LOST- Episode 31: The Other 48 Days

Welcome to the first edition of the LOST recap on Blogger...or if you're reading this on Crystal's message board, nothing has changed!

There is no "previously on LOST" this week, because we are starting at the beginning. We open on a serene beach on a beautiful afternoon. Suddenly, a whistling sound cuts through the air. It gets louder and louder until a large chunk of an airplane drops into the ocean. A smaller piece of wreckage rolls onto the beach and takes out the camera. So begins:

Day 1

Ana-Lucia surfaces and tries to make sense of what has just happened. There is a lot of screaming and confusion as every other survivor is trying to do the same thing. She swims to shore and sees Mr. Eko valiantly saving as many people as he can. She heads back into the water to help the cause. Eko rescues a young boy and his sister, but the girl is not breathing. Ana-Lucia rushes over to perform CPR and is successful. Ana promises the girl that she will get her home to her mother in Los Angeles. The camera pans out to a long shot of the chaos on the beach. Cue the creepy LOST title screen.

Mr. Eko drops the kids off with Cindy, who I believe is the stewardess that gave Jack the extra drink in the pilot episode. He says there is something he has to do- which turns out to be the unenviable task of pulling the dead bodies out of the water. Meanwhile, a man is bitching about his broken leg until Libby comes along and sets it for him. She is then introduced to Ana-Lucia. Next, a man comes running out of the jungle screaming for help. Ana-Lucia, the tail section's answer to Dr. Jack, springs into action. They race into the jungle and find Bernard, still in his seat, precariously dangling in a tree. Ana stays calm and talks Bernard through unbuckling his seat and grabbing a nearby branch.

As the sun sets on the beach, Ana-Lucia gets to know the man who found Bernard. His name is Goodwin and he is in the Peace Corps. Later, Bernard asks Mr. Eko if any of the bodies he fished out were African-American. Eko says no. Bernard fights back the tears and says he can't find his wife. Eko says that he will pray for her.

Late in the night, a commotion awakens most of the characters with names and they scramble to figure out what is going on. Goodwin and Eko come across a snarling Mr. Eko who is holding a bloody rock in his hand and standing over two dead bodies.

Day 2

The next morning, as Eko discards his blood-stained clothes, Ana-Lucia examines the raggedy, bare-footed people that unsuccessfully attacked him the previous night. They have no wallets or keys or anything normal people might carry. Someone points out that three survivors are missing. Ana-Lucia realizes that the people who attacked were here before them and they need to get off the beach. This idea is met with resistance. They need to keep a signal fire going- a notion all but confirmed by Flight Attendant Cindy who mentions how the pilot said they were way off course and had no communication.

Day 3

Libby says that the infection in Donald's broken leg is getting worse and if they aren't rescued soon, he will die.

Day 5

They bury Donald in what has clearly become the Tail Gang Graveyard.

Day 7

The survivors play chase the chicken. Goodwin wins and snaps the thing's neck. They all have a decent dinner for once, except for Mr. Eko, who is still alone on the shore serving some kind of pennance for his actions. Libby tells him he was only defending himself and should not feel bad.

Day 12

Ana-Lucia gets agitated with Nathan, who did not use the buddy system to go into the jungle to relieve himself.

That night, the raggedy, bare-footed people, who we'll call The Others, return as the survivors sleep. They grab the two children and several other people. All hell breaks loose and Ana-Lucia kills someone with a rock. She pulls an Army knife out of her victim's pocket, as well as a piece of paper. It is a list of the nine people The Others have taken that night.

Later, Eko emerges from the jungle in a silent huff- The Others left no trail whatsoever. Ana focuses her anger on him, asking what it will take for him to start talking. She then turns a suspicious eye to Nathan. Cooler heads eventually prevail and it is agreed that they should leave the beach.

Day 15

The troops are getting restless after walking in the jungle for three days straight and Ana-Lucia cannot convince them to keep going. They set up shop near a stream.

Day 17

Ana-Lucia is busy digging a ditch when Libby shares her concern over Nathan and the possibility of a mole being amongst them.

