Jonathan Kent has gone through a lot in Superman & Lois. He went from freshman starting quarterback at Metropolis High School to Smallville town pariah. He was the athletic, put-together Kent twin, but by the end of Season 2, he was struggling with feelings of jealousy over the fact that his brother Jordan inherited their father's powers and he didn't. Like many teenagers, he's growing into a new person. However, in light of the recent announcement that actor Michael Bishop will be replacing Jordan Elsass on Superman & Lois, the change is more literal for Jon.
Recasting an existing character can be tricky. Once audiences have gotten to know a particular actor in a role, they aren't always willing to accept whoever comes next. Even when the replacement is successful, the transition period is almost always rocky. However, the disruption and confusion likely to accompany the arrival of Michael Bishop's Jonathan Kent can serve as a narrative resource for the writers. To learn how best to exploit this opportunity, they need only look to another CW series: Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.
In the first two seasons of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Santino Fontana played Greg Serrano, the on-again/off-again love interest of main character Rebecca Bunch. Greg left to attend college at Emory University partway through Season 2, and when he finally returned in Season 4, Skylar Astin had taken over the role. Not recognizing him at first, Rebecca mentioned to her friends that Greg looked like an entirely different person. On one level, this was a joke referencing the obvious recasting. On another level, it was the writers using the recasting to illustrate the degree to which a person can change.
Before he left in Season 2, Greg was a bitter alcoholic who felt trapped in his hometown and was engaged in a toxic relationship with Rebecca. By the time he came back in Season 4, he had gotten sober and become a mentally and emotionally healthier person. In a very real sense, he was not who he had been two years earlier. By recasting Greg, the creators of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend were able to directly explore the potentially transformative power of taking charge of one's mental health.
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The second season finale of Superman & Lois, "Waiting for Superman," introduced a new Fortress of Solitude for the whole Lane-Kent family. For Jonathan, this came with the promise of Kryptonian technology he could use to better keep up with Clark and Jordan. Having this outlet could help him to work through many of the issues that have been weighing on him for two seasons. This, in turn, could lead to a period of self-discovery and growth that, indeed, helps him become a new person -- complete with a new actor. From there, the creators of Superman & Lois could use this change to organically introduce the comics-accurate idea of Jonathan being bisexual, gaining powers of his own or both.
Much like Santino Fontana was for Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Jordan Elsass was a huge asset for Superman & Lois. His absence will be noticeable, but it need not be devastating. Elsass is a talented actor whose shoes will be hard to fill, so instead of trying to replace him as seamlessly as possible, the series would be better served leaning into the change. Skylar Astin represented a version of Greg who had struggled to become a stronger, healthier person. Michael Bishop could do the same for Jonathan Kent.