Lost: Season 1 Episode 18 "Numbers" Review

"Now, I want some friggin' answers!"

-Hurley

The eighteenth episode of Lost focuses on Hurley (Jorge Garcia).  In flashbacks, we learn that Hurley won millions of dollars in the lottery with the numbers 4, 8, 15, 16, 23, and 42.  What follows is a string of bad luck that results in the death of Hurley's grandfather, his house catching fire, and his priest getting struck by lightning.  Convinced that the numbers he used are cursed, Hurley returns to the mental institution he was once a patient at to see another patient, Leonard (Ron Bottitta), who repeats the numbers over and over again and is where Hurley first heard the numbers.  Leonard tells Hurley that he first heard them over a radio transmission with his coworker, Sam Toomey, who lives in Australia.  Hurley travels to the middle of nowhere to find Sam, only to meet his wife, Martha (Jayne Taini), who tells Hurely that Sam used the numbers to win a guessing game and afterward was followed by a string of bad luck.  Sam eventually committed suicide to escape.  Despite all of this, Martha tells Hurley that there is no curse.  Hurley returns to Sydney and boards Oceanic 815.

On the island, Michael (Harold Perrineau) and Jin (Daniel Day Kim) are continuing to build the new raft and get Hurley to help them.  Michael suggests that Sayid (Naveen Andrews) build a device to send out an S.O.S. for when they are at sea.  The problem is they do not have a power source and Hurley suggests going to see the French woman, Danielle Rousseau (Mira Furlan), to get a battery from her.  Sayid refuses, point blank, saying he has no idea how to find her.  While looking through the documents Sayid took from Rousseau, Hurley notices a piece of paper with the numbers written on it over and over.

The next day, Hurley sets off alone to find Rousseau and get some answers.  Sayid, Jack (Matthew Fox), and Charlie (Dominic Monaghan) realize what he is up to and go after him.  They survive a booby trap of spikes and find a rickety bridge.  Hurley and Charlie make it across before it collapses, but they are separated from Jack and Sayid.

Hurley and Charlie get split up when someone starts shooting at them and Hurley runs into Rousseau.    He demands answers from her and she explains that she and her team picked up a transmission of a voice repeating the numbers over and over again and they followed the transmission, which led to them wrecking on the island.  They later found a radio tower that was playing the transmission and Rousseau later replaced it with her distress signal.  She agrees with Hurley that the numbers are cursed and that he isn't crazy.  Hurley is immensely relieved to hear that and Rousseau gives him a battery.

Jack accidentally sets off a booby trap that destroys Rousseau's old shelter.  They find it practically empty and realize she had moved on so it wouldn't be easy for Sayid to find her again.  They are rejoined by Charlie and Hurley and head back to camp.  That night, Charlie reveals to Hurley that he is a recovering heroin addict.  Hurley tells Charlie that he is worth over $100 million, but Charlie doesn't believe him and storms off.

Locke (Terry O'Quinn) recruits Claire (Emilie de Ravin) to help him with a project.  The two talk and bond, but Claire cannot figure out what he is building.  When it's finished, Locke reveals it's a cradle for her baby.

In the final shot of the episode, it's revealed that the numbers are carved onto the side of the hatch.

What Works:

I love the tone of "Numbers".  It really is a strange, almost quirky, episode, with an excellent score from Michael Giacchino to help.  This episode is very much a dark comedy.  Some really terrible things happen, but they come off as absurd and somewhat funny.  The direction, writing, acting, and music all come together to give us a very odd (in a good way) and memorable episode.  

The flashbacks are some of my favorites in the show.  Watching the horrible things happen is sickly entertaining.  Each scene feels like something out of Final Destination, where you are just waiting for something awful to happen and you're left wondering who the victim is going to be.

I think the booby traps are a lot of fun, especially with the giant ball of spikes.  It really is a great trap and watching Hurley gracefully dodge it is a lot of fun.  We also get a really memorable scene with the rickety bridge.  I know I was holding my breath as we watched Hurley cross it, but to up the intensity throughout the episode we see bad luck happen to people around Hurley, so when Charlie crosses the bridge, it's somehow even more intense.

I love the scene between Hurley and Rousseau at the end of the episode.  After Sayid met Rousseau, if you had asked me which character would interact with her next, Hurley may have been my last pick.  It's an absurd combination, but it works very well.  We get to see Hurley get really angry for the first time and Rousseau's reactions to him are wonderful.  It ends up being a touching scene that ends with an embrace between the two.  Once again, it's very odd, but sweet and funny.

The scenes between Locke and Claire are also really sweet.  Claire has had a rough time on the island, so it's good to see her have a positive relationship with someone besides Charlie.

There are also a couple of fun connections besides the numbers being on the hatch, which is awesome.  The lotto presenter is the same woman who Sawyer (Josh Holloway) was making out with in the episode "Outlaws" and the box company that Hurley owns is the same one Locke worked at.  I love these little connections that not everyone is going to pick up on.

What Sucks:

Speaking of Charlie, he is my one complaint in the episode.  He acts like such an entitled baby the entire time and never really listens to Hurley.  The scene where he storms off after talking to Hurley is a lousy note to end this episode's story on and just made me irritated.

Platinum Polar Bear:

The Platinum Polar Bear goes to the most useful character in a given episode.  For "Numbers", Locke is a decent candidate for being so kind to Claire, but I have to give it to Hurley.  His actions did put Charlie, Sayid, and Jack in danger, but, to be fair, he didn't ask them to go with him.  He went alone on purpose, and in the end he did end up getting the battery.  This is Hurley's 4th time winning the award, which ties him for 1st place with Jack and Locke.

Verdict:

"Numbers" is an odd episode, but one of my favorites.  It's got such a darkly funny tone, some really fun and sweet moments, and lots of interesting connections.  Sure, Charlie sucks, but this episode has still got it going on.

 9/10: Great