2.21 ?

Eko is still busy building his church. Ana visits and asks what he is building. The scene morphs into a dream that Eko is having. Ana suddenly has a gunshot wound in her chest and is bleeding from the mouth. She tells Eko he needs to help John. Eko arrives at the bunker and finds his brother alive. His brother tells him that the work being done ‘in this place’ (the bunker) is important. He says Eko must help John, as he has lost his way. He says Eko must make John take him to the question mark. The counter spins in black and red question marks. Eko’s brother says John will not want to show him the question mark, so he must make him do it. He warns him that there are many distractions, but he must move past them. And he says to bring the axe.

Eko wakes up sweating and stressed. He grabs the axe and tells Charlie that he must find John.

Sawyer, Kate, Jack, and Locke are heading back to the hatch at the fastest pace that Locke can muster on crutches. On the way, they argue about whose fault this problem is: Sawyer for losing the gun, or Locke for not telling anyone that Henry tried to strangle Ana. When they reach the door of the hatch, Michael stumbles out, his arm bleeding, claiming that he woke from sleeping, heard gunshots, and was shot by some guy. Inside, they find that Ana is dead, but Michael gets very interested when Libby coughs up blood; she is very much alive. She is in shock and is not speaking. Jack wants to follow Henry’s trail, believing, of course, that he shot three people. Sawyer tells him he must stay to take care of Libby. Eko, who showed up at this opportune time, volunteers to go, and asks Locke to come with to do the tracking.

In flashback, Eko is dressed as a priest and is hearing a confession in a church in Brisbane. The confessor is actually the man Eko hired to forge an Australian passport for him. The monsignor wanders by and says Eko has to postpone his trip because a miracle has occurred. A woman tells how her daughter drowned, but came back to life the next day. Eko (Father Tundi) is assigned to investigate the miracle.

Eko leads Locke into the woods and asks him where the question mark is. Locke says he doesn’t have to tell him anything, and receives a head butt. When Locke awakens, Eko has started a fire. Eko persists in his question mark question. Locke gives the diagram to Eko. Locke is still dealing with guilt over Ana’s death. Eko tells of his dream – that he and Locke must go to the question mark together, as Ana told them to do.

In flashback, Eko is interviewing the undertaker who started to do the autopsy and found the girl was alive. An audio tape made at the autopsy seems to confirm that she really was dead until the undertaker started the autopsy.

Eko has assumed that Locke’s diagram is a map. It leads them to the site of the plane crash where Boone was fatally injured.

At the hatch, Jack is wondering what Locke and Eko are. Kate suggests he calm down. Michael asks if Libby has said anything. Jack says she is unconscious, but the bleeding has stopped. Jack says he needs the heroin. Sawyer says to give him 20 minutes. Jack insists that Kate go with him. Why? Because then Sawyer has to show Kate where the guns are too, or be forced to let Libby suffer. After Kate and Sawyer leave, Jack wanders away from the area, and Michael thinks about getting up and approaching Libby.

Kate asked Sawyer how Ana got his gun. Sawyer just says she lifted it. Sawyer brings Kate to his stash, which he keeps in a hole inside his tent. When they come out, Hurley asks if they have seen Libby. Kate tells him what has happened.

It is morning, and Eko sees his brother calling to him. Locke is still asleep. Eko follows him to the top of the cliff, using the axe to help him climb. At the top, Eko falls. It is Locke’s dream, and when he wakes up, he tells Eko about it. Eko walks toward the cliff, ready to climb.

In flashback, Eko visits the house where the girl lives. The father is the same psychic that spoke to Claire. The psychic says that the daughter had hypothermia, and that there are no miracles in the world. Eko says he agrees, but as he turns to leave, he makes eye contact with the girl, who is watching him from the window.

Eko climbs the cliff, almost slips, but makes it. At the top of the cliff, he looks down and sees a circle of dirt near where the plane fell. He climbs back down and tastes the soil – it has been salted so nothing will grow. Eko finds something buried in the dirt. They move the plane and discover another hatch, leading straight down via a narrow passage and a wall ladder.

Jack cracks the statue and gets the heroin ready for Libby. Hurley confides in Michael, telling him that he and Libby were going to have their first date. Hurley tells Michael that he is glad he is okay.

Eko and Locke descend the hatch. Locke finds and flicks a light switch. They discover a control room, complete with two comfortable chairs and about twelve old-fashioned concave television screens. Locke turns on the TVs. The first image that appears is of the hatch – with Jack walking by. Eko finds old empty notebooks. Locke finds an old pneumatic mail tube and sends his diagram off to some other place. Eko finds another Dharma orientation video. They play it. Titled ‘Orientation – Station 5 – The Pearl’, it features the same asian speaker as the other film. He identifies himself as Dr Mark Wickman.  He says The Pearl is a station for monitoring a behavioral experiment being conducted in other Dharma areas.

In flashback, Eko is leaving Australia when the girl who died walks up to him at the airport to deliver a message from her brother that he is a good priest, and that he has faith in you. Eko is unbelieving, but there is no denying the validity of her claim.

Eko tells the story of the coincidence of losing his brother and finding him again on the island, and says again that pushing the button is important. He says if Locke will not do it, he will.

Jack is relieving Libby’s pain by injecting her with heroin. Hurley asks to speak to her.

Libby dies with Michael’s name on her lips, but she is unable to tell that Michael shot her. Kate is crying; Sawyer comforts her. Jack is businesslike and sad as he packs away his medical implements. Eko and Locke are heading back to the hatch. And Michael stands near Ana’s body, looking ominous.

Comments

I suppose it is karma that Ana was killed. After what she ‘accidentally’ did to Shannon, she kind of deserved it.

It’s nice that Sawyer not only gave up the location of the guns rather than let Libby suffer, and also did not kiss and tell about Ana, even when he had the opportunity.

Now it seems obvious that pushing the button is a test, nothing more. So I don’t understand Eko’s argument that it is important.

Memorable Moments

• The discovery of the observation room

• Libby’s death

Quotable Quotes

Locke: So what’s next?
Eko: We make camp, get some sleep, and wait for further instruction.

Eko: Would you like to watch that again?
Locke: No. No, I’ve seen enough.

I was never meant to do ANYTHING! Every single second of my PATHETIC little life is as useless AS THAT BUTTON! You think it’s important? You think it’s necessary? It’s nothing; it’s nothing. It’s meaningless. And who are you to tell me that it’s not?"
- Locke

Hurley: Hey, it’s me. Hurley. Hugo. I’m sorry I forgot the blankets. I’m sorry I forgot the blankets.
Libby: Michael!
Jack: Michael. It’s okay. He made it, Libby. It’s okay, it’s alright.

2.20 Two for the Road

Jack thinks that Michael, who collapsed at their feet, was just released by the Others, but Kate thinks Jack is obsessed and Michael is alone. Jack relents, lifts Michael’s unconscious body over his shoulder, and heads back to camp with Kate.

Ana listens to Locke snore and glances at the locked door of the armory.

In flashback, it is the day after Ana shot the suspect in cold blood (see episode 2.8 – Collision). Her mother/commanding officer asks where she was last night, and then takes her to the morgue to see the dead body of Jason Alder, the man she killed. Ana denies killing him. Her mother knows that Ana killed him, but she also knows the investigation will not reveal that. She asks Ana to let her help, but Ana refuses. But when Ana is confronted with her betrayal of being a cop, she hands in her badge.

Ana enters the armory with food and sees that Henry has not touched the previous plate he was given. She asks how long he is going to keep up the hunger strike. She says for a killer, he is different – very quiet. When Henry mumbles something, Ana does a dumb thing – she leans in close to hear him. He strikes out at her, knocks her off balance, and begins to strangle, telling her that she killed two of their people – good people who were leaving her alone. He says she is the killer. He is just about to finish her off when Locke arrives and knocks him out with his crutch.

In flashback, Ana is working as airport security, looking bored. At the end of the day, she stops in the airport bar to have a drink and ends up in conversation with Jack’s father Christian. He tells her he is an ex-doctor because his son ratted him out for drinking on the job. He asks Ana to come to Sydney with him; he says he is doing something dangerous in Australia and needs a bodyguard.

On the beach, Libby sees Ana’s bruises and finds out how she got them. Ana says she is fine, but Henry won’t be. Libby tells her not to do anything stupid.

Locke is checking the blast doors, but he stops to open the armory. Henry is now tied to the floor. Locke wants to know why Henry hurt Ana and not him when he had the chance. Henry says Locke is one of the good ones – but that it doesn’t matter now, as he knows Jack’s trade will not work and he will have no value. He believes he is a dead man, to be killed either by Jack or by the Others. Locke asks why his own people would want to kill him. Henry says that the man in charge is a great man, but not a forgiving man – he will be killed because he failed his mission. His mission – he was coming to get and bring back Locke. They are interrupted by the arrival of Jack, Kate, and Michael, so Locke locks Henry back in the armory.

Sawyer is near a creek, poking mangoes out of a tree with a stick. Ana arrives, put a couple in her pack, and tells Sawyer she needs a gun. Sawyer suggests she get one from her friend Jack, unless he is still traipsing around the jungle with Kate. Ana says if Sawyer is jealous, he shouldn’t take it out on her. She asks again for a gun, and he tells her to scram.

In flashback, Ana is in a hotel room. Christian knocks at the door. It is 4am, and he says he needs her for protection. They drive to a house in the suburbs. He gets out and tells Ana to wait in the car. He gets into a heated argument with the woman who answers the door, insisting that he has a right to see his daughter. When she refuses and tries to close the door, he pushes back. Ana rushes out of the car and restrains him before he gets more violent.

Hurley asks Sayid for the radio that he used to try to get a signal. He wants to give it to Libby, citing the success that the dude had in the Say Anything video. Sayid suggests that Hurley take Libby to the secluded beach that he took Shannon to once.

Michael is resting in the diner bed. Locke wants to know if the trade worked, insinuating that Michael was given up in trade. Jack doesn’t think the Others are on the honor system.

Sawyer is heading back from the creek and hears noises. Ana tries to ambush him, but when he gets the upper hand, she kisses him, and they begin to make love wildly.

In flashback, Ana is driving Christian around while he continues to drink. He tells her that the woman at the door is ‘a long story.’ He says he is here because he can’t apologize to his son. He says she came to Sydney for the same reason – to run away. He invites her in for a drink or ten, but she says no. She tries to get him to leave Sydney and go back, but he says he cannot.

Ana dresses after making love. She tells Sawyer she will kill him if he tells anyone.

Hurley is packing Dharma food into his backpack when Libby catches him and asks what he is doing. He confesses that he was packing a picnic and was hoping to surprise her and ask her to go as a ‘couple’. Libby says that is sweet and agrees to go, although the destination is still a secret.

