SPOILER WARNING: This article contains major spoilers for "Last Sons of Krypton," the Superman & Lois Season 1 finale.


Everything the Kent family thought they knew is about to change -- again. As the Superman & Lois Season 1 finale drew to a close, John Henry Irons bid goodbye to his new friends and turned to ride off into the sunset, only for a special visitor from his universe to arrive: his daughter Natalie. While John was clearly thrilled to reunite with Nat, she was in for a big shock when she caught sight of Lois, her mother from another world. Now, Nat will have to acclimate to a new world where not only does her mother have a different husband, but one where she has two half-siblings as well.

Speaking to CBR, Superman & Lois showrunner Todd Helbing broke down the Season 1 finale and teased what's to come in Season 2. He revealed Nat's arrival has always been part of the plan and promised that the Kent family's life is about to "change all over again" because of it. He also explained how the show walks the fine line between staying faithful to the source material and straying too far from it, suggested Adam Raynor's Tal-Rho could return down the line, dropped some hints about Season 2's villains and more.

RELATED: Superman & Lois: Tom Cavanagh Wants The Season 1 Finale To Break Your Heart

CBR: We need to start at the very end. At what point did you realize you'd be bringing John Henry Irons' daughter Nat into the fold?

Todd Helbing: Well, that came pretty quickly after the we figured out that the Stranger was John Henry Irons. Then, you know, at the beginning of the season, or when you have these big ideas for these big reveals and "Aha!" moments, we sort of just very broadly were like, "Okay, well, what's the quick trajectory of the season? You do this, this this; he's gonna team up with Superman."

We always knew it was gonna be a redemption story. We knew he was a hero from day one. So it was like, "Okay, and then what happens on his Earth, and what's the logical conclusion?" So we knew that Nat was going to come at some point in the finale; we just didn't know the specifics of how or when, or would it be early in the episode? Late in the episode? The last scene in the episode?

What excites you the most about bringing Nat into the Kent-Lane-Irons family dynamic?

I mean, there's a lot that excites all of us, all the writers. It instantly changes the family dynamic. So, you go from the pilot, where it's like, "Okay, the boys find out that their dad is Superman," and then they have their lives upended, and they move to Smallville. Then, you know, they finally get settled. It's like, "Okay, we got a handle on this life! Dad is Superman, and Jordan's got powers and mom's running this paper over there and I'm starting to fit in at school and now I have this girlfriend. Things are cool." And now it's like, "Okay, bam! Now our life is gonna change all over again." So that's really what excites us.

RELATED: Superman & Lois: Steel's Big Hammer Time Moment Proves He's More Badass Than Thor

The Season 1 cliffhanger was shocking, but also sort of gentle, in the sense that the stakes were built entirely for the family dynamic and not, necessarily, the world at large. That being said, have you settled on an overarching villain for Season 2? What kind of hint can you offer about our next antagonist?

Well, first, I would say I understand the "gentle" response, but to us, the family aspect of the show is the most important. So to us, ending on a family cliffhanger is more important and, I think, more impactful, ultimately. As you see, it's starting to play out.

Villain-wise, yeah, we're gonna do an array. [laughs] So we have some more Killgrave type, like that kind of villain or villains that are going to show up. But we also have -- I don't want to spoil anything. In a way that the show is Superman & Lois, so we want a foe for Superman, and we always want to foe for Lois. So I think every season, you'll get some version of that template, but it's not going to be a Kryptonian again.

One of the scenes that stuck out to me was that lovely little funeral for Jor-El, bookending the way the season started out. Why was it important for you to give him this kind of sendoff?

When Greg [Berlanti] and I originally talked about the show, the question instantly is, "Okay, if we're gonna do Superman, how do we do Superman differently?" And so there's a lot of things -- if you go back and look at the first season, there's a lot of things that we did that buck against what has been portrayed before. So Jor-El has always been such a massive presence in Superman's life, and with the history of Krypton, and who he is and his family, but we wanted to show that version, and then bring it to an end and then show another version of it. So that just goes along with everything we want to do on this show.

RELATED: Superman & Lois: Metropolis Just Got Its Own Secret Invasion

Superman & Lois really has made some big changes to the Superman mythology. How do you find that very fine line between staying faithful to the source material and straying too far from it?

As long as people aren't upset, then that's okay. I think as long as Clark Kent remains Clark Kent: the good guy, humble, he's the most powerful being on the planet. But at the end of the day, as long as we don't change fundamentally who he is, then I think we're going to be okay. The same with Lois Lane. You know, she's fearless, independent, a badass reporter. We can change things about her backstory, and we can change things about Superman's story, and who they are as parents and watch them mess up, but as long as we keep the core characters the same, I think we're going to be okay.

The destruction of the Fortress was also a pretty major shakeup for the Superman mythos. So far as its role in the show, it feels like Clark was always able to lean on it in times of trouble. How will its absence affect him as we move into Season 2?

I think he's gonna be struggling. It's funny; it's like the Fortress of Solitude is a Kryptonian version of man cave, right? [laughs] Sometimes as a dad, you just go somewhere to think, and now he doesn't have [that]. In a lot of ways, it was the person who could objectively give him information.

I don't think Jor-El was going to win any sympathy, emotional Dad of the Year awards, but he told Clark what he needed to know, when it came to a subject that he needed him to give him that information about. So I think that he's gonna be struggling for a little bit.

