If you’ve been a long-time fan of The CW superhero series, which stretches back to the premiere of Arrow on October 10, 2012, it’s tough to watch the final season of Superman & Lois, knowing this is the end of a 12-year legacy that includes hundreds of hours of television. Thank goodness, then, that based on the three episodes provided for review to critics, Superman & Lois Season 4 is going out how it came in… As not just one of the best superhero series on The CW, but one of the best TV shows currently on the air.
It’s doubly surprising how strong the initial three episodes of the season are (it returns on Monday, October 7 with a two-hour premiere) given all the financial wheeling and dealing that reportedly had to be done behind the scenes to bring Superman & Lois back at all. Cast members Tyler Hoechlin, Elizabeth Tulloch, Alex Garfin, and Michael Bishop, who play Superman, Lois Lane, Jordan Kent, and Jonathan Kent are all back. And Michael Cudlitz is now a series regular, playing villain Lex Luthor. But the rest of the regular cast from the first three seasons are now relegated to guest-starring roles, and the episode count has been reduced to 10.
Though both of these changes are disappointing, you don’t feel any of the cuts on screen. When characters do return, they’re given important, emotional arcs; not just a casual call on the phone. And if cutting the episode count meant we’re still getting fight scenes that feel feature film quality, all the better for it. The fight scenes in these first three episodes are epic, thrilling, and worthy of being seen on the big screen.
But none of it would work if it wasn’t for the emotional, beating heart of the show, and that’s very much present. It’s no secret that Superman & Lois is loosely adapting the seminal “Death of Superman” storyline. Heck, Season 3 ended with the series’s version of Doomsday and Superman flying at each other on the moon, about to deliver a death blow. That’s not exactly how things pan out — and I won’t spoil it here. Yet even picking up off a season that gave Lois an emotionally gripping and realistic cancer arc, Season 4 is even more gutting and heartbreaking to watch.
It’s also easily the darkest season yet of the series. I don’t mean literally. Thankfully, despite the copious night scenes, Superman & Lois has resisted the modern TV cinematography disease of making everything look like it was filmed with the cap still on the camera. The show still looks great and is still extremely well-shot. But the subject matter they’re dealing with is harrowing, particularly as Luthor continues his extremely personal attacks on the Kent family. While Cudlitz’s Luthor is more of a thug than we saw from, say, Jon Cryer on the Arrow-verse shows, he’s still immediately proven to be an extreme danger to every member of the family… Individually, and together.
Superman & Lois started as a family show, and it hasn’t shied away from some serious subject matter (see above re: the cancer storyline). But some of the scenes here are hard to watch, stomach-churning, and may upset younger members of the family. Given the original plan for the series was seven years, perhaps getting to this dark point was planned for viewers who had grown up with the show. As is, they’re getting it a little early, and parents watching with their kids should be cautioned that some of the violence and subject matter goes beyond the previous three seasons.
That all aside? The pace at which these episodes move is thrilling. The twists are jaw-dropping. And most of all, Tyler Hoechlin and Elizabeth Tulloch prove once again why they are era-defining as Clark and Lois with pitch-perfect and beautifully crafted performances as these icons of page and screen.
It’s sad to think that after these 10 episodes are done, we’re done with not just Superman & Lois, but also 12 years of storytelling. But given this riveting start to Season 4? It’s pretty clear this final season will be only headed up and up, before it goes away.
Superman & Lois Season 4 premieres Monday, October 7 at 8/7c on The CW.
Where To Watch Superman & Lois:
Superman & Lois Season 4 Premiere Dates And Episode Guide:
The final season of Superman & Lois premieres with two episodes on The CW on Monday, October 17, 2024 at 8 pm ET / PT. Episodes then stream the next day on The CW website and app. After the premiere, it will air once a week for 10 episodes total in Season 4, with exact air dates TBA.
Here’s the full list of episodes in Superman & Lois Season 4, with premiere dates:
- Monday, October 7, 2024: Superman & Lois, Season 4, Episode 1: “The End & The Beginning”
- Monday, October 7, 2024: Superman & Lois, Season 4, Episode 2: “A World Without”
- Monday, October 14, 2024: Superman & Lois, Season 4, Episode 3: “Always My Hero”
- TBA: Superman & Lois, Season 4, Episode 4
- TBA: Superman & Lois, Season 4, Episode 5
- TBA: Superman & Lois, Season 4, Episode 6
- TBA: Superman & Lois, Season 4, Episode 7
- TBA: Superman & Lois, Season 4, Episode 8
- TBA: Superman & Lois, Season 4, Episode 9
- TBA: Superman & Lois, Season 4, Episode 10 *SERIES FINALE*