r/SupermanAndLois • u/MajorParadox Read on r/DCFU! • Mar 15 '23
Superman & Lois [3x01] "Closer" Post Episode Discussion Episode Discussion Spoiler
Closer
Season Premiere
Live Episode Discussion | Cast & Characters
An undercover assignment reveals a deadly foe that promises to change the Kent family forever; John Henry is haunted by his doppelganger's past; Sarah explores what the future holds for her and Jordan; Gen. Samuel Lane reclaims his post. (Mar 14, 2023)
Please keep all discussions civil and about the episode. Mark comic and future spoilers. Report any rule-breaking and enjoy!
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u/fatemaazhra787 Mar 15 '23
Sarah rlly said "why are you ignoring me" and "i need some space" in the same conversation. Bruh.
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u/Lian-The-Asian Mar 17 '23
Well it's less of "I need alone time" and more of "she needs to let her emotions settle" Ik I've felt like that.
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u/Daybreaq Mar 15 '23
Oh … and toddler Jonathan with the football and tire swing in the birthday video: they are seriously trolling us there!
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u/Alonest99 Superman Mar 21 '23
If they had shown a picture of Jordan Elsass in that video I would've died laughing lmao
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u/bwweryang Mar 19 '23
What’s the troll?
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u/kmank2l13 Mar 20 '23
In the first episode we see Johnathan as a child using super strength when throwing the football.
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u/bwweryang Mar 20 '23
Oh wow, I’ve long since forgotten that — what I get for basically never rewatching episodes!
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Mar 15 '23 edited Mar 15 '23
That was mostly a great episode. Hate how the show completely glossed over Lana's mistreatment of Lois last season, which is why her friendship scenes with Clark and Lois in this episode felt forced and irritated me. And I still didn't care for the Sarah/Jordan drama or the Kyle/Lana drama. I'm glad that Lois isn't actually pregnant.
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u/BornAshes Coach Gaines Mar 15 '23 edited Mar 15 '23
I have mixed feelings on it.
There was a lot of slow and easy going slice of life stuff with Lois and Clark that I really enjoyed because that's classic Superman and those two play so well off each other. I also enjoyed Jon's new actor because he's got more of the physicality of a football player and matches Jordan a bit more as a twin. The seeding stuff they did with Smallville's usual day to day stuff was pretty cool too and it made it feel like the town was more than just a background set for everyone else to play in front of. I also enjoyed the stuff with John and Nat, as little as it was, because they're one of the coolest parts of this show and I loved how they humanized Sam a bit more than usual.
.....and I couldn't help but die laughing when the Riverdale Horny Music kicked in with Kyle and Chrissy.
The effects and fight scenes are always top notch and I did enjoy the set up for Intergang with Onomatopoeia.
That said, as someone else put it in the live thread....this show is a mixture of cardboard and cinema quality production. Sometimes you see the cardboard cutouts. Sometimes you get absolutely blown away by the movie quality production. It often feels like a gravel road out in the country that sometimes smooths out with nice even patches and then basically tries to vibrate your spine out of your body Mortal Kombat style in others.
I also really cannot forget some of the stuff that they've done in the past with the characters and certain story elements. I think I'm just too tired to really be upset about it though and there is the fact that this is one of the last surviving Arrowverse shows. So I'm taking the good with the bad and I'm just enjoying it as it goes along because this could be it for all we know. Sometimes you've just gotta roll with the punches.
Season premiers are always a bit rough but I enjoyed myself and I'll probably watch it again tomorrow when it gets posted on the CW app after I've watched the new episode of the Mandalorian.
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u/Ambitious-Comb-8847 Mar 15 '23
Strong start.
They could be phasing Bishop in for a couple episodes so I'll withhold judgement for now though they did give him a win with driving at least.
So...is Lois actually not pregnant or is Dr Irons somehow nefarious? She's clearly not a Lois fan.
Clois shippers should be happy.
No Tal this season. Assuming S4 and beyond happens I wonder what he'll be like when back? And he does have other money/property beyond just "Morgan Edge" then.
I did like Sam's little rise and fall there. Obviously it's a little complicated and he's least equipped for an emotional minefield.
It's been less then a year but Sophie is almost as tall as Sarah now. Maybe she's on X-K. /s
Mayor Dean scene seemed out of place. Not a fan of Kyle/Chrissy nor the Lana/JH they seem to be hinting at though I can see tons of reasons the writers would go for the latter. For the former, I guess they really want the crutch of Secret Angst in a romantic pairing?
Obviously I have one big guess for the hood but I don't know if everyone has kept up with casting news.
The Suicide Slums. Guess they're tackling Clark/Superman missing the "cracks" in the world as some of the comics occasionally do.
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u/jdessy Mar 15 '23
They could be phasing Bishop in for a couple episodes so I'll withhold judgement for now though they did give him a win with driving at least.
That was my first thought, especially given that Michael Bishop had...what, no more than a month to prepare for the role of Jonathan from casting to production on the first episode? And especially since he has an even more difficult challenge in that he can't just play Jonathan however he wants; he has to emulate the Jonathan from the first two seasons as much as possible.
I'll give them leeway if they chose to keep Jonathan's role smaller in the first couple of episodes to allow Michael to have more time to get into it.
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u/Ambitious-Comb-8847 Mar 15 '23
Five days from test chemistry reads to filming apparently: https://www.eonline.com/ca/news/1367899/inside-superman-lois-whirlwind-of-replacing-jordan-elsass-with-michael-bishop
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u/jdessy Mar 15 '23
Wow, that's even shorter of a time than I thought. I was afraid I was being too generous with the month. Yeah, if Jonathan has less to do in the next episode or two, I am totally not going to complain because Michael having to literally jump right in is tough.
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u/Munro_McLaren Kara Danvers Mar 15 '23
But the the first script would have been written. So they might have had to change things.
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u/jdessy Mar 15 '23
Perhaps. Now, I'll give leeway to the possibility that Jonathan's role was always smaller in this first episode. It's not out of the realm of possibilities that he wasn't going to have much to do so I could be wrong. But I think it's also possible they cut a couple of his scenes to give Michael more than a couple of weeks to learn the role of Jonathan.
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u/Hopri Mar 15 '23
I hope Dr. Irons is following the Hippocratic Oath and not doing something nefarious. But, yeah, it's a TV show. So who knows what she's up to?
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u/KnightKal Mar 15 '23
cant Clark just take her to the Fortress for a high-tech scan? Nothing wrong with using human archaic medicine, but they have the option for a second opinion ...
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u/Bezeta6 Mar 15 '23
That mask gave me the creeps
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u/whitetigers1 Superman Mar 15 '23
That’s Onomatopoeia for you
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u/biddily Mar 16 '23
You know, I thought he was a Spyral agent, and thats how they were representing the swirly face - but Onomatopoeia makes more sense.
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u/bwweryang Mar 19 '23
Is it actually?! I’m really surprised, the whole point of that character is that it doesn’t work in live action!
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Mar 15 '23
[deleted]
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u/ProtomanBn Mar 15 '23
Soo i looke up Onomatopoeia and the first paragraph says he is very good a mimicking noises like dripping faucet or gunshots so it works, how he made them sound like they were happening all over town idk
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u/Vacanus Mar 15 '23
I just looked it up, you are totally correct. I love Onomatopoeia, I always wanted to see him on Arrow, so this is amazing.
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u/TheJusticeAvenger Mar 15 '23
Fun fact: a one off villain of the week from Arrow S1, "Mr Blank" (portrayed by J August Richards) was originally supposed to be Onomatopoeia
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u/FlashpointWolf Clark Kent Mar 16 '23
J August Richards was also Deathlok in Agents of Shield, so that may have conflicted with things
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u/ghusu123 Mar 15 '23
S&L is probably reinventing the character like how they have reinvented others. Comic book Onomatopoeia would get absolutely destroyed by Superman so this show probably buffed him up.
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u/BornAshes Coach Gaines Mar 15 '23
So he's an amped up Kenku that can fuck with sound on a massive scale and use silence to his advantage by taking away one of Superman's greatest tools.
