Season 1, Episode 6:
House of the Rising Sun
It's been seven days since the crash. Jack, Kate, Locke and Charlie head off to the caves to get drinking water for the other survivors, and Sun watches them go.
FLASHBACK! Years ago in Seoul, Sun is a young socialite, daughter of a wealthy businessman, while Jin is a poor waiter. Despite their class differences, they have fallen in love and plan to marry. Sun wants to elope to America, but Jin insists on following traditions and getting her father's permission. As a token of love, Jin gives Sun a single flower, wishing he could afford a diamond instead.
On the beach, Jin suddenly attacks Michael, almost killing him for seemingly no reason. Sayid and Sawyer arrive, subdue Jin and chain him to a piece of the wreckage using the Marshal's handcuffs. Sayid asks what happened, but Sun is unable to answer. At the caves, Jack and Kate get water while Locke searches through the luggage. Charlie sneaks away for a fix and accidentally stands on a beehive; Locke tells him not to move or he'll split the hive and the bees will attack. On the beach, Michael explains that he did nothing to provoke Jin's attack, but since Jin can't speak English and therefore cannot explain his actions, the survivors decide he must stay cuffed to the wreckage, even in the extreme heat.
FLASHBACK! In exchange for taking a job at Paik Industries (the company owned by Sun's father), Jin gets permission to marry Sun. He proposes with a diamond ring and Sun accepts, though she isn't happy that Jin will be working for her father.
At the caves, Jack tries to cover the beehive with a suitcase so they can't attack, but Charlie panics and splits the hive. The bees swarm: Jack and Kate run into the caves and strip off their shirts to help drive the bees away. Kate stumbles onto a pair of skeletons in a cave, and Jack guesses that they died of (relatively) natural causes and were laid to rest about 40 or 50 years ago. They also find a pair of small stones, one black and one white. When Locke and Charlie return, Jack tells them that one skeleton is a female, and Locke nicknames the pair "Adam and Eve".
FLASHBACK! Sun comes home to her large apartment and finds that Jin has bought her a puppy, to keep her company while he works long hours. Despite their financial security, Sun feels as though the passion has gone out of their relationship.
At the caves, Jack realizes that carrying water from the caves every day is impractical, and suggests moving there permenantly. On the beach, Walt asks what Michael did to provoke Jin, and Michael swears that he didn't do anything. They talk, and Walt admits that he doesn't really know anything about his father. Sun wants to try and explain the misunderstanding to the other survivors, but Jin demands that she stay by his side, and that they will not explains themselves to "a thief".
FLASHBACK! One night, Jin comes home in a rush, his hands and shirt covered with blood. Sun demands to know what happened, but all Jin will say is that he was working for her father.
As Jack and Kate walk back to the beach, he continues making plans to move into the caves, but Kate seems reserved. At the caves, Charlie tries to sneak away again for another fix, but Locke says it's too dangerous to risk breaking line of sight. He also reveals that he's recognized Charlie as part of the one-hit wonder rockband Drive Shaft, and thinks that Charlie is looking for his guitar. In the jungle, Jack and Kate come across Sayid chopping wood and learn about the situation with Jin. They discuss Jack's plan to move everyone to the caves: Sayid thinks that moving off the beach means giving up on being rescued, while Jack thinks that staying on the beach with no fresh water is suicide. When they return to the beach, Jack tries to talk people into the idea, but only convinces about half. Sawyer asks Kate what she's doing, and neither admit what they've decided. When Michael goes into the jungle to chop wood, Sun follows.
FLASHBACK! With a friend, Sun discusses her plan to run away from Jin while she accompanies him on a business trip to Sydney. She is instructed to meet a car outside Sydney Airport on the morning of their flight from Sydney to Los Angeles.
Sun approaches Michael and speaks to him. In fluent English. She tells Michael that the gold watch he's been wearing for several days belonged to Sun's father and that Jin was entrusted with protecting it: for Jin, it's a matter of honour, and that's why he tried to kill Michael. At the caves, Charlie tries to sneak away again, but Locke corners him and demands that he turn over the heroin stash. At first, Charlie refuses.
Charlie looks up, and sees his perfectly intact guitar case hanging from a tree branch. On the beach, Jack prepares to leave, but Kate decides to stay on the beach. As Sun watches, Michael frees Jin from the handcuffs, gives him back the watch and demands that he stay away from Michael and Walt from now on.
FLASHBACK! At Sydney Airport, Sun is about to leave for good when she sees that Jin has brought her a single flower, like he did before they were married. She decides to stay with him instead.
At the caves, Locke waits and Charlie is playing his guitar when Jack arrives with the "new tenants", including Hurley, Jin and Sun. On the beach, the other survivors sit around the large signal fire.
Tropes in this episode include:
- Armor-Piercing Response/Armor-Piercing Question: Michael manages to deliver both, one after the other while talking to Walt, who doesn't think Michael knows the first thing about him:Walt: When's my birthday?
