Superman & Lois series finale ending explained: Why the grand send-off worked so perfectly

Superman and Lois had an amazing series finale with a truly powerful climax that closed out the Arrowverse in a bold way!

Caution: This article contains SPOILERS for the Superman & Lois series finale 

The grand finale for the series “It Went By So Fast” opened with Superman battling Doomsday, aided by his sons. It was a brutal fight before Superman finally managed to fly Doomsday into the sun. An oddly warm-hearted moment had Doomsday, in its final moments, remembering its life on that other Earth with Superman actually sad to see the brief man within the monster before it was consumed by the sun. 

With Doomsday taken care of, the next step was Lex Luthor in a Kryptonite-powered suit of armor. By now realizing what a psycho Lex was, Amanda tried to quit with Lex trying to kill her, but thankfully, Jordan and Jonathan saved her. 

The two arch-enemies duked it out while John Henry managed to hack Lex’s armor to shut him down. Superman finally beat Lex, with Lois capturing it on camera so the world got to see what a monster Lex truly was. 

Who got married in the Superman and Lois finale?

The episode then jumped a year into the future as Lois officiated the wedding of Lana and John Henry. All of Smallville was around for it, including Kyle and Chrissy, who were expecting a second son. A lovely short scene had Lana and Kyle both happy for the other and back on good terms.

More good news during the reception came from Lex’s appeal being denied. Lex was all set to once more rule his prison only to learn Bruno Mannheim was now calling the shots, so Lex was stuck in a crummy cell and clearly in for a bad lifetime sentence. 

What happened to the Superfamily?

The final act was a beautifully done coda with Clark narrating how the world was in rough shape and needed guidance. The Kents provided it with Lois becoming an advocate while Clark was shown flying with his sons in Superboy costumes, John Henry as Steel (in a suit just like his comic book counterpart complete with cape) and Natalie in her own suit as Starlight. 

Jonathan and Jordan grew up, got married and started families. Clark’s powers slowly faded, and he and Lois enjoyed their quiet lives…until Lois’ cancer returned. This time, she couldn’t fight it off, dying at home with her family at her side. 

Lost without her for a time, Clark eventually adopted a dog, Krypto, and settled into retirement. Eventually, his human heart gave out, with Clark suffering a heart attack, ironically on the same street his father had died on. His sons were at his bedside as Superman breathed his last.

A younger Clark’s spirit rose from the bed to walk through the farmhouse. He bid farewell to the spirits of Lana, John Henry, Kyle and Chrissy. He even made peace with Lex’s ghost. Jonathan and Jordan opened the door to show Lois, young and in a stunning dress, waiting for him and the two embraced as the series ended. 

Why the ending of Superman and Lois worked

Speaking to TV Insider, showrunner Brent Fletcher shared how this ending was always what they had in mind to remind viewers it was the “man” that always made this Superman series so good.

“And the other thing is that we always take a lot of pride that our Clark Kent is so relatable and is the most human version, we think. And to give him the final journey of seeing his life—and seeing his death—is something that every human being experiences. To go through that with him, we felt, was a really fascinating way to end that icon’s story. And so it felt really good. I think when we pitched it out at first in the room, everybody was concerned it was going to be too sad. They’re like, ‘It’s such a rough season!’ We heard it, but we also thought, ‘Yeah, but when you see what we do with it, it’s meant to be inspiring.’ Death is a fact of life, but what if you tell the story of life and what it’s worth? Doesn’t that sweeten the pot enough to make the ending? And then with the final version of it, with him seeing Lois, we just felt like that was sweet enough to take away some of the sad.”

His words can echo how many fans feel. The title of the show was always about the link between Clark and Lois and their love the key of the series. That ties into the show’s other theme of family with Jonathan and Jordan stepping up as both heroes and fathers to have great lives, not just in being heroes but good men. 

It was also great to see payoffs for other characters like Lana, John Henry, Kyle and Chrissy. Also, the end of Lex was perfect, brought down low and his life sentence a living hell. But we also got a bit of Clark forgiving Lex, which is just perfect for that character. 

Sure, fans might have wished for more episodes for the final season or some cameos from other Arrowverse characters to end this amazing franchise. But compared to the messy finale of The Flash, this was an astounding work. It was truly emotional and got to you thanks to the amazing cast and thus lands Superman & Lois in the upper echelon of the best superhero TV shows ever.

Superman & Lois Season 4 is now streaming on The CW App.