I know they're trying to keep us in suspense and everything, but didn't it seem wrong that NO ONE (except Boone) talked about starting another search party for Claire? Jack spent lots of time and energy digging up a grave and fighting with Kate, when there's a pregnant woman out in the jungle with no doctor! Jack sort-of mentioned something to Sayid, but Claire seemed almost like an afterthought to him.

Did I miss something here?

Welshmuse, you took the words right out of my mouth. It's disgraceful that absolutely no one cares about Claire.....I'm sorry, she's just "the pregnant woman", as if she's only a vessel to carry a child and not a person on her own. I love Sayid, but he disgusted me with just that one comment. It's not just Jack - though I'm pissed off that he cares more about a stupid case than a missing castaway.....who happens to be pregnant. No one else cares.....it's like, Claire who? This is a woman who cared enough to lead a memorial service for the people killed in the crash. Does anyone remember that? The writers really missed the boat here.I'm extremely dissappointed.

Well, Boone and Locke were looking for Claire (maybe via the metal thing, we will know next week).

Charlie was sad about Claire and was recovering from being (near) dead.

Jack, Kate and Sawyer were thinking about the metal case.

Sayid and Shannon were translating maps.

Everyone else was helping to move the camp.

So it is possible that Claire was kind of forgotten.

ugh, Claire is more important than Kate's little mystery (well, not to a lot of viewers, but if it was "real life") she was abducted by crazy island people who pretty much killed Charlie! and she's just about to go into labor. she has like, 5 times already! (exaggeration, I know) geeez. What selfish islanders.

Another thing that was weird about this--Hurley was frantic before about Ethan not being on the flight manifest and now he's making jokes about opening suitcases. If it were me, and a woman had been taken (particularly one who needs medical attention), and a guy had been hanged, I don't think I'd be thinking about anything else. Poor Claire!!

At least Charley was thinking about her.

I got the idea that it had been several weeks and they HAD been looking for Claire but now only Boone and Locke were still searching because the trail had grown cold. They wouldn't know that if they hadn't been searching to begin with. . Didn't someone say something about two weeks...???? Or has it only been a couple of days?

At least Charlie doesn't appear to be 'infected' which was a theory going around a few weeks ago.

Their attitude was a bit cavalier, I must say.

Maybe there are others looking? Search parties taking turns? There are 40 other people there, give or take.

Maybe I'm making excuses (okay, I am) but Sayid didn't have much to do with Claire so far, he didn't even attend the memorial. Or maybe he figured Shannon was so detached from everybody that she might not know Claire's name.

Um...most of the survivors may be unequipped to search for anyone as well as Locke can. These people all think that Locke and Boone have been out looking for Claire relentlessly, when in reality, Boone and Locke only care about that metal thing.

Those two are the ones with the problem.

They are actually LYING about looking for Claire.

Also, Sayid was gone a lot of the time and didn't come back until Claire had been kidnapped. He probably didn't really meet Claire and that's why he referred to her that way...

Stephanie

At least Charlie doesn't appear to be 'infected' which was a theory going around a few weeks ago.


Yes, that was definately a relief!!

Actually, I thought it made sense. It has been nearly a week since Claire's disappeared. They haven't been able to find her. They have no more trails to follow. No more clues to pick up on. One of the first things we see Jack asking Sayid about is related to Claire's disappearance and trying to figure out a way to find where she is--when he's asking Sayid to take him to the French woman, which Sayid refuses to do. He wants to talk to Rousseau because she might be able to help them figure out what's going on and thus potentially help Claire.

As unfortunate as it is, at this point they need to be pragmatic to a certain extent. There isn't really anything else they can do under the circumstances. It's got nothing to do with being unconcerned but with the survival of the people who are still there. They need to get everything off the beach. Jack was only concerned about the case because Kate told him it had guns in it(and he didn't trust exactly what else might be in it as he felt she was holding out on him), guns are not something to be running around the island unaccounted for. (And of course, let's face it they might need those guns if they do find out Claire's whereabouts).

This sentiment is being expressed all over the cyber world.

What if the girl about to give birth got kidnapped and four days later, no one cared?

And btw, it was said it was four days, not a couple of weeks. *And yeah, there was a throwaway line about the trail going cold, but for God's sake it's an ISLAND, meaning an infinite number of places they can hide her!

As for Sayid, he DID interact with Claire, and it should be something he feels indebted to her for. *She found and gave him the picture of Nadia when going through the fuselage stuff, remember? *Apparently Sayid did not remember that tonight when he talked Jack out of the most logical and reasonable idea yet - to start the search at the hideout of the CFW!

