A Cinderella Story: The Case for Chlois
by Chiriru
written february 20, 2004; updated october 13, 2004
Introduction
As long as I've been in the Smallville fandom (since Metamorphosis' first airing, so it's been a while), there has been debate about one Chloe Sullivan. Who is she, why was she added, and most importantly, what is her end point. Theories have passed back and forth for that last question, but the two biggest possibilities seem to be either (a) she dies in the end or (b) she grows up to write as Lois Lane.
While I can't prove or disprove if Chloe Sullivan will live or die by the time Smallville ends, I do think that at this point in time there is enough evidence to prove that there is a case for Chloe=Lois theory whether one is or isn't a fan of the idea.
The Major Canonical Evidence
Chloe Sullivan is Smallville's "proto-Lois" to quote the producers from the Pilot/Metamorphosis commentary and while I usually take anything the producers have to say with at least a shaker of salt, I think it is relatively safe to say that this concept is fair obvious for numerous reasons. Out of all the people in Smallville, Chloe is the lone city-girl and the reporter. Her seemingly inherit sarcasm, drive, and not-so-secret romantic side, are all very similar to Lois Lane. She's the very first girl we meet after 1989 crash, and for most of the Pilot, we don't even know her name. and However, it takes more than just having a string of bad relationships and dreams of working at the Daily Planet to build a good case for wanting a Lois Lane who was once Chloe Sullivan.
While the first season had one obviously foreshadowing to Lois Lane line in "Cool" and had major Lois simulation in episodes like "Craving," "Leech," "Kinetic," and "Obscura," the first major evidence towards this theory as well as the piece of evidence really rejuvenated the Chloe is Lois movement after the statements at ComicCon 2002, was in "Fever." (episode 2.16)
Chloe visits Clark while he's sick with some sort of kryptonite mutated virus. What is interesting to note, just as a viewer, is how closely Chloe's scene parallel's Lois' in the Lois and Clark episode "Home Is where the Heart Is." In both of these episodes, Clark is out-of-commission due to kryptonite, but the similarities don't end there. When Chloe shows up, not only is she dressed similarly to Lois' style from Lois and Clark, she even comes out with a new haircut that is also extremely similar to Lois' at that point in the Lois and Clark series.
However, the real heavy foreshadowing goes to work when Chloe decides to bare her true feelings to Clark, least he dies like all signs point to. The letter itself could of been simple, heart-felt, and witty as Chloe is oft portrayed as in the series; instead this glimpse into her heart and writing style on the show is very emotional and elegant. Chloe notes the concept of secret identities, living with lies, putting ones emotional wants behind those of the person they love, the idea of Clark having to grow into and out different girls, waiting until the time is right, and even Clark flying. The note in it's entirety below:
Clark - I'm not who you think I am. In fact, my disguise is so thin I'm surprised you haven't seen right through me. I'm the girl of your dreams masquerading as your best friend.
Sometimes I want to rip off this facade, like I did at the Spring Formal. But then you'll get scared and you'll run away again. So, I decided it's better to live with a lie than to expose my true feelings.
My dad says there are two types of girls: the kind you grow out of and the kind you grow into. I sincerely hope I'm the latter. I may not be the one you love today, but I'm willing to let you go for now hoping that someday you'll fly back to me.
Because I think your worth the wait.
"Delete" (episode 3.11) also has heavy, near literal, foreshadowing when Chloe picks out a pseudonym. It gives us reason why Chloe wouldn't write as Chloe Sullivan - her true name is barred from ever being published at the Daily Planet at that point ever (Chloe's one true newspaper as noted in "Crush" and "Obscura") again. It also gives us a reason why this particular name, it's that of a person she trusts and knows won't use it, as far as we know.
There are, of course, several smaller additions to Chloe's character that fill in why Chlois Theory works for some. Her devotion to the Planet and to Clark are the most notable two. Another point is how the Chloe/Lana storyline of season 2 mirrored the Lois/Lori storyline of the 1990's comics. Yet another is that she's already met Perry White and even shares Lionel Luthor issues with him. Chloe has named "Superboy", formed a web of sources, and has stayed loyal to Clark despite personal, family, and friendships suffering because of it.
There is the fact that Chloe is the youngest writer ever at the Planet; that Nellie Bly is her hero; that she has shaped Clark and pushed him towards his future as well as noting his 'savior complex'; that she's always been bitten by the journalism bug and continues to be no matter what happens; that she puts herself in the middle of the danger for a story; that public opinion doesn't sway over what she write - but truth and justice do; that Lex has caught her breaking into his property for stories; and that she's already made deals with the Luthors - the sum of which are exclusively Lois Lane territory in the comics.