Ana returns to the bunker and finds out that Michael is back. Jack asks how she got her head wound; Locke says she hit her head on a tap in the bathroom. Ana goes along with this story, even as she wonders about Locke’s motivations for lieing. A groan from the other room means Michael may be gaining consciousness. Michael recognizes Jack. Michael says he found them – he counted 22 of them, living in tents, eating dried fish, and not wearing shoes. He says, "They are worse off than we are." Michael says he saw no kids but they have a hatch – at least he saw two metal doors - and he thinks the kids are kept down there. He says the hatch is guarded 24/7 by two guards with two guns. All he saw were two guns, and he says most of them are old and half of them are women. Michael believes they can take the Others, and as soon as he gets his strength back, he will lead them there to rescue Walt.

Jack apologizes to Locke for stopping what he and Sayid were doing to Henry when he was first captured. Jack and Locke seem to have reached a new pact, and they agree to go together to get the guns back from Sawyer, and then to raid the Others and get Walt back. Kate, Jack, and Locke go to find Sawyer; Ana agrees to stay.

Hurley’s plan for a romantic secluded beachside getaway runs into a few problems. He can’t find the beach, and they end up on their own beach, with Jin cleaning fish a few meters away. He has also forgotten to bring blankets or something to drink. Libby heads off to get blankets and some wine.

Jack gets Sawyer’s attention and upsets him greatly by grabbing and burning the last pages of the whodunit manuscript he is reading. Jack demands to be taken to the guns, and when Sawyer refuses, Jack pulls a gun and asks him again. Sawyer goes to pull his gun and discovers for the first time that it is missing. He tells everyone that Ana stole it. And that’s when Locke decides to tell Jack how Ana really got her wound (although we do not see this on screen).

Ana slides a knife to Henry and tells him to cut himself free. He asks why; she says he knows why. Henry says that Goodwin thought she was worthy and she could be changed; she says he was going to kill her. Henry plants the seed of doubt that this wasn’t the case. Ana asks if he is done; he says he is. She raises the gun and points it at him.

In flashback, Jack is back at the airport counter, pleading for the airline to take his father’s casket on the plane, while Ana and Jin wait in line behind and look on. Ana breaks away to call her mother and admit she made a mistake. She asks if she can come home. Her mother agrees.

Michael gets up and finds Ana sitting on the lounge, playing with her gun. Michael is told that Sawyer has all the guns. Ana tells Michael that she tried to kill Henry but couldn’t. Michael says he will do it – that the Others are animals that took his son out of his hands. Ana gives him the gun and the combination. Michael then shoots Ana, and when Libby surprises him, he shoots her too. Michael opens the armory, and shoots himself in the arm.

Comments

What dangerous thing was Jack’s father doing in Australia? Up to now, I just thought he went there to drink himself to death. Granted, that is dangerous, but you don’t need a bodyguard for that.

Now that we know that Libby was in the mental institution, she does look a little mad – especially her eyes.

Michael’s story about the Others being worse off doesn’t gel with Kate’s story about costumes and beards – unless Dharma infiltrated the real Others or posed as them to capture people to use in experiments. Perhaps the real Others are innocent.

Locke probably lied about how Ana hurt herself to protect Henry, now that he knows that Henry wants Locke to join the Others. But this could backfire if Ana kills Henry – then Locke will either have to continue to protect Ana, or admit that he lied.

Sawyer is reading a manuscript titled ‘Bad Twin.’ A real book was later written with this title; it contains tie-ins and clues related to Lost.

On face value, I would assume that the Others told Michael that they would kill Walt if he didn’t free Henry. Michael will give Henry the gun and make it look like he escaped and killed Ana and Libby.

What a shocking, stomach-churning ending! I don’t know if either Ana or Libby are dead (it certainly seems like Ana is), but either way, what Michael did was really sick.

Nits

When Sawyer and Ana were making love, Sawyer’s pants were of course off, and we saw that his gun was on the ground. But when Jack pulls a gun on him, he reaches into his pants, finds his gun missing, and says that Ana stole it. How could this be the first time he noticed the gun was missing? Wouldn’t he have noticed when he went to get dressed after they made love?

Quotable Quotes

Locke: Why would your own people want to kill you?
Henry: Because the man in charge – he’s a great man, John – a brilliant man – but he’s not a forgiving man. He’ll killed me because I failed, John – I failed my mission.
Locke: What mission?
Henry: When that woman caught me in her trap, I was on my way here, John. I was coming for you.

Ana: You tell anyone about this, and I’ll kill you.
Sawyer: I guess that takes cuddling off the table.

Jack: You were right.
Locke: Right about what?
Jack: About Henry. What you and Sayid did to him when you first found him. You were right. I don’t like how you did it, but I shouldn’t have gotten in your way.
Locke: Well, you did what you thought was right at the time you thought it, Jack. I just hope that next time you decide to do something, you include me. And something tells me that’s gonna be soon.
Jack: You heard Michael. We can take them.
Locke: Our friend with the beard told us not to cross the line.
Jack: These people are liars, John. Why the hell should we take their word on anything?
Locke: I couldn’t agree more. So – now what?
Ana: What are you going?
Locke: To get our guns back from Sawyer.

"Maybe if I get drunk enough I’ll remember where I know you from."
- Hurley to Libby

Jack: It’s time to give us the guns back.
Sawyer: You burn the ending of my book, and now you want -
Locke: Where are they, James?
Sawyer: You too, Brutus?

2.19 S.O.S.

Bernard and Rose are stacking Dharma Initiative food products on shelves at the beach while Bernard complains about how on this side of the island, people have given up on being rescued.

Locke is so obsessed with working out the glyphs that he saw during lockdown that he has to be gently reminded by Jack that the timer is down to about a minute and the numbers need to be entered. Locke enters the numbers and returns to his scrawls.

Jack and Ana discuss the prisoner. He has not eaten, drank, or spoken in two days. Jack expresses impatience, enters the armory, and tries to engage ‘Henry’ in conversation. He changes Henry’s dressing and tells of his plan to co-opt Henry’s plan earlier – to trade Henry for Walt. Henry says the Others will never give Walt to him.

In flashback, Rose is stuck in snow. Bernard offers to help and pushes her out. This is their first meeting. There is a connection, and she invites him out for coffee.

Bernard is excited about something and is organizing everyone he can to meet him at the tree line for some reason.

Jack is heading out to meet with the Others. Ana offers to go but Jack glances at Locke and says she must stay. Ana warns him not to go alone.

Jack finds Kate fishing and Sawyer watching and goading her. Jack invites Kate, not Sawyer, to accompany him.

Bernard wants to build a huge sign so that the plane that dropped the supplies knows they are there. Rose wants to run it by Jack; she doesn’t want to give people false hope, but Bernard goes ahead and organizes it anyway.

In flashback, Bernard proposes to Rose at Niagara Falls. Rose tells him she only has a year to live. She says yes.

Bernard asks Eko and Charlie to help build the sign, but they are too busy building a church.

Locke tells Ana he must talk to Henry. Ana says the gun is gone, so the door stays closed. Through the door, Locke asks Henry if he entered the numbers, and gets agitated when Henry does not respond. Inside the armory, Henry’s lips curl into a satisfied, sadistic smile.

Bernard tells the small group of sign-builders that they should start hauling black rocks from a lava field ½ mile away, while he sketches out the letters in the sand. No one is very happy about his plan.

In flashback, Bernard and Rose are driving in a four wheel drive somewhere near Uluru (Ayers Rock), Australia. Rose thinks they are lost, but Bernard knows exactly where they are. He has taken her to visit a recommended healer, Isaac of Uluru. Rose is upset; she says she has already made her peace with what is happening to her. But Bernard asks her to try for his sake.

Bernard asks Sawyer to help with the sign, but Sawyer passes. Bernard tells Rose that her attack on him is the reason that interest in building the sign has dwindled. Rose tells him to just let thing be, but he replies that if he didn’t always have to do something, she would not be here.

Jack and Kate are deep in the jungle. Kate tells Jack she is flattered he invited her. Jack says he took her because Sayid turned him down first, and because the Others didn’t want him or her. Kate sees a doll on the ground. Jack tries to stop her from picking it up, but she does, and they are both caught in a net trap. They believe the trap was set by Danielle, not by the Others. Kate uses their one bullet to try to shoot the rope, but she misses. Jack hits, and they fall to the ground.

When Bernard harasses Jin about how he is building the letters, Jin quits. He is sympathetic to, but isn’t swayed by Bernard’s plea that he just wants to get his wife home.

On the beach, Rose tells Locke that he is in her spot. They discuss Bernard’s sign and the fact that Locke is done with the hatch. Locke says it is going to take four weeks for his leg to heal, according to Jack, but Rose says they know it won’t take that long – and they trade a knowing look.

In flashback, Rose meets with Isaac. He says he harnesses the local energy and gives it to others. He touches her; a shocked look comes over her face, and says he cannot help her. He says this is not the right place for her, but that there is a right place.

It is raining heavily, drenching Kate and Jack. Kate tells Jack about the lockers with the Others clothes and fake beard. They reach the clearing where they met with the bearded man. Jack yells a greeting and says he has their man.

Bernard is now building the sign by himself. Rose brings him some supper; Bernard just asks her to set it down. Rose apologizes for lieing to him about being fixed by Isaac. She tells him that after the crash, she could feel that the cancer has gone away – that the island cured her.

In flashback, Rose meets Locke at the airport and sees that he is in a wheelchair.

Bernard realizes she never wants to leave the island, for fear it will come back. Bernard promises that they will never leave the island. He abandons the sign with just the tail of the ‘S’ completed.

Locke is playing some vinyl. Ana tells Locke that she pressed his button, but he says it is not his button. He returns to deciphering his symbols. The music plays as we see Charlie putting the center beam up for the church, Jin lovingly caressing Sun’s belly, Claire talking to Aaron, Hurley making Libby laugh by the fire, and Locke giving some food and a pat to Vincent. Bernard and Rose sit in embrace by another fire.

Kate and Jack sit at a fire at a meeting spot, waiting. Kate says she is sorry she kissed him. Jack says he is not sorry. They are interrupted by movement through the trees and a torch. A man runs and collapses at their feet – it is Michael.

Comments

I finally have a ‘big picture’ theory. This whole thing – the island, the bunker, the Others, the plane crash - is all part of an elaborate and cruel human sociological experiment orchestrated by the mysterious ‘he’ who is in charge of the Others. And there are times, such as when Locke gets Jack to press the button for the first time, when it almost seems like Locke knows about it all. Surely the creators have to be fooling us in some way, or withholding information from us. Perhaps it will be revealed that Locke works for Dharma. After all, he certainly has a lot of skills that aren’t learned at a box company.

Another thought: since 4-8-15-16-23-42 add up to 108 (the minutes that count down), perhaps someone will figure that out and then realize that if they enter numbers such as 1000 six times, the counter will reset to that instead. It could be a very simple computer program they are dealing with here.

Although Rose doesn’t come out and say so, she seems to indicate to Locke that the island healed her cancer.

In the last episode, I felt a tiny bit of shark-jumping going on when I guess that the photo of Hurley and Dave was going to be used as the reveal to show that Dave was all in Hurley’s mind. In this episode, I felt that Bernard’s "must-do-something" character trait was a wee bit contrived to drive the plot. So are things going a little downhill for Lost? I’m not sure yet.

