"Never, Dude!" - 5x02: The Lie

Okay everyone, ready for part two? (Finally! Sorry everyone - two episodes in one week kicked me right in the arse.)
I should say from the start that I intended for this recap to be shorter than the last one, but I don't think I succeeded. Thankfully, you're all huge LOST fans who are desperate for thousands upon thousands of words about the show! Right? And I should also admit that my notes are not as clear and complete as they were for "Because You Left," and I haven't watched them again, so I'll have less to go on.
What I did manage to try this time around is mixing in my own thoughts as I summarize the episode. Since this season is already pretty insane, it might be easier to follow and understand them that way.
Without further adieu...

Episode 5x02: The Lie

The first thing we see to start of the episode is a black screen that reads "Three Years Ago." Someone is getting a couple of beers from a refrigerator. After a close-up shot of the beers (I still haven't found a good shot of what brand they were), we see it Frank Lapidus. We are on the Searcher with the O6, Desmond, and Penny as they discuss what to do when they arrive back in the world. As we saw at the end of Season 4, Jack has accepted Locke's suggestion to lie about everything, and this is what he is proposing, to the acceptance of most of those assembled on the Searcher's decks. Everyone, that is, except for Hurley.
"Dude, they'll find out. I don't wanna lie," Hurley says. Jack replies that it's the only way to protect those they left behind from Charles Widmore. Hurley asks Penny if she can just call her father off, and she says, "There's no calling my father off," meaning he isn't the type to give up. Hurley's convinced that if they all agree to say that the island disappeared, to tell what really happened, they will believe them, and appeals especially to Sayid, to no avail. Seeing that he's fighting a losing battle, he tells Sayid, "You know what, dude? I'll remember this. Someday, when you need my help...you're not getting it."

• A few things here. First, for Jack to go with Locke's idea is unusual, especially for something so pivotal, and is therefore important. These two have been at odds from the beginning, and I'd say that Jack has been unyielding to Locke's ideas to the point of being unreasonable at times. I mean, the guy had a gun to Locke's head and pulled the trigger, for Pete's sake. But here, has the "Man of Science" seen the light of the "Man of Faith"? Maybe Jack saw no other way out.
• There's been some talk about why Hurley is trying to win Sayid's vote in particular. My only thought is that Sayid has never really done anything to make Hurley distrust him. I think while Jack and Kate were off gallivanting around the island and having exciting adventures numerous times on the show without the either of them, and since Sun stuck pretty close to Jin most of the time, Hurley and Sayid had plenty of time to bond on the beach. They were never really considered one of the cool kids among the Losties.
• After all is said and done, no one back in the real world would ever believe their story, as true as it may be. It's preposterous - especially since it would be coming from a former mental patient (which is why he was desperate for the support of the other survivors). This scene really demonstrates Hurley's belief in honesty at all costs, even in the face of disbelief and ridicule, and to the point of being naive, which definitely fits with the Hurley we know and love. And in true LOST fashion, at the end of the episode, irony will ensue...
  

Naturally, the next thing we know, we're watching Hurley driving a tranquilized Sayid, trying desperately to wake him up. As he tries to put Sayid's seatbelt on, he swerves into a trash can, and the next thing he knows, he's being pulled over by LA finest. "No no no," he panics, "what do I do?" The officer walks up to the window, and... guess who?


Ana Lucia! (Death becomes her, by the way, I must say.)
"What were you thinking? You weren't," she says, and then adds, "What if I were real?" thus ending the WTF? factor of the scene - obviously she is a) one of his visions, or b) one of his many visits from 'dead, but there' characters, to paraphrase Charlie. She then goes on to tell him to pull it together - to change his clothes, take Sayid to someone you trust, and do not get arrested. "You have work to do," she tells him. Like we haven't heard that before from the walking, talking dead. And then as an afterthought she tells him, "Oh yeah - Libby says hi." Classic. She walks away, he looks in his rear-view mirror, and not only is she gone, it's obvious she was never there in the first place.

