Episode Five

Charlie-centric clips and caps of this episode can be found at Beyond Grey

• Written By: Christian Taylor
• Directed By: Kevin Hooks
• Backstory: Jack
• Featured Storylines: Boone, Charlie/Claire, Sun/Jin, Locke

White Rabbit

--flashback—

We open on yet another shot of an eye. This time it’s a kid with a somewhat beaten face, watching another kid getting the shit kicked out of him. An older kid threatens him, telling him to stay down if he knows what’s good for him. The kid gets up, and gets a fist to the face for his troubles.

Beach: Jack’s been flashing back to this scene from his youth when he hears Charlie screaming his name, telling him there’s someone out in the water, and that he doesn’t swim, Jack strips his shirt off and dives in, aiming for the person in the water, while Charlie, Kate and co. stand on the beach watching. Jack swims around for a while but can’t tell where the person is. He finally dives down, and comes up with… Boone (who, as you may recall from Pilot 1, is a lifeguard.) Boone catches his breath and then asks Jack if he got “her”—the woman he had been trying to save. Jack has to make a decision whether to bring Boone back or help the woman. He brings Boone back and swims back out…

--commercial break—

Back on the beach, Boone is sitting there being all broody and shirtless while Jack, having retrieved his shirt, is trying to put himself back together. Kate comes up to Jack, and Jack asks her who the woman was. She tells him, and he complains that they’ve been there six days and he never talked to the now fish-food woman. Kate tries to soothe him. He looks past her and sees a man in a suit standing in the surf. He asks if she saw that, and Kate gives him a “hell, no” look and asks when he last slept. He doesn’t answer, and instead goes to find some busy work that of course needs doing.

Michael and Walt are standing at the shore. Walt is brushing his teeth with the plant Sun gave him. Michael asks who taught him and Walt tells him. He tells Walt to not swallow the salty ocean water he’s rinsing with.

Sun is watching them. Jin comes up and notices her lips are dry, and that she needs water. They talk for a moment, about whether anyone is coming. Sun notes that people have been ignoring them, and they should try harder to communicate. Jin tells her no, that they need to keep to themselves, and he’ll tell her what to do. She glares at the back of his head.

Shannon walks up to where Sawyer is sitting and reading Watership Down, and asks if he’s got “it.” It turns out to be bug repellent, to keep off sand fleas. Shannon asks him how much for the bottle. He reminds her that money is no good where they are, so she asks him what he wants in payment. He gives her a look that makes it quite clear what he wants. She declines, and he says five grand for the bug repellent, and that he’d take an IOU, since he knows she’ll be good…. For it. Shannon throws the bug repellent back at him and storms off.

Kate is sorting clothes. Claire approaches her asking for a hairbrush, saying how weird it is that she can’t find one. Claire gets a little weak and sits down. Kate asks if she’s okay. Claire says it’s just the heat… and being pregnant. Claire asks if Kate is a Gemini, and proceeds to start astro-analyzing Kate, which Kate seems nonplussed by.

Hurley approaches Jack, remarking he looks tired. Hurley tells him they have a problem, indicating a small case full of a few water bottles. Hurley and Charlie tell Jack that that’s all the water they have left. They start asking him what they should do. Jack doesn’t want any part of it. They chase after him, trying to figure out what they should decide to do. Jack says he’s not “deciding” anything and storms off.

--flashback—

Young Jack is watching his father in his study, bourbon in his hand. Dad asks what happened to Jack’s banged up face. Jack explains that he was trying to help someone. Dad tells a story about decision making related to being a doctor, making a point that Jack shouldn’t try to save everyone, because when you fail, it means you just don’t have what it takes.

Beach: Boone interrupts Jack’s flashback complaining that Jack saved him instead of the woman. Jack says he had to save him. Boone bitches him out, saying he was fine and that Jack’s not the only one around that can handle things. Jack sees the suited man over Boone’s shoulder and ignores being bitched out to go pursue him into the jungle. After some running around, we finally see the suited man’s face. And it’s Jack’s father….

--commercial break—

Jack is sitting there in the jungle, bewildered, and flashes back again. This time he’s an adult, talking to his mother, who is telling him that his dad is gone again and Jack needs to retrieve him. Jack declines, mentioning that they haven’t talked in two months, and there’s no way his dad would want to see him. Mom tries to convince him, and Jack says he just can’t. Mom tells him not to say he can’t “not after what you did” and demands he bring his father home. Jack finally asks where Daddy ran off to this time, and mom tells him Australia. Back in the jungle, Jack gets up and starts walking again.

Beach: Walt runs over to Kate, telling her that Claire has fainted. Charlie and Michael carry limp Claire over to the shelter. Kate gets her to come around, and tells Charlie she needs water. Charlie looks for the case that the water was in, and finds it missing, surmising someone has stolen it.

