Episode 1.05 - The Best of Smallville

[Trinity]

Press Release

HOME - As Smallville celebrates its first Harvest Festival since Martha’s passing, Clark (Tyler Hoechlin) is reminded what his mother meant to him and learns a lesson that will help him move past her death. Meanwhile, Lois (Elizabeth Tulloch) makes a breakthrough in the investigation of Morgan Edge (Adam Rayner). Lastly, Kyle (Erik Valdez) tries to reconnect with Lana (Emmanuelle Chriqui), but it seems like he might be falling back into his old ways.


SOURCE:

CW

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[Tim]

Looks good.

[Squad 51]

Okay, looks interesting. Again for me, one day later.

[Tim]

Better late than  never.

[Dark Avenger]

Harvest Festival, nice.

Looking forward to it. Last one before the long break until May, with Supergirl as a seat warmer.

[Dark Avenger]

It's on tonight.

Last one before the break and Supergirl's return.

I'm looking forward to the Harvest Festival. Been to one in the country where my family on my dad's side lives. They are fun.

[Silas]

The Best of Smallville

It's the first Harvest Festival since Martha's passing and Clark is reminded what his mother meant to him.

Cue the flashbacks. I absolutely loved that they used lots of flashbacks to Clark’s teenage years at key moments in this episode and showing Martha Kent in flashbacks was a treat. And they were handled with real care for everything that has come before. I like that they fully leaned into awkward 15-16 year old Clark and not some already filled out heartthrob type as I’d expect from a CW series. Clark leaving home THIS early feels like a slightly new take for the Superman mythos overall, and I’m especially interested in seeing if we’ll see how some of this developed down the road.

Those flashback sequences, though were great. I’m glad that Clark as a teenager like Jon, Jordan, and Sarah are all actually believable as teenagers (unlike some CW shows I’ve seen, and to some extent Smallville, I still for the life of me don’t get how characters were driving cars in the first season of Smallville when they were 14 or 15. At least here on Superman and Lois they don’t.).

Clark is hyped up about Harvest Festival. The twins, not so much, and I don’t blame them. Having moved from the city to the country. I’d be more shocked if they were into it.

Tyler and Bitsie continue to have chemistry. I Loved him lying down and putting his head in her lap. 

Clark is starting to pack up his mom's things to donate to the festival as well as create an office for Lois for her reporting at home.

Captain Luthor who we haven’t seen since the second episode finally arrives in Smallville, having tracked Lois down. I got a kick out of his headquarters being in a camper van. LOL Good to blend in to pretend he is a local I suppose.

People from the town of Smallville bring their donations to the community center but a lot of people are struggling. Derek slips off to call Leslie Larr (Morgan Edge’s partner) telling her something feels off and he suddenly blasts laser vision in a backroom in the community center, setting it on fire.

Clark asks Jonathan to give Smallville more time and if it still doesn't work, they'll come up with a new plan. This ties into Clark as a teen and his struggles before learning who he really is with his own powers. I also laughed at seeing Lois' thoroughly annoyed “go faster” to the boys at the Harvest Festival was a fun moment.

Yes Martha Kent was the best of Smallville that was nice Lana for noting that at the harvest festival and dedicating something in her honor.

This week we get a bit more stuff on the twins and Sarah. With Jordan and Sarah going on their first and maybe last date. Jonathan gets dumped over the phone, no less! by Eliza, his girlfriend in Metropolis. AW this coming a mile away. Because as soon as they brought up Elsa/Jonathan's girlfriend in the Previously, I was like "Oh, she's going to dump him!" 

In his grief which I SO SAW coming this has been boiling inside of him for some time. Jonathan takes it out on Clark telling dad that he wants to move back to Metropolis (“This town is my Kryptonite!”). Ruins his brothers date with Sarah. Sarah wasn’t thrilled that Jordan immediately took his brother’s side over hers (I WAS, makes me hope a girl won't come between them and the twins relationship with each other is more important), but she agreed to still be his friend. Sarah and Jordan make up but on the way home Jordan is attacked by a suddenly super powered Derek.

Lois and Chrissy are really a fun pairing digging more into Edge. It’s great to see Lois struggle not having Daily Planet like resources.

