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LaFleur (Lost)
Encyclopedia
"LaFleur" is the eighth television episode of the fifth season
of ABC
's Lost
. The 94th episode of the show overall, "LaFleur" aired on March 4, 2009 on ABC in the United States, being simulcast
on A in Canada. The episode was written by co-executive producers Elizabeth Sarnoff
and Kyle Pennington
and directed by editor Mark Goldman.
Having lost Charlotte Lewis
in the time flashes, James "Sawyer" Ford, Juliet Burke
, Miles Straume
, Jin-Soo Kwon
and Daniel Faraday
realize the time flashes have stopped, and they find themselves in 1974. Sawyer then perpetuates a lie to the DHARMA Initiative to protect themselves from mistakes of the past.
", a time jump briefly takes the remaining group of survivors — James "Sawyer" Ford (Josh Holloway
), Juliet Burke
(Elizabeth Mitchell
), Miles Straume
(Ken Leung
), Daniel Faraday
(Jeremy Davies
) and Jin-Soo Kwon
(Daniel Dae Kim) — to a time when there is an ancient statue standing on the island (the remnants of which are seen in "Live Together, Die Alone
"). They are only able to see the back of it before John Locke
(Terry O'Quinn
) turns the wheel, bringing the survivors forward to 1974, at the peak of the Dharma Initiative
's presence on the island. Now that John has pushed the wheel, the time jumps have stopped and they are stuck in the past. The group comes across a pair of Dharma Initiative members who have been captured by two of the island's native inhabitants, known as the Others. Juliet and Sawyer kill the Others and free Amy (Reiko Aylesworth
), but her husband Paul (Casey Byrnes) has been killed. The group returns to the barracks, where Amy resides; however, she tricks them into walking through the sonic fence which surrounds the barracks, knocking them unconscious.
Sawyer wakes up and is confronted by Horace Goodspeed (Doug Hutchison
), the leader of the Dharma Initiative on the island. Sawyer tells him that his name is James LaFleur and that he and the other survivors were part of a shipwreck on the island, and that they are still looking for other members of their crew. Horace tells him that they will have to leave the next day on the submarine because they are not "Dharma material". Meanwhile, Daniel sees Charlotte Lewis
(Rebecca Mader
) as a young girl, but decides not to say anything to her. That night, the spokesman of the Others, Richard Alpert
(Nestor Carbonell
), enters the barracks to determine why his treaty with Dharma was broken. Sawyer convinces Alpert not to attack Dharma, because he is the one who killed the Others. Alpert is further convinced when Sawyer shares knowledge of the events that transpired in 1954 in the episode "Jughead
". Because Sawyer has successfully defused the situation, Horace allows the group to stay and look for the other crew members of their ship, when in reality they are waiting for Locke to return with the survivors who left the island.
Three years later, the survivors have joined Dharma and are living in the barracks. Sawyer is the well respected head of security, while Jin (who is now fluent in English) continues to search for those who left the island. Amy is pregnant with Horace's baby and due to give birth in two weeks. Following an argument between them, Horace gets drunk and hurls sticks of dynamite at trees and Amy goes into early labor; Juliet successfully delivers the baby, the first that survived in all her time on the island. Horace believes that Amy is not yet over her deceased husband, however Sawyer reassures him by stating that three years is enough time to get over someone, referring to his relationship with Kate Austen
(Evangeline Lilly
). Sawyer returns to his home, where he lives with Juliet, with whom he is now in a relationship. The next morning, he receives a call from Jin, who has found Kate, Jack Shephard
(Matthew Fox
), and Hugo "Hurley" Reyes (Jorge Garcia
) in the jungle (as seen in "316
"). Sawyer secretly meets them far from the barracks, where they are reunited.
", Charlotte's birthday is said to be July 2, 1979, Mader's actual birthday. This led to a minor continuity error in "LaFleur", when Charlotte is depicted as being a young girl in 1974. Executive producers Cuse and Lindelof claimed in a podcast that the original script for "Confirmed Dead" listed Charlotte's birthday as being in 1970 and that Mader had it changed because she did not want people to think she was significantly older than she actually is. This caused a controversy when Mader later stated on her blog that Gregg Nations, the script coordinator, was the one who suggested the change. Cuse and Lindelof later conceded that she was right.
"LaFleur" garnered generally positive reviews from critics. Chris Carabott of IGN
gave the episode a positive review, stating "The narrative successfully establishes a new direction for the story from here on out and gives us an exciting, yet familiar, setting for the next few episodes." He also liked the episode's focus on Sawyer, saying "This is a great James Ford episode. It's been a while since we've had an opportunity to see Sawyer's con artist skills put to the test and he definitely delivers this week."
