The New Man in Charge

"The New Man in Charge"
Season	Epilogue
Episode	01
Airdate	August 24, 2010
Length	11:56
Characters	Michael Emerson - Ben Jorge Garcia - Hurley
Days	N/A
Writer	Melinda Hsu Taylor & Graham Roland & Jim Galasso
Director	Paul Edwards
Production code	N/A
Guests	Ray Porter - Glenn Ted Rooney - Hector
Uncredited	François Chau - Dr. Chang Grisel Toledo - Susie Lazenby Malcolm David Kelley - Walt
Transcript	The New Man in Charge transcript

"The New Man in Charge" is the epilogue of Lost that was released on August 24, 2010 on both the Complete Sixth Season DVD and the Complete Collection boxset. The epilogue is divided into three segments: Ben's mission to Guam, the Hydra Orientation film, and Ben's visit to Santa Rosa Mental Health Institute.

Synopsis

Orote Peninsula, Guam

Ben retrieves the Hydra Orientation film.

An old fashioned printer is printing "DHARMA Peas" onto successive labels in what is revealed to be the present day DHARMA Logistics Warehouse in Orote Peninsula, Guam. Two DHARMA Initiative workers, Hector and Glenn, argue over the loading of the food pallet, specifically about missing their launch window. Suddenly, Ben enters the warehouse. The workers are startled, demanding to know who he is. Ben introduces himself, and explains that he is from the home office. ♪♪ Ben informs them there is a new man in charge and Ben has been sent to tie up a few loose ends. He instructs the workers that this facility is being shut down and they are free to go. The workers protest, claiming they have been loading food pallets under unmanned drone planes for the past twenty years. Ben gives them wallets containing their severance pay and explains that the DHARMA Initiative has not been in existence for over twenty years. The DHARMA workers are visibly confused and claim that they "deserve answers". ♪♪

Chang explains the nature of Room 23 in the Hydra Orientation film.

Ben says that they can each ask one question in return for their departure. Glenn wants to know where they have been sending the pallets for the past twenty years. Ben explains that the launch information they receive from the typing machine is automated, sent from the Lamp Post station. It changes every launch because the pallet is being sent to a moving Island. Glenn tries to ask how it is that an Island can move but Ben reinforces his one question only policy. Hector infers that since they are in Guam this Island that Ben has talked about must be in the tropics; yet one of the items in the pallet is a box of polar bear fish biscuits. Hector questions the presence of polar bears on a tropical island. To which Ben leafs through a DHARMA Initiative binder filled with DVD's, and asks the workers if they have a DVD player.

Ben then tells the two workers that they should watch it together. The video starts playing, and is revealed to be the Hydra orientation film with Dr. Pierre Chang, not using an alias. The video explores the nature of the Hydra experiments on birds and polar bears, as well as the purpose of Room 23. After the video, they all leave as Ben eats a DHARMA granola bar.

Santa Rosa Mental Health Institute

Ben tells Walt that he is "special".

Ben arrives at Santa Rosa Mental Health Institute and asks the nurse to see a patient, Keith Johnson, while presenting a note for Keith Johnson. Keith Johnson turns out to be Walt, who is found by Ben playing Connect Four alone. Ben approaches and reminds Walt that he is special, and that back on the island he will be able to help Michael, even though he is dead. Ben tells Walt that the island is his home and he has to go back. Together, they leave Santa Rosa. When Ben and Walt reach a DHARMA van, Hurley is waiting for them in the back seat. Walt confesses to Hurley that he had long waited for the survivors to come back for him, and that he had been labeled crazy because no one believed his story. Hurley reassures him that he's not crazy at all, and attributes Walt's existential duress to his separation from the Island. He tells Walt that the island is his home, and that he intends to talk to Walt about a job. Hurley then suggests they all go home, and the van drives away into the night.

Trivia

• The epilogue was leaked online on August 6, 2010, 18 days before the official release.
• The epilogue does not take place on the Island, yet the Hydra Orientation film does.

Analysis

Recurring themes

• Hector and Glenn were stationed at the DHARMA Logistics Warehouse for twenty years. (Isolation)
• Ben bargains with Hector and Glenn, offering answers to their questions for their departure. (Economics)
• The Hydra Orientation film explains the presence of the Hurley Bird and polar bears on the Island. (Animals)
  • Pregnancy problems are explained to be caused by high levels of electromagnetism present at the Orchid Station and other locations on the Island. (Pregnancies)  (Electromagnetism)
  • Room 23 is explained to be used to create a state amnesia in the captured Hostiles, after the interrogation. (Deceptions and cons)
• Walt goes by the alias Keith Johnson. (Secrets)
• Walt is seen playing Connect Four. (Games)
• Walt is sitting by himself at Santa Rosa. (Isolation)
• Walt reveals that he knows of his father's death. (Parent issues)  (Secrets)  (Life and death)

Literary techniques

• Ben, once again, refers to Walt as "special." (Regularly spoken phrases)

Episode references

• The DHARMA Logistics Warehouse workers are in charge of loading and sending the periodic resupply drop. ("Lockdown")  ("Dave")
• Ben reveals the launch information regarding the windows they receive is automatically sent from the deserted Lamp Post station. ("316")
• Hector asks Ben about the purpose of the polar bear fish biscuits. ("A Tale of Two Cities")
• The Hydra Orientation film addresses a few issues:
  • Pierre Chang's aliases. ("Orientation")  ("Three Minutes")  ("There's No Place Like Home, Part 2")("Because You Left")
  • The Hurley Bird's origins, in that it is a genetic research hybrid. ("Exodus, Part 2")  ("Live Together, Die Alone, Part 2")
  • The nature and purpose of Room 23. ("Not in Portland")  ("The Package")
  • That there will be further tasks given to the polar bears at the Orchid station. ("There's No Place Like Home, Part 2")
  • Dr. Chang asks to affix a tracking device around polar bears' neck. ("Confirmed Dead")
  • The pregnancy problems in the Island's later history are due to electromagnetic properties that have been released. ("Not in Portland")  ("One of Us")  ("D.O.C.") ("Ji Yeon")  ("LaFleur")
• Walt's alias is Keith Johnson. ("Meet Kevin Johnson")
• Walt is staying at the Santa Rosa Mental Health Institute, playing Connect Four. ("Numbers")  ("Dave")  ("There's No Place Like Home, Part 2")
• Walt reveals that he knows about his father's death. ("There's No Place Like Home, Part 2")
• Ben apologizes for kidnapping Walt. ("Exodus, Part 2")
• Ben refers to Walt as "special." ("Special")  ("The Hunting Party")  ("Three Minutes")
• Hurley waits for Walt and Ben inside a DHARMA van. ("Tricia Tanaka Is Dead")  ("The Man Behind the Curtain")  ("Through the Looking Glass, Part 2")
• The polar bears were tested on in the Orchid, explaining why Charlotte dug a collar up in the desert. ("Confirmed 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 New Man in Charge/Theories

• How is Walt going to help Michael?
• How did Walt find out about his father's death?
• What is the job Hurley is offering to Walt?