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Hi all—I'm a newbie  . I stumbled upon this show last year after I lost my dear aunt to ovarian cancer. She had this huge DVD collection that my cousins didn't want, so I ended up inheriting it all. I decided to check out this old set first because, for one thing, it was the only foreign TV show my aunt had collected, and for another, it was kept in a beautifully embroidered silk pouch, separate from all the other DVD sets. So it kind of stood out to me. Less than five minutes into the pilot I was completely hooked. The lead actor and actress had "star-crossed lovers" stamped on their foreheads even before they ever met—great casting! I watched that first episode on July 20, 2025. Now a year has passed and I find myself still heavily addicted, which is a brand-new experience for me. I guess I've just found my all-time favorite show.
Anyway, when I first watched the show, I noticed that most episodes in Season 1 lacked episode-to-episode continuity, and the timeline was clearly scrambled. For example, both "MOSB" and "Witness" took place in winter, but they were separated by several episodes that clearly occurred in autumn or spring. The most glaring example is PML—fruit-fly spraying is usually scheduled for early spring, and definitely not in the dead of winter. There were also major inconsistencies in Lois Lane’s emotional development. In one episode she was all over Superman; in the next she was all over Clark; then she’d shift to Lex Luthor, only to go back to flirting with Clark again for no apparent reason. It bothered me so much that I decided to reorder the viewing sequence to make the story feel more logical. By doing that, I also hoped to fix three issues that had bugged me during my first watch:
1.Why was Lois so mean to Clark early on in their relationship?
2.Why did Lois tell Clark "I just don’t feel that way about you" in BATP, when she had at least admitted to the audience that she had feelings for him in IGACOY?
3.Why did Lois accept Luthor’s proposal?
So I reordered the Season 1 episodes based on Lois’s attitude toward Clark. I’m sure other FoLCs have done similar things before—this is just my take on it:
Part 1 – The “chip on the shoulder” stage
Ep01-Pilot (April 30, 1993. Launch date for the transport vehicle Messenger)
Ep02-NeverendingBattle (May 07, 1993)
Ep03-StrangeVisitor
Ep04-I’mLookingThroughYou
Ep05-RequiemForASuperhero
Ep06-SmartKids
Ep07-I’veGotACrushOnYou
This part ends with the episode "IGACOY", in which Clark realizes he's hopelessly in love with Lois Lane (his IQ starts to plummet disastrously from that moment on), and Lois finally admits to herself that she has romantic feelings for Clark.
Part 2 – The “heavy flirting” stage
Ep08-HoneymoonInMetropolis (July, 1993)
Ep09-TheGreenGreenGlowOfHome (September, 1993. Kansas Corn Festival)
Ep10-ManOfSteelBars (November, 1993)
Ep11-Witness (Christmas, 1993)
Ep12-TheIdesOfMetropolis (Jan 18, 1994)
Ep13-IllusionsOfGrandeur
Ep14-TheRival
Ep15-PheromoneMyLovely (February, 1994. Fruit fly spray)
In this part, Lois drops numerous “subtle hints” that Clark should ask her out. But the chumpy superhuman dodges every single one of them and keeps pushing her away. This part ends with the episode PML, in which Luthor realizes he wants to possess Lois Lane, and Lois believes that Clark simply isn’t physically attracted to her.
Part 3 – The “love you as a friend” stage
Ep16-AllShookUp
Ep17-Foundling
Ep18-Vatman (Mar 17, 1994. Perry’s birthday)
Ep19-FlyHard (Mar 26, 1994)
Ep20- BarbariansAtThePlanet (Late April, 1994. “A few weeks” after FlyHard, “barely a year” after Pilot)
Ep21- TheHouseOfLuthor (Late May, 1994. “Weeks” after BATP)
This part contains all the "zero-flirting" episodes. After Clark's galactically stupid claim in PML—"I guess I'm just not attracted to you, Lois." (Why the hell did he say that???)—Lois finally decides to give up on him altogether. To keep herself from getting hurt again, she begins brainwashing herself into believing that she only ever loved Clark as a friend. The self-hypnosis has been so successful that by the time Clark pours his heart out to her in "BATP," she is already absolutely certain she never had any romantic feelings for him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
And over the next few weeks I intend to do a sort of episode-by-episode commentary in this thread. I know there are already discussion threads for each episode, but since I reordered the viewing sequence, the storyline might feel a bit different compared to the original version. Please do bear with me. The trouble with being addicted to a 33-year-old show is that I have no one to talk to about it in real life—all my friends are currently Targaryen-crazy and cannot stand the cheesy visual effects from the '90s. My sister does like the show, but not nearly as much as I do—if I talk too much she gets bored. I feel so lucky to have found these MBs, especially since every other old fan site has seemingly gone dark.
The comments I make in this thread will focus mostly on the B-plot. In my opinion, the writers created a masterpiece with the B-plot, while the A-plot is almost always incredibly dumb. Maybe that's why this show never reached the popularity it should have—not that many viewers can stand having their intelligence insulted every 15 minutes or so.
Alright, here we go. Please feel free to chime in at any time  .
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Verity, peixinho |
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Boards Chief Administrator Nobel Peace Prize Winner
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Boards Chief Administrator Nobel Peace Prize Winner
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Welcome, Lynx! I'd say you fit right in with this crowd  Still looking into the search thing. Meanwhile, if your favorite search engine supports the site/url filter, you get the same effect as with the Google-based archive search. Also, you can pop onto Discord (see footer for the link) and pester Doranwen about finding specific things. Or, generally, all the FoLCs. We used to have these questions in Fanfic Related all the time. Michael
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Hack from Nowheresville
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Hack from Nowheresville
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Hi, Lynx Luthor (I really like your username!). Welcome to the MBs! I discovered Lois & Clark in June/July 2023, and I've been consuming content about the show ever since (unfortunately, my obsessions take a very long time to fade  ). But I only found the courage to start interacting with the fandom this February. I relate to you. Some of the show's writing choices frustrate me too, especially how the main storyline keeps moving forward and then backward and sometimes doesn't make much sense - even though I know that was just how TV shows were structured back then. It's similar to the issue of sexism. I know people saw things differently at the time, and that naturally found its way into the scripts. Even knowing I can't be anachronistic and expect the awareness and consistency of a modern series from a show that started in 1993, that doesn't stop me from wishing things had been different and better, or that there had been more care and responsibility in the way the characters were written (especially Lois, since misunderstood female characters are a perfect recipe for some fans to reproduce sexist attitudes, which is quite unfortunate). I guess that's my way of appreciating Lois & Clark: recognizing its potential, with all its strengths and flaws. In fact, I think there's only one work I allow myself to consider almost perfect, and it would be A Song of Ice and Fire. Although I don't have the patience to read huge books about the Targaryens fighting each other, much less watch a whole TV series about it!  ![[Linked Image]](https://www.cosgan.de/images/smilie/tiere/e015.gif) I have to admit it never occurred to me to rearrange Lois & Clark into a different viewing order! I'm really curious to see what you come up with. I also find it fascinating that a work can be canon, yet still be different for every person because our interpretations depend on how we read it, and how we read it depends on our own perspectives  in which Clark realizes he's hopelessly in love with Lois Lane (his IQ starts to plummet disastrously from that moment on)
After Clark's galactically stupid claim in PML—"I guess I'm just not attracted to you, Lois." (Why the hell did he say that???)
That's another one of those moments where, if Clark had been a little smarter, he might have gotten past Lois's defense mechanisms :P But honestly, I think the poor guy just wanted to feel desired instead of rejected for once in their relationship haha! and cannot stand the cheesy visual effects from the '90s.
I always got a good laugh out of those goofy visual effects! These days, with the whole AI craze, I've come to appreciate them a lot more Nice to meet you
Stories are written by the victors.
(Hmm, come to think of it, that's not the exact quote...)
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1 member likes this:
Lynx_Luthor |
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Joined: Jul 2026
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Freelance Reporter
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Freelance Reporter
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Hi Michael, thanks a lot for your help! Unfortunately I couldn’t open the Discord link either (is that a firewall thing? Sorry my computer and software knowledge is about on par with a Neanderthal's). But for now I'm happy enough just being able to post on this board. If I run into any more technical problems, I'll just pop over to the "Tech How-To" board. Hi Peixinho, nice meeting you—thanks for the warm welcome! Since misunderstood female characters are a perfect recipe for some fans to reproduce sexist attitudes, which is quite unfortunate
I wholeheartedly agree! My sister hated the Lois Lane character in the first season. She kept going on about how Clark deserved way better (she prefers Tony Taylor). I tried telling her that Lois didn’t really mean what she said; all those snarky comments were just her way of pushing back against the weird attraction she felt for Clark (and let's not forget, Clark did plenty of nasty things to Lois as well). But my sister wouldn’t buy it. I guess that's the main reason she doesn't like this show as much as I do.
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Freelance Reporter
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Episode 01-Pilot
There are two key pieces of information included in the Pilot script that never came across clearly in the actual episode:
The first is that Lois’s “chip-on-the-shoulder” attitude toward Clark was really just a defense mechanism—a way to mask her insecurities and deflect the strong attraction she felt toward him (possibly due to their “soulmate” connection). For example:
“Lois's take-charge attitude covers up a multitude of insecurities.
LOIS: Let’s hit it!”
And later:
“The darkened newsroom, exotic food, and the late hour have taken their toll on Lois's defenses. Before she lets them go...
LOIS: Don't fall for me, farmboy. I haven’t got the time for it.”
Detailed descriptions of a character’s inner thoughts and feelings are rarely found in production scripts. Deborah Joy LeVine likely included these notes because she felt it was essential that the director—and more importantly, the lead actress—understood what was going on beneath the surface. I can see how this would have been a tricky balance for the actress: play it too overtly, and she gives away too much; play it too subtly, and the audience might miss it entirely and end up disliking the character. I think Teri managed to get the point across to some viewers (like me), but not to others (like my sister).
The second important detail the script made clear is that Clark could hear Lois’s heartbeat speed up whenever she was close to him:
“Clark can hear, see Lois' heart beating, fast.”
This means Clark knew Lois was physically attracted to him—as Clark, not Superman—as early as the fourth day they met. And while he wasn’t exactly telepathic, he essentially had a lie detector wired to her whenever they were near each other. It also means he was fully aware that her snarky comments were little more than bluffs, which is why he always seemed amused rather than offended. Again, LeVine must have included this in the script to make sure the lead actor was in on it. I think Dean did a pretty solid job with that. It’s fairly clear throughout Season 1 that Clark can usually tell when Lois is lying to him. This also explains his constant teasing and his overly confident (rather foolish, of course) attitude toward her.
Given that Clark is an extremely handsome, charming, and well-built man, he was probably used to women falling for him left and right. But Lois was a unique case—an extreme “heart and mind in different places” situation that he’d never encountered before. Picture this: here comes this girl he really likes, walking toward him. He can hear her heartbeat racing faster the closer she gets. She’s clearly interested. He’s expecting her to say something nice. Then she opens her mouth and starts firing verbal daggers at him.
No wonder he was a goner from day one.
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Hack from Nowheresville
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Hack from Nowheresville
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(she prefers Tony Taylor)
Heeelp. I was expecting you to say she preferred Mayson Drake, but "Toni Taylor" caught me off guard I always roll my eyes at the whole "Lois wasn't good enough for Clark" argument. I've seen that take so many times  First of all, I think it fundamentally misunderstands Clark's character. A lot of people treat him as if he's some flawless, perfect man, when that's never what he wanted to be, especially the L&C version of Clark. He wanted to be human, an ordinary man. Secondly, it shows a lack of confidence in Clark's judgment. He knew exactly what he was getting into, and I'm pretty sure he was smart enough to realize if pursuing a woman wasn't worth it. And, of course, people are always so eager to pat men on their heads and say "oooh, poor guy", even when they're fictional. Nothing new about that. (and let's not forget, Clark did plenty of nasty things to Lois as well)
I agree with you. Clark made mistakes too - which is normal, and honestly a good thing! One of the things I loved most about Superman 2025 was seeing Clark act immaturely and lose his temper like a normal person  But in L&C, I feel like the show writers wanted him to be the "perfect prince," so whenever he messed up, the script tended to downplay it. Meanwhile, Lois's mistakes were always highlighted, and the focus was on how she needed to learn and improve. (which is why he always seemed amused rather than offended.)
That always seemed obvious to me too. Sure, there were moments when Clark genuinely got hurt, but overall I always got the impression that he knew Lois was struggling against her attraction to him. That's why I was so surprised to see so many people misunderstand Lois or call her cruel just because she acted cold towards him  (and I'm saying this as someone who's actually pretty sensitive myself lol). On top of that, she was a woman working in a male-dominated field at a very sexist time. Then a man suddenly invades her space and is assigned as her partner. For me, it's the most understandable thing in the world that she would see him as a rival and become defensive.  I think Teri Hatcher and Dean Cain are one of the best things about the show, and they did an amazing job conveying their characters' feelings in subtle ways. But like I said before, everyone interprets what they watch through the lens of their own experiences, biases and worldview. Just as there's no such thing as a neutral story, there's no such thing as a neutral audience.
Stories are written by the victors.
(Hmm, come to think of it, that's not the exact quote...)
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Freelance Reporter
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Heeelp. I was expecting you to say she preferred Mayson Drake, but "Toni Taylor" caught me off guard
That's because my sister only watched Season 1 with me and never even knew Mayson Drake existed. She got all pouty when Lois accepted Luthor's proposal and dropped the show altogether.  And, of course, people are always so eager to pat men on their heads and say "oooh, poor guy", even when they're fictional.
Exactly. I always felt like I was one of the few who thought Clark totally deserved what he got in BATP. Glad to have found an ally! I feel like the show writers wanted him to be the "perfect prince
Totally agree! Have you noticed how the script writers always had Lois losing control and embarrassing herself in various ways, while simultaneously going out of their way to protect Clark's pristine image? That's one of the reasons 'Season's Greetings' is my favorite episode—for once, the writer actually let Clark lose it right alongside Lois and make a fool of himself too. I'm glad at least Dean was aware of that sexist, double-standard treatment.
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Freelance Reporter
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Episode 01-Pilot (CONT'D)
The next thing I tried to understand was why Lois had built herself an emotional fence as high as a skyscraper. To answer that question, we have to bring in the character of Claude—mentioned only once by name, yet whose presence loomed over the entire series. Though never explicitly stated, I’m fairly certain Levine intended Claude to be the only man Lois ever slept with before Clark Kent entered her life. From “IASWAA” we know Lois dated in high school, but nothing serious came of it. From “The Rival”, we learn that as a college student, she didn’t approve of sexual intercourse—“ways I won’t go into,” as she put it. And it was also hinted throughout the series that Lois had never had a stable-ish boyfriend before meeting Clark.
She started working at the Daily Planet right after college graduation (a “fresh talent”) and met Claude (a senior journalist, a “scarred veteran”) at age 21. She fell for him and likely gave him her virginity, only to find herself deeply betrayed and emotionally devastated by the man. Judging by the fact that Lois had no idea how to share a bathroom with a man in “HIM”, her encounter with Claude was most likely a one-night stand. And based on the anxiety she expressed in “Virtually Destroyed” about not being able to please Clark sexually, her one-night experience with Claude probably wasn’t good at all. So it’s entirely possible that this Claude character—an extremely selfish man concerned only with his own pleasure—inflicted both emotional wounds and physical pain on Lois. That traumatic experience left her with a complete romantic void for five long years. (Throughout the series, she never mentions any suitors or dating experiences from ages 21 to 25.) During that time, she simply insulated herself from all men, swore never to sleep with anyone she worked with again, and wrapped herself entirely in work.
For the B-plot to move forward smoothly and believably, the writers needed Lois Lane to be beautiful, attractive, energetic, and passionate. But at the same time, she also had to be sexually repressed, emotionally guarded, and completely inexperienced in relationships. These two profiles don’t usually go together. Yet it makes perfect sense if Lois had been so deeply wounded by her first love that she simply shut down her feminine side and retreated into an emotional cocoon.
Another detail I suspect Levine intentionally included was the resemblance between Clark and Claude in several respects: both are foreign in a way, both start out as Lois’s new colleagues competing with her for a story—and even their names sound alike. So we can only imagine Lois’s horror when, just beginning to recover from Claude’s near-fatal blow after so many years, she finds herself face-to-face with Clark—another man she feels intensely drawn to, yet who bears unsettling similarities to the one who deeply wounded her. Of course she wanted to fend Clark off and push him away with all her might.
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Freelance Reporter
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Episode 01-Pilot (CONT'D)
Then comes the next question that bothered me—why did Lois allow Lex Luthor into her life?
From Cat Grant, we learn that during her five years at the Planet, Lois earned a reputation for being “all work and no personality.” Her own sister, Lucy, reveals that Lois’s personal life consisted of “interviews” rather than actual “dates.” But that wasn’t the Lois Lane we met when she was first introduced. In the pilot, she was dating three men at once—each one trashier than the last. Clearly, she had already emerged from her emotional cocoon and resumed dating shortly before Clark arrived in Metropolis. It’s entirely possible that Lois made a New Year’s resolution at the start of 1993: she would rather marry without love than remain single, if only to escape the crushing weight of loneliness. (That late-night crying scene with a tissue box and a flickering TV says it all.) And I’ve never cared for the line Lois delivered at the end of “Oedipus Wrecks”: “when being alone was what I thought I wanted.” The writer clearly didn’t do his homework. Lois Lane is hardly the type to enjoy solitude; spending every night alone left her utterly miserable.
By that point, Lois had all but given up on finding true love—she even wrote a novel about a woman who died without ever finding it. Instead, she was simply looking for a life partner who was “man enough to handle me”—someone who could accept her as she was and rescue her from her lonely existence. But even that modest standard seemed out of reach.
So we can see that, had Clark Kent not entered her life, Lex Luthor would have seemed like the perfect solution. Luthor was certainly strong enough to “handle” her, and he clearly qualified as someone who “sees her as she really is.” In fact, Luthor would have appeared a hundred times better than anything Lois dared hope for, because by then she was already so desperate that she was even willing to consider “Alan the Dentist”.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
That’s about all I wanted to say regarding the first episode. I realize most of my comments revolve around Lois Lane, mainly because she strikes me as the character who has been most misunderstood and unfairly treated. D. J. Levine did a wonderful job introducing Clark Kent—I can’t recall anyone misreading that portrayal. I especially loved that little piece she wrote about the “razing of the old theatre on Forty-second.” It was brief, yet it speaks volumes about the character—talent, compassion, determination, resourcefulness... pretty much everything you’d hope to see in a superhero, and sadly, so often missing in modern superhero movies.
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Hack from Nowheresville
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Hack from Nowheresville
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I'm glad at least Dean was aware of that sexist, double-standard treatment.
![[Linked Image]](https://www.cosgan.de/images/smilie/konfus/g045.gif) did he talk about that in an interview? I always felt like I was one of the few who thought Clark totally deserved what he got in BATP
To be honest, I don't remember all the details of BaTP and HoL, but I think both Lois and Clark made painful mistakes that hurt each other as well as themselves.  To this day I still haven't had the courage to rewatch those episodes or even the beginning of season 2 (although I'll have to soon, since I'm planning to write a "fix-it" fanfic for the BaTP-HoL arc and also to make an edit). Anyway, it hurt me the way Lois rejected Clark and then immediately asked him to contact Superman for her (that was a moment I genuinely thought she was being insensitive). It also hurt me Superman commenting on her robe. And then there's Clark being annoying at Perry's retirement party and making the whole atmosphere awkward. Actually, I just realized something: his "sleeping with the devil" comment and the remark about her robe are both sexual in nature, which is a very common way for men to insult women. It would actually have been really interesting if the show had addressed that instead of just ignoring it. I don't mean that Clark is a terrible person because of it, only that he reproduced a pattern of male domination, which I think all of us end up doing at some point, even unintentionally. and even their names sound alike.
The fact that Clark and Claude not only share the same initial, but also the second letter of their names has always intrigued me (for some reason I'm kind of obsessed with letters, especially initials  ). If the intention was to make Lois subconsciously associate the two men even more, I think that was a clever choice. Judging by the fact that Lois had no idea how to share a bathroom with a man in “HIM”
I love that scene of Lois and Clark brushing their teeth together! It's one of my favorites in the entire series ![[Linked Image]](https://www.cosgan.de/images/smilie/liebe/p020.gif) In the pilot, she was dating three men at once.
Three men? Wow, I had completely forgotten about that. How interesting. Still, I think Lois could have accepted ending up alone. She might have been going on dates just to convince herself that she'd at least tried and it simply hadn't worked out. Even so, I like your theory. Luthor would represent a relationship without passion, based entirely on reason, which would make it much less likely to end in the kind of painful, dramatic way her parents' marriage did - or like her very brief relationship with Claude. I also like the scene where Clark writes about the theater. I know some viewers didn't care much for Clark, partly because of Dean Cain's performance. Some people said he was too lackluster. For a while I actually tried to analyze his acting to see the flaws people kept talking about, but honestly, as someone who's nowhere near an acting expert, I thought he was a great Clark Kent. Maybe some people got that impression simply because Teri's Lois is such an energetic character that she naturally steals the spotlight a lot of the time.
Last edited by peixinho; 07/26/26 09:15 PM.
Stories are written by the victors.
(Hmm, come to think of it, that's not the exact quote...)
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Hack from Nowheresville
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Hack from Nowheresville
Joined: Dec 2024
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By the way, I just remembered you said you were having trouble accessing the archive. Unfortunately, I don't know enough about technology to help with that, but I can recommend some fics. Foundations by Caroline K First Comes Marriage by ML Thompson The Time Traveler's Wife by ML Thompson Can you access them when you click on the titles? If so, let me know and I'll recommend some more.
Stories are written by the victors.
(Hmm, come to think of it, that's not the exact quote...)
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Freelance Reporter
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Did he talk about that in an interview?
Not that I know of. But since Dean is the only scriptwriter in the entire series who lets Clark lose his dignity and make a clown of himself, I guess Dean must have sensed the problem—even if only subconsciously. To this day I still haven't had the courage to rewatch those episodes or even the beginning of season 2 (although I'll have to soon, since I'm planning to write a fix-it fanfic for the BaTP-HoL arc and also to make an edit).
It was indeed quite painful to watch the BaTP–HoL arc. I got through the ordeal by repeatedly chanting “you reap what you sow” at that miserable Mr. Kent on screen. And this arc is right at the top of my list of ones that need fixing, because the characters of both Lois and Clark were kind of twisted and distorted just to serve the plot. Looking forward to reading your fanfic! I know some viewers didn't care much for Clark, partly because of Dean Cain's performance. Some people said he was too lackluster.
Lackluster? Seriously? In my opinion, DC's amiable, placid Clark Kent is about the only version that actually makes sense. I get why some viewers prefer a more energetic take—after all, we're used to leading men who pop off the screen with big energy, and a quiet, reserved guy can seem boring next to the flashier villains and side characters. But what a lot of people miss is that Clark Kent has to constantly practice self-control just to keep everyone around him safe. That quiet restraint adds a whole layer of tension that a more outwardly fiery version could never pull off. By the way, I just remembered you said you were having trouble accessing the archive. Unfortunately, I don't know enough about technology to help with that, but I can recommend some fics.
Thanks a bunch! I can get into the archive okay, but the "search" function isn't working for me. Like, if I type in "Alt-Clark" and "All Shook Up," I get no results.
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Freelance Reporter
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Fanfic request:
Are there any stories out there where Alt-Clark saves Alt-Lois from the Congo gunrunners, and then the two of them go through the entire Season 1 storyline all over again? I'm guessing there must be—alternate universes seem to be a pretty hot trope in fanfics. I remember reading a good one about Alt-Clark, but his Lois died in childbirth, which didn't work for me. I need happy endings.
Here's how I imagine it could play out—and it’d be a lot of fun: H.G. Wells tracks down Alt-Clark in Australia and asks him to save his future wife. (Wells stopped worrying about "tampering with history" after he discovered parallel universes.) After Alt-Clark rescues Alt-Lois from the gunrunners, he doesn't keep her in the dark—he tells her everything upfront: he's an alien with superpowers, they're soulmates, they're supposed to get married and have kids, and their descendants are destined to build Utopia. Alt-Lois, of course, thinks he's a complete whacko—until he flies her all the way from the Congo back to Metropolis. Lois goes to bed that night thoroughly dazed. When she wakes up the next morning, she decides it must've all been a bad dream. Once she's fully recovered, she heads back to work as usual, only to find that same whacko sitting in Perry's office, being interviewed. She tries to talk Perry out of hiring that freaking alien, but Alt-Clark lands the job anyway—and they're stuck working together.
Since Martha and Jonathan passed away early in this universe (I would like to have Sam and Ellen killed off too—in this version, LnC have no one to rely on but each other), Alt-Lois ends up being the one to help Alt-Clark create Superman. She notices that Clark nearly gets himself caught and exposed during one of his little rescue stunts, so she suggests they make a "change of clothes." But instead of leaving Lois to do all the sewing herself (how stereotypical!), the two of them have to figure out how to make the spandex suit together, amid constant bickering ("Stop flexing those quadriceps, Kent! I'm trying to pin this inseam here")... It'd be a nice little opportunity for Lois to appreciate her partner's physique, if nothing else.
At first, Alt-Lois brushes off the whole "soulmates" thing as total nonsense. "I make my own destiny," she says. And Alt-Clark just goes: "Fine by me." So we'd still get plenty of that classic banter and standoff energy：
Lois shows her resolve by accepting Luthor's dinner invitations; Clark retaliates by selling himself to that rich debutante in ILTY.
As soon as Perry pairs them up in RFAS, Lois starts to "take a few more chances" and put herself in harm’s way on a daily basis. Clark complains out loud about what a demanding job it is to keep her alive, but secretly loves playing her bodyguard.
They run into Lana Lang instead of Rachel Harris in GGGH, and Lois gets fiercely territorial. LnC spends several nights together in the old farmhouse that Clark inherited from M&J—alone, without a chaperon—because every hotel room in Smallville had been booked for months thanks to the Corn Festival, so they don’t have much of a choice. And on that first night, it’s Lois who nurses Clark back to health after the brutal Kryptonite attack.
In MOSB, instead of kissing Lois goodbye, Clark gets into a huge fight with her and storms off, leaving Lois to defend Superman all by herself.
After rescuing Lois from Mr. Make Up in “Witness”, Clark carries her into her bedroom and lays her down to rest—then accidentally discovers that she's been sleeping with the teddy bear he won for her at the corn festival back in GGGH.
They share their first real kiss in ASU—in a quiet, deserted alley, not in front of a bunch of news cameras— right before Clark leaves to intercept the asteroid Nightfall. But then Clark's memory doesn't fully recover, and he forgets all about the kiss afterward—left with only a lingering, inexplicable feeling of missing something vital.
Clark knows Lois is the one, but he doesn't want to impose himself on her, so he gives her space. Lois mistakes his distance for indifference. The misunderstandings keep piling up, and they both end up hurting each other.
Lois agrees to marry Luthor in BATP only because Luthor has captured Superman, locked him in a Kryptonite cage, and is holding Superman’s life over her head. Clark doesn’t know that at first, so he believes Lois chose Luthor over him, and he loses his will to survive.
But then, right before the wedding, Mrs. Cox has a pang of conscience. She visits Superman in his cage where he lies slowly dying, tells him everything, and secretly slips him a keepsake from Lois—the red ribbon bow from around the neck of the Clarkie-bear in GGGH. Clark finally realizes that Lois loves him and is willing to sacrifice everything she has for him. He regains his will to fight, uses that red ribbon to snag the key to the cage, and escapes. In the end, everything works out, evil is vanquished, and they live happily ever after. 
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Hack from Nowheresville
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Hack from Nowheresville
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Looking forward to reading your fanfic!
