Lost/The 23rd Psalm

The 23rd Psalm
Season 2, Episode 10
Airdate	January 11, 2006
Production Number	210
Written by	Carlton Cuse & Damon Lindelof
Directed by	Matt Earl Beesley
← 2x09 What Kate Did	2x11 → The Hunting Party
Lost — Season Two

The 23rd Psalm is the tenth episode of the second season, and the thirty-fifth episode overall.

Mr. Eko interrogates Charlie about the Virgin Mary statue, Claire begins to lose faith in Charlie when she discovers his secret, and Jack is an interested observer when Kate gives the recovering Sawyer a much-needed haircut.

Starring: Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (Mr. Eko), Naveen Andrews (Sayid), Emilie de Ravin (Claire), Matthew Fox (Jack), Jorge Garcia (Hurley), Josh Holloway (Sawyer), Daniel Dae Kim (Jin), Yunjin Kim (Sun), Evangeline Lilly (Kate), Dominic Monaghan (Charlie), Terry O'Quinn (John), Harold Perrineau, Jr. (Michael), Michelle Rodriguez (Ana-Lucia), Cynthia Watros (Libby)

Guest Starring: Adetokumboh McCormack (Yemi)

Co-Starring: Kolawole Obileye, Jr. (Young Eko), Olekan Obileye (Young Yemi), Pierre Olivier (Olu), Ronald Revels (Goldie), John Bryan (Thug Captain), Lawrence Jones (Lead Soldier), Moumen El Hajji (Tough Moroccan), Achraf Marzouki (Moroccan no. 2), Ellis St. Rose (Priest), Cynthia Charles (Nigerian Woman)

Plot Overview

The Island

• Conversing with Eko, Claire tells him he should talk to Charlie as Charlie is religious, even though he doesn't want to talk about it, and carries around a statue of the Virgin Mary. The statue piques Eko's interest and he asks to see it, and when she shows it to him he smashes it, revealing the heroin inside. He then stalks off to find Charlie, who is fishing with Jin, and demands he take him to where he found the statue. Charlie tries to apologize to Claire on the way, but she will have none of it. Eko and Charlie walk through the jungle to a deserted clearing, where Charlie claims he found the statue. Eko knows he's lying and reveals that he knows about the plane, demanding to be taken to it. He aks Charlie why he lied to the girl about the contents of the statue, but Charlie tries to change the subject. As he does, Eko sees a tendril of black smoke move through the trees in the distance, and he tells Charlie they must keep going. They walk further into the jungle and Eko finds the corpse of one of the Nigerian priests on the ground. He recognizes it, telling Charlie that the man saved his life, and says a prayer for the corpse. The two continue onward until Charlie gets lost. Eko tells Charlie to climb a nearby tree to see if he can get his bearings or spot the plane. As Charlie ascends the tree, the monster appears, ripping up and destroying nearby trees. Eko doesn't move as the monster comes to a stop in front of him. They stare each other down for a short while, as images flash inside the monster, and then it vanishes back into the jungle. Charlie spots the plane and they visit it together. Eko goes inside, finds another body, and takes the crucifix from around its neck - his brother, Yemi. He cries, then pulls the fuel line and torches the plane, but not before giving Charlie another Virgin Mary statue for the one he broke. They return to camp. Claire is furious with Charlie and tells him that she doesn't want him anywhere near her and Aaron. Charlie still insists he's not using again, but Claire doesn't believe him. That night, Charlie goes out into the jungle and places the Virgin Mary statue in a secret stash with several other Virgin Mary statues.
• Locke changes the combination to the armory in order to limit people's access to the guns. While working on the combination lock, Michael stops by and Locke deduces he's come in order to get a gun. He takes Michael outside and teaches him how to shoot a rifle. Michael tells him that people think he's going to go running off after Walt again, and Locke tells him that if people are talking then he's not hearing it... but, if he was, he'd say it's not a very smart plan.
• While Kate is giving Sawyer a haircut, Michael asks her if he could take her shift at the Swan's computer to help take his mind off things. As he is sitting at the computer, Walt contacts him again. Walt says he's OK, but that "they" are coming back soon. He tells Michael he has to do something, but we do not see what he says as Jack shows up to talk to Michael. He tells him that nobody has forgotten about Walt and that they're going to figure out how to get him back. When Jack looks at the computer screen, it is blank aside from the command prompt.

The Flashback

• Flashback: Eko

In Nigeria, a truck full of thugs pulls into the courtyard of a church where a group of children are playing soccer. A priest comes running out of the church, yelling at the thugs to not take anymore children, but one of the thugs knocks him down with his rifle. The thugs bring out an old man and grab one of the children, Eko's younger brother, Yemi. The thug captain gives Yemi a gun and tells him to shoot the old man. A young Eko runs up, grabs the gun from his brother, and shoots the old man. The thug captain grabs the gun from Eko and asks him his name. Delighted in the lack of hesitation in "Mr. Eko", the thug captain yanks the cross from Eko's neck and tosses it to the ground, telling Eko he won't need it anymore. As the thugs leave, taking Eko with them, Yemi picks up the cross.

