Regular Cast
Matthew Fox as Jack
Evangeline Lilly as Kate
Dominic Monaghan as Charlie
Maggie Grace as Shannon
Harold Perrineau Jr. as Michael
Jorge Garcia as Hurley
Josh Holloway as Sawyer
Malcolm David Kelley as Walt
Daniel Dae as KimJin
Ian Somerhalder as Boone
Naveen Andrews as Sayid
Terry O'Quinn as Locke
Yoon-jin as KimSun
Emilie de Ravin as Claire

About The Show
Out of the blackness the first thing Jack senses is pain. Then burning sun. A Bamboo forest. Smoke. Screams. With a rush comes the horrible awareness that the plane he was on tore apart in mid-air and crashed on a Pacific island. From there it's a blur, as his doctor's instinct kicks in: people need his help.
Stripped of everything, the 48 survivors scavenge what they can from the plane for their survival. Some panic. Some pin their hopes on rescue. A few find inner strength they never knew they had-like Kate who, with no medical training, suddenly finds herself suturing the doctor's wounds. The band of friends, family, enemies and strangers must work together against the cruel weather and harsh terrain. But the intense howls of the mysterious creatures stalking the jungle fill them all with fear. Fortunately, thanks to the calm leadership of quick-thinking Jack and level-headed Kate, they have hope. But even heroes have secrets, as the survivors will come to learn.

Season Two
Season One (2004 - 2005)	The Lost Store
Pilot (Part 1) Pilot (Part 2) Tabula Rasa Walkabout White Rabbit House of the Rising Sun The Moth Confidence Man Solitary Raised by Another All the Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues Whatever the Case May Be Hearts and Minds Special Homecoming Outlaws ...In Translation Numbers Deux Ex Machina Do No Harm The Greater Good (a.k.a. Sides) Born to Run Exodus (Part 1) Exodus (Part 2) Exodus (Part 3)	You can now order the first season on Lost on DVD. At only $38.99, the box set is packed with all 25 episodes, and great extras including, the Original Pilot, Tales From The Island - new behind-the-scenes featurette, Lost Revealed - expert panel dissects the Series, Backstage With Drive Shaft - behind the music featurette, The Art Of Matthew Fox - on-set photography, Before They Were Lost - original casting tapes, Blooper Reel, Rare Deleted Scenes, Audio Commentaries, Lost@ComiCon, Lost: On Location, On Set with Jimmy Kimmel and more. Order NOW. For only £47.99 you can now Order Season 1 of Lost in the UK.

Season One

1. Sept 22, 2004: Pilot (Part 1)
   Out of the blackness, the first thing Jack (Matthew Fox, “Party of Five”) senses is pain. Then burning sun. A Bamboo forest. Smoke. Screams. With a rush comes the horrible awareness that the plane he was on tore apart in mid-air and crashed on a Pacific island. From there it’s a blur, as his doctor’s instinct kicks in: people need his help.
   Stripped of everything, the 48 survivors scavenge what they can from the plane for their survival. Some panic. Some pin their hopes on rescue. A few find inner strength they never knew they had -- like Kate (Evangeline Lilly), who, with no medical training, suddenly finds herself suturing the doctor’s wounds. Hurley (Jorge Garcia) – a man with a warm sense of humor despite the desperate situation – does his best to keep his cool as he helps those around him to survive. Charlie (Dominic Monaghan, “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy) is a faded rock star who harbors a painful secret. Sayid (Naveen Andrews, “The English Patient”) is a Middle Eastern man who must wrestle with the racial profiling directed at him by some of his fellow survivors. Jin (Daniel Dae Kim, “Spider-Man 2,” “24”) and Sun (Yunjin Kim) are a Korean couple whose traditions, values and language are foreign and thus causes much to get lost in the translation. Sawyer (Josh Holloway) has an air of danger surrounding him, and his intense sense of mistrust for everyone around him could prove to be fatal to his fellow castaways. Michael (Harold Perrineau, “Oz”) has just gained custody of his nine-year-old son, Walt (Malcolm David Kelley, “Antwone Fisher,” “You Got Served”), after the death of his ex-wife – they are a father and son who don’t even know each other. Locke (Terry O’Quinn, “Alias,” “Primal Fear”) is a mysterious man who keeps to himself, and who harbors a deeper connection to the island than any of the others. Self-centered Shannon (Maggie Grace, “Oliver Beene”) – who actually gives herself a pedicure amid the chaos – and her estranged controlling brother, Boone (Ian Somerhalder, “Smallville”) – constantly bicker and must learn to get along if they are to survive. And young Claire (Emilie de Ravin, “Roswell”) is eight months pregnant and ill-prepared for the hardships of motherhood – especially on a deserted island.
    
2. Sept 29, 2004: Pilot (Part 2)
   Out of the blackness, the first thing Jack (Matthew Fox, “Party of Five”) senses is pain. Then burning sun. A Bamboo forest. Smoke. Screams. With a rush comes the horrible awareness that the plane he was on tore apart in mid-air and crashed on a Pacific island. From there it’s a blur, as his doctor’s instinct kicks in: people need his help.
   Stripped of everything, the 48 survivors scavenge what they can from the plane for their survival. Some panic. Some pin their hopes on rescue. A few find inner strength they never knew they had -- like Kate (Evangeline Lilly), who, with no medical training, suddenly finds herself suturing the doctor’s wounds. Hurley (Jorge Garcia) – a man with a warm sense of humor despite the desperate situation – does his best to keep his cool as he helps those around him to survive. Charlie (Dominic Monaghan, “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy) is a faded rock star who harbors a painful secret. Sayid (Naveen Andrews, “The English Patient”) is a Middle Eastern man who must wrestle with the racial profiling directed at him by some of his fellow survivors. Jin (Daniel Dae Kim, “Spider-Man 2,” “24”) and Sun (Yunjin Kim) are a Korean couple whose traditions, values and language are foreign and thus causes much to get lost in the translation. Sawyer (Josh Holloway) has an air of danger surrounding him, and his intense sense of mistrust for everyone around him could prove to be fatal to his fellow castaways. Michael (Harold Perrineau, “Oz”) has just gained custody of his nine-year-old son, Walt (Malcolm David Kelley, “Antwone Fisher,” “You Got Served”), after the death of his ex-wife – they are a father and son who don’t even know each other. Locke (Terry O’Quinn, “Alias,” “Primal Fear”) is a mysterious man who keeps to himself, and who harbors a deeper connection to the island than any of the others. Self-centered Shannon (Maggie Grace, “Oliver Beene”) – who actually gives herself a pedicure amid the chaos – and her estranged controlling brother, Boone (Ian Somerhalder, “Smallville”) – constantly bicker and must learn to get along if they are to survive. And young Claire (Emilie de Ravin, “Roswell”) is eight months pregnant and ill-prepared for the hardships of motherhood – especially on a deserted island.
    
3. Oct 06, 2004: Tabula Rasa
   In a makeshift infirmary tent, Jack is tending to the Marshal who mutters the same thing over and over through his pain: "Don't trust her…She's dangerous." When Jack asks him who "She" is, the Marshal tells him to look in his Jacket pocket. What he finds there will change things on the island forever. It's a mug shot…of Kate!
   
   The Signal Party is working their way back down the mountain. It's getting dark and some of them want to make camp for the night. Sawyer wants to press on through the jungle at night, but anyone who has seen the last two episodes knows that isn't a very good idea and he is convinced to stay. Sitting around the fire, they discuss what they should tell the others about the French transmission. That information hasn't exactly done a lot for their peace of mind, so in the end they decide not to tell the others anything in order to preserve hope. At least for now…
   
   And speaking of hope, back in the tent Jack is using a great deal of it trying to save the Marshall. Hurley enters, stumbles across Kate's mug shot and asks the question we all want answered: "What do you think she did?" — off which we FLASHBACK TO:
   
   Kate, being prodded by a shotgun held by a farmer (Ray) who wants to know what she is doing sleeping in his barn. After a frank exchange, the two find that they can be of service to each other. He needs some help on the farm, she needs a job and a place to stay. She says her name is "Annie."
   
   Back at the Signal Party, Boone lifts the gun from Sawyer and the clip from Sayid as they sleep. They wake up and an argument ensues over who should have the gun, but they can't agree on a trustworthy candidate — until they arrive at Kate. She reluctantly agrees to keep it.
   
   The next morning, Hurley arrives at the infirmary tent to tell Jack the Signal Party has returned. Kate pulls Jack aside and says she has something she wants to tell him…in private. Jack is relieved, assuming that she is going to confide in him. But when they get down to it, Kate tells Jack about the French transmission. He asks if there is anything else she'd like to tell him. She asks if the Marshal has regained consciousness. When Jack tells her he did briefly during the surgery, Kate asks if he said anything to Jack. Jack considers the question for a moment before answering, "No."
   
   The Marshal has taken a turn for the worse. If they don't find some stronger antibiotics, he's not going to make it. Hurley tells him he's looked everywhere…except the fuselage — but that's full of bodies "and they're all…dead."
   
   Jack enters the wreckage and does his best to avoid disturbing the bodies as he makes a desperate search for anything that will help the Marshal. Hearing something rustling behind him, he finds Sawyer combing the fuselage for a different reason — turns out he's doing a little personal shopping. Jack berates him for disrespecting the dead, but Sawyer tells Jack to get with the program. Jack still thinks they are back in civilization while Sawyer realizes they are "in the wild."
   
   At one end of the beach, Charlie is helping Claire collect luggage using a wheelchair from the plane and they begin to form a bond. Meanwhile, Sun presents a suitcase to Jin, but after closer inspection Jin determines it is the wrong one and tells Sun to keep looking. But before she does, he tells her to go and clean up her face, she is embarrassing him. As she turns leave, he tells her he loves her. And the strange thing is that he appears to mean it.
   
   Hurley bumps into Kate at the infirmary tent and tries to play it cool about knowing her secret and in the process notices the gun in her waistband. He is not a smooth liar. And off the gun we FLAHBACK to:
   
   Kate, who decides it's time to move on from the Australian farm. But when she accepts a ride from Ray to the train station, she learns that he is planning on turning her in to the authorities. He saw her picture at the post office and he really needs that reward money. Kate looks in the side mirror to see the Marshal, hot on her heels. In a desperate attempt to get away, Kate jerks the wheel and crashes the truck off the road. Saving the farmer from the truck costs her a chance to escape and she is captured by the Marshal.
   
   Back in real time, while leaning over her body, the Marshal wakes up and lunges at Kate's throat, choking her. Jack has to pull him off of her before it's too late.
   
   Michael struggles to forge bond with Walt — wants to know what the bald told him yesterday. Walt says it's a secret, but when Michael presses the issue, Walt reveals that Locke told him "a miracle happened." Michael wants him to stay away from Locke.
   
   When the rain stops, Michael searches for the dog in jungle. He hears something in the tall grass; something dangerous. He runs as fast as he can to get away from it and runs smack into Sun, who is topless and washing herself. There is an awkward moment between them.
   
   Back on the beach, the Marshal is dying. Loudly. His screams are taking a physical toll on the rest of the group. Sayid asks Jack if anything can be done. Jack says he is doing all he can. The Marshal tells Jack he wants to speak to Kate…alone. While she is in the tent, Hurley tells Jack about the gun he saw in her pants. Jack races back to the infirmary tent before it's too late… "BANG!"
   
   Out of the tent walks…Sawyer! He did what had to be done —what Jack couldn't do. Horrible groans come from the tent again. We go in to find that the Marshal still isn't dead — Sawyer shot him in the chest! He was aiming for the heart, but he missed! It will take hours for him to bleed out and he will suffer horribly. Jack throws an extremely shaken Sawyer out of the tent. And a few moments later…the moans stop for good. Jack emerges and walks past Sawyer without a word.
    
4. Oct 13, 2004: Walkabout
   We are in Locke's dream as the show opens and it's moments after the crash. As his eye opens, we see the experience from his perspective. Chaos rages around him as he very cautiously looks down to his feet. We see him wiggle his big toe — Good, everything works.
   
   Back in real time, Locke's dream is interrupted by Vincent barking. In fact, he's waking up the entire camp. He won't stop barking at the fuselage and when Jack and the others listen closely they can hear something rummaging around in there. But that can't be, everything in there is…dead. Sawyer? Nope, he's right behind Jack. When they shine a flashlight inside, two glowing eyes shine right back at them. Uh oh…
   
   Three squealing beasts charge out of the wreckage and tear through the camp. As they disappear back into the jungle, Locke is able to determine what they are —Wild Boars. They've been attracted by the bodies that have been baking in the fuselage for the last 4 days. Something has to be done. Bury them? They wouldn't stay buried, not for long anyway. Jack makes the only call he can — The bodies have to be burned.
   
   But, as usual, just as one problem is solved, another rears its ugly head. They're out of food. It's all gone. And just as panic begins to set in, Locke steps forward with his own brand of problem solving. They can hunt the boars. What are they supposed to hunt with? The case of knives Locke checked into the luggage compartment. "Who is this guy?"
   
   In FLASHBACK Locke gets a cryptic phone call from someone who calls him "Colonel." Of course, he's in the military! But we soon discover that isn't true at all — Locke is just another cubicle jockey with an active imagination.
   
   Back on the island, Michael is getting ready to go with Locke. Walt wants to come, but Michael manages to communicate with Sun well enough to convince her to watch his son until the hunting party returns. Meanwhile, Sayid has a plan to try and locate the source of the French Transmission using homemade antennas to triangulate the signal. Kate agrees to help him and tells Jack of her plan before setting off with Locke and Michael to hunt for boar. Back at the fuselage, Claire is beginning to collect the personal effects of the dead for use in a eulogy during the cremation. She asks Jack to be the one to give it, but he doesn't want the job. Claire decides to do it herself.
   
   Boone remarks to Shannon that one of the survivors, Rose, has been sitting by herself way down the beach. He's pretty sure she hasn't eaten since the crash. When Shannon tells him to butt out, Boone reminds Shannon that she would starve without his help. She vows to show him she can take care of herself.
   
   Deep in the jungle, Locke has found the boar trail. They're close. He sends Michael and Kate out to surround the beast, but it turns on them and charges. Michael is gored in the leg and as Kate helps him up she calls to Locke to see if he is okay. "I'm fine, Helen, I just got the wind knocked out of me." Who is Helen?
   
   In FLASHBACK, we see Locke enjoying an intimate conversation with "Helen" over the phone. He has a surprise for her — he finally saved up the money to go to Australia and take that authentic aboriginal walkabout. And guess what? He bought two tickets. Sadly, we learn that Helen doesn't share the same feelings for Locke as he does for her.
   
   Back on the island, Kate agrees to help Michael limp back to the beach, but Locke is determined to bring down that boar. Kate tells him he can't go out there by alone. Locke disagrees. "Don't tell me what I can't do."
   
   Back on the beach, a hunter of another sort has found her quarry. Shannon flirts with Charlie and mentions how much she would like a fish. Charlie is only too happy to catch her one…as soon as he can learn how to from Hurley.
   
   Jack has made his way over to Rose and tries to get her to open up to him. After some time, she does and tells him that, even though he has not been found, she believes her husband, Bernard is still alive. She agrees to rejoin the others. Meanwhile, back at the fuselage, Claire has found an envelope with Sayid's name on it. He opens it and we find a woman's picture inside. Sayid can't seem to take his eyes off her.
   
   On the way back to the beach, Kate stops to climb a tree and attach the antenna. But when she is up there, she sees the monster knocking down trees in the distance and drops the antenna, breaking it. And the monster…is heading straight for Locke.
   
   On the beach, Sun is teaching Walt about natural substitutes for toothpaste when Michael and Kate return. The others learn that the hunt was unsuccessful and worse still, that Locke is probably dead.
   
   When Jack is making the final preparations to the fuselage, he sees something — wait -someone, off in the forest. When he chases after him, he runs smack into Locke, who has somehow managed to survive his run in with the monster. And that's not all — he brought back a boar with him.
   
   As night falls, the fuselage is ignited and the names of the dead are read in memorial to them. Michael congratulates Locke on the hunt and asks him if he got a look at the monster. Locke tells him he didn't see anything.
   
   But as we get one more glimpse into his past, we learn that Locke is keeping a secret — one that must be seen to be believed.
    
5. Oct 20, 2004: White Rabbit
   As the eye opens, we see a trickle of blood beginning to flow from a cut just above it. We pull back to see a boy laying flat on his back. Beside him another boy is being ruthlessly beaten against a school yard fence. "Walk away now and you won't get your ass kicked," says the bully. And the truth of it is, walking away would definitely be the smart thing for him to do - the bully is much bigger than he is. But the boy against the fence is in real trouble and, mixed in with the pain and the terror there is something else written on his face — written so clearly you'd have to be blind not to see it. Please, help me! The first boy is up in a flash and goes to help his friend, but he's grabbed from behind by the bully and spun around, the bully's fist already cocked and ready to fire. "Should've stayed down Jack." WHAP! Lights out…
   
   That was a Young Jack. Back in real time, Charlie races down the beach towards him, rousing Adult Jack from his FLASHBACK. "Jack! JACK! There's someone out there!" Charlie points out to the ocean — And oh my God, there IS someone out there yelling for help and struggling to stay afloat. Before Charlie can explain that he doesn't know how to swim, Jack is in the water, pounding through the surf towards the target. When he gets there, he scans the surface and finds nothing but open water. He dives under. Nothing. He dives again and he's down there a long time until…he's up and he's got someone with him. It's Boone! And just as we're about to breathe a sigh of relief, Boone asks a terrible question: "Did you get her?" Did he get who? "That woman, did you get her?" Jack turns around and, sure enough, there is someone else further out, calling for help and about to go under. Kate and Charlie take an exhausted Boone from Jack at the breakwater and Jack turns around and dives right back in. But we widen out we see the awful truth laid out before us. Jack can swim as hard as he wants… but there is no one left to save.
   
   Back on the beach, while Kate is trying to prevent Jack from beating himself up for the life he didn't save, Jack sees the man in the suit standing in the water. When he asks Kate if she saw him too, Kate recognizes that Jack's exhausted and asks how long it's been since he slept.
   
   Meanwhile, Sawyer has begun his own business, providing luxuries to the survivors from the stash of goodies he collected from the wreckage and as the prices reflect, he's got the market cornered in that department. "But don't worry", he tells Shannon…he'll take a check.
   
   Hurley and Charlie tell Jack that they are dangerously low on water. It hasn't rained in a few days and there are 47 people to take care of. Jack has to point out the mathematical error. Better make that 46. They want Jack to decide what should be done, but he wants no part of it.
   
   In FLASHBACK we see young Jack in his father's study receiving a very important lesson on what it takes to be a leader. He tells Jack he doesn't have it. And while that might not be the easiest lesson to learn, Jack needs to know there are consequences for getting involved in other people's business. Consequences like that shiner on his eye.
   
   Back in real time, Jack is speaking with Boone when he sees the man in the suit again. This time, he's not going to let him get away. He races off into the woods and sees the man standing there with his back turned. When he turns around, the shock knocks Jack right off his feet because the man in the suit looks an awful lot like his FATHER!
   
   On the beach, the heat and the lack of water are taking their toll. When Claire faints, the others rally to her side, but when they go to give her some of the precious water, they make a frightening discovery — it's all gone — stolen! Locke offers to go into the jungle to find more — just enough to keep Claire going.
   
   IN FLASHBACK, we see Jack back in the same study, but he's older now - the Jack we know on the island. His mother tells him that his father is missing and that it's Jack's fault. She tells him to go and bring his father back home. Jack asks his mother where he is. She answers, Australia.
   
   In the jungle, Jack races after the man in the suit. Just as he is getting close, he trips and falls down an incline, barely catching himself on a vine before falling off a cliff. He hangs there, slowly losing his grip on the vine. But just before he falls to the rocks below, a hand comes over and pulls him up. It's Locke! He tells Jack that the others are all looking to him to tell them what to do. Jack doesn't want the job and tells Locke about his hallucinations. Locke tells Jack that he should consider the possibility he is not hallucinating. But that's impossible. Locke tells him that possible is a relative term… especially on this island.
   
   Back at the beach, Sayid and Kate catch Sun with a bottle of water. When they learn she got it from Sawyer, they confront him about stealing their supply. Turns out he didn't do it and he can prove it — he made a trade with Jin, "cave-man style". As Charlie does his best to comfort Claire, we wonder how long she can hang on.
   
   In FLASHBACK, Jack finally catches up with his father in Australia…in the morgue. Back in reality, Jack wipes away his tears as he sits alone in the jungle struggling with the loss all over again. Suddenly, the man in the suit crosses by again. Jack follows him through the dark and into an undiscovered part of the island where Jack discovers fresh water and a COFFIN.
   
   In the final FLASHBACK, we learn that Jack put his father's coffin on the plane to fly back to California for the funeral. In real time, Jack finds that the coffin is EMPTY. In a fit of frustration at not being able to bury his father and the pure exhaustion that may be causing him to hallucinate, he destroys the coffin.
   
   Back at the beach the water thief is caught. It was Boone! And just as the mob is about to have at him, Jack returns to the scene. He tells them they can't go on like this. It's been six days and rescue hasn't come, they have to start accepting the idea that it may never come. He tells them about the water he found in the jungle and explains to them all that things have to change or more people are going to die. "If we can't live together, we're going to die alone."
    
6. Oct 27, 2004: House of the Rising Sun
   We open on the eye of Sun — who looks out at her husband Jin as he catches and kills fish with his bare hands — when we launch into…a FLASHBACK — where Jin is a waiter at a lavish party for Korean high society; and Sun is a cocktail-clad part of that society. Both are in positions that highly contrast the characters we know on the island. Jin approaches Sun and offers her a glass of champagne, but there is another exchange going on between them — in their eyes — and when they meet later, we learn that they are lovers, as they steal a kiss in private. Sun wants to run away to America while Jin is worried about her father's approval. Jin presents her with a white orchid — all he can afford for now.
   
   Back on the island, Jin is distracted by the sight of Michael and Walt walking down the beach, when suddenly, for no apparent reason, he charges Michael and proceeds to beat the crap out of him near the shoreline. Jin nearly drowns Michael as Walt and Sun look on helplessly, until Sawyer and Sayid step in to break it up. Sawyer uses the Marshal's handcuffs to chain Jin to a piece of the fuselage.
   
   Meanwhile, Jack, Kate, Charlie and Locke trek towards the fresh water source. When Charlie separates from the group for a fix, he inadvertently steps on a bee hive. Locke, who seems to have followed him, instructs Charlie not to move, but Charlie has an irrational fear of bees. As he balances precariously on top of the hive — bees buzzing all around his head, we cut back to —
   
   — the Beach, where Michael is explaining what happened. Defending himself, his frustration grows as the language barrier and race card come into play. Sayid insists that Jin remain handcuffed until they can sort things out. Sun looks on as we go into — another FLASHBACK, by an idyllic lake, where Jin announces his intentions of marrying Sun, with her father's blessings and gives her an engagement ring. Sun is overjoyed until she learns that, in return, Jin has agreed to work for her father's business. And off her look of concern, we cut back to —
   
   — the island, where Charlie struggles to remain still as more bees buzz around him. Jack has a plan — he'll cover the hive, but before he's able to put his plan in action, Charlie is stung and stomps on the hive in reaction. The angry swarm is instantly on them and they all run off in separate directions, swatting bees and shedding clothes. Kate runs into a cave, where she stumbles into the skeletal remains of two bodies, one male, the other female, giving evidence to the fact that there were people on this island before them. When Jack examines "Adam & Eve", we learn that they've been dead for approximately 40 years and were laid to rest without any evidence of trauma. Among their few possessions, Jack finds a pouch containing two stones — one black, one white.
   
   At the beach, Sun applies aloe to Jin's handcuffed wrist, which is chaffed and cut from the cuff. In FLASHBACK, we watch Sun enter a well appointed home to find a gift wrapped box waiting for her, with an adorable Sharpei puppy inside. But instead of looking pleased, Sun looks depressed. Jin is also distant and instead of sharing this moment with his wife, he retreats into the bedroom to take a business call.
   
   Back in real time, Jack is encouraged by the discovery of the bodies at the caves. He suggests that, instead of bringing the water to the people, they bring the people to the water. While Charlie and Locke agree and stay behind to begin to prepare things for the others, Kate isn't quite convinced and remains unwilling to settle in.
   
   Meanwhile, back on the beach, Walt is upset and confused over the attack and questions his father's part in it. Michael immediately assumes that Walt's mother said bad things about him, but the truth is even harder for him to take. His mother never spoke of him at all. And off these relative strangers we find —
   
   — strangers of a different sort. As Sun tends to Jin, we FLASHBACK once more to their home, which has become even more ornate, and where Sun seems further trapped by her gilded cage. Jin enters and rushes into the bathroom with blood on his hands. Sun follows and begs Jin for an explanation, but he ignores her and will only say that he was working. Frustrated at his lie, Sun slaps her husband hard across the face, but instead of a reaction all she gets is a cold stare from a pair of dead eyes. Sun realizes for the first time that she doesn't know her own husband anymore. Jin tells her that he does whatever her father asks of him — and that what he does, he does for them. But Sun doesn't buy it and recoils from him in fear.
   
