Clark Chose Lois over Lana

[LovelyLoisLane]

He barely mentioned Lois the entire time Lana was back in his life.

And he didn't mention Lana at all as soon as Lois was back in his life.

So I'd say that both women are on equal terms in that regard.

But I agree that he went back in time for a far broader good than just to pick Lois up from the airport on time. That was just a perk.

I think more what would show that Clark has moved on from Lana is what happens with Lois here on out. He didn't jump into a rebound relationship with Lois and is in fact being very cautious about it, but cares enough to make sure he was there to pick her on up time the second time around and to not take the easy out Lois offered him. He could have ended things right there in its tracks as soon as Lois said they could let bygones be bygones, he could have said that he was still too raw from what happened with Lana, but he said neither of those things. Instead he said it was complicated. If Clark wasn't interested he would have told her so, I know some fans think differently, but he isn't that much of a jerk that he'd lead Lois on like that. In the past when he wasn't interested in other girls he told them so. Then he didn't send her a text to say he didn't think they should hang out together, he sent a text to give an excuse as to why he couldn't make it while he stood across the street and watched her sadly. He was interested all right, but unlike the way he jumped into a relationship with Lana and it went down the drain yet again, he is being cautious with Lois because he doesn't want her to get hurt in the long term and I think he doesn't want to get hurt again either.

I just hope that those long lingering looks I expect will now be coming don't stretch out for too long and that he gets up the nerve to at least talk to Lois, but for now I understand his apprehension. I don't know if it is choosing Lois over Lana anymore than it was choosing Lana over Lois. Both women are obviously important to Clark and his affections shouldn't be some kind of contest anyway, but it is showing that Clark is capable of moving on from Lana without jumping into a rebound relationship, and that he respects Lois enough and himself to not do that.

I could be wrong and in the next episode Clark could profess how he isn't over Lana, but from "Infamous" I didn't see any sign that he was pining over Lana. When Chloe mentioned what happened with Lana Clark just brushed it off to go on talking about how the RBB gave people hope. I'll have to go back and really look for a facial reaction from Clark at the mention of Lana's name, but there was certainly no verbal reaction.

I'd prefer to see something more than that to prove that Clark is ready to move on with his life, but I think that might be all we'll get. However if they continue to show him focusing on his life as a superhero and show him admiring Lois without having him mention Lana at all, and that becomes the constant from here on out then I'd say that Clark got over Lana.

[supes0]

Clark had the power to do a lot of things. .

It was poor storytelling and a plot hole.

Lana was only gone for about 2 weeks, so the trauma should be fresh in his mind. So if he is going back a couple days before the interview, why not 14 days?

He couldn't because the character has left the show. So fictionally it just leaves a gaping hole only because it happened very recently and supposedly he should be traumatized. Only, he's not.

Again, poor storytelling. He's not traumatized because the actress who plays Lana is gone and the character Clark Kent has to go forward and fall in love with his foreshadowed soulmate.

That said, I don't think this means Clark choses Lois over anybody yet. Season 9 will most likely be where he realizes she is "the one", and we'll see how (or if) they address Lana.

I think the only choice we can get from this is since he decided to go back and make a different decision, he went back early enough to give himself time to do whatever he needed to do to pick up Lois on time.

Why he didn't go back an extra week or two to stop the Kryptonite poisoning is probably never going to be addressed because it's a messy plot hole.

[Sunny8]

The fact is that TPTB only had Clark remember the ring in "Infamous" because it served that particular plot and they also had him conveniently destroy the ring so that whatever happens in the future cannot be erased.

So what you are really saying, and so am I, is that TPTB did not do a good job with consistency, continuity and overall writing? They did not think this out. They either think the audience is not worthy of good writing or they have just given up trying at all to tell a good story. From Power to Infamous, this did not have to happen this way.

----- Added 1 Minutes later -----

I think that Clark cares about Lois, but I don't think this episode showed that Clark chose Lois over Lana as that would also mean that he chose Lois over every other person that has been hurt or killed as a result of his past decisions or indecisions (including his dad).