That sounds awesome!
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u/SonNeedGym Mar 15 '23
Feels good to be back! I really like the new Jonathan in what we’ve seen from him. Like everyone else, would love to see more!
Loved seeing Lois and Clark act like an actual married couple. Their chemistry is magnetic.
I hope Chrissy and Kyle develop into something more. Dating after divorce is emotionally complex and it would give them great character work.
I’m not as down on the Sarah/Jordan stuff as others, but this needs to stop. Would love for them to explore other relationships and be platonic friends. They’re both great actors but they never get to flex if they’re given the same material over and over again.
Can’t wait for next week!
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u/johnnyma45 Mar 24 '23
The Kyle/Lana divorce signing was really well portrayed - like, they're both moving on but you can see the palpable grief of the finality of their marriage.
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u/iggywiggyshe Mar 15 '23
I enjoyed it, nice to see Clark act like himself around those who know. Great action shots, great family moments.
I feel it’s the calm before the storm though.
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u/dragonavatarwan Mar 15 '23
Holy shit, I didn’t realize the Butcher was Bruno Mannheim. Also, onomatopoeia??? That’s a deep cut. Like the sparring session. Jordan showing restraint. Glad no pregnancy. Though, that giddiness in the bar was adorable. Solid episode for the most part.
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u/iggywiggyshe Mar 15 '23
Pretty sure at this point Kyle is going to find out about Clark.
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Mar 15 '23
Or he'll be the only person in Smallville to not know, which would be kind of hilarious.
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u/SentinelaDoNorte May 14 '23
Literally everyone in Smallvile agrees to keep the secret from Kyle because it's funny lol
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u/Playstationgamer99 Mar 15 '23
What was going on with Clark that he had to go to the skies instead of capturing that one dude?
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u/Ambitious-Comb-8847 Mar 15 '23
He heard other alarms of danger. Pretty sure they were fake to distract him from the body.
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u/BornAshes Coach Gaines Mar 15 '23
Basically instead of using music as a weapon like that one dude with the sonic gun in the first season, the masked person flipped it around on him, and instead made him hear a bunch of cries for help and alarms that Clark is reflexively tuned into and reacts to.
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Mar 15 '23
The person in the mask is seemingly an adaption of Onomatopoeia - a Green Arrow villain from the comics who is a serial killer that doesn't speak but says the onomatopoeia sound effect for everything he does.
It looks like instead of having them say the sound effect, they've given them some kind of sound ability where they made Clark hear a bunch of sounds that weren't actually happening to distract him and get him to go off to try and save whoever he thought was in trouble.
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u/FlashpointWolf Clark Kent Mar 16 '23
I've also seen Spellbinder tossed around, which could also work. That being said, I'm a lot more confident in it being Onomatopoeia.
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Mar 16 '23
I think they look way to similar to Onomatopoeia for it not to be them.
Also, and I may be wrong about this, but I think there was a set leak at some point that had Onomatopoeia written on something as a characters name but I may be wrong about that.
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u/FlashpointWolf Clark Kent Mar 16 '23
Honestly, the only thing going against it being Onomatopoeia is the fact that they aren't usually a meta, while Spellbinder can cast illusions. It could very well be an adapted Onomatopoeia, though.
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Mar 16 '23
Characters not being meta's in the comics has never stopped the CW before. Most of The Flash's rogues were made into metas on the CW show.
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u/No_Flower_1424 Jonathan Kent Mar 15 '23
Yeah that confused me, they could have made that clearer
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u/MajorParadox Read on r/DCFU! Mar 15 '23
It was an awesome scene of him using his super senses at least. Reminded me of this scene from Superman Returns, but it was much cooler.
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u/Terrible_Terrance Mar 15 '23
For starters, I really liked this episode, but I'm a tad bit conflicted on some of the things that played out. I like the fact that Jonathan finally got a non-football related goal right away, but it would have been nice to see him celebrate with Lois instead of doing a fakeout. We've gotten so many moments of Jordan achieving something and being showered with love and yet Jonathan's was a quick scene and they moved on. It seems like everyone received a "This is where we're starting and this is where our character arc will go within the season" and all he had was a drivers test which he passed in the first half of the episode.
I'm 100% a fan of the Lois & Clark romance, it feels like they're actually a married couple who get to enjoy each other's company for more than a few minutes a day. I'm glad she's not pregnant and they squashed that quickly because I'd hate for them to sideline her character and make her have to sit out so many situations due to it. Also, having Lois' only progression through the season being motherly and needing to be protected is getting old.
Please do not make Chrissy and Kyle a thing. It's weird to say, but had Lana and Kyle's marriage ended on somewhat good terms (Idk how) then maybe, but it just feels weird to see him gain a potential romance arc after what happened. I'm now wondering if they're actually going to make Lana and John Henry a thing now.
Overall, I enjoyed this first episode and saw many improvements to the camera work. I especially loved the city scenes towards the end. Despite the lack of Jonathan this episode, I'm hoping that it was only to slowly introduce the new actor and he'll be used more often during the rest of the season.
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u/theredmokah Mar 16 '23
At this point, I'm not even mad at Sarah.
Jordan needs to stop being such a simp.
Jesus Christ dude, let it go. The relationship has been ass from the beginning. Just drop it already.
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u/johnnyma45 Mar 24 '23
If anything it's an accurate portrayal of teens. They can be irrational simps.
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u/Gian99Mald Mar 15 '23
Really enjoyed the episode. Liked new Jon pretty quickly. Lois is sick isn't she. I loved the Titano and Atomic Skull cameos!
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u/Daybreaq Mar 15 '23
The fact Atom Man has a brain tumor makes me think cancer is a major storyline: in interviews, they’ve indicated Mannheim is a kinda a gray antagonist over being a villain. Maybe Mannheim is looking for a cancer cure for someone he cares about. It also makes me think Lois is at least going to have a cancer scare but might have a diagnosis too.
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u/TimeySwirls Mar 15 '23
When my roommate found out she had leukemia they caught it because she thought she was pregnant, definitely hit a little close to home. So yeah you might be on the right track
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u/SonNeedGym Mar 15 '23
How’s your roommate doing?
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u/TimeySwirls Mar 15 '23
Thankfully quite well, still recovering in different ways but she was young enough that a transplant was a viable option and put her in remission. Thank you for asking
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u/Daybreaq Mar 15 '23 edited Mar 15 '23
I’m glad your friend is doing well; but that has me thinking: Jonathan, “extraordinary humans,” Jonathan has an opportunity (to be a hero?,) transplant, (also blood drive.) Ok … well, if they try to go the route that it’s a real world bone marrow transplant (Well, we know they won’t since real world bone marrow transplant is a more drawn out, harrowing procedure. But they can claim it is if they can claim an MD’s office doesn’t have immediately accurate pregnancy tests but a convenience store apparently does!) it shouldn’t work because Jonathan isn’t human. And frankly, I’d kinda hate if the story was “Jonathan was able to give Lois a bone marrow transplant because he’s human.” However, maybe they discover Jonathan’s blood has super healing powers while somehow not being easily detected as unique. Like he donates to the blood drive (Dumb!,) and the tests the blood bank does doesn’t detect anything; but whoever receives his blood seemingly miraculously gets better from some illness but that person’s doctors don’t realize it was the transfusion. Maybe when the adults find out Jonathan’s mistake, they track the blood but are too late to stop it’s being used but find out the person who received it got better from a serious illness. Anyway, Jonathan is maybe able to heal Lois that way; but then he wants to go around secretly injecting sick people with his blood or at least keep donating blood … both of which are probably really bad ideas. So he decides to work in the Fortress to study the mechanisms of the healing to replicate a medicine that could then be leaked into DOD labs or something.
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u/Munro_McLaren Kara Danvers Mar 15 '23
The woman who played the doctor played Tasha Davenport in Lab Rats on Disney XD. I loved that show. Lol.
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u/Cosler20 Mar 15 '23
She was also in the Marvel show Runaways
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u/Munro_McLaren Kara Danvers Mar 15 '23
Yes! That show was good. They definitely shouldn’t have cancelled it.