And even Charlie, who does care, disappoints me. *OK, he is traumatized and weepy. *But get over it son, and get your tail out there and search for her! *I hope he shakes off the cobwebs soon and takes some action. *Remember, he has some well earned guilt. *If he had left Claire at the beach, none of this would have happened.

Actually, I knew this was going to be a big problem when I figured out they were going to hold the Claire rescue ep for Feb sweeps. *But I thought these great writers would handle it a bit better than this ep did. *It's almost as if the great Ethan cliffhanger is working against them now that they have to put it on hold.

And no, every ep btw now and Feb does not have to CENTER on the search for Claire. *But they need to make it appear that the others care a bit more. *Every man for himself? *Maybe. *But every pregnant girl and every newborn child for themselves? *This is a bit harsh!

And Betsy, this may go back to something I have seen you ask the VIPs several times and never had answered: *is this another case where they badly underestimated the Claire-love among the viewers?

This sentiment is being expressed all over the cyber world.

What if the girl about to give birth got kidnapped and four days later, no one cared?

And btw, it was said it was four days, not a couple of weeks. *And yeah, there was a throwaway line about the trail going cold, but for God's sake it's an ISLAND, meaning an infinite number of places they can hide her!

As for Sayid, he DID interact with Claire, and it should be something he feels indebted to her for. *She found and gave him the picture of Nadia when going through the fuselage stuff, remember? *Apparently Sayid did not remember that tonight when he talked Jack out of the most logical and reasonable idea yet - to start the search at the hideout of the CFW!

And even Charlie, who does care, disappoints me. *OK, he is traumatized and weepy. *But get over it son, and get your tail out there and search for her! *I hope he shakes off the cobwebs soon and takes some action. *Remember, he has some well earned guilt. *If he had left Claire at the beach, none of this would have happened.

Actually, I knew this was going to be a big problem when I figured out they were going to hold the Claire rescue ep for Feb sweeps. *But I thought these great writers would handle it a bit better than this ep did. *It's almost as if the great Ethan cliffhanger is working against them now that they have to put it on hold.

And no, every ep btw now and Feb does not have to CENTER on the search for Claire. *But they need to make it appear that the others care a bit more. *Every man for himself? *Maybe. *But every pregnant girl and every newborn child for themselves? *This is a bit harsh!

And Betsy, this may go back to something I have seen you ask the VIPs several times and never had answered: *is this another case where they badly underestimated the Claire-love among the viewers?


McGuane, great post. I'd completely forgotten that Claire had given Sayid Nadia's picture. I guess the writers did too. Some appreciation the guy showed for her....and you're right about (1) only a few days having past since the abduction (Charlie's scars haven't completely healed yet) and (2) it's an island that Sayid has mapped out, at least somewhat. I must say that the island is not bringing out the best in these castaways. They just aren't trying very hard to search for Claire - I guess they figure she's an extraneous figure since she hasn't buddied up to anyone except Charlie.

I'm not sure what to think about the writers. They loved Emilie enough to make her a regular, yet Claire has been treated quite shabbily. We hardly see her, and she never interacts with anyone except Charlie. I'm sure this story had been written (the abduction, that is) prior to Emilie being made a regular, but that still doesn't mean that the castaways can't show concern for a fellow human being.

As much as I love Lost, I'm not sure I could continue watching if Claire is killed. I assume the writers haven't answered my Claire questions because they only way they could answer would be to give storyline away, but I do hope they realize how popular she is. Perhaps JJ, etc......didn't think fans would question the castaways' lack of concern. If that's the case, they miscalculated. Judging from this board alone, people are pretty peeved.

I think it would be hard to go and search for Claire. Yeah, it is an island, but there are dangers there. And if they did find her it would be even more dangerous. Whoever took her must be pretty tough. Also, they are unfamiliar with the island. As much as I like Claire (I think she is great and I want her to stay on the show), I would have to say that it would be hard to convince me that risking more people's lives would be any good at all.

Jessica

This sentiment is being expressed all over the cyber world.

What if the girl about to give birth got kidnapped and four days later, no one cared?

And btw, it was said it was four days, not a couple of weeks. *And yeah, there was a throwaway line about the trail going cold, but for God's sake it's an ISLAND, meaning an infinite number of places they can hide her!

As for Sayid, he DID interact with Claire, and it should be something he feels indebted to her for. *She found and gave him the picture of Nadia when going through the fuselage stuff, remember? *Apparently Sayid did not remember that tonight when he talked Jack out of the most logical and reasonable idea yet - to start the search at the hideout of the CFW!

