Previously – The town of Smallville witnessed Lois’ grief when Doomsday killed Superman and slowly began to suspect that Superman is really Clark Kent. Lex Luthor’s attempt to move LuthorCorp to Smallville was thwarted by Mayor Lana Lang, but Luthor continues coming up with new ways to get at his enemies.

Clark Kent reflects upon his life. When he first moved to Metropolis, being Superman was easy because Clark was just another face in the crowd. He’s back in Smallville, and he can be just Clark Kent. Everything changed, however, when he died. He buys some items from Brit and Dunn’s and the cashier, Denise, is awkward around him. A news report shows a plane about to crash, and Clark says he has to run to his car to get his wallet. Superman saves the plane, and Clark returns to the store. Denise, believing him to be Superman, is puzzled as to how all this happened so quickly.

Clark returns home and tells his family he threw Denise off the trail and still has to fool other Smallville residents like Aidy Manning and Coach Gaines. Lois struggles to build a crib for Kyle and Chrissy, and she wonders how much John Henry has gotten out of Luthor’s man, Otis, who is in DOD custody. Luthor has been quiet, and that’s not a good sign.

Kyle Cushing and Chrissy Beppo are looking at buying a house so they will have more room when the baby comes. Their dream house is $300,000, and they can’t afford it. Clark runs into Coach Gaines on the street. Gaines still wants Jonathan and Jordan back on the football team because of their powers, and Clark fakes a sprain so that Gaines second guesses himself.

In a flashback to Clark and Lois’ days at the Daily Planet, we are introduced to Jimmy and Janet Olsen. The show once again diverges from Supergirl in that these are completely new characters. Jimmy had been played by Mehcad Brooks and his sister, a psychologist named Kelly on that show, was played by Azie Tesfai. Jimmy wants Clark to join the Planet’s softball team. In classic Jimmy Olsen behavior, he calls Clark “CK” and wants to be his “pal”. Clark turns him down because he’s busy with Intergang, but Lois takes him aside and asks what’s really up. Clark’s father kept him away from sports because of his powers, but Lois wants him to have friends and says he can just play terribly. Clark agrees to join the team and only bunt when he’s up to bat.

Jonathan and Jordan join some friends for the hot new horror flick, I Still Know What You Did Last Flag Day. Timmy Ryan, who lost his quarterback position when Jonathan exposed his use of x-kryptonite, demands Jonathan reveal his super powers. Things get heated, but Kyle breaks it up.

At the Smallville Gazette, Lois disappoints Chrissy with her shoddily made crib. Chrissy appreciates the sentiment but then it’s her turn to disappoint Lois. She wants that house, but the only way she can get it is to sell her share of the Gazette. Lois worries that this could be the end of the Gazette, but she understands Chrissy making a sacrifice for her family.

Clark meets Kyle at the fire station and sees that Kyle is selling his grill. Kyle is broke, already has two children, and needs to plan for a third. Kyle tells Clark about what happened with Timmy and the idea of competing against someone with Jonathan’s abilities.

A quick flashback shows Clark on the Daily Planet softball team. His bunting strategy wins the game for the team, and Jimmy is immensely happy. Clark is happy too.

In the present, Jonathan is upset about having to lie to Timmy. Jordan points out Jonathan didn’t even have powers when he was on the football team. Lois and Clark worry about Chrissy and Kyle’s financial situation, and Clark asks the boys about Timmy. Clark has a list of people who might know his secret that he has to deal with. He then learns about Candice, who knows because Jordan told her so she wouldn’t break up with Jonathan. Candice doesn’t even live in Smallville, and Clark thinks they should have just broken up. Clark is clearly stressed out about all this because he just wants his sons to live a normal life.

Lois talks to the boys later on, and she explains that Clark manifested his powers when he was four years old and that his parents raised him to be very careful. Lois says that Clark did tell her his secret, but he missed out on some things. In a flashback, Clark had to miss eight innings of a game because Superman was busy in Greece.

Chrissy and Kyle discuss their financial situation. Selling his grill wouldn’t help Kyle much, and the only interested buyer in Chrissy’s share of the Gazette is one of Luthor’s shell companies.

Jordan and Jonathan apologize to Clark about Candice. Clark doesn’t want to make their lives miserable, and he takes them to see Timmy. Timmy immediately accuses the boys of having powers and says that Clark is Superman. Clark denies it, and Timmy’s mother, who has known Clark since they were kids, thinks the idea is ridiculous. The Kents believe this should take care of Timmy’s suspicions.

