By: Atiya Irvin-Mitchell
Clark (Jack Quaid) and Lois (Alice Lee) are meeting with Jonathan (Darren Criss) and Lara Lane (Jolie Hoang-Rappaport). Clark and Lois are shocked because they didn’t have a daughter before and the Jonathan in front of him doesn’t remember the other Jonathan’s trip to the past. They realize that when they changed the future, they rewrote Jon’s entire life.
Elsewhere, Lex (Max Mittelman) is bandaged, and according to Slade Wilson (Chris Parnell), he should be preparing for a Pentagon inspection. When Slade tries to figure out what Lex is working on, Lex says it’s on a need-to-know basis, and he doesn’t need to know. Slade says they’re supposed to be partners, but Lex says he works for him. The exchange is interrupted by Amanda Waller (Debra Wilson), who is in charge of the Pentagon again, much to Lex’s surprise.
At the Kent Family Farm, Clark, Lois, Lara, and Jonathan are trying to get on the same page with varying results. Clark and Lois explain about the other Jonathan and that Lara didn’t exist before. Lara is surprised to hear that and wonders if she was an accident, but Lois says they’re happy to have her. Jonathan doesn’t like it when Lois says the other Jonathan they met was him, but Lois says Jonathan Kent was a version of him. She tries to tell him that his coming back made everything better. Then why, Jonathan asks, is the future worse?
Kara (Kiana Madeira) is flying with Jimmy (Ishmel Sahid) to the farm, and Jimmy can tell Kara seems upset, so he asks her where they are. At first she takes the question literally, and then he specifies that he wants to know where they are with each other. They land, and Jimmy asks if he’s done something wrong. Kara asks what Jimmy wants, and he says he wants to be a better friend. Kara seems disappointed and asks if friendship is all Jimmy wants from her. Jimmy says he just wants to be with her and asks her what she wants. Kara says she wants to trust him, but she’s worried that he’ll leave her alone again. Before Jimmy can respond, Clark opens the door and ushers them both inside.
Clark and Lois introduce Lara and Jonathan, and Kara and Jimmy are excited to see them. But Clark quickly corrects the notion that this Jonathan is anything like the other Jonathan they met and tells Jimmy not to provoke him. Jonathan Kent was like a very excited puppy; Jonathan Lane, however, has a lot of sharp edges. At any rate, Jimmy says it’s nice to see Superboy again, but Jonathan says he’s Superman. Jimmy gently points out that they already have a Superman, but Jonathan isn’t as convinced. Lara interrupts and says they should probably get back to the mission General Lane gave them. Lois rolls her eyes and says that even in the future, her father can’t stop ordering people around.
But Jonathan isn’t feeling so hopeful about the mission because it didn’t seem to fix the other Jonathan’s future. He storms off, and Clark goes out into the field to try and talk to him, but Jonathan isn’t interested in a heart-to-heart. He said he had to figure out everything from how to use his powers to how to protect the Earth without Clark, so he doesn’t need him now. Kara overhears this and deduces that, from the future Jonathan’s describing, she wasn’t there for him in the future either, which makes her sad. Jonathan ends his rant by saying he isn’t here for Clark this time around, sarcastically calls him Superman, and tells him to stay out of his way. Then he flies away.
Inside, Lara and Lois are having a less hostile but still awkward conversation. Lois offers her baked goods and asks Lara what she and her brother are doing here. Lara says the mission is classified, but General Lane sent them back in time to kill Lex Luthor. Lois is shocked and wonders why this future version of her father would send her children back in time to commit murder. But Lara says these aren’t Sam Lane’s orders; they’re Lois’s. In their future, Lex is controlling the planet with a mind-controlled army of Kryptonian clones called Eradicators, so in the future Lois says this is the only way. Lois is shocked and speechless.
Speaking of Lex, he is pitching the thing that messes up Jonathan and Lara’s future to Amanda Waller. When Lex reveals that he put a piece of his brain into the Eradicator, Amanda says she’s heard enough and orders him to shut the project down. He tries to sell her on Project Eradicator, but Amanda says she isn’t just shutting down Project Eradicator; she’s shutting down all of LexCorp.
