Superman & Lois (TV Series)
O Mother, Where Art Thou? (2021)
Emmanuelle Chriqui: Lana Lang Cushing
Quotes
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Lana Lang Cushing : All this for Morgan Edge.
Lois Lane : It's gonna get a whole lot worse if we don't stop him.
Lana Lang Cushing : [spotting Superman] He's here.
Lois Lane : Everything okay?
Lana Lang Cushing : Oh, I-I know you're used to all this, but it's a little surreal to see Superman in real life. I'm just so used to watching him on TV.
Lois Lane : Yeah, it can be a little weird.
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Superman : You know, you don't have to do this. There's always another way.
Lana Lang Cushing : I don't think you really believe that. Also, did Superman just lie to me?
Superman : It's not lying, I'm just, uh... I'm just an optimist.
Lana Lang Cushing : I guess that's what makes you a hero.
Superman : You're the hero right now, Lana.
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Lara/Lana : Go, my son. Be the hero I knew you would be.
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Kyle Cushing : Everything okay?
Lana Lang Cushing : Kyle, I really need you to tell me what happened. Everything. Starting with when you first went to Edge.
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Lana Lang Cushing : You know, it has been so long since anything strange happened in this town. I mean, I thought we were done with this kind of stuff, and then this happens to my husband.
Clark Kent : Lana, we're gonna save him. I promise.
Lana Lang Cushing : How?
Lois Lane : [turning on an old-school movie projector] Best place to start is by finding where Edge hides his Eradicator.
Lana Lang Cushing : And that's the thing they used on Kyle?
Clark Kent : Yeah, and wherever it is, it stands to reason that location has been receiving shipments of X-K from the Shuster mines.
Lana Lang Cushing : What's X-K?
Lois Lane : X-Kryptonite. It's what Edge has been mining for. It's what gives people these powers.
Clark Kent : The theory is powers only hold with Smallville natives, people who have had prolonged exposure.
Lana Lang Cushing : Like Kyle and Emily and basically everyone I recruited for the Executive Program.
Lois Lane : Dozens upon dozens of what he calls subjekts, his own private army.
Lana Lang Cushing : And these people, you know their identity?
Lois Lane : It's our murderer's row of suspects. Info I pulled from employee files, first-hand encounters, the names you offered, anyone Edge could have interacted with.
Clark Kent : It's a pretty big list that unfortunately doesn't get us closer to the big picture.
Lana Lang Cushing : I don't have the big picture, either. Oh, I except I do see one thing odd.
[recognizing a picture]
Lana Lang Cushing : Him.
[pulling a file]
Lana Lang Cushing : Dr. Dabney Donovan. Listed as Edge's personal physician. He was the one who conducted all the health exams for everyone in the Executive Program.
Lois Lane : [taking the file] This guy left a tenure-track position at MIT to work for Edge?
Clark Kent : That's a pretty big salary to walk away from.
Lois Lane : Dual PhDs in genetics and molecular neuro-chemistry.
Clark Kent : Knowledge that would come in handy if you wanted to swap one person for another.
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Lana Lang Cushing : Why didn't you tell me you were going to see Edge?
Kyle Cushing : Because you lied to me, Lana, about the Executive Program. I mean, clearly you didn't think I had what it took.
Lana Lang Cushing : Kyle.
Kyle Cushing : No, Lana, it's fine. I just got sick and tired of messing up. With you, with our girls. So, yeah, I went to see him the other morning.
Lana Lang Cushing : And he made you an offer.
Kyle Cushing : He said I could go through this process, change my life, make me better, and it did.
Lana Lang Cushing : And what was this process, exactly?
Kyle Cushing : First step was, uh, we went into this-this... this machine.
Lana Lang Cushing : And where was that? Where did Edge take you?
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Sarah Cushing : You finally kick him out?
Lana Lang Cushing : Sarah, it's not what it looks like. He wasn't at the bars.
Sarah Cushing : Really? 'Cause this is how things normally go down. Just as it seems like Dad's gonna change, he decides getting drunk is more important than being with his family.
Lana Lang Cushing : That's not what happened.
Sarah Cushing : Why do you always cover for him?
Lana Lang Cushing : I'm not covering for him.
Sarah Cushing : Yes, you are.
Lana Lang Cushing : You know what, honey? I really can't do this right now.
Sarah Cushing : Of course you can't, 'cause you just can't accept the reality that your husband is not the guy that you married anymore.
Lana Lang Cushing : Enough. You don't know what you're talking about, and I don't need a teenager telling me what to do.
Sarah Cushing : Fine.
[leaving]
Sarah Cushing : Teenager. What do you know?
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Lana Lang Cushing : Hey, Lois. Everything okay?
Lois Lane : Everything's fine. Just stopped by to check in.
Kyle Cushing : Yes. On me.
[whooshing forward and grabbing them both by the throat]
Kyle Cushing : You all are so weak.
Lois Lane : [slugging him and revealing a shard of kryptonite in hand] Not all of us.
General Sam Lane : [entering with his soldiers and getting Kyle restrained] Good job.
Lois Lane : You okay?
Lana Lang Cushing : No. Not really.
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General Sam Lane : How does this thing work?
Lara/Lana : Same principle as a computer. In this case, instead of a computer, it's a brain, and the information being uploaded is a person's consciousness. The Eradicator holds and transfers this information, a new consciousness, into a person.
General Sam Lane : So during this transfer process, does the old consciousness exist?
Lara/Lana : It does until the transfer is complete.
Superman : And then the new consciousness fully takes over.
Lois Lane : How long does that take?
Lara/Lana : Days. Weeks. Depends on how willing the host is to accept this new life, if at all.
