Superman and Lois season 4 episode 4 recap and ending explained: [SPOILER] returns

Superman and Lois season 4 has been pulling on all of our heartstrings. The CW series is no stranger to doing that, but the fourth and final season has been making us feel all the emotions, and that's pretty darn impressive considering we're only three episodes in. Well, four, because the season's most recent episode, "A Perfectly Good Wedding", was an emotional rollercoaster in and of itself.

So far this season, we have witnessed Superman die, Doomsday give his heart to Lex Luthor, Luthor then stamp on the heart in front of Jordan Kent, and the death of General Sam Lane. It's been a lot for the Kent-Lane-Irons family to have to deal with, and it really does highlight how ambitious this Arrowverse offshoot is as the show heads towards its series finale.

As always, this fourth installment also features some of the original cast's returning members. This week it's Kyle Cushing, Chrissy Beppo, and Sarah Cortez (in her second appearance thus far).

This article contains major SPOILERS from Superman and Lois season 4 episode 4 as we recap all of its events and explain what the ending really means.

Superman Lives

In what was something of a surprise, the episode opens right where the previous installment left off: With Lois still standing by her father's grave site on the Kent Farm. The boys are inside the house, still in their Hawaiian shirts that they wore in tribute to their grandfather. But we also see the clouds, illuminated by the most beautiful sunset. It's the first sight we see in the episode, and then we see it again shortly afterwards. And then we find out why.

Jordan and Jonathan both sense something coming through the clouds, and so does Lois who looks up at the sky. There, Superman appears, landing on the farm grounds in a suit with his classic Clark Kent glasses. Lois and Clark share a touching moment as they run towards each other and embrace. Then, the boys come out of the house and join in on the hug. Superman Lives, and the Kent family are back together again.

We then jump weeks into the future, unforutunately skipping out some important moments (like Clark discovering Jonathan got powers or the rest of the Man of Steel's friends reacting to his return), but things are good in the Kent household. The residents of Smallville know Clark is back, but the world doesn't know Superman is back, and Lois wants to keep it that way until they are sure Clark is strong enough to battle Doomsday. Because as soon as Lex Luthor finds out, Doomsday will come.

But as adorkable as Clark is, not all is right. The surgical scar on his chest (from which Sam's heart was inserted into him) has not healed. And when he took Jonathan to train at the Fortress, his heart skipped a few beats, resulting in him passing out while in mid-flight. Jonathan was understandably worried but Clark kept trying to downplay it to both him and Lois. And eventually, we learn that these aren't the only unusual signs.

It turns out that Clark's super-hearing is only half-effective and he can barely hear out of one of his ears. He can also get drunk a lot quicker and can't seem to push himself too hard. That starts a conversation about whether he can still be Superman with a 60-year-old human man's heart beating inside his chest. But he gets a chance to answer that question when he rescues Jonathan from a trap set by Lex Luthor.

Superman flies into action to save his son, walking straight into fire blasts from a goon sent by Lex to kill Gretchen, who was considering turning on him. The Man of Steel donned a brand new suit (which looked amazing) and easily disposed of the new villain, saving the day and proving to himself that he can still be a hero.

In celebration, Clark and Lois have an intimate night, refusing to look at their phones, which are getting a lot of notifications from news outlets and rumor sources: All of which claim "Superman Lives"!

A Perfectly Good Wedding

This episode also brought back Kyle Cushing and Chrissy Beppo for their first appearances of the season. When we last saw them, Chrissy discovered that she was pregnant and Kyle proposed to her. Well, a lot has happened in the few weeks since then as the pair are set to get married imminently and, when the venue is flooded, Lois offers up the Kent Farm as a replacement. Chrissy agrees, but only if Lois will be her Maid of Honor. Meanwhile, Kyle asks Clark to be his best man.

It doesn't go swimmingly, however, as Chrissy's mother - who she was a difficult relationship with - predictably questions their reasons for such a rushed marriage. It begins to play on her mind, because she too was feeling this way. Doubts creep in and Sarah attempts to calm her down, but when the latter goes to get her a glass of water, she returns to find that Chrissy has run away.

Lois tracks her down to the Martha Kent bench in the Smallville town square, where Chrissy confesses that she isn't ready to marry Kyle because she doesn't know him as well as she wants to. Lois reflects on her long relationship with Clark and the keys to its success, and Chrissy decides that she wants that too; telling Kyle that she wants to postpone the wedding and just slow down so that they can enjoy each other more. He understands and agrees, and then they all use the wedding as an excuse to host a party anyway, dancing the night away in a very feelgood fashion.

It's a needed moment for what has been a very intense season thus far, and it's just so nice to see Clark and Lois, Kyle and Chrissy, and even Jordan and Sarah dancing their hearts out. Although the wedding never felt complete without Lana and the Irons family there, the show did a great job with the limited resources it had.

How will Lex Luthor react to Superman's return?

The ending of Superman and Lois season 4 episode 4 has set the stage for the rematch between the Man of Steel and Doomsday. Clark Kent may have been back for weeks, but Superman was laying low as he figured out whether his condition would allow him to ever return to his full strength. But now that Superman helped saved Jonathan, the world knows he exists again... and it's only a matter of time until Lex Luthor figures it out too.

It's hard to place where exactly we are in the timeline now that Clark Kent has been back for a significant portion of time. If Lex was living in Smallville, wouldn't he have noticed Clark out and about (or at least heard of his return through the grapevine)? As he wasn't in this episode, it's likely that he returned to Metropolis to discuss Luthorcorp (like he was being pressured to in the second episode of the season). Either way, we probably should expect Doomsday to show up on the Kent farm at some point in the not-too-distant future.

The wild card here, however, could be Jonathan Kent. He didn't have powers when his father was attacked by the beast in the previous showdown but now he has them all. Sure, he needs training - especially as his father is weakened now. But could the aid that one of the Super Sons provides be enough to take down Doomsday?

That's not to discount Jordan, either. He finally made amends with Lois in this episode and decided to choose his own path away from heroism for a while, handing Jonathan his heroic uniform. However, the guilt he still feels over his failed attempt to get Superman's heart back doesn't discount the fact that he's still a Kryptonian superhero at heart. Even if his powers are somewhat more unreliable and he's a little more on the human side (than perhaps even Jonathan's abilities?), he's still going to be a necessary aspect in winning this war against Luthor.

A weakened Man of Steel or not, Superman and both of his Super Sons going up against Doomsday might just be enough to destroy the monster, leaving Lex Luthor for Lois Lane to take down.

Never bet against the Fam of Steel!

Superman and Lois season 4 airs new episodes on The CW every Monday night at 8/7c.