Clark and the boys help Lois prepare for her procedure. Tracking down the Mannheims becomes an urgent priority. Kyle and Lana worry about Sarah.

I’m starting to sound like a broken record here but good god, Jonathan Kent may well be the MVP of this whole show right now. In other hands, this jockey, cooler than his brother character who happens to be out of the ‘Powers Club’ could have turned out so trite, but in this show – which values human resilience, love and decency as much as superpowers – he’s an absolute rock. Here, he proves that once again, as he steps up to help his brother when another of his powers chooses the absolute worst time to manifest, leaving him gripped by a panic attack when it’s really not convenient.

And the episode as a whole really is a case of the Kids Being Alright. Nat is not ready to give up on Matteo, leading to conflict with her father and his. But Nat is the one not blinded by the various baggage the adults in the room are, and all Matteo really wants is for his mum to be OK.

On that note, Bruno’s ‘cure’ may not have been the all-encompassing miracle he hoped (I know, right? Who could have guessed?) and Peia’s condition goes from stable to uh-oh faster than you may have anticipated. That’s a feature of the episode as a whole: it feels, at this late stage, like a lot of things are being slightly rushed, and loose ends tied, so that the writers can start seeding ideas to carry into next season.

When the final showdown therefore occurs, it doesn’t quite feel earned. John Henry is a good, decent man, but he’s also been a jackass the last few weeks and the abrupt way in which the episode has him come to re-release that more human side of his nature is a little forced. Likewise, as I’ve mentioned before, Nat’s ‘love’ for Matteo feels a little too quick and out of character. For a show that’s poured so much time and energy into the core plot of Lois’ battle against cancer, it starts to feel like everything else is perhaps getting a little less time than it deserves.

That being said, Kyle’s response to the knowledge of who Clark really is is absolutely adorable, and pitch perfect for the man Kyle is trying to be. His reaction to Chrissie is less welcome, and it’s ironic that it’s his own ex-wife who ends up pulling his head out of his ass on that score, once they’ve had a heart to heart with Sarah, beset by struggles of her own on the mental health front.

It’s, as ever, a lot, and the show does well with it all but I can’t escape the nagging feeling throughout that we’re being rushed to an exit, with the writers trying to tie up as much as possible so that, if renewal doesn’t happen, an ending of sorts is there, while leaving the door open to the other eventuality as well. It’s good… hell by the standards of the genre it’s amazing… but by its own high bar, I feel like it’s skipping a few opportunities on the way.

Verdict: Infuriatingly close to its very best in moments, but overall feeling a little rushed in too many parts to truly hit its highest heights. 8/10

Greg D. Smith