S02.E03: The Thing In The Mines

[scarynikki12]

Quote

Lois reaches out to Ret. General Lane as Clark's visions become worse during heated arguments with both Jonathan and Jordan.

 

 

[scarynikki12]

Snuggle Muffin and Natalie giving Jordan perspective. Nice job, guys. And Jon is still showing that Lois Lane curiosity with the teammate.

Lana looks great in that suit so the shallow contingent will surely vote for her. Sophie helping set up is cute and Kyle as Head Cheerleader is a joy.

Hee, Lane is waxing poetic about cranes and fishing and Lois is all "who cares help me out". 

Jordan telling Clark "I want to marry her, Dad!" was soooooo funny. Yeah, that'll convince him.

It's good that Lana's getting pushback from the start because she can adjust and respond now. If this were to come up right before the election she'd be screwed. Thanks angry farmer guy!

Clark pretending to fall when Jon accidentally hit him was hilarious. If he gets hit every episode people will start wondering why he doesn't bruise but it was so funny I want it to happen. And my poor Snuggle Muffin was about to cry when Clark started losing control. Someone give him a hug please.

"Now's not the time to go all Doomsday on me." Either this is in your face foreshadowing or Lois is setting us up for a twist. 

Irons I don't care what your undercover job is you should always wear a helmet in the mines. If only to avoid getting knocked out so easily.

Clark apologizing to the twins was so hot. 

I wonder if Mama Lane never left in the pre-Crisis timeline and that's why Lucy (presumably) never joined that cult.

Oh, good, the screen froze during the commercials with fifteen minutes left. I swear if this isn't fixed I'll...well I'll be mad and have to wait until tomorrow to see the rest of the episode. It unfroze as I was typing. Whew!

What was that space show from the 60s? The Thing's armor reminds me of it.

It's nice that Irons' suit leaves the barn through the door rather than making a hole in the roof. Very considerate.

VERY COOL watching his suit go all Iron Man as it attaches.

So The Thing is Bizarre Superman.

Aww, Sarah and Lana Time leads to an Insta based campaign. And Lana looks equally great in casual clothes and reading glasses so the shallow contingent will be happy.

I like Jordan and think he's sweet but his grand gestures tend to be cringe.

NO! Don't take the drugs Jon! Do experiments on them or something to find out what they are.

Oh, shit, Alli has Lucy back in her clutches. Of course, what better way to get Lois to kick some reporter ass.

Bizarre Superman has his own Fortress?

[cambridgeguy]

You’re right Clark, you probably do need help to stop Bizarro.  If only there was an existing group of heroes you could call for help.  A League, if you will.  And that's not really a complaint, I know we can't expect to see J'onn and Kara show up even though J'onn would have been the perfect person to investigate.

And Clark needs to get better security for his Fortress.  Tal-Rho was able to waltz in last season and now Bizarro is just hanging out there.  At least with Bizarro it's possible his DNA is an exact match so he doesn't register as an intruder.

[madhacker]

In a situation like this, you definitely call in League support. Hell, call in the Legends and the entire Allen family (Bart alone would be a distraction). I just want Kara to show up sometime just to see her goof off with her "nephews" (you know the twins have to think of her as Aunt Kara).

Man I'm so hoping that Jon is just using this buying the K-drugs as a way to find out whose running the operation (my moneys on the Mayor), just to show that Jon's got his parents investigative gifts. Lois in particular would be so proud of Jon.

 

[legaleagle53]

2 minutes ago, madhacker said:

Man I'm so hoping that Jon is just using this buying the K-drugs as a way to find out whose running the operation (my moneys on the Mayor), just to show that Jon's got his parents investigative gifts. Lois in particular would be so proud of Jon.

Except that he's also inherited her impetuous streak bordering on recklessness that always gets her in trouble that Superman has to get her out of. That's what she's afraid of -- that Jon takes too much after her!

[bettername2come]

I just realized Jonathan's girlfriend is not the girlfriend from last season. They are really not expecting us to be invested in his relationships. Or at least they shouldn't.

Clark yelling at the boys was scary, especially when he yelled at at Jon. His eyes were way worse on that one, plus you know, Jonathan's more defenseless. I loved how Jon was about to cry, but then was still firm and saying they needed to get home. Seeing that Clark had burned his hand with the heat vision later showed how bad that could've gone. Yeah, how are they planning to explain the helmet lodged into the vending machine? And of course Clark needs to give Jon driving lessons, his driving skills have saved his dad twice. I did like that even with all this bizarre rage flowing through him Clark still seemed like himself in the other moments. Dorky dad, loving husband. Regular him. 

Glad they're not continuing to make a big deal about the kiss from Sarah. And that Kyle is scaring Jordan with his dad lectures. 

19 minutes ago, cambridgeguy said:

You’re right Clark, you probably do need help to stop Bizarro.  If only there was an existing group of heroes you could call for help.  A League, if you will.  And that's not really a complaint, I know we can't expect to see J'onn and Kara show up even though J'onn would have been the perfect person to investigate.

Seriously, it's not like he has a cousin experienced in fighting evil versions of herself, or a guy faster than him who can help and has hall of justice, or another badass former Army guy named John who hops from show to show helping heroes. Nope. Just him and John Henry.

 

16 minutes ago, scarynikki12 said:

NO! Don't take the drugs Jon! Do experiments on them or something to find out what they are.

