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Lost/Greatest Hits

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Greatest Hits
Lost-3x21.jpg
Season 3, Episode 21
Airdate May 16, 2007
Production Number 321
Written by Edward Kitsis
Adam Horowitz
Directed by Stephen Williams
← 3x20
The Man Behind the Curtain
3x22 →
Through the Looking Glass (1)
LostSeason Three

Greatest Hits is the twenty-first episode of the third season of Lost, and the seventieth episode overall.

While Jack devises a plan to do away with "The Others" once and for all, Sayid uncovers a flaw in "The Others'" system that could lead to everyone’s rescue. But it requires Charlie to take on a dangerous task that may make Desmond’s premonition come true.

Starring: 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).

Guest Starring: Sam Anderson (Bernard), Blake Bashoff (Karl), L. Scott Caldwell (Rose), John Henry Canavan (Simon Pace), Nestor Carbonell (Richard Alpert), Mira Furlan (Danielle Rousseau), Andrea Gabriel (Nadia), Brian Goodman (Ryan Pryce), Neil Hopkins (Liam Pace), Tracy Middendorf (Bonnie), Lana Parrilla (Greta), Tania Raymonde (Alex), Marsha Thomason (Naomi).

Co-Starring: Jeremy Shada (Young Charlie), Zach Shada (Young Liam), Joshua Hancock (Roderick).

Contents

Plot Overview

The Island

  • Early in the day, Ben arrives back at The Others' temporary camp without Locke. Alex inquires as to Locke's whereabouts, but Ben merely hands her back the gun she gave to Locke. Richard asks Ben as to what's going on, but Ben tells him that Jacob said to move tonight and that Locke had an "accident". Ben orders Ryan to gather his men and hit the survivor's camp that night. Richard attempts to dissuade Ben, that Juliet may not have had time to mark the tents, but an agitated Ben tells him they'll take all the women and sort out the ones they need later. If any of the men attempt to intervene, Ben tells Ryan to kill him. Realizing what's about to happen, Alex slips into the jungle to Karl's hiding spot and orders him to get to the survivor's camp and warn them.
  • Jack and Juliet lead Kate, Sawyer, Sayid, Hurley, Desmond, Jin, Sun, Claire and Charlie to a clearing on the island. Jack reveals to the assembled group that Juliet came to him and told him of Ben's plans to kidnap the pregnant women. Rousseau emerges from the jungle and, at Jack's behest, triggers the detonation of dynamite planted at a large tree in the distance, destroying it. Jack informs the group that, after Juliet told him of Ben's plans, he went to Rousseau for help and she's been bringing back dynamite from the Black Rock. They're going to stop hiding in fear of The Others and instead blow them up when they come to the camp.

    Back at the beach camp, Jack and Juliet begin to place the dynamite at the shelters that Juliet will mark for the Others as Rousseau wires them so they can be detonated from a safe distance. Sayid approaches Jack about Naomi's satellite phone, informing him that he can't use it as Rousseau's distress signal is overriding the frequency. He believes Naomi's boat will hear them if the signal is turned off. However, Juliet tells him it won't as Ben is using The Looking Glass, an underwater DHARMA Initiative station, to block all signals coming off the island. Sayid retrieves a diagram of The Looking Glass from material he took from The Flame and asks Juliet for any additional information. Juliet has none to give as she has never been down there, that Ben told them there was an accident and the entire station flooded. The diagram shows the station is connected to the island via a cable and Sayid believes that is the cable he discovered partially buried in the sand. The station has a moonpool large enough for a submarine to dock and thus an entry point to get inside the station. Charlie volunteers to go down to the station as was a former swimmer and can hold his breath for four minutes, but Jack nixes the idea.

    As the survivors continue their work on the trap, Hurley spots an outrigger landing on the beach. Its occupant, Karl, runs to the camp but is tackled by Sayid. Sawyer yells at Sayid to get off of him as Karl is okay and was in a cage next to his at The Hydra. Karl informs the survivor's that his people aren't coming tomorrow night, rather they're coming that night. Jack and the gathered survivors listen to Karl's warning. With no time to properly wire the dynamite, Sayid suggests they detonate the dynamite by shooting it. Rousseau volunteers to be one of the three to stay behind, but Jack tells her she needs to lead the survivors to the radio tower. Out of time, Jack realizes everything needs to go down together and agrees to let Charlie go down to The Looking Glass.

    Despite Rose's protests, Bernard volunteers to be one of the shooters and demonstrates his ability to Sayid. Sayid informs Jack that he's going to be one of the shooters, not Jack, as Jack is their leader and has to act like one by leading the survivors to the radio tower and rescue. Sayid finds his third shooter in Jin.

