SV: The Chlois Theory and the Case of the Dueling Anvils (Part 8)

Due to popular demand, here’s the next installment of Dueling Anvils. Recall that the Chlois Theory is the theory that Chloe Sullivan is iconic Lois Lane in disguise (no morphing necessary).

In the previous installments I looked at the pro and anti ILL anvils for both Chloe and Lois in the following episodes:

"Kara"
"Action"
"Wrath"
"Blue"
"Gemini"
"Siren"
"Veritas"

Here is the breakdown for "Descent":

Pro-Chloe is ILL Anvils

• Lex Luthor is threatened by Chloe, so he fires her in an effort to get the upper hand.


• Chloe doesn’t let Lex get to her. She keeps her focus on what’s important – using her investigative skills to help Clark find Brainiac and Kara to save Lana (and the world). She has her priorities straight.


• When Jimmy Olsen (and Lois) needs help, he turns to Chloe Sullivan. She’s smart and resourceful (and she can type!).


• When Clark realizes that Chloe’s been hurt, he runs to check that she’s okay (contrast that with his reaction to Lois getting hurt). This reinforces that Clark cares deeply for Chloe (see also "Siren").


• While Lex fires Chloe from the DP:
  
  • She’s one of the good guys.
  • She was fired by Lex Luthor, the "bad guy", who is trying to discredit the DP and Chloe.
  • She wasn’t fired because of a perceived inability to perform as a journalist.
  • This is probably part of Lex’s Plan B from "Progeny"
  • Lois Lane in the comics was fired from the DP for a story she wrote but was reinstated (thanks harmier).
  
  I believe it's a temporary setback and she’ll be back.

Anti-Chloe is ILL Anvils

• Lex Luthor fires Chloe from the Daily Planet.

Pro-Lois is ILL Anvils

• Lois is still trying to find something on Lex.


• Lois perks up at the mention of a Pulitzer. (Eh, I have a hard time believing that she knows what that is.)


• Lois attempts to disarm Vanessa with her black belt level Karate skills.


• Clark comes to Lois and Jimmy’s rescue and uses his heat vision to thaw them out.


• In Jimmy’s cold-induced haze, he mentions that Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen will be world famous.

Anti-Lois is ILL Anvils

• While Lois perks up at the mention of a Pulitzer, iconic Lois shouldn't just be all about the glory and flashy headlines. She should be about finding the truth and reporting it to the people (thanks, harmier)


• In a Lois and Jimmy team-up, who would you expect to be the smart one and who would be the comic relief? Well, in normal Superman lore, Lois is smart and Jimmy is a klutz that follows her around in awe. In Smallville Lois is a dummy who rants and raves, jumps to the wrong conclusions, and gets shot at every turn. Jimmy is the one looking for clues and shooting for the Pulitzer.


• Lex is so not impressed with Lois (and Jimmy) that he keeps them on at the DP. Lois’ reporting style, that she learned at the Inquisitor and under Grant (literally as well as figuratively), is tabloid-like. She fits in well with the Lex's "new" DP.


• Lois gets shot before she can use her black belt Karate skills on Vanessa. Jimmy is unimpressed.


• While Clark rescues Lois and Jimmy, he shows no extra concern for Lois (he doesn’t x-ray for injuries) although she’s been shot and bleeding profusely.

Lois’ m.o. is still to bumble and stumble into things. In this episode, she tagged along with a smart Jimmy. She managed to get shot and didn’t contribute anything to the investigation. Really, Jimmy could have found the image, zoomed in on Lex and Lionel; remembered Lana’s "sexy" computers and contacted Chloe; all without Lois’ "help". In fact, if Lois wasn’t in the episode, she wouldn’t have been missed. I noticed that pro-Lois anvils tend to be verbal like Jimmy’s "Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen will be world famous" line while Chloe’s anvils tend to be shown (i.e. action-based).