OOh, that would be an excellent twist. I was yelling at him for being stupid and sure he's gonna get some kind of drugs with kryptonite poisoning but him and maybe Natalie and Jordan snooping and researching would be awesome. 

[Noneofyourbusiness]

No, Jonathan, make good choices!

I kept wondering why he wasn't telling Lois and Clark about the X-Kryptonite trade, and that's the worst possible reason!

 

I mean, it's not like you have a cousin in National City, Clark. John Henry is definitely the only other superhero on Earth.

.

Edited January 26, 2022 by Noneofyourbusiness

[kickingnames]

I will calm down and see reason later, but right now….

I do not care about Wounded Puppy’s young love feelings. I am too pissed at the story writing for Snuggle Muffin (TM @scarynikki12) to care.  Seriously, they threw Tegan over for this? Yes, I know this could be Jon getting his “investigative reporter” on, but still, someone whose closest family is patently vulnerable to kryptonite should not be arbitrarily deciding to dig into the stuff, undercover or no. And, the bigger issue that the writers are still ignoring — JON IS PART KRYPTONIAN!!! If he’s Clark’s son, kryptonite should be a no-no for him, regardless of whether he’s demonstrating powers. (Me, mentally screaming at the tv: “That’s not how any of this works!”)

This storyline is stupid and I hate it. 

Edited January 26, 2022 by kickingnames
so angry I skipped letters

[kickingnames]

In other news:

They (sort of) teased Doomsday and then gave us Bizarro. That swerve actually makes some sense, because it’s waaayyyy to early in this show for Doomsday. Bizarro’s never been a favorite of mine, but since we’re in episode 3 of the season, I feel okay that he’s not going to be focal point for the entire rest of the season.

Man, stuff with the Lanes was brutal. I see Ally Alston is this season’s Morgan Edge - type villain. First mistake: thinking you’ve pulled one over on Lois Lane. Last mistake: thinking you’ve pulled one over on Lois Lane.

Natalie Irons continues to be awesome. Could definitely use more of her and Jonathan together; they’re just fun.

[thuganomics85]

So, it looks like the mysterious creature that was buried in the mines was none other than Bizarro himself!  I wonder if that was always in the cards or if the writers noticed that Tyler Hoechlin is actually quite good at being menacing when the time calls for it, so they decided to use that to their advantage.  But along with being a physical threat (naturally), I imagine the biggest issue is going to be the mental/emotional connection he has with Clark and how it is messing with how Clark reacts to things.  Like, you know, almost going into rage mode whenever his kids do stupid, teenager things that are definitely wrong, but probably not "bust out the laser eyes!" wrong.

Jordan's immaturity is definitely showing with the whole "I have to tell Sarah the truth because I love her and maybe even want to marry her!" spiel, but I guess that isn't the craziest thing a teenager has ever said.  They've  barely been together for months and he's already hearing wedding bells.  Hormones are wild, y'all!  But it looks like he is going to move past the kiss for now and I guess it is something that can be forgiven at this stage in their relationship (and age), but if she does it with something else, he might need to rethink the whole epic love story he clearly seems to think he and Sarah are currently in.

I really hope Jonathan is actually trying to play an angle of some kind with the crystal drugs and his girlfriend selling them, but I worry this really is just a case of him wanting to compete with the asshole quarterback and believe this is the only way to level the playing field.  I do think it's coming from a place of feeling like football is all he has at the moment.  

Irons' metal suit continues to give off some Iron Man vibes.  Got put through the wringer though, so hopefully he and Natalie can find some way to improve on it.

Hello again, General Lane!

Lana realizes that campaigning isn't going to be easy since some are still pissed over her involvement with Morgan Edge, but hopefully she'll still come out ahead.  Continue to love how supportive Kyle is still.  And Sarah stepping up too.

Lois has her first face-off against Cult Leader Ally and it sounds like Lucy is still under their thumb.  Won't be easy, but I won't bet against Lois!

Looking forward to seeing how this show avoids the obvious "Hey, why doesn't Clark just ask the League for some back-up?" solution when it comes to dealing with Bizarro.  Sure, maybe Barry, Ryan, and Sara/the Legends have some stuff their dealing with, but Cousin Kara or Jefferson's got time on their hands!  Or at the barest minimum, get another Diggle crossover!

[Cthulhudrew]

I definitely didn't have Bizarro on my BINGO card.

[rmontro]

Lol, Snapdragon said last week that they were teasing Doomsday too much for it to actually be him.  They even put him in Doomsday's green suit!  C'mon guys, twists are fun but when you go to that extent to telegraph it, it isn't really playing fair.  Turns out to be Bizarro, a pretty serious zombie looking version of him, apparently.  I don't understand why he has the effect he does on Clark, but I guess all will be explained. 

[cambridgeguy]

3 hours ago, thuganomics85 said:

I really hope Jonathan is actually trying to play an angle of some kind with the crystal drugs and his girlfriend selling them, but I worry this really is just a case of him wanting to compete with the asshole quarterback and believe this is the only way to level the playing field.  I do think it's coming from a place of feeling like football is all he has at the moment.  

If he does end up juicing then he's probably going to find out that Clark yelling and blasting heat vision into his hands is preferable to facing his mom.  Lois is a cool person but when she gets pissed she gets really pissed. 

