Superman & Lois: Season 2

My heart has been in my throat about this beloved show before the season began. It is SO early, and Doomsday being brought into the show doesn't fill me with confidence, but so far the Arrowverse sophomore slump has not effected this show. At least not too badly. I am cautious in saying that, but the reason I think it is because the episode raised a plotline that sent up red flags to me, and they resolved it in a satisfactory manner.

But I have made my disdain for the Arrowverse's courtroom stuff known. Every time it was tackled on Arrow, The Flash, and Supergirl it was beyond ridiculous, and seemed to be written by people who have no idea how the law works, which is weird because one of the big Arrowverse producers (I forget who) used to be a lawyer. And while I've complained about that extensively elsewhere, the Arrowverse has another real weakness in its portrayals of an important job: Reporting. Kara Danvers was literally horrible at her job as a reporter and a media personality as Supergirl. She was so bad at her chosen profession I found it borderline vulgar that the producers were using her incompetence at her job to feed the audience toddler morals that belong in preschool cartoons about working well as a team and always being honest and the like. Supergirl was a bad television show and the reporter angle was one of the worst things about it.

I don't finds the reporting angle QUITE as bad on The Flash, only because Iris isn't terrible at it. But they still use it to inform toddler morals and act like somebody doing a job they're paid to do competently is some huge moral victory instead of the least the person could actually do.

When Chrissy brings up a source backing out of a story Lois did I was like, "Uh oh. This is how it starts." I was very worried that it would have turned out Lois cut corners on a previous story and had to learn consequences from it as if she was an idiot cub reporter instead of one of the most famous and venerated journalists in the DC Universe. But ultimately, what's happening to Lois on the Podcast is actually untrue. Lois's story was legit. And as she described Lucy's role in it, pretty heartbreaking. And it's the fact that this show stands by the fact that Lois doesn't need to learn the same kind of lessons they teach in TV-Y7 cartoons which is the first thing that suggested to me this season (and possibly the entire run of the show) might turn out all right. Again, it's early. And I have no idea if producers behind the scenes were moved around or not, which is typical for Berlanti show second seasons and probably the reason the shows go downhill from that point on. But Lois defending her career choices is a way this show is showing the rest of the Arrowverse how to correctly tell a story. What kills me is that I doubt anyone else will have noticed it because good writing is not something you SHOULD notice. A show being told well is something the audience half-expects, and when using a suspension of disbelief, is often willing to overlook minor, superficial flaws if the rest of the story is fine. I want it stated for the record that if the show HAD botched that idea, that would not remotely be a minor superficial flaw. It would be a huge problem and a potential shark jump.

I like that Lara believing in Tal got him to stop attacking Jordan. A redemption arc for that character would interest me greatly. Simply because of Kal's reaction. He is not his mother. He does not believe there is good in Tal. But before he leaves he makes the distinction that he WANTS to believe that. That would make that specific arc dramatically satisfying to me.

I was unsurprised and surprised by Sarah's camp hook-up at the same time. I was of the opinion last week crap happens at camp, and if Jordan was due heartbreak, he needed to be a man and suck it up this week. I've done a 180 on the subject. I would approve of him sucking it up and taking being dumped like a man if Sarah had had the courtesy to actually dump him like she should have. It's interesting she doesn't consider it the problem he does because the person she made out with was a woman. In reality that makes it far more complicated than if she had just cheated on him with a guy. Is she gay? Her thinking it's actually no big deal is not filling Jordan with confidence about her faith in her heterosexuality. That's pure, classic denial at its core, and a huge red flag. But she still wants to date him. It would be simpler and more fairer to Jordan if she dumped him. She's now putting the responsibility of their relationship on him. That's not okay.

I think my favorite moment in the episode belonged to Jordan. When Tal is grousing that his mother prefers her stronger son, he callously asks Jordan if Lois felt the same way about Jonathan. And Jordan says that Jonathan has gotten stronger than the former Morgan Edge currently is. It turns out not to be true (Tal's playing possum) but it was a pretty good burn when he said it.

I'll tell you what John Henry Irons moment I liked. Lois insightfully tells him when they are alone that she is aware their situation is not ideal for him. He says it's good for Natalie. And I love that Lois actually is a cool enough person to ask him if it's actually good for him. The answers is it's not, but he'll make do because it's the only thing he CAN do. That is a very adult notion that I liked seeing explored.

