TV REVIEWS: FTN Reviews Superman & Lois Season 3 Episode 5: Head On

Alright, full disclosure, the ending of this episode bumped up the score by .5 because that was a great twist. Even with it being the weakest episode of the season so far, “Head On” did hit on some great things…when it wanted to.

I immediately appreciated how they addressed that it had been three weeks since the last episode, which was important for multiple storylines, including Lois’ condition. Outside of one scene, this continues to be a powerful telling of not only dealing with cancer but the possible ways it can go for Lois. Yes, we all know she will live, but they’re using this as a vehicle to showcase how many people deal with cancer…and suffer on “both sides of the chair.”

Clark’s talk with the other cancer victims was beautifully handled. As we saw one woman nearly beat cancer, only to get it again after being told it was in remission. Then, we had a mother who had cancer alongside her daughter…and the daughter didn’t make it. That was gripping. As was the talk of “The Pull,” and Lois will need to focus her drive, with Clark and others’ help, to make it through the challenges ahead. It’s rare that superhero shows tackle these kinds of stories, and I’m glad the creative team is giving their all to it.

A storyline I was surprised by was Nat’s, as we got to see the return of Mateo via “the best Wingwoman ever” in Sarah. Having him arrive in Smallville could’ve come off as totally creepy. But thanks to our introduction to him at the Metropolis party, and the details on how Sarah guided him to Nat, it worked out. Plus, most people would agree that we’ve all met someone we would’ve driven hours to see just to be with them. I know I’ve made that promise to certain people before. And while some of the beats did play out in a very CW way, it worked out through nice and honest chats. It makes sense that Nat doesn’t know how to do relationships because her father and her fought to keep her world safe for so long that having a date of any kind was foolish to think about.

Finally, on the positive side, we have Lana. Her and Sarah were clearly in a better space than last time, and I’m glad, and while I’ll address the full storyline the two were in later, Lana’s resolution was perfectly Lana. Plus, the “near blow-up” being averted because she let Sarah explain herself was good too. Lana is seriously one of the best characters on the show, and I adore how she handles things. MANY other CW shows wouldn’t let her be the woman she is now, and I’m glad that the team is bucking off trends with her.

Alright…onto the bad. Let’s start out with…Lois. Look, I know the point of the transfer to Bruno Manheim’s hospital was to spy on him. But she didn’t even WAIT for a single treatment to do investigations. Plus, for as brilliant as Lois is in the show, she didn’t think there would be cameras watching every hallway or Bruno to see that she was snooping around? A) It’s a hospital, there are cameras. I used to work in one, trust me. B) It’s Bruno Manheim’s facility! He would want security just in case someone tried to do exactly what Lois did. And sure enough, she was caught immediately.

That is where the other issue with this storyline came in. Because we had yet another Bruno Manheim monologue about how he “wasn’t a bad guy”…and yet just last episode he tried to blow up a woman and threatened to wipe out John Henry Irons family on their Earth. Yes, he doesn’t know about him and Lois, but still. I’m honestly getting tired of his “good guy/bad guy” act when we know emphatically he’s evil. Let’s please move on with this.

And that brings us to Jonathan and Candice. There was some serious whiplash here because we went from “Candice is living with us!” to “Jon, want to work at the fire station on the weekends?” to “I’m moving in with my aunt so I can only see you on weekends…” and it was just so annoying. First, Jonathan never showed ANY inclination of wanting to be a firefighter. Two, the way Kyle just randomly asked him to do it came off as forced, as was his “well you need to decide what’s more important” line. And the relationship “break-up” of sorts with Jonathan and Candice was…very CW.

And don’t get me started on Sam Lane getting on a dating app…just no.

Finally, while I loved how Lana’s story ended with remembering Mayor Dean…how they brought his son into it and forced the “political storyline” was too much too quick. I don’t even think we’ve seen that person before and now he’s “wiping up a political frenzy” because Lana is mayor and his dad is dead? This is LANA!!! She’s proven her mettle and heart, it’s wrong that people would judge her like that.

In the end, “Head On” didn’t hit everything, but it was still a good episode overall. Hopefully with certain things planted, and others tied off, we can move toward some more quality episodes like before.

4/5 (3.5 without the Bizarro twist!)