Spoilers "Superman & Lois": The Fourth and Final Season

[TREK_GOD_1]

Fortunately for me, I don't share your dislike of the show's Luthor. Can't wait for next week, and to see how he comes off in his more traditional clean-shaven and business-suited guise.

Cudlitz's Luthor has been a joy to watch from the first moment he appeared before cameras.

Also, the peak moment of last week's stellar outing was Clark and Lex's rain-drenched smackdown

That was excellent; Clark stood up as a man in defense of his family and friend--the most realistic, natural response, which was not going to be respected by Luthor if he continued to think he was going push papers or--as some imply--having some "lets find alternatives and de-escalate" therapy session straight from the stage of Dr. Phil. Everyone he loves is threatened. No man with a soul and backbone is going to wilt in that situation.

Additionally, in a season where Clark--post revival--is dealing with a loss of some of his power, he struggled with a true loss while under the red sun lamps, yet was still able to show Luthor that his righteous anger would not be suppressed sans Kryptonian power to "back him up" (which Luthor believes about Clark). One of the best moments in the history of the CW/DC series.

 

[Christopher]

Also recurring character Emmett is played bAdrian McMorran who was in the very first episode of Smallville(Electric Kryptonite) is at the tail end of another Superman series

Where are you getting that "Electric Kryptonite" title from? The pilot episode of Smallville was just called "Pilot," and all its episodes had one-word titles (although the network and the DVD release combined the linked episodes "Society" and "Legend" into a 2-hour installment called "Absolute Justice").

 

[E-DUB]

Last night's episode was great. I just wish that, after shooting Clark, Candace's dad had thrown the gun at him. Would have been a great callback to the first televised Superman.

 

[The Realist]

That's an awesome idea in principle, but I feel like it would have undercut the emotional impact in that particular moment.

 

[David cgc]

That's an awesome idea in principle, but I feel like it would have undercut the emotional impact in that particular moment.

And they undercut it enough by having Clark's clothes suddenly vanish. I think the shirt ripped open got the point across sufficiently.

 

[Christopher]

Last night's episode was great. I just wish that, after shooting Clark, Candace's dad had thrown the gun at him. Would have been a great callback to the first televised Superman.

Everybody jokes about that, but I think it only actually happened once.

And they undercut it enough by having Clark's clothes suddenly vanish. I think the shirt ripped open got the point across sufficiently.

They did that throughout the episode, starting in the opening flashbacks. He tears his shirt open to reveal the S, then in the next shot he's in full costume, as if tearing the shirt open activated some effect that morphed his clothes instantly into his costume or teleported them to some hammerspace pocket.

I would've preferred it if he'd just stood there in his street clothes with the Superman tights underneath. I think that might have been even more effectively symbolic than having the Super Full Monty.

 

[Ovation]

The Bachelor shows are on ABC which is a Disney owned station, so them being on or not has no impact on the amount of money that goes to a show on the WB owned CW. For a shows' cancellations to affect a CW show's budget, it would have to be on CW or maybe another WB owned networks like TNT, TBS, Cartoon Network, or the Discovery networks.

I know. Hence…

I know it doesn't work that way...

from my post.

I picked The Bachelor as an egregious example of wasted resources, not because I believed A) it’s on the same network or B) because, even if on the same network, my scenario was in any way likely.

 

[The Realist]

Bit of a spoiler for next week's episode ... but I'm pretty sensitive to spoilers and I don't feel too damaged by this one, since it's been telegraphed to be coming sooner or later this season:

Spoiler

Milton Fine, aka He Who Is Brainiac, makes his appearance.

https://tvline.com/lists/superman-and-lois-brainiac-episode-date-final-season/

 

[Anwar]

Bit of a spoiler for next week's episode ... but I'm pretty sensitive to spoilers and I don't feel too damaged by this one, since it's been telegraphed to be coming sooner or later this season:

Spoiler

Milton Fine, aka He Who Is Brainiac, makes his appearance.

https://tvline.com/lists/superman-and-lois-brainiac-episode-date-final-season/

He's kind of late to the party....

 

[Christopher]

So... Glorious Godfrey is this Earth's Harrison Wells?

This one felt a bit contrived to me, since I had a hard time believing that Lois would've let herself be baited into the obvious trap of agreeing to a debate "moderated" by a partisan hack clearly on Luthor's side. She should be too smart for that.

Luthor almost having a panic attack at being involved in a plan that wasn't his own, and maybe just at being an introvert in a crowd, was an interesting bit of characterization. I can certainly relate to feeling overwhelmed in a crowded, noisy room and wanting to get away. But the way they represented it by amplifying the sounds made me wonder briefly if Lex had stolen or absorbed Clark's lost super-hearing somehow.

The Steel suit has come full circle. It was built to be Lex Luthor's battle suit on the Irons's Earth, and now it's about to become Luthor's battle suit on this Earth. I wonder if he'll have it repainted in green and purple.

The reduced-cast format feels weird, the way supporting characters only show up once every few weeks and have their storylines on hold in the interim. Well, I guess it's better than dropping them altogether, though they did so with Sam Lane.

 

[The Realist]

Not as insanely, off-the-charts great as the past couple of weeks, but a solid episode with some interesting and important developments, and some exciting action with the Milton Fine-controlled warsuits. (And of course, Natalie's and John Henry's returns were extremely welcome.) They saved a good bit of FX money in recent weeks to use here.

I feel like Luthor's panic attack at feeling out of control of a situation may prove to be a Chekhov's gun.

Cavanagh was fine as Godfrey, but for me, a little distracting, just because he is so familiar from The Flash. I would just as soon they had chosen an actor not so strongly associated with a prior Arrowverse role.

But I LOVED Nat's reference to computer genius "Mr. Gorman."

