Claire

I have to say that the first four episodes of Season 4 have definitely delivered - we may not be getting all the answers we are looking for, but you can definitely feel that the storytelling is moving forward at a much more rapid pace than in past seasons. There was a lot of really great commentary associated with the episode post, and here are a few things that caught my eye:

*Could Miles Be Ben’s Man on the Boat?

-This is something I did not initially consider, but thanks to reader adriennez for bringing this to light. The exchange between Ben and Miles was extremely peculiar, as many of you noted in regards to the precise amount of money that Miles is looking for - $3.2 million:

Miles was the one who talked about using a secret code with Naomi when we first saw him…the whole “tell my sister I love her” thing. I think when Ben said “why $3.2 million, why not $3.3 or $3.4?”, that he was confirming whatever message Miles was trying to tell him. Mile also said that Ben had 3 days and Ben said that he needed a week, which Miles agreed to. I think this was more code talk.

I still think it is more likely that Michael is Ben’s man on the boat - but perhaps that is a unlikely scenario given that the freighties are probably well aware of the identities of those people who were on Flight 815. Something to consider…

*Is that really Claire’s Aaron?

-I am kind of torn on this one - Lindelof and Cuse typically chide the fandom for over thinking some of the stuff they blatantly put out there for us, but I am not 100% sold that the Aaron we saw in the future is Claire’s son. I’ll give you two scenarios I think are within the realm of possibility:

1) My too much time to think Scenario: Something bad happens to Claire and Aaron - Kate is pregnant with Sawyer’s child and ultimately names him Aaron in some weird homage to her Lost-mates. This could also explain why Jack has such a hard time seeing the child - because it is Sawyer’s and because in the future he knows that Claire/Aaron were related to him and he is having a hard time dealing with whatever happened to them. I know this is a bit far reaching…

2) My more plausible Scenario: Something bad happens to Claire and it ultimately has something to do with a decision that Jack made - or, Claire has to give Aaron up for some reason (either she is compelled to stay on the Island, or Aaron is taken from her for some reason). Jack laters finds out Claire was his sister and it makes things even worse. Kate takes custody of Aaron and Jack cannot get over what happened to Claire - hence his unwillingness to see the child.

*The Oceanic 6 (of 8)

-Many of you, like myself, found Jack’s testimony at Kate’s trial extremely interesting, partially because of his fabricated recollection of what happened, but more specifically that the the Oceanic 6 were the Oceanic 8 at some point - it will be interesting to see which characters they position as the two who did not make it (and, are these characters already gone, or will we see two major characters perish in the near term?).

Also, I do not think Aaron or Ben will be or should be considered one of the 6. Aaron was still in utero when the plane crashed (or conceived on the Island depending on which theory you subscribe to), but either way he would not have been listed on the manifest and therefore should be removed from consideration IMHO. We now know that Ben has the wherewithal to come and go as he pleases - and I am sure he finds a way to stay on his beloved Island.

*Kate’s Deal

-Stuck in California for 10 years? Sounds like foreshadowing to me, and at least we can fully understand why Kate was dismissive of Jack’s pleas to return to the Island at the end of Season 3. I imagine Kate will have a big decision to make at some point in the next couple of seasons - related to whether she will jeopardize her freedom to make an attempt to return to the Island.

Finally, I wanted to reiterate the need to be congenial in the comment section associated with the posts. Given the level of post-show activity we see, it can be difficult to thoroughly follow and read through hundreds of comments - the problem is further exacerbated by the timing delays that can be seen when a ton of people are trying to post at once. We have a lot of loyal readers who contribute and I would hate to see anyone alienated. Please try to follow the rules we have set forth:

*Read all comments before commenting. If something has already been said, there is no need to say it again.
*Stay on topic. If your comment is about last week’s episode it belongs in that comment thread. Search and find the right post.
*Be constructive, don’t complain about Lost unless you want to discuss your complaint.
*No spoilers or discussion of episode previews.
*Be kind and helpful.

