Superman and Lois: Season 2, Episode 14 - Worlds War Bizarre

For a summary of the episode guide layout & categories, click here.

Plot

Strange things begin to occur as Ally Allson's plan to merge Earth-Prime and Bizarro World rolls out. With Superman powerless, John Henry and Natalie Irons throw themselves into the task of understanding how Ally's powers work and finding a way to counter them. Meanwhile, Chrissy and Lois threaten to go public with the truth about the worlds merging, as Lana tries to keep the peace in Metropolis.


Influences

Superman: Our Worlds At War (partial title lift, idea of war between two planets)


Goofs

Why does merging Earth-Prime and Bizarro World change the sun? Is Ally merging whole dimensions rather than just a single planet? 


Performances

Tyler Hoechlin gets some of his best Superman speeches ever in this episode.


Artistry

The fight between Jordan and Natalie against Jon-El and Lana-Rho is fantastic.


Super Trivia

John enables something called the Vaporlock Protocol to prevent Natalie from following after him into the space between worlds. In the comics, Vaporlock was one of the codenames used by Natasha Irons as a superhero.


Technobabble

John Henry and Natalie guess that Ally can absorb energy from anything she connects with physically, based on the fact that his suit has no loose wires, no effective diodes and that his shields were up and running and yet somehow she was still able to stop his hammer and drain power from his suit.

The Lara hologram confirms that Clark's cells have been damaged and until they heal it will limit his ability to absorb solar energy at the rate to which he's accustomed. 

The DoD cover story for the double sun, also known as a parhelion, is an optical illusion caused by sunlight refracting off atmospheric ice particles.

John Henry determines that the red sun of Bizarro World outputs less than 3% of the total solar radiance of the yellow sun of Earth-Prime. However, that output is growing fast, as the sun phase-shifts into Earth-Prime's dimension. 

John Henry and Natalie believe the merging of people is a complete subatomic recombination.


Dialogue Triumphs

Sam: Clark. Clark. Hey. You gotta stop beatin' yourself up. This isn't on you.
Clark: Look, Sam...
Sam: And the only reason Ally can do this right now is because you stopped her from killing me. If you did anything wrong, it was saving me.

Clark: Saving a life is never a mistake, Sam.

Lois: (To Lana) There have been moments in my life and in my career where I have withheld facts from people because I thought it would protect them more than it would hurt them. Sometimes that was the right thing to do, and sometimes it wasn't. I am telling you all this so that you are armed with the truth. As mayor of this town and all the people in it who you love, it's up to you to decide what to do with it. 

Clark: Yeah, and I'm Superman. I'm supposed to keep people safe.
Lois: Okay. Then do that.
Clark: How? What am I supposed to do? I've never been like this.
Lois: You are more than just your powers.
Clark: (sighs) People look to me to save them.
Lois: No, people look to you for hope. That's what Superman does. He inspires. You inspire me and the boys every day, and it's not because you can fly or because you're strong. It's because of your heart.
Clark: I don't want to give people false hope.
Lois: That's not what I'm saying. The world needs you. You're Superman. Be Superman. 

Superman: I hope by now you all know me as a friend. It's as a friend that I've come here to assure you that your mayor is telling you the truth about everything, and that does not mean that all is lost. I saw what this town was capable of last year, the way you all protected each other. And I know you can do it again. That's starts by listening to your leader. Because I know she's here for you, not to serve her own interest.


Continuity

As the episode open, Clark wakes up in a military hospital, where Lois is sitting at his bedside, waiting.

When Clark and Lois return to the Kent farm, Clark is barely able to walk and trips on the porch steps.

According to the Department of Defense, Clark's cells were completely drained of solar energy.

Clark says that he can't feel himself recharging in the sun like he normally does and thinks they have to consult with the hologram of Lara to figure out what is wrong.

Jordan is nervous about trying to fly Clark to the Fortress, noting that he still can't control his landings.

Lois says Jordan doesn't have to fly if he doesn't want to and they can ask John Henry for help instead.

Sarah is uncharacteristically late getting ready for school, driving Lana crazy.

Ally Allston appears on TVs all across Earth-Prime.

Chrissy's computer at the Smallville Sentinel is glitching when Lois comes in to work,

Chrissy wants to report on everything they know about Ally, but Lois is afraid it would start a panic.

As the computer glitches, the text of it suddenly appears to be backwards.

John Henry takes Clark to the Fortress.

Lara says Clark's cells were altered during the fight with Ally and it may take time for his body to adjust and start absorbing solar energy at the same rate as before.

Clark didn't develop powers until he was four years old.

Clark asks if there is a way to speed up his energy absorption. Lara says there is one but it could kill him before she begins glitching.

Everyone goes outside and sees that a second red sun, shaped like a cube, is overlaying Earth's yellow sun.

Lucy Lane is reportedly working with some DoD analysts, but she only knows what Ally already told the world in her broadcast.

John Henry and Natalie plan to go into the stratosphere and gather data on the red sun.

Lois tells Sam that Chrissy and Lana are having a meeting to discuss what she knows at a town hall meeting in Smallville.

Lois has come around to Chrissy's way of thinking and believes they should be honest with the public.

Lois tells Jordan to listen for trouble and to stay with Jonathan.

The people of Smallville don't believe the DoD story about why there's a second red square sun.

Lana asks Kyle to take the girls and arrange for the firefighters to be at her town hall meeting to help keep the peace.

Chrissy and Lois tell Lana about Bizzaro World and Ally Allston's plan.

When Lana asks why Superman doesn't do something, Lois tells her that Superman list his powers.

Lois tells Lana that they are giving this information to her so she can decide what people find out.

Jordan tells Jonathan that he can hear how much weaker Clark's heartbeat is.

Lana-Rho shows up at the Kent farm.

Jordan moves to protect his father, but Lana-Rho is more powerful than him.

Clark tries to surrender to her, but Lana-Rho flees when John Henry and Natalie arrive in their armor.

At this point, John Henry estimates that they have less than 12 hours until the worlds merge.

John Henry decides to go into the space between worlds and confront Ally with every weapon he can, after tracking her energy trail to the mines.

Kyle senses that something has Lana upset but doesn't ask for the details. She asks him if he thinks it is better to know something terrible is going to happen or live in ignorance. 

Kyle says that the truth comes out eventually, but you have to be brave enough to tell it when it matters. He admits this is part of why he hid the truth about his affair with Tonya from Lana - it was easier to live the lie and hope he could control how the truth came out.

Lana says she wants to talk to their daughters before the town hall meeting.

Jordan is upset because he wasn't able to fight to protect Clark.

Clark is upset because he's not used to being powerless and unable to help, but Lois tells him he can still help by inspiring people.

Lana reveals the truth about Bizarro World at the town hall and tells people to avoid anyone who is acting strangely or looks like them. She also tells the public about Superman losing his powers.

The crowd turn on Chrissy and Lana after they reveal that Chrissy didn't publish the news before now at Lana's request.

The former mayor tries to turn the people against Lana, saying it is clear she doesn't know what she's doing and this is some desperate ploy to stay in power.

Clark shows up at the town hall as Superman and vouches for everything Lana and Lois and Chrissy say.

Sarah figures out that Jordan knew about the Bizarro World crisis and guesses that is why he was acting so weird and wasn't there for her the past few weeks.

Natalie reinforces John Henry's armor with the X-Kryptonite polymer she created that made her armor stronger than his.

John Henry activates a protocol, Vaporlock, which keeps Natalie from activating her armor until ten minutes after he leaves. He says she needs to stay behind to help protect the Kents, because they are their family in this new Earth.

Lana-Rho and Jon-El arrive on Earth-Prime.

Jon-El uses a Kryptonite inhaler to boost his powers.

John Henry confronts Ally Allston in the space between worlds, using missiles rather than his hammer. Unfortunately, they have no affect on her and she sends an energy blast back at him that sends him flying, When we last see him, he's flying through space, unconscious.

Sarah seems ready to forgive Jordan, but asks why he didn't just tell her the truth. Jordan says he wanted to but it wasn't his decision and there was something else.

Lana interrupts them before Jordan can tell Sarah about his powers, but then Lana-Rho arrives.

Jordan reveals his powers to Sarah as his eyes glow red, when he tells her and Lana to run.

Jon-El goes after Superman and starts strangling him.

Natalie decides to join the fight against Jon-El rather than go after her father.

Jon-El and Lana-Rho are taken into custody by the DoD.

Sam goes off to manage the crisis management at the DoD.

Natalie tells the Kents that she lost her dad's signal and she's afraid she'll never see him again.

Sarah figures out that Lana knew Jordan had powers and that the reason she disappeared for six hours in 211 had something to do with her finding out his secret.

Sarah is furious with Lana, but before they can discuss what happened, the world changes around them.

The episode ends with the Kent Farmhouse becoming the rundown house on Bizarro World.

Location

The new Fortress of Solitude.



Untelevised Adventures

Lana's talk with her daughters about the crisis takes place off camera.


The Fridge Factor

Lois turns into a damsel in distress when Jon-El goes after Superman.


The Bottom Line

A great episode with an epic cliffhanger heading into the finale.

Superman and Lois: Season 2, Episode 12 - Lies That Bind

For a summary of the episode guide layout & categories, click here.

Plot

Lana is left reeling by the revelation of Clark's secret identity. as Superman turns to an unexpected ally for assistance in destroying the pendant he recovered from Bizarro World.

Influences

Smallville (Lana makes reference to the weird things that happened in their town when she and Clark were young.) and The Lord of the Rings. (The destruction of the pendant scene.)


Goofs

The series' refusal to acknowledge Supergirl's existence reaches new heights of absurdity with Clark going out of his way to get Tal-Rho to help him destroy the pendant rather than ask Kara for help. (Granting this is born of Clark just seeing a heroic Tal-Rho on another world and wanting to give his half-brother a shot at redemption, time is of the essence and there's too many steps to the plan.)


Performances

Adam Rayner has a subtlety hilarious and powerful performance as Tal-Rho here.


