Lost/Further Instructions

Further Instructions
Season 3, Episode 3
Airdate	October 18, 2006
Production Number	302
Written by	Carlton Cuse Elizabeth Sarnoff
Directed by	Stephen Williams
← 3x02 The Glass Ballerina	3x04 → Every Man for Himself
Lost — Season Three

Further Instructions is the third episode of the third season of Lost, and the fifty-second episode overall.

The fates of Locke, Eko and Desmond are revealed after the implosion of the hatch, while Hurley returns to the beach camp to tell the tale of what happened when he, Jack, Kate and Sawyer encountered "The Others."

Starring: Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (Mr. Eko), Naveen Andrews (Sayid), Henry Ian Cusick (Desmond), Emilie de Ravin (Claire), Michael Emerson (Ben), Matthew Fox (Jack), Jorge Garcia (Hurley), Josh Holloway (Sawyer), Daniel Dae Kim (Jin), Yunjin Kim (Sun), Evangeline Lilly (Kate), Elizabeth Mitchell (Juliet), Dominic Monaghan (Charlie), Terry O'Quinn (Locke), Kiele Sanchez (Nikki), Rodrigo Santoro (Paulo).

Special Guest Star: Ian Somerhalder (Boone Carlyle).

Guest Starring: Chris Mulkey (Mike), Virginia Morris (Jan), Justin Chatwin (Eddie Colburn).

Co-Starring: Joel Himelhoch (Sheriff), Dion Donahue (Kim).

Plot Overview

The Island

• Locke wakes up in the jungle. A naked Desmond runs through the jungle nearby, but Locke is unable to say anything to get Desmond's attention. Getting to his feet, Eko's scripture stick falls from above, hitting him. Locke returns to the beach camp and removes a tarp and other materials from his shelter. Claire sees Locke and asks Charlie to go find out where he's been and where everyone else is. Charlie goes to see Locke as he starts building a sweat lodge at the site of Eko's church. Locke indicates to Charlie that he can't talk, and uses gestures to tell him that he needs to talk to the island. Locke, using a pen and paper, asks Charlie to stand guard at the sweat lodge. Charlie tells Locke that he detests him, but helps anyway. Using another note, Locke strictly tells Charlie to stay outside.

  Inside the sweat lodge, Locke ingests the hallucinogenic paste he prepared and has a vision - Boone Carlyle appears to Locke. Locke tries to express his remorse, but Boone nonchalantly tells him, "That's okay, but I was a sacrifice the island demanded." Locke shakes his head no. Boone tells Locke that he'll be able to speak once he has something worth saying, but he is there now to help Locke find his way again so he can bring the family back together. Boone tells Locke that he'll need the wheelchair. Suddenly, Boone is wheeling Locke through the Sydney airport. He tells him that someone in the airport is in serious danger and he is the only one who can save them. Locke points at Charlie, Claire and Aaron, but Boone tells him "they'll be fine... for a while." Locke sees Sayid with Jin and Sun, but Boone thinks Sayid has that covered. Locke sees Hurley in an terminal employee uniform entering the code in a computer, but Boone says it's not Hurley. Locke sees Desmond in a airline captain's uniform with three stewardesses, but Boone tells him that Desmond is "helping himself." Locke sees Kate, Sawyer and Jack with "Henry Gale" dressed as a checkpoint security guard, but Boone tells him that there's nothing he can do for them yet. Locke has to clean up his own mess first. Everyone else in the terminal disappears and Locke finds himself at the foot of an escalator with Boone at the top. Locke crawls up the escalator and finds Eko's scripture stick covered in blood. He looks up to see a bloody Boone who tells him, "They've got him. You don't have much time."

  After his vision, Locke rolls out of the sweat lodge frantically. Picking up his knife, Locke tells Charlie that he's going to save Mr. Eko's life. The two head into the jungle and Locke eventually finds Eko's cross, believing that Eko was dragged off by a polar bear. Locke tells Charlie that he'll go on alone, and Charlie should go back to Claire. Charlie says that he'll take his chances. Locke warns him that bad things happen to people who hang around him. They eventually come upon the Swan, but discover only a massive hole in the ground with wreckage of the station. Locke theorizes that the station imploded in on itself. Moving on, they hear a polar bear growl and run. Locke and Charlie think they lost the bear, but then hear a rustling in the bushes. Locke throws his knife at the noise and hits Hurley's canteen. Hurley tells Locke that the Others kept Kate, Jack and Sawyer, but let him go to warn the Oceanic survivors to never go to the other side of the island. He mentions that the man known as Henry Gale seems to be the leader of the Others. Locke tells Hurley to go to the beach and tell the survivors his story; he and Charlie are going to keep looking for Mr. Eko. Locke and Charlie find the bear's den, but Locke tells Charlie he's going in alone. Locke lights a torch and carefully moves through the cave. He finds an old Tonka dump truck and human remains, one of which is partially clad in a DHARMA uniform from the Pearl Station. Locke spots Eko, but the polar bear starts dragging him away. Locke grabs a hold of Eko, hits the bear in the head with a rock, then uses hairspray with the torch to create a mini-flamethrower that drives the bear off. Locke helps Eko out of the cave, and he and Charlie carry Eko away.

