Superman & Lois: Season 3

Superman & Lois "In Cold Blood"

It was all right. Not going to set the mythos on fire. I was annoyed with Lois as anyone else. I get that she doesn't want to be treated like she's sick. But healthy Lois is actually smart. How is doing dumb stuff putting other people in danger a way to not feel sick? Seems counterproductive.

I'll tell you another reason I'm angry. Both times she missed chemo Sam read Clark the riot act. It wasn't Clark's fault, but I understand why he blamed him. Lois doing this is having negative consequences for other people she isn't even considering.

Lana was working my last nerve too. Mostly because she doesn't know when to be upset. Was Kyle going to her office on a fishing expedition cool? Of course not. But he didn't want the marriage to end. What it is under that circumstance is totally understandable. Isn't Lana supposed to be a politician? You'd think she'd understand a little diplomacy and discretion is what is called for here.

I was on Sarah's side of the argument about Lana being controlling and selfish. Until she says that's probably why Kyle cheated on her. Maybe I'm reading it wrong, especially if it turns out Lana had a physically abusive mother... But I personally think a mother is well within her rights to slap her daughter if she says THAT specific thing to her. It seems weird that the a tearful Sarah meeting Kyle in the diner after Lana cries and apologizes and promises never to do anything like that again seems to hint that the producers think LANA is the one out of line there. I think Lana was being a hot mess all throughout the episode. Her slapping Sarah when she did was the one understandable thing she did. I don't agree with the show trying to say it's an example of her being out of control.

I don't ever envision a circumstance where it's ever okay for a dad to hit or beat their kid, but I think there are several scenarios in which it's okay for a Mom to slap them. Son or daughter, that strikes me as a Mom thing. Probably because I grew up in the 1980's. I don't share the show's values about that here.

It was all right. But I was getting aggravated by the end. ***.

Superman & Lois "Head On"

I liked most of it. And the things I didn't like (like Lana wanting to dig up dirt on Dean posthumously) worked out by the end. Apparently, the things I didn't like were things the writers didn't like either.

The scene with Clark in the waiting room with the women undergoing chemo is basically the reason I watch television. Great drama has its place, but GOOD drama? One that hits all the sweet spots of The Feels and The Big Hurt? A much rarer pleasure. And this show has value because it delivers it often enough for me to be pretty sure it knows what it's doing there, and is not just pulling random bad crap and confusing tragedy for drama. Lois' cancer arc could have easily turned into that (it's called misery porn). But her telling Clark at the end that she wanted his opinion, especially if he disagreed with her was just a beautiful bit of maturity for a couple of fictional characters allowed to treat each other well and behave like adults.

I have to say Lois' plan to go undercover at the hospital to dig up dirt on Manheim is harebrained. Not necessarily because it's dangerous (I take Manheim claiming he'll help her get better at face value) but because a cancer ward is the precise type of legit business Manheim runs that would have zero damning evidence on the premises. I don't think Lois necessarily understood everything he told her about the facility was likely true, but I think that's her white privilege more than anything else. I think the difference between her and Clark is that Clark has enough awareness to understand where Manheim is coming from when he talks about class struggles.

I was a little miffed at Mateo for the kiss myself, and I think it WAS a little too forward, but I love Nat talking out the problem with Sam. And she tells him he wouldn't understand. And he says that probably true but that he still wants to try. And lo and behold there is some common ground there after all. I'm not looking forward to Sam using a senior dating app and meeting a new gal pal, but I thought how he related to Nat there was very sweet, as was her calling him "Grandpa."

That fight with the villain was both brutal and clever. We saw things in it we don't usually see in TV fights. It was creatively done.

I value this show. ****1/2.

Superman & Lois "Forever And Always"

Messy, messy, messy. A little TOO messy, I think. I liked a lot of it, but it sort of got away from me by the end.

I realized Manheim's sick wife was Lois' cancer friend Pia. I didn't pick up on that last week. That's fine. As far as storytelling goes, it's fair and makes sense. Even more interesting is finding out she was ALWAYS a Metahuman and a killer. That's fine.