The "Three Souls" Arguments
One of the major 'pros' of the Chlois Theory stems from the comics as well as the Lois and Clark television series is the idea that the souls of Clark, Lex, and Lois are tied together. The idea that Lex and Clark have a fated destiny that they don't realize they are headed towards is one of the major draws of the the series; it's one of the major advertising/promotional aspects of the show. The addition of Chlois into this adds several things into the series:
(1) Having a Lois that was formerly known as Chloe Sullivan puts Lois on equal levels as Clark and Lex in terms of dual/secret identities. Whereas in the comic, Lex has his good and bad personas and Clark has his reporter side and his superhero side, Lois is merely Lois. She's a reporter, a romantic, a fighter, and one hell of a woman - true. However, in terms of secret identities or dual personas, a Lois that was once Chloe bumps her up. She now understands having a hidden past or having to keep secrets for her own safety on a much more personal level - because she lived it too.
(2) It also bumps Lois ups in terms of origins; like Lois existed in the comics prior to Lex, Chloe lived in Smallville before Lex ever arrived there in a permanent fashion. She's the first non-Kent character we see after the meteor shower; she's the girl we are introduced to before the 'love' interest (more on Lana in a minute) and whose love for Clark is introduced before Clark's love for the 'love' interest is or before we realize Lex has come back to Smallville at all. A Lois who was once Chloe means that from the very beginning of the story just like Lex and Clark, once again, putting her on equal footing.
(3a) Gough and Millar noted in the first season that the story was about three orphans, and thus far we've seen it to be Lex, Clark, and Lana. However, a Lois that was once Chloe makes Lana a red herring of the saga. But, Lana as a red herring would explain continually talks of her parents and her relationship with Clark; it a diversion from the story of the three real orphans - one who's parents sent him to a better world, one whose mother walked out on her, and one whose mother died - and it gives them the chance to show these three finding their true, epic destiny whether we realize who they are growing into or not.
(3b) A Lois who was also one of the three orphans also underscores how power is divided and earned by the time the trio reaches Metropolis for good. We see how Lex inherited monetary power; how he used wealth to become powerful in terms of science and business. We see how Clark was born with internal power; how his powers developed as well as his ethics. As it gives us a Lois who has power of her own making alone; how her meteorite digging and Luthor deals cemented her truth-seeking into a power of it's own - not financial or physical but as influences on the general populous. It shows how her youth shaped her moral integrity, why her goals of truth and justice are so integral to her being, how her skills were sharpened to make her the best reporter at the Planet.
(4) A Lois who was once Chloe also strengthens the core of the series. It wouldn't only be about this handful of people/families living in this weird town nor what the kryptonite forces the show to be. Right now Smallville is primarily about one friendship - that being Clark and Lex's. A Lois who was once Chloe doubles the writers mileage and makes the over all series about the two most important friendships in Clark Kent's life with drastically different ending points; one friendship destined to be the greatest of enemies, the other is fated to be a truly epic romance. The reason why this works to help the series as a whole is be cause it validates Chloe's timeline and we can see where there was once common ground between the three ("Kinetic"-"Tempet") and how, over time it slowly all broke apart.
(5) Having a Lois that was previous Chloe Sullivan and being the third corner of the Metropolis triad doesn't prevent Smallville from also being, in part, Lana Lang's story. They do tell Lana's story - that of the girl Clark loves first, of the girl Clark ultimately out grows, of the girl who has to struggle to find her (not-as-epic) role in the world. Lana is pulled into Clark and Chloe's social order not long after Lex arrives and works steadily to keep everything in status quo, maybe due to her dead parents issues. Lana has worked to keep the three of them talking/interested in one another but she's also worked to keep them divided; she's been part of the reason Clark and Lex continued to interact in the first place, but at the same time does things that deliberately pit Chloe and Clark against each other. It is notable that it is only when Lana stops playing mediator and 'chooses' someone that it throws a relationship out of alignment - particularly throwing the Chlark relationship out in "Drone," "Dichotic" and "Witness"-"Exodus," and the Clex relationship in "Forsaken"-"Covenant." Lana is part of the reason that Smallville is an origins story and stops it from immediately jumping into Superman territory.
Revamping Clois
A Lois who was once Chloe overhauls the old "Triangle for Two" by leaps and bounds. It gives Lois more credit as a smart, able, and capable woman to figure out or even know Clark's secret all along. Given that for the past decade in the comics, Lois has known I don't see this as a problem at all.