And even Charlie, who does care, disappoints me. *OK, he is traumatized and weepy. *But get over it son, and get your tail out there and search for her! *I hope he shakes off the cobwebs soon and takes some action. *Remember, he has some well earned guilt. *If he had left Claire at the beach, none of this would have happened.

Actually, I knew this was going to be a big problem when I figured out they were going to hold the Claire rescue ep for Feb sweeps. *But I thought these great writers would handle it a bit better than this ep did. *It's almost as if the great Ethan cliffhanger is working against them now that they have to put it on hold.

And no, every ep btw now and Feb does not have to CENTER on the search for Claire. *But they need to make it appear that the others care a bit more. *Every man for himself? *Maybe. *But every pregnant girl and every newborn child for themselves? *This is a bit harsh!

And Betsy, this may go back to something I have seen you ask the VIPs several times and never had answered: *is this another case where they badly underestimated the Claire-love among the viewers?


They do not know where Claire is. *They do not know howmany others there are. *They do not know if they have weapons. *So they are trying the maps and Jack wants to talk to Delen.

We don't know that they don't know how many of "them" there are or if they have weapons or what direction "they" went in because . . . .

They dropped the freakin plot at the point where Charlie said "All THEY wanted was Claire." Now the logical assumptions that follow are that 1) Charlie did indeed hear or see something, else how would he know all they wanted and 2) Jack questioned him about how many, what weapons, etc.

I really want Charlie to stop being wimpy soon and take action. He is after all the only one who remotely cares.

Also, the not knowing what is out there and not risking more lives in the jungle argument does not wash with me. It sure doesn't stop them from frolocking about to the skinny dip pool, to the golf course, back and forth to the beach, etc.

I don't see any way to justify the shocking lack of concern for Claire. Except as Betsy said, this is a character they have consistently underused, kept isolated, underestimated the audience affection for, and generally not treated very well. I have a feeling this is something the writers were handed by higher ups, not something they would have chosen.

Betsy, I get fm your post that you are spoiler free, is that the case?

We don't know that they don't know how many of "them" there are or if they have weapons or what direction "they" went in because . . . .

They dropped the freakin plot at the point where Charlie said "All THEY wanted was Claire."* Now the logical assumptions that follow are that 1) Charlie did indeed hear or see something, else how would he know all they wanted and 2) Jack questioned him about how many, what weapons, etc.

I really want Charlie to stop being wimpy soon and take action.* He is after all the only one who remotely cares.

Also, the not knowing what is out there and not risking more lives in the jungle argument does not wash with me.* It sure doesn't stop them from frolocking about to the skinny dip pool, to the golf course, back and forth to the beach, etc.

I don't see any way to justify the shocking lack of concern for Claire.* Except as Betsy said, this is a character they have consistently underused, kept isolated, underestimated the audience affection for, and generally not treated very well.* I have a feeling this is something the writers were handed by higher ups, not something they would have chosen.

Betsy, I get fm your post that you are spoiler free, is that the case?


What do you want them to do? They know next to nothing and if they go they would problely get more people captured or killed.

Oh, maybe they could act like they care a bit that a girl on the verge of giving birth got snatched.

Or not. Having them not give a sh*t, even having them have a survival of the fittest mentality is one way to go. They could probably even have that be believable, given their situation. And then have Charlie, the one person who does care, be angry and frustrated that they are being so cold.

But they did not even bother to go there! I think for us, and what I am seeing from many other posters, is the total lack of any reaction or reference, other than a couple of throwaway lines.

It's also knowing from an offscreen perspective that its all just stall tactics until Feb Sweeps.

It shows.

Oh, maybe they could act like they care a bit that a girl on the verge of giving birth got snatched.

Or not.* Having them not give a sh*t, even having them have a survival of the fittest mentality is one way to go.* They could probably even have that be believable, given their situation.* And then have Charlie, the one person who does care, be angry and frustrated that they are being so cold.

But they did not even bother to go there!* I think for us, and what I am seeing from many other posters, is the total lack of any reaction or reference, other than a couple of throwaway lines.*

It's also knowing from an offscreen perspective that its all just stall tactics until Feb Sweeps.

It shows.

I just think that they do not know what to do and the fact the sea is rising has them pre-occupied.

I just think TPTB told the writers to stall and it is painfully obvious. And that's what has a bug up my butt.

Plus, I admit it, I really miss Claire!

I just think TPTB told the writers to stall and it is painfully obvious.* And that's what has a bug up my butt.

Plus, I admit it, I really miss Claire!


It may be a stall but with no info on where she is their is nothing they could do.

