Lost/The Moth

The Moth
Season 1, Episode 7
Airdate	November 3, 2004
Production Number	106
Written by	Jennifer Johnson Paul Dini
Directed by	Jack Bender
← 1x06 House of the Rising Sun	1x08 → Confidence Man
Lost — Season One

The Moth is the seventh episode of the first season of Lost, and is the seventh episode overall.

Charlie goes through a personal crisis, while Jack is trapped by a cave-in. The castaways struggle to free Jack, while Kate and Sayid attempt to triangulate the French broadcast - but their exploration is thwarted by a mysterious attack.

Starring: Naveen Andrews (Sayid), Matthew Fox (Jack), Jorge Garcia (Hurley), Maggie Grace (Shannon), Josh Holloway (Sawyer), Malcolm David Kelley (Walt), Daniel Dae Kim (Jin), Yunjin Kim (Sun), Evangeline Lilly (Kate), Dominic Monaghan (Charlie), Terry O'Quinn (Locke), Harold Perrineau, Jr. (Michael), Ian Somerhalder (Boone).

Guest Starring: Neil Hopkins (Liam Pace).

Co-Starring: Christian Bowman (Steve), Dustin Watchman (Scott), Glenn Cannon (Priest).

Plot Overview

The Island

• After using Charlie as bait to trap a boar, Charlie demands his drugs back from Locke. Locke believes Charlie is stronger than he thinks he is and decides to prove it by letting Charlie ask for his drugs three times. On the third time, he'll give the drugs back to Charlie. Later, Charlie finds Locke in the jungle and asks for his drugs back for a second time. Locke shows him a moth cocoon and explains nature's role in strengthening through struggle. That night, Charlie asks Locke for his drugs back for the third and final time. Locke gives it to him, but Charlie tosses it into a fire. Locke tells him that he's proud and knew he could do it.
• At the beach, Sayid explains his plan to triangulate the French transmission to Boone and Kate. He created three antennas to triangulate the signal: one for the beach, one that Kate will position roughly two kilometers into the jungle, and a third that Sayid will take to high ground. They'll use bottle rockets to signal one another that they are in position. Sayid and Kate leave to set up their antennas, but, after the cave-in, Boone leaves his antenna and bottle rocket with Shannon in order to help in the rescue. Sawyer tells Charlie he just missed Kate, but he'll go and tell her what happened. Out in the jungle, Sawyer lets slip what happened to Jack. Kate tosses her bottle rocket at his feet and runs back to the caves. In the jungle, Sayid lights his bottle rocket. Two more go off and Sayid turns on the transceiver and receives a strong signal. But, before he could get a fix on its location, Sayid is knocked unconscious by someone.
• Inside a cave, Charlie confronts Jack claiming that Jack has been treating him like a useless joke. His yelling triggers a cave-in trapping Jack inside while Charlie manages to escape. Hurley tells Charlie to get to the beach to get help and tell Kate what happened. He makes it to the beach and informs Michael and Boone about Jack. Michael tells Scott and Steve to grab a couple of guys and get to the cave. Once there, the survivors are able to clear a small tunnel to Jack. Charlie volunteers to go in because, if something goes wrong, he has no one on the island. Charlie makes it to Jack but his tunnel collapses behind him. Kate arrives and spurs the group to continue digging them out. Inside, Jack reveals to Charlie that he knows about his withdrawal and tells him that he's not useless. Charlie spots a moth and follows it to a light source and a way out.

The Flashback

• Flashback: Charlie

Charlie enters a confessional and confesses his multiple and various "physical relations". The priest tells him that we all have our temptations, but giving in to them is our own choice. With that Charlie decides he's going to quit the band, but as he leaves the church his brother Liam shows up and tells him they've been signed - that Charlie's going to be a rock god. Outside, Liam tells Charlie that it was his songs that got them signed, that they'll look out for each other because that's what brothers do. Charlie makes Liam promise him that if things get too crazy that, no matter what, if he says they're done then they'll walk away.

Sometime later we see Drive Shaft performing and Liam cuts in to where Charlie is supposed to sing. Afterwards, Charlie confronts Liam and he apologizes to Charlie telling him he got caught up in the moment. Liam pulls out some drugs and tells his brother to chill. At another show, Charlie goes backstage to find his brother who missed the sound check. He finds him completely high and tells him that, after tonight, they're canceling the rest of the tour and walking away. Charlie tells Liam he's killing himself and destroying Drive Shaft. Liam, enraged, tells Charlie that he himself is Drive Shaft and that nobody knows who Charlie is. Liam storms out, leaving Charlie alone with the drugs.

Later, Charlie shows up on the doorstep of Liam's home in Sydney, Australia to deliver the news that they have a chance to get back on a label and make a comeback. Liam tells Charlie that he doesn't want to come back, but Charlie insists and tells him that they won't book Drive Shaft without him. Liam asks Charlie to stay for a few weeks so they can get him some help to kick his drug habit. Charlie tells him that he's never looked out for him and leaves.

