2.04 - Everybody Hates Hugo

Title’s significance: Aside from referencing TV shows “Everybody Loves Raymond” and “Everybody Hates Chris,” Hurley fears being hated by everyone once they learn he’s in charge of the food.

Recap: Flashbacks tell us that Hurley was afraid of changing his life after the lotto win. Eventually, though, he quit his job at Mr. Cluck’s. After a wacky dream that promises that “Everything is going to change,” Hurley’s assigned to inventorying and apportioning the supplies in The Swan while the raft survivors across the island look for an escape from their prison before Ana Lucia releases them – all except for Sawyer. Hurley tries to keep The Swan’s computer secret from the beach camp but brings Rose down to help ration. Claire discovers the bottle filled with messages from the raft, and Charlie shadows Locke for answers about the hatch. The Tailies introduce the Rafties around at their hatch-like hideout The Arrow, and Sayid wonders why The Swan has a cement foundation like Chernobyl. Hurley tries to dynamite the food supply, but Rose stops him and they eventually set up a big party with the supplies. Claire and Shannon tell Sun about the message bottle, and she decides to bury it; her wedding ring falls off in the process.

Thoughts: Despite what this episode’s title claims, everybody loves Hurley. This episode drives forward the central issues of Season Two – The Swan and The Tailies – but it does so on a character-driven basis that puts almost minimal emphasis on mythology and more on examining what makes these characters tick. This it does effectively, without feeling like wasting the audience’s time (something that middle stretch of episodes from Season One didn’t handle quite so deftly). Of course, I’m just a sucker for Jorge Garcia.

Favorite moment: Korean-speaking Hurley’s gluttonous dream about The Swan’s stockroom and an English-speaking Jin imploring him to “Have a cluckety-cluck-cluck day, Hugo.”

Characters introduced (in order):

• JOHNNY, Hurley’s buddy from work
• STARLA, headphone hawker and Hurley’s romantic interest
• LIBBY, another tail-section survivor
• BERNARD, Rose’s husband and one of the Tailies

What we learned:

• The message bottle washed up on shore, but Sun buried it.
• The hatch is being kept a secret from the rest of the survivors.
• Randy, Locke’s box factory boss, originally worked at Mr. Cluck’s as Hurley’s boss.
• Nobody, including Hurley, actually knows the words to “You All Everybody.”
• Hurley had a crush on headphone vendor Starla.
• 23 Tailies survived the crash, but only a handful are still alive.
• Cindy is with the Tailies.
• Bernard, Rose’s husband, really did survive the plane crash.

Questions:

• Why is there so much ranch dressing in The Swan?
• The supplies in The Swan can’t have been down there since the ’70s. How is the stockroom getting replenished?
• What happened to the rest of the Tailies?
• Whatever happened with Hurley and Starla?
• How did Rose know that Bernard is fine?
• When will Rose and Bernard reunite?

Things that are going to be important in Season Six:

• Nothing of far-reaching mythological importance in this episode.