LOST: It Wasn't Purgatory, Season 3, Episode 4, Every Man for Himself

On-Island Events: 

Survivors: Desmond offers to fix Claire's roof and she declines. He sets up a long metallic rod with wires just outside of Claire's tent, and moments later, lightning strikes it.

Others: Jack is still being held in the underwater cell; just as he was challenging Juliet about who makes decisions on the island, Ben bursts in and tells Juliet he needs her. In the cages, Sawyer and Kate witness Ben and Juliet come running to save the recently-shot-by-Sun Colleen. Sawyer hatches a plan to electrocute Danny Pickett when he comes back. Sawyer tries the plan out on Ben, but fails when Ben anticipates his trick. Ben later brings Sawyer into one of the Hydra rooms and appears to arrange some sort of medical procedure with a needle to the heart. He produces a cage with a white rabbit inside and shakes it, apparently to death. Ben explains the rabbit had been implanted with a pacemaker programmed to explode at a certain elevated heart rate, adding that they'd implanted Sawyer with the same device. 

When Sawyer received his "pacemaker," the intercom in Jack's room switched on and he hears Sawyer struggle. Soon, Juliet bursts in and begs for Jack's help. The group of others place a bag over Jack's head and lead him to a surgical suite where Juliet attempted to repair Colleen's injuries. Jack tries to stop Colleen's bleeding but she dies. In anger, Pickett assaults Sawyer in his cage; Kate pleads for him stop, and when pressed, admits she loves Sawyer. Later, when Kate tries to break them both out of their cages, Sawyer refuses to escape. Both cages are revealed to be under video surveillance, observed by Ben.

Jack refuses to console Juliet about Colleen's death, but instead insists she tell him about an X-ray he noticed on his way into the operating room. He assumes he was meant to see the scan, as it showed a significant spinal tumor. 

Ben brings Sawyer to the top of a hill and informs him the pacemaker was a hoax. However, Sawyer learns that the island he, Kate, and Jack have been on is a smaller, separate island from the one on which they originally crashed. 

Flashbacks: In prison, Sawyer observes a new inmate named Munson being beaten by other inmates. He learns that Munson embezzled ten million dollars from the government and believes the prison warden is involved in trying to claim it. 

Cassidy, the woman Sawyer conned, visits him with a picture of an infant. She tells Sawyer the baby is his daughter, Clementine; Sawyer denies the child is his. Munson finds Sawyer and begs for his help in hiding the money he stole from the government. Sawyer betrays Munson, informs the warden where to find the money, and as a result, gets his sentence commuted. He arranges to have an account created for "Clementine Phillips," under the condition that she never learn who provided the funds. 

Greater Meaning: Sawyer keeps repeating "every man for himself," but through his flashbacks we learn this has been a go-to defense for quite a while, despite intense emotions that may be contrary to his actions. Strange that an imprisoned con man would take his cut of  money recovered from Munson's theft, and give it wholly to the daughter he refuses to acknowledge. 

So we know, now, that Sawyer is capable of love and compassion, and it's clear that he has these feelings for Kate as he chooses her safety over his own. The question of what they're doing on the second island remains to be seen, as they only seemed to be on rock duty for the one or so days. If Ben plans to let Danny kill Sawyer, as he admitted in the surveillance room, breaking the rocks must not be all that important. Or was Sawyer only brought along in order to influence Kate? They seemed to have much more invested in her experience (clothes, special meeting with Ben, potential favor with Jack) than in Sawyer's, which tracks in consideration of the pacemaker scam to keep him in line.

Further Questions: 

1. Whose tumor is on the scans? 

2. Are Kate and Sawyer dating now? 

3. What happened to Cassidy and Clementine? 

4. Will Jack, Kate, and Sawyer ever get off the second island? 

5. Why does Ben always do such stupid shit to trick people? 

6. Is Desmond psychic? 

LOST: It Wasn't Purgatory, Season 3, Episode 2, The Glass Ballerina

On-Island Events: 

Others: Jack is still being held in the underwater cell; Juliet delivers soup to him. Ben is visited by Colleen who reports that Sayid found the decoy village and has a boat. Ben tells her to assemble at team to acquire the boat. Sawyer and Kate are made to dig and haul rocks, supervised by Juliet and Colleen's husband, Danny. Sawyer breaks rank to kiss Kate; later he admits to her his name is James. Ben visits Jack and introduces himself as Benjamin Linus; Jack refuses to shake his hand. In an attempt to prove to Jack that he has the power to send him home, Ben shows him a video of the Red Sox winning the world series of 2004.

Survivors: Jin, Sun, and Sayid are on Desmond's boat as they were at the end of the second season; Jin does not want to continue searching for Jack but Sun assures Sayid she knows enough about sailing to help him keep going. Sayid builds a large fire, which he claims is to signal Jack, but Sun suspects otherwise. Soon Jin realizes that Sun has conspired with Sayid to trap the others and that he needs to defend them when they show up. As Sayid and Jin wait on the shore, Sun waits on the boat where she encounters Colleen. Sun shoots Colleen in defense and the others on deck return fire; Sun manages to escape but the others steal Desmond's boat. 

Flashbacks: Young Sun knocks a glass ballerina onto the floor and blames the family maid for it, even knowing this will cause her father to fire the woman. 

Sun is in bed with Jae, the man she was previously matched with (. . . And Found) and who became her English tutor (The Whole Truth). He presents her with a pearl necklace and implores her to come with him to America. Suddenly, Sun's father bursts into the room, seeing them. Later Jin comes home and blames Sun for the terrible things her father makes him do. He storms off to "deliver a message," presumably to one of Mr. Paik's adversaries but it is Jae. Jin is unable to kill him but demands he leave the country; Jae hurls himself off the building and lands on Jin's car.

Greater Meaning: As this episode focuses on Sun and the various ways she has kept the truth hidden in her life, we learn that she is actually quite skilled in looking after her own self-interests. She feared her father enough to allow a maid's dismissal over the glass ballerina lie; she feared both her father and Jin's reaction to the discovery of her affair with Jae yet went ahead with it anyway. Jae ends up being sacrificed just as the maid was. Sun does not suffer any personal consequences and is free to live her unhappy life but as long as she remains in Korea, she will still be under her father's thumb. The fact that she chooses not to save herself but supports Sayid in continuing the hunt for Sawyer, Kate, and Jack suggests that she sees them as more than just co-survivors, she cares enough to risk her life and safety to help them. The stand-off with Colleen is another example of how Sun is more capable than most people have credited; being away from her father has clearly produced some positive changes in her life.

This is a small part of the episode, taking up only the last few minutes, but Ben's interest in Jack is specific and peculiar. All this effort to win Jack's trust is focused on letting him go home, but why? Jack will likely not leave without his friends, which Ben has doing manual labor with rocks, and Ben's discussion with Juliet and Colleen suggests that they do not want to be found by any of the other survivors. So why exactly are they keeping Jack if they have the ability to send him home? Similarly, why did Michael and Walt have to fight so hard to leave? What are the others even doing?

