Episode Analysis of 1.07 "The Moth"

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

My LOST re-watch and episode analysis will include major details from the entirety that is 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.

To read my original post on this episode, please refer to The Moth.

This episode was written by Jennifer Johnson and Paul Dini, and directed by Jack Bender. It originally aired on November 3rd, 2004.

This is a Charlie Pace flashback-centric episode.

We begin in the caves, where Charlie Pace plays his guitar to try to distract himself from the fact that he's going through extreme drug withdrawals. He is sweaty and shaking. He looks absolutely awful.

3.05 The Cost of Living

1. Eko and Yemi steal food, a nun makes Eko give confession for stealing.
2. There is a close-up of Eko's eye, Sayid is back and he checks on Eko, who is unconscious, Hurley says he's been like that for a couple of days. From Lostpedia
3. Eko is having a dream of his brother, Yemi, scenes from The 23rd Psalm, confession, becoming a priest, the drug plane, Yemi in Eko's tent, with a lighter.
4. "It is time to confess, to be judged, brother. I will be waiting. You know where to find me." Yemi appears to light Eko's tent on fire. From Lostpedia
5. They save Eko from his burning tent, Eko says "My brother," then disappears.
6. Ben is wearing a robe, he asks Jack to go for a walk, gives him a robe to wear, Jack asks if it hurts, his neck, numbness in his fingers and toes, like pins and needles, but permanent, tumor on his spine, aggressive, no more walks, Ben says he has no idea what he's talking about, Jack says it must be his mistake.
7. Jack goes to funeral with Ben, Juliet says she hates funerals, Colleen on water, fire, Brenda Lee's I wonder plays on the loud speakers. From Lostpedia
8. Ben asks Juliet about x-rays and Jack, she says she didn't tell him.
9. Sayid and Locke talk about finding Jack, Desmond says he's pretty sure that the computer in the hatch was used to communicate with other stations.
10. Locke wants to go to The Pearl and find Eko and use the computer to try to communicate with the Others.
11. Soldiers from the runway, where Yemi was shot and left in the drug plane, take Eko back to Yemi's church, where Eko finds a photograph of him and Yemi when they were young in Yemi's bible, he tells a woman that Yemi was called away, down South, emergency at refugee camp, says he will take Yemi's place there, in London too.
12. Eko and the monster, he sees a bloody man, afraid of him, then an alter boy that says "confess."
13. Locke, going to The Pearl, he asks people to go along, Nikki and Paulo.
14. Locke tells Desmond that Eko is heading for the plane that crashed on top of The Pearl station, Desmond says it's a coincidence.
15. "Don't mistake coincidence for fate." Locke
16. Eko washes his hands with holy water, the alter boy says he's not supposed to do that, that Father Yemi wouldn't, but Eko says that he is not Yemi.
17. Men arrive at Yemi's church, they're looking for him, but the boy's mother says the shipment is late, vaccine from Red Cross, they keep 20% and give the rest to Emeka and his men, for protection, Eko says that he's not afraid of them, but Emeka kills a blind woman, says he'll be back for the vaccine.
18. Eko stops at a stream to put dirt on his wounds and he sees the smoke monster, it leaves and Locke arrives with everyone else at the stream.
19. Juliet brings Jack a cheeseburger, Ben wants to talk to him, alone, doctor-patient confidentiality.
20. Ben says that they had a wonderful plan to break him, wear him down, gain his trust, he'd choose to do what they wanted him to, he'd get invested, Juliet resembles his ex-wife, plan was shot when he saw the x-rays, wants him to want to save his life, wants him to think about it, 2 days after he found out about his tumor, a spinal surgeon fell out of the sky.
21. "Two days after I found out I had a fatal tumor on my spine, a spinal surgeon fell out of the sky. And if that's not proof of God, I don't know what is." Ben
22. Eko leads to plane, Locke asks about Yemi and Eko attacks him, saying not to speak his brother's name, Locke asks why he's so afraid.
23. They get vaccine every 6 months, agreement with militia, high price on black market, before Yemi, they got nothing, Eko reminds her of Yemi, says that he's a good man too.
24. Eko is selling the vaccine, and is leaving the country, to go to London.
25. Locke asks Eko about the monster, says he saw it once, a bright light, beautiful, while Eko checks the plane, says that's not what he saw, Yemi's body is missing. Locke says maybe his body burned when he set the plane on fire, and he gives Eko the cross he found. Eko looks at the photo of him and Yemi.
26. Emeka and his men come back to the church, figure Eko out about selling the shipment, they're going to cut off his hands, but Eko kills them with a machete, walks out of the church and everyone sees him.
27. They re-watch the Orientation film in The Pearl, Sayid says the wiring is only one way, that it's a closed system, Nikki says there are 6 stations, plays the tape of Dr. Mark Wickman, other monitors, Sayid tries to patch in another station, they see machines, a computer, in another station, a man with an eye patch. From Lostpedia
28. Juliet apologizes, shows Jack a movie, talks to him while it's playing, but there is a message she's relaying to him on the screen, she tells him to do the surgery.
29. "I felt like I should apologize. Say I'm sorry. I'm sorry for bringing you here. And for everything that's been done to you. And your friends. You have to know we were desperate. It was only so that we could save his life. Ben. He's a great man. I know you find that hard to believe but he is. You probably feel like you don't have a choice. But you do, Jack. Free will is all we've really got, right? Anyway, just wanted to put in my two cents. I told you before, you can trust me. I want you to trust me, now, when I tell you that doing the surgery is absolutely the right thing for you to do. It's the right thing because he deserves to live." Juliet tells Jack while the video is playing and she's relaying a completely different message.
30. "Ignore everything I'm saying. Ben is a liar. And he is very dangerous. Some of us want a change. But it has to look like an accident. It has to look like we tried to save him. And that's up to you, Jack. It's a complicated surgery. No one would ever know. And I would protect you. Now tell me to turn off the movie." Juliet tells Jack on the movie. From Lostpedia
31. "Turn the movie off." Jack
32. Eko goes to London, the alter boy asks if he's a bad man, that his mom says he's a bad man, they are boarding up the church, the woman tells him he owes Yemi a church.
33. Eko sees Yemi again, follows him, asks why confession now, he says he doesn't want forgiveness, that he had not sinned, Yemi appears to be a manifestation of the smoke monster, and the monster attacks Mr. Eko, while he starts reciting the 23rd Psalm. From Lostpedia
34. "I ask for no forgiveness, Father. For I have not sinned. I have only done what I needed to do to survive. A small boy once asked me if I was a bad man. If I could answer him now, I would tell him that when I was a young boy, I killed a man to save my brother's life. I am not sorry for this. I am proud of this! I did not ask for the life that I was given. But it was given, nonetheless. And with it I did my best." Mr. Eko
35. "You speak to me as if I were your brother." Yemi
36. "The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. The Lord is my shepherd." Mr. Eko
37. Locke and Sayid find Eko's body, Eko relays a message to Locke as he's dying.
38. "He said we're next." Locke

