Official Discussion: 2x15 Maternity Leave

[Hollywood Heidi]

2x15 Maternity Leave

Original Air Date: March 1, 2006
Centric: Claire centric
Directed by: Jack Bender
Written by: Dawn Lambertsen Kelly & Matt Ragghianti
Summary: When Claire suspects Aaron might be sick, she sets out on a mission to find a vaccine, and on the way begins to unravel the mysteries of her past memories whilst kidnapped by Ethan on the Island. In the meantime, Jack and Locke are doing their best to keep their prisoner a secret from the rest of the survivors on the island. (tv.com)
Trailer:

 

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Discuss the episode! Below are some discussion points to get you started.  Feel free to simply copy and paste and insert your thoughts or write out your thoughts however you like.  Constructive comments make for better and more interesting conversations so feel free to elaborate and explain your thoughts, conclusions, and opinions.  Repeat Viewers, answer these as if watching for the first time or what your original answers would have been when you first watched:

What did you think of the episode?

What expectations or theories did you have that either ended up right or wrong?

Who was your favorite character in this episode and why?  Least favorite?

What scenes or situations did you like best?  Least?

What were some of your favorite quotes?

How do you rate this episode compared to the rest?


Repeat viewers
Be mindful of the first-time viewers and give fair warning of spoiler comments by putting spoiler tags (directions below) or at the very least keep them at the bottom of your post with a big texted SPOILER before it.

[spoiler]spoiler text[/spoiler]
What do you think of the episode now that you've seen the whole series?

Did you find anything new you didn't catch the previous time(s) watching?

[DarkSideCookie]

10 stars!! Hm?... what did you just say? There is only the possibility to give 5? Okay, 5 then. -.-

I enjoyed this episode so much!! It was so exciting and most of the time I sat with this face in front of my tv --> O__O

Sometimes also it went this --> T__T Lool

The directors are so heavy in let us change our opinion about a character! Just in the beginning of the episode I thought about how much I can't stand Danielle. And then after everything came out and during the talk between her and Claire about the young woman, who wanted to help her escaping from the Others, I suddenly felt so sorry for her and wanted to hug her. Had tears in my eyes in that scene... But I totally thought of Alex already before, when she was shown up in Claire's memorys.

I feel so extremely sorry for Henry and how they're dealing with him, even though I'm so much not sure, what to think about him myself. But it's like the actor is so freakin great and playing innocent, that, even if I don't believe he IS, he MAKES something in me WANTING to believe him!
Oh oh... an idea has grown up in my mind during the episode... In Claire's memory we saw Ethan and the other man talking about HE won't be pleased. So there probably is something like a boss in the Others group.
In the end scene with Locke (I loved that scene btw!) Henry seemed somehow being predominant to me, even though he still is their prisoner. So the idea is, Henry could be the Others' boss!! That would be such a Wow-effect to people, who still think he could be innocent! Oh man, Michael Emerson is just too great to decide for what should I believe myself!!! xD (As he is in "Person Of Interest". )
Also loved the Eko/Henry talk!! And I so wasn't sure about what Eko wanted to do with him! Again this --> O__O on my face, when he took out his knife, before asking Henry forgiving him. First I though he maybe would threat Henry and then I though he would plan to kill himself and then, that he would pretend to kill himself (whysoever xD)... Crazy thoughts, right? And Henry looked like being more afraid of Eko than of Sayid before. xD I bet, he probably was, and maybe wasn't of Sayid at all. If my theory about him being the Others' boss is going to be right.

I so liked Claire in this episode! Actually I liked her already always before. But in this one she was acting so brave for her baby! And her talk with the baby in the end made me cry again. ^^'
I was again like this --> O__O, when we saw Ethan in Claire's memory. But back to that moment I thought of him to have been her doctor in her past before the crash! But then I reminded myself, that this wouldn't be possible, as he even wasn't somewhere else than on the island. ^^ Anyway, the actor of Ethan did a great job again playing all scary and psycho-like, lol. Emily's acting as Claire on drugs was awesome as well. Somehow all of that scenes gave me goosebumps. Oh, and it was a real cool effect, when suddenly Claire was standing behind her past self and Ethan, watching the memory. To be honest, I've paused the scene first to see who was standing there and then was like "Ahhh It's Claire ^^."

