S02.E02: The Ties That Bind

[scarynikki12]

Quote

Clark opens up to Lois about his ongoing struggle with visions and admits that there is only one person who might be able to help.

 

 

[scarynikki12]

Lois is guilt/hostess cooking and it looks excellent.

Natalie has Jon's room. Does this mean he's sharing with Jordan and setting up some twin shenanigans? Please and thank you.

Maybe Clark's just losing his hearing and this is his body's way of letting him know? (I know he's not and it's presumably related to the season's Big Bad)

The mayor totally peed in the coffeepot didn't he? That's why he was there when Lana and Kyle arrived.

Sarah and Natalie are becoming friends and I'd like to see them work on the car together too.

I wouldn't be surprised if they go the predictable route and have Sarah fall for someone else while at camp but I'd like to see her make a new friend who recently got out of an abusive relationship and that story freak her out enough that she's pulling away from Jordan rather than express her feelings. Yep, she kissed a girl named Aubrey (or was it Audrey?). Adults certainly take issue when their partner kisses someone else so it does matter outside of camp. 

I want Chrissy to be the first of the Smallville set to learn about Clark. That would give us some meaty journalism ethics stuff. It will probably be Lana or someone else but I can hope.

No surprise Clark goes to see Edge about his visions.

As always love seeing Lois in reporter mode.

The mayor totally arranged for Hart to get that job didn't he? Oh, well, it gets us to Lana running for mayor.

The bad guy at the airport is Bane? Not really but that's who he reminded me of. The new military guy (Anderson? I'm calling him AnderBo) totally set this up to make his team look good by taking down NotBane and saving Superman.

AnderBo is really condescending. I hope he gets powers so Clark can safely punch him.

"I like Dad's Fortress better." Hee, well done Jordan. And I see you, Clark, giving him the Side-eye Of Amusement.

Hey Lara's back! And she explains the Kryptonian procreation process to Jordan and the audience.

I'm really enjoying Jordan snarking at Edge. In addition to Twin Time and Lois and Clark having adult conversations I'd like the show to include a few minutes of Jordan snarking at Edge every episode. 

No shock that Edge still has powers. Give him a power dampening hazmat style suit next time y'all.

Lucy was in a cult? Go get that guy's ass Lois! 

Yay, Kyle's telling Lana to run for mayor! And she's already filling out the paperwork! Team Cushing y'all!

Uncle Jerkface, hee. I'm telling you we need Jordan (and Jon) vs Edge on a regular basis.

Geologist Lady is a baddie. Not a shock. Wonder who she was talking to though.

[bettername2come]

I felt very happy to see Tal-Rho again, and my first thought was that a) he must be behaving himself or b) Clark is making sure his brother gets better treatment, since Tal Rho had a small library, fancy chair and red light instead of kryptonite. AAAND apparently that was 'cause he was running the long con. 

Aw, Tag's back and seems to be doing well. And doesn't seem mad at Superman anymore. Yay! I'm greatly amused that they have Kryptonian doctors on the DOD payroll, mostly because I don't know how you specialize in that. 

I like how Jordan has his dad's back. I really like that he explained how he compared the visions to his panic attacks and related, and especially his honesty about  how things were weird with Sarah. I also enjoyed the very teenage dig of "I like Dad's fortress better." Ooh, they're going with the "geneticially engineered Kryptonians except Kal-El" angle. Not sure if that's a common comic thing, but it's when they did in Man of Steel. Okay, Clark, saying Jor-El was proud of both boys seems like a great exaggeration, especially since he never said a WORD in-series about the one not named after him. Clark versus Tal-Rho and Jordan versus Tal-Rho was awesome. I love how Jordan stood up and protected his dad and came back stronger this time, but I really loved Clark coming back and screaming "Don't you ever touch him!" Protective Dad-mode Clark is a thing of beauty.

The boys and Natalie were good together. And it's nice to see Natalie and Sarah becoming friends. Please don't turn it into a love triangle. I think

C'mon, Lana Lang Cushing for mayor! I love that they both planned it at the same time on their own.

[cambridgeguy]

Curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal Edge! 

I really, really hope they're not going for a Jordan/Natalie/Sarah love triangle.  You know Jordan's going to be thinking it every time he sees the two of them being chummy.

Well, I guess when he remade the multiverse Oliver ended up making things much worse for Lucy.  The Supergirl version would never have been allowed to hold her position with a background as a cult member even with Sam there.

[thuganomics85]

Jordan usually doesn't bring the laughs for me, but his "I like Dad's Fortress better" remark definitely had me cackling a bit.  Certainly helped by Clark's sincere smile and Tal-Rho's "You little shit!" reaction.  He took that personally!

So, Holo Kal-El might be no longer with us, but it looks like Clark will still have a Krypto parent around in the form of Holo Lara, played by Mariana Klaveno (who I know best as Lorena from True Blood.)  But it sounds like she was uploaded/created before she knew everything that went down, so I'm curious to see how that might effect things.  Plus, since she is coming from Tal-Rho's Fortress, I can't help but wonder if he has something else under his sleeve here.

Kind of cool seeing Tag again as part of Anderson's new squad, but even though the gang came through for Superman at the end, I can't help but think this will still end up backfiring on everyone.

