The Kents deal with family and relationship trouble, Kyle helps bridge things with Sarah and Lana, and John digs into his double's history with Bruno Mannheim.
Tropes:
- Abusive Parents: In addition to being a general Jerkass, Emmitt Pergande is this in spades. He hits Jonathan and threatens harm to Lois with a gun. Later, while attempting to intimidate Clark, he insinuates that Candice has seen this behavior from him plenty of times and he seems to be proud of it. Even when he's fed a slice of humble pie by Clark, he manages one last act of jackassery by skipping town without a thought to how his daughter would survive without him.
- Action Prologue: The forest fire in the beginning has little to do with the overall story, except for General Lane approaching Jordan to help better hide his identity.
- Beware the Nice Ones:
- Clark finds out that Candice's dad hit Jordan and stole his truck. When Clark moves, clearly ready to go confront the man, Lois tells him that this isn't a job for Superman. Clark emphatically replies that Superman won't be going. He then proceeds to publicly humiliate the man and warn him never even think hurting any member of the Kent family ever again.
- John Henry is utterly savage when his counterpart's sister was nearly killed.
- Big Brother Instinct: After saving Darlene, John Henry angrily confronts Mannheim, choking him and seriously considering outright killing him.
- The Bus Came Back: General Hardcastle appears, having last been seen in the Season 2 episode "Tried and True".
- Clark Kenting: Discussed. Jordan's curly hair is rather distinctive and Sam wants him to get a haircut so he'll blend in better, noting Clark's short hair and glasses. Jordan balks at this, and Sam later reconsiders. He instead compromises and gifts Jordan a Beta Outfit that will better hide Jordan's distinctive curls.
- Continuity Nod: On meeting John Henry, the counterpart of her deceased brother, Darlene asks if his presence is connected to the cube-shaped Earth that the world experienced the previous season.
- Cut Himself Shaving: After being assaulted by Candice's dad, Jon initially tells his mom that he got elbowed in the face while playing basketball.
- Don't You Dare Pity Me!: Lois is angry that Clark listened in on her with his Super-Hearing and came rushing home when he thought she might be in trouble. The fact that she is taking on an extremely powerful crime lord, who can easily find out where she lives and target her there (as other villains have done in the past), all while she is not at her best due to going through cancer treatment, is not a consideration.
- Doppelgänger Gets Same Sentiment: John Henry is willing to risk his life for Darlene and the Irons family even though they technically aren't his family.
- Hate Sink: Emmitt Pergande is a truly unlikable man who steals from and threatens the Kents, regardless of their ages, and makes Candice sell a dangerous drug. And after being humiliated by Clark at the diner, he even abandons his already-struggling daughter to save himself from potential legal punishment.
- Hypocrite: Emmitt tells Jon to stop spreading lies about him. The "lies" include that he had stolen Jon's truck and dealt in X-Kryptonite. Things that he actually did, as his own daughter had confirmed.
- I Have Your Wife: Or rather, Mannheim has John Henry's resident version of his sister, who is Strapped to a Bomb.
- Internal Reveal: A few.
- Kyle learns about Lana slapping Sarah and that it was prompted by Sarah throwing his affair in her face. He then works to help them make amends.
- John Henry learns about Lois speaking to this Earth's version of his sister about his counterpart and that Darlene was the one who recommended Lois get tested. This leads him to seek Darlene out for more information about her John Henry, unintentionally drawing Mannheim's attention.
- Lois and Clark learn about the theft of Jon's truck and the boys and Natalie subsequently putting themselves in danger to recover it.
- Mythology Gag:
- Clark asking for someone to step outside (in order to prevent collateral damage) is similar to the fight he had at a truck stop near the end of Superman II.
- Emmitt attempts to shove Clark to no avail, mirroring a similar confrontation between Clark and a jackass trucker in Man of Steel.
- On both Earths, John Henry and Darlene were called the "Wonder Twins", which is the alias of a pair of Justice League members in the comics and animation.
- Sam gives Jordan a pair of vintage aviator's goggles, presumably for Jordan to use as a way to conceal his face. Clark used the same at times, such as in Superman: Man of Tomorrow.
- No-Sell: Emmitt tries to shove Clark down. Emphasis on tries.
- Oh, Crap!: John Henry's reaction when he realizes that the Kryptonite Gauntlets from last episode were based on his designs (or rather, the designs of his deceased doppelganger).
- Papa Wolf: When Clark learns Emmitt punched Jon and threatened Lois with a gun, he confronts him at the diner (as Clark), smashes his head into the counter, and threatens to expose his every crime if the man ever comes near his family again.
- The Reveal: Mannheim got Clark's blood from the DOD. Or rather, he synthesized it from a single drop.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: After Emmitt gets his ass publicly handed to him and Clark threatens to ruin his life for any further mistakes, he skips town, leaving Candice behind.
- Shame If Something Happened: Mannheim is more explicit about the consequences, but he nevertheless makes it clear that John Henry has extended family that can be punished if John harms him or ever bothers him again once he leaves. John isn't deterred, intending to set up security measures before returning to the case.
- Take a Third Option: Mannheim has John's sister held hostage, threatening to blow her up unless John backs off. John instead summons his suit and quickly tracks her down, since his double designed the bomb and thus he is equally familiar with the tech.
- Taking the Fight Outside: Clark attempts this with Emmitt Pergande, not wanting to have a confrontation in the middle of the town diner, a hubbub of town gossip, or to embarrass Candice, Pergande's daughter who works in said diner.
- Third Line, Some Waiting: While it still has emotional gravitas, the Cushings mending their family relations is set apart from the rest of the plots (Superman investigating how Mannheim got his blood, John Henry confronting Mannheim, and the conflict with Candice's dad).
- Workaholic: Lois needs another convincing from Clark before she drops her work for the moment and takes a few days to relax. In the end, she happily goes back to working, infiltrating Mannheim's clinic.
