Please answer this. Isn't Clark's pining for Lana the root cause of the problem here? Don't you think it is? (And Sara K M, I understand why he is doing it - but still, isn't his decision to leave Lois after five years what makes her so miserable and their marriage so bad?)
I see this story as a sort of companion piece to Learning to Love, or maybe a sort of mirror image of it. In LTL, it was Lois who caused the marital problems. In OTOH it is Clark's fault more than Lois's.
I agree that both Loises - the one in LTL and the one in OTOH - are terribly bad at dealing with the idea of Clark leaving them. If Lois had been more independent and more hopeful regarding her ability to get on on her own after Clark leaves her, she would not be so depressed, and she would probably come through as a more lovable woman, thus making it easier for Clark to choose her over Lana.
However, I don't agree that Lois is doing nothing for Clark on a day-to-day basis. What she does, more than anything, is protects his image to the world. A lot of people might disapprove if they knew that Clark was just a 'pretend husband'. To him his marriage hasn't been for real, but just a sham needed to cheat Navance. A lot of people might take offence if they knew how Clark was putting on his 'husband identity' much like canon LnC Clark has been putting on his Superman suit: as a way to fool the world and protect the real person underneath. The real man. The man who loves Lana.
Lois has been privy to his secret. She hasn't blown it. On a day-to-day basis she has protected him, so that he can dump her in five years if he wants to and go on with his life with his public reputation intact. Isn't that love?
Ann
