TV REVIEWS: FTN Reviews Superman & Lois Episode 14: The Eradicator

After what felt like a criminally long absence due to the Olympics (I REALLY hope this kind of on-again/off-again thing doesn’t happen in Season 2), Superman & Lois are back and it was…a bit of a jerky return for various reasons.

First and foremost, there was a 3-week time jump and it felt like it in the worst way because of how things were shown.

For example, Jonathan is still trying to connect with Steel and yet…it’s not going well? They tried to make it seem like Steel was being a mentor to Jon, and yet the first scene we get of them in the episode is him telling Jonathan to leave him alone. Ok…

Second, while Clark isn’t one to pry, are we REALLY supposed to believe that he didn’t notice the open house for Lana for three weeks? He’s not that dumb. And while you can argue that he wouldn’t think of looking in space for Edge…you kind of have to think that SOMEONE would’ve noticed the giant solar flares that were going on as he was powering up the new Eradicator.

The one GOOD thing that came from the time jump was that we got to see the further fallout of the DOD going and “occupying” Smallville, including the gazette running an article about it that even Lois knew had to be run. This was a “hard truth” that needed to be addressed because of the precarious position they were all in. Though it did see a bit odd some of the accusations that were thrown at Lane, including that the DOD was staying “for profit” when that doesn’t make any sense at all.

And while the return of that one character’s mom hit hard, it was quickly brushed off, a recurring theme in this episode at times.

For example, seeing Lana and Kyle both struggle with the idea of moving was great. Lana didn’t want to leave because it was her home, and her scene with Clark was masterfully handled. Kyle wanting to go at first and then finding out that not everyone wanted him to leave so he decided to pull back was great. But then the MOMENT he made that decision, he got a call about a new job and both of them were like, “PEACE!!!!” Which made the scene with Sara more frustrating because she went from understandably agitated to throwing all sorts of shade at her parents in a way that was just totally unbelievable. Especially since she KNEW what her dad went through in regards to the Morgan Edge fallout.

Speaking of Edge, him and his new “powerset” was curious as he can now apparently BE the Eradiactor without the machine and infect people with Kryptonia consciousness. And it was cool seeing the fight in Metropolis, including a mimic of what happened with Lois’ on Steel’s world, only for him to stop it in epic fashion, “I never miss”.

Though you do have to wonder why he didn’t infect more people for that attack, why he left so quickly, and then, why did he decide to use Jordan’s body to put his father’s consciousness in? Was it so that Clark wouldn’t fight back? Given that next week is the season finale, we better get a good explanation.

In the end, “The Eradiactor” kind of felt like a jilted return back, which is sad because Superman & Lois really does do well with quality. Hopefully they nail the landing next week.