analyse Lost

Indhold
Getting LOST ...................................................................................................................................................... 3
Fremgangsmåde og afgrænsningsfelt ............................................................................................................... 4
Beskrivelse af serien .......................................................................................................................................... 5
Føljetonformatet ............................................................................................................................................... 6
Episodernes opbygning og seriens plots ....................................................................................................... 7
Karaktererne .................................................................................................................................................. 8
Jacks plotlinje................................................................................................................................................. 9
White Rabbit’s konstruktion og karakterfremstilling .................................................................................. 10
316’s konstruktion og karakterfremstilling ................................................................................................. 15
En strukturalistisk analyse af karakterens konstruktion ............................................................................. 19
Psychologial traits/habitual behaviour .................................................................................................... 19
Physical characteristics/appearance ....................................................................................................... 19
Speech patterns ....................................................................................................................................... 20
Interactions with other characters .......................................................................................................... 20
Environment ............................................................................................................................................ 21
Biography ................................................................................................................................................. 21
Den narrative struktur ..................................................................................................................................... 22
Konklusion ....................................................................................................................................................... 25
Litteraturliste ................................................................................................................................................... 26
Bøger ........................................................................................................................................................... 26
Web-adresser .............................................................................................................................................. 26
Bilag 1 – Resumé af serien ............................................................................................................................... 27
Sæson 1 ....................................................................................................................................................... 27
Sæson 2 ....................................................................................................................................................... 27
Sæson 3 ....................................................................................................................................................... 28
Sæson 4 ....................................................................................................................................................... 29
Sæson 5 ....................................................................................................................................................... 29
Bilag 2 – Oversigt over de enkelte afsnits bærende karakter ......................................................................... 31
Bilag 3 – Plotsegmentering og transskribering ................................................................................................ 34
White Rabbit 1x05 ....................................................................................................................................... 34
1
316 5x06 ...................................................................................................................................................... 41
Bilag 4 – Jacks flashback-story ......................................................................................................................... 49
2
Getting LOST
Et fly havarerer på en mystisk tropeø flere tusinde kilometer ude af kurs. Der er 48 overlevende1 – de fleste
uden en skramme. Seks dage efter katastrofen venter passagererne fra Oceanic Flight 815 stadig på hjælp –
og som tiden går, svinder håbet langsomt bort.
Da tv-serien LOST havde premiere på amerikansk tv i september 2004, var der i høj grad lagt op til en
klassisk robinsonade. I håbet om at videreføre reality-showet Survivor’s succes til tv-drama opstod idéen da
også til serien. Det viste sig dog hurtigt, at denne form for fortælling ikke havde nok (nyt) i sig til at strække
sig over flere sæsoner, og genren blev derfor krydret med lidt spænding og mystik. Som medforfatter
Damon Lindelhof har forklaret det:”To execute this show, it’s going to have to be weird. There’s going to
have to be something moving the trees at the end of the first act. There are going to be questions about
how the plane crashed. And there are going to be fantastic things that happen to the people.” (Pearson,
2009: 12). Det viste sig altså, at der nærmere var tale om et slags genre-mix - en hybrid hvor Survivor møder
Lord of the Flies, som igen møder X-files – og kimen til en fortælling, der kunne rumme langt flere
muligheder, var lagt.
Med tiden er der da også sket meget både i og med serien. Hvor den i starten f.eks. mest syntes at
koncentrere sig om robinsonadedramaet med et par indbyggede thrillerelementer, har den efterhånden
bevæget sig længere over mod horror- og science fiction-genren. Skiftet er selvfølgelig sket gradvist, men
blev dog endegyldigt i slutningen af 4. sæson; her drejer en af karaktererne nemlig på et underjordisk
tandhjul, hvilket resulterer i, at hele øen flytter sig! Sæson 5 fortsætter derefter, hvor den forrige slap; på
grund af den mærkværdige hændelse kan øen nemlig nu ikke finde ud af, hvor den skal placere sig og
bevæger sig derfor konstant gennem tid og sted, inden den til sidst falder til ro - i 1977.
Som seer synes jeg, at denne udvikling er temmelig syret! Ganske vist har serien altid været kendt for at
være mystisk, for mystisk vil mange måske endda mene – den i hvert fald ofte blevet mistænkt for ikke at
vide, hvor den fortællermæssigt er på vej hen (Pearson, 2009: 159ff). Men er dette sandt; er man som seer
helt fortabt i LOST eller findes der en mening med galskaben - kan man udrede ”søforklaringerne”? Er
strukturen og den vildledning, den medfører, et bevis på det første eller et tegn på det sidste? Hvorfor
oplever seerne serien, som de gør? Netop dette, synes jeg, kunne være interessant at se nærmere på.
Jeg vil i denne opgave derfor undersøge, hvordan LOST er konstrueret; hvad karakteriserer serien i form af
dens format – har den udviklet sig, og hvilken indflydelse kan en ændring eventuelt siges at have haft på
seernes perception? I forbindelse med dette vil jeg ligeledes se nærmere på karaktererne og hvordan disse
bidrager til fortællingen. Dernæst vil jeg foretage en analyse af seriens narrative struktur. Dette gøres med
henblik på at undersøge, hvordan serien fortæller sin historie, og hvilken betydning dette kan have for
seernes oplevelse.
1
Det viser sig dog senere, at der faktisk er hele 71 overlevende spredt ud over øen
3
Fremgangsmåde og afgrænsningsfelt
Til at finde svar på min problemformulering har jeg valgt at benytte mig teoretisk af Gunhild Agger og Peter
Harms Larsen, der begge har formuleret sig omkring føljetonformatet. I forbindelse med dette vil jeg
ligeledes inddrage de kognitivt inspirerede herrer, Murray Smith og David Bordwell, der begge har
teoretiseret om, hvad der skal til, for at seerne engageres i karaktererne. Derefter vil jeg anvende den
formalistiske tilgang til at foretage en strukturalistisk analyse af protagonisten Jack. Dette gøres med
henblik på at illustrere, hvordan karakterens træk på særlig vis knytter sig til den overgribende seriebue, og
således kan kaste lys over seriens mysterier. I denne forbindelse vil jeg ligeledes inddrage Roberta Pearson
der, ud over at have videreudviklet Bordwells teori til bedre at kunne omfatte tv-serier, også har lavet en
tilsvarende analyse, jeg vil sammenligne mine egne resultater med.
Når det kommer til analysen af seriens narrative struktur, trækker jeg ligeledes på Bordwell og hans
konstruktivistiske, neoformalistiske begrebsapparat. Ved brug af dette vil jeg altså forsøge at finde hoved
og hale i historien ved at kortlægge seriens forskellige (narrative) virkemidler, og derpå give en samlet
vurdering af, hvilken betydning disse har for seernes oplevelse. Sidstnævnte gøres på baggrund af, at
Bordwell som nævnt tillige er inspireret af den kognitive filmteori og derfor betragter det at se film/tv, som
en aktiv proces.
Inden alt dette vil jeg dog først give en overordnet beskrivelse af serien, der ligeledes kort ridser op,
hvordan den er blevet modtaget. Et samlet resumé af hele serien kan findes i bilag 1, hvilket anbefales at
læses, hvis man ikke er kender af serien.
Da det grundet seriens format er svært, for ikke at sige umuligt (!), at finde enkelte afsnit der er
repræsentative for helheden, har jeg valgt at plukke lidt ud forskellige steder, hvor jeg vurderer, det er
relevant for opgaven. Jeg vil dog som udgangspunkt foretage en slags komparativ analyse af sæson 1 og 5,
idet disse (indtil nu) ligger længst fra hinanden og derfor bedst kan anskueliggøre seriens eventuelle
udvikling. Inden for denne ramme tager jeg udgangspunkt i det femte afsnit (White Rabbit) fra sæson 1 og
det sjette i sæson 5 (316). Valget af disse bunder primært i, at det er henholdsvis det første og foreløbigt
sidste afsnit, der har karakteren Jack som hovedperson. Begge afsnit er transskriberet og plotsegmenteret i
bilag 3.
4
Beskrivelse af serien
LOST er en amerikansk tv-serie skabt af manuskriptforfatterne J.J. Abrams og Damon Lindelhof. Indtil videre
tæller serien fem sæsoner, men en sjette og sidste er sat til at gå i luften til februar 20102. Siden
begyndelsen har succesen været uventet og overvældende med ca. 16,2 millioner amerikanske seere under
den første sæson og hele 23 millioner under den anden (Pearson, 2009: 10). Efter tredje sæson har tallene
dog været dalende med ca. 10 millioner seere i gennemsnit, selvom dvd-salget har steget markant3. En
årsag til dette kan meget vel være, at serien med tiden er blevet mere kompleks, idet der i de senere
sæsoner springes mellem fortid, nutid og fremtid ligeså vel som der opereres i to parallelle tidszoner, og
grundet dette derfor også er blevet sværere at følge med i. Det er således nemmere at holde styr på
fortællingen, når man ser flere afsnit i træk, end hvis man skal vente flere uger imellem. Her skal det også
nævnes, at den såkaldte ’Writers Strike’, der forløb fra d. 5.nov. 2007 til d. 12.feb. 2008, forsinkede
udsendelserne og tiden imellem dem betydeligt. Alligevel har serien bl.a. formået at vinde hele seks
Emmyer og en Golden Globe for ’Best Dramatic Series’.
Også i udlandet har LOST også klaret sig godt; under første sæson blev den f.eks. solgt til hele 183 lande, og
en undersøgelse foretaget i 20 lande placerede i 2006 LOST som verdens næstmest populære tv-serie efter
krimien CSI: Miami4. En del af fremgangen kan hænge sammen med den store spredning i nationalitet, der
er blandt skuespillerne, hvor både afrikanere, koreanere, englændere, irakere, australiere og mange,
mange flere har været repræsenteret. Således har der altså været mange identifikationsmuligheder for
seerne – nationalt som internationalt. Men selvom serien indeholder mange fortællinger fra rundt om i
verden, så skydes alle optagelser på Stillehavsøen Oahu, Hawaii – hvad enten det er ’on location’ eller i
studie. På denne måde spiller øen en væsentlig rolle, ligeså vel som den også gør i serien, hvor den
nærmest fungerer som en karakter i sig selv. F.eks. bliver vendinger som: ”The island told me to” eller ”It
was a sacrifice the island demanded” ofte anvendt, hvilket peger på, at øen har en form for magt over
(visse) af karaktererne.
Serien består indtil videre af 102 afsnit, der hver har en varighed på ca. 40 minutter. Afsnittene er oftest
konstrueret således, at én af de 14 (skiftende) hovedkarakterer er bærer af historien, hvilket f.eks. er
tilfældet i White Rabbit og 316. Dog forekommer der også afsnit, hvori der ikke lægges specielt fokus den
enkelte, men som derimod omhandler de fleste eller alle medvirkende. Disse afsnit ligger som oftest
placeret i starten eller slutningen af en sæson, ligesom det f.eks. er tilfældet med The Pilot, Through The
Looking Glass og The Incident, der dog alle til dels alligevel holder et vist fokus på karakteren Jack, selvom
det egentlig er såkaldte ’cast episodes’ . I sæson 5 er der dog en tendens til, at afsnittene i ikke nær så høj
grad koncentrerer sig om enkeltpersoner, hvorfor det er svært at kategorisere dem, som bærer af den ene
eller andens historie. Dog er det gjort et forsøg, og en oversigt over de enkelte afsnit og deres fokus er
vedlagt i bilag 2.
2
http://abc.go.com/shows/lost
www.thehollywoodreporter.com/hr/search/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003121876
4
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/5231334.stm
3
5
Føljetonformatet
LOST er (med sine 102- afsnit) en amerikansk ’lang føljeton’. Begrebet låner jeg fra Gunhild Agger, der
beskriver det således: En ”lang føljeton: betegner 7 episoder og der over, der tilsammen udgør en afsluttet
helhed.” (Agger, 2005: 634). Nært beslægtet er formatet med ’føljetonserien’ der ”betegner en produktion
med gennemgående hovedpersoner, hvor hver episode har en relativt afsluttet karakter, men hvor det
gennemgående forløb har en vigtig narrativ funktion.” (ibid.). Umiddelbart kan det altså være svært at
skelne mellem de to, men forskellen ligger i graden af hver enkelt episodes afsluttethed. Hvor
føljetonserien er kendetegnet ved, at hvert afsnit indeholder en (relativt) afsluttet historie, så mangler den
lange føljetons enkelte episoder dette. Afslutninger og pay-off på set-ups falder måske derimod først efter
flere afsnit, og på denne måde udmærker formatet sig ved den sindrigt tilrettelagte opbygning af
spændings/scenebuer og føljetonbuer, der i kraft af den overgribende spændings/seriebue trods alt udgør
en sammenhængende helhed (Agger, 2005: 280). I nedenstående figur er begge føljetontyper skitseret, i og
med at føljetonserien medtager episodebuerne, hvorimod den lange føljeton udelader dem. Også derfor er
de her markeret med grå:
(Figur tillempet efter Harms Larsen, 2003: 356)
Også Peter Harms Larsen har formuleret sig teoretisk om føljetonformatet (Harms Larsen, 2003: 353), men
anvender derimod netop begrebet ´(drama)føljetonserie’ som substitut for Aggers ’lange føljeton’ –
betydningen er dog den samme, og jeg vil derfor fortsat holde mig til Aggers overordnede betegnelse,
selvom jeg refererer fra Harms Larsen.
I LOST er den lange føljetons træk tydelige, idet vi følger en konstant historie, der som sagt ikke byder på
afslutninger inden for de enkelte episoder, men som derimod kører plotlinjerne videre og videre. De
enkelte afsnit er således uafsluttede, idet de egentlig kun er små dele af den samlede fortælling, dvs. alle
sæsonerne fra start til slut. Faktisk er serien et godt eksempel på en såkaldt rammefortælling, idet den
netop fungerer på to planer; den præsenterer nemlig en hel serie af mindre fortællinger, ofte fortalt ud fra
forskellige synspunkter, indsat i rammen af den lange, overordnede historie. Den overgribende
spændings/seriebue, eller ramme om man vil, er således det gennemgående mysterium om, hvor de
overlevende nøjagtig befinder sig, hvad der er på øen, og ikke mindst hvorfor netop de er havnet der,
hvilket går igen fra afsnit til afsnit. Meget peger nemlig på, at intet er ren tilfældighed, hvilket Locke
6
allerede påpeger over for Jack i det femte afsnit (White Rabbit): ”But what if everything that happened here
happened for a reason?”. Svaret på dette store spørgsmål skal man derimod finde inden for rammen, dvs. i
de enkelte karakterers plotlinjer/flashbackhistorier. Kun ved at lære disse bedre at kende kan man nemlig
få en (større) forståelse for det gennemgående mysterium. Det er nemlig således, at rammefortællingen
iscenesætter og spejler de små, egentlige historier (Fibiger & Lütken 2005: 502), der udgør størstedelen af
serien.
Episodernes opbygning og seriens plots
Grundet seriens format følger LOST et helt bestemt konstrueringsskema, hvor flere forskellige plotlinjer
flettes sammen undervejs i de enkelte afsnit, men hvilke i øvrigt også forløber mere eller mindre
uafhængigt af hinanden. Hvert afsnit er f.eks. typisk sammensat af mindst to plotlinjer, en såkaldt ’A-story’
og en ’B-story’, dvs. et hovedplot, der (som oftest) har en af de 14 hovedpersoner som den bærende, og et
underplot, der typisk enten spejler sig gennem kontrast eller er medvirkende til at drive hovedplottet frem.
Underplottet kan ligeledes også blot udgøre en af de andre karakterers plotlinjer, men det hører sig til
sjældenhederne. Som regel er underplottet der, hvor det øvrige persongalleri kommer i spil, og hvor vi
således også møder hver vores yndlingskarakter med regelmæssigt mellemrum. Hver gang der har været en
enkel eller et par scener fra ét af plottene, skiftes der til en scene fra et andet, og på den måde får seeren
aldrig lov til at kede sig.
Netop denne vekslen er særdeles betydningsfuld for den lange føljeton, da seernes interesse konstant skal
holdes i kog, så de ikke zapper væk til noget andet. Gør de først dette, er LOST nemlig nærmest umulig at
komme ind i igen, og seerne er således (for)tabte – for altid. Derfor kan man sige, at formatet ikke er helt så
velegnet til tv som eksempelvis episode- eller føljetonserien, der f.eks. er kendetegnede ved, at de som
regel ender i samme udgangsposition, når det enkelte afsnit slutter – klar til at begynde forfra i
begyndelsen af det næste. Derfor kan man også nemmere misse en episode, da der altid er en form for
genkendelighed knyttet til de enkelte afsnit. Anderledes ser det ud med den lange føljeton, der ikke er
cirkulært konstrueret, men derimod lineært5. Glipper man et afsnit, mister man altså den røde tråd samt en
væsentlig brik af det samlede puslespil. På denne måde kræver LOST et særdeles engageret publikum, idet
man er nødsaget til at se alle afsnit for at opbygge en form for samlet forståelse, der alligevel ikke kommer
forløsning på før til allersidst. Fascinationen udspringer således generelt af den fremdrift gennem
frustration, som det uafsluttede i hvert afsnit skaber, hvilket samtidig tvinger seerne til at følge med fra
gang til gang for ikke at miste overblikket (Larsen, 2003: 353).
Som nævnt i indledningen er LOST blevet beskyldt for ikke at vide, hvor den narrativt er på vej hen. Dette
begrundes bl.a. med, at serien stiller flere spørgsmål end den besvarer, ligeså vel som den ikke tilbyder
”closure” i de enkelte afsnit (Pearson, 2009: 161f.). Visse seere oplever altså dette som et tegn på, at der
ikke er en såkaldt ‘master plan’ bag processen, hvilket de finder “foruroligende” og utilfredsstillende: ”An
increasing number of viewers and critics have suggested that it is evasive, and are beginning to perceive the
show’s endless stream of new questions as a diversion – presumably from the perceived fact that LOST’s
writers have no meaningful or logical explanation for their existing mysteries.” (Pearson, 2009: 161f.) . Til
seriens forsvar skal det dog siges, at det jo netop er klassisk for den lange føljeton, at der ikke gives mange
5
Lost har ganske vist en kompleks non-lineær plot-konstruktion, men storyen er derimod én lang sammenhængende
historie
7
”svar” undervejs – i stedet bæres historien fra afsnit til afsnit formmæssigt frem af falske sortier og
cliffhangers (Harms Larsen, 2003:353), der netop karakteriserer det uafsluttende – løsningen af gåderne
udsættes dermed hele tiden, og som nye spørgsmål bygger oven på gamle, kan de enkelte plot-mysterier
godt fortone sig, hvilket dog ikke betyder det store, idet de alle bidrager til det overordnede mysterium. De
små plots er på denne måde blot dele af den overgribende spændingsbue, hvis funktion er at stille krav til
og påvirke karaktererne undervejs.
Oplevelsen af det modsatte kan altså meget vel hænge sammen med, at visse seere ”læser” serien forkert.
Ud fra citatet lader det nemlig til, at de anskuer LOST ud fra føljetonseriens præmisser og på den baggrund
har nogle forventninger, der ikke kan eller vil blive indfriet. På denne måde spiller viden om formatet altså
en bærende rolle, når det kommer til seernes oplevelse af serien. Antagelsen er dog forståelig - det er
nemlig ikke så tit, at man inden for tv-serier ser den lange føljeton udfolde sig. Derimod er det oftere
episode- og føljetonserierne der gør sig gældende. Også derfor ”tolker” seerne meget vel LOST ud fra viden
om disse, hvilket selvfølgelig er helt forkert. Denne ”læsning” passer nemlig ikke sammen med det lange
føljetonformat, hvor man altså nærmere bør anskue serien ”hermeneutisk”. Med dette mener jeg, at alle
delene, de små mysterier og plotlinjer, nærmere skal forstås i sammenhæng med det store hele end hver
for sig – og omvendt. Som små mosaikker bidrager de altså alle til helheden, nemlig den overgribende
spændingsbue, og når delene er samlet, forstår vi dem også enkeltvis. Således er alle hidtidige hændelser
(f.eks. flashbacksekvenser) direkte forbundet til de nutidige, ligeså vel som de også hører sammen med den
overgribende seriebue/hermeneutik.
Karaktererne
I forbindelse med ovenstående skal det ligeledes nævnes, at også karaktererne spiller en væsentlig rolle. I
modsætning til episode- og føljetonserierne hvor disse er uforanderlige (Larsen, 2003: 352) og dermed også
genkendelige, så ligger en del af fascinationen nemlig også i, at de i den lange føljeton konstant opbygges
og udvikler sig. På denne måde opfører de sig som virkelige personer og Harms Larsen taler i denne
forbindelse om, at der opstår en helt særlig form for seeridentifikation (Larsen, 2003: 350). Dette betegner
han nærmere som en effekt af tv-sening, der ligner udviklingen af et venskab, idet at det er noget, der
gradvist bygges op. Når venskabet omsider er grundlagt, indebærer det eftersigende en oplevelse af
sympati og tillid, der etableres ved hvert nyt samvær. Dette skulle bevirke, at seeren således får en naturlig
interesse i konstant at vide, hvad der sker i karakterens liv, og derfor vender tilbage uge efter uge.
Karaktererne bidrager derfor med en form for tilfredsstillelse i de enkelte afsnit, idet vi gennem deres
individuelle historier både tilbydes identifikationsmuligheder, ”venskab” og små clues vedrørende den
overordnede seriebue. For LOST handler det derfor primært om, at seerne skal engageres i karaktererne for
at blive hængene.
Den kognitivt inspirerede Murray Smith taler i denne forbindelse om forudsætningerne for dette, hvilke er,
at karaktererne skal leve op til seernes såkaldte ’person schema(ta)’, dvs. deres forestillinger om, hvad der
udgør en afrundet person med menneskelige karakteristika (Smith, 1995: 20ff.). I forbindelse med dette
opstiller David Bordwell (m.fl.) tre punkter der skal udgøres, før der er tale om, at karaktererne får status af
at være såkaldte tredimensionelle kvasi-personer. Han definerer grundlæggende en karakter som ”a bundle
of qualities, or traits” (Bordwell m.fl., 1985: 13f) men fortsætter således: ”Their traits must be affirmed in
speech and physical behaviour, the observable projections of personality…Even a simple physical reaction –
a gesture, an expression, a widening of the eyes, constructs character psychology in accordance with other
8
information…Hollywood cinema reinforces the individuality and consistency of each character by means and
reoccurring motifs .A character will be tagged with a detail of speech or behavior that defines a major trait.”
