Superman & Lois Season 4 Episode 1 Review: The End & the Beginning

Superman & Lois Season 4 Episode 1, “The End & the Beginning,” complicates the fight between darkness and light in the first half of the two-hour premiere.

Regardless of the longer hiatus to this final season, the show is smart to pick up directly after Superman & Lois Season 3 Episode 13, “What Kills You Only Makes You Stronger.” The continuation is so seamless that it’s nearly impossible to decipher where the new footage begins.

That is, until the situation’s gravity — or lack thereof — comes into focus. The crane shot through space sets a chilling tone for this season premiere, and the rest of “The End & the Beginning” never lets that go.

Written by Brent Fletcher & Todd Helbing and directed by Gregory Smith, this episode holds that emotional bar with the same chilling grip that Bizarro Doomsday does Superman’s lifeless body by the end.

Superman & Lois uses Smallville as a crucible, and Lex Luthor is its most chaotic addition yet. Michael Cudlitz gives a commanding performance that rivals Elizabeth Tulloch’s expected excellence as Lois Lane.

Even though it’s not the first time she’s cried over Superman’s body (That’s you, Crisis on Infinite Earths), Tulloch gives an authentic and painful performance in that scene — from her slow walk up to Clark’s body to her gasp and shudder when she sees the state that he’s in. It’s incredible work!

Cudlitz and Tulloch’s performances are focal points because Lex and Lois’s dynamic is the linchpin of “The End & the Beginning.” Superman & Lois takes a magnifying glass to the other long-standing conflict with Superman out of reach.

Superman & Lois Season 3 Episode 12, “Injustice,” introduces the reason for Lex’s actions against Lois and Superman, and “The End & the Beginning” takes a fine-tooth comb through them. The best way it does so is through the flashback where Lex has hair and a wedding ring, and Lois works at the Dailey Planet.

It would be a disservice to the flashback to not appreciate its equally great setup.

The diner scene between Jordan, Jonathan, and Lex stands out during “The End & the Beginning.” Much of this season premiere focuses on Jon bolstering his brother and mother with an optimistic attitude.

Hopefully, Superman & Lois Season 4 will examine whether that role takes a toll on him; it can be exhausting. This scene suggests the show may do just that.

On the one hand, Jon calling Lex “a straight-up psycho” and telling him it “kinda sounds like you’re the problem” is an understandable reaction from this teenager who knows Lex is responsible for what’s happening to his father. On the other hand, it’s the one time Jon can put an edge behind his words.

That scene also cuts to Jordan to reveal that he hasn’t taken his eyes off Lex. This bit is a great example of intention vs. impact because Jordan wants to come across as someone Lex should be afraid of, but that threat doesn’t impact Lex.

Cudlitz’s performance harnesses a calmness that makes Lex’s presence genuinely unnerving. He comes across as the most calculating and confident person in the room, but also someone seconds from snapping out of anger. That complexity makes it impossible to look away from Cudlitz’s Luthor when he’s on screen.

Lex Luthor always keeps everyone guessing. He even does that for someone who has known him as long as Lois Lane. The show builds confidence in that long-standing dynamic with a quick flashback on “The End & the Beginning.”

Ideally, it’s one of many in Superman & Lois‘s future. It leaves us wanting more — What happens before this meeting? What happens next? Does Lois question her bias or her reporting? Does Lex try to buy the Planet?

Clark/Superman and Lex’s dynamic is well-known. It’s refreshing to approach Lex’s motivations through a wider lens. Even when Superman & Lois explains the reason for Lex’s actions, they’re far less than justified.

“The End & the Beginning” puts Sam Lane through a lot. Optimistically, his series-long arc doesn’t end in that hospital bed at the DOD. Regardless, while his romance with Not Gretchen falls short, the purpose of the relationship works.

It pulls on that thread of Lois saying, “Worrying is just a part of being in love.” Sam worries about his three grandchildren — namely Nat — when his life is on the line. It’s unclear whether Superman & Lois Season 4 will be able to see that duo reunited in its final season, but if not, this scene does wonders.

This season only has ten episodes, so Superman & Lois must use its time wisely.

“The End & the Beginning” does — the quick flashbacks throughout Clark and Lois’s relationship are effective. They fill in meaningful gaps. They also (mostly) represent different beginnings in their relationship — the first time they were intimate with one another and the first time they became parents.

Seeing those warmly toned memories contrast with Clark’s brutal fight against Bizarro Doomsday (The CGI on this show never misses. It reminds people that grand action sequences don’t only exist on the big screen!) tells a story in itself.

Then, the episode creates an uncomfortable bookend with Lois, Jon, and Jordan between Clark’s dead body and the Smallville hotel Lex now owns. That alone is a jaw-dropping note to end Superman & Lois‘s final season premiere, but “The End & the Beginning” finds something better — that last, searing look from Lois Lane.

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Superman & Lois airs Mondays at 8/7c on The CW.

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