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?"

Episode Analysis of 1.05 "White Rabbit"

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 White Rabbit.

This episode was written by Christian Taylor, and directed by Kevin Hooks. It originally aired on October 20th, 2004.

This is a Jack Shephard flashback-centric episode.

2.01 Man of Science, Man of Faith

From Lostpedia

1. Eye opening, beeping, bunk beds, computer, man typing EXECUTE, record playing the song Make Your Own Kind of Music, dishes, cycling, pull-ups, sit-ups, shower, laundry, protein shake, cabinet with swan logo, vile of medicine, shot in the arm, explosion, jump suit, gun, lights, cameras, mirrors, Jack and Locke at the hole of the hatch.
   From Lostpedia From Lost Hatch
2. The shaft is 40 or 50 feet down, there is a puddle at the bottom. Jack doesn't want to go into the hatch, but Locke does.
3. Female, late 20s, no ID, fire department had to use the jaws of life, tire blew, jumped the divider, went head-on with SUV.
4. Adam Rutherford, 57, time of death 8:15 AM. From Lostpedia
5. "She said she has to dance at her wedding." Jack
6. The hatch door says QUARANTINE. From Lostpedia
7. Shannon loses Vincent, goes looking for him in the jungle, she hears whispers, sees Walt soaking wet, dripping, whispering.
8. "Five hours ago, I was pulled into a hole by what appeared to be a calm of smoke. Did you see it, Kate? Then I guess we're both crazy. I wonder what Jack thinks he saw." Locke
9. Hurley tells Jack about the numbers, Leonard and winning the lottery, $114 million, the bad luck, the numbers on the hatch.
10. Sarah's back is broken, Jack has to operate but doesn't believe he can save her.
11. "You might want to try handing out some hope." Christian
12. Shannon tells everyone about seeing Walt in the jungle.
13. They return to the caves, Jack tells everyone about the hatch, Arzt dying.
14. Locke goes back to hatch and Kate follows.
15. "Live together, die alone, right?" Kate says to Jack.
16. Sarah's wedding is supposed to be in 8 months.
17. Jack tells Sarah he's going to fix her.
18. Locke lowers Kate into the hatch, she counts to five, she falls down the shaft, a light goes on. From Lostpedia
19. Jack goes to the hatch, no one is there, he follows them down.
20. Stadium, Jack running, tries to outrun another guy, twists his ankle, man says Jack won't catch up with him, that he was almost a doctor once. "Small world." Jack
21. "So, what's your excuse? For running like the devil's chasing you?" He tells Jack he's training for a race around the world, Jack tells him about his patient. From Lostpedia
22. "What if you did fix her?" Jack says he didn't, that it would be a miracle. "And you don't believe in miracles. You have to lift it up. See you in another life, yeah?" Desmond
23. Jack is in the hatch/bunker, hallway, pipes, shoes, painting on the wall, numbers, magnet, camera, music, spotlight, computer room. From Lostpedia
24. Jack tells Sarah about doing a Tour de Stade, he realizes that he fixed her.
25. Desmond is the man in the hatch.
26. Jack recognizes Desmond from their previous meeting. "You. From Lostpedia
    

Questions:

1. How did the ladder leading from the hatch break?
2. Why does the hatch door say QUARANTINE on the inside?
3. Why did no one replace Kelvin and Desmond?
4. What is the medicine for? What is the sickness?
5. Why does Charlie believe there are no others when he was hanged by Ethan?
6. Did Vincent know that Walt was there when Shannon saw him?
7. Did Desmond know he would see Jack again? Did he know Jack would fix Sarah?
8. Was Desmond time traveling in the flashback at the stadium with Jack?

