Jordan finds a new outlet but it may not be the best idea. Lois continues to pursue the Morgan Edge story but she may regret it. Clark and the boys have to talk about boundaries.

Another week and another instalment of Superman & Lois where the writers prove that there are plenty of interesting things to do with the last son of Krypton if only you’re willing to think beyond him having to punch things really hard, and also that there is fun to be had in tugging at some of the questions that other interpretations of the character might ignore.

For example – how exactly does Superman manage to use his superhearing to determine where he is needed most? Is there a hierarchy? How does he decide whether what he’s hearing is a cry for help or something else? What’s the priority? It was amusing to me because after the show paused its excellent ‘Superman Domesticity’ stuff for a regular ‘Superman does Superman stuff’ interval, I had been wondering this exact thing out loud and then the show decided to address it directly as Clark’s sons asked him these very questions. Neat.

That then leads into a further set of questions about exactly what Clark spends his time listening to, and a rare moment of untruth by obfuscation that causes a bit of domestic unrest in the Kent household. What I like about these is that the show always chooses to address them head on. Lesser shows might choose to drag this out, have the kids get all teenaged and moody and Clark get all angry and sitcom-Dad. Instead the show plays to the strengths of the character. Supes is interesting because despite being faster, stronger and physically superior to humanity, he’s still prone to make mistakes, and honest enough to admit to them and do the work to be better. And because he is that person, his kids are decent people too. Jonathan is a jock and Jordan is troubled, but they’re good people and it’s a loving family unit.

This comes into play even more as Jordan makes a bold decision to try to get the bullies off his back. And it’s bold not just because of what he does and the questions and concerns it raises for Clark, but also ultimately for the why he’s doing it. Again, with other writers this could have been a totally different (and duller) plotline, but again the show never forgets that in spite of having at least a shade of his father’s abilities, Jordan is still a good kid. It also wisely chooses to make his mental health struggles a part of who he is, instead of just his defining character trait or something that drives everything he does. It’s refreshing to see in a genre show of all places. Jonathan also deserves a mention here too – again, it’s nice to have the brothers be different and squabble, but to ultimately have one another’s backs.

Meanwhile Lois is busy following up every lead she can find to chase up the story on Morgan Edge. A promising lead starts leading her down dangerous paths though, and there’s another pleasant surprise the show pulls when she calls for the big guns and doesn’t get the result she’s quite expecting. Clearly the show has all sorts of surprises in store for us.

Running in the background we also have a sub plot wherein Lana is increasingly fearful she’s losing touch with her daughter Sarah, and once again the script takes the time to build interesting characters instead of easy stereotypes. I can’t really remember the last TV show of any type that I saw willing to handle this sort of depth of relationships and issues, let alone a genre one. It feels genuine, rather than soapy, and I hope it continues down this path.

Even the smashy bashy stuff manages to be interesting by demonstrating that Superman isn’t just powerful but also smart, in a fight scene that manages to make a simple fist fight pretty interesting.

Verdict: Really has found its groove quickly, and is already easily the best live action onscreen interpretation of the character we’ve seen for a long time. 9/10

Greg D. Smith