And aside from the usual drugs = stupid, does he not realize that his parents will see a sudden improvement in performance as a sign that he has superpowers?  Cue one trip to the Fortress for tests, where sadly Jor-El will not be there to just shake his head.  On the other hand, maybe Clark stashed the Lara crystal there.

[ybrik]

Bizarro was a nice twist. I have been wondering if that X-Kryptonite was actually there as protection from Bizarro or something that was dampening his powers and now with all the mining removing most of it, he became strong enough to release himself. 

Come on Jon, Natalie helped build her father’s war suit, how do you not think she is probably a gamer? Liking the dynamic with her and the boys. Not too dramatic but they are all cautiously getting to know each other. 

Oh poor emo Jordan. I have never completely been on board with his relationship with Sarah mainly due to her. Don’t have a problem with the character or actress, I just have always felt that Sarah liked Jordan more because they both seemed to have some emotional/mental demons so they understood that part of each other. Don’t know if I explain that right but just feels like that Jordan has an investment in this relationship that Sarah doesn’t. Which isn’t wrong or bad, but feel like the kiss is an indicator of bigger issues. Of course, it is supposed to not be a big deal and be behind them now. Oh wait her dad is going to make sure she has a quinceanera which I am sure nothing bad will happen at like either Sarah and Natalie becoming too close by then or girl that Sarah kissed is invited to the party. 

Feel all the talk about having no one besides John Henry is just trying to make an excuse for Clark to let his brother out and try to redeem himself. 

Credit to the show and the actress, but that last scene with Ally was creepy as hell. 

[Lady Calypso]

Ok, so I have heard of Bizarro before so I think it'll be interesting with this reveal to see where this goes for the rest of the season. I think it makes more sense with how Clark's visions are connected, and hopefully they can find a way to either separate the two or minimize the visions and empathy outbursts. Because, man, Clark losing it on Jordan and Jon was actually kind of terrifying. 

I liked the John Henry/Natalie scenes. She's angry that he wasn't honest with her and although she's not thrilled to get back into building a suit for her dad when he's out fighting villains, she's still going to do it. I also really liked her scene with Jonathan. Yay to sibling-esque scenes!

I don't like the Jordan/Sarah drama. Not just because Jordan's clearly showing his immaturity through wanting to now "marry" Sarah all because he wants to tell her his secret, but also the whole perspective that Sarah kissing someone else is no big deal and that Jordan is somehow in the wrong. Not just with Lana/Sarah's conversation, but with Jonathan talking to Jordan at the beginning and how incredulous Sarah was when Jordan didn't just forgive her at school. I mean, she still kissed someone else. She should still feel bad about that aspect. Yet, she seems to have taken the narrative that it was no big deal and Jordan should be fine with it just because she says so. 

And I really do like Sarah. I don't know why they're writing her to be the bad person here. I feel bad for Jordan, who SHOULD be allowed to be upset that she kissed someone else at camp, instead of people acting like he should be over it already, and that Jordan should be more concerned with his own secret. Which he can't even tell her because Clark has convinced him not to trust Sarah with it. Though, with how she was unable to keep her own secret for very long, it's kind of fair.

So, Jonathan has discovered X-K is being sold to the football players by his own girlfriend. Poor guy can't catch a break; he would have clearly been better off with Tegan, the girl with the potential Flash villain for a father. Not that she's a bad person for dealing X-K (her reasoning makes sense), but her lying to Jonathan AND also selling to him as well make her a bad influence. Hopefully, he's only going undercover and won't actually be taking it.

Lucy is still under the thumb of Cult Leader Ally. And Ally even has the audacity to show up to meet with Lois. On the plus side, Sam and Lois got some really nice scenes together and got to make some amends for their past.

Also, bad Clark and John Henry for encouraging not telling Anderson about what's been going on. Sam and Lois are completely right; he can't hide this from them. It could make things way worse. So boo to secret keeping, even if it's to protect the superpowered kids Anderson has working for him.

[Lantern7]

I was expecting Doomsday as well. In canon, he came out of the ground fully clothed. I'm thinking if S&L truly go with Bizarro, it won't be the traditional rocky-faced cretin.

Football drama!

Clark: What the hell were you thinking?!?

Jonathan: Look, I thought the popular guy was juicing! I told my girlfriend, and she told me it was crystals. So I brought that up to him, and he says she sold those to them. So I tried to deck him.

Clark: (hunched over) AAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGHHHHH!!!!!!!!

Jonathan: Yeah, I know, when I say it out loud, it sounds absolutely r- . . . oh, you're having another freakout.

Clark: GET OUT!!!!!!!

Jonathan: No, Dad! Look, I'll take any punishment-

Clark: DO YOU WANT TO GO TO THE MOON?!? BECAUSE I'LL THROW YOU THROUGH THE DAMN MOON!!!!!! (heat blasting into his hands)

Jonathan: I'm not going to leave you! You're my Dad! You're HOLY SHIT, WHAT IS THAT SMELL?!? IS THAT YOUR FLESH COOKING?!?

Clark: YOU ARE NOT HELPING!!!!

Jonathan: Right, I'll drive home and tell Grandpa. (rushes out, then walks back in) By the way, getting thrown into space sounds way better than anything Mom could think up. So maybe we could this-?

Clark: (still blasting) OH MY GOD, YOU'RE STILL HERE?!?

