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.

Episode Analysis of 1.01 & 1.02 "Pilot (Parts 1 & 2)"

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 posts on these episodes, please refer to Pilot, Part 1 & Pilot, Part 2. It's insane how long my posts have gotten since then.

The episodes Pilot (Parts 1 & 2) were written by J.J. Abrams and Damon Lindelof, and were directed by J.J. Abrams. They originally aired separately, on September 22nd, 2004 and September 29th, 2004. Despite what everyone might think, these are the only two episodes of LOST written and/or directed by J.J. Abrams. Damon Lindelof steered the ship when J.J. left. Give credit where credit is due.

This is a Jack Shephard, Kate Austen, and Charlie Pace flashback-centric episode.

We begin with the opening of Dr. Jack Shephard's eye, which is quite moving when looking back at the entire series of LOST in hindsight. When you realize that it ended where it all began, it is a chilling moment to watch this scene again.

1.21 The Greater Good

1. Shannon grieves next to Boone's body. Sayid tells her that Boone was brave. From Lostpedia
2. Sayid is brought in by the CIA at Heathrow Airport to break up a terrorist cell with 300 lbs. of C4 in Sydney. They make him do it because he knows a man involved, Essam Tasir, who he went to Cairo University with, and they know where Nadia is. From Lostpedia
3. It's been 7 years since Sayid left Iraq.
4. They have a funeral for Boone. Sayid speaks about Boone trying to save Joanna. "I'll remember his courage and I know he will be missed."
5. Locke returns and tells them it was his fault, that they found a plane and Boone climbed up because his leg was injured. "It happened because he was trying to help us. He was a hero." From Lostpedia
6. Jack attacks Locke and calls him a liar in front of everyone, he tells Sayid about the hatch.
7. Sayid meets Essam in a Mosque. He tells Sayid that his wife, Zahra, was killed by a stray bomb when she was shopping.
8. Sayid finds a bugging device in smoke detector, he convinces Essam and friends that he knows about things like that.
9. "Perhaps it is not happenstance that you and Essam met at the Mosque. Perhaps it is fate." Haddad, Essam's friend.
10. Locke tells Shannon he's sorry, gives her Boone's bag and tells her he shouldn't have let him go hunting with him.
11. "He would've gone anyway." Shannon
12. Shannon asks Sayid to do something about Locke.
13. Kate drugs Jack with sleeping pills because he refuses to sleep.
14. Sayid interrogates Locke, asks about his scar, he says it's a war wound. Sayid asks about the plane, the radio, says he could use it for parts on the raft.
15. Locke takes Sayid to the plane, tells him that he isn't lying about it.
16. "I know when I'm being lied to. There's a plane." Sayid From Lostpedia
17. Essam tells Sayid that he's going to be the martyr in the operation.
18. The CIA wants Sayid to convince Essam to go through with the suicide bombing. From Lostpedia
19. Locke asks Sayid why he doesn't trust him, and Sayid calls Locke on carrying a gun without telling anyone about it. Locke tells him about the priest, Nigerian money, and the gun.
20. Locke confesses he knocked Sayid out and destroyed his equipment when he was trying to triangulate the signal to gain his trust, but it only angers him. From Lostpedia
21. "Is that a place you really want to lead people to?" Locke explains why finding the source of the distress signal was a bad idea.
22. Sayid tells Essam that he lost someone too and will participate in the bombing.
23. "Innocent lives will be lost in service of a greater good." Sayid
24. "It was fate that brought us back together." Essam
25. Sayid tells Shannon that he believes Boone's death was an accident. "I know how strong the need can be to find someone to blame." Shannon isn't satisfied with what Sayid has to say.
26. Walt is worried about going on the raft. "What if we die?"
27. Shannon steals the key for the Halliburton when Jack is sleeping.
28. Sayid reveals to Essam that he is working with the CIA, that he will give him 10 minutes to get away, but Essam turns on Sayid and then kills himself. From Lostpedia
29. Sayid saves Locke from Shannon, but Locke is still grazed by bullet.
30. Kate comforts Sayid because Shannon won't talk to him, says she just needs time.
31. "Time won't make a difference." Sayid
32. "There's always a choice." Sayid
33. Nadia is in Irvine, California. She is a lab tech at a medical testing company.
34. Sayid has his flight changed to the next day in order to claim and bury Essam.
35. Locke thanks Sayid for saving him from Shannon. "I did it because I sensed you were our best hope of surviving here."
36. Sayid demands Locke take him to the hatch, that he knew he was lying about it.

