Lost re-watch! (Spoilers)

[Werthead]

113: Hearts and Minds

Written by Carlton Cuse and Javier Grillo-Marxuach, directed by Rod Holcomb

Airdate: 12 January 2005

Survivor Count: 46

Days on Island: 24 (15 October 2004)

Flashback Character: Boone

                                   

Flashbacks: Boone receives a telephone call from Shannon in Australia. She’s in trouble with her latest boyfriend. Boone flies to Sydney to rescue her, as he’s done several times before. He buys off the boyfriend with $50,000, but later discovers that Shannon set him up, as she feels she didn’t get a fair split of their parents’ business (we also discover that Boone and Shannon are step-siblings, not blood relatives). Boone, angered, prepares to fly back to LA but Shannon is dumped by her boyfriend, who runs off with the money, and she and Boone end up sleeping together. Afterwards, she tells him that back in LA things will have to go back to the way they were before, leaving Boone feeling used and manipulated.

 

On the Island: Boone is increasingly jealous of the time that Sayid and Shannon are spending together and warns Sayid off. Sayid is unimpressed. Boone and Locke are continuing to investigate the strange hatch they found in the jungle. Their attempts to open it all fail, as the hatch has no handle and is flush to the surrounding terrain. There is a window in the hatch, but they can't see anything through it and the glass is unbreakable. 

 

Elsewhere, Hurley is increasingly hungry for decent meat (as Boone and Locke’s trips seem to not be turning up any more boar) and tries emulating Jin by fishing. Instead, he steps on a sea-urchin and injures his foot. Jin helps him recuperate and gives him a fish he caught.

 

Sayid shows Jack something unusual in a compass he was given by Locke. Magnetic north from the Island is showing at a strong variance from where it should be based on solar observation. High metal contents in the rocks would result in a minor discrepancy, but this is much larger. Sayid is puzzled by it.

 

Kate stumbles across a garden that Sun has planted and helps her with laying the seeds. When Sun laughs at a joke Kate makes, Kate realises she can speak English. She agrees to keep her secret. 

 

Kate and Jack discuss the food situation. Although the survivors are doing better at catching fish and finding fruit, they still really need the boar meat as a source of protein. Kate suggests that Locke is deliberately not hunting the boar any more to keep more food for himself. However, Locke later says that the boar have started migrating out of the beach and valley areas, possibly in response to the survivors' hunting of them. Jack tries to get more of a feel for Locke and asks Charlie for his opinion. Charlie, who is grateful to Locke for helping him break his heroin habit, tells Jack that Locke is their best hope of survival.

 

Boone tells Locke that he wants to tell Shannon about the hatch. Locke asks him if he is sure. When Boone replies in the affirmative, Locke promptly knocks him out and leaves him tied up to a tree with a knife just out of reach. Boone can’t find the willpower to escape until he hears Shannon screaming. Once he gets free he finds Shannon tied up as well. They flee as they hear the Monster coming their way. Shannon trips and is promptly killed. A furious, traumatised Boone returns to the camp to find Locke waiting for him and Shannon alive and well. Locke asks him how he felt when he saw Shannon dead and Boone confesses that he felt relieved. Locke tells him it’s time to let her go. Boone ignores Shannon as she talks to Sayid and heads off into the jungle, back to the hatch.

 

Major WTFery: Locke's plan to turn Boone into his padawan is totally bizarre, and it's highly implausible that it worked so well.

 

Hindsight: The Island's bizarre magnetic and electromagnetic properties are revealed for the first time, whilst Locke's capacity for truly irrational behaviour is first hinted at. The flashback, although nicely messed up (and featuring a blink-and-miss-it cameo from Sawyer in Australia), does suggest that Boone and Shannon may be lacking the more compelling backstories of the other characters on the Island. This episode also hints at the "Man of Science, Man of Faith" relationship between Jack and Locke that will become more blatant in later episodes.

 

Review: Certainly an oddball episode. Boone and Shannon are not exactly compelling characters and Locke turning Boone into his minion is not really explored as well as it could be (it is returned to, more successfully, in subsequent episodes). The story with Locke getting Boone wasted and hallucinating to teach him a lesson that Boone accepts is highly unconvincing. It turns out that Hurley desperately begging Jin to pee on his foot to stop the urchin sting is the highlight of a rather weak instalment of Lost (***).

 

114: Special

Written by David Fury, directed by Greg Yaitanes

Airdate: 19 January 2005

Survivor Count: 46

Days on Island: 26-27 (17-18 October 2004)

Flashback Characters: Michael & Walt

 

Flashbacks: Michael and Susan are expecting their first baby and planning a nursery. They seem very happy. A year later, after Walt’s birth, Michael is shocked when Susan tells him she wants to take a break from the relationship and is accepting a new job in Amsterdam. When Michael finds out she is seeing someone else, he resolves to go to Amsterdam to get his son, but is then hit by a speeding car and has to spend months in hospital. Susan comes to see him and they bury the hatchet. Susan tells him she is getting remarried and her new husband wants to adopt Walt as his own. Michael reluctantly agrees to stay out of Walt's life, apart from sending him a letter every year. Nine years later, in Australia, Susan comes down with an illness. Her husband, Brian, is concerned that Walt has some kind of odd power after a bird Walt was reading about in a book flew straight into their window and killed itself. Brian goes to New York to see Michael and tells him that Susan has died from a blood disease. Brian can’t raise Walt by himself so he lets Michael take custody of him. Michael goes to Australia to claim Walt but also takes Walt’s dog Vincent (actually Brian’s dog). A housekeeper gives him a box containing all the letters that Michael wrote to Walt over the years: his mother never gave them to him.

 

On the Island: Michael is angry when he finds Locke teaching Walt to throw knives and forbids Walt from having anything to do with him. Michael is also becoming concerned that people seem to be digging in on the island for the long haul and suggests taking action to escape, namely by building a raft. The others seem uninterested, so Michael enlists Walt’s help, but Walt gets bored and wanders off to see Locke. Locke tells Walt to go back to his father but Michael accuses Locke of trying to turn his son against him. Locke tells Michael that Walt is special and he should treat him like an adult.

 

Sayid, with Shannon’s help, is continuing to try to decode the papers he took from Rousseau’s base. He’s found odd references to a triangular area on the island with longitude and latitude coordinates, but Sayid doesn’t know where it is in relation to their campsite.

 

Walt runs off with Vincent and ends up getting chased down by a polar bear. Michael and Locke rescue him and Michael gives Walt something from his luggage: all the letters that Michael sent Walt over the years that his mum refused to pass on to him.

 

Charlie, after much soul-searching, decides to read Clarie’s diary (after retrieving it from Sawyer) and is pleased to see that she thought well of him, going as far as saying that she wanted him to protect her. Suddenly he reads about a dream she was having about a "black rock". He shows it to Jack and Sayid and they guess that the black rock (a phrase used by Rousseau) may apply to the triangular area on the map. They wonder if that was where Ethan took Claire.

 

Whilst out in the jungle, Boone and Locke are looking for Vincent, using Locke's dog whistle. Instead of the dog, they are startled by the sudden, unexpected reappearance of Claire...

 

Major WTFery: This episode touches on the idea that Walt has unusual powers. He apparently affects a bird into flying into a window in Australia and on the Island is attacked by a polar bear just after Michael burns one of his comics with a polar bear in it. The rest of the series would touch on this, but it turned out to not be as major a plot point as was first indicated. We finally find out what the black rock is in the season finale.

 

Hindsight: One of those episodes which is watchable the first time around, but deflates a little on a rewatch as we know now how little Walt's supposed powers would fit into future events. The black rock is of course the Black Rock, a 19th Century sailing ship that was swept onto the Island by a tidal wave (destroying the infamous four-toed statue along the way), bringing Richard Alpert onto the Island.

 

Review: This is a pretty watchable episode, helped by Harold Perrineau's game performance as the producers put him through a variety of hairstyles to help sell him being younger. There is some frustration that Walt's story is not more prominent in later parts of the series (although the epilogue mini-episode does at least try to wrap it up) but overall it's a pretty good episode. The highlight is Charlie manning up and taking Claire's diary from Sawyer by force. When Sawyer punches him, Charlie's response is a magnificently British "You hit like a ponce." (****)

 

115: Homecoming

Written by Damon Lindelof, directed by Kevin Hooks

Airdate: 9 February 2005

Survivor Count: 46

Days on Island: 27-29 (18-20 October 2004)

Flashback Character: Charlie

 

Flashbacks: Back in London after Drive Shaft’s split, Charlie is addicted to heroin and has resorted to seducing rich girls and stealing from them to fund his habit. However, he falls in love with his latest victim, Lucy, and agrees to work for her father selling photocopiers. His addiction gets the better of him after he throws up during a demonstration and he is fired after it is found that he was stealing valuables from Lucy’s father. He tries to apologise, but Lucy refuses to talk to him, saying that he’ll never be able to look after anyone in his life.

 

On the Island: Claire has no memory of what has happened since the kidnapping and virtually no recall of anything after the plane crash. Jack confirms that she and the baby are unharmed. Charlie is confronted by Ethan in the jungle, who tells him that if they don’t hand Claire over again to him, he will kill one of the survivors. Whilst Charlie tries to help Claire get her memory back, Jack, Sayid and Locke take security measures against Ethan’s return. They establish sentries, but Ethan swims in from the sea under cover of night and kills Scott. The survivors agree to change tactics and employ Claire as bait whilst Locke, Jack, Sayid, Sawyer and Kate watch over her with the guns from the Marshall’s case. Ethan appears, but Jack beats him senseless after losing his gun. Charlie, who has sneaked along, picks up the gun and shoots Ethan five times, killing him.

 

Back at camp, Charlie tells Jack that he is absolutely 100% convinced that Ethan wouldn’t have told them anything and would have escaped and hurt Claire again if they kept him a prisoner. Surprisingly Jack agrees, but is still disappointed they didn’t find out anything about where Ethan came from. Claire tells Charlie that she is starting to remember things and that she trusts him.

 

Major WTFery: In this episode Ethan again demonstrates apparently superhuman strength, lifting Charlie off the ground with one hand (Charlie is a small guy but this is pretty unconvincing). This appears to be self-contradictory, as Ethan is then defeated by Jack in hand-to-hand combat. However, a deleted scene would have shown Ethan being injured during an attempt to breach the perimeter, with Locke getting in a lucky stab wound before being knocked out. This would have explained why Ethan was not fighting as well as he did previously and Jack was able to best him. This is the last time the Others show such abilities. Future episodes establish the Others as being firmly human, merely more experienced in living on the Island.

 

Hindsight: The story behind Claire's abduction is told in Season 2's Maternity Leave.

 

Review: This is, along with the "Jack's tattoo" episode, Damon Lindelof's most disliked episode of Lost. Which is weird because it's actually pretty decent. Charlie's flashback relies a little too much on the drug stuff, which is starting to get old, but the reference to the UK version of The Office and the "throwing up in the photocopier" incidents are quite amusing. The on-Island storyline with the survivors tooling up and taking down Ethan is also quite tense. Charlie shooting him dead is also completely justifiable, as Ethan was clearly not going to be cooperative and would probably have escaped and caused more chaos (Charlie's refusal to feel guilty about this later on is also refreshing). Overall, a decent, fast-moving episode that adds depth to Charlie's character and is pretty damn entertaining (****).

 

116: Outlaws

Written by Drew Goddard, directed by Jack Bender

Airdate: 16 February 2005

Survivor Count: 45 (following Scott's death at the hands of Ethan)

Days on Island: 29-31 (20-22 October 2004)

Flashback Character: Sawyer

 

Flashbacks: When he was a child, Sawyer (then called James), was hiding under his bed when his mother was trying to throw his father out of the house, both their lives having been wrecked by the original Sawyer, a con-man. His father killed his mother before committing suicide. Years later, Sawyer is working as a hustler when he is told by a contact, Hibbs, that he has tracked down the ‘original’ Sawyer to Australia where he is living under the name Frank Duckett. Sawyer purchases a gun and goes to see Duckett, only to find him apparently living a simple life serving food from a fish van. Sawyer decides to spare him and return to the USA, but in a nearby bar he meets an American doctor (Christian Shephard, Jack's father) who tells him that life is fully of disappointment, "Which is why the Red Sox will never win the series." He also says how proud he is of his son and can’t face talking to him again. He also tells Sawyer to take care of whatever demons are eating him before they destroy him. Sawyer goes back to the van and shoots Duckett, but realises he’s been set up. Duckett is an innocent man and Hibbs manipulated Sawyer into carrying out the assassination. As he dies, Duckett tells Sawyer, "It'll come back around."

On the Island: Sawyer wakes up in the night to find a boar in his tent. It wrecks the place, dragging his tarp off into the jungle. Sawyer races after it, only for it to knock him down. Lost in the jungle, Sawyer hears the whispers for the first time. He hears Duckett's last words again, "It'll come back around." Convinced that the boar has some kind of vendetta against him, Sawyer vows to kill it and heads out into the jungle, accompanied by a much-amused Kate (who is trying to get Sawyer's gun back on Jack's behalf). Whilst hunting the beast they bump into Locke, who tells them a story about he when he was young his sister died and his foster-mother was distraught for months on end. Some time later a dog came into the house with no tag or collar and immediately went to Locke’s foster-mother. She adopted the dog and it kept her happy, even sleeping in Locke’s sister’s room. After his foster-mother died, the dog vanished. Kate asks if the dog was his sister somehow reincarnated and Locke says that’s silly, but his foster-mother certainly thought so and it made her happy. 

They corner the boar and Sawyer prepares to shoot it. However, he relents, insisting that “It’s just a damned boar.” He returns his gun to Jack and they talk briefly, Jack mentioning that the Red Sox will never win the World Series. Sawyer remembers hearing that exact phrase from a man he met in Australia, an American doctor who had fled to Australia to escape his past and was deeply proud of his son who was also a doctor. He ponders if this man was Jack’s father, but says nothing about it to Jack.

Meanwhile, Charlie is acting a little oddly. He brushes off going for a walk with Claire. Later on, he enlists Hurley's help in burying Ethan's body. Hurley goes to see Sayid and asks him if he things Charlie might be suffering from PTSD. Sayid talks to Charlie, who is adamant that he did the right thing. Sayid is impressed by his resolve but tells Charlie that he isn't alone, even if he feels that way, and can talk to the rest of the survivors. Charlie takes up Claire's offer of a walk.

Major WTFery: Sawyer hears the Whispers, confirming they weren't just imagined by Sayid. Sawyer confronts the possibility that the boar is the reincarnation of Duckett (which might be a bit too WTF even for Lost) before concluding that it isn't.

Hindsight: Amusingly, the Red Sox did win the 2004 World Series several days after the events of this episode. However, this was months before the episode actually aired, causing some confusion for reviewers and critics. We also learn that Kate was married (but not to Nathan Fillion, as the episode I Do in Season 3 relates) and that Sawyer met Jack's dad and, as of the end of this episode, is aware of that fact.

 

Review: The premise for this episode is among the most bonkers in the series - Sawyer squares off against a boar he thinks is the reincarnation of a man he killed by accident - but it actually masks a really well-written episode with some smart, funny dialogue (who knew that Sawyer wore pink in the 1980s?).

[Werthead]

117: ...In Translation

Written by Javier Grillo-Marxuach and Leonard Dick, directed by Tucker Gates

Airdate: 23 February 2005

Survivor Count: 45

Days on Island: 32-34 (23-25 October 2004)

Flashback Character: Jin

 

Flashbacks: In South Korea, Jin meets with Sun's father, Mr. Paik, and asks him for permission to marry his daughter. Mr. Paik agrees on the condition that Jin work for him. He asks what Jin's father does and Jin replies that his father is dead. Some time later Paik sends Jin to deliver "a warning" to the Under-Secretary for Environmental Safety, who is blocking one of Paik's businesses from opening. Jin complies, but only delivers a verbal admonishment. The secretary is so please at being let off a beating that he gives Jin a puppy (the dog Jin later gives Sun). Paik is displeased with Jin's timidity and sends Jin and a hitman back to kill the secretary. Jin runs ahead, bursts into the house and beats the man senseless, telling him to allow the business to open and that he has just saved the man's life. The hitman agrees this is sufficient and lets the secretary live. This is the night that Sun catches Jin covered in blood and fears that her husband is a murderer. Jin is distraught and goes to see his father, who isn't dead but is living a quiet life as a fisherman. Jin is ashamed of his humble beginnings and begs his father's forgiveness. He tells his father that Mr. Paik has told him to deliver antique watches to Sydney and Los Angeles. His father suggests that he comply, but afterwards he and Sun should stayin the United States and build a new life together there. Jin agrees.

 

On the Island: Jin and Sun quarrel on the beach. Michael intervenes but Sun slaps him for his presumption. Later she warns him that Jin can be violent and she hit him to protect him. That night Michael's under-construction raft is burned down and destroyed. Furious, Michael blames Jin, who has burn-marks on his arms. Sawyer, who had swapped some construction cable he'd salvaged from the plane crash in return for a place on the boat, takes Jin prisoner and drags him back to the beach for interrogation. Michael and Jin duke it out, with Sawyer preventing Jack from ending the fight. Michael wins the fight but Sun begs him to stop, telling him that Jin was not responsible. Jin saw the boat on fire and tried to put it out, but was injured. Locke intervenes, suggesting that the mysterious "Others" mentioned by Danielle Rousseau may have been responsible. Jin is horrified to see Sun speaking English. Counting this as a betrayal, despite it saving him, he moves back to the beach camp and tells Sun their relationship is over. He decides to leave the Island as soon as possible, agreeing to help Michael rebuild the raft in return for a place on it.

 

Shannon and Sayid become closer. Sayid tries again to reach out to Boone and make sure he is okay with the situation, but Boone tells him that Shannon will simply use him for protection and then cast him aside when it is convenient to her. Sayid starts having second thoughts about the relationship. Shannon realises that Boone has interfered and goes to find him, instead stumbling across Locke. Locke tells Shannon that the Island gives everyone a second chance and a new life. Maybe she should start living hers? Shannon kisses Sayid and convinces him that they should be together.

 

Locke asks Walt why he burned the raft. Walt replies that he doesn't want to leave as he likes it on the Island. Locke agrees and says he likes it there as well. Walt realises what he did was wrong and volunteers to help his dad rebuild the raft (without confessing that he burned it).

 

The batteries on Hurley's discman run out, severing another link with the world of technology.

 

Major WTFery: Nothing too major, except that the existence of the "the Others" is now widely known to all of the survivors, even if there is still some scepticism. Oh, and if you look at the Korean scenes closely you may catch a news report with Hurley on it! This is explained in the next episode. There's also a Lord of the Flies reference which hints that the survivors are going to get all ruthless and bloody on one another (as some early fan theories suggested), but this appears to be a bit of misdirection.

 

Hindsight: Locke says that his dad is "not cool" and we find out why in just two episodes - his dad tricked him into getting in touch just so he could con Locke into a kidney transplant.

 

Review: A pretty good episode because it inverts what we thought we knew about Jin from House of the Rising Sun and develops his character in a convincing way without being implausible. I'm not entirely convinced by him pitching in to help Michael just after the guy beat him up, however. There's also some funny scenes, such as Michael trying to get Walt excited about architecture by explaining the awesome design of the Flatiron Building, to Walt's bemusement, and Shannon hinting to Sayid that there might be some BDSM on their first date. Also, it's good to see the slightly saccharine practice of ending episodes with MOR pop songs come to an end with Hurley's discman dying. (****)

 

118: Numbers

Written by Brent Fletcher and David Fury, directed by Daniel Attias

Airdate: 2 March 2005

Survivor Count: 45

Days on Island: 35-36 (26-27 October 2004)

Flashback Character: Hurley

 

Flashbacks: Hurley wins the state lottery by using six numbers: 4, 8, 15, 16, 23 and 42. After he recovers from the shock, he promises to buy his mother a house and allow his grandfather to retire. But his grandfather dies almost immediately of a heart attack and his mother's new house burns down. Shortly afterwards he is arrested for being a drug dealer in a case of mistaken identity. With some wise business investments (including buying a box company is Tuscon, which is the one Locke works at) and police compensation, Hurley doubles his wealth value to $156 million. But he becomes convinced that the numbers are cursed and he is spreading bad luck all around him. His business manger is sceptical, even when someone chooses that exact moment to jump to his death from the building's roof.

 

Feeling the situation is getting out of control, Hurley goes to the mental institution where he spent several months. He talks to one of his friends from there, a man named Leonard. Leonard keeps repeating "the Numbers" under his breath, as he has done for years, and was where Hurley got the idea to enter the lottery. When Hurley tells him he used the Numbers to win the lottery, Leonard becomes cogent but also angry, telling Hurley that he has "opened the box". Leonard is led away, but not before telling him that he heard about the Numbers from a guy called Sam Tooms, who lives in Australia.

 

Hurley finds Sam's house in the middle of the Outback, as far from civilisation as possible. Sam is dead but his widow Martha tells Hurley what happened. About sixteen years ago Sam and Leonard were working in a listening station monitoring radio transmissions in the Pacific Ocean when they suddenly heard the Numbers on a frequency coming out of nowhere. Sam used the numbers to guess the numbers of beans in a jar, winning a significant amount of money, but like Hurley he found bad luck following him around. He moved himself and Martha (who lost a leg in a freak accident) to the middle of the Outback but bad things kept happening. In the end Sam shot himself. She tells Hurley that the Numbers are not cursed and that people are responsible for their own fates.

 

On the Island: Michael and Jin's new raft is taking shape on the beach but they lack a battery to power a transmitter they can use to call for help. Locke asks Claire to help him in building something out of wood, curious, she agrees.

 

Sayid is pouring over Danielle Rousseau's papers and maps. Hurley takes a look and freaks out when he sees the Numbers amongst the notes. After grilling Sayid on Danielle's location, Hurley grabs some supplies and takes off. Sayid, guessing what Hurley's doing, enlists Jack and Charlie in helping him follow and stop Hurley. They catch up, but can't dissuade him. The party is separated when a rope bridge they find in the jungle collapses: Charlie and Hurley make it over but Jack and Sayid have to circle around to find them. They find Danielle's camp, but she's rigged it with explosives to destroy it if anyone comes close. Charlie and Hurley make contact with Danielle, but she starts shooting at them. Charlie runs off but Hurley stands his ground and begs her for help. Danielle relents and tells Hurley that, sixteen years ago, her scientific expedition heard the Numbers being broadcast on a frequency. They changed course to investigate, ran aground and became shipwrecked. They found the transmitter broadcasting the numbers and changed it to a distress call. Hurley tells Danielle that that Numbers are cursed. Danielle points out everything that has happened to her since and says she agrees. Hurley is so relieved that someone believes him that he hugs her. He regroups with the others and heads back to the beach. He even managed to get a battery from Danielle for the raft.

 

Claire tells Locke that it's her birthday, but she didn't want to make a fuss. Locke wishes her a happy birthday and reveals what he's been building: a crib for her baby. On the beach Charlie confesses that he used to be a heroin addict. Hurley reciprocates by telling Charlie that he's worth $156 million. Charlie thinks he's taking the mickey and storms off, to Hurley's bemusement.

 

The hatch in the jungle is revealed to have the Numbers emblazoned on its side: 4, 8, 15, 16, 23 and 42.

 

Major WTFery: Apparently Sam "used the Numbers" to guess the number of beans in a jar to win his money. It's not divulged how he did this, as presumably there weren't 4,815,162,342 beans in the jar (that requiring 1. a big jar and 2. more than a century to count them). Of course, the Numbers are main part of WTFery for this episode, although we are given an explanation (kind of) later on. See below. Oh, and it's now possible to get from the beach camp to Danielle's camp and back in less than a day, which seems a bit implausible given how long Sayid was gone previously.

 

Hindsight: The Numbers are established in this episode as being a key piece of the Lost mythology, as intended by the writers. However, the writers later neglected the Numbers and decided to explain their relevance and backstory in an alternate reality game, The Lost Experience, which aired between Seasons 2 and 3. This annoyed some fans, who expected them to be explained on the show instead. After Season 2 the Numbers became only sparingly referenced and played no role in the resolution of the series, although they would continue to appear in the background and as Easter Eggs throughout the run of the show.

 

According to The Lost Experience, the Numbers form the variables in the Valenzetti Equation. This equation attempts to determine how long the human race has before it destroys itself through one of several self-inflicted means, including nuclear war, technological overreach, climate change or resource depletion (among others). One of the DHARMA Initiative experiments involved trying to adjust the Numbers as a means of saving the human race from extinction. Exactly how this was to be done was unclear. However, the inference is that the Numbers are part of the fabric of the universe (like pi) and fiddling around with them may - somehow - be responsible for some of the craziness on the Island. There may also be a link between the Numbers and the real-life, bizarre phenomenon of Number Stations, radio stations of unknown origin broadcasting lists of numbers for possible intelligence-based reasons. Lost's sister series Fringe also features Number Stations.

 

Review: Well, that was unexpected. A comedy Hurley episode is the most mythology-heavy episode of the series to date, expanding on the Numbers and setting up the radio transmitter (although we don't actually see it until the Season 3 finale) and Rousseau's backstory (which we finally get to see in Season 5). The result is a very fun, relatively action-packed and busy episode of Lost anchored on Jorge Garcia's excellent, funny and very human performance as Hurley, and the best episode of the series so far. (*****)

 

119: Deus Ex Machina

Written by Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof, directed by Robert Mandel

Airdate: 30 March 2005

Survivor Count: 45

Days on Island: 39-41 (30 October-1 November 2004)

Flashback Character: Locke

 

Flashbacks: Locke is working in a toyshop. He meets a woman, Emily, who claims to be his mother. Locke was given up for adoption as a baby and was raised in foster homes. His mother claims that Locke was "immaculately conceived", to Locke's consternation. Locke hires a private investigator who confirms that Locke's mother has been in and out of mental institutions all her life. He also tracks down Locke's father, a man named Anthony Cooper. Locke goes to see him and Cooper confirms that he is his father. They form a bond and Cooper teaches Locke how to shoot and hunt. Locke arrives early one day and finds his father hooked up to a kidney dialysis machine: Cooper is dying of kidney failure. Locke volunteers to donate a kidney and Cooper agrees. But Locke wakes up to find that Cooper has vanished, refuses to return his calls and has his security bar his house to him. Emily tells Locke that his father befriending him was a scam to get Locke to give up his kidney. Locke breaks down, feeling utterly betrayed, distraught and humiliated.

 

On the Island: Locke and Boone have built a massive trebuchet to smash open the hatch, but it doesn't even dent it. A wooden splinter goes through Locke's leg and he doesn't even feel it. Locke becomes concerned that the Island is revoking the healing of his legs due to his lessening faith as he fails to get into the hatch. Locke has a weird dream in which Boone says, "Theresa fell down the stairs" and a small aircraft flies overhead and crashes nearby. When he asks Boone about it, Boon says that Theresa was a nanny who died at his house in a freak accident when he was little. Locke decides to follow the path of the plane he saw. Along the way they find a skeletal corpse of a man dressed like a priest and carrying a gun.

 

On the beach, Sawyer is having painful headaches and starts getting worried since his uncle died of a brain tumour. Jack investigates and realises that Sawyer is long-sighted. He and Sayid fashion Sawyer a pair of glasses out of the pairs they find in the luggage of other passengers.

 

Locke and Boone find the plane, which is a light aircraft caught into the jungle canopy overlooking a cliff. Locke's legs are fading and he can't climb, so he asks Boone to go aboard. Boone climbs up and finds small statuettes of the Virgin Mary filled with heroin, along with maps of Nigeria. Boone gets the radio working and makes a distress call by saying "We are the survivors of Flight 815." But someone on the other end says, "We're the survivors of Flight 815" in a confused voice. Suddenly the plane falls down the cliff and crashes on its roof, crushing Boone. Locke manages to get his leg working and, with effort, gets Boone back to the caves where Jack tries to save him. Locke tells Jack that Boone fell off a cliff. Before he can give Jack more information, Locke runs to the hatch and starts beating on it, demanding to know "why" the Island has done this to him. Suddenly a light comes on in the hatch, as if the Island is rewarding Locke's faith.

 

Major WTFery: Locke's healing being linked to his faith in the Island feeds into his "man of faith" stance going forwards. A Nigerian plane winding up on a Pacific island is a mystery that the show does - eventually - explain.

 

Hindsight: The flipside of this episode is seen in the Season 2 finale, when Desmond hears someone banging on the hatch and he turns the light on, but it's too far up to see out and he decides not to risk it being someone who is hostile. However, this does beg the question of, if this is the first time Desmond discovers there are other people out there, why didn't hear the massive racket of the trebuchet hitting the hatch earlier in the episode.

 

The origin of the "other Flight 815 SOS" is revealed in the episode The Other 48 Days.

