‘Superman & Lois’ Haywire Review: Clark Rises to the Occasion

Haywire is the best episode of Superman & Lois yet. There’s just enough Superman action, the Kent family drama is perfectly grounded, a fun girls night and some positive progression on the villain plot.

The only weak element of the episode is Kyle Cushing being an absolutely irredeemable dick of a husband. I also thought Lois’s disagreement with Clark was a little over-the-top, but it was resolved in a way that a strong, deeply in love husband and wife should handle a disagreement.

Sam Lane’s emergence as a terrible grandfather turns into some great drama, which allows Clark and Lois to form a united front against Sam. The scene features a great performance by Dylan Walsh as Sam. Tyler Hoechlin and Bitsie Tulloch also turn in impressive performance during this family squabble that reveals just a little bit about Lois’s childhood.

With the non-spoiler details out of the way, lets dive into superhero theatrics, family drama and more in Haywire. Superman & Lois is airing on The CW and streaming on the CWTV app.

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Girls Night Out Goes Haywire

Morgan Edge has far more screentime in this episode. While not the most scintillating villain, Edge’s interest in Smallville becomes clearer right from the start.

Edge is attending a Smallville High football game in the pouring rain. As Lois notes, this is a weird place for a billionaire to be spending his time. Kyle, Lana and Edge have dinner together after the game. Edge is blatantly flirting with Lana right in front of Kyle, who says and does nothing.

Lois and Chrissy are working late at The Smallville Gazette. Leslie Larr, Edge’s right-hand woman shows up and delivers a message. Lois can’t publish her story as it’s a breach of her contract with the Daily Planet. Since Lois can’t write the story, she asks Clark to speak out against Edge at community assemby, Clark agrees without any hesitation.

Lana is pissed at Kyle for not stepping in during dinner. Everything Kyle says is just awful and Lana’s anger is entirely justifiable.

While Clark heads off to practice with, Jonathan and Jordan, Lois head out to meet with Edge face-to-face. Lois asks Edge point-blank why he’s interested in Smallville. Edge evades the question by throwing it right back at her. Why does a world-renowned journalist quit the Daily Planet for a life in Smallville?

Clark’s ability to be something for everyone fails Lois in Haywire. Due to his responsibilities as Superman, Clark misses the assembly, which forces Chrissy to speak up against Edge.

Back on the Kent farm, Clark apologizes to Lois, but she’s not letting off Clark that easily. Lois tells Clark that she doesn’t feel like a priority. In perfect Lois fashion, she just makes it clear to Clark that she may regret this feeling tomorrow, but in this moment, that’s how she feels. Lois tells Clark that she’s going out with Lana for a girls night out. Bitsie Tulloch is fantastic throughout the episode, but this might be her best scene in the series thus far. I don’t necessarily agree with Lois’s anger at Clark. Perhaps if Clark had been more apprehensive when she asked him to help, then I would understand her anger a bit more. However, her line about regretting this conversation tomorrow was a great character moment for Lois.

The girls night out gives Lois and Lana some much-needed perspective. Although, it does appear as if someone is drugging Lana at the bar. The next morning, Lana wakes up to Kyle cooking breakfast and seemingly forgives him with a big kiss right in front of their daughters.

Unlike Kyle, Clark is actually a good husband. He apologizes to Lois with a date night in the barn, which is adorned with seemingly an endless number of candles.

Bad Grandpa

General Sam Lane may be a great military man, but he’s a lousy father and grandfather.

Edge wasn’t the only strange spectator in the stands of a high school football game. Sam is in the stands and notices Jordan’s sudden football prowess. Jordan’s game-winning forced fumble leads to quite the locker room celebration.

Back at the farm, Clark overhears Sam taking Lois to task over keeping Jordan’s abilities a secret. Before Sam can take his misplaced anger out on Lois much longer, Clark shows up. His anger over the boys is a mask. Sam’s bigger bone of contention is with Clark choosing to spend more time as a father and assistant coach than as Superman. The conversation ends with Sam announcing that he’s going to be staying with the Kents for the weekend.

The Kent brothers are celebrating with teammates after the game. In a fun reversal of roles, Jordan is far more popular than Jonathan. Jordan Elsass is doing a great job of playing Jonathan with a hint of jealousy, but mostly he’s just disappointed in his status on the team.

