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* After the flash while Sawyer, Miles, Charlotte, Juliet, and Daniel are in the canoe it begins to rain. {{crossref|Rain}} |
* After the flash while Sawyer, Miles, Charlotte, Juliet, and Daniel are in the canoe it begins to rain. {{crossref|Rain}} |
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* It is raining when Jack goes in to see Claire's mother. {{crossref|Rain}} |
* It is raining when Jack goes in to see Claire's mother. {{crossref|Rain}} |
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| − | * The time jump to 1988, and the sudden rain, is an echo of how rain seems to suddenly start and stop on the Island. {{crossref|Rain}} |
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* Ben is the one who is trying to take Aaron away from Kate. {{crossref|Secrets}} |
* Ben is the one who is trying to take Aaron away from Kate. {{crossref|Secrets}} |
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* Jack's phone number on Kate's cell phone screen when he calls. {{crossref|Black and white}} |
* Jack's phone number on Kate's cell phone screen when he calls. {{crossref|Black and white}} |
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Revision as of 02:16, 11 February 2009
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"The Little Prince" is the fourth episode of Season 5 of Lost, originally broadcast on February 4, 2009. Kate discovers that someone knows the secret of Aaron's true lineage. Meanwhile, the dramatic shifts through time place the lives of the remaining Island survivors in extreme peril.
Synopsis
On the Island
1 November 2004
Sawyer, Locke, Juliet, Miles, Charlotte, and Daniel are at the Mesa. Dan manages to revive Charlotte, and Locke suggests that they travel to the Orchid in order to try and stop the time flashes. Locke tells Sawyer he needs to get the Oceanic 6 to come back. "Don't you want her to come back, James?" he asks Sawyer.
In order to save time, he suggests heading to the beach camp and using the zodiac. After dark, while traveling through the jungle, the group sees a beam of light emanating from the ground some distance ahead. Recognizing it as the light which emanated from the Hatch the night Boone died, Locke leads the group through a different route, circling and avoiding the light. A short while later, they hear a woman crying. Going to investigate by himself with the M1 rifle, Sawyer sees Kate assisting Claire while she gives birth to Aaron. Overwhelmed by the experience, Sawyer is unable to get the courage to confront past-time-Kate, and the moment is gone when the group shifts through time once more.
2005 or later
The Ajira water bottle, found inside one of the canoes.
Finding themselves in daylight once more, the group makes their way to the beach. Miles now appears to be suffering nosebleeds. He asks Daniel about it, and Daniel says it's related to how much time you spend on the Island. This confuses Miles, who points out that the survivors (who have not shown any symptoms to this point) had been on the Island for months before the freighter arrived. Daniel asks Miles if he is sure that he has never been to the island before. On the beach they find that the camp exists at that moment, but seems disheveled, with a number of the structures in disrepair and all the supplies either stolen or consumed.
With no one nor the Zodiac in sight, the group wonders where everyone has gone. Noticing a pair of wooden outrigger canoes, they speculate that the other survivors may have fled from attackers. Inside one of the canoes, Sawyer finds a water bottle with a label for Ajira Airways, which Juliet recognizes as an international airline based in India. They take one of the outriggers and begin paddling towards the Orchid. After a short while, they notice that unknown people are pursuing them in the other outrigger. As the other canoe gains on them, the people in it begin to shoot. After trying to escape for a while, the group has Juliet returning fire with a rifle, apparently hitting one of the pursuers. Before the pursuers can get any closer, there is another time flash. Sawyer exclaims, "Thank you, Lord!", and the group finds themselves under a terrible storm. Sawyer retorts, "I take that back!"
