Lost/Eggtown

Eggtown
Season 4, Episode 4
Airdate	February 21, 2008
Production Number	404
Written by	Elizabeth Sarnoff Greggory Nations
Directed by	Stephen Williams
← 4x03 The Economist	4x05 → The Constant
Lost — Season Four

Eggtown is the fourth episode of the fourth season of Lost, and the seventy-sixth episode overall.

Kate's need to get information out of the hostage may jeopardize her standing with Locke — as well as with Sawyer.

Starring: Naveen Andrews (Sayid), Henry Ian Cusick (Desmond), Jeremy Davies (Daniel), Emilie de Ravin (Claire), Michael Emerson (Ben), Matthew Fox (Jack), Jorge Garcia (Hurley), Josh Holloway (Sawyer), Daniel Dae Kim (Jin), Yunjin Kim (Sun), Ken Leung (Miles), Evangeline Lilly (Kate), Rebecca Mader (Charlotte), Elizabeth Mitchell (Juliet), Terry O'Quinn (Locke), Harold Perrineau (Michael).

Guest Starring: Zoë Bell (Regina, voice only), Beth Broderick (Diane Janssen), Shawn Doyle (Duncan Forrester), Susan Gibney (Melissa Dunbrook).

Co-Starring: William Blanchette (Two Year Old Boy) Traber Burns (Judge), Fred Q. Collins (Bailiff), Tania Kahale (Kate's Nanny).

Plot Overview

The Island

• Inside Ben's house at the barracks, Locke prepares breakfast and heads down into an underground area beneath the house. Unlocking a padlocked door, Locke gives the breakfast to the room's occupant, Ben. Ben learns Locke moved him from the rec room as Locke wanted him under his own roof, but Locke refuses to share the location of Miles. As Ben claims to have a spy on the freighter, Locke wants some more information on Miles. Ben is less than forthcoming, telling Locke he feels sorry for him as he keeps hitting dead ends; he couldn't find Jacob's cabin and make contact with Jacob, so now he's so desperate for directions he's asking Ben for help. Ben's words upset Locke and he takes the breakfast away from Ben, locks him back inside, and then throws the breakfast against a wall in frustration. Outside, Kate and Claire watch Locke leave the house and slam the door behind him. Sawyer joins the two and Claire leaves to make coffee for Sawyer. Sawyer tells Kate he found some clothing in her size and just has to kick out Hurley, but Kate tells him she's not moving in with him.

  Kate talks to Locke, asking to speak with Miles but refusing to tell him what for. Locke tells her no, that she may think they're living in a democracy due to the way Jack was running things, but it's not a democracy. He invites her to dinner at 6PM and closes the door on her. As she walks off, Kate sees Hurley with food and asks him if it's for Miles. When he confirms that, she tells him Locke asked her to bring the food to Miles. Hurley is happy to give the job to Kate as Miles freaks him out, but realizes Kate fooled him when she doesn't know the new location of Miles' confinement. After making sure she wasn't going to let Miles go, he asks her not to tell Locke it was him. Kate brings the food to the barracks' boathouse, and finds Miles inside. Kate wants to know if Miles knows who she is and what she did, but Miles refuses to answer her questions until he gets to talk to Ben.

  While hanging laundry out to dry, Kate takes a look at the entrance to the house Locke is staying at and asks Claire if she's sure that's where he's holding Ben. Claire is sure as she saw Rousseau take Ben inside the previous night. Aaron begins to cry and Claire asks Kate to pick him up, but Kate tells her she's not really good with babies and wouldn't want to upset him. Soothing Aaron, Claire tells Kate that the last thing she thought she'd ever be good at was being a mom. She tells Kate she should try it sometime.

  At Sawyer and Hurley's place, Sawyer is trying to read a novel while Hurley asks him if he wants to watch Xanadu. Kate shows up at their place and Sawyer escorts her into the kitchen, offering her some DHARMA-branded red wine in a box. He knows Kate wants to use him for something and tells her to just come out with it. She wants to his help in breaking Ben out. An hour later, Sawyer goes to Locke and asks him if he wants to play a game of backgammon. As they set up, Locke asks him if he's concerned about what they should do next or if he regrets following him. Sawyer tells him he'd be a lot more worried sitting back at the beach, and the rest of the group are like sheep; predictable and willing to follow Locke. However, he has reservations about Kate. After getting Locke's word he won't harm Kate, Sawyer tells him how she approached him to break Ben out. Locke retrieves a gun and the two head to the boathouse to find out what Miles wants with Ben. When they get there they discover Miles is gone.

