Two for the Road
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Episode transcript
[[{{{transcript2}}}|Part Two]]
[[{{{audiotranscript}}}|Commentary transcript]]
"Two for the Road" is the twentieth episode of Season 2 of Lost and the 45th episode of the series as a whole. When Ana Lucia is attacked by Henry Gale, she begins to contemplate taking matters into her own hands. Meanwhile, Michael is reunited with his friends, and tells them that he wants to go back for his son.
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Synopsis
Flashback
Ana Lucia is shown in the morgue, viewing the body of the man she has killed. Her mother, also present, begins asking questions, and her daughter gives a halfhearted alibi, knowing full well how patently guilty she looks. Her mother then offers her help, which Ana Lucia declines; when she insists her daughter get help from somewhere, to respect her job, the younger officer quits.
Later, Ana Lucia is shown working as an airport security officer. In the bar, she meets Christian Shephard, Jack's father. The two commiserate, and the older man offers her work as his bodyguard in Sydney. The two decide to adopt false names for their relationship. Ana Lucia calls Christian "Tom," while Christian calls her "Sarah" - the name of Jack's wife. In Sydney, they spend four days drinking, until Christian works up the nerve to visit a blonde woman in the suburbs, bringing Ana Lucia with him, in the middle of the night. A shouting match ensues between that blonde woman and Christian; he tells the woman that he paid the mortgage on her house and has a right to see his daughter. Ana Lucia drags Christian away and they leave. Later, the two discuss what they are each running away from; Ana Lucia tries to encourage her friend to return to the States, but he refuses and heads for a bar instead, bumping into Sawyer in the process.
Later still, Ana Lucia is shown in the airport, waiting in line with Jin, prior to boarding Oceanic Flight 815. Jack is at the ticket counter, earnestly telling the ticket agent about his need to get his father's body home as quickly as possible. Ana Lucia overhears and calls her mother to confess the reason she went to Australia was to escape her, tearfully admitting that she now wants to come home.
On the Island
Ana Lucia is shown caring for the prisoner. She asks him a question and she calls him a killer and when he whispers something she leans in close, only to be attacked. He snarls, "You killed two of us." He also says that these two were "good people", that they were leaving her alone and that she, Ana Lucia, is the killer. "Henry" then grabs her and strangles her. Locke sneaks into the cell and knocks "Henry" unconscious with a crutch.
Locke then re-enters the armory, wanting to know why he tried to kill Ana but not him when he had the chance. Henry replies that it is because John is one of "the good ones". Locke wants to know more about that, but Henry says that none of it matters now because he is going to die. Either Jack comes empty handed and he loses his value, hence they will kill him; or Henry's people will kill him because He is not a forgiving person. Henry failed his mission. He was supposedly on his way over to bring back Locke when he was captured. Jack and Kate soon appear, bringing Michael back to the hatch.
Ana Lucia approaches Sawyer twice to get a gun. The first time, Sawyer tells Ana Lucia to go to her buddy Jack, as "he has himself a gun." But then Sawyer sarcastically 'remembers' that Jack is still out with Kate. When Ana Lucia comments on Jack being gone with Sawyer's "girlfriend," Sawyer turns to glare and tells Ana Lucia to "scram".
Meanwhile, Hurley asks Sayid about the radio; he hopes to impress Libby by imitating the hero of the movie Say Anything. Sayid suggests a picnic instead, and tells him about the beach where he took Shannon.
Later, as Sawyer is walking through the jungle, he hears Ana Lucia following him. When he stops to confront her, she again unsuccessfully demands a gun, and then attacks him. After a struggle, he overpowers her, and she responds by seducing him. After, she informs him that if he tells anyone, she'll kill him.
Hurley and Libby set out for the picnic, but Hurley gets lost, and they wind up back where they started. Libby suggests they have a picnic right there, but Hurley forgot to bring blankets, or anything to drink. Libby says she'll get the blankets and he can get some wine; Hurley jokes that if he gets drunk, he'll remember where he knows her from.