   Back at the caves, Charlie cannot escape from the watchful eye of Locke, who claims to know who he is and what he's looking for. In his paranoia, Charlie assumes that Locke is wise to his drug habit, when in fact, Locke is talking about his status in Drive Shaft and the fact that he lost his guitar in the crash. Locke tells Charlie to have faith — this island will give you a great deal…if you are willing to give it something in return. Meanwhile, Jack returns to the beach and finds the people seriously divided about whether to move to the caves. Kate tells Jack that she just isn't willing to dig in and the two part ways.
   
   Sun finds Michael chopping wood. In perfect English, she explains that her husband attacked Michael over a watch that belonged to her father — a watch that Michael is wearing on his wrist; a watch that symbolized honor amongst the men in her life. And as Michael attempts to take all this in, we go into another FLASHBACK, where a woman posing as a home decorator gives Sun instructions on how to make a getaway at the airport while on a business trip with Jin. We learn that Sun has been studying English for some time in anticipation of leaving her husband.
   
   Back in real time, Charlie finally shakes Locke and sneaks away for a hit. The minute Charlie takes out his drugs, Locke is on him, demanding that he hand them over before he runs out — because then, as Locke reasons, he will be in control of his choice. Charlie is fed up with Locke and asks to be left alone, but Locke will not be denied. In a moment of desperation, Charlie hands over his bag to Locke. And, sure enough, he looks up to see his guitar, hanging in a tree.
   
   Michael approaches Jin wielding the axe, but instead of killing the guy, Michael explains that he innocently found the watch and cuts Jin loose. He warns Jin to stay away from him and his son and walks away as Sun looks on. And in her FINAL FLASHBACK, we are at the airport in Australia. Sun is about to walk away from her husband, eyes darting from the clock to the car waiting outside. But when she looks back at Jin, she finds him holding a white orchid in his hands, reminding her of the simple love they once had. Sun makes a decision to stay with her husband and allows the car to leave without her.
   
   At the caves, Charlie plays his guitar as Hurley, Jin, Sun and Jack arrive. Meanwhile, back at the beach, Sayid, Sawyer, Boone, Shannon, Michael, Walt and Kate keep the signal fire burning. The camps are divided as Jack and Kate stare into their separate fires…
    
7. Nov 03, 2004: The Moth
   We open on the eye of a guitar and pan up to find Charlie, struggling to play the chords that once came easily. He's going through the initial stages of withdrawal -sweating, nervous and agitated. Locke encourages him to take a walk, but Charlie refuses.
   
   Meanwhile, Jack tries in vain to convince Kate to come to the caves and Sawyer moves into the infirmary tent on the beach.
   
   Charlie walks through the woods, hears what he thinks might be the monster and runs. We FLASHBACK to a confessional booth, where Charlie confesses to giving in to the temptations that come with his rock-star lifestyle. On the advice of the priest, Charlie considers quitting the band, until his brother Liam delivers news that they've been signed to a recording contract.
   
   Back in real time, it turns out that Locke was using Charlie as bait to catch a boar. Fed up, Charlie demands his drugs back. Locke explains that he's going to let Charlie ask three times and that on the third time, he's going to let him have the drugs back—this was the first. Charlie begs Locke to throw the drugs away, but Locke reasons that would take away his choice, the only thing that separates us from the animals.
   
   Back on the beach, Sayid tells Kate about his plan to triangulate the French broadcast -they'll set up three antennae and signal one another with bottle rockets as to when to turn them on. However, he needs a battery for the transceiver. Kate goes to Sawyer, knowing full well he has been hoarding stuff, and attempts to persuade him into contributing a battery. Kate claims to understand Sawyer—he has nothing and no one to return to, which is why he acts so selfishly. She says that she pities him. In an act of defiance, Sawyer gives up the battery.
   
   Jack and Hurley continue to move bags from the beach to the caves. Charlie offers his help, but only gets in the way. When one of the bags pops open, Charlie spots some pill bottles and considers pocketing one. Jack catches him in the act. Charlie claims he has a "headache", but Jack tells him Diazepam is a little strong for a headache and dismisses him. Charlie returns to his guitar and we launch into another FLASHBACK, where Liam attempts to talk Charlie into staying with the band—tempting him with fame & fortune and appealing to his ego. Liam promises to look out for him and Charlie agrees so long as Liam promises they can walk away if things get too crazy.
   
   At the caves, Hurley asks Charlie to move his guitar to make room for supplies. This pushes Charlie over the edge and he confronts Jack, going on an irrational rant. Suddenly, the cave walls begin to collapse, sending rocks and dirt everywhere. While Charlie escapes, Jack is trapped inside!
   
   Kate & Sayid trek through the jungle to set the antennae and talk about fate, while Charlie runs to the beach to gather help. Boone leaves Shannon with the responsibility of firing off his bottle rocket and powering up his antenna. Sawyer volunteers to go tell Kate what happened to Jack, leaving Charlie behind. We FLASHBACK to the heyday of Drive Shaft. Charlie is up on stage next to Liam, enjoying the throngs of screaming fans. But as they launch into their hit song, "Y'all Everybody" Liam takes the chorus and sings it himself. Backstage, Charlie confronts his brother for singing his part. Liam claims that he was just caught up in the moment and dismisses Charlie, who stands by watching as his older brother takes a film canister from a girl and pulls out a familiar bag of brown powder. Liam throws Charlie a wink and a smile, before retreating to do the drugs.
   
   Back in real time, everyone works together to clear the rocks from the mouth of the cave. When Michael arrives, he puts his eight years of construction experience into action and halts the work until he can figure out a good place to dig based on stability.
   
   Out in the jungle, Sawyer intercepts Kate & Sayid to deliver news of Jack. But Kate's harsh comments cause Sawyer to have a change of heart and he decides to withhold the information and invite himself along on their mission.
   
   As Locke works to skin another boar, Charlie approaches and tells him about the situation with Jack. But Locke knows the real reason Charlie came out into the jungle — he wants his stash. Locke shows Charlie a cocoon, where a moth struggles to emerge. He explains that he could help it out, but it would be too weak to survive—the struggle is nature's way of strengthening it. And off that nugget of wisdom, Locke reminds Charlie that if he asks again, the drugs will be his.
   
   At the caves, Michael tunnels through to where Jack is able to hear their calls. Jack tells them he's pinned down and unable to move. Michael informs the group that someone small will have to go in after Jack. Charlie emerges from the woods and volunteers.
   
   Back in the jungle, Sayid, Kate and Sawyer stop to place the second antenna. Sayid instructs Kate to watch for his bottle rocket at 5 o'clock, then sets out on his own, leaving Kate and Sawyer together. Sawyer attempts to suss out what Kate sees in Jack. Kate tells Sawyer he doesn't hold a candle to Jack, which leads Sawyer to reveal that Jack is probably dead.
   
   Charlie crawls through the small tunnel towards Jack. In his FLASHBACK, he tunnels his way through the crowd backstage. Charlie finds Liam drinking and drugging with some groupies and berates Liam for missing sound check again and getting high before another show. While Liam takes it all very lightly, Charlie threatens to cancel the rest of the tour, claiming that things have gotten out of control and that it's time to walk away, as they agreed. Charlie tells Liam that he's destroying Drive Shaft, but Liam's ego has grown out of control—he thinks he is Drive Shaft. Liam tells Charlie he's nothing without the band and leaves him behind. Devastated, Charlie picks up one of the film canisters and empties its contents into his hands. He stares at it, tears welling up in his eyes as he contemplates taking them himself…
   
   Halfway through the tunnel, the walls begin to collapse behind Charlie. He makes it to Jack, but now they're both trapped inside. Charlie unpins Jacks arm from under a rock and fixes his dislocated shoulder before we go into another FLASHBACK—
   
   —to a suburban house in Australia. Charlie knocks on the door and a clean-cut Liam answers it. Charlie delivers news that he's lined up a gig for Drive Shaft as an opening act in L.A. Charlie wants a revival—needs a revival. But Liam is settled and likes his new life—he has a wife and child now. When Charlie takes off his sunglasses, Liam realizes that he's using again. Liam offers to get him some help and invites him to stay, but Charlie storms out and heads for the fateful flight back to Los Angeles.
   
   Outside the cave, the group has nearly given up hope until Kate arrives and insists on continuing the rescue effort. Inside, Jack is quick to recognize signs of Charlie's withdrawal and tells him he'll help him though it, if they ever make it out—they're using up oxygen—FAST. But Charlie notices a moth flying around inside the cave and he follows it to a shaft of light where he begins digging for fresh air—
   
   —as Kate and the others dig on the other side. Charlie and Jack break through the surface and stumble back into camp. Kate turns, relieved to see Jack alive and runs into his arms. Jack credits Charlie for getting them out.
   
   Meanwhile, Sayid prepares to turn on his antenna and sets off his bottle rocket. Shannon miraculously holds up her end of the bargain from the beach and the third rocket is launched from Kate's position. Sayid turns on the antenna, about to receive the signal, when he's suddenly conked on the head with a log—someone or something doesn't want them to get off the island.
   
   That night at the caves, Charlie goes to Locke and asks for his drugs. This is the third request and Locke sticks to his word, surrendering the little bag to Charlie. But Charlie unexpectantly tosses the bag into the fire. Locke tells Charlie he's proud of him and knew he could do it. Charlie watches as a moth dances over the fire, finally free of his addiction.
    
8. Nov 10, 2004: Confidence Man
   Kate is out collecting bananas when she comes across a copy of the book Waterhsip Down on the beach. She looks over to find Sawyer taking a swim. He emerges naked from the surf and shamelessly flirts with her. As Kate questions if his tactics work on all the girls, we FLASHBACK to Sawyer in bed with a woman named Jessica — and his southern charm has certainly worked its magic this time around. They bask in the afterglow and seem very much in love. But Sawyer hops out of bed, claiming that he's late for a meeting. When he reaches for his briefcase, it spills open, revealing bundles of cash.
   
   Back in the jungle, Sawyer approaches the hiding spot where he keeps his stash and finds Boone going through his things. Off Boone's scared expression we go to the caves, where Jack tends to Sayid's head wound as Sayid explains that whoever hit him also destroyed the transceiver. Sayid vows to find the person responsible. Boone stumbles back into camp, bloody and beaten. He explains that Shannon has asthma and has run out of refills for her inhaler. He went to see Sawyer because he caught him reading Waterhsip Down — a book that Boone had in his bag; the same bag that carried the refills. Boone tells Jack that Sawyer refused to give up the refills and attacked him.
   
   On the beach, Charlie delivers water to Claire. He tells her that he's worried about her and attempts to talk her into moving to the caves. But Claire wants to stay on the beach, holding onto hope of rescue.
   
   Jack confronts Sawyer about with-holding the inhaler refills that could help Shannon. He begins rifling through Sawyer's things and the two almost come to blows, but Kate interrupts them, diffusing the tense situation. Jack leaves Sawyer, who pulls out a familiar piece of paper — one that we recognize from the pilot — and begins to read, which launches into a FLASHBACK —
   
   — to the hotel room where we last left him. Jessica is more than curious about all the cash Sawyer has in his briefcase. Sawyer explains that it's his life savings — $140,000 — but only half of what he needs to buy into a share of an oil mining operation. He's meeting with an investor who may supply the other half. Jessica's intrigued and offers a way to get the rest of the money without the investor — through her husband.
   
   Back on the island, Kate tries to calm Jack down. She offers to talk to Sawyer, claiming she can reason with him because, "they have a connection". Kate approaches Sawyer and attempts to appeal to his sense of capitalism. She asks what he wants in exchange for the inhaler refills and Sawyer requests a kiss. Kate doesn't buy that this is what he wants and tries to get under Sawyer's skin by mentioning his 'letter' — the one she's seen him read several times before. Sawyer turns dark at the mention of the letter, forcing Kate to read it out loud. We learn that the letter was written by a young boy who implicates Sawyer in a scam against his parents, which led to an affair with his mother, driving his father to kill his mother and then himself. Meanwhile, out in the jungle, Sayid questions Locke on his whereabouts when he was attacked. Locke claims he was out hunting and points Sayid in Sawyers direction — someone who's been profiting from their current circumstance. Locke gives Sayid one of his knives to protect him from another potential attack.
   
   At the caves, Shannon is in the throes of an asthma attack, as Sun looks on concerned. Sawyer strolls into camp for water, which infuriates Jack, who finally takes a satisfying swing at him. But Sawyer is defiant and doesn't fight back. Jack is left to walk away and off Sawyer's look we —
   
   — FLASHBACK — to an upscale restaurant, where Sawyer, posing as Jessica's co-worker at the bank, explains the oil opportunity to her husband, David. But David is skeptical. Sawyer seems unphased and walks away, but David has second thoughts and calls out to Sawyer, who stops with a grin plastered across his face. Sawyer leaves the money with David in an act of good faith and tells him he'll wait for a decision.
   
   Back at the beach, Charlie and Claire discuss the comforts they miss at home — but all Charlie can think of is food. Claire admits that she too misses food and is especially craving peanut butter. Charlie makes a deal with her — if he produces peanut butter, she moves to the caves, where, at the moment, Shannon is having a much more severe attack and Jack has to talk her down. He storms out to confront to Sawyer again. Sayid follows him and suggests that he knows a way to get what they want out of Sawyer — he was, after all, in the Iraqi Republican Guard. And Jack, having had no luck at reasoning or fighting with Sawyer, can only agree.
   
   Meanwhile, Charlie hunts for peanuts to make peanut butter, while Sun shares a remedy for Shannon with Michael. On the beach, Sayid sneaks up on Sawyer while he's sleeping and clubs him over the head. He and Jack drag Sawyer out into the woods and tie him to a tree, much to Kate's objection. Jack attempts to reason with Sawyer one last time. But when Sawyer refuses to produce the inhalers, Sayid goes about torturing him with bamboo reeds under his nails. Jack can barely stand to watch and calls Sayid off. But there's more going on here for Sayid, who thinks Sawyer is the one who attacked him in the previous episode. Sayid pulls out Locke's knife and threatens to put it through Sawyer's eye. This gets Sawyer to agree to talk — but only to Kate.
   
   In FLASHBACK — we visit Sawyer in a pool-hall, where he explains to his to his 'boss', Mr. Kilo, that he left his money with the mark in order to earn his trust. He explains that the wives are easy, but that the husbands need to think they're smarter than him. Kilo tells Sawyer he had better be right and demands his money, plus fifty percent, by noon the next day.
   
   Back on the island, Sawyer wonders if Kate is going to let Shannon suffer over one little kiss, which he asks for shamelessly and she agrees to selflessly — but what starts as a mercy kiss turns into something more…there's chemistry between them and she may actually be enjoying it. When they break, Sawyer announces that he really doesn't have the inhalers; the copy of Waterhsip Down simply washed up on shore. And Kate smacks him, hard. She tells Jack and Sayid that Sawyer doesn't have what they need. But Sayid maintains that Sawyer is lying and goes back to resume his torture to find that he has worked himself free from the ropes. Sayid attacks Sawyer wielding Locke's knife. They tussle and Sawyer ends up with a slashed artery. Jack pinches off the blood flow, literally holding Sawyer's life in his hands. He sends Sayid to get medical supplies. And as Sawyer drifts in and out of consciousness —
   
   — we FLASHBACK a final time, to David and Jessica's home, where Sawyer is about to close the deal and walk away with $300,000. But when David and Jessica's young son emerges from the bedroom, Sawyer can't bring himself to do it. He calls things off, inadvertently reveals his affair with Jessica and leaves the money behind.
   
   Back on the island, Sawyer sleeps, recovering with a few stitches in his arm. He wakes up to find Kate sitting nearby with his letter. She explains to him that since she first read it, she's been feeling that something wasn't quite right. So she continued to read it — over and over again, when it occurred to her that he wrote the letter — and a 1976 Bicentennial postmark on the envelope confirms it. Sawyer admits that he was just an 8 year old kid when he wrote it. He explains that when he was nineteen, he got into trouble where he owed a lot of money to some very scary men, so he took the name of the man he was hunting and became a "confidence man" himself. But just when we think Sawyer is softening by opening up to Kate, he shuts down and chases her away.
   
   Elsewhere, Sun brings eucalyptus leaves to Shannon, helping her to breathe, while Charlie brings some 'imaginary' peanut butter to Claire and convinces her to come to the caves. Sayid tells Kate he's leaving the camp because he can't face what he did to Sawyer — he plans to walk the shore and map the island. And Sawyer takes a lighter to his letter, about to burn it, but he's unable to go through with it and pockets the letter, right along with his anger…
    
9. Nov 17, 2004: Solitary
   Sayid sits alone on an unfamiliar stretch of beach. He stares at the photo of the Arab woman we saw Claire return to him in "Walkabout." After running his fingers lovingly over it and placing it back inside his pack, Sayid stands to continue his journey. But something catches his eye. A closer look reveals it as a piece of wire sticking out of the sand. Sayid pulls the wire, lifting it out of the sand, leading into the jungle.
   
   On our beach, Kate tells Jack she's worried about Sayid — it's been two days since he left. Jack tells her that Sayid is a trained soldier and can take care of himself.
   
   Back in the jungle, Sayid continues to follow the cable until he sees something that causes him to stop in his tracks. There, hidden in the thick undergrowth of the jungle is a tripwire. Sayid carefully steps over the booby trap only to find that the wire was designed to get him to do exactly that. He's snatched into the air and slammed into a tree, impaling his leg on a branch. He continues to hang in the trap for a long time, quietly praying when he hears something coming. Caught between fear and hope, he calls out for help. The rope that's holding him is cut with one swipe of a machete and Sayid comes crashing to the ground. He's able to see the faint outline of someone coming towards him before he passes out.
   
   At the caves, Jack is tending to the various ailments of the survivors. Hurley comments that everyone appears severely strung out. Jack tells Hurley at least they're surviving and they should be happy about that. Jack: "Things could be worse." Hurley: "How?"
   
   As Sayid slowly regains consciousness, he hears a woman's voice ask, "Where is Alex?" When Sayid doesn't answer, the shadowy figure that belongs to the voice flips a switch and electricity surges through the wire bed frame that Sayid is tied to. His body jerks in response to the pain. Sayid begs her to stop and tries to tell her he doesn't know who Alex is, but the switch is flipped again and the light bulbs dim as the voltage is channeled to more painful use.
   
   We FLASHBACK to an interrogation room where a younger, uniformed Sayid works over a prisoner tied to a chair. He beats him savagely until his victim relents. Sayid's superior, "Omar" is impressed enough to promote him and as they playfully tease each other outside the torture rooms, a female prisoner is led across their path. She and Sayid seem to share a flash of recognition, but before they can act on it, she is led away.
   
   Night has fallen at the caves and Hurley is roused from his sleep when Locke returns to camp with some additional luggage he and another survivor found while out tracking game. As they leave it to Hurley to process for useful items, Walt wakes up and asks Locke if he can go hunting with him. Before Locke can answer, Michael wakes up and answers for him. No chance…
   
   We rejoin Sayid in the island in midst of another jolt of electricity. He pleads with his captor, claiming he doesn't know who Alex is! He survived a plane crash and heard a distress call that a French woman left—one that has been playing for sixteen years. When his captor repeats the distress call, we realize that Sayid is being held by the FRENCH WOMAN herself! As she comes into frame and reveals her wild eyes, she tells Sayid that she knows who he really is and knocks him out again.
   
   When he comes to once more, Sayid sees the French Woman rummaging through his pack. He takes a moment to look around her habitat and notices a name stenciled on the back of a jacket. He says it aloud, "Rousseau." But hearing her name only makes her more suspicious and she wants to know more about Sayid. She finds the photos in his backpack and asks him who the woman is. And that question is answered when we FLASHBACK to the prison where we saw Sayid earlier. He has been given a new prisoner to interrogate, but when he steps inside to begin his questions, he discovers this is no ordinary prisoner—it's the woman who crossed his path in the previous flashback. She calls Sayid by his given name and we learn that they grew up together, when he knew her as "Nadia." She wonders how the boy she liked so much as a child could willingly serve the regime of Saddam Hussein. She shows him the scars that mark the other interrogations she has suffered through and says she will tell him nothing. Sayid: "Then I'm going to hurt you." Nadia: "I know."
   
   Back in real time, the French Woman wants to know if the woman in the photo is on the island. Sayid tells her that she is dead because of him. This admission seems to form a connection with the French Woman who tells Sayid her name is "Danielle" and shares that she knows what it is like to lose a love. Sayid asks if she means "Alex", but she says it was Robert, a fellow scientist stranded with Danielle when their research vessel sank off the island years ago.
   
   Meanwhile, at the caves, Michael is in the middle of showing Jack his design for an ingenious shower system when Charlie summons them to a grassy hill over the ocean where they are met with something totally unexpected—even for this island. A golf bag was found in the wreckage and Hurley has been busy constructing a primitive 2-hole golf course to raise spirits.
   
   Back at Danielle's habitat, she shows Sayid a broken music box that Robert gave her. Sayid offers to fix it…if she will untie his hands. She goes to a cabinet and removes an ancient hypodermic syringe, using sandpaper to remove the rust from the needle itself. As Sayid begs her not to do it, she jabs him in the leg and sends him under. When he comes to, Sayid is chained to a desk by his feet and the music box is waiting in front of him. She mentions the presence of the "others", but when Sayid asks if she has actually seen other people on the island, she says no. However, she claims to hear them…out there in the jungle. They whisper…
   
   We FLASHBACK to the prison in Iraq as Sayid enters Nadia's cell with some food—and a seemingly genuine concern for her. Sayid shows her a series of photos and begs her to simply nod at the one who helped plan the bombing he's been investigating. If she does just that, he's sure he can get her released. And though we can see her affection for Sayid, Nadia won't do it.
   
   Back in real time, Sayid uses the tools Danielle provided to work on the mechanics and soon it is playing just like new. As Danielle revels in the joy of the music, Sayid asks her to let him go. He now realizes that he must return to his friends. If they have any hope of rescue, they must all work together. Danielle tells him he can't leave, he needs her if he wants to survive—and as they are arguing there is a menacing ROAR from outside. Danielle immediately springs into action, grabbing her rifle, a knife and extra ammo. "Maybe it's one of the bears," she says. "Dinner." Sayid asks her to untie him so he can go with her. She tells him no—she knows he will only run off. As she is climbing out of the habitat, Sayid warns her that it might be the monster. Danielle looks at Sayid with a mixture of pity and reassurance—"Poor Sayid," she says. "There are no such things as monsters." As soon as she leaves the habitat, Sayid opens his hand to reveal a tiny screwdriver he managed to palm without Danielle seeing. He uses it to break free and he quickly gathers his things. He takes the many charts and maps on the table, stuffs them into his backpack and grabs the spare rifle before climbing his way out.
   
   In FLASHBACK we go once more to the Iraqi prison to learn that Sayid has been ordered to shoot Nadia. He argues for more time, but Omar orders him to get on with it—it's been months and she's given them nothing. Sayid marches Nadia under armed guard toward the killing room. When they reach the room, he dismisses the other guards, telling them he'll take over from there. Once they're out of sight, he removes Nadia's hood and leads her to a door. He tells her that there's a truck outside that will be leaving for Baghdad in a few minutes—if she hurries, she can hide in the back and escape before anyone notices. As he removes her chains, Omar comes from behind and demands to know what's going on. Sayid's face answers the question for him and as he pulls his sidearm, Sayid draws his own and shoots Omar. Nadia begs Sayid to come with him, but he tells her he can't. If he deserts, Saddam's forces will murder his entire family. Nadia manages to write something on the back the familiar photo that Sayid carries before fleeing out the door.
   
   Back in the jungle, Sayid struggles on his bad leg to escape. He hears someone coming and hides just in time to see Danielle looking for him. He gets the drop on her and tells her to throw down her weapon, but she won't listen. He tells her if she doesn't drop the gun, he'll have to shoot her, but she still raises the gun into firing position. Sayid is forced to pull the trigger — CLICK. Nothing happens. Danielle tells Sayid that she removed the firing pin. After an impassioned exchange between them, Danielle agrees to let Sayid leave, but refuses to come back with him. Sayid has one final question before he leaves, "Who is Alex?" Danielle has a look of sadness when she answers, "Alex was my child."
   
   Meanwhile, in the valley, the whole camp is watching the first "Island Open" as Jack, Charlie and Michael battle it out on the golf course. People are actually laughing for what seems like the first time since they crashed here. Even Sawyer manages to share the moment with the others. But not everyone is at the Golf tournament. As Locke practices throwing one of his knives into the trunk of a tree, Walt emerges from the brush. He asks Locke to teach him. After considering the question for a moment, Locke turns the knife around and hands it to Walt. As he takes it, we are left to wonder just what he has begun…
   
   As night falls, Sayid struggles to make his way back to the beach. The wind howls around him and for a moment he thinks he hears something…the whispering of voices. As we push in on Sayid, we are left to wonder whether the wind is playing tricks on him or…if there really is something out there.
    
10. Dec 01, 2004: Raised by Another
    Claire wakes to the sound of a baby crying, opens her eyes and looks down to find that she's no longer pregnant. She follows the cries to find Locke, sitting at a desk in the middle of the jungle. He relays a cryptic message to Claire—"He was your responsibility, but you gave him away. Everyone pays the price now." Then he looks up and Claire sees that one eye is light, the other dark. She runs away and stumbles upon a baby's crib, above which hangs a mobile with miniature Oceanic planes spinning in a circle. Claire reaches down to pick up the crying baby—but the crib is empty. She peels back the white blankets to discover her hands are covered in blood. Claire screams. A hand falls on her shoulder—she turns and wakes again to find Charlie, who tells her that she's having a nightmare. But his concern grows when he sees blood on her hands…
    
    Charlie brings Claire to see Jack, who explains that she was sleepwalking and that the blood was a result of digging her fingernails into her palms. He questions her about her pregnancy—specifically about the date when she found out she was pregnant—which leads to—
    
    A FLASHBACK—of Claire with her boyfriend Thomas. Both are panicked over the positive results of an EPT test. Claire is hesitant to accept the truth. But Thomas tells her that he loves her and convinces her that it could be a good thing for them to raise this baby together.
    
