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Episode 23: Exodus, part 1 |
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Written by Administrator
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Wednesday, 18 May 2005 |
Air Date: 5/18/2005
Walt stands before a window in a hotel room. The Oceanic Airlines tickets that will carry him to his fate sit on
the nightstand beside him. He pulls open the curtains to reveal the Sydney skyline. Dawn is still a few minutes
away. He looks over his shoulder at Michael sleeping soundly. This is his father. But right now, the man is a
stranger to Walt. He turns on the television, waking Michael up. He asks Walt if everything is okay and when Walt
tells him that he always watches this TV show, Michael does his best to be patient with him and simply requests
that he turn the volume down. But Walt turns the volume up. "I said turn it down, Walt." Walt tells Michael that
Brian lets him watch the show as loud as he wants. Michael is awake now. He gets up and snatches the remote. "Well,
I'm not Brian."
Walt gets up and grabs Vincent -- he's had enough of this -- and bolts for the door, running down the hallway in his
pajamas. Michael catches up to him at the elevator and Walt screams his protest as Michael drags him and the dog back
to the room. "You're not my father! You're not my father!"
Walt snaps awake and we find ourselves back on the beach. It is pre-dawn here as well and nobody else is awake yet.
Walt gets up to go to the bathroom, relieved that the dream is over. While in the bushes he hears a noise and as
his eyes adjust to the light he sees something moving toward the beach. It's a woman...it's Rousseau!
She moves without making a sound, but Walt sounds the alarm as he races back to his father. The racket he makes
wakes up the rest of the camp and before you know it we are all watching Rousseau walk towards the fire, rifle
in hand. Sayid recognizes her and tries his best to calm the rest of the camp down. He asks her what she is
doing here. But her answer makes us wish he didn't ask…"The Others are coming."
We FLASHBACK to see Jack sitting at an airport bar nursing a cocktail as a woman arrives on the stool next to
him. She's attractive. Okay, she's downright hot. And she's definitely coming on to Jack. And here's something
else we learn: Jack isn't wearing his wedding ring. In fact, he tells her that he isn't married anymore! The two
of them share a cocktail, but she's outpacing him 2 to 1. We learn he name is Ana-Lucia, but just as Jack is about
to learn more, her cell phone rings. It's important (important enough to have a cell phone that works in Australia)
and she makes her apologies, but she has to take the call. "We'll have that next drink on the plane, I'm in 42-F --
all the way in the back."
Back on the beach, our entire camp surrounds Rousseau as she tells her tale. She was part of a scientific mission to
this part of the South Pacific when their boat ran aground on the island. Her team became stranded here sixteen
years ago. She says there were six of them when they wrecked and she was already pregnant at that time. But something
happened because she tells them she had to deliver the baby alone. As Claire's baby lets out a small cry Rousseau
continues. She says her team was only together for a week when they saw the black smoke. It was far inland and it
didn't spread. She gets even more intense here. "And that night, they came." They came and took her baby. And now
they're coming again. For all of them. And they can't be stopped. She makes it crystal clear for them -- "You have
only three choices: Run. Hide. Or die."
Jack and Locke move toward the raft and discuss how to deal with this. Is she crazy? And can they afford not to
take her word for the truth? They find Michael and Jin installing the rudder. Michael makes it clear that he wants
off this island -- today. But they still have to lay the rails that will allow them to launch the raft. Jack suggests
that they do that while they finish the rudder assembly, but Michael points out the manpower shortage that prevents
that. "Give me twenty minutes," Jack says.
Charlie and Claire watch Rousseau from a distance and worry. Charlie does his best to comfort the girl he cares so
much for, but it's an uphill battle. Claire tells Charlie that, when she escaped from Ethan -- however she got away --
she knew they would come back for her. Charlie realizes something. "Is that why you haven't named the baby?" Claire's
eyes fill with tears, but remain firmly fixed on Rousseau. She nods her answer.