Figured Sarah's caginess last week was due to some kind of romance during her time at camp, but I guess the big twist was that it wasn't with another boy, but a girl instead, which could open the possibilities for other love interests.  Like Natalie, who she is already bonding with.  Hop we don't go down the love triangle route, but I suspect it will happen, so I will just try and enjoy what I imagine will be the best part of it: Jonathan watching it all go down and rolling his eyes from afar.  Kid better get supportive brother suit back on, quickly!

Knew Lana was going to eventually just run for mayor herself, but I love that both she and Kyle had the same thought and were already preparing for it.  Aww!  Kyle has definitely had an impressive turnaround here.

Continue to like the Lois/Irons stuff and showing how complicated the relationship is, but don't hint at the possibility that anything other than friendship is happening here.

Looks like Lois has made the enemy of some kind of cult leader and her sister, Lucy, was a victim of the cult.  I guess this is a way to bring her into the fold.

Poor one out to the miner who basically sacrificed himself to prevent whatever that creature was from escaping the mind.  That's the kind of selflessness that would make Superman proud!  But the geologist is clearly working for someone unsavory.  Hmm...

[dwmarch]

2 hours ago, scarynikki12 said:

Lucy was in a cult? Go get that guy's ass Lois! 

I can't help but wonder if this is a really deep cut Smallville reference as one of the actresses from that show was also involved in a cult.

1 hour ago, cambridgeguy said:

Curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal Edge!

No kidding, right?! Superman seriously needs to brush up on this kind of stuff. When does "let me out of jail, I'm totally harmless, I swear!" ever lead to anything good?

2 minutes ago, thuganomics85 said:

Figured Sarah's caginess last week was due to some kind of romance during her time at camp, but I guess the big twist was that it wasn't with another boy, but a girl instead, which could open the possibilities for other love interests.

I know they won't go this route but it would be hilarious if Jordan ended up having two girlfriends who were also into each other at the same time. Lois walks in on them getting frisky someday and says "You know Jordan, I'm supposed to give you a lecture right now but honestly I'm too impressed."

Alternately Sarah could have been lying about the other girl in the hopes that it would be something Jordan wouldn't be able to stay mad at her about (because seriously, come on dude!) but the real secret she's keeping is that she has somehow picked up some weird Kryptonian powers. That would be a nice twist away from the usual teen angst.

[Lantern7]

Looks like the plots are coming in hard and heavy this season. Lana running for Mayor, Natalie finding a friend in Sarah, Clark having to deal with his "brother" and meeting his biogical mother, and more traumatic flashes for Clark relating to something that even I know will be happening. Unless I'm wrong . . . which happens a lot.

Lara is just the best. Sure, she's just a hologram, but she likes her boys. You can just imagine her gushing about how handsome Jordan is, then quietly asking Clark if Jordan is handsome for Earth's standards.

The secret that Sarah was keeping was . .  she kissed a girl. That's . . . disappointing. Almost makes me hope it's a lie. And you can see Jordan trying to make the connections in his head.

7 minutes ago, dwmarch said:

I know they won't go this route but it would be hilarious if Jordan ended up having two girlfriends who were also into each other at the same time. Lois walks in on them getting frisky someday and says "You know Jordan, I'm supposed to give you a lecture right now but honestly I'm too impressed."

Were you thinking about Natalie? Lois would not be impressed. Lois would immediately shove Jordan in the basement (do they have one on the farm?), shackle him with Kryptonite chains, and visit him twice a day to feed him. Also, Natalie is kinda/sorta related to him. Half-sibling from another universe . . . there's probably several hundred pieces of fanfic based on the mere thought of Jordaalie.

Jordan subplot that doesn't involve getting sweaty while running to second base: the improved guy is probably on something beyond steroids. I'm thinking X-Kryptonite is to L&C what meteor rocks were to Smallville. It doesn't help Jon that the coach is really into the guy. Some coach. He probably had to get several pairs of pants after wetting them while watching Jordan last year.

2 hours ago, cambridgeguy said:

Well, I guess when he remade the multiverse Oliver ended up making things much worse for Lucy.  The Supergirl version would never have been allowed to hold her position with a background as a cult member even with Sam there.

She wasn't on- . . . oh, shit, she was on Supergirl. Is there any way to tie the cult stuff into what we've seen about her already, or do we just mutter "Crisis" and flip the Etch-a-Sketch over?

16 minutes ago, dwmarch said:

I can't help but wonder if this is a really deep cut Smallville reference as one of the actresses from that show was also involved in a cult.

Uggggggghhh. Please don't remind me. Chloe was my favorite character on Smallville, and then Allison Mack just goes and taints that.

[Chicago Redshirt]

41 minutes ago, dwmarch said:

I can't help but wonder if this is a really deep cut Smallville reference as one of the actresses from that show was also involved in a cult.

I thought it was fairly blatant. The name of the cult leader is "Ally Allston" and the actress from Smallville involved with the cult is Allison Mack. No one and nothing could ever get me to buy that this was just random coincidence, and that it escaped the notice of the writing staff, the director, the network suits and the legal team. 

Anyway, I liked how things are revving up in general with this episode. Semi-random thoughts:

I'm so used to so many incarnations of Lois who either basically have lots of flaws or are just boringly one-note perfect. I've been watching Lois & Clark lately, and one of the things about her was that she couldn't cook. (not until she was possessed by the ghost of a chef, but I digress). It's interesting that this Lois continues to have depth and width and height. But if you are going to make a special breakfast, maybe chat up her dad and find out some basics, like that she's vegan.