    Back on the island, Charlie brings Claire some tea and offers to be her friend. But Claire is clearly hesitant again, unwilling to get close to him. Meanwhile, Kate tells Jack she is worried about Sayid, who has been gone for days.
    
    Another FLASHBACK reveals Claire with a friend on a visit to see a psychic. The psychic seems legitimate when he asks Claire about her pregnancy. However, he refuses to go on with the reading when he sees something blurry in her future. With a look of panic on his face, he asks Claire to leave.
    
    Back at the caves, Claire is sound asleep when someone sneaks up and covers her mouth. Charlie and Jack wake to her screams again and rush to her side. Though she appears to be alone, she claims that someone was trying to hurt her baby and stabbed her with some sort of needle. Charlie and Hurley immediately set out on the hunt while Jack tries to calm Claire. Hurley suggests they start to canvass, or at the very least, compile a list of names of each survivor on the island. In the meantime, Charlie volunteers to stay with Claire and look out for her.
    
    Another FLASHBACK shows Claire and Thomas in the process of fixing up their apartment for the baby. But something is clearly wrong with Thomas, who's beginning to get cold feet and fears the responsibility of a baby. He goes as far as to suggest that Claire trapped him and walks out on her.
    
    Back at the beach, Jack and Charlie talk to Kate. Jack expresses doubt that something actually happened to Claire -she was sleepwalking and woke up two nights in a row, screaming—her symptoms are textbook anxiety. Why would someone try to hurt her baby anyway? Jack is concerned that her stress level could trigger an early labor. He goes to Claire and offers her a sedative, suggesting that she may have been imagining things due to all the anxiety, to which Claire takes offense and packs up for the beach.
    
    Hurley continues his census with a guy named Ethan Rom, while Claire walks toward the beach. We FLASHBACK to Claire re-visiting the psychic, offering him more money and requesting that he continue her reading -she needs to know the future now that Thomas is gone because she intends on giving up the baby for adoption. But the psychic tells her that it's crucial she raise this child herself, warning her that great danger will befall her if she gives it up. Claire runs out. But the psychic is persistent and calls her on the phone. He begins to offer an alternative solution, but Claire hangs up before he can finish.
    
    On the island, Hurley gets registry info from Shannon & Boone. Boone suggests it might be easier if Hurley got the plane manifest from Sawyer. Hurley goes to Sawyer and doesn't even bother negotiating -he just comes out and asks. And, surprisingly, Sawyer gives it up.
    
    Meanwhile, Charlie catches up with Claire on her way to the beach. Claire claims that the only reason Charlie wants to help her is because of his need to rescue the pregnant girl. As she tells him she doesn't need rescuing, she has a contraction. Charlie reluctantly runs to get Jack as we go into—
    
    A FLASHBACK—to a lawyer's office, where Claire is about to sign papers giving up rights to her baby. But her pen runs out of ink and she can't bring herself to do it. She leaves and revisits the psychic, ready to take him up on his offer.
    
    Charlie runs into Ethan and sends him to get Jack while he returns to Claire, whose contractions have stopped. Claire tells Charlie about the psychic as we—
    
    FLASHBACK to the events she retells, where the psychic offers her money and a plane ticket to Los Angeles to meet a couple with whom the baby will be safe. But the tickets are for an Oceanic flight—and Charlie deduces that the psychic may have known about the plane crash all along and was consciously sending her and her baby to their death.
    
    Meanwhile, Sayid returns to the camp with news of the French Woman, (a callback to the very first episode, when the survivors heard the French Transmission) announcing that they're not alone on the island. Hurley confirms this information with news that one of the survivors names wasn't on the manifest. And while returning to the caves, Claire and Charlie run into that survivor—Ethan Rom. Off of their terrified expressions, we cut to black.
     
11. Dec 08. 2005: All the Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues
    Picking up right were we left off last week, the survivors react to the information that Ethan was not on the plane manifest. Fearing the worse, Jack and Locke rush out to locate Charlie and Claire. They come across Claire's bag and find a set of footprints with evidence that someone was dragged off. Jack calls to Charlie and Claire, but Locke urges him to be quiet - whoever took them could still be around. While Locke wants to organize a search party, Jack acts impetuously and runs off on his own.
    
    We FLASHBACK -- to Jack in the OR, attempting to resuscitate a female patient. The Chief of Surgery enters and orders him to call the time of death. But Jack is determined and won't stop CPR. Everyone in the room can feel the tension between them until finally, the Chief steps up and calls it himself.
    
    Back at camp, Locke gathers his gear with the intention of catching up with Jack. Kate and Boone volunteer to go along with him. But when Michael tries to volunteer, Locke tells him that another person would only slow them down. Feeling rejected, Michael threatens to put together his own search party.
    
    Out in the jungle, with little to go on, Jack's search is proving futile. We FLASHBACK to the OR again, as he looks over the dead patient's body. The Chief berates Jack for taking over his surgery. Jack says that he stepped in because one of the nurses told him the Chief's hands were shaking and that he cut into the patient's artery. And we begin to realize just how personal this argument really is when Jack asks, "How many drinks did you have at lunch, Dad?" As their eyes lock, we recognize Jack's dad, Christian.
    
    Back on the island, Locke, Kate and Boone catch up with Jack and realize he's been going in circles. Locke insists that he return to camp and look over Sayid, "You be the doctor, I'll be the hunter." But Jack refuses and follows after them.
    
    At camp, Michael fills up water bottles, all the while complaining to Hurley that Locke treats him like a second class citizen. Walt defends Locke and advises his father to listen to him. Michael doesn't take this too well and in a competitive action, resolves to head south in search of Charlie and Claire.
    
    Meanwhile, the northern search continues, but they're having trouble finding any leads. Locke wants to rest, but Jack insists they push on. Kate follows Jack in an attempt to find out what's driving him so hard. Jack reveals that he feels guilty about not believing Claire when she said that someone was trying to take her baby. Locke calls after them because he's found a piece of tape from Charlie's fingers. It seems that Charlie left them a trail. They follow it hopefully, until Locke picks up the footprints again. Locke wants to follow them, while Jack insists they continue on Charlie's trail. Kate points out that the footprints could be a trap. Since she seems to know an awful lot about tracking herself, they split in two - Kate with Jack follow Charlie's trail, while Locke with Boone continue to follow the footprints.
    
    Back at the caves, Walt and Hurley play backgammon. The more Walt continues to win, the more his ability to, "make things happen" becomes apparent. Hurley leaves in utter defeat and frustration. Bored, Walt wanders down to the beach and spreads the news about Charlie and Claire. He runs into Sawyer and suggests that maybe they aren't the only people on the island. While Sawyer brushes him off, he can't help but be disturbed at the thought.
    
    Out on the search, Locke & Boone get to know one another. Boone is surprised to learn of Locke's meager existence in the real world -John Locke was a Regional Collections Supervisor for a box company. Meanwhile, Jack attempts to get to know Kate a little better, asking her to give him something honest for once and tell him where she picked up her tracking skills. Kate tells Jack that her father was in the army and that he taught her about tracking when they would go hiking together. And off that revelation about Kate's father, we go to -
    
    -- a FLASHBACK with Jack's father, who encourages his son to sign off on the death report, which conveniently leaves out the part about his father's mistakes. Jack refuses to sign, insisting that his father was impaired, which is what ultimately led to the woman's death. Jack's father reminds him that he is on the hook too -Jack is the surgeon on record when the woman died. He begs his son not to contradict the report or mention anything about the involvement of alcohol - it would cost him his license. He further appeals to his son's emotions, telling him just what he wants to hear: He's been hard on him to make him the best surgeon in the city. Jack's father promises that it will never happen again and Jack signs the papers.
    
    Back on the island, Sawyer goes to the caves to talk to Sayid. The hostility between them is still palpable and while we think Sawyer may have come for payback, we soon learn he's there to have some questions answered - what did Sayid find while he was away? Sayid shares information of the French woman and her team, but points out that what she said may or may not be true. Sawyer pushes for more information, but Sayid admits that he doesn't have the answers.
    
    Out in the jungle, Locke & Boone are hot on the trail. Locke senses that it's going to rain and warns Boone against impending danger ahead. He tries to convince him to go back to camp. But Boone refuses and follows Locke deeper into the jungle as it begins to pour. Meanwhile, Jack and Kate hear the roar of the monster as we --
    
    -- FLASHBACK - to the hospital, where Jack sees his father conversing with the deceased woman's husband in the hallway. A nurse tells Jack that the man has threatened to sue. Jack watches his father work his persuasive magic and console the husband.
    
    In real time, Jack and Kate run and are separated. Jack slips and slides down a bank into a puddle of mud. He looks up to see Ethan standing over him. Ethan orders Jack to stop following him. But when Jack asks who he is and where Charlie and Claire are, Ethan delivers a healthy punch to Jack's face, knocking him back down. He tells Jack once again to stop following him or he'll kill one of his people. Jack attempts to fight him off, but Ethan is too strong and gains the upper hand, telling Jack this is his last warning and knocking him out. Kate finds Jack and suggests that Ethan may have been a hallucination - he fell pretty hard and banged his head. But Jack is sure Ethan was there and is now more determined than ever to find Charlie and Claire.
    
    We FLASHBACK to a medical review board, where Jack's father details what happened during the fateful surgery. Jack can barely stomach listening to his father's lies. When he learns that the patient in question was pregnant, he can no longer hold his tongue and speaks out against his father, revising his statement to include the fact that his father was operating under the influence and severed the patient's artery. Jack's father stares at his son, shocked by this act of betrayal.
    
    Back in the jungle, Jack and Kate come across Charlie, strung up by his neck, hanging from a tree limb. Kate struggles to climb the tree and cut him down as Jack holds him up. She finally succeeds and Jack works to resuscitate him. It becomes increasingly clear that Charlie is gone and Kate has to pull Jack away - but Jack won't give up, and after beating on Charlie's chest, he gets him to breathe again.
    
    Back at camp, Michael returns without success, disappointing Walt; Kate tells Shannon her brother is safe with Locke; and Jack tries to get Charlie to talk about what happened - but Charlie is experiencing a sort of shellshock and can only convey that all Ethan wanted was Claire.
    
    Out in the jungle, Boone is ready to turn back, the bravado replaced by fear. But his mind changes when he and Locke make an extraordinary discovery - something metal embedded in the ground - and it's not a piece of the wreckage. Excited, Locke vows to find out exactly what it is.
     
12. Jan 05, 2005: Whatever the Case May Be
    Kate is out climbing trees for fruit when she runs into Sawyer. They walk through an unexplored part of the jungle, hear the sound of running water and come into a clearing to find a waterfall. They climb to the top and dive into the water to find that this lagoon is not as perfect as it looked. On the bottom, still strapped to their airplane seats, they find two bodies. Horrified, they surface, but Sawyer wants to dive back down and see if he can find any valuables. Kate spots a silver Haliburton case, which she brings up and claims as her own - however, she doesn't have the key, which leads Sawyer to believe otherwise. Kate attempts to act as if the case doesn't matter to her and hands it over to Sawyer.
    
    Back at the beach, people scurry to salvage their belongings as the tide comes up and threatens the fuselage. Jack presses Sayid for information regarding the French woman. Sayid explains that he has to translate the maps and papers in order to make sense of anything. Meanwhile, on another part of the beach, Shannon interrogates Boone as to where he's been - he's been leaving everyday at sunrise and returning after dark. Boone claims he's been out looking for Claire and tells Shannon she's been absolutely useless.
    
    As the sun sets on another day, Kate sits by the campfire, obviously disturbed that Sawyer has the Haliburton case and whatever it may hold. We FLASHBACK to find Kate at a bank, opening a new account, when three armed men enter and order everyone on the ground. Robber #1 tells the Bank Manager to open the money cage before people start getting killed.
    
    Back on the island, Kate sneaks up on Sawyer in an attempt to lift the case out from under his legs. But Sawyer wakes up and grabs Kate in a leg lock. Kate gives him a head butt and escapes. She demands Sawyer hand over the Haliburton, but in typical Sawyer fashion, he refuses, now very intrigued by what this case means to Kate.
    
    The next day, Sayid approaches Shannon as she lies on the beach sunbathing and requests her help in translating the papers he took from the French woman, Rousseau. And while she suspects Boone may have put Sayid up to it, she agrees to try in order to prove herself useful. Meanwhile, Sawyer attempts to pick the lock on the Haliburton. Michael and Hurley tell him how futile it is, but Sawyer claims he can pick the lock on anything. Michael tells him the only way to open it would be to hit it with something hard - like the axe…
    
    …which Boone carries through the jungle, where he meets up with Locke. After convincing Locke that no one saw him take the axe, they head off on an unknown mission.
    
    Sawyer attempts to smash the Halliburton open on a rock, but much to his frustration it still won't crack. He climbs to the top of a tree and drops it on some boulders. Suddenly, Kate comes sneaking out of the woods and grabs the case. Sawyer climbs down and gives chase, eventually catching up and tackling her to the ground. Sawyer promises that if she tells him what's inside the case, he'll hand it over. But Kate remains silent as we --
    
    -- FLASHBACK to the bank, where the robbers are getting violent. A customer near Kate attempts to take out Robber #2, knocking his gun loose and sending it skidding across the floor, landing at Kate's feet. The customer yells at her to pick it up. Kate fumbles with the gun and claims she doesn't know how to use it. Robber #1 grabs her and forcefully leads her into the back room, where we learn that they are in cahoots together when they lock lips in a passionate kiss.
    
    Back at the caves, Kate approaches Jack to ask for his help in getting the Haliburton from Sawyer. Kate suggests they dig up the Marshal's body in order to get the key from his wallet. She tells Jack that the case contains four, 9-millimeter guns, which would be dangerous for Sawyer to have in his possession. But Jack knows there's something more to the story - there always is with Kate. He senses there must be something very important to her in that case and agrees to help her on one condition - that once they get the key, they open it together.
    
    This leads to another FLASHBACK to the back room of the bank, where in order to make it look good, Robber #1 slugs "Maggie" across the face. He pushes her out to the front and puts a gun to her head, threatening to pull the trigger if the Manager doesn't hand over the keys to the cage. The Manager finally gives in and they march him over to the money.
    
    On the island, Kate and Jack continue digging, revolted by the stench. They reach the Marshal's body, where Kate reaches into his pocket and lifts out his wallet. She opens it, but comes up empty handed. She hands the wallet over to Jack, who is quick to realize that Kate palmed the key. Angry with her for continuing to lie to him, Jack takes the key from her.
    
    At the beach, Shannon continues her attempt to translate the papers, but Sayid is growing increasingly frustrated - the equations don't relate to her translations. Shannon suggests that the French woman may have been crazy after sixteen years alone on the island, which is why nothing makes sense. Sayid feels asking for Shannon's help may have been a mistake and when he verbalizes his regret, she picks up and leaves in a huff.
    
    Meanwhile, Jack threatens to stop administering antibiotics to Sawyer if he doesn't give him the Haliburton. Sawyer reluctantly hands it over, but not before asking if Kate divulged the contents, to which Jack can only shake his head "no." Jack brings the case back to Kate and they begin to open it together, as agreed, when we --
    
    -- FLASHBACK to the cage, where Robber #1 pockets bundles of cash. The Manager argues to let "the girl" go. But Robber #1 has different plans. He reveals that "the girl" is the mastermind behind the heist, before taking off his mask and aiming his gun at the Manager. Kate quickly spins and disarms Robber #2, leveling that gun on Robber #1 - "We said nobody gets hurt." But when Robber #1 continues advancing toward the Manager, Kate is forced to shoot him in the leg. The other Robbers react and each takes a bullet from Kate. Kate turns to the Manager and demands the keys to the Safety Deposit boxes. Robber #1 writhes on the ground, incredulous that Maggie would set them up. Kate responds, "My name's not Maggie". She gets the Manager's keys, and with her customer key, opens the box. Inside she finds a small green envelope.
    
    Back on the island, Jack and Kate are about to open the Haliburton when Jack asks Kate if there is anything she wants to tell him first. When Kate says nothing, Jack proceeds to open the case. He pulls out the guns, the ammo and an envelope marked 'personal effects'. Kate takes it and opens it to find the smaller green envelope, which we recognize from the bank. She pulls out…a small toy airplane!? Jack asks if that's what she was looking for and demands to know the truth. Kate claims the plane belonged to the man she loved, then breaks down and admits it belonged to the man she killed. Angry and confused, Jack takes the guns and leaves.
    
    On the new beach, people have settled around scattered campfires for the evening. Shannon approaches Sayid and tells him that she realized the words from the papers were lyrics to a song… "Beyond the Sea." And as Shannon sings the hauntingly beautiful song in French, we pull back to reveal Boone, watching from the shadows.
    
    At a separate campfire, Kate stares at the toy plane with a tear in her eye
     
13. Jan 12, 2005: Hearts and Minds
    Boone's eye opens -- he's staring at something. From his POV we see Sayid enjoying an easy conversation with his sister, Shannon. Hurley interrupts Boone, asking him why he and Locke haven't brought back any boars lately? Boone is offended and tells Hurley that hunting boar isn't as easy as he thinks. Hurley reminds Boone that everybody needs protein -- this isn't a game.
    
    We FLASHBACK to a posh tennis club. Boone is just leaving the court with a lady friend when he gets a call on his cell phone. It's Shannon -- she's crying and we can hear shouting in the background. She begs Boone for help, asking him to come and get her. Boone asks her where she is and the answer serves as another piece of the LOST puzzle falling into place…"Sydney."
    
    Back on the island, Boone confronts Sayid and tells her to stay away from his sister. Sayid doesn't seem the least bit intimidated, but Boone isn't backing down either. Before push comes to shove Locke calls Boone away, they have work to do. While trudging through the jungle, Locke counsels Boone not to make an enemy out of Sayid -- they are going to need him on their side…later. For now the important thing is to get back to the hatch.
    
    Hurley finds Jack and asks him if he has anything to help his upset stomach. Jack asks Hurley a few questions and we discover the cause of his distress. Hurley has been eating nothing but fruit for the last week and his stomach is starting to complain -- they need protein, but there hasn't been any boar. Jack tells him to go and ask Jin for some fish, but Hurley tells Jack that Jin has it in for him because he refused to eat the sea urchin Jin caught the day they crashed. Later, when Jack recounts this story to Kate, she offers about a more disturbing possibility for the lack of boar meat lately. "What if Locke is not catching them on purpose?"
    
    Meanwhile, back in the jungle, Locke and Boone contemplate how to open the hatch when we…
    
    FLASHBACK to a house in Australia. When Boone rings the bell, Shannon's boyfriend, Brian answers. Boone enters looking for Shannon and when she arrives in the room, she looks surprised to see him. Boone reminds her of her frantic call to his cell phone, but she clams up and asks him to leave. While Brian has his back to her, Shannon pulls back her hair to reveal a nasty-looking bruise on her face -- a silent cry for help to Boone.
    
    Back on the beach, Hurley's desperation has forced him to approach Jin. He asks him to teach him how to fish, but Jin has no idea what Hurley is saying. Still, as Jin walks to the water for day's fishing, Hurley is following close behind.
    
    At the hatch, Boone tries to convince Locke to tell the others about their discovery. If not everyone else, at least Shannon. Locke tells Boone she isn't ready to know and that telling her now will only cause problems, but Boone insists -- he's going to tell her when they get back to camp. Locke feels that Shannon has too large an influence over Boone's life, but tells him the decision is his. But when Boone starts off again down the trail, Locke whacks him over the head with the handle of a knife, knocking him out cold.
    
    Boone wakes up to find he is tied to a tree. Locke sits before him mixing a strange concoction in a coconut bowl. Boone begs Locke to untie him, but Locke refuses and then comes over and spreads some of his concoction over Boone's open head wound. Locke tells Boone that he is on his own and he leaves a knife…just out of Boone's reach. "You can cut yourself free and make your way back to camp," Locke says, "With the proper motivation."
    
    We FLASHBACK to Boone at an Australian police station. While attempting to file a complaint against Brian, we learn an interesting bit of information. Shannon and Boone are not blood related -- his mother married her father when they were children. The police can't help Boone, so he decides to take another approach. He finds Brian at work on the docks and tells him to get out of Shannon's life. When Brian scoffs, telling Boone that he loves Shannon, Boone decides to get to the point and asks what his love is worth. Showing his true colors, Brian names his price: $50,000 US dollars.
    
    Back on the island, Kate and Sun are working in a garden that Sun has made. Kate is taking advantage of the safety zone (Sun can't understand her) and is speaking freely about herself. When she says something funny, Sun can't help but laugh and Kate realizes that Sun can speak English. Sun begs Kate not to tell anyone.
    
    Meanwhile, back at the beach, Hurley is trying his best to mimic everything Jin does in an attempt to catch some fish of his own. Having no luck at all, he throws down his makeshift net in frustration and storms back to the beach, but he steps on a sea urchin and howls out in pain. Jin helps him back to the beach and Hurley begs him to urinate on his foot in order to prevent infection. English or no, Jin understands this request…and flatly refuses.
    
    Back in the jungle, Boone struggles to free himself, but there is no way of reaching the knife. Suddenly, he hears Shannon screaming from another part of the jungle. When he asks her for help, she tells him that she is tied up too. And there's a bigger problem…the monster is back. And it's coming their way! Now with Shannon's safety in mind, Boone is able to contort himself just enough to get the knife and he cuts himself loose before following Shannon's screams to her location and cutting her loose as well. There is not a second to spare and they both sprint off to avoid the monster hot on their heels. They hide in a mangrove trunk and pray the monster will go away.
    
    We FLASHBACK to the same house in Australia. Boone has paid Brian off and is coming to collect Shannon and her things. But Shannon looks guilty and we learn why when Brian comes into the room and lays it all out for Boone -- he's been had. Shannon orchestrated the whole drama in an attempt to get money from Boone's mother. Boone is humiliated and his emotions get the better of him, resulting in a fight between him and Brian. Boone leaves the house bloodied and dejected.
    
    Back in the jungle, the coast is clear. As Boone and Shannon make their way along the trail, Boone tells Shannon all about the hatch.
    
    Jack and Charlie make a fire on the beach and Jack asks Charlie for his opinion on Locke. Charlie doesn't hesitate to say that Locke is the one man on the island that he would trust his life to.
    
    Kate and Sun continue to talk about the English secret. When Kate asks why Sun doesn't tell Jin, Sun tells Kate it's because she loves him -- asking Kate, "Haven't you ever lied to a man you loved?" But we're not getting that answer yet…
    
    Back at camp, Hurley is sharing his tale of failure and sea urchin with Michael when Jin arrives and presents Hurley with his very own fish. He may not speak English, but he recognizes that Hurley made a good effort and this is his reward.
    
    In the jungle Boone and Shannon are attacked by the monster again. And this time, try as they might they can't run fast enough and Shannon is snatched up by the beast. As Boone screams after her…
    
    We FLASHBACK to Boone's hotel room in Sydney. He is packing when there is a knock on the door -- it's Shannon. She tells him that Brian took off with the money and now Shannon has no place to go. The player got played. Shannon latches on to Boone telling him that she knew he would bring the money…because he is in love with her. He always has been. Boone tells her she is drunk and crazy, but she comes closer and closer and Boone can't help himself. They fall into a passionate kiss, but the next morning, Shannon is ice cold towards Boone and tells him she wants things to go back the way they were, regardless of Boone's feelings.
    
    Back on the island, Boone continues his desperate search for Shannon. But when he finds her bloody, crumpled body lying by the stream we all know he is too late. Boone weeps as she dies in his arms.
    
    Later, finally making his way back to camp, Boone sees Locke sitting by the fire and attacks him, blaming Locke for Shannon's death. When Boone tells Locke that Shannon died in his arms, Locke asks Boone why there is no blood on him. And there isn't any! Just as Boone is going to ask what happened, Shannon comes into view. She's alive and well and chatting happily with Sayid. Locke tells Boone that the concoction he spread on his head wound was a hallucinogenic that allowed Boone to have his "vision." When he asks Boone how he felt when Shannon died, Boone can't help but give the honest answer… "I felt relieved." Satisfied that Boone has finally learned to let go of Shannon, Locke tells Boone to "follow me." After a final look at his sister, the disciple follows his master back into the woods.
     
14. Jan 19, 2005: Special
    Michael scans the jungle, looking for Walt. He runs into Hurley and Jack, who haven't seen him. Michael sighs, frustrated, but continues on. Hurley says that Michael seems to hate being a father. But in the FLASHBACK, Michael is clearly thrilled about becoming a father and wants the best for his soon to be born son. As he and his girlfriend Susan shop for cribs, Michael tells Susan that he plans on doing some construction for extra money while she finishes law school. Susan is concerned about Michael giving up his art, but Michael insists that he can go back to that later. Right now, they have to prepare for baby "Walt" - named for Michael's father. Susan agrees, but wants to give Walt her last name - they aren't married yet, after all. And off their playful banter we ...
    
