SPOILER WARNING: This article contains major spoilers for "Holding the Wrench," the latest episode of Superman & Lois.
Jonathan Kent has a lot on his plate. On Superman & Lois so far, he has had to come to terms with some difficult truths, not the least of which is the fact his father is, in fact, the Man of Steel. As he juggled a new school, his father's true identity and his brother's burgeoning powers, Jonathan's struggle came to a head in "Holding the Wrench," where he sought to help his mother Lois -- and himself -- by recovering any weapons he could find in John Henry Irons' van. This led to a brush with death and a blowout with Lois, as both characters came to terms with their own mortality in a family filled with super beings.
Speaking to CBR, Superman & Lois star Jordan Elsass reflected on Jonathan's journey so far and teased where it's headed in the back half of Season 1. He broke down Jonathan's near death experience, as well as how that will impact him and his relationship with Lois moving forward. He also discussed whether or not he wants to see Jonathan develop powers of his own, how he will continue to be "tested" as the season continues and more.
CBR: If you had to introduce Jonathan to your friends, what would you tell them about him?
Jordan Elsass: I'd be like, "Yo, he's a really cool guy. He makes you feel good. He's empathetic. He's kind. He has a big heart. You know, he's a good person. I think he's inherited a lot of what his parents have to offer and some of their better traits. I think that he also holds a lot in, which can be his downfall. I think that he holds a lot in."
And it's funny, because I would never introduce someone -- I would never give someone so much when I was introducing them. I'd just be like, "Oh, yeah, he's a cool guy." I'd never really go into detail about the specific traits of an individual. [laughs] But I think, yeah, he's a cool guy.
I think that he's definitely an internalizer, like I was saying. He holds a lot in. So that can be his downfall, because he lashes out, as we saw on 1.07. I think we'll see more of the emotions that he's been holding in in 1.08, when it comes out... It's a lot. It's a lot that's going on in his life right now, but he's still a great guy through it all, and I think he's just a good person -- really just a good person. He may not have powers, but he's good at football! It's definitely something he grew up with, and he speaks to football, no question.
Which aspect of Jonathan's character do you relate to the most and why?
I think the perseverance element of it. I think the doing anything for something you believe in. Sometimes the wrong thing! I mean, no question that I think Jonathan is, in many ways, a better person. I would say that he definitely is, a lot of times, focusing on on others and not himself, which is something I need to work on. But I would say that, as for just genuine, straight perseverance as a core element of him. I would say that that's something that I can relate to. I think I've always been someone that's pretty stubborn and doesn't give up easily when I really set my mind to something.
I have to ask you a very silly question. Obviously, there's a character named Jordan on the show. Have you ever found that challenging? Was there ever a point where you were like, "Hey, can my character be called Jordan, maybe?"
That's what I said! That's what I said all along! I was like, "What? Just name me Jordan!" There's got to be a reason for it, but nobody will tell me! Nobody will tell me why! I don't know. It's funny, because I don't fully understand it.
But I will say that so far, everybody has actually been pretty good about it. You know, it's funny, the only people I can think of that screw up on a regular basis -- not because they're the only ones that do, but because I think when they do, they're in the spotlight -- is Bitsie [Tulloch] and Tyler [Hoechlin]. Sometimes they'll call me Jo. Or Inde, who plays Sarah, I think one time she called me Jordan in a scene.
Bitsie and Tyler call me Jordan in a scene all the time, and I just stay in character and I look them right in the eyes and I go, "My name is Jonathan." Every time, they just lose it, because I just stay in character fully and look them right in the eyes and say it super serious, and they always break character. It's super funny. It definitely is not like a pain in the butt or anything, but it has been a little confusing, no question.
Jonathan gets pretty rattled in this episode, with that near-death experience in John Henry's van. How does that impact his decision-making moving forward?
I think he's hopefully going to be a little more cognizant of the repercussions [of] any given decision, now that not only is his dad Superman, but I think that going into John Henry Irons' trailer and looking for weapons and looking around, I think that that, right there, is something that he definitely -- just this entire episode is so much. It's so much that's going on, and I don't think he even expected it. It's finally maybe teaching him a lesson.
It's sort of like Jonathan is finally like, "Okay, I get this now. I'm starting to understand what I can't do and why I shouldn't do it," and maybe he didn't fully grasp that before; it hadn't fully sunk in, because maybe he didn't want it to! He's a kid! And I think that it's ignorance is bliss, especially at that age. So, to then be thrust into a situation where it's life or death, and he's very close to the brink -- very close, within seconds of being dead, being shot to death -- that right there, alone, is something that's gonna stick with him for the rest of his life. No question. So it's definitely a lot. It's a lot.
Like you said earlier, Jonathan holds a lot of his emotions in. How did you approach those simmering feelings, to bring them to the surface in this pinnacle moment?
You know, I have a really close buddy of mine, who is similar to Jonathan in some ways. He's an introverted version of Jonathan. He holds a lot in, and then when he lets it out, it's rough and it's mean and it's pointed, sometimes. So I wanted to bring that to the table, because I still like to showcase the fact that Jonathan just inherently is a good person. He's not going to do anything truly evil or mean spirited, but he does hold so much in.