You are right. He did.

The farther he goes back in time the worse the unintended consequences could be. I try not to read too much into episodes like this. To me, the writers simply wanted to have a "what if" type of story where we can see what everyone's reaction would be to Clark revealing his secret and then undo it all in the end using the time reversal plot device to take him back where he started at the beginning of the episode. I don't think there was any deeper meaning with him going back to that point in time.

As I said already, the writer's did not think this out. LAZY.

----- Added 7 Minutes later -----

He was interested all right, but unlike the way he jumped into a relationship with Lana and it went down the drain yet again, he is being cautious with Lois because he doesn't want her to get hurt in the long term and I think he doesn't want to get hurt again either...

Both women are obviously important to Clark and his affections shouldn't be some kind of contest anyway, but it is showing that Clark is capable of moving on from Lana without jumping into a rebound relationship, and that he respects Lois enough and himself to not do that...

I agree. I think that after losing one woman Clark could not stand to lose another he cared for so he is being very cautious.

[myankskent]

So what you are really saying, and so am I, is that TPTB did not do a good job with consistency, continuity and overall writing? They did not think this out. They either think the audience is not worthy of good writing or they have just given up trying at all to tell a good story. From Power to Infamous, this did not have to happen this way.

I think that TPTB have definitely given up trying to tell a good story. They are, instead, more concerned with making a particular episode look more dramatic and entertaining but as far as the big picture is concerned? This show is one, big mess. The point that I was making above is that if Clark not wanting to put on the ring means that he doesn't really want to try to be with Lana, then to be fair, I would have to also assume that Clark doesn't give a damn about saving the people who have died or were seriously injured either. I'd prefer to not think that way about Clark Kent, despite the fact that I have so many issues with his character right now.

As far as Lois not being mentioned by Clark in the episodes that she is not in vs. Lana not being mentioned by Clark in the episodes that she is not in? It all boils down to one thing for me...when Lana is around and available, she's number one as far as Clark is concerned, which I can't really say about any other character on this show in Clark's life. So if it takes her being gone to not be number one anymore, that's great and all, but it doesn't give me the impression that Clark wouldn't choose Lana if she were around, IMO.

[InAFlash]

This would not be a selfish reason on Clark's part. Lana wanted a solution also. She went to Dr. Grohl, remember? She said he could not reverse the effects of the kryptonite. Lana might have thought that was all they could do, but Clark had other resources: the ring, Jor-el, blue kryponite...to name a few. And he used the ring in this episode proving that the ring was a good solution. She could have kept her power suit. She just wanted the kryptonite to be removed. Clark had the power to do that but he did not use it.

Those are good points. But I still feel it would be selfish just due to the fact that Clark does'nt know exactly what would happen if he used the ring in this situation. He knows there are always consequences when changing past events. For example, the bomb could have gone off in the new timeline. I believe he's aware of these possibilities because of what happened in "Reckoning". I would also like to say that I don't believe Clark is selfish, that's why he wanted Lana to absorb the kryptonite in the first place. Therefore I don't believe Clark would want to change this event knowing that he could alter it and make it even worse.

Now you could argue that Clark could use the ring over and over again until he gets it right. But I think when Clark destroyed the ring he was showing us how dangerous he believes that ring could be. Not only in the sense that it could fall into the wrong hands but also that the temptation of being able to alter the past to his liking was too great to have. I think when he used it in "Infamous" he was doing so as a last resort.

You do make a good point about Lana wanting a solution as well. It would have made sense for him to have at least mentioned to her the possibility of being able to change things. He could have done this in "Requiem" in the loft scene and of course he did'nt do this. Maybe she would have chosen to have him go back before she put the suit on in the first place.

This is an interesting thread. Good points on both sides of this issue.

[LovelyLoisLane]

Why he didn't go back an extra week or two to stop the Kryptonite poisoning is probably never going to be addressed because it's a messy plot hole.

