The Arrow

The Arrow
First seen	"Everybody Hates Hugo"
Last seen	"The Other 48 Days"
Number	2 of 6
Purpose	Intelligence gathering and defense
Status	Abandoned, Temporarily shelter for the Tailies.
Discover	The Tailies (Day 27)

The Arrow is DHARMA Initiative station number 2, whose primary purpose was the development of defensive strategies against the Hostiles. ("Because You Left") The station is an underground bunker or complex located somewhere east or northeast of the Barracks, and an hour or two from the coastline. The Arrow was discovered by the tail section survivors 27 days after Flight 815's crash. It is about a three days' trek from the tail crash site to the Arrow. ("The Other 48 Days")

History

DHARMA Initiative

At some point soon after arriving on the Island, the DHARMA Initiative came into an armed conflict with the Island's original inhabitants -- a group referred to by the Initiative as "the Hostiles." Exactly when The Arrow was constructed is unknown, but its original purpose was to gather intelligence and develop defensive strategies. ("Because You Left") Although the two groups eventually negotiated a truce by 1974, clearly it was an uneasy one. DHARMA continued to be extremely concerned about what the Hostiles were up to -- particularly as the Initiative was covertly violating the truce with the construction of the Swan. The Arrow continued to function during this time as a defensive cornerstone for DHARMA and was also used as a storage area for "heavy ordnance". In 1974, after a visit from Richard Alpert, Horace Goodspeed told Phil to call the Arrow and tell them they were at "condition one". ("LaFleur") It is likely the Arrow was abandoned about the time of the Purge.

Per the station logo on his jumpsuit, Horace appears to have been a major player at the Arrow, but the nature of his work there is unknown. ("The Man Behind the Curtain")

Radzinsky, part of the DHARMA Initiative team stationed at the Swan during the 1990s, appears to have visited the Arrow at some unknown time. Kelvin Inman, also of the Swan team, noted that Radzinsky edited the Swan Orientation film. These removed sections of the film were later found in a Bible which was found in the Arrow. ("Live Together, Die Alone, Part 1")  ("What Kate Did")

Orientation film

Pierre Chang hosted the filming of the Arrow Orientation film in 1977 at the Barracks. Before being interrupted, he identified himself as Marvin Candle and explained that the Arrow's primary function was the development of defensive strategies against the hostile natives of the Island. ("Because You Left")

Oceanic 815 survivors

The Oceanic 815 tail section survivors discovered the Arrow 27 days after the crash. They used it temporarily as a shelter, but found it to be largely empty, except for several boxes. One box contained a number of unusual items carefully wrapped in cloth: a glass eye, a Bible, and a radio. ("The Other 48 Days") Goodwin suggested that storage was the station's primary function when he and the Tailies first explored it. His lack of surprise may indicate that the Others are aware of the station's existence. ("The Other 48 Days")

On day 45, Michael, Sawyer and Jin were brought to the Arrow station after being captured by the tail section survivors. ("Everybody Hates Hugo") On day 47, the combined group moved out of the Arrow station and started their trek across the Island to the middle section survivors' beach camp. ("...And Found")

Blast door map

The Arrow's name and symbol were noted on the blast door map along with a notation indicating that the station's primary purpose was for storage and restocking for the DHARMA Initiative Hanso Group. ("Lockdown")

The station

The door of the Arrow ("The Other 48 Days")

Entrance

The entrance to the Arrow appears to be a set of large metal doors set into the side of a hill. When it was discovered by the tail section survivors in 2004, the entrance was almost completely concealed behind a curtain of vines. On the inside of the door, was stenciled the word "QUARANTINE". ("The Other 48 Days")

Interior

The interior of the Arrow is designed quite like a bunker with a small series of interconnecting rooms. On one wall was stenciled the station logo. When discovered in 2004, the station still had power and lights, but otherwise was in an extreme state of abandonment and decay. ("The Other 48 Days")

The box found in the station ("The Other 48 Days")

A large metal box was the only object found in the station by the Tailies. It contained the following items carefully wrapped in cloth:

• A glass eye.
• A Bible, which Mr. Eko took with him. Later, it was revealed that it had been used to hide missing pieces of the Swan Orientation film. Kelvin claimed these edits were made by Radzinsky. ("Live Together, Die Alone, Part 1")  ("What Kate Did")
• A working (two-way) radio, which Bernard successfully used to made contact with Boone. ("Deus Ex Machina")  ("The Other 48 Days")

Notable visitors

Picture	Name	First visit	Last visit	Reason for Visit
	Horace	Unknown, information obtained in "The Man Behind the Curtain"	Unknown, information obtained in "The Man Behind the Curtain"	According to the logo on his jumpsuit, he allegedly worked in the Arrow.
	Stuart Radzinsky	Unknown, information obtained in "Live Together, Die Alone, Part 1"	Unknown, information obtained in "Live Together, Die Alone, Part 1"	Apparently split the Swan Orientation film and left it in the Arrow.
	Ana Lucia	"Everybody Hates Hugo"	"The Other 48 Days"	Lived in this station for twenty days with the rest of the tail-section survivors until they discovered the middle-section survivors when they moved out on Day 47.
	Eko	"Everybody Hates Hugo"	"The Other 48 Days"	Lived in this station for twenty days with the rest of the tail-section survivors until they discovered the middle-section survivors when they moved out on Day 47.
	Libby	"Everybody Hates Hugo"	"The Other 48 Days"	Lived in this station for twenty days with the rest of the tail-section survivors until they discovered the middle-section survivors when they moved out on Day 47.
	Bernard	"Everybody Hates Hugo"	"The Other 48 Days"	Lived in this station for twenty days with the rest of the tail-section survivors until they discovered the middle-section survivors when they moved out on Day 47.
	Cindy	"Everybody Hates Hugo"	"The Other 48 Days"	Lived in this station for twenty days with the rest of the tail-section survivors until they discovered the middle-section survivors when they moved out on Day 47.
	Goodwin	"The Other 48 Days"	"The Other 48 Days"	Was with the tail-section survivors when they discovered this station. On the same day, he and Ana Lucia traveled to higher ground to try to get a better signal with the radio. Upon discovering that he was one of the Others though, Ana Lucia killed him.
	Michael	"Everybody Hates Hugo"	"The Other 48 Days"	Was taken to this station by the Tailies and slept there for two nights and then left for the main camp.
	Sawyer	"Everybody Hates Hugo"	"The Other 48 Days"	Was taken to this station by the Tailies and slept there for two nights and then left for the main camp.
	Jin	"Everybody Hates Hugo"	"The Other 48 Days"	Was taken to this station by the Tailies and slept there for two nights and then left for the main camp.

Trivia

Horace's jumpsuit ("The Man Behind the Curtain")

General

• The names of some stations seem to be related to the gods Apollo from Greek mythology. Apollo was a god of archery and one of his symbols was the bow and arrow.
• In mathematics, the arrow symbol is used to indicate direction, relationship between two numbers.

Production notes

A clarified version of the logo seen on Horace's jumpsuit.

• On Horace's jumpsuit, there was a slightly different version of the Arrow logo than what was seen on the walls of the station. The jumpsuit has the colors of the inner-circle inverted (i.e., a black background with a white arrow), compared to the logo on the station's walls (i.e., a white background with a black arrow). ("The Man Behind the Curtain") It is unknown if this color-inversion holds any significance.

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: The Arrow/Theories

• What ordinance did DHARMA house at the station?
• What is the significance of the "quarantine" warning?
• Why was a portion of the Swan Orientation film hidden in the Bible??
• What is the significance of the glass eye?
  • To whom did it belong?