Lost (season 5)
The fifth season of the American serial drama television series Lost commenced airing on the ABC network in the United States and on A in Canada in January 2009, and concluded with a two-hour season finale on May 13, 2009...
of ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
's Lost
Lost (TV series)
Lost is an American television series that originally aired on ABC from September 22, 2004 to May 23, 2010, consisting of six seasons. Lost is a drama series that follows the survivors of the crash of a commercial passenger jet flying between Sydney and Los Angeles, on a mysterious tropical island...
. The 94th episode of the show overall, "LaFleur" aired on March 4, 2009 on ABC in the United States, being simulcast
Simulcast
Simulcast, shorthand for "simultaneous broadcast", refers to programs or events broadcast across more than one medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at the same time. For example, Absolute Radio is simulcast on both AM and on satellite radio, and the BBC's Prom concerts are often...
on A in Canada. The episode was written by co-executive producers Elizabeth Sarnoff
Elizabeth Sarnoff
Elizabeth "Liz" Sarnoff is an American television writer and producer. She has written episodes of NYPD Blue, Crossing Jordan, Deadwood and Lost.-Career:...
and Kyle Pennington
Kyle Pennington
Kyle David Pennington is an American television writer. He is credited with writing episodes of the American television series, Lost. He is currently a staff writer on Lost. He was nominated for a Writers Guild of America Award for Best Dramatic Series at the February 2009 ceremony for his work on...
and directed by editor Mark Goldman.
Having lost Charlotte Lewis
Charlotte Lewis (Lost)
Dr. Charlotte Staples Lewis is a fictional character on the American Broadcasting Company television series Lost, played by Rebecca Mader. Charlotte is introduced in the second episode of season four and is a cultural anthropologist on a mission to the island where Oceanic Flight 815 crashed...
in the time flashes, James "Sawyer" Ford, Juliet Burke
Juliet Burke
Dr. Juliet Burke is a fictional character on the ABC television series Lost played by Elizabeth Mitchell. Her character was introduced in the third season premiere.- Prior to arrival on the island :...
, Miles Straume
Miles Straume
Miles Straume is a fictional character played by Ken Leung on the ABC television series Lost. Miles is introduced early in the fourth season as a hotheaded and sarcastic medium as a crew member aboard the freighter called the Kahana that is offshore the island where most of Lost takes place...
, Jin-Soo Kwon
Jin-Soo Kwon
Jin-Soo Kwon, better known as "Jin," is a fictional character on the ABC television series Lost played by Daniel Dae Kim.- Prior to the crash :...
and Daniel Faraday
Daniel Faraday
Dr. Daniel Faraday, often referred to as Dan or simply by his surname, Faraday, is a fictional character on the ABC television series Lost played by Jeremy Davies. Faraday is introduced in the season four premiere as a physicist, suffering from memory loss, and is part of the team aboard the ...
realize the time flashes have stopped, and they find themselves in 1974. Sawyer then perpetuates a lie to the DHARMA Initiative to protect themselves from mistakes of the past.
Plot
Following the events of "This Place is DeathThis Place is Death
"This Place Is Death" is the fifth television episode of the fifth season of ABC's Lost. The 91st episode of the show overall, "This Place Is Death" aired on February 11, 2009 on ABC in the United States, being simulcast on A in Canada...
", a time jump briefly takes the remaining group of survivors — James "Sawyer" Ford (Josh Holloway
Josh Holloway
Joshua Lee "Josh" Holloway is an American actor and model from Free Home, Georgia. He is best known for his role as James "Sawyer" Ford on the American television show Lost.-Early life:...
), Juliet Burke
Juliet Burke
Dr. Juliet Burke is a fictional character on the ABC television series Lost played by Elizabeth Mitchell. Her character was introduced in the third season premiere.- Prior to arrival on the island :...
(Elizabeth Mitchell
Elizabeth Mitchell
Elizabeth Mitchell , is an American actress/modelwho is known for her roles as Dr. Juliet Burke on ABC's TV series Lost and as FBI agent Erica Evans on V. She has starred in such films as The Santa Clause 2, The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause, and Gia.-Early life:Mitchell was born Elizabeth...
), Miles Straume
Miles Straume
Miles Straume is a fictional character played by Ken Leung on the ABC television series Lost. Miles is introduced early in the fourth season as a hotheaded and sarcastic medium as a crew member aboard the freighter called the Kahana that is offshore the island where most of Lost takes place...