Shameless self-promotion: if you enjoy fanfics with a slightly quirky sense of humor, I wrote Future Arrangements and the Between One Lane and Another series. But what a lot of people miss is that Clark Kent has to constantly practice self-control just to keep everyone around him safe. That quiet restraint adds a whole layer of tension
I agree. I think TNAoS Clark strikes the perfect balance between having a strong personality, being intelligent (and not being afraid to show it) and being a very careful person. He's the one who made me appreciate the self-control Superman has developed and exercises every single day. I really like your fanfic idea. I think it's worth posting it on the Fanfic Challenge forum. I've never heard of a story with that premise, but there are still plenty of fics in the fandom I haven't read. You could also ask on the Discord server. Are you able to access it? More fanfic recommendations: 24 Hours by Wendy Richards Trading Places by Irene Dutch Midnight Gambit by ML Thompson But Who's Got You? by lovetvfan
Stories are written by the victors.
(Hmm, come to think of it, that's not the exact quote...)
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Freelance Reporter
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Shameless self-promotion: if you enjoy fanfics with a slightly quirky sense of humor, I wrote Future Arrangements and the Between One Lane and Another series.
Yeees, “a quirky sense of humor” is exactly my thing. I just read your “Future Arrangements” and couldn’t stop laughing. Have you written other stories? I really like your fanfic idea. I think it's worth posting it on the Fanfic Challenge forum.
Oh, is that what we do here when we want stories with very specific plotlines? I'll do just that—thanks for the tip! You could also ask on the Discord server. Are you able to access it?
Nope. I click on the link and I get a 404 error.
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Freelance Reporter
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Ep02 – Neverending Battle
The subtitle of this episode should read: "The Mad Dog Lane Ascends."
In this episode, we get not only a schematic showcase of Superman’s superpowers, but also a full-blast introduction to Lois Lane’s super dark character traits.
Less than a minute into the opening scene, Lois delivers a line that forever crucified her in the minds of many viewers—my sister included: “Not brown brown. Not dull, insipid mud brown... like Clark's.” It was undeniably malicious, and she had no right to take it out on an innocent coworker—regardless of whatever personal issues she was dealing with.
But if we follow Levine’s 'emotional defense' character framing, what Lois was actually thinking in that moment was probably closer to: 'This cute guy standing sooo close to me has pretty eyes, too.' And then, unable to allow herself such a favorable thought about Clark, she tried to shake off that dangerous feeling by slinging nasty remarks his way. As the plot unfolds, Lois continues to rack up one serious offense after another in this episode. Stealing stories from Clark and ideas from Jimmy may well represent Lois’s darkest hour in the entire series—tied for a close second are ripping pages out of public phone books in “Madame Ex” and kicking over trash cans on the street in “WOS”. These misdeeds are, of course, totally indefensible—no excuses, bad behavior, bad Mad Dog.
In my view, both Lois and Clark have hearts of gold—though in very different ways. Lois’s heart is like gold covered in dust; all her flaws are right there on the surface for everyone to see. But if you take the time to look beneath, you’ll find nothing but pure gold. Clark’s heart, on the other hand, appears flawless on the outside—polished and pristine—yet hidden deep within are tiny flecks of darkness that rarely come to light, and even then, only for those closest to him: his parents, and Lois Lane. You never see Clark mistreat Perry or Jimmy, do you? But for a superbeing with godlike powers, even that faintest trace of darkness can sometimes become dangerous and unsettling.
This episode also does a splendid job of introducing Clark Kent the farm boy to the bustling life of Metropolis. I especially love Clark’s exclamation of “Nine hundred and fifty?” to his potential landlord. Nothing brings a majestic deity down from his pedestal quite like fretting over an exorbitant rent. This scene also brings out another important character trait that I feel the series didn’t emphasize enough: Clark’s mental powers—particularly his extraordinary self-control and self-discipline. From “Tempus Fugitive”, we know Clark can dig up a full bag of gold in a matter of minutes, meaning he could easily become the wealthiest man on the planet, making Luthor and Sullivan look like pathetic paupers. But he never considers using his powers for personal financial gain. Instead, he lets himself be bothered by everyday worries—like fifty bucks for flowers or two hundred dollars for concert tickets. He not only has to remain calm at all times, never allowing himself to lose his temper, but he also has to resist temptations that are unimaginable to most humans on a daily basis. Yet he takes it all in stride. I’m not sure whether this superhuman self-discipline stems from his upbringing, his military-like Kryptonian heritage, or both.
Another scene I really love is when Lois, covered in mud, holds out her hand to Clark and concedes defeat. Her noble character truly shines through all the dirt and grime.
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Hack from Nowheresville
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Hack from Nowheresville
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This episode definitely contains Lois's worst moment in the entire series, in my opinion, when she steals Clark's story. Even today, every time I watch it, my eyelid starts twitching involuntarily from frustration. It's crazy. I think it was admirable of her admit that she got what she deserved. To me, being able to admit you're wrong is one of the most essential qualities a person can have. I also find it hilarious how she tries to casually walk away while limping in just one high heel. And this was also when she started learning that Clark wasn't someone she should underestimate. I like the way you describe their hearts. It's not just the writers trying to highlight Lois's bad side (as we've already discussed  ) - Lois herself wants to show that layer of dust. Maybe to push away people who only wanted something superficial, like Claude, and avoid more shallow relationships and disappointments. I bet it worked, and she drove away a lot of characters who never looked any deeper, including some viewers and fans. But Clark was the one who really saw beyond the surface (after all, he has X-ray vision lol) and he was able to decipher her. I'm much more the kind of person with a Clark-type heart (I relate to him in many other ways, too). People in my real life usually like me because I'm "kind", "calm", "friendly" and "reliable". But I don't take those compliments too seriously, because those people don't really know me. My flaws are well hidden and only known by my family and my closest friends, who put up with me at my worst. At the end of the day, I'm just as bad as someone who's considered unpleasant. We're the same; the only difference is that each of us is showing a different side of ourselves. That's why I'll never defend the idea that one person is better than another, whether in L&C or in any other context. Nothing brings a majestic deity down from his pedestal quite like fretting over an exorbitant rent.
Her noble character truly shines through all the dirt and grime.
Great line. The metaphor you created is so vivid. what Lois was actually thinking in that moment was probably closer to: "This cute guy standing sooo close to me has pretty eyes, too."
I totally believe that. After all, why else would she suddenly notice Clark's eyes? As they say, the opposite of love is indifference, and Lois was never indifferent to him. Maybe just when they first met. I just read your "Future Arrangements" and couldn't stop laughing. Have you written other stories?
Yay!!! I'm glad to know that! I haven't published anything besides Future Arrangements and Between One Lane and Another, but I hope to post some new stories soon. Do you write too? Oh, is that what we do here when we want stories with very specific plotlines? I'll do just that—thanks for the tip!
You're welcome. Yep, that's where we leave our plot bunnies, hoping some writer will take pity on them and adopt them. I even posted one myself that I don't want to write, I just wanted to read it Nope. I click on the link and I get a 404 error.
That's strange. I have no idea what could be causing that... More fanfics you might enjoy (this is the last batch lol, I should let you catch up on the ones you already have first): The Ruse by Socomama Sleight of Hand by JadedEvie After Contact by 90stvfangirl A Matter of Trust by bakasi
Stories are written by the victors.
(Hmm, come to think of it, that's not the exact quote...)
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Freelance Reporter
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Lois herself wants to show that layer of dust. Maybe to push away people who only wanted something superficial, like Claude, and avoid more shallow relationships and disappointments.
Oh, I never thought about it that way. But your theory does explain why Lois seemed so much less "dusty" after she settled into a stable relationship with Clark—there was no longer any need to push people away once she'd found her safe haven. Even my sister, who bailed on the show after season 2, would occasionally poke her head in while I was watching season 3 and condescendingly offer her approval, noting that Lois in season 3 came across as far more "sensible" and "decent." I totally believe that. After all, why else would she suddenly notice Clark's eyes?
Exactly. It just hit me that there are people I've known for years, yet I’ve never noticed what color their eyes are. Miss Lane, on the other hand, certainly gave Mr. Kent's appearance a rather close look, didn't she. I haven't published anything besides Future Arrangements and Between One Lane and Another, but I hope to post some new stories soon. Do you write too?
No, I do not. First of all, I don’t have that magical ability to transport an audience into a world. And secondly, I’m a rather lazy person. It’s all I can do to write a short commentary every day or two. I’ve come to realize that having interesting thoughts is one thing, but organizing them into a coherent paragraph that other people can actually follow is a whole other business. That’s why I’ve always admired you real authors. I mean, how do you guys do it? I'd die from exhaustion just from typing that many words into my computer, let alone coming up with them. So, no thanks. I’d much rather lounge in my air-conditioned room, sip a cup of freshly brewed coffee, and enjoy the brilliant works you geniuses create.
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Freelance Reporter
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Episode 03-Strange Visitor
This episode doesn't seem to do much for the B-plot, except, of course, for the first screen kiss near the end.
When I first watched this episode with my sister, she made a comment on that scene: "This is waaaay too hot for a first kiss. Those two look like a pair of star-crossed lovers who were torn apart by evil forces and just found their way back to each other." 
I also don't buy that their first kiss was just a "ruse" to fool the bad guys. I mean, what exactly would Lois's plan have been while she and Clark were trapped in an aircraft twenty thousand feet in the air? Organize a surprise attack on a cabin full of thugs, take down every single one of them, and wrestle control of the cockpit? No. I think what Lois did was more like checking off last‑minute bucket‑list items: kiss this cute guy she weirdly found herself drawn to, and then take at least one of her killers down to hell with her—which is just so Lois Lane. Looked at that way, the line she whispered in Clark's ear—"You take the one on the left"—was more of an excuse to cover up her real intention to kiss him. After all, a hug would have made a much more convenient disguise than a kiss—which would have kept her from speaking—for passing on a secret message. And there were so many thugs packed into such a tiny space that it barely mattered whether Clark took one out or not. Which also means that even staring down imminent death, she still wasn't willing to let her true feelings for Clark show. Again—so stubbornly Lois Lane.
After Lois was thrown out of the airplane just as the bad guys had planned, she was immediately rescued by Superman. It was every girl's wildest dream come true: her hero had flown out from a colorful cloud and saved her, the damsel in distress, from certain death. Yet, held in the arms of her dream hero, Lois's first concern was for her emotional privacy: "You really do read minds?" Then her thoughts immediately turned to Mr. Kent: "Clark. They still have him. He may be hurt." Remember how Mr. Kent once complained that Lois would always "swoon over Superman and ignore me"? Well, at least there wasn't much swooning going on in this scene, now was there?
Then there was the hug scene near the elevator in the Daily Planet bullpen. Clark clearly wasn't satisfied with the welcome he got—even though Lois literally vaulted over her emotional fences, ran a good twenty feet across the room straight into his arms, and started clawing at his pectoral muscles. Honestly, I'm not sure what Mr. Kent was hoping for here. Did he expect the lady to get all teary-eyed in front of all those coworkers and say, "Oh, Clarkie, I thought I'd lost you. I never realized how much you mean to me until now"? Wake up, Mr. Kent—you two only met a few weeks ago.
Even without X-ray vision, anyone could tell that the hug was sincere—and that Lois was genuinely happy and relieved to see Clark alive. And don't forget that, as far as Lois knew, both Clark and Superman had been in mortal danger, with Superman even more so, since she had seen him blown up by a missile with her own eyes. So after Lois confirmed Clark was okay upon thorough palpation, it was only natural that her thoughts immediately turned to this other guy she cared about: "Wait a minute—if Clark's alive, that means Superman's alive too!" And then, once she was convinced Superman was fine, it took all of one nanosecond for her to dump both men and return to her one true love at the time—work: "I've got a story that's getting bigger every second. How wonderful!" All her reactions were absolutely natural and perfectly reasonable—yet Clark got all pouty simply because the lady didn't focus ALL her attention on him. You're really high maintenance, Mr. Kent—you know that?
Another interesting thing to observe in this episode is how uncomfortable Lois and Clark looked working together at this stage. Both of them had their mental defenses dialed up to "extra high": Clark was afraid that Lois might stumble onto his big secret, and Lois was afraid that she might accidentally let her weird attraction to Clark slip. They both seemed immensely relieved when Clark made his exit on the excuse that he wasn't “feeling that great”.
There's one more scene I particularly like: after Clark pulls off his little "safecracker" stunt in Bureau 39’s warehouse, Lois says, "You are so weird. Works for you, though."—which echoes what she told him when they first met: "You're a strange one, Clark Kent." I've always loved it when Lois notices Clark's unusualness, even when no one else does.
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Freelance Reporter
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Episode 04-I'm Looking Through You
While conducting archaeological research into the history of this show, I frequently come across the promotional slogan: “A love triangle built for two.” In that setup, Clark pines for Lois, Lois chases after Superman, Clark is left heartbroken because Lois prefers his dazzling alter ego over him, and Lois is equally heartbroken because Superman keeps turning her down. I take it that "ILTY" is the episode where this so-called "triangle" was officially introduced to the audience.
I’m no Superman fan, so I’m not sure whether this slogan was cooked up specifically for the show or if it's part of the broader Superman canon. But I have to admit, I was completely unaware that such a "triangle" existed throughout my viewing of Season 1. In the first season, Lois's attitude toward Superman felt more like fannish infatuation than anything deeper. And we all know what it's like when we girls chase after celebrities—we get completely starstruck and gush about how they're "the love of my life." But all that seemingly unconditional love we heap on our idols doesn't actually stop us from falling for real guys and living our actual lives. In fact, the way Lois treated Superman in Season 1 wasn't all that different from how she acted around country-western star Hank West in Season 3. She also didn't do much chasing, either. Sure, in this episode she went to the celebrity auction where Superman was supposed to appear, and in MOSB she did break into Clark's apartment to catch a glimpse of Superman in the shower—classic groupie moves, by the way—but that was about the extent of it. Most of the time, she only swooned when Superman deliberately dropped in on her, and then she quickly went back to her real life and real worries—like finding a decent boyfriend who can tolerate her ASAP.
And was Clark really all that wounded by Lois's "love" for Superman? It doesn't seem like it most of the time. From this episode, we can see that Clark did feel a bit annoyed—but no more than he did when his Lois swooned over Hank West in Season 3. I think Clark was smart enough to realize that Lois's feelings for Superman at that early stage were nothing serious and nothing to lose sleep over. Whatever kept Lois and Clark apart in season 1 wasn't Superman, wasn't Luthor, and wasn't Clark's secrets—It was something lurking in both their hearts: the fundamental fear of getting involved in a deeply committed relationship.
And who would have thought the invincible Man of Steel could turn into such a total coward when it comes to relationships? It seems that Mr. Kent in Season 1 only dared to express his feelings when he was absolutely sure his heart wouldn't get bruised. That's why we have this infamous scene where Clark encourages Lois's already over-the-top Superman fantasy — right after she wakes up on the coffee table in Clark's living room, which is an incredibly weird place to crash, by the way. I guess Lois didn't have the nerve to sleep in Clark's bedroom while the couch was already taken by Alan the scientist.
“You don't need to bid for my attention, Lois.” “You'll always be special to me, Lois.” — gushes Superman. Well, I can't recall Clark ever saying anything like that to Lois with his glasses on throughout Season 1—until that disastrous declaration in BATP, of course. It was one galactically stupid move. Apparently, that super-intense first kiss in the previous episode had already taken its toll on Clark's intelligence. I've noticed that from the start of Season 1 all the way into early Season 3, almost every time after Lois kisses Clark, he starts showing symptoms that look suspiciously like brain damage—he does something unbelievably dumb and pushes her away, either toward his human rivals or straight into Superman's arms. The pattern repeated itself so often that I wanted to shout at that love-besotted Miss Lane on the screen: “Don't kiss him until you've got him engaged, lady—it fries his brain!”
The only upside to Clark’s idiotic action in this episode is that Lois must have canceled that second lunch date with Luthor—the one she agreed to at the auction party—right after Superman’s confession. And being disrespectfully shot down by Miss Lane twice in a row must have effectively kept the billionaire from asking her out again anytime soon. In my customized viewing order, Lex Luthor doesn't get another date with Miss Lane for another eleven episodes.
Finally, I know I swore not to comment on the A-plot, but I just can't resist here—sorry: a suit that reflects visible light as invisible light would basically turn you into a human-shaped BLACK HOLE—Duh! Could the studio not afford a science advisor?
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Hack from Nowheresville
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Hack from Nowheresville
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Oh, I never thought about it that way.
Seriously? Actually, I only thought about that because of your theory! But your theory does explain why Lois seemed so much less "dusty" after she settled into a stable relationship with Clark—there was no longer any need to push people away once she'd found her safe haven.
I have to admit I don't really like either Lois or Clark in seasons 3 and 4. They became so different. I missed their teasing and banter, and Lois became too mellow for my taste. My favorite version of her is in season 2, because seeing her fall in love with Clark heals something in me. And even so, my favorite season overall is still season 1. I’m a rather lazy person.
I'm lazy too, and unfortunately I have way more ideas than I'll ever be able to write. But there are some that won't let me sleep at night and force me to write them! Seriously, I've lost count of how many hours of sleep I've lost because of writing And many times I didn't even finish or publish the story in question. So, no thanks. I’d much rather lounge in my air-conditioned room, sip a cup of freshly brewed coffee, and enjoy the brilliant works you geniuses create.
Then there was the hug scene near the elevator in the Daily Planet bullpen.
Oh, I absolutely love that hug, it's another one of my favorite moments from the show. It's simply beautiful. I agree with you, her reaction felt very natural. Lois was genuinely happy that Clark was okay, but once the initial relief faded, it was time to focus on other things: Superman being okay too, and the story! yet Clark got all pouty simply because the lady didn't focus ALL her attention on him. You're really high maintenance, Mr. Kent—you know that?
That's one of the downsides of love at first sight: people become so impatient... While conducting archaeological research into the history of this show
“You don't need to bid for my attention, Lois.” “You'll always be special to me, Lois.” — said Superman.
Yes, Clark said some strangely romantic things as Superman, encouraging Lois's feelings. (And then he would get sad because she was sighing over Superman, even though he was the one feeding those feelings...) In BATP, he really was very abrupt when he confessed his love to her; his emotions ended up speaking much louder than reason. I've noticed that from the start of Season 1 all the way into early Season 3, almost every time after Lois kisses Clark, he starts showing symptoms that look suspiciously like brain damage
I think we can say Lois's kisses have the opposite effect of Disney prince kisses, which woke up the protagonists Could the studio not afford a science advisor?
If a superhero story doesn't disregard science at some point, then it's not a good superhero story
Stories are written by the victors.
(Hmm, come to think of it, that's not the exact quote...)
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I have to admit I don't really like either Lois or Clark in seasons 3 and 4. They became so different.
Me neither! Especially when it comes to Lois. It was pretty clear that some writers in seasons 3 and 4 were trying to "tame" her and shove her into that trad-wife mold the moment she was "claimed" by a man. I still remember one line from BGDF where she actually says " darn some socks." What the hell was that about? Did professional women in the '90s really sit around darning socks instead of just tossing out the ones with holes? But there are some that won't let me sleep at night and force me to write them!
Same here. I only started this thread because these thoughts about the show keep clogging up my head—I have to get them out, or my brain will burst. Meanwhile, what I'm supposed to be writing these days is my thesis proposal  . I've never been addicted to anything before. This is a whole new experience—honestly it feels kind of crazy. I absolutely love that hug, it's another one of my favorite moments from the show. It's simply beautiful.
Actually, I think the hug works so beautifully largely because of Teri's performance. If she had followed the script to the letter, Lois really would have come across as a bit cold-hearted—and Clark would have had every right to feel disappointed. I suspect that was exactly the effect the scriptwriter originally intended. But Teri's super-enthusiastic hug completely turned it around. In BATP, he really was very abrupt when he confessed his love to her
Yes, I would imagine that from Lois's point of view, his confession must have seemed entirely out of the blue. Even though Clark did countless things to make Lois happy in Season 1, ninety-nine percent of the time he did them in secret without her ever having a clue. In front of her, he almost never acted like anything more than a dependable partner and a caring friend. So no wonder the lady was left utterly confused. Poor guy. I think we can say Lois's kisses have the opposite effect of Disney prince kisses, which woke up the protagonists.
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Episode 05-Requiem For a Superhero
The plot of RFAS is fairly straightforward, so I'll keep my comments on this one brief.
We don’t see too many “chips” on Lois’s shoulder this episode—probably because Clark has already partially recovered from the temporary brain damage caused by that first kiss back in SV. Throughout RFAS, he practically keeps his eyes fixed on that “World’s Best Work Partner” trophy 7-inch, and he offers Lois an endless supply of trust, loyalty, and emotional support throughout her clash with her father—which certainly earns Mr. Kent quite a few bonus points in the lady’s book. In fact, Clark’s performance in this episode is just about flawless—right up until the very last scene:
To wrap up the first official Lane & Kent collaboration, Lois turns to Clark and says:
“Come on, let’s go get something to eat.”
As far as I recall, this is the first time Lois has ever invited Clark to dine out with her—just the two of them, no chaperone in sight. Any of her human suitors would have jumped at the chance to seize such a heaven-sent opportunity. But no—not the Alien.
“I’m not hungry,” replies Mr. Lunkhead—and then, he just sits there sulking, leaving the lady to go eat all by herself.
It’s nothing short of a miracle that Mr. Kent eventually ended up with a wife, rather than spending his entire life miserably alone.
Another interesting bit of trivia: at the beginning of this episode, we see Clark looking mighty nervous at the card table—As Trask puts it, "That was fear, Kent. Real fear." Clark came to Metropolis with only ten bucks left in his pocket, and by the time of RFAS, he'd only been earning money for two months at most. As a newcomer, his monthly salary probably wouldn't have exceeded $3,000. With the three-month rental deposit, monthly rent, plus buying furniture, professional attire, and paying back the loan from his father, Clark would be lucky to have $500 left in his account—and the Planeteers were gambling BIG. No wonder he was scared out of his wits. I always love seeing Superman fuss over money problems. It makes him look so wonderfully human.
Finally, although Perry isn't officially part of the B-plot, his marriage to Alice does serve as a guidepost for Lois and Clark's relationship. In this episode, we see exactly why Perry deserves to get dumped by his wife and sons in Season 3. From his brief chat with Clark in the opening scene, we know Perry puts in at least ten hours a day at work—yet even when there's nothing left to do, he'd still rather hang around the office socializing with his underlings than go home to his wife and family. And from the episode "Chi of Steel," we learn that Perry spends a good chunk of his off-hours at the men's club, shooting the breeze with his "buddies." I seriously doubt he ever sets aside even ten minutes a day for his family  . This is textbook marital neglect. Perry should've been the one Detective Friday hauled off in DTOSC—not Superman.
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Hack from Nowheresville
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Hack from Nowheresville
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writers in seasons 3 and 4 were trying to "tame" her and shove her into that trad-wife mold the moment she was "claimed" by a man.
Yes. But I'm not sure whether that was an intentional choice by the writers or simply laziness when it came to continuing to develop the characters - which I actually think is much more likely lol. They probably just did what seemed most reasonable to them without giving it much thought. That's still open to criticism, of course, but it's a different kind of criticism, less about what they did and more about the mindset behind it (which makes it a more delicate discussion). Did professional women in the '90s really sit around darning socks instead of just tossing out the ones with holes?
As someone who hates wasting things, I support darning socks But I understand what you mean. I have to get them out, or my brain will burst. Meanwhile, what I'm supposed to be doing these days is writing my thesis proposal. I've never been addicted to anything before.
That's exactly what it feels like, if I don't write, my thoughts just won't leave me alone. Good luck with your thesis proposal! I went through something similar recently. I had to finish writing my undergraduate thesis, but the fanfics simply wouldn't let me Thankfully, everything worked out in the end. As someone who's had several obsessions over the years, I sometimes find it a maddening experience. I wish I could switch it on and off whenever I wanted. If she had followed the script to the letter, Lois really would have come across as a bit cold-hearted—and Clark would have had every right to feel disappointed.
Maybe. That makes sense. At the same time, I can't imagine another moment that would have fit that scene better. and then, he just sits there sulking, leaving the lady to go eat all by herself.
Wait, didn't they go to lunch together? // Okay, I just checked and realized there's a difference between the script and what was actually filmed. In the script they do go to lunch together, but in the episode it's not clear whether he accepted her invitation or not (in fact, it actually seems like he didn't). If he really did turn her down, it wasn't the smartest move, but I can understand it. When I'm really upset, I sometimes feel like sparing people from my company too. I wish we'd seen more of Perry and Alice in the series. Even though I know Perry was in the wrong on that issue, I was still sad when Alice left him. One thing that bothers me about that episode: Lex kills a man to save Lois (!), then Superman shows up (after conveniently taking longer than usual), Lois goes over to thank Lex, looking all impressed (which feels very odd), and we get a moment of love triangle tension. Meanwhile, nobody seems to spare a thought for the body lying right next to them! Shouldn't that have been the priority? Poor extras...
Stories are written by the victors.
(Hmm, come to think of it, that's not the exact quote...)
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I had to finish writing my undergraduate thesis, but the fanfics simply wouldn't let me lol Thankfully, everything worked out in the end.
Wow, congratulations! Hope I have the same luck next month...already shaking. In the script they do go to lunch together, but in the episode it's not clear whether he accepted her invitation or not (in fact, it actually seems like he didn't). If he really did turn her down, it wasn't the smartest move, but I can understand it.
No, he didn’t. Because Lois turned and walked off on her own. And honestly, whether we as viewers understand him or not doesn't really matter. With both Luthor and Superman showering their attention on the lady in question, there's barely any room left for Mr. Kent to keep making blunders like that.  Lois goes over to thank Lex, looking all impressed (which feels very odd)
It doesn't feel very odd to me. In Season 1, Luthor and Superman really aren't that different in Lois's eyes: both are extremely powerful men who can 'handle' her, and both seem so out of reach that they shouldn't be taken seriously—or so she thought, before Luthor proposed. She just leans toward Superman because he's younger and flashier. So it makes total sense that she would occasionally waver between the two. I think it's really not until mid-Season 2 that she truly begins to love Superman—when she sees that he eats, sleeps, lies, and bleeds just like any ordinary person—just like Clark. Meanwhile, nobody seems to spare a thought for the body lying right next to them! Shouldn't that have been the priority? Poor extras...
Actually, from what I've seen of real-life shootings, people don't go down that easily from gunshots. So the poor guy could very well still be alive—and in that case, he needs an ambulance ASAP.
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Episode 06 – Smart Kids
You’ve probably already noticed that I moved this episode up in the order, and that’s because I feel like Lois and Clark come across as much less familiar with each other here than they do in "IGACOY." Their interactions in this episode are relatively more polite, and they’re clearly still in that “getting to know my new partner” phase—cautiously feeling out each other’s professional strengths: Lois is impressed when Clark mentions that he “did his homework” on Dr. Carlton. Meanwhile, Clark is amazed that Lois not only tracked down Aymee’s mother but also managed to coax a formal authorization out of her.
And of course, there’s that cute little “I love it when you steal” moment. But if "IGACOY" came before "Smart Kids," Lois would already know full well what a “rotten, backstabbing piece of slime” Clark really is. She wouldn’t have been nearly as surprised when he pulled off that little thieving stunt in Dr. Carlton’s office—especially since she just swore she wouldn’t be fooled by that “innocent, boyish exterior” ever again. 
This episode also does a great job showcasing just how incredibly intelligent both Lois and Clark are. Lois deduces that Dr. Carlton is behind the whole scheme simply from a guarded “I can’t say” from little Inez, while Clark manages to outsmart a whole bunch of super-genius kids. Their matching high I.Q. levels certainly make for easy cooperation and a solid partnership. This episode practically tells the audience: these two have absolutely no problem working together, so by all means, go ahead and focus all your worries on their romantic relationship instead.
I know this episode seems to be one of the least favorites among Season 1 viewers, but I personally enjoy it a lot. I’ve always pictured that, a little over four years after "Smart Kids," Lois and Clark would welcome a daughter —their only child, no siblings. She’d inherit her father’s super-long lifespan and live for five centuries, with powers far more magnificent than Clark’s—thanks to some unexpected mutations courtesy of a little mishap around the time she was accidentally conceived. Eventually, she would go on to become the founding mother of Utopia, completely remaking human civilization—right along the lines of what H.G. Wells called "that one great love that changes us forever"—and be revered as a goddess by Earthlings for eons... ... Sorry, I got a little carried away with my own imagination there. Anyway, "Smart Kids" does offer some nice glimpses into how Lois and Clark might interact with their own precious little girl in the future.