McGuane, I read all the spoilers I can get, actually. The more I know, the better....especially as it pertains to Claire's future. I think Claire will probably be ok from what I can tell, but then again, we've been warned not to get too attached to anyone. That's impossible for me, and I would guess, for most people. If the writing is good enough, most people will get attached to certain characters.

I don't mean to get on the writers too much. If this storyline was written prior to Claire being made a regular (and therefore, prior to everyone realizing what a gem Emilie is), then there's nothing they could have done about it. That is to say, the storylines were already in place and they couldn't be changed. That's fine and I kind of like the idea of Claire coming back, ready to give birth to this baby (who is destined to become an important figure). What they should have done, even if Claire wasn't going to be a regular, is to show that people do care for her and that she isn't a nobody. Whether it was Claire or Rose kidnapped, show some respect. As I type this, however, I'm coming to the conclusion that this kidnapping storyline was probably written after Claire was made a regular. Otherwise, why would the writers devote a huge plotline to some pregnant woman who we weren't going to see much of anyway? That makes this eppy worse (and again, I liked it for the most part) in that Claire is meant to be a regular, to be important to the show, and the others still don't care about her. I hope this makes sense. LOL it's almost midnight on the east coast and I'm getting tired.

I don't mind the writers underestimating how popular Claire has become; their main female lead was to be Kate, and who could predict that a girl with such a small role in the pilot would develop a huge fan base? The key is, what will they do with that knowledge? I know they've said that they have to write for themselves, not the fans (because they can't please everyone), but I think people will be truly peeved if something happens to Claire (and Charlie). I have to say also that, although I like Kate well enough, I automatically gravitated to the Aussie because of her sunny outlook and that wonderful accent. I generally do not favor the female leads in the shows that I watch. I'm not sure why

SPOILERS *********************


Thanks Betsy, for the reply.

Guess we have about beaten this dead horse to a second death. But many throughout the cyberworld are agreeing that it was just weird and unsatisfing to have the Claire kidnapping dropped so suddenly, and downright disturbing to have the other survivors care so little.

As someone hilariously pointed out on another board, you would look for your DOG longer than four days, even if you had no idea where he went!

Of course we will never know the backstage ins and outs of why they value EdR enough to give her Sweeps and Cliffhangers, but yet only include her in half the eps. Like you, I just hope it gets fixed in the second half of the season.

Since you are into spoilers, and the reason I asked, we now know for sure she will be in the "Homecoming" ep from those Dom backstage videos that were on Extra or whatever. Just before the ones of her and Dom rehearsing a scene there is one of Kevin Hooks directing that scene. Guess what? He's the director of "Homecoming".

After tonight, I'm pretty convinced that when she comes back, the baby will have already been born. Off camera. Since they said tonight four days had pass, logical to think by the time three more eps pass, it will be a week or two later. Don't think she would have lasted that long. I'm now specing that baby is born, "Others" take it, and let her go. I wonder if viewers will feel cheated - like they did tonight - to have the birth occur off camera?

Then on to the Charlie/Claire quest to find the special child that she must raise.

I think alot of people are missing the point too. It's not just about Claire.

If I'm on that island, and there is someone/s capable of kidnapping TWO fullgrown adults AND does so- that becomes my priority after food and water. MY personal wellbeing and safety are now at risk. She was attacked in the middle of camp for crying out loud.

These people have food(Locke & his knives), water, and shelter at the caves. There is no reason for them to give a crap about the people at the beach, the beach people can move their own belongings. It is irrelevant to them if the beach erodes, they don't need that stuff anyways.

However, there is every reason to care about what happened to Claire since it could still happen again to any of them. And if everyone thought Locke & Boone were looking for Claire, Charlie would just sit on his *** and not join? That makes no sense. Until they map that island, they have no reason to believe they can't find and catch up to someone burdened with dragging a very pregnant woman around. So all the cave people at least should be involved in an organized search for her. First stop, as pointed out earlier, is obviously the Frenchwoman-the only other nonplane person on the island. This stuff writes itself, it's insane that they didn't go this route. They could have had Kate find the case while searching for Claire. The rest of the case stuff could have happened as they had a 'shift change' of searchers, with Kate, Jack, and Sawyer going back to the caves for rest.

Whether they planned on Claire being a regular or not, the episode was poorly thought out.

Read the regular board, though. LOL everyone is gushing about the eppy and almost no one mentions Claire. Maybe it's because the writers will see it and they are afraid of turning them off by being honest?

I figured Claire would be in Homecoming, but I didn't know that there were videos to prove that. Darn, I missed it. Thanks, though, for the tip! The name Kevin Hooks sounds familiar; has he directed anything before?

