Oh, I certainly believe that these characters are redeemable. In fact, my intention with fdk has been to express how much I anticipate their redemption. I think the stuff that hasn't transferred from your mind to the screens is a two-fold issue.
First, I think we as readers are greedy. We'll take what you give and continue to want more- that's not something you can ever meet, so you just have to decide before hand what you're going to give us and then try to ignore the protests (i.e. 'Please, sir, may I have some more?'). The other issue, IMO, is that with first person narrative, we are inside the character's head and therefore we think that we are getting the full story. Some authors are able to use that assumption to their advantage and trick readers because they are so naturally trusting of the narrator.
This blind acceptance reveals a few things as well: the narrator is not always trustworthy, the narrator doesn't always have the whole story, and the reader is only getting select thoughts from the narrator. I said all that to say this--> while we are in Lois and Clark's heads, we have to remember that we are not always getting the full picture. After the birth, we got Lois's impression of Clark, of the parents, of she and Clark as a unit, but we didn't get a full dish of what she felt about the baby.
I think that the scene with Chris crying that night was one that many caregivers for infants can relate to. Lois was understandably overwhelmed, but because we didn't get *every* thought that was running through her head, we started to get suspicious. This makes it tricky to find the right balance of what to tell and what to imply; what scenes to show and what to describe. [For example, I was a little miffed that Lois went straight to the shower when she got home instead of greeting Chris, but I fixed it by imagining that she did it in some form anyway
] The balance of show/tell is something that I constantly battle when I'm trying to write myself, so I don't have any special advice there (not that you asked or need it, lol).
All in all, I'm still on board. I am waiting for these characters to step up and overcome their obstacles. I have faith that they will, even though I am irked and irritated with them right now. It's always easier to slide down a slope than climb up it, so they need to start carving stairs (just in case they slide again).
The Jimmy/Dave/Lois story is exciting. Can't wait to see where they go from the reveal.
Thanks for writing and sharing this story.
~s