(Ken Leung
Ken Leung
Kenneth "Ken" Leung is an American actor best known for his role as Miles Straume in the ABC television series Lost and roles in such films as Shanghai Kiss, Rush Hour, X-Men: The Last Stand, and Saw.-Early life:...
), Daniel Faraday
Daniel Faraday
Dr. Daniel Faraday, often referred to as Dan or simply by his surname, Faraday, is a fictional character on the ABC television series Lost played by Jeremy Davies. Faraday is introduced in the season four premiere as a physicist, suffering from memory loss, and is part of the team aboard the ...
(Jeremy Davies
Jeremy Davies (actor)
Jeremy Davies is an American film and television actor. He is known for portraying the interpreter Cpl. Timothy E. Upham in the film Saving Private Ryan and the physicist Daniel Faraday on the television series Lost. He most recently appeared in the FX series, Justified, as Dickie Bennett.-Early...
) and Jin-Soo Kwon
Jin-Soo Kwon
Jin-Soo Kwon, better known as "Jin," is a fictional character on the ABC television series Lost played by Daniel Dae Kim.- Prior to the crash :...
(Daniel Dae Kim) — to a time when there is an ancient statue standing on the island (the remnants of which are seen in "Live Together, Die Alone
Live Together, Die Alone
"Live Together, Die Alone" is the second season finale of the ABC television series Lost, consisting of the 23rd and 24th episodes of the second season. It is also the 48th and 49th episodes overall. The episode was written by Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, and directed by Jack Bender. It first...
"). They are only able to see the back of it before John Locke
John Locke (Lost)
John Locke is a fictional character played by Terry O'Quinn on the ABC television series Lost. He is named after English philosopher John Locke...
(Terry O'Quinn
Terry O'Quinn
Terry O'Quinn is an American actor, most famous for playing John Locke on the TV series Lost. He made his debut in a 1980 television movie called F.D.R.: The Last Year. Since then, O'Quinn has had minor supporting roles in films and TV movies such as Young Guns, All the Right Moves, Silver Bullet,...
) turns the wheel, bringing the survivors forward to 1974, at the peak of the Dharma Initiative
DHARMA Initiative
The Dharma Initiative, also written DHARMA , was a fictional research project featured in the television series Lost. It was introduced in the second season episode "Orientation". In 2008, the Dharma Initiative website was launched. Dharma's interests were directly connected with fringe science...
's presence on the island. Now that John has pushed the wheel, the time jumps have stopped and they are stuck in the past. The group comes across a pair of Dharma Initiative members who have been captured by two of the island's native inhabitants, known as the Others. Juliet and Sawyer kill the Others and free Amy (Reiko Aylesworth
Reiko Aylesworth
Reiko M. Aylesworth is an American film, television and stage actress, best known for her role on the television series 24 as Michelle Dessler.-Life and career:...
), but her husband Paul (Casey Byrnes) has been killed. The group returns to the barracks, where Amy resides; however, she tricks them into walking through the sonic fence which surrounds the barracks, knocking them unconscious.
Sawyer wakes up and is confronted by Horace Goodspeed (Doug Hutchison
Doug Hutchison
Doug Anthony Hutchison is an American actor, known for his roles in The Green Mile, as corrections officer Percy Wetmore, Eugene Victor Tooms in The X-Files, as Horace Goodspeed in Lost and as Davros in 24. He owns the production company Dark Water Inc.-Personal life:Hutchison was born in Dover,...
), the leader of the Dharma Initiative on the island. Sawyer tells him that his name is James LaFleur and that he and the other survivors were part of a shipwreck on the island, and that they are still looking for other members of their crew. Horace tells him that they will have to leave the next day on the submarine because they are not "Dharma material". Meanwhile, Daniel sees Charlotte Lewis
Charlotte Lewis (Lost)
Dr. Charlotte Staples Lewis is a fictional character on the American Broadcasting Company television series Lost, played by Rebecca Mader. Charlotte is introduced in the second episode of season four and is a cultural anthropologist on a mission to the island where Oceanic Flight 815 crashed...
(Rebecca Mader
Rebecca Mader
Rebecca Leigh Mader is an English actress. She is known for her roles as Morgan Gordon on All My Children and Charlotte Lewis on Lost.-Career:...
) as a young girl, but decides not to say anything to her. That night, the spokesman of the Others, Richard Alpert
Richard Alpert (Lost)
Ricardo "Richard" Alpert is a fictional character played by Nestor Carbonell in the American ABC television series Lost. Alpert is introduced in a flashback of the character Juliet Burke , where he claims to be a doctor for a bioscience company called Mittelos Bioscience; he is later revealed to...
