‘My Adventures With Superman’ Episode 10 Review: Sins of the Father

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This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the series being covered here wouldn’t exist.

So finally ends the exciting adventures of Clark Kent (Jack Quaid), Lois Lane (Alice Lee), and Jimmy Olsen (Ishmel Sahid) in this personal finale for the main trio. From facing iconic Superman villains to helping Clark discover his superpowers, this show has finally nailed down the fundamentals of building the hero through its own unique re-examination. Self-discovery and friendship has always been an integral theme to Superman’s origin story and this show tops off its exploration through this harrowing finale.

As this season wraps to a close, I personally have to admire how much this show has maintained its stakes while staying true to its personalized storytelling. This show’s version of Clark, Lois, and even Jimmy have gotten their chances to shine, especially given the intense two-parter. However, with its overarching story coming to a close, it takes a step back from fighting bad guys to tell a story close to Clark and Lois. Just in time for summer’s end, the show brings family and friends together, but in a way our main trio wouldn’t have expected.

Spoiler Warning ahead for My Adventures With Superman episode 10.

Lois, The General, and Clark in My Adventures With Superman Episode 10

As perhaps one of the biggest, if a bit obvious, reveals, this episode finally digs into Lois’ familial history. First brought up in episode 4, Lois has mentioned her distant relationship with her father and how he hasn’t really gotten to appreciate her work. Because of this fact, Lois has, in a way, tried to live up to those expectations with Clark and Jimmy’s assistance. Now, in this episode, things finally become more clearer as it’s finally revealed who Lois’ father is: the General, or as readers know him by, Samuel Lane (Joel De La Fuente).

If you haven’t guessed already who the General was, there were a few microcosms placed throughout the show that hint towards this reveal. Particularly, his unwavering caution to protect innocent lives at all costs and believe in justice in episode 5 was one of the big factors that hinted at who he was. Given the fact that Sam has a wife and daughter, which is indeed Lois, last episode, this picture of who “the General” really is has begun to take shape. When Clark learns about this at the front door, it’s a reasonably terrifying moment for him as he doesn’t know how to tell Lois, let alone tell her at all.

A Two-Sided Story

Shortly after, Clark and Lois sit alongside the General, with Martha (Kari Wahlgren) for emotional support. While the awkwardness fills the air, Jimmy’s inviting presence gets everyone to start laying down their emotions onto him. This leaves Lois and Sam together, which brings somewhat of a sad father-daughter moment between the two. Lois, who’s in love with Clark/Superman, has done so much work that’s gotten her the fame and reputation she’s wanted, but Sam doesn’t see it that way as he strongly believes in one side of the story. On the other hand, Lois has seen two sides of Superman in action, but she believes that her Clark doesn’t hold the same evil as the other Supermen.

This moment in particular is very interesting because it showcases the dynamic between knowing half-truths and full-truths. With Sam knowing one side of the story and Lois knowing the entirety of Clark’s character, Lois may be able to teach her father that Clark isn’t the bad guy. However, because he isn’t trusting, even with his own daughter, it creates this familial conflict that’s confronted near the episode’s ending. It definitely feels inconclusive as of now, but perhaps this additional storyline will be explore in the next season, which I hope it will.

My Adventures With Superman Episode 10 Personally Permeates Clark’s Heroism

In addition to the beginning of Lois and Sam’s father-daughter relationship, this episode also finally brings us a closer (and final) look at Clark and his father, Jor-El (Jason Marnocha). Since the show’s beginning, Clark could never fully understand what or who his father really was. All he really had to go off on was that he was there, and given the viewpoint of how humanity views his species, he could be evil.

However, in this episode, we finally get Jor-El’s true intentions: he’s not the bad guy either. Like the many variations of himself in the comics, Jor-El sought to protect Clark from any danger and hoped he could learn from him. Unfortunately, because Clark couldn’t understand him, the only way that he can prove his intention is through action. That’s exactly what’s done here as Jor-El assists Clark in stopping the dropship from opening the portal to evil Kryptonian forces.

Leading to a great action sequence between Clark, Jor-El, and the Kryptonian drones, this final third finally permeates Clark’s heroism in the face of all odds. Though he’s in good faith with Metropolis, Lois and Jimmy had some diluted trust after they saw all the evil Supermen in the Council’s files. However, Clark’s heart remains in the right place as he sacrifices his life to save those he loves by plunging the Kryptonite into the dropship. It’s the heartbreaking climax that a show like this needs and it plays out in such a bittersweet, if quick, way.

A Fatherly Heart-to-Heart

All this finally leads to that heart-to-heart moment between Clark and Jor-El. Though Clark’s never been able to understand him, he finally got to know Jor-El with his heroic and protective actions towards him. With Clark sacrificing everything he’s got, Jor-El decides to do the one thing he can do: save his son from destruction.

While it might be a cool callback to Clark’s saving from Krypton’s destruction, it’s also a heartfelt moment between a father and a son who could never really get on the same page. Jor-El just wanted to be this figure that Clark would look up to. Since he never did, then maybe Jor-El could hope that Clark could remember him for this moment. Because of this, Clark can truly know that he’s meant for good rather than for evil and it’s really saddening (in a positive way) to see Jor-El’s sacrifice play out.

The Uniting of Two Iconic Superman Villains

However, while these familial relationships may be the core of this final episode, there are a few more things that put the cherry on top. After Clark stops the impending invasion, it’s revealed what are the other forces in play that led to the events of this episode. A bit surprisingly, they’re actually none other than Brainiac and General Zod, the other two cornerstones of Superman’s rogues gallery.

What’s more surprising, however, is that Zod and Brainiac are actually working together, which could mean so many things. Are Brainiac and Zod two different antagonistic forces that found a common interest? Is Brainiac built from the same Kryptonian technology like everything Clark, Lois, and Jimmy have come across? There are a lot of ideas that come into mind as to why Zod and Brainiac may work together, but we’ll have to see what their intentions are in the next season!

Overall, My Adventures With Superman episode 10 is a satisfying conclusion to Clark Kent’s journey of self-discovery while building to something much bigger than what Clark, Lois, and Jimmy can handle. This season has been a very great season even if there were a few missteps and few bumps to push things quickly. It’s been a wild ride to watch Clark, Lois, and Jimmy learn and grow together in this “origin” story and seeing their journey has been amazing. Hopefully, the show’s second season can continue this path while expanding this unique world for a new age of Superman.

★★★★

Check out our overarching review for My Adventures with Superman here!

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