Michael tells the assembled onlookers that he's found the Others. There are 22 of them, living squalid lives in canvas tents. They have a hatch of their own, with two armed guards. He tells them that he will lead them back there. Jack and Locke discuss this, and then decide it's time to get the guns from Sawyer. Kate accompanies them; leaving Michael and Ana Lucia in the Hatch. Sawyer is reading a manuscript; Jack throws it into a fire, and then points a gun at Sawyer, demanding to be taken to the guns. Sawyer goes for his own gun and, finding it missing, realizes that Ana Lucia stole it during or after they had sex. Locke, suddenly realizing why she would do that, informs Jack about "Henry" attacking Ana Lucia.
Back in the Hatch again, Ana Lucia gives Henry a knife and instructs him to free himself. He does, and she points a gun at him. Later, she is shown sitting morosely. Michael talks with her; she tells him about Henry, about how he tried to kill her, and how she couldn't bring herself to kill him. Michael offers to do the job for her, and she gives him the gun. Michael looks at the gun somberly, says, "I'm sorry," then shoots Ana Lucia in the chest, killing her. Libby walks in, holding blankets for the picnic with Hurley when she is shocked to see Michael with the gun; startled, he shoots her twice in the abdomen through the blankets, and she collapses, while water is dripping from the ceiling. Michael then opens the door to "Henry's" cell. Henry stands and the two exchange glances; Michael, shaking with fear and shock, deliberately shoots himself in the shoulder.
Trivia
General
- The title, "Two for the Road", refers to Ana Lucia and Christian Shephard going to Australia, and Ana Lucia and Libby getting killed.
- Christian and Ana Lucia refer to each other as "Sarah" and "Tom". Sarah and Tom are the names of both of Christian's childrens' significant others: Sarah is Jack's former wife, and Tom is the father of Claire's baby.
- Lost's first alternate reality game, The Lost Experience, launched in the United States with the airing of this episode. A commercial for The Hanso Foundation aired in which a toll-free telephone number was given, containing clues to a number of elements that would be later explored during the game.
- This episode features the only 3-way character connection in a scene on Lost thus far. Ana-Lucia and Christian, who is Jack's father, are sitting in the car and as he is opening the door he hits Sawyer.
Production notes
- Charlie, Claire, Eko, and Sun do not appear in this episode.
- For the scene in front of the Last Call bar, the crew could not get all the steering wheels on the right side of the vehicles (as would be appropriate for Australia), so the film was reversed left-to-right in editing. To achieve this effect, the art department reversed many elements in the shots, including the letters on the signs, shirt pockets, and rings. A mole can be seen on the other side of Michelle Rodriguez's face. (Lost: On Location (Season 2))
- This episode was nominated for a WGA award for "Writing for an Episodic Drama" for writers Elizabeth Sarnoff and Christina M. Kim.
- Following the dramatic cliffhanger of this episode, the closing title is not accompanied by the usual "thud" sound.
- This episode marks the first appearance of Lindsey Littleton.
Bloopers and continuity errors
- In the original broadcast version, Ana Lucia's mother referred to Jason McCormick as "Jason Elder". This was fixed in the Season 2 DVDs.