1988
Sawyer points out to Juliet that her nose is bleeding
Danielle's Science expedition assembles around Jin
The survivors successfully come to shore at nightfall, and Sawyer and Juliet continue their conversation about Sawyer seeing Kate in the jungle. Sawyer says that he was close enough to speak to Kate, and Juliet asks why he didn't. Sawyer dejectedly states that, "what's done is done." The conversation ends when Sawyer indicated to Juliet that her nose is bleeding. Charlotte then alerts the group to debris from a ship on the beach, noting that it appears to have happened recently. Locke identifies a canister with the word "bésixdouze" on it.
Back in 1988, Jin meets Danielle Rousseau
Around the same time, a group of French-speaking men and women are in an emergency raft weathering a storm. In the distance they see a man floating on a piece of debris. They paddle over to the man and pull him into the raft, revealing him to be Jin.
By morning, the French group has reached the beach, where they offer Jin water. The team is attempting to locate the source of a transmission, wondering if the Island is inhabited. One of the men tries to question Jin about where he came from and how long he was in the water, and is frustrated by his vague answers. One of the women, visibly pregnant, asks Jin his name, and then introduces herself as Danielle Rousseau, leaving Jin looking confused.
Off-Island
2 January 2005 (Flashback)
A few days after being rescued, Kate and Jack share a private moment on the Searcher. Their discussion revolves around what to do with Aaron. Kate expresses that she wants to take care of him because, after losing so many people on the Island, she cannot bear to see any misfortune befall upon Aaron. Jack explains that he is going to try to convince everyone else to lie about the Island the next day, but needs Kate to back him up. He asks if Kate will be with him, to which she answers that she has always been with him.
2008
Sun examines the report she received
After borrowing a black suit from Sun, Kate leaves Aaron with her at the hotel. As soon as Kate leaves, Sun receives a package from an unknown source. The package consists of a surveillance report, a box of chocolates with a hidden gun inside, and photos of Jack and Ben in front of the Hoffs-Drawlar funeral home.
Kate meets with Dan Norton at his law office, volunteering she will provide her blood and Aaron's if Dan will tell her who his client is. He says that she is in no position to bargain and that she will lose custody.
Meanwhile, Jack is reviving Sayid at the hospital. Sayid wants to leave, but Jack says he's been unconscious for 42 hours with a strong dose of horse tranquilizers. The Chief of Clinical Services on the medical staff calls Jack out of the room and berates him, reminding him that he's been suspended for substance abuse and the hospital is responsible.
A nurse comes to give Sayid medication, but Sayid recognizes this as an ambush and moves from the hospital bed just as the nurse attempts to shoot him with a dart gun. After disabling the gunman and choking him, he demands to know who sent him. The man gestures to an address in his pocket. Sayid then shoots him twice with the dart gun.
Jack's phone rings - Hurley, who is at the county jail in an orange jumpsuit, seems very happy. Jack says Sayid is okay. Hurley says to tell Sayid he followed his advice (In "Because You Left", Sayid cautioned Hurley to do the exact opposite of whatever Linus requested of him.).
Ben arrives. As they return to Sayid, Sayid glares at Ben and they get the piece of paper from the attacker's pocket. It has an address that Jack recognizes as Kate's. Jack calls her and persuades her to tell him where she is. He goes to meet her.
Carole Littleton opens the door for Jack
Kate and Jack follow Dan Norton from his offices to a motel near LAX. Concluding that Norton's mysterious client must be there, they watch as he goes to a room. When the door opens they see Carole Littleton inside. Concluding that Ms Littleton intends to gain custody of Aaron, Kate attempts to flee, but Jack convinces her to allow him to talk to Ms Littleton. When he does so he discovers that Littleton has no knowledge of Aaron's existence, let alone his parentage, and was in town to settle a lawsuit against Oceanic Airlines. Upon learning this, Jack and Kate go to rendezvous with Ben, unbeknownst to Kate that Norton is actually Ben's lawyer as well.
Ben and Sayid meet Dan Norton in the police garage where Dan informs Ben that the charges will be dropped against Hurley and that he should be out by the next morning. When Sayid asks who Dan is, Ben says he is his lawyer.
