A Tale of Two Cities (Lost)

The plot summary in this article or section is too long compared to the rest of the article. Please edit the article to focus on discussing the work rather than merely reiterating the plot.

“A Tale of Two Cities”
Lost episode
Flight 815 as it crumbles out of the sky.
Episode no.	Season 3 Episode 1
Written by	Story by Damon Lindelof, Teleplay by J.J. Abrams & Damon Lindelof
Directed by	Jack Bender
Guest stars	Julie Adams Blake Bashoff Brett Cullen M.C. Gainey William Mapother John Terry and Julie Bowen
Production no.	301
Original airdate	October 4, 2006
Episode chronology ← Previous Next → "Live Together, Die Alone" "The Glass Ballerina"
List of Lost episodes

"A Tale of Two Cities" is the season premiere of the third season of Lost and the 48th episode of the series. It aired on October 4, 2006 on US television. The episode was written by J.J. Abrams and Damon Lindelof, based on a story by Lindelof and directed by Jack Bender. The character of Jack Shephard is featured in the episode's flashbacks.^[1]

Plot summary

Jack, Kate and Sawyer begin to discover what they are up against as prisoners of "The Others."

The Others' village

A new character, Juliet, prepares for a book club meeting in a modern suburban home, but things are going wrong. She cries as she listens to a CD recording of Petula Clark's "Downtown," and burns her hand as she tries to grab burning muffins out of the oven, just as the doorbell rings. The club is in a heated discussion of Stephen King's Carrie^[2] when they are interrupted by what sounds like an earthquake. The group leaves Juliet's house and and "Ben", previously known as "Henry Gale" to the survivors, appears along with Ethan, looking up to watch Oceanic Flight 815 break apart in mid-air. "Ben" quickly orders Goodwin and Ethan to join the survivors, stay undercover, and provide "lists in three days." The camera zooms out to reveal that the suburb is actually on the Island and is inhabited by The Others.

Kate wakes up on the floor of a locker room. Tom tells her to shower and put on a dress, after which she is led to an elegant breakfast on the beach with Ben, who tells her to put on handcuffs before she can eat. She asks him why he is doing this, and he tells her that he wanted to give her something pleasant to remember, as the next two weeks will be "very unpleasant." Kate is forced to put the handcuffs on very tightly.

Fish biscuit

Sawyer wakes up in a cage in the jungle near the Hydra station. A teenager, Karl, in a nearby cage initially ignores Sawyer but then later expresses interest in Sawyer's camp and unlocks his cage then Sawyer's. However, they are both caught and Tom makes Karl, who is now beaten and bloody, apologize to Sawyer before taking the teen away. Sawyer figures out the mechanical puzzle in his cage, though Tom says it "only took the bears two hours." Kate is then put in Karl’s (now empty) cage. Jack wakes up in a cell in the Hydra Station, where Juliet gently interrogates him. At one point Jack attacks her and attempts to escape, holding an improvised weapon at her throat. He orders her to open a door, but she refuses to comply, claiming that doing so would kill them both. Jack throws Juliet away, and when he opens the door water starts rushing into the hallway. Juliet helps Jack struggle into an adjoining room, tells him to push a button which she had previously mentioned was for emergencies. He does so and she knocks him unconscious. When he awakes, she shows Jack a file which she says contains documents about his entire life. Juliet asks Jack if he has any questions about Sarah. After a pause, he asks, "Is she happy?" Juliet replies yes, and walks outside, and Ben congratulates her on a job well done. In Jack's flashbacks: Jack is going through a divorce from his wife Sarah Shephard. He demands to know who she has been dating, but she refuses to tell him, so he spies on her and steals her cellphone. He proceeds to call every number in her phone, and Christian's cell phone rings. After following Christian to an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, Jack accuses him of sleeping with his wife and physically attacks him. After Jack is arrested, Sarah pays his bail, and tells him Christian is no longer sober. She then leaves with an unidentified man, after telling Jack that "now he has something to fix."

Reception

The episode was watched by 1.972 million viewers in Canada on CTV, easily winning its timeslot.^[3] Matthew Fox submitted this episode for consideration on his behalf in the category of "Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series" at the 2007 Emmy Awards. ^[4]

References