Hearts and Minds
From Lostpedia
| Lost Season 1 (Flashbacks in Parentheses) | S2 >> • S3 >> • S4>> | |||||||
| #01 | "Pilot, Part 1" | (Jack) | #10 | "Raised by Another" | (Claire) | #18 | "Numbers" | (Hurley) |
| #02 | "Pilot, Part 2" | (Various) | #11 | "All The Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues" | (Jack) | #19 | "Deus Ex Machina" | (Locke) |
| #03 | "Tabula Rasa" | (Kate) | #12 | "Whatever the Case May Be" | (Kate) | #20 | "Do No Harm" | (Jack) |
| #04 | "Walkabout" | (Locke) | #13 | "Hearts and Minds" | (Boone) | --- | "Lost: The Journey" | (recap) |
| #05 | "White Rabbit" | (Jack) | #14 | "Special" | (Michael & Walt) | #21 | "The Greater Good" | (Sayid) |
| #06 | "House of the Rising Sun" | (Sun) | #15 | "Homecoming" | (Charlie) | #22 | "Born to Run" | (Kate) |
| #07 | "The Moth" | (Charlie) | #16 | "Outlaws" | (Sawyer) | #23 | "Exodus, Part 1" | (Various) |
| #08 | "Confidence Man" | (Sawyer) | #17 | "...In Translation" | (Jin) | #24 | "Exodus, Part 2" | (Various) |
| #09 | "Solitary" | (Sayid) | ||||||
Episode transcript
[[{{{transcript2}}}|Part Two]]
"Hearts and Minds" is the thirteenth episode of Season 1 of Lost. As Boone becomes increasingly jealous of Shannon's relationship with other survivors on the Island, Locke hatches a plan to make him realize that he should let go. Meanwhile, Hurley attempts to acquire food supplies for the group. Flashbacks in this episode center around Boone and Shannon's time in Australia and what they were doing there.
Contents |
Synopsis
Flashbacks
At a posh tennis club, Boone is just leaving the court with a lady friend when he gets a call on his cell phone. It's revealed to be Shannon -- she's crying and shouting is heard in the background. She begs Boone for help, asking him to come and get her. Boone asks her where she is, and she answers "Sydney".
Boone knocks on the door at a house, and Shannon's boyfriend Bryan answers. Boone enters looking for Shannon and when she comes in the room, she looks surprised to see him. Boone reminds her of her frantic call, but she clams up and asks him to leave. While Bryan has his back to her, Shannon pulls back her hair to reveal a large bruise on her face.
While attempting to file a complaint against Bryan at the Australian police station, Sawyer is brought into the station in the background while the detective and Boone chat. The detective reveals Shannon and Boone are in fact not blood related, but step-siblings, as his mother married Shannon's father when they were children. The police can't help Boone, so he decides to take another approach. He finds Bryan at work on the docks and tells him to get out of Shannon's life. When Bryan scoffs, telling Boone that he loves Shannon, Boone decides to get to the point and asks what his love is worth. Showing his true colors, Bryan names his price: $50,000 US dollars.
At the same house in Australia, Boone has paid Bryan off and is coming to collect Shannon and her things. But Shannon looks guilty and we learn why when Bryan comes into the room and lays it all out for Boone. Shannon orchestrated the whole drama in an attempt to get money from Boone's mother. Boone is humiliated and lets his emotions get the better of him, resulting in a fight between Bryan and him. Boone leaves the house bloodied and rejected.
Later, at Boone's hotel room in Sydney, Shannon knocks on the door. She tells him that Bryan took off with the money and now Shannon has no place to go. Shannon comes close to Boone, telling him that she knew he would bring the money because he is in love with her. Boone says she is drunk and crazy, but she comes closer and closer and Boone can't help himself. They fall into a passionate kiss, but the next morning, Shannon is cold towards Boone and tells him she wants things to go back the way they were, regardless of Boone's feelings.
Real-time events
Boone's eye opens -- he's staring at something. From his point of view we see Sayid enjoying an easy conversation with his sister, Shannon. Hurley interrupts Boone, asking him why he and Locke haven't brought back any boars lately? Boone is offended and tells Hurley that hunting boar isn't as easy as he thinks. Hurley reminds Boone that everybody needs protein, and that living in this place this isn't a game.
Boone confronts Sayid and tells him to stay away from his sister. Sayid doesn't seem the least bit intimidated, but Boone isn't backing down either. Before push comes to shove Locke calls Boone away, they have work to do. While trudging through the jungle, Locke counsels Boone not to make an enemy out of Sayid -- they are going to need him on their side later. For now the important thing is to get back to the Hatch.
Hurley finds Jack and asks him if he has anything to help his upset stomach. Jack asks Hurley a few questions and we discover the cause of his distress. Hurley has been eating nothing but fruit for the last week and his stomach is starting to complain -- they need protein, but there hasn't been any boar. Jack tells him to go and ask Jin for some fish, but Hurley tells Jack that Jin has it in for him because he refused to eat the sea urchin Jin caught the day they crashed. Later, when Jack recounts this story to Kate, she offers about a more disturbing possibility for the lack of boar meat lately. "What if Locke is not catching them on purpose?"