• During the commercial break after this scene, I couldn't help thinking how great it was to see Ana Lucia again. She was one of the most hated characters on the show by some, but we were meant to hate her; that was by design. I never understood how people wanted her off the show, but they got their wish. She was a complex character with a lot of promise, and you need characters that aren't easy to like. But her last line was perfect, and a wink to the fans - what a great job by the writers to come up with that dual-purpose line (relating to the show, as Ana Lucia and Libby were both killed by Michael at the same time, and not for unrelated reasons, to real life, as the actresses who played those two roles were "let go" from LOST at the same time, reportedly because of the fact that they were both arrested in Hawaii for DUI the same night). And great job by Michelle Rodriguez for having the sense of humor to come back for the cameo and actually make reference to the reason she was killed off. No hard feelings, I guess.
• Another instance of someone being "visited" by the dead. Hurley seems to have that market cornered. But we still don't know for certain: are these people dead? Are they in limbo? Is death really just another dimension that is accessed more easily when you come into contact with the island? Are they from the past, or the future, somehow despite the fact that they are dead? Or are they simply visions? I believe they are trying to hint to us that they are not just visions: having Charlie slap Hurley outside Santa Rosa; having Kate be able to touch the black horse from her past on the island; you can't touch a vision, especially when other people are around to see you do it, as is true in both of those examples.
  

Back on the beach, Bernard is trying to start a fire with the classic stick-rubbing maneuver. (You gotta split the wood to let the oxygen in, Bernie! Didn't you ever see Cast Away?) Speaking of criticism, Rose is basically playing the 'you're doing it wrong' role, as is a man in a red shirt named Frogurt ("It's Neil!").


Basically, everyone is agitated. Juliet, I believe, notices that all of the items they had with them traveled with them to this campless past, while Sawyer notices that Frogurt has a shirt and he doesn't, so he takes it. Faraday returns from his visit with Desmond in the Swan, and Sawyer wants to know from "Dr. Wizard" when it (the time jump) will happen again. Miles says he thinks the proper name is "Mr. Wizard." Sawyer tells him to shut up. They're like Bender and Brian in Saturday detention (I hope you all get that...), and I hope these two go at it all season. Faraday tells them that they can't just leave - he has to figure everything out.
Back to Hurley, who is splashing water on Sayid's face, but he's still out. In a panic because he "can't do this alone," Hurley takes money from Sayid's wallet - "I promise to pay you back" - and enters a gas station to buy a new t-shirt, you know, so he doesn't have to walk around with blood on his clothes. He skips the tacky "I Heart My Wirehaired" and settles for an equally-tacky yellow "I Heart My Shih-tzu" shirt. When he goes to pay, apparently to the tune of Cheap Trick's "Dream Police" playing over the radio, so I've heard, the cashier jokes with him about the shirt and then realizes that she knows him from somewhere. Hurley, as he watches the news coverage of the search for him on the TV above and behind her, nervously insists that he just has "one of those faces," but she finally makes the connection - he's the lottery guy. He still insists she's got the wrong guy. Knowing not to press his luck, he throws the money on the counter, tells her to keep the change, runs out, and drives off.
As he drives away, Kate pulls into the same station with Aaron in the back wondering where they're going. She takes out a map of LA, which shows primarily the Hollywood area, and brings up Jack's number on her cell phone, but doesn't call him. Instead, her phone rings, and we hear her talking to an unknown person: "I can't believe it's you...how are you...you're in LA?...I know where that is...a half hour." She finally answers Aaron's question: they're going to see a friend.

• Hurley's lying.
  
• I Heart My Shih-tzu t-shirt = hilarious
• The tacky t-shirts reminded me of Jules and Vincent wearing the bad t-shirts (one of them was a UC-Santa Clara Banana Slugs volleyball shirt, which is the ultimate in randomness) in Pulp Fiction after Vincent shoots Marvin in the face.
  