I actually really really really really loved 'Infamous'

However I do have to admit that they didn't do much of a mention for Lana. It was kind of like this episode happened right after "Legion" or maybe “Bulletproof“ minus the kiss, as if "Power" and "Requiem" never happened, because the way Clark was with Lois in this episode was as if he'd never gotten back into a relationship with Lana.

But I'm taking that as maybe Clark has finally decided enough is enough and he's ready to move on in his life. I'd like to see him verbalize that in some way though, but then like I said, the way his feelings for Lois continue to develop can also tell us if he's over Lana or not.

Like if at the end of S8 or into S9 Clark says something like 'The way I feel about Lois . . . I've never felt like this with anyone before." Then that sort of accomplishes the same thing as a verbal remark that he is over Lana.

Also something that I was thinking about . . .

Has Clark ever said he was 'in' love with Lana? I'm not disputing that he thought he was in love with her, but he has ever said so? I think he has just said he loves her. I also don't recall him ever saying he thought Lana was his soul-mate, or him ever calling Lana the love of his life. I remember other characters referring to Lana as the love of Clark's life (Chloe precisely) but not Clark himself.

Maybe I'm wrong on that, and anyone that does remember can correct me. I just remember other characters addressing the way Clark felt about Lana more than he addressed it himself. The closest I recall him coming to calling Lana the love of his life, was when he said he couldn’t imagine himself loving anyone other than Lana or of course in S5 where he told Lana that 'it's always been you' but of course that was up to that point, it doesn't affect relationships after that moment. Though it is a small thing, at the end of “Requiem” Lana said she’d always love Clark, but Clark omitted the ‘always’ from his “I love you.” I do think she’ll always be important to him however. I just don’t think he'll always be in love with her or be incapable of having a life without her. “Infamous” showcased that pretty well, he was trying to move on in his life in a big way, of course it blew up in his face but at least he’ll be smarter about it the next time.

Though he didn't go back in time to pick Lois up, it is something that he was consciously concerned about because he made sure he was there on time the second turn on the dial. So though not a blatant acknowledgement that Lois is very special, it is a hint in that general direction.

[Kevin24]

I think that TPTB have definitely given up trying to tell a good story. They are, instead, more concerned with making a particular episode look more dramatic and entertaining but as far as the big picture is concerned? This show is one, big mess. The point that I was making above is that if Clark not wanting to put on the ring means that he doesn't really want to try to be with Lana, then to be fair, I would have to also assume that Clark doesn't give a damn about saving the people who have died or were seriously injured either. I'd prefer to not think that way about Clark Kent, despite the fact that I have so many issues with his character right now.

As far as Lois not being mentioned by Clark in the episodes that she is not in vs. Lana not being mentioned by Clark in the episodes that she is not in? It all boils down to one thing for me...when Lana is around and available, she's number one as far as Clark is concerned, which I can't really say about any other character on this show in Clark's life. So if it takes her being gone to not be number one anymore, that's great and all, but it doesn't give me the impression that Clark wouldn't choose Lana if she were around, IMO.

What the original poster said isn't a fact. It is just an opinion he stated and some people tend to agree with that opinion. Was it the writers intention for it to be seen that way? I have no idea.

It's all subjective, people see things differently and that is evident in this thread. A few see it as bad writing and others see it as Clark choosing Lois over Lana. Who is right? there is plenty of evidence for both arguments.

We will never know if Kristen would have stayed that Lana would still be number one in Clark's book. Once again, there is plenty of evidence for both to argue that point.

I can see why Clark might be over Lana by now though and that's because she just up and left him hanging. What the hell is up with that? That is a slap in the face and if I was Clark I'd close the door on her for leaving me like that. As much as I liked the scene it was a slap in the face to Clark to have the woman that he loves just up and walk out on him like that.

That is how I see the last scene in Requiem but others might see it differently.

