LOST- Episode 23: Exodus (Part 1)

  [For the ease of the reader, answers to various questions brought up over the course of the season will be highlighted]

  Previously on LOST- Sayid was captured by Danielle Rousseau, who told him about "the others".  Plus, Michael built a raft and Mr. Arzt told him he had to leave immediately to avoid monsoon season.

  In a hotel room in Sydney, Walt pulls open the curtains and looks out over the darkened city.  Of course, that's not very interesting to today's youth so he switches on the television and begins to watch the Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers.  Michael wakes up from his deep sleep because the TV is too loud and asks his son to turn the volume down.  Walt says that Brian lets him listen to it as loud as he wants.  Michael angrily answers that he is not Brian, which leads to Walt taking Vincent and walking right out the door.  Michael catches him at the elevator and pulls him back toward their room.  When someone steps out to ask what the commotion is, Michael says it's okay because he is his father.  Walt replies, "No, you're not!"

  But that was before.  A plane crash and a few weeks later, and Walt is snuggling next to his dad during an early morning on the island.  He gets up sleepily and heads to a tree to take care of some business.  The survivors pee on trees.  Before he can get a good stream going, Walt sees a stranger walking into camp with a rifle in hand.  We know it is Rousseau, the French woman, but Walt does not.  He creeps around and keeps a close eye on her.  When she notices him, he bolts straight to his dad and tells him that someone is there.  Michael's loud verbal warnings to Rousseau bring everyone running toward the commotion.  Claire hugs her baby closer, while Sayid tells everyone to calm down.  Sayid snaps Rousseau out of her baby-staring trance and asks her what she is doing.  Her simple, yet grim answer is, "The others are coming."  This cues a pretty early appearance by the creepy LOST title screen.

  Surrounded by gawkers, Danielle tells the tale of how her and five others came to be on the island.  She delivered her baby on the island but after a week, they saw a pillar of black smoke and that night "the others" came and took it.  They took her daughter, Alex.  Danielle then presents the options the survivors have: run, hide, or die.

  Later, Jack and Locke walk along the beach discussing how crazy that crazy French lady is.  Locke is not as quick to dismiss her as Jack is.  Jack wants to focus on a more tangible effort and asks Michael what he can do to get the raft sailing that day.  Michael says that he needs everyone's help to do that.  Jack quickly recruits a bunch of extras, including one who looks a lot like Ethan!  You know, the scruffy soccer player who won the third Survivor.  Who did you think I meant?

  Soon, everyone except that lazy, no good Claire and some other female stragglers are pushing the completed boat along the rails they have put down toward the water.  I mean, come on, ladies- even Shannon is helping!  Despite all the man power, the effort fails when the boat veers off the track and becomes damaged.  Michael begins the finger pointing with Sawyer, but Walt points his own finger toward the jungle where a pillar of black smoke can be seen rising steadily in the distance.

  Jack asks Danielle how many "others" there are, but she is more concerned about how the heck they are going to hide forty-plus people.  Locke and Jack exchange a knowing glance, and sure enough, the next scene is set at the hatch.  Even Danielle has no idea what it is.  Sayid is upset that they are reacting with no information about the "others" and, for all they know, the hatch could belong to them.  Locke asks Danielle about the explosives she used in her shelter's booby trap and she says there is more at the black rock.  If they leave within the hour, they can make it back by sunset.

  Jack has a flashback to the airport where he is getting drunk at the bar.  A young woman approaches and asks why he was yelling at the girl at the check-in counter.  Jack is taken aback by her forwardness but politely answers her questions about how his dad died.  She continues with her bluntness by asking if he is married.  Jack says, "No. Not anymore."   He buys her next round and finds out that she is Anna-Lucia, sitting in the tail section of his flight- seat 42F.  He is 23B.  Numbers look familiar?  Anna-Lucia then takes a phone call and tells Jack that they will have their next drink on the plane.

  Back on the island, Jack gives the gang his instructions.  He is leaving with a small team to get some supplies and everyone else should help get the raft launched and then go to the caves.  Mr. Arzt pulls Jack aside and tells him he heard about the crazy hatch-dynamite plan from Hurley, the blabbermouth.  He is concerned that Rousseau is not concerned about how to handle old dynamite so, "unless you want to blow up- I'm coming with you."  Hey, that's Kate's catchphrase- get your own, man!

  Over at the raft, Sawyer gets offended that Michael and Jin don't want his help so he steps aside and flashes back to the police station in Sydney.  It seems Sawyer got into a bar fight and headbutted the Minister of Agriculture.  That, along with his laundry list of cons and crimes, is enough to get him a free airline ticket to L.A., courtesy of the Australian un-welcome wagon.  Also, his real name is James Ford.

  On the island, James is throwing all his anger and energy into chopping down a tree, when Jack approaches to give him a gun.  Sawyer is the only one on the raft who knows how to use one.  Jack tries to make the conversation short, but Sawyer keeps stopping him with questions about the other guns and Team Dynamite.  They realize that the raft will be gone by the time Jack gets back and that this little exchange is "pretty much good-bye."  As Jack wishes him luck and walks off again, Sawyer gets a conflicted look on his face and calls after his adversary one more time.  Sawyer then tells the tale of how he met Dr. Christian Shepherd in a bar one night, who related all his true feelings about his son.  It's all very emotional.  Jack begins to cry and I get some dirt in my eye or something.  Sawyer returns Jack's good luck wish and lets him go this time.

