Live Together, Die Alone

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“Live Together, Die Alone”

Lost episode

Michael, Jack, Kate, Sawyer & Hurley head off to rescue Walt

Episode no.

Season 2
Episode 23

Written by

Carlton Cuse & Damon Lindelof

Directed by

Jack Bender

Guest stars

Henry Ian Cusick
Clancy Brown
M.C. Gainey
Sam Anderson
Tania Raymonde
Michael Bowen
April Grace
Alan Dale
Sonya Walger
Michael Emerson
Stephen Page
Len Cordova
Alex Petrovitch

Production no.

223

Original airdate

May 24, 2006

Episode chronology
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"Three Minutes"	"A Tale of Two Cities"

Lost (season 2)
List of Lost episodes

"Live Together, Die Alone" is the 47th episode of Lost. It is the twenty-third episode and two-hour finale of the second season. It was directed by Jack Bender, and written by Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof. It first aired on May 24, 2006 on ABC. The episode is named after Jack's famous speech in the first season where he tells the survivors "If we can't live together, we're going to die alone." The character of Desmond Hume is featured in the episode's flashbacks.

1 Plot summary
- 1.1 Island storylines
- 1.2 Desmond's flashbacks
2 Cast Notes
3 References

[edit] Plot summary

Several different storylines are woven together throughout the episode, which begins with the interruption of the funeral for Libby and Ana Lucia by an unexpected appearance of a sailboat, with a drunken Desmond the sole occupant. He explains that after leaving the island he had traveled "two and a half weeks, bearing due west, and making nine knots" before discovering that he had been drawn back to the island, which he describes as a "bloody snowglobe." He also informs Claire that the vaccine injections she is giving herself and Aaron are worthless.

[edit] Island storylines

In one island storyline, the survivors split up into two groups to head to the Others' camp, which Michael described. Sayid — unbeknownst to Michael — plans to use Desmond's sailboat to come in by sea, while Michael leads Jack, Sawyer, Hurley and Kate there on land. Sayid plans to use black smoke as a signal, saying that "this time, they will know that we are coming", a reference to the attacks in the first season finale. While at sea, Sayid, Jin and Sun sight what appears to be the remnants of a massive statue — a large marble foot broken off at the ankle, standing upon a rock in the surf. Sayid remarks that he does not know which is more disturbing, the fact that the rest of the statue is missing or that the foot has only four toes.

When he reaches the Others' camp, he finds it to be deserted. All the huts are bare, with no furnishings, and the set of hatch doors on the side of the hill reveal nothing but a tiny cave, no larger than a closet.

Meanwhile, Michael, Jack, Sawyer, Hurley and Kate travel overland. Along the way, they encounter what looks like a large green bird, which swoops down on them, and according to Hurley (and the closed-caption subtitles), squawks his name. Later, they engage in a gun battle with some Others that were following them, and Sawyer kills one. Jack confronts Michael about leading the group into a trap, and Michael confesses to the murders of Ana Lucia and Libby. The group also discovers a large pile of the pneumatic tubes in which the journals from the Pearl were allegedly to have been conveyed to DHARMA headquarters. Among these is the map that Locke sent through the tube system in "?". While the group is investigating the pile, Sawyer spots Sayid's signal smoke, and they realize that Michael has led them to a location other than the beach, ruining their former plan to meet up with Sayid. Whispers are then heard — a frequent herald of the presence of the Others — after which Sawyer, Kate, and Jack are incapacitated by electric darts.

In the hatch storyline, Locke argues with Mr. Eko about whether or not to let the timer run down to zero. Eko throws Locke out of the hatch, so Locke seeks Desmond's help, after informing him of the 'Pearl' station and the monitoring of the 'Swan'. They distract Eko with a power failure, and then Desmond hotwires the blast doors shut, locking Eko outside so that Locke and Desmond, inside, can wait out the timer. Eko, distraught, seeks Charlie's help, pleading with him to help, or "everyone on the island will die." Charlie guides Eko to the stash where the unused dynamite was being stored, which they try to use to blast open the hatch doors, but it fails, knocking them both unconscious.

The dock where Jack, Kate, Sawyer and Hurley were held captive.

