Clark finds out more about his mirror self, but struggles with what he’s being told. Sarah and Lana comfort one another. Jonathan and Jordan’s sibling rivalry continues, even as Lois and Lucy try to bury their own

A fascinating instalment of Superman & Lois raises many questions even as it begins to feed tantalising hints as to the progression of the main arc this season.

Beginning with a montage which shows us a little more about the origin of Clark’s darker version, the episode transitions into an exchange between the two of them, as Clark interrogates his doppelganger at the Fortress with his mother’s help. The message that the otherworldly being is bringing to them isn’t an easy one to hear, and leaves Clark facing a choice he’s never even contemplated making before.

Anderson meanwhile has issues of his own, as his inability to maintain a decent working relationship with Superman brings him unwanted attention from his superiors. The genius in the way Anderson is portrayed is that he isn’t essentially a ‘bad’ guy, and he even has real, genuine reasons to mistrust Clark. The inevitable comparisons by his superiors of the superb relationship his predecessor enjoyed with the Big Blue Boy Scout necessarily miss the glaring point that Sam had the edge of also being Supes’ father in law, meaning the secrets Clark has to keep from Anderson weren’t an issue. Ian Bohen plays the part perfectly, ably scripted by a writing team who keep giving us just enough to hope that maybe, Anderson and Supes will work out their differences eventually, but it isn’t going to be easy.

Speaking of Sam, he has another shot at a Lane family reunion, which leads to Jordan and Jonathan getting to spend some quality time with their aunt for the first time in a long time. It’s lovely to see this other side to Lucy, when her guard is able to drop a little from the constant warring with Lois and she can just enjoy being part of a family. It also illustrates a lot of what poor Sam must have had to deal with bringing up the two by himself! Nonetheless, there’s still a very real issue dividing the siblings, and it’s doubtful that even a day enjoyed as a family can truly repair that problem.

And on the subject of sibling problems, Jonathan and Jordan’s elevate somewhat when Jordan starts to suspect that perhaps his brother’s sudden manifestation of abilities isn’t all that spontaneous after all. This was basically inevitable, and again what lifts a potentially cliched storyline is the love we already have for the characters and the relationship we’ve seen between them on screen. We want Jonathan to see the light, we also maybe want Jordan to try to be a little more understanding, given, well, everything. We’ll just have to wait and see.

Back at the Lang-Cushing household, Sarah and Lana comfort one another in the aftermath of Kyle’s revelation. For his part, Kyle is desperate to make up for his past betrayal, and genuinely seems to mean it, but can Lana really trust him again? When she takes an unconventional approach to working through her feelings, we’re even left with a little sympathy for the last person I would have expected. Truly working with layers here.

And speaking of layers, that opening montage takes on a whole new, darker implication as we race towards the end credits. Anderson and Clark’s fractured working relationship may cause deeper problems than we had anticipated, and Clark’s mirror self’s warning may be more true than he cared to believe.

Verdict: Nailing every arc, and emotionally as satisfying as it’s possible for genre TV to be. 10/10

Greg D. Smith