Group 1: The Pilot (Part 1)
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By jazprof
- Group 1: The Pilot (Part 1)
- Created: Jun 5, 2007
- Last updated: Aug 13, 2008
- After episode: 3.22: Through The Looking Glass
- Status: Current
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I hadn’t seen a post started on this yet so I thought I’d go ahead and give it a try. I’m going to break my observations/questions down into several categories:
1) the Defining Metaphor—or What does it mean to be Lost?
Generally one of the most important things in this episode for me is what the Pilot says to explain why they are lost. He says that after losing radio contact, they turned around and tried to go back to Fiji. They did not successfully retrace their steps and instead wound up 1000 miles off course. They are now “Lost” as people will be looking for them in the wrong place.
This describes to me not only what has happened to them spatially but also temporally (and maybe in other ways too, morally? in terms of character development?). Spatially—they attempted to loop back but failed to go exactly the way they had before. Temporally, I also think they are looping and are not repeating exactly what happened before.
2) Jack
A lot of what happens to Jack fits with the time loop idea. He blacked out on the plane as Desmond did before he went back and relived that earlier part of his life. He immediately looks in his pocket for the alcohol he will use later. He is lying in a bamboo grove—it doesn’t look like he got there by crashing there; there’s only one piece of bamboo broken as far as I can see. He runs in the direction of the beach—ok, he may be following the sound of the ocean, but I notice that the sound doesn’t really cut in until he’s on the beach. He knows which suitcase to open to get out a sewing kit—maybe that’s his bag, but he found it pretty easily, also the little bag he pulled the sewing kit out of looked more like something a woman might carry? When he goes off by himself to tend the wound, he looks in the direction Kate is coming from as if expecting someone.
A lot of the above could have other, completely mundane explanations. But I like thinking about how Jack might be having parallel experiences with Desmond—again going with a kind of metaphoric connection—the image of the two of them running up and down in the stadium.
One other funny thought I had about Jack—that beach scene just gave him so many opportunities to fix things!
3) Jack & Kate
I really thought this first ep laid out the strengths and weaknesses of their relationship, in particular, the way that Jack treats Kate. If Kate’s main problem is being afraid and running away, then Jack teaches her a lesson about fear when he tells her the story about letting fear have its way for five seconds and then doing what you need to do. In the same episode, we see Kate use that lesson to come out of hiding from the smoke monster. She even tells Charlie “We have to go back” (for Jack) mirroring what she tells Sawyer later. I think there are two ways to protect people, you either try to shield them from any danger or you teach them how to deal with danger for themselves. Jack does both with Kate in this ep. By doing the latter, he helps her get past her own weakness; by doing the former (as he does for the most part later in the series) he completely screws things up with her.
4) Charlie (& Jack)
I notice as many others have pointed out, how many times Charlie almost gets killed. He also already has that permanent marker (marking “fate”) on his fingers. He says something interesting about Jack freeing him from being entangled by roots and almost getting killed by Smokie. “We were dead…I was dead, and Jack pulled me up.” Made me think of the “You’ve got to lift it up” quotation and also again made me think that Jack may be playing a very similar role to Desmond (though not aware yet that he is). And of course this is not the first time Jack pulls Charlie back from being dead.
5) Smokie
Is Smokie a force of course correction—the pilot should be dead so Smokie kills him? Or, conversely, does Smokie punish those who try to course correct, who try to exactly repeat the past, or who are stuck in their own pasts like Mr. Eko?
6) Vincent
He is by Jack’s side at beginning and later is watching Jack, Kate, and Charlie go out in search of the cockpit. I am really beginning to wonder if he is just a dog.
7) Boone
Just something weird I noticed—he’s a lifeguard, but doesn’t know how to properly give CPR? And later he almost drowns? And he and Richard Alpert definitely have the same make-up artist.
8) Locke
That orange peel smile he gives Kate when she’s pulling the shoes off a dead man just seemed so inappropriate and creepy.
