Official Discussion: 5x14 The Variable

[Hollywood Heidi]

5x14 The Variable

Original Air Date: April 29, 2009
Centric: Faraday centric
Directed by: Paul Edwards
Written by: Edward Kitsis & Adam Horowitz
Summary: On the 100th episode milestone for the series, the time of reckoning has begun when Daniel Faraday comes clean regarding what he knows about the island. (tv.com)
Trailer:

 

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Discuss the episode! Below are some discussion points to get you started.  Feel free to simply copy and paste and insert your thoughts or write out your thoughts however you like.  Constructive comments make for better and more interesting conversations so feel free to elaborate and explain your thoughts, conclusions, and opinions.  Repeat Viewers, answer these as if watching for the first time or what your original answers would have been when you first watched:

What did you think of the episode?

What expectations or theories did you have that either ended up right or wrong?

Who was your favorite character in this episode and why?  Least favorite?

What scenes or situations did you like best?  Least?

What were some of your favorite quotes?

How do you rate this episode compared to the rest?


Repeat viewers
Be mindful of the first-time viewers and give fair warning of spoiler comments by putting spoiler tags (directions below) or at the very least keep them at the bottom of your post with a big texted SPOILER before it.

[spoiler]spoiler text[/spoiler]
What do you think of the episode now that you've seen the whole series?

Did you find anything new you didn't catch the previous time(s) watching?

[DarkSideCookie]

4 stars!

I liked this episode, although it left me a little confused at several parts for not remembering every name and every mentioning from past episodes. By the time I start a rewatch of the whole show (and there will come the day I'm going to do so for damn sure lol), I'll have to make sure to watch it at regular intervals.
I actually forgot what had happened to Dan before so that he wasn't with Sawyer and the others for the last 3 years. I rather avoid to google anything about Lost because of spoilers...

I loved to learn more about Dan and his past! The more I learned, the less I do like his mother though. She's manipulative. Oh okay, I know what you're thinking now. xD But just being manipulative doesn't make a character likeable for me lol. I don't like when parents are trying to push their children in a direction they wanted them to be. What a genius boy already at a young age though!

Charlotte! My heart made a jump when Dan talked to young her.

Whoa, when Dan suddenly told Dr. Chang that he's coming from the future and then even that Miles, standing right next to them, is his son! XD Awesome moment!

I'm so glad btw Desmond is alright!

Widmore is Dan's dad? Holy shit...

I can't believe Dan is really dead!! I've been left confused at the ending again. I wonder if something has slipped my mind or attention as for Eloise.

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Favorite quotes/moments:

SAWYER: Phil--one of my security guys--got himself a videotape of me and Kate taking the kid out to the Hostiles.
JACK: And where's the tape?
SAWYER: With Phil.
JACK: And where is Phil?
[Sawyer opens a closet to reveal a gagged Phil tied up inside.]
SAWYER: Phil, Jack. Jack... Phil.

FARADAY: Dr. Chang... Miles is your son.

FARADAY: [Sighs] Hey, James.
SAWYER: Welcome to the meeting, Twitchy. Good to see you again. Pound cake's in the kitchen. Help yourself to the punch. [To Miles, in a lowered voice] Is he still crazy?
MILES: It's on a whole new level, man.
SAWYER: [Sighs] Great.

[Hollywood Heidi]

4 stars from me as well! I got teared up a couple times, especially at the end.

Holy crap, Widmore is Daniel's dad! So that means Daniel and Penny are half-siblings.

Nov 10, 2018 10:04:17 GMT -8 DarkSideCookie said:

I liked this episode, although it left me a little confused at several parts for not remembering every name and every mentioning from past episodes. By the time I start a rewatch of the whole show (and there will come the day I'm going to do so for damn sure lol), I'll have to make sure to watch it at regular intervals.

Let me know what you don't remember and I'll explain. Might be important for the rest of the show.

I actually forgot what had happened to Dan before so that he wasn't with Sawyer and the others for the last 3 years. I rather avoid to google anything about Lost because of spoilers...

Daniel had time skipped with all of them. He'd ended up going back to Ann Arbor on the sub with the science team and he kept doing research there. He just now came back.

I loved to learn more about Dan and his past! The more I learned, the less I do like his mother though. She's manipulative. Oh okay, I know what you're thinking now. xD But just being manipulative doesn't make a character likeable for me lol. I don't like when parents are trying to push their children in a direction they wanted them to be. What a genius boy already at a young age though!

Daniel's life is heartbreaking. Yes, Eloise seems very manipulative, steering her son to a specific path. But that's because she knows what happened and in her mind, it's his destiny to end up back on the island in 1977 where her younger self shot him. I already know about this so watching the beginning parts of the ep, where she's telling her young son about destiny, I could see the pain and the shine of tears in her eyes. My heart does go out to her though. Could you imagine living your whole life knowing you killed your son? And that in order to make sure things are set right, you're going to have to continue on and raise that child, setting him on this doomed fate at your hands?

We got to see Teresa before she became a vegetable. That was also sad, knowing what was going to happen to her. And seeing Daniel suffer through losing his memories/mind was so sad as well.

Widmore confirmed to Daniel that he's the one who faked the crash! Also, finding out that he's Daniel's dad explains more deeply why he granted Daniel all that money for research.

Charlotte! My heart made a jump when Dan talked to young her.

This was one of the moments that I got teary-eyed. It's so neat and so sad to see the memory that came back to Charlotte as she died play out.

Whoa, when Dan suddenly told Dr. Chang that he's coming from the future and then even that Miles, standing right next to them, is his son! XD Awesome moment!

That was so great! Pierre was starting to believe him. Maybe even would have if Miles didn't refuse to go along with it!

I can't believe Dan is really dead!! I've been left confused at the ending again. I wonder if something has slipped my mind or attention as for Eloise.

Well, he appears dead but with Lost, you never know. Possibility he's on the brink of it? We'll have to wait and see next episode! Knowing there's still a chance didn't stop me from tearing up though.

What confused you with the ending? Eloise saw a man holding a gun on Richard so she shot the man who turns out was her son. That's the memory that was burned in her mind and why she knew she had to set Daniel on this tragic past.



Favorite quotes/moments:


Sawyer: Your mother is an Other...


(lol, the way that rhymed cracked me up. I've see Lost t-shirts that say that XD)