The Variable

Season 5, Episode 14, Aired
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Episode 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.
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Fan Episode Reviews (37)

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  • Amazing episode in which is moving and revealing.

    10
    "Perfect"
    By DerickBentham, Aug 14, 2010 Report Abuse
    The Variable is one of the most revealing episodes of LOST as well as one of the saddest because one of my favorite characters, Daniel Faraday passed away. Although i know that Faraday isn't forever gone because i think that they are going to course correct so that they never went back in time which will bring Faraday back to full health, it was still quite moving to see him die from a gunshot wound from his own moms gun. The things that were revealed are that desmond is okay, Widmore is the one that staged the fake plane crash and Faraday is Widmores son. The Variable has set up for quite an exciting final 3 episodes and is yet another fine example of how great this series is.moreless

    DO YOU AGREE?

    10 3

  • Faraday's return to the Island marks a venture into Hostile territory; Sawyer's lies begin to fall apart; Ms. Hawking visits Desmond and Penny at a hospital.

    8.5
    "Great"
    By SgtCashmere, Aug 14, 2010 Report Abuse
    Hm... My thoughts about this episode's storyline are a bit mixed. The acting was great -- particularly, Ms. Hawking, and Charles Widmore. I also enjoyed Kate and Jack's scenes, as well as Juliet. The main character for this episode was Faraday, and Jeremy Davies seemed to deliver a pretty good performance.

    The episode was exciting, and filled with some interesting events. We learned of Faraday's parentage, and of his relationship with former lab assistant, Theresa. We also (finally!) saw his touching scene with Little Charlotte, which was very sweet and sad.

    However, Faraday's death has left me thoroughly confused. I usually have questions after watching a new 'Lost' episode, and I'm sure I will see a more clear answer before long... However, this particular question will need quite a great answer. What was the point of Faraday's storyline!? I mean, his whole life was orchestrated by his mother -- including his arrival on the Island -- simply so he could die at her hands? What noteworthy accomplishments did he make along the way? ...Did I miss something, here?

    Apart from the confusion, I enjoyed this exciting, intriguing episode. I particularly loved Miles's scene with his father, who didn't believe Miles was actually his son! LOL

    I can't wait to see what happens with Sawyer & Co. now that their lie has fallen apart.moreless

    DO YOU AGREE?

    5 1

  • A Daniel episode.

    8.3
    "Great"
    By thefanof, Aug 14, 2010 Report Abuse
    I love Lost. It is the best drama on TV, possibly of all time, and even five years in it is still excellent TV. But enough with all these twists and turns. How are they going to explain Daniel dying? They said that they were in the present now (1974) but then why would they care about stopping the plane crash in 2004? And who would be on it? A 65 year old Jack?

    This certainly was a disappointment for the show's 100th episode. It was pretty much what you would expect this season, and did not feel special at all.moreless

    DO YOU AGREE?

    4 26

  • At its 100th episode and Lost still does not fail to deliver!! :)

    10
    "Perfect"
    By AnilThornberry, Aug 14, 2010 Report Abuse
    Someone slap me. Wow what was that? That was my most exciting television experience of my life. LOL!

    Truly epic and breath-taking. At its 100th episode and Lost still does not fail to deliver.

    But did Daniel had to die? Why why? Just when his character was getting much better. Killed by his own mother was definitely lost's one of the best twists ever.

    This season rocks. We're getting a lot of answers. Now we know for sure that Desmond IS the reason for the crash. WOW! I can't believe that the Oceanic 6 can change their future. But i'm sure they wont be able to. Because we watched 5 seasons for nothing? PLEASE NO! Watching Jack and Kate in action next week will be awesome.

    10 out of 10, 5 stars, season's best!!!!moreless

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    13 2

  • 100 and they can still deliver classics.

    10
    "Perfect"
    By Daniel__Faraday, Aug 14, 2010 Report Abuse
    EPIC Episode!

    This episode deliver a lot of reference and classic moment: The continuation of Daniel's flashback in Confirmed Dead, Wired stuff from the 70s, H. G. Wells, Desmond, Theresa, They finally reveal that Daniel has amnesia and that is why he was playing with the cards with charlotte on the beach in season 4, by the way we finally see daniel speeking to charlotte, we see the replay of the premiere of daniel going to pierre chang, and what about that final scene with daniel speeking about constant, variable, equations, airplanes, buttons, hatch and hydrogen-bomb-explosion? Classic moment! Widmore the son of Daniel!!

    And the end oh my god, Eloise kill his own son but she didn't know that he was is son!!!moreless

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    17 2
 

Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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  • Trivia

    ADD TRIVIA
    • The password to deactivate the fences is 1-4-1-7-1-7. 14+17+17=48 4 and 8 are two of "The Numbers". Edit
    • The Numbers Young Daniel counts 864 beats on the metronome, or, the sum of the numbers times 8. Edit
    • During the shootout Jack blows up a barrel full of petrol by shooting it so that they can get away. Despite popular theory a barrel full of any flammable substance will not explode when shot. The only way it could have possibly blown up is if a second shot had been fired that perfectly went through where the first one hit to cause a spark and ignite the petrol. As Jack clearly only fired one shot at the barrel that couldn't have happened. Edit

  • Notes

    ADD NOTES
    • The original broadcast date of the episode was coincidentally president Obama's 100th day in office. ABC aired Obama's press conference for the event immediately preceding the episode. Edit
    • Original International Air Dates: Australia: May 13, 2009 on Network 7 Norway: May 20, 2009 on TVNorge Finland: June 4, 2009 on Nelonen Latin America: June 8, 2009 on AXN Denmark: June 26, 2009 on Kanal 5 Czech Republic: July 6, 2009 on AXN Spain: July 9, 2009 on FOX Belgium: October 5, 2009 on VT4 Edit
    • Music: "Fantaisie-Impromptu in C Sharp Minor, op. posth." - Fréderic Chopin (Daniel plays the middle section of this piano piece as a boy and again in 2004) Edit

  • Quotes

    ADD QUOTES
    • Daniel: You knew. You always knew. You knew this was gonna happen and you sent me here anyway. Young Eloise: Who are you? Daniel: I'm your son. Edit
    • Daniel: What's more important right now, how did you get back here? To 1977? Jack: What's going on? Miles: Don't look at me. I just carried his luggage. Daniel: Jack, how? Jack: Uh...we were on a plane and then... Daniel: Who told you to get on a plane? Jack: As a matter of fact, Dan, it was your mother. Daniel: And how did she convince you, Jack? Did she tell you it was your destiny? Jack: Yeah, that's exactly what she said. Daniel: Well, I got some bad news for you, Jack. You don't belong here at all. She was wrong. Edit
    • Daniel: Hey, James. Sawyer: Welcome to the meeting, twitchy. Good to see you again. Edit

  • Allusions

    ADD ALLUSIONS
    • Memento: Daniel saying "I have this condition..." is very similar to main character Leonard Shelby's mantra in the 2000 movie Memento. In the movie, Leonard is unable to make new memories and doesn't remember people, places or things. He ends up telling and retelling people "I have this condition" even when he just left them minutes ago. Edit
    • Slaughterhouse-Five: Daniel crying at the television is reminiscent of Billy Pilgrim's memory loss and random tears in the book Slaughterhouse-Five. Also, Daniel uses Miles in an attempt to convince Dr. Chang he is from the future, which is similar to Billy Pilgrim using Montana Wildhack to convince his daughter he had been to the future. Edit
    • H.G. Wells: Sawyer refers to Daniel as H.G. Wells, a famous science fiction author known for his works "The Invisible Man", "The Time Machine", and "The Shape of Things to Come". Edit

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