Back in the motel room, Ben is opening an air vent. He takes out some sort of bag or package and puts it in his packed bag or suitcase. Jack, who has just finished shaving his beard off, is feeling around in his jacket, and Ben knows what he's up to: "Looking for pills? I flushed them down the toilet." Jack unconvincingly says he was about to do that himself. Jack then asks when they're checking out, and Ben says, "I'm checking out. You're going home." I think he throws him a suitcase and tells him that anything he wants to keep, he needs to put in the suitcase, because "you're never coming back." Jack asks where Ben is going, and Ben points out that Locke's body is in the carpet van, and he needs to move it "somewhere safe." Jack says, "Safe? Isn't he dead?" All Ben says in reply is, "See you in six hours."
Back at Hurley's house, Mr. Reyes is making a giant, disgusting sandwich which involves globs of caviar. He settles in as the TV says, in a voice familiar to all LOST fans, "Previously on...Expose." We are not shown any scenes from the show, but we hear the bad dialogue we've come to expect from that show-within-a-show (would you call it a Nikki cameo if you only hear her voice?) There is a knock on the door, and Mr. Reyes opens it to find Hurley with Sayid slung over his shoulders. "Hey dad."

• Ben's non-reply to Jack's "isn't Locke dead?" question has gotten people talking. Obviously, there's a reason why they need Locke with them when the O6 return to the island. We don't know what that reason is, but there must be one. And this only heightens speculation that maybe Locke will rise from the dead; that maybe he isn't quite dead, or isn't dead in the way we understand death. To borrow Locke's own line, "The island is a place where miracles happen." I'm thinking more and more, especially after this episode, that it has something to do with the timeline on the island. Maybe Locke needs to be there to keep the timeline intact; in other words, if he isn't physically there, it will be a "mistake" in time, which could have catastrophic results.
  

After the commercial break, Hurley is carrying Sayid through the house and finally drops him on a couch. Hurley and his father are trying to decide if Sayid is breathing, and Hurley tells his father how Sayid was shot with a dart, and his father asks, "Where? At the zoo?" A logical question. He then wonders what he's doing out of Santa Rosa. Hurley starts to explain the whole mess, but then the phone rings. It's the LAPD at the front gate of the house, and they want in so they can look for Hurley. Hurley begs his father not to tell them he is there, and his father doesn't, on the condition that Hurley tells him the truth. Mr. Reyes thinks they should call a lawyer, considering that Hurley is accused of killing three people, but Hurley says no, and that Sayid will explain. His father also believes they should be taking Sayid to the hospital, but Hurley again says no: "If people know I'm at the hospital, it's like the Godfather - they'll smother me with pillows and make it look like an accident."
Speaking of the hospital, we see Kate and Aaron walking into a hospital - was it St. Sebastian, Jack's hospital? - getting into an elevator, and Kate telling Aaron to press the button for the top floor, #31. (Remember, 3+1=4.) They come to a door with a doorbell on it (in a hospital? I guess I need to start going to nicer hospitals...), and Sun answers.


Next, we see Ben in a butcher shop. He takes ticket #42. When #41 is done, he approaches the counter, and the woman behind the counter, Jill, greets him by name and tells him that they're all out of porterhouse. He isn't interested in steaks, though. He asks her if Gabriel and another person (I didn't catch the name) are in, and she says yes. She asks him if Shepard is in, and he tells her yes."There's something in the van I need you to take care of," he tells her. She asks him if it's what she thinks it is, and he says yes. "You need to keep him safe, because if you don't, everything we're about to do won't matter."
Back on the beach, Bernard finally manages to make fire, only to have it go out again. Everyone is still very testy. Dan is sitting away from all the arguing, near the edge of the water, and Charlotte walks over to him with a papaya. She tells him about a headache she can't shake, and that she was thinking about her mum and somehow can't remember her maiden name. Daniel again tries to look as if this troubling information doesn't bother him and makes excuses about her being under a lot of stress, but Charlotte knows him too well. "Daniel, do you know what's happening to me?" she asks. Then Miles emerges from the jungle, inexplicably, with a boar. "I found it," he says, as if that isn't bizarre at all, and adds that it's only been dead for three hours. When he asks for a knife to start prepping it for dinner, Frogurt chimes in that yeah, they have a knife, right next to the Cuisinart, and begins on a rant about how tired and hungry he is. Mid-rant, he is suddenly struck in the chest with a flaming arrow. We see that the sky is full of them. This scene continues after the commercial break, with the Remainders running for their lives down the coast and into the jungle as scores of flaming arrows just miss them (of course). We suspect we've seen the last of Frogurt.

