S03.E02: Uncontrollable Force

[scarynikki12]

Quote

Clark and Chrissy both notice a small crack in Lois’ game face. Meanwhile, Sarah and Jordan have an awkward encounter. Lastly, Lana receives a panicked phone call.

 

 

[scarynikki12]

The somber music in the opening scene let us know it was bad news before Lois got her test results. 

Go to Bali Lois.

I like Natalie and Sarah going to the party but Metropolis is not a good idea since Natasha and her family are there.

If we can't have flashbacks to Lois and Clark reporter fun then I at least want a story in each episode. They're fun when they reminisce. Agreed on the paperweights Crissy but there's still a chance Clark's speed will make them fall off the surfaces.

I'm calling our current Bad SpiralFace until we get an actual name. Damn, George, you were mixed up in whatever SpiralFace has going on?

Clark's enthusiasm at working with Lois in Metropolis again is adorable.

So SpiralFace killed George in Smallville. Why did I think he'd gone to Metropolis?

I want to reiterate Nat's Travis and this Travis are not the same...ok looks like this one is a douche so that's done. Go find someone new Nat!

Eliza's dress is super cute. If I were still in high school or college I'd want it.

Sarah and Nat have great friendship chemistry. HA! I love Sarah just flat out calling herself Nat's WingWoman. The direct approach is the right one.

Aw, Jordan's social awkwardness is endearing. He's not usually this bad in Smallville so maybe there's something in the Metropolis air that enhances it? Like Clark's dorkiness which also seems greater in the city.

I really love how Clark gives Lois space when she needs it. Too many real and tv husbands pressure their partner because they're too  impatient to know what's going on.

Uh oh, he thinks you're Natasha. LEAVE NOW NAT!

I like Sarah offering Jordan her shirt. Nice reversal of the trope.

Is Lana going to date Irons??? Tortellini does sound good though.

Careful, Supes, SpiralFace is in his employ so he may have access to something that can hurt you.

How Jon didn't realize Eliza was ready to make a move I don't know. She was practically wearing a sign.

I'm always impressed by people who can give out clues seconds before they die/are killed. I doubt I'd be able to do anything other than sputter in real life, not that I'm eager to find out.

Man SpiralFace has some serious power. Nice to leave Lana and Irons alive.

It's good for Supes to hear some harsh truths. It makes him a better person and better at superheroing.

Yep Lois has cancer. If it's not pregnancy it's always cancer. Now I'm wondering if she'll die and get resurrected by Dr Frankenstein.

Surely someone is watching or filming this hug between Lois and Superman? 

Tyler is doing a fantastic job showing Clark's heart shattering and Bitsie's channeling Lois' own fear perfectly. 

Ok SpiralFace is clearly a woman so...maybe this Earth's Iron's sister? 

[cambridgeguy]

Why does it feel like they've retconned the distance between Smallville and Metropolis?  They seem a lot closer together than they did back in the first season if it's possible to just drive there and back in a couple of hours. 

Maybe Clark should give Lana one of those signalling devices.  I can't remember if John already has one.

 

 

[DanaK]

Really good episode, especially with Lois’ cancer

What’s the name (character name) of the bad guy Superman talked to in Metropolis?

[Maren]

Ugh. I am just so not happy with this cancer story for Lois. I wanted some focus for her, but for her as a badass reporter and heroine for truth and justice. Not her being sick and dying. 

[Lady Calypso]

Two episodes in and this season is seemingly shaping up to be better than all of last season. I really didn't expect them to go so deep with Lois actually having cancer. It'll be a good storyline, no doubt, and Bitsie absolutely killed it this episode, but it's going to be a hard journey to watch. We know the end result will roughly be that she beats it and is fine in the end, but there's going to be twists and turns. For example, is she going to have to go the route of Henry Miller, who had that brain tumour, and she gets involved with Manheim and Onomatopoeia and whatever they're doing? Because it seems like Manheim is taking sick people to experiment on them.

The reactions of the family to Lois' diagnosis was so goddamn sad, too. Excellent directing from Elizabeth Henstridge.