I could have sworn that one of the writers once said "wait until the baby is born", or something like that, a comment I took to mean that we would get to see the birth. I have to admit that I would feel cheated if this happens offscreen. I have an emotional investment in her; why should I (or any other Claire lover) be deprived of this moment? Emilie has gotten very little press attention (enough Evangeline already- nothing personal, though), despite her amazing performance in "Raised"; it's about time she does.

Gameoverman, great post. I completely agree with you. It seems the writers copped out, thinking no one would notice that no one looked again for Claire......wrong!

I don't think that in the context of the whole situation Claire is the most important thing happening. It's a bit pretentious to state that Claire is being forgotten just because you as a viewer seem to place your focus on her only. That being said, there is also no evidence that the writers are trying to minimize the importance of Claire, after all two people (Boone and Locke) are dedicatedly supposed to be searching for her (although we know this isn't really true, since they are secretly trying to figure out what they've found on the jungle floor)

[b]Gameoverman - great post and how true. Even if they feel zero attachment to Claire, having a kidnapper/murder wannabe afoot should be uppermost on their minds for their own selfish reasons!

And once again, I think even the Clairecentrics could have accepted her not being the focus of the show, but could not accept her being pretty much an afterthought. There is middle ground there, but the show chose not to stand on it. Didn't have to bring her home held high aloft on the shoulders of minions, but didn't have to practically ignore her plight either. A very strange choice IMO.

Similarly, and for the thousandth time, we are not asking for EVERYTHING to be tied up in a neat package every ep. And I really get irritated at being dismissed as a shallow dumbarse for wanting even some linear occurance and closure. That's just too simplistic and dismissive, but let's not go there again this morning.

Finally, hey Betsy, you are going to love this answer to your question. Hooks has directed on other ep - White Rabbit. Gave us one of the best Charlie/Claire scenes. I just hope that in a month when "Homecoming" airs, people still care.

Boone and Locke are searching for her in a roundabout way as they think the 'thing' in the jungle is connected to her.

I think the idea is that we viewers have thrown the writers a bit of a loop. Kate/Jack and Sawyer were supposed to be this 'grand' romantic triangle and the Charlie/Claire ship a thing on the side to add a bit of pathos or something. How would they know that we would like the chemistry and acting AND the actors in the minor pairing so much? That those two would generate so much chatter and heat? So now they have to do something about it or a great deal of viewers will just...leave.

I really do believe that the others islanders just do not CARE about Claire because they are so focused on their own survivial. I have been in a life and death situation and your mind goes into 'survival' mode and everything else just shuts down. That is where I believe the other survivors are right this minute. If they were back home in the real world and a pregnant lady they knew went missing they would help but out there where there was danger everywhere...someone else can play the hero..

And they have only been there a few weeks. They are not as emotionally invested in each other the same way we the viewers are attached to them. They don't know each other's back stories. They are just a bunch of strangers thrown together. *Why should I go risk my life for someone I barely know? *We would like to see them all band together and all that but I just don't think they as a group have reached that point yet.

I am with elfdream.

I, too, love Claire and it does seem like they don't care about her but they do appear to think Locke and Boone are looking for some trace. If I believed them I would assume they would let me know if they found some trail and then there would be something I could do. In the real world they would organize and form a line to search but that is not practical here with little idea of direction and polar bears and the Iron Giant (monster) lurking.

Their situation is one that requires a lot of work on a day to day basis. To take a number of people away from that to look for one person, reguardless of who they are, is not sensible. They don't know where to look or what to do. And if Sayid doesn't tell them about Danielle's location (lets remember she is armed, too) they can't start there.

Sayid had about 30 seconds of interaction with Claire. He barely looked at her. He was focused on the letter. Not flattering to him but true and we know his main focus is getting off the island.

Taking care of the majority (even the beach people) is more important. As to Charlie not doing more, I'm sorry, what he went through only weeks after getting off drugs and being in a plane crash is asking a lot for anybody. He is not a strong person (yet) and shock is not so easily shed( however other tv shows may protray).

A little more verbal concern would be nice but their first priority has to be the group.

Again, Sawyer and Kate are thinking the other two are looking and will let them know if they can help so taking a swim (playing hooky) isn't that odd a behavior. Short of sitting around looking worried, there is not much useful they can do.

Now that they have guns (from the briefcase) I think they would be a pretty damn good match against Ethan... so what are they waiting for? (Don't you just love how you think that if your favorite TV show was real life-how much better off they'd be if you we're there.) LOL.

