Follow the Leader

Follow the Leader
Season	5
Episode number	15
Airdate(s)	May 6, 2009
Non-centric	1
Writer	Paul Zbyszewski & Elizabeth Sarnoff
Director	Stephen Williams
Guests	Nestor Carbonell as Richard Alpert Kevin Chapman as Mitch Alice Evans as Younger Eloise Hawking Patrick Fischler as Phil Doug Hutchison as Horace Goodspeed Eric Lange as Stuart Radzinsky David S. Lee as Younger Charles Widmore
Co-stars	Elisabeth Blake as Vanessa Victoria Goring as Jeanette Lewis Maya Henssens as Young Charlotte Lewis Leslie Ishii as Lara Chang William Makozak as Captain Bird Sebastian Siegel as Erik
Uncredited	Francois Chau as Pierre Chang
Transcript	Follow the Leader transcript

"Follow the Leader" is the fifteenth episode of Season 5 of Lost and the 101st produced hour of the series as a whole. After the death of Daniel in 1977, Jack and Kate work with Eloise and Richard to follow through with Daniel's plan to detonate the hydrogen bomb. In present time, Locke finally takes his place as leader of the Others and begins his new mission, with Richard's help. It was originally broadcast on May 6, 2009.

Synopsis

1977

Widmore holds a beaten Jack at gunpoint.

Jack and Kate discuss their options while hiding behind bushes at the Hostiles' camp. Suddenly, a gunshot is heard, and they watch Daniel collapse to the ground. As they are about to run away, they are surrounded by two men riding horses. One of them knocks out Jack with his rifle's butt and the other one aims at Kate.

Eloise questions Jack about her writings in Daniel's journal.

At the place Daniel was shot, Eloise skips through the pages of his journal. She reaches the first page, and is confused by the dedication in it, which she appears to recognize as her own handwriting. Charles Widmore and a man arrive, holding Jack and Kate captives. Richard explains the situation to Widmore. Eloise asks Jack and Kate if they've come with Daniel, to which Jack replies "Yes." She orders that they be taken to her tent. Widmore inquires why the DHARMA Initiative would declare war on them, but Eloise tells him that the three intruders are not DHARMA people. She assures them she'll believe whatever they say because she just killed her future son, the same man who told her to bury the bomb 23 years earlier before disappearing. Jack tells Ellie that by using the bomb, they can alter the future and undo what Ellie did to her future son.

Radzinsky beats up Sawyer, demanding to know where Kate is.

At the Barracks, Sawyer and Juliet are taken prisoner by Radzinsky. Both Phil and Radzinsky beat up Sawyer demanding to know where Kate is, but Sawyer refuses to tell. Phil then hits Juliet, and Horace later informs them that Hugo Reyes was working with Kate and Jack.

Miles, Jin and Hurley face a suspicious Chang.

Hurley, Miles and Jin escape the barracks, heading for the beach. Chang follows them and asks if they're really from the future. Hurley denies it. To determine the truth, Chang quizzes Hurley with questions relevant to 1977. Hurley struggles with the answers, being unsure of his birth year, the current president of the U.S., or whether the Korean War had yet occured. Flustered, Hurley finally admits that he's from the future and Chang believes him. Chang then asks Miles if it is true that he is his father, and Miles reluctantly affirms that he is. Having confirmed his suspicions Chang reveals that he now believes what Daniel told him about needing to evacuate the entire Island.

Chang returns to the Barracks and sees Horace, Radzinsky and the other men interrogating Juliet and a bloody and bruised Sawyer. He tells Horace, Radzinsky and the others to stop the drilling at The Swan and orders them to evacuate the Island. Radzinsky angrily insists on the continuing the drilling and when Chang appeals to Horace, Radzinsky claims that he is in charge now. Sawyer agrees with Chang and proposes a deal to Radzinsky: if he and Juliet can leave the Island on the submarine, he will tell Radzinsky everything he wants to know. As a result, he demands that Sawyer draws a map of the Hostiles' location. Sawyer and Juliet are then taken away to the sub.

Sayid kills an Other to protect Kate.

