Orientation (Lost)
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"Orientation" is the third episode of the second season of '' Lost'' and the 28th episode overall. The episode was directed by
Jack Bender Jack Bender (born September 25, 1949) is an American television and film director, television producer and actor best known for his work as a director on '' Lost'', ''The Sopranos'', ''Game of Thrones'', and '' From''. Biography Bender grew up ...
, and written by Javier Grillo-Marxuach and Craig Wright. It first aired on October 5, 2005, on ABC.
Jack Shephard Dr. Jack Shephard is a fictional character and the protagonist of the ABC television series '' Lost'', played by Matthew Fox. ''Lost'' follows the journey of the survivors of Oceanic Flight 815 on a mysterious island and their attempts to sur ...
(
Matthew Fox Matthew Chandler Fox (born July 14, 1966) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Charlie Salinger on '' Party of Five'' (1994–2000) and Jack Shephard on the drama series '' Lost'' (2004–2010), the latter of which earned him G ...
),
John Locke John Locke (; 29 August 1632 (Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.) – 28 October 1704 (Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.)) was an English philosopher and physician, widely regarded as one of the most influential of the Enlightenment thi ...
(
Terry O'Quinn Terrance Quinn (born July 15, 1952), known professionally as Terry O'Quinn, is an American actor. He won a Primetime Emmy Award for his performance as John Locke on the TV series '' Lost'' (2004–2010). In film, he also played the title role i ...
) and
Kate Austen Katherine Anne Austen is a fictional character on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC television series ''Lost (2004 TV series), Lost'', played by Canadians, Canadian actress Evangeline Lilly. Character biography Prior to the crash Born in 19 ...
( Evangeline Lilly) learn about the mysterious hatch from Desmond Hume (
Henry Ian Cusick Henry Ian Cusick (born 17 April 1967) is a Peruvian-Scottish actor of television, film, and theatre and a television director best known as Desmond Hume in '' Lost'', for which he received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination. He also starred as J ...
). On the other side of the island, Michael Dawson ( Harold Perrineau),
James "Sawyer" Ford James Ford, better known by the alias "Sawyer" () and later as "Jim LaFleur", is a fictional character on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC television series ''Lost (2004 TV series), Lost'', portrayed by Josh Holloway. Created by Jeffrey Li ...
(
Josh Holloway Joshua Lee Holloway (born July 20, 1969) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as James "Sawyer" Ford on the ABC television show '' Lost'' (2004–2010) as Will Bowman on the USA Network science fiction drama ''Colony'' (2016 ...
) and Jin-Soo Kwon (
Daniel Dae Kim Daniel Dae Kim (born August 4, 1968) is an American actor. He is known for his many roles in network television and theater. In 2025, ''Time'' magazine listed him as one of the world's 100 most influential people. On television, he portray ...
) are imprisoned by people they believe to be the " Others."


Plot


Flashbacks

Locke is participating in a support group, where he emotionally recounts the deception perpetrated by his father. Afterwards, a group member, Helen Norwood (
Katey Sagal Catherine Louise Sagal (born January 19, 1954) is an American actress and singer. She is known for playing Peggy Bundy on '' Married... with Children'' (1987–1997), Leela on '' Futurama'' (1999–2003, 2008–2013, 2023–present), Cate He ...
), approaches him in sympathy, and they become romantically involved. After spending the night together, Helen wakes up to find Locke getting dressed, claiming he is uncomfortable sleeping in an unfamiliar bed. He goes out to sit in his car outside his father's (
Kevin Tighe Kevin Tighe (; born Jon Kevin Fishburn; August 13, 1944) is an American actor who has worked in television, film, and theater since the late 1960s. He is best known for portraying firefighter-paramedic Roy DeSoto, on the 1972–1977 NBC series ' ...
) estate. His father confronts him, saying he knows that Locke has been stalking him, and tells him that he's not wanted. To celebrate six months together, Helen gives Locke a present: her house key, under the condition that he stop going to his father's house. Locke agrees, but is unable to keep his word. Helen eventually follows and confronts him. She says he is afraid of moving past what his father has done, and of moving forward with her. She tells him it is meant to be difficult, because what she is asking from him is a leap of faith.