Now that they have guns (from the briefcase) I think they would be a pretty damn good match against Ethan... so what are they waiting for? (Don't you just love how you think that if your favorite TV show was real life-how much better off they'd be if you we're there.) LOL.


If they could find Ethan and he didn't sneak up on them and he is not better armed.

Yes, they would be better off with all us experts here. ;D
Of course we would loose our omnipotent point of view which would make us just as dopey as the rest of them. :-\

Kevin Hooks has a long and distinguished resume as a director of episodic television, but you may know his name because he was a child actor appearing in the movie Sounder and the tv series The White Shadow. He's the son of actor Robert Hooks.

Cardie

I don't think that in the context of the whole situation Claire is the most important thing happening.* It's a bit pretentious to state that Claire is being forgotten just because you as a viewer seem to place your focus on her only.* That being said, there is also no evidence that the writers are trying to minimize the importance of Claire, after all two people (Boone and Locke) are dedicatedly supposed to be searching for her (although we know this isn't really true, since they are secretly trying to figure out what they've found on the jungle floor)



well, I don't appreciate being called pretentious, mr. booboo, because I don't share your point of view. I'm not sure if you read any of my posts, actually. You, as viewer, choose not to care about the castaways' lack of reaction to Claire's abduction. Myself, as viewer, choose to care about it. I did enjoy the eppy for the most part, but I'm not budging about the way the writers handled the situation. I don't care that Claire isn't the focus of the eppy but I do expect a little compassion and sympathy for the poor girl. At least when people are moving their belongings, why can't they acknowledge her even in passing? Say something like "I wish there was something we could do" or "she always seemed so happy; I want to try and find her".....Say anything to acknowledge her presence. If the castaways don't care about themselves, why should we?

I think many people were diappointed by the lack of concern shown by the other characters towards Claire's disappearance. It is mentioned in other threads, too, not just this one.
I agree with Betsy. Couldn't the writers have written just a little more hand-wringing lines? "Poor Claire." Or even some self-centered lines, like "if Claire and Charlie were both abducted, then how can anyone be safe?" At least Sawyer seemed to be watching over Kate. If we can take him at his word.
I don't blame Charlie for not looking for her yet. He's in shock. He almost died. He blames himself and is numb.

I don't care that Claire isn't the focus of the eppy but I do expect a little compassion and sympathy for the poor girl. At least when people are moving their belongings, why can't they acknowledge her even in passing? Say something like "I wish there was something we could do" or "she always seemed so happy; I want to try and find her".....Say anything to acknowledge her presence. If the castaways don't care about themselves, why should we?


My thoughts exactly! I think the main problem was that the mood of the survivers seemed a bit off. A well-liked woman carrying a child was abducted and another person was hanged, and people are tanning themselves, making little jokes about suitcases, etc. I understand that other things were going on , but come on, show some compassion, folks.


I really do believe that the others islanders just do not CARE about Claire because they are so focused on their own survivial.


I definately see your point, but I agree more with gameoverman, who pointed out that these people should not only be worried about Claire, but about themselves. They know that someone out there is capable of abducting two grown people and hanging one in a tree---they should be extremely concerned about this, but most seem only slightly upset., if at all.

I'm sticking to my gun idea.

Ethen said, if you do not stop following me, I will kill one of them. Is relentlessly looking for Claire really worth more lives?* If I were on that island, I'd be staying on the beach or in the caves too. Having guns are a different story but ammo only lasts so long.* If there's an army of "Ethans" or "others" guns may not slow them down.

Thing is... there's not much they can do. It's been four days. My assumption is that the first couple of days they searched all the areas near the camps; as Jack said they'd go out at first light. But once you've searched the places within a couple of hours walk of the camps, what are you going to do? Remember, this is an island that's a minimum of 20 miles long. It's not a tiny tropical isle. And it's an island that has a person/group capable of moving two people, which means they can overcome a considerably larger group (since it's much harder to transport two people than to take them out.) So you are talkin about minimum groups of 4, and I'm not sure even that would be safe. And you can't do everyone, because food is getting scarce and people have to be out gathering. And no one in those groups has any tracking skill or probably much wilderness skill, so they aren't going to notice any subtle signs; the only way they are going to find Ethan/the Others base is by pretty much stumbling on it.

