TV Review: ‘Superman & Lois’ Season 4, Episode 6 Gets Down And Dirty With A Classic Rivalry
by Frank Martin
The dynamic between Superman and Lex Luthor has been extremely complicated throughout their shared history. Very rarely do we see this conflict play out on a local level. Traditionally, these are grand stories are about the fate of the entire world and the human race. The first half of Superman & Lois‘s final season focused on the grand scale of storytelling. But in more recent episodes the conflict has become personal and more grounded. It’s about family and the characters rather than some overarching plot about the fate of the planet. It makes for some very tense moments and a brutal fight in the streets of Smallville that viewers won’t forget any time soon.
After losing Doomsday and ruining his relationship with his daughter, Lex Luthor (Michael Cudlitz) effectively goes off the deep end and will stop at nothing to ruin Lois’s (Elizabeth Tulloch) life. He seeks to set up his base of operations in Smallville, but he runs into problems when the locals — who are starting to learn that Clark (Tyler Hoechlin) is Superman — stand up to him. Lex lashes out by sending someone to kill Lana Lang (Emmanuelle Chriqui). She survives the attempt, but Clark confronts Lex outside his apartment building. Triggering red lights in the street lamps, Lex neutralizes Clark’s powers, and the two engage in a brutal fight with Clark coming out on top. Returning back to Metropolis, Lex vows to take a different approach.
Lex obviously hates Superman, but this story adds multiple layers of complexity to the relationship. He doesn’t just hate Superman. He also hates Lois, which means he also hates Clark, by extension. So Lex is being very personal here with his attacks on Smallville. Fans have seen Lex don his power armor from the comics so that he can battle Superman with powers in other series. It is certainly possible that Superman & Lois will go that route in future episodes. But for now, this climax was a great change of pace to see Clark confront Lex on his own level and beat him. It was raw, brutal, and a great way to showcase this tumultuous rivalry.
Superman & Lois airs Mondays on The CW.
