Tuesday’s second season finale of Superman & Lois finally gave viewers an answer they’ve been waiting for — even if it wasn’t the answer they were expecting.
We’re talking about how exactly this show is connected to the larger Arrowverse, something that was addressed (albeit briefly) this week by General Lane. Mild finale spoilers ahead!
“I’ve been working for the DOD for a long time,” Sam told his grandsons. “I’ve seen things you would not believe — glimpses of other worlds, and the leagues of superheroes they have on them. And even though we only have your father on this planet, thank God that we do, because he’s the finest of any Earth.”
Speaking with TVLine, showrunner Todd Helbing acknowledges, “From Day 1, there were questions of how we were connected to the Arrowverse. If you go back to the first script that got sent to Warner Brothers and DC, it had a lot of references to other heroes like The Flash. There were moments when we were shooting, and I think I’ve said this before, but there was a photo of Kara on Lois’ desk at the Daily Planet. All of that stuff got slowly pulled out, and the more we did that, the more it became a can of worms to even mention it.”
So, why didn’t we get this big speech sooner?
“DC and I had a conversation during Season 1, and the decision [to keep Superman & Lois separate] was made then, but I couldn’t make it public until the end of this season,” Helbing explains. “So when I got all these questions [in previous interviews], I knew what we were doing, but I could never talk about it. It got a little frustrating on my end, but I totally understand DC’s position. So this put that to rest. I’ve said from the beginning that we want to put our own stamp on the Superman property. This wasn’t meant to alienate us from the Arrowverse, but because a lot of the other shows are sadly no longer going to be on the air, it felt like the right thing to do.”
While this Superman is aware of the multiverse, as established in Episode 7 of Season 1, “we have to think about this as a separate Superman, a doppelganger of the one who was in the Arrowverse,” Helbing says. “I understand why everyone has been wanting the references, but it would have felt wrong.”
(In other words, don’t hold your breath for any big crossovers in the near future. Or ever.)
As for the John Diggle we saw at the end of the Season 2 finale, he’s also — you guessed it — not the same Diggle that spent eight seasons kicking butt on Arrow.
“This is also a new Diggle,” Helbing confirms. “David Ramsey had grown a beard and grew his hair out. He called me and said, ‘I’ve been growing my hair, I look different. Do you want me to shave and get a haircut?’ So not to add more confusion to it, but he’s a different Diggle.” (Click here for more intel on the finale.)
Was this the explanation you were expecting? Grade the finale and season of Superman & Lois below, then drop a comment with your thoughts.