#superman and lois thoery

[jonkentdeservesbetter]

Just had a galaxy brain theory pop up in my head out of nowhere - my brain almost immediately shot it down as too unrealistic for this show’s writing for Jon, but if I’m right? It would make so much sense.

[The hopeful-for-Jon’s-S3-writing part of my brain: holy shit!! I’ve conNECTED THE DOTS

The cynical-I-don’t-trust-the-writers part of my brain: you didn’t connect shit, dude.

Hopeful-Brain: I’VE CONNECTED THEM HOLY SHIT THIS IS IT THIS IS—

Cynical-Brain: *heavy sigh.*]

Anyway: the theory.

Heads up! This post is going to make mention on some things said about what to expect from S3/what S3’s about. This was all vaguely spoilery stuff, but consider whether you want to read this post if you don’t want spoilers, vague or guessed.

Why is Jon Kent so happy now?

Before the premiere, a reviewer on Twitter spoke about the first few episodes - and gave a warning to the fans that this season would be dealing with some very triggering content in a storyline they were tackling.

Given the show has done heavy storylines before without getting the same treatment (as far as I’m aware, and going by everyone else’s reactions to the TW as well), people were asking what it could possibly be about - we’ve covered murder, drugs, miscarrying, parental neglect (the Lanes, the Bizzaros, and as-of-yet unaddressed, the Kents), etc.

So what could it be? The fact that a cancer storyline was going to happen with a WOC was already old news, to those keeping up, and the reviewer made no mention of that.

Here’s the thing I’d missed —

Some people who’ve been heavily depressed for a long time have a sudden 180 in mood - and unlike for those like me, it isn’t a hypo- or manic ep. It’s because they’re suicidal.

Of course, you may be thinking, “wait, no - Jon was working so hard for his license! It doesn’t make sense he’d be about to try to kill himself when he wanted it so badly!”

Except, remember what he told Jordan?

“This is my freedom.”

His parents would never let him drive his car without a license. His father would know he was immediately, because while he may not be eavesdropping on the boys anymore, he will still hear a Dodge Ram start up at their house, without trying. So Jon needs to get his license if he wants to drive off to do…it.

After all - it’s not like Jonathan Kent would try anything like this at the Farm or in town.

And I don’t think I need to point out to his fans why he would be suicidal, or the fact that, actually, there’s been a lot building up to this, when you look back. Not just Sarah commenting on Jon’s behavior mirroring her own before her suicide attempt last season, but the repeated, intentional writing choices that showed how utterly depressed Jon is.

I’m not saying the writers always had this in mind - but it could have come to them. The ground has been being laid, if you notice it.

So what’s the triggering storyline that was so shocking, so heavy, it needed a TW? On a show with everything we’ve already seen?

Maybe…it’s a child trying to kill himself.

Clark Kent is many things, and in relation to his son Jon, he’s constantly missed all the signs on how Jon’s been suffering. Missed Jon hating Smallville. Jon’s spiraling mental health. Jon’s feelings of being unsafe. Jon’s hopelessness and lack of seeing a future…

But even Clark Kent would understand this.

And when things are finally fully clear, Jon will be able to begin healing, to have hope.

It’s like they say - it’s always darkest before the light comes in to shine on you again.

[jonkentdeservesbetter]

So, now that I’ve used 24 hours (+ a longfic from a completely different fandom) to calm down from the end of the last episode, #3, summoning all the child-abuse apologists of this fandom, I can share a theory. I actually posted about this one before, back when S2 had recently aired it’s finale, and Mannheim was name-dropped by John Diggle, to JHI.

(This is messier than I wanted, but tbh I’m still really fried from the fandom shittiness; it’s unsurprisingly not dissipated, so, yeah. Largely I just wanted to get this out before forgetting, since I like this theory quite a bit - mostly, I think, because it feels probable.)

