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This article is about the episode. For the sign that Bernard built in this episode, see SOS sign.


"S.O.S." is the nineteenth episode of Season 2 of Lost and the 44th produced hour of the series as a whole. As Bernard attempts to spur the survivors into trying to get themselves rescued, Rose believes that he is merely giving them false hope. At the Swan, Jack decides to head to the line and offer the Others a trade: "Henry Gale" for Walt.

Synopsis[]

Previously on Lost[]

Flashback[]

2x19 rose

Rose introduces herself to Bernard.

On a cold winter night, Rose revs up her car to try to drive it out of the snow. Knocking on her window, a man named Bernard offers her some advice. Rose disregards his tips, telling him that she has driven in snow her whole life. After a few failed attempts, however, she reluctantly lets Bernard help her. As the car manages to pull out, Bernard falls flat on his face in the snow. As the two joke, they introduce themselves to one another, before beginning to go their separate ways. Both seem interested in getting to know one another further, however, and Rose decides to live in the moment, plucking up the courage to shout, "Can I buy you a cup of coffee?"

2x19 rose bernard

Bernard prepares to propose to Rose.

Five months later, the couple sits in a posh restaurant, nestled over picturesque views of Niagara Falls. As Rose stares out in awe, Bernard seems on edge, and she questions what he’s doing. At that moment, two violinists approach their table and as they play, Bernard asks Rose to marry him. After a pause, Rose replies, "Bernard, I’m dying." A shaken Bernard excuses the duo as Rose begins to explain that she is terminally ill with cancer, having about a year left to live. Bernard’s response, however, is that Rose hasn’t even answered his question. Asking if he’s sure and fully aware of what will happen, Rose agrees to the proposal.

2x19 rose 2

Rose realizes that Bernard has deceived her.

"We’re lost," says Rose, as she and Bernard drive across the outback of Australia. The two are now on their honeymoon, and Rose comments that she would have preferred a beach to driving in the middle of nowhere. However, they soon find civilization, but Bernard surprises Rose in telling her that this is where he had been heading all along. He brought her here to see Isaac, a faith healer who is said to have helped hundreds of ill people. In disgust at the idea, Rose gets out of the car, as Bernard chases after her, telling her how he had heard that Isaac could deal with Rose’s "situation". As Bernard continues to mumble about the lengths he has gone to in order to secure an appointment, Rose abruptly shouts that she didn’t ask for this, leading to an awkward silence. Composing herself, Rose explains that she has made her peace with what is fated for her, but Bernard retorts that he has not, and asks that she will try to be healed for his sake.

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Rose watches Bernard from the window, as she makes her decision.

While waiting in Isaac's clinic, Rose wanders his office, looking at the hundreds of thank you cards he has received from healed individuals. Isaac soon enters, and the two sit as Rose jokes about the procedures, highlighting her skepticism. Isaac, however, seems unabashed and proceeds to detail about certain areas in the world that have different energies. It is through channeling this energy, he believes, that he can help people with their sicknesses. He begins to read Rose’s aura or essence but suddenly stops, admitting that he cannot help her. Rose replies that she never expected him to, but Isaac says that it isn’t that she cannot be healed, it is that this place is not the right one for her.

2x19 john rose airport

Rose meets Locke.

Isaac apologizes by offering to return the donation Bernard gave to his group, but Rose tells him to keep it. She is going to tell Bernard that the healing worked and that she is fully cured.

At the Sydney Airport, a smiling Bernard leaves Rose for a moment in the terminal. As he leaves sight, she removes medication from her bag but accidentally drops a bottle. As it rolls along the airport floor, it is stopped by an arm that picks it up, passing it back to her. As Rose thanks the man, John Locke gestures curtly and moves away in his wheelchair.

On the Island[]

2x19 rose bernard 3

Rose and Bernard sort food.

At the beach, Rose and Bernard place food on the shelves of the makeshift kitchen. Bernard asks Rose if food with strange labels falling from the sky bothers her. Rose tells him to count his blessings, but Bernard cannot accept that the group is sitting idly when people should be questioning things. He says that everyone has "given up" on being rescued, and his long-lasting defiance and non-acceptance of things seems to anger Rose.

