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

Superman & Lois gave fans quite a treat this week, with revelations and surprises at every turn. “O Mother, Where Art Thou?” was probably one of the biggest episodes of the season so far and felt more like a season finale. But don’t worry, there are still five more episodes to go!

In last week’s episode, Superman (Tyler Hoechlin) learned that Morgan Edge (Adam Rayner) is actually his brother…well, half-brother. Edge revealed himself to be Tal-Ro, the son of Lara Lor-Van (Superman’s mom) and Zeta-Ro, Lara’s first husband. Tal-Ro proclaimed that he is the first son of Krypton who was given the responsibility of saving their dying planet. And he’s hoping that Kal-El will join his cause. Spoiler alert: Our dear Superman turned down that offer STAT.

Now that we know Edge’s backstory, it makes total sense why he became this shrewd, miserable businessman. As far as he is concerned, his mother left him to start a new family, and then his father sent him to Earth to ensure the Kryptonian race would continue to procreate. After landing in England as a young 10-year-old, Tal-Ro was treated horribly and experimented on, so he’s got a vendetta against Earth. He just wants to revive his home planet Krypton.

Superman & Lois reveals the “Eradicator”

I’ll admit, this episode had me a bit confused about Edge’s whole “Eradicator” machine and what its purpose was. I felt like they sort of expected the audience to just piece it together. However, eventually, we came to understand that it’s how Edge has been building his Kryptonian army.

The machine was created by Lara to preserve the consciousness of all those who once lived on Krypton. It’s basically the same thing as Jor-El (Angus Macfadyen) being stored in the crystal back at the Fortress of Solitude. We’ve also seen this come up on Supergirl from time to time, so the concept is not a new one.

While Lara’s intentions were pure, Zeta-Ro envisioned a different plan, one that involved sending Tal-Ro to Earth so he could use the machine to colonize Earth. But things are going a bit sideways. First and foremost, everyone that Edge has been injecting with Kryptonian consciousness is very aggressive and angry. Weren’t the Kryptonians a peaceful race? And secondly, the name “Eradicator” seems kind of intense for what Edge thinks is supposed to be a good thing for the universe. There was minimal explanation and very quick execution.

Lana Lang steps up to the plate

Quite unexpectedly, Lana Lang (Emmanuelle Chriqui) ends up being the hero of the episode after she offers to host Superman’s mother’s consciousness in her body. You see, the only way to figure out this “Eradictor” business is by talking to the source herself.

Lana has been working with Edge and gave him the benefit of the doubt when he said he wanted to help Smallville. Clearly, her trust was misplaced, so Lana is making up for her mistakes. Chriqui does a phenomenal  job in this episode; I loved her back in Entourage, and I felt like this series was taking her talents for granted. Watching her transform from a timid, nervous Lana to a confident, calm Lara was amazing to watch.

This twist also gave Superman a chance to reconnect with his mother. The series has always been about family, so this was a moving moment. Keep in mind that she hasn’t had the opportunity to see the man her son became and the beautiful family he went on to create. I loved that we finally got to see Superman interact with his mother, rather than his father, who has been around for some time now. And they gave a shoutout to Martha Kent as well!

The Kryptonian army

Eventually, Superman is able to use a solar flare to reverse what the Eradicator was doing to people and save everyone brainwashed by Edge. It felt a bit too quick for me; the story didn’t wrap up as smoothly as I was hoping.

This episode spent a lot of time jumping around from character to character. We had Jonathan (Jordan Elsass) basically telling his grandfather off when he wouldn’t let him, Jordan (Alex Garfin), and Sarah (Inde Navarrette) into the compound to see a brainwashed Kyle (Erik Valdez). And then there was Sarah being inundated with all this new information about Edge’s plans, aliens, and so on. It was a lot for one hour, and before we knew it, it was over.

Next week, we’re getting a Superman & Lois flashback episode that I hope clears up a lot of the questions we have about the story. There has been so much going on and I think the series could use a break from its current storyline. Plus, I’m pretty sure we haven’t seen the last of Edge, so while we go back in time, I’m sure he’ll be coming up with his next grand scheme.

Until next week!

Grade: B

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