Recurring themes
- Ana Lucia withholds from her mother the fact that she killed Jason McCormack. (Secrets) (Life and death)
- "Henry Gale" is held captive in the Swan armory. (Imprisonment)
- "Henry" tries to strangle Ana; Locke saves her by knocking him out with his crutch. (Life and death)
- Ana Lucia works with Jack's father, Christian. (Character connections)
- Ana quit her job and fled from her mother because her mother knew she had killed Jason McCormack. (Parent issues)
- Christian attributes several events to fate: Christian and Ana meeting, leaving the hotel in the middle of the night, and arriving at the Last Call bar. (Fate versus free will)
- Ana and Christian use the aliases "Sarah" and "Tom" to refer to each other. (Nicknames)
- Sawyer calls Ana "Lucy" and "Muchacha". (Nicknames)
- Christian calls Ana "kiddo". (Nicknames)
- Sawyer is hit by a car door when Jack's father opens it. (Character connections)
- Hurley attempts to take Libby out on a picnic. (Relationships)
- Ana Lucia and Sawyer have sex in the jungle. (Relationships)
- Hurley tells Libby that if he gets drunk enough, he may remember where he knows her from. (Character connections) (Secrets)
- Ana steals Sawyer's gun. (Deceptions and cons)
- Locke lies to Jack about Ana's head wound.(Deceptions and cons)
- Michael makes several deceptions related to his time away from the camp: how he got to the fake camp, that he didn't see Walt, and the nature of the mission to retrieve Walt. (Deceptions and cons)
- The numbers are visible on the roofs of the patrol cars on the roof of the LAPD parking lot. (The Numbers)
- Christian spends four days of drinking before going to see the blonde woman. (The Numbers)
- Michael fires the gun four times: once at Ana Lucia, twice at Libby, and once on himself. (The Numbers)
- It is raining when Ana Lucia and Christian arrive at Lindsey's house. (Rain)
- Christian has an argument with Lindsey about his daughter. (Parent issues)
- "Henry" mentions to Ana that she killed two Others. (Life and death)
- "Henry" refers to the two Others that Ana Lucia killed as good people and tells John that he is "one of the good ones." He tells Ana that Goodwin thought she was worthy, but that Goodwin was wrong about that. He also calls the man in charge a "great man". (Good and bad people)
- Ana is at Sydney Airport while Jack is arguing with the ticket agent and Jin is standing in line. (Character connections)
- Jack tells Chrissy that he needs to land at LAX in 16 hours. (The Numbers)
- Ana calls her mother from the Sydney airport and confesses to having killed Jason McCormack. (Redemption)
- Unlike previous instances where Ana murdered people out of defense or revenge, she now feels unable to kill "Henry". (Redemption)
- Ana Lucia is killed by Michael by a gunshot to the abdomen. (Life and death)
Cultural references
| Cultural references in Lost (direct references only) |
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| Art • Books • Cars • Games • Movies and TV • Music • Philosophy • Religion and ideologies • Science |
- Two for the Road: The episode shares its title with this 1967 movie starring Albert Finney and Audrey Hepburn. It was considered somewhat experimental for its time because the story is told in a non-linear fashion, with scenes from the latter stages of the relationship juxtaposed with those from its beginning, often leaving the viewer to extrapolate what has intervened, which is sometimes revealed in later scenes. (Movies and TV)
- "The Hard Way": This song by Kasey Chambers is heard on Christian's car radio. (Music)
- "Walkin' After Midnight": This song by Patsy Cline is heard on the car radio as well. (Music)
- Little Red Riding Hood: When Sawyer catches Ana Lucia sneaking around, he asks if Little Red Riding Hood is going to follow the Big Bad Wolf back to his stash of guns. This refers to the famous folktale about a young girl's encounter with a wolf. (Literary works)
- The Tragedy of Julius Caesar: Jack and Sawyer get into an argument over the guns. When Locke joins in, Sawyer responds to him, "You too, Brutus?" This is a quote from this tragedy written by William Shakespeare in 1600. The phrase is widely used in Western culture as an epitome of betrayal. (Literary works)
- Say Anything: Hurley tells Sayid to check out this 1989 movie. It is considered one of the greatest modern movie romances. (Movies and TV)
- "In Your Eyes": This song by Peter Gabriel is also mentioned by Hurley. The scene where the main character of the movie appears outside his former girlfriend's bedroom window at night, while holding a boombox over his head playing the song, is a standard pop culture reference for romance. (Music)
- Midnight Cowboy: When Christian opens his car door, Sawyer runs into it and calls out, "I’m walkin’ here!" This is a famous quote from this 1969 movie. (Movies and TV)
- The Flintstones: When Hurley is looking for the secluded beach so that he can share a romantic getaway with Libby, he gets lost. After he passes the same landmark three times, Libby points out that this is like The Flintstones. This is an American animated television series, which regularly used "rolling backgrounds" to represent movement. (Movies and TV)
- Crime and Punishment: This novel by Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky may have inspired several key elements of Michael's story. (Literary works)
- In this episode, Michael kills Ana Lucia in order to free "Henry", but is forced to kill Libby as she accidentally witnesses the murder scene. Similarly, in Crime and Punishment, Rodion assassinates a pawnbroker, but is forced to kill an innocent witness, the pawbroker's sister Lizaveta, the Russian equivalent of Elizabeth.
