SPOILER WARNING: The March 21 episode of Superman & Lois “Uncontrollable Forces” is being discussed in this post, including a big element that will affect the course of Season 3. Do not read any more if you haven’t watched yet!
One of the most tragic elements of the Superman story is that sometimes there are threats that even a man with all of his powers cannot stop. This is best embodied in Superman: The Movie in 1978, when Glenn Ford’s Jonathan Kent died of a heart attack. Similar things also happened with Jonathan in the Smallville episode “Reckoning” and in the very first episode of Superman & Lois with both of Clark’s parents passing away. (We’re not going to discuss the movie where Clark just stands there when a tornado blows his dad away).
This time, though, it’s not Jonathan or Martha who faces a health peril… it’s one of the most beloved characters in Clark Kent’s life, and one of the most beloved characters in all of fictional history: Lois Lane. And now, Lois Lane has cancer… and this storyline will be explored in Season 3 which airs Tuesday nights on The CW.
A storyline as heavy as this might not go over well with viewers – especially those of us who may have lost family members to cancer in our non-TV-watching lives. The show is called Superman & Lois so it is to be assumed that eventually, Lois will beat this. And TV series do cancer or health storylines often. But again, this is Lois Lane, a beloved character to many. In any event, when given the opportunity, KryptonSite’s Craig Byrne — who, full disclosure, lost his father to cancer 26 years ago — asked Superman & Lois Showrunners Todd Helbing and Brent Fletcher as well as series stars Tyler Hoechlin and Elizabeth Tulloch if it came up in the writers’ room that this story might possibly be too dark.
“Absolutely,” Todd Helbing confirmed — which Brent Fletcher said was a “challenge” for the team.
“Everybody really liked it, because thematically it’s really interesting,” Fletcher said. “She’s dealing with something that Superman, the most powerful man in the world, can’t stop. This puts the family in a situation that’s never been in before.
“We’re a show that is family forward, and we want you to laugh and enjoy yourself and be entertained. We don’t want it to be swallowed up by sadness and darkness all the time, so it was our job to balance those tones,” Brent continued. “We’re playing it real. We’re not just dropping it. It’s the season arc. But we felt like we could do it, and balance the tone, and still tell a story that was original, and poignant, and important.”
“When you have a character like Superman, who is the most hopeful person on the planet, it helps balance the darkness quite a bit,” Todd added. His ‘True North’ is hope.”
And speaking of hope… wasn’t it established that Bruno Mannheim was able to keep Atom Man’s cancer at bay? Could he be able to help Lois?
“That conversation will come up. Whether or not it’s possible, you’ll find out when you see those episodes, but that is part of the conversation in future episodes,” Fletcher promised.
As for series leads Elizabeth Tulloch and Tyler Hoechlin, they knew that going here with this storyline would “certainly” be very heavy.
“What’s compelling about that storyline is that this is a villain that a lot of people can relate to,” Tulloch says. “A lot of people know people who have had cancer, and what was most interesting to me is that this isn’t a villain that Superman can easily just destroy. He’s powerless against it. More than anything, what I think is great about our show is that it blends the superhero aspect with the family drama so well and it’s just going to be so grounding. Yes, it’s heavy. The fans will decide whether it’s a little too heavy. My personal opinion is that the writers have done a great job with this storyline this season.”
“From the beginning, we’ve always wanted to make it so that we can give give Clark and Superman something that he can’t necessarily just overcome easily through strength or will or anything like that. So, I think that we found that this year is the most grounded version of that, and we want to find ways to make it so he can’t be perfect all the time,” Tyler added. “You’re really gonna see him in a position he’s not used to being in, and having to find new ways to navigate it. I think it lends itself to some really intimate moments and vulnerable moments with Lois and the family. There are going to be ups and downs with it, vut at the end of the day, for me, at least the way I always still see him… is that no matter what, he’s still the symbol of hope. Regardless of what these moments might be for him, there’s still hope that everything’s going to be okay, and it’s gonna work out.”
Ultimately, this storyline will also bring Lois and Clark even closer in Superman & Lois Season 3. “It’s just such an intense experience for the two of them as a couple to go through. They’ve always written the relationship as being really steadfast, and and even more so this season,” Tulloch says.
Superman & Lois Season 3 airs new episodes Tuesdays on The CW.