My single reservation about the episode IS one of the Arrowverse problematic vocational ideas that I do suspect they are going to screw up. Since it doesn't involve Lois and journalism, I will probably be able to forgive it, but it's absolutely the 100% wrong plotline. Lana should absolutely under no circumstances be running for Mayor. Give us this plotline five years from now, I'd be happy, because it would be a demonstration of the growth her and Kyle have been through in the town. The very year after her and her family were pariahs? It's too damn soon. One of the worst things about the politics of ALL Berlanti shows (including Riverdale) is that they assume politics occur in a vacuum and that anyone can run for any given office they want to and win. No. It doesn't work that way. Not even in our Universe in 2021. It is true that Donald Trump was elected with zero resume and executive experience. But he had been inserting himself into politics for a long time and was a constant presence on TV for that reason. Lana's interest in politics? This is pretty much her second episode showing that EVER. That's not reasonable. And this is a flaw with all Berlanti stuff. And it's the fact that this flaw infected this specific show in an episode I'm relieved Lois Lane is still awesome is the one bad note I must give this week. And unless Lana loses (which doesn't seem likely given it's an Berlanti show) this is 100% the wrong move for her character and her family. And that saddens me with the care the show took to empower Lois earlier in the episode.

But I am more encouraged by everything else being solid than worried about that one thing being shady. It's true that on Berlanti shows one shady thing leads to another until the given show collapses under the suck, but Lois' fierce defense of her career and ethics tells me if this show DOES occasionally misstep, it doesn't necessarily mean the entire show is going down the tubes. We'll see if I'm right about that, if my faith is justified, and if my fears are unfounded later on. ****.

For the first time ever, I have some real concerns. There is a LOT of good in that episode, but last week I was super worried about Lana running for Mayor and I was right to be. It's not a red flag. It's a red cape being waved at this show's bull potentially sucking as much as every other show in The Arrowverse. I was disturbed at how badly that went. I was concerned last week, but part of me was willing to give the producers a little benefit of the doubt because they had earned it. But that was as bad as I feared it would be.

It's what the Arrowverse always does in situations like this: It uses a person running for political office as a moment of personal growth and so they can find themselves and get in touch with their true feelings. I find that moral outright despicable, believe it or not. It suggests narcissism in politics should not just be tolerated, but should be the driving motivation. And that's a pure Berlanti moral and the first pure Berlanti moral this show ever sucked enough to give us. I am unhappy.

I am also very unhappy with Lois telling Clark not to go all Doomsday on her. The writers will say that is good foreshadowing. I think it's bad dialogue instead.

There is still SO much to love, and the truth is that as of now, this show is still this show, and I love it. The worst of The Arrowverse has started to infect it around the edges, but the heart is still true (for now at least). I love that Jonathan and Nat point out that Jordan's secret is much bigger, worse, and harder to accept than Sarah's was. Jordan's opinion said everything: "If and when she finds out your secret do you want her to be cool with it or act like you're acting?" He's suggesting how this specific secret is processed sets the tone for all other future secrets, and I love that he's right because he's a kid, and he's still insightful anyways.

It's sort of funny that all we do is spend the entire series in Jordan's head, and we see Sarah in this episode going out of her mind because she can't tell what he's thinking.

Crisis was not kind to Lucy Lane. It's interesting Sam used a MUCH lighter touch with her because she was delicate and he knew he'd lose her if he didn't. Lois is the strong one. He's actually doing Lois no favors by using this tack by the way, but I admire him owning up to it and saying it was a mistake. Sam Lane owns his mistakes. That's probably why Lois should be nicer to him than she is.

Nat is a problem solver. She's unhappy John is gonna have to keep going on missions. So she's gonna fix that damn suit herself! I love that.

The show is cool for not making a bigger deal out of this, but John was NOT happy about Clark losing his temper with Jordan. At all. And I like that it's left unsaid, because it's obvious, and doesn't actually need to be said. The show was treating us like grown-ups about that, in the same ep it was infantilizing Lana with a toddler moral about believing in herself.

Seriously, I can't say enough bad things about Lana. Can you believe this is the first time the fact that she was involved in a real estate scam has come up? And the producers STILL think she should be mayor after that? Stuff like that is why I'm mad.

I would normally give the producers some benefit of the doubt for Jonathan buying drugs from his girlfriend, but the show is already on thin ice. So I'm pissed instead. That's how it works.

There are a lot of reasons I still love this show. But for the first time ever, I'm worried. ***1/2.

