12 October 2011

Episode Analysis of 1.11 "All the Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues"

WARNING: If you have not already seen all of LOST, please DO NOT READ THIS.

My LOST re-watch and in-depth episode analysis will include major details from the entirety that was LOST, and will be written with the perspective of having seen everything already. You will be SPOILED if you read any further. It is far better if you learn the story of LOST for yourself, as it is meant to be seen. Trust me on this, and don't say that I didn't warn you first. Seriously. Stop it. Now. Go watch it. Then, come back here.

To read my original post on this episode, please refer to All the Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues.

This episode was written by Javier Grillo-Marxuach, and directed by Stephen Williams. It originally aired on December 8th, 2004.

This is a Jack Shephard flashback-centric episode.   

We begin exactly where we left off, in Raised By Another, in the caves, with Sayid unconscious, Hurley telling Jack, who is tending to Sayid's wounds, and Kate, who asks questions, about Ethan not being in the flight manifest, while Locke looks on in the background. The other survivors in the caves begin to become aware of the situation as Jack raises his voice. Michael joins them to talk about Ethan.

HURLEY: "He wasn't on the plane."

KATE: "Who wasn't on the plane?"

HURLEY: "Ethan.. The Canadian guy. He's not on the passenger manifest."

JACK: "Well, where the hell is he?" [He gets up from tending to Sayid's wound.]

HURLEY: "I don't know. I saw him yesterday, but now.."

JACK: [raising his voice] "Has anyone seen Ethan?"

KATE: "Sayid's leg.."

JACK: [talking louder] "Has anyone seen Ethan?"


MICHAEL: [going over to them] "Yeah.. Yeah. He went to go get some wood. He took off on the path to the beach.. [referring to Sayid] Is he okay? What happened?"

JACK: [beginning to put the pieces together] "Where's Charlie?"

KATE: "What?"

JACK: [panicking] "Where's Charlie?"

LOCKE: [picking up on Jack's panic] "He went after Claire.."

They all look at eachother, in shock, suddenly realizing that something has likely happened to Charlie and Claire. Moments later, Jack and John Locke are suddenly running through the jungle at a rapid pace. Locke suddenly stops short, spotting something in his vicinity. He calls Jack over to show him.


LOCKE: [stopping short] "Jack!" [He takes out his knife and walks over to something. Jack joins him, as he points out Claire's bag.]

JACK: "She was moving back to the beach. Claire. That's hers. [looking around] What happened? What.."

LOCKE: "I don't know. [Investigating the crime scene.] Footprints. At least three distinct sets all over the place. It looks like there might have been a struggle.." [Locke sees something. He gets up and walks over to it.]

JACK: "What? What is it?"

LOCKE: "Drag marks. [pointing them out] Here. And here."

JACK: "Claire and Charlie.. They were together."

LOCKE: [realizing] "I think they've been taken."

JACK: [He begins walking around and yelling.] "Claire! Charlie! Claire!"


LOCKE: "Jack? Jack! [He puts his finger to his mouth.] Shhhh.. [They investigate the area further. Locke spots a broken tree branch and shows it to Jack. He looks at the ground, kneeling.] Tracks are still fresh."

JACK: [kneeling] "This doesn't make any sense. How can one man drag off two people, one of them pregnant?"

LOCKE: "You're asking the wrong question. Not how, why?"

JACK: "You think it was Ethan.."

LOCKE: "It certainly feels like it was Ethan, doesn't it?" [standing]

JACK: [following] "By himself.. How?"

LOCKE: "We can't account for all of our people. And, more importantly, who's to say they're even our people?"

JACK: "What?"

LOCKE: "Sayid said there were others.."

JACK: "Sayid said we're not alone."

LOCKE: "Semantics."

JACK: "Sayid's injured. We're not even sure where he went.. He's delirious."


LOCKE: "I'm just telling you what the ground is telling me."

JACK: "So, which way is the ground telling you that they went?"

LOCKE: "Jack, we don't know what's going on here.."

JACK: "We know enough."

LOCKE: "We need to prepare. We could be back at the caves in ten minutes.. Organize a search party, get weapons.."

JACK: [frustrated] "Which way did they go, Locke?"


John Locke points in the direction with his knife. Jack immediately starts running through the jungle in that very direction, as he goes into a flashback.


In Jack's flashback, he is in the middle of an emergency surgery. One nurse tells Jack that the patient's stats are dropping. Jack seems to be panicking, trying to do things quickly. Another nurse warns Jack that the patient's blood pressure is falling, that she's bleeding out. Jack says that he's almost done closing her artery, but the nurse, again, warns that she's in arrest. Jack orders the nurse to give her one milligram of epinephrine.


Jack calls for the crash cart, saying that the artery is sealed up, and tells them to close her up. The nurse indicates the defibrillator, and Jack orders the nurse to charge, and then tells everyone to clear. He uses the defibrillator, which doesn't work, so he charges and clears again. It still doesn't work, so Jack begins doing CPR on the patient. Jack's father, Christian Shephard steps in on the procedure.

CHRISTIAN SHEPHARD: "Call it."

JACK: [still giving CPR] "Come on, baby. Come back. Come back. Come on, baby. Come on. Come on, now. You can do this. Come on. Come on.."

CHRISTIAN SHEPHARD: [Taking off his mask, raising his voice.] "Call it, Jack. [Jack stops giving CPR.] It's over. Call it."


JACK: [taking his mask off] "You call it."

Back on the Island, John Locke is back at the caves, explaining the situation to Kate and gathering people for a search party to rescue Charlie and Claire from Ethan.

KATE: "You let him go alone?"

LOCKE: "Don't worry. I'll catch up. [Grabbing his bag, leaving.] What's the word from the beach?"

KATE: [Grabbing her bag, following.] "Nothing. Nobody has seen him.. [Locke gives Kate a knife.] I'm coming with you."

LOCKE: "I figured you might."

SHANNON: [To Boone, who's walking toward Locke and Kate.] "What are you doing? We need to get our water and get back to the beach.."


BOONE: [to Locke] "I heard you're forming a search party. Can I help?"

SHANNON: "This is a deserted Island. There's no choppers.. No Amber Alerts. How exactly are you going to find them?"

LOCKE: [filling a bottle with water at the waterfall] "By following Ethan's trail. No one can walk through the wilderness without leaving signs, bending blades of grass, breaking twigs, especially with captives in tow. And yes, I could use another hand if you're up for it.."

