Lois' need to have a 'purpose' and bit more Lang than Lane?

[A Flawed Fashion]

I would love it if the topic of "insert female character here is the new lana lang" would just go away.

Is wanting a purpose in life really such a bad thing? Is it wrong to want to make a difference? Is it wrong to want to help people? Why must we vilify the female characters on this show for wanting to make something of their lives?

[SnowBird]

I don't think it was being a hero, I think it was what Martha said - finding a purpose.

Lois has always been around men who had these kinds of callings - her father, AC, Oliver, and Clark (even though she doesn't know the full extent).

She's more than just Clark's girlfriend, just as he's more than Lois' boyfriend.

I think she's very happy being a reporter, but she lost that when she got fired. Then she was working to get their jobs back and in her mind, Clark was dismissive (she doesn't know the extent of what he's dealing with).

Part of the reason Clark loves Lois is because she has the dedication to the world and wants to help and is a determined, driven woman. If she lost that part of herself, then she loses part of who Clark loves. He said it himself, it was that side of her that he spoke to as the Blur that made him fall even deeper for her.

Lois did what she had to do to make her relationship with Clark ultimately work. She dealt with her issues and can now give herself to Clark as a whole person instead of one that is floundering in confusion. Now Clark has to do the same thing.

Whatever issues Lois had wasn't enough to break up with Clark. A relationship is a lot of work and shouldn't be given up on so easily. Life can be so much harder than what Lois was experiencing. I know that Lois gets this run away mentality when things get too much for her but somewhere there has to be a reason big enough to stay and fight for it. I'm disappointed that Lois wasn't willing to try harder for Clark.

Next time they decide to be a couple, both Lois and Clark better come clean or like Martha said, it won't work.

[~*Lois & Clark Fan*~]

Lois is NOTHING Like Lana, she will NEVER be anything like Lana, the two couldn't be more different

Lois is nothing like Lana……

Lois’s issues are the exact opposite of Lana’s. Lois is selfless where as Lana is selfish.
It’s clear since “Charade” Lois is confused with what's going around her in regards to her future & life in general.

Lois on SV is a younger version of her famous self. She wants & is trying to become this well known, well respected reporter she well grow to be. SV has Lois falling for CK before she’s this famous investigative reporter, so she's juggling the foundations of both very vital parts of her life at the time. Where in the Superman mythos she has already established her career then & falls for Superman. Something never done before in the comics.

I so understand Lois’ confusion b/c CK isn’t helping her see the light & instead keeping her in the dark when she’s trying to spread her wings. She’s feeling suffocated by CK’s lack of effect in her life, but of course she doesn’t know what’s going on in regard to his large responsibly. She only see CK not taking her seriously & wants to run away. She losing herself when she’s trying to find herself & she can’t do it by CK’s side if he’s not willing to open to her.

I understand Lois….

THIS! I don't understand why it's suddenly a crime that Lois doesn't have her life figured out like she thought. I think that's understandable. Things can happen to make people re examine their lives

[ginevrakent]

Whatever issues Lois had wasn't enough to break up with Clark. A relationship is a lot of work and shouldn't be given up on so easily. Life can be so much harder than what Lois was experiencing. I know that Lois gets this run away mentality when things get too much for her but somewhere there has to be a reason big enough to stay and fight for it. I'm disappointed that Lois wasn't willing to try harder for Clark.

Next time they decide to be a couple, both Lois and Clark better come clean or like Martha said, it won't work.

Lois broke up with Clark because CLARK looked like he couldn't be bothered to give a damn about her feelings about her life falling apart. She didn't break up with him to find a higher calling, she broke up with him because he didn't seem willing to try harder. Even then, by the end of the episode Lois acknowledged that she was wrong to run away from her problems and seemed keen to rectify that mistake.