Aw crap. That was good. Until it fell apart at the ending. BIG Arrowverse Red Flag. I'm not happy.

The problem with Chrissy going to Allie is simply this: I didn't find the recorded part of Lois's conversation remotely damning. Her opinion that she didn't print her sister's rantings because they were crazy is freaking sound. And it's weird the show is acting like it's a controversy. I would not be happy if Lois did shoddy journalism. But they can't ever convince me this could pass for that.

Sam Lane saving Jordan's bacon was awesome, but the more I think about that scene, the less I like it. How the HELL did Sam Lane happen to be monitoring a random convenience store's security feed at that exact moment? It makes no sense. And it's a damn cute scene, so I was all set to forgive it. Then Sam agrees to train Jordan and makes him promise to keep it a secret. BOTH of those things are entirely out of character. Sam as written properly in season one would NEVER consent to Jordan putting himself in danger. And if he ever did, he wouldn't be keeping it a secret from Lois and Clark. It's, yes, bad and sloppy writing, and the show writing a character out of character.

I am unsurprised Kyle is a philanderer. I don't agree with the show that Kyle actually has redeeming qualities, so I'm unsurprised. What surprises me is that neither he nor Lana ever thought he would be the target of the political smear campaign. It's ridiculous they were worried about Sarah. A politician goes after a suicidal pretty white teenage girl, the public is just going to give her and her parents sympathy. The fact that Lana actually thought Sarah's attempted suicide could be a political liability is another thing to show that Lana is absolutely incompetent at politics and has no idea what she's doing.

This review is a turning point for me, and you'll probably see it. And it also breaks my heart. I am no longer reviewing this show as the special show I loved so much last season. I'm starting to judge it by Arrowverse standards. In fairness, it is still above average by Arrowverse standards. But the show is no longer special or in a class by itself. And I'm pissed about that.

Were there good things? Of course, for some reason, Lois' grudge against Allie in the opening scene feels far realer and ,more personal than Superman's stuff with Morgan Edge / Tal. That should tell you right away what kind of viewer I am. I won't apologize for it. Allie is a pretty loathsome villain, and the Crisis was NOT good for Lucy Lane.

I'm unhappy though. Very. ***.

In which I remember why I love this show.

IF. IF this show turns into the suckfest the other Arrowverse shows do down the line, this episode says it's gonna go down fighting. It is not going to make it easy for Berlanti to ruin through neglect or malice. It's going to still matter when it needs to.

There is really nothing else to discuss for the fact that Kyle sucks so much that he nearly ruined his daughter's quinceanera. Part of me is glad they aren't dragging this crap out (same goes for the Chrissy stuff) but stuff like this is why I've never been able to forgive the character from season 1.

And let me concede this: I think Lana is a terrible candidate for Mayor. She is an absolute wreck as a politician, and the show needs its head examined for putting her in this role, and doing it so piss-poorly. Here's the role she's amazing at: A Mom. And this episode is strong because it focuses on what she's great at instead of what she sucks at. She saved one of the most important days of her daughter's life and was amazing while doing it.

I don't agree with Chrissy's perspective at all about going to Ally to interview her alone, but now that it's out in the open, and Chrissy knows how crazy and malevolent she is, maybe some normalcy can be restored with her and Lois. That was one of my least favorite turns from last week, and I'm glad they bought it entirely back.

Jonathan is SO screwed. His problem is that he believes Jordan is a less insightful person than he is. If he were the actually the self-involved dope John says he is John could probably get away with this.

I felt that Clark not wanting to go to Sam to talk to the general was a mistake. It felt like this was stubborn pride attached to that and that it wasn't actually in the best interest of stopping Bizarro. Oh, well. Nobody's perfect. Not even Superman.

When Sam describes the reason he wants to keep the training secret, I don't like it, but I'll accept it. That matters because last week I utterly rejected the premise. Moving me from "rejection" to "dislike but will accept" is significant.

Man, Lana would make Smallville's crappiest Mayor ever. But she has my vote for being that town's best Mom. By far. *****.

That was something.

I thought it was really cool that his boss was reading Henderson the riot act for basically wrecking the government's relationship with Superman. I can't reconcile that with the fact that she must have signed off on arresting Superman for treason at the end. Who is that going to help? I sincerely hope Henderson is only a Season 2 problem. He's getting on my nerves.

Speaking of which, I'm as annoyed at Jonathan as Jordan is. That's goes for Lois's frustration at Lucy too.