Notes

Mysteries

• Who attacked Sayid?

Arc Advancement

Happenings

• Sayid's attempt at locating the source of the French transmission is thwarted.
• Michael OKs the structural integrity of the rest of the caves.

Characters

• Locke helps Charlie make a decision about his drugs.
• Jack moves into the caves.
• Jack helps Charlie deal with his withdrawal.

Trivia

The Show

• Unseen: Emilie de Ravin does not appear in this episode.

Behind the Scenes

• Brown Sugar: Charlie's heroin is actually brown sugar.
• Nielsen Ratings: On its original airing this episode scored 18.6 million viewers for ABC, being the highest rated show of the night among TV networks.
• Location, Location, Location: The scenes with Charlie in the church and its courtyard were filmed at St. Paul's Mission on Queen Emma Square in Honolulu.

Quotes

• Jack: The signal has been running on a loop for 16 years, Kate. And the woman that left it, she wasn't rescued. What makes you think it'll be any different for us?
  Kate: I believe it.
  Jack: I wished I shared your faith.
  Sawyer: I wouldn't mind sharing a few things with her myself.
  Kate: What do you want, Sawyer?
  Sawyer: Heard the doc here was vacating the premises. Thought'd best lay claims to my new digs before somebody else did. I could fix this place up real good. Might even find somebody to share it with.
• Charlie: Last night, I had... physical relations... with a girl I didn't even know.
  Priest: I see. Anything else?
  Charlie: Yeah, uh... Right after that I had... relations with another girl. Then straight after that, I- I watched while they had... relations with each other.
• Locke: I think you're a lot stronger than you know, Charlie. And I'm gonna prove it to you. I'll let you ask me for your drugs three times. The third time, I'm gonna give them to you. Now, just so we're clear. This is one.
  Charlie: Why? Why? Why are you doing this? To torture me? Just get rid of them and have done with it.
  Locke: If I did that, you wouldn't have a choice, Charlie. And having choices, making decisions based on more than instinct is the only thing that separates you from him [a boar].
• Jack: Charlie, just calm down, alright. You're not yourself, right now.
  Charlie: You don't know me! I'm a bloody rock god!
• Locke: Something wrong, Charlie?
  Charlie: Yeah. Jack. He's, uh... There's been an accident... in the caves. Jack's trapped in a cave-in.
  Locke: Is anyone trying to get him out?
  Charlie: Yeah, there's a bunch of people there now.
  Locke: And why aren't you with them? You didn't come to tell me about Jack, did you?
  Charlie: I want my stash, Locke. I can't stand feeling like this.
  Locke: Come here. Let me show you something. What do you suppose is in that cocoon, Charlie?
  Charlie: I don't know. A butterfly, I guess.
  Locke: No, it's much more beautiful than that. That's a moth cocoon. It's ironic. Butterflies get all the attention. But moths, they spin silk. They're stronger, faster...
  Charlie: That's wonderful, but...
  Locke: You see this little hole? This moth's just about to emerge. It's in there right now, struggling. It's digging its way through the thick hide of the cocoon. Now, I could help it. Take my knife, gently widen the opening, and the moth would be free. But it would be too weak to survive. The struggle is nature's way of strengthening it. Now, this is the second time you've asked me for your drugs back. Ask me again and it's yours.
• Sawyer: So, what is it about that guy? Jack. What is it about him that makes you all... weak in the loins?
  Kate: Do you try to be a pig or does it just come naturally?
  Sawyer: It's that he's a doctor, right? Yeah, ladies dig the doctors. Hell, give me a couple of Band-Aids, a bottle of peroxide, I could run this island too.
  Kate: You're actually comparing yourself to Jack?
  Sawyer: The difference between us ain't that big, sweetheart. I guarantee you if he had survived a few more weeks on this island, you'd have figured that out.
  Kate: What did you just say?
  Sawyer: Ah, damn. Didn't I tell you? Word from the valley is Saint Jack got himself buried in a cave-in.
  Kate: What?
  Sawyer: Look at the bright side, now you have someone else to pity.

Reviews

• Overall Grade: B- with 1 review
• Review Breakdown: A+: 0 A: 0 A-: 0 B+: 0 B: 0 B-: 1 C+: 0 C: 0 C-: 0 D: 0 F: 0

• I don't like Charlie. He seem like a gigantic filler character meant to fill up all the character stereotypes every show must have. His flashback episode reflects that. Oh, hey, a druggie storyline, what else is new? While I like Locke's relationship with Charlie, and most of the other island scenes, the flashbacks fall flat. The "twist" is entirely predictable, and Dominic Monaghan's performance is the only thing that saves it from being completely boring. B- --Wizardryo 14:28, 11 Aug 2005 (PDT)