Artistry

The effects work of the volcano fight is great.


Super Trivia

The episode title is a play on the phrase "The Ties That Bind," which was also the title of 202.

This episode confirms that Natalie was working on an armored suit of her own. In the comics, Natasha Irons created her own armored suit and adopted her uncle John Henry's Steel identity.


Technobabble

John Henry and Sam Lane determine that Ally's pendant is nearly impossible to destroy in practical terms. It is not indestructible, but destroying it requires more power than even Superman has and it requires a level of energy that is dangerous to attempt with all the tech they have.


Dialogue Triumphs

Lana: Did you ever love me?
Clark: Lana, of course I did.
Lana: (bitterly) Just not enough.

(Superman is told he can't save the people of Bizzaro World.)
Superman: I have to try. It's the promise I made. The promise we made.

(Lana confronts Lois over Clark's secret.)
Lana: I don't blame him for not telling me the truth back then. It hurts, but I can't be mad about it.
Lois: Are you sure? 'Cause you seem kind of mad.
Lana: I'm mad at you.
Lois: Me?
Lana: When you moved to Smallville, we didn't have to become friends. We could have been neighborly, waving hello at the bus stop, but you sought me out, and I trusted you.
Lois: Lana, I understand how this must feel for you.
Lana: No, you don't, Lois, because I've told you a lot. After Sarah's quinceañera, when my marriage was falling apart, I called you. You've become the person that I call. And this whole time you've been keeping this huge secret from me.
Lois: It wasn't my secret to share.
Lana: But you knew, and I didn't, which means our entire friendship was built on a lie. There's nothing real between us.
Lois: Please don't say that. It's not true, and it's not how I feel.
Lana: Maybe not... but it is how I feel. And the worst part about it is that you've made me a liar, too.

Tal-Rho: Hello, Lois.
Lois: What the hell is he doing here?
Clark: (sighs) It's complicated, but if I'm gonna have any chance of destroying Ally's pendant, I need his help.
Tal-Rho: I've come to try and make amends.
Lois: Oh, really? Well, which part did you want me to forgive first... how you kidnapped my son? Or how you tried to eradicate all of humanity?
Clark: Lois....
Lois: Or was it when you rewrote my article in the Daily Planet?
Tal-Rho: (To Clark) I told you she'd bring that up. 


Continuity

The episode begins right where 211 ended, with Lana and Clark on the highway after Clark demonstrated his powers.

Lana asks how she never saw this before. Clark says that people see what they want to.

Lana makes reference to the car crash that she, Clark and Pete Woods somehow survived while driving back from a Soul Asylum concert in 101.

Clark explains to Lana that the reason he left Smallville so suddenly after that concert was because he needed to figure out exactly how to best use his powers. He also reveals that he came back for Lana, but she was already engaged to Kyle Cushing when he decided to rekindle their romance and tell her his plans to become Superman.

Jon is allowed to return to in-person classes.

Jordan wants to stay home in case Clark needs help, but Clark says he will get Jordan if he needs him.

Clark tries to call Lana to warn her about Lana-Rho, but Lana is not taking his calls.

John Henry and Sam Lane are reportedly running tests on the Pendant Clark recovered together.

Sarah says hi to Natalie in the hallway while she is with Jon and Jordan, but ignores the boys and doesn't stop to talk.

Jon is greeted by his former friends on the football team and given a hard time about getting the season cancelled. Jon counters by pointing out that he could have outed them all as X-K users and didn't.  He also dismisses high school sports, and high school, as unimportant because the world is coming to an end.

Jordan counters this by saying Jon has gotten into eco-activism and is worried about climate change.

There is a brief montage of scenes where Lana noticed clues that Clark was Superman. These include noticing that Clark has barely aged after he moved back to Smallville (101), her comment that Clark looked like he was carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders (102) and Superman telling Lana she is a hero (110) although this last scene is edited out of sequence, with the last line being Lana wondering if Superman just lied to her.

Kyle meets with Lana at the diner and asks her how Sarah liked the car they gave her. He quickly realizes Lana is troubled about something and asks what is going on. Lana dodges the question and asks him to pick up their daughters from school, after Lois texts her and says they need to talk.

This is the first time Lana has ever lied to Kyle about anything.

Clark visits Jon-El in custody and asks him for help in stopping Ally Allston. Jon-El refuses.

John Henry agrees the pendant is almost impossible to destroy. He suggests they use a controlled explosion to close the portal to Bizzaro World instead.

Clark refuses to consider this, since it will leave the people on Bizarro World trapped under Ally Allston's thumb.

Lana meets with Lois, but tells her off for not telling her Clark's secret and becoming her friend with that weight hanging over them.

Natalie, Jordan and Jon skip class.

Natalie shows Jordan and Jon the super-suit she's built after they promise not to tell their parents.

Natalie says she can refit the suit for Jon so he can protect himself from his doppelganger.

Natalie asks Jon and Jordan for help in getting some X-Kryptonite so she can power her suit.

Clark visits Tal-Rho in his prison, where he is reading a Pictorial History of Mines.

Tal-Rho makes reference to "The Fault In Our Stars," which is apparently in his library.

Clark tells Tal-Rho about the Bizarro Tal-Rho who helped him and suggests that together they could destroy Ally's pendant.

Tal-Rho asks what he gets in exchange for his help and Clark offers to get him more books. Tal-Rho says he knows he'll never be released and the only thing he really wants is a chance to be a brother to Superman.

Clark gets Tal-Rho out of prison and takes him to the farm house to meet with Lois and ask her forgiveness for everything he did as Morgan Edge.

Lois refuses to forgive Tal-Rho.

John Henry and Sam Lane are not happy with Clark's idea to work with Tal-Rho to destroy the pendant. Neither is Lois, but she agrees it is the best plan they have.

Jon, Jordan and Natalie go into the Shuster Mines looking for another deposit of X-Kryptonite.

Kyle picks up Sarah from school and starts asking her if she has noticed Lana acting strangely. Sarah tells him about Lana's lie that she went on a six hour walk the day before - her lie to cover up her kidnapping.

Jordan tries to use his heat vision to cut the X-Kryptonite out of the rock around it. This triggers a cave in.

Jordan is able to run Natalie and Jon out of the mines at super-speed. Unfortunately, he leaves all the X-Kryptonite they had behind.

John Henry confirms the theory proposed by the Bizarro Lara hologram - that two Kryptonians could destroy the pendant together.

Sarah has started writing her own songs in the wake of her break-up with Jordan.

Kyle overhears Sarah singing and says she is good.

Kyle starts grilling Sara for information on Lana's dating someone new and Sarah tells him she's having enough trouble with her own break-up without having to deal with his too. Kyle withdraws the question.

Kyle calls Tonya - the woman with whom he had the affair.

Lois confronts Lana at her office and apologizes for hiding the truth from her.

Lois says that she never really had a lot of friends in Metropolis, devoting herself completely to her work and her sons. Knowing how close she was to Clark, she really hoped they could become friends too.

Lois tells Lana that there's more she needs to know about Clark's life. She starts by telling her that Jordan has powers and that was why he wasn't there for Sarah.

Clark and Tal-Rho take the pendant into the heart of an active volcano to destroy it.

Ally Allston shows up and starts draining the energy from Tal-Rho and Clark as they fight to keep her from the pendant. 

Steel is able to save Superman from Ally, as her powers don't seem to work on him for some reason.

The pendant is destroyed, but Tal-Rho escapes in the confusion.

Superman notes that Ally was somehow able to siphon his power to make herself stronger. He felt the same sensation when trying to stop her from merging with her Bizarro self in 210 but this time it was 10 times worse.

Lois isn't worried about Tal-Rho being a threat, pointing out that he risked his life to help Superman twice.

Lois also notes that Tal-Rho brought her peonies, which are her favorite flower.

Sarah makes dinner for her mom - salad with hot dogs and pumpkin seeds.

Sarah tells Lana that Kyle knows something is up and asks if she is dating someone new. She says she doesn't care if she is, but that Kyle deserves to know if she is moving on.

Sarah also tells Lana that whatever is going on, she can be trusted. Lana agrees she can.

Lana offers Sarah an internship working in her office. She says she will consider it.

Jon and Jordan join John Henry and Natalie for dinner. He tells them that the pendant has been destroyed.

Lois and Clark ask Lana to speak privately.

Lana decided not to tell Sarah about Jordan or Clark because she can't ask Sarah to lie to her father or sister.

Lana says she isn't mad at Lois or Clark anymore but she wants their families to cut ties so she doesn't feel like she's lying to her family every time they hang out.

Kyle takes Sarah to Tonya's bar, revealing that he got her a gig playing her songs there.

Back on Bizarro World, Ally drains the Bizarro Tal-Rho ro death.

Location

The government facility where Jon-El and Tal-Rho are being held.
A government prison on Bizarro World.


The Bottom Line

Ignoring that Clark has a cousin he could turn to for help far easier than Tal-Rho, this is a fantastic episode that builds the stakes and develops all the relationships well.

Superman and Lois: Season 2, Episode 11 - Truth and Consequences

For a summary of the episode guide layout & categories, click here.

Plot

Jon-El's efforts to start paving the way for Ally Allston's invasion lead to a major change in the status quo between Clark and Lana.


Influences

Classic Superman comics and the drama and comedy that arose from Superman hiding his secret identity from Lana Lang.


Performances

This is another great episode for Tyler Hoechlin, who sells Clark's torment at the pain his secret is causing people.


Artistry

The final scene is one of the most beautiful in the show's history.


Super Trivia

The episode title is a take on an old gameshow, Truth Or Consequences.

In most iterations of the Superman story, Lana Lang was the first person outside of the Kent family to learn about Clark's powers. Superman and Lois is one of the more notable exceptions to this, making this episode's final revelation all the more notable.

