Ricky Church reviews the seventh episode of Superman & Lois season 2…
Events in Superman & Lois really came to a head in surprising ways by the conclusion of ‘Anti-Hero’ with the tension having risen for both Superman’s mission to save the world and on the Kent homefront. It was a pretty exciting episode from director Elizabeth Henstridge as Superman had to form a reluctant partnership and Lois struggled with the actions of her children, Jonathan in particular, in what became a nice balance of the superhero action and family drama the show has become known for.
It was great to see Adam Raynor return again as Tal-Rho in an entirely different setting to Superman’s previous visit. If you thought the two were reluctant partners before the show turned that dial up even more as Superman was locked in the same cell as Tal, forcing them into further conversation about their family history and finding a way to escape. Tyler Hoechlin and Raynor shared great chemistry with each other through their back-and-forth banter and Tal-Rho’s amusement at Superman’s predicament.
Their partnership was not all bitter reluctance though as the pair found some common ground to work together and bond a little more. It wasn’t surprising to see Superman save Tal’s life not once but twice, but Tal actually threw himself in the path of kryptonite bullets intended for Superman. The character development for Tal has been very good considering he’s only appeared in two episodes this season, but Raynor has done great portraying Tal’s loneliness and desire for a family as evidenced by his shock on hearing Bizarro and the bizarre version of Tal-Rho were great friends until Tal’s apparent wife betrayed him. It leaves some nice room for a potential redemption for Tal, especially as he genuinely apologized to Superman for attacking his son at their last meeting.
On the note of Bizarro, it is surprising he seemingly met his demise, though it is likely this isn’t the last we’ve seen him. Even still his death served as a big stepping stone into Anderson becoming the next major villain alongside Ally Allston. Ian Bohen has given a nice performance as Anderson over the last couple episodes as his anger and guilt over the death of his soldiers has taken more of a hold on him, preferring to blame Superman than his own failings. It was easy to see why he would go so far as to lock Superman up and torture Tal-Rho, though it wasn’t clear if he was going behind his superior’s back in his actions or just very much overstepped in his initial directions. The fight between him, Superman, Tal and Bizarro was tense with its choreography and camerawork while allowing viewers to see how dangerous and tactical Anderson is with his brutal takedown of Bizarro.
It also seemed a bit of a leap for Anderson at this stage to go immediately to Allston and offer both a partnership and the pendant she’s been looking for. That seemed like quite a leap for him to make already, but given his state of mind, resentment toward Superman and the massive amount of the ex-K he took, it’s not completely unbelievable why he would go to her but should have been given slightly more development before that choice was made.
Meanwhile on the Kent farm things took a much more personal turn as Jonathan’s usage of the ex-K was discovered by the school and Lois. Elizabeth Tulloch was once again fantastic as she expressed her anger and disappointment at Jonathan, reacting as any mother would. Jordan Elsass was similarly great as Jonathan in displaying how much Lois and especially Clark’s disappointment hit him. The one thing that could have been developed more is his relationship with Candace as it doesn’t feel quite as fleshed out or involved as Jordan and Sarah’s, making his decision to cover for her role in the ex-K sales feel a little premature. However, Jonathan’s feelings of not feeling as accomplished or special as the rest of his super-family have been built up well since the start of the season and now that he’s expelled and lost the respect of his parents and brother it does open up some interesting doors for both Jonanthan and Elsass to work with.
‘Anti-Hero’ was a pretty entertaining episode of Superman & Lois that offered some nice surprises and character development. Some aspects, such as Anderson turning to Ally or Jonathan’s relationship with Candace, could have been given more time to evolve so their choices would have had more impact, but it still worked to raise the stakes for everyone involved.
Rating: 8/10
Ricky Church – Follow me on Twitter for more movie news and nerd talk.
