Naomi has finally arrived! In the pilot episode, Naomi begins to feel the aftereffects of a strange event involving who may or may not be Superman. She sets out to find answers but only digs up more questions. Read on to find out what happens in the premiere of Naomi.
Meet Naomi McDuffie
Naomi attends a party where we see she’s quite well-liked by her peers. She also runs the #3 Superman site in the world. She talks a guy named Nathan, who reminds Naomi that Superman isn’t real. Naomi is unbothered by this, though. She then goes to talk with her friend Annabelle.
The next morning, Naomi greets her parents (her dad is in the military), and it seems she has a pretty good home life. She heads to school via skateboard, and two people seem especially intrigued by her. When she arrives at school, she meets up with a kid named Anthony in the hallway. He reveals he wasn’t at the party because Nathan gave him the wrong address. Naomi thinks it must’ve been an accident and says she’ll see him in debate club later.
During debate, Naomi gets a text from Annabelle telling her about an event involving Superman is happening in the square. Naomi rushes out but soon begins to feel lightheaded. She passes out just as a blur shoots across the sky.
Looking for Answers
Naomi awakes to find the square in chaos. She finds Annabelle and asks about a buzzing that only Naomi heard. Then Naomi does some recon, asking various people what happened. She learns that Superman was fighting another person in a scene that looked like it belonged in movie. The consensus is that the entire event was an elaborate stunt. Naomi and Annabelle continue the search for answers at the comic book store, hoping that Lourdes will know something as she’s so enmeshed with comics. Lourdes says the same of Naomi because of her Superman knowledge. Before Naomi leaves, she tells Lourdes to text with any Superman news… or even just because. (And yeah, Annabelle, we picked up on that vibe, too.)
At home, Naomi’s dad says the military had nothing to do with the stunt while her mom does a temp check. They sit down for dinner where the conversation turns to Naomi’s dating life, where we learn she used to date Nathan, Anthony, and everyone knows Lourdes has a crush on her. Her dad also begins to get a bit sentimental. Naomi sees texts from Lourdes saying the website is blowing up and does Naomi know anything else. She doesn’t, so she heads back to the square to investigate and notices a security camera is broken. As she walks past an alley, a noise grabs her attention, though she doesn’t spot anyone. When she walks past, a lurker appears in the shadows.
It’s a Bird… It’s a Plane… It Might’ve Been Superman
Naomi continues to ask various people for information, and in a voiceover, she reveals the main lead is that all the security cameras along Main Street were disabled. She tells as much to Annabelle, who notices Naomi is a bit off and thinks it’s about the site. Naomi tells her it’s because comics used to bring her comfort, but ever since the event, she feels off and doesn’t know why.
Later, she and Nathan put together footage of the event. While they wait for it to process, Naomi shares that despite the breakup, she still feels the same about Nathan and thinks it’s weird about what happened with Anthony. Nathan admits he doesn’t like Anthony, probably because Naomi does. Once the footage is ready, they watch it, and it definitely looks like Superman. After a few moments, they rewatch it slower. Naomi notices Dee and points out that it looks like he knows the guy posing as Superman.
So, they go pay Dee a visit at his tattoo parlor. They make some small talk that leads to Dee revealing he knows Naomi’s adoption date thanks to social media (seems sus, but okay). Naomi mentions the event and Dee maybe knowing the Superman guy. Dee tries to avoid answering, but Naomi keeps pushing. She wants answers. Eventually Dee claims ownership of the whole event before sending Naomi and Nathan on their way.
Debate Is All the Buzz
It’s the day of Naomi’s debate event. Her parents give her the keys to drive but are surprised she doesn’t react with excited screaming. She tells them about Dee knowing her adoption date that no one else could know, going into why she wears glasses when they don’t always help (they’re for a condition she has). Naomi thinks maybe Dee knew her birth parents. He can’t, though, because they died in a crash.
The debate begins and the topic is essentially nature versus nurture. Naomi leans towards the nurture side, explaining how everyone must make choices. As the moderator poses the first question, Naomi answers first. However, she notices people walk in and begins to hear the buzzing again before passing out. When she’s conscious, her mom says it was probably just a panic attack. She and Annabelle begin to talk about Naomi driving, but Naomi tunes her out while she watches a group. She discovers she can read a small note one of the group is holding without her glasses. On it, she reads that evidence of Superman lies in the Red River Forest.
Into the Woods
Naomi’s next stop is the forest where she takes photos of marks left behind by Superman. She finds a disk with strange writing on it when Annabelle calls, but service is spotty at best. After she hangs up, Zumbado arrives. Both want to know what the other is doing in the forest. Zumbado knows that Naomi is there for her website and wonders what her attachment is to Superman. She tells him it’s because they’re both adopted, but Zumbado doesn’t buy it. He wants the disk. He thinks Naomi was looking for it and that’s why she was investigating Main Street. This prompts Naomi to realize Zumbado was following her and he’s probably the one who disabled the cameras. He demands the disk again as leaves begin swirling. Naomi runs. He goes to find her, explaining powers, learning to control them, and how he used to be ashamed of his. When he finds her, she yells for him to get back, and some sort of spark throws her backwards. But it wasn’t Zumbado who did it.
Later, Naomi has told Annabelle everything and she believes Naomi. However, she isn’t sure how Zumbado fits into everything. Naomi says they need to get the disk back. Naturally, a little breaking and entering is involved.
The Right Question
Naomi and Annabelle meet with a few other kids and break into Zumbado’s dealership. As they search, Naomi finds a newspaper whose headline focuses on a mysterious glowing object that appeared over Port Oswego on her adoption day. Lourdes, Anthony, and Nathan find a large safe and show Naomi. Before she can find a way to open it, Annabelle radios them that Zumbado is back. They all leave just in time.
Naomi goes to see Dee again. He admits he wasn’t behind the stunt but would rather not continue talking. Eventually, Naomi persuades him. He tells her he’s not the one with answers, but he’ll try his best. Naomi gives him the bullet points of what happened, including the buzzing. This catches Dee’s attention but doesn’t seem to mean too much. Soon, he gets cryptic, saying how everything going on wasn’t supposed to unfold like this. Since it is, he decides to show her that he has wings. The lights go haywire before shorting out completely. Naomi wants to know who Dee is, but he emphasizes that’s not the question she needs to ask. After more pushing, Naomi realizes the question: “Who am I?”
Naomi airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT on The CW, available the next day on The CW app and cwtv.com. Keep up with our weekly recaps and other coverage here.
