S.O.S. (Lost)
Encyclopedia
"S.O.S." is the 19th episode of the second season of Lost
and the 44th episode overall. The episode was directed by Eric Laneuville
, and written by Steven Maeda
and Leonard Dick
. It first aired on April 12, 2006 on ABC
. The characters of Rose Henderson (L. Scott Caldwell
) and Bernard Nadler (Sam Anderson
) are featured in the episode's flashbacks.
food drops. Bernard posits that the other survivors had already "given up" on being rescued.
Meanwhile, John Locke
(Terry O'Quinn
) attempts to remember and to draw the writing he saw on the blast doors in "Lockdown
", but to no avail. Jack Shephard
(Matthew Fox
) enters the armory to change Henry Gale's (Michael Emerson
) bandages and to interrogate him. Jack tells Henry that he plans to cross the line of the Others and tell them that Henry is a captive. Jack suggests Henry could be used in a trade for Walt Lloyd
(Malcolm David Kelley
), but Henry replies "They'll never give you Walt."
In flashbacks, Bernard and Rose are seen meeting for the first time when he helps get her car unstuck from the snow. Rose, initially reluctant to accept his help, ultimately manages to free the car with his support. In return for his assistance, and perhaps a result of an initial attraction, she offers to buy him a cup of coffee.
Bernard enlists Hugo "Hurley" Reyes (Jorge Garcia
) to gather the survivors for an impromptu meeting. In the hatch, Ana Lucia Cortez
(Michelle Rodriguez
) offers to accompany Jack in his attempt to negotiate with the Others. Ana gives Jack a gun
and advises him to take someone with him. Jack approaches James "Sawyer" Ford (Josh Holloway
) and Kate Austen
(Evangeline Lilly
) on the beach to explain his plan for a prisoner exchange. Jack invites Kate to accompany him into the jungle, and she agrees to come.
Meanwhile, Bernard admonishes the others for losing their will to be rescued. He, citing the supply plane that must have dropped the DHARMA rations, suggests to create a SOS
sign. Rose shoots down the plan, dismissing it as giving the others "false hope."
In a flashback, Bernard and Rose are lunching with a view of Niagara Falls
, five months after their first meeting. At this point, Bernard proposes to Rose, citing that they "fell into this rhythm." Rose, without giving an answer, reveals she is terminally ill with cancer, and has a year left to live, perhaps slightly longer. Bernard nevertheless reaffirms his proposal, to which Rose responds with an affirmative.
Bernard asks Charlie Pace
(Dominic Monaghan
) and Mr. Eko
(Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje
) to help build his S.O.S. sign, but the two men respond they are too busy building a church. Bernard, incredulous at the seemingly cavalier attitude the survivors have towards their rescue, storms off.
In the hatch, Locke tries to speak to Henry through the armory door, asking him whether or not he entered the numbers into the computer. However, Henry doesn't respond, only smirking to himself.
On the beach, Bernard tells a diminished group a newfangled plan to bring rocks from a field for the S.O.S. Hurley and Jin
express skepticism for Bernard's planning skills.
On their honeymoon, Bernard takes her to Australia
to see a faith healer, Isaac of Uluru
. Rose becomes angry and says, "I have made my peace with what's happening to me." However, Bernard succeeds in persuading Rose to talk to Isaac.
Bernard encounters more apathy when he tries to enlist Sawyer's help, and reveals to Rose his group had diminished to four. Bernard and Rose argue, as Rose suggests his managing skills aren't up to par.
Jack and Kate trek through the jungle. Kate notices a doll on the ground, and reaches to pick it up, despite Jack's frantic cries to stop. Kate picks up the doll and both she and Jack become ensnared in a net. They determine the trap is Danielle Rousseau
's (Mira Furlan
) due to its lower level of sophistication, and attempt to free themselves. Kate reaches around Jack to get the gun, and they try to shoot the rope suspending them in the air. Jack succeeds.
On the beach, Bernard and Jin engage in an argument over the placement of the rocks. Jin is visibly fatigued from the labor, and walks away. Bernard calls out, telling him he wants to get Rose home, but Jin simply apologizes and walks away.