 

The backstory of the Beechcraft is revealed in the Season 2 episode The 23rd Psalm, namely that the plane belonged to Nigerian drug smugglers. How the short-range plane got to the Island is unclear, as the Island's current position is about 9,000 miles to the east of northern Nigeria. However, this is explained in later episodes where it is confirmed there are "windows" allowing people to travel to the Island from other places on Earth and also that the Island itself movies in time and space. The plane likely fell through one of these windows by chance to crash on the Island. We later find out (in ? and Expose) that the crashed Beechcraft is located very close to the Pearl Station.

 

Review: A pretty good follow up to Locke's first flashback episode. Terry O'Quinn delivers a typically excellent performance as his faith is tested and found wanting, and the battlelines are drawn in future showdowns between Locke and Jack (even if - unfortunately - the science/faith struggle ends up becoming muddled and thematically incoherent). The Sawyer storyline is a bit throwaway (aside from an amusing Harry Potter reference) but it actually explains Sawyer's rather inconsistent aiming abilities: nailing a polar bear at a distance in the pilot but missing the Marshal's heart at pointblank range in the next episode. (****)

 

120: Do No Harm

Written by Janet Tamaro, directed by Stephen Williams

Airdate: 6 April 2005

Survivor Count: 45

Days on Island: 41-42 (1-2 November 2004)

Flashback Character: Jack

 

Flashbacks: Jack is getting married to Sarah, a former patient he "fixed" after a major car crash. He has difficulty writing his speech, but his dad gives him some advice and Jack is able to express his love for his wife eloquently after all. Erm. That's it.

 

On the Island: Jack tries furiously to save Boone, with Sun stepping in as a temporary nurse and assistant. Jack is able to stop the immediate bleeding but needs to perform a transfusion. However, it turns out to be for nothing because Boone's leg has been crushed rather than broken, resulting in the blood pooling in his shattered limb. The only chance is to cut off Boone's leg, but Boone stops Jack before he can proceed. He points out that Jack simply doesn't have the medical equipment he needs to save Boone and he should let him go peacefully. Boone dies, but not before telling Jack about the Beechcraft and the hatch.

 

Sayid takes Shannon up the beach for a romantic dinner. Shannon tells him that she and Boone are step-siblings and that Boone is "sort of" in love with her, but she doesn't have those feelings for him. Sayid is pleased.

 

Kate collects medical supplies for Jack from Sawyer at the beach, but on the way back to the caves comes across Claire, who has gone into labour. Using Jin as a go-between with Jack, Kate delivers Claire's baby. Jin and Charlie assist (kind of). At the moment Boone dies, Claire delivers a healthy baby boy.

 

The next morning Sayid and Shannon return to the beach and learn the tragic news. Jack, furious at Locke for lying to him and resulting in Boone's mistreatment, sets out into the jungle to find Locke.

 

Major WTFery: Pretty much none, aside maybe from Jack's overconfidence that he can carry out a major medical procedure in a cave with instruments made of bamboo and sea urchin spikes.

 

Hindsight: Not a huge amount, beyond the fact that Boone's death proves to be a pivotal moment for the development of the antagonism between Jack and Locke, for Locke's faith and spirituality and for Shannon's growing independence.

 

Review: This is a good episode for its medical drama as Jack works hard to save Boone, past the point of what is sensible or reasonable. However, the flashbacks are completely and totally pointless. They don't provide much insight or development of Jack's character and the fact that Jack was once married does not really play into the story going forwards. Boone's death is a major shock for the show and does change up character dynamics going forwards, and it's good to see Sun taking charge of the situation. (****)

 

121: The Greater Good

Written by Leonard Dick

Airdate: 4 May 2005

Survivor Count: 45 (Boone died in the previous episode but Aaron was born to offset the count)

Days on Island: 42 (2 November 2004)

Flashback Character: Sayid

 

Flashbacks: Sayid is picked up by the CIA when he flies into London. They offer him a deal: if he helps infiltrate and expose a terrorist cell in Sydney containing some of his former associates from Iraq, they will help him find his lost love, Nadia. In Sydney Sayid quickly gains the trust of his old comrade, Essam, who has volunteered to take part in a suicide bombing. However, Essam has serious doubts as he has a family. Sayid is sure he can convinced Essam to turn himself in, but he is told by the CIA that Essam must at least head out on the mission so they can identify the target, recover the explosives and arrest his collaborators. Sayid waits until the mission is underway before warning Essam. However, Essam is furious with Sayid's betrayal and commits suicide on the spot. Angry and blaming the CIA for escalating the situation until Essam's death was inevitable, Sayid demands they allow him to bury Essam before flying to California, where Nadia is living. This delay means that Sayid ends up on Oceanic 815.

 

On the Island: Jack heads out after Locke, but after being up all night and having donated blood to Boone, he is in no state to do so. Kate encourages him to return to the beach for Boone's memorial. The survivors struggle to find words for this loss, so Sayid praises his attempt to rescue Joanna, who drowned on the sixth day on the Island. Locke suddenly appears and confesses that he and Boone had found the Beechcraft and Boone was trying to radio for help. He says that Boone died a hero. Jack, furious with Locke for lying, tries to attack him but is stopped by the others. Kate forces Jack to take some rest by grinding up sleeping pills into a drink for him.

 

Locke attempts to explain himself to Shannon, saying that Boone was very brave. Shannon is unconvinced and asks Sayid to take care of Locke for killing her brother. Sayid forces Locke to take him to the Beechcraft. He interrogates Locke carefully as he investigates the plane and salvages what he can from the radio and other electronics. He asks Locke what Boone meant by "the hatch" and Locke tells him clearly Boone meant one of the hatches on the aircraft. As a sign of trust, Locke also gives Sayid the gun he found on one of the bodies from the plane and confesses to being the one to knock out Sayid when he was looking for the transceiver.

 

Claire is also exhausted and needs rest, but is paranoid about something happening to her baby. Charlie offers to look after "Turniphead". Charlie feeds and changes the baby, but he keeps crying. Hurley is unable to help, but bizarrely Charlie finds that the baby is mollified by the sound of Sawyer's voice. Sawyer, reluctantly, agrees to help put the baby to sleep by reading to him from a car magazine that was on the plane.

 

Sayid tells Shannon that he can't do anything more to punish Locke. Shannon steals the key to the Marshal's gun case from Jack when he's asleep and sets out to kill Locke. Jack, Kate and Sayid stop her, Sayid deflecting her aim so the bullet only grazes Locke. A furious Shannon storms off and tells Sayid to leave her alone. Sayid wonders if he's made a mistake. Later he tells Locke that he doesn't trust him, but considers him an asset to their chances of survival on the Island. However, this is conditional on Locke not lying and taking him to the hatch, immediately. Locke agrees.

 

Major WTFery: Again, the weird takes a bit of a back seat this episode.

 

Hindsight: This episode marks the deterioration in the other survivors trusting Locke, who up until this point had enjoyed near-universal respect and even awe from the others for his survival skills. Jack remains suspicious of Locke and his "faith" in the irrational pretty much for the rest of the series after this point. Sayid is also distrustful of Locke, but adopts a more pragmatic line, willing to work with Locke to gain intelligence about the Island. This attitude continues in future episodes.

 

Shannon knowing about the Marshal's guns appears to be a major continuity error, give the secrecy with which Jack and the rest treated them. However. the Season 3 episode Expose (which flashes back to events from across the first two-and-a-half seasons) reveals that knowledge of the guns became more widespread after Charlie killed Ethan and Shannon was able to learn the gun case's location prior to this point.

 

Review: Sayid episodes are usually pretty decent and this one is fairly good, although the flashback story is a rather simplistic exploration of the issues involved. The story on the Island is more compelling, with the survivors' willingness to work as a team eroded. Shannon grabbing the gun to threaten Locke does feel a little bit too melodramatic and an artificial excuse for some drama. (***½)

 

122: Born to Run

Written by Javier Grillo, Marxuach, Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz, directed by Tucker Gates

Airdate: 11 May 2005

Survivor Count: 45

Days on Island: 43 (3 November 2004)

Flashback Character: Kate

 

Flashbacks: Kate is still on the run, but learns that her mother is suffering from a terminal illness. She visits an old friend from her childhood, Tom Brennan, who is a doctor at the same hospital. Tom and Kate retrieve a time capsule they buried together on 15 August 1989 and find Tom's toy plane in there. Tom helps Kate see her mother, but her mother becomes fearful of Kate and starts screaming for help. Kate has to knock out a security guard and escapes in Tom's car. Tom tries to talk Kate out of fleeing, but a police officer opens fire and shoots Tom dead by accident. Kate runs off on foot, leaving Tom and the toy airplane in the car.

 

On the Island: The raft is nearly completed but another survivor, Dr. Arzt, a high school science teacher, suggests they leave sooner rather than later. Monsoon season is approaching and should last for three to four months. During that time the winds will shift from heading north to south, and will push the raft towards Antarctica. The raft needs to leave as soon as possible to have a hope of heading north into shipping lanes and towards other land.

 

Charlie is feeling cheerfully upbeat, believing that they will be saved by the raft crew. He gets a haircut from Claire and starts writing a new album, apparently a concept record inspired by their adventures on the Island (Track 2 is called "Monster Eats the Pilot"). He points out to Kate that once they are rescued they'll all be incredibly famous. Kate is disturbed by this. She decides her best chance of escaping capture is to pose as one of the other survivors, Joanna (who drowned on the sixth day), and deliberately damaging her passport to obscure her face. She tries to convince Michael to let her join the raft expedition, citing her superior sailing experience to Sawyer. Michael refuses to go back on his word to Sawyer. However, when Sawyer starts complaining about the construction of the raft Michael ponders if Kate was right. Sawyer realises that Kate is after his spot and tells her that he knows she was the Marshal's prisoner, but her secret is safe with him.

 

Sayid reveals the existence of the hatch to Jack and Jack asks Locke why he kept it a secret. Locke says that he used his judgement, but Jack deems this unacceptable when it is something that has ramifications for the whole group. They return to the beach, where Michael has fallen ill. Inspecting Michael's water bottle, Jack realises that he was mildly poisoned, deliberately. Michael blames Sawyer. Hurley accidentally reveals that Kate was the prisoner to Locke, causing Locke to throw Jack's words back at him, as Kate's criminal nature certainly has ramifications for the group. Michael throws Sawyer off the boat, but Sawyer then reveals Kate's criminal past to the whole group, who then shun her. Michael isn't sure who poisoned him but reluctantly reinstates Sawyer. Walt tells Locke it wasn't him who poisoned him, but is suddenly seized by sudden urge to tell Locke not to "open that thing." Locke is confused.

 

Jack tells Sun that he knows it was her who poisoned Michael; she was actually trying to poison Jin to get him to stay, but mixed up the water bottles. He agrees to keep her secret. Sun tells Kate that Jack knows, but not that it was Kate who suggested it (so Sun would get Jin back and Kate could take Jin's place). Meanwhile, Walt confesses to his dad that it was him who destroyed the first raft. Michael forgives him.

 

Major WTFery: This episode marks what appears to be a major continuity error. We see the tide is turning and that the Island is heading into monsoon season, which tracks with the South Pacific wet season running from November to April (roughly). However, after the start of Season 2 this is never mentioned again and the remainder of Seasons 2-4, which take place over an additional two months after this point (up until the start of January 2005, 108 days after the crash), feature mostly clement weather, including several further trips by boat (powered and sail) and even helicopter without adverse effects. This can be put down to the general bizarrity of the Island but it then begs the question as to why the monsoon is starting to take effect in this episode. The conclusion originally was that some freak local weather event took place and Arzt put it down to the monsoon, unaware that the Island's strange nature would shield them from it. Of course, pretending that the next three seasons of the show take place in a monsoon would have created serious production problems the team would have liked to have avoided. The error is eventually cleared up in the Missing Pieces "mobisode" Tropical Depression (released between Seasons 3 and 4), in which Arzt claims he made up the monsoon story to get the raft launched as soon as possible.

 

Walt seems to know about the hatch and that opening it is a really bad idea from Locke just briefly touching him.

 

Hindsight: This episode continues to mark the deterioration in inter-team relations. Sayid distrusts Locke, Locke and Jack distrust each other, everyone now distrusts Kate (apart from maybe Jack and Sawyer), Michael distrusts Sawyer briefly and so on. Damon Lindelof noted in his Season 1 retrospective that he would later miss the continuity and coherence of having everyone based in one location with people ranging out from it. Seasons 2 and 3 would fracture the survivors into different locations (the caves, the beach, the hatch and the Others' camp) and this episode and the prior one arguably mark the end of that period of mutual trust and camaraderie after the plane crash.

 

Review: It has to be said that whilst the story of Kate going on the run, what crime she committed and so on is generally quite well-handled, the subplot about the toy airplane is rather unconvincing, especially as it now spans three sets of flashbacks (Whatever the Case May Be, this episode and her mini-flashback in the finale). The amount of emotional significance that Kate puts into the inanimate object is rather strange, and that the Marshal would use it to bait her feels unconvincing. The on-Island story is more intriguing as things start to fall apart amongst the survivors even as they try to pull together to launch the raft. (***½)

 

123: Exodus, Part 1

Written by Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, directed by Jack Bender

Airdate: 18 May 2005

Survivor Count: 44 (4 November 2004)

Days on Island:

Flashback Characters: Walt, Jack, Sawyer, Kate, Shannon, Sun

 

On the Island: Danielle Rousseau arrives at the beach camp and tells the survivors that the Others are coming. She heard the whispers in the jungle saying as much. She warns them that, prior to the Others coming to steal away her baby daughter, Alex, Danielle saw a column of black smoke on the horizon. Claire fears for the safety of her baby, but the survivors as a whole fear that they all may be taken. The news hastens the launch of the raft, but the first attempt fails due to a mistake from Sawyer causing the mast to snap. Sawyer, feeling underappreciated, goes out into the jungle to cut a new mast single-handed.

 

Jack shows Danielle the hatch, which surprises her as she has no idea what it is. Jack suggests that they use the dynamite she used to destroy her camp to open the hatch, as it can be used as an emergency refuge. As the hatch cannot be opened from the outside, Locke rationalises that there is a "normal" entrance somewhere they have not been able to locate, which suggests that the underground facility must be reasonably large. Danielle concurs and agrees to take them to the "black rock", which is where she found the dynamite. Jack, Kate, Locke, Hurley and Dr. Arzt (who knows how to handle explosives) form a team and head out. Jack meets Sawyer before they leave to give him a gun to help defend the raft. Sawyer tells him about meeting his father in Australia.

 

The raft crew prepare to launch. Walt suggests that Shannon can look after Vincent, and Sawyer collects letters from the survivors for their families. Sun and Jin reconcile and tearfully say goodbye. Sayid has installed a short-range range-finder (salvaged from the plane) and a radio powered by the battery given to them by Danielle to help with finding another ship, along with the plane's flare gun. The raft launches and they head out to sea. Black smoke has appeared on the horizon, so as part of their contingency planning Sayid and Charlie begin organising for the rest of the survivors to take shelter at the caves.

 

In the jungle, Jack's party hears the sounds of the Monster in the distance. Danielle tells them that the Monster is actually a "security system" designed specifically to protect the Island. They finally reach their destination: the Black Rock, a 19th Century wooden sailing ship registered in Portsmouth, England according to the lettering on the hull. Danielle departs, feeling her work is done.

 

Flashbacks: In the hotel before leaving for the airport, Michael gets annoyed when Walt switches on the TV at 5.30am. Walt storms out but Michael reigns him in.

 

Sawyer is arrested and taken to a police station in Sydney. They know that he is a conman but not a murderer. They know that Sawyer was in a barfight but the man he headbutted was the Australian Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. Sawyer is deported from Australia and banned from re-entering the country.

 

At the airport bar, Jack gets talking to a young woman who sits down next to him, Ana Lucia Cortez. They share a drink and Jack confirms that he is divorced. They chat and realise they are on the same flight. Ana Lucia suggests they have another drink on the plane and tells Jack she will be sitting in Seat 42F, in the tail section.

 

The Marshal checks in his weapons before taking Kate on the plane. The security officer at the airport asks why he needs five guns. The Marshal tells him about Kate's escapades. Kate becomes so annoyed at the Marshal's account of the story that she attacks him and nearly escapes before he subdues her, saying that's why he needs five guns.

 

Sun and Jin drink coffee at the airport. Sun becomes upset when she hears an American woman telling her husband that Asian women are subservient to their husbands and spills her coffee over Jin. Jin goes to get cleaned up.

 

Sayid leaves his bag on a seat in the waiting area, asking his neighbour (who turns out to be Shannon) to keep an eye on it. Boone arrives, telling Shannon they can't get an upgrade to first class. Furious, Shannon storms off, telling Boone he can't get anything done. When he asks her if she can, she promptly tells a passing security guard that an "Arab-looking guy" left an unattended bag in the waiting area, apparently just because she can.

 

Major WTFery: As the survivors themselves start debating, it's rather unclear how the Black Rock ended up several kilometres inland. In the next episode Dr. Arzt concludes it may have been some kind of tidal wave, which actually turns out to be right. However, there are apparent continuity errors here, with the invention of dynamite coming far after the banning of the slave trade by the British Empire (we find out in the next episode that the Black Rock was a slave ship). Future episodes confirm that the Black Rock was built in England and launched from there, but was later decommissioned and sold to private individuals, but they still mess up the dates with the discovery of dynamite.

 

Hindsight: The Black Rock plays a major role in several future episodes before being destroyed by Hurley (apparently fed up at it being used as a constant source of death-dealing supplies) in the final season. At this point it appears that the writers hadn't quite decided on the origin of the Black Rock, but future episodes tie it together quite nicely with other, long-running mysteries on the show: the Black Rock was also responsible for bringing Richard Alpert to the Island and destroying the Statue of Tawaret during a massive storm.

 

Ana Lucia Cortez, of course, is a major character in Season 2. Getting Michelle Rodriguez, who was clearly a rising star at this time (just to feel old, the first two Fast and Furious movies were already out by this time), was a bit of a coup for the show and there's some nice groundwork-laying here for the second season.

 

This episode marks the beginning of one of the most event-intensive periods on the Island: no less than five episodes take place over the course of the next two days (leading up to Orientation, the third episode of Season 2) and other episodes flash back to this period as well, most notably The Other 48 Days.

 

Review: The season finale kicks off with a surprisingly slow-paced episode that sacrifices on-Island story momentum for a lengthy series of flashbacks moving between the different characters. These vary in quality (Shannon's slowly-melting on-Island character development feels a bit undone by showing her selfish past self, whilst Ana Lucia meeting Jack is quite well handled) but do help fill in the last missing pieces of how the characters came to be on the plane. All-in-all, it's setup but quite well-done setup. (****)

 

124: Exodus, Part 2

Written by Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, directed by Jack Bender

Airdate: 25 May 2005

Survivor Count: 45

Days on Island: 44 (4 November 2004)

Flashback Characters: Jin, Charlie, Michael, Hurley, Locke

 

On the Island: Kate, Jack and Locke explore the Black Rock and find the dynamite, whilst Dr. Arzt and Hurley sit outside. Arzt complains about the "A-team" continuing to run around and get into adventures whilst forty other people are back on the beach trying to survive, and how they don't always appreciate that. He examines the dynamite and suggests wrapping it in wet blankets to try to carry it safely. Unfortunately, this doesn't not prove sufficient and Arzt blows himself to pieces. The others draw lots and it falls to Kate and Locke to transport the dynamite. They take precautions such as packing in clothing to muffle the movement of the sticks as much as possible and walk in staggered formation.

 

On the way back, Kate and Jack both see wisps of black smoke floating through the trees in an odd manner. Suddenly the group is attacked by the Monster and scatters. Locke stands his ground as he did once before, but what he sees is not the same as before (in Walkabout) and he becomes afraid and runs. A tendril of black smoke drags him through the jungle and almost into a pit, but Jack grabs him. Locke says that Jack can let him go, but Jack gets annoyed and throws in a stick of dynamite. There is an explosion and for a split second a massive cloud of roiling black smoke moving in an unnatural manner becomes visible before suddenly dissipating. Jack angrily asks why Locke almost committed suicide, but Locke tells him that the Island was merely testing him. He tells Jack that he is a man of science, but Locke is a man of faith and on this Island that may be more important. He also tells Jack that Boone had to die as a sacrifice to the Island. Jack becomes disturbed by Locke's fervour and tells Kate that if Locke continues to put people in danger due to his "faith", they're going to have a problem. Kate agrees and tells Jack that she has his back.

 

Sayid is getting the survivors off the beach and up to the caves. Claire and Charlie are bringing up the rear when Danielle catches up, saying she needs Sayid. Charlie rushes off to grab him, but when they come back they find that Claire has been attacked and Danielle has run off with the baby. Claire has confused memories of scratching Danielle and realises she encountered her after being kidnapped by Ethan. Charlie and Sayid tool up and head after Danielle, who has gone towards the black smoke on the horizon. Claire begs them to succeed, revealing that she has decided to call the baby Aaron. Charlie and Sayid pass the Beechcraft on the way after Danielle. They pause for a drink, Sayid (who is unaware of Charlie's past) casually mentioning that the plane is full of heroin. Charlie struggles with temptation. They carry on after Danielle and encounter a trap which wounds Charlie. Sayid cauterises the wound with gunpowder, to Charlie's evident agony. They finally catch up with Danielle at a massive pyre she has built on another beach. She wanted the Others to come so she could swap Aaron for Alex. Sayid and Charlie take Aaron back, realising that the Others are not coming for the survivors of Ocean 815 after all. Danielle is confused, since she heard the whispers saying that they were coming for "the child" and "the boy". Charlie and Sayid return to the caves and Shannon and Sayid are reconciled. Claire thanks Charlie for getting Aaron back, but Charlie has stashed one of the Holy Mary statues filled with heroin in his bag.

 

Jack, Kate, Hurley and Locke reach the hatch and set up the explosives. Hurley drops a torch. When he picks it up, he sees the Numbers on the side of the hatch. He realises they cannot open the hatch and screams at Locke to leave it alone. Locke instead triggers the dynamite and blows open the hatch. When the dust clears, Locke and Jack peer down and see a long shaft with a ladder in the wall and no sign of what may be down there.

 

Out at sea the raft makes good time, sailing northwards up the west coast of the Island. Walt points out that the Island is huge and Michael becomes confused as to how a place this big could have never been discovered before. By the time night falls Michael estimates they are 15 miles north of the Island. They turn on the rangefinder and locate a contact. They launch the flare and soon a motor boat pulls up next to them with four crewmembers on board. Initial jubilation turns to confusion when the bearded man in charge of the boat says, "We're going to have to take the boy." They shoot Sawyer when he tries to pull his gun on them and he falls into the water. Jin jumps after him. The Others board the boat, take Walt by force, knock down Michael and chuck an explosive onto the raft. Michael jumps clear as the raft explodes and the motor boat disappears into the distance.

 

Flashbacks: At the airport, Jin is irritated at Sun spilling coffee over him, but quickly mops it up. In the bathroom, Jin is approached by a man who works for Mr. Paik. He tells him that Paik expects Jin to complete the job in Sydney and California. However, he also knows about Jin's plan to stay in the USA with Sun and warns him that this will not happen.

 

Charle stays up most of the night drinking and taking heroin with a girl he met in a bar. He hides his last bit of heroin, evading her trying to attack him, and heads to the airport.

 

Sayid is released from airport security after his bag was found unattended.

 

Michael rings his mother from the airport to ask her if she can look after Walt: Michael's hours and living conditions are not conducive to raising a child. Michael realises that Walt has overheard and now doesn't feel wanted.

 

Hurley wakes up late for his flight and makes a mad dash for the airport. His hire car breaks down, he goes to the wrong terminal and buys an electric scooter from an old man for $1600 to make the plane in time.

 

The airport staff can't find the wheelchair they use to load disabled passengers on the plane, so have to manhandle Locke on board. He maintains his dignity. The other passengers get on board: Hurley gives Walt a thumbs-up, Dr. Arzt helps Claire load her baggage compartment and Jack takes his seat next to Rose.

 

22 September 2004: Oceanic Flight 815 prepares to take off for Los Angeles.

 

Major WTFery: Where to start? The Others stealing Walt (who was their primary target all along, not Aaron), the Monster being apparently revealed as a free-moving cloud of smoke (although this is not fully confirmed until The 23rd Psalm, ten episodes later) and the hatch being revealed as the entrance to some kind of massive underground facility. In terms of plot holes, it does seem implausible that Danielle (who has maybe half an hour's start on Sayid and Charlie at best) had time to rig up elaborate traps to try to throw them off the scene. Also, the Others don't seem to have had a very good plan for finding the raft: if they hadn't had a rangefinder and launched the flare, the Others wouldn't have found them. That said, the Others know the raft couldn't have gone very far from the Island (due to its Field of Weirdness) and would have probably eventually found them anyway.

 

Hindsight: An interesting question arises here. Since the Smoke Monster is the Man in Black, what was the Man in Black up to in this episode by trying to abduct Locke, especially having already judged him once? Given the smoke monster's incorporeal nature, why would it be concerned about dynamite? It does feel that the writers at this stage were thinking of the Monster as a security system, possibly consisting of nano-robots, using the holes in the ground (Cerberus Vents, as they are named in Season 2) to move around. This idea does not appear to have been abandoned until at least Season 3, possibly even later (given Ben's ability to summon the Monster using a secret room in the Barracks in Season 4), as the Man in Black does not appear until the end of Season 5.

 

The role played by Danielle role in Clarie's abduction is explained in the Season 2 episode Maternity Leave: she found her in the jungle after escaping Ethan and helps Claire get back to the beach.

 

This episode crystallises the Locke/Jack rivalry that's been building since Boone's death: Jack is the Man of Science, who believes in rational explanations. Locke is the Man of Faith who believes that there can be spiritual or even supernatural explanations for things that defy rationality. This becomes the core thematic struggle of the rest of the series. To the dismay of some fans, that battle seems to be resolved in favour of faith, although Locke does not survive to enjoy this semantic victory, which seems to muddle the message a little.

 

Hilariously, it turns out that Hurley's guess about what's down the hatch (Twinkies and TV dinners) isn't that far off the mark.

 

Review: Lost has a (sometimes unfair and sometimes not) reputation for drawing out mysteries and storylines too long and for doing a huge amount of set-up for often limited pay-off. However, it does do very good season finales and they deliver a rapid-fire killer series of cliffhangers here. Charlie finding a new source of drugs is slightly tiresome - even Damon Lindelof admitted that they spent too much time on Charlie as the "drug addict" guy and didn't explore other aspects of his character - but the raft getting blown up, Sawyer being shot, Walt being kidnapped and the hatch getting blown open are all killer moments. We even get our first glimpse of the Monster thrown in on top and Mira Furlan gets to do what she does best on this show, making Danielle crazy and weird and unpredictable but also sympathetic. By establishing a core thematic rivalry between Locke and Jack the show also gets a new central conflict that it rides - perhaps a little too heavily - all the way to its end. Arzt's little meta-commentary on how there are 31 other guys aside from the main characters on that beach and the A-team could show a bit more interest in them is also amusing, if a little too lamp-shady. Overall, a great finale that makes you want to come back for more. (****½)

[RumHam]

I find it very odd that Homecoming is his second least favorite. I don't think it's amazing, and I get that he probably liked the finale, but still. I remember there being a handful of worse ones. Some of the flashbacks become redundant for a bit before they switch it up at the end of season three. I also remember some iffy on island plots like Claire with the birds and a lot of repetitive hiking back and forth. 

One thing I don't remember being explained is why the Dharma Initiative was broadcasting the numbers on a loop like that. I guess to notify people off island if they succeeded? But I don't know why they couldn't just have a "we did it" message to send when the time came. Also did they ever explain why they had to be entered in the hatch computer instead of just automating it or having a simpler command? 

Thanks for doing this by the way. I've already learned a few things I never knew or noticed.  

 

[Werthead]

It's to prevent the electromagnetic build up post-Incident and they just chose those Numbers because - I'm guessing - everyone in the DHARMA Initiative would know the numbers of the Valenzetti Equation off by heart. Also, the automation with late 1970s/early 1980s tech would have been a lot harder to accomplish.

Unfortunately, they did shift the importance of the Numbers away in the mythology which I think hurts the worldbuilding (even if it did stop people harping on about them the whole time, which was the intent). It was a bit odd when they spent 3 years living with DHARMA in Season 5 and they pretty much never came up.

[DaveSumm]

21 minutes ago, Werthead said:

It's to prevent the electromagnetic build up post-Incident and they just chose those Numbers because - I'm guessing - everyone in the DHARMA Initiative would know the numbers of the Valenzetti Equation off by heart. Also, the automation with late 1970s/early 1980s tech would have been a lot harder to accomplish.

