Though we couldn’t have known it
at the time, this would be the last episode with Claire truly at the center of
it. This was particularly shocking because when something like this happens, it
usually means the character in question about to die. In fact Claire will be
around until the final season but it is at this point she stops being essential
to the plot in her own right and only important adjacent to other characters.
There have been countless
accusations about how badly Lost treated its female regulars throughout
out its run but the fate of Claire is one of the harder ones to comprehend
given not only the buildup surrounding Aaron but indeed what we learn about her
in the flashback in this episode. Considering that this was speculated by many
fans in Two for the Road (I didn’t, for the record) and that the writers had followed
through, this is the kind of storyline that you’d think would matter to the
overarching plot. And its particularly
frustrating considering just how blindingly good Emilie De Ravin is in both the
flashback and the main story.
The episode opens on Claire’s eye,
both in the flashback and on the island. The repercussions in the flashback are
far darker: Claire (with dark hair!) is climbing out of an automobile accident
and her mother is in the road. Given Claire hair cut and piercings, it’s clear
that the soft-spoken girl we’ve met on the island is not the woman her mother
raised. It doesn’t quite come as a shock that they were having a fight at the
time of the accident, but it is heartbreaking because it tells so much about
Claire both then and now. We see very clearly why she never wanted to be a
mother and why she was resisting it every step of the way. We also get the
feeling that Claire decided to change her life not long after the accident, as
much out of guilt than anything else.
Of course, the real revelation is
that Christian Shephard is Claire’s father. (Yes I know if you were paying attention in
Two for the Road, we can tell that he’s saying he wants to see his daughter but
I missed that at the time.) It is clear that Christian was as bad a
husband as Jack said he was at the time (though perhaps this was just one of
many affairs he had). It’s not clear when in the timeline the flashback in this
episode happens but considering that Christian seems more together than he does
in many of Jack’s flashbacks and the style of Claire’s hair, I think this
happens at least before the one we see in Man of Science, Man of Faith.
We will never know the true
details of what happened between Christian and Carole Littleton but based on
the reaction of her Aunt Lindsey, it’s likely that she may well have been the
major factor in them being kept being apart. (Based on what we saw in Two for
the Road, Lindsey was just as adamant at making sure that stayed the case.) The
problem is when Christian shows up at Claire’s job, he clearly decides to act
as a doctor, not as a father. Claire is
clearly feeling guilty about the accident and Christian’s suggestions at
euthanasia as an action she can’t take back are the wrong move. It’s interesting that Christian’s last words
to her are: “There is hope and there is guilt. And believe me, I know the
difference.” As was pointed out in Man of Science, Man of Faith, this is the
opposite of the advice Christian gave
Jack about how he told Sarah about the surgery that was company. It’s just as interesting to note the
difference: in that case, Christian’s false hope was the right message. In this
case, though we won’t know it for more than a year, Claire’s hope turns out to
be proven justified. Which of Jack’s
children was Christian giving his true opinion too? Or was he speaking for
himself in Claire’s context; there’s clearly a lot of guilt involved when it
comes to Carole and it’s clearly going to be something he feels after the last
exchange with Claire.
The flashback in the episode is
the clearest one so far that the passengers were being brought to the island by
some higher power. Interestingly the
party trying to rescue Jack learns about this power for the first time – and
just as quickly dismiss it.
Now, to be fair, the source is
Mikhail who they have no reason to believe a word he says. (It’s also worth
noting that when he says, “you are not on the list”, future seasons will reveal
he doesn’t know what he’s talking about, possibly for all three of them.) In a
weird way much of what happens in this sequence has its own share of
frustrations. Viewers criticized Locke for his behavior in this episode, but
it’s worth noting no one else is thinking very clearly either.
Sayid is still denying the reality
of what is going on: when Locke points out the bearing brought them to the
Flame, he chooses to blame Locke for blowing up rather than admit the
point. Sayid continues to doubt the
omniscience of the Others, though we already know even before Mikhail starts
talking they are very well informed when it comes to the survivors. And even when he begins to doubt Locke’s
motivations, he never bothers to follow up even when he sees the C4 in the
pack. For a soldier, Sayid’s attitude doesn’t seem to be taking into account
the facts on the ground.
Kate is similarly blinded by her
determination to rescue Jack. Even without Locke telling her as much, we
already know the Others do not engage in trades and that Mikhail is dangerous.
At the very least when Locke throws Mikhail into the sonar pylons, she truly
should wonder what value John has to the group. But because Kate is so blinded
by her determination to rescue Jack, she keeps charging ahead.
In a weird sense Locke, for all
his craziness, is still thinking the clearest of the bunch. To reiterate, he is
absolutely right about the threat Mikhail poses to the survivors and
that the Others were not the kind of people who performed trades. (Indeed in
retrospect, it would have been better for everyone involved if Mikhail had died
in this episode.) Of course in this case, his actions aren’t altruistic when
Mikhail begins to hint at Locke being paralyzed, John clearly becomes more wary
of him. Does he kill Mikhail because he’s dangerous or because he does not want
his secret to be exposed? (Even then, it’s possible he thinks some of this is
mixed into his own guilt; Boone ended up dying not long after he revealed his
condition to him.) Even the fact that he took the C4 may not have been a
defined action on his part; when Mikhail mentions the submarine, it’s clear
this is the first time he’s heard about it.
So much of what we have seen the
survivors do has been a case of asking the wrong questions: when Kate asks why
the Others don’t just leave, it never occurs to her to ask why they are here in
the first place. Maybe Mikhail says they
are not capable of understanding because they don’t understand how special the
island. In that sense, the Others are just as guilty because they never think
they have to bother to explain themselves to anybody, not the Losties and not
each other. Mikhail clearly has disdain
for Ben but praise for the man who brought them there: as we shall learn very
soon, neither he nor any of Ben’s followers have ever even seen this man
but still act in his name. Perhaps that is the real reason Locke is doing
everything he does in Season 3; he thinks that this man might be his destiny,
and if he stays on this course, he might finally understand.
I haven’t talked that much about
the storyline that’s going on with Claire and the birds she keeps trying catch
because, much like Aaron’s sickness in Maternity Leave, it’s essentially a
MacGuffin so that we can learn more about her own character. There’s also the fact that a lot of what goes
on doesn’t make much sense in the context of Desmond’s actions. He says he
catches the bird to save Charlie’s life, but the only reason Charlie would have
had a need to go after the bird in the first place is because Desmond scared
them off with his gunshot. (Then again, perhaps that is the nature of Desmond’s
flashes; as we’ll see the rest of the season, they are only giving him a potential
version of reality.) The viewer also knows very well this is a fait accompli
before it starts; considering everything that we’ve seen the last two seasons,
the idea that a tagged bird might somehow save the Losties is ludicrous even
compared to the button and the smoke monster. The larger point is that it is
being done because it’s a parallel to what is going on in Claire’s flashback:
she is trying to hold on to hope rather than fear. Her brother (as we now know) would have
called it false hope, but her father said (once) that it’s still hope. Considering that she is trying to project it
to Charlie, who has every reason to think he is doomed, that may be the best
anyone can have right now.
Of course the viewer is willing to
set that aside for the final two minutes. Because our party has finally made it
to the Barracks and soon it becomes clear that the most shocking thing is not
the bicycles or the people walking around but Jack…playing football…with Tom!
No wonder everyone thought he was brainwashed; two weeks ago, he kidnaps you
and now you’re his best friend? Sadly we never get this particular issue
resolved. But given what we learn and watch in the next episode, it is very
hard to complain.
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