Lost Summer: Episode 6-7.
"House Of The Rising Sun" & "The Moth."
Another week of Lost Summer is upon us. We have much to discuss. I’m in a good mood.
I saw my grandmother on Saturday for the first time in what felt like several years. A cousin was getting married and was kind enough to invite me, and I spent the day introducing myself to relatives who were too young (or not alive) to remember the last time I was around. It was a trip watching people I last saw as toddlers ordering tequila shots and introducing me to their children. I felt grateful, fortunate, awkward, slightly ashamed and overwhelmingly lucky.
Lost Summer is supposed to be (to a certain extent) a trip back to 2004, so let me tell you a story from 2004. I was 22 and about to get married. My parents had long-since divorced and I still carried my father’s last name, even though it wasn’t my birth name and my relationship with that side of the family was often distant and increasingly strained.
The Missus and I discussed the idea of changing my last name back to my birth name (Zeinert, my mother’s maiden name) for a few reasons. Again, it was my birth name (my parents weren’t yet married when I was born), my mother had already changed her name back, and…it sorta felt like bad luck? My parents were divorced. I didn’t want to get divorced. I wasn’t even married yet! I thought that a reset back to the factory settings made the most sense before heading into the most important relationship of my life. A fresh start.
It was also a self-serving decision, no question about it. I didn’t do it because I disliked anyone or wished to purposely distance myself from my father’s side of the family any further. If I should be accused of anything, it was making a decision for myself and my wife that some relatives may take personally- specifically my father and my grandmother- that I cannot blame nor control. Which is why I sat down with both of them in the months leading to the wedding in 2004 to inform them of my decision.
It was a rough day. And while I stood by my decision, it didn’t sit well with everyone. It seems that it still doesn’t.
The collateral damage was more of a long-term stasis than nuclear annihilation. It became more uncomfortable to visit, so I visited less. The phone didn’t ring as much, so I followed suit. Soon, I was only seeing my family on holidays and funerals, which then became just funerals. Suddenly, 20 years have passed and you’re meeting college-aged cousins who have never spoken to you. Communication is a two-way street, and while I can only control my side of the conversation, I could have tried harder. Again, grateful and fortunate, but awkward and slightly ashamed.
I have one living grandparent left. My wife has none. Most people my age have none. I exchange Christmas and Birthday cards with my grandmother. I make a promise to see her as soon as I can, then suddenly it’s Christmas all over again and I’m making the same old excuse inside of a new Hallmark card. I feel bad about it every single time.
But on Saturday, the planets finally aligned. The long-term stasis was instead a nuclear blast, but this time bringing me closer instead of retreating further away. I met new, incredibly sweet members of my family that I hope to see again very soon. I caught up with uncles and aunts and exchanged pleasantries of the Old Days (even if it was nothing more than a head-nod and a handshake). And I hugged my grandmother for the first time in…way, way too long.
Her hearing isn’t great. She has vertigo so it helps to stay close and put a hand on her shoulder when walking (she refuses to use a cane, and I’d expect nothing less). She’s gotten several inches shorter. But the memory. The big smile. The high-pitched laugh. The long-standing familial jokes and reminiscence? Like no time had passed at all.
I thought about the dozens of nights in the 80’s when she would babysit me. I thought about watching Murder, She Wrote on her living room floor and the hundreds of board games she kept in her basement. I thought about how she would wrap our Christmas presents with the Sunday Cartoon section of the newspaper. I thought about how good of a bowler she was, and how hectic it must have been for her to raise six children on a dairy farm. Then grandchildren. Then great-grandchildren.
Folks, listen to me. If you are fortunate enough to have grandparents that are still around, and you are fortunate enough to have a relationship where a visit or phone call would be possible and pleasant and a positive experience, I’m insisting that you do it. There are few things in my life that have brought me more joy than having grandparents that I loved and who loved me back. I wasted too much time making Saturday finally happen. I almost waited too long to have it happen at all.
Okay. That’s that. Take a minute and shake it off. Time to get unserious for a lil’ bit and finally talk about Episodes 6 and 7 of Lost…with THE THICK & MEATY!
EPISODE 6: “HOUSE OF THE RISING SUN”
Flashbacks
Sun chats at a dinner party and is offered some champagne by a waiter, Jin. He also hands her a napkin which contains a message (“TEXT FEET PICS”). She meets with him privately and the two smooch it up. Sun wants to elope, but Jin tells her that her father, Mr. Paik, would not allow it. As a symbol of affection, Jin reassures her by giving her a white flower and promises that it will one day be a diamond. A Dustin Diamond.
