Outstanding chapter. The way Dr. Friskin brought both Clark and Lois to speak what was foremost on their minds without any rancor was wonderfully done. And it was terrific how they embraced each other at the end of that difficult time.
But I'm a little puzzled as to why Lois might need to forgive Clark. He wasn't unfaithful to Lois. He didn't take a mistress on New Krypton or consummate his marriage with Zara. All he did was experience temptation. And that's not prosecutable.
He was on a completely different planet. He was leading people he didn't completely understand in a war, fighting for their very existence. He was captured and horribly tortured by a crazy man who wanted him completely broken and then completely dead. He had all but lost hope that he could win the war, much less ever return home. I think that his thoughts are completely natural, and that if he hadn't been tempted, it would not have been believable, at least not under those most extreme circumstances.
So while Lois' sense of betrayal is natural and understandable, it doesn't follow that Clark is actually guilty of anything. He may have thought it, but he didn't act on it, and he banished those thoughts from his mind to the point that he had no idea how Talan felt about him. My impression of his idea of Talan is that she would gladly have shared his bed, but because of his position and his leadership and her desire to help him maintain some semblance of normalcy, not because she loved him more than her own life. Lois needs to understand that he did not betray her, and Clark needs to understand that Lois' heart (just like everyone else's heart) doesn't necessarily respond to logic and reason.
And I think they've made a good start. Just keep it up, guys. Keep talking, keep listening, and keep loving each other.
So where's the next chapter of this fabulous tale?
