Season 3, Episode 12:
Par Avion
In flashbacks, Claire is in a car accident with her mother, who winds up in a coma. Christian Shephard shows up to pay for her medical treatment, and tells Claire that he is her father. Claire is outraged when he suggests pulling the plug on her, and tells him to leave her alone. Years later, a pregnant Claire visits her mother and tells her about her plan to give her baby up for adoption, and apologizes for their last fight before the crash.
At the beach, Claire comes up with a plan to catch some migratory birds flying over the Island and use them to send a message. She is confused when Charlie, seemingly at Desmond's urging, declines to participate. Desmond foils Claire's plan to catch the birds by scaring them off with a gun. Claire confronts him as he catches a bird himself, and he tells her the truth about his visions, one of which involved Charlie dying trying to help her catch a bird. Claire tells Charlie she won't give up on him, and they send a message away on the bird together.
In the jungle, Sayid, Kate, Locke and Rousseau, with Mikhail in tow, come across a sonic barrier fence around the Barracks. Locke pushes Mikhail through it, killing him. Sayid discovers C4 from the Flame in Locke's pack, and confiscates it. The group fashions a makeshift ladder from a tree, and use it to climb over the fence. The find the Barracks, and see Jack happily playing football with Tom.
Tropes in this episode include:
- Astonishingly Appropriate Interruption: Mikhail is about to tell everyone that Locke was paralyzed when Danielle interrupts to show the sonic fence.
- Ear Ache: Mikhail bleeds from his ears after Locke pushes him through the sonic fence.
- Goth: Claire to shown to have had a goth phase when she was younger, including having her blonde hair dyed black.
- Insult to Rocks: When Locke questions why they are keeping Mikhail alive, Sayid asks if they should just shoot him like a dog, to which Locke replies "No, I like dogs."
- Internal Reveal: Desmond tells Claire about his visions of Charlie's death.
- It's All My Fault: Claire apologizes to her mom for the things she said in the car right before the crash.
- Luke, I Am Your Father: Christian Shephard reveals to Claire that he is her father, though she is unaware of his name or that he is also Jack's father.
- Mercy Kill: Because euthanasia is not legal in Australia, Christian tries to tell Claire how to do so without the legal issues. She's naturally disgusted.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Mikhail gives one to his captors explaining all of their flaws that have kept them off "the list".Mikhail: I will try to make this as simple as I can. You are not on the list because you are flawed. Because you are angry, and weak, and frightened.
- The Reveal: Christian Shephard is Claire's father, making her and Jack half-brother and sister. She is the daughter that he was trying to visit in Australia when he died, as seen in "Two For The Road".
- Secret Other Family: Claire is revealed to be this for Christian, as she's much younger than Jack and so he was already married when she was born.
- Wham Shot: Kate's group arrives at the barracks, only to find Jack cheerfully playing football with Tom.