(Bordwell m.fl., 1985: 15). Og her har seernes følelsesmæssige engagement, seriens narrative struktur og
dens præsentation af karakteren således en tæt forbindelse. Smith påpeger endvidere, at der i forbindelse
med dette kan være tale om ’alignment’ såvel som ’allegiance’6(Smith, 1995:81ff). Disse begreber betegner
henholdsvis den måde, som seriens plots vælger at præsentere de fiktive karakterer på og hvorvidt seerne
kan tilslutte sig disses moral og bevæggrunde. I LOST bliver man f.eks. præsenteret for et væld af karakterer
(protagonister som antagonister), hvilke man følger gennem længere tid og således lærer at kende. Dette
skaber alignment, men det er derimod ikke alle, man føler allegience overfor. Denne følelsesmæssige
tilknytning opstår nemlig kun, når man kan relatere til samt forstå disses handlinger. Også derfor holder
man typisk med protagonisterne, idet disse oftest besidder nogle (gode) egenskaber, man selv værdsætter.
Alignment og allegience er således af afgørende betydning for forståelsen af en fortælling, fordi denne
styring har stor betydning for, hvilke følelser der bliver fremkaldt, og hvilke ønsker seerne har til den videre
handlingsgang (Grodal, 2007: 90f.).
Jacks plotlinje
Ét eksempel på en føljetonbue/ karakters plotlinje er den, der omhandler protagonisten Jack Shepard. Jack
er medvirkende i næsten alle seriens afsnit, men der er visse, som skiller sig ud – nemlig de hvori han er
bærer af historien. Der er to måder, hvorpå dette kan give sig til udtryk: Enten ved at der holdes et fast
gennemgående fokus på karakteren i hovedplottet, eller ved at der både fokuseres på dette samt
forekommer flashbacks eller flashforwards til dennes tidligere eller fremtidige liv væk fra øen. På baggrund
af dette har jeg lavet en oversigt over Jacks plotlinje/føljetonbue, der ligeledes giver et billede af, hvordan
der hyppigt skiftes imellem de enkelte karakterers plotlinjer og hvorledes historien er uafsluttet – den
forløber nemlig over flere afsnit. Et samlet indtryk over alles bærende afsnit kan ses i bilag 2.
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Jeg har her udeladt ’recognition’ (Smith, 1995: 81ff.), idet en distanceret registrering kun siger noget om de perifere
karakterer og således ikke dem, der opbygges som kvasi-personer.
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Som figuren viser, starter The Pilot ud som et ”almindeligt” afsnit, hvorefter en del afsnit med flashbacks
dukker op i første, anden og tredje sæson. I slutningen af sidstnævnte skiftes der derimod til flashforwards,
hvilke fortsætter ind i fjerde sæson. I femte vender afsnittet 316 dog tilbage til det ”almindelige”, hvilket
også seriens foreløbige sidste, The Incident, bærer præg af. Dog forekommer der her også ét flashback til
livet før øen.
Hvad disse flashbacks og flashforwards betyder for historien og hvordan den samlet set skal forstås, vil jeg
først komme nærmere ind på i analysen af den narrative struktur. I det følgende vil jeg derimod tage fat i,
hvordan afsnittene White Rabbit og 316 er konstruerede i forhold til hoved- og underplot (A- og B-story) og
hvorledes Jack bliver fremstillet i disse. Dette gøres med henblik på at definere og få tydeliggjort nogle de
træk, der karakteriserer ham som en såkaldt kvasi-person. Idet intet som sagt lader til at være tilfældigt (jvf.
Lockes citat), så må de overlevende jo have noget tilfælles, idet netop disse er havnet på øen sammen.
Tager man udgangspunkt i seriens titel, får man allerede en ledetråd, idet LOST handler om en gruppe
mennesker, der af den ene eller anden grund er forsvundne, vildfarende og fortabte. Dette være sig på
mange forskellige måder – sjæleligt såvel som åndeligt og emotionelt - og dermed ikke kun fysisk. Målet for
disse er således også enten at blive fundet eller at finde sig selv, hvilket, ifølge teorien, jo så også burde
afslutte seriens overgribende spændingsbue.
Roberta Pearson har i denne forbindelse foretaget en analyse af Jacks modstykke, John Locke, med henblik
på at undersøge, hvorledes de forskellige elementer der udgør karakteren, bidrager med små informationer
til det overordnede mysterium. Hun har dog udvidet Bordwells begreber ’traits’, ’physical behaviour’ og
’speech’ til en taksonomi af seks bestanddele: ’Psychological traits/habitual behaviours’, ’physical
traits/apperance’, ’speech patterns’, ’interaction with other characters’, ‘environment’ og ‘biography’.
Særligt sidstnævnte er dog svær at definere ud fra blot to afsnit, og Pearson foreslår derfor også, at man
favner bredere: ”Television characters are not like holograms. Each tiny fragment does not contain the sum
of the whole, but rather becomes fully intelligible only when juxtaposed with all the other tiny fragments in
all the other scenes in all the other episodes in which the character appears. Television characters are to
some extent autonomous beings, autonomous, that is, of the televisual codes and individual
scenes/episodes that construct them, existing as whole only in the minds of the producers and the audience.
It is here that the characters take on the quasi-human status so baffling to literary theorists, but so obvious
to television producers and audiences. Anatomising the televisual character requires identifying that
constitute a character abstracted from the design of the text and existing in the story, that is, in the minds
of producers and audiences, rather than conducting a close textual analysis of individual
scenes/episodes/codes.” (Pearson, 2009: 147f). Med dette I baghovedet vil jeg derfor også inddrage
informationer fra andre afsnit, hvis de ikke er at spore i White Rabbit og 316. Samtidig vil jeg sammenligne
Pearsons analyse af John Locke med min egen af Jack Shepard for at finde ligheder, der eventuelt kan sige
noget om den overgribende seriebue.
White Rabbit’s konstruktion og karakterfremstilling
I White Rabbit starter hovedplottet ud med et ultra-nærbillede af et øje. Denne begyndelse på et afsnit er
klassisk for LOST og typisk en indikator for, at den som øjet tilhører, også er den karakter, der er bærer af
historien. Ofte hænger disse close-ups nemlig sammen med et flashback eller et flashforward. I White
Rabbit er det tredje gang, det forekommer, men gennem resten af serien er der utallige eksempler på det.
Der går ikke længe, før man opdager, at der over øjet er et blødende sår. Efterfølgende zoomes der ud, og
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man ser nu en dreng med et bange blik ligge fladt mod jorden. Ved siden af er en anden dreng ved at blive
tæsket af en større: ”Your choice man. Walk away now and you won’t get your ass kicked”, siger en tredje
til drengen på jorden. Denne vælger dog ikke at følge rådet og rejser sig i stedet op for at komme den
anden til undsætning. Han når dog ikke langt, før et knytnæveslag med ordene: ”You should have stayed
down, Jack” rammer ham i et point of view og alt bliver sort. Med det samme forstår man altså, at dette er
et flashback. Drengen, der risikerede sit eget ve og vel for at hjælpe en anden, er nemlig en ung Jack.
I næste klip er man tilbage i nutiden på øen, hvor Jack sidder i sine egne tanker og skuer ud over vandet.
Pludselig kommer den afdankede rockstjerne Charlie løbende, mens han råber: ”Jack! Jack! There’s
someone out there!”. Han peger panisk ud på havet, hvor en skikkelse skriger på hjælp. Med det samme
springer Jack til undsætning, alt imens de andre overlevende ser til fra stranden. Han dykker under vandet
et par gange og kommer pludselig op med (livredderen!) Boone. Jack beroliger ham og opfordrer ham til at
tage dybe indåndinger, men lige som man altså tror, at ulykken nu er afværget, spørger Boone forpustet:
”Did you get her? There was a woman. I was trying…did you get her?”. Jack øjner nu en kvinde i horisonten,
der er ved at drukne. Som en lus mellem to negle må han altså tage et svært valg hurtigt; efter at have
vurderet situationen tager han dog beslutningen om at få Boone i land først. Derefter fortsætter han sin
færd tilbage, men et supertotal billede ud over havet viser, at kvinden er væk.
I denne intro til afsnittet er tematikken i hovedplottet allerede delvist præsenteret. I disse to sekvenser ser
man nemlig, hvorledes Jack har en lang historie i at tage affære og komme folk i nød til undsætning. På
denne måde har flashbacket altså relevans til den aktuelle situation på øen. Allerede i The Pilot indtog han
da også naturligt seriens helte- og lederrolle, som lægen der reddede alt og alle, mens de fleste andre blot
så passivt til. Rask væk skabte han sig overblik over situationen og begyndte derefter at uddelegere opgaver
til de andre. En handlingens mand, der indgød sympati (allegiance) ved at hjælpe og give tryghed i det
kaotiske. Dog viser det sig i White Rabbit, at han alligevel har visse problemer med at acceptere og befinde
sig i denne lederrolle, selvom den umiddelbart ligger lige for. Og dette er der en grund til, men mere om
det senere. For Jack handler afsnittet derfor om at finde sig selv og sin rolle.
I den efterfølgende scene bebrejder han i høj grad sig selv for kvindens død, selvom han jo egentlig var den
eneste, der gjorde et hæderligt forsøg på at redde hende: ”No, I didn't try. I thought maybe I could bring
him back and still have the time. I was there, in the water. I didn't try. I decided not to go after her.”, siger
han skuffet og vredt til sit kvindelige modstykke Kate, der ikke forstår hans voldsomme selvbebrejdelse.
Midt i denne samtale fanges hans blik dog pludselig 7 af en mystisk mand i vandkanten, og Jack ligner én,
der har set et spøgelse: ”Did you see that?”, spørger han forskrækket Kate, der forvirret ser sig om:
”What?”. ”Standing there, in the water, there was a man!”, svarer han oprørt, men Kate kan ikke se noget.
“When was the last time you slept?”, spørger hun i stedet bekymret og indikerer således, at han
hallucinerer. Jack går derefter sin vej – tydeligt oprevet over situationen og sit mystiske syn.
I mellemtiden folder underplottet sig ud. Historien breder sig her over de resterende karakterer, der inden
for kort tid alle kommer i spil. På denne måde bidrager de her både til afsnittets B-story (der koncentrerer
sig om deres hastigt forsvindende vandforsyning) ligeså vel som små facetter af deres personlighed og
fremtidige (konfliktfyldte)plotlinjer også langsomt dukker op. Et eksempel er historien om Michael og Walt,
hvis far og søn-forhold ikke virker særligt tæt og kærligt: (Michael):” Don't swallow it.” (Walt):” Why not?”
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Jack ser denne mand første gang i The Pilot Part Two og sidenhen adskillige gange
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(Michael): “Ocean water'll make you thirsty.” (Walt): “Why?” (Michael): [irriteret]”Just don't swallow it,
man. All right?”. Eller det koreanske ægtepar, Sun og Jin, hvem lader til at have flere
kommunikationsvanskeligheder imellem sig end med folk på den anden side af sprogbarrieren: (Jin) [på
koreansk]: ”Look at your lips. You really need water.” (Sun) [modvilligt og undertrykt ]: “No. I’m alright,
thank you… When will someone tell us what to do? I don’t think anyone is coming.” (Jin): “Someone will
come” (Sun): The others…they ignore us. If we tried harder to communicate…” (Jin): [vredt] “We’ll be fine.
We don’t need anyone else. I will tell you what to do!” Historien om den gravide Claire, der pludselig
besvimer på grund af væskemangel, er dog den der hovedsageligt sætter underplottet i gang. Det viser sig
nemlig pludselig, at den smule vand, de havde tilbage fra flyet, er blevet stjålet, hvorefter en søgen efter
dette og ikke mindst den der har taget det, sættes i gang. John Locke melder sig her til at lede efter en kilde
i junglen, mens Kate og Sayid forsøger at finde frem til tyven. Alle leder de altså efter et eller andet.
Forinden dette er der dog et godt eksempel på, hvorledes disse to plotlinjer (A- og B-story) flettes sammen,
idet Hurley og Charlie (B-story) går til Jack (A-story) for at fortælle ham, at de er ved at løbe tør for
drikkevand. Som den redningsmand Jack tidligere jo har vist, han er, forventer de derfor også, at han tager
sig af problemet. Jack virker dog stadig meget brødebetynget af den tidligere oplevelse og nægter pludselig
helt at tage ansvar: (Charlie):” Even if we divided it up, split the bottles in half it wouldn't be enough for 47
people.” (Jack): “46. There is 46 of us now. “(…) (Charlie): “What should we do with the stuff we've got?”
(Jack): “I don’t know” (…) (Charlie): “Don’t tell the others we’re running low. That way you can ration it.
Then you can decide what…” (Jack): [irriteret og oprevet] “I’m not deciding anything!” (Hurley) [forundret]
“Why not?”.
Ja, hvorfor egentlig ikke? Hurley spørger her efter det, vi alle gerne vil vide. På denne måde fungerer han
også ofte som den karakter, der stiller seernes spørgsmål; hvorfor er Jack pludselig så usympatisk? Men
Hurley får ikke et svar, det gør derimod seerne - gennem et nyt flashback. Lyden af et glas med is forbinder
de to scener, hvilket ligeledes indikerer, at dette er noget Jack tænker tilbage på. Noget han er bevidst om –
en rejse i hans indre. Der klippes til en scene med en hånd, der holder om en drink. Håndens ejermand
sidder med ryggen til i en lænestol, idet han kalder den unge Jack ind på sit kontor. Efterfølgende sættes
der ansigt på, da Jack, nu med et ordentligt sæbeøje, træder ind foran ham – således endnu et eksempel
på, at det er ud fra Jacks perspektiv historien fortælles. Manden er hans far, men hvad mere mystisk er, at
det ligner den samme mand, Jack tidligere har set vandre rundt omkring på øen – sidste gang stående fint
påklædt i vandkanten. Således har der altså været en tilbageholdelse af information (en lille brik af
puslespillet), hvilken man først får indblik i her. Idet Jack så manden på øen, blev man nemlig kun
præsenteret for virkningen (effect), hvorimod årsagen (cause) først kommer nu. Dette er selvfølgelig med
til at vække seernes nysgerrighed (for hvorfor er Jacks far på øen?), hvilket ligeledes er et fremragende
eksempel på fortællemønsteret, der er særdeles karakteristisk for serien.
”So, you want to tell me what happened?”, spørger faderen roligt, men kontant. ”A couple guys jumped
Marc Silverman.”, svarer den unge Jack lidt flovt. ”A couple guys jumped Marc Silverman. But they didn't
jump you?”, gentager hans far interrogerende. ”No”, svarer Jack lettere ”blåøjet”, idet faren sukker dybt og
rejser sig autoritativt. Idet han hælder endnu en drink i glasset, indleder han en irettesættende og
moraliserende tale: “I had a boy on my table today. I don't know, maybe a year younger than you. He had a
bad heart. It got real hairy, real fast. And everybody's looking at your old man to make decisions. And I was
able to make those decisions because at the end of the day, after the boy died, I was able to wash my hands
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and come home to dinner. You know, watch a little Carol Burnett, laugh till my sides hurt. And how can I do
that, hmm? And even when I fail, how do I do that, Jack? Because I have what it takes. Don't choose, Jack,
don't decide. You don't want to be a hero, you don't try and save everyone because when you fail … you just
don't have what it takes.”. Med disse barske ord bidrager flashbacket altså med væsentlig information
angående Jacks pludselige modvilje. På denne baggrund skabes der derved også igen ’allegiance’, idet det
for seerne bliver tydeligt, hvorfor han reagerer, som han gør. Man forstår hans motivationer der netop
bunder i, at han helt fra barnsben af er blevet patroniseret af sin far, der hånligt har fortalt ham, at han ikke
har det, der skal til for at være en helt og takle svære situationer. Disse ord har således været med til at
forme måden, hvorpå Jack ser sig selv. For at forstå nutiden, må man altså kende fortiden, hvilket ligeledes
stemmer godt overens med, at det er i karakterernes tidligere liv, man skal finde svarene på øens mange
mysterier – store som små.
Efterfølgende fortsætter hovedplottet i samme dur, hvor også Boone sår sine tvivl om Jacks rolle: ”You
think you're all noble and heroic for coming after me? I was fine. You're not the only one who knows what to
do around here, you know that? I run a business. Who appointed you our savior, huh?”. På denne måde
drager flashbacket dermed tematiske såvel som narrative paralleller til hændelserne på øen. Kort efter ser
Jack da også igen den mystiske mand og beslutter sig her for at løbe efter ham. I junglen bekræftes det på
uhyggelig vis, at det er hans far og Jack falder efterfølgende forskrækket til jorden. Faderen selv fortsætter
uden at sige et ord ”mekanisk” videre ind i den tropiske skov – men (igen) hvorfor? Umiddelbart efter dette
støtter endnu et flashback op om historien, men denne gang med en voksen Jack i centrum. Han taler heri
med sin mor, der fortvivlet beder ham om at bringe sin far hjem, hvilket han er meget afvisende overfor.
Det viser sig dermed, at deres anstrengte far og søn-forhold stadig er intakt i voksenalderen, men at det
måske ikke længere kun er faderen der bærer skylden: (Jacks mor): ”Jack, please. You know how he gets—
he doesn't—he won't take care of himself. You have to go after him”. (Jack):”I’m sorry. I can’t.” (Jacks mor):
"I can't?” You don't get to say "I can't." Not after what you did! Bring your father home, Jack.”. Det lader
altså her til, at hans mor har en klemme på ham, idet han efterfølgende med gråden stikkende i halsen
indvilliger i at rejse til Sydney for at hente ham. Igen kan man drage paralleller til øen, hvor også Michael og
Walt som sagt har et anspændt forhold – noget der altså synes at være et fællestræk for de overlevende.
Et senere flashback viser, hvordan han gennemroder faderens hotelværelse i Sydney for at finde
oplysninger, der kan føre ham på sporet af sin far. Værelset bugner af piller og sprut og hotelmanageren
fortæller, at de ikke har set ham i tre dage. Jack får sine bange anelser, da han finder faderens pung. Som
han siger:”He left his wallet. Who leaves a wallet? Where are you?”. Sidstnævnte spørgsmål genlyder i
nutiden, hvor Jack løber desorienteret rundt i junglen og råber efter sin far. Pludselig er han der, men ligeså
hurtigt er han væk igen og i et forsøg på at fange ham, falder Jack ned ad en skrænt. Som han hænger der
farefuldt og dingler, rækkes en hånd en frem fra kanten - det er dog ikke faderens, men derimod John
Lockes. Også her flettes hoved- og underplottet sammen, men denne gang er det anderledes; denne gang
hjælper underplottet nemlig hovedplottet videre mod sit mål – i skikkelse af Locke og Jack. Dette kommer
til udtryk, idet Locke opfordrer Jack til for alvor at indtage lederrollen og dermed også finde sig selv – ligeså
meget for de andres skyld: (Locke)”…they need someone to tell them what to do.”(Jack):”Me? I can’t”
(Locke): ”why can’t you?” (Jack):”Because I’m not a leader.” (Locke):”And yet they all treat you like one”
(Jack): “I don’t know how to help them. I’ll fail. I don’t have what it takes”. Faderens ord fra flashbacket
genlyder således også her; ord der virkelig må siges at hjemsøge ham - endda i skikkelse af hans far.
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At afsnittet hedder White Rabbit er selvfølgelig en reference til Lewis Carrolls berømte klassiker Alice i
Eventyrland (1865). Historien omhandler den lille pige Alice, der på en skovtur får øje på en forunderlig hvid
kanin iklædt en frakke og bærende på et ur. Nysgerrig som hun er, følger hun efter den ned i dens hul,
hvorefter en både uhyggelig og eventyrlig rejse tager sin begyndelse. En rejse der umiddelbart ikke synes at
have noget klart formål, men som på det symbolske plan er et billede på en dannelseshistorie, hvor Alice
går fra at være barn til voksen. Idet Alice sætter efter kaninen, sættes udviklingen altså i gang. Akkurat
ligesom Alice forfølger Jack også en hvid kanin – en kanin i skikkelse af sin far. Dette sender ham ligeledes
ud på en mareridtslignende rejse (udtrykt i en urolig kameraføring), hvor det endelige mål må være at give
slip på denne. Kun således kan Jack nemlig frigøre sig fra barndommen og dermed også faderens
formanende ord, hvilket også understøttes af Lockes opfordring: ”You need to finish what you started”
(Jack):”Why?” (Locke): “Because a leader can’t lead before he knows where he is going”.
Som man har set i det tidligere flashback befandt Jack sig dog netop på en rejse, inden han kom til øen – en
rejse hvor han derimod skulle finde sin far. Og dette lykkedes da også for ham, hvilket man ser i et senere
flashback, hvor han identificerer ham i lighuset. Retsmedicineren forklarer her, at han har drukket sig ihjel
og således løftes sløret for endnu en ’effect’ – nemlig hvorfor Jack er så chokeret over at se ham. At faderen
har taget livet af sig selv på en rejse, som Jack angiveligt har haft indflydelse på, at han er taget på (Jvf. ”not
after what you did!”) indikerer dermed også, at Jack i en vis forstand har fejlet som søn. Og det er måske
nærmere i denne sammenhæng, at han ”just don’t have what it takes”.
“I need it to be done. I need it to be over. I need to bury my father”, siger han indtrængende og grådkvalt i
afsnittets sidste flashback til lufthavnen, hvor personalet først ikke vil lade kisten komme med, før
papirerne er i orden. At bedømme ud fra tilstedeværelsen af ”den hvide kanin”, så lader det dog ikke til at
begrave faderen, er den rigtige afslutning på ”rejsen” – det kommer der nemlig ikke nogen dannelse ud af.
Idet han ikke længere kan få det faderopgør, der ellers ville frigøre ham, så bliver han nu derfor nødt til at
acceptere sin far (og hans død) for selv at kunne vokse. Kun ved at gøre dette kan han nemlig begynde at
fokusere på det, han kan udrette, frem for det han er ude af stand til. Jack må derfor ”follow the rabbit
down the rabbit-hole”, som man nu siger. På Lockes opfordring bliver han derfor også i junglen natten over,
hvor han efterhånden begynder at anerkende sorgen over sin fars død. Efter at have trillet en tåre eller to
hører han pludselig igen den karakteristiske lyd af faderens drinksglas; denne gang er det dog ikke
indledningen til et flashback, men derimod startskuddet til jagten på selvstændighed. Jack følger her ”den
hvide kanin”, der til sidst ender med at lede ham til en kilde med friskt vand. Således bliver dette et billede
på den velafsluttede dannelsesproces, idet friskt vand jo netop er det, de tørster efter i underplottet.
Således kan han altså (gen)indtage sin rolle som leder ved at lede de andre ud af krisen - en symbolik der
ligeledes må siges at ligge forbundet med hans efternavn (Shepard).
Hovedplot og underplot flettes i den sidste scene endnu engang sammen, da Jack omsider vender tilbage til
lejren, hvor han akkurat når at stoppe et eskalerende masseoverfald på Boone. I mellemtiden har det
nemlig vist sig, at det var ham, der havde ”stjålet” vandet. Jeg sætter her citationstegn omkring stjålet, idet
det egentlig blot var et mislykket forsøg på selv at rationere det og således overtage lederrollen, nu da Jack
var væk. Lige inden situationen for alvor løber løbsk, træder Jack nemlig atter og for alvor i (leder)karakter:
”Leave him alone! (…) A woman died this morning just going for a swim and he tried to save her, and now
you're about to crucify him? We can't do this. Everyman for himself is not going to work. It's time to start
organizing. We need to figure out how we're going to survive here. Now, I found water. Fresh water, up in
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the valley. I'll take a group in at first light. If you don't want to come, then find another way to contribute.