- In "Meet Kevin Johnson", Michael goes to a pawn shop to trade a Rolex watch. In Crime and Punishment, the main protagonist Rodion Raskolnikov exchanges his dead father's watch for a loan by a pawnbroker. (Literary works)
- Bad Twin: Sawyer is reading the manuscript of this metafictional tie-in novel before Jack throws it in the fire. (Literary works)
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 |
- Ana Lucia and Christian have both recently ended parent–child working relationships. (Juxtaposition)
- Christian says to Ana, "Open the damn door." (Regularly spoken phrases)
- Referring to the gun Ana recently stole from Sawyer, Michael comments, "At least he didn't get that one." (Irony)
- After shooting Ana Lucia and Libby, Michael opens the gun vault and, instead of shooting the prisoner, shoots himself in the arm. (Cliffhanger)
Episode references
- Ana Lucia flees to Australia because her mother figured out that she killed Jason McCormack. ("Collision")
- "Henry" mentions to Ana that she killed two Others and that Goodwin thought she was worthy. ("The Other 48 Days")
- Christian tells Ana that he lost his doctor's license because his son ratted him out. ("All the Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues")
- Locke asks "Henry" why he didn't try to hurt him during the lockdown incident. ("Lockdown")
- Michael shooting himself to allow a prisoner ("Henry") to escape is the same tactic employed by Sayid when he shot himself to allow Nadia to escape. ("Solitary")
- "Henry" refers to when he got trapped in Rousseau's net. ("One of Them")
- "Henry" refers to Jack and Kate having gone to the line to trade "Henry" for Walt. ("S.O.S.")
- Hurley asks Sayid for the radio he fixed. ("The Long Con")
- Sayid recommends that Hurley take Libby to the same beach he took Shannon. ("Do No Harm")
- Jin gives the thumbs up to Hurley, as Hurley had previously done to Jin. ("What Kate Did")
- Sawyer is trying to read Bad Twin, the same manuscript Hurley was reading earlier. ("The Long Con")
- Christian bumps into Sawyer, presumably right before they meet in the bar. ("Outlaws")
- Christian and Ana Lucia meet in a similar way that Jack and Ana Lucia met: having small talk at a bar in an airport. ("Exodus, Part 2")
- Ana asks Michael if he saw Cindy and the kids. ("The Other 48 Days")
- Jack tells Locke that he and Sayid were right about how they treated "Henry" when they first caught him. ("One of Them")
- Locke reminds Jack that their "friend with the beard" said not to cross the line. ("The Hunting Party")
- Locke, Kate, and Jack try to get the guns back that Sawyer took. Later, Michael is surprised to find out that Sawyer has all the guns. ("The Long Con")
- Hurley tells Libby that if he gets drunk enough, he may remember where he knows her from. ("Dave")
- Ana is at the Sydney Airport while Jack is arguing with the ticket agent about bringing his deceased father's coffin on the flight. ("White Rabbit") Jin is also standing in line. ("House of the Rising Sun")
- Michael tells Ana that the Others took his son right out his hands. ("Exodus, Part 2")
Unanswered Questions
| Unanswered questions |
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- For fan theories about these unanswered questions, see: Two for the Road/Theories
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