Superman and Lois season 1, episode 14 review: The Eradicator

“Sometimes there aren’t winners. Just losers.” Spoilers for Superman and Lois season 1, episode 14 follow.

As Morgan Edge escapes from D.O.D. custody, Smallville becomes a powder keg with Superman and Lois becoming more and more powerless as the days go by.

Just as quick as he broke out of prison though, Edge makes his reappearance, ready to annihilate.

Here’s what went down in penultimate episode of Superman and Lois‘ first season.

Eradicator

Morgan Edge is dead. Long live The Eradicator. There’s just something horrific about a sentient doomsday device (y’know, that isn’t Doomsday) and that’s exactly what Morgan Edge has become. He was already hellbent on destroying Earth and now? Now it actually seems like he’s able to do so, even without the help of Superman.

Really, so much of this episode feels like it is ripped straight from The Dark Knight III: The Master Race. Sure, the “Kryptonians attempting to make Earth a new Krypton” storyline is absolutely nothing new, but it’s executed so differently here. The Kryptonians aren’t simply those who existed before and you can know where they came from. Here though, anyone can be a “sleeper agent” which makes it even more terrifying, especially given that the Eradicator can now insert a Kryptonian consciousness into a body without a machine.

Genuinely, at its core, this is a body horror episode without much of the explicit horror elements being present. This is both a positive and a negative as it would have been cool to see more of the turmoil of each of the “new” Kryptonians. However, by not seeing that, we get to experience a different type of tension as more and more bodies begin to pile on Superman and John Henry, making defeat seem almost inevitable. Combine that with seeing the exact same situation that caused Lois’ death on John Henry’s Earth and it makes for a very tense episode.

Civil unrest in Superman and Lois

On top of The Eradicator’s new attempt to lay siege to Earth, we get to see the microcosmic impact that Edge’s actions and manipulations have had on Smallville. The D.O.D. is seemingly here to stay. The townsfolk are angry. And very quickly, the town is now dying.

Sadly, we don’t really get to see much of the town actually dying and businesses closing beyond a few mentions and Chrissy talking about how she was offered a buyout for the Smallville Gazette. It’s a bit disappointing that we don’t actually see more of the town floundering, but it makes sense as there’s only so much time and dedicating a few minutes to showing people putting up “Out of Business” signs wouldn’t be a great use of it this late into the season.

We do get to see the anger toward the D.O.D. during the town hall though and this scene does a great job of showing how both sides are right. The D.O.D. wants to protect these people and the people of Smallville are right in wanting them to go as they are not being forthcoming about anything that has happened, thus causing more pain than absolutely necessary. It’s an interesting dynamic that sadly isn’t played to its fullest.

Fresh starts

This pain though leads to the fresh starts that several characters are moving toward. There’s Lana and Kyle looking to move out of Smallville and there’s Jon and Jordan looking to truly start living their lives to the fullest extent.

What’s great about the Lana and Kyle storyline in this episode is that it really expands upon why these two were a necessary part of the show. They are the mundane within the extraordinary which is so important to see in a story like this. Their lives are directly affected by the actions of the extraordinary, thus making the world subconsciously feel more fleshed out at its core.

As for Jon and Jordan, it’s nice to just see them be able to be teenagers. Sure, it’s not for long, but it’s really nice to see them just act normal for a little while before The Eradicator comes and takes that all away from them. They were in the eye of the storm for a brief blip and now they’re right back in it.

Superman & Lois’ penultimate episode stumbles a bit in some areas, but overall is still an incredibly strong installment to head into the finale with.

What did you think of Superman and Lois‘ penultimate episode? Let us know in the comments below!