Last week most of us were strangers, but we're all here now. And god knows how long we're going to be
here. But if we can't live together, we're going to die alone”.
Med disse ord som enden på afsnittet har Jack altså gennemgået en dannelsesproces, hvor han er kommet
ud på den anden side som et mere afklaret menneske. På denne måde har der foregået en udvikling af
karakteren og dermed også en form for afslutning/closure, og man kan derfor godt anskue White Rabbit
som ”et afsnit med (relativt) afsluttet karakter”. Da det dog kun er i de første episoder, at dette
forekommer, så mener jeg alligevel ikke, at man kan kategorisere serien som andet end en lang føljeton.
Alligevel kan det være en forklaring på, hvorfor serien havde flere tv-seere til at begynde med, idet den på
visse punkter efterlignede føljetonserien. I de senere afsnit af Jacks føljetonbue viser det sig da også, at han
heller ikke har været helt så accepterende over for faderen, som man umiddelbart skulle tro. Konflikten
mellem de to og faderens afgørende indflydelse på Jacks liv fortsætter nemlig gennem hele serien. Faderen
bliver således en genganger i mere end en forstand. Hvad jeg nemlig heller ikke har nævnt er, at Jack i
White Rabbit også finder sin fars kiste i junglen, der på mystisk vis er gabende tom. Spørgsmålet er derfor,
hvorvidt faderen blot var en hallucination, et spøgelse, den ægte vare eller noget helt tredje. Og hvad er
dennes agenda? Dette får man derimod ikke svar på, hvorfor der altså også er noget temmelig uafsluttet
over det. Som Kate meget passende siger i afsnittets afslutning: ”That’s all I’m gonna get, huh?” og Jack
blot svarer: My father died. In Sydney.”, ja så får man altså ikke mere information i denne omgang.
316’s konstruktion og karakterfremstilling
Afsnittet 316 starter ligeledes ud med et ultra-nærbillede af et øje. Som tidligere nævnt ved man så altså, at
dette er en del af hovedplottet. Igen tilhører øjet Jack, men denne gang i en voksen version – det er således
fra hans perspektiv, at afsnittet bliver fortalt, og han er dermed også den bærende karakter. Dette er dog
ikke alt, afsnittene har tilfælles – begge drager de ligeledes paralleller til seriens første afsnit The Pilot. I 316
vågner Jack nemlig op i junglen på nøjagtig samme måde, som han gjorde, da han først kom til øen. Ved
første øjekast ligner det altså et flashback til dengang, men det er det nu ikke. Dog kan det være svært at
bestemme nøjagtigt, hvad det er, idet det både kan siges at være det ene og det andet – det afhænger
nemlig af, hvordan man tolker den aktuelle tid. F.eks. peger det på, at det er et flashforward, idet Jack i
sæson 5’s foregående afsnit ikke har befundet sig på øen, men derimod har forsøgt at vende tilbage til den.
Starten af dette afsnit viser dermed, at denne mission nok skal lykkes, hvilken den også gør til sidst i samme
afsnit. Ligeledes kan det dog også være et flashback – det kommer nemlig an på, hvorledes man tolker
overgangen til næste scenes information: ’46 hours earlier’. For hvad er den aktuelle tid? Den på øen eller
den i den ”rigtige” verden? Dette er i sæson 5 nærmest umuligt at holde styr på, idet der stadig
forekommer flashbacks og flashforwards samtidig med, at der nu også skiftes mellem forskellige
”subjektive” tider alt afhængigt af, hvem der er bærer af afsnittet og hvor de befinder sig. Forvirret? At
holde styr på tidslinjen er således en meget stor og nærmest uladsiggørlig udfordring i denne sæson – og
det skal kun vise sig at blive værre; i afsnittets slutning ender tre af protagonisterne nemlig tilbage i 1977,
mens andre befinder sig i 2007, og fortællingen fortsætter derefter på samme sted, men i parallelle tider.
Derfor er det svært, og serien stiller mange krav til seeren, for hvordan hænger det sammen? Har den ene
tid indflydelse på den anden eller omvendt? Og hvilken begivenhed kommer først? Hvad man dog med
sikkerhed kan sige er, at den første scene er ”rammen” i afsnittets fortælling i og med, at det også er i
denne, det hele slutter igen. 316 er således en slags rammefortælling i den overordnede rammefortælling.
15
Udover ovenstående er det specielle ved dette afsnit, at der helt exceptionelt ikke er tale om et underplot.
Dette er selvfølgelig med til at forenkle omstændighederne, da man blot forbliver i den samme fortælling
fra start til slut. I dette tilfælde kan man derfor også tale om, at plottet er karakterdrevent, idet Jack er ham
der udelukkende fører os gennem historien. I de foregående afsnit (af 5. sæson) har det derimod været
historien/plottet, der har kastet rundt med karaktererne, i og med tiden på øen har sprunget frem og
tilbage, uden der har været noget, karaktererne kunne gøre ved det – de måtte bare følge med. Afsnittets
struktur kan derfor ikke siges at være gængs for 5. sæson, hvor den komplekse historie derimod ellers har
været fortalt i et hastigt tempo, samtidig med at der blev skiftet og krydsklippet mellem adskillige A-, B- og
C-stories. Efter manuskriptforfatterne i slutningen af tredje sæson fik sat et punktum (af ABC) for serien i
den sjette, så er den nemlig begyndt at bevæge sig væsentligt hurtigere mod et klimaks: Hvor der førhen
forekom en masse flashbacks til karakterernes tidligere liv, hvilket satte selve tiden på øen meget i stampe,
så hører dette da også op derefter (jvf. Jacks føljetonbue), hvilket selvfølgelig hænger sammen med, at der
nu skal nogle svar på bordet. For som Abrams og Lindelhof siger, så har der hele tiden været en mening
med galskaben, idet der altid har været udtænkt en begyndelse, midte og en slutning (Pearson, 2009: 126).
Alle trådende skal dermed nå at blive udredte, inden serien slutter, hvilket formatet jo i øvrigt også kræver.
I introen bliver tematikken for afsnittet endnu engang præsenteret: Igen skal Jack nemlig ud på en rejse,
men denne gang en fysisk en. Nu handler det nemlig ikke længere om at blive reddet og komme væk fra
øen, men derimod om at redde andre (og ham selv) ved at vende tilbage. Selv om Jack gennemgik en
udvikling i White Rabbit, så har han nemlig undergået endnu en, siden han vendte tilbage til sit gamle liv i
civilisationen. Lige siden barndommen har han vel og mærke haft visse problemer med at tage fatale
hændelser personligt. Dette lærte han på øen dog så småt at acceptere, men siden hans hjemkomst er det
gået i den anden retning. Her nages Jack nemlig af, at han ikke har holdt sit ord – nemlig at få alle de
overlevende væk fra øen. Det lykkedes ham nemlig kun at bringe fem af passagererne fra Oceanic 815 samt
Desmond og Frank Lapidus med sig tilbage, inden Ben drejede på det underjordiske tandhjul, der som sagt
fik øen til at forsvinde ud af tid og sted. Således fejlede han altså, og væk fra øen lader det igen til, at han
”just don’t have what it takes”. Også derfor er han havnet i et nedbrydende pille- og alkoholmisbrug –
nøjagtig som sin far. Nedturen/livet væk fra øen er stilistisk understøttet af en mere mørk belysning, der
således bliver et billede på hans sindstilstand. Ubevidst om årsagen (før nu) har man som seer derfor også
haft svært ved at føle allegience, idet man længe ikke har fået information gennem flashbacks, der har
kunnet forklare hans usympatiske handlinger – dog er der i stedet blevet skabt suspense.
Da Locke en dag vender tilbage fra øen for at fortælle ham, at han ”must bring everyone back in order to
save the island” (Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham), er Jack først dybt afvisende: ”John, it's over! It's done.
We left, and we were never important. So you... you leave me alone. And you leave the rest of them alone!”
(ibid.). Dog vækkes hans interesse alligevel, da Locke efterfølgende siger: ”You father says hello” (Jack):
”What?” (Locke):”A man – the man who told me to move the island (back8) – the man who told me how to
bring you all back – he said to tell his son hello. It couldn’t have been Sayid’s father, and it wasn’t Hurley’s,
so that leaves you. He said his name was Christian.” (ibid.). Chokeret over denne information affejer han
ham rasende med ordene: ”My father is dead. He died in Australia three years ago. I put him in the coffin!
He's dead.”(ibid.). Alligevel ser det altså ud til, at ”den hvide kanin” er tilbage, for som Locke indvender:
”Well, he didn’t look dead to me”(ibid.).
8
Min kommentar
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Inden Jack endeligt når at beslutte sig for at vende tilbage, tager Locke angiveligt9 sit eget liv i troen, at hans
mission ikke lykkedes. Jacks far, Christian (eller hvem/hvad han er), havde da også fortalt ham, at han blev
nødt til at ofre sig for at nå sit mål (This Place is Dead). Jack bliver da efterfølgende også overbevist – bl.a. af
Lockes afskedsbrev hvori der står ”Jack, I wish you would have believed in me”. Ligeledes er hans
depression også blevet forværret, og noget peger derfor også på, at det ikke kun er for de andres skyld, han
vil tilbage. Forinden 316 har han derfor også brugt en del kræfter på at overtale de andre, selvom ikke alle
endnu er helt overbeviste, og det er således her afsnittet tager sin begyndelse:
I samarbejde med (antagonisten!) Ben er det i Los Angeles lykkedes Jack at overbevise Desmond og Sun til
at tage med hen til Eloise Hawking – kvinden der skal hjælpe dem med at komme tilbage til øen. Hun fører
dem efterfølgende ned i en kirkekælder, hvor et stort pendul svinger over et kæmpemæssigt verdenskort.
Eloise præsenterer stedet som ’The Lamp Post’ – Dharma Initiativets første forskningscenter, hvis formål er
at bestemme øens mest sandsynlige beliggenhed i tid og sted, således det er muligt at rejse dertil: ” (…)a
very clever fellow built this pendulum on the theoretical notion that they should stop looking for where the
island was supposed to be and start looking for where it was going to be”. I denne scene får man dermed
svaret på et af de vigtigste spørgsmål i den overgribende seriebue, nemlig hvor de overlevende har
befundet sig. Som Eloise forklarer: “(…) as it turned out, the Island was always moving. Why do you think
you were never rescued?”. Således kommer der altså løsninger på de store såvel som de små gåder, men
dette hænger vel og mærke sammen – f.eks. forklarer dette, hvorfor liget af lægen fra ’Kahana’ skyllede i
land på øen, selvom han stadig var i fuld vigør på skibet, da Daniel kontaktede ham over walkie-talkien (The
Shape Of Things to Come). Dette kunne altså kun lade sig gøre, idet der var en (mindre) tidsforskel mellem
øen og ’Kahana’, hvilket man altså først får indblik i her. ‘The Lamp Post’ er således endnu en klar reference
til en klassiker, nemlig C.S. Lewis’s fortælling om Løven, Heksen og Garderobeskabet (1950) i det berømte
Narnia-univers, hvor der også springes mellem tid og sted. I denne markerer en lanterne/lygtepæl nemlig
passagen mellem Narnia og den virkelige verden – en funktion ’The Lamp Post’ også deler med øen. For at
komme tilbage forklarer Eloise endvidere, at de må tage et fly til Guam; Ajira Airways 316 – deraf også
navnet på afsnittet. Men, forklarer hun: “If you... want to return, you need to recreate as best you can the
circumstances that brought you there in the first place. That means as many of the same people as you are
able to bring with you.”, ellers vil konsekvenserne være uforudsigelige.
Og derefter begynder uret at tikke; indenfor 36 timer skal de nemlig på bedst mulig vis rekonstruere det
oprindelige flystyrt og dette kræver selvfølgelig et par rekvisitter. Blandt andet får Jack til opgave at iklæde
Lockes lig noget, der har tilhørt hans far – hvorfor vides dog ikke. Man kan i denne forbindelse argumentere
for, at det her er Jack, der virker som seernes talerør, idet han meget passende udbryder: ”This is
ridiculous”. Men som Eloise svarer ham: “Oh, stop thinking how ridiculous it is and start asking yourself
whether or not you believe it's going to work. That's why it's called a leap of faith, Jack.”. Og det må man
som seer derfor også bare gøre – tro på at der er en mening med galskaben, hoppe ned i kaninhullet og
ellers bare vente. Det er jo netop dét, det hele handler om. Set i lyset af at serien på sin vis begynder
”forfra” i dette afsnit, så lader det nemlig ikke til, at der kommer flere svar foreløbig. Derimod søsættes en
masse nye mysterier og uafsluttede plotlinjer – nøjagtigt som i The Pilot. F.eks. gives der ikke svar på,
hvorfor Hurley og Sayid pludselig befinder sig i lufthavnen, for hvordan ved de, at det netop er dette fly, de
9
Det viser sig senere, at Ben slog ham ihjel, inden han selv nåede det, hvilket selvfølgelig er et plot-twist. På denne
måde bliver flashbacksekvenserne således også pludselig ”utroværdige”, idet man ikke får den rigtige ’cause’ på
’effect’.
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skal med? Men som Hurley siger: ”All that matters is that I'm here, right?” og det må man jo give ham ret i
– for nu. Alle har de nemlig helt sikkert en historie, der skal fortælles og en hvid kanin, der skal jages. Eller
også har de slet ikke noget valg; Sayid ankommer f.eks. i håndjern – tvunget mod sin vilje – eskorteret af en
ukendt bevæbnet kvinde. Er det mon øen/skæbnen der her trækker i trådene? For det kan da ikke alt
sammen være tilfældigheder. Som Eloise siger til Desmond, da han nægter at tage tilbage: ”I'm sorry to
have to tell you this, Desmond, but the Island isn't done with you yet.”. At bedømme ud fra dette lader det
nemlig ikke til, at man overhovedet har noget valg. Historien vil fortælles til ende.
Skæbnen versus den frie vilje er da også en tematik, der er gennemgående for LOST. I dette afsnit er det
ligeledes en indikator for, at Jack er ved at gennemgå en væsentlig forandring. I serien har han som læge
nemlig altid repræsenteret videnskaben og fornuften, mens Locke derimod har været ”tro mod skæbnen”. I
White Rabbit forklarede Jack f.eks. synet af sin far med hallucinationer: ”A result of dehydration, posttraumatic stress, not getting more than two hours of sleep at night for the past week”, hvorimod Locke tog
en anden vinkel:” Is your white rabbit a hallucination? Probably. But what if everything that happened here,
happened for a reason? What if this person that you're chasing is really here?”. I 316 har Jack derimod
ændret sig – fysisk ved at barbere sit skæg, men også psykisk. Selvom han oprindelig var afvisende over for
Locke, da han som sagt vendte tilbage fra øen for at fortælle, at de var nødt til at tage tilbage, at det var
deres skæbne, så er han i 316 jo netop på vej. Siden deres samtale, hvor Jack tydeligt repræsenterede det
rationelle: Because it’s our destiny? How many times are you gonna say that to me, John? Your car accident
was on the west side of Los Angeles. You being brought into my hospital isn’t fate, John. It’s
probability.”(Flashback i The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham), så tager han jo i sidste ende “the leap of
faith”. Og det kan man kalde starten på en radikal udvikling – som han også selv siger til den afdøde Locke:
” Wherever you are, John... you must be laughing your ass off that I'm actually doing this. Because this...
this is even crazier than you were”. I selv samme forbindelse kan man også tolke Bens fortælling om
Apostlen Thomas der ville se, før han kunne tro, som en reference til Jack: ”(…)Thomas was not
remembered for this bravery. His claim to fame came later... when he refused to acknowledge the
resurrection. He just couldn’t wrap his mind around it. The story goes… that he needed to touch Jesus’
wounds to be convinced” (Jack): “So was he?” (Ben): “Of course he was. We’re all convinced sooner or later,
Jack”. På mange måder er 316 nemlig et studie i Jacks vilje til at tro, - og hvorvidt han vil blive husket, som
den der afviste Locke, eller den der blev en troende. Det samme gælder såmænd for resten af de
tilbagevendende – de blev jo alle overbevist før eller siden, men præcist hvornår kan altså være ganske
afgørende for deres fremTID10. Bliver man i det bibelske hjørne, kan afsnittets navn 316 således også tolkes
som noget andet end blot et fly-nummer, og dermed fungere som et clue til kommende afsnit. Anskuer
man nemlig 316 som en reference til bibelverset John 3:16, der lyder: "For God so loved the world, that he
gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.", så
peger det på, at man ikke har set det sidste til Locke. I hvert fald passer verset godt på det kommende
afsnit, hvor han pludselig er i live igen, men sammenhængen er indtil videre blot min egen spekulation.
I dette afsnit har Jack altså endnu engang begyndt en dannelsesproces. Hvor der i White Rabbit dog var en
slags afslutning, så ser det imidlertid anderledes ud med 316. Som man også kan se ud fra analysen, får
man nemlig ikke nok at vide ud fra det enkelte afsnit, og man må derfor se det i forbindelse med mange
andre. Således er afsnittet (på trods af den manglende B-story) særdeles repræsentativt for serien, hvor
10
Dette kan f.eks. være med til at forklare, hvorfor nogle ender op i 1977 og andre i 2007
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man som sagt må se de enkelte dele i forhold til helheden. Er man ikke kender af serien, kan man altså ikke
komme ind i fortællingen på dette tidspunkt – det er der simpelthen for meget historie til. Ligeledes skal
det nævnes, at det jo også er sværere at skabe tilknytning (allegience) til karaktererne i og med, at der ikke
længere forekommer flashbacks, der er med til at opbygge dem som personer og give indblik i deres
motivationer. Derimod fungerer sekvenserne nu i stedet som simple tilbageholdelser af information i den
nuværende fortælling, og man skal således kende karaktererne – ellers fremstår de nemlig ofte blot som
lettere afstumpede, uforståelige og usympatiske, idet vi nu kun har adgang til den ”objektive” verden og
ikke den ”subjektive” (Smith, 1995:74).
En strukturalistisk analyse af karakterens konstruktion
Som allerede nævnt adskiller LOST sig fra de fleste andre tv-serier i form af bl.a. dens format og de
(dynamiske) karakterer der herindunder hører. Som beskrevet hører disse også tæt sammen, idet de små
individuelle føljetonbuer alle knytter sig til den overgribende seriebue. Som Lindelhof også forklarer det:
”(…)the mythology is very important and we don’t throw it away piece-meal. But at the same time, we
approach every episode as, this is a Jack episode; we’re going to explain a little more why the guy needs to
fix things all the time and let the island story support that obsession”11. Således er karaktererne
interessante I forhold til mytologien/”hermeneutikken”, og i dette afsnit vil jeg undersøge nærmere,
hvorledes dette giver sig til udtryk.
Psychologial traits/habitual behaviour
Pearson lægger i sin analyse af Jacks modsætning, John Locke, ud med at beskrive karakterens ændring fra
livet før øen til den nutid, man kender ham i. Hun påpeger her, at Locke har gennemgået en forandring:
Hvor han i fortiden var en ensom, vred, deprimeret mand uden større mål i livet, så er han på øen mere
rolig, selvsikker og fokuseret. Hvor han før var en tilhænger, er han nu en leder, ligesom han nu ikke vil lade
noget (eller nogen) komme i vejen for at nå sine mål. Den Locke der altså i den ”virkelige” verden var en
troværdig, underkuet mand er på øen blevet en farlig en af slagsen, der bare gør, som han vil.
Lidt på samme måde kan man anskue Jack. Ganske vist er han ikke blevet nær så voldsom, men også han
har fundet sit kald – nemlig at være et forbillede, der kan redde folk og lede dem i sikkerhed. Og også her
træffer han beslutninger hen over hovedet på de andre for at nå sine egne mål. Blandt kontakter han i
sæson 3 skibet ’Kahana’, selvom de andre overlevende beder ham om at lade være, og ligeså vel forsøger
han fortsat at redde Boone fra døden, til trods for at han trygler ham om det modsatte. Jack har jo som
nævnt en utrolig trang til at redde folk. Dog bliver han på øen bedre til at give slip. I flashback- (og
flashforward)sekvenserne ser ”virkeligheden” derimod anderledes ud – her præsenteres man nemlig for en
fyr, der konstant er usikker på sig selv og som hele tiden holder igen.
Physical characteristics/appearance
Locke og Jack deler, ligesom alle andre tv-karakterer, visse karakteristika med de skuespillere, der går ind i
rollen. Både Locke og Jack ligner og taler derfor også som henholdsvis Terry O’Quinn og Matthew Fox,
ligeså vel som deres ansigtsudtryk, kropsholdning, fagter og stemmeføring alt sammen bidrager til den
11
http://74.125.77.132/search?q=cache:h0ILf00jp6UJ:featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/entertainment_tv/2007/01/los
t_producers_.html+maureen+ryan+lost+producers+talk+about+setting+an+end+date+and+much+more&cd=2&hl=da
&ct=clnk&gl=dk
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samlede karakter. Alligevel er der nogle træk, der kun vedrører den ene eller den anden. F.eks. er Terry
O’Quinn skaldet og i fuld vigør, hvorimod Locke i flashbackene har hår og sidder i kørestol. Dog har øen den
effekt på ham, at han pludselig kan gå igen, og således gennemgår han altså også en ændring fysisk, ligeså
vel som han gjorde psykisk.
Ligeledes ligner Jack Shepard også Matthew Fox, men der er dog den forskel, at Jack har én tatovering, som
Fox ikke deler. Denne har han fået lavet i Thailand af en pige ved navn Achara, der hævdede at være
”(…)able to see who people are. My work is not decoration, it is definition (…)”(Stranger in a Strange Land),
og har således “mærket” ham som et menneske, hun meget rammende ”læser” som: ”(…) a leader, a great
man. But this, this makes you lonely, and frightened, and angry” (ibid.). Dette menneske er da også den
Jack er, før han kommer til øen. Helt præcist oversættes tatoveringen:”He walks amongst us, but he is not
one of us” (ibid.), men som han siger på øen: “That’s what they say. It’s not what they mean” (ibid.).
Tegnene er nemlig tvetydige, idet de også kan oversættes til: ”Eagles high, cleaving sky”12, hvilket er et vers
fra det kendte Mao digt ”Ch’ang-sha 1925”. Verset kan således også symbolisere digtet, der i sig selv har en
dybere mening, hvilket giver sig til udtryk i begyndelsen af 2. Strofe, hvor der spørges: ”who masters fate’s
rise and descent?”. Og det må man jo sige, at Jack gør; på øen mestrer han nemlig skæbnens ”op- og
nedture”, idet han accepterer sin rolle og således også ”lærer at gå blandt de andre”. Tatoveringen er
således et (tvetydigt) symbol på Jack som menneske – et menneske der ligeledes har ændret sig, da han
kom til øen. Et menneske, der også har været ”lam”, men som nu kan ”gå”. Fysisk kommer dette til udtryk
ved, at tatoveringen ofte er synlig i scener, hvor Jack tvivler på sig selv.
