My Adventures with Superman season 2 airs new episodes every Sunday on Max in the Nordics, Iberia & Central Europe and Saturdays on Max in the US. Episodes also air HBO Max in Poland & the Netherlands and on Channel 4 in the UK & Ireland.
Synopsis
When Jimmy is invited to speak at the S.T.A.R. Labs Symposium, Clark is happy to come along as support… until Lex Luthor takes over! Meanwhile, The General goes on the run and Lois runs after him, visions of their past clashing with the present.
Review
The second season of My Adventures with Superman continues to impress as its various plot points simmer towards what feels like an inevitable boiling point. With the core cast split in to two this episode takes on a dual narrative approach which plays to the strength of its ensemble cast as well as driving forwards the various narratives.
The General (Joel de la Fuente) has finally had enough of being cooped up at Chateaux Kent-Olsen and snaps. Tackling poor Clark (Jack Quaid) to the ground in a misplaced moment of panic. This is life when you have Amanda Waller (Debra Wilson) on your tail 24/7. There’s little time to linger on The General’s mental state though as Jimmy (Ishmel Sahid) receives an invite to speak at a prestigious conference for S.T.A.R. Labs. The perfect opportunity for both The General unwilling cohabiters to have an evening of peace.
So “Two Lanes Diverged” makes its firs division as Clark and Jimmy head to the symposium, leaving Lois (Alice Lee) to check in on her father at home. It’s difficult and risky breaking up the core trio. Season 2 has seen the writers taking more risks like this and so far it’s paying off. Where Clark and Lois were separated from Jimmy at the beginning of the season it afforded time to develop Jimmy’s character. Now it’s the turn of Lois to have some much needed development as she is able to heal some old wounds from her past.
What My Adventures does so well and continues to exemplify in season 2 is the level of development we see each of the core cast going through each week. I particularly appreciate how much season 2 is really making an effort with both Lois, Jimmy and to a lesser extent The General. Episodes like this show how the characters are driving the story rather than the opposite. Though there are positives to both, I think the series is far more rewarding to watch the way it is currently written.
The flashback sequences to young Lois and The General add some really great depth to their relationship. It fills in the gaps on how young Lois felt being moved around from military base to military base and how that impacted on her formative years. But it also gives an insight in to how disconnected The General was from his daughter. That level of insight really informs the behaviour we see from Lois in the present day. The reciprocity between the two is really rewarding to the audience.
Equally rewarding are events over in the main storyline as Jimmy makes his presentation to the S.T.A.R. Labs audience. With this storyline episode writer Sari Cooper is focussing a little less on the character development in the moment and instead concentrating on the bigger picture. That means spending more time with Alex (Max Mittelman) aka Lex Luthor. Choosing to introduce him less as a nemesis and more as a foil to develop in to the character we love to hate is a stroke of genius. In a traditional Superman story we’re unlikely to see a known supervillain presenting at a symposium opposite Jimmy Olsen. The opportunity for formative character storytelling is hugely widened by pitching him younger. It allows My Adventures the chance to replicate the kind of success of a series like Smallville.
Verdict
My Adventures with Superman continues to crush the competition with its busy but delicately balanced second season.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