As for the teens' subplot, that WAS fun. The show missed out on the fun teen stuff last season; they stuck them all with some badly written storylines last season, so it's nice to see them get into some antics. This episode had Sarah at her very best. I really enjoyed seeing Sarah butt in as Nat's wingwoman AND see her kick ass at beer pong with Jordan. And she delivered the best line of the episode:

"Here's your beer....bitch."

And Eliza appears for some reason to kiss Jon. Jon, you need better taste in girlfriends. 

So, they're really setting up these romances with John Henry/Lana, Chrissy/Kyle (though I guess it's because these two aren't really getting involved in the action much) and it looks like Nat is starting a relationship with the guy she met at the party. Is that Bruno Manheim's son, perhaps? It feels like a twist they'd go for on this show. 

I AM surprised they killed off Former Mayor George this quickly. We were getting a tease of George doing some shady shit and Lana uncovering it and, oops, he's dead now.

Overall, such a fantastic episode all around. There wasn't one thing I disliked about the episode.

[cambridgeguy]

1 hour ago, WatcherUatl10 said:

Oh, Lois, Clark is ALWAYS going to look at you as if you are sick, because you are going to live a human lifespan, and he and your kids are beyond that.

Clark does NOT do that - if he did Lois would never have married him in the first place.  Because that version of Clark would also consider her a delicate flower because of her lack of invulnerability, so he'd be monitoring her 24/7 whether she liked it or not, especially since Lois isn't shy about barging into dangerous situations.  He clearly doesn't do that, because otherwise he would have been eavesdropping on her talk with the doctor.

As for Nat's new friend, talk is that he's

Spoiler

Dr. Irons's son

If that's actually true then this it's going to get weird.

[Chicago Redshirt]

12 hours ago, DanaK said:

Really good episode, especially with Lois’ cancer

What’s the name (character name) of the bad guy Superman talked to in Metropolis?

Bruno Mannheim. Which one has to handwave as neither "Bruno" nor "Mannheim" would commonly be associated with an African-American kid who grew up in the Suicide Slums.

2 hours ago, WatcherUatl10 said:

Oh, Clark, I am SO disappointed in you! You let yourself be berated by a B-villain because why, exactly? You have saved the WORLD. The WORLD. Multiple times. The world INCLUDES his little corner of it, and he wouldn't be alive to whine at you if you only narrowly focused your superheroics, and he needs to be reminded of that. That he is NOT so important as he thinks he is in the scheme of things.

 Oh, Lois, Clark is ALWAYS going to look at you as if you are sick, because you are going to live a human lifespan, and he and your kids are beyond that. But I see why you'd worry about it. I guess we'll find out about whether this world had Lazarus Pits or alien tech or magic or any number of ways that cancer can be beaten in a world with Kryptonians. But my guess is that Lois will wind up in the clutches of those from the first episode subway surgery in a search for a cure.

People's mileage will vary, but Bruno's dogging of Clark resonated with me. It should haunt Clark day and night that despite his efforts and his power/technology, he has left the world subject to the traditional ills of poverty, racism, starvation, etc. Which is not to be ungrateful that Clark has saved the world from Ally, and rogue Kryptonians and lord knows what else. But the fact that people are starving when Clark could easily facilitate feeding everyone, are homeless when Clark could easily create housing for everyone, etc. is something that you have to put blinders on to enjoy the Super-fantasy.

The thing about Clark (or at least, almost every mainstream incarnation of him that I can think of and even most Elseworlds versions) is that despite his great gifts and his heritage, he simply does  not look down on people. He does not see Lois or anyone as beneath him because they are human. Also, we do not know if this incarnation is necessarily going to have a prolonged lifespan (even excluding him putting his life on the line on the regular). As of now, he looks every bit the 40ish he is supposed to be, and we'd just be guessing if we were to think that he would not grow old and die on his own. Yes, there are some versions of the Superman mythos that have him living to literally be a million years old or that raise the issue of him not growing outwardly older than a 30-something.  But those versions don't necessarily apply here. 