Speech patterns
Alle karakterer har forskellige måder at tale på (accenter, udtryk og vendinger), der bidrager til billedet af
dem som kvasi-personer. Det primære kendetegn ved Locke er, at hans tale omhandler det
mystiske/spirituelle og således støtter op omkring en mand, der søger efter et formål med livet gennem
tro. Som allerede nævnt bruger han ofte ordet ’destiny’, ligesom han også sætter sin lid til øen ved ofte at
omtale den som en person. Jack derimod er kendetegnet ved at være ”a man of science”, hvilket således
også giver sig til udtryk gennem tale. Som jeg allerede har været inde på i analysen, anvender han derfor i
stedet ord som ”probability”, ligeså vel som han ofte kommer med videnskabelige forklaringer på tingene. I
5. sæson sker der dog en udvikling, idet Jack som sagt bliver en ”troende”.
Interactions with other characters
Ligesom rigtige mennesker skaber karakterer ofte deres identitet i forbindelse med andre og den måde de
omgås folk på – dette være sig i familien, på jobbet eller her på en mystisk ø. Og ligesom der skete
ændringer med karakterernes ’habitual behaviours’, så smitter dette selvfølgelig også af på deres
væremåde over for andre. Locke, der før var en underkuet, ensom (og enlig) kontormedarbejder, er på øen
derimod højt placeret i hierarkiet – på linje med Jack – hvor de adskillige gange slås om lederrollen.
Ligesom Locke kæmpede Jack også førhen med problemer på arbejdspladsen, hvor han følte, at hans far
pillede ham ned og latterliggjorde ham foran personalet. På samme måde var han også ensom, idet han
mistede sin kone til en anden mand (som han troede, var sin far), ligesom Locke også forliste sit
kærlighedsforhold ved at genoptage forholdet til sin far. Således bunder deres ulykke i forholdet til deres
forælder; Locke der mistede kærlighed og førlighed, da hans far skubbede ham ud af et vinduet, og Jack
12
http://lostpedia.wikia.com/wiki/Jack%27s_tattoo
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ligeså – der dog i stedet svækker sig selv og sin arbejdsevne med medicin og alkohol. På øen står det
derimod anderledes til: Her bliver de nemlig begge de forbilleder, de selv har manglet, ligesom de også
opbygger stærke forhold til andre af de overlevende. Jack indleder sågar et forhold til Kate (og senere også
Juliet), hvilket dog igen går i stykker, da de vender hjem til civilisationen. Her falder Jack nemlig tilbage i sit
gamle mønster, hvor han konstant mistænker folk for at bedrage ham bag sin ryg.
Environment
LOST’s setting bidrager ligeledes til at fremstille karaktererne og deres sindstilstande. Hvor
flashbacksekvenserne f.eks. for det meste er mørke og kolde (sterile) i deres belysning, så står disse i stor
kontrast til scenerne på øen. Her er der nemlig lys og luft i de smukke eksotiske omgivelser. Her er
tilværelsen så at sige ikke farveløs, men derimod farvestrålende, og symboliserer således det spændende
og interessante liv, frem for det sort-hvide. Det er her mareridtene dukker op, for at drømmene kan gå i
opfyldelse og ikke en skyggefuld tilværelse, hvor mørket blot bliver til mere.
Biography
Gennem fortiden er det som sagt der, hvor man får mest at vide om karaktererne og om hvorfor, de er
havnet på øen. Hvad der er ens for karaktergalleriet er, at flashbacksekvenserne primært fortæller historier
fra deres tragiske privatliv. Særligt forholdet til deres far gør sig gældende, ligesom de hver især har nogle
ønsker og drømme, der ikke kan lade sig gøre. Ligeledes er der også et fokus på den komplicerede
kærlighed til det modsatte køn.
Locke blev f.eks. opfostret på et børnehjem, men lærte som voksen senere sine forældre at kende. Faderen
kontakter ham her, idet han har brug for en nyre. Efter transplantationen vågner Locke op til en tom seng
og faderen er igen stukket af. Vred over at være blevet forladt (igen) deltager han i nogle ’anger
management’ kurser, hvor han møder sit livs kærlighed, Helen. Forholdet slutter dog, da Locke ignorerer
hendes advarsler, idet faderen pludselig kommer tilbage. Endnu engang narres han da også, og søger
derefter tilflugt i et kollektiv der dyrker marihuana. Her kommer han til at afsløre deres virksomhed til en
undercover betjent, hvem han i forbindelse med dette overvejer at dræbe, men ikke kan. Efterfølgende
kommer han igen i kontakt med sin far, og denne gang truer han med at afsløre hans fupnumre. I vrede
skubber faderen ham derefter ud af et vindue, hvilket gør ham lam i benene. Ethvert aspekt af biografien;
Helen der forlader ham, hans uforvarende forræderi og lammelse leder ham således til at boarde Flight
815. Disse begivenheder ledte ham nemlig til den spirituelle krise, som han håbede, at en ’walkabout’ ville
kurere – men som øen nu lader til at gøre i stedet.
Jack derimod har altid kendt sine forældre, men har i særdeleshed også haft et kompliceret forhold til sin
far. Dette bunder som sagt i, at faderen har givet ham grund til at tro, at han ikke dur til noget. Jack bliver
derfor besat af at bevise, at han godt kan fikse ting, hvilket også er måden, hvorpå han kommer i kontakt
med sin kone, Sarah. Hende redder han nemlig mirakuløst fra lammelse ved at operere hendes rygsøjle. I
forsøget på at udføre en sådan operation igen bliver udgangen dog fatal for en ældre mand. Jack bebrejder
efterfølgende sig selv for dette, hvilket går ud over deres ægteskab og Sarah forlader ham for en anden. I
mellemtiden når han ligeledes at svigte sin far, idet han melder ham for at operere under indflydelse af
alkohol, hvilket koster ham jobbet. Jack mistænker derefter faderen for at gå i seng med sin kone, hvilket
leder til dennes tur til Australien, hvor han drikker sig ihjel. Ligeledes fører alle disse hændelser altså til, at
han også tager flyet, i et forsøg på at blive forsonet og bringe sin far tilbage.
21
Således viser de seks komponenter altså, hvorledes ’speech patterns’ og ’biography’ ikke varierer synderligt
mellem før og nu. Dog peger de begge på, hvad det er, de to karakterer hver især slås med på øen; faith vs.
science og hver deres hvide kanin. Deres ’habitual behaviours’ er således både årsager til og resultater af
dette. ’Psychological traits’, ’physical characteristics’, ’interaktions with others’ og ’environment’ ændrer sig
derimod radikalt i forhold til før og nu; f.eks. går de begge fra at være tilbageholdende til ledere, ”lamme”
til ”gående”, ensomme til samlingspunkter, fra den grå dagligdag til den farverige ø. Således hænger øens
hemmeligheder sammen med karakterernes konstruktion. Dette kaster nemlig lys over den overgribende
seriebue; hvad befinder sig på øen og hvorfor er de havnet der? Øen er nemlig fyldt med ”kaniner”, indre
dæmoner og spøgelser fra fortiden der skal jages, bekæmpes og fordrives.
Den narrative struktur
Som allerede skitseret i figuren over Jacks plotlinje/føljetonbue er LOST ikke en kanonisk fortælling, men
derimod en progressiv-regressiv, idet der konstant springes mellem tiderne, så handlingen dels skrider
fremad, men også går tilbage. Også derfor er serien umiddelbart svær at finde hoved og hale i, da der ikke
er sammenfald mellem ’plot’ og ’story’(Bordwell & Thompson, 2008: 76f)13. Storyen betegner her seriens
uformidlede historie, dvs. den krono(logiske) årsagskæde af begivenheder, der udspiller sig inden for et
givent tidsrum og rumligt felt. Plottet derimod kan defineres som den form, hvori storyen fremlægges nøjagtig som en shot‐to‐shot opremsning ville gengive det. Grundet usammenhængen må seerne derfor
konstant omarrangere begivenhedsforløbene i bevidstheden for at rekonstruere deres kanoniske struktur. I
denne forbindelse taler Bordwell om, at seerne er aktive og deltagende i perceptionsprocessen (Bordwell,
1985:49f.). Ved hjælp af en række særlige ’schema(ta)’ har seerne nemlig nogle helt klare forventninger til,
hvad der evt. måtte komme efter noget forudgående. Også derfor er LOST på en måde at sammenligne
med krimien, hvor man også starter midt i fortællingen/narrationen, da forbrydelsen bliver opdaget, for
derefter at bevæge sig frem mod en opklaring, men samtidig tilbage mod forbrydelsens undfangelse.
Således slutter krimien altså først, når enden når begyndelsen.
Ligeledes starter LOST in medias res og bevæger sig derefter i forskellige retninger i opklaringen på, hvorfor
de er havnet på øen. Til og med afslutningen på sæson 3 var serien dog forholdsvis nem at følge med i, idet
der blot var en nutid (på øen) og en fortid (flashbacks) at holde styr på (som i White Rabbit). Seerne skulle
således ”kun” koncentrere sig om at rekonstruere flashbacksekvenserne til en sammenhængende historie,
der naturligvis lå før nutiden. Dog skulle man da holde tungen lige i munden, hvilket også fremgår af
nedenstående figur. Her har jeg for eksemplets skyld arrangeret Jacks flashbacks til en kohærent story 14.
13
Jeg har grundet opgavens omfang undladt at inddrage begrebet stil, der sammen med plottet egentlig cuer seeren
til at danne storyen
14
Den samlede story kan ses mere detaljeret i bilag 4
22
Som man kan se falder oplysningerne nemlig meget forskudt af hinanden og der er således (ukendte) huller
i historien, der hele tiden fyldes ud. Dette betyder derfor også, at man nogle gange narres – f.eks. i
forbindelse med at danne allegiance. Som man f.eks. så det i White Rabbit, så bliver Jacks far, Christian,
nemlig (længe) fremstillet som særligt arrogant og nedladende over for sin søn, men efterhånden som
sæsonerne skrider frem, stilles han i et andet lys. Tager man f.eks. fat i tredje flashback (der altså først
plotmæssigt optræder i sidste afsnit af sæson 5!), så viser det sig nemlig, at denne derimod støtter Jack i
hans bedrifter. Der er nemlig Christian, der opfordrede Jack til mantraet ”count to five, and then fix her”
(The Incident), da hans første større operation var ved at ende fatalt. Jack har derimod flere gange på øen
fortalt denne historie, som en beretning om, hvorledes han selv overkom frygten, men det viser sig altså
her, at det derimod var hans far, der ledte ham gennem den. Dette understreger endvidere, at
flashbackene netop bliver fortalt ud fra hovedpersonens perspektiv, og som han udvikles, dukker der
automatisk også flere (selv)erkendelser op. Derfor ser man først flashbacket så sent i serien, hvor Jack
efterhånden er begyndt at forstå, at det måske egentlig var ham, der var tyrannen. Dette gør derfor også
ofte karaktererne til upålidelige fortællere. Et godt eksempel på at der altid er to sider af samme sag,
tydeliggøres bedst i ægteparret Jins og Suns sekvenser, der ofte har samme handling, men hver sit
synspunkt.
I afsnittet Through The Looking Glass ændrede strukturen sig dog, da hvad man egentlig troede, var et
flashback, i stedet viste sig at være et flashforward. Således blev narrationen også omformet, idet den
suspense der blev skabt ved denne afsløring, stillede nye spørgsmål vedrørende seriens fremtidige
fortælling. Nu handlede det nemlig ikke længere om: ”kommer de mon væk fra øen?”, men derimod:
”hvordan vil plottet mon fortælle, hvordan de kommer væk?”. Dette stillede selvfølgelig også langt flere
krav til seerne, idet det non-lineære nu blev endnu mere komplekst at gøre kausalt forståeligt med både en
fortid, nutid og en fremtid, idet den narrative nutid nu også var fremtidens fortid. Sagen var nemlig også, at
plottet i visse afsnit legede med seernes forståelse ved at præsentere både flashbacks og flashforwards i
samme ombæring (Ji Yeon) og derved forvirre – for hvad var hvad? Også derfor faldt mange af tv-seerne
fra.
I 316 lader det dog til, at serien ’rebooter’, da Jack m.fl. igen vender tilbage til øen. Her kan man nemlig
sige, at flashbackene, tiden på øen (første gang) og flashforwardene/tiden i civilisationen alle er afsluttede
kapitler. Derimod starter nu en ny nutid (for Jack) på øen i 1977 - men en fortid (tiden i civilisationen) og en
fremtid er på sin vis er ukendt – og dog, for de andre karakterer befinder sig jo som sagt i 2007. På denne
måde griber serien her for alvor om sig, idet narrationen udvides til at gå endnu længere tilbage. Således
tildeles seeren lige 1000 ekstra brikker til det i forvejen avancerede puslespil, hvor rammen altså først kan
lægges, når midten er færdiggjort. I The Incident får man dog et par væsentlige brikker til dette, i og med at
der her springes længere tilbage end nogensinde før – helt tilbage til mysteriets ”undfangelse”. Her oplyses
det nemlig, at det er Jacob, øens ofte omtalte leder, der bringer folk til øen, fordi han forsøger at
overbevise, hvem der lader til at være hans nemesis, om, at han har ret (i noget): (Nemesis):” You brought
them here. Still trying to prove me wrong, aren’t you?” (Jacob):”You are wrong” (Nemesis): “Am I? They
come. They fight. They destroy. They corrupt. It always ends the same” (Jacob): “It only ends once. Anything
that happens before that is just progress”. Således lader det altså til, at historien på øen har gentaget sig
23
mange gange før – dog er enden endnu ikke blevet fortalt. Ligeledes bekræfter det Lockes citat, at
”everything that happened here, happened for a reason” – det er nemlig Jacob, der hiver i trådene.
Sammenligner man LOST med krimien kan forholdet mellem plot og story derfor se (nogenlunde) således
ud:
Dog kan man ikke sætte lighedstegn mellem de forskellige a, b, c, d, e og f’er, men det giver alligevel et
godt billede af, hvordan storyen konstrueres tidsmæssigt – og hvor svært det er at holde styr på plottet.
Når det kommer til LOST har plottet ganske vist først præsenteret c, d og e modsat d, e, og f.
At stykke storyen sammen er således efterhånden en nærmest umulig opgave. Det er dog ligeledes en af de
største fornøjelser ved at (gen)se serien, idet den kræver, at seerne selv arbejder med ”teksten”. Men man
skal orke det. LOSTs narration modarbejder nemlig, at man bare passivt kan læne sig tilbage og blive
underholdt. Hvis man skal forstå serien og dens mysterier, handler det nemlig om, at man må undersøge
den nøje – nøjagtig som en detektiv. Også derfor vælger de fleste at købe dvd’en, idet denne muliggør, at
man kan se nærmere på tingene ved f.eks. at fryse billedet (Pearson, 2009: 51ff). Således har jeg også selv
gjort og har på denne måde fundet adskillige små clues/easter eggs, jeg ikke opdagede ved første
gennemgang. Ét eksempel er i Through the Looking Glass, hvor man f.eks. får en ledetråd vedrørende de
nye flashforwards: Et skilt uden på en begravelsesforretning siger nemlig ”Hoffs/Drawlar”, hvilket også er et
anagram for ’flashforward’. Og sådanne er serien spækket med, så det er bare om at komme i gang.
Grundet seriens omfang er der dog så meget at tage fat i, at man dårligt ved, hvor man skal begynde.
Derfor har LOST det altså også med at gøre en fortabt. Til dette formål findes der dog et utal af online fora,
hvor seerne arbejder sammen for at sammenstykke historien. Således kan man altså virkelig tale om, at
seerne er aktive, idet en større forståelse (inden seriens afslutning) kræver, at man også går væk fra
”teksten” og breder sig ud over flere medieplatforme for at finde brikker til puslespillet. LOST er da også
blevet hædret af Time Magazine som et af de bedste tv-shows nogensinde netop på grund af dette: “In a
way it’s a misnormer to call LOST one of TV’s best shows – it’s a fine show on the level of character and
writing, but what makes it a classic is that it’s the finest interactive game ever to appear in your living room
once a week. An elaborate fractal pattern of intersecting stories concerning plane survivors on a not-quitedeserted island, a secretive international organization and a monster made of smoke, LOST only begins with
24
the 60 minutes you see on TV. Its mysteries, clues and literary-historical allusions demand research, repeatviewing, freeze-framing and endless online discussions”15. Således er det altså muligt at finde mening med
galskaben – men det kræver engagement.
Konklusion
Min motivation for at skrive dette projekt udsprang af en undren over, hvorvidt der var en mening med
LOST – om man kunne udrede de mange indviklede tråde, eller om der blot var tale om ren vildledning.
Serien er jo ofte blevet beskyldt for det sidste – men er der mon en årsag til det? Min problemformulering
gik derfor på at undersøge, hvordan serien er konstrueret – nærmere betegnet hvad der karakteriserer den
i form af dens format, om den har udviklet sig med tiden, og hvad dette eventuelt kunne have af betydning
for seerne. Derudover ville jeg se nærmere på, hvordan karaktererne bidrager til fortællingen og hvorledes
serien narrativt fortæller sin historie – ligeledes med henblik på seernes oplevelse.
Først og fremmest fik jeg konstateret, at LOST er en såkaldt ’lang føljeton’, der dog ikke altid har været
ligeså uafsluttet, som den er i dag. Førhen bar den nemlig også præg af at have relativt afsluttet karakter,
hvorfor den også i højere grad lagde sig op ad føljetonserien og dermed henvendte sig til et bredere
publikum – et publikum der ikke var nødsaget til at følge med i alle afsnit, men som derimod også kunne få
noget ud af et enkelt. Det lange føljetonformat kunne altså meget vel være årsag til, at visse seere har
opfattelsen, at der ikke findes hoved og hale i serien, idet de stadig anskuer den som en føljetonserie, man
bare kan springe ind i, når det passer en. Dette er derimod ikke tilfældet.
I denne sammenhæng spiller karaktererne også en væsentlig rolle – et engagement i disse er nemlig
afgørende for, om seerne bider på formatet og sidenhen bliver hængende. Også derfor er det væsentligt
for fortællingen, at disse opbygges til kvasi-personer man kan føle tilknytning til – på samme måde som en
virkelig person. Dette gøres bl.a. ved brugen af flashbacksekvenser der både giver informationer (biografi)
om karaktererne, ligeså vel som de på helt særlig vis bidrager til den overgribende seriebue. Ved at
interessere sig for karaktererne kan man nemlig få en større forståelse for narrationen, der på trods af at
gøre knuder godt kan lirkes op – om ikke andet så med hjælp fra andre tekster og medier. Alt det kræver,
er, at man engageret fortaber sig i LOST for ikke at blive helt fortabt.
15
www.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1651341_1659192_1652600,00.html
25
Litteraturliste
Bøger
Agger, Gunhild (2005): Dansk tv-drama – arvesølv og underholdning. Forlaget Samfundslitteratur.
Frederiksberg
Bordwell, David (1985): Narration in the Fiction Film. Routledge. London
Bordwell, David; Staiger, Janet; Thompson, Kristin (1985): The Classical Hollywood Cinema. Routledge.
London
Bordwell, David; Thompson, Kristin (2008): Film Art – an introduction. Eighth edition. McGraw-Hill. New
York
Fibiger, Johannes; Lütken, Gerd (2005): Litteraturens veje. 2.udgave 4. Oplag. Systime A/S. Århus
Grodal, Torben (2007): Filmoplevelse – en indføring i audiovisuel teori og analyse. 2. Udgave. Forlaget
Samfundslitteratur. Frederiksberg
Larsen, Peter Harms (2003): De levende billeders dramaturgi bind 2. DR
Pearson, Roberta (2009): Reading Lost – perspectives on a hit television show. I.B. Taurus. London/New
York
Smith, Murray (1995): Engaging Characters. Oxford University Press Inc. New York
Web-adresser
http://abc.go.com/shows/lost
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/5231334.stm
http://lost.about.com/od/flashbackstories/a/jacksflash.htm
http://lost.about.com/od/FlashbackStories/a/Jacksflash2.htm
http://lostpedia.wikia.com/wiki/Jack%27s_tattoo
www.thehollywoodreporter.com/hr/search/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003121876
www.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1651341_1659192_1652600,00.html
http://74.125.77.132/search?q=cache:h0ILf00jp6UJ:featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/entertainment_tv/2
007/01/lost_producers_.html+maureen+ryan+lost+producers+talk+about+setting+an+end+date+and+muc
h+more&cd=2&hl=da&ct=clnk&gl=dk
26
Bilag 1 – Resumé af serien
Jeg vil i det følgende gennemgå seriens overordnede fortælling i grove træk, således en linje mellem 1. og
5. sæson bliver trukket op. Dog er dette stadig en nærmest umulig opgave, hvilket sikkert også kan læses
ud fra resumeerne. Har man derfor mod på mere, vil jeg derfor også foreslå at man går ind på
www.lostpedia.com eller www.lost.about.com, hvor der findes mere udførlige beskrivelser af sæsonerne.
Sæson 1
Som allerede nævnt mister flyet Oceanic 815 pludselig radiokontakt over Stillehavet, hvorefter det styrter
mod jorden langt ude af kurs. Da der efter seks dage endnu ikke er kommet et redningshold efter de
overlevende, indser de, at de må lære at holde sammen, hvis de skal gøre sig forhåbninger om at holde sig i
live. Lægen Jack udnævnes til leder og står derefter i spidsen for at etablere et minisamfund, hvor alle har
hver deres rolle. Imens kæmper han, såvel som de resterende, med fortidens indre (og ydre) dæmoner, der
på mystisk vis synes at komme tættere og tættere på.
Irakeren Sayid, der har været kommunikationsofficer i den irakiske republikanske brigade, får til opgave at
få flyets transceiver/radio til at virke, således de kan sende et SOS-signal om hjælp. Da det lykkes ham at få
repareret maskineriet, viser det sig, at der er en andet nødråb, der blokerer for signalet – et nødråb, der er
blevet gentaget i hele 16 år. Senere har han held med at finde ophavsmanden til dette, en fransk kvinde
ved navn Danielle Rousseau. Hun fortæller, at der også bor andre på øen, de såkaldte ’Others’, hvis hvisken
de overlevende har hørt i junglen og hvis nærvær de ligeledes har fornemmet. Rousseau beretter endvidere
om, at disse ’Others’ engang stjal hendes baby, og at de sikkert også vil komme efter den gravide Claire, der
er en af de overlevende. Og således kommer det også til at gå, da Ethan (en af ’the Others’) infiltrerer
minisamfundet og ene mand kidnapper Claire og den afdankede rockstjerne Charlie. Sidstnævnte ender
med at blive reddet af sine medmennesker, men Claire vender først tilbage langt senere med
hukommelsestab.
