316

"316" redirects here. For other uses of "316", see 316 (disambiguation).

"316"
Season	5
Episode number	6
Airdate(s)	18 February 2009
Flashback	Jack
Writer	Damon Lindelof & Carlton Cuse
Director	Stephen Williams
Guests	Raymond J. Barry - Ray Shephard Jeff Fahey - Frank Lapidus Fionnula Flanagan - Eloise Hawking Mary Mara - Jill Zuleikha Robinson - Ilana Saïd Taghmaoui - Caesar
Co-stars	Glen Bailey - Magician Patti Hastie - Barfly P.D. Mani - Nabil Kavita Patil - Rupa Krishnavani Ned Van Zandt - Mr. Dorsey
Uncredited	Rebecca Hazlewood – Nalini
Transcript	316 transcript

"316" is the sixth episode of Season 5 of Lost and the 89th overall. It was originally broadcast on February 18, 2009. The way back to the Island is revealed to members of the Oceanic 6, but there's trouble ahead when not all of them wish to return.

Synopsis

Off-Island (flashback)

2008

In Los Angeles, Eloise Hawking takes Jack, Sun, Ben, and Desmond into the basement of the church. There she opens a blast door, revealing a room containing a map, a Foucault pendulum, and various computers. She announces that this is a DHARMA Initiative station called The Lamp Post. They look around the room and Jack asked Ben if he knew this existed. Ben says "no". When Jack questions Eloise to see if Ben is telling the truth, she says "probably not".

The Lamp Post

Eloise explains that The Lamp Post was created years ago by the DHARMA Initiative as a way to find the Island. They knew that it existed but not where it was. Then, one day, one of the men realized that the Island was moving and worked out a series of formulas in order to predict where the Island would appear in the future. Using those calculations she has predicted where the Island will be in thirty six hours. As she is explaining this, Jack observes the room noticing the calculations on the chalkboard and a large photograph taken of the Island by the U.S. Army marked "9/23/54 - U.S. Army - OP 264- Top Secret - Eyes Only". After hearing Eloise's talk, Desmond realizes that Jack intends to return to the Island and delivers the message that Eloise's son, Daniel Faraday, sent him there to tell her that Daniel and everyone on the Island needs her help. Desmond says they are being used and he is finished with the Island. Eloise tells him the Island wasn't finished with him before he storms off. Eloise hands Jack a binder that contains lists of flights from different airlines and their coordinates ("openings"). Eloise then informs Jack that Ajira Airways Flight 316 to Guam will be heading over the coordinates where the Island will be and that all of his friends must be on that flight.

Eloise asks to see Jack alone and takes him to another room of the church which appears to be her office. She gives Jack an envelope containing Locke’s suicide note. She explains that Jack must recreate the crash of 815 as closely as possible. Locke will act as a proxy for Christian Shephard, and Jack needs to give Locke something belonging to his father. Jack is skeptical, but Eloise tells him “That’s why it’s called a leap of faith.”

Jack and Ben at the church

In the main hall of the church, Jack approaches Ben, who is sitting in a forward pew with his hands together up to his nose as though praying, with his eyes open. Jack asks where Sun is; Ben says she left. Jack asks about Locke and his coffin, which Ben tells him he will pick up on his way to the airport. As Ben walks to the votive candles and lights one, both men ask each other about Eloise, but neither provides answers. Ben looks at the painting positioned above the candles: The Incredulity of Saint Thomas by Caravaggio. Ben tells Jack about Thomas the Apostle, noting Thomas’ bravery was not his claim to fame, but his doubt was. Jack asks if Thomas was ever convinced and Ben says, “We’re all convinced sooner or later, Jack.” Ben walks toward the doors, and Jack asks where he’s going to which Ben replies, “Oh, I made a promise to an old friend of mine--just a loose end that needs tying up”. Jack turns and looks again at the Caravaggio.