    ...return to the jungle, where Locke teaches Walt how to throw a knife as Boone looks on. Walt misses the tree several times, but Locke encourages him and tells him to picture success in his minds eye. Walt throws the knife a final time and hits his mark, amazing Boone and impressing Locke. Michael comes upon this scene and sends Walt back to camp, furious with Locke about letting his boy play with knives. The discussion gets heated when Boone suddenly lunges at Michael to protect Locke. They wrestle on the ground until Locke breaks them up. Locke explains that Walt is a special child who should be treated like an adult and allowed to realize his full potential. Michael orders Locke to stay away from his son.
    
    We FLASHBACK to baby Walt, as Michael and Susan argue over him. Susan tells Michael about a huge job opportunity in Amsterdam and that she plans on taking Walt with her - she and Michael need some time apart. When Michael refuses to let Walt go with her, Susan calls his bluff - she can provide better for Walt and a court would certainly side with the child's mother. Michael looks down at his son, heartbroken.
    
    On the island, Sun approaches Michael as he sits by a camp fire, watching Walt sleep. Michael admits that while he doesn't really know how to be a father, he knows it wouldn't be a good thing for his son to grow up on the island. Determined, he heads out to talk to Jack and Sayid about building a raft. When Jack and Sayid scoff at the idea, Michael takes the project as his own. He finds Walt reading through a familiar comic book - the one with the polar bear from the first episode - and enlists his help.
    
    We FLASHBACK to Michael, at a pay-phone, begging to speak with Walt. He can hear a man's voice in the background and learns that Susan has been seeing her boss, Brian. Michael threatens to come to Amsterdam to get his son. He slams down the phone down and charges across the street when he's suddenly mowed down by a passing car.
    
    Back on the island, Charlie searches through Claire's things, looking for clues and some sort of comfort and finds that her diary is missing. Kate leads Charlie to Sawyer, sure that's where they'll find it. But Sawyer doesn't give anything up without a fight and teases Charlie about the diary, knowing he's curious as to what Claire wrote about him. Charlie finally slugs him, grabs the diary and storms off. Only then does Sawyer admit to Kate that he hadn't gotten around to actually reading it.
    
    Walt and Michael continue to scavenge for materials to build the raft - metal, tubes, cushions, plastic and tarp. When Walt spots Locke and Boone heading back toward the caves, he tells Michael he's going to get some water so that he can secretly follow them. As Locke and Boone return to camp, Shannon intercepts her brother, questioning why he and Locke haven't scored any boar on their hunts. She suggests Boone's time would be better spent if he came with her to help Michael on the raft. But the dynamic between them has clearly shifted and Boone flatly refuses the invitation. Meanwhile, Locke tells Walt to respect his father's wishes and not come around anymore. Michael drops in on them, incredulous at seeing Locke with his son again. Locke explains that he told Walt he wouldn't be spending any more time with him and offers Michael a mechanical pencil as a peace offering. Michael won't accept it and tells Locke that if he catches him with his son again, he'll kill him. Walt calls his father a jerk for sending Locke away and for not being around when he was growing up - "You only showed up when mom died. You're not my father." And though we can see this stings, Michael tells Walt that he's going to have to learn to listen to him. He orders Walt to stay put and tosses his comic book into the fire.
    
    We FLASHBACK to a hospital room, where we find Michael, in a wheelchair, post accident, working on a detailed drawing. He tells the nurse that he's making a card for his sons 2nd birthday. Susan shows up, concerned that she hasn't heard from him in two months. Michael is disappointed that she didn't bring Walt, but happy to see her nonetheless. When Susan offers to pay all of Michael's medical costs, he intuits that she has something up her sleeve. Susan reveals that she and Brian plan to move to Italy and that Brian wants to adopt Walt. She tells Michael to consider what's really best for Walt over his feelings.
    
    Back on the island, Hurley tells Michael that Walt and the dog took off. Michael heads straight for Locke, who insists that he doesn't know where Walt is. Off Michael's concerned look, Locke volunteers to help find him. In the jungle, Walt and Vincent are startled by a noise. Vincent breaks free from his leash and Walt gives chase.
    
    We FLASHBACK to Walt, staring at Vincent as Susan and Brian discuss their day's work. When Walt interrupts them, Susan tells him to do his homework. But Walt says that he needs help with his report on birds of Australia. Susan suddenly feels sick, drawing focus away from Walt. And as Walt continues to call out for attention, as kids often do, a bird crashes into the sliding glass door that leads into their living room. Brian looks down at Walt, a little freaked over this odd occurrence.
    
    Back in the jungle, Walt searches for Vincent, when he's startled by another noise. We FLASHBACK to Michael's apartment this time. He opens his front door to find Brian at his doorstep with bad news - Susan is dead. Brian confesses that he doesn't want to be a father - he adopted Walt because Susan wanted it. He offers Michael plane tickets and money. And though Michael would like nothing more, he puts Walt's best interests first and says that Walt needs Brian now - he is the only father Walt really knows. But Brian claims that he can't take care of Walt and hints that there is something "different" about the boy.
    
    On the island, Michael and Locke come across Vincent's leash and hear Walt cry for help. We FLASHBACK to Australia, where Michael has come for Walt. A nanny tells him that Walt will be home shortly and gives him a box filled with unopened cards and letters - everything Michael has sent his son over the last eight years.
    
    In the jungle, Walt finds himself trapped inside the vines of a Banyan tree with a giant polar bear lurking outside. We FLASHBACK a final time to the same house in Australia. Walt returns from school and finds Michael in his living room. But the two are complete strangers - Walt doesn't even recognize his own father until Michael ID's himself as such. Michael tells Walt he's going to take care of him now and tries to comfort him by using the dog. But Walt informs Michael that Vincent is Brian's dog. Michael tells Walt that Brian said he could have Vincent.
    
    Still in danger, Walt calls for his Dad. Michael and Locke come upon the Banyan tree and walk a tightrope of vines to reach Walt. Seeing that the polar bear is on attack, Locke throws Michael a knife, which Michael drops down to Walt. Walt uses the knife to fend off the polar bear, allowing Michael to make his way down to Walt. Michael wraps some vines around his son's waist and Locke pulls Walt to safety. The bear returns and paws at Michael, who finally plunges the knife into the bear's neck, injuring it and driving it away. Walt worries about Vincent, but Locke reminds him that the dog returned once and assures him that it will return again. Michael gives Locke an appreciative smile.
    
    Later, at a campfire, Michael is finally able to share his cards and letters with Walt who is surprised to learn that his father wrote him and confused that his mother never gave them to him. Michael tells Walt that she saved them because she must have wanted him to have them someday - and that someday is now. Meanwhile, Charlie finally gives in and reads Claire's diary. He finds some entries pertaining to him and reads that he made Claire feel safe. He also finds some entries pertaining to a dream about a 'black rock.' Charlie takes this information to Sayid, who confirms the mention of a 'black rock' in the French woman's paper. They speculate that this may be where they will find Claire - but not in the middle of the night. And out in the jungle, Locke and Boone search for Vincent when they see something rustling through the leaves. Concerned that it may not be the dog, Locke pulls his knife - but it's Claire who emerges from the bushes, dazed and confused, but still alive…
     
15. Feb 09, 2005: Homecoming
    Charlie's eye opens as he is roused from sleep by the sounds of people springing into action around him. He wipes the sleep from his eyes and gets to his feet, but before he can ask what all the commotion is about, we get the answer. Through the brush comes Locke…and he's holding Claire in his arms! Charlie can't believe it and he fights through the crowd of castaways to be by her side. Jack has her now and he is gently trying to get her to regain consciousness. Charlie asks the question we all want answered: Is she alive? And for just a second, we're afraid the answer is "no," but then Claire wakes up and starts to scream. Jack calms her down, tells her it will be all right. She's safe now -- back where she belongs. Claire's response is enough to knock us off our feet… "Who are you?"
    
    Later, Charlie finds Claire alone and confused and tries to connect with her by telling her that Ethan kidnapped him as well and nearly killed him. Claire asks who Ethan is and Charlie tells her all she needs to know. "He's a bad guy."
    
    We FLASHBACK to Charlie in the pub with his "mate," Tommy. These are strange days for Charlie - - DRIVESHAFT has broken up, but he is having an awfully hard time letting go. Still, he can get by just fine…as long as he can stay stoned. But Charlie is just about broke now and that's where Tommy comes in. He has a plan: Charlie uses whatever celebrity he has left to charm his way into the life (and home) of Lucy, a frumpy, but very rich girl that Tommy has handpicked for just this purpose. If Charlie had a conscience, he sniffed it up his nose a long time ago. He finishes his pint and goes in for the kill.
    
    Back on the island, Charlie hooks up with Jin for the walk back from the caves to the beach - - "safety in numbers, right?" Wrong. Jin is knocked out by a flying rock and before Charlie can figure out what is happening, he is face to face with Ethan. Charlie tries to attack him, but Ethan easily pins Charlie against a tree and delivers his demand: Bring Claire to this spot before sundown…or Ethan will kill one of them every day until he does.
    
    Jack, Locke, Sayid and Charlie discuss what to do. What if Ethan is still out there? What if he tries something like this again? Charlie and Jack want to organize a hunting party to try and capture him, but Sayid and Locke disagree in favor of building up the camp's defenses. Reluctantly, Jack and Charlie go along with the plan.
    
    Meanwhile, Claire asks Charlie why everyone is acting so nervous, especially around her. Charlie can't bring himself to tell her about Ethan and lies, saying everything is okay.
    
    We FLASHBACK to Charlie once more as Lucy shows him around her very posh home. They enjoy an easy banter and, as Lucy goes for tea, Charlie cases the joint. Lots to steal here…this will do just fine. When Lucy invites Charlie to dinner with her father later that week he is only too happy to accept.
    
    Back on the island, Kate goes to see Jack. She heard about what happened with Ethan and wants to use the guns from the Marshal's case for protection, but Jack won't have it. Putting guns in untrained hands is more dangerous than helpful.
    
    Instead, they've decided to rig an alarm system that Locke has invented out of empty cans and homemade tripwires. They post sentries with spears around the perimeter of the camp. They will stay on guard all night and sleep in shifts.
    
    Charlie tells Jack that he is afraid for Claire. He wants to move her to a new location, one that is more secure. When Jack tells him to try and relax, Charlie confesses that he blames himself for allowing Claire to be taken - - he should have fought harder for her. Jack puts a hand on his shoulder and promises that nothing will happen to her again.
    
    FLASHBACK to Charlie seated at a posh dining table. Charlie, Lucy and her father enjoy their meal. When Lucy's father talks about how he was in a band that failed and Lucy beams at him from across the table, something unexpected starts to happen - - Charlie is actually bonding with this man. And damned if he isn't growing genuinely fond of Lucy as well.
    
    Later, Charlie is back at the pub with Tommy. He tells Tommy that he doesn't want to go through with the theft and that he has decided to try and go straight -- He even accepted a job selling copy machines for Lucy's father. But Tommy won't have it; Charlie has been running up quite a tab partying on Tommy's smack and if he wants the party to continue he needs to swipe something he can sell for cash…NOW! And if Charlie doesn't like the idea now, let's see how he feels after Tommy cuts off his drug supple for a few days.
    
    Back on the island that night, Boone is on sentry detail. As the torches burn on the perimeter, and the waves gently crash against the shore, he struggles to keep his eyes open -- listening for the sound of the tripwire and the cans. Maybe he can rest his eyes for one brief second? Surely he's got that long to…BANG! Boone opens his eyes, its morning! Oh no, how long was he asleep? He goes off, spear at the ready to investigate, but the only intruder he finds is Vincent, the dog. But just as he is letting himself off the hook we hear a SCREAM from down by the water. Oh my God…one of the castaways is dead. And whatever killed him, it wasn't an accident.
    
    As the castaways bury one of their own, Claire again starts to feel people looking at her. Some look with pity, but some look with (is that contempt?) something else. Finally she can't take it anymore and asks Shannon why she is staring at her. Shannon is shocked… "You mean nobody has told you?"
    
    Claire confronts Charlie, furious that he lied to her when she asked him what was going on earlier. Charlie says that he just wanted to take care of her, but she isn't interested.
    
    FLASHBACK to Charlie adjusting the tie on the brand new suit that Lucy has bought him for his first day of work tomorrow. He is coming down off a very long bender and doesn't look so good, but when Lucy asks him about it he blames it on "nerves." When she is out of the room, Charlie swipes a jeweled cigarette case and places it in his pocket.
    
    Jack and Locke discuss their options. They can't keep waiting around for Ethan to kill them one by one, but he has the advantage of the terrain. Jack says he has something that will help even the odds and gives Locke one of the 9mm guns from the case. They enlist Sawyer and Sayid as well and even Kate gets in on the team when they realize they have another gun (the one from the Marshal's holster). Charlie is desperate to go with them, but he simply isn't qualified. He leaves feeling frustrated and useless.
    
    We FLASHBACK once more to Charlie in the middle of his sales call. It is a disaster and poor Charlie ends up throwing up all over the boardroom.
    
    Back on the island, Claire has decided that she isn't going to let anyone else die for her and she agrees to act as bait in order to try and capture Ethan. Jack, Kate, Sayid, Locke and Sawyer lie in wait until Ethan makes his move and then Jack POUNCES on Ethan, losing his gun in the tussle. They go back and forth in a vicious fight and Jack shows a side of himself we haven't yet seen. He beats Ethan into submission and the others arrive with their guns to ensure he doesn't get away. Now, it's time to get some answers, but Ethan is shot several times from off screen. We reveal Charlie who followed the team out on their "hunt" and picked up Jack's gun when he lost it in the fight. As Ethan dies all hopes of an interrogation are lost.
    
    Back at camp Jack asks Charlie why he did it. Charlie tells us that he wasn't going to let that animal get near Claire ever again. And there's one more thing -- "He deserved it."
    
    We FLASHBACK to see Charlie pounding on a door. When it finally opens, Lucy gives Charlie exactly what he deserves -- her contempt. All she wants to know is, if all Charlie wanted was to rob her, why did he take the job? Charlie tells her he wanted to show her that he could be respectable…that he could take care of her. What she says in return has obviously stayed with Charlie a long, long time: "You'll never take care of anyone."
    
    Back at camp, the castaways are returning to their version of calm. The only person who feels more alone than Charlie is Claire, and when she tells Charlie that she remembers peanut butter, it's enough to sustain him for another day at least. As he allows the first smile in a long time to cross his face, he takes the first step toward rebuilding their friendship. "It was imaginary peanut butter, actually."
     
16. Feb 16, 2005: Outlaws
    As we begin with our now familiar eye opening, we pull back to reveal something different. This eye belongs to a young boy, roused from a peaceful sleep by a violent pounding on the front door. His mother bursts into his room and tells him that everything is going to be okay, but we can see from her face that she doesn't believe it. She hides him under his bed and makes him promise that he won't come out no matter what he hears. She makes his bed to make it look as if he was never there and goes downstairs. We stay with the boy and hear a violent argument that ends with a GUNSHOT. From the boy's POV we see a pair of cowboy boots enter his room. The boy does his best not to cry and the man in the boots comes over and sits on his bed. As we share in his terror, wondering if he is going to be next, we hear another gunshot and the man collapses, dead on the bed above him.
    
    Back on the island, Sawyer wakes from his nightmare, covered in sweat. He reaches over for a sip of water, relieved that it is all over, but we hear a rustling in the darkness. Sawyer slowly reaches for the flashlight and when he turns it on we see an enormous boar demolishing his things. Sawyer grabs a bat and lashes out, but the boar easily escapes, destroying the relative calm of his makeshift tent. As Sawyer angrily gives chase, the boar disappears into the jungle with the tarp that was his roof. When he gives chase, we hear those same spooky whispers in the wind. Did they actually say something, this time?
    
    Later that morning, Sawyer is cleaning up his things. Sayid comes by and is clearly enjoying Sawyer's plight. Sawyer asks Sayid about the voices he thought he heard in the jungle when he escaped from Rousseau, but Sayid writes it off as stress-related delusions.
    
    We FLASHBACK to a hotel room. And for a second we think we must be watching a rerun because here comes Sawyer again, tangled in a kiss with another attractive woman. But just as it starts to get interesting, the two of them are interrupted by a voice from the dark. A man Sawyer knows as "Hibbs" wants to talk and it doesn't take long for us to realize that Sawyer ain't too glad to see him. As Sawyer chokes him, reminding him that he screwed him out of his share of a con they ran years ago, Hibbs tells Sawyer that he has come to make it right. Hibbs hands him an envelope and we expect it to be full of money, but what it actually holds is far more valuable…The whereabouts of the man who killed Sawyer's parents. The real "Sawyer" -- the man he has been chasing his whole life. He runs a shrimp truck…in Sydney.
    
    Back on the island, Jack and Kate return the guns from the Ethan mission to the Halliburton case. All but one, that is… Sawyer has refused to turn his in. Kate offers to get it back for Jack telling him that she "can speak his language." You don't have to look very hard at Jack's face to see how he feels about that…
    
    Back at the caves, Charlie is building something from bits of wreckage. Claire comes over to him, but we can see from his persona that this isn't the Charlie we all know and love. Something is…off. When Claire asks him if he wants to go on a walk, Charlie says that he has something to do and just walks away.
    
    In the jungle, Sawyer comes upon his tarp -- the boar must have dropped it there when it ran away the night before. He grabs it and starts to make his way back to camp, but he hears something -- the whispers blowing in the wind! But Sawyer has more pressing troubles to deal with because it looks like the boar wasn't quite ready to give that tarp back. It comes crashing out of the brush and straight at Sawyer. He runs as fast has he can, but he's got no chance and the boar easily catches him and knocks him off his feet and right into a big puddle of mud before disappearing back into the jungle. Sawyer was just the victim of a boar "drive-by"! Kate catches up with Sawyer as he is packing up for a hunt. She thinks he is being absurd and tells him to tell Locke to go and kill it, but Sawyer explains that it's too late for that -- it's personal now.
    
    And speaking of personal, we FLASHBACK to Sawyer making his way along the waterfront of a city that could only be Sydney, Australia. He ducks into a seedy boathouse where a man sells him a gun. But before the man hands it over he lets Sawyer know that there are no refunds, so before he buys the gun Sawyer better be sure he has what it takes to use it.
    
    Back at the beach, Hurley and Charlie bury Ethan (So that's what Charlie was making, a shovel!) and even though this is one of the creepiest things they've ever done, Hurley can see that something is wrong with Charlie. When he asks him if he is okay, Charlie doesn't answer. After they finish, Hurley finds Sayid and asks him if he ever dealt with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder while in the army. When Sayid asks him why he wants to know, Hurley tells him about Charlie.
    
    Meanwhile, out in the jungle, Sawyer is having absolutely no luck trying to track his boar. Kate arrives and offers to track for him…on one condition: Anytime she wants something from his stash, she gets it -- no questions asked. And though it clearly kills Sawyer to do it, he has a score to settle with that boar, so he agrees.
    
    We catch up with them later that night around a campfire. Sawyer brought along several of the mini bottles of booze from the airplane and he and Kate decide to play a little game called "I never" where we learn an awful lot about the both of them: Kate has never been to Disneyland; Sawyer has never been in love; and BOTH of them have killed a man.
    
    FLASHBACK to the same bedroom we saw at the top of the show. The same kid cowers under the same bed. Only this time, when the door opens, we don't see a pair of cowboy boots come in, but a pair of hooves -- hooves that look suspiciously like they belong to a boar!
    
    Sawyer wakes up to see Kate kneeling over him. The good news -- it was just a dream. The bad news -- the boar attacked them again while they slept. Wait. Actually, the boar attacked Sawyer when they slept. While his stuff is destroyed, Kate's is untouched. But before Sawyer can fly completely off the handle he hears a rustle in the bushes behind him. This time he's ready and he draws his gun, but it's not the boar - - it's Locke who explains that he's been out looking for wreckage to salvage. He sits down and joins them for coffee. After Kate tells him that Sawyer thinks this boar has something personal against him, Locke tells them a story about his sister, Victoria who died when she was little. Their mother swore that she came back as a golden retriever. Maybe the boar is the spirit of someone who Sawyer pissed off back in the real world.
    
    And as we wonder who that could be, we FLASHBACK to Sawyer sitting in a car staring at a shrimp truck in the distance. He checks to make sure the gun in his jacket is loaded and makes his way over to the guy running the truck. He's seems nice enough and even offers Sawyer a fellow American discount -- 50 percent off! As he goes to the stove to cook Sawyer's lunch we see the gun shaking in Sawyer's hand. Can he do it? When the shrimp guy turns back around to deliver his lunch we get our answer…Sawyer is gone.
    
    We don't have to wonder where he went because we see him knocking back shots in a dive bar. When the bartender asks if he's had enough, Sawyer tells him to keep them coming. From down the bar we hear another American congratulating him on his decision -- "These bastards think Americans can't hold their liquor." But wait…there is something familiar about that voice. When Sawyer buys a round for him, he slides on down the bar to join him and…Oh…My…God…it's Christian Shepard, Jack's dad! And what he has to say just about knocks us off our feet. He doesn't hate Jack for what he did; he loves him for it. And get this -- he's proud of him! So here they are, just two guys trying to drink away the pain and find a little peace in their lives. But that's not likely and they both know it. Besides, Christian Shepard has a theory: Some people are just meant to suffer -- and he should know, he's a chief of surgery. "That's why the Red Sox will never win the series, Christian says." When Sawyer asks him why he doesn't call his son and tell him these things, Christian gives a more honest answer than we've ever heard from him: "Because I am weak." And when he asks if the "business" Sawyer is in town for is going to bring him peace, Sawyer tells him it will. "Then what are you doing here?"
    
    Good question. We're back at the shrimp truck, later that night. And as the rain slashes down outside Sawyer clocks his target: "Sawyer." The real one -- the man he has been chasing his whole life. When he goes to dump his trash in the dumpster next to the truck, Sawyer checks the gun once more and gets out of the car.
    
    Back on the island, Charlie is husking coconuts. Sayid approaches and asks him how he is doing, but Charlie is on to him. Charlie tells Sayid he is NOT sorry for shooting Ethan. Ethan tried to kill him and he kidnapped Claire. He deserved to die…and Charlie would do it again. Sayid tells him a story that makes it clear to Charlie that the feelings he is having are totally normal. Before he leaves, he tells Charlie something else that seems to hit home: "You are not alone, Charlie. Don't pretend to be."
    
    In the jungle, Sawyer and Kate are on the trail. Kate spots a wallow the boars have been using and they know they are close. When Sawyer captures a baby boar and uses it for bait, Kate demands that he set it free before he hurts it. Sawyer refuses, but Kate knocks him down and the baby boar goes free. Kate is disgusted and tells Sawyer to find his own way back.
    
    FLASHBACK to the shrimp truck. Sawyer is now very close behind his prey. And as he raises the gun he calls out the name that has been haunting him for so long…"Sawyer!" The man turns around and Sawyer shoots him in the chest. Finally, Sawyer has got his man…or has he? Rasping for breath, the man tells Sawyer that he would have paid his debt and that Hibbs didn't need to do this to him. What? What did he just say? Oh no. Oh, God, no! Hibbs set Sawyer up from the beginning. This wasn't the man who killed his parents and ruined his life and never was. He was just someone who owed Hibbs. As Sawyer deals with the horrific realization of what he has done, the man says one more thing before he dies. "It will come back around."
    
    Back on the island, Sawyer is wandering around hopelessly lost. He spins around looking for something, anything he recognizes and calls out for Kate. When he turns all the way around, he sees that he is face to face with the boar. His boar. Kate enters and looks on from beyond Sawyer's field of vision as Sawyer pulls his gun and raises it to the boar. The boar doesn't budge. In fact, he appears to be looking Sawyer right in the eyes. We hold this for a long time until, finally, Sawyer lowers the gun and the boar walks away. Noticing Kate now, Sawyer tries to play it off -- "It's just a boar." But we all know better by now.
    
    Back at the beach, Jin and Sun mend a fishing net. Michael continues his work on the raft while Vincent plays with Walt. Claire sits by herself looking at the ocean. Charlie arrives looking like a changed man and the two of them take that walk that Claire proposed earlier.
    
    Jack is in the woods, breaking wood for the fire. Sawyer arrives and after some vintage, Sawyer juvenile banter, he hands over the last gun to Jack. In response to his sarcasm, Jack says something that makes our hearts stop: "That's why the Red Sox will never win the series." Sawyer asks him to repeat that last bit and Jack tells him that it's something his father used to say to explain why he didn't have to apologize for all the lousy things he did to people -- he preferred to put the blame on fate. When Sawyer asks if Jack's dad was a doctor, too, Jack tells him he was and then asks a question of his own. Jack: "Why do you want to know about my dad?"
    
    And we hold our breath because we realize the power of what Sawyer knows. The impact of hearing from someone who spoke to him just before he died that Jack's father didn't blame Jack for his downfall. That he believed in him. That he was proud of him. That his father loved him. It's what Jack has wanted to hear his whole life and will now never have the chance to. Oh, GOD would it help…
    
    But that just wouldn't be Sawyer. Sawyer: "No reason."
     
17. Feb 23, 2005: ...In Translation
    As Jin's eye opens we sweep across the now familiar landscape of our island shore. He stands alone, turning his head first one way then the next. Looking for something…
    
    We FLASHBACK to a setting that plays in stark contrast to the lush and tropical surroundings of the island. A younger Jin stands silently before an older looking man who is seated at his impressive desk signing papers. As Jin fidgets nervously in his best suit, the man finally speaks to him. "Why do you want to marry my daughter?" the man asks. Wait, this is Sun's father! Jin answers truthfully and succinctly -- Sun is his dream. He will do anything her father asks in order to win his permission to marry her. When Jin agrees to work for Sun's father he receives that blessing in the form of a simple handshake. And we can see from the smile on his face how happy this makes him.
    
