Itâs certainly a big risk and I canât imagine itâll work out completely well for Clark, Lois and the military, but I do still feel like I get the logic behind this. For starters, Iâm guessing the military can only hold a man whoâs supposed to have died 6 years ago for so long before too many people start asking questions. Though plenty of Arrowverse heroes and people connected to them get the basic concept of the multiverse, itâs still not a widely known fact of existence. While that really should change at some point soon, this probably isnât the best timing for doing just that sort of huge reveal thatâll certainly cause strong responses all over the world
But beyond that, I get that while John Henry does still appear to be committed to killing Superman at some point, itâs clear that heâs no longer the main threat. That distinction has definitely shifted to Edge and his X-Kryptonite, as theyâre seeing more and more just how dangerous it is to have this substance that can not only give people Kryptonian powers, but also apparently place new consciousnesses in their bodies. It doesnât take the testimony of a man who saw this sort of scheme destroy his world to know itâs a huge threat. What makes it especially tricky is that by the time thereâs sufficient evidence available to prove what heâs doing, it may also be too late to stop him. So between needing to shift more of their focus to Edge and, like Clark said, possibly having John Henry out there to help down the line, I think it does make sense. You can already see his perspective starting to shift, thus reinforcing the growing theory that this whole arc will ultimately be how Steel becomes a hero on this earth
As sad and heavy as it was, I thought it was also a fascinating development that really adds a lot to her character. I donât think weâve ever seen Lois suffer a miscarriage in any medium, certainly not in live action, but the inherent nature of such a tragedy actually makes a lot of sense for her character in a grim way. The episode addressed her place as a non-powered human both in a world full of superheroes and the wife of 1 of the most powerful heroes on the planet, and thatâs always been a fixture of her character. Lois has always had to find ways to deal w/ the fact that as smart, resourceful and ambitious as she is in life, she has a constant reminder of all the things she canât do as well. Because of that, wanting to put more focus on the things she can do and control in her life makes perfect sense, even though she may find herself trying to apply that sense of self-control to a lot of things in her life even if it doesnât actually apply. So when you have someone like that go through something like a miscarriage, which is of course happening to her body directly, I can understand why a somewhat warped mindset like that would feel guilt over something that she logically has no reason to feel guilt over. Even though it was over a decade ago, Lois wouldâve certainly had already spent so many years focusing on what she can control outside of a lot of the superhero stuff, and since the pregnancy/miscarriage falls under a much more ânormalâ purview, it makes sense that would, in her mind, get folded into the category of things she can control. It explains why sheâs been carrying around this lingering sense of guilt for so long, and given that this seems to be the 1st time sheâs really addressing it head-on, itâs clearly gonna be a while before sheâs able to truly accept that it wasnât her fault and move on in a healthy way
Iâm definitely curious to see if this comes up again, as this material got some fantastic acting out of Bitsie Tulloch. Of course sheâs always great as Lois, but the raw emotion she was spilling out in this episode was downright uncomfortable to watch at times, but in a way where that was clearly the intention and thus successful. Not that I specifically want to see her having to constantly unearth past traumas, but we know these characters are always gonna be dealing w/ issues beyond the usual superhero stuff, so material like this that remains compelling is very much welcome. Weâve just got to make sure to have our tissues ready
First off, itâs worth noting that weâve already been down this general road of Superman taking issue w/ a government agency stockpiling kryptonite to use against him if he ever turned, as thatâs essentially what happened w/ Clark and the DEO in season 2 of Supergirl. But while that thread ended w/ the DEO getting rid of their kryptonite, I donât think this show will be beholden to the same ending, especially considering the way itâs mostly dodged around the rest of the Arrowverse all season
Instead, I think itâs a lot more likely that the military will end up keeping at least some of the kryptonite weapons, as the coming war w/ Edgeâs Kryptonians will likely be enough justification for them and Clark to truly recognize the necessity of them. If Sam makes it through this season alive, I do see him and his son-in-law ultimately rebuilding a good chunk of their trust by that point, which would really have to happen in order for Clark to be OK w/ him overseeing whatever stockpile the military still has left. Itâd be sure to help create more drama down the line, but I could still understand the thinking behind keeping at least some of it
It should be interesting to see them explore other elements of their school and budding friendships, but I certainly hope this is only a temporary leave from the team. Theyâre already going through enough issues as it is, and not being able to return at all to a sport they both enjoy would probably just feel like itâs piling on too much. Between breaking his arm last week and almost getting killed this week, Iâd hate to see Jonathan lose this activity thatâs been something so big to him for such a long time now. Of course weâll have to see how his arm heals after these 6 weeks of being in a cast are up, but it remains entirely possible that the writers can heal him properly. As for Jordan, Iâd also want to see him return, but itâll be crucial for him to take this time to better control his powers so that he doesnât seriously hurt anyone else or have another superpowered outburst. In the long term, I feel like football could actually be an effective way to help w/ that, having to always keep a good balance of exerting enough power to be successful, but not so much that someone gets hurt. Plus it really seemed to be helping w/ his confidence, which is always a good thing, though maybe getting back into piano and spending more time w/ Sarah will also do the trick on that front
