The Beginning of the End

"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.

On the Island

The events pick up immediately following the events in "Through the Looking Glass, Part 2". 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 relaxes. 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. Hurley grabs the walkie-talkie out of Sawyer's 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 and why Locke tried to stop it. Jack promises that when he next encounters 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.

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.

4x01 TBOTE Hurley peek-a-boo — 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, possibly Jacob's or Locke's, 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. He begins to yell for help and eventually, through concentration, seems to make the cabin disappear. Just when he does so he sees Locke.

Cap08 — Christian Shephard in Jacob's Cabin.

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.

Sayid begins to argue with Locke. As they do so they hear a noise. 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 chest. 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 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.

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

Jack is seen in a flashforward 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 guava 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!" We then go to Hurley's perspective. He 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 his room, which is suddenly underwater, and touching his hand to the window, causing it to break and all of the water to rush in. On Charlie's hand is written "THEY NEED YOU."

It turns out to be a dream, but the cop threatens Hurley telling him that if he doesn't act better he will send him to a mental institution. Hurley, however, looks relieved to hear this, and thanks the cop and hugs him.

Hurley gets his wish as he is now back at the Santa Rosa Mental Health Institute and apparently happy. He is playing Connect Four when the orderly comes over and gives him his medicine. She tells him he has a visitor, and he walks over to see who it is. 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, "It can be arranged." When Hurley starts to question Abbadon and ask 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 alive?" Hurley looks startled and doesn't know what to say, and Abbadon continues to try and provoke him about what he knows. Thinking that he 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 is sitting on the grounds of the Hospital when Lewis comes over and says that a man is staring at him. Hurley looks over and it's Charlie. Hurley is shocked, and starts to have another fit and run away before Charlie convinces him to sit down. Hurley says that Charlie can't really be here since he's dead. Charlie says that he is indeed dead, but yet, he is also here. Hurley states that he freaked out at the store because he saw Charlie there. Charlie tells Hurley that "You know that they need you." Hurley insists that this is all in his mind, closes his eyes and counts to five. Charlie is gone when Hurley opens his eyes.

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 with Jack only getting people asking for autographs when buying coffee, he also mentions to Hurley the thought of growing a beard which means this Flash-Forward could possibly be before Through the Looking Glass. Hurley is indeed 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 states that he's sorry that 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 replies that he will "Never" go back to the Island. Hurley replies "Never say never, dude," as Jack exits the room.

Trivia

General

Abbadon 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.
By the end of the hour, the castaways are split into two factions - those aligned with Locke who believe the freighter people represent a mortal threat and Jack's group, who don't.
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”.

Production notes

This is the first season premiere not to be Jack-centric, though the first flash-forward is partially from Jack's perspective.
This is the final episode that Dominic Monaghan is credited as a regular.
Harold Perrineau, Jeremy Davies, Ken Leung, and Rebecca Mader are credited as regulars, despite Perrineau not yet re-appearing and the latter two having not even appeared yet.

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

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 horse. (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)

Episode references

The name of the episode refers back to Ben's remark when he told 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, Part 1")
Jack yells to Hurley, "We're never going back!", similar to his opposite line to Kate, "We have to go back!" ("Through the Looking Glass, Part 1")
The opening shot of the car crashing into the pile fruit is a humorous reference to season 1. The fruit is guava - the only food available to the Losties in their early days on the island. In season 1, Hurley -- out in the jungle for a 'bathroom trip' is searching for a large leaf. He runs into Jack and complains that eating all the Guava is killing his stomach. ("Hearts and Minds")
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")

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 Beginning of the End/Theories

What has happened to Hurley's money?
Why did Naomi cover for the survivors?
Why does Hurley deny that he knows Ana Lucia?
Who is Matthew Abbadon?
- Who is the "they" he asks Hurley about?
Who are the other three people in the "Oceanic Six"?
- What are they hiding, and why?
What was the meaning of Hurley's vision of Charlie?
- Who are the "they" who Charlie says need Hurley's help?
- How can Lewis see Charlie?
Who is Naomi's sister?
Why does Hurley tell Jack that he's sorry for having gone with Locke?
What is Christian Shepard doing in Jacob's cabin?
Why did Kate steal the phone from Jack?
What did Kate say in private over the phone to the people on the Freighter?
What is 'it' that will do whatever it takes to bring them back?
Why didn't Desmond go with "Locke's Team" if he believes what Charlie wrote on his hand?
What did Jack mean when he asked Hurley if he was "going to tell"?
Is Hurley able to see Jacob, and if so, why?

External links

Title confirmation: Episodic Photographic Assets
ABC Medianet Press Release Bundle (01/14/08): Word Doc/PDF