[kelly1142]

Whatever issues Lois had wasn't enough to break up with Clark. A relationship is a lot of work and shouldn't be given up on so easily. Life can be so much harder than what Lois was experiencing. I know that Lois gets this run away mentality when things get too much for her but somewhere there has to be a reason big enough to stay and fight for it. I'm disappointed that Lois wasn't willing to try harder for Clark.

Next time they decide to be a couple, both Lois and Clark better come clean or like Martha said, it won't work.

I guess I felt like she did try, and from her perspective, Clark was dismissive. Now WE know Clark has tons of stuff to worry about bigger than his job at the Planet. Lois doesn't.

So from her point of view, every attempt she made to try and put things right, get their jobs back, get their lives back, was met with "I've got other more important stuff to do, you're overreacting". Again, I don't fault Clark for that, but Lois pretty much thinks he has the tractor in the barn and chores and she can't understand why he's dismissing all of this.

And then he wanted to pretend that all was right when Martha was home, and I think that was just Lois' breaking point.

But at the end, she could have run off again, but didn't. She chose to stay and deal because he IS that important to her.

[SnowBird]

THIS! I don't understand why it's suddenly a crime that Lois doesn't have her life figured out like she thought. I think that's understandable. Things can happen to make people re examine their lives

People evolve their whole lives. The next time Lois has a crisis is she going to break up with Clark again if they are together? I have gone through many changes in my lifetime and a person needs to learn to work within the boundaries they have set up for themselves. In Lois case, she was in a relationship so she should have tried to work things out within the boundaries of this relationship. It wasn't a case of falling out of love with Clark but a personal road block that could have been figured out while in the relationship.

----- Added 4 Minutes later -----

I guess I felt like she did try, and from her perspective, Clark was dismissive. Now WE know Clark has tons of stuff to worry about bigger than his job at the Planet. Lois doesn't.

So from her point of view, every attempt she made to try and put things right, get their jobs back, get their lives back, was met with "I've got other more important stuff to do, you're overreacting". Again, I don't fault Clark for that, but Lois pretty much thinks he has the tractor in the barn and chores and she can't understand why he's dismissing all of this.

And then he wanted to pretend that all was right when Martha was home, and I think that was just Lois' breaking point.

But at the end, she could have run off again, but didn't. She chose to stay and deal because he IS that important to her.

It still wasn't enough to break up over. Apparently she didn't think Clark was enough for her and willing to wait longer for life to straighten out. If she would have waited a couple of days, she had her job back and life would go on as usual.

[Sarevokcz]

It still wasn't enough to break up over. Apparently she didn't think Clark was enough for her and willing to wait longer for life to straighten out. If she would have waited a couple of days, she had her job back and life would go on as usual.

I agree, that complete break up was unnescessary, but they shouldnt have ignored their problems, and Lois didnt, because she didnt know she would get her job back the next day or that Clarks crisis with the Book would be over.

[kelly1142]

People evolve their whole lives. The next time Lois has a crisis is she going to break up with Clark again if they are together? I have gone through many changes in my lifetime and a person needs to learn to work within the boundaries they have set up for themselves. In Lois case, she was in a relationship so she should have tried to work things out within the boundaries of this relationship. It wasn't a case of falling out of love with Clark but a personal road block that could have been figured out while in the relationship.

----- Added 4 Minutes later -----



It still wasn't enough to break up over. Apparently she didn't think Clark was enough for her and willing to wait longer for life to straighten out. If she would have waited a couple of days, she had her job back and life would go on as usual.

But she didn't know she'd have her job back in a couple of days. And it wasn't just about her job.

I'm not saying she wasn't impulsive there, but Lois is pretty impulsive.

As for Clark not being enough, truthfully he isn't. Clark isn't enough for Clark. He wouldn't be happy JUST being Clark either. He needs the Blur side of his life. They are both fundamental parts of who Clark is (which is becoming clearer as he refers to himself in the third person on both counts). If Clark isn't enough for Clark, then why should that be enough for Lois?