I just had to get that out of my head.

ETA: I was at work when I posted. I’ll share other thoughts later. 🤓

Edited January 27, 2022 by Lantern7

[Diapason Untuned]

They tricked me, I love when a show manages to trick me. That Bizarro reveal and especially the part at the end with the reversed logo... Chef's kiss.

I'm also really loving Natalie. She's getting along with her multi-versal siblings. You know you'll be OK with each other when you can hang out after demolishing someone at Madden. 😁

Tyler's physical acting continues to impress. The way he went hella creepy and disconcerting when he raged out, that excellent pratfall when Jonathan hit him, the way he expressed his struggle with feeling helpless and unsure, simply brilliant.

Seeing Sam and Lois have a real heart to heart of the kind they didn't get much of last season was pretty amazing. Now I 'm interested and worried about how exactly Lucy is going to fit into this new family paradigm, especially with the oily Ally Alston running around. 

The fight scenes were also amazing. That HBO budget works wonders. I particularly liked the scene with John Henry suiting up, that was straight out of Iron Man!

I can't quite tell if Jonathan is simply trying to investigate the XK in the town or if he really wants to use it. Hopefully it's the former.

The Lana plot is moving ahead too, I hope her new social media approach at the end is enough to wash the Edge stink off her.

Though I generally loved the episode, I still dislike how the show is separating itself from the Arrowverse at large. I could not resist rolling my eyes when Clark was acting as if he and John Henry were the only people qualified to help. I know COVID threw some spokes in the wheels, but really there's basically no point is having everything on one Earth.

Edited January 26, 2022 by Diapason Untuned

[TiffanyNichelle]

6 hours ago, Lady Calypso said:

I don't like the Jordan/Sarah drama. Not just because Jordan's clearly showing his immaturity through wanting to now "marry" Sarah all because he wants to tell her his secret, but also the whole perspective that Sarah kissing someone else is no big deal and that Jordan is somehow in the wrong. Not just with Lana/Sarah's conversation, but with Jonathan talking to Jordan at the beginning and how incredulous Sarah was when Jordan didn't just forgive her at school. I mean, she still kissed someone else. She should still feel bad about that aspect. Yet, she seems to have taken the narrative that it was no big deal and Jordan should be fine with it just because she says so. 

And I really do like Sarah. I don't know why they're writing her to be the bad person here. I feel bad for Jordan, who SHOULD be allowed to be upset that she kissed someone else at camp, instead of people acting like he should be over it already, and that Jordan should be more concerned with his own secret. Which he can't even tell her because Clark has convinced him not to trust Sarah with it. Though, with how she was unable to keep her own secret for very long, it's kind of fair.

I felt like I was taking crazy pills that Jordan was being treated as the bad guy for being understandably upset that his first real girlfriend kissed someone else while they were a part. If it was no big deal then she wouldn't have been so weird and standoffish with him when she came back. Like maybe it's not something you break up over (then again at their age it can be, they aren't years into a relationship) but he still gets to be a little bummed for  a while. And her secret kiss is no where comparable to his secret which is actually not just his secret. It's his dad's and his mom's. Sure he likes Sarah but Clark and Lois need to be able to trust her with this and they barely know her. Clark knew Lana for years and she still doesn't know.

I hope Jonathan is going to turn into a reporter like his mom mostly because I find the football stuff boring and I want him to get something where he can shine and get a win. He's too well adjusted about everything. I noticed that when Natalie moved in I think she took his room too? Dude needs something. I also want more Jonathan and Natalie hanging out, they're fun.

The Doomsday/Bizarro swerve was pretty good esp considering at one point Lois actually says something is going to be Clark's doomsday. They must have had a blast with that.

[tennisgurl]

They really got me with that Bizarro reveal, although I should have known after they spent so much time dropping anvils about it being Doomsday that they would go a different way. Good job show, and it totally makes sense for them to use Bizarro now instead of Doomsday, Doomsday is way too big a threat for this early into the show. Bizarro is a real threat, and lets Tyler play scary again, but his connection with Clark could be the much bigger problem/ 

I really like Natalie's dynamic with the boys, its still cautious but friendly, you can really see them getting more comfortable with each other as weird multiversal sort of siblings. I also thought it was sweet when Jordan almost didn't go off to see Sarah when he saw how sad Jonathan was, and we know how much Jordan is living for that relationship angst right now. Oh Jordan, such teenage drama. "I want to marry her!" Hormones are a hell of a thing. Giving Sarah her grandparents necklace was nice, although I think it was a bit unfair for everyone to act like he was wrong to be upset that she kissed someone. Its great that she told the truth, but that is still a pretty big deal, especially when your a teenager, and while Jordan went overboard with the angst at times (as he does) I can get being upset. 

I highly suspect that Jon is getting his junior investigator on with these kryptonite drugs, we've already seen that he has inherited his moms interesting in investigation, as well as his tendency to jump into things without thinking, like when he broke into John Henry's van. Lois will be proud of his interest in looking for the truth, but will probably be less then thrilled to find out that her teenage son is already infiltrating drug rings, albeit teenage ones. I hope he's careful though, he might not have powers but he's still half Kryptonian, it could still be dangerous for him. 