  • At the survivor's beach camp, Charlie uses his Sharpie to write "#5 The first time I heard myself on the radio" on a sheet of paper. Naomi asks Charlie who they're about to go to war with, but Charlie declines to tell the tale as it would take too long. Naomi soon discovers Charlie is a fellow inhabitant of Manchester, England and that he's the dead rock star that everyone made a big deal about after the wreckage of Oceanic flight 815 was discovered. A greatest hits album was even released that was everywhere. Charlie is delighted at the news, but his mood turns somber when he sees Desmond watching him.

    Desmond eventually pulls Charlie aside under the excuse of needing his help. He reveals to Charlie another one of his flashes; that he saw Claire and her baby getting onto a helicopter and leaving the island, but none of it will happen if Charlie doesn't die this time. A short time later, Charlie continues his list with "#4 Dad teaching me to swim at Butlins". Desmond inquires as to what Charlie's writing, but Charlie declines to answer. At Charlie's request, Desmond tells Charlie that he saw him inside of another station, a room full of equipment with a blinking yellow light. Charlie flips the switch, the light goes off and Charlie drowns. With The Others' arriving a night early, Jack agrees to let Charlie go down into The Looking Glass and Desmond volunteers to accompany him. Before setting off, Charlie continues his list with "#3 The Christmas Liam gave me the ring." Charlie approaches Claire and reassures her that he'll be fine in going down to the station, that it needs to be done to get them rescued. He makes her promise that, while he's gone, she won't worry about him. Helping Aaron to his crib as Claire continues packing, Charlie tells him to take care of her while he's gone and that he loves him. Charlie kisses Claire and leaves, leaving his "DS" ring in Aaron's crib.

    At the outrigger, Charlie continues his letter with "#2 Woman outside Covent Garden calls me a hero." Hurley asks to join the two on their mission, but Charlie tells Hurley he's too fat to get into the outrigger and can't come. As Hurley walks off, dejected, Charlie gives him a hug and tells him he'll catch up to him later and that he loves him. Charlie and Desmond take off in the outrigger, arriving at the section of beach containing the cable to The Looking Glass. Placing the cable over the outrigger, the two follow it until it descends into the ocean and to the station. Charlie finishes his letter with "#1 The night I met you." Folding the paper, Charlie gives to to Desmond and asks him to give it to Claire, telling him it's the five best moments of his life. Desmond tells him he doesn't have to go down there, that he'll do it. He thinks that he keeps having flashes because he's supposed to take Charlie's place. Desmond hands the letter back to Charlie and prepares to head down to the station, but Charlie knocks him out with an oar. Charlie places the letter into the shirt pocket of Desmond and tells him they both know he's not supposed to take his place. Charlie dives into the water and follows the cable down to the station. Traveling along the underside of the station, Charlie begins to run out of the breath when he finally finds the moonpool and enters the station. Instead of finding the station flooded, Charlie discovers it's intact and guarded by two Others.

  • At the beach camp, Jin confronts Sun about the pregnancy as he noticed everyone staring at her when the survivor's heard Juliet mention Sun's name on the recording to Ben. Sun tells him that she saw their baby on an ultrasound at The Swan and that it's very healthy.

The Flashback

  • Flashback: Charlie

Charlie and his brother, Liam, are stuck in the middle of nowhere and in the rain as they attempt to change a flat tire on their band's van. Exasperated, Charlie asks his brother why they're bothering with all this, while Liam tries to convince him they're building their fan-base. Despite Liam's "bright-side" of things, Charlie decides to quit Drive Shaft as they're broke and their album isn't selling. One of their band-mates interrupts the argument, telling them that their song "You All Everybody" is playing on the radio. Charlie and Liam celebrate.

As a young boy, Charlie stands at the edge of a pool as his father, Simon, attempts to coax him into the water. Simon promises to catch him, but Charlie believes he'll just back away. Charlie refuses, but his father tells him there's nothing to be afraid of and he promises to catch him. Stepping up to the edge of the pool, Charlie works up his courage and jumps into the water. Simon picks him up and helps him swim.

Inside a hotel room in Helsinki, Finland, Charlie is in bed with two women when Liam comes running in. As an early Christmas present and the fact that Charlie is drug-free and not a mess like himself, Liam gives Charlie his ring bearing "DS". Charlie refuses the gift, reminding Liam that their mother gave it to Liam for being the first-born. The ring is a family heirloom and the reason they named the band after Dexter Stratton. Liam believes the ring has to stay in the family and Charlie is the best person to make sure that it does. Charlie relents, agreeing to hold onto it but not take it.

