Ricky Church reviews the fourth and final season of Superman & Lois…
After four seasons on The CW, Superman & Lois has come to an end in quite a dramatic and character driven send-off. Though the final season was shortened from its usual 13 – 15 episode count to 10 with what looked like a large budget cut, especially where it concerned the series’ supporting characters, season four was amazing and gave fans a proper farewell to the series.
Picking up from the massive cliffhanger in the third season finale with Superman fighting Doomsday, season four had a lot to live up to not only because of bringing in A-List Superman villains Lex Luthor and Doomsday, but for yet again going down the well of Superman’s climactic battle with the unstoppable monster and his death and resurrection. After all, in not even a decade we have witnessed Superman’s fight with Doomsday in Batman v Superman and his return in two versions of Justice League, another animated adaptation in The Death and Return of Superman, several comics bringing Doomsday back in ongoing stories and the 30th anniversary of The Death of Superman. At this point, what else could be done by once again adapting Superman’s infamous death?
Superman & Lois‘ answer was the impact it made to Superman’s family since the show has him and Lois married and parents to two teenage twin sons. Elizabeth Tulloch, Alex Garfin and Michael Bishop all gave great and moving performances in the early episodes of the season as they discovered Superman was killed in a much more graphic way than the comics thanks to Luthor’s control over Doomsday. Garfin in particular showed a lot of depth given the rocky relationship Jordan and his father were on throughout the latter half of season three and how he was mourning, desperate to use his powers in any way he could. Bishop also displayed a different side to Jonathan through his frustrations to shock and joy over the sudden development of his own Kryptonian powers. The pair played off each other well throughout the season as Jordan’s confidence was shaken by the consequences of his actions and Jon’s was raised even more so.
Tulloch, however, deserves a whole lot of recognition for her portrayal of Lois Lane. Tulloch carried much of the emotional weight across the 10 episodes, whether it was grieving for Clark and her father or her determination to put Luthor behind bars once again. Not enough can be said for how well she captured Lois’ sharp wit, empathy and stubborn drive to do the right thing. Episodes like ‘A World Without’, ‘Always My Hero’ and the finale ‘It Went By So Fast’ showcase how perfectly she balanced Lois’ emotions, characteristics and development.
And last but not least, Tyler Hoechlin shined as a Man of Steel coming to terms with his apparent mortality and lessened power in the wake of his return. Hoechlin continued to do a great job as Superman/Clark, showing the balance and differences between his performances as Superman and Clark. He really displayed how shaken he up he was from his battle with Doomsday and the thought of facing him again. Hoechlin’s chemistry with the rest of the cast, both the Kent family and their friends and allies, again helped show the depths of Superman’s character, particularly in the final stretch of the season when Clark revealed his identity to the world.
Just as Death of Superman has been used several times in recent years, so too has the concept of Superman revealing he is Clark Kent as recently as a few years ago in Brian Michael Bendis’ Superman run. Though the idea has been utilized to varying results (and retconned or reworked not long after by the next creative team), Superman & Lois did a much better job in the manner of his revelation and its aftermath.
It was a nice touch that it was the people of Smallville who connected the dots after seeing how Lois and the boys reacted to Superman’s dead body as well as Clark Kent’s timely absence. It further developed the town as a close unit willing to protect their own as many of them treated Superman’s identity as an open-but-town-only secret before Clark announced it to the world. Additionally, the show did not shy away from the massive implications said revelation would effect Jordan and Jonathan’s lives or impact Lois’ reporting and the apparent conflict of interest in her clash with Luthor.
Season four may not have been initially planned as the final season, but it worked out nicely that they saved Superman’s infamous archnemesis as the series’ final villain. Michael Cudlitz, who has often starred as charming good guys in Band of Brothers and The Walking Dead, gave one of the best performances as Lex Luthor in any Superman media. Unlike most portrayals, this Lex was bitter, angry and ruthless after being locked up for nearly two decades – for the one crime he did not commit – and began a warpath of retribution against the whole Kent family.
Cudlitz highlighted all of Luthor’s negative aspects including how his own pride and ego often got in the way of his plans. His scenes opposite Hoechlin and Tulloch were among the season’s best due to the intensity of their acting, particular the all-out brawl a powerless Clark and Lex engaged in on Smallville’s main street. Cudlitz really showed how and why Luthor is Superman’s greatest enemy when he is so determined to destroy him.
The rest of the cast were great despite their reduced appearances. Dylan Walsh in particular stood out in his exit episode by giving viewers a different side of General Sam Lane we rarely saw and just how heroic he was in order to protect Lois and his family. Wolé Parks, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Tayler Buck, Erik Valdez, Sofia Hasmik, Inde Navarrette did well adapting their characters to a potential world without Superman and putting a nice bow on their arcs while newcomers Yvonne Chapman and Elizabeth Henstridge made memorable impressions as new characters in a final season.
Given the shortened episode order and budget, the action and effects were very well done considering what the production team must have been given to pull off not one but two Superman vs Doomsday fights. It’s a very ambitious goal to pull off on TV, especially when past attempts at adapting Doomsday in live-action (on the small and big screen) have come off less than stellar. However, the season used action when and where appropriate with a visually creative fight in space in the premiere, Jordan taking on several of Luthor’s goons and then the massive fight in Smallville in the final episodes. Other action scenes similarly impressed, such as the aforementioned street brawl or John Henry and Natasha Irons’ attempt to take on Doomsday themselves. Superman & Lois has always proven what impressive fights they can accomplish on a CW budget and this season was no exception.
As for the actual ending, oh boy. As mentioned above, the climactic fight against both Doomsday and Luthor was incredible with how the entire team, Lois, John and even Lana included, came together to defeat their foes, but the fights were not the most intriguing aspect of the finale. No, what made the finale excellent was the character development as Clark and Lois embraced their new life of being out in the open and dedicating themselves to “truth, justice and a better tomorrow.” To this end, Superman & Lois delivered a proper and definitive conclusion to this iteration of Superman and Lois Lane, much like The Dark Knight Rises did for Batman. To simply say the final minutes were a tear-jerker is an understatement as Hoechlin, Tulloch, Garfin, Bishop and the rest of the cast, creative and production teams delivered a powerful and moving piece of closure on this chapter of the Man of Steel. It captured the essence of the characters and how they viewed the world, striving to make it a better place in big and small ways.
Despite the obstacles Superman & Lois rose to the challenges the final season presented and delivered some of the best Superman stories fans have gotten of the Man of Steel and his family. It certainly put a punctuation mark on how everyone, from the cast to the writers and producers, understood both Superman and Lois Lane’s appeal and did the best they could to honour these iconic characters and land a satisfying conclusion to the series.
What did you make of season four of Superman & Lois, and the series overall? Let us know on our social channels @FlickeringMyth…
Ricky Church – Follow me on Bluesky for more movie news and nerd talk.
