SPOILER WARNING: Events from the March 1, 2022 episode of Superman & Lois titled “Tried and True” are being discussed in this post. If you have not watched the episode yet, save this page to read later or read our preview piece with Emmanuelle Chriqui from earlier today!
There’s a lot to unpack from the March 1 episode of Superman & Lois, with fractured relationships including Jonathan & Jordan, Lois & Lucy, and on the Cushing side of things, Lana & Kyle, who have been through a lot in the past few episodes. When we spoke with actress Emmanuelle Chriqui (Lana) earlier this week, there were some answers that we could not post until the episode has aired… but now that it has aired, here we are! Our thanks again to Emmanuelle for speaking with KryptonSite.
KRYPTONSITE’S CRAIG BYRNE: Can you talk about the scene where Lana goes to Tonya for answers?
EMMANUELLE CHRIQUI: That scene is so interesting, because it requires such a huge amount of guts and courage to go and confront the woman that your husband’s having an affair with. I keep imagining that, and I just don’t think that I would do that. I think I (Emmanuelle) would be much more like “I’m just going to deal with this on my own” and whatever narrative I come up with, but the fact that Lana goes and speaks to her… I find it to be a real testament of her strength and character. And she does… she finds out the thing [she wanted]. She goes for clarity, and that’s what she gets… clarity. It’s a big deal to her when she finds out that Kyle had cut it off with her after Sarah’s accident. That was telling to Lana.
What was it like to be working with Amy Jo Johnson as director on these emotion heavy scenes?
Oh my gosh. Amy Jo is wonderful. She created such a safe place. And being an actress herself, she just really had so many good ideas, and was all about building these moments. That was so important to her. On a show like ours, it’s so easy to get lost in the action and the this, and the that, and the other, that it was so refreshing to work with her, really finding the beats and the nuances in these very emotional scenes.
After filming so many episodes with Erik Valdez as Kyle and rebuilding the character relationship between you two, was it jarring as actors to have to tear that all back down?
There was a sadness to it. It was like, “oh, my God, what’s gonna happen?” We love working together, so it was really sad when this all happened, but also, too, the vulnerability, as you saw that, Kyle and I have to do together… that was so special. The fact that I feel safe with Erik and that Erik feels safe with me to go there… and we really got to go there… that’s just to be celebrated, and I can’t wait to see what else we’ll do, in whatever incarnation of our relationship takes.
Is it possible we will see Lana or Kyle’s stories colliding with Ally Allston and her group?
I don’t know. As of right now, I actually don’t know the answer to that.
Is it harder for Lana to say goodbye to Kyle knowing that he does still love her, and that she still loves him?
Yes.
For a much lighter question, who’s taking care of Sophie all these times that she’s not present in the house?
[Laughs] The school, her friends, playdates… all kinds of things. Sophie just stays busy.
What types of stuff what types of stories would you like to see coming up for Lana?
This has already been like such a roller coaster, just playing Lana from the first season to the second season. ThI’m always surprised by like what they come up with. I just want to keep exploring these really amazing themes that we get to explore within the context of our show. We really go there when we go there. I don’t know what they have in store next, but I hope that I continue to be able to sink my teeth into whatever it is.
When you were reading the script, and you got to the scene where Lana goes to confront Kyle at the fire station, you surprised to read that? She she was gonna tell him to move out?
No. I think it was a really clever scene, because initially, as an audience watching it, you’re like, “are they flirting? What’s happening here?” And really, she’s reminiscing the good times. And I think that that’s the thing. These two really do love each other. I think that’s why that’s such an interesting scene, because I think that the reminiscing is real, and it’s based in love, and it is based on such good times, but there’s an acknowledgement that they are not who they were anymore, and as long as it continues to evolve, just because we all evolve, I think that this is a moment in time where Lana really just needs to figure stuff out for herself. She can’t do that with him there.
Do you think there’s a future where the two of them could at least be friends?
100%.
Come talk about “Tried and True” on our Superman & Lois forum at KryptonSite!