Superman and Lois – Complications review S3 E11

Complications definitely set the stage for the final two episodes of the season at the cost of one of the major cast members in a way that made organic, smart sense. 

Peia apologies to Matteo for ruining what had been a normal life, but like any good child he assures her that it was worth whatever he had to sacrifice in order to keep his mother alive. Only catch is it doesn’t seem like the cure is working as well as Bruno intended as Peia is starting to have some nasty side effects. More on that later.

First some housekeeping, specifically Clark officially revealing his secret identity to Kyle. Chrissy is ecstatic she doesn’t have to keep the secret from him any longer, but somehow she didn’t anticipate him being upset that she lied and made him sound like an idiot when he started to catch on there’s a hero in Smallville. After an entire season and a half of Kyle having to get constantly browbeaten for a lie/affair he had before the series started, this guy is allowed some time to be in his feelings.

Sadly, there’s no direct confrontation between Kyle and Lana, which he could legit argue helped play a part in the end of their marriage. If nothing else he could rightfully cite her keeping secrets as a hindrance to their trust issues. But this would be admitting that Lana was in the wrong on something, which the writers really, really don’t like to do. 

Instead, Kyle has to get belittled by Lana when she shows up uninvited at his place to help her deal with Sarah. Ok, Kyle is a legit a firefighter, but does Lana always have to press the Call Kyle button when Sarah is acting up?

Sarah is feeling down and Kyle tries to relate to a time when he spiraled out and started having a drinking problem. Sarah insists she’s not an alcoholic, which is likely what an alcoholic would say, but hears Kyle’s advice on taking life one day at a time while she figures out what to do next starting with working as a waitress at the diner. This seems like a needless storyline for her as the season winds down, but whatever. 

Nat is still upset about Matteo and laments her pain over losing the love of her life to Jon and Sarah. Lois is prepping for her mastectomy after a night kicking with Clark, John Henry and Lana over Bazoombas wings. Would it really have been so terrible to have Kyle and Lana stay together and put John Henry and Chrissy together? 

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After her vent session, Nat heads to the Manheim’s penthouse. John Henry tracks her down and encourages her not to live in the past. It’s not like she has a future with Matteo at this point now. 

At the hospital, Lois preps for her surgery while Jordan has a panic attack. It’s been a while since the show acknowledged Jordan’s social anxiety issues. This time it’s more a result of his X-Ray vision started to kick in. Jon calms him down in a nice moment. Jordan Elsass was just fine as Jon, but Michael Bishop has really stepped into the role and not missed a beat arguably delivering stronger performances than his predecessor. This was another strong showcase scene for him. 

Peia’s powers are going on the fritz again, triggering citywide power outages. Lois doubts the cure worked, which she attributed to the calm before the worst of the chemo treatment like Peia taught her. That’s a solid full circle moment. 

Bruno tries a second dose, but it does little beyond getting Bruno’s right-hand man obliterated in an instance by Peia’s power run amok. While he’s desperate and hoping a third dose will help, Peia begs him to let her go. This transitions into a very well done shot of Clark, Jon and Jordan literally doing the same thing as Lois is wheeled out for her mastectomy as she’s gone from being surrounded by her family to the slow roll on her own. 

Matteo is of some belief that he can get some help in the penthouse and to a degree that’s true as Nat zooms in thanks to a tracker she installed. Bruno arrives upstairs to threaten her, which triggers the arrival of Steel.

It’s a stand-off that doesn’t lead to much as Superman zooms in to try and help Peia. She knows she’s past the point of being saved and asks him to give Bruno and Matteo a message — she’ll love them both forever and always — before Superman takes her up to the sky so she can implode without harming anyone else. 

For a character just introduced this season, Peia’s death resonated strongly as she was a main player all year first as the mysterious muscle for Bruno, then Lois’ cancer BFF and the conflicted friend/villain. Peia was a complex character and the type that would benefit more superhero shows. 

Post surgery, Lois wants to know how Clark stopped Peia and he breaks the bad news to her. While worn out from her surgery, it’s clear the loss of her friend hurts in its own right for Lois. 

Now in DOD custody, Bruno agrees to sharing whatever information is needed provided Matteo can go free with all charges against him dropped. In the wake of seeing the monster who threatened him, his daughter and “sister” grieving the death of his wife, John Henry has a greater understanding of him. While they’re not gonna be sharing memes anytime soon, John Henry does agree to make sure Matteo is safe. 

He just might need protecting as Bruno’s experiments have created a new side effect — Bizarro has awakened. This could be interesting. And there’s still the arrival of Lex Luthor to come. Hopefully this season can stick the landing of its final two episodes to cement this as one of the all-time great comic book based seasons of a superhero show. 

Rating: 8.5 out of 10

Photo Credit: The CW