The penultimate episode of Superman & Lois titled “To Live and Die Again” aired Monday, November 25 on The CW, and as promised, there were some spoilery things we discussed with the episode’s writer/director Jai Jamison — and some great things we didn’t even have time to get you (but maybe our friends at Superman TV Talk covered that ground with Jai, so check them out!)

Part 1 of our interview can be found here; Part 2 can be read below… though be sure you’ve watched the episode before reading!

KRYPTONSITE’S CRAIG BYRNE: How did it come about to bring back Chad Coleman for the penultimate episode?Did you personally feel there was unfinished business with Bruno?

JAI JAMISON: For sure. I wrote and directed [the episode], but it’s still very much a team effort where we broke it in the room. I was coming back into the room after everyone else had broken and written eight episodes up to that point, so I was getting caught up. There were plot lines that were kind of set up that I had to pay off and then tee up for the finale.

One of the things that I knew I wanted, and we were very keen on in the room, was that there would be a Lois Lane investigative plot line. Superman is going to be the fighting the physical battle, and Lois is going to be fighting the battle of public opinion, and like I said, trying to get her mojo back from the last episode. We were looking at different avenues Lois could go down. And it was actually Todd and Brent, because there are certain things you can pitch and certain things you can’t pitch. It’s up to the showrunner to be like, “okay, we can bring this character back.” So, Todd and Brent came in after a few days in the room, and were like, “you know what? What if we brought back Bruno?” and I was like, “yes, please!”

I think there’s a lot of storyline that if we had a few more seasons, I would have gone back to Bruno for, myself. With Chad [Coleman]’s portrayal, I found that character to be so interesting, and layered, and nuanced. I definitely felt like there was unfinished business. So as soon as Todd and Brent pitched the idea, and we made sure we could do it, the rest of the episode just kind of fell into place in terms of how Lois’ investigation leads her back to the beginning, and he then gives her these nuggets of information that eventually drive the wedge between Amanda and Lex. It becomes a key focal point to hoow everything kind of unfolds. That scene was just a joy to film. Bitsie and Chad were an A+ game in that scene. They always bring it.

One of the most powerful scenes in “To Live and Die Again” involved Jordan (Alex Garfin) helping Victoria May who is having a panic attack. Can you talk about how Jordan’s personal experience adds to his own personal superpowers?

That sequence was one that was really special for me. When we were breaking the episode, you know, we spent a lot of time breaking out and beating out the first five acts in terms of things, and then Act Six, it was like, “al; right, well, that’s going to lead into the finale.” We knew it was going to be in Smallville. We knew it was going to be more on the ground, with the boys, with Lois and the townspeople, witnessing the fight in a way that they didn’t in the finale of Season Three. They really just saw the beginning of it, but then it went into space and everything. This was them kind of witnessing it closer to home.

With the boys, their whole arc is learning what they can do. Learning that it’s not focusing on what they can’t do in relation to their father, but what they can do, and so for me, that scene of Jordan is playing into what was for a long time considered weakness, or his, own personal kryptonite, if you will. He’s been through the social anxiety, because he’s had panic attacks, and then in that moment, it’s him stepping into the light as a hero and using that empathy, which is like so much of what this show, to me, is about.

It is hope, understanding, empathy, connection, family. Those are the touchstones; the things that we always talk about, and using that moment to show the type of hero that he was going to become… it was crazy, because it just kind of came to me. We hadn’t beat it out, but just like one morning I was writing the script, and I woke up and the that scene, and then immediately after Jonathan’s save, which was like an homage to Superman catching the car in the in the pilot… it was just like, “oh, here are the boys’ hero moments.”

For me, I discovered while working on this show in Season 3 that I had anxiety. I started having panic attacks. Every time I turned a script in, I would wind up in the hospital. It was this crazy thing. I know it was just this whole thing where the anxiety of working on the script, and doing my dream job, and I’d want it to be so good. I’m working so hard. And then I get to the end, and I turn the turn the script in, and then, my body just shuts down. Finally, my doctor said “you have anxiety.” Todd and Brent so useful and so helpful in terms of being understanding with me, when I had to take days off and go to the doctor, or whatever.

