“The Beginning of the End” was the premiere episode of Season 4 of Lost, and was broadcast on January 31, 2008. Feeling that their rescue is close at hand, the survivors don’t know whether to believe Charlie’s final message that the people on the boat are not who they claim to be.
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Synopsis
On the Island
Hurley and Bernard talking by the shore.
Hurley stands beside the DHARMA van and radios Jack to find out the situation. Jack confirms that he has talked to the people on the boat and that they are on their way to pick them up. Hurley is ecstatic while Jack tells Hurley they’re going to meet them by the beach and he’s got to pack his bag. Jack winks arrogantly at Ben. Hurley runs off to the others to tell them the “good news”. While standing by the shore with Bernard, he admits that he won the lottery but believes it to be a curse. However, he figures that since he’s been presumed dead in the crash, his money will be all gone and he will be “free.” Hurley says he wants to do a cannonball dive into the ocean, reveling in his sense of escape. Bernard agrees and encourages Hurley. When Hurley surfaces he sees everyone pulling Desmond’s outrigger onto the beach. He immediately notices that Charlie is not with them and heads over to investigate.
Desmond informs everyone about Charlie’s death and his final message. They begin arguing over what to do. Sawyer wants to tell Jack over the radio but Sayid cautions against it, warning that the freighter people may be listening in. When Sawyer starts to argue, Hurley grabs the walkie-talkie out of his hand and throws it into the ocean. The group then grabs their guns and proceeds to head out to rendezvous with Jack and the rest of the survivors.
At the radio tower, Jack and the rest of the survivors are preparing to be rescued. Ben asks Rousseau to take Alex and flee as far away as possible. He believes that everyone who is with Jack’s group will die. When Ben refers to Alex as his daughter, Rousseau strikes him.
Jack and Kate discuss their imminent rescue.
Jack and Kate discuss their imminent rescue. Jack promises that if he sees Locke he will kill him. At this point they receive an incoming call from the sat phone. Minkowski informs them that their signal is weak and wants them to readjust it. Jack offers to do so but Minkowski asks for Naomi. Not wanting to reveal that Naomi is dead, Jack tells Minkowski that she is looking for firewood. He tells Minkowski that he will try and find her, but when he turns around Naomi is gone. Rousseau finds a trail of blood which she, Jack and a captive Ben prepare to follow. At the same time Kate informs Jack that she has found a separate trail and thinks Naomi may be trying to trick them. Jack says that Naomi is injured and is not thinking about creating dummy trails. Kate seemingly agrees, hugs Jack and, unbeknownst to him, steals the satellite phone.
Jack, Rousseau and Ben follow a false trail, and when the trail ends Jack realizes that the phone is missing. Ben admits that he saw Kate take the phone but said nothing. He remarks that at least Kate knows what she is doing.
Kate, as Naomi drops onto her.
Meanwhile, Kate heads into the jungle to find Naomi. Eventually she receives a phone call from Minkowski. When he asks again to speak to Naomi, she says that they’re looking for her, then abruptly hangs up the phone. She then notices blood dripping on her from above, and looks up just in time to see Naomi dropping onto her from an overhanging limb. Naomi holds a knife to Kate’s throat and accuses the survivors of trying to kill her and demands the phone. Kate manages to persuade her that the attack was Locke’s doing alone. Naomi then speaks with George, and says that she has been injured, but lies and says that she sustained her injuries in her fall onto the island (an injury which she did actually sustain, but had healed from). She reconfigures the phone to allow the freighter to reacquire her signal, then apologizes to George and asks her to tell her sister that she loves her. Naomi then dies from her stab wound.
Hurley peeking inside the cabin.
As the group from the beach trek through the jungle Hurley begins to fall behind. As he loses sight of the other survivors Jacob’s cabin appears in a nearby clearing. Hurley hears the whispers, and suddenly a light appears in the cabin’s window. Approaching carefully, Hurley looks through a broken window and sees Christian Shepard in the rocking chair. A figure moves quickly in front of the window and an eye appears, looking back at Hurley. Frightened, Hurley drops his torch and runs from the cabin. However, when he does so he finds himself running towards the cabin again, yet it is in a different spot. He begins to yell for help and eventually, through concentration, seems to make the cabin disappear. Just when he does so he sees Locke.
Jack is pointing the gun at Locke.
Hurley and Locke discuss Charlie’s death and the general situation. Locke argues that if they allow Jack to contact the people on the boat then Charlie will have died for nothing. They head off into the jungle and eventually catch up with Sayid and the others from the beach group, who have arrived at the cockpit.
The survivors choose their side.