Back on the beach, Hurley's desperation has forced him to approach Jin. He asks him to teach him how to fish, but Jin has no idea what Hurley is saying. Still, as Jin walks to the water for day's fishing, Hurley is following close behind.
At the Hatch, Boone tries to convince Locke to tell the others about their discovery. If not everyone else, at least Shannon. Locke tells Boone she isn't ready to know and that telling her now will only cause problems, but Boone insists -- he's going to tell her when they get back to camp. Locke feels that Shannon has too large an influence over Boone's life, but tells him the decision is his. But when Boone starts off again down the trail, Locke whacks him over the head with the handle of a knife, knocking him out cold.
Boone wakes up to find he is tied to a tree. Locke sits before him mixing a strange concoction in a coconut bowl. Boone begs Locke to untie him, but Locke refuses and then comes over and spreads some of his concoction over Boone's open head wound. Locke tells Boone that he is on his own and he leaves a knife just out of Boone's reach. "You can cut yourself free and make your way back to camp," Locke says, "With the proper motivation."
Kate and Sun are working in a garden that Sun has made. Kate is taking advantage of the safety zone (Sun can't understand her) and is speaking freely about herself. When she says something funny, Sun can't help but smile and Kate realizes that Sun can speak English. Sun begs Kate not to tell anyone.
Meanwhile, back at the beach, Hurley is trying his best to mimic everything Jin does in an attempt to catch some fish of his own. Having no luck at all, he throws down his makeshift net in frustration and storms back to the beach, but he steps on a sea urchin and howls in pain. Jin helps him back to the beach and Hurley begs him to urinate on his foot in order to prevent infection. English or no, Jin understands this request and flatly refuses.
Back in the jungle, Boone struggles to free himself, but there is no way of reaching the knife. Suddenly, he hears Shannon screaming from another part of the jungle. When he asks her for help, she tells him that she is tied up, too. And there's a bigger problem: the Monster is back and it is nearby. Now, with Shannon's safety in mind, Boone is able to contort himself just enough to get the knife and he cuts himself loose before following Shannon's screams to her location and cutting her loose as well. They both sprint off and hide in a mangrove trunk as the Monster approaches.
In another part of the jungle, Sayid quizzes Jack about which way he thinks north is, and Sayid confirms that Jack was correct. Then Sayid shows him the compass Locke gave to him earlier, which shows north in another direction. Sayid claims it must be defective. He says a minor magnetic anomaly could throw it off by 2 or 3 degrees, but not as much as it is.
Back in the jungle, the coast is clear. As Boone and Shannon make their way along the trail, Boone tells Shannon all about the Hatch.
Jack and Charlie make a fire on the beach and Jack asks Charlie for his opinion on Locke. Charlie doesn't hesitate to say that Locke is the one man on the Island that he would trust his life to.
Kate and Sun continue to talk about the English secret. When Kate asks why Sun doesn't tell Jin, Sun tells Kate it's because she loves him, asking Kate, "Haven't you ever lied to a man you loved?" Kate gives no response.
Back at camp, Hurley is sharing his tale of failure and sea urchin with Michael when Jin arrives and presents Hurley with his very own fish. He may not speak English, but he recognizes that Hurley made a good effort and this is his reward.
In the jungle, Boone and Shannon are attacked by the Monster again. And this time, try as they might they can't run fast enough and Shannon is snatched up by the beast. As Boone screams after her…
Boone continues his desperate search for Shannon, but when he finds her bloody, crumpled body lying by the stream we all know he is too late. Boone weeps as she dies in his arms.
Later, after finally making his way back to camp, Boone sees Locke sitting by the fire and attacks him, blaming Locke for Shannon's death. When Boone tells Locke that Shannon died in his arms, Locke asks Boone why there is no blood on him. Just as Boone is going to ask what happened, Shannon comes into view. She's alive and well and chatting happily with Sayid. Boone realizes that the concoction Locke spread on his head wound was a hallucinogenic that allowed Boone to have his "vision." Locke confirms this, and asks Boone how he felt when Shannon died. Boone can't help but give the honest answer, "I felt relieved". Satisfied that Boone is finally making strides towards letting go of Shannon, Locke tells Boone to "follow me." He does so.
Trivia
General
- This day (Day 24) is seen again in Exposé as Arzt gives Nikki a map to try and find their luggage. It is on this day that Nikki and Paulo find the drug smuggler's plane and the Pearl station.
- The first mention of Electromagnetism takes place in this episode with the conversation between Sayid and Jack regarding the peculiar compass reading. This later plays a big part in the second season.
Production notes
- Claire does not appear and Emilie de Ravin is not credited.
