Warning: Spoilers for Superman & Lois season 2, episode 9
The comparisons to Smallville’s Clark and Lana romance are getting even better in Superman & Lois in season 2. Since the beginning of the series, there were signs that Clark’s son and Lana’s daughter would share the romantic problems of their Smallville counterparts. Throughout their high school years and beyond, Clark (Tom Welling) and Lana (Kristin Kreuk) had an on-and-off romance that was complicated by lies, secrets, and the unwanted meddling of other characters.
Superman & Lois signaled that Jordan (Alex Garfin) and Sarah (Inde Navarrette) were at risk of going down a similar route as early as season 1. When Sarah voiced her thoughts about Jordan possibly having abilities, he insisted it wasn’t true, prompting the former to let him know that she’d understand if he did. Jordan’s denials mirrored Smallville, where Clark constantly brushed off Lana’s suspicions about him possessing powers. Like Clark, Jordan has struggled with maintaining a friendship – and later, a romantic relationship – with Sarah while also trying to ensure that she doesn’t discover his secret. In Superman & Lois season 2, episode 9, titled “30 Days and 30 Days”, Sarah’s frustrations with Jordan culminated in the two breaking up.
Jordan and Sarah’s breakup hasn’t ended the similarities to Clark and Lana; in fact, it only deepened them. When Clark and Lana were in high school, Lana was always bothered by Clark’s constant disappearances. She didn’t know, of course, that he was running off to help people in need. Jordan’s recent decision-making in Superman & Lois has given him the same predicament. Now, he too has had to lie and make up excuses for standing Sarah up and not being around for important moments in her life. In “30 Days and 30 Nights”, Jordan even repeated some of Clark’s old lines by saying that he wanted to tell her the truth about what he's been up to, but he can’t.
Unsurprisingly, Jordan’s explanation (or lack thereof) didn’t satisfy Sarah any better than Clark’s did with Lana in Smallville. Admittedly, Lana put up with Clark’s transparent excuses much longer than Sarah was willing to with Jordan. On many occasions, her love for Clark motivated her to look past this problem in the hopes that he would eventually change or open up, but there were times when she decided she had finally had enough. But no matter what happened between them, Lana always got over her issues with Clark, even though it took him until the season 6 finale to come clean about his alien origins.
Jordan and Sarah’s breakup may hint that his dilemma over telling her his secret is over, but if Clark and Lana’s story is any indication, his struggles over this decision have only just begun. And with the character continuing to follow the same path taken by Tom Welling’s Clark Kent in Smallville, it makes perfect sense for Superman & Lois to keep letting Jordan and Sarah’s relationship mirror Clark and Lana’s. It’ll be interesting to see how long this goes on, and if or when one of the two characters finds a way to break the cycle.
Superman & Lois returns April 26 on The CW.