Superman & Lois (2021) s01e15 – Last Sons of Krypton

Since I never got comfortable recommending the show, it’s fitting “Superman and Lois: Season One” finish on something of a fail. It’s not terrible. I don’t think it’s the worst episode, but it’s definitely in the bottom three. Not because there’s anything particularly wrong with it; there’s just nothing particularly right with it.

It’s a paint-by-the-numbers conclusion to all the unresolved plot threads, dispassionately directed by Tom Cavanagh. Cavanagh stars on “The Flash,” which must take place on another Earth for sure since none of the superheroes are helping with the end of the world as we know it. So his directing is like a vanity thing? Because it’s not because he’s got some intense connection with the material (the show has that director in its pool with producer Gregory Smith) or because Cavanagh’s good at full episodes. Once the middling action resolves, the episode’s a more and more tedious series of epilogues for each character.

There’s nothing good in any of said epilogues. Like, there’s no actual resolution for Alex Garfin and Inde Navarrette. We don’t see them reuniting when she thinks he is dead. Instead, they’re just hanging out at her parents’ latest barbecue, where everyone goes to have a good time. Narratively it’d make so much more sense to have it on the Kent farm, but why bother. Credited to Brent Fletcher and Todd Helbing, the script is just as unambitious as Cavanagh’s direction.

The episode ends with a big surprise for season two, but it’s predictable and not just because it’s the same season finale surprise as “Supergirl”’s first season ended with. Given how understaffed the episode appears to be, they could’ve used a surprise guest star or two. Over-stuffed but empty describes the episode overall, which is a bummer since the season had otherwise been doing a good conclusion arc. They just didn’t have an ending. Or not enough of one.

Especially for poor season villain Adam Rayner, whose most memorable scene where he’s got a medium shot and probably isn’t a CGI model is him doing jazz hands. “Superman and Lois” entirely copped out on a good villain. The less said about A.C. Peterson, the better. He’s easily the worst casting of the series, and they’ve had some iffy moves.

None of the special effects sequences are very good. The energy plasma stuff is fine. But they cheap out in other places, like having all the bad guys this episode be nameless, brainwashed, super-powered soldiers in full uniform, including helmets. Seems cheap.

I also just realized, given the setup for next season, they wasted at least one of the epilogues in the episode and instead could’ve wrapped it all up together. Or maybe just plotted it differently. With a good script and good direction, there are a couple episodes worth of plot points here.

With this script, with this direction, they went on about five minutes too long. Especially since there’s no pay-off at all for the regular cast.

Some better music than usual from Dan Romer. Not with the action stuff, but in the epilogues and only because he plays with the themes. Hoechlin gets two big monologues, and neither of them land because they’re so poorly contextualized.

The episode seems intentionally neutered. Creatively speaking, the only reason seems to be that they had Cavanagh directing and knew he couldn’t do anything else. It’s disappointing as heck, especially since I thought it’d be a banger.

This episode is very much not a banger.

It is a bummer. And it shouldn’t be one.

Superman & Lois (2021) s01e14 – The Eradicator

This episode picks up three weeks after last episode’s hard cliffhanger, which had Adam Rayner escaping the Army and zooming off to the sun to suck in its energies. He’s still at it three weeks later. Apparently, it takes a while to charge a Kryptonian flesh battery. We also hear all the voices stuck in his head because he assimilated the Eradicator device (becoming The Eradicator, sans bitchin’ sunglasses). The voices aren’t great. The sun-sucking effects are surprisingly good. But the voices… I mean, I hope it’s the crew of “Superman and Lois” doing the recordings just so there’s an excuse for them being terrible. Without a cute story, however, they’re just awful.

The three-week jump is only important because it’s enough time for Smallville to start going under. Four businesses have closed. You think construction on your street is bad, wait until Dylan Walsh moves the Army in and encamps. The episode starts with Walsh pissed off the local newspaper is calling him on his shit, but it’s too little, too late from newspaper publisher Sofia Hasmik, who’s going to have to sell the paper anyway.

