Raised by Another

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		Lost Season 1 (Flashbacks in Parentheses)					S2 >> • S3 >> • S4>>
#01	"Pilot, Part 1"	(Jack)	#10	"Raised by Another"	(Claire)	#18	"Numbers"	(Hurley)
#02	"Pilot, Part 2"	(Various)	#11	"All The Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues"	(Jack)	#19	"Deus Ex Machina"	(Locke)
#03	"Tabula Rasa"	(Kate)	#12	"Whatever the Case May Be"	(Kate)	#20	"Do No Harm"	(Jack)
#04	"Walkabout"	(Locke)	#13	"Hearts and Minds"	(Boone)	---	"Lost: The Journey"	(recap)
#05	"White Rabbit"	(Jack)	#14	"Special"	(Michael & Walt)	#21	"The Greater Good"	(Sayid)
#06	"House of the Rising Sun"	(Sun)	#15	"Homecoming"	(Charlie)	#22	"Born to Run"	(Kate)
#07	"The Moth"	(Charlie)	#16	"Outlaws"	(Sawyer)	#23	"Exodus, Part 1"	(Various)
#08	"Confidence Man"	(Sawyer)	#17	"...In Translation"	(Jin)	#24	"Exodus, Part 2"	(Various)
#09	"Solitary"	(Sayid)

"Raised by Another"

Season

Episode

Aired

December 1, 2004

Flashforward

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Flashback

Days

Written by

Directed by

Special guest star(s)

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Guest starring

William Mapother - Ethan Rom
Nick Jameson - Richard Malkin

Co-starring

Keir O'Donnell - Thomas
Jenny Chang - Rachel
Lisa Fraser - Arlene
Barry Whitfield - Slavitt

Uncredited

India Dupre - voice of Rachel

Episode transcript
[[{{{transcript2}}}|Part Two]]

"Raised by Another" is the tenth episode of Season 1 of Lost. After experiencing terrifying nightmares two days in a row, Claire begins to think that someone is trying to hurt her baby. In response, Hurley decides to start a census of all the survivors. Flashbacks in this episode focus on Claire's struggle with accepting the fact that she has to raise her unborn child herself.

1 Synopsis
- 1.1 Flashbacks
- 1.2 Real-time events
2 Trivia
3 Unanswered questions

Synopsis

Flashbacks

Claire realizes that she is pregnant

Claire leaves the bathroom and her boyfriend Thomas asks her what the result is. She has just taken a pregnancy test, and the two panic about what it will say. Time elapses, and Claire realizes that she is indeed with child. The thought petrifies her, but Thomas convinces her otherwise. He says that he loves her, and that a baby might be “the best thing ever”.

Later, Claire discusses the situation with her friend Rachel, telling her how excited she was. They arrive at the home of a psychic, Richard Malkin, whom Rachel has convinced her friend to see. Inside, the psychic reads Claire’s palm, and immediately congratulates her on her pregnancy. His face then tightens, as though he has seen something frightening. He swiftly returns Claire’s money and refuses to continue the reading, ushering the two women out.

Thomas tells Claire that he is leaving her

Back at her apartment, Claire is busy childproofing and redecorating the place. However, Thomas quickly causes her mood to change, as he says that he cannot do this anymore. The reality of having a child has given Thomas cold feet, and he mentions Claire’s “daddy abandonment issues” in an attempt to lay the blame on her for his pulling away in the relationship. The two begin to argue, and Thomas continues with his cold comments, saying that Claire was supposed to be taking the contraception pill and insinuating that she intentionally got pregnant.

Malkin performs a second reading

The psychic opens his door to find Claire there, requesting a second reading. She jokes as he counts her cash, and the psychic notes that Claire has been dumped. He asks if she wishes to continue after what he saw last time, and she agrees. He says that it is crucial that Claire raises the child herself, and that her goodness must influence her baby’s development. Claire reveals that she will put the baby up for adoption unless Thomas returns, but Malkin insists that she must listen. As he continues to shout, Claire runs away in fear.

At night, Claire wakes up as her phone rings. On the other end is Malkin, who has apparently been calling Claire for months now. He again insists she keeps the baby, and he says he has a plan. Claire, however, does not listen and hangs up on him.

Claire faces the decision of whether to give away her child

Now at a solicitor's, Claire is finalizing details of adoption to Arlene and Joseph Stewart. They agree that Claire will have no legitimate rights to the child, and that she will be paid upon the child’s birth. Before she signs the document, she requests that the Stuarts sing the song “Catch a Falling Star” to the baby, as her father sang it to her as a child. She tries to sign, but the pen is not working. The lawyer passes her another, but again ink does not come out. As a third is passed to her, Claire begins to have second thoughts, and she runs away.