Questions:

1. Was Sayid in London at the same time as Nadia?
2. Why did Sayid say that Nadia was dead when he was on his was to see her from Sydney?
3. How did Shannon know where the Halliburton was?
4. When did Shannon learn how to use a gun?
5. Why is Locke so imperative to the island?

Favorites:

1. Charlie calls the baby Turnip Head.
2. Sayid and Essam playing football.
3. Hurley and Charlie singing I Feel Good to the baby.
4. "Hey, Chuckie, you wanna keep that kid quiet? Baby Huey's like nails on a chalkboard." Sawyer
5. "I liked that thing a lot better inside than I like it outside." Sawyer
6. Charlie following Sawyer with the baby because his voice makes Turnip Head stop crying.
7. Sayid telling Shannon that she doesn't know how to use a gun, and then she immediately shoots at the ground.
8. Sawyer reading a car magazine to the baby.

Notes:

1. Uh, Locke, maybe you should take the bloody shirt off before you confront everyone and try to convince them that you're not guilty of killing Boone.
2. Again, uh, Locke, maybe Shannon wouldn't have wanted to kill you if you hadn't gotten up and walked away right when she's in the middle of crying about her dead brother. No chick skills, Locke.
3. Even Walt is terrified by Locke in this episode.
4. Sayid saves Locke from Shannon in sacrifice of the greater good.
5. Shannon was actually going to kill Locke.

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.

1.02 The Pilot, Part 2

1. "Every trek needs a coward." Charlie "You're not a coward." Kate
2. Charlie is having withdrawals on the plane, tapping his DS ring. From Lost Hatch
3. Charlie almost dies in bathroom, and then when he comes out a cart almost hits him.
4. Walt finds handcuffs in the jungle.
5. "Whatever you say doc, you're the hero." Sawyer, to Jack, after he breaks up his fight with Sayid.
6. Walt reads comic book with polar bear: Green Lantern/Flash: Faster Friends #1 From Lostpedia
7. Walt and Locke playing backgammon.
8. "Two players, two sides. One is light, one is dark." Locke From Lostpedia
9. Locke tells Walt a secret.
10. Sawyer shoots a polar bear. Polar bears don't live in the jungle. From Lostpedia
11. "Maybe there's other survivors." Boone
12. "Does anyone speak French?" Sayid
13. The French message: "Please help me. Please come get me. I'm alone now. I'm on the island alone. Please someone come. The others, they're dead. It killed them. It killed them all."
14. Iteration 17294535, 30 seconds long.
15. Sayid says it's been playing for 16 years, 5 months. That would be April 1988.
    

Questions:

1. How can a plane rip apart in mid-air and in three pieces so cleanly? Nearly all of the mid-section survives without a scratch after cart-wheeling through the jungle. How?
2. Charlie goes to the front of the plane, near first class and the cockpit. Shouldn't he have died? How did he end up in the mid-section?
3. Why do Jack and Kate seem like they know eachother already?
4. How does Locke know so much?
5. Why doesn't Sayid know a lick of French? He spent time in France.