Regular our-Earth tech can be good enough to beat cancer. I have a friend who has survived stage 4 inflammatory breast cancer. 

One would think that between Clark's microscopic vision and other assets, cutting out every part of the cancerous tissue would not be that difficult.

Of course, it could be the case that even advanced tech and super powers is not enough. It's utterly impossible given genre conventions that Lois could actually die in this show, but still. 

[blackwing]

Enjoyable episode, it was the perfect combination of drama, comedy, and action.

Lois and cancer.  Since this is a TV show and she is one of the leads, we know she isn't going to leave the show, but I'm wondering how this is going to be portrayed.  Surely Clark can go to the Fortress and get some advice from HoloMom?  I would think Krypton should be more advanced in medicine.

The party in Metropolis.  I get that Sarah and Natalie looked up Jerk's twitter and found out about his party.  But how again did Jon find out?  Was it a text from Eliza?  Did we see Eliza before in Season 1?  I get all of Jon's girlfriends confused, it seems like we turn around and there's a new one.  Presumably he is still with the Druggie one?

The Beer Pong scenes were funny.  I expected Jordan to subtly blow on the balls but I guess people would have felt that.  How is that the two jerks were ok with Jordan and Sarah not drinking?  It's a major part of the game.  I also don't understand why he froze Jerk's truck.  That isn't something that would just happen, and he had been told by Clark about using his powers.  There were a lot of people at that party, only one of them needs to say "that looks like something Superman can do".

Lana and John Henry look like they are getting together.  I guess in the limited universe of a TV show, there's only so many options to pair off.  Not sure why they had to abandon their dinner to go look for whatever was behind the seal in her office.  There was a lot of tortellini left on his plate.  What a waste.  At least put it in the fridge.

I am of the opinion that Spiral Face is a woman.  She could be this Earth's Natalie.  But when they showed her in shadow watching Henry Miller getting killed, I had a horrible thought that she might somehow be Ally Alston or Lucy.

16 hours ago, cambridgeguy said:

Why does it feel like they've retconned the distance between Smallville and Metropolis?  They seem a lot closer together than they did back in the first season if it's possible to just drive there and back in a couple of hours. 

I agree, I thought they were far away.  Haven't we always been told that Smallville is in Kansas and that Metropolis is somewhere where Chicago would be?  That's more than a couple hours of driving.  It was far enough away that Jon had to break up with his girlfriend because he wouldn't see her ever.

[paulvdb]

3 minutes ago, blackwing said:

The party in Metropolis.  I get that Sarah and Natalie looked up Jerk's twitter and found out about his party.  But how again did Jon find out?  Was it a text from Eliza?  Did we see Eliza before in Season 1?  I get all of Jon's girlfriends confused, it seems like we turn around and there's a new one.  Presumably he is still with the Druggie one?

Jon found out about the party from Eliza. She was Jon's girlfriend when the Kents lived in Metropolis. She broke up with him after the Kents moved to Smallville. According to IMDB she was played by a different actress in the first two episodes of season 1. So Jon and his ex have now both been recast.

[Chicago Redshirt]

1 hour ago, WatcherUatl10 said:

You manage to both overestimate and underestimate Clark's powers and abilities at the same time. Good job.

Respectfully disagree. Someone with Superman's abilities at a minimum could: 

1. Generate billions of dollars through various super-feats (hell, just through entertainment alone) if not trillions that could then be used to solve problems.

2. Bring water and potable soil to places that are inhospitable, allowing food production to rise to the level where hunger would never reasonably be an issue

3. Use Kryptonian tech to address such things as climate change, energy shortage, etc.

4. Build an arbitrarily large number of homes using good old fashioned Earth materials, or create Kryptonian insta-structures using crystals.

Edited March 22, 2023 by Chicago Redshirt

[thuganomics85]

Took me a while to figure out that Eliza was Jonathan's girlfriend from the earlier episodes of season one.  Between the questionable way she broke up with him and how she was willing to get with him despite having a girlfriend ("I won't tell!"), Jonathan can definitely do better in that department.

