Superman & Lois Review: A Brief Reminiscence In-Between Cataclysmic Events (Season 1 Episode 11)

Superman & Lois Season 1 Episode 11, “A Brief Reminiscence In-Between Cataclysmic Events,” takes a sharp turn from a rom-com to a psychological horror show. This twist is jarring because of the tonal shift, but it ends up working and paying off by the episode’s end. 

It’s an interesting transitional episode that fills in many gaps but leaves plenty to discover later. But, most importantly, it tees up the final four episodes that appear as though they may be the darkest ones on Superman & Lois yet.  

Before that darker shift, we get to live in the bliss of the early days of Clark and Lois’s romance for a little while. There are so many great callbacks to Superman’s lore for fans to appreciate. Some of them are more obvious than others. 

Some are ones we’ve seen and heard plenty of times before, but they are refreshing on Superman & Lois because of what Tyler Hoechlin and Bitsie Tulloch bring to the screen. They elevate this iconic couple to a new level, one that makes it easy for us to get butterflies alongside the new couple. 

Their chemistry is always electric, but it’s so exciting to watch it evolve through the different stages of their relationship. It’s thrilling to watch the puzzle pieces from the flashbacks on Superman & Lois Season 1 Episode 1, “Pilot,” come together in a much fuller way, too. 

All of those sweet moments make the stakes of that looming shadow becoming an actual being all the higher. It’s easy to forget about this figure when Clark first sees it when Superman meets Lois for the first time because you’re so swept up in their epic romance. 

When the realities of life and having a family start to hit Clark, that shadow comes back, and Clark can’t shake it. That works because we get ripped out of that happy bubble with him. Edge is a rude awakening for Clark and us on multiple levels. 

That tension that builds before the show reveals that the shadow is Edge is so well-played. It’s odd enough that something is disrupting such a meaningful memory. It becomes eerier when Lois talks to the space where Clark once stood as if he is still there. It’s unnerving.  

It’s the perfect build-up to Clark taking off the rose-colored glasses and coming face to face with the exact opposite. But, unfortunately, this is also the moment when things start to fall a bit short during “A Brief Reminiscence In-Between Cataclysmic Events.” 

This is only because it appears as though the show doesn’t know what it wants to do with Morgan Edge. There are still four episodes for Superman & Lois to offer some clarity. However, this episode tees up the show’s final act without any real development towards Edge’s viable endgame. 

There’s no way that Edge succeeds because there is no show if Kryptonians take over Earth-Prime somehow. This plan would wipe out the entire Arrowverse. It’s simply not likely to come to fruition. This is why Edge’s threats regarding that plan don’t carry much weight. 

Edge’s threats to Clark, Lois, and their family, however, do pack a punch. This sting burns even more after the flashbacks during the first half of the episode.

It doesn’t matter when Edge’s plan falls apart because it doesn’t really matter what Edge does next. So instead, the episode sets up the real question that matters: Will whatever Edge does push Clark and Superman so far that he won’t be able to come back from it? 

That’s what matters. Superman, the hero, can come and go, but Clark, Lois, and their family are what Superman & Lois is all about in the end. 

We have to wait three weeks to see if John Henry Irons has any more wisdom to offer. In the meantime, maybe Lois should call another Kryptonian she knows who could be the most helpful in this situation: the Girl of Steel.  

Stray Thoughts

• I guess I’m happy for Sarah and Jordan. I’m somewhat neutral about them. 
• Jonathan flicking her hair as he walks out with them is cute, though. 
• “Who’s the hero now?” is a perfect Lois Lane line. She’s my favorite superhero. 
• Kyle’s apology is fine, but it’s also too little too late. He needs to show that he’s changed for me to believe him. 
• It’s always great to see Martha Kent again. 
• I can’t believe Edge just crushed hologram Jor-El like that. Guess he’s selective about which Kryptonians he restores. 
• That Perry White cameo is fun. It helps but a face to all of Cat Grant’s justifiable complaints. 
• It never gets old watching Superman and Supergirl rip open their shirt to reveal their suit for the first time. 
• Can we see more of Clark and Lois working in the field together? That’s power couple stuff right there!
• Lois not knowing she wanted a family so badly until she met Clark is soulmate material. 
• “There was no going back after the first time I saw her” is one of the sweetest things Clark has ever said about Lois.
• Clark saying “I can’t believe I’m gonna be a dad twice, all at once” is too cute for this world. 

 

What did you think of this episode of Superman & Lois? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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Superman & Lois airs Tuesdays at 9/8c on The CW.

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