Day 19

Bernard and Nathan are setting up rabbit traps when Ana-Lucia stops by to kick Nathan in the face. She then dumps him into her completed underground cell. The others question what she is doing and she explains that she never saw him on the plane. Cindy the stewardess backs this up and Libby contributes that Nathan always dodges personal questions. That night, Ana opens the pit door and demands some answers. Nathan is from Canada and was in Australia on a business retreat. No one saw him on the plane because he was in the bathroom.

Day 23

A tired Ana-Lucia demands to know for the millionth time where the kids are, but Nathan is no longer speaking to her. She notices a banana peel and demands to know who has been feeding him. Though no words are spoken, she learns that it was Mr. Eko. Later by the stream, Goodwin tells Ana to let Nathan go because they are not savages. She answers that a savage would have cut off his finger...that's tomorrow.

That night, Goodwin rescues Nathan from the pit and tells him to run. But just as Nathan starts to take off, Goodwin grabs him and snaps his neck.

Day 24

Ana-Lucia wakes to find Goodwin creepily watching her sleep. Cindy runs up and says that Nathan is gone. Ana takes this as the signal that they have been found and need to leave.

Day 26

The weary travelers come across a rocky coastline. Ana-Lucia and Goodwin exchange glances.

Day 27

The survivors come across a door to a bunker. Cindy speculates that it could belong to The Others. Eko silently employs the 'only one way to find out' method and pushes the door open. The door says Quarantine on the inside. On the wall is a Dharma logo. Ana-Lucia finds a switch and turns on the electricity. Inside a trunk, they find a bible, a glass eye and a radio.

Outside, Bernard tries the radio but can't get a signal. Goodwin suggests going to higher ground and offers to go...alone. This puts a blip on Ana-Lucia's suspicion radar and she insists on going with him. On the hike, Ana questions The Others' motives. Goodwin serves up perhaps just a little too much information when he speculates that the first night, the strongest were taken out but the plan changed when two of them were killed. They take a break and there is a tense moment over who gets to hold the fruit-cutting knife. Ana wonders where the shoeless freaks got a twenty-year-old Army knife. She then decides to stop playing games and lay it all out. Goodwin heard Bernard's call for help on Day 1 becuase he wasn't on the beach. He was not even wet. He was not in the crash. He is the mole. Cover blown, Goodwin comes clean. Ana would know she had the wrong man once she cut off Nathan's finger. He killed him because he was not a good person. He wasn't on "the list". He goes on to say that the children are fine and are actually better off. Ana-Lucia attacks without warning and there is a brief rumble in the jungle. Ana wins when she impales a pouncing Goodwin with her spear. Later, she returns to her friends and tells them they are safe now.

Day 41

Bernard tries the radio again and this time he gets something. Someone who sounds a lot like Boone is broadcasting a mayday. As Bernard and Boone discuss who the survivors of Flight 815 are, Ana cuts off the transmission and says it is just The Others trying to lure them out of hiding. She says there are no other survivors. "This is our life now. Get used to it."

Later by the stream, Ana-Lucia breaks down and cries. Eko finds her and tells her everything will be okay. When she asks why he's talking now, he says it has been forty days. She asks why he waited forty days to talk, but he only points out that she waited forty days to cry. Then she falls into his arms and he holds her tenderly as she lets it all out.

Day 45

Cindy and Libby are working a fishing net at the beach when they notice a body wash up on shore. It is Jin. Libby says to get Ana-Lucia, which they obviously do, since in the next scene Jin is blindfolded and tied to a tree. Most think he is okay, but Ana remains suspicious, saying that his lack of English doesn't mean anything. Her suspicions seem confirmed when Jin breaks free and takes off. Jin makes it to the beach and warns Michael and Sawyer about The Others but they don't stand a chance against an armed and dangerous Mr. Eko.

Now a steady drumbeat and eerie music accompanies a montage of scenes from earlier episodes. Our season 1 friends being dumped in, then taken out of the pit. Their arrival at Hatch # 2. On Day 47, their long trek begins and Sawyer collapses. On Day 48, also labeled Today, Cindy goes missingand the Whispers start. Ana-Lucia fires her gun at the first thing that moves and nails Shannon right in the gut. We end things on the reaction shots of Sayid, Michael, Jin and Ana-Lucia, who makes quite a first impression.

Next week: Everyone comes together at last. Kate gets to see Sawyer on his deathbed and Ana-Lucia gets to tie up and attack Sayid as a preventive measure against his wrath.