Down in the Hatch, Locke sits as the counter alarm beeps, trying to retrace the markings he saw on the blast door map. Scribbling out his work, he is interrupted by Jack, who reminds him that the button needs to be pushed. John enters the Numbers, but rather unenthusiastically. Jack goes to the prisoner's cell to change "Henry"'s bandages with Ana Lucia standing guard at the door. Jack reveals to this quiet prisoner that he plans on crossing the line that the bearded man told them not to cross, and demanding a trade - swapping "Henry" for Walt. "Henry" ominously states that they will never return Walt to them.

2x19 hurley bernard rose

Bernard tries to recruit Hurley.

As Hurley talks to Rose about his new diet, Bernard interrupts their conversation, asking Hurley to round up some of the survivors. Rose asks him what he’s doing, but he remains secretive.

Jack prepares to leave the Hatch and find the Others, despite Ana Lucia’s warnings. She gives Jack her gun, telling him that he needs it more than she, and advises him to take someone with him. Jack decides to approach Kate, as she and Sawyer sit on the beach picking sea urchin. Much to Sawyer’s annoyance, Kate agrees, leaving him alone at the shore.

2x19 claire

Rose embarrasses Bernard in front of the group.

Meanwhile, Bernard is busy rallying troops for his cause. He intends to build a huge S.O.S. sign along the beach so that passing planes or monitoring satellites will see that they are there. Rose comments that they should perhaps tell Jack about this idea, and when Bernard says that he is merely the doctor, Rose retorts that "you’re a dentist", immediately knocking her husband off his pedestal. Bernard takes her aside, and Rose argues that he’s giving the survivors false hope. Angered by this, Bernard excuses himself.

After more able bodies, Bernard moves on to Eko and Charlie, who reveals that they are in fact building a church. Bernard cannot believe that they are building things instead of trying to get rescued, but the two men refuse to stop building their church.

2x19 henry

Henry takes glee in his ability to manipulate John.

Back in the Hatch, John is becoming increasingly frustrated and tells Ana that he wants to speak to the prisoner. She says that while Jack has the gun, the door stays shut, but suggests he shout to him if he really needs to speak with the prisoner. Though it would appear the frustration is due to remembering the map he saw, it becomes apparent that John’s anger runs deeper, as he shouts to "Henry" through the gun vault door, demanding to know whether he pushed the button or not when Locke was trapped the day before. "Henry" simply sits in silence, as a sinister smile begins to form.

Bernard’s authoritarian stance on leadership appears to be an inappropriate trait, as he returns to the beach to find that the majority of his workforce have quit. Bernard seems to pay little notice to this, however, and continues to issue orders to the team, giving himself the easy role of carving the letters while everyone else drags heavy rocks to the shore.

2x19 sawyer

Sawyer refuses to help Bernard.

Once again, Bernard tries to enlist more help for his operation, visiting Sawyer at his tent while Rose watches from afar. Like Eko and Charlie, Sawyer declines, and Bernard heads over to Rose by the water trough. Bernard accuses her of attacking him, turning his workforce against him, but Rose says that perhaps it is more due to his managerial skills than a lack of support from herself. As the two bicker, Bernard argues that if he didn’t always try to do something, Rose would not even be alive. The tactless remark causes Rose to this time abruptly end the conversation, and Bernard seems to realize that he was out of line.

2x19 Jack Kate net

Jack and Kate are caught in a net.

Trekking through the jungle, Kate jokes about Jack asking her over Sawyer to accompany him. Jack, however, puts a downer on the mild flirting, stating that he chose Kate merely because the Others do not want her, considering they previously had an opportunity to kidnap her but didn’t. Kate then sees a doll on the ground, and before Jack can stop her, she touches it, causing the release of a trap. Both are pulled from the ground in a net, and struggle to move as they are positioned so close to one another. Kate manages to retrieve Jack’s gun, and attempts to shoot the rope holding the net up. She misses, and as Jack takes over, manages to free them both in one shot, despite Kate saying that she is by far the better shot. The two fall, landing right on top of each other.