BOONE: "I'm up for it."

LOCKE: [handing him a knife] "Then let's get moving."

Outside of the caves, Walt holds Vincent on his leash, as he tries to tell Michael that he can help with Charlie and Claire's sudden disappearance. Michael denies him and tries to tell Locke that he can help. Both of them are in desperate need of attention.

WALT: "I could take Vincent, and he could sniff something that belonged to Charlie.. And, I can help."

MICHAEL: "I said no, man. [Running into Locke, who's leaving.] Hey, Locke. Hey, look, you know, a lot of us don't just want to sit here waiting for news.."


LOCKE: "Thanks, but we're set. Anyone else will just slow us down."

MICHAEL: "Okay. Maybe I'll just put together another party."

LOCKE: "Good idea. We're going north. I suggest you go south." [Locke, Kate and Boone walk off. Walt looks at Michael, who looks embarrassed and annoyed.]

MICHAEL: [to Walt] "Come on."

In the jungle, Jack is running frantically. He suddenly comes to a stop, confused about where he's going. He finds a broken branch. It seems like he's running in circles. He probably is.


In Jack's flashback, the woman who died, Beth, lies on the operating table, being covered with blanket by one of the nurses. Jack and his father, Christian Shephard, argue over the circumstances surrounding the surgery on the dead woman.


CHRISTIAN SHEPHARD: [taking off his gloves] "I never thought I'd see the day, Jack. You barge into my O.R. You work on my patient.."

JACK: "You didn't have to do this procedure."

CHRISTIAN SHEPHARD: "I don't have to do anything."

JACK: "Yeah, of course. You don't."

CHRISTIAN SHEPHARD: "I chose to do this procedure, this emergency procedure, because when this girl crashed in the ER.. They called me."

JACK: "I was right upstairs.."

CHRISTIAN SHEPHARD: "And you should have stayed upstairs.. And, how did you find out?"

JACK: "One of the nurses came to get me.."

CHRISTIAN SHEPHARD: "Who? [Jack doesn't respond.] Oh, thank God I have you and some anonymous nurse to rescue me.."

JACK: "She told me that your hands were shaking."

CHRISTIAN SHEPHARD: "My hands were not.."

JACK: "You cut her hepatic artery."

CHRISTIAN SHEPHARD: "She was in a car crash, Jack. Her insides were a mess."

JACK: "You made a mistake."

CHRISTIAN SHEPHARD: "They called me. I.."

JACK: "I don't care whether they called you. You made a mistake."


CHRISTIAN SHEPHARD: "Are you lecturing me? You tell me, if you were upstairs, and I was in a restaurant having lunch, then why did they call me?"

JACK: "How many drinks did you have at lunch, dad?"


Back on the Island, in the jungle, John Locke, Kate and Boone catch up to Jack.

LOCKE: "Jack? Jack! It's a good thing you were going in a circle. Not much of a search grid, but we never would have found you otherwise."

KATE: [to Jack] "Did you find anything?"

JACK: "No."

LOCKE: "You should go back to the caves.. Sayid's leg."

JACK: "I dressed Sayid's leg. You found me.. We can find Charlie and Claire. Now, do we have a trail to follow or not?"

LOCKE: "Jack.. This was my fault."

JACK: "What?"

LOCKE: "I hunted with Ethan. I spent time with him. I never sensed anything.. off. But, for everything that I know about hunting, tracking--whoever he is, he knows more. If we catch up with him, I don't want anything to happen to the only trained physician on the Island. So, go back. Be the doctor. Let me be the hunter."


JACK: "Can we go now?"

LOCKE: "Follow me." [leaving]

Back at the caves, Michael talks to Hurley while filling water bottles.


MICHAEL: "I'm trying to help, and all the guy can tell me is go south? Like, what.. I'm going to get in his way or something?"

HURLEY: "We're all tweaked, man. Locke's just feeling it like the rest of us."

MICHAEL: "So, what? There's five other guys who would've gone out there with me, putting our necks on the line to find Charlie and Claire. All I'm saying is I'm getting sick of getting treated like a second class citizen around here because Mount Baldy can bag a boar."

WALT: [overhearing] "He knows a lot more than how to catch a boar. Mr. Locke is a warrior. He can hunt, he can track stuff, and he's the only who brought knives. So, if it were me, I'd listen to him."

MICHAEL: "Well, I don't want you to. You understand? [Walt nods.] You stay with Hurley. I may not be a warrior, but I am going south."

HURLEY: [to Walt] "Back home, I'm known as something of a warrior myself.." [Walt shakes his head.]

Back in the jungle, Locke rips the fabric of a red shirt with his teeth and tears it, as he discusses a plan with Boone.

LOCKE: "We mark our progress by line of sight. We tie these off so we don't get lost."

BOONE: "You can lead us back to camp, right?"

LOCKE: "If nothing happens to me.."


BOONE: [putting his hand out to take the fabric] "Maybe I better take marker detail." [Locke smiles and gives it to him. Jack and Kate run up.]

JACK: "Anything?"

LOCKE: "Not yet."

JACK: "If you can't find the trail.."

LOCKE: "I'll pick it up again, alright? We need to rest for a minute to get our clarity back."

JACK: "You're going to take a break? It's got to be almost four o'clock. When the sun sets there's no way.."


LOCKE: "It's 4:25. And, yes, I'm taking a break." [sitting down]

KATE: [to Jack] "Can I talk to you for a sec? [They walk a bit away.] Would it kill you to give the guy a little space?"

JACK: "It might.."

KATE: [Stopping, giving him a look.] "Stop that."

JACK: "What?"

KATE: "That. [Jack turns his back and walks a few feet away.] What's going on?"

JACK: "I didn't believe her.. Claire. I gave her a sedative."

KATE: "Jack, you can't.."

JACK: "She told me someone was after her, that she was being attacked, and I.. She just seemed so out of it. I thought that her pregnancy was amping up her stress and I.. [shaking his head] I didn't believe her."

BOONE: [yelling] "Jack!"

Jack suddenly looks over in the direction of Locke and Boone. We see a hand holding the "L" from Charlie's finger tapes, and a flashback of him writing "LATE" on his hand after the crash.


John Locke holds the "L" in his hand, as Boone looks down at it. Jack runs over to take a look at it, with Locke putting it in his hand to show him. Kate joins them.