    Back on the island, Jin finds what he was looking for. He sees his wife, Sun going down to the water's edge for a swim. But when he sees she is wearing a bikini, he immediately goes to her and demands that she cover herself with her towel. As she refuses we reveal that this argument is taking place in full view of the rest of the camp and Michael decides to intercede. Jin is forcibly placing the towel around Sun's torso when Michael steps between the two of them and tells Jin to keep his hands off her. He gets slapped in the face for his trouble…by Sun. And she takes her husband by the hand and leads him away as Michael tries to figure out what the heck just happened.
    
    Back at the caves, Jin asks his wife what is going on between her and Michael. She tells him he is being silly and that nothing at all is going on. As he tries to believe this we…
    
    FLASHBACK to Sun putting on her dress on the day of her wedding. As she talks with her bridesmaid, there is a knock on the door and Jin enters, resplendent in his tuxedo. The bridesmaid leaves so Jin can share a quiet moment alone with his bride before the insanity begins. Sun wishes that Jin's father were still alive, so he could be there to see the wedding, but Jin assures her that, wherever he is, he is sure his father is proud of him. It's a great moment, but Sun wishes that they could go on a honeymoon instead of having Jin go immediately to work for her father. Jin says that in 6 months, after his management training has ended, they will go on the honeymoon they have always dreamed of. He just wants to show her father that he is "committed."
    
    Back on the island, Sun goes to Michael. She apologizes, but explains that she slapped him to protect him from Jin -- "You don't know what he is capable of." But that's her problem, not his. All he is interested in is finishing that raft, so he can take his son and get OFF this island.
    
    Jin meanwhile is blowing off some steam by practicing his golf swing with some lava rocks at the Island Country Club. Hurley comes to try and break the ice between Jin and the others by offering to take him fishing. But Jin isn't interested.
    
    Shannon is helping Sayid with the raft when it becomes clear that the two of them are beginning to enjoy each other's company. When Sayid ramps up his flirtation a notch, Shannon is right there to match him and even proposes the two of them go on a "date" sometime.
    
    Later, Michael and Walt are putting on the finishing touches as Vincent the dog sits loyally by their side. Michael tells his son how much he is going to love New York, especially the buildings and we can see his face start to light up at the thought of it, but Walt would rather play with the dog. As they run off, Jack enters and tells Michael that people are starting to talk about who is going to be on the raft with Michael and Walt. Michael explains that the raft was built for 4 and there's only one seat left. Jack knew about Michael and Walt, but wants to know who took the third spot. He gets his answer as Sawyer enters and delivers the cable he used to 'buy a ticket" on the raft.
    
    That night Kate and Sun are talking next to the fire. Kate asks why Sun allows her husband to treat her so poorly. Sun tells her that she doesn't understand -- she doesn't know Jin like she does. He wasn't always this way…he used to be so loving. But before they can continue we are interrupted by a commotion in the background. When the go outside to investigate they find the nearly completed raft engulfed in flame. Most of the castaways try to douse the flames with sand but it's far too late for that. As Michael turns to find Sun in the crowd he has but one question: "Where is he?"
    
    Michael is furious. It's all Jack and Kate can do to calm him down long enough to convince him that they don't know for sure that Jin is to blame. But Michael doesn't want to hear it -- and neither does anyone else. They all saw what happened on the beach that morning. Only Walt getting too close to the fire while trying to put it out is enough to draw Michael away from his fury and as he goes to look after his son, Sun runs off to look for her husband.
    
    And she finds him at the caves, searching through Jack's makeshift "medicine cabinet." He's hurt his hands…no…wait, he's burned his hands! As Sun looks on, devastated at this discovery she tries to explain to her husband that Michael was only trying to get them off this island. The mere mention of Michael's name is enough to get Jin's blood boiling and he has to restrain himself before disappearing again, back into the jungle.
    
    We FLASHBACK to the same office where we first saw Jin receive permission to marry Sun. But the subject of this meeting is far less romantic. Jin is apologizing profusely to Mr. Paik, but is interrupted before he can finish. Jin has the situation all wrong -- he was not called to the boss' office to be reprimanded, but rather to be promoted. And his first job as Mr. Paik's "Special Assistant" is to visit the Secretary for Environmental Safety and deliver a message on Mr. Paik's behalf: "I'm very displeased." Jin is confused, but accepts his orders immediately. And we arrive at the house of the Secretary of Environmental Safety to find he is living very well indeed. Jin is let in and tells Secretary Han that he has a message to deliver from Mr. Paik. But when Jin simply tells him that Mr. Paik is very displeased with him, Secretary Han is almost overwhelmingly relieved. He is desperate to make it up to Mr. Paik and offers Jin his daughter's dog (a familiar looking sharpei) as a token of his apology.
    
    Back on the island, Sayid goes to Boone to let him know that he and Shannon are going to explore where their relationship goes next. Boone doesn't exactly offer his blessing (not that Sayid was asking), but does warn Sayid that his sister has a pattern of using people to get what she wants and then cutting them loose.
    
    The next morning, Jin awakes, deep in the jungle - - a man on the run. He walks down to the stream to try and cool his burned hands, but when he is there, Sawyer comes out of nowhere and knocks him out from behind.
    
    Back on the beach, Sayid tells Shannon that, perhaps they should rethink their plan to get more serious with their relationship. Shannon is confused by the sudden 180 and immediately diagnoses the problem. "You've been talking to my brother, haven't you?" She goes off to confront him and finds Locke preparing a frog for cooking. While demanding that Locke tell her brother to stay out of her business, she gets an important piece of advice: "Everyone gets a new life on this island, Shannon. Maybe it's time you start yours."
    
    In FLASHBACK we see Sun leading a blindfolded Jin to their dining table. She takes her hands from over his eyes and reveals a spectacular home-cooked feast. Finally, they are going to enjoy a dinner alone. Jin's cell phone rings. Here we go again -- but not tonight -- he turns the phone off and puts it away. Sun is so surprised, so grateful she almost can't believe it. But just before the first bite, the house phone rings and they both know the meal is over.
    
    Jin is back at Mr. Paik's office. He is furious. Because Jin was incapable of delivering a simple message, the auto factory was closed and Mr. Paik is losing millions. He instructs Jin to drive his associate to the Secretary's house tonight. And he will show Jin the proper way to deliver a message.
    
    In the car, any doubt of what he meant is demolished when we see Jin's passenger put on his gloves and attach the silencer to his pistol. He instructs Jin to keep the car running; he will be in and out in less than 2 minutes. But when they arrive at the house, it is Jin who barges in, beating the Secretary to a pulp in the full view of his daughter…and thereby saving his life.
    
    When Jin returns home we see a scene we saw once before in Episode 104, but this time from the opposite perspective. Jin rushes into the bathroom, desperate to wash the blood from his hands, literally and figuratively. When his wife asks him what happened, he tells her truth. He was working for her father. And he does whatever her father asks. And this time, after Sun slaps her husband and storms off in disgust, we stay with Jin to see what this night has done to him. As he stares himself in the mirror, trying desperately to recognize the man he used to be he finally lowers his guard…and the tears start to fall.
    
    Back on the island, Sawyer delivers his prize to the crowd as he pushes Jin to the sand and unties his hands. It takes all of about 3 seconds for Michael to run over and Jack and Hurley have to work very hard to keep him off of Jin. The entire group of castaways gathers around and things spin out of control very quickly. Michael decks Jin who refuses to fight back. He gets back up and says something in Korean. Michael drops him again. This is going to be ugly. "STOP IT!" We turn to see Sun pleading with the group of castaways…in English! She tells the group that Jin didn't set fire to the raft. He burned his hands trying to put the fire OUT. But people don't believe her and they argue back and forth -- who else would want to destroy their only chance of escape. It's Locke who finally answers that question. And it's an answer that most of them have known the whole time, but have been to afraid to consider. We all know that we aren't the only people on this island…
    
    After things have quieted down, Michael resigns himself to start again; to build another raft…a better one. Later, Sun finds Jin at the caves packing his things. She knows he will be stunned by the fact she can speak English, but she tries to explain. All she wants is a chance to start over with him.
    
    We FLASHBACK to a simple fishing village where we see Jin exit his car and walk down the dock to a small fishing boat. When the fisherman turns around to see Jin, we learn that this is his father. He isn't dead, but Jin said that he was because he was ashamed of him. Jin admits, says he's sorry and asks his father's forgiveness…and he gets it. And as the two of them talk for the first time in a long time, Jin tells his father about the struggle he is facing. He hates the man he has become, but can't bear to tell Sun the truth about her father. Jin's father offers an idea that is as brilliant as it is simple. He should leave. He should finish delivering the watches to Mr. Paik's associates in Sydney and America…and not come back. Ever. Just stay there and start over with the woman he loves. And maybe, just maybe have the life with her he always dreamed of.
    
    And as the tragedy of the plane crash takes on yet another layer of emotion, we rejoin Sun and Jin, alone in the caves. Sun has asked for one more chance -- one last stand with her husband…together. But it's too late for that now…and Jin simply walks away, leaving his wife in tears.
    
    That night, Shannon goes to Sayid at the fire and gently kisses him. Everybody gets a new life on this island…she'd like to start hers right now.
    
    Back at the caves, Locke sits down to play backgammon with Walt and the two share an easy conversation. Locke asks Walt a very simple question: "Walt, why did you burn the raft?" Walt doesn't deny it, he looks right in Locke's eyes and answers honestly -- he's been moving around all his life. He doesn't want to move again. Locke promises him he won't tell.
    
    The next morning, Michael begins the hard work of building a new raft. And it looks like he's going to have some unexpected help because, out of the forest comes Jin with a load of freshly cut bamboo. "Boat," he says. And together…they begin again.
     
18. Mar 02, 2005: Numbers
    As the waves pound the shore, we find Hurley helping to build the second raft. Jin is struggling to tell him what to do, but he isn't getting it. Help comes from an unexpected place when Michael speaks up and translates for Jin. It seems the two of them have begun to "understand" each other in the course of building the raft.
    
    And speaking of the raft, Jack comes to check on the progress. Things are going well, but Michael tells him their chances of being rescued by a ship would be much better if they could rig some sort of transmitter to send out a distress call. Jack agrees with the idea in principle, but, even if Sayid can rig something up, how would they power it? When Hurley remembers that Sayid told them the French Lady had batteries, he and Jack go to ask him about it, but find Sayid less than enthusiastic about going back to see her again. Jack says he will go instead, but Sayid knows that's not a good idea. Besides, he was unconscious when she brought him to her camp and disoriented when he left, so, to be honest…he doesn't know how to find her. But what about the maps Sayid took -- maybe they lead to her camp? Sayid hands them over and Hurley begins leafing through them, but stops suddenly, the color draining from his face. From his POV we see the page contains a series of numbers listed over and over again: 4,8,15,16,23,42.
    
    We FLASHBACK to Hurley sitting on the sofa in his mother's house, eating from a bucket of chicken that bears the same logo as his work shirt. His mother chides him about going out and trying to find a nice woman, but Hurley is paying attention to the Mega -Lotto drawing on television. As the winning numbers are called out we can hardly believe our eyes. 4,8,15,16,23 and the mega number…42. Hurley checks his ticket, sees that it is an exact match…and promptly faints, smashing the coffee table beneath him.
    
    Back on the island, Sayid wakes from a fitful sleep to see Hurley staring at him. He wants to talk about the numbers on Rousseau's papers. Sayid wipes the sleep from his eyes and tells Hurley that he doesn't know what they are -- he thought they might be coordinates for something, but realized that was impossible. When he asks Hurley why he is so interested, Hurley makes an excuse and hustles away, leaving Sayid to go back to sleep. But as he is leaving, we see Hurley pull the map Sayid took from Rousseau out from under his shirt.
    
    FLASHBACK to a press conference outside the Reyes home. Reporters and cameras fight for space as Hurley is bombarded with questions about how he chose the winning numbers. "They just sort of came to me," he says. And as he is introducing his family -- his mother, his brother and sister-in-law, and his beloved grandfather, "Tito." In fact, he says, the first thing he wants to do with his money is take his grandfather on a much deserved vacation. But even as Hurley continues to lay out his happy plans, something horrible happens…Tito collapses in the background and falls dead of a heart attack -- right then and there.
    
    Back at the caves, Charlie arrives and finds Hurley filling several water bottles, but he is acting strange. It's as if he is feeling…guilty. When Charlie asks him if he is going somewhere, Hurley tells him he is going for a walk. Charlie says he wants to go with him, but Hurley is adamant about wanting to go alone.
    
    On the beach, Locke finds Claire and asks her to give him a hand with a project -- nothing too strenuous, just a little sawing. She agrees and the two set off together.
    
    Back at caves, it's Jack's turn to be found filling water bottles, but this time it's Sayid who arrives, and he's not in a good mood. He asks Jack where the map is -- the one he stole from him after Sayid refused to go and look for Rousseau. And to send Hurley to do his dirty work for him, that's just low! The look of total confusion is enough for Sayid to determine that Jack wasn't behind it at all and when Charlie arrives and they learn of his earlier discussion with Hurley, the three of them arrive at the frightening realization together. Hurley is going off to try and find Rousseau…alone.
    
    We find Hurley walking the shore, a determined look on his face and stay with him as we FLASHBACK to Hurley behind the wheel of a Hummer. The Lotto money has arrived. His mother sits in the passenger seat as the car winds through an upscale neighborhood. Hurley asks his mother if she has noticed how badly things have gone for them lately: His grandfather's death, the priest being struck by lightning at the funeral, his brother, Diego's ruined marriage -- it's as if the money is, well…cursed. Hurley's mother smacks him in the arm. They are Catholic, that is blasphemous. Besides, they both know there are no such things as curses. Maybe she's right. No, of COURSE she's right. Hurley makes his mother put on a blindfold, he has a surprise for her.
    
    And they arrive at a brand new mansion, a gift from Hurley to his mother. But as he leads his mother out of the car, she trips on the curb and falls, breaking her ankle. And wait, what is that smell? Is that smoke? Hurley turns around to find his new home is on fire -- and before he can dial 911, the police arrive, guns drawn, and roughly place Hurley under arrest. No such thing as curses, huh?
    
    Back on the beach, we see that same cable that led Sayid to trouble. Hurley picks it up and, against his better judgment, begins to follow it into the jungle.
    
    We FLASHBACK to an office high-rise where Hurley is receiving an update from his accountant. He tells him he should be happy -- his orange juice futures have gone up in price, after tropical storms pounded Florida. He owns a box company in Tustin (Wait, why does that sound familiar?). Oh, and his sneaker factory in Canada burned to the ground killing eight people, but it was overinsured, so Hurley is going to make a bundle. When he starts to talk about his feelings that the money is cursed, his accountant tells him that he is not the first Lotto winner to believe the money has brought him nothing but trouble. Besides, he says, he is an accountant, he doesn't believe in curses -- he believes in numbers. That's it. Hurley has finally figured it out. It's not the money that is cursed, it's the numbers! And his accountant is just about to explain how crazy that sounds when someone from a higher floor jumps to their death and passes right by the window.
    
    Back on the island, Michael, Walt and Jin work on the raft. And all that racket is disturbing Sawyer who is sitting on his ass, reading a book. They ask him to help, but he interested. Further down the beach, Sun sits with Kate, wondering if her husband will ever speak to him again. And if he decides to go on the raft when it sails, if she will ever see him again, as well.
    
    In the Jungle, Hurley continues to follow the trail. He steps on a piece of ground and hears a "click." Before he can wonder what the hell it was, Sayid emerges from the brush with Jack and Charlie and tells him not to move -- he is standing on a pressure trigger. If he moves, the booby trap will swing down and kill him. But before they can figure out a way to get him out of this mess, Hurley takes matters into his own hands and steps off the trigger. Just as the spikes are going to impale him, he dives forward, barely avoiding the trap. When Jack asks him what he is doing out here, he answers honestly -- he's going to get a battery for the transmitter. Okay then, they all will go. But Sayid takes the lead.
    
    FLASHBACK to a hospital. Hurley stands at the reception desk asking for a patient named, "Leonard." As he argues with the nurse, he sees a maintenance man climbing a rickety ladder to change a lightbulb. Just as the man stretches to reach the light fixture, Hurley yells at him from the desk, telling him to not do that now. Not a good idea. A doctor arrives and recognizes Hurley, agreeing to let him see Leonard. It's not clear how Hurley knows this man, or the doctor for that matter, but we arrive in a recreation room to find Leonard playing a game of Connect Four and mumbling over and over. He is clearly not right in the head. Hurley tells him he needs some information. "What do the numbers mean?" And we begin to hear Leonard more clearly. He is repeating a series of numbers over and over again: 4,8,15,16,23,42. Hurley keeps pressing, asking Leonard if the numbers did something to him that wound up getting him placed in here. Still nothing. Hurley tells him that he thinks the numbers did something to him after he used them to win the Lottery. Leonard stops on a dime. Even he can't believe what he has just heard. "You've opened the box," he says, "It won't stop. You've got to get away from them or it won't stop!" When Hurley asks Leonard where he got the numbers, he tells him that someone named, "Sam Toomey" heard them when they were working one year in Kalgoorlie…Australia.
    
    Back in the jungle, Sayid and the others continue to follow the path, when it abruptly ends, going straight down into the ground. And that's not all, just up ahead is the world's most dodgy looking rope bridge, suspended over a massive gorge. Jack asks Sayid why he never mentioned this, but Sayid has never seen it before. Who built it? More importantly, how are they going to cross it? Before they can argue too much about it, Hurley walks confidently out onto the bridge, causing everyone to panic -- and he makes it across easily. Encouraged, Charlie goes across next, but just as he makes it halfway, the bridge starts to creak and moan. Charlie dives onto solid ground just as the worn and tired bridge gives way beneath him. Hurley and Charlie are on one side -- Jack and Sayid are on the other. Jack tells them to stay where they are until he and Sayid can find a way around and meet them on the other side, but Hurley doesn't want to hear it. He tells THEM to stay put while he and Charlie follow the path on the other side, but Charlie has had enough. He tells Hurley to listen to Jack and stop acting like a bloody lunatic.
    
    FLASHBACK to a small house in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by the red desert of Kalgoorlie. Hurley asks the woman who answers to door if this is Sam Toomey's house. When she says it is, and that she is his wife, Hurley says he would like to speak with him. His wife would like to speak with him, too -- but he died four years ago. We follow him inside and we learn that Leonard served with Sam in the U.S. Navy years ago. Hurley asks Mrs. Toomey about the numbers and we learn that Sam heard a voice repeating those numbers, over and over again while serving his post at a naval listening post monitoring the South Pacific, 16 years ago. Years later, Sam used the numbers to win a contest at a local fair. He won a large sum of money…but things started to go wrong for him and his family after that. Sam believed the numbers were behind his bad luck, so he moved his family out in the desert hoping that would stop the curse. Hurley asks Mrs. Toomey if Sam ever succeeded in stopping the bad luck, he is momentarily encouraged by her answer. But only momentarily… "Yep. He put a shotgun in his mouth and pulled the trigger." Hurley admits that he thinks he is under the same curse, but Mrs. Toomey doesn't want to hear it. "You make your own luck, Mr. Reyes," she says. "You're looking for an excuse that doesn't exist."
    
    Back on the island, Claire and Locke begin to bond while she helps him with his project. She is glad to have something to do other than trying to remember what happened to her out in the jungle.
    
    Meanwhile, Jack and Sayid continue through the jungle trying to find a way across the gorge. Sayid begins to feel like he recognizes something and when Jack presses on he walks straight into another trip wire. KA-BOOM! A huge explosion rips through the brush in front of them and when the dust settles we see Jack and Sayid combing through the remnants of Rousseau's habitat. But wait a minute, why isn't there any wreckage? There is nothing here. Sayid realizes that Rousseau must have known he would eventually find his way back here, so she booby-trapped it and moved on. But moved on where?
    
    Meanwhile Charlie and Hurley are trying to work their way toward the sound of the explosion to see if Jack and Sayid are hurt. Charlie demands to know why Hurley has been acting so strange, and, finally, Hurley is ready to tell him. But just as he begins, a shot rings out, shattering a tree-branch next to them. Wait a minute…did someone just shoot at them? And they get their answer when a second shot hits even closer than the last one. They scatter, running for their lives in opposite directions. Hurley is charging through the jungle and falls flat on his face. When he rises, he finds himself staring down the barrel of a rifle -- with Rousseau on the other end.
    
    Normally, Hurley would be scared out of his wits and, yeah, there's some fear here, but beneath it there is something else….desperation. He needs to know what the numbers mean and he wants the answers right now! Something in his attitude touches Rousseau and she tells him that her team picked up the transmission repeating those numbers from their ship. They changed course to investigate and wrecked on the island as a result. Her team continued to search for the transmission source and, weeks later, discovered the radio tower on the island, by the black rock. They continued to search for the meaning of those numbers while they waited for rescue, but then the sickness came and destroyed her team. After they were gone, Rousseau went to the tower and changed the transmission to the one that we heard in the pilot episode. But what about the numbers, where did they get their power? Doesn't she know that the numbers are cursed? Rousseau tells him that the numbers are what brought her here -- just as they brought Hurley here, too. And ever since then, she has lost everything she ever loved. So yes, she agrees that the numbers must be cursed.
    
    And Hurley is redeemed. He is so overwhelmingly relieved to finally have someone agree with him that he can't help himself. He throws himself at Rousseau and smothers him in a genuine embrace of sincere appreciation. He isn't crazy. He really isn't.
    
    Back at her habitat, Jack and Sayid are trying to salvage what little they can from the wreckage. And that's when Sayid discovers the tattered remains of his photo -- Nadia's face still clear, her eyes looking right through him. And all of a sudden, Charlie appears and tells them about being shot at. And just as we wonder what happened with Hurley, he shows up. Just walks into the scene as calm as can be and hands a battery to Jack. And there's one more thing too. He makes eye contact with Sayid… "She says hey."
    
    Later that night as Jin and Michael continue to work on the raft, Jack and the others return to the beach. Sayid hands the battery over to a very grateful Michael.
    
    Elsewhere, Claire is helping Locke put the finishing touches on his project. While they talk, Claire admits that she was going to give her baby up for adoption. And you know what? Today just happens to be her birthday. When Locke asks her why she hasn't told anybody about it, she makes a case for why she believes it doesn't matter. And as Locke turns over his project, we can all clearly see it for what it is. It's a cradle -- and it's beautiful. "Happy Birthday, Claire."
    
    At another campfire, Charlie joins Hurley and asks him to finish the conversation they were having when the gunfire started. Hurley tells Charlie he thinks the plane crash was his fault. But Charlie tells Hurley that bad things happen to good people all the time and admits to Hurley that he was a drug addict. And that most certainly wasn't Hurley's fault. And as that sets in, Hurley Charlie tells Hurley that he just shared his deepest, darkest secret -- the least Hurley could do is reciprocate.
    
    "Okay," Hurley says, "back home…I'm worth one hundred and fifty-six million dollars." Charlie is dead silent for a beat. Then… "Fine, don't tell me. I bear my soul and all I get is bloody jokes."
    
    And as we leave the beach for the evening we make one last stop deep in the jungle at the hatch. We get closer and closer and we begin to notice something etched into the concrete surrounding the hatch itself. It looks like a series of numbers. And as we get still closer we can read exactly which numbers they are:
    
    4,8.15,16,23,42…
     
19. Mar 30, 2005: Deux Ex Machina
    We open the show with a FLASHBACK -- to Locke, with a head full of hair, working in a toy store. He seems genuinely happy as he demonstrates the game of Mousetrap to a young boy. That is until he notices a woman, standing off to the side, staring at him -- it's disconcerting. Locke approaches, but the woman is evasive and only asks where she can find a football. Locke points her in the right direction and goes about his work. But there was something clearly odd about the encounter.
    
    On the island, Locke and Boone put final touches on the trebuchet, which they have been building in order to crack open the hatch. Boone makes small talk, wondering about Locke's life back in the real world. Locke responds that Boone would find his story boring and proceeds to spring the trebuchet -- which doesn't even dent the hatch and instead, collapses under the force. Boone notices that Locke has a piece of shrapnel embedded in his leg. Locke is oblivious to the pain and pulls the shard from his skin. That night, he bandages his wound and tests his reflexes, searing the bottom of his foot with a burning ember, but feels nothing. He stares down at his legs, wondering if his paralysis is returning.
    
    The next day, Locke and Boone work to rebuild the trebuchet. But Boone has grown weary of the task and expresses doubt about what they're doing. Locke says that the island will tell them what to do. And for the first time, we can see that Boone is beginning to doubt Locke. We also see that Locke is having trouble walking.
    
    FLASHBACK -- to Locke, in the toy store parking lot, about to leave work for the day, when he spots the mysterious woman again. He gives chase when a car suddenly backs out of its spot with enough speed to knock Locke to the ground. For a moment, we wonder if this is how Locke ended up in a wheel chair -- until he shakes it off, rises and continues to pursue the mystery lady. He finally catches up to her and grabs her by the arm, demanding to know why she's following him. She responds, "I'm your mother."
    