Days later, Jin has spoken to Mr. Paik and has been granted permission to marry Sun. However, Jin explains that he would be now working for Sun’s father, if only temporarily. He presents her with a diamond engagement ring, paid for with the money from his new job, which consists of roundhouse kicking guys in the back of the head 24/7.
Some time after the wedding, Sun and Jin live in a posh apartment in Seoul. Sun returns home to find that Jin has bought her a puppy. “All is forgiven,” she says. “Kill as many men as it takes to fill this apartment to the brim with Shar-Peis.”
One day, Sun is showing a decorator around while Jin is in the living room, appearing to be in a bad mood. Sun takes the woman to her bedroom, where it is revealed that the decorator is, in fact, someone Sun had hired to help her flee the country. Asking if she's sure, the woman gives Sun fake identity documents and tells her that she will have to make an excuse to walk away from her husband at the airport. “Like, say you gotta poop or something,” the woman suggests. “Does it have to be that?” Sun says.
“Yes,” the woman replies. “It is the only way.”
In Sydney, Jin and Sun prepare to check in for a flight to Los Angeles. Sun prepares to abandon Jin, but she finds that she cannot leave him. She returns to her husband, who gives her a white flower. He asks her why she looks upset and she lies, answering that it is because of the flower's beauty. In reality, it’s a fairly ugly flower if we’re being real.
Then she sees her Shar-Pei wearing a little pilot’s outfit. He’s flying the plane.
On The Island
Jin runs toward Michael in anger. Jin violently attacks Michael while Sun and Walt shout for him to stop. Sayid and Sawyer pull them apart, and Sayid cuffs Jin to a large piece of plane wreckage to restrain him.
In the jungle, Jack leads a group to where he found the fresh water. When they arrive, Charlie sneaks away to take some of his Brown Sugar (it really was brown sugar) but Locke interrupts him, telling him to stay still. Charlie has stepped on a beehive, much like an oafish cartoon bear would. Jack prepares to cover the beehive with a piece of luggage, but when one of the bees stings Charlie, his movement splits the hive and the group runs away as bees scatter. Everyone had better tear their clothes off until this blows over.
Jack and Kate get to the caves (nudely), but Kate suddenly jumps as she spots a skeleton on a ledge. Jack finds another set of remains and assesses them; the bodies have been there a long time, approximately half a century according to Jack. “Ooh-wee!” Jack exclaims. “Adam & Eve will make a fine, fine jerky.” He also thinks everyone should live in the caves so they don’t have to lug water back to the beach.
Back at the beach, Jack is hoping to convince the survivors to move into the caves for shelter and water purposes, which isn’t going over well with those who are still attempting to be quickly rescued. The group starts to fracture into two camps.
In the woods by the beach, Michael chops bamboo but is interrupted by Sun who says, "I need to talk to you" in perfect English. She reveals Jin does not know she speaks English and that the watch Michael found in the wreckage had belonged to Jin, which is why he attacked him.
Locke tells Charlie he is aware of his drug problem. He asks if Charlie wants his guitar more than the drugs. Charlie agrees and hands over the heroin, as Locke tells him to look up. Wrapped in roots above him is Charlie's guitar case. Charlie then begins to play a 30 Seconds to Mars song. Locke immediately breaks the guitar and gives Charlie his drugs back.
EPISODE 7: “THE MOTH”
Flashbacks
Charlie sits in the confessional of a church, confessional’ing it up. He discusses his recent promiscuous experiences and attributes them to his band, Drive Shaft. Through counsel, Charlie decides that he must quit the band as promiscuity falls outside of the strict tenets of the Catholic Church. Outside the confessional he finds his brother, Liam Pace, who shows Charlie a record contract. Drive Shaft is finally going to make it big.
Leaving the church, Liam tries to convince Charlie to take up the opportunity. Charlie is unsure, but Liam says he'll watch out for him and promises that if Charlie says so, they will immediately walk away. They will also not look back in anger and live forever.
Wonderwall.
At a gig, the band is playing when Liam steals Charlie's lines (not cocaine lines, singing lines). Charlie's love for the music conflicts with Liam's "in the moment" attitude, because there’s nothing less musical than spontaneity. At a later show, Charlie enters the dressing room, ordering Liam's groupies to get out (no promiscuity!). Liam has missed sound check, and seeing his brother in the state that he is in, Charlie asks Liam to make good on his promise to walk away. Liam won't allow it, saying that without the band, Charlie is nothing. Liam storms out of the room. Charlie sits down and finds Liam's heroin stash. He begins to cry as he looks at it.
