"Live Together, Die Alone" is the
second season finale of the
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
television series
A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...
''
Lost
Lost may refer to getting lost, or to:
Geography
*Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland
* Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US
History
*Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...
'', consisting of the 23rd and 24th episodes of the
second season. It is also the 48th and 49th episodes overall. The episode was written by
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 named him one of the ...
and
Carlton Cuse
Arthur Carlton Cuse (born March 22, 1959) is a screenwriter, showrunner, producer, and director, best known for the American television series ''Lost'', for which he made the ''Time'' list of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2010. ...
, and directed by
Jack Bender
Jack Bender (born September 25, 1949) is an American television and film director, television producer and former actor best known for his work as a director on ''Lost'', ''The Sopranos'' and '' Game of Thrones''.
Biography
Bender grew up in ...
. It first aired in the United States on May 24, 2006, on the
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) is an American commercial broadcast television network. It is the flagship property of the ABC Entertainment Group division of The Walt Disney Company. The network is headquartered in Burbank, Cali ...
. The episode was watched by 17.84 million people and received positive reviews.
In the episode, flashbacks reveal how Desmond came to the island. In realtime, Desmond unintentionally returns to the beach and is enlisted by Locke to help him stop the button in the hatch from being pushed. Meanwhile, several castaways head off to rescue Michael's son, Walt, from
the Others.
Plot
Flashbacks
Desmond Hume
Desmond David Hume is a fictional character on the ABC television series ''Lost'' portrayed by Henry Ian Cusick. Desmond's name is a tribute to David Hume, the famous empiricist philosopher. Desmond was not a passenger of Flight 815. He had been ...
(
Henry Ian Cusick
Henry Ian Cusick (born 17 April 1967) is a Peruvian-Scottish actor of television, film, and theatre and a television director.
He is best known for his role as Desmond Hume in the ABC television series ''Lost'', for which he received a Primet ...
) is being released from a military prison in 2001 with a dishonourable discharge, for unknown reasons. Upon leaving, he runs into
Charles Widmore
Charles Widmore is a fictional character on the ABC television series ''Lost'', which chronicles the lives of over forty people after their plane crashes on a remote island somewhere in the south Pacific. He is primarily portrayed by Alan Dale; T ...
(
Alan Dale
Alan Hugh Dale (born 6 May 1947) is a New Zealand actor. As a child, Dale enjoyed theatre and rugby. After retiring from the sport, he took on a number of occupations, before deciding to become a professional actor at age 27. Dale subsequentl ...
) who reveals that he prevented communication between his daughter
Penelope
Penelope ( ; Ancient Greek: Πηνελόπεια, ''Pēnelópeia'', or el, Πηνελόπη, ''Pēnelópē'') is a character in Homer's ''Odyssey.'' She was the queen of Ithaca and was the daughter of Spartan king Icarius and naiad Periboea. Pe ...
(
Sonya Walger
Sonya Walger (born 6 June 1974) is a British actress who also holds American citizenship. She had starring roles in the short-lived sitcoms ''The Mind of the Married Man'' (2001–2002) and ''Coupling'' (2003) before landing her role as Penny W ...
) and Desmond while he was in prison, and strongly warns Desmond against attempting to reform a relationship. Desmond, wanting to prove that he is not a coward, travels to the United States from the United Kingdom to train for a sailing race around the world, sponsored by Widmore. He meets
Libby (
Cynthia Watros
Cynthia Michele Watros (born September 2, 1968) is an American actress recognized for her roles in both daytime and primetime television. In 1994, she was cast in the regular role of Annie Dutton on ''Guiding Light'', which earned her the Day ...
