Why Superman & Lois Fans Think Jonathan Got Totally Savaged
"Superman & Lois" isn't The CW's first rodeo with regard to the Superman comics and lore. Its unrelated predecessor, "Smallville," aired on the same network (which still went by The WB for half the series) from 2001 to 2011. This modern reboot, however, jumps forward in time to where Clark Kent (Tyler Hoechlin) and his wife Lois (Elizabeth Tulloch) move back to Smallville with their twin sons in hopes of living a simpler life. However, if you're a fan of the show, you already know that nothing has gone according to plan.
Not since New Kids on the Block have two brothers with alliterative J-names had entertainment lovers in this much of a tizzy. On the show, Alex Garfin plays Jordan Kent, while Jordan Elsass plays Jonathan Kent — because that isn't confusing at all. Sarcasm aside, the writers have a subtle, running gag going about how even though the boys are twins, they are treated in drastically different ways by their father. The Man of Steel shows an obvious amount of favoritism towards the curly-haired son, who fans recently learned has powers just like his dad. Meanwhile, we can only imagine Jonathan is off-camera surfing the internet for dad-themed forever-alone memes.
Now that a certain verified social media account is throwing their weight behind the joke by making it canon in a recent post, viewers are having polar opposite reactions to the gag.
The show's Instagram account is poking fun at how Clark plays favorites with his sons
The official "Superman & Lois" Instagram account recently posted a series of photos from the Season 2 episode "All is Lost" featuring Clark and his son Jordan bonding during a heart-to-heart conversation. Jordan is sad because he asked his girlfriend's mother, Lana (Emmanuelle Chriqui), if he could reveal his superhuman powers to her. When she refuses, he reacts with the amount of emotional angst you would expect from a young teenager in love. Clark goes out of his way to cheer him up, including an impromptu trip to the Fortress of Solitude to help him hone his powers. Jonathan is also struggling with the emotional toll of hiding the family secret in this episode, by the way — but the only effort Clark makes to comfort his other son is to teach him how to fix a tractor.
Fans on social media have been aware of this subtle, unhealthy family dynamic for a while. Some viewers are getting a chuckle out of it, while others are understandably sympathetic to poor, neglected Jonathan. In the comments section of the original Instagram post, a_totalsham brutally points out, "Lois reconnecting with her sister, Clark connecting with Jordan, Jonathan connect [sic] two wires on a tractor." Replies to the comment from other users literally describe it as savage; others react more simply with crying emojis for poor Jonathan's suffering.
Fans are also gossiping about the post on Reddit, with u/Zookwok111 now considering the show to be a dark comedy and also suggesting a crossover with "The Boys" where Jonathan takes Compound V to make things more even. That'll probably never happen, but it's not a bad idea!