Lois wants ALL of Clark/Kal-El/Blur. She may not fully realize it because she doesn't know the secret. Just like Clark wants all of her. He loves the side of her she was missing, that came through clearly in that scene with Martha. He gets frustrated that she doesn't share all of herself with "Clark Kent" but he's doing the same thing to her. They BOTH need to communicate better.

I think what they are doing with Clark and Lois is pretty interesting. They are really mirroring each other.

[LoD]

I thought the whole point of the end scene with Perry, where Lois decides to stick around and deal with her problems, was to provide resolution to this entire issue. All season, we've seen Lois bail when things got sticky. Chloe commented on it in "Kandor" and then really let her have it in "Persuasion" when she accused Lois of being a scared little girl who ran away at the first sign of problems.

We'll have to see how things go, but my reading of the episode was that Lois finally overcame her urge to run and that she wasn't going to bail next time her life hit the rocks. In short, the Lois that ran out of the Kent farm house was not the same Lois who stuck around the Daily Planet by the end of the episode. And, frankly, [SPOILER] I wouldn't be surprised if this new confidence helped her resist Zod/Blur's manipulation next episode, and possibly lead to some kind of reunion with Clark as a by-product[/SPOILER].

Looking back over the season, I think I can more clearly see an actual character arc for Lois that I wasn't necessarily picking up on at the time. This episode put her disappearances and insecurities in context for me, and provided more significance to past episodes. YMMV. I can see shades of the Lang-of-All-Trades search for meaning, but with Lois, these things actually seem deliberate and purposeful. And I don't think Lana's need for purpose was ever the problem -- it was finding purpose in things like stealing Lex's kryptonite power suit that was always undermining Lana's arcs.

[SnowBird]

But she didn't know she'd have her job back in a couple of days. And it wasn't just about her job.

I'm not saying she wasn't impulsive there, but Lois is pretty impulsive.

As for Clark not being enough, truthfully he isn't. Clark isn't enough for Clark. He wouldn't be happy JUST being Clark either. He needs the Blur side of his life. They are both fundamental parts of who Clark is (which is becoming clearer as he refers to himself in the third person on both counts). If Clark isn't enough for Clark, then why should that be enough for Lois?

Lois wants ALL of Clark/Kal-El/Blur. She may not fully realize it because she doesn't know the secret. Just like Clark wants all of her. He loves the side of her she was missing, that came through clearly in that scene with Martha. He gets frustrated that she doesn't share all of herself with "Clark Kent" but he's doing the same thing to her. They BOTH need to communicate better.

I think what they are doing with Clark and Lois is pretty interesting. They are really mirroring each other.

Does anyone give all of themselves to their mate? Most of the time I think not. A husband usually won't come home and tell everything about his job to his wife and visa versa for the women who work out. This is nothing new. People hold things in and are not an open book. I know Lois and Clark are unique but it didn't seem to bother Lois at all when Clark kept secrets and went off investigating.

I also don't agree with Clark's lack of being a reporter is everything in order to make a living. Lois acted like Clark had just given up. Well, farming is a very real job that Clark has and they wouldn't starve while Clark was bringing in the bacon from the farm.

This was more about what Lois wanted than it was about Clark, but she took it out on him, imo.

[Dyanara]

My main problem with this damn issue is that there are a lot of people who want a purpose in their life. They go volunteer, they become an organ donor, or they change their career; they don't break up with their boyfriends whom they said they loved just because their dual relationship with a supehero ended and as a result said girlfriend no longer feels special enough.
If this were a working mother with a family who all of a sudden decided to bail just so she could find her purpose in life would people be defending it? And since when has Lois been defined by Clark? Get your damn job back or get a different job with a different paper; but don't take your semi-mid life crisis out on Clark. I think it makes Lois look fickle and reminds me a lot of Lana leaving in season 7 so she could find her purpose, ala become a superhero.

