r/SupermanAndLois • u/MajorParadox r/DCFU • Nov 19 '24
Post Discussion Superman & Lois [4x08] "Sharp Dressed Man" Post Episode Discussion
Sharp Dressed Man
Live Episode Discussion | Cast & Characters
Luthor challenges Lois to a live telecast debate, though not everything is as it seems. John Henry and Clark face a troubling possibility. (November 18, 2024)
Please keep all discussions civil and about the episode. Mark comic and future spoilers. Report any rule-breaking and enjoy!
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u/Catharus_ustulatus Nov 19 '24
Godfrey: "Flash!...forward to this evening..."
Well said, Tom.
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u/callows5120 Nov 19 '24
They absolutely knew what they were doing.
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u/PT10 Nov 19 '24
I was going to be like didn't they recognize Wells? But then I realized this is a world where a pair of glasses can conceal Superman's identity.
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u/Eurynom0s Nov 20 '24
Always happy to see Tom but I couldn't stop thinking about how this was kind of a weird way to bring him in for an episode. Although I did appreciate that for one a doppelganger was a just completely different name, job, etc instead of just being a slight twist on the original character.
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Jul 24 '25
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u/Catharus_ustulatus Jul 24 '25
They're separate characters. The show was just making a joke about the actor's other role, like how Jeri Ryan's character on Arrow was an old friend of Oliver's mom. It's a DC TV tradition.
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u/ephemeralafterall Nov 19 '24
Loved this episode! Jon and Jordan doing duo laser eyesā¦brilliant!
I have to admit, I totally understood Candice freaking out - going from a normal life to having the press hound you at all hours, and rock up at your workplace to offer you more than your monthās wages for an interview about your boyfriend would freak anyone out, not to mention she and the boys are only 16.
Loisā smile at her cancer all-clear was lovely. Loved seeing John Henry and Nat back, as always. I was concerned we could lose JHI, but glad it just took Clark kicking the suit about for 20 minutes (and Milton changing tack), lol.
A surprise, it seems like, for Tom Cavanaghās character! Different to who we expected.
Lex is a force to be reckoned with, though thereās an underlying panic and anger which he covers very well with feigned confidence.
Wonderful scene at the end with the family. Iām torn between whether Clark will become āhumanā or get his heart backā¦I was leaning towards him keeping Samās heart before, but after tonightās episode I think Iāve swung the other way. I think itād be great for the fans to see Clark back at his best with his sons at his side in the finaleā¦maybe.
Bring on next week! I want so many more episodesā¦
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u/smthngclvr Nov 19 '24
I doubt Clark will ever recover to full strength. I think theyāre setting up a scenario that allows him to grow old with Lois, instead of outliving her.
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u/tinaoe Nov 19 '24
The thing is I assume Jon and Jordan might be a bit more long lived as well, so them having their dad around for longer would be lovely as well
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u/romeovf Nov 19 '24
That's my take on things, too. He'll get a normal, human life with Lois, which is fine. His boys can be the new champions of justice.
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u/Foxzomo Nov 19 '24
My argument for that though is I can't imagine the sendoff for the show being that we wouldn't see Clark full powered one last time and that he might just die of a heart attack? I feel like it needs more weight to it but we'll have to see.
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u/Auctorion Nov 19 '24
The counterargument for that is that the show has dedicated a fair bit of time to establishing the super twins' futures as Superman's disciples/successors. They can never truly flourish unless they step out of his shadow, and they can never do that until he stops casting one.
I recall that the showrunners said it would end in a very different place to other Superman stories. I suspect that there will be a doomed last ditch effort to preserve his powers, and he will then burn up the remainder defeating Luthor ala the Super Flare in the comics. There has to be a cost for victory.
That said, I hope that the last scenes reveal that his transplanted heart was somehow "reset" by the expenditure of all of his power (by removing the strain, allowing his body to fully accept it), and that right at the end he hears something far away and smiles, knowing his powers will return one day.
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u/Foxzomo Nov 19 '24
That's what I mean though and what I agree with, I feel like an ending where it's just up in the air that he will lose his powers and succumb to heart disease isn't a great ending? But it's still an ending (also the arrowverse did a depowered Tom welling). I would take an ending where he sacrifices his power for the future of his sons, or like you said there's a chance they could come back. But truthfully it just doesn't feel like a send off to not have Clark (and honestly Tyler) full powered one last time on screen you know?