Rose derides Bernard's plan to Locke, but Locke is more sympathetic. Locke tells her that he's "done with the hatch", but Rose is skeptical. Locke tells her that Jack diagnosed a four week period of healing, but Rose says "you and I both know it's not going to take that long."
Isaac states that his office is on top of a place of great energy, perhaps magnetic or geological. He says he will attempt to harness that energy to give it to others. However, he says he is unable to help Rose because the energy in Australia is not the right kind for her. He even offers to return Bernard's money, but Rose tells him to keep it, saying that she will tell Bernard that Isaac "fixed" her so that Bernard would stop trying to save her life.
Now free, Jack and Kate continue to march through the jungle, through a heavy rain. Jack asks Kate to explain her earlier comment about the lack of sophistication in the net. Kate tells him about her expedition with Claire to the other hatch.
Jack and Kate arrive at the place where his standoff with the Others
occurred. He calls out into the jungle, challenging them to show themselves. He becomes increasingly animated as he calls for the Others, but receives no response.
Bernard continues to work on the S.O.S. alone. Rose brings him some supper and offers him an apology for lying about being healed by Isaac. Rose says that she was nevertheless healed because after the crash, she "couldn't feel" the illness inside of her anymore. She tells him that the island healed her, and tells him with absolute certainty that she knows who or what healed her.
In the airport, Rose drops her pills while waiting for a boarding call. Locke, still in his wheelchair, returns them to her, revealing that she knows his secret.
Bernard realizes that Rose doesn't want to be rescued from fear of regaining the illness away from the island. Upon his revelation, he tells Rose that he won't leave the island or try to continue the sign.
At nightfall, Locke continues to try to remember the diagram he saw on the blast doors while the other survivors enjoy themselves on the beach.
In the jungle, Kate apologizes for kissing Jack, but Jack reveals that he is not sorry about the moment. A man comes stumbling out of the jungle carrying a torch. He falls to the ground in front of the two, and is turned over, revealing him to be an unconscious Michael Dawson
(Harold Perrineau).
's husband was going through health problems during the shooting of the first season, which was the inspiration for the flashbacks in "S.O.S.".
The couple's backstory was originally planned to be told during season three; however during season two, the Lost writers wanted to tell the story of one of the background characters of the show. As Rose and Bernard are the most prominent of these characters, and fans were keen to learn their backstory, they decided to do an episode focussing on the couple. Following this episode, Caldwell did not think Rose's healing had anything to do with the Island and stated "If she is cured, it's because she's willed it herself". After "S.O.S.", Rose does not appear again until twenty-five episodes later, in the third season's "Greatest Hits". The writers cited Caldwell and Sam Anderson's other projects as a reason for their absence.
's TV Squad, liked "S.O.S." because it showed "two characters' back stories which we've all been longing to see", comparing their relationship to that of Jack and Kate
(Evangeline Lilly
), and finding Rose's meeting with Isaac "particularly interesting". Lost producer Leonard Dick
called Rose and Bernard "much-beloved characters", and thought they did an "excellent job" in "S.O.S.".
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...
and the 44th episode overall. The episode was directed by Eric Laneuville
Eric Laneuville
Eric Gerard Laneuville is an American television director, actor and martial artist. His first prominent acting roles were in the science-fiction film The Omega Man with Charlton Heston and the ABC television series Room 222 . His role as Luther Hawkins in the television series St...
, and written by Steven Maeda
Steven Maeda
Steven Maeda is an American television writer and producer. He has written episodes of television series such as Harsh Realm, The X-Files, CSI: Miami, Lost, and Day Break. He has also served as a supervising producer on Lost and CSI: Miami...
and Leonard Dick
Leonard Dick
Leonard Dick is an award-winning television writer and producer who is currently writing for The Good Wife .Leonard was born in Toronto, Ontario, and attended high school at Upper Canada College, where he was elected head of Howard's House, and thus served on the Board of Stewards.Leonard attended...
. It first aired on April 12, 2006 on 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...
. The characters of Rose Henderson (L. Scott Caldwell
L. Scott Caldwell
Laverne Scott Caldwell is an American actress known for her role as Rose on Lost.This Chicago native started her career in 1978 as a member of the famed Negro Ensemble Company, making her Broadway debut two years later in the Tony Award nominated play Home...