Unfortunately, they did shift the importance of the Numbers away in the mythology which I think hurts the worldbuilding (even if it did stop people harping on about them the whole time, which was the intent). It was a bit odd when they spent 3 years living with DHARMA in Season 5 and they pretty much never came up.

Yea, I assumed the S5 explanation that they were to prevent the electromagnetic build up was all we'd get. If anything, the Valenzetti explanation just muddied the waters more as there's no reason that should be connected with their 'fix' for the station (other than your guess). As for why they're cursed: what the hell does an explanation for a curse look like? That was never coming.

[Werthead]

I actually liked the explanation given in Numbers: the Numbers aren't cursed, the people just had a run of bad luck or bad form, some of it resulting from their own actions, and blamed the Numbers as an easy way out.

[Werthead]

This one melted my brain. I forgot how much of the backstory and mythology for the rest of the series is simply slammed down in the opening episodes of Season 2, hence the more detailed plot recaps than previously.

 

201: Man of Science, Man of Faith

Written by Damon Lindelof, directed by Jack Bender

Airdate: 21 September 2005

Survivor Count: 44 (following Dr. Arzt's death in the previous episode)

Days on Island: 44 (4 November 2004)

Flashback Character: Jack

 

Flashbacks: Two patients, a young woman and an older man, are brought into Jack's hospital after being in a horrific car choice. Jack has a split second to decide which to work on and chooses the young woman, Sarah. The older man, Mr. Rutherford, dies. Sarah has extensive spinal injuries and Jack is certain she will never walk again. Sarah's fiance, Kevin, seems horrified at the idea that he might have to provide lifelong, intensive care for Sarah. Jack tries to be open and honest about her chances, but his father, Christian, advises that he try to give her more hope. He performs an operation which is extremely unlikely to succeed but may just restore mobility to her legs. Late at night, Jack goes out running in a local stadium and bumps into a Scottish man named Desmond, who is about to embark on a round-the-world solo sailing race. Desmond encourages him to believe in hope. Jack returns to the hospital and discovers that Sarah is starting to regain feeling in her legs again. Jack bursts into tears at the miraculous recovery.

 

On the Island: A man wakes up in a pleasantly-furbished apartment. He does some exercises, puts on some breakfast and listens to some music. An Apple II computer starts beeping in an adjacent room. The man taps a series of numbers into the computer: 4, 8, 15, 16, 23 and 42. The beeping stops and a timer starts counting again from 108 minutes (the sum of the Numbers). Suddenly, the room shakes from a violent explosion. The man uses a telescope-and-mirror system to peer up a shaft at the end of a passageway. He sees Jack, Locke and Kate peering back down the shaft...

 

Above the hatch, Locke is all for exploring the revealed shaft immediately, but Jack disagrees. The original plan was to use the hatch as a refuge from the Others but the ladder built into the side of the shaft was damaged in the explosion and doesn't extend all the way down, so everyone will have to be lowered in and out by rope. This will be both dangerous and time-consuming. Jack suggests they regroup at the caves and Locke, reluctantly, agrees. As they prepare to leave, Kate overhears a panic-stricken Hurley reciting the Numbers and sees a warning on the inside of the hatch: QUARANTINE.

 

At the caves, Shannon loses track of Vincent. She and Sayid go looking for the dog and split up to retrieve him. Shannon suddenly sees Walt appear, dripping wet and talking nonsensically. Walt then vanishes as Sayid appears. Sayid isn't sure what to make of Shannon's story.

 

Hurley tells Jack about the Numbers and him winning the lottery, but Jack appears sceptical. Back at the caves, they report Arzt's death and learn about Danielle's kidnapping attempt, and that the threat from the Others was an invention. Jack decides to reveal the existence of the hatch to the whole group and that they plan to explore it at dawn. In the meantime he suggests they sit tight and post sentries. However, Locke gets impatient and decides to head into the hatch immediately. Kate reluctantly decides to go with him. Since she is lighter, Locke lowers her down first but is momentarily blinded when someone switches on the light at the bottom of the hatch. By the time he recovers, he finds that someone has grabbed Kate. He prepares his own descent.

 

Jack decides to go in after Locke and Kate. Descending to the bottom of the shaft, he finds the homely bunker as well as a series of much more utilitarian linking corridors. He finds several octagonal logos, with either the words "DHARMA" or "Swan" on them. On the wall is a mural with the Numbers written on it and the words "I'M SICK." He also finds a doorway that has been bricked and concreted up, and the key around his neck (to the Marsha's gun case) starts moving to towards the door, as if magnetised. Continuing to explore, he finds the computer. Suddenly a man enters holding Locke at gunpoint. Jack thinks he recognises the man from somewhere: it's Desmond, the man he met in Los Angeles years earlier.

 

Major WTFery: The hatch is revealed as leading to an underground bunker or station of some kind. The nature of this bunker is unknown (but rather rapidly explained further in the next few episodes). There's also the Island's electromagnetic mystery and the sheer, mind-boggling improbability of Desmond and Jack meeting by chance. Finally, there's Walt's bizarre appearance to Shannon.

 

Hindsight: This is a significant episode for introducing the character of Desmond, who would go on to become one of the most popular characters on the series by the time it ended. It also introduces the Swan Station and its computer, re-highlights the electromagnetic properties of the Island (previously established Season 1 with the incorrect reading for magnetic north), hints that the "chance" meetings between the characters in their flashbacks may be part of a grander design and is also the first episode to reference the DHARMA Initiative (although only in written materials at this stage), making it one of the more mythology-intensive instalments of the series. 

 

There's also some interesting duology between this episode and the series finale: Desmond and Jack work together to save the Island in The End and Desmond tells Jack to "rise it up", meaning his leg here but in fact Desmond does "rise up" the seal on the source of the Island's energy in the finale, allowing Jack to then re-seal it. 

 

This episode also marks a shift in the show's use of music. In Season 1, a number of contemporary pop songs were played with the intimation being that Hurley was listening to them on CD thanks to his discman. This stopped when his discman batteries died. Starting in this episode, the show starts using more classic rock and pop from the 1960s and 1970s, apparently played from the vinyl collection in the Swan Station.

 

In this episode it is confirmed that the Swan Station is half a mile from the caves, which in turn is about one mile from the beach. It is assumed that the Swan Station is between the two, as people stop using the caves in the second season and the Swan has running water, making it an easier watering supply post than the caves. Presumably, after the destruction of the Swan, the survivors return to using the caves for their water again.

 

The episode takes place over a period of just over 108 minutes, making it (probably) the episode that covers the shortest amount of time in the history of the series.

 

Review: A striking opening that wrong-foots the audience with the opening sequence, introduces one of the show's most popular characters, answers several questions and then replaces them with fifty new ones. It's an intensive episode that replaces the paradigm of survival from the first season with a new one of there being a mystery that needs to be solved and Jack and Locke butting heads on how to do it. Jack's obsession with "fixing things" and his conviction that everything has a rational explanation is also established. This is less successful as a stand-alone episode, but it does the job of making you want to watch on to find out what's going on almost immediately (****).

 

 

202: Adrift

Written by Steven Maeda and Leonard Dick, directed by Stephen Williams

Airdate: 28 September 2005

Survivor Count: 44

Days on Island: 44-45 (4-5 November 2004)

Flashback Character: Michael

 

Flashbacks: Having initially agreed to letting his ex-wife Susan and her new husband have custody of Walt, Michael is disturbed when they ask to let the husband adopt Walt. This will involve Michael loosing all parental rights. Michael initially fights to retain access, but Susan convinces him that her and her new partner will be able to provide for Walt much better than he can and give him a really high quality of life. Michael is distraught but forced to agree that they are correct. He says goodbye to Walt and gives him a present: a toy polar bear.

 

On the Island: Following the destruction of the raft by the sinister Others and Walt's abduction, Michael and a wounded Sawyer manage to get onto floating pieces of debris from the raft. They initially hear Jin yelling in the distance, but are unable to locate him in the water. A shark circles around them, to their consternation. Sawyer has to extract the bullet from his shoulder with his bare hands and with no medication, to Michael's disbelief. Michael and Sawyer fall into bickering, Michael blaming Sawyer for making him fire the flare to draw the Others in but Sawyer pointing out  that the Others only had a short-range boat and must have been looking for them specifically. Sawyer reminds Michael of Danielle Rousseau's warning that the Others were "coming for the boy" and it must have been Walt they were after all along, not Aaron. With their makeshift raft disintegrating, Michael and Sawyer find one of the pontoons from the destroyed boat. Whilst trying to retrieve it, Sawyer is attacked by the shark, which has a curious octagonal logo on his back. Michael uses the gun Jack gave Sawyer, either wounding the shark or scaring it off. They manage to get on the pontoon, with the current carrying them back to the Island at dawn.

 

Back at the caves, Claire is bemused to find one of the Virgin Mary statues in Charlie's bag, but not the heroin hidden inside. Charlie reveals a little of his religious background, but says he mainly picked up the statue because it looked nice.

 

In the hatch, before Jack's return, Locke descends the shaft and finds Kate unconscious in the bunker. Desmond holds them both at gunpoint. Desmond asks Locke if he is "him". Locke's messianic tendencies kick in and he says he is, but is unable to answer the code query that Desmond asks him. Locke and Kate explain that there were in a plane crash some 40-odd days ago and Desmond asks how many of them are ill. He is mystified when they say that no-one is ill. Desmond suggests that Kate tie Locke up, but Locke tells him about Kate's criminal background and that she is more dangerous than a box company manager from Tuscon. Locke ties Kate up instead, but it was a ruse so he could slip Kate a spare knife. Locke locks Kate in a side-room, but Kate quickly escapes from her bonds. She discovers she is in a supply room stuffed full of food, drink and produce, all with a "DHARMA" logo on it. She can't help grabbing a chocolate bar before using the ventilation system to escape.

 

The Apple II computer starts beeping and Desmond has Locke enter the Numbers. He is reluctant to explain why this is necessary. After Locke completes the process and the counter resets, they hear Jack arriving. Desmond walks out holding Locke at gunpoint, and Jack realises he recognises Desmond from somewhere.

 

Sawyer and Michael come ashore on a beach. Jin bursts out of the jungle and runs towards them screaming "Others!" Several figures emerge from the jungle behind him...

 

Major WTFery: The hatch continues to give up more questions than it answers, the most notable at this stage being "Where does all the food come from?", given that it clearly hasn't been there for 20+ years.

 

The shark has a DHARMA logo on its back, suggesting that DHARMA's influence on the Island was rather wide-ranging.

 

Hindsight: The - rather cheesy - final shot of the episode was composed in such a manner that the producers didn't have to cast the actors for the tail section survivors just yet, saving them an additional episode's worth of fees.

 

This episode was originally written as a Sawyer flashback rather than a Michael one, and some scenes were shot featuring Jolene Blalock (who had just completed filming Star Trek: Enterprise) and Kevin Dunn. Kevin Dunn later played the role of Gordy in The Long Con, suggesting some of this storyline was recycled for that episode instead. In that case, it may be the Blalock was originally going to play the recurring role of Cassidy, Sawyer's ex-girlfriend, but was unavailable for the filming of the later episode and was recast. This has never been formally confirmed, however.

 

The DHARMA shark would be referenced or appear several more times in the show. According to the producers, the shark's nickname is "Ezra James Sharkington".

 

Review: It's a sign of confidence in the show that the producers were able to include a "jumping the shark" reference and just roll with it. This episode is, like its predecessor, a fast-paced and incident-packed instalment of the show but one with time for reflection in Michael's flashbacks, which explain further his connection to Walt and his need to find him. However, the overly-elaborate mini-flashback to Locke and Kate entering the hatch and being captured feels a little redundant, and the fact that the Swan Station storyline ends pretty much where it did last week is disappointing. The raft story is more interesting, especially Sawyer calling the Island "home" for the first time. (***½)

 

203: Orientation

Written by Javier Grillo-Marxuach and Craig Wright, directed by Jack Bender

Airdate: 5 October 2005

Survivor Count: 44

Days on Island: 44-45 (4-5 November 2004)

Flashback Character: Locke

 

Flashbacks: Locke is attending a counselling group to try to get over the trauma he experienced at the hands of his father. He meets a woman named Helen and they fall in love. However, Locke keeps periodically driving over to his father's house to stake it out. His father becomes angry and tells him to leave. When Locke asks why he betrayed him his father tells him there is no why and he needs to get over it. On their six-month anniversary, Helen gives Locke a key to her house on the condition that he stops being obsessed with his father and commit to a life with her. Locke agrees, but can't stop his visits to his father's house because he is afraid to move on. Helen follows him one night and asks him to take a leap of faith with her. He agrees.

 

On the Island: A dazed Jin, Michael and Sawyer are dumped into a pit in the ground. They ponder how to escape and resume the search for Walt, but a young woman is then dumped in with them. She is Ana Lucia Cortez. She tells them she was sitting in the tail section of the plane when it broke off and landed in the water. She got ashore and has spent 40-odd days surviving in the wild before being caught by their mutual captors. Sawyer confides their escape plan, since he still has his gun (which only has one bullet left for it). Ana Lucia seizes the gun and gets their captors to pull her out: she is one of them, and only wanted information from the survivors.

 

At the hatch, a stand-off ensues between Jack and Desmond, with Locke stuck inbetween. Jack realises he recognises Desmond from somewhere but can't work out where. Kate slips out of the ventilation system and is bewildered to find an incredibly well-stocked armoury with a lot of guns in it. She grabs a shotgun and uses it to knock out Desmond with a butt to the head. As he falls, Desmond lets off a shot which damages the computer used to input the code. Desmond panics, saying that if they don't enter the code then everyone on the Island - maybe everyone in the world - will die. Kate rushes off to get Sayid, whose electronics knowledge might be helpful in repairing the computer. Desmond shows Kate out the "front door", a hidden doorway in a cliff-face.

 

Desmond explains that three years earlier he was on his around-the-world solo race when the boat ran aground on the Island. He met a man named Kelvin who had been living on the Island for several years, manning the station. According to Kelvin, at some point a man or a team would come along to relieve them in pressing the button and they would be able to leave. Kelvin died in an unspecified manner, so Desmond took over pressing the button himself. Jack thinks the story is absolutely preposterous and that nothing will happen if they don't press the button. Desmond, irritated by Jack's scepticism, tells him to watch the orientation film.

 

Jack and Locke watch the film, in which a man named Dr. Marvin Candle welcomes the viewer to the DHARMA Initiative. Candle explains that the DHARMA Initiative was founded in 1970 by Gerald and Karen DeGroot at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor with the aim of creating a place where pure scientific research and experimentation could be carried out. The location of these experiments would be the Island. These experiments would include meteorology, psychology, parapsychology, zoology (with a shot of polar bears), electromagnetism and utopian social engineering (the latter inspired by the work of B.F. Skinner). The expense of building the infrastructure on the Island would be borne by Alvar Hanso, a billionaire Danish businessmen and former munitions magnet interested in science and technology. Six scientific research stations were built on the Island, with the Swan serving as Station Three. The Swan's original purpose was to study the unusual electromagnetic properties emanating from this part of the Island. According to Candle, at some point prior to the making of the film (which is dated to 1980) there was an "Incident" on the Island. As a result of this incident, the Swan Station's purpose was adjusted. Every 108 minutes the code needs to be entered into the computer otherwise there may be another "incident", which would have grave consequences. As the film ends Locke notes, "We're going to have to watch that again."

 

Desmond fails to repair the computer, instead shorting out the power. He concludes that the computer cannot be fixed and that the countdown is now going to run out. With 30 minutes left, he decides to try to get clear and runs off. After seeing a photo of Desmond with an unknown woman, Jack chases after him, telling him he doesn't believe anything will happen and this is all part of the behavioural experiments the DHARMA Initiative was running. Desmond suddenly recognises Jack from Los Angeles and asks what happened to the woman Jack was treating, Sarah. Jack tells him he married her, but they're now divorced. Desmond won't say where he's going, but wishes Jack well and says he'll see him in "another life."

 

Sayid and Hurley have arrived at the Swan Station with Kate and Sayid quickly sets about fixing the computer. Hurley is shocked to see the supply room with its food supplies. Sayid gets the computer operational and Lock enters the Numbers. Hurley tells him not to use the Numbers because of his fear of the curse, but when Locke enters a wrong number (32 instead of 42) he clams up. Jack returns and tells Locke the right number. Locke and Jack argue over whether they should continue pressing the button. Locke asks Jack why it's so hard to have faith and Jack asks Locke why it's so easy for him. Locke becomes angry, saying that faith is never easy. Jack hesitates but then enters the Numbers with a second to spare. Locke agrees to set up a shift pattern so they can continue the work begun by Desmond.

 

Major WTFery: Well, the DHARMA Initiative, its background, the Hanso Foundation, the use of the Numbers, the Incident, Dr. Candle, the background and fate of Desmond and about fifty other things as well. In terms of introducing core concepts of a show's mythology, very few shows have dropped so much information in just one episode before, certainly not this early in the show's lifespan, and unpacking it all will take the show a very large chunk of the rest of its run.

 

Hindsight: From later episodes and spin-offs, we learn that DHARMA is an acronym, standing for Department of Heuristics And Research on Material Applications. They were active on the Island from the early 1970s until either 1988 or 1992 (the conflicting dates given for the Purge, when the DHARMA Initiative's on-Island activities were shut down by the Others). The DHARMA Initiative located the Island by comparing US government records, which indicated that the Island had been visited by US Navy forces in the 1950s, and the last known course and location of the Black Rock, a slave ship lost in the Pacific Ocean in 1867. Alvar Hanso's great-grandfather, Magnus, had been captain of the Black Rock and Alvar was obsessed with the mystery of the missing ship. This part-inspired him to fund the DHARMA Initiative, especially when it was confirmed that the Island was also the last resting place of the Black Rock. Once the Island's unusual magnetic properties had been better explored and understood, DHARMA built magnetic research stations in the outside world (such as the Lamp Post Station in Los Angeles) so they could locate the Island no matter what.

 

It appears that by 1973 the DHARMA Initiative had already put a number of installations (such as the Barracks and the Pala Ferry) in place on the Island and begun construction of the science stations. They were aware early on that there were other people on the Island, nicknamed the Hostiles, but in 1974 forged a truce with them. By 1977, the Hydra and Arrow stations had been built and the Swan Station was under construction. The Flame, the Pearl and the Orchid were either already under construction, or built subsequently to the Swan. These stations were all planned at the time the Swan was built (hence its numbering), but due to situations taking place on the Island several additional stations were constructed, namely the Staff, the Looking Glass and the Tempest. In 1977 the Incident took place, which resulted in the near-destruction of the Island in an electromagnetic cataclysm. The Swan was built to periodically vent the build-up of electromagnetic energy. After the Purge the Swan and its caretakers were left alone by the Others; possibly they either didn't believe it was doing anything useful, or weren't sure and decided that there was no harm in leaving it.

 

Although DHARMA was destroyed on the Island, with this setback eventually seeing the organisation collapse in the exterior world as well, its work continued through the Hanso Foundation, who continued to fund supply drops to the Island to maintain the work at the Swan Station. There appears to be a relationship between the Hanso Foundation and the Widmore Corporation (founded by a former Other exiled from the Island), although the exact nature of this was never clarified in the show itself.

 

This episode (and a few subsequent ones) ask the question of what will happen if you don't press the button. We discover the answer, fairly violently, in the Season 2 finale.

 

Ana Lucia was of course established in the Season 1 finale, as a nice bit of foreshadowing laid down by the writers for the appearance of the tail section survivors this season.

 

This episode marks the very first appearance of Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje as Mr. Eko, although he is unnamed at this point (a stand-in portrayed him briefly in the previous episode). Extras portray Bernard, Cindy and Libby in this episode (shot from behind or briefly), as the actual actors were not hired (or rehired) until the following episode.

 

This episode also features the first appearance of Sonya Walger as Penny thanks to Desmond's photograph...well, it does now. On the first airing the episode featured a totally different actress, as Penny was not cast until the season finale. The picture in this episode was changed for subsequent reruns and the DVD and Blu-Ray releases.

 

This is the first of several episodes to explain the origin of the polar bears on the Island: the DHARMA Initiative was experiment with zoological research, including what happens to polar bears when you transplant them to a totally foreign environment. When the DHARMA Initiative collapsed, the polar bears broke free and went to live in the wild on the Island. Both the producers and fans would become increasingly bewildered as viewers would claim that they hadn't explained where the polar bears came from even after this episode and the opening instalments of Season 3 made their point of origin clear.

 

This episode also marks the first appearance of Francois Chau as Pierre Chang, better known as "that guy in the DHARMA videos". He is known for his various candle-related pseudonyms (Martin Candle, Mark Wickmund and Edgar Halliwax). He intermittently shows up in DHARMA orientation and training videos before becoming a recurring character in Season 5.

 

Review: There's the distinct feeling of the writers enjoying themselves with this episode. With the existence of the hatch and the DHARMA Initiative having been written into the pilot episode but pulled out for time, this gives the writers the chance to finally start revealing the shape of the show's mythology and backstory, and this backstory is (more or less) developed and followed-through on over the next four years, although unfortunately some of the more important chunks are left for the spin-off project The Lost Experience to expand upon. In terms of the actual episode, the obsession/anger between Jack and Locke continues with the theme and tone that will continue for the rest of the series, whilst Henry Ian Cusick's performance as Desmond is sympathetic even as he's not being as helpful as he could be (a positive fan reception to the character would see him return at the end of the season) and the deception with the raft survivors is entertaining. This makes for a busy episode that rewards later rewatches. (****½)

 

204: Everybody Hates Hugo

Written by Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz, directed by Alan Taylor

Airdate: 12 October 2005

Survivor Count: 51 (the count increases by 7 thanks to the confirmation that there are additional survivors from the tail section of Oceanic 815)

Days on Island: 46 (6 November 2004)

Flashback Character: Hurley

 

Flashbacks: Hurley realises he's just won the lottery and passes out. He wakes up and ponders whether he should claim the money, realising it will change his life and maybe not for the better. However, he becomes irritated at the small-minded pedantry of his boss, Randy, and walks out on the spot. He has a day of fun with his friend Johnny, asking out an attractive girl at the record store and gnome-bombing Randy's front lawn. They go to the gas station where Hurley bought the ticket, with Hurley still not sure if he wants to claim the money, but there is a news team at the station and the customer service helper recognises Hurley as the guy who bought the ticket. Johnny feels betrayed by Hurley not telling him about the money and Hurley realises that things are going to change.

 

 

On the Island: Hurley has a dream in which he is stuffing himself senseless in the Swan Station's pantry. Jin suddenly appears, speaking fluent English. Jin asks him how he learned English, but Jin tells Hurley that he is actually speaking Korean. Jin tells Hurley that "everything is going to change" and a man in a chicken costume appears. Both vanish and Hurley wakes up, having nearly missed entering the Numbers into the computer. He enters the code and Kate chides him for nearly missing the window. She says she's written the Numbers on a piece of paper in case he forgets them, but Hurley says there's no chance of that.

 

Jack and Sayid conduct a thorough exploration of the Swan Station. They discover that the station is drawing its power from a geothermal source, which is presumably inexhaustible, and this includes providing hot water for showers as well as electricity for the lights, heating and the computer. Sayid is most interested by the source of electromagnetic energy, which the entire complex is built around. All of the entrances leading to that source have been blocked up with six-feet-thick concrete, rendering it completely inaccessible. Sayid is concerned about this, as the only previous time he's seen anything like this is after the nuclear meltdown at Chernobyl.

 

Claire finds the bottle of messages for the survivors' families that was put on the raft. She asks Shannon and Sun what they should do, as it means something may have happened to the raft. Rather than cause a panic, they decide to bury the messages.

 

Hurley is put in charge of rationing the food that's in the Swan Station, but he is unhappy with the job, believing it will cause trouble as the survivors fight over potato chips. He also hates having to be secretive, such as having to evade Charlie's questions at the beach. This gets more irritating when Locke simply tells Charlie everything he wants to know. Hurley enlists Rose's help in inventorying the food but, fearing that the haul will divide the community, he decides to blow up the room with the extra dynamite from the Black Rock. Rose stops him, pointing out how dangerous and rash that is. Hurley eventually decides that there is no point at all trying to ration it: the food would last one guy three months, so trying to ration it for forty people is stupid. Instead, he gets Jack to agree they should use it all up in one celebration and feast on the beach. Everyone tucks in and has a good time, especially Charlie and Claire who finally get to share a tub of peanut butter.

 

Michael, Jin and Sawyer are released from the pit by their captors, who are all now revealed to be survivors from the tail section of Flight 815. One of the other captors, Libby, tells them that there were 23 survivors in the tail section of the plane. The survivors take them to their hide-out, which appears to be a second DHARMA station, the Arrow. This station is considerably smaller than the Swan and is devoid of any of the comforts of the other station. As well as Ana Lucia, there is a Nigerian man named Mr. Eko; one of the flight attendants from the plane, Cindy; and a middle-aged man. Libby confirms that there used to be 23 survivors, but doesn't elaborate on what happened to the other seventeen.

 

Major WTFery: The extreme lengths (and expense) that the DHARMA Initiative went to in order to shut off the electromagnetic power source are rather concerning.

 

This episode features a potential continuity error. In the final montage sequence on the beach we see Jack, Kate, Sayid, Locke, Hurley, Charlie and Rose present. This accounts for everyone who knows about the hatch, where exactly it is and about the need to enter the Numbers and push the button. It seems questionable if, especially this early in the process, the survivors would leave the Swan Station altogether for a party on the beach and risk missing pushing the button, even assuming it is as close as it could be (potentially just half a mile into the jungle).

 

Amongst the survivors from the tail section is Cindy, the air stewardess speaking to Jack in the opening moments of the pilot. The producers decided to include Cindy amongst the tail sections after positive fan reactions to the character and her prominence in the pilot episode. However, there is a possible continuity error here, as Cindy was last seen pursuing Charlie right down to the very front of the plane when he was trying to dispose of his heroin. It is questionable if she had time to get right to the very back of the plane inbetween trying to apprehend Charlie and the crash sequence starting.

 

In one of the show's weirder moments, when Hurley is drinking the DHARMA milk we can see a "Missings Persons" advert on the side of the carton, as is commonly done in some parts of the United States. The advert is for Walt. This advert gives Walt's date of birth as 8/24/94 and that he was last seen in the "middle of nowhere". This sequence is weird because it takes place in Hurley's dream sequence (so isn't literally true) but Hurley himself doesn't see the advert: it is solely an Easter egg/shout out from the producers to viewers.

 

Hindsight: At one point the producers seem to have considered allowing the survivors to find a way of reaching the source of the electromagnetic energy, which would be a reactor-style room (hence the Chernobyl references). This room was designed and it appears on the blast door map of the station (as seen in Lockdown). However, this idea appears to have either been abandoned for budgetary reasons or judged unnecessary for plot ones (the failsafe switch under the floor may have replaced it). The destruction of the Swan Station in the season finale rendered the issue moot. However, the non-canon Lost video game Via Domus does depict the reactor room as a large chamber containing two magnetic coils and its own computer.

 

When Sun is burying the bottle, you can see her wedding ring fall off. This becomes a plot point in future episodes.

 

Randy, Hurley's boss at the chicken restaurant, is the same guy who is Locke's boss at the box company. According to the producers, Hurley felt sorry for Randy who was rendered unemployed after the restaurant was obliterated by a meteorite and got him a job at the box company he had just bought.

 

The second DHARMA station is called the Arrow. Confusingly, the producers would later say that the Arrow did not count as one of the six stations, as it was really only a storage facility. However, later still they would change their minds and say that the Arrow was Station Two.

 

This episode confirms that air stewardess Cindy survived the plane crash. Cindy became a bit of a fan favourite for a minor character, with fans frequently asking if she had survived the crash. This led the producers to including her amongst the tail section survivors. She would go on to appear - very intermittently - throughout the course of the series and would be one of the very few survivors of Oceanic 815 (and the only crewmember) to ultimately survive the series.

 

This episode marks the only time that Jin speaks English without any trace of an accent. He spends Seasons 1-4 speaking only Korean, with the occasional word of English he's picked up. By Season 5 he's finally learned English, but speaks with an accent to the end of the series.

This episode establishes that Hurley is a fan of the band The Hold Steady. Writer Edward Kitsis was a childhood friend of the Hold Steady's lead singer. More recently, the Hold Steady recorded the raucous rock version of "The Bear and the Maiden Fair" for the third season of Game of Thrones.

 

Review: Hurley episodes tend to be good value and this is a solid one, with some good moments of humour. However, Hurley's dilemma on the Island is fairly artificial and it's a bit weird that no-one has asked where all the food comes from, since it's clearly not been stored in the Swan for twenty years. Continuing from the episode before it, there's a lot of backstory and mythology revelations in this episode to chew over. (****)

[Werthead]

Atlas of Ice & Fire post on mapping the Island from Lost.

