Superman & Lois: “Loyal Subjekts,” “O Mother, Where Art Thou?”

Jordan learns that having superpowers is nothing to sneeze at, while an alien invasion threatens the Smallville High talent show.

The conflict with Morgan Edge comes to a temporary conclusion in a rather rushed and silly manner.

Titles: “Loyal Subjekts” and “O Mother, Where Art Thou?”

Directed by Eric Dean Seaton, Harry Jierjian
Written by Andrew N. Wong and Adam Mallinger with Katie Aldrin and Jai Jamison.

Cast

Tyler Hoechlin as Clark Kent / Superman
Elizabeth Tulloch as Lois Lane
Adam Reynor as Morgan Edge / Tal-Rho
Jordan Elsass as Jonathan Kent
Alex Garfin as Jordan Kent
Inde Navarrette as Sarah Cushing
Dylan Walsh as General Sam Lane
Emmanuelle Chriqui as Lana Lang Cushing
Erik Valdez as Kyle Cushing
Stacey Farber as Leslie Larr
Tayler Buck as Natalie Irons
Sofia Hasmik as Chrissy Beppo
Joselyn Picard as Sophie Cushing
Leeah Wong as Emily Phan
Angus Macfadyen as the voice of Jor-El
Kayla Heller as Tegan Wickhem
Danny Wattley as Coach Gaines
Robel Zere as Dabney Donovan
Shawn Stewart as Jasper Townes
Todd Mann as Jacob
Jenn Forgie as Margaret
Marika Siewert as Ms. Sharp
Kennedy Chew as Avery Phan
Jay Zhang as Duc Phan
Shawn Stewart as Jasper Townes
Jack Rehbein, Ben Cockell as young Edge-Rho

Premise:

Superman has not fully recovered from the kryptonite weapon used against him in the previous episode. Even worse, the effects have been transferred like a cold to his son.

Morgan Edge announces a possible truth about his origin, as Kyle Cushing goes crazy and Superman tries to stop an invasion of pseudo-Kryptonians. Clark’s ex merges with his mother in an alien CT device, causing some complex oedipal developments.

Sarah Cushing feels abandoned at the big talent show, which proves difficult to worry about when there’s an impending alien invasion. However, these kind of moments are often the best-played in the show.

High Points

Superman and his super-kid encounter genuine problems that they cannot easily solve with their powers, and the supporting cast have legitimate roles to play.

The villain’s plot teeters on the Edge of absurdity, but it makes sense in the context of this world.

Low Points

Viewers have to accept a good many handwaves in a superhero series, but they could work on eliminating things that don’t need to happen. How did General Lane and the soldiers arrive at the same time as Superman? Did the transformed people have just enough Kryptonian left in them when they fell to earth to survive?

Could they at least try to differentiate the appearances of Clark and Superman? Other incarnations have made at least an attempt. I recognize that the dual identity has never been plausible but, with Clark in Smallville and Superman hanging around the town, everyone should now know Superman’s identity.

All of these lead to a conclusion that asks us to accept a Deus ex too-muchina.

The Scores:

Originality: 2/6 As with John Henry Irons, the handling of Morgan Edge fuses various elements from Superman’s history. In this case, the writers blend Edge with the Eradicator and pretty much any story where Superman has some sort of brother.

Otherwise, we’re watching some pretty formulaic storytelling.

Effects: 5/6 These episodes feature some strong effects.

Acting: 5/6

Production: 6/6

Story: 4/6

Emotional Response: 4/6

Overall: 4/6 This episode showcases the ongoing problem of a shared superhero universe. It cheats the story if a bunch of other heroes show up to assist Superman, unless it’s a special crossover episode where everyone has a part to play. However, it cheats the internal reality of the series if Supergirl, the Flash, and others don’t get involved in an invasion of superpowered aliens.

Of course, in addition to the changes made by Crisis, we still don’t know when we are. Did Lois and Clark have their children earlier in the post-Crisis reality, or does this series take place a decade in the future, relative to the other CWTVDCU shows?

We return here to an historical difference between DC and Marvel. Marvel has always thrived on continuity. DC has found their greatest success when they’ve disregarded it.

In total “Loyal Subjekts” and “O Mother, Where Art Thou?” receive 30/42