettername2come said:

So, Jonathan's arm is healed?

He had what looked like a cast on his arm (mostly hidden by his sleeve) in his scenes with John when they were working on the hammer so the DOD much have taken a look. I can't see Lois letting him skip an evaluation once she heard what happened.

Edited August 19, 2021 by akg

[blackwing]

Great season finale. I liked how Edge was neutralised but still around so could possibly cause issues next season.  Question, when John Henry hit Edge with Mjolnir, did that de-consciousness the rest of them permanently? Is Leslie Larr back to being Leslie Larr (or her original name)?  As long as we don’t have to see Jabba El next season.

On 8/17/2021 at 8:59 PM, scarynikki12 said:.

Clark’s butt looks excellent in the suit and I thank whoever (Tom C?) made the decision for a slow-mo fighting shot.

Is the suit indeed padded or is that actual butt of Tyler Hoechlin?  Thing has its own zip code.

6 hours ago, Chicago Redshirt said:

(it's OK if Sophie doesn't really get story arcs).

See, that’s a pet peeve of mine.  Soap operas do this all the time to explain why kids aren’t onscreen.  It gets a bit ludicrous.  I get that it’s harder to get children on set with ages and school and whatnot. But if that’s the case, just don’t have a kid that age in the first place.  Sophie adds absolutely nothing to the show and the Cushings would have the same impact on the show if Sarah were an only child.

[TV Anonymous]

On 8/17/2021 at 10:14 PM, Noneofyourbusiness said:

All this nonsense about "saving our people" when there's an entire city of Kryptonians in orbit.

And when there is another well-known Kryptonian lives in National City. But sure, perhaps that one is still in the Phantom Zone.

[tennisgurl]

That was great, if predictable, finale and a great cap to a very impressively strong debut season. It can be a bit tough to do a Superman show at this point, both because Superman is one of the most famous characters in modern popular culture and has a billion other iterations going back almost a century, and because for so many years his nice guy brand of superhero-ing was out of fashion and was being replaced by "darker" superheroes and superhero stories, but this show really found a way to give the character a new spin while staying true to his spirit, embracing the "truth, justice, and you just want me to admit I'm from America" aspects of the character while also making him feel like very much a real person. Focusing the show on Superman and Lois as they raise teenagers was a great way to find a new angle for Superman. There are superhero fights and villains and ray guns, but its all focused around the Kent family and their strong bonds with each other. This was possibly the best first season an Arrowverse show has had and while there are some things that they could maybe sort out in the future, this was just a great season of television. 

None of this would have worked at all without excellent performances by the whole cast, especially Tyler and Bitsie, who have such amazing chemistry together and are just so perfectly cast as Clark and Lois. They're marriage is so strong and feels so comfortable, it really is the glue that ties the whole show together. They are already some of my favorite versions of these characters, especially Bitsie as Lois, who has that steely grit that Lois needs along with a lot of warmth and vulnerability. Its hard to choose between Clark and Lois or Jordan and Jonathan as my favorite relationship on the show, I guess I just love the whole Kent family in general. 

I love that everyone got a big moment for the finale, especially Lois and Jonathan teaming up to save Jordan and John Henry being willing to die to finally save Earth (even if its not his) only to be saved by Clark, the man he came to this planet to kill. A lot of big feels all around, but Jonathan telling Jordan he loved him (while being strangled!) and that being the thing that finally got Jordan back was a really great moment, then them staying in the air while hugging and crying, they really have such great relationship. Jordan and Jonathan's relationship has been a real highlight throughout the season so I am really glad it got to play a big part in the finale. The ending where they gave Jor El a funeral and burried him on the Kent farm was also really nice, I am glad that him being shattered during the fight with Edge wasn't forgetting in the chaos of everything that happened and that Clark got to have that time to grieve that version of his father. 

Glad that the Cushings are back on everyone's good side after Kyle saved someone, and maybe everyone realized what dicks they had been, although I hope that some of the food at that barbeque were "I'm sorry" cookies. Although the mayor is still on Lana's shit list, understandably so, even as she has forgiven everyone else. Maybe next season she runs for office?  That might be a fun subplot for her and a way to explore Smallville more when it isn't in crisis mode. 

Surprised that Sam is retiring, I don't know how well he will take to not being the guy in charge but it will be interesting to see where it goes. I guess nothing puts things into perspective like your grandsons almost dying a million times in a few months and almost killing your possessed son in law. I wonder what this means for Superman working with the military going forward, as Sam was his main contact? 