Jack's grandfather, Ray

Later, while sitting in a bar with a seemingly untouched drink in front of him, Jack receives a phone call from an assisted living facility. There, an official tells Jack that the resident in question attempted to run away and that if it happens again they will have to transfer him to another facility. In a common room, Jack greets an elderly man named Ray. Ray, who is revealed to be Jack’s grandfather, had attempted to run away from his retirement home, going so far as to pack a suitcase. As Jack helps his grandfather unpack he notices a pair of black dress shoes. Ray explains that the shoes were among Christian’s belongings which Margo had sent to Ray following Christian's death. Jack asks to take the shoes, and Ray readily gives them to him.

Jack and Kate kiss and make up

Jack returns home and pours himself a drink (but does not drink it), then hears a suspicious noise. Going into his bedroom he finds Kate lying on his bed in tears. She asks if he is still planning on returning to the Island and then offers to return with him. When Jack asks why she changed her mind and where Aaron is she tells him to never ask her that question again. Kate then kisses Jack passionately.

The next morning, Jack prepares coffee and orange juice for Kate. She notices Christian's shoes, and Jack explains why he had put white tennis shoes on his father’s body back in Sydney. Kate leaves, telling Jack that she will meet him at the airport. After she leaves Jack receives a phone call from a drenched and bloodied Ben, who is calling from a pay phone at what appears to be Long Beach Marina. He claims that he has been “sidetracked” and that Jack should retrieve Locke’s body from Simon’s Butcher Shop. Jack travels to the butcher shop where he is let in by Jill. In the freezer, Jack opens Locke’s coffin and replaces Locke’s shoes with his father’s. He then places Locke’s unopened suicide note in Locke’s jacket, claiming that he’s “heard everything you have to say” and closes the casket.

Jack books an Ajira ticket

At the airport, Jack makes arrangements with the gate attendant for transporting Locke’s body. While doing so, he sees Kate arrive, apparently trying to look discreet in sunglasses and with her head down. As he heads towards the gate a man offers his condolences. He then runs into Sun, who says that if there is the slightest chance of Jin being alive she needs to return to the Island. As they head to the gate they see Sayid, apparently handcuffed, and being accompanied by a woman, apparently a federal marshall. At the gate, Hurley, who is carrying a guitar case, informs the Ajira employee that he has purchased all the remaining available seats on the flight, but not why. It is implied that it is to save innocent people from any forthcoming crash.

As the flight is about to close their doors, Ben comes running up at the last minute with his boarding pass. Hurley becomes agitated at Ben’s presence because he was told Ben "is not supposed to come" but Jack assures him that Ben is necessary. As Ben takes his seat, one of the flight attendants tells Jack that security had found something of his in the cargo hold and hands him Locke’s suicide note.

A sober Lapidus is revealed

Once the plane reaches 30,000 feet, the captain turns off the "fasten seat belts" sign. Jack moves up a few rows and sits with Kate. He remarks how crazy all this is and how it's weird that they are all together again. Kate says "We're on the same plane, it doesn't mean we are together." The captain makes an announcement welcoming them to Ajira Airlines and informing them that he is Captain Frank J. Lapidus. Jack asks the flight attendant to tell Frank about his presence. A clean-shaven Frank comes out and happily greets Jack saying he "picked up this gig about 8 months ago.", but then he sees Hurley, Sayid, Sun, Ben and Kate. Upon seeing them he asks “We’re not going to Guam, are we?”

It is now night, and on the plane Ben is reading Ulysses. Jack asks him how he can read, and Ben sarcastically answers "my mother taught me. " Ben then "gives him some privacy" so he can read the letter in peace. Jack then opens and reads Locke’s suicide note, which simply states: “Jack, I wish you had believed me. JL.” Ben is then seen walking swiftly to the front of the plane and shortly afterwards, the plane encounters turbulence. As everyone buckles up, the turbulence increases and eventually the plane is engulfed in a flash of white light reminiscent of the flashes that accompany the abrupt changes in time on the Island.

On the Island

Unknown time

Jack, Kate, and Hurley are back on the Island

The first and last scene starts like the opening scene of the pilot. Jack’s eye opens as he awakens in a bamboo grove, dressed in a suit. He looks around in amazement then notices he's holding a torn piece of paper on which the words “I wish” are legible. We are to assume this is from John Locke's suicide letter to Jack. Jack hears Hurley crying for help and runs through the jungle, along a stream, and to the top of a waterfall, where he sees Hurley flailing in the pool below, struggling to hold on to a guitar case.