Three weeks is also enough time for Emmanuelle Chriqui and Erik Valdez to have given up on trying to stay in Smallville. Even though Tyler Hoechlin tries to talk Chriqui out of it and Victoria Katongo appeals to Valdez, it seems set. It’s important because Inde Navarrette doesn’t want to move away from Alex Garfin. The show’s really lost track of their character relationship; it doesn’t help Garfin’s kind of bad this episode, but there was an effectiveness to their bond the show’s lost. But seems to know it shouldn’t have.

There’s also the interesting detail Valdez was the only person at the Smallville Fire Department who wasn’t either sexist or racist to Black woman Katongo when she started, which might not be the message to send about this town we’re supposed to care about. Even though everyone’s basically a shit. Though not Kayla Heller, it turns out. She explains to Jordan Elsass she’s really from Central City and the daughter of a convict (so “The Flash” meets Spider-Man: Homecoming maybe?), so they moved to Smallville to get away from it all.

At least Elsass is good. Especially given he and Garfin go to an ill-advised house party, just as Rayner’s ready to invade Earth or whatever.

Hoechlin and Wolé Parks fight Rayner in (Chicago) Metropolis. It’s a good action sequence, with Chicago used for most skyline shots, then clearly Vancouver for the close-ups, and has some tense moments. It takes Elizabeth Tulloch to figure out Rayner’s evil plan for the good guys. Hoechlin and Parks rely too much on punching. And also on Walsh, who has no idea what’s going on either and just postures. But some good scenes for Walsh this episode. It takes him out of his element.

And then the cliffhanger’s great.

Oh, and Hoechlin and Tulloch get this great “parents’ worst nightmare” scene. It’s screwy because of Hoechlin’s Superman muscle suit, but the emotions come through.

Next episode’s season finale ought to be a banger.

Superman & Lois (2021) s01e13 – Fail Safe

There’s some good, bad, and weird this episode. Mostly good and weird. The bad—besides A.C. Peterson ever-wanting Emperor Palpatine and then Eric Keenleyside’s similarly weak performance as the conniving Smallville mayor—is when all the adults of color are mean to Erik Valdez. Valdez and Emmanuelle Chriqui are feeling the fallout from Valdez cheerleading literal supervillain Adam Rayner building a factory. They run into Valdez’s fire fighting crew at the diner, and they’re all super shitty to Valdez, and it’s hard not to see the literal racial optics of it.

Also, the “Superman and Lois” drinking game is how many times Valdez says, “y’all.” I think you’d finish a fifth every scene.

But there’s some more of my imagined Valdez backstory after Inde Navarrette tells Alex Garfin—before they get harassed by the cops, so it’s good to know ACAB works in Smallville too. Navarrette tells Garfin the family’s originally from Mexico, but they’ve been in Smallville for generations, which syncs with my theory Valdez’s dad was some shitty white guy, and his mom was a quietly suffering Hispanic lady.

Anyway.

Navarrette and Garfin are skipping school because Navarrette’s sick of people talking shit about her family. Garfin’s along because they’re de facto dating at this point. Meanwhile, Jordan Elsass is skipping school with junior Kayla Heller, who all of a sudden is showing interest. Of course, everyone at school knows Garfin and Elsass’s grandfather is Dylan Walsh now, and since Walsh is the general encamped in the town… people want the story.

As does newspaper editor Sofia Hasmik, who finds herself disappointed in Elizabeth Tulloch’s journalistic ethics. Tulloch’s not giving Hasmik the whole story about how Tyler Hoechlin’s Superman and Clark Kent and villain Rayner is his half-Kryptonian brother. The Hasmik and Tulloch arc is necessary but sort of weak, at least as far as giving Hasmik anything to do. Another weird thing—she doesn’t have a computer on her desk. Hasmik. The editor of the newspaper.