  With Locke and Sawyer at the boathouse, Kate breaks into Locke's place with Miles in tow. The two descend into the basement and Kate shoots out the padlock, opening the room so Miles can speak to Ben. Ben knows who Miles is and who he works for. Miles warns Ben that he can tell his employer exactly where he is, but can also lie and tell him he's dead for $3.2 million. Ben wants to know why Miles thinks he has access to that kind of money, but Miles warns Ben to not treat him like one of the Oceanic survivors, that he doesn't know who Ben is and what he can do. Ben reminds Miles that Charlotte has already seen him and knows he's alive. Miles tells him he'll take care of Charlotte and he should only worry about getting the money in two days. Pointing out his current situation of captivity, Ben asks if that deadline can be extended; he gets one week. With Miles' time up, Kate slams the door shut and pushes Miles up against a wall, demanding the answers she wanted from him. Miles tells her they got her name when she contacted the freighter and they know everything about her, including how she's wanted for murder. He suggests she's better off staying on the island. The two are intercepted by Locke and Sawyer, and Locke orders Kate back to her house. At Claire and Kate's place, Locke tells her he doesn't need to know why she did what she did, but needs to know what they said to each other. He learns that Miles was willing to tell the freighter Ben was dead in exchange for $3.2 million. Kate tries to apologize, but Locke tells her she's no longer welcome there and is to be gone by morning. After Locke leaves, Kate stops by Sawyer's room. Sawyer apologizes for not doing more, but he didn't want Locke not trusting either of them. She informs him of Locke's decision, but Sawyer tells her he can stay at his place and he'll keep her safe.

  In the morning, Locke greets Miles at the boathouse, who has been strung up from the rafters. Locke orders Miles to open his mouth and places a hand grenade between his teeth, removing the pin. He tells Miles that he made the mistake of failing to introduce himself when he initially tied Miles up. He introduces himself and tells Miles he's responsible for the well-being of the island. He knows Miles will eventually tell him about himself, about the people on the freighter and why he's so interested in Ben. But, in the meantime, he's going to keep his mouth shut. He reminds Miles that he'll be fine, so long as he keeps biting down on the trigger, and leaves. At Sawyer's room, Sawyer tells Kate he knows they didn't go all the way that night because she was sad. However, Kate still doesn't want to have sex with him that morning. Sawyer tells her he knows she thinks she might be pregnant, but Kate tells her she's not worried and not pregnant. Sawyer is elated at the news, but Kate doesn't share his enthusiasm and informs him she's going back to the beach. He tells her not to make this about him, that she didn't want a baby any more than he did, and is just looking for an excuse to split. He believes that she'll find some reason to get pissed at Jack and bounce right back to him. Kate slaps him and leaves.

• At the beach camp, Jin suggests to Sun they could live in Albuquerque or New York City, but Sun tells him they're too hot and too crowded, respectively. Sun asks him why they couldn't live in Seoul. Jin tells her he's learning English so they can live in America, but Sun tells him she wants to raise her baby at home in Korea. Their conversation is interrupted with the return of Jack and Juliet. Jack introduces the survivors to Daniel and Charlotte, and tells them that they're helicopter has already taken Sayid and Desmond to their freighter. Jack attempts to contact the freighter with Naomi's satellite phone, but gets no response. Sun suggests that Locke may have been right, that the people on the freighter are there to hurt them, but Jack disagrees.