Jin, lowering his carbine

Jack dives into the water and helps Hurley out of the deep part of the water. They notice Kate lying unconscious on the side of the pool, and hurry over where Jack awakens her and informs her that they’ve successfully returned to the Island.

None of them remember actually crashing and none have seen any other survivors, or wreckage of the plane. Jack suggests that they split up and search for survivors but before they can do anything they hear music. Looking at the jungle by the pool they see a new looking DHARMA van pull up. A man in a DHARMA jumper gets out and points a carbine at the three survivors. They then recognize him and the man lowers his carbine; it is an astonished Jin.

Trivia

General

File:Dharma-sheriff.png

• The episode's title refers to the flight number of the plane that returns the Oceanic Six to the Island.
  • Coincidentally, the number of passengers on Flight 815, subtracting those who survived and at one point escaped the Island (Jack, Kate, Sayid, Sun, Hurley, Locke, Michael, and Walt) is 324 - 8 = 316.
• Behind the plane that the Oceanic Six are taking off from you can see an Oceanic Airlines jet.
• Behind the passengers being screened for departure is a poster for Oceanic Airlines.
• The DHARMA logo on Jin's jumpsuit is mostly obscured by his collar, but appears to be a five-pointed sheriff's star.
• A photo of the Island taken for the U.S. Army can be seen on The Lamp Post's board. It is labeled "9/23/54" (9+2+3+5+4=23).
  • This is coincidentally one day shy of being exactly fifty years before Oceanic Flight 815 crashed on the Island.
• The book that Hurley is reading at the airport is book three of the collected comic book series Y: The Last Man, written by Brian K. Vaughn. Vaughn is one of the writers and producers of Lost.

Production notes

• Daniel, Juliet, Miles, and Sawyer do not appear in this episode.
• Jin, Sayid and Locke appear with no lines.
• According to Jorge Garcia's personal blog, the scenes by the Waterfall were filmed on November 4, 2008, which was the day of the presidential election.
• This episode was originally intended to be the seventh of the season, but later it was decided to switch the airing order with "The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham". This is only the third time in the show's history that the order of episodes has been switched, the first being in Season One, and the second being "The Glass Ballerina" and "Further Instructions". (Information from the Official Podcast)

Bloopers and continuity errors

• When Jack goes to retrieve Locke's coffin, it's obvious that the meat locker it's in is not cold, otherwise we'd see Jack's breath as he is putting his father's shoes on Locke's body, and while he is talking to Locke's corpse.

• • The body is in a cutting room, not a meat locker. Cutting rooms are not kept at freezing temperatures.

• On the return from a commercial break, Jack and Ben have traded seats on the plane.

Recurring themes

• The episode begins with Jack's eye opening. (Eyes)
• A screen that reads "46 Hours Earlier." (The Numbers)  (Black and white)
• When Ben says he had not known about the Lamp Post and Jack asks Eloise if that is true, she answers, "probably not." (Deceptions and Cons)
• While in the Lamp Post station, Jack sees a photo of the Island dated September 23,1954 (The Numbers)
• The photo of the Island Jack sees is classified as for "U.S. Army eyes only." (Eyes)
• The coordinate board in the Lamp Post. (Black and white)
• Desmond tells Ms. Hawking that going to the Island has cost him 4 years of his life. (The Numbers)
• Ben tells Jack a story from the Bible, specifically from the New Testament. (Religion)
• Ray has made 4 failed attempts to escape from his retirement home. (The Numbers)  (Imprisonment)
• A white rabbit with black spots appears during a magic show Ray is watching. (Animals)  (Black and white)
• It's revealed that Locke hanged himself. (Life and death)  (Sacrifice)  (Secrets)
• Locke's suicide note and envelope. (Black and white)
• Jack decides to open Locke's suicide note after noting that it has "been following" him. (Fate versus free will)
• Jack tells Kate that he didn't feel that his father was worth "a nice new pair of shoes," or "the time it would take to go out and get them". (Parent Issues)
• Right after checking in at the airport with Locke's coffin, as Jack is looking toward the screening area, the gate numbers 1-15 and 16-42 can be seen over the metal detectors. (The Numbers)
• Jack is seated in row 8 on Ajira Airways Flight 316 which departed from Gate 15. (The Numbers)
• The sign of Gate 15. (Black and white)
• Hurley spends the money he won from the lottery to pay for 78 extra seats on Flight 316 to save innocent passengers. (Sacrifice)
• Sayid is in police custody on the plane. (Imprisonment)
• Frank is clean-shaven and has worked with Ajira Airways for the past 8 months. (Redemption)  (The Numbers)
• Frank calls Jack, "Doc." (Nicknames)
• The front cover of Ulysses. (Black and white)
• Ben tells Jack his mother taught him to read, but his mother died in childbirth. (Relationships)  (Parent Issues)  (Deceptions and Cons)

