In this episode Henry is joined by longtime friend and teen educator Daniel Warshawsky to talk about how mental health, and teen anxiety is being portrayed on Superman & Lois.

SHOW NOTES:
Episode 2, “Heritage” written by Todd Helbing, Directed by Lee Toland Krieger

“While adjusting to their new lives in Smallville, Lois and Clark make an important decision concerning one of their sons; tensions begin to rise between Lois and Morgan Edge; Lana Lang Cushing invites the Kent family over for a barbecue.Jonathan has his first day on the Smallville football team but discovers that the other players aren't thrilled to have him. Clark takes Jordan to the Fortress of Solitude to study his son's newfound powers, and Lois is on the trail about Smallville's supposed benefactor, Morgan Edge.”

We’re not going to talk about everything that happened in the episode but let’s talk about the theme for a bit. As I mentioned in our first episode the Superman theme is important to me. First of all, there really was just a snippet of it in the opening scene.

The new theme:
I didn’t love it. I thought it fit the tone of the show. It was slow, contemplative, and fit the slowed down lifestyle that the Kents have now. But it didn’t get me excited. It didn’t pop, it didn’t soar, it didn’t say “Superman.” Reminded me of the MoS theme which, in my opinion never really went anywhere.

Overall:

I really loved it. I had the same goofy grin on my face that I had last week. There was no cheesiness, nothing cringy. There was high quality acting, solid writing, and a compelling story.

The Production:
The high level of production value continued. This episode felt just as cinematic. The scenes on the farm were gorgeous, Lois walking into the town hall felt important and Superman’s action scenes were exciting. The tone continues to feel different from the other CW shows. I actually watched The Flash right after, and while I did enjoy it it did feel sillier than usual.

The fortress:
The look of the fortress was great. Felt familiar but wasn’t a retread of previous versions. Definitely an upgrade from the Fortress in Crisis last year.

Jor-El:
Forgive me but I don’t want to see a Jor-El that’s in worse shape than me. He also looked NOTHING like Tyler Hoechlin. If you’re going to do an homage or style similar to Superman The Movie, then go all the way. He just was boring and lame.

Lois Lane:
This was Lois’ episode to shine, and boy did she ever. Having her frame the episode with a voice over was perfect because you could imagine that she was writing this somewhere. Maybe in a journal, maybe in an article but it felt real. “You don’t go to the news, the news goes to you”
The way Bitsie moved through the episode as intrepid reporter, loyal partner and super-mom was beautiful. I squealed with delight when she walked into town hall and when she walked into the Smallville Gazette I exclaimed out loud, “OHHHH SHIT!”

Sam Lane:
In the comics, specifically from 1986 and on, Sam is adversarial to both Clark and Superman. Doesn’t think Clark is tough enough to marry his daughter, and doesn’t like how potentially dangerous Superman is and therefore doesn’t trust him. I like this twist where he’s Superman’s support network but still questions Clark as a husband and as a dad.

Clark:
Clark is still struggling as a dad and even when he has a small victory with Jordan. The up and down experience of parenting, specifically teens, is very real. Let’s talk a bit about this with Daniel.