Favorites:

1. Seeing Desmond in the hatch for the first time.
2. "I'm not really in the mood, Hurley." Jack "Really, wow, usually you're like Mr. Ha Ha." Hurley
3. "You were in a psyche ward?" Jack
4. "What's that thing where doctors make you feel better just by talking to you?" Hurley "Bedside manner." Jack "Yeah, that. Yours sucks, dude." Hurley
5. "Yeah, you left out the part where you just want to see if I get eaten by something." Kate
6. "I dropped the light. Maybe we should.. (Locke continues lowering Kate down) Well, okay then."
7. The Make Your Own Kind of Music being played when Jack is in the hatch.
8. "You smell like you ran far." Sarah
9. "Because I'm intense." Jack explaining why he'd run all the steps in a stadium.
10. "You." Jack

Notes:

1. When describing Adam Rutherford and Sarah's accidents, they are both described as being hit head-on by an SUV. Was this a mistake or were they in the car together?
2. The backward whispers of Walt: Don't push the button. Button Bad.
3. The opening scene to this episode is probably one of the best opening scenes or season premieres to any show, ever.

1.24 Exodus, Part 2

From Lostpedia

1. They arrive at the Black Rock, Rousseau leaves.
2. "What are we a couple of miles inland? A tsunami probably swept it here." Arzt
3. The Black Rock was a slave ship, in route to a mining colony on the eastern coast of Africa, Mozambique.
4. Arzt teaches about dynamite and nitroglycerin and then explodes handling the dynamite.
5. Jin meets man in airport bathroom, speaks Korean, works for Mr. Paik, says he knows that Jin was running away, that he must do his job and return or he will lose Sun. From Lostpedia
6. "How does a place this big never get discovered?" Michael
7. "Do you like to play games, John?" Jack "Absolutely." Locke
8. Claire notices scratches on Rousseau. "When did I do that? Why did I scratch you?"
9. Rousseau attacks Claire and takes the baby.
10. Charlie is attacked by a Drive Shaft groupie in his hotel room in Sydney.
11. "That's Steve. Scott's dead." Walt corrects Sawyer about Tracy sleeping next to Scott when she has a husband and 2 kids at home.
12. "I didn't write one. The only letter I wrote is to the man I'm gonna kill." Sawyer
13. Sayid and Charlie go after Rousseau.
14. Michael says that him having Walt was never part of the plan, he asks his mother to take him, Walt overhears his conversation. Locke passes in his wheelchair.
15. Michael teaches Walt how to steer the raft. "We're going approximately North by Northeast."
16. Sun tells Shannon that Boone died bravely.
17. "Do you think all this, all we've been through, do you think we're being punished?" Sun "Punished for what?" Shannon "Things we did before. The secrets we kept. The lies we told." Sun "Who do you think is punishing us?" Shannon "Fate." Sun "No one is punishing us. There's no such thing as fate." Claire
18. Sayid and Charlie run into beachcraft. Sayid says it's from Nigeria, 2 men dressed as priests, drug runners in disguise, plane loaded with heroin.
19. "Hope. I think hope's inside it." Hurley asks Locke what he thinks is inside the hatch.
20. Bird flying overhead appears to say "Hurley."
21. The monster attacks, everyone runs, but Locke pauses and stares at it, it tries to drag him underground. "Just let me go, I'll be alright." Locke tells Jack. From Lost Hatch From Lostpedia
22. Jin gives Michael the watch he was supposed to bring to Los Angeles.
23. Claire names the baby Aaron. "I don't know what Aaron means."
24. Charlie wounded by Rousseau's trap. Sayid seals it with gun powder.
25. Hurley is late for his flight. He's staying in room 2342. He encounters Charlie in the elevator when the doors open.
26. The numbers appear in Hurley's car on the way to the airport. From Lost Hatch
27. The plane is boarding in Gate 23. Hurley pays man $1600 for his scooter, passes soccer players with that numbers. Hurley is in seat 20G. From Lostpedia
28. "I thought I heard 23." Kate "Does that mean something to you?" Hurley "The guy who called the feds on me back in Australia did it for a $23,000 reward." Kate
29. Jack says the monster was going to kill Locke, but he says that it wasn't going to hurt him, that he was being tested.
30. "You're a man of science. I'm a man of faith. Do you really think this was an accident? That we, a group of strangers, survived? Many with just superficial injuries? Do you think we crashed in this place by coincidence? Especially this place? We were brought here for a purpose, for a reason." Locke "And who brought us here, John?" Jack "The island. The island brought us here. This is no ordinary place, you've seen that, I know you have. But the island chose you too, Jack. It's destiny." Locke "Did you talk to Boone about destiny, John?" Jack "Boone was a sacrifice that the island demanded. What happened to him at that plane was a part of a chain of events that led us here, that led us down a path, that led you and me to this day, to right now." Locke
31. "Survival is all relative." Locke "I don't believe in destiny." Jack "Yes, you do. You just don't know it yet." Locke
32. "My daddy never got a chance to beat me. Shot himself when I was 8." Sawyer tells Michael. "That why you want to die?" Michael
33. Locke is carried on to the plane by the flight attendants. From Lostpedia
34. "I heard them whispering. The others said they were coming for the child. They said they were coming for the boy." Rousseau
35. Hurley sees the numbers on the hatch. "The numbers are bad!" From Lostpedia
36. The rafties see something on the radar, they fire the flare gun.
37. "We were on an island. Flight 815." Michael
38. "Only the thing is.. We're gonna have to take the boy." Walt is taken by the others. From Lostpedia From Lost Hatch
39. Sawyer pulls his gun and is shot by one of the others, Jin dives into the water after him. Michael falls off the raft, the others torch it and there is an explosion.
40. Aaron is returned to Claire by Charlie and Sayid.
41. Charlie is seen with one of the statues from the beachcraft. From Lost Hatch
42. We see everyone boarding the plane. Claire, Kate and Edward Mars, Sawyer.
43. Locke is sitting near Jack. They look at eachother and Jack smiles. From Lostpedia
44. Charlie is storing his guitar in a luggage compartment, Jin and Sun are together and Jin is looking at the watch he has to deliver, Michael is buckling Walt's seatbelt and Walt is playing his gameboy, the Marshal is fastening Kate's handcuffs, Sayid is looking at his photographs of Nadia, Shannon is searching for her inhalers and Boone gives them to her, Hurley gives him a thumbs up and Walt smiles.
45. Hurley is reading the comic book that Walt has later. From Lost Hatch
46. Dr. Arzt helps Claire with her bag.
47. The dynamite works and the hatch door is blown open. It is a long metal shaft with a broken ladder leading down inside it. There is no end in sight. From Lostpedia

