I really like the parallel to Giles in "The Gift"--and now I'm trying to remember, was there ever any fallout between Buffy and Giles because of that decision? Not immediately, obviously, since Buffy was dead, but I can't remember if it ever came up later?

I do think it's important the Clark has someone looking out for his interests, and honestly I tend to prefer mythologies where heroes occasionally do have to make decisions that are morally grey, because in the real world you *can't* always save everyone. But it's so much a part of the Superman mythos that Superman doesn't make the "unheroic" choice. And while I tend to agree with you that Chloe's defense of him is justified, I'm pretty sure that in the *show's* logic it is not, because the people who have tried to protect Clark in the past by killing for him (Lex, Lionel, Tess to a certain extent even Oliver) have always been shown to be taking the wrong road. In fact, when Lana considered killing Lex to protect Clark, it was supposed to be one more sign that she was considering crossing over to the dark side.

Now, it's possible they're going somewhere new and different this season, because *both* Oliver and Chloe have killed to protect Clark, and they're both still portrayed as good guys on the show--so far. But if I had to predict, I'd predict it's more likely that this is going to lead them both to a flirting-with-darkness scenario in the future, since that's where Smallville tends to take things.