I am looking forward to Thursday night!

Last week’s Lost episode “Enter 77″ was quite heavy on the mythology as Kate, Sayid, Locke and Rousseau found and captured Mikhail Bakunin, the man formerly known as “patchy”.

In tonight’s Lost episode titled “Par Avion” which is French for “By Airplane”, the A-team continue their journey to save Jack from The Others. On the beach we’re getting back to the relationship between Claire and Charlie.

This is the official description of tonight’s Claire centric Lost episode:

Spoilers

Claire becomes suspicious of Charlie when he exhibits peculiar behavior after she comes up with an idea that could get everybody rescued. Meanwhile, tensions mount between Sayid and Locke as they continue their trek to rescue Jack, on “Lost,” WEDNESDAY, MARCH 14 (10:00-11:00 p.m., ET), on the ABC Television Network

As always, please feel free to discuss the episode, but take a good look at the commenting guidelines since they have been updated.

Well, LOST is at it again… another episode with great writing (definitely not a show for people who need immediate closure). Everyone’s got their opinion on the new baby’s paternity (if there is a baby, that is?? Widmore Labs, hmm…).

The best way to approach it is by listing the possibilities if Sun truly is pregnant:

1) Sun had an “immaculate conception”
Not in the Virgin Mary sense, but just without any human carnal relations… it’s totally “magic” in this case, with no scientific basis. That part depends on how much you think this series is fantasy-based, and how much is grounded.

2) Sun was impregnated by Jae Lee (”Baldie”)
This would be a preflight affair. The scene that “looked like” it was about to play out on the show… but as we know, few things are as they seem with LOST. Also, this would involve her being 2 months pregnant, and not showing signs and symptoms, hmm.

3) Sun was impregnated by someone else, such as post-island encounter
IMHO, not likely for her character, or her culture, where it is not common for women to have casual flings with near-strangers. Also, she now seems in love with Jin, and has no close ties to any man on the island.

4) Sun was impregnated by once-infertile Jin, who was “cured” by the island
I think I could buy into this, because first off–there is no true “0%” for male infertility without other genetic issues, it’s just a matter of a “low, close-to-0%” probability. This is an island where many things with low probability seem to be occuring; near-miracles, such as Locke’s sudden ability to walk after the crash.

5) Sun was impregnated by Jin, who never had fertility problems to begin with; and she was the infertile one that got “cured” by the mysterious island.
But the doctor said it was him, right? Well… my thoughts are, why should we believe that second scene where Dr. Kim accosts her on the street from his car, when we already think he lied once? That is pretty strange bedside manner, first off. Consider this scenario:

- Dr. Kim told them the truth the first time; Sun had endometriosis, resulting in her being the infertile one. She feels guilty she can’t provide Jin with children (important in Korean culture).
- He gets paid off or threatened afterwards to lie (the car scene), by Mr. Paik, who never liked Jin to begin with, and is setting a trap for his own daughter, Sun. She now falsely thinks she IS fertile, but ironically, still can’t conceive with Jin (who she now falsely thinks is infertile).
- Jae is also in on it (his family and the Paiks are linked already), and seduces her.
- She would not ordinarily cheat on her husband, but she considers it briefly, because she wants to give Jin a child and make their relationship whole again. She comes close (such as a kiss), but does not go through with it, and never sleeps with Jae. The plan has failed.

As for why Mr. Paik would go to such lengths, consider this. He never really approved of the union, or had some sudden change of heart when Jin asked for his daughter’s hand in marriage. What he wanted was a lackey, a mob hand he could control like a puppet. He got that, and now Jin is in the mafia, and won’t easily be able to get out. If Mr. Paik can break them up, by sending in Jae, I’d argue he has even more leverage over Jin, should he ever want to forgive Sun and take her back. Also, if he had tried to say no to the marriage in the early days, Mr. Paik would have risked their elopement, and he would lose control over both.