Michael: August 24th. When's mine? [Walt can't answer] - Bait-and-Switch: When Locke tells Charlie not to move, it looks like (and Charlie assumes that) Locke has noticed his heroin habit, but Locke is actually warning Charlie about the beehive he's currently standing on. Locke later claims to know who Charlie is and what he's looking for... recognising him from Drive Shaft and assuming he wants to find his guitar. Locke later admits that he did notice the drugs (he mentioned the beehive because it was a more immediate concern), and he's subtly trying to get Charlie to admit it and kick the habit.
- Big Damn Heroes: Sayid and Sawyer save Michael from being killed by Jin.
- Both Sides Have a Point: Jack and Sayid argue the virtues of moving to caves versus staying on the beach. Sayid is right that moving inland means that any passing ship won't find them easily, and abandoning the signal fire is essentially admitting defeat, while Jack is right that the caves offer shelter and a fresh source of water, and that it's dangerous to stay on the beach in the sun, especially when said water source is a ways inland.
- Everything Is Racist: While being questioned by Sayid, Michael reasons that Jin tried to kill him because Koreans don't like black people in America. He later admits to Walt that he said it in a moment of anger.
- Fanservice: Something for everyone; as they flee from a swarm of bees, Jack and Kate both strip off their shirts (to swat at the bees).
- Five-Second Foreshadowing: One of Sun's flashbacks mentions that she's been taking "lessons"; when it cuts back to Sun on the Island, the first words out of her mouth are in English.
- The Ghost: Sun's father doesn't appear during her flashbacks, but he is mentioned several times, and although working for him brings Jin and Sun financial security, it also severely strains their marriage, especially when that work leads to Jin coming home covered in someone else's blood.
- Hidden Depths: Locke tells Charlie that he is a fan of Drive Shaft, having both of their albums (he considers the debut a much stronger effort than the second album).
- Honor Before Reason: Jin attacking Michael for wearing the watch; not only is the watch far from anyone's priority, but Jin is well aware that he can't clearly communicate to anyone why he attacked Michael. It gets him handcuffed to the plane wreckage for his trouble. Considering Michael a "thief" for taking the watch is likewise unreasonable, as Michael had no way of knowing who owned the watch, nor did Jin have any way of telling him. Sun explicitly calls the whole situation "a question of honor".
- Interchangeable Asian Cultures: Hurley refers to Jin as a "Chinese dude", despite hearing Michael correctly identify Jin as Korean mere moments prior.
- It Began with a Twist of Fate: If Jin had not pulled out the flower while at the airport, Sun would have walked out on him and he likely would have gone to look for her.
- Meaningful Echo: Before their marriage, all Jin could afford to give Sun was a white flower. Years later, after their marriage has strained to the breaking point and Sun is ready to leave him, Jin buys her another, showing that he still cares and is, deep down, still the man she fell in love with, convincing Sun to abandon her plan and stay with Jin.
- Pet the Dog: Sawyer helps Sayid intervene in Jin's attack on Michael, even helping Michael up and tossing Sayid the Marshal's handcuffs to subdue Jin.
- Pun: When Charlie gives Kate her shirt back in the cave, this exchange occurs:Kate: It was, uh…it was full of bees.
Charlie: I'd have thought C's, actually. [Kate glares at him] Sorry. - The Reveal: Sun secretly speaks English, and came close to leaving Jin before the plane crash.
- Saying Too Much: Forgetting that Locke doesn't know about the transmission, Charlie wonders if "Adam & Eve" are "the people who were here before us". He quickly backtracks when Kate glares at him for the slip-up.
- Secret-Keeper: Michael agrees to keep Sun's secret from everyone, including Jin.
- Ship Tease: Kate and Jack get quite a bit; Charlie jokingly accuses them of "verbally copulating" and Kate, at one point, asks if Jack is checking her out, not sounding at all opposed to the idea.Hurley: So, what up with you and Kate? You guys gonna move into a cave together?
Jack: Sorry, am I in high school?
Hurley: That wasn't a denial. - Took a Level in Jerkass: Sun's flashbacks show Jin's transformation from a kind and well-meaning man to someone increasingly distant, cold, and even frightening.
- Translation Convention: Averted for this episode's flashbacks which are in subtitled Korean as both Yunjim Kim and Daniel-Dae Kim could speak the language.
- Trickster Mentor: Locke helps Charlie with his heroin addiction by mischievously following him around whenever he tries to get a private moment for a fix, and then tricks him into giving up his drugs in exchange for his guitar.
- Troll: In a flashback, Jin takes a moment to mess with Sun by looking glum... before revealing that her father gave permission for them to marry.
- The Un-Reveal: Trying to understand her refusal to settle down, Jack asks Kate what she did; Kate declines to say, citing Jack's previous refusal to know.
- Wham Line: Sun asking to talk to Michael in fluent English.