(Nestor Carbonell
Nestor Carbonell
Nestor Gastón Carbonell is an American actor, known for portraying Richard Alpert in ABC's drama Lost and Mayor Anthony Garcia in the film The Dark Knight...
), enters the barracks to determine why his treaty with Dharma was broken. Sawyer convinces Alpert not to attack Dharma, because he is the one who killed the Others. Alpert is further convinced when Sawyer shares knowledge of the events that transpired in 1954 in the episode "Jughead
Jughead (Lost)
"Jughead" is the third television episode of the fifth season of ABC's Lost. The 89th episode of the show overall, "Jughead" aired on January 28, 2009 on ABC in the United States, being simulcast on A in Canada...
". Because Sawyer has successfully defused the situation, Horace allows the group to stay and look for the other crew members of their ship, when in reality they are waiting for Locke to return with the survivors who left the island.
Three years later, the survivors have joined Dharma and are living in the barracks. Sawyer is the well respected head of security, while Jin (who is now fluent in English) continues to search for those who left the island. Amy is pregnant with Horace's baby and due to give birth in two weeks. Following an argument between them, Horace gets drunk and hurls sticks of dynamite at trees and Amy goes into early labor; Juliet successfully delivers the baby, the first that survived in all her time on the island. Horace believes that Amy is not yet over her deceased husband, however Sawyer reassures him by stating that three years is enough time to get over someone, referring to his relationship with Kate Austen
Kate Austen
Katherine Anne "Kate" Austen is a fictional character on the ABC television series Lost, played by Canadian actress Evangeline Lilly. She is the de facto female lead...
(Evangeline Lilly
Evangeline Lilly
Evangeline Lilly is a Canadian actress, best known for her role as Kate Austen in the ABC drama, Lost.-Early life:...
). Sawyer returns to his home, where he lives with Juliet, with whom he is now in a relationship. The next morning, he receives a call from Jin, who has found Kate, Jack Shephard
Jack Shephard
Dr. Jack Shephard is a fictional character and protagonist of the ABC television series Lost played by Matthew Fox. Lost follows the journey of the survivors of Oceanic Airlines flight 815 on a mysterious island and their attempts to survive and escape, slowly uncovering more of the much broader...
(Matthew Fox
Matthew Fox (actor)
Matthew Chandler Fox is an American actor. He is mostly known for his role as Charlie Salinger on Party of Five, and for portraying Jack Shephard on the supernatural drama television series Lost.- Early life :...
), and Hugo "Hurley" Reyes (Jorge Garcia
Jorge Garcia
Jorge García is a U.S. actor and comedian. He first came to public attention with his performance as Hector Lopez on the television show Becker and later for his portrayal of Hugo "Hurley" Reyes in the television series Lost. Garcia also performs as a stand-up comedian.-Early life:García was born...
) in the jungle (as seen in "316
316 (Lost)
"316" is the sixth television episode of the fifth season of ABC's Lost. The 92nd episode of the show overall, "316" aired on February 18, 2009 on ABC in the United States, and was simulcast on A in Canada...
"). Sawyer secretly meets them far from the barracks, where they are reunited.
Production
In the episode "Confirmed DeadConfirmed Dead
"Confirmed Dead" is the second episode of the fourth season and 74th episode overall of the ABC's serial drama television series Lost. It was aired on ABC in the United States and on CTV in Canada on February 7, 2008. The episode was written by co-executive producer Drew Goddard and co-producer...
", Charlotte's birthday is said to be July 2, 1979, Mader's actual birthday. This led to a minor continuity error in "LaFleur", when Charlotte is depicted as being a young girl in 1974. Executive producers Cuse and Lindelof claimed in a podcast that the original script for "Confirmed Dead" listed Charlotte's birthday as being in 1970 and that Mader had it changed because she did not want people to think she was significantly older than she actually is. This caused a controversy when Mader later stated on her blog that Gregg Nations, the script coordinator, was the one who suggested the change. Cuse and Lindelof later conceded that she was right.
Reception
The episode gained 12.396 million American viewers and 339,000 Australian viewers."LaFleur" garnered generally positive reviews from critics. Chris Carabott of IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
gave the episode a positive review, stating "The narrative successfully establishes a new direction for the story from here on out and gives us an exciting, yet familiar, setting for the next few episodes." He also liked the episode's focus on Sawyer, saying "This is a great James Ford episode. It's been a while since we've had an opportunity to see Sawyer's con artist skills put to the test and he definitely delivers this week."