[williamjm]

I think the opening to the first episode of the season is probably still one of my favourite opening scene of an episode from any show.

Desmond was probably one of my favourite characters on the show. In retrospect it's a bit weird that many of my favourite Lost characters didn't actually appear in the first season.

[Werthead]

205: ...And Found

Written by Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof, directed by Stephen Williams

Airdate: 19 October 2005

Survivor Count: 51

Days on Island: 47 (7 November 2004)

Flashback Characters: Sun and Jin

 

Flashbacks: Sun is taken to a meeting with a prospective suitor by her mother. Jae Lee unexpectedly turns out to be a charming and kind young man who shares with Sun a mutual irritation with their parents trying to organise their private lives. They meet several times and things seem to be going well, but Jae Lee confesses that he is in love with an American girl he met at Harvard and plans to marry her. He's only been using Sun to keep his parents happy. Sun wishes him well but is upset at the deception.

 

Jin is living in a small apartment with a friend, who tells him that (according to astrology) he will be led to love by the colour orange. Jin finds the idea ludicrous. Jin goes for a job interview at a prestigious hotel, but the manager ridicules him for being from a fishing village. Despite this, Jin gets the job on the condition that he doesn't let anyone "like him" into the hotel. Despite this Jin enjoys the job for several days, until a poor man comes up and asks to let his son use the bathroom quickly. Jin agrees, but his manager sees this and berates him. Jin, angry, quits on the spot and goes for a walk by the river. He passes a pretty girl in an orange dress and wonders if this is what his friend was talking about. He turns around and walks straight into Sun. This is the first time they meet.

 

On the Island: Sun realises she has lost her wedding ring and becomes frantic in her attempts to find it. Hurley suggests that Vincent may have eaten it. Locke tells Sun that the best way to find something is to stop looking. That's why he never gets angry any more, since he is no longer "lost" and trying to find something. Sun tells Kate about the bottle she and Claire recovered from the ocean. They dig it up, Kate keen to see if Sawyer was going to send a message to someone. However, they also find Sun's wedding ring, which she dropped when burying the bottle in the first place.

 

On the far side of the Island, the tail section survivors debate what to do next. Ana Lucia eventually agrees that they should hook up with the fuselage survivors, who seem to have had a lot quieter and more peaceful time of it. Before departing they gather food, with Jin impressing Ana-Lucia and Bernard with his fishing skills. Michael and Libby collect fruit and Michael tries to find out more information about what happened to the them. Libby eventually says that they have had some trouble with "them", meaning the Others, and indicates what direction they come from. Michael runs off, thinking he can find Walt. Jin and Mr. Eko pursue him, but Eko hears and something and drags Jin into the trees. They watch as several dishevelled figures pass by, one of them dragging a teddy bear. Eko confirms they are "the Others". They also find a corpse impaled on a stick, Eko only saying his name is Goodwin. Eventually they catch up with Michael. Eko tells Michael that the Others will not be found if they do not want to be found. Jin convinces Michael that it's better to work together with others. Michael agrees to accompany them back to the beach to get help.

 

The rest of the group leave the Arrow and head south. Sawyer's gunshot wound has become infected and he urgently needs medical attention.

 

Major WTFery: The tailies ascribe supernatural abilities to the Others, such as the ability to travel without leaving tracks and sneak up without any warning at all.

 

A very minor continuity error: Jin's resume has the wrong birthday on it. Jin turns 30 after the crash of Oceanic 815, but this is the age given on his resume, when he'd actually be 25 (or 27 sal in Korean terms). This is an occasional era on the show, when the "current" (on-Island) date or age is used instead of the age from the flashbacks. This is probably because whilst the producers kept very careful tabs on the on-Island dates, the flashback dates are much looser. We know that Jin and Sun married in 2000, so the flashbacks in this episode probably happened in 1999.

 

Hindsight: Later episodes confirm that the Others live very comfortable lives at the Barracks, and we already know from Ethan that they have ordinary clothes. So why are they traipsing around the jungle barefoot (with the kids)? This episode does suggest they travel barefoot to leave less of a trail, but this seems dangerous, mostly unnecessary and still doesn't explain why they're walking around dirty and dishevelled. The "jungle creep" version of the Others shown this season doesn't really add up with what we later learn about them.

 

This episode marks the first appearance of Goodwin, albeit as a decomposing corpse, as well as Jae Lee (who would appear in two further Sun and Jin flashback episodes) and Sun's mother.

 

Review: Jin and Sun's relationship is the emotional core of the show (and far more interesting than the love triangle between Jack, Sawyer and Kate), so it's fun to see how it started. Sun looking for her lost ring sounds like a boring, even desperate storyline but actually winds up being quite funny, with Hurley delivering his famous question, "So are you from the good Korea or the bad Korea?" to an astonished Sun. The stuff in the jungle with the tailies makes for some good moments as well, such as Sawyer's use of nicknames (calling Mr. Eko "Mr. Ed"). Not a busy episode, but a solid one (****)

 

206: Abandoned

Written by Elizabeth Sarnoff, directed by Adam Davidson

Airdate: 9 November 2005

Survivor Count: 51

Days on Island: 47-48 (7-8 November 2004)

Flashback Character: Shannon

 

Flashbacks: Shannon is working as a ballet instructor for young children in LA and is working hard to get into a dance school in New York, where her stepbrother Boone is working. Things seem to be going well, but Shannon then receives news that her father has been injured in a car accident. At the hospital she learns that her father is dead. Shannon is horrified to discover that she is not getting any money from her father's will as he left everything to Shannon's stepmother, who now seems disinterested in her. When Shannon tells her about the dance school in New York, her stepmother mocks her lack of commitment and worth ethic, and refuses to help her out financially. Boone tries to help and Shannon hopes she can stay with him in NYC, but Boone has been offered a job in his mother's company and is flying back. He offers Shannon some money, but she angrily rejects him, saying she can survive by herself.

 

On the Island: The tail section survivors regroup and set out for the beach camp. Michael wants to know what happened to reduce their numbers from twenty-three to just five. Ana Lucia tells him that on the first evening after the crash they lost three survivors to the Others and nine more a fortnight later. She tells them that the Others are smart and are animals.

 

At the beach camp, Sawyer and Shannon spend the night together but after Sayid leaves to get water, Shannon sees Walt again, dripping wet and speaking incomprehensibly. She screams, bringing Sayid, Charlie and Claire running. Sayid doesn't believe her story, leaving Shannon enraged. Shannon gets some of Walt's clothes and has Vincent smell them, hoping that he will lead her to Walt. Instead, Vincent runs up to the graves where Boone and the other bodies are buried. Sayid joins her and eventually says he believes her story. He agrees to go searching in the jungle for her for any sign of Walt.

 

Charlie is bemused that Claire ran towards Shannon's screams with the baby in her arms, making Claire feel like a bad mother. When Aaron keeps crying, Locke shows Claire how to swaddle him to make him feel safe and warm. Claire feels like everyone else knows how to look after Aaron better than her. Locke sympathises and points out that Charlie is just looking out for her. Claire says she never knew that Charlie was religious, and it's weird he's carrying a statue of the Virgin Mary around with him. Aware that the statues have heroin in them, Locke decides to see if Charlie has relapsed. He challenges Charlie to a game of backgammon and says that maybe a heroin addict shouldn't be lecturing someone on how to raise their child. Charlie corrects him and says that he is a recovering heroin addict.

 

The tail section survivors travel south along the east coast of the Island, but the going gets rockier and more difficult to traverse with the injured Sawyer. Mr. Eko suggests they cut inland through the jungle to save time. Ana Lucia objects, as the Others are harder to spot in the jungle, but it will cut hours off their journey and may be Sawyer's only chance of surviving. They make good time, even employing excellent teamwork to get Sawyer up a heavily wooded hill. However, when they reach the top they realise that they've lost Cindy, who has vanished without a trace. They hear the Whispers and move with greater speed and alarm.

 

A storm arrives and Sayid and Shannon keep searching in the jungle for Walt. Sayid tells Shannon he loves her, but is clearly still sceptical about her visions of Walt. Suddenly Walt appears again and this time they both see him. Shannon rushes off and Sayid pursues. Suddenly a gunshot rings out and Shannon staggers back, bleeding. Sayid holds her as she dies. He looks up to see a shocked Ana-Lucia, holding Sawyer's gun (which had one bullet left after the shark attack).

 

Major WTFery: Walt's visions are, depending on your POV, either leading Shannon to her death or are leading her and Sayid to a rendezvous with the tail section survivors.

 

Hindsight: Shannon's father dies at the hospital that Jack works at: we even see Jack walk past her in the corridor. We know from previous episodes that Shannon's father was in the same car crash that severely injured Sarah. Jack had to choose which person to save in a split-second and he chose Sarah.

 

Ana-Lucia mentions that she preferred Eko when he "wasn't talking". This reference is explained in the subsequent episode.

 

After Cindy's disappearance, she next (chronologically) appears in the Season 3 episodes Stranger in a Strange Land and The Brig, living amongst the Others.

 

The tailies head south down the east coast of the Island, which at this point has mostly been unexplored. They cut inland to avoid a rocky peninsula. If they kept going south, they'd likely find the submarine cable leading out to the Looking Glass, in the vicinity of Danielle's old camp. By cutting inland, they avoid an extra 1-2 days of traveling around the coast. They have to pass through hills (probably a low-lying part of the eastern mountain range) to get to the jungle area frequented by the other survivors. Incidentally, this makes the journey of the tail section survivors in this episode the longest trek carried out on the Island to date.

 

Review: This is a frustrating episode because it highlights that the writers had never really known what to do with Shannon or how to make her a more sympathetic character. Which is a shame because this episode explains Shannon's backstory and motivations a lot better than they had done previously and suggested a more interesting character arc for her was possible. However, at this stage the writers are switching from their "exploring character for character's sake" to "only doing things to service the plot" mode. Shannon was really superfluous at this point so she is rather brutally dispatched. The shock value at the time was rather startling, but in retrospect it is signposted quite heavily. The on-Island story remains interesting as Mr. Eko emerges as a more moral person than we previously thought and Ana Lucia becomes more ruthless. (***½)

 

207: The Other 48 Days

Written by Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, directed by Eric Laneuville

Airdate: 16 November 2005

Survivor Count: 50 (due to Shannon's death in the prior episode)

Days on Island: 1-48 (22 September-8 November 2004)

 

Days 1-12: A beautiful day on a tropical beach. Suddenly, the tail section of a passenger airline comes screaming out of the sky and crashes into the sea. After the initial chaos, twenty-three bedraggled survivors gather on the beach. A big Nigerian man in a suit, Mr. Eko, helps rescue several people from the sea before he starts gathering the bodies for burial. Ana Lucia saves a little girl, Emma, from drowning by performing CPR on her, to the relief of her brother Zach. Another survivor, Goodwin, reports that he's found a man stuck on a seat in a tree. Ana Lucia rescues the man, who turns out to be Bernard. Libby helps with medical assistance: she dropped out of med school to train as a clinical psychology, but knows the basis of first aid. As the survivors regroup, a stewardess, Cindy, informs them that the plne was severely off course so the search parties won't know where to look for them. They light a signal fire in the hopes it will be seen.

 

That night Ana Lucia wakes up to the sounds of a struggle. Three survivors have vanished, but Mr. Eko is found with two strange men he has killed in self-defence. He refuses to talk after this incident. The survivors discuss leaving the beach rather than be attacked by the Others again, but two of their number, Goodwin and Nathan, point out that they need to keep the fire burning. They stay on the beach. Several survivors die from their wounds.

 

Days 12-23: On the night of the twelfth day on the Island, the Others return and take nine more survivors, including both Zach and Emma. Ana Lucia kills one of the Others and finds a strange knife on her body, along with a list of the nine people who were to be taken. Ana Lucia decides they have to abanon the beach now. Nathan still wants to stay, but Goodwin agrees it's been long enough. The group treks into the jungle and finds a pleasant riverside location. Nathan seems to resent Ana Lucia's position as group leader, although everyone else seems fine with it. They set up a new camp. Libby tells Ana Lucia that Nathan creeps her out. Ana Lucia ponders over how the Others got the names for the list and concludes that Nathan is a spy, as no-one can remember him from the planet. Ana Lucia digs the pit (the same one they later throw Sawyer, Jin and Michael into) and throws Nathan in it. Nathan angrily proteses his innocence. At night, Goodwin appears to led Nathan out. However, he then snaps his neck and hides the body. Upon discovering that Nathan has vanished, Ana Lucie thinks he's run back to the Others and will bring them down on their location. They leave the riverside.

 

Days 24-27: The survivors find the Arrow Station and make camp. They find a Bible, a glass eye and a radio inside. Mr. Eko takes the Bible. Goodwin and Ana Lucia go to higher ground to use the radio. Ana Lucia looks at the knife she took off the Other on the beach and notes that it's US military. She wonders how it got onto the Island. As they talk, it becomes clear that Ana Lucia has changed her mind and now thinks that Goodwin is a spy. She remembers that Goodwin arrived on the beach with completely dry clothes, as if he'd never been in the water. Goodwin admits she is right and tells her that Nathan is dead, and he was not a good person. He also tells her that the kids are fine and are in a better place now. They end up fighting. Ana Lucia manages to escape and grabs a stick. When Goodwin tries to jump on her, he ends up impaled. She leaves his corpse, goes back to the others and tells tham that they're safe now.

 

Day 41: Bernard is trying to get the radio to work and hears Boone's message from the Beechcraft. He replies, but Ana Lucia turns the radio off and tells them that it's a trick by the Others to try to locate them.

 

Days 45-48: Libby and Cindy find Jin's body as he washes up on the beach. They take him just inside the jungle and argue over what to do with him with Ana Lucia and Eko. Jin escapes and runs onto the beach, arriving just as Sawyer and Charlie wash ashore on their raft.

 

Events follow as in the last few episodes, culminating with Ana Lucia thinking the group is under attack and shooting Shannon dead.

 

Major WTFery: The glass eye in the Arrow Station was a plot point the producers meant to return to later on, but never got round to it, making it one of the more notable dangling plot threads in the series which was never addressed at all. The character of Mikhail, introduced in Season 3, is missing an eye but his eye socket is scarred over, suggesting that he had no use for the glass eye. It's possible that Radzinsky later lost an eye, since the box was left in the Arrow Station with a splice of the Swan orientation film that Radzinsky removed, and Radzinsky was on the Island for many years.

 

There is a notable continuity error in this episode: Goodwin emerges from the jungle ten minutes after the crash but in Stranger in a Strange Land it was said it would take him an hour to make the beach. It's possible that instead of walking for an hour, he took a former DHARMA vehicle part of the way, assuming the chaos of the crash would mask any sound.

 

The Others kidnap multiple people with (relative) ease, making limited sounds and leaving no trail through the jungle. This seems to be continuing the theme that the Others have supernatural abilities (such as Ethan's apparently supernatural strength in the first season), but later episodes confirm they are just ordinary people, albeit with long experience of living on the Island.

 

Ana Lucia says they were in the air for two hours before the plane crashed. Every other episode says that it was six hours. However, the Season 1 finale established that Ana Lucia was deliberately getting drunk so she'd sleep on the plane. It's likely that she slept for four hours and then woke up two hours before the crash. This incidentally explains why she and Jack never had the promised drink in the Season 1 finale.

 

Hindsight: The Others tried to take Mr. Eko on the first night, but on the twelfth his name was not on their list. This suggests that Mr. Eko was no longer considered a "good person" after his killing of the two Others, even though this was in self-defence. Eko's ambiguous relationship with the Island is further explored in The 23rd Psalm and The Cost of Living.

 

The knife Ana Lucia finds was almost certainly left behind on the Island by the US Navy expedition in 1954 (Jughead), or possibly by the DHARMA Initative later on.

 

Zach and Emma's fate is revealed in the Season 3 premiere, Stranger in a Strange Land, which confirms that they are fine living with the Others, moving between the Barracks and the Hydra Island, and being looked after Cindy, who was reunited with them after she was taken. When she is asked what happened to her after joining the Others, she says it's "Not that simple."

 

This is the first episode of Lost which breaks away from the flashback-present day formula and is one of only two episodes to present events completely in linear order, the other being Across the Sea in Season 6.

 

Review: This is the best episode of Lost to this point, all the more remarkable given that it focuses mostly on new characters the audience may not have built a lot of rapport with yet. The episode works by letting the audience fill in the blanks (the tail section survivors probably scouted the jungle and found food and water, we don't need whole episodes about it) and ramping up the horror element of the story. The tailies had it far worse than our heroes did down at the southern end of the Island, facing constant attack and paranoia. We're shown how Ana Lucia led the best way possible, not having the time to relax and regroup that Jack did, nor the firepower they had thanks to the Marshal's case (this is hinted at being the reason the Others were warier about directly confronting the fusies after Ethan's death). The contrast between their leadership styles is quite interesting and effective. Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje gives a spectacular performance as Mr. Eko, doing a lot of acting and relating his inner turmoil with just his eyes. Overall, this is a tremendous episode of television and one of the high points of the series. (*****)

 

208: Collision

Written by Javier Grillo-Marxuach and Leonard Dick, directed by Stephen Williams

Airdate: 23 November 2005

Survivor Count: 50

Days on Island: 48 (8 November 2004)

Flashback Character: Ana Lucia

 

Flashbacks: Ana Lucia is a police officer working in Los Angeles. She is cleared to return to work after being shot several times by an assailant. Ana Lucia's captain is also her mother, who tries to protect Ana Lucia by giving her a desk job. Ana Lucia manages to get back in a patrol car with her old partner, but at a domestic disturbance flips out and draws her weapon without just cause. Her partner covers for her. Back at the station Ana Lucia is told they've caught the guy who shot her. He even confessed. Ana Lucia fails to identity him. Instead she follows him to a bar and, as he's getting the car afterwards, shoots him dead. She says, angrily, "I was pregnant."

 

On the Island: Sayid draws his gun and tries to shoot Ana Lucia, but is overpowered by Eko. Ana Lucia ties him up to a tree and tries to figure out her next move. Eko takes Sawyer, who is dying, onwards towards the beach. After further discussions, Michael agrees to go for help and Jin takes Libby and Bernard to the beach, leaving Ana Lucia and Sayid alone.

 

On the beach Charlie, Kate and Hurley are playing golf. Jack is unimpressed and he and Kate agree to have a proper game at Hurley's golf course. Whilst looking for a missing ball they encounter Eko and Sawyer. Jack takes them to the Swan Station, which has better medical facilities. He washes Sawyer's wound and with Kate's help is able to get him to take some antibiotics. Locke and Eko briefly talk and Locke learns of Shannon's death. When he learns of it, Jack becomes angry and demands answers from Eko. Eko tells him nothing would assauge his anger,so is remaining silent.

 

Michael reaches the Swan and tells Jack about the stand-off. Jack tools up with guns, enraging Eko who believes this will only lead to more deaths and killing. Eko offers to take Jack and only Jack to Ana Lucia. Locke seems to trust Eko, so Jack agrees to trust him as well.

 

Jin, Libby and Bernard arrive on the beach. Jin and Sun have a tearful reunion, as do Bernard and Rose.

 

Ana Lucia and Sayid talk. Sayid tells Ana Lucia that he is a torturer and has done terrible things. She tells him about her shooting and her past in LA, but stops short of telling him that she murdered her attacker in cold blood. She tells him that ever since she was shot, she still feels dead. Ana Lucia cuts Sayid's bonds and gives him the gun and knife. Sayid asks what would be the point in killing her when they're both already dead? He takes Shannon's body back to the beach. Jack then finds Ana Lucia in the jungle and he recognises her from the bar before getting on the plane.

 

Major WTFery: Michael was in a hurry and Eko was already carrying Sawyer, but it's unclear why Jin, Bernard and Libby left Shannon's dead body behind rather than help take her back to the beach. It feels like it was done solely for dramatic purposes so Sayid could do it whilst looking pained.

 

Ana Lucia's next flashback episode confirms that she was not implicated in the death of her shooter. This is highly unlikely: her mother knew he was the shooter and that Ana Lucia deliberately lied so he could go free. Her partner on the force knows she was unstable and violent. It seems implausible that Ana Lucia would have gotten away with the murder, unless others deliberately turned a blind eye to what happened. Her mother does mention the possibility in Two for the Road but doesn't follow up on it.

 

Hindsight: Ana Lucia's flashback story continues in Two for the Road later in the season. Jack and Ana Lucia's first meeting in the Season 1 finale is referenced.

 

Big Mike, Ana Lucia's partner (portrayed by Michael Cudlitz who currently plays Abraham on The Walking Dead), reappears in the first episode of Season 4, where he interrogates Hurley after he escapes from the Island and asks him if he met Ana Lucia.

 

According to the producers, Sun and Jin's child was conceived between the events of this episode and the following one.

 

Review: An interesting episode, dealing with a messy and difficult situation and combining the happiness of the various reunions with the aftermath of Shannon's death. The parallels between Jack and Ana Lucia's leadership styles continue to be drawn, although the final shot of them standing off and the fact that they both worked their parents makes this rather blatant. The on-Island stuff is fine and it's great to see Rose and Bernard reunited and Jin and Sun, but Ana Lucia's flashback feels a little dull. (***½)

[williamjm]

4 minutes ago, Werthead said:

This is a frustrating episode because it highlights that the writers had never really known what to do with Shannon or how to make her a more sympathetic character. Which is a shame because this episode explains Shannon's backstory and motivations a lot better than they had done previously and suggested a more interesting character arc for her was possible. However, at this stage the writers are switching from their "exploring character for character's sake" to "only doing things to service the plot" mode. Shannon was really superfluous at this point so she is rather brutally dispatched. The shock value at the time was rather startling, but in retrospect it is signposted quite heavil

I did sometimes feel that the writers were a bit too keen to kill off characters. I realise a certain number of deaths are necessary to make the situation continue to seem desperate, but I thought one of the Lost's real strengths was its characterisation and killing off characters abruptly before we really got to know them properly undermined that a bit. There are a number of characters like Shannon (or Ana Lucia, for that matter) who occupy an awkward middle ground between being background Redshirts and fully-fledged characters.

[Werthead]

209: What Kate Did

Written by Steven Maeda and Craig Wright, directed by Paul Edwards

Airdate: 30 November 2005

Survivor Count: 50

Days on Island: 49 (9 November 2004)

Flashback Character: Kate

 

Flashbacks: A 24-year-old Kate is at home when her stepfather, Wayne, returns from a night of drinking. She helps him get into bed with evident disgust. He calls her "beautiful" and makes several derogatory remarks. She drives away from her house on her motorbike. Seconds later it explodes in an apparent gas accident. Kate drives to the diner where her mother works. Her mother has several bruises, apparently inflicted by Wayne. Kate gives her mothers details of a house insurance policy she took out before telling her she won't be seeing Kate for a while.

 

Some time later, Kate is approached and arrested by the US Marshal Edward Mars. The Marshal is somewhat sympathetic to Kate deciding to kill her stepfather for beating her mother up, but wonders why she snapped now. Suddenly a horse runs across the road and the Marshal crashes the car. Kate kicks him out of the car and drives off, the horse looking at her.

 

Kate goes to see her father, Sergeant Major Sam Austen, at an army recruitment centre. She tells him that she compared the dates for her birth with when Sam was on deployment. Sam admits that Wayne was actually her real biological father. He didn't tell Kate because he feared what she would do. He tells her he has to call the police, but will give her a one-hour head start.

 

On the Island: In the Swan Station Jack is tending to Sawyer's wounds. Sawyer, still partially delirious, asks "Where is she?" and then says "I love her." Jack assumes he is talking about Kate. Meanwhile, Sayid is digging a grave for Shannon and Eko tells Ana Lucia that everyone accepts that Shannon's death was a tragic accident.

 

Kate is picking fruit in the woods when a black horse appears. She is bemused. She asks Charlie if he thinks there could be horses on the Island. He replies that there are polar bears and monsters, but he hasn't seen a horse before. Returning to the Swan, Kate volunteers to watch over Sawyer and attend to the button to allow Jack to attend Shannon's funeral. Jack and the other survivors gather and Sayid tries to say a few words, but is overcome by emotion.

 

After Jack leaves Sawyer suddenly wakes up and violently grabs Kate, yelling "Why did you kill me?" Kate, distraught, flees the station. Jack and Locke arrive back just in time to hit the button. Jack sets out to find Kate and succeeds. Kate kisses him, shocking them both, before she runs off into the jungle.

 

In the Swan Station, Locke uses boltcutters to remove the handcuffs Jin has had to wear for weeks. Michael notes that in the archways leading to the computer room there are thick blast doors. Locke is surprised as he hadn't noticed them before. Locke offers to show Michael the orientation film and he agrees. Eko also sits in. Michael is bemused by the whole situation, but Eko seems more intrigued. He shows Locke the Bible he found in the Arrow Station. The Bible is actually hollowed out, and inside is a splice of film. Locke realises it is part of the same orientation film and, using the timecodes, matches it up to where it should be. They watch the reassembled film, which now contains an extra section where Dr. Marvin Candle warns the viewers not to attempt to use the computer to communication with other parts of the Island or the outside world under any circumstances, as this may help bring about another "Incident", similar to the original one that required the Swan Station to be built and the button pressed. Locke is astonished at the sheer improbability of of them finding the Swan Station and then someone from the other side of the Island arriving just a few days later with another missing piece of the puzzle. Eko tells Locke not to mistake coincidence for fate.

 

Kate returns to the Swan and talks to the unconscious Sawyer. She admits that she killed Wayne because he revolted and disgusted her, he was dangerous and because she couldn't bear the fact that he was part of her. Sawyer wakes up, revealing he heard the whole thing and now shares Kate's secret. Kate is actually relieved. Kate shows Sawyer around the Swan Station. Sawyer is bemused by the relative comfort of the place, initially wondering if they've been rescued. Kate shows him the jungle outside. Both are startled to see Kate's horse suddenly appear. It lets Kate stroke it before disappearing into the jungle again.

 

Jack shares three miniature tequila bottles with Ana Lucia, recalling their first meeting at the airport.

 

Michael is studying the Swan Station in detail. He is in the computer room when he hears the computer beep, as if it is ready to accept the Numbers. This is odd as it is only supposed to do this four minutes before the timer runs out, and there are 51 minutes left. Suddenly the word "Hello?" appears on the screen. Michael, not having heard the warning from the orientation film, gamely replies "Hello?" and identifies himself as Michael. The response comes back: "Dad?"

 

Major WTFery: The horse is one of the bigger mindscrews up to this point in the show.

 

Hindsight: According to the producers, the horse is actually the Monster/Man in Black. How it was able to extract Kate's memory of the horse without "scanning" her (the way it did to Locke in Walkabout and will do to Eko in The 23rd Psalm) or without having a dead body to work with (like Christian Shepard's or Locke's later on) is unknown. Maybe it was able to do it whilst she was asleep, or was able to use the information that the Others were gathering. Exactly why the Monster was appearing as the horse is unclear: trying to get Kate to repent her crime and become a "good person"? It's open to speculation.

 

Some fans were mystified as to how the Others knew when to use the computer to talk to Michael. However, the episode ? confirms that the Pearl Station can access hidden cameras in the Swan to spy on the inhabitants. It is likely that the Others were using this system (or maybe remotely tapping into it) to see when Michael was alone at the computer.

 

Eagle-eyed viewers can see Sayid on a background screen in the recruitment centre. It turns out that Sam Austen met Sayid in Iraq in 1991 (One of Them). However, it's unclear why a video of this would be playing in a publicly-accessible army recruitment centre ten years later.

 

Apparently, Jin and Sun's child was conceived between the events of the prior episode and this one.

 

Review: It was probably a mistake for the producers to string out the mystery of Kate's original crime across the entire first season and then not answer it in the finale. They apologetically make up for this in this episode, revealing the magnitude of Kate's crime in just the opening minutes of the episode. The on-Island storyline with regards to Kate feels a bit random (especially Smoke Monster Horse) but there's some good forward movement with Michael's story and more stuff in the hatch. (****)

 

210: The 23rd Psalm

Written by Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof, directed by Matt Earl Beesley

Airdate: 11 January 2006

Survivor Count: 50

Days on Island: 50 (10 November 2004)

Flashback Character: Mr. Eko

 

Flashbacks: Nigeria. Two brothers, Eko and Yemi, are playing football when a bunch of guerrillas descend on the village. The guerrillas want to pressgang the boys into their army and give Yemi a gun and tell him to kill an old man to show if he has what it takes. To spare his younger brother from this, Eko pushes Yemi out of the way and kills the old man. The guerrillas laugh, saying that "Mr. Eko" has the heart of a true killer. They take him with them and leave the other kids, including Yemi, behind. One of the soldiers throws Eko's crucifix on the ground, telling him he won't need it any more. Yemi picks it up.