This episode establishes that the Arrowverse version of Superman can still use his powers while suffering from Kryptonite poisoning. This is notable as in most Superman comic stories, his powers are completely negated by the presence of Kryptonite. The most notable example of this came in JLA #4, where Superman figured out the green Kryptonite being used to hold him at bay was a telepathic illusion based on the fact that he could hear billions of people suffering in the middle of an alien invasion.

Natalie is revealed to be working on something called the Pasiphae Project. In Greek mythology, Pasiphae was a witch and queen of Crete, who commissioned the inventor Daedalus to fashion an armored cow suit for her so she could mate with the Cretan Bull. She later gave birth to the Minotaur. The implication here seems to be that she is making her own armored suit to help her father, based on the fact that she makes reference to needing a power source.


Technobabble

John Henry describes the process linking doppelganger minds psychically as inter-dimensional kinesthesis. He's not sure he has the means to disrupt it.

Clark finds out that he's been gone for 33 days, but was only in Bizarro World for a day. This suggests that the time flows differently between the two dimensions or in the Negative Zone between rifts.

John Henry's Steel armor is powered by Kryptonite. However, he's been using X-Kryptonite as a power source since allying himself with Superman.


Dialogue Triumphs

Clark: Why didn't you just tell me those drսg belonged to Candice?
Jonathan: Dad, I thought you said that everything was cool between us.
Clark: It is, Jonathan, but I still want to understand what you were thinking.
Jonathan: Okay, well, clearly I didn't want Candice to get in trouble.
Clark: Well, maybe she should have. She was selling drսgs.
Jonathan: See? That's--that is exactly why I didn't say anything. Because you ask me a question and then you don't even listen to what I have to say.
Clark: No, don't make this about me. I'm the one who was lying.
Jonathan: (chuckles) Are you serious? You lied to me for 14 years about who you actually are.
Lois: No, Jonathan, that is not the same thing.
Jonathan: Yeah, it's worse. Because I lied to protect someone else and he lied to protect his own secret.
Clark: That secret keeps this family safe. It allows you to have a normal life. One that isn't in the shadow of me being Superman.
Jonathan: Okay, well, if that's what the secret's doing, it's doing a pretty crap job. 

(John Henry tries to calm Natalie down about the Ally Allston situation.)
John Henry: You cannot spiral out at the worst case scenario.
Natalie: You mean the one where your entire planet gets destroyed and you lose everyone you care about?

(Lana is driving down a country road. Clark is standing in the middle of it. She stops and gets out of her car.)
Lana: Clark. What are you doing here?
Clark: I, um-- I need to talk to you.
Lana: This really isn't a good time.
Clark: Lana, there's... There's something I've... (sighs) Something I've wanted to tell you my entire life.
Lana: How did you even know I was gonna be here? Oh, you know what? It doesn't even matter.
Clark: Lana...
Lana: Clark, listen, I do want to hear what you have to say, but I have had the longest day. You've no idea what I've been through.
Clark: Yeah, yeah, but I do, though, actually.
Lana: What?
Clark: I was there. Lana, I--I-- I was with you.
Lana: What are you talking about?
(Clark sighs and takes off his glasses and levitates off the ground. He uses his ice breath to freeze a tree.)
Lana: (awe-struck) My God... You're Superman. 


Continuity

This episode begins right where the final scenes of 209 and 210 left off.

Jon-El tries to merge with Jonathan, but Clark returns in time to stops him.

Jon-El is much stronger than Jordan.

Jonathan begins to experience visions like Clark had when Bizarro Superman first came to Earth-Prime. He describes the sensation as a "weird brain freeze feeling."

Clark says that Jon-El should start getting weaker on Earth-Prime, like Bizarro did, because the yellow sun drains his strength in the same way a red sun drains him.

Clark makes a point of telling Jonathan that he loves him and always will no matter what before going to talk to John Henry.

Jordan texts Sarah repeatedly, trying to talk to her about the break up.

Lois suggests that Jordan write Sarah a letter to get his feelings out in a clear way instead of sending multiple texts. He decides to try it.

Jon has a vision of Jon-El on the Main Street of Smallville.

Clark goes to confront Jon-El, but runs into Lana. Jon-El makes his escape while Clark tries to make an excuse not to stay and catch-up.

Clark is surprised to learn he's been gone for over a month and that Lois told everyone he was on an assignment.

Lois also didn't have the chance to tell Clark that Lana won the mayoral election and is moving into her new office the next day.

Lois also informs Clark as to Candice being the X-Kryptonite dealer Jonathan was protecting.

Clark isn't happy about Jonathan lying, but he defends his actions saying he was lying to protect someone and pointed out that Clark lied about being Superman to protect his family and it didn't work.

Natalie tries to help John Henry get his suit upgraded.

Lana tells Sarah about how Clark was acting weird when she ran into him the night before.

Sarah says that Jordan was acting the same way, as if he was hiding something and suddenly wanted to be somewhere else.

Sarah packed everything for Lana's office and offers to load them into her car. This leads Lana to surprise Sarah with a car of her own, revealing that Kyle finally got the car they were working on finished and they wanted her to have it.

Jordan shows his letter to Jonathan. He does not discuss what is in it, but is shocked by it.

Jon-El runs into Sarah, who mistakes him for Jonathan. He's rude to her about her car, saying he prefers Lamborghinis. 

Jon-El goes after Lana in her house and captures her.

Lois runs into Sarah at her mom's office, Lois wanted to talk to her, but talks to Sarah about Jordan. She doesn't go into detail, but tries to stick up for Jordan and says there's some family stuff going on.

Lois says Sarah is more mature than she was at her age and that she used to date bad boys purely to upset her father. One of them, Dave, was in a Primus cover band.

Sarah has never hard of Primus.

Lois hasn't told Clark about any of the men she dated before him.

Sarah tells Lois about Jon-El, saying Jonathan looked like he was dressed like he was going to "rave out in The Matrix."

Lois tells Clark that she thinks Jon-El went after Lana.

John Henry builds a device he thinks will prevent Jon-El from having headaches while Jon-El is on Earth-Prime but it will require more power than he has handy. This means he will have to go into the Shuster Mines to get some Kryptonite, which is also the source of power for his suit.

Jon-El chains up Lana with one of the pendants.

Sarah leaves the office to go back home and check on Lana.

Jordan is upset that Lois talked to Sarah without checking with him first.

Sarah later goes to Lois to tell her she thinks her mom has been abducted.

Lois promises to help, but sends Sarah back to her mom's office.

Jordan tries to give Sarah the letter he wrote for her, but she refuses to take it, being worried about her mom and in no mood to deal with Jordan's apology.

John Henry and Natalie see the dimensional rift to Bizarro World as they gather the X-Kryptonite.

John Henry says that Clark told him about the portal not going directly to Bizarro world and that there's some kind of Negative Zone between the dimensional rifts leading to the other planets. Natalie says this sounds like the space she was in before she found the way to Earth-Prime.

Lana thinks Jon-El is Jonathan Kent high on X-Kryptonite.

Clark has started questioning if his secret is worth anything. Lois says it is, but agrees that she felt bad lying to Sarah when her mother was in danger.

Jon has another vision of Jon-El in a place full of bloody meathooks, like a freezer. This is determined to be the old slaughterhouse on Kempsville Road. 

Jon-El sets an ambush for Clark, wounding him with Kryptonite shrapnel before stabbing him through the chest with a Kryptonite crystal.

The Bizarro Lana emerges through the rift while Natalie and John Henry are working.

The Bizarro Lana attacks John Henry, who tries attacking her with one of his red sun weapons. This heals her rather than hurting her.

Lana Lang picks the Kryptonite shards out of Superman's chest.

Bizzaro Lana is driven off when Natalie stabs her with an X-Kryptonite crystal.

Jordan confronts Jon-El but is able to fight back this time.

Jordan passes out trying to carry Jon-El closer to the sun, but both are caught by Superman.

Superman takes Lana Lang home but asks her not to talk about Jon-El.

She agrees to keep the secret - for Clark's sake, afraid of how he'd handle the news of an evil version of his son existing.

Clark almost seems ready to tell Lana his secret but decides against it.

Natalie is working on something secret called Project Pasipahe, which needs power source. She thinks X-Kryptonite may be what she needs.

Jon-El is said to have been taken to a Black Ops site and a special cell like the one for Tal-Rho.

Jordan lets Lois read his letter to Sarah. It is revealed that he planned to tell her about his powers.

Clark comes back to the farmhouse and says he wants to tell Lana his secret, but wants the rest of the family to weigh in on the decision. Everyone agrees it is a good idea.

Lana lies to Sara about having saved Superman.

Clark meets Lana out on the road and tells her he has to tell her something.

Lana shoots down hearing Clark's story. In response he takes off his glasses, levitates and freezes a tree.

Lana realizes Clark is Superman.


The Kryptonite Factor

John Henry really should know better than to use his Red Sun weapons on Bizarro Lana. (It's possible Clark didn't get the chance to explain that aspect of Bizarro World to him.)


The Bottom Line

A powerful episode, from beginning to end.

Superman and Lois: Season 2, Episode 10 - Bizarros in a Bizarro World

For a summary of the episode guide layout & categories, click here.

Plot

Superman emerges into the Inverse World and finds it quite bizarre. As he tries to navigate his way through a series of familiar faces and work out who is friend and foe, he learns something of just how drastically different he was from the Kal-El of this world.


Influences

Every classic Superman comic containing references to Bizarro World.


Performances

Difficult as it is to single out any one actor when they all do a great job playing their Bizarro counterparts, I have to give the VIP spot to Tyler Hoechlin, who does a fantastic job playing a radically different version of Superman yet still managing to make him seem like a plausible Kal-El variant for all that.


Artistry

The special effects used to change the regular sets into Bizarro World are amazing.

The fight between Jon-El, Anderson and Clark is fantastic.


Super Trivia

This episode was shot with the cameras reversed so as to make everything look further askew.

The title cards at the beginning of the episode flip so that the Superman logo is reversed. It then changes back during the end title-card sequence, as Superman returns to Earth-Prime.

This is the first episode not to feature Sarah.