I would have liked that no matter how much juice Sam might have had that someone at the DOD would have put the kibosh on Clark taking out Tal-Rho without some additional oversight. Especially since there's an entire team at their disposal and it seems like at least some of them have no problem travelling as fast a Superman does (or at least, getting to disasters as quick as he does). Especially against the backdrop of Anderson being like "if when I say jump, you're not going to say say 'how high' then we don't want you around." But even putting that obviously they should be worried that Tal-Rho still has the potential for powers and that he's dangerous, and the notion that he could overpower Clark, it seems like the military should be worried about the possibility that Clark and Tal might be in cahoots or that Tal even without powers might find a way to brainwash Clark again. 

I wish Clark would take a page from Batman's book and have contingency plans within contingency plans. I would have stood up and cheered if when Tal-Rho was like, "I was lying all along!" Clark was like, "You really thought I trusted you, brother? Eat a red sun grenade" or whatever. 

It is kind of off-brand for Clark to be like, "Nope, I don't see any good in you. At all." I mean, pretty much everyone this side of Darkseid probably has some good to them. But maybe that's something sweet about this version of Clark. 

I find it hard to believe that Tal-Rho never booted up Holo-Lara before. I also find it hard to believe that the scheming machiavellian Tal we were seeing all last season is apparently a whimpering mama's boy underneath it all, and so jealous of Clark for being Lara's true-born son who was apparently made the old-fashioned way rather than in an artificial incubator.

Kudos to the person who believed that Sarah kissed a girl and she liked it. Is it me, or is the notion of "I kissed someone else" being such a devastating thing to stir up drama sort of outdated? Like on both sides? Taking Sarah at her word, it wasn't that big a deal and it just "happened," so why all the freezing out and awkwardness? Or are we supposed to think that she's downplaying what it was? And I was hoping that we would be saying goodbye to Emo Jordan, but it looks like he's back with a vengeance. 

In the last two episodes, Natalie has had like two or three hairstyle changes. All I want is for Jordan to have just one. Please, PTB, hook a brother up

I guess I can't complain too much about Lana Cushing for Mayor other than they could have sped the arc up by just....having her decide she wants to run for mayor. I like that they are lightening Kyle up and his line about his potentially being the first First Dude of Smallville si a good example. 

I know that they wanted to contrast Jonathan's weightlifting with his teammate's supposed super-steroid use, but that dumbbell he was working out with seemed pathetic. Also, it seems clear that despite what the show might be trying to suggest, Teammate could not possibly be in competition with Jordan. We know Jordan is a QB, QB2. Teammate is clearly built like a lineman of some kind. 

I hope they give John Henry more to do than to work with Lois and support his daughter. 

[cambridgeguy]

5 hours ago, Chicago Redshirt said:

I know that they wanted to contrast Jonathan's weightlifting with his teammate's supposed super-steroid use, but that dumbbell he was working out with seemed pathetic. Also, it seems clear that despite what the show might be trying to suggest, Teammate could not possibly be in competition with Jordan. We know Jordan is a QB, QB2. Teammate is clearly built like a lineman of some kind. 

I was thinking if that's all he can comfortably lift then he has no business being a QB right now - just how far can you throw a football if a ten pound dumbbell is all you can manage?  Just don't turn this into a Jon starts roiding because he's tired of being stuck on the bench story line.

[scarynikki12]

7 hours ago, Chicago Redshirt said:

Is it me, or is the notion of "I kissed someone else" being such a devastating thing to stir up drama sort of outdated? Like on both sides? Taking Sarah at her word, it wasn't that big a deal and it just "happened," so why all the freezing out and awkwardness? Or are we supposed to think that she's downplaying what it was?

I think Sarah was downplaying her own reaction to the kiss and the girl but I also have no problem buying that it was a big deal. For teenage couples who aren't having sex a kiss is a huge deal. Even couples who are sexually active will see a kiss as a betrayal rather than something to shrug off. Jordan clearly sees the kiss as Sarah cheating on him and, even if she truly doesn't think it was a big deal, she knew he'd see it that way hence her behavior since returning. 

[Chicago Redshirt]

2 hours ago, cambridgeguy said:

I was thinking if that's all he can comfortably lift then he has no business being a QB right now - just how far can you throw a football if a ten pound dumbbell is all you can manage?  Just don't turn this into a Jon starts roiding because he's tired of being stuck on the bench story line.

God, or a "Jon starts xk-ing because he's jealous of Jordan and Clark having superpowers" storyline...do not want.

Apropos of nothing, we have gone two episodes without scenes of either twin drinking alcohol or trying to drink alcohol.  

19 minutes ago, scarynikki12 said:

I think Sarah was downplaying her own reaction to the kiss and the girl but I also have no problem buying that it was a big deal. For teenage couples who aren't having sex a kiss is a huge deal. Even couples who are sexually active will see a kiss as a betrayal rather than something to shrug off. Jordan clearly sees the kiss as Sarah cheating on him and, even if she truly doesn't think it was a big deal, she knew he'd see it that way hence her behavior since returning. 

Let me rephrase -- I obviously understand and appreciate no one would want to hear that their first love kissed someone else in general, and there would be specific issues (or perhaps lack of them in some regards) because it was a same-sex kiss. And in this case, Jordan has particular reason to feel threatened/insecure/etc since he kissed Sarah when she was going steady with someone else, and lo and behold a few months later she broke up with that someone else and started dating him. 