[Sunny8]

I actually really really really really loved 'Infamous'

I did not dislike Infamous, LovelyLoisLane. I just don't think we should still have so much confusion as to what direction Clark is going in and why. It should be clearer with each episode, but it is not. I used to love the show Alias and I was so disappointed that they moved forward so fast in that series. Yet in this series we have the same situations but with different people and questions still unanswered many times by the end of each episode. Each episode leaves it to the viewers imagination and interpretation. I am getting tired of that. I don't watch TV to think.

[Supsfan]

Was it the writers intention for it to be seen that way?

It probably writers intention to leave it open for interpretation. It happens to often on this show that there is scenes that can be interpreted many ways depending on the viewer, I don't think it's a coincidience

A few see it as bad writing

I am on the side of calling a spade a spade. Leaving stuff open for intrepretation over and over again just comes accross as bad writing. By doing that, they have so many plotholes in the show it comes accross as sloppy writing.

[Kevin24]

It probably writers intention to leave it open for interpretation. It happens to often on this show that there is scenes that can be interpreted many ways depending on the viewer, I don't think it's a coincidience



I am on the side of calling a spade a spade. Leaving stuff open for intrepretation over and over again just comes accross as bad writing. By doing that, they have so many plotholes in the show it comes accross as sloppy writing.

Yup, you have a point but then again I never thought that scene was open for interpretation. I thought it was straightforward and the reason he went back was to stop Linda Lake and not to show that Lana is over and done with.

Though this topic shows what I know! and that is very little...

[supes0]

However I do have to admit that they didn't do much of a mention for Lana. It was kind of like this episode happened right after "Legion" or maybe “Bulletproof“ minus the kiss, as if "Power" and "Requiem" never happened, because the way Clark was with Lois in this episode was as if he'd never gotten back into a relationship with Lana.

I know, it's like nothing after the beginning of Power happened.

Even Chloe and her Lana mention was very vague. No "so, have you looked in to the fortress as a solution? How about searching for some blue kryptonite, can I help?" conversation which gives us any indication Clark hasn't given up in the couple weeks Lana has gone.

They derailed the story they were telling the first 12 episodes (after Bulletproof) to give us the P/R interlude. The problem was, it doesn't fit in to where they need to take the story.

So now, the writers are in damage control mode. They can't focus on Lana because the actress is gone,so the character no longer fits in the direction of the show.

In order to deal with all the dangling plot points, Infamous (which I sort of liked, but wasn't wowed by) threw in clunky moments to get them over the hump.

Examples:

They tell us Lois has been gone for 1 month, so Lana has been gone for a couple weeks before Lois returns. Clark by all rights should be grieving. He's not. It doesn't fit the direction of the show.

Clark should have been an adult and crossed the street and told Lois "I'm not ready", but he can't because tptb need Lois to have no hope in order to begin the [SPOILER]rbb triangle[/SPOILER]

If Clark was going a couple days in the past to stop Linda Lake, why not a few extra days more to solve the Kryptonite problem (including the bomb stuff)?

What did he mean when he said to Chloe that after he told Lois for a minute he felt he could have it all?

/Examples

It's as if the writers have a top level map detailing what they want/need to do, but haven't zoomed in and carefully detailed how they're going to get from A to Z believably.

I'd like to see him verbalize that in some way though, but then like I said, the way his feelings for Lois continue to develop can also tell us if he's over Lana or not.

Me too.

Like if at the end of S8 or into S9 Clark says something like 'The way I feel about Lois . . . I've never felt like this with anyone before." Then that sort of accomplishes the same thing as a verbal remark that he is over Lana.

I agree.

I also don't recall him ever saying he thought Lana was his soul-mate, or him ever calling Lana the love of his life. I remember other characters referring to Lana as the love of Clark's life (Chloe precisely) but not Clark himself.

I don't *think* he's said she is soulmate, I think most times he's said things like "I can't imagine loving anybody else" or "I can't imagine she isn't the one" etc..