[kelly1142]

Does anyone give all of themselves to their mate? Most of the time I think not. A husband usually won't come home and tell everything about his job to his wife and visa versa for the women who work out. This is nothing new. People hold things in and are not an open book. I know Lois and Clark are unique but it didn't seem to bother Lois at all when Clark kept secrets and went off investigating.

I also don't agree with Clark's lack of being a reporter is everything in order to make a living. Lois acted like Clark had just given up. Well, farming is a very real job that Clark has and they wouldn't starve while Clark was bringing in the bacon from the farm.

This was more about what Lois wanted than it was about Clark, but she took it out on him, imo.

He was acting like he'd given up. And every answer was vague, if I didn't know what Clark was dealing with, I would have thought he'd given up too.

I don't see it as 'taking it out on him' frankly. If Lois had stayed and continued to be frustrated that she couldn't communicate with Clark and that she felt she was lacking something in her life and was awful to him? That would have been taking it out on him.

Instead she took a step back and decided to work on herself. She took the responsibility and didn't lay it at Clark's or the Blur's feet. She realized she needed to do this herself. Given all Clark's been blamed for in the past, I thought it was rather nice that Lois actually took it upon herself to solve her own issue, which as a result, will only improve her relationship with Clark.

[ginevrakent]

My main problem with this damn issue is that there are a lot of people who want a purpose in their life. They go volunteer, they become an organ donor, or they change their career; they don't break up with their boyfriends whom they said they loved just because their dual relationship with a supehero ended and as a result said girlfriend no longer feels special enough.
If this were a working mother with a family who all of a sudden decided to bail just so she could find her purpose in life would people be defending it? And since when has Lois been defined by Clark? Get your damn job back or get a different job with a different paper; but don't take your semi-mid life crisis out on Clark. I think it makes Lois look fickle and reminds me a lot of Lana leaving in season 7 so she could find her purpose, ala become a superhero.

Lois didn't break up with Clark because she was seeking a purpose in life. She broke up with him because he was being insensitive and dismissive about her need for a purpose in life. There's a key difference there, in my opinion. If Clark had been more understanding and supportive, Lois probably wouldn't have reacted as she did.

Even then, by episode's end Lois regretted her initial impulse to run away from her problems via a break up. She was looking to Clark for support and for a teammate, but realized she could be strong enough on her own. Now that she's found that inner strength, she can approach her life and her relationships with more maturity.

Hopefully, Clark will have an epiphany of his own and will start being more open with Lois about everything.

[BackToTheLies]

When I think of Lois Lane, I certainly don't think of someone who needs more from their life. I don't think of someone who is complaining that their life doesn't have enough purpose.

I think of someone who doesn't even think about what her purpose is. Because being a reporter is such a natural second skin that there is no doubt about what she was meant to do. And she gets every bit of purpose from that.

Lana Lang on the other hand. Now there is a character who so badly needed a purpose on Smallville, that she tortured herself in order to withstand the pain of fusing with a super suit, so that she could save the world...

Now I'm not suggesting that Lois is going to do that. I think even in Smallville she's not that nuts.

But I wish she'd get to a place where serious journalism was her passion. Catching drug lords and corrupt governments. Not chasing aliens and propping up fantasy heroes.

I agree. When they first introduced Lois as a serious romantic interest it was because she was so good at being human and the biggest representation of it. Now it seems with her lines that she's got Lana Lang syndrome.

[ginevrakent]

I agree. When they first introduced Lois as a serious romantic interest it was because she was so good at being human and the biggest representation of it. Now it seems with her lines that she's got Lana Lang syndrome.

Lana Lang always defined herself through her relationships with men and derived purpose through others. When Lois broke up with Clark, it was because he was not supporting her need to find purpose for herself outside of any relationship whether it was The Blur or Clark. By the end of the episode, Lois found what she was looking for within herself. Like Dorothy The Wizard of Oz, Lois didn't need a wizard or any person to give her purpose because she had that power all along.