Further Questions: 

1. What is the beef between Juliet and Colleen? 

2. What is the purpose of "the decoy village?" 

3. Is it possible that Jae impregnated Sun before the crash?

4. Will Ben let Jack off the island? 

5. Is Ben obsessed with Juliet?

6. Will Sun and Jin's marriage survive the island?

LOST: It Wasn't Purgatory, Season 3, Episode 1, A Tale of Two Cities

On-Island Events: 

Others: A blond woman (Juliet) looks into the mirror and listens to Petula Clark's "Downtown," and cries; moments later during her book club group the house begins to shake. As she and her guests hurry outside they encounter "Henry Gale," dressed as they are in clean, contemporary clothing. They look up at the sky to see Oceanic 815 fly over and then break in two pieces. Goodwin and Ethan come running and are instructed to hurry to the respective landing places. After the two men depart, "Henry" looks down at Juliet's book and laments that he's out of the book club, ID-ing him as "Ben," the man another book clubber earlier stated who wouldn't read Juliet's pick, Carrie, in the bathroom. 

Survivors: Jack, Kate, and Sawyer awaken in three different confined areas: Jack a dark glass enclosure, Kate a locker room, and Sawyer an outdoor cage across from a teenage boy. In his cage, Sawyer sees a red button and pushes it twice, but when he ignores the boy's advice not to push it a third time, gets electrocuted. The boy escapes from his cage and unlocks Sawyer's to let him out but Juliet shocks Sawyer. Later, Sawyer discovers a certain combination of button-pushing earns him a fish biscuit from a feeding slot in the cage. 

Kate meets Ben, who provides a fancy breakfast on the beach and tells her the next two weeks will be very unpleasant. Later, Kate is returned to the cage adjacent to Sawyer's.

Jack meets Juliet as he's trying to dismantle the chains in his room; Jack thinks he hears Christian's voice through an intercom but Juliet insists it hasn't worked in years. Jack tells Juliet a series of lies about who he is and what he does but is honest about Christian's death. As Juliet delivers a tray of lunch for him, Jack charges her and insists she let him go. He ends up opening a door that floods the area. Juliet explains to Jack she is not part of the Dharma Initiative, but that he is being held in one of their stations (the Hydra), underwater. She reads to him from a file of information and knows everything about Jack. After Jack asks after his ex-wife, Sarah, and is told she is happy, Jack allows Juliet to bring him dinner. 

Flashbacks: Jack watches Sarah outside a school building conversing excitedly with another man, in the next scene they are meeting at a divorce hearing. Jack confronts Christian after he finds out his number is in Sarah's phone and later confronts him at an AA meeting. Jack is arrested; Sarah pays his bail after Christian, no longer sober, told her about the confrontation. Jack sees Sarah's new love interest and cries about what he has done to Christian.

Greater Meaning: Juliet is a new character, one that apparently works with Ben-formerly-Henry, does his bidding ("Good job, Juliet,") but selected a book Ben decidedly doesn't like for book club and is allowed to fend for herself when Jack opens the flood door. There seems to be a bit drama in this relationship, one wonders how and why. 

Kate is the only survivor given a sit-down with Ben; her word choices of Sawyer first, Jack second are noticed twice. Chances are good she's more worried about Sawyer's fate as he had been seriously injured and just recently recovered, but possibly for deeper reasons. She admitted to Sawyer, unconscious, that she associates her feelings for him with her feelings for Wayne, her abusive father, and despite also having feelings for Jack, there seems to be a slight inferiority complex between them ("I'm sorry I'm not as good as you!") Sawyer and Kate are being held prisoner very close to each other; Jack is underground. Whatever Ben has planned, it seems Kate and Sawyer for whatever reason, need to be separated from Jack. 

The title of the episode, "A Tale of Two Cities," might refer to Jack being separated from the other two, or could also be a reference to Ben's people, who live in a functioning, upscale community on the island where the Oceanic 815 survivors have very different experiences and quality of life. 

Further Questions: 

1. Who is Ben? 

2. Why is there drama between Ben and Juliet? 

3. What will happen to Jack?

4. Is Hugo okay on his own? 

5. Will Sawyer and Kate escape? 

LOST: It Wasn't Purgatory, Thoughts on Season 2

Did everyone just forget about being rescued? 

Bernard didn't of course, he tried to build an SOS signal out of rock but was quickly redirected by Rose's reveal in regard to the island's influence on her health. Claire and Aaron seemed to be nicely settled on the beach with a number of fellow survivors to watch out for them; Sun and Jin are preparing for the challenges of parenthood; Eko started to build a church! Jack and Locke, as always, are in different places, but the events of the second season reveal just how wrong they've both been, all along. 

Jack versus Locke versus The Island versus The Others

As Jack is busy doctoring and leading, making decisions for the group, he doesn't often get the chance to actually see the island for what it is (which can't really be defined, anyway), and this is not the case with Locke. Because he's been personally affected in a way that leaves no room for interpretation --- before island: paralyzed, after island: able to walk --- Locke is prepared for the island's mysterious abilities, and seeks them out, even. Of course Locke has never had any interest in being rescued, like Rose, he can appreciate the gift the island has bestowed upon him, but the island doesn't just let him off easy simply because he believes in it, either. Locke is put to the test in this season, being made to earn his gift, earn his knowledge, and his faith in the island. He initially believes that pushing the button inside the hatch was important, but after finding the underground question mark hatch (Pearl Station) he questions everything he's done since landing on the island. 

Locke was invested in the Henry Gale situation, first by colluding with Sayid to interrogate him, then after the lockdown when Henry helped him, and again when Henry claimed the reason he got captured was that he was coming for Locke, "one of the good ones." Whatever Henry's intentions, he seems to be just as invested in Locke, if only for reasons of manipulation or playing him against Jack. After Sayid, Charlie, and Ana Lucia discover the truth about the balloon, it's clear that Henry has been lying about everything, which is further confirmed when Michael kills Ana Lucia and Libby in order to free him. After Jack, Sawyer, Kate, and Hugo are kidnapped, Henry is in charge of it.

Tail Section, Henry's Pretenders, The DI

Early in the season after the thwarted raft launch, Jin meets who he believes to be the others but who are really just survivors from the tail section. Henry's others are revealed to be the group who abducted Claire to the medical station (where Kate found the fake beard and other costumes) and later took Walt off the raft. Why did they take Walt in the first place, and why did they put Jack, Kate, Sawyer, and Hugo on the list to be taken only to release Hugo from the dock? After Michael asks who they are, Henry replies that they are the "good guys," but Henry's manipulation of Locke, physical assault on Ana Lucia, abduction of children and pack of lies in general seem to indicate the opposite. 

