Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for Superman & Lois season 4, episode 5.Superman & Loisseason 4’s most recent episode was quite emotional, but it also managed to undermine the show’s biggest death not long after it took place. With a shortened final season — theDCserieswill conclude with only 10 episodes this time around—Superman & Loisis seeing events happen in rapid succession. That has been good and bad for the show, depending on the situation. As it is the final season, a fast pace allows the popularSuperman TV seriesto use many ideas that had been saved for seasons that will never come.
However, with so many things happening in each episode, the proper time to let major events breathe ends up not being given. For instance,Superman died at the end of the season premiereand already came back to life at the end of episode 3. While Clark Kent returned from the dead relatively quickly, the show did display how big of a void was left in his absence, especially sinceSuperman & Loisseason 4’s casthas seen many key actors from past seasons only appear sporadically. However, episode 5 undermines the final season’s death that will not be reversed.
Superman & Lois Season 4 Episode 5’s Elizabeth Luthor Story Undoes A Key Part Of General Lane’s Sacrifice
The Final Season Death That Has Stuck
Superman’s death was always going to be reversed. After all, there is no way thatSuperman & Loiscould end without Tyler Hoechlin’s Man of Steel facing Lex Luthor, and “The Death of Superman” story from DC Comics does bring a happy ending for the character. However,General Sam Lane’s death is permanent. The character dying helps the show’s final season establish that it continues to have high stakes and no one is safe, even ifSuperman came back to life. While Lane’s death was emotional and impactful, episode 5 has undermined it.
Wait, Is [SPOILER] Gone For Good In Superman & Lois Season 4?
Superman & Lois just had another major twist, seemingly revealing that a major character is gone from the show, but there is a way they could return.
The main reason that Lex Luthor had Doomsday kill General Lane was becauseSam chose not to reveal to him the location of Luthor’s daughter. Just a couple of episodes after Lane was killed,Superman & Loisthought it was good to have Lois and Clark convince Elizabeth to go talk with her father. Bringing Elizabeth Luthor to Smallville and allowing Lex to have access to her goes directly against Lane’s sacrifice, and the fact that it happened so soon after the character’s death takes away a lot of its impact and meaning.
Why Superman & Lois Season 4 Needed To Introduce Elizabeth Luthor
The Character Is Crucial To Lex Luthor’s Story
While it undermines Sam Lane’s death, there was simply no way thatSuperman & Loisseason 4 would end the series without Elizabeth Luthor ever making an appearance. The character is crucial to the show due to how much revolves around her.Lex is on his revenge path against the Kentsbecause he thinks they robbed him of spending time with his daughter. After more than 17 years without seeing her due to his time in prison, Lex needed to talk face-to-face with his daughter, though the conversation did not go his way.
Elizabeth serves as the best distraction the Kents could have asked for.
Elizabeth’s appearance inSuperman & Loisseason 4 revealed Lex Luthor’s backstory and that he will never change. Lex tells his daughter about the violent abuse his mother put him through after his father left them. With Elizabeth present, the show also displays flashbacks of key moments in Lex’s past, such as an emotional conversation with his daughter and being arrested by Superman outside her school. In the present, while Luthor is talking to Elizabeth,Lois manages to connect with Doomsday and gets the monster to leave. So, Elizabeth serves as the best distraction the Kents could have asked for.
Superman’s Return Means General Lane’s Death & Sacrifice Isn’t Totally Undermined
Tyler Hoechlin’s Superman Needed Lane’s Sacrifice
There is no denying that with Sam Lane dying at the end of episode 3, Clark and Lois convincing Elizabeth Luthor to talk to her father merely two episodes later undermines his death. However, the show does a great job of not completely undermining it. While protecting Elizabeth was a huge part of why Sam sacrificed himself, it was not the whole reason. The character hadinjected himself with a serum containing Superman’s blood, which allowed Kal-El’s mother to bring him back using Lane’s heart after his death, and it is now beating inside Clark Kent.
Emmanuelle Chriqui
Lana Lang
With Superman alive and protecting the world from Lex Luthor and other threats, even if he is not as powerful as he once was,Lane’s sacrifice is more than worth it. While his choice to die to protect Elizabeth did not work out as expected, at least the character found a way to sacrifice himself to ensure that his daughter, Lois, and the world would still have their protector. As long as Clark Kent draws breath inSuperman & Loisseason 4, Sam Lane’s sacrifice will have mattered.
Superman & Lois
Cast
Superman & Lois follows the Man of Steel, Clark Kent, and journalist Lois Lane as they navigate the strains of contemporary parenthood while confronting threats from supervillains and alien invaders, blending personal challenges with heroic responsibilities in this 2021 television series.