Meanwhile, Hoechlin’s arguing with Walsh and Walsh’s stockpile of Kryptonite weapons. Wolé Parks is still around, too, figuring into some of the conversations. He and Hoechlin have the single superhero action sequence of the episode. But there’s some more super-powers stuff because Rayner’s sitting around in his cell and flashing back to his secret mission and Peterson being mean to him.

Plus, Valdez and Chriqui have a whole arc about being ostracized in their community.

It’s a full episode. It’s not exactly soapy because it’s a decompression from action episode. The dust has settled, and everyone’s getting their bearings. But not really because the season’s not over, and there’s more super-powered danger on the way.

The episode also reveals how much it’s leaning in on the nineties Superman comics, retroactively making Rayner’s villain costume a little more fitting.

Finally, I’m pretty sure they confirm Melissa Benoist and “Supergirl” don’t exist in this universe, meaning when David Ramsey guest-starred a couple episodes ago… it’s an alternate universe version.

Oh, and now finally, finally—in addition to the nineties Superman comics nods, there’s also some very Superman IV moments. And the promise of another one. But it works. I’m still not sure how much I’d recommend “Superman and Lois,” but I’m reasonably hooked.

Superman & Lois (2021) s01e12 – Through the Valley of Death

This episode has several things going on, like Wolé Parks delivering (compared to before) when the story requires it, Emmanuelle Chriqui having a great mom scene (shedding any memory of her lackluster performance a couple episodes ago), one low-key but big twist, what sounds like Man of Steel music cues (but for Super-sons Jordan Elsass and Alex Garfin), and a cameo from David Ramsey to tie the show into the Arrowverse. But it’s also an exceptionally efficient resolution to last episode’s cliffhanger.

While Adam Rayner and his shitty hologram dad A.C. Peterson try to make sure Tyler Hoechlin turns evil, the good guys are all trying to figure out a way to rescue Superman. Except for Parks, who’s planning to kill him no matter what anyone says. And his arguments are starting to work on Dylan Walsh, seemingly because Ramsey is on Elizabeth Tulloch’s “find a non-lethal solution” side. Ramsey actually has a bit to do in his cameo (including name-dropping “Oliver” and making broad illusions to the other superheroes Walsh apparently isn’t calling for help), and he’s good. It’s a little weird because it’s a superhero-free universe besides Hoechlin so far, but they get past it fast, thanks to all the drama.

In the meantime, Erik Valdez is recovering from being taken over by an evil Kryptonian hell-bent on planetary decimation. But more he’s upset because everyone in Smallville is blaming him for inviting Rayner to invest in the town and turn everyone in supervillains. Chriqui and Inde Navarrette try to convince him not to overreact and macho his way through it, leading to a good juxtaposition with Tulloch, Elsass, and Garfin’s story.

Most of the episode is pretty talky—Ramsey’s not in the episode in an action capacity—but the resolution finale, which they only really needed to put off another five or ten minutes to push to next episode, is some very solid Superman action. Director Alexandra La Roche does well with it, juggling multiple opponents and even some space-fighting.

Speaking of the space-fighting, Parks also breaks down how he got to this show’s Earth from his Superman-destroyed one, and it’s unclear why it doesn’t have more narrative weight. Like, bopping between Earths accidentally is a very comic book thing to do, given the episode’s grandiosity—not in a bad way outside some recycled flashback footage for Hoechlin to imagine when he’s getting brainwashed—it seems like there’d be more to it. Maybe they’re waiting.

Especially since the episode opens with actual character development for Parks—and his obnoxious A.I. assistant (Daisy Tormé).

And the episode even avoids an emotional impact-reducing cliffhanger. I wasn’t exactly worried, but it also wouldn’t be a surprise given there are only three episodes left to the season.

Superman & Lois (2021) s01e11 – A Brief Reminiscence In-Between Cataclysmic Events

So, A Brief Reminiscence In-Between Cataclysmic Events confirms a question I didn’t realize I had—who’s the perfect director for a Superman movie? Small Soldier turned “Everwood” star turned TV director Gregory Smith. This episode’s chock full of Superman: The Movie references, most of which fail earnestly, and then some genuinely excellent Lois and Clark stuff for Elizabeth Tulloch and Tyler Hoechlin. I’m sure it wasn’t the intent of the flashback episode, but it really does show how they could’ve made a damn good “Superman” show.

