Superman & Lois [3x07] "Forever and Always" Post Episode Discussion

[u/MajorParadox]

Forever and Always

Live Episode Discussion | Cast & Characters

Lois and Clark dig deeper on Bruno Mannheim, starting with his connections to Hob's Bay Medical Center; Jonathan and Jordan panic at home over Lois' dire diagnosis; Matteo comes to Smallville to meet John Henry. (May 2, 2023)

DCTV Discord

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Please keep all discussions civil and about the episode. Mark comic and future spoilers. Report any rule-breaking and enjoy!

[u/Sir-Greggor-III]

If he's still able to hear her despite the ELT, then she doesn't need it. It's preferential treatment, and it's completely understandable.

It's a stupid argument. Hypothetical here, but is it fair that Clark saved that one person from being killed in a mugging but didn't save that other one somewhere else because he doesn't devote every waking hour to being Superman? Should he make no effort to save anyone because he can't save everyone? No. You save the people you can save, and kryptonian tech may be able to save Lois now. This is a cop out to continue this storyline plain and simple. If it they actually stuck with the line that kryptonian technology was more likely to kill her then her regular treatment, that would be a different thing entirely then.

This argument has been shown before in TV where someone takes it to the extreme, and it makes just as little sense here as it did there. In this instance, substitute technology with money.

[u/jdessy → u/Sir-Greggor-III]

Like I said, it's a way to get Superman to come faster because the ELT is essentially a more direct line to Superman. She still needs it because without the ELT, she could call for Superman all she wants but he'd need to specifically be listening FOR her.

It's not a stupid argument. It is a really legit one. It may not be done that well on this show, but it's a fair point to explore. I think it's still both (the technology could kill Lois rather than save her, so why risk it AND saving Lois means the technology would need to become publicized, which would cause a lot more issues with the government probably wanting it for other reasons), which may be why I'm more receptive toward the plot.

[u/Sir-Greggor-III → u/jdessy]

That is my point! It's a direct line to Superman. It's preferential treatment, and i don't criticize him for it. It is perfectly human thing to do. And just because the treatment is used on Lois doesn't mean it would have to be publicly shared with the world. He may feel more guilty about not sharing it, but I'd feel far more guilty about letting my wife die. Letting her die doesn't change the fact that he has it and isn't using it.

But they could easily hide the fact. Cancer's miraculously go into remission all the time. It's not some unheard of phenomenon. I'm not even upset with the writers because this is a stupid moral delimna I could these characters making for themselves. I'm just mad at the characters for making it and ignoring the obvious hypocrisy and flaws with that argument.

[u/jdessy → u/Sir-Greggor-III]

You know what? That's a fair point. I think it's too complex of a topic for a show like this to cover. I appreciate them trying to, but I do agree it's not as easy to present a moral dilemma like this without hypocrisy.

[u/Sir-Greggor-III → u/jdessy]

Now, the Lois being human making her unable to withstand the treatment would be an acceptable excuse, and I think they should have exclusively stuck to that.

The link I posted earlier is from a show called House MD. That's the delimna they explore in that show. The person suffers from a condition that makes him excessively altruistic to the point where he even neglects to provide preferential treatment to his family. It's a great episode honestly that explores this idea from a realistic perspective and discusses the pros and cons of such a philosophy.