Key characters
| Short Name | Full Name | Episodes | Theories |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boone | Boone Carlyle | 1.13 | 164 |
| Charlie | Charlie Pace | 1.7, 1.2, 2.10, 1.24, 3.21 | 403 |
| Jack | Jack Shephard | 1.1, 1.5, 2.11, 1.11, 1.16, 1.20, 3.9, 3.22, 3.1, 4.10, 4.12, & 3” href=”/episodes/theres-no-place-home-parts-2-3/”>4.13 | 1451 |
| John | John Locke | 3.3, 2.17, 1.4, 1.19, 3.13, 3.19, 4.11, & 3” href=”/episodes/theres-no-place-home-parts-2-3/”>4.13 | 1228 |
| Kate | Katherine “Kate” Austen | 3.6, 1.2, 1.3, 2.9, 1.12, 1.16, 1.22, 3.15, 4.4, 4.12 | 711 |
Key episodes
| # | Title | Aired | Central character | Theories |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.1 | Pilot, Part 1 | 9-24-2004 | Jack | 363 |
I’ve seen a couple of other instances where people have implied that perhaps Jack was Jacob and was trying to prevent his satellite phone call from taking place. Not sure how I feel about that one yet, but the important component of this is the notion that Jack is navigating time as well. You made a lot of excellent observations to support this. I can even picture a new episode where we see Jack awaking in the same place on the island, only this time, he is somewhat cognizant of the fact that he somehow knows where this stuff (the kit in the suitcase, etc.) is at.
Great post, jaz. And here I thought I might be the first “group 1” poster!
You pretty-much listed all the same observations I would have. I think it’s interesting that Rose, who was healed, still had to have her life saved by Jack. John was just healed outright. I don’t know what that means… maybe nothing… but it’s interesting.
And the shots in the pilot won’t be the last ones that are kinda weird when it comes to Vincent. :-)
So… did you feel like you spotted the “clue” that the producers have claimed is in the pilot episode?
Great Commentary. I like your 2) points about Jack. Lots of things got me about him in that episode. For example, when he disappears after he’s rescued Charlie, and he just turns up. thats a bit suspicious, like he’s been and done something. Also, when he runs away from the main wreckage to inspect his wounds, he ran away looking back like he did’nt want to be followed. It could be that he is too proud for others to see his wound, but it doesnt fit well with his character. I feel that either he was looking for something, or meant to meet Kate. I hadnt previously been a fan of the time loop idea, or the jack = jacob idea, but it did give some interesting points to think about.
6) Ya I have alot of feelings that vincent has something special about him.
7) This show seems to be doing that alot. In the first season when the girl is drowning (when boone the life guard almost drowns) charlie says I cant swim. At the time that didnt matter but later in “the looking glass” he says that he is the junior swim champ. Like come on!!
8) Just get this in your head. Locke is weird. He is happy because he can waljk but to everyone else he seems crazy because he knows exactly what to do. (In episode when water gets pinched (first season) he says he knows where to look for water)
Jaz, perfect observations, Vincent is indeed a mysterious animal. Really interesting points about Jack ” He’s surrounded by trees and stuff and yet runs in the right direction. also seems to know where to be to keep each saveable person alive, apart from the guy who got swallowed by the jet engine but even then he had previously asked someone to keep people away from the engine. definatley didn’t seem to be his first time. Also his relationship with Boone in this episode caught my attention.
Great Post.
2)Is there anything to the fact that Jack actually changed seats? Sitting by the window, then sitting by the aisle when talking to Rose?
6) I’d always left Vincent out of the equation, I’ll now think again!
Katrina, interesting point about Smokey & what is that Horn type noise we hear in this episode? while they’re on the beach the first time they hear it & just before the Pilot gets taken by it, you hear it again. (p.s what was all the hullaballoo about with that post thing?)
Hmmm… it WAS weird how Jack just disappeared after helping Charlie untangle his foot and get away from smokeyand then just appear. Logicwould suggest he would just run with Charlie. In order for this to be significant, it means the creators of Lost had enough foresight to build in “gaps” where it would possible for them to come back later and inject a story twist. In this case where Jack could have slipped away to do something unseen. I’m just having hard time believing they had that kind of vision in the very first episode not knowing whether the show would even get picked up.
Just curious, where did you hear/read there is a significant clue in the pilot?
Thanks for the comments, everyone.