) in a cafe, and after a deep conversation, Libby gives Desmond a yacht owned by her late husband. While Desmond is training, Penny tracks him down and angrily questions him. (There is a moment in the background where
Jack
Jack may refer to:
Places
* Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community
* Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community
* Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas, USA
People and fictional characters
* Jack (given name), a male given name, ...
is seen arriving at the stadium to run.) Desmond tells her that he is determined to win Widmore's race and promises that he will return. However, while sailing, Desmond gets caught in a bad storm, and washes up on the island. He is rescued by a man in a yellow
HAZMAT
Dangerous goods, abbreviated DG, are substances that when transported are a risk to health, safety, property or the environment. Certain dangerous goods that pose risks even when not being transported are known as hazardous materials ( syllabi ...
suit,
Kelvin Inman (
Clancy Brown
Clarence John "Clancy" Brown III (born January 5, 1959) is an American actor. Prolific in film and television since the 1980s, Brown is often cast in villainous and authoritative roles.
Brown's film roles include Viking Lofgren in ''Bad Boys'' ...
) (who also is the American intelligence officer that releases Sayid in
one of his flashbacks) who takes him to the
Dharma Initiative Swan Station and shows him the Orientation film. He explains that it was edited by Stuart Radzinsky, his former partner who faked a lockdown event and created
an invisible map on the blast doors with him and then committed suicide while Inman was asleep. Inman also explains that the
incident
Incident may refer to:
* A property of a graph in graph theory
* ''Incident'' (film), a 1948 film noir
* Incident (festival), a cultural festival of The National Institute of Technology in Surathkal, Karnataka, India
* Incident (Scientology), a ...
was a "leak" of electromagnetic energy from the Swan that builds up and has to be discharged by pushing the button unless someone accesses a fail-safe and "blows the dam." Desmond lives together with Kelvin for three years before he finds out that Inman is secretly planning on escaping the island using Desmond's boat. Desmond violently confronts Inman about this, accidentally killing him in the process. After almost letting the countdown timer run down and causing a "System Failure", Desmond starts drinking liquor and a few days later, contemplates suicide. Before he shoots himself however, he hears
John Locke
John Locke (; 29 August 1632 – 28 October 1704) was an English philosopher and physician, widely regarded as one of the most influential of Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment thinkers and commonly known as the "father of liberalism ...
(
Terry O'Quinn
Terrance Quinn (born July 15, 1952), known professionally as Terry O'Quinn, is an American actor. He played John Locke on the TV series ''Lost'', the title role in '' The Stepfather'' and ''Stepfather II'', and Peter Watts in ''Millennium'', w ...
)
banging on the hatch door, and turns on a light. Desmond then realizes that there is still hope and decides not to kill himself.
On the island
While at the funeral for
Ana Lucia Cortez
Ana Lucia Cortez is a fictional character on the ABC television series ''Lost'', played by Michelle Rodriguez. Ana Lucia made her first appearance as a guest star in the first season finale, and became part of the main cast for season two. After ...
(
Michelle Rodriguez
Mayte Michelle Rodriguez (born July 12, 1978) is an American actress.
Rodriguez began her career in 2000, playing a troubled boxer in the independent sports drama film ''Girlfight'' (2000), where she won the Independent Spirit Award and Gotha ...
) and Libby, a boat comes into view out at sea. Jack, Sayid, and Sawyer swim out to it and climb onto the boat. They hear music coming from inside it. Shots are fired from inside the boat through the boat hatch entrance. After breaking the hatch open, they find a drunken Desmond piloting the boat. The next day, after
Mr. Eko
Mr. Eko is a fictional character, played by Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje on the ABC television series ''Lost.'' He is introduced in the second season episode " Adrift" as one of the plane-crash survivors from the plane's tail section. Flashbacks r ...
(
Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje
Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (, ; born 22 August 1967) is an English actor, director, and former fashion model known for his roles as Lock-Nah in ''The Mummy Returns'', Nykwana Wombosi in '' The Bourne Identity'', Heavy Duty in '' G.I. Joe: The R ...
) prevents Locke from destroying the computer that controls the timer, Locke enlists Desmond's help in letting the timer run down to zero. Desmond hotwires the blast doors shut, locking Eko outside the computer room and Desmond and Locke inside of it. Eko, distraught, seeks
Charlie Pace
Charlie 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 three seasons, a ...