 

Years later, Eko returns to the village. He is now a warlord with a fearsome reputation, brutally executing two men who casually insult him during a drug smuggling negotiation. He goes to see his brother, who is now a priest and wearing Eko's crucifix. He tells him that he has come into possession of a large quantity of heroin and wants to get it out of Nigeria altogether. The only way to do that is to use the planes employed by the Christian missionaries. Yemi refuses to help Eko at all. Eko at first seems to accept this, but then returns: his business associates are "insistent". Eko also promises help get more polio vaccines for the village. Yemi reluctantly agrees to sign a document identifying Eko as a priest and gives him a set of Virgin Mary statues that Eko can use to smuggle the heroin. At the airstrip Yemi pleads with Eko to change his mind and renounce his sinful ways. Suddenly the army arrives and opens fire on the plane. In the crossfire Yemi is hit and dragged into the plane by one of Eko's associates. Angry at the apparent betrayal, Eko's associate kicks him out of the plane and it takes off. The army approach Eko but mistake him for Yemi due to him wearing a priest's outfit, and let him go free.

 

On the Island: Claire introduces herself and Aaron to Mr. Eko at the beach camp and notices that he has been inscribing scripture on the large stick he carries around to defend himself with. She suggests that he talk to Charlie, since they have religion in common. She tells Eko about the Virgin Mary statue that Charlie carries around with him all the time. Eko, startled, takes a look at the statue and then smashes it. He angrily shows Claire the heroin and demands to know where Charlie is.

 

He finds Charlie fishing and demands to be taken to where he found the heroin. Charlie tries to prevaricate, but Eko is insistent. He goes to tell Claire where he's going, but Claire is furious at him for having drugs near her baby. Charlie takes Eko to a tree in the jungle and says he found the statue nearby. Eko says that Charlie is lying. Charlie becomes indignant and self-righteous, saying that he does not have to answer to Eko. Eko waits until he's finished and then tells Charlie to take him "to the plane". A stunned Charlie agrees. Along the way Eko sees black smoke darting between the trees, to his consternation.

 

At the Swan, Michael asks Locke to show him how to use some of the guns. Locke tells him that his father used to take him hunting but doesn't say much more than that. Michael proves a fast study and a good shot. Michael volunteers to take over Kate's next watch at the button, saying it helps take his mind off of Walt. Kate agrees. Michael instead uses the computer to try to talk to Walt again. The person at the other end of the computer lines says that he doesn't have much time and that "they" are coming. Jack interrupts Michael's conversation (but doesn't see what happened) to tell him that they are going to get Walt back just as soon as they can put together a plan. On the beach, life continues to get back to something approaching normal, with Kate cutting Sawyer's hair and Hurley helping Libby build her shelter.

 

Charlie and Eko make their way through the jungle and Charlie becomes disoriented. He climbs a tree to get his bearings. Eko starts to feel uneasy, and suddenly the ground explodes. Hearing the sounds of the Monster, Charlie tells Eko to run. Eko refuses, instead holding his ground like Locke once did. The ground explodes again and a billowing cloud of smoke roars outwards. The cloud - which is the Monster - seems to "scan" Eko and images from his life appear inside it. Eko refuses to move and the Monster, apparently mollified, turns and disappears back into the hole in the ground it created. Charlie asks Eko incredulously why he didn't run and Eko seems to dismiss the matter, saying that he wasn't afraid of it. Charlie confirms that he saw the plane from the tree and they press on.

 

Eko finds the plane and his brother's corpse within. He takes back the crucifix and then burns the plane and the heroin. He gives the last Virgin Mary statue to Charlie to replace the one he broke earlier. Charlie, confused by the whole thing (such as how a small, short-range plane launched from Nigeria ended up in the Pacific), asks Eko if he is a priest and Eko replies that he is. He and Charlie recite the 23rd Psalm as the plane burns. They return to the beach and Charlie apologises to Claire, but she tells him to stay away from her and her baby. Charlie returns to the jungle and hides Eko's statue alongside six other ones that he had previously removed from the plane.

 

Major WTFery: Confirming what was hinted at in the Season 1 finale, the Monster is actually a free-moving cloud of billowing black smoke. However, the smoke is tangible and can pick items up and smash vegetation out of the way. It is capable of "scanning" the minds of individuals and plucking out memories and faces.

 

How on Earth did a plane launched from Nigeria with a range of just a few hundred miles end up over 9,000 miles away in the South Pacific?

 

Hindsight: We know now that the Smoke Monster was once human, the Man in Black, and that taking on the form of the Smoke Monster was only possible after he merged with the Heart of the Island. It is possible that "Mother", the guardian of the Island before the Man in Black and Jacob, also had the power to become the Smoke Monster (given that she completely annihilated a village of dozens of people on the Island single-handed, which seems improbable for a middle-aged human).

 

It appears that when in the the Smoke Monster "form", the Man in Black doesn't entirely have control over his actions (he kills a bunch of people very, very violently in front of Ben Linus in LA X and apologises for the brutality of it later on) and in fact this form may really be the "security system" theorised by Danielle Rousseau in the Season 1 finale. It just needs a human soul or lifeforce to give it sustenance, in return for which it keeps them alive, possibly making them immortal in the process.

 

Depending on which interpretation of the Heart of the Island you go with, the Island may be considered to be the Smoke Monster's prison, with its unusual properties partially designed to stop it escaping into the outside world (which events in Season 6 suggest would result in the annihilation of humanity, or the Earth, or both). The Smoke Monster is constrained on the Island by certain rules, which it attempts to circumvent. It scanning Eko and manipulating people like Kate (with the horse) and Jack (with his father) may by it either looking for potential allies it can use and manipulate, or so it can identify the Candidates who could replace Jaco as the guardian. These story elements become - somewhat - clearer in Season 6.

 

The mystery of how the plane got from Nigeria to the Island is resolved - or hinted at being resolved - by the later revelation that there are special "windows" that people can use to access the Island from elsewhere on the planet. Some of these windows lead to places like the African desert, the Antarctic and elsewhere. It is likely that the plane somehow fell through one of these windows to crash on the Island.

 

Review: Lost rolls out a barnstorming episode by focusing on Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, its new standard-bearer in terms of acting and intensity. Triple A (as his fans call him) completely owns this episode in terms of presence and charisma, and even became the first actor to really help with the creation of an episode as he advised on the depiction of Nigeria and the use of correct Nigerian names. The plot rattles along quite nicely and our first proper look at the Monster is actually satisfying, in a completely surreal and bizarre kind of way. If there is a weakness it's that the show has decided to turn Charlie into an unlikeable idiot for no real reason other than they were running out of things for him to do. But beyond that, this is a highly enjoyable and intriguing episode of the series. (****½)

 

211: The Hunting Party

Written by Elizabeth Sarnoff and Christina M. Kim, directed by Stephen Williams

Airdate:

Survivor Count: 50

Days on Island: 51-52 (11-12 November 2004)

Flashback Character: Jack

 

Flashbacks: Jack and Christian hold a meeting with an elderly Italian man and his daughter, Gabriela, who have flown specially to Los Angeles to ask for Jack's help. Jack saving Sarah against the odds has become a minor news headline and Gabriela believes that Jack can save her father, who has a spine tumour that everyone says is inoperable. Christian outlines why the tumour cannot be operated on, but Gabriela flatters Jack's ego by saying he is a miracle-worker. Jack agrees to run more tests, to Christian's apparent disgust.

 

Jack works long hours doing his normal duties and attending to Gabriela's father. This puts a strain on his marriage at home. Christian also warns Jack that he can see that Jack and Gabriela are becoming attracted to each other. Jack performs the operation, but it goes on longer than planned. Gabriela's father dies on the table. Jack, upset, apologises to Gabriela and they end up kissing. Ashamed, Jack goes home and tells Sarah that he is reducing his workload at the hospital so he and Sarah can spend more time together. However, it's too late. Sarah tells him that she's been having an affair for some time and is leaving him. She tells Jack that he will always need someone or something to fix.

 

On the Island: Jack wakes up in the Swan Station for his shift manning the button, only to find Locke unconscious in the armoury. Michael points a gun at Jack and forces him into the armoury as well. He tells Jack he is going after Walt. Jack offers to go with him, but Michael refuses. He locks them both in. Locke recovers. Jack realises that they are on double shifts together, so no-one else has any reason to come to the hatch for a while. If no-one shows up in the next hour and a half, the button will not be pushed. Jack tries to escape through air vent (as Kate used it to get into the armour during their initial confrontation with Desmond), but Locke had sealed and bolted it from the inside. Fortunately, Sawyer's bandages need changing and he and Kate come back in time to release Locke and Jack and push the button. Jack, Sawyer and Locke tool up with guns and head out after Michael. Kate offers to come with them, but Jack rather forcefully tells her to stay behind and out of danger. Irritated, Kate gets Hurley to watch the button instead and heads out separately. Jin tries to go with her, but Sun forces him to stay, saying she will not lose him again.

 

Jack, Sawyer and Locke head up the central valley of the Island. Locke is puzzled because Michael is heading north, rather than eastwards to the coast where he and the tail section survivors came from. Locke is bemused how Michael knows to go this way. Locke and Jack debate if they have the right to tell Michael what to do or not, and how they'll convince him to return home with them. Locke also asks Sawyer about where he got his nickname from. He knows from the manifest that Sawyer's real name is James Ford, and Sawyer is an odd alias to choose. Sawyer isn't interested in discussing it.

 

Several shots ring out, convincing the trio that they are close on Michael's tail. However, night falls and Locke loses the trail. They debate returning home, but are then approached by a bearded man: the captain of the boat who kidnapped Walt. Sawyer recognises him and nicknames him "Zeke". A warning shot rings out, a sign that the man has friends with him. Jack thinks there is just one guy out there, but the bearded man tells them to "Light 'em up!" A ring of torches surrounds Jack, Sawyer and Locke, indicating there are dozen or more Others surrounding them. The bearded man tells them that they are going to draw a line in the jungle, right here, as a boundary between the survivors and the Others. If the survivors step over it, there will be further unpleasantness. He also tells them Walt - "A very special boy," - is safe and that Michael will never find them. The bearded man forces them to hand over their guns and go back home. Jack refuses, so the bearded man asks "Alex" to bring someone over. This turns out to be Kate. The Others threaten to kill her unless Jack and the others agree to their terms. Jack reluctantly agrees.

 

Back at the Swan Station Charlie and Hurley find an album from a band called Geronimo Jackson. Charlie, who prides himself on his knowledge of even obscure classic rock bands, is baffled because he has never heard of them. Charlie expresses his hope he can reconcile with Claire and Hurley admits he is attracted to Libby.

 

At the beach, Jack seeks out Ana Lucia. He says that he heard that she was a cop and that she managed to kill one of the Others. He asks her how long it would take to train an army.

 

Major WTFery: Locke says that he bolted the air vent leading into the Swan Station's armoury, which is fair enough. But for some reason he put the bolt on the inside of the vent, rather than on the side in the armoury itself. Locke says specifically that he was trying to protect against what Kate did, which was to use the vent to get into the armoury...but if the bolt's inside the vent, they can still do that. It'd be more useful to have the bolt on the inside in the armoury to prevent someone getting in. Of course, if they did that Jack and Locke wouldn't have been imprisoned for very long.

 

Given the insane lengths that the Others later go to to capture Sawyer, Jack, Kate and Hurley, it's a bit puzzling that they don't simply take them all right there and then. Of course, this is because "the list" is only created later on, after this meeting.

 

According to Sawyer, Cindy was taken "less than a mile" from the camp. Given that the abduction apparently happened whilst the tailies were still crossing the high lands to the east (likely a passable section of the eastern mountain range) and that the tailies had to run through the jungle during full daylight and then met Sayid and Shannon after nightfall, that doesn't seem right. In addition, Sawyer was completely unconscious when all of this happened.

 

Hindsight: The episode Three Minutes shows the flipside of this episode from Michael's point of view.

 

"Alex" is, of course, Alex Rousseau, Danielle's sixteen-years-missing daughter. Slightly oddly, we never see Alex in this episode, just a pair of arms pushing Kate into shot, even though presumably Locke, Jack and Sawyer would have seen her. We meet Alex for the first time a few episodes down the line in Maternity Leave (presumably she hadn't been cast at this point).

 

Geronimo Jackson songs, records and mentions crop up through the rest of the show as Easter Eggs. The band was actually created for The Lost Experience game which took place between Seasons 2 and 3, and this marks one of the earliest pieces of foreshadowing specifically created for it (the Hanso Foundation appears to have been created for the show itself, but then developed further in the game).

 

The "army" is one of the more amusing, blatantly abandoned storylines from the series. Ana Lucia and Jack do apparently spend some time over the next few episodes considering recruiting more survivors from Flight 815 into a fighting force, and as late as The Long Con still seem to be discussing it, but it never comes to fruition. This may be because events overtook them and there wasn't enough time, or it may be because they concluded (rightly) that tooling up the survivors and taking them to fight an unknown enemy of unknown capability, numbers, intent, location or armaments was suicide.

 

The "line" is likely located in the northern part of the jungle, in the central valley: Jack, Locke and Sawyer travelled for almost a whole day and into the night, mostly through the valley where the going is easier than in the thick jungle. They also travelled due north, or as close to it as possible. This line is certainly way past the Pearl, with the Beechcraft crashed on top of it, as the survivors travel to and from there at will. It's also likely past the Staff (which the Others abandoned after Claire's escape, presumably as it was hard for them to defend). It's likely near the pneumatic tube dumping ground, which is where the Others feel able to attack Jack's group later on (Live Together, Die Alone), but not so far north that the Barracks are visible (A Tale of Two Cities).

 

Review: A pretty solid episode with a relentless pace and a dramatic final confrontation. However, it's all let down a little by being predictable, especially with Kate being captured. Also, "Zeke" appears to be rather obviously wearing make-up to appear dishevelled. This may actually be deliberate (since the Others are indeed faking their poor appearance) but, especially in HD, the make-up is so bad as to appear mildly comical. The army storyline never really gets going and the feeling is that the episode has wound up being filler cleverly disguised as being something revelatory. Still, a watchable enough episode with a rare, unobjectionable Jackback. (***½)

 

212: Fire + Water

Written by Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz, directed by Jack Bender

Airdate: 25 January 2006

Survivor Count: 50

Days on Island: 54-56 (14-16 November 2004) - Day 54 is the halfway point of the Oceanic Six's stay on the Island.

Flashback Character: Charlie

 

Flashbacks: Charlie visits his newborn niece in the hospital, telling his sister-in-law Karen that Liam missed his flight but will be there soon. In reality, Liam is at home getting high. Charlie angrily gets his brother to clean himself up and get to the hospital. 

 

Drive Shaft have been reduced to filming a children's nappy commercial, to their shame. However, Charlie is willing to put up with it if it means more money. However, Liam is in a bad state and disrupts filming until the band are all fired. Charlie realises his brother is in seriously trouble with his addiction and writes a new song. Liam seems impressed by the song, but soon relapses into asking Charlie for another fix. Charlie gets home another day to find that Liam has sold his piano to pay for airplane tickets to Australia. Liam plans to start over again out there with Karen and their daughter. He leaves a shocked and hurt Charlie behind.

 

On the Island: Charlie has a bizarre hallucination/dream in which he is playing a piano, apparently with Aaron trapped inside. Bemused, he wakes up and sees that Claire and Aaron are fine, with Locke apparently looking out for them.

 

Sawyer and Kate have worked out that Hurley has a crush on Libby. Sawyer tricks Libby into coming over whilst she's doing laundry and then makes a quick exit. Hurley offers to let Libby use the washing machine and dryer in the Swan Station. As they do the laundry, they chat and Hurley becomes convinced he knows Libby from somewhere else. Libby says that Hurley stepped on her foot on the plane in his hurry to get on board.

 

Charlie has another dream in which his mother and Claire appear and tell him that Aaron is in danger. He sees the Beechcraft crash in the distance and a dove fly past. Charlie wakes up to find himself standing in the water on the beach with Aaron. He hands the baby back, trying to explain he was sleepwalking, but Claire slaps him. Charlie asks Locke for help, appealing to Locke's spiritual side, but Locke seems to think that Charlie is using heroin again. Charlie points out that he cannot, as he burned the plane with all the heroin inside. Locke softens a little, saying that Claire needs time before she can trust Charlie again. Locke doesn't seem particularly interested in Charlie's dreams or visions, however. Charlie has better luck with Eko, who interprets the dreams to suggest that Aaron should be baptised, or something bad will happen to him. Charlie floats the idea to Claire, but she refuses to listen and has Kate get rid of him. Locke is concerned over Charlie's state of mind and keeps an eye on him.

 

Charlie goes to his stash of heroin in the jungle, but Locke finds him. Charlie says he was going to smash it all, but Locke doesn't believe him. He takes the statues away. Infuriated, Charlie fakes a fire near the camp to distract everyone, then tries to take Aaron to the water to baptise him. However, he is stopped by the rest. Eko tells him that this "is not the way". Locke carefully takes Aaron, gives him to Claire and then punches Charlie three times, leaving him bloody in the sea. Jack treats Charlie's wounds but forces Charlie to promise not to pull anything like this again.

 

Claire speaks to Eko, who says that baptism is a spiritual cleansing and a peaceful ritual. Claire confesses she hasn't been baptised either. Eko happily baptises both Claire and Aaron together. Locke locks the seven statues in the Swan Station's armoury. Charlie, ostracised from the rest of the group, moves a bit further up the beach.

 

Major WTFery: Libby makes a point of noting that the washing machine and the dryer in the Swan Station are newer than the other equipment, none of which is newer than the late 1980s. This may be a wry nod to the possibility that the production team couldn't source era-appropriate white goods so just used contemporary equipment. It's not impossible that there is some mechanism for the white goods in the hatch to be replaced if broken down, with replacements dropped from the resupply drones, but it seems rather unlikely.

 

Charlie raises a series interesting and valid point in this episode: Sayid and Shannon saw Walt in the woods, Kate saw a horse and several people have been chased around by a murderous cloud of black smoke, but his visions and dreams are dismissed out of hand. He also notes that it is strange that supposedly spiritual Locke completely ignores his dreams and visions in favour of lazily blaming it all on the drugs, which he quite clearly isn't taking because the statues are all intact and the plane has been destroyed (which Eko can verify). Locke actually acts rather annoyingly out-of-character in this episode for no real reason.

 

Hindsight: Libby's story about Hurley stepping on her foot is clearly incorrect. Libby was sitting in the tail section of the plane and Hurley entered from the front gangway, as we saw in the Season 1 finale. Presumably Libby saw him later on whilst moving up and down the plane before it crashed, or heard the story about him charging crazily on board from Bernard or Cindy. This isn't actually an error, as Libby was trying to distract Hurley before he remembered seeing her in the same mental hospital (as revealed in Dave).

 

The saga of the statues continues (groan) in The Long Con, ? and Three Minutes later this season.

 

Review: By a country mile, Fire + Water is the worst episode of Lost up to this point. In fact, it might be the worst episode of the entire series, despite some hefty competition from Jack's Tattoo Episode and That One With Nikki and Paulo. Nothing about it makes sense, it lazily leans on Charlie's recovering drug addict status for drama, Locke acts out of character throughout the episode, the flashback is utterly pointless and the whole thing is an ungodly, badly-structured mess. Congratulations to Lost for making it through 35 episodes before dropping the ball completely, but this is the first really wretched episode of the series. (*)

[Werthead]

213: The Long Con

Written by Steven Maeda and Leonard Dick, directed by Roxann Dawson

Airdate: 8 February 2006

Survivor Count: 50

Days on Island: 57 (17 November 2004)

Flashback Character: Sawyer

 

Flashbacks: Sawyer is having an affair with a woman named Cassidy. He attempts the same con on her he did with Jessica and her husband (Confidence Man) but it backfires when Cassidy sees through him. Rather than being angry, Cassidy instead asks Sawyer how he pulls off his cons and has soon joined him as a partner in crime. After six months, Cassidy suggests they do a big job that will net them a lot of money. Sawyer says that's a "long con" and takes a lot of preparation, a lot of time...and a lot of money. When Cassidy tells him she has $600,000 Sawyer is incredulous, saying that they could just retire to a beautiful beach somewhere. But Cassidy insists that they use it to pull off a bigger job. Sawyer says he'll arrange it, but in reality the whole thing is a long con, designed by Sawyer and his sometimes-partner Gordy to rip off the money they knew Cassidy inherited. Sawyer tries to back out on the deal, realising that he's really fallen for Cassidy, but Gordy threatens to kill both of them. Sawyer confesses all to Cassidy, encouraging her to leave with the money whilst he leads Gordy on a wild goose chase. But it turns out that Sawyer swapped their bags at the last minute. Whilst Cassidy flees, Sawyer leaves with the $600,000.

 

On the Island: Locke and Jack are concerned that Sawyer has returned to his hoarding ways and decide to consolidate their resources in the locked armoury in the Swan Station. They add the Marshal's gun case to the weapons already there and Charlie's heroin statues (the nature of which Locke discloses to Jack). They decide they should get the camp's remaining medicine which is in Sawyer's hands. Locke - clearly reluctantly - gives the combination to the armoury to Jack but they agree that they should access the armour only if both agree to it.

 

Sawyer is mocking Charlie for his deteriorated relationship with Claire, but then sees Jack ransacking his tent for the camp's medicine. Jack is angry since Sawyer took it from the Swan, but Sawyer points out it was taken from his stash whilst he was on the raft. He was merely retaking what was "his". He squares up for a fight but Jack simply laughs and walks off, leaving Sawyer fuming. Claire tries to cheer him up with a magazine she found, but Sawyer lost his glasses on the raft and can't read any more. Locke shows up and discusses the changing situation in the camp. When he mentions Jack and Ana Lucia forming an army, Kate is startled and Sawyer realises that Jack didn't tell her about it.

 

Hurley retrieves the radio that Bernard was using at the Arrow and gives it to Sayid, asking if he could use it to send or receive a distress call. Sayid is initially annoyed, still mourning Shannon's death, but then takes the radio to see if he can do something with it.

 

Ana Lucia and Jack haven't had much luck with recruiting for the army. Ana Lucia thinks that people on the beach feel too safe and complacent, despite Claire's kidnapping, and don't feel that the Others are an imminent danger, especially since the "truce" was established. Jack thinks the group has other, more deep-seated trust issues.

 

Sun is working in her garden when she is attacked by an unknown assailant. They put a hood over her head and drag her through the jungle. Kate and Sawyer hear her screams from the beach and race after her. They find her lying unconscious in the jungle and bring her back to camp. Jack helps her recover. Ana Lucia immediately says it was the Others and suggest they arm up and comb the jungle. Locke says it's too dangerous to give untrained people guns. Sawyer and Kate investigate the scene of the crime and Sawyer points out that the details are all wrong: the Others don't leave tracks and the hood they used on Kate had a different design. Sawyer suggests that Ana Lucia was responsible, trying to scare people into joining the army. Kate broaches the possibility with Jack, who thinks the idea is ludicrous. However, when Ana Lucia tells him that several more people want to join the army, he asks her straight-up. Her response is interrupted by Sun waking up. She didn't see her attacker but a furious Jin demands a gun from the hatch, as do others.

 

Watching on, Kate and Sawyer realise that Ana Lucia has set the whole thing up to get her hands on the guns. Sawyer races ahead to the Swan and warns Locke what's happening. He suggests that Locke move the guns whilst Sawyer pushes the button. Jack and Jin arrive at the hatch to find that Locke has already left with the weapons, to their fury. 

 

At the beach Jack accuses Locke of breaking their agreement to open the armoury only if both agree to it, but Locke points out that Jack was going to break it anyway. Locke reiterates that it is a mistake to train an army or try to give guns to people who aren't trained to use them and send them haring through the jungle. He trained Michael to shoot and it backfired badly. As they argue, three shots ring out and Sawyer walks out onto the beach. He tells everyone that he has the guns - the entire thing was a long con set up by him. He tells them that there's a new sheriff in town and anyone who wants a gun had better come and see him. He tells a furious Sayid that he can try torturing him if he wants but this is one secret he's not giving up.

 

Kate tries to work out how Sawyer got the guns whilst he was pushing the button, but is more insistent on figuring out why Sawyer did all this. She says it's got nothing to do with power or control, and is more about the fact that Sawyer was becoming more liked and respected in the camp. He freaked out about that and did something to make everyone hate him again. Sawyer says it's not even that: he cons people, just as Kate always runs. It's who they are. Later, Sawyer talks to Charlie and it is revealed that it was Charlie who staged the attack on Sun and followed Locke to locate the hiding place of the guns. Sawyer offers him one of the Virgin Mary statues filled with heroin but Charlie declines, saying that his motivation was humiliating Locke and that is reward enough. He does make Locke promise never to tell Sun about his role in attacking her.

 

Sayid finds Hurley reading a manuscript for a novel called Bad Twin, written by one Gary Troup. Hurley found it amongst the salvaged luggage from the crash. Sayid has rigged up a radio receiver and they go through the frequencies. They eventually locate a signal from a classic jazz station and for a few minutes are able to enjoy some music - "Moonlight Serenade" by Glen Miller - before they lose it again. Sayid tells him that the signal was bouncing around the ionosphere and could come from almost anywhere in the world. "Or any time..." as Hurley says, before laughing and saying he was just kidding.

 

Major WTFery: Not a huge amount, apart from Sayid suddenly being able to pick up the music at the end of the episode. Eagle-eared listeners will note that the song is "Moonlight Serenade" by Glen Miller, who recorded the song in 1939. Miller famously vanished without a trace in 1944 while flying over the English Channel.

 

At one point it is said there are 46 people in the camp. The total number of confirmed, known and extant survivors from Flight 815 is currently 50 (it's actually more, including the ~12 tailies taken by the Others, but that number is never confirmed and it's highly suggested that they are all dead by the end of the series anyway). However, five of those people (Cindy, Zach, Emma, Walt and Michael) are not present, being with the Others or looking for them. So the total number of people in the camp should be 45. It's possible that the survivors haven't gotten used to adjusting the count following Shannon's death yet.

 

Hindsight: Whilst not a momentous episode in terms of forward-moving plot material, the episode does set up the Jin/Sun storyline of The Whole Truth. It also foreshadows the time travel storyline of Season 5. In fact, show co-runner Carlton Cuse would later confirm that the music Sayid and Hurley pick up is from the 1940s.

 

Originally Adrift was supposed to be a Sawyer flashback and featured some scenes filmed with Kevin Dunn playing Gordy and Star Trek: Enterprise actress Jolene Blalock playing an undisclosed role. That plan was abandoned in favour of a Michael flashback. Based on Dunn's presence, some fans have speculated that this was the same flashback story as in The Long Con, with Blalock playing Cassidy and being replaced by Kim Dickens due to availability issues. This has never been formally confirmed.

 

Sawyer and Gordy meet in the cafe where Kate's mother works; she serves them their food.

 

In Outlaws Sawyer confirmed that he once wore pink but defended it because "it was the Eighties". However, he unironically wears pink in the flashback, which was set considerably more recently.

 

This episode establishes the size of the beach camp, stating that it is half a kilometre (1,640 feet or a third of a mile) from Sawyer's tent at one end of the beach to Sun's vegetable patch, which is just behind and at the other end of the beach.

 

This episode confirms that previous suggestion that Sawyer is actually an excellent and superior judge of character: the long con would not be possible unless he had a very good idea of how Jack, Locke, Kate and Charlie would respond at every step of the process, having watched and analysed them over the past two months.

 

Hurley is reading the manuscript for Bad Twin, a novel by Gary Troup. The producers would establish the Gary Troup was on the plane and in fact was the guy sucked into the fanjet and killed in the opening minutes of the pilot episode. Bad Twin was actually published as a stand-alone mystery novel credited to Troup (but actually written by mystery author Laurence Shames). The novel features minor references to the Hanso Foundation, Widmore Corpoation, Paik Industries, Oceanic Airlines and Mr. Cluck's Chicken Shack, as well as Alvar Hanso, Thomas Mittelwerk and Cindy. Originally the plan was that Cindy and Troup would have been romantically involved, but this idea was later abandoned as it was felt to be a bit too random. Cindy certainly never mentions him on the show. Bad Twin's publication was part of The Lost Experience metagame/alternate reality game.

