Superman and Lois season 2, episode 15 review: Waiting for Superman

“Don’t lose hope.” Spoilers for Superman and Lois season 2, episode 15 follow.

The end of the world has begun, and there’s only one person who can stop it: Superman. But the question is: How?

How does he get his powers back and how do they save John Henry Irons from the endless void.

Here’s everything that went down in the Superman and Lois season 2 finale.

Superman and Lois season 2 episode 15 review

Phasing into another world

As the two Earths continue to phase into one another and before they can even adjusted to what’s going on around them, Clark, Nat, and the boys are back on their Earth, while Lois and Sam are left behind on Bizarro-Earth.

It’s a great way to start the episode. On top of the existential terror that is already inherent in the worlds colliding with each other, extra tension in the form of separation anxiety is immediately added to the mix, making the stakes more personal on top of the worldwide ramifications of not stopping the merging. It was an incredibly smart thing to do and just adds on to the terror of the episode.

But the episode really begins when Tal-Rho returns and wants to help Clark – and admits in the process that he cares about Lois and the boys. Despite everything that’s happened the past two seasons, this sentiment from him really shouldn’t work. However, it does simply because of the legwork that was put in during this season in showcasing the budding relationship between Clark and Tal, thus causing that hatred and jealously that Tal carried in the first season to dwindle. It’s an incredibly subtle arc for the character this season, but it really pays dividends in this finale.

Then we get to the real crux of the episode: Desperation. But despite that desperation, hope shines through. That’s the thesis of this episode and it’s brilliant. The phrase “Don’t lose hope,” is said several times throughout “Waiting For Superman” and, as an audience member, it becomes an almost reassuring motif that everything will be alright. And well, it is.

Despite being depowered, Superman continues to be the living embodiment of hope and risks everything by literally being thrown into the sun in a bid to regain his powers. It’s honestly an incredibly Superman thing to do: Risking everything so that he can save everyone. And then, seeing Superman fighting against the pain while in the depths a fiery pit, simply thinking about his family and those that he loves, then bursting out of the sun, repowered, is incredible to witness.

This sequence, and the sequence where he takes down Ally and separates the Earths immediately after, are some of the best sequences of the show so far.

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Inverse

As for Lois on Bizarro-Earth? It’s genuinely terrifying. It’s a straight up horror film, which thankfully doesn’t outstay its welcome as that’s not what this show is about. However, seeing everyone on this world basically praying to be taken and merged is awful because they’re basically praying to die. It’s a death cult and even though it’s pretty quick, it’s haunting.

But Lois isn’t alone here though, as Kyle has been transported to this world as well. And well, his reaction to this is heartbreaking. Seeing Kyle break down because he thinks he deserves to be stuck in what he thinks is hell before he gets blipped back after Lois reassures him, it hurts to see, which is good. It’s supposed to. It highlights how monstrous everything happening is.

Into the void

On top of everything else that’s happening, Nat finally gets through to John Henry, partially, and begins to go into the void between worlds after him. Just like Clark, she’s desperate, but she never loses hope that she can save her dad – which again, is the motif for the episode and, arguably, the season as well. Nat deserves to be happy so allowing her to save her dad so that they can be, it was absolutely the right choice rather than killing John Henry.

But before she leaves to save her dad, hearing Jon, Jordan, and Nat actually tell each other that they’re family is heartwarming. Seeing them grow as a family, and siblings, over the course of the seasons has been one of the highlights for the teenager portions of the show and it’s exactly the same case here.

Superman and Lois season 2 concludes like it started: Being absolutely fantastic on every level and one of the best superhero shows on television.

Superman and Lois will now take a hiatus from The CW before returning for its third season in 2023.

Did you enjoy the Superman and Lois season 2 finale? Let us know in the comments below!