# Lost 1.11: "All the Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 8, 2004, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-1-11-all-the-best-cowboys-have-daddy-issues/278757 "2004-12-08T16:17:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Askia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Askia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askia)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2004, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-1-11-all-the-best-cowboys-have-daddy-issues/278757/121 "2004-12-09T22:14:17Z")
So: the episode title. What MEME (Multiple Etymological Meanings of Episodes) titles are we looking at this week? Before the show aired, I’d guessed that the episode title would explore the other " best cowboys" on the island besides Jack, and think I was mostly right about that, although I admit I got blindsided. I assumed (mistakenly) from the get-get that Locke would not be involved in any cowboy rescues-- (he’s been pretty cryptic and standoffish ever since the boar hunt episode, “Walkabout” ) – I picked Jack, Kate, Sawyer, Sayid and possibly Ethan as being those who the episode would focus on. Well, Jack and Kate was basically a gimme, and the latter couple got a scene together, but the more compelling pairings I completely missed were Walt/Michael and Locke/Boone. **Jack** - We now know that the crux of Jack’s adult relationship with his manipulative father: father operated drunk, Jack backpedaled on a cover-up of his father’s cmplicity. Father was stripped of his license and became a full time drunk, ending up finally in Austrailia on a bender where he died. No wonder Jack didn’t think his father would listen to him and come home when his mother demanded he go find his father. No wonder Jack’s mother was so appalled by Jack’s refusal – “after what you did.” Jack still desperately seeks his father’s approval. **Walt** - Got lots of screen time this week and fleshed out this lil’ cowboy’s daddy issues nicely – as well as expanded some offscreen backstory. Walt’s open hero-worship of Mr. Locke causes no little consternation with Michael, evoking echoes of _Shane_. More tellingly, I think, was Walt’s casual evoking of his step-dad Brian – and how Brian called him “lucky.” I find it telling because that suggests a pre-island disposition to causing luck to come alive. By the way: rolling three times in a row exactly the dice you need? Spooky. **Kate** – Nice revelations about her relatonship with her Ranger father. Presumably he taught her how to track, to work hard, to forage the land. Handy skills to know if you’re on the run in Austrailia for ---- doing something. **Boone** – interestingly, what was learned about Boone’s father we got mostly through omission: I think maybe he didn’t have his father around, or the kind of father figure he would have liked to have. I surmise he grew up in a matrirachial household, and ended up in a very feminine business dealing with demanding female clients. He possibly felt unfulfilled. No wonder he reads books about bunnies and tries to man-up around his ridiculously spoiled sister, Sharon. Most intriguing development? His apparent adoption of Locke as an island father figure. He and Walt are going to have some interesting times ahead. **Locke** – A box company? That man is a cypher as ever. The only daddy issue I see here is that HE’S the island big daddy among the castaways (Sorry, Hurley) and he still has an unspoken agenda. Anyone else think it was odd that he kept trying to send people back to the caves as he tracked down Claire and Charlie ? Yet for all the supposed danger, he didn’t protest when Jack and Kate veered off on their own to find Charlie. Isn’t it weird Locke unerringly found the metal plate? Are there people living underground? Weird thought: When Locke and Boone were exposing the metal, I was flashing back to the scene in the movie _Ice Man_ when the thawed-out neanderthal discovered the cable on the floor of his habitat and found out he was in a 20th century lab under scientific scrutiny. Hmmmm. **Sayid and Sawyer** - interestingly, these two wounded cowboys on the mend did not have much to offer in explore in terms of daddy issues – well, you MIGHT argue that the beach fire signal is Sayid’s and Sawyer’s symbolic “baby” but I pulled that one out my ass. Also --as cowboys go, they’re both kind of marauders and somewhat reckless in their way. Interesting to see them make a truce. We all know Jack s prone to hallucinations, but I don’t think he was hallucinating this time. I think that Ethan really did beat the crap out of Jack and Ethan had help hanging Charlie. I re-watched the scene where he put his foot on Jack’s chest – no, he didn’t leave muddy footprint – but then, it was very wet and and there was a lot of vine strewn undergrowth where he was standing, not muddy at all. Also, I really don’t see how he dragged two people through the jungle, blindfolded Charlie, fashioned a vine-rope and hanged him off a freaking banyam while also preventing Claire from calling out or running away. If there are “others” around, Ethan had help. Bottom line? MEME this week explored more than one cowboy’s daddy issues. This was more like a “theme” than a cleverly inverted title – unless someone else has an interpretation I missed. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9dc877/32.png) [@Mr\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Jim)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2004, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-1-11-all-the-best-cowboys-have-daddy-issues/278757/122 "2004-12-09T22:35:34Z")