In the Hatch

At the underground compound, the confrontation between Jack, Desmond and Locke provides enough of a distraction for Kate to knock Desmond down. However, he gets off a shot, which damages the computer. Desmond claims that everyone will die unless the computer is fixed. Kate heads off to fetch Sayid via an alternate exit. Desmond explains that three years earlier, his boat crashed on the island. He then met
a man ''A Man'' (1979) () (, transliteration: ''Enas Andras'') is a biographical novel written by Oriana Fallaci chronicling her romantic relationship with the resistance fighter Alexandros Panagoulis, who attempted to assassinate the Greek dictator ...
who enlisted his help in his sole duty: entering a code into the computer every 108 minutes (notably, 108 is the sum of the numbers 4, 8, 15, 16, 23 and 42). Desmond claims that "the end of the world" will come if the button is not pressed. He directs Jack and Locke to watch a short orientation film from 1980, narrated by a scientist named Dr. Marvin Candle ( François Chau). Candle describes a multi-research project created in 1970 by Gerald and Karen DeGroot and funded by Alvar Hanso, called the
DHARMA Initiative The Dharma Initiative, also written DHARMA (Department of Heuristics and Research on Material Applications), is a fictional research project and organization featured in the television series ''Lost (2004 TV series), Lost''. It was introduced in ...
and states the name and rough purpose of the hatch as an
electromagnetic In physics, electromagnetism is an interaction that occurs between particles with electric charge via electromagnetic fields. The electromagnetic force is one of the four fundamental forces of nature. It is the dominant force in the interacti ...
research station of DHARMA called "The Swan", the third of six similar stations built by them. He explains that shortly after the hatch was built, there was an incident. The viewers must enter the code into the computer every 108 minutes, specifically at the 4 minute mark on the timer, to prevent that incident from happening again. Candle also warns the viewers about using the computer for anything else but the film suddenly cuts to him wishing good luck. Jack believes that all this is just a social experiment, but Locke feels the film should be taken at its word. Desmond attempts to power up the computer, without success. He panics and leaves. Jack runs after Desmond in the woods. Desmond recognizes him as a man whom he met in a stadium, and asks what happened to the girl Jack was operating on. Jack, upset, answers that he married her - but he's not married anymore. Desmond leaves, and Jack returns to the compound.
Sayid Jarrah Sayid Hassan Jarrah (, ''Sa‘īd Ḥassān Jarrāḥ'') is a fictional character from the ABC show '' Lost'' portrayed by Naveen Andrews. Appearances Prior to the crash Sayid originally served as a communications officer in Iraq's Special Re ...
(
Naveen Andrews Naveen William Sidney Andrews (born 17 January 1969) is a British-American actor. He is best known for his role as Sayid Jarrah in the television series '' Lost'' (2004–2010), for which he was nominated for a Golden Globe Award and a Primet ...
) successfully repairs the computer. Locke tells Jack he should be the one to hit the button, but Jack refuses. As the alarms sound, Locke asks Jack why it is so hard to believe, and Jack asks Locke why he finds it so easy. Locke tells him it was never easy, but that Jack needs to make a leap of faith of his own. With one second to spare, Jack presses the button. The timer resets.


Across the Island

On the beach, Michael and Sawyer discover Jin, being chased by five people whom Jin identifies as the Others. The three are knocked unconscious and thrown into a pit. Another prisoner (
Michelle Rodriguez Mayte Michelle Rodríguez (born July 12, 1978) is an American actress. She began her career in 2000, playing a troubled boxer in the independent sports drama film ''Girlfight'' (2000), where she won the Independent Spirit Awards, Independent S ...
) is later dropped into the pit. She introduces herself as Ana Lucia Cortez, another survivor of Oceanic Flight 815. Ana Lucia was in the tail section, which crashed on the opposite side of the island from the fuselage. Sawyer tells her that he plans to shoot the guard the next time he appears. Ana Lucia suddenly grabs Sawyer's gun and calls for the guard (
Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (; ; born 22 August 1967) is an English actor. He is known for his roles as Simon Adebisi in '' Oz'', Mr. Eko in '' Lost'', Lock-Nah in '' The Mummy Returns'', Nykwana Wombosi in '' The Bourne Identity'', Heavy Duty ...
), revealing herself to have been planted in the pit to gain information from the prisoners.


Production

The writing team was afraid that the hatch scenes would be heavy on
exposition Exposition (also the French for exhibition) may refer to: *Universal exposition or World's Fair *Expository writing *Exposition (narrative), background information in a story * Exposition (music) *Trade fair * ''Exposition'' (album), the debut alb ...
and drag on. The solution they found was shooting the computer, which would create a crisis and tension as the device needed to be repaired in 108 minutes, and also allow for new information to be given "on the fly". This episode marks the first appearance of series regular Mr. Eko, played by
Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (; ; born 22 August 1967) is an English actor. He is known for his roles as Simon Adebisi in '' Oz'', Mr. Eko in '' Lost'', Lock-Nah in '' The Mummy Returns'', Nykwana Wombosi in '' The Bourne Identity'', Heavy Duty ...
, where he was only shown briefly, knocking down three of the show's main characters with a stick. Akinnuoye-Agbaje was given the stick and told to "Knock those three guys out". Akinnuoye-Agbaje felt that "there's no better way to make an entrance".


Reception

22.38 million American viewers watched this episode when it originally aired.


References


External links


"Orientation"
at ABC * {{Lost episodes Lost season 2 episodes 2005 American television episodes Television episodes directed by Jack Bender