Sun watches over many of the Oceanic Six and Ben from her car.
Jack, Kate, Ben and Sayid meet up, but when Kate sees Ben she looks very disturbed. Jack then tells her Ben's with him and that Ben's here to help them and everyone they left behind. Kate then accuses Ben of trying to take Aaron, Jack dismisses it, but Ben quickly says Kate's right and apologizes to Jack. Kate then asks Ben why he doesn't just leave her and her son alone, Ben responds to that with 'Because he's not your son, Kate'.
It is then revealed Sun is observing them from a car with Aaron sleeping in the back and her surveillance photos in the passenger seat. She then gets her gun and steps out.
Trivia
General
Sun reads her surveillance report.
- The name on the side of Ben's van, "Canton Rainier" is an anagram of "reincarnation."
- Ajira Airways is mentioned for the first time with a seemingly large part in the plot after being a viral website for some time.
- One of the time shifts brings the characters to the time period of the first season, and original characters Boone, Shannon, Michael and Charlie are all referenced variously through the episode.
- As of the end of this episode, the Survivors are known to have the following modern items:
- John Locke's knife
- Sawyer's machete
- A U.S. M1 Rifle (.30-06) with 7 rounds, maximum (Sawyer fired one round)
- A U.S. M1 Carbine (.30 Carbine) with 11 rounds, maximum (Juliet fired four rounds)
- The contents of Daniel's backpack
- An outrigger canoe
- We learn that Jack was finally suspended from practicing at the hospital because of substance abuse.
- Sun's surveillance report is partly legible. It has since been discovered that the report is an altered version of a report from a Lost unrelated online game; it is therefore doubtful that Lee Chin or Melissa will figure prominently in future episodes, unless they are aliases for the characters.
| “ |
.SUBJECT: A.B.C. (rest illegible) (page 2) Except for one trip to the mailbox, suspect never left ###################### The last light was extinguished at 11:35 P.M. Wednesday Morning Except for three trips to the mailbox, subject never left 183 Pinecrest The last light was extinguished at 12:18 AM. Wednesday Afternoon Except for seven trips to the mailbox, subject never left 183 Pinecrest The last light was extinguished at 2:30 AM. Wednesday Evening Subject came out of the house at 8:15 AM. Set up a camping chair next Subject left home in yellow Volkswagen Beetle at 1:05 P.M. and drove .################### in yellow Volkswagen Beetle at 3:10 P.M. and drove (page 3) was unable to locate subject. ################ that subject car was |
” |
- The French dialogue among the science team members is translated:
| “ |
(on the raft) Robert: We never should have followed those damn numbers. (on the beach) Montand: Robert, look, the signal is coming from the island. |
” |
Production notes
- Desmond does not appear in this episode.
- Scenes from "Do No Harm", specifically Aaron's birth, are reused in this episode. Emilie de Ravin as Claire Littleton makes her Season 5 debut, but only via archive footage and additional material uses a stand-in. Dominic Monaghan and Daniel Dae Kim, also present in the original scene, are not seen.
- Although the unnamed female science expedition member on Danielle's team is uncredited in this episode's ABC Medianet press release, there was a promotional still released by ABC Medianet showing all six science team expedition members and Jin here, which credited the four known team members and Daniel Dae Kim, as well as one "Alexandra Tobas". Since the two remaining team members are a man and a woman, Tobas is presumed to be the actress depicting the woman, who will therefore likely be credited in a future episode.
Bloopers and continuity errors
- When the left-behinds are walking through the jungle to the beach, Juliet's hair starts out in a bun, then when she talks to Miles it is seen with half of it pinned up, and when the survivors notice the hatch light, it is back in a bun again.