Memorable Moments

• Kate and Jack caught in a net

Quotable Quotes

Bernard: Rose, will you marry me?
Rose: Bernard, I’m dieing. I’m sick, and I’m dieing.

"Trouble down at the sand factory, Norma Rae?"
- Sawyer to Bernard

"Sorry."
- Kate’s one-word apology for springing the trap

Rose: That man doesn’t know the difference between an errand and a fool’s errand.
Locke: Well, Rose, most of us don’t.

Locke: I’m done with the hatch.
Rose: Oh, now, you’re just frustrated. You’ll be out of that splint and running around the island again in no time.
Locke: And yet, Jack said it’d be at least four weeks.
Rose: But, honey, you and I both know it’s not gonna take that long.

Ana: Hey. I pressed your button.
Locke: It’s not my button.

2.18 Dave

Libby and Hurley take a break from fast-walking down the beach. Hurley reveals his secret to Libby: he takes her to a shelf unit, hidden in the jungle, that holds a large amount of food items that he has hoarded. Libby encourages him to get rid of it; Hurley gives in and dumps it all out onto the jungle floor. Liberated and free, Hurley embraces Libby. She seems very responsive…but they are suddenly interrupted by Jin, Sun and others running by and saying, "They found something!" They follow and find a large number of people rooting through the food that was dropped from the sky. Charlie wants Hurley to take charge of the melee, but he refuses. Hurley sees an unidentifed man standing just behind everyone, wearing a robe, smiling at him and not taking part in the food free-for-all. Hurley follows him through the jungle and finds one of the man’s slippers.

A little later, on the beach, Hurley rolls that single slipper in his hand, contemplating what it means. He hides it when Libby approaches and is cagey when she asks him why he ran off into the jungle. Libby says she is proud of him for "…not freaking out."

In flashback, Hurley’s psychologist is trying and failing to get him to talk about the accident that caused him mom to commit him. Hurley also hasn’t done his homework. He says this is because Dave (another patient) said it was a dumb idea. Later, Dave is berating some of the more challenged patients during a basketball game. Hurley confronts Dave about his negativity. Dave has no argument about that, but his friendship and humor is more important to Hurley at this point in time.

Jack is checking Locke’s legs and tells him his hairline fracture in one leg will mean he cannot walk for two weeks. Locke reacts almost violently at Jack’s suggestion that he use a wheelchair. Kate mentions a found pair of crutches, and Locke agrees to use those. Kate leaves to find them. Locke argues that Henry could have escaped during lockdown when Locke was hurt, but he came back to help him. Jack says Henry didn’t come back to help; he came back because he thought his story would check out.

In the armory, Henry’s arms are tied to the wall. He tells Sayid and Ana that when he found Henry, he was dead already, having broken his neck on impact. Sayid produces a bill he found in the dead man’s wallet, where he scrawled a note to someone called Jennifer to say that he was heading down the beach to start a signal fire. Sayid manages to get the fact that Henry is a flunkie in the Others who is so scared of ‘him’ (their leader) that he will not give out any information for fear of being killed. Sayid is about to shoot him when Ana grabs his arm and deflects the shot. Ana takes Sayid outside and locks the door, while Locke yells to find out what is going on, and Jack tells him it is under control (but doesn’t tell him what is going on).

Charlie saw that Eko was building something so he brings him a pallette. Eko thanks him and asks Charlie to help.

In the jungle, Hurley searches for Dave at the spot where he found the slipper. Instead, he find a box of snacks and devours big handfuls. He hears footsteps behind him, turns, and is face to face with Dave. Hurley says he isn’t really there, so Dave hits him with a coconut, then turns and flees through the jungle, with Hurley in pursuit. Hurley emerges on the beach where Eko and Charlie are busy building. Neither of them saw Dave.

In flashback, Hurley is playing a board game with Lenny while Dave looks on. Dave seems bent on controlling Hurley, encouraging to stop eating celery and to take Lenny’s graham crackers instead, and telling him not to take his sedative if he wants to escape with him. Hurley’s doctor comes by and takes a picture of Hurley and Dave together. Hurley acts like he is taking his meds but doesn’t swallow them.

Hurley asks Sawyer for medicine to make his hallucinations go away. When Sawyer teases him, Hurley tackles him and beats on his face until Jin pulls him away.

Kate is amused when Sawyer tells her about being attacked by Hurley.

Libby finds Hurley as he is packing to go live alone at the caves. As Hurley walks through the jungle, his pack opens and the huge jar of peanut butter falls and breaks. As Hurley begins scraping it back into the jar and eating big gobs of it, Dave shows up again.

In flashback, Hurley has completed his homework for Dr Brooks – a list of the things he likes. They are concentrating on getting Hurley to deal with his weight problem. Apparently, Hurley blames his weight on the accident – a deck that was overloaded with people collapsed and two people died. Again, Hurley defends Dave as a friend. Dr Brooks shows Hurley the photo he took of him and Dave, but Hurley is the only one in the photo – Dave is a figment of Hurley’s imagination. Dave shows up later that night and certainly seems to be real – he slaps Hurley a couple of times and it hurts. Hurley tells about the photo; Dave attributes it to Photoshop retouching. Dave starts by pointing out food leftovers to eat on the way. Their destination is an open window and freedom. But Hurley turns him down and locks him out.

Hurley tries to make Dave go away, but it doesn’t work. Dave says that Hurley’s recovery and release from the hospital was all imagined – that Hurley is still in the hospital. Dave says that Hurley has been in a coma since locking him out of the window. Dave leads him to a high cliff and tells him if he jumps off, he will wake up and return to reality. Dave then jumps off the cliff into the water.

On crutches, Locke asks Ana to talk to the prisoner for five minutes. Henry doesn’t answer any of Locke’s questions, but he does tell him that he never put the code in the computer – and yet the timer reset itself anyway. Locke says he is lieing, but Henry says he is all through lieing.

Libby finds Hurley on the edge of the cliff. Hurley believes she is not real – that in real life, no girl like her would ever like him. Libby tells a story of something that happened on the other side of the island to prove that she is real. She kisses him, and that is proof enough.

In flashback, we see the scene where Dr Brooks is taking the photo of Hurley and Dave. Dave is clearly missing, but the camera pulls back to reveal that Libby is sitting at the next table, looking dazed and confused as she takes her medication.

Comments

When Dr Brooks takes the photo of Hurley and Dave, it was evident to me that Dave must be an imaginary character, and that this would be revealed when we see that he doesn’t appear in the photo.

Everyone must have figured this out by now, but it just hit me: the magic numbers 4, 8, 15, 16, 23, and 42 add up to 108 – and the button in the hatch has to be pressed every 108 minutes!

Is Henry lieing about not inputting the numbers? Is his goal to get Locke to not put in the numbers too, so that the place blows up?

Great Libby ending…is this proof that Hurley did make up this whole thing? Or is this just another one of the many strange coincidences of Lost?

Nits

We have castaways on a deserted island with a limited food supply. I’m surprised that neither Libby nor Hurley would realize that throwing away good food could be condemning someone to starvation a little further down the track.

When Ana stopped Sayid from shooting Henry, I initially thought this was all planned so that they could play good cop / bad cop interrogation. It was the opportune time for Ana to sweet talk Henry into giving the information after she got rid of Sayid. But instead, Ana just leaves Henry alone in the armory without asking Henry any questions.

Memorable Moments

• Sun’s reaction shot when Hurley falls on Jin

Quotable Quotes

Libby (while fast-walking): Isn’t this nice?
Hurley: I kind of prefer breathing.

Libby: Okay, hey, guys, guys - how about no one's in charge, okay? I'm sure everyone can manage to just take what they need.
Sawyer: Great plan, Moonbeam. After that we can sing ‘Kumbaya’ and do trust falls.

Sayid: So tell me…how did Henry Gale write a note to his wife with a broken neck?
Henry: It wasn’t me. I didn’t kill him. You don’t understand.
Sayid: How did you know his wife’s name? Did you interrogate him?
Henry: Please, just listen. I’m just a -
Sayid: How many of you are there?
Henry: If I told you about them you have no idea what he’ll do.
Sayid: He?
Ana: You mean their leader? The guy with the beard.
Henry: Him? He’s no one – nothing!
Sayid: Where are your people?
Henry (whispered): I can’t -
Sayid: How many of you are there?
Henry: You don’t understand!
Sayid (drawing gun): Understand this!
Ana: Hey.
Sayid: You have three seconds to answer my question. How many of you are there? One.
Henry: He’ll kill me!
Sayid: I’ll kill you. (cocks gun) Two.
Ana: Sayid!
Henry: You can’t do this! I’m not a bad person!
Sayid: Three. (fires gun)

Hurley: I was kinda looking for something.
Sawyer: Forget it, I’m done trading. I got enough food now to open a chain of mini-marts. Hey, you think Sayid needs a job?

"Don’t you have an adventure to get to? I think Timmy fell down a well over that way."
- Sawyer to Kate

Libby: Where are you going?
Hurley: Back to the caves. No one lives there anymore, so I won’t bother anybody. I’m just gonna live alone and be one of those guys – you know, the crazy guys with the big beard and no clothes who’s naked and throws doody at people.

2.17 Lockdown

In flashback, Locke extracts a diamond ring hidden in a balled up sock, and packs a picnic lunch for Helen, hiding the ring in a napkin. Helen reads the obituaries, as she always does, and tells Locke that his father had died.

Jack asks Henry to draw another map. Henry says he was just joking about the ambush, and seems sincere. Locke says it doesn’t matter, as Ana is already long gone. Jack storms off, ordering Locke to put Henry back in the armory. Henry asks Locke why he lets Jack talk to him like that. Locke angrily tosses Henry back in the armory.

Sayid tells Ana that they the three hours they have been searching is long enough – it’s time to head back. Charlie calls them over; he has found a marked grave, and, strangely, it is not raining there. They look up and see the balloon.

Jack asks Hurley when and where Ana went. Hurley knows she headed somewhere into the jungle two days ago. Claire has Jack check Aaron out – he is fine. Jack checks Libby’s hand; she had a run-in with a sea urchin. Jack says neosporin would be nice, but she says the going rate of exchange from Sawyer is two pills in exchange for ten loads of laundry.

Locke is listening to jazz and pedaling on the exercise bike when he hears another sound. He removes the needle from the vinyl and hears something coming through the bunker speakers. It’s all static and unintelligible, so Locke gets some tools and starts trying to fix the speakers, while Henry asks what is going on from within his cell.

In flashback, Locke and Helen visit the cemetery where his father is being buried. They are the only two mourners, and, at the end of the ceremony, Locke says he forgives his father. At that moment, he watches as two dodgy guys who had been hanging nearby drive off in a flashy Mercedes.

The static is a countdown. When it completes, the blast doors descend, locking Locke inside the bunker. He manages to get a crowbar underneath one door before it seals completely.

