Superman & Lois Series Finale Review – It Went By Too Fast

I have been with the Arrowverse since Day 1, and now, over 12 years later, the ending of it all has come via a character that no one honestly expected to see in this universe. Er, multiverse. Whatever! With this finale episode of both season, series, and universe, there were a lot of expectations about what needed to happen, what should happen, and how things had to happen to deliver a satisfying ending. As my Superman & Lois Series Finale Review will show…while there were some swings and a lot of emotions, the result was very much middle-of-the-road.

Let’s get right to it, shall we? Since this is the literal end, I’m not going to hold back in this review. So, to start, the final battles with both Doomsday and Luthor were incredibly anticlimactic and downright frustrating at times. First, with Doomsday, the way that they “solved” him was cringeworthy. Using John Henry’s hammer to kill him, even though Superman at full power, couldn’t fully put him down for long? Plus, the “mercy death” of Doomsday was just as frustrating because his previous kill sent him into a rage where he didn’t even remember Lois anymore…and yet…this death made him remember everything and WANT death? That made no sense at all.

Some will argue that it’s “really hard to get rid of Doomsday; that’s the point of the character!” And I agree, but they could’ve ended his arc by him remembering Lois in the earlier episodes and then never being seen again. Instead, they went to painful lengths to make it “possible to finally kill him,” and that makes this version of Doomsday all the more frustrating.

As for Luthor, he went from being “top dog” to roadkill in seconds flat and it made no sense. He KO’d Jonathan with a single missile, had Jordan begging for his life, and yet his Kryptonite suit and weapons did basically nothing to a non-fully powered Superman…and Clark later shattered the suit…even though he couldn’t do that previously in past seasons when he was at full power! It was like they were just rushing through the fight so they could get to the latter parts of the episode. They spent one-and-a-half seasons building up this struggle with Luthor, and it truly fizzled out, in my opinion.

While I loved some elements of it, like Lois goading Luthor into that bomb attack (which…kind of worked…?), the fact that it was “suddenly over” just because he had the suit and Lana filmed Luthor being brought back to Earth by Superman was just very rushed. How was it over right then? Amanda didn’t even do anything despite her being the “key to it all.” It was all so very rushed, and it made me sad.

…until we got to the reveal that Lex is now the “chair” for Bruno Manheim. That made me laugh.

Now let’s get to this episode’s supporting cast, in which I have MANY thoughts and feelings. Let’s start with the Super Sons. They really just felt “there” for the episode. Even after saving their dad once and luring Doomsday away, they didn’t really do much overall, and Jordan’s Deus Ex Machina to revive Jonathan was cringeworthy, as well as the “don’t leave me” line that followed. Even in the first time skip, when we see Jordan and Sara get one last scene together, it feels unnecessary, and we don’t even get a real explanation as to why Jordan is now happy being a superhero. Yes, we got to see both of them suit up for real, and that was a cool moment, but it wasn’t enough.

As for Lana and John Henry Irons, theirs was arguably the most frustrating element of things. They hadn’t had a scene together all season, to my knowledge/recollection, and yet here, they happen to have a date the MOMENT that Doomsday comes back. We even got the “maybe it’s just not meant to be” line that we all knew would be bunk soon enough. Then, John Henry just so happens to have both his hammer (that can somehow kill Doomsday) and a bomb prototype that he and Nat (who was only in two scenes at the end) had been working on in secret. How convenient.

So, it really doesn’t feel earned when they get married during the first time skip. It also didn’t help that we got a truly cringe-worthy scene between Lana and Kyle, including them dancing together. No. Just go away, Kyle and Chrissy!

Was I happy to see John and Lana get a new life and new lease on life together and be happy through it? Sure! But it should’ve been built up over a whole season, not recapped briefly at the beginning and go from “let’s just stop” to “let’s get married!”

Alright, now let’s get to the real talking point of this Superman & Lois Series Finale Review: the second time skip. The “one year later” time skip was rough at various points, but then to jump to the “final narration of Superman,” chronicling his final moments in life was…conflicting.

If you’re asking me if I got emotional during this section, I did. However, it wasn’t for entirely good reasons. I got emotional because I felt I was getting gut-punched over and over again. It started lovely, with Superman recalling his and Lois’s efforts to better the world, especially when it was falling farther into darkness and madness. Even though this was filmed months ago, it seems like a very poignant message about what life is going to be going forward.

The “moving the needle” line was also very poignant. It’s easy to think that someone like Superman, especially with his secret identity revealed, could easily “fix the world,” but as he wisely notes, that’s not how it works. I appreciated that honesty from the showrunners.

However, seeing and watching the lives of Superman & Lois flash before our eyes and go from loving stories to heartbreaking endings was…well…depressing. Hearing that Lois died from cancer, leaving Clark alone was rough. Yes, I know it happens in the real world, but it just felt like a low blow. Clark getting a dog (finally!!!) was a cute way to make life meaningful for him…and then he died in the same way as his father.

The death of Clark and him seeing his family, friends, and Lois one last time before wishing the viewer well and having a life well-lived was beautiful…but again, depressing. I’ve seen people already say that this was a very “hopeful” ending, but I honestly didn’t get that vibe at points. Nor did I feel the “forgiveness” aspect with Luthor at the end was deserved.

According to the showrunners, they wanted to do a “complete story,” and they are the first live-action Superman story to do that. I commend the “big swing” to make this happen, I just can’t help but wonder if it was the right way to not just end the show, but end the Arrowverse.

I can’t help but reflect on past finales within the Arrowverse as I finish my Superman & Lois Series Finale Review. The universe has not been kind when it comes to these finales, and while the ending of Superman & Lois wasn’t bad, it also kinda wasn’t the finale we were promised, nor one that was fully earned.

…then again, seeing the final shot be Superman, no, Clark & Lois together in the afterlife, happy and kissing to end everything…is a pretty beautiful way to wrap things up.