KATE: "What is it?"

LOCKE: "Look familiar?"

JACK: "It's Charlie's."

BOONE: "You think it just came off?"

JACK: "No. He's leaving us a trail. [Locke nods. They walk off. Jack finds the letter "A" on a tree branch.] They went this way.."


LOCKE: [looking around nearby] "I'm not so sure. There's another trail here."

JACK: "What do mean, another?"

LOCKE: "These are footprints. [pointing] People moved off this way."

JACK: "Charlie's leaving these for us to follow [referring to the finger tapes]. They went that way.."

KATE: "Unless Charlie isn't the one leaving them. If Ethan knows that we're behind him, he could be setting up a dummy trail. Take off in one direction, double-back his own footprints."

BOONE: "Wait.. Now you're a tracker?"

LOCKE: "You're just full of surprises."

JACK: "So, we've got two trails. Let's split up. I'll take that one." [He points to the trail with the finger tapes.]

LOCKE: "No. We should stay together, Jack."

JACK: "Why? We've got two trails, and, apparently, two trackers." [He indicates Kate.]

LOCKE: "Be careful.."

John Locke and Boone move off in one direction, with Jack and Kate moving off in the other. Elsewhere on the Island, Sawyer walks in the jungle just outside of the caves, and talks to Walt.

SAWYER: [walking] "Who got taken by what?"

WALT: "Charlie and Claire.. They think Ethan took them."

SAWYER: "Ethan took them, huh?"

WALT: "Yeah."

SAWYER: [tying his shoe] "Took them why? And, who the hell is Ethan?"

WALT: "I don't know. He wasn't on the list thing.. The manifest."


SAWYER: "Ever think he might have lied about his name?"

WALT: "It's stupid to lie about your name."

SAWYER: "Alrighty, Tattoo.. Where do you think Ethan came from?"

WALT: "Maybe he was already on the Island, before we were."

SAWYER: "You got yourself one hell of an imagination, kid." [walking off]

WALT: "There could be lots of other people on the Island."

SAWYER: "So, a tribe of evil natives planted a ringer in the camp to kidnap a pregnant girl and a reject from VH-1 has-beens? Yeah, fiendishly clever.. And, why am I getting the evening news from a six year old?"

WALT: "I'm ten."


SAWYER: "Okay, then it must be true."

WALT: "If you don't believe me, ask Sayid. He said we're not alone."

SAWYER: "Sayid's back?" [Walt looks triumphant and walks away.]

Deep in the jungle, Boone ties red fabric to a tree, and totally gets the reference that he'll be dead soon.


BOONE: [Tying fabric to the tree.] "Red-shirt.."

LOCKE: [Confused, turning around.] "Huh?"

BOONE: [Finishing, following.] "Red-shirt. Ever watch Star Trek?"

LOCKE: "Nah, not really."

BOONE: "The crew guys that would go down to the planet with the main guys.. The captain and the guy with the pointy ears.. They always wore red shirts, and they always got killed."

LOCKE: "Yeah?"

BOONE: "Yeah."

LOCKE: "Sounds like a piss-poor Captain.."

BOONE: "What do you do in the real world, Mr. Locke?"


LOCKE: [checking a tree] "It's John."

BOONE: "John."

LOCKE: "Why don't you guess?"

BOONE: "Well. You're either a taxidermist, or a hit man.."

LOCKE: [chuckling] "I was a Regional Collection Supervisor [squinting] for a box company."

BOONE: "A box company?"

LOCKE: "They made boxes." [continuing to walk]

BOONE: [to himself] "Yeah.. Right."

Elsewhere in the jungle, Kate runs after Jack, who is walking way too quickly, and on the road back to being crazy. Business as usual.

KATE: "Please.. Slow down."

JACK: "You said they went this way.."

KATE: "I think they went this way. [almost falling] I'm not as good at this as Locke is."

JACK: "So, where did you pick up the tracking skills, Kate? Was that before or after you were on the run?"

KATE: "I'm trying to help, Jack."

JACK: "You know what might help? A little honesty. Just give me something real.. Anything."


KATE: "My dad was in the Army. Ranger Battalion. We were stationed in Fort Lewis, Washington State. We'd go hiking together. One day we spend eight hours tracking deer. Being in the woods, it was like.. It was like his religion. [Pausing, out of breath, then walking by him.] That was real. Anything you want to share, Jack?"


In his flashback, Jack walks into his father's office. Christian Shephard is signing a document at his desk.

CHRISTIAN SHEPHARD: [looking up] "Oh, thanks for coming in, Jack. Have a seat.." [Jack doesn't sit down, putting his hands on his hips instead. He turns the document around for Jack, and puts a pen on top of it.]

JACK: "What's it say?"

CHRISTIAN SHEPHARD: "The truth.. That a patient was brought to the ER following a car accident, rushed into surgery with massive internal bleeding.. You joined me, and in spite of our most heroic efforts, the patient succumbed to her injuries."

JACK: [shaking his head] "Looks like you fixed everything but the patient. [pointing at him] You had no business being in O.R."

CHRISTIAN SHEPHARD: "Do you really think I would have walked in there if I couldn't handle it?"

JACK: "You've done it before."

CHRISTIAN SHEPHARD: "That's right. [leaning forward] I have, because I am perfectly capable of making those.."

JACK: [raising his voice] "How can you say that after what happened yesterday?"

CHRISTIAN SHEPHARD: "The problem is not that.."


JACK: "You were impaired."

CHRISTIAN SHEPHARD: "I know my limits."

JACK: "I won't sign this." [walking out]

CHRISTIAN SHEPHARD: [louder] "You're a part of the team, Jack. I'm not the only one on the hook for this. You called me off. You were the surgeon of record when she died. Look.. Accidents happen in surgeries all the time, Jack. That's the truth and you know it. But, if you contradict this report.. If you mention alcohol.. Well, that's the only fact that's going to matter. They'll strip me of my license."

JACK: "Yes, they will."


