What Occurred To Claire Littleton On Misplaced? Her Season 5 Absence, Defined

One factor that rapidly turns into clear on “Misplaced” is that the writers do not care about all of the survivors equally. There are the “primary” survivors (Jack, Kate, Sawyer, Locke) who drive the plot. Proper under them are the second-tier characters like Hurley, Charlie, Michael, Jin, Solar, and Sayid; these characters normally needed to accept one highlight episode a season, however had been nonetheless fairly concerned in every little thing occurring. On the very backside of the named character rankings had been Rose and Bernard, two candy previous individuals who largely frolicked within the background, by no means getting concerned in all of the drama.

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The place was Claire Littleton (Emilie de Ravin) in all this? Within the first season, she gave the impression to be in that second tier alongside Charlie and Hurley. As a pregnant lady on an island that is hostile to pregnancies, she was the middle of arguably essentially the most dramatic storyline in season 1 when she was kidnapped by the Others. However simply as Charlie was downgraded in significance in season 2, so was Claire. She nonetheless acquired one highlight episode for every of the primary three seasons, however in the end, she was relegated to staying on the seashore to handle her child Aaron. 

Amid her dwindling prominence on the collection, Claire followers nonetheless received a enjoyable shock in season 3’s “Par Avion,” which revealed (to the viewers, not the characters) that she and Jack had been half-siblings. The present does not do a lot with this revelation, nonetheless, although you’d certain assume the Others would’ve tried to weaponize this information in opposition to Jack sooner or later. However earlier than both of them can study their relation on the island, Jack and the remainder of the Oceanic Six are rescued whereas Claire is left behind. 

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After the season 4 finale, there was no cause for followers to assume Claire would not be sticking round. She was hardly the one survivor left behind: Sawyer, Jin, Juliet, Miles and Faraday had been additionally nonetheless trapped on that island, so the idea was that Claire would hyperlink again up with them fairly quickly. 

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However little did followers know that season 5 can be all about time journey. Not solely did Ben turning that enormous wheel within the season 4 finale trigger the island to magically transfer areas, nevertheless it additionally left the island on shuffle mode, leaping by time intervals with little rhyme or cause. Many of the survivors are thrown from 12 months to 12 months, earlier than lastly touchdown within the Nineteen Seventies and settling down there. However for no matter cause, solely among the on-island survivors get caught up within the time jumps. Claire is unaffected by them, and no rationalization for that is ever given. (I assume the Man in Black’s magic was one way or the other concerned.)

Though Claire isn’t seen and isn’t talked about by the opposite survivors, her presence can nonetheless be felt in Kate and Jack’s storylines. In her three years off the island, Kate turns into the adoptive mom of Aaron, and the child serves as a continuing reminder of the lady they’d left behind. Jack additionally discovers that Claire’s his half-sibling off the island, which each will increase his affection for Aaron and serves as one more motivator to return to the island by any means crucial. 

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The second half of season 5 sees the Oceanic Six return to the island, however most of them land within the ’70s whereas the others land on the island in 2007. (Season 5 is convoluted.) It is right here that Claire’s absence turns into significantly noticeable; Solar, John, Ben, and Lapidus are all there in 2007, however nobody thinks to search for Claire, who’s presumably nonetheless round. That is the purpose the place a whole lot of followers began to surprise if Claire had been forgotten. Was this one other Walt state of affairs, the place the writers seemingly misplaced curiosity in a personality and by no means received again round to them? 

Season 5 ends with the ’70s survivors setting off a hydrogen bomb, which causes a time paradox that one way or the other throws them again into the trendy day. Season 6 begins with your complete forged again collectively once more within the current day, which implies now’s pretty much as good a time as ever for them to meet up with Claire. So, how’s she been holding up? Badly. Very badly. 

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Claire in season 6 is borderline feral. Her lonely years surviving off the island wilderness has turned her into somebody who’d be extra at house in a present like “Yellowjackets,” though fortunately Claire by no means resorts to that present’s cannibal extremes. (So far as we all know, not less than.) There is a little bit of a tragic poetry to Claire’s state of affairs at the beginning of season 6; very like Danielle Rousseau lengthy earlier than her, Claire has had her child taken from her for unknown causes, and he or she’s misplaced a few of her sanity within the course of. 

The excellent news is that the opposite survivors are understanding about her state of affairs. Even after Claire tries to kill Kate at one level in a hysterical rage, Kate will get over it rapidly. It helps that Claire has one way or the other found within the low season that Jack is her half-sibling, so she by no means tries to stab Jack, not less than. The opposite survivors perceive that most individuals would lose their marbles a bit when trapped in Claire’s state of affairs, plus Rousseau has given them follow in deal with somebody who’s gone island-mad. 