Mateo being their son however sucks butt. It's the randomest and stupidest of coincidences, especially since the show went out of its way to make us like him. And I did. I specifically love the fact that the second Nat storms out after John ruins their lunch Mateo's last words are to thank him for it like a good guest. I'm PISSED the writers did that now.

And really, I love the show. But this week has the potential to have been the shark jump. Why? Star Trek fans really think almost nothing of Star Trek: Voyager. Because it was so badly written it had feasible and easy solutions to bringing the crew home from the Delta Quadrant, and the only reason it didn't use them is because the show would be over. Like when Q offers to bring Janeway and the crew home, every single Star Trek fan scowled at Janeway smugly insisting the crew would find its own way home. Or what about the time Tom Paris broke the Warp 10 barrier? But the crew refused to use it to bring everyone home because apparently a day later you turned into a lizard. Considering the EMH was able to CURE Janeway's and Paris's lizardness easily afterwards it makes the viewer like "Why the hell don't they do it anyways?"

The idea that Clark and Lois refuse Kryptonian technology to cure Lois' cancer and save her life because it wouldn't be fair to the rest of society is a similar level of writing so bad and nonsensical, that only exists because the writers don't have a better solution. But the thing is, I do. If I were the writers I never would have brought up the Kryptonian tech at all, and simply hoped the viewer would either ignore it or forget about it. And if I DID bring it up, I would use Lara's excuse that it was too dangerous. That would make LITTLE sense considering how dangerous cancer actually is, but it would make SOME sense. When Manheim tells Clark that he would do anything to save his wife and Clark agrees, him setting aside the thing that would cure her for sure for a made-up writers' room reason makes both of them liars. It also makes me believe Manheim loves Pia more than Clark loves Lois. What a freaking unforced error. I can't get over it.

A lot of the episode was decent. Sarah had an interesting drag on Chrissy by suggesting that because she's ten years younger than Kyle it's gross. Chrissy age was never specified before this, but I find that an interesting controversy.

Similarly, I liked the idea that Lois snooping into Pia's business is out of line. Pia is the murderer and Big Bad both she and Clark are looking for. And it doesn't matter in my mind. Lois is not in the correct moral or ethical position to ask the specific pointed questions she is to a woman undergoing chemo treatment. Are her suspicions right and justified? If anything, they don't go far enough. But the reality is Lois has no business doing that to the woman who is helping her through this difficult time. And I like that Lois is starting to get that.

As for Jonathan's snit, I was surprised Lois and Clark told the boys they lied to them about how serious it was. Because it was my understanding the boys already knew. And yeah, a Last Will and Testament is a NORMAL thing to do when you have cancer. Were I Lois, I'd be furious they read her final messages to them. I don't understand why that isn't considered a boundary violation and a case of the kids crossing the line. I thought it was interesting Lois and Clark apologized to the kids for supposedly lying to them. But they were owed an apology from the kids for going through their personal papers and violating their mother's most sacred trust and final words. That is the much bigger sin in my book.

I like Clark telling Jonathan he is every bit the Kryptonian Jordan is, and Jordan is every bit the human he is. It's something I don't think Jonathan understands, but it's always been true.

I don't know, man. Parts of that were shady as hell. It being this show, I still liked a lot of it. But I had grave concerns about the long-term health of the show after that. "Saving Lois' life would be unfair to the rest of humanity" is NOT an argument any well-written show should EVER be making. **.

Superman & Lois "The Dress"

I love the Kents. Clark and Lois lovingly cuddling at the end is why I watch the show. What great people to center a show around. We are very lucky.

I like that the fact that John Henry killed a guy is a concern, but not necessarily a dealbreaker. When he says it was him or him, it's not entirely true in fact (Superman could have apprehended him) but certainly in spirit. If he were cop that would have been considered a clean shooting. Superman is not expected to stop all clean police shootings either.