It was that moment [writing the episode] where I was like, “oh, I understand this moment now.” Even directing it, talking to Alex [Garfin] about it, a getting that scene down… I knew both sides of it, and it was just one of those things where I love Superman, and I love people using their powers in different ways.

Part of what I love about Superman is not just that he’s strong and he’s fast and he has all of these abilities, but he also is there to calm people. He’s there to be like “it’s going to be okay. I’m here, I’ve got you,” you know? That, to me, was what that moment was with Jordan and Vicki May. It was kind of the thing where it was the kind of hero that I would have wanted to see. I could imagine myself as Vicki May in that moment, and Jordan became that hero that I would have needed.

Directing Superman versus Lex Luthor… was your inner child excited?

Oh, let me tell you something. This entire episode, there were so many moments that I was literally dancing around set. Having the Superman versus Lex Luthor showdown in the penthouse was a moment. Being able to design Milton’s console system, with the idea that it would look like Brainiac, having the wires and everything that, when I saw what the set dec and art department had done to create that, I was blown away. [Jamison also pointed out that the props department made a “lost city of Kandor” as an Easter egg on Milton’s desk].

There were so many moments in this episode that 15 year old me would have just been losing his mind. I mean, Clark and the boys training together… the inspiration for that was me playing basketball with my dad. There were so many moments that were absolutely that childhood nerd dream come true, definitely starting with the Superman Lex Luthor showdown in the suit. The full Lex… bald, shaven, suited up. It was amazing.

Our thanks to Jai Jamison for taking the time to do this interview. A trailer for next week’s SERIES FINALE can be found here!

Jai Jamison is one of our favorites around here at KryptonSite, and he was the writer and director of tonight’s new episode “To Live and Die Again,” November 25 on The CW. Would you believe it’s the next to last episode EVER?

We’ve posted a preview interview at KSiteTV and of course, photos for the episode can be found here. After the episode has aired look for a post-mortem interview!

A new episode of Superman & Lois titled “A Regular Guy” airs tonight (November 11) on The CW, and the episode itself will surely be remembered as one of the show’s finest hours. Returning for the seventh episode of the final season are Erik Valdez and Sofia Hasmik as Kyle and Chrissy. There are some big decisions for both of their characters to make in this week’s episode, but before we do that, the actors spoke with KryptonSite’s Craig Byrne about the road so far. Still be aware there might be minor spoilers within!

KRYPTONSITE’S CRAIG BYRNE: For both of you, when you started on the show, did you have any idea that your character might end up where they did end up?

ERIK VALDEZ: Hell no! [Laughs] Did you have any inkling that we would end up together. Sofia?

SOFIA HASMIK: No, not in the slightest!

ERIK: his was a new storyline pitch to us for Season 3. It’s been probably one of the most pleasant surprises, because it’s been a lot of fun, and I get to work a lot more with Sofia, which has been amazing.

SOFIA: Same here. It was really such a blessing. I remember going out to lunch with [Executive Producers] Todd Helbing and Brent Fletcher and having my jaw drop to the floor. I was like, “what do you mean? How is this? How does that even happen?” And then it just became like, oh my God, wow!t only do I get to work with Erik, but I’m getting to work with Inde [Navarrette], and I really found it to be such a happy surprise. I think we went on a hike in Vancouver in the mountains shortly after we found out, and we were like, “okay, so what’s going on here? Exactly what happens?”

Did you even expect your characters to make it through the entire series?

SOFIA: Me personally, no. Honestly, from the minute I got word about even joining in as a recurring [character] in season one, every season, it just felt like a bit of a surprise to me. Like “really, you want me back?” I’m so grateful for that… coming back every season and having the story expand in the way that it did, and watching Chrissy grow as all the characters in Smallville grew was really quite fun.

