“Sharp Dressed Man”

Superman & Lois deals with the fallout of going public with the Kent family secret as Lex adds more weapons to his arsenal.

This version of Lex Luthor isn’t a scientific or mechanical genius like other adaptations but that doesn’t mean he isn’t smart. He achieves his goals through expert manipulation of people and situations and surrounds himself with people with the skills necessary to enact his plans. In one way, it’s a modern take on a billionaire antagonist in the sense that he stands on the shoulders of others who actually have ability but in another, it’s a showcase of a different kind of intelligence. Lex plays the people and makes sure he has resources that allow him to be a formidable threat.

Lex’s plan in this episode is to add journalism to his arsenal of weapons against Lois. Journalism has always been her domain so Lex’s encroaching on it makes his campaign against her even more personal. His aim is to publicly discredit her so that her reputation is irreparably damaged and her work has no credibility in the eyes of the public. To do this, he enlists TV journalist Gordon Godfrey (Tom Cavanagh); a man Lois doesn’t approve of because she considers him to be “all volume, no substance”. He’s the perfect partner for Lex in this plan as Godfrey is a journalist who thumbs his nose at everything Lois stands for. He also has a large audience who will likely accept whatever he says so if Godfrey can spin the story in such a way that Lex comes across as the victim of a vindictive journalist out to get him then Lois may find it impossible to have her words believed ever again. It’s an existential threat to her livelihood and a challenge that Lois can’t ignore.

The live debate that takes place is acknowledged as a bad idea for Lois to participate in. She doesn’t do well in the debate as Lex is too well prepared and has covered his tracks flawlessly as always so Lois’ accusations end up coming across as baseless. She’s visibly frustrated because she knows the truth but has no way to prove it and Lex is well aware of how well he has distanced himself from his illegal activities. Lois threatens to call Elizabeth and have her confirm all of Lois’ accusations but it’s unclear if that was a bluff as the phone call is made but never answered. Lois using the one weakness she knows Lex has is perhaps her only chance to defeat him in this arena and is an example of using Lex’s tactics against him. Whether it was genuine or not doesn’t matter; the important takeaway is that Lois didn’t go into this debate with a clear mind or a coherent plan and the end result is that she comes across exactly as Lex intended.

Using Clark and Lex’s fight in Smallville’s main street as evidence of the Kents being out to get him is damning. As mentioned in my review of that episode, Clark was far from his best self when confronting Lex in this way. He was pushed beyond breaking point and lashed out in a way unbecoming of Superman. It also showed that Clark doesn’t let bullies go unchallenged but it’s easy to portray this as an attack from someone who bears a grudge. As mentioned in my review of the previous episode, this could be the beginning of the public perception of Superman changing to him being seen as a fallible Human who doesn’t represent the best that people can possibly be. Now Superman is a man who gets angry and makes mistakes when motivated by rage. It isn’t necessarily a bad thing for Superman to be seen as a flawed person as it means Clark no longer needs to live up to an impossible standard but it also comes with the possibility of people losing faith in their hero, particularly when people like Lex and Godfrey are out to draw attention to any mistake he might make. Anything that makes Superman seem more flawed only supports Lex’s narrative.

Lois is warned that Lex will have something up his sleeve that they are unable to see ahead of time. Clark points out that Lex always has plans within plans and that she is likely playing into his hands just as he intended. Lois is so blinded by her desire to defeat Lex by bringing the truth to light and preserving her reputation that she sees no other way to combat this than appearing live on TV to tell her side of the story. She is confident that she can defeat Lex in a debate so sees no risk but Clark is far more cautious and urges her to reconsider as what they don’t know might end with Lex looking like the most credible of the two after this debate takes place. As it turns out, Clark was right to be cautious and Lois admits later in the episode that she should have heeded his words. This is good because it makes Lois a believable character with flaws that sometimes result in her getting in her own way. In this case, her pride gets in the way of her rational mind and she makes a catastrophic mistake.

Lex’s position is further supported by his engineering the hijacking of John’s suit and organising an attack during the debate forcing Clark to take action. This gives Godfrey a practical example to aid his spin that Lois Lane can’t be trusted as a journalist as she was writing biased stories pretending to be an impartial reporter of Superman’s heroics when in reality she was his wife. This spin isn’t inaccurate as Lois has been dishonest in her approach to reporting on Superman to keep his identity and their true relationship a secret. Lois and Clark’s non-standard approach to journalistic ethics has been referenced in the past as something they had both made peace with but now that the truth about Clark is public all of this is fair game for critique. All Godfrey is doing is drawing attention to Lois’ less-than-honest reporting to encourage people to think about it and come to their own conclusions. Godfrey is very skilled at presenting his own views as if they are impartial questions for people to muse over.

Lex tasking Milton (Nikolai Witschl) with hijacking John and Natalie’s suits to attack Clark and his sons raises the stakes and fulfils the superhero requirement of the episode by enabling the action sequences. They are as impressive as ever with strong callbacks to the very first episode of the show in Clark and John fighting in the sky. The difference is that John isn’t in control of the suit so the situation is similar but the details are different. Instead of Clark fighting an unknown attacker, he is fighting a friend trapped inside a suit he can’t control. This is a more desperate scenario where Clark is fighting to save his friend and deal with the threat without injuring him. Natalie’s suit is sent after Jonathan and Jordan who team up and use double-team heat vision to destroy it. They’re engaging and visually impressive sequences that support the character work being done surrounding them.

