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TV REVIEWS: FTN Reviews Superman and Lois Season 2 Episode 2: Ties That Bind

January 19th, 2022 by Todd Black Comments

Yes, that’s right! We have the new poster ready for the review! Go us!!! And thankfully, after a rocky start (IMO) to Season 2, “Ties That Bind” did get better in certain areas…while also getting worse in others.

Let’s start with the positive, Superman’s “visions”. I didn’t mention them (or Doomsday) in my review last week because it wasn’t clear what was going on. And thankfully, we did get a bit more fleshing out of it. Including that it is indeed tied to Doomsday, and having Irons figure out that via the subplot he had with Lois was nice connective tissue.

I’m still questioning why it’s only happening to Clark and not Tal or Jordan, but that’s something that might get answered later on. So for now, I’ll give it a pass. As for Doomsday’s “appearance”, it was certainly something, and the showrunner teased that next week we’ll get our first true reveal of him, so it’ll be interesting to see how this all plays out.

Another positive was the “return” if you will of Lara via the crystal. I almost got mad at this, because of the great moment we had with her in Lana’s body last season, but then I remembered that Tal said his father took her crystal so that she wouldn’t be with Jor or Kal and so I was fine with it. Especially when you realize that usually we don’t get to see Superman’s mother in play outside of flashbacks. So now her being a potential recurring presence? There is a lot that can be done with that. And her helping find out what was wrong with Clark did help justify her presence.

Furthermore, the handling of Natalie was MUCH better this time around. Even having John note that she got her “mother’s abrasiveness of people”, so the botched breakfast wasn’t a total loss (though it totally makes sense that Lois would do that). And having her be a friend for Sarah (with the guiding hand of Jordan) was good and showed the connective tissue growing strong.

Finally, on the good side, I loved how both Lana and Kyle realized in their own ways that she should run for mayor. I was honestly put off last week that she was backing someone else, and his “departure” was poorly handled IMO, so for Kyle to do the endorsement thing for her, as well as she realized it herself not only showcased a MUCH stronger relationship than last week, it made for something you KNOW they’ll support each other on in the future…until they try and break it up as the new week’s preview apparently showed.

…but…that’s where things fall off.

For example, Irons having to say that he would “make the adjustment” with Lois? That was random. Yes, last season he was focused more on “saving her” from Superman, but he was clearly not trying to get his wife back, and yet now he’s having flashbacks of her? Kind of odd. So hopefully this won’t get more awkward.

Then, there’s Andrews, who continues to be the worst new character this season. Him telling Superman that “you’re on your own” or that you can’t “go everywhere” was so dumb and cringe. He’s Superman, and even with your “powered students”, there’s no way he can be stopped by them short of his visions hurting him. And that line about, “He’s fast, isn’t he?” My gosh, can you at least TRY to hide that you’re a villain!?!?

Speaking of which, the idea that he is the one who apparently is helping bring Doomsday to the surface…? Really? Wow.

Moving on to the OTHER family matter. Tal-Ro was back, and he almost killed Jordan…despite being in the red sun field for over 3 months, and barely having exposure to sunlight after being released…so…how did he get all his powers back? Hopefully they keep him locked up because his character has played his part and we don’t need him back.

As for Lois, her “old story” getting dredged up is a bit…odd. Mainly because of timing. Yes, we know we’ll get Lucy Lane (the Crisis rewrite version as confirmed by the team) this season, but is this really the best way to bring her in? We’ll find out.

And then…there’s Sarah, who not only fulfilled most of my prophecy from last review, but they CW’d the heck out of it to a literal “They did not just do that!!!!” measure.

If you recall, I predicted that during the camp she was a counselor at she kissed a guy and that makes her feel guilty about Jordan. You know, her BOYFRIEND?!? But apparently…she kissed a girl! But they were “just friends” and it “just happened” and then it “didn’t really matter”…and OH MY GOSH SHUT UP!!!

The Arrowverse, for all of its flaws (and there are many, from Arrow to S&L, Naomi gets a pass as it’s only two episodes deep) has been VERY good about LGBTQ+ representation. They have had gay leads, a Trans superhero via Dreamer, both male and female representation on both sides of the spectrum and if Sarah was gay, or bi, that would’ve been fine!

But instead, they did the most CW-relationship thing ever by having her admit it, and then try and say “it meant nothing”, even though she was acting weirdly around Jordan for days now, and thus it WAS something, and then got mad when he walked off! If you’re going to do this, commit to it! Having her kiss a boy would’ve been cringe because it is a CW trope that they’ve done to death, but doing this? It’s honestly an insult to the LGBTQ+ characters who have come before, and the way they handled it was just wrong.

Despite what the CW thinks, there can be relationships that don’t have these kinds of “speed bumps” and there can be a compelling story by having them just go through the relationship motions. Instead…they did this, and to me, it was very wrong.

So while “Ties That Bind” was a step forward for certain things, other things were a step back, and that’s sad. But there is some progress, and for that, I am grateful.

3/5

Todd Black is reader of comics, a watch of TV (a LOT of TV), and a writer of many different mediums. He's written teleplays, fan-fictions, and currently writes a comic book called Guardians (guardians-comic.com). He dreams of working at Nintendo, writing a SHAZAM! TV series, and working on Guardians for a very long time!