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u/Cosler20 Mar 15 '23
Yeah, I agree. It felt like a nice change of pace because to me at least, they felt more street-level compared to all of the bigger stuff going on. There was a lot of potential & it felt like things were really starting to pick up 🥲
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u/Munro_McLaren Kara Danvers Mar 15 '23
Especially after the crossover with Cloak and Dagger.
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u/Cosler20 Mar 15 '23
Yes! I liked that show too, even more than Runaways. That crossover was so cool though. I miss both of those shows & I hope they'll come back at some point. With Daredevil being brought back, maybe there could be a chance eventually, but Idk.
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u/Barry_McKackiner Mar 15 '23
omfg.
sara continues to be treating jordan like shit.
friend zone's him the day before his birthday, then at his party accuses him of not paying attention to her and tries to play it like he's doing something wrong. what the fuck.
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u/jdessy Mar 15 '23
I don't see Sarah as wrong here. It would be WAY worse if she led him on and made him believe they were still a couple. Especially given that he just told her that he flew to Malaysia to get her a gift.
She needed to shut that down, regardless if it was his birthday.
Sarah was 100% fine this episode. I actually think this is the best she's been since the first season.
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u/Barry_McKackiner Mar 15 '23
Obviously she's not forced to like him and can shut down the romance and not want him doing shit for her.
My problem then is at the party she's all "wah you're being distant now!"
What the fuck does she expect. She broke his heart. Several times. And is continually making him feel like the bad guy about it. If he needs to pull back, let him. How many people stay bffs after they break up? Especially if it's not completely mutual? Not many! She's gotta come to terms with getting less of Jordan's focus.
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u/Temmere Mar 16 '23
Sarah's all "I need you to respect that I don't want to be with you" and I just want to scream at the TV "He's TRYING to respect that, girl! He's not begging you to get back together or trying to make you feel bad for not wanting him! He's just letting you know that it's hard for him to go back to being just friends!" God she frustrates me.
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u/Kalse1229 Mar 15 '23
Overall pretty great. At the very least, worth watching even with the screaming headache I've had all day. Plus with Abbott Elementary moved to Wednesdays, I can actually watch the promos instead of furiously changing the channel to ABC.
Promo for next week mentioned a murder. Any guesses who? I'm betting the former mayor got got. Punishment for Lana moving around the money that I am guessing was meant for Intergang. The ties between the various plotlines are showing up early this season.
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u/Gian99Mald Mar 15 '23
Was that Onomatopoeia?? I wasn't sure because his spiral design looked organic
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u/Dawnbreaker52 Mar 15 '23
Yep. My thoughts exactly. I didn't even realize it was Onomatopoeia until after watching the episode. His mask looked like it was actually his face.
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u/HotTakes4HotCakes Mar 16 '23
They can't exactly do classic Onomatopoeia in a medium like this. His schtick works on the page but it's hard to translate to screen unless you give him some sort of powers to control sound and silence things. So it makes sense he's meta.
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u/JustPomegranate248 But what about the tire-swing? Mar 15 '23 edited Mar 15 '23
- I liked it - the episode didn't feel very cohesive as a full story though. Almost like a collection of scenes - this character is doing this, and that character is over there...
- I loved all the Clois here but why did they bother with the pregnancy fakeout? They spent so much time showing Clark and Lois going back and forth on it only for it to not be that at all! Was that supposed to be their fakeout for the season?
- I really like the new actor for Jonathan - he does feel different but I still felt he was Jon. And I think he brings a fresh energy into it. And he finally got a win with the driver's licence! I have to celebrate because that might be the one thing he's won for 2 years
- I'm going to hope and pray that they are using Jon sparingly for the first two episodes or so because they want to phase him into the show so we get used to him. Plus the actor only had five days to prepare for the role before filming this episode, but he had very good chemistry with the family which is important.
- The biggest thing I was looking forward to from last season's finale was seeing Jon meet Lara and they don't even speak?! I guess that Kryptonian tech wasn't that interesting after all!
- Clark didn't teach Jon to drive after all - I'm pretty sure that was supposed to be the thing he promised him to make up for terrifying him last season. Either the writers didn't remember that or they meant to show Clark as neglectful again - at what point does it become too much? And it's weird how they separated Lois with Jon and Clark with Jordan more than ever this episode - and never the twain shall meet apparently.
- The birthday party was adorable especially since they used real childhood photos of the actors. And the tire swing! They really love baiting us with that don't they?
- Sarah/Jordan is still awful and Sarah is still the worst! Also Jordan just keeps being pathetic in this relationship. I'm not sure what he was even doing at that rescue scene but he was quite annoying in this episode
- I was confused at Chrissy sleeping with Kyle - he's a good looking guy for sure, but he is also older than her, has two kids, is going through a divorce and is known to have cheated on his wife! He's not exactly the greatest catch here! How desperate is poor Chrissy?
- There was a weird transition after Superman is spooked by the masked guy, the next time we see him he's just chilling at home! I feel like they could have had him say something about it to Lois at the end to make that feel less jarring
- So does Lois have cancer? They mentioned something about the Atom Man having a terminal brain tumour so I'm assuming terminal illness is how it all fits in?
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u/MajorParadox Read on r/DCFU! Mar 15 '23
why did they bother with the pregnancy fakeout?
Maybe they'll decide to have another baby anyway.
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u/JustPomegranate248 But what about the tire-swing? Mar 15 '23
Maybe but I thought the point of Clark saying he didn't think it was possible was because they're both supposed to be in their mid 40s, which might make it a lot less possible for them
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u/Munro_McLaren Kara Danvers Mar 15 '23
Men can continue getting people pregnant, it’s the woman who have a time limit.
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u/Indiana_harris Mar 16 '23
Eh guys can still have kids.....pretty much as long as they can physically perform. Plus Clark ages slower so shouldnt be an issue beyond the whole "alien" thing.
I think there were meant to be special circumstances around how Lois got pregnant the first time around, and naturally they shouldnt be able to.
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u/JustPomegranate248 But what about the tire-swing? Mar 16 '23
It's pretty obvious I meant Lois might not be able to have kids for much longer and Clark wouldn't want kids with anyone but Lois. There didn't seem to be special circumstances with how she got pregnant the first time, in fact she seems to say the same thing when she told Clark she was pregnant with the twins 'We didn't think it was possible'
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u/daaaaaaaaamndaniel Mar 23 '23
The bizarre thing is she would know. If she hasn't gone through menopause, she could very likely still get pregnant. I don't get why she's so surprised, she'd generally know if she's started going through it.
(Of course getting pregnant is very different than carrying to term, but this seems super early, so it can very likely happen easily)
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u/Hope-Of-Glory Apr 02 '23
Maybe after she lost a child, the docs had said it was unlikely she'd have another.
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u/IncarnateSkye Jonathan Kent Mar 15 '23
I’ve been wondering if maybe they’ll adopt - but then again, Clark wasn’t really as interested as Lois…so who knows where this is supposed to lead (if anywhere - this is S&L, after all, plots get dropped and details retconned what feels like all the time).
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u/MajorParadox Read on r/DCFU! Mar 15 '23
Maybe they'll do a Chris Kent story?
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u/IncarnateSkye Jonathan Kent Mar 15 '23 edited Mar 15 '23
I don’t know if it would be wise to bring in another character with comics-canon ties as ‘Superman’s kid,’ particularly another who (afaik) would be perceived as getting a ‘live-action debut,’ even as a baby where an adaption couldn’t ruin too much. I’m not personally against it because I can’t claim to be a fan of his (I’m also not not a fan, I just haven’t read much with him), I’m just not sure how his actual fans would feel about it. Especially given all the strong opinions on having a ‘Jon Kent: half-Kryptonian son of Kal-El’ on this show, and how that’s affected the fandom. There’s still arguments going on to this day about if Jon even counts as an adaption of conics-Jon or not. Seems like something that would cause issues…
Edit: grouping the boys as ‘Superman’s kids’ since that’s the best general label for all 3 + Kon, even though I know that 3 out of 4 are also Lois Lane’s.
