Superman & Lois Season 3 Episode 13 Review: What Kills You Only Makes You Stronger

Superman & Lois Season 3 Episode 13, “What Kills You Only Makes You Stronger,” delivers a superb final outing to its best season yet that takes big swings until its last, jaw-dropping second.

Because of the major casting shake-up ahead of Season 4, much of the season finale doubles as a possible series finale for certain set pieces and characters.

Conversations around moves to Metropolis become more prominent for John Henry and Nat, and Kyle and Chrissy fast-track from one milestone to the next.

The former makes way for long-awaited conversations and next steps between John Henry and Lana that feel akin to The CW that is quickly fading with the network’s cancellations. Their conversation in the bar cutting to their make-out session is perfect. No notes! Those characters deserve a little joy — with each other.

John Henry and Lana’s dynamic has been a slow-burn this season, so Superman & Lois‘ season finale gives them closure that teases — through Lana’s interest in Metropolis — that their story could continue. 

Meanwhile, “What Doesn’t Kill You Only Makes You Stronger” makes up for lost time for Chrissy and Kyle’s relationship by building on the passing comment that Chrissy was sick on Superman & Lois Season 3 Episode 12, “Injustice.” It’s a break-neck pacing for a dynamic that has gotten less development than Lana and John Henry.

Nevertheless, the season finale does what it needs to do in order to leave those characters in a good place, considering they may not return in the same capacity in Season 4. Furthermore, it’s an example of how the show finds plenty of visual and narrative parallels to Superman & Lois Season 3 Episode 1, “Closer.”

One of the most notable is Lois’s voiceover, which reveals how many days it’s been since Lex arrived. Where “Closer” has the characters finding their footing again after a near-wold-ending catastrophe, “What Kills You Only Makes You Stronger” sees them anticipate the rug being ripped out from under them — again.

Superman & Lois compounds that uneasiness with each act break bringing a more intense reveal than the one before it.

The first, where Lois and Clark reconnect, stands out as a calm before the impending storm of Lex Luthor’s wrath, but it also works as an independent scene that spotlights a healthy and loving couple. It’s charming to see how excited Clois gets to take the next step, and it’s romantic that Clark encourages Lois to set their pace.

The beautiful scene showcases Elizabeth Tulloch and Tyler Hoechlin as a lightning-in-a-bottle pair. Superman & Lois couldn’t have found a better duo to bring its titular characters to the small screen.

While Clark and Lois grow closer, Jordan and Sarah finally drift apart.

The show maintains a sympathetic lens to Jordan’s feelings while giving him the space to (finally!) admit his wrongdoings to Sarah. Since “What Kills You Only Makes You Stronger” is so keen to bring about closure, this storyline getting some is long overdue. Jordan can follow Sarah’s lead and turn a new leaf now.

It’s also entertaining to see how the episode plays with storylines introduced in previous seasons, like Jon’s quest to redeem himself to Coach Gaines.

Even throughout those peaks, Superman & Lois lets the stress over what’s to come simmer with Judge Regan’s death, Sam’s abduction, and Lex’s nightmare fuel for Bizarro. The gradual build-up to that final act allows the show to harness multiple tones from Metropolis to Smallville — with a show-stopping shift in Act Four.

“What Kills You Only Makes You Stronger” turns the clock back to see Lex’s next steps when a lesser show would leave them for a grand reveal at the top of Act Five. 

Instead, Superman & Lois expresses an interest in Lex’s actions and Bizarro’s fate.

The show’s second season goes out of its way to humanize the antagonist from another world, and this season finale doesn’t lose that progress. It amplifies it with a silent yet profoundly vulnerable performance from Tyler Hoechlin.

Though it is a fitting way to depict the lengths Lex will go, watching the pain he inflicts on Bizarro for his personal gains is still agonizing. The montage is unrelenting until it reveals that Lex Luthor has made the villain Superman & Lois has subverted for three seasons — Doomsday. And he couldn’t appear more comic-accurate.

It’s such a testament to Clark’s kindness that the first question he asks Doomsday is, “What’s he done to you?” Even when he knows Lex tasked this being with killing him, Clark can’t help but see the nuanced character underneath it all. Even so, Superman & Lois exhibits Clark’s awareness of Doomsday’s supreme strength.

That silent beat between Clark and Lois after he asks his loved ones not to interfere is a grounding force in a fantastical sequence. The action set pieces that follow — set to Soundgarden’s “Blow Up the Outside of the World” — prove that a superhero drama doesn’t need to sacrifice TV’s structure and storytelling to “feel” like a movie.

The big swings (That final shot!) and smaller beats (Clark telling a crowd, including a little boy wearing a Superman shirt, that everything is okay!) on “What Kill You Only Makes You Stronger” come together seamlessly and serve the medium.

The best part may be when Superman & Lois subverts expectations one last time with a montage that usually precedes a character’s death. Instead, Lois’ voice breaks through to Clark, and his love for the people in his life inspires him to keep fighting. If that’s not an uplifting message to leave fans with during hiatus, what is?

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What did you think of Superman & Lois‘ Season 3 finale? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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Superman & Lois is streaming now on The CW and Max.

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