Superman and Lois, “Waiting for Superman”, Review!

 It is the finale of Superman and Lois!  Ally has begun the merging of the Inverse (Bizarro) World with Earth, she has drained Superman of his powers!, and John Henry is lost leaving Natalie behind!  The episode’s title refers to the 2010 documentary, but this is a better story.   The episode begins with Chrissie Beppo giving the account sanctioned by the Department of Defense, a look around the world, as we see the orangish worlds collide!  Chrissie gets only the message of Lois.  The result is the same with Lana, Sofia is the only one who saw Kyle leave, Lana tells her daughters they will look for their father.  There is lightning or a flash as the distortion runs in the Kent house.  Almost everyone is there; Clark, Lois, Jordan, Natalie, and Jonathan.  

They have shifted to the Bizarro World and Natalie sees her tablet hoping to contact her father.  Lois is concerned about the merging turning them into parasites.  Clark tells her that they won’t let that happen.  This is all outside of their experiences.  Natalie is on the porch working on her tablet, the Kent boys try to reassure her, and Natalie goes over her mother’s death in the other world and never having final words.  Then, John Henry’s distorted voice is heard!  Jordan says he is in the voide between worlds.  Natalie has worked out that her father needs her escape pod.  Then, we have the entrance of Tal-Rho!, he says his return is important since his brother is powerless.  The kitchen flickers again.  They all shift and then appear in the house on Earth, but Jordan realizes his mother is missing!  


SUPERMAN AND LOIS - - “Waiting for Superman” - - SOFIA HASMIK, BITSIE TULLOCH - - Photo: Bettina Strauss/The CW -- © 2022 The CW Network, LLC. All Rights Reserved.


Lois is in the broken down house of the Bizarro World!  She sees the El post office box as the farmhouse and barn flicker!  Then, Sam Lane from Earth runs up to his daughter.  They need to find someone who can help them, Lois mentions Chrissie.  In the Earth house, there is the sudden entrance of Bizarro Lois!  Natalie runs out to get her suit.  Jordan and Jonathan want her not to enter the portal.  Jonathan says she is their family, Natalie hugs her brothers, but leaves.  Sarah leaves a message for her father’s phone, Lana finds that a store owner hadn’t seen Kyle, there is another shift.  A mini-van comes out nowhere and crashes, but there is no driver inside.  Tal-Rho likes Lois’ “Corpse Bride” look.  Funny.  Clark wants to try to fight for the world, Tal says he wants to fight for the only family he’s known.  He flies into space to confront Ally, she stops him, draining his power. 


Jordan has heard Tal scream.  Clark tells him to help him and escape.  Jordan sends Ally spinning into space and then streaks down to rescue his uncle.  They slam in front of the farmhouse.  Clark says that there is someone who can stop her, himself!  Jordan reminds his father that his cells are not absorbing the sun.  Clark says he needs a jumpstart!  Tal-Rho says he was the Eradicator, directly taking in the sun’s energy, and floated around for weeks.  Clark says Tal-Rho has to throw him at the sun.  He says he was sent to Earth to be Superman.  Jonathan says he sounds like his mother.  Clark tells him, “That’s because she’s the smartest person in our family.”  This makes clear how important Lois is to all of them.  He tells his son not to lose hope.   Tal-Rho superspeeds Clark his costume.  Then, they both head to the sun.  


Natalie orders the A.I. to enter her escape pod and fly with her to the mines.  Lana goes to the firehouse asking about Kyle.  The mayor tells Kyle’s coworkers to go to their families.  Sam and Lois sees the streets with Ally’s followers holding their arms out.  They see Bizarro Chrissie who gets out a translator.  Sam Lane disappears and then Chrissie!  Lois sees a plane that crashed into a building!  More flashes and then a jet flies overhead.  Next, Kyle is there who has lost his family on the Bizarro World!  John Henry gives his final message and needed the X-K in the pod to destroy the portals.  Natalie didn’t bring it.  Tal-Rho has taken Superman to the edge of the sun.  They do have a conversation in the vacuum of space.  Tal-Rho flies them towards the sun and then throws him to the surface!  He says, “Earth is lucky to have you.”  Superman cries out in pain.  


SUPERMAN AND LOIS - - “Waiting for Superman” - - TYLER HOECHLIN, EMMANUELLE CHRIQUI - - Photo: Bettina Strauss/The CW -- © 2022 The CW Network, LLC. All Rights Reserved.