I did end up feeling just a tiny bit sorry for Edge in the end, although his undoing ended up being of his own making. Yeah it sucks that he met with such hostility when he got to Earth and that his dad was such a massive prick, but he still made his choices. If he had just gone to Clark and told him who he was, Clark would have been thrilled and he would have gotten the family he always wanted. Didn't have to try and destroy the world with alien ghosts. 

I am really glad that we ended the season on Natalie, not anyone in danger or in jail, with all of the good guys alive (and all the bad guys except for Edge's ghost dad I guess) or even a new villain arriving to ruin everyone's victory barbeque. I figured she might come back, and I am happy for John Henry, but I am very curious as to what this dynamic is going to be now. And a bit worried about evil Superman finding a way in...but that's for next season! Cant wait!

[bethy]

2 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

Glad that the Cushings are back on everyone's good side after Kyle saved someone, and maybe everyone realized what dicks they had been, although I hope that some of the food at that barbeque were "I'm sorry" cookies.

Yes. I hope there was a whole lot of groveling done by the good townspeople of Smallville before they were invited to the cookout and that a number of them contributed humble pie to the dessert table. I hope Kyle and the rest of the Cushings enjoyed it. 

Edited August 19, 2021 by bethy

[norcalgal]

20 hours ago, MissLucas said:

Some disliked her character but others claimed she could not act and was ruining the show - add to that that she was the lead actor's real life girlfriend (they're married now) and you get a real toxic brew.

Added to that, she didn't have much chemistry with the other characters on the show. Compare that to the actress who portrayed Rosalee on Grimm, who seemed effortless in her interaction with the other characters, and most importantly, her onscreen romantic partner. 

18 hours ago, blackwing said:

See, that’s a pet peeve of mine.  Soap operas do this all the time to explain why kids aren’t onscreen.  It gets a bit ludicrous.  I get that it’s harder to get children on set with ages and school and whatnot. But if that’s the case, just don’t have a kid that age in the first place.  Sophie adds absolutely nothing to the show and the Cushings would have the same impact on the show if Sarah were an only child.

Co-signed.  Sorry to inject another show into this, but that's why I wish Daniel-san didn't have a son on Cobra Kai. The character adds zero to the show, and so far, has just been a whiny brat of a character. I'd be OK if they did a "Chuck Cunningham" on that kid.

[Noneofyourbusiness]

10 hours ago, TV Anonymous said:

And when there is another well-known Kryptonian lives in National City. But sure, perhaps that one is still in the Phantom Zone.

Well, three does not a people make.

But somehow I think Kara will finally make a cameo next season after her own show is finished.

Edited August 20, 2021 by Noneofyourbusiness

[Chicago Redshirt]

14 hours ago, Noneofyourbusiness said:

Well, three does not a people make.

But somehow I think Kara will finally make a cameo next season after her own show is finished.

I don't think that the fate of Argo City post-Crisis has been definitively explained on screen. I think Supergirl had acted like it was still there while dealing with Zor-El being in the Phantom Zone. But admittedly, I watched most of the last season and a half with not the closest attention.

If Argo City still exists, though, the whole argument of "We need to overwrite humans so Krypton can live again" rings extra hollow. There are presumably tens of thousands of Kryptonians (if not more) there, and whatever Kryptonian culture was there still exists, and going back and forth to there is simple enough. 

[akg]

58 minutes ago, Chicago Redshirt said:

If Argo City still exists, though, the whole argument of "We need to overwrite humans so Krypton can live again" rings extra hollow. There are presumably tens of thousands of Kryptonians (if not more) there, and whatever Kryptonian culture was there still exists, and going back and forth to there is simple enough. 

I can't remember the details from Supergirl. Was the existence of Argo common knowledge? Lois may have mentioned something about an article but that was before the possible time shifting of the twin's birth. It's possible Edge has no idea there are more Kryptonians who survived and Clark wouldn't have wanted to endanger them by sharing.

I know it's probably a case of the writers not wanting to go on record so they can make changes later but I really wish tptb would clarify how this show fits into the Arrowverse and how Crisis on Infinite Earth affected things (other than adding a twin and aging them up somehow). Not knowing is extremely frustrating.

[Chicago Redshirt]

22 minutes ago, akg said:

I can't remember the details from Supergirl. Was the existence of Argo common knowledge? Lois may have mentioned something about an article but that was before the possible time shifting of the twin's birth. It's possible Edge has no idea there are more Kryptonians who survived and Clark wouldn't have wanted to endanger them by sharing.

