Superman & Lois is back for its sophomore season, and the tensions are still from that metaphorical cliffhanger involving Natalie Lane Irons. We see what transpired after the final scene of the Season 1 finale where Nat goes to embrace the woman she believes is her mother but is stopped by her father. John Henry explains that Lois is not the same version as the parent she lost on their Earth.
Fast-forward three months, and the tensions are still there. Natalie still won’t talk to Lois, and her relationship with her dad is rocky. Meanwhile, there have been changes at the Kent Farm too. Jordan has become more confident with his powers. Jonathan has a new girlfriend, Candice. Clark has to deal with the new head of DoD, Lieutenant Mitch Anderson, who thinks he should be focusing his energy on America and not the whole world. Outside of her non-existent relationship with Nat, Lois is also at loggerheads with Chrissy and is turning down every potential journalist they interview.
Even Lois and Clark’s marriage is on shaky ground. This becomes evident when Lois walks in on Jonathan and Candice’s hookup, and she takes it out on her husband for not being there to monitor what their hormonal son could potentially do. She even makes the off-the-cuff remark that they don’t know what Jordan had planned for Sarah, and for all they knew, they could be grandparents in nine months.
So, let’s break down some of the stories from the premiere and see what tensions could continue to play out in episode two next week.
Tensions With Sam Could Continue
Lois’ dad, Sam, was notably absent from this week’s episode, however, he will return in episode three. Though, he was mentioned during a discussion with Clark regarding what to do about Natalie. Their chat revolved around how the teenager felt upon seeing Lois and thinking she was her mother.
Ultimately, it bought up the conversation of Lois’ family, which includes the first mention of her younger sister, Lucy, who will pop up in a few episodes time. It’s also revealed that Lois and Lucy’s mother left them when they were young, leaving their father to raise them alone.
It has been established that Lois and Lucy’s mother is alive at least, we think she is given how Lois was talking. Anyway, when Sam returns, the tensions that have been there previously may still be there. After all, he had an issue with Clark choosing to be there for his family rather than protect the world after they moved to Smallville.
Our hope for Sam and Lois and that they put the tensions behind them when Lucy shows up.
Sarah Dodges Jordan
In a very ‘Courtney ditches Cameron’ type of way, Sarah returns to returns to Smallville after a month away at a camp. However, every time Jordan is mentioned, she becomes shady. Question is, why? What happened in the time she was away? She was into him just three months previously.
We have a couple of theories, which we won’t go over now. Though, given what has been said previously, whatever Sarah is hiding is nothing compared to Jordan having to hide his powers from her. This, apparently, will be one of the things Clark and Lois will be fighting with him over this season. They’ve already had the sex talk with the boys after what happened with Jonathan and Candice. Something tells us that the struggles are not over.
Who could resist a romantic surprise from a Kent? Jordan was quietly literally gushing when he wanted to show her the surprise he had for her. However, she made up the excuse that it was “that time of the month” and had to go home. While Jordan was a total gentleman about it, he didn’t sense that anything was off.
Also, next week’s episode will have Sarah make a new friend in Natalie, Jordan, and Jonathan’s off-world “sister.”
Tensions Continue With Natalie
Lois might’ve gotten through to Natalie in the premiere, but the tensions are still there and will probably be there for a while.
Natalie is quite literally living with another version of the man who killed her mother. Also, looking at Lois ought to be painful for her as it is her father. They’re looking at Lois, just not their version of her. While John Henry is now friends with Clark, he must still have an itching feeling that a version of his wife is with a version of the man who murdered his Lois.
As confusing as that sounds, it’s just the way of the multiverse. Not to mention, John Henry’s Lois is the only known version to have not been with a version of Clark/Superman. All the other versions we’ve seen have been, even those who don’t look like Bitsie Tulloch.
With everything that is going on with Clark’s head pains this season, Natalie might see this as a sign of him becoming the evil dictator he is on the Earth she and her dad came from. If she does think this, it would be similar to her father’s thoughts last season. However, the difference is, John Henry was able to realise that it was Morgan Edge who made Clark go bad. Also, he’s come to know Clark well enough to know that he would not betray his Earth.
However, the tensions won’t stop at home. Jordan may feel a bit put out as Sarah will befriend Natalie in the next episode. Could he take his frustrations out of one or both of them? Chances are he might do that.
Lieutenant Mitch Anderson
There is so much we could say about Sam’s replacement at the DoD, but we’re going to keep it on point. Essentially, Lieutenant Mitch Anderson is a douchebag who wants to control what Superman can and cannot do. He believes that the Man of Steel should only be saving the American people and not the rest of the world. This is a far stretch to Sam’s approach, which might’ve seemed strict at times, but he was nowhere near as extreme. At least he allowed Clark to save the world.
Anderson is not someone we would want in our corner. His approach to Superman might be different, but his views take away the values of what the superhero represents. Sure, his original motto was “Truth, justice, and the American way” but he is not the property of America, and he never was. The lieutenant will need a serious wake-up call to learn this the hard way. As he makes it known in the premiere, he only got his job because he was a Superman fanboy.
A fanboy shouldn’t have a position like this as it clashes with personal beliefs. At least Sam was able to put aside his relationship with Clark being his son-in-law for the sake of their professional association. Anderson will be the ultimate thorn in Superman’s side this season which will be fascinating to see.
Lois Clashes With Chrissy
We cannot end this post without talking about Lois and Chrissy. While it was only one scene, it’s evident that Lois’ personal life affects her work-life. They get into an argument over all the people they’ve had to reject for a journalist position at the Smallville Gazette, which they co-own.
Lois wants nothing but perfection from whoever works with them, but it annoys Chrissy that no one is good enough in Lois’ eyes. Chrissy doesn’t know the whole story, so it’s understandable she would react the way she has. What’s more, is we’re hoping that the saltiness of what is currently going on with these two lady journalists ends soon because we loved seeing journalism being written right in a superhero show.
We loved Chrissy last season and wished there had been more scenes with her. Also, we were excited to have her become a main player in Season 2.