The Dharma Initiative is yet another division of "others," and though Desmond was trained by Inman and not a member himself, he and the orientation videos are the only link we have to this group. The completeness of the Swan Station (kitchen, bathroom, exercise equipment, and food stores) seems an amazing bit of good fortune to just be existing on its own in the middle of the jungle, especially considering the style of the others' clothing and the low quality of the huts where Walt was kept. Henry didn't seem ravenously hungry when they brought him to the hatch and his clothing was traditional for a middle-aged man, confirming as Kate suggested that they were "acting." Why are they taking such trouble to convince the survivors that they live so simply? The discovery of the tail-section at the Arrow station, Claire's stay at the medical station, and the strangeness of Pearl station (notebooks that go no where and a screen showing the man with the eye patch) imply a strong presence throughout the island. 

Magic?

Shannon saw Walt twice after the raft departed; after the others took him, Ms. Klugh asked Michael if Walt had ever appeared somewhere he wasn't supposed to be. Was this phenomenon the island's work or Walt's? During the first season, John Locke took a special interest in Walt, and Michael's relationship with his son though strained at first, became more stable with Locke's help. Brian, Walt's stepfather, claimed there was something "different" about him, but what? If there has always been this special element to Walt, the island seems to have intensified it. It makes sense to assume that the others take all children that come to the island (Rousseau's daughter Alex, Emma and Zach from the tail section, Aaron, in attempting to induce his birth, and now Walt) but did they know about Walt's specialness or was it discovered during the tests they made him do? As far as we know, Walt is the only child that has this magical quality about him. 

Live Together, Die Alone, part 2

Live Together, Die Alone, part 1

Three Minutes

?

Two for the Road

S.O.S.

Dave

Lockdown

The Whole Truth

Maternity Leave

One of Them

The Long Con

Fire + Water

The Hunting Party

The Twenty-Third Psalm

What Kate Did

Collision

The Other 48 Days

Abandoned

. . . and Found

Everybody Hates Hugo

Orientation

Adrift 

Man of Science, Man of Faith 

LOST: It Wasn't Purgatory, Season 2, Episode 24, Live Together, Die Alone part 2

On-Island Events: Charlie brings Eko the hidden dynamite, which Eko brings to the hatch. Eko pleads with Locke to let him into the computer room; Locke refuses and Desmond assures him the blast doors are strong enough to withstand a dynamite blast. Eko eventually lights the fuse but the blast doors do not open. Desmond talks with Locke about his beliefs; Locke tells Desmond about the night he found the hatch in the jungle just after Boone's death. In explaining what he found in the Pearl Station, Locke inadvertently causes Desmond to reevaluate his position on not pushing the button. Desmond looks through the sheets of entered numbers printed out from the Pearl Station and determines that one of his late entries resulting in a "system failure" warning may have also caused Oceanic Flight 815 to crash.

Desmond demands that the button be pushed; Locke seizes the computer and throws it on the floor, ruining it. Desmond opens the blast doors, finds Inman's key and attempts to execute the failsafe procedure as the numbers count down. Desmond tells Locke his pounding outside the hatch after Boone's death saved his life so that Desmond could save Locke's. The numbers count down to zero, the hieroglyphics seen before in red and black flip down, and the metal objects inside the hatch begin flying toward the hatch walls. Eko helps move Charlie out of the hatch but refuses to leave without Locke, who is terrified but admits he was wrong. Desmond, remembering the words of Penelope's letter, flips the key inside the Dharma octagonal
switchpiece marked "System Termination." 

Jack, Hugo, Kate, Sawyer, and Michael see Sayid's smoke signal a few miles inland and begin to argue about where Michael has been leading them but are taken down by tranquilizer darts and transported to a dock near the shore. The bearded man appears with several others; Kate tells him she knows his beard is fake and he removes it. "Henry" pulls up to the dock in a boat, and just as he begins to talk to Michael, a loud buzzing occurs and the sky becomes purple. "Henry" explains Michael can take the boat following a compass bearing of 325 and he will be able to find rescue with his son. He adds that once Michael leaves, he'll never be able to get back to the island. Michael finds Walt inside the boat, the two embrace and depart. Miss Klugh tells Hugo to return to camp and to tell the rest of the survivors they can never come to this area. Hugo asks about his friends; "Henry" announces they are coming home with them. As the others put a cloth bag over Sawyer's face Kate looks worriedly at Jack, who tries to smile back at her. 

Flashbacks: Desmond watches Inman augment the map on the blast door, which he explains was started by a man named Radzinsky. When Desmond asks what became of Radzinsky, Inman shows him a mark on the ceiling, a stain from Radzinsky's suicide. Desmond begs Inman to allow him out of the hatch, stating he's been locked inside for two years, but Inman refuses. Later, Desmond finds Inman drunk, hiding a Dharma Initiative key which he says is a "failsafe," which fits into an octagonal switchpiece. He further explains that pushing the button releases a buildup of electromagnetic energy that has been leaking out of the area under the hatch, which is why someone always needs to be there, "saving the world."

The next day Desmond follows Inman outside back to his sailboat, which Inman has been secretly repairing. The two struggle and Desmond accidentally kills Inman. Desperate and suicidal, Desmond finds a gun and grabs his special Dickens book, Our Mutual Friend (which as explained in Live Together, Die Alone part 1, he has saved to read just before he dies). Inside it is a letter from Penelope; Desmond reads it and cries. Moments later, Locke (who, after fleeing the caves after Boone's accident, is up above pounding on the outer hatch door) surprises Desmond. He then switches on the light that will convince Locke the island has given him a sign.

Greater Meaning: Locke is proven wrong in his thinking that none of his actions had meaning when the hatch begins to dangerously hyper-magnetize. The button indeed needing pushing, but what does its legitimacy say about the Pearl Station and the Dharma Initiative? Of course Locke was right in feeling manipulated (and we saw the field of pneumatic tubes filled with notebooks, for what, exactly?) If their experiments were to spy on whoever was in the hatch tasked with pushing the button, and if they were just going to throw away the notebooks of observations, then it does seem like it was all pointless, unless the Pearl Station itself was the subject of the experiment, NOT the hatch. Would the subjects do as they were told? Was there anything to be learned about the people in the hatch? Was it an elaborate monitoring system in case (as with Kelvin, Desmond, and eventually Locke) the button-pushers decided to mutiny or abandon their posts? Were the duties in the Pearl Station meant for some sort of punishment? Were potential members vetted there? Philosophically, the experiment seems to examine how men respond to their orders, whether or not they question them, and how they deal with unknowns. 

