Tricia Tanaka Is Dead

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“Tricia Tanaka Is Dead”
Lost episode
Hurley, Jin, Sawyer and Charlie with the Car.
Episode no.	Season 3 Episode 10
Guest stars	Mira Furlan (Danielle Rousseau), Lillian Hurst (Carmen Reyes), Billy Ray Gallion (Randy Nations), Cheech Marin (David Reyes), Caden Waidyatilleka (young Hurley), Suzanne Krull (Lynn Karnoff), Sung Hi Lee (Tricia Tanaka)
Written by	Edward Kitsis & Adam Horowitz
Directed by	Eric Laneuville
Production no.	310
Original airdate	February 28, 2007
Episode chronology
← Previous	Next →
"Stranger in a Strange Land"	"Enter 77"
List of Lost episodes

"Tricia Tanaka Is Dead" is the tenth episode of the third season of Lost. It was aired on February 28, 2007, making it the 57th episode of the series. The character of Hugo "Hurley" Reyes is featured in the episode's flashbacks.^[1]

[edit] Plot

The show opens with a flashback: young Hurley walks with a toolbox in his hand and opens the hood of an old Camaro. On the way to his motorcycle, his father puts down his duffel bag and joins young Hurley for what seems to be their routine of working on the car. Hurley's father, David Reyes, asks Hurley to start the car, even though there is no carburetor. When young Hurley states the obvious ("the car won't start without a carburetor"), David assures him good things happen when you believe they will, and that in this world you have to "make your own luck." Hurley's father tells Hurley he is leaving "for some work in Las Vegas" but will be "back before you know it." As David rides away on his motorcycle, the mother is looking sadly out the window, Hurley is eating a "Glacier" chocolate bar, given to him by his father.^{[citation needed]}

In other flashbacks, Hurley (now an adult) is on the news while Tricia Tanaka reports about his recent luck. They are outside of Mr. Cluck's chicken restaurant with the former manager of the building. Tricia asks him a number of questions but is unimpressed when Hurley gives depressing answers, eventually telling her cameraman to cut. Tricia and her crew go inside to shoot some B-roll film, but soon after she does, a meteor falls from the sky directly onto the restaurant, completely destroying it.

Hurley arrives home at his mansion covered in dust from the meteor strike. Hurley tells his mother that he has to go back to Australia, whence the numbers came. His mother insists the numbers are not cursed, and that she can prove it. She leads him to another part of the house, revealing his long-missing father.

The now reunited Reyes family eats dinner while waited on by butlers. Hurley expresses his confusion about how his mother is acting – she seems to have accepted his father back after seventeen years with no questions. Hurley's father says he is back because his wife asked him to provide a father figure to Hurley in the hopes of stopping his talk of curses. Hurley dismisses the butlers and announces that he is ridding himself of his money and houses. He says he will start by getting rid of his father, but his mother disagrees, giving her own sexual needs and their love for each other as a reason. Hurley takes his father to the garage, inside which is the car they were working on 17 years ago.

Hurley's father takes him to a Tarot card reader, claiming it will break the curse. The reader correctly guesses Hurley's history: the lottery, the numbers and the tragedy. She claims to sense a curse on him but that it can be removed. Before she goes through the motions to remove it, Hurley asks her if she was put up to this by his father, which, after a $10,000 bribe, she admits.

Later, Hurley has packed for Australia, much to his father's displeasure. His father explains the real reasons for his return: that it is because he's getting old and needs a comfortable retirement. He is adamant that a trip to Australia will not break any curse and that Hurley needs to "make his own luck". When Hurley tells him that he won't be getting any of the money, his father backs him up, encouraging him to give away every penny and to start afresh. He suggests saving for the carburetor so that the two of them can finally have the road trip to the Grand Canyon he put off in Hurley's childhood. After telling Hurley that he will still be there upon his return, Hurley leaves.

On the island, Hurley speaks to Libby's grave about what happened to Jack, Kate, and Sawyer after they were taken by The Others. He confesses that he misses Libby, and that he was never afraid when with her. Later, Hurley sees Charlie deep in thought on the beach and asks him what's wrong. Charlie eventually tells him that Desmond said he sees Charlie dying in flashes of the future. Much to Charlie's surprise, Hurley responds, "I think he might be right, and I think it might be my fault." He goes on to tell Charlie of what he believes to be his curse. Vincent runs out of the woods. A decayed human arm is in his teeth with a keychain hanging from the fingers. Hurley chases after Vincent, taking the key when it is dropped in front of him and finally follows Vincent further into the jungle to a Volkswagen camper van on its side underneath the foliage.

Hurley examines the bus. Inside is a skeleton wearing a Dharma jumpsuit sporting the name "Roger" on its chest and the Swan stations logo. On the beach, Sun is attempting to teach Jin English by only speaking to him in English. Hurley runs back into the camp and tells everyone of his discovery. He asks for help to get the car running, even telling them it is just for fun, but he has no offers of help. Jin, however, did not understand the question and so remains looking at Hurley, who takes it as an offer of help.

