When we were in Smallville, it felt plausible that Lois could easily become a member of that charming community. Because Clark simply couldn’t leave. Now it feels like she is an absolutely essential part of the Daily Planet. And Clark’s destiny is waiting for him there with Lois. ..... I will enjoy the journey; knowing this story has more than one possible happily ever after outcome.
You hit on a theme that we've discussed EXTENSIVELY in our brainstorming. Because it's a given, right, that Clark Kent belongs at the Daily Planet; the show has told us so! But this isn't the Clark from the show, who left home at 18 and never returned for more than a few weeks at a time in between college and traveling adventures. On the show, Smallville was his childhood home, but never his adult home; he was always on the move, always unsettled and searching, until he found Lois and Metropolis. Yet this Clark has built an entire independent adult life in Smallville outside of his childhood, a life he's happy with. He's a grown man with a job he enjoys, a house he's personally renovated, good friends to socialize with, and a very close extended family with the Lang/Rosses. Yet now he's not only fallen in love with someone from Metropolis, but he's also gotten a glimpse of his dream job, the fantasy he thought was out of reach.
And Lois definitely sees how settled Clark is in Smallville, and how lovely the people are there and how well they've treated her. Could she make a life there? She'd be giving up her job, yes, but she'd be gaining an entire extended family full of love and acceptance, something she's never gotten from her own family, something she's always craved. How does one weigh the trade offs when both outcomes have such strong advantages? Knowing that both paths could lead to happily ever after makes their decision both easier and more difficult.
(Which is all a long-winded way of saying, yes, it's a deliberate story point, and Lois and Clark will eventually have some big decisions to make.
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