Basically, it'd be a futile gesture, mostly ensuring that there's Lostzilla meat out in the woods, or people prey to more mundane disasters like broken ankles, et al. I figure after a couple of days Locke said 'look, all you guys are doing is trampling over any possible clues. She's not anywhere near camp; I'll go out scouting and see if I can pick up a trail again. Meanwhile, Jack tries to think of alternatives -- and he's got some pretty good ideas, if only Sayid was a bit more cooperative. And well, for the rest of them... I'm sure they care, but it's not like they are going to sit on the beach 24 hours a day beating their breasts. It sucks, they are worried (Sayid says everyone is staying out of the woods), but they have other things to think about.

OK I am WAY too lazy to go reading stuff, so if I repeat- SORRY IN ADVANCE!! :)

I was under the assumption Kate was out looking for Claire in the beginning of the episode. then of course once she saw the case, her focus shifted. and since she was being sneaky about trying to get the case, no one else probably noticed that she wasn't out looking for Claire. And of course they're going to assume that if "Kate is on the job" they don't need to worry abotu organizing more search parties. Also since it was 4 days prior I'm sure they have a search party plan in place (probably rotating shifts).

Now once Kate told Jack that there were guns in the case, Jack probably thought that having the guns would be good in the "battle for Claire" I mean if you're going up against some bastards who almost killed Charlie, I'm thinking you think a gun would be pretty friggin cool, am I right?

We don't know exactly what happened to Charlie. Yes being hanged and almost dying are traumatic, but we don't know if they tortured him along the way or gave him any sedatives or anything. So Charlie's "zoning out" could maybe be post traumatic stress disorder. Not to mention he's still going through his Heroin withdrawals. and maybe Ethan and the baddies took the rest of the anxiety pills that Jack gave him- so he doesn't even have those to rely on. Charlie might also have been excluded from the search parties since they caught him once, maybe Jack and Kate don't trust that he won't get caught again, kwim ?

And one more thing and then I'm done. As far as the beach people are concerned- Claire moved to the caves- so they wouldn't be expecting to see her. And the caves people knew she was going back to the beach, so they're not expecting to see her either. the only people that know she's gone are Charlie, Jack, Kate, Locke, and Boone. Notice that when Shannon asked Boone where he and Locke went all day he didn't say "looking for Claire dummy" I'm thinking they decided to keep it to themselves and not alarm the rest of the survivors... and maybe Rose noticed the dazed look in Charlie's eyes and jack told her what was going on figuring they can console each other in their grief.

OK I'll jump down off the soapbox now...

:) Meta

I think you can call this a rest episode. Nothing wrong with that. It just allows us to concentrate on someone else for a while.

No one has forgotten Clair, but you have to remember that Charlie almost died when they attempted rescue.

Their safety is paramount at the moment until they can figure out who they are up against.

I figure that's why Jack wants to see Danielle to ask her who they are.

Jack does not want to confront the others until he knows more about them.

I tend to agree with those who have said it may be us as the viewers who are disappointed with the lack of Claire coverage because of our perspective. We have become more attached to Claire and we know of the importance of her and her baby. That is not necessarily true of the castaways. From my perspective, it has been four days since the events with Claire. First we don't know what went on during that time. Second, at the start of the episode, Kate was out looking for food while Sawyer was watching over her (both for her protection and his interest in her). That clearly related to what happend to Claire and Charlie. Jack was concerned about Claire and wanted to do something to find her. To add to that, people probably thought Locke and Boone were on the case. Charlie on the other hand was traumatized by what took place. What happened was that Kate and Sawyer found that briefcase and Kate's resulting obsession over it diverted a select group of people's attention. Still, Sayid and Shannon were trying to interpret the maps at Jack's request. Also, wasn't Jack at the end of the episode putting on a backpack and going out to look for the French woman? That is the way I took it.

Overall, I can understand other's complaints about not having more about Claire and what happened to her, especially after what we learned about her and the baby. For me, I am going to let the story come to me. I have enjoyed Lost up until this point and I am looking forward to seeing how it resolves. While part of me wants to know everything now, the other part of me realizes that there wouldn't be much of a story to tell after that.

You know, I think the reason we felt like it was odd that they weren't more upset, is that in the ATBCHDI (or was it RBA?) when Hurley said "someone wasn't on the manifest" and they immediately got concerned and said "Where's Charlie? Where's Claire" and then went out to find them, one would think that same level of concern and interest would be carried through, and it didn't seem to be. I think that is the missing link. If they hadn't seemed so frantic initially it wouldn't seem so incongruous, and especially with Jack's comment "we'll find her Charlie"

I don't think Claire is dead, because they likely wouldn't have explained over and over again that Claire needs to "raise her baby" by herself during her flashback episode.

I have a feeling Claire is going to wander back to the camp, childless. I am hoping that Ethan/the Others waited for her to deliver (perhaps that is why she was heard screaming? She was in labor?) and took the baby from her, rather than doing something more awful to take it away...

