"Follow the Leader" is the 15th television episode of the fifth season of

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 ...

's ''

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 ...

''. The 101st episode of the show overall, "Follow the Leader" aired on May 6, 2009, on ABC in the United States. The episode was written by supervising producer

Paul Zbyszewski Paul Zbyszewski is an American television writer and producer. He has worked in both capacities on the series ''Lost'' and ''Day Break'', and he is the creator of ''Day Break''. He also wrote the feature film '' After the Sunset''. Career Zbyszew ...

and co-executive producer

Elizabeth Sarnoff Elizabeth "Liz" Sarnoff is an American television writer and producer. She has written episodes of ''NYPD Blue'', ''Crossing Jordan'', '' Deadwood'' and ''Lost''. She is the co-creator of the Fox crime/ mystery series ''Alcatraz''. Career Sar ...

and directed by Stephen Williams. This episode marks the lowest recorded audience for

. In 2007, John Locke (

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'', ...

) solidifies his leadership with the Others, but

Benjamin Linus Benjamin Linus is a fictional character portrayed by Michael Emerson on the ABC television series ''Lost''. Ben was the leader of a group of island natives called the Others and was initially known as Henry Gale to the survivors of Oceanic Flig ...

(

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 ...

) and

Richard Alpert Ram Dass (born Richard Alpert; April 6, 1931 – December 22, 2019), also known as Baba Ram Dass, was an American spiritual teacher, guru of modern yoga, psychologist, and author. His best-selling 1971 book '' Be Here Now'', which has been d ...

(

Nestor Carbonell Nestor may refer to: * Nestor (mythology), King of Pylos in Greek mythology Arts and entertainment * "Nestor" (''Ulysses'' episode) an episode in James Joyce's novel ''Ulysses'' * Nestor Studios, first-ever motion picture studio in Hollywood, ...

) start to be suspicious of Locke. In 1977,

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 survi ...

(

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 h ...

) and

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 Dia ...

(

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, a ...

) dispute over whether to initiate the plan of the recently deceased

Daniel Faraday Dr. Daniel Faraday is a fictional character on the ABC television series ''Lost'' played by Jeremy Davies. Faraday is introduced in the Season 4 premiere as a physicist from the Queen's College, University of Oxford. He suffers from short-term ...

(

Jeremy Davies Jeremy Davies (né Boring; born October 8, 1969) is an American film and television actor. He is known for playing Ray Aibelli in ''Spanking the Monkey'' (1994), Corporal Upham in ''Saving Private Ryan'' (1998), Snow in '' Solaris'' (2002), Bi ...

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. Created by Jeffrey Lieber, J. J. Abrams and Damon Lindelof, he first a ...

(

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

Juliet Burke Dr. Juliet Burke (née Carlson) is a character on the ABC television series ''Lost'', portrayed by Elizabeth Mitchell. Created by J. J. Abrams and Damon Lindelof, the character was introduced in the third season as a member of the hostile grou ...

(

Elizabeth Mitchell Elizabeth Mitchell (born Elizabeth Joanna Robertson) is an American actress known for her lead role as Juliet Burke on the ABC drama mystery series ''Lost'' (2006–2010). Mitchell also had lead roles on the television series '' V'' (2009–2 ...

) are interrogated by the DHARMA Initiative.

Hugo "Hurley" Reyes Hugo "Hurley" Reyes is a fictional character on the ABC television series ''Lost'', played by Jorge Garcia. For most of the show's run, Hurley served as the show's comic relief, but occasionally, and most notably in the final season, he was shown ...

( Jorge Garcia),

Miles Straume Miles Straume is a fictional character played by Ken Leung on the ABC television series ''Lost''. Miles is introduced early in the fourth season as a hotheaded and sarcastic medium as a crew member aboard the freighter called the ''Kahana'' tha ...

(

Ken Leung Kenneth Leung (; born January 21, 1970) is an American actor. His roles include Sang in '' Rush Hour'', Miles Straume in ''Lost'', Admiral Statura in '' Star Wars: The Force Awakens'', and Eric Tao in HBO's ''Industry''. Early life Leung was ...

) 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 ...

(

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 Ro ...

