There's One Detail That Superman & Lois Just Can't Seem To Get Right
"Superman & Lois" may be a relatively new entry to the Arrowverse, but its first two seasons have made plenty of waves with a plethora of enthusiastic responses from both fans and critics alike. The first season of the series sits at an 86% positivity rating among critics on Rotten Tomatoes. Additionally, the series would seem to have avoided the sophomore slump. Season 2 holds an impressive 90% approval rating among audiences.
A quasi spin-off of "Supergirl" set in a different universe, "Superman & Lois" focuses on Clark Kent (Tyler Hoechlin) and Lois Lane (Elizabeth Tulloch) as older adults with their own family unit. As the dynamic duo move back to Smallville to raise their sons, their lives begin to grow more complicated. On top of the various requirements associated with parenting two teenagers, they are also repeatedly forced to juggle these responsibilities with more worldly concerns.
While the Kents find themselves facing a barrage of fantastical threats, the true focus of this version of Superman is the struggle he faces at home. Specifically, this iteration of Clark Kent struggles with his role as a family man. Although this is a relatively fresh take on the Superman mythos, some aspects of it don't always work for everyone.
Fans think Superman & Lois should skip the melodrama
Shows on The CW are often peppered with melodrama to keep things interesting, and this comic book adaptation is certainly no exception (via TV Tropes). However, for many fans of the series, some of the least effective relationship drama comes in the cliche-laden territory of teen romance. In particular, fans believe that the relationship between Jordan Kent (Alex Garfin) and Sarah Cushing (Inde Navarrette) often seems to be needlessly filled with ongoing complications that fans find annoying.
For example, in Season 2, Sarah admits to Jordan that she kissed a girl when she was at camp. To be clear, the problem fans have with this isn't that Sarah is exploring her sexuality, but how strangely nonchalant she is about cheating on her boyfriend. What makes matters worse is that she doesn't even want to talk about the kiss or what it means for her. Not only is this behavior very unlike the character that fans have come to know, but it also seems to only serve the purpose of creating a pointless love triangle.
On the r/SupermanAndLois subreddit, fans posted their disappointment with the plotline. One of the more amusing posts on Reddit made use of the distracted boyfriend meme (via KnowYourMeme), using a bit of shoddy photoshop to superimpose the faces of Jordan, Sarah, and Aubrey (Djouliet Amara). "Remember when the show was praised for not having love triangles?" asked u/ZookWok111.
Other users were quick to share their discontent with the subplot as well.
Fans don't know why Aubrey is even in the show
Complaints about Aubrey and the cliched drama caused by the appearance of a new love triangle were not contained to only a single Reddit interaction. In fact, many others took umbrage at the amount of screen time dedicated to the character. IMDb indicates that the character only appears in two episodes of "Superman & Lois" Season 2, but evidently, that was more than enough for some fans of the series.
The top-voted comment on the thread made note of an interesting observation. "The weirdest part about Sarah's cheating is that, until she told Jordan about talking to Aubrey, it was basically absent from their dynamic as if it had never happened," wrote u/MetaCircumstance. Other fans complained about the mere existence of the character. "I don't think they've ever introduced a character I care for less than Aubrey. I just can't understand why she's in the story at all," wrote u/No_Flower_1424. "Then again it probably has to do with my not caring about the teen romances on the show in any way."
What makes this plot on "Superman & Lois" even more baffling to fans is that Sarah generally seems to be the more mature and less naive one in the relationship. With that in mind, it's certainly easy to see how the whole thing just comes across as a sort of senseless plot invention to give the characters a conflict to solve. While "Superman & Lois" remains an entertaining take on the Man of Steel, fans definitely seem to think the show could do with less of this type of storytelling.