Funny fact btw, that there is everyone on board, who is needed. A doctor, a priest, a psychiatrist. xD

Haha, always the button thing between Jack and Locke! Always makes me grin and somehow doesn't become boring, lol.

I caught myself looking angry again, when I saw Sawyer... Oh man, and I also caught myself to feel more affection to Henry now xD Above all if my theory could be right! Hehehe xDDD Y'know, I'm strange in that.


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Favourite quotes:

Jack and Locke discussing about Henry and what to do with him.
Jack: "If you've a better idea, let's hear it."
Henry from inside the cell: "How about you let me go?"

Locke: "And if the alarm goes off... don't tell him what it's for."
Eko: "What is it for?"

Locke brings some food to Henry.
Henry: "No cheeseburgers, huh?"
Locke: "No cheeseburgers. Bon appétit."

[Hollywood Heidi]

5 stars from me as well!!  Such a great episode and it's crazy to believe that there are episodes that are even BETTER than this one!  I can't wait until I get to see those again and until you get to experience them for the first time.  So crazy that we're still just scratching the surface!

Your post had all the same thoughts I had jotted down while watching it and probably the exact same thoughts I had when I first viewed the episode!  Michael Emerson is so amazing and it's because of his acting on Lost that I became a huge fan and decided to definitely check a new show that would be starting called Person of Interest.  That's a great show also, but that's a topic for another place.

Henry is so great.  I loved his dry sarcasm at the beginning.  Henry asking if they have any Stephen King books was a shout out to Stephen King, who is a huge fan of the show and was writing weekly articles in Entertainment Weekly about the show.

The range of all of Henry's scenes were so great!  The dry sarcasm at the beginning as I'd mentioned and then later, the expression on his face the entire time Eko was there.  When Eko first walked in, he had this amazingly comical wide-eyed look of fear and then just started, flabbergasted as Eko confessed to him and when Eko took out the knife, I had all the same thoughts flash through my mind as you!  Omg, he thinks Henry is lying and is gonna torture him worse than Sayid did!  *Eko brings knife toward himself* Omg, Eko's gonna slit his own throat right in front of Henry!  *cuts off two little beards* Wtf?  Lmao!  That was so great!  It's like he was purposefully not cutting those two strands.  They were a reminder of the two lives he took and now that he confessed to someone he thinks might be related to the two people he killed, he can finally be redeemed.  I think Eko is satisfied either way as he was able to confess to an outside party.

All the flashback scenes were so creepy!!  The quick jolts to them like we're being struck with the memory same way as Claire, that creepy sound, that creepy Ethan.  Did you notice that all the flashbacks took place on the island?  This is the first time they've had an episode that didn't include flashbacks from someone's life from before the crash.

There were so very many things in this episode that were treats for the hardcore fans like myself:
- The medicine bottle he fills the shot with has the numbers on them.  I think it's the same meds that Desmond was taking in the season 2 premiere.  
- Before we saw that the "doctor" was Ethan, we saw the "doctor" walking to the medicine cabinet, the keychain dangling is a Dharma symbol like on the wall so that was already a hint before we saw his face that this was on the island.
- The mobile above the crib plays "Catch a Falling Star" which is the song Claire asked the first adoptive couple to sing to the baby

Speaking of that symbol, this is apparently another of the 6 stations.  The Orientation film mentioned that the swan was station was station 3 of 6.  So we've seen 3 of the stations: Station 2: The Arrow (bunker where the Tailies hid and took shelter), Station 3: The Swan, and now The Staff (which we never find out the station number of but that's not a spoiler as the station numbers don't matter).  So that means there's got to be at least three other stations around that island.

Oh!!  And that locker Kate found.  The clothes looked oddly very worn but when she opened up that chest and found the beard and face glue and put it all together, it seems those aren't just clothes but costumes.  We got to see Mr. Friendly in Claire's flashback when he goes to talk to Ethan in the corridor and he's not wearing a mustache!  He looks clean, clean shaven, and wearing normal clothes.  Why the act with the survivors?  What in the heck is up with these Others?