Questions:

1. Why did Claire name the baby Aaron?
2. Where did the others get that boat from?
3. Did the bird really say Hurley? Where did it come from? What kind of bird is it?
4. Why is Locke happy when he first sees the monster, and then terrified the second time he sees it? What does he see?
5. When Charlie is in his hotel room, he says he has a plane to catch. But when he visits his brother in Sydney, he also has a plane to catch. How did he visit his brother before he got on the plane if he was in a rush to catch it?
6. Did Rousseau really start the fire? Did she hear the whispers?
7. Why did the others take Walt?
8. Why is the ladder in the hatch broken?

Favorites:

1. "How exactly does something like this happen?" Hurley "Are you on the same island as I am?" Rousseau
2. "I'm sorry I'm not cool enough to be part of your merry little band of adventurers. I know a clique when I see it." Arzt
3. "Man, who doesn't like Bob Marley?" Michael
4. "He just..exploded..right in front of us." Hurley
5. "You ever play operation? I always got nailed on the funny bone. Bzzzz." Locke scares Jack.
6. Charlie hits Sayid. "Do not hit me again."
7. "Dude, you got some Arzt on you." Hurley
8. "Who the hell is Hugo and how's he got $160 million to leave to his mom?" Sawyer
9. "So dude, what do you think is inside that hatch thing?" Hurley "What do you think's inside it?" Locke "Stacks of TV dinners, from the 50's or something. And TVs, with cable, some cell phones, clean socks, soap, Twinkies--you know, for dessert, after the TV dinners. Twinkies keep for, like, 8000 years, man." Hurley "I like Twinkies too." Locke
10. Michael asking Jin what he can say in English.
11. "This is not going to be pleasant." Sayid