The conflict between Lex and the Kents is playing out in interesting ways over the season. Both sides achieve victories and suffer setbacks as it progresses. Clark going public with his secret was a setback for Lex as it removed the leverage he enjoyed knowing the secret and being able to reveal it at any time. He was also chased out of Smallville by its residents which prevented him from achieving a foothold in Lois and Clark’s home town to continue to torment him. This episode features him regrouping and trying to spin the truth in a way that supports him and weakens them. This makes the conflict dynamic and interesting as the balance of power constantly shifts and the characters are challenged to deal with the various setbacks. A constant sense of tension exists through Lex continually adapting to his plans being foiled and trying to turn defeats into victories. This helps make Lex an excellent villain as he isn’t limited to a single plan that is slowly revealed over the season.

Another thing that makes Lex an excellent villain as well as an engaging character is his obsessive nature. The scene depicting him noticing everything around him that he has no control over before demanding they call the debate off is excellent. He wants to abandon his plan as he becomes aware that he isn’t in total control of the situation. Success depends on variables that he can’t account for and he isn’t comfortable with that level of disorder. Ultimately he’s convinced to trust that the plan is sound but it’s a very revealing insight into Lex’s mindset and his need for everything to be accounted for. Perhaps this could be a weakness that is somehow exploited by Lois and Clark before the end of the season.

There is further development of Clark’s diminishing powers. He agrees to some tests when John notices that he doesn’t react to a brick thrown through the Smallville Gazette’s window as quickly as he would have previously. He admits that his hearing isn’t what it once was and learns that the degradation is worse than that. Sam’s heart isn’t fully compatible and his powers are reducing day by day. There will come a time when they are gone completely and his life expectancy has been massively reduced following the transplant. After John’s tests, Clark is actively facing his own mortality and considering the reality of his powers fading to the point of nonexistence. This is naturally difficult for him to process and represents something fundamental that Lex has taken from him.

It also connects him to Lois in a way originally believed impossible. It hasn’t been explicitly stated but Lois’ life expectancy is likely significantly reduced after her -now confirmed completely successful- cancer treatment so Clark is now in a position where he won’t outlive Lois by potentially centuries as would have happened before. Clark has no idea how long he has left but theorises it may be around the same amount of time that Sam had left if not less. There are a lot of unknowns so a visit to the Fortress is probably on the cards to discuss whatever options may exist but for now, it’s a bombshell that Clark has to process adding to the long list of things that have changed in the recent past.

There’s an interesting conundrum to consider here. There are certain truths that Clark has always accepted about himself. He was invulnerable, could hear things that are happening all over the world, never got tired, never felt pain -except where Kryptonite or a strong alien was involved- and could count on his longevity. There is an open question about how much of his identity was attributed to these biological facts and how he defines himself when these things are taken from him. It’s early days so it hasn’t sunk in yet but he will have to reckon with those questions and explore how they relate to his sense of self being altered by these changes.

The secret being public is affecting the Kents in various ways. The press have set up shop in Smallville and are making it very difficult for any member of the Kent family to enjoy privacy. This is analogous to instant celebrity and people are often unprepared for all that comes with being famous. The Kents aren’t used to being in the public eye and have no idea how to deal with it. It isn’t something the episode explores beyond acknowledging it as a new reality for them to deal with. This instant celebrity issue extends to Candice who is being hassled online to tell her story as well as having very unflattering comments made about her. Her response to this is to break up with Jonathan so that she can reclaim some normality in her life.

In theory, this is compelling as it shows the breadth of impact the truth coming out has but it’s handled in such a haphazard way that it has no impact. The persistent issue of Candice being an underdeveloped character and her relationship with Jonathan being underserved exists so it’s difficult to invest in the possibility of them not being a couple any more. It also doesn’t help that the breakup and reconciliation take place over less than three scenes. Jonathan learns he has been dumped by text, later has a phone conversation begging her to reconsider and then goes to her house to ask that she take him back. There’s very limited discussion about how their relationship has changed and the strain that will be put on it by the truth being revealed. There has also been no coverage of Candice reckoning with being lied to for the entirety of their relationship. The episode would not have suffered by dropping this plot entirely and placing its focus elsewhere.

Another half-baked plot is Natalie’s frustration with the volume of work assigned to her by the DOD. It is technically an arc as it begins with her expressing frustration that she has to give up time having fun with Jordan and Jonathan because a project deadline is looming, continues with her analysing how abnormal their teenage lives are with Jordan and concludes with her committing to her responsibilities at the DOD. The episode hits the headlines of the issues she’s grappling with such as feeling beholden to a promise she made to Sam before he died and being upset that she never sees Matteo or has time to do anything fun but meaningful exploration is sorely lacking. It’s a problem introduced to be resolved within the running time of a single episode with only a handful of scenes where Natalie is often not the focus to work with. As with the Jonathan and Candice plot, the episode would not have suffered if this weren’t present.

The brevity of this plot in particular is likely a consequence of the reduced budget for the season requiring most of the cast to have their roles significantly cut back. Impressive strides to develop Natalie were made last season so it stands to reason that the trend would continue if Tayler Buck could be in the show more than this season’s budget allows. Jonathan and Candice’s relationship was never well handled so it’s likely that would have continued but there was a clear interest in developing Natalie that simply isn’t possible with the current resources. Unfortunately, the production realities don’t alter the fact that this was poorly done. There are still plenty of strong elements to carry the remaining two episodes but it remains likely that several characters will end the show unavoidably underserved.

Lex gaining access to John’s suit and being in a position to tackle Clark on a more even footing with the added factor of Clark’s diminishing powers is a compelling prospect going into the final episodes that further raises the stakes. There are only two episodes to go and it’s still unclear what form the conclusion will take.

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Verdict

A good episode that deals with the fallout of Clark’s secret being public knowledge in compelling ways and continues to solidify Lex as an excellent villain.

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