Superman and Lois season 3, episode 7 review: Forever and Always

“It’s time for us to reclaim the Suicide Slums.” Spoilers for Superman and Lois season 3, episode 7 follow.

As Lois’ condition worsens, Clark can only do one thing to help her: Be by her side as much as he can.

This leads to an existential pain for the boys, but mainly Jonathan, who sees the humanity of the situation even more than everyone else.

Here’s what went down in Superman and Lois season 3 episode 7 “Forever and Always”.

Superman and Lois season 3 episode 7 review

Love

Even though “Forever and Always” continues Lois’ cancer storyline, the crux of this episode is the fact that we finally see Peia and Bruno’s backstory begin to be revealed. We see them long before they are who they are in the present and we get to see the bond that the two have, and understand why Bruno is do everything he can to save her. Because of all that, and this has been said before, Mannheim is so much more interesting in this show than he ever was in the comics (the Crime Bible gets funnier and funnier by the episode at this point because the show’s version of Bruno is that good) and Chad L. Coleman is fantastic as him.

But, back in the present, Lois questions Peia, which almost immediately causes a rift between the two, so Clark goes to question Bruno instead. It’s always nice to see Clark be a journalist, because, in almost every medium, Lois takes front and center stage on anything journalism related, but it’s always needed to remind the audience that Clark is, in fact, also a great journalist. So, seeing him grill Mannheim and getting him to lose his cool results in Clark realizing that Bruno is doing everything he’s doing for his wife, a.k.a. Peia, which is such a great moment.

Desperation

While all of this is going down at the hospital though, Jon and Jordan go to the Fortress to try and see if there’s anything Lara can do, where they find out that Clark didn’t even bring Lois because he already knew what the answer was going to be. No because, even if it did work, how could they be so selfish as to not provide Kryptonian technology to the rest of the world (which would be a bad idea).

So, once they go home and find the end-of-life documents that Lois has written up, Jon finally confronts the two about it and how hope is not an absolute. This is a very personal scene for me as, this exact same thing happened to me when my dad had a heart transplant. So, this scene captures everything that the kid of someone going through a severe health crisis feels when nothing’s communicated. Fear, anger, frustration, sadness, and desperation, those are every feeling that you go through in a situation like this, especially when you’re not told anything. And especially when you’re a scared teenager.

Dating

On the more mundane side of things though, Sarah begins to deal with the reality that Chrissy and her dad are dating. This very easily could’ve turned into a cliché CW B-plot, but it pivots and allows to the two to bond, which is actually really nice. This, in turn, it allows Sarah to bond with her mom after Lana admits that she is having trouble with moving on with her life after the divorce.

Matteo also comes to Smallville to have lunch with Nat and John Henry and, well, John Henry goes over protective dad-mode. It’s a nice couple of scenes that allow us to see John Henry out of his comfort zone, but it then leads to the biggest twist of the episode: Matteo is a Mannheim.

An entirely character-driven episode, Superman & Lois doesn’t miss a heartfelt beat and, smartly, ignores Clark even putting on his suit.

If you’re a fan of Superman and Lois, listen to The CW Spiral Podcast for news and updates on season 3 and the future of the show. Subscribe to their YouTube channel here.

What did you think of Superman and Lois season 3, episode 7? Let us know in the comments below!