Superman & Lois review: “Tried and True”

It’s a packed episode of Superman & Lois this week. Jordan (Alex Garfin) and Jonathan (Jordan Elsass) are at odds after Jordan discovers that his brother has been using a little something extra on the side to get his powers. Then we’ve got Lois (Bitsie Tulloch) and Lucy Lane (Jenna Dewan) at odds after the whole Ally Allston (Rya Kihlstedt) thing comes to light. Despite their father Sam (Dylan Walsh) trying to bring them together, they butt heads anyway continually.

Superman/Clark Kent (Tyler Hoechlin) is dealing with the annoying Lt. Mitch Anderson (Ian Bohen). Ever since Sam stepped down from that role, Mitch has been trouble, and it only gets more complicated when Mitch decides to *punish* Superman for basically doing the right thing. Ugh, the ego!

Last but not least, the Cushing family deals with the aftermath of Kyle’s (Erik Valdez) affair. We’ll be getting into all of that and more in our review: SPOILERS ahead!

Superman & Lois learn the truth from Bizarro

Bizarro (Tyler Hoechlin) explains to Superman how he ended up in the Arrowverse. As we’ve come to learn, there’s an “opposite” world out there where Bizarro hails from. It’s basically the world we know but with lots of red dust and a very gloomy atmosphere.

Bizarro recalls that he ended up in the Shuster Mines after his world’s Ally Allyston’s used her magical pendant. The presence of X-Kryptonite prevented him from using his full strength, which is why he was stuck down there for as long as he was.

Unlike our Superman, Bizarro wasn’t exactly a hero in his world. His mission was to get to this world and destroy Ally’s pendant before both versions could merge together. If that did indeed happen, then she would have, as Chancellor Palpatine once said, UNLIMITED POOOOWER!

Brothers at odds

While the whole Bizarro storyline is going on, the Kent brothers have their own drama to contend with. Initially, Jordan was ecstatic thinking about he and his brother both having powers. However, we all know, Jonathan does not have actual powers. Rather, he’s been using performance-enhancing drugs via an inhaler. It’s giving him superhuman powers and has upped his football game. While everyone else thinks he’s had some sort of lucky streak, it’s really the drugs that are making it easier for him.

It’s not until the night of the football game that Jordan learns the truth about what Jonathan has been doing. And it’s safe to say he is not happy, especially not after Jonathan shoves him while staring him down with laser eyes.

Sisters at odds

Lucy and Lois are a central focus of this week’s episode. Sam tries his best to bring his daughters together, which is hard when they’re at odds over the whole Ally Allston thing.

For a while, however, it looks like they might be mending their broken relationship as Lucy comes over and hangs out with the boys, even going to the football game later that night. But that’s only as long as they’re not talking about Ally; when she comes up, they’re back to bickering.

We’ll have to stay tuned to see if there’s any resolution on this front; for now, it looks like Sam’s efforts may have been for nothing.

The Langs are at odds too!

Lana (Emmanuelle Chriqui) is still trying to wrap her head around the fact that Kyle cheated on her. She’s always known that Kyle isn’t exactly the greatest guy, and before he was mending his ways and getting on the straight and narrow.

Valdez does some great acting to convey Kyle’s regret perfectly, but I fear it may be too little, too late. Lana confirms as much when she pays him a visit at work and says she needs time/space/and a break to figure things out. Could this couple be going their separate ways?

Superman commits…treason?

No, he doesn’t! Lt. Anderson is just salty that Superman does things his own way. And it doesn’t help that Anderson was berated by his superior over his inability to work with the Man of Steel. He’s grown resentful and angry.

Eventually, Anderson decides to take matters into his own hands when he learns from Superman that Bizarro is in his custody. He attacks Superman with red solar radiation and has him arrested, locking him up in the same facility as his brother, Tal-Rho (Adam Rayner).

Ugh, General Anderson — you stink!

Superman & Lois is doing something very interesting with all its focus on family. We know what Superman is like as a superhero, but who is he as a dad? As a husband? A friend? A brother? A son?

Watching Superman & Lois take this unique perspective has been an entertaining and unexpected joy. I love seeing what Clark Kent is like when he’s not wearing the suit. More importantly, I love seeing how his family members interact with one another.

Over the past few episodes, we’ve really dove into the intricacies of this family dynamic, and I can’t wait to see more of it, especially now that Superman has been captured by the U.S. government!

Grade: B+

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