But at the end of the day, a kiss is just a kiss. Should it have effectively been enough for Jordan to plead to go with Clark because Sarah's betrayal made him feel worthless otherwise? 

[Lady Calypso]

So, it looks like they're trying to go the redemption route with Tal-Rho. Which...could work with this show's batch of writers, but it's still a wait and see game. As long as they take their time and don't handwave his actions, I could end up buying it. I did predict that Tal was lying to Clark about his powers, so it's good that Jordan came along. He did end up landing some punches (both physically and verbally) and helped a little bit. But Tal having Holo-Lara at his disposal the whole time? I guess it's more contrivance since there's no more Holo-Parents around, so why not bring in Holo-Lara for both brothers?

I am surprised Sam managed to help get Tal out of their confinement temporarily. You'd think that they would have had more pushback, even with Sam. And Anderson is clearly up to no good and it's gonna be bothersome when his plan with his own Super Team fails for whatever reason and Superman has to clean that mess up. 

So, Lana is running for Mayor. Finally, at least they're making her realize it NOW. It was a plot I kind of expected from the start, so I'm glad they're going with it. And Kyle being such a supportive husband; he's come a long way since the pilot. 

So, Sarah's big secret is that she kissed a girl at camp and that's why she was acting distant with Jordan. He does have a right to be upset, but it's a reminder of how him and Sarah started in the first place so...

I am glad Natalie made a friend in Sarah. Now, let's just hope it doesn't turn into a love triangle. I hate love triangles. 

It seems like Jonathan might be uncovering some secrets of his own with the football team. I'm guessing the kid who suddenly got stronger didn't just naturally get stronger. So I hope Jonathan's plot is NOT about him joining in on that, but about him uncovering and exposing the people involved. I would not hate for him to take after his parents' investigative skills and it's much more favourable than him taking drugs to get stronger, especially if it turns into a jealousy/envy storyline with his brother. Unfortunately, I fear the worst for this. I'm hoping for the best, since season 1 surprised me, but with them already on the road to breaking up Jordan/Sarah, the teens' storylines seem to be heading toward a more predictable route.

 

[ukgirl71]

Where the heck were they keeping Tal - the Rockies?  And why did his cell remind me of Michael Sheen’s in Prodigal Son?

Sarah seemed to light up more at the sight of Aubrey’s messages than she ever did round Jordan.  I too hope we’re not going trope-y and that Natalie becomes friend rather than lover to her.  Their brief scenes together were the first to make me like Nat. I also wonder how they’re going to keep Sarah prominent in the story if there isn’t a romantic link to Jordan.

I’m thoroughly intrigued by Dr Faulkner, who sent her to Smallville and how they (or if they knew beforehand) that Doomsday was down there.

Child that I am, I still get a laugh with how Clark’s departures floof up Lois’ hair 🤪

Blimey, Clark was getting battered around like Loki vs Hulk!  I’m glad Tag was able to return the favour in looking out for him.

Nice to see Clark’s subtle glance of pride at Jordan’s back-chat to Uncle Morgan.  Protective Jordan made me go all marshmallow.  Adam Rayner does a beautiful line in wounded animal.  But, I gotta say, protective dad Clark is sexy🥰

Not looking forward to what they appear to have turned Lucy into - I think I wanted strong, sassy, cool aunt Lucy, but we’ll see.

[tennisgurl]

This episode moved a whole lot of plots forward, but it didn't seem rushed, which I appreciated. Looks like they could be heading towards a Tal-Rho redemption story, which I wondered for awhile if that is where they might go. It could work I think, having seen how many terrible breaks Tal got, and it would be great for Clark to have a real brother, but I don't know. Redemption stories are a bit high risk high reward, especially with a villain who did as terrible things as Tal, if done well they can be really compelling, but if done poorly it can really become a mess, as we have seen in other Arrowverse shows. Clark's response to Tal asking if he believes there is good in him was interesting, it seems rather harsh from Superman but this guy did kidnap and try to kill his son, its hard to blame him, and even then he said that he "wished" it was true. If Tal did ever want to turn to the side of good, I can imagine Clark would accept him eventually.  

I liked Nat and Sarah hanging out, although I do fear it could give into an angsty teen love triangle, which this show so does not need. I can see why a kiss would be a big deal, especially when your teenagers, although I wouldn't be surprised if I found out that something else went down that Sarah still hasn't told us about. I suspect that Jon's football rival might be juicing with something of the alien variety, and that Jon will be trying to figure things out. I have wondered before if Jon might try to get powers someway, not out of jealousy but out of a desire to be "useful" to his family, something he struggled with last season, and if he gets a chance to get powers, I would like to think that he would have more sense then to take it, but...

I always love when Jon and Jordan have their chats at the end of the episode, it was so cute how proud Jon was of Jordan when he bragged about how he got some hits in when fighting their evil uncle. A lot of nice family moments this week, I especially really liked when Jordan related his own anxiety attacks with what his dad is going through, and it was great when Jordan tried to protect his dad and then Clark went all papa wolf when Tal went after Jordan. Oh Clark, you cant trust Tal, you always have to have a backup plan for his sudden but inevitable betrayal. Even after he got him that sweet prison cell, complete with library. 