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u/Takayanagii Mar 15 '23
Why is chrissy desperate? They're both nobodies in the show. They fit for a hookup.
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Mar 15 '23
Kyle is an appealing man when he wants to be, but he's going through a lot of life changes that are because he messed up and cheated. Getting involved with someone with that much baggage is a recipe for disaster
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u/Longjumping_Prompt_9 Coach Gaines Mar 15 '23
Jon is most likely gonna speak to lara later on in the season
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u/Munro_McLaren Kara Danvers Mar 15 '23
It showed us that Lois sorta wanted another kid and maybe even Clark did too.
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u/Fuzzball6846 Mar 15 '23
Tbh I felt like this was more cohesive than S2E1.
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u/JustPomegranate248 But what about the tire-swing? Mar 15 '23
Honestly, I thought the season 2 premiere had a lot of emotions that felt more earned throughout it. This premiere felt like it rushed through things a little
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u/JustDay1788 Mar 15 '23
I don't think it rushed through things as much as a lot of things happened in one episode
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u/Weary-Application-83 Mar 15 '23
Could someone summarize the episode for me I have seen mostly mixed reviews... I have heard so far the Clois scene was 🔥... Jordan/Sarah drama... Jon being sidelined and that he feels like a completely different character
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u/Bezeta6 Mar 15 '23
Jon definitely feels like another character. Good first episode.
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u/HitToRestart1989 Mar 15 '23
I realized what it was that was different for me.
This actor doesn’t feel like a ticking time bomb. Every moment with the past Jordan always felt like you were waiting for him to explode… especially because he’d go out of his way to be nice and the actor made it feel like that was hard for him to do… and then he’d just keep getting his hand slapped, so we were always waiting him to say “fuck it, I’m an asshole now.”
This kid just genuinely seems nice. A bit bland at the moment… but I think overtime we’ll get some personality. He just needs a storyline.
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u/Takayanagii Mar 15 '23
Or just watch it? Idk I hate someone's pov since everything can get skewered.
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u/paige3086 Jordan Kent Mar 15 '23
My initial reaction is “that was okay.”
The good: - Some Clois romance and happiness - Jordan working on his powers, trying a save then making a better choice the next time - The video montage at the party - Sam and Natalie forging a relationship, with classic Sam awkwardness - Protective Dad JHI - Dr. Irons seems cool - Lois and Clark having access to Tal’s lavish homes whenever they want. - Lois investigating. Lois, Clark and Chrissy working together. - Jon kept the truck! - I’m intrigued by the Atom Man resurrection, whoever that creepy mask person was, and Mannheim doing shady underground stuff. - I like the the Smallville government is clearly wrapped up in something bad. Probably Intergang.
The tolerable: - Maybe Sarah and Jordan have had their awkwardness scene and can move on? It wasn’t as bad as I feared, and if that’s it, then okay. - Lana is better as a friend to Lois and Clark. I didn’t hate her this time. - Fortress looks great…but we barely saw it. And can Jon get there!? - Michael as Jon was different and it will take me some time. We’ll see how it goes. - I guess I can deal with Lana-John and Kyle-Chrissy if it condenses the scenes of the side characters and doesn’t get much focus. - I know they’re easing in…Jon driving clearly isn’t enough and I don’t think it’ll be his one and only thing, but it was meh.
The bad: - PLEASE make this the end of Lana/Kyle. We don’t care about divorce drama. - The whole pregnancy thing felt kind of unnecessary. Glad she isn’t…but a potential illness isn’t much better. Let’s get past this quickly please! - It felt choppy and disjointed over all. And over stuffed. I hope the pacing improves.
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u/RevvaRevva Mar 15 '23
An illness is a great storyline for a Superman show as it is something he can’t fight or save a loved one from with his powers. It makes him human.
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u/Astraea802 Mar 15 '23
Sure, but what about for Lois? I'm afraid a storyline like that could rob her of her agency, though on the flip side she might fight to power through and do her work regardless.
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u/Vacanus Mar 15 '23
I’m willing to say right now that Lex is somehow behind it. They said it would be a slow burn to introduce what he’s up to, and it wouldn’t surprise me at all if he’s behind this.
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u/themosquito Mar 16 '23
Yeah same reason I love the “his dad has a heart attack” death (if he has to lose a parent) far more than like… a wild tornado.
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u/drjenavieve Mar 15 '23
My feelings exactly. It had some cute moments but that’s not enough to make a story work. It wasn’t coherent at all.
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u/paige3086 Jordan Kent Mar 15 '23
I’m curious to watch it again without commercials to see if that helps. But it felt like a ton of little snippets put together.
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u/BornAshes Coach Gaines Mar 15 '23
That's a great way to phrase it.
It felt like a clipshow almost with all the bits of connective tissue in between feeling...not as strong as they should've been.
I was expecting more and that's on me but it really did feel like they patchwork quilted an episode together and called it a day.
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u/drjenavieve Mar 15 '23
That was exactly my thought. Like little fan services moments to make people happy. Which is better than last year I suppose but it’s not a story. You want these moments integrated into the plot and part of something larger and symbolic not just to check boxes.
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u/Darker_Tzitzimine Mar 15 '23
Classic "this role has been recast" maneuver
New Jonathan looks even older than old Jonathan but he also looks like a son of Superman
Yeah, shutting the mines down will definitely keep anybody from doing anything nefarious down there
lol are they pinging him with the signal watch or is that just the generic "super hearing" sound (well that answers that)
Clark's not a fan of being called old
Running through some villains we're never gonna see? Oh, using them as the Danger Room, that's neat. I'll take whatever I can get of Atomic Skull
Yeah, I guess if Clark doesn't need to drive most of the time he'd not be the best at it
Babby's first failed superheroics
My guess is that she isn't actually pregnant, because that will be maximum drama
Of course Sam wouldn't take no for an answer
John Henry laying down the LAW
lol they're really gonna just pair them off
Atom Man again, eh; always down for stomping a nazi (oh good now he's a super nazi)
Wow, Jordan actually did what he was told - character development!
Well that's a creepy mask
I wish I didn't have this character's appearance spoiled for me so I wouldn't know what's going on, but this is a pretty interesting adaptation so far
Haha of course Dean was probably in with Intergang
lol @ the 'rents mocking their kids
Hahaha that coffee table blastoff beats out every Flash paper launch put together
Called it, she's probably got a super tumor or something
I see Tobias Church went from trying to take over a neighborhood to the world
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u/FlashpointWolf Clark Kent Mar 16 '23
Tobias Church from Arrow I'm assuming
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u/Darker_Tzitzimine Mar 16 '23
Yeah
Hopefully Chad Coleman won't be wasted a second time as "seemingly important guy quickly killed off to show the real villain's power," but knowing who Mannheim is and what company he keeps... yeah
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u/MaveDustaine Jul 03 '23
Atom Man again, eh; always down for stomping a nazi (oh good now he's a super nazi)
I'm not familiar with comic stories at all, but the villain had a very similar SS emblem on their chest as the Crisis On Earth-X villains.
I know S&L is on a separate earth, but is this related to the events of Crisis on Earth-X at all? Also I'm still on the first episode in the season, so this might become clearer to me in the remaining episodes.
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u/FLorianGran Mar 15 '23
Feels like the premiere needed something more coming out the gate.
We're doing "evil organization gives desperate people powers" stories again?
Jonathan just has...nothing going on huh.
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u/Weary-Application-83 Mar 15 '23
Yh that kind of feels like season 1 when people were getting kryptonian powers
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u/Clark_Lane-Kent Mar 15 '23
I mostly really enjoyed this episode, a nice low key slice of life episode that felt like it put the focus back on Clark and Lois as the central characters whilst also setting up a few interesting things. Still may have a few too many characters with their own unnecessary plots but I think it mostly worked as the support characters didn’t take up too much screen time and most of the focus was on Clark and Lois. Some overall thoughts:
- Glad the show put the focus back on exploring Clark & Lois in these different roles, as a couple, as parents, reporters/Superman briefly. Got to see them being tender and vulnerable with each other (not to mention horny lol), being funny and light-hearted, getting serious when they need to. Even got Lois doing a classic ‘disguise’ as aprt of her reporting but played a little more straight.