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u/Indy0921 Nov 20 '24
But he can't grow old with lois. He said that he probably only has what sam had left, or mabey less. Sam was in his 60s, so that means he would die way befor lois.
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u/smthngclvr Nov 20 '24
Sam could easily have lived for another 20 or 30 years. The reality is that men usually die before women. Clarkās father died relatively young, a long time before his mother did. It would be sad but poetic if the boys had the same experience.
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u/Indy0921 Nov 21 '24
Not to be rude but I would hate that. Also clark said that it's mabey less then sam.
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u/Motor_Buyer_5506 Nov 21 '24
This is the final season, and the end for this particular universe of Superman. So to reset him back to normal would be pointless. It would have a solid impact to have an ending scene where he is growing old with Lois while his sons are doing all the super hero things. We haven't seen something like that with Superman before on TV or in the movies and it would be a refreshing take.
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u/ephemeralafterall Nov 21 '24
ā¦Aaand Iām swinging the other way againā¦man, thatās a good point too! All bets are off as itās the final seasonā¦Iāll really miss this show, but I canāt wait to see what happens.
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u/throoowwawaaaaaaayyy Nov 19 '24
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u/Kwilly462 Nov 19 '24
Great episode. The fact that Supes is losing his powers just a little, day by day, is very interesting. I just thought they would write it up where he's not what he used to be. Didn't think they'd eventually drain all the power from him.
But I guess it's a good thing he conceived twin boys with powers.
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u/dancingonolympus Nov 19 '24
All of this talk of Clark dying makes me even more scared for the next episode, called āto live and die againāā¦
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u/areyoukiddingmern Nov 19 '24
I feel like theyāre gonna kill Doomsday.
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u/GoFlyersWoo Nov 19 '24
Doomsday comes back, all chill, like Sup Everyone? And they just yoink his heart for Clark lmao
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u/areyoukiddingmern Nov 19 '24
Iām thinking heās gonna show up in the fight with Lex (in the suit) and Doomsday is gonna die trying to protect Clark from Lex and then theyāre gonna do a heart swap
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u/papill6n Nov 20 '24
I would love that! I don't want Clark to lose his powers and die without being there for his kids.
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u/Tron_1981 Nov 20 '24
That crossed my mind, but isn't Doomsday's heart on the opposite side of his body? Regardless, I'm still not sure if it would work. He's a Clark doppelganger, but his physiology is still different. Not sure how they would work around that, if the writers don't just ignore it entirely.
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u/PenonX Nov 19 '24
Kill Doomsday, take his heart, and give it to Clark. Wonder if Doomsday can regrow a new heart.
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u/sourpatchkidj Nov 19 '24
OK, is it just me, or did this episode not really crescendo??? There was this tense buildup with the interview, dialogue misdirection, and Milton hijacking the suit, then after commercial, we just cut to the Kents at home watching the interview on the couch? I feel cheated.
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u/nimrodhellfire Nov 20 '24
Yeah, also what stops Luis to take testimony if his daughter and turn it into an article? The show pretends like that's not a problem for Lex anymore because some distraction.
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u/Isiah0724 Nov 19 '24
Good episode I just didnāt really get Gordonās logic of oh Superman flew through the window so that means he intentionally meant to destroy lexās property
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u/Future_Vantas Nov 19 '24
Doesnt have to be logical, he just needs to spin it that way. And Superman and Lex do have a tense history, as the fight footage showed.
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u/Eurynom0s Nov 20 '24 edited Nov 21 '24
It was a classic comic book villain makes the hero look bad in the media move. With the benefit of probably being an extremely cheap option in terms of production.
It does come off a little goofy with how melodramatic it winds up being about a single window being broken constituting "destroying Lex's property" (especially with Lex being a billonaire, and then even moreso with the idea of "Superman rampaging on someone" being a single fucking broken window), but I'm willing to not think too hard about it knowing how much their budget got cut, that wasn't a scene they needed to burn a bunch of budget on.
[edit] It also immediately struck me that it felt like a pivot to pretty conventional Lex portrayal after all the time they've spent writing him as a pretty different Lex than we usually see.
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u/sourpatchkidj Nov 19 '24
Sensationalist media never is. Hence Lois' "carnival barker" call out. Gordon's the J Jonah Jameson (a la No Way Home) of the S&L universe.
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u/KLLTHEMAN Nov 19 '24
āThis isnāt journalism, just noiseā then why did you show up?