Years have passed, and Charlie is in Sydney visiting Liam. His older brother has started a family now, but Charlie wants him to return to the band, which has been given a new opportunity in Los Angeles. Liam flatly tells Charlie, however, that he doesn't want to come back, despite the fact they will only be signed if both Pace brothers are willing to return. Liam recalls the night of his child's birth, and how he and Charlie were looking for a fix at the time. He won't return to such a life. He realizes that Charlie is still using heroin, and Charlie shouts back that "You did this to me!" Liam offers to help Charlie kick his addiction, but Charlie leaves, saying that Liam never looked out for him and he has a plane to catch.
On The Island
Charlie sits playing his guitar in an attempt to keep his mind off the worsening withdrawal symptoms. Locke decides to aid him and suggests that the two of them go for a walk.
Charlie is strolling in the jungle when he hears strange sounds. He begins to run as a boar chases him. He manages to get to high ground, but to his astonishment the boar gets caught in a trap. Locke thanks Charlie for playing the bait, but Charlie simply states that he wants his sky candy back. He regrets handing over his stash to John, and in response John says that he can ask for it three times, and he'll return it to him on the third, because he is an impish wood nymph trickster and everything’s gotta be a goddamn riddle with this guy. With Charlie's first request already up, Locke warns Charlie to separate himself from instinct and temptation.
Meanwhile, Sayid has hatched a plan to find the source of the French signal. With three antennas positioned at different locations, he can triangulate the source of the signal. Kate will position one in the jungle, Boone will keep one at the beach, and Sayid will take the third to high ground inland. Unfortunately, the antenna power cells are so dry that they could cut out at any moment. Thus, they must all activate their antennas at the same moment. To do this, Sayid gives them each a bottle rocket (which he says he found on the plane, thanks to fireworks smugglers). When all three rockets are up, they must activate their power cells.
At the caves, Charlie offers to make himself useful by carrying Jack's luggage. The case falls open, however, revealing medicine, and Jack sees Charlie inspecting a bottle of Valium. Charlie claims he is looking for aspirin and Jack says that he is looking a little ill. “Nope, just British” Charlie replies. Charlie tells Jack to stop treating him like a kid. His shouting, however, causes a cave-in, and the other survivors look on in shock as plumes of dust rise around them. Charlie makes it out of the smoke, but Jack does not.
Hurley orders Charlie to go down to the beach for help, and he enlists assistance from Michael, Steve*, Scott*, and Boone. Boone was involved in Sayid's plan, however, so he reluctantly asks Shannon to take his place in firing the bottle rocket.
Meanwhile, Michael takes over at the caves due to his experience in construction work. Elsewhere, Charlie finds Locke in the jungle, skinning the boar he caught, and tells him about Jack. However, Locke realizes the real reason he is there, and Charlie asks for the drugs a second time. In response, John shows Charlie a moth cocoon. He points out that he could release the moth with his knife, but it would die from being too weak. The struggle is what strengthens, Locke explains, comparing the creature's plight to Charlie's situation. Recovering addicts love parables.
Sawyer, Kate, and Sayid arrive at Kate's triangulation position. Sayid warns Kate about Sawyer before heading out to his own position. At the caves, the team manages to make a hole and hear Jack's voice. He is trapped under the rubble and someone needs to crawl through to help him. Charlie volunteers, saying that he can do this. Back at Kate's position, Sawyer asks why she is attracted to Jack. He comments, perhaps accidentally, about what might have happened "if he had survived a few more weeks," causing Kate to immediately demand to know what he means. Sawyer admits the truth about Jack and the cave-in, and Kate throws him her bottle rocket before running into the jungle.
At the caves, Charlie enters the hole and reaches Jack. A small cave-in occurs behind him, however, leaving both men trapped inside. Jack reveals that he knows Charlie is suffering from withdrawal symptoms, but Charlie notices something else: a moth. He follows it through the dirt and finds light. Fighting through the rocks, Charlie manages to break through just outside the main caves. Charlie and Jack show up behind the others, much to their surprise, and a relieved Kate hugs Jack. The group congratulates Charlie for saving Jack.
At five o'clock, Sayid initiates his plan by setting off his rocket. Both Shannon and Sawyer set off their rockets as well, and Sayid turns on the transceiver. He receives a strong signal, but before he can interpret it, someone knocks him unconscious. It was Sun’s Shar-Pei!
