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"Man of Science, Man of Faith"

Season

Episode

2

1

Airdate

September 21, 2005

Flashforward

{{{flashforward}}}

Flashback

Jack

Day(s)

44

Written by

Damon Lindelof

Directed by

Jack Bender

Special guest star(s)

{{{specialguests}}}

Guest starring

John Terry - Christian Shephard
Henry Ian Cusick - Desmond
and Julie Bowen - Sarah

Co-starring

Anson Mount - Kevin
Ivana Michele Smith - N.D. Survivor
Katie Doyle - EMT No. 1
Julius Ledda - EMT No. 2
Masayo Ford - Nurse
David Ely - Intern
Larry Wiss - Anesthesiologist

Uncredited

{{{uncredited}}}

Episode transcript
[[{{{transcript2}}}|Part Two]]

Episode Images

"Man of Science, Man of Faith" is the Season 2 premiere of Lost, and the 25th episode of the series as a whole. With the Hatch now open, Kate and Locke ignore Jack's warnings and venture down the shaft without him.

Synopsis

Flashback

Jack rushes to save Sarah.

Early in the morning, at St. Sebastian's hospital two victims of a head on collision are brought in. The female victim is first pushed through the ER on a stretcher with a piece of steering column sticking out of her chest. Jack walks in and the surgery immediately turns to action. The paramedic informs Jack what had happened; "Tire blew, car jumped the divider, went head on with an SUV". As Jack asks where the driver of the SUV is, a second stretcher containing a man is steered into the ER. His name is Adam Rutherford. Jack has to make a decision; operate on Adam or the woman? Jack focuses his attention on the woman and as he saves her life, Adam dies on the table with the time of death being 8:15am. The woman is saved and after Jack is about to leave the ER she mumbles. The interns question what she said and Jack informs them that "she said she has to dance at her wedding". Jack leaves and the woman continues to mumble the same words.

Christian tells Jack to give patients hope.

Later that same day, Jack returns to the woman (it is Sarah, Jack's future wife) who is now conscious. After she asked the fate of the man she hit, Jack coldly tells her that "he died in the ER". Sarah begins to cry. Sarah is confused as to why she can't feel anything and with no hint of remorse or sadness, Jack tells Sarah the probability of her ability to walk regaining being "extremely unlikely". Christian Shephard, the chief of surgery and the father of Jack interrupts the two and calls his son to have a word with him. Christian chastises Jack's inability to ever give good news to people and "people are more inclined to hear that one percent chance that everything is okay". Jack tells his father that he is not prepared to give patients any false hope.

Jack has a word with Sarah's fiance, Kevin and they discuss the future of Sarah. Sarah's fiance asks if the two will be able to ever make love. Jack informs him that Sarah may need professional care for the rest of her life of which Sarah's fiance doesn't take lightly.

Jack is getting prepped for Sarah's surgery when Sarah calls him over. Sarah informs Jack that she knows she's never going to dance anymore. She then jokingly reassures Jack that she may be able to roll around instead and then invites Jack to her wedding. Jack is taken aback by the sudden invite and tells Sarah he is going to fix her.

Jack meets Desmond for the first time.

Jack talks to Sarah just before he discovers she can move.

Early, the next morning Jack is sitting next to the sleeping Sarah. She wakes up and asks whether she is alive or not. The two have a brief conversation which then leads to Jack delivering the devastating news; he wasn't able to fix her. Sarah asks if Jack is "yanking her chain" and asks why she can wiggle her toes if her bottom half is immobile. Jack starts to put pressure on her legs and asks if she can feel it. The emotions rise as Sarah gives confirmation that she can feel every pressure placed on her legs.

On the Island

The computer

The episode begins with a man rising from a bunk bed and logging onto an Apple II computer using "The Numbers". He then gets dressed and begins his day, as the camera moves about the surrounding rooms, which contains an assortment of objects from the 1960s to the present. He puts on some music, and begins an exercise routine, has a shower, makes himself some breakfast, and injects himself with something from one of the shelves. He is then suddenly interrupted by what seems to be an explosion, and his whole home shakes, stopping the record player.

Jack and Locke look down into the Hatch

The man rushes to arm himself and uses some kind of security system which seems to be made up of a series of mirrors to look down a hallway. As his gaze reaches further and further through the complex, it continues up a shaft, that reaches high up, and eventually to the faces of Jack and Locke, who are peering down, sitting around the now-open hatch.

Jack expresses reservations about entering the shaft, noting that they should wait for the sun to come up before anything is done. Locke, on the other hand, feels that their entry should not be delayed, even after Kate points out that the back of the Hatch door reads "QUARANTINE". At the same time, at the caves, Shannon and Sayid search the jungle for Vincent, who has run off. The pair find the dog in a clearing, and attempt to catch him, but he runs off. The two are separated, and, while alone, Shannon hears the whispers of the jungle. Walt appears, dripping wet and speaking backwards he says, "Don't push the button. Button bad." When Sayid returns, he finds Shannon on the ground, but Walt has disappeared.

Kate disappears into a bright light

During the walk back from the Hatch, Hurley shares with Jack his story about the Numbers inscribed on the outside of the Hatch, but is disappointed by Jack's response. Upon reaching the caves, Jack explains the situation to the survivors, promising them they will be all right, as long as they stay together. No sooner does Jack finish this speech than Locke appears, carrying cable and saying he is going into the Hatch. Soon after, Kate follows behind him. While Locke is easing her down the shaft, Kate realizes that there is something in the Hatch, and in a sudden burst of light from within the Hatch, Kate mysteriously disappears.

