Superman and Lois are starting to settle into their new lives in Smallville, but the twins are having a harder time in “The Perks of Not Being a Wallflower.” Lois knows that Morgan Edge is up to no good in Smallville, but I’m sure she doesn’t understand how deep the story goes. Jonathan and Jordan try to fit in at their new high school, but with Jordan’s powers, how can he try to be a normal teenager?
Clark and Lois are trying to make the Kent family home theirs by painting the living room. They’re having some good old fashioned family fun, until Clark hears a bridge collapsing in China. He rushes out, to which Lois just shrugs and says that there’s no use hiding that anymore. What a burden it must be for Superman to be able to hear all of the pain and destruction in the world. At dinner, Clark explains how he can hear all the sounds of the world, but his boys only wonder what the most embarrassing thing is that he’s overheard.
The super hearing isn’t all fun and games, when Clark listens in on his sons at school. He hears Jordan being bullied. Jonathan was trying to calm him down, but it wasn’t working. Jordan’s eyes were even starting to turn red. So what was Jor-El saying about having dormant powers again? Clark is worried and rushes to the school. Now, the boys know that he has been listening in. While I understand Clark’s concern, there has to be a better way. Lois reminds Clark that this almost cost him their relationship as well, which is why Lois now has an alarm/panic button to use when she needs Superman. Clark makes the same promise to his sons and gives Jordan his own alarm in case he needs some intervention.
Jordan has a different idea of how to deal with the bullies. He joins the football team. Jonathan is concerned and with good reason. Jordan doesn’t really understand his powers, but somehow the boy is strong. He may not be as strong as Superman, but he has no promise tossing around his new teammates. The coach is thrilled, but Clark and Lois are furious when they find out. I think the scariest part of Jordan playing football is that he doesn’t know how to control whatever powers he does possess. But, Jonathan notices a big change in his brother. Jordan is making friends and is happy for the first time in a long time. He advocates for his brother to stay on the team. Clark finally agrees to let them both play, but there’s one catch; Clark joins as an unpaid assistant coach. His first job is to handle the water jug, and watching Clark “struggle” with the jug was so perfect. This was just another example of why Tyler Hoechlin does so well portraying both Clark Kent and Superman.
Ironically, Lois seems to be doing very well settling into Smallville, now that she has a story to chase. She’s trying to figure out what happened to New Carthage after Morgan Edge attempted to “help” the town. She finally got a response from Sharon Powell, whose son has been missing ever since working in one of the mines. After that confrontation, Lois’ car was set on fire, which only causes Lois to dig deeper.
When Lois tries to talk to Sharon Powell again, a man had broken into her motel room. Lois pulls out her handy panic button. I swear she smirks as she presses it. It couldn’t have been a millisecond before Superman comes busting through the walls. Now that was a scene worth watching over again! Superman took down the bad guy (using his ice breath and a super punch), but the guy was strong… almost as strong as Superman. Who is this guy, and how does he have these powers?
While we didn’t get to see Luthor again, these new villains have piqued my interest. After the man let Sharon Powell live, a woman was sent to “take care of him.” She had heat vision, just like Superman. Is this Morgan Edge’s doing? If so, how can he seemingly harness Superman’s abilities? And do these new foes have any vulnerabilities? So far, Superman & Lois’ freshman season seems to be heading in some interesting directions, and I can’t wait for more.
