5.14 - The Variable

Title’s significance: Daniel believes he’s discovered the “Variable” that can rewrite history.

Recap: Flashbacks give Daniel some depth, exploring his mother’s obsession with destiny. Not particularly fond of Daniel’s girlfriend Theresa, Eloise pushes Daniel to do his research; after the discovery of Oceanic 815’s “wreckage,” Widmore visits Daniel, confesses to staging the crash, and hires Daniel to go to the island, promising it will heal him – Eloise encourages him to go. In 1977, Daniel’s submarine lands on the island, and he begins interrogating Jack about how he came back to the island, claiming that Eloise was wrong about coming back to the island. Sawyer brings Jack in on the captivity of Phil, and Daniel goes to The Orchid (where the season actually began, remember?) and asks Dr. Chang to evacuate the island before the Swan site releases electromagnetic energy; Daniel admits he’s from the future to validate his claims. Sawyer and his group caucus about leaving The Dharma Initiative, and Daniel wants to visit the Hostiles; Jack and Kate help him, but not before Daniel tells young Charlotte to leave the island. A gunfight ensues when Radzinsky tries to stop them, but they escape, and Daniel reveals that the energy trapped under The Swan could have the power to rewrite time so that Oceanic 815 never crashed – the only catch is that they have to detonate Jughead. Though Kate thinks this is insane, Jack’s comfortable with that, and Daniel goes into The Hostiles’ camp looking for Eloise; Richard Alpert meets him, Daniel asks about the hydrogen bomb, and Eloise shoots Daniel – learning only too late that he’s her son. In 2007, as Desmond is rushed to the hospital, Eloise visits Penny, apologizing that Desmond is enmeshed in some conflict larger than himself. Outside the hospital, Widmore and Eloise clash over the matter of sacrifice, and we learn that Daniel is Widmore’s son.

Thoughts: I kind of wish that Damon and Carlton had gotten to write the 100th episode of LOST, but as it is this episode is still pretty good. Daniel’s mysterious mission is well-handled, not revealed until it’s absolutely critical that we know what he’s up to. This episode lays ground for some very major developments, particularly ones that are going to be of the utmost importance in Season Six. The episode “Jughead” finally pays off, and the seeds are sown for the finale.

Favorite moment: After seeing Radzinsky stomp around with his gun, Hurley mutters, “That’s not good, right?”

Characters introduced (in order):

• No new characters introduced in this episode.

What we learned:

• Theresa was Daniel’s girlfriend.
• Widmore was funding Daniel’s research.
• Daniel’s work with electromagnetic radiation made him and Theresa fritzy.
• Widmore is Daniel’s father.
• Eloise knew that Daniel would die if he came to the island.

Questions:

• When did Eloise leave the island, and why?
• When did Daniel learn that his mother was a Hostile?
• Why would Eloise send Daniel to the island, knowing he would die?

Things that are going to be important in Season Six:

• Daniel reveals the details of what I’ve colloquially called “The Jughead Plan.” But will it work?
• What conceivable reason would Eloise have for sending Daniel to die? Is it just course-correction or is there something larger at stake like, oh, the fate of the world?