Superman & Lois
We have reached the end of this season and we only have one more season that is left to premiere. When they announced that the show had been renewed they also revealed that the majority of the cast had been let go. The only actors that are returning as series regulars are Tyler Hoechlin, Bitsie Tulloch, Michael Cudlitz, Alex Garfin and Michael Bishop. Which means we are losing the entire Cushing family, Chrissy, the Irons Sam Lane. I'm very interested to see how that all happens since there's nothing in the finale that really sets that up. They have wrapped filming on the final season, so we will find out soon. And it has been revealed that at least Sam and the Lang Cushings will be guest starring on a few of the final seasons ten episodes. We will find out how it all goes down later this year. Let's get to it.
"Injustice"
Lois Lane: "They say time heals all wounds. It's a nice idea. At least I used to think so. The truth is a little more complicated. Healing is a full-time job, and throughout the process, you're never quite yourself. All you want is to be better, but that will only come once you pay the price: time. What no one tells you, though, is how much time it's going to take. How long until you heal. How long until you feel normal again, until you get your confidence back. You're not sure you ever will, fully. And it feels like an injustice. But at some point, you have to decide that who you are now, it's gonna have to be enough."
Lois's article exposing the Mannheim's has resulted in Lex Luthor's impending release from prison after 17 years and everyone is on pins and needles. Luthor is released and he is on a mission. In flashbacks, we see how Luthor navigated his time in prison. It seems he has plans for the people he blames for his incarceration and Lois Lane is one of those people. Meanwhile, the Kents are dealing with Jordan's reckless use of his powers.
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| King of Stryker's |
There is one thing that you can count on in any Batman adaptation. You will see the Joker at some point. Even if they say that you won't, if it goes on long enough, you definitely will. In a Superman adaptation, you will eventually see a new version of Lex Luthor. And "Superman & Lois" is getting around to showing off their version of Superman's greatest villain.
"Superman & Lois" give us a version of Lex Luthor that I don't remember really seeing before. We have seen Lex as the cold businessman. The inventor. The alien hater. We've even seen him as like a Mark Zuckerberg style tycoon, for better or for worse. Mainly worse. But we haven't seen Lex as hard as this. He's legitimately terrifying. And Michael Cudlitz does a phenomenal job portraying this version of Lex Luthor. I am most familiar with Cudlitz from the great show "SouthLAnd." And he brings some of his corrupt cop to this performance as well.
"Superman & Lois" love a flashback and unlike "Titans" they know exactly how to deploy them. Rather than have the entire episode be a flashback to Luthor's time in prison, flashback scenes are sprinkled throughout the episode to show how Luthor basically came to run the prison in the time that he was there. When those guys beat the hell out of Lex when he asks for the clippers, you know that it is not going to go well for them. It isn't long before Lex has the warden under his thumb by using his goons to threaten the warden's family. And soon, Lex is ruling Styrker's Prison with an iron fist with basically the entire prison bowing to him. Lex's baldness is such an integral part of his character and watching him shave his own head with the clippers that he worked to procure is really striking. I love the scene of Lex being served dinner with prisoners and employees standing at attention at either side and the reveal that he is using Otis, the prior owner of the clippers and now Lex's lackey, even outside of prison, as a chair. I will say, would no one really know this was going on? I'm surprised that Superman and the DOD wasn't checking up on this.
The central question of the entire episode is "where's Lex?" He doesn't show up at his press conference. He's MIA. And it's making everyone antsy, including Lois and Clark. From the time that Lex is released, we see him walking down a road. The stormy sky behind him. You aren't sure where he's going, but it's not a surprise when he shows up at the Kent farm to offer Lois an ultimatum. Retire from reporting or else. This whole scene is very intense and kudos to Cudlitz, Tyler Hoechlin and series MVP, Elisabeth Tulloch. Lois doesn't flinch when confronted with Luthor's righteous anger. She's absolutely right when she tells Lex he isn't a martyr. There's a sense of ambiguity and uncertainty permeating the air when Lex leaves and that's just what you want leading in to a season finale.
I feel like we have to talk about Jordan Kent and I really don't want to, but we can't ignore him. He is maybe one of the worst characters on television right now. He's insufferable. When he hears Junior talking about the new vigilante he swears saved himself and Sarah, Jordan is right there calling the potential vigilante a badass. Sarah has every right to be upset with him for not taking his secret seriously when she has been tying herself up in knots trying to keep it. I get that Jordan is a teenager. And has been bullied. And so it's not a surprise that he would be more concerned with the glory of being a hero than the saving people, but I feel like there is a fine line between portraying that and also keeping him somewhat likable. I mean, I'm sure the writers want us to root for him, but it is getting tougher and tougher with each episode.
Jonathan is dealing with his meddling father and honestly his firehouse shenanigans are a breath of fresh air. After all this Jordan nonsense, the teenage drug dealing subplot is completely forgiven. Though, I can definitely stop hearing about how Jonathan ruined the football season. That can be done. It's nice to see Jonathan have these moments with Kyle and then commiserate with Jordan about how it's so terrible that they have loving parents who care about them and want the best for them.