This episode reveals that Bizarro Superman's appearance was caused by his addiction to Kryptonite. In the Red Hood and the Outlaws comics, Bizarro went through a similar transformation, though in his case Green Kryptonite temporarily enhanced his intelligence. 

The Bizarro Lois Lane sports a number of different hairstyles in the flashbacks - all of which are based on Margot Kidder's hairstyles in the classic Superman movies.

Five of the episode's six segments each focus on a different character. In order, the sections are Superman, Bizarro Jonathan-El, Bizarro Lois Lane, Lt. General Mitchell Anderson and Bizarro Tal-Rho.

Jordan Eliass created the reverse-S-shield hand-sign that becomes Jon-El's trademark.

Jon-El's reference to Bizarro Superman spending more time hanging out with President Seinfeld than with his family is a nod to comedy legend and huge Superman fan Jerry Seinfeld, who starred in series of short films based around his hanging out with Superman.


Dialogue Triumphs

Superman: You can fly?
Jon-El: (smirking) Do a lot more than that.

Bizarro Superman: I am your father. You do what I tell you to do, you understand?
Jon-El: Oh, so now you wanna be my dad now that I have powers. Where were you before?
Bizarro Superman: Don't you take that tone with me. You know exactly where I was.
Jon-El: Actually, yeah, yeah, I do. Uh, selling your shoe line and hosting the Kevins. Oh, and the trips with President Seinfeld.
Bizarro Superman: I have responsibilities, Jonathan! I thought, by now, you would understand that.
Jon-El: That's the thing, Dad. It's always, always about me understanding you. Maybe, for once in your life, you should think about how I'm feeling. 

Anderson: After everything that I've done, you'd still try and save me?
Superman: I've told you before. To me, everyone's worth saving. 


Continuity

The opening scene replicates the opening of 209, with Superman flying into the Inverse Portal.

Superman heals upon exiting the portal, which is in the Shuster Mines of the Bizarro World. The mine there is full of green Kryptonite rather than X-Kryptonite.

The language of Bizzaro World is backwards, but Superman is able to adjust his way of speaking to make himself understood.

Superman finds a dead man named Anderson in a military uniform. He presumes this is Lt. General Anderson from his Earth.

Bizarro World is cube-shaped and has a red cube-shaped sun.

The Fortress of Solitude is in the same location on Bizarro World as it is on Earth-Prime. However, the Fortress of Bizarro World has been turned into a museum devoted to Bizarro Superman.

The exhibits of the museum include holograms of the bottle city of Kandor and a model of the giant key once used to lock the Fortress of Solitude.

The Fortress is maintained by a hologram of Lara, instead of Jor-El.

The Jonathan Kent of Bizarro World, Jon-El, shows up. He deactivates the Lara hologram and says they need to take it with them. He suggests they go to the farm in Smallville.

Jon-El tells Superman that Ally took over a lot of the world several months earlier. She's made her base of operations in the Department of Defense.

Jon-El reveals that Bizarro Superman had been using green Kryponite to boost his powers, like Jonathan Kent used X-Kryptonite on Earth.

Bizarro Lois Lane shows up and reveals that Jon-El is a follow of Ally Allston.

A flashback reveals that Jordan-El has straight hair.

Bizarro Superman was a celebrity who reveled in his fame and did endorsement deals, as opposed to the humbler Superman of Earth-Prime.

Jon-El first manifested his powers to save a falling window-washer while attending a red-carpet event with his family. His dad was too distracted by his fans to notice him.

Jon-El's superhero look was created by committee, with a consultant named Deb.

Bizarro Superman is revealed to have bought the Kent farm as a remote hideaway for his family to get away from the celebrity life. The familiar Kent mailbox instead reads El.

Jon-El begins dating an actress named Misty, who introduces him to Ally Allston at a Hollywood party.

Jon-El resents Bizarro Superman for only seeing him as an extension of himself and an heir to his empire. This is an ironic reversal of Earth-Prime, where Jon resents Clark for not paying as much attention to his football career as Jordan's powers.

Jon-El makes reference to an awards show called the Kevins (which his father co-hosted) and his going off on trips with President Seinfeld rather than spend time with him before he got powers.

Reference is made to uprisings in Star City. Ally claims the American government faked those to make her look bad.

Ally is said to have a billion followers before Jon-El joins her.

Bizarro Lois is revealed to have left (with Jordan El) because of Superman's Kryptonite abuse and neglect of their family.

Bizarro Lois says that Jonathan changed after joining Ally Allston's cult.

The cars of Bizarro World America are like the British cars of Earth-Prime, with the driver's seat on the right side of the front of the car.

Bizarro Superman burns down the barn on his farm after Lois leaves him, in a fit of anger.

Bizarro General Lane never liked Kal-El and claims to have always supported his daughters in what they wanted to do with their lives. This is the reverse of Earth-Prime, where Sam Lane worked with Superman without issue but was a distant father to his daughters.

Lois notes that people with powers are joining Ally's cult, along with political agitators and ex-military.

Jon-El attacks the Department of Defense and tries to learn the location of the Project 7734 X-Kryptonite weapons stash so that Ally can stop Superman

The Bizarro version of Lieutenant Reno Rosetti is revealed to be part of Ally's cult as well and helps Jon-El to take control of the Department of Defense.

Bizarro Ally Allston is said to have discovered a portal to another Earth.

Bizarro Superman is revealed to have been using Kryponite to make himself stronger. This is the cause of his chalky skin and emaciated appearance. 

Bizarro Superman attacks the Department of Defense after getting high on Kryptonite. This explains the opening sequence from 206.

Jon-El attacks Superman, demanding to know where Anderson is, just before Anderson shows up.

A flashback reveals that Jon-El burned Bizarro Andrerson with his heat vision to keep him from merging with his other self before Ally Allston. This explains the burned corpse in Anderson's uniform that Superman saw earlier in the episode.

In Bizarro World, Chrissy Beppo runs the Daily Smallville Deadline. It is a much bigger paper, with a large staff that includes James Olsen.

Bizarro Chrissy is at work on a story about Lex Luthor when Anderson approaches her.

Bizarro Chrissy has a punky hair-cut.  

Anderson cannot make himself understood, but is able to get directions to where Lois Lane is hiding by writing LOIS backwards on a piece of paper.

Anderson goes to 22 Mill Road and meets Lois and General Lane.

Anderson tells Jordan that his father is dead. He shows clear remorse when he realizes he killed a hero and not the monster he thought Bizarro Superman was.

Anderson apologizes to Superman and reveals he has both pendants still.

Anderson only has one of the X-Kryptonite inhalers left.

Anderson figures out that Superman was lying to him to protect his family and gives him the pendants.

Bizarro Lana Lang and Bizarro Tal-Rho arrive with both versions of Ally Allston.

Anderson dies fighting Jon-El.

The Allys start to merge.

A flashback confirms that, in this world, as stated in 207, Bizarro Tal-Rho and Bizarro Kal-El were best friends and true brothers.

We do not learn the details of Bizarro Tal-Rho's upbringing, but he has a much more positive attitude about living among humans and apparently enjoys the same degree of celebrity as his brother, having been described as an eligible celebrity bachelor in Persons Magazine.

Bizarro Tal-Rho and Bizarro Kal-El celebrated the news that Lois was pregnant in a bar in Smallville, just after Bizarro Superman Kal-El bought the farm to have a quiet place away from the press.

Bizarro Lana Lang was a waitress at the bar in Smallville who flirted with Tal-Rho after he agreed to cover everyone's drinks that night. She later married him.

It is not revealed how Bizarro Lana Lang was given powers, but presumably it involves using Kryptonite.

Bizarro Superman had a cat name Krypto. In the comics, Superman usually has a dog named Krypto.

Tal-Rho joined Ally Allston's cult around the time Bizarro Superman went off the rails with his Kryptonite addiction.

Ally tells Jon-El to go merge with Jonathan Kent and he takes the medallions.

Bizzaro Tal-Rho frees Clark, who flies back to the portal to return to Earth-Prime.

Location

Inverse World


The Bottom Line

A fantastic episode, that suffers only for feeling a bit rushed in how it tries to explore Bizarro World in an hour. The show might have benefited from having two episodes to explore the setting. Apart from that minor hiccup, however, this is darn near perfect in what it accomplishes.

Superman and Lois: Season 1, Episode 11 - A Brief Reminiscence In-Between Cataclysmic Events

 For a summary of the episode guide layout & categories, click here.

Plot

Clark recalls his earliest adventures as Superman and how he fell in love with Lois and started a family, but there's something strange about this walk down memory lane.

Influences

For The Man Who Has Everything (Superman being trapped in an artificial world based on his memories), Action Comics #1 (a tribute to the cover), Superman: The Movie (Clark's background and the general style, the creation of the Fortress of Solitude), Superman For All Seasons (Clark's line about his mom making his costume), the Adventures of Superman radio show (character of Atom Man) and Man of Steel (the Fortress sequences, the montage where Clark ages to adulthood while flying) 

Goofs

In the initial broadcast of this episode on CTV in Canada, a temporary VFX shot was left in the sequence where Tal-Rho's fortress is created.

Performances

Anyone who doubts Tyler Hoechlin's ability to play Superman after this episode clearly hasn't been watching this show.

Artistry

The special effects showing the creation of the Fortresses are on-par with the Superman movies made almost 10 years ago.

Super Trivia

See 101 for explanations of the scenes repeated from the pilot.

No specific year is given for when Clark returned to Smallville, but it seems likely it was 2004. This is based on the fact that when he sees Lana and Kyle at the local movie theater, the Marquee is promoting a Harry Potter double-feature and Friday Night Lights.  The film version of Friday Night Lights was released in 2004.

One flashback sequence in this episode has Clark changing out of his Superman costume and into his street clothes in a phone booth. This was a frequent occurrence in the classic Superman comics.

One passerby quotes the classic introduction to Adventures of Superman, saying that Superman flew off  "like a bird or a plane" just after his first appearance. 

