Superman and Lois – A Perfectly Good Wedding review S4 E4
A Perfectly Good Wedding didn’t break new ground in the Superman & Lois playbook. The scenes involving the four principal cast members ranged from really good to great and the moments focusing on the other characters was tolerable at the worst. It’s a good formula even when the subplot dial turns on some of the show’s least interesting supporting characters.
Lois is still at Sam’s gravesite after the funeral service when she and the boys hear a familiar sonic boom. Clark lands. Here’s a shock. This really emotional moment is superbly done. Maybe the bigger question is how this one rates among the plethora of exceptionally well-done scenes throughout the series.
Clark is learning to adjust to coming back to life. This is actually a pretty good approach. Superman isn’t immediately thrust back into action and can take some time to gather his emotions and make sense for himself what it’s like to come back from the dead. Bonus points to the effects team for giving Superman a heart transplant scar.
Lois is not feeling him getting back into action so soon especially since Luthor would just send Doomsday back out after him if he found out he was alive. That is a very hard point to argue against.
While he can’t go stop crime in the city, Clark does get to do some light work namely training Jon. He’s thrilled Jon got Clark’s Star Wars: A New Hope reference, which was very funny. Tyler Hoechlin brings such a sweet innocence to his take on Clark Kent that (sacrilege) might be even more impressive than Christopher Reeve. It’s probably a result of him saying this dialogue so earnestly and somehow not coming off corny, which would be far easier to do in these more cynical times than the 70s Superman films.
Jon is a quick study, far more of a natural than Jordan, much to Clark’s delight. Except for the part where his heart gave out a little. The curse of having a 60-year-old heart in his body. Naturally this doesn’t encourage Lois to let Clark get back out there anytime soon. Clark questions is this is how he’s going to be from now on. Again, this is the kind of self-doubt and recovery pains Superman couldn’t deal with in the comics but is working incredibly well here for the show.
Jordan keeps listening to the voice memo Luthor recorded of Lois making her choice between the boys. This is the kind of stuff that’s made Jordan such a (realistically) frustrating character. He went off half-cocked with little tangible training and put himself into a hostage situation. Yet somehow, he’s bummed at Lois for choosing to save the son without super powers?
Lois confronts him and Jordan tells her that he’s not mad that she chose Jon. He’s mad that she was right because he keeps letting her down. That was another great scene and really shows the inner turmoil of Jordan. Alex Garfin does such an amazing job of making Jordan complex and layered a young hero where he can be both incredibly annoying and super likable.
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Jordan hears Sam’s “girlfriend,” Gretchen in Metropolis and Jon and Lois track her down. For tonight’s “action,” Jon has to deal with a fire where he finds Gretchen handcuffed. It’s a trap by Luthor’s goon who has access to fire-spewing gauntlets. Jon can’t quite handle that action yet and Lois encourages Clark to deal with it. This ends up being a pretty cool scene with Superman extinguishing the fire and then slowly walking up to the dude and blowing up his gauntlets. “Not bad for a dead guy.”
Comfortable with his place now, Jordan gives Jon the aviator glasses and costume that Sam gave him effectively passing the Superboy torch in a nice organic manner.
In the B- subplot for the week, which feels increasingly like the farewell to supporting cast members every episode, Chrissy and Kyle are planning their perfectly good wedding. A pipe burst at the courthouse, so Chrissy is ok with postponing the wedding. Lois offers up the farm for the services, which would be a perfectly good wedding spot. It worked (almost) on Smallville. Just pay attention to weather alerts.
Chrissy’s mother (Laara Sadiq) isn’t happy with the wedding, but this isn’t the kind of long-term subplot that could or should play out through the season. Like Chrissy with Lois, Kyle asks Clark to be his best man, but on the eve of the wedding, Chrissy is freaking out.
As a tertiary character on this show, there’s not a ton of investment on her wedding jitters. It still doesn’t feel like the show went down the best route to split up Kyle and Lana. Let alone pair Chrissy and Kyle together.
Clark tells Kyle he hasn’t felt the same since returning and gives him some worthwhile, helpful advice. This is a quality bonding moment and a bit of a surprise that they’ve become genuine friends considering how they started on the series.
Chrissy isn’t ready to get married but assures Kyle that she’s not going anywhere. “Except you did leave out of a perfectly good wedding.” Fair point, Kyle. Maybe the best part of this reception for a non-wedding was that someone remembered Kyle had another daughter, who is now noticeably taller than Sarah, and the football coach rocking the party out.
In the “post-credit” scene, Clark and Lois are enjoying some quality alone time when her phone starts buzzing. The word is out on the socials. Superman is back.
A Perfectly Good Wedding got the job done in terms of writing off (?) two more supporting characters while strongly advancing the Kent family drama. It wasn’t the strongest episode of the season, but with so many major happenings in the previous three, this was a fine cool down installment.
Rating: 8.5 out of 10
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