Superman and Lois season 4 ending explained: Is [SPOILER] really dead?

Well that was emotional. After nearly a year and a half off our screens, Superman and Lois returned to The CW for its fourth and final season premiere, and it was a doozy. A truly, remarkable feat that has no doubt left fans feeling all of their feelings and then some. We wouldn't expect anything less from a season premiere, and we certainly wouldn't expect anything less from Superman and Lois, but those two episodes have left the season in a very interesting place, which is even more interesting than you might think given that this is the final season.

Yes, the show returned with a special two-hour premiere that consisted of the first two episodes of the season (titled "The End and the Beginning" and "A World Without"), and it was packed full of content. Not only did it immediately pick up from where the previous season left off, it had to set up the current season's premise, while also introducing fans to the new normal of its reduced episodic cast (former series regulars will return but it will likely be limited to specific episodes).

If you're in need of some answers after that jaw-dropping premiere, read on. Be warned, however, if you haven't seen the episodes yet, this article contains SPOILERS for both season 4, episode 1 and episode 2.

Superman and Lois season 4 premiere recap

The first two episodes of Superman and Lois season 4 picked up where the season 3 finale left off. Superman was embroiled in a physical showdown with Doomsday that had spilled into space of all places, and they wasted little time upping the ante as they very quickly destroyed parts of the moon. Back in Smallville, Lois Lane and her sons, Jonathan and Jordan Kent, waited on-edge, hoping that Clark Kent would return to them safely.

Lois reflected on the many good times that she and her husband shared, including their first night of intimacy, and the birth of their twin sons. But she also got extremely nervous at the prospect of Lex Luthor killing Superman, so when she had the opportunity to put him behind bars, she did just that. This served as the basis of their feud, as Lex wanted revenge for being wrongly imprisoned (but let's be honest, he wasn't "wrongly" imprisoned, he was just imprisoned for the wrong crime).

Sam Lane had indeed been kidnapped by Gretchen Kelley, who was working with Lex Luthor. Though she momentarily wavered in her commitment to Lex and considered letting him go free, she knew that Lex would find her. Her attempt to kill him failed when he broke free but Otis showed up to prevent him from escaping. Lex deemed that he must be buried alive as punishment for trying to escape. He almost is until Jordan shows up in the nick of time with Lois and saves him.

Superman and Doomsday battled through space throughout the episode, and the battle apparently lasted a full 24 hours. In the end, Clark attempted to use his heat vision on the monster but he was punched through a whole planet. When Doomsday returned to Earth, he left Clark's body in Smallville before Lois and the boys. When Lois turned it around, she saw that his heart had been removed - which Doomsday then gave to Lex Luthor. And in one of the most emotional scenes in Superman and Lois history, Lois and the boys tearfully mourned their beloved Clark as some Smallville town residents watched.

The second episode began as Lana and Sarah told the Smallville residents to back off and give Lois some space. But some had already begun to put the pieces together that Clark Kent and Superman might have been one and the same. When they do leave, however, Jordan takes Clark's body to the Fortress in the hopes that the AI of his Kryptonian grandmother can fix him. But it doesn't look good as he needs his heart for any kind of healing to take place.

Jordan being Jordan decides to threaten Lex Luthor, but Lex figures out that he's Superman and Lois Lane's son. And thus, he decides to play with Lois' feelings once again, putting both of her sons in dangerous situations and attempting to force her to choose between them. Though he doesn't actually kill either one of them (or plan on it, it seems), his mission is to divide Lois from her children, so could the apparent choice she was forced to make damage her relationship with the twins?

Jordan is trapped by Lex, who stands on his father's heart right before his eyes; crushing any chance of bringing the Man of Steel back to life. And that is the moment that the grief finally sets in, as Lois and the boys emotionally prepare to bid farewell to Clark at the Fortress, while Lana finally breaks down too, realizing that her lifelong best friend isn't coming back.

At the Fortress, Lois and the boys are greeted by Clark's mother, who reveals that he has left something behind for them: With that, an AI of Superman appears, telling his family that he will always be there for them at the Fortress but that they would need each other out in the world.

Is Superman really dead in Superman and Lois season 4?

Congratulations if you made it through the season 4 premiere of Superman and Lois without shedding a tear (I know I didn't!). Both episodes are emotional rollercoasters that left us all in our feelings, and understandably so. But, surely they wouldn't actually kill the Man of Steel off during the opening of the final season, right?

Yes and no. This season is based on the DC Comics arc The Death of Superman, which does indeed involve Superman dying after a brutal battle with Doomsday. The season 4 premiere showcased that, with the particularly violent ending when Doomsday took the hero's heart, preventing him from healing. And to make matters worse, Lex Luthor has now destroyed it too. So, how does the Man of Steel return?

That's going to be an interesting journey for the show, because make no mistake about it: Superman and Lois is a heartfelt show that thrives on the strength of the family at the center of it. While this storyline will give Lois Lane and the Kent boys the chance to once again showcase their own strength, it will also showcase how love will bring Superman back. We don't know how, and we don't know when; but we do know that he will return.

The use of the Superman AI is actually a really clever device as it allows Tyler Hoechlin to remain on the show (outside of flashbacks) while also driving home this idea that Superman might really have died during his battle with Doomsday. No doubt the Kents will need to turn to the Kryptonian consciousness for help and guidance along the way. Will he be the one who helps them save the real Superman, or is there another way he can come back?

It sounds like the question we're asking is how could Superman come back, but the real question is simply: When will Superman come back?

Superman and Lois season 4 airs on The CW on Monday nights at 8/7c.