The writing on Superman and Lois has consistently been really good. They’ve taken a lot of interesting approaches to things and made some great choices. Lois having cancer is, to the best of my recollection, the first time they’ve gone in that direction, and it’s the kind of crisis that all of Superman’s powers can’t do anything about. Dealing with the issues related to that, the Kent/Lane family face it the only way they can: “Head On.”

When two very powerful men (granted, in different ways) have a woman they love in great danger, they react in roughly the same way, or at least that’s true here. Lois has every intention of living her life as best she can, and keeps tripping over her husband and father’s concern. In this case, there’s a formal dance at the boys’ high school, and she gets told her father is going to cover for her as a chaperone. She’s not thrilled. Also complicating the home situation is Candance living with the Kents after her father’s most recent string of crimes and bad choices. There are some people who the world would be better off without, and Emmit Pergande is one of them.

Outside, Clark and Sam talk over a lot of things having to do with Lois. Sam has grave doubts about both Lois’ ongoing treatment at a facility that’s part of Bruno Manheim’s criminal empire, and about her going to the dance that night. Clark, perhaps knowing Lois’s strengths a bit better than her father, pushes for Lois making her own decisions, which is the right call. Lana and Sarah have dinner at the ubiquitous Smallville diner, and Lana gets a lot of static from Junior, son of the former mayor. Lana won, but people not accepting the results of elections seems to be a trend in that world’s politics, too.

Sam and Nat get in some grandfather/granddaughter time (well, sort of, parallel worlds are complicated), roaming the fields of the Kent farm on quad bikes. It’s a fun little scene, but the show makes a bit of a mistake, as Sam has safety goggles, but they’re on top of his head, where they do no good at all. Sam, of all people, would know better, so this is an error somewhere on the production side. They get back to the house, and Mateo is waiting for Nat. Once again, the show, like so many others, is ignoring that Smallville, Kansas, is in the mid-West and Metropolis has always been depicted on the East Coast, a New York analog. Not really easy for people to hop back and forth between for a date or a cancer treatment.

At the medical facility, Lois makes the questionable but very in character decision to skip out on part of her treatment to snoop around the facility, hoping to find something to incriminate Bruno. Bruno is definitely up to something, but it’s at a different location, as we see him supervising the questionable experiments he’s been running. While Sam is amusingly protective, grilling Jordan about Mateo, Nat and him spend some time, and he ends up deciding to come to the dance.

Left on his own while Lois snoops, Clark ends up talking to the other patients there. Since they have experience with all the complications around the treatment, they ask him something that hasn’t been touched on as yet. It’s a nice touch, and it’s amusing to see Clark surprised. While Lois pokes around where she isn’t supposed to be (which could be the title of her biography), Kyle and Jonathan have a chance encounter that could make things different for Jonathan. Lana mulls over her encounter with Junior, and Chrissy sympathizes, but brings up some other concerns people in town have about Dean’s odd death. Chrissy also has a suggestion for how to possibly make things better for the new mayor.

While Clark chats with the other patients, Lois keeps snooping. The good news is she finds a promising lead about one of the things they’re investigating, but gets caught by none other than Bruno himself. Bruno actually seems impressed with Lois’ determination, especially given her illness. She hurls accusations, and he doesn’t really react, aside from pointing out she has no proof of any of this. Far from being offended, he offers Lois a more in depth look at the facility. Which, as anyone who has watched this kind of show knows, means his real work is somewhere else. Actually, that’s not entirely fair. He does have a stake in the cancer research, he’s just up to more than that. At the school dance, everyone is dressed up and Sam is clearly out of his element. To no surprise, he shares that he didn’t go to dances when he was in school.

Peia, one of the patients, shares a lot of insightful comments with Clark about the treatment process. It’s a frank and somewhat dark scene, and the kind of thing most shows that run a cancer plotline never touch on. This gets interrupted by a nurse coming by to check on things and asking where Lois is. Clark has many abilities and talents, but lying just isn’t among them. At the school, Lana gives a speech, which seems like an odd time for a political thing. Maybe just let the kids enjoy the dance? Junior stalks off, which I can halfway understand, and kids pair off. Mateo and Nat enjoy themselves, but Candance gives Jonathan some very unwelcome news. Ironically, his big worry sort of touches on the ongoing Smallville/Metropolis issue I’ve mentioned.

