TV REVIEWS: FTN Reviews Superman & Lois Season 2 Episode 16: All Is Lost

I want to start out this review by noting how FRUSTRATING it is that we just got the episodes back…and they’re doing another delay. This is why the ratings have been so bad on some of their shows, it’s hard to remember when they’re on and when they’re not. Regardless, “All is Lost” was a very solid episode even if they continued to drip into trope territory with a certain MVP character.

Ironically, the best content tonight (overall at least) was from two characters who haven’t gotten to shine in the right ways overall. Lucy and Ally. Ally always came off as evil and we knew that bad things would happen with her. And Lucy came off in a variety of ways depending on the episode. But tonight, we actually got to see the birth of their relationship, and it was honestly really good. Now, some might quote me and say that it was “tropey” in terms of how Ally lured Lucy in, but think about it…that’s how cults and people like Ally work. They play the “nicest person in the world” role to make you think that they are the only one you can trust, and they work hard to make you think they can do no wrong. And then, just when you’re ready to take that final leap with them…you see their true colors.

It was great seeing Lucy, Lois and Sam dive deeper into the family drama amidst seeing what drove them apart previously. Then for Lucy to still be willing to screw them all over, only to realize all to late the mistake she made…it worked. It wouldn’t have worked without that buildup though, and thus I’m glad they did it. Plus, now Lucy may be able to make amends by helping them defeat Ally.

The other best elements were “Father Superman”, as he tried to do his best with both of his sons and…mostly succeeded. His speech to Jonathan was poignant and powerful and was fantastic writing. And his “training session” with Jordan was great in terms of how joyous it felt, and hilarious that Jordan somehow doesn’t know Star Wars. You failed him Clark! And of course, forgetting that he has TWO sons was something that very much feels like a Clark thing this series so I didn’t mind that.

…but…I did mind certain other things. Including certain OTHER child of a hero.

Yes, Natalie. While I do grant her that she had some points with Steel about her role in helping him, that doesn’t mean she’s ready for fighting, yet she acted like she had been doing it for years. Jordan’s got powers and HE still needs training, but she’s somehow above it because of the fact she has a suit? That’s not how it works, and I wish that they would’ve let Irons express that more than he did.

Meanwhile, I really didn’t like Lana’s beat this time. Because she went down a spiral that was just…a betrayal of Lana in certain ways. I get that she’s still reeling from the Superman reveal, but she took things that should’ve been small sleights and blew them up out of proportion. Especially at Jordan with that bull crap line of “if you really love her, then you’ll leave her alone”. Right…because as we all know Lois & Clark’s relationship didn’t work and spawned two children…

And while I loved how it ended, with Kyle coming to Lana’s “rescue” in a fair and meaningful way, I believe we could’ve gotten there without the extremely tropey, “I’m a terrible person” and “I don’t even know who I am” lines. Because Lana’s mature enough to not say things like that given other more realistic lines she’s said in the face of adversity this season.

Finally, while I still don’t fully grasp Ally’s powers and how they work, the last image of her trying to fuse two universes together? Does indeed paint a powerful image of what might happen in the last two episodes…whenever they come around…

In the end, “All Is Lost” did a wonderful job of expressing certain characters in key moments, building up the threat of Ally, and setting up other things. But it did come at a cost.

4/5