So, Lois has cancer as some suspected.  On one hand, I hope this doesn't ramp up the angst to the point that everyone and everything is a downer and dour going forward, and we still get to see scenes of Lois doing what she does best: being a badass reporter and great mother to her kids/wife to her husband.  On the other hand, Elizabeth Tulloch knocked it out of the park (as did everyone's else's reaction to it), so it will be nice to see her shine with some meaty material.

Bruno Mannheim is starting to remind of Kingpin from Daredevil or Cottonmouth from Luke Cage: a "businessman" on the surface who is clearly doing some shady or downright bad stuff, but seems to be respected by his community because he is the only one looking out for them.  While I think some of his remarks were out of line to Superman because I do think Clark wants to protect all of the innocents, I do think he is accurate that is section of the city will always be ignored due to the bigger problems on a grander scale Superman tends to deal with, and there is honestly going to be some issues even Superman himself won't be able to fix.  Chad L. Coleman continues to be perfectly cast because he's one of the view actors I can buy standing toe to toe against a man who is strong enough to overpower him in a second, but not flinching.  Although, he has enough confidence to make me wonder if he knows about the whole Kryptonite thing and has plans for this...

The kids at the party ended up being more entertaining than I thought it would be.  Sometimes it's fun just watching the teens be teens.

Lana and John Henry are totally going to be a thing, I suspect.  Already eating home cooked meals together and surviving their first attack from a super creature.  Fun!

Spiral Face's voice definitely sounded like a woman, so I wonder who she will be?

Michael Bishop fit in seamlessly this go around and I think I'll easily accept him as Jonathan going forward.

Glad to see Elizabeth Henstridge continuing her directing career.  She has a lot of potential!

[Quark]

Good episode.

Always been a fan of Chad Coleman, he has amazing presence, look forward to where this goes.

[Affogato]

2 hours ago, Chicago Redshirt said:

Respectfully disagree. Someone with Superman's abilities at a minimum could: 

1. Generate billions of dollars through various super-feats (hell, just through entertainment alone) if not trillions that could then be used to solve problems.

2. Bring water and potable soil to places that are inhospitable, allowing food production to rise to the level where hunger would never reasonably be an issue

3. Use Kryptonian tech to address such things as climate change, energy shortage, etc.

4. Build an arbitrarily large number of homes using good old fashioned Earth materials, or create Kryptonian insta-structures using crystals.

The prime directive is an issue, though  it is clear that helping humans by suddenly fixing their issues with advanced technology, benign or weapon technology, is something superman usually tries to avoid.  This superman has mentioned it, I think. Moving soil  and water en mass could cause more harm than good to the environment.  Making food drop offs during famine is something I think he would do. So you don’t need to set these things aside and ignore them to enjoy the story. 
 

[Affogato]

2 minutes ago, Chicago Redshirt said:

I have read and watched a lot of Superman over more than four decades of fandom, and can't remember any more than passing references to Superman expressly saying "The reason I don't end/minimize famine/poverty/homelessness/many illnesses etc. would be because that would be interfering with the natural development of society." Ironically, the main times that come to mind are times when Superman did ignore any sort of parallel to the Star Trek's Prime Directive and set himself up as a kind of overlord in the Injustice video game and the Kingdom Come series.

Anyway, there is a lot of daylight between Superman working to minimize these pervasive problems and becoming the sort of dictator that he is in Injustice/Kingdom Come.

I would also say that in the face of worldwide suffering that could be ended as easily as Superman could end it, any sort of Prime Directive style argument strikes me as kind of BS.

 

I think this show superman argues against grneral lane and the dod adopting superman acquired advantages. O e issue is that presenting people with better technology than they can create or maintain does often lead to facism and dependency. It is (aspirationally and idealistically) the american way. Or wasn’t. 
 

i don’t think these problems are as easily solved as you think. 
 

now presenting the world with a one shot vaccine for a pandemic is a no brainer. Probably.  BUt a lot of things aren’t. And he is i e person, and he has limits to what he can do. 
 