Hi new Laura! Jordan saying how his dads fortress was much cooler then Tal's was hilarious, as was Tal's rather pouty expression at that. I am also glad that Laura cleared up a bit what happened that kept her away from Tal, it never seemed right that she would just leave her son with an abusive monster without ever trying to get him back. 

Its so cute that Lana and Kyle both came up with the idea of Lana running for mayor. Kyle has really come a long way since he was fuming over his wife getting a job when he didn't. 

[AnimeMania]

Does anybody know the name of the person playing the geologist Dr. Faulkner?

[ukgirl71]

According to IMDb, Catherine Lough Haggquist is playing Dr Faulkner.

[AnimeMania]

5 minutes ago, ukgirl71 said:

According to IMDb, Catherine Lough Haggquist is playing Dr Faulkner.

I recognized her from Motherland: Fort Salem, she is much taller than I thought.

[blackwing]

Last week I was saying that Sarah has cooled on Jordan because she has discovered that she is a lesbian... and this week, it looks indeed like that may be the route they are going.  I could easily see her and Natalie becoming involved... because they need Natalie to have something to do other than fix cars and be in the way.

I really doubt they would ever have Natalie with Jordan, considering they have the same mother, even if the mothers are alternate universe versions of each other, the DNA is the same.  But Jordan will pine for Sarah who is kissing Natalie, all the more awkward since Natalie is living in Jordan's house.

On 1/18/2022 at 8:14 PM, bettername2come said:

I felt very happy to see Tal-Rho again, and my first thought was that a) he must be behaving himself or b) Clark is making sure his brother gets better treatment, since Tal Rho had a small library, fancy chair and red light instead of kryptonite. AAAND apparently that was 'cause he was running the long con. 

 

I think the red light is supposed to mimic the red sun of Krypton, and thus would counteract the yellow sun of Earth and dampen his powers, if he had any.  I'm quite surprised that Clark wouldn't have had Tal outfitted with some kind of kryptonite manacles just in case.  Why would he have automatically believed that Tal lost his powers?  Although it appears that Tal willingly went back into the prison cell.  If he really wanted to escape, he could have.

On 1/18/2022 at 11:51 PM, Chicago Redshirt said:

I know that they wanted to contrast Jonathan's weightlifting with his teammate's supposed super-steroid use, but that dumbbell he was working out with seemed pathetic. Also, it seems clear that despite what the show might be trying to suggest, Teammate could not possibly be in competition with Jordan. We know Jordan is a QB, QB2. Teammate is clearly built like a lineman of some kind. 

 

On 1/19/2022 at 5:43 AM, cambridgeguy said:

I was thinking if that's all he can comfortably lift then he has no business being a QB right now - just how far can you throw a football if a ten pound dumbbell is all you can manage?  Just don't turn this into a Jon starts roiding because he's tired of being stuck on the bench story line.

I don't think that guy (who I am thinking has found some X-Kryptonite) is the QB1... last season's QB1 was a black guy, Sarah's ex-boyfriend.  I don't remember enough of what some of these minor characters looked like, but was that the friend who was with the steroid guy?  I also agree that he was using a 10 or 15 pound dumbbell for an incline press... fairly pathetic for a guy who was supposedly the starting quarterback as a freshman at big time Metropolis High.

[Diapason Untuned]

On 1/19/2022 at 12:51 AM, Chicago Redshirt said:

I thought it was fairly blatant. The name of the cult leader is "Ally Allston" and the actress from Smallville involved with the cult is Allison Mack. No one and nothing could ever get me to buy that this was just random coincidence, and that it escaped the notice of the writing staff, the director, the network suits and the legal team. 

Apparently Allison Mack's nickname that all her close friends call her including the cult members is Ally.

 

Quote

It is kind of off-brand for Clark to be like, "Nope, I don't see any good in you. At all." I mean, pretty much everyone this side of Darkseid probably has some good to them. But maybe that's something sweet about this version of Clark. 

Kinda, but then again, Tal did just betray his trust and try to kill his son, so...

 

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I find it hard to believe that Tal-Rho never booted up Holo-Lara before.

Considering the way his dad was, I can totally buy it.

 

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I also find it hard to believe that the scheming machiavellian Tal we were seeing all last season is apparently a whimpering mama's boy underneath it all, and so jealous of Clark for being Lara's true-born son who was apparently made the old-fashioned way rather than in an artificial incubator.

I figured he was like that when the secret got revealed.

 

Quote

I know that they wanted to contrast Jonathan's weightlifting with his teammate's supposed super-steroid use, but that dumbbell he was working out with seemed pathetic. Also, it seems clear that despite what the show might be trying to suggest, Teammate could not possibly be in competition with Jordan. We know Jordan is a QB, QB2. Teammate is clearly built like a lineman of some kind. 

Jon just got his arm broken, so likely he was taking it easy. I believe his issue with the teammate stems from that, plus the fact that he was lagging behind on the team before and now has to try even harder.

 

On 1/19/2022 at 9:20 AM, Chicago Redshirt said:

But at the end of the day, a kiss is just a kiss. Should it have effectively been enough for Jordan to plead to go with Clark because Sarah's betrayal made him feel worthless otherwise? 

That stuff really does get to you when you're 15.

Edited January 20, 2022 by Diapason Untuned

[Cthulhudrew]

On 1/19/2022 at 7:14 AM, Lady Calypso said:

So I hope Jonathan's plot is NOT about him joining in on that, but about him uncovering and exposing the people involved. I would not hate for him to take after his parents' investigative skills...