Lois Lane : But the Kryptonian part that's developing, that person can just emerge at any time?
Lara/Lana : If prompted, yes. The Kryptonian consciousness will remain in the Eradicator, and their powers will dissipate over time.
General Sam Lane : Then how do we stop this?
Lara/Lana : Prevent the transfer from completing, so only the old consciousness remains.
Lois Lane : Can we do that?
Lara/Lana : We can. We just need to get the people who were affected to go through the eradication process again.
General Sam Lane : Bring 'em here? All of them?
Lara/Lana : Yes.
Lois Lane : And run them through the machine?
Lara/Lana : Yes.
Lois Lane : But we don't know how many people have gone through this.
Superman : There has to be another way to do it all at once.
Lara/Lana : That would require too much energy.
Superman : How much?
Lara/Lana : We would need something that rivals this planet's sun.
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Lois Lane : This isn't your responsibility.
Lana Lang Cushing : Then whose is it? I'm the one who stood by while Kyle rallied the town to Edge's side. I mean, it was me who signed up my own friends to Edge's Executive Program.
Lois Lane : Lana...
Lana Lang Cushing : This is my town, and at every critical juncture, I've failed it. So don't tell me this isn't my responsibility. Not when I stand here about to lose everything.
Lois Lane : I appreciate what you're trying to do, but you have a family.
Lana Lang Cushing : Yeah, and my husband is one of them, who's gonna become some alien psychopath if I don't do something. I have to save Kyle, Lois. If there's a chance that he's still alive, I have to do it.
Lois Lane : What about Sarah and Sophie?
Lana Lang Cushing : They mean the world to me, you know that.
Lois Lane : That's why I can't let you do this.
Lana Lang Cushing : No, it's why you have to. I have to fix this for them, for me, for everybody here.
Lois Lane : There's no guarantee this will even work. This is alien science.
Lana Lang Cushing : Well, it's a good thing I'm just a local loan officer who doesn't know any better.
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Superman : I wanted to thank you. It's very brave.
Lana Lang Cushing : I wouldn't be so sure. My heart is racing a million miles an hour.
Superman : [meaning with his super-hearing] Yeah, I, um, I know.
Lana Lang Cushing : Right. Sorry.
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Superman : Is there any way to communicate with the consciousness inside the Eradicator?
Dabney Donovan : The Kryptonian minds inside aren't actually alive. Once a consciousness is chosen, they need a host in order to become activated.
Superman : So the only way this works is to place the consciousness of Lara Lor-Van into someone from Smallville.
Dabney Donovan : That's my understanding.
General Sam Lane : Get this machine ready.
Superman : This doesn't feel right.
Lois Lane : We don't have any other choice.
General Sam Lane : And we're running out of time. We need to find a volunteer, fast.
Lana Lang Cushing : I'll do it.
Superman : Uh, I'm sorry, but that's not possible.
Lana Lang Cushing : Why not? I'm from Smallville. Makes me the ideal candidate. You don't have to look for anyone.
General Sam Lane : She does have a point.
Lois Lane : Dad! Can everyone just please give us a moment alone?
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Superman : Sam, we're out of time. Is it ready?
General Sam Lane : Ready?
Lara/Lana : We are.
General Sam Lane : It is, except for that energy source part. We don't have anything strong enough here.
Superman : Yes, we do. Me.
General Sam Lane : What?
Superman : I'll release all my energy at once, create a solar flare; it'll be enough.
General Sam Lane : And you'll be out of commission for days. I can't let you do this.
Superman : We don't have a choice.
General Sam Lane : Superman.
Superman : Sam, we're out of time. Get everyone out. I'm coming in, and so are they.
General Sam Lane : Everyone out! Go, now! Go! Out! Now! Go, go, go!
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Lara/Lana : Tell me. What is it like being with my son?
Lois Lane : Most of the time, it's easy. And sometimes it's very difficult. Most of the time, I feel very secure, and then I've also had some of the most... terrifying days in my entire life. But there's always love and respect.
Lara/Lana : A partnership?
Lois Lane : Very much so.
Lara/Lana : On Krypton, I had all the hopes and dreams one could ever have. And I lived them all. And then one day, those hopes and dreams were for the son I just had. Thank you, Lois, for making them come true.
Lois Lane : He's this world's first and greatest hero, but I want you to know that he's an even better man.
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Superman : I know this must be a lot to process.
Lara/Lana : Resurrection was my life's work, as a way to ensure our civilization was not lost forever. It was never meant to be used as a way to supplant another race. Kryptonians are peaceful people. At least the majority of us.
Superman : I don't understand. Zeta-Rho, my brother? You had another family?
Lara/Lana : We were genetically matched. That's how unions were formed for thousands of years on Krypton. And then I met your father. We fell in love and ended my relationship with Zeta-Rho. Jor-El and I shared a vision for a better world. I gave birth to you. And then your father and I, when we decided to send you to Earth, we hoped you would live that vision.
Superman : I think I have. The sunstone crystal in my pod, why only Father's? Why not yours as well?
Lara/Lana : It was stolen by Zeta-Rho. Revenge for leaving him. My biggest fear in letting you go was that you would be without a mother.
Superman : I had a mother here. Her name was Martha. She loved me very much.
Lara/Lana : You have no idea how much that means to me, Kal-El. This world, it welcomed you.
Superman : It has.
Lara/Lana : And you found someone. I can tell by how you look at her.
Superman : [glancing at Lois] She's the love of my life.
Lara/Lana : It's all I ever wanted for you. To find a new home, someone to love, create a family of your own.
Superman : We have two sons.
Lara/Lana : Tell me all about them.
