Superman & Lois Season 4 Episode 7 Review – Keeping A Secret

As I’ve noted from the start of this season (through my reviews,) the biggest problem that Superman & Lois would have is doing the “Death of Superman” story and the final clash with Lex Luthor and his revenge adequately within just ten episodes. As shown in my review of The Penguin, this was possible if handled properly. Yet, as my Superman & Lois Season 4 Episode 7 Review will show, the series once again misused its time and had me shaking my head more than I wanted.

On the one hand, I understand Clark fighting to keep his “normal life” with his family in the eyes of those in Smallville. On the other hand, the way that they slowly built up and then unraveled the “illusion” of it all just came off as tacky and weird. Not the least of which was that Candice’s father was SOMEHOW an inmate with Lex (more on him later,) and Lex just decided to tell him to…what? Expose the secret? If that was the case, why didn’t Lex do it himself in some grand way to force Superman to come out to the world? Was last week’s “beatdown” just too traumatic for him that he had to use the lamest possible pawn to make this happen?

The other problem here, as I referenced with that Supergirl line, is that we’re not going to see the full fallout of this revelation in the remaining three episodes. Supergirl had Kara reveal her identity at the VERY end of the series, leaving many fans angrily wondering what happened next. From the previews for next week’s episode, we know Lex is back and going after Lois and her credibility, so the focus will be on that rather than the fallout from this revelation. Then, with the final episodes, the focus will be on the last moves and battles, not the consequences of what this episode built up.

Another issue I had was with the show introducing Jimmy Olsen and then using him to portray Clark as a “lonely hermit” superhero who has to lie to everyone and doesn’t have friends. However, throughout the first three seasons, we’ve seen Clark “have fun” with family or friends without them knowing about his powers, most notably Lana. So, to have “Superman’s Pal” suddenly appear and then vanish without even a true mention of him (to my recollection) in the last three seasons just felt hollow. And Jimmy putting together the truth, only to be easily dissuaded by Clark’s “skipping out,” was equally as lame.

And then… there was Kyle and Chrissy. Dear gosh, can they just go away? I stand by my previous statement that the wedding episode was the low point of the season, and this one barely edged that out because Clark’s storyline overshadowed theirs. Now, is their struggle to buy a house relatable? Absolutely, especially given the current economic climate. But did we really need this storyline RIGHT NOW? No. In fact, most viewers would likely have been fine never seeing this subplot at all. It felt unnecessary and like the ultimate filler while Clark was dealing with his “identity crisis.”

Making matters worse and adding to the Season 4 woes overall is the absence of key characters who should have been instrumental in the storyline about Clark coming out as Superman. Even after Lana was attacked last week, we didn’t see her being there for her BEST FRIEND, nor John Henry Irons coming to check on her. Remember, they’re a couple—Lois even mentioned it last episode—and yet, we get nothing of Irons checking in on his partner after Luthor sent his thug to kill her? Oh, and Otis breaking out of prison? Yeah, sure. As for Lex, his absence here is another example of his role being mishandled. After getting his butt handed to him by Clark, he takes an incredibly basic move to regain momentum?

Sure, next week’s episode will feature him being more aggressive, but this is the second episode where he’s been missing, and it just didn’t make sense. Plus, there were people who weren’t on Clark’s “list” who already knew he was Superman (like the guy who told Lana), so the entire struggle felt worthless before it even started.

As I wrap up my Superman & Lois Season 4, Episode 7 review, I’m left feeling disappointed that after last week’s high mark, we’re back down again. We now have just three episodes left, and they absolutely have to matter! After everything that’s happened in the Arrowverse, this one can’t go out on a dud. So please, make these last three episodes count.