Favorites:

1. Hurley and Sayid's interaction. "The Republican Guard."
2. Thank you, Kate, for bathing yourself in the ocean.
3. Hurley rejecting Jin's fish.
4. Locke and Walt playing backgammon, the numbers appear. From Lost Hatch
5. Jin giving Claire fish, she makes him feel the baby kicking.
6. Sawyer shoots the polar bear, Charlie compares polar bear to what killed the pilot. "No, that's a tiny, teeny version compared to that."
7. "There's a rescue plane! We're saved! Yay!" Hurley, he then passes out on top of the Marshal after seeing blood.
8. "Where did that come from?" Kate "I don't know, probably bear village." Sawyer
9. "Guess what? I just shot a bear!" Sawyer
10. "Guys? Where are we?" Charlie

Notes:

1. The first time we see Sawyer with the letter. From Lostpedia
2. The polar bear is the first introduction of Dharma. Other than the monster, this is the first time we realize that there are very strange things happening on this island.
3. This is when we realize that Kate is the fugitive.
4. Sayid says the transmission could be a Satellite phone.

1.01 The Pilot, Part 1

From Lostpedia

1. Jack wakes in the jungle. We see Vincent. There is a tennis shoe near by. From Lostpedia
2. Claire is 8 months pregnant.
3. "You don't seem afraid at all. I don't understand that." Kate, to Jack.
4. Jack tells counting to five story to Kate, his tattoo has a 5 in it. From Lost Hatch
5. "If that were me, I think I would've run for the door." Kate "No, I don't think that's true. You're not running now." Jack
6. Charlie tapes his fingers with the word FATE. From Lost Hatch
7. "You'd think they would've come by now." Sayid
8. At 40,000 feet, the plane hit an air-pocket and dropped 200 feet.
9. "Took a couple of flying lessons, wasn't for me." Jack From Lost Hatch
10. "I saw the whole thing. I knew that the tail was gone, but I couldn't bring myself to look back, and then the front end of the plane broke off." Kate
11. "Don't worry, it's gonna be over.." Jack
12. "That sound. I keep thinking that there's something really familiar about it." Rose
13. "Have we ever met anywhere?" Kate, to Charlie.
14. "My friend Beth would freak! She loves you guys!" Kate
15. Drive Shaft, second tour of Finland ring.
16. Locke sitting in the rain.
17. Jack says at least 48 survived the crash.
18. The pilot wakes 16 hours after the crash. He says that after 6 hours in, the radio went out, no one could see them, they turned back toward Fiji and hit turbulence, were 1,000 miles off course when they crashed.
19. "They're looking for us in the wrong place." From Lostpedia
20. Kate uses Jack's five-count.
21. Charlie almost dies standing next to engine that later explodes, exploding wreckage landing next to him, running from monster in the jungle, he falls down and Jack saves him.

Questions:

1. How is Jack not more severely injured after falling through bamboo in the jungle? How does he know to run to the beach, or even which direction the beach is if he blacked out when the plane crashed?
2. What the hell is the monster? Why did it kill the pilot, Seth Norris?
3. Is Charlie's FATE foreshadowing?
4. When Locke first sits on the beach in the rain, my first thought was "is he home?" From Lostpedia
5. Who the hell is Beth?

Favorites:

1. Jack being a hero, and Boone trying to be a bigger hero for the first time, but he just sucks at it. "Well, you need to seriously think about giving the license back."
2. Shannon saying she'll eat on the rescue boat, and then she looks pissed when Boone eats the candy bar. She's such a bitch.
3. Jack and Cindy's interaction on the plane.
4. Rose is from the Bronx. Of course she's from the Bronx.
5. Locke with the orange, and the look Kate gives him. From Lost Hatch
6. "What are you spelling, man, bodies?" Michael
7. "You all everybody!" We hear Charlie sing it for the first time.
8. Charlie coming out of the restroom in the cockpit. He looks fucked.
9. The reflection of the dead pilot in the puddle of water. From Lostpedia

Notes:

1. The opening sequence in the show is amazing. Jack coming out of the jungle, it's quiet, and then we hear the engine and people screaming. The camera shots are so awesome.
2. Before you watch the show, if this is the first episode you see, you expect to see the plane crash, but you don't. I think that's cool. Everything you expect about the show is wrong.
3. Jack on the plane getting a drink from Cindy is very similar to the opening scene in Through the Looking Glass.