[ukgirl71]

Just finished watching - what a gut-wrenching ending!  Gotta admit, it took me back to my mum’s cancer diagnosis, as I’m sure it did with others.  It was a tour de force from both Bitsie and Tyler, and I had to feel sympathy with Michael Bishop, as his own mum went through breast cancer.  

On a lighter note, I have to admit I’m in love with Chad Coleman’s voice 😍. Did anyone else get the impression that someone Bruno cared about was one of the lives Superman couldn’t/didn’t save?  I would tend to agree that Onomatopoeia is Dr Irons, but the real intrigue is she controlling Mannheim, or vice versa, and why?  I also reckon Lois is going to be experimented on, willing or otherwise.  This season has so much more potential than last, I’m just sorry I can’t binge it all at once.

[Chicago Redshirt]

1 hour ago, Affogato said:

I think this show superman argues against grneral lane and the dod adopting superman acquired advantages. O e issue is that presenting people with better technology than they can create or maintain does often lead to facism and dependency. It is (aspirationally and idealistically) the american way. Or wasn’t. 
 

i don’t think these problems are as easily solved as you think. 
 

now presenting the world with a one shot vaccine for a pandemic is a no brainer. Probably.  BUt a lot of things aren’t. And he is i e person, and he has limits to what he can do. 
 

I agree that there would be the risk of the human race becoming overly dependent on Superman or Superman becoming a dictator.

But there's a lot of ground between that possibility and Superman doing more than he does. 

At the very least, without using much of his time or powers, Superman could easily become a multi-billionaire if not trillionaire by releasing relatively harmless stories from Krypton, documentaries about his feats, and tech. Or contract to do certain tasks. "I will fly you to the moon and back for a million dollars." He would easily get a thousand takers. "I will help your government/company set up a research station on Saturn." "You were going to spend years and $100,000s to demolish this building/remediate this hazardous waste site/etc.? I'll do it in one afternoon for half the price." By earning many billions of dollars, none of which he needs to live personally or cares about, he's free to use it to address countless problems. 

Which, to bring it back to this episode, is partially why I like Bruno's takedown of him. It is canon that Superman is a great hero and champion, but it's also canon as of this episode that he didn't take steps even in his home city of Metropolis to transform the Suicide Slums into the liveable Hobbs' Bay, or improve the quality of life for many of his own people, never mind the global sorts of injustice that persist.

Hopefully, Clark takes everything that Bruno was dunking on him for and decides to be more responsible towards Metropolitans (? not sure what the single word is for Metropolis residents might be) and other humans who aren't being threatened by rogue Kryptonians or other-dimensional imps but are being threatened by any number of unjust systems.

 

[rmontro]

On 3/21/2023 at 9:00 PM, scarynikki12 said:

Yep Lois has cancer. If it's not pregnancy it's always cancer. Now I'm wondering if she'll die and get resurrected by Dr Frankenstein.

This isn't Marvel.  Sounds like something the MCU would do, so Lois could come back and have powers like Clark.

[Affogato]

14 hours ago, Chicago Redshirt said:

I agree that there would be the risk of the human race becoming overly dependent on Superman or Superman becoming a dictator.

But there's a lot of ground between that possibility and Superman doing more than he does. 

At the very least, without using much of his time or powers, Superman could easily become a multi-billionaire if not trillionaire by releasing relatively harmless stories from Krypton, documentaries about his feats, and tech. Or contract to do certain tasks. "I will fly you to the moon and back for a million dollars." He would easily get a thousand takers. "I will help your government/company set up a research station on Saturn." "You were going to spend years and $100,000s to demolish this building/remediate this hazardous waste site/etc.? I'll do it in one afternoon for half the price." By earning many billions of dollars, none of which he needs to live personally or cares about, he's free to use it to address countless problems. 

Which, to bring it back to this episode, is partially why I like Bruno's takedown of him. It is canon that Superman is a great hero and champion, but it's also canon as of this episode that he didn't take steps even in his home city of Metropolis to transform the Suicide Slums into the liveable Hobbs' Bay, or improve the quality of life for many of his own people, never mind the global sorts of injustice that persist.