    Locke and his mother sit at a diner over tea, where her eccentricities become evident. She tells him she thinks their meeting was a sign of great things and speaks about destiny. When Locke asks about his father, she tells him that he doesn't have a father; that he was "immaculately conceived." And off Locke, who clearly thinks this woman might be insane, we cut back to --
    
    -- the island, where Sawyer asks Sun about which leaves to use in order to cure a headache. Kate overhears and approaches Sun once Sawyer departs. Sun explains that Sawyer has been having headaches and the aspirin in his stash haven't been working. Kate takes it upon herself to ask Jack to examine Sawyer. But Jack is understandably hesitant, knowing full well from previous encounters with Sawyer that his help will go unappreciated.
    
    Out in the jungle, Boone finds Locke at the hatch and tells him that he's fed up with working everyday without results -- he doesn't think they can open the hatch. But Locke insists that they were meant to find it and open it. "The island will send us a sign…" And just as Boone is about to write Locke off as a complete nutcase, a plane buzzes overhead. When Locke looks down, he finds Boone covered in blood, chanting the phrase, "Teresa falls up the stairs, Teresa falls down the stairs…" Confused, Locke turns back to see the woman who claimed to be his mother -- here on the island! -- pointing off in the direction of the plane. Then Locke looks down to find himself paralyzed, back in his wheelchair. He calls out, terrified, begging the island not to take back his ability to walk. And just when we think things can't get any weirder, Locke bolts awake in a cold sweat -- it was just a nightmare. He jumps up from the campfire and goes to wake Boone.
    
    We FLASHBACK again to Locke, who meets with a private investigator in order to find out about the woman claiming to be his mother. The PI confirms that she is indeed who she says she is -- Emily Annabelle Locke. The DNA was a positive match. He also tells Locke that she was institutionalized several times for schizophrenia. Locke presses the PI about his father, but the PI is hesitant to give out any information. "Your mother sought you out, so she's fair game. This guy may not even know you exist." But Locke wants to know and the PI reluctantly slides his father's dossier across the table.
    
    Locke pulls up to a gated estate and asks the guard to see a Mr. Cooper -- he's his son. The guard responds that Mr. Cooper doesn't have a son. Locke explains that he doesn't want anything and persuades the guard to call up to the house. Locke eyes the security camera as the guard hangs up, opens the gate and waves him through. Inside his father's den, Locke studies photographs, searching for some sort of resemblance. His father comes into the room and breaks the ice by offering him a scotch, which Locke happily accepts. Cooper tells Locke that, in fact, he didn't know he existed -- that Emily told him she wasn't going to have the baby, but showed up later asking for money and claiming she put the baby up for adoption. Cooper also reveals that he ended up without any family. It's clear that he's trying to make a connection and asks Locke to go hunting with him the following weekend.
    
    Back at the hatch, Locke relays his dream to Boone -- he thinks that the plane is the sign they have been hoping for. But it was just a dream and now Boone really thinks Locke has lost his mind -- perhaps even drinking that crazy paste that made him see his sister (back in episode #111). Locke counters with a question of his own that shocks Boone -- "Who is Teresa?" Boone clearly recognizes the name -- it was his babysitter, who Boone used to torture by calling her up and down the stairs on the intercom. He explains that one day, Teresa took a bad step and fell. Is this something he mentioned to Locke one day while working on the hatch or does Locke's dream hold some sort of truth?
    
    Meanwhile, Jack goes to check on the progress of the raft when he notices Sawyer, sitting off against a tree with a wet cloth over his head. He approaches and asks about the headaches. But Sawyer isn't happy that Kate told Jack and responds in his usual wise guy manner. Jack starts to leave, but Sawyer speaks up, genuinely concerned that he might have a brain tumor -- a condition that killed his uncle. Jack tells Sawyer to come by the caves so he can run a couple of tests. Terrified to know the truth, Sawyer would rather remain in the dark and claims, "his insurance ran out."
    
    Locke and Boone move through jungle, but Locke's legs fail him and he trips. Boone wonders what's wrong, but Locke claims he's fine. He looks up to spot a rosary, dangling from a branch, when suddenly, a decomposed body falls from the tree above them. They look over the body and conclude that he was a priest. But closer examination reveals a gun -- and priests don't usually carry guns.
    
    We FLASHBACK as Locke shows up to the estate again, following up on his father's invitation to go hunting. But he's early and when he enters the house, he finds his father being tended to by a nurse. His father explains that his kidney is failing and that while he's on a donor list, his age has put him at the very bottom. He didn't tell Locke because he didn't want to spoil their time together. And from Locke, watching his father being hooked up to a dialysis machine, we go --
    
    -- back to the beach, where even the slightest noise is causing Sawyer's head to throb. Kate approaches and insists that he go see Jack, who asks him a series a questions that go from serious to ridiculous -- all in front of Kate. Sawyer realizes that Jack is toying with him, gets up and leaves. Kate asks Jack if it was really necessary to have fun at Sawyer's expense. Jack laughs and tells Kate that Sawyer is fine -- he just needs glasses.
    
    Out in the jungle, Locke and Boone press on, figuring that the body may have been the pilot or a passenger and that the plane must be close by. But Locke is having trouble walking again. He blames the shrapnel wound, but Boone points out that that was his right leg -- he's limping off his left leg now. Boone suggests they head back to see Jack, but Locke insists they push on until he collapses. Boone tries to persuade him to turn around again, but Locke refuses. He tells Boone that he used to be in a wheelchair, but the island made him whole and that while it might sound crazy, this is something they were meant to find. He holds out his hand and says, "Help me up, son" as we --
    
    -- FLASHBACK to another father and son, moving through a field on a different sort of hunt. Locke raises his rifle and brings down his first dove. His father congratulates him and tells him that though his mother may have been crazy, she brought the two of them together -- while he still has time -- and for that, he's grateful.
    
    Back on the island, Locke struggles along with his arm thrown over Boone's shoulder. They stop to rest when Locke looks up past Boone, who follows his gaze toward -- a yellow Beechcraft, propped up in a tree canopy. Knowing his legs won't let him climb, Locke tells Boone he's going to have to go up and find out what's inside.
    
    And we FLASHBACK to a hospital room to find Locke in a surgical bed next to his father, ready to donate his own kidney -- something he feels was meant to be. His father says he'll see him on the other side and we go --
    
    -- back to the beach, where Jack brings Sawyer a box of glasses and explains that he has hyperopia, probably as a result of all of the reading he's been doing since they crashed on the island. He tries several glasses on Sawyer in an attempt to find a pair that matches his condition. Sayid takes the two pairs that work the best, melts down the plastic frames and fuses two separate pieces together into one. They're not very flattering, but they do the job. Jack tells Sawyer it's not a fashion show and leaves him checking out his new look in a mirror.
    
    Out in the jungle, Boone climbs the massive tree up to the Beechcraft as Locke looks on helplessly. Once inside, Boone finds a map and comes across another body. He jumps and causes the plane to lurch. Outside, Locke calls to Boone, seeing that the plane is clearly unstable. But Boone is too curious to leave and comes across several Virgin Mary statues. He throws one down to Locke, which lands at his feet and cracks open, revealing heroin inside. Angry, Boone calls down to Locke that this wasn't a sign after all -- the plane was obviously a drug smuggling plane. Boone spots a radio on the dash. He runs to turn it on and actually hears some static. He makes frantic mayday calls and hears a muffled voice, but the chance of making contact is cut off when the plane lurches again. Locke calls to Boone and tells him to get out, but it's too late and the plane begins to slide through the canopy to the ground in a horrible, bone crushing crash. Locke scrambles toward the plane, legs starting to come back to him. He finds Boone wounded inside, pulls him out, slings his body over his own shoulder and powers back to camp.
    
    At the caves, Kate thanks Jack for helping Sawyer when Locke comes barreling in with Boone. He tells Jack that it was an accident -- that Boone fell off a cliff while hunting. Jack does a quick exam to see that Boone's wounds are life threatening and sends Kate for towels and water. Jack turns his back for some supplies, all the while trying to get details out of Locke. But when he turns back around, Locke is gone.
    
    We FLASHBACK as Locke wakes up in the hospital recovery room, the bed next to him empty. A nurse tells him that his father checked out, which doesn't make much sense to Locke, who's still dazed and confused from the anesthesia. His mother appears in the doorway and is immediately apologetic. She tells him that she needed money and went to Cooper, who told her to find Locke. And as his mother continues her explanation, it begins to sink in that this was all a plan to trick Locke into donating his kidney to a father he never knew. In denial, Locke struggles from the bed and begins ripping tubes from his arms. He drives to the estate, but the once friendly guard is now completely cold and turns Locke away. Locke pulls himself out of the car and limps over to the gate. He stares into the security camera, completely shell-shocked. The guard tells him again that he has to go, so Locke gets into the car and drives away. But he only makes it a few blocks before he pulls over and breaks down in tears.
    
    On the island, Locke kneels over the hatch, crying out in pain and betrayal: "I've done everything you've asked me to do! Why?" And as he bangs on the hatch in frustration, a light suddenly comes on, leaving Locke and the audience wondering who or what's inside…
     
20. Apr 06, 2005: Do No Harm
    We pick up right where we left off, as Jack works to save Boone, who was crushed in the Beechcraft he and Locke found out in the jungle. Jack enlists help from Sun and sends Kate for Sawyer's alcohol stash, when Boone's lung collapses. Jack acts fast, pours some alcohol on Boone's chest and uses a knitting needle to puncture the lung and temporarily remedy the situation.
    
    Off Jack, we FLASHBACK to a tuxedo shop, where Jack ties a bowtie on his friend Silverman (his childhood buddy way back in episode #103). When the tuxedo manager comes out with a jacket for the groom, Silverman points to Jack and we realize that Jack is about to get married.
    
    Back at the caves, Jack examines Boone's legs to see they're fractured and that he's lost a lot of blood. Boone begins to come around; convinced he's going to die. But Jack tells him he's not going to die. Why? Because Jack is going to save him.
    
    At the beach, Claire finds Sawyer, Michael and Jin at the raft and asks when it's going to be ready, clearly anxious to get off the island. Kate rushes into the scene and tells Sawyer that they need his alcohol for Boone. She explains that Boone was injured while out hunting for boar. But Sawyer points out that they haven't been getting any boar lately, casting some doubt on Locke's story.
    
    Meanwhile, Jack works to sew up Boone's chest and concludes that he needs a blood transfusion. And as Jack steps out for some air, debating what to do, Charlie approaches, peppering him with questions and causing Jack to snap, as we...
    
    ...FLASHBACK to Jack, on his cell phone, trying to reach his Dad. Silverman interrupts and tells him to come back inside to his rehearsal dinner for the toasts. And this is where we meet Sara, the bride to be, who gives a toast so flattering, it makes Jack uncomfortable. We learn that Sara met Jack because she was in a car accident -- an accident so bad she was deemed irreparable. But Jack promised he would fix her and he did just that -- because when Jack says he's going to do something, he does it. And Sara raises her glass to the most committed man she's ever known -- Jack Shepherd, her hero.
    
    Back on the island, Kate rushes back to camp, trips and breaks some of the alcohol bottles. She stops to pick them up when she hears something in the woods. She follows the sound to find Claire, all by her self and clearly in labor. Kate calls for help and insists they get to Jack, but it's painfully obvious that Claire can't make it.
    
    Meanwhile, Sun rouses Boone to tell her his blood type -- A negative. Jack is frustrated that he doesn't even have a needle sharp enough to do the transfusion. While he tries to figure something out, he sends Sun to find Shannon and Charlie to find someone with the same blood type. Shannon, however, is nowhere to be found because she is out in the jungle with Sayid, who has set up a romantic picnic for the two of them.
    
    On the beach, Jin hears Kate's calls for help and rushes to find them. And no language barrier in the world could hide the fact that Claire is about to give birth. Kate sends Jin to the caves with the alcohol and tells him to return with Jack, while she stays with Claire.
    
    At the caves, Charlie returns with bad news -- he found a type A, but isn't sure if it's positive or negative. He hasn't had much luck in general -- nobody knows their blood type. Sun returns with better results -- she didn't find Shannon, but she did find a sea urchin, the needle of which is hollow and sharp enough for Jack to use in the transfusion. Jack announces he'll do it on himself: he's O-negative and that's universal. Jack assures Charlie and Sun that while it's dangerous, Boone is not going to die.
    
    FLASHBACK -- to the hotel bar, the night before Jack's wedding. Sara joins him at the piano as he toys with the keys. She offers him an out by saying, "You don't have to do this…" And we soon realize that they are talking about their vows -- vows which Sara has already written, while Jack is having difficulty finding the words. Sara is loving and reassuring and tells Jack that with or without vows, she can't wait to marry him. She tells him she'll be upstairs while Jack continues to wait for his father.
    
    Back on the island, Jin arrives at med tent to find Jack mid-transfusion. He immediately locks eyes with Sun. Despite the fact that they aren't speaking, he knows he's going to have to rely on her to translate. He tells Sun, who tells Jack and Charlie, about Claire's predicament. But Jack can't leave -- he's got a literal lifeline to Boone. More importantly, he won't leave -- he made a commitment to save Boone. And with these two emergencies converging, Jack snaps into leader mode and instructs Charlie to wait until the contractions are sixty seconds apart before instructing Claire push. Kate is going to have to deliver the baby on her own.
    
    Back with Claire and Kate, the contractions have stopped and Claire assumes it was false labor. But the relief is temporary, because her water suddenly breaks. Claire panics -- she can't have the baby now! Not here!
    
    In the med tent, Boone comes to momentarily and tells Jack all about the plane. But Boone is groggy and Jack thinks he might be referring to Oceanic Flight 815. One thing is clear -- Boone tells Jack that plane fell on him. He's also clear when he mentions the hatch and the fact that Locke told him not to tell anyone about it. And now Jack is completely confused. Before he can get any clarity, Boone drifts back out of consciousness, mumbling Shannon's name.
    
    And we find Shannon, at the beach with Sayid. It's romantic and they share a kiss. But before it goes any further, she confesses that Boone is her step brother -- and that he's in love with her. She assures Sayid the feelings aren't reciprocal -- she just wanted him to know. She wants to take it slow, because if things don't work out it would be pretty complicated being stuck on an island together. "It could be bad." Sayid tells her it could also be wonderful.
    
    Back in the jungle, Claire's contractions are getting more intense. Charlie returns and tells Kate that she is going to have to deliver the baby solo. Meanwhile, Jin tries to comfort Claire, who is afraid that while she was out in the jungle alone, her captors did something to her baby.
    
    At the caves, Jack is further frustrated when he realizes the transfusion isn't working because Boone's injuries aren't from a fall -- something crushed his legs. Angry, he tells Hurley to find Michael.
    
    FLASHBACK to Jack, sitting poolside at a hotel at night -- his feet in the water, a drink at his side. He looks over a piece of paper when his father, Christian, joins him. Jack explains that he's looking at Sara's vows -- he took them from her room because he's having so much trouble writing his own. Christian looks them over, impressed, but concerned for his son. He asks Jack if he loves Sara; then if she loves him. Jack responds yes to both questions. But what it really comes down to is fear -- fear of not being a good husband and father. He wants his dad's opinion -- should he marry Sara? Christian points out that commitment has always been Jack's strong point -- but his weak point is that he doesn't know when to let go. And as Jack considers his father's words, we ...
    
    ... shoot back to the island, where Jack tells Michael that Boone's leg is dead and filling with blood and that he needs to amputate. He can't use the axe, so he wants Michael to rig a guillotine.
    
    Meanwhile, Jin leads Charlie away from Claire because she's about have the baby. Kate instructs her to push, but quickly realizes that she's doing the exact opposite -- Claire is holding the baby in because she's scared. Kate tells her that she's not alone. Everyone is going to be there for her. And with a newfound confidence, Claire begins to push…
    
    At the caves, Jack faces the horrible task that lies ahead of him, while Sun pleads for him not to do it, feeling that Boone would be better off left to die peacefully. But Jack has shut himself off to the emotion and continues to prep Boone for amputation.
    
    We FLASHBACK to the big wedding day, where Jack stands with Sara as she gives her vows. But when it comes time to deliver his own, he hesitates, scaring his bride for a tense beat when he explains that he's not good at letting go…he's stubborn…afraid to fail. And just when we think that Jack might actually take his fathers advice and back out of this marriage, Jack turns and tells Sara that after her accident, he didn't fix her, she fixed him. "We can do this. I love you and always will." And as the happy couple kiss we go ...
    
    ... back to Boone, the blade about to drop. He calls Jack's name, stopping him in the process and asking Jack to let him go -- he knows he's all messed up inside. Jack's conflicted and doesn't want to give up. But Boone begs until Jack final relents and moves him out of the guillotine.
    
    Meanwhile, Claire delivers a final push and gives birth to a healthy baby boy. Charlie and Jin celebrate. And as a new life enters the island, another one leaves -- Boone takes his last breath with Jack watching over him….
    
    Back on the beach, the survivors celebrate the birth. But the celebration is cut short for Jack, who has to face Shannon when she returns with Sayid, oblivious to the fact that her brother is dead. While Shannon mourns over Boone's body, Kate goes to Jack to see if he's okay. Jack is oddly cold, packing his backpack as she speaks. "Boone died, Jack." Jack retorts, "Boone didn't die, he was murdered." And with that statement, Jack heads out. Kate asks where he's going and Jack responds, "To find John Locke…"
     
21. May 04, 2005: The Greater Good (a.k.a. Sides)
    Sayid watches Shannon grieve over Boone's body. He comforts her and asks if there is anything he can do for her, but she shakes her head silently. Meanwhile, Kate goes to find Jack, who has been out in the jungle searching for Locke. She tells him that the group is scared and upset and want him to come back, which he does. The group goes about a burial for Boone. Jack asks if Shannon wants to say something - but she can't. Hurley speaks up on his behalf and says that though he didn't know Boone well, he was a good guy who will be missed and remembered for his courage.
    
    Locke comes into the scene and immediately takes blame for Boone's death. He tells the group that they found a Beechcraft lodged in a tree canopy and that he would've gone up himself, but that his leg was hurt. He also reveals that the plane held a radio which Boone attempted to use before his weight shifted, causing the plane to fall. "It happened because he was trying to help us - he was a hero." But Jack isn't buying it and breaks toward Locke, screaming at him for lying and leaving Boone to die. And all the exhaustion and emotion, on top of the blood transfusion from the last episode, has caught up with Jack, who collapses.
    
    Sayid and Kate help Jack up. They walk with him to a tent, trying to calm him down. But Jack is convinced that Locke is hiding something. Sayid tells Jack that the last thing they need amongst the group right now are accusations and encourages Jack to get some rest. And as Kate leads Jack away, Michael and Hurley approach Sayid to find out what the heck is going on, worried that Jack might do something rash. They remind Sayid that Jack has the key to the Halliburton case which is loaded with guns. Sayid wants nothing to do with the whole thing and asks, "Why come to me?" which leads us into ...
    
    ...a FLASHBACK to Sayid, being escorted through the airport and taken to a back room where he is questioned by a member of the CIA and a member of the ASIS. But Sayid doesn't answer their questions, having been well trained in the Republican Guard. The ASIS agent explains that some explosives were stolen from one of their army bases and that the men responsible are part of terrorist cell. They, of course, want the explosives back. Sayid states that he is not a terrorist. The CIA agent explains that he was taken into custody, not because they thought he was a terrorist, but because he knows one of the members of the cell - Essam Tazir, his old roommate at Cairo University. But Sayid is still reluctant and asks why he should care. That's when the CIA agent pulls out a photo of Nadia, the woman he risked his life for. If Sayid wants to know where she is, he's going to have to help them.
    
    Back on the island, Charlie and Sun encourage Claire to get some rest, but Claire is hesitant to hand over her baby - she hasn't even named him yet. Charlie assures her that nobody is going to take the baby - he won't let it happen. She relents and leaves her son in Charlie's care.
    
    Kate sits with Jack as he recovers. Jack is determined to go talk to Locke, but he can hardly stand up. It turns out that Kate crushed up some sleeping pills and put them in his juice. She admits to drugging him in order to force him to rest - which he does, drifting off into a deep sleep.
    
    Locke approaches Shannon with Boone's bag. He tells her he knows what it feels like to loose family and gives a sincere apology. Shannon in turn, goes to Sayid and cashes in on the favor he offered her - "You asked if you could do anything for me? John Locke killed my brother. Will you do something about that?"
    
    At the caves, Walt eyes Locke as he washes Boone's blood from his shirt, clearly afraid of his old friend. Sayid approaches and asks Locke if he'd be willing to take him out to the plane, figuring there may be some useful parts for the raft mission.
    
    We FLASHBACK to Sayid, having accepted the deal, mid-prayer at a mosque. His old friend Essam spots him from a across the room and seeks him out once the prayer is finished. The old friends embrace. Sayid asks about Essam's wife, Zahraa and learns that she died in a bombing attack. Anxious to change the subject, Essam invites Sayid to his house - they have a lot of catching up to do. It's here where Sayid meets two other young Arab men - Yusef and Haddad. But he's distracted when he notices a fire alarm attached to the wall. He takes Haddad's cigarette, holds it to the alarm and nothing happens. Sayid disassembles the alarm to find a bug. Haddad wonders how Sayid knew about the bug. Sayid explains that he was a communications officer for the Republican Guard. Haddad looks Sayid over for a tense beat before deciding that fate brought them together. And with that, Sayid has gained their trust.
    
    Back in the woods, Sayid asks a series of questions of Locke regarding the plane. Locke is smart enough to realize that he's being interrogated - especially after Jack accused him of being a liar. He respects Sayid for trying to find out the truth himself.
    
    On the beach, Charlie tries to comfort the baby, who won't stop crying. Hurley gives his best James Brown impersonation in an attempt to calm the kid, but that doesn't work either.
    
    Sayid and Locke arrive at the Beechcraft, where Locke explains that based on the contents of the Virgin Mary statues, he concluded the pilot and passenger were drug smugglers. When Sayid asks Locke why he lied to Jack, Locke will only say that he made a mistake. And when Locke asks Sayid why he doesn't trust him, Sayid points out the concealed gun Locke has been carrying in his waistband. Locke reveals that he got the gun off the body of one of the smugglers and offers it to Sayid in order to gain his trust. But Sayid points out that all his actions have shown is that he is adaptable. So Locke tries again - this time by offering up an answer to a question that has plagued both Sayid and the audience for weeks -- he was the one who clocked Sayid over the head while he was trying to set off a transceiver.
    
    Sayid pulls the gun on Locke, demanding to know why. Locke defends his actions by pointing out that the source of the distress call isn't really a place one would want to lead people. He didn't tell Sayid before because he was so focused on getting off the island, he wasn't seeing things clearly - similar to what's happening with the raft. The chances of rescue are slim. Locke argues that they need to focus their energy on surviving. And it's hard to argue with Locke's logic. Sayid demands to know about the hatch, but Locke says that Boone could have been referring to either the forward or aft hatch of the Beechcraft.
    
    We FLASHBACK to Sayid playing soccer with Essam, who reveals that while he doesn't know where the explosives are or where the attack is planned, he knows there will be a martyr. Sayid stops and looks into his old friends eyes, realizing that Essam is to deliver the explosives. Essam admits that he doesn't think he can do it. Concerned, Sayid meets with the agents and tells them that Essam is in over his head. He feels that he can get Essam to turn himself in. But that doesn't satisfy them. They instruct Sayid to talk Essam into being the martyr so that he will lead them to the explosives. When Sayid refuses, they threaten to pick up Nadia as an enemy combatant living abroad with a terrorist record. They tell Sayid that if he wants any chance of seeing her again, he'll talk Essam into blowing himself up.
    
    Back on the island, Sayid tells Shannon that he believes what happened to Boone was an accident. Shannon doesn't understand why Locke lied, but Sayid assures her that he didn't mean to harm her brother. Not satisfied with the explanation, Shannon walks away from Sayid.
    
    On the beach, Walt's fear of leaving on the raft is apparent as he asks Michael, "What if we die?" Michael tries to be confident when he tells his son that they aren't going to die. But Walt points out the Boone died, leaving Michael without a response. Charlie approaches with the crying baby looking for Sun. He realizes that when Sawyer speaks up, the baby quiets down, so Charlie starts to follow Sawyer around.
    
    Meanwhile, Jack wakes up with Kate by his side. She offers him some soup, which he wisely declines - he wants to be awake. He reaches down for his neck and realizes the key to the Halliburton case is no longer around it. Jack runs out of the tent and immediately points a finger at Locke. Sayid thinks otherwise as we ... ... FLASHBACK to Sayid sitting with Essam, who is seriously having second thoughts and worried about all of the innocent lives that will be lost in the attack. But Sayid does what was asked of him and manipulates his friend into committing to the task. He tells Essam it's for the greater good. He also reminds Essam about Zahraa and shares his own loss. He says that by doing this, they can honor their loved ones who are gone. And Essam buys into it, completely convinced that Haddad was right - they were brought together by fate. He asks Sayid to do the mission with him and Sayid accepts.
    
    Back on the island, Sayid, Kate and Jack run into the jungle, but Jack is weak and stumbles. Kate goes back for him as Sayid presses on. He comes upon Locke, kneeling on the ground, hands in the air. He turns to see Shannon standing a few feet away with one of the guns trained at Locke's head. Shannon screams over the rain, convinced that Locke killed her brother. Sayid can see that she's not thinking rationally and begs her to put the gun down. Instead, she cocks it - and though she has never fired a gun before, she fires off a shot to prove that she capable. Sayid tells Shannon that if she kills Locke, she can never take it back, as we...
    