I know it's probably a case of the writers not wanting to go on record so they can make changes later but I really wish tptb would clarify how this show fits into the Arrowverse and how Crisis on Infinite Earth affected things (other than adding a twin and aging them up somehow). Not knowing is extremely frustrating.

In the pre-Crisis timeline, Clark and Lois not only knew of Argo's existence, but they had gone there during Lois's pregnancy to make sure in-utero Jonathan didn't kill her with a super-kick. (Originally, they only were expecting one child). They were on Argo when Crisis happened, and just barely escaped when Argo was hit by an anti-matter wave.

There's no particular reason for Edge to know Argo exists, but IMO, Clark should have told him. Granted, it might not have changed Edge's mine. After all, there are presumably millions if not billions of Kryptonian consciousnesses in the Eradicator, and in Edge's mind they all deserve a shot at life.

But it very well might.

In terms of Edge doing potential harm to Argo, it's under a red sun, so he wouldn't reasonably pose a threat. 

[legaleagle53]

3 hours ago, Chicago Redshirt said:

In the pre-Crisis timeline, Clark and Lois not only knew of Argo's existence, but they had gone there during Lois's pregnancy to make sure in-utero Jonathan didn't kill her with a super-kick. (Originally, they only were expecting one child). They were on Argo when Crisis happened, and just barely escaped when Argo was hit by an anti-matter wave.

And in the final episode of the crossover (or the first one after the crossover), Kara confirmed that Argo City still exists. That's why Zor-El, who is currently hanging out with Kara after they both escaped from the Phantom Zone, knows that Alura is still alive, and he'll presumably head home to be reunited with her after he's satisfied his curiosity about the sort of life that his daughter has built for herself on Earth.

[jcin617]

So can Jordan fly now?  After he evicted Zeta he was still hovering in the air for a bit before landing with Jonathan.

[ahisma]

What a great season finale! I love this show.

I knew Jordan would be called back from eradication by his twin. Best bros! 

”All I wanted was a family, Kal.” Or, you know, genocide and planetary takeover. To-ma-to, to-mah-to. 

Forget selling the brownstone, the Smallville Gazette had front-row reporting and an exclusive interview with Superman on the near destruction of the world by an alien/famous billionaire. They should have been rolling in syndication/royalty money. 

I was really glad they took the time to acknowledge that Clark lost his father. I teared up at him grieving both in the Fortress of Solitude and at the farm funeral. 

I’m so happy for John that Natalie found her way to him. I’m hoping that she and Jonathan will be nerd siblings. Excited for next season! 

On 8/18/2021 at 10:12 PM, blackwing said:

Question, when John Henry hit Edge with Mjolnir, did that de-consciousness the rest of them permanently? Is Leslie Larr back to being Leslie Larr (or her original name)?

According to previous episodes, it takes a while (six weeks?) for a Kryptonian consciousness to take over permanently. The majority of the people we saw were more recently eradicated, and their original personalities were still there. Leslie Larr was taken over longer ago, though, and is permanently Kryptonian. 

21 hours ago, jcin617 said:

So can Jordan fly now?  After he evicted Zeta he was still hovering in the air for a bit before landing with Jonathan.

Also per previous episodes, the Kryptonite-X physical powers fade more slowly than the eradicator mental side. However, Jordan is half Kryptonian by birth, so it would be interesting to see whether any of the powers stick around as natural ones “woken up” by the experience.

[legaleagle53]

17 minutes ago, ahisma said:

”All I wanted was a family, Kal.” Or, you know, genocide and planetary takeover. To-ma-to, to-mah-to. 

 

If Edge is still around next season, it will be interesting to see what becomes of him once he's had a chance to think about what Kal told him about always having had a family. Since his sole purpose (resurrecting Krypton) has been defeated once and for all, he's got to be wondering what's left for him now going forward. What kind of life is he going to be able to build once he's atoned for everything that he's done? Even the citizens of Argo City would be wary of accepting him now.

[jcin617]

18 hours ago, ahisma said:

Also per previous episodes, the Kryptonite-X physical powers fade more slowly than the eradicator mental side. However, Jordan is half Kryptonian by birth, so it would be interesting to see whether any of the powers stick around as natural ones “woken up” by the experience.

True, but I don’t recall whether Edge used X-Kryptonite on Jordan, I thought just blasted him with the Eradicator rays.