Natalie and John Henry are floating between worlds. She brings up the plan to divert the X-K from their suits to the pod.  John Henry agrees and they start the power transfer.  Bizarro Worlds, Lois and Kyle see that more followers are being transported.  Kyle blames himself for losing his family and kneels crying.  Lois consoles him and then he flashes away.  She watches as the Earth moves closer.  Kyle looks up to find himself on Earth with confused people wandering the street.  He calls out for his family and then sees them.  Jordan and Jonathan see the suns merge and then rush up to their grandfather.  He reassures them that he just saw Lois.  The sons start to argue, Sam Lane stops them from arguing, and says he saw other worlds with leagues on them.  He says, “He’s the finest of any Earth.”  Bizarro Lois watches all of this, could this be a Lois to fall for John Henry?  


Superman screams bathed in the heat of the sun, he sees visions of his sons Lois, this calms him and then takes in the energy!  The escape pod flies towards the merge.  It separates the suns.  Ally is still there and Superman explodes out of the sun’s energy!  Natalie gives her farewell message to her father as their air runs out. She says, “You’ve always been my hero.”  Nice family moment in a sci fi setting.  Ally flies towards them, but they separate.  A submarine crashes into the Kent fields.  Sam Lane tells his grandsons to run.  John Henry and Natalie land brought there by Superman!  Lois sees Clark hurtle past her.  Then, past Smallville citizens and Mayor Lana.  His suit is ablaze with sun’s energy pulsing through the partitions of his suit and into his chest symbol!  He collides with Ally holding her wrists.  She tries to drain his energy and he tells her take more, overloading her!  


The Allys shriek and Superman punches them separating Allys that fall to Earth.  He flies down and then puts them in the hands of John Henry and Natalie.  Then, Superman streaks around Earth, a fantastic call back to Superman the Movie (1978)!  This is all to build enough momentum to fly down and shatter the worlds apart!  These visuals are so epic, setting the standard for Superman effects in any movie or television program.  He lands on the streets of Smallville to the applause of Kyle, Lana, their kids, Chrissie, and finally Lois who just says, “Superman.”  We see fireworks in the Smallville skies including one in the shape of Superman’s symbol.  Kids run into the street as Superman or John Henry and Natalie.  This under the banner, “Miracle Monday”, this is another callback to the 1981 Superman novel written by super scribe, Elliot S. Maggin.  


SUPERMAN AND LOIS - - “Waiting for Superman” - -  INDE NAVARRETTE, ALEX GARFIN - - Photo: Bettina Strauss/The CW -- © 2022 The CW Network, LLC. All Rights Reserved.


Mayor Lana is giving a speech ending with “Truth, Justice, and a Better Tomorrow”, ok, the new Superman slogan, forgiven.  Superman flies by overhead.  Everyone applauds.  She is congradulated by Clark who apologizes for not being there for her campaign.  Chrissie is eager to see Lois’ article, but she is told that Clark is Superman.  She realizes that Lois is telling her the truth, but is not shocked.  Lois says she was dating him for “several months” before she knew.  Months, not years!  Everyone is buying Superman merch. Jonathan is friendly with Candice.  By a tractor, Jordan talks to Sarah, she says she didn’t apologize to him for her kiss at camp.  They agree to a do-over.  Night, John Henry shares rhubarb pie with Natalie.  Clark starts a dance with Lois as Chrissie stares at them.  Kyle asks Lana for a dance.  She is not ready.  Kyle still asks for a last dance.  Clark and Lois look at them.  Later, Lois sees the two Allys guarded in their cells, she asks if there was a time when they were complete.  The two Allys hold hands, not alone.  


Clark and his sons see two, new trucks given by Uncle Tal.  Jonathan enters the truck.  Bizarro World, Tal-Rho enters a bar and offers drinks to everyone.  The bartender mentions the trouble from his wife and he asks her name.  Entering the diner, John Henry sees John Diggle (David Ramsey) from A.R.G.U.S.  He brings up Bruno Mannheim, the boss of Intergang, he was introduced in Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen #139 (1971).  Diggle tells him that Mannheim had killed John Henry Irons on this Earth!  A mystery!  At the farm, Lois says goodbye to Lucy who is driven to Metropolis by Sam Lane. The family takes a boat out to sea, Jonathan says Jordan is sea sick!, Clark wants to do this as a family.  He says his mother, Lara, has never seen Jonathan and she may have Kryptonian technology for him.  Clark throws a crystal out to the water.  Suddenly, the icy spires burst from the sea, a Kent family miracle, a new Fortress of Solitude!  Clark says, “It’s only the beginning.”  I would like to see the return of Amy Jo Johnson, Elizabeth Henstridge, and David Ramsey into the director chairs!  The Superman and Lois finale defines again best of this series; the family, hope, and sacrifice of Superman and the entire cast!   


Five X-K Crystals out of Five!  


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