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

I do think he's a little more interesting in the new episodes than he was in season 3, so hopefully they'll continue to flesh him out and improve his portrayal. Though you're right that it's a letdown after Supergirl's Lex, which was probably the most authentic live-action adaptation ever of the comics' Lex Luthor.




But that's exactly the issue -- that they chose to approach Luthor this way instead of a different way. Everything in fiction is the creators' choice, so that goes without saying. But some choices work better than others.

If by "the specific context" you mean a story where Luthor seeks revenge on Lois and her family, I consider that a bad choice, for the reason I stated above -- that superhero stories should be about the heroes dedicating themselves to helping others, not just protecting themselves and their immediate families. Plus, revenge dramas are a dime a dozen. It's a boring and petty motive. In the words of one of modern fiction's smartest villains, David Xanatos from Gargoyles, "Revenge is a sucker's game." A villain perceptive enough to realize that is more interesting than one who's driven by revenge, because revenge is a cliche.
I haven't seen the episodes yet, but it sounds like he's also going about getting his revenge in a pretty cliche'd way, and you'd think someone like Luthor could come up with something more original.
 
Hmm... Do you suppose that's part of the reason they're doing a "Death of Superman" thing? So there are fewer expensive superhero action scenes and more focus on mere mortals? Although it looks like Steel will go into action next week.
No, the budget cuts came after last season's cliffhanger, so they obviously planned on at least some version of Death & Return in this season. Also, when they made those initial plans, they thought they'd have two more seasons.
Now, there was obviously a lot of restructuring of the original plans, something Tulloch gave to the writers over on Katee Sackhoff's podcast, but if anything the expectation of having a fifth season would have probably made them spread the whole arc over most if not all of season 4.
 
No, the budget cuts came after last season's cliffhanger, so they obviously planned on at least some version of Death & Return in this season.

Yes, of course, I phrased it poorly. I meant maybe that was why they were dragging it out rather than resolving it in episode 2 as I hoped they would.


Also, when they made those initial plans, they thought they'd have two more seasons.
Now, there was obviously a lot of restructuring of the original plans, something Tulloch gave to the writers over on Katee Sackhoff's podcast, but if anything the expectation of having a fifth season would have probably made them spread the whole arc over most if not all of season 4.

I have a hard time believing they would allow one of their two title characters to remain "dead" for an entire season, even with the holo-Clark at the Fortress. That's one of the reasons I really didn't want them to do this story -- because the show is Superman & Lois. It's about both of them as a couple, and it's always been weakest when it keeps them apart.
 
FWIW, I noticed he was rather mild and even pleasant when talking to Sarah in the diner.
I rewatched this episode tonight, and it occurred to me that the reason he's atypically nice to Sarah (he doesn't even bristle when she says, "Next time wait to be seated," simply asking, "Do you want me to move?") may be because she reminds him of his daughter. Sarah's probably close in age to where Elizabeth was when Luthor last saw her.
 
I initially thought he was doing the old, "Go be seen some place at the same time something horrible happens elsewhere" but this Lex doesn't seem to care much about appearances or having an alibi.
 
New theory about the finale

Jordan becomes the new Superman

If Batman can have others take up the mantle why can’t Clark Kent?
 
I'm glad that the both of the Irons are apparently appearing in episode 3. The reduced cast has been noticeable. It really makes no sense for Lois to be at the paper and Chrissy not to appear.

It doesn't make sense to have Superman/Clark die in the first episode and not have had either Irons appear... From a tactical/strength standpoint in this world not having other superheroes and from an emotional support standpoint since John has lost a spouse, and Natalie lost her Mother.
 
New theory about the finale

Jordan becomes the new Superman

If Batman can have others take up the mantle why can’t Clark Kent?
They've done that in the comics, Clark and Lois's son Jon took over the Superman identity once or twice when Clark wasn't around.
 
New theory about the finale

Jordan becomes the new Superman
That would be an interesting way to wrap the series, and he's been actively training for over a year, so he's not so green anymore (aside from some emotional immaturity / feeling he's being held back).
 
Most of the way through this one, I didn't think I liked it much, but it got somewhat better once it came together at the end.
I'm not crazy about them killing off Sam, but having him sacrifice himself to bring Clark back is kind of touching, even if the logistics of it are hard to buy. And I'm just glad they aren't dragging out his "death" any longer. I had mixed feelings about the flashbacks; it was kind of interesting to get some of the gaps in the characters' past filled in, but it just felt like the need to keep looking backward to give Hoechlin screen time was keeping the story from moving forward. Now that phase is over, and I'm relieved it only took three episodes.

When they showed the funeral scene at the beginning, I was thinking how manipulative it felt to do a story about a grieving family when we all knew Superman was going to be back eventually. I was thinking that if you're going to do a story about grief, it should be about a genuine loss rather than a fakeout. And I guess it turned out that it was after all.

