Beware of spoilers for the season premiere in the article. Please do not continue reading if you haven’t watched the premiere yet and you are not okay with being spoiled.
Introduction :
The show returns for its final season with a two hour premiere (made up of the show’s first two episodes) directly following up on the events of the season 3 finale.
Part 1 :
Part 1 of the show’s season premiere was written by Brett Fletcher and Todd Helbing and directed by Gregory Smith. When the premiere begins both Superman and General Lane are missing and Lex Luther is prancing around Smallville on his victory lap, Lex has a certain degree of almost unhinged self confidence which makes him a dangerous villain. Michael Cudlitz is doing a great job portraying a villain viewers love to hate so far this season.
Flashbacks
The first part of the season premiere has a couple of flashbacks that flesh out Clark and Lois's relationship, including the reveal Clark has only ever been with Lois intimately. We also get more flashbacks of Clark and Lois during the birth of the boys. I don't think any other piece of Superman media has ever done such an in depth look into Clark and Lois as a couple.
We also got another flashback between Lois and Lex. Lois might have been wrong about the specific crime Lex committed but Lex is a very bad guy who does need to be put away. I like the twist of having Lex be equally Lois Lane's archnemesis as much as he is Superman's in terms of this series, it's an interesting idea that I haven't seen explored before and makes a lot of sense since both characters are human so they can spar and go at each other on a more even playing field than Superman and Clark even though this Lex knew he couldn't take Superman in a fight so he created something strong enough to do the job for him and eliminate Lois's strongest protector. A running theme with Part 1 of the premiere is Lex alienating Lois, he is trying to break her mentally and emotionally by going after the people who protect her that she also loves. Lex doesn't want to physically harm Lois but he wants her to suffer as much as he feels he suffered when he was in prison.
General Lane
Lex continues his crusade against Lois by using Lane's girlfriend Gretchen ( who was working for Lex all along ) to kidnap Lois's father. General Lane spends most of Part 1 missing as Jordan isn’t able to find his grandfather. Thankfully Jordan was able to hear his grandfather with his super hearing after searching for General Lane all day long before Lex buried him alive.
Superman
We saw glimpses of Superman and Doomsday's brutal fight throughout the episode. It's still very impressive to me what CW shows like Stargirl and Superman and Lois were able to achieve with tv budgets, I enjoyed this Superman vs Doomsday fight better than the one from the Batman vs Superman movie. We see Superman go through the ringer fighting Doomsday and ultimately lose his fight with the monster in the end. Part 1 ends with Doomsday dropping Superman's body into the Smallville town square late at night just as Jordan, Jon and Lois arrive via super speed from the Kent farm. Lois is calm until she sees that Doomsday removed Clark's heart and we see the boy's breakdown. This scene shows just how terrifying Doomsday is as a villain.
The repercussions of Superman's death also mean Jordan is probably now this Earth's only active powered superhero, we don't know where Tag is ( I wish this character had gotten more to do across the run of the show ). Tag and Jordan stepping up to fill the gap Superman left along with Steel and Natalie would make narrative sense. For comic book fans this season is adapting the famous Death of Superman storyline which involves Doomsday. Quite a few animated films, the Batman vs Superman live action film and the 2000’s tv series Smallville adapted this arc. It is one of the most adapted Superman storylines so it will be interesting to see how this adaptation will differ from what we've seen before.
Part 2 :
Part 2 of the show’s premiere was written by Katie Aldrin and Kristi Korzec and directed by Sudz Sutherland. The second episode follows up directly from the premiere with Lana and Sara respectively making their first appearances of the season. Lana and Sara comfort Lois and Jonathan about Superman as Jordan flies off to the fortress of solitude to try and save his father. Lara’s hologram at the fortress is only able to freeze Superman’s body in suspended animation to preserve his body but she isn't able to bring Superman back since his heart was removed by Doomsday.
Jordan and Jonathan's tension from season 3 doesn't seem to have been resolved as Jon feels his brother is in over his head and acting as immature as usual, which is true. The twins have an argument after Jordan flies home and reveals to Jon that he is secretly searching for Doomsday to try and get Clark's heart back. Jordan is still very cocky and naive, Lex is a killer and Jordan having powers doesn't put him in anyless danger especially with Doomsday ( Lex’s lap dog ) being powerful enough to kill Superman.
Lex :
Lex's company has been experiencing some financial issues but he doesn't care about that since his entire life's purpose now seems to be about making Lois suffer. Putting Lex in jail again won't cut it for the Kent’s , I can't see this season ending without Lex dying or being incapacitated. His daughter wanting nothing to do with him will probably come into play at some point in the season, especially since it is Lex’s primary motivation for his revenge ( he feels Lois stole his chance to be a good father to his daughter ).
Jordan's naivety :
Jordan confronted Lex during his meeting but as Lex pointed out to him. Jordan doesn't have the guts to do what Lex feels needs to be done to stop him to save his family. Jordan isn’t a killer. Lex also tells Lois that he figured out that Lois and Superman were married and the mysterious Superboy who threatened him earlier is one of her sons. Lex even asked Jonathan if he also has powers indicating he knows Jordan is the one with powers who confronted him earlier. In true Jordan fashion he fell for Luther's trap and almost got himself killed. He only survived because Lex let him live to make a point, that the Kent's don't stand a chance against him. That’s why Lex stomped and crushed Superman's heart. I think Lex’s confidence might be his undoing again, he doesn't believe anyone else is smart enough to get to him and he still hasn’t changed.
The End :
Jordan takes his brother and mother to the fortress where they discover that Superman scanned his mind at the fortress in case something happened to him so his family would always have him around for assistance. This is an excellent way to keep Tyler Hoechlin as an active part of the episodes outside of flashbacks whilst Superman is MIA. The show ends the season premiere with Lois, Jon and Jordan as all that remains of Superman's Legacy.
Other Thoughts :
1. This season feels like the midpoint of the series, not so much the end because there are still so many more stories to tell and villains for Superman and his family to face.
2. Both parts of the premiere are very much about setting up the main storyline for season 4 , which seems to be how the Kent's will survive in a world without Superman.
3. I can't be the only one who saw the picture of Elizabeth Henstridge (Simmons from Marvel's Agents of Shield), the actress has directed episodes of the show before but she hasn't appeared on the show yet. I wonder who she is playing ?
4. The show has some excellent VFX shots in both episodes with Jordan's superspeed fight being a great showcase of how powerful a speedster can be. The fight scenes in both episodes are as excellent as they have ever been.
5. I think the budget cuts are mostly shown through the absence of certain cast members but visually the show is as consistent as it's always been. I don’t think the quality of the show has dropped, if anything everything feels more intentional and focused regarding when supporting characters show up and how they are used in the plot.
Verdict :
Superman and Lois returns for an excellent final season and reminds us why this show shouldn't be ending so soon. I’m glad the show will be going out on a high note if the season premiere is a reflection of the rest of the final season.
Rating:
Story: 9/10
Visuals: 9/10
Sound: 9/10
Performances: 9/10
Overall: 9/10
Join me weekly for more reviews of the fourth and final season of Superman and Lois on the CW.
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