Eloise, Kate, Jack, Richard, and Erik come to the creek. As they stop to attempt to swim under the tunnels, Kate tells Jack she's going back. Erik threatens to shoot Kate if she tries to leave. There is a gunshot and Kate is shocked. She looks down and sees that she's not hit. Erik goes down and Sayid comes out of cover. He points his gun at Eloise and Richard as they put up their hands. Kate is allowed to leave the group and goes to the sub with Juliet and Sawyer. Sayid is told about changing the future, and he is convinced he has already done so by killing Ben, but Kate informs him that Ben is alive.

The Galaga leaves the island with Sawyer, Juliet and Kate on board.

At the Barracks over the loudspeakers a message is heard that the sub will leave in 30 minutes. People board the sub while Miles, Hurley, and Jin watch. They see Charlotte and her mom get out of a bus and head for the dock. Lara and baby Miles get out. Lara is arguing with Pierre. Pierre angrily tells them to leave. Adult Miles realizes that his father had to be harsh to his mother in order to save her life. Miles sees Juliet and Sawyer, still handcuffed, and brought in a jeep. Miles confused, hands binoculars to Hurley, who tells Miles that Sawyer probably has a plan.

Richard and Eloise uncover Jughead.

On the sub, Sawyer and Juliet are happily excited about leaving the island together, and both admit that they love each other. Phil drops down into the hatch and tells them he caught someone coming back to camp, and takes Kate down into the sub. Phil tells them to put Kate with the others and someone handcuffs her. Sawyer and Juliet look at each other. The vessel submerges and leaves the island with Sawyer, Juliet and Kate on board.

Richard, Jack, Eloise and Sayid swim down to the underground tunnels beneath the Barracks where the bomb is hidden. As they walk through the tunnels, Sayid whispers to Jack, "I'm sure it's occurred to you that this woman's motivation in helping us detonate the hydrogen bomb is only to annihilate the Dharma Initiative." Jack responds that her motivation can be trusted because Eloise will be the one to tell them how to get back to the island 30 years from now, but Sayid is not convinced. They come to a room and Eloise uncovers the bomb. She looks at the other two and says "Now what?" while everyone looks confused.

2007

Richard greets Locke, after 3 years of absence.

At the Others' camp, Richard is sitting at a table building a ship in a bottle on the beach, an Other named Vanessa informs Richard that "he's here." Locke arrives with a boar, followed by Ben and Sun. Richard questions that it's been three years since he last saw him, and wonders where he's been. Locke tells Richard that he has a new purpose, and needs Richard to come with him immediately. After Ben tells Sun that Richard has been around for "a very long time", Sun interrupts Locke and Richard with the 1977 DHARMA Recruits picture, asking Richard if he recognizes the people in it. Richard replies that he recognizes them, because he "watched them all die".

Locke promises Sun he will do his best to find Jin.

Later in a private conversation with Sun, Locke implies that he believes their time traveling friends are not dead. Locke asks Richard if he still has the compass he gave him three years ago, Richard says he does. Locke asks Ben to join him and Richard on the journey. Ben wonders if Locke doesn't trust him around his former people, but Locke isn't afraid of anything he can do anymore. Locke tells Sun to stay behind, and that he will be back in a few hours, and that she has his word that he will find a way for her and Jin to be reunited. Locke, Richard, and Ben then leave with the compass on into the jungle.

Ben and Locke watch Richard tend a time-traveling Locke.

During the trip Richard asks Locke where he has been the past three years, Locke is surprised he doesn't know. Locke tells him that they are going to the Beechcraft (where Locke flashed to during the Island's time movements), and after that they must find Jacob. When they have almost arrived, Locke tells Richard that he must treat a man's wound at the Beechcraft, and then tell him to bring everyone back to the Island, and to do this he has to die. Locke then tells Ben that the man is Locke himself.

While Richard tends to the time-traveling Locke, the other Locke tells Ben that he knows that Ben has never seen Jacob, which surprises Ben. Richard then tells Locke that he seems pretty convinced about what he made him do to his past-self, especially since he said to him that he was going to die, Locke tells Richard it was the right choice.

