In Superman and Lois‘s last episode, Superman’s motivation to protect his family superseded the threat he poses to the wide world. Through The Valley of Death is mostly about everyone else in Superman’s orbit helping him overcome his brother brainwashing attempts. Lois, Jonathan, Jordan, General Sam Lane, John Henry Irons and even John Diggle are all aiming to help the world in their own ways.
Bitsie Tulloch continues to excel as Lois Lane. In a larger sense, she knows the risks a brainwashed Superman can pose to the world. From a family matriarch standpoint, she has to keep a strong face for Jonathan and Jordan. In private, Lois is dealing with the possibility that her husband may never return. Tulloch lets us sees all of the strain but never lets Lois’s torment stop her from moving forward. She doesn’t hesitate to swap barbs with Irons or talk to Kevin about his own brainwashing experience. Alex Garfin and Jordan Elsass as Jordan and Jonathan Kent, each turn in their best performances of the series in this episode.
The Cushing family drama is also pretty good for the first time in the series as well.
A couple of minor issues hold Through the Valley of Death back from joining the world’s finest. While it’s great to see Diggle and David Ramsey, he doesn’t serve much of a role in the episode. Tal-Rho is still not working as a suitable antagonist to Superman.
However, I did like how the episode dealt with Superman agreeing to his brother’s demands.
With the non-spoiler details out of the way, let’s dive into superhero theatrics, family drama and more in Through the Valley of Death. There will be minor spoilers. Superman and Lois is airing on The CW and streaming on the CWTV app.
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Saving Superman from Going Through The Valley of Death
The episode begins with the aftermath of Lois calling Irons. After the call, Lois tells the boys everything will be ok. She walks outside and collapses into the waiting arms of her father in tears. Something about the way Dylan Walsh delivers the line “pumpkin” just hit me so hard.
Jordan encourages his brother to use his hearing to find their dad. After failing to stop Tal-Rho last week. Jordan’s confidence is low. He doesn’t think he’s up to the task. Eventually, Clark breaks away from the mind compulsion long enough to send a sonic message to Jordan. Their dad is still fighting. They head out to tell their grandfather and Lois where Superman is. They also deliver Tal-Rho’s words of warning. Through the Valley of Death is Garfin’s best performance as Jordan.
Iron shows up hellbent on ending Superman. Lois believes this is a step too far. Irons works with General Lane to get a piece of equipment that can hurt Superman. John Diggle makes his debut on the series by providing Argus tech. Initially, Diggle is unaware of what the weapon is being used for. Once he finds out, he’s pissed. If he’d known they planned to use the weapon to kill Superman, he’d never agree to it.
Men of Steel Join Forces
While Lois, Jonathan, Jordan and Diggle all work to rescue Superman, they also take turns pulling at Irons’s heartstrings.
Lois eventually reveals Superman is Clark Kent and her husband. While Irons is shocked, it doesn’t deter him. The most effective plea comes from Jonathan. In the best scene of the episode, Jonathan tells Irons about everything he saw in his trailer. Jonathan points out that Irons seems like a good father. If he kills Superman, Irons will be taking away another great dad too. Elsass continues to impress in the role of Jonathan Kent and he absolutely crushed this scene. Wolé Parks is also great at showing minor chinks in his armor as the episode goes along.
In the desert, Superman continues to resist Tal-Rho’s brainwashing. The goal is for Superman’s body to be a vessel for Zod. This particular plot point is very similar to Season 5 and Brainiac’s plan on Smallville. In that particular Superman story, Lex served as the vessel, not Clark.
Eventually, Irons confronts Superman. The son of Krypton is beginning to lose his grip. They fight in what is one of the best fight sequences on the show. Superman has the advantage for most of the fight. Lois and Sam listen to the battle through Irons’s helmet and can communicate with him. Steel turns the tide by doing his best Thor impression. Superman breaks free long enough to tell Irons to kill him. Irons relents. He appeals to Clark’s humanity. After a long internal struggle, Superman is able to break through the brainwashing for good.
Superman and Irons join forces. Together they’re able to apprehend Tal-Rho using the Argus device. Clark reunites with his family in a touching scene to end the episode.
The Cushing’s Come Together
Kyle Cushing’s never going to be the best character on Superman and Lois. However, I was pleasantly surprised by the Cushing storyline.
Kyle is still trying to recover emotionally from Morgan Edge’s brainwashing. In an effort to restore a sense of normalcy, he decides to return to work as a firefighter. His presence at the fire station and around town is an unwanted one. It’s one thing if Kyle was just brainwashed, but it was his campaigning on behalf of Edge that allowed the billionaire the chance to ruin many families.
There are a couple of times in this episode where Kyle nearly loses his cool, but Lana and Sarah are able to calm him down each time. Some Smallville residents even vandalize their house. As Kyle is cleaning, Lana and Sarah join him in a cute family water fight that’s probably the warmest moment in the series for this family.
Through The Valley of Death Final Thoughts
All of the family drama for the Kents and Cushings helped this episode succeed in spite of the weak villain and poor usage of Diggle.
The Review
Through The Valley of Death
PROS
- Alex Garfin and Jordan Elsass give series best performances as Jordan and Jonathan Kent.
- Bitsie Tulloch continues to astound as Lois Lane.
- The Cushing storyline is actually pretty good throughout the episode.
- The concept of everyone pitching in to help Superman is great and the battle between Men of Steel is fantastic.
CONS
- David Ramsey makes the most of his appearance, but John Diggle is kind of an unnecessary component to the episode.
- Tal-Rho just isn't an interesting villain. He comes off as a Zod impersonater, which very much might be the point, but doesn't make him any more interesting.