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A very powerful improvement with season 6 Claire is her relationship with the devilish Man in Black, who impersonates her father Christian and later John Locke. A lot of their historical past is implied, however from what little we see of them, we are able to inform he was not precisely an awesome affect. By the point we attain the collection finale, Claire is a complete mess, almost refusing rescue as a result of she thinks she’s too far gone to be an excellent mom to Aaron. (Fortunately, Kate convinces her in any other case.) Claire could have been left behind — actually and on a meta stage — however not less than in the long run she will get to go house. 

Wanting by previous interviews and critiques on the time, it is clear that Claire was an afterthought not only for the present, however for the followers and critics watching it. So if you happen to had been a uncommon Claire fan watching again in 2009/2010, you had been doubtless upset by how little focus she was getting. Her sibling reveal with Jack did not quantity to a lot, nor did her relationship with Kate flip into something particular. 

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Maybe most disappointing of all is that Charlie’s sacrifice within the season 3 finale, which he did so underneath the impression that he was getting Claire rescued, by no means panned out. If Charlie had identified the results of him dying in that station was that Claire can be caught alone on the island for 3 full years, I am unsure he’d have gone by with it. 

The intense aspect is that season 6 did not simply have the on-island storyline to additional Claire’s journey, it additionally had the flash-sideways, which exhibits a model of the afterlife the place all of the island characters get to satisfy up and discover closure. There, Claire will get to have her child in common society, and he or she’s reunited with Charlie. Charlie and Claire’s on-island storylines are among the most miserable issues which have occurred on the collection, so it is cathartic to see these two given the sweetest scene of the entire finale: 

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Emilie de Ravin certain appeared to take pleasure in Claire’s season 6 arc, primarily as a result of it gave the character one thing fascinating to do once more. “There’s positively been loads occurring together with her,” she stated in a Folks interview on the time. “I am coming again as type of an entire new character, in order that’s actually enjoyable for me.” 

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The actress appreciated how season 6 explored the Man in Black’s affect on Claire, which expanded on the season 4 plot level of Claire mysteriously abandoning her child and wandering off alone into the woods. “It explains why she left her youngster underneath a tree,” de Ravin stated. “I used to be relieved to seek out out she simply wasn’t a horrible mom. She at all times appeared so candy.”

And though de Ravin did not appear fairly as thrilled about being thrown again right into a being pregnant storyline for the flash-sideways, she not less than discovered the brilliant aspect within the change of setting: “Oh, sure, the beautiful bump is again … Not less than this time I haven’t got to put on it on the seashore in 100-degree climate sweating my ass off.” 

There additionally wasn’t a lot unwell will between de Ravin and the “Misplaced” showrunners over her season 5 absence. She was very busy on the time showing in tasks like “Bear in mind Me,” “The Chameleon,” and “Public Enemies.” In the long run, Claire’s absence turned out loads like Bran’s absence in season 5 of “Recreation of Thrones.” Typically a present simply has an excessive amount of occurring, and must be comfy with placing a pin on a storyline or two to allow them to get again to it later. As a lot as we might’ve appreciated to see Claire in season 5, even only for a fast check-up, it is smart that such a fast-paced season would wish to keep away from too many detours from the primary Dharma plot. 

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Though most followers take pleasure in Claire’s remaining moments on the present (on and off island), the overall consensus is that she was wasted by the writers. They did not do her fairly as soiled because the once-hyped Walt or Charles Widmore, however they might’ve finished much more. Some followers attribute the shortage of Claire focus to their (questionable) perception that de Ravin is not an excellent actress. Different followers consider Claire’s merely a sufferer of the latter seasons’ shorter episode counts, which struggled to distribute screentime to the forged as evenly because the longer early seasons. Somebody at all times finally ends up getting the quick stick in an ensemble collection working underneath time restrictions, and that somebody right here was Claire. 

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Maybe essentially the most prevailing criticism concerning Claire is that the writers merely did not know deal with a younger mom character. They did not appear to have the desire or capability to write down her with the extent of depth and company that the opposite feminine characters loved. Solar, Juliet, Kate, and even Shannon received to develop and alter for the higher all through their time on the collection, however Claire spent her first 4 seasons as extra of a plot system for the opposite characters to cope with. 

She was there to additional alongside the thriller of the Others, to additional alongside Charlie’s character improvement as a recovering addict, and to provide Kate and Jack further motivation to return to the island. However outdoors of some enjoyable moments scattered all through the collection, Claire’s private journey was by no means the highest precedence. In a present that was well-known for its huge array of numerous, sophisticated characters, the depth for Claire Littleton was by no means fairly there. 

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