Superman & Lois (TV Series)

The Ties That Bind (2022)

Adam Rayner: Tal-Rho

Quotes 

• Tal-Rho : Impressive, isn't it? All that remains of our Kryptonian heritage.

  Jordan Kent : I like Dad's Fortress better.

  Tal-Rho : Well, taste is subjective, I suppose.

• Tal-Rho : To what do I owe the honor?

  Superman : I need to know something about the eradication process.

  Tal-Rho : Oh. Did someone acquire an interest in Kryptonian science? A new hobby, perhaps?

  Superman : When a consciousness is rejected by its host, can there be lingering effects?

  Tal-Rho : Such as?

  Superman : Flashes of pain, feelings not your own, visions.

  Tal-Rho : Sounds like a bad trip to me. What have you been up to this summer, Kal?

  Superman : Just answer the question.

  Tal-Rho : No need to be testy. I've not experienced any memories other than my own, and I'm fairly certain I had more Kryptonians inside my head than anyone. What about your son or the other yokels in Smallville? Of course, there is one way to know for sure. Take me to my fortress and let me run some tests.

  Superman : [scoffing, he turns to leave]  I knew this was a waste of time.

  Tal-Rho : Well, what are you afraid of, that I'll fly off? The solar flare John Irons used left me powerless.

  [indicating his cell and the red lights surrounding it] 

  Tal-Rho : None of this is necessary. I'm no more energized by the sun than any other insufferable human.

  Superman : Enjoy your solitude, Tal.

  Tal-Rho : Oh, I will.

  [switching to Kryptonian] 

  Tal-Rho : See you soon, brother.

• Tal-Rho : Well, well, the favored son. Hello, brother.

• Superman : Mother.

  Lara Lor-Van : Look at you. This grown man towering before me.

  Jordan Kent : Dad?

  Superman : Jordan, this is your grandmother Lara.

  Jordan Kent : Hi, Grandma.

  Lara Lor-Van : And you are?

  Tal-Rho : Of course you don't recognize your forgotten son.

• Jordan Kent : You still have powers?

  Tal-Rho : You got me. I lied.

  Superman : Tal, whatever you're planning...

  Tal-Rho : You won't be able to stop.

  [he blasts Clark backward with his heat vision] 

  Jordan Kent : Stay back!

  Tal-Rho : I think we've done this dance before, nephew.

  Jordan Kent : [firing his own heat vision]  I said stay back.

• Tal-Rho : Your powers have matured.

  [putting Jordan in a chokehold] 

  Tal-Rho : But you're still just a coddled child.

  Lara Lor-Van : Tal, stop this. You have no cause to harm this boy.

  Tal-Rho : You can't know the cause I have! Nor what I have endured.

  Lara Lor-Van : Yes, and that will forever be my burden. But you are not your father, Tal. There is good in your heart. I can see it. Please... you must let the boy go.

• Jordan Kent : [seeing Clark having another vision attack]  Are you okay?

  Tal-Rho : I would say most definitely not.

  [he break free of his restraints] 

• Lara Lor-Van : You used the Eradicator on the people of Earth? I never should have designed that machine.

  Tal-Rho : We were so close, Mother.

  Lara Lor-Van : My life's greatest regret left in the hands of a monster.

  Tal-Rho : You left *me* in the hands of a monster!

  Superman : Easy, Tal.

  Tal-Rho : Do you know what it was like living under that man's thumb, the pain he inflicted?

  Lara Lor-Van : That was not my decision. I had no knowledge of your existence until it was too late.

  Jordan Kent : You're his mother.

  Lara Lor-Van : Genetically, yes. But I did not give birth to him. On Krypton, all children were engineered.

  Tal-Rho : [glancing at Clark]  Except for one.

  Lara Lor-Van : Tal, you must believe me. I tried reaching you, but the barriers they'd erected were insurmountable.

  Tal-Rho : Oh, you stand here, pleading walls were too thick, gates were too high, when we both know the true obstacle was your own heart and love's absence within it.

  Lara Lor-Van : That is not true. My love for you has always been real. And now fate has given us another opportunity.

  Tal-Rho : Fate intervened long ago. You have but one son to care for now, and he's in need of his mother's help.

• Superman : Tal, if you even think of trying anything...

  Tal-Rho : Brother, your suspicions are without merit. I'm simply here to help. May I?

  [retreiving a red crystal from its hiding place] 

  Tal-Rho : This is no trick, Kal. In fact, it's something far, far greater.

  [inserting it into a crevice in the wall] 

  Tal-Rho : It's a family reunion.

  [a hologram activates] 

  Lara Lor-Van : Kal-El, my son... is that you?

• Lara Lor-Van : Tal-Rho? You were able to escape Krypton. Oh, thank the gods. Both my sons, alive and together.

  Superman : No, we're... we're not.

  Lara Lor-Van : What is the meaning of this?

  Jordan Kent : I'm guessing this is not the same grandma that helped you before.

  Tal-Rho : This consciousness was uploaded before the destruction of Krypton and therefore remains untainted by your father.

  Superman : Your actions tainted her perspective, not me.

  Lara Lor-Van : My sons! I require an explanation.

  Tal-Rho : I tried to resurrect the planet we lost. Unfortunately, humans proved to be ungrateful hosts.

• Lara Lor-Van : What is the matter?

  Superman : I've been having visions, and I believe they may be of the destruction of Krypton.

  Tal-Rho : He also believes they're caused by the Eradicator.

  Lara Lor-Van : Then I should be able to provide answers. Come.

• Tal-Rho : Aren't you gonna thank me for reuniting you with your long-lost mother?

  Superman : She could have been a mother to us both if you'd chosen a different path.

  Tal-Rho : There is no choice in this life, only the illusion of such.

  Superman : I think you're wrong. She believes there's still good in you.

  Tal-Rho : And you, brother? Do you feel the same?

  Superman : No. But I want to.

• Lara Lor-Van : Your son... he reminds me of your father.

  Superman : Father was so proud of him. Of both the boys.

  Lara Lor-Van : You have no idea how happy that makes me.

  Tal-Rho : [watching nearby with Jordan]  See how she favors him? Your father?

  Jordan Kent : Well, yeah, he's not a genocidal sociopath who tried to destroy civilization.

  Tal-Rho : And your mother... does she favor the weakling?

  Jordan Kent : From what I hear, Jon's probably stronger than you now.