Orientation (5 Oct. 2005)

Jack, Locke and Kate learn more secrets about the hatch. Meanwhile, after being beaten and taken captive, Sawyer, Michael and Jin wonder if their captors are fellow survivors or the dreaded "Others."

Director:

Jack Bender

Writers:

Jeffrey Lieber (creator), J.J. Abrams (creator),

Stars:

Naveen Andrews, Emilie de Ravin, Matthew Fox

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Naveen Andrews	...	Sayid Jarrah
Emilie de Ravin	...	Claire Littleton (credit only)
Matthew Fox	...	Jack Shephard
Jorge Garcia	...	Hugo 'Hurley' Reyes
Maggie Grace	...	Shannon Rutherford (credit only)
Josh Holloway	...	James 'Sawyer' Ford
Daniel Dae Kim	...	Jin Kwon
Yunjin Kim	...	Sun Kwon (credit only)
Evangeline Lilly	...	Kate Austen
Dominic Monaghan	...	Charlie Pace (credit only)
Terry O'Quinn	...	John Locke
Harold Perrineau	...	Michael Dawson
Michelle Rodriguez	...	Ana Lucia Cortez
Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje	...	Mr. Eko
Kevin Tighe	...	Anthony Cooper

Storyline

Jack, Locke and Kate learn more secrets about the hatch when Desmond tells them why he is there and to punch in the number code every 108 minutes or a reaction will occur. More of Locke's background story shows a young John Locke becoming acquainted with Helen whom he meets at an AA meeting. Meanwhile, after being beaten and taken captive, Sawyer, Michael and Jin wonder if their captors are fellow survivors or the dreaded "Others."

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Fantasy | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Certificate:

TV-14

Details

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 October 2005 (USA)

Filming Locations:

O'ahu, Hawaii, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bad Robot, Touchstone Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

43 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The sum of 4, 8, 15, 16, 23, and 42 is 108: the number of minutes on the timer in the hatch. 108 times 5 is 540, the number of days Dr. Candle indicates in the orientation film that a team will live in the Swan station.

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Goofs

In this episode, Desmond expresses doubt that "the button" is real, yet in the season finale, we see that he once did fail to push the button in time and saw firsthand that it was very real, as the metal contents of the hatch were thrown through the air by the magnetic energy.

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Quotes

Jack: Are you in contact with the people that made it... the film? Are you in contact with anyone?
Desmond: [trying to fix his computer] Do you think I'd be here if I was?
Jack: How is it that you didn't know about the crash? About us?
Desmond: I push this button every 108 minutes. I don't get out much.
Jack: So, these replacements?
Desmond: Kelvin died waiting for his replacements.
Jack: So you don't get out, you don't see anyone. Where does your food come from? You really think this is happening.
Desmond: Why wouldn't it be?
Jack: It says quarantine on the ...
[...]

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Connections

References Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977)

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Soundtracks

"End Title"
Written by Michael Giacchino
Performed by Hollywood Studio Symphony Orchestra

User Reviews

108 minutes

The second season of Lost continues its glorious streak via the superb Orientation, which provides some much needed answers and sheds some light on the new faces populating the show, while also getting more personal with the consistently intriguing John Locke.

Having settled their differences, the survivor group formed by Jack, Kate and Locke is shown the inner workings of the hatch by Desmondm who claims he knows nothing about what happens on the Island since his job is to push a button every 108 minutes (as explained in a video made by a "DHARMA Initiative") to prevent something bad from happening. Locke, being the man of faith, is immediately mesmerized by this discovery, whilst the more practically inclined Jack is concerned with the hatch being able to provide shelter for the rest of the castaways. Elsewhere on the Island, the raft survivors have been captured by what seem to be the Others, with Sawyer forced to make small-talk with a fellow prisoner: Ana Lucia Cortez (Michelle Rodriguez), last seen chatting with Jack at the airport in a Season One finale flashback, who apparently was in the tail section of the plane when the accident occurred.

As for the flashbacks, the primary concern is Locke who, kidney-deprived but still walking fine, attends support groups to cope with his pain and anger. On such an occasion he meets Helen (Katey Sagal, of Married with Children fame), with whom he gets romantically involved. However, the relationship is strained because of John's dark feelings and thoughts, which cause him to stalk Anthony Cooper (Kevin Tighe) and eventually confront him about his deception.

Aside from neatly forming a bond with the present time by including mentions of faith (always a key theme when Locke is involved), the flashbacks allow us to see yet another side of the character, a more tender one that is brought out by Helen, who is played with great humanity by Sagal. Kevin Tighe also makes a welcome return as the shockingly cold-blooded Cooper, who justifies his actions bluntly and without remorse: "You needed a father figure, and I needed a kidney." Additionally, the plot adds quite interesting aspects in terms of mythology, with the first mention of DHARMA, complete with a possible "mad scientist" type (played by François Chau), the button and the number 108, which just so happens to be the sum of Hurley's "cursed" lottery-winning combination. Combined with the notion of the Others and that bizarre black smoke which has a knack for killing people, it looks like the Island's mysteries won't get dull any time soon.