Yeah Shaun, I noticed that thing about Jack disappearing right after saving Charlie, too. And Sleepz, it did seem noticeable this time to me of how disoriented one would normally be in that bamboo grove.
Kat, I love your description of Vincent—”the observing benefaction” and nice catch on the Godfather.
Prof, no nothing stood out to me as the big clue the producers talked about. Unless, after what Kat said about Locke doing that Godfather thing, maybe Jacob is Don Corleone! (He does kinda look like him actually, and they both like to sit around in dark, gloomy rooms. And, hey, being dead hasn’t stopped Marlon Brando from being cast in other things, like Superman Returns. Gee, I hope Kate’s horse is gonna be OK.)
Did the producers not say the big clue was in the pilot. if so could it not be in part 2. ProfOzone I was also hoping to be first but Jaz slid in there. we have to be quicker to catch this guy out. I will get up with the birds on Friday………..
sleepz. I just happened to be sleepy this morning so rewatched the episode instead of doing the errands/work that I should have been doing. Friday I’ll probably be at the gym early so fire away :)
And for future pronoun use purposes, I’m a gal not a guy. (Though I find I sometimes use “guy” as a gender neutral term, kinda like “Dude” ;-> )
Nicely done jaz!
There is some information available at Lostpedia that probably is a reference to Vincent (has to be). Here is the link http://www.lostpedia.com/wiki/RetrieversofTruth.
I remember coming across this when the original Hanso website was still up as part of “The Lost Experience”. There used to be a mirror of the Hanso site available, but I believe it has shut down.
i must have missed this somewhere - can someone post a link or a quote of the producers claiming there was a clue in the pilot episode?
i liked the orange peel smile!
jaz- Wow, this is great. You described everything so well that I could see it. It made me wonder about Charlie’s “So, is this your first plane crash?” line. Everybody had great comments. You should all be television critics. I can’t wait to read the observations of future episodes.
I just rewatch the first episode (pilot part 1) and if there HAS to be a clue in it, like the writer said, I would bet its on the first night (at 19:00), when Jack explain to Kate how do they crashed, and he tell her they need to find the fuselage to get the transceiver, etc… Right after that, Kate ask: “How do you know all that?” and Jake reply “TOOK A COUPLE FLYING lessons… WASN’T FOR ME”.
I don’t know how these flying lessons Jake took can be relevant, but its the only thing that don’t really fit in that first episode, its the only thing that we didn’t hear about since that episode.
Then if it’s not “the clue”, I’m pretty sure we will find out what theses lessons are about in future seasons.
Yeah, I think also think the flying lessons were to cover up that he’s done this all before, my only question is whether or not hes making the same mistakes. Phoning the boat etc.
Jaz, Sorry about the guy thing I tend to use the term guy for everyone, very similar to me always refering to my wife as “mate”.
Locke with the orange was exactly that,when i first saw it i was so creeped out seriously scary, i really didnt get it, it doesn’t fit , its unapropriate like you say. it’s actually kinda funny when he does it, but then it gets really f*king scary.
Did Jack possibly take flying lessons to get back to the island? Was he looking for it and found it? Maybe the runway was going to be for him.
wow, xphile, that’s an intriguing idea. I didn’t have any more thoughts on the flying lessons stuff except to make another Desmond/Jack connection. Desmond is the pilot in Locke’s dream—Jack took flying lessons. Desmond studied to be a doctor—Jack is a doctor. There’s another weird connection along those lines, Sayid’s name means “cutter” (roughly) and is sometimes used to mean surgeon (though it also fits with Sayid being a torturer).
Sleepz—no problem on the guy thing; I do it too. Thought I’d clarify though cause I do find myself sometimes wanting to refer to someone’s post and not knowing whether it’s his post or hers.
The flying lessons could have nothing to do about time loop, or with the fact Jake knew before the crash, or with any “character duality”. Let me explain…
I don’t know if you remember the first Jake flashback? His father is always pushing him to the limit, he even tell him (as young Jake after he fought at school) You cannot be a hero, if you failed, you wouldn’t have “what it takes” …. What it takes???? To be on the island???