It turns the Lois-infatuated-with-Superman-for-his-powers on its ear, true. However, either by eliminating it or using it as a smoke-screen for those that would hurt Clark (or herself) because of the knowledge it ups Lois on the equality scale by making her at the very least, capable to see what is right in front of her face. Having a Lois who is not only proven loyal, but who has a habit of covering for Clark for years then gives Clark someone who will help him maintain his secret no matter the cost, like his parents had done for him in the past.
It also makes the love story between Clark and Lois, which grows more epic with each telling, future cemented in 'soul mate' territory. A Lois who was once Chloe takes this a step further making Lois his first kiss, his first true date, his first semi-girlfriend, his first break-up, his first friend-turned-more. Note that it doesn't make Lois his first love, the show points out that Clark does love/like/care for Lana before he ever realizes Chloe (or, by proxy in Chlois Theory, Lois) but it does strengthen the idea that Lois was meant to be his one-true-thing all along and that very idea is paralleled in the romantic storyline of Whitney/Lana/Clark/Chloe of the first season. It fills out Clark Kent in the future because he's not someone who immediately falls for the look or the snark upon first meeting, he's someone who is realizing that what he's always wanted was right under his nose all along.
In fact, a Lois who is privy to who Clark (and Lex) was prior to the Daily Planet era makes a for a better 'soul mate' in the future. She's already seen and walked the line that exposing Clark could do and she knows from several personal experiences why the world needs Superman. Chloe has already loved, and more importantly, accepted all facets of Clark - the outcast, the social climber, the best friend, the bad boy, the cub reporter, the jerk, the savior complex, the hero, the boy, and potentially, the man. She's seen him, accepted him, pushed him, prodded him, hated him, but most importantly, loved him from the get-go. A Lois who already realizes these things and had made the choice long ago to stay loyal to Clark is going to be the steadfast, loyal confidante that Clark needs.
Likewise, she's going to see the public and private personas of Lex, she's going to know what he was and see who he has become. We see reasons why Lois is so distrustful of the Luthors given her dealings with Lionel, yet we also can see why Lois might date Lex even for a brief period - and it's because she knows the man he was.
Also, it adds a symmetry to the future. While now Clark is trying to hide from his destiny and push Chloe way, in the future when he embraces what he is, he will pursue Lois. The symmetry goes further yet, when Clark and Pete would then end up with each other's "dream girls" from high school thus underscoring that one might not always get what they think they want but will get what they need in the end.
What Non-Chlois Does To the Series
"Delete" and the introduction from "Crusade" and "Gone" set up a whole new look at Lois Lane and it's one we've never had before, a Lois who isn't all about journalism. While it's true that in real life passion can come over anything at any time, a Lois who gets into journalism after Chloe's death (or even "death") isn't going to have as much experience as Clark will by that time. As the basis that Clark is partnered with Lois in prior series because she has more experience he can learn from, I think that falls flat on it's face.
A Lois Lane who comes to journalism late or picks up the 'torch' for her dead cousin isn't, in my opinion, Lois Lane. She's not there because she loves it or because she's always wanted to be there; she's not there because she has to find the truth and tell it to the people. A Lois who hasn't been "journalism, yay!", to me, isn't Lois.
Furthermore, Clark falling for Lois when he didn't fall for Chloe makes him look horrible. Either it's because of Lois' looks which makes Clark look extremely vapid and shallow, or because for some reason he can't have Chloe. Chloe could be dead or moved on, which makes Lois a replacement girl for the one who got away.
I personally think it makes both Lois and Clark look bad.
Of course, since Chloe has filled the Lois Lane roll then the question turns to what happens to Chloe once there is a separate Lois that isn't the Lois Lane. She could die or somehow become physically unable to do her job; she could turn evil although that would seem redundant after fighting against it for a whole year and winning at it; she could give up on reporting and/or Clark although that is against three years of canon - either way, Chloe ceases to exist on a physical or mental/emotional level. To me, none of these are preferable and stink of sloppy writing.
Claims & Rebuttals
Many people have made many different and varied responses as to why Chloe can not be Lois. Now that I have stated my reasons for believing in it, I'd like to examine some of those responses and try to explain why none of them work for me. Hopefully, it won't be too repetitive for you.
Claim: Lois Lane's back story is very different from Chloe Sullivan's, therefore Chloe can not be Lois. And said back story is too important to change.
Rebuttal: The problem with this is two fold. The first is that no one in a comic book has a static (i.e. never changing) back story. There are always key things that stay the same, but not even Clark's back story has stayed the same the entire time. The second is the fact that none of the Smallville characters have the same back stories as their comic counterparts, in fact Smallville is known for mixing canons.