Clark losing control on the boys was seriously scary, especially when he yelled at Jonathan. His eyes looked even scarier and we know that Jonathan cant defend himself the way Jordan can. I felt really bad for him, he sounded so scared by his lack of control, having these wild emotions that come out of nowhere, going from his normal nice guy dorky dad self to this raging volcano. I get why Clark and JH don't want to bring in the asshole military guy, but Sam and Lois made a good point, he is going to need help. If only Clark knew some other superhero's...like a relative who isn't evil...or a League of some kind...

I liked the scenes with Sam and Lois a lot, it was nice to have a bit of a theme of fathers talking with their kids. Looks like we have a new villain in this cult leader, and that Lucy is still in her grasp. Huge props to the actress playing the cult leader, she was very menacing in just her one scene at the end walking into the dinner.

[rmontro]

1 hour ago, tennisgurl said:

They really got me with that Bizarro reveal, although I should have known after they spent so much time dropping anvils about it being Doomsday that they would go a different way.

The swerve was kind of fun admittedly, but I thought it was lazy writing.  I mean they did practically everything but put up a sign "Hey look, this is Doomsday".  It's not really playing fair.  The green Doomsday costume was a bit too much.  Fun, but too much.

[FnkyChkn34]

I... don't know who Bizarro is. 

Am I missing a bunch of this because I don't watch the other CW DC-universe shows?  Or because I don't read the comics?  I come here and read comments and it seems like everyone else knows WAY more than just what I saw in the episode.

I've always loved TV versions of Superman (The New Adventures of Lois & Clark, Smallville) and always followed along just fine - but with this show, I'm clearly missing a lot.  I'll try to keep with it, but I don't want to have to watch other shows or do research just to be able to know who people are and what's going on... 

[rmontro]

1 hour ago, FnkyChkn34 said:

I... don't know who Bizarro is. 

Am I missing a bunch of this because I don't watch the other CW DC-universe shows?  Or because I don't read the comics?

Probably.  But when it comes to Bizarro, you're not missing much lol.

[cambridgeguy]

6 hours ago, FnkyChkn34 said:

I've always loved TV versions of Superman (The New Adventures of Lois & Clark, Smallville) and always followed along just fine - but with this show, I'm clearly missing a lot.  I'll try to keep with it, but I don't want to have to watch other shows or do research just to be able to know who people are and what's going on... 

That's only necessary if you want to discuss something instantly.  The show will (presumably) explain what the viewers need to know about this version of Bizarro, it'll just take time to unfold.  Back when John Henry's identity was revealed comic readers instantly knew him, but that doesn't mean non-readers were stuck with a character they knew nothing about.

And in case you're curious about what Bizarro said...

 

[kickingnames]

@cambridgeguy Oh good -- I was wondering if someone had played his voice backward yet to find out what he said.

Everything I know outside the show I learned from the ‘90s Superman cartoon and the Justice League / Justice League Unlimited series. It’s fun to recognize characters, but this show is doing it's own thing with them that we’re all discovering together.

[FnkyChkn34]

7 hours ago, rmontro said:

Probably.  But when it comes to Bizarro, you're not missing much lol.

 

2 hours ago, cambridgeguy said:

That's only necessary if you want to discuss something instantly.  The show will (presumably) explain what the viewers need to know about this version of Bizarro, it'll just take time to unfold.  Back when John Henry's identity was revealed comic readers instantly knew him, but that doesn't mean non-readers were stuck with a character they knew nothing about.

And in case you're curious about what Bizarro said...

 

Thank you both for your replies, and for not mocking me. 🙂

I'll keep watching, but I probably won't be participating in many discussions, LOL.

[blackwing]

20 hours ago, Lantern7 said:

I was expecting Doomsday as well. In canon, he came out of the ground fully clothed. I'm thinking if S&L truly go with Bizarro, it won't be the traditional rocky-faced cretin.

11 hours ago, FnkyChkn34 said:

I... don't know who Bizarro is. 

Am I missing a bunch of this because I don't watch the other CW DC-universe shows?  Or because I don't read the comics?  I come here and read comments and it seems like everyone else knows WAY more than just what I saw in the episode.

I enjoyed the Bizarro reveal.  They got me because at one point Lois even made a passing reference to "a doomsday scenario", or something like that.  Then it turns out he is Bizarro.  Although they didn't call him by name, they called him a bizarre version of Clark.

It looks to me that he will have the traditional rock/scarred face.

I don't read Superman comics, and never watched Supergirl.  Those of us of a certain age are probably most familiar with Bizarro from the utterly amazing but short lived "Challenge of the Superfriends" cartoon from the late 70s.  He was in Lex Luthor's Legion of Doom.  He's basically an evil, almost zombie-ish, version of Superman. 

 

[ukgirl71]

I just keep coming back to the quality of the writing for all the relationships in this wonderful show - that’s what keeps me tuned into all the shows I enjoy, regardless of theme.  Natalie in particular is becoming an unexpected treat, as are the “bro seshs” between the boys.  I still wonder if Aubrey’s gonna come back into Sarah’s life, or if she was just a catalyst for Sarah’s changing feelings - storylines like that aren’t usually dropped so quickly.  I’m still a bit meh about Lana’s mayoral run and the Lucy storyline, but I trust the writers - don’t let me down!

[Chicago Redshirt]

13 hours ago, FnkyChkn34 said:

I... don't know who Bizarro is. 

