Changes: The Candidate

Revision as of 04:44, 5 May 2010

"The Candidate" is the 14th episode in Season 6 of Lost and the 117th produced hour of the series as a whole. It aired on May 4, 2010.

Synopsis

Flash-sideways timeline (2004)

Just out of surgery, John Locke comes to with his surgeon, Jack Shephard at his side. John recognises his surgeon and Jack explains that they met after the flight from Sydney. Jack explains that John was in a car accident and that while he operated he found that John might be a candidate for a new surgical treatment to repair his pre-existing paralysis. Locke immediately and firmly refuses the offer. John's fiance arrives and thanks Jack for saving him.

Jack enters a room where Dr Bernard Nadler is working on a mould for teeth. Jack asks to see a patient file. He explains that he is John Locke's surgeon and he believes Nadler did emergency oral surgery on Locke about three years previously. He is trying to find out how Locke was hurt. Nadler asks what is Jack's interest in Locke. Jack starts to explain that he met Locke after a flight back from Australia. Bernard immediately interrupts saying "Oceanic 815". He explains that he was seated across the isle from Jack on that flight. He calls it "pretty weird". Bernard refuses to breach confidentiality but writes down the name "Anthony Cooper" and says this man was brought in with John Locke three years ago. As they part he says that he hopes Jack will find what he is looking for.

Original timeline (2007)

Jack revives and finds himself in a dinghy. Sayid is nearby and welcomes Jack to Hydra Island.

At Hydra Station Sawyer, Hurley, Kate, Sun, Jin and Frank are led into the animal cages. Sawyer refuses to go in and seizes a rifle from Seamus. Charles Widmore arrives and grabs Kate and threatens to kill her. When Sawyer calls his bluff, Widmore says that he has a list of names - Ford, the Kwons and Reyes but not Kate Austin. He says it doesn't matter to him whether she lives or dies. Against Kate's remonstrances Sawyer gives up the gun and they are all taken into the cages.

Widmore says to Sawyer that although he won't believe it he is doing this for his own good. Widmore checks whether the fence is live yet, and when he's told that it will be an hour he says to work faster and that "he's coming".

Jack pleaded with Sawyer not to try to deactivate the bomb, believing that it would not do anything because they could not be killed. Jack theorized that, rather than needing them all to leave the Island with him, the Man in Black really wanted toget them all in one small, enclose space so that he could kill them all. "What if," he said, "he didn't need us all to go with him; he just couldn't leave until we were all dead."

Sawyer pulled both cords anyway, stopping the timer for a moment before it continued again, faster than before. Sayid took the bomb and ran into the far corridor, dying as it exploded. Water began to quickly flood into the submarine, and Sun became pinned below some fallen equipment. Jack commanded Hurley to leave with Kate, as he tried to help Jin rescue Sun. Jin at last persuaded Jack to leave and save Sawyer, who is unconscious after a blow to his head. Jack climbs out of the submarine, and brings Sawyer to the surface.

Jin tried for a long time to free Sun, but eventually both of them realized it was futile. Sun pleaded with Jin to leave and save himself, but Jin refused, saying that he would never leave her. The two embraced each other as the water flooded the submarine, holding hands until they each died.

Jack swam to the beach, and managed to get Sawyer breathing, though he was still unconscious. Hurley and Kate met up with him. Frank was nowhere to be found.

The Man in Black smiled as he saw that the submarine has sunk, and turned to leave. When Claire asked where he was going, he replied, "to finish what I started."

Trivia

Hurley says he cannot find the First Aid Kit. The Kit can be seen in the control room next to Frank.
Jack buys an Apollo Bar from the vending machine at the hospital.

General

Production notes

Nestor Carbonell (Richard), Henry Ian Cusick (Desmond), Michael Emerson (Ben), Ken Leung (Miles) and Zuleikha Robinson (Ilana) do not appear in this episode.
Kevin Tighe appears without speaking lines as Anthony Cooper, a character he hasn't played since Cooper's murder in "The Brig" 49 episodes ago.
This episodes features 3 main cast deaths, the highest ever amount in any one episode with Sayid, Sun and Jin dying. Frank's status is left ambiguous.
This is the first episode since the Season 4 premiere "The Beginning of the End" that all surviving, main crash survivors from the pilot episode have been together in the same place at the same time.
As of the end of this episode, Jack, Kate, Sawyer, Hurley, Claire, and Walt are the only main cast members from Season 1 who are still alive in the original timeline.

Bloopers and continuity errors

When Jack gets the C-4 out of the backpack, the countdown goes from 3:55 to 3:52. It then beeps 10 times (one beep per second), leading the countdown to 3:42. However, the scene after, the countdown is at 3:45.

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

There are 4 bricks of C-4.

Storyline analysis

Storyline analysis
A-Missions • Crimes • Economics • Leadership • O-Missions • Relationships • F-Missions • Rivalries • S-Missions

Cultural references

Cultural references (direct references only)
Art • Automobiles • Games • History • Literary works • Movies and TV • Music • Philosophy • Religion and ideologies • Science

Eric 'Hoss' Cartwright: Sawyer calls the submarine captain "Hoss", a nickname he has used before to label characters who he needs to do something for him. (TV)

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

Jack tells Locke in the flash-sideways timeline that, "Whatever happened, happened." (Regularly spoken phrases)
The Man in Black explains to the A-Team that Widmore wanted them all on the plane, in a small enclosed space that they could not get out of, in order to kill them all at once. He, then, enacted a plan to do the same to them by tricking them all onto the submarine. (Foreshadowing)
Both the men guarding the plane and the group guarding the submarine are killed. (Redshirts)
On the island, Locke wants to kill Jack, because he is a candidate. In the flash-sideways timeline, Jack wants to save Locke, because he is a candidate. (Juxtaposition)
In the flash-sideways timeline, both Locke and Jack say, "I wish you had believed me." (Regularly spoken phrases)

Episode references

The warning klaxon in the submarine is the same sound from the Swan.
Jack said "I wish you had believed me" which are the same words Locke used on his suicide letter to Jack. ("316")

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 Candidate/Theories

Original timeline

Flash-sideways timeline

What is the meaning of the music box that Christian Shephard left for Claire?

@@ Line 27: / Line 27: @@
 [[Jack]] revives and finds himself in a dinghy. [[Sayid]] is nearby and welcomes Jack to Hydra Island.
-At Hydra Station  [[Sawyer]], [[Hurley]], [[Kate]], [[Sun]], [[Jin]] and [[Frank]] are led into the animal cages. Sawyer refuses to go in and seizes a rifle from Dough Boy. [[Charles Widmore]] arrives and grabs Kate and threatens to kill her. When Sawyer calls his bluff, Widmore says that he has a list of names - Ford, the Kwons and Reyes but not Kate Austin. He says it doesn't matter to him whether she lives or dies. Against Kate's remonstrances Sawyer gives up the gun and they are all taken into the cages.
+At Hydra Station  [[Sawyer]], [[Hurley]], [[Kate]], [[Sun]], [[Jin]] and [[Frank]] are led into the animal cages. Sawyer refuses to go in and seizes a rifle from [[Seamus]]. [[Charles Widmore]] arrives and grabs Kate and threatens to kill her. When Sawyer calls his bluff, Widmore says that he has a list of names - Ford, the Kwons and Reyes but not Kate Austin. He says it doesn't matter to him whether she lives or dies. Against Kate's remonstrances Sawyer gives up the gun and they are all taken into the cages.
 Widmore says to Sawyer that although he won't believe it he is doing this for his own good. Widmore checks whether the fence is live yet, and when he's told that it will be an hour he says to work faster and that "he's coming".