Hopefully, Clark takes everything that Bruno was dunking on him for and decides to be more responsible towards Metropolitans (? not sure what the single word is for Metropolis residents might be) and other humans who aren't being threatened by rogue Kryptonians or other-dimensional imps but are being threatened by any number of unjust systems.

 

The Kents,in a masterful feat of parenting, taught Clark to be a normal person. He does not use his powers for petty gain, he works to pay rent on his apartment, feed his family. He helps people whenever he can, but also takes time to form and maintain relationships. He doesn't alienate the people around him by rubbing their faces in his wealth, or the wealth he could have if he wanted to. He thinks of himself as a normal person with some gifts, although you think of him as a superior person in every way.

I'm pretty sure that there are going to be parallel conversations with Kyle about his job as opposed to Lana and her job--Kyle puts out fires, Lana tries to build community. I'm guessing the end conclusion of this season is that both are important, but everyone is going to get together to help build a new high school or to build the city hall Lana wants. And yes, I think something is going to happen in Metropolis as well.

This Clark really is barely scratching the surface of his 'kryptonian heritage' as well, so it isn't clear he knows how a lot of the advanced technology works. After all, Kryptonians are not super people, and I don't know how to build a nuclear power plant, except in very general terms, and would have trouble building a toaster to give to the bronze aged natives (there is a book about someone who built a toaster from real honest scratch, and wow). The holograms probably have access to databases.

[Affogato]

Jonathan and his old girlfriend--We can forget the past, we were both different people then.

At one point in time I thought I knew that Metropolis was New York, Gotham was Chicago, Bludhaven was Detroit. Star City, I don't know, maybe St Louis?  It makes more sense, particularly since New York exists, for Metropolis to have been originally Washington DC (and the daily Planet the Washington Post). What I mean by this is that the correspondences haven't been clear for a while. 

In any case, in this show, metropolis is  in Kansas. I thought it was more than a 2 hour drive, though, or they should have visited Martha more.

We still don't know why the judge thought she had to kill herself. It says something that Lois would use every tool in her arsenal to prevent the suicide, however personally painful, and that Clark hovered there and trusted her enough to let her try, and didn't leap in and prevent it (although he could have caught the judge if she jumped). She had a chance to opt out, and it is a powerful statement for free will.

Bitsie did an amazing job of acting when she was hiding and processing the information, and afterwards.

And apparently the crime lord is making his own superpeople. He does talk like Fisk. Talks a good talk but really, very corrupt underneath it all. 

The teens, it is good to see that in spiteof their mistakes they still have a lot of freedom of movement. It was also good that Jonathan made an error of naivity, showing that he isn't that much more savvy than his more naive brother. They were raised together.

This will make the smallville teens closer, this shared experience. I'm guessing the frozen van will be an issue.

 

[Paloma]

2 hours ago, Affogato said:

We still don't know why the judge thought she had to kill herself.

Initially I assumed that she was threatened with the (probably painful) death of one or more than one of her loved ones, unless she killed herself to prevent anyone from finding out who had ordered her to free Miller. But maybe she was just overwhelmed with guilt at the realization of what she was responsible for. Still, such a public suicide (or suicide attempt) by a judge would undoubtedly lead to an investigation and more attention than the bad guys want (even if the famous Lois Lane wasn't involved). So if they wanted the judge dead, I would have thought that murder made to look like a mugging or an accident, would be the way to go. So I'm really at a loss regarding the whole question of motivation for the judge and the bad guys (specifically Mannheim).

[Lantern7]

Not much I can add. Lois’ breakdown was quite the punch to the gut, as was Superman floating there. He was showing Man Pain, but he wasn’t going over the top about it.

Thinking about it . . . I would think Clark could see something different with Lois, whether it would be a baby or a tumor. I don’t think he x-rays her all the time (and them you get the argument on whether x-rays are emitted through his eyes). Rather, I figure Clark intentionally doesn’t snoop on his loved ones in that manner. I think. Does that make sense?

