Superman and Lois
Season 3 - Episode 10 - "Collision Course"
SM/Clark / Lois: The episode opens with Lois' VO over her last round of chemotherapy, ringing the bell in the "screw cancer" ceremony (with Sam, Clark, and the twins in attendance), touching on how much she loves her family, and how cancer just does not have an impact on the person suffering from it.
Lois has second thoughts about the published story exposing Peia's identity, and her being separated from her family (although Matteo will be allowed to see her on a limited basis). Lois intends to interview Peia in the hope of getting her to finally confess to setting up Luthor.
Kyle & Chrissy: Kyle--with his folder of photos in hand--thinks Chrissy should run a story on someone having powers in Smallville; Chrissy goes the passive / dismissive route and ends up insulting Kyle, who steams off.
Lana / Sarah: Lana is quite nervous about her upcoming meeting with Governor Kerry Wexler, as she feels if the meeting goes in the right direction, it could mean bigger things for Lana's political life--and her family. As the governor arrives, Chrissy tries to clue Lana in on Kyle's super-research--the danger it represents--but Lana interrupts, brushing it off as Chrissy seeking relationship advice. Governor Wexler is impressed with Lana's leadership, and when she hears Lana is a single mother, Wexler guesses the ex traded Lana in for "some young floozie", which sends Chrissy's already insecure face dropping through the sidewalk (SEE NOTES). Wexler sees Lana's single status as an asset, saying a "bunch of single moms" will be the people who raise the status of the state. Lana's expression is not exactly one of agreement with Wexler's factionalized remark.
Manheim / Peia / Lois / Matteo: In anticipation of Matteo's meeting with his mother, Manheim gives him monogrammed cuff-links...
Despite Sam's reservations, he allows Lois to interview Peia--now with darkening areas around her eyes and cheeks due to low oxygen saturation. Lois admits Peia has every reason not to trust her, but Lane promises that any story published with be Peia's truth.
Lois cannot help bringing up the Luthor confession faked by Peia, along with her other crimes. Peia shifts the conversation to Luthor, referring to his presence feeling like being in the company of the Devil Himself, with crimes far worse than any she's committed. Peia continues, warning Lois that Luthor was a monster before he went to prison, but to consider what he's become since. Peia holds firm in her warning, promising Lois if she gives in to her guilt (about putting an "innocent" man in prison) she will make the worst mistake of her life with any attempt to set Luthor free (SEE NOTES).
Peia cannot endure Lois' one-sided questioning, and sends her away, telling Lane to never visit her again.
Lois tries to reach Peia for the last time, but turns rather manipulative, holding a dying woman's access to her son in front of her as a carrot--only if Peia "tells the truth" about Luthor (SEE NOTES), under the packaged idea that she (Peia) would be determining the way Matteo sees her, rather than the way the press--namely Lois--will write about the dying woman. Peia--with no options or power in this situation--agrees.
Matteo sees his mother, revealing how much he knows about Manheim's experiments. Peia believes her husband is desperate, but Matteo has more faith in his father's work...and uses one of the cufflinks to inject his mother with something, informing her that "it" will kick in shortly, and once that happens, rendezvous with her family at the spot where she and Manheim first met.
In the wake of Matteo's departure, Lois enters Peia's cell and is shocked to see Peia appearing completely healthy (SEE NOTES); Peia sends a sonic attack at Sam, and orders Lois to escort her out of the D.O.D., attacking anyone who gets in her way. Before she escapes, she believes she could have been friends with Lois in another life.
Superman makes his way to the D.O.D., finding the injured Lois and Sam....
Jordan and Jonathan: Clark tries to make up for not spending more time with his sons, but they blow off his ideas by going to a party; Jordan is bugged when Sarah texts his brother about the party, but Jonathan assures him that Sarah is simply his friend, a fact bolstered by Jonathan inviting Candace to the gathering...
At the party, Jordan soon finds himself the odd man out, as Candace shows up, paring off with his brother, while Sarah and George Dean, jr. make it clear that his presence is not required as the two share some story.
Sarah approaches Jordan, sort of tap dancing around the obvious, but the conversation ends with both wishing Jordan had never fallen in love with her. As one might assume, the police show up to bust a pack of underage drinkers; Sarah and Dean jr, hop into her car, speed away, but end up flipping the vehicle to avoid a deer...but they are spared what could have been life-threatening injuries by Jordan (suited up). Dean jr. marvels at the sight of another super-powered figure, while Sarah is a bit frozen with guilt...
Once the police and Kyle arrive on the scene, Dean, jr, piques Kyle's interest in all things super-powered by blathering about the man who saved them; Sarah flatly denies seeing anyone, but Dean jr. and Kyle clearly do not believe her (SEE NOTES).