I think he's the type of guy that doesn't want to cry around other people ever. He only cries when he's by himself. Jonathan, I feel like Jonathan cries by himself a lot. He's very emotional, but he just doesn't show it, not because he thinks emotions are weakness, but because he doesn't want to make other people feel like you feel; you don't want to burden other people with that. So I wanted to show that, okay, this guy is definitely going through it, but he wants to keep spirits up. He's a morale booster for everyone around him. He knows that, and so he plays into that a lot.
This also led to a pretty major blowout between Jonathan and Lois. Even though they recovered from that at the end of the episode, how will that change their relationship this season?
It doesn't change it permanently, in a lot of ways, but I think that it's not going to be the last. I mean, there's a lot going on now. Lois knows that now these boys have this massive burden of, "Our dad is Superman. We have to not only keep that secret, but protect that secret." It's like, you know, they could die!
Lois is angry for a variety of reasons, but it's inevitable. I mean, there's no question. They're just inherently in danger, because that's just part of the Kent family, because of the fact that Clark is Superman. I mean, I think that that's gonna put all of them in danger at all times, especially when Lois and Jon don't have powers. I mean, that's something right there that makes them significantly more vulnerable, not only to being hurt themselves, but being taken hostage so someone can get at Superman or get at Jordan.
So, I mean, there's just so many things that can happen. I imagine there's so many things going through her head, and there's so many things going through Jon's head now! He's just went through this incredible ordeal and almost got killed, and it's probably definitely not going to be the last time! I mean, just in 1.07, we saw them go in with a truck to smash John Henry Irons and now, he's in his trailer and he's almost getting shot at.
So there's just so much, I think, for both of them, they're very hyped up, no question about it. So it will affect the relationships, but it'll affect each one of them as individuals even more. The fact that then they're fighting just really sucks, because it's what would happen, I think, in that situation, but it sucks because really, from a third party perspective, looking at it from my view, that's not the way to go about it. It would be better of you just talked, but there's so many emotions flowing that that's really what would happen.
So props to the writers, because it's very realistic. It doesn't try to make something out of it that's not there. I think it definitely sticks to the script in terms of reality and what would really happen if I did something dumb like that and then almost got killed.
What challenges can we expect Jonathan to face in the second half of the season?
I think just continuing to be that source of moral support for his brother, especially, but now for the whole family and for his friends. He's going to be tested a little bit! He's going to be tested more and more, and we're going to see Jonathan reach a point where he's definitely feeling the strain of it a little bit, and he's taking the brunt of stuff, but then he finally -- I think Jonathan does start to finally kind of find his way in all this.
I think that, as the season progresses, you'll see that he's getting -- it's not even necessarily that he's getting more comfortable with it; he's just getting more tools in his toolbox to be able to deal with this kind of stuff and understanding a little more and having [an] experience that he goes through like this gives him many more tools and more tools until his toolbox is full and he can fix any situation. Definitely, we're far from that, and will we ever reach that point? Who knows!
But for now, I think he's finally starting to get into the groove of things. Again, it's surprising to see that at a young age; that's rare. That's rare, but it does exist, and I think he has great parents. I think that is definitely a lot of it. I don't think that Jonathan would be the young man that he is if it weren't for Clark and Lois. There's no question in my mind about it.
Would you, personally, want to see Jonathan develop powers at any point?
Of course I want him to have powers! But temporarily, because I think it is interesting to see where we can go with him not having powers and how that affects him as time goes on. Right now, he's still young and innocent and pure, you know what I mean? He doesn't really think about, "What could I be doing with powers?" But as he gets older and a few years go by and he starts to become a man, I think his perspective of the world is gonna change, and therefore he's gonna change, and when that definitely comes, kind of going, "Okay, well, why don't I have powers? What could I do with powers?" And it's funny, because if maybe he gets powers, he's going to behave totally differently with them than Jordan did getting them earlier. So it depends.
But I would definitely like to see, if nothing else, a kind of Smallville-esque type of deal where maybe he gets infected with Kryptonite and gets powers temporarily. That would always be cool. But I mean, who knows? Who knows, really?
What is one moment or scene from an upcoming episode that you just can't wait for fans to see?
I mean, I think there is one shot -- I'm trying to think how to be super vague with this, but there's a shot where Superman is being chased by multiple entities, and it's a really, really cool shot. I haven't seen it yet, but I know, just reading the script, I have this image in my mind. I know that the CGI effects on the show have already been so sick, and so I'm really pumped to see what it's going to look like. Superman is being chased by whatever he's being chased by. It's gonna be dope. That's, I believe, 1.11 or 1.12. We'll see! So I'm trying to be careful, trying to be careful about not giving anything away. But it's very, very exciting stuff, some serious action, and more! I mean, these upcoming episodes that I'm really excited for the world to see.
Superman & Lois stars Tyler Hoechlin, Elizabeth Tulloch, Dylan Walsh, Alex Garfin, Jordan Elsass, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Inde Navarrette and Wolé Parks. The series airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on The CW.
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