Sayid begins to argue with Locke, especially about why he blew up the submarine. Just as Locke is about to respond, they hear faint whispers. The group from the radio tower has arrived. Hurley tells Claire that Charlie is dead and they console each other. Jack, who has previously told Kate he intends to murder Locke, sneaks up on him, knocks him to the ground, grabs the gun and aims at Locke’s head. Locke says, “You’re not going to shoot me,” and Jack pulls the trigger. The gun clicks on an empty chamber. Jack begins to beat Locke and needs to be pulled off by other survivors.
Locke says that all he’s ever done has been in the best interest of the group. He tells everyone that it’s not in their interest to leave. He intends to go back to the Others’ barracks, since it’s the
Jack and Kate look at the plane.
most defensible place on the island and informs the rest of them, “If you want to live you’ll come with me.” Jack says that Locke is insane, that only crazy people would follow him and Locke always attempted to prevent their rescue. Jack believes that no one will go with Locke. Hurley speaks up to say that Locke isn’t crazy. He says that Charlie’s message has to be listened to, and he joins Locke. Jack is left speechless and says nothing. Next, Claire joins. Then two unnamed survivors, Rousseau, Ben (after asking permission from Jack), then Karl and Alex. To Kate’s surprise, Sawyer also goes with Locke, informing her that he’s “doing what I’ve always done. Surviving.” Bernard asks Rose if she wants to go with Locke and stay on the Island, since she had expressed her wish to do so before. She tells him, “I’m not going anywhere with that man.” Locke and his group leave.
“Are you Jack?”
Later, Jack and Kate are looking into the nose of the plane, reminiscing about Charlie and their trip to the cockpit. They hear a noise, which Kate initially mistakes for thunder, but which becomes clearer as the sound of a helicopter. They move into a clearing as a spotlight begins to stab down at them. They see a helicopter above, flying somewhat erratically. Something drops from the helicopter. They run towards it and see a parachutist. The parachutist removes his helmet and on seeing them asks, “Are you Jack?”
Flashforward
Hurley’s chase as Jack sees it at TV.
Jack is seen in his Los Angeles kitchen mixing a morning cocktail when his eye falls on TV coverage of police in hot pursuit of a speeding motorist. We watch the chase from an omniscient perspective as it comes to an end. A giant pile of papaya fruit explodes when the car drives through. Randy can be seen filming the end of the chase in the parking lot. The police command the driver out of his car, and it’s none other than Hurley who resists arrest while yelling, “I’m one of the Oceanic Six!”
“THEY NEED YOU.”
Hurley is in a police interrogation room where he is shown a video of himself in a convenience store paying at the cash register, then “freaking out” and running out of the store. He races out of the store and ends up in a police chase in which he crashes his Camaro. The cop interrogating him reveals that he knew Ana-Lucia Cortez, but Hurley denies knowing her. While Mike is out getting a donut, Hurley sees a vision of Charlie in a jacket swimming up to a window in the interrogation room, which is suddenly underwater, and touching his hand to the window, causing it to break and allowing water to rush in. On Charlie’s hand is written, “THEY NEED YOU.” The cop enters the room when Hurley begins screaming and threatens him with incarceration in a mental institution. Hurley, however, looks relieved to hear this, and thanks the cop and hugs him.
Matthew Abbadon at the mental institute.
Hurley is now back at the Santa Rosa Mental Health Institute and apparently happy. He is playing Connect Four when the orderly gives him his medicine and tells him he has a visitor. The man introduces himself as Matthew Abbadon and claims that he is an attorney for Oceanic Airlines. He tells Hurley that he wants to upgrade him to a nicer institute; one that’s in better condition, where he will have his own bathroom and where he can see the ocean. This frightens Hurley as he doesn’t want to see the ocean at all. Abbadon replies that is, “No problem.” When Hurley grows suspicious of Abbadon’s question and asks for a business card, the latter states that he must have left them at home. Hurley declines the offer, causing Abbadon to turn much more serious and ask, “Are they still alive?” Hurley looks startled and doesn’t know what to say, and Abbadon continues to try and provoke him about what he knows. Thinking the man is after him, Hurley has a fit and starts to yell for a nurse. As the orderlies constrain him, he glimpses back and sees Abbadon leave.
Hurley and Charlie at Santa Rosa.