) and Bernard Nadler (Sam Anderson
Sam Anderson
Sam Anderson is an American actor.-Early life:Anderson was born in Wahpeton, North Dakota. He is a graduate of the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks. During the 1970s, Sam taught drama at Antelope Valley College in Lancaster, California.-Career:Anderson is perhaps best known for his roles...
) are featured in the episode's flashbacks.
Plot
The episode begins with Rose Henderson and Bernard Nadler bickering over the recent arrival of DHARMA InitiativeDHARMA 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...
food drops. Bernard posits that the other survivors had already "given up" on being rescued.
Meanwhile, 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,...
) attempts to remember and to draw the writing he saw on the blast doors in "Lockdown
Lockdown (Lost)
"Lockdown" is the 42nd episode of Lost. It is the 17th episode of the second season. The episode was directed by Stephen Williams, and written by Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof. It first aired on March 29, 2006 on ABC...
", but to no avail. 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 :...
) enters the armory to change Henry Gale's (Michael Emerson
Michael Emerson
Michael Emerson is an American actor who is perhaps best known for his roles as Benjamin Linus on Lost and fictional serial killer William Hinks in The Practice.-Early life:...
) bandages and to interrogate him. Jack tells Henry that he plans to cross the line of the Others and tell them that Henry is a captive. Jack suggests Henry could be used in a trade for Walt Lloyd
Walt Lloyd
Walter "Walt" Lloyd is a fictional character portrayed by Malcolm David Kelley in the American ABC television series Lost. The series follows the lives of over forty survivors of the crash of Oceanic Flight 815. Walt is introduced in the pilot episode as one of the survivors aboard the plane, which...
(Malcolm David Kelley
Malcolm David Kelley
Malcolm David Kelley is an American teen actor. He starred in the 2004 film You Got Served as "Li'l Saint". He also appears in the television series Lost as the character Walt Lloyd. A regular cast member in the show's first season , he has appeared only occasionally since due to a dramatic...
), but Henry replies "They'll never give you Walt."
In flashbacks, Bernard and Rose are seen meeting for the first time when he helps get her car unstuck from the snow. Rose, initially reluctant to accept his help, ultimately manages to free the car with his support. In return for his assistance, and perhaps a result of an initial attraction, she offers to buy him a cup of coffee.
Bernard enlists 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...
) to gather the survivors for an impromptu meeting. In the hatch, Ana Lucia Cortez
Ana Lucia Cortez
Ana Lucia Cortez is a fictional character on the ABC television series Lost, played by Michelle Rodriguez. Ana Lucia made her first appearance as a guest star in the first season finale, and became part of the main cast for season two. After Oceanic Flight 815 splits in mid-air, the tail section...
(Michelle Rodriguez
Michelle Rodriguez
Mayte Michelle Rodríguez , known professionally as Michelle Rodriguez, is an American actress. Following on from her breakthrough role in 2000's Girlfight, she is best known for playing tough-girl roles and starring in Hollywood blockbusters such as The Fast and the Furious, Resident Evil,...
) offers to accompany Jack in his attempt to negotiate with the Others. Ana gives Jack a gun
Gun
A gun is a muzzle or breech-loaded projectile-firing weapon. There are various definitions depending on the nation and branch of service. A "gun" may be distinguished from other firearms in being a crew-served weapon such as a howitzer or mortar, as opposed to a small arm like a rifle or pistol,...
and advises him to take someone with him. Jack approaches 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:...
) and 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:...
) on the beach to explain his plan for a prisoner exchange. Jack invites Kate to accompany him into the jungle, and she agrees to come.
Meanwhile, Bernard admonishes the others for losing their will to be rescued. He, citing the supply plane that must have dropped the DHARMA rations, suggests to create a SOS
SOS
SOS is the commonly used description for the international Morse code distress signal...
sign. Rose shoots down the plan, dismissing it as giving the others "false hope."
In a flashback, Bernard and Rose are lunching with a view of Niagara Falls
Niagara Falls
The Niagara Falls, located on the Niagara River draining Lake Erie into Lake Ontario, is the collective name for the Horseshoe Falls and the adjacent American Falls along with the comparatively small Bridal Veil Falls, which combined form the highest flow rate of any waterfalls in the world and has...