In a flashback at the Daily Planet, Clark talks to Jimmy. He has missed a few games, and Jimmy realizes that whenever Clark isn’t around to play softball, Superman is making a save somewhere. Jimmy asks him if he’s Superman, and Clark says he isn’t. Jimmy doesn’t believe him.

Clark, Jonathan, and Jordan tell Lois they think Timmy’s mom believed them but they aren’t happy about it. Lois has been looking at the house Chrissy and Kyle want and wants to talk to them.

Clark and Lois have dinner with Chrissy and Kyle at the diner. Lois, who has come into some money after Sam’s death, offers to buy Chrissy’s share of the Gazette. Kyle and Chrissy are hesitant to accept the offer, but Lois says she doesn’t want to give up the Gazette and that Chrissy can always buy her share back later. Chrissy and Kyle accept, and Kyle insists on buying dinner.

Jordan and Jonathan reflect on what their life is going to be like. They don’t like lying to people, and Jonathan doesn’t want to end up like Clark, who doesn’t seem to have any friends or do anything fun. Jordan says they have each other, but Jonathan doesn’t want his only friend to be his twin brother.

Kyle toasts to friendship, but the happy moment is cut short as Candice’s father, Emmitt, enters the diner. Emmitt was a horrible father, and Clark had to stand up to him for Candice’s sake. He says a little birdie told him a secret, and he says Clark is Superman in front of the entire diner. Emmitt takes out a gun to prove it, and he shoots Clark.

Channeling his inner Barry Allen, Clark moves so fast that time seems to freeze around him. He considers his options and looks at Lois. Clark makes a decision and rips his shirt open. The bullet hits him right in his “S” shield, and when time speeds up to normal, the diner patrons see a fully costumed Superman. His secret is finally out, of his own decision, and Lois gives a smile of approval. Kyle takes Emmitt away, and Superman simply apologizes to everyone for lying.

At the Kent house, they wonder how Emmitt knew about Clark. The boys swear Candice didn’t tell him, so they figure it was Lex Luthor. Clark wants to go public about being Superman, but he won’t do it without everyone deciding to. Clark only wanted to give Jonathan and Jordan a normal life, and they said he managed to for a long time but are now ready for what comes next. Lois gets an idea.

The next day, the Kent house is swarming with reporters. Clark is nervous, but Lois is proud of him. He greets Janet Olsen and sits in front of the camera for a live GBS special report. Clark admits to being Superman.

Janet says she worked with Clark and had no idea who he was. Clark said she’d be surprised at what a pair of glasses can do. He reiterates what he said in the beginning of the episode about being in Metropolis and then Smallville. Everyone watches the report, from Coach Gaines to Denise to Timmy to the diner people. Clark says the secret is all he has ever known. but now doesn’t want to put the strain of it on his family. He explains he is a husband, a father, and, “a regular guy”, dropping the episode’s title.

Once they are clear, Janet asks if there’s anything she missed. Clark thinks back to the Daily Planet where, once again, he has missed a softball game. Clark congratulates Jimmy on the win and apologizes for not being there. Jimmy points out Superman was no where to be seen. He concludes Clark just didn’t want to play, and he says they don’t have to be friends. Jimmy goes out to celebrate with the team, and Lois asks Clark if he’s okay. She knows he missed the game on purpose so Jimmy wouldn’t think he’s Superman. Clark just says he’s used to this kind of thing.

In the present, Clark leaves his glasses in the bathroom. He had been looking in the mirror periodically all episode to see how he looks without glasses. Clark Kent wears glasses, but Superman doesn’t. Leaving his glasses behind means no more public mask. Clark decides to go without his glasses. Jonathan and Jordan leave to apologize to Timmy.

Clark goes to the diner, and Denise greets him with a friendly “Hi, Mr. Kent”. Clark is there to meet Jimmy. Initially, Clark isn’t sure what Jimmy thinks of him, so he apologizes. Jimmy calls him pal, and they hug. Jimmy forgives Clark for everything and thinks his bunting strategy was genius. They sit down and catch up like old friends.

There have been many interpretations of the Clark Kent/Jimmy Olsen dynamic, and this show managed to find a new twist on their friendship. Jimmy is typically portrayed as being a fan of Superman, but in this case, Superman was mostly out of the equation. This was all about Clark and Jimmy unable to be friends. On Supergirl, Superman did reveal his secret to Jimmy, but on this show, Clark sacrificed a potential friendship. The flashbacks emphasized Clark’s loneliness, and present day Clark worried he was going to put his kids through the same loneliness. However, things worked out with Jimmy and Clark having a public identity has its benefits. So while the lives of the Kents will never be the same, Clark gets this weight off his shoulders, and he feels that he finally did the right thing.

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