There is a brief mention of Jimmy Olsen getting a picture of Superman, after Lois and Clark meet for the first time, but the character himself does not make an appearance.

While not identified by name in the episode, the reporter character who tells Lois that he's going to get a Pulitzer for his story about the flying mystery man is credited as Ron Troupe - one of the most enduring members of the supporting cast of the Daily Planet in the comics and Lois and Clark's brother-in-law in the Post-Crisis reality, where he married Lucy Lane.

Henry Miller, the Nazi criminal Superman confronts during his first meeting with Lois as Superman, is based on the classic Superman villain Atom Man. Originally created for the Adventures of Superman radio show and later adapted into live action for the second Superman serial, Atom Man Vs. Superman, he was introduced into the comics in World's Finest #271 in September 1981.

The Arrowverse version of Henry Miller is not identified as Atom Man. Also, his powers are based around a super-suit, whereas the comic book Atom Man had energy protection powers based upon Kryptonite; the result of an experiment by his scientist father to create a super-soldier.

As in many Superman origin stories, the Superman name was Lois' idea.

Lois evokes the classic Superman credo when asking him what he stands for. He mentions Truth and Justice but dithers when she says "The American Way," but only because he thinks its a ploy to get him to admit to where he grew up.

On Supergirl, when Lois discovered she was pregnant, she and Clark traveled to Argo City where they could be certain the yellow sun wouldn't cause their child to kick its way out of the womb. This is retconned by the scene in this episode of Lois giving birth, on Earth, in the post-Crisis timeline.

Technobabble

According to Jor-El, Kryptonian cells absorb the yellow solar radiation of Earth's sun in ways humans cannot, creating nearly endless energy.

Tal-Rho employs a Kryptonian device created by the scientist Ter-Lock, which allows the wearer to navigate the resting mind of another.

Dialogue Triumphs

Clark: I'm ready, Father. I can feel it.
Jor-El: In body and spirit, yes, but there is something else you need to learn. Something which I cannot teach you here.
Clark: What is it?
Jor-El: Why you wish to help them. Go. Reconnect with the world. Open your heart to them. Find out why you wish to be their champion.

(Everyone in the newsroom is talking about the latest Superman sighting.)
Clark:  Seems like a pretty big story.
Lois: Yeah, which every reporter here is tripping over themselves to cover. (sighs) Boys and their heroes. 
Clark:  Aren't heroes a good thing?
Lois: Yeah, of course, and I know that we need this guy. It's just that ever since he showed up, he's been dominating the conversation. Metropolis has so many problems that aren't just rescue operations. They're systemic. Here, look at this. 
(Lois shows Clark a picture of a burned-out building.)

Clark: These lightning bolts...?

Lois: Nazi symbols. They've been popping up all over lower Metropolis along with a rash of arson attacks against minority-owned businesses. 

Clark: Do you have any idea who's responsible? 

Lois: By all accounts, some psycho in a metal mask and a trench coat. 

Clark: (stunned) I didn't know about this. 

Lois: That's my point exactly. I have been covering this for months, only my reporting keeps getting drowned out by everyone's favorite miracle man. 
(Clark looks down and seems to make a decision.)

Clark: How can I help? 
(Lois slowly smiles in response.)

(Superman has just beaten Henry Miller. A crowd cheers as police sirens in the distance get closer.)
Lois: How'd you know about this? 
Superman: I've been reading your reports in the "Planet", but also my hearing.
Lois: Your hearing?
Superman: Oh. (chuckles) My, um,  super-hearing.
Lois: We haven't formally met. I'm Lois Lane.
(Lois grabs his hand before he has a chance to pull it away. Not that he takes the chance.) 

Superman: It's nice to meet you, Ms. Lane.
Lois: And you are who exactly? Mister Metropolis? Red and Blue Man?
Superman: (chuckles) I'm sure you'll come up with something.
(Clark takes off and the crowd gasps. Lois just watches him.)
Man: Who was that?
Lois (inspired) Superman.

(Lois and Clark are in bed together.)
Clark: I can't believe I married Lois Lane.
Lois: I'm all yours, babe. For better or for worse.
Clark: You know, I... I kept my secret from everyone for so long, and now I know why. It's for you. So we could have this life together.
Lois: There's no one I'd rather share it with.
Clark: This might be a weird time to say it, but I can't wait to tell my dad about the wedding. He's gonna be so excited. I mean, as excited as a hologram can get, I guess.
Lois: (smirking) Well, he's gonna have to wait till after the honeymoon. 

(Lois and Clark just found out they are having twins.)
Lois: Do you think this is because of Superman?
Clark: My father assured me everything's gonna be fine.
Lois: He also didn't know we were having twins, and that is a pretty big curve ball. 

Continuity

Most of the flashbacks in this episode are extended versions of the scenes detailing Superman's life in 101.

The opening sequence shows a teenage Clark Kent wandering into the Arctic, guided by his sunstone, and using it to create the Fortress of Solitude.

Clark apparently did not return home to visit Martha Kent during the time he was training with Jor-El.

Clark explains about Krypton to his mother.

Clark intends to go to Lana Lang to tell her about his powers, only to change his mind after seeing her with Kyle Cushing and noting that she had an engagement ring.

Kyle just got a job at the fire station when Clark came back to visit Lana.

Martha Kent had a dream about Clark flying and was inspired to make him his first Superman costume.

When Clark first arrives in Metropolis, he is trying to find Milledge Avenue and an apartment complex there just before he makes his first public appearance as Superman.

Clark was inspired to apply for a job at the Daily Planet after a passerby at the scene of his first rescue as Superman said someone at The Planet should write about that.

Clark is able to persuade Perry White to hire him, despite a lack of experience as a professional writer, after agreeing to pick up his dry cleaning every Thursday.

Clark was assigned to follow Lois Lane and learn the ropes upon being hired.

Clark helps Lois with a story involving someone burning down minority-owned businesses and leaving behind Nazi symbols.

Clark's work impresses Lois, who offers to talk to Perry about getting him a beat of his own. Clark says she doesn't have to because he enjoys working with her.

Lois attempts to confront her prime suspect - a hardware store employee named Henry Miller - about his crimes. This leads to her first meeting with "Superman" as he arrives to protect her and the innocents in the area, when Miller attempts to kill several people in "Little India" with flame-throws and grenades. 

After defeating Henry Miller, Clark notices a faint figure flicker in and out of view as if a ghost were watching him.

Lois conducted the first on-camera interview with Superman for the "Daily Planet Today" web series, one year after his first appearance.

Superman reveals that he's from a planet called Krypton and that he was raised since infancy on Earth, but he doesn't discuss where he was raised.

Clark speaks every language on Earth, but claims this is a matter of study and not a superpower.

Lois' producer Janet notices that Superman seems to have a crush on Lois, but she dismisses this because she's in love with Clark Kent.

Clark revealed his secret identity to Lois on their first trip to Smallville to meet his mother.

Clark told the Jor-El hologram about his wedding. In the middle of it, Jor-El suddenly shouts that he needs Clark to get out of there, now!

Lois used three pregnancy tests to confirm she was pregnant.

Clark notices something odd about the time Lois tells him about how she's pregnant, but is drawn back into the illusion by her happiness.

Lois wanted a daughter. Clark just wanted their child to be healthy.

Clark notices the flickering figure again as he and Lois find out they are having twins. This leads him to discover that he's in some kind of simulation based on his memories, when Lois continues to talk to open air like he isn't there.

As Lois mentioned in 105, she was in labor for 27 hours delivering the twins.

Tal-Rho appears in the hospital and encourages Clark to watch his sons being born again.

Clark realizes that Tal-Rho now knows everything about his past and that Lois is his wife and Jonathan and Jordan his sons.

Clark wakes up in the Fortress of Solitude, where Tal-Rho is waiting.

Tal-Rho claims he wanted to understand Clark and what could cause him to betray Krypton.

Tal-Rho destroys the sunstone holding the Jor-El hologram.

Kyle Cushing says he feels like he drank ten whiskey chasers after being possessed by a Kryptonian.

Most of the people of Smallville only know the broad strokes - that Morgan Edge was giving people powers but messing with their minds to control them. The DoD has left out the part about people being possessed by alien minds.

The DoD are still patrolling downtown Smallville.

Sarah thanks Jonathan and Jordan for telling her the truth about her father.

Sarah asks for a moment alone with Jordan, during which she kisses him and says she doesn't want to be just friends anymore.

Kyle apologizes to Lois for doubting her.

Tal-Rho arrives at the Kent farm, just after Lois, Jonathan and Jordan return home from the Curhings.

Clark promises to surrender to Tal-Rho is he promises to let his family live unharmed.

Tal-Rho takes Clark to his Fortress of Solitude, which is in a desert somewhere.

Tal-Rho created his Fortress in the year 1987.

Zeta-Rho was a much crueler teacher than Jor-El, torturing Tal-Rho as part of his education.

The Zeta-Rho hologram and Tal-Rho begin to torture Superman in the same way Tal-Rho was conditioned.

Lois calls a man named John and tells him that she thinks Superman has just been turned.

Location

Tal-Rho's Fortress of Solitude, located in a desert somewhere - 1987
Tal-Rho's Fortress of Solitude, located in a desert somewhere - 2021


Untelevised Adventures

The episode reveals how Tal-Rho formed his own fortress, with a hologram of his father to advise and train him.


The Bottom Line

One hell of an episode with one hello of a cliffhanger.

Superman and Lois: Season 1, Episode 6 - Broken Trust

 For a summary of the episode guide layout & categories, click here.

 
Plot

Clark reconsiders his decision to let Jordan play football, as Jordan prepares to face his former bullies on the field, as Superman and General Lane come into conflict over how to handle the disappearance of Tag Harris. Meanwhile, Lois finds an unexpected ally in her efforts to investigate Morgan Edge's mining operation

Influences

Smallville (high-school slice-of-life drama, with teens getting powers from Kryptonite)


Goofs

Presuming that Metropolis is on the east coast (as in Cisco Ramon's map of Earth-Prime from The Flash) and Smallville is in Kansas, there's no way Smallville High and Metropolis High would be playing against one another in a regular season football match. 