 

Review: This is a surprisingly good episode. It's a Sawyer flashback which does not advance the overall plot very much, but it's packed with both character and scene-setting stuff for later on. It also develops Sawyer's character and makes him more of an antagonistic figure without destroying the character or being nonsensical (the mistake made with Charlie in Fire + Water). The "new sheriff in town" ending is memorable as well and it's the first episode to bring Ana Lucia back to the fore after quite a few weeks on the backburner. (****)

 

214: One of Them

Written by Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, directed by Stephen Williams

Airdate: 15 February 2006

Survivor Count: 50

Days on Island: 58 (18 November 2004)

Flashback Character: Sayid

 

Flashbacks: February 1991, during the Gulf War. Bombs are falling and Iraqi soldiers are destroying documents in a bunker. A young Sayid is among them. American troops burst into the bunker and threaten to kill everyone. Sayid, who is the only person present who can speak English, encourages everyone to surrender. The senior American soldier present, Sergeant Austen, is impressed and asks for Sayid's help in trying to track down an American helicopter pilot who has been captured by the Iraqis. Sayid, reluctantly, helps question his former commanding officer Tariq but doesn't get very far due to Tariq's defiance and intransigence. An American government agent (possibly CIA) named "Joe" shows Sayid videos depicting Tariq's unit using nerve gas on a village where some of Sayid's family used to live. Angered, Sayid tortures Tariq to get the information: the helicopter pilot died and was buried in an unmarked grave. Joe lets Sayid go, telling him that they've just received orders to halt their advance on Baghdad. They're going home and Sayid has a new skill set. Sayid angrily says he'll never torture anyone ever again, but Joe doesn't believe him.

 

On the Island: Ana Lucia finds Sayid on the beach and tells him that she spotted someone in the jungle, someone she thinks is an Other. Sayid investigates, but realises the woman is Danielle Rousseau. He tells Ana Lucia to go back to the camp. Danielle asks Sayid to go with him, but he points out that the last time Danielle showed up she tried to kidnap Aaron and set in motion the departure of the raft and everything that followed on from that. Danielle admits that she made a grave error of trust and judgement. She gives Sayid her weapons and guides him to one of her traps in the jungle. A man is caught up in the trap. He claims his name is Henry Gale and that he is from Minnesota. He was flying across the Pacific in a hot air balloon when it came down on the Island four months ago. His wife died of an infection and he has been scrabbling to survive every since.

 

Danielle doesn't believe his story. When Sayid lets him down, she becomes agitated. Fearing she means to attack him, Henry attempts to flee. Danielle shoots him through the shoulder with an arrow. She then departs, leaving him for Sayid to deal with. She warns him that Henry is an Other and he will lie and lie for the longest possible time.

 

Sawyer can't get to sleep because of a tree frog making an irritating sound near the camp. He tries to get someone to help him, but the rest of the camp distrust him because of the gun incidence. Sawyer finally gets Hurley to help him after spotting him binging on food he held back from the Swan Station and blackmailing him into helping. They locate the frog and Hurley offers to take it across the Island so it won't both Sawyer again. Sawyer simply kills it, to Hurley's disgust.

Sayid takes Henry back to the Swan Station. Jack tends to his wound. Sayid and Locke are reasonably certain that the man is an Other, but Jack seems more sceptical. Sayid asks Locke to change the combination on the armoury door. They then convince Jack to move him into the armoury so other people won't see him. Then Sayid locks himself inside with Henry and starts interrogating him, to Jack's annoyance. Henry claims that he was rich, a millionaire after he sold his non-metallic mineral mining company. He wanted to fly across the Pacific in a balloon because it was cool, and his wife Jennifer thought it was "neat". He describes her getting sick and dying, and Henry having him to bury her three weeks earlier. Sayid asks him if Henry used a tool or bear hands and demands to know every little detail. Henry seems to panic and says he can't remember. Remembering Shannon's death and digging her grave, Sayid tells him that he would remember every single little detail. He physically attacks Henry.

Hearing Henry's screams, Jack tells Locke to open the door. Locke tells Jack that they are at war with the Others. That's why Jack wants to build an army, so anything they do to get more information is justified. Suddenly the reminder sounds for the button. Locke goes to push it but Jack physically stops him, telling him that nothing will happen. Locke starts to panic but then backs down and opens the armoury. Jack pulls Sayid off Henry whilst Locke rushes to the computer. He nearly doesn't make it: the counter hits 000 and suddenly the numbers flip over to show hieroglyphics of unknown origin. There is what sounds like some kind of energy or force building up. Locke hits the button and it seems to reverse whatever's happening, returning the count to 108 as normal.

 

Sayid tells Jack that Henry is an Other, but Jack is still unconvinced. On the beach Sayid tells Charlie that he knows that Henry is "one of them" because he felt no remorse or guilt whatsoever for what he did. He remembers the Others kidnapping Clarie and hanging Charlie from a tree, even if everyone else has forgotten. He asks Charlie if he has forgotten.

 

Major WTFery: The failure to hit the button in time results in hieroglyphics appearing on the counter instead of the numbers. Exactly why the DHARMA Initiative went to this trouble is unclear. According to the producers, the hieroglyphics are meant to mean "Underworld".

 

Jack and Locke spend a lot of time arguing about the combination when Jack could have simply gone up into the air vents and let himself into the armoury that way (the air vent is locked from the inside of the vent, not the inside of the armour even though that would have made more sense).

 

Hindsight: "Joe", the mysterious American from Sayid's flashbacks, is actually Kelvin Joe Inman. After the Gulf War he would be recruited either by the DHARMA Initiative or the Others and end up on the Island, helping Stuart Radzinsky man the Swan Station and push the button. After Radzinsky's suicide he would keep pushing the button until Desmond's arrival in 2001. More of Inman's story is revealed in the Season 2 finale.

 

Sergeant Austen is, of course, Kate's stepfather.

 

This episode is one of the few where the flashbacks can be dated with a reasonable degree of accuracy. Ground combat operations in the Gulf War began on 24 February 1991 and concluded 100 hours later on 28 February. The final scene of the episode presumably took place on 28 February.

 

Henry Gale is, of course, Benjamin Linus, the leader of the Others. We don't learn his true name or identity until Season 3, when Michael Emerson is promoted to a regular castmember.

 

Review: Sayid episodes are always good value and this one is better than most, thanks to a barnstorming guest appearance by Clancy Brown as "Joe" and of course the introduction of the mighty Michael Emerson as A.N. Other. We also have Jack and Locke flipping out (along with the arguable first appearance of Matthew Fox's patented "Jack visiting crazy town" face) and Mira Furlan shooting someone with a crossbow.  We don't learn a whole lot, but this episode kind of functions as a great summation of Lost as a whole and is tremendously watchable. (****½)

 

215: Maternity Leave

Written by Dawn Lambertsen Kelly and Matt Ragghianti, directed by Jack Bender

Airdate: 1 March 2006

Survivor Count: 50

Days on Island: 58-59 (18-19 November 2004)

Flashback Character: Claire

 

Flashbacks: A still-pregnant Claire is in a medical facility of some kind, being examined by a doctor who is revealed to be Ethan Rom. Ethan says they are planning to take good care of Claire and her baby. He periodically injects Claire with medicine for her baby, but the medicine makes Claire tired and docile. Ethan shows Claire a nursery that has been prepared for her baby, complete with a mobile made up of toy airplanes bearing the Oceanic Airlines logo.

 

Claire realises that she is in some kind of underground facility. There are DHARMA logos everywhere, with the Staff of Asclepius in the middle. Ethan tells Claire that Charlie is safe and back at the beach camp. They are interrupted by a man who turns out to be "Zeke", the Other from the boat who kidnapped Walt and talked to Jack in the jungle. "Zeke" is now clean-shaven and wearing modern clothes. He chides Ethan for not making a list like he was ordered, but Ethan complains that it wasn't possible. The fuselage survivors had a manifest and were able to discover his true identity. "Zeke" worries about what "he" will think of the situation. Ethan later takes Claire for a walk outside the hatchway leading to the Staff Station and assures her that the Others are "good people" who will look after her baby.

 

Claire is woken up by a teenage girl she hasn't met before. The girl tells Claire that the Others are going to rip her baby out of her and she has to leave right now. She uses chloroform to knock Claire out and drags her outside. Claire wakes up in the jungle and, delirious, tries to stagger back to the Staff. She is interrupted by Danielle, who rescues her by knocking her out with a blow to the head.

 

On the Island: Claire is concerned that Aaron is getting sick and asks Jack to take a look at him. Danielle arrives at the camp, concerned that the child is ill, but Kate asks her to leave because of her previous attack on Claire and attempt to kidnap Aaron. Claire is also experiencing momentary flashes of what happened to her when she was kidnapped by Ethan a few weeks ago.

 

Jack tells Claire that Aaron probably has a normal childhood infection, but Danielle's visit, her reports of a "sickness" that consumed her fellow castaways and drove them mad, and Claire's flashes back to her kidnapping combine to convince Claire that something is seriously wrong. Claire asks Libby, who is a psychologist, to help her through memory regression techniques. Claire gets a firmer grasp of what happened to her, including the fact that she was taken to a DHARMA medical station. She realises that there must by medicine there and enlists Kate's help.

 

In the Swan, Locke gives Henry a book to pass the time: The Brothers Karamazov. Henry asks if they have any Stephen King instead. He finds the book a bit heavy going. Locke suggests to Jack that they come up with a "long-term plan" for Henry, but Jack isn't really interested. They don't have a long-term plan for the button either but keep pushing it. Jack asks for Locke's idea but he doesn't haven one...although Henry makes a suggestion that they just let him go instead.

 

In the jungle Eko cuts down a tree but finds the process laborious with an axe. He goes to the hatch to borrow a saw. Although Jack tries to hide it, he guesses they are hiding someone in the hatch, someone who might be an Other. Eko asks Jack if he can speak to this man in a friendly manner. When Jack is reluctant, Eko suggests that if he does not let him, maybe others will find out about the situation. Jack agrees.

 

Kate and Claire set out to find the Staff Station, Kate borrowing a gun from Sawyer. They locate Danielle in the jungle and enlist her assistance. Danielle takes them back to where she found Claire, but they can't find the Staff nearby. They search further, Claire remembering more and more of her experience. They finally locate the massive hatch hidden in the ground and find it unlocked. They explore the facility, but it has clearly been abandoned. The equipment and medicine has all been cleared out and the nursery is now empty. The only thing Kate finds is a locker filled with dirty clothes and a box with fake beards in it, along with theatrical glue. Kate realises that the Others are faking their low-tech appearance. 

 

The three women regroup, Claire's memories now fully restored. She realises that Danielle saved her and took her back to her camp. Danielle confirms that's what happened. She tells Claire that she is sorry she also didn't find what she was looking for. Claire tells Danielle that she was allowed to escape by a teenage girl with piercing blue eyes. Danielle realises this might have been Alex, her missing daughter, and starts crying in happiness that she is alive and saved Claire, showing she is a good person. Danielle departs, although she mars the happiness of the moment by suggesting that Claire may have to kill Aaron if he is really infected. But back at the camp Aaron is already looking better. Like Jack said, he just had a minor infection.

 

At the hatch, Eko tells Henry that he killed two Others when they attacked the tail section camp on the first first night on the Island. He tells Henry that he is deeply sorry and seeks forgiveness. Henry seems bemused by the confession. Later, Henry and Locke share a moment of shared conversation over authors and books. Henry asks Locke why he lets Jack talk to him so badly, but Locke disagrees, saying that he and Jack make decisions together as equals. Henry disagrees, saying that from where is standing, Jack appears to be in charge. Locke closes the door and goes back out into the kitchen, but Henry's words anger him and he throws some cutlery on the floor.

 

Major WTFery: What drug are the Others using to make Claire so pliable and how can they be sure it won't hurt the baby?

 

If the Island cures diseases, cancer and even repairs damaged spines and fertility issues, how does Aaron come down with even a brief infection?

 

Why are the Others going to such elaborate lengths to disguise their true appearances? Are they really just trying to lure the survivors into a false sense of security? To what end? Given that the Others can attack the fuselage camp at will whenever they want, it all seems a bit pointless.

 

Hindsight: This is the second episode of Lost to take place 100% entirely on the Island (after The Other 48 Days) and is the first to feature a flashback within the timeframe of the series itself. The flashbacks take place between Day 16 and Day 27 (the end of Raised by Another and the end of Special).

 

This episode marks the beginning of a minor (and totally irrelevant) debate if Henry/Ben is a Stephen King fan or not. He asks for a Stephen King book in this episode, but in A Tale of Two Cities a member of the book club says that Ben would hate the Stephen King novel (Carrie) that they're reading. However, upon realising that he's been kicked out of the book club, Ben seems to express regret that he's not taking part after seeing the book. But this could just be a reference to his infatuation with Juliet. Stephen King, of course, was a massive fan of Lost and Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse with both huge King fans, with allusions to his work scattered all over the series. In the show, Jack appears to also be a King fan and has a copy of Hearts in Atlantis in his office bookcase in flashbacks.

 

Technically Alex previously appeared in The Hunting Party, but only as a pair of arms pushing Kate into shot. However, this marks her first, proper on-screen appearance.

 

Review: Another very strong episode, anchored in a heartfelt performance by Emilie de Ravin as Claire and one that satisfactorily actually resolves a long-outstanding mystery from Season 1. It's fun seeing Henry playing his mind games on Locke (who has always been vulnerable to this kind of manipulation) and it's great to see the Danielle/Alex story moving forwards. (****)

 

216: The Whole Truth

Written by Elizabeth Sarnoff and Chrstina M. Kim, directed by Karen Gaviola

Airdate: 22 March 2006

Survivor Count: 50

Days on Island: 60-61 (20-21 November 2004)

Flashback Character: Sun

 

Flashbacks: In Seoul, Jin and Sun have been trying to have a baby for a year to no avail. Jin decides they should see a fertility specialist. Sun is still upset from seeing Jin with blood on his hands and is no longer sure she wants to be with him. She is learning English in secret from her friend Jae Lee, with a mind to fleeing to America. Jae Lee's American girlfriend has left him, and he suggests that Sun could instead stay in Korea, maybe with him. The fertility doctor tells Sun that she is suffering from endometriosis and is unlikely to conceive. Jin becomes angry, wondering if Sun knew. Sun becomes even more depressed. However, the doctor later privately contacts Sun and tells her that the problem is with Jin: knowing that Jin worked for Sun's father, he feared that Jin might become violent if he learned the truth, that it is Jin who is infertile. Sun agrees to keep the secret.

 

On the Island: Sun is working in her garden but is interrupted by Jin. Jin is furious that she is endangering herself by continuing to work on her garden even after being attacked. He tears up some of her plants and tells her there is no reason for her to stay. Sun is upset and returns to the beach camp. She feels light-headed and unwell. After some contemplation she asks Sawyer for a pregnancy test from his stash. Amused, he gives her one with a "WIDMORE LABS" logo on it.

 

Ana Lucia is running along the beach for exercise when she bumps into Locke near her tent. Locke tells Ana Lucia that they have a man in the hatch who may be "one of them". Locke wants him out, and asks for Ana Lucia's help given her law enforcement background. When Ana asks if Jack knows about this, Locke tells her he doesn't need Jack's permission to do anything. Ana Lucia interrogates Henry. He tells her the same story he told the others about the balloon. Adopting a reasonable tone, Ana Lucia suggests he draws her a map and gives her directions to where the balloon crashed. Henry agrees.

 

With the map in hand (and not telling Jack), Ana Lucia finds Sayid and suggests that they go looking for the balloon. Sayid agrees, and Charlie (who is nearby) joins in as well. Ana Lucia notes that Charlie has a gun (acquired from Sawyer) and suggests that maybe someone who is trained in its use should carry it. Charlie agrees and gives it to Sayid. They locate the alleged area where the balloon is located, but can't find it after a cursory search. Reasoning that it's been four months so anything could have happened, they split up to look for it.

 

Sun asks for Kate's support when she goes through the pregnancy test. The test confirms that she is indeed pregnant. Jack confirms that the test is fairly reliable. She swears Kate and Jack to secrecy as she considers what to do next.

 

Jin is fishing on the beach when Sawyer arrives to offer his congratulations. Jin doesn't understand what's going on, but reasons it's something to do with Sun. He feels guilty about what he did, and goes back to fix Sun's garden. Sun arrives and, seeing what he's done, tells him she is pregnant. She also tells him about his infertility. Jin is surprised but says it's a miracle.

 

At the Swan Locke decides to let Henry out of his cell to eat breakfast with him and Jack. Henry is surprised to be eating cereal and is bemused that Jack and Locke don't seem to be particularly curious about where the food in the Swan came from. As they talk, Ben muses on a hypothetical situation that, if he was an Other, he could have drawn a false map to send Ana Lucia into a trap where she'll get captured so she can then be swapped for Henry. Henry says that it's obviously a good thing he's not "one of them" and asks for some milk, as Locke and Jack look at him incredulously.

 

Major WTFery: As well as Locke's legs, the Island appears to have also healed Jin's testicles, which isn't a sentence you'd expect to hear very often.

 

Hindsight: This episdoe begins on a Saturday. Going by on-Island dates, this corresponds perfectly to 20 November 2004. This suggests that, at least by this episode (if not from the start), the producers had firmly decided that the crash took place on 22 September.

 

Sun's pregnancy test was produced by Widmore Labs. Some fans believed this was the first mention of Widmore on the show, which isn't quite correct as a construction banner on Battersea Power Station in Fire + Water also carried the Widmore logo. That logo was very difficult to see on screen, but the one on the pregnancy test is much more prominent.

 

Jin and Sun definitely slept together on the night of Day 48 (8 November), between the episodes Collision and What Kate Did. This was the first confirmed time they slept together on the Island. They also spent a large chunk of Season 1 estranged from each other, so this is likely the night when their baby was conceived, thirteen days before this episode. However, it is not impossible that they slept together before that (potentially as late as just before ...In Translation, about one month before this episode).

 

Review: Not a classic episode, although Jin and Sun stories are always pretty solid. The episode does have a lot of scene-setting and foreshadowing, but it does a few good things. It indicates that Jack is so distracted by Henry and Locke that he is no longer talking to Ana Lucia (hence why the whole army thing has died a death) and also that the camp survivors are happily getting one with their own stuff whilst "Jack and Locke are a little too busy worrying about Locke and Jack". (****)

[Werthead]

217: Lockdown

Written by Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof, directed by Stephen Williams

Airdate: 29 March 2006

Survivor Count: 50

Days on Island: 61 (21 November 2004)

Flashback Character: Locke

 

Flashbacks: Locke and Helen are now living together. Locke plans to take Helen out on a picnic, during which he plans to propose to her. However, Helen spots an obituary in the paper which says that Locke's father, Anthony Cooper, has died. They attend the funeral and are the only people present, although Locke notes two men watching the funeral from one direction and a car parked in the opposite, also appearing to be observing events. Locke resumes his day job, running house inspections for new tenants (including an Iraqi immigrant, Nadia), but notes the same car from the cemetery seems to be following him around. He approaches the car and is shocked to see it is being driven by his father.

Cooper confirms that he faked his own death because he had conned $700,000 from the two men in a retirement scheme. Cooper offers to cut Locke in on some of the money in return for him retrieving the money from Cooper's hiding place. Locke reluctantly agrees. When he returns home he finds the two men present, convinced that Cooper is still alive and Locke is helping him. Hearing this, Helen is furious and tells them that Cooper ruined and destroyed Locke's life. This, combined with not finding anything, convinces them that Cooper has not been in contact and they leave peacefully. Locke later takes the money to his father at an airport motel and tells him he doesn't want the money. He just wants to live his life with Helen peacefully. However, Helen has followed him. She assumes that Locke and his father have been running this scam together for some time and becomes angry. She tells Locke she is leaving him. He begs her to change her mind by asking her to marry him, but she refuses.

 

On the Island: Locke and Jack throw Henry back into the armoury, concerned about his "joke" about setting up a trap for Ana Lucia, Sayid and Charlie. Jack heads back to the beach to see if they've left yet. Henry starts to ask why Locke lets Jack order him around again but a furious Locke tells him to shut up.

At the camp Jack learns that the others took off hours ago. His initial concern is defused as he has to deal with other problems in the camp: Libby has been stung by a sea urchin and Claire is still worried about Aaron's recent illness. After sorting them out he finds Kate, Hurley and Sawyer playing poker with DHARMA Initiative-branded cards. Jack turns out to be a bit of a poker fiend and challenges Sawyer to a no-holds-barred game for the remaining medical supplies. The game attracts the attention of half the camp. Jack wins and takes the medicine back. Sawyer asks him why he didn't play for the guns. Jack responds that when he needs the guns, he'll take them.

Out in the jungle Sayid, Charlie and Ana Lucia comb the area for Henry's balloon. Just as they're getting ready to give up, they find the balloon strung out in the canopy with a gravestone underneath, just like Henry said.

At the hatch Locke is working out when he starts hearing odd sounds coming from the loudspeakers in the walls. He fiddles with their wiring, finding that they've been disconnected or damaged over the years, and suddenly hears an automated countdown. When it reaches zero, the blast doors in the Swan Station come crashing down one after another. Locke is able to interpose a crowbar between one set of doors and the floor. He tries to pry it open to no avail. He releases Henry to help him, and together they manage to lever up the door and get a toolkit underneath it to take the weight. Locke prepares to slide underneath, but the toolkit is crushed and one of the blast door supports goes through Locke's leg. Henry quickly uses exercise equipment to take the door's weight off Locke's leg, but he is still pinned under it.

Realising that the button will need to be pushed, Locke directs Henry on how to get into the air system through the ventilation shaft in the pantry. He asks him to go to the computer room and push the button, but Henry is injured trying to climb up to the air vent. Eventually he gets into the vent system and stops answering Locke's calls, making Locke fear he's instead taken advantage of the situation to escape. Locke hears the computer beeping and then the timer runs out. Then Locke hears the timer reset. Suddenly the lights go out and ultraviolet illumination tubes come on. Locke is shocked to see a complex image appear on the blast door, a chart or map of some kind. He only has a minute or so to take in its detail and memorise it before the lights come back on and the blast doors retract. Henry Gale appears, confirming that he pushed the button after some hieroglyphics appeared. He helps Locke tend to his wounded leg.

Jack heads back to the Swan Station from the beach and is joined by Kate, who wants to have a shower. Jack dissuades her from coming by saying they've got a cracked pipe and the water is running muddy. Jack decides to head back to the beach with Kate to hang out, but they see something flashing in the woods. They come across a massive air supply drop consisting of pallets stacked with DHARMA-branded food and supplies. They're completely shocked. So are Ana Lucia, Charlie and Sayid who stumble over the find as well.

In the hatch Locke and Henry are treating Locke's injury when the search party returns. They hold Henry at gunpoint and tell him that they found the balloon and the grave just as he said, but Sayid got suspicious and dug up the grave. And in the grave he found the body of a man, not a woman. According to the driver's licence on his body, he was an African-American man named Henry Gale.

Major WTFery: Jack appears to be deeply concerned that Ana Lucia is walking into a trap, so he rushes back to the beach and...plays poker? Why not go back to the hatch, force Henry to draw a new map and head out after them?

It seems a major design flaw that during a lockdown (which may last up to half an hour) the button can't be pressed if the crew are caught outside the room. However, this may have been avoided if the speakers still worked and the people in the Swan knew what the countdown meant: they could have just stayed put in the computer room. An alternative explanation is that during a lockdown the button is pushed automatically, so maybe Henry/Ben was correct when he said he didn't push the button. Since we never the see these events from his POV, we never know for sure.

Hindsight: The pallet drops remained one of the show's bigger mysteries at the end of its run. However, the "epilogue" episode, The New Man in Charge, confirms that the DHARMA Initiative has a resupply warehouse in Guam. Every couple of months, the warehouse gets resupplied and two maintenance men send out the cargo on a plane to a set of coordinates provided by the Lamp Post (the LA-based facility which can locate the Island by studying the electromagnetic emanations of other locations on the planet). The ongoing resupply missions were paid for by either the Hanso Foundation or the Others themselves. As the resupply data was automated from the Lamp Post, it appears that you couldn't use the warehouse to find the Lamp Post.

The blast door map obssessed Lost fans for literally months after it first appeared, especially as high-res versions of it were released by the producers and fans annotated and studied it. The map is a treasure trove of information, but the most pertinent information seems to be as follows:

• There are (at least) six DHARMA stations. The Swan, the Arrow, the Staff (aka "Cadaceus Medical Station") and "the Flame" are identified clearly. A "zoological research facility" (with polar bears), a "manufacturing facility with light industrial equipment", a "meteorological research" facility and a "possible recreation area" are all noted. The name "The Pearl?" is suggested for one of the unidentified stations.
• There is a central facility identified only by a massive question mark.
• There are multiple warnings of the malfunction of the "Cerberus security system" and mentions of "CVs" or "Cerberus Vents". This is a reference to the Smoke Monster: "Cerberus", the triple-headed dog of the Underworld, is the DHARMA Initiative's codename for it. 
• The "PRD" takes place every 6-8 months.
• The Black Rock is identified as the final resting place of Magnus Hanso.
• An "AH/MDG Incident" is identified as taking place in 1985, confirming that there was a second "Incident" after the one we see happening on-screen in 1977. A second Incident had been theorised by fans since there would be insufficient time after the original Incident to build the Swan Station and its computer before the electromagnetic energy built up to dangerous levels. This resulted in the theory that originally the electromagnetic energy took a  lot longer to build up before being dissipated. A second incident in 1985 leading to the 108-minute protocol after the station had already been constructed is one solution to this problem. "AH" is presumably a reference to Alvar Hanso and "DG" to "DeGroot". The "M" is unknown, since the DeGroots' names were Gerald and Karen.
• A red, hexagonal line apparently shows the limit of travel times from the Swan Station: "Estimated travel time incompatible with 108, do not attempt journey". However, the hexagonal limit is centred on the Pearl, not the Swan, and previous episodes have already confirmed that it takes far longer than 54 minutes to reach the Arrow from Swan (more like two days). Later episodes would also confirm that it was impossible to reach the Flame (located near the Barracks at the far northern end of the Island) in that time period either.

Later episodes confirm that the Pearl is the massive question mark facility and that the zoological facility is the Hydra Station (on its own, small island) and work on polar bears are being done there. The manufacturing facility might be the Tempest. The meteorological research facility may be the Looking Glass. The recreation area might be the Barracks. The PRD is likely the Pallet Resupply Drop.

The Season 2 finale confirms that Radzinsky, a survivor of the DHARMA Initiative, starting drawing the map. It was continued after his death by Inman. They found a way of shutting the blast door at will and were able to draw the map that way. Radzinsky already knew a lot of the secrets of the DHARMA Initiative, suggesting that he never told Inman (who appears to have joined after Swan Station after the Purge) about it and Inman tried to piece it together after Radzinsky's death. It's also possible that Radzinsky's memory and mind were affected by the original Incident or the second one and he was trying to reclaim or remember things he had been forgotten.

Review: A solid and highly intriguing episode which hints at many further mysteries as well as moving forward the Henry Gale story. However, Jack getting distracted from the impending peril to his friends' lives by a poker game remains pretty weird. (****)

 

218: Dave

Written by Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz, directed by Jack Bender

Airdate: 5 April 2006

Survivor Count: 50

Days on Island: 62 (22 November 2004)

Flashback Character: Hurley

 

Flashbacks: At Santa Rosa Mental Health Institute, Hurley is being treated by Dr. Brooks. Hurley blamed himself for causing the deaths of several people at a party. He walked out on a deck rated for only eight people but there were twenty-three on it. The floor snapped. Brooks points out that there were already too many people on the deck before Hurley stepped on it, but Hurley knows it was his weight that caused the accident. Hurley tells the doctor about his friend Dave, but Dr. Brooks thinks that Dave is a negative influence.

Hurley finds Dave at the hospital's basketball game but Dave is rude and obnoxious about other patients. Hurley tries to talk to Dave his meeting with Brooks, but Dave distracts him by talking about taco night. In the cafeteria, Dave talks Hurley into stealing some food from Leonard (the guy who repeats the Numbers constantly) and not taking his proscribed medication. Brooks drops by and takes a photo of Hurley and Dave for their collection. Later, in his next meeting with Brooks, Hurley tries to list the positive things he enjoys in life. Brooks suggests to Hurley that he eats as a way of punishing himself for what he mistakenly believes his his crime. Hurley gets angry and says that Dave is right: Brooks is a quack. Brooks shows Hurley the picture from the cafeteria: Hurley doesn't have his arm around anyone. Dave is a figment of Hurley's imagination.

Hurley is distraught, but is woken up by Dave in the middle of the night. When Hurley tells him what Brooks said, Dave puts it down to Photoshop. Dave takes him to an open window they can use to escape the institute. Hurley goes along with it, but then abruptly locks Dave outside, declaring that he isn't real. He goes back inside and begins to get better.

When Hurley is having the picture of him and "Dave" taken, someone is watching from another table: a darker-haired and clearly disturbed Libby.

 

On the Island: Hurley and Libby are spending time together. Libby wants to help Hurley lose weight, but only if he wants to. Hurley admits he has a problem and shows Libby his secret stash of food. Libby refuses to judge him, letting him decide what he wants to know. In a burst of freedom, Hurley destroys all the food. He empties the bottles on the floor and sprays crisps through the jungle. Now temptation has been removed. Moments later a large number of other survivors pass by. Hurley and Libby follow and discover the pallet drop for the Swan Station, with tons of new food and supplies that the survivors can use. Hurley is horrified. During the chaos he suddenly sees his imaginary friend Dave look at him before disappearing into the jungle. Hurley pursues him, but he has vanished. Libby follows and congratulates Hurley on not freaking out.