Malkin once more opens his door to find Claire, who tells him she is ready to listen to his plan. Inside, Claire is told that a couple in Los Angeles are “good people,” and that they will take good care of the child.

He gives her tickets for Oceanic Flight 815, but Claire is put off by the fact that the flight is only a day away. Malkin firmly adds that it can not be any other flight, and that the couple is waiting to meet her in America.

Real-time events

Locke in Claire's dream

Claire opens her eyes to the sound of a baby crying. It is nighttime at the caves, and everyone is asleep. Her stomach is much smaller than it should be, and she looks around in utter confusion as to how she is not pregnant anymore. She follows the sound deep into the jungle, finding Locke at a table. He says, “He is your responsibility, but you gave him away, Claire,” before looking up with one eye black and one white. Claire runs away, and finds a cradle with an Oceanic Airlines plane mobile. She looks under layers of blankets for her child, but instead finds blood, which stains her hands. She screams at the top of her lungs as she wakes up.

Claire is hysterical, and Charlie has to grab her to stop her screams and fighting. She eventually calms down, but Charlie looks at her hands, which are bloodstained, and asks what happened.

Claire tells Jack about what happened during the night

In the morning, Jack sees to her hands, commenting that she must have had “one hell of a nightmare” to have dug her nails so deeply into her palms. Claire implies that it perhaps was not a nightmare, but Jack shrugs the event off as sleepwalking and stress.

At the beach, Jack finds Kate watching the ocean. The two begin to flirt, as Kate explains that she is sinking in the sand due to the effect of the waves. She remarks that Sayid has been gone for almost a week, but Jack says, "Something tells me he'll be okay." Then, with a concerned look on his face, he tells Kate that Claire will have the baby soon.

Charlie and Claire sit in the jungle having a quiet moment with a cup of tea. They talk about her nightmare, and Charlie says that if she ever needs anything, he is there for her. She seems touched, but does not reply, and Charlie interprets that as a hint that he should go.

Charlie promises to protect Claire

Once again at night, Claire sees a man covering her mouth and stabbing her stomach with a needle. She wakes, screaming loudly just like the night before. She says that someone attacked her, and Charlie and Hurley go to scout the area. Jack and Michael try to comfort her, but Claire is adamant that what she saw was real and that someone truly was trying to hurt her baby. The event leads Hurley to realize that none of the survivors has any idea of who their peers on the Island really are. He wants to start a census of who everyone is, where they live (in the caves or on the beach), and other information about them. Meanwhile, Charlie reassures Claire that he will watch over her all night.

Jack doesn't believe Claire's claims

The next day, Hurley asks Locke questions about his background and his reason for traveling to Australia. John answers the questions, revealing that he came to Sydney “looking for something” and that he has lived most of his life in Tustin, California. Further down the coast, Jack tells Charlie and Kate that he thinks Claire is merely dreaming. Charlie cannot believe he is suggesting that Claire is lying, but Jack attributes it to the stress and emotional imbalance of her pregnancy on the Island.

In the jungle, Hurley questions Ethan Rom. Ethan answers the questions, saying he is from Ontario. He asks what the census is for, and Hurley says he simply "thought it would be a good idea." At the caves, Jack tries to tactfully tell Claire that he thinks she should take some sedatives. Claire realizes that Jack thinks she is making everything up. Packing her things, she decides to go back to the beach, which she thinks is safer than the caves. Charlie catches up with her, and escorts her for her protection, despite her telling him to leave her alone.

Shannon mocks Hurley's attempts to make a census of the survivors

At the beach, Hurley has begun questioning Shannon, who is preparing to move to the caves. She answers his questions: her name is Shannon Rutherford, she is 20, and her address is "Craphole Island." She and Boone ask Hurley why he is making the list, and he tells them about what may have happened to Claire. Shannon suddenly drops her bags, telling Boone that they are now definitely not moving to “the rape caves." Boone shrugs off Shannon’s words, and tells Hurley about the flight manifest. He says that the names of the dead have been crossed off, so it should be a full roster of who is left on the Island. Hurley asks who has it, and Boone replies, “Who do you think?” Immediately realizing who he means, Hurley heads to Sawyer's tent. Rather than demand the manifest, Hurley uses the calm approach of analyzing the con man, pointing out that he could use the points amongst the Islanders. The tactic is successful.

