Another excellent chapter, Terry! Of course, after reading it, the first thing I must talk about is Karen's homosexuality. (See, I'm calling her Karen, which means your portrayal of her in this chapter didn't make me dislike her!)
Since you had hinted at Karen's homosexuality before, having it confirmed wasn't a shock in any way. But I really, really liked the way you treated this sensitive topic. Karen did not come out like a monster in any way; on the contrary, I could feel for her very much for being made the scapegoat for the murders that had happened during her watch. I loved the way you showed us how much she personally mourned the deaths of Ben and Maria Zimmerman:
Lois noticed Karen rub her face as is she were wiping something out of her eyes when the talking head onscreen described how Ben and Maria had died. It appeared that those two deaths would stay with the Iron Major for a long time to come.
Though I have actually never been really drunk in my life (the things a religious background can do to you) I could certainly sympathize with Karen's wish to drown her sorrows in alcohol. And Lois's choice to stay the night in Karen's quarters - because she still needed to have her "necklace" removed by the Major, and because she might not be let in the following morning by a very hungover Major - would certainly seem suggestive to Karen, particularly if she thought that Lois knew she was gay.
So I loved it that you had Karen voice - tentatively and hesitantly - her hopes for a relationship with Lois. And I loved it even more that Lois was not shocked, scared or disgusted by this. Lois is strong enough in her heterosexuality, sure enough of her right and ability to make her own choices, certain enough of her love for Clark, and sufficiently used to the idea that many people are attracted to her, that she did not feel threatened by Karen's feelings for her.
I very much liked it that Karen found Lois particularly attractive when she, Lois, was angry! That observation actually made me giggle. Isn't that exactly the way Clark feels, too?
Ann
P.S. Harpo was always my favorite Marx brother, too, and by far the cutest!