- The light from the hatch the left-behinders see from afar looks more like the bright white light from the hatch afte rit had been blown open as seen in "Man of Science, Man of Faith", rather than the dim yellow light from the hatch window Locke was able to look straight into at the end of "Deus Ex Machina". This has been confirmed as not having turned out quite as intended by the writers by script coordinator Gregg Nations.[1]
- When Kate and Jack arrive at the harbour, the Volvo grille emblem is assembled in the cars front. Unlike in previous scene.
- The handwriting on the paper with Kate's address is different when Jack gives it to her and when Sayid finds it on Tony's wallet.
- The first scene that shows Locke and the others paddling on the water, a splash can be seen on the bottom from the boat that had the camera while filming.
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 |
- Sun's pictures of Jack with Ben. (Black and white)
- After the flash while Sawyer, Miles, Charlotte, Juliet, and Daniel are in the canoe it begins to rain. (Rain)
- It is raining when Jack goes in to see Claire's mother. (Rain)
- Ben is the one who is trying to take Aaron away from Kate. (Secrets)
- Jack's phone number on Kate's cell phone screen when he calls. (Black and white)
- Claire is seen giving birth to Aaron. (Pregnancies) (Life and Death)
- Danielle is pregnant. (Pregnancies)
- Jack is checking Sayid's eyes. (Eyes)
- Hurley is in jail. (Imprisonment)
- Sayid was unconscious for 42 hours. (The Numbers)
- Kate's address is 42 Panorama Crest. (The Numbers)
- Ben and the Oceanic Six, except for Hurley, come together at slip 23 of the Long Beach Marina. (The Numbers)
- A recording of The Numbers being read out sequentially can be heard by the French scientist team on their radio. (The Numbers)
- Sun receives a box of confections containing 16 chocolates. (The Numbers)
- The raft of the Science expedition has 8 sides. (The Numbers)
- Juliet fired 4 shots at the people in the outrigger. (The Numbers)
- Present-time Jin, having just survived the explosion, meets (and recognizes) past-time-Rousseau at the sea. (Character connections)
- Ben admits he was the one harassing Kate and Aaron with an ulterior motive. (Deceptions and cons)
- Sawyer tries to cope with his inaction in contacting Kate by saying "What's done is done". (Fate versus free will)
- Miles calls the Oceanic survivors "yahoos". (Nicknames)
- The usually inescrutable Sawyer feels confident to open up his feelings to Juliet. (Relationships)
- Once again, Locke implies he would die trying to save other people. (Sacrifice)
- Dan Norton is the lawyer for both Mrs. Littleton and Ben Linus. (Character connections)
Storyline analysis
| Storyline analysis |
|---|
| A-Missions • Crimes • Economics • Leadership • O-Missions • Relationships • F-Missions • Rivalries • S-Missions |
- A hitman disguised as a nurse at the hospital attempts to abduct Sayid. (Crimes)
Cultural references
| Cultural references (direct references only) |
|---|
| Art • Automobiles • Games • History • Literary works • Movies and TV • Music • Philosophy • Religion and ideologies • Science |
Canister from the boat with the word "Besixdouze" written on it.
- Le Petit Prince: The episode's title refers to the novel of the same name by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, a writer and aviator. Saint-Exupéry was French, like Rousseau's science expedition. Though outwardly a children's book, it has varied themes on life, perception and human nature. The book begins with its narrator surviving a plane crash in the desert, inspired by Saint-Exupéry's own 1935 plane crash in the Sahara. He encounters the Little Prince who has left his home asteroid to find out more about the universe, but who ultimately cannot survive away from his home. Saint-Exupéry illustrated the book and drew the Little Prince as a young, blond-haired child. This could be a reference to Aaron Littleton who is also a young, blond-haired child and whose last name Littleton plays on the episode's title The Little Prince. "Besixdouze" ("B612"), the apparent name of the expedition's lost boat (as per the wreckage on the beach), is a reference to the name of the asteroid on which The Little Prince lives in the book. Another reference is made when the young Danielle Rousseau calls one of her crew members "mouton" as they argue about Jin on the shore. "Mouton" is French for "sheep", which is a reference to opening chapter of the "The Little Prince (book)" when the The Little Prince asks the narrator to draw him a sheep. (Literary works)
- Transformers: Dan Norton's license plate is 4PCI382. This is the same as the plate worn by Ironhide in this 2007 film. It's possible, however, that is merely a reused Hollywood stock license plate rather than an intentional reference.