Jordan speaks to Clark about his being exposed during the rescue of Dean, jr., but the boy is assured he did the right thing, as he was in disguise. Clark's concern quickly turns to anger when he smells beer on Jordan's breath, which escalates into Clark feeling hurt that his sons lied to his face about the reason they begged off of going to the wrestling match with him. Jordan being Jordan--smarts off about Clark's failed father/sons outing, which--of course--ends with Clark ordering Jordan to his room.
Clark confronts Jonathan, but he's soon dressed down by the teen by explaining he was not drinking at the party, and the reason he--and his brother--have found other things to do has much to do with not sitting around waiting on an absentee father. Jonathan's truth bomb leaves Clark speechless.
Lana / Kyle / Sarah: Kyle shows up at the diner, informing Lana about Sarah being charged with a DUI...and the sight of Sarah in the back of a police car just adds insult to injury as Wexler looks on. As Lana and Kyle leave to deal with their daughter, Chrissy makes a feeble stab at talking up Lana, but it falls on deaf ears--possibly due to Wexler concluding that Chrissy is the "other woman" in Kyle's life...
Kyle cannot resist telling Lana the only reason Sarah is alive was due to super-heroic intervention. Lana hesitates (yep), wanting to deflect from the suspicion, but Kyle believes Dean jr. would have no reason to lie. Getting no support from Lana, he storms off, disgusted with his daughter and ex-wife.
Kyle heads to the Kent farm, demanding Clark allow him to see Jonathan. A near-breathless Kyle lays all of his suspicions out on the table, concluding that Jon has been at the center of every super-powered act after another. The twins race outside to see Clark repeatedly try to deflect Kyle's accusations, until Clark used two fingers to push Kyle back. As if things were not piling up enough, Clark hears Peia's attacks and has no choice but to fly away, leaving a gobsmacked Kyle staring at the sky...
The Manheims: Back at Manheim's lab, Matteo stares at the body of Bizarro...and his dosing cufflink; he;s joined by Manheim, and both are elated to see Peia walk in. The family embraces each other as Manheim feels more empowered than ever (SEE NOTES).
NOTES:
I believe I enjoyed the opening minute of the episode more than the rest; Lois' resolve--after watching how depressed she had been--resigned to her disease--was so heartening.
Jordan twists the knife with "Well, many have tried, but you're the first to rip out Superman's heart." regarding Jonathan turning his father's outing down. Somehow, Clark did not see how his boys are far more independent and seeking the company of peers than ever before...the usual teenage journey. Sam plainly lays out Clark's new status as an obsolete father--but at least his sons never hated him (his reference to Lois' feelings in the past).
Kyle--at the crash site--was starting to put the pieces together about super-intervention always occurring when certain people are around. Granted, he did not know the Kent boys were at the party, but he knows wherever his daughter is, Jordan and Jonathan were not far behind. Now that yet another person--one who is convinced Smallville's troubles started with the arrival of the superpowered Kent family--knows Clark's secret, I really hope this does not go down the Kyle-Leads-the-Angry-Villagers-Against-the-Aliens sub-plot, whether he incites the unrest himself, or has help from interested parties...
In what could be a dodgy character turn for Lois, yes, she did use Peia's desire to see her son as a tool to get what she wanted: information about Luthor connected to his imprisonment, all--in the grand scheme of things--to massage Lois' guilty conscience, completely forgetting who Luthor is, his murderous history--the works. Through the frame of the bigger societal picture, Peia is correct: there are no benefits in letting Luthor out of prison, despite the obvious ethical implications of his conviction being based on a doctored confession. The Kents will likely be instrumental in Luthor's parole, and once free, the arc leading to this season's finale will be set in motion, with Luthor exercising his freedom by placing You-Were-Not-Ready-for-This-Kind-of-Retaliation targets on the backs of the entire Kent family--and anyone connected to them.
If that's the case, someone should shoot a "was it worth it?" in their direction.
I don't know about anyone else, but I'm hoping Jordan is over his crush on Sarah. At some point he has to stop creating problems about a relationship that never existed.
With Peia's health restored, Matteo is all in with his father...or so it seems. At this point, there's no way of telling if his mother's life is his only concern, or has been swayed to accept the entire criminal enterprise, which facilitated the research that saved Peia's life. If the latter is the case, get ready for another Irons/Natalie explosion, possibly with the involvement of Bizarro.
Now, there's the matter of cancer as handled on Superman and Lois: I give the showrunners credit for keeping Lois' shattering journey with cancer one without the help of alien technology. She remains relatable to viewers...but we now see an apparently cured Peia thanks to anything but conventional means. I believe the showrunners--in order to keep some consistency with the cancer experience--will have Peia's cure be short-lived, possibly with some horrifying side-effects. At that point, Matteo would naturally feel he was the instrument of his mother's demise, but will he turn on his father? Time will tell if the Manheim story takes that tragic route.
Not since the modern classic Black Lightning have I enjoyed a superhero TV series. It would be terrible if this season turned out be the last for Superman and Lois.
GRADE: A+.