REVIEW: Superman & Lois S3 Ep 7: Forever And Always
What anyone could want in Superman & Lois S3 Ep 7 is simply more Superman. “Forever and Always” watches like a Smallville episode in that regard. The last two slower-paced episodes set up a lot at stake for these characters.
Superman & Lois S3 Ep 7, “Forever And Always” sees Clark being tested while Lois’ treatment story continues to be the most compelling drama that this episode has to offer. Meanwhile, small but personal developments are made in the Mannheim case. Depending on how you take your CW drama and soap operas, this episode may feel longer than it is.
Tyler Hoechlin shines as Clark Kent throughout the episode. The whole Kent family have their moments as Lois (Elizabeth Tulloch) continues her treatment at Hob’s Bay. The episode opens with an instant confrontation when Clark finds Jon (Michael Bishop) and Jordan (Alex Garfin) at the Fortress of Solitude to see if Kryptonian technology can take on her disease better than what Earth has to offer. While their father’s hope and optimism are stubborn, the boys soon find out that their mother may be planning for the worst-case scenario. This is a big breakthrough for them because up until this episode, they have been rather silent about how they’re handling this crisis.
More after-school special drama abounds with the Lang’s and Chrissy (Sofia Hasmik). By now, her and Kyle’s (Erik Valdez) fling is no mystery and Sarah (Inde Navarrette) is understandably standoffish with her on a day the three were supposed to hang out. Lana (Emmanuelle Chriqui), meanwhile, has her hands full with John Henry (Wole Parks), as Natalie (Tayler Buck) brings her classmate Matteo (Spence Moore II) home for a date. Compared to the more serious themes like illness in the family or divorced parents dating again, it’s nice and wholesome to see something as worldly as a father being hesitant about who his daughter sees. Especially with Natalie as she was quite closed off in the previous seasons and has come a long way as a person in addition to a hero.
The most that the episode has going for it as a comic book show is the revelations regarding Mannheim and who he’s treating spinning out of the previous episode. Lois’ new friend at treatment, Peia (Daya Vaidya) is at the center of it. From the day Lois met her, she thought that she knew something about Mannheim (Chad L. Coleman) and his reasons for buying and investing in treatments at Hob’s Bay. However, no fighting or big villain confrontation begets the spat they have in this episode. We’re treated to a more human side of Mannheim as he gives a genuine reason and motivation for what appears to be nefarious schemes. For some viewers, this can really sell. But for others, given the events and what Mannheim has really been up to, it just seems like really good alibis. That’s how you craft a good antagonist when you can actually debate claims of innocence.
The emotional high point is when Jon and Jordan confront their parents. As significant as Lois’ illness has been, it has brought out some of Clark and Lois’ most endearing traits and exaggerated them for better or even worst. For example, Clark’s overbearing hope and refusal to accept the worst-case scenario as long as they still have fight in them and Lois’ reporter-like urge to find out everything she can about everything and everyone around her even if it gets her in danger.
That’s pretty much all the significance of this episode since there is no action or fight scenes that escalate whatever machinations that Intergang really has been up to this whole time. Other good scenes include Clark’s interview with Mannheim as it’s been a while since we’ve seen this Clark in journalistic action. For us fans that dig journo Clark, that’s a huge win. As for villains that have appeared like Onomatopoeia, all has been revealed about their identity and stake in this battle. Like Bizarro from the last season, we have a great instance of a tragic monster treatment of a comic book villain known for their black-and-white evilness. Going into the season, there was no expectation that the CW was going to portray Onomatopoeia like how original creator Kevin Smith did. So, the change and treatment is a welcome and fit right in with the CW’s dramatic storytelling.
What anyone could want in Superman & Lois S3 Ep 7 is simply more Superman. “Forever and Always” watches like a Smallville episode in that regard. The last two slower-paced episodes set up a lot at stake for these characters. A new certain character teaser that has been released also suggests that the whole show is about to be shaken up. In the meantime, it’s alright to fall back on drama-centric stories the CW is known for. But, we comic fans can only take so much more while we get our fix.
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