ERIK: I think for me, Kyle started off at such a harsh place and was such a polarizing character early on that it can go a couple different ways from there, and it can go the way it did, thankfully, where there’s a nice redeeming arc, and it’s not just one arc… it’s a bunch of ebbs and flows as we’ve seen on Kyle’s journey. Or, you know, you can get the axe early on, in the second season or third season.

I feel like, after season one, I was like, “okay, I think I’ll probably be around for a little while. And then they started pitching storylines for Season 2, and I’m like, “where’s this going exactly? Where is Kyle going to end up at the end of this season?”

Come to find out, there were talks about about Kyle not not lasting for the entire duration of the show. But I guess I changed some people’s minds internally somewhere along the lines… not just me, but the way Kyle’s character interacted with everybody else, and super thankful for it.

And to comment on Sofia and Chrissy… from the moment they upped her to series regular for Season 2, and with what she’s done with the character, it was like” all right, yeah, she’s not going anywhere.” So I never had any doubts for her for but for me, it was kind of touch and go for a minute there. I wasn’t 100% sure.

SOFIA: Oh, my God! I had no idea about that!

ERIK: I didn’t find out that there was a possibility that I wouldn’t make it until after we wrapped the entire show this season. I was like “oh! That’s nice to know… I’m glad you didn’t tell me that earlier, because I would have been anxious and analyzing it for the entire time.”

I think a big part of it is our writers and our producers. They did such a great job integrating all of these characters and none of these characters that we had on the show – even the guest stars that we had throughout the series…. None of them were dead weight. There were no “filler characters”, so to speak. Everybody kind of had a place in it all. We all helped tell the story of Superman and Lois.

What have they told you that you’re allowed to tease about Monday’s very big episode?

ERIK: Not a lot, man!

If you want to have a quote of sorts, I would say it’s arguably one of the most pivotal episodes in the entire series, but there’s not a whole lot of detail we can really give away, huh, Sofia?

SOFIA: I’m trying to think, and every word that’s coming to mind is like a no-no word. I don’t think we can say much, except for tune in and watch.

Is it hard for Kyle and Chrissy both to hold back while people are blatantly accusing Clark of being Superman, or Jon and Jordan of being Superman’s kids?

ERIK: As we’ve seen, Kyle is heavily flawed, but he is extremely reliable when it comes to his friendships. Him and Clark have had this bond, even though it was a bit of a rocky start, as they allude to in the high school years and everything. They’ve known each other for almost their entire lives, and our characters have gone through these things together… the losses, and the this, and the that…. once Kyle found out about Clark being Superman, I feel like internally, he was extremely giddy about it, knowing somebody of that caliber, but he was loyal. I don’t think there is anything that would have ever shaken his reliability in in terms of keeping the secret., you know, from anybody,

SOFIA: I do think that Kyle and Chrissy having their moment of that acknowledgement n the season prior, of what it feels like to keep that away from someone, to keep Superman’s secret, and then knowing the weight of why that secret has to be kept, is bond forming, and you sort of deepen the family aspect of it and the power of it. It’s bond forming, and you sort of like deepen the family aspects of it and the power of it. It really becomes realized in that.

Where does Chrissy live, and why are they always hanging out at Kyle’s dingy place? No offense, Erik.

ERIK: That’s a valid question, man!

SOFIA: It’s such a valid question, because I always had it in my head…. I was like, “Chrissy is living in the Gazette somewhere. She has a small space. There’s a third secret floor. That’s where Chrissy lives.”

Really, I have no idea. That’s kind of where I put it in my head, because for most of the scenes, they all took place in the Gazette, and during all of the catastrophes, she was always kind of standing, like by herself, or she was standing not far from the Gazette… I was like, “oh, okay, great, she has a cot at the Gazette!”

ERIK: I think that’s kind of that was in my head too, because there’s that set of stairs at the back of the Gazette that is in every shot that we nobody ever went up. So it’s like, that could be Chrissy’s apartment above the Gazette.

SOFIA: I’ve walked down those stairs!

ERIK: See, you were coming out of your out of your apartment above, because that totally makes sense!

