Superman and Lois
Season 2 - Episode 2 - "The Ties That Bind"
Clark/SM / Lois: SM visits Edge in the hope of having his visions interpreted, but he should have taken a step back in asking Edge about the Eradication process. Being saved by Anderson's "Ulti-kids" from a man using some all-too convenient X-Kryptonite gas just screams of Anderson screw-turning to publicly discredit SM.
The Lara "hope and regret" business...ehh, its sort of a wasted sub-plot, since Edge is a completely unsympathetic character, and who did not see his "I have no powers" being a lie? Despite what holo-mommy said about the value of Edge bringing SM to her, his actions from the previous season is the opposite of anyone having a good side. Yeah. He's a menace, not some fallen angel. A betting man would lay it all on his making a b-line to the creature in the mines.
Irons / Natalie: Introduced as consistently sullen, Natalie perked up a bit too quickly after 7 seconds of a conversation with Sarah (SEE THE JORDAN/SARAH ENTRY).
Staring at Lois AKA here we go again, and yes, it was telegraphed since the end of season one: Irons--despite saying he was "over" seeing Lois-prime as his wife--is beginning to fantasize again. Now that he's in the same house with her was--in so shock to anyone--a very bad idea, especially at a time when SM is neck-deep in his own problems. He says he will "....make the adjustment". ...we will see....
Chrissy: She was on the ethical side of things in questioning Lois' personal connection to the guru story, and despite Lucy being the unnamed source who stabbed Lois in the back, Lois will likely be forced to choose a side: her dedication to exposing a criminal, or Lucy.
Dr. Faulkner: Amertek mining X-Kryptonite...the creature finally breaking out of the earth...Dr. Faulkner leaning a bit too hard in the open P.R. act, and later revealed as being fully aware of the creature / reporting its potential to someone....yeah, this too was pretty predictable. The only shock revelation would be Faulkner's benefactor being Luthor, instead of Anderson (who was the audience's pick for the person on the other end of the phone).
Lt. Mitch Anderson / Threat Reduction Agency: SM should have known Anderson would not even blink about using the "barely 18" Tag as one of his soldiers; from the "either you're with us, or.." kind of conversations he's had with Anderson, he could be so clueless to think a government agency would see and use teens as assets.
Sam Lane: Back in the picture next week.
Jonathan / Candace: He's become well adjusted thanks to a social life he once thought was left in Metropolis. He believes the once lazy teammate is taking steroids due to his sudden gains in strength. After what Jonathan has experienced, steroids should not be the first thing he suspects...
Jordan/Sarah: Well Jordan is yesterday's news in Sarah's life; despite her last second invite for Jordan to help work on her car, he was wise enough to sense that things are going south.
As suspected, Jordan wanted to leap head-first into the spandex profession (or at least act back-up) as a way of getting his mind off of Sarah (i.e. attempting to bury emotions such as a broken heart).
Take note of his "You're his mother" reply to the Lara hologram. Tal-Edge--hearing that--could use that to his advantage down the road, even after Jordan almost lost his life to him.
The "secret" Sarah spoke of...just about everyone could see that coming, and Jordan's reaction was quite natural: first, a moment of confusion, then heartache and finally, a sense of betrayal--shutting her out. How this impacts life for the teens at school is anyone's guess...unless things grow more complicated with what is intended to be suspected about Natalie.
Expect Jordan to press Clark about training to be his sidekick, since he really has nothing else as a focus in his life. Still, he was a bit too impressed with himself after standing up to Tal-Edge, so that could lead to Jordan making a serious mistake.
Lana/Kyle/Sarah: It was fairly obvious that Hart dropping out of the race for mayor was going to lead to Lana running. One can only hope that the Cushings being thrust into the political ring will not lead to a replay of season one's martial strife.
NOTES:
As noted, so much of this episode's plots could be seen coming a mile away. One might argue being so up-front with the season's arcs so early is the best way to hook viewers, but some of the plots could have been allowed to grow over another episode or two.
SM punching Edge's face was the best moment of the series so far. Hopefully, Edge will take his uncompromising evil to a level that he will leave SM with one, rational choice--and its not sibling bonding moments.
Laughable CG Superman body tossed around. ....and SM really needs another suit sans the padding and airbrushed muscle shadows.
GRADE: B.
