‘Superman & Lois’: Bitsie Tulloch on Being Directed by Husband David Giuntoli & Why Fans ‘Will Be Very Happy’

Superman & Lois may be down an actual Superman (Tyler Hoechlin) now that Doomsday has literally crushed his heart, but that doesn’t mean The CW series is lacking in heroic acts. In fact, if anything, the death of Superman is allowing a few of his loved ones to tap into their main character energies.

“Primarily she understands that Superman is gone, but from Lois’s point of view, she just doesn’t have time really to grieve because Lex Luthor [Michael Cudlitz] is still around and Doomsday is still around,” previews Bitsie Tulloch. “And so it’s really about saving her father. And yes, that’s her main aim going into the third episode.”

Having already sent his alien abomination after Supe, Luthor is now hellbent on targeting her dad, General Lane (Dylan Walsh), before he can uncover a possible answer to resurrecting Kal-El before Doomsday strikes again. However, he’s not the only one with a plan to save the day: Lois’ son Jon (Michael Bishop) may be ready to leave the bench after watching his superpowered twin Jordan (Alex Garfin) get to flex his Kryptonian chops all these years. Does that mean Jon’s more like his pops than previously thought?

Shane Harvey/The CW

“I don’t know if I’m allowed to answer that question,” dodges a wily Tulloch. “How’s that for a non-answer? What I’ll say is I think that the fans will be very happy with the way that [showrunners] Todd [Helbing] and Brent [Fletcher] were able to really wrap up the series considering we were dealing with budget cuts and cast cuts and way fewer episodes than we were used to. I think there’s a little bit for everyone this season and I know that [Jon’s arc] is something that people have really been wanting.”

Powers or not, it’s been a tough road for the Kents’ most Earthling offspring, always sitting in his twin’s shadow and searching for his dad’s approval. And the October 14 hour features a sibling showdown riddled with pain, resentment, and a brutal reveal that will break your heart. But Tulloch promises that, once the dust settles, Jon “definitely does” get to have fun as the series winds down.

Like a proud mom, she remains blown away by Aussie transplant Bishop for rising to the challenge of replacing original Jon, Jordan Elsass, in Season 3. “Michael is such a sweet guy and again, I applaud him. I just think how rough that must’ve been at the very, very beginning, just showing up on set [to replace Jordan Elsass] and all of that, and he took it like a champ. He’s a great actor and a pleasure to shoot with.”

Colin Bentley/The CW

Speaking of workplace pleasures, Tulloch has high praise for the director of tonight’s episode, “Always My Hero,” and not just because it was her husband and former Grimm costar, David Giuntoli: “He did an amazing job. And I do find that often actors really like working with actor-turned-directors.”

Explaining that “there’s a sort of language and understanding of what actors go through—especially when they do have really heavy emotional scenes,” Tulloch reveals that it was the Million Little Things alum’s experience performing deeply dramatic material that informed how he shot a pivotal sequence. “There is one scene towards the very, very end of the episode that I think maybe another director would’ve used some of the actors on a green screen and then had the other actors on the stage,” she recalls. “But David felt it was very important for everybody to be in the same room together for our performances, and he was totally right about that. It really made a huge difference.”

Shane Harvey/The CW

“The stakes are really high in Episode 3, and David understood that,” she continues. “He also understood that he had been assigned an episode to direct that was heavier emotionally than a lot of other ones and you approach those differently as a director. You have to. And like I said, him fighting for that scene where it could have been shot totally different was really crucial and he got some really phenomenal performances from the cast.”

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She’s not kidding. The entire episode is a gut-punch display of gorgeous work by the entire ensemble, with Tulloch delivering “probably the most emotional work I’ve had on the series…and that’s saying a lot because I have had a lot of emotional stuff pretty frequently,” she adds with a laugh. “It was a tough episode to shoot, and when people see it, they’ll understand why.”

Superman & Lois, Mondays, 8/7c, The CW