Chopin And Variations

Lost Spoiler Alert.

Okay, with that out of the way, let's get down to business and discuss "The Variable." Stuff happened, background was explained, but it was still frustrating because so much was left hanging.

First, great title--a companion piece to one of the most beloved episodes, "The Constant." But while the latter had a happy reunion, this one was deadly.

Yep, Daniel Faraday had hardly gotten back to the island before they offed him. (Anyway, he sure looked dead, and this show ain't Heroes.) There were rumors a major character would be killed, and there was foreshadowing, but it was still a shock until the last scene. (That's what you get for waving around a gun in the Others' camp, Danny boy--you know how easily Ellie flies off the handle. Which has led some to speculate Dan knew this would happen, and in fact, wanted it to happen. It would hardly be the first time Lost had a character sacrifice himself for the greater good.)

The episode was Daniel-centric. That's what usually happens when you're scheduled to die. I was glad to see him back. He'd become a favorite, plus he seemed to be one of the few people who had some idea of what was going on. His new theory is maybe he could change things--thus The Variable. Sure, they're in the past--except they're not in the past, they're in their present, where anything goes. But he seems to be wrong, and what happened, happened, which includes his death--which his mother (and father) knowingly sent him to.

But this still leaves open the question: is Daniel right? So far, with the exception of Desmond, you can't change things. (Maybe that means Desmond will be drawn back to fix things.) But maybe you still can. Maybe Daniel doesn't have to die, even if he's already dead. Maybe everything that happened on the show can be reversed. There's no evidence it can happen, but it can't be ruled out yet. It might even explain certain things.

The show starts with Desmond in the hospital. Oh yeah, Ben shot him. Almost forgot. You might think it's going to be a Desmondriffic show, but we already knew it was Fara's Day. Eloise meets Penny in the waiting room and introduces herself (in case we forgot she's Daniel's mother). Then we cut to a recap of Daniel's arrival in the sub from the last episode. Faraday is confused that the new Losties have returned to 1977--it might even have been the inciting event that brings Faraday back to the Island--and Miles takes him to see Jack where Daniel tries to find out about their trip. Daniel says his mom was wrong, Jack and the gang don't really belong there. Could he be right? What does that make Eloise?

(A note about the commercials. For the first time ever, the opening Lost logo moved differently and took us to a sneak peek at J. J. Abrams' Star Trek movie. Later, after Daniel says he's from the future, we see the Mac ad about the PC traveling into the future.)

Back at the show, young Daniel is playing a little of Chopin's Fantasie Impromptu when his mom, distraught (like she just got some bad news) enters. She shuts the lid on him. He's got to spend his time studying science--it's her job to see he stays on the straight and narrow, no matter how much he loves piano. (Once you know the ending, everything she does is more tragic. At this point in her life, I believe she's already killed him, though how recently I don't know.)

Jack goes to Sawyer to talk about Daniel, but the bigger deal is Phil tied up on Sawyer's closet. The Losties imposture can't last much longer.

Faraday, driven by Miles, has gone off to the Orchid. We see Daniel doing the same stuff we saw at the beginning of the season. But then he rushes to Pierre Chang to tell him he's from the future. Chang isn't buying it. Daniel even tells Chang that Miles is his son. No sale (and Miles sure won't play along). Daniel wants him to clear the island since The Incident at the Swan will happen in six hours. Chang thinks it's a gag, even though we know he won't be laughing soon (what will he think then?). We start to see that Faraday may believe he can change things, even though he may not have believed he could truly change what Chang would do--he seemed to say to Miles he's setting Chang on the path he needs to go on. (While I'm guessing we can take Faraday at face value, perhaps he's got bigger plans than we know.)

Another flashback to Daniel's graduation. We see a healthy Theresa, who will lose her mind later, thanks to Daniel. Dan's mom wants nothing to do with her. He's got to focus on his work. She gives him his notebook which will be his constant companion from then on. She's written in the book that no matter what, she loves him. Maybe that will give him some comfort as he lays dying.

Back at the ranch, Sawyer has called a meeting of the available Losties. He sees the best three years of his life crumbling in front of his eyes. The only question now is do they commandeer a sub or go hide on the island. It looks like hiding (to my surprise) is the popular choice when Daniel "Twitchy" Faraday and Miles return. He's got news. His mom's on the island hanging out with the Hostiles, and he needs to see her. As if Sawyer didn't have enough trouble.

Another flashback, this time to the Dan we remember who cried when he saw the (fake) wreckage of Flight 815. As Naomi noted, he's a headcase. He's experimented on himself and he's losing his mind.

His benefactor, Charles Widmore, drops by and tries to recruit him for the mission. He says it'll cure him. True, but a half-truth. A lot more will happen to Daniel. Still, half-truth or not, the island does cure him. Or was it that Desmond was his constant? Or is that the same thing?

Back at Sawyer's, the gang is discussing the new twist. Sawyer doesn't want them to leave, but Juliet (who sees her competition, Kate, can still get to Sawyer) gives the combination that turns off the sonic fence to let Jack, Kate and Daniel get out to the Hostiles. Juliet correctly sees it's over for them anyway. Sawyer simply says it's a mistake, and they should meet back at their old beach when it's over. (In some ways, this half of the season is turning into Sawyer's tragedy.)

