Ricky Church reviews the fifth episode of Superman & Lois season 3…
What an episode of Superman & Lois! ‘Head On’ had it all: emotional moments, great character dynamics and evolution, intriguing insight and an especially terrific action scene. This season has so far been firing on all cylinders and ‘Head On’ is the best example of how it is doing so while raising the tension and stakes in surprising ways.
First off, kudos to Tyler Hoechlin, Elizabeth Tulloch and guest stars Allegra Fulton and Daya Vaidya for their terrific performances with heavy material. Lois’ cancer storyline is one many people can relate to, whether they’ve had cancer themselves or watched a family member suffer from it. From Tulloch’s determination as Lois not to let her diagnosis and treatment get in the way of either her job or family to Hoechlin’s desire as Clark to be respectful of Lois’ boundaries but still look out for her health and best interests even if she doesn’t want to hear it, the duo continue to have such great chemistry.
A lot of praise should be heaped on Fulton and Vaidya though as the two cancer patients who sat with Clark. They both conveyed the pain, despair and even acceptance cancer can bring, particularly when Vaidya described ‘the pull’ to give into it and stop fighting. It was a very emotional, provoking and insightful sequence that both helped Clark realize how he could help Lois as well as offer some understanding to real-life cancer patients and family. Superman & Lois is not treating this storyline lightly despite it being set in the midst of this superhero danger and that is greatly appreciated and all the more meaningful.
On the super side of the episode, Lois’ obsessive drive to investigate Mannheim actually had her come face-to-face in a surprise interaction. We learnt a little of Mannheim’s backstory in his previous meetings with Superman and John Henry, but those were nothing compared to the insight into his history and character his conversation with Lois revealed. We know and have seen the awful things Mannheim has done, but he still comes across as a man who genuinely wants to look after his people and correct the injustices done to their neighbourhood after the death of his mother. Chad L. Coleman is giving a very layered performance as Mannheim, one where he is not evil for the sake of being evil or to become more powerful – at least not strictly for himself as his stated goals are to strengthen his community by any means necessary.
It culminated in one of the best fights Superman & Lois has delivered yet as the Man of Steel fought Deadline, a villain who could phase in and out of his physical state. The fight was pretty brutal by the show’s standards with Deadline deftly phasing out of every punch Superman could throw and repeatedly stabbing him with Kryptonite in some very gory slashes. The sequence was intense and the choreography was well done, especially in how it forced Superman to use his brain rather than brawn to defeat him. Of course, though, the biggest surprise ‘Head On’ delivered was Mannheim’s theft of Bizarro’s body to further his experiments with Superman’s blood. That is quite a jaw dropping and unexpected cliffhanger, one that raises the season’s stakes even more than they were before.
Outside of the drama of Lois’ cancer and the action, the subplots held up fairly well with the character driven nature of the episode as Kyle and Chrissy got to know each other more, Sarah reconnected with an old friend and Natalie’s crush tracked her down in time for their school dance. The teen drama wasn’t exactly cliché as Junior, the former mayor’s son, was somewhat in the right to call Lana out on how she was treating – or ignoring – his father’s memory even if his anger was misplaced. It was nice to see his anger resolved quickly as he admitted to Sarah he shouldn’t have blown up at them like that and it also seems like it’s possible set up for a new romance for Sarah now that her and Jordan are officially over for the time being.
Where some of the teen stories did feel cliché were with how quickly Natalie and Matteo were expressing strong feelings for each other and the drama of Johnathan and Candice’s upcoming long distance relationship, including his struggle to volunteer for Kyle’s fire department or see her on the weekends. While those elements did follow the traditional tropes for said storylines, the performances from the cast conveyed their emotions well and are likely relatable for younger viewers.
‘Head On’ was an outstanding episode of Superman & Lois for how well it balanced its drama, characters and overall plot with a deeply impactful storyline for Lois and Clark. Hoechlin and Tulloch were fantastic, capturing the pain, fear and understanding they faced while the other subplots propped up the emphasis on the character development for the cast. The Deadline fight was fantastic and the stunning cliffhanger showed there’s a lot more to look forward to as the threat of Mannheim’s plan has grown to a level Superman and the others can’t afford to ignore or tiptoe around anymore.
Rating: 9/10
Ricky Church – Follow me on Twitter for more movie news and nerd talk.