I really thought Chrissy was a goner when she tracked down Derek. Thanks show for keeping me on the edge of my seat. That’s when Superman finally arrives, chasing Derek over various cornfields until they were both shot out of the sky by Captain Luthor. So it looks like Larr and Edge are using some kind of tech to not only resurrect people but give them powers, this can’t be good. 

I liked that Clark’s conflict with Jonathan in the present inspired flashbacks to his own final days in Smallville, when he apparently had similar clashes with his mother. (“I wasn’t sent here to be Martha Kent’s son!” he once said when she tried to keep him from taking to the streets as a masked vigilante.). Martha gives young Clark his sunstone in a box that helps him figure out who he really is and then sends him away to truly find himself, which is when Clark leaves Smallville for the first time. Back in the present, Clark admitted that he regrets leaving home the way he did. Jonathan decides to give Smallville another chance. Clark hands Jonathan a box the same one that his mum gave him with the sunstone as a teen, which Martha was gifted by Jonathan when they dated.

On the note of Clark leaving home in the flashbacks, I assume he’s leaving here because the sunstone crystal told him to head north so it can build the Fortress of Solitude.

The episode ends on another cliff-hanger and drops another Captain Luthor bombshell. I did not see it coming that Captain Luthor was the other world Lois's husband. Makes sense with him knowing the other world’s Sam Lane and trying to convince him to not trust Superman. Guess he doesn't know that Clark's Superman. But the show wants us to think this is Lex from another universe. I would not be surprised, if its truly not, and maybe just the SON of a Lex Luthor. With this show dealing with Superman and his sons. It wouldn’t surprise me they want to mirror that with Lex and his son. We shall see. Just a theory of mine.

And that is a wrap with the Superman & Lois Spring Finale, as the show goes on hiatus until May, with Supergirl back in its timeslot as a seat warmer. I hear due to COVID-19, Superman and Lois started production on S1 later than planned, so the show needs to be ahead in production. LOL, looks like Superman and Lois is going to be running well into summer. I'm sure this is going to the case for a majority of shows, because of COVID, summer programming is going to be common this year. But looking forward to it's return.


Odds and Ends:

*The Conversation about Clark being “sent here for a reason” is very much a nod to Glenn Ford’s Pa Kent talking to Jeff East’s young Clark in Superman: The Movie.

*We learned in this episode that Smallville was established in 1949. It certainly was! While it was clear early in the Superman mythos that he wasn’t from Metropolis, and had grown up on a farm, and Superboy was established as a character in 1945, it wasn’t until 1949 that Clark’s hometown actually got it’s name, in an issue of Superboy. (LOL yes I did some digging and research, as wondered if 1949 was significant in the comics and IT WAS)

Overall thoughts: I liked this one much apart from the Jonathan/Jordan/Sarah parts but luckily it didn't take over the whole episode, but the fact that the twins relationship is more important than the people they like/date made me happy. More brother bonding less love lives/teenage drama. I enjoyed seeing flashbacks scenes of teenage Clark and Martha Kent mirroring Clark and Jonathan in the present. They even got an actor who looked like he was a teenager playing Clark, instead of making viewers try and believe that a mid-twenties Tom Welling is a teenager (I do have a lot of fondness for Smallville don’t get wrong, but I never bought it.)


Grade: A-


Moments:
*Martha Kent being named the best of Smallville by Lana.
*Nod to Superman 1978 with Clark being sent here for a reason in the flashbacks.
*This town is my Kryptonite!

Hororable mentions:
*Go faster! Lois to the boys

[Melinda Halliwell]

Seems good. Will look forward to this episode I'm sure.

[Tim]

Poor Jonathan got a Dear John letter, or should I say text.

Liked the flashbacks to young Clark.

Still not liking Lana's hubby.  Lose him, please.

So Morgan Edge is trying to create a race of super people.  For what?  To take over the world?  Or to use as a workforce?  At least Lois and Clark are on to his scheme now.

Nice to see Lex Luthor name checked.

And I'm more than convinced that "Captain Luthor" is based off the Earth-Three version (Alexander Luthor).  That version was married to the Lois Lane of that Earth.  And, on Earth-Three, Superman, or Ultraman, as he was called, was evil.  Although both Ultraman and Alexander Luthor died trying to save their Earth from the Crisis.

