This week’s episode of Superman and Lois brings much beloved Arrowverse actor, Tom Cavanagh, in the role of journalist Gordon Godfrey, better known to DC fans as Glorious Godfrey, an associate of Darkseid who takes the guise of a human reporter to discredit superheroes—although no Fourth World connection is made on this occasion. Tom Cavanagh’s iconic role as Eobard Thawne/Reverse Flash is still etched in the memories of fans, following which he took a myriad of other roles in different timelines and realities across the Arrowverse, which was much more entertaining than the recent multiverse ventures of multibillion dollar cinematic franchises. He has directed a number of acclaimed Superman and Lois episodes as well, and fans will surely be glad to have him back for what seems to be his final Arrowverse role.
Previously, Lex had left Smallville following a brutal brawl with Clark, and realizing that his secret identity can be weaponized by Lex, Clark had decided to reveal his secret to the world. Amanda, Lex’s trusted secretary, swore her allegiance to him and began preparations to assist him on both fronts—to handle his dwindling business and give Lex a fair shot to take his revenge upon Lois and Superman. On the other hand, Clark’s weakened powers, aging, and concerns about mortality seem to indicate something troublesome, which John Henry Irons finds out in the eighth episode of the ongoing season, titled “Sharp Dressed Man,” which is directed by Lex Luthor actor Michael Cuditz.
Spoilers Ahead
Lex Takes The Assistance Of Glorious Godfrey
Taking Amanda’s suggestion, Lex goes through a complete makeover—no more rugged Nordic metal band drummer look; this time Lex is in his iconic appearance, clean-shaven, dressed in a formal business suit, as he is going to make a public appearance on the primetime show of sensationalist news reporter Gordon Godfrey. What better way to counter a journalistic mind like Lois’ than to spread misinformation through the media to gain sympathy for a ‘poor’ billionaire who had to spend seventeen years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit through a deliberate smear campaign led by Lois? The fact that Lois and Peia, Bruno Manheim’s late metahuman assassin wife, became friends during their cancer treatment is used by Lex to his advantage as well. Godfrey’s interview cleanses Lex’s public image, helps his business see a rise, and Lex openly challenges Lois to face him in a debate on the late night segment of Gordon’s show on the same day.
Starlight and Steel Return
On the other hand, John Henry and his daughter, Natasha, overburdened with the assignments given by DOD, consider the possibility of taking a break from the superhero life, now that Clark is back, the Kent twins are saving the day, and Doomsday has left the planet. As Natasha struggles to balance her personal life and duties as Starlight, John asks Natasha whether she is pushing herself to keep the promise she made to her later grandfather figure, Sam Lane. She doesn’t know how to answer that question, and John decides to take a day off and visit the Kents in Smallville. As he goes to check up on Lois and Clark, Natasha decides to spend the day with the Kent twins.
Lois and Clark, who were on the verge of celebrating Lois’ being declared completely free from cancer, learn about Lex’s debate challenge, and Clark shares the wise advice to not fall into Luthor’s trap, and instead write a rebuttal in the Smallville Gazette and publish it as a reply. John Henry arrives to meet them and brings the bad news that Otis, Lex’s henchman who had attacked Lana at her home, has been murdered in prison, which means the only link to connect Lex with his crimes has been erased. The trio finds the surroundings of the Gazette office flanked by journalists, given Lex’s interview has gathered a lot of attention. Clark saves Lois from a brick hurled towards her, possibly by one of Lex’s crooks hiding in the crowd, which infuriates Lois enough to ignore Clark’s advice, and decide to take part in the debate.
Troubles of Superhero Life
Meanwhile, the pressure of handling a publicly known superhero lifestyle starts mounting up on the Kents; aside from occasional visits by DOD, Jordan and Jonathan find themselves at the center of media attention quite often. This creates trouble in their personal relationships as Candice breaks up with Jonathan after she gets harassed online for being Superboy’s girlfriend. Natasha advises Jonathan to put some effort in winning Candice back, following which Jonathan is able to patch things up eventually. But the truth remains that with their identity being public knowledge, the Kent family will have to face a number of such problems from here on.
