Warning: Spoilers for Superman & Lois season 2, episode 14
Recent developments with two of the show’s main characters mean that Superman & Lois is quickly ruining one of its best differences from the other Arrowverse shows. In the span of just a few episodes, Superman & Lois has made some massive changes to the status quo. Just recently, one character in Clark’s life found out his biggest secret, and now yet another is on the cusp of making that discovery as well.
On the heels of Clark’s decision to finally tell Lana that he’s Superman, the series dropped a similar bombshell on Sarah. Throughout the series, Jordan’s love interest has been in the dark about what’s really going on in Smallville and how all of its events connect to the Kent family. For a long time, Jordan has agonized over Sarah being left out of the loop and not knowing the real reason for his disappearances and odd behavior. Superman & Lois season 2, episode 14, titled “Worlds War Bizarre”, finally solved this dilemma. In order to get her away from Bizarro Lana, Jordan was forced to reveal his powers to her. Sarah doesn’t know Clark is Superman yet, but now that she knows part of Jordan’s secret, it’s only a matter of time before she gets the rest of the answers.
By The Flash, Superman & Lois has primarily been a show where secret identities are a fundamental part of the story. As Clark and Lois made it clear to their kids early on, it’s of utmost importance that no one knows that Clark and Superman are one and the same. In the interest of maintaining that level of secrecy, the Kents have had to go to great lengths to shield this knowledge from other key characters, such as Kyle, Sarah, Chrissie, and Lana.
In most Arrowverse shows, secret identities are not as important as one would expect from a superhero story. One example of this is The Flash, which is a show where every member of the main cast is aware that Barry is the Flash. For this reason, his secret identity is usually a non-issue. Seeing characters go through the challenge of having to hide their powers and vigilante activities from those they care about is a popular element of superhero stories, but not one that gets a lot of focus in most Arrowverse shows.
Superman & Lois, on the other hand, has put a great deal of emphasis on it, and in doing so, it’s lent the show plenty of interesting stories and conflicts. That’s why it’s unfortunate that the show is making drastic changes to this formula. The number of characters who don’t know the truth about the Kents is dropping fast. By adding Sarah and Lana to a once-exclusive club that already includes Sam Lane, Steel, and Natalie, the Arrowverse is bringing Superman & Lois closer to its other shows.
Superman & Lois releases new episodes on Tuesdays on The CW.