And usually after he said it, it was clunky anvil time, and Lois would wander aimlessly through the set.

Clark omitted the ‘always’ from his “I love you.”

Good point.

I do think she’ll always be important to him however.

Ditto.

So though not a blatant acknowledgement that Lois is very special, it is a hint in that general direction.

Agreed. That is the only conscious decision we can come out of Infamous with, once he decided to reverse the events, he chose to go back far enough so he could pick up Lois on time.

[Mickey_Bickey]

Clark left Lois three 10 sec voicemails, which is saying a lot for him. After the tornado in season 1, in season 2, Clark did not communicate with Lana or Chloe during the time that they were a part. He was supposed to be in love with Lana. Couldn't he have even written her an e-mail? He said that he was busy on the farm, but he could have talked with her as she only lived a mile away. And Chloe also mentioned that he did not even write an e-mail to her. For him to even have any communication with Lois during the time that Lana was in SV shows something. He did not have to communicate with her at all, but he did.

Very true! At least we know that he called her 3 times while she was away, which is something they didn't show during the Lana arc. So, she wasn't that far away from his thoughts as others would like to believe!

[LovelyLoisLane]

I just don't think we should still have so much confusion as to what direction Clark is going in and why. Each episode leaves it to the viewers imagination and interpretation.

I'm not actually all that confused. I had a pretty good idea of what was going on in "Infamous" at least in the majority of the scenes. That and I was pretty psyched that Clark was back to being the Clark he was before 'Power'.

As far as interpretation, a little interpretation is a good thing. I don't want to watch a show where everything is blatant all the time and usually SV is pretty heavy handed with the anvils, where maybe subtlety would work better. Would that make us fans on the boards imagine things more? Probably but I think it'd be better story telling too. I do agree that there should be enough definition that not everything is left up to interpretation, but I also have to say that if you've been around this board long enough I'm sure you've seen that even 'definitive' things have a way of being debated to decide if there was any 'hidden meaning' there. Telling a cohesive story though is key.

Which is one of the things I liked so much about Infamous, it was actual development instead of anvils beings used to tell the story and at the end of it Clark had learned a few very important things that I can see will directly influence the following episodes. Which I really appreciated. Now if they don't go into future episodes? Well my opinion will change, but for now I'm as pleased as punch.

There were a few 'huh?' moments of course, like Clark not waiting a few more second to hear Lois out, but then the writers should have had Lois say something as Clark already had the ring on and 'blam' oops. Instead of before he put the ring on, because it is obvious they can't have Clark knowing that Davis is Doomsday yet.

So I'm not saying "Infamous" was flawless, but I'm pretty picky and I really loved it. It did sort of act like P/R didn't happen though. They even omitted any bits from that episode combo in ’previously on SV’ that ran before the episode. A few times it was pretty obvious too, where they ran scenes that had Lana in them but then only showed the shots without her. I can even understand that from the writers point of view. I'm pretty sure that their silence (lack of recent interviews and such) speaks for this as well, but I think that they know they made a big faux pas with P/R and are trying to erase it from our minds. Now I don't work quite like that, but I do have to say that there were a few moments that I did forget about P/R. They came back to me later, but there were a few moments. Maybe when they feel like they've distanced themselves from those two episodes they will put in a mention of how Clark was dealing with that. One can only hope so, but I can't say I'm upset that he wasn't pining over Lana in "Infamous" but it would be nice to get a bit of a mention.

----- Added 10 Minutes later -----

Clark left Lois three 10 sec voicemails, which is saying a lot for him.

I don't know why, but that makes me laugh!

Wonder what he said.

I thought those were voicemails he sent close to when Lois was supposed to be coming back though, not spanning the time he was with Lana. Not that I'd have a problem with that, but I thought they were more recent voicemails, but then maybe I missed something. It's possible.

[Dominicus]

I hate to burn this perfect little dream for ya, but the ONLY reason Clark reversed time was to stop Linda Lake from revealing his identity.
Picking up Lois in time wasn't his top priority..

