"Clana vs. Clois" By
Cindy
K. Green written October 2005
If you have been a Smallville fan for any length of time, you have
probably picked your shipper or relationship to support. The main
quarrel seems to be between the Clana (Clark & Lana) fans and the Clois
(Clark & Lois) fans. The problem has arisen because all good Superman
fans know that Clark Kent falls in love and marries Lois Lane. But in
the Smallville world, Clark Kent has been in love with Lana Lang for the
entirety of the show. And it isn’t just love from afar as was seen in
Superman I or superficial high school love. The actors who play Lana
(Kristin Kreuk) and Clark (Tom Welling) definitely have great chemistry
together. You can see the passion that these two characters have for
each other. They are really in love. Can anyone forget their kiss in
“Red?” Lana is completely swept off her feet. And in “Exodus” when Lana
says, Your parents need you. I need you. I love you, Clark.” To
which Clark responds, “ I love you, too... more than you'll ever
know. That's why I have to leave”. And then they kiss. Oh, the
passion. But nothing can compare to the scene in “Hidden” when Lana sees
Clark for the first time after he has died. There is no kiss, there
really is no dialogue; it’s just the way they look at each other from
across the room and then in each other’s arms once Lana has jumped into
Clark’s. Aah, the emotional angst! But they have passion – you must give
them that.
It is very easy to fall into the Clana camp even
when you know how the story ends. I mean if this wasn’t a story with a
long history and you had just met these characters, Clark and Lana, you
would assume that they would end up together. It makes me think of the
whole Ross and Rachel predicament in “Friends.” As a fan, you knew they
would have to end up together, eventually. They were meant to be
together. But in this story we know that they won’t end up together no
matter how much we believe that they should.
Thus the dilemma.
As a past fan of the series “Lois and Clark: The
New Adventures of Superman,” I love the Lois character and the romance
of Lois and Clark. Therefore, even though I love the Clana scenes in
this 5th season, I do not hate the Clois. I guess that means
I am not a true Clana fan. But why do the Clois fans hate the Clana so
much?
Clois fans, true Clois fans, know that Clark is meant to be with Lois
one day. All this build up of a relationship with Lana is futile. I
think that fans of the show have a hard time understanding Lana because
of the way she has been written. They see her as fickle and selfish.
They don’t see her as someone that will aid Clark in his journey to
becoming Superman. And what about Lois? Right now Lois is sharp and
abrasive; she’s always trying to bust his chops. But the scenes that we
have with Lois and Clark are great. They begin with the volatile
relationships we all love. Who can forget Lois dunking Clark in the
dunking tank in “Façade.” There were definite sparks there, even Chloe
noticed it. And then there is the classic Lois and Clark banter. “
I’m glad you made the team, Clark, but why be a conformist? At least
with the whole farm boy plaid thing, as lame as it is, it completely
belongs to you.” Annoyed Clark responds, “ In the future, let's
restrict our conversations to ‘hello’ and ‘goodbye’." And when she
gets into Met U, her parting words to Clark are, “Nice work,
Smallville. But don't worry. I'll visit.” Clark’s response, “Is
that a promise or a threat?” They smile teasingly and Lois punches
Clark on the arm. Her last words are, “See you around, Smallville.”
And then there are some truly moving Lois and Clark moments. At the end
of “Lucy,” Lois opens up to him. “Uh, you know, all
these years, I thought I had my sister pegged. But, uh, in reality she’s
a complete stranger to me. Clark tells her that “even if that
were true, I think that if she called you tomorrow, you’d be there in a
second to help her” “Yeah, I would,” says Lois. “She’s my
sister.” Clark continues, “I don’t think Lucy’s all that bad.”
“You’re amazing, Smallville,” says Lois. “You always look for the best
in people even when they walk all over you.” “I guess that explains why
we’re friend,”says Clark. “Oh, we’re friends now?” asks Lois.
“Well, I won’t tell anyone if you don’t,” adds Clark. But
the end scene in “Aqua” really foreshadowed their future relationship.
Speaking of A.C. Lois says, “Yeah, he was definitely unique. I've
known a lot of guys who wanna own the world; I haven't met very many who
actually wanna save it. When am I ever going to meet someone like that
again?” And Clark replies, “Lois, I promise someday, you will
meet someone even more special.” He puts a hand on her shoulder. I
think that Lois’ abrasiveness will mellow as her friendship with Clark
grows, and in the future Clark will find in Lois a culmination of what
he loves in both Lana and Chloe: the beauty and attraction of Lana and
the quick wit and spirit of Chloe.
So, who do you ship and which is the right ship? You don’t want to
get on a sinking ship. It’s a hard decision. Each camp has reasons that
Clark should be with Lana/Lois respectively. You have Clana which is in
its heyday right now, folks. But it is doomed to end before the end of
this season - end bitter-sweet according to Al/Miles. And Clois - Well,
it is the safest bet because we know they will end up together because
Lois Lane is the love of Clark Kent’s life. And although we won’t see
their relationship come to fruition here, I think we will see their
friendship blossom into something lasting and strong and a foreshadowing
of their future love. Choose carefully, but beware of becoming too
attached to your ship. Clana is bound to hit an iceberg and Clois will
never be the romantic arc that Clana will be in this series. I for one
am going to enjoy the Clana while I can and delight in the beginnings of
a great friendship in Clois.
And what if you ship Clark? Well, let’s not go
there. We just might muddle up the clear mess that we already have.
Cindy
