Warning: This article contains spoilers for Superman & Lois season 4, episode 1 & 2.
The two-episode long
Superman & Lois season 4 premiere kicks off the DC show"s final season with a series of major twists, turns, and huge events for the series. Superman & Lois season 3"s major cliffhanger ending meant that season 4 was set from the start to be a big deal - and it has already delivered on this in its first two episodes alone. With eight more episodes left before the show concludes, the premiere does a solid job of setting the stage for a no doubt colossal Superman & Lois season 4 finale, even as it ties up loose ends from the previous chapter of the story.
Emotional moments and revelations aplenty were promised for Superman & Lois season 4, and Superman"s death coming in the first episode of the final season cements this as reality from the first possible opportunity. What this means for the Kent family and Superman & Lois" wider universe isn"t clear yet - and neither is whether Tyler Hoechlin"s live-action version of Superman can be brought back, as the show plays with this to a considerable degree. However, one thing is clear: the final chapter of Superman & Lois is closing the show in style.
Superman & Lois Season 4 Finishes Off Doomsday & Superman's Cliffhanger Fight Superman & Lois Season 4 Begins By Ending A Major Fight Close Naturally, the biggest moment that audiences knew to expect from Superman & Lois season 4"s premiere was seeing the ending of the fight between the Man of Steel and Doomsday that gave season 3 a cliffhanger ending. As the trailer suggests, season 4 opens with the climactic conclusion to this fight, showing the pair going all out against one another throughout episode 1.
This is combined with a series of flashbacks throughout the show and throughout Clark"s life, showing him revealing his secret identity to Lois, Lois giving birth to the twins, and a series of romantic and meaningful moments between the two. While this raises hopes that Clark will use the strong emotions he gets from these memories to help him defeat Doomsday, things don"t work out that way, making the eventual outcome all the more devastating.
Eventually,
the fight concludes with Superman & Lois" mutated Bizarro-turned-Doomsday killing Superman and bringing his body back to Earth. Disturbingly, Doomsday doesn"t leave it there, as while he leaves Superman"s body with the Kent family - back where the pair"s fight initially began - he does take Superman"s heart with him, following Luthor"s orders at the end of season 3. However, Jordan then moves Superman"s body to the Fortress Of Solitude where he"s held in suspended animation, meaning there"s still a chance to be able to bring him back going forward.
Superman & Lois Season 4 Saves A Unexpected Character General Lane Comes Back From Being Kidnapped By Lex Luthor
Though it seemed like he was potentially already dead going into Superman & Lois season 4 - given he finished the last season kidnapped and thus possibly killed off -
General Lane manages to finish the events of the premiere episodes alive, even though his initial attempt to escape Luthor and his lackeys falls through. After Luthor makes General Lane dig his own grave and then buries him, Jordan is able to find his grandfather, with Jordan and Lois then rescuing the General after the woman who kidnapped him reveals where he"s hidden.
This makes it clear to Lois that Luthor is actively attempting to ruin her life - explaining to her father that this is why he"s been targeting Superman and General Lane, as he"s aware of her bond with both of them. That said, Lois also importantly states she thinks he"s going to try and turn her sons against her also, replicating how Luthor feels Lois turned his daughter Elizabeth against him. With General Lane supposedly the only person who knows where Elizabeth is, the conflict between him and Lex Luthor is likely to crop up again down the line.
Multiple New People Know The Kent Family Secret Lex Luthor Knows Superman's Secret Identity - And He's Not The Only One
Superman & Lois season 4, episode 2 comes with some major twists of fate, including the reveal that one of Smallville"s residents - a seemingly friendly man named Chuck - realized Superman is Clark Kent after seeing the Kent family"s reaction to the hero"s death. Interestingly, Chuck is shown trying to defend the boys when Lex Luthor comes to intimidate them, suggesting this news could have earned the Kents at least one new ally going forward.
Perhaps more surprisingly,
Luthor appears to finally register that Superboy is Jordan Kent - and thus that Clark Kent is Superman - after the young hero attempts to threaten Luthor in order to regain his father"s heart. Previously, Luthor seemed unaware of the Man of Steel"s secret identity altogether, although he accused Lois of going against him to try and protect Superman in flashback scenes between the two.
The revelation that Lois is married to Superman unsurprisingly only exacerbates this idea for Lex years later, seemingly encouraging him to double down on his plans to destroy the Kent family and all they hold dear. It also places the Kent brothers in all the more danger, as Lex"s hatred for both Lois and Superman is sure to define his actions towards them.
Lex Luthor's Season 4 Plans Get Even More Extreme Lex Luthor Is Going All Out On The Evil Plans
Lex Luthor"s villainy is amped up to eleven in Superman & Lois season 4, with the antagonist getting Superman"s heart from Doomsday and keeping it in a case he specially commissioned from one "Milton Fines" - which is notably an alias for Brainiac in the comics, and thus could have big implications for future episodes. Luthor then uses this to set a trap for the Kent family, which culminates in Jordan taking the bait and trying to rescue his father"s heart in order to try and allow Clark"s healing factor and Kryptonian technology to bring him back once he"s whole.
Instead, Jordan finds the heartbeat he thought was his father"s is instead a fake implanted into a Superman figurine, and the trap is then sprung, with Luthor"s crew subduing Jordan and forcing him to watch as Luthor stomps on the heart of his beloved father. This would have been enough alone, but the villain also uses the moment to get at Lois as well, via a phone call that forces her to choose between which of her children she wants to protect.
Interestingly, the beginning of how Luthor"s plans could be crushed are also made clear here, with family friend and Smallville mayor Lana Lane deciding to stand up to Luthor via undermining his legal claim to properties around Smallville, and Luthor"s own people explaining that stocks have plummeted since he came out of prison, and that he needs to return to Metropolis in order for his business to thrive. As such, it doesn"t seem the villain"s empire is untouchable, even if he manages some terrifying tricks during these first two episodes.
Superman Returns - But Not How You'd Expect Superman Comes Back On-Screen In An Unexpected Way
Surprisingly, the Superman & Lois season 4 premiere does feature Tyler Hoechlin"s Kal-El returning in a sense after his fight with Doomsday - just not in the way audiences might expect.
Episode 2 sees Superman return in hologram form, much in the same vein that his own mother and father appear in the series as hologram versions that give Clark advice and information throughout the show.
This is an effective way to allow a version of Superman to be part of season 4"s conversations where he otherwise cannot be, but also makes it less clear whether Clark himself will definitely come back - since there"s a version of Superman for his sons to talk to and reconcile with. However, given the show is adapting the Death of Superman comic - which also revives Superman - hopefully
Superman & Lois season 4 will see the iconic DC hero be brought back in the flesh as well.
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