Ah, yeah he did, 3 hrs of saving people is what he did previously which is why he didn't pick her. I don't care what anyone denies, he made that a priority, hate to break it you.

----- Added 1 Minutes later -----

Problem is, if he is going to reverse time anyways, why not go back a few weeks to just before Lana put on her suit. Kill 2 birds with 1 stone.

Exactly, showing where his priorities lie

----- Added 2 Minutes later -----

I agree. He could have used that ring to go back and prevent Lana from becoming infected with kryptonite in the first place or even having her get "powers from a suit" so he could be with her. He didn't choose that though. He only chose to go back 2 days. That was it, and he didn't even mention Lana. Chloe brought her up, but he didn't even show any emotion, something people were pointing out left and right in Bulletproof when Lois' name was mentioned. At least he said, "Lois, she's so......."!

Clark's moved on, and in Power he clearly had doubts about him and Lana. He's always had doubts. How many times has he broken up with her for crying out loud on this show? It's never worked out, because it was never supposed to work out. There's someone better for Clark, and her name is none other than Lois Lane!

Exactamondo!

----- Added 5 Minutes later -----

He went back to reverse the interview and protect not only his identity but Lois from being associated with him. He grabbed her and rescued her before he reversed time. If you remember, he ended a conversation with Chloe where he could have just went straight to the barn. He went to the DP instead.

The icing on the cake was that he didn't leave Lois in a 3 hour downpour! He made sure he was there on time the second time around, a very deliberate action.

Not mention when Lois talk about Chloe being in danger, he immediately put the ring on and didn't do a Lois Lane hands on rescue like that.

----- Added 8 Minutes later -----

YMMV, but I need to hear Clark say this specifically. Everything on this show points to Clark never giving up on Lana, even when she was about to marry Lex and was believed to be pregnant with his child. Unfortunately in this scenario, I think that Clark didn't think to use the ring because TPTB were out of episodes for KK.

Actions speak louder then words, and he's starting to verbalize his feelings, I say give it time. But so far I see him moving on at this point.

----- Added 23 Minutes later -----

Clark had the power to do a lot of things. He had the power to go back and save his father. He had the power to go back and make sure that Lex never found out his secret. He had the power to go back and prevent Chloe from ever being taken over by Brainiac along with Lana. He had the power to go back and prevent the people at Chloe's wedding from being hurt and to also track down Doomsday and destroy him. He had the power to go back and make sure that the fortress didn't go dark. I can go on and on. The fact is that TPTB only had Clark remember the ring in "Infamous" because it served that particular plot and they also had him conveniently destroy the ring so that whatever happens in the future cannot be erased.

After Reckoning he learned not to alter death, in that case someone did have to lose their life in exchange for Clark's, that is not something that can really be undone. It could be he has accepted those things as part of his destiny and should stay that way. He was questioning Lana being back in his life after they had kissed. He talked about his progression, he made the same choice as he did in Requiem when he told Lana to go ahead and absorb the kryptonite. He was made a solid stand for once and drew a line and destroyed the Legion ring, whatever come in consequence, comes. The past is the past and the future, is well the future. He went as far back in time he felt was necessary, and before Linda showed up, but nowhere near the time of Requiem. The fact that he cared enough to make sure picked Lois up from the airport show where his mind is at.

[All about Clark]

I think it's pretty clear that he didn't use the ring to reverse Lana's situation because deep down inside he knew he shouldn't do it and that they aren't meant to be together. And I'm ok with that, because I ship Clois.

I think Lana's continual exits proved to Clark once and for all they wouldn't work. She only wanted to be with him on her terms. He wanted her anyways, but it wasn't enough for Lana.

I don't believe Clark's choice to use the ring had anything to do with Lois or Lana or anyone, it was self preservation and his strong desire to continue to help mankind. Using the ring meant he could continue his destiny as expected.