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Charlie begins a painful journey of withdrawal from drugs, particularly heroin. Locke aides him, although his true motive for helping him remains a mystery. Locke suggests that the two of them go for a walk, that fresh air will do the profusely-sweating Charlie good.
In flashbacks, Charlie recalls his glory days playing with his band, Drive Shaft, with his brother, Liam. Charlie is in church, confessing his sins, and when he comes out of the confessional, Liam holds up an envelope and says that they’ve been signed to a record contract and will become rock gods.
On the beach, Jack is determined to leave the beach, favoring the sanctuary of the recently-found caves less than a mile away. Kate is reluctant to go with Jack, which makes him unhappy.
Meanwhile, Sayid recruits Kate, Shannon and Boone to develop an antenna that he hopes can be used to triangulate the source of the French transmission, which has been running on a repeating loop for 16 years.
Back in the jungle, a frightened Charlie is being chased by a wild boar. As he enters a clearing, the boar is suddenly swooped up in a net, being operated by Locke, who is nearby. “You make good bait,” Locke commends Charlie, who angrily demands the return of his heroin. Locke, however, is not intimidated and instead tries to turn withdrawal into a learning experience for Charlie. He tells Charlie that he believes he is indeed stronger than he realizes. He explains further that he wants Charlie to think about it, and that he’ll allow him to ask for it three times — this is the first. On the third occasion, Locke will give Charlie his last heroin.
One of the caves collapses, trapping Jack inside and dislocating his shoulder. Charlie, who narrowly escaped the collapsing cave himself, goes back to see Locke. Charlie has additional flashbacks about Drive Shaft. Both he and Liam were unprepared for the phenomenal success of their band, and got caught up in anonymous sex and drug abuse. The band eventually splits due to the ego-warring between the two brothers. Charlie attempts to recruit Liam for a reunion tour, but by this time his sibling has settled down with a family in Australia, and Charlie is still using drugs.
On the beach, Sayid explains how the triangulation will work. Boone will stay on the beach with his antenna (however he runs off to help dig Jack out, leaving Shannon in charge of it), Kate will go two kilometers into the jungle and Sayid will go to high ground. Since the batteries are so weak, Sayid provides flares that each person will fire when they are ready. Once everyone has seen the third flare, they will switch on their antennae.
Charlie finds Locke skinning the dead boar, and apprises him of Jack’s plight. When Charlie is unable to provide a good explanation as to why he’s not helping, Locke surmises that Charlie came back to ask for the heroin. Charlie asks a second time, upon which Locke shows him a moth cocoon. Indicating a small hole in the cocoon, Locke explains that he could help the moth by slitting the cocoon, but it would not survive. Instead, he said, the moth needs to struggle to break free. Nature and struggle make people stronger, Locke explains, telling Charlie that this was the second time.
Sayid’s plan is executing flawlessly, with all three firing their flares and turning on their antennae. However, just before he is able to lock on to the signal, Sayid is clubbed over the head by an unknown and knocked unconscious.
Back at the caves, Charlie is able to worm his way through the collapsed rock and into the cave with Jack. After helping Jack reset his shoulder, the two of them dig out. After getting freed, Charlie —whose self-esteem has been all but obliterated— finds Locke cooking the boar and, for the third time, asks for his heroin. Locke looks disappointed and asks Charlie to confirm if that’s what he wants. Charlie insists, and Locke gives him the heroin. Charlie looks at it briefly before tossing it into the fire, earning praise from Locke and regaining much of his own self-worth. Immediately after, Charlie and Locke see the previously cocooned moth flying freely.
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