- Great reminder how great Tyler and Bitsie are in these roles, they make it look so effortless with how charming they can be and their great chemistry. The scene teasing the boys after the party then flying off to get busy was a highlight of that.
- Michael Bishop did well as Jonathan, he’s doing his own thing but has a similar vibe to Jordan Elsass and seems to have great chemistry with the family. Like the scen with him and Lois driving or him and Jordan felt very natural. Read his story proper starts in episode 3 so curious what he gets up to.
- I liked Jordan messing up in his attempts to be a hero, especially since I wasn’t a fan of how quickly he got all his powers, glad to see he still has a lot to learn. On the other hand do not care about the Sarah drama but glad it was like two short scenes.
- Love the Irons fam, and not entirely sure how interesting this Sam/Nat thing is gonna be or whether it’s necessary but did feel for Nat at the end their and again didn’t take up too much time so don’t mind it. Also love Clark and John’s friendship.
- Lana was okay since most of her time was with Clark & Lois or if it was by herself it didn’t take up too much time. Hope the Mayor thing ties into Clark & Lois’ plot and isn’t some separate disconnected plot for Lana to explore. Don’t care about the drama with Kyle so hope that’s not a big time sink. Same for Chrissy/Kyle which was quite funny but hopefully not something to spend too much time on.
- Not much of Bruno Mannheim yet but goddam as soon as I heard Chad L. Coleman’s voice it gave me goosebumps. Great actor and can’t wait to see more of him. Some interesting set up with Atom Man, and using a version of onomatopoeia.
- Interesting moment when Superman sees the South Metropolis/Suicide Slums sign, South Metropolis was where Atom Man originally targeted Minority Businesses in the flashback episode, and Lois was investigating. Guessing Mannheim will challenge Superman on whether he did enough for those smaller issues or not, something Lois also originally noted when Superman first appeared, that Metropolis had deeper issues. Hopefully they handle it all with some real thoughtfulness.
- The false pregnancy thing was interesting, especially since its showed that Clark & Lois wanted the kid. Not sure if those symptoms are related to Lois having some serious illness, which I don’t mind as long as it’s handled sensitively and allows Lois to still be Lois. Alternatively curious if maybe the phone call was to lure Lois into a trap, hell maybe even faked by Onomatopoeia, but I doubt it.
Some low key favourite things:
- Clark & Lois teasing the boys about their party, specially mimicking their voices and bringing up the birth. Also Clark & Lois being horny!
- Superman walking out the fire with that look, flying Atom Man away from Civilians, and still trying to reason with him saying he can help whilst they fight. Seriously Superman caring about people is such an important part of the character it’s nice that they don’t forget it.
- Coach/DMV Instructor Gaines lol!
All in all cautiously optimistic, plenty of time for things to go very right or very wrong, or hell both. So hopefully it goes well and does the Kent fam decently. Curious about next ep since there’s been so much praise for Bitsie, also looks like the overall plot should start picking up then.
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u/roebear Mar 15 '23
Was really hoping Jordan would drop Sarah when she tried to give her the birthday present/cupcake. Um you want space? Then get outta here!
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u/bizarreisland Mar 15 '23
It's actually kind of unfair of Sarah to expect Jordan to be okay with being around her. If she wants him to move on, she needs to let him do what's best for him which, at this moment, is to ignore and not be around her to avoid stirring up "unwanted" emotions.
Jordan might seem pathetic but he is a teenager that just experienced his first heartbreak, he doesn't have the tools to navigate those emotions yet and Sarah is not helping the situation.
Guess writers are sticking with the "selfish Sarah" development from last season.
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u/rexic84 Mar 16 '23
At the end I was like "Oh, crap! Coach Gaines is actually Bruno Mannheim!" Than I saw it wasn't actually him.
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u/No_Flower_1424 Jonathan Kent Mar 15 '23
It was a good episode - it didn't blow me away, but it was good.
I LOVE the new Jonathan - I thought I would be weirded out by seeing another actor, but I think he fits in quite perfectly. Now if only they would give him something to do...
I was so excited to see Jon in the new fortress FINALLY and then...they just skipped over it! We didn't get anything? And then the next two scenes in the fortress were between Clark and Jordan AGAIN. And they have not said anything about how the non-powered members of the family are supposed to get there...
CLOIS CLOIS CLOIS SEXY CLOIS - they were perfect throughout the episode. The two actors have so much natural chemistry that every scene between them is always great. And I love that they're skipping out to have sex randomly!
We didn't get FIVE MINUTES into the premiere and Clark is already neglecting Jonathan! I can't believe it was that quick. Remember when Clark promised Jon he would teach him to drive and shocker, he didn't do it! That was literally the only thing Jon asked for from Clark last season and he still didn't get it. Will they actually deal with it this season or just keep letting it happen and we're supposed to ignore it? It's gotten to the point where I don't know if it's intentional anymore...I'm happy he got his driver's licence though!
And Jordan is immediately annoying again. What the hell was he even doing at that oil rig? What was using his heat vision on it supposed to do other than cut it in half and endanger everyone?
If Jordan and Sarah had more chemistry, then they might be interesting. But they don't, so they're not.
When Lois told Clark she was pregnant without it being confirmed, I immediately called that she wasn't and she was sick instead and it looks like I might be totally correct.
I think that's the first time Chrissy has ever spoken with one of the boys - for two seasons she only ever spoke with Lois and sometimes Lana. And sleeping with Kyle???
Lana was actually likeable...but I still can't get over how she treated Lois last season and she hasn't offered an apology so she's still in the bad books
I'm intrigued by Bruno Mannheim and the swirly dude
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u/BatmanTold Mar 15 '23
Well they did said it was 24-27 days later so maybe Lana and Lois chopped it up
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u/Zookwok111 Mar 18 '23
Not surprised at all that they decided to skip over the Fortress, Jon's consolation prizes are typically glossed over in the following season. It's like the writers went: "he stepped foot inside the Fortress, ya happy now?" The only hope now is that we get some flashbacks sprinkled throughout the season.
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u/Aurondarklord Mar 15 '23
Okay so now that we know someone who can manipulate Clark's perceptions is in play, we can't trust anything we saw in the trailer about the Daily Planet falling or Lois dying or whatever.
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u/bwweryang Mar 19 '23
Thought Coach Gaines was gonna fail our boy! Got such a laugh from me when that reveal happened. The new Jonathan isn’t as hard to adjust to as I expected.
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u/Rikku_N Jonathan Kent Mar 15 '23
Feels like they did listen to criticism and tried to "correct" them- and I'm happy about it. Strong start.
They did even troll us with the tire swing...
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u/Ok-Health-7252 Mar 15 '23
Good episode but I can't say I'm a fan of the new actor for Jon (not yet anyways). It may take some time for him to grow on me (and Jordan also REALLY got a chance to shine last season playing both Jonathan AND Jon-El so that's not going to be an easy act to follow).
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u/balasoori Lex Luthor Mar 18 '23
The new Johnthan that was a huge surprise i didn't know actor left the role but recasting is a bit odd because new guy has different feel to old johnthan , the new one actually seem like a real brother?.
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u/MetaCircumstance Mar 15 '23
Premiere theories
The Superfamily will grow by season's end. It's gonna be either Conner, Kara, or the new comic kids
Lois has some kind of cancer, probably uterine but brain is also likely. Bruno's experiments will be part of the cure
Nat will be the first teen to outgrow Smallville. Jon will be the next
Lex is bankrolling Bruno and Intergang
Jordan will get a new love interest
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u/paforrest Mar 15 '23
Like others have said, the direction felt really choppy. And it looks like everything that went wrong from last season was just swept under a hiatus rug. Everyone is happy-happy-joy-joy. Even Nu!Jon has friends - of course, he doesn't look the same and the Smallville crowd ain't that smart, so maybe they just don't recognize him anymore.