[Affogato]

On 8/19/2021 at 3:56 PM, tennisgurl said:

Surprised that Sam is retiring, I don't know how well he will take to not being the guy in charge but it will be interesting to see where it goes. I guess nothing puts things into perspective like your grandsons almost dying a million times in a few months and almost killing your possessed son in law. I wonder what this means for Superman working with the military going forward, as Sam was his main contact? 

 

I get that Sam wants to spend more time with his family but they seem to have enough on their plates without him living in the barn.  He may well be okay, but he is still a judgemental old fart who is used to getting his own way. What will they do with the character?

I think we are given to believe that the military was his life.

[Chicago Redshirt]

On 8/21/2021 at 7:04 PM, ahisma said:

Forget selling the brownstone, the Smallville Gazette had front-row reporting and an exclusive interview with Superman on the near destruction of the world by an alien/famous billionaire. They should have been rolling in syndication/royalty money. 

Brief chat on newspaper economics in the real world.

Most of a newspaper's revenue comes from ad sales. Subscriptions and single-issue sales are important factors too, but the bulk is from being able to sell display and classified ads. Part of why the print media is in crisis is because there hasn't really been a good model to adjust to social media and other venues being better ways to sell ads, as well as not yet figuring out a way to translate clicks on news stories into money.

So even if literally 20 million people went to the Smallville Gazette's website to see its exclusive interview with Superman, it doesn't mean that the Gazette is any richer. And the Daily Planet and every other media outlet gets to re-report what the Gazette said without paying the Gazette a dime. All they have to do is give it the attribution it deserves as breaking the story. 

So maybe the Gazette sold extra hard copies of the edition in which they covered what happened. Maybe they get a few extra subscribers who are impressed by what they see. And maybe they get a boost in prestige or circulation or something that they can say down the line, "Instead of paying X for ads, now you have to pay 1.3xX." or something. There's no syndication or royalty money to be had, though. 

On the flipside, despite having home field advantage and an in with Superman, the Gazette has only two reporters (even if one of them is Lois). It seems like the Daily Planet and other papers would just blanket Smallville with reporters and be able to outperform Lois and Chrissy on the story.

[Lantern7]

I missed this on Tuesday because of baseball. Great episode in the sense that most everything got tied up, AND we got a potential new family member in Nat . . . who is Lois's daughter. The Lois from the Earth where that Superman killed her and a lot of other people. That's gonna be awkward. When my cousin had a baby, I had to go online to discover that me and the kid were "first cousins, once removed." You think there's a term for a relationship between a girl and the two sons an alternate version of her mother had?

Kyle lived! And we got Smallville picking up the pieces. Sadly, Kyle's Big Damn Hero Moment wasn't followed by him shouting, "You can kiss my ass! And YOU can kiss my ass!! And YOU can kill my ass!!!! [deep breath] ALL Y'ALL CAN KISS MY ASS!!!!!" Aside from that, it's nice that his biggest concern now is her older daughter dating the Kent boy that isn't THAT into sports.

On 8/18/2021 at 3:21 PM, norcalgal said:

HOW has Smallville not figured out Clark Kent = Superman!?  We're supposed to believe NOT ONE Smallville resident wondered where Clark was in all this drama/crisis - esp. with his SON being kidnapped by Edge?!  Yeah, ok, sure! 

My headcanon thing stems from the post-"Crisis" era of DC Comics: the general public wouldn't think that Superman was posing as a human. He's Superman. Speculation on Batman's identity would be more believable. Does that make sense?

[AnimeMania]

22 hours ago, Lantern7 said:

You think there's a term for a relationship between a girl and the two sons an alternate version of her mother had?

There is, they are her step-brothers, alternate world, once removed.

[legaleagle53]

2 hours ago, AnimeMania said:

There is, they are her step-brothers, alternate world, once removed.

Correction: They're her HALF-brothers from (literally) another mother.

[Maverick]

 They really need to stop the pretense this is set in the Arrowverse.  There's no way the goings on in the show--much less the tone--mesh with Supergirl.   Clark's having to tackle multiple rogue Kryptonians and he doesn't call on Kara or J'onn?   "Do you  think people will be afraid of Kryptonias?"  "You mean will they be afraid of me."  As in me, and not my cousin who's also a well known Kryptonian.  I don't think there's any benefit of them having to work into the Supergirl history (either pre or post-Crisis) so I'm fine with them ignoring it.   I'm going to assume this is another Earth (with some similarities) until they suddenly try to link the shows up, at which point I will call bullshit.