There are four chapters of the flashback variety, all of them from Lois' POV and all describe important points in her "training" time with Rodolfo. This one is probably the worst of the four, although all of them emphasize Lois' dehumanization and the reshaping of her psyche. One spoiler: she always knows she's outside allowable behavior.

But it's still pretty bad.

It's not pretty, but it certainly is powerful. This flashback to what Lois went through while she was missing certainly establishes that she's not our universe's Lois, and that she can't be expected to act or respond to things the way ours would. Alt-Clark knew a very different Lois for a very short amount of time, built fantasies in his head of what his Lois might be like based on that, and then abandoned those fantasies when he gave up hope of ever finding her alive. When this Lois comes into his life...well, I'm interested in reading what happens.

Thanks, Groobie, for your insightful comments. Fantasies of all kinds will tumble in the next chapter.

Which is coming up in moments.