Superman and Lois
Season 3 - Episode 2 - "Uncontrollable Forces"
SM/Clark / Lois / Dr. Irons: After undergoing a battery of tests, Lois receives a diagnosis...but does not immediately share the information with her family. The tip-off that something was troubling was her referring to the pregnancy as a "fantasy".
Lois and Clark travel to Metropolis to confront up-and-coming, aggressive Judge Tara Regan about her release of Henry Miller (aka Atom Man); the Judge is smug and evasive, then presents with a tick caused by some strange sound. Lois presses Regan for answers, but the Kents are escorted from the office by two strange, threatening men...
As Clark tracks the men, Lois finds Regan on her rooftop, preparing to jump, noting that the moment she was asked about Henry Miller, she knew it was the day she was going to die. Regan provides an information dump about why she became a judge--that she would make a change, but learned that was not possible...
Lois continues to try to talk Regan down, and in sharing experiences of surviving adversity, she admits she has aggressive, inflammatory breast cancer (SEE NOTES)--with Superman (after leaving Manheim) hearing the entire revelation.
Back in Smallville, Lois breaks down. not wanting Clark to look at her as if she's sick, but Clark promises he will support her (obviously) all the way. She shares the news with her stunned twins, with Jordan taking it harder than his brother.
Irons / Natalie: Natalie works on a project for the D.O.D., but Sarah entices her to go the party of a cute guy...in Metropolis. Irons--being the concerned father--is not too thrilled about Natalie attending the party, but reluctantly allows her to go...
In the wake of George's murder, Irons informs Lana that Sarah attended the party...which Lana did not approve of. Irons invites Lana in to join him for dinner...(SEE NOTES). Later, Lana discusses George's call, how he wanted to be remembered as "the pride of Smallville"--which is slogan on the town seal in her office. Curious, the two head to the office. Finding a flash drive behind the seal, the second Lana inserts in into her laptop, the duo are subjected to the same loud noise and rumbling which preceded George's death. Onomatopoeia attack the two, steals the flash drive , leaving Irons and Lana gripping their heads in pain.
That evening, as Sarah and Natalie return to Lana's house, Irons sets up a security system (SEE NOTES) for an increasingly grateful Lana.
Manheim / Onomatopoeia / Intergang: Superman tracks Manheim's man (Mr. Orr) back to the man himself. Manheim dodges Superman's questions, instead, accusing him of destroying things he's "built for his community" (SEE NOTES). He adds in Metropolis, he's the hero--not Superman. He recalls Luthor and Edge became billionaires while his community suffered, prompting him to become his people's symbol of hope. He charges Superman with never changing a thing since he's been on earth; SM says he saves lives, but Manheim counters with his failure to save anyone in his city. He warns SM never to set foot into his house again.
Onomatopoeia demands Manheim end his experiments on Henry, as the man he thought he killed--Irons--is alive and well in Smallville...
Lana / Kyle / Sarah: A frantic George Dean calls Lana, saying he made " ...a big mistake..", but a moment before he can explain himself, he's overwhelmed and murdered after an attack by Onomatopoeia.
Lana arrives at the crime scene and wonders how she will brake the news to Sarah, as George jr. and Sarah were so close. Despite the reality of the divorce, Kyle has that longing gleam in his eyes for his ex...
Jordan / Jonathan II: Jonathan convinces Jordan to attend the Metropolis party, in an attempt to move on from Sarah. Little does Jordan know that Sarah is at the party...
Sarah tries to introduce Natalie to guys, finally dragging teen named Matteo to her. Matteo had spotted her before, and wanted to get to know her. The two hit it off, but the party drama pulls her away.
Later, Jordan flies his brother to the party, where Eliza spirits Jonathan away to apologize for breaking up with him, wanting to reconcile. Jonathan pushes back, admitting he has a girlfriend, and did not travel to Metropolis to be with her (SEE NOTES).
Jordan--awkward as ever--fails to mingle, but eventually runs into Sarah. Sarah explains that she did not mean to make Jordan feel as if he has to walk on eggshells around her, adding he's the first boyfriend she also considered a friend. The two end up enjoying themselves, until the host of the party targets the two with slurs. Through it all, Jordan does not use his powers...until he freezes the host's jeep.
NOTES:
So, it turns out Lois has an aggressive form of cancer. One wonders how Sam will process this, and if he will use any alien tech to enhance Lois, believing it would eradicate cancer. Since the teaser shows Lois still on the job despite her illness, audiences should expect her to gradually decline as she places herself in (or is forced into) danger. Lois has plot armor, so I'm not worried she will die. Suffer? Obviously, but she will recover to some degree.
Just as Kyle--still heartbroken over his divorce--looks for any sign of hope, Lana would appear to be warming up to Irons. Enter the soap opera zone. While I was in favor of Kyle and Lana getting back together, the idea of Irons and Lana becoming an item is somewhat intriguing--only if its not another one-and-done arc for the season, or Lana is used to lure Irons into a trap by Manheim & Onomatopoeia.
Okay, here we go: Manheim touches on his poor upbringing and the struggles of his people--and despite all he's done for his community, he's still viewed as a criminal. Sound familiar? It should, as it was astoundingly close to one of the many arguments Tobias Whale made (to Jefferson Pierce) about his own reputation and "service" to the black community. The difference between the villains is that Black Lightning's staff had a deep, personal experience / awareness of the infinite details about suffering in racially impoverished cities and layered their series with those realities in often brutal fashion from the pilot until the series finale. It was never an accent or Very Special Episode, but ingrained in the structure and messages of the series.
Yes, Manheim briefly touched on his past, but so serious ans sensitive a subject demands knowledgeable writers, so i'm very curious about the backgrounds of the writing staff who contributed to the Manheim history side of things, and how their plans develop.
Eliza appeared to be more than bitter after Jonathan's rejection. This sub-plot might end here, but I would not be too surprised if she returns to harass Jonathan at the worst time of his life.
As I still suspect, Manheim will now be drawn to Smallville, where Irons will be a target--only Manheim does not know Irons has a double life. That, and I also believe he will either recruit Luthor, or will be approached by Lex--possibly in the mid-season finale.
GRADE: A.