Jack has rallied the troops, even Sun and Kate are pitching in and the entire camp is in position. Even with everyone
pushing together, it will take a massive effort to get the raft into the water. They take their positions: Sawyer
and Kate eye each other from opposite sides of the raft. Jin and Sun avoid making eye contact. Shannon and Sayid
find one another. They all begin to push, giving it everything they have and it begins to slide toward the water.
But the raft begins to list to one side and before they can correct the problem, the raft slides off the rails and
one pontoon buries itself in the sand. Cables snap and bamboo shatters and the whole mast and rigging collapses.
And if that's not enough, Hurley falls into the rudder, snapping one of the pivot points. It's a nightmare --
thirty feet short of the water and both rudder and mast need to be replaced before they can set sail. Accusations
are hurled to and fro in the aftermath and tempers flare. In the middle of the chaos, we find Walt. He wanders
away from the fracas and we notice that something has made his eyes go wide. Michael searches for Walt and when
he finds him he looks to see what he is looking at…and that's when his mouth drops open. We swing around into
their point of view and we see what they are looking at.
Out on the jungle horizon… is a pillar of black smoke. They're coming…
Jack is with Rousseau, desperate for information. He asks how many of them there are, but Rousseau has already
told him all she knows. Jack presses her, there must be some way to survive -- she has been here for sixteen years!
"I can vanish into the jungle. You have forty people. Where will you hide them all?" Jack looks at Locke. And Locke
knows exactly what he is thinking.
Jack, Locke, Sayid, Rousseau and Hurley stare at the hatch. Hurley and Rousseau for the first time. Rousseau asks
Jack what it is. Jack tells her he hoped she could tell them. She's never seen anything like it. Hurley asks a very
practical question: "How do you know we can all fit in there?" Locke says that no handle means there must be another
door somewhere. Another entrance means more space. But Sayid can't hold his tongue any longer. This hatch might even
belong to the Others -- they could be walking right into a trap. Jack asks Rousseau if she has any more of the
explosives she used to blow up her shelter. "You mean the dynamite," she says. "At the Black Rock. In the Dark
Territory." And thank God for Hurley because he says what they're all thinking: "Well, there's three reasons to
go right there."
Jin and Michael "talk" in their invented shorthand. They need new bamboo for the mast and the rudder. Sawyer
arrives and offers his help, but they aren't interested. He is about to protest further when he sees a
commotion further up the beach and goes to check it out. Jack is packing his things up and he is addressing
the camp. Like it or not (not) he is their leader. He tells them that he knows they are frightened, but he
has a plan. He and a small team are going to go to the jungle to get "supplies" and they will return in a
few hours. He tells them to do whatever they can to help with the raft and when it is in the water, they
should all go to the caves. "Look after each other. We'll be back as soon as we can. I promise." And as
they leave, Jack is pulled aside by the increasingly annoying Dr. Arzt. He knows about the dynamite (don't
tell Hurley anything if you want it to stay a secret) and he is coming with them. He knows more about
dynamite than any of them. If they don't want to blow themselves up, he has to come along. With no time to
argue, Jack agrees.
Sawyer is in the bamboo fields using a makeshift machete to hack through some bamboo. As he chops away we
FLASHBACK to a police station back in Sydney. He looks beat down as the inspector spells it out for him:
Sawyer got into a bar fight with the wrong guy -- the Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and Agriculture to be
exact. And there's one more thing. They know who he really is: James Ford from Memphis with a rap sheet as
long as a city block. Australia has had just about enough of James and of Sawyer and they mean to throw out
the trash. Sawyer is being deported back to America. And he's leaving on Oceanic Flight 815 leaving tomorrow.
