Lost Recap #13.5: Exodus Part 3
Season 1, Episode 25
Hero of the episode: Charlie, Sayid Zero of the episode: The Others
Quote(s) of the episode: “Do you really think all this is an accident?” “Each one of us was brought here for a reason.” –Locke to Jack | “Can I have a flashlight? Cause the torch around the dynamite thing not making a whole lot of sense to me.” –Hurley | “Everyone wants me to be a leader until I make a decision they don’t like.” –Jack
Music vibes: frenetic and adventurous in the jungle | joyful when Aaron is returned | joyful when the raft crew sees another boat, quickly turns to despair when Walt is taken | curious at the end when Locke and Jack are staring down the hatch
Little things: Michael talking with Jin about the list of words Sun made | Jin giving Michael the watch they once fought over | Sun making Claire tea | Sun comforting Claire
Episode notebook:
Kate and Jack see a quick glimpse of the smoke monster. Time to run as the monster attacks.
Flashbacks to Hurley’s odyssey to get to the airport. He’s thwarted at every turn, it’s comical. But he makes it on the flight.
Locke is certain the monster wasn’t going to harm him.
The raft crew runs Sayid’s equipment every hour.
Sawyer admires Michael’s restraint with Walt, despite the numerous times the kid has acted out. Sawyer tells Michael about his father committing suicide. Revelation gives Michael insight into Sawyer.
The raft crew picks up a signal. They use the flare before their glimpse of hope disappears.
Sayid and Charlie find Danielle, getting her to give the baby back. She’s still certain about the danger ahead. Charlie doesn’t believe her.
Another boat spots the raft. They’re not here to save our survivors but to take Walt.
Dynamite crew blows the hatch, against Hurley’s wishes. Final shot, Jack and Locke stare down the shaft of the hatch.
Episode recap: It all comes to a head in the finale of season one. Will the raft crew reach land or pick up a signal from another boat? Will Sayid and Charlie manage to convince Danielle to give them baby Aaron? Will the dynamite crew open the hatch? Will Locke be satisfied once he’s inside the hatch? Are the answers to the island’s mysteries really in the hatch? How will all these pieces fit together? Some of the pieces of the puzzle start to fit together in this episode.
We get more insight into the hours and minutes leading up to the flight. Locke still brooding from his humiliation in the Walkabout episode, is further demoralized when he has to be carried onto the plane. A special wheelchair to get him on the plane wasn’t available, and it was either be carried on by the flight crew or wait until the flight the next day. Hurley’s odyssey before the flight was a comedy of errors, further fueling the theory that he’s cursed. He overslept because the clock wasn’t working. He had to take the hotel stairs because the elevator was full. His rental car conks out, leading him to walk the last mile or two to the airport. When Hurley checks in, he has to buy two seats instead of one because of his size. He checked in at the domestic terminal instead of international, leaving him to run to security. Hurley is the last one on the plane, sounds lucky because of everything that happened before but it’s just the calm before the storm.
Life on the raft has been somewhat calm. Sawyer saved a piece of the boat from sinking. Jin and Michael have reached a comfortable peace, with Jin gifting Michael the watch they once fought over. All they need is to spot a boat or land.
On the island, Sayid and Charlie are in hot pursuit of Danielle, finding her at the source of the black smoke. The spot didn’t look like much—an empty space on the beach with an elevated fire pit. That’s it? I was expecting literal monsters or armed guards. Are the Others more myth than reality? Danielle believes in their reality, coming out of the shadows in tears when she hears Sayid and Charlie. No one was on the beach when Danielle arrived, compounding her grief over losing Alex. Charlie doesn’t care, not even when she gives the baby to Sayid, believing her warning was a ruse to steal Aaron. But Danielle insists she heard the Others say they were coming for the boy. Perhaps the warning was true, only Aaron wasn’t the boy the Others were after.
There’s only one other young boy amongst the survivors—Walt. Why would the Others want Walt? The raft crew is about to find out when they pick up a signal on the radar. Do they use the one flare they have? The signal could be another boat, or it could be nothing. But they have to take a chance, a leap of faith. A leap of faith that turns into joy when the spotlight from another boat shines brightly on them. I remember being skeptical when I first saw this episode. The people on the other boat were wearing ratty clothing, kind of like they had been on a deserted island for a while, and they made no offer to help. Instead, they made a demand for Walt. A demand Michael had no intention of giving into.
The ragtag boaters were not to be denied, attacking the raft, shooting Sawyer in the shoulder leading Jin to swim after him when he falls overboard, snatching Walt, tossing Michael in the water, and setting fire to the raft. All leading to a desperate father and son calling out to each other. This made for an emotional and action-packed sequence, setting up some good storylines in season two. But….with hindsight I think this moment was a cop-out—which I will get more into with my season one recap next Thursday. I feel like I will rant too long if I get into the weeds of why I didn’t like Walt’s storyline.
Back to the island. As Jack, Locke, Hurley, and Kate head back they are confronted once again by an old friend—the smoke monster. The sensible thing is to run from danger, but Locke isn’t always so sensible. He walks straight toward the monster. They’ve all seen the smoke monster toss trees like toothpicks, killing anything in its path. Locke has faced the monster before and lived to tell. But this time is different as the monster takes hold of his legs, dragging him through the jungle. If not for Jack and Kate, Locke would have been taken for parts unknown or possibly killed. Locke refuses to believe that which strait-laced Jack can’t fathom. Jack believes he was facing death, while Locke believes he was just being tested. The island was testing him. As a man of science, facts, and logic Jack can’t get behind Locke’s thinking. Despite everything they’ve been through, Jack believes there is a logical explanation for everything. While Locke, a man who was paralyzed before coming to the island, believes there’s a greater purpose to everything. They crashed on the island for a reason. They survived for a reason. They were brought to the island for a reason. It’s up to all of them to figure out why. And the answers might be in the hatch!
Time to blow this thing. Locke is ready to blow the fuse, but Hurley is desperate to quash the whole plan. Hurley sees the infamous numbers, 4, 8, 15, 16, 23, and 42, on the side of the hatch. Uh-oh! Those numbers have caused Hurley nothing but bad luck, a sentiment Locke is not willing to entertain. The fuse is lit and Hurley’s effort to douse the flame is a fool’s errand. With the hatch window finally off, what’s next? Who knows as Locke and Jack are left staring down a long shaft. And…END SCENE! Before streaming this was such a frustrating cliffhanger! But thanks to streaming, I don’t have to wait long before diving into season two. Please come back next week, I will be giving my season one recap/overview.
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