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u/onthenerdyside Nov 19 '24
I couldn't quite figure out why Lois took the bait on this, other than thinking she could get Lex's daughter on the phone live on air. But if that's all she wanted, she should have just released an interview on the Gazette's website or some other public platform. You don't agree to a debate on a few hours notice and not even have clear ground rules.
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u/KLLTHEMAN Nov 20 '24 edited Nov 20 '24
It was just some more shoehorned in stupidity because otherwise you wouldnāt be able to have an evil mastermind plot if the other characters arenāt stupid enough to just be led by the nose
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u/DtownBronx Nov 19 '24
I'm assuming you've been alive for at least some of the last 15-20 years, we've seen it happen in real time in multiple nations. I think it's funny how people will watch stuff like that and call out how ridiculous it is while falling for it in real life
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Nov 20 '24 edited Aug 11 '25
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This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact
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u/KitWalkerXXVII Nov 19 '24
It's assuming the worst based on Clark's actions. He's unaware of the imminent threat Superman was leaving to deal with, meaning it looked to him like Superman just flipped and stormed out through a window when the debate wasn't going Lois's way. Now, did it look that way to him because he's a cynical, sensationalistic asshole? Absolutely.
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Nov 19 '24
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u/mikami677 Nov 20 '24
Well, Clark is an illegal alien.
(Anyone else remember that episode of Smallville?)
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u/throoowwawaaaaaaayyy Nov 19 '24
I think people need to let Clark's heart go š It's gone and they're not getting back. It was teased that this series ended with something that "no onscreen Superman adaptation has ever done before", and it's clear now that that's an eventually de-powered Superman growing old with Lois.
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u/throoowwawaaaaaaayyy Nov 19 '24
Side note: I am, however, on board with the theory that he could receive Doomsday's heart (especially given the title of the next episode) but part of me wonders if that'd do even more damage to his body than Sam's š
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u/sourpatchkidj Nov 19 '24
It's possible. But Lex stomping on his heart still feels like a cop out. You have the heart of the greatest being on the planet.... and you just step on it like an ordinary piece of meat? I still don't buy it.
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u/throoowwawaaaaaaayyy Nov 19 '24
His heart was ripped out of his body after a brutal physical fight and had been sitting in a box for days/weeks. Also, we have to remember that Lex had access to kryptonite!
I think the way he just stomped on it was meant to be crude and violent, for Jordan's sake. I guess MAYBE Lex could've kept it as a fucked up trophy, but I really doubt he wouldn't have made sure it was absolutely destroyed, even if it was after Jordan left.
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Nov 19 '24
I dunno about that one. Technically Tom Welling Superman is de-powered and growing old with his Lois. So it's been done onscreen before.
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u/ThatOneAnnoyingBuzz Nov 19 '24
Been saying this since it was destroyed; CW shows, even the better ones like S&L, are not that subtle. If it was still in play it would've at least been hinted at by episode five maximum.
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u/linee001 Nov 19 '24
I seriously love the idea of this show ending with Clark growing old.
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u/nilanganray Nov 19 '24
No onscreen Superman adaptation has ever done before ā except for the part where the Smallville show Superman is also depowered and living normal life as shown in Crisis on Infinite Earths
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u/throoowwawaaaaaaayyy Nov 19 '24
That's technically true but it was such a brief cameo appearance that maybe whoever said it just wasn't counting it. His appearance was kind of just a fun little throwback, he wasn't a central character (in Crisis, at least), we don't know if that version of Clark lost his powers permanently, whether or not he willingly chose to gave them up, etc..
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u/streetscarf Nov 19 '24
What are the chances that Lex uses Clark's heart to power the suit somehow?
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Nov 19 '24
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u/PenonX Nov 19 '24 edited Nov 19 '24
I don't think that was superhearing, personally. Looks more like an anxiety/panic attack or something like that which involves becoming hyperaware of your surroundings. Not exactly an uncommon way for such things to be portrayed in media.
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u/SabbyDude Nov 19 '24
Yeah, that caught me off-guard as well but then I realized Lex might have some form of OCD, especially against strangers in his office and dirtying it
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u/Ygomaster07 Nov 19 '24
Yeah, i was thinking something similar. I react like that myself sometimes and i have both anxiety and OCD.
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u/Alonest99 Nov 19 '24
Yeah, I took it as him being stressed out by all the things that were out of his control. In HIS penthouse, no less.