I'm kind of with you on this. I wonder if Jonathan will end up being the new "plucky cub reporter" that Lois and Chrissy were looking for in ep 1.

[rmontro]

I knew Sarah kissed a girl, you could see it coming a mile away.  The CWoke. 

[Paloma]

23 hours ago, rmontro said:

I knew Sarah kissed a girl, you could see it coming a mile away.  The CWoke. 

I don't think it has to do with being woke, at least not in the presumably negative way you mean. I am old and did not really know about gay relationships when I was in my teens or even 20s, but those in my daughter's generation (30s-40s) and younger understand that there is a wide range of sexual and gender identity and expression. It would not make sense to show exclusively heterosexual relationships on a network with a target audience of 18-34 (according to at least one source about the CW, although apparently the audience has been skewing older lately), just as it no longer makes sense to show only white people as main characters and heroes. In other words, diversity in this area reflects reality. I guess that is "woke" if you want to call it that, but I think it's a good thing.

[rmontro]

3 hours ago, Paloma said:

I don't think it has to do with being woke, at least not in the presumably negative way you mean.

I think it has everything to do with being woke.  These are clearly intentional decisions to put these kind of "representative" plot points into these shows.  However, presumably negative or not, my main point was that it was extremely predictable.  Also, other posters brought up that they didn't want to see Sarah getting involved in a love triangle with Jordan and Natalie.  Shouldn't they bring that in so we can have a truly woke plotline?

The problem with most of these storylines is that they seem so shoehorned in.  We know they are required to meet a certain standard of diversity.  If it feels natural and contributes to the story, it's seamless.  But too often it just feels forced.

[Affogato]

1 hour ago, rmontro said:

I think it has everything to do with being woke.  These are clearly intentional decisions to put these kind of "representative" plot points into these shows.  However, presumably negative or not, my main point was that it was extremely predictable.  Also, other posters brought up that they didn't want to see Sarah getting involved in a love triangle with Jordan and Natalie.  Shouldn't they bring that in so we can have a truly woke plotline?

The problem with most of these storylines is that they seem so shoehorned in.  We know they are required to meet a certain standard of diversity.  If it feels natural and contributes to the story, it's seamless.  But too often it just feels forced.

I don’t see how this feels forced. Jonathan is socially awkward and younger than his years in social development. He is over invested, he was going to get hurt. Meanwhile Sarah is much more resilient  and open to new experiences. 
 

it fits with what we know of the characters. 

[rmontro]

1 minute ago, Affogato said:

I don’t see how this feels forced. Jonathan is socially awkward and younger than his years in social development. He is over invested, he was going to get hurt. Meanwhile Sarah is much more resilient  and open to new experiences. 

Jordan's the younger son.  But my point was that it seemed overly predictable, at least to me.

[Affogato]

11 minutes ago, rmontro said:

Jordan's the younger son.  But my point was that it seemed overly predictable, at least to me.

Yes he is younger but also his anxiety issues would have hampered his social development. 
 

You mean something in this show surprised you? Not that kind of show. Superman is a very conservative playground in terms of character and storyline. 

Edited January 23, 2022 by Affogato

[Affogato]

34 minutes ago, rmontro said:

There's nothing wrong with diversity, but in this case it came off as forced - to me.  It made the episode predictable.  What clue did we have last season that Sarah had bisexual feelings?  It just came out of nowhere.  Probably because of some political decision to have more representation, not because they thought it would make a better story.

 

You said Jonathon, I said the younger son is Jordan.

You’re right but you knew who I meant. 

[legaleagle53]

2 hours ago, rmontro said:

Jordan's the younger son.

Unless you're talking about being a few minutes younger than Jonathan, this comment makes no sense. Jordan and Jonathan are fraternal twins, so they're both 15.

[rmontro]

35 minutes ago, legaleagle53 said:

Unless you're talking about being a few minutes younger than Jonathan, this comment makes no sense. Jordan and Jonathan are fraternal twins, so they're both 15.

Really, I didn't know that?  The Jordan kid looks so much younger, and the Jonathan kid acts more mature.  

As Affogato said, I knew he was talking about Jordan, so that's all that comment meant.

[JapMo]

4 hours ago, legaleagle53 said:

Unless you're talking about being a few minutes younger than Jonathan, this comment makes no sense. Jordan and Jonathan are fraternal twins, so they're both 15.

Fraternal twin here....younger.  Can't tell you how many times in my life that's the first thing people ask once they find out I'm a twin.

[JapMo]

5 hours ago, rmontro said:

There's nothing wrong with diversity, but in this case it came off as forced - to me. 

It was clumsily thought out and written, IMO.  They introduce a hint of something going on with Sarah in last week's season opener that pique's our interest, and then at the end of the second episode she's insisting it was no big deal and meant nothing.  It also appears she wants to continue her relationship with Jordan.  Huh?  Is this the end of it?  I doubt it.  So why write something and then pull the rug out on the audience?  They could have let this plot line percolate for at least another episode...maybe see some flashbacks about Sarah at camp, being introduced to this girl, show some conflict with her feelings towards Jordan, rather than avoiding him for most of the two shows.  I'm not as curious anymore...might fast forward through this story.  This is why I agree with you, RMontro, that it came off as forced.  Because as I'm was watching it, I also simultateously got a mental picture of the show's executives telling the writers 'yeah, we need to put something in right away that shows how woke we are'.  

