"The Moth" is the seventh episode of the first season of '' Lost''. 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 Jennifer Johnson and

Paul Dini Paul McClaran Dini (; born August 7, 1957) is an American writer, animator, and comic book artist. He has served as a producer and writer for several Warner Bros. Animation/DC Comics animated series, most notably ''Batman: The Animated Series' ...

. It first aired on November 3, 2004, on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

. The character of

Charlie Pace Charlie Hieronymous Pace is a fictional character on ABC's '' Lost'', a television series chronicling the lives of plane crash survivors on a mysterious tropical island. Played by Dominic Monaghan, Charlie was a regular character in the first t ...

(

Dominic Monaghan Dominic Bernard Patrick Luke Monaghan (born 8 December 1976) is a British-Irish actor. He is best known for playing Meriadoc "Merry" Brandybuck in Peter Jackson's film trilogy ''The Lord of the Rings'' (2001–2003), and Charlie Pace on the ...

) is featured in the episode's flashbacks. Charlie begins experiencing the effects of

heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a morphinan opioid substance synthesized from the Opium, dried latex of the Papaver somniferum, opium poppy; it is mainly used as a recreational drug for its eupho ...

withdrawal, while Jack becomes trapped in a cave. Meanwhile,

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 ...

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 Nicole Evangeline Lilly (born August 3, 1979) is a Canadian former actress and author. She gained popularity for her first leading role as Kate Austen in the ABC drama series '' Lost'' (2004–2010), which garnered her six nominations for the ...

) and

Boone Carlyle Boone Carlyle is a fictional character who was played by Ian Somerhalder on the ABC drama television series '' Lost'', which chronicles the lives of the survivors of a plane crash in the south Pacific. Boone is introduced in the pilot episo ...

(

Ian Somerhalder Ian Joseph Somerhalder ( ; born December 8, 1978) is an American former actor and current business owner. He is known for playing Boone Carlyle in American Broadcasting Company, ABC's science fiction adventure drama television series ''Lost (2 ...

) attempt to

triangulate In trigonometry and geometry, triangulation is the process of determining the location of a point by forming triangles to the point from known points. Applications In surveying Specifically in surveying, triangulation involves only angle m ...

the signal of the French woman's broadcast. Charlie's involvement in his band

Drive Shaft A drive shaft, driveshaft, driving shaft, tailshaft (Australian English), propeller shaft (prop shaft), or Cardan shaft (after Girolamo Cardano) is a component for transmitting mechanical power (physics), power, torque, and rotation, usually ...

is featured in the episode's flashbacks. "The Moth" was watched by 18.73 million people live, almost two million more than the previous episode. This episode marks the first time "You All Everybody" by Drive Shaft was sung in its entirety, as it had not been written yet in previous episodes. The episode received mixed-to-positive reviews, with some reviewers commenting that the episode was not of the same caliber as previous episodes.

Plot

Flashbacks

Charlie (

) tells a priest that he is going to quit his band because it has a bad influence on him. Soon after, his brother, Liam Pace (

Neil Hopkins Neil Edward Hopkins (born May 13, 1977) is an American television and film actor. He is a trained actor and singer, best known for his portrayal of Charlie's heroin-addicted brother Liam on '' Lost''. Early life and education Hopkins was born in ...

), tells Charlie that

has gotten a recording contract. Charlie doesn't want to sign the contract because he has qualms about the sex and drugs the band engages in. Liam talks him into signing, promising that Charlie can quit any time he's had enough. One evening at a show, Liam, to Charlie's frustration, starts singing the chorus to "You All Everybody", which is supposed to be sung by Charlie. Liam assures Charlie it won't happen again. Later, Charlie finds Liam high on heroin with groupies. Charlie kicks the groupies out, and tells Liam that he's done with the band. Liam says to Charlie that he, Liam, ''is'' Drive Shaft, and that nobody knows who the bass player (Charlie) is. He goes on to tell Charlie that without the band, Charlie is nothing, which spurs Charlie to use heroin for the first time. Years later, Charlie visits Liam's house in Australia and wants Liam to rejoin Drive Shaft for a comeback tour. Liam declines, but the band can't do the tour without him. He criticizes Charlie for still using drugs, and Charlie blames Liam for getting him started with drugs. Liam asks Charlie to stay with him for a few weeks, saying that

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

has some good rehab programs and that he can get Charlie help. Charlie angrily leaves, saying he has a plane to catch.

On the Island

It is Day 8, September 29, 2004, and Charlie is suffering from heroin withdrawal since he voluntarily gave his heroin to

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 ...

) in the previous episode. After finding him, Charlie asks Locke for the heroin back, and Locke says that he'll give Charlie the drugs the third time he asks, because he wants Charlie to have the choice to quit.

(

) and

(

) attempt to find where the French transmission is coming from, so they make a plan to turn on

antennas In radio-frequency engineering, an antenna (American English) or aerial (British English) is an electronic device that converts an alternating electric current into radio waves (transmitting), or radio waves into an electric current (receivi ...

at different points on the island in an attempt to triangulate the signal. At the caves, Charlie searches through

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 ...