CHRISTIAN SHEPHARD: [hurt] "I know I have been hard on you.. [getting up] But, that is how you make a soft metal into steel. That is why you are the most gifted young surgeon in this city. And this, this is a career that is all about the greater good. I've had to sacrifice certain aspects of my relationship with you so that hundreds and thousands of patients will live because of your extraordinary skills. [He puts his hand on Jack's shoulder, then pauses, taking a step back and leaning on his desk.] I know it's a long, long time coming.. What happened yesterday, I promise you, will never happen again. And, after all that I've given.. [Taking the pen from his desk, and holding it up for Jack to take.] This is not just about my career, Jack. It's my life. [Jack takes the pen and signs the report.] Thank you, son. Thank you."


Back at the caves, Sayid takes a nap, as Sawyer enters and approaches him.

SAWYER: "Well, well, well. I don't know if you Islams got a concept of karma, but I get the sense this Island just served you up a heaping platter of cosmic payback."


SAYID: "What do you want?"

SAWYER: "Dr. Do-Right doesn't trust me with his antibiotics, so I have to hump it up here everyday just to get my meds. [He grabs a straight-edge from the table.] You know, a less magnanimous man than I might just be thinking he could beat the ever-living-snot out of you right now without fear of reprisal.."


SAYID: "You want to take a shot? Take it. But, know that I left this camp out of shame for what I did to you. It was never my intention to return."

SAWYER: "Sorry.. Fresh out of sweet forgiveness. If it wasn't your intention to return, then why did you?"

SAYID: "I was taken prisoner by the French woman."

SAWYER: "The one who's been sending out a distress signal for sixteen years? She's alive?"

SAYID: "She was on a science expedition. She said their ship wrecked."

SAWYER: "She alone?"

SAYID: "She said that there are others on this Island.."

SAWYER: "Her people?"

SAYID: "No. She believed they had all gotten sick. She murdered her entire team."

SAWYER: "Right. And, these others.. Who the hell are they?"

SAYID: "I don't know. She's never seen them."

SAWYER: "Oh, she's never seen them, but she knows they're there.."

SAYID: "If you believe her."

SAWYER: "Do you?"

SAYID: "Maybe. Maybe not. But, on my way back, I heard something in the jungle surrounding me."


SAWYER: "Something like what?"

SAYID: [leaning forward] "Have you got something to say to me, Sawyer? Or, are you going to continue asking me questions you know I don't have the answers to?"

SAWYER: [getting up] "Tide's coming up the beach. [grabbing his bag] Plane hull's almost in the water. Kept your signal fire burning.."


Back at the beach, Walt and Hurley play backgammon.

HURLEY: [rolling] "Crap."

WALT: "Your blacks can't get in."

HURLEY: "Yeah, I know my blacks can't get in."

WALT: "My roll."

HURLEY: "Yahoo."

WALT: "Need a four-three." [Walt then takes forever to roll. He keeps shaking the dice, and then blowing on them in his hand. He does it four times.]


HURLEY: "Dude, would you please roll?"

WALT: [rolling a four-three] "Yes!"

HURLEY: "No!"

WALT: "Your turn.. [Hurley rolls a six-three.] It's okay. I wasn't very good when I first started playing, either."

HURLEY: "I didn't just start playing. I took seventeenth in a tournament once."

WALT: "Seventeenth is not very good."

HURLEY: "No, seventeenth is very good."

WALT: "C'mon, double sixes, double sixes.. [He rolls double sixes.] Yes!"

HURLEY: "Aw.. You've got to be kidding me!"

WALT: "I'm lucky."

HURLEY: "No one is that lucky."

WALT: "My dad said I was the luckiest person he ever knew."

HURLEY: "Really?"

WALT: "Not Michael.. Brian. My other dad. Yeah, um.. [He rolls again and wins.] Yes! Yes! C'mon.. One more game? Double or nothing."

HURLEY: [getting up] "Can't. I got a meeting."

WALT: "A meeting?"

HURLEY: [walking off] "Yeah. A meeting."

WALT: "You owe me twenty thousand dollars!"


HURLEY: "You'll get it.."

Back in the jungle, Locke and Boone continue to search for Charlie and Claire.


BOONE: "It's been all fifteen minutes since we've seen any sign.. What are we following?"

LOCKE: "My gut."

BOONE: "Great."

LOCKE: "So, Boone.. What did you do in the real world?"

BOONE: "I run a business."

LOCKE: "What kind of business?"

BOONE: "Uh.. It's a wedding thing."

LOCKE: "Huh?"

BOONE: "My mother has this empire. The Martha Stewart of matrimony. I run one of the subsidiaries."

LOCKE: "So, who's running it now?"

BOONE: "I guess it doesn't matter, does it?"


LOCKE: "I'm sure there are people who can handle it temporarily.. [stopping] It's going to start raining in one minute."

BOONE: "One minute?"

LOCKE: "Give or take a few seconds. You should turn around, Boone, and head back."

BOONE: "What?"

LOCKE: "The trail's been cold for a quarter mile.. Dangerous terrain ahead. If you start now, you'll make it back to camp before dark."

BOONE: "What about you?"

LOCKE: "I can take care of myself."

BOONE: "No. I'm not heading back."

LOCKE: "I admire your courage, but.."


BOONE: "I'm not heading back."

LOCKE: [smiling] "Alright." [It starts raining. Locke stretches his arms out to greet it, and smiles.]


BOONE: "They teach you how to predict the weather in a box company?!"

Elsewhere in the jungle, Jack and Kate continue to search for Charlie and Claire.


JACK: "I guess we were right. [Jack picks up one of Charlie's finger tape letters, "T".] Where to now?"

Jack suddenly hears the sound of something vaguely bird-like, mixed with sound of Claire screaming. Jack immediately starts running in the direction of the sounds, and up a steep incline.


KATE: [following] "Jack? Jack, where are you going? Jack!"

JACK: [looking back] "Didn't you hear her?"

KATE: "What? Hear.. Hear who? [Jack and Kate begin to climb the hill, holding onto a vine. It's raining heavily. Jack tries to grab a branch and slips and falls to the bottom.] Jack!"


Jack falls all the way to the bottom of the hill, landing hard and hitting his head on the rocks, and slightly losing consciousness. Jack looks up, in a daze, as Ethan suddenly appears before him and puts his foot on Jack's chest.


ETHAN: "If you do not stop following me, I will kill one of them. [He pushes on Jack's chest with his foot. Jack winces in pain.] Do you understand?"


