u/Savings-Ask-1275

I did a bit curious reading of the first time watcher threads some months ago. There was not much interest in this episode, and it’s kinda normal I guess, it’s slow. there is no shock value traditionally. no hook either, I guess. so definitely not for everyone.

But it’s a one that has a personal value to me from day 1, and even though that’s my bias, I always thought if people watch the whole series and look back on this one, they may just find it more interesting or valuable or at least important. Here are some of my favourite examples about how this episode sets up many themes and how it connects to the rest:

- It sets up Locke's fascination about the island and his arc. The words "crazy people think they are getting saner" and "this place is special" means a lot for the rest of the story.

-Locke talks about the "eye of the island" which then appears to be a real place in later seasons.

-It sets up Jack as he breaks down when he sees things he can’t understand or have a grasp of. In first 4 episodes before this, he rather holds it together good, until he sees the coffin empty and he can’t explain anyhow. Then he cracks for the first time.

-Jack smashing the coffin begins this story in White Rabbit. In season 6, the last episode of him "Lighthouse", Jack smashing the mirrors ends it. Right after that, he is ready to accept the unexplainable.

-Jack being manipulated by MiB to fall from an edge of the cliff in "White Rabbit". In The End, he ends up pushing MiB from a cliff instead.

- And of course "if we can’t live together, we’re gonna die alone" connecting to the end, when he almost dies alone (and maybe he fears it) then Vincent doesn’t let it happen.

I'm not gonna mention how the ep sets up father&son and many other themes, and how emotionally reflective it is for me (it's actually my fav episode so I don’t wanna go there)

I wanted to randomly write these connections from White Rabbit to the later story. And I think these connections and juxtapositions, which all seem so natural, lets the writing deserve yet another praise.

I have kept the spoiler from my title to abide the sub rules, i hope it’s ok cause i'm curious for a little discussion about this.

on latest rewatch, I’ve been thinking about how differently Christian might have affected Claire if he had stayed in her life, especially considering how deeply he effected Jack.

Even though there is not much material about Claire and she seems to be the most random person, I could interpret her personality more on rewatches: insecure, emotional, fearful, doubting, maybe avoids attachments, a rather passive girl who is not much of a decision maker, but still tries to help the group in some ways she can. If I’m wrong about any of these, that means she is even more of a potential as a more complex character.

And knowing about Christian's fatherhood: bullied and insulted his son for one reason or another, tried to make it better when it's too late, but he also helped his son get to know himself in few moments. Most interestingly, he knew about his son’s personality better than anyone ("Commitment is what makes you tick. problem is you're not good at letting go"), and he  used this to manipulate him. Overall, it was a complicated relationship, with no black and white.

So i'm wondering what kind of a father would Christian be for Claire, if he stayed in her life instead of abandoning her? Would he also understand her personality and let her know and how? And how would all of that effect Claire, for better or worse? how would it change her as a mother and a survivor in the group?

I’m also curious to know , if Jack and Claire knew they are siblings, how would it change the entire story. Knowing Jack’s need of fixing things and commitment by nature, how would it effect him to have the responsibility of a sister the entire time? I think it would change his decisions on and off the island,  but to what extent?

 And for Claire,  if she was also on her way to bury her father, as well as giving up her baby for adoption. and had her brother by her side the entire time. Do you think she would be more involved in the story?

Lost is full of possibilities like this, I like to imagine Claire cause there is not much material about her, it’s fun to imagine the entire different story with her. Plus, I relate to Jack & Christian’s story a lot, and as someone who also related to some sides of Claire, it makes me curious how would it play out for her.

 Overall, do you think he would be a better father to Claire? and how would that change things for her?

 

 

When I think about the scene where Ana Lucia talks to Jack in the airport, I don’t think much about the flirting, teasing, romance etc etc. I'm not denying that it's all there. —it’s a tv show, after all !—But what really gets me that,

She just sees a stranger suffering in his lowest moments all alone , filled with immense regret, pain and guilt (and I feel like she sensed this) She just sees someone in need of help.

She then rushes to console him, or just be there. She is being kind without any hesitation. to a stranger she owes nothing to. without anything in return. She only says "the worst part is over" but like, she means it. And it’s kinda helpful for the grieving somehow, at least he feels better than before, or at least that’s the way I like to see it.

I was thinking of this "be kind to the strangers" action by Ana Lucia while on the flight. I'm not denying that the scene serves to create a new potential romance or flirting or whatever. but I don’t care much about that and I kind of see that this kindness went unnoticed, maybe because of the focus on that and the major plot so I wanted to mention this.

and when she says "the worst part is over" ,thinking of the whole context, it’s a bit heartbreaking or maybe bittersweet. Love that scene.

I'm not necessarily looking for shows with the similar genre or theme, but shows that get you invested in the characters as much as and in the similar way to Lost.

And that’s not about liking the characters, shows where they are so fleshed out and made real, and with great conflicts that you can go "Team Jack" or "Team Locke" and they are not enemies or something, just different people with different views, both have right and wrong points.

It's been a long time and I think I’m ready to get invested in the characters same way to Lost. I hope the fandom wars —if there are any— are easier though. Too old to take it like I used to as a young Lost fan lol.

Mindblowing performance by him.. I remember googling John Terry, %100 expecting a world famous actor with a lot of work that I missed.

It was shocking to see he was rather unfamous. And you get the football player instead…😂

But yeah, what a stellar performance, I felt like it was a real person.

I was listening to a podcast where they guessed, John Terry's charisma convinced writers to make Christian sympathetic against original plan. I don't agree with this, I think it was always gonna be a complex relationship, not pure black and white.

and btw I’m not a fan of Christian, I’m actually the opposite😬. I always judged him and thought he needed to be judged more by people, so i challenged myself to stay objective against my feelings and write this post instead.

Amazing actor. what was your favorite scene/ line delivery from him? mine was probably "all the best cowboys have daddy issues"but hard to choose.

Hey, long time Lost fan here. I remember asking this question where writers would take fan questions but got no answer. I want to ask again to see if there’s something I missed.

It was a big deal to me to find they are siblings. Also, a very interesting and intriguing context and build-up was there. Christian left Claire to feel like she is a mistake. He then bullied his son and never apologized sincerely, all of a sudden he appeared in Claire's life and wanted her back after destroying his son and daughter, in different ways. And Jack knew about Christian's affairs. Claire might have known about his son.

It is an extremely big trauma on both sides, something that effected Claire's motherhood, Jack's relationships etc etc. It was something they could help each other to recover, and let's forget about the trauma bonding, they could just be a great brother and sister duo. Jack could be an amazing brother, we see how he helped Claire many times in earlier seasons, even without knowing the truth. After the revelation though..

We only got one scene. It was decent I guess but it never sat right with me that it was all. And Claire wasn’t even there to say goodbye before he was dying.

I'm looking for a perspective I might have missed. And do people agree that they should have found out the truth earlier, like in season 3? it felt like a ruined build up to me. And that's unfortunate, do you think that it could be a great and interesting recovery story between them?