Recap / Superman And Lois S 1 E 14 The Eradicator

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Recap of Superman & Lois
Season 1, Episode 14

The Eradicator

It's all hands on deck as Superman, John Henry, Lois, General Lane, and the DOD all work together to try to find Morgan Edge and stop his genocidal plan. Their task is made more difficult by Chrissy's article which stirs up strong anti-military, anti-occupation sentiments in Smallville. The Cushings consider moving out of Smallville as hostilities against them continue to grow. Jonathan spends time with John Henry, taking a growing interest in gadgetry. Finally, Metropolis comes under attack when Tal-Rho is ready to enact his plan, but Superman soon learns that's not the most dire threat Tal-Rho poses.

Tropes:

• Anguished Declaration of Love: While being kidnapped, Jordan only has enough time to tell Sarah he loves her before he's whisked away.
• Blessed with Suck: Clark's super-hearing actually works against him in this case. In order to open the range of his hearing to try and find Jordan, he gets subjected to that much more background sounds.
• Both Sides Have a Point: While the citizens of Smallville have a right to be angry for being under seeming occupation by the DOD for so long without knowing why, Sam is also right that telling them the truth would probably cause a panic.
• The Bus Came Back: Samuel Foswell returns.
• Calling the Old Man Out: Sarah does this with both of her parents when they announce their plans to move, calling them lying hypocrites.
• Cover-Blowing Superpower: Jordan casually mentions something he overheard Lana saying to Clark while sitting with Sarah, even though the adults are inside the house with the door closed. Fortunately, she's too distracted to question how he could have heard them.
• Dark and Troubled Past: Tegan Wickhem, when apologizing to Jonathan, mentions she moved to Smallville from Central City due to her dad being sent to prison.
• Exactly What I Aimed At: Irons tosses his hammer at a Subject, only for it to go wide. The Subject says he missed. It then cuts to Lois about to be killed by Larr, in the same manner she died in Irons' world, only for Larr to suddenly get a hammer upside the head and saving Lois. It then takes out the Subject on the way back.
  Irons: I never miss.
• The Heart: Clark calls Lana the heart of Smallville.
• History Repeats: Averted. Lois is on the news reporting the attack when Larr flies up behind her; her horrified sons are watching this on TV. Instantly noticing the similarity, they're terrified that what happened to Irons' Lois is about to happen to their own mom as Larr bears down on her. Irons prevents it with his hammer strike on Larr, much to their relief.
• Innocently Insensitive: Jonathan telling John how awesome it is that his daughter helped him build his suit angers the latter, as he brings up how his daughter was robbed of a normal childhood.
• Irony: An emotional Sharon Powell snaps at Lois that she doesn't know what it's like to lose a child. Lois and Clark, in fact, lost a daughter through a previous miscarriage and were traumatized by the loss. Lois' crushed face shows that it's a rather Kick the Dog moment for her as Clark instantly gives her a worried glance. And at the end of the episode, Edge kidnaps Jordan while Clark and Lois have no way of knowing what's happened to him.
• Kick the Dog: Edge targets Metropolis in his first attack because he knows Superman will come to defend the city, then kidnaps Jordan after the attack is thwarted while Superman is distracted helping the military clean up the mess.
• Mook Maker: With the power of the Eradicator now a part of him, Edge can imbue Kryptonian minds and powers into anyone he wants without external aid.
• No-Sell: With the power of the Eradicator and a metric ton of solar energy fueling him, Superman and Irons can't even touch Edge, simply bouncing off a barrier.
• Properly Paranoid: Lois surmises that something is up with Edge targeting Metropolis, because if his intent were to hurt Superman personally, he'd target Lois or the boys. She turns out to be right, as the attack is a diversion to get Superman out of Smallville, allowing Edge to grab and hide Jordan before Superman can stop him.
• Tainted Veins: After he has completely powered up, Edge has cracked skin with blue light seeping through, showing that his body can barely contain the energy he now possesses.
• That Man Is Dead: Larr tells Superman that Tal-Rho is no more. All that's left is the Eradicator.
• Title Drop: The Eradicator is mentioned, naturally.
• Voices Are Mental: Jordan speaks with Zeta-Rho's voice after having his mind implanted in his body.
• Voice of the Legion: This is acknowledged in-universe, with both Superman and Irons noting that Edge's voice now sounds like a whole lot of voices speaking in unison. From this they deduce that he's fused with the Eradicator.
• We Need a Distraction: Edge attacks Metropolis not only to hurt Superman, but to draw his attention away from Smallville so he can kidnap Jordan while Superman is distracted.
• You Are Better Than You Think You Are: Tamera Dalley gives Kyle a pep talk regarding his current situation, reminding him how she was treated in the past for being a black woman on the force, and he helped her prove them wrong.

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