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u/Eurynom0s Nov 20 '24
I feel like that had to be some kind of intentional fakeout though and not just a coincidence that they portrayed a panic attack attack like that immediately after the scene with Clark and John Henry. But they did keep it a little ambiguous so it could be a fakeout in either direction, it could be trying to tease that they're revealing Lex has Clark's heart in him while leaving us uncertain about it, or it could just be a red herring to make us think he has the heart in him before throwing out something else.
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u/theredmokah Nov 19 '24
It would make zero sense to have Lex develop powers, especially this late in the game.
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u/No_Flower_1424 Nov 19 '24 edited Nov 19 '24
Good episode - glad to see they didn't forget about Lois' cancer and she's all clear
Superboys taking down an opponent together was amazing - and Jon used his heat vision for the first time. I've been waiting for that since he got his powers!
It's nice how Lex's daughter is still helping the Kents out - if only Clark had used a door. I do think Lois rushed into the debate though, although I think ego is definitely one of her flaws
I still think Jon could do better than Candice, but he was precious when he told her to just take the money and talk about him to reporters. I get why she'd be freaked out by the massive fame all of a sudden but did she really have to break up with him over the phone? That's the second girlfriend who did that to him!
Clark slowly losing his powers is exactly what I thought would happen, although it's hilarious John Henry can pick this up when the fortress couldn't. Also this is the first episode this season where John Henry and Clark have a scene together - damn you budget cuts!
So Lex stole JHI's suit for himself and destroyed Nat's suit - surely they can make new ones or is that it for them in the suits?
No seriously...what was with the 3 separate Jamie Kennedy references? And it made him sound like a creep so it wasn't a good thing lol
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Nov 19 '24
Itās not that the Fortress couldnāt detect the changes to Clark, itās that Clark was actively avoiding going to the Fortress to get checked, he wasnāt ready to accept that heās different now and that he wonāt ever be the same as he was before.
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u/Future_Vantas Nov 19 '24
The theme of this episode is how it all loops back around. We started with a health scare for Lois and ended with a health scare for Clark. We started the series with Supes facing someone in a supersuit, and now that supersuit is in the hands of Luthor (with one more "fight" against John Henry for good measure). And this series was kinda tied to Arrowverse and we got one last Cavanagh cameo, who really sold the carnival baker of the New Gods with nice puns for good measure. By the Source I am not ready for this show to end!
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u/magnoliafan78 Nov 19 '24
Itās even more than that. We started the series with a guy called Luthor in a super suit and now that suit is in the hands of the actual Luthor. I love it so much.
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u/ClimateSociologist Nov 19 '24
Tom Cavanagh's appearance was...glorious.
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u/musci12234 Nov 19 '24
They should have called him harrison wells unless they want to do darkseid.
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u/ClimateSociologist Nov 19 '24
The B13 mentioned in the movie times is a reference to Brainiac 13, a version of Brainiac from the 64th century.
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u/Eurynom0s Nov 20 '24
Thanks for explaining what that was. Still felt a little weird that none of the human characters made any sort of "wow weird glitch" comment at B13.
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u/Zookwok111 Nov 19 '24
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Out of all the roles that Cavanagh would play, I didn't think it would be Glorious Godfrey. If we had another season, the tag would have been him reporting to Sophie.
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The writers are still hellbent on making Jon and Candice a thing. The entire b-plot except the last 5 minutes felt kind of pointless, but it was worth it for that twin heat vision moment.
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I feel bad for Nat having to work so much because she felt like she owed it to Sam. Now that her suit is out of commission, maybe she will have time to be a regular teenager.
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Not sure how to feel about Superman's condition. I was fine with the idea of him aging and having a regular human lifespan but dying of heart failure sometime in the next 15-20 years just feels wrong.
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u/DottieSnark Nov 19 '24
I think Nat made it pretty clear that after what happened, she's full on on the DOD stuff, though. She's probably gonna rebuild her suit, or at least build some cool tech.
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u/Jigglypuffamiiga2188 Nov 19 '24 edited Nov 19 '24
Takeaways from this episode:
Gordon Godfrey jumped the multiverse from Young Justice Apocalypse to harass Superman in live action. Also he is played by an actor who has a history of portraying supervillains. Too bad Tim Curry doesnāt do live action any more, I would have loved to see him cameo in this episode. I couldnāt stand the character on Young Justice and heās just as evil and annoying here. Switzerland, yea right, he was totally making that show one-sided and aiming for ratings.