I’m just saying here that maybe Jake’s father was preparing Jake for the island since he was kid. So he made him take flying lessons, and get him become a doctor, especially a spinal surgeon, which is exactly what Ben need later on the island (as Ben said: “what a coincidence, the day after i learned i had a spinal tumor, a spinal surgeon fall from sky”).
I think that it was all planed years before the crash, and that all losties were socially engineer to get on that flight 815 with all knowledge and skills needed to be on the island, so they had “what it takes”. I think the show has more to do with prediction of future and fate then with time loop, and it would be easier for the writer to find a logic explanation…
Fibonacci, I thought about that theory; the crash of 815 being planned years in advance. If that theory is true, the clue we could be looking for maybe the pilot. If this was planned out it would take more than a stroke of luck to hit our certain coordinates at a certain time (the time Desmond failed to push the button). I t would take a skilled pilot. A pilot who knows too much? A pilot who knows enough to be assassinated by whoever controls Smokey?
And furthermore, look at the title of the episode. I know we are all intelligent enough to know that it was a pilot episode but what if our creative Lost writers have something else in mind? The Pilot episode 1
I am a big fan of the predetermined flight/ crash. The small degrees of separation are just too unusual to be explained satisfactorially in any other way. I also think that the pilot did know it - that is why he asked has “anyone” come and how many survived. Why Smokey freaked out? Good question but he didn’t want that pilot around.
I posted this as a new theory, just in case this is burried too deep.
I have a theory that I will later eloborate on, but maybe the plane was just supposed to crash, not on the island, but just crash. You know with Hansoair wanting to try out a new AIPS system and Oceanic being partners with Hanso and then Hanso buying Oceanic. Maybe the flight was suppose to go down so that HansoAir could accelerate the production of AIPS and say that it is needed to prevent accidents like this from happening.
Anyone notice the picture of Ben as a TSA at the airport?
what?
i dont remember a scene at the airport in Pilot part 1, so i dont know where you saw that picture of Ben. And what TSA stand for?
“A lot of the above could have other, completely mundane explanations. But I like thinking about how Jack might be having parallel experiences with Desmond—again going with a kind of metaphoric connection—the image of the two of them running up and down in the stadium.”
Look at it from this viewpoint as well.
If the stadium scene is a metaphor for everything occuring on the show, then Desmond’s instability temporally is more of just something desmond does. Remember, desmond was running the bleachers for no other purpose than a race. Yes, the purpose behind the race meant more to desmond personally, but essentially, he’s still just participating in a competition of sorts.
Jack’s temporal instability is different in the way that it’s something he is living through. When JACK was running the bleachers, his reason was entirely different. It was more of a personal reason than an actual goal. He’s actually trying to run AWAY from reality. He thought he’d lied to his future wife about her health and him running the bleachers was in attempt at not having to face the harsh nature of what his lie could result in. Much like how Jack “running the bleachers” of time may be him attempting to run away from the harsh nature of what his decision at the end of season 3 could result in.
More reason’s as to why the stadium running metaphor may apply to desmond and jacks passage through time.
Desmond only runs for a short time while jack had already been running before him (remember, jack shows up while pennys talkin to desmond about why he doesnt have to do the race). Not only does he run on the bleachers longer than desmond but he runs HARDER than desmond ever did (tho, that did not mean that end result was him being physically faster than desmond, mind you), all while eventually hurting himself in the process. Perhaps this is a metaphor for jack having bounced back and forth through different time lines for far longer than desmond, with far more grave consequences in store for “the hero”?
Evan, those are great connections. Maybe you could copy the above into a separate post/theory on Desmond/Jack ‘cause I’d like to see how the discussion on this point continues, and wouldn’t want to see it get lost here at the bottom of this post.
Jus a quick comment to top it off.
” Sayid’s name means “cutter” ”
Can you imagine the fear of being interrogated by someone who’s name means, in your native tongue, “cutter”?
yeah Evan—I think it can mean “cutter” as in torturer and also “cutter” as in surgeon—plus Desmond has a medical background, so there do seem to be a lot of connections through Jack.
i’m not sure that the horn noise is smokey. could there be 2 monsters on the island? smokey is smoke after all, we have seen him dodge in and out of trees. the monster in the pilot episode, seems big and bulky, almost mechanical. it was knocking trees down.
vincent is the smoke