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Hack from Nowheresville
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Wow, congratulations! Hope I have the same luck next month...already shaking.
It's impossible not to be nervous, but all your hard work will pay off. Everything will be fine! Because Lois turned and walked off on her own.
There's also the possibility that he caught up with her later. I actually like that Clark has these little moments where he's not the perfect gentleman, it makes him feel more human. But, as you said, it's a bit tricky when Superman is always the perfect gentleman! For strategic reasons, he should probably try to make his alter-ego seem just a tiny bit less perfect sometimes It doesn't feel very odd to me.
I understand the attraction to Luthor, even though I don't like it. I was referring more to the part where she ignores the fact that Luthor hurt someone. In that respect, she already knew Superman was far superior to him, since he was able to resolve situations without anyone getting killed. So when Superman arrived, I thought the scene was meant to reinforce that contrast in her mind. Actually, from what I've seen of real-life shootings, people don't go down that easily from gunshots. So the poor guy could very well still be alive—and in that case, he needs an ambulance ASAP.
The script makes it seem like he died immediately, but you're right, in real life, it probably wouldn't happen that way. And yes, it would be even stranger if he were still alive while everyone ignored the fact that he needed medical help :p This episode practically tells the audience: these two have absolutely no problem working together, so by all means, go ahead and focus all your worries on their romantic relationship instead.
I have to admit I'm not a big fan of the whole utopia thing, and Smart Kids isn't one of my favorite episodes either. But there were things I liked, and I wish we'd seen more of Aymee later. That was the episode that made me start thinking Lois was born to be the mother of a girl.
Stories are written by the victors.
(Hmm, come to think of it, that's not the exact quote...)
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For strategic reasons, he should probably try to make Superman seem just a tiny bit less perfect sometimes
Well, if he were that savvy and experienced, he wouldn't be Clark Kent anymore. In truth, I seriously doubt Clark ever even tried to court anyone before Lois. He probably always let women do the chasing—which is why he’s so passive and evasive around the one woman he actually cares about. Old habits die hard, I guess. I was referring more to the part where she ignores the fact that Luthor hurt someone. In that respect, she already knew Superman was far superior to him, since he was able to resolve situations without anyone getting killed. So when Superman arrived, I thought the scene was meant to reinforce that contrast in her mind.
I don't like it either. The writers made Lois so blinded by Luthor's charm and power that it seriously undermines who she's supposed to be. In the real world, a prize-winning investigative reporter would never extend a shred of trust to a billionaire like Lex Luthor. But then again, in the real world, it's equally implausible that she wouldn't recognize that two men—identical in height, build, facial features, and voice, down to the exact same moles on their upper lip, the right corner of the mouth, the center of the neck, and the back of the left hand—are the same person. 
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Episode 07- I've Got A Crush On You
IGACOY makes for an ideal finale to the first part of this trilogy, handing both of our leads their most defining moments yet：For Clark, realization finally penetrates his singularly dense brain structure when the stunningly seductive Ms. Lola Dane takes the stage—his heart has long been her prisoner. It's such a terrifying thought that his first instinct is to break free from this imprisonment and reclaim the high ground—In this one episode alone, Mr. Lunkhead has tried more than once to get Lois to admit she's jealous of him and Tony Taylor (Take my advice, boys—never do this to a lady, or you’ll lose her favor.) Meanwhile, Lois finally admits to a tub of Rocky Road that Clark means more to her than just a colleague or a friend. Because yes, she does feel that pang of jealousy when other women get too close—We’ll have to wait until Part 2 to find out what she plans to do with that revelation.
Unlike many viewers, I personally have no issue with Clark playing a “backstabbing piece of slime” and blowing Lois’s cover this episode. Since L&C are going to share the byline on this toaster story anyway, it does make more sense to let Lois’s bulletproof partner go undercover in a nightclub where bullets fly on a daily basis. And sometimes drastic measures are required when the lady is too stubborn to stand down. Let’s not forget: in other universes, other Lois Lanes have died chasing down dangerous leads like this one. There is no guarantee our Lois will stay that lucky forever. And I believe that deep down, Lois knows Clark meant well when he blew her cover—because once she’s done throwing her fit in his apartment and letting off steam, she doesn't press the issue any further and clearly holds no lasting grudge against him.
What I do have a problem with is the dumpster scene. According to Clark’s X-ray vision, the bin on the left is packed with rotting food waste; the one on the right holds mostly dry leaves and shredded paper. And yet, Clark appears to have shoved Lois into the messier one on the left? If that was intentional, then the writers owe us a massive apology, because Clark Kent would never—not even as a joke—repay his partner’s loyalty with a prank that vile. First of all, Lois did absolutely nothing wrong in this episode. Second, she only let herself be dumped into that bin without a fight because she was trying to protect Clark's identity. So if he deliberately picked the garbage-soaked dumpster, that’s not playful—that’s rotten, maybe even cruel. And that's sure not how Martha and Jonathan raised him. I’m choosing to believe it’s a technical flub, a POV shot mismatched in the editing bay, because when Lois flails her arms inside the dumpster, we do see quite a bit of shredded paper flying. And later when she turns up at Clark’s apartment, her evening gown is still impeccably clean—not a single stain from the garbage. So I’ll rewrite the scene in my head: Clark picked the cleaner bin, landed Lois on a nice soft cushion of dry leaves and paper strips, and let her think she got the raw end of the deal. That would be perfectly in character for Clark Kent—mischievous to her face, but always protective behind her back.
That being said, Lois endures an unfair amount of ridicule and snickering from her coworkers, Clark included—for simply doing her job as a dedicated investigative reporter. It’s hard to imagine any '90s scriptwriter having the guts to send Mr. Kent undercover at a male strip club called “Xquisite,” isn’t it? Ironically, despite being “perfectly placed” inside the crime organization and armed with superpowers, Clark walks away with next to nothing. The one time he does try to pry information out of Tony Taylor, the cool-headed Mafia Mama immediately gets suspicious. In the end, it’s Lois who does all the heavy lifting for their story. Clearly, Clark is still a rookie in the undercover game, and he's got plenty to learn from his seasoned partner.
One thing this episode makes abundantly clear is that both Lois and Clark ooze sexual charisma to outsiders. It’s obvious that neither of them would have any trouble finding a willing partner if they ever wanted one. What's equally interesting in this episode is the way Clark seduces Tony Taylor—it's nearly identical to the approach Luthor, Scardino, and Sullivan take when they court Lois Lane: astute, cool, confident, and completely unfazed. They never hesitate to voice their “feelings” as rejection carries no real cost for them. The message is crystal clear: If this woman takes the bait, excellent. If not, oh well. No love lost. This couldn't stand in sharper contrast to how Lois and Clark behave once they're actually dating—fear, doubt, anger, frustration—every step forward is taken with extreme caution, because the stakes are simply too high. And yet, they still stumble at nearly every turn. So really, it's not that hard to tell when a man is genuinely taken with a woman: he stammers, he fumbles, his I.Q. takes a noticeable nosedive whenever she’s around—and somehow, it's absolutely adorable.
It also occurs to me that despite being intelligent, kind-hearted, and strikingly attractive, Lois has only ever won the heart of one man: Clark Kent—who, as it happens, is an alien. Her long procession of human suitors—Claude, Luthor, Scardino, Solovin, Xavier, Deter, Luckabee, Luthor Jr., and so on—each seeks merely to possess her, driven by their own brand of greed. Not one of them truly considers what she desires or requires, let alone lives by the philosophy that "making you happy makes me happy." Perhaps the poor lady isn't even meant for Earth. Does that hold true in other Superman versions too— that Lois never has a human suitor who truly loves her? How tragic, really. If Clark had never been sent to Earth, Lois might have been the loneliest woman on this planet.
Another scene I love is right after the first toaster attack—when every thug at the Metro Club bolts at super-speed without even checking if their lady boss made it out. Lois alone runs back toward the fire the moment she realizes Clark is not with her: “Clark, are you okay?” It doesn't necessarily mean she has deep feelings for him or anything—it's just who she is. Fearless and selfless. One remarkable woman.
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Hack from Nowheresville
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Hack from Nowheresville
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He probably always let women do the chasing
I've wondered about that too and came to a similar conclusion. I think that if he ever actively tried to pursue a woman, it was probably only a few times. But then again, in the real world, it's equally implausible that she wouldn't recognize that two men—identical in height, build, facial features, and voice, down to the exact same moles on their upper lip, the right corner of the mouth, the center of the neck, and the back of the left hand—are the same person.
I think Lois being fooled by Clark's disguise is much more plausible But I'm biased because I absolutely love his disguise. I think the whole idea of hiding in plain sight is brilliant. It's such a terrifying thought that his first instinct is to break free from this imprisonment and reclaim the high ground
Hmm, that makes sense. Unlike many viewers, I personally have no issue with Clark playing a “backstabbing piece of slime” and blowing Lois’s cover this episode.
I have to admit I'm one of those viewers... This episode annoys me a little I’m choosing to believe it’s a technical flub, a POV shot mismatched in the editing bay, because when Lois flails her arms inside the dumpster, we do see quite a bit of shredded paper flying. And later when she turns up at Clark’s apartment, her evening gown is still impeccably clean—not a single stain from the garbage. So I’ll rewrite the scene in my head
I'm with you on this one. Does that hold true in other Superman versions too— that Lois never has a human suitor who truly loves her?
Well, I can think of Richard White and John Henry Irons. But I don't have anything against Daniel Scardino either, aside from the fact that he was very persistent (which Mayson was too). If Clark had never been sent to Earth, Lois might have been the loneliest woman on this planet.
I think both Clark and Lois could find or build a healthy relationship with other people. Especially Clark, because I feel like he wants love more than she does, having spent so much of his life searching for a place in the world. I can see Lois as someone who enjoys romance in fiction but would be perfectly fine on her own - although, considering how many suitors she attracts, at least one of them should have been decent, according to the laws of mathematical probability. Actually, that list of suitors was another thing that made me roll my eyes at the show. At some point, I decided to consider certain things that are technically canon as non-canon, and I've been happier ever since Anyway, I still think Lois and Clark together are the best match either of them could have, and I enjoy discovering stories where they always end up together. It doesn't necessarily mean she has deep feelings for him or anything—it's just who she is. Fearless and selfless.
Totally
Stories are written by the victors.
(Hmm, come to think of it, that's not the exact quote...)
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I think Lois being fooled by Clark's disguise is much more plausible.
Not after they start dating. When you pay that close attention to a guy, you become hyperaware of his physical marks, not to mention his unique scent and taste. Just that one mole above Clark's lip would have given him away within a week—I’m talking about real-life circumstances here, of course.  I have to admit I'm one of those viewers... This episode annoys me a little
Well, as long as Clark doesn't swipe Lois's byline, I'm cool with it. It might actually do her some good to hone her writing skills in front of a word processor. But I seriously doubt Clark would be willing to take the undercover job if the bartender's uniform is anywhere near as revealing as the waitress's. Well, I can think of Richard White and John Henry Irons.
Okay, I looked into these two, and they both seem like darn nice guys. Good for Lois. That makes me feel way better. But I don't have anything against Daniel Scardino either, aside from the fact that he was very persistent.
Ugh, I have to say it: I hate Scardino even more than Max Deter. At least Lois's other suitors admit they're the bad guys. Scardino, on the other hand, does all the bad things while somehow still believing he's the good guy. He used his dead partner Jena's story to seduce another woman before her body had even gone cold—classic "grieving widower" schtick. His little speech in Lois's car made it crystal clear he never intended anything long-term with her. But he was still willing to torch her entire personal life and work partnership to get her—so he'd have a nice juicy sex toy to play with while he was stationed in Metropolis. And what he did to Mayson Drake is just sickening. Mayson was a female warrior who gave her young life fighting crime. And instead of showing that woman even an ounce of respect, he waved her private diary around in front of other people, reading her most treasured secrets out loud and mocking them without a shred of decency. I'm honestly surprised Clark didn't twist his head off right then and there just to shut his big mouth. To sum it up: Dan Scardino has no compassion, no honor, no sense of responsibility, and absolutely zero respect for women's autonomy. I'm pretty sure he took the DEA job for the glory, not for the good of people. The second those “decorations” stop feeding his ego, he'll go full dark side and turn into a crooked agent. Sorry, I'm getting a little worked up here—for some reason, that guy really gets to me. Considering how many suitors she attracts, at least one of them should have been decent, according to the laws of mathematical probability.
Unfortunately, it's part of Lois's character setup in the L&C universe that she always manages to attract that one villain in a sea of good guys. I guess Clark gets a pass only because he's an alien—and that earthbound rule just doesn't seem to apply to him.
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Part 2 – The “heavy flirting” stage
Episode 08 – Honeymoon in Metropolis
The main reason I moved "HIM" ahead of "GGGH" is that I needed a plausible excuse for Clark’s parents to treat Lois as his girlfriend in "GGGH"—and, more importantly, for Lois not to take offense at their oddly forward behavior. Unfortunately, nothing in the first seven episodes could possibly give us such an excuse.
Probably every young woman knows this particular nightmare: you have a seemingly amiable male classmate or colleague—someone you consider a good friend, someone you occasionally share a laugh with—only to find out later that he’s been telling everyone behind your back that you're his girlfriend. If "GGGH" had stayed in its original slot as Episode #8, Martha and Jonathan’s blatant “Hello, daughter-in-law!” attitude would only make sense if Clark had said something wildly inappropriate about Lois to his parents. That wouldn’t exactly reflect well on Clark’s character. But if the small town visit takes place after "HIM," then everything makes perfect sense. After all, Lois and Clark were “registered as husband and wife,” went “under cover” together in a honeymoon suite, took “turns” in the bedroom, and shared a horizontal kiss on the bridal bed. Lois even started having some delicate thoughts about Clark and tried to tell him during a late-night phone call while she was curled up in that very bed. So she’d have no trouble forgiving the misunderstanding this situation caused with Clark’s parents.
The second reason I slotted "HIM" in as Episode #8 is that the "horizontal kiss" scene here shares a direct connection with "IGACOY." When the maid barges into L&C’s love nest without knocking—and I’d be surprised if she didn’t get fired for that—all Clark has to do is walk over, lock the door before the maid enters, and call out, “We’re a little busy right now—could you come back later? Thanks!” But instead, he chooses to pretend that he and Lois are “sharing some fleeting moment of passion.” Why? Because Lois explicitly instructed him to do exactly that in "IGACOY," and now he’s following her instructions to the letter. It's a hilarious and cleverly staged scene, but unfortunately, the original airing order put "HIM" and "IGACOY" so far apart that most viewers completely missed the joke.
The third reason is that there's a July 1993 calendar hanging on the wall in Roarke's office. So HIM clearly has to be placed before GGGH—since GGGH is set in the fall, during the Corn Festival. I suspect the prop department deliberately selected that specific calendar as a clue for the audience that HIM was originally slated for production much earlier in the season.
Lois’s behavior in the honeymoon suite is absolutely fascinating to watch. For starters, she only looks embarrassed when there's an audience—her colleagues, the bellboy, anyone—is present in the suite. But the moment she's left alone with Clark, her demeanor shifts to one of total relaxation. For another, she seems to be subtly testing Clark's "patience" during their first night together: she wears the shortest pajama shorts she owns on their late-night stakeout—something we almost never see her in when she's home alone. And after she tells Clark to wake her if anything comes up, she chooses to sleep in the nude—I seriously doubt this is something she's ever done before, since she's always in a nightgown when she sleeps at home. She even tosses out a provocatively charged line before heading into the bedroom: “Our job is to rip away the veil of secrecy and expose the naked truth.” All in all, it seems like a carefully designed set of field tests to gauge just how high Clark's moral standards really are—And luckily, Mr. Kent passed with flying colors. (Shh—don't mention Clark's little peeping-Tom thing to her.)
This episode also makes it crystal clear that the honeymoon-suite cohabitation is the first time either of them has shared living quarters with the opposite sex—meaning not only have they never lived full-time with a partner, they’ve never even had a lover who regularly stayed over. For two healthy, good-looking people in their mid-to-late 20s, that's definitely saying something—we're talking about one seriously weird pair here. Of course, we all learned why Clark is the way he is from "Virtually Destroyed." But the series has wisely remained evasive about how Lois ended up this way: she has no clue how to share personal space with a man, despite having slept with one before. She was robbed of that life experience because, after her one-night stand with Claude five years earlier, the scumbag slipped out while 21-year-old Lois was still asleep—in his haste to steal her gunrunner story. That old wound never quite healed, and she hasn't let a man close since.
Then we get to the final scene of the episode: Right after Clark finishes his call with his parents and sets the phone down, it rings again—immediately. That means after Lois finds out Clark's line was busy, the poor girl has kept redialing—she's clearly made up her mind to tell him something important, fearing that if she waits any longer she'll lose her nerve.
And can you believe what the lunkhead Mr. Kent does? He fakes a huge yawn and kills the conversation—just like that.
I actually asked a few of my male Homo sapiens friends what they’d do if a woman they were into called them late at night from a honeymoon suite and said, “This'll give you something to look forward to.” The answer was unanimous: they’d ask her out on the spot, because the green light she’s giving is so obvious you’d have to be blind to miss it.
So I'm forced to conclude that Clark's unfathomably dense move here has to be a Kryptonian thing: Partly it’s the lingering effect of the brain damage from that horizontal kiss two nights before—because Kryptonians are so emotionally repressed all the time that a sudden onslaught of overwhelming feelings tends to short-circuit their brains. Partly, it's also Clark's old habit of pushing people away when they get too close to his heart—a habit he's been cultivating since he was thirteen, now so deeply wired into him that he just shoves Lois away on pure reflex, without even thinking it through first.
Thanks to Mr. Kent's latest galactically stupid move, we never get to find out what Lois was trying to tell him while snuggled up in that bridal bed. But it's not exactly hard to guess: By now, Lois has pretty much figured out that Clark Kent is a remarkably decent man of unimpeachable character——loads better than any of the trashy men she's dated so far, and way more practical than Lex Luthor. In short, he's excellent raw material for a boyfriend, if not a husband, and an ideal solution to her personal predicaments. In fact, she's likely already aware that Clark may well be the best offer she'll ever get in her lifetime. But first, she has to make him fall for her—by nudging him to ask her out. So what about her fear of getting hurt again? Well, She probably figures she can protect her heart by keeping him in the role of a devoted squire—careful to keep her own feelings in check and not fall for him. Sure, this late-night phone call didn't go as she'd planned, but there's still tomorrow, at the Planet, and the "Carnival Date" in Smallville coming up next episode.
One more thing worth pointing out this episode: Lois looks rather bored and melancholy when she's "relaxing" alone in the honeymoon suite, but she seems a hundred times happier when she's sharing that same suite with Clark. That's why I stand by what I said earlier in this thread: Lois Lane is NOT the type to enjoy solitude. Living her private life alone makes her downright miserable, which is why she crams every waking hour with work. And this soul-crushing loneliness will eventually push her toward some deeply unwise life decisions down the road.
Sadly, one of my favorite scenes from this episode never made the final cut: Lois goes berserk and charges off to the harbor to hunt down the bad guys solo—because one of the thugs slaughtered her beloved teddy bear, the white one that had been sitting on her bridal bed with the pine-green ribbon around its neck. This brutally murdered 'bridal bear' means so much to Lois that she bought an exact replica right after her first date and first kiss with Clark. You can spot the very same white bear—complete with its pine-green ribbon around the neck—sitting on her bed in both 'Resurrection' and 'WWW'.
Lois heads for the bedroom. From inside, we hear EXPRESSIONS of anger and dismay.
LOIS: “We have to find him. That man is capable of anything.”
She holds up the teddy bear, its stomach slashed wide open.
It's such a cute little moment, and it says so much about Lois's character—tough on the outside, total softie on the inside. What a shame they left it on the cutting room floor.
But don't you worry, little Lola—Clarkie will get you a new teddy bear next episode.
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Hack from Nowheresville
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Not after they start dating.
I know that rationally, but I can't help defending the disguise on every occasion. And what he did to Mason Drake is just sickening.
 That's true. I'd forgotten about that, and it really was awful. Very disrespectful to Mayson. Although, to be fair, even the script of this episode itself wasn't exactly very respectful towards her. Anyway, I'm deducting points from Scardino on my scorecard here. Sorry, I'm getting a little worked up here
No worries, sometimes fiction just brings out reactions like that in us. I recognize Dan's flaws, although the fact that he's a quirky character keeps me from hating him  (I'm neutral about him, in the end). I don't see the car scene as a declaration that he doesn't want a real relationship, but maybe that he wanted something less planned, more spontaneous. It's not my kind of romance, but I know people and couples who have worked/work well that way, just starting without expectations and then evolving. But there were quite a few scenes with Dan that gave me secondhand embarrassment (especially the way Lois reacted to him sometimes and the little competition between him and Clark). For another, she seems to be subtly testing Clark's "patience"
My friend K said the same thing when I had her watch a few episodes with me in January, especially referring to the part where Lois sleeps naked. And really, I can't argue with that we're talking about one seriously weird pair here.
They're practically an alien who's very human and a human who's very alien. Made for each other. I actually asked a few of my male Homo sapiens friends
Interesting research. Yeah, Clark definitely should have done something at that point. That's why I stand by what I said earlier in this thread: Lois Lane is NOT the type to enjoy solitude.
I agree. She's extroverted and was made to socialize, talk and interact with others. I just don't think that this "being with someone" she needs necessarily has to be in a romantic sense. Although I don't think that means she would turn down a romantic opportunity that made sense for her, like what happened with Luthor later. Sadly, one of my favorite scenes from this episode never made the final cut:
I had never noticed that in the script! It really is such a sweet moment.
Stories are written by the victors.
(Hmm, come to think of it, that's not the exact quote...)
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I know that rationally, but I can't help defending the disguise on every occasion.
I see what you mean. Going maskless really does set Superman apart from most other superheroes with secret identities. but maybe that he wanted something less planned, more spontaneous
That’s exactly what gets under my skin. Scardino only ever thinks about what he wants and never gives Lois’s interests a second thought. He deliberately sabotages Lois’s relationship with Clark—her most important work partner—all for the sake of a fleeting, spontaneous fling with her, one that was never going to work out given their career choices. It’s selfishness beyond imagination. And he keeps up his sabotaging act even after Lois shuts him down at the beginning of 'TJO.' I love that rejection, by the way—it’s firm, clear, and straight to the point (guess that movie date with Clark the night before went pretty well). It leaves zero room for negotiation, and it really shows what a dishonorable person Scardino is when he keeps harassing her with phone calls and outright stalking after being turned down like that. He’s the classic guy who just can’t seem to understand that “No” means no. But I know people and couples who have worked/work well that way, just starting without expectations and then evolving.
That’s perfectly fine if both parties are single and available. But Lois was already headed toward a serious, long-term relationship with Clark when Scardino stuck his grubby paws in. If the guy had any sense of decency, he would’ve at least waited until L&C broke up—and thanks to Clark’s own stupidity, Scardino wouldn’t even had to wait that long. They're practically an alien who's very human and a human who's very alien. Made for each other.
Excellently put. I just don't think that this "being with someone" she needs necessarily has to be in a romantic sense.
Agreed. She'd be much better off living with Star than accepting Luthor's proposal. Unfortunately, she wasn't having any luck with friendships in Season 1 either—and Star didn't show up until Season 3. Poor Lois. Come to think of it, maybe her friendship with Star only worked because Star's a bit of an alien herself. I had never noticed that in the script! It really is such a sweet moment.
Yeah, I absolutely love these little character touches in L&C. Lois has such a thing for teddy bears—there are references to them throughout the series, and every single one is just adorable. And the prop department, pure genius. They never threw anything away. Who would've thought they'd hold onto that 'bridal bear' for over a year, only to bring it back after Lois and Clark's first official date—just to show how deeply Lois treasured the memory of their time together in that honeymoon suite?
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Episode 09 – The Green, Green Glow of Home
This marks Lois Lane's very first visit to the small town that, three years later, will become her adopted hometown.
Watching her navigate Smallville is every bit as fascinating as watching her fumble through that honeymoon suite—both are entirely foreign territory to her. The moment Lois sets foot on Smallville soil, she quietly sheds the bossy, take-charge attitude she wears like a second skin back in Metropolis. Instead, she clings to Clark—the only familiar face on this alien turf—as if he's a lifeline. She goes where he goes, sits where he sits, and keeps constant tabs on where he is and who he's talking to. And when Martha and Jonathan welcome her as Clark's girlfriend, she doesn't even correct them. She just plays along. In fact, she behaves exactly like a shy bride meeting her future in-laws for the very first time. This seemingly out-of-character behavior fits neatly into my theory: Lois formed a plan back in "HIM" to capture Clark's heart and mold him into a squire-like boyfriend to serve her needs. And if there's even a chance that the Kents will one day become her actual in-laws, then first impressions are everything. She needs to be careful not to insult them—oops. Too late. Then again, no harm done. It's clear that Clark's parents are both extremely nice people, just like their son, which no doubt earns Mr. Kent some serious bonus points in Lois's book.
I remember the first time I watched that couch scene in the Kent farmhouse—I sort of felt like Martha crossed a line when she suggested that L&C might want to share a bed. But upon rewatch, I realized her seemingly forward "Unless you two are..." is actually triggered by Lois herself. After Martha announces, "Clark, you'll be on the couch," Lois turns to look at Clark, obviously surprised—either because the Kent farmhouse apparently doesn't even have a guestroom, or because she's just realized her presence has displaced one of her hosts to the sofa. But Martha misreads that look entirely, interpreting it as her disappointment at being separated from Clark for the night. It's a brilliantly funny beat, executed flawlessly by two actresses working in perfect sync. But unfortunately, the camera crew didn't quite do their job—they should’ve given Teri a close-up on that surprised reaction.
Then comes the Kryptonite attack. In the kitchen scene, Lois once again slips into full girlfriend mode: one casual glance at Clark and she immediately knows something's wrong. She fusses over him right alongside the Kents, even throwing in a defensive, "I tried to warn him about those amber waves of grain." The subtext seems to be: I did my part looking after your boy. It's not my fault he got sick.
From this episode forward, the production team starts cutting scenes that make it crystal clear Lois is the one driving this romance forward. The "line-dance" scene is the first casualty: L&C find themselves on the dance floor only because Lois spots Rachel Harris making a beeline for Clark, about to invite him to dance—and Lois isn't about to let that happen. She springs into action and beats her rival to the punch：
The country-rock band plays while Clark and Lois stand watching a crowd that has arrayed itself into a huge line-dance. Lois spies Rachel on the fringe of the crowd, approaching.
LOIS: Give it a whirl?
CLARK: You're kidding?
LOIS (dragging him out): No, I'm not kidding. I'd *like* to dance. If you promise never to breathe one word about this to anybody at the Planet.
CLARK: Promise.
They take places in the line. It's obvious that Lois knows as much about this as Clark does.
This basically means that Lois has already gotten pretty territorial—and she’s clearly marked Clark as her prey. In fact, Lois practically orchestrates the entire "carnival date" with Clark: First, she ditches her work clothes for a super cute "date dress" and leather boots. Then she drags Clark into line-dancing. Then she steers him toward that "Ring the bell, win a prize" hammer-strength game—the kind of attraction that's basically designed for guys to show off for their lady friends. And I'd bet that chocolate-coated ice cream bar was her special request too. Clark, for his part, happily goes along with all of it—and for once, doesn't push her away. Maybe it’s because the Kryptonite radiation has reshaped his singularly dense brain into something more human, one that does not short-circuit as easily from strong emotions. Or maybe he's secretly hoping the Kryptonite effect is permanent—that he could stay human forever, date, love, and live a normal life just like an ordinary guy.