In the Swan Station Locke tries to work out why "Henry" came back to save him rather than flee. Jack points out that he thought his story would check out and he'd be then accepted into the group. Ana Lucia and Sayid interrogate "Henry", who claims that they found the balloon with Gale dead in it already. Sayid produces a piece of paper which Gale wrote a message on, suggesting he was going to head to a beach. This would be difficult for Gale to do if he was dead. "Henry" confirms that other Others killed him, not him. He confirms that "Zeke" is no-one important and that there is a higher authority that "Henry" reports to. He refuses to talk any further so Sayid pulls out a gun and threatens to shoot him. Ana Lucia stops him in the nick of time. Locke later interrogates "Henry" and demands to know more about the Swan. "Henry" tells him that the think the station is a joke and he also claims he never pushed the button. The computer just reset itself automatically. "Henry" also tells Locke that even God cannot see the Island.

Eko continues chopping down trees and beginning his own construction project. Charlie offers to help out, even if he isn't sure what it's for.

Hurley sees Dave again, who throws a coconut at him. Hurley goes to see Sawyer, hoping he has some medication in his stash to control his mood swings. Unwisely, Hurley says he's been seeing things and Sawyer starts mocking him. Hurley snaps and physically attacks Sawyer: Sawyer is a strong, tough guy but Hurley simply flattens him. Afterwards a vastly amused Kate tends to Sawyer's wounds and gets Sawyer to admit he did provoke Hurley.

Dave appears to Hurley and takes him to a cliffside. Dave convinces Hurley that he is still in the mental hospital. Everything that happened - winning the lottery, crashing on the Island, having an attractive woman like Libby being interested in him - is a result of his own psychosis. Hurley angrily demands it, becoming distraught and thinking about throwing himself off the cliff. Libby stops him, telling him about things that have happened to her that he has no knowledge of, because they happened to her and she is not a figment of his imagination. She calms Hurley down and they share a kiss.

Major WTFery: It seems a bit selfish of Hurley to destroy his food rather than simply give it to the other castaways.

Hindsight: This episode features the first indication of a supreme leader of the Others that even Henry/Ben looks up to. Maternity Leave mentioned a "him" being unhappy with the situation, but that could be Henry/Ben himself. Although not mentioned by name, this episode thus is the first one to reference Jacob.

According to the producers, "Dave" is actually a figment of Hurley's imagination and isn't the Smoke Monster in disguise. The Monster has no reason to try to get Hurley to kill himself or try to drive him mad at this stage.

ABC rejected the first draft of the script, which apparently made it more plausible that the entire series is taking place in Hurley's imagination in a mental hospital (shades of St. Elsewhere). Later drafts introduced Libby's speech about her perspective, which the writers hoped would confirm that the show doesn't take place in Hurley's mind, otherwise he'd know about scenes and things he personally hadn't been there to witness. Of course, the fact that this scene was followed by Libby in the mental hospital didn't help the situation, with some fans pondering if the series was a shared hallucination between the two characters. The Lost producers later confirmed outright that the story isn't a hallucination, even naming an episode Whatever Happened, Happened to confirm this point.

At mentioned before, although it is probable that "Henry" pushed the button it is not impossible he didn't, and that during a resupply lockdown the button pushing system becomes automated in case the staff were caught outside the computer room, if not the hatch altogether.

Review: A bit of an oddball episode, but Jorge Garcia always gives a good performance and the scene where Sawyer insults Hurley one time too many and gets the crap kicked out of him may be one of the comic highlights of the entire series. The ending is a bit weak, however, since it throws up the tiresome possibility of the show being a hallucination (***½)

 

219: S.O.S.

Written by Steven Maeda and Leonard Dick, directed by Eric Laneuville

Airdate: 12 April 2006

Survivor Count: 50

Days on Island: 63 (23 November 2004)

Flashback Characters: Rose and Bernard

 

Flashbacks: On a cold winter night, Rose's car gets stuck in a snowdrift. She is helped out of the snowdrift by Bernard. Rose is grateful for his help. As he gets in his car, she asks him for a cup of coffee and he agrees.

Five months later they go on holiday to Niagara Falls and Bernard asks Rose to marry him. He has been a bachelor for over thirty years, but he then fell in love with Rose with no warning. Rose tells him that she has cancer. It's been in remission for a few years, but has now come back with no hope of going away again. Bernard says she didn't answer his question. Moved, she says yes.

For their honeymoon they go to Australia and visit the Outback. Near Uluru (Ayers' Rock) they find a place to say, but Rose is annoyed when it turns out to be the home of a man Bernard found on the Internet, a supposed healer. Rose speaks to the man, Isaac, and he explains that there are areas on the Earth's surface where certain energies are focused. He can channel these energies to heal people. After examining Rose, he apologises and says that the energies channelled there, near Uluru, are not what she needs. There may be other places where she can be healed. Rose asks him to lie and tell Bernard that he did heal her.

At Sydney Airport Rose drops some medication from her bag. Locke, still in his wheelchair, picks it up and returns it to her. Rose thanks him.

 

On the Island: At the beach camp Bernard has become frustrated with the way people seem to be settling in for the long haul. He wants them to continue trying to find ways of being rescued. Hurley notes that they did the whole raft thing but it got blown up. Bernard understands that but suggests they try again. His idea is very simple: to build an absolutely massive sign saying "SOS" across a neighbouring beach, using big black rocks from a lava field a couple of kilometres away. It'll be hard work, but it'll mean that the sign can't be washed away. Initially Bernard gets some willing helpers, but his abrasive management style and the backbreaking labour involved soon drives everyone else off. Bernard is particularly hurt by Rose, whose more fatalistic attitude means that she does not support the plan.

In the Swan Station Locke is trying to recreate the blast door map. He is rather unenthusiastic about pressing the button, remembering "Henry"'s claim that the button does nothing. Jack speaks to "Henry", telling him that since he won't give up any intelligence there is something else he can do. Jack plans to swap "Henry" for Walt and is going out to the "truce line" to negotiate with the Others. "Henry" tells him that they'll never swap Walt for him. Ana Lucia gives Jack her gun and Jack recruits Kate to go with him. Later on, Locke talks to "Henry" through the door, demanding to know if he pressed the button or not. "Henry" simply smiles.

Locke goes to the beach and Rose sits down with him. Locke is angry and says he is "done" with the hatch after his leg was injured. Rose thinks that unlikely and tells him that they both know his leg will heal much faster than it should do (Rose remembers seeing Locke in his wheelchair at the airport). This restores Locke's faith in the Island and he is able to finally remember the major features of the blast door map and write it down.

Eko and Charlie are continuing their construction project, which is now identified as a church. Bernard tries to get their help but is annoyed at yet another sign of people planning to live on the Island indefinitely. He goes to the beach to work on the sign alone. Rose comes up to him and tells him that Isaac couldn't heal her in Australia. The cancer was still in her. However, since arriving on the Island she has felt better. The cancer is gone and the Island has healed her. If they leave, it may come back again. That's why she doesn't want to leave. A shocked Bernard agrees to stay with Rose on the Island, forever if needed.

Jack and Kate reach the truce line. Jack yells for someone to come and talk to them, but no-one does. They spend hours waiting until past nightfall. Just as they're about ready to give it up, a figure staggers out of the jungle and collapses in their arms: Michael.

 

Major WTFery: The Island's healing power is now confirmed to have healed Locke's paralysis, Jin's infertility and Rose's cancer.

Hindsight: As of this episode, only Rose, Boone and (probably) Walt know that Locke was in a wheelchair before the crash. Surprisingly, this never becomes common knowledge and only one more person (Sawyer, in Season 3's The Brig) ever finds out about it, unless Walt or Rose tell them after the series ends.

This is the first episode to give a flashback to recurring characters who later do not became regular castmembers.

Neil "Frogurt", aka "the frozen yogurt guy" is first mentioned as being one of the survivors on Flight 815. He is mentioned several more times before finally showing up in Season 5's Because You Left and The Lie.

This episode was inspired by real-life events. Actress L. Scott Caldwell (Rose) had met her husband a few months before being cast in the show and married him in May 2004, during the filming of the pilot. He was very ill with cancer during the filming of Season 1, which prevented Caldwell from committing to the series as a regular, as had been planned. He passed away about a year later, in the spring of 2005. This episode was written by the scriptwriters as a tribute to the actress and to her late husband, which she found very moving.

Later episodes would confirm that there are other areas on the Earth where the Island's energies, or variations thereof, also exist: the Looking Glass in Los Angeles is one.

This is the last time that Rose appears in the show until Greatest Hits, almost a year later.

Review: This is a moving episode, even before you find out that it's based (loosely) on true events in the history of the actress who played Rose. L. Scott Caldwell and Sam Anderson completely kill it, and in the case of Anderson, a mainstay of American television in the 1990s and 2000s, it's great to see him playing a real human character rather than the authority figures he normally portrayed. It's also a good episode for showing what the other, non-main character survivors are up to, as well pushing forward mythology elements like the Island's healing powers. (****)

 

220: Two for the Road

Written by Elizabeth Sarnoff and Christina M. Kim, directed by Paul Edwards

Airdate: 3 May 2006

Survivor Count: 50

Days on Island: 63-64 (23-24 November 2004)

Flashback Character: Ana Lucia

 

Flashbacks: Ana Lucia is summoned to a meeting with her mother, who tells her that the man who shot her and killed her unborn baby, Jason McCormack, has been found dead. Teresa demands to know where Ana Lucia was when he was shot and makes it clear that she doesn't believe Ana Lucia had nothing to do with it, even if the investigation will likely be cursory. Ana Lucia quits on the spot.

She gets a job working security at a Los Angeles airport, which she finds tedious. Having a drink after work, she bumps into a man, a disgraced ex-doctor (Christian Shepard). They commiserate over their problems and he learns that she used to be a cop and hates the boredom of her new life. Christian makes a suggestion: he needs to go to Australia and it could get a bit rough. He offers to pay her to be his bodyguard. Ana Lucia is dubious but goes along with it.

In Sydney Christian goes on a bender and there isn't much for Ana Lucia to do until he knocks on her door. He gets her to drive him to a house in the suburbs. He talks to a woman and becomes agitated, yelling, "She's my daughter!" Ana Lucia drags him away. They drive past a cocktail bar and he volunteers to get out and let her go on her way. Sawyer knocks into the car on his way into the bar. Ana Lucia says goodbye to him and makes arrangements to fly home a few days later.

At Sydney Airport Ana Lucia overhears Jack remonstrating with the check out staff about getting the coffin on board. Ana Lucia is moved to call her mother, who tells her they can try to reconcile when she gets back.

 

On the Island: Jack and Kate are unable to revive Michael, so half-drag, half-carry him back to the Swan Station.

In the Swan, Ana Lucia feeds "Henry" and tells him it's unusual for him not to talk. Most murderers talk a lot. "Henry" becomes absolutely enraged and attacks her, calling her a killer for killing two of them (the unknown Other on the twelfth night and then Goodwin in The Other 48 Days) and denying he is like her. He throttles Ana Lucia but Locke bursts in and knocks him out with his crutches. Ana Lucia goes to the beach and talks to Libby, telling her what happened. Ana Lucia is enraged and clearly plotting revenge of some kind.

Locke demands to know what "Henry" was doing. "Henry" says that Ana Lucia is not a good person, not like Locke. "Henry" says his mission was to find Locke and bring him back, because he is "one of the good ones". "Henry" says he's now a dead man, as either Jack didn't get what he wanted and will kill him, or he will be returned to his people who will kill him, as their leader is not a forgiving man. They are interrupted by Jack and Kate returning with Michael.

Ana Lucia asks Sawyer for a gun but is rebuffed. She follows him to his gun stash, but is discovered along the way. They get into an argument, but it turns into a sexual encounter, Ana Lucia playing on Sawyer's jealousy of how much time Kate is spending with Jack. Ana Lucia steals Sawyer's gun whilst he isn't looking and returns to the hatch.

Hurley arranges for a romantic picnic with Libby, but forgets to bring any towel or drinks. Libby is touched, offering to go and get some towels for them.
 
Michael wakes up and tells Jack, Kate, Locke and Ana Lucia that the Others are animals. He managed to spy on their camp. They only have two guns in their entire group and are living in far worse conditions than the 815 survivors. There are only 22 of them, less than half the number of the 815 survivors. The survivors have the Others outnumbered and outgunned. The rest of the group are more sceptical, especially after Michael confirms that he never saw Cindy, Walt, Zach or Emma, suggesting they might be elsewhere. Locke and Jack discuss the situation and decide they can trust Michael. Along with Kate, they leave to get the guns back from Sawyer whilst Ana Lucia guards the prisoner. Sawyer is unhelpful until Jack throws his reading material - the Bad Twin manuscript - into a fire. Sawyer angrily reaches for his gun and realises that Ana Lucia has it. Hearing that, Locke realises that they have a problem and tells Jack about the attack on Ana Lucia.

Ana Lucia gets her gun and goes to kill "Henry", only to find she can't do it. She breaks down. Michael wakes up and listens to her saying how weak she is for not being able to do it. Michael says he'll do it: the Others are animals and he deserves no better. Ana Lucia gives him the gun and the combination. Michael says "I'm sorry" and shoots Ana Lucia dead on the spot. Libby walks in, carrying two blankets, and screams. Michael, shocked, shoots her twice in the stomach. Horrified at himself, he then opens the door to the cell. "Henry" stands up as Michael takes the gun, points it at his own shoulder and fires.

 

Major WTFery: The scenes in Australia had to be shot reversed, as the crew couldn't find the right-hand-drive cars they'd used previously. This involved all of the lettering on costumes and everything else in shot having to be reversed.

 

Hindsight: Ana Lucia is likely working at LA X, the Los Angeles airport that plays a large role in the Season 5 episode 315 and the Season 6 opening two-parter.

Henry/Ben's categorisation of "Him" - Jacob - as not a forgiving man is highly at odds with the Jacob we meet in Seasons 5 and 6. Along with what happens in Season 3 in The Man Behind the Curtain, it might be that the Jacob the Others refer to throughout the series is really the Man in Black posing as Jacob.

The Bad Twin manuscript appears again in this episode, which aired the same week The Lost Experience (which the novel was part of) launched.

The woman Christian met in Australia was immediately assumed by many fans to be Claire's mother. They were almost right: she was actually Lindsey Littleton, Claire's aunt. This storyline is continued in Season 3's Par Avion.

Conspiracy theories still surround the departure of Michelle Rodriguez (Ana Lucia) from the show, as well as Cynthia Watros (Libby). Both actresses were arrested in Hawaii on 1 December 2005 for driving whilst over the limit (contrary to early reports, these were separate incidents but taking place within 15 minutes of one another). However, these incidents both took place four months before the shooting of this episode, in which they were written out. In addition, Michelle Rodriguez's contract was for one year only and confirmed that she would be killed off towards the end of Season 2. Rodriguez was building a film career following her roles in films such as Girlfight, Resident Evil, The Fast and the Furious and SWAT and only agreed to do one season of Lost before returning to the cinema. Showrunners Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof both confirmed that Ana Lucia was mean to be a one-season character only. Rodriguez was also happy to return to multiple later appearances in the show, as a vision or flashback, which does not support the idea of an acrimonious departure.

The situation with Watros appears to have been different: she was hired under a different contractual arrangement and, quite noticeably in episodes such as Dave, had a lot more backstory and foreshadowing established for her character. The decision to kill her off arose during the writing of Two for the Road, since Ana Lucia's death was regarded as possibly predictable (due to Rodriguez's fame and her backstory being more or less wrapped up) and killing Libby as well would completely blindside the audience. The death of Libby did cause issues for their storytelling, which they did get around (somewhat) with the use of flashbacks and other characters in later seasons. The producers did promise an episode which would really delve into Libby's backstory, but they never got around to making it.

Review: Lost took a level in hardcore with this episode. Ana Lucia's death was signposted rather thoroughly ahead of time, although it happening this week rather than in the finale was a surprise, but Libby's came out nowhere and achieved its intended effect of blindsiding and disturbing the audience. The high stakes, intense pacing and the overwhelming tragedy (for Hurley) all make for a great episode, let down a little by the feeling that maybe Ana Lucia and Libby hadn't quite been built up enough as characters for the audience to really get upset at their departure. (****½)

[RumHam]

So you think Inman joined after the purge? I know there's some iffyness with the purge date but I figured he was one of the last people to join and that after the Purge Dharma was done. I always imagined Widmore moved the island after the purge so the Dharma people in Ann Arbor couldn't get back. Though since they still had the Lamppost and pallet drops maybe they could have sent Inman later. Or maybe Widmore just had the mainland Dharma people killed so they wouldn't find the island again with the Lamppost. 

I think it's in One of Them that Sayid's voice inexplicably changes to another actor's when he says "You want to know who I am?" to Ben. A minor thing but it makes me laugh every time.

One thing with Jin's testicles never made a lot of sense to me. The doctor is so afraid of who Jin works for that he lies. Only Jin works for Sun's father, so shouldn't he be more afraid of giving Mr. Paik's daughter a bad diagnosis?

I never really thought about a second incident. It seems clear to me that The Incident from season five was supposed to be "the incident" mentioned in the orientation film. I just chalked it up to the show's bad continuity/plot planning. Isn't there a lot of info on that map that is totally wrong? I agree the only explanation for the map is Radzinsky lost his memory/mind at some point. Maybe Dharma or the Others even Room 23ed him for some reason. 

Another interesting aspect is the whole "quarantine" / sickness thing with the hatch. They were given that serum to inject and had hazmat suits and the hatch was labeled quarantine. Yet we know there were people living just fine on the surface, even observing the Swan team from the Pearl. Also I think that was the same "vaccine" the others injected Claire with. Or at least they both had the numbers on them. I wish they had made this all more coherent. 

[Werthead]

Quote

So you think Inman joined after the purge? I know there's some iffyness with the purge date but I figured he was one of the last people to join and that after the Purge Dharma was done. I always imagined Widmore moved the island after the purge so the Dharma people in Ann Arbor couldn't get back. Though since they still had the Lamppost and pallet drops maybe they could have sent Inman later. Or maybe Widmore just had the mainland Dharma people killed so they wouldn't find the island again with the Lamppost. 

There are issues either way. We're given either 1988 or 1992 for the Purge dates, but we only know it happens in December. 1988 makes more sense because it may explain why Danielle never encountered DHARMA despite thoroughly exploring the Island: she arrived, the Purge happened a couple of months later when she was on the far side of the Island. Having her living on the Island for four years without encountering any DHARMA folk (who may have helped her) seems highly implausible. In addition, Ben could only take possession of Alex after the Purge, when he was a full-time member of the Others. Alex's age and the repeated, numerous mentions of "sixteen years" and "1988" for Danielle's arrival I think conclusively tip the date in 1988's favour. The Lost Encyclopedia, which was released after the series ended and put a few hard dates on things, agreed with this reasoning as well.

1988 is also helpful because it gives more time for Ben to consolidate his position and overthrow Widmore, who we know was living in exile in the outside world by 2001 at the absolute latest (13 years compared to 9) but probably before then. It also is supported by the peace treaty between DHARMA and the Hostiles in 1973, which gave DHARMA fifteen years to vacate the Island. The Hostiles taking action within weeks or months of that deadline passing makes more sense than them waiting four years for no real reason.

Against that we have Horace Godspeed saying he died twelve years before the present (2004) when it should have been sixteen. Inman is an issue, but it's worth noting that he only ever mentions meeting Radzinsky. He never mentions anyone else. He also only mentions the Incident, not the Purge, which you think he would if it had happened whilst he was on the Island. Inman was in Iraq in February 1991 during the Gulf War. It sounds like he left the CIA not long after, got pissed off with his life and then was recruited and came to the Island after that point.

Since the Others genuinely don't seem to know what the heck happened in the Swan (so it wasn't them who recruited him), the clearest take-away is that it was the Hanso Foundation that kept up the resupply flights even after they cut funding to DHARMA (in 1987/88) and recruited Inman to go to the Swan and help Radzinsky. They may have planned to recruit further people to keep manning the Swan, but it sounds like not everyone in the Hanso Foundation was clued in to what was going on and after Hanso himself was forced out of power they stopped the recruitment.

Quote

I never really thought about a second incident. It seems clear to me that The Incident from season five was supposed to be "the incident" mentioned in the orientation film. I just chalked it up to the show's bad continuity/plot planning. Isn't there a lot of info on that map that is totally wrong? I agree the only explanation for the map is Radzinsky lost his memory/mind at some point. Maybe Dharma or the Others even Room 23ed him for some reason. 

We don't know when Radzinski died. If it was a few weeks or even a couple of years after Inman had shown up and he'd never told Inman anything before killing himself, I can see Inman putting information together and then sticking it up on the door himself, and not much of the original stuff on there is Radzinski's.

As for multiple Incidents, that was supported after The Incident was shown to take place in 1977 but the Incident on the blast door map was said to have taken place in 1985. The Orientation movie was made in 1980, so I think that's clearly referencing the 1977 one. But it's also likely the two were linked.

My take is that the magnetic anomlay was breached and the energy was going to destroy the Island. Jughead's detonation vapourised the energy and removed the immediately danger. The nature of the energy also prevented Jughead's explosion from rendering the Island uninhabitable (there's no sign of radiation on the Island after the detonation). Instead they cancelled each other out. The energy took a long time to build back up again. This is handy because they actually needed time to build the Swan, build the electromagnetic dampening field inside etc. By 1980, three years after the Incident, they had the Swan built and were able to get the electromagnetic energy under control by pushing the button and venting the build up every 108 minutes. What I suspect happened in 1985 is that they either made a further attempt to tap the energy with the reactor (which was designed for the show but never built; you can see it in the video game if you want) or someone didn't press the button on time and there was a partial systems failure that they averted, but which led to the damage we see in the station, most notably the concrete walls being put in place. Then things carried on after that. From what Inman says, it sounds like they finally put the failsafe in place to vent all of the energy from the pocket at once, but there was a reasonable chance this would devastate the Island, so they made it a choice of last resort.

Quote

Another interesting aspect is the whole "quarantine" / sickness thing with the hatch. They were given that serum to inject and had hazmat suits and the hatch was labeled quarantine. Yet we know there were people living just fine on the surface, even observing the Swan team from the Pearl. Also I think that was the same "vaccine" the others injected Claire with. Or at least they both had the numbers on them. I wish they had made this all more coherent. 

I think that DHARMA and the Hanso Foundation were more concerned about the Hostiles and possible radiation damage from the Jughead. The quarantine sign and rumours of a sickness are actually a great way of keeping people in the Swan Station and not wandering around outside, which makes far more sense post-Purge than it actually did before.

[RumHam]

Huh, ok you've sold me on '88 making way more sense. I never thought about it but if Danielle replaced the numbers broadcast with her message, Dharma sure should have noticed. I always figured Ben was sneaking out to live part time with the others when he stole Alex, but this is much neater. I have no problem accepting that dead-dream Horace doesn't know what year it is. 

1 hour ago, Werthead said:

I think that DHARMA and the Hanso Foundation were more concerned about the Hostiles and possible radiation damage from the Jughead. The quarantine sign and rumours of a sickness are actually a great way of keeping people in the Swan Station and not wandering around outside, which makes far more sense post-Purge than it actually did before.

Yeah that's probably it. I just wish they had explained the whole smoke monster sickness thing better. Like I seem to recall Claire and Sayid were both infected, and then just nothing came of it. Sayid acts a bit more evil for a while, but it's not a drastic change. Claire ends up being taken off the island, which was like Danielle's greatest fear, that the sickness would spread to the mainland. Though at that point smokey was dead so maybe she was cured? 

Another thing I wanted to mention, it seems like for a while they were toying with the idea of certain flashback characters manipulating the main characters to either send them to the island or somehow prepare them for it (Claire's psychic, Inman teaching Sayid his "skill set" even though he didn't actually need him) Then they backed away from that, apart from Ms. Hawking and Desmond. 

[williamjm]

On 17/05/2016 at 8:56 PM, Werthead said:

Sayid asks him if Henry used a tool or bear hands and demands to know every little detail. Henry seems to panic and says he can't remember. Remembering Shannon's death and digging her grave, Sayid tells him that he would remember every single little detail. He physically attacks Henry.

Are these polar bear hands?

[Werthead]

221: ?

Written by Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse

Airdate: 10 May 2006

Survivor Count: 49 (following Ana Lucia's death in the previous episode)

Days on Island: 64-65 (24-25 November 2004)

Flashback Character: Mr. Eko

 

Flashbacks: Mr. Eko is serving as a priest in Australia, but is planning to leave for a new life in the United States. A forger, Caldwell, has prepared a forged passport for Eko and offers to hook him up with contacts in LA but Eko is not interested. Before he can leave, Eko is asked by the senior priest to investigate claims that a young woman has died and come back to life. Her mother is convinced it is a miracle. Eko is highly sceptical of the claim. He talks to the girl's doctor, who says that she was brought to him having drowned and been in the water for two hours. When he started the autopsy, she woke up. He plays Eko the audio log of the autopsy. The girl screams in a disturbing manner when she is "resurrected". Eko goes to see the girl but is intercepted by her father, Richard Malkin, who is the same psychic who told Claire to go to America. Richard says that he is a fraudster and his wife has staged the whole thing as a way of exposing and discrediting him. Eko, eager to be off to the America, agrees to drop the matter.

 

At the airport before boarding Flight 815, Eko is met by the young girl, Charlotte. She tells Eko that she did come back from the dead and that when she was "between" places she saw Eko's brother, Yemi. She says that Yemi forgives him, has faith in him and says he is a good priest and a good man. Eko becomes upset, causing Libby (behind him in the line at the airport) to enquire if everything is okay. Charlotte leaves and Eko gets on the plane.

 

On the Island: Eko is chopping trees on the beach to assist in the building of his church. Ana Lucia suddenly appears and asks what he is doing. Eko says that the idea of building the church came to him in a dream. She asks "like this one?" A gunshot wound appears on her stomach and she starts bleeding. She tells him to find Locke. Eko travels to the Swan Station, but instead of Locke finds his brother Yemi manning the computer. Yemi tells him that he has lost his way and needs to find "the question mark". The room starts shaking and the countdown clock runs out, but instead of hieroglyphics a set of question marks appear. Yemi enters the code, although all the letters and numbers on the keyboard have been replaced by question marks. Yemi tells him again to find Locke and the question mark, and to bring his axe. Eko wakes up, disturbed.

 

Locke, Jack, Kate and Sawyer are returning to the Swan Station, Locke having reported that "Henry Gale" had tried to strangle Ana Lucia. As they approach, Michael staggers out with a gunshot wound to his shoulder. He says that "Henry Gale" shot him whilst escaping. To their horror, the rest of the group find Ana Lucia and Libby's bodies. However, Libby starts coughing and shaking. Michael is horrified, fearing he is about to be found out.

 

Eko arrives and grieves briefly for his friends before talking to Locke. Eko suggests that as the best trackers in the group, they should pursue "Henry Gale" as he only left twenty minutes or so earlier. Locke agrees. Jack wants to come, but also knows that only he can help Libby. Reluctantly, he stays behind. Locke and Eko race after the escapee, Locke at first impressed by what appears to be Eko's superior tracking skills. However, Eko has merely been drawing Locke away from the Swan. A safe distance away, Eko demands that Locke take him to "the question mark". Locke says he doesn't know what he means. Eko then knocks Locke out with a head-butt. When he wakes up, Eko again demands to be taken to the question mark. Locke reluctantly shows Eko the diagram he drew from memory of the blast door map, showing a question mark to the north of the Swan assuming the diagram is a literal map. Eko suggests it is. They head north, Locke expressing surprise that Eko would want to tear off on this random mission after two of his friends have been shot. Eko telling him that Ana Lucia appeared to tell him to do this around the time she died, meaning it is important. He asks Locke if he ever followed instructions from a dream.

 

Their path takes them to the crashed Beechcraft, now a charred wreck after Charlie and Eko torched it some days previously. Eko suggests they make camp and "await further instructions". Locke has a bizarre dream where he imagines himself to be Eko. A priest appears to him and climbs up the rockface above the crashed Beechcraft, only for Locke/Eko to fall off the rocks. Locke wakes up, confused, and tells Eko about the dream. Eko immediately scales the cliff. Reaching the top, he only sees more jungle and hills stretching away. Turning around he sees that, from above, the Beechcraft wreck lies at the lower tip of a large stretch of circular earth that resembles a massive "?".