Storyline analysis

• Jack, Kate and Hurley return to the Island, possibly along with Ben, Sayid, Sun, and Frank. (A-Missions)
• Kate loses Aaron. (Relationships)
• A law enforcer is escorting Sayid. (Crimes)

Cultural references

• Y: The Last Man: Hurley is seen reading a Spanish translation of the trade paperback Y: The Last Man Vol. 3: One Small Step. This comic book series is about the sole survivor of a deadly plague that wiped out every male on the planet Earth. It is written by Brian K. Vaughan who is also a writer on Lost. (Books)
• The Chronicles of Narnia: The DHARMA Initiative station, The Lamp Post is a reference to The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe and The Magician's Nephew, the first and sixth books in the Narnia series (1st & 6th, in publication order, but 2nd & 1st in reading order). In the books, a lamp post marks the passage between Narnia and the real world. In the episode, The Lamp Post serves a similar function with regard to the Island. In addition, the opening scene of the episode is a reference to the first chapter of Prince Caspian, the second book in the Narnia series (2nd by publication date, but 4th by reading order). In the chapter, entitled The Island, the children in the book return to Narnia via a mysterious Island with ancient ruins. The first thing they do is play in the water. (Books)
• Ulysses: Ben is seen reading Ulysses by James Joyce on Flight 316 before he leaves his seat. The novel is a story about the journey through Dublin on a single day (June 16, 1904) by its main character, Leopold Bloom. Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse told viewers to read this book on one of the Dharma Special Access videos. A quote from page 316 of the novel is also hidden in the source code of the Ajira Airways website. The final chapter is named "Penelope". (Books) Fionnula Flanagan who plays Mrs. Hawking is famous for the role of Molly Bloom in stage and film, including "James Joyce's Women" and "Joyce to the World."
• The Bible: John 3:16 -- "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." John Locke's suicide note states that Jack should have believed. Eloise told Jack to start believing. Ben told Jack that everyone believes sooner or later. Each of the Oceanic 6 that boards the plane ultimately believes that the flight will return them to the island and does not perish during the crash. This verse is also hidden in the source code of the Ajira Airways website. (Religion)
• The Bible: Psalm 119:105 "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path." The Lamp Post station is used to identify the future location of the island and guides people back to it. This well known verse from the Psalms figuratively uses the lamp as important for people to find their way. (Religion)
• The Bible: Ben tells Jack the story from The Gospel of John about Saint Thomas the Apostle, who is not remembered by the incredible bravery he modeled when he insisted that the disciples should follow Jesus to Judea, even if that meant their deaths, but rather he is remembered by his doubt concerning the bodily resurrection of Christ, a doubt only mitigated by putting his hands in Jesus's wounds. (Religion)
• The Incredulity of Saint Thomas: Ben looks at this painting by Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (29 September 1571 – 18 July 1610). This painting illustrates the Biblical story of Thomas doubting Jesus' resurrection. "Doubting Thomas" is a phrase used to describe someone who is very skeptical about something. (Art)
• Le Petit Prince: The Little Prince visits an asteroid that rotates every minute. Its inhabitant, the Lamplighter, must constantly light, extinguish, and relight the Lamp Post on the asteroid. (Books)
• The Langoliers: In the Stephen King novel, an airplane takes off from Los Angeles and while in midair in travels through a time warp, leaving only a handful of survivors while the rest of the people on board disappear. For the survivors to travel back through the warp (or window) to their own time, they must recreate several key conditions of their original pass through said window.
• Foucault's Pendulum: In addition to the pendulum in the Lamppost being an example of Foucault's Pendulum, the scene further references the novel by the same name when Eloise Hawking describes the station as being built on a source of magnetic energy that connects to other sources around the world, including the Island. This same idea is often discussed in the novel and these connections are referred to as "telluric currents." Foucault's Pendulum was written by Umberto Eco, whose name is a homonym of Eko.