Jack suddenly grabs Ethan's foot and pushes him off. Ethan falls backwards, as Jack gets up from the ground, and fights with Ethan. Jack punches Ethan, but Ethan hits Jack back much harder. Ethan hits Jack twice, pushing him backward. Jack attempts to return a punch, but he misses. Ethan hits Jack with a body shot, and then in the face again. Jack falls to his hands and knees. Basically, Ethan kicks Jack's ass with no effort whatsoever.

ETHAN: "No more warnings." [Ethan kicks Jack in the face. Jack loses consciousness.]

In Jack's flashback, he is walking the hallway in St. Sebastian's, when he sees his father, Christian Shephard talking to the husband of the dead woman, Beth. Jack is watching them from a distance. Andrea, a nurse, is passes by Jack, as he stops to talk to her.


ANDREA: [Walking by, greeting Jack.] "Dr. Shephard."

JACK: "Andrea. [turning to stop her] Andrea.. That man that my father is talking to, who is that?"

ANDREA: "That's her husband. He's threatening to sue."


Jack watches his father, Christian Shephard putting his hand on the husband's shoulder exactly the way he did with Jack when trying to convince him to sign the documents. The man succumbs to his grief and begins crying.

Back on the Island, Jack is lying in the mud at the bottom of the cliff, just beginning to come to. Kate arrives at the bottom, and is trying to help him.


KATE: "Jack. Jack? [checking his head] Jack, are you okay?"

JACK: "How long was I out?"

KATE: "I don't know.. I'm sorry. You slid on the rocks and.."


JACK: [getting up] "Ethan?"

KATE: "What?"

JACK: "Ethan was here."

KATE: "You banged your head, Jack."

JACK: "No.. No. He was here."

KATE: "You have to stop. The rain has washed away the trail. Even if he was here.. You've got—Jack!"

JACK: [walking off] "I'm not letting him do this."

KATE: [following] "Not letting him?!"

JACK: [running] "Not again."

In Jack's flashback, he sits in a hospital office, with his father, Christian Shephard, and a committee, hearing the case of the woman who died.


CHRISTIAN SHEPHARD: "We realized that her blood pressure was continuing to drop precipitously, at which point the patient went into cardiac arrest. Of course, every effort was made to resuscitate her, but the severity of her injuries, the amount of internal bleeding, made that impossible. Now, in my professional opinion, ladies and gentlemen, and that's all I have, by the time I was called in, the damage was irreversible."

HOSPITAL ADMINISTRATOR: "Okay, thanks, Christian. Sorry about this formality."

CHRISTIAN SHEPHARD: "Of course."

HOSPITAL ADMINISTRATOR: "Just one final detail.. You were aware of the patient's pregnancy when you went into the procedure?"


CHRISTIAN SHEPHARD: "Absolutely. The patient's husband had informed the attending in the ER. It was, however, extremely early in the pregnancy, so our primary focus had to be on the mother."

HOSPITAL ADMINISTRATOR: "Okay, then. I think we're done here. The final report will be filed."

CHRISTIAN SHEPHARD: "Okay."


JACK: [Realizing that his father never told him that the patient was pregnant.] "I need to.. [pausing for a moment] Revise my statement. I didn't come into the O.R. until well into the procedure.."

CHRISTIAN SHEPHARD: "Jack?"

JACK: "I was warned by one of the nurses that my father was operating.. [pausing again] under the influence."

CHRISTIAN SHEPHARD: "Jack. This is not.."


JACK: "By the time I got there, it was clear that my father was not only incapacitated, but that he had also severed the patient's hepatic artery, which, in my professional opinion, caused the crisis which led to her death." [Christian stares at Jack, shocked. Betrayed.]

Back on the Island, Jack and Kate continue running in the jungle. They come across a clearing, and see Charlie hanging from some bamboo trees. A close-up of Charlie's hand shows only the "E" left.


JACK: "No. [He runs over and lifts Charlie up by the legs.] You've got to cut him down. [Kate grabs her knife and starts climbing the bamboo tree. Jack struggles to hold Charlie's body up.] Hold on, Charlie. Hold on there."


KATE: [She gets higher up and tries to cut Charlie down.] "I can't reach! Pull him over to me!"

Jack pulls Charlie's body over toward Kate. She struggles with the vines that are hanging from the tree, and wrapped around Charlie's neck, but finally manages to cut Charlie down. Charlie's body falls to the ground, as Jack pulls the vines off from around his neck, and the blindfold from his eyes. He checks his eyes and pulse and begins doing CPR. Kate holds on to Charlie's hand.


JACK: [Putting his ear to Charlie's mouth.] "He's not breathing. [Beginning to do CPR, holding Charlie's nose and blowing air into his mouth. Kate holds Charlie's hand. Jack then begins pumping his chest.] C'mon, breathe.. Breathe, Charlie. C'mon.. Breathe. C'mon. C'mon.. [He puts his ear to Charlie's mouth again, and then blows air into it. He begins pumping Charlie's chest again, quickly.] C'mon.. C'mon! C'mon.."

KATE: [Crying, and holding Charlie's hand.] "Jack.. Jack?"
JACK: "C'mon. [Kate starts crying harder. Jack starts pounding Charlie's chest.] C'mon, Charlie! C'mon! C'mon! [Kate can't take it, and gets up, turning her back away. Jack continues to pound Charlie's chest.] C'mon! C'mon, Charlie! [Kate cries.] C'mon! C'mon, Charlie! C'mon! C'mon.. [He continues hitting Charlie.] C'mon! C'mon! C'mon.." [Jack hits Charlie in the chest twenty-three times. Kate finally goes over and stops him.]


KATE: "Jack! Jack, stop! He's not..! Jack, stop! He's not coming.. [Jack finally stops. Kate cries. Jack is upset too, looking down at Charlie's body. Kate attempts to console him.] It's okay. It's okay.." [Jack pushes her away.]

JACK: "No.. No." [He begins hitting Charlie's chest again.]


KATE: "Jack! Jack! [She tries to stop him from doing CPR at first, attempting to pull him off Charlie, but Jack starts hitting Charlie's chest again, only harder this time. He hits him nine times.] Stop! Stop!" [She turns away.]


JACK: "C'mon! C'mon.. [Suddenly, Charlie comes to with a huge gasp for air, and begins choking, trying to breathe.] Just breathe.. Breathe. Just breathe. Breathe deep. Breathe deep. You're okay." [Jack and Kate are crying for joy, and consoling Charlie. Kate can't believe it at first.]


