Sometimes its just nice to see a worse case scenario - even one that doesn't involve a full court WHAM.
I can even see how the Newtrich situation could have played out without Clark getting zapped at all - Superman is no longer hanging around Lois Lane so the Newtrich girls have a harder time tracking him down and he's just not making himself a target. I can also see Zara getting into his confidence so when he has to make his choice about watching over Lois or helping his own people, his choice is far easier for him.
And even though Lois came out of the freezing with deficits, there would still be therapies available to help her learn how to compensate for those issues - therapies she never took advantage of and that Perry and Clark were not in a position to force. Clark may be feeling guilty as hell, but even a saint gets tired of trying to help someone who refuses to take responsibility for their own behavior.