    FLASHBACK to Sayid as he's pulled into a van with Essam and Haddad, who tell him the time has come. The van pulls into a garage and comes to a stop. Haddad gets out and opens the back of another truck with an office supply store logo on the side to reveal the explosives, covered in plain cardboard boxes. Haddad gives Sayid and Essam two company work shirts, guns and instructions. He tells them they are heroes and wishes them good luck before leaving in the first van. Sayid and Essam climb into the cab of the truck - Sayid in the driver's seat, Essam next to him. Essam begins to pray when Sayid reveals that he's working with the CIA and offers him a ten minute head start before he calls them. Essam is shocked and hurt, unable to believe that his friend set him up; that he used Zahraa; that he said he lost someone too. Sayid tells Essam about Nadia and the deal he made to find her. But Essam pulls a gun on Sayid - his eyes wild, unable to grasp that his friend would do this to him for a woman. And just as we think Essam is about to blow Sayid's head off, he turns the gun on himself, puts it under his chin and pulls the trigger. And the sound of the gunshot smashes us back to... ... the jungle, where Shannon isn't backing down, demanding to know what really happened to her brother, as Jack and Kate arrive at the scene. She tells Locke that she hopes he suffers as much as her brother did before she pulls the trigger. And what happens next happens quickly as Sayid dives on top of Shannon, knocking the gun out of her hand. Locke falls to the ground, blood on his head. Jack stands frozen as Kate runs to Locke's side. For a moment, we think he might be dead, but then he sits up, only grazed and locks eyes with Jack, who never made a move to help him.
    
    On the beach, Sawyer reads from car magazine to keep the baby quiet. Claire approaches, amazed at the effects of Sawyer's voice and amused by his reading glasses. Further down the beach, Kate and Sayid talk. Kate tells Sayid that Shannon will be fine; to just give her some time. But Sayid thinks he made a mistake, and while Kate argues that he had no choice, Sayid responds, "There's always a choice." And off those words we...
    
    ... FLASHBACK to Sayid, meeting with his CIA and ASIS contacts. They hand over information on Nadia's whereabouts and an Oceanic plane ticket to Los Angeles. They remind Sayid that though what he did was hard, he saved hundreds of lives. Sayid inquires about Essam's body to learn that with nobody to claim it, he will be cremated. Sayid points out that Muslims are supposed to be buried and offers to claim the body himself. But the ASIS agent points out that he'll be on a flight to LA by the time they wrap up all the paperwork. Sayid refuses to leave Essam and demands they change his flight to the following day, thus putting him on the fateful Oceanic Flight 815.
    
    Back on the island, Locke thanks Sayid for what he did, knowing full well what it cost him. Sayid tells Locke that he did it because he thinks that Locke may be their best hope at surviving on the island - though that doesn't mean he trusts him. To gain that trust, Sayid asks Locke to take him to the hatch. And Locke finally relents. The episode ends as Sayid stares down in amazement at the hatch
     
22. May 11, 2005: Born to Run
    A green convertible pulls into the parking lot of a hotel located next to a thriving cornfield and comes to a stop. Although we can't see her face we see a blonde woman get out of the car and open the trunk. Inside are license plates for at least a dozen states. She very deftly removes the Nebraska plate and replaces it with one from Ohio. In the background, a family is checking out of their room, leaving the door open behind them while the chambermaid pushes her cart along her appointed rounds. Very casually, the blond woman takes her bag and walks right past the departing family. While the maid is in another room, the blond woman takes two towels and two bottles of shampoo from her cart and then slips into the recently vacated room, closing the door behind her and hanging the "Do Not Disturb" sign on the handle.
    
    We follow the girl inside and watch her go to the sink and remove her shirt. She pulls a bottle of hair coloring out of her bag and begins to apply it to her hair. A moment later we see her in the shower as the excess dye drips down the drain. Her hair is now a dark brown and as she turns to continue washing her hair, we finally get our first look at her face…and it's Kate!
    
    We follow her to the lobby where she asks the clerk for a letter that should be held there for her. He asks her name. "Joan Hart," she tells him, and sure enough there is a letter. Back in her car, we see the wad of cash that was enclosed and we realize that this is how she must be surviving on the run. But there is something else with the money this time, a handwritten letter. And something in that letter hits Kate hard because she begins to cry as we go to…
    
    The beach. Kate is playing with the toy plane she so desperately wanted from the case the Marshal was carrying. Charlie comes along and sits beside her and he's in very good spirits. He explains to Kate that, once the raft sets sail and rescue comes as a result, they are all going to be famous. "Don't you want to be famous," Charlie asks. But the look on Kate's face makes it unnecessary to answer. Further down the beach another of the survivors, Dr. Arzt is explaining that monsoon season is coming any day now and the trade winds will shift directions when it does. Every day they wait to launch increases the chance that they will die out there. Michael decides that tomorrow will be the day to launch and he sets out to make the final arrangements, but Kate is shadowing him the whole way. When he finally asks Kate why she is suddenly so interested in the raft she drops a bombshell on him: "Because I'm coming with you."
    
    Michael explains that the raft is full. There are 4 spots and those are already spoken for. Kate tries her best to sell herself as the best candidate for the raft and even goes as far as to suggest to Michael that the raft is too dangerous for Walt. But this only edifies Michael's position. He is the only one who is going to decide what is right for his son. And right now, what's best is to get him off this island.
    
    We FLASHBACK to a hospital where we see Kate carrying a bouquet of flowers down the hall. She is heading for a certain room when she spots a police officer sitting guard in front of the door. She quickly blocks herself from view with the flowers and walks right by, pretending to be going somewhere else.
    
    Later, a doctor heads to his car in the parking structure after a long day at work. As he climbs in we hear a voice from the back seat: "Hi, Tom." After his initial scare, Tom recognizes Kate. He asks her what she is doing there and she tells him Diane is dying of cancer and she thought she owed it to her to come and see her. But she needs his help…
    
    Back on the island, Jin is making some last minute adjustments to the rigging when Sun approaches and asks him if he is going to be leaving on the raft. He admits that he is, causing Sun to turn and walk away.
    
    Meanwhile, Sayid is leading Jack through the jungle where they finally meet up with Locke. Jack and Locke still carry a palpable distrust and Jack is very suspicious as Locke asks him to follow him. Jack does and they reveal the hatch, much further along in its excavation. This is the first time Jack has seen it and his reaction is profound. Locke is typically understated: "I guess it's time we talked about this…"
    
    Back at the raft Sawyer asks Michael why they need to pack so much salted fish, can't they just catch their own on the raft? Michael begins to wonder just how fit Sawyer is for the duty and admits that he has other interested parties. This gets Sawyer over to Kate in a hurry and when he arrives we see her burning the protective coating off of a passport, which she quickly hides once Sawyer arrives. Sawyer lays it out in plain English: Don't mess with me. He tells her he knows who she really is and how badly she needs to get on that raft, but that just isn't going to happen. No way. Kate's response is even more to the point. "I want your spot, I'll get your spot."
    
    Back at the raft, Michael is taking a much deserved water break and explaining to Walt that it might be difficult to send help back to an island this remote. As he is doing so, he keels over in pain. Something is very wrong. Walt runs through the jungle looking for help and finds Sun and Kate. He tells them what is wrong and Kate sends Sun back to Michael with Walt while she runs off to try and find Jack.
    
    But Jack is at the hatch and he's not too happy to find out about this so late in the game. He demands to know why Locke kept this from him for three weeks. Locke asks Jack how long he knew about the guns in the Marshal's case before he decided to tell the rest of them. "So how do we open it," Jack asks, but this sends Sayid into a frenzy. He brought Jack out here to talk Locke out of trying to open the hatch. Besides, Sayid asks, if the door was meant to be opened, why doesn't it have a handle on the outside?
    
    While making their way back, Locke, Jack and Sayid finally bump into Kate, who tells them about the problem with Michael. Once back, they find Michael in dire condition. Jack tries to make his diagnosis, but all Michael has been doing is eating the same food and drinking the same water as everyone else. Adding to his agony, Michael is ordered to stay on his back until Jack can get more information.
    
    In FLASHBACK, we see Kate looking at some snapshots stuck to the refrigerator door with magnets. They show the doctor with a lovely woman and a beautiful baby boy. Tom tells Kate that his name is Connor and we can see how idyllic his life is. And how much that life lays in contrast to Kate's. Tom says that he managed to get Diane into the MRI room at 5am and that Kate should get some private time with her then. When they realize that they have 3 hours to kill, Kate asks Tom a cryptic question: "Do you think it's still there?" Tom's car pulls to the base of a tree in the middle of a cow pasture. They remove two shovels out of the trunk, walk off six paces and begin to dig.
    
    Back on the island, Jack and Locke are trying to diagnose Michael. Jack inspects the empty water bottles from the camp and finds some suspicious residue at the bottom of one of the bottles. He races back to Michael and tells him not to drink out of any bottles except the one Jack gives him. Michael catches on and immediately tells Jack that Sawyer is the only one he feels had the motivation to poison him - - in retaliation for possibly replacing him on the raft. Meanwhile, Hurley accidentally tells Locke that Kate is a fugitive. This is turning out to be a day full of surprises.
    
    Claire is giving Charlie a haircut while he serenades the baby and they fantasize about what they are going to do first after they get rescued. Charlie invites her to come and stay with him until she figures out what she wants to do next. When she accepts, Charlie is visibly pleased.
    
    Kate catches up with Jack at the caves and asks if someone is going to be taking his place on the raft. This prompts Jack to ask her if she poisoned Michael. Kate asks Jack if he thinks she is capable of that, but she doesn't get the answer she is looking for. "I don't know what you're capable of."
    
    And off this we FLASHBACK to that field where Kate and Tom are still digging. Kate's shovel hits something metal and they pull something totally unexpected out of the ground. We get a closer look as they open the box and it's…a time capsule. Inside are the treasures of two children among which is… the toy airplane. And wait a minute, but it's Tom's! Kate finds an audiocassette and as these two sit in the car and listen to themselves as children, we learn that they were more than just friends --- they loved each other. And the moment leads to a kiss that is 15 years overdue. But things have changed for both of them and Tom starts the car to head back towards the hospital.
    
    Back on the island, Locke is applying a homemade ointment to a leg injury when Walt arrives. He wants to tell Locke something -- he didn't poison his father. He may have burned the first raft, but he had nothing to do with this. When Locke comes over to take his hand and tell him they are friends and not to worry, something happens to Walt. Locke can see his face go slack and he asks him what is wrong. "Don't open it," Walt says. And now it's Locke's face that goes slack. "Don't open that thing!"
    
    Sawyer delivers a bottle of antacid to Michael in the hopes that it will solidify his spot on the raft, but the idea backfires when Michael accuses Sawyer of poisoning him and kicks him off the raft. "You're a liar and a criminal," says Michael, but Sawyer isn't about to take this lying down. "Oh, I'm a criminal," Sawyer says. Kate is watching this exchange from a distance and Sawyer goes over to her and brings her to Michael. He takes the bag from her shoulder and dumps it out. And what does he find, but the passport Kate was forging earlier. It belonged to Joanna, the woman who drowned in episode 103. Sawyer outs Kate to the entire camp telling them that she was the fugitive with the Marshal and that she will do anything to anyone in order to remain free. "She doesn't care about anyone but herself!"
    
    But as we FLASHBACK to the hospital we see that isn't true. Kate as risked everything to come and see this woman in the hospital and as Tom wheels her in to a room on a gurney, Kate is finally allowed to get close to her. "Mom? It's me, Katie."
    
    Oh. My. God. This is Kate's MOM! And as she regains consciousness and recognizes her daughter -- and while Kate begins to tearfully apologize for putting her mother through "all this" -- and while we are trying to take all this in, Kate's mother begins to speak. Just a single word at first and barely a whisper: "Help." Kate tells her it's going to be okay, but she continues, a little louder each time until she is screaming for help. Is her mother afraid of her? The noise attracts some unwanted attention and Kate a security guard arrives. When he fails to believe Kate's cover story, she is forced to knock him out with his walkie-talkie. Tom arrives to find the guard on the ground and asks Kate what happened. "I need your car keys," Kate says. The two go racing to the garage and Kate climbs into the driver's seat with Tom taking the passenger side. We can already hear the sirens of the approaching police as they race down the garage, but they are too late -- a police car has blocked the exit and the officer driving it has his weapon drawn. This is it…
    
    Kate tells Tom to get out, but he refuses. Tom pleads with Kate to turn herself in; they'll ask the court to be lenient. It's her only chance for a normal life someday. But if we know anything about Kate it is this: She will do almost anything to get away. She tells him this is his last chance, but Tom refuses to budge. Kate GUNS the engine and the office gets of several shots before is car is rammed out of the way and Kate is past him. And it looks as if they might make it until another car slams into them, disabling their car. When Kate recovers from the impact she reaches over to make sure that Tom is okay…but he isn't. One of the officer's bullets hit Tom in the chest and he sits there, dead in the passenger seat. Kate barely has a moment to process the horror of what just happened - - of what she has just done when the other police cars start to arrive. She catches a glance of Tom's toy airplane in the backseat and considers climbing back for it, but realizes that she doesn't have the time. Quick as a flash, she is out of the car and running again, but something tells us no matter how fast she runs, she will never get away from this.
    
    And back on the beach, Kate is still there, suffering under the newly hostile stares of the entire camp. She tries to resurrect herself by coming clean and she tells everyone, for the first time that she was the one the Marshal was transporting. "But I didn't poison you," she tells Michael. But it's too late. The camp has a new pariah now. And as the other survivors walk away from her, she realizes that things will never be quite the same again.
    
    Jack finds Sun leaning against a tree watching her husband make the final adjustments to the raft. Jack asks her if she wants Jin to stay and when she admits that she does, he asks if that is the reason she tried to poison him. It's an easy enough mistake, Jin and Michael work together all day -- it would be very easy to get the water bottles mixed up. Sun breaks down and admits that she doesn't want him to die out on the raft, so she mixed just enough of the poison to make him sick. She didn't know what else to do. Jack promises not to tell anyone about it, but he offers Sun some advice. "He's going. If I were you, I'd say goodbye."
    
    And as that lands on Sun we catch up with Kate at the fire. Seems she has it all to herself this evening. That is until Sawyer comes to deliver a post-mortem. Sawyer tells Kate he is back on the raft and that Michael has rallied and will indeed launch the raft tomorrow. Kate asks Sawyer why it's so important for him to be on the raft and when Sawyer answers it's difficult to tell if he is answering a question…or asking one of his own. "Because there ain't anything on this island worth staying for."
    
    Walt makes his way over to his father who is recovering next to his fire by the raft. He tells Walt not to worry, that they will be sailing away home in no time when Walt makes a startling admission: "I'm the one that burned the raft." As Michael sits in stunned silence, Walt explains that he didn't want to leave and that he thought he could stop them from leaving by getting rid of the raft. Michael processes this and tells Walt that they can stay behind on the island if that is what Walt wants. "We don't have to leave," he says. But Walt's reply sends a chill down our spines.
    
    "Yes we do."
    
    And as Kate sits alone in her tent, reflecting on a very, very bad day, Sun arrives. She tells Kate that Jack knows about the poison. But what she says next knocks us for a loop: "I didn't tell him it was your idea," she says. Kate thanks her and Sun explains that there was no reason to punish her; she was only trying to help. And as the two ladies sit alone, Sun opens up in a way we rarely get to see. She tells Kate that, when she was a little girl she was a little girl she believed that once she found the man she loved, she would be happy…forever.
    
    "Yeah," Kate says…"Me too."
     
23. May 18, 2005: Exodus (Part 1)
    Walt stands before a window in a hotel room. The Oceanic Airlines tickets that will carry him to his fate sit on the nightstand beside him. He pulls open the curtains to reveal the Sydney skyline. Dawn is still a few minutes away. He looks over his shoulder at Michael sleeping soundly. This is his father. But right now, the man is a stranger to Walt. He turns on the television, waking Michael up. He asks Walt if everything is okay and when Walt tells him that he always watches this TV show, Michael does his best to be patient with him and simply requests that he turn the volume down. But Walt turns the volume up. "I said turn it down, Walt." Walt tells Michael that Brian lets him watch the show as loud as he wants. Michael is awake now. He gets up and snatches the remote. "Well, I'm not Brian."
    
    Walt gets up and grabs Vincent -- he's had enough of this -- and bolts for the door, running down the hallway in his pajamas. Michael catches up to him at the elevator and Walt screams his protest as Michael drags him and the dog back to the room. "You're not my father! You're not my father!"
    
    Walt snaps awake and we find ourselves back on the beach. It is pre-dawn here as well and nobody else is awake yet. Walt gets up to go to the bathroom, relieved that the dream is over. While in the bushes he hears a noise and as his eyes adjust to the light he sees something moving toward the beach. It's a woman. Oh my God…it's Rousseau!
    
    She moves without making a sound, but Walt sounds the alarm as he races back to his father. The racket he makes wakes up the rest of the camp and before you know it we are all watching Rousseau walk towards the fire, rifle in hand. Sayid recognizes her and tries his best to calm the rest of the camp down. He asks her what she is doing here. But her answer makes us wish he didn't ask…"The Others are coming."
    
    We FLASHBACK to see Jack sitting at an airport bar nursing a cocktail as a woman arrives on the stool next to him. She's attractive. Okay, she's downright hot. And she's definitely coming on to Jack. And here's something else we learn: Jack isn't wearing his wedding ring. In fact, he tells her that he isn't married anymore! The two of them share a cocktail, but she's outpacing him 2 to 1. We learn he name is Ana-Lucia, but just as Jack is about to learn more, her cell phone rings. It's important (important enough to have a cell phone that works in Australia) and she makes her apologies, but she has to take the call. "We'll have that next drink on the plane, I'm in 42-F -- all the way in the back."
    
    Back on the beach, our entire camp surrounds Rousseau as she tells her tale. She was part of a scientific mission to this part of the South Pacific when their boat ran aground on the island. Her team became stranded here sixteen years ago. She says there were six of them when they wrecked and she was already pregnant at that time. But something happened because she tells them she had to deliver the baby alone. As Claire's baby lets out a small cry Rousseau continues. She says her team was only together for a week when they saw the black smoke. It was far inland and it didn't spread. She gets even more intense here. "And that night, they came." They came and took her baby. And now they're coming again. For all of them. And they can't be stopped. She makes it crystal clear for them -- "You have only three choices: Run. Hide. Or die."
    
    Jack and Locke move toward the raft and discuss how to deal with this. Is she crazy? And can they afford not to take her word for the truth? They find Michael and Jin installing the rudder. Michael makes it clear that he wants off this island -- today. But they still have to lay the rails that will allow them to launch the raft. Jack suggests that they do that while they finish the rudder assembly, but Michael points out the manpower shortage that prevents that. "Give me twenty minutes," Jack says.
    
    Charlie and Claire watch Rousseau from a distance and worry. Charlie does his best to comfort the girl he cares so much for, but it's an uphill battle. Claire tells Charlie that, when she escaped from Ethan -- however she got away -- she knew they would come back for her. Charlie realizes something. "Is that why you haven't named the baby?" Claire's eyes fill with tears, but remain firmly fixed on Rousseau. She nods her answer.
    
    Jack has rallied the troops, even Sun and Kate are pitching in and the entire camp is in position. Even with everyone pushing together, it will take a massive effort to get the raft into the water. They take their positions: Sawyer and Kate eye each other from opposite sides of the raft. Jin and Sun avoid making eye contact. Shannon and Sayid find one another. They all begin to push, giving it everything they have and it begins to slide toward the water. But the raft begins to list to one side and before they can correct the problem, the raft slides off the rails and one pontoon buries itself in the sand. Cables snap and bamboo shatters and the whole mast and rigging collapses. And if that's not enough, Hurley falls into the rudder, snapping one of the pivot points. It's a nightmare -- thirty feet short of the water and both rudder and mast need to be replaced before they can set sail. Accusations are hurled to and fro in the aftermath and tempers flare. In the middle of the chaos, we find Walt. He wanders away from the fracas and we notice that something has made his eyes go wide. Michael searches for Walt and when he finds him he looks to see what he is looking at…and that's when his mouth drops open. We swing around into their point of view and we see what they are looking at.
    
    Out on the jungle horizon… is a pillar of black smoke. They're coming…
    
    Jack is with Rousseau, desperate for information. He asks how many of them there are, but Rousseau has already told him all she knows. Jack presses her, there must be some way to survive -- she has been here for sixteen years! "I can vanish into the jungle. You have forty people. Where will you hide them all?" Jack looks at Locke. And Locke knows exactly what he is thinking.
    
    Jack, Locke, Sayid, Rousseau and Hurley stare at the hatch. Hurley and Rousseau for the first time. Rousseau asks Jack what it is. Jack tells her he hoped she could tell them. She's never seen anything like it. Hurley asks a very practical question: "How do you know we can all fit in there?" Locke says that no handle means there must be another door somewhere. Another entrance means more space. But Sayid can't hold his tongue any longer. This hatch might even belong to the Others -- they could be walking right into a trap. Jack asks Rousseau if she has any more of the explosives she used to blow up her shelter. "You mean the dynamite," she says. "At the Black Rock. In the Dark Territory." And thank God for Hurley because he says what they're all thinking: "Well, there's three reasons to go right there."
    
    Jin and Michael "talk" in their invented shorthand. They need new bamboo for the mast and the rudder. Sawyer arrives and offers his help, but they aren't interested. He is about to protest further when he sees a commotion further up the beach and goes to check it out. Jack is packing his things up and he is addressing the camp. Like it or not (not) he is their leader. He tells them that he knows they are frightened, but he has a plan. He and a small team are going to go to the jungle to get "supplies" and they will return in a few hours. He tells them to do whatever they can to help with the raft and when it is in the water, they should all go to the caves. "Look after each other. We'll be back as soon as we can. I promise." And as they leave, Jack is pulled aside by the increasingly annoying Dr. Arzt. He knows about the dynamite (don't tell Hurley anything if you want it to stay a secret) and he is coming with them. He knows more about dynamite than any of them. If they don't want to blow themselves up, he has to come along. With no time to argue, Jack agrees.
    
    Sawyer is in the bamboo fields using a makeshift machete to hack through some bamboo. As he chops away we FLASHBACK to a police station back in Sydney. He looks beat down as the inspector spells it out for him: Sawyer got into a bar fight with the wrong guy -- the Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and Agriculture to be exact. And there's one more thing. They know who he really is: James Ford from Memphis with a rap sheet as long as a city block. Australia has had just about enough of James and of Sawyer and they mean to throw out the trash. Sawyer is being deported back to America. And he's leaving on Oceanic Flight 815 leaving tomorrow.
    
    Back at the beach, Claire asks Rousseau how she knows her. She can't place it, but she knows they have met before. But that's impossible, and Rousseau says as much. Claire tells her about Ethan kidnapping her, that she escaped, but she can't remember how. Rousseau ignores her and busies herself with the new hiking boots she has obviously liberated from the camp. Something seems to click inside Claire. "You saved me, didn't you? That's why I remember you, you saved me from him." Rousseau gives a quick look to Claire and then to the baby. "We have never met." And with that she walks away.
    
    Sawyer is still chopping when Jack arrives. These two haven't exactly seen eye to eye, so you can forgive Sawyer for wondering what he wants. Jack hands Sawyer one of the pistols and a clip of ammo to take with him on the raft, "just in case." Sawyer wasn't prepared for this. But it dawns on them both that this will probably be the last time they see each other. "Good luck, Sawyer," Jack says. And he turns to go, but Sawyer does something unbelievable. He tells Jack the story of that day in the bar in Sydney when he shared a bender with an American doctor. Turns out this doctor was hiding out in Australia after a big falling out with his son, who happened to be a doctor too. Jack can't believe what he's hearing, but Sawyer isn't finished. He tells Jack that his father knew the trouble in their relationship was all his fault even though his son was back in the USA thinking the same thing. And more than anything he wishes he could pick up the phone in that bar and call his son -- tell him he's sorry. He's a better doctor than he'll ever be. That he's proud of him. That he loves him. And Sawyer says he had to take off, but something tells him that the doc never got around to making that call. "Small world, huh?" And this is the most intense thing that has ever landed on Jack, but no matter how much it means to him -- Jack will not let himself cry in front of Sawyer. "Good luck, Jack."
    
    In FLASHBACK we see Kate handcuffed and waiting in a security room as the Marshal goes through the process of informing the airline that he will be armed during the flight. When the Australian security officer opens the Halliburton case and asks why it's necessary to bring five guns along he refers the question to Kate, but she just continues to fume in silence. "She's shy," the Marshal says. But when the security officer asks him what the toy plane is in there for, the Marshal is only too happy to explain how Kate murdered her childhood love, and how he tried to use it to catch her over the years. And the next part of this happens in a FLASH. Kate bolts out of her chair and has the Marshal's throat in her hands. The Marshal reacts with an elbow to her face and Kate goes down. The Marshal looks to a stunned security officer who never even had time to get out of his chair. "That," the Marshal says, "is why I need five guns."
    
    Back on the beach, Kate asks Jack if she can come along on the dynamite mission and he knows her well enough to realize that this is something she really needs to do. So he allows it. Meanwhile, Charlie is collecting brief messages from the castaways to be placed in a bottle for the raft team to take along with them. As the dynamite team passes by the raft they are forced to hurry their goodbyes -- neither team has a moment to spare -- and Jack's team disappears into the jungle. Back at the beach, Sayid and Shannon lock eyes and we...
    