Sometime later, back at the caves, Kate wraps a blanket around Charlie, as Jack joins them, bringing water. Charlie looks off into the campfire, appearing to be despondent, not saying anything.


Charlie, Jack and Kate sit around the campfire. Michael enters the caves, returning from his search for Charlie and Claire. Walt runs up to him, hugging him and filling him in on the news.


WALT: "Dad! [They hug.] They brought Charlie back.. [pointing] But, he hasn't said anything since he came back."

MICHAEL: [to Hurley] "They find Claire?" [Hurley shakes his head.]


JACK: [pressing on Charlie's neck wound] "Does that hurt? How's your breathing? [Charlie just stares into the fire, not responding.] Charlie.. You've got to talk to me. We're going to back out and look for Claire the moment the sun comes up, and I could really use your help. Anything that you can tell me about what you remember, where you were going.. Did you see or hear.."

CHARLIE: "I didn't see anything.. Hear anything. I don't remember anything. [pausing] Claire.."

JACK: "What?"

CHARLIE: "That's all they wanted."

JACK: "They? I don't.."


CHARLIE: "All they wanted was Claire."

Elsewhere in the caves, Kate gets some water at the waterfall, as Shannon approaches her, upset.

SHANNON: [entering] "They aren't back yet.."

KATE: "I'm sure they just made camp for the night. If there's anyone on this Island that your brother's safe with, it's Locke."

In the jungle, Locke and Boone continue to walk in the dark.


BOONE: "Are we lost?" [Hiking up a rocky area.]

LOCKE: "No, Boone.. We're not lost."

BOONE: "Sorry. It's just.. I don't see how you can still be following this trail. I think we should go back."

LOCKE: "Don't you feel it?"

BOONE: "Feel what?"

LOCKE: "It."

BOONE: [stopping] "Alright, John. I'm going to follow the strips back."

LOCKE: "Suit yourself. [Boone looks flummoxed. He turns around to go back.] Boone.. You need this more than I do."

John Locke tosses Boone his flashlight. Boone doesn't catch it because he's a girl, and it lands on the ground, making a metal clunking sound. Boone kneels down and grabs the flashlight, pointing it at whatever it landed on.


BOONE: "What is that?"

Locke kneels down, and starts digging plant and vines off the ground, wiping mud away, exposing a piece of metal. Locke bangs it with his knife.

LOCKE: "Steel."


BOONE: "Could that be part of the plane? Part of the wreckage? [Locke knocks in a few different places with his knife. The sound reveals that it is hollow underneath.] What is that?"

LOCKE: "That's what we're going to find out.."