Hurley is sitting on the grounds of the Hospital when Lewis comes over and says that a man is staring at him, he looks over to see Charlie. Hurley is shocked and starts to run away as Charlie tries to calm him down. Hurley states that he freaked out at the store because he saw him there, and that he can’t really be there since he’s dead. Charlie tells him that he really is there, and that he is indeed dead. After they talk about Charlie’s death, Charlie says Hurley has to do “something” that Hurley has been avoiding, and he claims the reason Hurley ran from him was because he knew he was there to “tell him”. Hurley says he doesn’t want to hear any more and closes his eyes and counts to five, while he does, Charlie tells him “don’t do this”, and then “You know they need you”. When Hurley opens his eyes, Charlie is gone.
Hurley plays HORSE with Jack at Santa Rosa.
A much more in control Jack than seen in Through the Looking Glass visits Hurley and plays a game of horse with him. The two begin the game talking about being noticed frequently. Jack says the reporters are leaving him alone and only gets asked for autographs while buying coffee. He also mentions to Hurley that he’s thinking of growing a beard. Hurley is glad to see him but wonders why he came. Jack, after losing a few shots to Hurley, asks if he is “going to tell.” Hurley doesn’t respond. Jack decides to leave and grabs his coat. Hurley says he’s sorry he went with Locke, and that he should have gone with Jack instead, but Jack says that it’s not an issue. Hurley wonders if they should go back to the Island and says “it” will do whatever it takes to bring them back. Jack says he will never go back to the Island, to which Hurley replies, “Never say never, dude,” as Jack exits the room.
Trivia
General
- While playing horse with Hurley, Jack gets the letters “H” and “O”. “H” is the 8th letter of the alphabet and “O” is the 15th - 815
- Behind Hurley as he’s freaking out over Abbadon there’s a small sculpture of the letters ‘HO’ on a shelf.
- Hurley mentions Charlie’s ghost showing up in the convenience store right next to the “Ho Ho’s”.
- There’s a red drawing with the text “Victory” on the wall at Santa Rosa’s. It is visible while Abbadon and Hurley are speaking.
- Hurley is painting a picture of an Eskimo and igloo when sitting outside on the Hospital grounds just before Lewis approaches him.
- Randy Nations is filming the end of the chase with a camera.
Production notes
- This is the first season premiere not to be Jack-centric, though the first flashforward is from Jack’s point-of-view and he is featured in the flashforward later in the episode.
- This is the first season premiere not to begin with a close up shot of someone’s eye.
- Dominic Monaghan is credited as regular, despite his being a guest star and his character being dead.
- This is consistent with other cast members who appear in the episode susequent to their death, even when only appearing as the dead body.
- Harold Perrineau, Ken Leung, and Rebecca Mader are credited as regulars, despite not appearing in this episode.
- The scene at Jacob’s cabin was also filmed with Hurley in the rocking chair. This might have been a red herring, to prevent leaks by the crew. Likewise, Hurley’s underwater vision was filmed in a aquarium, but Charlie was latter added in.[1]
Recurring themes
- Hurley’s car chase was aired on Channel 8. (The Numbers) (Car accidents)
- Hurley plays Connect Four in the mental institution. (Games)
- Jack and Hurley have their conversation while playing a basketball game called H-O-R-S-E. (Games)
- Hurley sees Jacob’s eye through the window of the cabin. (Eyes)
- Hurley is back at the Santa Rosa Mental Health Institute. (Isolation)
- Hurley lies about Ana-Lucia’s fate. (Deceptions and cons)
- Naomi covers for the survivors. (Deceptions and cons)
- Jack asks if Hurley is “going to tell.” (Secrets)
- Hurley has visions of Charlie (Dreams and visions)
- Hurley counts to five to make Charlie disappear. (Phrases)
- Matthew Abaddon sits in front of a chess board. (Games) (Black and white)
- When the survivor factions split, it starts raining (Rain)
Cultural references
| Cultural references in LOST (direct references only) |
|---|
| Art • Books • Cars • Games • Movies and TV • Music • Philosophy • Religion and ideologies |
- Abbadon: Abaddon is the name for the angel of the Abyss in Revelation. This angel does the work of God in binding Satan and hurling him into the Abyss. “Abaddon” means “destroyer,” or “destruction” in Hebrew. More precisely, this name comes from the Hebrew root word aleph-bet-daled, which means, “lost!”
