CC,
I really shouldn't even be here - I've been AWOL for a few weeks, and I've only today come back to the boards and all things L&C. To compound matters, I'm GE for a fanfic which I honestly thought I'd be able to get to this weekend, and which is still waiting my attention.
But, before I do anything else, I wanted to post here. Actually, you already know my views on this, but I'll post them here, for the heck of it.
I know this is a matter of personal preference, so this is not meant to contradict what anyone else has said, but I honestly think I prefer this 'understated' storytelling technique.
I like that I get to figure things out for myself. I see Lois tell Clark they are in the future. I see Lois enter the HEA room. I see Lois tell Clark they can't possibly be in the future. I laugh, because I know exactly why Lois has done an about-face, without being told. (Well, I see Clark's reaction to Lois' about-face, and I'm not laughing any more - but that's a different story.)
Yes, I know Lois told Clark they were married, indicating she had accepted that, as Clark says, "this is real". But if you read between the lines, you can see by her 'anniversary gifts' joke and her comment about needing to sit down, that she hasn't completely digested (or accepted) this yet. So, her final conclusion does not come as a complete surprise to me.
Or the statement that Lois, upon seeing Clark's shoulders sag, realizes she has won the argument, but that her victory is an empty one. My goodness, that sentence alone speaks volumes. (Yes, I know that was from Part 6, not Part 7, but it makes my point, and, as I didn't post Fdk to Part 6, I'll mention it here. <g>)
As for not recognizing Clark, I had to laugh, because I am so entirely opposite to Sheila. I cannot count how many times I have told someone "nice to meet you", only to have my husband inform me that this is someone we have known for years. ("Vicki, that my sister's next door neighbor. She's come to every Christmas party my sister's held for the past 10 years!")
(Oh, that reminds me of a funny story. One day my husband was showing his pictures of Viet Nam. He was commenting, "The guy on the left was from my home town", etc. One picture came up, and he said, "Oh, this guy was one of my best friends. We hung out together all the time." I looked at the picture for a moment and said, "That's *you*!" ROTFL! It was a picture of my husband, and he didn't recognize himself.)
Why would people not recognize Clark? I can think of quite a few factors which, added together, make this quite believable.
First, there is canon. Clark has made a habit of not being noticed. Lois could look at Superman, and 2 minutes later, look at Clark, and not recognize him as the same person.
Second, as Shadow has mentioned, Clark's demeanor in season 1 (and in this story) is markedly different from that later in the series. This "season one demeanor" is certainly not what the Utopians think of when they think of Superman/Clark Kent. Lois Lane, on the other hand, has "presence". Lois gets noticed. Clark blends in.
Last, there are the hints dropped within the story itself. These people are, as Lois said, "Superman crazy". They idolize him to the point of idolatry. Silas concludes that this 'look-alike' is shorter than the original, that his resemblance is more "subtle". LOL. Utopia's Superman is bigger than life. Can anyone, including our very own Clark Kent, live up to the image they have of Superman?
- Vicki (who is very happy that it is Wednesday evening already, and Thursday is just around the corner...)
PS:
They idolize him to the point of idolatry.
LOL. Oh, yes, I *meant* to be redundant. For emphasis, don't you know.
