Recap: Jordan Begins To Find His Way in ‘Superman & Lois’ Season 1, Episode 3 “The Perks of Not Being a Wallflower”
On last week’s episode of Superman & Lois, we really started to get a sense of who the superfamily are sans Clark. Tonight, we saw the introduction of Leslie Larr (Stacey Farber), a family paint fight, and Jordan narrowly escape outing himself and the family for their superbeing capabilities. Read on to find out what happens in “The Perks of Not Being a Wallflower.”
The episode opens with the family making a stamp on the Kent home to make it their own, deciding on a paint color for the house. A family paint fight ensues when Lois fires the first brushstroke, but it’s quickly interrupted by Clark who hears an accident happening. With a bridge collapse imminent, Superman finds a way to hold up the entire bridge (like only he could) and saves a fisherman as well as a bus full of children.
At the dining table the Kents are having breakfast. The boys begin questioning their dad all about his Superman status, including asking him all sorts of questions like what the most embarrassing thing he’s ever overheard with his super hearing. As you can imagine, they don’t exactly get an answer but the non-answer is kind of one in itself. (We won’t tell if you won’t, Clark.)
Lois tells them they have to be mindful of their actions, knowing they wouldn’t outright say what’s going on at home on say, Facebook, but Jonathan lets her know they aren’t a bunch of soccer moms. Elsewhere, Lana and Kyle are waiting for Sarah to return from her appointment when they get in an argument in the car. Lana asks how the appointment went but Sarah brushes it off saying it’s strictly between her and her doctor.
At school, Jordan once again finds himself running into Sarah’s boyfriend Sean, who is still ticked about Jordan kissing her in the pilot episode. Jonathan tries to intervene to protect his twin but gets pushed away. When things seem like they are about to go sideways, a.k.a. Jordan was about to use his newfound powers to take down Sean, Clark shows up and interrupts, causing the scuffle to dissipate. Jordan and Jonathan both question their father’s intentions, and Jordan isn’t too happy that his dad is spying on him. (But can you blame him? You’ve got powers. And you’re a teenager!)
At home, they are still fuming that they are being watched by their dad, not realizing it’s for their own protection. Lois and Clark are seen having a nice dinner together as Lois recalls the time that she, too, caught him listening to her and how damaging that was on their own relationship. Clark apologizes to the boys, telling them he shouldn’t have been listening to them without their permission.
Lois is hard at work at the Gazette. They get a tip on a potential story having to do with Morgan Edge. Sharon Powell believes that her son’s disappearance was at the hands of Edge, that there was foul play involved. Jordan enters the high school when he overhears Sarah and Sean talking and they look as if they have broken up. At cheer practice, Sarah seems off to her mom who pulls her aside. She takes it into her own hands, letting her mom know she is quitting the team. At football practice, Jordan shows up and tells Jonathan he wants to sign up for the team. But Jon is worried about his brother’s powers getting in the way. The Coach lets him in, and Jordan basically runs through the whole team, to put it lightly.
Jordan, Jon, and Sarah are at the diner hanging out together. They talk about Sarah and Sean’s breakup, but she says it was long overdue. Lana shows up to talk to her daughter and tries to pull her aside but Sarah is hard headed and stands her ground. She wants her mom to back off and give her space, and calls her family a “dumpster fire.” Clark shows up and sits down with the boys, asking them about their days. Jordan picks on Jon letting their dad know Jon was doing reps for most of practice, hiding the fact that Jordan even tried out for the team and got a spot.
Back at the Gazette, Lois wants to dig more into the Powell case, but Chrissy says they don’t have the resources to investigate leads for weeks on end. They hear an explosion and head outside to see Lois’ station wagon in flames.
At home Jon talks to Jordan about how he lied to their dad, but they get in an argument when Jon asks if he’s done showing off and playing football. Jordan wants everyone to stop treating him like he’s a precious toy or a ticking time bomb that is just waiting to explode. Lois and Clark have another nightly wine session on the porch. He tells her to dig deeper into the case and says he will support any decision she makes.
Clark meets up with Lana to hand over some paperwork. She apologizes for blowing him off at the diner and confides in him feeling like her family is completely falling apart. Lana says she heard that Jordan is proving himself as a football star and Clark goes to correct her, but she said what she said. At practice, Sean wants a piece of Jordan who lets him have it, but soon after he decides to take the high road and apologizes for kissing Sarah. (Maybe their beef has finally been squashed?)
Clark and Jordan are in an argument about his decision to join the football team and how he didn’t tell his dad. Clark says that maybe taking him to see the Fortress and his grandfather this early on was a mistake, and Jordan says that his dad being around more was a mistake. Ouch. Clark sends them off to their rooms and Lois tells him to find the roots of his feelings to better address them.
Jon visits Jordan’s room and sees an incoming text pop up on Jordan’s phone from Malcolm to talk about defense. Jon heads downstairs to talk to his dad and says that maybe Jordan joining the team will be good for him, his emotions, and his social life. Clark reiterates that they still need to be careful and him using his advantages is dangerous. But Jon philosophizes with him and makes a pretty good point.
What’s the point of having something special if you’re not actually allowed to be special?
Lois exits Clark’s pickup to meet up with Sharon and discuss more about her son’s untimely disappearance. When she enters the room it’s clear something isn’t right. A mysterious man (Daniel Cudmore) appears and traps her inside the motel room. They get in a scuffle and she stabs him in the ear. She sends out a signal to Superman to come help, who shows up and an epic slo-mo fight scene ensues. Lois tries to wake up Sharon and calls for Superman to help, he gets back up and freezes the man in place before sending him flying across the room and out of the door.
Lana talks to Sarah, apologizing. She wants her to be okay, but they used to be close and she feels as though Sarah is hiding things from her. Sarah says she felt trapped, feeling like she couldn’t escape. She didn’t want her future to turn into something that she purposely tried so hard not to be. They share a heartfelt moment together that ends in a sweet hug.
Clark tells the story of him wanting to join the baseball team and how his dad wouldn’t let him try out for the team. He said that the main reason wasn’t even that he wanted to play, but it was for a girl, and not himself. So he asks Jordan if this is something he truly wants for himself and if he will be able to control his powers, and Jordan gleefully says yes, and asks if he’s allowed to play.
At school, Sarah and Jordan are talking, and although she’s not on the cheer team anymore, he asks if she will still go to the game. She bashfully says it would be fun to see it as a bystander. Clark appears in the background and we have now learned that he is the new assistant coach (complete with the jacket and cap!).
The episode ends with the introduction of Leslie Larr, as she heat visions the heck out of Cudmore’s character Subjekt-11. Just another day in Smallville!