Kate and Sayid are talking to Locke about the missing water. He tells them that it’s best to not tell anyone yet, since the missing water and the possibility of a thief will make things get ugly, fast. Kate and Sayid talk about going to try to find a fresh water source, but Locke volunteers, saying he knows where to look.

Back in the jungle, Jack is running around, looking for Dad, hollering for him. Flashback to Jack in a Sydney hotel room, where the manager says they haven’t seen Dad for a few days, and politely suggests that he probably hasn’t gone anywhere because he’s on a bender and no one would rent him a car in that condition. Jack takes umbrage at the suggestion, and notes Dad left his wallet there. Manager suggests Jack talk to the police.

Back in the jungle, Jack sees Dad again, and chases him. He runs toward him, and trips, falls ass over toenails, and ends up hanging off the edge of a cliff.

--commercial break—

Jack’s hanging on, can’t get a foothold, and his hands are slipping. A hand appears over the edge. It’s Locke, who tells Jack to take his hand. They get Jack back up on level ground, and then lay there next to each other, while Jack starts giggling like a maniac.

Beach: Charlie approaches Claire with some water he’s scavenged. He gives her the water and they talk for a while. He tells her that someone’s stolen the water and that Jack’s not back yet, but that Locke’s out looking for him. Claire complains that their only hunter is going to get killed trying to get the pregnant chick some water. Charlie says he trusts Locke and his suitcase of 400 knives and jokes around with Claire a bit, making her laugh. She thanks him for his kindness, since so many people have been avoiding her because she’s a “time bomb of responsibility” waiting to go off, and that scares them. Charlie says he’s not scared of her.

Hurley comes up to Kate and Sayid, telling them that “the Chinese people” have water. Sayid confronts Sun, asking where she got the water. Jin intervenes. Kate explains that they’re trying to find out where they got the water from. Jin indicates Sawyer. Kate wants to go get him, but Sayid tells her to wait, and watch him instead, as he’ll lead them to his stash. Which he promptly does. Kate tackles him, which only serves to excite him, and he tells her that was his birthday wish four years ago. He flips and pins her, and she snarls at him. Sayid comes to the rescue, and pulls them apart, and starts demanding to know where Sawyer stashed the water. Sawyer said he traded the last of his water for a fish Jin caught. As Sayid and Kate start wandering off, Sawyer makes Kate stop, and gives her the marshall’s badge, since she’s the “new sherriff in town.”

In the jungle, Locke is collecting dew from leaves, and they talk about Jack’s leadership. Locke asks why Jack is out there. Jack says he’s chasing someone. Locke says he must be chasing the White Rabbit. They agree that Jack’s doctor’s diagnosis would be that he’s hallucinating, but Locke wonders what if he’s not. Locke says he’s a realist, but he thinks the island is special somehow, and wonders if whether everything that happened happened for a reason. Locke gets up and starts off to find more water. Jack makes to follow him, but Locke stops him, telling him that he needs to finish what he’s started, because a leader can’t lead unless he knows where he’s going.

--commercial break—

Night in the jungle. Jack is sitting by a fire, and… flashback. He’s walking down an austere hall with a doctor who starts explaining that his father was found with a high blood alcohol content, which caused him to have a heart attack. Jack identifies his father's body, and starts to cry. Back in the jungle, he’s crying again. He hears something behind him, and grabs a torch from the fire to go chase after it. He finds…. A waterfall. With a doll laying in the pool beneath it. He follows a trail of debris to a chunk of plane and a pile of more debris. Which includes a coffin.

Flashback to Jack in the airport, demanding that the airline allow the coffin onto the plane so it can get to the funeral. He says he needs everything to be over. He needs to bury his father. Back in the jungle, Jack drags the coffin out of its perch among the debris, and opens it. To find the coffin empty. He flips out and starts whacking at the coffin with a chunk of debris.

--commercial break—

Back in the beach, a shadowy figure sets down three water bottles and starts giving Claire some. She wakes up to see that it’s Boone giving her the water. Charlie comes up behind Boone, demanding to know where he got the water. Charlie shoves Boone to the ground and announces to everyone that he's found the thief. Boone admits he took the water and Charlie starts pushing him around, yelling that Claire could’ve died without the water. Boone counters that with Jack gone, he was just trying to take responsibility. Jack ex Machina comes out of the jungle and breaks them up, and then lectures the gang on how they need to organize and start figuring out how to manage, because chances are good they’re not going to be rescued. He mentions he found water, and that those who want to come with him can, but everyone else needs to contribute in some way.

End montage: Charlie brings more water to Claire. Sun thanks Jin for giving her water, and he says that’s what a husband is supposed to do. Michael tries to give Walt some water, but he’s asleep, so Vincent gets it instead. Sawyer comes over to Broody Boone and asks how it feels to be the most hated guy there. Jack comes over to Kate, who asks where he was. He’s coy at first but then mentions that his father died. Kate gives him quiet sympathy.


--end Episode 5--