[Melinda Halliwell]

Obviously, this shows different i.e. Captain Luthor at least has survived post-crisis so who's to say his Superman or Ultraman isn't alive also then.

Just imagine an evil Superman/normal Superman fight. Ooh, that'd be something worth watching even though there already was a Kingdom Come Earth 38 Superman fight during Crisis.

[Squad 51]

Alright, caught up now too.

Nice to see such a good fall tradition and the good flashbacks of Clark's youth with his Mom. So sweet. And the boys were ready to enjoy it, yet one text ruined all. Jonathan, what friends did you choose and then to ruin your brother's date?! Yeah, well, there was another lesson for him but as every young man, he needs to leave the nest. At least, Jordan and Sarah are friends now but there could be more, of course.

Derek Powell was too good to be true and there was definitely more which was confirmed. So, Edge played a double game here? Looks like it. Chrissy was fearless to find out more but Superman as well to help out. Edge is definitely planning something big.

And Captain Luthor has also sneaky ways to get Superman. Different earth, different people. So, Lois was married to him. Makes sense now that he also knows the General.

And Jordan seems to be in big trouble at the end. Makes me curious for the next episode!

But now there's the break again, isn't it?

[Dark Avenger]

I am so sad that we are taking a break (of course I know why we are COVID and need to keep ahead in production), I've been liking this show so much and I don't want it to lose momentum. Its such a good show, I really enjoy both the family dynamic and the superhero action equally, which is quite impressive. I'll go as far to say its my favourite CW-DC show by far this year.  Had one of the others taken an extended break, I might not be so sad. 

Superman and Lois has great characters and actors to play them and a really promising story mixed in with a very sweet but realistic family story.

Poor Jonathan, I knew that when we saw his girlfriend on the Previously On's where that was going, but that still really sucks. No wonder he finally got angry and started acting out a bit, but Jonathan is such a nice kid that even his acting out is pretty tame and he shifted almost immediately into apology mode. Even when he's being angry he is still really polite about it.

I thought that his drunk apology for messing up Jordan's date was really sweet, as was Jordan trying to look after him. You can tell its normally Jonathan that handles the care taking and that Jordan is a bit unsure about being the least angsty teen in the house, but that he was trying his best to be there for his brother. Their relationship is one of my favorite things on a show full of things that I love.

And it shows that not even a girl will come between the brothers, this made me really smile. I get horror flashbacks from other shows where it does. So a refreshing change.

The flashbacks with young Clark and Martha were really good and the actor they got to play young Clark did look like he could be a younger version of adult Clark.

It makes me sad that Martha died in the first episode, she really was the best. The box was a nice gesture Clark, but maybe get Jonathan something a bit not so symbolic? Jordan got the powers, at least give him keys to a spaceship or something.

I was worried that Chrissy might be killed snooping around, so I am glad that she not only got out fine but got Lois some important information.

So is Edge using people as hosts for the souls of dead Kryptonians? To raise a Kryptonian zombie army with human bodies and Kryptonian ghosts? That's certainly one heck of a bad guy plan if it is. We shall see

I am also really amused by Lex Luthor driving around in his RV, even if its a really tricked out one. No wonder this Lex knows Sam Lane so well, he was apparently married to his Earths Lois.

Grade: A-

[Tim]

Edge is creating his own versions of this chap?

[adzpower]

I enjoyed the episode.

I actually found myself feeling a bit bad for Kyle - I thought Lana overreacted when he came back drunk, his friend was critically injured and may not make it, I think we can let the guy unwind with a few beers surely?

Poor Jonathan, figured that's where they'd take it. I was impressed at how mature Jordan was when he accidentally ruined his and Sarah's date - character development!

So Luthor was married to his version of Lois, makes sense, they could take this in several directions. There are several earths where Lex married Lois, as already mentioned like on Earth-3 though that version of Lex had Shazam's powers and this one appears to be powerless. There is also Earth-30 in which the Red Son story took place where they were married. But I doubt they will go there since that story featured a Russian superman.

The thing is I doubt our Lois will feel much sympathy for him, as soon as she finds out he is Lex Luthor she'll dismiss him as she should since he has spent the last few weeks trying to kill her husband

[Tim]

Like to see the two Luthor's meet.  How cool would that be.