  They eventually near a stream and Charlie offers to go to get some water. Locke apologizes to the unconscious Eko for doubting Eko, for giving up on his faith in the island. He berates himself for not listening to Eko, since he could then have protected Jack, Kate and Sawyer. Eko tells Locke that Locke can still protect them, still save them. Locke doesn't know where they are, but Eko tells him that he will find them since he is a hunter. When Charlie comes back with the water, Eko is unconscious and it appears that Locke only imagined him waking up. They continue on to the beach camp.

• After Hurley leaves Charlie and Locke to their search, he encounters Desmond near the beach camp. Desmond is stark naked. He tells Hurley that he woke up in the jungle naked. He borrows one of Hurley's shirts and the two continue to the beach camp. Hurley and Desmond swap stories. Desmond says that he thinks turning the fail-safe key detonated the electromagnetic anomaly and made the hatch implode. Hurley informs Desmond about how the entire island vibrated and the sky turned purple, and that he's worried about Jack, Kate and Sawyer. Desmond tells him not to worry: Locke is going to go after them, he said so in his speech. Hurley doesn't know what he's talking about as Locke hasn't given a speech about that. Desmond apologizes and tells him he must be a little shook up.

  On the beach, Locke and Charlie bring Eko back. Nikki asks where Jack is. Hurley tells everyone that Jack isn't coming back. Locke confirms that Jack, Kate and Sawyer have been captured by the Others, but he will find them and bring them home once Eko is tended to. Hurley is alarmed as Desmond seems to have predicted Locke's speech. Hurley stares at Desmond, who is on the shore nearby, throwing rocks into the ocean.

The Flashback

• Flashback: Locke

While driving through a downpour in his truck, Locke pulls over for a hitchhiker who's heading to Eureka, California. Locke offers to take him as far as Bridgeville, California and the hitchhiker accepts the offer. The hitchhiker introduces himself as Eddie, and tells Locke that he's heading to Eureka to hopefully get some work cutting timber. He had to leave home because his mother is dead and his father is a drunk. As the rain clears, the two are pulled over by a police officer for having a tail light out. The officer asks Locke what is in the bed of his truck, and Locke tells him "guns and groceries", telling the officer where he can find all the paperwork for the guns. The officer reluctantly lets Locke go on his way.

Locke takes Eddie to the commune where he lives for supper. Eddie inquires about a nearby structure and Locke tells him it's a sweat lodge. He says that it is a place where you go to meditate upon your life and what direction you should take — to find out if you're a farmer or a hunter. Eddie asks Locke whether he's a hunter or a farmer, but Locke only smiles at the question. Locke introduces Eddie to Mike and Jan, who in turn introduce Eddie to everyone gathered for supper. Asked by Mike to say grace, Locke thanks the Lord for helping him stop being so angry and for finding a real family. As they dig in to the meal, Eddie thanks Locke.

After six weeks at the commune, Eddie is curious about a greenhouse he still isn't allowed to go near. He tells Locke everyone acts "all weird" whenever he goes near it and reminds Locke about the duffel bag full of guns. Locke reminds him that he's a guest who's been welcomed with open arms, but Eddie believes they all have too many secrets. He says that there's a lot of fertilizer going in there, and he tells Locke that he wants in with whatever the group is trying to blow up. Locke laughs at this and says that he'll talk with Mike and Jan.

Locke heads over to the greenhouse looking for Mike and Jan. The armed guard tells him they've been looking for him and lets him inside. Inside, the greenhouse is full of marijuana plants, and Mike and Jan are arguing over what to take and what to leave. Mike tells Locke that he screwed up, and that they've discovered that Eddie is actually a cop fresh out of the police academy. He's been gathering evidence for 6 weeks thanks to Locke bringing him there. Locke tells them to stop, that Eddie hasn't been inside the greenhouse yet and they don't know what he's told the police. He tells Mike and Jan that it's not too late to protect all of them, and that he'll fix it.

Locke takes Eddie hunting, telling him that Mike and Jan are going to explain everything to him after supper. He distracts Eddie and levels his rifle at him. Locke asks him if he knew it'd be him driving the truck, if "they" chose him. Eddie denies the accusations, slowly raising his rifle, but Locke tells him he didn't load that rifle. Dropping the rifle, Eddie confirms Locke's suspicions — Locke was chosen. Locke was approached because he wasn't at the commune long, didn't have a criminal record, and the police psych profile on him says that he was amenable for coercion. Eddie tells Locke to lower the gun, that it isn't personal, but it only angers Locke. Eddie says that he doesn't think that Locke will shoot him, he isn't a murderer, he's a farmer. Locke disagrees, telling Eddie he was a hunter - is a hunter. Eddie starts walking away.

Notes

Mysteries

• How did Desmond, Locke, and Eko escape the implosion of the Swan?
• How did Desmond lose his clothes?
• How did Desmond know what was in Locke's speech before Locke said it?
• How and why did the person from the Pearl station end up in the polar bear cave?