Under eftersøgningen af dem begge støder karaktererne Locke og Boone på en mystisk luge (the Hatch),
der fører direkte ned i jorden, og især førstnævnte bliver nærmest besat af ideen om at få den åbnet. I
forsøget på dette dør Boone.
Da de omstridte ’Others’ postuleres at være på vej for at angribe de overlevende, udnytter Rousseau
situationen til at kidnappe Claires nyfødte baby, der dog bringes tilbage igen af Sayid og Charlie. Alt imens
søsættes en tømmerflåde med tre mand og en tiårig dreng, men besætningen overmandes om natten af
’the Others’ forklædt som pirater, og drengen Walt kidnappes. Samtidig på øen har en lille gruppe haft held
med at springe den førnævnte luge op.
Sæson 2
2. sæson har undertitlen ’The Extended Experience’ og omhandler mest historien om lugen. Da de endelig
får den åbnet, møder de nemlig skotten Desmond, en overlevende fra et verdensomspændende boat race,
der har levet i ’the Hatch’ i flere år. I al denne tid har han hvert 108. minut indtastet cifrene 4,8,15,16,23,42
27
på en computer og efterfølgende trykket på en knap. Han har dog aldrig forstået hvorfor, men har fået
strenge instrukser af en anden mand på øen til at udføre dette job – ellers ville der ske forfærdelige ting.
Kun én gang har Desmond undladt at trykke på knappen, og det viser sig, at det var det, der resulterede i,
at flyet styrtede. Øen har nemlig et meget kraftigt elektromagnetisk felt, der kan forårsage sådanne
katastrofer, hvis ikke det bliver holdt under ”kontrol”.
En anden gruppe møder på en ekskursion flere overlevende fra flyets haleparti, hvilke de tager med tilbage
til deres lejr. Her opsøger Rousseau Sayid, idet hun har fanget en ’Other’. Denne anden, Henry Gale,
overdrages i Sayids varetægt, hvorefter han torturerer ham for at få oplysninger om, hvor de har gjort af
den tiårige dreng. Imens gør faderen Michael til denne et forsøg på at bringe sønnen Walt tilbage ved at
alliere sig med fjenden og befri Henry Gale. Dette resulterer i, at ’the Others’ udfører et bagholdsangreb på
de overlevende, hvor to bliver skudt. Locke mister derefter pludselig troen på øen, og er indirekte skyld i, at
’the Hatch’ imploderer. Nogle af de overlevende tages til fange af fjenden, mens Michael (og Walt)
belønnes ved at blive fragtet væk fra øen i en båd efter aftale med Henry Gale.
Sæson 3
I sæson 3 ’The Unexplored Experience´ forsøger Benjamin Linus (tidligere kendt som Henry Gale) at
manipulere med den tilfangetagne læge Jack til at bortoperere en svulst, han har på rygsøjlen. Samtidig
holdes andre overlevende til fange udendørs i videoovervågede bure. Det viser sig, at ’The Others’ er
medlemmer af det forhenværende Dharma Initiativ, der foretager videnskabelige forsøg på flere forskellige
planer – det ene mere uhyggeligt og mystisk end det andet. Det er bl.a. dem, der har bygget lugen såvel
som alle de andre mærkelige ting, der er på øen. Da de overlevende dræbte Ethan i sæson 1, har ’the
Others’ ikke længere en kirurg, og derfor har de fanget Jack. Jack indvilliger til sidst i at operere, men truer
under operationen med at dræbe Ben, hvis de ikke befrier de udendørs tilfangetagne. På denne måde
redder han dem.
Tilbage i lejren erkender Desmond, at han flere gange har haft visioner, hvori han ser Charlie dø. Han bliver
derfor ved med at redde ham, selvom han ved, det er forkert – det er jo hans skæbne. Han fortæller ham
derfor, at han på et tidspunkt bliver nødt til at dø – ellers vil de andre nemlig ikke blive reddet.
Pludselig nødlander en faldskærm på øen – pigen siger, hun hedder Naomi og er del af et
efterforskningshold, der er kommet for at redde dem alle sammen. Trods den gode nyhed dækker en
voksende skare over hendes ankomst, da de ikke længere stoler på lederen Jack efter hans ophold hos ’The
Others’. Juliet, en af ’the Others’, er nemlig taget med Jack tilbage til de overlevendes lejr, idet hun blev
udstødt fra sin egen, da hun hjalp ham med at flygte. Hun hjælper derefter med at planlægge et baghold
mod sine tidligere allierede, så de overlevende kan komme væk fra øen, men ingen stoler alligevel rigtigt på
hende. Efter hun har muliggjort sine nye venners flugt, drukner Charlie i forsøget på at give sin hånd med.
Alt dette sker (næsten), som Desmond havde forudset. Inden han dør, når han dog lige at skrive på sin
hånd, at Naomi ikke er en del af det redningshold, som de troede. Uvidende om dette kontakter Jack det
fragtskib, Naomi siger, hun kommer fra, efter de har fået blokeret Rousseaus gamle SOS-signal, og venter
derefter på hjælp. Inden da når Locke dog lige at dræbe Naomi, ligesom han også truer Jack, idet han ikke
tror, at der er noget redningshold. Jack vil dog ikke høre. Sæsonens afslutning afslører i et flashforward, at
Jack og hans sidestykke Kate i sidste ende dog kommer væk fra øen. På mystisk vis længes Jack, der før har
kæmpet mest for at vende hjem, efter at komme tilbage til øen igen.
28
Sæson 4
I 4. Sæson ’The Expanded Experience’ splitter de overlevende op i to grupper, idet nogle tror, at der
kommer et redningshold, hvorimod andre mener, at der er fare på færde og Naomi ikke er, hvem hun
sagde, hun var. Jacks gruppe går derfor mod stranden og Lockes mod barakkerne/DharmaVille. Inden
længe dukker en helikopter op, og endnu en faldskærm lander på øen. Manden introducerer sig selv til Jack
som Daniel Faraday, fysiker og del af et forskningshold, der også tæller ghost whisperen Miles,
antropologen Charlotte og piloten Frank. Efter at være blevet presset hårdt af Jack indrømmer de, at deres
førsteprioritet ikke er at redde de overlevende, men derimod at finde Ben på vegne af Charles Widmore –
den forhenværende ø-leder. Ben har i mellemtiden modtaget informationer fra Michael(!), der har
infiltreret besætningen på skibet ’Kahana’, om at militære enheder er på vej for at dræbe dem alle. Kort tid
efter ankommer soldaten Keamy da også og ca. otte mennesker bliver dræbt – inklusive Rousseau og Bens
datter Alex. I denne forbindelse flygter Locke, Ben og Hurley til Jacobs hytte, hvor de får at vide af Christian
(Jacks far), at Locke må flytte øen for at redde den. Det bliver dog Ben, der under mystiske
omstændigheder drejer på det underjordiske tandhjul, der får øen til at forsvinde og sidenhen bevæge sig
gennem tid og sted. Jack, Kate, Hurley, Sun, Sayid, Aaron Desmond og Frank når dog at komme væk med en
anden helikopter, inden dette sker. Andre er dog ikke så heldige og forsvinder enten med øen, eller bliver
sprængt i luften sammen med fragtskibet (Michael og Jin). De overlevende i helikopteren bliver senere
reddet af Desmonds kæreste Penny (der også er Widmores datter). Inden de går i land bliver de dog enige
om at udtænke en historie, således Pennys far ikke finder øen igen og dermed slår deres efterladte venner
ihjel. De aftaler her at lade som om, at det kun var seks af dem, der var med helikopteren og som senere
svømmede i land, hvorimod Desmond, Penny og Frank blot skal forsvinde. De seks vender derefter hjem og
bliver verdensberømte som ’The Oceanic 6’ og dermed også de eneste overlevende fra flyulykken. Tre år
efter dette finder Jack (som nu er en nedbrudt mand) ud af, at han er nødsaget til igen at tage tilbage. Han
mener nemlig ikke, at tingene er, som de skulle være, og for at hjælpe dette på rette spor må han bringe
alle de overlevende på fastlandet med tilbage – døde som levende. Men de andre er overhovedet ikke
interesserede i at tage med.
Sæson 5
I 5. Sæson ’The Journey Back’ ender Jack (efter meget besvær) med at få overtalt de andre til at tage
tilbage. Hvorfor de pludselig alligevel indvilliger i det, er dog stadig uvist. Selv er Jack blevet overbevist af
Locke, der efterfølgende er vendt hjem for at få de andre med sig igen. Locke selv er nemlig blevet fortalt af
Christian (Jacks afdøde far), at dette er nødvendigt, hvis en krig på øen ikke skal bryde ud – og den forkerte
side vinde. I mellemtiden er han dog blevet slået ihjel af Ben, hvilket lader til at være del af en større
(ukendt, mystisk) plan.
Efter Ben drejede på det underjordiske tandhjul, bevæger øen sig som sagt konstant gennem tid og sted, og
således kommer de efterladte her til at opleve alle mulige tidszoner på øen, ligesom de enkelte gange også
møder dem selv og andre for tid tilbage – inklusiv Widmore. Faraday forklarer dem i denne forbindelse om
tidsrejser og om, at ”Whatever happened, happened”, hvorfor de altså ikke kan ændre på deres skæbner.
Inden længe begynder tidsrejserne at gøre deres indvirkning på karaktererne og Charlotte dør. Faraday
kontakter her Desmond (dengang han sad i lugen) og beder ham om at kontakte hans mor i Oxford, når han
om tre år vil komme væk fra øen. På denne måde forsøger han altså alligevel at ændre på fremtiden. Locke
drejer efterfølgende igen på tandhjulet, hvilket får tidsrejsen til at stoppe i 1977, inden han bliver
29
teleporteret tilbage til ”den rigtige verden”, hvor han som sagt skulle kontakte de overlevende og Eloise
Hawking – Daniel Faradays mor. Ligeledes får han at vide, at han bliver nødt til at dø, for at få det hele til at
lykkes. På øen bliver de efterladte imidlertid medlemmer af Dharma Initiativet og lever deres liv der i tre år,
inden de overlevende igen dukker op. Det viser sig dog her, at Jack, Kate, Hurley og Sayid alle er endt i
1977, hvorimod Sun, Ben og Locke befinder sig i en paralleltidszone på øen i 2007. Locke er her en ændret
mand og forlanger pludselig at se Jacob. Han fortæller her Ben, at han vil have ham til at dræbe ham, og
Ben tør ikke andet, idet den afdøde Alex har beordret ham til at gøre alt, Locke siger. I den anden tid
forsøger Sayid bl.a. at ændre på fremtiden ved at skyde en ung Ben, men Kate og Juliet ender med at redde
ham. Jack bliver her overbevist om, at hans kald er at springe hele øen i luften, således intet nogensinde vil
være hændt. Han påbegynder derfor en mission, der har som mål at ophæve fortiden, således Flight 815 i
stedet lander sikkert i Los Angeles. I sæsonens sidste afsnit dræber Ben Jacob, alt imens Sun og nogle andre
finder Lockes lig. Noget tyder derfor på, at ham der er inden i Locke ikke er Locke selv, men måske derimod
det farlige røg-monster/Jacobs nemesis, der har været gennemgående (mystisk) for serien. I 2007 smider
Jack en hydrogen-bombe ned i det elektromagnetiske hul og alt bliver hvidt.
30
Bilag 2 – Oversigt over de enkelte afsnits
bærende karakter
SEASON ONE EPISODES
1×01: Pilot (CAST/Jack)
1×02: Pilot, Part 2 (CAST)
1×03: Tabula Rasa (KATE)
1×04: Walkabout (LOCKE)
1×05: White Rabbit ( JACK)
1×06: House of the Rising Sun (SUN/JIN)
1×07: The Moth (CHARLIE)
1×08: Confidence Man (SAWYER)
1×09: Solitary ( SAYID)
1×10: Raised by Another (CLAIRE)
1×11: All the Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues (JACK)
1×12: Whatever the Case May Be (KATE)
1×13: Hearts and Minds (BOONE)
1×14: Special (MICHAEL)
1×15: Homecoming (CHARLIE)
1×16 Outlaws (SAWYER)
1×17 …In Translation (JIN)
1×18: Numbers (HURLEY)
1×19: Deux Ex Machina (LOCKE)
1×20: Do No Harm (JACK)
1×21: The Greater Good (SAYID)
1×22: Born to Run (KATE)
1×23: Exodus, Part One (CAST/Jack)
1×24: Exodus, Part Two (CAST)
SEASON TWO EPISODES
2×01: Man of Science, Man of Faith (JACK)
2×02: Adrift (MICHAEL)
2×03: Orientation (LOCKE)
2×04: Everybody Hates Hugo (HURLEY)
2×05: …And Found ( JIN/SUN)
2×06: Abandoned ( SHANNON)
2×07: The Other 48 Days (TAIL SECTION SURVIVORS)
2×08: Collision (ANA LUCIA)
2×09: What Kate Did (KATE)
2×10: The 23rd Psalm (MR. EKO)
2×11: The Hunting Party (JACK)
2×12: Fire + Water (CHARLIE)
2×13: The Long Con (SAWYER)
31
2×14: One of Them (SAYID)
2×15: Maternity Leave (CLAIRE)
2×16: The Whole Truth (SUN)
2×17: Lockdown (LOCKE)
2×18: Dave ( HURLEY)
2×19: S.O.S. ( ROSE/BERNARD)
2×20: Two for the Road (ANA LUCIA)
2×21: ? (MR. EKO)
2×22: 3 Minutes (MICHAEL)
2×23 & 2×24: Live Together Die Alone (DESMOND)
SEASON THREE EPISODES
3×01: A Tale of Two Cities (JACK)
3×02: The Glass Ballerina (SUN)
3×03: Further Instructions (LOCKE)
3×04: Every Man for Himself (SAWYER)
3×05: The Cost of Living ( MR. EKO)
3×06: I Do (KATE)
3×07: Not in Portland (JULIET)
3×08: Flashes Before Your Eyes (DESMOND)
3×09: Stranger in a Strange Land (JACK)
3×10: Tricia Tanaka Is Dead (HURLEY)
3×11: Enter 77 (SAYID)
3×12: Par Avion (CLAIRE)
3×13: The Man from Tallahassee (LOCKE)
3×14: Expose (NIKKI/PAULO)
3×15: Left Behind (KATE)
3×16: One of Us (JULIET)
3×17: Catch 22 (DESMOND)
3×18: D.O.C. (SUN)
3×19: The Brig (LOCKE)
3×20: The Man Behind the Curtain (BEN)
3×21: Greatest Hits (CHARLIE)
3×22/3×23: Through the Looking Glass (JACK)
SEASON FOUR EPISODES
4×01 : The Beginning of the End (HURLEY)
4×02: Confirmed Dead (FREIGHTER/KAHANA CREW)
4×03: The Economist (SAYID)
4×04: Eggtown (KATE)
4×05: The Constant (DESMOND)
4×06: The Other Woman (JULIET)
4×07: Ji Yeon (SUN/JIN)
4×08: Meet Kevin Johnson (MICHAEL)
4×09: The Shape of Things to Come (BEN)
32
4×10: Something Nice Back Home (JACK)
4×11: Cabin Fever (LOCKE)
4×12: There’s No Place Like Home (Part 1) (Cast)
4×13: There’s No Place Like Home (Part 2) (Cast)
SEASON FIVE EPISODES
5×01: Because You Left (ingen central character)
5×02: The Lie (Hurley)
5×03: Jughead (Desmond)
5×04: The Little Prince (Kate)
5×05: This Place is Death (Sun & Jin)
5×06: 316 (Jack)
5×07: The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham (Locke)
5x08: LaFleur (Sawyer)
5x09: Namaste (ingen central character)
5x10: He’s Our You (Sayid)
5x11: Whatever Happened, Happened (Kate)
5x12: Dead is Dead (Ben)
5x13: Some Like It Hoth (Miles)
5x14: The Variable (Daniel)
5x15: Follow the Leader (Richard)
5x16: The Incident part one (Cast/Jacob)
5x17: The Incident part two (Cast/Jacob)
33
Bilag 3 – Plotsegmentering og transskribering
Transskriberingerne har jeg først og fremmest fundet på websitet www.lostpedia.com, men da disse havde
visse fejl og mangler, har jeg selv tilføjet tekst og replikker undervejs i arbejdet med segmenteringen,
således der ikke udelades noget. Jeg har derfor set på transskriberingerne med kritiske øjne; synkroniseret
dem i forhold til afsnittene og sidenhen tilpasset dem opgaven. Mine egne tilføjelser er ligeledes holdt i det
engelske sprog, hvilket således gengiver replikkerne korrekt og i deres rette ordlyd. Ofte går der nemlig
betydning tabt, når man oversætter fra et sprog til et andet. Ligeledes skal det da også nævnes, at dette
selvfølgelig har lettet min arbejdsbyrde, idet jeg ikke har skullet forfatte alt teksten selv samt bruge en
masse tid på at lave oversættelser. Jeg ser derfor kun denne metode som en fordel, idet der er kommet
langt bedre beskrivelser ud af det, end dem jeg møjsommeligt først havde påbegyndt på dansk.
White Rabbit 1x05
Flashback
[Shot of kids in a school yard.]
BULLY: It's your choice man, walk away now and you won't get your ass kicked.
[Shot of young Jack looking at another kid getting punched. Jack gets up and tries to go help.]
BULLY: You should've stayed down, Jack.
[Shot of fist coming into the camera. Fade to black.]
A-story
CHARLIE: [off camera] Jack, Jack!
[Shot of Jack on the beach laying down, but looking out to sea.]
CHARLIE: [off camera at first] Jack. Hey, Jack. There's someone out there. You gotta—the current's—there's
someone out there, look.
[Shot of ocean, and splashing in the distance. We can hear someone yell help.]
CHARLIE: I woke up and she's—I don't swim.
[Jack runs toward the ocean.]
CHARLIE: I don't swim.
[Shot of Jack swimming out. Shot of Kate. Shot of Jack, he can't see anything, and dives under. Comes up, dives
under. He comes up with Boone.]
JACK: You okay, just take deep breaths now. Come on, just breathe, just breathe.
BOONE: Did you get her?
JACK: What?
BOONE: There was a woman—I was trying to—did you get her?
[Shot of woman in the distance, we hear her screaming "Help!" seeral times.]
BOONE: You gotta go back.
[Shot of Kate and Charlie running toward ocean to get Boone. Jack goes back in.]
KATE: Jack?
JACK: There's someone else still out there.
LOST-INTRO
[We see Boone looking out to the sea, dejectedly. He looks over his shoulder toward Jack. We see Jack walking up
the beach, Kate catching up to him.]
KATE: Hey.
JACK: So, what'd they say?
KATE: Jack, maybe you should. . .
JACK: Who was she?
KATE: Her name was Joanna, she wasn't supposed to be on the plane. She was scuba diving off the barrier reef
and got an ear infection so the doctor grounded her for two days. She bumped her flight. That's how she ended
up with us.
JACK: She was just swimming this morning, got caught in a riptide. We've been here six days and I never talked to
her. Never said a word to her.
KATE: Jack, don't.
JACK: There were 47 of us and I never said a single word to her.
KATE: You tried.
34
JACK: No I didn't. I thought maybe I'd—I thought maybe I could bring him back and still have the time. I was
there, in the water. I didn't try. I decided not to go after her.
[Jack sees the man in the suit standing in the ocean.]
KATE: Jack?
[Jack walks toward the ocean.]
KATE: Jack?
[Jack looks again and there is no man in the ocean.]
KATE: Are you okay?
JACK: Did you see that?
KATE: What?
JACK: Standing there, in the water, there was a man. You didn't see that?
KATE: Jack, when was the last time you slept?
JACK: [referring to the bag he's carrying] I need to put this with the rest of the gear.
B-story
A
B
C
D
[Shot of Kate looking worried. Shot of Vincent running along beach with a tennis ball. Shot of Walt cleaning his
teeth with the plant like Sun showed him.]
MICHAEL: Who taught you that?
WALT: Sun, the Korean lady.
[Walt gets a cup of sea water.]
MICHAEL: Don't swallow it.
WALT: Why not?
MICHAEL: Ocean water'll make you thirsty.
WALT: Why?
MICHAEL: [annoyed] Just don't swallow it, man. Alright?
[Shot of Walt rinsing and spitting and Sun looks on. Jin's hand comes in the frame and turns Sun's face toward
him.]
JIN: [Subtitle: Look at your lips. You really need water.]
SUN: [Subtitle:]No. I'm alright … Thank you. When will someone tell us what to do? I don't think anyone is
coming.]
JIN: [Subtitle: Someone will come.]
SUN: [Subtitle: The others … they ignore us. If we tried harder to communicate...]
JIN :. [Subtitle: We'll be fine. We don't need anyone else. I will tell you what to do.]
[We see Shannon walking toward Sawyer.]
SHANNON: Have you got it or what?
SAWYER: You're in my light, sticks.
SHANNON: Lightsticks? What the hell is that supposed to...?
SAWYER: Light, comma, sticks. As in those legs of yours.
SHANNON: Look, while I really love my new nickname, and I think it's really sweet. . .
SAWYER: Calm down. I got your damn stuff.
SHANNON: It'll keep off sand fleas?
SAWYER: You bet. Even has aloe.
SHANNON: How much?
SAWYER: Your money's no good here.
SHANNON: Then what the hell do you want?
[Sawyer just smiles.]
SHANNON: If you really think I'm going to. . .
SAWYER: 5 grand.
SHANNON: I thought you said my money was no good here.
SAWYER: I was negotiating. I can take an IOU. Something tells me you're good … for it.
[Shannon throws the bug dope at Sawyer and storms away.]
[We see Kate going through clothes, as Claire approaches.]
CLAIRE: You haven't found a hairbrush in there, have you?
KATE: No. Sorry.
CLAIRE: I must have looked through 20 suitcases. I can't find one. It's weird, right? When you think that everyone
packs a hairbrush.
[Claire sits/sort of falls down.]
KATE: You alright?
CLAIRE: Yeah, it's just the heat. Oh, and, and I'm pregnant.
KATE: Really? [She hands Claire some water.]
CLAIRE: Thanks. What are you doing?
KATE: I'm sorting the practical clothes from the impractical. Wanna help?
35
A/B-story (E)
CLAIRE: Sure. Can I—can I ask you something?
KATE: Sure, shoot.
CLAIRE: Are you a Gemini?
KATE: Yeah, I am.
CLAIRE: I thought so, restless, passionate. You know, everyone thinks astrology's just a load of crap but that's just
because they don't get it. I can do your chart if you want to? [Kate doesn't reply] Or not. . .. Geminis..
[Shot of Jack, as Hurley approaches.]
HURLEY: Hey Jack!
[Return to close up of Hurley]
HURLEY: Whoa. You look tired, brother.
JACK: I'm fine. What's up?
HURLEY: We got a problem.
[Jack looks too tired to deal with it.]