Bruno continues his tour, and explains that Hobbs Bay, also known as South Metropolis, has been treated as badly as many other minority communities, and what happened to them some years ago accounts for why there’s such a high cancer rate in the area. It’s a decent motivation for building the place, and it sort of humanizes the big bad guy. He even agrees to send her some of the files she’s looking for. Lois insists that she’ll go through everything, which I get, but Bruno is smart and he’s not going to accidentally hand over something incriminating to someone like Lois. The dance continues to be not all that much fun on a lot of fronts, as Kyle and Jonathan have a serious conversation about commitment, and Natalie has an unexpected reaction to something that should have been good. She confuses Mateo, and then sort of stumbles her way though an explanation with Sam. Let’s just say Natalie didn’t exactly have a normal life back on her world, and that was before her Superman went crazy and killed her mother. Sarah is much nicer to Junior than he deserves, but then, she’s that kind of person. And Jon and Candace have another serious talk, and their mutual future seems very much in doubt.

Kyle and Chrissy share a table and some thoughts on school dances, and then tell Lana they haven’t seen Sarah when she asks. It seems like the whole town is here. Kyle finally takes matters into his own hands and kind of actually saves the dance, which is an unexpectedly fun scene. Kyle has changed a lot since the series started, and I like him a lot better now than I did then.

Among the few not at the dance are our titular heroes. They’re at the farm still, and Clark and Lois have a serious talk that on a lot of shows would end up as a big dramatic screaming match. Here, they talk like actual adults about some very important things, and it goes fairly well. Their discussion gets interrupted when Superman is needed at the DOD headquarters, and he has to go deal with one of Bruno’s thugs. It’s an ugly fight that doesn’t go well, since Bruno, like Lex, has studied Superman and knows his weaknesses. Natalie proves she’s a really impressive young woman, goes to find Mateo, and doesn’t exactly explain what happened (I’m not sure how she could have) but makes an effort to push past her own issues. It’s more than a lot of adults would have been able to do. Sarah’s attempts at consoling Junior go sideways due a bit of peer pressure and some really bad timing by Lana. To her credit, Lana listens when Sarah explains what was actually going on, and they both act like adults. Which, again, so many shows wouldn’t do, and why this is such a continually impressive series. The characters act like people, not bad stereotypes.

Lois, still at home, makes a painful admission to Clark, and they have some more actual good communication. It’s a touching scene that was well written and well acted. The kids and Sam get home, and manage a bit of a consolation for Lois about missing the dance. Jordan and Sam get a very entertaining scene that starts off with a joke and ends with Jordan trying to look out for his grandfather.

The next day brings a lot of changes and surprises. Kyle and Chrissy see a lot more of each other, and then Chrissy gets a message from Lana, which is, to say the least, awkward timing. They meet up, and Lana has made a decision about a story she was helping Chrissy with. I get where Lana is coming from, but I’m not sure it was the right choice.

Things wrap up at the Kent farm. Candace is off to her new situation, which is both good and bad. Sam comes calling and brings bad news. Deadline, who is the villain who fought Superman at the DOD, was after information. Using that, he got into another facility and took something that the good guys definitely don’t want the assorted evil scientist types to have. It’s definitely going to be a big problem for Superman and company going forward.

What I Liked: They have real, actual, adult conversations. That sounds like a little thing, but it’s so rare on shows and, as much of a fan of them as I am, rarer still on superhero shows. I like how they are dealing with Lois’ cancer and all the complications. Bruno’s backstory, while not excusing what he does, is sadly believable. The scene near the end of Jordan looking out for Sam was a nice touch and well done. I really liked that Lana listened to Sarah at the dance instead of just flying off the handle. They’ve done an amazing job of taking Kyle from a small town stereotype bully to an actual character with depth.

What I Didn’t: No, I’m not going to drop the East Coast/mid-West thing. It’s ridiculous. Sam’s goggles during the bike scene were weird, too. There were a few weird things going at the dance, like Lana’s speech, that really should have been elsewhere.

Not their best episode, but still pretty damn good. I’m giving this a 4 out of 5.