I am so intrigued by this idea of Clark being in touch with his emotions and not his cognitive memories. It leaves him no choice but to go with his gut instincts. Maybe it's that vulnerability on Clark's part that has allowed Lois to be more honest about her own feelings. This Clark is letting her see his heart in a way that cannon Clark wouldn't do in the first season.
We often talk about Lois as having high emotional boundaries, but Clark was also shutting her out in the first season, even if he didn't realize it. His insistence that 'Clark is who I am, Superman is what I do,' kept him from letting her see all of him. Until she's in on the secret, she can only know half of him at a time.