's (

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 ...

) medicine supply for something to ease his heroin withdrawal. When Jack catches him with

diazepam Diazepam, sold under the brand name Valium among others, is a medicine of the benzodiazepine family that acts as an anxiolytic. It is used to treat a range of conditions, including anxiety disorder, anxiety, seizures, alcohol withdrawal syndr ...

, Charlie claims he has a headache and was looking for

aspirin Aspirin () is the genericized trademark for acetylsalicylic acid (ASA), a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) used to reduce pain, fever, and inflammation, and as an antithrombotic. Specific inflammatory conditions that aspirin is ...

. When Jack upsets Charlie by telling him to move his guitar, Charlie angrily shouts at him, causing the entrance of the cave they are in to collapse. Charlie manages to escape, but Jack is trapped inside. Using his construction experience, Michael Dawson (

Harold Perrineau Harold Perrineau (born August 7, 1963) is an American actor. His breakout role was in the independent film ''Smoke'' (1995), for which he was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male. He went on to appear as Mercutio ...

) leads the rescue attempt with Steve Jenkins ( Christian Bowman) and Scott Jackson (

Dustin Watchman Dustin Watchman (born 2 March 1979) is an American actor. He had a recurring role on the television series '' Lost'', portraying Scott Jackson, one of the crash survivors whose name the other survivors continually mixed up with Steve Jenkins, p ...

). In the jungle,

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� ...

) goes to tell Kate (who is traveling to set up her antenna for the triangulation attempt) about Jack's predicament, but decides against it because he doesn't like Kate's hostile attitude. Charlie tells Locke about Jack's situation, but reveals the real reason for his going to Locke is to ask for his drugs a second time. Locke shows Charlie a moth cocoon, and explains that he could help the moth by slitting the cocoon and letting the moth free, but it would not survive because it would be too weak. Instead, the moth needs to struggle to break free. Nature and struggle make people stronger, Locke says, indicating to Charlie that he needs to fight through his suffering. Kate and Sawyer stay at the second triangulation point, while Sayid goes to the third. After learning of Jack's situation from Sawyer, Kate goes to help, leaving the job of turning on the signal to Sawyer. Charlie squeezes through an opening at the cave and finds Jack, but while doing so, the opening collapses and traps Charlie and Jack inside. Charlie hesitantly pops Jack's shoulder back into place at Jack's request. Jack correctly guesses that Charlie is suffering from withdrawal, and Charlie assures Jack he's okay. Kate desperately tries to dig them out along with the other castaways, while the two worry about losing oxygen. Charlie sees a moth which leads him to an opening and the pair dig out of the cave. Sayid sets off his bottle rocket to signal the antenna power up process.

Shannon Rutherford Shannon Rutherford is a fictional character played by Maggie Grace on the ABC drama television series '' Lost'', which chronicled the lives of the survivors of a plane crash in the South Pacific. Shannon was introduced in the pilot episode as t ...

(

Maggie Grace Margaret Grace Denig (born September 21, 1983) is an American actress. She is known for playing Shannon Rutherford on the ABC television series '' Lost'' (2004–2006; 2010), Kim Mills in the '' Taken'' trilogy (2008–2014), Irina in ''The T ...

) sets off Boone's rocket from the beach, as Boone had gone to help rescue Jack, as does Sawyer from his location. Sayid turns on the transceiver, but before he is able to triangulate the signal, an unseen person knocks Sayid unconscious with a stick. Later Hurley brings Jack and Charlie water, he notes Charlie doesn't look well but Jack covers for him saying that he has the flu. Hurley tells him to get better and Charlie looks thankful to Jack. He sees Locke and asks him for his heroin and Locke gives it back. Charlie looks at it for a moment before tossing it into the fire, smiling. Locke tells Charlie he's proud of him and that he always knew he could do it. Charlie and Locke see a moth flying away.

Production

"The Moth" aired on November 3, 2004. The episode was directed by

and written by Jennifer Johnson and

. The church scene with Charlie and Liam at the church in

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

was actually filmed on

Honolulu Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...

, where the scenes on the Island are filmed. Monaghan says that he feels Charlie's black

hoodie A hoodie is a type of sweatshirt with a hood that, when worn up, covers most of the head and neck, and sometimes the face. The most common 'pullover' style hoodies often include a single large knife pocket or muff on the lower front, whil ...

is a sort of "security blanket" that he hides underneath and uses it when he feels "lost." The "

" that Charlie is supposedly snorting is actually brown sugar. Monaghan revealed this in an interview with Stuff magazine in October 2005, saying, " he heroin isbrown sugar. You get some really sweet boogers. You have to be careful not to snort too much of it, but it's happened a few times. You just find dessert up your nose couple of hours later." According to Monaghan, Drive Shaft is similar to

Oasis In ecology, an oasis (; : oases ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environmentharlie'sfirst album was kind of like Oasis's first album: critically acclaimed, didn't sell big numbers, but in the industry, people gave it respect."

