2.15 - Maternity Leave

Title’s significance: The mystery behind Claire’s “maternity leave” is finally answered (but in true LOST fashion, the questions it raises are far more interesting).

Recap: In a new twist on flashbacks, this episode’s set explain Claire’s abduction from Season One: as a doctor, Ethan treated Claire’s pregnancy in a full medical facility – The Staff – replete with a decked-out nursery. When Aaron falls ill, Claire begins to worry it’s the same illness that Rousseau worried about. She enlists Libby’s help in remembering her missing two weeks, while Locke asks Jack what the “long-term plan” is for Henry Gale. Meanwhile, Eko is out cutting trees and goes to The Swan to borrow a saw, noticing that someone else might be living down there. Kate and Claire go after Rousseau, who helps them find The Staff again. Claire then remembers that Alex – Rousseau’s daughter and one of The Others – rescued her from being killed by The Others. Curiously, Eko seeks confession from Henry. When Aaron’s fever breaks, all seems well, and Claire tells her baby that they’re “supposed to be together... to take care of each other.” Henry asks Locke if he’s “the genius or the guy who feels like he’s always living in the shadow of the genius,” but Locke dodges the question, especially when Henry tries to play Locke against Jack.

Thoughts: Even though it wasn’t written by wunderkinds Damon & Carlton, “Maternity Leave” was still pretty good, answering a question that I had almost forgotten about at this point in the rewatch. In typical LOST fashion, though, we get twelve questions for every one answer this episode delivers, and an eleventh-hour conversation between Locke and Henry lets us know that there is a larger game of “us vs. them” being played here (while also reminding us that Terry O’Quinn and Michael Emerson are the top dogs of the cast).

Favorite moment: The strange confession of Mr. Eko and the curious literary analysis undertaken by Henry and Locke.

Characters introduced (in order):

• ALEX, Rousseau’s daughter, living among The Others

What we learned:

• Claire’s memory loss might have been a psychological self-defense mechanism.
• Ethan is some kind of doctor.
• There’s a full-service medical facility on the island – a Dharma station called The Staff.
• Ethan was supposed to make a list of the survivors.
• Mr. Friendly’s beard is fake.
• Ethan claims The Others are “good people.”
• The Others were definitely interested in Claire’s baby.
• The whole “grizzly Others” thing is just an elaborate act.
• Alex, Rousseau’s daughter, is one of The Others and helped Claire escape.
• Claire scratched Rousseau when the latter was trying to keep her from calling out to The Others.
• Rousseau knocked out Claire while rescuing her - a possible source of her amnesia.

Questions:

• Why is Eko cutting down the trees that he marked as trees that he “liked”?
• What was The Staff’s original function?
• Where did all the things in Claire’s nursery come from, and why couldn’t Ethan explain them?
• Why did Claire become so instantly trusting of Ethan?
• Are The Others members of The Dharma Initiative?
• Why were The Others interested in Claire’s baby?
• Why do The Others pretend to be all grizzly?
• Why doesn’t Alex share the agenda of The Others?

Things that are going to be important in Season Six:

• Pregnancy. ’Nuff said.
• Again, we get shades of this whole Claire/Aaron thing and the implication that there’s something larger orchestrating their destinies – Jacob, or something larger?