The Moth (Lost)

Infobox Television episode | Title = The Moth
Series = Lost


Caption = Driveshaft perform.
Season = 1
Episode = 7
Guests = Neil Hopkins
Christian Bowman
Dustin Watchman
Glenn Cannon
Airdate = November 3, 2004
Production = 105
Writer = Jennifer Johnson & Paul Dini
Director = Jack Bender
Episode list = "Lost" (season 1)
List of "Lost" episodes
Prev = House of the Rising Sun
Next = Confidence Man

"The Moth" is the 7th episode of "Lost". It is the seventh episode of the show's first season. The episode was directed by Jack Bender and written by Jennifer Johnson and Paul Dini. It first aired on November 3, 2004 on ABC. The character of Charlie Pace is featured in the episode's flashback.

Plot

Charlie is suffering from withdrawal, and is chased by a boar as he is walking in the jungle. "In a flashback, Charlie is in church confessing his sins. He comes out of confession and sees his older brother, Liam, who tells Charlie that DriveSHAFT has a recording contract." Locke traps the boar and thanks Charlie for being bait. Charlie asks Locke for the heroin that Locke has taken from him earlier. Locke says that he'll give Charlie the drugs the third time he asks.

Sayid, Kate and Boone attempt to triangulate the French transmission. At the caves, Charlie searches through Jack's medicine for something to replace his heroin. When Jack catches him, Charlie says he has a headache and wants aspirin.

"In a flashback, Charlie doesn’t want to sign the record contract because he has qualms about the sex and drugs the band engages in. Liam talks him into signing, promising that Charlie can quit any time he's had enough. One evening at a show, Liam starts singing the chorus to "You All Everybody", which is supposed to be sung by Charlie. He yells at Liam after the show, but Liam reassures him it won’t happen again."

When Jack upsets Charlie by telling him to move his luggage, Charlie confronts him in a cave. Charlie's shouting causes the entrance to the cave to collapse. Charlie escapes, but Jack is trapped inside.

Using his construction experience, Michael leads the rescue attempt. In the jungle, Sawyer goes to tell Kate about Jack's predicament, but decides against it because he doesn't like Kate's attitude. Charlie tells Locke about Jack being trapped. Charlie asks for his drugs a second time, so Locke shows him a moth cocoon. Locke explains that he could help the moth by slitting the cocoon, but it would not survive. Instead, the moth needs to struggle to break free. Nature and struggle make people stronger, Locke says, indicating to Charlie that he needs to fight through his suffering.

Kate and Sawyer stay at the second triangulation point, while Sayid goes to the third. Sawyer tells Kate about Jack's situation, and she runs back to the caves. Charlie squeezes through an opening at the cave and finds Jack. "A flashback shows Charlie finding Liam high on heroin with groupies. Charlie kicks them out, and tells Liam that he's done with the band. Liam says no, which causes Charlie to use heroin for the first time. Years later, Charlie visits Liam's house in Australia and wants him to rejoin DriveSHAFT for their comeback tour. Liam refuses, but the band can’t do the tour without him. He criticizes Charlie for still using drugs, and Charlie blames Liam for getting him started with drugs. Liam asks him to stay with him for a few weeks, saying that Sydney has some really good Rehab programs and that he can get him help. Charlie angrily leaves, and says he has a plane to catch."

Charlie finds Jack inside the cave with a dislocated shoulder, he apologizes for the way he acted. Jack tells Charlie to pop his shoulder back in place which he does. Just when they think they are going to run out of air soon and while Kate desperately tries to dig them out, Charlie sees a moth which leads him to an opening and they dig out of the cave. Jack confronts Charlie about using drugs, and reassures him that it'll be okay.

Sayid sets off his bottle rocket to signal the antennae power up process. Shannon sets off her rocket from the beach, as does Sawyer from his location. Sayid turns on the transceiver, but before he is able to triangulate the signal, an unseen person knocks Sayid out.

Charlie asks Locke for his heroin and he gives it back. He looks at it for a moment before tossing it into the fire smiling. Charlie and Locke see a previously cocooned moth flying away.

References

http://abc.go.com/primetime/lost/index?pn=recap#t=38115&d=40639