's (
Dominic Monaghan
Dominic Bernard Patrick Luke Monaghan (born 8 December 1976) is a British 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 J. J. Abram ...
) help. The two attempt to use dynamite to blow the blast door open, but the blast doors are unscathed, while they are both injured.
Meanwhile, Desmond and Locke discuss the purpose of the stations and discover that when Desmond accidentally caused the "System Failure", the magnetic force pulled Oceanic Flight 815 toward the island, thus causing the crash. Locke continues to doubt that the timer has any meaning, but Desmond assures him that it is all real. As the timer passes zero, causing another "System Failure", Desmond retrieves the failsafe key he obtained from Inman and crawls underneath the hatch, saying he will "blow the dam". After he turns the key in the system termination switch, a shrill humming noise and violet-white light envelops the entire island, causing the Oceanic 815 survivors and
the Others alike on opposite sides of the island to bend in apparent pain. That night, Charlie is the only person to return from the hatch; the whereabouts of Desmond, Eko, and Locke are not revealed. Charlie reconnects with
Claire Littleton
Claire Littleton is a fictional character played by Emilie de Ravin on the ABC drama television series ''Lost'', which chronicles the lives of the survivors of a plane crash in the South Pacific. Claire is introduced in the pilot episode as a pr ...
(
Emilie de Ravin
Emilie de Ravin (; born 27 December 1981) is an Australian actress. She starred as Tess Harding on '' Roswell'' (2000–2002), Claire Littleton on the ABC drama ''Lost'' (2004–2008, 2010), and as Belle on the ABC drama ''Once Upon a Time'' ...
), and they kiss as they sit among their fellow plane survivors.
The survivors split up into two groups to head to the Others' camp.
Michael Dawson (
Harold Perrineau
Harold Perrineau (born August 7, 1963) is an American actor best known for his roles as Michael Dawson in the ABC television series ''Lost'' (2004–2010), Augustus Hill in the HBO television series '' Oz'' (1997–2003), Sheriff Boyd Stevens ...
),
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 survive ...
(
Matthew Fox
Matthew Chandler Fox (born July 14, 1966) is an American actor. He is best 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 ...
),
Kate Austen
Katherine Anne Austen is a fictional character on the ABC television series ''Lost'', played by Canadian actress Evangeline Lilly.
Character biography Prior to the crash
Born in 1977 and raised in Iowa, Kate is the daughter of diner worker Diane ...
(
Evangeline Lilly
Nicole Evangeline Lilly (born 3 August 1979) is a Canadian actress and author. She is the recipient of various accolades including a Screen Actors Guild Award and an MTV Movie Award. She has also received nominations for a Golden Globe Award, ...
),
James "Sawyer" Ford
James Ford, better known by the alias "Sawyer" () and later as "Jim LaFleur", is a fictional character on the ABC television series ''Lost'', portrayed by Josh Holloway
Josh Lee Holloway (born July 20, 1969) is an American actor best known ...
(
Josh Holloway
Josh Lee Holloway (born July 20, 1969) is an American actor best known for his roles as James "Sawyer" Ford on the television show ''Lost'' and as Will Bowman on the science fiction drama ''Colony''. Most recently he had a recurring role in sea ...
), and
Hugo "Hurley" Reyes
Hugo "Hurley" Reyes is a fictional character on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC television series ''Lost (TV series), Lost'', played by Jorge Garcia. For most of the show's run, Hurley served as the show's comic relief, but occasionally, an ...
(
Jorge Garcia
Jorge Garcia (born April 28, 1973) is an American actor and comedian. He first came to public attention with his performance as Hector Lopez on the television show ''Becker'', but subsequently became best known for his portrayal of Hugo "Hurley ...
) walk on land to the camp, bringing guns and ammunition with them. Meanwhile,
Sayid Jarrah
Sayid Hassan Jarrah ( ar, سَعِيد حَسَّان جَرَّاح, ''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 ...
