Lost 4/29/09 Episode "The Variable" Recap  4/30/09

In 1977, following the events of the previous episode, "Some Like It Hoth", Daniel Faraday (Jeremy Davies) has returned to the island, having spent three years in Ann Arbor, Michigan, conducting research for the Dharma Initiative. He has returned because Jack Shephard (Matthew Fox), Kate Austen (Evangeline Lilly) and Hugo "Hurley" Reyes (Jorge Garcia) have managed to travel back in time and join Dharma. After learning from Jack that they were sent to island by Daniel's mother, Eloise Hawking (younger: Alice Evans; older: Fionnula Flanagan), Daniel visits Dr. Pierre Chang (François Chau) at the Orchid Station and warns him of a catastrophic event that is to occur at the Swan Station later in the day. Dr. Chang does not believe Daniel when he says that he is from the future, and Miles Straume (Ken Leung) does not affirm Dan's story.

Later at the Barracks, James "Sawyer" Ford (Josh Holloway), Juliet Burke (Elizabeth Mitchell), Jin-Soo Kwon (Daniel Dae Kim), Hurley and Miles decide that they will return to the survivors' beach, abandoning Dharma. Kate, Jack and Daniel, however, decide to visit the island's native population, among whom is Eloise, and warn them of the impending disaster. They arouse suspicion from Dharma's head of research, Radzinksy (Eric Lange), while trying to steal weapons and a gun fight ensues. The survivors are able to leave, however, Radzinksy brings his team to Sawyer and Juliet's house, where they find Phil (Patrick Fischler) tied up. Meanwhile, Dan explains to Jack and Kate that he intends to detonate the hydrogen bomb (from the episode "Jughead") in order to prevent the construction of the Swan Station, which in turn will ensure that Oceanic Flight 815 never crashes on the island. Daniel enters the Others' camp with his gun drawn and demands to speak to Eloise, who shoots Daniel in the back. Before Daniel dies, he tells her that he is her son.

In flashbacks, Daniel's relationship with his parents, Eloise Hawking and Charles Widmore (Alan Dale), is shown. At a young age, Daniel is told by Eloise that he has a special gift: his scientific mind and that his destiny relies on this. After Daniel graduates from Oxford University, Eloise gives him a journal as a gift and again reminds him of his destiny. Meanwhile, Daniel has received a research grant from Charles, who Daniel does not know is his father. Years later, following the crash of Flight 815, Daniel has suffered severe psychological effects from performing experiments on himself and now lives with a caretaker. Charles visits Daniel and tells him that he faked the wreckage of Flight 815 found in the Sunda Trench and that the plane actually landed on the island. Charles invites Daniel to go to the island, which Charles claims will cure his psychological problems. Eloise later visits Daniel and further encourages him to go to the island, despite knowing that it means she will end up killing him in 1977.

In 2007, following the events of "Dead is Dead", Desmond Hume (Henry Ian Cusick) is brought to a hospital, having been shot by Ben Linus (Michael Emerson). While waiting, his wife Penny Widmore (Sonya Walger), is visited by Eloise, who apologizes for involving Desmond in everything that has happened. Penny later visits Desmond, who is expected to make a full recovery. Charles, who is also Penny's father, speaks with Eloise outside the hospital, but does not visit with his daughter.

"The Variable" is the fourteenth television episode of the fifth season of ABC's Lost.[1] It aired on April 29, 2009 on ABC in the United States and on May 3, 2009 on Sky1 in the United Kingdom. The episode was written by Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz and directed by Paul Edwards and marks the one hundredth episode of Lost.

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