Lois and Clark continue to dig deeper into Mannheim’s background, and come up against answers for which neither is prepared. Jonathan and Jordan begin to panic about Lois’ diagnosis. Matteo meets John Henry for the first time.

The moment it became clear last time out that Peia was both Bruno Mannheim’s wife and his super-powered assassin, it was obvious this would create problems for Lois and Clark. What was less obvious was how this would serve to flesh out both characters, and exactly where it would place them.

Much of the episode is spent in flashbacks building that story – Mannheim as a more junior member of the crime syndicate in his part of Metropolis, and Peia his boss’ enforcer, the pair of them star-crossed lovers with a dream of a better life together which seems almost unobtainable. What’s fascinating about it is how the story treads a fine line between making both characters more three-dimensional and relatable, while taking nothing away from who either of them are as antagonists. Peia may be Lois’ friend, but that doesn’t mean she’s the gooey-eyed idealist who has no idea who or what her husband is. Indeed, neither of them has any illusions about what they have done, but it’s clear both believe they’re doing it for good reasons, or at least reasons they can happily justify to themselves and each other.

Where the episode could have been frustrating in dragging out the process of Lois and Clark discovering the truth, it actually makes for fascinating viewing. It’s emotionally resonant when Lois upsets Peia and has no idea why her new friend is so angry. It’s tense as hell when Clark is talking to Mannheim as himself and starting to feel his way around the edges of the secret. When the reveal comes, there’s no cackling supervillain monologue or explosions, merely a quiet acceptance that the truth can no longer be hidden, and the mutual acknowledgment of the next step of the game.

Back in Smallville, Jon and Jordan are freaking out because they sense they’re not being told everything. A visit to the fortress and chatting with the hologram of Clark’s mother winds them up more, and when they go hunting for clues at home and find Lois’ end of life documents, things get worse still. Lois and Clark are forced to reckon with the consequences of trying to ‘keep their boys safe’ by keeping the worst of the news about Lois’ condition from them, and the boys are confronted with yet another of the hard realities on the flip side of being the family of Superman.

And John Henry gets to meet Matteo, who comes to dinner. He wants to be the ‘cool dad’, but how exactly will he handle the reality of Nat’s first boyfriend? Instinctively protective of his daughter while wanting her to live as normal a life as possible, John is caught between a rock and a hard place, and it takes the advice of a friend to settle him down. That said, his troubles may be far from over, given the reveal at the episode’s end.

Verdict: Everything this show does is a lesson in how to illustrate these kinds of stories, and this episode is no exception. Faultless. 10/10

Greg D. Smith