Answers

• The Swan has been completely destroyed in an implosion.
• Locke, Desmond and Eko survived the use of the fail-safe device. (2x23 - Live Together, Die Alone)

The Cursed Numbers

• In John's vision, Hurley is typing the numbers 4, 8 and 15 into the booking terminal.
• Locke was born on November 15^th, 1946. 15 is one of the cursed numbers.
• Eddie's police ID is 84023. 4, 8, and 23 are cursed numbers.

Scrutiny

• Polar bears don't usually live in caves, and they don't normally drag their prey into caves, so this bear might have been trained to do so.

Arc Advancement

Happenings

• Hurley returns to the beach camp with news of the Others.

Characters

• Locke's full first name is Johnathan.

Referbacks

• 1x02 - Pilot, Part 2: After Locke deduces that Eko was taken by a polar bear, Charlie tells Locke that Sawyer killed the polar bear. Locke corrects him by telling him Sawyer only killed a polar bear.
• 1x13 - Hearts and Minds: Locke creates the same hallucinogenic paste that he gave to Boone to provide Boone an experience that he believed was vital to Boone's survival on the island. This time, however, Locke uses it on himself so he can talk to the island and find his way again.
• 1x24 - Exodus, Part 2: The vision of Boone tells Locke that he doesn't have to be sorry for what happened as Boone was "the sacrifice the island demanded." This is the same line Locke gives to Jack in order to justify Boone's death as having a greater purpose.
• 2x12 - Fire + Water: Charlie tells Locke that he despises him for repeatedly punching him in the face and saying he was using heroin when he was not.
• 2x23 - Live Together, Die Alone: Charlie tells Locke that Locke should have kept pressing the button inside the hatch like Eko told him to, so he wouldn't have to be saving Eko in the first place.

Trivia

The Show

• Eye for an Eye: The opening shot of Locke waking up in the jungle is a near shot-by-shot duplicate of the opening shot of Jack waking up in the bamboo forest in Pilot, Part 1.
• Parachute Shelter: When Locke first uses a notepad to communicate with Charlie, Charlie can be seen securing a parachute for use as a roof in a shelter. This parachute is the one used for the DHARMA food drop in season two's Lockdown and Dave.
• Geronimo Jackson: In Locke's flashback, Eddie is first seen wearing a Geronimo Jackson t-shirt. One of the albums that was inside the Swan was a Geronimo Jackson album, seen in The Hunting Party.
• Missing in Action: Juliet does not appear in this episode.

Behind the Scenes

• Cutting Room Floor: The American broadcast of this episode is about one minute shorter than the normal 42 minute length of a Lost episode. The Canadian broadcast, however, appears to have been at the normal length.
• Deleted Scenes: The press release information for this episode included the blurb: "Meanwhile, Claire is shocked to find Nikki and Paulo in Jack's tent." However, this scene was cut from the aired episode. In addition, a promotional commercial for this episode showed Locke with mud on his face, torch and knife in hand, stating how he "missed this." This scene was also cut from the aired episode. Promotional images released for this episode also show a cut scene from Locke's flashback in which Eddie and the police return to the commune and arrest everyone, including Locke, Mike and Jan.
• Location, Location, Location: The interior shots of the Sydney Airport were filmed at the Hawaii Convention Center in Honolulu.
• Switcheroo: This was originally the second episode of the season but was switched with episode three. This doesn't cause continuity problems though since the two episodes take place concurrently and have no shared characters.

Allusions and References

• Conversing with Trees: While trying to decipher Locke's gestures, Charlie remarks, "Trees? Yeah, I've heard they're wonderful conversationalists." Charlie is played by Dominic Monaghan who played Merry in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. In The Two Towers, Merry and his companion are caught by an Ent — a tree-like creature — named Treebeard. The two have a difficult time remaining awake while trying to listen to Treebeard's slow and methodical speech. Treebeard says, "It takes a long time to say anything in old entish, and we never say anything unless it is worth taking a long time to say."
• Sweat Lodge: Locke builds a sweat lodge in order to communicate with the island. A sweat lodge is a ceremonial sauna used by Native Americans.
• Altered States: Charlie tells Locke "yeah yeah you want me to watch out in case you devolve into a monkey." This is a reference to the William Hurt film Altered States.
• The Beeb: Charlie tells Locke that he used to watch the Beeb. "The Beeb" is an informal term for the British Broadcasting Corporation.
• The Incredible Desmond: After learning about the electromagnetic anomaly and the implosion of the hatch, Hurley asks Desmond if he's going to turn into the Hulk. The Hulk is a fictional character from Marvel Comics. Dr. Bruce Banner, a physicist, is caught in the blast of a gamma bomb and transformed into a large, green-skinned monster due to his exposure to gamma radiation.

Memorable Moments

• Vision Quest: Locke has a vision of Boone pushing him through the airport.

Quotes

• Charlie: What's that? You're not... taking drugs, are you, John? I only ask because of the strict zero tolerance policy you've enacted. I wouldn't want you to have to start punching yourself in the face.
• Deleted scene. See "Behind the Scenes".
  Locke: [looking at his hunting knife] I missed this.

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