//We Have To Go Back

| 25. February, 2014

The idea was never to ruin Lost but rather to reveal another side of it–the side I ostensibly wanted when the series ended in that church. This isolation of the Island plot allows for a focus that provides context clues to answer a lot of the Island questions while only excising character and theme.

May I present the entire series of Lost, robbed of its filler, broken into mini-arcs:

THE SURVIVORS

The individual survivors have to find food, clean water, shelter, and help Charlie kick heroin addiction.

#03	“Tabula Rasa“	(Kate)
#04	“Walkabout“	(Locke)
#05	“White Rabbit“	(Jack)
#06	“House of the Rising Sun“	(Sun)
#07	“The Moth“	(Charlie)
#08	“Confidence Man“	(Sawyer)

ABDUCTIONS AND GUNS

Sayid meets Rousseau who tells him about The Others. Charlie is assaulted and Claire is abducted by Ethan, Jack and the survivors find guns to protect themselves, Claire is returned and Charlie executes Ethan – the only Other we’ve seen.

#09	“Solitary“	(Sayid)
#10	“Raised by Another“	(Claire)
#11	“All the Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues“	(Jack)
#12	“Whatever the Case May Be“	(Kate)
#13	“Hearts and Minds“	(Boone)
#14	“Special“	(Michael &Walt)
#15	“Homecoming“	(Charlie)
#16	“Outlaws“	(Sawyer)

VILLAIN REVEALED

Locke finds the Hatch with the Numbers on it, convinced he needs to open it. He causes Boone’s death and lies about it to Jack who finally lets it go when Shannon almost shoots Locke.

#17	“…In Translation“	(Jin)
#18	“Numbers“	(Hurley)
#19	“Deus Ex Machina“	(Locke)
#20	“Do No Harm“	(Jack)

#21	“The Greater Good“	(Sayid)

HOPE EXPLODES

The raft launches while Jack and Locke team up with Rousseau to get dynamite from the Black Rock to blow open the Hatch. The Others blow up the raft and take Walt.

#22	“Born to Run“	(Kate)
#23	“Exodus, Part 1“	(Various)
#24	“Exodus, Part 2“	(Various)

THE SWAN AND THE CAPTIVES

(Episodes 1-4) Jack and Locke debate the purpose and meaning of The Hatch/The Swan station while the survivors of the assault on the raft wash up amongst the unfriendly Tailies.

#01	“Man of Science, Man of Faith“	(Jack)
#02	“Adrift“	(Michael)
#03	“Orientation“	(Locke)
#04	“Everybody Hates Hugo“

DON’T WANDER IN THE JUNGLE

(Episodes 5 & 6) – Michael wanders in the Jungle looking for Walt, Sun loses her wedding ring, Sawyer’s injuries aren’t helped when the Tailies also wander the Island.

#05	“…And Found“	(Jin & Sun)
#06	“Abandoned“	(Shannon)

THE TAILIES

(Episodes 7-9) – The story of the survivors of the tail section of the plane and their merging with the Losties after Ana Lucia shoots Shannon.

#07	“The Other 48 Days“	(Tailies)
#08	“Collision“	(Ana Lucia)
#09	“What Kate Did“	(Kate)

FISSURES AND CHILDREN

(Episodes 10-16) The Island calls Mr. Echo to his brother’s downed plane, which reintroduces heroin into Charlie’s struggle with addiction. The Losties are worried about baby Aaron and search for a cure when he comes down ill. Sun takes an interest because she’s secretly pregnant.

#10	“The 23rd Psalm“	(Eko)
#11	“The Hunting Party“	(Jack)
#12	“Fire + Water“	(Charlie)
#13	“The Long Con“	(Sawyer)
#14	“One of Them“	(Sayid)
#15	“Maternity Leave“	(Claire)
#16	“The Whole Truth“	(Sun)

HENRY GALE AND FAITH

(Episodes 17 – 24) The mysterious Henry Gale reveals himself to be a master manipulator, getting Kate, Jack, Sawyer and Hurly over to his side of the Island, releasing Michael after his double cross, and causing Locke to lose faith, leading to the destruction of The Hatch and the Lostie’s first Electromagnetic Event.

#17	“Lockdown“	(Locke)
#18	“Dave“	(Hurley)
#19	“S.O.S.“	(Rose &Bernard)
#20	“Two for the Road“	(Ana Lucia)
#21	“?“	(Eko)
#22	“Three Minutes“	(Michael)
#23	“Live Together, Die Alone, Part 1“	(Desmond)
#24	“Live Together, Die Alone, Part 2“	(Desmond)

BEN’S PLOT

Ben’s cancer leads him to psychologically torturing Kate, Sawyer and Jack in an attempt to get Jack to operate on him and to drive the love triangle apart. Eventually, Jack and his captor Juliet discover they have a mutual enemy in Ben.

#01	“A Tale of Two Cities“	(Jack)
#02	“The Glass Ballerina“	(Jin & Sun)
#03	“Further Instructions“	(Locke)
#04	“Every Man for Himself“	(Sawyer)
#05	“The Cost of Living“	(Eko)
#06	“I Do“	(Kate)
#07	“Not in Portland“	(Juliet)

Attempting To Prevent Tragedy

Desmond’s been seeing the future since he survived the Hatch explosion, Hurley fixes a Dharma Van in an attempt to stave off hopelessness and the other Losties continue to try and find the Others’ main camp on the Island.

#08	“Flashes Before Your Eyes“	(Desmond)
#09	“Stranger in a Strange Land“	(Jack)
#10	“Tricia Tanaka Is Dead“	(Hurley)
#11	“Enter 77“	(Sayid)
#12	“Par Avion“	(Claire)

Recontextualize Yourself

Locke blows up the submarine and demands answers from Ben, Nikki and Paolo meet their end while casting suspicion on Sawyer, Juliet and Kate find themselves in an odd situation while handcuffed together.