, five months after their first meeting. At this point, Bernard proposes to Rose, citing that they "fell into this rhythm." Rose, without giving an answer, reveals she is terminally ill with cancer, and has a year left to live, perhaps slightly longer. Bernard nevertheless reaffirms his proposal, to which Rose responds with an affirmative.
Bernard asks Charlie Pace
Charlie Pace
Charlie Hieronymus Pace is a fictional character on ABC's Lost, a television series chronicling the lives of plane crash survivors on a mysterious tropical island...
(Dominic Monaghan
Dominic Monaghan
Dominic Bernard Patrick Luke Monaghan is an English actor. He has received international attention from playing Merry in Peter Jackson's adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings and for his role as Charlie Pace on the television show Lost....
) and Mr. Eko
Mr. Eko
Mr. Eko Tunde is a fictional character, played by Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje on the ABC television series Lost. He is introduced in the second season episode "Adrift" as one of the plane-crash survivors from the plane's tail section. Flashbacks reveal that he became the leader of a gang of guerrillas...
(Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje
Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje
Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje is a British actor, and former fashion model best known for his roles as Mr. Eko on Lost, Simon Adebisi on Oz and Nykwana Wombosi in The Bourne Identity.-Early life and career:...
) to help build his S.O.S. sign, but the two men respond they are too busy building a church. Bernard, incredulous at the seemingly cavalier attitude the survivors have towards their rescue, storms off.
In the hatch, Locke tries to speak to Henry through the armory door, asking him whether or not he entered the numbers into the computer. However, Henry doesn't respond, only smirking to himself.
On the beach, Bernard tells a diminished group a newfangled plan to bring rocks from a field for the S.O.S. Hurley and Jin
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 :...
express skepticism for Bernard's planning skills.
On their honeymoon, Bernard takes her to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
to see a faith healer, Isaac of Uluru
Uluru
Uluru , also known as Ayers Rock, is a large sandstone rock formation in the southern part of the Northern Territory, central Australia. It lies south west of the nearest large town, Alice Springs; by road. Kata Tjuta and Uluru are the two major features of the Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park....
. Rose becomes angry and says, "I have made my peace with what's happening to me." However, Bernard succeeds in persuading Rose to talk to Isaac.
Bernard encounters more apathy when he tries to enlist Sawyer's help, and reveals to Rose his group had diminished to four. Bernard and Rose argue, as Rose suggests his managing skills aren't up to par.
Jack and Kate trek through the jungle. Kate notices a doll on the ground, and reaches to pick it up, despite Jack's frantic cries to stop. Kate picks up the doll and both she and Jack become ensnared in a net. They determine the trap is Danielle Rousseau
Danielle Rousseau
Danielle Rousseau is a fictional character on the ABC drama television series Lost, which chronicles the lives of over forty people after their plane crashes on a remote island somewhere in the South Pacific. Croatian actress Mira Furlan plays the scientist who shipwrecks on the island sixteen...
's (Mira Furlan
Mira Furlan
Mira Furlan is a Croatian actress and singer currently residing in the United States. She is well known for her roles as the Minbari Ambassador Delenn on all five seasons of the science fiction television series Babylon 5 , and Danielle Rousseau on Lost.-Early life:Furlan was born to an...
) due to its lower level of sophistication, and attempt to free themselves. Kate reaches around Jack to get the gun, and they try to shoot the rope suspending them in the air. Jack succeeds.
On the beach, Bernard and Jin engage in an argument over the placement of the rocks. Jin is visibly fatigued from the labor, and walks away. Bernard calls out, telling him he wants to get Rose home, but Jin simply apologizes and walks away.
Rose derides Bernard's plan to Locke, but Locke is more sympathetic. Locke tells her that he's "done with the hatch", but Rose is skeptical. Locke tells her that Jack diagnosed a four week period of healing, but Rose says "you and I both know it's not going to take that long."
Isaac states that his office is on top of a place of great energy, perhaps magnetic or geological. He says he will attempt to harness that energy to give it to others. However, he says he is unable to help Rose because the energy in Australia is not the right kind for her. He even offers to return Bernard's money, but Rose tells him to keep it, saying that she will tell Bernard that Isaac "fixed" her so that Bernard would stop trying to save her life.