Matteo suggesting that John is a bad guy is a poor excuse for his mother trying to murder him. But the fact is throughout the episode he IS a bad guy. I'm glad Nat changed his mind at the end, but it's not something she should have needed to point out. It's not just Superman who was finding his tactics abhorrent. Sam (SAM!) thought they were out of line too.

I love the fact that Sam and Clark are so simpatico now. It's really interesting.

Lois' fear about losing her breasts is great drama because it's a real fear in this situation, and a real reality for women with cancer. While I disdain the fact that the show hasn't actually shown Lois losing her hair, I think this specific idea shows a woman with cancer's fear about her appearance fully.

I love that Clark collects baseball cards. Along with the DC Animated Universe Superman, the Clark on this show is the only other interpretation of the character I actually find remotely human and relatable. Few writers are interested in those aspects to Superman so they aren't present. But Clark is a real and lovable guy for selling the cards (including his mint Cal Ripken Jr. Rookie Card) to buy his girl a pretty dress.

I think the reason Jordan and Jonathan actually hug it out is because both of them are too terrified of Sarah to contradict her. Wouldn't you be?

I love this show and am really worried it hasn't been renewed yet. What is the CW waiting for? ****.

Superman & Lois "Complications"

Sarah feels a LOT of guilt for Jordan being mad at her. Let me offer an opinion her parents were unnable to because they didn't have the exact context for it: Jordan is mad at her because he chooses to be. She apologized and if he were either really her friend or cool he'd accept the apology and drop it. They could even drift apart after that if Jordan really IS that hurt. But Jordan consciously saw that Sarah was hurting and chose to rub it in her face instead. That is not actually her fault, and not something she needs to feel guilty over. Yes, she made a mistake. But Jordan himself was hardly blameless that night. Him refusing to forgive her after she forgave him means Jordan's cuteness shtick has worn entirely thin with me. After he did that, it now feels a bit like a con and a put-on. I think I am going to treat those puppy-dog eyes with a grain of salt from here on out. They might actually be crying crocodile tears.

But I still loved the scene of Jonathan centering him when he gained X-ray vision for the first time, and was freaking out. Jonathan is a pretty great brother that I'm thinking Jordan doesn't currently deserve.

It feels right for Manheim to confess his crimes to get Matteo immunity, and even gives his character a bit of redemption the audience half-wanted, but knew wasn't possible before this. I love that Superman delivered Peia's final message to them, and that it gave that family a measure of peace. Superman doesn't just punch bad guys. He talks them down when he can.

I appreciate that Kyle isn't mad at Clark and is tickled instead. But Chrissy was right he was overreacting to her. I think he would have pulled a similar snit on Lana and Sarah if Sarah hadn't turned out to be in crisis. And at the end of the day, Kyle realizing he could turn the snit about that subject off at will is the reason he admits he was being a jackass to Chrissy. If he could have snagged Lana and Sarah into this grand conspiracy of his loved ones keeping secrets from him as well, he might have stayed mad. Him realizing it boil down to a performance for effect probably put things in perspective.

But yes, I find it very interesting and refreshing he isn't mad at Clark. Also interesting (but unsurprising) to learn he bullied Clark in high school. I don't think that was something we knew, but when he said it I was like "Of course." Totally on-brand for a self-proclaimed jackass.

I'll tell you what I don't like. Clark enjoys a restaurant called "Bamzoombas" because "they have great wings". I love that Clark on this show is relatable. I love that the producers don't treat him as an emotionless alien God far above humanity in both his virtues and pursuits. But that is not relatable to me. It's skeevy and gross. And yeah, regular guys are skeevy and gross. As much as I approve of relatable Clark Kent, people shouldn't relate to him because he's as gross as they are. That should not be an audience identification point. A Clark who is as dorky and silly as a real person is? Fine. One as icky as one? Nope.

But really, it was a good episode. But the Bizarro tease was frustrating. We've been teased LEX all season and there's only two episodes left. I feel like if the show IS canceled (and it might be; it's super expensive and losing The CW money, as high as the ratings are, and as much as the fans love it) they'll have put off the thing we really wanted for far too long. I just hope it is renewed, and Lex's appearance isn't too little too late. ****.