Sawyer is still chopping when Jack arrives. These two haven't exactly seen eye to eye, so you can forgive
Sawyer for wondering what he wants. Jack hands Sawyer one of the pistols and a clip of ammo to take with him
on the raft, "just in case." Sawyer wasn't prepared for this. But it dawns on them both that this will probably
be the last time they see each other. "Good luck, Sawyer," Jack says. And he turns to go, but Sawyer does
something unbelievable. He tells Jack the story of that day in the bar in Sydney when he shared a bender with
an American doctor. Turns out this doctor was hiding out in Australia after a big falling out with his son, who
happened to be a doctor too. Jack can't believe what he's hearing, but Sawyer isn't finished. He tells Jack that
his father knew the trouble in their relationship was all his fault even though his son was back in the USA
thinking the same thing. And more than anything he wishes he could pick up the phone in that bar and call his
son -- tell him he's sorry. He's a better doctor than he'll ever be. That he's proud of him. That he loves him.
And Sawyer says he had to take off, but something tells him that the doc never got around to making that call.
"Small world, huh?" And this is the most intense thing that has ever landed on Jack, but no matter how much it
means to him -- Jack will not let himself cry in front of Sawyer. "Good luck, Jack."
In FLASHBACK we see Kate handcuffed and waiting in a security room as the Marshal goes through the process of informing
the airline that he will be armed during the flight. When the Australian security officer opens the Halliburton case
and asks why it's necessary to bring five guns along he refers the question to Kate, but she just continues to fume
in silence. "She's shy," the Marshal says. But when the security officer asks him what the toy plane is in there for,
the Marshal is only too happy to explain how Kate murdered her childhood love, and how he tried to use it to catch
her over the years. And the next part of this happens in a FLASH. Kate bolts out of her chair and has the Marshal's
throat in her hands. The Marshal reacts with an elbow to her face and Kate goes down. The Marshal looks to a
stunned security officer who never even had time to get out of his chair. "That," the Marshal says, "is why
I need five guns."
Back on the beach, Kate asks Jack if she can come along on the dynamite mission and he knows her well enough
to realize that this is something she really needs to do. So he allows it. Meanwhile, Charlie is collecting
brief messages from the castaways to be placed in a bottle for the raft team to take along with them. As the
dynamite team passes by the raft they are forced to hurry their goodbyes -- neither team has a moment to
spare -- and Jack's team disappears into the jungle. Back at the beach, Sayid and Shannon lock eyes and we...
FLASHBACK to the Sydney airport where Sayid asks a Shannon he has never met if she would be kind enough to
watch his bag for a moment. "Sure. Whatever." And as Sayid goes off, Boone arrives with some bad news --
he couldn't get them bumped into first class. She doesn't take the news well and throws a tantrum that
Boone is not in the mood for. He tells her to stop threatening him, there is nothing she can do anyway --
she's helpless. But Shannon decides to show Boone exactly what she's capable of and flags down a passing
police officer. She tells him that an Arab man left his bag unattended and headed for the shops.
Jack and his team follow Rousseau through deep jungle until they arrive at two trees marked with faded black
sashes. "La Territoire Fonce -- The Dark Territory." Rousseau tells them that this is where her team became
infected... where one member lost his arm. They must move silently and quickly. Dr. Arzt has heard enough
and suddenly isn't real interested in helping out with the dynamite anymore. "Just be real careful with it."
And he turns and runs, leaving our team to watch him go.
Jin and Michael are arguing about the thickness of the bamboo they are going to need for the mast when
Sawyer arrives behind them with two gigantic stalks cut and measured to length. Michael thanks him sincerely,
and from the look on Sawyer's face that may have been all he needed.
Back in the jungle, our team is walking as fast as they can considering Hurley is with them when Kate thinks
she hears something. And suddenly Dr. Arzt comes running right past them, screaming at them to run. And before
they have time to wonder what the hell is going on things get a whole lot worse. MGGGRRRWWWRRRRRRRR! The
monster is coming! The whole group begins to bolt and Hurley is struggling mightily when Locke grabs his
wrist and tells him to be still. Hurley looks at him like he's speaking Chinese, but he really can't run
anymore so he does just that. Kate and Jack follow Rousseau into the thick stalks of a bamboo field.