[Shot of some water bottles in a suitcase.]
JACK: That's it?
CHARLIE: That's it.
JACK: How many?
CHARLIE: 18.
HURLEY: People just kind of took what they needed because we were supposed to be rescued, but we weren't.
CHARLIE: Even if we divvied it up, split the bottles in half it wouldn't be enough for 47 people.
JACK: 46. There is 46 of us now.
HURLEY: People find out this is all we have left, they're going to freak out, man.
CHARLIE: The boar's running low until we can catch another one. What should we tell them?
JACK: I don't know.
HURLEY: Maybe we can make one of those water finding sticks.
CHARLIE: What should we do with the stuff we've got?
JACK: I don't know.
[Jack walks away. Charlie and Hurley follow with the suitcase of water.]
CHARLIE: We should put it in the tent, yeah?
HURLEY: Maybe the dog can find water?
CHARLIE: Probably better if no one knows how little is left.
HURLEY: I mean, dogs can find pot and bombs, so I'm sure they can find water.
CHARLIE: Don't tell the others we're running low. That way you can ration it. Then you can decide what. . .
JACK: I'm not deciding anything.
HURLEY: Why not?
[FLASHBACK]
[We hear the sound of ice clinking in glass, then see a shot of a glass with ice and alcohol.]
CHRISTIAN SHEPHARD: You wanna come in?
[Young Jack enters his father's study.]
CHRISTIAN SHEPHARD: So, you want to tell me what happened?
YOUNG JACK: A couple guys jumped Marc Silverman.
CHRISTIAN SHEPHARD: A couple guys jumped Marc Silverman. But they didn't jump you?
YOUNG JACK: No.
CHRISTIAN SHEPHARD: I had a boy on my table today. I don't know, maybe a year younger than you. He had a bad
heart. It got real hairy, real fast. And everybody's looking at your old man to make decisions. And I was able to
make those decisions because at the end of the day, after the boy died, I was able to wash my hands and come
home to dinner. You know, watch a little Carol Burnett, laugh till my sides hurt. And how can I do that, hmm? And
even when I fail, how do I do that, Jack? Because I have what it takes. Don't choose, Jack, don't decide. You don't
want to be a hero, you don't try and save everyone because when you fail … you just don't have what it takes.
A-story
[Close up of Jack back on beach.]
BOONE: [off camera] Why didn't you leave me? Hey, I'm talking to you.
JACK: Not now, man.
BOONE: I could have made it back. What? Not going to answer me? I told you to leave me.
JACK: You were drowning.
BOONE: You should've saved her.
JACK: But I didn't save her. And neither did you.
[Jack walks away. Boone follows.]
BOONE: You think you're all noble and heroic for coming after me? I was fine. You're not the only one who knows
what to do around here, you know that? I run a business. Who appointed you our savior, huh? What gives you
the right—[Jack looks off toward the jungle]. Look at me. Hey, I'm talking to you.
36
B
[Jack sees the man in the suit again.]
BOONE: Look at me, Jack. Where are you going? Hey, where are going? Hey!
[Jack runs off toward the figure. The man has stopped, and Jack stops, too, about 12 feet away. He walks slowly
toward the man, reaches out his hand. The man turns. It's Jack's father. Jack backs away and falls.]
JACK: Dad?
[The figure walks away. Close up of Jack.]
[Shot of Jack on ground in jungle.]
[Shot of Jack in house looking at his reflection in a window, rain outside.]
Flashback
MARGO: Your father's gone, Jack. Did you hear what I said? He's gone, Jack.
JACK: He'll be back.
MARGO: This time it's different. I want you to bring him back.
[Jack sighs.]
MARGO: What?
JACK: He hasn't talked to me in two months, Mom.
MARGO: You haven't talked to him in two months.
JACK: He doesn't want me to bring him back, trust me. Let one of his friends.
MARGO: He doesn't have friends anymore. Why do you think that is? He was right about you.
JACK: Right about what?
MARGO: You don't understand the pressure that he's under.
JACK: I understand pressure.
MARGO: Jack, please you know how he gets—he doesn't—he won't take care of himself. You have to go after
him.
JACK: I'm sorry. I can't.
MARGO: "I can't?" You don't get to say "I can't." Not after what you did. Bring your father home, Jack.
JACK: Where is he?
MARGO: Australia.
[Shot of Jack in jungle pursuing his father.]
[Shot of Walt running to Kate on beach.]
B-story
B
WALT: Hey, hey!
KATE: What's the matter?
WALT: That pregnant lady fell down.
[Shot of Charlie, Michael and Kate carrying Claire to the infirmary.]
KATE: What happened?
CHARLIE: She just dropped.
KATE: It must be the heat. Is she breathing?
MICHAEL: Yeah, I think.
KATE: Come on. Let's get her inside.
CHARLIE: Wake up.
KATE: Claire? Claire, honey, wake up. Claire? Can you hear me, Claire. Come on. Wake up. Come on. Come on,
please wake up. Come on. Claire, can you hear me? Alright.
CLAIRE: Hmm?
KATE: Hi. It's me. It's Kate.
CLAIRE: What?
KATE: You passed out. Just take it easy, okay? [To Charlie] She needs water.
[Shot of Charlie looking for water and not finding it.]
KATE: Don't move, okay? Honey, I think you have a fever, but if you keep really still that's okay. It's okay, it's okay.
CHARLIE: What the... The water's gone. Someone stole it.
[Shot of Locke, Sayid, Kate on beach.]
LOCKE: Where is the doctor?
KATE: I don't know. No one can find him.
SAYID: Is this the last of the camp's water supply?
KATE: Yeah.
SAYID: Keeping it all in one place, foolish.
KATE: I can go into the jungle, try to find some fresh water.
SAYID: You're not going alone.
37
LOCKE: When the others find out the water's gone it's going to get ugly. And when they find out that someone
pinched it, it's going to get uglier. I'll go. Camp needs you two here, especially with the doctor gone. And besides,
I know where to look.
A-story
[Shot of Jack wandering around the jungle.]
JACK: Where are you? Where are you? [yelling] Where are you?!
[FLASHBACK]
[Shot of Jack in a hotel room.]
HOTEL MANAGER: The maid says he hasn't used the bed in the past three days.
JACK: Did he rent a car from the concierge?
HOTEL MANAGER: No, sir. Quite honestly, Mr. Shephard, I don't think your father rented a car at all.
JACK: Yeah, why's that?
HOTEL MANAGER: There was an incident a few nights ago, here at the hotel bar. I had to get security to escort
your father to his room.
JACK: What's that have to do with renting a car?
HOTEL MANAGER: I'm sorry, sir, I shouldn't have said . .
JACK: Come on, what's that have to do with renting a car?
HOTEL MANAGER: Mr. Shephard, I don't think any rental agent in Sydney would lease your father a car in his
condition.
JACK: My father is a Chief of Surgery.
HOTEL MANAGER: Of course, sir. I apologize.
[Jack has been looking around room, finding bottles of booze, pills. He finds his father's wallet on the bedside
table.]
JACK: He left his wallet. Who leaves a wallet?
HOTEL MANAGER: Perhaps you should talk to the police, Mr. Shephard.
JACK: Where are you?
[Shot of Jack in the jungle running after the figure again, disoriented. He gets to a clearing and then the father is
behind him. He runs after him again, and falls down a hill and off a cliff. We see him trying to hold on, climb back
up.]
[We see Jack hanging onto the vine; he's slipping, and a hand comes over the top.]
LOCKE: Take my hand. Come on.
[Locke pulls him up and they both stay on the ground a moment, catching their breath.]
LOCKE: You okay?
[Jack laughs, slightly crazily.]
B-story
B
[Shot of Charlie on the beach, bringing water to Claire.]
CHARLIE: Hey.
CLAIRE: Hey. How long have I. . .
CHARLIE: A couple of hours. Here. It's not much but it's what we have. Just relax, you have to think about the
little one now, you.
CLAIRE: Thanks for the water, Charlie.
CHARLIE: There'd be more if some git hadn't nicked it.
CLAIRE: Is Jack back yet?
CHARLIE: No. No one's seen him. But, I wouldn't worry. Good old Mr. Locke's gone into the jungle to get some
water for you.
CLAIRE: Great. Our only hunter's going to get eaten just so he can get the pregnant girl some more water.
CHARLIE: I wouldn't worry, luv. I mean, you tell me, who would you rather meet in a dark alley, whatever's out
there, or that geezer with his 400 knives? I mean, who packs 400 knives? Personally, I can only have space for
200, 300 at most.
CLAIRE: [chuckles] When are they going to rescue us?
CHARLIE: Soon.
CLAIRE: Thanks, Charlie.
CHARLIE: For what?
CLAIRE: People don't seem to look me in the eye here. I think I scare them. The baby... It's like I'm this time bomb
of responsibility just waiting to go off.
CHARLIE: You don't scare me.
[Hurley runs up to Sayid and Kate.]
HURLEY: Uh, the Chinese people have water.
[Sayid goes right off to Sun.]
38
C
A/B-story
SAYID: Where did you get this? Where did you get this? *yelling+ Where did you … !
KATE: She doesn't understand you.
SAYID: She understands me. Did you steal this water?
SUN: [Says something in Korean.]
Jin: [Runs up yelling.]
KATE: Just take it easy, alright. We just want to talk, alright? This had water in it. Is it yours? Who gave you this?
[Jin points at Sawyer who's smoking a cigarette. Kate moves to go to him, but Sayid stops her.]
SAYID: I don't see the water.
KATE: And?
SAYID: You go after him now, he'll give you nothing. But if you wait, a rat will always lead you to it's hole.
[Shot of Sawyer walking to his 'hole' and grabbing a pack of cigarettes. Kate tackles him.]
SAWYER: Well, it's about time.
KATE: For what?
SAWYER: I made this birthday wish four years ago.
KATE: Where's the water?
[Sawyer flips her over so he's on top.]
SAWYER: That's better.
KATE: Get off of me.
[Sayid enters and drags Sawyer off of Kate.]
SAYID: Give us the water now.
SAWYER: [shoving Sayid] Touch me again, huh.
[Kate looks through Sawyer's stuff.]
SAWYER: You really think I stole your damn water?
SAYID: We know you gave two bottles to the Koreans.
SAWYER: I don't give nothing to nobody.
KATE: It's not here.
SAWYER: I traded Mr. Miyagi the last of my water for a fish he caught. We worked it out caveman style.
KATE: You gave him your last two bottles?
SAWYER: Water has no value, Freckles. It's gonna rain sooner or later. And hell, I'm an optimist.
[Sawyer gets something out of his suitcase.]
SAWYER: [to Kate] Hey, you forgot something. [Throws her a badge]. Seeing as you're the new sheriff in town.
Might as well make it official.
[Shot of a drop of water coming off a plant into a water bottle. Wider shot shows Locke's arms.]
JACK: How are they, the others?
LOCKE: Thirsty. Hungry. Waiting to be rescued. And they need someone to tell them what to do.
JACK: Me? I can't.
LOCKE: Why can't you?
JACK: Because I'm not a leader.
LOCKE: And yet they all treat you like one.
JACK: I don't know how to help them. I'll fail. I don't have what it takes.
LOCKE: Why are you out here, Jack?
JACK: I think I'm going crazy.
LOCKE: No. You're not going crazy.
JACK: No?
LOCKE: No, crazy people don't know they're going crazy. They think they're getting sane. So, why are you out
here?
JACK: I'm chasing something—someone.
LOCKE: Ah. The white rabbit. Alice in Wonderland.
JACK: Yeah, wonderland, because who I'm chasing—he's not there.
LOCKE: But you see him?
JACK: Yes. But he's not there.
LOCKE: And if I came to you and said the same thing, then what would your explanation be, as a doctor.
JACK: I'd call it a hallucination. A result of dehydration, post traumatic stress, not getting more than two hours of
sleep a night for the past week. All of the above.
LOCKE: All right, then. You're hallucinating. But what if you're not?
JACK: Then we're all in a lot of trouble.
LOCKE: I'm an ordinary man, Jack, meat and potatoes, I live in the real world. I'm not a big believer in magic. But
this place is different. It's special. The others don't want to talk about it because it scares them. But we all know
it. We all feel it. Is your white rabbit a hallucination? Probably. But what if everything that happened here,
happened for a reason? What if this person that you're chasing is really here?
39
JACK: That's impossible.
LOCKE: Even if it is, let's say it's not.
JACK: Then what happens when I catch him?
LOCKE: I don't know. But I've looked into the eye of this island. And what I saw was beautiful.
[Locke gets up to leave.]
JACK: Wait, wait, wait, where are you going?
LOCKE: To find some more water.
JACK: I'll come with you.
LOCKE: No. You need to finish what's you've started.
JACK: Why?
LOCKE: Because a leader can't lead until he knows where he's going.
B
[Shot of Jack sitting at a little fire in the jungle.]
[FLASHBACK]
[Shot of Jack and a medical examiner walking down a hall in some kind of medical building (morgue).]
MEDICAL EXAMINER: The police found him in an alley in Queens Cross. Now, a tox screen showed a blood alcohol
content, which for a man of his size, probably brought on myocardial infarction - a sizable, and fatal heart-attack.
[They go into a room with a body bag on a gurney. The Medical Examiner unzips it. His father is there.]
JACK: [crying] That's him.
[Shot of Jack in the jungle, crying. We hear the sound of ice in a glass, and a branch breaking or moving. Jack
grabs a log out of the fire to use as a torch and follows. He comes upon the caves and water. He sees a doll in the
water which he picks up. There are a bunch of dolls scattered on the ground from a box. There is other debris
there from a section of a plane. He finds a coffin.]
[FLASHBACK]
[We see Jack at a counter at the Sydney airport.]
JACK: What do you mean you won't put it on the plane?
AGENT: I'm sorry Mr. Shephard, but our policy is that the body must have the proper documentation. There's just
no latitude.
JACK: No latitude? No latitude?
AGENT: Without the proper documents. . .
JACK: Look, you can't do this to me. I'm ready to go now.
AGENT: Perhaps another carrier. . .
JACK: No!
[Shot of Jin in line looking over at Jack's outburst.]
JACK: I want you to listen to me, okay. Because I'm asking you a favor, Chrissy. I'm standing in front of you in the
same suit that I'm wearing to my father's funeral and I'm asking you a favor. In 16 hours I need to land at LAX, and
I need that coffin to clear customs because there's going to be a hearse waiting there. And I need that hearse to
take me and that coffin to a cemetery. Why? Chrissy, why can't I just bring him to a funeral home and make all
the arrangements? Why can't I really take my time with it? Because... because I need it to be done. I need it to be
over. I just—I need to bury my father.
[Shot of Jack at caves looking at the coffin. He opens it and there's no body inside. He gets angry and smashes it
with a metal pipe.]
B-story
[Shot of people at beach, fires. We see three bottles of water.]
BOONE: Hey, hey, Claire [giving her water to drink].
CLAIRE: How did you get that?
BOONE: Shhh.
CHARLIE: [coming up behind Boone] Where'd you get that?
[Shot of Boone's face hitting the sand.]
CHARLIE: Here's your thief.
MICHAEL: Where'd he hide it?
CHARLIE: I don't know. This wanker had three bottles on him. Why'd you do it, pretty boy, eh?
BOONE: It was just sitting in—it was just sitting in the tent, and Jack just took off.
CHARLIE: Claire could've died.
BOONE: I tried to give her some sooner, but it just got out of hand. No one would have understood.
KATE: [entering] What is going on?
BOONE: Someone had to take responsibility for it. It would have never lasted.
CHARLIE: [mumbling] oh shut up!
[Charlie pushes Boone, Sayid steps in.]
40
A/B-story
JACK: [off camera, at first] Leave him alone. It's been six days and we're all still waiting. Waiting for someone to
come. But what if they don't? We have to stop waiting. We need to start figuring things out. A woman died this
morning just going for a swim and he tried to save her, and now you're about to crucify him? We can't do this.
Everyman for himself is not going to work. It's time to start organizing. We need to figure out how we're going to
survive here. Now, I found water. Fresh water, up in the valley. I'll take a group in at first light. If you don't want
to go come then find another way to contribute. Last week most of us were strangers, but we're all here now.
And god knows how long we're going to be here. But if we can't live together, we're going to die alone.
B
[Shot of everyone standing around feeling stupid; shot of Charlie and Hurley getting water for people; shot of Jin
and Sun.]
SUN: [Subtitle: Thank you—for getting me water today.]
JIN: [Subtitle: That's what husbands do. ]
[Michael brings water for Walt, but Walt's asleep so Vincent gets it.]
[We see Boone sitting by himself, as Sawyer approaches.]
SAWYER: So, how does it feel?
BOONE: How does what feel?
SAWYER: Taking my place at the top of everyone's most hated list. Sucks, don't it?
[Kate brings water to Jack.]
JACK: Thanks.
KATE: So where were you today Jack?
JACK: Just had to take care of a few things.
KATE: That's all I'm gonna get, huh?
JACK: My father died. In Sydney.
KATE: I'm sorry.
JACK: Yeah. I'm sorry, too.
C
D
E
316 5x06
[Close up on a closed eye as birds chirp]
[Loud whoosh as the eye opens and blinks. The shot changes and we see Jack lying on his back among plants. The camera shows
the trees above Jack being rustled in the wind. Back to a shot of Jack, pulled back further. We see he's wearing a suit. He breathes
heavily. He sits up and looks around. He gets up and sighs. Jack looks at a torn piece of paper in his hand that says "I wish" on it.
The rest of it has been torn off.]
HURLEY: [far offscreen]: Help! Anyone!
[Jack runs through thick jungle towards the noise.]
HURLEY: Help, Jack!
[Jack pauses.]
HURLEY: Help! Anyone!
[Jack keeps running and comes to a stream.]
HURLEY: Help!
[Jack rushes through the stream.]
HURLEY: Help!
[Jack comes to the top of a waterfall. We see Hurley in the pool below, struggling to stay afloat with a guitar case. ]
HURLEY: Help!
[Jack dives in]
HURLEY: Help!
[Jack swims over and helps him]
JACK: It's okay. You're okay. Relax.
HURLEY: Aah! Oh, God! Oh, God!
JACK: Okay.
HURLEY: Oh, my God!
JACK: We can stand.
HURLEY: What?
JACK: We can stand.
[They stand in the water]
HURLEY: Oh. Oh, my God. It really happened.
[Jack notices Kate lying unconscious on a rock near the pool.]
JACK: Kate. [Jack swims over and checks on her.] Kate. Kate, can you hear me?
KATE: [Inhales sharply] Oh. Jack?
41
JACK: Are you okay?
KATE: Are we...
JACK: Yeah. We're back.
KATE: What happened?
[46 hours earlier]
[We see Eloise Hawking lighting a candle and putting out her match. A door opens and squeaks off screen. Ben, Jack, Sun, and
Desmond walk in the church door.]
ELOISE: I thought I said all of them.
[Desmond locks the door and turns around in surprise.]
BEN: This is all I could get on short notice.
ELOISE: Guess it'll have to do for now. All right. Let's get started.
[They walk to the back of the church. Eloise opens another squeaking door and flicks the light switch.]
ELOISE: Shall we?
[They walk down a spiral, metal stair case and through a dim, stone hallway with a metal door at the end. We see a DHARMA logo
on the door. The door-wheel squeaks as Eloise opens it. On the other side, we hear a loud whooshing. It's revealed to be a large
pendulum at the center of the room. The walls are covered with old computer equipment. The room is fairly dim. There's an odd
clicking noise, which Jack looks towards. We see a panel with a series of coordinates changing its numbers. They all inspect the map
over which the pendulum is swinging. Sun sees a chalkboard with a photograph on it.]
JACK: What is this place?
ELOISE: The DHARMA Initiative called it the Lamp Post. This is how they found the island.
LOST INTRO
ACT 2
JACK: [To Ben] Did you know about this place?
BEN: No. No, I didn't.
JACK: [To Eloise] Is he telling the truth?
ELOISE: [Chuckling] Probably not.
[Eloise opens a drawer and pulls out a binder.]
ELOISE: Aha. Here we go.
[Jack inspects the photograph on the chalk board. It looks like The Island. The bottom of the photograph reads "9/23/54 - U.S.
ARMY - OP 264 - TOP SECRET - EYES ONLY"]
ELOISE: [Sighs] All right. I apologize if this is confusing, but... [To Jack, who is still staring at the photo] Let's pay attention, yes? The
room we're standing in was constructed years ago over a unique pocket of electromagnetic energy. That energy connects to similar
pockets all over the world. The people who built this room, however, were only interested in one.
SUN: The Island.
ELOISE: Yes. The island. They'd gathered proof that it existed. They knew it was out there somewhere, but they just couldn't find it.
Then a very clever fellow built this pendulum on the theoretical notion that they should stop looking for where the island was
supposed to be and start looking for where it was going to be.
[Pendulum whooshes]
JACK: What do you mean, "Where it was going to be"?
ELOISE: Well, this fellow presumed, and correctly, as it turned out, that the Island was always moving. Why do you think you were
never rescued? Now while the movements of the Island seem random, this man and his team created a series of equations which
tell us, with a high degree of probability, where it is going to be at a certain point... in time. Windows, as it were, that while open,
provide a route back. Unfortunately, these windows don't stay open for very long. Yours closes... in 36 hours. [She hands the binder
to Jack]
DESMOND: Um, I'm sorry. Excuse me. [Chuckles] Am I really hearing this? That's what this is about? You're all going back to the
Island? Willingly?
SUN: Yes. Why are you here, Desmond?
DESMOND: [Sighs, scoffs] I came here to deliver a message. [To Eloise] Daniel Faraday--your son--sent me here. He wanted me to
tell you that he and all the people on the Island need your help. He said that only you could help them. He didn't say Jack. He didn't
say Sun. He didn't say Ben. He said you.
ELOISE: But I am helping, dear.
DESMOND: [Scoffs] Consider the message delivered.
ELOISE: I'm sorry to have to tell you this, Desmond, but the Island isn't done with you yet.
DESMOND: This woman cost me four years of my life--four years that I'll never get back because you told me that I was supposed
to go to the Island! That it was my bloody purpose! [To Jack] You listen to me, brother, and you listen carefully. [Panting] These
people--they're just usin' us. They're playing some kind of game, and we are just the pieces. [Lowers voice] Whatever she tells you
to do... ignore it. [Normal voice, to Eloise]You say the Island's not done with me? Well, I'm done with the Island.
[Pendulum continues whooshing]
42
[Desmond leaves, slamming the door behind him.]
ELOISE: Jack... the binder in your hands shows all the air routes that fly over the coordinates where I believe the Island will be in
little more than a day from now. There's a commercial airliner flying from L.A. to Guam. It's going to go right through our window.
Ajira Airways, Flight 316. If you have any hope of the Island bringing you back, it must be that plane. You all need to be on it. It must
be that flight. [Sighs] If you... want to return, you need to recreate as best you can the circumstances that brought you there in the
first place. That means as many of the same people as you are able to bring with you.