From the [official summary](http://abc.go.com/primetime/lost/episodes/2004-05/11.html) “Back at the caves, Walt and Hurley play backgammon. The more Walt continues to win, the more his ability to, “make things happen” becomes apparent. Hurley leaves in utter defeat and frustration.” and Jack and Kate hear the roar of the monster as opposed to what I assumed was Claire. **Spree** I too thought they were starting to look appropriately grubby. I once fantasized about being stuck on a deserted island with some hunky guy but when I realised I’d be hairy, band breathed and lip gloss-less within a few days I decided against it. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9dc877/32.png) [@Mr\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Jim)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2004, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-1-11-all-the-best-cowboys-have-daddy-issues/278757/123 "2004-12-09T22:37:48Z")
> [@Mr Jim](#): > > band breathed Uh, that would be _bad_ breathed though if it involved charlie I’d take the other way. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2004, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-1-11-all-the-best-cowboys-have-daddy-issues/278757/124 "2004-12-09T23:04:51Z")
So, I went back to “Solitary” to get what I think is the key dialogue between Danielle and Sayid. Here’s the first part (note especially the bolded section): > [@](#): > > SAYID: Do you want me to fix your music box or don�t you > > DANIELLE: Yes yes please > > SAYID: Then I want to know your name your first name > > DANIELLE: Danielle my name is Danielle > > SAYID: And how did you come to be on this island Danielle > > DANIELLE: Huh� huh�we were part of the science team > > SAYID: Science team armed w/ rifles was Robert on the team > > DANIELLE: Yes > > SAYID: & Alex was he too > > DANIELLE: Our vessel was 3 days out of Tahiti when our instruments malfunctioned it was night the storm the sounds the ship slammed into rocks ran aground and the hull breached beyond repair so we made camp dug out this temporary� laughs- shelter temporary \*\*Nearly two months we survived here two months before \*\* > > SAYID: Your distress signal the message I heard you said it killed them it killed them all > > \*\*DANIELLE: We were coming back from the black rock it was them� they were the carriers > > SAYID: Who were the carriers > > DANIELLE: The others \*\* > > SAYID: What others what is the black rock have you seen other people on this island > > DANIELLE: No but I hear them� out there in the jungle� they whisper�Oh you think I�m insane > > SAYID: I think you�ve been alone for too long and this par (note bolded and underline parts): > [@](#): > > SAYID: Please I don�t wish you to hurt you > > DANIELLE: You already have > > SAYID: Don�t > > Sayid shoots gun at Danielle but it doesn�t work� > > DANIELLE: The firing pin has been removed Robert didn�t notice it was missing either when I shot him > > SAYID: But you loved him > > \*\*DANIELLE: He was sick > > SAYID: Sick > > DANIELLE: It took them one after the other I had no choice they were already lost\*\* > > SAYID: You killed them > > \*\*DANIELLE: What would have happened if we were rescued I couldn�t let that happen I won�t \*\* > > Sayid throws his gun > > SAYID: I�m not sick > > DANIELLE: I know > > SAYID: Then why kill me > > DANIELLE: I can�t let you go don�t you understand to have someone to talk to to touch > > SAYID: You�ll find me in the next life if not in this one > > DANIELLE: What > > SAYID: The writing on the back of Nadia�s photograph > > SAYID: I know what it�s like to hold onto someone I�ve been holding on for the past seven years to just the thought a blind hope that somewhere she�s alive but the more I hold on the more I pull away from those around me The only way off this this place is with their help come with me you don�t have to be alone Danielle > > Danielle�s eyes shows her vulnerability and madness from being alone so long She� squats down realizing she must let him go and touches his face tenderly again and gets up > > DANIELLE: Your people the ones you�re determined to get back too watch them watch them closely > > She walks away and stops to answer his question > > SAYID: Danielle who is Alex > > DANIELLE: Alex was my child I think means there is some sort of infection. You become “lost” when you get the infection. Danielle and her team either created or encountered it. Maybe the “infection” is like a Invasion of the Body Snatchers type infection. But I think this is THE key to the mystery. Thoughts? ---