Flashbacks also mean there are weird dodges to preserve some sense of continuity between “Superman and Lois” and the Arrowverse, like Jimmy Olsen getting a mention but not appearing because Mehcad Brooks? Then there’s a scene where young Adam Rayner, played by Ben Cockell (who’s impressively terrible but just doing a pissy evil British white kid, so it’s fine), asks hologram dad A.C. Peterson about other Kryptonians sent to Earth. Peterson starts his torture training immediately, skipping having to say there’s just Hoechlin, but also maybe “Supergirl” Melissa Benoist or her evil Kryptonian counterpart Odette Annable. Rayner’s Fortress of Evil Solitude is in a desert, too, just like Annable’s. Strangely, they don’t seem to be recycling the CGI models—the Fortresses are jank compared to “Supergirl”—it’s just part of the “Superman Family” show bible. A little bit of The Movie, a little bit Man of Steel, a little bit “Supergirl.”

Peterson’s also terrible, but he’s like doing a lousy Ian McDiarmid impression, so it’s kind of funny.

Rayner’s actually better as the all-out megalomaniac Kryptonian villain than I was expecting. It’s not particularly good or special, but he’s pretty dang effective.

The episode’s split into extended flashback, then resolution to last episode’s cliffhanger, then some Smallville stuff, finally another cliffhanger. A terrific cliffhanger. “Superman and Lois” probably binges well.

The flashback also reveals, unfortunately, Michele Scarabelli isn’t very good opposite Hoechlin and Tulloch. Scarabelli was good in her last flashback episode, but it was a younger version of Hoechlin. The problem’s mostly she and Hoechlin lack chemistry.

There are some good moments for Jordan Elsass and Inde Navarrette too. Not great moments, mainly because it’s rushed. The episode races through the resolution to Smallville’s brainwashed supervillains to get to the next cliffhanger; there’s some good character development for Erik Valdez, as he’s one of the recovering. Not the best acting Valdez has ever done (and needs to be), and the script—credited to Brent Fletcher—doesn’t go far enough, but it’s narratively responsible.

But, yeah, give Gregory Smith a Superman movie.

Superman & Lois (2021) s01e10 – O Mother, Where Art Thou?

Turns out when “Superman and Lois” wants to do a fairly straightforward “Superman” episode, they can do it. Like it balances out well, even if Elizabeth Tulloch gets shockingly little to do but stand around in a show where her character’s name is in the title. And there are some performance problems, but it’s a solid action suspense episode.

The episode starts with a resolve to last episode’s two cliffhangers, beginning with season villain Adam Rayner dropping a truth bomb on Tyler Hoechlin. Everything Hoechlin always knew to be true was a lie—or at least a truth from a certain, lying point of view—and he spends the first ten or fifteen minutes recovering from it. There’s not a lot of time because eventually, they’re going to have to run Emmanuelle Chriqui through the Kryptonian brainwashing machine to stop Rayner.

Despite being relatively thrilling—it’s the end of the world as we know it, after all—Chriqui’s pretty terrible in her new part this episode. One of the things I’ve always liked about CW Arrowverse shows—outside “Arrow,” I suppose—is they clearly tested the actors with material not in the pilot. They really should’ve tested Chriqui with this plot development. She completely fumbles it. The new part—essentially an extended cameo—is difficult, sure, and underwritten (Adam Mallinger gets the script credit, which bungles a lot while still being effectively plotted)… but Chriqui’s bad in it.

And it’s an otherwise well-acted episode. Like, even Angus Macfadyen. Okay, maybe Macfadyen isn’t good, but he’s better than he’s ever been before, as he reveals his Jor-El is kind of… not super… smart? Like, if Macfadyen’s overcompensating, his performance makes a lot more sense. As well as Hoechlin being sort of mediocre at being Superman without Dylan Walsh around to tell him what to do.