) finally reveal the truth to Pierre Chang (

François Chau François Chau (born October 26, 1959) is a Cambodian American actor. He is known for his roles as Dr. Pierre Chang in ABC's ''Lost'', Quick Kick on '' G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero'', Dr. Chang in the film '' 21 & Over'', The Shredder in '' ...

Plot

1977

In 1977, following the events of the previous episode "

The Variable "The Variable" is the 14th television episode of the fifth season of '' Lost'', and the 100th episode overall. It originally aired on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) in the United States on April 29, 2009. The hundredth episode milestone ...

(

) and

(

) witness a young Eloise Hawking (

Alice Evans Alice Evans (born 2 August 1968) is a former British-American actress. Early life Evans was born in Summit, New Jersey, to British parents, mathematician David Evans and teacher Janet Evans. She was raised in Bristol, and attended Henbury sch ...

) kill her adult son

(

) in the Others' camp. As Jack and Kate debate whether they should follow through with Faraday's plan to detonate a hydrogen bomb in order to change future events, they are attacked and captured by the younger version of Charles Widmore (David S. Lee). Eloise believes their claim of being from the future and decides to take Jack's advice to detonate the bomb. They travel with

(

) to a pond, which has an underwater entry to a series of tunnels in which the bomb is stored. The tunnels lie beneath the site of the

Dharma Initiative The Dharma Initiative, also written DHARMA (Department of Heuristics and Research on Material Applications), is a fictional research project and organization featured in the television series '' Lost''. It was introduced in the second season ep ...

's barracks. Kate does not want to take part in Jack's plan and leaves. However, an Other refuses to let her go, prompting an unseen

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 ...

(

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 Primet ...

) to shoot the Other. Sayid agrees to Jack's plan, but Kate still refuses and compares Jack to John Locke (

), whom Jack once regarded as crazy. She leaves for the barracks and the others enter the tunnels. At the Dharma Initiative barracks,

(

) and

(

) are being held captive by Horace Goodspeed (

Doug Hutchison Doug Anthony Hutchison (born May 26, 1960) is an American character actor, known for playing disturbing and antagonistic characters. Such characters include Obie Jameson in the 1988 film '' The Chocolate War'', Sproles in the 1988 film '' Fresh H ...

), Stuart Radzinsky (Eric Lange) and Phil ( Patrick Fischler). Sawyer does not answer any of Radzinsky's questions, even after he is severely beaten and witnesses Phil strike Juliet. Meanwhile, Dr. Pierre Chang (

) confronts

( Jorge Garcia),

(

), and

(

) as they ready their escape to the beach. He wants to know if Faraday was correct concerning time travel. Chang asks Hurley time-specific questions which he fails to answer correctly; Hurley then concedes they are indeed from the future. Miles confirms that he is Chang's son, and supports Faraday's request for the island to be evacuated. Chang informs Horace and Radzinsky of this, and Sawyer makes a deal to leave the island on the submarine in exchange for telling them what they want to hear. Sawyer and Juliet, followed by Kate, are placed aboard the submarine in handcuffs. The sub departs.

2007

In 2007, following the events of the episode " Dead is Dead," Locke meets with Richard at the Others' camp and tells him that he now has a purpose. Sun-Hwa Kwon (

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 ...

) confronts Richard about the fate of her husband and the other survivors stranded in the past. Richard grimly informs her that he watched them all die. Locke, Richard, and

Ben Linus Benjamin Linus is a fictional character portrayed by Michael Emerson on the ABC television series '' Lost''. Ben was the leader of a group of island natives called the Others and was initially known as Henry Gale to the survivors of Oceanic Flig ...

(

) travel to the location where the time-jumping Locke will appear, so that Richard can remove the bullet from his leg and tell him what needs to be done (as seen in " Because You Left"). They return to camp, where Locke speaks to the Others and tells them that they are going on a trip to see Jacob, from whom they take orders but have never met. Locke tells Sun that Jacob will know how to save their friends. However, he later admits to Ben that his plan is not to ask Jacob for help, but to kill him.

Reception

This episode gained 8.70 million American viewers, the lowest number in Lost's history. In Australia, it brought in 266,000 viewers, ranking forty-ninth for the night.

References

External links

"Follow the Leader"
at ABC * {{DEFAULTSORT:Follow The Leader (Lost) Lost (season 5) episodes 2009 American television episodes