JACK: And what if we can't get anyone else to come with us? What if we're it?
ELOISE: All I can tell you is the result would be... unpredictable.
JACK: So that's it? We just get on that flight, and we just hope that it works? That's all?
ELOISE: No, that's not all, Jack... at least, not for you.
Act 3
[We see Eloise opening a door to an office. She and Jack step inside. Thunder rumbles in the distance.]
ELOISE: Come on in.
JACK: Ben and SunELOISE: Heard what they needed to hear, and this does not concern them. [She looks through a large amount of papers on the
desk.] Oh. Here we are. [She brings a battered envelope to Jack. We see it has "Jack Shephard" written on the front.]
JACK: What's this?
ELOISE: It's John Locke's suicide note.
[Thunder continues rumbling]
JACK: [Sighs] Uh... I, uh... I didn't know.
ELOISE: Well, why would you? Obituaries don't see fit to mention when people hang themselves, Jack.
JACK: [Sighs] Why would he kill himself?
ELOISE: Ohh... there are many reasons, I'm sure, but the only one that matters is this--he is going to help you get back. John is going
to be a proxy. A substitute.
JACK: A substitute for who?
ELOISE: Jack... who do you think? You need to, as best you can, recreate the conditions of the original flight... which is why you
need to give John something of your father's. You have to get something that belonged to your father, and you need to give it to
John.
JACK: What?
ELOISE: That's what you have to do.
JACK: My father... is gone. My father has been dead for three years. You want me to... [scoffs] a--and to give it to Locke?! He's in a
coffin! This is ridiculous.
ELOISE: Oh, stop thinking how ridiculous it is and start asking yourself whether or not you believe it's going to work. That's why it's
called a leap of faith, Jack.
[Eloise leaves. Rain falls in the distance.]
[We see Ben in a church pew. His hands are clasped in front of his face like he's praying. A door opens over his shoulder and Jack
enters. Ben doesn't react as Jack walks over and sits in the pew across from him. Jack looks around and sighs.]
JACK: Where's Sun?
BEN: She left.
JACK: And Locke? I mean... his body? The coffin?
BEN: I have a friend looking after it. I'll pick it up on my way to the airport. [Ben gets up and goes to light a candle.] What did she
say to you, Jack?
JACK: Nothing that matters. Who is she? Why is she... helping us? How does she know all this?
BEN: [Blows out his match. He looks up at the painting above the candles.] Thomas the Apostle. When Jesus wanted to return to
Judea, knowing that he would probably be murdered there, Thomas said to the others, "Let us also go, that we might die with him."
But Thomas was not remembered for this bravery. His claim to fame came later... when he refused to acknowledge the
resurrection. He just couldn't wrap his mind around it. The story goes... that he needed to touch Jesus' wounds to be convinced.
JACK: So was he?
BEN: Of course he was. We're all convinced sooner or later, Jack. [Pause. Ben starts to leave.]
JACK: Where are you going?
BEN: Oh, I made a promise to an old friend of mine--just a loose end that needs tying up. See you at the airport, Jack.
[Ben opens the door, leaves, and closes it. Jack looks around, looks at the painting, and shakes his head.]
[We see Jack sitting at a bar. A piano plays light jazz in the background. Dishes clatter. Jack's cell phone rings, and Jack answers.]
JACK: Hello? Yeah, this is him. M--he did what?
[We see Jack and a Nurse walking outside.]
NURSE: This is the fourth time he's left. He's gotta follow the rules, or he'll have to move to our fully assisted facility.
JACK: Yeah, I understand.
43
[Jack and the nurse are inside a building, now.]
MAGICIAN: And now, ladies and gentlemen, here is my fraidy-cat rabbit!
[We see the Magician pull off a sheet from a glass cage. There's a rabbit inside. The audience, mostly old people, murmurs and
claps. Jack approaches an old man sitting in the back row.]
JACK: Hey, Ray.
RAY: Hey, Jack.
MAGICIAN: As for my next trick, I need someone to pick a card.
JACK: Wanna get out of here?
RAY: The sooner the better.
MAGICIAN: [to Lady] Would you please pick one? Look at it.
[Jack and Ray are walking down a hallway away from the magician. Applause in distance]
JACK: You wanna tell me why you took off this time, Ray?
RAY: [Chuckles] Do I really need to answer that?
JACK: Will you at least tell me where the bus was headed?
RAY: Doesn't matter. Anywhere I go is somewhere better than here.
[Door unlocks and creaks. Ray and Jack step inside Ray's bedroom. Jack notices something on the bed.]
JACK: [Smiling] You packed a bag?
RAY: Of course I did. One of these times, I'm actually gonna get away. They won't ever find me either.
JACK: Take off again, they're gonna throw you outta here, Ray.
RAY: But what would I do without my magic shows?
JACK: [Chuckles] Let me help you unpack, Granddad.
[Jack unpacks the suitcase while Ray sits at a table.]
RAY: So how are you, kiddo? You seeing anyone special? Whatever happened to the girl that you brought by with you that time?
The pretty one with all the freckles? What was her name?
JACK: Kate. We're not together anymore.
RAY: Oh. Well, look at the bright side--more time to come visit me.
JACK: I'd love to, Granddad. I really would, but... I think I might be... might be going away for a while.
RAY: Where's "away" exactly?
JACK: Somewhere better than here.
RAY: [Chuckles] Touché.
JACK: [Jack pulls out a final shirt from the suitcase and finds some shoes underneath. He's visually taken back.] Are these yours,
Granddad?
RAY: No. Those were your father's. Your mom sent me a box of his stuff after he died. Must've got mixed in when I packed for a
quick getaway.
JACK: These shoes... can I take them?
RAY: Be my guest.
[Jack walks into his apartment and closes the door. He flicks on the light switch and goes to the kitchen. He pours a drink and we
hear the door close. Jack stops pouring and looks around. Jack hears footsteps and a light thud. Jack slowly walks through his
apartment and into his bedroom where he finds someone lying on the bed. He moves closer and sees it's Kate.]
JACK: Kate? What are you doing here?
KATE: Are you still going back to the Island?
JACK: Yeah. Yeah, I think I am.
KATE: Then I'm going with you.
JACK: Kate... what happened? Where's Aaron? Where-KATE: [Getting up and facing Jack] No, don't ask questions. If you want me to go with you... you'll never ask me that question again.
You will never ask me about Aaron. Do you understand, Jack?
JACK: Yes.
KATE: Thank you.
[They kiss, Jack takes off his suit-coat, and they lie on the bed.]
Act 4
[The next morning. Jack puts some orange juice on the table. Jack goes to the kitchen and pours coffee. Kate enters.]
KATE: Morning.
JACK: Morning.
[Jack sets down the coffee pot.]
JACK: Uh, I made you some coffee, and there's orange juice. [Jack and Kate walk to the dining room] You still like milk and two
sugars?
KATE: Yeah, sure. [Kate sits down and notices the shoes] Those don't make much sense for the Island. You might want to consider
hiking boots.
44
JACK: [Chuckling] Those were my father's. [Goes to the kitchen and pours coffee while talking] When I went to pick up his body in
Sydney, my dad didn't have any nice shoes. My mother wanted to have the funeral as soon as I landed back in L.A. But I thought,
who the hell's gonna see his feet? And so I--I had these old white tennis shoes, [Jack comes out and sits down] and I just said, "Use
these. Put these on him." 'Cause he wasn't worth a nice pair of shoes to me. [Chuckles] Or the time it would take to go out and get
'em.
KATE: So why don't you get rid of 'em? Why hold on to something that makes you feel sad?
[Telephone rings]
KATE: Go ahead. I- I'll see you at the airport, okay?
JACK: [picking up the phone] Hello?
BEN: Hello, Jack. Are you there?
JACK: Yeah. Yeah, what's up? Is everything all right?
[We see Ben at the marina. He's wet, his face is bloody, and he seems to be trying to sound normal, though very much in pain.]
BEN: Listen, we don't have much time. I've been, uh... sidetracked, and I need you to pick up Locke's body and take it to the airport.
The coffin is at Simon's Butcher Shop, corner of Grand and Hayes.
JACK: Why? Wh-what's happened to you?
BEN: Just do it. Please.
[Jack shakes his head and hangs up.]
[We see Jack approaching Simon's Butcher Shop. He tries the door, but it's locked. The lights are off and he doesn't see anyone
inside. He knocks. Jill comes out from the back. She opens the door for him.]
JACK: Are you Jill? Ben sent me.
JILL: I know who you are, Dr. Shephard. Come on in.
[Jill and Jack enter the back room. It's a refrigerated room with meat on hooks.]
JILL: [Noticing the bag Jack is carrying] What's in the bag? [Jack stares at her.] Sorry. Ben said to give you the van. I gotta pull it
around back. Give me about five minutes. [Jack nods and she leaves.]
[Jack walks through the room and fights John's casket. He sighs and set his bag down. He opens the coffin and we see Locke inside.
Jack takes off Locke's shoes and takes out his father's from the bag. He begins putting them on Locke and chuckles.]
JACK: Wherever you are, John... you must be laughing your ass off that I'm actually doing this. [Sighs] Because this... this is even
crazier than you were. [Exhales deeply. Takes out John's suicide note from his pocket and puts it on Locke's chest.] And here. You
can have that back. I've already heard everything you had to say, John. You wanted me to go back. I'm going back. [Jack sighs and
looks around. He begins closing the casket.] Rest in peace.
Act 5
[We see Jack standing at a counter at the airport talking to Nabil, an employee behind the desk.]
VOICE ON INTERCOM: Attention, passengers on flight...
NABIL: Mr. Shephard, if you'll just bear with me. The reason for transporting Mr. Bentham to Guam?
JACK: Uh, it was his--these were his wishes. He wanted to be buried there.
NABIL: Who will be the recipient of the deceased upon arrival? Is there a funeral home or-JACK: No, it's me. Me. I'll be escorting the body.
NABIL: And your relation to the deceased?
JACK: He was, uh, a friend.
NABIL: Now, Mr. Shephard, I have to inform you that due to the increased security measures [Jack turns and notices Kate walking.
She seems to not want to see him.], we are required to open the casket and perform a screening. I assure you it's all done with
care. Do you understand, Mr. Shephard? Mr. Shephard?
JACK: [Turning back] Yes. Yes, I understand.
NABIL: [Taking out a clipboard] Then please sign here. Thank you for flying Ajira Air.
CAESAR: [Middle-eastern man in line behind Jack in line.] My condolences. I'm sorry you lost your friend.
JACK: Thank you.
[Man speaking indistinctly over P.A.]
WOMAN OVER PA: Please remove all jackets, sweaters, jewelry and footwear. Remove all laptops and electronic devices from their
cases and place them...
SUN: Jack.
JACK: Sun. Hey.
SUN: You're surprised to see me?
JACK: I just... I thought maybe you might change your mind.
SUN: If there's even a chance that Jin is alive, I have to be on that plane.
WOMAN ON PA: All passengers, please have your tickets and identification available for security. Please remove all jackets,
sweaters... ...all laptops and electronic devices from their cases and place them in a bin.
[We see Sayid being brought through the airport, accompanied by a woman. His hands are under a jacket, presumably handcuffed.
The woman shows her badge to a security guard. He opens a rope-gate and lets them pass. Jack and Sun stare wide-eyed.]
45
[We see Hurley reading a Spanish comic book at gate 15.]
WOMAN: [Amplified voice] This is the preliminary boarding announcement for Ajira Airways Flight 316, with service to Honolulu
and Guam, departing from Gate 15. For those of you on the standby list, we'll have plenty of seats available. [Hurley quickly gets up
and rushes over to her counter.] We would like to invite our pre-board, first class and SkyClub passengers to board the aircraft at
this time.
HURLEY: What do you mean "standby"? There's no standbys.
WOMAN: Oh, no, sir. You don't need to worry. There are... [types on keyboard] 78 seats open.
HURLEY: No. I bought those seats, all 78 of 'em. I'm Hugo Reyes. They're not open. They're mine. Check and see.
WOMAN: [Typing] Yes, I see that. Sir, these people just want to get to their destination. Why would you not want them to be able
to travel?
HURLEY: You know, it doesn't matter why. They can take the next plane.
JACK: Hurley. [Chuckles] What are you doing here? How did you know about the...
HURLEY: All that matters is that I'm here, right?
JACK: [Chuckles] Well... I'm glad that you're here, man.
HURLEY: [Long pause, Sighs] Okay, then. Let's do this. After you.
FLIGHT ATTENDANT: Welcome to Ajira Air. [Takes Jack's ticket] Thank you, sir. Row 8, on your left. [in background] Welcome
aboard. Yes, ma'am. You may.
WOMAN: Thank you.
[As Jack walks through the plane he sees Sayid. Sayid looks up and looks like he wants to say something, but then he looks at the
woman next to him and frowns, avoiding Jack's eyes. Jack sees Sun, next. She has Jin's ring in her hands. Jack sees Kate. She's
keeping her head low and looking away.]
JACK: You made it.
KATE: [taking off her sunglasses] Yeah, I made it.
[Jack continues walking to his seat and sits down.]
[Hurley enters, carrying a guitar case in front of him.]
FLIGHT ATTENDANT: That should be everybody.
BEN: Hold up! Wait, please! Thank you for not closing it.
[Ben is badly beat up and his arm is in a sling. He pants.]
FLIGHT ATTENDANT: Oh, that's okay. Go right on in.
BEN: Thanks.
[Hurley and Sayid both look up and Ben. Hurley jumps up.]
HURLEY: Wait! What's he doing here?!
JACK: Hurley, hey-HURLEY: No, no! He can't come!
JACK: If you want to get back, this is how it's gonna have to be.
HURLEY: No one told me he was gonna be here.
BEN: Who told you to be here, Hugo?
FLIGHT ATTENDANT: Is everything okay?
JACK: Yes. Yes, everything's fine. Right?
HURLEY: Yes, Jack. I'll be fine.
FLIGHT ATTENDANT: Are you Jack Shephard, seat 8C?
JACK: Yes.
FLIGHT ATTENDANT: Security found this while screening your cargo. [She hands Jack the suicide note.] Now if you two don't mind
taking your seats, we are gonna be pushing back for takeoff.
[Ben and Jack go back to their seats.]
BEN: What's that, Jack?
JACK: Nothing. [Looking back at the people in Coach] And the other people on this plane--what's gonna happen to them?
BEN: Who cares?
[Jet engines whirring, engines roaring, the plane moves down the runway.]
[We see shots of Jack et al in the plane as it takes off. We see more shots of the group and the plane flying. The "Fasten seat belt"
light goes out with a ding. Jack gets up and goes to sit next to Kate.]
JACK: [Sighing] It's pretty crazy, huh? [Chuckles]
KATE: Which part?
JACK: Hurley, Sayid... being... on the same plane. How did they end up here?
KATE: They bought a ticket.
JACK: You don't think that it means something? That somehow... we're all back together?
KATE: We're on the same plane, Jack. Doesn't make us together.
46
MAN OVER P.A.: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to Ajira Air. This is your captain, Frank J. Lapidus, and on
behalf of the entire flight crew, welcome aboard. Currently we're right on schedule, flying at a very comfortable 30,000 feet. So sit
back, relax and enjoy the in-flight movie.
[Jack gets up and approaches the cockpit.]
JACK: Excuse me, ma'am?
FLIGHT ATTENDANT: Mr. Shephard, can I help you?
JACK: Um, I need to talk to the pilot. Frank Lapidus and I are old friends, and if you could just tell him I'm onboard, I'd really
appreciate it.
FLIGHT ATTENDANT: All right, but you just have to go sit down because you can't be near the cockpit door when it's open.
JACK: Sure. I understand.
FLIGHT ATTENDANT: [on Phone] Captain, I have a passenger named Jack Shephard. He says he knows you. Okay, sir.
[Hangs up telephone receiver]
LAPIDUS: [Coming out of the cockpit. He's clean shaven and doesn't have a bandage on his forehead.] Well, hello, Doc. Small world.
[Jack exhales] What are you doing going to Guam?
JACK: What are you doing here, Frank?
LAPIDUS: Well, I picked this gig up about eight months ago. I fly this route all the time. Sometimes I take the big birds into New
[Noticing the group in first class]... Delhi. Is... that Sayid? And Hurley. Wait a second. We're not going to Guam, are we?
Act 6
JACK: [Sighs, to Ben] How can you read?
BEN: My mother taught me. I can read, Jack, because it beats what you're doing.
JACK: What's that?
BEN: Waiting for something to happen.
JACK: And what is gonna happen?
BEN: You tell me, Jack. You're the one that got to stay after school with Ms. Hawking.
JACK: Did you know that Locke killed himself?
BEN: No. No, I didn't.
JACK: [Taking out the suicide note] They found this stuffed in his pocket. And I've been trying to get rid of it, but it's like it's...
following me. [Chuckles] I know it sounds crazy, but... it feels like John needs me to read it.
BEN: Why don't you then?
[Jack sighs.]
BEN: Is it because you're afraid?
JACK: Afraid of what?
BEN: Afraid that he blames you, that it's your fault he killed himself.
JACK: Was it my fault?
BEN: No, Jack, it wasn't your fault. Let me give you some privacy.
[Ben gets up and goes to the bathroom. Jack looks at the letter and opens it. We see the note says "Jack,\ I wish you had believed
me.\ JL". Jack looks teary-eyed. The lights flicker and there's some turbulence. It stops for a moment, then starts more violently.
The Fasten Seat Belts sign comes back on.]
HURLEY: [To Caesar] Dude... you might wanna fasten your seat belt.
FLIGHT ATTENDANT: [Walking through the cabin] Fasten your seat belt, ma'am. Sir? Please put on your seat belts. Seat belt, please.
[The plane starts to shake more violently. Lights flicker. Objects start falling out of the overhead compartments. A bright light starts
shining and we hear the familiar magnetic buzzing. The flight attendant is thrown from one side of the cabin to the other. The light
and noise grow more intense, then the screen is completely white and the noise stops.]
[We see Jack's face as he's lying in the jungle. We see the opening scenes in a rapid summary.]
[Continuing]
KATE: What happened? [Groans]
JACK: Can you get up?
KATE: Yeah. [Grunting and straining to get up.] The plane... where's the plane?
JACK: I don't know. After that light, I... I woke up in the jungle.
KATE: So this is it? It's just us?
JACK: I'm not sure. Do either of you remember crashing?
HURLEY: Crashing? No. One second, I'm being tossed around. The next thing I know, I'm in the lagoon.
KATE: Where's Sun and Sayid? [Panting] Where's Ben?
JACK: All right. Let's spread out, search the jungle. We come across anybody from the plane, we'll-[A vehicle approaches. We hear "Dharma Lady" by Geronimo Jackson playing on its stereo.]
RADIO LYRICS: [Male voice] Yeah, your kissin', it feels so right / But you had another man...
[It's revealed to be a new-looking DHARMA van.]
HURLEY: Dude...
RADIO LYRICS: ...holed up last night...
[The driver stops, grabbing a rifle, and gets out to point it at Jack et al. They stare, wide eyed at the driver.]
47
HURLEY: Jin?
[Jin lowers the rifle and looks surprised/happy. He's wearing a DHARMA jumpsuit, but we can't see the symbol.]
48
Bilag 4 – Jacks flashback-story
Jacks flashbacks er her præsenteret i Story-orden, og dermed ikke som de optræder plotmæssigt I serien
(kilde: www.lost.about.com)
Walk Away Now
Episode 1x5, White Rabbit Flashback 1
A trickle of blood on a young boy's eye fills the screen. Then we get a full picture of a boy laying on the
ground looking scared. Beside him another boy is up against a fence being punched in the stomach. A bigger
kid says to the first boy, "Walk away now and you won't get your ass kicked."
The boy with the cut on his eye jumps up to help his friend and gets punched. The big kid says, "Should've
stayed down, Jack."
Consequences
Episode 1x5, White Rabbit Flashback 2
Young Jack visits his father in his father's study. Father asks how he got the black eye and Young Jack says
that he was helping a friend. Father goes into a long speech on what it takes to be a leader. Young Jack
needs to know there are consequences for getting involved in other peoples' business. "Consequences like
that shiner on your eye."
Jacob
Episode 5x16, The Incident
Jack is in surgery working on a patient. He starts breathing heavily and the anesthesiologist says, "Dr.
Shephard, you alright?"
"The dural sac," Jack says, "I cut it. I need some suction."
Christian is leaning up against the wall and says, "Calm down, it's alright."
"Give me some suction," Jack says.
Christian steps forward. "Jack, look at me. Count to five."
"What are you talking about?"
"I'm talking about stitching up the sac so this girl isn't paralyzed for the rest of her life. And the only way
you're going to do that is not to be afraid. So close your eyes, count to five and then fix her, Jack. Or I'll
have to fix her for you."
Jack closes his eyes and then counts to five. He takes control of the situation. After the surgery he goes to a
vending machine and buys an Apollo Bar. The machine doesn't release it and Jack hits the machine. He goes
down the hall and Christian is coming the other direction and says, "Hey, kiddo. The girl's in recovery. She's
responsive to stimulus below the waist, so no paralysis."
"Good," Jack says.
"Something wrong, Jack?"
"You embarrassed me."
"Did I?"
"You know, it's bad enough that everybody in this hospital thinks that the only reason I got this residency is
because you're my father. But then you, you put me in a time out during my first major procedure in front
of my entire team. Dad, I know you don't believe in me, but I need them to."
"Are you sure I'm the one who doesn't believe in you, Jack?" Christian walks away.
"One of these yours?" Jacob says as he holds up two candy bars.
"The machine got stuck," Jack says.
"I guess it just needed a little push," Jacob says as he hands Jack the candy bar.
Dance at her Wedding
49
Episode 2x1, Man of Science, Man of Faith - Flashback 1
A woman is wheeled into the ER with something metal sticking out of her stomach. The EMT says, "Female,
late 20s, no ID. She coded twice on the way over here."
A nurse asks about the other one and the EMT says, "Right behind us. Fire Department had to use the
jaws."
Jack comes in and takes charge. He asks the nurse to page his father. The EMT says the patient's tire blew
and the car jumped the divider and went head-on with an SUV.
"Pericardial's pierced," Jack says.
Another EMT wheels in a second patient. "Adam Rutherford, 57, chest trauma, no breath sounds."
Jack tells an intern to tube Mr. Rutherford, but the intern says he can't. Jack has to decide which patient to
work on, and sticks with the woman. Jack works on her as Mr. Rutherford flat lines.
The woman says something that the nurse can't hear and Jack says, "She said she has to dance at her
wedding."
Hope
Episode 2x1, Man of Science, Man of Faith - Flashback 2
Jack is looking at her chart when his patient, Sarah, comes to. "What happened to him?" she asks. Jack tells
her to relax. "The car that I hit. The other driver was older."
"He died in the ER."
A tear rolls down Sarah's cheek. She says she can't feel anything and Jack says he knows. His bedside
manner could definitely be improved.