 

Descending again, Eko and Locke push the plane out of the way and locate another hatch. Eko allows Locke to open it and they descend into what appears to be another DHARMA Initiative station. This station is smaller than the Swan, consisting only of a large, octogonal room filled with viewscreens. One of these shows real-time images from the Swan Station (they see Jack walking around). They also find a pneumatic tube. Locke puts his map in the tube and it sucked up, indicating it is still functional. They also locate a DHARMA Initiative training video, presented by the same man who introduced the Swan video, Dr. Marvin Candle. However, on this video he instead introduces himself as "Dr. Mark Wickmund". The man states that they are in Station 5, the Pearl, and their purpose is to monitor people working in another station. These people are not aware that they are the subjects of a psychological testing experiment. All observations are to be written in a notebook and then sent via the tube to the DHARMA headquarters. They also find a printer which is recording a detailed log of whenever the button is pushed in the Swan. Locke becomes angry and distraught, believing that the Pearl proves that the button doesn't do anything and it's all been a massive trick. Eko disagrees, saying that they push the button because they believe they are meant to, not because they are told to. He now believes that pushing the button is more important than ever and, if Locke won't do it, he will. Eko takes the print logout with him and returns to the Swan.

 

At the Swan Libby is in extreme discomfort and pain. She is unable to talk and is drifting in and out of consciousness. Jack can't do anything for her. He asks Swayer for some of the heroin from the statues to help end Libby's life as comfortably as possible. Sawyer agrees and Jack sends Kate with him. Sawyer realises that this means giving up the location of the guns as well as the drugs, but agrees. Kate is startled to see that Sawyer was simply hiding his stuff under his tent, but Sawer points out that she never thought to look for it there. Hurley approaches them, puzzled by Libby's disappearance. They give him the bad news and return to the hatch. Hurley comforts Libby as she dies. Her last word is "Michael," but Jack reassures her that Michael is fine.

 

The survivors grieve and Michael looks guilty and angry as the timer countdown begins.

 

Major WTFery: Yemi appearing to Locke and Eko is a clear headscrew. But more intriguing is Yemi appearing to Charlotte Malkin in Australia. The Monster/Man in Black is imprisoned on the Island and cannot leave or influence events off the Island. This suggests that, although Yemi on the Island is clearly the Monster, Yemi off the Island may be a genuine posthumous manifestation.

 

Hindsight: This is a notable episode for the first appearance of the Pearl and the first-ever mention of the Barracks and the Pala Ferry. We see the Pala Ferry in the Season 2 finale and the Barracks in the Season 3 opener.

 

In its original American airing, an advert for the Hanso Foundation aired during one of the commercial breaks as a tie-in to the then-ongoing Lost Experience game.

 

Candle/Wickmund (real name: Pierra Chang, of course) is actually lying: the people in the Pearl Station are the ones being monitored, and the guys in the Swan are actually doing really important work. Sadly, Locke reaches the opposite conclusion, with explosive results.

 

The episode The Cost of Living in Season 3 is a direct sequel to this episode, picking up on Eko and Yemi.

 

Assuming that the vision of Yemi that appeared to Charlotte Malkin in Australia is genuine, this is the first episode which suggests that some form of life-after-death is possible in the Lost universe. This becomes more important after the introduction of Miles in Season 4 and of course in the flash-sideways in Season 6.

 

This episode was written with the intention that Darren Aronofsky would direct it, hence the prevalence of unusual, dream-like scenes. Even the use of the symbol instead of a name was a homage to his 1998 movie π (also called Pi). However, Aronofsky had to drop out of the gig due to scheduling issues. This episode also has Sawyer refer to Ben/Henry as "The Artist Formerly Known as Henry Gale", a reference to Prince who was also using a symbol as his name at the time.

 

This episode breaks one of Lost's unwritten rules, that during a character's centric episode that character is assumed to be the primary POV in all scenes involving them. This episode breaks the rule by shifting the POV to Locke during his dream sequence in which Yemi appears to him (with Locke thinking he is Eko). This was very much a deliberate decision, designed to unsettle the audience without them quite knowing why.

 

Review: A very good episode that confirms that Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje is one of the best performers on the show. His interactions with Terry O'Quinn are excellent, as always. It's also an episode which puts the regulars through the emotional wringer, with Ana Lucia and Libby's deaths impacting on them horrifically. It's horrible to see Hurley having his happiness snatched away, and the look on Libby's face as she realises that Michael has "gotten away with it" just before she dies is genuinely unsettling. The episode is fascinating for how the revelations at the Pearl impact Locke and Eko in different ways, with Locke losing his faith and Eko finding his strengthened. (****½)

 

222: Three Minutes

Written by Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz

Airdate: 17 May 2006

Survivor Count: 48 (following Libby's death in the previous episode)

Days on Island: 65 (25 November 2004)

Flashback Character: Michael

 

13 Days Ago: Michael approaches Locke in the armoury and offers to borrow a gun and ammo for target practice. He then knocks Locke out with the butt of his gun. He rushes to the computer and swaps messages with Walt, telling him he is on his way. Walt - or whoever is manning the computer - tells him to head north until he sees a beach with a strange rock formation with a hole in the middle. Michael hears Jack and locks him in the armoury as well.

 

He heads north across the Island but is intercepted by several of the Others, including "Zeke" - whose real name is Tom - and another man named Pickett. He is taken prisoner and placed in a clearing with Kate, who has been gagged and had her hearing blocked. A young girl - Alex - keeps him prisoner. When Tom goes off to confront Jack, Locke and Sawyer, Alex asks him if Claire made it back safely and if she's had the baby. Tom calls for Alex to bring out Kate, but Alex gets Pickett to do it instead.

 

11 Days Ago: Michael is marched into what appears to be the Others' camp. It is located on a rocky stretch of shore, in the shadow of a large rock formation with a hole in it. The people are dressed shabbily and living in tents. There are two men guarding a door with a DHARMA logo on it. Pickett takes a blood sample from Michael. A woman named Ms. Klugh approaches and interrogates Michael. She particularly wants to know if Walt has appeared in places he shouldn't be. She notes that Michael doesn't seem to know a lot about his son. 

 

3 Days Ago: Ms. Klugh offers Michael a deal. He will be allowed to leave, with Walt, if he returns to his camp and arranges for the escape of "Henry Gale" and for four people to be sent to their side of the Island where they can apprehend them: Kate, Sawyer, Jack and Hurley. Walt agrees, but only if he can see Walt. Klugh agrees, but only for three minutes. Walt comes in and tells his dad he is okay, but the Others are making him take tests and are not who they appear to be. Ms. Klugh tells Walt that he will have to go back to "the room" if he can't behave. Michael agrees to Klugh's terms but wants one more thing: their boat.

 

Now: Jack, Kate, Sawyer, Hurley and Michael make plans. They agree to tool up and go after Walt. Michael wants just the five of them to go, no-one else. Jack is mystified, but then agrees with the reasoning they don't want to spread any panic and a small group can move faster than a large one. Also, with Ana Lucia dead and no-one really interested in joining the planned army, they don't have enough people with firearms experience. The rest of the group is more dubious, but Hurley suggests that they bury Ana Lucia and Libby first before making further plans.

 

Eko returns to the Swan and he and Michael scrub the bloodstains off the floor. Michael, knowing Eko is a priest, asks him if he believes in hell. Eko instead tells him a story about a young boy who beat a dog to death in self-defence. He wanted to know if he would go to hell because of this. This wasn't because he was feeling guilty, but because he wanted to know if the dog would be waiting in hell for him. This story leaves Michael feeling even worse and he runs outside to throw up. Jack finds him and they discuss the plan further, agreeing that just the five of them should go.

 

Charlie approaches Claire on the beach. She is still cold towards him, but he gives her some medicine from the palette drop. This is apparently an inoculation against the mysterious "sickness" that was reported by Danielle Rousseau and the DHARMA Initiative. According to the instructions the medicine is supposed to be taken once every nine days. There is enough to last both Claire and Aaron some considerable time. Claire is touched that Charlie would think of them.

 

Michael and Jack arrive on the beach and the rest of the survivors are happy to see Michael, but are upset by the news of Ana Lucia and Libby's deaths. Jack and Sawyer tool up with guns to prepare for their expedition and are approached by Sayid. Jack confirms that "Henry Gale" has gone and Locke and Eko have gone after him. Sayid volunteers to join their mission, but Jack tells him that Michael only wants five them on the mission. Sawyer says that's stupid as Sayid, a trained soldier, will be more useful than Hurley or even Kate in a shooting situation. He gives Sayid a gun and tells him he's welcome to join them. Sayid confirms with Michael, but Michael becomes angry and says it has to be the four who originally agreed to come with him and no-one else. At first Michael flounders to find a reason but then says it's because Michael is planning a rescue mission whilst Sayid wants revenge. Sayid says that he understands and shakes Michael's hand.

 

Eko arrives at the Swan Station and takes up the task of pushing the button. Charlie arrives to look for him and ask what's going on with the church. Eko apologises as he has another purpose now. He asks Charlie to get his things for him from the beach but Charlie declines. Charlie returns to the beach and is found by Vincent, who has taken one of the Virgin Mary statues from Sawyer's stash. Charlie follows the dog back and finds all of the statues. Fed up with them haunting him, Charlie takes them all to the beach and throws them into the ocean one after the other. He turns round to find Locke watching him from further up the beach. Locke later removes his crutches (which he's been using since sustaining injuries in the lockdown incident) and heads back to the Swan Station.

 

Jack returns to the Swan and learns from Eko that they were unable to find "Henry". Jack advises him that they will be burying Ana Lucia and Libby at sunset. Eko says he will mourn them in his own way. Jack returns to the beach and Sawyer confides in him that he slept with Ana Lucia. Jack wants to know why Sawyer decided to tell him and Sawyer, caught off-guard, says it's because Jack is the closest thing he has to a friend.

 

Michael tries to talk Hurley into joining the group as they dig the graves, but Hurley is too upset. Kate is mystified at why Michael wants Hurley to come. As the rest of the survivors gather, Sayid draws Jack off to one side. He tells Jack that he thinks Michael has been compromised, that he released "Henry" and that he was blackmailed into doing so for Walt's sake. Sayid suggests that they keep this knowledge to themselves to create a tactical advantage, although he needs some more time to work out how. The survivors hold their funeral service and Hurley becomes angry as he talks about Libby's death. He tells Michael he is coming with him. Then Sun shouts "boat!" and the survivors turn to see a sailboat heading towards the shore.

 

Major WTFery: It is unclear why Claire would use the vaccine given that there has been no evidence of "the Sickness" and this may be the very same medicine Ethan used to make her groggy and docile during her imprisonment in the Staff Station (Maternity Leave).

 

Hindsight: This is the third episode of Lost to take place entirely on the Island (after The Other 48 Days and Maternity Leave) and the second to feature a flashback within the timeframe of the series itself (after Maternity Leave).

 

Some fans got annoyed after this episode and the season finale, as Walt's special gifts are not expanded upon. Comments by the producers suggest that Walt's special gifts are in fact completely unrelated to the Island and its mysteries and rather dangerous, leading to the Others' decision to let him go. How this factors into the later decision (in The New Man in Charge, the show's epilogue minisode) to have Walt return to the Island is unclear.

 

This episode marks the first appearance of the thoroughly unpleasant Pickett, who (along with Mikhail) puts Ben's claims that the Others are the "good guys" into serious question. This episode confirms it was Pickett, rather than Alex, who took Kate out to be returned to her friends in The Hunting Party.

 

This episode also features the first appearance of Bea Klugh, a senior member of the Others. She was supposed to feature prominently in the Season 3 storyline, but availability issues meant that she was replaced by the new character of Colleen instead. The producers were able to secure her for a guest appearance in Enter 77 to resolve her character arc instead.

 

The four people on Michael's list - Jack, Sawyer, Kate and Hurley - are the only four of Jacob's candidates who are still alive and well in the final two episodes of the series. Sawyer even calls them "candidates" in this episode, although this is more likely a coincidence than deliberate foreshadowing.

 

Review: A pretty solid episode, which takes some time out for exposition (if only to the audience, via Michael's flashbacks), character building and clearing away some dead ends. Getting rid of the fricking Virgin Mary Heroin Statues of Tediousness is also way past due. However, there is the feeling of some wheel-spinning and that maybe this episode should have been combined with the finale to clear out some of the filler moments. (***½)

 

223: Live Together, Die Alone

Written by Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof

Airdate: 24 May 2006

Survivor Count: 48

Days on Island: 65-67 (25-27 November 2004)

Flashback Character: Desmond

 

Flashbacks: Desmond Hume is dishonourably discharged from the British Army's Royal Scottish Regiment. He has his possessions returned to him, including a copy of Charles Dickens's Our Mutual Friend. The guard asks why Desmond didn't take the book into prison with him to read, but Desmond tells him it's the only work of Dickens he's never read. He wants to hold onto it so it's the last book he reads before he dies. The guard notes that this will only work is Desmond knows when he is going to die. Desmond leaves the prison in the pouring rain but is intercepted by a black car. He is told to get in the back. Inside is Charles Widmore, an extremely wealthy businessman. Widmore is the father of the woman Desmond loves, Penelope. Desmond is angry to learn that Widmore has intercepted all of his correspondence to Penny. Widmore tells Desmond to stay away from Penny forever. In return he will give him a very large amount of money. Desmond asks him why he thinks he will accept that deal. Widmore tells him he will because he is a coward.

 

In early 2001 Desmond arrives in the United States and goes to buy a coffee, but realises he hasn't changed his money yet. A woman, who turns out to be Libby, offers to buy him the coffee instead. Desmond tells her that he is trying to win back the woman he loves. He plans to enter a round-the-world solo sailing race bankrolled by her father. If he wins, he will regain his honour, impress her father and then he can ask Penny to marry him. Libby is touched. Desmond tells her there is a problem with this plan: he doesn't have the $40,000 he needs to buy a decent sailboat. Penny offers to give him one: her husband David recently died and left her his boat. Desmond is shocked and touched by the gesture. The boat is called the Elizabeth and was named after her.

 

Weeks or months later, Desmond is training hard before the race. He is intercepted by Penny, who tells him he doesn't need to do this and they can be together now. Desmond, however, is determined to do things "by the book" and they will be together within a year. Penny asks him if he has read his book yet and he says no.

 

Desmond's boast is caught in a heavy storm and he fears it will be lost. He puts his book and other items in a survival bag and ties them to his body as he attempts to save the ship. He is knocked out by a very heavy wave and wakes up on a beach. A figure in a hazmat suit drags him through the jungle and he wakes up in the Swan Station. The figure takes off his suit and reveals himself to be Kelvin "Joe" Inman, a Gulf War veteran (who interrogated Sayid) and former CIA agent. He left the CIA after too many men died following his orders and joined the DHARMA Initiative. He was sent to this Island and was assigned to man the Swan Station with another guy called Radzinsky. He and Radzinsky spent some time together pressing the button, during which time Radzinsky began drawing a chart or map of the Island and all the crazy stuff going on on it. Radzinsky didn't get very far with it before blowing his brains out all over the ceiling and carrying on with it. Inman tells him they need to push the button to "save the world". Inman also tells Desmond that there are people on the Island he calls the "Hostiles" who are dangerous and there is a sickness on the Island. Desmond asks if he can go outside, even just for a little while, but Inman says it is too dangerous and he must stay inside whilst Inman goes out to reconnoitre.

 

Two years later, Desmond wakes up to find the alarm going off. He enters the numbers and finds a hatch in the floor he's never seen before. He finds Inman under the floor next to a special control with a keyslot in it. Inman is wearing the corresponding key around his neck. The control is marked "SYSTEM TERMINATION". Inman tells him why they are pressing the button: behind the concrete walls is a source of electromagnetic energy. That energy has been constantly building up even since "the Incident". Every 108 minutes the buildup must be vented otherwise it would destroy the Island and quite possibly the world. There is an alternative: the failsafe key. This is designed to - hopefully - release all of the energy in one channelled blast and prevent it ever being a problem again. Desmond asks why they don't just do that and then leave, but Inman tells him it's not a guaranteed solution. If the failsafe process didn't work, the consequences would be disastrous.

 

Some time later Desmond notices that Kelvin has a tear in his hazmat suit as he's leaving but seems unconcerned by it. Desmond pushes the button and discretely follows him out. Kelvin removes his suit and heads down to a rocky area of the coast with Desmond following. Desmond discovers that Kelvin has repaired the Elizabeth and kept it hidden in a cove. Kelvin realises that Desmond has been following him and admits that he's been slowly fixing the boat over the past two years. It should be ready to sail in another few days. He suggests they ditch pushing the button and leave together, but Desmond is horrified that Kelvin planned to leave him behind, condemning him to press the button forever alone. There is a brief struggle and Kelvin smacks his head on a rock, killing him outright. Horrified, Desmond grabs the failsafe key and rushes back to the hatch. The ground is shaking and a voice is saying "SYSTEM FAILURE" over and over again. Metal objects in the Swan start being pulled towards the concrete wall. Desmond enters the Numbers again and again and eventually the system accepts them and returns to normal. Desmond realises that the danger of not pushing the button is real.

 

Weeks later Desmond has reached the end of his tether and prepares to commit suicide. He opens Our Mutual Friend and a note falls out. It's from Penny. She put it in the book before he went to prison. She tells him that she loves him and will wait for him. Desmond then hears a sound from outside the hatch. He turns the light on, illuminating Locke just after Boone's death. Desmond realises there are people on the Island...and hope.

 

On the Island: Jack, Sawyer and Sayid swim out to the boat, which is called Elizabeth. Gunshots ring out, followed by the sound of someone running out of ammo. Going into the cabin they find Desmond, who laughs his head off at seeing them again. Back on the beach Desmond tells them that he sailed due west from the Island for two weeks. He should have reached Tahiti in a few days but instead appeared on the far side of the Island. He angrily says that they are in a "damned snowglobe". Jack confirms that they are still "pushing it". Desmond sees Claire injecting Aaron with the vaccine and tells her that he injected himself with the same stuff for three years. It didn't seem to do very much.

 

Sayid suggests to Jack that the appearance of the boat is fortunate. According to Michael, the village Walt is being held in is on the coast to the north near a distinctive rock formation which should be easy to find. Sayid plans to take the Elizabeth along the coast, locate the village and recon it from the sea. If it is safe to proceed, he can light a signal fire as a rendezvous with Jack. Jack agrees. Sayid asks Desmond to sail the boat, but Desmond refuses. Jin and Sun can sail and they agree to pilot the boat for Sayid.

 

The rescue party prepare to set off, but Kate (who doesn't know that Michael has been compromised) gets uneasy and reminds them about the Staff Station and the fake beards and theatrical glue, suggesting that the Others are not hillbillies and might more dangerous than first expected. Michael angrily says that they are hillbillies and he knows what he saw. They depart.

 

Locke reaches the Swan and angrily tells Eko it is time to stop pushing the button. Eko disagrees. Locke goes to smash the computer but Eko stops him and then throws him out of the hatch with force. Locke becomes angry and upset. Charlie finds him in the jungle and tells him that Desmond is back. Locke finds Desmond and tells him about the Pearl Station and the evidence that the button in the Swan does nothing and it was all a psychological test, with the Pearl scientists sending reports back to their HQ via the pneumatic tube. Desmond wonders if everything, even if the system failure, was a massive hoax. He agrees to help Locke take back control of the hatch. They trigger the audio system to lure Eko out of the computer room, sneak in and then prematurely trigger a lockdown by shorting the blast door control circuits (Inman showed Desmond how to do this so he could work on Radzinsky's map). This seals them inside the computer room with less than an hour to go. Furious, Eko rushes off to find Charlie. He asks him how they got into the hatch in the first place and Charlie tells him about the dynamite from the Black Rock, including the sticks they had left over. They try to use this to blast open the control room, but the blast doors hold. Much of the rest of the Swan is devastated, but the computer room remains sealed.

 

The Elizabeth sails up the western coast of the Island. Michael is disquieted to see what appears to be the remains of an enormous statue. The only thing that's left of it is a single foot, with four toes on it. Disregarding this for now, the ship reaches the north-western part of the Island where they locate the rock formation. Sayid swims ashore and stealthily approaches the village...to find it completely abandoned. The buildings are empty and the DHARMA doors are fake, opening just to reveal rockface behind it. Realising that the rescue party is walking into a trap, Sayid sets the signal fire.

 

The rescue party crosses the Island. They spot two Others following them and scare them off with gunfire. Michael becomes agitated and Jack exposes him to the rest. Michael confesses he had to let "Henry" escape and kill Ana Lucia because it was the only way to save Walt. He says that Libby was a mistake and begs for forgiveness from Hurley. Jack tells them they have to press on: he has an advantage with Sayid outflanking the Others. Later they see the signal fire rising, but from many miles to the west (they're still in the north valley). Jack realises they are going somewhere else rather than the beach camp. Michael admits he was told to bring them to a different location. They stumble across a pneumatic tube rising out of the ground with hundreds of notebooks just dumped next to it. Sawyer finds Locke's map from the Pearl Station. They then hear the whispers and come under attack from the Others using tranquiliser darts. In short order the whole party is knocked out.

 

In the Swan Desmond wonders if they should open the door to investigate but Locke refuses. Desmond starts getting uneasy about Locke's zealotry and starts asking why Locke was so obsessed with getting into the station. As Locke talks about Boone and the hatch, Desmond realises that it was Locke banging on the hatch that night that saved his life. That was a few weeks after the system failure incident and Inman's death. Desmond asks about the Pearl and what was going on there again. He suggests that DHARMA was studying the people in the Pearl, how they'd reach to spending weeks at a time just reporting on the insane minutiae of other people's lives, and that the button is real. Locke is dubious. Desmond then goes through the print-out from the Pearl Station. He asks what time and date Flight 815 crashed. Locke replies that it was on 22 September 2004. Desmond shows Locke the print-out: the system failure after Desmond killed Inman took place at the precise moment Flight 815 crashed. Desmond says that he crashed the plane by accident by not pushing the button.

 

The Others take their captives to the Pala Ferry. Alex, Pickett, Tom and Ms. Klugh are there. Kate tells Tom she knows his bear is a fake. He laughs and takes it off. A boat arrives with "Henry Gale" on it. He disembarks and gives it to Michael. He tells him he can only escape the Island by following a compass bearing of 325 degrees. He warns him not to tell anyone what happened. If he does so, he may find his crimes coming back to haunt him. He also says that Michael will never be able to find the Island again after leaving, as it is undetectable from the outside world.

 

In the hatch, Desmond desperately pleads with Locke to push the button. Locke, unable to admit he might have been wrong, destroys the computer. Desmond triggers the blast doors again and rushes into the library to find his copy of Our Mutual Friend. Inside is the failsafe key. The counter hits zero and flips to the hieroglyphics. A loud hum is heard and metallic objects start flying towards the concrete walls. Desmond goes underground to the emergency venting system, telling Locke that he'll see him in another life. Charlie flees from the hatch as Eko recovers and staggers into the control room. A despondent Locke replies, "I was wrong." Desmond puts the key in the lock and turns, whilst saying, "I love you, Penny."

 

A massive electromagnetic field envelops the entire Island, turning the sky purple and filling the air with a titanic humming sound as the massive electromagnetic pocket under the Swan Station discharges. The ground shakes for several minutes before the Discharge ends and things return to normal. At the beach Bernard and Claire watch in horror as the hatch door comes tumbling out of the sky and crashes into the middle of the camp. As the survivors recover, Charlie staggers out the jungle and seems perturbed that Eko and Locke haven't returned.

 

Shrugging off the Discharge, "Henry Gale" tells Michael to leave. Michael asks him who the hell the Others really are. "Henry" just says that "We're the good guys, Michael". Walt is already on the boat and hugs his father as they depart. Ms. Klugh unties Hurley and tells him to take a message back to the camp: they are to stay away from the Others' side of the Island permanently. Hurley leaves as Jack, Sawyer and Kate are hooded and taken away.

 

That night Claire asks Charlie what happened. Charlie says that nothing happened, and is apparently unwilling to go back and check on the state of the Swan Station. He and Claire share a brief kiss and are reconciled.

 

In the Antarctic, an electromagnetic monitoring station goes on alert as it picks up a massive signal. The two men monitoring it scramble to record the signal. The last time this happened they missed it, but this time the event goes on for much longer. Following the signal, they are able to get a rough location for the source. They use the telephone to call someone to tell them, "We've found it." Penelope Widmore picks up the phone and takes the call.

 

Major WTFery: Based on the estimated location of the Elizabeth (in a cover near the rocky southern coast of the Island, near the crater), four or five from the hatch through jungle and then rocky terrain, it is debatable if Desmond could get there and back again in 108 minutes, even running all the way.

 

Since Inman was in Iraq during the Gulf War in February 1991 (as per Sayid's flashbacks), he appears to have joined the DHARMA Initiative well after the Purge, which took place in 1988. The dating of the Purge was originally contentious, but post-series finale materials have confirmed the date as 1988 along with a multitude of in-show evidence (most convincingly, that Ben had to look after Alex full-time and could only do that after the Purge). This is actually backed up by the episode: Inman never mentions any other member of the DHARMA Initiative other than Radzinsky and doesn't mention the Purge, only the Incident which Radzinsky would have told him about. We also know from The New Man in Charge that DHARMA operations continued post-Purge, presumably bankrolled by the Hanso Foundation. However, the show never directly explains how Inman was recruited and why no-one was sent to replace Inman or Radzinsky later on.

 

The purpose of the blast door map remains unknown: Radzinsky himself built the Swan, knew about the Hostiles and the location of the other stations. Fans have speculated that Radzinsky was injured or afflicted with amnesia after the Incident, or went mad after the Purge and was using the map to try to rebuld his memories. More likely, Radzinsky was using the map to keep track of everything that had happened but killed himself before he could fill Inman in on everything, so Inman then continued it even though he was unsure of a lot of the details it was referring to. It's also unclear why the map was created to only show up under a black light.

 

The Others seem completely unconcerned by the Discharge. It might be that they knew that the Island would survive, or that they trusted that Jacob would protect them.

 

Hindsight: This episode marks the first appearance of the mighty Alan Dale as Charles Widmore, an important character who will recur throughout the rest of the series. It also technically marks the first appearance of Penny. A picture of Penny was first seen in Orientation with a different actress (as Sonya Walger was not cast until this episode) but this was later changed to the correct picture for repeats and the DVD/Blu-Ray releases.

 

This episode also marks the first time regular characters leave the series without being killed off, when Walt and Michael depart. Of course, both make later appearances on the show.

 

This is also the first episode of the show to feature a flashback from a character who wasn't on Flight 815, and the second to focus on a non-regular (after Rose and Bernard in S.O.S.).

 

The first mention of Radzinsky, a DHARMA Initiative scientist specialising in electromagnetism and the designer of the Swan Station. Radzinsky appears in Season 5 of Lost as an antagonistic character. This is also the first time that we learn of DHARMA's designation for the Others, "The Hostiles".

 

Desmond says that it would taken an atom bomb going off on the site of the Swan Station to breach the blast doors. Oddly, this is (more or less) exactly what happens in the Season 5 finale.

 

The four-toed statue later makes additional appearances in the show and becomes a key location. It's entirely possible that Jacob and the Man in Black were sitting outside watching the Elizabeth sail past.

 

The geography of this episode is, as normal, slightly awkard. In particular, Sayid, Sun and Jin had to sail past the Pala Ferry to get to the fake village. Presumably Michael's directions were clear enough for them to avoid the western bay (and they had to avoid the atoll where Danielle's boat crashed in any case).

 

This episode confirms that the crash took place on the same day that the first episode aired, 22 September 2004, and that only two months have passed on the Island and the show so far. Desmond's supposition that he crashed Flight 815 with the system failure was greeted with some scepticism by fans, but was later confirmed by the producers.

 

The crash took place at 4:16. It is unclear if this was local time, but the inference in the pilot was that the crash took place in the morning, as quite a lot of time passed before nightfall.

 

Originally the episode ended with a scientist bursting in on Charle Widmore in the middle of a meeting to say that they'd "found it". This would have foreshadowed the freighter storyline of Season 4. However, the writers changed it to show that Penny was looking for the Island as well. This changed paid off with the "Not Penny's boat!" revelation in the Season 3 finale.

 

This is the first episode of Lost that features events happening in the present day off the Island.

 

Review: A very strong, revelatory episode that balances excellent character work (Locke's realisation that he was wrong, yet again) with Desmond's story, which is very well handled, and major backstory revelations. The minor dissatisfactions with the episode - those who wanted more in-depth info on the hatch and the Incident would have to wait three years to get it - are well in the past now. This may actually be my favourite finale of the series, or at least tying with Season 3's. (*****)

[DaveSumm]

Eko building the church is what makes me think that the original plan was for all of this to be what essentially became the flash-sideways in S6. So it was kind of a purgatory, and Eko's church would have played the role that Hurley's fake church did in the finale.