Questions:

1. Was Yemi and manifestation of the smoke monster?
2. Where did Yemi's body go?
3. Why did the smoke monster seem frightened or skeptical of Mr. Eko in his previous encounter with it, but attack him now?
4. Where did the Others get their funeral rituals from?
5. Why would the island want Mr. Eko to die?
6. Is the glass eye found in The Arrow Mikhail's?
7. Again, why didn't Ben just ask Jack to do the surgery?
8. Why do Eko and Locke see two different versions of the monster? Can it appear differently to each person?
9. Why does Juliet ask Jack to kill Ben? If he doesn't, won't Ben die anyway?
10. If Eko had confessed, would he still have died?

Favorites:

1. "Is that supposed to hurt my feelings?" Desmond
2. "I'm not that big on mysteries." Jack
3. "You people have cheeseburgers?" Jack "You have no idea what I went through to make this for you. I killed the cow, processed the meat, baked the bun. And the fries... try rendering animal fat." Juliet "No ketchup?" Jack
4. " I'm telling you this, Jack, because my wonderful plan got shot to sunshine when you saw my damned x-rays and figured out I was dying." Ben

Notes:

1. As much as I liked Mr. Eko, for some reason, I felt completely unaffected by his death. I'm still not sure why, because he's one of the characters I miss the most. It's unfortunate to find out that he was only killed because the actor no longer wanted to be in Hawaii.
2. You still owe Yemi one church, Mr. Eko!
3. The Others appear to be very cult-like in this episode with the funeral.
4. I love the actors that play young Eko and Yemi, who are really brothers.

