Lois & Clark Forums Forums Fan Fiction Fanfic Related How clueless is Clark about Mayson really?

It seems to be a common theme in fanfic that Clark is shocked, shocked I tell you, to find out that Lois assumes that he and Mayson are dating. After all, in Clark's mind they were just friends and it was all a big misunderstanding.

However, on watching Lucky Leon this week I couldn't help noticing the scene where Mayson confronts Clark over lunch about their relationship or lack thereof. She even gives him the easy out a la, "If it's Lois, just tell me; I can take it." But instead of giving the obvious answer of "Yes, I'm sorry, I'm in love with Lois and you shouldn't hold out any hope for a future with me," he gives the complete non-answer of "I care for you, and I care for Lois." This struck me as a huge cop-out. Now, I'm not saying that Clark really feels for Mayson the same love that he feels for Lois, but I am accusing him of leading Mayson on and keeping her hanging in a very cowardly way.

Anyone want to defend him?

I don't think Clark is shocked by Mayson's interest in him. He'd have to have been pretty dumb not to have figured out that Mayson really liked him when she kissed him in Church of Metropolis.

I do think, however, that Clark is torn. He's in love with Lois, but she persists in treating him only as a friend. I think he likes Mayson, but he really likes the attention that she gives him. Everyone wanted to feel loved and appreciated, even Clark.

As for telling Mayson that he cares for both her and Lois , I think this is the result of the fact that he hates conflict and hates hurting people. He does like Mayson, just not in the way that she wants him to. It is a cop-out, but I don't think he's leading her on intentionally.

I think QoC has mounted the best defense of Clark in this situation he could hope for.

imo, Clark was a bit of a cad with respect to Mayson. in fact, I wondered if his grief at Mayson's graveside wasn't deepened by his awareness that he had been less than honest with her.

c.

But Clark is so cute in his cadness.

I maintain that had Martha been around to see any of this she would have given Clark a good smack upside the head--he certainly needed one.

Hmmm...that's an idea for a vignette. What if Martha had been around to bring Clark to his senses and help him see that he needed to step up and be honest with both the young women in his life? Or, if not Martha, what if Perry had decided to take a more active father-figure role and dish out some unsolicited advice?

I think both Perry and Martha see the big picture the way we do -- that Clark, after spending all this time pining for Lois, is understandably flattered and intrigued by an attractive (not to mention: friendly, educated, principled, etc.) woman who isn't afraid to express her interest in him. Let's face it; his ego has gotten pretty battered over the last year and a half, especially at the end of S1, where Lois made it clear he not only couldn't compete with Superman, but that he couldn't compete with Lex, either. He is doing *nothing* wrong by going out with Mayson a couple times to see if there could be a connection there.

However, I also think that Perry and Martha, had they witnessed the wussy cop-out of a conversation at lunch ("I care for you ... and I *care* for Lois), would be pulling him off to the side and saying, "What the heck was *that*??"

Because at that point, he's already figured out that there isn't that connection with Mayson that he has with Lois, and to continue anything beyond that point is just leading her on. I sympathize with his possible reasons -- he's lonely, he's trying to stop being Lois's doormat, he genuinely likes Mayson as a friend, he's hoping that Lois might get jealous enough to see him differently -- but he should have figured out by this time that he's starting to be a cad.

Another possibility, though, is that Clark just truly doesn't know how to tell Mayson no. Yes, he's captured the attention of a lot of women over the years, but maybe he's always been able to deal with them by making himself scarce or simply not responding to their invitations. Mayson, though, isn't reading the signs -- not only does she forgive him for standing her up without explanation, but she kisses him after telling him she won't ask him out again. If she were forceful like Cat, he could just tell her no ... but she's being so *nice* about it that he feels guilty for not responding more.

So I definitely like the idea of a vignette where someone knocks some sense into Clark after this lunch ... but maybe after doing so, they could "coach" him on how to break up with her.

(And LOL, wouldn't it be funny, if *Lois* was the one doing the coaching? )

Kathy

I feel like I have to jump in to this one because – well, many (many!) years ago I was once too close to the Clark position. Here is my take…

Clark acted badly, but his motivation was pure.

He’s confused by the complication Mayson brings.

He likes her, he really does, but not “like that.” He knows there is no future.

Unfortunately, he knows that if he tells her that there is no future, it will hurt her greatly. He is trying to avoid causing her pain.

He’s in a pickle. If he tells the truth, it will hurt Mayson.

So what does he do? He avoids. That’s where that horrible answer comes from. He desperately is trying to salvage the situation and also trying to cause Mayson the least pain possible. He’s hoping that by avoiding the question in this way, it will allow Mayson to realize that he’s just not going to be interested in her.

As is often the case, his indecision just makes matters worse.

So, my take on this is that he did what he did for the best possible reason. It was almost exactly the worst thing to do, but he was trying the best he could to cause her the least pain possible.

He’s desperately trying to do no harm.

He’s failing miserably.

Anyway, that’s my take on things.

Bob

Does anyone remember which episode it was where Clark discussed Mayson with his parents. As I recall, they seemed to encourage his relationship with her, but my memory could be faulty.

As to why Clark doesn't just sit Mayson down on a park bench and give her the "I don't feel that way about you" speech, I wonder if part of it isn't an unconscious recognition that he and Mayson are in the exact same position. As if putting a definitive end to Mayson's obsession with him would somehow equate to accepting that Lois's park bench speech was a definitive end to his own hopes and dreams.

Or, maybe there's a realization that since Lois's speech had no affect on his own feelings, nothing he can say will affect Mayson's feelings for him - which is distressing to him and causes him to just want to avoid the whole situation.

Or, maybe there's no reason for Clark's actions other than that the writers wanted to stretch out the love-triangle for a few more episodes. :rolleyes:

Actually, I think Zoomway covered this one somewhere in the middle of Persistence of Memory . Lois related Clark's treatment of Mayson with Superman's prior treatment of her -- the wishy-washy passive half-hearted brush-offs, which never deterred her, and weren't going to deter Mayson, either.

Lots of good stuff in that story.

Here's the gist of it:

PJ

<large sigh> Folks,
Clark is about 28 or 29 at the time of the Mayson incident under discussion.

I work with many single young men of that age. Most are clueless about a woman's feelings and often in denial about their own.

The guys who are that age who have grown up and begun to relate in an adult manner to women are married.

Clark bounced around the world, feels like an outsider and in this area allowed his own feelings and selfish desires to trump his values.

I've been enjoying this discussion. And it got me thinking. Didn't Clark also do much the same thing with Cat that he did with Mayson? Not really ever saying: "It's never going to happen." Instead, just always putting her off. (I may be wrong about this). But their first conversation looks a lot like his interactions with Mayson:

Oh, and I just remembered Clark's second conversation with Cat. From the script: