Okay, this episode is good, and this show is good. I'm not remotely claiming that this show is bad. However, this one feels a lot weaker than the other episodes in this series thus far. Basically, this one feels like it was written by the CW, whereas every other episode so far feels like it was written by the WandaVision writers. That's the best analogy I can give.
The stuff between Sarah and Kyle felt really forced this week. I've never been the biggest fan of the Cushing family drama on this show, but it was kinda on full display this week with Kyle actually trying to be a good father for a while, learning that Lana lied to him, and then reverting to form. I can tell that he wants to make a difference in his daughter's life, and he did actually try this week, but it ultimately amounted to nothing. Sarah still just hates her family, even though they're really not that bad in the grand scope of things, at least not that's been shown. I get how real Kyle drinking his feelings away is, and it is a real issue that kids and spouses have to deal with every day, but that realness didn't make the drama feel any less weak. But hey, credit where it's due, that scene of Sarah singing with Jordan playing the piano felt like Inde Navarrette was really singing. It didn't feel forced or autotuned at all, and was just really cool.
Then there's the stuff with Lois and John. Now, I get it. Losing a child in a miscarriage can be devastating, and watching your son almost die can be tough and result in some serious ptsd, but the way it was handled really fell flat for me. John actually has been built up to make stupid decisions like this, especially since his son is in training to be Superboy. Lois on the other hand has never really been shown to lash out in this way. I know it's supposed to come off as repressed ptsd from her miscarriage, but it came off like she was being ever so slightly irrational. They managed to bring it together at the end, but it still didn't completely land for me.
Not Lex, aka John Henry Irons, still hates Superman. Now, maybe I just have a chip on my shoulder from him not being Lex Luthor, but he didn't feel as... "Real" this week, for lack of a better word. Not Lex has been portrayed as a guy that wants to kill Superman because Superman was evil on his Earth, and would rather kill Superman instead of taking the chance that he might not be evil. Heck, his wife was murdered by Superman. I totally get that. I'm not upset at him for that. However, his entire story up to this point was kind of invalidated when he said to Lois "There's a lot I want to say. But, you're not the woman I want to say it to. You just look like her." That's a development that should've taken until the season finale in my opinion. For Not Lex to say that, I personally feel like Superman should've actually proved him wrong, and everything he believed should've come crashing down. Maybe it's just me that feels this way though.
Oh yeah, and how come he can suddenly just delete the identification for Lex in his AI? Didn't his daughter say that she hadn't finished coding the AI for him instead of Lex in the very last episode? That's, like, Batwoman levels of sloppy. At least, I think it is. I haven't watched that show since "Bat Girl Magic".
Look, it's not the worst episode of tv I've ever watched, but I was just expecting a lot more, especially since every episode until now has ranged from excellent to phenomenal. If this episode is any indication for what's to come though, The CW is stepping into the writer's room and taking over, and not in a good way. I want to believe that the next episode will be better, but the last time I hoped for that was with Eric Wallace trying to make The Flash season seven as good as season six, and my trust was clearly misplaced on that front. So you can say my optimism isn't what it used to be. Still though, I have a little more faith in Superman and Lois than I do in The Flash, so I am gonna hold out a little bit of hope.
Don't make episodes like this a habit, writers.
6 / 10.
The stuff between Sarah and Kyle felt really forced this week. I've never been the biggest fan of the Cushing family drama on this show, but it was kinda on full display this week with Kyle actually trying to be a good father for a while, learning that Lana lied to him, and then reverting to form. I can tell that he wants to make a difference in his daughter's life, and he did actually try this week, but it ultimately amounted to nothing. Sarah still just hates her family, even though they're really not that bad in the grand scope of things, at least not that's been shown. I get how real Kyle drinking his feelings away is, and it is a real issue that kids and spouses have to deal with every day, but that realness didn't make the drama feel any less weak. But hey, credit where it's due, that scene of Sarah singing with Jordan playing the piano felt like Inde Navarrette was really singing. It didn't feel forced or autotuned at all, and was just really cool.
Then there's the stuff with Lois and John. Now, I get it. Losing a child in a miscarriage can be devastating, and watching your son almost die can be tough and result in some serious ptsd, but the way it was handled really fell flat for me. John actually has been built up to make stupid decisions like this, especially since his son is in training to be Superboy. Lois on the other hand has never really been shown to lash out in this way. I know it's supposed to come off as repressed ptsd from her miscarriage, but it came off like she was being ever so slightly irrational. They managed to bring it together at the end, but it still didn't completely land for me.
Not Lex, aka John Henry Irons, still hates Superman. Now, maybe I just have a chip on my shoulder from him not being Lex Luthor, but he didn't feel as... "Real" this week, for lack of a better word. Not Lex has been portrayed as a guy that wants to kill Superman because Superman was evil on his Earth, and would rather kill Superman instead of taking the chance that he might not be evil. Heck, his wife was murdered by Superman. I totally get that. I'm not upset at him for that. However, his entire story up to this point was kind of invalidated when he said to Lois "There's a lot I want to say. But, you're not the woman I want to say it to. You just look like her." That's a development that should've taken until the season finale in my opinion. For Not Lex to say that, I personally feel like Superman should've actually proved him wrong, and everything he believed should've come crashing down. Maybe it's just me that feels this way though.
Oh yeah, and how come he can suddenly just delete the identification for Lex in his AI? Didn't his daughter say that she hadn't finished coding the AI for him instead of Lex in the very last episode? That's, like, Batwoman levels of sloppy. At least, I think it is. I haven't watched that show since "Bat Girl Magic".
Look, it's not the worst episode of tv I've ever watched, but I was just expecting a lot more, especially since every episode until now has ranged from excellent to phenomenal. If this episode is any indication for what's to come though, The CW is stepping into the writer's room and taking over, and not in a good way. I want to believe that the next episode will be better, but the last time I hoped for that was with Eric Wallace trying to make The Flash season seven as good as season six, and my trust was clearly misplaced on that front. So you can say my optimism isn't what it used to be. Still though, I have a little more faith in Superman and Lois than I do in The Flash, so I am gonna hold out a little bit of hope.
Don't make episodes like this a habit, writers.
6 / 10.