It's been on our minds for this whole week and we have to imagine it's been on yours too, and in one simple word, "Brother". Fans are already trying to parse if this is meant in the way that you might talk to a friend or if it's meant literally, as in we are brothers sharing a mother and a father! Earlier today, The CW released a very telling sneak peek at tonight's episode that might have confirmed this question for fans before the episode even aired. (Didn't catch it? Be sure to follow us on Twitter as we are always active there!) For those that haven't seen it we won't address it here until it happens in the episode which we recap. Speaking of recap, here's what stood out to us:
- Brother: Half-brother to be precise. Before Superman's mother married Jor-El, she was with another man, Zeta-Rho. That son was sent to Earth at the time when Jor-El learned of the end of Krypton. He arrived before Clark and Kara and had the very opposite life that Clark did. Humans who found him, feared him, shot at him and he burned them alive for it. His mission is to revive Krypton on Earth and bring back Superman and his mother Lara Lor-Van. Clark heads to the fortress to talk with Jor-El. He confirms that this story is possible and that the Eradicator, a big piece of the Superman lore, was actually Lara's invention. Jor-El notes that Lara never wanted Kryptonians to survive in the way that Ro is making happen. Jor-El has no way of helping Clark. Meanwhile, Lois heads in to check on Lana and Kyle is there. He turns back into his Kryptonian self and attacks them both but Lois has Kryptonite and knocks him to the ground where General Lane and the DOD capture him.
- Smallville Under Siege: With Kyle captured, Lana, Clark and Lois work to put the pieces together. Lana identifies someone that could be a weak link in Edge's army, a doctor that may have helped with the body snatching process. General Lane is able to get Kyle to give up Dr. Donovan. Superman and the DOD go and capture him and in doing so locate the machine that is doing the transformations. He admits, the only person who could help undo the transformation is the person who created the tech, Lara Lor-Van.
- Superman in Real Life: Lana and Lois go to the Smallville DOD command center. Lana is in shock to see Superman in person. She really has no idea who Superman is. The DOD has the Eradicator machine but they need to turn it on and see how it works. They need a volunteer and Lana jumps at the chance. Jonathan, Jordan and Sarah try to visit Kyle but are stopped by the DOD. Jonathan pleads with General Lane and he allows them to go in and see Kyle. He is full Kryptonian evil and he's latched on to Jonathan claiming when he gets out, Jonathan will be the first one he kills. Lana goes into the Eradicator and it is turned on. The spirit she receives is none other than, Lara Lor-Van.
- Lara Lor-Van: Lara is back to explain what all is going on. Arranged marriages were the way of Krypton but Lara and Jor-El fell in love. They rejected the arrangement system on Krypton and chose love. Tal-Rho turns out, stole his mother's Sunstone from Lara as a final jab at Lara for leaving him and his father. Tal-Rho goes to Eradicator only to see it's gone. He tells Leslie Larr to prepare for their arrival. Tal-Rho is done waiting for Kal-El, he's made his choice. Lara is able to explain how to fix those infected with Kryptonians. Each has to go through the Eradicator again. That won't work with Tal-Rho's army. They need to find out how to do it to the army all at once, removing the Kryptonian powers and consciousness, and returning human control. Just then, Tal-Rho calls out Kal-El and the two go to meet. Lois advises Superman to appeal to Tal-Rho as a brother.
- The British Country Side: Tal-Rho tells his back story. We learn that he was captured as a child. Put into some kind of military program to be studied and controlled. It's only when the guards make a mistake and allow him to see sunlight that he escapes into the world to learn how to be among Earthlings and blend in. While Jordan and Sarah reflect on the situation, some kind of alarm goes off and all the Kryptonians that Tal-Rho has made are activated and head to his location. Superman and Tal-Rho trade arguments but it's very much about to be Superman vs. a Kryptonian Army.
In the final wrap up moments, Superman comes up with a plan. General Lane has a way to use The Eradicator all at once but they are low on power. Superman decides to use a Solar Flare ability, releasing all his power into the power source to strip the Kryptonians of their abilities and their alter egos. Superman goes full Solar Flare and the Smallville citizens are returned. He is now powerless though for a few days until he can gather enough solar energy to power up again. Tal-Rho and Leslie Larr are able to escape. Superman uses what's left of his powers to get to The Fortress and collapse.
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Comments
Seeing both the AIs of Jor and Lara in one episode was pretty awesome although not having the the boys meet Lara feels like a bummer.
Special thumbs up... Tonight's solar flare was pretty awesome.
I really enjoyed the scenes with Kal-El and his Mother (her consciousness anyway), thought it was a quite beautiful performance from Emmanuelle Chriqui.
I really assumed Tal-Rho would have landed in Germany, as opposed to the British Country Side. I thought Loyal Subjekts was clue to his back story. A German twist on Red Son.
This is as close we are going to get with a H’el On Earth from the New 52 era.
Solar Flare has debuted and this also marks Lana’s very first time meeting Superman in person.
Nice to see the kids are integrated into the main storylines as they should be. Great episode overall.