(Books)
The episode aired on Feb. 18. On this day there are exactly 316 days left in the year.

Literary techniques

• Jack dives into and rises out of the pond. Writers have used this age-old literary device (i.e. baptism) to symbolize that someone has accepted another person's plea for forgiveness of their past transgressions and has granted them a chance at a new and better life. (Symbolism)
• Sayid is seemingly under arrest on the flight, being watched by a officer similar to Kate and Edward Mars. (Juxtaposition)
• Hugo is carrying a guitar case, seemingly in place of Charlie Pace. (Symbolism) (Juxtaposition)
• At the bar Jack's face is split in half by blue and yellow light symbolizing his internal struggle to believe what Eloise has told him. He then gets a call from his grandfather's nursing home which eventually convinces him to do as Eloise instructed. (Symbolism)
• Jack is still tempted by alcohol, in a parallel of Christian; however, he never drinks, symbolizing that he is making progress in his recovery, and is making different choices from his father. (Symbolism) (Juxtaposition)
• At the airport, Hurley tells Jack, "Let's do this". (Regularly spoken phrases)
• A Dharma worker pulls up in a new VW bus and pulls a gun on Jack, Kate and Hurley. It is shown that this worker is in fact Jin. (Plot twist)

Episode references

• There are several parallels between the original passengers of Flight 815 and the partial Oceanic Six aboard Flight 316:
  • The body of John Locke is travelling the cargo hold, acting as a "proxy" for Christian Shephard aboard Flight 815. ("Pilot, Part 1")
  • Sayid is handcuffed, travelling in custody, just as Kate was transported by Edward Mars. ("Pilot, Part 2")
  • Hurley is carrying a guitar of mysterious origin, just as Charlie brought his own guitar. ("Exodus, Part 2")
  • Sun is fingering Jin's wedding ring, just as Rose was holding onto Bernard's ring during Flight 815. ("Tabula Rasa")
  • Frank Lapidus, the pilot, was originally supposed to fly Oceanic flight 815. ("Confirmed Dead")
  • Ben, despite being "sidetracked," makes the flight at the last possible minute, mirroring Hurley's mad rush to the airport in 2004. ("Exodus, Part 2")
  • Ben also gets up to go to the bathroom, mirroring Charlie in the original crash.
  • Hurley has another Spanish-language comic book to keep him entertained. ("Exodus, Part 2")
  • Kate is breaking the agreement of her settlement, running from the law.
• Ben tells Jack he is going to fulfil a promise to an "old friend". ("The Shape of Things to Come")
• Jack awakens in the jungle and hears cries for help, leading him to run off to save the other people from the plane, just as he did when 815 crashed. He is wearing clothing similar to what he wore the day Flight 815 crashed on the Island, including a black tie with a white pattern. ("Pilot, Part 1")
• Jack explains why Christian wears white tennis shoes in his apparitions. ("Pilot, Part 1")  ("Walkabout")  ("So It Begins")
• Hurley and Kate land by the waterfall they previously visited. ("Whatever the Case May Be")
• The coordinate finder in the Lamp Post resembles the countdown timer in the Swan. ("Live Together, Die Alone, Part 1")
• Ms. Hawking says, “That’s why it’s called a leap of faith, Jack." These are the same words Helen spoke to Locke outside his father's home, and Locke paraphrases to Jack when urging him to push the button on the Swan's computer for the first time. ("Orientation")
• Jack has a drink in the bar at LAX, where his father met Ana Lucia three years prior. ("Two for the Road")
• Ray is watching a magician do a trick with a white rabbit. ("Every Man for Himself") ("There's No Place Like Home, Part 2")
• Desmond references having previously met Ms. Hawking. ("Flashes Before Your Eyes")
