TV REVIEWS: FTN Reviews Superman & Lois Episode 8: Holding The Wrench

After last week’s game-changing episode, it was important that they keep the momentum going and I’m happy to say that “Holding The Wrench” absolutely kept the quality going, and not in the ways you’d think.

Because instead of focusing again on the newly revealed John Henry Irons (aka Steel), they instead focused on Lois. And through it we got to see a side of Lois we hadn’t seen before, the vulnerable side that had lost so much and was trying to keep the pain inside.

As we find out, her and John having a daughter named Natalie wasn’t exactly random. That was the name of Lois’ grandmother…and the name of the daughter she almost had with Clark AFTER the boys were born. Yeah, that wasn’t in the last timeline, but at this point, it honestly doesn’t matter. Bitsie did a phenomenal job of portraying Lois in this vulnerable state. From trying to keep it all in, to going to therapy to get it off her chest, to lashing out at Jonathan, it was a full 5-stages of grief going on and they pulled it off well.

As for Irons, he played a more subdued role here, but it worked, especially with his bloodlust for Superman going strong here. That moment with the Kryptonite spear (hmm…where have we seen that before?) was nicely handled as well. And now that he’s “out and about” in the world…that could change things.

The other storylines were more or less well-handled. Sarah overcoming her stage fright with Jordan was very touching. Jonathan trying to “figure out his place” in a family of super’s was well handled too and I have a feeling his connection with Lois is going to get much stronger from here.

That being said, the Kyle storyline went from a “nice save” to a cliche in no time flat. Lana diverting attention away from her undercover op with Lois was handled well enough, but then when his daughter needed him most he couldn’t get over his ego and had to get drunk? Really? Furthermore, General Lane’s use of “7734” was infinitely predictable and him trying to say “it’s what I need to prepare for” was as cliche as you could get.

Oh, and while Bitsie did do well in the episode, it went a bit too weird with the, “Get out of my face!” line. Like…where did that come from? Jonathan wasn’t even in her face!

Still, the core of the episode was strong and “Holding The Wrench” delivered another super quality episode that continues to prove why this is one of the best superhero shows out there right now.