Am I missing a bunch of this because I don't watch the other CW DC-universe shows?  Or because I don't read the comics?  I come here and read comments and it seems like everyone else knows WAY more than just what I saw in the episode.

I've always loved TV versions of Superman (The New Adventures of Lois & Clark, Smallville) and always followed along just fine - but with this show, I'm clearly missing a lot.  I'll try to keep with it, but I don't want to have to watch other shows or do research just to be able to know who people are and what's going on... 

Bizarro is a long-time Superman enemy/frenemy dating back to the 1950s. So I don't think any of this needs to be spoiler tagged but in an abundance of caution, I will:

Originally and for most of his existence he has been played largely for laughs. He has a pale and heavily angled face and generally is kind of dopey. In the 50s, he spoke broken English and comes from a whole planet of imperfect duplicates with ways that are opposite of Earth. So their planet Bizarro World is a cube rather than round. He and other people would say "Us Bizarros do things opposite of Earth." or "Me am always happy to see you, Superman" to mean "I am sad to see you, Superman." Bizarro had cold vision rather than heat vision and heat breath rather than cold breath, and the S on his uniform is reversed. (He sometimes also wore a necklace that said "Bizarro No. 1" to separate him from other Bizarros).

There have been various reboots of the character, I'm sure.

If you are familiar with the Challenge of the Superfriends cartoon, Bizarro was a member of the Legion of Doom.

Smallville did have a Bizarro storyline for a while, but he was more in the villain side of things.

At the end of the day, you don't really need to know any of the above to follow S&L, because the show clearly has its own take on the character. Which makes him way more serious and dangerous than his traditional portrayal.

[norcalgal]

On 1/26/2022 at 2:26 PM, tennisgurl said:

Giving Sarah her grandparents necklace was nice

I don't understand why Jordan got dibs on the necklace.  What if Jonathan wanted to give it to a SO at some point in the future. Guess we'll just have to handwave that...

Also, I know it's probably highly unlikely given the Jordan/Sarah relationship but I was having VERY bad vibes when Lana kept telling Sarah how strong she is, and Lana doesn't know where Sarah gets her strength. Any other show, and this might have meant a secret Lana/Clark lovechild, but I have faith this show won't go there.

 

[rmontro]

9 hours ago, FnkyChkn34 said:

Thank you both for your replies, and for not mocking me. 🙂

 

I think not knowing who Bizarro is would make me respect you more  :)

[legaleagle53]

2 hours ago, norcalgal said:

Also, I know it's probably highly unlikely given the Jordan/Sarah relationship but I was having VERY bad vibes when Lana kept telling Sarah how strong she is, and Lana doesn't know where Sarah gets her strength. Any other show, and this might have meant a secret Lana/Clark lovechild, but I have faith this show won't go there.

 

I'm not sure why you think that line from Lana meant that Clark might be Sarah's father. Lana wasn't referring to physical strength. She was referring to Sarah's emotional strength and courage, something which Lana thinks that she herself lacks because she got so shaken up by her first taste of pushback from a potential voter because it caught her off-guard. Kyle is just as emotionally strong as Sarah is, so Lana could have been suggesting that Sarah gets her strength and courage from him, since she doesn't think that Sarah gets it from her (she's wrong about that, by the way. She's just as strong emotionally as they are; she just doesn't realize it yet!).

[norcalgal]

52 minutes ago, legaleagle53 said:

I'm not sure why you think that line from Lana meant that Clark might be Sarah's father. Lana wasn't referring to physical strength. She was referring to Sarah's emotional strength and courage, something which Lana thinks that she herself lacks because she got so shaken up by her first taste of pushback from a potential voter because it caught her off-guard. Kyle is just as emotionally strong as Sarah is, so Lana could have been suggesting that Sarah gets her strength and courage from him, since she doesn't think that Sarah gets it from her (she's wrong about that, by the way. She's just as strong emotionally as they are; she just doesn't realize it yet!).

I realize Lana was speaking about inner strength (metaphorically), and that’s why I said I have faith THIS show wouldn’t pull the secret love child crap other shows might….

Too much watching soaps have me conditioned to think anvils were dropping. 

[rmontro]

18 hours ago, norcalgal said:

I realize Lana was speaking about inner strength (metaphorically), and that’s why I said I have faith THIS show wouldn’t pull the secret love child crap other shows might….

I mean really, it isn't the craziest idea in the world.  I agree it's not something I want to see, but it's not out of the realm of possibility.  Lana was Clark's old flame, after all.  It's just a matter of timing and it's possible.

[scarynikki12]

They won’t make Sarah a surprise Clark and Lana baby for a simple reason: it means Clark would have cheated on Lois. And that would be major, and unnecessary, character assassination. 

As for the Doomsday/Bizarro twist. They can always have Bizarro become Doomsday and have the foreshadowing still apply.

[bettername2come]

19 hours ago, norcalgal said:

Too much watching soaps have me conditioned to think anvils were dropping. 

And then they pull things like calling the thing in the mines a "doomsday scenario" before the Bizarro reveal and it's nice to know the show's not afraid to drop anvils then swerve around them. 

