The Substitute
Synopsis
Before you watch
The Substitute aired on February 16, 2010. Tucker Gates directed, and Elizabeth Sarnoff wrote it with Melinda Hsu Taylor.
Where things stand: the survivors have reached the Temple, Sayid has been given a second chance, and Kate has left the Temple to find Sawyer. The flash-sideways has started to show familiar people living different lives off the Island, with Kate helping Claire.
The setup is this: the Man in Black sets out to recruit Sawyer, and a cave of names is revealed. Go in knowing nothing more than that. It is one of the most talked-about hours of the final season, and part of the fun is how little it explains on the way in. Sarnoff wrote 19 episodes of the show in all, and Hsu Taylor wrote four, all in the last two seasons. Gates had been directing for the show since Confidence Man in the first season.
Key revelations
Mysteries in play
What do the Numbers mean?
mythologyWhat is the Island?
mythologyThemes
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