Faced with their worst nightmare, Lois and Clark race against a fateful countdown to save their family and the rest of humanity from the depredations of whatever Morgan Edge has become.

There’s a throwaway line of dialogue in this episode which not only might be the very best Lois Lane line ever committed to film but also sums up the entire episode perfectly: ‘You go take care of the world, I’ll go take care of my family’. That one line sums up everything that we know this incarnation of Lois Lane to be – a fighter, a fiercely protective mother and someone who always has a plan, even when the odds all seem very much stacked against her.

And there really couldn’t be any more stacked set of circumstances than we were strapped in for with this finale. Morgan Edge/Tal-Rho has become the Eradicator, Jordan has become possessed by the mind/soul of Tal-Rho’s father and all the awful fates Clark and John Henry Irons thought they had spared this dimension’s Earth from seem set to occur anyway, while simultaneously ripping the heart out of the Kent family. That duality – the fate of the world and the safety of one family unit – is something the show addresses repeatedly as it delivers a finale that while full of spectacle is far from the standard hour-long action sequence that lesser shows in the genre might choose to deliver.

And it’s that focus on the individual lives and struggles of our characters which helps give a sense of context to the wider events that even many blockbuster movies might miss. World-ending threats are ten a penny in the comic book genre, be it intergalactic villains bent on restoring ‘balance’ or more mundane crackpots who just want to watch the world burn. Bad guys who want to destroy all that we hold dear aren’t rare. But because we have spent fourteen prior episodes building up the personalities, idiosyncrasies, joys, sorrows and more of the folks of Smallville, the struggle feels more vital. Jordan’s loss at the end of the last episode was wrenching because of all that we have seen the character and his loved ones endure already. Irons’ struggles here matter because the character’s journey from early introduction as a threat through ambivalent ally of convenience to genuinely trusted comrade has been one of the most compelling (and surprising) journeys attempted in any character arc in a similar show.

Centrally though, Tyler Hoechlin’s Superman has been key to all of it. Though he’s far from the sole focus of the episode (and indeed the show) he’s never felt overshadowed as either Clark or Superman (and importantly his characterisation has reduced the gap between those two sides of his identity to his attire alone). Here, we feel the desperation, the anguish as Clark realises that he can’t possibly save everyone alone. His reluctance to put those he cares about in harm’s way must give way to his logical conclusion that he’s not able to do it all. Seeing Superman – the character so many writers have struggled to give meaningful challenges to because he’s ‘too powerful’ – have to accept his own limits and turn to others for aid is a powerful thing indeed, and the stuff of which these kinds of stories should always be made.

Best of all, when the smashy-bashy explodey bits are done, you realise there’s still a good fifteen minutes remaining in which not only do the really important parts of the show get their attention but set ups are made for season 2. The journey of the Cushing-Lang household has run in parallel to that of the Kents, watching a family that seemed to have broken down irretrievably pull itself together by the bootstraps of the love which lingers and the qualities submerged but not gone in its various components has been every bit as compelling as anything else the show has to offer. Getting to see them here, on the verge of what looks like, if not a happy ending, certainly a decent beginning, is a genuine pleasure.

It’s been difficult to review this show most weeks without it feeling as if I’m uncritically gushing, but it’s really felt like the show that we absolutely needed. In a world still dealing with a deadly pandemic, and beset by incidents and failures reminding us only too often of the fallibility of those we look to for protection and guidance, it would be too tempting to deliver a show about perfect characters in an ideal life and assume this would be the panacea the world required. But seeing the world’s most invincible man being a relatable person, struggling with self-doubt and overcoming his problems through love rather than power, was better.

Seeing a family on the verge of breaking apart recover and pull together in their darkest hour not because of some candy-coated idea of movie love but because their better angels won out over their darkest demons. Seeing a villain who was tortured as much by his own loneliness and sense of self-worth as he was by the cruelty of his father. Seeing a man traumatised by the loss of everything that mattered manage to find the last embers of hope deep within and rekindle them into trust and comradeship. Seeing a small town almost tear itself apart before rallying together as it rediscovered its sense of community. Seeing a man who’d lived for his job defending the world realise that there might be other priorities he wants to address before it’s too late. Seeing two brothers be there for one another in all the ways that mattered, despite all the odds the world wanted to throw against them.

That was the superhero story I really needed to see. I feel privileged that I did. I can’t wait to see more.

Verdict: A flawless end to one of the best shows in its genre. 10/10

Greg D. Smith