Over the years, Lois' has gone from living on a farm herself to a life-long city girl, from a seemingly family-less advice columnist to an award-winning journalist from a army family or the daughter of a doctor, from the girl who wanted to black mail Superman into marrying her to a woman who has proven herself to be Clark's greatest friend, ally, confidante, and ultimately his soul mate.
But, like with Clark Kent, with in every version of Lois Lane there are some things which seem to be a common denominator - she's worked at the Planet since she was a teenager and she always is Clark's true soul mate in the end. There are other things of course - she risks her neck for stories, she gets in over her head, she is awed with Superman's powers/morals, she seeks the truth, she is driven and ambitious.
Where Lois grew up, her family dynamics, and what not, they all pale in comparison to what role Lois plays in the mythos. Sure, these things are part of her but they don't define her. The most accurate one-word description of Lois Lane is reporter.
And the same definition could be said of Chloe Sullivan.
Further more in Smallville, nothing works out like it does in the comics. Not the reoccurring characters of Steven Hamilton or Claire Foster or Perry White, not the secondary characters of the Kents or of Pete Ross.
And certainly not of Clark Kent or Lex Luthor.
To think that Lois would come out exactly like her comic counter part in this show is absurd and to expect the same background must be followed in order for one to be the Lois is even more so.
Claim: Lana + Chloe = Lois! Al Gough said so!
Rebuttal: Al Gough says a lot of things, I'll grant him that.
For Chloe and Lana to some how equal everything that Clark likes in Lois, one would expect it to be more evened out. Interviews with Allison Mack have her saying that Chloe is the reporter side, Lana is the gentler, sensitive side as well as the looks. For many of the fans, myself included, it seems more that Chloe is the personality and Lana is just the looks.
It's pretty easy to see Chloe's side to this equation; she's smart and funny, she's obsessed with journalism, and she's had a string of terribly failed romances. However, she also has a large chunk of what should be "the Lana qualities" -- she's been shown as having a hopeless romantic side in "Stray," the intense loyalty to Clark to the point she faces down Lionel Luthor in seasons 2 and 3, the messed up/missing family that was noted in "Lineage," and she's also very pretty in a very classical sense (a fact that is oft over looked next to Lana's preternatural looks.)
In fact, some of Allison's previous work have her as a dishwater blonde/light brunette hair (whether it's dye or not is unknown to me) so even the whole hair color debate is kind of useless given the fact that "Covenant" established her as 'beach bottle blonde.'
In terms of 'absolutely needed in order to be part of Lois' characteristics, Chloe not only has the upper hand -- in almost all the cases, she's got almost the entire hand. Which makes it extremely easy for fans to just drop the "Lana +" part of the equation entirely thus making me say "Uhm, I'm not buying it, Al."
Claim: Lois is Chloe's cousin, therefore Chloe is not Lois.
Rebuttal: I agree with the first half of that statement. Lois is Chloe's cousin, as Chloe told us in Delete. However, Chloe also told us that Lois was not interested in journalism (both "Facade" and "Devoted" backed up that claim) and was okay with Chloe using her name as pen name in the Daily Planet.
The Lois that Clark falls in love with, that is Clark's true soul mate, works for the Daily Planet. If Chloe is working at the Planet writing under the name "Lois Lane" because the Lois Lane that is her cousin ends up as a florist in Des Moines, then it's going to be Chloe (not the florist) who he ends up with.
There is also the key factor that in "Crisis" when Chloe needs to think up a quick excuse to get away from Adam, she claims that the Kent truck belongs to her "cousin." It's food for thought. Disproved by canon as we've seen her cousin, but still, food for thought.
Claim: Lois doesn't know who Clark or Superman is, nor the connection between the two, so Chloe can't be Lois.
Rebuttal: I personally find the "Triangle for Two" to be trite and out-dated. We live in a world drastically different than the one the original Lois Lane was created in; I find it ridiculous that she wouldn't find out, especially since on of the earlier comics done by Siegal and Shuster had Lois finding out and remembering from very early on - merely two years after the serial started. It, in fact, brings Lois closer to the character they had in mind, a partner and confidante for Clark. Also, Lois has known about Clark since 1991 so having a Lois that has always known won't kill the series at all.
Claim: Chloe lies to get stories and she'll do anything for a story, therefore she must of been lying about Lois interest in journalism.
Rebuttal: First off, I don't understand the basis for this claim.