Charlie tells Ethan to get Jack at once, as he thinks Claire is about to have the baby

As Claire and Charlie continue heading to the beach, Claire begins to feel contractions. Charlie offers to deliver the baby himself, but in his nervousness he reveals that he is a recovering drug addict. Claire flatly tells him to get Jack at once. Charlie finds Ethan and tells him to find Jack immediately. Charlie returns to Claire and helps her calm down. She tells him about the psychic she once visited, and while she thinks he was wrong, Charlie argues that perhaps he knew of their fate. Claire becomes convinced that Malkin put her on the flight knowing what would happen. She starts to feel better, and Charlie remembers that Jack told him about stress causing a false labor. The relationship between the two is now completely mended, and they decide to head back to the caves.

Claire stands frozen to the spot

There, Jack and Kate are shocked to see Sayid stumble in. Sayid is severely dehydrated and delirious, speaking of the French woman. He ominously adds that “we are not alone” before fainting. Before they can properly take care of him, however, Hurley shows up to talk about his list. He has cross-referenced all the names he collected with those on the flight manifest, and found that one of them was not on the latter. That person was not on the plane.

As Charlie and Claire begin their trek back, they are greeted by Ethan. Beginning to feel uncomfortable, they ask where Jack is. Ethan simply stares at Claire, and a frightened look forms on her face.

Trivia

General

Claire seems to take peculiar offence when referred to as crazy in a joke made by Charlie.
The title of this episode, "Raised by Another," is homophonic to an alternate titling - "Raised by An Other." As revealed in "One of Us", Ethan Rom had been administering injections to Claire as she sleeps, potentially "raising" her unborn child on an island where pregnant mothers are revealed to usually die.

Production notes

Walt does not appear in this episode.

Bloopers and continuity errors

After she finds out she is pregnant, Claire claims that her mother will disown her. This is odd, since in "Par Avion" it is revealed that Claire's mother was in a coma at this point.
- Claire may be referring to Lindsey as she would have taken the mother-figure role after the accident.
- Claire may feel she still has a normal relationship with her mother even though she is in a coma

Recurring themes

Recurring themes in Lost
Black and white • Car accidents • Character connections • Deceptions and cons • Dreams • Eyes • Fate versus free will • Good and bad people • Imprisonment • Isolation • Life and death • Missing body parts • Nicknames • The Numbers • Parent issues • Pregnancies • Rain • Rebirth • Redemption • Relationships • Sacrifice • Secrets • Time

During Claire's dream, one of Locke's eyes is white whilst the other is black. (Black and White), (Eyes)
The psychic in Claire's flashback also met Mr. Eko whilst he was in Australia. (Character Connections)
Claire dreams about her baby being attacked. (Dreams and visions)
A close-up on Claire's right eye is shown. (Eyes)
After she finds out she is pregnant, Claire claims that her mother will disown her. (Parent Issues)
Thomas, Claire's boyfriend, mentions in passing about her absentee father. (Parent Issues)
Claire at one point believes that she is about to have her baby. (Pregnancies)
It is hinted that the psychic may have known that Oceanic Flight 815 would crash, and so gave Claire a ticket to ensure that she raised the child herself. (Premonitions)
Claire is warned, both by Locke in her dream and by the psychic Malkin, that she must raise her baby herself or else she will release a great evil on the world. (Apocalypse)
The psychic spent 4 months telling Claire to raise the child herself. (The Numbers) (Time)

Cultural references

Cultural references in Lost (direct references only)
Art • Books • Cars • Games • Movies and TV • Music • Philosophy • Religion and ideologies • Science

"Catch a Falling Star": Claire requests that the Stewarts sing this song to her baby, as her father had done to her. It was written and composed by Lee Pockriss and Paul Vance, and popularized by Perry Como. (Music)
Ghostbusters: Sawyer calls Hurley "Stay Puft", after the giant marshmallow man from this movie (1984). (Movies and TV)
Brisbane Broncos: A poster of this Australian NRL team is seen in Claire and Thomas' apartment. The team is from Brisbane, but they were living in Sydney. (Games)

Literary techniques

Literary techniques in Lost
Comparative: Irony • Juxtaposition • Plotting: Cliffhanger • Plot twist • Stock Characters: Archetype • Redshirt • Unseen character• Story: Flashbacks • Flashforwards • Foreshadowing • Regularly spoken phrases • Symbolism • Unreliable narrator

Ethan Rom is revealed to be an Other. (Plot twist) (Cliffhanger).
Claire's parent-issues become a major plotline in "Par Avion". (Foreshadowing).
Charlie told Claire that he'll "never leave" her and helps her through her false labor; Thomas also said that he'd "never leave" her before he did. (Juxtaposition)
Claire got angry at Jack for "trying to tell her what to do"; in Australia, after having decided to give up the baby, she accepted Richard Malkin's plan to take Flight 815 on faith alone. (Juxtaposition)
Claire tried to get rid of the responsibility of the baby after Thomas leaves; on the Island, she realized that she must take on this responsibility. (Juxtaposition)