Changing subjects, I got another mental picture of Natalie's braids getting caught up in the engine of Sarah's car.

[Diapason Untuned]

16 hours ago, rmontro said:

I think it has everything to do with being woke.  These are clearly intentional decisions to put these kind of "representative" plot points into these shows.  However, presumably negative or not, my main point was that it was extremely predictable.  Also, other posters brought up that they didn't want to see Sarah getting involved in a love triangle with Jordan and Natalie.  Shouldn't they bring that in so we can have a truly woke plotline?

The problem with most of these storylines is that they seem so shoehorned in.  We know they are required to meet a certain standard of diversity.  If it feels natural and contributes to the story, it's seamless.  But too often it just feels forced.

So why is it that when shows include stuff that have to do with minorities it's forced, but never when it's to do when it's white cis stuff? Kids going off to summer camp and having romantic escapades is a tale as old as time, but it's forced because she kissed a girl?

[scarynikki12]

Several posts have been removed for becoming too personal. Spirited disagreement is both fine and encouraged but getting personal about your fellow posters is not. We have the Be Civil rule for a reason. Read it and be mindful.

[JapMo]

On 1/18/2022 at 8:00 PM, scarynikki12 said:

I want Chrissy to be the first of the Smallville set to learn about Clark. That would give us some meaty journalism ethics stuff.

I have to laugh at the fact Lois, a Pulitzer Prize winning reporter, is working for that rinky-dink regional rag.  Chrissy agonizes over Lois' sources from an old story instead of doing what she should do...getting advertisers and subscribers to keep that bird cage liner of a newspaper in business.  Get off your high horse, girly.  Without Lois you'll have to go back to being the local newspaper of record and list all the foreclosures and tax delinquencies in the county, along with coupons and death notices. 

[ukgirl71]

Can I be on Team Kyle to be the first one outside the Kent Farm to learn Clark’s secret?  I like the signs of their growing friendship, and I think the “discovery” could really work in the context of him being ‘on scene’ as the fire chief, when perhaps Clark’s psychic connection to Doomsday grounds him at a crucial moment.

[moonshine71]

Can this show please just stop with any high school football related story lines? They do them so badly, I can't imagine any of the series writers ever played a high school sport.(To be fair, few television shows portray high school sports w/ any accuracy).

[Snapdragon]

Since the show is trying so hard to hint that the mysterious baddy causing the earthquakes is Doomsday, I'm taking that as a sign that it is most definitely not Doomsday and this is another "Captain Luthor" misdect.  My guess is that it's Brainiac, based on nothing but the fact that the bad guy has lights on him (and Clark keeps seeing lights whenever those headaches happen).  

[Maverick]

It looks to me like the post Crisis doppleganger syndrome.  Maybe it's evil Superman.  Since Natalie survived (did they explain how in some throwaway line) then he could have too.  Evil Superman can break out Edge and they'll team up until he sees rainbows and cries and turns on Evil Superman to save Clark. 

[Chicago Redshirt]

On 1/23/2022 at 2:23 PM, JapMo said:

I have to laugh at the fact Lois, a Pulitzer Prize winning reporter, is working for that rinky-dink regional rag.  Chrissy agonizes over Lois' sources from an old story instead of doing what she should do...getting advertisers and subscribers to keep that bird cage liner of a newspaper in business.  Get off your high horse, girly.  Without Lois you'll have to go back to being the local newspaper of record and list all the foreclosures and tax delinquencies in the county, along with coupons and death notices. 

Regional is giving the Gazette delusions of grandeur. It is in a failing industry, and has been covering a failing town. 

Also, for reasons unknown, some firm was willing to pay top dollar to buy it. Also, for reasons that don't make sense, Lois sold a Metropolis brownstone so she could be a partner in that business. Why she would have spent $20k, let alone the presumed $500k-$1m+ that a 3-4BR brownstone in Metropolis would be worth in order to claim co-title and ownership is baffling.

[blackwing]

On 1/23/2022 at 2:23 PM, JapMo said:

I have to laugh at the fact Lois, a Pulitzer Prize winning reporter, is working for that rinky-dink regional rag.  Chrissy agonizes over Lois' sources from an old story instead of doing what she should do...getting advertisers and subscribers to keep that bird cage liner of a newspaper in business.  Get off your high horse, girly.  Without Lois you'll have to go back to being the local newspaper of record and list all the foreclosures and tax delinquencies in the county, along with coupons and death notices. 

I agree.  And I find Chrissy irritating.  She seems to think she is an equal partner with Lois.  Without Lois, that place is nothing.  The only reason why Lois is working for this failing newspaper is because of TV purposes, it's convenient to show her in town investigating local issues.  In the real world, Lois would have gotten a job with a national paper like USA Today, a national magazine or some kind of prominent online news outfit.

[rmontro]

On 1/24/2022 at 2:11 PM, Snapdragon said:

Since the show is trying so hard to hint that the mysterious baddy causing the earthquakes is Doomsday, I'm taking that as a sign that it is most definitely not Doomsday and this is another "Captain Luthor" misdect.  My guess is that it's Brainiac, based on nothing but the fact that the bad guy has lights on him (and Clark keeps seeing lights whenever those headaches happen).  

I agree the lights remind you of Brainiac.  But why would Brainiac be growling?

[scarynikki12]

53 minutes ago, rmontro said:

I agree the lights remind you of Brainiac.  But why would Brainiac be growling?