Hurley shows Jin the van (which is full of Dharma beer) and its former driver. They decide to turn the van upright. As Hurley and Jin begin to try to turn the van over, Sawyer arrives and asks Hurley where his possessions are. Hurley simply hugs him, saying how happy he is to see him alive, and Sawyer's anger subsides. Sawyer briefly explains that Kate has also returned but that Jack is still being held prisoner. Hurley is very optimistic about the future and volunteers Sawyer to help him fix the van, mentioning the beer.

Meanwhile, Charlie demands that Desmond tell him when he will die. Desmond pretends not to know what Charlie is talking about, saying that he was drunk. Charlie says he has a right to know. Kate tells Sayid and Locke what she knows of the Others' boats, the other island and how Sawyer let Karl go. Kate is adamant that she has to rescue Jack. She leaves, saying that she is going to get help, and does not answer when Locke and Sayid ask from whom.

Hurley, Jin and Sawyer succeed in uprighting the van. They open the door to reveal many pieces of paper, including some maps, and the beer. Hurley and Jin open the hood of the car to look. Hurley says it looks fine to him and goes to start the engine. He closes his eyes as he turns the ignition. Nothing happens. Even though Jin is sure the engine cannot be fixed, Hurley says it must be. Sawyer is on Jin's side and tells Hurley to leave Jin alone, earning a heated response from Hurley, who says that everyone needs a little hope.

Sawyer throws Hurley a beer. The can passes him and rolls down a hill, giving Hurley an idea. He goes to get Charlie from the beach, telling him to "stop moping". Hurley explains that he wants to do something dangerous with Charlie, that it will be dicing with death but that they need this victory. Charlie reluctantly returns to the van with Hurley, who jumps in and has the others push it to the beginning of the slope.

Sawyer argues that riding the van down the hill is suicide, but Hurley is determined to use the speed gained to start the engine. Charlie decides to ride in the passenger seat and the two of them get in the van. "Victory or death," Charlie says, as Hurley yells for Jin and Sawyer to push. The van begins to roll down the hill and gains speed. Hurley repeats to himself, "there's no curse, you make your own luck" before attempting to start the engine. It starts just in time and they drive around the meadow happily with the stereo on. Sawyer, Jin and Vincent all run down the hill and jump in the van to enjoy the ride.

Everyone except Hurley leaves the van behind and heads back to the beach. Jin gives Sun a flower; she kisses his cheek and hugs him. Charlie talks to Claire. Sawyer brings a case of beer back, looking for Kate, but she is not there. He sits down in his chair, and drinks a beer alone while watching the couples. Hurley, meanwhile, smiles in the van and continues to drive.

Elsewhere, Kate is on her way to speak with Rousseau. Locke and Sayid find her on her way, inquiring why she did not ask them for help. Kate answers that they are not motivated and do not know where to look. They tell her that they have the motivation, but until recently they did not know where to look. Locke then reveals he has a compass bearing derived from Eko's stick. A sudden gunshot signals that they are not alone: Rousseau is nearby. After shouting for everyone to hold their fire, Kate asks Rousseau for her help: she is going to go back to the Others' camp and needs Rousseau's help to find it. Rousseau is reluctant, seeing nothing in it for herself, and Kate answers by telling her her suspicions that Alex, who helped her escape from the other island, is Rousseau's daughter.

[edit] Trivia

• The song that plays in the beginning of the show and on the 8-track in the car is "Shambala," by Three Dog Night.
• Hurley told his father "I'm not going anywhere with you." Walt said those exact words to Michael when Michael came back into his life.
• Daniel Dae Kim's lack of screen-time (seven episodes) makes him the character with the longest absence while still residing on the beach. The only absence longer than Jin's was Michael's, with a total gap of eight episodes, but Michael was not still on the beach.

[edit] Notes

• Although credited, Jack Shepherd (Matthew Fox), Benjamin "Ben" Linus (Michael Emerson) and Juliet Burke (Elizabeth Mitchell) do not appear in this episode.

[edit] Cultural references

• Hurley and his father were trying to fix a Camaro.
• Sawyer called Charlie "Jiminy Cricket".
• Sawyer jokes that Jin is "Hooked on Phonics".
• Sawyer called Charlie "Oliver Twist".
• Sawyer refers to Roger as "Skeletor", a character from He-Man.
• Sawyer calls Hurley "Snuffy" and "Jumbotron".
• Hurley suggests the DHARMA beer is older than "Rocky III" and maybe "Rocky II".
• Charlie wears a T-shirt for Bob Dylan's Highway 61 tour. In the song "Highway 61 Revisited" Dylan uses the mysterious location Highway 61 as a metaphor for all things dangerous and deadly.

[edit] References