- Ladybug: When Hurley is talking with Matthew Abbadon there is a lady bug on the wall near Abbadon’s head. The ladybug has 8 spots. In many cultures, the ladybug is a symbol for God/Holy Mary and also a symbol for the soul. (The Numbers) (Good vs. Evil)
- Star Trek. Sawyer refers to Desmond as “Scotty”. Montgomery Scott, or “Scotty”, is the engineer in the original Star Trek series. (Movies and TV)
- H-O-R-S-E (pronounced as “horse”) is a common, less athletic basketball game for smaller groups of players. The only skill required is shooting; no player is allowed to defend. With 2 players competing, player #1 is allowed to shoot from anywhere on the court and, if he makes the shot, then player #2 must duplicate the same shot from the same position. If player #2 misses, he receives the first “letter” from the word “horse”. However, if player #1 misses his original shot; then player #2 is now free to shoot from anywhere on the court and, hopefully, force player #1 to try and duplicate his made shots. A player is knocked out of the game once he has enough letters to spell out the word “horse.” (Games)
- Sawyer refers to Hurley as “Esé”. Esé is a common slang term used to refer to a fellow person of hispanic descent, most generally Mexicans.
Literary techniques
| Literary techniques |
|---|
| Flashbacks • Flashforwards • Irony • Juxtaposition • Archetype • Mindf*ck • Plot twist • Symbolism • Foreshadowing • Cliffhanger • Redshirt • Unseen character • Christ Figure |
- Events are seen that occur after Hurley and Jack get off the Island. These are not linear with those of the preceding episode (Flashforwards)
- Jack is considering growing a beard and isn’t yet convinced that they should return to the Island. (Foreshadowing)
- When Hurley hears he’s about to be rescued he expects to be free from his curse. However, he ends up in the Santa Rosa Mental Health Institute again. (Irony)
Episode references
The board in the back, similar to the Swan mural
- The title of the episode refers to Ben’s remark to Jack, “This’ll be your last chance, Jack. I’m telling you, making that call is the beginning of the end.” (”Through the Looking Glass“)
- Jack yells to Hurley, “We’re never going back!”, the opposite of what he said to Kate, “We have to go back!” (”Through the Looking Glass“)
- The Camaro driven by Hurley in the opening sequence is the car which he began to help his father fix as a young boy. (”Tricia Tanaka Is Dead“)
- Naomi tells Minkowski that she was injured when she parachuted onto the Island and was stabbed by a branch. Though this is not the injury that she is actually suffering from now, the incident did happen. (”Catch-22“) (”D.O.C.“)
- Jack tells Hurley that he’s thinking about growing a beard. (”Through the Looking Glass“)
- When Hurley is sitting and talking to Abaddon, a drawing is visible on a blackboard behind him: you can see a palm tree, some waves, a boat and the sun (looking like the one on the mural). There is also a shark, which may reference the shark that attacked the blown up raft. (”Man of Science, Man of Faith“) (”Adrift“)
- Christian Shephard is wearing a single white tennis shoe; this may be related to the shoe that was hanging from a branch close to where Jack woke up after the crash. (”Pilot, Part 1“)
- Jack and Kate reminisce about the time they came out together at the front-section plane wreckage. (”Pilot, Part 1“)
Unanswered questions
| Unanswered questions |
|---|
|
- For fan theories about these unanswered questions, see: The Beginning of the End/Theories
- Is Hurley still rich?
- Why did Naomi cover for the survivors?
- Who is Naomi’s sister?
- Who are the other three people in the “Oceanic Six“?
- Are the Oceanic Six the only survivors who leave the island?
- Why does Hurley deny that he knows Ana Lucia?
- What is Christian Shepard doing in Jacob’s cabin?
- Who was the one looking at Hurley through the cabin window?
- What was the meaning of Hurley’s vision of Charlie?
- Who needs Hurley’s help, according to Charlie?
- What is the “something” Charlie wants Hurley to do?
- How can Lewis see Charlie?
- Is Lewis a hallucination?
- What did Jack mean when he asked Hurley if he was “going to tell”?
- What are the Oceanic Six hiding, and why?
- Why didn’t Desmond go with “Locke’s Team”?
- Why does Hurley later regret having gone with Locke?
- Has Locke’s bullet wound healed?
- Who is Matthew Abbadon?
- Who is the “they” he asks Hurley about and are “they” alive?
- What are Matthew Abbadon’s motives behind his offer to move Hugo to a different institute?
- Does he really work for Oceanic Airlines?
- Where is Leonard Simms?
- How much time has passed since the Flash Forward in The Beginning of the End and when the Oceanic Six left the Island?
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
“Who was the one looking at Hurley through the cabin window?”
i thought it was locke….didn’t get a good look, but i thought it was his eye.
Yes I think it looked like Locke as well from the captures that I’ve seen of it. Could have been either him or Jacob, but we’ve only seen Jacob for a fraction of a second, so it’s difficult to remember what he might have looked like.
I saw something online that it was Christian Sheppard, Jack’s Dad….interesting, huh?