The Lie (S5X02)
Airdate: 21 January 2009
Written by: Edward Kistsis & Adam Horowitz
Directed by: Jack Bender
Running Time: 42 minutes
During the initial three seasons of the television phenomenon Lost, a persistent complaint among the dedicated fanbase concerned the creators’ tendency to allow the plot to advance at a glacial pace. Frequently, episodes were consumed by character exposition, often bordering on repetition and occasionally failing to generate genuine interest beyond the central mysteries. However, beginning with Season 4 and carrying into Season 5, with a definitive end date established, the series shifted its focus. The writers, now working within a shorter timeframe to resolve their narrative arcs, prioritised plot momentum and high-stakes action. Yet, this pivot did not signal the total abandonment of character-centric storytelling. Indeed, the second episode of Season 5, titled The Lie, served as a stark reminder of the show's previous approach, effectively shifting the narrative focus squarely onto the shoulders of the series’ most beloved character, Hurley.
By this point in the series, Hurley possessed the reputation of being the most popular, affable, and iconic character on screen. He was generally regarded as the moral compass of the group, a figure who always endeavoured to do the right thing. However, the plot of The Lie suggests some of the negative consequences when he acts with such unwavering integrity. The right thing, in Hurley’s estimation, was to confess the truth regarding the events of Oceanic Flight 815 once back in civilisation. The episode opens with a flashback sequence set in early January 2005, aboard Penny Widmore’s boat, the Searcher. This scene meticulously recreates the moment the remaining five members of the Oceanic Six decided to invent a lie about their survival. While Hurley was the lone voice arguing for absolute honesty, sensing that the deception, however justified at the time, would inflict harm upon everyone, including himself, in the long term, he was outvoted. He was forced to resign to his fate, a decision that set the trajectory leading him directly to the Santa Rosa Mental Institution.
Transitioning to 2007, Hurley is released from Santa Rosa by Sayid, though the rescue goes awry when Sayid is hit by a tranquiliser dart and remains unconscious. As Hurley drives aimlessly, attempting to determine his next move, he is visited by the ghost of Ana Lucia. She appears dressed as a LAPD officer, delivering practical advice on how to evade capture and specifically warning him not to get arrested—a request which Hurley ultimately fails to heed. In the end, he transports Sayid to his home, asking his father, David Reyes, for assistance. David advises that the best course of action is to bring Sayid to Jack. Jack utilizes his hospital connections to treat Sayid and bring him to consciousness, just as he is preparing to depart for the Island with Ben. Meanwhile, Hurley chooses to come clean to his mother about what truly happened on the Island, and she surprisingly confirms that she believes him. However, when Ben arrives at the Reyes mansion to collect Hurley, Hurley becomes freaked out and decides to surrender to LAPD officers who had his house staked out.
In a subplot involving the other survivors, Kate while escaping from lawyers, meets Sun, who happens to be in Los Angeles. The two women discuss their traumatic experiences, marking a turning point for Sun as she seemingly gets over the deception Kate had previously employed, which had forced her to leave her husband, Jin, on the doomed freighter, Kahana.
Back on the Island, conditions are deteriorating rapidly for the remaining survivors. Lacking food, water, and even the ability to make fire, they are in dire straits, yet this seems to be the least of their problems when their beach camp becomes the target of mysterious attackers. These assailants spray the camp with fire arrows, causing death and forcing a chaotic flight into the jungle. Sawyer and Juliet are separated from the group and captured by a trio of men who appear to be in military uniforms. They are threatened with torture and mutilation, only to be rescued by Locke, who kills or incapacitates all their captors.
In the present timeline, Ben is revealed to work under the leadership of Mrs. Hawkings, an organisation that has apparently discovered the exact time and place when the group is to return to the Island. Hurley’s apparent incarceration complicates these plans significantly, as Ben is given a seventy-hour window to gather all of the Oceanic Six and Locke’s corpse to proceed with the return.
Written by Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz, and directed by the ever-dependable Jack Bender, The Lie benefits from being focused on Hurley, albeit not so overwhelmingly so as the flashback episodes in the previous three seasons. The character acts realistically; he listens to suggestion, but also ignores them. His brief recap of events while talking to his mother is one of the funniest scenes in the entire series, representing one of the best displays of Jorge Garcia’s acting skills.
The episode also decides to dispatch of anonymous crash survivors—"Socks" as the production crew calls them—in a rather spectacular way. "Frogurt", played by Sean Whelan, which was briefly mentioned by name in the previous episode and depicted in an apocryphal webisode, is here introduced in flesh only to die in a semi-humorous and meta-commentary way. He literally wears a red shirt, a clear reference to Star Trek, signifying his expendability.
Another interesting piece of pop culture reference appears at the end when Mrs. Hawkings uses a huge pendulum to pinpoint the location of the Island. It looks like a nod to Umberto Eco’s famous novel Foucault’s Pendulum, which dealt with secret societies and conspiracy theories.
Ultimately, The Lie successfully balances plot progression with character study, proving that even in a plot-heavy season, the heart of Lost still lies in the flawed humanity of its cast.
RATING: 7/10 (+++)
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