Some new information about the island --- or is it?
7.5
"Good"
The season is more than half over, and we've barely seen anything of Claire. She's been seen occasionally talking to Jack and Locke, and she was present in her problems with Charlie. This actually makes a little sense, because Claire's now become, for all intents and purposes, a s new single mom. She's been fussy, worried, nagging and somewhat hostile, and worse she has no one to turn to for guidance.. The only parent on the island is Michael (where is Michael, by the way?), and he's had no experience raising a child. So when she starts having nightmares and visions, it's no wonder that she wants to handle the problem, so she can get back to worrying about Aaron. Jack is the person to turn to, but right now, he's set up housekeeping in the hatch (we'll come back to that), and considering the last time she asked him for help regarding her visions, he told her there was nothing to worry about--- right before she was abducted.
So when Aaron starts getting sick, and Claire wants to find out whether the memories she's been having our real she turns to another person we've seen almost nothing off --- Libby, who we know has some experience as a psychiatrist. What happens next is somewhat confusing. It's possible that the flashback that follows is really about what happening while she was in the custody of the Others, but it's also possible that these are memories from before the kidnapping. For one thing, there is no whoosh before the beginnings of these flashes, which could mean they aren't really happening. For another, a lot of the things that happen did happen, but in 'Raised by Another'--- the questions about the prenatal care, the mobile of Oceanic planes was prominent in her dream, and the song 'Catch a Falling Star' could be a memory of her subconscious. Then again, we see Mr. Friendly (without his beard) and there's no way that she could have seen him before the kidnapping. Furthermore, Ethan is taking care of her like a doctor, which we will later learn was his profession. We will also learn that his actions with Claire did mesh with his continued presence (however, that information is unreliable).
Still, it's clear that Claire is desperate, which leads her to do something selfish, leaving her crying, sick baby with Sun (with no apparent formula either) and go out with Kate to find Rousseau, who kidnapped Aaron in the first place. Up until now, we've seen Rousseau as a partly crazy, but well meaning woman and as a deceitful enemy, but now it appears that she's been on the side of right all along. We see that Rousseau was trying to protect Claire, and that the scratches she received were defensive. We also learn the answer to the question how did Claire escape--- she didn't. One of the Others, a teenage girl apparently took her out against her will. Which leads to an important question: was this girl the Alex that was abducted from Danielle 16 years ago. In retrospect, the resemblance between the two women is striking, and they did call out for 'Alex' when the Others grabbed Kate. This mystery will wait for another day.
The sickness is actually a MacGuffin to have Claire make her really discovery--- another Dharma hatch. Depending on which episode, it's either the Caduceus or the Staff, but whatever it is, its purpose does seem to have something to do with medical equipment. However, like the Arrow, this one seems to have been cleaned out, and the vaccine that Claire hoped to find for Aaron is nowhere to be found--- if it was there in the first place. Furthermore, Danielle doesn't find what she was looking for either--- there's no sign of anybody.
Meanwhile, back in the hatch, Henry seems to have become a symbol of the tension between Jack and Locke. Just like he did when they found the hatch, Jack has unilaterally decided that no one else is going to learn about Henry, even though when Locke asks him if he has a plan, it's clear that he's improvising, and has no idea for long term plans. This becomes clearer when Eko comes into the hatch, sees Henry and insists on talking to him. The scene between them is really intense, and though he does all the talking, it's clear that Eko, like Sayid, is convinced that Henry is lying.
Our first sign that Henry is more than a man in a balloon comes when near the end of the episode. Locke brings Henry food, and they have a discussion about Hemingway and Dostoeyvsky, and he starts to play on Locke's vulnerabilities involving Jack (This might not take much, but still) it's a pretty good sign that he's not who he says he is) Still, the writers play it well, and Henry's expression in the last moment remains completely neutral.
There are certain elements of 'Maternity Leave' that make it a fine episode, mostly the fine work of Mira Furlan and Eko's monologue in the armory. Yet for some reason, this one isn't quite as strong as the last one. What we learn about Claire does seem to come in valid, and by now we all know that Henry is not to be trusted, but considering that the crisis that forms the episode is basically irrelevant (as are a lot of things that we see involving Aaron), it does seem like we're wasting a little time We still don't know what was in the vial (the Others seem to have access to a lot of drugs) or what made the water sour, or what made Claire so placid throughout her entire fabulous 'Other experience. But even in the short term, we don't seem to be making progress on some of the other stories or involving the other characters. It's understandable that episodes like this may have made viewers think that Lost was going through a sophomore slump.
My score: 7.2'moreless