(
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 Primetime ...
),
Sun-Hwa Kwon
Sun-Hwa Kwon, better known simply as "Sun", is a fictional character on the ABC television series ''Lost'' played by Yunjin Kim.
Character biography
Prior to the crash
Sun PaikSimilar to the Chinese and the Japanese, the naming convention in ...
(
Yunjin Kim
Yunjin Kim (Hangul: 김윤진), also known as Kim Yun-Jin (born November 7, 1973) is a South Korean-American film and theater actress. She is best known for her role as Sun-Hwa Kwon on the American television series ''Lost'', and as the North K ...
), and
Jin-Soo Kwon
Jin-Soo Kwon, better known as "Jin," is a fictional character on the ABC television series ''Lost'' played by Daniel Dae Kim.
Character biography
Prior to the crash
Jin-Soo Kwon was born on 27 November 1974 in Namhae, South Korea, to a p ...
(
Daniel Dae Kim
Daniel Dae Kim (born Kim Dae-hyun ( ko, 김대현); August 4, 1968) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Jin-Soo Kwon in ''Lost'', Chin Ho Kelly in ''Hawaii Five-0'', Gavin Park in ''Angel'', and Johnny Gat in the ''Saints Row'' ...
) plan to use Desmond's sailboat to go by sea. Sayid plans to use black smoke as a signal, saying that "this time, they will know that we are coming", a reference to the attacks in the
first-season finale. When the boat reaches the Others' camp, Sayid finds it to be deserted. Meanwhile, Michael, Jack, Sawyer, Hurley and Kate engage in a gun battle with some Others that were following them, and Sawyer kills one. Jack confronts Michael about leading the group into a trap, and Michael confesses to the murders of Ana Lucia and Libby. They realize that Michael has led them to a location other than the beach, ruining their former plan to meet up with Sayid. There, they see a large pile of pneumatic tubes, suggesting that the reports sent out from the
monitoring hatch discovered in the episode
"?" had never been read. Shortly after the discovery of the tube pile, they hear whispers, and suddenly Sawyer, Kate, and Jack are incapacitated by electric darts. The hostages, bound and gagged, are brought to a dock, where it appears that the Others are led by
Henry Gale (
Michael Emerson
Michael Emerson (born September 7, 1954) is an American actor who is best known for his roles as serial killer William Hinks on ''The Practice'', Benjamin Linus on ''Lost'', Zep Hindle in the first ''Saw'' film, Cayden James on ''Arrow'', and H ...
). Gale keeps his bargain with Michael, returning his son,
Walt Lloyd
Walter "Walt" Lloyd is a fictional character portrayed by Malcolm David Kelley in the American ABC television series ''Lost''. The series follows the lives of over forty survivors of the crash of Oceanic Flight 815. Walt is introduced in the pilo ...
(
Malcolm David Kelley
Malcolm David Kelley (born May 12, 1992), sometimes credited as just Malcolm Kelley, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter and actor best known for portraying the character Walt Lloyd on the ABC series ''Lost'' and as one half of the pop du ...
), to him and giving them an old fishing boat with instructions to sail on a heading of 325 degrees until they are rescued. Michael threatens Henry that he could tell the outside world of the island's location. Henry responds by telling him that it wouldn't matter as they would not be able to find the island, should they return. He also gives Michael a counter-threat: if he did tell people of the island's location, people would know what he did to get his son back. Michael reluctantly accepts but asks who Henry and his people are, to which Henry responds "We're the good guys, Michael". Michael uses the boat to get him and Walt off the island. Hurley is then released and sent back to the other survivors with a message that they are to stay away from the Others' part of the island. As Hurley is let go, the other three captives are taken away.
Epilogue
The scene shifts to a cramped research station somewhere far from the island, in a polar climate; two Portuguese-speaking men who are playing chess are interrupted by an alert on a monitor displaying the message ">/ 7418880 Electromagnetic Anomaly Detected" (the number 7418880 being the product of
the numbers, 4, 8, 15, 16, 23 and 42). One of the men makes a frantic phone call that wakes up Penelope in the middle of the night, telling her, "I think we've found it."