And another silly question: Has the actress who plays Sophie (Jocelyn Picard) gotten taller than most of the rest of the cast by now?

KYLE: She shot up. If we had done another season, she’d be taller than me!

I’ve got… I don’t know how many behind the scenes photos throughout the last four years, and one of the things I want to post about, is I have a photo of the the Cushing family on Day One, and she was a total kid. And then we have a photo of the four of us at the very end of the show, and I swear she grew a foot and a half. They had to start putting Inde on apple boxes midway through Season 3, and then this last season. She’s taller than both her mom and her sister on this show!

I know there were production reasons, but was Lana purposely not invited to Kyle and Chrissy’s almost-wedding?

ERIK: No, I don’t think that has anything to do with storyline. I think that was strictly one of those things that happens when they cut budgets, and we have to work around all of those constraints. I don’t think there’s any [drama] at this point. Sofia, you can answer on your behalf, but I don’t think there’s any ill will or anything from Lana towards Kyle or towards Chrissy at this point, and from Kyle, in my opinion.

SOFIA: Not in my opinion, either. I think that Lana and Chrissy sort of came to their understanding, and the relationship that her and Kyle have is is so strong, and there’s so much history there, I can’t imagine it would be anything pointed.

Will we find out the name of Kyle and Chrissy’s baby before all is said and done?

ERIK: Ooh, good question. I’m gonna let that continue to be a mystery.

Are you allowed to say how many episodes you’re in beyond this one?

No. We can’t give a specific number for whatever reason. We’ve been told not to. But you know, you can kind of start doing some math here. You’ve seen us in a couple thus far, with this being [Episode] 7, and there’s only a few left. So, you know, take your best guess, but you’ll see us again. We can leave it at that.

What has been your favorite part of the Superman & Lois experience?

SOFIA: Building a family. You know, it sounds so corny. It sounds it’s the cheesiest thing anyone can say. But I can say it with my full heart: I have a family out of this. It’s kind of like the way that Chrissy’s grown… I feel like she was so to herself, and I feel like, in some ways, I was like that in the beginning, and then out of all of that, these four-plus years, it’s like, “man, everyone has from the cast and the crew seen me at my tippy top and very low lows.” That’s what family is, so I’m really grateful for that.

ERIK: I’ll echo that as well. I mean, if you, if you watch the the dance sequence in Episode Five, with all of us out there, I honestly they just let the cameras roll, and most of that was just us having a blast, because that’s our relationship with each other. We just happen to be in character. But all of that was as real as it gets. We formed a bond like no other. Like Sofia said, that extends beyond just cast. Our crew… I still text a whole bunch of them, just to check in here and there, say hi, or see how they’re doing… and as far as cast goes, I was randomly in L.A. a few weeks ago, and I just sent a text to the group text. I’m like, “hey, I’m going to be in town for a couple days. And if anybody has time to grab coffee or whatever…” And the next thing you know, Todd’s planning an entire get together at his house with catered food and wine. We watched the first two episodes before they aired, and it was all from a random text of saying I’m going to be in town.

I know we’re done filming it, but watching the episodes kind of waste away week after week, it’s like we’ve died a very slow death over and over again with this. It’s sad, but it is also a beautiful thing to have these people in my life, and for the rest of my life.

Might we hope to see you all at conventions together now that filming is complete?

ERIK: I am down for that at any given moment. I love interacting with the fans, personally. I know there’s always, you know, scheduling constraints, and not everybody has the the ability to just leave what they’re doing and go to them. I’m not working at the moment, so I’ve got time, and that’s always been one of my favorite things, just getting to actually interact with the folks that have supported us from Day One. So yeah, I’d love to have those opportunities, personally.

SOFIA: Ditto. I feel like that would be so fun. I’ve never gone to one, and I think we owe so much to our fans and to everyone. That would be a dream come true.

See the return of Kyle and Chrissy on Superman & Lois “A Regular Guy” airing tonight (November 11) at 8PM ET/PT on The CW.