Superman & Lois review, Episode 102: “Heritage”

Superman & Lois continues to soar after its series premiere last week. The second episode puts Lois (Bitsie Tulloch) in the spotlight, using her journalistic genius to take down evil.

As much as I loved the premiere, the only complaint I had was not seeing Lois as the fierce reporter we know her to be. “Heritage” gives us that and much more as the Kent family settles into their new lives in Smallville.

Things get off to an expectedly rocky start, because picking up your life and moving it to a small town that’s barely holding it together isn’t exactly the easiest thing for a family to do. Couple that with the fact that the patriarch of the family is Superman (Tyler Hoechlin), and you have a complicated situation.

The point of this relocation is for the Kent family to get a “refresh” on their life, mainly so Lois and Clark can focus more on their children. And of course, with Jordan’s (Alex Garfin) powers officially manifesting, they’ll need to keep a close watch on how they continue to develop.

Superman & Lois and their small-town life

Lois and Clark decide to let Jonathan (Jordan Elsass) enroll in high school, while Jordan spends time with Clark as they try to understand more about his powers. For a kid that may already feel isolated and confused, it’s not exactly the type of thing Jordan wants to hear. But nonetheless, he heads off to the Fortress of Solitude with Clark while Jonathan goes to school to face his own slate of problems.

The difference between the Kent twins is something I genuinely appreciate about Superman & Lois. I also appreciate that despite the drastic changes they’re going through, the show isn’t making them intolerable and whiny. Sure, they have their bad moments, but there’s plenty to balance it out.

The Fortress of Solitude

While at the Fortress of Solitude, Clark introduces Jordan to his “father” Jor-El (Angus Macfadyen), or rather an A.I. of his father. The first visit to the Fortress goes well as Jordan gets his first look at this special life and what it could mean for him. It fills him with a sense of excitement and confidence about the future, but it’s all pretty short-lived.

When the father-son duo return to the Fortress later, “Jor-El” reveals that Jordan’s powers will never manifest in the way Clark’s have. In fact, his sudden burst of heat vision in the series premiere was likely a one-off event. This is a crushing blow to Jordan, who was really getting excited about his future.

Clark is disheartened to hear this too. Hoechlin plays this moment perfectly, as Clark loses a hope that he might not be the only super-powered being around anymore, that he might be able to share what can be a burden with his son.

A brotherly bond

Jonathan and Jordan butt heads a little this week, which is understandable. They’re both facing problems. Jonathan left behind his life in Metropolis, a budding football career, and his girlfriend, while Jordan is coming to terms with possibly having superpowers. They are two extremely different dilemmas, and watching them find a middle ground was heartwarming.

While Jordan is off at the Fortress with Clark, Jonathan faces the wrath of the typical high school bullies that live to make your life unbearable. And after last week’s debacle with Jordan kissing Sarah (Inde Navarrette) and the fight that followed, the Kent boys aren’t exactly getting a red carpet welcome at school.

Unfortunately for Jonathan, he has to face this on his own with Jordan temporarily off with their dad. But he handles it as best he can, all things considered. He dives right into football, but the playbook is kept from him on purpose. Still he perseveres and continues to support Jordan through his difficulties.

Superman & Lois does an incredible job showcasing Jordan and Jonathan’s relationship, and we’re only two episodes in. Instead of focusing on sibling rivalry or jealousy, they love and support one another. I loved when Jonathan told Jordan he would help him figure out his powers if no one else would — if that isn’t a true brother, I don’t know what is!

And the best part about it all? Lois and Clark give Jordan permission to officially go back to school in light of the revelations regarding his powers. Yay for the Kent brothers!

Lois takes charge

Lois has it in her blood to sniff out the important stories and educate the public about them. This pops up in lots of Superman stories, and I’m glad Superman & Lois is continuing to focus on that aspect of her personality.

This time, Lois is targeting the shady Morgan Edge (Adam Rayner), who just bought The Daily Planet. This leads her to attend a Smallville city council meeting where she meets Chrissy Beppo (Sofia Hasmik), the editor of the Smallville Gazette. Chrissy is a huge Lois fan and has followed her work for as long as she can remember. In fact, she even offers Lois an opportunity to write for the Gazette if she ever decides that is something she wants to do.

During the meeting, Morgan does his best to make Lois look like a villain trying to oppose the “positive” changes he’s making to Smallville. Everyone seems to be in support of the guy, but Lois knows better than to believe him. She digs into his past, uncovering that he’s been taking over small towns and screwing over the local residents, which is exactly what he plans to do in Smallville.

Lois writes a scathing piece on Morgan, but it gets edited into a puff piece about how wonderful he is. Enraged, Lois promptly quits the Daily Planet and joins the Smallville Gazette. I love that this is going down, and I love even more that the series is showing us this fierce side of Lois.

Captain Luthor

On top of dealing with everything else, Clark still has to worry about Captain Luthor (Wolé Parks), who is hell-bent on taking him down. And we finally learn why at the end of the episode.

He is from an alternate Earth, but after the Crisis, was pulled into this one, but hasn’t forgotten the atrocities of his Earth’s Superman, who was evil and relentless. A flashback scene shows Captain Luthor fighting alongside his army while a black-suited evil Superman begins killing his men.

No wonder there is such a desire to take down Superman. Unfortunately, he’s not getting that this Superman is not that Superman.

Superman & Lois continues to be thrilling and emotional, checking off all the boxes I hoped it would. I’m ready to see what challenges the Kent family faces as the season goes on.

Grade: A-

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