Ernest Alba's Blog

Where did the baby come from?

First of all, I can't believe I haven't written in almost a month. More than a month. I've been writing a lot of other things lately, though, and I'm still not close to being done. This, however, deserved some attention. Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman is one of the greatest adaptations of the Superman story that I've seen. It succeeds because it focuses on the relationship between Lois and Clark more than the escapades of Superman, which can get tedious after a while. Unfortunately, for reasons that are too complicated to explain here, it was canceled after only four seasons. However, it has developed a strong cult following and for better or worse my sister has roped me into the cult.

The final episode of the fourth season and, unbeknownst to the writers at the time, of the entire show ended in somewhat of a cliffhanger. Lois and Clark are unable to conceive but in the final minutes of the episode they find a child in their living room. No one knows where it came from. Obviously, there has been a lot of speculation over what are possible explanations. The one that most everyone has agreed on is that H.G. Wells, who made occasional appearances on the show brought them one of their own children from the future. I disagree with this theory, and here I present an alternate theory that I think will prove convincing.

There are only three clues in that final episode to go on.

Clue 1: Lois and Clark are in bed. Clark hears something. Lois asks him what it is. He says, "I'm not sure." She asks him what it sounds like, and he responds, "I can't actually believe what it sounds like." He immediately goes downstairs and comes upon the baby in the crib, wrapped in a blue blanket.

Clue 2: The accompanying note: "Lois and Clark, this child belongs to you."

Clue 3: The blue blanket has the Superman symbol on it.

From the first clue, it's clear that what Clark heard was the sound of a baby. There is no sound of a time machine. There is only silence and the sound that is always made when Superman hears something using his superhearing. We are supposed to understand that Clark is hearing something, but, unlike most other times, this time we are unable to hear it. But the fact that he says "I can't actually believe what it sounds like" indicates that he is hearing a sound he is familiar with, but not in the context of his life as Clark Kent/Superman. Time machines in his living room? That's believable. A child? Not so much. Hence, "I can't actually believe what it sounds like." So, it appears that H.G. Wells is out. But let's move on.

The note can be interpreted any number of ways. The child could literally "belong" to them, meaning that it is a mixture of their genes that created the child. That would mean that the child would have had to come from the future, since no technology has been invented to allow them to procreate yet. However, it is unlikely that it could be from the future for two reasons. First, only H.G. Wells is known to be able to travel in time. And it is reasonable that Clark would have heard him downstairs. Hell, even Lois would have heard that. And we already know that what Clark heard was not a time machine. Second, the note says "this child belongs to you." The way the phrase is worded seems to indicate that someone is giving them the child. Ownership has been transferred. The child now BELONGS to them. It doesn't say "the child IS yours" which would indicate strongly that the child both belongs to them and is their creation. It only says that the child "belongs" to them.

The final clue is the biggest one. This is the same marking that was on Clark's mini-ship when he crashed into earth. This is his sign of nobility. This is his Kryptonian seal. No one could or would just stitch one together for effect. It firmly establishes a connection between this child and Krypton. And since Lois would die on Krypton, we know that there is no future in which she would have traveled to Krypton, had a child there, or anything like that.

So, we can conclude that Lois and Clark's child was born in the present, not the future. We can further conclude that the child is not their offspring. We know that they will eventually have their "own" children in the future, but for now, they have an adopted child, whether they know it or not.

We are now faced with the question: if this child isn't theirs, whose is it? We will never know. The clues don't tell us, but I have a theory. Zara and Ching were expecting a child on New Krypton. But, like old Krypton, it was fated to be destroyed. In the days before the extinction of their planet, Zara had this child. To save their child, they decided to send it to Earth, and Zara knowing that Lois and Clark would provide a good home for it, left it for them in the crib in their living room. She then returned to Ching on New Krypton where they died together. In a proper episodic story arc, this truth would eventually be revealed to Lois and Clark, prompting them to think critically about their relationship, their child, and the love and sacrifice of Zara and Ching.

If you're still not convinced, there is one final piece of evidence that suggests this is the most likely story line. Everything about this event - a baby mysteriously appearing with a cryptic note and an "S" symbol to a young couple unable to conceive - parallels the story of Clark's own parents back in Smallville when they found him in the field.  How fitting that Clark's first experience as a father should be the experience of his own adoptive father, Jonathan. And how fitting for the child, that his actual father Ching's story should parallel the story of Kal-El's real father, Jor-El. Both sent their sons to Earth, likely for the same reasons (our capacity for good), and died before seeing their children grow up. The symmetries are too poetic to not be true!