    FLASHBACK to the Sydney airport where Sayid asks a Shannon he has never met if she would be kind enough to watch his bag for a moment. "Sure. Whatever." And as Sayid goes off, Boone arrives with some bad news -- he couldn't get them bumped into first class. She doesn't take the news well and throws a tantrum that Boone is not in the mood for. He tells her to stop threatening him, there is nothing she can do anyway -- she's helpless. But Shannon decides to show Boone exactly what she's capable of and flags down a passing police officer. She tells him that an Arab man left his bag unattended and headed for the shops.
    
    Jack and his team follow Rousseau through deep jungle until they arrive at two trees marked with faded black sashes. "La Territoire Fonce -- The Dark Territory." Rousseau tells them that this is where her team became infected... where one member lost his arm. They must move silently and quickly. Dr. Arzt has heard enough and suddenly isn't real interested in helping out with the dynamite anymore. "Just be real careful with it." And he turns and runs, leaving our team to watch him go.
    
    Jin and Michael are arguing about the thickness of the bamboo they are going to need for the mast when Sawyer arrives behind them with two gigantic stalks cut and measured to length. Michael thanks him sincerely, and from the look on Sawyer's face that may have been all he needed.
    
    Back in the jungle, our team is walking as fast as they can considering Hurley is with them when Kate thinks she hears something. And suddenly Dr. Arzt comes running right past them, screaming at them to run. And before they have time to wonder what the hell is going on things get a whole lot worse. MGGGRRRWWWRRRRRRRR! The monster is coming! The whole group begins to bolt and Hurley is struggling mightily when Locke grabs his wrist and tells him to be still. Hurley looks at him like he's speaking Chinese, but he really can't run anymore so he does just that. Kate and Jack follow Rousseau into the thick stalks of a bamboo field.
    
    The Monster's growl grows increasingly fainter and Locke tells Hurley it is headed the other way, much to his relief. They walk along together, not seeing the rest of the team. Hurley fears one of them might have been eaten, but then they catch up with Jack, Kate and Rousseau. There is just one question: "Where is Arzt?" But he answers the question himself with he emerges from the brush, muddy, shaken, but alive.
    
    Sayid delivers something special to the raft. He managed to salvage the radar system from the Beechcraft that Locke and Boone found in the jungle. If they mount it to the mast and use it sparingly, it will let them know if any ships are on the horizon and where they are. And there's something else: A flare gun, but with only one flare. And Sayid states the obvious when he hands it over to Michael. "Choose wisely when you use it." He looks up on the mast and sees a yellow necktie flapping from the top.
    
    We FLASHBACK to the Sydney airport and see Sayid considering that same necktie on a rack with many others. A woman is helping him decide. She asks him what he will be using it for. "I'm going to see a woman." Sayid asks her to pick it for him and she points him towards the yellow one. As she rings it up she asks the girl's name and Sayid can't help but smile when he tells her. "Nadia." And as he is lost in the emotion of finally seeing his love again, the airport police arrive and ask him if he left a bag unattended earlier. He tries to tell them that he asked someone (Shannon) to watch it for him, but they aren't hearing it and tell him he needs to come with them. "Of course I do."
    
    Shannon is back at the beach and she is folding her clothes when she hesitates on a simple leather necklace -- Boone's. Walt shows up with Vincent. He asks her why she doesn't look scared and Shannon tells him that if they are all going to get massacred there really isn't anything she can do about it. "Is there something you want, Walt?" And Walt says this very much like a 12 year old -- completely unaware of the magnitude of his gesture. He tells Shannon that she should take Vincent after Walt leaves on the raft. "He'll take care of you," Walt says. And Shannon tries her best to keep her defenses up by asking Walt why he thinks she needs a dog to take care of her. "Because he took care of me when my mom died." He tells her that nobody would talk to him about her, so he spoke to Vincent. "He's a good listener. You can talk to him about Boone if you want." And that does it, Shannon is crying now. "All right," she says, "But just until you get us rescued."
    
    The Jungle team suddenly stops behind Rousseau. Locke asks her why they have stopped -- "Because we're here," Rousseau replies. She gently pushes through the foliage we see The Black Rock…and it's not what we expected…
    
    In FLASHBACK we see Jin sitting in an airport café waiting for their flight. Sun arrives with some food for them both. Across the café, two Americans -- the kind that give them a bad name around the world -- comment snidely, completely unaware that Sun can understand every word they say. As Sun cuts the food in half for her husband they continue to insult them both. And off of this we return to the island to find…
    
    Michael and Jin making the final preparations for launch…again. Sun steps in front of Jin forcing him to stop work. He is surprised by her assertiveness as she hands him a folder. Jin opens it to reveal a sheaf of papers with several words written in Hangul with their English translations. She has made him a dictionary. Jin's eyes are still on the pages, but he's not reading -- he just can't look up. And the weight of what is happening finally lands on him. He may never see his wife again. And he does the very last thing we expect…he starts to cry. "I'm sorry," he says. "I am too," replies his wife. Jin tells her to stay with Jack -- he will keep her safe. They fall into an embrace, holding each other fiercely. And then Sun speaks so softly it's almost a whisper: "I love you." And they kiss. And it's a kiss between people who might never share another.
    
    And now we go all around the beach: Shannon gives Charlie a message for the bottle. He puts a cork on it, kisses it for luck and ties it to the raft. Sawyer looks for Kate as he ties some banana bunches to the raft, but she's gone. And then the entire camp works as a team and pushes the raft down the beach and into the water. Michael, Walt Sawyer and Jin rush in and scramble aboard as the raft begins to make its way past the crashing waves.
    
    Suddenly, Vincent breaks free from Shannon's grasp and runs into the water to begin a desperate swim to Walt. And it takes a lot of doing for Walt to convince his dog to turn back, breaking both of their hearts in the process. Walt is crying now as the sails are raised and fill with wind, carrying them further away from this island and into the unknown. Michael and Jin turn and wave to the castaways on the beach. Jin locks eyes with his wife and they share a smile -- the connection between them complete once more. And then they turn around -- and their focus shifts from what is behind them to what is in front.
    
    And as we pull up and away, with the island slipping into the distance, we stay with the raft and all the hope it represents. We watch it cut through the sparkling ocean, its journey just beginning…
     
24. May 25, 2005: Exodus (Part 2) & May 25, 2005: Exodus (Part 3)
    With the departure of the raft, the castaways are left to return to the problem at hand. The column of black smoke continues to billow from deep in the jungle and they need to get to safety. Charlie goes to help Claire prepare herself and her baby for the move and finds her on the edge of panic. Everyone is terrified, but Claire must deal with the certainty that the Others are after her baby.
    
    Charlie goes to Sayid and asks him for a gun so he can protect Claire and the baby; he knows Jack handed them over to him before he left on the mission to the Black Rock. But Sayid is reluctant -- Charlie is emotionally involved. "If you really want to help Claire, get her packed and take her and her baby to the caves."
    
    At the Black Rock Hurley asks what we are all thinking: "How exactly did something like this happen?" And Rousseau answers it succinctly: "Are you on the same island I am?" And before they have time to discuss the matter any further, Rousseau tells them that the explosives they are after are located in the hold -- and then she disappears back into the jungle. They don't have time to worry about that, however and Jack, Locke and Kate make their way inside the Black Rock while Hurley and Arzt keep each other company outside.
    
    Inside the Black Rock, three things become clear: 1) From the equipment on board this ship was likely headed to a mining colony. 2) Its passengers were not on board voluntarily. 3) There are several crates of dynamite still inside.
    
    Arzt is having a very frank conversation with Hurley outside the Black Rock. He wants Hurley to know that, just because they might not be in the "cool clique" there are forty-some-odd other passengers that survived that plane crash and they are just as important as anybody else. And as Jack and Locke emerge carrying a crate of explosives, Arzt sees his chance to prove it to them.
    
    Arzt immediately tells Jack and Locke to set the crate on the ground - - very gently. And when they do he gives them a lesson in the volatility of old dynamite. When dynamite is exposed to heat it sweats pure nitroglycerin. And Nitroglycerin is the dangerous explosive ever invented. He takes Kate's shirt and dips it in water before carefully wrapping the dynamite gently within it. And now, Arzt is in the zone. He tells them that they are going to do exactly as he says if they want to survive this ordeal. And they are only going to transport as much as necessary to -- BOOM! Jack, Kate, Locke and Hurley are thrown to the ground as an explosion rips through the air in front of them. No more Arzt.
    
    We FLASHBACK to the Sydney airport. Sun is handing Jin half of a sandwich when she accidentally spills a cup of hot tea in his lap. He makes his way to the bathroom and as he does we see Sayid being returned to his gate after being detained and questioned as a result of Shannon's prank. Jin is at the sink, doing his best to take the stain out of his pants and shirt when an American tourist asks him for help with the paper towel machine. When he gets a look of confusion from Jin, the tourist figures it out -- Jin doesn't speak English. But then something extraordinary happens -- the tourist starts to speak in Korean. Fluent Korean. And what he tells Jin shakes him to his core. Mr. Paik has heard of Jin's plan to leave his employ and to start a new life for himself and for Sun in California. Mr. Paik will never let that happen. Never. And if Jin wants to stay alive he will conclude his business in America…and promptly return to Korea. As the "tourist" walks out of the bathroom, Jin is left shaken and afraid.
    
    But that Jin is in stark contrast to the hopeful and confident one we see on the raft, which is far enough out to sea now for the four passengers to see just how large the island really is. And as move further out to sea, Walt wonders if the other castaways are going to be all right. Michael speaks for us all: "I hope so."
    
    Back on the beach, Sun stares out to the ocean, trying desperately to catch a last glimpse of the raft. She looks at her wedding ring, buoyed by the rekindled love it represents. And she hopes that Jin is okay. She hopes that they will send help for them. She hopes…
    
    Shannon is doing her best to drag an enormous amount of luggage up the beach while seeing to Vincent at the same time. When her overstuffed bag falls open, spilling its contents on the sand, Sayid comes to ask her if she really needs all that stuff. She says that she does and upon closer inspection Sayid notices that most of the things belonged to her brother, Boone. Shannon is hanging by a very thin thread. Sayid offers to help carry her things.
    
    Back at the Black Rock, the fallout of what happened to Arzt is beginning to land on the team. But one of them is taking it very hard indeed. Kate goes to try and comfort Hurley when he tells her that this happened because of him. "I'm kind of…bad luck," he says. Kate assures him it was an accident, but Hurley is unconvinced. Meanwhile, Jack and Locke are forced to deal with the dynamite. And the outcome of the previous try does nothing to calm their nerves.
    
    We FLASHBACK to Charlie waking up in the shambles of a trashed hotel room and searching desperately for his drugs. An unconscious woman lays in bed and it is only when Charlie pushes her aside to continue looking that she wakes up. When he tries to make an awkward escape and promises to send her an autographed copy of his album we learn that she doesn't give a damn about his band, or for him for that matter. It took some doing, but Charlie has finally managed to find a bigger addict than himself.
    
    Back on the beach, Charlie has fashioned a sling for carrying the baby out of an old airplane blanket. It's ingenious -- and it works. Claire is sincerely grateful and kisses him on the cheek when Rousseau arrives out of the jungle in near hysterics. She needs Sayid -- right now! Charlie takes off to go and find him and as soon as he is gone, Rousseau becomes fixated on the baby. Claire notices the scratch marks on her arm and begins to remember something terrible -- she was the one who left the marks. "Why did I scratch you," she asks, but it's already too late. Charlie has just found Sayid when they both hear someone screaming for help. They follow the sound to find Sun holding an unconscious Claire in her arms -- she's been knocked out. And the baby…is gone. They have to go after her.
    
    Back at the Black Rock, the team draws straws to decide who will carry the two packages of dynamite. And Locke and Kate are the "winners." Jack is not pleased that Kate will be carrying a bomb on her back.
    
    Out on the raft, Jin and Michael test the radar system while Walt notices Sawyer reading all the messages from the bottle. "Who the hell is Hugo and how does he have 160 million dollars to leave his mom?"
    
    Meanwhile Sayid and Charlie race toward the black smoke, stopping only to pick up the guns from the Halliburton case. When Charlie asks why they are running toward the black smoke, Sayid tells him that he thinks Rousseau is trying to deliver the baby to the Others -- in exchange for something, or someone else…
    
    Claire and Sun arrive and Claire demands to go with them -- it's her baby that was taken! Charlie looks her in the eye and promises to bring back her baby. "Get him back, Charlie. Get Aaron back."
    
    We FLASHBACK to Michael on the phone in the Sydney airport -- waiting to board the flight that will change his life forever. He is speaking to his mother. Pleading with her to take Walt off his hands. "What am I supposed to do with him? He's not supposed to be mine," he says. Michael's mother turns him down however and when Michael hangs up the phone he turns to see Walt standing there behind him. And Michael's heart sinks.
    
    Back on the Raft, Michael looks at his son, considering just how far the two of them have come. He brings Walt back to the rudder and teaches him how to steer the raft. Using a small compass he teaches Walt how to navigate and allows him to steer the raft for a short while until BANG! -- The raft lurches left, they've hit something and, Oh my God, it's sheared the rudder off the mount. As it begins to float away, we see any chance of success literally floating away with it. Every second taking it further and further away.
    
    Sawyer peels off his shirt and dives in the ocean swimming as fast as he can towards the rudder. When he finally reaches it, he turns to see the raft far behind him. Too far. Jin hands Michael a rope and they manage to get it to Sawyer, who then ties it around the rudder and Michael and Jin reel him in. Sawyer climbs back aboard the raft, exhausted. Michael and Jin thank him, but when Michael goes to hand him back his shirt, he notices the gun wrapped inside…and he isn't pleased.
    
    Back at the Black Rock, the team is making ready to transport the dynamite to the hatch. Locke and Kate will carry the explosives in their packs while Hurley and Jack break the trail and keep a lookout for the monster. Or the Others. Or God knows what else…
    
    Sayid and Charlie are the move towards the black smoke. Charlie is having a great deal of difficulty keeping the pace and when Sayid sees this he forces them to take a quick break at the site of the Beechcraft. Not knowing Charlie's past, Sayid points out the heroin hidden inside the statues and as he again moves off we see the struggle Charlie never thought he would face again wash over his face. How can he possibly resist all this?
    
    The explosives team makes its way slowly and methodically through the jungle. Hurley asks Locke what he thinks is inside the hatch. "Hope," Locke says. "I think Hope's inside." And as they move on we hear the cry of an animal unlike any we have heard before. Hurley sums it up for all of us. "Whoever named this place 'Dark Territory,'" he says, "Genius." And as if on cue, the Monster bursts onto the scene. Jack, Kate and Hurley scatter, but Locke keeps his calm and stays put -- he has seen this beast before. But it soon becomes apparent even to Locke that this time is different and he is knocked to the ground at the Monster's feet. Jack looks back in time to see him cowering there on the jungle floor and he runs to his aid, but Locke is already up and running, The Monster hot on his heels. Jack runs after him and sees Locke being dragged away through the jungle by his feet. In a final push, he throws himself down in time to catch Locke's hands and gives everything he's got to slow him down. Just as Locke is going to be dragged down an enormous hole, Jack wedges his feet against the edge and it's now a tug of war for the fate of Locke. Kate arrives and Jack tells her to get the dynamite, but when she removes her pack he tells her that it is actually in his. No time to argue, Jack can't hold on much longer …"Hurry, Kate!" Locke tells them to let him go "I'll be okay," he says, but Jack isn't having it. He tells Kate to throw the dynamite down the hole and we wait a few seconds before a huge explosion rips through the jungle floor. Locke is released. For now…
    
    Back on the raft, the sun is beginning to set. Michael finds the makeshift dictionary that Sun made for Michael and tries to communicate with Jin as they put the rudder back in place. And there is something else -- Michael takes the watch he found all those weeks ago and returns it to Jin. But Michael isn't the only one who has changed since then. And Jin gives it right back to him, the trouble between them finally in the past.
    
    Back at the caves, Sun does her best to comfort Claire who is in agony over the loss of her baby. She tells Claire that Charlie will bring him back to her. "How do you know," she asks Sun. "Because he said he would. Charlie will bring your baby back."
    
    And we find Charlie resuming his mad dash through the jungle with Sayid when they see the baby wrapped in its blanket at the foot of a tree. "There," Charlie shouts and takes off running towards it, but Sayid tells him to wait. Charlie picks up the baby and pulls back the blanket to reveal…a log. And picking it up has released a booby trap of rocks hanging in the tree canopy above him. By the time he looks up his head is split wide open by the falling rocks. Sayid sees him bleeding badly. He tells Charlie he'll have to go back, but we all know that's not going to happen. "You're a soldier, Sayid, what do you do when someone is wounded?" Sayid has an idea. And he pulls a bullet from his gun and removes the lead from the cartridge. He then pours the gunpowder in the open wound and strikes a match. "This is not going to be pleasant," he says. And from the pitch of Charlie's scream we know he is correct.
    
    We FLASHBACK to a hotel room. The sun is clearly up, but Hurley is very much unaware of this as he snores peacefully. Something causes him to open his eyes and when he checks the clock on the bedside table, it is blank. He goes to turn on the light, but nothing happens. There must have been a power outage. And by the time Hurley realizes what time it is he realizes that he is in very serious danger of missing his flight home. And he can't miss this flight -- his mother's birthday is tomorrow. Well, today, actually when you consider the whole time change thing and…well, forget it.
    
    In a "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles" series of mishaps that simply must be seen to be believed, Hurley finally manages to get to the gate just as they close the door for boarding. He pleads with the gate agent to let him on board and when she calls down to the plane Hurley has his answer: "This is your lucky day."
    
    Back in the jungle, Hurley is repeating the numbers, those prophetic numbers over and over again in his head. When Kate overhears him repeating the number 23 she asks if the number has some special significance to him. But Hurley isn't ready to talk. "It's just a number," he says and they go to catch up with Jack and Locke.
    
    And speaking of Jack and Locke, push is coming to shove. What starts as an argument about how they handled the situation at the Monster's hole turns into a much broader discussion. Locke tells Jack that he appreciates that Jack is a man of science, but that he himself is a man of faith. Locke believes that the island has all brought them here, every one of them for a reason, to take them down a certain path. And that path ends at the hatch. "All of it happened so that we could open the hatch," Locke says. Jack replies that they are opening the hatch so that they can survive. "I don't believe in destiny," Jack says. "Yes, you do," Locke replies. "You just don't know it yet."
    
    Back on the raft, Michael and Sawyer argue about how often to check the radar screen. Sayid said every hour is the way to do it, but the battery could run out and they have no idea how long they are going to be out there. When Sawyer begins to question Michael's disciplining (or lack thereof) of his son, Michael learns that Sawyer's own father killed himself when he was eight years old. And them Michael makes a connection. There are only two reasons someone like Sawyer would want on a mission as crazy as this raft: "You're either a hero…or you want to die." And Sawyer's answer only confirms what Michael already knows. "I ain't no hero, Mike." And then, the radar BLEEPS. Michael and Sawyer can hardly believe their eyes, but as they look at the screen. It shows a contact, at 8 o'clock. Something…is out there.
    
    FLASHBACK to the Sydney airport. Locke is waiting to be loaded onto the plane when the gate agent tells him the special wheelchair they use to get handicapped passengers on and off the plane is missing. They will have to carry him. And as the look of helpless frustration colors his face we CUT to the island… and this new version of Locke. Steady and confident, he leads the explosives team to the hatch. And Locke begins to direct the team on how to prepare the charges and the fuse.
    
    Meanwhile, Sayid and Charlie have followed the smoke to a large fire burning on a yet unseen section of beach. They carefully make their way to the edge of the brush, guns in hand. But the fire on the beach is untended. There aren't even any footprints. Just as Charlie and Sayid wonder what is going on, they hear the baby crying from the jungle and they shout for Rousseau to come out. She does, crying, Aaron safe in her arms. She tells them that nobody was here when she arrived. All she wanted was to get her Alex back. She thought if she gave them the baby… Charlie has Aaron in his arms and accuses Rousseau of making the whole thing up. She tells them she is sure she heard them whispering. She is certain they said they were coming for the boy…
    
    Back at the hatch, Locke and Jack share an uncomfortable moment finalizing the shape charges on the Hatch. When they finish, they go to the end of the fuse where Locke volunteers to light it, telling the others to take cover. He'll have enough time to get clear after lighting it. Jack calls Hurley over from where he was guarding the other dynamite and goes to take cover with Kate. She indicts him for taking the dynamite in his pack and Jack stands up for himself, saying everyone wants him to be a leader until he makes a decision that they disagree with. If she wants to continue second-guessing him that's fine, but if they get through this night alive, Jack says, "We're going to have a Locke problem."
    
    Hurley makes his way back across the hatch on his way to where Jack and Kate are when he spots the numbers written on the hatch. And he freaks out. "Stop! We can't do it, the numbers are bad!" Jack Kate and Locke don't know how to react, but Hurley repeats his warning over and over. Locke hasn't come this far to stop now and he lights the fuse sending them down a path towards… the unknown. And when Hurley tries desperately to stamp out the fuse before it reaches the dynamite, it is all Jack can do to tackle him to safety before the charges go off and the night is pierced by the rocket of flame and the blast wave shakes the canopy violently in its wake.
    
    Back on the raft, the radar continues to show the contact getting closer and closer to them. But wait a second… now it's moving further away. Sawyer is desperate to use the flare, but Michael is reluctant. How do they know it's not some piece of debris? They only have one flare! As the contact moves further and further away it becomes clear that this may be their only chance. Walt begs them to try and Michael finally relents. "Please, God," he says as he fires the flare into the sky. And it's a few agonizing moments before we see the radar contact moving changing course and returning towards them once more. The entire crew begins to jump up and down in delight as their rescuers continue to close the distance towards them. Jin scans the horizon and turns to tell them to stop talking and listen. Very faint off in the distance is what sounds like a motor. We wait with the crew and hold our breath until a LIGHT goes on and floods the raft. It's official -- there is a boat coming to rescue them. It's all they can do to hold back the tears as the boat gets closer and closer, all of them knowing that the ordeal is finally over.
    
    But it isn't.
    
    The boat arrives and what starts as elation quickly turns to something else. Four men, man this small craft and they demand that they hand over Walt. "We're going to have to take the boy." Michael is confused at first, then worried. He tells them he's not handing over anybody. And as Sawyer slowly moves for the gun hidden in his waistband, it all goes very, very badly indeed.
    
    One of the men in the boat pulls his gun -- and he's faster than Sawyer. Sawyer is shot and falls off the raft into the water. Jin jumps in after him. When Michael moves to help, one of the other men on the boat boards the raft and takes Walt, bringing him back on board the boat. Michael tries to stop them, but he too is knocked into the water. Another man on the boat throws something on the raft and before we know it, the whole thing explodes. As Michael drifts among the wreckage he can hear the screams of his son, pleading for him to come and save him as he is being pulled away into the darkness. And as Michael screams after him he is left to watch his son disappear.
    
    Back at the caves, Claire waits uncomfortably with the rest of the castaways when something extraordinary happens. Sayid and Charlie return…and Charlie is carrying baby Aaron in his arms. Claire is overwhelmed with relief and joy as the rest of the camp rallies around the two of them. And as they revel in this victory, Sayid moves off to wash away his dirt in the nearby stream. Shannon finds him there and throws herself into his arms, no longer upset with him, just relieved to have him back. They share an honest embrace as we switch back to Charlie who is sitting next to Claire and the baby and tending as best he can to his head wound. In his pack, the head of one of the statues from the plane is just visible. Oh. No.
    
    We FLASHBACK to the plane, as Oceanic Flight 815 continues to board. We see a very pregnant Claire making her way down the aisle. Kate being led to her seat by the Marshal, her handcuffs discreetly hidden by a coat over her arms. A dejected Sawyer trying to find his seat, and wondering where to go now. A heartbroken Locke sitting in his seat, mourning the loss of his dream to complete his walkabout while Jack, oblivious to this man places his carry on in the compartment above him. A strung-out Charlie struggles to fit his guitar into one of the storage compartments as Sayid takes his seat and bears the scorn that all Arab men must suffer in the form of looks of mistrust by the other passengers. Jin checks the watch in his carry on, no longer confused about his position with Sun's father. Wanting nothing more than to be with his wife who, although she sits in the seat directly next to his, could not be further away. Michael fastens the seatbelt for a son he doesn't know…and doesn't know if he can raise. The Marshal reattaches Kate's handcuffs to her seat, as she ponders her fate and how she wound up in this position. Sayid takes a picture of Nadia from his pocket and dreams of being able to see her again at the end of this flight. Shannon nervously digs through her bag looking for something when her brother Boone hands her an asthma inhaler, which she gratefully accepts. An exhausted and sweaty Hurley makes his way down the aisle awash with relief at making his flight. And on and on they go, each of our castaways crossing paths with the other, blissfully unaware of what will happen a few hours from now and how completely they will be forced to rely upon each other.
    
    And back at the hatch, Locke, Jack Kate and Hurley emerge from the jungle to inspect the results. The scattered wreckage and acrid smoke give way to the warped metal of the hatch itself. Jack and Locke pull the door aside and finally reveal what is inside. And as they hold the torches over the opening and look down into the hole what they see is…
    
    Utterly and completely beyond their belief.

Onto Season Two