I have a feeling Claire is going to wander back to the camp, childless.


that is REALLY interesting

thinking about it now.. i think that might just happen. it would certainly get the castaways to potentially look for these 'ethan' people... and just the whole spin of it.. good post. :)

I have a feeling Claire is going to wander back to the camp, childless. I am hoping that Ethan/the Others waited for her to deliver (perhaps that is why she was heard screaming? She was in labor?) and took the baby from her, rather than doing something more awful to take it away...


Yes, that would be interesting--and I can see the writers going in that direction. But, I think a lot of fans would feel kind-of cheated--they've been expecting to see the birth on-camera from day one, and it would be a bit of a let down not to see what happened. Plus, the Others might not let her go--they'll probably need her around for breastfeeding.

Either way, I'm guessing we won't see Claire, the baby, or Ethan again until February sweeps. :(

I still think that the fact that the survivors don't seem overly concerned with Claire is actually a theme of the show. Well, partly that and partly the fact that it had to be put off for a few episodes and all that other real-world stuff.

I mean, sure they talk about surviving and such but the lostaways haven't been doing too great of a job taking care of themselves. It was a few weeks in before anyone even decided to check the manifest! Most of them have been involving themselves in, frankly, petty things. A shower system (etc., for example) is wonderful and I see the need for it, but... it seems like if you're stuck on an island there are about 400 things that should be higher on the list (besides looking for Claire). Such as exploring the island, setting up a watch system, whatever.

Not even mentioning Shannon whom I love but (and I assume at least a few others are acting the same way) isn't really doing much.

So in general it seems like writers are trying to send us the impression that the lostcateers need to shape up and stop hooking up with each other for one moment ;)

More likely, the writers were just shortsighted. But I can always over analyze ;)

they've been expecting to see the birth on-camera from day one

Really? You think so? I don't get the impression that viewers will feel cheated. I think it might heighten the suspense/excitement, because the baby is "out there" ...

Think about it - the distraught mother looking for her baby (especially since she was so desperately forewarned not to let anyone else raise him), will likely inspire the others to go searching for these "others"...

As for the "lostaways" not looking for Claire - you know - I have to admit that if it were me, I'd probably feel pretty hopeless about the situation. If Charlie was found hanging from a tree, I might think that Claire is long gone by now. In addition, I'd probably be pretty frightened ... so I am not wholly surprised that there hasn't been much else said about her disappearance. I do think she's coming back, though -and everyone will be ridiculously surprised... (whoever mentioned Feb. sweeps is probably correct!).

* * *

So, perhaps these "others" are hoping to breed, and thus need a fertile woman and some children to maintain their new society... ?

Not looking for Claire - First of all I have the impression that many of them are now afraid to get very far from camp. Kate indicated she was pretty far out to gather the food since the bulk of them were cleaning out the fruit near the camp.

It is foolish of them not to look for Claire more. No one can be safe until they know more about who took Claire. At this point they don't know if it was the work of one person or of a group. They have to access the threat level and they should have someone coordinating the search.

Locke and Boone may be contributing to the problem. What if their hunch is wrong and the metal plate has nothing to do with Claire? The rest of the group is sitting on their behinds using Locke and Boone's effort as an excuse to give in to their fear and not search.

I think the resolution of Claire's situation is being held for sweeps. However I also feel it is a mistake to show the group without evidence that they are more concerned for Claire. It drops my level of sympathy for all of those sitting in camp if they are portrayed as too fearful or self involved to search for her. They should at the least express strong concern. Otherwise most of them are turning into a bunch of Sawyer wannabe's who think only of themselves first. On Sawyer it is entertaining, but with the other castaways who don’t demonstrate concern, I start feeling that I don’t care about their survival anymore than they care about Claire’s.* *Charley I feel is still in shock and he does evidence concern so he is off the hook.

Survival in a group situation like this requires you to care for each other. Those who don't care for one another don't deserve to survive. ;)

It drops my level of sympathy for all of those sitting in camp if they are portrayed as too fearful or self involved to search for her. They should at the least express strong concern.


Amen, Fogey.


Really? You think so? I don't get the impression that viewers will feel cheated. I think it might heighten the suspense/excitement, because the baby is "out there" ...


Well, the reason I posted that people will feel cheated if they don't see the birth is that I remember hearing that sentiment here on the board somewhere. Plus, one of writers on here said something like "just wait until the birth" so people are expecting it.

But I think you're right--sometime after the birth Claire and the baby might be separated, which would make for some great TV.