With the other Superman dead, our Superman is left to face Ally Alston on his own. Meanwhile, just about everyone has family to worry about. Spoilers follow for Superman & Lois Season 2, Episode 8, “Into Oblivion.”
“Into Oblivion”
Lois (Elizabeth Tulloch), Clark (Tyler Hoechlin), and Natalie (Taylor Buck) notice a difference in John Henry’s (Wole Parks) behavior and fear something might be very wrong. Meanwhile, Kyle (Erik Valdez) encounters an awkward moment with Lana (Emmanuelle Chriqui) while stopping by the house to pick Sarah (Inde Navarrette) up for school. Lastly, Jonathan (Jordan Elsass) and Jordan (Alex Garfin) brace themselves when they realize a talking to from their parents is headed their way.
This episode, Ally Alston literally opens a portal to the shadow world that Bizarro Superman came from, but the real focus is on family. Dominic Toretto would be proud. It’s strange what a drama show about a superhero does to the scale of certain events.
Ally, her cult, and Chrissy head to the mining site that seems to be involved in every major plot point of both seasons of this show. Using the pendants, they open a portal to the shadow world. The scene has a very 2001: A Space Odyssey “going into the Monolith” feeling about it.
It’s creepy and cosmic and strange watching the people in radiation suits lift off the ground as the portal pulls them ever closer. The people are sucked in one by one, with Superman showing up just in time to save Chrissy and stop Ally. I’m surprised at how effective this scene is at making this whole storyline feel almost Lovecraftian as Ally pursues a kind of power and knowledge that she’s underestimated and will almost certainly be unable to control. The whole scene feels dangerous in a way that surprised me.
Interpersonal Drama
Equally important to opening a portal between two worlds, though, are the family problems between Jonathan Kent and his family, Lana Cushing and her family, and Natalie Irons and her father.
Of particular interest is Jordan’s place in the story. While Jonathan tries to keep things from him, Jordan’s super-hearing clues him in on what’s going on between him and Candice. Later, that same power alerts him when Candice’s drug dealer huffs Kryptonite and threatens both Jonathan and Candice. Jordan intervenes, Arrow-style, with his hood up, beating the snot out of the guy and sending him packing. It’s a fun scene, but every time I see one of these, something in the back of my head asks, “is this where it turns into The SuperTeens Show?” And that’s despite the fact that this scene is maybe two minutes of the episode.
A lot of this episode feels like clean-up and preparation. The Irons’ family moves out of the Kent farm and into their own apartment. Lana and Kyle talk to each other about their relationship struggles and her upcoming debate. None of it feels particularly eventful on its own, making this one of the less eventful episodes. Even with that whole portal thing, the fact that these other interpersonal events are given as much weight makes that feel a bit less significant at the same time. it’s an enjoyable episode purely because I really like the characters, but it feels less consequential than many others.