I think Jordan carrying Jonathan to the party was funny because we didn’t see it. Also funny how it feels like most of the cast knows The Secret.

”Beer Bitch” is a disappointing insult.

Does the masked guy have a canon name? I’d like to push for “Bloomsday.”

[Chicago Redshirt]

59 minutes ago, Lantern7 said:

Not much I can add. Lois’ breakdown was quite the punch to the gut, as was Superman floating there. He was showing Man Pain, but he wasn’t going over the top about it.

Thinking about it . . . I would think Clark could see something different with Lois, whether it would be a baby or a tumor. I don’t think he x-rays her all the time (and them you get the argument on whether x-rays are emitted through his eyes). Rather, I figure Clark intentionally doesn’t snoop on his loved ones in that manner. I think. Does that make sense?

I think Jordan carrying Jonathan to the party was funny because we didn’t see it. Also funny how it feels like most of the cast knows The Secret.

”Beer Bitch” is a disappointing insult.

Does the masked guy have a canon name? I’d like to push for “Bloomsday.”

Clark has said that he does try to give his family some privacy, but I would think that there would be no reason to not just use his senses to see if she was pregnant. I could see that he might not want to check her for diseases, since there's a number of ones it could be. But on learning that it was possible cancer, it seems like it should be relatively easy for him to pinpoint where in the breast it is and to excise it.

At this point, the only regular who does not know the Secret is Kyle. Chrissy and Sarah got told at the end of last season, JHI has known since the end of S1, Nat has known since her introduction.   

From Googling, Spiral Face's actual comic name is Onomatopoeia. But this character seems to have little to do with the canon character, and that comic name is hard to spell and doesn't really have much to do with her power set, which would make a name like "Ultrasound" appropriate.

So I like going with Spiral Face until further notice.

[GHScorpiosRule]

I’m just watching this now and I’m already peeved that Lois is keeping her diagnosis from Clark. And lied about it-said she was meeting her dad or something?

But I did love the banter between them before they whooshed! to see the judge.

[scarynikki12]

28 minutes ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

And lied about it-said she was meeting her dad or something?

She wasn't lying about meeting her dad she just didn't say what the true reason was. She went to him to get the family's medical history but her mother's abandonment years ago meant she had/has very little from that side. 

Lois was always going to tell Clark but she had to emotionally prepare for the conversation first. 

[GHScorpiosRule]

7 minutes ago, scarynikki12 said:

She wasn't lying about meeting her dad she just didn't say what the true reason was. She went to him to get the family's medical history but her mother's abandonment years ago meant she had/has very little from that side. 

Lois was always going to tell Clark but she had to emotionally prepare for the conversation first. 

Thanks. I think I missed that part. Then again, my brain’s not totally focused on things right now. Too excited about my upcoming vacation.

ETA: my only knowledge of Manheim is from DCAU and Smallville, and I came away that he’s always been a screw up and minion of Darkseid.

Here, it’s the opposite. Which is the more accurate portrayal?

I see they also recast Eliza.

Oh! I’m really enjoying the new Jon. His recast has been seamless.

Edited March 25, 2023 by GHScorpiosRule

[moonshine71]

On 3/21/2023 at 9:22 PM, cambridgeguy said:

Why does it feel like they've retconned the distance between Smallville and Metropolis?  They seem a lot closer together than they did back in the first season if it's possible to just drive there and back in a couple of hours. 

Maybe Clark should give Lana one of those signalling devices.  I can't remember if John already has one.

 

 

Agree. The football team stayed overnight for a game there last season, that's probably only going to happen if the drive is well over 2 hours. Now they're just cruising up there to go to a party where they don't know anyone and aren't invited...🙄

 

They seem to be sticking to the Smallville tradition of nonsensical geography. Where Metropolis is a 3 hour drive away, but you can see the skyline from the Smallville water tower and all the characters eventually commuted 6 hours a day from Smallville to Metropolis and back.😂

[millennium]

On 3/22/2023 at 10:16 AM, Chicago Redshirt said:

It should haunt Clark day and night that despite his efforts and his power/technology, he has left the world subject to the traditional ills of poverty, racism, starvation, etc. Which is not to be ungrateful that Clark has saved the world from Ally, and rogue Kryptonians and lord knows what else. But the fact that people are starving when Clark could easily facilitate feeding everyone, are homeless when Clark could easily create housing for everyone, etc. is something that you have to put blinders on to enjoy the Super-fantasy.

