By: Atiya Irvin-Mitchell
We open with Clark (Jack Quaid) entering the apartment with flowers for Lois (Alice Lee) and Lois looks pretty rattled. Lois tells him to be quiet because he could wake up Kara (Kiana Madeira), who is sleeping mid-air, and if he wakes her up, she’ll ask Lois a million dating app questions. She needs a break, and she and Clark need one-on-one time, so they head to Lois’s favorite restaurant: Pound Cake Palace. They agree they’re going to talk about their future, and their date will be a super business-free zone.
While they’re walking, Lois gets a call from Jimmy (Ishmel Sahid), and she declines. Then Clark gets a call from Jimmy, and he picks up. Jimmy is on another date with a W.O.R.M.S scientist, and Clark and Lois can’t quite believe it because the last W.O.R.M.S scientist he went out with turned him into a werewolf and kidnapped him. Jimmy says that’s not a good reason to generalize all scientists who work at W.O.R.M.S, but his current date brought vials with him and is acting a little strange. Committed to the super business-free zone rule she hangs up fo Clark.
They get to the restaurant and Lois is excited about the cake and the date is going well. Lois says they’re a great team and Clark says they can handle anything the future throws at them. Speaking of the future, faster than the speeding light someone eats all the cake and when they look up to see who the culprit was they see Superboy. He greats them by calling them Mom and Dad and hello. This shocks Clark and Lois and they ask for clarification. Superboy says he is Jonathan Kent (Darren Criss). He’s really excited to be there and asks them a lot of questions about their hobbies and interests. He also comments on how young they are.
Because seeing a teenage boy calling you Mom and Dad when you’re 22 and 23 years old, respectively, Clark and Lois are pretty shocked. While they’re trying to process Jonathan, they’re interrupted by Jimmy who is covered in quills. His scientist date was very much the mad variety of scientist and the quills are the result of her. He asks Clark to take him to Star Labs, but they’re still shocked by Jonathan. While Jimmy rants about the mad scientist, Kara flies in because she has a question about her dating app crashing. Jimmy is so annoyed that Clark can’t take him to Star Labs that he doesn’t immediately notice that Jonathan calls him and Kara, “Uncle Jimmy” and “Aunt Kara,” but they do a double-take, and then they have questions.
Jonathan explains that he is Clark and Lois’s son, and it makes Kara and Jimmy really happy. For Jimmy, being an honorary uncle to Clark and Lois’s future child means they really are BFFs, and Kara is excited to have another living blood relative. But Lois is just panicking, because in the present, she is still not ready for marriage and babies. When the excited questions overwhelm her, Lois snaps, and Clark decides that they should get going. Plus, being Clark he apologizes to the waitress for the mess and outburst.
They do take Jimmy to Star Labs and he has to painfully get the quills removed one by one. They brought Jonathan along for the ride, and he is energetic and looking around. Because Jonathan is touching things and breaks something, Clark wants to take him outside. Once they’re outside, Jonathan apologizes if he came on too strong but he is just very excited to be there. He’s still zipping around and Clark says it’s fine and calls him kiddo. Lois can’t believe how okay he is with everything and wonders if they should just believe Jonathan is who he says he is. But Clark and Kara believe him because is a flying pickpocket (Lois is a pickpocket), he has Clark’s father’s name, and he looks like Lois and has her mannerisms. Lois still can’t believe she is someone’s mother and is relieved when Perry texts her about a deadline. She plans to go into the office for work, but Jonathan wants to tag along. But, Lois wants to know what Jonathan is doing in their time. He hesitates to answer and Kara saves him from answering by offering to train with him instead. But Clark offers to do normal stuff with him and they go to the mall.
Elsewhere, Hank Henshaw (Max Mittelman) is struggling with going from being a respected war hero to being feared by most of the public. He watches a documentary on himself and freaks out and destroys the lab when he gets to the clip of Lois saying he’s dangerous.
At the mall we get a shopping montage. In part due to the fact that Jonathan is kind of conspicuous in his Superboy suit Jimmy buys him new clothes, also Jimmy enjoys being an uncle. Clark and Jimmy have a lot of fun helping Jonathan pick out clothes, but Lois is still freaking out. Kara is trying to bond with Jonathan, but he seems to be keeping her at an arm’s length. The fun gets interrupted by an earthquake and Jonathan saves a mother and son from being crushed by a statue. Lois can’t help but smile and comments that Jonathan is just like Clark, but why is he here?
Hank goes to talk to Lex (Max Mittelman) and Slade (Chris Parnell), and they’re wary because they agreed Hank would keep to himself until further notice. Lex pulls out the remote he used to shock him and Hank says that’s what he wants to talk about. He says his behavior was unacceptable and a good commanding officer knows how to get his people back in line and remind them who’s in charge. Hank promises to never forget again. Lex is satisfied, but Hank isn’t sincere. Slade tries to warn him that Hank isn’t done trying to kill them, but Lex doesn’t want to listen.
At the mall, Lois starts feeling overwhelmed due to the future son of it all, so she pretends that Perry is calling her into work. She hoped to get some distance, but when Jonathan begs he reluctantly agrees to take him with her and Kara, Jimmy, and Clark tag along. When Jonathan is looking over her shoulder at her desk, Lois tries to go outside for air and the group joins her on the roof. Kara and Jimmy have some kerfuffle over taking pics for Kara’s dating profile which makes Jimmy jealous. And then Clark has to stop Kara from dropping the globe on top of The Daily Planet off of the building. Jonathan and Lois laugh at the shenanigans. Lois realizes that both she and Jonathan like spicy food. Jonathan thinks he got that from her and calls her “Mom again which makes her flinch a little. Jonathan notices and is sad, but Lois tries to reassure him that he’s great. It just isn’t everyday your son from the future swings by for a visit. Also, Lois is struggling with the idea that her entire future has been decided for her. Jonathan says he doesn’t believe in fate and thinks they create their own future.
The talk is interrupted because there’s a crisis happening that requires superheroes to solve. Kara suits up to help Clark, but Jonathan asks to go with him instead. Kara agrees but seems a little confused. Then he gives Lois a mini heart attack by roller skating off the roof backwards, but again, Jonathan can fly. On that note, kara leaves and JImmy and Lois they realize that none of them have the keys to get back into the building. Jimmy whips out his phone and asks the internet for lockpicking tips.
Lizard people, aka Subterranosauri, are descending on the city and Jonathan is confused. They’re wrecking the city and Jonathan doesn’t understand why they’re being so mean because in the future they’re allies to humans. In the present they’re causing a lot of damage and at first Jonathan struggles to get calm enough to help people. But, Clark tells him he needs to be gentle and get people to trust him to be able to help them. So, Jonathan tries reassuring the citizens who are panicking, which appears to work. But, instead of fighting with the Subterranosauri Jonathan decides he’s going to smooth things over.
Slade was right and Hank was very much not over it. He uses his heat vision to shoot the remote Lex threatened him with out of his hands. Hank also gets the robots to turn on him and Lex screams for Slade. Slade says he warned him. So, Lex tries to bribe Hank, but Hank really just wants his old life and body back. Seeing an in, Lex tells Hank that this is all happening because of Clark and he’d still have a normal life if Superman had never come to this planet. Hank seems to believe him and directs his anger at Clark. Lex offers to help him destroy Superman, but Hank says he works alone.
At first he gets thrown into a building for his trouble, but then he tries again with the Subterranosauri Prince Tyrannko (Darrell Brown) . He comes from the underground (which is what caused the earthquakes) and laments that the buildings that humans have built have created problems for his people. Jonathan apologizes for humanity’s drilling and asks for forgiveness on their behalf. He tells the prince about the future where humans and Subterranosauri work together and says they can obliterate prejudice together. The prince agrees and we cut away and Prince Tyrannko is shaking hands with the mayor.
Clark is proud of Jonathan and a little surprised. But Jonathan isn’t anymore, he said that the Subterranosauri have been friends with humanity for 20 years and realizes that’s probably because of him. He says time travel rules. Clark tells him this is what Superman fights for, a better tomorrow. Then he takes Jonathan back to the Kent Family farm to get patched up. The gang’s all there and Kara tries to play catch with Jonathan, only to be turned down again. Jonathan wants to help Lois with her story. Jimmy and Clark look confused because they’ve noticed that Jonathan doesn’t seem to want to hang out with Kara.
Lois is writing by the tree and asks Jonathan about the right way to spell the prince’s name. She asks him what he thinks of the article and he thinks it’s great. Jonathan adds that Lois is just how Jonathan always imagined her, which confuses Lois. Then she pulls out a picture of Clark, Lois, and baby Jonathan that she got out of his pocket. She teases Jonathan and tells him she’s a good pickpocket too. Jonathan says he knows it’s weird to find out she’s a mom, but Lois says thank you for today. Jonathan said he really needed “this” and Lois says she thinks might’ve too.
While Jonathan is helping Pa Kent fix his truck with his powers, Clark tells Lois that if Jonathan is their future they must be okay. Lois agrees, and Kara runs outside and tells them there’s another emergency. On the TV, there’s a lot of screaming, because Hank is attacking Metropolis and he calls out Superman and blames him for people being afraid of him. He tells Clark to fight to be Metropolis’s hero and Clark flies off. Jonathan looks shell shocked and says he thought he’d have more time. Lois gets worried and asks “more time for what” and why Jonathan is here. Jonathan admits that in his future Clark and Lois are dead and he was sent back in time to save them. From what? From Hank Henshaw.