Locke reveals to the Others his intention of visiting Jacob.

The three then return to camp, where Locke makes a speech to all the Others present that he is going to see Jacob, and he would like them all to come with him. The Others are excited by this, with the exception of Richard who admits his worry to Ben, that Locke may be a problem in the future. Ben responds by telling Richard that's why he tried to kill him. Sun questions Locke and is assured by him that Jacob can help them bring Jin and the rest of their people back to the present, and that Richard has agreed to show them where they need to go.

The next morning, Locke and the Others leave to find Jacob. Ben then tells Locke of Richard's thoughts, that seeing Jacob makes him uncomfortable, but then reaffirms his allegiance to Locke's quest: to reunite with his friends in 1977. Locke lets Ben in on a secret; he's not interested in reuniting with his friends in 1977 and reveals that his true intentions, much to Ben's shock, are to kill Jacob.

Trivia

General

• This is the second time in which a character sees themselves due to time travel, the first being Miles seeing himself as a baby in Dr. Chang's house, and now when Locke watches as Richard removes the bullet from his other time-traveling self.

Production notes

• Desmond does not appear in this episode.
• For the second episode in a row, a scene from the season premiere is shown in a different context.
• Daniel's only lines are ones reused from "The Variable".
• The scene in "Because You Left" where Richard encounters the injured Locke is repeated in this episode without any additions or modifications.
• This episode has neither flashbacks nor flashforwards.

Bloopers and continuity errors

• The leak on Jughead was moved from the tip of the bomb to the body of the bomb.

  

  Jughead Leak

• Charles Widmore references Eloise being pregnant, presumably with Daniel. This would mean Daniel is, at most, 19 years old in 1996 when Desmond visited him as a professor at Oxford, though he was clearly much older.

Recurring themes

• Widmore and a Hostile attack Jack and Kate on horseback. (Animals)
• Locke brings in a dead boar to the Others' camp. (Animals)  (Life and death)
• Eloise puts Jack and Kate in her tent. (Imprisonment)  (Isolation)
• The Dharma Initiative interrogates Sawyer and Juliet in the surveillance room. (Imprisonment)  (Isolation)
• Dr. Chang asks Hurley if he's 46 years old. (The Numbers)
  • 23 × 2 = 46.
• Hurley tells Dr. Chang that he's from the future. (Time)
• Miles tells Dr. Chang that he's his son. (Relationships)  (Redemption)
• Sawyer calls Captain Bird, the captain of the Galaga, "Nemo". (Nicknames)
• Juliet tells Radzinsky that she and Sawyer are not bad people. (Good and bad people)
• Sayid has been living by himself since shooting Ben. (Isolation)
• Sayid kills Erik to keep him from killing Kate. (Life and death)
• Locke states that his reason for wanting to visit Jacob is to kill him. (Life and death)
• Jack tells Kate that it is their destiny to prevent the Swan Incident. (Fate versus free will)
• Richard tells Sun that he remembers seeing Jin, Kate and the others in 1977 because he watched them die. (Life and death)
• Ellie closes her son's eyes. (Eyes)
• Faraday died with eyes open. (Eyes) (Life and death)
• Widmore protests that Ellie shouldn't make the trip to the Jughead in her condition. (Pregnancy)

Storyline analysis

• Radzinsky replaces Horace as the Dharma Initiative's leader. (Leadership)
• Locke returns to lead the Others, overseeing a journey with the intent to kill Jacob. (Leadership)  (O-Missions)  (Crimes)
• Sayid kills Erik. (Crimes)
• Richard leads Eloise, Jack and Sayid to detonate Jughead. (O-Missions)
• Sawyer tells Juliet that he loves her. (Relationships)
• Jack finally admits that he may have been wrong and Locke may have been right about destiny. (Rivalries)(Fate versus free will)

