Superman & Lois is already repeating one of the romantic struggles that Smallville’s Clark (Tom Welling) had with Lana (Kristin Kreuk) in that show’s early seasons. In multiple ways, the experiences of Superman’s teenage sons in the Arrowverse series have mirrored the issues Clark dealt with on Smallville. Clark and Lana were in love when the two were in high school, but the biggest obstacle that kept them apart was his secret.
Clark avoided telling her the truth about his Kryptonian heritage and powers until the season 6 finale. For this reason, the two had an on-and-off romance for years that was constantly complicated by Clark’s secrets. Lana, who often felt betrayed by his dishonesty, developed numerous trust issues because of him. A scene in Superman & Lois season 1, episode 6 with Jordan and Sarah (Inde Navarrette) feels identical to situations Clark found himself in with Lana. After Tag (Wern Lee) showed Sarah the video of the accident where he got his powers and told her he thought Jordan was responsible, she seemed to believe him.
When Jordan denied any connection to it, she said to him, “you know if there was something, you could tell me, right?”. Smallville’s Lana said the same thing to Clark on more than one occasion, the first time being in the season 2 premiere when she was convinced Clark saved her from the tornado (even though he wouldn’t admit it). When Clark told Lana he wasn’t a meteor-freak in a season 3 episode, Lana assured Clark that it “would be okay” if he was. She reiterated that sentiment when those suspicions resurfaced during season 6.
Much like Clark did whenever he had to deceive Lana about his powers, Jordan later agonized over being forced to lie to Sarah. Those familiar with what Clark went through in Smallville know this is only the beginning. Clark kept up the lies and excuses for years, despite the fact Lana could usually tell when Clark wasn’t being honest with her. If Jordan makes the same decisions as Clark did when it came to his powers, his relationship with Sarah could become similarly strained.
Granted, Jordan and Sarah don’t have the same history Clark and Lana did on Smallville, who were good friends for nearly a year before she ever figured out he was hiding something. So with that in mind, it’s understandable for Jordan to keep a lid on his Kryptonian abilities and the fact he’s Superman’s son. But in Clark’s case, he waited too long, which was something he didn’t realize until season 7. It’s possible that if and when Jordan’s friendship with Sarah reaches a point where he should come clean on Superman & Lois, he’ll manage to avoid many of the romantic problems Tom Welling’s character experienced in his high school days. But for right now at least, the show is setting up Jordan to repeat those mistakes.