Charlie finds Locke and asks for the drugs a third and final time. John gives him a betrayed look and gives them to him, asking if he's sure, but after a moment of staring, Charlie throws the stash into the fire. Locke smiles and says, "I'm proud of you." As Charlie looks up, he cries as he sees a moth fly away into the night.
We have to dig into something very specific, here. So no better time than right now to BREAK IT DOWN!
THE SCOTT* & STEVE* PARADOX
Scott Jackson and Steve Jenkins were two middle section survivors played by Dustin Watchman and Christian Bowman. The show frequently muddled the two men's identities and eventually created a running joke out of the confusion. Here is that story.
In “The Moth,” Michael recruited the two of them to help clear the cave-in. He referred to Christian Bowman's character as Scott, only to be told that he was Steve - Dustin Watchman's character instead identified himself as Scott.
After the attacks on Claire at the caves, Hurley began investigating with the pair. But he soon told Jack, "I'm out here looking for some psycho with Scott and Steve, right? And I'm realizing…who the hell are Scott and Steve?" His confusion led him to organize a census of survivors.
When Ethan Rom began attacking the camp after Claire's kidnapping, Scott was the first victim. Though Sawyer initially misidentified him ("Guess old Steve drew the short straw"), Hurley corrected him and spoke about Scott at the funeral. However, Scott’s body was played by Christian Bowman, who was Steve. Uh-oh.
Characters then continued to refer to Steve, who was evidently still a member of the camp. On the raft, Sawyer talked of Tracy sleeping beside Steve, but he referred to the man as "Scott" until Walt corrected him ("That's Steve. Scott's dead"). Ana Lucia, who had never even known Scott while he was alive, similarly referred to Steve as Scott before Jack corrected her ("You mean Steve. Scott's dead"). Bernard, who had also not met the two before Scott's death, simply referred to Steve as "Jenkins.” Jenkins!
But though Scott was dead, Dustin Watchman continued to appear on the show as a background character, perhaps now playing Steve's part. Christian Bowman did not appear again on the Island, but he did return in a flashback in the Season 1 finale.
After Season 1 had aired, fans and cast alike tried to sort this all out. In an interview with Lostpedia (which is where I retrieved this story), Christian Bowman confirmed that he did indeed win the role of Steve Jenkins and played him in the show's first episodes. But when the script called to kill off Christian's character, the writers mistakenly referred to this character as "Scott," forcing the actors to exchange parts as a retcon. It was a straight-up mistake. Like the Gas Man/Morgue Man thing I mentioned last week, but…worse.
In 2006, Producer Carlton Cuse said he had "no idea" which of the two was still alive. Producer Adam Horowitz said that they used a notecard to remind themselves that "Scott is dead, Steve is alive" because they'd lost track. Later that year, Cuse clarified that the mix-up was a mistake that later turned into a running gag.
The Scott & Steve Paradox. If you didn’t know, now you know. Now let’s get to THE NUMBERS!
4 – “House Of The Rising Sun” was initially watched by 16.83 million viewers. “The Moth” shot up an additional two million to snag an 18.73. The idea that two million viewers could just come and go from an episodic drama week-to-week is wild and scarce to the point of extinction in 2024.
8 – There are no guest stars and only 1 co-star in “House Of The Rising Sun,” the lowest number for any episode of the entire series. Enjoy these simple moments before the billed cast balloons to over 30 people.
15 – We will not find out the identity of “Adam & Eve” until Season 16, Episode 15, just three episodes from the Series Finale (The Man in Black and his adoptive mother).
16 – Both Yunjin Kim and Daniel Dae Kim were born in Korea but raised in the United States. Daniel had moved from South Korea as a toddler and forgotten most of his Korean by the time he won the role of Jin; Yunjin Kim helped him relearn the language.
23 – Neil Hopkins, who plays Charlie's older brother Liam, is actually younger than actor Dominic Monaghan by about six months. He is also American.
42 – “The Moth” marked the first full appearance of “You All Everybody.” The lyrics were inspired by an incident on The Phil Donahue Show (RIP) where a female audience member yelled out, "You all everybody, acting like it's the stupid people wearing expensive clothes." The producers had an inside joke where they would say this quotation to each other. If you can find that Donahue clip, I’ll give you $100.
Thanks so much for reading; a reminder that Lost Summer will be back Friday with another triple-shot recap. Sound off in the comments and enjoy your week.
I think it’s worth noting that you have a Nokia phone in the picture at your grandma’s house! Wild!