Adrift
From Lostpedia
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Episode transcript
[[{{{transcript2}}}|Part Two]]
[[{{{audiotranscript}}}|Commentary transcript]]
"Adrift" is the second episode of Season 2 of Lost and the 27th episode of the series as a whole. Occurring at the same point as the previous episode, emphasis shifts to Kate and Locke's perspective, and what happened to them before Jack joined them down the Hatch. Meanwhile, Sawyer and Michael try to come to terms with what happened to them on the raft.
Contents |
Synopsis
- Michael, Walt, Sawyer, and Jin say goodbye to the other survivors and set sail on the raft. ("Exodus, Part 1")
- The raft is ambushed by a small boat team, who abduct Walt and destroy the raft with an explosive. ("Exodus, Part 2")
- Locke blows open the hatch with dynamite from the Black Rock ("Exodus, Part 2"), disturbing a mysterious occupant inside. ("Man of Science, Man of Faith")
- Jack tells the others that hiding in the Hatch is no longer an option. Locke says he is going down to explore before morning. ("Man of Science, Man of Faith")
- Kate offers to go down before Locke. When she is nearing the bottom on a rope held by Locke, a bright light shoots out from the hatch, and she is pulled forcibly down the rest of the way. ("Man of Science, Man of Faith")
Flashback
Michael visits his lawyer about fighting for custody of Walt, but is not overly impressed by the professional's lack of interest and forgetfulness of details about his circumstance. He explains that signing Walt for adoption so Brian can become his legal father would mean Michael has no rights at all, literally the same as to any kid one might pass in the street. Michael is prepared to fight all the way, but the lawyer admits that the proceedings will take a large amount of money, with the situation being David and Goliath in nature. Michael is adamant, however, that he is going to get his son back.
A hearing takes place between the two parents, accompanied by their lawyers. Susan's staff begin to nitpick at Michael's history as a father, culminating in the conclusion that "for someone who wants to retain his parental right you don’t know very much about your son". Michael, however, stands firm that he is Walt’s father.
After the hearing, Susan requests to speak to Michael alone. She admits that she thinks Michael will win in court, but cannot understand why he is doing this when he does not even know Walt, and could never provide what she could. She pleads for Michael to let him go, and hands him the adoption forms.
At a park, Susan arrives to meet Michael, and with her is a young Walt, but a few years old. Michael neglects to introduce himself as his father, and tells Walt that he will have a great life with his mother and Brian. He also promises that "your daddy" loves you very much, and "I" always will. Before leaving, he gives Walt a toy polar bear, asking Susan to one day, at least, tell him who it was from.
On the Island
At the Hatch, Locke shouts down the shaft for Kate, who has vanished completely. Tying himself a line of rope, Locke heads down after her. Locke manages to reach the bottom of the shaft, and wanders round to discover he is in fact in some kind of concrete bunker. He removes his shoes and tiptoes further inside. He finds a kitchen, before discovering Kate dazed on the floor. A man suddenly appears behind him holding a gun, and asks if Locke is "him"?
Back at the Hatch, Locke decides to pretend that he is indeed “him”, if only to save their lives. However, when the man asks "what did one snowman say to the other" (presumably a password), he realizes that Locke is lying. The man orders Kate to tie Locke up, but Locke insists that Kate is more dangerous as a fugitive. The man allows it, and locks Kate instead inside a darkened room. Jack waits at the caves, deciding to head after the others down the Hatch. Claire and Charlie watch from afar, but Claire suddenly notices a Virgin Mary statue in his bag. He brushes it off as nothing important.