Numerous times during an investigation, she has gone into the situation as herself and as a reporter. She is resourceful on her own to have sources, i.e. people who are willing to give her information when they don't have to and might even get in trouble for it. Over the course of the show, we know that she's got people in the police station, the DMV, the Ledger, Smallville's public records offices, Smallville Medical Center, the morgue, Dr. Steven Hamilton, formerly at the Daily Planet, and of course, other students. She is persistent enough to track down scientist as and formerly at Cadmus Labs, people part of Level Three, and to get the attention of big-name scientists like Virgil Swann, Donovan Jameson, and more recently attention from both Lex and Lionel Luthor.
Furthermore, Chloe has been shown to protect people. Kyle Tippett, while she knew of his power, wasn't exposed to the world. She had a list of mutants or potential mutants that she compiled over the summer to help with investigations incase they flipped. It was only someone abusing her data that caused harm. In fact, she protected Clark and did what he asked her to do while in Metropolis. She protected Clark so much, she lost her job at the DP and her father's job at LexCorp.
Has Chloe snuck into places to get stories? Yes. In fact, Clark has helped her do so, such as in "Craving" when he broke a door lock just because Chloe wanted to see a dead deer. In "Hereafter," Lex caught her snooping in Adam's apartment (that he and Lana were also shown snooping in during the Adam Arc.) She is also known as a (somewhat) hacker.
However, I don't find this snooping to be a bad thing. In fact, Lois worked very similarly. In Lois and Clark, she actually giggled when Clark helped her sneak out files from a corrupt business man. Both Lois and Clark have posed as other people in order to get stories. In the comics, Lex also caught a teenage Lois sneaking around an establish which he owned and mused over her sheer guts to break in.
And of course, there is always the portrayal on screen. Allison Mack knows her character extremely well; when Chloe is less than honest, her eyes dart, her attitude shifts to defensive, and her voice changes. In the scene when she uses the name, Chloe is portrayed as extremely self-assure. So unless the people in charge neglected to tell Allison what Chloe is really doing in such a carefully crafted scene, I find the 'liar!' claim extremely suspect.
Chloe's tagline is that she's here "to bring [us] the truth." While Chloe might used shifty methods to collect all the evidence for her message at times, her point is to share it. Ensuring that she can do isn't what I find dishonest.
And, above all that, when we are finally shown her cousin Lois on the show, Lois doesn't like journalism and doesn't want to write stories. Chloe... wasn't lying.
Claim: Chloe has no morals, therefore Chloe is not Lois.
Rebuttal: As far as what she will do for a story, look above. However, as far as journalistic ethics go, we've seen Chloe defined them in "Rogue," "Drone," "Suspect," "Rosetta," and even in "Truth." Her personal friendships are different but yet we've seen Chloe error and not come back to herself - in fact defining Chloe's limitations and testing her loyalty was a C-plot for the entire third season. Chloe's got ethics, they are just still being evolved - which makes sense, she's a teenager.
Claim: Lois is coming to Smallville, therefore Chloe is not Lois.
Rebuttal: I agree with the first half of that statement. I'd even agree that it's possibly completely true. However, Claire Foster has come to Smallville yet failed to be the upstanding psychologist that she was. Kara came to Smallville but she wasn't SuperGirl, heck, she wasn't even Linda Lee.
Now, do I think this Lois is truly NOT the Lois? Well, that's mixed. Part of me says that given the promotions that it is impossible for her not to be the Lois Lane; the interviews and ads seem to spin her as much. Yet, the personality coming lacks journalism (only to supposedly gain it later) and since a major key in Smallville is the concept that who you are is more important than what you name is, I could see Lois coming to prove that it's the soul that is more important than the name.
Realistically, I think Chlois is the back-up incase people really don't warm to Erica Durance. Or, it will possibly be spun so we don't know which Lois is the real one, though it is probably Erica. Unless Al changes his mind - which has been known to happen.
And, if you would like to read the reasons why, for me, Erica Durance's Lois Lane fails to live up to her name, you can simply click here.
Claim: Why is this named 'A Cinderella Story?'
Rebuttal: In "Tempest" and in "Exodus" Chloe makes three very specific references to Cinderella, and Clark makes one himself. In the comic Superman for all Seasons, Lois makes the comment of giving up on Prince Charming long ago - until she meets Superman. The parallels were too good to pass up.
Also, since Cinderella is about the working girl who was never noticed but who, in the end, turned out to be the perfect match after all and Chlois Theory is about the girl who was there, over looked, only in the end to have her truth worth shown after years of waiting?
I found it fitting.
Conclusion
Whether you believe Chlois or not, I hope this essay has sparked some interest in the theory. The parallel's are there, whether you attribute them to foreshadowing or merely shout-outs is your prerogative. I, however, know which one I'm going with and it's a story that to me is definitely worth the wait.