Sarah asks what happened to her and Jack goes into a whole medical description. His father looks through
the window. Jack tells Sarah that he's going to perform surgery and repair as much as possible, but the
likelihood of retaining any feeling or mobility anywhere below the waist is extremely unlikely.
Jack's father calls him into the hallway and says, "You might want to try handing out some hope every once
in awhile. Even if there's a 99% possibility that they're utterly, hopelessly screwed, folks are much more
inclined to hear that one percent chance that things are going to be okay."
"That's false hope, Dad."
"Maybe, but it's still hope."
Fixing Sarah
Episode 2x1, Man of Science, Man of Faith - Flashback 3
Jack speaks with Sarah's fiance, Kevin. "Your fiance was seriously injured." He says he will open her up, and
depending on the damage, it could take as long as 10 or 12 hours.
Kevin says that she was going for a dress fitting and to look at tablecloths. Jack asks when the wedding is
and Kevin says eight months. Jack is sure that Sarah will recover by then and Kevin asks what that means.
Jack says, "There will be ongoing physical therapy, but if she works really hard-"
"Well, will we be able to, you know, make love?" Kevin asks.
Jack just stares at him a moment, then says, "You need to know that there's a chance Sarah may very well
need professional care for the rest of her life."
"Like she won't be able to go to the bathroom by herself?"
Jack just stares again, then we see him in the OR. Sarah is on her stomach, ready for the surgery. She asks
Jack to come closer and he leans down to hear her say, "I know I'm not going to be dancing anymore. I can
still roll around at my wedding. You're invited, okay?"
Jack gets an intense look on his face and says, "I'm going to fix you."
Lift it Up
Episode 2x1, Man of Science, Man of Faith - Flashback 4
Jack is working out, running up stadium steps. He sees someone else doing the same and works to keep
pace with him, but twists his ankle. The other runner comes over. "You all right, brother?"
50
Jack says he's fine, and the other guy tells him to take it easy and keep the weight off. He asks if it hurts and
Jack says no, so the guy deduces that it's not a sprain. "I don't fancy your chances of catching up with me
tonight, though."
"I wasn't trying to catch up."
"Aye, of course you weren't."
"What do you know about sprains, anyway?"
"I was almost a doctor once."
"Small world," Jack says.
"You a doctor then?" the guy asks and Jack nods. "So what's your excuse?"
"Excuse?" Jack asks.
"To run like the devil's chasing you. My excuse, I'm training for a race around the world. Impressive, I know.
So your excuse better be good, brother."
Jack says he's just trying to work things out and the guy guesses a girl. Jack says a patient and the guy says,
"Aye, but a girl patient. What's her name?"
"Her name's Sarah."
"You must have done something worthy of this self-flagellation."
Jack says, "I told her I'd fix her and I couldn't. I failed."
The guy says, "Right. Just one thing. What if you did fix her?"
Jack says he didn't and the guy says, "But what if you did?"
"With her situation that would be a miracle, brother," Jack says.
The guy says, "Oh, and you don't believe in miracles? Right. Well then, I'm going to give you some advice
anyway. You have to lift it up."
Jack looks unconvinced. "Lift it up?"
"Your ankle. You have to keep it elevated. It's been nice chatting..." He waits for Jack to give his name and
he does. Then the guy says, "Jack, I'm Desmond. Good luck, brother. See you in another life, yeah?"
Moving Toes
Episode 2x1, Man of Science, Man of Faith - Flashback 5
Sarah wakes and asks if she's alive. Jack tells her she is and she asks about her fiance. Jack says he hasn't
seen him.
Jack pulls his chair in close and tells Sarah that he tried to repair the damage, but that she is going to be
paralyzed from the waist down for the rest of her life. He says he's sorry and actually has tears in his eyes.
"You're yanking my chain, right?" she says, but he shakes his head. "Then how come I can wiggle my toes?"
Jack looks down and the blankets are moving over her feet. He pulls the blanket back and pokes her feet
with an instrument and she says she can feel it. Jack is stunned.
Backing Out
Episode 1x20, Do No Harm - Flashback 1
Jack is helping his childhood friend, Marc Silverman, tie his bow tie. He asks if Marc is nervous and Marc
says he'll be fine after about eight beers. Jack says that Marc can still back out, and Marc says, "Nah, it's just
a stupid speech."
The tux shop owner comes out with another tuxedo. "Okay, groom's turn." Jack takes the tux.
"You can still back out, Jack," Marc jokes.
My Hero
Episode 1x20, Do No Harm - Flashback 2
At the wedding rehearsal, Marc says, "And here she is, the future Mrs. Jack Shephard." He hands the mic to
a blond woman.
Jack's fiancee says, "A little over two years ago, I blew a tire out and flipped over the center divider into
oncoming traffic and was hit head-on by an SUV. My back was broken. They all said it was irreparable. And
51
then there was Jack. And he promised he would fix me, because that's the kind of guy he is. Because you
are the most committed man I have ever known, because you fixed me, I will dance at our wedding. To
Jack, my hero, Jack."
Vows
Episode 1x20, Do No Harm - Flashback 3
Jack sits at a piano. His fiancee walks up and says that he "doesn't have to do this." He says he wants to, but
he just doesn't know what to say for his vows yet.
He is distracted by a taxi outside and his fiancee says, "He'll come."
"Yeah, I know."
She tells him to stay as long as he needs and when he's ready she'll be upstairs. "I cannot wait to marry you,
Jack Shephard."
Letting Go
Episode 1x20, Do No Harm - Flashback 4
Jack sits by the hotel pool. His father walks up and sits beside him. Jack says that Sarah wants them to write
their own vows. His dad reads from the piece of paper, "My heart skips beats at the sound of your voice.
My skin warms to the touch of your fingers. Where you go, I will go." He says it's very nice.
"Those aren't my vows," Jack says. "Those are hers. I stole them out of the room. Can't write mine."
Jack's dad points out that he's a doctor, not a writer. He asks if Jack loves her and if she loves him and Jack
says yes to both, but wonders if he can be a good husband and father. "What if I asked her because I saved
her life? Should I marry her, Dad?"
His dad says, "Commitment is what makes you tick, Jack. The problem is, you're just not good at letting go."
Jack Didn't Write Vows
Episode 1x20, Do No Harm - Flashback 5
Sarah finishes her vows and the minister asks Jack to say his. Jack hesitates and the minister asks him again.
Jack says, "I didn't write any vows. I've been trying to for a month, but I couldn't. So I started to wonder
why that was. And as time went on it only got worse, because I'm not good at letting go. Or maybe I'm
afraid of what will happen if I fail. But I know one thing. I would have never been able to write anything as
beautiful as what you just said. And last night, Sarah, when you were talking about the accident, you got it
all wrong. I didn't fix you. You fixed me. I love you, Sarah, and I always will."
They kiss.
Gabriela's Father
Episode 2x11, The Hunting Party - Flashback 1
A man and his daughter sit at a table while Jack and his dad look over x-rays and whisper. The man says
something in Italian and his daughter, Gabriela, says, "He says you don't need to talk in whispers. He knows
he doesn't have a chance."
Dr. Christian Shephard says, "Tell him I'm very sorry, but he's not a candidate for surgery. The way the
tumor is situated on the spine, it's just not possible to remove it."
Gabriela translates and her father, Angelo, says something back. "He said, 'I did not come all this way for
you, sir,'" she says to Christian. "'I came for him,'" she says about Jack.
She knows how Jack had fixed Sarah's back and how it was a miracle. She is looking for a miracle for her
father, and so she has come to Jack. Jack agrees with his father on the risks and unlikelihood that the
surgery would work, but Gabriela asks him to try.
Jack takes a few moments to look at the x-rays then says, "I'll have to admit him in the next couple of weeks
and run some tests."
Christian stares at Jack a moment, then leaves.
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Pregnancy Test
Episode 2x11, The Hunting Party - Flashback 2
Angelo is asleep. Jack looks at some monitors and Gabriela comes in. She asks how he is. Jack says his
counts aren't where he'd like them to be. She complains that he's been testing for over a month and he
explains that he's thorough.
"I have a confession to make. I don't believe in miracles," Gabriela says. Jack is not too sure about them
either. "I bet your wife feels differently. She's the woman you fixed, isn't she?"
Jack says yes and Gabriela says, "She must be a very special person to let you work until 4:30 in the
morning."
Jack looks at his watch. "I completely lost track of-. I've got to-. Will you excuse me?"
At home, Sarah lies in bed awake as Jack walks in. "Hey, how is he?" she asks.
He says about the same and then apologizes for being so late. She gets out of bed and says, "Hey, that's the
price of being a miracle worker."
He asks where she's going and she says she's going to the gym and then she has papers to grade.
Jack gets into bed and she sits on the bed near him. "I didn't want to say anything until I knew either way,"
she says, "but, um, I was late so I got a pregnancy test."
Jack looks concerned and sits up. "Don't worry," she says. "It's negative."
"Do you want to talk about it?" he asks.
"What's to talk about?"
"Sarah, I-"
"See you later, Jack."
Okay For Some
Episode 2x11, The Hunting Party - Flashback 3
Jack is in his office. He gives Gabriela some papers to sign. He says it's not too late to go back. The tumor is
aggressive but her father could lead a normal life for at least another year.
Gabriela doesn't want to go back home. She says, "Even if you don't succeed, you're giving us a chance.
That's all we wanted." She signs the papers.
They are very close to each other and Jack says he'll come check on her before he scrubs in. Christian bursts
in and says, "Am I interrupting?"
Gabriela leaves and Christian tells Jack to be careful. "There's a line, son. You know it's there. And
pretending it's not, that would be a mistake."
"Guess you would know," Jack says.
"It may be okay for some people, Jack, but not for you."
The Kiss
Episode 2x11, The Hunting Party - Flashback 4
Jack is in the hospital locker room, dressed in scrubs, banging and hitting the lockers. His father comes in
and yells his name.
"I had it!" Jack says. He had gotten all of the tumor.
"He was a sick old man," Christian says, "on the table for seven and half hours. His heart gave out, it's
nobody's fault."
"I've got to go tell her," Jack says.
"Yeah, well, I've already done that," Christian says and Jack gives him an angry look. "Lest you forget I am
still chief of surgery."
"Where is she?" Jack demands to know, but Christian tells him to go home. He asks again and Christian says
that she has gone home.
Jack walks to his car in the parking lot and Gabriela gets out of a nearby car. "Gabriela, my father told me
that you'd gone."
53
She thanks him for trying and then begins to cry. He hugs her and tells her he is sorry. They kiss. First Jack is
into the kiss, then he pulls away and says he can't. He walks away.
Sarah Leaving
Episode 2x11, The Hunting Party - Flashback 5
Jack arrives home to find Sarah clearing dishes off the table. She asks how the surgery went and Jack says
the patient died. She is sorry.
Jack asks who was over and Sarah says her mom. She goes to the sink to wash dishes, and he dries. Sarah
wants to know how the daughter took it.
Jack says, "She kissed me. Yeah, she kissed me and I kissed her back. I, I don't know. I don't know how it
happened. I made a mistake. I made a mistake and this is my fault. It's my fault that you and me...I haven't
been here. Sarah, I mean, we don't even talk anymore. I hate what's happening to us and I promise you
that things are going to be different. I'm going to, I'm going to work less. I'm going to be here for you.
Okay? I'm going to fix this. We're going to go back to the way things were. I'm going to fix this. I'm going to
fix this."
Jack hugs Sarah and she cries, but doesn't hug him back. "Jack, I'm leaving you."
She explains that she was already leaving him before this. That's why her mother was there, to help her
pack. "I've been seeing someone," she says.
"Sarah," Jack says.
"You will always need something to fix. Goodbye."
Spying Jack
Episode 3x1, A Tale of Two Cities - Flashback 1
Jack sits in his car in front of a school where children play. He sees Sarah come out and get very close to a
man.
Who is He?
Episode 3x1, A Tale of Two Cities - Flashback 2
Jack goes into a big building. Sarah asks where his lawyer is. He says he fired his lawyer. He begins to
apologize to Sarah, but her phone rings and she walks a short distance and answers it. She says that he just
got there and then gives a little giggle.
She sits on the couch next to Jack and says, "I'll try to say this as simply as I can--"
"What's his name?"
"Jack, stop."
Jack presses, even though she continues to ask him to stop. He says she can have everything, the house,
the cars, he just wants to know the name of the man who's with his wife.
She gets up and walks away.
Let It Go, Jack
Episode 3x1, A Tale of Two Cities - Flashback 3
Jack is on the phone in his office. He says, "I met a woman on the train, Sarah, and she dropped her cell
phone, and I don't even know her last name, but your number was in her phone."
Christian Shephard walks in and looks at the desk. He wants to know why Jack is dialing all the numbers in
Sarah's cell phone.
"Because one of them is him."
Christian hangs up the phone. "You've got to stop this, Jack."
Jack dials again. "Not until I know his name, where he works, where he lives, where they first kissed, I want
to know what it is about him--"
Christian's cell phone rings and he opens it. Christian looks caught and Jack looks at him, hanging up the
phone. "Why is Sarah calling you, Dad?"
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"I think it's time that you let this go."
"Why is she calling?"
"Because she was afraid, for you."
Jack yells, "I want to know, exactly, why the hell she would call you."
"She could see that you were slipping, that you were losing your grip!"
Jack says his grip is not the problem and Christian says that he knows a little something about being
obsessive. Jack says that being a drunk is not being obsessive. Christian nods and walks out. He turns at the
door and says, "Let it go, Jack."
Following Christian
Episode 3x1, A Tale of Two Cities - Flashback 4
Jack talks to a nurse over a patient and sees his father in the hallway talking to other doctors. Christian's
phone rings and Jack's full attention is on his father. He doesn't answer the nurse's questions.
Christian laughs and talks and Jack looks angry.
He follows his father to a hotel and sees him go into a room. He follows him into the room and Christian
looks surprised to see him. "Give me your cell phone," Jack says.
"Look where you are," Christian says.
It's a support group meeting. Christian says this is not the time. The moderator says, "You must be Jack.
Why don't you grab a chair and join us."
Jack looks around. "You know me?"
"Yes. Your father's told us all about you."
"What'd you tell them about me, Dad? That your son never really had it, not like the old man. I didn't have
the will to make it work? My life, my job, my marriage. What'd you tell them about my marriage, Dad?" He
looks at the moderator. "You know how he manages his marriage? A bottle of scotch every night before
dinner."
"Your father has been sober 50 days, now," she says. "We're very proud of that."
Jack laughs. "Wow, Dad. I wonder what helped you turn that corner. You think it was a new lady friend--"
"I will not let you talk to me like that," Christian says.
"I will not let you sleep with my wife!"
"Jack, I'm your father. Jack, please, just let it go."
Jail
Episode 3x1, A Tale of Two Cities - Flashback 5
Sarah bails Jack out of jail. He asks how she knew and she says his dad told her. She says, "I called you a
cab, so, bye."
She cries as she leaves. He follows her out and sees a man by her car. "Is that him?"
Sarah says it's not going to change anything and Jack says he just wants to know.
"It doesn't matter who he is. It just matters who you're not. Jack, your father, when he called me to help
you, he was so drunk I could hardly understand him. Look at the bright side, now you have something to
fix." She walks away with the man.
Call It
Episode 1x11, All the Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues - Flashback 1
Jack is in the OR frantically trying to save a woman. The chief, Jack's dad, comes in and says, "Call it." Jack
continues working. "It's over, Jack."
Jack strips off his mask and snaps, "You call it."
Episode 1x11, All the Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues - Flashback 2
Jack looks down at the woman he was unable to save. Christian is upset that Jack took over his surgery. Jack
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says he had to because one of the nurses came and got him because Christian's hands were shaky and he
cut an artery. "How many drinks did you have at lunch, Dad?" Jack asks.
Sign the Papers
Episode 1x11, All the Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues - Flashback 3
Jack's father encourages his son to sign off on the death report. Jack refuses to sign, insisting that his
father's impairment was what caused the woman's death. Jack's father begs his son not to contradict the
report or he could lose his license.
Christian tells Jack that he's been hard on him to make him the best surgeon in the city. Christian promises
that it will never happen again and Jack signs the papers.
Medical Review Board
Episode 1x11, All the Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues - Flashback 4
Jack sees his father talking to an angry man. A nurse explains that he's the dead woman's husband and he's
threatening to sue. Another look reveals the man crying and Jack's dad rubbing his shoulder.
Episode 1x11, All the Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues - Flashback 5
At the medical review board, Jack's father speaks of the surgery. Jack is having a hard time listening to the
lies. They ask if Christian was aware that the woman was pregnant, and he answers, "Absolutely."
Based on Jack's reaction, it's clear that Jack hadn't known the woman was pregnant. Jack can't take it
anymore and he speaks out against his father, telling the board that he'd been operating under the
influence and he'd severed the patient's artery. Christian stares in shocked silence at his son.
Achara
Episode 3x9, Stranger in a Strange Land - Flashback 1
Jack looks out over a beach and puts on sunglasses. He goes down the stairs and onto the sand. He looks to
be in Thailand. A boy says, "Dr. Jack, hey, Dr. Jack. Dr. Jack want soda, Dr. Jack?"
Jack holds up two fingers and the boy pulls out two soda bottles, then speaks in Chinese, which Jack doesn't
understand. Jack gives him money and he seems happy and keeps talking.
"You know I can't understand a word you're saying, right?"
"Dr. Jack."
"You're welcome."
Jack goes further down the beach and attempts to assemble a kite. A Thai woman giggles and comes over
to help him. Wordlessly, they put the kite together and begin to fly it.
"Thank you," he says, "thank you very much."
"You're not from around here, are you?" she asks in English.
Jack smiles. "No, no I'm not." He extends his hand. "I'm Jack."
"Hi, Jack. I'm Achara."
"Achara," Jack says.
Dinner With Achara
Episode 3x9, Stranger in a Strange Land - Flashback 2
Jack and Achara are at a restaurant. A man brings a dish over and says it's special for Jack to try. Achara
serves him and he eats it. The man says, "Very brave, very brave," then walks away.
"My brother likes you," Achara says.
"I'm a very likeable guy."
"So, Jack, tell me something, why is it you never learned to fly a kite?"
"I just never learned, I guess."
"That's very sad."
"Well, my dad worked a lot, and wasn't exactly the kite flying type anyway."
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"Jack, I have no interest in your father."
"Well, that's a relief, because I'm kind of tired of talking about him."
"Some things are personal."
Jack nods.
"So, you're in Phuket to find yourself?" Achara says.
"Why would you say that?"
"You're an American."
A man walks over and gives Achara an envelope. He bows and says something in Chinese. She puts the
envelope in her purse. "I have a gift," she says.
"Must be one hell of a gift."
Jack Could Never Understand
Episode 3x9, Stranger in a Strange Land - Flashback 3
Jack sleeps and Achara come in. "Who's there?" Jack asks.
"Who do you think?" she asks. She removes her clothes and gets into bed with him.
"What time is it?"
"It's late," she says and kisses him.
"Salty."
"I went for a swim in the ocean."
"Washing the day off of you, huh?"
"Is there something you want to ask me, Jack?"
"It might be nice, after a month of you coming and going whenever you want, to find out something about
you."
"There are things that happen here that you could never understand."
"Like your gift."
"Yes, like my gift."
They kiss and roll off the bed and then laugh. "Are you having fun with me, Jack?"
"Oh, yeah."
"Then stop ask questions, let's have fun."
Achara's Gift
Episode 3x9, Stranger in a Strange Land - Flashback 4
Jack sees Achara in a public place, and follows her. He goes into a room with a bunch of candles and tattoo
equipment in it.
"You're following me." Achara looks very upset.
"What is all this?"
She lights a candle. "This is where I work and you shouldn't be following me."
"This is a tattoo parlor. This is your big secret? The envelopes? Your gift?"
"I am not a tattoo artist. I'm able to see who people are. My work is not decoration, it is definition. And
this, this is my gift."
"So, you see who people are?"
"Yes, and I mark them."
"So tell me who I am?"
"No." She backs up, looking panicked.
"Why not?" He walks toward her.
"'Cause you're an outsider."
"So you can sleep with me..."
"I'm not involved."
He pushes her up against the wall. "Do you see who I am, Achara?"
"Yes."
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"Who am I?"
"You are a leader, a great man. But this, this makes you lonely, and frightened, and angry."
"Good. Now put it on me. Put it on me!"
"No, this is against my people!"
He sits her down and takes off his shirt.
"There will be consequences, Jack."
"There always are."
She is upset as she begins to mark him.
Consequences
Episode 3x9, Stranger in a Strange Land - Flashback 5
Jack walks out of where he sleeps in Phuket and goes down on the beach with his kite. He sees the boy who
sells soda and holds up two fingers, but the boy looks scared and runs away.
Jack turns around and sees some men walking toward him. The one in front is Achara's brother. "Hey, I
know you," Jack says. "I'm Achara's friend. Chet, it's Jack from the restaurant."
Chet lifts Jack's sleeve to see the Chinese writing tattooed on his arm. "Let go of me, man," Jack says.
Chet hits him and they beat Jack.
Jack falls to the sand where they continue to beat him. "You will get off this beach! You will leave this
country!" Chet says, "Do you understand me?"
They walk over to a boat where a very upset Achara stands.
Jack leaves find his Father
Episode 1x5, White Rabbit - Flashback 3
Jack talks to his mom in his father's study. She tells him that his father is missing and that Jack must find
him. Jack protests, saying he hasn't talked to his father for two months. He says he can't do it. "You don't
get to say 'I can't,'" she says. "Not after what you did."
Jack sighs. "Where is he?"
"Australia."
Australia
Episode 1x5, White Rabbit – Flashback 4
A hotel manager tells Jack that his father hasn't been in his hotel room for three days. They had to have
security haul him out of the bar and gave him this room because he was too drunk to rent a car. "My father
was a chief of surgery," Jack declares, quickly losing his patience. Jack finds his father's wallet in the room
and the manager suggests calling the police.
Death
Episode 1x5, White Rabbit - Flashback 5
Jack walks down a corridor with an Australian medical examiner, who explains that Jack's father drank
himself to death.
Need It To Be Done
Episode 1x5, White Rabbit - Flashback 6
Jack is angry, telling an Oceanic Airlines ticket agent that he has to bring his father's body back to the
United States. He says it has to be done because he needs to bury his father. "I need it to be done. I need it
to be over."
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Ana-Lucia
Episode 1x23, Exodus Part 1 - Flashback 1
Jack sits in the airport bar. A woman next to him asks why he was yelling at the girl at the check-in counter.
Jack asks if he knows her and she says, "So, your dad died, huh?"
"I thought you didn't hear what I was yelling about," he says and she says she was being polite. She asks
why no wedding ring. And he says he's not married anymore.
He asks her name and she says, "Ana-Lucia." She explains that she's drinking at noon because she hates
flying and they stuck her way in the back where the wheels come down right under your feet. She asks
where he's sitting.
"Twenty-three B."
She says, "Forty-two F, want to trade?"
Her phone rings and Jack says his name is Jack and she says they'll have their next drink on the plane and
walks off to take the call.
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