2.22 Three Minutes

1. 13 Days Ago--Michael asks John about guns, knocks him out, talks to Walt on the computer, Walt tells him to go North, to a rock with a hole in the middle, by the beach.
   
   From Lostpedia
   
2. Today--Michael with paper, burns it, Jack says they need to talk, they plan to go across the island, Sawyer says there are 11 rifles and pistols, that they took 5 off them, Michael says if they leave now and move fast, they can get to the Others camp in the middle of the night tomorrow, that just the 5 of them should go, Jack questions Michael's decision making, says they'll bury Ana and Libby tonight, then figure out what's next.
3. 13 Days Ago--Michael runs through the jungle, checks his compass, runs into a man taking a piss, Danny Pickett, Mr. Friendly comes up from behind, Michael runs, firing, Pickett fires back, and the Others capture him.
4. Today--Eko tells Michael about boy at his church who killed his dog.
5. "For a brief time I served in a small parish in England. Every Sunday after Mass, I would see a young boy waiting in the back of the church. And then one day, the boy confessed to me that he had beaten his dog to death with a shovel. He said that the dog had bitten his baby sister on the cheek, and he needed to protect her. And he wanted to know whether he would go to hell for this. I told him that God would understand, that he would be forgiven, as long as he was sorry. But the boy did not care about forgiveness. He was only afraid that if he did go to hell, that dog would be there waiting for him." Eko
6. Michael tells Jack that everything has to go his way, that it has to be just the 5 of them, that it puts them in more danger, that it's his son, Jack says that's the way it will go then.
7. Charlie gives Claire and Aaron the vaccine from the pallet, that they have to take it every 9 days, that it's a pneumatic injector, he says that he tried it, that he wanted to make sure that it was safe for her and the baby, that he feels fine.
   