The Monster's growl grows increasingly fainter and Locke tells Hurley it is headed the other way, much
to his relief. They walk along together, not seeing the rest of the team. Hurley fears one of them might
have been eaten, but then they catch up with Jack, Kate and Rousseau. There is just one question: "Where
is Arzt?" But he answers the question himself with he emerges from the brush, muddy, shaken, but alive.
Sayid delivers something special to the raft. He managed to salvage the radar system from the Beechcraft
that Locke and Boone found in the jungle. If they mount it to the mast and use it sparingly, it will let
them know if any ships are on the horizon and where they are. And there's something else: A flare gun, but
with only one flare. And Sayid states the obvious when he hands it over to Michael. "Choose wisely when you
use it."
Shannon is back at the beach and she is folding her clothes when she hesitates on a simple leather
necklace -- Boone's. Walt shows up with Vincent. He asks her why she doesn't look scared and Shannon
tells him that if they are all going to get massacred there really isn't anything she can do about it.
"Is there something you want, Walt?" And Walt says this very much like a 12 year old -- completely
unaware of the magnitude of his gesture. He tells Shannon that she should take Vincent after Walt
leaves on the raft. "He'll take care of you," Walt says. And Shannon tries her best to keep her defenses
up by asking Walt why he thinks she needs a dog to take care of her. "Because he took care of me when my
mom died." He tells her that nobody would talk to him about her, so he spoke to Vincent. "He's a good
listener. You can talk to him about Boone if you want." And that does it, Shannon is crying now. "All right,"
she says, "But just until you get us rescued."
The Jungle team suddenly stops behind Rousseau. Locke asks her why they have stopped -- "Because we're here,"
Rousseau replies. She gently pushes through the foliage we see The Black Rock…and it's not what we expected…
In FLASHBACK we see Jin sitting in an airport café waiting for their flight. Sun arrives with some food for
them both. Across the café, two Americans -- the kind that give them a bad name around the world -- comment
snidely, completely unaware that Sun can understand every word they say. As Sun cuts the food in half for
her husband they continue to insult them both. And off of this we return to the island to find…
Michael and Jin making the final preparations for launch…again. Sun steps in front of Jin forcing him to
stop work. He is surprised by her assertiveness as she hands him a folder. Jin opens it to reveal a sheaf
of papers with several words written in Hangul with their English translations. She has made him a dictionary.
Jin's eyes are still on the pages, but he's not reading -- he just can't look up. And the weight of what is
happening finally lands on him. He may never see his wife again. And he does the very last thing we expect…he
starts to cry. "I'm sorry," he says. "I am too," replies his wife. Jin tells her to stay with Jack -- he will
keep her safe. They fall into an embrace, holding each other fiercely. And then Sun speaks so softly it's
almost a whisper: "I love you." And they kiss. And it's a kiss between people who might never share another.
And now we go all around the beach: Shannon gives Charlie a message for the bottle. He puts a cork on it,
kisses it for luck and ties it to the raft. Sawyer looks for Kate as he ties some banana bunches to the
raft, but she's gone. And then the entire camp works as a team and pushes the raft down the beach and into
the water. Michael, Walt Sawyer and Jin rush in and scramble aboard as the raft begins to make its way past
the crashing waves.
Suddenly, Vincent breaks free from Shannon's grasp and runs into the water to begin a desperate swim to Walt.
And it takes a lot of doing for Walt to convince his dog to turn back, breaking both of their hearts in the
process. Walt is crying now as the sails are raised and fill with wind, carrying them further away from this
island and into the unknown. Michael and Jin turn and wave to the castaways on the beach. Jin locks eyes with
his wife and they share a smile -- the connection between them complete once more. And then they turn around --
and their focus shifts from what is behind them to what is in front.
And as we pull up and away, with the island slipping into the distance, we stay with the raft and all the hope
it represents. We watch it cut through the sparkling ocean, its journey just beginning…
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 14 August 2007 )
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