Gagged with her hands tied tightly behind her back and her barefeet tied tightly together, Kate attempts to free herself, but the bindings on her hands and barefeet are to tight; She tries calling for help, but is gagged She begins wiggling her toes. Kate maneuvers her arms in front, allowing her to move about more easily. She then pulls out a flick knife that Locke had slipped into her jeans while tying her up, releasing herself. She finds a light switch, discovering that she is actually in a pantry, full of food. She also notices a ventilation shaft, but before she climbs up, she notices Apollo candy bars on a shelf, and cannot help eating one. Moving up inside the vent, she begins to crawl through. Not ten yards away, Locke is explaining to the man about the plane crash. He reveals that his name is Desmond, and asks how many of the survivors have gotten sick. Suddenly, a buzzer begins to sound. Desmond orders Locke up, takes him to a computer and tells him to enter the Numbers 4, 8, 15, 16, 23, and 42. He is then ordered to press execute, and the buzzing stops while a timer on the wall reverts to 108:00. Jack can then be heard shouting for the others. Kate notices Jack through an air vent, but as Desmond sets off a record player sending out loud music, he is unable to hear her. Desmond confronts Jack, ordering him to drop his weapon, as in the previous episode, before Jack realized that he knows the man.
On the raft
Sawyer re-emerges from the water to hear Walt, Michael and Jin shouting after the attack of their raft. He manages to grab some wreckage, and get to Michael before he drowns. However, Michael is still not breathing.
Sawyer begins to perform CPR, and manages to revive Michael, but is forced to restrain him to stop his struggling for Walt. He refuses to give up shouting despite the fact that the boat the kidnappers used is long gone.
Meanwhile, Sawyer screams for Jin, and Michael asks the conman if he feels guilty for making them fire the flare. The two argue, and Michael orders him to get off his raft, but not before they hear noises and are attacked. It would appear that Sawyer’s bleeding shoulder has attracted a shark. Sawyer decides to try and swim for another piece of raft wreckage after his argument, managing to hold on to a small piece. As Michael looks on, Sawyer tells him that he was trying to save Walt when he was shot, contrary to what Michael may think about him saving himself.
Some time later, Sawyer decides to pull out the bullet in his shoulder with his bare hand, as Michael insists he will not be able to do it. Nevertheless, Sawyer is successful, coldly asking Michael for a Band-Aid.
Still struggling at sea, Sawyer surmises that the kidnapping boat was small, so it could only be local. Rousseau had said that the Others were coming for the child, and while at the time they believed this meant Aaron, Sawyer believes they were after Walt all along. Michael splashes water at Sawyer for saying his son’s name, causing Sawyer’s piece of wreckage to break apart. He returns to share Michael’s section, and the two grudgingly sit together.
Michael and Sawyer discover one of the pontoons from the raft, which is much sturdier than their current piece of wreckage, made up of virtually loose bamboo rods. Handing Michael the gun, Sawyer heads after it. The shark emerges from the ocean, and Michael unleashes a full magazine of ammunition, venting his rage. Both manage to get to the pontoon, and lie down exhausted. As the sun rises, Michael promises to get back his son as the two realize that the current has brought them back to the Island. “We’re home”, adds Sawyer. The two wash up on shore, but immediately hear Jin shouting. He runs out to them, shouting in Korean. They finally realize what he is saying, “Others”, as a group of strangers carrying weapons ominously appear, advancing on the three.
Trivia
General
- A DHARMA Logo can be seen branded on the tail of the shark that attacks Sawyer and Michael.
- When Michael is talking to his lawyer, we get a very brief glimpse of the World Trade Center towers.
Production notes
- The episode was originally going to be a Sawyer flashback. StarTrek.com announced that Jolene Blalock had been cast and some scenes were partially shot before being scrapped in favor of a Michael centric episode. It is unknown if filming was completed but some pictures surfaced online in July 2008. One of them has Kevin Dunn who played Gordy in what would be the eventual Sawyer flashback episode in season 2, "The Long Con".
- In an interview with Variety in April 2009, Carlton Cuse explained why the Sawyer flashback was dropped from this episode: "This happens all the time in both film and TV, scenes or storylines are shot that just don’t work out as you hoped. We’ve been fortunate to have a really high success rate on “Lost.” In fact, that was the only time we dumped an entire storyline. No fault of the actors — it just wasn’t properly conceived. We have no plans to put it on the DVDs because unlike most deleted scenes, which just don’t fit into the body of a particular show, this storyline was not at the quality bar we have for the show." Variety
- A deleted scene from this episode shows Sun confronting Shannon about her claims for seeing Walt. Shannon tries to tell Sun that she was tired and a disaster after Boone died and that seeing Walt was a result. Sun does not believe her although Shannon is adamant that she saw nothing.