The same thing can’t be said of Tag Harris. He is still on the team but suffered a serious injury during the bonfire explosion caused by Jordan in the series premiere. Tag makes an innocuous joke about a wide receiver’s bad hands. The wide receiver doesn’t take it well and says a few far more disparaging remarks. However, a teammate steps in to break up the fight before it begins. Back home, Tag decides to try and cut his cast off.

Tag’s arm injury is just the tip of the iceberg. His injured arm begins to shake uncontrollably. The effect is quite similar to how Barry’s hands would shake in The Flash when he first received his powers. Unfortunately for Tag, his hands just shake which causes things to break like his cast in the football team’s bathroom. Before Clark and Jonathan can pry further, Tag leaves.

While Superman is dealing with Killgrave, Sam gives Jonathan and Jordan some truly awful advice. He does apologize for the changes in the boy’s lives. However, he basically advises them to keep their problems to themselves and not tell Clark about them. See Clark’s role as Superman is just too important for the world. The boys listen to their grandfather, which is a mistake that nearly costs them both.

After Superman saves Jonathan and Jordan, Hoechlin, Tulloch and Walsh as Sam Lane have another phenomenally acted scene that may be the best of the series so far. Clark wants to know why the boys waited so long to use the transponder to warn him that they were in trouble. Of course, this is Sam’s fault. Clark and Lois go off on Sam.

Clark tells Sam he can’t prevent the boys from coming to their dad when they have a problem. Sam throws the “you have a responsibility to the country” jab, which Clark parries with a wonderful line.

My job is I’m their dad. That’s my job.

Sam wanted the boys to understand Clark’s obligation to which Clark responds appropriately that his obligation as Superman is his obligation and that responsibility isn’t something Jonathan and Jordan have to carry. Lois ends the conversation with this:

Lois: This is the same “honor above all else” crap you used to pull on me when I was a kid.

Sam: Lois. please This isn’t about us.

Lois: No, it’s about you and your parenting choices, and about how they suck then and they still suck, and we are not going to be applying them to our boys.

Lois finishes the conversation by saying that Sam could of chosen to try being a good father and saving the world, but decided to focus all of his attention on the military. Sam has no right to tell Clark that he should be less of a father.

How dare you tell Clark that he can’t be the father he is ’cause you never bothered to give it a go.

With that final warning from Lois, Sam leaves the Kent farm. Everything about this scene is just tremendous. Sam’s righteous indignation over anybody choosing their family over duty to the world is played perfectly by Walsh. Clark and Lois are just a perfect team in this scene. This scene comes before the date at the barn, which means Clark hasn’t issued his mea culpa. However, Lois still defends Clark and Clark’s priorities are still where they should be despite the nearly disastrous Killgrave escape attempt.

Killgrave goes Haywire on Superman

Superman may be in the title, but the focus of this series is on Clark as a husband and father, which is for the best. Although, this is probably the consistent quality of Superman scenes throughout an episode in the series since The Pilot.

Sam wants Superman’s help with Thaddeus R. Killgrave’s prison transfer. However, due to Clark’s coaching and parental responsibilities, Clark declines. Killgrave is able to escape during transport, which forces Superman to track down Killgrave.

Killgrave initially uses a makeshift beacon to throw Superman off of his location. When Superman does catch up to Killgrave, the villain gains a temporary advantage with a sonic gun. The gun creates a deafening sonic blast that goes Haywire on Superman’s highly developed hearing. The weapon is so overwhelming it causes Superman’s ears to bleed.

While Killgrave keeps the pressure on, Superman hears Jonathan call out for help. Superman does a sonic clap that creates a shockwave knocking out Killgrave in the process. He destroys the weapon using his heat vision, then dashes off to save his sons.

Jonathan and Jordan are trying to help Tag with his vibrating arm. Jordan is able to calm down Tag temporarily, but his arm begins to shake again. He knocks Jordan back several feet and Jonathan calls for Superman’s help using the ELT.

Superman speeds over to help his sons. He picks up Tag and rises up towards the upper layers of Earth’s atmosphere to Tag down. I love how Superman solved this problem. Each week we get a save that showcases Superman’s intelligence.

Haywire Final Thoughts

The focus on familial duties vs heroic responsibilities in Haywire was truly fantastic. While the Superman scenes were brief, they were well executed and the quality was well above Supergirl and other CW shows. Haywire is the best episode so far.