Now we're really getting into it, strap in for this one because there is a lot going on in this episode. I even considered splitting this post into 2 parts, but lets not complicate things.
Not only do we open another episode with another eye, but it's young Jack's eye. Long before the island was ever a part of Jack’s life. Or was it? Now how cool is that!? (Sorry for those of you that read this without being up-to-date on Lost, but by now I am sure that you’ve realized that I have included info that may spoil it for you if you are trying to catch up.) So back to the coolness; I was in the middle of writing that the opening scene flashback in which young Jack is being harassed by school bullies was long before the island was ever a part of his life. However, after giving it some thought, adult Jack might very well be causing trouble on the island as a member of the DHARMA Initiative in the late 70’s at the very same time that young Jack is being bullied back in L.A. I think its an awesome and interesting concept to wrap one’s mind around, and certainly not something that could be realized without having seen season 5.
In this flashback to Jack’s childhood, he explains to his father Christian that he was trying to help one of his friends that was being jumped by bullies. In his efforts, he was then attacked by those bullies and received a couple of black eyes for his trouble. The intimidating and seemingly cold parenting tactics of Christian led him to teach Jack a lesson about the actions he should take as he continues his life’s journey. Christian says, “Don’t decide, don’t try to save everyone, because when you fail, you don’t have what it takes.” A powerful statement certainly, but even more intriguing when you know Jack the way we know him now. It is as if these words stuck with Jack or even haunted him throughout the rest of his life causing him to purposely do the opposite every time he was faced with that decision. For the first 4 seasons he desperately wants to get everyone rescued from the island. Here are some more examples of Jack saving or trying to save people:
- He tries to save everyone in need of help when the plane first crashed
- He tries to save the Marshall
- He tries to save Joanna (an unknown survivor) from drowning later in this very episode
- He tries to save Boone
- He saves Charlie in season 1 when taken by the others (which we will get to)
- He tries to save Claire in season 1 when taken by the others (which we will get to)
Ya know what? I can see this list getting out of hand real quick and I am sure that I am bound to leave some examples out. But clearly, he does not heed his father’s advice in not attempting to save everyone.
Speaking of which, back on the island (present day) Jack springs to action and dives into the ocean like a lifeguard when Charlie comes running to tell him that someone is drowning and was in need of rescue. 
Interestingly enough, Charlie repeatedly and frantically tells Jack that he can’t swim, which is why he couldn’t go in and attempt to save the drowning woman himself. Why is this interesting? Because anyone that is current on Lost knows that at the end of season 3, Charlie volunteers to swim down to an underwater DHARMA station to help the rest of the survivors communicate with a ship that’s near the island. Swimming down to the station and even attempting to come back up is a challenge for anyone because of its depth, but especially someone who ‘can’t swim’. When the survivors are putting together their plan at the end of season 3, Jack asks Charlie if he is sure he wants to take on that role (seemingly forgetting that Charlie told him that he couldn’t swim early in season 1) and Charlie reassures Jack that he wants to do it and can be counted on because he had earned accolades in swimming competitions as a child. We’ve seen Charlie learning to swim as a kid in a flashback of an upcoming episode, whether he is lying about his swimming accolades or not is irrelevant because it is clear that he can in fact swim. So what this means is, Charlie is lying about his ability to swim in episode 5. Again the theme of dishonesty is present here, but we (the audience) are not certain that this is a lie until later in the series, even if Charlie's behavior comes across as a bit fishy at this time. I’ve spent a fair amount of time talking about one specific lie that may seem relatively insignificant, but it actually couldn’t be more significant to the nature of this show.
Things tend to come full circle on this show, and by the beginning of episode 5, the writers have planted the seeds for Charlie’s story-line to come back to this a full 3 seasons later. Watch how it works:
- Woman drowning in the ocean
- Charlie lies about his ability to swim so he doesn’t have to attempt rescuing her
- Woman drowns / dies in the ocean
- Roughly 100 days later (3 seasons) To give the survivors the best chance at rescue, Charlie not only swims, but drowns and dies in the ocean after fulfilling his role in the plan.
So yes, the woman that Charlie told Jack about did end up drowning, but it was because Jack found Boone struggling in the ocean before he could even get to the other woman. In fact, when Jack reached Boone, he thought he had rescued the person Charlie was talking about. Boone catches his breath and asks Jack “Did you get her?” This is when Jack realizes that there are two people in need of rescue. He opts to bring Boone back and attempt rescue of the other woman after he brings Boone back. This decision is one that Jack beats himself up over, like his father said he would when Jack was a kid.