- Yoknapatawpha County: Sun's surveillance report contains a reference to a Yoknapatawpha County Library. The fictional Yoknapatawpha County of Mississippi is the setting of many of William Faulkner's novels.
- The Godfather Part III: Sun receives a box of candy that conceals a gun just like Al Neri does while on a train to assassinate the archbishop.
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 |
- While on the Searcher, Kate tells Jack that she's "always been with him," yet is estranged from him three years later. (Irony)
- Sawyer speaks disparagingly about time travel while in the canoe with Juliet. However, soon after, time travel saves them from a gunfight, causing Sawyer to praise time travel. However, when it is raining heavily in the time he jumps to, he takes it back. (Irony)
- Jin is actually alive, and was pulled out of the water by the science expedition team. (Plot twist)
- Tony, an assassin disguised as a nurse, tries to harm Sayid. (Irony)
- The storm in Los Angeles foreshadows the upcoming difficulties Jack and Ben will have trying to convince the rest of the Oceanic Six to return to the Island. (Symbolism) (Foreshadow) (Rain)
- Dan Norton explains Hurley's innocence to Ben in front of Sayid, the actual killer. (Irony)
- While discussing what to do about Aaron, Jack tells Kate "I can fix this." (Regularly Spoken Phrases)
- Sun attempts to get revenge for the death of Jin, but may actually be interfering with her ability to be reunited with him. (Irony)
- The French team that rescues Jin turns out to be Rousseau's team. (Plot twist)
- Carole Littleton seems to be the person who is after Aaron's blood sample but it is revealed eventually, that it is Ben instead. (Plot twist)
- Ben goes to great lengths to remind Kate that Aaron is not her son while trying to exact revenge for the death of someone he falsely claimed to be his daughter. (Irony)
- nurse tells Sayid he does not have to give him a shot, then turns and attemps to shoot him twice with darts. (Irony)
Episode references
- We finally meet the original members of Danielle's science expedition. ("Pilot, Part 2") ("Solitary") ("Exodus, Part 1")
- A member of Danielle Rousseau's team fiddles briefly with a radio and an automated voice can be heard reciting the Numbers. ("Numbers") ("Through the Looking Glass, Part 1")
- The survivors time travel back to the night Aaron was born, and see the light from the hatch in the distance. ("Deus Ex Machina") ("Do No Harm")
- Dan Norton tells Kate that she is going to lose "the boy". ("Exodus, Part 2")
- Kate notes that Jack shaved his beard since their last meeting. ("Through the Looking Glass, Part 1") ("There's No Place Like Home, Part 2") ("Because You Left")
- Kate implies that Aaron is a deep sleeper. This is similar to Claire's comment that Aaron "can sleep through anything." ("Eggtown")
- Carole mentions Christian Shephard's funeral. ("There's No Place Like Home, Part 1")
- Locke says he will get everyone back to the island, "even if it kills him", as Richard Alpert said. ("Because You Left")
Unanswered questions
| Unanswered questions |
|---|
|
- For fan theories about these unanswered questions, see: The Little Prince/Theories
- What is the nature of the "time sickness"?
- Who has ransacked the beach camp?
- Who are the pursuers in the outrigger?
- What has happened to the rest of the survivors?
- When do these events take place?
- Who sent the package to Sun?
- Who is Sayid's assailant at the hospital and why does he have Kate's address?
- Why did Jin move with the island, but the helicopter and those in it did not?
- Does Danielle remember saving Jin?
External links
- ABC Medianet Press Release (1/16/09): Press Release
