| Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman | |
| Season 3, Episode 17 | |
 | |
| Air date | February 25, 1996 |
| Written by | Corey Miller |
| Directed by | Alan J. Levi |
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This episode, the conclusion of a three-part story arc that began with "I Now Pronounce You...", marks the last on-screen appearance of John Shea as Lex Luthor (though his voice is heard in season four). With the Lois-clone now on his side, Clark races to find Luthor and Lois before Luthor can convince Lois to kill Superman and change into a new body.
Plot[]
Lex Luthor blows up an abandoned building to occupy Superman while his henchmen attempt to abduct Lois' clone, but she fights them off and is brought to STAR Labs. She bargains with Clark for her freedom, in exchange for promising not to try to kill Lois again and proposing a plan to trap Lex.
Abandoning his plan to flee to Switzerland, Lex breaks into Star Labs and steals two more frog clones so that his former employee Asabi can transfer his and Lois' souls into them, thus escaping all detection by the law and Superman. Lois is horrified at the idea, but Lex bullies her into agreeing to it. Asabi advises him that Lois is having dreams of her real past, meaning her memory will eventually come back, and the only way Lex can avoid losing her is for her to kill Clark herself, thus ending their love.
The clone's plan is to withdraw the $200 million from Lois' account, anticipating that Lex has the bank watched and will try to take the money from her. The clone tells Clark she thinks she is in love with him, and offers to take Lois' place if their plan to find her fails. Clark tells her that he loves Lois and that the clone needs to find her own identity, something he offers to help her with.
Lex falls into their trap, but he distracts Clark with another bomb, allowing him to escape with the money and the clone. Angry at her betrayal, he tells her that she is a "Type B" clone, which has a lifespan of just two weeks. The clone is now 12 days old. In the hope that he will fix her, she tells Lex that Clark Kent is Superman, but Lex tells her there is no way of increasing her lifespan. The clone succumbs to shame and despair.
Lex obtains a government-designed weapon called the A-Tech Quantum Disruptor that can kill Superman. Clark and Martha Kent gradually coax the clone to open up to them about what happened. Clark, who has come to care for the clone and regard her as a friend, does not blame her for betraying him to Lex, but she remains disgusted with herself. Lex arrives at the apartment, brings Clark to the brink of death with the Disruptor, and takes Martha as a hostage. Clark tells the clone to follow Lex until he's had time to recover from the attack.
The clone finds Lex's hideout under a subway station and calls Clark. Lex pretends to have been injured by Superman and unable to use the Disruptor, and tells Lois she must kill Superman. Unwilling to kill anyone, she tries firing a warning shot which destroys a crucial pillar. Superman tells Lex to get Lois to safety while he holds up the ceiling, but Lex prefers that he and Lois die if it means taking Superman with them, so he turns the Disruptor on him. The clone saves Superman by knocking over Lex, but the trigger on the Disruptor sticks, causing Lex and the clone to be fatally shot. The clone tells Clark that she found Martha and got her to safety, and asks him if she "did good". Clark does not answer her, and she dies.
Asabi escapes. Though Lois prefers to stay and die with Lex, Clark drags her out of the hideout as it collapses. On their way out, Lois is hit on the head by a falling rock. When she recovers, she no longer believes herself to be Wanda Detroit, but instead has amnesia.
Cast[]
Main cast[]
- Dean Cain as Clark Kent/Superman
- Teri Hatcher as Lois Lane
- Lane Smith as Perry White
- Justin Whalin as Jimmy Olsen
- K Callan as Martha Kent
- Eddie Jones as Jonathan Kent
Recurring role[]
- John Shea as Lex Luthor
- Shaun Toub as Asabi
- Kenneth Kimmins as Dr. Bernard Klein
Guest starring[]
- Andrew Shaifer as Leonard
- Timothy Busfield as the spy guy
- Joseph Chapman as the bank v.p.
- Mark Daniel Cade as the doctor
- Chip Nuzzo as passerby
Production details[]
- This episode was previously titled "Memory Lane".
- The money in the account Lex Luthor created in Lois' name is said to be in the form of bearer bonds. In the real world, the issuance of bearer bonds has been all but eliminated in the U.S. since 1982 (well before Lois & Clark premiered), due to how widely they were used to transfer illegally-obtained funds, much as Lex does in the story.
Quotes[]
Lois clone: "Well, is it okay if I love you?"
Clark: "Sure. Yes. Just don't kill anyone over it, okay?"
Lois clone: "Oh my God, that was two days ago. You have got to learn to let things go!"
Lois clone: "I hate Luthor. I hate him for making me!"