This week’s Tuesday TV Touchbase bids farewell to Superman & Lois.
The last of the so called Arrowverse shows, Superman & Lois did something new and unique with the Superman mythos, making Clark and Lois the middle aged parents of 2 teenage sons, moving away from Metropolis and back to Smallville. This family unit was devoted to each other but they were fallible, capable for mistakes in judgement. But they learned from those mistakes and became a stronger family for it.
Tyler Hoechlin and Elizabeth Tulloch were fantastic as Superman and Lois and I would dare say their performances were perhaps the best live action interpretations of these iconic characters.
The title of the show was Superman & Lois but it was more Clark Kent than his super hero alter ego who drove the narrative, trying to be a better husband and father to his family.
Clark's drive to do right by his family leads to a major change to the status quo: instead of tying themselves in knots to protect their secrets, Clark Kent sits down for a TV interview and outs himself as Superman.
The arc of this 4th and final season was Lex Luthor’s insatiable need for revenge against Lois Lane. For all the many evil things he did in his life, one thing he did not do is what Lois’ reporting sent him to jail for. Luthor blames Lois for his lost time and the loss of his relationship with his daughter, Elizabeth.
Elizabeth gives Lex a chance to renew that relationship but only if he stops his vendetta against Lois and her family. Lex refuses to stand down.
(I am reminded of a story that appeared in Action Comics where Lex Luthor is offered the gift of ultimate power and a side effect of this power it would make everyone in the universe happy. Including Superman. Lex rejects ultimate power and the chance to bring joy to everyone in the universe because he will be damned if he will do anything to make Superman happy.)
Lex refutes his daughter and betrays Amanda McCoy, his second in command at LuthorCorp, a woman who inexplicably loved him despite everything. But Lex will not let go of the rage, the hate, his single minded obsession with destroying Lois Lane and her family.
The final episode unleashes Doomsday on Superman one more time and Clark with Sam Lane’s transplanted heart is less of a match for the monster than he was the first time Doomsday killed him. With some help from super powered sons Jordan and Jonathan as well as some gadget wizardry from John Henry Irons, Doomsday is defeated.
Which leaves Lex Luthor in a super suit powered by Kryptonite to kill Superman himself.
Superman has had enough of Lex’s shit and punches him out of his super suit.
Lex is going back to prison for stuff he actually did this time.
Then the finale goes into pulling at our heart strings.
The feelz! Oh Great Krypton, the FEELZ!!!
We get a one year time jump.
It’s the wedding of John Henry Irons and Lana Lang that brings everyone together.
Then Clark tells us what happens over the next 32 years.
Before he dies.
Oh the FEELZ!!!
Clark narrates (from the afterlife, I guess?) about what happens over those 32 years.
- Clark and Lois become proactive assisting charities and helping people.
- Jonathan and Jordan get super suits with "S" shields and everything to help dad look after the world.
- Jonathan and Jordan grow up, get married and produce copious amounts of grandchildren.
- Sadly, Lois' cancer returns and this time, it cannot be stopped and she dies.
- Clark gets a dog.
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That is that for this week's Tuesday TV Touchbase.
Until next time, remember to be good to one another and try to keep it down in there, would ya? I'm trying to watch TV over here.
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