The CW is a ghost town now. Most of the shows that defined a decade of teen drama and superhero spectacle are long gone, buried under network rebrands and shifting budgets. But then there’s the Superman and Lois finale, an episode that felt less like a standard TV ending and more like a definitive closing statement on what these characters mean in the 2020s. Honestly, it shouldn’t have worked. We’ve seen the death and rebirth of Superman so many times that it’s basically a trope at this point. Yet, Tyler Hoechlin and Elizabeth Tulloch managed to make a story about a god-like alien feel profoundly, almost painfully, human.
It’s over.
The capes are tucked away. For four seasons, showrunners Todd Helbing and Brent Fletcher stayed away from the "villain of the week" trap that eventually sank the other Arrowverse shows. They focused on a farm in Smallville. They focused on anxiety, cancer, and the messy reality of raising teenagers who might—or might not—inherit the powers of a sun-god. When the Superman and Lois finale finally aired, it wasn't just about the spectacle of a fight with Doomsday on the moon. It was about the quiet realization that Clark Kent’s greatest strength was never his heat vision. It was his ability to let go.
Why the Superman and Lois finale hit differently than other superhero endings
The stakes in comic book movies are usually "the world is ending." In this show, the stakes were "my son is mad at me" or "my wife is sick." That grounded perspective changed the DNA of the finale. Most people expected a massive CGI slugfest, and while we got some of that, the heart of the episode stayed in the Kent kitchen.
We have to talk about the sacrifice. Throughout the series, the looming shadow of Doomsday—created from the husk of Bizarro Superman—represented a physical threat that Clark couldn't just out-punch. In the final confrontation, the show leaned into the mythic. It utilized the "Death of Superman" iconography but twisted it to fit a narrative about legacy.
Lex Luthor, played with a terrifying, subdued venom by Michael Cudlitz, wasn't looking for world domination. He wanted to break a family. He wanted to prove that Clark Kent’s goodness was a facade. He failed. Not because Superman killed him, but because the Kent family’s bond proved more durable than Lex’s spite. It’s rare to see a show about a man who can move planets focus so heavily on the concept of emotional inheritance.
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The transition from father to sons
The show was always a dual narrative. It was as much about Jordan and Jonathan as it was about Clark. For years, fans debated whether Jonathan would ever get powers or if Jordan would succumb to the pressure of being the "Superboy" the world expected.
In the Superman and Lois finale, these threads didn't just tie up into a neat little bow. They felt earned. Seeing the boys navigate their father’s absence—even if temporary in the grand cosmic sense—forced a level of maturity that the show had been building toward since the pilot. Jordan’s struggle with fame and his own ego finally found a resolution that wasn't about being the "best" hero, but about being a decent man.
The technical brilliance of the final flight
Let’s be real for a second: The CW didn't always have the best special effects. We remember the rubber suits and the shaky green screens from the early days of The Flash. But Superman & Lois felt like a prestige HBO drama most of the time. The cinematography in the final episodes maintained that cinematic 2.35:1 aspect ratio, giving the finale a weight that felt significantly more expensive than its actual budget.
The flight sequences in the Superman and Lois finale weren't just about speed. They were about grace. The production team used specific lighting techniques to mimic the "Golden Hour" of a Kansas sunset, a visual motif that has defined the series. This wasn't just a stylistic choice. It was a callback to the idea that Superman is a creature of light, standing in direct opposition to the cold, industrial shadows that Lex Luthor inhabits.
Many fans were worried that the budget cuts leading into the fourth season would ruin the ending. The cast was trimmed down. The supporting characters like the Irons family and the Langs were moved to recurring status. Surprisingly, this actually helped. It forced the writers to laser-focus on the Kents. By the time we reached the final scenes, there was no fluff left. It was just the core family, facing the end of an era.
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Elizabeth Tulloch’s Lois Lane was the secret weapon
Superman is easy to write. You make him a boy scout. Lois Lane is hard. If you make her too aggressive, she's a caricature; too soft, and she's a damsel. Tulloch’s Lois was a powerhouse of investigative grit and maternal fierce-ness. Her battle with Stage 3 inflammatory breast cancer in Season 3 wasn't a "very special episode" gimmick. It was a character-defining arc that informed how she handled the chaos of the finale.
In the Superman and Lois finale, Lois isn't just watching from the sidelines. She is the anchor. The way she looks at Clark—not as a god, but as her husband who happens to do impossible things—is the emotional glue of the entire series. When the final credits rolled, it was clear that the show was never really just about the guy in the suit. It was about the woman who kept his feet on the ground while he was busy flying.
What we get wrong about the "Superman Curse"
People talk about the "Superman Curse" in Hollywood, but this show broke it by refusing to be cynical. In a world of The Boys and Invincible, where "evil Superman" is the trend, Superman & Lois dared to be sincere. It’s hard to be sincere without being cheesy.
The finale doubled down on this. It embraced the "Smallville" of it all. It reminded us that Superman works best when he has something to lose. If he’s just an invincible alien, he’s boring. If he’s a dad who is terrified he’s failing his kids, he’s the most relatable person on television.
Navigating the aftermath of the finale
Now that the show is over, where does the character go? James Gunn is rebooting the cinematic universe with Superman (2025). This puts the Superman and Lois finale in a unique spot. It serves as the closing chapter of the "Berlanti Era" of DC television while setting a very high bar for whatever comes next.
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If you’re looking for what to watch next or how to process that ending, here are a few things to keep in mind:
- Revisit the Pilot: Watching the first episode immediately after the finale reveals a staggering amount of foreshadowing. The themes of legacy and "the life we planned vs. the life we got" are present from the first five minutes.
- Check out the Comics: If you loved the family dynamic, look for the Superman: Rebirth run by Peter J. Tomasi and Patrick Gleason. It was a huge inspiration for the show’s tone.
- The Soundtrack matters: Dan Romer’s score for the finale is some of the best music ever put to a superhero property. It eschews the bombastic brass of John Williams for something more intimate and melodic.
The Superman and Lois finale didn't just end a show; it preserved a specific vision of hope. It argued that even in a world of monsters and megalomaniacs, a family that talks to each other can survive just about anything. We don’t need more "dark" superheroes. We need more stories that understand that being a good person is the most difficult superpower to master.
The legacy of the show won't be the fights or the villains. It will be that final, lingering shot of the Kent farm. It’s a reminder that even the Man of Tomorrow eventually has to come home.
To truly appreciate the scope of this ending, viewers should look back at the series' commitment to physical media and high-quality streaming. Watching the finale on a platform that supports 4K HDR is essential to seeing the detail in the Doomsday fight and the nuanced performances of the cast. Beyond the screen, the best way to honor the show’s themes is to support local journalism—the very thing Lois Lane fought for until the very last frame.