2x19 jin

Bernard's attitude causes Jin to quit.

As Jin positions the rocks on the beach, Bernard once more slips into his rude leadership style, telling Jin that his method is all wrong. After being heavily patronized, Jin leaves Bernard, who realizes that his entire team has now left him.

Meanwhile, Rose approaches John, and the two discuss Bernard’s efforts. John comments about being "done with the Hatch", but Rose seems to restore his faith in the Island, saying that they both know John’s injury will heal faster than Jack predicts (Rose is one of very few people to know of John's previous paralysis). The two share a brief moment, and John remembers how the Island has healed him in the past.

As the rain pours down, Kate tells Jack what she found at the Staff, including the fake beard. Kate and Jack find that they have reached the line where they last met the Others. Though Kate tries to discourage him, Jack begins to shout as loud as he can for the Others to reveal themselves.

Alone, Bernard defiantly continues with his sign. Rose arrives, and apologizes. Bernard asks what for, and Rose admits that she lied to him in Australia, and that Isaac never truly healed her. Rose explains that a person can feel when there is something inside them that doesn’t belong, and that after the crash, she stopped feeling her cancer. She believes that it is the Island that has healed her, and that she had to lie to stop Bernard trying to spend what little time they had left trying to constantly "do something." At last, Bernard finally relinquishes his stubbornness, guessing that if Rose left the Island the cancer might return. He tells her that, since she can never leave the island then he can never leave as well. Thus Bernard gives up on the idea of trying to "rescue" Rose, and the two embrace lovingly.

2x19 jack

Jack shouts for the Others' attention.

Ana Lucia finds Locke in the Hatch, who now seems more rested. With his faith returned to him, he heads to the computer room, where he at last is able to accurately draw the map he saw.

2x19Michael

Kate and Jack find an exhausted Michael in the jungle.

As night falls, most of the survivors sit around campfires, many structuring their relationships with partners. Out at the line, Kate asks Jack how long they are going to wait out there, and says that she is sorry for kissing him. Jack replies that he isn’t, but before they can continue, the moment is shattered by the sight of a torch in the distance. As the two stand up, a figure emerges from the darkness, collapsing at their feet. Kate exclaims "Michael?", as he lies dazed in their arms.

Trivia[]

  • Rose accidentally dropped her pills at the airport and Locke, still in his wheelchair, picked them up for her. She is one of only 3 crash survivors to know about Locke's paralysis. The other crash survivors who found out about it are Sawyer, as of "The Brig", and Boone in "Deus Ex Machina". It is also probable that this is the secret Locke told Walt.
    • All of these episodes were the ninteenth of their respective seasons.
  • Features the "first official mention" of Neil Frogurt on the show.
  • Rose's line "I didn't ask for this!" is the only time she is ever shown raising her voice in the series.
    • The line is near a big black rock.
  • Several members of the tail-section survivor background cast can be seen at Sydney airport, their only other episode appearance (the other being "The Other 48 Days").
  • This episode is one of the two whose title is a three-letter abbreviation, the other being "D.O.C.".
  • In a deleted scene, Sun talks briefly to Rose. During the conversation, Rose reveals that she once had a daughter who is now deceased. The scene ends with Sun and Rose embracing.
  • The phrase "caught in a net" was used several times through the rest of the season by Sawyer, who continually misinterprets its meaning as a metaphor for sex. In "Three Minutes", Sawyer tells Jack that he and Ana Lucia got "caught in a net" after they slept together. Later, in "Live Together, Die Alone", Kate saves Sawyer from one of Rousseau's traps, and he realizes that she and Jack were literally "caught in a net".