Come to think of it, wouldn't it be extra sweet if this carnival date just happened to fall on Lois's 26th birthday? She's a Libra (September 23–October 23), and Kansas corn festivals do tend to pop up in late September. If that's the case, then that teddy bear Clark won for her doubles as a perfect birthday gift—which would explain why it holds the place of honor as Lois's bed-mate for at least three solid months—the next time we spot this “Clarkie bear” would be around Christmas time in "Witness."
I genuinely enjoy the street fight between Trask and Clark—Dean clearly has a knack for physical scenes. But I can't help feeling the writers missed a golden opportunity here to protect Clark's secret identity. Just imagine: Trask's vicious roundhouse kick opens a nasty gash on Clark's forehead. When Lois rushes over, she finds blood streaming down his face, dripping onto his neck and staining his blue shirt crimson. She drags him to the county clinic, where he gets at least five stitches and has to wear bandages to work for a week. An injury like that could've bought Clark's cover another two years—maybe even long enough to get a "Yes" out of Lois when he finally proposes in "ATAI."
I can grudgingly accept Lois's failure to connect Clark with Superman for two seasons. After all, she's seen him bleed from a paper cut, and she's watched him get beaten to a pulp by an ordinary human criminal. Even after she learns about Kryptonite in early Season 2, she still has no idea that a piece as big as the one in "GGGH" could knock Clark out for days, not just minutes. So whenever her suspicion starts to flare up, she probably talks herself down: "What am I thinking? This guy bleeds!"
But Perry White is an entirely different story. It genuinely bothers me that Perry didn't figure it out in "MOSB"—the clues are simply too glaring to ignore. And Perry is supposed to be the Master Yoda of investigative journalism. In "Fly Hard," Jack figured out Clark's secret with far less evidence than Perry's had at his disposal. That kind of blind spot really undercuts Perry's character, making him look dimmer than a troubled teenager. To be fair, the show eventually makes it clear that Perry knows by the end of Season 3—he lends the Kents his private office for a quiet goodbye to Clark, which means he has to be in on it. Throughout Season 4, he simply pretends he doesn't know, and L&C pretend they don't know that he knows. But still. It would've been nice if the writers had given Clark a profusely bleeding wound as early as GGGH, just so everyone around him wouldn't have to look so dim-witted all the time.
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Hack from Nowheresville
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I see things a little differently. Dan was annoying, pushy, and sometimes inconsiderate, but he didn't have access to all the information we do. He came into Lois's life at a very sensitive point in her relationship with Clark. After Mayson’s death, Clark was understandably shaken, and Lois was insecure. Even they weren't entirely sure about their relationship anymore, let alone Dan, who knew nothing about their history together. From Dan's perspective, Clark wasn't taking Lois seriously (and it really did seem that way), and Lois herself seemed somewhat undecided (maybe not in her heart, but in her mind). I don't think Dan was acting out of pure selfishness, but rather because he was kind of clueless and also didn't have the full picture. In the kitchen scene, Lois once again slips into full girlfriend mode:
There's a tiny scene in this part that really shouldn't make me as happy as it does: when Lois holds Clark's face. I think it's so cute. Oh, and that hug at the end of the episode? So beautiful! Teri and Dean were born to hug each other lol. his singularly dense brain
It would've been nice if the writers had given Clark a profusely bleeding wound as early as GGGH, just so everyone around him wouldn't have to look so dim-witted all the time.
It was, indeed, a good opportunity that was missed.
Stories are written by the victors.
(Hmm, come to think of it, that's not the exact quote...)
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I guess part of why I despise Scardino so much is that I'm a Mayson Drake fan—and Jena, too. She's yet another fallen female warrior. That poor woman's probably rolling in her grave if she knew how her partner used her story to hit on another woman. After what he did to those two female martyrs, I can't find a single decent thing about this character. But you're right—he's not worth obsessing over. All he ever got from Lois was a lunch date at an ice-cream parlor; he didn't even walk away with a handshake . And really, he's nothing more than a temporary plot device meant to move the story forward. The writers must have deliberately assigned him an unlikable character to keep the audience from getting emotionally attached. There's a tiny scene in this part that really shouldn't make me as happy as it does: when Lois holds Clark's face. I think it's so cute. Oh, and that hug at the end of the episode? So beautiful! Teri and Dean were born to hug each other.
Couldn’t agree more. It’s the little nuances in their body language that elevate this show above most romance movies and TV shows I've ever seen. They set the gold standard for what two lovers completely in sync should look like—unlike some recent shows where the leads clearly repel each other but are forced together by contract anyway, and it's just painful to watch.
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Episode 10 – Man of Steel Bars
In this episode, we witness Lois go full groupie as she chases after Superman for the second—and final—time in the series. And honestly, who could blame her? It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to get that close to a godlike celebrity, and the chance practically lands right in her lap. If Chris Evans ever crashed at my boyfriend’s dorm, I’d absolutely go all out whipping up a decent meal for the guys—and treat my BF like a piece of furniture the entire time he was there (I’d make it up to him later by snagging tickets to that premiere where Zendaya’s expected to appear). But I swear I wouldn’t sneak a peek at Mr. Evans in the shower, because that’s just not something you do to someone you love and respect—celebrity or not. As I’ve mentioned before on this thread, the swooning and groupie-like behavior Lois shows around Superman is clear proof that her feelings at this stage are pure infatuation. She doesn’t truly love Superman—at least, not yet—she’s only in love with the idea of him.
This episode also gives us the one moment in all of Season 1 that might actually make Lois wonder, “Is there a chance Clark is in love with me?” Yes, I’m talking about that parting kiss he gives her in the late-night newsroom—born out of sheer desperation that he may never see her again. Granted, the kiss is so feather-light and gentlemanly that the lady could easily brush it off as some quirky Smallville custom for saying goodbye to a dear friend. But still, the possibility of something much deeper is in the air. And this rare glimmer of encouragement immediately stirs the seed of love that's been lying dormant deep inside Lois’s heart. The moment it receives its very first drop of nourishment, her true feelings for Clark begin to sprout at an astonishing speed. The next morning finds a teary-eyed Lois at her desk, musing out loud: “First Superman, now Clark. I don’t know who I’ll miss more.” In just one night, she's elevated Clark Kent to the exact same place in her heart as Superman—the man she once claimed she’d been looking for all her life.
It's worth noting that, for a sharp investigative reporter, Clark swallows that 'Super Feat Equals Super Heat' nonsense without blinking—even when nobody around him buys it. That goes some way toward explaining why he spends most of Season 1 being so passive and evasive with the one woman he actually loves. I figure at least half of it is sheer selflessness: there’s always this deep-seated fear in him that his alien, freakish nature will bring disaster to those he loves if he lets them get too close. That fear metastasizes into something far more monstrous by early Season 3, culminating in that infuriating “I love you too much for us to be together” mindset. While all his human rivals are dead set on possessing Lois Lane to feed their own egos—never once stopping to consider what they could offer her in return—Clark alone is constantly haunted by the worry that he might not be Lois’s best option in life. And that worry often manifests as reluctance to let her come too close, which Lois no doubt reads as plain disinterest. So in a sense, this was a losing battle from the very start. That said, I'm glad to see Clark's character evolve and mature over time. By Season 4, he finally realizes that loving someone means not only accepting her flaws, but also making peace with the fact that he'll inevitably bring some trouble her way. In "Lethal Weapon," even after he physically hurts Lois and turns their newly furnished townhouse into The Poseidon Adventure, he doesn't run away like he always has before. Instead, he stands his ground amid the devastating wreckage he caused and patiently works through all the chaos alongside her.
I remember watching “MOSB” for the first time with my sister and being completely charmed by that almost scandalous office flirting at the very end. We were both buzzing over such a huge leap in L&C’s relationship—those two lonely souls finally realizing just how vitally important they are to each other—and we couldn’t wait to see what came next. So even though it was already past 11:00 p.m., we decided to squeeze in one more episode before calling it a night. Unfortunately, that next episode turned out to be “PML” in the original order—the one where Lois suddenly starts dating Luthor again! It made her look like she was playing both sides of the fence, which felt wildly out of character. My sister smugly pointed this out and tried to get me to admit that Lois Lane is, at heart, a "scarlet woman." But then I noticed that the timeline in “PML” jumps ahead to spring, only to snap back to winter in the later episode “Witness”—which means “PML” was clearly out of place. That misplacement doesn't just confuse chronology; it severely undermines Lois’s emotional integrity as a character.
And that was the moment I realized something was seriously wrong with the show’s production order. So, to hell with the so-called “canon” sequence—I’m going to rearrange this jigsaw puzzle in whatever way makes me happy. In my custom viewing order, Lois puts all dating on hold for a solid eight months to zero in on Clark, which leaves Mr. Lunkhead with no grounds to complain when he gets the rejection he deserves in BATP. The lady gave him more than enough chances—and he squandered just about every one of them.
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Hack from Nowheresville
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And in any case, it's all a matter of the writing (whether intentional or not) making Lois's experiences less serious and more of a source of comic relief, while we're encouraged to empathize with Clark's pain and take his experiences seriously. (I even thought the whole thing with Lois's parents reconciling was poorly handled for the same reason, but anyway...) I'm not a fan of Mayson, but I definitely wish she had survived, and I also wish Lois had had a romantic option (other than Clark) who was someone as worthy as Mayson. She was a warrior, as you said. And I wish no one had gotten a tragic ending! I don't like it when other characters get in the way of the main couple only to get hurt. They set the gold standard for what two lovers completely in sync should look like
Totally! In this episode, we witness Lois go full groupie as she chases after Superman
One of the moments that gives me the most secondhand embarrassment in the entire series. To this day, I’ve never rewatched it (I’d make it up to him later by snagging tickets to that premiere where Zendaya’s expected to appear)
 Fair enough! The next morning finds a teary-eyed Lois at her desk, musing out loud: “First Superman, now Clark. I don’t know who I’ll miss more.” In just one night, she's elevated Clark Kent to the exact same place in her heart as Superman—the man she once claimed she’d been looking for all her life.
Ah, I wish Lois had said that to Clark. I figure at least half of it is sheer selflessness
It just goes to show that even good things can become bad when taken too far! that almost scandalous office flirting at the very end.
I looove that scene. My sister smugly pointed this out and tried to get me to admit that Lois Lane is, at heart, a "scarlet woman."
Wow... I would find it easier to believe that the episodes simply didn't have a consistent connection with each other. But then I noticed that the timeline in “PML” jumps ahead to spring, only to snap back to winter in the later episode “Witness”
What a mess! I'll follow your chronological order when I rewatch the series in a few months. I'm already curious to see if it gives me any new perspectives.
Stories are written by the victors.
(Hmm, come to think of it, that's not the exact quote...)
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I also wish Lois had had a romantic option (other than Clark) who was someone as worthy as Mayson.
Same here. I dug a little deeper into that Richard White character you suggested, and I really like him. I just wish they'd brought someone like him into the L&C world, instead of making it seem like Lois had no other decent options. One of the moments that gives me the most secondhand embarrassment in the entire series.
Then I'm glad you never saw me in my teenage celebrity-chasing days . Honestly, I actually love Lois's little swooning fits. They show that despite everything she's been through, she still has that spark of girlish innocence. It also makes her feel more energetic and more relatable to younger audiences. I wish Lois had said that to Clark.
I kind of feel like he already knew. It always seemed to me that Clark spent most of Season 1 wrestling with that "I know I love her, but is it a lifetime kind of love?" thing. Unfortunately, by the time he finally figured it out—too late, dude—Lois had already shut him out completely. It just goes to show that even good things can become bad when taken too far!
Exactly. Sometimes Clark Kent's character setup is a little too saintly for my liking. I've dug through the fanfic archives trying to find darker takes on Mr. Kent, but I came up with very few.
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Episode 11 – Witness
This is the episode where Clark earns Lois’s complete, unwavering trust—the kind she doesn’t give lightly.
We open this episode with a flicker of Lois's long-dormant chip-on-the-shoulder attitude resurfacing, as she greets Clark's offer to escort her with full-throttled stubbornness right after stumbling into a murder scene. It feels a little out of step, given everything they've been through together in "HIM," "GGGoH," and "MOSB." But her repeated insistence throughout the episode that "This is my story" offers a telling clue. Clearly, she's starting to realize just how much she's been leaning on her partner lately—and she's desperate to reclaim the professional independence she's always prided herself on. Of course, that lingering “chip” doesn't stand a chance against Clark's steadfast support, and it falls away quite obediently as the plot unfolds. Sam Lane once remarked about his daughter: "It's been tough for her to trust people." But in this episode, we begin to see Lois turning to Clark—not the police, not even Superman—whenever fear or danger creeps in. It's not a stretch to say this might be the very first time in her life she's ever placed her complete faith in another human being—well, humanoid. Either way, it's a significant milestone in Lois Lane's character development.
Some fellow viewers might point out that Clark’s all-night vigil outside Lois’s apartment is undeniably an act of love—and I couldn’t agree more. The only catch is, Lois has no idea he was there. If she asked how he managed to show up at her door so quickly after the assassin’s attack, he would inevitably offer some excuse about already being on his way to pick her up for work. Throughout this episode, he never lets on to anything more than the concern of a caring friend who’d rather not lose his partner so soon. And that’s where Clark’s courtship falters: while all his human rivals gush over Lois Lane with practiced ease, Clark not only struggles to verbalize his emotions, but he also keeps his actions under wraps. Once again, it feels like a losing battle from the very start.
I'm embarrassed to admit it, but I clipped that kitchen-floor scene and watched it in slow motion more times than I care to count—and I suspect I'm not the only FoLC guilty of that level of obsession. I've also often wondered what happened after that moment. Surely Clark wouldn't just leave Lois there on the kitchen floor. It would only be natural for him to carry her to the bedroom and lay her down to rest—and in the process, he'd inevitably catch an eyeful of that "Clarkie bear" propped on her pillow, the one he won for her at the Corn Festival back in September. Of course, he'd pretend not to notice. He's always known that Lois harbors some tender feelings for him—that's hardly breaking news. He just hasn't quite worked up the courage to face that terrifying truth yet. But surely, if the lady herself took the initiative to bring it up, he'd find the nerve to respond properly?
The final scene of the episode is absolutely charming, as Lois begins to develop that sweet habit of looping her arm through Clark’s as they walk:
CLARK: “Where are we going?”
LOIS: “I thought you might want to walk me home.”
CLARK: “I thought you didn't need a bodyguard?”
LOIS: “Who said anything about a bodyguard?”
On Clark, *pretending* to be in the dark, we——
Wait. Pretending? How come he’s showing signs of brain damage again? Did they share a kiss recently? Why yes—they most certainly did, when Clark tried to revive Lois after the assassin’s attack on her kitchen floor. Apparently, that kiss short-circuited this Kryptonian’s brain all over again. Such an unfortunate case of bad timing. Poor Lois—another attempt to nudge Mr. Lunkhead into asking her out met with spectacular failure.
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Hack from Nowheresville
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instead of making it seem like Lois had no other decent options.
Exactly, Lois ended up being disrespected by the writing in this regard too. And it even does a bit of a disservice to Clark's character, because when all your competitors are terrible, it's kind of obvious you're going to be the one chosen. It also makes her feel more energetic and more relatable to younger audiences.
Yes, totally, I understand. It's just not something that's easy for me to watch. I used to be a huge Shawn Mendes fan when I was a teenager, but the most I ever did was write a Y/N-style fanfic, which, by the way, is something I have a pretty negative opinion of nowadays. I've always been more of a fan of stories (and even characters) than of actual people. These days, I know almost nothing about the lives of my favorite singers. So it's something that feels a little strange to me I kind of feel like he already knew.
Sometimes I'm sure he knew, and other times I'm sure he didn't. Lately I've been thinking about the possibility that he both knew and didn't know at the same time (Schrödinger's romance? ), which, considering the complexity of the human mind, seems possible to me. Or maybe I'll come to a more concrete conclusion soon - perhaps after I rewatch the series, since I've forgotten a lot of things. Exactly. Sometimes Clark Kent's character setup is a little too saintly for my liking. I've dug through the fanfic archives trying to find darker takes on Mr. Kent, but I came up with very few.
I think it's because Superman is so powerful that a darker version of him could easily end up in a pretty ugly massacre, and it's something people don't like to imagine. My three favorite pieces of media actually contain quite a lot of violence (ASOIAF, AOT and THG), so Superman ended up becoming a sacred place of comfort for me lol. But I like seeing Clark make mistakes and sometimes do something unethical because of a story he's pursuing or something like that. It makes him more human, which is what he's always been and how he's always wanted to be seen (at least in TNAoS). Imagining him as the perfect prince all the time puts him closer to a "god" than a human, and that's a portrayal that doesn't respect the character's central desire. But sometimes it's hard to let go of that view. And it's even harder to find a balance when writing a flawed character without compromising their essence, as so often ends up happening. I'm embarrassed to admit it, but I clipped that kitchen-floor scene and watched it in slow motion more times than I care to count—and I suspect I'm not the only FoLC guilty of that level of obsession.
You're definitely not alone! It would only be natural for him to carry her to the bedroom and lay her down to rest—and in the process, he'd inevitably catch an eyeful of that "Clarkie bear"
This sounds like a one-shot you should write...  Just a possibility: maybe Clark was letting Lois flirt with him and express some of her feelings for him so that later, when he finally brought that subject up with her, he'd have "evidence," so to speak, and it would be impossible for her to dodge the conversation. The problem was that he let too much time pass, and when he finally acted, desperation kept him from being rational.
Stories are written by the victors.
(Hmm, come to think of it, that's not the exact quote...)
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I've always been more of a fan of stories (and even characters) than of actual people.
That’s the direction I’ve been trying to move toward as well. Reality shows featuring actual people almost always end up messier, uglier, and more often than not, tragic. Still, I’m rooting for Zendaya and Tom Holland—keep it up, you two! Sometimes I'm sure he knew, and other times I'm sure he didn't.
I think it has a lot to do with Lois’s shift in attitude toward Clark. In most of Season 1, Clark surely "knew," but he just sat there and enjoyed all the attention Lois gave him, never really encouraging her feelings. Eventually, his lack of response frustrated her so much that she gave up on him and turned her attention to suboptimal alternatives like Luthor or even Superman. That’s when Clark suddenly "didn’t know" anymore and started whining about how she kept ignoring him and swooning over his rivals—one of whom just so happens to be himself! I think it's because Superman is so powerful that a darker version of him could easily end up in a pretty ugly massacre.
This sounds like a one-shot you should write...
No, I shouldn't. My imagination could never get detailed enough to write actual fanfic. That's why whenever I get a plot bunny, I go digging through the archives hoping some kind soul has already written a story about it—with way more detail than those dim, hazy, muffled scenes playing in my mind. I've always been amazed at how you guys can describe clothes, furniture, and even medicine boxes like they're right there in front of you. Guess that kind of talent's something you're born with, not learned. Maybe Clark was letting Lois flirt with him and express some of her feelings for him so that later, when he finally brought that subject up with her, he'd have "evidence," so to speak, and it would be impossible for her to dodge the conversation.
Wow, that is the dumbest idea I've ever heard—and definitely the kind of thing Clark's dense brain would come up with. If that's really what he's been playing at all through Season 1, then this alien is beyond redemption.
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Episode 12 – The Ides of Metropolis
This episode puts on full display just how completely and unconditionally Lois now trusts her partner, following the assassin incident in the previous episode.
The very next morning after harboring a convicted murderer in her apartment, Lois pulls Clark into a quiet corner of the newsroom and tells him everything. In doing so, she takes an enormous risk with very little to gain—Clark can't really do much to help her here, beyond offering some emotional support. And if he somehow turned against her, she'd be facing jail time, a shredded reputation, and a career in ruins. Yet she confesses to him without a moment's hesitation. Why? Because she carries within her an absolute, unshakable conviction that this man will never let her down—that she can entrust him with her very life. It's an act of extraordinary courage, especially given that she's only known Clark for eight months—and that the last colleague she loved and trusted, Claude, fatally wounded and cruelly betrayed her. This is a clear sign that the old emotional wounds inflicted by her first love are finally beginning to heal, thanks to Clark Kent.
There’s a cute little exchange during the phone-banter scene in the script that really should have made the final cut:
LOIS: “Clark, men and women lie to each other all the time. It's a national pastime. Sometimes it's okay to lie.”
CLARK: “It's never okay.”
LOIS: “So, you've never lied to me?”
CLARK: “I didn't say that. I said it's not okay. Besides, we're talking husbands and wives here.”
I absolutely adore Lois’s little jabs at Clark’s heart, and the brain-dead ways he reacts to them. “We're talking husbands and wives here.”—Come on, that’s exactly what she’s getting at! Could he not offer her something remotely encouraging? Ugh, this alien is irredeemably hopeless.
The final scene of the episode is another sugar-sweet overload. It seems Lois and Clark have slipped into a cozy little routine of having dinner together after work—just the two of them, no chaperone in sight. After heaven knows how many hints dropped in Clark’s general direction, Lois has finally realized that this lunkhead's information-processing core only recognizes and responds to very specific directives—like "I'm starving, and you're buying." Sure, it's not exactly a date, but it's a whole lot better than nothing. This must have been a happy time for Lois, because she no longer has to eat microwaved frozen dinners alone in her apartment, with a flickering TV as her only company. Too bad this sweet ritual didn't last long. And for now, Lois still has the habit of looping her arm through his when they walk—an adorably intimate gesture she'll sadly drop soon enough, thanks to Clark's sheer density, and won't pick back up until after they're married.
A little side note: I think both Lois and Clark acted wildly out of character in that skeet-shooting scene on Luthor's penthouse balcony. Even though what Luthor did wasn't technically against the law at the time—I did some research and was shocked to learn that "depositing objects from high buildings" was perfectly acceptable in the barbaric '90s—it undeniably posed a serious threat to people on the street below. Yet Lois didn't seem to have a problem with it at all, and Clark just let it slide with nothing more than a casual remark. Where's their professional integrity? What about their sense of social responsibility? Shouldn't Clark have written an article calling out Luthor's reckless, dangerous behavior to put a stop to it? He could've at least saved that poor pedestrian who got hit by Luthor's clay pigeon at the end of the episode—not to mention given Lois a reality check about who this billionaire really is.
I blame the Season 1 writers for this. They never should've let Luthor do anything despicable in front of Lois. Scenes like that do nothing but undermine Lois's moral integrity. If Lois had stayed true to her character, she would've cut off her private interactions with Luthor as early as "ILTY"—the moment that billionaire stepped his crocodile-leather shoe up onto the bar stool and started cleaning it with a napkin he snatched off the counter. And to top it off, the guy actually threw the dirty napkin right back onto the counter, practically under Lois's nose! That move wasn't just disrespectful to the staff and other patrons—it sent a clear, contemptuous message to the woman standing right next to him. How could anyone accept a date invitation from someone that arrogant and ill-mannered? It's these kinds of scenes that make me wish I could erase my own memories.
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Hack from Nowheresville
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I’m rooting for Zendaya and Tom Holland
Me too, they're adorable. Guess that kind of talent's something you're born with, not learned.
I was tempted to try to convince you otherwise ( ), but I actually understand what you mean. I'm sure I could never learn how to dance, for example, and my sister also has a hard time imagining things out of nowhere in her head, so creative writing isn't appealing to her. However, stories don't always require visual imagination or physical details. You can have a whole story centered around feelings too Wow, that is the dumbest idea I've ever heard
Episode 12 – The Ides of Metropolis
I like this episode, and I think it portrays Lois in a nice way. (As far as I remember, at least... I really need to rewatch the whole series lol) “We're talking husbands and wives here.”—Come on, that’s exactly what she’s getting at! Could he not offer her something remotely encouraging?
Indeed, looking at it that way, Lois sometimes gave Clark some very good opportunities to flirt with her (whether consciously or not) that he wasted. I mean, this whole conversation about men and women (and attraction) is something she had already started in IGACOY. What about their sense of social responsibility?
How could anyone accept a date invitation from someone that arrogant and ill-mannered?
Yeah, that doesn't seem like something Lois would do. I think that's why I was so reluctant to believe that she would accept Luthor's proposal, because of this combination of little things. I mean, I admit I still have some issues with it, but compared to how I felt about it before, I've kind of made peace with this arc.
Stories are written by the victors.
(Hmm, come to think of it, that's not the exact quote...)
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However, stories don't always require visual imagination or physical details. You can have a whole story centered around feelings too.
True, but it’s the ones that do require them that are the most appealing. I read somewhere that some people have what's called a photographic imagination—the scenes they conjure up in their heads are every bit as detailed as a feature film. People with that kind of gift probably never need to buy a movie ticket in their entire lives. At the opposite extreme are the unlucky few who can never truly enjoy reading novels, because they lack the ability to turn printed words into mental images. I fall somewhere in between. I particularly enjoy stories where the protagonist’s emotions come through indirectly—through dialogue, facial expressions, body language, or even the description of the surrounding environment. Those are the kinds of cues I rely entirely on the author to provide. Lois sometimes gave Clark some very good opportunities to flirt with her (whether consciously or not) that he wasted.
Well, not only did he waste them, but more often than not he came back with something so dense it effectively shut her down. Take the phone-banter scene in this episode—Lois was practically hinting that she and Clark were a couple and wanted to know if he felt the same way. But by replying, " We're talking husbands and wives here," he unintentionally sent her a message: "Don't flatter yourself—you and I are not a couple."If that isn't cosmic-level stupidity, I don't know what is.
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Sorry, but I need to take a break from the episode reviews and sidetrack this thread a bit. A massive plot bunny sparked by recent events in GGGoH and IOM has been stuck in my head for days. It's hogging so much of my mental processing power that I can barely think straight, which is bad news since I really need that brainspace for my thesis proposal (the cursed thing). I've got to write it down and post it somewhere, just so I can purge it from my system. Not sure where it belongs, though—it's not really fanfic, just some random daydreaming. But it’s also a little too long for the Fanfic Challenge forum, so I figured I’d just drop this oversized bunny right here in my humble little thread. Please excuse the detour, and thanks for bearing with me. INTERLUDELois and Clark's daughter was conceived while Clark was under the influence of a heavy-dose Kryptonite exposure—the kind that knocks out his powers for days, not minutes, just like in GGGoH. It makes sense, doesn't it? A massive hunk of Kryptonite essentially turns Clark into an ordinary human, making him biologically compatible with Lois. And it also means birth control for L&C is ridiculously easy—no contraceptives needed. All they have to do is stay away from each other for a few days whenever Clark gets Kryptonite-poisoned. Of course, L&C had no idea about any of this, so they both freaked out pretty badly when they discovered the pregnancy. The girl inherited Clark’s basic defensive and reconnaissance capabilities—super-healing, invulnerability, super-hearing, and X-ray vision. However, the Kryptonite radiation suppressed most of her offensive physical powers (super-strength, super-speed, heat vision, cold breath—none, nada), meaning she could never become a superhero like her father. But what she lacked in muscle, she more than made up for in mind—her mental powers were wildly enhanced by the Kryptonite radiation. She possesses mind-reading power over all Earthlings. Clark is the only person on Earth immune to it, since it doesn't work on Kryptonians. The girl can share minds with her father only when he allows her to. Clark actually has weak telepathic powers himself—like all Kryptonians do. His instinct for sensing people in danger stems from that power, and his brief telepathic exchanges with Lois in BATP, HIWTHI, and BGDF are further proof. He just never learned to use it on purpose. The girl also has the ability to control the minds of other Earthlings. Once she reached full maturity, her mind grew so powerful that she could make a group of strangers kill each other or take their own lives from miles away. She only resorted to that two or three times over her centuries-long existence, and only in extreme necessity. I recall reading somewhere that some older comics and movies gave Superman weak mind-control abilities—he uses them to hypnotize people into believing Clark Kent and Superman are two different people, and he even used it once on Lois to erase her memory. This power is also super-super-enhanced in his daughter, thanks again to Kryptonite radiation. *I got the impression that prolonged Kryptonite exposure weakens Kryptonians physically but somehow sharpens them mentally from what happens in the series. The most obvious example occurs in HIWTHI, when, after being exposed to Kryptonite radiation for an entire night, Clark establishes a two-way telepathic connection with Lois for the first time since they met. A related incident takes place at the end of HOL, when Clark hears the Wedding March—and even the Bishop speaking in the penthouse—all the way from the basement. But how is that possible? He should have lost his superhearing after being "Krypto-baked" for a full day. My only explanation is that he unintentionally intruded into Lois’s mind, and was hearing the music and the Bishop from her point of view. This inadvertent mental connection likely played a major role in Lois's moment of revelation walking down the aisle.* Although L&C’s daughter doesn't display any offensive physical powers herself, she can pass them on to her male descendants—meaning her sons and grandsons could step into the Superman role if they ever wanted to. The men in her bloodline also get some mental powers, though nowhere near the level of her female descendants. The girl can fly, but not at super-speed—only about as fast as a commercial airplane. The girl inherited her father’s compassion and her mother’s ambition. She also got her mother’s big brown eyes and her father’s jet-black hair. In my mind’s eye, she looks a bit like Anne Hathaway. ![[Linked Image]](https://img.ge/i/VTQXS42.png) Yes, I recently became a huge fan of Anne Hathaway—largely because of that phenomenal movie The Odyssey. And I particularly like her breakout role as Mia in The Princess Diaries. But “Mia” feels a bit too cute and soft for a goddess’s name, so I’ve decided to temporarily name my heroine Maya Lane Kent. “Maya” has a similar ring to “Martha”—but unlike "Martha" or "Mia," it works equally well as an ordinary city girl’s name and as one that would become legendary over time. It also shares the same stylistic vibe as other Kryptonian princess names like Zara and Lara. More importantly, the name carries meanings like 'magic,' 'great,' 'mother,' 'beloved,' 'princess,' 'prolific,' and 'rebirth'—all of which are a perfect match for my heroine.
