Lighthouse (23 Feb. 2010)

Jacob sends Hurley on a mission across the island, but Jack must accompany him. In Los Angeles, Jack's difficult relationship with his son is revealed. Meanwhile, Jin discovers that Claire thinks the people at the temple stole her son.

Director:

Jack Bender

Writers:

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

Stars:

Naveen Andrews, Nestor Carbonell, Henry Ian Cusick

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Naveen Andrews	...	Sayid Jarrah
Nestor Carbonell	...	Richard Alpert (credit only)
Henry Ian Cusick	...	Desmond Hume (credit only)
Emilie de Ravin	...	Claire Littleton
Michael Emerson	...	Ben Linus (credit only)
Jeff Fahey	...	Frank Lapidus (credit only)
Matthew Fox	...	Jack Shephard
Jorge Garcia	...	Hugo 'Hurley' Reyes
Josh Holloway	...	James 'Sawyer' Ford (credit only)
Daniel Dae Kim	...	Jin Kwon
Yunjin Kim	...	Sun Kwon (credit only)
Ken Leung	...	Miles Straume
Evangeline Lilly	...	Kate Austen
Terry O'Quinn	...	John Locke
Zuleikha Robinson	...	Ilana Verdansky (credit only)

Storyline

Jack tells to Sayid that the pill was poison. He does not tell that there is a darkness growing inside him like happened with Claire. Meanwhile Claire rescues Jin from the trap and he awakes in the survivors wrecked camp with a prisoner that tells that Claire will kill them both. Claire wants to know where her son is and Jin tells that Kate took him to Los Angeles. Jacob gives new instructions to Hurley about a secret tunnel and tells that he should bring Jack with him. Jack and Hurley meet Kate that is seeking out Claire and they reach a lighthouse that they have never seen before where they make a weird discovery. In a parallel reality, Jack asks his mother when he had his appendix taken out while waiting for the coffin with his father. Jack has an estranged son, David, and when his mother find's Christian's will, she asks who Claire Littleton is. When Jack returns home, he does not find David but in the admission test for the conservatory of music.

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Plot Keywords:

lighthouse | audition | broken mirror | axe | trap

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Genres:

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

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Certificate:

TV-14

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Japanese

Release Date:

23 February 2010 (USA)

Filming Locations:

O'ahu, Hawaii, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bad Robot, ABC Studios

Technical Specs

Runtime:

44 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Hugo wanted to position the mirrors in 108 degrees. That's the sum of all hatch's numbers: 4+8+15+16+23+42=108. That's also the amount of minutes they had to press the button in the hatch.

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Goofs

At the lighthouse Hurley asks Jack to let him know when the dial reaches 108 degrees.When Hurley starts to pull the chain, to rotate the dial, the chain is a well used one. In the next shot (closeup of pulley/gears) the chain is obviously a brand new chain.

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Quotes

Dogen: I was afraid you'd left.
Jack Shephard: Is leaving an option?
Dogen: Everything is an option. But I would have to stop you.
Jack Shephard: Well... I appreciate your honesty.
Dogen: Your friends - Ford and Austen and Kwon - they are not coming back, are they?
Jack Shephard: No, probably not.
Dogen: I appreciate your honesty.

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Connections

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

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Soundtracks

"Soul Survivor"
(uncredited)
Performed by The Rolling Stones
Written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards

User Reviews

Empathic Shephard family, scooby adventure with Hurley, extra puzzle pieces to assemble and decent strange Claire arc

The Substitute was about John Locke, this one was about Jack Shephard. As expected Matthew Fox gave a convincing performance and learning more about who Jack is in the city was quite interesting. I never really pictured him as a father as in the past only the relationship with his own father was covered. So it was refreshing to see him interact with his family members, his son and mother. I specially liked the intergeneration links between the three men of the Shephard family. How can you avoid to do the same mistakes as your father ? How can you befriend a son you rarely see ? In fact it reminded me of The Variable featuring Daniel Faraday. However I think it was better because Jack and his son are characters we can easily relate with.

As for the island arc of course it also involved Jack but Hurley joined him for a little adventure. As often he served as the comic relief and now Jacob's spooky appearances are really delightful. But his role was important because he helped Jack to comprehend his destiny. However don't expect to get answers because in fact the episode arose many intriguing questions. It's an issue for some people but I don't mind the slow progression because it makes the story far much more interesting when it gets intense. Otherwise I found the Lighthouse metaphora a bit too literal and was expecting something more subtle.

Last but not least the episode also featured Jin and Claire. It was definitely the weirdest arc and ended with a cliffhanger. I suppose some viewers saw it coming but I didn't. As for Emilie de Ravin's performance I didn't find it convincing. Behind the dirty make-up I saw she was just acting and it made her strange character less believable. But she's young so comparing her to Matthew Fox or Henry Ian Cusick (Desmond Hume) is inappropriate. At least she succeeded in bringing craziness to her scenes so let's just say she did a decent job.

To sum things up it was an other decent installment but nothing to amaze the demanding viewer. However it really intrigued me so I can't wait to watch the upcoming episode. In fact I already anticipate the mesmerizing collision between all the dual stories. Jack stumbled upon Kate in the jungle but only for a few seconds. Will it ever happen in the city ? And what about Desmond ? Who Smokie will recruit next since Sawyer decided to join it in The Substitute ? It's hard to resist to many puzzling questions.