Notes:

1. We find out in a later episode that Claire scratched Rousseau when she saved her from the others.
2. Locke expresses that they should take twice the amount of dynamite they need in case one blows up, a failsafe.
3. Claire finally names the baby.
4. Jack needs to stop trying to control everything always.
5. Walt being taken on the raft is one of the first times I've been completely fooled on this show. I didn't see it coming at all.
6. Upon initial reaction, I thought the others were pirates. Sometimes I still do.

1.12 Whatever The Case May Be

1. Kate and Sawyer find bodies and Halliburton case in lake. From Lostpedia
2. The tide is shifting. They move up the beach.
3. Kate, New Mexico, photographer for a coffee table book.
4. Rose tells Charlie that he doesn't get to not help, that nobody blames him for what happened to Claire. "Maybe I should've died." Charlie
5. The guy Kate cons to rob the bank for her is named Jason.
6. Sayid has maps from Rousseau. He tries to translate. He asks Shannon to help him. From Lostpedia
7. "We have a problem, or you have a problem?" Jack, to Kate. In the Halliburton, 4 9mm guns and boxes of ammo.
8. The sea of silver sparkles that change, next to the pond, blue infinity. "There's something about this that seems so familiar." Shannon translates for Sayid. From Lostpedia
9. Jack threatens that he won't give Sawyer his drugs so he'll give him the case. "Whatever she told you, she lied." Sawyer
10. Kate opens security box in the bank, #815. She's not a signatory.
11. "It belonged to the man I loved. It belonged to the man I killed." Kate
12. Rose says that she knows her husband is alive. "There's a fine line between denial and faith. It's better on my side." Rose
13. Charlie asks her for help. "I'm not the one that can help you." They pray.
14. Shannon tells Sayid that the notations from the maps are from the song La Mer.
15. Toy plane in envelope from Halliburton and safe box.
    From Lostpedia

Questions:

1. How does Kate know about the safe deposit box? How does she get the other key? Did Edward Mars give it to her?
2. How did the plane get to the deposit box? Did he put it there? Why is Kate so attached to that damn toy plane?
3. How does Rose know her husband is alive?
4. What do the maps and notations mean?

Favorites:

1. "I'm protecting you!" Sawyer "Protecting me from what? Southern perverts?" Kate
2. Shannon asking Boone if Locke is his new boyfriend.
3. Sawyer and Kate fighting over the case. When Sawyer climbs up the cliff to drop the case, she runs in and takes it, while giving him a snickering look. It makes me laugh every time.
4. "You're wasting your time, man. If you pick the lock on a Halliburton, I'll put you on my back and fly us to LA." Michael "You better find yourself a runway, daddy, cause there ain't a lock I can't pick." Sawyer
5. "Do you think you're the only one on this island that's got something to be sad about? Baby, I've got sob stories for you." Rose, to Charlie.

Notes:

1. The bodies underwater and Kate and Jack digging up the marshal's body is totally creepy.
2. For once Jack does something right. He figures out Kate's motives.
3. Jack finally does something good, but then he has to mess it up with wanting to know everything about Kate. What's she supposed to tell you her life-story, dude?
4. It's really awesome that Maggie Grace sang La Mer. From Lostpedia