Jack inside the Hatch

Desmond holding up Locke at gun point

Back in the underground dome, Locke tells Jack to put the gun down. The gunman threatens that he will shoot Locke if Jack doesn't surrender. Jack refuses, instead taunting Locke about his destiny. Finally, the gunman steps out, and Jack recognizes him as Desmond, by saying one word: "you."

Trivia

General

• The Swan Mural was painted by episode-director Jack Bender.
• Hurley tells Jack that his 'bedside manner' sucks. Jorge Garcia, the actor who portrays Hurley, was also in a television show called Becker, about an unpleasant and cynical doctor. This show's tagline was "His bedside manner is no manners at all."
• The huge electromagnetic force in the Hatch is introduced when the key around Jack's neck is pulled toward it. (Electromagnetism)
• Kate can be faintly heard yelling for Jack over the music as is shown in "Adrift".
• During the opening scene, Jack and Locke can be seen in the reflection of the mirror holding a torch before the big reveal of the camera panning round toward them.

Production notes

• Ana Lucia, Jin, Michael, and Sawyer do not appear in this episode.
  • The first episode in which Michael and Sawyer do not appear.
• Malcolm David Kelley's name is restored to the main credits for his guest appearances this season as Walt.

Bloopers and continuity errors

• The set dressing of the Swan is somewhat different between the opening scene of this episode and subsequent appearances. This included things such as the computer being next to the bed, the type and placement of lamps, the style of record player and arrangement of records and the relative cleanliness of the living quarters. These discrepancies led some fans to conclude that there were two separate timelines. In reality the producers simply decided to dress the Swan differently between its first appearance and subsequent ones.
• Desmond types in spaces between the numbers using the space bar at the beginning of this episode, but in the next episode when he directs Locke to enter the numbers, there is no space bar used (computer automatically puts them in)

Recurring themes

• The episode opens with a close-up of an unknown eye (later revealed to be Desmond's). (Eyes)
• Adam Rutherford is pronounced dead 8:15 AM. (The Numbers)
• Adam Rutherford is also the father of Shannon. (Character Connections)
• Shannon sees Walt in the jungle, dripping wet and speaking backwards. (Dreams and Visions)
• Hurley confesses to Jack that he thinks the Numbers are cursed along with telling him he was once in a psych ward. (Character secrets)
• Jack mentions that there are still 4 guns left (1 being with the raft crew) (The Numbers)
• Kevin and Sarah's wedding was to occur 8 months after the car accident. (The Numbers)
• When Kate is descending the hatch, she starts counting to five, to overcome her fear, and ceases at 4. (The Numbers)
• Jack and Desmond share a tour de stade at a stadium. (Character Connections)
• At the end of their conversation, Desmond says: "See you in another life, yeah?" (Regularly Spoken Phrases) (Life and death)
• The Numbers make several appearances within the Hatch (mainly on the mural). (The Numbers)
• Jack attempts to save Sarah, but doesn't believe he has succeeded, but she somehow miraculously recovers. (Miracles) (Salvation)
• The song "Make Your Own Kind of Music" plays for 1 minute 8 seconds (1:08) before the record player is stopped by the explosion. (The Numbers)
• Desmond is riding his stationary bike at a rate of 16 mph. (The Numbers)
• The shower head in the Swan station has 42 holes. (The Numbers)

Cultural references

• Lord of the Flies. In this book by the Nobel Prize-winning author William Golding, the character Ralph is portrayed as logical and rational, while Jack Merridew is portrayed as superstitious and imaginative. The way these characters behave is very similar to how Jack and Locke behave. Thus, Ralph and Jack are both men of science, while Locke and Jack Merridew are men of faith. (Literary works)
• "Make Your Own Kind of Music", sung by Mama Cass Elliot, is playing on the record player when Desmond starts his day in the Swan bunker. (Music)
• The Internationale. "We'll live together or we'll die alone" is a line from the English-language (Billy Bragg) version of this famous socialist, anarchist, communist, and social democratic anthem. (Ideology)  (Pop culture misc. references)
• The Third Policeman

Literary techniques

• A man named Desmond was revealed to be living in the Hatch. The opening of the episode set up the audience to believe that the events shown (Desmond in the Hatch) were occurring in the past, off the island. (Plot twist)
• Shannon sees Walt in the jungle, soaking wet and speaking backwards. (Plot twist)
• Jack tried to fix Sarah, thought he had failed, and she was miraculously saved; on the Island, Jack risked his own life going back to the Hatch to save Kate and Locke, but found himself in over his head, when a man from his past miraculously turns up there. (Juxtaposition)
• This episode shows us Jack's inability to just "let it go". ("A Tale of Two Cities") (Foreshadowing)

Storyline analysis

• Jack and Locke's rivalry continues with Locke wanting to enter the Hatch and Jack disagreeing. (Rivalries)
• Jack reasserts his leadership over the Losties when he returns from the Hatch, telling them everything's going to be alright. (Leadership)
• Jack is indirectly resposible for Boone and Shannon being on the plane. If he had treated Shannon's father, she wouldn't probably go to Australia, and Boone would not follow her, and both will not end up on the plane.

Flashback timeline

• Jack met Sarah and Desmond three years prior to the crash of Oceanic 815.
• Jack and Sarah's wedding in "Do No Harm" took place two years after the events of Man of Science, Man of Faith.

Unanswered questions

For fan theories about these unanswered questions, see: Man of Science, Man of Faith/Theories

• How is Walt able to appear to Shannon?
• Why does Walt tell Shannon not to push the button?
• Why is the button bad?