It's a step forward. Clark doesn't really remember who he used to be as a person, but he's relearned courtesy and some patience and some degree of politeness from spending so much time around Martha and Lois. His still-missing memories not only cause the ladies pain, it also hurts him, because even though he doesn't grasp the totality of what has been taken from him, he realizes now that a lot more than just memories are gone. His past relationships, his former purpose in life, his ability to relate to other people are all crushed in the black hole of his twenty-year hiatus from humanity.
To the good, he's now able to communicate intelligently with people, to make his wants and needs known, to respond with actual words in complete sentences. And it gives me some hope that he'll recall at least part of who he once was. And while his resentment of Superman's absence brings Lois pain, it's a good sign. It shows that he's thinking, not just reacting to stimulus. He's initiating thoughts and actions, building logic chains and expressing his conclusions. He still reacts on an emotional level instead of an intellectual one, of course, but it's still real progress.
And when that progress becomes public knowledge, it will put more pressure on Lex and Nigel to eliminate him. And Lois, too, because she's not going to forget anything he says or does that hints at the identity of his torturer. The bad guys can't risk him remembering what happened to him. He could destroy everything Luthor has worked for over the decades, and that's not a risk that won't be mitigated - or completely eliminated.
Something will happen soon. I don't know what, of course, but some threat will materialize and force Clark and Lois to sprint forward and maybe do something drastic to save their lives. Maybe Nigel will expose Clark to Kryptonite, make Lois go medieval on his posterior (the guy's getting old, y'all), and force Clark to remember that he's Superman. He may hate himself for a while, but that would solve some of their problems while creating new ones. And that, DC, would give you lots of new chapters.
And DC probably has something even more angsty up her sleeves that I'll never see coming in a million plot twists.
Still very good, DC. Still reading. In fact, I look for more installments every time I pull up the site. Keep them coming!