Back at the farm, Clark and Lois are comparing parenting notes. They both feel they failed Jonathan and Lara. Clark by missing their childhood, and Lois by giving the homicidal orders. Lois wonders if she’s destined to be a bad mother, but she hasn’t shared the full extent of what Lara told her yet. As she’s about to explain, they both realize that their children are gone.
At Lexcorp, Lex is trying to plead his case and even shows Amanda the time machine he’s been working on. The idea is to defeat your enemies before they even become enemies. But Amanda reminds him that he was responsible for Hank Henshaw nearly burning the world down, not Superman. Plus, Amanda says, he can’t even look after his own people, pointing to Slade. The conversation is interrupted by Lara flying in. She confronts Lex and tells him he’s the end of the world. Lex says he’s just a scientist, but Lara goes in for the attack, and Lex releases the Eradicator. Lara uses her heat vision, but it doesn’t stop the Eradicator (Steve Blum) from attacking, and we hear Lara scream.
Up in the sky, Jonathan and Kara are carrying Clark, Lois, and Jimmy, and Jonathan says it’s just like Lara to rush headfirst into something without a plan. He adds that his sister is always trying to be “Mommy’s perfect little soldier.” Speaking of soldiers, Slade stops them from entering Lexcorp, and when they ask where Lara is, he refers to her as the superpowered trying to kill Lex. He says the fight is taking place underground, until the ground under them bursts due to the fight between Lara and the Eradicator. The ground breaking causes Clark and Lois to fall, into the sewers. They still don’t see Lara, until they look deeper into tunnels and find her. At first, they’re relieved because Lois says they thought there was a monster but Lara tells them to keep their voices down because there is a monster.
In a different part of the sewers, Kara and Jonathan are looking for Clark and Lois. Kara tries to convince him that they should stick together because they lead dampens some of their powers, but he’s being stubborn and goes off on his own. Kara is frustrated and keeps calling for Clark and Lois, until she hears Jonathan scream. She goes to investigate and gets a train thrown at her by the Eradicator. Then we see Jonathan get attacked by the Eradicator. We cut away and slee the Lane-Kents hearing Jonathan screaming and Lara races after her brother. In their human state, Clark and Lois try to chase after her, but she has superspeed on her side. When they’re in the middle of figuring out which way they went, they’re almost attacked by the Eradicator but Lara jumps on his back and demands to know where Jonathan is. She doesn’t get an answer, so she continues to fight the Eradicator and uses her heat vision again. Unfortunately, the Eradicator seems to be able to mimic the powers that are used on it and then uses heat vision on Lara. When Clark and Lois ask what the “thing” is, Lara explains it’s an Eradicator, but she says it’s different than the ones Lex is using to rule over everyone in the future.
As the Eradicator attacks Lara again, Jonathan swoops in and tells it to back off. Jonathan fights with Eradicator and Lara goes to help, but Lois tells her not to because she’s wounded. But, Jonathan says not to listen to Lois and get behind the Eradicator. Lara is conflicted between listening to Jonathan and Lois, which causes her to freeze. During this the Eradicator knocks Jonathan to the ground, which horrifies Lara who runs to her brother. Luckily, they’re spared from further attack by Kara who throws a train at the Eradicator and tells it to stay away from her family.
Kara drags the Eradicator above ground and through a building before slamming it into the ground. We get a clip of Bizarro still working at the ice cream parlor, but it’s unclear if he’s going to enter the fray. Underground, Jonathan and Lara fly away over Lois and Clark’s protests, and Lois comments that their kids are super disrespectful. Clark points out a path out from the sewers and above ground Amanda tells Lex to call off his monster. Unfortunately, Lex tells her that he can’t control it.