Jon gaining his powers at last was a big surprise, though it's a bit hard to believe they all came in at once. (A casualty of the shortened season length, I guess?) As for Jordan, though, he's being written really obnoxiously and turned into a caricature. Sure, he's always been unsure of his worth, but it was obvious that Lois would've picked Jonathan in Luthor's stupid little phone trick because she trusted that Jordan's powers would protect him. The whole thing feels like an artificial gambit to generate conflict for the sake of conflict, which is a cheap writing trick.

By the same token, Luthor remains a one-note villain, bringing nothing but threats and violence, and having his agent be the mindless Doomsday, who has nothing to offer but brute force, just makes it more blunt and uninteresting.
 
Okay, I'm officially destroyed. Sam's farewell message for Lois, the boys, and Natalie had me sobbing. Along with John Henry and Nat, Sam was one of my favorites among the show's supporting characters. And now Clark is going to have his heart? OMG. :wah:

It's enough to overshadow the episode's other huge development, which was of course Jonathan finally manifesting powers. I was never in favor of it happening before, feeling it was much more dramatically and structurally interesting to have one kid with powers and one without. But this close to the end of the series, all bets are off, and I'm actually very interested to see where they go with this.

Loved that John Henry and Nat now have official code names (Steel and Starlight). Like probably most fans, I've always thought of JHI as "Steel" anyway, but thinking about it, I don't think they've ever called him that on the show up till now.

A lovely and poignant touch that the boys were wearing the loud Hawaiian shirts Sam had given them as birthday gifts at the family memorial gathering.
 
Loved that John Henry and Nat now have official code names (Steel and Starlight).

I had to look up Starlight. Initially it was the name of a character from the Milestone comics (aka the "Dakotaverse" that also included Static, Icon, Rocket, etc.), but Natasha Irons, who'd been the second Steel before then, took the name when she joined a new version of Infinity, Inc. in the 52 event.


A lovely and poignant touch that the boys were wearing the loud Hawaiian shirts Sam had given them as birthday gifts at the family memorial gathering.

I wondered about that. I figured the shirts were some kind of tribute to Sam, but I couldn't remember the connection.
 
SAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!

When I saw all the flashbacks, I wondered, but damn!

Jon getting powers, however, was a complete surprise.

Jordan needs therapy.
 
I wonder if they get Clark back, but not really get 'Superman' back. I can't see how a human heart of someone in their 60s can handle Kryptonian superpowers. Didn't Jordan say when he tried to listen for his Dad's heart that it beats differently than a human heart?

OTOH, I can't really see them using Sam's sacrifice of his heart like riding a 'donut' for a flat tire until you can get a real tire. i.e. just using the heart until he replaces it with Doomsday's.

BTW, you could really see the budget constraints in the fight between Steel/Starlight and Doomsday. A lot of just seeing 'inside' their suits to the point it was a little confusing as to what was actually happening.
 
I wonder if they get Clark back, but not really get 'Superman' back. I can't see how a human heart of someone in their 60s can handle Kryptonian superpowers. Didn't Jordan say when he tried to listen for his Dad's heart that it beats differently than a human heart?

Since the serum was used to heal Mannheim's wife, I'm assuming it can strengthen human tissues somehow, and maybe the Fortress tech can somehow modify the heart to be more Kryptonian; it couldn't create an organ from scratch, but maybe it can upgrade one.

Still, yeah, it's plausible that Superman would only recover a portion of his strength and endurance, that he'd have to dial it back some and rely more on his sons. Although they're half-human, and now he's part-human too.


Incidentally, one thing that bugged me about this one is that there was no attempt to address the issue of Clark Kent being missing at the same time Superman was presumed dead. You'd think at least some people would wonder where Clark was, and Lois would be thinking about how to account for his absence.
 
Clark tend to wind up as collateral damage when Supes dies or goes missing. Then pops up okay when Supes returns.
 
In addition to Lara's concerns about the transplant proposal, I think it may have been a signal to viewers that when Clark revives, his (Sam's) heart is heard beating on the soundtrack -- pointedly with only the two-beat of a human heart, rather than the three-beat of a Kryptonian one. I believe it's very plausible Clark will return with some limitations due to the transplant -- reduced endurance or strength -- and quite possibly with a reduced lifespan, maybe more in line with a human's.

The producers have teased doing something in the finale that has never been done before in Superman adaptations. I now wonder if it might be
Clark retiring as Superman and settling down to live out the rest of an ordinary life with Lois, while passing the superhero baton to Jordan and Jonathan. (Though technically part of that was kind of done in the Arrowverse's coda to Smallville.)
 
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