• The butcher shop scene is very mysterious. Jill knows Ben, but also seems to be in on Ben's plans. She calls Jack by his last name, and was possibly expecting Locke to arrive based on her "is it what I think it is?" comment. And then Ben mentions, "what we're about to do won't matter." Who is she? What does she know? Is she an Other that Ben helped leave the island before our Losties' time, and now she's repaying him by doing sketchy jobs like keeping questionably dead bodies in her meat locker? How big is Ben's network of off-island helpers?
  
• Charlotte's sickness is progressing, and Dan knows it. Despite Dan's efforts, she knows something's up. I think I mentioned this in the "Because You Left" post, but I'm wondering if Dan's time traveling are now going to be centered on setting up a "constant" situation in the past for Charlotte in the present in order to save her. Unless he can discover something on the island that could be her constant... remember, we've been given a clue that she may have been born there.
  

Back in the Reyes household, the police stakeout is on. Mr. Reyes is asking Hurley if he really is crazy, or if he is lying to him. Hurley says he's not crazy, and (I think) he says that he has a really good reason for lying to his father. We then heard a voice from downstairs in the house: "Why is there a dead Pakistani on my couch?" Of course, we know it's Hurley's mother. Hurley tells her Sayid is not dead, but she says, "Well, he's not breathing." This sends Hurley into a panic, but it seems that they have a plan. We then see Mr. Reyes driving out of the garage and he gives the cops a smile as he passes them.
We return to Kate and Sun, who are both sitting in a spacious office in the hospital with a spectacular view of the Hollywood hills. Sun says she's only in LA for a few days - she has some business to attend to. She shows Kate a picture of Ji Yeon with her grandmother in Seoul, and says that it would be nice for her and Aaron to play together some day. After exchanging pleasantries, they get down to business. Kate tells Sun that someone knows they lied - lawyers want her and Aaron's blood (Aaaahhh, blood-sucking lawyers - I get it now!) for a test, and she doesn't know who they represent. Sun believes that they don't want to expose them or else they would have done it already - they want Aaron. This is where things start to get creepy. Sun asks Kate what she would do for Aaron. She says, "You need to take care of them;" yes, she means kill them. An incredulous Kate asks, "What kind of person do you think I am?" "How about someone who blew up her father, robbed a bank..." - oh, sorry, that's what I said. Sun really answers that Kate is "someone who makes hard decisions." Sun begins to remind Kate about what happened to Jin on the freighter and how he's gone. Kate says, "I hope you don't think we..." and Sun tells her that she doesn't blame Kate, that if they didn't do what they did, they probably all would've died. But then, subtly but chillingly, she asks, "So how's Jack?"
Next we see Mr. Reyes talking to Jack in a parking garage. It turns out that he left the house with Sayid's body secretly stashed in the back of his SUV. Jack says he's going to take him to the hospital, but Mr. Reyes says, "No! Hurley said no!" Jack counters that he's the doctor, and he is going to do what is best. Mr. Reyes says okay, but that Jack needs to do something for him: "Stay away from my son. Something tells me you don't have his best interests in mind." Jack then calls Ben and tells him, "You'll never guess who showed up at my door."

• It looks like Mr. Reyes genuinely cares about Hurley, rather than simply living off of his millions like we still might have suspected a little bit (at least I did). He seemed very sincere and protective when he told Jack to stay away from his son.
• Ji Yeon seemed awfully young in that picture. Shouldn't she be about three years old at this point? Is Sun trying to hide something about a more grown-up Ji Yeon? Is this some sort of clue, maybe having to do with time travel? But no matter what, wouldn't Kate realize that this picture is a few years old? So is it a really lazy production error? I doubt they would something so blatant get through - there must be something to that picture.
• From her conversation with Kate, I think Sun has her sights set on Jack. There was just something creepy about how she asked Kate about him. She's telling Widmore she wants Ben dead, she may be trying to get information about Jack; I wonder if she's playing everyone. Is she really working with Widmore? Is she only pretending to while she plots with Ben? Is she going rogue and isn't aligned with anyone but herself? I think she's on someone's side, but I don't think we'll find out who for a little while. I just think, on this show, it's too obvious for her to simply side with Widmore, no strings attached.