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Maya inherited her father’s super-long lifespan and lived for five centuries. She led a normal, happy human life—working as a Professor of Sociology at Metropolis University—until she reached her sixties, when her immortality started to attract unwanted attention. That's when she decided to go into hiding. For decades afterward, she lived like a hermit in one of the "Fortresses of Solitude" that Clark had built for her in remote corners of the world—places entirely out of reach and uninhabitable by any ordinary Earthling. Another reason she withdrew from human society was that L&C died soon after Maya turned 60. Thanks to the "essence" Clark regularly passed on to Lois through intimacy, Lois acquired a partial super-healing ability from her husband and aged at roughly the same rate as Clark. (Sorry, I didn't mean to go all nfic—but I really wanted them to grow old together, and I couldn't come up with a better way to make that happen.) As a result, even at 90 years old, they still looked like a middle-aged couple. This is how L&C looked when they were in their nineties (Yes, they indeed shared a wonderfully long life together) : ![[Linked Image]](https://img.ge/i/n2FDh44.jpg) But because of what happened in “Brutal Youth”, L&C's self-protective powers had declined considerably by that time—which is why they were both killed together in a terrorist attack. That was the moment Maya decided to devote her life to building a non-violent utopia for mankind. She spent decades in solitude studying the human mind and social dynamics, crafted a detailed plan, and eventually set it in motion. Maya took seven human mates throughout her long life—a psychologist, a strategist, a scientist, a physician, an engineer, an artist, and a philosopher. They were all extraordinary men, because they all had to pass Maya's "mind-sweeping" test. With each mate, she bore seven children. The younger ones were mostly brought up by their older siblings. Maya could share minds with every one of them, and each child carried a genetically hardwired loyalty to her—like worker bees to their queen. In effect, she commanded an army of super-beings and could theoretically do whatever she pleased with the people of Earth. And yes, L&C eventually had some 50 grandchildren—though they never lived to see any of them. Maya didn't give birth to her first child until she was nearly 100, which, by human standards, was roughly the equivalent of being 20. The existence of this goddess-like alien queen and her super-army was exposed to humanity when Maya was over 200 years old. The clan was betrayed by one of her sons’ wives, a woman who refused to let her husband remain Maya’s puppet, bound to her will for eternity. Unsurprisingly, humanity panicked and turned against them. They twisted Maya’s family name into something monstrous— The Lanekens—and with it, damned her entire race. (The name's just a placeholder—I'm going for a "Tom Riddle to Voldemort" rebrand, but I've got nothing good so far.) For generations, parents taught their children to fear and loathe that name. The Lanekens became scapegoats for every inexplicable human death. And in their fear-fueled frenzy, mobs tricked, captured, tortured, and killed one of Maya's mates and three of her youngest children. They subjected these demigods to unspeakable experiments before finally dissecting them like frogs. *** Lesson learned, L&C—Never, ever swear on the lives of your future grandchildren! ***This tragedy broke Maya’s heart nearly beyond repair. She possessed every justification to unleash her divine power—to enslave, or even annihilate the entire human race. But she didn’t. Because deep down, her soul was still sheltered by the boundless love that L&C had planted in her heart centuries ago—back when she was just an ordinary, carefree little girl running around a sunlit brownstone on Hyperion Avenue. ***“ That one great love that changed us forever.”*** Maya continued her quest until a self-sustaining utopia was established—one that could function without her race's oversight. (The 22nd-century version that H.G. Wells mentioned was merely a flawed prototype, and it didn't last long at all.) In the generations that followed, the lifespans and combat prowess of her male descendants declined rapidly, until they were scarcely distinguishable from exceptionally strong human men. But the longevity and mental gifts of her daughters were much better preserved and passed down to granddaughters and great-granddaughters alike. The female Lanekens are not particularly prolific, however. For one thing, the "mind-sweeping" trials make suitable mates exceedingly difficult to find. For another, unlike the male Lanekens who are able to sustain their wives through sexual intimacy, the females consistently outlive their partners. Which means they're left to endure the agonizing pain of losing their true love over and over again. As a result, many female Lanekens chose to devote their entire lives to serving the clan, forgoing families of their own. Over time, Maya's female descendants formed a secret sisterhood—a shadow organization that would watch over humanity for eons to come. Eventually, though, they would have to elect a new queen bee once Maya passed. No one knew for certain when or how Maya died. She simply faded from the world at around four hundred and fifty years old. In the post-utopia society that followed, she was remembered and revered as a Gaia-like goddess. L&C, on the other hand, occupied a far more modest place in Utopian memory—they're like Martha and Jonathan to us: beloved, but mortal—because they only lived about ninety years and barely made a dent in human history. To the Utopians, the one true hero—the founding mother of their world—is Maya Laneken. Data dump complete. Now my brain is back to being blissfully numb and empty—just the right state for wrestling with my doomed proposal. 
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Hack from Nowheresville
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Hack from Nowheresville
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It's hogging so much of my mental processing power that I can barely think straight
It’s so annoying when that happens. And unfortunately, it happens a lot. But it’s also a little too long for the Fanfic Challenge forum
As far as I know, there’s no problem with that. The plot bunny can be posted there normally. Lesson learned, L&C—Never, ever swear on the lives of your future grandchildren!
I can’t believe it! I almost screamed laughing, that caught me completely off guard! This kind of fanfic isn’t usually what I like to read, but it’s a very interesting idea. There are shades of gray instead of just black and white, with real dilemmas that are difficult to classify as right or wrong. And I think that if utopia exists, it makes sense that it wouldn’t be easy to get there. I also liked the part where Clark and Lois wouldn’t be revered, but respected as ordinary people. just the right state for wrestling with my doomed proposal.
I hope you’re managing to develop something!
Stories are written by the victors.
(Hmm, come to think of it, that's not the exact quote...)
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As far as I know, there’s no problem with that. The plot bunny can be posted there normally.
Thanks for the tip. I think I’ll go ahead and post it there anyway. Even though the chances of adoption are pretty slim—It looks like the waiting list is at least five years long—it’s still better than having no hope at all. I almost screamed laughing, that caught me completely off guard!
I'm glad you like it. The idea caught me off guard, too. It actually hit me during my latest rewatch of IOM: the moment that irresponsible pair started cursing their descendants, I got this vivid mental image of some evil scientists dissecting their poor, innocent grandkids on an operating table... I hope you’re managing to develop something!
Thank you so much. With doomsday closing in, I need all the good wishes I can get.
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Episode 13 – Illusions of Grandeur
I couldn't pick up on any clear time clues in this episode, except that the weather feels warmer than in "IOM." So I’ve decided to move it down in the order and place it after "IOM."
The opening scene greets us with a little standoff between L&C that makes you wonder what’s been going on between our favorite duo lately. Soon after Cat strides in wearing something more shroud than suit, Clark offers the overly conservative Ms. Grant a compliment: “I think you look very nice.” What prompted him to say that—we would never know. But I have a a nagging feeling that he’s after that guilty pleasure of watching Lois get jealous over him and Cat. And sure enough, he receives a well-deserved dagger glare from Lois. If Clark thinks her retaliation stops there, he’s sorely mistaken. The moment Cat starts comparing Arthur Chow’s wealth to Lex Luthor’s, Lois wastes no time cutting in: “But not as handsome as Lex!” That brutal counterattack predictably triggers Clark’s “green vision,” which he uses to stare her down in protest. Alright, so this little game of "seizing the high ground" — in whatever this is between them — seems to have ended in a draw.
One of my favorite things about those L&C-only moments is their private conversations—like that one they shared at the table in the Magic Showroom. You can clearly observe how curious they are regarding what the other is thinking, and how they never pass up a chance to pry a little further. Even a year-plus later, on their first official date—when they already know each other backward and forward—they're still just as eager to learn more. To each other, their souls are boundless, enchanting landscapes they never tire of exploring.
This stands in sharp contrast to the kind of conversations Lois has to sit through with her human suitors—which are almost always one-way streets, man to woman. These exchanges typically come with two staples: an endless supply of cheap compliments (mostly about her looks) and nonstop declarations of affection for a woman they barely know. (If I recall correctly, the first time Clark ever complimented Lois's appearance was in "The Rival"—ten months after they met. And the very first time he really gushed over her was right before his disastrous marriage proposal.) That kind of monologue doesn't just show that those suitors have zero interest in Lois’s inner life, it also effectively prevents her from picking their brains and seeing their true colors. Fortunately, after nearly two years with Clark, Lois eventually became too spoiled—if you will—to tolerate empty talks like the ones Scardino or Sullivan served up during their lunch dates.
The morning after Clark gets hypnotized by the evil magician, he shows up to work super late and dream-walks past Lois toward his desk, clutching a copy of the Morning Edition. His odd behaviour immediately prompts Lois to ask, “Did you get enough sleep last night? You look kind of funny.” Jimmy sees the exact same scene but doesn’t notice anything out of the ordinary. This is just one of those Season 1 scenes where Lois is always the first to pick up on Clark not being himself—even early on in their relationship. In fact, more often than not, she's the only one—aside from Clark's parents—who can tell when something's wrong with him. It's yet another reminder of just how much more attention she pays him than any other human being on the planet. And yet this “poor sensitive baby” still has the nerve to complain that she's always ignoring him. Really—how high-maintenance can Kryptonians get?
It’s also worth pointing out that Lois’s chip-on-the-shoulder attitude makes a comeback in this episode—and for good reason. She’s been working on Clark for seven solid months and is still getting nowhere with this hack from Nowheresville. All he’s done so far is tiptoe around her, dish out endless teasing without ever getting real. Naturally, Lois’s old insecurities start to creep back in, and she might even begin to reconsider her romantic prospects. But hey—at the end of the episode, Clark sends her a spray of red roses. Even though they’re presented as a magic prop, their floral language still means LOVE! Clark may have done it on nothing but a super whim, but Lois doesn’t know that. For an ordinary guy, pulling off a trick like that would’ve taken some serious planning. Could it be that this lunkhead is finally taking the bait? This bunch of red roses sure got our heroine's hopes up all over again—only to have them dashed in the very next episode.
On a related note, one more thing I appreciate about Clark’s courtship is that he rarely sent Lois gifts before their relationship was solidified. He only did it when he absolutely couldn’t help himself—and always hid his real intentions behind something else: The Clarkie bear doesn't count, since Lois requested it of her own accord. The red roses were disguised as a magic trick. The yellow ones came wrapped in the safe guise of 'friendship.' The star-shaped crystal was a Christmas gift he was supposed to bring to the party host anyway. Even though Clark knew Lois loved getting gifts (as 'The Prankster' more than proves) and was dying to shower her with them (as “Ordinary People” clearly shows), he was still adamant that dazzling her with presents wasn’t the right way to win her heart. It’s these little distinctions that set an honest man apart from a world of opportunists. (Technically, the very first gift Clark ever sent Lois was that plastic Godzilla with an 'S' painted on its chest—but I’m pretty sure Lois didn't keep that one in her bedroom.)
Finally, I have to say I really like the A-plot of this episode. In fact, I like all the episodes involving supernatural elements—"COS," "NOS," "Ghosts," "Seconds"... you name it. At least those magic-based A-plots have a right to be ridiculous. So I could just take my brain out of my skull, plop it in my lap, and enjoy the storyline without a worry in the world.
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Hack from Nowheresville
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Hack from Nowheresville
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the moment that irresponsible pair started cursing their descendants
Ah, I think this part is so cute. What prompted him to say that—we would never know.
I think he was trying to say that she didn’t need to sexualize herself all the time to be pretty. Or simply to give her a positive word after everyone’s jokes about her new look. You can clearly observe how curious they are regarding what the other is thinking, and how they never pass up a chance to pry a little further.
Yes, that’s really nice! It's yet another reminder of just how much more attention she pays him than any other human being on the planet. And yet this “poor sensitive baby” still has the nerve to complain that she's always ignoring him.
That was something I always thought too. I think Clark was already so in love that he’d lost some of his ability to analyze things Technically, the very first gift Clark ever sent Lois was that plastic Godzilla with an 'S' painted on its chest—but I’m pretty sure Lois didn't keep that one in her bedroom.
Speaking of which, I wonder where that Godzilla ended up... I hope Lois kept it somewhere! That thing has become an icon of journalistic ethics.
Stories are written by the victors.
(Hmm, come to think of it, that's not the exact quote...)
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I think he was trying to say that she didn’t need to sexualize herself all the time to be pretty.
If that was indeed what Clark was trying to say, then he clearly didn't know Cat Grant at all. In a later scene, Cat remarks that regular girls' clothes feel like straitjackets to her, suggesting that her choice of revealing attire is driven primarily by personal preference rather than a desire to appeal to men. Too bad Clark wasn’t there when she said that. I think Clark was already so in love that he’d lost some of his ability to analyze things.
I think Clark is being unfair to Lois sometimes. He keeps using Superman—rather than any other earthling—as the benchmark for how much she should care about Clark Kent. If she doesn’t gaze at him with the same mooney-eyed adoration she gives his flashy alter ego, he just assumes she’s ignoring him. He should have been using Lex Luthor as his control group all along—It would have made it painfully obvious how much more she favors him, a poor farm boy, over the third-richest man on the planet. I wonder where that Godzilla ended up... I hope Lois kept it somewhere! That thing has become an icon of journalistic ethics.
I’m pretty sure Lois tossed it into the first trash bin she came across, because she clearly learned nothing from that icon of journalistic ethics. Didn't she pull another unethical trick on a fellow reporter at the beginning of ASU?
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Episode 14 – The Rival
The primary reason I placed "The Rival" immediately after "IOG" is that I wanted to borrow that spray of red roses at the end of IOG—Clark’s impulsive gift to Lois—as an alibi for Lois’s otherwise baffling, full-blown territorial frenzy in this episode. In the canonical broadcast order, "The Rival" originally followed "Foundling," an episode in which L&C interacted like perfectly platonic friends from start to finish, with absolutely nothing flirtatious between them. That’s why I was utterly confused when I watched Lois suddenly lock horns with Linda King over Clark’s attention, and not even bother to conceal her feelings for him. To be fair, the red roses from "IOG" still don't fully justify Lois’s frantic, almost unhinged behavior here. But at least they offer a thread of continuity, making her seem less like she's suffering from a sudden psychotic break. The backstory between Lois and Linda—bitter as it may be—is the kind of petty college rivalry that happens all the time among old friends. It hardly qualifies as a credible excuse for Lois’s theatrical meltdown across the entire episode. It seems the writers were trying to craft a "fun" story by turning Lois into a comic tornado of jealousy—well, I can't speak for others, but I personally derive little pleasure from watching a prize-winning investigative reporter regress into a high-school girl, all because the script decides her emotional insecurities should take a wrecking ball to her professional judgment.
For the above reason, I have to fast-forward through most of the Lois-vs.-Linda theatrics. So how about we skip ahead to the scene in the Metropolis Press Club at night?
Here we're reminded that L&C's cozy little routine—post-work dinners, just the two of them, no chaperone—is still very much alive. By this point, how many such intimate dinners have they shared since "Witness"? Thirty? Fifty? Any human suitor with half the openings Lois has handed Clark would have proposed by now. But then again, when you're a demigod with a lifespan measured in centuries, I suppose there's no particular urgency, is there? The press club dinner also highlights Lois's habit of treating Clark like a "gentleman-in-waiting"—fetch, serve, endure. It's a telling detail: for all her possessive attraction, she still does not truly love him, because she's been actively avoiding that landmine ever since her last heartbreak five years ago. And Clark, for his part, knows this only too well, despite all the teasing and flirtation she constantly throws his way. Perhaps it's the bitterness of that unrequited love that propels him into one stupid action after another for the remainder of the episode.
His insistence on walking Linda to the subway is perfectly understandable, since he needs the opportunity to gain Linda's trust and infiltrate the Metropolis Star. What he gravely underestimates, however, is the collateral damage to Lois’s emotional state. She is so wounded by Clark’s small betrayal that she skips dinner altogether and heads home on an empty stomach. He should have recognized the glaring red flag when he returned to the press club and found her untouched platter, but apparently, he didn't. Given that Lois had enough time to walk home at human speed, change into casual clothes, and scrub half the grout off her kitchen tiles by the time Clark knocks on her door, it's safe to assume that he didn't go after her right away upon seeing her seat empty. More likely than not, he took his time and thoroughly enjoyed his dinner—maybe even ate Lois’s portion as well. After all, it was angel hair with extra Parmesan cheese, a considerable temptation for the calorie-greedy alien.
I find it hard not to sympathize with Lois during that kitchen scene in her apartment. She tries desperately to explain to Clark why his actions hurt her so much, opening up to him entirely and revealing an old emotional wound that still hasn't fully scarred over. Clark should have realized that this is the very first time Lois has opened up to him with such raw honesty outside a life-or-death crisis—she's taking a huge emotional risk and placing considerable trust in him. But can you believe what this lunkhead does? He sprinkles a pinch of salt on her gaping wound almost immediately after she exposes it to him! Of all the moments Clark could have picked to stage a fight with Lois, he just has to choose the one when she's at her most vulnerable and most in need of his comfort. In my book, that crosses the line from stupidity into something closer to selfishness—maybe even cruelty. He seems to be savoring the savage pleasure of finally holding the upper hand, so much so that he's willing to hurt Lois's feelings on purpose. If only he had known the terrible price he would pay a few months later for that fleeting moment of shallow satisfaction—it would effectively wipe that smirk off his face after Lois shut the door on him.
Yep, you've done it now, Mr. Kent. That dinner at the press club is going to be the last unsupervised, post-work meal with Lois you'll ever get—well, the last one before your official first date at the exorbitantly priced Fouquet's Restaurant over a year later, that is.
And if you think Clark's idiocy ends at Lois's doorstep, you're sorely mistaken. Throughout this episode, he once again makes repeated attempts to "regain the high ground" by forcing Lois to verbally acknowledge her attraction to him—a classic blunder that ranks at the top of the "100 Mistakes You Should Never Make When Courting a Woman." His "she stole a guy" jab in Lois's apartment was only his first try. The second comes in his own apartment, right after Lois walks in on his clandestine meeting with the boss:
LOIS: “So you mean I've been having all these feelings for nothing?”
CLARK: “What feelings?”
LOIS: “Forget it. I'm not feeling them anymore.”
Sadly, Lois isn't joking when she says, "I'm not feeling them anymore." Even though she eventually finds out that Clark didn't actually betray her, the callous way he handled the situation has undoubtedly pushed Lois further away from him. After that disastrous Linda episode, she probably files away a little mental note to herself: "Remember—open up to Clark, and you get hurt." From that point on, she even drops her endearing habit of slipping her arm through his when they walk together—and it won't resurface until "Dead Lois Walking," a solid two and a half years later. Because trust takes months to build, seconds to shatter, and forever to mend. Real smooth, Kent. Real smooth.
Another noteworthy aspect is Clark’s behavior when he’s alone with Linda King. Not only does he act far more loyal to his partner behind Lois's back, but he also makes no real effort to conceal his feelings for Lois from Linda. It seems Clark is perfectly comfortable with the entire world knowing that he wants Lois—as long as Lois herself remains oblivious. That fits beautifully with what Bobby Bigmouth says in "The Phoenix" a year later: "You think it's a big secret that Clark here's been mooning over you?" By then, it’s pretty clear that everyone in their circle has long since figured out that Clark has loved her all along.
As usual, the production team excised a few critical lines that revealed too much of Lois’s real feelings for Clark in this episode. The following exchange was originally scripted for Lois's latest near-death confession, while she and Linda were tied up on the floor of the walk-in freezer:
LOIS: “ Okay. I forgive you. But what about Clark?”
LINDA (lying): “ I never cared about him. Take him. He's yours.”
LOIS: “ He's not mine to have.”
LINDA: “ Well, you can have him if you want.”
This tiny fragment of dialogue shows how transparent Clark's love for Lois is to outsiders—and, more poignantly, it exposes Lois's deep-seated lack of self-esteem when it comes to romance. On the brink of death, her most honest thought is: “I'm not good enough for Clark.” As a result, she's probably the only one in Metropolis who doesn't know Clark is madly in love with her. Which raises an intriguing question: when Clark finally declares his love in "BATP," does she actually believe him right away?
One final note: "The Rival" appears to mark the first time Clark outshines Lois in the journalistic arena. He spots Carpenter's scheme from the very beginning, simply by connecting the timing of his editorial with the onset of the "accidents"—a pattern that completely eludes Lois. Consequently, when their story on Carpenter's downfall is finally published, the byline reads: "By Clark Kent and Lois Lane"—for the first time, his name comes before hers. It's a subtle but effective touch, and I think the show does a commendable job of tracing Clark’s career development from a rookie to a journalist of genuine substance.
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Hack from Nowheresville
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Hack from Nowheresville
Joined: Dec 2024
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If that was indeed what Clark was trying to say, then he clearly didn't know Cat Grant at all.
Well, it doesn’t hurt to try ^^ He should have been using Lex Luthor as his control group all along—It would have made it painfully obvious how much more she favors him, a poor farm boy, over the third-richest man on the planet.
That’s something I had also thought about since the first time I watched the series. Didn't she pull another unethical trick on a fellow reporter at the beginning of ASU?
I don’t think I consider what she did at the beginning of ASU such a serious flaw because I can easily imagine a large number of other reporters doing the same thing at some important point in their careers. So I ended up labeling that scene in my mind as a great example of rudeness. Just thinking about rewatching this episode makes me want to roll my eyes. I imagine that in 1993/1994, this whole theme of women fighting over a man was probably funny to people, but even when I was a child watching soap operas where female competition was normalized, I never liked this narrative device. I don’t like male competition either, to be honest. Jealousy is generally very poorly explored in romance stories, when it could actually be interesting if it were handled with maturity. Besides, sometimes there’s much more than romance at stake in male competition. Just look at Superman and Luthor, for example. They’re mainly fighting over principles and justice. Anyway, I can’t help finding the writing in The Rival kind of ridiculous. And for a long time I judged Clark pretty harshly in this episode. But you’re right, this is a great moment in his career, and he did what he should have done - although the way he did it wasn’t the wisest. A normal person wouldn’t simply recover from that argument in the kitchen without a clear and honest conversation about it after everything that happened. is the kind of petty college rivalry that happens all the time among old friends.
Wait, what? Suddenly I feel even more grateful that I’ve had such good friends throughout my life. That is definitely not normal to me. In my book, that crosses the line from stupidity into something closer to selfishness—maybe even cruelty. He seems to be savoring the savage pleasure of finally holding the upper hand, so much so that he's willing to hurt Lois's feelings on purpose.
Sad, but humanly understandable. Anyway, it’s important to remember that sometimes the writing (when it isn't very good) will make characters do things that - according to what we’ve been shown about them - they wouldn’t do, just to fulfil some plot requirement. I’m not saying that’s the case with Clark’s apparently cruel behavior, especially because, as I said, I find it understandable in the end, but it’s something worth keeping in mind. Which raises an intriguing question: when Clark finally declares his love in "BATP," does she actually believe him right away?
Good question. After all, there’s a difference between believing that someone is saying what they think is true and believing that someone actually knows the truth.
Stories are written by the victors.
(Hmm, come to think of it, that's not the exact quote...)
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Freelance Reporter
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Freelance Reporter
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And for a long time I judged Clark pretty harshly in this episode. But you’re right, this is a great moment in his career, and he did what he should have done - although the way he did it wasn’t the wisest.
And it's a great moment in terms of how Clark's character is portrayed. It's so hard to find any dark spots in the heart of this near-perfect Alien Prince. So when I finally found one, I couldn't help but magnify that infinitesimal speck a hundredfold and appreciate it from every angle. Suddenly I feel even more grateful that I’ve had such good friends throughout my life. That is definitely not normal to me.
Well, it doesn't feel normal because the writers exaggerated the storyline. But if you dial the drama down a notch or two, you'll find it's a mundane enough situation: a friendship torched over a shared love interest. I've never experienced it myself, but I've heard that kind of gossip a lot—although in real life, it seems to happen more often between male buddies who wreck their friendship by fighting over the same girl. I’m not saying that’s the case with Clark’s apparently cruel behavior, especially because, as I said, I find it understandable in the end.
I'm with you here. I think Clark was perfectly in character in this particular case—He did what he did because he was so inexperienced with relationships that he had no idea how badly he had hurt Lois. If he had known how serious the consequences would be, he never would have done that to her. Now she's practically labeled him a landmine that could give her another "federal disaster" if she doesn't steer clear of him emotionally.
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Freelance Reporter
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Episode 15 – Pheromone, My Lovely
“PML” serves as a perfectly tailored finale for the second part of this trilogy, delivering defining moments for nearly every major player on the board:
For L&C, the elaborate game of "seizing the high ground"—the one they've been playing ever since “IGACOY”—finally reaches its endpoint. Lois folds with grace, conceding defeat by openly admitting that she does, in fact, feel attracted to him. Would you look at Clark—what a happy chap he is at the end of this episode! If only he had any genuine courtship experience under his belt, he might have known that the second a woman throws in her cards is the exact moment she gives up all hope on you.
For Superman, driven by his foolish desire to savor yet another hit of hollow pleasure, he feeds Lois a lethal dose of catalyst and transforms her once-insubstantial fantasy into something perilously real and tangible.
Lex Luthor, for his part, finally secures definitive proof—courtesy of that marathon kissing session happening literally under his nose—that Superman does, in fact, love Lois Lane. And so he decides that he should love her, too. Yes, I remain one of those firm believers that Luthor never truly cared for Lois as a person. To this billionaire maniac, Lois Lane is nothing less than a living, breathing manifestation of his obsession with Superman, and his most unattainable desires. In Part 3, we will witness the full parade of atrocities he commits in response to that revelation.
Of course, the above statements only hold true within my custom viewing order. As I've noted in earlier posts on this thread, I've always felt "PML" is the most out-of-place episode in L&C Season 1 (“HIM” is a close second). In the Northern Hemisphere, fruit fly sprays typically begin in spring, when the pests emerge from winter hibernation; the earliest applications usually occur in mid-to-late February in heavily infested regions. Nobody sprays pesticides in the dead of winter when the insects are still eggs underground. Furthermore, “PML” carries a distinct “Valentine's Day” theme throughout. That's why I strongly suspect this story was originally slated to air right before February 14, 1994—the slot designated for Episode 15. However, due to the usual behind-the-scenes chaos—guest star availability, soundstage conflicts, resource allocation—this episode got shoved way up the shooting schedule. And that timeline scramble completely destroyed the continuity and internal logic of Season 1's B-plot.
