Superman and Lois Season 3 Episodes Ranked
The third season of Superman and Lois has to come to an end, that means it’s time to rank all 15 episodes of the season. Let’s get started!
13. Collision Course (Episode 10): I thought season 3 was on a bit of a streak there with episodes 7-9, so I was thinking episode 10 would continue that…it didn’t. None of the stuff in the episode I thought was interesting or really worked for me. The stuff with Clark wanting to spend time with Jordan and Jonathan, but them deciding to go to a party instead and they get caught drinking. Clark is acting weird and quite frankly out of character in this episode that I thought was distracting and odd. Sarah gets caught driving after she was drinking at the party and then gets in a car crash from it, it just wasn’t interesting to me. Jordan is still bummed out that he and Sarah never continued as a couple and he starts acting weird around her whenever he’s talking with another guy. The best part about this episode was probably where Kyle thought that Jonathan had super powers and confronted them about it. Then learning that Clark is Superman, I thought that moment was handled well. So an episode that on the whole didn’t really work for me, wasn’t bad but could have been better.
12. In Cold Blood (Episode 3): A frustrating mix of great and not so great elements. When I first watched this episode I liked this episode quite a bit, and while I still like it I think there’s a lot more frustrations that come with it. On the positive you get this really cool action scene where Jordan, Jonathan, and Natalie try and find Jonathan’s truck. It’s done with this really cool one take technique that was quite exciting to watch. And the final moments with Lois accepting going to kemo therapy is handled very well in my mind. But really everything else about this episode was rather frustrating. So we have Lois being very stubborn about not going to kemo therapy, she’s lecturing people that are just trying to help her. I sort of get why Lois is being so resistant, but the way it’s presenting it didn’t really work for me. Likewise, the stuff with Jonathan and his girlfriend. And his girlfriend being mad at him because of assumptions he’s making, felt very forced and not necessary. So all in all, a frustrating episode in my mind.
11. Of Sound and Mind (Episode 6): Now this was an episode that I feel like everything that happens is an interesting idea but is paid off in interesting ways. So you get some moments between Clark and Jordan and them training, and there would obviously be some tension between them. When Jordan is sent into action he gets injured which makes Clark much more vulnerable, and realizes he’s been training Jordan in the wrong ways. But I feel like Jordan was acting like how he did in season 1, where he wasn’t listening to anybody around him and was just being annoying. And I didn’t really like Jordan’s attitude or characterization in this episode. Also, the stuff with Sarah’s younger sister feeling forgotten and her running away, came out of nowhere. I don’t think that was the right direction to take. And it took up a lot of time in the episode that could have been used developing other stuff. Like episode 3, this episode isn’t bad. It’s just one of the weaker episodes of a very good season.
10. Head On (Episode 5): A very good addition to the season that gave us a lot of information about the plot lines. I thought the whole dance sequence was quite a bit of fun. Seeing Cushing do his dance moves put a smile on my face, it’s just such a fun scene to play out. And then we get even more emotional moments with Lois and the cancer. The scenes where Clark is talking to the other cancer patients are very emotional and it worked really well for me. The scene between Lois and Bruno I thought played out very well in this episode. And you get this tension in it where you don’t fully know what Bruno is going to do, how are Lois’ actions in this episode going to affect what happens later on in the season. Now I don’t think the romance between Natalie and Matteo is all that interesting, I don’t think it’s some of the stronger stuff about this episode or season. And then the stuff with Sarah and George Dean Jr. felt a bit forced into here. So all in all this is still a very good episode, but not a top tier season 3 episode for me.
9. Complications (Episode 11): A big improvement over episode 10 that’s right there in the middle. I think the top 7 here are all good to great episodes, so I like this episode. It's lower on the list. But it’s just showing how consistent this season as a whole was. And I thought this episode had some great moments, some emotional moments. Especially with the death of Brunos’s wife and the way it was done and how Superman is used there, it’s all very interesting and emotional, it really did evoke these big emotions from you. The stuff with Bruno’s wife being in the DOD and Bruno using his son to inject her with the cure I thought was very interesting and it was handled very well. It shows how despicable Bruno is when he’s using his son as a way to break into a military base. Again, I’m just not really buying into the stuff the Lang family, I don’t really buy into. I feel like after season 1 they haven’t really known what to do with them. It’s just not really working for me. But I feel like that’s more of an issue with the season as a whole and not this specific episode.
8. Injustice (Episode 12): The episode that finally introduces Superman’s big bad, Lex Luthor into the show. And as far as being our introduction, I thought it was a rather good introduction. I thought the actor, Michael Cudlitz did a rather good job here. He’s one of the more intimidating versions of the character that we’ve gotten, where very early on we see him as this mastermind that is working his web through the prison. And the scenes with him are very very intense, proving that he’s a very vicious and darker version of Lex Luthor. And then the scene where Lex shows up at The Kent Farm, one of the best scenes of the season where it’s so well acted and so tense. I loved those scenes and thought it was a great way to establish what Lex’s feelings towards Lois are. The tornado scene in here was pretty cool, once again it looks really cool with the visuals and what’s done in there. Still not crazy about Jordan’s actions afterwards and how he treats Clark afterwards.