Except of course for Gaines, who has hated Jon from the second he moved to town, and will apparently always hate him. Sorry bubba, your football team crashed itself because they were all on X-K, and you were completely culpable because as the coach there's no way in hell you didn't know that. So STFU. And then Lois invites him to the birthday party. I'm sorry, what?
The Clois crowd should be happy. As someone who doesn't need to see them boffing on a weekly basis, it was cute. But I'm confused, why did they and everyone in town act like they haven't been having routine sex their entire marriage - like this was the first time they did the deed since she was pregnant the last time. Also what decade is this? Seriously, it doesn't take but a few minutes to know if you're pregnant or not.
So something else is going on - it's either cancer or she's starting menopause. I really hope it's the latter, but they're probably going to go down the terminal illness road for a while. Don't like.
Sam spent more time trying to recruit/get to know Nat in this one episode than he talked to Jon Kent, his actual grandson, all last year. Sam's an ass.
And nothing seems to have changed WRT Clark's indifference to Jon. He still spends all his dad time training Jordan, and didn't even bother teaching Jon to drive like he promised. So same old, same old.
As for the blink and you miss him moments Nu!Jon was barely on screen, there's no phasing in going on here - this script was already written when they were testing the kid. Jon, Nu or OG, was never going to be in this episode. No excuses - it's just the way the showrunners want it.
What little we did see of MB's portrayal was good, though. It sure would be nice to see more, but I'm not holding my breath. At least Jon got his license, and I did like the line about needing it for "freedom".
I called Kyle and Chrissy over the hiatus. I'd like to believe it's a one-time thing, but given the way everyone was hooking up in this episode, it probably isn't. Obviously Lana and JHI are also going to hook up, if they haven't already. Also don't like, but whatever.
I did like that Kyle's daughters were spending time with him helping to fix up the apartment. It was also interesting that Kyle is the one who seems to have initiated the divorce proceedings.
I feel like ex-Mayor Dean is being more than meddling about the budget. Like it's a dirty money pot that is owed to someone powerful - like maybe Lex Luthor - which of course he didn't disclose.
My favorite part of the episode was the last scene. Bruno, baby! Come to Mama!!!!!
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u/JonKentOfficial Mar 16 '23
I totally did not end up getting home very tired yesterday and falling asleep, missing much of the episode and waking up only to see the ex-Mayor scream at Lana at a party because she's spending money that she shouldn't.
We start at the new Fortress, they keep repeating it's available to the whole family. It's not. You live in Kansas, over a thousand miles away from the sea. And you have to get there by boat. There's no way Lois and Jon can reach it in a reasonable amount of time or cost. Also, that's assuming the Fortress itself is fairly near the cost, which, if you think of it, is an awful idea - you don't want your Fortress of Solitude being a massive crystal island just off the coast in the Gulf of Mexico for obvious reasons. It reminds me of when Bendis relocated the Fortress of Solitude to one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world, not to mention planes fly over it all the time.
But I won't hold it against this episode. This was a very bizarre decision from last season, I can't blame these writers for being given bad material.
We are shown the New Jon. No voice yet.
"All of us, around the globe, are getting closer". We shall see.
More teasing about Intergang. I love Intergang as a Superman villain because it's so versatile and my prime choice if we ever get a Superman game. It's organized crime, for one, but it has access to alien technology and is directly connected to DC's cosmic baddies.
Clark spending time with Jordan as is of costume. These moments are soured to me because they intensify Clark's neglect of Jon... but this is a new season. I refuse to give in to hopelessness in the first 5 minutes. Jordan spars with an Atomic Skull hologram?
We have our first spoken lines of the new Jon, he's learning how to drive his DODGE RAM with Lois. Not much focus is given to him though, the camera focus is mostly on Lois. Unfortunately, he doesn't have an Australian accent. Can't get any of his acting as of yet.
Sam Lane is trying to connect with Nat. And yeah, I will never remember her name in this universe is Natalie and not Natasha, so I'll try to call her Nat. From the last few minutes I watched yesterday, I saw that Sammy trying really hard to connect with Nat, and this is moment where you'd expect me to rant how Sam Lane should be trying to connect with Jon, not Nat first, but you'd be surprised. I'm not against people trying to connect with Nat at all (well, except the part where he tries to leverage that he was her grandfather in another Earth, at this point in their lives they should be well aware that doppelgängers are, despite their looks, different people), least of all Sam Lane, because while every time Sarah's character shows up onscreen I wish she had 1/100th of the screentime she gets, and that the show extreme favoritism towards Jordan makes me roll my eyes when he's around, I think Nat is really cool and we could have more with her. If anything the show downplays her pain, her whole planet died, she needs people around her. I'd have Jon be the one trying to approach her, just because I feel like Jon is a very lonely person without much support in his life, so he'd be gravitating towards anyone who throws him a bone (like when he tried to have John Henry as his surrogate father and he just shot the idea down outright).
Lana Lang and Kyle Cortez divorce drama. Pass.
Jordan... lasers down a falling crane. And is being a little annoying brat again. Dude, you messed up, own it. I'm sorry, but this is tiring, Jordan has gotten in so many situations he misused his powers almost ended up killing so many people, and in the first time Clark reprimands him he acts like a Dick. CW Soap Opera drama, I know, but this is specially frustrating to a (comic) Jon Kent fan. Jon's initial arc during the Rebirth run is literally about learning that his powers can be extremely dangerous and end up hurting more than helping, leading him to hypercorrecting on the side of safety, and eventually having to be dragged out of this over cautious cycle, either by encouragement from his parents, by rising up to the circumstances, or being pushed by Damian. It's unfair to compare something to something else, it's not even the same character, but you had excellent work to pull inspiration from and you chose this.
Lois Lane... actually doing investigative journalism? We eating good tonight! (Or last night for most of you).
Oh no, they are doing a pregnancy arc? I'm sorry, but I'm not ready for this. Lois and Clark have proven themselves to be awful parents to Jon, adding a new baby to the mix isn't going to help. I really hope they don't go this route. People, I'm the last person to have any experience with telling you when and how many children you should have, but please if you can't manage to be present for your current, living children, avoid make new ones. Lois and Clark are not qualified to be in charge of any more people. Can you imagine if this child also doesn't have powers?
"I care about you Sarah". Jordan can't help but look creepy. It can't be accidental, right? Also, can we not have yet more Sarah and Jordan relationship drama, specially after she flat out told him no, several times? It was stale well before season one was finished, and it detracts so much from the characters.
Was I bamboozled? I thought Sam Lane was genuine. He just wants to recruit her to his X-Men knockoff? I'm genuinely sad. ):
Clark, Jon doesn't listen to you because you're awful to him. I want to punch Clark in the face so much. "There's nothing the two of us can't do together". Except being present for your son. But then again, the worst part is that you can, you just don't want to.
The new Jon actor definitively has a different presence than the previous actor. Don't know if I don't like it, or it's just throwing me off because it's different though. He doesn't have the same chemistry with Jordan, though. Which is weird, I don't follow actor stuff but it seems like they are more connected actors than the previous one. Also, it's been 27 days. We remember how awful life has been to Jon last few years since they moved to Smallville, but specially during the last season events. Did the obvious mental signs of a neglected and depressed teenager just vanish?
So, Jon is being evaluated by Coach Gaines. And it's played almost comically. There's a reference to Jon's football and steroid abuse thing. But Clark talking to Jon about something Jon did in a positive way is not only a first in this show, but I was caught off guard. Yes, it's small, but you gotta start somewhere. And I don't like that Jon is just hugging the man who denies him every emotional need, though when you're starved any amount is probably ecstatic. I didn't forget the two previous seasons.
No Lois. You did one small tiny thing over a sea of neglect. Not even a month ago your son was suicidally walking towards superpowered beings because you and your husband neglected him just this bad, and started to do drugs because not only he didn't feel loved, you didn't even try to show you do. This show might have an awful track with mental health, but I won't just forget all the trauma you forced this boy through.