  At night, Daniel and Charlotte are gathered around three playing cards. Daniel attempts to name the cards, but only gets two out of three correct. Charlotte tells him that it's progress, but Daniel isn't happy with only remembering two of three. The two are interrupted by Jack and Juliet. Jack tells them he's been trying to contact their freighter all day without any answer. Charlotte asks him how they should know, seeing as how they're not on the freighter. Asked if there's any other lines to the freighter, Charlotte tells them there's one number they're only to use in emergencies. Juliet has her call it and Jack tells her to put it on speaker. Charlotte contacts Regina, telling her Minkowski hasn't been answering and the survivors want to talk to their friends that Frank took to the freighter. Regina tells her she thought the helicopter was with them.

The Flashforward

• Flashforward: Kate

Sitting inside a car, Kate asks her lawyer if there's a back entrance. He tells her there is, but they're going in through the front with her head held high. Kate exits the car into a throng of cameramen and reporters. Her lawyer leads her through the crowd, telling them they're not making any statements or taking any questions. Inside the Los Angeles court room, the judge begins the arraignment. The bailiff reads off the list of charges against her including fraud, arson, assault on a federal officer, assault with a deadly weapon, grand larceny, grand theft auto and murder in the first degree. Kate pleads not guilty. The prosecutor requests Kate be remanded into custody for the duration of the trial. Kate's lawyer reminds the court that his client has been free pending arraignment and, as she has one of the most recognizable faces in America, asks where could she run. Due to Kate's prior history, the judge agrees with the prosecutor's request and Kate is taken into custody.

Kate meets with her lawyer and learns the district attorney is going to prosecute the case herself. He suggests she cut a deal with her which would land her in jail for 15 years, but she'd probably only serve 7; Kate refuses. He reminds her she's looking at serving 20 years for each count and a life sentence for the murder count, that she confessed to her mother who is now the prosecution's star witness. He doesn't want to put Kate on the stand due to the prosecution cross-examining her, but believes they're only chance is to make the case about character and to put "him" on the stand as he'll generate tremendous sympathy. Kate refuses to let him use her son.

During the trial, Kate's lawyer tells her they got killed in the opening and he was forced to do something. The lawyer calls Dr. Jack Shephard to the stand. The prosecution renews their objection to the defense calling Jack to testify due to relevance, but the judge overrules her. The judge reminds the jury that the witness did not meet the defendant until after the alleged crimes she's being charged with and he's to be viewed as a character witness only. Jack tells the court he met Kate on September 22, 2004 while on Oceanic Flight 815 when it crashed onto a deserted island in the South Pacific. He did learn she was a fugitive being transported to Los Angeles; not from the Marshal, as he died in the crash, but from Kate herself. He never asked her if she was guilty as he assumed there was some kind of mistake. Asked why he made that assumption, Jack tells the court only eight of them survived the crash when they landed in the water, and he was badly hurt and would have drowned without Kate's help. She took care of all of them; gave them first aid, water, found food, made shelter, and tried to save the other two. Kate tells Jack to stop, that its her trial and she doesn't want him to say anything else. Kate's lawyer has no further questions and so the prosecutor cross-examines, asking Jack if he loves the defendant. Jack tells her he doesn't love her anymore.

At a private conference room, Kate's lawyer brings her mother, Diane Janssen, in. He tells her he worked things out to give them a few minutes to speak privately, and leaves. Diane asks her if what Jack said was true, that she was a hero, and why she won't speak to her. Kate reminds her that the last time she tried to speak to her, risked her life to see her, she yelled for help and called the police. Diane tells Kate that things changed when she thought she was killed on Oceanic 815. Her doctor's have given her six months to live for the last four years, so she doesn't know how much longer she has to live. She doesn't want to testify against Kate, but wants to see her grandson. Kate realizes her mother has come just to make a deal and tells her she doesn't want her anywhere near him. Their meeting is finished.