7. Closer (Episode 1): After a season that left me rather frustrated, I thought that season 3 started rather well. What this episode did well was do a great job of both setting up season 3 and following the character after the events of season 2. Where the episode does set-up a lot of the plot lines is that season 3 took things and it did it rather well. We know very early on who our villain of the season is going to be and sets up the danger and conflict for our heroes. And then the fact that the episode is more focused on the family and group dynamic rather than the story and the villain, kind of worked for me. Now I will say this, when this episode first aired I had some more frustrations with it. But knowing where we know season 3 takes things, I think this episode is made better by the end of the season.
6. Forever and Always (Episode 7): Yet again another really solid episode to the season and one that I thought worked and had some interesting moments inside of it. First up, you get a lot of great moments with Clark and Lois at the hospital, whether it’s Clark interviewing Bruno. Or Lois trying to get questions from her new friends, that she later finds out is Bruno’s wife. That stuff I thought was very interesting and worked really well. I loved how this episode set up the next episode, episode 8 well. It made me really want to see the next episode. Another big plot line here is Natalie brings her boyfriend Matteo over for lunch to meet her dad. And that wasn’t really some of my favorite stuff of the season. It’s not bad, but it’s the stuff I would focus on a little bit less in the season as a whole. Now with that there are some fun moments with John Henry still sinking into being the father of a girl that is dating. So once again, a very solid episode that I thought worked very well.
5. What Kills You Only Makes You Stronger (Episode 13): Now this is an episode that I know some people are loving, they’re calling it the best episode of the show so far. And I think it’s really good but I don’t think it is quite as good as people are making it out to be. To get my issues out of the way first, I don’t think the episode feels like a season finale. Episode 11 was much more of the season finale then episode 13. Because the Lex Luthor plot line feels like the epilogue to season 3 but the prologue to season 4. So it doesn’t come to the most satisfying conclusion as I feel like it probably should. The other thing, while the Doomsday fight is very cool the CGI doesn’t look great and that makes me nervous for season 4. But the ideas presented here with Doomsday and getting more Lex Luthor, I’m all on board for. I think there’s some great moments in here with The Kent Family setting up season 4 really nicely. And the things set-up here make me very excited for season 4. So that’s why I feel like I can’t have this episode higher up on the list because it very much ends in the middle of the story.
4. Too Close to Home (Episode 4): After a weaker episode with episode 3, I thought this episode was a nice return to form with the good parts about this season. And you get a lot of very interesting moments here that I appreciated a lot. First up, the moments between John and this earth’s version of his sister are great. I love those moments with the big emotions that it evokes from you. And it’s a lot of earned emotions with the sister who lost her brother and then is seeing her brother but a different version of her brother. That would obviously evoke a lot of big emotions from the characters. The moments where Clark and Lois confront Jonathan’s girlfriend’s dad and you see them be protective parents was great. When you put those elements together I think the episode works really well. Now the stuff with the Lang family isn’t something that interests me all that much, it’s not bad I just feel like it could have been done better though.
3. The Dress (Episode 9): An episode that I thought did a great job of ratcheting up the tension and danger of the episode. Where you have John getting revenge on Bruno for attacking him and Natalie, and this leads John down a dark path. Which makes him an antagonist towards Superman and that dynamic in this episode I thought was great, I really liked what they did with John in this episode. And John’s actions lead him to go down a dark path in the finale of the episode where he kills somebody, all of the stuff that happened earlier in the episode led to this moment where John kills somebody. That stuff really worked for me and I thought it was great. The stuff with Clark and Lois about the dress that we learn about through flashbacks I thought was fairly emotional and heartfelt, I thought that worked really well in the episode. A lot more steamy conversions between the two then I was expecting in this episode, but I guess it makes enough sense. So in general another top tier episode of the season, and one that I think is really good.
2. Unacceptable Losses (Episode 2): One of the most emotional and gut wrenching episodes of the show and of the entire Arrowverse. When we learn what’s really been going on with Lois and the way it’s revealed, the music that plays it makes it very emotional. And then the final season here is done so well, it’s so emotional. With just music playing and not talking, it communicates everything it needs to without saying anything. It also makes Bruno this villain that is memorable, and this the start of his villainous plans in a way. I thought the scene between him and Superman was handled very well. Maybe the high school party in Metropolis is hit or miss for me, I think it’s important for the season. But the high school drama hasn’t always been my favorite part of this show. But in general, I really dug this episode and it’s very emotional in a good way.
1. Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (Episode 8): For me, this was an episode that I thought worked on a whole bunch of different levels. And what I thought this episode did the best was deliver on the cliffhanger from episode 7. Episode 7 ended with Matteo planning on inviting Natalie over for dinner. And since previous episodes set up this rivalry between John Henry and Bruno, you want that moment to happen when they realize who each other are. And it pays off so well when it does happen in this episode. I thought the tension and drama between Jordan and Jonathan worked really well here, it made a lot of sense. And I think both of them were in the right and wrong with their points, I thought it was handled very well. And then the fact we learn a lot more about Lex Luthor and Bruno Mannheim’s actual plans, it creates more mystery and intrigue as to what is really going on. And it puts a nice spin on the typical role that Lex Luthor normally plays in Superman movies and tv shows. So all in all, I thought this episode worked on all of the different fronts that it was going for.
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