In the build-up to the finale of Superman and Lois, it was said that it would be a send-off to the Arrowverse as well. This prompted rumors of cameos ranging from Melissa Benoist as Supergirl to the Earth-Prime Justice League. Thankfully, this did not come to pass, as that would have been a distraction from the series’ core message. Namely, how love changes you and how you change the world in turn.
The first half of the finale is an epic superhero slugfest, as Superman finally settles accounts with Doomsday and Lex Luthor. At the same time, Lois works to expose Luthor’s attempt to destroy their family and Smallville to the world at large. In the end, the show took care to make Lois an equal partner. Indeed, there were times in Superman and Lois Season 4 when Luthor’s hatred for her seemed to be greater than his hatred of Superman.
The second half of the finale, however, is where the heart of the show lies. With Luthor defeated, the story jumps forward one year to the wedding of Lana Lang and John Henry Irons. It is not quite the classic Shakespeare comedy ending, where everyone gets married and has babies. It does, however, tie up all the show’s outstanding romantic subplots.
The final segment is a dramatic bookend to the season and the series as a whole. Superman and Lois season 4 opened with the show recreating the Death of Superman. The final segment, conversely, shows the life of Superman. How Clark lived for another 32 years and became a grandfather. How he coped with Lois’ death from breast cancer. And how he shifted his focus from saving lives one at a time to building a better Earth.
Superman and Lois healed the heart of the Man of Steel
Every storyline in Superman and Lois came back to the theme of love. Not just between Clark Kent and Lois Lane, however, and not just romantic love. We saw their parental love for their sons. There was also the love of community, with Smallville itself developing beyond a simple setting into a character unto itself. Every supporting cast member’s story also involved love to some degree.
The show presented Superman and Lois in a light few comics explored. You may believe a man can fly, but can you believe he can manage two teenagers developing their own powers? With Tyler Hoechlin playing him and the indomitable Elizabeth Tulloch backing him as Lois Lane, we did.
Superman and Lois managed the impossible. It offered a genuinely new take on the Man of Steel, even as it recreated many classic Superman comics with a small-screen budget. It also restored the core of who Superman should be after several interpretations that put the “super” before the “man.” It seems oddly fitting that it should close, ending a run of superhero shows on The CW that started with Smallville. We shall not see its like again, but I, for one, am glad to have seen it.
Grade: 10/10.
Superman and Lois Season 4 is now streaming in full on The CW.