At the same time, Jack, Kate, Sawyer and Hurley are seen being held captive by the Others, who appear to be led by Henry Gale. The 4 are tied up and gagged. Gale keeps his bargain with Michael, returning his son, Walt, to him and giving them a boat, which Gale tells Michael to take on a specific compass heading (3-2-5). He further assures Michael that the four captives on the docks will not be harmed, and that the Others are "the good guys." Michael claims that he could bring people to the island, but Henry doubts it because then Michael would have to tell people how he got Walt back, which was at the expense of his friends.

Meanwhile, Desmond and Locke discuss the purpose of the stations, and Locke shows Desmond the printout from the Pearl. Upon examining it, Desmond learns that the crash of Oceanic 815 occurred on September 22nd 2004, the same day that he accidentally allowed the timer to run out, and realizes that the "magnetic anomaly" the button purports to control was the cause. He tells Locke that his banging on the hatch (during season 1) saved Desmond's life, and that now he is going to save Locke's life. Locke continues to doubt that the timer has any meaning, but Desmond assures him that it is all real, and tells him "See you in another life, brother" (as he did to Jack in "Man of Science, Man of Faith").

As the timer passes zero, the station's metal pieces begin to crumple due to the magnetic field. Charlie, deafened by the dynamite, wakes up, and attempts to drag an unconscious Eko out of the hatch. Desmond retrieves Kelvin's key and crawls underneath the hatch to reach the system termination switch. As he inserts the key, he flashes back to Penelope's letter: "All we need to survive is someone who truly loves us, and you have her . . . I will wait for you, always." Uttering "I love you, Pen," Desmond turns the key, and everything fades to white.

A shrill humming noise and violet-white light envelopes the entire island, causing the Oceanic 815 survivors and the Others alike on opposite sides of the island to bend in apparent pain. As it fades, something in the sky catches the eye of Bernard. He pulls Claire out of the way just in time as the metal hatch of the 'Swan' station slams into the beach.

Hurley is released and sent back to the other survivors with a message that they are to stay away from the Others' part of the island. He departs, but only after the bound and gagged Jack gives him a nod. Before being hooded, Jack exchanges a look with Kate, who blinks her eyes in acknowledgment. On the darkened, torch-lit beach, Charlie is the only person to return from the hatch. The whereabouts of Desmond, Eko, and Locke have not been revealed. Charlie reconnects with Claire, and they kiss as they sit among their fellow plane survivors.

The scene shifts to what appears to be a cramped polar research station, where two men speaking Portuguese are playing chess. The game is interrupted by a beeping monitor, whose screen displays the message ">/ 7418880 Electromagnetic Anomaly Detected". One of the men makes a frantic phone call to Penelope Widmore, saying, "I think we've found it."

[edit] Desmond's flashbacks

The first flashback takes place at a military prison in the United Kingdom, where Desmond has just completed his sentence and is retrieving his personal effects, one of which is a novel, Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens. When asked why he did not bring the novel inside the prison, Desmond replies that he has read "every wonderful word" of Dickens' writing except for this book, and is saving it so that it will be the last thing that he reads before he dies. After exiting the prison, the wealthy industrialist Charles Widmore confronts Desmond, revealing to him that he prevented Penelope from receiving Desmond's letters. He tries to bribe Desmond to stay away from his engaged daughter.

In the next flashback, Desmond is in a cafe, where he meets Libby. In conversation it is revealed that he did not accept the bribe money. Desmond jokingly asks Libby for $42,000 for a sailboat, so that he can win a large prize from Penelope's father. Libby, moved by his story, offers him the boat of her late husband, David (who named his boat Elizabeth after her). Desmond accepts the boat, saying that he will win the race "for love."

Desmond's third flashback occurs at the point just before Jack and Desmond's meeting at the stadium in "Man of Science, Man of Faith". As Desmond is preparing to run, he is surprised to see Penelope arrive. He asks how she found him and she reminds him she has a lot of money. Desmond tells her he will return in a year, after he wins her father's race, saying that he first has "to get [his] honor back."