That said, I'm happy to report that once “PML” is restored to its proper chronological position as Episode 15, most of the scenes that felt jarring or disjointed in the original broadcast order now fall into place with surprising coherence. In fact, it’s entirely possible that we're now looking at a reconstructed early version of D.J. Levine's original storyline—one that was later abandoned for practical reasons：
Because of Clark's spectacularly dense maneuvers in "The Rival," Lois has already halfway checked out on him by the time this episode begins. She shifts a fraction of her attention back to the only other viable candidate left—Lex Luthor—and resumes accepting his dinner invitations. This is, without question, a perilous sign. But what we earthlings can never comprehend is that Clark doesn't seem the least bit bothered by it. Could he really be so naïve as to believe that as long as Lois worships Superman and is attracted to Clark, she'd never take a billionaire seriously?
For reasons I've already laid out in previous posts, I'll skip over most of the scenes where Lois goes full-throttle into self-humiliation while Clark stays perfectly composed. One detail is worth pausing on, however: Lois remains fiercely monogamous even when she’s completely unhinged. The primal attraction she feels toward Clark is so overpowering that it utterly eclipses Luthor’s formidable charm. One can only imagine the sheer self-restraint it takes for her to work alongside Clark every single day—poor, poor Lois. Which means, of course, that Lois was outright lying when she told Clark, “I just don’t feel that way about you—romantically,” in "BATP". So that begs the question: why did she lie?
Another telling detail is that Luthor doesn't seem to mind in the slightest that Lois feels zero romantic pull toward him and has fallen for a "peasant" instead. Which only reinforces my earlier claim: Luthor has no interest whatsoever in forging any emotional tie with Lois. What he truly wants is to collect her and own her—the one woman Superman treasures above all else—the way he owns that full-figure painting of the “Mona Lisa” and the arms of the “Venus de Milo” in his underground bunkers.
Just as in the honeymoon suite at the start of Part 2, Clark's famously infinite patience is once again put through an all-night, inhuman trial—except this time, he would have failed entirely if the magical enchantment hadn't broken at dawn. Needless to say, Lois’s harem getup combined with the Dance of the Seven Veils must have fried that poor Kryptonian’s brain beyond repair, because his subsequent behavior for the rest of the episode pushes the very definition of "galactically stupid" to a whole new extreme.
"Okay, I'm going home, get dressed. I'll be back in an hour."
After delivering that line with her signature chip-on-the-shoulder attitude, Lois gathers up the seven veils—along with what's left of her dignity—and heads out of Clark's apartment. (I truly hope she kept that harem outfit and the veils. Those two really ought to finish that dance on their honeymoon—Lois doesn't have to be the one wearing the veils, though.) Care to guess how she spent the next hour solo in her apartment? She rummaged through her wardrobe and emerged with a staggeringly sexy, bright-red satin bandeau that was sooo not her usual style. What was that about? Was she making one last desperate play for Clark's heart?
Well, whatever Lois was going for with that unusually sexy top, it obviously didn’t work. Because Clark is staring right at her bright-red bosom when he delivers arguably the dumbest declaration in DC history: "I guess I'm just not attracted to you, Lois." Lara and Jor-El must be stomping their feet in heaven right about now, terrified they won't see a single grandkid within the next century or two, and bitterly regretting not tucking a manual on courtship rituals into Clark’s baby blanket before rocketing him off to Earth.
Just as in "The Rival," Clark's words to Lois outside Metropolis R&D are not only galactically stupid, but also rather selfish—and maybe even a tiny bit cruel. What Lois endures here is one of the worst nightmares a woman can possibly face in a patriarchal world: not only throwing herself shamelessly at a man and offering herself to him, but having that man respond by declaring flat-out disinterest in her affection. Adding to her already crushing humiliation is the fact that Lois has been trying everything to cover up her feelings for Clark from the moment they met. Now that carefully guarded secret fantasy gets exposed in the worst possible way—and then shattered in the cruelest one. For a soul as sensitive and fragile as Lois's, this experience would almost certainly rank among her top three most devastating emotional traumas.
And even with a brain as dense and slow as Clark’s, he should have sensed at least a fraction of Lois's mortification and tried to ease it for her. He could have simply offered a partial truth—that due to differences in individual metabolic systems (a common issue with all drugs), his self-restraint hadn't been as severely compromised by the perfume as others'. And that they ought to be grateful the pheromones didn't affect him that much, because if both of them had lost control simultaneously, the fallout could have been catastrophic and could even have brought repercussions for decades. But no—instead, he decides to tell a string of utterly unnecessary lies, whose sole purpose is to make himself feel better, while piling more misery and humiliation onto Lois. To borrow a line from my earlier commentary: If only Clark had known the terrible price he would pay a few months later for this fleeting moment of shallow satisfaction—it might have effectively deflated that euphoric air that had been puffing up his ego throughout this whole episode.
Lois must have done a great deal of thinking after that conversation with Clark outside Metropolis R&D, and eventually made her peace with it—because physical attraction is, after all, something you can't control. In fact, Clark's claim provides the perfect explanation for his almost inhumanly gentlemanly behavior around her at all times, as well as his baffling cluelessness in response to her endless flirtations. It also means that while Clark may no longer be boyfriend-worthy, he has now become ideal material for a best platonic friend—and that's exactly how she'll treat him going into the third chapter of this trilogy. She might even have felt a quiet gratitude that she had held back from investing too deeply in him—and thus escaped what would surely have become yet another “federal disaster” in her romantic history.
Lois Lane has always been a graceful loser—never one to refuse conceding defeat. When we see her at the Planet the next morning, she’s already reverted to her most conservative, drab outfit and looks remarkably serene. She likely tossed that sinfully sexy bandeau straight into the trash the night before—because unlike most of her wardrobe, that particular garment never makes a single reappearance for the rest of the series. That little scrap of red satin serves as the perfect burial shroud for the Clarkie bear with the red ribbon around its neck—which Lois undoubtedly disposed of right alongside it when she gave up all romantic hopes about Clark. By the time we find Lois in bed again in “HOL”, three months later, the Clarkie bear is already long gone.
I wholeheartedly wish that, after meeting its gruesome end inside a garbage compactor, the soul of that black Clarkie bear finds its white counterpart—the bridal bear that was brutally murdered in “HIM”—and together they enjoy a happily-ever-after in the great beyond. But before that, the ghost of this Clarkie bear ought to visit Clark in his dreams and deliver a brotherly warning. Because based on his behavior at the end of this episode, that lunkhead is still utterly blind to the tragic fate awaiting him and his relationship with Lois.
Yes, he finally got the answer he'd been trying to pry out of Lois for eight long months, ever since “IGACOY”—she is, in fact, attracted to him. That should have been more than enough encouragement for any humanoid—Earth-born or otherwise—to ask the lady out. But not for Mr. Kent, of the house of El. Not only does he fail to do that—he actually has the audacity to say, "As long as you're being honest with yourself, Lois," when he's been lying to her about his own feelings the entire time.
It's painfully clear that even after months of being head-over-heels for Lois, Clark still hasn't mustered the courage to face his own emotions, let alone committed to starting anything serious with her. So how much longer does he need? How many more fears does he have to conquer before he can finally be honest with himself? At this pace, it would take at least three seasons—if his billionaire rival hadn't stepped in and forced his hand by snatching Lois away for good.
One more thing worth noting: although Lois does shift some of her attention back to Luthor in this episode, she's clearly less than enthused about this backup option. Her reluctance to consider a romantic future with the billionaire shows through loud and clear in her date-night attire: she picks the ugliest evening gown she’s ever owned, skips all accessories, and doesn't even bother to do her hair. I seriously doubt she spent more than ten minutes getting ready for her dinner date with the Prince of Metropolis. It's almost as if she deliberately tried to resemble a plain old crone, secretly hoping Luthor would take one look and lose interest for good. Unfortunately for her, thanks to the "Revenge" business, that dinner date ends up being anything but a turn-off.
Unlike the indecisive, cowardly Mr. Kent, Luthor has never had a problem being honest with himself—or his bottomless appetites. So it's safe to assume this crime lord sprang into action the moment he realized he wanted to claim Lois Lane as his own—the first crime he committed was to dispatch his thugs to invade Lois’s apartment, photographing every inch of her private space and cataloging every piece of her personal effects. He later re-created the whole place in his secret lair—like a collector constructing a glorified cage for an exotic species, right down to the simulated details of its natural habitat. Lois's replica apartment inside Luthor's underground bunker must have taken at least two weeks to construct. Yet the Nightfall news was announced to the public just four days before impact. This timeline suggests that Luthor had duplicated Lois's living space for some other purpose—I shudder to think what that purpose might have been.
An interesting sidenote: the white lace dress Lois selects to impress Clark in this episode bears a striking resemblance to the one she wore to the Press Club party in "The Rival"—that deep-blue lace number that earned Clark’s first-ever compliment on Lois's appearance since they met: "Lois, you look... incredible." Though the episode order was severely jumbled in production, with “PML” actually shot months earlier than "The Rival," this little wardrobe coincidence is still fascinating—because Lois's choice of that particular Clark-seducing attire would have made perfect thematic sense if “PML” had aired immediately after "The Rival."
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Hack from Nowheresville
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Hack from Nowheresville
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And it's a great moment in terms of how Clark's character is portrayed.
I think that big moment of journalistic ambition comes to everyone eventually. If we stop to analyze it, Clark pushed Lois just as she did that other reporter at the beginning of ASU - although in a figurative sense. It’s like watching a baby take his first steps! Way to go, Kent! he had no idea how much he had hurt Lois.
Or maybe he did know and let himself be carried away by impulse and the belief that Lois would forget all about it once they got another scoop (which, on top of everything, was only possible because of him). Just speculating. Lois folds with grace, conceding defeat
Which shows a lot about her dignity, and at the same time, is also kind of scary haha courtesy of that marathon kissing session happening literally under his nose
This was one of the moments when I really felt sorry for Lex lol! While I was laughing at his "I may throw up" line, I also felt a little bad because of the feeling that kiss shouldn’t have happened. It’s a scene I don’t particularly like, you know... Well, except for Lex’s part in it! To this billionaire maniac, Lois Lane is nothing but—and always will be—a living, breathing manifestation of his obsession with Superman.
I think that’s one of the reasons, but definitely not the only one, in my opinion. There’s also the fact that she’s one of the most prestigious journalists in the city, and being able to deceive her must have been an appealing challenge to him. I also believe he thought about corrupting her, trying to turn her into an ally, which would have been another appealing challenge. And last but not least, I do think there was some feeling on his part - but one that we, normal people who aren’t obsessed with power, would never be able to understand. When he says that, in his own twisted way, he fell in love with her, I believe him. How healthy that love is is another discussion altogether. And whether love can be unhealthy or whether it is by definition something pure is another discussion too, an even deeper one. And since we’re talking about fiction, I’m not going to rack my brain over that question (for now). Lois remains fiercely monogamous even when she’s completely unhinged. The primal attraction she feels toward Clark is so overpowering that it utterly eclipses Luthor’s formidable charm.
I think that’s pretty cute, and I’d really like to know what her reaction would have been if she had encountered Superman while she was still affected by the pheromone. Either she would have completely ignored him too or she would have short-circuited. except this time, he would have failed entirely if the magical enchantment hadn't broken at dawn.
This is another scene that to this day makes me wonder how different things could have been! Lois doesn't have to be the one wearing the veils, though.
Is that what they call poetic justice? emerged with a staggeringly sexy, bright-red satin bandeau that was sooo not her usual style.
Now I’m feeling pretty oblivious, because I remember being surprised by that outfit too, but I never made that kind of connection haha Lara and Jor-El must be stomping their feet in heaven right about now, terrified they won't see a single grandkid within the next century or two
When we see her at the Planet the next morning, she’s already reverted to her most conservative, drab outfit
I want to believe that this was a deliberate choice by the show team, but I’m scared. The Rival traumatized me way too much lol! after meeting its gruesome end inside a garbage compactor
Nooo, don’t say that and together they enjoy a happily-ever-after in the great beyond.
Another great fanfic idea... he actually has the audacity to say, "As long as you're being honest with yourself, Lois," when he's been lying to her about his own feelings the entire time.
Well, that’s obvious: he can lie to her as much as necessary, but she can’t, or there will be serious consequences she picks the ugliest evening gown she’s ever owned
(Again, I’m really hoping that this and the strange absence of accessories were actually deliberate choices on the part of the writers! But even if they weren’t... at some point we have to make the best interpretation we can of the information we’re given, right?) I shudder to think what that purpose might have been.
Hmm, maybe something involving a clone? Or two clones... Hm... Lois's choice of that particular Clark-seducing attire would have made perfect thematic sense if “PML” had aired immediately after "The Rival."
Yes, that makes total sense. The costume department never worked so hard as they did in this episode haha. Your explanation about the fruit flies and the chronology of the episode also makes a lot of sense. And I agree that Clark wasn’t particularly smart here. I don’t think he was cruel because, to me, you can only be cruel when there’s a real deliberate intention to be cruel and to hurt someone on a level that goes beyond the ordinary. Here, I think it would be perfectly human if he had wanted to hurt Lois a little so he could feel superior - as a strategy to keep himself from feeling inferior, which is how we usually feel when we’re in love with someone who doesn’t reciprocate our feelings in the way we wanted them to. And I think that adds a welcome complexity to the character and makes him more interesting. Now, whether he knew how much Lois would be hurt by this treatment, I don’t know. Either way, we can say that besides love being blind, it’s also kind of stupid - sometimes galactically stupid
Stories are written by the victors.
(Hmm, come to think of it, that's not the exact quote...)
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Freelance Reporter
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Freelance Reporter
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Or maybe he did know and let himself be carried away by impulse and the belief that Lois would forget all about it once they got another scoop.
Yes, I also think he assumed Lois would forget all about it soon enough, which still goes to show he didn't realize how much he had hurt her. He probably took that fight in her kitchen as just another one of their little daily squabbles. But he wasn't aware that there's a world of difference between them fighting with both their shields up, and him stabbing her unexpectedly when she dropped all defenses. All the more reason to get some genuine dating experience before meeting your true love! I think that’s one of the reasons, but definitely not the only one.
You're totally right. That "nothing but" is way too absolute. I'm gonna have to fix that part. I think Lois represents the two things Luthor wanted most in the world: what he wasn't supposed to have, since she was Superman's girl (and later Clark's wife), and what he could never truly have, because she was the one woman who would never love him. Possessing a woman like that would surely give him a thrill unlike anything else. When he says that, in his own twisted way, he fell in love with her, I believe him.
I, too, never doubted that he believed it when he said it. Because Luthor's definition of "love" is: "I want to possess this woman more than anything else in the world". But the normal definition of love in the L&C universe is: " Making you happy makes me happy" and " He wants my happiness more than his own." Those are the two criteria Luthor never met. He never once put Lois's well-being above his own desires, and he always took great pleasure in ruining her life and causing her abject misery. I waited three seasons for Luthor to hesitate even one second before setting out to destroy Lois's life and crush her spirit, but he never did (which was pretty disappointing). On the contrary, he absolutely enjoyed the whole process. It was as if the L&C crew and Mr. John Shea himself were reluctant to make Luthor a more complex, in-depth character. I wonder whether it had anything to do with L&C being a Sunday-night 8 p.m. family show? Perhaps they were afraid that if they made Luthor too complicated, some teenage girls might fall for him and go after equally toxic guys in real life... The costume department never worked so hard as they did in this episode
I’ve always suspected there were quite a few dedicated FoLCs on the L&C production team... I don’t think he was cruel because, to me, you can only be cruel when there’s a real deliberate intention to be cruel and to hurt someone on a level that goes beyond the ordinary.
I should probably clarify something here: whenever I called Clark "selfish" or "cruel" in my posts, I was comparing him to his usual self—that eternally gentle, altruistic, disgustingly decent, almost boringly perfect Kryptonian Prince—not to us petty earthlings. It didn't help that the love of his life just happened to be the most sensitive woman in the world. So what he did to Lois in "The Rival" and "PML" might not count as "cruel" by normal standards, but by L&C's standards, it was. And it was extremely rare for him to expose this side of his character. In fact, over all 88 episodes, I counted only three times he acted purely out of selfishness: twice to Lois, in "The Rival" and "PML," and once to M&J in "Contact," when he woke his 60-plus-year-old parents in the middle of the night just to hear him whine about his little love problems. Did he have any idea how dangerous that was? He could've given his poor parents a heart attack. If I pulled that kind of thing on my grandparents, my mother would personally make sure I didn't live to see the morning sun. It's funny how selfless people tend to be the most selfish around the people they love most—whether in fiction or in real life.
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Hack from Nowheresville
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which still goes to show he didn't realize how much he had hurt her. […] But he wasn't aware that there's a world of difference between them fighting with both their shields up, and him stabbing her unexpectedly when she dropped all her defenses.
Yeah, yeah, you’re right. All the more reason to get some genuine dating experience before meeting your true love!
Lana Lang: (But jokes aside, I feel like they were more or less on equal footing when it came to dating experience. Most of the problems they have are because Lois has trouble trusting people and because Clark forgets to use his head at various points.) were reluctant to make Luthor a more complex, in-depth character. I wonder whether it had anything to do with L&C being a Sunday-night 8 p.m. family show? Perhaps they were afraid that if they made Luthor too complicated, some teenage girls might fall for him and go after equally toxic guys in real life...
Indeed, that makes sense. So what he did to Lois in "The Rival" and "PML" might not count as "cruel" by normal standards, but by L&C's standards, it was.
Oh, okay, I think I understand what you mean. I like to see the characters as if they could be real-life people - I mean, as much as possible, since they can't be so complex as we are and we only see a small part of their lives. Because of that, I sometimes end up disagreeing with the writing because it limits the characters, developing them in a two-dimensional way (or even contradicting things that were initially established about them). And that’s why, I think, I see more potential in Luthor than what is actually explored, disagree with some of L&C’s characterizations, and insist on treating Clark as an equal and seeing him as fully one of us. I see a lot of fans of several Superman adaptations saying that he’s a perfect being - different from all humans - precisely because he isn’t human, but that doesn’t make sense to me. I believe that if he was raised among us, then he is human and has the same kinds of flaws, vices and little quirks that we do. And that doesn’t erase the fact that, at the end of the day, from an objective standpoint, he is an alien who is more ethical and kind than most people. That doesn’t make it any less beautiful. But on a deeper level, he is a human being with human pain and human flaws who still chooses to act better than most humans. That is even more beautiful, heroic and meaningful, in my opinion. Anyway, I probably went off on a tangent from the point that was being discussed and still didn’t make my ideas clear enough, but in my defense, I’m sleepy. 
Stories are written by the victors.
(Hmm, come to think of it, that's not the exact quote...)
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No, I don't think Lana counts in the L&C universe. Remember what Clark said in JSN? " But being in a relationship is completely new. If I blow this, I lose everything." I think he dated Lana because that's what everybody else did in high school, and he wanted to look "normal" by having a girlfriend. But he never let her get too close or truly involved in his private life. In other words, he probably never had a real "relationship" with Lana. ...and because Clark forgets to use his head at various points.
Oh, he uses his head alright. The problem is his head malfunctions most of the time when he’s around Lois. I believe that if he was raised among us, then he is human and has the same kinds of flaws, vices and little quirks that we do.
That's exactly where I think the writers should have done more. They didn't show enough of those "flaws, vices and little quirks" in this character, which makes him appear otherworldly at times. It seems the only flaw they were willing to give Clark is stupidity—in relationships. They could have at least shown some inner struggles, like Clark's compassion battles his dark side, and his goodness finally wins out, leading him to do the right thing. But no, he's that " basic goody two shoes" from beginning to end, which makes him a bit too predictable. Again, it might have something to do with L&C being a PG-rated family show. The writers probably felt they had to simplify the characters.
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Part 3 – The “love you as a friend” stage
Episode 16 – All Shook Up
I'm labeling ASU as Episode 16 because its B-plot connects directly to PML in multiple ways—ASU was clearly meant to air right after PML, regardless of where PML was supposed to fall in the lineup.
The opening scene hands us a solar eclipse caused by "Nightfall"—a bloody asteroid. For a 17-mile-wide asteroid to block the sun, it would have to sit less than 2,000 miles from Earth, closer than many man-made satellites, which means it would slam into Earth within minutes of the eclipse. Did the L&C production team have enough common sense to realize that once an eclipse like that happens, it's instant doom for every Metropolitan? Of course they did—half of them probably had impressive résumés, and Dean himself is a Princeton graduate, for crying out loud—they just didn't care. It always feels to me like none of the L&C crew gave a damn about what happens to the A-plot, as long as that A-plot gets our favorite duo snogging. So we as viewers should adopt the same laid-back, tolerant attitude—which is why, for the rest of this commentary, I'm going to assume "Nightfall" is a chunk of size-shifting magic rock that keeps expanding into a thin disc, frequently blocking the sunlight and triggering a severe spring cold snap in Metropolis. Ludicrous as it sounds, it does explain why the Metropolitans are in their spring clothes at the start of the episode, yet they all put on winter coats mid-episode and stay that way to the end.
At the beginning of Part 2 of this trilogy in "HIM," we witnessed Lois doing something very un-Mad-Dog-like—stepping away from work for a weekend of pure relaxation—which signals her intention to make some changes in her personal life. At the beginning of Part 3, however, we sadly see her retreating back into that safe cocoon called "work" again. As Perry put it in OP, "Things get a little rough in your life, you wrap yourself up in your work like it was gonna save you." Well, it's not exactly surprising, given what happened to her in "The Rival" and "PML." Anyway, "Mad Dog Lane" has made a comeback with a vengeance, openly declaring "war" on her fellow journalists.
The "public kissing" scene outside the EPRAD command center is the first of many clear indications that ASU was supposed to air right after PML, because the original broadcast order has no rhyme or reason—Lois has just done some serious flirting with Clark in "HIM," and now she's making out with Superman in public? (Unsurprisingly, this "scandalous" scene triggered a fresh round of "scarlet woman" tirades from my sister when we watched the show together for the first time.) But if the events in ASU took place right after PML, everything becomes perfectly understandable: thanks to the 25-second kissing session in the previous episode, Lois now realizes that Superman does have feelings for her. Naturally, she begins to hope for a real future together with her idol. For the first time ever, she doesn't swoon in front of Superman. Instead, she behaves more like his equal, a true lover, and even uses "us" to describe their relationship. Although Superman's response—"I'll be back. We'll go flying."—and his signature touch to Lois's cheek inevitably added a few more nails in the coffin of Clark's doomed love life, for once I'll hold my tongue and spare the poor guy another courtship lecture—especially since Lois is acting equally foolish in this particular scene. That passionate kiss in front of a sea of news cameras undoubtedly labeled her "Superman's girl" and a prime target for abduction from then on. But under the circumstances, who can blame this pair of star-crossed lovers? If Superman doesn't return, none of those worries would matter to them anymore.
Fortunately, the Almighty brought Clark back from outer space in one piece, after peeling off his deceptive skin and cracking open his thick mental defenses—all for easier access to his carefully guarded soul. It's interesting that Inspector Henderson called Lois to pick Clark up, instead of following procedure by contacting Clark's family and/or employer. I bet that old hound has a pretty good idea about exactly "how close" this pair is, just like everybody else in their social circle.
It's worth noting that there are two significant changes in Lois's behavior this episode: one is her shift toward Superman from groupie to lover, and the other is the way she acts around Clark. Throughout Clark's ordeals—whether getting "hit" by a car or suffering amnesia—she treats him with nothing but warmth and care, even love. But there's no longer any flirting, and the intensity of their sexual tension has practically dropped to zero. Once again, this drastic change in their dynamic fits perfectly with what happened in PML—the episode that should come right before ASU—but not HIM.
We can tell from the way Lois helps Clark navigate his familiar surroundings that she's already such a "Clarkie expert" that she's almost on par with Martha: she knows not only that Clark always gets a donut when he comes in, but also which type he likes best—the plain "cake things." She also knows exactly where he keeps his spare pair of glasses. (I have to guiltily admit that I spent 18 years under the same roof with my father, yet I still couldn't tell you where my old man keeps his spare glasses.) The fact that Lois notices all these trivial details suggests she has been watching Clark closely all along—contrary to what he's complained about, she's never actually ignored him. She only pretends to sometimes.
The night scene in Clark's apartment marks the second of only three times in Season 1 that Clark opens his heart to Lois (the first comes in "MOSB"). Thanks to the colossal bump on his impossibly thick skull, Clark temporarily forgets his many fears—and what a lunkhead he's supposed to be. For once, his frail heart overrules his dense brain, and he finally lets some of his feelings slip out.
Lois's reaction to Clark's advances is, curiously, one of embarrassment and utter confusion—again, it makes no sense under the canonical viewing order. When I first watched this episode, Lois's confused reaction baffled me so much that I thought she had amnesia too—of course she and Clark were more than friends. Didn't she remember how shamelessly they'd flirted in that honeymoon suite just one episode earlier? But then, on a rewatch, I noticed a July 1993 calendar hanging on the wall in Roarke's office in "HIM," which means "HIM" is supposed to take place much earlier chronologically. So once I removed "HIM" from between PML and ASU, every scene that had felt incoherent in the original broadcast order fell into place nicely.
The takeaways L&C got from the events of PML are complete opposites: After finally receiving Lois's verbal confirmation that she did feel attracted to him, Clark no doubt believed that he and Lois were definitely "more than friends." He might even have thought that they were only one step away from being lovers—as soon as he worked up enough courage to tell her how he felt, they would be well on their way to a happily ever after. Lois, on the other hand, got an unmistakably negative message from Clark: "I'm just not attracted to you, Lois." She therefore came to the conclusion that work partners and platonic friends were all they would ever be. No wonder the poor girl is so utterly confused by Clark's sudden, undisguised affection.
I doubt Clark ever noticed it, but every time he opens up to Lois, she responds with tenfold the enthusiasm. The feather-light parting kiss he gave her in MOSB made her wonder whether this poor farm boy had actually come to mean more to her than her flying idol—"First Superman, now Clark. I don't know who I'll miss more." And now these "more than friends" questions he bombards her with will eventually make her choose him over a billionaire—and over her own survival.
There's no doubt the L&C writers conveniently switch off Lois's reporter instincts—and her common sense along with them—whenever they pair her with Lex Luthor. Luthor's arrogance and heartlessness practically seep through the screen in that secret bunker scene, and yet she still ignores all of it. It's as if this crime lord no longer bothers to hide his true nature when the world is coming to an end—while everyone else is out there trying to stop the Nightfall or hold together a collapsing social order, this billionaire philanthropist is busy putting the final touch on his cozy ark: a sex slave for the next three years.
"So...if the world dies, you live?"
Lois (or Teri) delivers the above line with enough sarcasm that both Luthor and the audience can hear it. I take it as Lois Lane's fictional soul protesting with all her might against the writers who forced her to act out of character: "This man is so obviously evil—how could you make me not see it?!"
As I mentioned in an earlier post on this thread, I'm a big fan of the L&C prop crew. When I followed Lois into her replica apartment, my attention was immediately drawn to the only item that wasn't in her actual living room: a birdcage. I'm pretty sure the L&C crew—with a strong sense of social responsibility, no doubt—deliberately placed that prop cage there to prevent viewers from mistaking Luthor's perverted maneuver for an "act of love." The metaphor that birdcage delivers is loud and clear—this replica apartment was originally built as Lois's prison cell.
For the umpteenth time, the L&C production team quietly cut a few key lines that showed just how much Clark means to Lois Lane. What the hell were they so afraid of? Those producers were almost as cowardly as Mr. Kent.
LUTHOR (turning around): May I send someone to pack your personal belongings?
LOIS: No. I've got a partner who needs me. I've got friends at the paper that are like family to me. And I'm not giving up on Superman either. I can't stay here.
