Season 4, Episode 5: "Break the Cycle" (SPOILERS)

[flickchick85]

Official Description:

Lois (Elizabeth Tulloch) makes increasingly bold moves as she tries to stop Luthor (Michael Cudlitz). Jonathan (Michael Bishop) struggles to balance his personal life and responsibilities, while Clark (Tyler Hoechlin) learns an unsettling truth. Elizabeth Henstridge (“Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.”) directed the episode written by Adam Mallinger (#405). Original airdate 10/28/2024.

Promo:


Discuss the episode here.​

 

[OrbOfConfusion]

Oh right, I forgot about Candice.

Well, what's Lex to do now with no Doomsday at his disposal? Nice scenes with Elizabeth and seeing a somewhat softer side to him, even though in the end, of course, he'll always choose violence.

 

[The Caped Knight]

Interesting that Lois got through to bizzaro Doomsday ala beauty and the beast.

 

[KaijuDude1992]

I really liked the dramatic stuff with Luthor and his daughter in this episode. They actually did a pretty solid job of humanizing him somewhat without making him overly sympathetic which was perfect IMO.

Once again Cudlitz is just great in this role.

 

[Slick]

 

[flickchick85]

Much better episode than last week. Really liked how Martha/Clark's approach is ultimately what worked, even if not the way he thought. Elizabeth Henstridge did a great job, both in front of and behind the camera. Really curious to see where Luthor pivots to now. Feels like it might be time to meet Milton Fine soon.

 

[The Caped Knight]

I liked that we got Lex’s backstory, regardless he’s still a straight up villain. I did feel bad for his daughter Elizabeth who just wanted to be free from the lineage of being a Luthor. It kinda reminded me of Lena (Lex’s sister) in Supergirl.

I loved the confrontation between Lex and Superman, he didn’t even flinch when Kal-El approached him to stay away from his family. Now that he knows Clark’s secret he’s not intimidated by Superman presence.

It was interesting to see Jonathan attempting too balance his dual identity with Candice. I’m shocked that Jordan just told her the secret so quickly.

 

[hopefuldreamer]

Terrible episode for me.

Really really disliked it. Not a fan of Lois & Clark both trying to talk Lexs pregnant daughter into reconnecting with that psycho after Sam literally died protecting her whereabouts. Not a fan of their attempts to make him seem sympathetic. Also just found the dialogue clunky and in places nonsensical.

I AM glad they finally remembered Doomzarro was once Bizzaro, and I enjoyed the Jordan/Candice shenanigans and the Denise stuff.

But overall its a stinker for me.

 

[ArmsHeldOut]

Terrible episode for me.

Really really disliked it. Not a fan of Lois & Clark both trying to talk Lexs pregnant daughter into reconnecting with that psycho after Sam literally died protecting her whereabouts. Not a fan of their attempts to make him seem sympathetic. Also just found the dialogue clunky and in places nonsensical.

I AM glad they finally remembered Doomzarro was once Bizzaro, and I enjoyed the Jordan/Candice shenanigans and the Denise stuff.

But overall its a stinker for me.

I hear you. As grateful as I am to have the show back and to see the Kents get a proper ending to their story, the writing isn't quite up to par for my liking.

 

[Primal Slayer]

I found it very unbelievable that Lois would allow Jonathan's girlfriend to visit when
A. Clark is just back from the dead
B. Their lives are still very much in danger

That didnt make sense to me

The flashbacks were ok? But I feel like they still seemed a bit to "low key" for Lex. We have everyone in Smallville already, we need more Metropolis and the rich city feel and that was missing from the flashbacks. But I know....the show is broke this season.

 

[Dr.]

Oh right, I forgot about Candice.

As a viewer, I suppose it’s my responsibility to keep track of characters from previous episodes and seasons. But I couldn’t quite recall the particulars of Candice’s backstory. So for me, Jordan and Jonathan concocting a ruse to keep Candice in the dark — and Candice sensing that the boys weren’t being honest — felt like forced and unnecessary melodrama. Now, benefit of the doubt, maybe this plants a seed that’ll prove significant in a future episode. But I kinda doubt it.

 

[Herolee10]

I found it very unbelievable that Lois would allow Jonathan's girlfriend to visit when
A. Clark is just back from the dead
B. Their lives are still very much in danger

That didnt make sense to me

The flashbacks were ok? But I feel like they still seemed a bit to "low key" for Lex. We have everyone in Smallville already, we need more Metropolis and the rich city feel and that was missing from the flashbacks. But I know....the show is broke this season.

Yeah, this episode really made it apparent that the show is on a tight budget right now. I'm guessing after last week's heavy VFX sequences (e.g., Training Jonathan, Mall Fire Rescue), they had to dial it back down for this episode.

 

[Web-Head]

I was pretty invested in this episode, but it did feel a little heavy on the CW drama, it worked better here than say The Flash though. Weird that they just "solved" things with Candice like that and off camera. Curious to see where things go from here though

 

[Sithborg]

Glad they remembered Candice and Jordan's feud from when she was living with the Kents. I do like their interactions. And honestly, considering Jon has been seeing Candice for longer than Jordan was seeing Sarah, I am fine with Jordan just cutting through the secret for his brother. And I do like how Clark's secret is slowly becoming the town secret. I love that.

And I love the solution to Doomsday. Something that could only be done with this version of Doomsday.

 

[vantheman77]

The reduced budget is showing in this episode.

I have a feeling Clark will not be happy with what Lois did with Bizarro Doomsday.

 

[The Caped Knight]