Interesting Notes & Observations:
  • On the Previously on LOST segment, we see Charlie writing "LATE" on his fingers after the crash, Charlie saying "I told you I'd take care of you." to Claire in the jungle, Sayid saying "We're not alone." to Jack and Kate, Claire being attacked in the caves, and explaining what happened, saying "He was trying to hurt my baby!" to Jack, Hurley talking to Jack about the census, Hurley's conversation with Ethan, including calling him "Lance," Jack trying to give Claire sleeping pills, with Claire getting angry and leaving the caves, Hurley telling Jack about Ethan not being in the manifest, and Charlie and Claire being confronted by Ethan in the jungle, at the end of the previous episode. All pretty relevant for once.
  • From Lostpedia: The title of the episode is an allusion to the album, All the Best Cowboys Have Chinese Eyes, by rock star Pete Townshend. Specifically, this is a reference to a story inside the album jacket, which tells a tale of leadership and sacrifice in a crisis. "A natural leader emerged...the most remarkable thing about him was his eyes...Somehow they arrived alive. Somehow they found the broken bottle trail without help. All stars, great and small, shine under God...All the best cowboys have Chinese eyes."
  • I have no idea where exactly this screenshot is from in this episode, but it made me laugh.. So, enjoy.
  • Maybe Jack and John Locke can be a buddy-cop team. Locke points out the obvious, and Jack says it outloud for the slow people. Then he goes crazy. Then he cries about it.
  • Jesus Christ, Jack. Can't you shut your damn mouth for two seconds? Two people were just taken, and you think that the best idea is to yell loudly, so the person who took them knows exactly where you are and that you're after them? Real smart. You may be a horrible doctor, but you're an even worse detective.
  • Jack seriously can't do anything without reacting emotionally before thinking about it first.
  • The room that Jack operates in is strangely dark for a surgical procedure. I've always thought that this scene was really weirdly lit. It really creeps me out.
  • The patient, Beth, dies on Jack's operating table because Christian Shephard had just a little too much to drink at lunch..You have to know that your drinking is getting out of hand when you're trying to perform surgery on a dying woman while you're shitfaced. Now, that's some serious drinking right there.
  • I never realized that the patient's name was Beth until just now.. That's the second Beth that's already been in the show up until this point. I wonder if she's Kate's friend, Beth (Mentioned in Pilot, Part 1, on the hike to get the transceiver.), who likes Drive Shaft. I guess Charlie can't hit on her now..
  • Okay, Locke. I get it that you don't need anyone else to tag along, because it would just slow you down.. But, is telling Michael to go in the exact opposite direction really the best idea? Perhaps maybe he should go east or west, instead of south? I'm just saying..
  • Her insides were a mess? Is that, like, a medical term?
  • It's ironic that Locke refers to Jack as "the only trained physician on the Island" because we later find, in Maternity Leave, that Ethan is too, in fact, a doctor. 
  • What do you mean, another, Jack? You mean, like, when you yelled for the whole jungle to hear you and indicated that you were looking for Charlie and Claire so that whoever took them could set a dummy trail.. Oh, then? Idiot. It's like explaining things to a five year old with you.
  • Also, I just realized, there may have actually been two sets of trails.. Ethan could have possibly met up with the others, with them taking Claire to The Staff station, and Ethan dragging Charlie off to dispose of him. It makes sense.
  • Umm.. How exactly are you known as a warrior back home, Hurley? I'd like to see that episode..
  • Walt may be just a kid, but he knows exactly how to work people.
  • Walt tells Sawyer that "It's stupid to lie about your name." which foreshadows us later finding out that Sawyer's real name is James Ford.
  • SAWYER: "So, a tribe of evil natives planted a ringer in the camp to kidnap a pregnant girl and a reject from VH-1 has-beens?" Yep. Exactly. I love when the writers spell it out for us without us knowing they did it until way later.
  • I love how Boone explains Star Trek to Locke in layman's terms. Something tells me that John Locke has actually seen some Star Trek in his lifetime.. I mean, come on.
  • The reference to Star Trek is ironic now, because J.J. Abrams later went on to direct the reboot of the Star Trek films.
  • Also, Locke referring to a "piss-poor Captain" is ironic, and foreshadows his own poor leadership skills later on, in Deus Ex Machina, which leads to the death of Boone.
  • From Lostpedia: In the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "The Pegasus," Terry O'Quinn plays a Star Fleet Admiral who, as a Captain, suffered mutiny due to his poor leadership skills.
  • Also, Boone refers to the redshirts as the ones who "always got killed" on Star Trek. On LOST, the redshirts are the background survivors, who are also referred to as the "meat socks" by Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, and as the "log carrying guys (Because they're often the characters in the background, collecting wood.)," by Jay and Jack.
  • I love how Boone is surprised that John Locke works for a box company, so to explain it in great detail, Locke says "They made boxes." Umm.. Really?
  • In Numbers, we find out that Hurley owned the box company that John Locke worked at in Tustin, California.
  • Kate can't track fast enough for Jack's liking, so he's a douche about it.
  • You know what would help, Jack? If you stopped acting like this chick owes you something. You don't even know her, dude. Shut up. You're so whiney. 
  • Jack got played like a damn fiddle by Christian Shephard. He's so weak.
  • There were always theories that Christian Shephard was once on the Island, or that Jack's whole family had some sort of significance to the history of the Island, and while that may not have been directly true, it's possible that Christian somehow knew that Jack would end up on the Island, which may have been part of the reason why he was such a mess when he went to Australia, driving Jack to follow him there, and ultimately end up on the Island because of it.
  • As you can see here, when Jack signs the document for Christian Shephard, he's wearing the watch that his father gave him before he got married to Sarah, as seen in the LOST: Missing Pieces #1, The Watch.
  • If that were my father, I would have hit him in the face.
  • As Jack signs the document for his father, Christian Shephard, you can also see a close-up of his ID card for St. Sebastian Hospital, a location that is first seen in this episode, but would become a fixture in the series. Also, nice haircut, dude.
  • Walt blows on the dice four times before rolling them when he and Hurley are playing backgammon.
  • Walt tells Hurley about his "other dad," meaning his step-father, Brian Porter, but he doesn't exactly explain the situation.. I wonder if Hurley thought that Michael was gay all that time.
  • Hurley tells Walt that he "has a meeting," also known as, "I'm going to take a dump." That seriously didn't occur to me until just now.
  • So, your mother has an empire, huh Boone? You mean, like an evil empire?
  • I remember people thinking that Ethan was some sort of super-human because of how strong he was compared to Jack, but really.. Shouldn't we be asking: Why is Jack such a wimp?
  • I have to admit, though, the fight scene with Ethan and Jack was pretty well choreographed. 
  • I believe that you can see more of how they worked out that scene, and about the whole episode in the LOST Season One DVD Extras: On Location.
  • Umm.. Jack? Maybe you should try looking just a little less crazy? I'm just saying.. You could tone it down a notch or two. You're scaring the children.
  • In White Rabbit, Jack's mother, Margo Shephard, refers to something that he did to his father, Christian Shephard. We come to find in this episode that it was Jack who caused his father to be fired as the Chief of Surgery at St. Sebastian Hospital.  
  • I know they're acting and everything.. And, maybe it's just me, but it appears as though Matthew Fox is actually hitting Dominic Monaghan really hard.
  • The scene where Charlie is hanged from the tree is not only one of the most disturbing scenes on LOST, but it's the first time I ever remember the show getting to me emotionally. I remember realizing, at the moment, what the stakes were, and that this show wasn't afraid to take chances and kill off characters. I remember really believing that Charlie was dead in that moment. Even now, watching it again, and knowing what the outcome is, it still has a profound impact. 
  • You should know that Jack is very serious about hurting Charlie worse than he already is..
  • When Jack first tries to revive Charlie, he hits him in the chest twenty-three times.
  • Looks how happy Jack is.. It's almost as if he never treated Charlie like a chump, and then saved his life because of his own weird issues, so that he could make himself feel better.
