Lost recap #5.5: Raised by Another
Season 1, episode 10
Hero of the episode: Hurley Zero of the episode: Ethan
Quote(s) of the episode: “I know I already talked to you, but I just wanted to get away from him for a second.” – Hurley to a random survivor after getting freaked out by Locke
Music vibes: creepy, starting with Claire’s sinister dream
Little things: Kate standing in the sand and enjoying sinking with each crash of the waves. | Charlie offers to be Claire’s friend.
Episode notebook:
Another opening eye shot, this time it’s Claire. She’s dreaming about a baby. She’s no longer pregnant in the dream, this is turning into a nightmare. She’s running, trying to find the source of the crying.
A screaming Claire awakens everyone in the caves. She’s hurt her hands. How?
Flashbacks to Claire’s past. She and her boyfriend, Thomas, were broke. A baby is the last thing they need, but Thomas convinces Claire to go through with the pregnancy.
Claire visits a psychic. He sees something wrong but doesn’t tell Claire. I’m wondering if this is the same person Rose visits in a later season? Not sure about that one.
In the present, Claire’s dreams get worse. She insists someone tried to attack her. Jack thinks it’s all in her head.
Hurley decides to start a “census,” a list of everyone who was on the plane. The survivors don’t know each other and it’s time they do. This is when we start to doubt Ethan.
Jack tries to convince Claire that it’s all in her head, which she rejects.
Thomas leaves Claire, what’s she going to do now? Adoption.
Before flight 815, Claire goes back to the psychic. He pleads for her to go with his plan for the baby. This plan involved Claire being on flight 815.
Sayid returns with Danielle’s warning.
With a suggestion from Boone, Hurley starts to cross-reference his list with the flight manifest. Someone wasn’t on the plane!
Episode recap: Claire is having a doozy of a nightmare. She’s no longer pregnant and someone is running through the jungle with her baby. She follows the sounds to a crib. A crib filled with bloody sheets. Yuck! That’s also the moment Claire cries out in pain and is finally shaken awake by Charlie. This can’t be good. The impending birth of her child should be a happy time, instead, it’s become a nightmare.
Claire has been a bit of a mystery. She’s eight months pregnant (who let her on a plane). She’s a sweet person, who was thoughtful enough to hold a memorial service for the other passengers. But clues into her past have been lacking. “Raised by Another” is the first episode to focus on Claire.
In the past, Claire wasn’t thrilled about becoming a mother. A baby’s not part of the plan, especially when she and her boyfriend, Thomas, can barely take care of themselves. But Thomas insists they are both up to the challenge, eventually convincing Claire to keep the baby. The future is bright, right? To see what her future holds, Claire, who is super into astrology, consults with a psychic. However, the psychic can’t allay her fears, insisting that he can’t give her a reading. Hmm?! Everything’s fine, nothing to see here.
On the island, Claire’s nightmares are getting worse. She insists that someone has attacked her. Someone tried to harm her baby, prompting Hurley to take stock of his fellow survivors. Hurley realizes that they don’t know each other. They don’t know everyone’s names or where they’re from. Hurley starts taking names, his version of a “census” – confirming everyone was on the plane with the flight manifest. It’s not like anyone has anything to hide.
Jack’s on board with Hurley’s idea but isn’t convinced Claire was attacked. Perhaps some of this is in her head. It’s a stressful time, and maybe Claire is seeing things that aren’t there – an idea that she rejects. She bolts from the caves, insisting it was safer on the beach.
Prior to the crash, Claire was getting ready for parenthood, while Thomas was running away from it. The mounting responsibility was too much for Thomas. Now, he’s placing all the blame on Claire, despite his insistence that she keep the baby. It’s all unraveling, leading Claire to go back to the psychic. Can he see what’s ahead? He does but it isn’t what Claire wants to hear. The psychic insists that Claire must raise her child, despite her desire to put the baby up for adoption. Without Thomas’ help, Claire can’t do it alone. But the psychic persists, only Claire can protect the baby. Only Claire can keep the baby out of danger.
Months pass and the psychic continues to call Claire, almost to the point of harassment, telling her she must keep the baby. After months of ignoring the psychic, Claire decides to listen. He has a plan, for Claire to fly to Los Angeles on flight 815, and give the baby up for adoption to a couple there. Months and months of calls, and now he wants Claire to give up the baby? Or did he see the crash, and know this was the only way to get Claire to keep the baby?
The island has some kind of pull. Every passenger who was on that plane needed to come to the island for some reason. But what if there was someone who wasn’t on the plane? An imposter among them. The episode certainly ends on that sentiment. What would a stranger want with the survivors – especially Claire? Please come back next for episodes eleven and twelve.
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