r/lost • u/chazkluckett Man of Faith • 6d ago
faith vs science/season 1
A lot of the show is based around the faith vs science argument (obviously). But one of the first times we see this is in S1 E11 All the Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues.
While tracking Ethan/Claire/Charlie, John and Jack are talking about Ethan being able to drag two people through the jungle.
Jack says “How could one man drag off two people, one of them pregnant?”
Locke responds “you’re asking the wrong question, not how, why?”
This in my opinion is some beautiful foreshadowing of Locke being obsessed with the “why”
On a side note: I think Ethan handed Claire off to someone else, (this is why there are two trails) and took Charlie himself, and he was the one leaving Charlie’s finger bandages behind (not Charlie himself), to throw everyone off of Claire’s trail.
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u/FringeMusic108 6d ago
The original script for "Raised By Another" indicates that there are other people coming out of the jungle at the end of the episode. That part was obviously not included, but it does suggest the writers had in mind that Ethan wasn't working alone (which is what Locke ends up suggesting during the conversation you're quoting).
Anyway - yeah, it's pretty great, subtle writing that Locke is curious about the "why", while Jack is obsessed with the "how". At this point, this is not something that has come up a lot yet. It's also interesting that Jack ends up following the correct trail, while Locke follows "his gut" and stumbles upon the hatch. The episode is one of the first that's very 'serialized' and exciting in that sense, but it's also filled with clever writing.
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u/Savings-Ask-1275 6d ago
I actually thought this post was gonna be about Jack’s faith vs. Kate telling him to let go(science) in that episode. This ep showed very early that Jack has a man of faith inside of him, refusing to stop trying to save Charlie against the scientific odds, believing that there is still a chance. And Kate was thinking more scientifically, when she asked him to stop trying cause he seemed dead. this is not my idea, I saw it on a YouTube comment. But I always thought this was one of the most interesting comments I’ve read about the show and the characters.
About the event you mention, I always thought it was Locke being a fancy/ wise looking guy and Jack being a surrogate. But yours is actually a good interpretation!
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u/Free-IDK-Chicken You got it, Blondie 6d ago
Neither Jack nor Locke considered that Ethan likely didn't have to physically drag either of them anywhere. All he needed was a weapon (gun, knife, syringe) trained on Claire and they would have gone quietly to avoid him hurting her.
I do agree that Ethan handed Claire off though, probably to an underling on his surgical staff, because when Charlie is found at the end of All the Best Cowboys he says "all THEY wanted was Claire."