‘Superman & Lois’ Recap: Season 1, Episode 13 “Fail Safe”

Haley
11 Min Read
Bettina Strauss/The CW

Tal-Rho and Leslie are locked away, Clark comes to a harsh realization, and the Cushings are unsure of their place in Smallville. Read on to find out what happens in episode 13 of Superman & Lois, “Fail Safe.”

Edge is locked away in the prison, and a memory flashes of a younger Tal-Rho, undergoing the eradication process. Superman asks him where the eradicator and Leslie have run off to, but he doesn’t know — he only knows what’s in his mind. Tal-Rho says the souls of the planet aren’t his concern, but the Kryptonian souls are. Once they locate Leslie, Superman promises they won’t see each other ever again.

The Kent family is having breakfast, and Clark is cluing the boys in on what’s happening. They go over their cover story before heading off to school. Lois heads to the Gazette to meet with Chrissy.

At the Cushing household, it’s recommended that Kyle take some time off from work; everything will blow over soon. At school, Sarah meets up with Jon and Jordan, and the other school kids are still not over the situation. Jordan chases after her to talk. Meanwhile, Jon is getting grilled about Edge and the DoD. Once they leave, Tiegan walks up to him and suggests they go somewhere together.

The Gazette is desperate for another story. There are bits and pieces of stories, but they need verification from the DoD. Lois reaches out to Sam to get answers. Clark hands breakfast over to Irons who is using his Kryptonian tracking system to potentially find Leslie. Clark offers to get him in at the DoD, but Irons isn’t interested. Clark gets notified of Leslie just as Irons does, and they both jet off to find her before she gets to the DoD.

Superman is trying to get more information from the DoD on Leslie. Just as she’s about to crash into the building, he intercepts and takes her down. She punches him and as she’s about to dust him, Irons shoots her down temporarily. Sam vows to get rid of the Kryptonian weapons but keep enough to keep Leslie and Tal-Rho at bay.

Jon and Tiegan are on a drive through town. They both dance around the big question; Jon says he’s single now, and she isn’t seeing anyone either. Jordan and Sarah on the other hand have also skipped the assembly. Jordan wants to take her to do something fun, but they soon come across an abandoned bridge.

Kyle and Lana are at the diner talking about what they are going to do, now that their jobs are in question. Kyle’s work buddies come in, and they ask him about his leave of absence. Kyle gets defensive, so Lana grabs her things so they can leave.

Lois is at the DoD trying to get answers to the public’s questions; he isn’t budging, but she wants to protect them. He doesn’t want the story to grow legs and move out of Smallville with a quote from him, so she needs to keep the story as minimal as possible.

Back to Tal-Rho, he’s still reliving a memory of resurrecting the Kryptonians. Superman once again asks about the eradicator, but he still has no answers. However, now they have Leslie. Tag-Rho engages in an argument with Superman about his control. Superman won’t give him satisfaction as he looks him in the eyes and says goodbye.

Bettina Strauss/The CW

Chrissy questions why they aren’t getting more out of the DoD. Lois tries her best to protect the truth, but Chrissy says if she can’t tell the truth, she needs to go. So she does.

Jon and Tiegan are talking about their lives when she brings up the “brainwashing.” Jon obviously knows he can’t tell her what’s happening, so he asks why she wants to hang out with him. He realizes she just wants information from him because everyone wants to know what happened. Jon is clearly hurt and walks away.

Kyle and Lana are back home, and Kyle is furious with the town not believing that they are innocent in all of this. Lana tries to act as the voice of reason. It may take time, but they aren’t alone. Kyle suggests they move out of Smallville, because they were so quick to turn their backs on them.

Jordan and Sarah are hanging out on the bridge, the both of them confiding in each other. Jordan says it takes one person to make you feel safe, and she has that. They kiss but quickly get interrupted by the sheriff finding them.

Clark and Sam are going over all of the weapons that are being taken, Clark has a change of heart; the weapons need to stay as a fail safe. 

Inside the barn at the Kent farm, Irons is fixing up his suit. His AI asks him what his new plan is now that everything is wrapped up. She wonders if he will finally go to see his sister on this Earth; he suggests she’s pushy. Jon walks in and soon Clark follows, asking why he isn’t at school.

Lana finds Kyle outside looking for jobs while Sophie is in the kitchen. She asks if anything is going on, and Lana tries to dodge the subject. A call comes through from the police station that Sarah was arrested, and Lana is shocked.

Clark says it’s not like him to skip class, and he says exactly why it happened but he didn’t say anything. Lois rushes in, angry, that Clark wants to keep the weapons in play. She knows this is about his corruption at the hands of Tal-Rho. She makes a good point that when they get in the hands of the wrong people, what then? She heads to the police station to pick up her other kid who has been arrested. They’re still arguing but says they can continue the conversation later when she bails Jordan out of jail. 

Bettina Strauss/The CW

Walking outside of the police station, Lana overhears the mayor talking about her family so she sets the record straight. Lois asks if she’s okay, and Lana is unsure. Smallville has always had her back, but now everyone has turned their backs on her family. Back at home, Lois and Clark finish their much-needed conversation. Clark realizes this is the time he has to tell her the truth; he has been controlling his powers for nearly 40 years.

When he was taken over by Zod, it was the first time he let go of control, and it felt good. So that is why the weapons need to stay. While Lois finally comes around and agrees that they need a fail safe, she doesn’t trust the DoD to handle it. Clark talks to Irons and asks him to handle the weapons. Irons wants to move on now that he knows the world is safe. Clark says he can move on and still protect the world by doing his duty. 

At the Gazette, Chrissy is giving Lois the cold shoulder. Lois admits Sam is hiding the truth. While she can’t write the story to sound subjective, she hands a statement over to Chrissy from her father.

Tal-Rho is slowly losing his mind as his father tells him that his way is the only way of doing things. He takes the crystal and effectively destroys it. In reality, he shuts off before opening his eyes; this time, they’re blue.

Lois and Clark are talking to the boys who apologize in the least convincing way possible. They are sent to their rooms for bed. Lois teases Clark about small towns being “a lot of fun,” and he asks if she’s still not convinced 

Meanwhile, at the DoD, they are notified of problems with Tal-Rho. As they approach him he awakens and stands. He’s able to break out of the cell and levitate his way through the threshold. He bolts out as the DoD goes on lockdown. Sam calls for Superman and says one simple word: “Edge.” Superman dashes out and heads outside of Earth to get a better ear. But Tal-Rho has left; he’s absorbing the eradicator.

Be sure to check out our other coverage of Superman & Lois here.

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By Haley
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Haley joined the Nerds and Beyond team in 2019 as a Writer and Editor. Her main fandoms include Criminal Minds, Wrestling, and The Walking Dead. You can find her on Twitter @haleyanne_.
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