#13	“The Man from Tallahassee“	(Locke)
#14	“Exposé“	(Nikki & Paulo)
#15	“Left Behind“	(Kate)

The Illusion of Solutions

Juliet joins the Losties and helps Sun with her pregnancy scares, Desmond realizes he can’t stop Charlie from dying.

#16	“One of Us“	(Juliet)
#17	“Catch-22“	(Desmond)
#18	“D.O.C.“	(Sun)

Sacrifices The Island Required

Locke and Sawyer kill Locke’s Father, Ben reveals that he killed the Dharma Initiative to become the Leader of The Others, communicating with “Jacob.” Charlie dies alerting the survivors that the approaching freighter does not belong to Penny.

#19	“The Brig“	(Locke)
#20	“The Man Behind the Curtain“	(Ben)
#21	“Greatest Hits“	(Charlie)
#22	“Through the Looking Glass“	(Jack)

What Does The Freighter Want?

As a science team from the mysterious freighter off shore lands on the Island, the Survivors struggle with believing the new arrivals are really here to save them.

#01	“The Beginning of the End“	(Hurley)
#02	“Confirmed Dead“	(Science team)
#03	“The Economist“	(Sayid)
#04	“Eggtown“	(Kate)

Forced Revelations

Desmond has to be anchored in time to save his life, Juliet reveals the Island’s pregnancy issues means Sun has to leave the Island, Charlotte and Faraday shut down the poison gas failsafe Ben controls.

#05	“The Constant“	(Desmond)
#06	“The Other Woman“	(Juliet)
#07	“Ji Yeon“	(Sun & Jin)
#08	“Meet Kevin Johnson“	(Michael)

The Truth About Ben

The attack by the freighter mercenaries causes the death of Alex and reveals Ben and Widmore’s ongoing feud. Locke steps up to protect the Island while it’s most recent Leaders try to kill each other.

#09	“The Shape of Things to Come“	(Ben)
#10	“Something Nice Back Home“	(Jack)
#11	“Cabin Fever“	(Locke)

The Loop Opens

A bomb on the freighter plus Ben’s plan to move the Island set into motion the chain of events that eventually lead to the creation of The Hatch, the pregnancy problems on the Island and the Man In Black’s loophole plan.

#12	“There’s No Place Like Home, Part 1“	(Oceanic 6)
#13	“There’s No Place Like Home, Part 2“	(Oceanic 6)
#14	“There’s No Place Like Home, Part 3“	(Oceanic 6)

Time Skips

Ben moves the Island, but the wheel skips, causing some of the Island inhabitants to skip through time. Locke can stop it, but he has to leave the Island and the Man In Black tells him he has to die, which he does.

#01	“Because You Left“	(None)
#02	“The Lie“	(Hurley)
#03	“Jughead“	(Desmond)
#04	“The Little Prince“	(Kate)
#05	“This Place Is Death“	(Jin & Sun)
#06	“316“	(Jack)
#07	“The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham“	(Locke)

Judgement In DHARMAville

It’s revealed that the main characters were always part of the DHARMA Initiative and Ben’s transition to The Others. Ben, Sayid, Miles, Kate and Sawyer are judged by their peers.

#08	“LaFleur“	(Sawyer)
#09	“Namaste“	(None)
#10	“He’s Our You“	(Sayid)
#11	“Whatever Happened, Happened“	(Kate)
#12	“Dead Is Dead“	(Ben)
#13	“Some Like It Hoth“	(Miles)

The Loop Closes

The events set in motion at the end of Season 4 resolve with the Losties causing The Incident in the 1970s and the Man In Black finally achieving victory by convincing Ben to murder Jacob.

#14	“The Variable“	(Daniel)
#15	“Follow the Leader“	(Richard)
#16	“The Incident, Part 1“	(Jacob)
#17	“The Incident, Part 2“	(Jacob)

The Temple

The 1970s Losties return to modern times and travel to the Temple to save Sayid, where they meet Dogen and get a lesson in the dark sickness of evil on the Island, Locke reveals himself as the MIB.

#01	“LA X, Part 1“	(Various)
#02	“LA X, Part 2“	(Various)
#03	“What Kate Does“	(Kate)
#04	“The Substitute“	(Locke)
#05	“Lighthouse“	(Jack)
#06	“Sundown“	(Sayid)

TEAM MIB

The Man In Black in Locke’s skin wanders around the Island getting ready for his final battle against Charles Widmore. We learn how Richard came to meet Jacob after MIB tried to recruit him to kill Jacob.

#07	“Dr. Linus“	(Ben)
#08	“Recon“	(Sawyer)
#09	“Ab Aeterno“	(Richard)

Widmore’s War Comes To The Island

Charles Widmore shows up with a submarine, Desmond and a plan to stop the MIB from leaving the Island. He makes camp on Hydra Island with the landed Ajira Flight 316 and both Team MIB and the Candidates get drawn in.

#10	“The Package“	(Jin & Sun)
#11	“Happily Ever After“	(Desmond)
#12	“Everybody Loves Hugo“	(Hurley)
#13	“The Last Recruit“	(Various)

Candidates

Jacob’s intentions are revelead, the master myth of the series is shown, Jack faces MIB, dies and goes to Purgatory.

#14	“The Candidate“	(Jack & Locke)
#15	“Across the Sea“	(Jacob & MiB)
#16	“What They Died For“	(Various)
#17	“The End“	(Various)
—	“The New Man in Charge“	(Ben)