 

[Anwar]

Well, I guess it's better than dropping them altogether, though they did so with Sam Lane.

As far as character droppings go, Sam was a great end to his character. Especially considering what a douche he is in the comics

 

[Christopher]

But I LOVED Nat's reference to computer genius "Mr. Gorman."

Oh. They went there. I didn't place it; I thought she said "Corman." Well, I thought she might have said "Gorman," but I was trying to think of a comics character who fit either name.

Speaking of comics references, this is the only time other than Smallville that the name Milton Fine has been used onscreen, and in Smallville, Fine turned out to be Brainiac under an alias (rather than a human possessed by Brainiac as in the comics). So this may be the first time that Fine has been depicted onscreen as a human being, assuming there isn't a surprise reveal coming (which there probably isn't, since they knew this would be the last season).

Come to think of it, it's fitting that Fine and Gorman are mentioned in the same episode as playing equivalent roles, since the supercomputer Gus Gorman helped create in Superman III was originally planned to be Brainiac.

 

[The Realist]

Speaking of John Henry and Natalie ... had the CW not imploded, and were the Arrowverse production machine still going strong, I would have loved to see them spun off into a show of their own. I think both actors are more than strong enough to have worked as series co-leads. Steel and Starlight -- even has a nice ring to it as a title.

 

[Christopher]

Steel and Starlight -- even has a nice ring to it as a title.

"All irregularities will be handled by the forces controlling each dimension." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sapphire_&_Steel

 

[Tosk]

I found the sequence/s where the Iron suits attacked to be genuinely tense. Yes, despite the obvious boundaries of TV storytelling.

But then I'm boggled as to why the Kent flatscreen TV turns off like an old CRT television.

...Am I crazy or did Tom put a slight emphasis on the word 'flash' in his dialogue?

 

[Christopher]

But then I'm boggled as to why the Kent flatscreen TV turns off like an old CRT television.

I noticed that too. I wondered if there were still some TVs that looked that way when they went off and mine just wasn't one of them, but on reflection, you're right -- that narrowing to a horizontal line is something that only would've happened with a CRT, as the electron gun stops sweeping top-to-bottom and is just left-to-right briefly, then that stops and it narrows to a dead-center dot before fading out.

Well, it balances out all those times in older shows where the TVs went on as rapidly as a modern TV (well, a non-smart one, since those need time to start up their apps and such) instead of needing time to warm up and slowly fade in the picture.

...Am I crazy or did Tom put a slight emphasis on the word 'flash' in his dialogue?

The word "flash" stood out to me too, but maybe that was just because we're so used to hearing that word in Cavanaugh's voice that we reacted more strongly to it.

 

[Commander Troi]

Loved seeing Cavanaugh again, even if I did wonder how Harrison Wells got there.

Nice work with John and Nat trying to shut down the suits.

So, I guess Clark's going to "retire" at the end of the show? It seems to be headed that way with his powers fading.

BTW, I was yelling at Jon to go see Candace as much as Nat and his brother were! I swear, guys need to be pushed sometimes...

 

[Tuskin38]

But then I'm boggled as to why the Kent flatscreen TV turns off like an old CRT television.

My aunt has a modern flatscreen that does that. Might just be something the company did to make it feel nostalgic.

 

[TREK_GOD_1]

Superman and Lois - the final season
Episode 8 - "Sharp Dressed Man"

GOOD: Lois is cancer free, and after her arduous, psychologically damaging journey, dark irony rears its head with Clark now being the one who is increasingly ill, perhaps to a terminal degree. At least the series addressed The Brain That Wouldn't Die-level of its own medical procedure with the heart transplant, and how anyone believed the heart of a 60-year old human was going to just plug-and-play in a Kryptonian. As usual with this series, the family scenes are its best, whether it was the twins' reaction to Clark's announcement, or John Henry and Nat's coming to terms with the latter's burden of working for the D.O.D.

Of course, Cudlitz's Luthor was as compelling a character as ever, and easily slipped back into his businessman position with ease, contrary to some crying that he was some bad 'ol bully. He's a man who spent 17 year in prison, so that's going to make him live with an undercurrent of anger and desire retribution for his suffering. Realities of life. Luthor and Amanda's plot to steal John Henry's suit was--in a way--a form of payback from Luthor, after Lois talked down his former weapon, Doomsday.

Above all else, despite his earlier doubts with Amanda's plan, Luthor was able to play Lois like a fiddle--her hubris leading her into a televised debate on his turf, knowing Lois viewed herself as the torch-bearing beacon of truth who would finally expose Luthor to the world. Lois' threat of calling Luthor's daughter triggered him, but her every other point sans concrete evidence only torpedoed the reputation she cared so much about (completely ignoring Clark's advice to stick to the published rebuttal).

I suppose the theft of John Henry's suit and destruction of Nat's will force father and daughter to engage in a...er...suit war to counter Luthor. If so, I just hope John Henry or Nat were not among the plot points which--according to Tulloch--made the crew cry.

BAD: Attention and harassment. Well, Clark thought revealing his secret to the world was the right move...nope. Between a complete lack of privacy to harassment (including those associated with them), the Kent family will never know peace again. Like entertainers, while they attempt live life as usual, the world of stalkers and the obsessed run on a neverending global treadmilll, constantly seeking new ways to exploit the Kent family's lives. He asked for that.

NOTES: Luthor eventually getting his battle suit was no secret, but what I would not be interested in seeeing is suit-Luthor defeating the increasingly weak Clark, or flat-out kill him in the series finale (E9 is titled "To Live and Die Again", or perhaps the showrunners will subvert expectations and have Lois sacrifice herself) leaving the Kent sons to officially become some sort of er...teen titans / Young Allies (yes, the wrong company), along with Nat....

GRADE: B+.