This will be a short post as I'm not home and am using a French keyboard (something I haven't done in weeks
), but I just wanted to step in on behalf of both of us to reassure those who seemed to express concern, that Wendy and I are absolutely delighted with the debate, and very admirative that everyone is expressing their views in a very coherent and polite manner.
Now, we knew right from the start that this premise would be controversial, and so we were prepared for this debate of course.
You all make excellent points, and raise an interesting question: would Lois and Clark's grief lead them to lose control and comfort each other by being intimate?
Well, as Carol pointed out, we're not pioneers there: ML already explored Lois's side of the issue with her excellent
Second Stage of Grief, which I strongly recommend. Our motivation was to explore Clark's side of the issue as well: Clark's "death" hit him just as hard as it did Lois. The format of the show (45 minutes only) didn't allow the writers to fully develop his side of things, I think. When Barrow shot him, Clark lost his life. He had always been Clark Kent before being Superman, and being Superman only was no life to him. What would happen the first time he had a bad rescue and needed support or reassurance? As Superman, could he turn to Lois? He would have no escape in any kind of "normal" life. I don't want to develop this further here as it's something we're dealing with later in the story, and I don't want to spoil it.
But my point is, Barrow stole Clark's life; he *killed* him, if not physically, then at least emotionally. And Clark's loneliness that night was just as big as Lois's. Whether that would lead them to seek comfort in each other is another can of worms, and as we saw in this thread, open to each individual's interpretation of the characters.
Wendy and I both believe that this situation is one that could lead them to where they are now in our story; some of you agree with us, while some others don't think Superman would break his ethics and sleep with Lois under the circumstances. As Kathy said so eloquently, we have the same kind of split in interpretation between those who don't think Lois and Clark would be intimate before marriage, and those who never understood why they waited (and you can guess what my opinion is
).
Anyway, just my .02... did I say I'd keep this short?
Kaethel