Production notes[]

Bloopers and Continuity Errors[]

  • In "Walkabout", Rose mentions her husband asked her to hold onto his wedding ring whenever they fly, implying they've been married for a long time and/or take frequent plane trips. However, in this episode it is revealed they were newlyweds, their trip to Australia was their honeymoon, and that they had known each other for only five months prior to their engagement.
  • Bernard proposes to Rose at a restaurant that overlooks Niagara Falls. However, the view of the falls they have is impossible. There are no restaurants that view the falls from that angle, as there is no land there. The background footage was likely taken from the middle of the Rainbow Bridge - a busy traffic bridge that joins the borders of New York and Ontario.

Music[]

This episode introduces Rose and Bernard's theme, which appears on the Season 2 soundtrack as "Rose and Bernard".

Analysis[]

Recurring themes[]



Cultural references[]

  • Uluru: also known as Ayers Rock, is a large sandstone rock formation in the southern part of the Northern Territory, central Australia. It is sacred to the Aboriginal people of the area. (Religion)
  • "These Arms of Mine": This song by Otis Redding, is heard on Rose's car radio, and later on the Swan record player. (Music)
    • "The Rose": After "These Arms of Mine" fades out, there is a shot of Rose and Bernard sitting together, and "These Arms of Mine" is incorporated into the score, played by strings. When the Otis Redding song is arranged instrumentally, it bears a striking resemblance to the song "The Rose", the most well-known rendition of which was performed by Bette Midler. (Music)
  • The Guinness Book of Records: When Kate struggles to pry mussels loose from rocks and succeeds in removing only four in a half-hour, Sawyer remarks that it’s time to call the Guinness Book. This is a reference book published annually, containing an internationally recognized collection of world records, both human achievements and the extreme of the natural world. (Literary works)
  • "The Right Girl for Me": by Roger Edens is played by violinists when Bernard proposes. (Music)
  • Dr. Giggles: Sawyer calls Jack "Dr. Giggles". The main character from this 1992 slasher movie, Dr. Giggles is a psychopath who escapes from a mental institution to exact revenge on the town where his mass-murdering doctor father was captured. (Movies and TV)
  • Norma Rae: Sawyer calls Bernard "Norma Rae", after the main character from this 1979 movie, who becomes involved in the labor union activities at the textile factory where she works. (Movies and TV)
  • Alfred de Musset: The scrap of paper on which Locke sketches the Blast door map features a french poem written by this 18th-century poet, called "Sur les débuts de mesdemoiselles Rachel et Pauline Garcia".[1] (Literary works)

Literary techniques[]

  • After Rose tells Bernard that Isaac didn't heal her and Bernard states that she doesn't want to leave the Island, he says they'll never leave the Island. (Foreshadowing)
  • The Island is revealed to have the power to heal the sick. (Plot twist)
  • Michael returns from his search to find Walt. (Cliffhanger)  (Plot twist)
  • Jack set out to trade "Henry" for Walt, but ended up finding Michael, who was looking for Walt himself. (Irony)
  • Bernard enlists the help of many redshirts to build his sign. (Redshirt)
  • During a flashback, Rose expresses a wish to spend her honeymoon sitting on a beach somewhere rather than driving around Australia. (Irony)


Storyline analysis[]

  • The story of how Rose and Bernard met is told. (Relationships)
  • Jack goes out to the line in order to trade "Henry" for Walt. (A-Missions)


Episode connections[]

Episode references[]

  • Hurley reminds Bernard that they built a raft, which was blown up. ("Exodus, Part 3")
  • Bernard tells Rose he had seven weeks of bad days before they were reunited. ("The Other 48 Days")
  • Bernard reminds Eko that they had "bunked" together for 48 days. ("The Other 48 Days")
  • Jack goes out to the line he was told not to cross. ("The Hunting Party")
  • Kate tells Jack about the DHARMA station she found with Claire. ("Maternity Leave")
  • Jack uses the prisoner trade plan "Henry" joked about before. ("The Whole Truth")
  • Locke tries to draw the map he saw on the blast door during the lockdown. ("Lockdown")
  • Locke asks "Henry" if he pushed the button, after he told him he never did. ("Lockdown")  ("Dave")

Episode allusions[]


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