Jack advises Hurley in his poker game with Sawyer and Kate. When Sawyer goads him into playing, Jack decides to stay, rather than heading back to the hatch.

The lights are blinking and Henry is panicking. Locke can’t lift the blast door using the crowbar.

In flashback, Locke had just finished inspecting a house. As he walks back to his truck, he sees the same silver Mercedes that he saw at the cemetery. He approaches the car, the window rolls down, and there is his dad – very alive. Over a drink, his dad tells him the two dodgy guys were swindled out of 750 thousand dollars. He asks Locke to get the 750 grand out of the safety deposit box, take 200 grand for himself, and meet him at a hotel.

Locke tells Henry that they are locked in. He asks Henry to help. Henry asks him for protection. Locke agrees.

Jack has wiped Sawyer out, at least as far as his fruit goes. Sawyer wants to try to win it back, and Jack makes him wager all the medicine that he stole from the armory.

Locke and Henry are able to lift the door high enough to wedge the toolbox underneath, but when Locke goes to slide under, the door comes down and pins his legs. Henry is able to stack weights in time to stop the door from descending any further, but Locke is still pinned and bleeding.

In flashback, Locke opens the safety deposit box, finds the money, and packs it in his carry bag. Back at home, he is about to celebrate with Helen, but the two men are already there. They ask what is in the bag – Locke says just his work papers. They empty the bag  - just work papers fall out.

Jack tells Sawyer that he learned to play in Phuket. Jack also tells Sawyer to deal from the top of the deck this time.

Locke tells Henry to climb through the grate and input the numbers. Henry slips while trying to reach the grate. The alarm begins to sound, meaning there is only about three minutes to go.

Jack successfully wins all the medicine back from Sawyer.

Henry is barely conscious as Locke yells at him to get up. Henry struggles to his feel and makes it into the venting system. Locke calls for him, but Henry does not respond.

In flashback, Locke arrives at the designated hotel meeting room. His dad gives him his share, but Locke doesn’t really want it. Helen has followed him again and shows up, feeling betrayed by Locke’s lies. Locke apologizes and asks her to marry him. She says no and drives away. A few moments later, his dad leaves in a taxi, and Locke is left alone.

Locke is still waiting to hear from Henry when he hears the alarm stop and the counter reset. Blue lights come on, revealing a mysterious diagram on the wall, at the center of which is a question mark. The blast doors lift and normal lighting returns. Locke drags himself to safety. Henry is still there, and he helps Locke to his feet.

Jack is on his way back to the hatch. Kate asks if she can come with and have a shower, but Jack lies and says the plumbing is broken. Kate says she is glad he beat Sawyer. It is dark, and Jack offers to walk Kate back to the beach. At that moment, they see a blinking light a short distance away. It is a parachute, and it is attached to a netload of Dharma brand food and other supplies. Sayid, Charlie, and Ana emerge from the jungle, and Jack asks what they found. Sayid just gives a mute and mysterious look.

Jack and the others arrive at the hatch. Jack tells Henry to back away from Locke. Sayid says that yes, they found the balloon, and the grave – the grave he said he dug with his bare hands. It all seemed perfect, so Sayid dug up the grave and found not a woman, but a man – a black man, and a driver’s license with the name ‘Henry Gale’.

Comments

The writers did a great job of pulling us back and forth with whether Henry was lieing or telling the truth.

The situation is that the balloon did exist, but Henry was still lieing. I mentioned this scenario in my review of Episode 2.16 (The Whole Truth).

The gray areas of Lost are what make the show worth watching. For example: Henry. He could have killed Locke or at least made an attempt to escape. Instead, he hung around. What are his motivations? Well, he could be a nice person. Or he could be there specifically to infiltrate the group gain their trust, and erode them from the inside.

Memorable Moments

• Jack beating Sawyer at poker

• The cliffhanger revelation that Henry was lieing

Quotable Quotes

Sawyer: Hey! When I asked you what you wanted for stakes, why didn’t you ask for the guns?
Jack: When I need the guns, I’ll get the guns.

"We did find your balloon, Henry Gale - exactly how you described it. We also found the grave you described. Your wife’s grave - the grave you said you dug with your own bare hands. It was all there. Your whole story, your alibi - it was all true. But still I did not believe it to be true. So I dug up that grave, and found that there was not a woman inside; there was a man…a man named Henry Gale."
- Sayid

2.16 The Whole Truth

In flashback, Sun joins Jin in bed, looking beautiful in her light green negligee. Their kissing is interrupted by Jin asking if she took her temperature. It seems they have been trying to have a baby for a year. Tempers flare, with Sun still angry about the violent side of Jin’s job, while Jin blames her father for ordering him to do those things. Jin apologizes for losing his temper, saying he had hoped that if they have a baby, her father might give him a safer job.

Jin finds Sun in her garden and gets angry that she is there alone. His fear that she will get taken again leads him to destroy the garden.

Locke tells Ana about Henry. He wants her to talk to Henry, to determine if he is one of the Others – he feels as an ex-cop who has had experience with the Others, she is most qualified to do so. It’s also Locke’s way of usurping Jack’s authority.

Sun arrives at the beach, out of breath. Rose and Bernard stop arguing long enough to give her water and show concern for her health.

In flashback, Sun looks guilty as she keycards her way into a hotel room and posts the Do Not Disturb sign. She has been seeing Mr. Lee, but only for English lessons. Lee thinks Jin would be proud to know she is learning English.

Locke asks Jack what he thinks about Ana Lucia talking to Henry. Jack isn’t overly enthusiastic but says he will talk to her. Locke tells him she is already in the armory now.

Ana Lucia tells Henry about the mistake she made with the man whom she thought was not on the plane, says she won’t make the same mistake twice, and asks Henry to tell his story once again.

Sun approaches Sawyer and asks to look through the medical supplies. She obviously doesn’t want to tell Sawyer what she wants, and he won’t give her what she wants until she tells him. So she tells him: she wants a pregnancy test.

Ana comes up with a good strategy: she tells Henry to draw a map to where the balloon is. Ana will follow the map, find the balloon, and prove that Henry’s story is true. Henry hems and haws about drawing the map, first saying that because he is an air traveler, he is not good at drawing land maps. But Ana insists that he must draw it, or he will virtually be admitting he is a liar.

Hurley and Sun cross paths in the jungle – he is guilty about his stolen candy bar, and she is hiding the pregnancy test behind her back.

In flashback, Jin and Sun are talking to a fertility doctor. The tests show scar tissues blocking her fallopian tubes. He says even with surgery, the chances of pregnancy are impossible. Jin accuses Sun of knowing about this all along and hiding the information from him. Sun retorts by sarcastically saying she hid the info so she could trap the son of a fisherman. Jin storms out of the office, scattering papers and slamming doors.

Ana emerges from the armory, saying that she needs to talk to Henry again tomorrow. Jack tells her that he told no one about Henry (as a way of explaining why he did not tell her).

Ana shows Sayid (and Charlie) the map, and invites them to come with her to see if it is true. They head off, their destination about a day away, according to Sayid. Landmarks on the map are matching up to the terrain they are traversing: they are on the right track. Ana notices Charlie’s gun and suggests he give it to someone who knows how to use it (meaning herself). Charlie makes a jab about her being a murderer, and gives the gun to Sayid. Sayid suggests they make camp for the night at the base of the cliff.

Kate sits with Sun while she waits for the results of the pregnancy test, which is positive. They check with Jack, and he confirms that positives are positive. When he hears that Sun wants to keep it a secret, even from Jin, Jack gently suggests that she tell him and not repeat the ‘speaking English’ incident, where quite a few people knew she spoke it before Jin did. Jack says he is heading back to the hatch, and Kate wants to know why he is spending so much time down there, but Jack gives nothing away.

In flashback, Sun tells Lee that she cannot get pregnant, and she is glad about that. Lee asks why she is learning English. She says she is moving to America and leaving Jin. He reveals that he was not in love with the woman he returned to America for when he and Sun first met. He asks her not to go to America, but not because he wants her to stay with Jin – it is because he is in love with her.

Around the campfire, Ana apologizes to Sayid for killing Shannon. Sayid it wasn’t her who did the killing, it was them, and if Henry turns out to be one of them, something will need to be done. In the morning, Sayid looks at Ana’s sleeping body with something other than hate. They reach the clearing but cannot see any balloon. A quick glance is enough for Sayid, but Ana insists they search more before condemning Henry to death. Grudgingly, Sayid gives in, dividing the area into three search grids.

On the beach, Jin helps Bernard with a net he is using to catch oysters. He is hoping to find a pearl for Rose. Jin tells him there are no oysters there, and Bernard is suitably depressed. Sawyer wanders by to tell Bernard the news the Sun is pregnant. Jin cannot understand what is being said.

Jin is in Sun’s garden, repairing the damage he caused when he got angry. Sun finds him there and, after he is through apologizing, tells him she is pregnant. She also says there is something else she must tell him.

In flashback, Sun is walking their dog when the fertility doctor drives up and tells her that it is Jin, not her, that is infertile. He was scared of what Jin would do if he had shared that news directly with him.

Sun tells Jin this news now. Jin wonders how he could be the father, but Sun swears that she has never been with another man. Jin accepts that it is a miracle and is happy, as is Sun. Jin says that if it is a boy, he would like to use a character from his father’s name for the boy’s name. They wonder is there is anyone left to tell about the pregnancy, since most people seem to know already. Sun asks to stay on her own for a few minutes, and Jin heads back to the beach.

Henry’s reading is interrupted when Jack opens the armory door. Jack lets Henry join he and Locke for cereal breakfast, and Henry mentions off-handedly that he drew a map to the balloon for Ana.

Comments

People (Jack, Charlie, Locke, Jin) are all starting to go nuts. Notice that Jin is getting rough with Sun, Locke refers to the hatch as ‘my hatch’, Sawyer took all the guns, and Charlie bashed Sun.

Sun’s choice for an English language teacher is revealing, as we know or suspect that she was in love with him the first time around.

At the same time as Henry played Locke against Jack, Locke has now made an alliance with Ana, and played Ana against Jack.

My gut feeling halfway through this episode is that Henry is one of the Others, and the balloon map is a trap of some kind.

The island seems to have healed Sun as well, since she was not supposed to be able to get pregnant. We later find out that it is Jin that it may have healed.

Jack tells Sun to be honest, then immediately lies to Kate about why he has been spending so much time in the hatch.

Now Henry has successfully played Ana against Jack and Locke.

So what do you think? Is Henry an Other? Or is he just a guy who likes to play people against each other? I say Other – but I’ve been fooled before, most notably on Nathan.

Jin and Sun should be doubly careful since the Others kidnapped Claire when she was pregnant.

What if someone did crash in a balloon, but it wasn’t Henry? What if Henry based his story on the fact that he found the remnants of a balloon? If this is true, Ana will find the balloon and believe that Henry is telling the truth. But the two items do not correlate.

The ‘is he or isn’t he’ theme for Henry really is making me hungry for the next episode.