RELATED: Superman & Lois Just Resurrected Its Nastiest Villain - at a Massive Cost

Lois has always been a reporter, and now we're seeing her shift into this role as co-owner of a publication. How might that impact her relationship with journalism, which we saw her struggle with a little this season?

I think she's gonna have her own challenges in that regard. You work for bosses, you work for owners -- everybody answers to somebody, and it's not until you're in those positions that you truly understand why decisions were made. So we just wanted to, again, to mix up what had always been presented as making Lois a co-owner and having those headaches and those responsibilities. You know, maybe she and Chrissy didn't necessarily have the conversation they needed to before they just teamed up together. [laughs] So that stuff can get pretty messy in a really good way, I think. It's pretty fun.

Speaking of Chrissy, Sofia Hasmik got bumped up to a series regular for Season 2, which means you must have plans for her character. What can you tell us about Chrissy's extended role?

Look, in Season 1, she was this wide-eyed, "Oh my god, I'm working for my idol!" -- or "with my idol," even though she was her boss, and she found herself in this weird circumstance. But you saw her grow and become a lot more confident, and she calls Lois out when she's lying about [the Department of Defense]. I think she came into her own in a lot of ways, and now we just want to take that one step further.

How does she manage this relationship with this icon, and also get her career? I think that Superman interview was a big step for her and her career and then it's like, "Okay, how does this now play out? How does she fully become this full, realized journalist in a small town?"

RELATED: How Superman & Lois' Tyler Hoechlin Maintained His Super Physique With No Gym During Lockdown

Much of this season was dedicated to Jordan and his sense of identity. Might we see a similar trajectory for Jonathan next season?

Well, I think Jonathan's gonna start with some insecurities still. You're right. He's very capable. You know, Lois talks about that in the finale, and we've seen that on screen, but I think we want to dive into see what's really important to Jonathan. He spent the year basically kicked every time he was down! So we just want to maybe get a little messier with him for a little bit.

Teenage romances can be tricky. How does Jordan and Sara's "I love you" scene in Season 1's finale set the stage for what we might see between them next season?

Well, Jordan is one of those kids that this is the first person he's ever fallen in love with. I think, like a lot of people, you fall in love in high school, and you're like, "Oh my God, this is the person I'm going to be with the rest of my life!" and then life happens, and that's not what ends up happening. [laughs]

So I think we're gonna see this guy who's head over heels for Sarah. Sarah's parents were high school sweethearts who are married and still together, and I think she's going to be looking at them and looking at herself and then sort of analyzing what she wants to do. So we're explore that for a little bit.

RELATED: Superman & Lois' Tyler Hoechlin Envisioned Himself Playing Batman

Superman and Lois

Jordan has also got a pretty big secret. Is that going to factor in?

Yeah, totally. I mean, it's what Clark was dealing with with Lana! It's funny, because Clark is such a Boy Scout and the best version of a kid that you can probably imagine until he started making saves, but even then, it's like, "You're saving people's lives!" So it's like his point of view, versus what Jordan -- kid of 2021/2022 -- wants to do. That stuff's all really interesting now, so we really want to get into it.

I was relieved to see the Langs get their happy ending as well. Now that they've survived this intense situation together, how has that impacted their family dynamic?

They're really close now. It's hard not to go through a tragedy like that and not be closer. But I think what's interesting is, in Season 2, we're going to throw a lot of things at their relationship, and we'll see if that bonding is going to last.

RELATED: Superman & Lois' Tyler Hoechlin Wants to Play the Man of Steel for Years to Come

General Lane also makes a major decision to retire, which is another big shakeup from what we know of the character in the comics. What does retirement look like for someone like him, whose whole life was his job?

Yeah, I think it's a lot of B-line shirts and sandals. He's throwing back some Coronas and loving life. [laughs] No, look, I have a lot of family members in government jobs, and I think that sometimes those are jobs that you try to get away from, and they're either a part of you and you can't, or just the job itself beckons you. I just think it's interesting. There's a lot of secrets that General Lane knows, and we'll see how he reacts to what Lois and Clark go through.

I was also surprised to see Tal-Rho survive his brush with the Eradicator. What are the odds we could see Adam Raynor return in that role moving forward?

Look, we love both Adam and Stacey [Farber]. So we really love the idea of of them not completely vaneshing from the show. You know, we talk about Clark or Kal and Tal having the sort of Loki/Thor relationship, so I wouldn't be surprised if we see Adam or Stacy again.

RELATED: Tyler Hoechlin Was the Only Actor Who Auditioned to Play the Arrowverse's Superman

What do you hope viewers take away from Season 1 overall?

Honestly, I just hope that we entertain them and made them fall in love with Superman and Lois again. I mean, I am really proud of the show. I think the writers, the cast, the crew, all our visual effects post department -- it's hard making television in a pandemic. We have this thing that we would say all the time on these Zoom meetings, like, "Hey, it's Superman!" It's just meant everybody brings their A-game and goes the extra mile, and everybody did across the board. I'm really grateful and honored to be a part of this team.


Superman & Lois: The Complete First Season arrives on Blu-ray and DVD on Oct. 19.

KEEP READING: Superman & Lois: The Complete First Season Announces Blu-ray Release Date