Superman and Lois season 3, episode 2 review: Uncontrollable Forces

”You are the strongest person I know, and I’ll never look at you any other way.” Spoilers for Superman and Lois season 3, episode 2 follow.

As Superman and Lois attempt to figure out why Atom Man was released from prison, Lois’ mind is occupied with something else.

Meanwhile, the kids head to a party in Metropolis.

Here’s everything that happened in Superman and Lois season 3, episode 2 “Uncontrollable Forces”.

Superman and Lois season 3 episode 2 review

Zoning out

After getting the sudden call from Dr. Irons at the end of the previous episode, we immediately see Lois back in the doctor’s office as they run some more tests and, well, Lois is constantly spacing out after she arrived back to Smallville because of that. It’s so clear that she’s still in shock from the tests that were done and that she doesn’t really know how to handle it.

She also hides this fact terribly from Clark and he’s genuinely one of the most kind people about it. He doesn’t push or make her say anything she doesn’t want to. Rather, he supports her, even if he’s frustrated about not knowing what’s going on. It’s such a perfect encapsulation of Superman in both of his identities. No matter what, he embodies kindness and empathy, regardless of the situation.

As it turns out, Lois has cancer. And her revealing this to someone at their lowest of lows in order to literally get them to step off that ledge, it’s a perfectly Lois thing to do. She takes her pain and relates it to others, managing to make them feel like they’re not alone.

Bitsie Tulloch and Tyler Hoechlin are fantastic in these scenes. They are able to speak volumes with no words. Clark’s anger giving way to sadness and fear, all while in full Superman garb, is haunting. And then the hug that the two share after this reveal, it’s near tear-inducing. They have no words that they need to share in that moment, they just have each other. And Tulloch’s performance is incredible.

Metropolis

As for the kids, they all head to Metropolis for a party. Natalie & Sarah, and Jonathan & Jordan both end up at the party together, despite not planning on it and it’s nice to see them acting their age for once and having fun. It’s also nice that Sarah and Jordan finally say the things they need to say, which hopefully means we are past the weakest part of the show. At a certain point though, this entirely feels like a distraction to the Lois and Clark arc just because of how powerful that storyline is. It’s also just tonally inconsistent with the rest of the episode.

Lois and Clark also just happen to be in Metropolis, but for a less fun reason. And that’s because they’re ambushing the judge who let Atom Man free. Before really getting anything out of here though, they’re stopped by what seems to be Intergang. There’s not a lot to this part of the episode at first, but it leads to so much more than it felt like it was going to. It leads to Lois bearing her soul to the judge so that she doesn’t take her own life out of fear. It also leads to the first interaction of the season between Superman and Bruno Mannheim.

This is such a great first scene for the two because we immediately get a sense of this version of Mannheim. He’s not necessarily like the comics version, where he’s cartoonishly evil (he literally has a crime bible). But rather he’s someone who was never helped by those that say that they’re helping, so he took matters into his own hands. It’s a much more complex version of the character, which is great. And Chad L. Coleman is fantastic in this episode.

Assassination

Back in Smallville though, the former mayor is murdered by Onomatopoeia but not before he leaves one last cryptic message for Lana. Four words: The Pride of Smallville. So, while looking for Sarah at John Henry’s house, which then leads to them sharing a dinner, they figure it out. It’s about the town seal in Lana’s office. Onomatopoeia follows them and takes what they found behind the seal.

This is definitely the smallest part of the episode, but it’s clear that it will get more important as the season goes on. And it also does a great job of showing the hideousness and ruthlessness for this version of Onomatopoeia, which is drastically different than the comics version. But this version of Onomatopoeia showcases how to drastically change to the source material correctly. She’s honestly horrifying.

Superman and Lois continues to be one of the best superhero shows to ever grace the small screen and it only looks like it will continue going up.

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What did you think of Superman and Lois season 3 episode 2? Let us know in the comments below!