My Adventures with Superman: In The Face Of Controversy

My Adventures with Superman Episode 10, “Hearts of the Fathers,” concludes the introductory season of My Adventures with Superman by using many conventions of typical season finales, tying up many loose plot threads and setting the show up for the overarching story of the next season. In a strange production choice, this finale comes after the epic two part episode “Zero Day,” making this entry feel just a little bit tacked on. Nonetheless, “Hearts of the Fathers” succeeds in everything that it sets out to do, although it is far from perfect.  

Following the conclusion of “Zero Day,” it was hard to imagine where this show would go for one final episode before the end of the season. This episode takes place on the Kent farm during Thanksgiving, where Lois has reluctantly invited her dad to meet Clark and his family. Fans of the source material, or keenly eyed viewers, will know the conflict this proposes, as General Lane is actually the man who had just kidnapped Clark in an effort to stop another invasion from Krypton. This premise worked well with the setting of Thanksgiving, putting a fun twist on the overused, “wait… don’t I know you” in-law plot. 

Even though this comes on the heels of a two-parter, the uneven pacing and rushed plot makes it seem like this episode should have also been split up into two or more parts. Not only does the episode deal with the revelation that General Lane is the mysterious villain, but there are also plot threads related to Clark’s heritage, the Kryptonian invasion, Lois’s estrangement with her father, and The Daily Planet, which are all fully present. All of this shoved into a half hour episode makes it so some of these plot threads have little to no time to be fleshed out. For example, about half way through the episode, Clark accidentally stumbles upon the sphere that Lois acquired earlier in the series which depicts an alternate reality Superman who is murdering civilians. The sphere then opens up, revealing a shard of Kryptonite which hurts Clark while simultaneously launching a second Kryptonian invasion above the Kent farm. Because of the limited runtime, this all happens in about three minutes, leaving no time for audiences to take in all that’s happening. This is exemplary of the kind of pacing going on here, with almost all of these plot threads running into this same issue.

More so than prior episodes, Jack Quiad is able to put on a new performance as Clark/Superman due to the nature of the plot. Earlier in the season, Quaid was always putting on two performances, one as the mild mannered Clark, and the other as the unsure, yet still boisterous, Superman. Here, Quaid mixes these personas, as he is in the presence of his Mother, Father, Lois, and Jimmy, all of which know his secret identity. This allows Quaid to portray a version of the character that is able to express himself in ways that identify with both of his personas, almost as if this is the most real version of himself. Quaid does an excellent job with this, capturing all of the nuance and gravitas that has made both personas so compelling.

While the pacing issues were all too relevant throughout the entire episode, the actual content of the several plot threads still is expressed in intriguing ways, leaving room for a fantastic world to explore in a sophomore season. All of these characters are left with new status quos, creating endless opportunities for new and exciting adventures. The best part about this is the changeups from the source material, such as Jimmy selling his social media channel to The Daily Planet for several million dollars. This allows the show to further break away from plot aspects that fans would too easily have anticipated. There is also an intriguing setup with the villain Brainiac and a mysterious Kryptonian which promises to continue the themes of alienation for this iteration of Superman. All of this definitely sets things up for a fun second season.