Lex has super hearing? Not sure on this one or if he was just having a panic attack but my theory is he implanted Supermanās heart into his own body.
Milton Fine seems to be a human Brainiac, even has the purple and green theme, but I highly doubt heās a 12th level intellect from Colu. The car was obviously a trap at the beginning so he could hack into the armor, most predictable part of the episode.
Ok, Candace and Jordan are in love, we get it, moving on please, at least it was short.
Poor Nat, being a Superhero and a kid is tough, and working for the DOD is no joke.
So, will Superman find a way to get his heart back from Lex and be Super again? Or is he going to retire and let the boys take over?
Good episode, but I sure hope they can keep the momentum for the finale.
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u/throoowwawaaaaaaayyy Nov 19 '24
I thought the same thing about Lex having Superman's heart! I even rewound to listen to his heartbeat, but it was very clearly not the three-beat sound effect they'd used for Clark's heart before š I was disappointed, it'd be super interesting to see how a human heart affected a kryptonian AND how a kryptonian heart affected a human
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u/Jigglypuffamiiga2188 Nov 19 '24
It was either a panic attack or heās developing superpowers, which may be part of a plan to help him handle the upgrades to the suit. The heartbeat doesnāt have to be 3, Lex is still human, so a Kryptonian heart inside a human might still beat like a human heart. I donāt think Lex would be stupid enough to just destroy something as valuable as a Kryptonian heart, he was just messing with John. We will know in two episodes lol.
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u/nimrodhellfire Nov 19 '24
I mean, we never believed Lex would destroy something as valuable as Superman's heart to begin with.
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u/robynxcakes Nov 19 '24
I have been thinking for weeks he would get Doomsdays heart still think this is possibility especially with next weeks episode title
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u/Catharus_ustulatus Nov 19 '24
I think Lex was having a moment of clarity. The sound effects and then the dolly zoom started when Lex saw Amanda's smirk in the "Preview" window on the monitor, and the imagery of what Lex was perceiving was of being consumed, discarded, laughed at, and manipulated.
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u/Eurynom0s Nov 20 '24
Like I said in another comment, good odds it's a panic attack but it also feels like it can't be a coincidence that they portrayed the panic attack like that right after doing that scene with Clark and John Henry. It's gotta be some kind of intentional fakeout, either being ambiguous enough about it being super senses to tease the heart transplant reveal but not actually confirm it until next episode, or to make us think it's the heart transplant before throwing something else out there next episode.
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u/Jigglypuffamiiga2188 Nov 19 '24
Iām hoping it was superpowers, or a super powered induced panic attack lol, like when Jordan first got his super-hearing. I really want Clark to get his powers back, and I donāt think Lex would be stupid enough to destroy something as valuable as Supermanās heart. He may need superpowers to handle the upgrades Milton is making to the suit. Anyway, we will know in two episodes.
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u/DCB062973 Nov 19 '24
Jamie Kennedy starred in many horrible movies like The one pictured entitled āMalibuās Most Wantedā and another bad sequel to Jim Carreyās mega hit āThe Maskā entitled āSon of the Maskā.
Facially he could pass for the original OG Jonathan Kent (Jordan Elsass) lol
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u/Lacazeng Nov 19 '24
If we all collectively agree that there are more than 2 episodes left maybe itāll be true
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u/JustPomegranate248 Nov 19 '24 edited Nov 19 '24
Seeing the cool super twins heat vision moment makes me so mad that we could have had this all along and makes me even more mad that we don't have another season to see this!
Also I thought it was so funny at the end how the kids and the parents didn't know what the other had been doing all day - 'hey boys I had to fight John Henry's suit' 'Dad you won't believe this...'
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u/RangersAreViable Nov 19 '24
Scenes from next episode- āMaybe it should beā Jonathan on ātaking Lex outā
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Nov 19 '24
that was a great callback giving Lex a suit from another universes Lex
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Nov 19 '24
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u/Ok-Health-7252 Nov 19 '24
For all the shit that Tom Welling Smallville Clark got in Crisis for giving up his powers if they do that with this Superman.....
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Nov 19 '24
This world will still have hope though, when Superman eventually retires, heāll be replaced with two super boys who will grow into heroics in their own right. Superman himself may not be what he once was, but heās leaving a legacy that is just as powerful
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u/Ok-Health-7252 Nov 19 '24
So clearly the recurring theme of this episode was "Jamie Kennedy sent me a friend request." My only response to that was: