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"Some Like It Hoth" was the thirteenth episode of Season 5 of Lost and the ninety-ninth produced hour of the series as a whole. It was broadcast on April 15, 2009.
Synopsis
Flashback
Young Miles stands over Mr. Vonner's corpse.
A woman, Lara, is looking for an apartment with the landlord. She tells the landlord that her husband is "out of the picture," though she has a little boy, Miles. The landlord at first objects to Miles because the neighbors dislike noise, but Lara assures him that Miles is quiet. She gives Miles a quarter for the vending machine. Miles reaches the vending machine, and hears something, causing him to walk toward apartment 4. Finding a key, he opens to the door and walks inside. Several apartments down, Lara hears her son calling for her, and rushes to the apartment where her son is, and finds him standing over a man's corpse. Miles claims to hear the corpse talking. Lara backs away, concern and astonishment warring on her face.
Several years later, a heavily pierced Miles visits his mother, who is staying in an apartment with a caregiver. His mother is extremely sick and bedridden, and is losing her hair. While his mother is happy to see him, she asks why he's come to visit her, and he replies that he wants answers, mostly about his father. She replies that his father kicked them out when Miles was just a baby, and forced them to leave. She tells Miles that his father has been dead for a very long time.
Some time later, an adult Miles speaks with Howard Gray, who wants Miles to use his powers to contact his son, who died in a car accident, and make sure that the son knew that Gray loved him. Miles is apprehensive when he discovers that the son has been cremated, and asks for a larger sum of money, which Gray readily gives. Miles then appears to contact the spirit of the son, and assures Gray that the son was aware of his love. Gray thanks Miles, and Miles leaves.After leaving, Miles is approached by Naomi Dorrit, who invites Miles to come with her to a restaurant to hear a business offer. Miles readily agree.
Naomi takes Miles to the kitchen of a restaurant, and shows him the body of Felix, telling Miles to use his ability to determine details about Felix. Miles is able to tell the man's name, as well as the fact that he was attempting to deliver cemetery photos of empty graves and a purchase order for an old airplane to Charles Widmore, both of which involved the fake wreckage of Flight 815. Miles leaves, at first not interested and scared. Naomi offers Miles $1.6 million to come to the Island on the Kahana, to which Miles agrees instantly.
Soon afterward, Miles orders a fish taco from a sidewalk vendor. As he walks down the street, eating it, a van pulls up. Bram is in the passenger side, and he greets Miles. When Miles asks who Bram is, he is suddenly grabbed by several masked men and forced into the van. Bram attempts to persuade Miles not to go to the Island, determining he is not ready by asking Miles "what lies in the shadow of the statue?" to which Miles does not know the answer. Bram offers Miles answers about his ability and his father, but Miles doesn't care; he instead wants $3.2 million dollars, twice the amount offered to him by Naomi. Bram refuses to pay, however, and dumps Miles out of the van. Bram tells Miles he is "playing for the wrong team." When asked by Miles what team Bram is on, he replies that he's on "the team that's going to win."
Later, Miles visits Howard Gray, and returns to him the money which he had been paid. When asked why he is doing so, Miles reveals that he lied to Gray; he had been unable to make contact with Gray's son. The incredulous Gray asks why Miles couldn't have just continued the lie, and Miles responds that it wouldn't have been fair to the son, to whom the father should have professed his love before the son's death. Miles then leaves.
On the Island
Kate and Sawyer return from dropping off young Ben to Richard, and Sawyer contacts Miles at the Security office to erase the surveillance tape. Miles pops out the tape, but before he can erase it, Horace arrives with a package, asking after LaFleur. Miles tells him that he's tried to contact LaFleur on the radio, but he's out of contact. Horace gives Miles a package to bring to Radzinsky, and to get a package in return, "no questions asked". Horace tells Miles that he's letting him in the circle of trust.
Miles drives to the location Horace specified, and delivers the package, which turns out to be a body bag. Radzinsky puts a body in it, and tells him to transport it to Horace. Miles, curious as to why a person who apparently fell in a ditch had a head wound, unzips the body bag and uses his ability to find out what really happened. He learns that the dead man, Alverez, had a filling which ripped from his mouth and exited through his brain.
Roger discovers that Ben is missing from the hospital. Juliet lies about not knowing the reason for his disappearance. Kate later attempts to comfort Roger, arousing his suspicions. Roger has some beer, and goes to the classroom, discovering that Jack is covering his work for him, assuming Roger would want the time off because Ben was injured. Roger brushes off Jack's help, confronting him about Kate's interference. Jack defends Kate, then goes to Juliet and Sawyer's house to inform them of Roger's suspicions. Sawyer arrives home, tired from trekking around the jungle, and is confronted by Phil, who has the tape Miles failed to erase. Sawyer punches Phil, knocking him out, and tells Juliet to get some rope.
Horace, after a consultation with Dr. Pierre Chang, tells Miles to bring the body to the Orchid. Miles walks back to his van to complete the assignment, but finds Hurley loading coolers of food for the Orchid construction team into the vehicle. After he insists they carpool, they set off, only to have Hurley notice an unpleasant odor. Concerned his food was contaminated, Hurley discovers the body. Confronted, Miles tells him what really happened to the body. To his bewilderment, Hurley completely accepts Miles story, noting he also talks with the dead, and sometimes plays chess with them. Miles says that isn't how it works, at which point Hurley responds that Miles admitted to his ability.
The Swan's construction site.
Dr. Chang isn't happy that Miles brought Hurley along, and less happy that Hurley knew about the body. He threatens Hurley with duty cleaning polar bear dung if he talks, but Hurley is happy working in the kitchens and agrees to keep the secret. Privately talking to Miles about the attitude of Dr. Chang, Miles confesses he is his father. Dr. Chang wants to hitch a ride back to Radzinsky, and Miles and Hurley take him there, where a fake jungle wall masks the construction of The Swan. Along the way, Hurley keeps dropping hints about the relationship between Miles and Pierre, which upsets Miles.
Miles looks at his baby-self and his father's bonding time.
On the way back, Miles and Hurley get into another disagreement. Miles steals Hurley's notebook, in which he has written the script for The Empire Strikes Back with a few changes. Hurley notes that it's 1977, and Star Wars was just released. He figured he was doing George Lucas a favor by writing the sequel. Hurley also tells Miles about his own troubled relationship with his father, and how he forgave him. He suggests Miles try to gain a relationship with his own father.
"Long time, no see"
At night, Miles sees his mother, father, and his 3-month-old self in a window, with his Father lovingly reading him a story in a armchair. After Dr. Chang gets a phone call and gets up from the chair, Miles attempts to walk away. Dr. Chang comes out and asks Miles to take him to the dock to get a new group of scientists, and in a emotional voice Miles accepts.
Miles goes to the dock where the submarine has arived with a team of scientists from Ann Arbor, and Miles is surprised to find out that Daniel Faraday is one of them.
Trivia
General
- The lesson Jack erased from the classroom board was about Ancient Egypt and hieroglyphs.
- This is the first time one of the Kahana crew members is given a centric episode of their own.
- 4 is considered a bad luck number in Japan, Korea and China, as it is a homonym for the word "death" in Japanese, Korean and Chinese. It is the number of the room where Miles found the dead man.
- You can read the word "Vida" in the Taco's shop, which means "Life".
Production notes
Bloopers and continuity errors
- The periodic table on the wall in the Schoolhouse contained elements not yet discovered in 1977.
- Miles closes the hatchback of the van when Chang tells him to wait at the Orchid. In the next scene, it's open again.
- In one shot, Elmer is seen behind Kate. In the next shot which faces the opposite direction, he is seen behind Roger.
- When Kate is sharing a beer with Roger Linus, the pop-top is the new style instead of a 1970s-era pull tab.
- When Jack is doing Roger's work for him the chalk board is filled with material. In multiple shots afterward, the board is erased in random parts with previously erased parts reoccurring.
- The Lisa computer in the security station was not in production until early 1983.
- In "The Economist" Miles said that he first met Naomi on the boat, while in this episode she is seen recruiting him prior to the expedition. It is possible he simply lied though.
- In Miles' flashback, he is seen wearing a purple shirt with a screen print of a bear fighting a shark. In the next scene of the flashback, when he is talking with Naomi, Miles is wearing a blue shirt with the same screen print and the same outer layer.
- A workman is shown stamping the numbers into the hatch lid. Previously, the numbers were only known to be stamped on the curved side of the column.
Recurring themes
| Recurring themes |
|---|
| Animals • Black and white • Character connections • Children • Coincidence • Death • Deceptions and cons • Dreams • Economics • Electromagnetism • Eyes • Fate versus free will • Games • Good and bad people • Imprisonment • Isolation • Leadership • Life and death • Literary works • Mirrors • Missing body parts • Nicknames • The Numbers • Pairings • Parapsychology • Parent issues • Pregnancies • Psychology • Rain • Redemption • Relationships • Religion • Revenge • Salvation • Secrets |
- 3:16 appears on the microwave in Miles' home as a boy. (The Numbers)
- Miles' father abandons Miles and his mother. (Parent issues)
- Miles and Hurley witness the numbers hammered into the Swan hatch. (The Numbers)
- Pierre Chang is Miles' father. (Character connections)
- Miles has fifteen piercings in his ears and face in a flashback. (The Numbers)
- The man who died had the filling in tooth ripped from mouth and it shot up through his head, killing him. (Life and death) (Missing body parts)
- The man who had a heart attack died in room number 4. (The Numbers)
- There's a rabbit statue under which young Miles finds the key. (Animals)
- A number "8" is written inside the ear of the rabbit statue. (The Numbers)
- LaFleur asks Miles to delete the video from camera 4. (The Numbers)
- A man wants Miles to talk to his dead son fearing he died without ever knowing his father loved him. (Life and death)(Parent Issues)
- Pierre is reading a polar bear book to Miles. (Animals)
- Naomi tells Miles her employer will pay him "1.6" million dollars. (The Numbers)
- DHARMA is building the Swan in hostile territory and hiding it, in direct violation of the truce. (Deceptions and Cons)
- The cover of the Sports Illustrated read "After 23 years... NEW BOSS IN L.A." (The Numbers)
Storyline analysis
| Storyline analysis |
|---|
| A-Missions • Crimes • Economics • Leadership • O-Missions • Relationships • F-Missions • Rivalries • S-Missions |
- Miles finds his father after never knowing him as he was growing up. (Parent issues)
- Ben's dad becomes suspicious of Kate. (Rivalries) (Secrets)
- Hurley helps Miles by telling him his secret and giving him advice. (Relationships)
- Phil sees the security tape after Miles fails to follow Sawyer's advice and erase it. Phil finds out that Sawyer was the one who took Ben. To try to protect his Con, Sawyer knocks Phil out and decides to tie him up. (Deceptions and cons) (Imprisonment)
- Daniel returns. (Cliffhangers)
Cultural references
- "It Never Rains in Southern California": This song by Albert Hammond is playing when Hurley and Miles are driving to the Orchid station. (Music)
- "Love Will Keep Us Together": This song by Captain & Tennille is playing on the trip to the Orchid station as well. (Music)
- Miles Davis: Miles' mother is a fan of this legendary jazz trumpeter and names Miles after him. (Music)
- Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back: The episode title is a reference to this movie and Hurley is writing the script for it.
- Some Like It Hot: The episode title is also a reference to this movie. In the movie, the two main characters are a comedic duo and witness a mob murder - The Saint Valentine's Day Massacre. This is similar to Miles and Hurley's situation when they become aware of the death of Alvarez. In the movie, the two main characters disguise themselves to avoid retribution from the mob after witnessing the murder just as Miles and Hurley continue to conceal their true identities from the DHARMA Initiative to protect themselves. Some Like It Hot is considered to be one of the greatest American comedy films of all time.
- Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi: There are several references to events in this movie in Hurley's conversation with Miles after they return from the Swan Station (The destruction of the Death Star, Boba Fett being eaten by the Sarlacc and of course, Ewoks).
- Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope: Hurley mentions that this movie has just come out when Miles reads his notebook.
- Hans Brinker, or the Silver Skates is a novel by American author Mary Mapes Dodge, first published in 1865. The novel takes place in the Netherlands. Sawyer refers to this tale when he asks if Juliet ever felt like the little Dutch boy with his finger in the dike.
- Sports Illustrated: In the opening scene Miles is reading the March 14th, 1977 issue of this magazine.
- Pulp Fiction: When asked if he is OK, Roger says, "I'm pretty far from OK." Marcelus Wallace says the same thing after the scene in the basement of the pawn shop, except he adds an expletive that a show on ABC certainly couldn't have used.
Literary techniques
| Literary techniques |
|---|
| Comparative: Irony • Juxtaposition • Foreshadowing Plotting: Cliffhanger • Plot twist Stock characters: Archetype • Redshirt • Unseen character Story: Flashbacks • Flash-forwards • Flash sideways • Framing device • Regularly spoken phrases • Symbolism • Unreliable narrator |
- Miles drives Pierre to the dock, and meets Daniel just coming out of the submarine. (Cliffhanger)
- Alvarez died while working in the construction of the Swan. (Redshirt)
- Miles mother told him he could never go where his father's body was. Yet, some years later he was recruited to go there. (Irony)
- You can see a red light when Miles is in recruiting situations, in the restaurant with Naomi and in the van with Bram. (Symbolism)
Episode references
- The numbers are seen being embossed into the side of the Swan hatch. ("Numbers")
- Roger references Kate giving blood to Ben. ("Whatever Happened, Happened")
- Hurley mentions playing chess with the dead (i.e. Mr. Eko). ("There's No Place Like Home, Part 2")
- Bram asks Miles the same question Ilana later asked Frank. ("Dead Is Dead")
- Hurley tells Miles that Pierre Chang "Is the Dude who was in all those videos". ("Orientation")
- Miles asks Bram for $3.2 million to not go onto the freighter. ("Eggtown")
- Naomi recruits Miles for the freighter. ("Confirmed Dead")
- Miles reveals the dead man Naomi brought him to attempting to bring photos of empty graves and a purchase order for an old airplane to Charles Widmore relating to the faked wreckage of Flight 815. ("Meet Kevin Johnson")
Unanswered questions
| Unanswered questions |
|---|
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- For fan theories about these unanswered questions, see: Some Like It Hoth/Theories
- Who does Bram work for?
- How does he know about the Island?
- What "teams" does he refer to?
- Why and when did Daniel Faraday leave the island?
- Where did he go when he left the island?
- Are there any similarities between Hurley's and Miles' ability to speak with dead people?
- What happened to the body when it was taken inside the Orchid?
- Why are the Numbers used for a serial number on the Hatch?
External links
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