After commercials, Hurley is still in hiding at his house with his mother. She asking about Sayid, and Hurley tells her that he's a friend who "does crazy ninja moves and spy stuff, but he's a good guy." Mrs. Reyes reminds him that someone who kills is not a good person. She then insists that he tells her the truth, and he breaks down and proceeds to give the best LOST recap of all time. Compliments of Lostpedia, here's the transcript of this scene:

CARMEN: Tell your mother the truth.

(Hurley breaks down.)

HURLEY: We lied, Ma!

CARMEN: What do you mean you lied?

HURLEY: (Voice cracking) All of us--the Oceanic Six, we lied about what happened after the crash.

CARMEN: And what did happen?

HURLEY: Okay. See, we did crash, but it was on this crazy island. And we waited for rescue, and there wasn't any rescue. And there was a smoke monster, and then there were other people on the island. We called them the Others, and they started attacking us. And we found some hatches, and there was a button you had to push every 108 minutes or... well, I was never really clear on that. But... the Others didn't have anything to do with the hatches. That was the DHARMA Initiative. The Others killed them, and now they're trying to kill us. And then we teamed up with the Others because some worse people were coming on a freighter. Desmond's girlfriend's father sent them to kill us. So we stole their helicopter and we flew it to their freighter, but it blew up. And we couldn't go back to the island because it disappeared, so then we crashed into the ocean, and we floated there for a while until a boat came and picked us up. And by then, there were six of us. That part was true. (Whispers) But the re...

(Hurley's voice breaks. He takes a second to regain composure.)

HURLEY: But the rest of the people... who were on the plane? They're still on that island.

(Carmen puts her hand on her son's wrist.)

CARMEN: I believe you. I don't understand you, but I believe you.

HURLEY: A lot of people died, ma. And now this bad stuff is happening because... well, um... (sighs) we shouldn't have lied. (sighs)

Awesome. Just awesome.

The next scene is Juliet and Sawyer in the jungle at night. Sawyer steps on something, and you'll never guess what he says..."son of a bitch." He tells her that they have to hook up with everyone else at the creek. Then they hear someone else walking, and they hid in some bushes. They see more than one person, and Juliet and Sawyer quietly talk to each other about them when they think the coast is clear, but they should know better. They are suddenly grabbed from behind by two men, and a man with an English accent in a jumpsuit with a "Jones" name patch on says, "What are you doing on our island?"

• Not only does Hurley's father truly care about him, so does his mother. I thought for sure she would placate him after hearing that ludicrous story and run to call the authorities the first chance she got, but that line was perfect: "I believe you. I don't understand you, but I believe you." How relieved must Hurley have been after hearing that?
• Jones and his crew were wearing jumpsuits that were Dharma-esque, but I'm not so sure they are Dharma, or at least the same era of Dharma that we know of. Depending on the time that Juliet and Sawyer have jumped into, I'm thinking that maybe they're "proto-Dharma" - an early form of the DI, before the stations and the symbols. All of the Dharma name patches we have seen in the past have had not only the wearer's name on the patch, but also their job or place in Dharma society. Jones's patch only had his name, and nothing else anywhere on the suit. Of course, they could also be a group separate from Dharma that we don't know of yet, but it's the "our island" that gives them away as likely Dharma, though. More on the Jones boys in a moment...
  

