TV Review: ‘Superman & Lois’ Tackles The Multiverse In Season Premiere

There was a recent debate online over whether or not the Multiverse — specifically the existence of Spider-Gwen — alters Peter Parker. Some said that Peter’s knowledge of a Multiverse and having met alternate versions of his Gwen minimizes the effect of the original Gwen’s death. Others said that it was a completely different Gwen and meeting her should have no bearing on the grief he felt for the death of his girlfriend.

That might be a strange way to start a review for Superman & Lois, but the first episode of Season Two tackles this issue head on. The story picks up where the Season One finale left off: John Henry Irons (Wole Parks) watched as Natalie (Taylor Buck), the daughter he thought dead, arrives from his reality. In the aftermath, Nat Irons has to learn to live in a world where everyone she knew is gone and Lois (Elizabeth Tulloch), someone who looks exactly like the mother she watched die, doesn’t even know who she is. But that doesn’t mean Lois isn’t affected either, having miscarried a daughter of her own earlier in life.

I’m not sure I have an answer to the above Spider-Man question, but there’s no doubt that meeting an alternate version of a dead loved one (or even someone who never existed) alters you as a person. This is what makes Superman & Lois so compelling. It asks these very touching questions and tries to answer them while wrapping the whole story in a sci-fi/superhero drama.

And this is just the start of the season. The episode was also filled with other relatable drama as Clark (Tyler Hoechlin) tries to teach his boys about sex. There was also some foreshadowing to future problems as Superman begins to clash with the US government. As far as season premiers go, I don’t think Superman & Lois fans could have asked for anything else.

Superman & Lois airs Tuesdays on The CW.