Recurring themes
- The episode opens with a close-up on Boone's eye opening. (Eyes)
- As Boone visits the detective, Sawyer is taken to a cell behind him. (Character Connections)
- Locke ties Boone up in the jungle. (Imprisonment)
- Shannon deceives Boone into thinking that her boyfriend is beating her. (Deceptions and cons)
- Boone hallucinates about Shannon. (Dreams and Visions)
- Sayid mentions to Jack that something is disrupting Locke's compass, something big. (Electromagnetism)
- Boone is jealous of the attention Shannon is giving Sayid, until Locke convinces him to "let go". (Rivalries)
- Boone asks Locke whether they will be working on the hatch for 4 months like Michelangelo on the Statue of David. (Numbers) (Time)
- Boone's flight to Sydney took 15 hours. (Numbers) (Time)
- Locke tells Boone twice, "It's time for you to let go" and "Time to let go". (Regularly spoken phrases)
- Kate discovers Sun speaks English but Sun begs her not to tell anyone. (Secrets)
- Hurley tells Boone "It's not a game". (Games)
Cultural references
| Cultural references in Lost (direct references only) |
|---|
| Art • Books • Cars • Games • Movies and TV • Music • Philosophy • Religion and ideologies • Science |
- Hearts and Minds: this term stems from the strategy used by the US Military to curry the popular favor/ approval (win the "hearts and minds") of the Vietnamese people during the Vietnam War. It has become a popular term today denoting the way a society can use its military and public relations skills to conquer a country, not necessarily through brute force but through winning the "hearts and minds" of the people. The term also holds connotations with propaganda and propaganda's fictitious nature. (Ideology)
- Taken into context with this episode, Shannon conquered Boone not through the use of force but through the use of Hearts and Minds. She controls the relationship as the conqueror, and Boone fell for her "Hearts and Minds" ruses.
- Another way the title works is that Boone was in a way conquered by Locke. Certainly not the same way Boone was conquered by Shannon, but Locke manages to win Boone's allegiance by giving him a "vision" that allows him to let Shannon go. The "vision" itself is a ruse, thus playing into the "propaganda" nature of Hearts and Minds, but it also wins Locke the loyalty of Boone (just as Hearts and Minds tactics were designed to do).
- "Hearts and Minds" was also the name of an episode of The Outer Limits. The show originally aired on ABC, starred Brett Cullen (Goodwin), and guest starred Zack Ward (Marc Silverman). (Movies and TV)
- " The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge". This book by Carlos Castenada features the usage of hallucinogens to reach states of non-ordinary reality and help someone find a different path in his spiritual life. The writer learns about the effects of using hallucinogenic plants with the help of a Yaqui Indian named Juan, the Spanish name for John. (Books)
- "Boy Scouts of America". Locke tells Sayid that he was a Webelos Scout. Webelos is the highest level of Cub Scouts. Originally an award following Lion (Wolf Bear Lion Scout), it has since become a full part of the rank system. When Lion was dropped the acronym was changed to mean WE'll BE LOyal Scouts.
- The Crocodile Hunter. In the flashback, when Sawyer is being hustled into the police station he calls detective Calderwood “Crock Hunter”. The Crocodile Hunter was a television series hosted by Steve Irwin about dangerous animal life found in Australia. Irwin died in 2006. (Movies and TV)
- Buonarroti Michelangelo. Locke tells Boone a story of the four months it took Michelangelo to create the Statue of David, and Boone queries whether they will be working on the hatch for four months. (Art)
- Nazionale italiana di Calcio. In his first flashback at the tennis club, Boone is wearing an Italian national football team jersey. (Games)
Literary techniques
| Literary techniques in Lost |
|---|
| Comparative: Irony • Juxtaposition • Plotting: Cliffhanger • Plot twist • Stock Characters: Archetype • Redshirt • Unseen character• Story: Flashbacks • Flashforwards • Regularly spoken phrases • Symbolism • Unreliable narrator |
- Boone tried to persuade both Bryan and Sayid to back off his sister. (Juxtaposition)
- Boone's attempts to rescue Shannon (from Bryan and the Monster) both ended in failure: Shannon took his money, and Shannon "died", respectively. (Juxtaposition)
- Boone's past attempt at rescuing Shannon only got himself more deeply in love with her; his vision quest on the Island helped him let her go. (Juxtaposition)
- As implied in the title, Boone is won over both in his past and on the Island by Shannon and Locke (both with less-than-honest tactics) through their winning over of his "heart and mind". (Juxtaposition)
Storyline analysis
| Storyline analysis in Lost |
|---|
| A-Missions • Crimes • Economics • Leadership • O-Missions • Relationships • F-Missions • Rivalries |
- Boone kisses Shannon, and the two spend the night together until Shannon coldly says that they will return to the way they were. (Kissing) (Relationship Issues) (Sex)
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flashback episode | "Hearts and Minds" | |||
| Flashback characters | Bryan • James "Sawyer" Ford • Malcolm • Nicole • Shannon Rutherford | |||
| Item | Locke's drug | |||
| See also: Main Characters | ||||