**Author:** ![Odinoneeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/97f17d/32.png) [@Odinoneeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odinoneeye)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2004, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-1-11-all-the-best-cowboys-have-daddy-issues/278757/125 "2004-12-09T23:20:39Z")
Notice how Jack always seems to have not shaved for two days. Exactly two days. How he manages to accomplish this, I’ll never know. He even looks that way in the flashbacks. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2004, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-1-11-all-the-best-cowboys-have-daddy-issues/278757/126 "2004-12-09T23:25:03Z")
> [@watsonwil](#): > > I’ve read the cast lives in Hawaii. What a life! From what I’ve read of life on a TV set, given that they’re doing lots of outdoor scenes at night, chances are that it’s actually fairly hellish… you never know more than a day or two in advance what the schedule is, so they’ll be up all night shooting, then get just a few hours’ sleep and have to go right back out to the location and shoot all day… > [@Askia](#): > > Kate – Nice revelations about her relatonship with her Ranger father. But a bit odd that her father never taught her how to shoot… I have an issue with the idea that by coming up with the idea that Ethan may have used a backtrail to throw off pursuit, obviously Kate is an expert tracker. Umm, guys, I was thinking the same thing, and I know jack about tracking… My big problem with the episode: Didn’t Boone say he was a _lifeguard_? ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2004, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-1-11-all-the-best-cowboys-have-daddy-issues/278757/127 "2004-12-09T23:34:41Z")
**John Mace** –also, Rousseau was fixated on the location of Alex–all we know about him is that he was Danielle’s child, and didn’t share the same fate as the rest of her team. Was _Danielle_ pregnant at the time of the wreck, like Claire? Charlie emphasised that all “they” wanted was Claire. Could the whole purpose of the island be to gather infants to be raised up for some mysterious purpose? **Odinoneeye** –I guess Jack never threw away the Miami Device that he bought in the eighties. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2004, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-1-11-all-the-best-cowboys-have-daddy-issues/278757/128 "2004-12-10T00:00:41Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > My big problem with the episode: Didn’t Boone say he was a _lifeguard_? Yes, that’s right. He was supposedly a lifeguard, but couldn’t save the other woman who drowned. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2004, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-1-11-all-the-best-cowboys-have-daddy-issues/278757/129 "2004-12-10T00:07:23Z")
Well, he didn’t say he was a _good_ one… ---
**Author:** ![Fiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e274bd/32.png) [@Fiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiver)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2004, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-1-11-all-the-best-cowboys-have-daddy-issues/278757/130 "2004-12-10T00:17:25Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > My big problem with the episode: Didn’t Boone say he was a _lifeguard_? I assume you think this was contradicted this week when Boone said he ran a company for his mother. IIRC, he Boone told Jack he was a licensed lifeguard. This could mean many things, from “volunteer lifeguard” to “summer job during college.” It’s not necessarily inconsistent with him also running a company for his mother. ---
**Author:** ![EvilHamsterOnCrack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3ab097/32.png) [@EvilHamsterOnCrack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EvilHamsterOnCrack)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2004, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-1-11-all-the-best-cowboys-have-daddy-issues/278757/131 "2004-12-10T00:44:09Z")
I listened to the part with the scream again. There are two distinct screams heard. One is kind of a loud yelping noise, like a gigantic monkey yell. The other is a woman’s scream, interspersed with the second monkey yell. I might try to record it if I can figure out how. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2004, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-1-11-all-the-best-cowboys-have-daddy-issues/278757/132 "2004-12-10T00:49:29Z")