Sam Lane is going to have to do a LOT of work next week. I think a great deal of the decision of Clark's fate will be down to his advocacy.

My favorite scene in the episode was Lana talking to Clark in the diner and asking him (of all things) if he'd leave Lois if she cheated on him. It's a ridiculous idea, which is why I was so interested to hear Clark's take. And him saying it would depend on the circumstances, and that he'd need to know the details before he decided was a refreshingly adult opinion that I understand completely why Lana took seriously.

I don't blame Lana for making the decision with Kyle she did at the end. But if I had learned the same information she did, I probably would have made the opposite decision. If that makes me a sap, or too forgiving, I won't disagree. But my perspective here is that Kyle put a LOT of recent strain on his family and marriage already, and was working on it. Learning he was an even bigger scumbag than you thought in hindsight doesn't change that fact. The truth is if I were Lana, I would have left him already. If I hadn't, this wouldn't have been the breaking point for me. But again, it's understandable that it was. What a great scene between her and Clark. Stuff like that is why I love this show.

They seem to have forgotten she's running for mayor. I hope they actually ignore and drop that plotpoint. Or at least have her drop out of the race.

Fine episode. ****.

Elizabeth Tulloch needs to put tonight on her Emmy reel. Not that I believe she'll get (or even deserves) a nomination for it, but every actor HAS an Emmy Reel, and this should be on hers.

Man, her anger and fury is righteous. And Clark bats clean-up with Jonathan at the end. I think it's scary how good of parents they are. If they called Jonathan names and said untrue things they'd have to apologize for later, he wouldn't have wound up in tears. Their disappointment in him comes from a place of honesty instead which is the unbearable thing.

Weird opinion: Not only would I have given my girlfriend up at the end were I Jonathan, but I wouldn't have bothered taking the rap for her to begin with. Jonathan not a bad-looking dude. Other pretty girls will come along. He could have avoided this mess entirely if he had let her take the fall. It's not like she's owning up to anything to protect HIM. She doesn't deserve that level of loyalty.

I love that Jordan is failing Sarah's friendship, and I like that Sarah doesn't expect him to understand what she's going through, and can't even be mad about it. He's like a helpless, little puppy and she treats him as such. Poor dear thing.

I have been slamming Lana all year for being the Universe's most sucky politician, but what she said to Dean at the rally was 100% the right thing. What gets me is that Dean was dumb enough to give her that opening. It didn't actually take a political genius to say "You're hurting me while I'm in great pain and that's wrong." Dean just handed her a large sympathy vote.

What bothers me most is that Dean could make a similar argument against her without explicitly naming the adultery as the failing. It would be a perfect Republican dogwhistle to talk about her and Kyle building up Morgan Edge all last year and say that her judgment about what's good for the town is suspect... (rolls eye) just like her judgment elsewhere seems to be. He wouldn't need to actually explicitly bring up Kyle cheating on her if he rightly pointed out she already has crappy judgment unbefitting a mayor. A dogwhistle about that thing would have been MUCH more effective and not induced that specific kind of blowback.

Really, when you think about it, ALL of the politicians in The Arrowverse are crappy at politics. Just like all the lawyers there are bad at the law. The Arrowverse has some seriously shady writing about both of those things, and it even infects the good projects like this one.

Anderson is a piece of work. While we are on the subject of questionable judgment, Sam Lane's sucks if he was the one who recommended him for that position. He essentially committed treason at the end, which says that Sam Lane's mistake there might go down as a worse lapse in judgment than Kyle's support for Morgan Edge. Because Kyle is a loudmouthed idiot, and Sam Lane was supposed to be a professional general who knew what he was doing. Him shamefully taking responsibility for that over the end was the right perspective, but a little late. It's probably the worst mistake somebody has done on the series so far.

Superman suggesting Tal could apologize to Jordan in person someday and calling him brother meant something to me. Great moment.

Bizarro is not dead. Superman is either lying or wrong (and dumb).

Solid episode. Few nits here and there, but they didn't ruin my enjoyment. I just enjoy watching Lois, Lana, and Clark being great parents and the elder Kents kicking their kids' asses. ****.

That was a really good episode.

What Lucy pulled at the end, is in my opinion absolutely unforgivable. If either Sam or Lois have any sense they'll wash their hands of her entirely after this.

I like that Clark is trying with Nat, and making some progress. I take comfort in the fact that John being where he is in his friendship with Clark was actually unthinkable last season. You get to know Clark, you get to trust him. There is no other way, even though the Irons have a crazy circumstance and reason to hate him.

