Watch Ep 304's Secret Clue on Video

Episode 304 - "Every Man for Himself" Secret Clue

Welcome back to the Lost Secret Clue, where we dig deeper to find the clues and secrets you might've missed to fuel your theories! This week's episode, 'Every Man For Himself', was packed full of amazing clues and subtle hints, including further information on what is happening with Desmond, an update on the Others' contact with the outside world, an example of the lengths the Others will go to in order to succeed and a little white rabbit. Oh yeah – and our captured Losties are confined on an entirely different island, dubbed Alcatraz...

Tom, formerly known as Mr Friendly, gave us a huge hint as to why the Others have been so aggressive in the latest episodes – "In the two days since the sky turned purple, we've been blind, our comms are all down and I can't get 'em back up again..." It seems that turning the key and taking out the hatch has effectively removed whatever system the Others were using to communicate with the outside, meaning they're now as isolated and lost as our Losties. It is also interesting to note that Tom mentioned the sky turning purple, considering we saw it as a bright white light, as this is the third time that particular colour has been mentioned; first by Claire when talking to Charlie in the season 2 finale, secondly by Hurley when quizzing Desmond about the explosion in last week's episode, and finally by Tom.

We also discovered that, not only are the Others somewhat at each others' throats, but they're not quite as professional as we first thought. In the scene where the two previously unseen Others, Matthew and Jason, are about to inject Sawyer's chest with the large needle, Jason tells Matthew to "Just do it how they do in the movie..." They are presumably referring to the scene from Pulp Fiction where John Travolta injects an adrenaline shot directly into her heart. From this one moment we learn that, not only do the Others not actually know what they are about to do, but they are taking their medical advice from popular films. Not only do they seem to enjoy movies, but they like cartoons – the one shown to Jack was 'The Blue Danube', a famous 1943 Bugs Bunny short. You may have noticed the similarities to the shot of the swan in the Orientation film, and Lost Experience fans will definitely remember the swan imagery used in the Psychology Orientation film...

While we realised they are not as professional as we originally believed, the Others showed a definite knack for pulling off an affective con on Sawyer. In a bid to curb Sawyer's rebellious nature, the Others concocted a plan to trick him into believing he had an explosive pacemaker inserted into his heart. If Sawyer had known anything about pacemakers to start with, their plan would have failed: pacemakers deliver small shocks during the cardiac cycle to regulate the heart, in other words, keeping the heart in time and on track. The device Ben described far closely resembles a defibrillator, which instead delivers a large cardiac shock when it detects the heart is behaving irregularly. Apart from the fact that it would require skilled surgeons to insert such a device, Sawyer would undoubtedly be able to feel it through his chest - which is where our bunny friend comes in...

The white rabbit with the black eight on its back may have seemed like a random inclusion, but it actually serves as an amazing literary clue. In Stephen King's 'On Writing', his study of his writing techniques and, he describes a white rabbit with the number eight painted on it. He does this to demonstrate the power that words have in terms of conveying convincing images and concepts. By putting Sawyer in such a vulnerable position and having him believe he was just harmed, he became far more susceptible to the suggestion of a pacemaker, simply because him perception had been altered giving no choice but to believe. The other book referenced, Of Mice & Men, also closely tied to the episode's theme of isolation and trying to find your own role in the world – topics definitely playing heavily on Sawyer's mind.

Finally, we witnessed more craziness from Desmond. Last week, Desmond strangely knew of Locke's speech before it was delivered, leaving Hurley reeling. This week confirmed that something is most certainly up with our favourite Scot – it appears he can see the future. His second display of precognition caused him to witness tragedy befall Claire, though his attempts to help were rebuffed. Thankfully, he managed to think outside the box and still managed to save her from the lightening strike. The question remains, however; Just what on earth is going on with him? Is he able to see the future? Did turning the key somehow force him to experience the future? Or did it somehow unhinge him from time itself, forcing him to relive his time on the island on a loop?