Given what we've seen of the island's special abilities, one wonders if the Dharma Initiative factored in any policy or procedures for things like the monster (which we haven't heard from in a while), the mysterious healing properties, or any additional unknowns. Finally explained was the "Quarantine" warning on the outer hatch door; Kelvin tried to sell Desmond on it not being safe outside of the hatch but ended up admitting it was a lie when he was caught trying to leave with Desmond's boat. Kelvin and Desmond, though they both performed the same duty, are different. Kelvin stated he willingly left the armed forces to join the Dharma Initiative; Desmond (like the survivors of Oceanic Flight 815) crashed onto the island by accident. When Locke mentions the printed logs of the numbers, Desmond works out that he, by entering the numbers in late, caused the crash by verifying the time and date. Later, as Desmond prepares to kill himself, Locke pounds and shouts outside the hatch and prevents the suicide from happening. Were both men destined to save each other? Locke's importance on the island has thus been connected with his faith and appreciation for nature in contrast to Jack's skepticism and devotion to science, how is Desmond important, and where does he lie on the faith/science spectrum? If unaffiliated with either, is he the link between Locke and Jack?

Further Questions: 

1. What will the others do with Sawyer, Kate, and Jack?

2. What is the reason for the costumes? 

3. Will Michael and Walt make it back home?

4. What is "Henry's" real name? 

5. What will become of the hatch?

6. Will Locke get his faith back now?

7. How did the explosion of the hatch affect the island?

LOST: It Wasn't Purgatory, Season 2, Episode 23, Live Together, Die Alone part 1

On-Island Events: Jack, Sawyer, and Sayid swim out to the boat just offshore from their beach. Once aboard gunshots ring out at them from below its galley and they discover Desmond, apparently inebriated, is the shooter. They bring him back to the beach and Desmond explains that he couldn't leave the island. Sayid suggests that he use Desmond's boat to meet Jack and the rest of the group as a surprise attack when they return to the others' camp; Jack agrees. As they make their way through the jungle Kate discovers two others tracking them. A shootout happens and one other is killed. Jack informs the group that Michael has been turned and forces him to confess his betrayal to the group. Michael admits his role everything and apologizes for killing Ana Lucia and Libby. Hugo wants to return but Jack insists they carry on, stating he has a plan.

When Sayid asks Desmond to borrow the boat for a trip northward, Desmond asks if he's headed to see "the hostiles." Desmond refuses to sail Sayid, but Jin has sailing experience and is willing to accompany him. They set out with Sun along the island's coast and are confused when they happen across a four-toed statue of a foot. 

Locke demands that Eko stop pushing the button in the hatch; Eko refuses and pushes Locke out. Later Locke finds Desmond drinking on the beach and shares the contents of the pearl station's orientation video with him. Desmond lures Eko out of the computer room inside the hatch and forces the blast doors down so he and Locke can wait for the countdown to run out. Eko runs to the beach and asks for Charlie's help in getting back into the hatch. 

Flashbacks: A short-haired Desmond receives a collection of possessions, including a Dickens novel (Our Mutual Friend) which he says he'll read just before he dies, at the conclusion of having served time in jail. He is met by a gentleman who presents him with a box full of letters addressed to Penelope Widmore, his daughter. The man attempts to pay Desmond to stay away from Penelope. 

Desmond is in America where he meets Libby, who pays for his coffee and offers up her late husband's boat, The Elizabeth, for Desmond's sailing race around the world. Later, Desmond meets Penelope who asks why he didn't write to her while he was in prison. He shares his plan to win Widmore's race, intending to regain his honor in doing so. Lost in a storm at sea, Desmond falls and is knocked unconscious on the boat. When he awakens, Kelvin Inman, the same man who trained Sayid to be a torturer, is standing before him in a yellow hazardous materials suit in the hatch. Inman shows Desmond the hatch's orientation video and explains the need for him to vaccinate himself.

Greater Meaning: Desmond's flashbacks reference the previously introduced connection with Jack at the stadium but now include connections with Libby and the previously unidentified Kelvin Inman, who was connected directly with Sayid and secondarily with Kate (through Sam Austen). The connections are growing with every new episode, but thus far Desmond is special for having multiple links to survivors. This again seems too important to ignore and must be for a bigger purpose than just coincidence. Obviously Desmond is not just a throwaway character. He's the person with the most knowledge about the hatch and the button, he has a sailboat (although why the boat was unable to carry him away from the island is a mystery and he seems upset about it), and now, he has these connections. We must conclude, like Locke has consistently maintained, there is a reason for this and that ultimately Desmond is important for what lies ahead. The fact that he's entertaining Locke's stop-the-button-pushing idea as a serious one says a lot about what Desmond knows (or suspects) about the island. If they stop pushing the button and nothing happens, they've all been duped, but why? Are the people Claire saw in the medical station the scientists who are conducting the psychological experiments being observed? Are they "pretending" to be scientists just as they are "pretending" to be hillbillies (as Kate stated)? If they stop pushing the button and something happens, it will be clear that Eko's faith was guiding him correctly and that Locke was wrong to doubt himself and his importance on the island. Desmond doesn't seem quite as invested in the right and wrong of it all the way Eko and Locke are, but he is interested and we are heading for a potentially explosive series of events for the season two finale.

The stealing of children from parents remains an ongoing theme in the show's narrative: first Rousseau
(Alex), then Claire (Aaron, by Rousseau then Ethan), and now Michael (Walt). The two young children from the tail section were not with their parents but were also taken. Walt tells Michael the others make him do tests; are they doing experiments on the other children? Alex seems to have joined their cause but chose to free Claire and shows a kindly concern for her, now. This only people able to fully empathize with Michael are Rousseau and Claire as none of the rest of the survivors are parents. Of course everyone continues to look to Jack for answers, but Jack is a doctor, not a father. The reactions of everyone's faces after Michael admits his terrible acts are ones of disgust; they cannot fathom Michael having chosen Walt, his own son, over other community members. This seems significant as Rousseau was unable to reclaim Alex and eventually lost her; Claire was drugged into agreeing to give the others her baby but was saved by Alex, and now Michael, after killing two people and betraying another four, is fighting to get his son back. Will he? 

Further Questions: 

1. What is Jack's plan?

2. What happened to the foot statue?

3. What will happen when the countdown completes and the button isn't pushed? 

4. What is Desmond's role in all this?

5. What happened to Kelvin Inman?

LOST: It Wasn't Purgatory, Season 2, episode 13, The Long Con

On-Island Events: Locke and Jack stock the armory with handguns, where Locke has also hidden the seven remaining Virgin Mary statues. Locke suggests Jack lock up the medications in the armory as well. As Sawyer taunts Charlie for being banished by the group, Jack ransacks Sawyer's tent to take back stolen painkillers. When Kate brings Sawyer a magazine, he requests she read to him. While discussing group happenings, Sawyer lets slip that Jack and Ana Lucia are forming an army.