1.11 All The Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues

1. Ethan wasn't on the plane. He takes Claire and Charlie.
2. Locke says that he hunted with Ethan, and that he knows more than him.
3. Jack asks "How can one man drag off two people?" whereas Locke asks "Not how, why?"
4. "Be the doctor. Let me be the hunter." Locke, to Jack, about going to look for Claire.
5. Kate tells Jack her dad was in the Army, Ranger Battalion, stationed at Fort Luis, Washington, that she hiked with him for 8 hours and tracked deer. "It was like his religion."
6. Locke tells Boone he is a Regional Collections Supervisor for a Box Company. Boone doesn't believe him.
7. Christian tells Jack that he was hard on him so he could become a good doctor, that it was all for the greater good.
8. Sayid tells Sawyer about Rousseau and that he heard something in the jungle.
9. Walt and Hurley play backgammon. "My dad said I was the luckiest person he ever knew." Walt says, not Michael, but Brian, his step-dad. From Lostpedia
10. "I'm not letting him do this. Not again." Jack
11. Charlie is hanged by Ethan. Jack saves his life. From Lost Virtual Tour
12. "All they wanted was Claire." Charlie
13. "What are we following?" Boone "My gut." Locke
14. Boone and Locke find the hatch door while looking for Claire. From Lostpedia

Questions:

1. Will Hurley ever give Walt his money?
2. Jack fights Ethan. Why is Ethan so strong? Why does he look so robotic? From Lostpedia
3. How did Locke know where he was going if he wasn't following tracks? Did his destiny lead him to the hatch?
4. Why can Jack hear Claire but Kate can't?
5. Does Locke want Boone to be his apprentice?
6. When Walt and Hurley are playing backgammon, Walt keep rolling the number he wants. Is this because he's special? Does he make it happen?
7. Was someone helping Ethan?

Favorites:

1. "Back home, I'm known as a warrior myself." Hurley
2. "You owe me $20,000!" Walt "You'll get it." Hurley
3. "It's stupid to lie about your name." Walt, to Sawyer.
4. "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." Boone "Sounds like a piss-poor captain." Locke From Lostpedia
5. "You're either a taxidermist or a hitman." Boone, to Locke about what he does in the real world.
6. "Did they teach you how to predict the weather at a box company?" Boone

Notes:

1. Maybe it's just me, but the scene where Jack is operating is really creepy looking. Is an operating room usually that dark? The darkness and the shaky camera always gives me this weird feeling.
2. Jack's dad operated under the influence, and was fired because of Jack's confession, which led Christian Shepard to Sydney, Australia.
3. Jack has the crazy eyes again. He needs to chill out and stop trying to fix everything.
4. Charlie leaves the LATE tape from his fingers behind as clues. From Lost Hatch
5. Walt is just a kid, but he knows exactly how to work people.
6. Boone offering to help look for Claire and Charlie is what leads him to the hatch and finding the beach craft, which is what ultimately leads to his death. His Star Trek line and the red shirt is also foreshadowing of his death.
7. During the Jack saving Charlie scene, at first I was thinking there was no way that they'd kill Charlie, but by the end I started to believe that he really was dead, and I think this is the first time this show made me feel emotional. The music is awesome during this scene.