Now free, Jack and Kate continue to march through the jungle, through a heavy rain. Jack asks Kate to explain her earlier comment about the lack of sophistication in the net. Kate tells him about her expedition with Claire to the other hatch.
Jack and Kate arrive at the place where his standoff with the Others
The Hunting Party (Lost)
"The Hunting Party" is the 36th episode of Lost. It is the 11th episode of the second season. The episode was directed by Stephen Williams, and written by Elizabeth Sarnoff, Kiel Jeffery, and Christina M. Kim. It first aired on January 18, 2006 on ABC...
occurred. He calls out into the jungle, challenging them to show themselves. He becomes increasingly animated as he calls for the Others, but receives no response.
Bernard continues to work on the S.O.S. alone. Rose brings him some supper and offers him an apology for lying about being healed by Isaac. Rose says that she was nevertheless healed because after the crash, she "couldn't feel" the illness inside of her anymore. She tells him that the island healed her, and tells him with absolute certainty that she knows who or what healed her.
In the airport, Rose drops her pills while waiting for a boarding call. Locke, still in his wheelchair, returns them to her, revealing that she knows his secret.
Bernard realizes that Rose doesn't want to be rescued from fear of regaining the illness away from the island. Upon his revelation, he tells Rose that he won't leave the island or try to continue the sign.
At nightfall, Locke continues to try to remember the diagram he saw on the blast doors while the other survivors enjoy themselves on the beach.
In the jungle, Kate apologizes for kissing Jack, but Jack reveals that he is not sorry about the moment. A man comes stumbling out of the jungle carrying a torch. He falls to the ground in front of the two, and is turned over, revealing him to be an unconscious Michael Dawson
Michael Dawson (Lost)
Michael Dawson is a fictional character played by Harold Perrineau on the ABC television series Lost. After losing a custody battle with Susan Lloyd , Michael does not see his son Walt for almost ten years. They reunite when she dies, but on their journey home, their plane crashes on a mysterious...
(Harold Perrineau).
Development
In the initial plans for the series, Jack was going to die midway through the first episode, and then Kate would emerge as the leader of the survivors. Kate's backstory was that her husband went to the bathroom shortly before the plane split in mid-air, and on the Island she would remain adamant that he was alive. However the producers quickly changed their minds about Jack's death, making him the leader and creating a new backstory for Kate. They liked Kate's original backstory though, so they used it for Rose, and created Bernard as her husband. L. Scott CaldwellL. Scott Caldwell
Laverne Scott Caldwell is an American actress known for her role as Rose on Lost.This Chicago native started her career in 1978 as a member of the famed Negro Ensemble Company, making her Broadway debut two years later in the Tony Award nominated play Home...
's husband was going through health problems during the shooting of the first season, which was the inspiration for the flashbacks in "S.O.S.".
The couple's backstory was originally planned to be told during season three; however during season two, the Lost writers wanted to tell the story of one of the background characters of the show. As Rose and Bernard are the most prominent of these characters, and fans were keen to learn their backstory, they decided to do an episode focussing on the couple. Following this episode, Caldwell did not think Rose's healing had anything to do with the Island and stated "If she is cured, it's because she's willed it herself". After "S.O.S.", Rose does not appear again until twenty-five episodes later, in the third season's "Greatest Hits". The writers cited Caldwell and Sam Anderson's other projects as a reason for their absence.
Reception
The episode's premiere gained 15.68 million American viewers. C. K. Sample III, of AOLAOL
AOL Inc. is an American global Internet services and media company. AOL is headquartered at 770 Broadway in New York. Founded in 1983 as Control Video Corporation, it has franchised its services to companies in several nations around the world or set up international versions of its services...
's TV Squad, liked "S.O.S." because it showed "two characters' back stories which we've all been longing to see", comparing their relationship to that of Jack and Kate
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:...
), and finding Rose's meeting with Isaac "particularly interesting". Lost producer Leonard Dick
Leonard Dick
Leonard Dick is an award-winning television writer and producer who is currently writing for The Good Wife .Leonard was born in Toronto, Ontario, and attended high school at Upper Canada College, where he was elected head of Howard's House, and thus served on the Board of Stewards.Leonard attended...
called Rose and Bernard "much-beloved characters", and thought they did an "excellent job" in "S.O.S.".