   From Lostpedia
   
8. Michael returns to the beach camp, everyone is happy to see him, but then discover the bodies of Ana Lucia and Libby being buried.
9. "They were murdered." Michael
10. 13 Days Ago--Michael captured and Kate, who was following Sawyer, Jack and Locke.
11. "You make one sound and you'll never see your boy again." Mr. Friendly
12. Mr. Friendly speaks to the Hunting Party, Alex talks to Michael, tells him it's alright, that he's just delivering a message to his friends, she asks about Claire, if she's okay, if she had the baby and if it's a boy or a girl, after Mr. Friendly leaves the hunting party, Alex apologizes and then knocks Michael out with her rifle. From Lostpedia
13. Today--Jack and Sawyer go his tent to get the guns, Sawyer asks Jack about what happened with him and Kate in the jungle when they went to the line, Jack says they got caught in a net, Sayid asks about Benry escaping, asks who's going after him, he wants to go with them, but Jack says that he can't go, but Sawyer gives him a gun anyway.
14. Eko is in the hatch, Charlie visits, asks where he's been, Eko tells Charlie that he's not working on the church anymore.
15. Sawyer tells Michael that Sayid's on board to come with them, but Michael isn't happy.
16. "Oh, well I'm sorry. I just figure if we going to war, we'd want the one guy who's actually been in a war. That a problem?" Sawyer
17. 11 Days Ago--Michael at Others camp, big rock with hole in the middle, tents, dirty people, raggedy clothing, camp fires, a hatch door being guarded by two men with rifles, people with fishing nets, Danny Pickett draws Michael's blood. From Lostpedia
18. "See you in the funny pages." Danny Pickett
19. Ms. Klugh asks questions about Walt, if he's Michael biological son, age he first spoke, illnesses, headaches, fainting spells, Michael says he wasn't there, that Walt was halfway around the world.
20. "Did Walt ever appear in a place he wasn't supposed to be? You say he was halfway around the world, but did you see him?" Ms. Klugh
21. Today--Michael tells Sayid that he's not coming with them because he's going after the guy that escaped and Michael's going after his son.
22. Charlie works on Eko's church, Vincent brings him a Virgin Mary statue with the heroin inside, he leads Charlie to Sawyer's stash, Charlie takes all of the statues and throws them in the ocean as Locke watches from afar.
23. Sawyer tells Jack he screwed Ana Lucia, that was how she lifted the gun off of him.
24. "Why are you telling me this, Sawyer?" Jack "Because you're about the closest thing I got to a friend, doc." Sawyer
25. Hurley and Kate dig Libby and Ana Lucia's graves, Hurley questions why he'd go with them, Michael tries to convince him, he says because they killed her.
26. 3 Days Ago--Ms. Klugh tells Michael there's something he needs to do, that there's been a development, that one of their people were taken by one of his, Michael insists on seeing Walt, Ms. Klugh says Walt is right outside, she says he can talk to him, but only for 3 minutes.
27. "They make me take tests." Walt "We're not going to talk about that." Ms. Klugh
28. "They're not who they say they are. They're pretending." Walt "Walt! Do you want me to put you in the room again?" Ms. Klugh From Lostpedia
29. Ms. Klugh says Michael has to do something else after he releases their man, she gives Michael a list of four people, that he has to bring them but only them, and if he doesn't, he'll never see Walt again, the names on the list are Jack Shephard, Kate Austen, Hugo Reyes, James Ford, Michael asks who James Ford is, Ms. Klugh says that if he does it, that he and Walt will be let go, Michael says that he also wants the boat. From Lostpedia
30. Locke takes the splint off his leg and walks off into the sunset.
31. Jack tells Sayid about his dad, Sayid says that he thinks Michael has been compromised, that his actions are not that of a man that is telling the truth, that a father would do anything for his son, that he believes Michael may have freed Henry and he believes that Michael is leading them into a trap. Sayid says to let Michael believe that he's in control so that they can create an advantage.
32. "You believe a lot, Sayid." Jack "I also believed that Henry was one of them." Sayid
33. There is a funeral held for Libby and Ana Lucia, Jack speaks about Ana Lucia and Hurley speaks about Libby, gets angered and says he's going with them. From Lostpedia
34. "She probably helped a lot of people. She helped me and she was my friend. It's not fair that this happened to her. It's not. I'm going with you. Goodbye, Libby." Hurley
35. Claire grabs Charlie's hand, Sun looks out on the water.
36. "Boat." Sun

Questions:

1. Did Walt really talk to Michael on the computer?
2. How did Kate not know that Michael was there when she was captured by the Others?
3. What did Danny Pickett draw Michael's blood for?
4. Did Michael ever see Walt in a place he wasn't supposed to be?
5. What room would Ms. Klugh put Walt in? Room 23?

Favorites:

1. "You're Walt's old man, aren't you?" Danny Pickett
2. "So, what do you say, doc? I was thinking the Irish drink when someone dies." Sawyer "I'm not Irish." Jack "Neither am I." Sawyer
3. "Yeah, well, him says even though Pippy Longstocking and the damn Grape Ape are ideal candidates for the Dirty Dozen, I'm just going to say we might just want to bring the Red Beret." Sawyer
4. "We got caught in a net." Sawyer

Notes:

1. As far as I'm concerned, Mr. Eko, you still owe Yemi one church.
2. Libby dies as Desmond returns with her husband's boat to the island, how convenient.

2.18 Dave

1. Libby is helping Hurley lose weight, he confesses he has a stash of food, she helps him destroy it.
2. Everyone discovers the food drop, they want Hurley to be in charge of it, but he says no.
3. "Locke said some kind of blast doors trapped him in the Hatch. Maybe it was because of this, so no one would see who dropped it." Charlie
   