Hugo attempts to engage Sayid by showing him Bernard's short wave walkie but Sayid insists he's not interested. Jack and Ana Lucia discuss safety among the group members and Sun works at creating a garden. As a rainstorm breaks out, an unseen assailant puts a dark cloth over Sun's head and injures her. Locke and Jack disagree about how to protect the group; Jack wants to employ weaponry but Locke thinks guns are too dangerous. Out in the jungle, Sawyer suggest to Kate that their own people may have attacked Sun. 

Kate confronts Jack about bestowing too much trust upon Ana Lucia. When Sun wakes up and explains how she was attacked, Jin demands a gun from Jack as Sawyer and Kate watch. Kate assumes that Ana Lucia is making a play for the guns in the armory and sends Sawyer to the hatch to warn Locke. Locke agrees that the guns should be moved and asks Sawyer to assist him.

When Jin and Jack arrive at the hatch, Sawyer is present but feigns innocence when the armory's guns are discovered to be missing. Jack confronts Locke on the beach, demanding two guns. As they argue, shots ring out and Sawyer emerges from the shadows. He lectures the group about allowing Locke and Jack to make all the rules and for stealing his stash. Going on to state that guns are the only things that matter now, Sawyer walks off with a rifle, announcing himself the "new sheriff in town."

Kate is angry about being played but suggests Sawyer did what he did because he wants to be hated. When asked why he behaves the way he does, Sawyer responds, "You run, I con. A tiger don't change its stripes." Later that evening, Sayid comes to Hugo with the short wave radio he's modified, and the two listen to orchestral music together on the beach.

Sawyer meets with his partner in crime, who happens to be Charlie. He offers him the heroin statues back, but Charlie doesn't want them. When he asks Sawyer how he came up with the idea to con everyone, Sawyer replies, "I'm not a good person, Charlie. Never did a good thing in my life." 

Flashbacks: Sawyer's attempt to con a romantic interest fails but she asks him to teach her his trade.
Using junk necklaces, Sawyer teaches the woman, who he calls "Dimples," how to run a jewelry scam. Later, Dimples voices unhappiness at doing small jobs and asks Sawyer to show her a "long con." Sawyer says they don't have money for a long con but Dimples, whose real name is Cassidy, offers the six hundred thousand dollars she's been hiding from her divorce settlement.

Sawyer meets with a man in a diner (where Diane Austin is working) and admits he has the money but is hesitant about going through with whatever deal they'd previously worked out. Sawyer eventually returns to Cassidy, very agitated, and admits that he had always known about her divorce money. "You were the long con," he tells her, but no longer. Sawyer insists he won't take her money, tells Cassidy he loves her, and sends her off to a safe place to wait for him. Sawyer ensures she's gone and then makes off with her money anyway. 

Greater Meaning: Sawyer's attraction to Kate seems legitimate, but it doesn't seem to be enough to keep him from betraying her. Through his flashbacks with Cassidy we see that he successfully acted the part of a boy in love while doing crimes with his romantic partner, but as viewers, we also were betrayed (as was Cassidy, as were the group on the beach) by believing Sawyer's sweet talk. Sawyer has shown true emotion in the past over his search for Sawyer (senior, to whom his childhood letter was addressed), Walt's being taken from the raft, Kate, whispering that he loved her to Jack during his hallucinations after being shot, and even Jack's feelings regarding Christian after describing their meet at the bar in Sydney, but overall he seems to be more strongly motivated by revenge than love or even lust. Sawyer (senior) romanced his mother and caused her death; the man on the boat stole Walt from Michael and caused the raft to come apart, thwarting Sawyer's exodus; the group violated his privacy and stole his belongings. Perhaps he senses himself becoming attached to Kate, perhaps he felt himself becoming attached to Cassidy, and he continues to manipulate and scheme in order to push the feelings or the possibility of any intimacy aside. His reply to Charlie came with a small amount of regret; his ever-present smirk and surface level self-pride seem to vanish when he admits he's not a good person. Could he become one?

Further Questions: 

1. Does Sawyer want to be hated? 

2. Will Sun find out Charlie is the one who attacked her?

3. What will happen to the guns and the heroin?

4. Is Sawyer in charge now?

5. Will anything happen with the radio?

LOST: It Wasn't Purgatory, Season 2, Episode 11, The Hunting Party

On-Island Events: Jack awakens in the hatch to find Locke knocked out on the floor. Michael, having assaulted Locke, holds Jack at gunpoint and informs him he's going out after Walt, alone. Jack, Locke, Sawyer, and Kate take off on Michael's trail but Jack is adamant that Kate not accompany them. Locke tries to engage Sawyer in a conversation about his alias, stating he discovered his legal name "James Ford," on the airline manifest, but Sawyer refuses to comment on the matter.

While following Michael's trail into the jungle, the men hear gunshots ring out. Against Locke's advice, Jack pursues the sound. As darkness falls and the men discuss their next options, an unfamiliar voice calls Jack out by name. When the man emerges from the jungle, Sawyer recognizes him as the bearded man who took Walt off the raft. The man lectures Jack, Sawyer, and Locke about their disrespectful curiosity toward his home, stating, "This is not your island. This is our island. And the only reason you're living on it is because we let you live on it." When Jack refuses to treat peacefully with the bearded man, the man orders his people to show their presence by lighting up a ring of torches around the group. The bearded man demands the group's weapons, Jack again refuses. In response, the bearded man reveals a bound and gagged Kate, who his people have captured as she followed the men (against Jack's wishes). The men surrender their weapons and return to the beach. 

Kate attempts to make peace with Jack but he remains aloof and standoffish. He later meets Ana Lucia on the beach and asks her advice about training an army.

Flashbacks: As Jack reviews a patient's spinal x-rays with Christian, the patient's daughter suggests Jack might be able to perform a miracle in fixing her father. Jack agrees to try. Later, Jack and Sarah have a polite conversation about Jack's schedule. Sarah reveals she took a pregnancy test that was negative. Jack's surgical patient dies; Jack comforts the patient's daughter, Gabriella. 

Later, Jack returns home and admits what happened to Sarah but expresses a desire to fix their relationship. Sarah announces she's been cheating on Jack and that she's leaving him. "You will always need something to fix," she says in parting.

Greater Meaning: Locke's inability to sway Jack toward a more rational line of thinking early in the episode sets up an ongoing examination of the problems with Jack's leadership: his feelings of responsibility toward the survivors cloud his judgement and often result in stubborn, misguided decisions. As shown in the flashback (and going on what we know about Jack's actions with Sarah and later Boone), Jack won't back down from these challenges or seeks them out, even. Michael left the beach in search of Walt, why can't Jack let it lie? As a father whose son has been taken from him, Michael is not only well within his rights (there are no island laws, are there?) but within rationality itself to try to recover his abducted son. Does Jack feel the same sense of urgency in recovering Walt? Of course not. Michael's his father. Michael wants his son back.