In Desmond's fourth flashback, he is riding out a storm on the Elizabeth. He manages to secure his copy of Our Mutual Friend to himself, before being knocked unconscious. He later washes up on the island, to be rescued by a man in a yellow HAZMAT suit, Kelvin Inman who takes him to the Swan and asks Desmond if he is "him". When Desmond is confused, Inman asks, "What did one snowman say to the other snowman?", then realizes that Desmond is not his replacement. Inman teaches Desmond how to enter the numbers, which Inman describes as being needed to "save the world." Inman also instructs Desmond to inject himself with the vaccine every nine days to protect himself from an unnamed "disease" that he has been exposed to.

In another flashback, two years later, Desmond wheels a crushed metal box under the blast doors, which enables him to close them by shorting out some wires in a fuse box in the computer room without cutting off access between the kitchen and the computer room. Inman is seen painting the invisible map seen by Locke in "Lockdown" using a homemade solution consisting partially of laundry detergent, while regaling Desmond with tales of Radzinsky, his former partner. Desmond is skeptical of these, owing to Inman's never having actually described the man's fate. Inman gestures to a brown stain on the ceiling, saying that the man committed suicide by pointing a shotgun up his mouth.

Desmond is eager to see the outside world, but Inman refuses, saying Desmond couldn't survive in the hostile environment, despite Desmond's military experience. Inman mocks him, referring to Desmond's court martial for insubordination. When Desmond asks in return why Inman abandoned his own military career, Inman says that his departure was because "men followed [his] orders."

Another flashback shows Desmond awakening to find the timer with only 45 seconds remaining. After resetting it, he descends into a previously covered crawlspace beneath the computer room. There he discovers a drunken Inman playing with a key near an interface marked "System Termination." Inman describes the key as "the only other way out," saying that turning it will cause the Swan to "go away." He explains that the nearby geological features have a unique form of electromagnetism, and that the "incident" mentioned in the orientation filmstrip caused some sort of leak, which necessitates the release of built-up charge every 108 minutes.

A further flashback shows Desmond telling Inman that he will never abandon hope of returning to Penelope. Inman commends his optimism before leaving for the surface, saying "Goodbye" in a suspicious tone. Desmond notices a slit in Inman's suit (which would render it useless) and decides to follow him. Outside, he watches Inman dispose of his HAZMAT suit, and proceeds to the shore where the Elizabeth is moored, much to Desmond's surprise. Desmond confronts Inman, who admits having used Desmond as a pawn so that he could be free to fix the ship and flee the island. In the ensuing fight, Desmond pushes Inman down onto a rock and accidentally kills him. Desmond hastily rips the key from Inman's neck and returns to the Swan where he discovers that the timer has fully elapsed, and that the system has failed. An apparent magnetic anomaly is tearing the station apart, but Desmond manages to enter the numbers and things go back to normal.

In the very last flashback, Desmond is nursing a bottle of liquor and pondering over a handgun, before he opens Our Mutual Friend (suggesting that he is going to commit suicide) when a letter addressed to him falls out of the novel. He opens the letter to discover that Penelope wrote the letter before he left for prison, exhorting him to hold on to whatever hope he has and assuring him that she will wait for him always. Desmond flies into a fit of despondent rage, smashing records and books, realising that his last chance of getting Penelope back is now gone. Suddenly, he is interrupted by the sounds of Locke's first trying to break into the hatch (in "Deus Ex Machina"). In Locke's cries Desmond finds a source of empathy, and turns on the light that shines up into Locke's eyes.

[edit] Cast Notes

Malcolm David Kelley (Walt) is credited with the starring cast for this episode.

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

Live Together, Die Alone (Lost)

[edit] References

v • d • e Lost
Production	DVD releases • Episode list • Music • Season 1 • Season 2 • Season 3 • Season 4
Main characters	Ana Lucia • Ben • Boone • Charlie • Charlotte • Claire • Daniel • Desmond • Hurley • Jack • Jin • Juliet Kate • Libby • Locke • Michael • Miles • Mr. Eko • Nikki • Paulo • Sawyer • Sayid • Shannon • Sun • Walt
Supporting characters	Alex • Bernard • Christian • Ethan • Rose • Rousseau • Tom
Groups	Dharma Initiative • Hanso Foundation • Oceanic Airlines • The Others
Miscellaneous	Awards • Find 815 • Lost Experience • Lost: Missing Pieces • Lost: Via Domus • Mythology