While this show would not be described as comics-accurate by literally anyone, there’s a history of “totally unexpected” (read: out of fucking left-field; all misdirection and no foreshadowing groundwork) plot-twists, yet we are apparently not getting that with S3’s main villain; as was, iirc, stated in interviews.

That said, there’s always at least one thing put in that, because of how the show uses comics-canon, we can’t spot coming. It’d be pretty interesting if this time, instead of the writers playing with comic details to create a fake-out not comics-accurate, they made a plot-twist that is, plus actually well-received by most, as well as, shockingly, has gotten foreshadowing. Yep: Jon getting his powers.

I won’t go over every detail of foreshadowing Jon getting powers, because it’s a list, and I am…verbose. Instead, let’s look at ep. 3x03.

In episode 3, we not only actually get some real focus on Jon doing “hero stuff,” which we’d been ‘promised’ by the show-runners would be the case for Jon at last, but which many burnt out fans would not believe in, we also got something else. Kryptonian blood experiments, done on Mannheim’s orders.

How does this connect to Jon, specifically?

For those who aren’t aware, and for those who may have simply forgotten, in comics-canon, when Lois was investigating Bruno Mannheim and Intergang, they kidnapped her and Jon. Now, maybe they don’t know that Jon’s blood is special, or maybe, since nobody treats him as Kryptonian, Jon did the blood-drive without anyone even being aware, tipping Mannheim off to taking him.

I don’t need it to be one or the other, for my theory: it just matters if they’re kidnapped.

Because in the comics? When Jon is taken with Lois, and Superman can’t save them (not in-time, but also, Mannheim is able to hide them from Clark in the show, so), Jon’s powers awaken. He gets them out of there.

Things of course would be very different in the show, in other regards, like Mannheim possibly taking Jon to refill the blood supply he lost in the explosion, and also, that, like in the very similar Smallville plot, so long as one has access to continuous injections of Kryptonian blood - like medication - they’re able to survive diseases that would be fatal, Lois could also be experimented on with his blood while they’re captured, which helps her cancer. It isn’t a magically cure-all that would eliminate cancer, because it has to be a continuous supply, and there may also be the factor of blood compatibility - although, that likely wouldn’t be an issue for the two.

It would further Mannheim’s plans, would establish his goals more clearly to us, and yet, at the same time, it would show exactly how far he’s willing to go; what evil he does.

It would also, naturally, give Jon his powers. Plus, while we’ve had little things building up to this - the blood-drive flyer, finding bags of blood, the identification of the blood as from Clark (as Kryptonian) - in the show, we have also gotten interviews that’ve said Jon’s plot is something that’ll have him finally following in his father’s footsteps, and that Bishop is really excited for the fans to see this season - Bishop, who’s hoping for Jon to be Superboy in the show, and talked about wanting Jon to fly, and watched seasons 1 & 2 alongside us.

So is there hope? Will Jon’s powers finally awaken? Well…the poster quotes hint at it possibly being true. The question, however, with this show and Jon, is if follow-through will ever appear, or drop off a cliff suddenly.

Personally? I would LOVE if Mannheim not only came after Lois (because we all know she’s a threat, and she JUST destroyed his blood supply), but also took Jon, preferably because he found out about his blood (that would be a great time for SOMEONE to at last say “you’re Kryptonian” to him!! finally!).

Whether of not Mannheim discovers Jon’s got Kryptonian genetics or not - and think how much it would up the stakes if he did, because he would definitely put the pieces together, not to mention if he experiments with Jon’s blood with Lois she can believably recover without it being a terribly ableist magic one-and-done cure, instead creating a very unique ‘medication’ that really could only be used for her, as well as would have such a short supply it wouldn’t matter if it didn’t, and that it explains itself for why the Lane-Kents can’t risk anyone else knowing; because it would out their family and place the boys in immediate danger - either way, Jon gets his powers, and it would be both original enough for the show, and comics-accurate enough for the fans wanting that.