Lost ReWatch: Live Together, Die Alone parts 1 + 2
Season 2, Episodes 23 + 24
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Hero of the episodes: Sayid, Sun, Jin, Desmond, Eko, Charlie Zero of the episodes: Michael, Locke, the Others
Quote(s) of the episodes: “So, before you ran off, I guess you forgot to mention that you still have a sailboat.” –Jack to Desmond | “This time they will know that we are coming.” –Sayid | “But if you did have time, you still would’ve killed her, right?” –Hurley to Michael | “But you saved my life brother, so that I could save yours.” –Desmond to Locke
Music vibes: the hum of opera as Jack, Sawyer, and Sayid board the sailboat; drum beats as Jack, Hurley, Kate, Sawyer, and Michael head into the jungle; strings slow and steady when John talks to Desmond; dizzying when Jack, Sawyer, Kate, and Hurley are captured
Little things: Desmond saves the only Charles Dickens book he hasn’t read until he dies; Sawyer is shocked Hurley doesn’t want a granola bar; Sawyer realizes Kate and Jack really did get caught in a physical net, not a sexual one; Penny’s letter to Desmond was hidden in the Dickens book
Episode notebook:
Jack, Sawyer, and Sayid swim to the sailboat; Someone on the boat starts shooting
Return of Desmond. He tried to flee the island but wound up back where he started.
Jack tells Desmond they are still pushing the button.
Flashbacks show Desmond was once in prison.
Eko kicks Locke out of the hatch. Eko believes there is a purpose to pushing the button, even if John doesn’t.
Sayid uses the sailboat to get ahead of Jack, Sawyer, Kate, Hurley, and Michael.
Kate tries to bring up that the Others are faking how they live, but Michael quickly squashes it.
Before the island, Desmond was training for a sailing race around the world. Thanks to a chance encounter, Desmond gets a boat from Libby.
Penny, the love of Desmond’s life, questions why he didn’t write to her in prison. Desmond doesn’t let on that her father, Charles Widmore, kept his letters from her.
Desmond got caught in a storm and washed ashore on the island. He’s saved by Kelvin Inman, the same military official who questioned Sayid in an earlier episode.
John recruits Desmond to get back into the hatch. They trick Eko and lock him out.
Desmond and Kelvin were pushing the button for three years.
Michael’s deception is revealed.
Charlie agrees to help Eko get into the computer room—with the leftover dynamite.
Kelvin’s former partner killed himself. Inman won’t let Desmond out of the hatch.
The hatch and pushing the button keeps a large surge of electromagnetic energy from releasing.
Sayid scouts the rendezvous point and it’s empty.
Locke tells Desmond about the other hatch and about the night Boone died.
Kelvin fixed the sailboat and was trying to leave when confronted by Desmond.
Fake Henry returns, letting Michael and Walt go. Hurley let go to tell the rest of the group to back off and not try to free Jack, Kate, and Sawyer.
Fake Henry knows Michael won’t talk, if he does, he will have to reveal what he did.
Locke realizes he was wrong; Desmond activates the failsafe.
Episode ends on a major cliffhanger.
Episode recap: The sadness of Ana-Lucia and Libby’s funeral quickly dissipates with the sight of a sailboat, glistening in the blue ocean. Have our survivors been rescued? Or is it an elaborate trap by the Others? Jack, Sawyer, and Sayid leap to action, swimming toward the boat. Will this be their salvation? Or will it be their damnation?
It’s neither, it’s the return of Desmond. We last saw Desmond in episode three, Orientation. He was running from the hatch and hopefully back toward the love of his life, Penny. In the 2-1/2 weeks that he’s been gone Desmond got nowhere, except to the bottom of several bottoms of alcohol. The island doesn’t let anyone go until it’s ready—Desmond is no exception.
What brought Desmond to the island? The practical reason was a sailing competition, but there was a deeper reason. Flashbacks reveal Desmond was once in the military but landed in prison for disobeying orders. Just a few things kept Desmond going eventually reading Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens before he dies and…Penny. His love for Penny never wavered, writing her letter after letter in prison. Letters professing his love for her and the hope that she’s waiting for him. However, Penny’s wealthy father, Charles Widmore, took away that hope by intercepting all of Desmond’s letters. Upon his release, the person waiting for Desmond was not Penny, but Charles with an offer of money. The only caveat, Desmond must stay away from Penny forever. Money can buy a lot of things, but it couldn’t buy Desmond or his self-respect.