Nits

If Henry has told his story to Jack, Locke, and Sayid, they each should have taken notes, then compared notes to see if there were any discrepancies. That’s how interrogators break down lies.

If the balloon isn’t there, then there is the possibility that it is a trap. And if that is a possibility (which seemed obvious to me), then splitting up to search is not a good idea.

Memorable Moments

• Sun in a variety of outfits (light green nightwear, dark gray business suit)

• The slight glimmer of admiration on Sayid’s face when he finds out Ana got Henry to draw a map

Quotable Quotes

"We got a serious problem, Ana Lucia – all of us. I’m taking the necessary steps to solve it. I don’t need Jack’s permission to talk with you, because right now there’s a man sitting in my hatch, and I want him out."
- Locke to Ana

"You draw up that map, Henry. I’ll find your balloon. But if you don’t, things are gonna play out just like you said."
- Ana

Jin: Did you know about this [that you were barren] before we got married?
Sun: What?
Jin: You must have had some idea!
Sun: Why would I have kept something like this from you? Oh yes. I was trying to trap the son of a fisherman.

Ana: It’s [a map] to his balloon.
Sayid: How did you get him to do this?
Ana: I asked nicely
Sayid: Do Jack and Locke know about this?
Ana: Jack and Locke are a little too busy worrying about Locke and Jack. All I want to know is if this guy’s telling the truth.
Sayid: Why did you come to me?
Ana: Judging by what you did to his face, that’s what you want too.

Charlie: You lookin’ at my bum?
Ana: No, I’m looking at your gun.
Charlie: My what?
Ana: Maybe you should give the gun to somebody who knows how to use it.
Charlie: Maybe I will. As I recall, the last time you had a gun you murdered someone.

Henry: This must be my reward for good behavior, huh? I guess I earned myself some good will for finally drawing that map for Ana?
Locke: What map?
Henry: To my balloon.
Jack: [to Locke] Did you -
Locke: No.
Henry: Wow, you guys have some real trust issues, don’t you? Guess it makes sense she didn’t tell you, I mean, with the two of you fighting all the time. Of course, if I was one of them, these people that you seem to think are your enemies, what would I do? Well, there’d be no balloon, so I’d draw a map to a real secluded place, like a cave or some underbrush – a good place for a trap. An ambush. And when your friends got there, a bunch of my people would be waiting for ‘em. Then they’d use them to trade for me. I guess it’s a good thing I’m not one of them, huh? [pause] You guys got any milk?

2.15 Maternity Leave

It is night on the beach, and Aaron will not settle for Claire – he has a fever and a rash. Claire wakes Locke and when she finds out that Jack is at the hatch, she starts off into the dark jungle. Locke says that is a bad idea, and instead he volunteers to go to the hatch and bring Jack back.

Claire tries to cool Aaron’s badly rash-covered body and is startled when Danielle shows up and says that Aaron is sick and infected. "You don’t remember, do you," says Danielle, and Claire flashes back to her time in captivity, when someone injected her stomach with a medicine they said would stop Claire from getting sick. Kate arrives and chases Danielle away.

Claire wants to convince Jack that Aaron is infected, but Jack says he just has a normal childhood sickness.

Claire asks Libby to help her remember what happened when she was abducted.

Jack and Locke bring food and a book (The Brothers Karamazov) in to Henry, who is badly beaten up, but calm. After Jack and Locke leave the armory, they discuss what to do with him. When Locke questions Jack’s long term plan for Henry, Jack retorts by questioning Locke’s lack of a long term plan for pushing the button. Jack invites Locke to come up with a plan for Henry, at which point Henry, who can hear from inside the armory, suggests they let him go.

Libby takes Claire away and hypnotizes her. Claire remembers being on an operating table. She is calm and relaxed, but the doctor who is questioning her and who gives her an injection is Ethan. Claire comes out of hypnosis suddenly. She is convinced that what she remembers is real. She wants to find that room, believing that the medicine she remembers seeing there will cure Aaron.

At a moment when Henry is out of his cell for a bathroom break, Eko shows up at the hatch and asks Locke to borrow a saw. Before Eko can see Henry, Jack quickly closes himself in the bathroom with Henry and tells him to be quiet. Eko notices the slept-in bed within the half-open door of the armory.

Kate asks Sawyer for a gun, no questions asked, but Sawyer insists on knowing why. Kate and Claire are going to find Danielle, because Claire believes Danielle will know where the room and the medicine is located. Sawyer gives in.

Claire is leaving Aaron in Sun’s care. Sun tries to convince her that what she is doing is a bad idea and that Jack might be right, but Claire says the fever has not broken.

Claire flashes back to getting another belly injection from Ethan. Her reward for being a good patient is a preview of the fully stocked nursery that has been prepared for her baby (located in another room in the underground facility where they are located). Claire asks what happened to Charlie, and Ethan says Charlie is fine – he was allowed to go back to camp. Ethan tells Claire to turn on the baby mobile (which consists of four tiny planes) and it plays ‘Catch a Falling Star’. At that moment, they are interrupted by a man in the hallway who seems to be Ethan’s supervisor. He berates Ethan for bringing Claire in before completing his list as he was ordered. The man also refers to someone (‘he’) even higher up the chain of command who will be angry at the way things were done. The man closes the door so Claire can hear no more.

Claire leaves the crying Aaron with Sun, and heads off with Kate. The trail ends, and as Kate is explaining what she knows about Danielle, Danielle shows up. After being prodded by Claire, Danielle agrees to take her to the place where she was held and treated by Ethan.

On the beach, Eko approaches Jack and asks him about the man being kept in the hatch. Eko asks to speak the man alone, and tells Jack he will oblige if he wants the man’s existence kept a secret.

Danielle brings Claire and Kate to a clearing and says this is where Claire scratched her. Claire thinks she scratched Danielle because Danielle was bringing her back to the others. Danielle says that isn’t true and that she knows about no room. When Danielle accuses Claire of lieing, Kate pulls a gun and tells Danielle to back off. Danielle begs Kate to pull the trigger. Kate backs down and realizes Claire has disappeared.

Claire has found a tree trunk on the ground that has sparked a flashback: Ethan takes her out for a secret forbidden walk outside the bunker, telling her that his co-workers think she might run away. They sit on the tree trunk. Ethan rehashes the plan: Claire will have the baby, then leave him in the care of Dharma, where he can get the treatment he needs for his infection, and Claire will return to the survivors. Claire is agreeable to this plan, and Ethan says it is completely voluntary. He is, however, also keeping her drugged – even the ‘water’ in the canteen he shares with her tastes sour to her.

Claire finds the hidden entrance to Dharma’s underground lab. There are lights blinking down below. The three women descend. Claire enters her old nursery – almost everything is gone now. Kate finds lockers that hold the clothes worn by the Others. She also finds fake beards and theatrical glue.

Sparked by holding the one booty she finished while in captivity, Claire flashes back to being awakened by a young woman and told that she must escape immediately - the baby is going to be cut out of her tonight.

Claire finds the refrigerator that held the vaccine, but it is empty. She accuses Danielle of knowing where it is. Claire flashes back to being abandoned in the jungle and coming face to face with Danielle. Danielle saved her from the Others. Claire thanks her, and Danielle leaves, once again disappointed that she did not find Alex her missing Alex.

The three women leave the bunker. As Danielle is about to part ways, Claire tells her that she met Alex, that Alex helped her. Danielle tells Claire that if her baby is infected, she ‘knows what she must do’.

Eko and Jack arrive at the bunker. Eko is locked in with Henry. Eko confesses to Henry that he killed two ‘Others’ on the first night they arrived on the island. He tells Henry because ‘…I needed to tell someone.’ Then he brandishes a huge knife and cuts off to plaits that he had grown on his beard.

Aaron is better. Claire has a heart to heart with him, telling him that she knows they are supposed to be together.

Locke enters the armory and Henry starts playing him, asking him why he lets Jack make all the decisions. Locke says he and Jack share the decision-making, but when he leaves the armory, he wipes the dishes off the countertop, scattering and breaking them on the floor. Inside the armory, a tiny smile crosses Henry’s face.

Comments

The mobile with tiny planes that plays ‘Catch a Falling Star’ (Claire’s favorite baby song) adds weight to the theory that Dharma not only knew in advance about the plane crash, but staged it in some way.

Ethan’s supervisor refers to a ‘list’ of people to capture. This sounds like the same list that the Others use to decide who to capture – so perhaps the Others are working for or with Ethan and the people in the bunker.

It appears that the Others are actually people working for Dharma, who are dressing up as a crazed tribe in order to perhaps mask their real origins/intentions.

Like the fortune teller said, Claire must not give up the baby to someone else.

Quotable Quotes

Jack: Look, until we know who he is, whether or not he’s tellin’ the truth, we have to keep doin’ what we’re doin’. If you’ve got a better idea, let’s hear it.
Henry: [from inside the armory] How about you let me go?

Jack: Just be careful what you say to him. He’s smart – and curious. Just give us a shout when you’re done.
Locke: And if the alarm goes off, don’t tell him what it’s for.
Eko: What is it for?

2.14 One of Them

In flashback, Sayid’s bunker is under attack, thick with dust and shaking as bombs hit nearby. Sayid and other soldiers are frantically shredding papers as their commanding officer barks orders and tells them they do not leave until he says so. American troops break in and ask who is in charge. Sayid covers for his commander, saying no one is in charge – that the commanding officer left two hours earlier. He get knocked out with a gun barrel for his trouble. Sayid is removed from an outdoor secured area, and is taken away to be used as a translator – the Americans are questioning/torturing Tariq, his commanding officer.

Ana is looking for Jack but finds Sayid. She takes Sayid into the jungle and shows where Danielle is moving through a short distance away. Sayid says he will take care of the situation by himself and asks Ana to return to camp and not tell anyone what she saw. He intercepts Danielle and asks what she is doing. She says she is looking for him.

Danielle tells Sayid she is taking him to a place where there is something that is important and will help him. To maintain trust, she gives him her gun and tells him to use it if he has to.

In flashback, Sayid, accompanied by an American soldier (who, coincidentally, is Kate’s father) questions Tariq about the missing pilot that the Americans are trying to find. Tariq just responds in insults or tells Sayid to steal the American’s gun and kill as many of them as he can. Sayid simply responds with ‘he does not know.’ The American soldier gives up and order Sayid to be taken away, promising that someone much rougher will replace him.

On the beach, Sawyer cannot sleep because of a frog call. He asks Jin to help him find the frog, but Jin just stares at him contemptuously. Sawyer goes into the jungle and finds Hurley digging into a personal stolen stash of food. Sawyer says if Hurley will help him find the annoying tree frog, he won’t tell about the stolen goodies.

Danielle leads Sayid to a hidden stash of crossbow and arrows. Sayid hears cries for help, and, ignoring Danielle’s pleas to wait, finds a man trapped in a hanging net. Danielle says not to believe a word the man says, and not to cut him down. The man says his name is Henry Gail and he is from Minnesota. At least he didn’t say ‘Canada’. Sayid cuts him down, but when Henry sees Danielle loading the crossbow, he tries to run. He is shot, purposefully and  non-fatally, in the shoulder. Danielle tells Sayid to take the man to a doctor and question him. She says he will lie for a long time. Sayid carries the man away.

