Wednesday, February 24, 2021

My Review of Superman And Lois 1x01: "Pilot"

 


Written by Todd Helbing And Greg Berlanti
Directed by Lee Toland Krieger

Clark (re Martha): "I think she felt this family needs Smallville."
Lois: "As much as the world needs Superman?"
Clark: "I know it would be a huge change."
Lois: "Yeah, it would but I think she was right."

You wait a while for another Superman series and after years of his cousin flying the cape for the CW, it's time for the most famous Kryptonian to make his television return and with this pilot episode alone, it really does prove that the world will always need Superman.

I know DC shows on the CW can be divisive for some but the good will that the trailers for this show has generated over the last two months are definitely justified. This is an impressive pilot episode, feeling somewhat more mature for a Superman show while at the same time also feeling familiar enough too.

Tyler Hoechlin and Elizabeth Tulloch are equal partners as both Superman and Lois and both of them are given the right opportunities to shine here. You buy their partnership immediately and this episode filled in the gaps to their first meeting, marriage and parenthood with ease as they face a lot of adult problems in this 63 minute premiere.

One problem being their fourteen year old twin boys Jonathan (Jordan Elsass) and Jordan (Alex Garfin). Both kids are tonally different to each other - the jock and the loner with mental health issues and within this pilot we see Clark struggle with Jordan as it's revealed surprisingly fast that he's the one with actual powers as well as a budding love interest in Sarah Cushing (Inde Navarette).

I'm not surprised that Jordan turned out to be the one with powers or that both boys didn't initially take it well when they learned that their father is Superman but the characters along with Sarah do make up the teen quotient for the CW and I thought all three came across well enough. 

As for the bigger threats - relocating to Smallville to save the farm following Martha's death might be what Clark intends to do but it's clear that Lois has her own arc that will likely involve Lana Cushing-Lang (Emmanuelle Chriqui) bank that now seems to be owned by Morgan Edge (Adam Rayner) who clearly has been set up to be an ongoing problem for Lois and Clark going forward.

This episode didn't actually feature Edge but he's mentioned a lot and he's responsible for the Daily Planet being gutted and Clark losing his job. However with Lois quickly agreeing to relocate to Smallville, it's unlikely she'll be remaining in the Daily Planet much longer either.

However the main villain of this opening episode and one who took delight in testing Superman's abilities was of course called The Stranger (Wole Parks). If you've already been spoiled, you'll know who he really is and if you paid the attention before the reveal, then it being Lex Luthor from a different Earth won't be a shocker.  You can't have a Superman show without Lex Luthor and we've got one from a different Earth. This is gonna be fun.

- The opening flashbacks were stunning, even Clark's first Superman suit as well as the neat ways they managed to get Donner, Siegel and Shuster on a notice board.
- Other characters we met that are of  importance are Lana's firefighter husband, Kyle (Erik Valdez) and Lois's father General Sam Lane (Dylan Walsh). The latter seemed to have more cordial relationship with Superman than he did with Supergirl during the latter's first season.
- Some of the darker stuff in this episode was mostly real life, such as Sarah telling Jordan about the horrors of her father's job. It sort of offers clarity for his abrasive behaviour around Lois and Clark.
- Chronology: Let's assume it's 2021 for now.

Superman And Lois takes all the bits from previous iterations and does something wonderfully new with it. This feels more grown up but still capturing the wonders of the character and his world. There's no denying that the CW have stuck gold with this series. Watch it soar.

Rating: 9 out of 10

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