Recap / Superman And Lois S 2 E 4 The Inverse Method

Previous: Superman And Lois S 2 E 3 The Thing In The Mines
Next: Superman And Lois S 2 E 5 Girl Youll Be A Woman Soon

Recap of Superman & Lois
Season 2, Episode 4

The Inverse Method

Lois' attempts to reconnect with her sister are stymied by a charismatic motivational speaker. Jordan learns an important lesson about the risks of using his powers in public. Jonathan takes a big risk to enhance his football prospects. The Cushings discuss possible ramifications of Lana running for Mayor. Meanwhile, Clark's painful visions continue and he finally confronts Bizarro. Anderson's determination to reign in the unknown alien results in dire consequences.

Tropes Featured in this Episode:

• Bait-and-Switch: When Kyle walks into a bar, it looks like he might be backsliding on his alcoholism. In actuality, he's confronting a woman he had an affair with.
• Blasé Boast: Sam tells Jordan that hacking and scrambling a security camera video from his phone is easier than playing Candy Crush.
• Boxing Lessons for Superman: Jordan, wanting to support his father, asks Sam to help train him.
• Bring It: Sarah is not in the least bit intimidated after hearing from her parents that Mayor Dean might target her to sabotage Lana's campaign.
• Broken Pedestal: Chrissy becomes seriously disappointed in Lois after seeing her Engineered Public Confession with the hidden cam, where Lucy goads her into admitting that she didn't include what Lucy told her about the contents of her drug-induced vision in her article. Chrissy even calls Ally at the end of the episode for more info about Lois.
• The Bus Came Back: Jenna Dewan returns as Lucy Lane for the first time since Supergirl Season 1. Post-Crisis, she seems to have never been in the military.
• Conflict Ball: The only possible reason for Chrissy to take Lucy's complaint against Lois seriously is for the sake of cheap drama.
• Curb-Stomp Battle: The Supermen of America go to confront Bizarro in Bolivia. Two are killed instantly and only Superman's arrival spares Tag Harris.
• Everyone Has Standards: After hearing that Mayor Dean is trying to dig up dirt on Lana by asking questions on Sarah's past suicide attempt, Kyle suggests on doing the same with Dean's son. Lana however refuses to stoop down on this level.
• Flashback: To Lois and Lucy getting estranged over the latter's ties to Ally Allston.
• Get Out!: Natalie, after seeing her dad severely injured in the hospital, blames Clark for not protecting him and tells him to leave the room.
• Hate Sink: Ally Allston proves to be a despicable Manipulative Bitch by managing to turn both Lucy and Chrissy against Lois and secretly recording the sisters' argument.
• Heroic Second Wind: After an initial beatdown and being saved by John, Clark pulls himself together and uses his Heat Vision and remaining strength to pummel Bizarro and force him to retreat.
• Hollywood Hacking: Sam tampering with the security camera footage to cover up Jordan's reckless use of his powers would NOT be possible in real life, ex-DOD or not. While the technology to do this does exist, it is not in a form that would allow Sam to do so this quickly, especially not remotely from the golf course using his personal phone.
• Ignored Expert: Superman warned Anderson multiple times that his team wasn't ready for major threats. This episode shows him to have been absolutely right.
• Immediate Sequel: This episode picks up right where the previous one left off, with Lois confronting Ally in the diner.
• Made of Indestructium: Whatever Bizarro's pendant is, it resists a sustained blast of his heat breath without a mark to show for it.
• Misplaced Retribution: Lucy unfairly places the blame of their mother leaving the family on Lois. Who was only 8 years old at the time.
• Mythology Gag:
  • Lois refers to Ally as a parasite, which is her moniker in the comics.
  • Bizarro wearing an indestructible pendant nods a bit to the comics sometimes featuring him wearing a sign around his neck.
• Neck Snap: Two of the Supermen of America die this way at Bizarro's hands. At the same time, even!
• Oh, Crap!: Jordan, after foiling the shoplifting in Denise's shop, when he realizes that the cam caught him. Thankfully, Sam is able to tamper with the footage.
• Red Shirt: Of the three Supermen of America that go to confront Bizarro, only Tag (a recurring character) survives. We don't even know their names at this point (although the woman is later named in the following episode).
• Ripped from the Headlines: Ally wonders if Lois will get "cancelled" this time, referring to the infamous term "Cancel Culture" which often gets used in today's political discourse.
• Sensory Overload: After taking the X-Kryptonite, Jon naturally gets a bit overwhelmed by his suddenly enhanced senses. Natalie quickly notices that something is up.
• Same Character, But Different: As mentioned above, Lucy Lane appears to have been affected by Crisis, and is not the same character we saw in the first season of Supergirl despite being played by the same actress. Possibly Averted as she mentions losing her fiancé (possibly James Olsen, although on Supergirl they were only dating and not engaged) and job (soldier/media).
• Spotting the Thread: Ally easily recognizes Chrissy's attempt at playing The Mole.
• Toxic Friend Influence: Candice encourages Jon to take the X-Kryptonite, which he unfortunately does.
• The Unreveal: We never do find out just what that pendant is, in this episode at least.
• Worf Had the Flu: After Bizarro's attack on the farm, John's suit is heavily damaged. He later only just barely manages to distract Bizarro in Bolivia. After the energy runs out, John takes a hit from Bizarro and almost dies.

---