In flashback, Sayid is taken back for questioning about Tariq. His American inquistor tells him that Tariq has authorized the use or serin gas on a northern town where Sayid had relatives, killing women and children. He shows footage of the event until Sayid asks him to stop. The American asks Sayid to turture Tariq.

Sayid wakes Locke in the bunker with Henry. Henry tells Sayid and Locke that he and his wife crashed on the island while crossing the Pacific in a balloon. He says they lived in a cave on the beach, and that his wife got sick and died three weeks ago. Jack arrives. Sayid tells Jack not to untie Henry.

Hurley gets fed up with Sawyer’s fat jokes and turns back, telling Sawyer to go ahead and tell everyone that he has some stolen food. He’s not worried – people like him, he says. Sawyer apologizes and begs Hurley to help him find the frog, and Hurley agrees.

Jack removes the arrow from Henry while Locke and Sayid discuss whether he is telling the truth. Locke says there is no way to be sure, but Sayid says there is a way, and asks Locke to change the combination on the armory (I assume so it can be used as a torture chamber). Locke agrees.

Jack agrees that the unconscious Henry should be kept in the armory for safety reasons. The three of them move Henry into the locker, then Sayid shuts and locks the door.

In flashback, Sayid brings his case of torture materials to Tariq and asks again where the pilot is. Tariq thinks it is a joke and tells Sayid to kill himself to save what little honor he has left. Sayid has other ideas and brandishes a pair of pliers. Some time later, Sayid emerges from the room with bloody hands and the information that the pilot was executed and buried a few kilometers away.

Jack tries his old combination and finds it doesn’t work. Locke explains that they are at war – why else would Jack be raising an army.

Sayid asks Henry a series of questions, all of which are answered promptly and seemingly sincerely. He lived in a cave about two days walk from where he was captured. His wife got a fever and died. Her maiden name was Murphy and they met at the University of Minnesota. Henry wants to know who is questioning him; Sayid identifies himself as a torturer.

Sawyer and Hurley have found the tiny but loud frog on a downed tree trunk. Sawyer catches it alive and admires it for a few moments. Hurley comes up with a plan to take it two beaches away and let it go. Sawyer likes his plan, but has an alternative – he squeezes his fist together and dumps the frog remains in Hurley’s hand.

Despite Henry’s answers being perfect, even giving details about the balloon, Sayid brandishes a pliers he stole from Jack and demands to know how many shovelfulls of earth Henry used to bury his wife. Sayid breaks down, still reeling from burying Shannon. Sayid begins to pummel Henry, demanding that he tell him the truth. Jack hears this and pins Locke to the wall, demanding that he open the door. The alarm begins to sound; only 57 seconds left in the countdown, and Jack refuses to let Locke enter the code until he first opens the door. Locke gives in and opens the armory. Jack rushes in a tries to restrain Sayid. Locke rushes to the console but is unable to get the code entered in time. The counter spins like a slot machine and is about to lock in with a series of evil-looking red and black symbols when Locke finishes entering the code, and the counter returns to 108 minutes.

Sayid and Henry exchange an unusual look as Sayid leaves the room. Sayid maintains that Henry is one of ‘them’.

In flashback, Sayid is being transported by truck. He shares the back of the truck with a number of American soldiers, one of which is Kate’s father (he is looking at a photo of Kate as a teenage girl). The second American officer tells Sayid he now has a skills which will come in handy should he ever need to know something; Sayid pledges never to use that skill again. He is given a wad of American dollars and left to return to the employ of Saddam Hussein.

On the beach, Sayid tells Charlie about Henry and the beating. Sayid says he knows the man is one of the others because he feel no guilt about beating him. He feels that Jack and Locke have forgotten how much evil the Others have done. He asks, pointedly, if Charlie has forgotten this.

Comments

Henry is wearing shoes. I believe so far the Others have not worn shoes.

Henry gives a look to Sayid after his torture session that seems to have ‘Others’ written all over it.

In the last episode (The Long Con), Sawyer got Charlie to do his dirty work for him. Now it looks like Sayid is grooming Charlie to assassinate Henry.

Locke didn’t tell anyone about the weird symbols that started to lock in when he didn’t enter the code in time.

Sayid is missing an important piece of information that plays a part in this whole mystery. At the end, he tells Charlie that Claire was abducted by the Others and they did god knows what to her. But if you recall, part of Claire’s memory from the time she was abducted involved inflicting scratches on Danielle’s arm! So either Danielle is one of the Others, or she rescued Claire from captivity by the Others. If it is the latter, why didn’t Danielle tell anyone about this? If it is the former, which seems more likely, then did Danielle just purposefully help Henry infiltrate the survivors?

This is possibly the best episode ever of Lost. It certainly is the most intense episode in some time.

Nits

If Sayid doesn’t trust Danielle, why does he stand idly by and let Danielle get armed with a crossbow and arrows while he has a big gun slung over his shoulder? Sure enough, she soon shoots someone that he didn’t want her to shoot.

The creators did a sneaky thing to give the counter a kind of ‘second life’ that we didn’t know it had. Locke actually does not enter the code in time. The counter goes down to zero, and then starts spinning. It locks in a bird (black on red), what looks like a stamp or feather (red on black), what looks like a needle (black on red), and what looks like a paper clip (red on black). It is just about to lock in the final red on black symbol when Locke finishes entering the code – well after the counter had expired. So you actually don’t have to enter the code before the counter expires!

Memorable Moments

• Jack and Locke squaring up as Sayid goes nuts and the alarm sounds

Quotable Quotes

Sawyer: ‘Dharma Initiative Ranch Dressing’. You know, you’re supposed to refrigerate that after you open it.
Hurley: Well, actually, on the back, it says, it’ll keep at room temperature for up to seven years.

Danielle: You should take him to a doctor. He’s no good to you dead.
Sayid: And then what?
Danielle: You talk to him, Sayid. As I recall, that is what you do.

Jack: Sayid! What’re you doing?
Sayid: What needs to be done.

Jack: Why isn’t this combination working, John? Did you change it?
Locke: Yeah.
Jack: Why would you do that?
Locke: You're raising an army.
Jack: What?
Locke: And why you didn’t ask me to help – well, that’s your business, but there’s only one reason to raise an army, Jack – and that’s because we’re at war. And like it or not, whatever Sayid has to do behind that door – that’s a part of it, too.
Jack: What if he’s telling the truth, John?
Locke: What if he’s not?

Sayid: There is a man down in the hatch, a stranger captured by Rousseau. I beat him. I beat him badly.
Charlie: Why are you telling me this, Sayid?
Sayid: Jack asked me how I knew - knew for sure that this man was lieing – how I knew for sure that he was one of them – one of the Others. I know because I feel no guilt for what I did to him. But there is no way I can ever explain that to Jack, or even Locke. Because both of them have forgotten.
Charlie: Forgotten? What?
Sayid: That you were strung up by your neck and left for dead. That Claire was taken and kept for days during which god only knows what happened to her. That these people – these Others – are merciless. And can take any one of us whenever they choose. So tell me Charlie – have you forgotten?

2.13 The Long Con

Jack has decided to move his stash of guns into the gun locker. He and Locke discuss the heroin statues that are stored there too. Jack asks Locke for the combination, which Locke gives up somewhat grudgingly. Locke also suggests that Jack store the medicine in the locker.

Charlie has moved a small structure away from the others, and is teased by Sawyer about being even more hated than him. Charlie says he should be more worried about Jack ransacking his tent. Sawyer confronts Jack, who is taking back medicine that Sawyer took from the hatch. Sawyer tells Jack to put the pills back, and he looks mighty serious, but Jack ignores them and takes them anyway. All he gets for now is a seriously dirty look at his back as he walks away.

In flashback, Sawyer is in bed with a woman when he realizes he is late for a meeting. His case opens as he hurries to leave, and bundles of cash fall out. But the woman is aware she was going to be swindled, and instead, she asks Sawyer to teach her how to con people.

Kate brings Sawyer a magazine titled ‘Elegant’. Sawyer lost his glasses on the raft so he asks Kate to read it to him. They discuss Locke moving down near Kate, with Sawyer introducing his usual sexual innuendo. Sawyer has also heard about Jack and Ana’s army; neither he nor Kate has been invited.

Sayid is angrily breaking coconuts. Hurley brings him news that Bernard is a dentist. Hurley also has brought the short wave radio that Bernard used to communicate with Boone. Sayid says it is a glorified walkie talkie and is of no use. He apparently is still depressed from Shannon’s death and is just going through the motions of life for now.

Ana finds out that Jack got the combination from Locke. She asks Jack to share it with her, and when he just stares at her, she says she was kidding.

Sun is working in her garden when she hears rustling noises. Vincent emerges from the jungle, giving her a brief fright, and then disappears. Rain falls heavily. Suddenly, a hood is pulled over her head and she is dragged away.

Sawyer scoots into his shelter to avoid the rain. He and Kate hear Sun’s cries. They run into the jungle and find her, bashed but alive. Kate runs to get Jack and Sawyer carries her to the beach. Jack examines her. Kate says Sun’s hands were tied – Ana simply says, "They’re back."

Kate, Jack, Ana, Sawyer, and Locke discuss what to do. Ana wants to search the area with guns. Locke says they are more likely to shoot themselves if they do that. Jack says that they should wait for Sun to wake up and tell them what happened, and then they are going to do something about it.

Kate and Sawyer take a look around the area where it happened. They find the hood, but it doesn’t match the one used by the Others on Kate. Sawyer thinks Ana has done it to convince people to join the army.

In flashback, Sawyer’s former mark helps him con a couple of guys into buying some worthless jewelry.

Jack tells Jin that Sun is strong and getting better. Kate tells Jack about her concerns that Ana bashed Sun. Jack just ignores her.

Ana tells Jack that a few more people are interested in joining the army after what happened to Sun. Jacks asks Ana where she was during the rainstorm, but he is interrupted by Claire’s news that Sun is awake. Sun did not see who did it or how many did it. Jin is agitated and wants "gun." Kate and Ana exchange looks, and Kate tells Sawyer that this whole thing is a ploy for Ana to get the guns. Kate asks Sawyer to go tell Locke that they are coming.

In flashback, Sawyer’s mark Cassie wants to do a big con, a long con. Sawyer needs money for that and Cassie has 600 thousand dollars.

Sawyer tells Locke that Jack and others in the camp are on the way to arm up and take a posse to look for Sun’s attackers. Locke decides to move the guns, and he asks Sawyer to man the hatch.

In flashback, Sawyer is at a diner, meeting with his buddy to tell him that his 600 grand mark is all lined up. Sawyer says he won’t do it, but his buddy tells him he is a conman and must go through with it.

Jack arrives at the hatch to find Sawyer at the console and the guns (and heroin statues) missing from the gun locker.