A lot of the runtime is Inde Navarrette trying to figure out what’s going on with her parents, as mom Chriqui teams up with Hoechlin, Tulloch, and Walsh—since Rayner’s basically uncovered as the season villain now—and dad Erik Valdez has been possessed by an evil Kryptonian. Of course, no one was going to tell Navarrette until Jordan Elsass (fed up with adults lying and not learning from their mistakes) tells her the whole story. It’s a good arc for Elsass and eventually Navarrette, with Alex Garfin doing an all-right support job.

As for Rayner… I mean, given the way the plot’s going I guess he’s better post-big reveal. He’s still not really good, but it’s also a fairly bland character. It’d be nice if “Superman and Lois” had something up its sleeve besides recycled Man of Steel or “Supergirl” plots.

But still, pretty good “Superman” action episode. Pretty, pretty good.

Superman & Lois (2021) s01e09 – Loyal Subjekts

Right up until the second, harder cliffhanger—the first cliffhanger ought to be a hard one, but ends up being soft, which actually might end up being better given the characters involved—but right up until the finale, it’s a really effective episode with solid acting throughout. And a good explanation for why bad guy Adam Rayner is so fixated on Smallville, even though his insidious, ominous headquarters is clearly in some office park. Not quite LexCorp Towers, or whatever.

Heck, they may even explain—or start to explain—why Rayner’s okay with it.

But there’s also solid character drama for everyone in the episode. Tyler Hoechlin is recovering from experimental synthetic Kryptonite gas, making him more susceptible to damage than usual. It turns out he passed the “infection” on to super-son Alex Garfin. Lousy timing since Garfin needs to play piano at Inde Navarrette’s school recital; he stepped up when Navarrette’s dad, Erik Valdez, flaked out on helping her (again). So when Garfin gets too sick, Elizabeth Tulloch decides it’s time to cut dad Dylan Walsh (who made the Kryptonite gas to kill her husband if need be) out of her life, which really upsets both of them. Caught in the middle is Jordan Elsass, who’s recovering from a wounded teenage boy ego hit already, and having family drama really isn’t helping things.

Neither is Rayner deciding it’s time to move on to the next phase in his plan and deal with Tulloch. She’s been frustrated at not getting the dirt on Rayner’s evil plans, so she goes and curses him out in the office park, leading Rayner to suspect Emmanuelle Chriqui has been snooping for her.

Lots and lots of drama, eventually lots of suspense, and some decent Super-action from director Eric Dean Seaton. There’s still the muscle suit shoulders issue (though Hoechlin does a buff shirtless scene, so you wonder why they have the pads unless maybe his chest’s CGI), but the actual action stuff is cool.

Though the suit is too grey. They need to brighten up the super-suit.

The acting’s strong across the board, with only Hoechlin and Tulloch slow-burning to get there. As usual, it’s not entirely their fault. Tulloch gets a bunch of exposition dumps before some id broadcasting. Then Hoechlin’s, you know, stuck acting opposite Angus Macfadyen’s voice, and Macfayden’s performance can always drag a scene down. But they both get to good places. Elsass, Navarrette, Garfin, Walsh, Chriqui, and Valdez all do consistently good work, in that order. It’s almost like when Valdez isn’t implying his MAGA hat without wearing it, he does a good job.

Also, guest star Leeah Wong. She’s really effective as one of Rayner’s test subjects.

Rayner… well, he’s wanting. Very wanting. Maybe he’ll turn it around as the season enters the grand finale. Probably not, but maybe.

