Mr. Eko enlists Locke to help find a secret location he believes houses answers to the island’s mysteries. Meanwhile, Jack, Sawyer, and Kate struggle to cope with the horrific situation in the hatch following the escape of “Other” Henry Gale, and of the shooting deaths of Ana-Lucia and Libby, unaware that it was Michael who is responsible.
Bernard tries to convince the survivors to build a S.O.S. signal with rocks on the sand, hoping to be seen by a satellite or an airplane. His first encounter with Rose, who was terminal, and their romance, are disclosed through flashbacks. Bernard never gives up searching for the cure of Rose before crashing the island. Meanwhile, Jack invites Kate to join him in the woods to propose to “The Others” a trade between Henry and Walt. John Locke is intrigued with the words of Henry about the unnecessary use of the computer. Is Henry playing him for a fool? Elsewhere, Charlie assists Mr. Eko in building a proposed church for the rest of the survivors.
When Claire’s baby falls ill, she becomes determined to find out what happened to her to regain her memory during her captivity with the Others, triggering flashbacks to her experience among the Others, and her ordeals concerning her baby. Also, Mr. Eko learns about Henry Gale and asks Jack and Loche to give him a meeting with their captive.
When Claire comments to Mr. Eko about the Virgin Mary statue which belongs to Charlie, he asks to see it, breaks it open, and exposes Charlie’s secret to Claire. Mr. Eko makes Charlie show him the place where he found the crashed plane, while his past in Nigeria is presented in flashback. John Locke teaches Michael how to shoot a rifle, and Michael uses the computer to contact someone he believes to be Walt. Claire does not want Charlie to live close to her and her son any longer.
Kate’s original crime that started her life on the run is revealed. Meanwhile, the survivors lay one of their own to rest, Kate sleeplessly watches over a feverish Sawyer, and Mr. Eko has a surprise for Locke regarding the hatch.
The harrowing first 48 days in the lives of the 23 tail section survivors are revealed, formally introducing Ana-Luca, Mr. Eko, Libby, Cindy, Bernard, and Goodwin detailing the first terrifying days and battling the dreaded “others”, leading to their numbers dwindling, their hikes though the jungle, and meeting with Jun, Michael and Sawyer.
Sawyer’s wound becomes life-threatening as he, Michael and Jin make their way through the interior of the island with the tail section survivors, Ana-Lucia, Mr. Eko, Bernard, Libby, and flight attendant Cindy. Meanwhile, Shannon is once again haunted by visions of Walt, but she cannot convince a skeptic Sayid that her visions are real. More of Shannon’s background story shows her difficult relationship with her late half-brother Boone and further detailing how her step-mother financially cut her off after the death of their father. Also, Charlie becomes jealous of Locke’s interest in Claire, while Locke learns that Charlie took a heroin stuffed porcelain statue from the Beechwood plane wreck.
A desperate and growingly insane Michael sets off into the jungle by himself determined to find Walt, but discovers that he is not alone. Meanwhile, Sawyer and Jin are ordered by their captors, the tail crash survivors, to take them to their camp. But they are delayed when Jin and the hulking Mr. Eko are forced to go into the jungle to look for Michael before the dreaded “others” find him first. Back at the beach camp, Sun frantically searches for her missing wedding ring which triggers flashbacks to Sun and Jin’s past showing how they met for the first time in early 1990s Seoul, when Jin was working as a doorman of a fancy hotel where Sun was staying at for a courtship engagement set up by her mother.