It is evening, and Jack finds Locke at a beach campfire. Locke says he moved the guns because Jack was about to violate their agreement. Jack repeatedly asks Locke where the guns are. They are interrupted by gunfire. Sawyer emerges from the jungle, carrying a rifle. He has found and re-hid the guns, and now he has control of them. Sick of being bossed around by Jack and Locke, he has taken control of the situation and says that anyone who wants a gun has to see him.

In flashback, Sawyer tells Cassie that Gordy is waiting outside, ready to kill them both if Sawyer doesn’t deliver the 600 grand. Sawyer knew about the money from the start, and she was the long con. Sawyer gives her some of the money and tells her to get out of town, with the plan that he will meet her in a day.

Kate tells Sawyer he did what he did so he would be hated.

Sayid has modified the radio to receive signals. They pick up a radio station playing big band hits, but Sayid says it could be thousands of miles away.

Sawyer meets with Charlie. It was Charlie who followed Locke and found the gun location. Sawyer offers Charlie a statue, but he doesn’t want one. Charlie did it to make Locke look like a fool. Charlie also admits that he bashed Sun.

In flashback, Sawyer says goodbye to Cassie and leaves through the front door. The car that he said Gordy was in, waiting to kill them, is empty. He goes back in and takes the money, and leaves.

Sawyer tells Charlie that he’s not a good person.

Comments

You can feel that Locke is always a hair’s breath away from trying to take more control of every situation. For a moment, he acts like he is not going to share the gun locker combination with Jack, and he makes his decision to share it based on Jack still trusting him.

Sawyer’s convoluted plan to get the guns could only have been written, and could only have worked, on a television series. Let’s take a closer look. Sun is bashed on purpose so that people will want to get the guns out to get revenge. That’s a jump in itself. Locke doesn’t want the guns to get out, but up to now, he has not directly confronted Jack – he has always gone around his back. But this time, he does contradict Jack, and somehow Sawyer knew he would. Locke’s logical tactic would be to change the combination, but in this case, Locke says that will not work, because Jack will find a way to get into the armory. How will Jack get into the armory? If it is that easy for anyone to get into the armory, why bother locking the guns in there in the first place? And how did Charlie manage to follow Locke without Locke knowing about it? Just one episode ago, Charlie followed Locke and Locke knew he was there all the time. In short, this could be the moment when Lost starts to Jump the Shark.

Sawyer has a gun, but how is he going to sleep at night? Can’t someone take that gun away from him? I know he says he won’t tell where they are, even if he is tortured, but his life could be pretty bad if he is thrown in another pit and made to live there. Besides, couldn’t Locke or Kate follow his trail and find the guns that way? If he really wants to do something like this, he needs allies.

The revelation that Charlie would go so far as to bash Sun just to make Locke look bad made my stomach a little queasy.

Nits

Kate and Sawyer find the hood used on Sun, and Sawyer conclude that because it is a different color and weave than the one the Others used, that it was not the Others that attacked Sun. So now the Others have one brand of standard hemp hood that they use for every attack? What, is it written up in their Attack Specification Manual? C’mon, they’re a wild tribe! They could have a few different styles of hoods that they use.

Memorable Moments

• The background music as Jack and Sawyer face off about the missing guns

Quotable Quotes

Jack: John! The combination.
Locke: I’m willing to go ahead and assume that you’re asking me because you’re worried that I might fall off a cliff or something – that it would be irresponsible for just one of us to have access to this room, rather than this bein’ an issue of trust.
Jack: Well, there are a lot of cliffs on this island, John.
Locke: Alright, but I think we should agree, Jack, that if either of us need to open this door, we consult each other first.
Jack: Absolutely.
Locke: Right 7, left 33, right 18. You need to write it down?
Jack: Nope. I got it.
Locke: Alright. And Jack, you may want to consider lockin’ the medicine in here too.
Jack: Why would I need to do that?

"Even made Locke take a swing at ya! Hell, that’s like getting’ Ghandi to beat his kids!"
- Sawyer to Charlie

"Yeah, well, guess me and the doc are on the outs. One less Christmas card I’ll have to send this year."
- Sawyer to Kate

Kate: [gives ‘Elegant’ woman’s magazine] Maybe that’ll cheer you up. It’s from the hatch. I know you’re hard up for reading material.
Sawyer: Well, as much as I’d like to learn to feather my hair…

Ana: I got a couple more people interested in joining up.
Jack: Yeah, who?
Ana: Uh, the big guy who lives behind Sayid, and Scott.
Jack: You mean Steve. Scott’s dead.

Jack: [enters hatch control room] What are you doing here?
Sawyer: One second. I’m just this close to the high score on Donkey Kong.

"There’s a new sheriff in town, boys! Y’all best get used to it."
- Sawyer

2.12 Fire + Water

In a dream, Charlie gets a piano for Christmas, a reward for his musical talent, and his mother sees him as the ticket to get her family to a higher rung. Charlie’s butcher father thinks he should learn a trade. Cut to Charlie playing piano on the beach, where he stops when he hears Aaron’s cries coming from inside the piano. He hears the whispers of the Others and is distracted as the piano floats out to sea…

Charlie wakes up in reality. When he sees the baby gones, he panicks, but everything is okay. Charlie watches a Claire lets Locke hold the baby, and his face clouds over and gets mean.

In flashback, Charlie is at the hospital, admiring Liam and Karen’s baby, Megan. Liam didn’t make it. Charlie says it is because he was in the van with the gear and it blew a tire on the way to the airport. But Liam is back at the apartment; he supposed to be cleaning up, but instead he’s been shooting up.

Kate is helping Sawyer do his exercises, while Hurley asks Sawyer about Libby. When Jack and Ana emerge from the jungle, Sawyer said it’s the third time he has seen them together, and wonders what they’re doing out there.

Charlie is playing guitar on the beach when he hear cries and sees Aaron’s pram floating far out in the ocean. No one else is around. Charlie goes in and saves Aaron, then turns and sees his mother and Claire, in a bible-like picture, their heads circled by haloes. They tell him the baby is in danger and he has to save him. Hurley shows up and asks Charlie what he is doing. It is the middle of the night, and Charlie has stolen the baby and is standing near the ocean. Claire wakes up and finds the baby missing at this point, and she and most of the other survivors run to the surf and find Charlie, who has no explanation for his behavior. Claire slaps Charlie hard in the middle of his pointless explanation.

Sawyer tries to encourage Hurley to make a move with Libby, even going so far as to call her name, then duck into his tent, so that she thinks Hurley said hello to her.

Deep in the jungle, Charlie spies on Locke as he emerges from the hatch. When Charlie asks Locke to put in a good word for him with Claire, Locke retorts by asking Charlie if he is using again. Charlie gets agitated, complaining that many others have had weird experiences (like Kate seeing the horse) but they never get accused of using. Charlie tells Locke that all of the statues were burned.

In flashback, Liam is in such a trashed state that he ruins the chance for Driveshaft to make some easy money doing a nappies ad.

Libby and Hurley are doing laundry together. Libby seems to be flirting, especially when she tries on a sexy top behind Hurley’s back. Just before that, Hurley studies her face and asks her if he knows her from somewhere other than the plane.

Eko is marking trees. Charlie worries about his sanity and tells Eko about his dreams. Eko thinks the dreams may mean something – he tells Charlie that the baby needs to be baptized. An agitated Charlie rushes to Claire and gets his message across, even while being forcefully detained by Kate. Locke looks on inscrutably.

Jack brings Ana a tarp for her structure. Ana wants to know if he is ‘hittin’ that’, meaning Kate. Jack denies it.

Charlie returns to his statue stash and takes one out. He holds the bags in his hand and flashes back to an evening at the piano, when, while composing a song, Liam shows up after being kicked out by Karen. Karen felt Liam is dangerous because he dropped Megan. Charlie’s new song sounds good and Liam wants to write all night, just like the old days – but first he wants to shoot up.

Charlie continues to stare at the two bags of H as Locke shows up. Locke steps in, takes all the statues, and ignores Charlie’s statements that he was simply testing himself. Charlie pleads with Locke to hide this incident from Claire; for the sake of the baby’s safety, Charlie believes Claire must trust him again. Locke simply walks away.

On the beach, Claire asks Locke if she and Aaron can sleep in the hatch, but Locke says it isn’t a good place for a baby to sleep since the loud alarm goes off every 90 minutes. Locke suggest that he move his stuff down and camp next to her for a few nights, and she likes that idea. Next, Claire asks Locke what he knows about baptism.

Someone is in the jungle at night, gathering moss and sticks for a fire. Charlie emerges from the jungle nearby and ignores Sayid’s request for help with a structure. Moments later, Sayid sees the fire growing in size and approaching the camping area. Sayid sounds the alarm and almost everyone heads over to help with containers of water. Locke tells Claire to stay with Aaron. Everyone is at the fire, and Claire is watching, and Charlie is just behind her, undetected.

In flashback, Charlie returns to the apartment to find that Liam has sold his piano and used the money to pay to take his family to Sydney, where a rehab clinic and a job awaits. Charlie is abandoned, wondering about his own family or lack thereof.

Charlie steals the baby and takes it to the surf’s edge to baptize it. Claire, Locke, and the other arrive and manage to convince him to give the baby back. As soon as the baby is safe, Locke unloads on him with a flurry of punches to the face.

In the morning, Jack examines Charlie on the beach, treats him, and tells him he needs stitches. Charlie admits to starting the fire. Jack wants a pledge that Charlie will never do something like that again. Charlie wants to talk about not using foremost, but he also promises.

Eko examines the fire scene. Claire asks Eko if he is a priest and talks about baptism.

Locke changes the combination on the gun locker. Eko baptizes Claire and Aaron, so they can be together if something happens.

Locke stores the Virgin Mary statues on a high shelf in the gun locker.

At night, Charlie sits alone by the fire, stares intently, and slowly raises the hood on his jacket: the moth returning to his coccoon.

Comments

This episode starts with flashbacks of Charlie from past episodes. Thinking about his lies concerning the Virgin Mary statues, a nut of an idea was rekindled in my head. What if Charlie is lieing about more than just that? How trustworthy is he? When he killed Ethan, was he protecting Claire or protecting his new-found allegiance in the Others society?

Hurley calls the other survivors ‘Tailies’.

Nits

Where did Jack get that nicely folded tarp from? Do they carry a lot of tarps on the plane?

Memorable Moments

• Claire, Hurley, and Charlie’s mom as biblical characters

• Good prosthetics as Jack sews up Charlie’s facial wound

Quotable Quotes

"There isn’t any danger, Claire. Charlie just feels like he has to save the baby, ‘cause he can’t save himself."
- Locke

Eko: Do you know what baptism is?
Claire: It's what gets you into heaven.
Eko: It is said that when John the Baptist baptized Jesus the skies opened up and a dove flew down from the sky. This told John something: that he had cleansed this man of all his sins. That he had freed him. Heaven came much later.