Performances

Tyler Hoechlin cements his status as this generation's Superman with the scene where Clark holds back his heat vision while pulling the Kryptonite from his wounds while still acting as a shield. The anger on his face is clear, but his anguish is not directed at the soldiers - it's at the fear he might lose control and hurt someone and Hoechlin makes that clear without saying a word.

Another great bit of non-verbal acting comes from Wolé Parks, who says so much with a single tear drop after Lois Lane tells him off.


Artistry

The sequence of Superman chasing Tag Harris and working to save a derailed train is fantastic. 


Super Trivia

The original title of this episode was "Smells Like Teen Spirit," in a reference to a classic Nirvana song.


Technobabble

The Stranger has a hand-held laser that can cut through solid rock. It can be recalibrated to act as an energy weapon that can knock out a Kryptonian with one shot at close range.

X-Kryptonite is also known as X-K.

The Department of Defense has some means of tracking Tag Harris by his unique energy signature, but it is inexact.

The Department of Defense is armed with guns that can shoot Kryptonite shards.


Dialogue Triumphs

Lois: Who is it?
The Stranger: Your new best friend.
Lois: What are you doing here, Marcus?
The Stranger: Still open to sharing a byline? Friend of mine got hands on a couple inspector badges. One’s for you, if you want it.
Lois: (skeptical) You somehow get not one but two inspector badges and you’re just gonna give me one of them to be nice?
The Stranger: They’re working around the clock to get those mines ready. Right now the tunnels are packed with inspectors. Security is stretched thin. A lone Black guy might look suspicious, but the two of us together, it’ll seem more legit. So… are you in… or out?

(Clark, Jonathan and Jordan are in a hotel room. Jordan is sprawled out on the bed. Clark is standing over him while Jonathan is making an ice pack.)
Jordan: For the hundredth time, I’m fine.
Clark: No, you’re not. You just detonated like a bomb in the middle of a high-school football game in front of a crowd full of people.
Jordan: I could have controlled it, all right? I just let it go ’cause you were there.
Clark: Yeah, but what if I wasn’t? Jordan, sit up and look at me.
(Jordan sighs and sits up.)
Clark: Do you understand how dangerous this could be? Tell me exactly what happened. Were there–were there any symptoms, any signs, something that would have made you think that this was coming?
Jordan: Look, Dad, you’re thinking about this too much. I just–I had a moment, all right?
Jonathan: (quietly) Jordan… that’s not 100% true.
Jordan: Jon...
Clark: What?!
Jonathan:  Jordan, he needs to know. Look, the first time that he had one of these... episodes or whatever, I mean, it stopped. It seemed fine.
Clark: The first time?!
Jordan: I had a migraine at school. It wasn’t a big deal. 

Clark: And you didn’t tell me?!

Jordan: I didn’t tell you ’cause I knew you’d overreact! I knew you’d stop me from playing the game! 

Clark: Yeah! And I would have been right! 

Jordan: So I’m just supposed to be punished for something that isn’t my fault? This was my shot, Dad. This was my chance to show the d-bags at Metropolis who I am. You remember how they treated me, right? 
Clark: Jordan, I know. I know. And I get it, okay? I know what it’s like to be picked on.
Jordan: Yeah, but you get to grow up, and you get to be Superman. Who am I? I’m a weird kid with headaches. I just–I wanted to be good at something–that was all.
Clark: That’s not what your powers are for. Jordan-
Jordan: Dad, I’m not you, okay?!

General Lane: I don’t know what you’re upset about. The girl’s safe and on her way home. The subject’s back in custody. Let’s take this as a win.
Clark:  His name is Tag.
General Lane:  I wish I had your trust in people, I really do.
Clark: So do I.
General Lane: You put me in a bad position tonight.
Clark: You know, I thought about all the ways you might try to stop that boy. Never occurred to me you would actually use live rounds, let alone ones fitted with Kryptonite.
General Lane: My job is to protect the American people by any means necessary.

Clark: (nodding) And now I know.

Lois: You are armed to the teeth with the kind of weapons that would put you high on the FBI’s Most Wanted List. And this security badge–I sent a photo to a friend of mine, and she said it’s one of the best forgeries she has ever seen. So why don’t you tell me who you really are and why you are in Smallville, ’cause I don’t buy that you came to write a story.
The Stranger: I can’t tell you why I’m really here. But I can promise you, like you, I am trying to prevent something bad from happening.
(Lois is fuming as her cel phone rings.)
Lois: Hey, babe, can I call–
(We don't hear what Clark says but it makes her go quiet.)
Lois: How bad? I’m on my way.
The Stranger: (concerned) Are you okay?
Lois: (angrily) To be continued!
(Lois gets into her truck and starts to drive off. As she does, a single tear duns down The Stranger's cheek.)

(Jonathan has gone to bed, angry about not being able to be quarterback anymore after finally getting a chance to play again. Clark and Lois are trying to help Jordan cope with what he did by accident.)
Clark: I told you, your powers come with responsibility, and I need you to get that.
Lois: Honey, we know it was an accident. We know you’re sorry. Jon knows, too. He just needs a second. But your dad is right. Things are different now.
Jordan: Yeah, I know. I know they’re different.
Clark: Do you? Because you made a big point at the hotel of saying you’re different from me. But you’re not. That anger you felt that made you want to use your powers the way you did tonight? I have those feelings, too.
Jordan: You do?
Clark: Yes. But I keep them in check. Otherwise, I risk losing the trust of the very people I’ve sworn to protect. When I first showed up in Metropolis as Superman, there was a lot of talk about what the world should do with someone who had powers like mine. And it took me a minute to realize that other people were more afraid of what I could do than I was. So what I had to do, more than anything, was earn their trust, prove to them that, no matter what, I would never use my powers to hurt them. 20 years later, every time I use my powers, that trust is tested, every time. Just today, in fact. The thing about trust, Jordan– once you break it, it’s take a lot longer to heal than a wrist.

Continuity

The episode picks up where 105 ended, with Tag Harris chasing Jordan after seemingly having knocked him out at the end of the last episode.

Tag says that he saw a video of the rave at 101 and that Jordan was right there before the keg explosion that seemed to trigger Tag's powers. He also says he knows Jordan has something special about him too, though he doesn't say how he knows this.

Jordan uses the special pager his dad gave him.

Tag runs and Superman goes after him after checking to make sure Jordan is okay.

Tag is astonished to see Superman, implying that he doesn't know that Clark is Superman or that he's related to Jordan.

Tag Harris can run faster than Superman can fly.

Superman is able to mend a broken train rail in seconds, stopping a train from derailing.

Clark says that Jordan seems to be healing faster than a normal human, but he's still vulnerable.

Clark says that Sam Lane called to assure him the Department of Defense is searching for Tag and that his escaping was a fluke as he was much faster than they had measured, suggesting his powers had suddenly increased.

Lois thinks whatever gave Tag Harris powers came from the mines.

Morgan Edge's mines are now lined with lead fiber, so Clark can't use his X-Ray vision to see what is in them.

Clark offers to help Lois investigate the mines, but she says he should focus on the boys until Tag Harris is caught.

Lois thinks there is a connection between Morgan Edge and The Stranger, saying it can't be a coincidence someone who knows Superman's real name showed up at the same time Edge is giving people Kryptonian powers.

Jimmy Cutter was one of the bullies who picked on Jordan in Metropolis. He's apparently been talking smack about an upcoming game between Metropolis High and Smallville High on social media.

Jordan has an intense reaction to Jonathan scraping his spoon against a cereal bowl, as if he had a migraine. Clark notices this, but Jordan says he just has a slight headache.

Clark asks if Jordan wants to sit this game out, but Jordan says he's good to go.

Morgan Edge appoints Lana Cushing to a new role managing his company's efforts to revitalize Smallville.

Jordan has another reaction to Jonathan closing his locker door.

Sarah Cushing tells Jordan that she plans to come watch the game tomorrow night to cheer him on.

Jordan starts to lose control, his eyes glowing red as he clutches his ears, as the class bell rings.

Jonathan gets Jordan into the bathroom and talks him down.

Jordan says he's been hearing high-pitched noises.

Jonathan tells Jordan they need to tell their dad what is happening. Jordan says he will after the game, because he needs to show the kids who bullied him - Woodrum, Cutter and Campana - that they can't bully him anymore. Jonathan reluctantly agrees to say nothing.

Kyle Cushing admits he's a little jealous Lana is getting a job working for Edge instead of him, having hoped maybe there would be something for him after all he did acting as Edge's advocate in Smallville. Lana tells him her new job benefits them both.

Lois tells Kyle and Lana that she thinks Morgan Edge is engaged in illegal and dangerous activities and that she wants their help to get into the mines to prove it. They both refuse, even after Lois says Superman is looking into Edge as well.

Kyle says he has a friend who hasn't worked in eight months who has a job thanks to Edge.

Clark tries to train Jordan on how to control his strength by getting him to punch a thick tree trunk. He hurts his hand trying to go by instinct, leading Clark to try and teach him how to throw a punch. Jordan is able to throw the punch and crack the wood after Jonathan tells him to pretend it is Cutter's face.  

Tag Harris is so fast even the DoD satellites can barely catch a glimpse of him and then only when he's stopped moving.

Sam Lane tells Clark that Tag Harris has been seen in Metropolis, but that Clark should stay with the boys as his squad can bring Tag down. Clark says that Tag seems more like a scared kid than a menace.

Sarah changes her mind about going to the game after learning Lana can't get a sitter for Sophie.

Tag is revealed to be spying on Sarah.

Jordan is sent into the game and told to tackle player 55. This turns out to be Cutter.

Jordan has another attack spurred by the referee whistle, which Clark notices. His failure to tackle Cutter leads to Smallville High's quarterback being injured.