Maybe the Arrowverse Brainiac is part wolf?

[Snapdragon]

19 hours ago, Maverick said:

It looks to me like the post Crisis doppleganger syndrome.  Maybe it's evil Superman.  Since Natalie survived (did they explain how in some throwaway line) then he could have too.  Evil Superman can break out Edge and they'll team up until he sees rainbows and cries and turns on Evil Superman to save Clark. 

Ohh, I like the evil Superman idea.  No idea why he'd be buried underground but I'll go with, eh, wormholes?

[PAForrest]

Finally starting to catch up on the last two episodes after being out of town for a couple of weeks. Read the spoilers though, so I'm actually up to date on the latest haps.

I thought this one was meh overall. Obviously what's going on with Clark is the most interesting storyline this season, without it the episode was kinda dull. And frankly the whole scene at bro's fortress was kinda really badly done, I thought. OTOH, it was actually good to see Tal-Rho again as he was the only intriguing part of the trip to fortress-land. And I love me his cell - a comfy chair surrounded by books? Sign me up, please.

So Tag is part of the Super Kid Squad - or whatever we're calling them - and that makes sense. For right now, it's probably a good thing the DOD has them as Superman is useless at this stage dealing with the interdimensional being that's screwing him up. I still feel like most of those kids are going to go rogue and become a bigger problem for the DOD at some point, but for right now, yeah, without them the things that need doing by Superman wouldn't get done.

As for everything else happening in kid-land - so Sarah kissed a girl at camp. Yeah, I guess that was more predictable and very CW. And given Jordan's reaction, sure, I can see why she was afraid to tell him. Ultimately I don't care about whether those two get back together - obviously they will - but I guess I have to suffer through it.

If I'm supposed to believe Nat is a mechanical wiz, I really need to see her do more than remove a car's air filter and put it back on. But it was girl-bonding time, and that was the whole point. And I was right, Nat has already supplanted Jon in Lois's heart - the whole Donna Reed breakfast scenario, and of course, Jon giving up his room was just too much. I mean, seriously, is there anything left for Jon to give up? The kid has nothing.

I wanted to smack Clark when he told annoying Lara - and she was annoying, I didn't blame Tal-Rho for being pissed - that Jor-El was proud of "both boys". Obviously that line was thrown in as a response to fans being pissed that Jon has been entirely cut out of the Kryptonian storyline (and still is!). But it's a BS line because Jor-El never met Jon, can't recall if he knew Jon even existed. And of course only Jordan gets to meet grandma too. At this point I'd totally believe a storyline where Clark and Lois finally admit Jon isn't their son and was instead some foundling they came across on the road after she gave birth to Clark's favorite son Jordan and decided to raise them together. Jon really doesn't feel like he's part of the Kent package.

Like with the whole stupid football/steroid story. Give Jon no-last-name something else to do!

I really had to side-eye the obvious nod to Allison Mack's cult problems in naming the cult leader "Ally" - that was more than a little shady, and frankly probably something the CW should stay away from considering Allison Mack will always be tied to one of their signature series.

Chrissy is getting uber annoying. I figured Geologist lady was going to turn out to be a bad guy, but she seems interesting.

And we all knew Lana was going to run for mayor. Why didn't they just do that from the jump?

Edited February 1, 2022 by PAForrest

[Avabelle]

I’m surprised about the direction they’ve taken Sarah in. I always find that once they move a character toward same sex they rarely go back. That and the fact that Sarah/Jordan didn’t have the best chemistry to begin with makes me think we’re done with them as an Anchor couple.
 

also while I appreciate Sarah felt guilty I found her treatment of Jordan really dismissive and unfair.

[John Potts]

I get that Amertech is inevitably going to turn evil, but the spokesman was actually fairly reasonable. And isn't the presence and/or existence of X-Kryptonite a secret? Lois really shouldn't be talking so openly about it.

So Lana’s going to run for Mayor (after her candidate was blackmailed/bribed, I assume) – not quite sure why they bothered having another candidate in the first place.

Really like the Jonathan/Jordan dynamic! I can totally imagine two “teenagers” bonding over beating up their evil uncle.

So Sarah kissed a girl (and she liked it). I guess her boyfriend did mind it.

So was scientist lady at the end calling a Luthor? A plant from Morgan Industries (I assume they still exist even if their founder is in prison)? Cadmus?

On 1/19/2022 at 2:00 AM, scarynikki12 said:

The bad guy at the airport is Bane? Not really but that's who he reminded me of.

My first thought too! Unlikely they'd have a Batman villain though when Supes has a fairly extensive Rogues Gallery. And while other people have suggested Doomsday, I doubt it - it looked more like a suit (something like John Henry) than the Rock Monster look Doomsday normally has and Doomsday has never been psychic (to my knowledge). Obviously TPTB can alter canon as they like, but it seems more likely it's somebody more technological (like Brainiac, perhaps).

On 1/19/2022 at 5:51 AM, Chicago Redshirt said:

I also find it hard to believe that the scheming machiavellian Tal we were seeing all last season is apparently a whimpering mama's boy underneath it all, and so jealous of Clark for being Lara's true-born son who was apparently made the old-fashioned way rather than in an artificial incubator.

I sometimes yearn for evil characters who are just evil for the sake of being evil (well, I guess Papa-Rho was)! These days, everyone seems to have a Freudian excuse.