Superman & Lois (2021) s01e08 – Holding the Wrench

This episode starts like it’s going to be a “Lois Lane in therapy” episode—a la Aunt May and Ultimate Spider-Man, obviously—but it quickly turns out Elizabeth Tulloch’s entire arc is to support the boys. I think it technically passes Bechdel—the therapist is a woman, played by Wendy Crewson—and there’s one portion where they don’t mention boys, but they’re really talking about the boys. Whether it’s Tyler Hoechlin, Jordan Elsass, or Wolé Parks; this episode’s about Tulloch finding out her alternate universe history with Parks, complete with flashbacks to womanly traumas on both worlds.

It’s all somewhat manipulative and all moderately successful. The episode juxtaposes Parks’s interrogation with Tulloch and Elsass investigating his mystery RV. At the same time, Inda Navarrette has a typical high school kid subplot involving trying out for the musical while relying on unreliable dad Erik Valdez. Navarrette gives the best performance in the episode, followed by Dylan Walsh. This episode might be Walsh’s best overall performance. Everyone else runs hot and cold.

Worst is Parks, who’s got a concerning lack of chemistry with Tulloch—if they tested them together, whoever okayed it made a big mistake—but Tulloch and Elsass will both disappoint as things go along. Tulloch’s never able to make her past trauma subplot take-off (the dialogue’s just too generic), and Elsass never gets to do any character development. Things happen then he goes off-screen to deal with them, only coming back for the resolve moments. It’s not Norma Bailey’s direction’s fault either; the script, credited to Kristi Korzec, never delivers.

There’s some good action—Bailey gets to direct Hoechlin in a Kryptonian street fight—and some great humans in jeopardy moments, but for the big resolution to Parks’s subplot to this point… it’s a goofy finish. The show’s got the problem everyone in it could be the protagonist, so the show’s too unfocused.

It does end up having a reasonably nice subplot for Alex Garfin, who’s barely in it and nothing with the Super-Family, rather doing support for Navarrette. There are also some C plot machinations for Emmanuelle Chriqui.

Given the end result of the episode is getting Parks settled and Tulloch and Hoechlin informed, it’s actually a bridging episode, albeit a busy, cluttered one. It’s middling, but with some good moments. And the show’s aiming so high with the “Superman and Lois” family drama bit, even being mildly successful given all the soapiness is… fine.

Though it’d have been nice if Crewson were better. The show really needs to do better with its guest spots.

Superman & Lois (2021) s01e07 – Man of Steel

“Superman and Lois” has a toxic masculinity problem. Not a huge toxic masculinity problem, but enough of one, it affects creativity. Maybe it’s more a male stoicism problem because then we can wrap Alex Garfin’s super-hearing subplot into it. The primary toxic masculinity and male stoicism issues hamper the Wolé Parks storyline. But there’s enough leftover for Tyler Hoechlin. If only Dylan Walsh were around to at least embrace it. It’s actually a dude-heavy episode; pretty sure it fails Bechdel.

This episode’s big reveal is Parks’s mysterious backstory—complete with poorly acted, on the cheap flashbacks to a Kryptonian invasion of his Earth. There are answers for everything in the flashbacks, though the worst AI computer in the world figures in. Though Daisy Tormé’s voice acting of it is far better than the other voice-only performance this episode, Angus Macfadyen doing a Marlon Brando and telling Hoechlin how Garfin’s just going to have to man up and deal with the super-hearing. It’s the opening tag, with a quick trip to the literal hole in the wall Fortress of Solitude (remember how bitchin’ it was on “Supergirl”; anyway).

Hoechlin’s terrible in the scene too, but he makes up for it later. Currently, he’s the only grown man recognizing his errors and trying to correct them. There’s eventually some positive effort from Garfin and Jordan Elsass on that front as well. Garfin’s convinced Elsass is moving in on Inde Navarrette since Garfin’s out sick. The show doesn’t reveal whether or not his concern’s justified, concentrating on the invasion of privacy angle and Navarrette and Garfin being “just friends.” Meaning she’s open to becoming property or scenery to Elsass. It’s such a lousy subplot, not even Elsass can save it; it’s not entirely his fault, of course—David Ramsey’s direction is wanting, and the script, credited to Jai Jamison, is weak sauce.