2.11 The Hunting Party

In flashback, Jack and his father are speaking to a man and his daughter/interpreter. The man has a seemingly inoperable tumor on his spine. Jack’s father says there is no point in trying to operate, but the man wants Jack to do the operation. He has heard about the miracle operation Jack performed on Sarah and believes he could do it again. Jack agrees; his father stalks away angrily.

Jack awakens suddenly from a dream. He is in the hatch. No one is at the console. He hears a low moan and finds Locke unconscious on the floor of the gun locker. A crazed Michael points his rifle at Jack, refuses Jack’s offer to come with, and locks Jack in the gun locker. They are both on shift, and if no one shows up accidentally, the timer will expire.

On the beach, Sawyer is sleeping by his tent at sunrise. Kate wakes him up by hitting him with a banana and reminds him he needs to get his bandages changed. At the hatch, they free Locke and Jack from the gun locker. Jack tells Locke they are going after Michael, and Sawyer joins in, with everyone packing a firearm.

In flashback, Jack is examining his patient and explaining his tests to the daughter, Gabriella. She says she does not believe in miracles. Jack has become so engrossed in his work that he didn’t realize it was 4.30am. He heads home to Sarah. She tells him that she had a pregnancy test that was negative. Jacks asks if she wants to talk about it, but she puts him off. There seems to be much unexplained sadness between them.

Locke finds the start of Michael’s track, or at least he thinks so. Kate helps, and wants to come, but Jack insists she stay, which doesn’t make her very happy. The guys figure out that Michael is not heading east, back where he came from, but rather north, to a new place. When Jin overhears that Michael left to pursue Walt, he packs up immediately and heads out. Sun tells Jin that he cannot go, because it would put her through the same pain and fear she felt when he was on the raft. Jin caves and drops his pack.

Locke wonders how Jack is going to bring Michael back, or to tell anyone what they can or can’t do.

In flashback, Gabriella is signing the papers to clear the way for the operation. Jack’s father walks in, and, after she leaves, gives Jack some quick advice about staying on the correct side of the line in doctor/patient relationships.

The three pursuers use a vine to climb a hill. Locke questions Sawyer about his alternate name, since he is James Ford on the plane manifest. When nearby gunshots ring out, Jack calls for Michael and takes off in the direction of the shots, with Locke in pursuit, yelling for caution. They find shell casings. While Locke tries to find Michael’s trail, Sawyer and Jack heatedly discuss their personal reasons for being out on this adventure.

In flashback, Jack is angry and upset that he lost the patient. His father tries to calm him down by saying that the man was old and sick. When Jack mentions that he has to tell the Gabriella, his father says that he already told her, and she is gone. She is waiting at his car, crying. She thanks Jack for trying and when he embraces her, they kiss. But Jack pulls away.

Locke has lost Michael’s trail. Jack provides a torch, but Locke says they should head back. Jack says if they go back now, they’ll never see Michael again. At that moment, a shadowy figure appears a short distance away and says Jack is right, but that they should listen to Locke and head back. Sawyer recognizes the guy and says he’s the one who shot him on the raft. But when Sawyer tries to shoot him, someone shoots Sawyer in the hand. The man tells Locke to build a fire so they can all ‘talk’.

Hurley and Charlie are spinning some obscure vinyl in the hatch while Hurley asks Charlie about Libby. Hurley thinks he has a chance with her. When Sayid shows up, Hurley says that ‘everyone’ has gone after Michael. And he tells Sayid that Kate went too.

The bearded man says no one is going to hurt Jack, or Walt. He says the source of the problem is that the Others believe this is their island, and they are unhappy that someone has shown up and taken their stuff (which is anything on the island) without permission. When Jack says that he thinks the man has only one backup, the man tells the Others to ‘light up’, and about 20 torches light in circle around Jack, Locke, and Sawyer. The man says that they should give up their guns and head home. When Jack refuses, the man brings out Kate, bound and captured. He holds a gun to her throat and makes the same demand. Jack caves in, the guns are dropped, and Kate is returned to them. The man takes and guns and backs away.

In the morning, Jin and Sun sit on the beach. Jin says ‘they’ (Jack and group) are not back yet. He says he does not like being told what to do. Sun says that was her life for your years. Jin sees her point, and a peace is made between them.

Kate explains she was just trying to help Jack. Kate apologizes, as does Jack, although it is unclear what he is apologizing for.

In flashback, Jack gets home and tells Sarah that his patient died. He also tells her that he kissed Gabriella. He wants to work things out, but Sarah says she is leaving, that she has been seeing someone else.

Back at camp, Kate worries about Jack’s opinion of her. Sawyer says he would have done the same thing. Jack touches base with Ana. Jack asks if she killed one of the Others, and she confirms it. Jack asks how long it would take Ana to train an army.

Comments

I hope the show isn’t going to become a simple ‘us against them’ situation. There isn’t much we can like about the Others, and I’m pretty sure we’re not going to be getting backstories of the bearded man (although perhaps we are).

Jack thinks that Sawyer loves Kate because of the words he muttered in his fever. But in reality, if we are to believe in the strange happenings on the island, that statement of love was delivered by Kate’s step-dad, Wayne.

Quotable Quotes

Jack: Hey! What’re you doing?
Sawyer: I’m coming with ya.
Jack: You’re still on antibiotics.
Sawyer: Good thing I’m traveling with my doctor, then.

Jack’s father: Carefull. There’s a line, son – you know it’s there. And pretending it’s not – that would be a mistake.
Jack: Guess you would know.
Jack’s father: It may be okay for some people, Jack, but not for you.

Sawyer: Sure Mike went this way?
Locke: Why do you ask?
Sawyer: Oh, I don’t know, Mr Clean. I probably would have gone around Mt Vesuvius.
Sawyer: Ain’t it obvious? All you need’s an earring and mop.

Hurley: So what do you think’s the story with that Libby chick?
Charlie: Story?
Hurley: She’s kinda cute, right? You know, in a ‘I’ve been terrorized by the Others for 40 days’ kind of way?

"See ya, James."
- Locke’s farewell to Sawyer

2.10 The 23rd Psalm

In flashback, African children are playing soccer when they are interrupted by heavily armed thieves. They try to force a young boy to kill an old man, but when he hesitates, another, larger boy jumps in and kills the man, presumably to save the younger boy from doing it. His name is Eko, and his action endears him to the thief, who takes him into the gang, believing he is a born killer.

As Eko scratches scripture-related keywords into his stick handle, Claire stops by to introduce herself and her biblically named baby Aaron. Claire mentions that Charlie is also religious and carries around a statue of the Virgin Mary. Eko obviously suspects what this statue holds and asks to see it. Claire brings it out and Eko shatters it, revealing the heroin within. He asks none too politely for the location of Charlie.

Michael is watching Locke change the combination to the gun locker (because of the new people in the group. Locke knows that Michael is there because he wants some hardware.

Charlie is net-fishing with Jin when Eko walks up purposefully and demands that Charlie take him to where he found the statue. Charlie complies.

In flashback, Eko is now an adult and is the leader of a drug-dealing gang. He buys a large quantity of heroin and kills the man he is dealing with because the man says he has no soul.

Claire thinks that Charlie is using. He says he is not, and he also says that he didn’t know that there was heroin in the statue.

Locke is teaching Michael how to shoot a rifle.

Charlie leads Eko to a anonymous tree and tells Eko that he found the statue there, but Eko pins him to the tree and tells him to take him to the plane. Eko also wants to know why Charlie lied about not knowing what was in the statue. Charlie gets angry and demands to be treated with respect. Their conflict is interrupted when Eko sees a large trail of black smoke moving beneath the trees.

In flashback, Eko visits his priest brother. His brother was the little boy that Eko saved long ago by shooting the old man. Eko is there to buy Virgin Mary statues to transport the heroin out of the country. Eko makes it sound like he is doing his brother a favor, but his brother refuses to get involved.

Kate is cutting Sawyer’s hair while Hurley and even Michael tell him they are glad he is okay. Sawyer isn’t used to being loved, and he looks pretty uncomfortable about it. Michael asks Kate if he can take her shift at the hatch, but still hasn’t told anyone about his communication with Walt.

Charlie is explaining how he got addicted and how he didn’t need what was in the statue when Eko sees a parachute in a tree. He finds the body of a man wearing priest’s clothers and tells Charlie that the man saved his life.

In flashback, Eko storms into church, rips open the confessional curtain, and demands to talk to his brother. He asks to be made a priest so he can fly the drugs out. Again, his brother refuses. Eko says he would never hurt his brother, but that his two bodyguards will burn the church to the ground. With no choice, his brother gives in, and gets a load of money for polio vaccines.

Charlie is lost. Eko insists that he climb a tree to get his bearings. While Charlie is high in the tree, Eko is approached by the smoke. Eko refuses to run, and insteads stands ‘face-to face’ with the plume. It seemingly studies him, and then moves away.

Charlie did see the plane, about a kilometre away. Eko heads in that direction, followed by Charlie.

Michael is on shift at the computer, typing to Walt, who says he is okay. When Jack comes in, Michael acts as if nothing is going on.

Charlie and Eko reach the plane.

In flashback, Eko is loading that same plane when his brother shows up, with the military and tells Eko to leave and come back with him. A firefight breaks out and Eko’s brother is shot. He is loaded onto the plane, but one of the henchmen pushes Eko off, leaving him to deal with the soldiers.

Eko examines the remains of the plane, finds his brother’s body, and weaps.

The soldiers see Eko dressed as a priest and assume he is one.

Eko tells Charlie that his brother is the dead man. He gives Charlie a replacement statue, douses his brother’s body with petrol, and lights it aflame. Charlie and Eko stand together; Eko dons his brother’s crucifix and tells Charlie that he is a priest. As Eko recites scripture, we see Jin and Sun visiting Ana and bringing her gifts; Hurley helps Libby erect a shelter; Sawyer admires his haircut and plays with Kate; Jack brings Sawyer his medicine.

Claire tells Charlie that she doesn’t want him anywhere near her or the baby, so Charlie leaves. Deep in the jungle, in a camouflaged hole, Charlie gazes at his statue, then places it back in the hole, where it huddles with the other 8 or so statues that he is hoarding.

Comments

It appears that Eko became the priest that he was pretending to be.

It’s unclear what Charlie is doing. Is he doing a ‘Ghandi’ (sleeping with virgins) type of thing – tempting himself to see if he can resist?

Quotable Quotes

Eko: I guess we are both sinners now.
Eko’s brother: Perhaps we are. But god will forgive me, Eko.

Eko: Climb that tree.
Charlie: What?
Eko: Climb that tree, and perhaps you’ll be able to get your bearings, or see the plane.
Charlie: You climb it! What if I don’t? You’re gonna beat me with your Jesus stick? I find it a little odd that your scripture stick has dried blood on it.
Eko: Are you going to climb that tree, or not?
Charlie: [gets ready to climb tree] What kind of priest are you, anyway?

Charlie: So are you a priest, or aren’t you?
Eko: Yes, I am. The lord is my shepherd. I shall not want…