The trio of newbies arm up before going out to the hostiles. But not before Daniel talks to little Charlotte, who's eating chocolate before dinner. Daniel had promised not to tell her to leave (I thought it was to not come back), but the new Daniel believes he can change things, so maybe it's worth talking to her.

Once armed, they run into Radzinsky, the last guy you want to run into. He's in a permanent bad mood. A shoot-out ensues. Kate, Jack and a slightly wounded Daniel manage to get away. (If you can't change things, we know the Rad-man will make it, since he's gotta do his time in the Swan.) I should add that Sawyer's right--the place is calm for three years, and the new guys get there and in no time there's anarchy.

Yet one more flashback, where Daniel, still losing it, discusses the offer he got from Widmore with his mom. She insists he go, it'll make her proud. While I watched it I wondered what was the point of this scene--it just seemed to repeat the information of the Widmore scene. But once we see the tragic dimensions of what Eloise is doing, we understand.

At the Barracks, the alarm has sounded, But Kate, Jack and Daniel get to the fence. While Kate turns it off, Daniel explains to Jack that maybe what happened, happened, but they're living in their present, so they're not protected. This was the moment I started thinking Daniel might be a goner, but I still didn't believe it would happen.

Sawyer and Juliet pack. They're leaving with the rest in twenty minutes. They still seem to love each other, though it's not clear what effect Kate has. Things go from bad to worse when Radzinsky stops in to see Sawyer (or should I say LaFleur--or Ford). It doesn't take long for him to discover Phil tied up in the closet. He orders LaFleur and Juliet on the ground. That's the last we see of them this episode.

In the jungle, Daniel tries to explain to Jack what's going on. He explains the loop they're in with the Hatch. He thinks he can do something to get them out of it, which includes contacting his mother and blowing up the hydrogen bomb. The chain of events that led them to the island can be broken. At this point, I was a bit surprised that Kate didn't shoot Daniel--breaking the chain would mean she'd never get to meet her two great loves, Jack and Sawyer, but instead would fly home, be tried and probably spend the rest of her life in prison.

We're back to where we started, at the hospital. Eloise apologizes to Penny about Desmond, who's become a casualty in a bigger war. She also admits at this point she has no idea what will happen next--something new for her. Is that because she had Daniel's journal telling her what happened up till now? (If the Losties return to the present, no one will have any idea what happens next.)

Desmond's okay. I'm not surprised, since last time we saw him he was healthy enough to kick the crap out of Ben. Outside the hospital, Widmore meets up with Eloise. He won't go in and say hello to Penny--family problems. He also states, as many suspected, he's Daniel's father. She slaps him when he implies he's making as big a sacrifice as her sending him to the Island. Is she insulted because she was the one who raised him? Because she's the one who has to personally shoot him? Or because maybe he's not the real father?

Also, why must they send him? Because it's what time demands? What the Island demands? Because he does valuable work there (such as helping them bury Jughead, to name just one thing), even though his trip does end in his death? And the biggest question of all--how does Daniel have two British parents, attend Oxford and end up speaking like an American?

Daniel, Kate and Jack hike to the Others' camp. Daniel walks right in, just like Locke did over 20 years earlier. This time, however, he's packing, which is a mistake. He wants to speak to Ellie. Richard comes out and--lying--says she's not around. He points the gun at Richard and hot-headed Eloise shoots him dead, but not before he realizes she knew all along, all those years, what would happen.

Once again, let's compare Locke's approach with Daniel. Locke comes in and, even though guns are trained on him and no one knows him, is able to talk to Richard and give him a compass (that Richard previously gave him), which Richard later takes back to young John. John is followed around for years, and he eventually gets to the island, where he should be (I think), even though he's probably too late. Daniel barges in with a gun. He's mostly unknown, though Richard vaguely recognizes him. He gets shot by his mother, setting into motion a chain of events which will have his mother send him to his death. She has no idea who he is at that point (when he walks into the Hostiles camp), though she might have recognized him from the past if given a chance. Okay, okay, John got shot on the island too, just like Daniel, but at least he survived. (On the other hand, Ben tried to save Alex when Widmore wanted her dead, and while she did live for quite a while, the Island--thanks to Ben and the freighter folk--finally took her. You can only mess with destiny so much, I guess.)

So with three hours left where do we stand? Sawyer (who's good at it, but not that good) has got some 'splaining to do. The Swan has got some 'sploding to do. And Kate and Jack and back out in the jungle, on the edge of the Others' camp. Time to become the man of action again, Jack.

Back in the present on the mainland, Widmore and Eloise face an uncertain future in a big war. Desmond has promised never to leave Penny, but can he keep that promise.

And back on the island, Ilana and gang are plotting. Ben has been judged and is supposed to back up John. Sun is trying to get back to Jin. And Locke still searches for his destiny. I hear next week will feature the first Richard-centric episode. The interesting thing is we have no way of knowing if the main action is in the present or 1977.