During the trial, there is some commotion with the prosecutor and the judge asks them if they're read to proceed with their case. The prosecutor informs the judge that their chief witness, Kate's mother, is unable to testify due to medical reasons. She doesn't know how long it'll be before she can testify. The judge agrees to recess for lunch, but tells the prosecutor to be ready to proceed when they return. The prosecutor tells Kate's lawyer they need to talk. Meeting with Kate and her lawyer, the prosecutor wants to cut a deal for four years served in prison, but Kate declines. Her lawyer reminds the prosecutor that Kate is a worldwide hero who saved five other after a plane crash, nearly starving to death on a deserted island. After all that, she's put on trial for rescuing her mother from an abusive husband. He believes the jury would never give her actual time in prison. The prosecutor offers a new deal: time served plus ten years probation in agreement Kate does not leave the state. Kate's lawyer thinks the prosecutor can do better, but Kate agrees to take the deal. After signing the deal, Kate walks out the back a free woman. Before she can get into a waiting taxi, she's met by Jack who tells her her lawyer gave him the heads up she was free. Kate thanks Jack for saying what he did in the court room, telling him she's heard him retell that story so many times it's almost as if he believes it. Jack tells her he didn't mean what he said in his testimony. She asks if he wants to follow her home and visit, but Jack declines the invitation. Kate knows Jack doesn't want to come by because of her son, and tells him they can't be together until he wants to. If he ever changes his mind, Kate wants him to see them. Kate is dropped off at her home in Los Angeles and hugs the nanny. She heads upstairs to see her young son, Aaron — Claire's son.

Notes

Mysteries

• Why does Miles want exactly $3.2 million?
• What happened to the helicopter?
• Why did Jack come up with the cover story regarding Kate?
• Why doesn't Jack want to see Aaron?
• What happened to Claire? Why does Kate have Aaron?

Answers

• The "he" Kate had to return to was Aaron. (3x22 - Through the Looking Glass)

The Cursed Numbers

• Kate's arraignment is docket #42231615. 42, 23, 16 and 15 are four of the numbers.
• Kate's lawyer suggests she takes a deal for a 15 year sentence.
• Diane's doctors have given her six months to live for the last 4 years.
• The prosecutor initially asks for a deal sending Kate to prison for 4 years.

Arc Advancement

Happenings

• Kate brings Miles to Ben in order to learn if the freighter knows she's a fugitive.
• Kate is kicked out of the barracks by Locke.
• The beach camp learns the helicopter never arrived at the freighter.

Characters

• Miles extorts $3.2 million out of Ben to tell his employers Ben is dead.

Referbacks

• 1x22 - Born to Run: Kate reminds her mother that, the last time she tried to speak to her, she yelled for help and called the police. In "Born to Run", Kate tried to speak to her mother, but she called for the help and, in the ensuing escape attempt, her childhood sweetheart was killed.
• 2x09 - What Kate Did: When Kate refuses to accept a plea bargain, her lawyer reminds her she confessed to her mother that she murdered her father. In "What Kate Did", Kate told her mother she took care of her right after blowing up her father.
• 2x15 - Maternity Leave: Ben refers to being under Locke's watchful eye as just like old times, but in a new room. In "Maternity Leave", Ben was locked in The Swan's armory and had food brought to him by Locke.
• 4x03 - The Economist: Jack informs the survivors of Sayid and Desmond's departure to the freighter. When Kate finds Miles, Miles guesses Sayid traded her to Locke, too. In "The Economist", Sayid and Desmond left for the freighter, and Sayid traded Miles to Locke for Charlotte while Kate decided to stay behind.

Trivia

The Show

• A New Room: Ben was being kept by Locke in the same room Ben kept Locke's father, Anthony Cooper, in "The Man from Tallahassee". He also refers to his captivity as being just like old times, but in a new room. In "Maternity Leave", Ben was locked in The Swan's armory and had food brought to him by Locke. Their conversation upset Locke and, after locking Ben in the room, resulted in taking out his frustration on the dishes. In this episode their conversation again upsets Locke and he again takes out his frustration on the dishes.
• Albuquerque: Jin suggests he and Sun could live in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Albuquerque is where Cassidy Phillips lives with Sawyer's daughter.
• Backgammon: Sawyer plays a game of backgammon with Locke. In "Pilot, Part 2", Locke talks about backgammon with Walt.