Superman has to respect the world's autonomy.   He can step in and help, save lives, prevent disasters, fight threats like supervillains, asteroids, etc., but if he starts imposing his own personal vision of salvation -- no matter how utopian -- upon the whole planet, then he would be positioning himself as the de facto ruler of Earth.   If he were to make arid countries fertile, house all the homeless, eliminate disease, etc., it would upset the world's ecological and political balance, the world economy, etc in unpredictable ways.   Also it would inevitably lead to  conflicts over who's getting more super-help than they deserve, who's not getting enough, what about me and my family?, etc.   Didn't Superman do something like this in one of the old Superman movies, throw the world's nuclear arsenal into the sun?  Who gave Superman the right to make choices for the whole world?

I really felt the cancer storyline.   Great acting all around.

Edited August 31, 2023 by millennium

[Chicago Redshirt]

5 hours ago, millennium said:

Superman has to respect the world's autonomy.   He can step in and help, save lives, prevent disasters, fight threats like supervillains, asteroids, etc., but if he starts imposing his own personal vision of salvation -- no matter how utopian -- upon the whole planet, then he would be positioning himself as the de facto ruler of Earth.   If he were to make arid countries fertile, house all the homeless, eliminate disease, etc., it would upset the world's ecological and political balance, the world economy, etc in unpredictable ways.   Also it would inevitably lead to  conflicts over who's getting more super-help than they deserve, who's not getting enough, what about me and my family?, etc.   Didn't Superman do something like this in one of the old Superman movies, throw the world's nuclear arsenal into the sun?  Who gave Superman the right to make choices for the whole world?

I really felt the cancer storyline.   Great acting all around.

I would dispute that Superman "has to respect the world's autonomy." Not if it means people are starving or dying that he could easily save, he doesn't. 

But even accepting the notion that he doesn't/shouldn't radically transform the world, there's a long ways between setting up an Injustice/Kingdom Come-like dictatorship and the relatively minimal effort he does now (relative to his capabilities, I mean). He could easily generate multitrillions through his abilities, which he could then use to create various charities that could eradicate hunger, homelessness, some diseases, for example. 

He could use the same abilities any of us have to speak out in favor of democracy and whatever policies and politicians he believes in and against those that do harm, either as Clark or as Superman.

[John Potts]

Way to start on a major downer. Pretty sure Lois will survive (she's in the title!) but she doesn't know that and her distress seemed genuine. Liked that Clark saw that something was wrong but gave her some space to tell him in her own time.

“This party is insane!” Really? I’ve never been a party animal, but it looked extremely tame to me. Maybe that’s because I’m from the big city and not Smallville? Huge place, though.

OK, that has to be the least subtle political pressure ever. The judge was calling short the interview anyway, you can kill her once everyone else is out of the room if necessary. Tipping off the journalists just makes your strong-arming more obvious.

What mother stays out for dinner when her daughter is off in the big city!?

On 3/22/2023 at 5:54 PM, blackwing said:

How is that the two jerks were ok with Jordan and Sarah not drinking?  It's a major part of the game.

Again, not my scene, but isn't the point you drink if you miss your shot?

On 3/22/2023 at 1:00 AM, scarynikki12 said:

Surely someone is watching or filming this hug between Lois and Superman?

They're known to be close in most continuities, I assume that's true here. We only have to handwave how Superman "just happened" to be in the area.

On 3/23/2023 at 2:19 PM, Affogato said:

I thought I knew that Metropolis was New York, Gotham was Chicago

I've heard it as Metropolis is New York by day and Gotham NY by night (but any such parallels are never canon).