I know I said I wouldn’t really mention promotional bottled water too much more, but it actually takes center stage in this episode for a brief time because their supply is running low. And I actually saw a custom polycarbonate water bottle sneak its way into the show when we see the entire water supply that the survivors have left.
Jack struggles with being a leader when other survivors come to him about the potential water problem. At this time Jack is also struggling with his sanity because he keeps seeing his father randomly appear and disappear on the island. He and some other survivors blame Jack’s ‘hallucinations’ on lack of sleep and stress, but Jack ultimately decides to chase after his father. I love the clever choice of the episode title referencing Alice in Wonderland and how she chases a white rabbit in a strange and unfamiliar place.
While Jack is chasing his ‘white rabbit’, someone steals the remaining water supply. Knowing that the camp is already understandably restless, John Locke quickly volunteers himself as the one who will go seek out water for the camp, stating that he is the best candidate to do so since he ‘knows where to look’.
This lends credibility to my theory of Locke acting under an influence this early in the series, but his ‘coincidental’ meeting with Jack in the middle of the jungle is even more telling. As Jack chases after his father, he trips and tumbles to the edge of a huge cliff. As Jack clings to the cliff for his life, an arm and open hand emerges from the surface of the cliff.
It is of course, the hand of John Locke who helps Jack get back up and in essence saves his life. Remember, Locke was supposedly looking for water because he ‘knows where to look’, but there is no water where Jack is. Seems like something else is going on there. How did Locke know where to be in order to save Jack? Regardless of how or why, this leads to a very important conversation between these two characters. In fact, this conversation defines John Locke’s character and even goes a long way towards defining the Jack/Locke relationship throughout the course of the series.
To paraphrase and shorten the conversation, it went along the lines of Locke telling Jack that he believes everyone was brought to the island for a greater purpose. That everything happens for a reason and that things are different on the island than they are anyplace else. He even says that he is a ‘meat and potatoes kind of guy, doesn’t believe in magic’ but then attempts to convince Jack that perhaps his hallucinations of his father are not hallucinations. Locke infamously says that ‘he looked into the eye of the island, and what he saw was beautiful’ referring to the prior episode when he and the smoke monster meet ‘face-to-face’. (He could have been shown something similar to what Ben saw in season 5 when the smoke monster seems to encapsulate Ben and then shows him visuals.) Jack sort of shrugs off the notion of the hallucinations being real and tries to join Locke when he tells Jack that he is headed off in search of water. Locke then stops Jack, tells him to go on his own so that he can continue his own personal journey. If that isn’t talk of someone who knows what’s going on, I don’t know what is!
Why would Locke suggest that they don’t trek through the jungle together in search of water? (Especially if Locke ‘knew where to look’) In my opinion the answer lies in the state of John Locke and my theory on how he is already partially overtaken by the ‘man in black’ and/or the smoke monster.
Yes, Locke did know where he had to be, but it had nothing to do with water. He had to save Jack from dying, then he had the conversation with him about how special the island is. He then sent Jack on his way alone. Jack made camp at nightfall and heard the familiar sound of ice and liquor moving around a glass. A sound he knew so well from his father. After having chased around his father all day, Jack quickly follows the sound into some caves where he finds fresh running water and a potential alternative shelter for the survivors.
Speculation about what is going on here [with Jack's father Christian] is at an all time high and will continue to be until we get more answers in season 6. We know the ‘man in black’ took the form of John Locke after Locke’s dead body was brought back to the island. Christian’s dead body was also brought back to the island on the crashed flight 815. So does this mean that the ‘man in black’ has taken the form of Christian? It certainly coincides with the 'fake' John Locke form that we saw in season 5. It was the 'man in black' looking like Locke, but is not quite a ghost. He can pick things up, touch you and talk to you. But if so, how does Christian appear and disappear suddenly? I think it may be because the ‘man in black’ is also the smoke monster: an entity without true form that can give itself human form.
Either way, the chess pieces appear to have been moved again. On the chess board we call 'the island' Jack goes chasing after the visual of his dead father, which almost directly led him to running water. But not before having his life saved by Locke who was ‘coincidentally’ in the right place at the right time so that he could not only save him, but then try to convince him that his hallucinations may be real. Locke then orchestrates things further by insisting that Jack go about his personal journey alone, basically setting him up to discover the water on his own as a result of him chasing and coming to grips with his demons.
Although, speaking of Jack's demons, he does get emotional when he happens to stumble upon his father's casket lying amongst other debris from the plane. When he opened the casket, he was expecting to see his father's body, hoping to get closure on his 'hallucinations' of him. However, the body is missing, much to the chagrin of Jack. Despite this, the water and discovery of the caves lead Jack back to the shore where he steps back into his leadership role and gives his famous speech about having to ‘live together or die alone’.