Recap / Superman And Lois S 1 E 12 Through The Valley Of Death

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Recap of Superman & Lois
Season 1, Episode 12

Through the Valley of Death

Lois and John Henry Irons can’t seem to agree on the best way to stop Morgan Edge. Lois and the boys work to find and recover Clark while General Lane and John Henry look for ways to neutralize the Kryptonian threat to Earth. Meanwhile, an old friend drops in to help with the search.

Tropes:

• Affectionate Nickname: Sam calls Lois "Pumpkin" when she suffers a Heroic BSoD from possibly about losing Clark.
• Body Snatcher: Edge tries to do this to Superman by implanting Zod's consciousness in his body.
• The Bus Came Back:
  • John Henry Irons returns after being gone for several episodes.
  • Sarah's younger sister Sophie Cushing also comes back.
• Continuity Nod: It's Diggle, so of course.
  • Diggle arrives saying he's bringing ARGUS tech after Sam contacted Lyla.
  • He already knows about the multiverse when Sam reveals Irons is from a different Earth.
  • While talking with Sam, Digs brings up the last few multiverse shenanigans, as well as the glowing box from Arrow. He also namedrops Oliver.
• Curb-Stomp Battle: Despite having rebuilt his Powered Armor, Steel cannot fight Zod on his own and is quickly overpowered. He only gets a reprieve because Superman is still mentally resisting and trying to hold back.
• Dragon Their Feet: Leslie Larr is still on the run by the end of the episode.
• Evil Sounds Deep: Once he takes over Superman, Zod's voice is pitched very deeply, almost to Voice of the Legion levels.
• Fighting from the Inside: Kyle describes him doing this when being a Subjekt. It (correctly) gives Lois hope that Clark can do the same.
• Generic Graffiti: Kyle, Lana and Sarah return home to find someone having spray-painted "Get out of Smallville" on their house.
• Guest Star: David Ramsey returns as John Diggle.
• "I Know You're in There Somewhere" Fight: John Henry tells Superman (when realizing Clark is still there and fighting) that he can beat his possession and come back to Lois and his family. It works.
• Internal Reveal:
  • Diggle finds out Irons is from another universe.
  • Lois reveals to Irons that Superman is Clark.
• It's All My Fault: Jordan blames himself for not being strong enough to stop Edge from taking their father.
• Killed Off for Real: Edge mentions that Zod is gone for good after Clark regains control of his body.
• Locked Out of the Loop: Since they just fixed their internal family life, the rest of the Cushings refrain from telling Sophie what happened since she was away.
• One-Steve Limit: Averted, as this episode features both John Diggle and John Irons, not to mention Jon Kent.
• Retcon: Over in Supergirl, Kara mentioned that Superman had fought Zod at some point before that show started. Post-Crisis, Zod's mind was uploaded into the Eradicator, indicating he didn't make it off Krypton.
• The Reveal: Irons was in the middle of a fight with his version of Superman when a portal opened up just as he fired the Red Sun Rocket. He isn't sure if it worked, as Superman flew off before he passed through the portal.
• Shut Up, Hannibal!: After being defeated by Steel and Superman, Edge insists one last time that Superman could have ruled with him and will now die with everyone else. Superman punches him unconscious mid-sentence.
• So Proud of You: Sam tells Lois that he is proud of her for never losing hope in regards to Clark.
• Stalker without a Crush: Irons has been keeping tabs on this Earth's version of his younger sister.
• Strike Me Down: When he briefly regains control, Clark begs Irons to kill him for the sake of protecting Earth and his loved ones. But Irons instead helps him regain control permanently by reminding him of Lois and his family and how they'll be devastated to lose him.
• Took a Level in Idealism: At first, Irons firmly sticks to his belief that Superman needs to be killed; even insisting that Superman signaling Lois to contact him was his go-ahead to do so in order to protect Earth from an evil-version of himself. However, after much convincing from several people, Irons finally drops his agenda and instead helps Clark regain control and teams up with him to take out Edge. After this, Irons seems to have finally lightened up and parts with the Kent family on good terms.
• Unspoken Plan Guarantee: When Zod is defeated, Zeta forces Edge to enact a contingency plan, one even Edge is reluctant to use. It involves him using his heat vision on the Eradicator, seemingly taking on all the minds within. Whatever the next step, Edge doesn't seem too concerned about being defeated and stuck in a Kryptonite cell afterwards.
• Wham Line: "Not even Superman can resist the will of Zod."
• What the Hell, Hero?: Diggle is not happy that Sam lied to get ARGUS tech and calls him out for deciding to kill Superman without considering alternate options first. Lois, of course, is also equally upset that he went behind her back.
• You Are Better Than You Think You Are: Jonathan's pep talk is what helps Jordan to correctly use his super hearing in order to locate Clark.

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