Production
![Michael Emerson SDCC 2013](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a4/Michael_Emerson_SDCC_2013.jpg)
"Live Together, Die Alone" was the thirteenth episode of the series directed by
Jack Bender
Jack Bender (born September 25, 1949) is an American television and film director, television producer and former actor best known for his work as a director on ''Lost'', ''The Sopranos'' and '' Game of Thrones''.
Biography
Bender grew up in ...
. The episode was written by
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 named him one of the ...
and
Carlton Cuse
Arthur Carlton Cuse (born March 22, 1959) is a screenwriter, showrunner, producer, and director, best known for the American television series ''Lost'', for which he made the ''Time'' list of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2010. ...
, the ninth episode that the two had written together.
Due to being two hours long, more time went into shooting "Live Together, Die Alone" than most episodes. It was shot in 17 days by two separate crews. Several scenes had to be shortened or cut due to time constraints. One scene that was cut was: after it is revealed that Michael was a traitor, Sawyer wanted to go back to the camp, because he thought it would be stupid to keep following someone who lied to him.
In the past, ''Lost'' has had an issue with spoilers being leaked from the set, so for the production of "Live Together, Die Alone", the crew took extra steps to ensure secrecy of pivotal scenes. Alex Petrovitch, who played Henrik, recalled that when auditioning for his part "names, places, and circumstances (of his scene) were shifted so that you couldn’t link the scene to the show." Even other cast members were not told about Petrovitch's scene. Another measure used by the cast and crew to limit the release of spoilers was calling the final scene by the code name "Challah" instead of referencing anything in the scene.
However, the attempts to cover up the flashback scenes were less successful and a call sheet was leaked by ''Lost'' fan
Ryan Ozawa onto the internet, detailing the full plotlines of Desmond's flashbacks, about a month before the episode aired.
It is in this episode that it is revealed that Henry Gale is in fact the leader of the Others.
Reception
"Live Together, Die Alone" received a 7.6 in the ages 18–49 demographic in the
Nielsen ratings
Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rat ...
. The episode was watched by 17.84 million viewers.
"Live Together, Die Alone" has been generally well received.
IGN
''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game 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 distri ...
's Eric Goldman praised actor
Henry Ian Cusick
Henry Ian Cusick (born 17 April 1967) is a Peruvian-Scottish actor of television, film, and theatre and a television director.
He is best known for his role as Desmond Hume in the ABC television series ''Lost'', for which he received a Primet ...
(
Desmond Hume
Desmond David Hume is a fictional character on the ABC television series ''Lost'' portrayed by Henry Ian Cusick. Desmond's name is a tribute to David Hume, the famous empiricist philosopher. Desmond was not a passenger of Flight 815. He had been ...
) for giving "a likable, sympathetic performance". Goldman went on to say that the episode "was a much better finale than last season", and that it contained one of the "more interesting flashbacks of the entire season".
''
Entertainment Weekly
''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...
'' writer Scott Brown described his viewing experience as "I was up, I was down, I was frustrated, I was thrilled, and finally I was...well, a bit numb."
Brown criticized the way Charlie reacted to the hatch explosion, stating that he felt the writers were trying to "get us to hate Charlie".
Deathcore band,
Veil of Maya
Veil of Maya is an American metalcore band, formed in Chicago, Illinois, by members Marc Okubo and Sam Applebaum in 2004. They are currently signed to Sumerian Records and have released six studio albums. Their first four albums are considered ...
have a song named "Namaste", in which the song's chorus has the lyric "Live together, die alone" referencing the episode. The song's breakdowns are also actually written in-key the series' mythic numbers (4 8 15 16 23 42).
References
External links
"Live Together, Die Alone"at ABC
*
{{good article
Lost (season 2) episodes
2006 American television episodes
Television episodes written by Damon Lindelof