I am so patting myself on the back, because I guessed back in season two (in "Two for the Road") that Claire was Jack's half-sister. It also explained why Christian Shephard's last act was to run off for Australia. I love it when plotlines come together.
So Claire had a goth stage, and did piercing and tatts for a living. (Maybe we'll find out in a future flashback that Claire gave Jack the rest of his tattoos.) Since Claire deliberately never learned Christian's name, it would be very difficult for Claire and Jack to figure out that they're siblings. But then again, Sawyer managed to figure out who Christian was. So there's precedent.
All this again speaks to fate, to someone pulling the strings even before the crash. Because how could both of Christian's children, living on separate continents and not even knowing each other's names, end up on the same flight to purgatory? Since Christian has also been in Sawyer's and Ana Lucia's flashbacks, I'm starting to think that Christian is, or was, somehow deeply involved with what's going on with the Island.
The white birds. Obvious symbolism. More interesting that Desmond is still actively saving Charlie's life, and Charlie is now listening to him. It was rather funny that Charlie was safer hunting boars with Desmond than picnicking on the beach with Claire. Although I wonder if Claire is more dangerous than we realize. She had just told her mother that she wished she were dead right before the car accident, after all.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the Island, our Island SWAT team finally arrived at the suburbs. Where the hell is Locke's head? He imploded the Hatch, blew up the Flame Station, and now he just killed Mikhail to test out the perimeter? He lied about the C4, too. He's been way too impulsive and dishonest lately, making him downright dangerous. Did he kill Mikhail because Mikhail was about to blow Locke's secret? Mikhail said, "I must be confused, because the John Locke I know was para..." Um, paralyzed. Which goes right back to all of this being fate. Mikhail knew all about them, pre-Island. They were chosen.
That final scene of Jack and Tom are tossing a football around and acting like friends looked bad, but Jack is good at faking it. I highly doubt that Jack would suddenly change sides after all he did to secure Kate's and Sawyer's freedom.
Character bits:
The Losties have been stranded for eighty days. I think that makes it December 11, 2004. Yes, we haven't even gotten to 2005 yet.
This one opened with a close-up of Claire's left eye. With much mascara. In a flashback. And then we got a close-up of her right eye when it shifted to the Island. Have we ever gotten two eye scenes in one episode before? Claire is also the first to get both a left eye and a right. Maybe symbolic of something. Finding out who her father was?
Speaking of eyes, Eric on the LostReviews list remembered that we saw a glass eye in the season two episode, "The Other 48 Days." Was it Mikhail's?
Claire's mother Carol was a librarian. Her angry aunt's name was Lindsey.
Claire and Charlie have a delightful couple friendship going with Uncle Jin and Auntie Sun. Five years from now, when Sun finally gives birth, they'll be able to do reciprocal babysitting.
Mikhail said that the man who brought everyone to the Island was a magnificent man. Jacob? Why did Mikhail want to die?
Bits and pieces:
— Yet another car accident. The next time I watch the entire series, I'm going to count them.
— This week, Sawyer was reading The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand. It's a famous book about an architect (based loosely on Frank Lloyd Wright) who blows up his own work rather than compromise his principles. Rand's basic philosophy revolved around the virtue of selfishness and the worship of capitalism.
— According to Mikhail, the purple sky event blew out the Hostiles/Others' underwater beacon, so they could go, but not come. I think that validates Dan's theory that the Island is in motion.
— One of Aaron's diapers was a t-shirt for Bondi Beach. That's in or near Sydney, I think.
— During the scene where Kate was going over the Pylons of Death, note that Evangeline Lilly did the stunt herself. Impressive athleticism.
— In the final hospital flashback where Claire was pregnant and blonde again, there was a man mopping the hallway who looked a lot like Matthew Fox. Was that deliberate?
— In this week's hair report, Claire's black hair was obviously a wig. Black nail polish, too. John Terry's hair looked longer than usual. Maybe he was filming something else and couldn't get it cut.
— "Par avion" is French for "air mail" or literally, "by airplane." Relating, of course, to the bird, but also to Flight 815. Did Claire and Charlie find some way to protect that note? Because I'm thinking the paper isn't going to last very long exposed to the elements as well as flying bird poop.
— Which reminded me of the busted radios, the unsuccessful messages in the bottle, as well as Bernard's SOS. It's not going to work, people.
Quotes:
Sayid: "What do you suggest? We shoot him like a dog?"
Locke: "No. I like dogs."
Locke: "Sorry."
Yep, just killed him. Didn't mean to. Oops.
Solid episode. Three out of four polar bears,
Billie
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Billie Doux loves good television and spends way too much time writing about it.
I've always thought of Claire as the slightly ditzy blonde. Lovely girl, but no real substance to her. My bad. Although I am tired of all the dark sides, Claire's was interesting to see.
ReplyDeleteThere was a fair amount of death or thoughts of death in this one. Claire was wishing her mother were dead directly before the accident (is she like Walt in that wishing makes it happen?); Christian was saying that the had a way to help Carol die; Mikhail does die (rather gruesomely); Desmond is still keeping Charlie from dying (that Claire now accepts).
Bondi Beach. That's in or near Sydney, I think. Technically, a suburb of Sydney, but within shouting distance. Not the most beautiful of Sydney's beaches, but certainly the most famous. It's known for its backpacker rooms, surfing and good, cheap beer (not that I could personally attest to the latter...)
Sayid's expressions when Locke seems to be going quickly off the rails are hilarious. I wish the writers gave him a bit more to do, other than react to other people.
ReplyDeleteTotally weird thing I noticed on my rewatch of this episode: I think that Mira Furlan wasn't there for all of the days they filmed the Locke/Sayid/Kate trek into the jungle with Mikhail.
ReplyDeleteThere are a huge number of shots of just Locke, Sayid, and Kate. Sometimes there's a glimpse of Danielle from a weird angle--at the pylons, we see Danielle's lower hips and knees, but nothing else. When they approach the barracks, we only see the top of Danielle's head, and her hair looks glossier than it usually does.
That's a completely bizarre thing to notice, of course. It's not even a complaint. I just wonder why they included her in so much of the script if they couldn't shoot footage of her for the required number of days.
I noticed too that Danielle kept disappearing and reappearing during the hike to the barracks. I just kept assuming she had run off or something (she does like disappearing into the jungle).
DeleteLocke's behavior is absurd and funny,he's on own another dimension yet.Michail is scary and mysterious,Sayid is smart and sharp,Kate is brave and so eager to rescue her doctor.
ReplyDeleteSurprise:Christian Shepard is Claire's daddy too!
Aaah finally, best ending of Jack playing football, Tom's little jig. I just love their reactions
ReplyDelete