Lost ReWatch: Everybody Hates Hugo
Season 2, Episode 4
Hero of the episode: Hurley Zero of the episode: Sawyer, Ana Lucia
Quote(s) of the episode: “Honey, I don’t even know what I would say.” –Rose on her first visit to the hatch | “There are a lot of secrets around here. And I’m tired of being at the bloody kids’ table.” –Charlie | “What are you gonna do beam us up?” –Sawyer when the tail survivors decide to let them out of the ditch | “Swell. I guess we can all sue Oceanic together.” – Sawyer after meeting more survivors from the tail
Music vibes: simple, curious; hopeful as everyone gets to enjoy food from the hatch; sad when Sun is burying the bottle with the messages
Little things: in a dream, Hurley stands in awe of the hatch pantry and eats everything in sight; Kate getting happy about soap and shampoo; Rose doing laundry; Claire finally gets real peanut butter
Episode notebook:
Back to a 9-5, people, including Hurley, are taking shifts entering the numbers in the computer. Hurley is upset the numbers are still in his life.
Sawyer, Michael, and Jin are still trapped in the ditch.
Flashbacks are to Hurley’s past, to the day after he won the lottery.
Claire finds the messages in the bottle when it washes ashore.
Charlie is asking about the hatch but is getting frustrated at the lack of answers.
Hurley decides to confide in Rose, taking her to the hatch.
In the past, Hurley spent the day after winning the lottery with his best friend, Johnny. But Hurley doesn’t tell him about the lottery, choosing to have a great day instead.
Sayid tries to figure out what’s behind the walls of the hatch.
Sawyer, Michael, and Jin are let out of the hatch. But Ana Lucia makes it known she doesn’t trust Sawyer.
Locke tells Charlie the truth about the hatch. Locke even piques Charlie’s interest when he says there’s a record player in the hatch.
Hurley is afraid people will hate him once he gives out food from the hatch. Like in the past when he worried people would treat him differently after winning the lottery.
Twenty-three people from the tail survived, but many of them are gone. What happened?
Rose helps Hurley get over his fears.
Rose’s husband, Bernard, is alive.
Episode recap: Once upon a time, our survivors were just like anyone else, juggling jobs, bills, and the mundane chores of daily life—cooking, cleaning, and laundry. Normal activities for a working person. That sense of normalcy has been gone since the crash, but now some of them are back to punching a clock—or rather punching numbers into a computer. A task Hurley is struggling with deeply.
The infamous numbers, 4, 8, 15, 16, 23, and 42, have caused Hurley nothing but bad luck, a streak he fears will persist. To make matters worse, he’s not supposed to tell the larger group about the hatch. A decision made by Jack, perhaps in part to protect everyone from potential danger. But that decision is hurting Hurley and damaging his friendship with Charlie.
Struggling with such a huge secret, Hurley confides in Rose, taking her to the hatch. Rose takes some of the burden off Hurley by helping him inventory the food in the hatch. A simple task that Hurley is convinced will result in people seeing him differently, possibly even hating him. What if he starts giving certain food to certain people, will others accuse him of playing favorites? Will people think he’s stealing food? It’s only a matter of time before people no longer see Hurley as a friend and start seeing him as an enemy.
While struggling with his inner demons, flashbacks reveal the day after Hurley won the lottery. Rather than remain trapped in a miserable job, he quit walking out into freedom. His best friend, Johnny, follows suit by also quitting. The duo ends up having what could be perceived as a great day. They hit the music store, where Hurley asks his dream girl, Starla, out on a date, which she accepts. Hurley and Johnny get revenge on their horrible former boss. Choosing to end the day with some refreshments at a local convenience store. Such good fortune? But only Hurley knows he’s won the lotto. Would the dynamics have shifted if he claimed the jackpot earlier? Would Starla's acceptance of a date be genuine or merely influenced by his newfound wealth? Would his best friend treat him differently? The numbers not only brought wealth but also a shift in perception—a realization that people's motives can be swayed by the allure of wealth and what they stand to gain. A sentiment Hurley worries about on the island, too.
On the other side of the island, Ana Lucia and her group realize Michael, Jin, and Sawyer are fellow crash survivors. However, Ana Lucia has already formed her opinion of Sawyer. He’s not a threat but he’s a wildcard—a potential challenger to her authority.
Back at the hatch, Hurley sees the underground bunker and everything in it as a threat—even the food. He’s tempted to destroy the hatch with the leftover dynamite, thankfully Rose intervenes, offering her sage advice and comfort to Hurley. Rose helps alleviate some of Hurley's burden, guiding him to recognize the importance of granting others the benefit of the doubt before jumping to conclusions.
Please come back in two weeks for my recap of episodes five and six.