[Paloma]

On 1/26/2022 at 8:45 AM, Lady Calypso said:

I don't like the Jordan/Sarah drama. Not just because Jordan's clearly showing his immaturity through wanting to now "marry" Sarah all because he wants to tell her his secret, but also the whole perspective that Sarah kissing someone else is no big deal and that Jordan is somehow in the wrong. Not just with Lana/Sarah's conversation, but with Jonathan talking to Jordan at the beginning and how incredulous Sarah was when Jordan didn't just forgive her at school. I mean, she still kissed someone else. She should still feel bad about that aspect. Yet, she seems to have taken the narrative that it was no big deal and Jordan should be fine with it just because she says so. 

And I really do like Sarah. I don't know why they're writing her to be the bad person here. I feel bad for Jordan, who SHOULD be allowed to be upset that she kissed someone else at camp, instead of people acting like he should be over it already, and that Jordan should be more concerned with his own secret.

Thank you! It's not that kissing someone else at camp (or anywhere) is such a terrible thing in the context of teenage relationships, but it is normal to be upset when you find out that someone you love kissed someone else. And saying "It didn't mean anything" does not just wave away the hurt, as millions of people who have been cheated on can attest.

What was driving me crazy about the situation is that Sarah acted like Jordan was wrong in avoiding her after her revelation, but when she came back from camp she was either avoiding him or giving him the brush-off because of her secret and (apparently) not knowing how she felt about being with him again.  Poor Jordan was confused about and hurt by her behavior, and I don't remember her ever actually apologizing for that. Instead, he is now the bad guy for being confused and hurt again after she confesses to the kiss. Why was it OK for her to avoid him because of her secret and needing time to sort her feelings, but not OK for him to avoid her after hearing the secret and needing time to sort his feelings?  

[Paloma]

On 1/26/2022 at 3:47 PM, TiffanyNichelle said:

I felt like I was taking crazy pills that Jordan was being treated as the bad guy for being understandably upset that his first real girlfriend kissed someone else while they were a part. If it was no big deal then she wouldn't have been so weird and standoffish with him when she came back. Like maybe it's not something you break up over (then again at their age it can be, they aren't years into a relationship) but he still gets to be a little bummed for  a while. And her secret kiss is no where comparable to his secret which is actually not just his secret. It's his dad's and his mom's. Sure he likes Sarah but Clark and Lois need to be able to trust her with this and they barely know her. Clark knew Lana for years and she still doesn't know.

Exactly! It was crazy-making for me, too.

[Paloma]

On 1/26/2022 at 5:26 PM, tennisgurl said:

Clark losing control on the boys was seriously scary, especially when he yelled at Jonathan. His eyes looked even scarier and we know that Jonathan cant defend himself the way Jordan can. I felt really bad for him, he sounded so scared by his lack of control, having these wild emotions that come out of nowhere, going from his normal nice guy dorky dad self to this raging volcano.

That was scary and so well acted, and it was actually a realistic parent-teenager dynamic (minus the superpowers). It was a couple of decades ago, but I still feel terrible about the times my anger with my teenage daughter felt out of control--not to the level of abuse, but I yelled and felt like I would explode. And she, like Jonathan and Jordan, was not a bad kid at all, but she gave me almost nonstop attitude for years and at times I felt like I couldn't take it anymore. When I did react with anger, it was upsetting to both of us and left me feeling shaken. So I really empathized with Clark, who was even more upset and shaken knowing how much harm he could cause if he was out of control.

[JapMo]

On 1/26/2022 at 1:12 PM, Diapason Untuned said:

That Bizarro reveal and especially the part at the end with the reversed logo... Chef's kiss.

LOVED the reverse lettering.  Felt like a little wink from the show.

[Affogato]

19 hours ago, JapMo said:

LOVED the reverse lettering.  Felt like a little wink from the show.

Oddly (to me) one of the definitions of ‘palindrome’: A segment of double-stranded DNA in which the nucleotide sequence of one strand reads in reverse order to that of the complementary strand. 
 

that clears it up! 
 

i liked that Bizarro’s last word was :”wow.”

 

i got the impression he was looking for something. His home universe? Jorel? Maybe not a bad guy, per se, but problematic in this universe? He knew where the fortress is, so he knows a lot. Wouldn’t necessarily assume that in the show. 

Edited January 30, 2022 by Affogato

[Affogato]

Did Jordan get permission to give Sarah the necklace? 
 

this could get messy. 
 

For Sarah to be Clark’s child Clark would have needed to cheat on Lois near the time the twins were born. I think this is really unlikely. 
 

i think it is possible Lana and Clark were each others first sexual partners. That would unnerve the kids. 
 

 

Edited January 30, 2022 by Affogato

[Affogato]

On 1/27/2022 at 1:30 PM, Chicago Redshirt said:

Bizarro is a long-time Superman enemy/frenemy dating back to the 1950s. So I don't think any of this needs to be spoiler tagged but in an abundance of caution, I will:

 

  Reveal spoiler

Originally and for most of his existence he has been played largely for laughs. He has a pale and heavily angled face and generally is kind of dopey. In the 50s, he spoke broken English and comes from a whole planet of imperfect duplicates with ways that are opposite of Earth. So their planet Bizarro World is a cube rather than round. He and other people would say "Us Bizarros do things opposite of Earth." or "Me am always happy to see you, Superman" to mean "I am sad to see you, Superman." Bizarro had cold vision rather than heat vision and heat breath rather than cold breath, and the S on his uniform is reversed. (He sometimes also wore a necklace that said "Bizarro No. 1" to separate him from other Bizarros).

There have been various reboots of the character, I'm sure.