Amanda reminds him that he and the Eradicator share a brain, but, Lex says the system wasn’t completed yet. That means that it won’t respond to Lex’s commands. While they’re talking, Lara and Jonathan join the fight against the Eradicator and things aren’t looking good. It seems like all their attacks make the Eradicator stronger. Lara and Jonathan are being crushed by the Eradicator and due to her injuries Lara loses conciousness. The Eradicator is going in for the kill, when Kara stops it. She says she’s the Eradicators opponent and the fight continues.
It continues to be a rough night for anyone whose last name is Lane or Kent, because due to the destruction happening to the city, Lois is nearly crushed by falling debry only to be saved by Clark. They’re both a little bruised up, but they’re determined to get to their children.
Speaking of that, it’s a rough night for the House of El. With Lara unconscious and the Eradicator continuing to evolve, Jonathan says that they’re doomed. He doesn’t think they can win the fight and he says he’s doomed like the other Jonathan. But, Kara stops the spiral by punching him in the arm. She tells Jonathan that he’s not the only person who has lost things and that she’s seen many different futures. That’s why, Kara says she knows that the future can always change and they can create a better tomorrow. When the Eradicator prepares for another attack, Kara tells Jonathan to stay here because she plans to show him.
Clark, Lois, and Jimmy make it to the battle and see Kara fighting the Eradicator, but the Eradicator doesn’t seem any worse for wear. Worried for his cousin, Clark doesn’t want to leave her alone in the fight. But Lois stands in his way, because it’s a job for Superman. The Eradicator and Kara continue to fight and then the Eradicator turns its heat vision on Jonathan and Lara. In the knick of time, Kara flies in front of them and takes the brunt of the attack. Jonathan catches her as she falls and asks her why she did that. Kara tells Jonathan he’s her better tomorrow and then loses consciousness. Clark is horrified and runs Jonathan and Kara, only to find himself at the Fortress of Solitude standing face-to-face with Superman. He’s confused and says he doesn’t have time for whatever this is because his family needs him. Superman says right now, they need Superman and not Clark Kent.
Upon seeing the state of Kara, Jonathan is enraged and says, “enough of this,” and rips a few of the Eradicator’s arms off. Then after taking a few more blows, the Eradicator notices the watch he’s been using to time travel and much to his horror he takes it. The Eradicator laughs before telling Jonathan he lost and disappears to a different time. And there’s still more despair to go around. Jimmy has been trying to wake her up, but Kara is unresponsive, Bizarro shows up and apologizes for not getting there sooner. Lois checks on Jonathan and he is heartbroken because he failed and the Eradicator is lose in the time stream.
Then Amanda arrives with Slade and Lex in toe and asks who she is arresting for everything that happened today. Lex blames Lara for trying to assasinate him, but Lois defends her by saying they were following orders from the future to stop Lex from ever releasing that monster. But, Lex insists that the Eradicator wasn’t ready to be released yet and he says he was just defending himself. He looks to Slade for backup, but Slade calls him Alex and says this is what he’s been trying to warn him about. The fact, that this is the second time in a month that Metropolis has been leveled due to one of Lex’s inventions, doesn’t seem to help his case and Amanda says he’s under arrest. She tells the Lane-Kents plus Jimmy and Kara that they can sort out the kids later.
While Lex is being booked, Lois asks Clark how they’re going to fix “this,” meaning the kids, the monster, and the timeline. Clark says he thinks he knows where his powers are and that they can bring back Superman. Unfortuatnllely, though, Clark says he has to leave for a little while to make it happen. This makes Lois panic because she isn’t sure she can handle Lara and Jonathan on her own. Lois feels like her future self’s parenting leaves a lot to be desired and says they both know she fails them. But Clark tries to reassure her by saying they need the real her, not the hardened General Lane that sent them back in the first place. But Lois says she needs Clark and laments that their whole future seems to be being ripped away. Yet, Clark promises to return, but he has to leave because saving the kids and the future really is a job for Superman. We get a montage of him trekking through the snow with Bizarro and see that he’s headed to the Fortress of Solitude.
There’s a voiceover of Lois asking Clark to promise he’ll come back to them, but Bizarro gets a signal from the robots, his eyes turn red, and he knocks Clark out.