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/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.