- A deleted scene shows Claire asking Sun if she and Jin ever talked about having kids.
- Sayid, Shannon and Sun do not appear in this episode. although scenes with Sun and Shannon were filmed and deleted later.
- The first episode in which Sayid does not appear.
- Michael and Susan discuss matters with their attorneys in the same set where Claire was to sign documents relinquishing custody of her unborn child in "Raised by Another", though it is redressed.
- Bernard, Cindy, Libby and possibly Ana Lucia were portrayed by extras in the final scene when Eko attacks approaches the raft survivors. This could have been done for budgetary reasons as to not pay the actors for a full episode or because they had not been cast yet in the case of Bernard and Libby.
Bloopers and continuity errors
- Sawyer mentions that Rousseau said that the others were coming after the kid. Sawyer never heard this from her. He was on the raft when Rousseau revealed this information to Charlie and Sayid.
Recurring themes
- Michael and Sawyer encounter a shark in the water. (Animals)
- Michael gives Walt a stuffed polar bear before Walt and Susan depart for Rome. (Animals)
- Desmond locks Kate inside the pantry. (Imprisonment)
- Locke pretends to be the "him" Desmond speaks of. (Deceptions and cons)
- When Michael finds out that he will have Walt taken from him he tries his best to prevent it from happening; in order to do so, he tries to file an injunction against his former lover, Susan. (Parent Issues) (Relationships)
- Desmond enters the numbers 4, 8, 15, 16, 23, 42 into the computer; when he enters the Numbers into the computer the timer on the wall flicks to 108. (The Numbers)
Cultural references
| Cultural references in Lost (direct references only) |
|---|
| Art • Books • Cars • Games • Movies and TV • Music • Philosophy • Religion and ideologies • Science |
- Bonanza. Sawyer calls Michael "Hoss". Eric “Hoss” Cartwright was a big man, the warm and lovable middle son of Ben Cartwright in the TV cowboy show that aired from 1959 to 1973. (Movies and TV)
- In "Homecoming", it was Jack who was called "Hoss" by Sawyer. Sawyer has called other people this as well.
- The Bible. Michael’s attorney references the biblical story of David and Goliath. (Literary works) (Religion)
- Bluebeard. Sawyer refers to the bearded man as "Bluebeard", the title character in this famous fairy tale about a violent nobleman and his over-curious wife. It was written by Charles Perrault and first published in 1697. (Literary works)
- "Make Your Own Kind of Music", sung by Mama Cass Elliot, is playing on the record player when Desmond is holding Locke hostage in the Swan bunker. (Music)
Literary techniques
| Literary techniques in Lost |
|---|
| Comparative: Irony • Juxtaposition • Foreshadowing Plotting: Cliffhanger • Plot twist Stock Characters: Archetype • Redshirt • Unseen character Story: Flashbacks • Flash-forwards • Regularly spoken phrases • Symbolism • Unreliable narrator |
- Sawyer and Michael are brought back to the Island by the currents, and discover that Jin has been there for some time as his hands have been bound by "the Others". (Plot twist)
- Despite the fact that the raft had been traveling for a day and half at night, the currents still carry Michael and Sawyer back to the Island, the place they were hoping to escape from, and the place that they now wish to return to, in order to rescue Walt. (Irony)
- Michael, on the wreckage and in his flashback, spends his time alienating those around him (Sawyer, Susan) in his attempts to keep Walt safe and/or get him back. However, Michael realizes the error of his ways both times, and "lets Walt go" in order to mend his relationships with those currently around him. (Juxtaposition)
- In keeping with the title of the episode, both sets of events shown in this episode present Michael at times when he is "adrift" in his life, with no sense of direction or purpose, other than "get Walt back". In his past, this spiritual emptiness probably continued until the events of "Special"; in the present, he finds his way back to solid ground, giving a solid direction and purpose again. (Juxtaposition) (Symbolism)
- Desmond asks Locke: "Are you him?" In Michael's flashback, Susan tells him to "let him [Walt] go." (Regularly spoken phrases)
| ||||||||||||||||||||