  • Charlie refers to the people that kidnapped him and Claire as "they" which indicates that there were more than one of them.
  • Shannon is actually worried about Boone. Oh, so now that people are being hanged from trees, you've decided to be a regular human being? 
  • Also, I wouldn't be so sure that Locke is the one that Boone is actually safe with, Kate.
  • It's the hatch, bitches.
    Answered Questions:
    • In Maternity Leave, we find out all about the others and the circumstances when they took Claire
    • In There's No Place Like Home, Walt visits Hurley at Santa Rosa, and Hurley has the perfect opportunity to give Walt his damn twenty thousand dollars, but he doesn't. He never does. Damn you, LOST writers. Why couldn't you just write that in there? It would've taken you all of two seconds.
    • In Man of Science, Man of Faith, we finally find out what is in that damn hatch, and it's pretty awesome.
    Unanswered Questions:
    • Did Ethan kidnap Charlie and Claire alone? 
    • Was the Beth who died the same one that Kate also knew?
    • Why did Brian say that Walt was the luckiest person he ever knew?
    • When is Hurley going to give Walt his damn money?
    • Did that bird just say Claire's name? 
    • Why can Jack hear the bird and Claire's screams, but Kate can't?
    • Why is Ethan so strong?
    • Why doesn't Charlie remember what happened?
    • Did the Island lead John Locke to the hatch?
    Favorite Moments:
    • HURLEY: [to Walt] "Back home, I'm known as something of a warrior myself.." [Walt shakes his head.]
    • SAWYER: "Who got taken by what?" WALT: "Charlie and Claire.. They think Ethan took them." SAWYER: "Ethan took them, huh?" WALT: "Yeah." SAWYER: "Took them why? And, who the hell is Ethan?" WALT: "I don't know. He wasn't on the list thing.. The manifest." SAWYER: "Ever think he might have lied about his name?" WALT: "It's stupid to lie about your name."
    • SAWYER: "So, a tribe of evil natives planted a ringer in the camp to kidnap a pregnant girl and a reject from VH-1 has-beens? Yeah, fiendishly clever.. And, why am I getting the evening news from a six year old?" WALT: "I'm ten." SAWYER: "Okay, then it must be true." WALT: "If you don't believe me, ask Sayid. He said we're not alone." SAWYER: "Sayid's back?" [Walt looks triumphant and walks away.]
    • BOONE: "Red-shirt.." LOCKE: "Huh?" BOONE: "Red-shirt. Ever watch Star Trek?" LOCKE: "Nah, not really." BOONE: "The crew guys that would go down to the planet with the main guys.. The captain and the guy with the pointy ears.. They always wore red shirts, and they always got killed." LOCKE: "Yeah?" BOONE: "Yeah." LOCKE: "Sounds like a piss-poor Captain.."
    • BOONE: "What do you do in the real world, Mr. Locke?" LOCKE: "It's John." BOONE: "John." LOCKE: "Why don't you guess?" BOONE: "Well. You're either a taxidermist, or a hit man.." LOCKE: [chuckling] "I was a Regional Collection Supervisor for a box company." BOONE: "A box company?" LOCKE: "They made boxes."BOONE: [to himself] "Yeah.. Right."
    • WALT: "You owe me twenty thousand dollars!" HURLEY: "You'll get it."
    • The entire sequence of Charlie hanging from the tree—the cinematography, editing, writing, acting, music, the beats, pauses, emotion.. Every aspect of that scene is so well thought-out. 
    • BOONE: "Are we lost?" LOCKE: "No, Boone.. We're not lost." Yeah, you are.
    • LOCKE: "Don't you feel it?" BOONE: "Feel what?" LOCKE: "It." The Island.
    • The reveal of the hatch door.
    Overall Significance:
    • John Locke tells Jack, "Be the doctor. Let me be the hunter." We later find, in Further Instructions, that John Locke went on a spiritual journey to find whether he was a farmer or a hunter.
    • From Lostpedia: The original draft of the episode was substantially different, according to Javier Grillo-Marxuach: [1] It was titled "What It Takes," which is likely a reference to the words that Christian said to Jack as a child in "White Rabbit" when telling him not to be a hero, which was later repeated by Jack in the same episode, referring to himself when he tells Locke why he doesn't think he should be the leader among the Flight 815 survivors. These words again come into play much later in the series in the Season 6 episode, "Lighthouse", where Jacob has Hurley to tell Jack "you have what it takes" in order to get Jack to go to the Lighthouse with him. [2] Boone did not go along with Locke. Two new guest characters, Arthur and Sullivan (presumably not the Sullivan from "Solitary"), went with him instead. The choice to have Boone go with Locke was the genesis for his death later in the season. As such, if the guest characters had gone with Locke, it seems that Boone may not have died in Season 1. [3] The discovery of the hatch would have come early in the episode instead of at the end. [4] Kate and Jack came under a dart attack while hunting for Ethan. Damon Lindelof said that was too cheesy. Ironically, there would later be a dart attack by the Others on those characters in the Lindelof-penned "Live Together, Die Alone, Part 2". 
    • From Lostpedia: When Locke and Jack realize that  Ethan has taken Charlie and Claire, Jack asks "How can one man drag off two people?" whereas Locke asks "Not how, why?" Science answers how something happened; faith answers why something happened. This highlights Jack and Locke as a man of science and a man of faith, respectively.
    • Boone ties red fabric to trees in order to mark the areas of the jungle that he and John Locke have searched for Charlie and Claire. He tells Locke about "redshirts" from Star Trek, and how they were the ones who would always get killed, while at the same time foreshadowing his own death, in Do No Harm.
    • Also, Boone offering to help look for Claire and Charlie with John Locke and refusing to head back to camp is what leads him to the hatch, and eventually, finding the beach craft, which is what ultimately leads to his death.
    • We later find out that Kate's dad, Sam Austen, isn't exactly her real father, in What Kate Did, and that he served time in Iraq, during Gulf War I, crossing paths with Sayid, in One of Them.
    • Christian Shephard tells Jack that he's sacrificed his relationship with him so that "hundreds and thousands of patients will live because of your extraordinary skills.." which is ironic, because Jack's relationship with his father is what drove him to become a leader on the Island, in The End sacrificing himself for the greater good, in order to save a whole lot of people.
    • Walt refers to his "other dad," Brian, telling Hurley that he said that Walt was the "luckiest person he ever knew." which can be assumed is meant to reference Walt's specialness, as further seen in Special.
    • During the scene where Charlie is hanged, Michael Giacchino's Life & Death theme can be heard.
    • This episode is one of many times that Charlie Pace almost died. However, he did not succumb to his fate until Through the Looking Glass.
    Final Thoughts:
    • Okay, so I decided to keep up with some LOST news in my posts.. Perhaps, eventually, I will write about it in its own post.. But, for now, I'm just going to do it here because there isn't much. Here goes.
    • Here is an interview with Damon Lindelof, with his Reflections On LOST's Seven Year Anniversary & Future Projects.
    • Billy Ray (writer/director) and J.J. Abrams are Working on a Mysterious New Project for Paramount.
    • Evangeline Lilly apparently Doesn't Want A LOST Film. I agree, Evangeline, even though you're acting really strange lately. If you don't know what I'm talking about, check out her appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live last week. She refuses to even answer any questions about LOST, or pretty much any questions about anything really. Seriously, Evangeline? You do know that this show is what made you and that Jimmy Kimmel gave endless attention to the show and its actors while it was on the air, right? Get over yourself. You don't have to be so damn self-righteous. It's really unattractive. But, back to LOST..
    • It would have been really awesome if, in later seasons, the survivors would've passed trees in the jungle marked with red fabric on them as a call-back to this episode. Though, I suppose, Boone and Locke could've possibly taken them off the trees for later use. 
    • Sawyer informs Sayid that the tide is coming up the beach, which will be dealt with in the next episode, Whatever the Case May be.
    • One of the things that never got wrapped up and will always bother me is that Hurley never gave Walt his money. He owes him twenty thousand dollars!  
    • Despite that fact that Jack really annoys me, I like this episode a lot.
    I'll be back soon with my analysis of Whatever the Case May Be. Which is nothing. It's just a dumb toy plane. There is no deeper meaning. Let it go. Also, I'm probably going to begin staggering my posts to more like every other week depending on how much time I have to write them. I'm considering beginning to write some other (shorter) posts in between. We'll see what ideas I come up with..

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