I was so excited when the teenage girl first popped up in Claire's memory.  I was like, "Oh my gosh, is that Alex?  Could that be Alex?"  So crazy how excited I was as if I was Danielle finally seeing her daughter.  We suspected that she might be with them ever since that other ep when Mr. Friendly said "Bring her out, Alex!"  We wondered if that was THE Alex.  Now we see this teenage girl that looks like she could be the right age.  I really hope it's her!

The way Danielle's face softened when Claire spoke of the teenage girl who had helped save her was so heartbreaking.  I also got teary-eyed.  Right when Claire had first mentioned a teenage girl when they first found Danielle, you could see the expression on Danielle's face.  That expression that there was a chance of finding her daughter.  Of course she jumped right in with helping them.  Oh man, I so hope that's Alex and I so am looking forward to the possibility of them reuniting.  That would be amazing!

Henry.  I have to go back to him one last time with that very last scene.  Whoever he is, an Other, not an Other, he's definitely a very shrewd man.  He knew exactly where Locke's weak spot was and went for it in such a smooth, subtle way.  It was scary how good he was at that.  Is he really an Other?  Is the the LEADER of the Others?  Like you, that thought crossed my mind as well.  Is he really just some guy who crashed there just like them and is just trying to gain his freedom by playing them against each other?  Seriously, Emerson is so good and the writing so good that I think I change my mind about him a couple times an episode.  He is.  No wait, he isn't.  Wait...  Lol!  Such a wonderful rollercoater to be on and it's no wonder that we used the word "mindfuck" a lot when it comes to this show.  The writers are so very good at effing with our brains.


Favorite scenes/quotes:


The whole Henry/Eko scene, mostly because of Henry's facial expressions


Jack: (to Locke) If you've got a better idea let's hear it.
Henry: {faintly through the armory door) Why don't you let me go?


Eko: I wish to speak to him alone. Can you arrange this?
Jack: Why should I do that?
Eko: Because you wish to keep this a secret.


Henry: Are you the genius, or are you the guy who always feels like he's living in the shadow of a genius?
Locke: I was -- I was never very much into literary analysis.
Henry: I just don't understand why you let the doctor call the shots.
Locke: No one calls the shots. Jack and I make decisions together.
Henry: Right, okay. -- My mistake.

[Ariel]

Five stars for this great episode! Very well written, we got to see a glimpse into what really happened to Claire during the two weeks that she had disappeared. It was really neat to see the past events in motion in the remembering flashback, and then see her, Kate and Danielle visit the now abandoned medical center and recollect her memory and what was going to go on.



My favourite character in this episode was Claire. We got to see her gain back some of the memory she lost which is something the viewers had been waiting for ever since she got back. Her performance was perfection, you could really sense her true portrayal as protective mother, ruthless to do anything to protect her baby, even if it meant going back to a place that could potentially be dangerous. I loved the epiphany scene she had this episode that her and Aaron were truly meant to be together, it was very touching. Danielle's performance was awesome as well. I always thought she was just a crazy mad woman, until Claire was standing with her in the medical center and remembered that Danielle saved her life. From that moment, we see a more human side to Danielle and are reminded of the struggle that she still goes through with losing her daughter to the Others, especially when Claire talks about seeing Alex and lets Danielle know that she grew up to be one of the "good ones". Until we are reminded again in the last scene with Danielle that she is still crazy. The writers never cease to disappoint with the amazing multiple dimensions they exercise with each character. Least favourite character this episode was probably Ethan, just because as a repeat viewer, I know he's up to no good, especially in the memory flashbacks. And I cannot forget to mention the scene with Eko and Henry Gale, watching Henry's facial expression the whole time was quite entertaining as Eko talked to him and then took his knife out.




Favourite quotes from this episode:

Henry: "No cheeseburgers, huh?"

Locke: "No cheeseburgers. Bon appétit."

Claire: " Ya know, I wanted them to take you, but now I know, now I know that we're supposed to be together, you and me. We're supposed to take care of each other. Okay? You're mine and I love you, I love you so much."

(Queue the feels!!)