But then we’ll discover Parks’s whole arc is a manly, righteous vengeance arc. He’s not just trying to save the world; he’s literally Charles Bronson from the Death Wish where the wife finally dies trying to save the world. It really would’ve helped if the flashbacks to Parks’s Earth were better. Or if Elizabeth Tulloch and Parks had any chemistry. She’s his alternate Earth wife or was before Superman cuts her in half with heat vision. “Superman and Lois” doesn’t do the Injustice or even Zack Snyder bit with Superman going bad because something happens to Lois; maybe he’s just bad because he didn’t get the girl. Big sigh.

There’s a decent fight scene with an effective conclusion and the possibility Hoechlin’s Superman shrivels under Kryptonite, which is kind of cool. Unfortunately, it’s more likely the still troubled muscle suit just doesn’t bend well. One can hope, however.

Emmanuelle Chriqui has an all-right subplot discovering Adam Rayner is a manipulative shit. Navarrette’s never not reduced to “the girl.”

There are some other universe details, like Tulloch and Hoechlin being aware of the multiverse—presumably post-Crisis—and lots of Lex Luthor talk. It’s all a distraction, though, meant to gin up interest in Parks when it ought to be Parks who makes the character interesting. But not with the script or, at least so far, the performance.

It’s also a bummer since last episode was so strong, and this one’s not at all.

Superman & Lois (2021) s01e06 – Broken Trust

A couple significant “Superman and Lois” details this episode. First, Metropolis seems to be in the Midwest. Smallville High School is in the same conference or whatever as Metropolis High School. Second, Tyler Hoechlin’s Superman might be as old as forty-eight; at least, if he spent eight years at the Fortress a la Superman: The Movie. The Midwest Metropolis thing is cooler. I’d love to see a U.S. map of the Arrowverse.

The episode itself is one of the strongest in the series so far, despite a few major problems. The first act is poorly written. It picks up at the football game, where Superboy Alex Garfin finds he can’t be super when he’s got a migraine, and his not-super twin Jordan Elsass gets to do some human-level (sports) heroics. Garfin’s got a whole arc about confronting his childhood bullies, but Elsass has actually got the meatier part. He’s up against his old team, including an ex-friend who poached his girlfriend, and he’s trying to control Garfin. Garfin’s migraines lead to uncontrollable heat vision, something he doesn’t want to tell Hoechlin. Lots of conflict for Elsass.

He’s giving the consistently best performance on the show. A few other actors do really well this episode; Hoechlin, Inde Navarrette, Emmanuelle Chriqui, guest star Wern Lee. Unfortunately, not Garfin. Some of his problems are script-related (Katie Aldrin gets the credit), but mostly not. He just doesn’t seem to have a handle on the part yet, and it’s getting late. They’re six episodes in. So everyone else—Elsass, Hoechlin, Navarrette, Elizabeth Tulloch—has to hold up his scenes.

So Garfin’s one of the hurdles. Ditto Sudz Sutherland’s direction, which is a combination of dull, repetitive, and off. Sutherland always uses the same over-the-shoulder shots, and they’re always poorly framed. And always in the same way. It’s initially really annoying, but once they become predictable, the episode can work past them. Especially since there’s lots of drama and lots of Superman action. Sutherland does all right with the Superman action, but mainly because the situations are so good.

There’s also a series-best performance from Wolé Parks, who has a subplot with Tulloch. It’s pretty good, though she’s not really active enough. Just like Garfin, she’s a little undefined. Unlike Garfin, Tulloch can cover.

Dylan Walsh is bad. He may turn it around, but he’s not doing a good job. This episode has him and Hoechlin bucking heads—Superman being a U.S. military asset is one of the show’s most exciting turns—and Hoechlin handily walks away with the scenes. He’s still got a bad muscle suit, but he’s getting very confident in the part.

Even if he doesn’t look forty-eight.

The show’s getting really, really close. I’m almost to the point of recommending it (with the usual non-“Legends” Arrowverse caveats).