Is Jack's problem with Michael leaving one of control (I'm in charge and I didn't authorize you to leave!) or more of a personal guilt trip (I allowed you and Walt to leave on the raft way back when and shouldn't have therefore I was unable to keep Walt safe and it's my fault he was taken)? Jack has already shown many times just how seriously he takes his position as leader (Boone, Charlie, Claire, Ana Lucia); the philosophy at work in his actions truly seems to value not only the group, but each individual person within it. This is at odds with a utilitarian approach (do what's best for the greatest number of people within the group) which would be fitting for anyone in a leadership position, island or not. Jack doesn't seem to have any awareness at all about why he does what he does, shown in his refusal to consider Locke's point of view in allowing Michael to do as he pleases without intervention. Overall we see a drive in Jack, a near obsession, in saving or in fixing, which seems to be leading the survivors into a dangerous situation with the bearded man and his people. What if they don't want to be in an army? What if they just want to chill on the beach and stay out of trouble? 

Further Questions: 

1. Will Jack trespass the line in the jungle and start a war with "the others?"

2. Who are "the others?" Where do they live?

3. Why did they take Walt?

4. Is Michael safe?

LOST: It Wasn't Purgatory, Season 2, Episode 6, Abandoned

The Tail Section: Michael returns to the group as they continue their journey back to the beach camp; Sawyer's bullet injury continues to worsen. Eko is sympathetic toward Sawyer but Ana Lucia is not. When Michael challenges Ana Lucia about her attitude, she explains that the others took several members of their group and that the people are smart but "animals." Eventually Sawyer collapses with fever from his infected wound and the group make a stretcher to carry him forward. As they are working together to lift the stretcher to higher ground, Ana Lucia discovers that Cindy is missing. Soon Michael hears whispering and Ana Lucia commands everyone to run.

On-Island Events: At night inside her tent, Shannon sees Walt, soaking wet and whispering, but no one believes her. After digging through Michael and Walt's remaining clothing, Shannon sends Vincent off in search of Walt's scent, convinced she hadn't been dreaming. When Aaron won't stop crying, Locke helps Claire by swaddling the baby and Claire inadvertently lets slip the fact that Charlie has one of the virgin Mary statues leading to awkwardness between Locke and Charlie. Later Shannon admits to Sayid that the reason she needs him to believe her is that she's convinced he will eventually leave her; he assures her he won't leave and tells her he loves her. Just afterward, during a downpour in the jungle, Sayid and Shannon both see Walt. When Shannon runs after Walt, a gunshot rings out and she collapses in Sayid's arms, having been accidentally shot by Ana Lucia, who with the rest of the group, has finally arrived at their camp.

Flashbacks: Shannon's experiences with her stepmother after her father's death were rife with tension and frustration but Boone is supportive. Shannon looks forward to a ballet internship but her stepmother refuses to give her any of her late father's money or estate. Boone attempts to get the money from his mother himself, but is also denied. He offers to give Shannon money once his trust fund kicks in but she decides she'd rather find a way to support herself rather than remaining dependent on him or his mother any longer.

Greater Meaning: Clearly Shannon has shown that she has the skills to manipulate others to her will, and if Locke's advice ("everyone gets a new life here,") is true, Shannon's relationship with Sayid could indeed be a positive thing built on honesty instead of manipulation. Sayid's unwillingness to believe that Shannon has seen Walt does seem a little paternalistic and man-splainy, Sayid after all must know by now that stranger things have happened on the island, but seeing Shannon show her vulnerable side with legitimate emotion instead of spite is kind of nice. Why Walt chose to reveal himself to Shannon is a mystery, maybe her caretaking of Vincent and Walt's acknowledgement of her pain over Boone before leaving on the raft bonded them, but it could also have been a sort of premonition of her eventual downfall (which Ana Lucia may or may not have instigated had Shannon and Sayid not been chasing Walt through the jungle). It's not yet proven if this was actually Walt or just a vision of Walt (ala Christian Shephard in White Rabbit). If only a vision, how is Walt able to appear to people like that? Walt's episode in season 1 was entitled "Special," is this just evidence of his specialness? And if it's only a vision, does this mean that Walt has died?

Further Questions:

1. What are the whispers in the jungle?
2. Is Walt just hanging out in the jungle by himself?
3. Will Charlie begin using heroin again?
4. Will Sawyer be okay?
5. What will Sayid do to Ana Lucia?
6. Is Shannon dead?

LOST: It Wasn't Purgatory, Season 2, episode 3, Orientation

The Raft Crew: Michael, Jin, and Sawyer are taken by a large man among a group of others and flung into a pit in the jungle. Sawyer tries to get information from Jin about the others but Jin explains that he was blindfolded. Sawyer tries to escape the pit but the large man returns and pitches a woman into the pit with them. The woman, named Ana Lucia (who Jack met and spoke to in the airport before the flight), claims to also be from Oceanic flight 815. After she notices Sawyer's gun, she grabs it and signals to the man up above, who pulls her out.

On-Island Events: As Desmond threatens Jack and Locke, Kate finds a room with weapons in the hatch and helps herself to one. A struggle ensues between Kate and Desmond and a stray gunshot damages the computer into which the numbers had earlier been entered. Desmond explains the danger this puts them all in but Jack doesn't seem to believe him.

In a flurry, Desmond tries to fix the ruined computer but Jack demands he explain how he came to be in the hatch. Desmond claims he was in a solo race around the world when his boat crashed onto the island; a man named Kelvin showed Desmond how to push the button, stating it was necessary in order to save the world. Locke and Jack then watch an ancient film strip, labeled "Orientation" by something called The Dharma Initiative. Led by a man in a lab coat named Dr. Marvin Candle, the film explains the organization's background and scientific interests, and identifies the hatch as "Station 3, The Swan Station," where studies in electromagnetism take place. Candle further explains the process of entering the numbers into the computer every 108 minutes.

As Jack seems disgusted by the notion that anyone would take any of these ideas seriously, Desmond tries and fails to fix the computer. Desmond and Jack abandon the hatch leaving Locke on his own, wondering what he's supposed to do. Jack confronts Desmond in the jungle, where he admits he remembers meeting Jack in Los Angeles.

Hugo, Sayid, and Kate return to the hatch, where Locke requests Sayid's help in repairing the computer. Just as Locke is about to key in the numbers incorrectly and hit "execute," Jack returns to provide him with the last number. Locke demands that Jack be the one to finish the final keystroke, and Jack resists until the countdown clock on the wall begins blaring out an alarm as the last seconds go by. Jack argues with John about the absurdity of pushing the button but in the end, pushes it himself. The clock on the wall resets itself and Locke offers to take the first shift.

Flashbacks: Locke has an outburst at a group therapy session but meets Helen, someone who seems to connect with him. They begin an affair but Locke breaks away every night to spy on Anthony Cooper. When he finally confronts Cooper about conning him out of his kidney, Cooper bluntly tells him to get over it and not to come back to his house. After six months of dating, Helen presents Locke with a key to her apartment but asks him to stop going to Cooper's house in the middle of the night (which he has apparently continued to do); Locke agrees and accepts Helen's key. Locke breaks his promise, and when Helen confronts him at Cooper's property, he agrees again to get help with his
anger and abandonment issues.

