Lost 2.15: "Maternity Leave"

Written by Dawn Lambertsen Kelly and Matt Ragghianti
Directed by Jack Bender

In which Aaron becomes afflicted with an unusual illness, prompting Claire to remember moments from her abduction by Ethan weeks earlier, which leads to a search for a cure…


Status Report

The creators of “Lost” have gotten a lot of criticism for not answering lingering questions, and one of the most cited examples has been Claire’s disappearance and return in the first season. This episode not only addresses that time period, but also links it to the hints in “Exodus” regarding Danielle. In the process, the writers actually reveal more about Dharma and the Others, which was not necessarily something that the audience could reasonably expect.

Obviously this episode revolves around Claire and her experiences in the first season, and it actually makes a great deal of sense. The writers confirm that Ethan was sent to the survivors’ camp to make up a list, much like what happened with the AnaLucia Tribe during their ordeal. One would expect that the list would have identified the “good ones”, and they would have been abducted and taken to wherever the abducted people go.

Once Ethan was identified (or rather, he knew it was coming), he took Claire with the intention of taking Aaron when he was born and disposing of Claire. That process, however, required Claire to be drugged and disoriented, so that she would trust Ethan and the Others with her baby. This ties directly into her first flashback, because now the psychic’s warnings are placed in context.

The mobile with the Oceanic planes are a big hint that the airline was controlled by Dharma, thus suggesting strongly that the crash was fabricated for the purposes of dealing with the survivors. The fact that the Others are faking the appearance of stranded survivors themselves is an indication that connections to the outside world still exist, and that in turn makes it very possible that the passengers on Oceanic Flight 815 were identified by Dharma personnel beforehand and seated in specific areas for a purpose.

The medical facility (probably abandoned after Claire’s escape) may be one of the other Dharma stations mentioned in the orientation film. In that case, it would be interesting to determine whether or not the medical symbolism connects in any way to the hieroglyphics presented in the previous episode. Whether it does or not, the preparations in the facility echo the elements of Claire’s dreams in “Raised by Another” and strongly suggest that the facility was prepared with the medical suite and nursery specifically. In other words, it wasn’t a general medical facility, but one designed for the purpose of extracting and observing a child born after being injected with the vaccine.

This lends credence to the idea that there is, in fact, a viral agent that Dharma considers a threat, though it may be more or less contained to the island itself. Suddenly Danielle’s stories about the survivors from her scientific expedition don’t sound so crazy. This also fits in well with the possibility that the strong electromagnetic field within the heart of the Swan Station is a primitive containment field. If the virus does exist, then the question is: has the Dharma Initiative been used to keep the threat secret and contain it?

If that’s the case, then the need for constant maintenance of the system doesn’t make sense. So the situation is probably a bit more complicated. The virus itself could be real, but might only affect people on the island itself. The point might have been to study individuals under extreme crisis in an environment that fosters that extremity. The fact that the Others are connected to Dharma and seem to be faking their “survivor” status strongly suggests that they are there to apply a constant external pressure on their selected “test subjects”.

Aaron’s difficulties could have been exactly what Jack suspected, but a more sinister explanation could present itself. The symptoms of this unknown contagion are somewhat difficult to pin down, but there’s reason to believe that some of the survivors have already begun falling prey to the initial hallucinatory effects. Aaron’s condition might have been the result of the vaccination; he could have been infected by the contagion and the fever was the result of his bolstered immune system purging it.

This episode also continues to suggest that Henry is one of the Others. For one thing, Eko seems rather sure, because if he feels that confessing to Henry regarding his killing of two Others will be meaningful, it’s quite possible that he believes that he’s confessing to one of the Others. (And if he has some concept of why he might have been grabbed in the first place, he may be sorry that he didn’t let himself be taken!) Far more indicative is his discussion with Locke at the end of the episode. Henry deftly twists the knife in Locke’s gut, pushing Locke to question Jack’s leadership role even more. It’s all likely to come to a head soon; the shift from “complication” to “resolution” within the season arc should be taking place through episodes 16-18 (based on a 23-24 episode season).

This episode is also notable for expanding the context for Danielle and her motives. She seems to have three goals, and they fall in exactly this order: self-preservation, finding Alex, and helping the JackLockes. She goes along with Claire in this episode because she hopes to find and rescue Alex, and instead, she helps Claire learn more about what happened to her. In the process, she also learns that Alex may be alive (in fact, there’s every reason to think so), and that alone was probably worth the time and effort.

Other items of interest take place. Locke continues to get closer to Claire and Aaron, and given the fact that he’s searching for some sense of meaning in what has happened since the hatch was opened, that’s probably not a good thing. (Speaking of Locke, his choice of reading material for Henry is rather interesting, given one of the more famous scenes in the book!)

Sawyer’s role is still not very well defined, but it certainly places him and Kate in an awkward position. In this episode, there’s the first indication of how he intends to use his clout, and while it’s relatively benign in this case, there’s no reason to think that it won’t get nasty in short order. If Locke begins to take another questionable turn, how will he deal with Sawyer?

Given that this is really an episode devoted to Claire and how her experience on the island meshed with the psychic’s warnings in “Raised by Another”, the question is whether or not the explanation pays off expectation. In this case (unlike, for instance, the explanation for Kate’s crime), the concepts mesh beautifully, and it all makes a great deal of sense. The answers may lead to more questions, but it feels a lot more satisfying this time around.


Final Analysis

Overall, this episode continues to build on the recent improvement and consistency, providing context to past events while advancing a few plot threads in the process. This is one of those rare occasions where questions are answered and the subsequent issues raised are largely satisfying. There’s a terrific momentum to the season now, and it’s quite welcome.

Writing: 2/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 2/4

Final Rating: 8/10

(Season 2 Average: 7.3)