• Desmond defies Ms. Hawking's advice. ("Flashes Before Your Eyes")
• When questioned about his relationship to Jeremy Bentham, Jack says that he is a friend. When he was at the funeral parlor, Jack said that he was neither friend nor family. ("Through the Looking Glass, Part 1")
• Locke's letter to Jack is a reference to their argument by the Orchid right before Jack flew to the freighter specifically and to their conflict of faith versus science in general. ("There's No Place Like Home, Part 2")
• Jack emerges from the water after arriving on the Island in the same way that Ana Lucia does in The Other 48 Days and Jack does in There's No Place Like Home, Parts 2 & 3.
• Desmond warns Jack not to trust what Ben and Ms. Hawking tell him to do, recalling Sayid's advice to Hurley. ("Because You Left")
• The photograph of the Island is dated 23 September 1954, the same year that the United States military brought "Jughead" to the Island. It was also classified TOP SECRET and marked for limited distribution to "U.S. Army eyes only". ("Jughead")
  • September 23, 1954 is exactly fifty years prior to "Day 2" on the Island after the original crash of Flight 815.
• In regards to Christian's shoes, Kate asks Jack why he would "hold on to something that [made him] feel sad?" Kate held on to her toy airplane for years, even though it reminded her of Tom Brennan's death. ("Whatever the Case May Be")
• Ms. Hawking refers to the Lamp Post and the Island as "unique pocket[s] of electromagnetic energy. That energy connects to similar pockets all over the world." Isaac of Uluru also refers to these pockets, citing Uluru as one, when Rose and Bernard went to see him. ("S.O.S.")

• There is a Virgin Mary statue on Ms. Hawking's desk that was identical to those on the drug runner's plane. ("The 23rd Psalm")

Unanswered questions

Unanswered questions
Do not answer the questions here. Keep the questions open-ended and neutral: do not suggest an answer. More details...

For fan theories about these unanswered questions, see: 316/Theories

• How do Jack, Hurley and Kate get to the Island from the plane?
• Where are Ben, Sun, Sayid, Frank, and the rest of Flight 316?
• Who tells Hurley which flight to take?
  • Why does he have a guitar case and is there a guitar inside?
• What year is it on the island?
• Why is Sayid handcuffed and being escorted on the plane?
  • Who is the woman accompanying Sayid?
• Who is the man in first class of Flight 316 with the Oceanic Six?
• Why wasn't Walt on the plane?
• Why is Jin wearing a new DHARMA coverall, and driving a new VW van?
• How does Eloise Hawking know that John Locke hanged himself?
• How does Ms. Hawking end up with Locke's suicide note?
• How does Eloise Hawking end up running the Lamp Post?
• Who took the U.S. Army Island photo and brought it to the Lamp Post and why?
• Who is the man that Hawking says conceived the equations that predict the Island's movements?
  • What is his relation to Eloise?
• What happens to Kate during the period when she left the rest of the group and reappeared in Jack's bedroom? Where did she go between the time she left for coffee and the plane departed hours later?
  • Where is Aaron and why does she demand that Jack not ask about his whereabouts?
• Why is Ben injured and drenched?
• What does the Island still want with Desmond?
  • Why did Eloise say "the island is not done with" Desmond?
• Is there a significance in the numbers 316?
• Is there a significance in the date or numbers on the photograph,9/23/1954?
• Is there a relation between the plane the Oceanic Six flew on and the Ajira bottle?
• Why did Ben need to "move the Island" if, as Eloise Hawking implies, it is always moving?

External links

• ABC Medianet Press Release (2/2/09): Press Release