“Superman & Lois” Review – S02E15 – “Waiting For Superman”

Reviewed by: Michael Bailey

Originally Aired: June 28, 2022
WRITTEN BY: Brent Fletcher & Todd Helbing
DIRECTED BY: Gregory Smith

REGULAR CAST:
Tyler Hoechlin (Clark Kent/Superman)
Bitsie Tulloch (Lois Lane)
Jordan Elsass (Jonathan Kent)
Alex Garfin (Jordan Kent)
Emmanuelle Chriqui (Lana Lang Cushing)
Inde Navarrette (Sarah Cushing)
Wolee Parks (John Henry Irons)
Tayler Buck (Natalie Irons)
Erik Valdez (Kyle Cushing)
Inde Navarrette (Sarah Cortez)
Sofia Hasmik (Chrissy Beppo)

GUEST STARS:
Dylan Walsh (General Sam Lane)
Rya Kihlstedt (Ally Alston)
Joselyn Picard (Sophie Cushing)
Adam Rayner (Tal-Rho)
David Ramsey (John Diggle)
Jenna Dewan (Lucy Lane)
Daisy Torme (Hedy)

Rating – 5 (out of 5): Overall, I was satisfied with and enjoyed this final episode of Season 2. Not only was it exciting with several great Superman moments, but the writers also wrapped up the major theme of the season, which, again, was how secrets and lies can tear people apart. And not every ending was happy, which I appreciate because not every ending needs to be happy.

From a Superman perspective this was the most ambitious episode to date. Not only did Superman fly into a sun to kick start his powers and not only did he survive that experience, but he defeated Ally (in a manner that was a nice call back to the original Parasite story) and separated the two Earths (in a manner that called back to SUPERMAN THE MOVIE). Did they explain how he did this? No, and frankly they didn’t need to. If you are in for a penny (guy who flies and has lasers shoot out of his eyes) you’re in for the pound (he separated the Earths by flying really fast and those Earths were merging because of someone who merged with a version of themselves from an alternate Earth).

I don’t need everything explained. It worked. I’m good with it.

There were even some water works going with several scenes. Kyle being reunited with his family was emotional, but Clark using the memories of his family to get through the pain of being in the sun was even better and was a nice call back to the Season One finale where Jordan had a similar scene to break free of Zeta-Rho’s control. I will admit that I am an emotional viewer, so me getting choked up isn’t surprising, but that doesn’t mean those scenes weren’t well done, which they were.

The emotional side of things was equally wrapped up in a satisfying way. Having the characters coming clean with each other, especially in the case of Jordan and Sarah, was nice to see. There was an emotional release there that I wasn’t expecting. I appreciated that Sarah apologized for cheating on Jordan, but I don’t think she needed to. Still, watching them reset their relationship now that both of them, especially Jordan, are being completely honest with each other was a great way to end their arc. Lana and Clark patching things up felt organic and I enjoyed that exchange. Lois telling Chrissy was also nice and played mostly for laughs, but I think for them to continue being partners this was the way to go.

By the way, I know Chrissy has high standards, but working at a big newspaper for twenty-some odd years should more than qualify Clark to work at a small-town newspaper. I was a bit dubious of that line.

Kyle and Lana not getting back together worked as well. Sure, it would have been nice to see those two work it out, but sometimes that isn’t how things work out. The door is open for them to do that but ending this on a sad note balanced out the other sub-plots. Again, not everything has a happy ending.

The Kryptonian elephant in the room was the line, delivered by Sam, that flat out said that this show does not exist on the same Earth as the other CW super-hero shows. In all honesty, I’m good with that. I appreciate that there are people out there still invested in the CWverse of DC shows, but my enthusiasm for that idea ended with the CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS crossover. I don’t need everything to connect. According to interviews with Todd Helbing the original plan was to have the show exist on the same Earth as Flash, Supergirl, etc. but that between COVID making those crossovers more complicated than they already were and things going on at DC and Warner Bros. the decision was made to have SUPERMAN AND LOIS stand on its own. I think the show is stronger for it. Plus, three out of the four shows that made up the pillars of that multiverse are gone, so there’s less of an incentive to keep it going.

Again, I am not trying to dismiss people’s feelings on this. If you’re upset, that’s valid. This is a me thing and has more to do with where my head space is currently.

I guess my only real disappointment was not finding out more about the amulets and Ally’s backstory. There was a lot hinted at but not fleshed out. This wasn’t a deal break by any stretch of the imagination. I just wanted to see that expanded on.

The hint at the end that the big bad of the next season might be Bruno Mannheim has me very excited. I fully expect there to be a twist on the character that has to do with another Superman villain, but Mannheim and Intergang are great concepts and are perfect fodder for a television series where you can really dig into the concept.

And that’s it for Season Two. I’m more than a little bummed out that it’s over, but there’s another season to look forward to, so there’s that for me. SUPERMAN AND LOIS’ sophomore season was a success. It took the foundation built in Season One and expanded it and told a story that had a lot of great Superman moments AND a lot of great family moments as well. It was an emotional roller coaster, but in the best way possible. It’s going to be a long six to seven months until the next season starts.