They should have just made this a two-parter. Though really, they could have dropped a lot expository detail without using a lot of episode time--having Clark see a Planet headline with a date on it, maybe? [For example: In Lois' office she could have had a framed copy of the issue she won the Pulitzer for, and if it had (A) a future date and (B) a Lex related story headline, that could have given us a lot with a single camera shot and not a lot of exposition].