  After a commercial or ten, we are back at the airport and airport security has the marshal in their office, asking him why he needs five guns in his case.  When asked about the toy airplane a handcuffed Kate sits in silence, as the marshal tells the tale, in very taunting fashion, of how he came to put that airplane in a safe deposit box in New Mexico as a way to lure her because she kept calling him about her mitigating cirumstances, which he read as taunts.  The marshal teases her one too many times about her boyfriend's name and Kate jumps out of her chair and attacks him.  He fends her off with an elbow and kicks the plane away just as she was about to grab it from the floor.

  Kate, confidence shaken from last week's expose', removes the assertion from her catchphrase and changes it to a weaker, "I was thinking that I might go with you."  Jack agrees, but points out that she will miss the raft launch.  Kate says she is not good at good-byes anyway.

  As raft preparations continue, Charlie collects notes to loved ones from all the survivors and puts them into the classic green bottle.  Oddly, Hurley is very insistent that Charlie not read his.  Jack says his fond farewells to Michael, Walt, and Jin as Kate looks around for an absent Sawyer.  She is out of time, though, because Team Dynamite is ready to head off.

  As they move along the rocky shoreline, Hurley and Arzt discuss the proper spelling of Arzt's name.  (Remind me to go back and edit last week's recap as I as well assumed the cast listing of "Arzt" was a type-o)  Hurley reminds him that he saw the manifest and can call him Leslie any time he wants.  This does not make Arzt happy.

  They head deeper into the jungle.  Danielle finds her mark and announces that they are entering the "dark territory".  This is where it all began.  Where her team got infected and Montand lost his arm.  This disturbing information gives Arzt the liver tail and he heads back despite Jack's protests.

  Back at the raft, Sawyer proves to Michael that he can be of use by presenting his perfectly cut new mast.

  It is raining heavily now and Team Dynamite hears a very strange noise coming toward them.  As it grows closer, they realize it is Arzt in full panic mode.  He shouts for the others to run as the much louder and scarier monster noise bellows behind him.

  Jack, Kate and Danielle take off withArzt, but Locke holds Hurley back and tells him to stand still.  There are more roars and trees can be heard being forcibly moved.  Hurley is nervous, but Locke listens closely and informs him that the thing is moving in the other direction.  As they come out of their hiding spot, Kate asks Danielle what it is and she says, "It is a security system."  She doesn't have any more details but tells them that it is there to protect the island.

  At the beach, Walt approaches Shannon and asks her to take care of Vincent.  He says that talking to Vincent helped him get through his mom's death while everyone around him ignored him and pretended nothing had happened.  He tells her she can talk to Vincent about Boone.  Shannon is visibly touched and takes Vincent's leash.  It's all very emotional and I accidentally catch my finger between the desk and the chair, bringing a tear to my eye.

  Shannon then flashes back to the airport where she is stretched across three seats doing a crossword puzzle.  She barely acknowledges the man who asks her to watch his bag- a man we know to be Sayid.  Boone returns from his failed effort to get them into first class and begins to argue with his sister.  Shannon threatens to get him kicked off the plane, which Boone doesn't believe.  Shannon tells him he has no idea what she is capable of.  She then proceeds to alert security about the Arab man who left his bag with her.  She smirks and gloats at Boone, who says nothing.

  At the raft, Sayid explains to Michael how to work the primitive radar and transmittor he has constructed.  He also gives him a flare gun with one flare and tells him to use it wisely.

  In the jungle, Locke asks Danielle why they are stopping and she tells him that they have arrived at the black rock.  However, some capitalization is in order because the Black Rock is actually a ship.  Well, a shipwreck to be more precise.

  We once again flashback to the airport where Sun brings her husband some food and coffee.  A nearby woman asks her husband to shoot her if she ever becomes that subservient.  Sun is distracted by her ability to understand what the American couple is saying and accidentally spills coffee on to Jin's lap.  He heads off to clean up as the rude comments keep coming from the woman.  When the woman tells her husband to relax because they don't speak English, Sun looks away ironically.

  In the present, Sun approaches her estranged husband and presents him with a book of simple English phrases to learn, which will help him on the raft.  They begin to cry and hug as Jin apologizes for everything.  He feels he was brought to the island as a punishment for his sins.  His Jin sins.  Sun doesn't want him to go, but he says he has to in order to save her.  He tells her that Jack will keep her safe.  She gets no answer when she asks who will keep him safe.  Then they hug and cry some more.  It's all very emotional and the onions on my cheeseburger start messing with my tear ducts.

  The raft is finally ready to go.  Walt gives Vincent one last hug good-bye.  Michael shares an awkward hug with Sun.  Walt and Shannon say good-bye.  Sawyer takes Charlie's bottle and puts it away for safe keeping.  Then he looks around with regret that Kate is not there to see him off.  Then the pushing begins, the raft is officially launched and there is much rejoicing.  Vincent jumps into the water to try and catch Walt, but Walt tells him to go back.  Then the sail is raised and the fab four are off on their wacky rescue adventure.  Fade out.  The end.  Oh wait, no, fade back in!  Don't you dare forget about that ominous black smoke off in the distance.  Okay, now you can fade out.

  Next week on the two hour season finale of LOST:  Claire gets her baby taken away, the rafters see a blip on the radar screen,  Locke says they were all brought there for a reason, and his stunt double gets dragged through the jungle.