The tornado scene feels a bit perfunctory but extremely on brand for a Superman property. It felt like the writers remembered that this is a Superman show and that there should be a little bit of action in it. It does serve to move the Jordan/Smallville Samaritan plot line forward so I'll give it that. Also, what a terrible name. Smallville Samaritan. But honestly, Jordan deserves a bad superhero name. That's worse than the Blur from "Smallville."
The episode ends with Lex finding the revived Bizarro in the remains of Mannheim's underground lab. And let me tell you, that image of Bizarro eating a rat will stay with me for a long time and not in a good way. It's interesting that this episode doesn't feel like the penultimate episode of the season. Like, its a great episode, but it feels more like it's setting up stuff in the beginning of a season rather than bringing a season's worth of plotlines to a head.
Grade: A-
"What Kills You Only Makes You Stronger"
Lex Luthor: "You ever think about dying, Superman? Because you're about to."
It's been 32 days since Lex Luthor's release and he hasn't been seen since he left the Kent farm. As Smallville prepares for a celebration to view the meteor shower that will be passing through, Luthor makes his move by killing Judge Regan, the judge who put him away. Lois realizes that Luthor is punishing those that he finds responsible for his incarceration and since Lois didn't retire she knows she's on the list. Lex learned that each time the Inverse Superman died he became more powerful and so Luthor kills him repeatedly until he is transformed into a near unstoppable killing machine that he unleashes on the Man of Steel.
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| Superman Unchained. |
As we wrap up the third season of "Superman & Lois," I have to just once again praise Elisabeth Tulloch. She really is the MVP of this series. She kills every single scene she's in. She was great in season one and two, but she just completely moved to a new level with season three. The story of Lois's cancer would not have been nearly as heart wrenching if it wasn't for Tulloch's performance. I didn't mention it in the last recap, but the cold open has some great moments with Lois post surgery. The montage of Clark taking care of her. Lois looking at her new body in the mirror. And I think with this episode everything starts to come full circle. It's such a lovely scene when Lois tells Clark that she's ready to be intimate with him again after her surgery. They end up at Tal's Italian villa like they were in the season premiere. Lois has never been so vulnerable than when she's standing in front of the man she loves. Revealing her new reality to him. Bracing for rejection. But of course, Clark loves Lois unconditionally and doesn't care about this. It's a really lovely moment and I think the perfect period on the end of this particular sentence.
This episode being a season finale, it is all about culminating the stories we've been witnessing the whole season. For Lana and Kyle, it has been how they navigate being divorced and co-parenting and trying to remain friends while they start dating again. Kyle kind of jumped into a relationship with Chrissy and it's been sort of adorable. It's not a huge surprise that we end this season with Chrissy pregnant with Kyle's baby and a proposal in front of most of the town.
Lana Lang-Cushing has had an interesting arc this season. She's came into her own as Smallville's mayor. She's dealt with a lot with Sarah. She has had this flirtation with John Henry that finally comes to a head this season. At first, I am not sure how this date is going to go since Lana is talking about Kyle during a lot of it, but it's all good. Lana is coming to the realization that she and Kyle actually do work better as friends than they did as romantic partners. And that she is really happy for Kyle and Chrissy and their new baby. And even though John Henry and Natalie might be moving to Metropolis to form Steel Works and continue John Henry's work with the DOD she still has I'm sure great sex with him. But her face when she sees Kyle propose to Chrissy says that maybe she isn't as over her ex as she thought.
I don't want to spend too much time on Jordan because I feel like we've spent enough time on him. I do like that he keeps getting called out. And Clark continues to be an amazing father when he tells Jordan to go apologize to Sarah. Jordan does, but Sarah is weary, as she should be. How many times can you be burned. This feels like situation where actions are going to speak a lot louder than words.
At the end of the last episode, Luthor had found Bizarro and it seemed like the Inverse Superman had killed Otis. But psych! He just lost an ear. The whole episode Luthor is getting his pieces in place. He kills Judge Regan. Sam's new girlfriend, Gretchen, turns out to be a plant and she kidnaps Sam. His fate still unknown at episodes end. Luthor learned that each time he killed Bizarro, Bizarro became more powerful when he resurrected. So, Luthor killed him over and over, which we seen in a particularly brutal montage. This is really driving home that this is not your daddy's Lex Luthor.
Luthor shows up with Bizarro who he has transformed into Doomsday. I think that the effects on "Superman & Lois" are usually pretty good, but Doomsday looks a little rough, which is understandable. The action scene that follows is one of the best and most brutal in the series's history. The two titans go hard on one each other. It goes underwater. Superman impales Doomsday on a radio tower, but that doesn't stop the beast. They go into the subway and you feel every punch that lands on Superman. It's always kind of shocking when you see Superman bleeding and I did wonder for a minute if they were going to "kill" Superman. But he lives and the two end up on the moon. The closing shot of the episode is the two of them charing at each other and it's clear that someone isn't making it out of this alive.
A pretty great cliffhanger to cap off what, for me, has been the show's best season. I'm sad it's ending but intrigued to find out how they are going to wrap it all up in ten episodes.
Grade: A
Season Grade: A-
Next up, gird your loins, we are going back to the DC Murderverse with "Black Adam."
What do you all think of "Superman & Lois's" version of Lex Luthor? What do you think next season holds? What did you think of this season as a whole? Let me know in the comments.
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