These deleted lines really should have made the final cut, because they lay out the real reasons she gives up her one chance at surviving the apocalypse. (That "I have to see it for myself" line is just too weak an excuse—totally unconvincing.) What's more, these unfairly cut lines resonate strongly with what she said to Clark in HOL: "You never gave up. On the Planet, on your friends, on me." And Clark's answer: "I couldn't. You've just named probably everything in the world that's precious to me." Obviously, that's the same “everything in the world” that's precious to her, because Lois makes her life-or-death decision in under 15 seconds—Luthor is barely 20 steps away when she calls after him and turns him down.
Right after dumping the billionaire and her guaranteed survival, Lois calls Clark and asks if she can spend the last night of modern civilization with him, only to find out he already has company. I've always wondered what Clark would have done after getting that phone call if he still had his memory. Would he have left Lois all by herself on that freezing dark street, with tears in her eyes, feeling lost, lonely, and afraid?
I refuse to imagine how Lois spent that last night before the apocalypse alone in her apartment. So let's fast-forward to the next morning. Less than 12 hours to impact now, and Lois's thoughts are still on her partner: "Is Clark still at home?" She finally decides to "go see how he is," even though she knows full well she'll be intruding on him and his parents—if that's not love, I don't know what is.
Luckily, Martha and Jonathan send Clark downstairs to meet Lois—via an unusual shortcut—and spare themselves the embarrassment of watching two lovers say goodbye. Luckier still, with Lois's help in restoring his memory, the Superman part quickly comes back to Clark, but the lunkhead part seems to have lagged a few paces behind. It allows him to open up to her one last time and put his feelings into words: "Thank you—For whatever it is that you've done for me that makes me feel so good about you."
What did I tell you? Every time he offers her even a tiny drop of his true feelings, she responds with a wellspring of affection—"I mean I love you."
However, right after declaring her love, she must have remembered that Clark isn't physically attracted to her. Some subconscious self-protective mechanism probably kicked in to keep her heart from being hurt again, and she quickly reinterpreted her undeniable love for Clark as purely platonic—"like a... brother." And that's probably what she kept telling herself from that moment on, until she finally made herself a firm believer in BATP.
The final scene of this episode reassures the audience that Clark's lunkheadedness is, unfortunately, fully restored:
LOIS: "So what's the first thing you remembered?"
CLARK: "Superman."
No, it's not, Lunkhead! The first thing you remembered is Lois, remember?
I have to replay a short scene from two days earlier, in the coffee area of the DP bullpen:
CLARK: "Hey, I'm remembering something. You don't drink real coffee with real milk and real sugar."
LOIS: "I do today."
I wonder if Mr. Kent would have gotten a second chance had he answered Lois's question correctly. A sincere "The first thing I remembered is you," plus those bedroom eyes, would have almost certainly reopened a door in the lady’s heart. And am I the only one who suspects that when Lois asked that question, she was secretly hoping he'd say "It's you"? She does look pretty disappointed at his signature dumb answer...
A trivial detail from that same coffee-area scene: When Lois reminds Clark about how they met, she's using Clark's poker-faced mug to make her coffee—not her own "The best man for the job is a woman" mug. It's unlikely Teri just grabbed the wrong prop mug while shooting this scene, since both Dean and Teri had used their respective mugs a hundred times and must have been pretty familiar with them by then. So I have to conclude Teri picked Clark's mug on purpose. But what message was she trying to send the audience? That L&C's lives are already so intertwined they drink from each other's cups? Or is Lois taking subtle advantage of Clark while he's suffering from amnesia? Any other ideas?
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Hack from Nowheresville
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Remember what Clark said in JSN? "But being in a relationship is completely new. If I blow this, I lose everything."
I’ve always interpreted this part as having a “completely honest relationship” between the lines. He may not have told Lana or any other girlfriends everything about himself, but relationships are real even when they are incomplete in some way, and they always teach us something. Clark never let anyone other than his parents get truly close to him, but I think he was still able to make the most of his experiences with friends and girlfriends, living them as deeply as he was capable of and learning from them. They could have at least shown some inner struggles, like Clark's compassion battles his dark side, and his goodness finally wins out, leading him to do the right thing. But no, he's that "basic goody two shoes" from beginning to end
I completely agree. That’s why I interpret him the way I do. If Clark isn’t this human, flawed character, he becomes less real, and the series (and Superman media in general) loses a lot of its appeal for me. So I want to “judge” him (so to speak, because I can't think of a better verb at the moment) and then understand him precisely because he is human. it does explain why the Metropolitans are in their spring clothes at the start of the episode, yet they all put on winter coats mid-episode and stay that way to the end.
A very interesting detail to notice. Lois now realizes that Superman does have feelings for her. Naturally, she begins to hope for a real future together with her idol. For the first time ever, she doesn't swoon in front of Superman. Instead, she behaves more like his equal, a true lover, and even uses "us" to describe their relationship.
That makes perfect sense. Although Superman's response—"I'll be back. We'll go flying."—and his signature touch to Lois's cheek inevitably added a few more nails in the coffin of Clark's doomed love life,
Yeah, he was so stupid here. since Lois is acting equally foolish in this particular scene. That passionate kiss in front of a sea of news cameras undoubtedly labeled her "Superman's girl" and a prime target for abduction from then on.
Yeah, she was so stupid here. (This is another scene where part of me wants to throw a bucket of ice-cold water on the two of them. And on top of that, it was so cheesy ) But under the circumstances, who can blame this pair of star-crossed lovers? If Superman doesn't return, none of those worries would matter to them anymore.
Yeah In the end, we have to cut them some slack. Poor guys. The fact that Lois notices all these trivial details suggests she has been watching Clark closely all along—contrary to what he's complained about, she's never actually ignored him. She only pretends to sometimes.
Absolutely I take it as Lois Lane's fictional soul protesting with all her might against the writers who forced her to act out of character
I support this interpretation The truth always finds a way through the cracks. When I followed Lois into her replica apartment, my attention was immediately drawn to the only item that wasn't in her actual living room: a birdcage.
A very well-thought-out detail. These deleted lines really should have made the final cut, because they lay out the real reasons she gives up her one chance at surviving the apocalypse. (That "I have to see it for myself" line is just too weak an excuse—totally unconvincing.)
I agree, these lines shouldn’t have been deleted. They would have helped the viewer understand Lois’s feelings much better. But I also really like the line that actually made it into the series, because I can relate to that feeling a lot, and I’m not even a journalist. To me, it would be perfect if they combined the two. What did I tell you? Every time he offers her even a tiny drop of his true feelings, she responds with a wellspring of affection—"I mean I love you."
Aww Indeed, I can see how this applies in practice now. It was always clear to me how willing Lois was to be surprisingly affectionate with Clark, but I’d never thought about it from this particular angle. And am I the only one who suspects that when Lois asked that question, she was secretly hoping he'd say "It's you"? She does look pretty disappointed at his signature dumb answer...
I don’t dare speculate about her reaction, but I was definitely a little disappointed the first time I watched it haha. That L&C's lives are already so intertwined they drink from each other's cups?
That would be very cute. Or is Lois taking subtle advantage of Clark while he's suffering from amnesia?
Oh no, Lois is showing a case of small-power syndrome! She could be marking her territory to show Cat that Clark has already been taken By the way, what do you think of Cat in this episode? And also of Lois’s reaction to her?
Stories are written by the victors.
(Hmm, come to think of it, that's not the exact quote...)
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So I want to “judge” him (so to speak, because I can't think of a better verb at the moment) and then understand him precisely because he is human.
Then you might consider agreeing with me that Clark is capable of being a teeny, tiny bit of “cruel,” every once in a great while . This guy has so little darkness in his heart that I sometimes feel I have to paint it on him. And a character can never be three-dimensional if he casts no shadows at all. This is another scene where part of me wants to throw a bucket of ice-cold water on the two of them.
Actually, I was surprised the writers never did follow-ups on this extremely publicized kiss. The director did deliberately add camera flashes to the kissing scene, which meant that this "Superman's got a girlfriend!" snapshot must have made the front pages all over the world. To me, it would be perfect if they combined the two.
The original script of ASU did combine the two, and it was perfect just as it was. I'd really love to know who that evil producer was—the one who abused their power through censorship and kept deleting critical lines showing Lois's affection for Clark. Season 1 would have been ten times yummier if those lines had been preserved. It was always clear to me how willing Lois was to be surprisingly affectionate with Clark
Absolutely. I think deep down, L&C already loved each other in this episode. The problem is neither of them was brave enough to admit it—or even to confront their own feelings honestly. Their reluctance to express themselves only fed into each other's fears and made them even more afraid to acknowledge those feelings. This negative feedback loop kept building and building, and finally led to that "federal disaster" in BATP. So in a sense, those two were a pair of hopeless cowards who totally deserved each other. I don’t dare speculate about her reaction, but I was definitely a little disappointed the first time I watched it haha.
Ditto. The interesting part is that as soon as Lois heard Clark say "Superman," she must have realized that he had not answered truthfully. Because unless she was suffering from amnesia, too, she would recall that he remembered her cute little habit long before he remembered Superman. She could be marking her territory to show Cat that Clark has already been taken.
Great point. I believe this is by far the most plausible explanation. I always love it when Lois gets territorial. By the way, what do you think of Cat in this episode?
I think Cat in this episode is another character the writers forced to act OOC. I mean, I can understand her repenting for lying to Clark, but whining about not having enough "meaningful" relationships is way out of character for her. Given her talents and assets, I don't see her having any trouble finding a stable life partner if she ever wanted one. The way the scriptwriters made her negate the lifestyle she chose of her own free will is a telling example of how little respect society had for women's autonomy thirty years ago. That confession-booth scene was clearly designed to "intimidate" women of that era: no matter how beautiful, successful, or independent you are, your life will end up miserable if you don't "settle down" like everybody else. And there was a glaring double standard there too: both Lex Luthor and Jimmy Olsen adopted the same—if not more—"meaningless" lifestyle as Cat Grant, yet no writer felt the urgent need to shove those two guys into a confession booth. But then again, it was the primeval '90s—guess we can't be too judgmental toward people trapped by their time. Of course, none of this means I agree with Ms. Grant's sexual harassment. I think she deserves to be fired for what she did and face a long line of lawsuits. But then again, it was the barbaric '90s—maybe that kind of thing was perfectly legal back then. Or they wouldn't dare show it on national TV, would they? And also of Lois’s reaction to her?
I don't recall Lois having much interaction with Cat in this episode. Are you referring to the part where Cat took advantage of poor amnesiac Clark and Lois decided to step in? I think it's a natural reaction from a loyal friend trying to protect her " good-hearted and a little naive" partner from evil sex predators...
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My apologies, but I'll have to step away from this little thread for a few days to embark on a "healing trip." That proposal defense I went through three days ago left a permanent emotional scar on my soul — it happens when you get interrogated by an army of professors for a full hour in front of a full house. And I have to admit I haven't even started on "Foundling" yet, nor do I have the foggiest idea how best to narrate this episode. "Foundling" is such a complicated and crucial episode in terms of the B-plot. Definitely need a change of scenery to rekindle my inspiration. Will be back in a week, maybe.
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Episode 17 – Foundling
The A-plot of this episode provides us non-Superman fans with a nice, concise introduction to Kal-El's origin. The B-plot, meanwhile, paints a fairly clear picture of how L&C see each other at this point in their relationship, with romance temporarily off the table. And from this episode on, the B-plot begins to take on a distinctly ominous undertone, quietly setting the stage for the grand unveiling of L&C's very first "federal disaster" in the season finale.
Neither Lois nor Clark is having a great morning at the start of this episode. Lois is still in full Mad-Dog mode, with nothing but stories on her mind. Clearly, she hasn't heard from Superman since their very publicized kiss last episode, so she has no choice but to wrap herself in work again. Clark, on the other hand, is already unusually somber after that virtual encounter with his biological father the night before. Even the happy news of landing the first award nomination of his career barely improves his mood. His spirits sink to an all-time low when he gets the phone call telling him his apartment has been robbed.
Clark's lunkhead syndrome must have mutated from cosmic rays into something contagious after his outer-space tour. Why else would Lois suddenly catch it and start showing symptoms in this episode? Out of all the moments she could have picked to exploit Clark professionally—an offense she hasn't repeated since "NB"—she picks the one moment when he's at his absolute lowest. What’s more, while stubbornly tagging along with Clark all the way into his apartment, she completely misses the warning sign when he shows a kind of negativity he's never directed at her before—annoyance.
"Lois, you live here (with Clark)?"
Here Inspection Henderson strikes again. Like I said in my last commentary, that old hound definitely knows what's going on between these two. Did L&C invite the inspector to their wedding? They must have.
Unfortunately, Inspection Henderson will have to wait two more years for that stylish invitation printed on Japanese linen—because the little lunks in L&C's brains are currently taking their hosts on a detour light-years away from matrimony. Right after Clark suffers what's probably the greatest emotional blow of his life—finding out his one and only family heirloom has been stolen—Lois's lunkhead wastes no time adding insult to injury:
"That's not bad."
The look of disbelief Clark shoots her says it all.
Let's step away from this mess in Clark's bedroom and turn to something Lois said to Scardino in “WWW”, Season 2:
"At least Clark trusts me. At least he knows that I would never use someone close to me just to get a story."
Well, Clark obviously doesn't know that, because she does exactly that to him this episode—using his personal loss to get a story. It's a nice little reminder that getting too obsessed with your work is definitely not a healthy habit.
Understandably, Lois's missteps in Clark's apartment exponentially increase his wariness and defensiveness toward her. And it's in this exceptionally guarded state that Clark is dragged off to meet Louie—one of Lois's underworld contacts—for help catching the robber.
I'd like to single out one cute little exchange between Lois and Louie, just to lighten the otherwise grim atmosphere.
LOUIE (to Lois, per Clark): "Straight arrow, huh?"
LOIS: "Tell me about it."
The doting indulgence, and that little hint of pride in Lois's reply call back fondly to Clark's line in JSN, Season 3:
SMILEY: "You’ve got a tiger by the tail there, boy."
CLARK: "Tell me about it."
What an adorable couple. If only they could get their lunkhead syndromes fixed ASAP.
Clark's wariness and defensiveness toward Lois seem to carry over to the next morning, when they huddle at Lois's desk to work on that "strong finishing kick" story for their Meriweather votes. It looks like Lois is following her declaration from last episode—"I love you like a brother"—to the letter. That intimate massage she gives Clark is exactly the kind a big sister would administer to her "poor, sensitive" pouting brother. There's no longer any sexual tension between them, but at least the atmosphere is still loving and cozy—until Lois discovers the photos of the Kryptonian globe, and realizes that Clark has been withholding critical information from her all this time.
Interestingly, Lois's reaction when she finds out Clark lied to her is nearly identical to her reaction in "ABFTB" when she found out Superman had lied to her—pure incredulity and utter shock, as if that perfect little world Clark built for her is suddenly collapsing. It shows that even though she'd called Clark a "rotten, backstabbing piece of slime" and vowed never to be fooled by his innocent exterior again, secretly she's been placing Clark on a moral pedestal as high as Superman's. In her heart, Clark has been such an unearthly noble guy that he's simply incapable of telling real lies—until now.
Lois's little inner world is still in pieces the next day at lunch, and the shards must be doing quite a number on her nerves. When her unusually vicious Mad-Dog snarl scares Clark away, it inevitably draws Perry's attention. The kind-hearted mentor decides to step in as a mender and help her repair the damage—I'm sure the old chief wouldn't have meddled if he'd known the alien source of the problem.
LOIS: "I don't think I can trust Clark anymore."
PERRY: "Would you care to tell me why?"
LOIS: "He lied to me."
PERRY: "Oh, well... urh, don't you... lie to him?"
LOIS: "Of course, I lie to him all the time."
At first glance, this dialogue does sound like Lois has a double-standard problem. But if we look back at all of Lois's lies to Clark, we'll find she's never lied to him about anything important. 99% of the time, she lied because she wanted to do something reckless and feared Clark would stop her if he knew (the only exception was NB, when she stole that Superman story from him—no excuse for that one). But every single time things got serious, she immediately became painfully honest with him. Sadly, we can't say the same about Clark, can we? Which is why I side with Perry here and fully support Lois's right to confront Clark and demand the truth.
That confrontation in the late-night newsroom marks the very first real, seriously big fight between L&C. And the focus of this fight couldn't be any graver—TRUST. Curiously, the dialogue, actions, and emotions of L&C in this scene bear a striking resemblance to another fight that took place one year later in the DP conference room in "ATAI" (take, for example, "Don't you pick up that phone!"). But rather than suspecting plagiarism, I prefer to believe this coincidence is the result of the fictional characters acting of their own accord and steering the writers' hands. After all, Clark's mistake in this episode is essentially the same mistake he made in "ATAI"—he not only refused to enlist Lois's help after his parents were abducted, but also told her a string of lies to cover it up. Looks like his "Superman Complex"—the insistence on handling every crisis all by himself—is quite a stubborn disease that simply won't go away without multiple intensive treatments from Lois.
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As I mentioned earlier, Lois always gets painfully honest with Clark whenever things get serious, and this time is no exception. From the lines she recklessly fires at him during her huge tantrum, we can get a fairly clear picture of how Lois sees Clark at this stage, when she's only known him for less than a year:
"You're a weird guy, Clark. That's a gift."
This is actually an opinion she's expressed repeatedly throughout Season 1, ever since they first met. For instance:
"You are a strange one, Clark Kent." (Pilot)
"You are so weird. Works for you though." (SV)
"I don't think I have ever, will ever meet anyone quite like you." (THOL)
This is why I disagree with some viewers who say Lois only started noticing Clark's exceptionality midway through Season 2. The truth is, when everyone else regarded Clark as nothing more than a mild-mannered ordinary guy, Lois alone recognized his uniqueness from the very beginning. As the above lines show, Clark had always been a mystery to her. "Ordinary" was never her real impression of him.
"But half the time, I don't know where you are, or where you're coming from."
Again, contrary to the impression many viewers have that Lois neglected Clark's disappearances early in their relationship, the truth is she had noticed his strange absences all along and was already bothered by them in Season 1. She just didn't feel she had any right to question him before he officially asked her out in Season 2.
"You grew up on a farm in Kansas. I grew up in Metropolis."
Here's another line that makes Lois look like she has a double-standard problem. Of course, every viewer can reach their own verdict. But what I think she actually means here is, "I know I'm not a good person, but I thought you were." This reading is well backed up by that "straight arrow" exchange between Lois and Louie earlier in the episode, and by Lois's comment to Linda King in "The Rival"—"Clark's good-hearted... and a little naive." All told, it seems she’d laid that thorny crown of "The Last Honest Man" on Clark well before the episode of “ATAI”. And the emotional blow she suffers after discovering Clark is capable of lying in this episode is as crushing as when she found out he was capable of stealing in "ATAI." (A side note: this also serves as supporting evidence that "The Rival" is supposed to air before "Foundling"—Lois would not have made that "good-hearted and a little naive" comment after realizing that Clark had a capacity for deceit.)
Back to Clark. The way he chooses to handle Lois's emotional crisis is just... I'm at a loss for words to describe it. This lunkhead finally decides to tell her a partial truth, yet he picks the very worst part to tell her—he did indeed take advantage of the B39-warehouse information she discovered and generously shared with him. But instead of returning the favor, he hoarded the crucial artifact he discovered thanks to her tip and never brought it up again. And as if that weren't unfair enough to Lois, he somehow decides to adopt that irritating "this is none of your business" attitude throughout his confrontation with her.
CLARK: "So, this is about Superman?"
LOIS: "No! This is about us!"
I feel obligated to point out that this is the very first time Lois has used "us" to describe their relationship since her “There is no we, not ever” declaration 11 months ago. Yet Clark is so preoccupied with his globe-theft crisis that he doesn't even notice the significance of this moment. Ugh—what a disaster.
So is there any way Clark could have gotten out of this jam unscathed? Sure there is. He could have simply told Lois a white lie: that Superman gave him the globe for safekeeping while crashing at his apartment in "MOSB," and made Clark promise never to tell another living soul, not even Lois. Since he is Superman, this particular lie is technically within the acceptable range. But first of all, Clark is never as good a liar as we earthlings are. And second, it's clear he's never even considered asking for Lois's help—because he's been in that "Lone Rider" mode all his life, firmly believing he can solve every single problem on his own. Just as Lois needed time to accept a work partner in the journalism arena, Clark will need much longer to learn how to rely on his other half in his never-ending battle with the underworld.
Last—and I think this is the most important point here (I hope at least some viewers would agree with me on this)—this globe-robbery incident reveals a rather unsettling truth: Clark does not yet trust Lois 100% at this stage. In fact, his late-night phone call with his parents shows he actually regards Lois knowing his Superman identity as just as much of a threat as criminals finding out his secrets. Was he afraid Lois would treat him as an unlimited source of Superman exclusives from then on? Well, her foolish act of using his misery to get a story surely made that seem like a real possibility. Anyway, it's super clear that in this episode, Clark is still far from ready to let Lois into his life—it could be one of the main reasons he always backs off whenever Lois makes advances to him.
L&C's conversation in the final scene is what I'd call a "non-conciliating reconciliation." They stop fighting and sign a peace treaty, but they both remain cautiously evasive and don't really talk things through. The key issue here isn't what each of them did or didn't do in "Strange Visitor," back when they were still strangers. It's that after everything they've been through together, Clark still keeps the globe's existence from Lois and refuses her help after such an important artifact is stolen. He fails to provide an explanation, and she gives up pursuing it further. So at the end of the day, the problem is still sitting right there between them, quietly eroding their emotional bond.
True, Lois would have taken the globe and hidden it if she'd seen it first in "SV." But she also would have told Clark about the globe once he'd gained her complete trust in "Witness." After all, hiding a mysterious globe seemed rather insignificant next to harboring a convicted murderer in her apartment. The fact that Clark never shared this secret with her only exposes her to the painful realization that he doesn't yet trust her as much as she trusts him. Even Clark, with that dense brain of his, must have realized how bad this whole thing looks to Lois, because he attempts to "bribe" her with a Superman exclusive, hoping this Mad Dog's favorite treat will soothe the snarling beast inside her. However, although Lois does say, "I've decided to forgive you," it's more likely she decided to resign herself to the harsh reality—just because she trusts Clark with her life, doesn't mean he has an obligation to trust her back. "And it hurts me when I feel like that trust isn't returned." Somehow, when I heard Lois deliver this line in "JSN," I had a strong feeling she wasn't referring to recent events.
To be fair, the mistakes L&C make in this episode are both quite forgivable. Lois's decision to use Clark's robbery to get a story is, for sure, not very nice. But she only does it because she has no idea how grave the situation really is for Clark, and all she ever wanted was to secure that Meriweather Award she's going to share with him. Clark, for his part, has every right to keep his biggest secret from Lois, a woman he's known for less than a year. And it's understandable that 11 months isn't long enough to shake off his lifelong habit of operating alone. All in all, this globe robbery is nothing more than a deeply unfortunate event that took place at an especially fraught moment. And in my opinion, this is the very first time Clark's secret identity has caused real, substantial damage to L&C's relationship.
Well, just when you think things couldn't get any worse after what happened in "PML," they do. Lois once again makes her peace with something she simply can't control. Last time it was about attraction, and this time it's about trust. Apparently, even her platonic relationship with Clark isn't as perfect as she'd imagined. Her heart is thus driven still further away from him—this time dangerously close to escaping his gravitational pull altogether.
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I promise this will be the very last super-long review. The rest of the episodes should be pretty straightforward, since there's no longer a scrambled-timeline issue.
By the way, why do casting directors always assume that parents who died young keep aging? Jor-El looks old enough to be baby Kal-El's grandfather. And Kryptonians aren't even supposed to age. I would have much preferred a dashing young actor with jet-black hair playing Lois's father-in-law.
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Hack from Nowheresville
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Hack from Nowheresville
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And a character can never be three-dimensional if he casts no shadows at all.
Yes, yes. It's just that I don't like that word, "cruel." When I use it to refer to people, I think of a select group of people who are truly bad. Actually, I was surprised the writers never did follow-ups on this extremely publicized kiss.
When I first watched the series, I was also surprised that we never got to see any major repercussions from that kiss. So in a sense, those two were a pair of hopeless cowards who totally deserved each other.
Because unless she was suffering from amnesia, too, she would recall that he remembered her cute little habit long before he remembered Superman.
I think that in this context, they were talking about the thing that definitely made Clark remember everything and who he was. That confession-booth scene was clearly designed to "intimidate" women of that era: no matter how beautiful, successful, or independent you are, your life will end up miserable if you don't "settle down" like everybody else. And there was a glaring double standard there too: both Lex Luthor and Jimmy Olsen adopted the same—if not more—"meaningless" lifestyle as Cat Grant, yet no writer felt the urgent need to shove those two guys into a confession booth.
I totally agree. I think it's a natural reaction from a loyal friend trying to protect her "good-hearted and a little naive" partner from evil sex predators...
Yes. And I noticed little or no jealousy on Lois's part in that scene, just concern, which supports your theory.
Stories are written by the victors.
(Hmm, come to think of it, that's not the exact quote...)
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Hack from Nowheresville
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Foundling is an episode in which Lois acted quite insensitively. And unlike some other episodes or scenes where I feel she was poorly portrayed by the writers, here I see her being unpleasant in a way that fits her personality perfectly. And as you said, this was the worst possible moment for her to try to get a story out of Clark. She took the saying "when life gives you lemons, make lemonade" a little too seriously. Lois's lunkhead wastes no time adding insult to injury:
"That's not bad."
What consoles me is that she tries to help him right afterward... But if we look back at all of Lois's lies to Clark, we'll find she's never lied to him about anything important.
Yes. I found it strange when I heard her say "All the time." Especially because I had in mind what you already mentioned, that aside from stealing the story in NB, there wasn't another occasion worth bringing up. I also love this quote: PERRY: Trust shouldn't be abandoned without a fight. Especially between you two.This is why I disagree with some viewers who say Lois only started noticing Clark's exceptionality midway through Season 2.
Totally. The days when she thought he was just a "hack from Nowheresville" were pretty short-lived, and it didn't take long for her to decide he was different and to start seeing him as a standard of integrity, too, as you mentioned a few lines above. Again, contrary to the impression many viewers have that Lois neglected Clark's disappearances early in their relationship, the truth is she had noticed his strange absences all along and was already bothered by them in Season 1. She just didn't feel she had any right to question him before he officially asked her out in Season 2.
Exactly. This also shows that, although she's a workaholic journalist who's obsessed with finding the truth and sometimes goes too far (as in this episode), she's not so clueless or intrusive that she thinks she's entitled to know absolutely everything about a friend's life. But what I think she actually means here is, "I know I'm not a good person, but I thought you were."
Hm, I'd never thought of it that way. I interpreted it as her using a silly argument because she'd run out of ideas. But it makes sense... it's an interesting possibility. Lois would not have made that "good-hearted and a little naive" comment after realizing that Clark had a capacity for deceit.
I also remember finding that line strange when I first watched the series, precisely because of Foundling. Yet Clark is so preoccupied with his globe-theft crisis that he doesn't even notice the significance of this moment.
And I also remember noticing that and feeling frustrated. Ugh. Anyway, it's super clear that in this episode, Clark is still far from ready to let Lois into his life—it could be one of the main reasons he always backs off whenever Lois makes advances to him.
That makes perfect sense. And connecting this to another sentence you wrote in your analysis, "Clark had always been a mystery to her," I think we should keep in mind that Lois isn't the only one whose heart is protected by walls in this relationship. She was someone he considered, in part, an intriguing mystery he really wanted to get to know, and she felt the same way about him. Clark had a different way of hiding, but he was also afraid and seemed to be sabotaging his relationship with Lois to avoid having to make a choice. In other words, these two really do deserve each other! I'd also like to highlight that I like this part: CLARK: Lois, I admit I haven't been truthful, okay? But I can't talk about that right now. Please, as my partner and my friend, leave it there. Will you? This one time?
LOIS: (after a beat) Okay. This one time.the painful realization that he doesn't yet trust her as much as she trusts him.