Greater Meaning: As the flashbacks in the episode belong to Locke, it's tempting to focus more on his experiences over anyone else's in regard to the events that occur in the hatch. He tries to help Desmond fix the computer and diffuses the situation when things get tense, he enthusiastically watches the orientation video, and later demands the island tell him what to do next when he's left alone in the hatch. Locke has put his faith in the island in a way he's never put his faith in anything else, and it shows through many of his flashbacks (including this episode's collection). Whereas he was scared and confused before coming to the island, he didn't have the same faith in any of his experiences (the walkabout, the relationship with Cooper, the relationship with Helen) that he seems to have with the island. He's still scared and confused, to a point, but now, because he believes so strongly in the island, he expects answers.

Jack is upset by Locke's devotion simply because the answers of the island are unavailable and because these situations do not make sense to him; Jack chooses not to question anything. As Jack knows nothing of Locke's medical condition pre- and post-crash, it makes sense that his faith in the island would not be as immediate as Locke's, but here it seems he is actively rejecting the significance of Desmond's presence on the island and his own reaction to it (as it is a connection to his own previous vulnerability after Sarah's surgery). Jack becomes tearful in remembering his former wife just as Locke does when he speaks of his father's betrayal in group therapy. Locke's ability to move on and place his faith in the island counters Jack's refusal to do so.

Further Questions:

1. Who was Kelvin?
2. What happens to Locke and Helen's relationship?
3. What happens to Jack and Sarah's relationship?
4. What is going on with Ana Lucia, and who's the man she's working with?
5. What is going on with the hatch, and how does electromagnetism factor in?
6. Is the Dharma Initiative still on the island?
7. Is pushing the button a sham?

LOST: It Wasn't Purgatory, Season 2, Episode 2, Adrift

The Raft: In the aftermath of Walt being taken, Sawyer lifts Michael onto some of the raft's floating remnants while Jin remains unaccounted for. Michael shouts for Walt and argues with Sawyer, whom he blames for their predicament. Sawyer's gunshot wound is bleeding and attracts sharks, which charge the raft. Sawyer removes the bullet but passes out. Sawyer discusses the idea that the men who took Walt were the others Rousseau earlier referenced.

Sawyer attempts to retrieve the pontoon section of the raft; a shark returns, which Michael shoots. Eventually Michael breaks down weeping, admitting to Sawyer he believes Walt's abduction was his fault. As the two men float on the current they realize they've been brought back to the island. Once they reach its shore, they find Jin running out of the jungle. He shouts their names and then, looking behind them repeats "others." When they turn around, several people with weapons are approaching them.

On the Island: Through several replays of the events leading up to Jack's experiences with Desmond, we see John and Kate enter the hatch. Desmond seems happy to see John but soon realizes John is not who he thinks he is. Locke ties Kate up at Desmond's demand and throws her in an enclosed room within the hatch, but Kate easily wiggles free. Kate discovers the room she's in is filled with food and supplies; she helps herself to a candy bar and then escapes through a vent.

John explains the plane crash to Desmond, who is concerned about sickness among the survivors. After a computer beeps out, Desmond forces John to enter the familiar numbers 4 8 15 16 23 42 into an ancient-looking system. After he does this, a box with a series of numbers counting down flips itself to 108. Soon Desmond hears Jack calling for Kate and Locke, which leads to the interaction and recognition of each other at gunpoint.

Flashbacks: Michael meets with an attorney to fight Susan's demand that he relinquish parental rights of Walt. Susan implores Michael to let go of Walt, explaining the life she'll provide him in Italy will be in everyone's best interests. Michael agrees and brings Walt a stuffed polar bear as they say goodbye.

Greater Meaning: Continuously throughout the episode Sawyer contradicts his earlier statement to Michael, "I ain't no hero." First, he saves Michael from drowning, hauls him onto part of the raft and performs mouth-to-mouth. Next, he (painfully) removes the bullet from his own shoulder when it won't stop bleeding and draws the sharks. Last, he swims off to the pontoon/bamboo portion of the ruined raft and brings it back for Michael to share when the other remnants begin to unravel. Sawyer may not desire the status, but he has indeed acted heroically during his time out on the raft.

Michael's anger, guilt, and acceptance of responsibility for Walt's kidnapping is intensified through the flashback scenes where Susan and her cold-hearted lawyer toy with him over his inadequacy as a father. Other than Claire, no one else on the island has experienced parenthood, thus it seems fitting that Michael feels alienated and full of rage at what happened, given his upsetting prior experiences anticipating Walt then losing him, repeatedly. When the two men, not exactly bros but reconciled (for the moment), reunite with Jin and attempt to free him from his restraints, the overall feeling is one of strength and group loyalty---Michael, Sawyer, and Jin may have had their differences in the past, but against these new others, they're a team.


Further Questions:

1. Will Michael find Walt?
2. Who are the others?
3. What will happen to Kate?
4. How did all that food get to the island?
5. What is Desmond doing in the hatch?
6. What were the numbers all about?

LOST: It Wasn't Purgatory, Episode 24, Exodus part 2

On-island Events: As Sayid prepares the beach group to head to the caves, Charlie asks him for a gun to protect Claire; Sayid refuses. As Hurley marvels at the spectacle of The Black Rock, Rousseau takes her leave of the group. Inside the ship, Jack and Locke discover its background as a slave vessel and Kate finds the dynamite. Arzt explains the dangers inherent in unpacking the dynamite but suddenly explodes in the process.

Shannon becomes emotional as she attempts to bring Boone's things along to the caves; Sayid validates her worries and offers to help. Hurley admits to Kate that he's bad luck and blames himself for Arzt's death. Jack and Locke work together to carefully unpack and transport the dynamite. Rousseau returns to the beach, shouting for Sayid, but in speaking with Claire, stirs up a memory of Claire scratching her in the dark. Charlie returns with Sayid to discover that Rousseau has taken the baby from Claire. Sayid reasons that Rousseau has taken the baby to give to the others who took her own child sixteen years ago; Claire begs Charlie to bring the baby, which she has suddenly named Aaron, back to her.

When the group reaches the caves, Sun asks Shannon if she thinks they're being punished by fate, but Claire is adamant there is no such thing. While resting near the Nigerian plane on the way to the black smoke, Sayid shows Charlie the heroin inside the Virgin Mary statues. As they return to the hatch with the dynamite, Hurley asks John what he thinks is inside the hatch. "Hope," Locke replies.