If you are familiar with the Challenge of the Superfriends cartoon, Bizarro was a member of the Legion of Doom.

Smallville did have a Bizarro storyline for a while, but he was more in the villain side of things.

At the end of the day, you don't really need to know any of the above to follow S&L, because the show clearly has its own take on the character. Which makes him way more serious and dangerous than his traditional portrayal.

 

I'm old enough so your (spoiler) is my main and only real Bizarro referent

Spoiler

But I doubt they are going to go the make fun of the developmentally disabled route.

 

[PAForrest]

My favorite thing about this episode was the backwards S&L logo/credit at the end. Very cool. And a pretty stellar job with the Doomsday red herring up to this point. I think what the writers and Tyler are doing with Superman here is possibly my favorite version of the supe, movie and tv.

OTOH, Clark's (and Lois's) blatant favoritism toward his powered-up son still bites the big hairy big one. I mean, seriously, giving Jordan his mother's most special locket to give to his 15-year-old girlfriend, when neither Clark or Lois can be bothered to care who the hell Jon dates or hangs around, or frankly what Jon is up to at any given time, is just pathetic. Since Jon is named for Clark's human father who gave his human mother the locket, shouldn't that have gone to Jon? Shouldn't something? And Jon playing it always so cool with being perpetually at bottom of the barrel not just at school and football, but at home as well, makes him not only eligible for sainthood, but more than that simply not at all believable as a teen in this situation. Jon Kent is a freaking robot! He should be wearing JHI's metal suit.

The honest and most believable variation of the "sell to me" 'roid storyline would be for Jon to start using. He only has about a million reasons to be pushed into doing so. But I'm sure it's more likely he's just going to investigate it or try and bring it to the attention of some authority, blah, blah, blah, did I mention he's eligible for sainthood?  Not as interesting to me, nor remotely believable.

I also get tired of Lois always ragging on Sam - the parent who stuck around and did his best. I hope this episode finally puts an end to that bitchy behavior.

They're really going full on Nxivm with not just the nod to Allison Mack, but a Nancy Salzman lookalike too. Again, yikes, and I'm a more than a little surprised the CW is okay with this storyline given the obvious tie to Smallville.

So is JHI going to turn the barn into a bunker?

The SFX in this show are incredible. I'm surprised the CW can afford them.

[methodwriter85]

If the show is setting up a relationship between Natalie and Sarah, I'm actually for it. I do think Jordan is WAY more invested in her than she is in him.

I just find it a bit annoying that yet again, female characters are allowed to be sexually fluid while they almost never do that with guys- they have to be gay or straight and bisexuality doesn't exist in guys.

[Chicago Redshirt]

On 2/4/2022 at 2:33 PM, methodwriter85 said:

I just find it a bit annoying that yet again, female characters are allowed to be sexually fluid while they almost never do that with guys- they have to be gay or straight and bisexuality doesn't exist in guys.

I don't know about TV in general, but as far as I can think of, there are just two canonically bisexual characters in the Arrowverse: Sara Lance and John Constantine. 

I don't know if they will be full-blown going with Sarah being truly fluid. I imagine that they will either say she wasn't into the kiss or the girl really, or extremely to the flipside that she wasn't really into Jordan and was really just into girls all along, and needed the kiss to realize it. 

[methodwriter85]

6 hours ago, Chicago Redshirt said:

I don't know about TV in general, but as far as I can think of, there are just two canonically bisexual characters in the Arrowverse: Sara Lance and John Constantine. 

I don't know if they will be full-blown going with Sarah being truly fluid. I imagine that they will either say she wasn't into the kiss or the girl really, or extremely to the flipside that she wasn't really into Jordan and was really just into girls all along, and needed the kiss to realize it. 

I think they're going to set up Natalie and Sarah as a possibility, which... honestly? I can see it.

You're not finding the love of your life in 9th grade and it'd be awesome if the show reflected that reality.

Edited February 6, 2022 by methodwriter85

[Avabelle]

Sarah and Jordan are just too intense. I can’t believe he’s apologising to her because SHE kissed someone else. If it were the opposite way around I don’t think he’d get off so lightly.

[John Potts]

So Bizarro? Makes a change from the usual Lex, Zod (and more recently, Doomsday).

Sorry, Lana, but “Woman runs for Mayor!” isn’t going to win enough votes. She needs to have a platform that actually wins people over. And rather than coming up with slogans or hokey “This is my kitchen!” online Q&As, she really should have had an answer to “Weren’t you the one working for Edge?”

Maybe the reason Sam didn’t take your side with Lucy was because she had a point and he didn’t want to lose a daughter? Granted, Lois seems to be in the right, but we are only hearing her side.

On 1/26/2022 at 2:00 AM, scarynikki12 said:

What was that space show from the 60s? The Thing's armor reminds me of it.

Lost in Space? He did look a bit like Robbie the Robot.

 

On 1/26/2022 at 7:05 AM, thuganomics85 said:

Jordan's immaturity is definitely showing with the whole "I have to tell Sarah the truth because I love her and maybe even want to marry her!" spiel, but I guess that isn't the craziest thing a teenager has ever said.  They've  barely been together for months and he's already hearing wedding bells.  Hormones are wild, y'all!

Annoying, yes, but it seemed believably teenaged. Though I was glad when Clark's freak out cut it short (at least the first time)!