Behind the Scenes

• Revealing Mistakes: Kate is seen drinking out of a DHARMA Initiative-branded coffee mug. When she takes a sip, the bottom is revealed with its Mainstays trademark branding. Mainstays is a Wal-Mart store brand. After speaking to Ben, Locke throws his breakfast against a wall and the wall moves. This shows it isn't a real brick wall.
• Location, Location, Location: The Barracks is the YMCA's Camp Erdman in Waialua, HI. The boathouse at the Barracks is located at Dillingham Ranch near Mokuleia Beach Park in Waialua, HI, which is just down the road from Camp Erdman. The California court room is located at the Laniakea YWCA in Honolulu, HI. The California court house exterior and the parking garage Kate met Jack are the Hawaii State Capitol building in Honolulu.
• Missing in Action: Naveen Andrews, Henry Ian Cusick, Harold Perrineau, Jr. are credited but do not appear.

Allusions and References

• Episode Title: In the Official Lost Audio Podcast, executive producer Carlton Cuse explained that the title "Eggtown" is in reference to Kate's pregnancy.
• VALIS: The novel Locke brings to Ben is VALIS, a 1981 science fiction novel by Philip K. Dick. The title is an acronym for Vast Active Living Intelligence System, which is Dick's gnostic vision of one aspect of God.
• Scooby-Doo: After Kate tricks Hurley, he asks her if she just "Scooby-Dooed" him. Scooby-Doo is a long-running American animated series beginning with Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! in 1969.
• The Invention of Morel: Sawyer is seen reading the 2003 English edition of The Invention of Morel by Adolfo Bioy Casares. A science fiction novel first published in 1940, The Invention of Morel follows a fugitive hiding on a deserted island somewhere in Polynesia. The island has a strange disease whose symptoms are similar to radiation poisoning. Tourists arrive on the island and, fearing they will turn him in to the authorities, he hides from them. However, he notices a woman and, while spying on her, falls in love. She is visited by another man, Morel, and the two speak French amongst themselves. The fugitive attempts to contact the woman, Faustine, but discovers neither she or the other tourists can see him. Strange events begin to occur, such as the tourists completely disappearing from the island and then reappearing, actions repeating themselves, and the presence of two suns and two moons. Morel eventually tells the tourists he devised a machine capable of reproducing reality through recording their actions of the past week and, through looping, they will relive that week forever and he can spend eternity with the woman he loves. The fugitive assumes Morel is referring to Faustine. The tourists learn the people recording in Morel's previous experiments are dead, so they will die too. The fugitive learns Morel's machine keeps running through kinetic energy supplied by the wind and tide, that the two suns and two moons and other strange phenomena are the result of reality overlapping with the recorded reality. The fugitive eventually learns how to insert himself into the recording so it looks like he and Faustine are lovers. As he waits for his soul to pass onto the recording while dying, he asks a favor to the man who will invent a machine capable of merging souls: he wants the inventor to search for them and let him enter Faustine's conscience as an act of mercy.
• Xanadu: Hurley asks Sawyer if he wants to watch Xanadu. Xanadu is a 1980 musical/romance film starring Olivia Newton-John and Gene Kelly. Olivia Newton-John plays Kira, an Olympian Musa, who falls in love with Sonny, an artists for album covers, when she was only supposed to inspire him.
• Bruce Lee: Sawyer refers to Miles as "Bruce Lee." Bruce Lee was an American-born martial artist, philosopher, instructor, actor and the founder of the Jeet Kune Do martial arts system.
• Montezuma: After hearing Hurley flush the toilet, Sawyer refers to him as "Montezuma". Montezuma's Revenge is a term for any cases of travelers' diarrhea or other sicknesses contracted by tourists. The name humorously refers to Moctezuma II, who was defeated by Hernándo Cortés the Spanish conquistador.
• She's Got You: Kate listens to "She's Got You" by Patsy Cline after she's caught by Locke. The song was released on January 30, 1962

Memorable Moments

• Locke puts a hand grenade in Miles' mouth.

Quotes

• Kate: I want to talk to Miles. Where are you keeping him?
  Locke: Why did you need to talk to him?
  Kate: That's personal.
  Locke: No.
  Kate: And what gives you the right to decide whether or not-
  Locke: You may think this is a democracy, Kate, because of the way Jack ran things, but this is not a democracy.
  Kate: Then I guess that makes this a dictatorship.
  Locke: If I was a dictator I would just shoot you and go about my day.