   From Lostpedia
   
4. Hurley sees a bald guy in a robe and slippers, follows him.
5. Hurley in Santa Rosa, on a diet, had a visit with his mom, she put him in the hospital because of "the accident," Dr. Brooks says the bald guy, Dave, is a negative influence.
6. Jack fixes Locke's leg up, Locke tells him that Henry could have escaped.
7. "Henry Gale" tells Sayid he was part of a search party, the real Henry was dead already, hanging out of the basket with a broken neck. Sayid knows he's lying because he shows him a 20 dollar bill that the real Henry Gale wrote on before he died.
8. "You really should have checked his wallet before you did that. I assume Henry Gale did not have any paper on which to compose his thoughts, so he had to improvise. There wasn't much space for that. "Jennifer, well you were right. Crossing the Pacific isn't easy. I owe you a beer. I'm hiking to one of the beaches to start a signal fire. If you're reading this I guess I didn't make it. I'm sorry. I love you, Jenny. Always have; always will. Yours, Henry." So tell me, how did Henry Gale write a note to his wife with a broken neck?" Sayid From Lost Hatch
9. Sayid and Ana Lucia interrogate "Henry," he says that he didn't kill him, Sayid asks if he interrogated him, how many of them there are, Henry says that if he told them, they don't know what "he'll" do, Ana asks about their leader, the man with the beard.
10. "Him? He's no one! Nothing." Benry tells Sayid.
11. "You have 3 seconds to answer my question. How many of you are there? 1--" Sayid "He'll kill me!" Benry "I'll kill you!" Sayid "You can't do this! I am not a bad person!" Benry
    From Lostpedia
    
12. Charlie helps Eko build a church.
13. Hurley with slipper, runs into Dave, follows him, Dave disappears, Hurley asks Charlie and Eko if he saw a man wearing a robe with a coconut.
14. Dave and Hurley with Leonard Simms, playing connect four, Dave tells Hurley not to take his medication, Clonazepam, Dr. Brooks takes a picture of Hurley and Dave.
    From Lostpedia
    
15. Hurley asks Sawyer for meds, attacks him for poking fun at his craziness.
16. Sawyer tells Kate about Hurley, but Kate questions why he would do that.
17. Hurley leaves camp to go live at the caves, sees Dave in the jungle again.
18. Hurley talks about the accident to Dr. Brooks, 23 people on a deck, built to hold 8, collapsed, people died, Hurley was catatonic, stopped talking, sleeping, going out, but never stopped eating. Dr. Brooks shows Hurley the picture he took of him and Dave, but Dave isn't there. From Lostpedia
19. Dave wants Hurley to escape from Santa Rosa, says that Hurley stole the keys from Dr. Brooks' desk, Hurley opens the window to escape, but realizes Dave's not real, refuses to go.
20. Dave tells Hurley that he never got better, he's still in Santa Rosa, none of what's happening is real, that he's in his own private Idaho in Santa Rosa, Dave wants Hurley to jump off the cliff on the island, says he'll wake up, but Dave goes.
    
    From Lostpedia
    
21. "See you in another life, Hurley." Dave
22. Locke tells Ana he wants to talk to Henry Gale, asks his name, if he got caught on purpose, Benry says that God doesn't know about the island, that the place is a joke.
23. "I crawled through your vents and I stood at your computer as the alarm beeped, and you know what happened? The timer went all the way down to zero, and then some funny red pictures flipped up in its place. They looked like hieroglyphics, but I'm no expert, and then things got real interesting. There was a loud clunking and a hum like a magnet, a big magnet. It was really very frightening, and you know what happened next? Nothing happened, John. Nothing happened at all. Your timer just flipped back to 108. I never entered the Numbers. I never pressed the button." Henry
24. Libby followed Hurley to the cliff, he tells her he killed 2 people, that he has an imaginary friend, that she wouldn't like him if it all were real, Libby says it's insulting that he thinks he made her up, asks him the name of the man with the broken leg, Donald, that he doesn't know because it happened to her, Hurley and Libby kiss. From Lostpedia
25. Hurley takes a picture with the imaginary Dave while Libby looks on quite crazily in Santa Rosa. From Lostpedia

Questions:

1. Why was Libby a patient at Santa Rosa? Is she really a clinical psychologist?
2. Did "Henry" really not push the button? How does he know what happens if you don't?
3. Was Dave really part of Hurley's imagination? Was he a manifestation of the Smoke Monster?