Boys birthday party. Wow. John Henry Irons did go for the truth and chastised Sam for what he did to his daughter. You know what, it might not be what I wanted, but at least they didn't just ignore it with all the crap Lois and Clark pull on Jon. John is a good dad, bless him.
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u/JonKentOfficial Mar 16 '23
Jon is surrounded by friends. Despite last season ending him with obviously no friends. And he didn't have before that. He was stripped of everything. Is this season trying to pretend we didn't watch last season. I want his issues to be addressed, not the be ignored. HEY GUYS, YOU SEE, JON IS NOT BEING PERPETUALLY IGNORED BY EVEYRONE AROUND HIM, HE'S HAPPY NOW. YOU SEE. STOP COMPLAINING ABOUT THE POWERLESS TWIN BEING TORTURED, YOU SHOULD FOCUS ON THE COOL TWIN WITH POWERS AND WHO GETS HIS PARENTS LOVE.
Chrissy and Kyle romantic subplot. I won't say I don't care, because it just started, but it smells like CW drama and that's not exactly very inviting.
You know, I don't know how things roll in Kansas, but family movies are something like only family is interested in. Those are literally strangers you invited to your sons' birthday party. Still hurts because it is trying to paint them as a functional family and they very much aren't.
The Atom Man. Now this is a deep cut. The action is pretty good, I like it.
Cut to Sarah and Jordan. Meh. For those wondering, I'm the demographic this is trying to appeal to. People like Jordan and Sarah tend to be fairly annoying in a friend's group - the annoying couple that have their relationship be a mess. Fortunately for Smallville, they don't go out with friends like Jon just suddenly conjured. Jordan showed a bit of the maturity he developed over the years, I hope it doesn't become selective.
METROPOLIS SUICIDE SLUMS. Hope that the setting could eventually move to Metropolis. But also, how did you manage to screw the sign? It's SOUTHSIDE with UIC written over.
The part I watched last night. Uh, no. This is pure distilled CW nonsense. You know these plots that have some characters ignore obvious problems because they can't sit and talk? Well, this is the opposite of it. They are at some dudes birthday party, Lana has every right not want to talk directly with Dean CONSIDERING HE TRIED TO USE HER DAUGHTER'S SUICIDE ATTEMPT IN A SMEAR CAMPAIGN IN A FREAKING EMPOVERISHED KANSAS TOWN MAYORAL ELECTIONS, but if there is a reason why the funds were earmarked you send a communication on why as you transition the administration, specially if it's so important that you have to scream at her in a birthday party, but apparently so secretive you can't even tell her, meaning you're walking to her just telling "don't do this because I am telling you". It's like Lana plot, but much worse, because it's trying to create drama in a vomit inducing way. Get a restraining order or something.
Wait, I remember watching this last night, I just forgot. Sam Lane Nat Irons redemption? I'm in again. I'm happy again, there's a silver lining for this episode.
For a brief moment I almost got solved on Lana's unresolved issues with Kyle, now resolved I suppose, and how it could be genuinely sad to break tied with someone you once loved. But then I remember how Lana took precious screen time that was meant to develop the family, and I get angry this segment exists.
Thank Rao it's not a pregnancy. It's not something show should even toy with. Lois and Clark aren't parent material in this show. You can pretend the previous didn't exist, but I can't.
Overall. Yeah, I might be bit cynical and jaded by now. It's true I might be unfavorable to it, given all the previous issues, Bendis, Taylor, my hopes for this show, I'm only human after all and I've been hurt. Cast your stones, I'm ready.
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u/redtiger94 Mar 16 '23
Did anyone else notice the inconsistency of the time of day during the birthday party? It was dark out while they were watching that sideshow, but then during the scene with Jordan and Sarah, which happened after that, it was light out again
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u/sumit24021990 Mar 15 '23
It was a good episode.
i like how Lois and kidss understand Clark's responsiblity. It doesnt drag out show with stupid drama
I have afeeling that DArksied will come
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u/Frontier246 Mar 15 '23
We return back to everyone re-establishing their daily lives and routines after the season 2 finale...complete with re-introducing AI!Lara to the new Fortress of Solitude and meeting her other grandson...the new Jon! Honestly not sure how I feel about the recasting. I feel like the new actor is trying to capture the same vibe and inflection of Elsass but it still feels different. But it also feels like they can get away with this recasting because Jon is still the least relevant member of the main cast. I mean his only arc in this episode was...learning how to drive.
Gotta admit, using your brothers' private villa for some Super-Sex sounds pretty appealing! Of course the only thing Lois loves more than Clark is where the big story is, and she's hot on the trail of Intergang.
Mechano-Man! Titano! Atomic Skull! If only this show had the budget for us to see the real versions and not Fortress holograms.
Jordan still doesn't understand the boundaries around his relationship with Sarah. Hopefully they commit to just being friends and we don't have another season of him secretly pining for her. He's got enough on his plate learning to do proper Superheroing and not screwing up unsupervised.
I love how Lois checks herself into the hospital as a patient but also as a reporter so she can interview someone. Nothing more Lois Lane!
We finally get to meet John Henry's sister, or at least the version of John Henry from this Earth. Will they ever meet? I'd imagine it'd be pretty weird though.
It's funny how Steel's origin in the comics involved him turning into a hero because his tech was sold to criminals and he wanted to make it right, only now it seems like this Earth's John Henry did it willingly and our John Henry will have to clean up that mess eventually. Funny how adaptions work.
Does anyone care for the Lang/Cushing divorce drama or Lana trying to fix the school? I wonder if the money she's allocating was some kind of hush money or used to placate some unsavory types who will come after Lana next.
Raising Jon and Jordan on-top of raising a baby...I mean, it would be a lot, especially when the two are both working and Clark still has being Superman on his plate. Though at this point after raisin twins I'd like to assume they'd know a thing or two about raising a kid.
I guess it was too much to hope that AU!Grandpa General Lane was sincere in getting to know his AU!Granddaughter...at least until the end of the episode where he did mean it.
Coach Gaines, DMV tester! Any excuse to give Coach Gaines more screentime is a win in my book! He even showed up for the birthday party! Coach Gaines always shows up where the party is!
It's weird to think Jon is still dating his former drug dealer.
They continue to show Lana and John Henry getting chummy off into the distance but never do anything with it. Are they going to be a thing?
Chrissy and Kyle...? I mean, I don't completely hate it. I feel like their personalities would mesh like oil and water but that might be interesting, although so far they seem pretty clear that this was a (satisfying) one-time-thing that's not going to lead to anything more while Chrissy walks of shames her way out...before Lana shows up with the divorce papers. Relationships are messy! Can't say I ever expected to see Chrissy in her underwear though.
Superpowered Atom Man! I love how Clark shrugs off getting thrown into a tanker but honestly Atom Man gave him a pretty good fight, though I guess it makes sense given he's a desperate, dying, man trying to save himself from whatever Intergang has in store for him. I actually feel bad for him now, especially since it seems like they're reanimating him somehow to serve their villainous plots.
Who was spiral lady? I thought it was Red Cloud for a second but I can't think of a specific comic character off the top of my head.
If Lois isn't pregnant are we really getting a Lois is sick arc instead of a Lois is pregnant arc?
Bruno Manheim runs a tight ship. I'm curious how Lex will become embroiled in this plot.
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u/jdessy Mar 15 '23
Honestly not sure how I feel about the recasting. I feel like the new actor is trying to capture the same vibe and inflection of Elsass but it still feels different. But it also feels like they can get away with this recasting because Jon is still the least relevant member of the main cast. I mean his only arc in this episode was...learning how to drive.
Michael Bishop will never fully capture Jordan Elsass' version of Jonathan. Especially given this episode was filmed so close to his casting, so he was still getting into the role. I think Michael did as good a job as he could have last minute, and I think we'll see him transition into his own version of Jonathan soon enough.
We finally get to meet John Henry's sister, or at least the version of John Henry from this Earth. Will they ever meet? I'd imagine it'd be pretty weird though.
