How does “Superman & Lois” manage to not only keep up the great quality, but also improve it as the season goes on? It feels like each episode gets more cinematic.
I might sound like a broken record here, but this is by far the best episode of this season. With beautiful cinematography, which is just eye candy and great acting across the board, and the standouts being the leads Superman (Tyler Hoechlin) and Lois Lane (Elizabeth Tulloch), this new episode is honestly no surprise.
Spoilers
This week’s episode, titled “A Brief Reminiscence In-Between Cataclysmic Events,” directed by Gregory Smith, is a love letter to the Superman mythos. The episode starts with a younger Clark in the Arctic, where he gives rise to the iconic Fortress of Solitude with the sunstone crystal.
A direct homage to the Donner Superman film. The scene was beautiful. The entire episode is filled with lots of beautiful shots that look like panels of a graphic novel. Seeing Clark learn more about himself and his heritage and his first flight gave me goosebumps and took me back to the time I saw Superman fly for the first time in Man of Steel.
Later on we see Jor-El (Angus Macfadyen) send Clark back into the world, ensuring his son that reconnecting with civilization will help him become Earth’s champion. On his journey of reconnection, Clark travels home to Smallville and reunites with his mother. Clark’s filled with regret when he realizes how much he has missed. After witnessing Lana (Emmanuelle Chriqui) moving on in life with Kyle (Eric Valdez), Clark decides to do the same. He moves to Metropolis.
Tyler perfectly portrayed the dorky persona of Clark Kent and it was really fun to see it, whether it be his interaction with Perry White (Paul Jarrett) during his interview, or the scenes with Lois right after. Speaking of Lois, Elizabeth Tulloch is the perfect Lois Lane. She, just like Tyler, understood the assignment and gave the fans the perfect on screen Lois Lane. She brings the right amount of bravado and I love it. I honestly can’t wait to see more of her character.
Tyler and Bitsie have the best on screen chemistry as Superman and Lois. The scenes in the Daily Planet when they first meet, the montage of them investigating the Atom-Man and when Lois first meets Superman when she was attacked by said villain were all pure perfection. I love the fact that he looked at her the same way he did as Clark when he first met her, but this time with a nod asking her whether she was alright. It was just beautiful.
These, however, were just memories that Superman was reliving so Morgan Edge (Adam Rayner), or Tal-Rho, could learn more about his blood-brother. Speaking of which, you see that Morgan just wants his family and people back, a great motive as far as I’m concerned.
Adam Rayner does a phenomenal job in portraying that pain. You could actually hear it in his dialogues. There is a throwdown that takes place and, since Clark is still weak from using the solar flare, Morgan easily gets the upper hand and the sunstone crystal, which had the consciousness of Jor-El.Jor-Els hologram fades away uttering the last words were “I love you, son.”
Edge then attempts to make Superman submit to him, threatening to kill the boys and Lois. Superman eventually submits to Morgan to save his family and is taken to Tal-Rho’s Fortress, located in a desert. Zeta-Rho (A.C.Peterson) seems angry and desperate and, if you had read my previous review, the concept of nature versus nurture really comes into play. Kal-El and Tal-Ro are two sides of the same coin and seeing what Zeta-Rho did just solidifies that.
In the end, Superman is “brainwashed.” Fearing something like what happened on John Henry Irons’ (Wolé Parks) earth, Lois contacts John warning him that what he had prophesied may be happening.
I could gush all I want about how amazing the show is due to the writing, acting and directing, but you have to experience it for yourselves. This show is very underrated and needs to be talked about more.
Another solid episode.
Again, I might sound like a broken record but “Superman & Lois’ ‘ is one of, if not the best, superhero shows out there. The next episode will premiere Tuesday, July 13.
Bravo bravo this was amazing to read 🙌🙌🙌👏👏👏 keep up the awesome work!!