I like that Clark is still mad at Jonathan and Lois is right to tell him not to overdo it. They are both great parents.

I did not dig the Lana and Kyle stuff, because it was about the mayor nonsense, which is still stupid. The debate moderator is supposedly a hunting buddy of Dean's? And Lana was not allowed to object to this? That makes NO freaking sense, and is another example of The Arrowverse having an utterly messed up view of how politics actually work. It doesn't matter that this is usually a great show. Berlanti writers put zero effort into researching how political situations actually exist, and write whatever stupid stuff is in the writer's head. It's why when the rest of the episode is delivering the pathos, I cannot actually outright love it.

Everything but the Lana and Kyle stuff was pretty great. But the Lana and Kyle stuff was so bad I'm subtracting an entire star off the final grade. ****.

Poor Jordan. Poor kid's like a lovesick puppy.

I love that Lois knows knots better than Sam. She'd better. She's been tied up a lot more often.

I agreed very much with Jordan in him having to step up with Clark gone. I especially like that his revelation of training with Sam to Lois was not the huge blow-up it could have been. Why? I think because Jordan stood his ground. Sam tells him to dial it back, but he says he's the one with the Superpowers, so it's actually up to him. Literally the only other choice is Lois kicking him out the house, which would be dumb.

I'll tell you another thing I like about him, and another reason his puppy dog eyes broke my heart at the end. He actually stayed in the car until Lois called him. She and Sam were taken prisoner, and he stayed put solely because she told him to. Which is the actual reason I think he's better at this than she believes.

Lana's mayor stuff and Kyle's sad dad stuff didn't do much for me. And I was very surprised neither John Henry nor the show brought up a likelier reason John forget the anniversary of His Lois' death. He's been having memory problems since his head injury. It's nice that John takes responsibility for it, but it actually makes more sense to me that he's having trouble remembering dates and things because he's recovering than that he's simply trying to move on.

Either Jonathan is getting powers at the end, or he senses the arrival of his alternate universe doppelganger. If we are very lucky, it's both.

I love that Lois doesn't care much for Candace. Frankly, neither do I.

Strong episode, despite being Superman-free except for the very beginning and the very end. ****.

A great deal of that was confusing to me, which is not something I consider a failure in fiction, but it was a bit hard to follow in places.

I can't tell if the Bizarro World was Bizarre enough. Yeah, Kal was a cad who treated his family badly. And yeah, the Earth and billiards are shaped like cubes. But be honest: Is the notion of President Seinfeld any crazier than the idea of President Trump? What I've always believed about Bizarro's World, is that it is on some fundamental level, well, STUPID. This episode took pains to make the weird things happening credible. Yes, they are polar opposites to our world, but so is the Crime Syndicate on Earth 3, and that is always treated as seriously as this was. Outside of the cubes and backwards talking, there is very little of this reality that is stupid.

The ending to this episode gave an entirely different vibe and context for the ending of the last one, didn't it? Uh oh.

I think the most shocking and bizarre thing to me was weirdly about a character from our Universe. I did not see Anderson's redemption coming in any way shape of form. The genuine apology he gives Superman as well as the understanding he gets for who his family is sort of shocked me even more than Evil Superpowered Lana or loving brother Tal.

I like the idea of the episode and I thought the cinematic execution was interesting (lotsa fish-eye lenses on Bizarro World) but it still felt a bit off. I know it was supposed to, but I'd feel lot more comfortable about what I just saw if it were dumber. ***1/2.

This wonderful episode reiterated two big things for me.

1. I love and value this show.

2. I am actually very easy to please. It's nice to be reminded of that whenever my endless negative reviews make me believe I'm a cynic. What does this show do right that the rest of The Arrowverse fails at? Why does this specific show resonate for me even if the political aspect is as bad as the rest of the Berlanti stuff?

Answer: I am a very simple and reasonable viewer. You can laugh at that notion with the amount of fans of beloved stuff I've invariably pissed off with my reviews, but damn it, it's true, and this episode proves it. If a TV show gives me what I want, I will respond positively to it. Joss Whedon's "You don't get what you want, you get what you need," spiel was ALWAYS utterly bogus. After I finished Dollhouse I was like, "I don't freaking need this!" But Clark pledging to tell Lana his secret at the end of the episode (with the support of his family) and the producers allowing him to do it is what I wanted. I think I recognize my own wants and needs very much, Mr. Whedon. I don't need help with that from the likes of you. Especially because you and I value and believe very different things.

