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So apparently the cops in Metropolis have each others backs no matter what…unless you don’t like what they’re doing, in which case they’ll shoot your ass.

John Jones (the “Martian Manhunter”) is shot by a Metropolis police sharpshooter while on a case, and he ends up in the hospital because he sacrificed his powers to save Clark a while back. Clark goes undercover as a cop to investigate, and by a stroke of amazing luck becomes the new partner of a young cop whose partner was shot and killed and is being initiated into a group of vigilante cops who are meting out their own brand of justice. Clark proves to the cop, Danny Turpin, that he should do things the right way, and together they bring down his crooked co-workers. Meanwhile, Lana proves to Tess just how much Lex doesn’t trust her when she shows her that Lex has been monitoring everything she does through a computer program wired into her eyes and ears. By the end, Tess jams the program and goes on a date with Ollie to discuss a “merger” (wink).

This episode wasn’t great, but the quality was still far superior to most of last season. There was further progress toward Clark becoming Superman, with more stories about the “red-and-blue blur” saving people. I noticed Clark is wearing black and other dark colors while working and in public now, saving his traditional red-and-blue ensemble for when he’s out playing hero. This is a nice transition from his former self into the Clark/Superman we’re used to seeing in the comics and movies.

I’m not sure where they’re going with the Tess storyline, since she’s supposed to be the Lex replacement. If they’re not going to bring Doomsday back right away (like I thought), then they must be planning on establishing a new big bad for the rest of the season.

What I missed in this episode was some kind of acknowledgment (other than Clark’s passing reference to Oliver “going too far” sometimes) to the fact that costumed superheroes are, by their very nature, vigilantes who are doing essentially the same thing as these dirty cops - with the exception of the occasional murder. Why is it okay for Oliver, Clark, and the rest to act on their own outside of the law, but these cops have to play by the rules? I’m not saying what these cops were doing is acceptable by any means, but I would have liked to see some kind of discussion.

As this season goes on, I’m seeing more and more that I like about the new direction of the show and less and less to complain about. Even the Clark/Lana relationship was handled fairly well these past couple of shows (although they really need to stick a fork in it now…it’s done). I actually look forward to seeing new episodes now for the first time in a long time.

Considering I was clamoring last season for this series to end before it got even worse, that’s saying a lot.

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