[7.9/10] I am such a sucker for a good alternate universe story. There’s something about the mix of the accessibility of the familiar and the novelty of the new twist that makes it fun and exciting. So sending Lois Lane to a dystopia version of Metropolis, where Superman and Lex Luthor rule together as twin tyrants, is an absolute thrill. The only catch is that the show has to deliver a lot of information and setup in just twenty-two minutes, while also trying to tell a story. That means there’s a lot of shortcuts, a lot of exposition, and a lot of things that are glancing by necessity when they really should be explored in more depth. In an ideal world, this episode would be a two-parter with enough time to flesh out some of those reimagined characters and situations. Still, what we get is still pretty good, even if it involves an inevitable amount of shorthand. There’s an interesting idea at play, in the form that Superman could be fascist strongman for wont of a nail, and that nail’s name is Lois. The episode doesn't really have time to dig into that concept with any depth, but I like the notion that Superman believed he could fight the evil in the world through leading by example, and yet, when fighting crime cost him someone he loved, he came to believe that this wasn’t a nuisance, it was a war, and he needed to act accordingly. It’s a psychological take on the Man of Steel we haven’t really gotten in the series so far, and I like it. It feels downright Batman-esque. Frankly (no pun intended) a lot of this does. Usually this show “shoots” Metropolis in the daytime, giving it a bright and clean feel even in the midst of bad guy attacks. But we almost exclusively see this version of Metropolis at night, and that combined with the art deco sculptures of Lex and Supes, makes it feel more akin to Gotham. The black-clad, more vengeful Superman gives that vibe too. Apart from the darkness of it all, it’s interesting to see the alternate versions of our main characters. Jimmy Olson is a resistance leader. Mercy is the head of Lex’s security forces. Dan Turpin and Maggie Sawyer are basically foot soldiers. Lois’s TV anchor rival is homeless. And kryptonite is a means to hold off an oppressor rather than weaken a protector. Granted, all of that comes fast and furiously since there’s so much plot to get through in so short a time. Alt-Superman’s change of heart comes really fast and so does the change in heart for the people who were booing and throwing bricks at him. Lex’s betrayal and escape feels pretty quick and cheap, and Lois being able to go toe-to-toe with Mercy seems a little easy. Still, I like the basics of this even if it’s all quick. While there’s a touch of melodrama to it, this is as good a way as any to advance the Lois/Clark relationship, a way of having Lois know how Superman feels without Clark telling her. Who knows if the show follows up on it, but it adds a strain of emotion to the proceedings, making Lois that much more important to Superman’s world, in an interesting way. Overall, this is one of the show’s standout episodes, and I applaud all the creativity and intriguing ideas that went into it.