Jonathan asks their coach to send him in, as he knows all of Metropolis plays and can counter them, having been planning to be their quarterback.

Cutter tells Jonathan that he's dating his ex-girlfriend Eliza now and that she wanted him to know that.

Jordan brings down Cutter and talks smack back to him. Clark notices and pulls him from the game.

Lois calls a contact with "the Post" to try and get a press pass with access to the Shuster Mines.

The Stranger, still posing as Marcus Bridgewater, approaches Lois with two forged Inspector Badges for the Shuster Mines.

The Stranger talks his way past security, but the guard seems to recognize Lois Lane.

Sophie doesn't like live-action movies.

Tag tries to speak with Sarah, saying she was always his friend and stuck up for people who weren't treated fairly.

Everyone in Smallville was told Tag Harris went to live with his dad.

Tag accidentally knocks out Sarah when he has a spasm.

Cutter leads the Metropolis players in ganging up in a charge on Jordan. While this is going on, Jonathan runs a play and scores a touchdown.

The attack triggers Jordan's powers, which Clark helps him hide by having Jordan discharge his heat vision into Clark's hands.

Kyle and Lana return home to find Sarah is missing and Sophie has no idea what happened to her.

Jonathan tells Clark about Jordan's earlier episodes.

Lana calls Clark to ask if Sarah went to the game at the last minute. He confirms that she didn't. As the are discussing Sarah disappearing, Kyle finds footage on their home security system of Tag Harris ringing their front doorbell.

Clark goes to look for Tag Harris, telling Jordan and Jon to stay in the hotel room.

The Stranger lies to Lois about how he got a hold of schematics for the Edge EnerCopr mine project, saying a friend helped him find them.

Tag took Sarah to an abandoned building in Metropolis. 

Tag has a small pile of worn-out shoes in his hide-out.

Lois notes that she is suspicious of The Stranger's story, given his claims to be an ex LuthorCorp employee who quit to become a journalist.

The Stranger shows Lois a cache of X-Kryptonite, which he identifies as the rarest form of Kryptonite.

Lois is not familiar with X-Kryptonite.

Leslie Larr finds Lois and the Stranger and attacks them with her heat vision.

Clark scans Metropolis with his super-hearing trying to find Sarah and Tag.

Some of the other players from the Smallville team come by the room to check on Jordan and invite him and Jonathan to go out and get some beers to celebrate their win. The other players talk them into it, saying they are only going up the street to a liquor store.

The Stranger does something with his laser that makes it into an energy weapon that knocks out Leslie Larr, allowing him and Lois to escape.

Tag shows Sarah the video of the rave and how the flare which ignited the keg came from Jordan. He asks if Jordan had told Sarah anything about what happened that night.

Clark arrives and tells Tag not to run, saying he's come to help him.

A group of Metropolis players, led by Cutter, show up and start trying to pick a fight with the Metropolis players.

Cutter provokes Jordan into taking a swing at him, but Jonathan steps in and catches the punch, which breaks his hand.

Tag has a speed-spasm as the Department of Defense soldiers arrive loaded for bear. Clark steps in to block their bullets, only to be shot by a soldier armed with a gun that shoots Kryptonite shards.

Clark starts to lose control of his powers in the same way Jordan did, but holds his heat-vision in check while plucking the Kryptonite shrapnel from his shoulder. He then unleashes the flame to melt the Kryptonite once it is in a corner.

The DoD forces stand down after Clark tells them to.

Clark tells Sam Lane, in no uncertain terms, how disappointed he is.

Lois says she had a friend look at the security badge The Stranger gave her sand she said it was one of the best forgeries she had ever seen.

Lois asks The Stranger who he really is, because she knows he isn't a reporter. He says he can't tell her but that, like her, he is in Smallville to try and stop something bad from happening.

Clark calls Lois and tells her about Jon's injuries.

Johnathan's arm will be in a cast for six to eight weeks. It's still unknown if he'll get the full range of motion back, however.

Clark has never heard of X-Kryptonite either, when Lois asks him about it. 

Lois tells Clark that Leslie Larr has Kryptonian powers too. She also tells him about "Marcus Bridgewater" and how he has a ray gun no journalist should have.

Sarah talks with Jordan about Tag having powers and how he was focused on Jordan. She also tells him about the video of the rave and how Tag thought Jordan had something to do with what gave Tag his powers.

Jordan lies and says he has no idea what Tag is talking about, even after Sarah says that he could tell her if there was something weird going on with him.

Lana talks to Lois about what Sarah told her about Tag and says she now believes Lois is right about the mines being involved. She agrees to help Lois investigate Morgan Edge and what he is up to.

Jordan has another episode along with what a seizure. The episode ends with Clark flying him to the Fortress of Solitude.


The Bottom Line

Another great episode which rebuilds the momentum lost during the two month break. This is Superman done right, plain and simple.

Superman and Lois: Season 1, Episode 5 - The Best of Smallville

For a summary of the episode guide layout & categories, click here. 

Plot

As Smallville celebrates its first Harvest Festival since Martha Kent's passing, Clark is reminded of what his mother meant to him and the city and learns an important lesson. Meanwhile, the shift in Jonathan and Jordan's fortunes finally comes to a head, as The Stranger arrives in Smallville and begins stalking Lois.


Influences

The classic Superboy comics (Clark trying to protect his town as a teenager) and Superman: The Movie (Pa Kent's speech about Clark being sent to Earth for a reason, Ma Kent giving him the sunstone from his rocket.)


Performances

Inde Navarrette, who plays Sarah Cushing, gets some great moments here, playing a teenage girl who is wise beyond her years and resentful of the innocence she's lost. 

Tyler Hoechlin gets some great silent acting moments in the set-up to the flashbacks to his teen years and the moments after.


Artistry

The direction in general is fantastic, with the transition between flashbacks and present-day scenes being seamless.

The "after school special" scene with Sarah and Jordan having their date interuppted by a drunken Jonathan is also notable for how it avoids being the typical "teen drinking is bad" drama scene and is played completely straight and with surprising realism.

I defy you not to cry during the final flashback as a teenage Clark Kent leaves home for the first time and Martha Kent watches him leave, neither one wanting to part but both knowing it is ultimately for the best.


Super Trivia

Most of the flashbacks to Clark's teen years are taken directly from Superman: The Movie.

This episode confirms that this version of Clark Kent did try to use his powers to help people before becoming Superman, although he didn't don a costume and appear as Superboy when he did it.

This episode reveals that The Stranger (aka Captain Luthor) was apparently married to Lois Lane on his Earth. There is a long history of Lois Lane and Lex Luthor being romantically involved in alternate worlds in the DC Comics universe. Perhaps the most famous example of this is in Earth-3; a world where all the great heroes were villains and Alexander Luthor the world's only superhero.

Lois and Lex were also married in the reality of Superman: Red Son. The two dated for a time in the realities of Superman: The Animated Series and  Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. In the current mainstream DC Comics universe, Luthor had an infatuation with Lois (due to her refusal to cowtow to him) and he briefly had a replicant companion modeled on Lois.


Technobabble

Captain Luthor tracks Superman and Derek Powell's chase to a five mile circumference, based on an established flight algorithm of Kryptonian flight patterns.


Dialogue Triumphs

(Sharon Powell has just told Lois and Chrissy to drop the matter of Morgan Edge trying to have her killed, now that her son has suddenly come back.)
Chrissy: Okay, that phony story... was all sorts of rehearsed.
Lois: (deadpan) I know.
Chrissy: Sharon almost got killed by someone who works for Morgan Edge.
Lois: (deadpan) Yep.
Chrissy: I'm acting like you right now?
Lois: That's because we both know this is a big story. And we will figure it out, but for now, let's just be happy she got her son back.

Lois: So you're a reporter?
The Stranger: That's right. Marcus Bridgewater.
Lois: Sounds vaguely familiar. Politico?
The Stranger:  Reuters. Mainly do business coverage, focusing on big tech. I have a background in engineering. I used to work at LuthorCorp.
Lois: (like she's about to spit) Lex Luthor, the only human being worse than Morgan Edge.
The Stranger:  Guy, uh... (chuckles) Definitely has his secrets. 

(Jonathan has just said he's sick of farming, Harvest Fest and Smallville.)
Clark: Hey. I'm sorry about Eliza.
Jonathan: It's not about that, Dad. I wanna move back. I lost all my friends. I'm probably never gonna play football again, and... and now, what? You just expect me to drop my life for everyone else's?
Clark: Look, I know, I know. A lot has changed. But I promise you, it's all gonna work out.
Jonathan: (scoffs) You don't know that!
Clark: I get it. There was a time in my life when I felt just like you.
Jonathan: Yeah, well, I'm sure. When was that? When you were, I don't know, lifting an oil tanker or maybe flying laps around Saturn?
Clark: Jonathan...
Jonathan: No, Dad! I'm not like you, and I'm not like Superboy over there, okay? (gestures towards Jordan) And this town? It is my Kryptonite! 

Martha Kent: We've talked about this, Clark. You can't be running around playing masked vigilante.
Teen Clark: They were stealing!
Martha Kent: I understand that, but we've got rules in this family.
Teen Clark: Those were Dad's rules, and he's not here anymore.
Martha Kent: That doesn't mean you get to ignore everything he taught you.
Teen Clark: It's been a year. You know? We can't keep pretending everything's the same. We have to move on with our lives.
Martha Kent: Moving on can be a distraction. Sometimes to heal, you've gotta... you've gotta sit with the feeling, you know? Let it run its course.
Teen Clark: Dad understood. He knew I was sent here for a reason.
Martha Kent: Your father and I both knew you were sent here for a reason.
Teen Clark: Well, I'm pretty sure that reason wasn't to be Martha Kent's son! 

(Lois and Clark are sitting on Martha Kent's memorial bench.)