On a street corner in London, Charlie plays a cover of Oasis' "Wonderwall" when it begins to rain. While walking down the street, Charlie sees a woman yelling for help in an alley. Charlie hits the mugger with his guitar case and the man flees. The woman, Nadia, tells Charlie that he's a hero, that three people before him walked by the alley and did nothing. Nadia tells him that he's a hero and not to let anyone tell him otherwise.

The night of the crash of Oceanic flight 815, Charlie sees Claire and offers her his blanket. He tells her they're going to be okay, that they're alive on a beautiful island. They'll sleep under the stars and the rescue helicopters will come and take them all home. The two introduce themselves.

Notes

Mysteries

  • What is the function of The Looking Glass, and why did Ben lie about its status?

Answers

The Cursed Numbers

  • The faceplate of the CD changer reads 23 at one point when Charlie's band-mate is messing with it.
  • Jack and Juliet stack 15 pieces of dynamite in one shelter.
  • Charlie was the 4th person to pass by the alley where Nadia was being mugged.
  • Charlie said that the last time he was in a fight was when he was 8 years old.
  • Charlie said that he can hold his breath for 4 minutes.

Scrutiny

  • Oops: One of Charlie's flashbacks places him at Covent Garden, a district in London, England. However, a car in the background and lane markings show that traffic is driving on the right side of the road instead of the left.
  • Swimming: In season one's "White Rabbit", Charlie claims he can't swim when a woman is seen drowning.
  • Hatch: "Hatch" is a term used by the Oceanic survivor's in reference to DHARMA Initiative stations, due to discovering The Swan from a hatch buried in the ground. However, DHARMA Initiative diagrams reference The Looking Glass station as a "hatch". Executive producers Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof confirmed this was an error in the May 20th, 2007 Official Lost Podcast.

Arc Advancement

Happenings

  • Ben decides to attack the survivors' camp sooner than originally planned, thwarting Jack's defense plan.
  • Charlie discovers The Looking Glass station and is taken prisoner by its inhabitants.

Characters

  • Alex and Karl warn the crash survivors about Ben's plan.
  • Charlie is ready to sacrifice himself so that the other survivors can escape from the island.

Referbacks

  • 3x01 - A Tale of Two Cities: Sawyer pulls Sayid off of Karl, telling him that Karl is okay and was in the cage next to him. In "A Tale of Two Cities", Sawyer awoke to find himself in a cage. Across from him was another cage housing Karl.
  • 3x07 - Not in Portland: Alex orders Karl to get to the survivor's beach camp and warn them of her father's impending attack. She tells Karl he owes Sawyer and Kate as they saved his life. In "Not in Portland", Sawyer and Kate agreed to help rescue Karl in exchange for Alex's help in getting off the Hydra island.
  • 3x20 - The Man Behind the Curtain: Jin refers to how everyone stared at Sun when Juliet mentioned Sun's name on the tape to Ben. In "The Man Behind the Curtain", Sawyer played the tape in which Juliet informed Ben of Sun's pregnancy.

Trivia

The Show

  • Missing in Action: John Locke was not seen in this episode.
  • Nadia: The woman being mugged that Charlie saves is Sayid's Nadia.
  • Back Again: This is the first episode in season three in which Rose and Bernard appear.

Behind the Scenes

  • Location, Location, Location: The pool at Butlin's in England is the lap pool at Manoa Valley District Park in Honolulu, HI. The London street Charlie plays his guitar at is Fort Street Mall at Honolulu, HI.

Allusions and References

  • Mancunian: When Naomi believes Charlie is having a laugh at her expense, Charlie tells her he wouldn't disrespect a fellow Mancunian. "Mancunian" is the term for inhabitants of Manchester, a city and metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England.
  • Night and Day Bar: Charlie tells Naomi that Drive Shaft got its start at Night and Day Bar in Oldham Street. The Night and Day Café is a live music venue and bar located at No. 26 Oldham Street in Manchester, England.
  • Butlin's: A sign on a wall at the pool where young Charlie learns to swim reads "Butlin's", and Charlie's list of his greatest hits says he learned to swim at Butlins. Butlins was created by Sir Billy Butlin in 1936 to provide economical holidays in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Between its inception and 1966, nine camps were built, but only three centers remain in use by Butlins today.

Memorable Moments

Quotes

  • Jack: Can we trust him?
    Kate: [shrugs]
    Karl: You don't trust me? What about her [Juliet]? She's a spy. She's supposed to mark the tents of the pregnant women with white rocks so that they can take them.
    Juliet: They know, Karl. But thanks.
  • Charlie: I want you to give this to Claire for me.
    Desmond: What is it?
    Charlie: It's the five best moments in my sorry excuse for a life. My greatest hits.