The Raft: The group sails by the unexplored edge of the island and marvels at its vastness; Sawyer sings Bob Marley's "Redemption Song," which catches Michael's interest. Michael explains the transmitter and radar screen to Walt while Sawyer reads everyone's messages from the bottle. As Michael shows Walt how to sail and Walt asks important questions about his parents' relationship, the raft hits something and the rudder breaks off. Sawyer swims off to retrieve it and Michael discovers Sawyer's gun in his shirt.

Flashbacks: In the airport before the flight, Jin encounters one of Paik's spies who knows he plans to run away with Sun and who threatens him. Charlie rummages about a hotel room searching for heroin, fighting a woman for the last remnants. Michael struggles to connect with his son and calls his mother to ask her to care for Walt when they return to New York. Michael ends the call, exclaiming, "He's not supposed to be mine!"

Greater Meaning: In the middle of all the action (kidnapping, explosions, raft in peril), important ideas are being reiterated concerning the characters. While Exodus part one showed several instances of change as well as stubbornness versus adaptability through current island events compared with flashbacks, this episode seems to expand on the same concepts while adding adding an element of redemption (pinpointed in Jin's case by Sawyer's song on the raft thus providing us with a well-defined theme). Jin had formerly been a criminal under Paik's employ, but has changed significantly both personally and professionally, if fishing skills and the building of the raft are to be considered to be occupational. Charlie has successfully kicked his drug habit and continues to write songs and be musical but he's added the role of caregiver and protector of Claire and Aaron to his duties. Michael's devotion to Walt hasn't changed, he's always loved his son, but the flashbacks take us through the challenges the two have faced while also showing Michael's frustration and desperation in those moments.

Together with Exodus part one, and through all of the previous episodes we've seen, LOST has given us a group of seriously flawed characters, each in need of his or her own unique redemption. The raft group (arguably minus opportunist Sawyer) redeems itself for past ills by working together to seek rescue; Charlie redeems himself through his devotion to Claire. Sawyer is a special character as he is motivated not by redemption but instead vengeance, however the Marley song is significant as it hints he may unconsciously be seeking what he sings about eventually (despite his actions thus far) suggesting he's just not there yet. He could have chosen to sing Skynyrd or Hank Williams just as he could have chosen to solely read rifle or porn magazines on the island, but he didn't. Sawyer is flawed like the others, but with complicated criminal influences (ala Kate, Sayid, and Jin), which is a direct contrast to people like Jack, Locke, Hurley, Sun, and Claire.


Further Questions:

1. Will the raft be okay?
2. Will Sawyer need the gun?
3. Will Charlie and Sayid get Aaron back?
4. Is Rousseau's daughter still on the island?
5. Will the others allow Rousseau to trade Aaron for her daughter?
6. Will the dynamite project work?
7. Will Charlie relapse after seeing the Virgin Mary statues?

LOST: It Wasn't Purgatory, episode 23, Exodus part 1

On-Island Events: Walt sees Rousseau lurking around the camp at the beach and alerts the rest of the survivors. Rousseau shares her history with the group; she had been seven months pregnant when her team came to the island. She delivered a baby girl that was taken a week later by others, whose presence was preceded by a pillar of black smoke. Rousseau insists the others are returning to take everyone, and the choices are to run, hide, or die.

Michael leads the group in preparing the raft for launch but Walt notices black smoke off in the distance.

Jack, Locke, and Hurley consider hiding everyone in the hatch and make plans to get dynamite in the jungle to blast it open. In the jungle, Sawyer discloses his experience with Christian Shephard to an emotional Jack and the two part ways. Charlie arranges a bottle for the survivors to write messages to give to the raft crew for when they get rescued as Jack, Kate, Locke, Hurley, and Rousseau head into the jungle for dynamite. Locke notices scratches on Rousseau's arm, which she claims to be from a bush. Rousseau leads the group through the dark territory toward their destination, the black rock, where she explains the rest of her crew was infected. Arzt decides to abandon the mission but is chased back by the island's monster. As it growls, clicks, and knocks over trees, Rousseau, Jack and Kate hide while Locke encourages Hurley to be calm and wait it out. Rousseau suggests the monster is a security system, meant to protect the island; the Black Rock is revealed to be an ancient slave
ship.

As the raft crew makes ready to depart, Walt gives Vincent to Shannon and Sun presents Jin with a book of useful English phrases for the journey. The raft proves to be seaworthy; the survivors cheer and wave goodbye to Michael, Walt, Sawyer, and Jin. The last image to be seen is the pillar of black smoke rising up from the jungle.

Flashbacks detail the survivors' last moments just before boarding Oceanic 815: Michael struggles in parenting Walt in a hotel room; Jack meets a woman named Ana Lucia in a bar. Sawyer is revealed to be an experienced criminal James Ford by Australian police and is banned from ever returning to the country. Kate, in the marshal's custody, attacks him after he taunts her attachment to Tom's toy airplane. In the airport, Sayid leaves his luggage with Shannon, who bickers with Boone and later reports Sayid to a security officer for the sake of being difficult. Sun accidentally spills coffee on Jin while an American couple look on and make rude comments.

Greater Meaning: By providing six different flashback experiences, the episode is broader than any of the previous. Focusing on multiple survivors gives a sense of big events culminating, a large conclusion in the works that will affect each survivor as well as the entire group, but the mystery of two separate narratives is also important. The raft has set sail, exposing its crew to new experiences and new dangers (in such a tiny, confined space, how will the three men who have had multiple conflicts in the past get on with each other? and what about sharks, or storms at sea?), but if Rousseau is to be believed, others are coming to the beach. The title of the episode, Exodus, is significant, but Jack or Locke seem more of a Moses character than Michael or Sawyer, might the title be referring to an into-the-jungle exodus rather than one into the sea on a raft? Are there two exoduses at play here?

Michael and Walt have come a long way since their difficulties in the flashback, so has Shannon. Sawyer, Kate, Jack, Sun, and Jin seem to be wrestling with many of the same issues they'd had before the crash, namely ghosts from their past relationships or crimes, or in Sun and Jin's case, with each other. What does this say about the needs of each of these major players in the narrative? How will the events of either getting rescued or evading attacks from others affect who these survivors are and how they interact with each other? Sawyer and Kate were both previously criminals, and so was Jin. Jack's medical skills have proven useful on the island but is he good at leading? Sun seemed to be marginalized in early episodes but has begun to emerge as more than just a controlling criminal's wife and an interesting character on her own. What part does adaptation play in these characters' successes on the island, and who's had the most trouble with it? Major changes have happened, but not necessarily to everyone in the same measure.

Further Questions:

1. Will the raft succeed in finding rescue?
2. Can Rousseau be trusted?
3. How did The Black Rock wind up in the middle of the jungle?
4. Will they succeed in blasting open the hatch?
5. Are others really coming?
6. Will Jin ever get rid of the handcuff on his wrist?
7. What happened to Ana Lucia?
8. Are there more survivors we haven't met yet?