Favorites:

1. "Fantastic. Give it to the guy who's not even in the game!" Dave
2. "What are you making?" Charlie "Hold that end." Eko "Is it a Starbucks?" Charlie
3. "Did either of you see a guy run through here, in a bathrobe, with a coconut?" Hurley "No, but I did see a polar bear on roller blades with a mango." Charlie
4. "Dude, that's celery. Celery's not a snack. Leonard's got graham crackers, man. You should snag one. He won't notice. What's he going to do, call you a 23?" Dave
5. Sawyer eating Dharmalars and milk.
6. "What stuff you seeing?" Sawyer "I don't know, maybe like a bald guy, in a bathrobe." Hurley "You mean like that guy right there?" Sawyer
7. Hurley beating Sawyer up, Sawyer almost getting away, and Hurley dragging him back in, repeating all the nicknames Sawyer has called him, while Jin and Sun look on and laugh. From Lostpedia
8. "Barbar! Jabba! Stay Puft! Mongo! Lardo!" Hurley
9. "Don't you got an adventure to get to? I think Timmy fell down a well." Sawyer
10. "Where are you going?" Libby "Back to the caves. No one lives there anymore, so I won't bother anybody. I'm just going to live alone and be one of those guys, you know, the crazy guys, with a big beard and no clothes who's naked and throws doodie at people." Hurley
11. "Uh, Kinko's, Photoshop? What, you think they really blew up the Death Star?" Dave

Notes:

1. Locke looks at his foot like he did on the day the plane crashed and also in Walkabout.
2. Libby says that she's a clinical psychologist, but she was in the Santa Rosa Mental Health Institute. This could indicate that she was lying, although it is possible that both could have happened.
3. Yet another episode where the writers put all of the clues right in front of us, and when you realize it at the end you have to go back and watch everything you missed the first time.
4. Sayid was really going to kill "Henry."
5. This episode was a nod to the fans, putting out the theory that the island is all in Hurley's head.

1.07 The Moth

1. Locke tells Charlie that he'll let him ask for his drugs 3 times.
2. "Then we're one step closer to getting off this island." Jack, to Sayid about acquiring the transceiver signal.
3. The caves collapse on Charlie and Jack, he is trapped. From Lostpedia
4. "People survive plane crashes all the time." Kate "The tail section broke off while we were still in the air. Our section cart-wheeled through the jungle, yet we escaped with nothing but a few scrapes. How do you explain that?" Sayid "Blind, dumb luck." Kate "No one's that lucky. We shouldn't have survived." Sayid "Sorry, Sayid, but some things just happen. No rhyme, no reason." Kate
5. Charlie already has the DS ring when he decides that it's time to walk away from the band.
6. Michael worked construction for 8 years.
7. "I'm here to rescue you." Charlie, to Jack.
8. "I'm no saint either." Jack says to Charlie.
9. It's been 8 days on the island now.
10. "Struggle is natures way of strengthening it." Locke From Lostpedia
11. Sayid triangulates transceiver signal, but is knocked out from behind. From Lost Hatch
12. Charlie wants Liam to do an 8 week tour.

Questions:

1. Why did Locke imply that it was Sawyer who destroyed their chance to acquire the signal?
2. Why does Sawyer want to be hated so much?

Favorites:

1. Charlie's confession. It makes me laugh every time. From Lostpedia
2. "You're great bait." Locke "Give me my drugs!" Charlie
3. "Thank God for fireworks smugglers." Sayid
4. "I'm a bloody Rock God!" Charlie
5. "He's Scott. I'm Steve." I still don't even know which one is which!
6. Sawyer saying that if he had band-aids and a bottle of peroxide, he could be a doctor and liked by everyone like Jack.

Notes:

1. Jack tells Sayid that they'll be closer to getting off the island if they figure out where the transceiver signal is coming from. This, ultimately, is what gets them off the island three seasons later.
2. This is the first time we hear You All Everybody.
3. Kate says Sawyer doesn't want to leave because he has nothing to go back for. She later finds out that he does have something to go back for, but he ends up staying and sacrificing himself.
4. This is the first time Charlie does drugs.
5. We later find out that it is Locke that knocks Sayid out. Surprise, surprise.
6. Charlie sets himself free, and throws his drugs into the fire.