When Clark tells Jonathan at the beginning that the problems they are going through don't matter, and that he's his son, and he loves him, I was again reminded strongly of how absolutely easy I am to please. It really doesn't take much to keep me happy. Keep that true thing in mind the next time I rail against Titans or Riverdale. I'm really not all that picky. You just think I am because television currently sucks so much. But that's not MY fault. I do actually love and enjoy good things. *****.

I was tired and didn't feel like watching TV, but I was SO curious about last month's(!) cliffhanger that I couldn't help but check it out.

I think some of it was good and some of it was a bit of a reach.

I like that Lana is mad at Lois, and considers her the far bigger traitor in keeping the secret. And on some level I understand it. Lois' behavior has always been polarizing, and yet how can a body stay mad at Clark? I think the thing I appreciated most was that Lois is petty and spiteful at first. She's believes Lana's reaction is a female overreaction, and a demonstration that women hold each other to impossible standards. I think it's both telling and unflattering that that's the first place her mind goes to.

Lana's concerns fall apart however at her end suggestion of cutting ties with the Kents. It makes for an uneasy tension to leave the audience with, but it strikes me as totally irrational too. Let me also say that I disagree with Lana about what a burden the secret would be, and how she'd constantly have to lie to her family. First of all, I don't think it would come up much, if at all. Secondly, I believe it is perfectly all right for couples and families to keep SOME secrets and some things personal. I have some embarrassing moments in my life I am taking to the grave. Somebody I love and who loves me is not entitled to me sharing stuff that makes me uncomfortable to share. And it annoys me that television believes differently. It's weird that TV says it's unhealthy and a mark of a bad relationship. It's not unhealthy. It's normal. And the notion that Lana has never lied to Kyle sort of says something nice about Lana, but I also don't feel that's remotely a standard she has been obligated to follow. A lot of my disdain for the ending has to do with the fact that I disagree with much of the morality of television writers about that idea, not just this show.

I deal a lot with people in the mental health system. For my friends there, there are certain things we don't discuss with each other because the topics are PTSD-triggering. A woman I am close to is not going to tell me about his deepest traumas and I would be a heel if I ever expected that. I don't think TV really thinks through the whole "Everyone you love is entitled to everything" mindset. It's not true.

I will give my opinions on the situation with Tal after seeing a bit more of how it shakes out. My opinions there are not fully baked yet and need some mind time in the brain-oven.

But yeah, I feel like Lana's initial reaction was interesting, but because it's television, the whole thing became overblown. ***1/2.

The best parts of the episode were Clark's scene with Jonathan telling him he loves him, and Clark teaching Jordan to fly.

I wasn't 100% on the rest of the episode. I get the cult thing the episode is trying to raise with Lucy, but the truth is Ally's behavior was a giant red flag all along, and if Lucy is truly as delusional as she's been portrayed all season, Ally trying to kill her dad and Superman wouldn't actually move the needle. If Ally was as broken as portrayed, she would have remained so at the end of the episode. The fact that there has been no nuance for that character yet this season, makes the fact that she doesn't try to justify Ally's actions at the end, even after all that, not credible.

I also have major issues with Lana's portrayal. She's being completely unreasonable. It's to her immense credit she realizes it by the end of the episode, but my problem is that she was being so unreasonable and stand-offish simply because the story required her to be. Not because it was in character. Which is pretty much the worst reason you can think of to create artificial drama.

I like the solution to John and Nat is that the jerk actually tries to destroy her suit, can't, and that tells him something. That's a very clever resolution to that conflict.

I liked some of it, but a lot of it rang false. ***.

I liked most of it. I thought the town hall scene was pretty badly written though, which is totally on-brand for the Berlantiverse. But I was surprised how much I loved Lana and Kyle's candid conversation about his affair, and John and Nat's final moments too. The fight in the gym at the end was unusual because there was genuine tension, and at points you wonder if and how the good guys are going to get out of it. With Superman present, that's not usually a concern for the audience. But I was super worried for both Clark and Jordan at several points.

Lana trying to impart the dangerousness of the secret Sarah has learned is great set-up for next week. Hearing her saying she wouldn't have broken up with him if she had known was encouraging however.

Pretty good. We're in good shape for next week, although I confess, as far as Big Bads go, a self-help guru / cult leader like Ally is kind of underwhelming considering we had been expecting Bizarro to be and remain the season's main threat. ****.