This last section made me feel sad, but probably for a different reason than most people. It's hard for me to think of these characters as Lois and Clark because the one thing that is true in every incarnation of L&C is that they always choose each other, and a Clark who doesn't bond almost instantly with Lois just isn't ... Clark. And yet, here we have this Clark who has lived with Lois for almost 3 years, had two children with her, loves her dearly, but doesn't feel any romantic attachment to her. You know, guys, if he doesn't feel that way after all this time, it's just not going to happen. It's not like Lana is on his mind and in his thoughts, stopping feelings for Lois from developing. And that kind of love isn't something that you can force. It's a feeling, not something you can choose to do or not.
OTOH, Lois makes the stupidest statement I have ever heard:
"I'm not being friends with benefits. It's either a commitment to a life together, loving each other or it's nothing. Got it?"
As recently as the 40s and 50s, Americans were still regularly marrying for reasons other than passionate love. I can give several examples from my family in which necessity and friendship rather than passionate love was involved, but that didn't make them "friends with benefits." They were husband and wife as long as both of them lived because they chose to make that commitment. It isn't the feeling that makes the relationship; it's the commitment.
However, Lois has put Clark in a no-win situation. She doesn't want him to stay (i.e. make the commitment) if he isn't "in love with" her, but she's made it clear it's his fault if he leaves. Worse, she's already rejected the third option: his staying because he loves his family and has decided to be husband and father for as long as he lives. No, that can't be a choice because she and he might grow to resent each other. And Clark buys into that same stupid idea: that because he had different feelings for Lana, his feelings for Lois are no good. Argh! I'm feeling really frustrated right now.
I'm sad that little Nate's condition kept getting worse so now he has to have surgery, but I'm hoping that will fix things so he can start growing properly. I'm kind of confused about when Lois is needing to have her mind taken off Nate's surgery because the hardest time for me was always during the hours of surgery themselves, and that doesn't sound like when this scene takes place. However, it does allow for a chance for L&C to get physically closer again, and I think that's a good thing, "friends with benefits" notwithstanding.