A dirty car pulls up to a local dining establishment. Two thugs get out and then an adult Eko. The locals sitting outside see Eko get out, and they get up and leave. Inside the building, Eko sits down across from two Moroccans and a boy brings out to duffle bags for the Moroccans before being sent to get beers for them. One of Eko's men with a gold tooth, Goldie, pulls a baggy of heroin out of the duffle bag and gives it to Eko, and Eko uses a knife to puncture the baggy and taste a bit of the heroin. He tells the tough moroccan that he'll give him 50 for the favor he is asking of him. His drugs are of no value in Nigeria and the only way to get them out are through the air via the U.N. aid missions or the Catholic missionaries, hence the favor. The tough Moroccan tells Eko that it is true what they say about him - he has no soul. Eko laughs briefly and then slices the necks of the two Moroccans with one swipe of his knife. The boy returns and Eko tells the boy to tell his friends that Mr. Eko let him live.

In the village from his youth, Eko approaches the church. A Nigerian woman asks him to buy a Virgin Mary statue in order to help buy polio vaccine for the village. Yemi, a priest, appears, asking Eko whhat he's doing there, and Eko tells him he's come to give his confession. The two greet one another and smile. Inside the church, Eko tells Yemi he's come to help him, that he has some merchandise he needs to get out of the country and would like to use one of Yemi's church relief flights to transport it. He tells Yemi that he's getting the drugs out of Nigeria so it cannot be used by their people, and Yemi will have all the money he needs to buy his vaccine. But Yemi tells Eko that Eko's own greed brought him here and, although he will always love Eko, he will not help him.

Later, Eko and his thugs enter Yemi's church, and Eko demands to speak to Yemi. He tells Yemi to sign several ordination documents to make him and his thugs priests so they can fly the drugs out themselves, and he'll give Yemi the money for the vaccine. Yemi balks at Eko's demands, but Eko tells him that although he would never do anything to hurt his own brother, his friends will burn Yemi's church to the ground. Yemi signs the ordination documents, but tells Eko that he could never be a priest.

Later, the Nigerian drug smuggler's plane is idling on a runway. Eko and Goldie, dressed as priests, are loading containers onto the plane while Olu, Eko's other thug, stands guard. A van drives up to the plane and Yemi gets out, telling Eko he's come to save his life. As he pleads with Eko to not go, a truck with soldiers on the back comes speeding down the runway towards the plane. Goldie and Olu begin shooting at the truck and the driver is hit. The truck crashes to a stop and the soldiers jump out and return fire, hitting and killing Olu. Yemi yells at the soldiers to stop, but he's hit. Goldie helps Eko put Yemi in the plane, but Goldie kicks Eko to the ground before he can get in and closes the door. The plane takes off with Eko sitting on the runway. One of the soldiers runs up to him and asks if he's okay, addressing him as a priest.

Notes

Mysteries

• Why was Eko in Sydney, Australia and heading to Los Angeles?
• What did Walt want Michael to do?
• Why do images appear within the monster?
• Why did the monster not attack Eko?

Answers

• The drug smuggler's plane really is from Nigeria, but it is still unknown how it ended up on the island. (1x19 - Deus Ex Machina)
• The black smoke that tried to take Locke appears to have been the monster. Although it is still unknown as to what it exactly is. (1x24 - Exodus, Part Two)

The Cursed Numbers

• The 23rd Psalm has a prominent role in this episode.

Scrutiny

• (Screwup, possibly intentional) When Eko recites the 23rd psalm over the burning plane, he says "though I walk through the shadow of the valley of death". The correct version is "though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death".
• The record player is again the silver model seen in 2x01 - Man of Science, Man of Faith rather than the wooden one seen in 2x02 - Adrift.

Arc Advancement

Happenings

• Locke changes the combination on the armory in the Swan, to prevent any of the new people from getting guns.
• The wreckage of the drug smuggler's plane is burned.

Characters

• Charlie has been stockpiling Virgin Mary statues. There is no sign that he has given into his addiction, but he certainly has a lot of heroin.

Referbacks

• 1x25 - Exodus (2): Charlie and Eko revisit the smugglers' plane that he and Sayid found previously (which had originally been found by Locke and Boone in episode 1x19 - Deus Ex Machina). The majority of the episode revolves around the plane and Eko's involvement.

Trivia

The Show

• Typecast: In this episode, it is revealed that Eko was involved in the trafficking of heroin. In Oz, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje's character {{ch|show=Oz|Simon Adebisi]] was also a major player in the heroin trade.
• Ratings: During its first airing, this episode was watched by 20.5 million viewers with a share of 8.5/20 among adults between 18 and 49. It was the highest rated show of the night.
• Gone Fishing: Naveen Andrews does not appear in this episode despite being credited.

Behind the Scenes

• Location, Location, Location: The Nigerian village was filmed in and around Waialua on Oahu.

Allusions and References

• Psalm 23: The title to the episode (as well as parts of the episode itself) alludes to the 23rd Psalm in the Old Testament of the Bible. The psalm describes a man depending on God during a struggle with death. There are many parallels with Eko's life, but a particularly obvious one is the rod and staff that comfort. Of course, Eko has been carrying a big stick with the psalm carved into it. The King James version of the Psalm (which was recited by Charlie and Eko) is as follows:

The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. He maketh me lie down in green pastures. He leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul. He leadeth me in the path of righteousness for his namesake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

Memorable Moments

• Locke teaches Michael how to shoot a rifle.
• Charlie and Eko recite the 23rd Psalm over the burning smugglers' plane.