“Superman & Lois” Review – S02E08 – “Into Oblivion”

Reviewed by: Michael Bailey

Originally Aired: March 22, 2022
WRITTEN BY: Juliana James & Kristi Korzec
DIRECTED BY: Sudz Sutherland

REGULAR CAST:
Tyler Hoechlin (Clark Kent/Superman)
Bitsie Tulloch (Lois Lane)
Jordan Elsass (Jonathan Kent)
Alex Garfin (Jordan Kent)
Inde Navarrette (Sarah Cushing)
Erik Valdez (Kyle Cushing)
Emmanuelle Chriqui (Lana Lang Cushing)
Wolee Parks (John Henry Irons)
Tayler Buck (Natalie Irons)

GUEST STARS:
Ian Boehn (General Mitchell Anderson)
Dylan Walsh (General Sam Lane)
Adam Rayner (Tal-Rho)
Rya Kihlstedt (Ally Allston)
Samantha Di Francesco (Candice)

Rating – 5 (out of 5): Every story has a theme. You know…that underlying idea that writers explore through the course of their tales? It’s an important component to good storytelling.

The theme of this season of SUPERMAN AND LOIS is this…if you are in Smallville and someone offers you a cup of tea…I don’t care if it’s your daughter or the leader of a cult that is bent on ascending to an alternate reality full of doppelgangers…if someone offers you a cup of tea…don’t…and I can’t stress this enough…don’t take it.

It’s just not going to end well.

Seriously.

Anyway…

Clark and Lois Continue To Be An Amazing Couple

With all of the drama going on in this episode the one constant is that Lois and Clark are an amazing couple. I realize that to some of you this might be a strange thing to focus on, but this show has done a great job of proving all of the people that believe that Lois and Clark don’t work as a married couple are wrong. The rock/paper/scissors contest at the beginning is a good example of this, but Clark holding Lois after she believes that her sister is dead and telling her that he will always be there for her just melts my somewhat cold and mostly dead heart. The writing is great, but it is the rapport and chemistry that Tyler and Bitsie have that make it as special as it is. And it’s a good thing that their relationship is as rock solid as it is because oh boy is everything else all over the place.

Natalie is Not Wrong

One of the questions I had early in this season was how Natalie can seem so calm living under the same roof with the man that looks exactly like the person that murdered her mother on live television? The live television part isn’t all that important. It’s mostly the murder and the mother parts that make it so hard. I was wondering when they were going to get around to addressing it and it turns out that the answer to that question is this episode.

Her father getting injured was never the complete reason she was so hostile to Clark. It’s part of it, and to be fair, she lost her mom and now her dad is putting himself in danger to help the guy that, as I keep banging on about, looks like the guy that killed her mother. Looking back now I get the sense that that particular issue was not really part of the problem. The problem, as Nat admitted in this episode, was that every time she was around Clark her Evil Superman Sense went off. Having John and Nat get their own place goes a long way to solving that problem and I liked that Clark put the ball in Nat’s court about whether or not they have any kind of relationship.

It was some good writing and good acting all around.

John having issues with his memory was interesting, but I’m not sure this should become a thing that has to be seriously dealt with.

Do We Call Jordan the Black/Gray Blur or Hooded Justice?

Jordan stepping up as a hero was great. It did have some serious SMALLVILLE vibes, but I loved that when push came to literal shove he stepped up to the plate. The added dimension that he had to skip his date with Sarah and Aubrey further echoed the SMALLVILLE feel, but in all honesty SMALLVILLE was just exploring the idea that being a hero means a certain sense of self-sacrifice. So, it wasn’t new ground a decade or two back.

The fight itself was well done and I liked that it wasn’t a cake walk for Jordan. The training he’s doing with his grandfather paid off and it made for a good Fraternals scene. I will admit that at some point Clark needs to be the one to train his son, but Clark has a lot on his plate at the minute.

The scene where Jordan walked away from the diner really needed a cheesy, early 2000’s power ballad behind it.

Lana and Kyle and Trying to Work Through a Separation

The Lana and Kyle scenes were another high point. At least for me. I’m emotionally invested in their storyline because it shouldn’t be as good as it is and yet it is so good. I like this Lana quite a bit and I feel for Kyle. Him helping Lana was sweet and ultimately, he was the best person for the job. I can’t blame him for pushing a bit right there at the end, but I also can’t blame Lana for not wanting to answer his question. At this point I just want what’s best for both of them and if that means diverse then so be it.

I should not be as wrapped up in this fictional relationship and yet here we are.

Seriously…Don’t Drink Anything You Didn’t Bring To Smallville Yourself and Always keep an Eye on That Drink.

It’s kind of funny that because the Ally/Mitch Anderson/Inverse World plot was the one part of the episode that I didn’t have a lot to discuss. Sometimes that happens, especially when the story is so strong. It was creepy seeing Inverse Mitchell Anderson and watching those people die as they tried to ascend was horrific. Ally getting capture was a chance for Sam to finally confront the woman that helped take one of his daughters away and it went as expected. I’m looking forward to finding out what happened in the Inverse World and to see what the real end game is.

We’re halfway through this season and it shows no signs of slowing down. It also seems to be flying by, which is kind of sad. Still, there is so much more to look forward to and I can’t believe how happy I am with this show.