This is another thing that has always seemed obvious to me, and I wish it had been explored more in the episodes or in fanfics, because it's really interesting. However, although Lois does say, "I've decided to forgive you," it's more likely she decided to resign herself to the harsh reality—just because she trusts Clark with her life, doesn't mean he has an obligation to trust her back.
And besides that, I interpret it as a lighthearted joke meant to restore normalcy between them. Like you, I wish they had both opened their hearts in this scene, but it also makes sense that they were afraid to face the truth and preferred to sweep things under the rug. To be fair, the mistakes L&C make in this episode are both quite forgivable.
Yes. After all, just because Lois acted insensitively here doesn't mean she's going to make the same mistake - or even be condescending - in every situation. And Clark really did have every right, and even an obligation, considering his parents, to keep his secret well hidden.
Last edited by peixinho; 10/10/26 09:53 AM.
Stories are written by the victors.
(Hmm, come to think of it, that's not the exact quote...)
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I think that in this context, they were talking about the thing that definitely made Clark remember everything and who he was.
As a matter of fact, Lois had no idea that Clark had a major revelation in that alley before she asked that question. I think she was just plain curious about the very first memory that came back to him. (Could it have been Rachel Harris and the prom?) However, after he said "Superman" and referred to their conversation in that alley, she must have realized right away that it was the wrong answer, because he had remembered her coffee preference way earlier than that. But who knows—maybe he remembered Rachel even earlier, and he lied to her just to cover that up. And even if Clark misinterpreted Lois's question as the "key memory" that led to his total recovery, that still doesn't mean he was being entirely honest. Because what he actually remembered was the time he spent with her when he was in the cape. So the correct answer should've still been "It's you." But of course, we all know he was such a hopeless coward that he would never have the courage to admit it. She took the saying "when life gives you lemons, make lemonade"a little too seriously.
Couldn’t agree more. Poor Lois. I found it strange when I heard her say "All the time."
Yes, this line just shows how low Lois's self-esteem actually was. Deep down, she must have thought she was such a bad-tempered, deceitful, high-maintenance person that precious few men in the world could put up with her—which is partly why she accepted Luthor's proposal. I also love this quote:
PERRY: Trust shouldn't be abandoned without a fight. Especially between you two.
Me, too. Except the evil producers struck this line and cut it. It never made it into the episode. Why did they do that? Was it because Lois still abandoned some of her trust in Clark, even after she had fought for it? She's not so clueless or intrusive that she thinks she's entitled to know absolutely everything about a friend's life.
Exactly. If she had really decided to "investigate" Clark, he wouldn't have stood a chance. In fact, she did eventually decide to investigate him in "ATAI," and I think his one big secret lasted less than 24 hours... I also remember finding that line strange when I first watched the series, precisely because of Foundling.
I think this scrambled timeline ruined everything. By airing "The Rival" right after "Foundling," they made it look like L&C's fight in "Foundling" was no big deal, because L&C were back to flirting like crazy in "The Rival." But how could that fight not be serious? It wasn't just L&C’s very first real fight—it was the only fight that ended up making things ten times worse instead of fixing anything. but he was also afraid and seemed to be sabotaging his relationship with Lois to avoid having to make a choice.
Exactly. I'd also like to highlight that I like this part:
CLARK: Lois, I admit I haven't been truthful, okay? But I can't talk about that right now. Please, as my partner and my friend, leave it there. Will you? This one time?
LOIS: (after a beat) Okay. This one time.
I like this part, too. Unfortunately, the evil producers struck again and cut Lois's big-hearted reply. In the final cut, Clark storms off before Lois can even respond, leaving her standing there in silence—deeply hurt, alone in the deserted newsroom.  As much as I hate this scene, I have to grudgingly admit the crew made the right call here. They needed to create some major disasters to push Lois toward Lex Luthor. And it wouldn't have worked if she'd shown any leniency midway through her big fight with Clark. This is another thing that has always seemed obvious to me, and I wish it had been explored more in the episodes or in fanfics, because it's really interesting.
It really is. In a way, it actually evens out: he loved her more, but she trusted him more.
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Hack from Nowheresville
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As a matter of fact, Lois had no idea that Clark had a major revelation in that alley before she asked that question.
I think there's room for ambiguity here. Because right before Lois asks, she sees Clark push Cat away and say quite firmly: “There were no old times.” The way he said that might have been the clue she needed to realize that he had definitely regained his memory. Of course, that's the impression I remember having when I watched the episode before. When I rewatch it, I might end up agreeing with you. (Could it have been Rachel Harris and the prom?)
Well, why not, right? She seems pretty nice. that still doesn't mean he was being entirely honest. Because what he actually remembered was the time he spent with her when he was in the cape. So the correct answer should've still been "It's you."
Oh, that's for sure. I didn't feel much like saying the same thing at many points in this episode, but there were a few moments when I did, so I understand what you mean. this line just shows how low Lois's self-esteem actually was. Deep down, she must have thought she was such a bad-tempered, deceitful, high-maintenance person
That's also an interesting perspective. At times, she has a pretty high opinion of herself (usually when it comes to her professional life), while at other times, the opposite seems to be true. Me, too. Except the evil producers struck this line and cut it. It never made it into the episode.
Oh, well, lucky me! My two favorite parts when rereading the script were changed in the show. What are the odds... Was it because Lois still abandoned some of her trust in Clark, even after she had fought for it?
Hmm, maybe... If she had really decided to "investigate" Clark, he wouldn't have stood a chance.
Most likely. This reminded me of a fanfic from another Superman media in which Clark explicitly asked Lois not to try to discover his secret, and that ended up straining their (non-romantic) relationship because it was so counterintuitive and difficult for her. It was something like this, I don't remember exactly because I read it a while ago. By airing "The Rival" right after "Foundling," they made it look like L&C's fight in "Foundling" was no big deal, because L&C were back to flirting like crazy in "The Rival."
Where they had another disagreement that was swept under the rug too And it wouldn't have worked if she'd shown any leniency midway through her big fight with Clark.
I think it still could have worked. Sometimes people are lenient precisely because they are disappointed, and so they give up fighting. In a way, it actually evens out: he loved her more, but she trusted him more.
Exactly. That's it.
Stories are written by the victors.
(Hmm, come to think of it, that's not the exact quote...)
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When I rewatch it, I might end up agreeing with you.
Oh yes, you will . Because the celebration scene at the very end happened nearly 24 hours after L&C’s conversation in the alley: Lois went to Clark’s apartment in the morning, roughly 12 hours ahead of impact. Superman intercepted the asteroid 13 minutes before impact, when it was already nighttime in Metropolis. But when Clark showed up at the party (I bet he had a good night's sleep at home after his space tour), it was daylight again. That means the Planeteers stayed overnight at the DP building to celebrate, without bothering to go home and change. And one full day is more than enough time for Clark to gradually regain his memory—no big revelation necessary. Am I too obsessed or what? I think I need a L&C detox center... This reminded me of a fanfic from another Superman media in which Clark explicitly asked Lois not to try to discover his secret, and that ended up straining their (non-romantic) relationship because it was so counterintuitive and difficult for her.
What? And she just obeyed his order? I’m so glad that’s not our Lois. Sometimes people are lenient precisely because they are disappointed.
Okay, I agree. That's even scarier. Another reason they edited the scene might be that it made Clark look even more stupid when he stormed off before Lois could respond. Poor Clark—sometimes the evil producers were too harsh on him.
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Episode 18 — Vatman
March must be family-reunion month in Kryptonian culture, because Clark has never seen so many blood relatives in his entire life. Barely having recovered from the emotional blast of finally meeting his birth parents in the alien virtual world, he’s hit with yet another shock: the possibility that he might have a close cousin roaming around Earth all this time. His once nonexistent Kryptonian social circle suddenly becomes a lot more eventful.
“It’s crazy, really, that I have the gall to think that Superman was mine... The fact remains: I have no hold on him at all.”
Lois ruefully delivers this sad little revelation after seeing “Superman” happily touring the globe instead of getting in touch with her. Apparently, it’s been weeks since their public kiss in “ASU,” and she still hasn’t heard anything affirmative from Superman. The promise he made before heading into space—“I’ll be back. We’ll go flying”—feels emptier and emptier as the days go by. And to make matters worse, Superman refused to tell her what the globe really was last episode. Just like Clark, it seems Superman doesn’t really trust her as much as she thought he did.
Clark makes a feeble attempt to lift her spirits by telling her how much she actually means to him, but fails dismally. That timid little statement—“You... Metropolis has a lot stronger hold on Superman than you may think”—is completely worthless once he signs the wrong name under it. What would Luthor or Scardino say in this situation? “You might have no hold on Superman, but you sure have every hold on me.” Come on, Clark, open up and give her something positive! Time is running out! If you don’t do it soon, your rivals certainly will.
And so they do. Superman #2 must have learned his swift, decisive moves from Lex Luthor, because he asks Lois out on a dinner date within hours of meeting her for the very first time. This is crucial evidence that Clark’s super-sluggish courtship style is an acquired disorder rather than a genetic deficiency.
We can only imagine Lois’s excitement when she reads “Superman’s” handwritten note. After weeks of waiting in despair, her hero finally responds enthusiastically to her public display of affection in “ASU.” And it’s not hard to imagine Clark’s dismay when he remote-reads the same note off Lois’s hand. Instead of responding kindly to Clark’s plea—“I am not your enemy. I want to be your friend”—Superman #2 is set on doing the exact opposite: stealing both his identity and his girl.
Needless to say, Clark once again pulled a well-meaning stalker and stationed himself outside Lois’s apartment building that night, eavesdropping on every word exchanged between Lois and Superman #2. Fortunately for Clark, this time he didn’t have to stand guard for long before things went completely out of hand.
The scene where Clark barges in on Lois’s very first super-date is, in my opinion, one of those rare occasions when Mr. Kent thinks with his lower half instead of his brain. He must have realized he’d have to physically fight Superman #2 to stop the impostor’s attack on Lois. But he still shows up in his Earthling clothes when he could have spun into Superman before knocking on the door. So why does he suddenly decide to risk exposing his secret identity to Lois once and for all? My guess is that he simply didn’t expect Superman #2 to be depraved enough to sexually assault Lois—he was so shocked and enraged by the impostor’s offense that he didn’t even bother to change.
Clark’s testosterone-poisoned state is even more obvious in that arm-wrestling match with Superman #2—the Kryptonian version of mating contest. For once, Clark throws caution to the wind and unleashes his full power right in front of Lois, completely unconcerned with the dire consequences that could have followed. Ah, if only we could get a few more moments like this in the series. (I know, I know. Lois should have figured out right here that he’s the real Superman. We just have to assume that the tiny paper cut and the bruises Clark got back in “GGGoH” worked their magic again.) Fortunately—or rather, unfortunately—Superman #2 immediately realizes he’s no match for Clark’s strength and gives up before the fight goes far enough to blow Clark's cover for good.
As the textbooks say, the winner of a mating contest tends to get a second testosterone boost right after the fight, and it takes a long time to wear off without...you know. That’s probably why even after the impostor retreats, Clark is still caught up in the aftermath of the fight, squared up and seething like an alpha male who’s just driven off a rogue young bachelor harassing his mate. The quiet fury rolling off him is so overwhelming that Lois must have picked up on it.
“And you! You actually faced him. You challenged him! (beat) You must be out of your mind.”
Well, the conclusion any woman with a properly functioning brain would make here is “You must be in love with me,” because the guy could very well have gotten his arm yanked off by challenging a merciless god. The only explanation for Lois's totally off-mark conclusion is that her lunkhead syndrome, acquired from “Foundling,” has progressed into phase II, with symptoms of self-deception and denial already setting in—she doesn’t even want to consider the possibility that Clark has feelings for her anymore. Because every time she did, reality brought her nothing but disappointment, hurt, even humiliation.
We learn soon enough why Superman #2 loses the mating battle so quickly—he’s a defective prototype fast approaching its expiration date. With that information, Luthor immediately decides to squeeze the last use out of this prototype by ordering him to kill Superman and using Lois as a hostage to improve the odds. It’s worth pointing out here that Luthor involves Lois in his scheme knowing full well that Superman #2 is immoral and unpredictable. Yet the possibility that Lois could be caught in the crossfire and killed for good doesn’t seem to bother Luthor at all. It backs up my earlier claim that Luthor’s “love” for Lois Lane is essentially a desire for exclusive ownership and absolute domination, nothing more.
Luthor must have taught Superman #2 exactly what to say in order to lure Lois into his trap, because the lines Superman #2 delivers in the newsroom have a level of cunning and maturity that this infant clone could never pull off. Especially the last one:
“Then come, fly with me.”
It’s ironic that the promise Superman made to Lois but failed to keep is “fulfilled” instead by his impostor. Could Luthor have somehow heard about the romantic promise Superman made in "ASU"—“I’ll be back. We’ll go flying”? Most likely. Some sharp-eared reporter could have overheard the conversation between Lois and Superman outside the EPRAD command center, then written a colorful article about it. This juicy story could have been circulating in the tabloids for quite some time now. Inevitably, Lois would have had to endure endless ridicule and teasing from her colleagues while waiting miserably for Superman’s invitation that never came. But the wait seems more than worth it when this “god in a cape” literally sweeps her off her feet and into the sky, amid the envious gazes of a roomful of Planeteers.
Sadly, Lois soon suffers her second huge disappointment in two days when she realizes that her long-overdue dream flight with her hero will never happen, because she somehow finds herself tied down to Earth by the impostor instead. Fortunately, the real Superman finally comes to her rescue just as she’s about to be grilled alive.
The scene in Metropolis Studios marks the first and only time Lois actually gets to talk to the real Superman since their farewell in “ASU” weeks ago. She must have hoped he would say something warm and gentle to her, but instead, she gets the exact opposite. There is no warmth or gentleness in Superman’s attitude toward her: he repeatedly orders her to “Stay here!” as if she were a naughty house pet. And after defeating the impostor and sending him off to confront Luthor, Superman wastes no time whisking Lois back to the Planet and dumping her there at super speed. The confrontation between Superman #2 and Luthor lasts less than two minutes in total. However, by the time Superman #2 returns to Metropolis Studios, Superman is already back from the Planet and appears to have been waiting there for quite some time. Conclusion? It took Superman all of thirty seconds to dump Lois into the DP pit and then fly away—he didn’t give her a single chance to talk to him during their one and only brief encounter in this episode. All in all, it seems as if he has been deliberately avoiding any private moments with Lois ever since their highly publicized kiss in “ASU.”
*In fact, the above claim holds true even within the canon order: “Witness” (production #455310) was actually shot two episodes before “ASU” (production #455312) but was later delayed for airing. That means the only interaction Lois had with Superman between “ASU” and “Vatman” under the original production order was their very brief encounter in “IOG,” when they were mostly under hypnosis. Was it a coincidence, or a deliberate choice by the writers?*
So what is this all about? Did the media crisis triggered by their public kiss in “ASU” make Clark worried that getting Lois involved with Superman would bring her trouble and danger? Or did he finally grow smart enough to realize that it’s not wise to encourage Lois’s feelings as Superman? Under other circumstances, I would have praised Clark wildly for his huge improvement in intellect and tactics in the courtship arena. But not now, when Luthor has already singled Lois out as the ultimate prize to be won. By turning a cold shoulder to Lois at this especially tense moment, Superman inadvertently gave her the final push and sent her all the way into Luthor’s waiting trap.
After being coldly ignored and then rudely dumped by Superman back at the Daily Planet, Lois must have once again done some serious soul-searching and carefully weighed her options: On one side of the scale, there are Superman and Clark Kent, the two men she cared about most in this world. But neither seems to be taking her very seriously. (That’s because it’s the same lunkhead operating behind those two personas, lady.) On the other side, there is Lex Luthor—charming, chivalrous, utterly devoted, lavishing her with attention, and never hesitating to voice his affection. Best of all, she feels no love whatsoever for this billionaire, which would guarantee that her heart would stay totally safe and at peace. It must be a welcome change compared to the emotional roller coasters she had to endure whenever she was with Superman or Mr. Kent.
The final scene of this episode is yet another Season 1 ending that appears lighthearted on the surface, but has a rather sad and ominous tone running underneath. Clark finally gets the blood family he’s yearned for his whole life, yet he has to send his “brother” to incineration as soon as they establish the bond; Lois finally gets the “Super date” she’s dreamed of ever since “ILTY,” yet she has to watch her dream shatter into pieces as soon as it comes true. In the end, they are both back to their miserably lonely selves, wistfully telling each other how much they long for companionship. The solution to their misery is sitting right next to them. But in that moment, neither dares to see it.
We leave this scene with two soulmates sitting close enough to touch, talking and laughing, yet their hearts are light-years apart.
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Joined: Dec 2024
Posts: 201 Likes: 46
Hack from Nowheresville
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Hack from Nowheresville
Joined: Dec 2024
Posts: 201 Likes: 46 |
And one full day is more than enough time for Clark to gradually regain his memory—no big revelation necessary.
Actually, that doesn't make much difference to the possibility I'm talking about in the end. Lois could indeed have thought that his memory had returned gradually. There's nothing to prove that she realized what we and Clark know, that there was a definitive trigger in the alley. But I believe she noticed that he seemed more like himself when he returned to the Daily Planet, so regardless of how it happened, she knew he had regained his memory. Therefore, Lois's question could have been about the first thing he remembered since the last time they saw each other, when he still seemed so lost. That's what I meant earlier, not that she necessarily thought there had been a big revelation. Or, of course, she could have been asking about the very first thing Clark remembered overall, hoping he would admit that it was a little habit of hers, but that wasn't the impression I got when I watched ASU. What I do agree with is that, regardless of what she was asking, she probably wanted the answer to be her - even if she wasn't aware of that desire herself. And then Clark lies, or rather, tells less than half the truth, and unfortunately, we don't get to see a sweet moment. I think I need a L&C detox center...
If you find one, please let me know And she just obeyed his order? I’m so glad that’s not our Lois.
Oh, I can imagine a scenario or two in which she would do that. Poor Clark—sometimes the evil producers were too harsh on him.
Indeed, indeed. The beginning of this episode feels a little strange to me. Why does everyone, including Jonathan and Martha, seem so impressed by Superman in Paris? The way they talk, you'd think he'd never left Metropolis to make a rescue before, which doesn't make sense unless this was right at the beginning of Superman's career... Or is everyone so excited because it's specifically his first time in Paris and they're thrilled to see Superman in action in a city he hasn't visited before? The first meeting between Clark and his clone was pretty anticlimactic. I mean, I liked their conversation itself, but the way they met was a bit dull. And it was funny to see Lex Luthor being a father and scolding his son for getting home after ten. What was that version of Little Red Riding Hood? Wow. And we can't forget the scene where he carries the clone - because how much does Superman weigh? Are Kryptonian molecules denser, meaning Clark weighs more than an ordinary man in the L&C canon? I don't know, but either way, it seems Luthor doesn't skip his workouts. Speaking of which, about this line: LUTHOR: You will be the instrument of our victory, then _you_ will be the one, the only Superman. _My_ Superman. Maybe Lex was in love with both Lois and Superman at the same time, which is why he caused so much trouble for them. I wonder why the clone was also attracted to Lois. Was she the only woman who had approached him in those last few days? Impossible. This was the time to see Superman flirting with a blonde named Tiffani, not when he was under the influence of red kryptonite. But anyway... Maybe she was the only woman who approached him with the kind of boldness that suggested prior familiarity, which made him curious. I also wanted to mention how funny this part is: MARTHA: I saw this movie once. There was a parallel universe and...
CLARK: Mom, don't get sci-fi on me, please.Seriously, Clark? You're an alien who came in a spaceship that traveled who knows how many light-years through outer space while keeping you alive, you found a mysterious globe containing a hologram of your parents and you have superpowers. What does all that sound like? I liked Lois's attitude during the dinner (which never actually got served), questioning the supposed Superman about what was wrong. She didn't act like a groupie. But I wish that after everything that happened in this episode, and after realizing that Superman was ignoring her more than she'd thought, she'd given up on him for good. At the same time, I understand why she didn't. Needless to say, Clark once again pulled a well-meaning stalker and stationed himself outside Lois’s apartment building that night, eavesdropping on every word exchanged between Lois and Superman #2.
Indeed, it's something the viewer can tell he's going to do the moment he leaves the note, so we didn't even need a scene of him standing outside her apartment this time. Clark’s testosterone-poisoned state is even more obvious in that arm-wrestling match with Superman #2—the Kryptonian version of mating contest.
Yay, biology! Well, the conclusion any woman with a properly functioning brain would make here is “You must be in love with me,” because the guy could very well have gotten his arm yanked off by challenging a merciless god.
Hey, let's not be so certain Having a brave, purely platonic friend is everything in life. Yet the possibility that Lois could be caught in the crossfire and killed for good doesn’t seem to bother Luthor at all.
I think Luthor was sure Superman would protect her from any harm the clone might cause. Which, of course, is still absurd, and brings us back to that discussion about how real love can be when there's no purity in it. In any case, it's definitely not a kind of love I'd have the slightest interest in experiencing. Inevitably, Lois would have had to endure endless ridicule and teasing from her colleagues while waiting miserably for Superman’s invitation that never came.
This makes me think once again that I really wish we'd seen more of her interactions with other people at the Daily Planet. By the way, this scene made me laugh: CAT: Uh huh. She left a few minutes ago... with Superman.
CLARK: What!?
CAT: Yeah. They flew out that window... is something wrong... I hope?Under other circumstances, I would have praised Clark wildly for his huge improvement in intellect and tactics in the courtship arena.
I would have praised him if it weren't a little too late to try to sneak out unnoticed. Now that Superman and Lois had a whole history together because he hadn't managed to establish boundaries between them earlier, the ideal and smartest thing for Superman to do would have been to ask her to have an honest conversation to put an end to everything. And then Clark could step in, so to speak. That’s because it’s the same lunkhead operating behind those two personas, lady.
Well, that's a relief, huh? Better to be rejected by one man than two. The final scene of this episode is yet another Season 1 ending that appears lighthearted on the surface, but has a rather sad and ominous tone running underneath.
Definitely. It's especially sad for Clark and the clone himself. Lois suffers gracefully, not only because this is a minor matter compared to the family crisis we witnessed, but also because deep down, perhaps she'd expected this outcome from the beginning. It's interesting how she goes through moments of feeling like she has a claim on Superman or is someone special to him, only to end up feeling the exact opposite: like an absolute pathetic nobody for having even entertained the idea that something might happen between them. It makes me wish we'd seen what a relationship between Lois and Superman would have looked like in the series. It probably would have been very short and awkward, and she might very well have ended up realizing that she couldn't feel like she was on equal footing with him and that, as a result, things wouldn't work out between them. The clone's story is especially sad because shortly before dying, he realizes that his own father doesn't truly love him and sees him only as a tool. At least he helped Clark with the lock of hair, showing that he could have been a good brother under different circumstances. And then Clark gives him a dignified ending. I think this moment is important enough that it should have had a greater impact on the end of the episode (considering I can't expect what happens in one episode to affect the next, even though it naturally bothers me a little. For example, the consequences of Mayson's death were short-lived. I mean, I understand that the series couldn't turn into a drama. Still, I think there are ways to honor these characters in this kind of story. But anyway, I've completely gone off on a tangent). Instead, the script has Clark think more about what the clone could have been to him than about who he was and the life he could have had, which makes the character seem a little selfish. There's also an intentional reference to Bizarro, another character from other Superman media who also has a sad story: LOIS: I don't know. He's just... bizarro, that's all.Perry and Jimmy's subplot here is really good, and I love that scene at the end where they and L&C are sitting close together even though there's plenty of room to spread out on the bench. These four are just too adorable! The scene where L&C are left alone there afterward is cute too. And Clark laughing so openly at Lois's joke about being available to keep Superman company just proves that he knew how to handle her crush on or flirting with the hero. It's not as though he were some poor doormat who suffered because of superficial and evil Lois all the time. In fact, for most of season 1, he seems cheerful and hopeful, although he certainly went through some complicated and painful moments in this love triangle involving two people. Wow, I ended up writing much more than I expected. I've been writing so much lately that I'm afraid I'll run out of my monthly word count. At this rate, I won't be able to publish my special Halloween fic in time.
Last edited by peixinho; 10/21/26 03:51 AM. Reason: so many -> so much
Stories are written by the victors.
(Hmm, come to think of it, that's not the exact quote...)
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Joined: Jul 2026
Posts: 54 Likes: 7
Freelance Reporter
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Freelance Reporter
Joined: Jul 2026
Posts: 54 Likes: 7 |
And unfortunately, we don't get to see a sweet moment.
Yep, starving the fans was a major hobby of those evil producers. They as much as admitted it in the DVD extras... Why does everyone, including Jonathan and Martha, seem so impressed by Superman in Paris?
It's just one of those A-plot holes the writers didn't give a damn about and we viewers had to patch up for them. One explanation: disasters happening in other parts of the world were way outside Clark's telepathic radar, so he could only pick them up randomly off TVs and radios. We can imagine how slow news must have been in the '90s. So usually, by the time he heard about it, it was already too late. That's why Superman sightings outside of Metropolis had been rather scarce before "Vatman." Lex was in love with both Lois and Superman at the same time, which is why he caused so much trouble for them.
Yes, indeeed. I always sensed something rather sparky between Luthor and Superman. And I’m pretty sure there are fanfics dedicated to their love-hate relationship. I wonder why the clone was also attracted to Lois.
I think the default setting was that L&C’s mutual attraction was genetic. It was the same with Clois, and with Alt-Clark. CLARK: Mom, don't get sci-fi on me, please.
I like this line a lot. It shows how deeply ingrained Clark's farm-boy nature is in his personality. No matter how weird his life has become, he could never quite wrap his head around things as “far out” as sci-fi or voodoo, because such wild ideas went against his "ordinary" upbringing. After realizing that Superman was ignoring her more than she'd thought, she'd given up on him for good. At the same time, I understand why she didn't.
I think the reason she didn't give up on Superman the way she gave up on Clark is that she never had much hope for Superman in the first place. Superman is a celebrity who's expected to be out of reach—but Clark isn't. I bet when Lois first marked Clark as her prey, she probably thought for a while that he'd be a rather easy one to catch. And the fact that she couldn't reel him in only did more damage to her already dangerously low self-esteem. Poor Lois. I think Luthor was sure Superman would protect her from any harm the clone might cause. Which, of course, is still absurd…it's definitely not a kind of love I'd have the slightest interest in experiencing.
Exactly. The fact that Luthor was willing to take such a huge risk is clear proof of how shallow his "love" for Lois really was, even by villains' standards. One reason I keep bringing this issue up is that controlling, manipulative men like Lex Luthor are in abundant supply in real life. And women with low self-esteem do tend to misread men’s strong, persistent desire for domination&possession as "love." Such misjudgment produces real victims and often leads to domestic abuse. That's why I feel we should always be careful not to encourage such harmful illusions when writing romantic stories. Bottom line: stay away from controlling men, ladies! No matter how charming or persistent they are. The ideal and smartest thing for Superman to do would have been to ask her to have an honest conversation to put an end to everything. And then Clark could step in, so to speak.
Well, even if Superman miraculously smartened up somehow, Clark still wouldn't take his place in "Vatman," because he wasn't yet ready to accept Lois as his life partner at that stage. Personally, I don't think he was ready even in "BATP." He only declared his love because his hand was forced by Luthor. And his not being ready was the real reason he chickened out on Lois at the end of "THOL." But he was definitely ready in "Metallo," a solid year after "Vatman." (You have to admire this guy's sluggishness.) And he did have an honest conversation with Lois in that episode to put an end to her Superman fantasy, just like you advised him to. By the way, the timeline in the first half of Season 2 was scrambled too. The events in "The Eyes Have It" actually took place before "Season's Greetings." In the corrected order, Lois no longer had any romantic entanglement with Superman after their late-night conversation in “Metallo”. Considering I can't expect what happens in one episode to affect the next…Still, I think there are ways to honor these characters in this kind of story.
You are absolutely right. I’ll see what I can do to honor the clone’s tragic death in the commentary on “Fly Hard”.
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