There’s no more reason to believe the second story the doctor told an than the first; this mirrors the situation with Claire’s psychic, where he said “There’s no other way except to raise this baby yourself”, and conveniently finds an adoptive couple in LA, then changes his mind.

It’s definitely a strange show, with lots of twists and turns. Same with Henry’s story–mark my words, if you are SURE of one scenario, you will likely be surprised. There are subtleties in every scene that raise questions of ambiguity, making “The Whole Truth” a very apt title.

Which scenario do you think is the most likely? (Or do you think she’s even pregnant?)

-Cecilia C., M.D.

You would think getting kidnapped and running around in the jungle on a LOST island would take up a lot of time, but Emilie de Ravin who portrays LOST’s Claire is also starring in a remake of the horror movie “The Hills Have Eyes“.

There is a pretty nice article about Emilie and the upcoming movie in the LA Times. Here is an excerpt from the article:

“I love well-done horror films,” De Ravin said. “There are a lot of horror films I dislike because I find they forget about the story and just go for the scare factor.” With “Hills,” she said, “there are some really visual shots that are so well done.”

Though the film, which is based on the Wes Craven classic, is set in New Mexico, it was produced in Morocco.

“It’s so insanely different than anywhere I had been before,” she said. “We shot in a very small desert town with barely any water around. The cheat was so perfect for the desert here in the States. The hills are so huge, you are a little more frightened there for some reason. Everything is a little more scary.”

Read the entire article.

Watch a trailer for The Hills Have Eyes

Update: Sci Fi Wire also posted an interview with Emilie on their site, check it out.

“I’m really interested to see, actually, for Claire, what goes on with how she’s going to deal [with the afermath],” De Ravin said. “I mean, obviously, something happened with these injections. It … isn’t visible now. I want to know what that is, that really interests me. So, OK, the baby’s not sick anymore, but what were they for and what did they inject her with?”

Possible Spoilers

When listening to the last official LOST podcast, I heard Damon and Carlton mentioned something interesting. Now, it may have been confirmed before, but this is what they said:

They are not on this island by random circumstance, they are not on this island because they are nice people. They are on this island because there are things in the pasts of all these characters that, you know.. are still being worked out…

This immediately got me thinking about the lists that the Others who attacked the tailies in previous LOST episodes where making, and what Goodwin told Ana-Lucia before she killed him - that the people who where kidnapped where “good people”.

Could this mean that Walt and Claire, who where both kidnapped are also “bad people”? And if so, what is it that makes these persons good or bad?

Was the plane crash and the survival of these persons fate, like Charlie spelled out on his knuckles in one of the first episodes?

Personally, I am now more convinced than ever that the plane crash and the survival of these exact characters was a controlled event and that each and every character is on the island for a specific reason or purpose.

What are your thoughts?

Potential Spoiler

Reuters writes:

Lost producer Touchstone Television has offered all original members of the large ensemble cast a substantial salary bump in exchange for an additional year to the actors’ current contracts. The studio’s pre-emptive offer would see the actors earn almost $80,000 each an episode next season, the show’s third, up from a range of about $20,000-$40,000 for most cast members this season.

All original cast members, including Matthew Fox, Evangeline Lilly, Josh Holloway, Naveen Andrews, Dominic Monaghan, Terry O’Quinn, Jorge Garcia, Daniel Dae Kim, Yunjin Kim and Harold Perrineau, have been offered the same deal and are expected to take it. Fox, who plays the pivotal role of Jack, is said to have earned an extra bonus of at least $250,000.

The really interesting part of the Reuters article is not the raises, but the fact that
The Hills Have Eyes star Emelie de Ravin who portrays Lost’s Claire is not mentioned among the original cast members who have been offered extended contracts.

Is this a miss by Reuters or have we seen the last of Claire?
As always, with Lost, you never know which character might get killed or get kidnapped by the Others but I hope Claire will stick around a while longer.