I thought it was Godzilla / T-Rex type of noise when I heard it. Bang a gong ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2004, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-1-11-all-the-best-cowboys-have-daddy-issues/278757/133 "2004-12-10T00:51:06Z")
> [@Larry Mudd](#): > > **John Mace** –also, Rousseau was fixated on the location of Alex–all we know about him is that he was Danielle’s child, and didn’t share the same fate as the rest of her team. > > Was _Danielle_ pregnant at the time of the wreck, like Claire? Charlie emphasised that all “they” wanted was Claire. > > Could the whole purpose of the island be to gather infants to be raised up for some mysterious purpose? Or, to get cord-blood (or something) to cure them from whatever the infection is…? ---
**Author:** ![middleman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9a140/32.png) [@middleman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/middleman)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2004, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-1-11-all-the-best-cowboys-have-daddy-issues/278757/134 "2004-12-10T00:51:14Z")
Didn’t Kate earlier say she was Canadian? (I know the real actress is, but I thought in her flashback episode she said it as well) How is her father a Ranger? Is he a Canadian Ranger? Where is Fort Lewis? I like **Larry Mudd’s** Alex theory! ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2004, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-1-11-all-the-best-cowboys-have-daddy-issues/278757/135 "2004-12-10T00:52:37Z")
> [@watsonwil](#): > > Where is Fort Lewis? Washington state. It \*\*does \*\*have Army Rangers there, too. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2004, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-1-11-all-the-best-cowboys-have-daddy-issues/278757/136 "2004-12-10T02:16:36Z")
> [@John Mace](#): > > Washington state. It \*\*does \*\*have Army Rangers there, too. Yep. 2D BN (RANGER) 75TH INF **and** 1ST SPECIAL FORCES GROUP (AIRBORNE) Kate, if she is telling the truth, learned from the best. ---
**Author:** ![shadowfax33](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/65b543/32.png) [@shadowfax33](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shadowfax33)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2004, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-1-11-all-the-best-cowboys-have-daddy-issues/278757/137 "2004-12-10T03:47:56Z")
IIRC, Kate told someone in Australia that she was from Canada, during a flashback. She also gave a false name, so I wouldn’t put too much value on what she said when she was “on the run.” ---
**Author:** ![GraceTX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c4cdca/32.png) [@GraceTX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GraceTX)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2004, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-1-11-all-the-best-cowboys-have-daddy-issues/278757/138 "2004-12-10T04:20:09Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > From what I’ve read of life on a TV set, given that they’re doing lots of outdoor scenes at night, chances are that it’s actually fairly hellish… you never know more than a day or two in advance what the schedule is, so they’ll be up all night shooting, then get just a few hours’ sleep and have to go right back out to the location and shoot all day… Why would they have to shoot at night? There are lenses or something technical that I know nothing about that can simulate night scenese even though you’re filming in the middle of the day. They used this device when they filmed Castaway a few years ago. The night scene where Tom Hanks’ character is looking for Wilson (after punting him out of the cave) was filmed when it was sunny. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2004, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-1-11-all-the-best-cowboys-have-daddy-issues/278757/139 "2004-12-10T05:18:28Z")
Oooh! Oooh! I just thought of another great literary tie-in! Sawyer called Hurley “Stay-puft!” We’ve all been thinking that maybe they’re all dead, and Hurley is God, when in reality he is Gozer, the Destroyer, returned to vanquish the earth! Or maybe not. ---
**Author:** ![tavella](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a9a28c/32.png) [@tavella](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tavella)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2004, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-1-11-all-the-best-cowboys-have-daddy-issues/278757/140 "2004-12-10T11:59:43Z")
> [@Mr Jim](#): > > Jack and Kate hear the roar of the monster as opposed to what I assumed was Claire. Yes! I _thought_ that first scream sounded metallic and Monster-like. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-1-11-all-the-best-cowboys-have-daddy-issues/278757.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-1-11-all-the-best-cowboys-have-daddy-issues/278757.md?page=8)