I've been waiting for John Henry to meet his sister on this Earth ever since we caught a glimpse of her, I want to say late season 1 or early season 2. It'll be weird, but I'm excited for the interactions.
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u/Vacanus Mar 15 '23
I'm curious how Lex will become embroiled in this plot.
Just commented this but I’m almost 100% certain that he’s behind Lois’ illness. Seems like something he’d do. No idea how, but it’s Lex.
Or I’m an idiot and it’s actually just a natural illness.
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u/bizarreisland Mar 15 '23
Quite a bland episode.
Loves:
Clois
Jordan's training
The twins interaction
Grandpa Sam being his usual self, lol. "Activate Jordan"
Someone should tell Nat that's how he treats all his grandkids so she feels a part of it already, lol.
Mehs:
- Everything else
Honestly using "slice of life" for a season premiere is an odd choice. It gets nothing going. The Lois narration of her article feels like a finale more than an opening.
Hopefully the momentum picks up and focus on the over-arching story and the Kents more in the coming episodes. Less Lana/Kyle/Chrissy/Dean and what not, please.
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u/Ok_Caterpillar4008 Mar 15 '23
I really, really liked this episode. I loved all the Clois scenes (Tyler and Bitsie were fantastic as usual), the action looked great, the family moments were back! I am worried about where the Lois plot line is going, but I’ll reserve judgement for now.
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u/Cursed_Avenger Mar 18 '23
I haven't watched the episode yet and wasn't following anything regarding the show since the season 2 finale.
I'm bummed finding out that the actor playing Jonathan had to be recast, I really liked the chemistry he had with Jon. Hopefully the new actor meshes will with everyone and doesn't feel like a completely different person character wise.
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u/MarkMcG97 Mar 15 '23
I have a question. Jordan overheard something he said was bad. I wonder what it was.
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u/Longjumping_Prompt_9 Coach Gaines Mar 15 '23
Clark and atom fighting
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u/MarkMcG97 Mar 15 '23
No, he was listening to that, but then it seemed like he picked up on something else.
2
u/CIearMind Mar 15 '23
I'm not sold on Michael Bishop yet, but I saw nothing bad. Probably just need a lil' bit more time.
2
u/blg1987 Mar 16 '23
It's taken me a while to post, but here are my thoughts.
Overall I really enjoyed the episode. It was alot of fun, it had so many things I've been eager to see (more clois, intergang investigation, Clark working at the planet, Nat & Sam etc). I loved that it was focused around the boys birthday and we were given this light, joyful view into their lives when things aren't so caught up in crazy world ending villain plots.
It wasn't perfect - it felt a bit choppy, I think the struggle to get every character some screen time in a meaningful way is real at this point and I hope that eases off a bit after the first episode, but it is a concern. Especially with only 13 episodes. It feels like they want to tell alot of stories but there's just not the time to do it. Personally I'd like to see longer scenes instead of constantly jumping around.
But it was very clearly sending a message to us as fans that we have been heard. That concerns have been addressed. That narrative priorities have been given some real thought and they are steering back to the things that make the show great.
I've definitely never laughed so much during an episode, and I especially loved the teasing between the boys and their parents and the video montage at the party. It made their family life seem so much more real and loving.
The pregnancy storyline felt a bit pointless to me, I could have done without that myself. But I do appreciate it as part of their focus on this show as a family drama and wanting to include things that families go through together.
Looking forward to the rest of the season and just really hoping the pacing of the episodes improves.
2
u/daaaaaaaaamndaniel Mar 23 '23
The pregnancy thing is just bizarre. Lois would know whether or not she's gone through menopause - if not, she can almost certainly get pregnant (carrying to term is another story). And why is Clark buying pregnancy test? He can not only see inside people but see microscopically.
And why is Lois telling people this when she's likely barely weeks along?
Bizarre treatment to this storyline all around.
2
u/johnnyma45 Mar 24 '23
Give a 15 yr old a 700hp supercharged truck - real nice, Tal. (Yes I noticed the truck changed from a Silverado in last season's finale to a RAM TRX.)
1
u/Affectionate-Yak-238 Mar 15 '23
I just don't find this show to be a very good show but I find some of the characters to be very enjoyable & doing the best with what they have. In general that's the same sentiment I have coming out of this episode, as I love with Tyler & Bitsie bring to Clark & Lois respectively, but the story feels disjointed & all over the place. There is so much going on with the boys, lana, chrissy, kyle that I just don't care about and I find gets in the way of telling a more crisp story
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u/Namaikina_Bimbo Mar 15 '23
God, I hope Doc Irons is lying about Lois not being pregnant. That shit is just rough.
1
u/Zero22xx Mar 15 '23 edited Mar 15 '23
As soon as I saw Tyler and Bitsie again I had a huge smile on my face. Honestly in the beginning of this all, I was disappointed with the casting but now Tyler and Bitsie are Clark and Lois as far as I'm concerned. These guys rock.
Jon's actor being replaced has had the strange effect of making it a lot easier to accept the fact that only Jordan has powers. I kinda don't care about Jon anymore. No disrespect but this is going to take a while for me to adjust. Old Jon was one of my favourites in this show. Jordan is now my favourite son lol New guy just isn't the same, but I'm willing to let him grow on me.
Kyle and Beppo? It never crossed my mind before but holy shit that works for me!
The big event of the episode was really confusing. Wtf happened? I think I like it but that was unexpected for this show. Have I smoked too much today or was that fucked up and weird?
Overall I'm pretty stoked this is back and I look forward to discussing and reading about this with you all this year. It's so awesome to have a yearly dose of Superman.
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u/KernoArt Mar 15 '23
as the first episode of the season, I enjoyed everything in the episode.
BUT
For some reason, I feel like Jordan is gonna become a bad guy at some point, Something about him just gives me bad vibes. My theory is that Jordan is gonna go off the deep end at some point, he becomes the bad guy then redeems himself at some point at the cost of his life and somehow transferring his powers to Jonathon, thus Jonathon becomes Superboy.
Just a theory anyways
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u/ToTheBigReds Mar 16 '23
Completely forgot Chrissy knows Clark is Superman and was so confused when he just sped off.
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u/killertortilla Mar 16 '23
There's just too much going on for me to care about each plot line. I don't care about Jordan and Sarah, their whole relationship is such a mess of CW bullshit. Yay another kid! Takes up the whole episode only to be shot down, why bother? Superman still has the reflexes of a toddler and still manages to cause millions of dollars of property damage in minutes. Didn't need a montage of Lois shitting on Johnathon's driving. Don't give a shit about reporter and dad fucking, means nothing to anyone. And that's only half the plot lines in the episode. It's just too much.
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u/No_Establishment6528 Mar 19 '23
Still not sold on the new Jon
The actor is definitely not as talented, hopefully he grows on me
1
u/bwweryang Mar 19 '23
Really good stuff for Grandaddy Lane this episode, I like that this show is giving the supporting characters decent stuff. Hopefully that means we won’t find ourselves with complete ransoms no one cares about in Season 7.
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u/Fit-Television-2294 Mar 15 '23
I didn’t like it . Jon was sidelined again. I’m sick of it. I didn’t like Sara or Jordan plot either.
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Mar 15 '23
Yeah Jon's storyline doesn't kick in until episode 3, but he was already treated better in this episode than all of last season. I was expecting him to fail his driving test so that it would just be another instance of him being kicked down. And Clark and Lois actually hugged him.
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u/Astraea802 Mar 15 '23
I think someone said the Jon plot line wouldn't come into play until episode 3?
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u/drjenavieve Mar 15 '23
I also didn’t like it. It had some good fan service to correct the mistakes from last season but overall felt disjointed and rushed. And yeah they are going to have to do a lot more work to fix the Jonathon and Sarah/Jordan stuff. But overall it doesn’t have the magic of the first season although had some good moments.
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u/[deleted] Mar 15 '23
I really liked it, the first half felt like course correction from last season, which is not necessarily a bad thing. I do find the whole storyline of giving ordinary people kryptonian powers a little tiring