Desmond puts all his focus into training for a sailing competition. The monetary prize is meaningless, what really matters is who Desmond will beat if he wins—Charles Widmore. The man who tried to buy him off is sponsoring the competition, and winning will give Desmond a measure of respect/honor—something he lost and desperately wants back. Only Penny doesn’t see it that way. Having tracked him down, Penny wants to know what or who Desmond is running from? During their reunion the emotion on her face is clear, she’s practically begging Desmond to run toward her and not away. But Desmond is determined to prove to her and her father that he’s worthy of her love.
In the present day, Desmond is done trying to prove anything. He’d rather drown himself in alcohol. He’s of no use to anyone, including Sayid who needs his help with the sailboat. Jack, Sawyer, Kate, Hurley, and Michael are on foot in search of Walt. The hope is that Sayid can use the boat to get ahead of them and scout the Others’ camp—but he doesn’t know how to sail. Enter Sun and Jin to the rescue. Could a plan finally go right for our survivors? Of course not! That’s not how television works.
The return of Desmond is a bit of good news for Locke. Having been forced out of the hatch by Eko, John sees Desmond as a way back in. Convinced that pushing a button is all part of an experiment, Locke wants to let the counter go all the way to zero. He needs a sober Desmond to help him. With a few creative tricks, John and Desmond lock Eko out of the computer room and the wait begins.
As Michael walks his friends toward a trap, his deception comes to the forefront. Kate picks up two people tracking them, leading to a shootout and death of one of the Others. No longer can Jack keep the secret of Michael’s betrayal, forcing the desperate father to confess. The betrayal is one thing, but Hurley realizes Michael did more than let Fake Henry out of the hatch. Someone Hurley once considered a friend murdered two people, one of whom he cared for deeply.
With the truth out in the open, the only way forward is to confront the Others and hope Sayid can provide some backup. But it’s not meant to be as the fake island hillbillies get the upper hand, talking everyone but Michael captive. When Michael and Walt are freed, the most important question is asked “Who are you people?” Were Fake Henry and his group not part of the Dharma Initiative? That’s definitely something I don’t remember. Were the Others and the Dharma people two separate groups? The puzzle pieces aren’t together yet, but I’ll get there.
Meanwhile in the hatch, the pieces are starting to fit together for Desmond. He’s starting to believe that pushing the button is for the greater good. After a storm, he washed ashore on the island. Nursed back to health by Kelvin Inman, a man claiming to be saving the world. According to Inman, pushing the button stops a dangerous amount of electromagnetic energy from releasing. After three years under Inman’s tutelage, Desmond became disillusioned, killing his mentor, who was attempting to flee the island. But he still went back to the hatch, Desmond kept pushing the button.
For three years, Desmond believed what he was doing was saving the world. He gave up his life. He gave up on Penny. But every person has a breaking point, Desmond reached his just days before meeting our survivors. The day Locke banged on the hatch window following Boone’s death was a sign for Desmond. There was life outside the hatch that was still worth saving. In the present, Desmond still wants to save life but is it too late? Locke destroys the computer, leaving Desmond with one last option—the failsafe. Blowing up the hatch could put everything back to “normal.” Whatever normal is?
Desmond activating the failsafe is felt on the island and beyond. That big source of electromagnetic energy is no longer suppressed, sending out a signal to another research station—only this one is not on the island. That signal is the sign Penny, yes Desmond’s lady love, has been waiting for.
All this time, Penny never gave up on Desmond. She loved him enough to keep looking for him. What an ambitious storyline, a love that doesn’t die despite years of distance. Penny still searching for the love of her life after all these years. So much potential for this storyline. Will Penny try to come to the island? Will she try to contact Desmond? You almost forget that Jack, Kate, and Sawyer are being held captive because the season ended on such an uplifting moment. Somehow it will all work out. Onto season three! Please come back in two weeks for my wrap-up of season two.
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