After the commercials, Jack is with Sayid in the hospital. He is trying to figure out what to do. He has a pulse. He injects him with something and then checks him again, and utters a Sawyer-like "son of a bitch." Interesting... He shines a pen light in Sayid's eyes, and suddenly Sayid jumps up and starts choking Jack until he realizes who it is. After asking where he is, Sayid asks where Hurley is, and Jack tells him he's at home. Sayid worriedly asks, "Does anyone else know he's there?"
Cut to Hurley in the kitchen, cooking up a Hot Pocket. As he takes it out, he suddenly hears Ben say hello, and he throws the Hot Pocket at him in shock. All of America LOL's. Ben puts on his caring face and starts working his magic on Hurley: "I know you're in trouble. I can help. The police didn't see me come in - I can get you out." Hurley resists and rightly accuses him of playing his mind games, but Ben continues to tell him that the others have come around because "we all want the same thing - to go back to the island. Come with us - this will all be over and you won't have to lie again. Please, let me help you." We see Hurley thinking it over. His answer? "Never, dude!" He runs out straight to the cops and yells out, "Okay, I killed them! All four of them, or three, whatever. Just get me out of here!" And then we see him turn towards Ben and give him a sly, satisfied smile, which has been the moment of the season for me.
Next we're back with Sawyer and Juliet. I missed taking notes on most of this scene, but basically, Jones is hardcore. He tells them not to speak unless spoken to, and he threatens to cut Juliet's hand off just on principle. They go back and forth until Jones and company start getting rocks and knives thrown at them from the jungle. Locke emerges and says, "James, Juliet...nice to see you."


The final scene of the episode begins with a hooded person in some sort of dark room. Inside is a Dharma station-type computer, a pendulum, a chalkboard, and a spiral staircase. This person is writing and erasing some sort of computations on the chalkboard, and then runs over to the computer to enter in data.


The screen flashes up a world map and across the center, it reads "Event Window Determined."


Meanwhile, we see that the pendulum has been tracing out a starburst pattern on what seems to be a world map. The figure then runs up the staircase into a room lit by candles, and then we see a large crucifix. It is apparently a chapel or church. Ben is there. The figure speaks - it is a woman. She takes her hood off and we see gray hair in a braided bun. She tells Ben that he needs to get moving - he only has 70 hours. Ben protests that he needs more time - "I lost Reyes," but she says that his needs are meaningless in the grand scheme of things.

She is Ms. Hawking, the course-correcter from "Flashes Before Your Eyes."
Ben asks what happens if he can't get them all back in time.

She replies, "Then God help us all."

LOST

• Let me start with the most significant discussion about this scene that I've been hearing and reading about in several different places: is Ms. Hawking Daniel's mother? We see them both writing feverishly on a chalk board. Like Daniel, she seems to be involved in time-related studies, since she knows that Ben only has 70 hours to get the O6 back to the island. And Daniel told Desmond to find his mother at Oxford, so it's possible that she is working on the same work he is. Is Dan on a mission for her? Is time travel the family business? Is he like her, a sort of "time cop" who makes sure everyone stays on the right path? This opens up an entire realm of possibilities for what both of their purposes are.
  
• Could this church be our first off-island Dharma station? The specific rare type of Apple computer that Hawking is using is the most obvious connection to the stations on the island, as is the weird research she is doing, which seems to involve certain focused places in the world and calculations about time.
  
• Bookends - "God help us all" was spoken at the beginning of "Because You Left," and here it's spoken at the end of "The Lie." I can only guess that whatever is being detected in this place is somehow related to the mysterious substance under the Orchid.
• The writers seem to be setting up a Sawyer-Juliet relationship. It's obvious, but worth mentioning.

So there you have it - "The Lie."

One more final thought that I've heard a lot of discussion about this week: why doesn't Richard move through time when Locke does? I guess the best theory on that would be that he must be an island native - not an Other, not a Losty, but an original inhabitant of the island. I'll even still call him a Hostile, though I've heard some interesting theories about who the Hostiles really are (hint: the Losties! Think about it...). Maybe someone who "belongs" to the island is not affected by the time shifts, and maybe Richard is one of them.
I am still struggling to fully understand how time travel works on the show, but I think we're meant to struggle with it at this point. I don't think we've been given all the information needed to get it completely, but we will get it eventually.

We have another episode coming up! Episode 5x03 is called "Jughead," and I hope it doesn't refer to the character Jughead from the Archie comics that I read as a kid, 'cause that guy was a jerk. Anyway, I haven't heard a thing about it, and I'm keeping it that way.

I'd love to hear some comments from all of you, just so I know you're reading (hint, hint). I hope you're enjoying the blog so far!

Until then, as Snoop Dogg once said, "just chill...'til the next episode." Well said, sir.

Namaste, and Good Luck!