REVIEW: Superman & Lois Season 4, Episode 7 (A Regular Guy)

Superman & Lois Season 4, Episode 7 is, for the most part, a beautiful hour of storytelling. After several Smallville residents pieced together that Clark (Tyler Hoechlin) is indeed Superman, following the confrontation with Doomsday in the premiere episode, Clark is intent on dissuading these believers by whatever means necessary — something that isn’t sitting right with Jon (Michael Bishop) and Jordan (Alexander Garfin). Meanwhile, as Chrissy (Sofia Hasmik) and Kyle (Erik Valdez) prepare for the arrival of their child, finding the perfect house puts the future of the Smallville Gazette in jeopardy.

The Secret Is Out…

As did Kara (Melissa Benoist) on Supergirl, Clark has officially revealed his identity to the entire world. But, what a marvelous way to build to this grand moment, something that Clark has feared for his entire life and worked so hard to ensure never came to pass. The writers did an excellent job at showcasing everything Clark has sacrificed to keep his double life going, including his best friend Jimmy Olsen (Douglas Smith) and a general sense of joy in life because of having to be exceptionally careful and avoid fun things like softball.

The story has issues for sure, which I’ll get into in just a moment, but the most intriguing factor here, for me, is that the series presents it as kind of like Clark’s form of childhood trauma. According to Lois (Elizabeth Tulloch), Clark’s parents were strict and incredibly harsh on him whenever he used his abilities, fearful of what would happen if anyone ever found out. This fear had been instilled in him for his entire life, but now he gets to be free and finally figure out who he is when his two identities come together.

However, I’m a bit surprised and disappointed at the lengths that Superman & Lois had Clark go to in order to protect the secret. Frankly, I’m not sure it entirely lines up with who Clark Kent is, particularly this version that otherwise embodies everything so spectacular about the Man of Steel. That Clark would gaslight Timmy (Zane Clifford) and allow Timmy’s mother, Linda (Patricia Cullen), to believe that he was using drugs again felt incredibly wrong. Jon and Jordan saw it immediately, but I struggle to believe Clark would feel that keeping his secret justified his actions there. (Also, Clark should’ve been the one to apologize to Timmy and his mother, someone he had known his entire life, not Jon and Jordan.)

Additionally, maybe it’s because we just met this version of Jimmy, but it’s difficult to imagine why Clark wouldn’t just reveal his secret identity to his best friend (as he does consistently in other adaptations). If they were close enough to meet up as though no time had passed nearly twenty years later, they were exceptionally close before the secret drove them apart. Overall, the flashbacks were great and the tension was mostly believable, but condensing everything into one episode didn’t do the story anyors.

As withergirl, I find myself disappointed at the timing of the reveal. It’s better than the former, as Kara revealed herself in the finale with absolutely no time left to explore what this meant for her moving forward, but there are just so many opportunities to dig through in a world where Superman’s identity is public. How does he proceed as a hero without the safety net to protect his family from his enemies? How does this change Clark’s everyday life? For instance, can he continue to be a reporter when he’s the story or a distraction from the story? At least there are a few more episodes to tease how he moves forward, but it sucks that the show was cut short when those behind it were expecting no less than seven seasons. This would’ve been a great finale for the penultimate season, leaving an entire season to dig into the nuances of this game-changing twist. But I digress.

Similarly to how the reveal of Clark’s secret will change his life moving forward, it’s perhaps even more important—and, therefore, disappointing—for Jon and Jordan. Their entire lives are now flipped upside down. It’s certainly possible they’ll end up with Sarah (Inde Navarrette) and Candice (Samantha Di Francesco), but realistically that wouldn’t be the case. How would they know anyone is pursuing a romantic relationship with them based on who they are when their powers and future heroics are public knowledge? How does this change their paths forward with school, like going to college (and where they’ll be accepted), and their careers? Both have grown quite a bit, even during this season alone, and are starting to mature and look at things for what they are and the lasting consequences of their actions, like their disgust at what went down with Timmy. It’s such a shame that this story is almost over.

Final Thoughts

Honestly, my absolute favorite moment of this episode—and sure to be one of my favorites from the entire show—is Clark walking into Vicky Mays the morning after his interview with Janet Olsen (Yoshie Bancroft). Everyone is staring at him before Denise (Kelcey Mawema)—a girl wise beyond her years, clearly—greets him regularly as “Mr. Kent” and allows him the normalcy he’s so desperately hoping for. It’s such a heartwarming and powerful moment.

Nevertheless, the cast cuts have been hurting me this season, as I’ve already explained in some of my previous reviews. Maybe I’m alone in this, but Lana (Emmanuelle Chriqui) definitely should have been in this episode! As his oldest friend, Lana would’ve had so much more to offer to Clark and this story than Kyle and Chrissy. Such a major disappointment.

Speaking of the love birds… actually, I don’t have anything nice to say, so let’s move on and wait for the next thrilling episode of this outstanding final season. At the very least, I’m glad to see the outcome of this is that Lois and Chrissy will continue to work together at the Gazette into the future.

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