Amanda’s Masterplan Is Simple And Effective
Having an idea about Lois’ journalistic integrity, Lex gets cold feet just before the interview, considering the possibility of things going haywire at the crucial moment, and Amanda implores him to go through with the debate anyway. Lois and Clark arrive at Lex’s penthouse, where the debate will be hosted by Gordon, and Lois can’t help but share a few harsh words about the nature of the journalism Gordon subscribes to. Anyway, as the debate gets heated, Lois accuses Lex of trying to murder Lana, but with the perp being eliminated already, she has no evidence to show, whereas Lex, who accuses her and Clark of threatening him, has the video footage of his brawl with Clark in Smallville. The fact that Gordon slyly sides with Lex throughout the debate makes the case worse for Lois.
At last, Lois decides to play her trump card, as she decides to call Elizabeth, who can vouch for her words that Lex gave up the chance of reconciling with his daughter to prioritize taking revenge on the Kents. Lex is visibly shaken as he fears Elizabeth will expose the truth, and even before Lois has the chance to call her, Amanda plays her card as well. She had Milton, the genius inventor/scientist on Lex’s payroll, hack into the armored suits of Steel and Statlight and remotely control them to create mayhem. Milton takes the Steel suit, entraps John Henry inside it, and directs it towards Lex’s penthouse, which prompts Clark to get into his costume and break out of the window to stop Steel. In the meanwhile, Starlight’s suit seeks out Jordan and Jonathan, who were present at Smallville with Candice and Natasha, and launches an attack on them.
John Henry is not able to control the functionality of his suit and asks Clark to destabilize it by damaging it before the situation grows worse. Clark is able to wreck the suit enough, and John breathes a sigh of relief, believing the danger is averted, but Milton manages to remotely dismantle the suit and bring it Lex’s lair. Clark saves John, who was freefalling out of his suit, but in the process loses track of the Steel suit. On the other hand, Natasha fails to take control over her suit, which prompts Jordan and Jonathan to use their heat vision to destroy the Starlight suit. Natasha is reasonably upset to have her creation being used for nefarious purposes and then destroyed, and as she later reunites with her father, she mentions that she used to push herself for the promise she made to Sam, but now she will fight because she wants it herself. John and Natasha will manage to corner this Milton guy, as this feud has just turned personal.
The debate ended as soon as Superman flew outside, sparing Lex from embarrassment, as Lois didn’t get a chance to call Elizabeth. Lois and Clark return to Smallville, and Gordon takes this chance to libel Lois, questioning her credibility as a journalist by alluding to her association with Superman, who, as he remarks, conveniently destroyed Luthor’s property to distract attention from the debate, which Lois was allegedly losing. At home, Lois regrets taking part in the debate; she should have paid heed to Clark’s advice. Meanwhile, Milton is revealed to have made a major upgrade to the Steel suit, which has now become Lex’s power armor. With two episodes left in this final season, the spectacle of Lex and Superman clashing will be something to look forward to.
Will Clark End Up Being Powerless?
Previously in the episode, John Henry had noticed Clark’s delayed response, which he felt was unusual, and Clark had confessed about having weakened powers ever since Sam’s heart gave him new life. As John does a thorough checkup on Clark’s physiology, he finds an even more concerning update: Clark is gradually losing his powers due to the physiological incompatibility of human organs in the Kryptonian body and apparently is showing signs of heart disease as well. Not only does this mean that Clark’s lifespan is now the same or less as sixty years old Sam’s would have been, but also that he will one day wake up to find all his powers gone. Clark shares this troubling news with Lois and later with their sons, and it goes beyond saying this revelation is a tragic one.
The prospect of Superman getting to live a normal life, retiring from his superhero career, sounds oddly peaceful and troubling at the same time. There won’t be a day when the world wouldn’t need the Man of Steel, no matter how many protectors are there to save the day, and this version of Superman doesn’t seem to relish the opportunity of taking a sabbatical either. Here’s hoping that in the course of the final two episodes of the series, the super-team finds a viable solution to restore Superman to his former glory, perhaps using some Kryptonian gizmo of some kind from Fortress of Solitude.