I was so selfish.
Everybody is at that age. It's part of growing up.
Yeah, but Mom knew that. And she let me go anyway.
Because she loved you and she wanted you to be happy. And now we're at the point where our own kids are talking about leaving home.
It feels like they were just born.
It's easy for you to say, you didn't have to go through 27 hours of labor.
That's true.
(Clark looks over at Lois and the both laugh and cuddle up.)
Lois: Love you.
Clark: Love you too.
(From a distance, they are being watched by Captain Luthor, He looks upset - more saddened then angry as he turns around and walks away. He returns to his mobile home. He leans on the counter and steadies himself, breathing deeply. His AI kicks on and a red light scans over him.)
AI: Biometric readings suggests your pulse is abnormally high. This must be about Lois Lane. It is worth reminding you that this is not the Lois Lane from your world.
Captain Luthor: Everything about her is the same. Everything, except she marries someone else! 


Continuity

As the episode opens, the national news is reporting an uptick in Superman sightings around the globe. This is because Clark is trying to free up time for his favorite time of year in Smallville: Harvest Fest.

Harvest Fest is an annual event in Smallville, coinciding with when the farmers harvested their crops in the fall, where the community gathered together and shared what they didn't need with each other. It also has the traditional fair attractions, such as rides, food like funnel cakes, fried cheese curds, and chocolate covered bacon.

Smallville was officially established as a township in 1949.

The Kent farm grows corn and the family shuck the ears together as Clark tells his sons about the festival and how it taught him the value of helping others.

Jonathan's girlfriend Eliza is coming to visit that weekend.

Eliza is reportedly a vegetarian.

Sarah asks Jordan out to the Harvest Festival With a little pushing from Jonathan, he says yes.

Eliza dumps Jonathan over the phone, when he called to confirm her arrival time.

Jonathan and Eliza had been dating for over a year.

Clark turns his mother's room into a home office for Lois. He plans to give away most of the furniture, except for one lamp.

Crissy Beppo calls Lois and asks if she could come into the office as Sharon Powell (last seen in 103) has shown up, with her missing son, Derek.

Derek Powell claims to have no memory of where he's been for the past few months. He says the last thing he remembers before losing time was looking at his latest generous paycheck from Morgan Edge as he was walking through a tunnel and hurting his head. The next thing he remembered was waking up in Stanton County. The authorities found him outside St. Anthony's church and they helped him recover his memory. 

Derek Powell claims to have no memory of the phone messages he left for his mother, saying that the opportunity he'd been given wasn't what he thought it was and he sounded scared.

Sharon says everything that happened, including the attempted murder, doesn't really matter to her since her son is back.

Captain Luthor has tracked Lois Lane to Smallville, saying that the one thing he's noticed about this Earth is that Superman will follow Lois Lane anywhere.

Sharon and Derek drop off several bags of men's clothes for the Harvest Fest swap meet.

Lana recognizes Derek's name from Lois' story.

Derek goes to the restroom, breathing heavily and sweating. He calls Leslie Larr to tell her something is wrong just before his eyes erupt red with heat-vision and set the building on fire.

As a teenager, Clark normally wore flannel shirts.

Lana apparently dated Kyle Cushing in high school before she started daring Clark.

Clark had a brief career as a masked vigilante in Smallville, in spite of his mother warning him against trying to use his powers to help people. 

The thieves Clark stops in his flashback were stealing 32" television sets VCRs and salad shooters.

As a teenager, Clark was strong enough to break a shotgun with his bare hands and fast enough to bat bullets out of the air.

Clark hears the sirens of the fire department and steps in to put the fire out with his ice breath before the building can collapse on Kyle Cushing.

Kyle notices the frost on the support beams afterward.

By the time Clark got to the drop-off site, all the donations had been destroyed.

Clark saw Sharon Powell outside the center as they firemen were trying to put it out. He did not see Derek Powell, but noticed Sharon seemed to be looking for someone.

Clark's favorite band to listen to when he was depressed as a teenager was REO Speedwagon.

Tom "Mitch" Mitchell was the main casualty of the fire. A career firefighter in Smallville, he was the best man and Kyle and Lana's wedding. He's still alive, but he inhaled a lot of smoke and Kyle says things are not looking good for him when Lois questions him about the fire.

Kyle says the whole fire was weird and he has no idea how it started so suddenly or was stopped so suddenly. He does not mention the frost to Lois..

Kyle confirms he saw Derek Powell near the Smallville Community Center before the fire started.

Lois calls Chrissy and suggests that she talk to Sharon Powell again.

Captain Luthor approaches Lois pretending to be another reporter; Marcus Bridgewater. He claims to be working with Reuters and to be a former LuthorCorp employee. He also claims to have an educational background in engineering, though he mostly writes about big tech and business. 

Captain Luthor claims to be a big fan of Lois Lane and says he began investigating Morgan Edge after reading her last piece on him in The Daily Planet.  He tells her that he plans to check out the Shuster Mines. Lois tells him to call her if he finds anything and they can consider sharing the byline. 

Sharon Powell says Derek sent her a text after the fire at the Smallville Community Center, saying that he needed space. He said nothing about where he was going.

After confirming that Sharon and Derek shared a phone plan, Chrissy used Sharon's phone to track Derek's, finding out that he was at 1247 Crawford Street.

Jonathan declares that he wants to move back to Metropolis and that his friend, Bryan Kelso, has an older brother who has a spare bedroom. Clark says that will not happen, but Jonathan says maybe he'll just do it anyway.

After the fight with Jonathan, Clark remembers an argument he had with his mother as a teenager over his vigilantism and how Clark didn't see any reason to follow his father's rule about "showing off" his powers.

Kyle returns home drunk. Apparently he and several other firemen went out to have a drink in Tom Mitchell's honor since the doctors says there's almost no chance he could keep working as a fireman, even if he did pull through given his lung damage.

Kyle fights Lana about going to the Harvest Festival right away. He wants some time to clean up and eat, but Lana has to meet with several people to figure out what to do about the destroyed donations.

Sarah offers to drive Kyle to the Festival while Lana and Sophie go first.

Jon abandons Jordan to hang out with some other football players who are drinking something alcoholic from a flask.

Kyle winds up passing out on the couch while Sarah is fixing him something to eat, trying to sing Sarah a song he used to sing to her when she was a little girl.

Chrissy Beppo goes to the address on Sharon Powell's phone and spies Leslie Larr making out with Derek Powell before they go into the building.

After going into Jordan's room to shut off the radio, Clark remembers back to when the room was his room and how he and his mother made up after their fight over his stopping the robbery.

Clark apologizes, saying his mom was right to be upset at him. Martha apologizes, saying that Smallville might not be the best place for him anymore. This leads to her giving him the Sunstone crystal from the ship that brought him to Earth.

Lana lies about Kyle's absence at the Harvest Fest and says Kyle is at the hospital with Tom Mitchell.

Sarah is late for her date with Jordan. 

The building at 1247 Crawford Street contains a machine like an MRI, which Derek Powell is loaded into by Leslie Larr. Chrissy Beppo observes this but leaves to call Lois before seeing the machine activate. 

Sarah is about to tell Jordan something private, but is interrupted by a drunken Jonathan. 

Sarah loses her temper with the football players and tells them not to talk to her because she's sick of dealing with drunk idiots who don't know what real problems are.

Clark smells the alcohol on Jonathan from a distance. He and Lois send the boys home from the festival early, despite the fact that they said they were already leaving.

Chrissy calls Lois and tells her about how she saw Leslie Larr and Derek Powell together.

Clark goes to the building at 1247 Crawford as Superman.

Derek Powell tells Leslie Larr to "protect the asset" before taking off flying and leading Superman on a chase.

Captain Luthor detects Superman flying and is stunned that Kal-El is in Smallville.

Captain Luthor is now operating out of a mobile home, which contains his AI assistant and a small arsenal of apparently high-tech weapons.

Derek Powell sets a barn and several fields on fire with his heat vision to slow down Superman. Superman barely misses a beat putting them out with his ice breath. 

During the fight, when Superman asks what happened to Derek Powell, an inhuman voice says that he's been resurrected and that "You are not alone anymore, Kal-el."

Captain Luthor attempts to shoot both Kryptonians out of the sky with a rocket launcher of some type. It seems to weaken Derek Powell, but only stuns Superman briefly. The rocket explosion is visible from Harvest Fest.

Derek Powell's body disintegrates into a burst of heat vision and ashes.

Captain Luthor runs to the impact point, but Superman has left before he can get there, armed with a special gun - presumably one that could kill a Kryptonian. 

Clark and Lois declare that Jonathan is getting a "get out jail free card" this one time, saying that he had to leave Smallville to find himself and he understands it might not be the place for Jonathan. He says they can discuss the idea of Jonathan moving to stay with friends later, but he asks Jonathan to give Smallville more time.

Clark gives Jonathan a box that Pa Kent made which he gave to Ma Kent, which she, in turn, gave to Clark when he left home.

Clark says he doesn't think Derek Powell was really Derek Powell and references his talk of being resurrected. He also mentions how his powers were erratic, like Tag Harris's super-speed.

Morgan Edge donates enough cash to replace everything that was lost in a fire, and then some.

Lana reveals that the Smallville City Council decided to dedicate a bench that Martha Kent always sat on whenever she was in town to her. The bench bares a memorial plaque which reads "MARTHA KENT - THE BEST OF SMALLVILLE."

Clark remembers how he and his mother sat on that bench to wait for the train leaving Smallville when he left home.

Captain Luthor was apparently married to Lois Lane on his Earth.

Based on his uniform, Captain Luthor was a US Army Ranger.

Jordan and Sarah decide to take it slow, with Sarah saying she needs a friend more than a boyfriend right now. Jordan agrees.

On the walk home to the Kent Farm, Jordan is jumped by Tag Harris, who is wearing a uniform of some type. He is then knocked out. 


Untelevised Adventures

Superman does many heroic things around the world which are mentioned in passing on the national news.


The Bottom Line

A solid, yet curious episode. Probably the most weakly written episode to date, it is also the best directed and bolstered by some solid performances. It leaves us wanting more. Unfortunately, thanks to The CW's odd schedule, we'll have to wait two more months to get it.