J. J. Abrams Jeffrey Jacob Abrams (born June 27, 1966) is an American filmmaker and composer. He is best known for his works in the genres of action, drama, and science fiction. Abrams wrote and produced films such as '' Regarding Henry'' (1991), '' Forever ...

and

Damon Lindelof Damon Laurence Lindelof (born April 24, 1973) is an American screenwriter, comic book writer, and producer. Among his accolades, he received three Primetime Emmy Awards, from twelve nominations. In 2010, ''Time (magazine), Time'' magazine named ...

told Monaghan that if he wanted to write the song that would be Charlie's "one hit wonder", they would consider using it in the show. Monaghan wrote a song called "Photos and Plans" with a friend; Abrams and Lindelof liked the song, but it did not make it into ''Lost''. The lyrics were inspired by an incident on ''

The Phil Donahue Show ''The Phil Donahue Show'' is an American talk show that was hosted by Phil Donahue. The show ran for twenty-nine seasons from November 6, 1967, to September 13, 1996, in which it broadcast 6,715 episodes. Before it was placed in syndication ...

'', where

Matt Reeves Matt Reeves (born April 27, 1966) is an American filmmaker. He first gained recognition for the WB drama series '' Felicity'' (1998–2002), which he co-created with J. J. Abrams. Reeves came to widespread attention for directing the hit monste ...

, who was close friends with producers

Bryan Burk Bryan Burk (born December 30, 1968) is an American film and television producer. He is mostly known for producing movies in collaboration with J. J. Abrams, including the ''Star Trek'' reboot series, the ''Mission: Impossible'' films '' Gh ...

and

, saw a female audience member yell out, "You all everybody, acting like it's the stupid people wearing expensive clothes." The producers had an inside joke where they would say this quotation to each other. According to Burk, "At one point, in a delirious stupor, we realized we had said it so many times that that had to be the song." In the

Pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...

, Monaghan's voice when he sang "You All Everybody" was based on "when

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

puts on his female voice", since the song had not been composed yet. For "The Moth" the producers contacted Los Angeles-based singer Jude to write a full version. The song is sung by

Chris Seefried Chris Seefried is an American singer, musician, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as the lead vocalist and frontman of the bands Gods Child, Joe 90, and Low Stars, and as producer and co-writer for the neo-soul band Fitz and t ...

, former lead singer of Gods Child and

Joe 90 ''Joe 90'' is a British science fiction television series created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and filmed by their production company, Century 21, for ITC Entertainment. It follows the exploits of nine-year-old schoolboy Joe McClaine, who ...

Reception

"The Moth" first aired in the United States on November 3, 2004. 18.73 million people in America watched the episode live. The episode received generally mixed-to-positive reviews. Ryan McGee of

Zap2it Zap2it was a website and digital media company that provided television program listings information for areas of the United States and Canada. Founded in 2000 by Tribune Media Services, the site has been owned by Nexstar Media Group since 201 ...

wrote that "this episode wasn't a stinker by any measure, but after the run of early episodes, this is the first that really didn't hold its own when compared to the others", adding that "The moth imagery/metaphor just beats you down by episode's end, making you long for the more subtle writing the show has produced up until this point." The TV Critic gave the episode a 68/100, writing that it falls between being "obvious and cheesy" and "beautifully paced and structured". Myles McNutt of ''

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was created in ...

'' gave the episode a B, and shared his opinion that it is "one of the more intensely metaphorical—and thus writerly—episodes of the series. The eponymous metaphor—delivered by Locke—is one of the series’ most blatant, and the moth’s consistent reappearance in the episode calls a lot of attention to the construction of the narrative."

IGN ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...

staff rated "The Moth" as the 36th best episode in all of ''Lost'', explaining, "The moth of the episode's title appears both as a metaphorical and physical symbol of the struggle to find strength within yourself, as Locke explains to Charlie, and to take charge of your own life without relying on anyone else to do it for you." In a review focusing solely on "The Moth", Chris Carabott of

gave the episode a 9/10, writing that the episode "does a great job of utilizing screen time for most the major characters on the show", and that "Locke's analogy of 'The Moth' in comparison to Charlie's situation perfectly encapsulates what many of the characters are going through on the island." In a ranking of all of ''Lost'''s episodes, Emily VanDerWerff of the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' placed "The Moth" at number 102, complimenting Monaghan and O'Quinn's acting, but criticizing the storyline for containing "nonsensical drug abuse storytelling." "The Moth", along with "

" and "

House of the Rising Sun "The House of the Rising Sun" is an American traditional folk song, sometimes called "Rising Sun Blues". It tells of a person's life gone wrong in the city of New Orleans. Many versions also urge a sibling or parents and children to avoid the ...

", won a

PRISM Award The Entertainment Industries Council is a United States non-profit organization founded in 1983 that promotes the depiction of accurate health and social issues in film, television, music, and comic books. The Council provides guidelines on the depi ...

for Charlie's drug storyline.

References

;Works cited * *

External links

"The Moth"
at ABC * {{DEFAULTSORT:Moth Lost season 1 episodes 2004 American television episodes Television episodes directed by Jack Bender