Cultural references

• 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea: Sawyer calls one of the Galaga crewmen, Nemo. Nemo is the Captain of the submarine Nautilus in this book by Jules Verne. (Literary works)
• Korean War: Pierre asks Hurley if he fought in the Korean War (1950-1953), and Hurley replies that there is no such thing.
• Jimmy Carter: Pierre Chang asks Hurley about the president of the United States back in 1977, which is Jimmy Carter, who assumed office from 1977 until 1981.
• Microsoft: Sawyer tells Juliet they're going to invest in Microsoft as they're walking to the submarine.
• Dallas Cowboys: Sawyer tells Juliet they're going to bet on the Dallas Cowboys to win the 1978 Super Bowl as they're walking to the submarine.
• Out-of-body experience: While Richard helps time-traveling Locke, Ben tells to Locke: "This must be quite the out-of-body experience". (Science)

Literary techniques

• Erik abuses Jack and Kate in Eloise's tent, then the next scene shows Radzinsky abusing Sawyer in the surveillance room. (Juxtaposition)
• Sawyer yells "son of a bitch" when Phil hits Juliet. (Regularly spoken phrases)
• Kate goes back to rescue her friends, but instead is captured. (Irony)
• Erik journeys into the jungle with the important characters, only to be shot at a crucial moment by Sayid. (Redshirt)
• The Others stored the hydrogen bomb in the tunnels and Dharma built their barracks right on top of it. (Irony)
• Locke reveals to Ben that he intends to kill Jacob. (Plot twist) (Cliffhanger)
• Richard tells Sun that he remembers meeting Jack, Kate, and Hurley in 1977 because he "watched them all die." (Plot twist) (Mindf*ck)
• Until Locke took Richard to the Beechcraft, it seemed likely that he had told Richard about being shot during their meeting in 1954 in "Jughead." (Plot twist)
• John is the cause of his own death, since it was he who told Richard to tell the wounded Locke that he had to die. (Plot twist)(Mindf*ck)(Irony)

Episode references

• Richard mentions the last time he saw Locke, three years earlier. ("There's No Place Like Home, Part 2")
• Richard tells Locke that the rest of the Others are at the Temple, which is where they were ordered by Ben three years earlier. ("Through the Looking Glass, Part 2")
• Dr. Chang asks Hurley questions similar to the ones he was concerned the Dharma Initiative would ask him; namely, who the president was in 1977. ("Namaste")
• Kate and Juliet are handcuffed together. ("Left Behind")
• The events at the Beechcraft are witnessed from a different perspective. ("Because You Left")
• Jack tells Sayid that Eloise Hawking will help them to find the Island in the future. ("316")
• Ben's murder of Locke is both alluded to & mentioned in the episode. ("The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham")
• Sun shows Richard the photo given to her by Christian Shephard. ("Namaste")
• Sayid believes that he has killed Ben. ("He's Our You")
• Pierre and Miles acknowledge their relationship as father and son. ("Some Like It Hoth")
• Pierre asks Miles, Hurley, and Jin whether or not Faraday was right about being from the future. ("The Variable")
• Ellie says "All right, let's get started", just as she says to Ben, Jack, Sun and Desmond above The Lamp Post. ("This Place Is Death") ("316")
• Ellie reads over Daniel's journal, recognizing her own handwriting on the first page. ("The Variable")
• Ellie refers to her first meeting with Daniel back in 1954. ("Jughead")
• John walks into camp carrying a dead boar, just as Miles did. ("The Lie")
• John walks into the Others camp with a dead body on his back, much like he did when he had his fathers body on his back. ("The Man Behind the Curtain")
• The Others make their trek to Jacob, much in the same way the survivors of Flight 815 did to the radio tower. ("Through the Looking Glass, Part 1")

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: Follow the Leader/Theories

• Who was the others' leader during Locke's absence?
• Why does Locke want to kill Jacob?
• Why was Richard hesitant to bring Locke to Jacob?
  • What did Richard want to discuss with Locke before they went to see Jacob?
• How did the Hostiles move the bomb into the Tunnels?
• Why are some of the Others at the Temple?
• In what manner did Richard watch the 1977ers die?
• Are the Tunnels in anyway connected to or associated with the underground site where Ben was "judged" by the smoke monster?

External links

• Press Release