Superman and Lois
Season 1 Premiere - Episode 1 - "Pilot"
Clark/SM: Eh. In the prologue, Heochlin was trying to hard to "Reeve it up" in the Daily Planet scenes.
Although Clark thinks he's a failure as a parent (initially), he can only do so much, which means there's no ultimate control over how your children will choose to act. Still, as a parent, its understandable that he feels he's failing his kids, or no longer relating to them (similar to Jefferson Pierce's concerns in the first season of Black Lightning). T
Lois: Tulloch never disappoints as Lois, and she sold balancing the professional and domestic sides of Lane. Being a mother, it was a no-brainer for her to see the possible benefits of living in an environment like that found in Smallville, which was refreshing, since so much of modern media has a hard-on for condemning anything other than American city life, particularly if those cities are on the coasts.
Jonathan / Jordan Kent: Sooo, Jordan has Social Anxiety Disorder....and according to tests at the Fortress, its unlikely he has inherited Kryptonian powers..until he does. I am glad that popular, athletic Jonathan was not written off as the cruel "jock" stereotype, and tries to bolster his brother's ego. Now that Jonathan realizes he lacks powers (so far), I'm crossing fingers a jealousy sub-plot is never dropped on this series.
Some might say Jordan was justified in being angry at Clark for never telling him the truth, but when the sons were children, it was not his secret to know for a very good reason; as a child, he would have never been able to comprehend any part of Clark's story (or his heritage), or they might have blurted out the secret in the way excited children are prone to do. Further, long before Clark and Lois had children, he "collected" endless enemies around the world (and some who were not so local), so trying to maintain the Clark side as completely separate from Superman was the right decision.
Morgan Edge: Refitting the Smallville coal mines for some alternative energy production...at the start of the episode, I suspected he (and whoever is working for him) was the cause of the two reactor incidents Superman dealt with, until this series' Luthor revealed himself.
Lana Lang Cushing / Sarah Cushing / Kyle Cushing : Class struggles galore, with Kyle writing off anyone from Metropolis--especially Clark, who he all but accused of abandoning Smallville for the big city and its politics (through the Planet).
Sarah being so interested in Jordan was a nice touch, subverting assumptions that she would naturally be attracted to Jonathan. I suppose Jordan will have to play "weakling" to Sarah's boyfriend in a Peter Parker / Flash Thompson sort of relationship, but I'm seeing her boyfriend as the unrelenting type who will have revenge on his mind going forward.
Sam Lane: I do like his being understanding of the complicated dynamics of Clark being pulled in two directions of responsibility, and while he reminds Lois of that, he's not trying to force either to make some hard decision about their lives.
NOTES: No surprise that even in the flashback to the Daily Planet, James Olsen would be nowhere to be seen--and according to Supergirl's pilot, he was the first person to take Superman's photo, so he had to be working for the Planet before Clark, and should have been there--or even referred to.
Yeah, having Jordan be the son to inherit powers was supposed to be the twist (not really--I saw that coming), the sons--thinking there's something they do not know about themselves needed more work, as their curiosity just comes out of nowhere. Their part of the plot would have worked with a flashback to various stages of their childhood, where odd things seem to happen to/around them.
Ahh, there were a few shots lifted from Man of Steel and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, with an injured Superman falling back to earth. That, and the Kent farm almost lost. Well, if you're going to steal, steal from the best.
The painfully, so obviously padded Superman suit needs to go, or Hoechlin needs to bulk up.
Overall, the series feels like it operates in its own world, not sharing any of the storytelling approach or even many references to the other DC-CW series, which seems (for the moment) like an etched-in-stone choice.
GRADE: B-