1.05 White Rabbit

From Lostpedia

1. "I don't swim!" Charlie
2. The woman who dies, drowns, is named Joanna. She wasn't supposed to be on the plane. She was scuba-diving and got an ear infection, her flight was delayed 2 days.
3. "I didn't try. I decided not to go after her." Jack
4. "I had a boy on my table today. I don't know, maybe a year younger than you. He had a bad heart. It got real hairy, real fast. Everybody's looking at your old man to make decisions, and I was able to make those decisions because at the end of the day, after the boy died, I was able to wash my hands and come home to dinner. You know, watch a little Carol Burnett, laugh until my sides hurt. And how can I do that, hmm? Even when I fail, how do I do that, Jack? Because I have what it takes. Don't choose, Jack, don't decide. You don't want to be a hero, you don't want to try and save everyone, because when you fail, you just don't have what it takes." Christian Shephard
5. "Who appointed you our saviour?" Boone
6. Jack's mom sends him to Australia to bring his dad back. They haven't spoken in 2 months.
7. 46 people now, minus Joanna and the marshal.
8. "I know where to look." Locke, about going to find water.
9. Jack, looking for his father in Sydney, wonders why he left his wallet.
10. The hotel attendant says he hasn't used the room in 3 days.
11. "Where are you?" Jack, when he's looking for his dad at the hotel in Sydney, he also says it in the jungle.
12. "A rabbit will always lead you to its hole." Sayid, about Sawyer and the stolen water.
13. "The white rabbit. Alice in wonderland." Locke, to Jack, about what he's chasing. Locke asks Jack what if he's not hallucinating seeing his father, the white rabbit.
14. "I'm an ordinary man Jack. Meat and potatoes. I live in the real world. I'm not a big believer in magic. But this place is different. It's special. The others don't want to talk about it because it scares them. But we all know it. We all feel it. Is your white rabbit a hallucination? Probably. But what if everything that happened here, happened for a reason? What if this person that you're chasing is really here?" Locke "That's impossible." Jack "Even if it is; let's say it's not." Locke "Then what happens when I catch him?" Jack "I don't know. But I've looked into the eye of this island. And what I saw was beautiful." Locke
15. "A leader can't lead until he knows where he's going." Locke, to Jack saying he's not a leader, but Locke encourages him.
16. Christian Shephard dies of a fatal heart attack at King's Cross Alley, Sydney, Australia. From Lostpedia From Lost Hatch
17. Oceanic Flight 125, non-stop flight to Singapore, over loud-speaker while Jack is talking to the woman at the desk.
18. Jack insists he has to be on the flight, landing in 16 hours.
19. Jack crying in the jungle, hears ice jingling in a glass, follows it, leads him to water, caves, luggage, and his father's empty coffin. From Lostpedia
20. They've been on the island for 6 days, waiting for rescue.
21. "It's been 6 days and we're all still waiting, waiting for someone to come, but what if they don't? We have to stop waiting. We need to start figuring things out. A woman died this morning just going for a swim and he tried to save her, and now you're about to crucify him? We can't do this. Every man for himself is not going to work. It's time to start organizing. We need to figure out how we're going to survive here. Now, I found water. Fresh water, up in the valley. I'll take a group in at first light. If you don't want to go come, then find another way to contribute. Last week most of us were strangers, but we're all here now, and God knows how long we're going to be here. If we can't live together, then we're going to die alone." Jack

Questions:

1. Where is Christian Shephard's body? Is he really dead?
2. Why does Charlie say that he can't swim, but later we see him swimming?
3. When did Clarie get into astrology?

Favorites:

1. Walt brushing his teeth. Michael is so out-schooled by his 10 year old son.
2. Jack wandering into the jungle after the man he sees. "Dad?" From Lostpedia
3. "That pregnant lady fell down!" Walt
4. Charlie talking about Locke and his 400 knives.
5. "Where.. did.. you.. get.. this?" Sayid says that Sun understands him.
6. "I made this birthday wish 4 years ago." Sawyer, about Kate attacking him looking for the water.

Notes:

1. This is the first time we see Jack's unhealthy relationship with his dad. Christian adamantly telling Jack that he doesn't have what it takes makes me wonder if he really believed that, or if he was doing it because he knew that it would push Jack to prove him wrong. It also leads us to believe this is the biggest reason why Jack can never give up on anything, even when he knows that he is wrong, and also why he always has to be the hero and save or fix someone or something.
2. Jack tells Kate his dad died in Sydney.
3. Jack finds water while looking for his father, he wonders if no one is coming, tells everyone that they're going to start figuring out how to survive.
4. Sawyer is reading the book Watership Down. From Lost Hatch
5. Jack has the crazy eyes.
6. The man of science versus man of faith battle begins.
7. Everyone, except Boone, wants Jack to be the hero and he fights it, until finally at the end of this episode, he starts to give in and accept his role.