"
Because You Left" is the television
season premiere of the
American Broadcasting Company's
fifth season of the
serial drama television series Lost. The episode is the eighty-fourth episode of the show overall. It first aired on January 21, 2009 on ABC in the United States and was
simulcast on
A in Canada. "Because You Left" is the first original
Lost episode to be aired on a Wednesday (in the US) since the
third season. It aired immediately after a
clip-show that recaps the first four seasons and aired back-to-back with the next episode, "
The Lie". The episode was written by
executive producers/
show runners Damon Lindelof and
Carlton Cuse and directed by co-executive producer
Stephen Wiliams.
The episode begins in the late 1970s, when the
Dharma Initiative has begun to build stations on the island.
Dr. Pierre Chang (
François Chau) begins to film the orientation film for the
Arrow Station, when he is informed of an incident at the construction site of the
Orchid Station. Upon arriving there, he realizes that the workers have found the "unlimited" energy source that the Dharma Initiative has been looking for, which will enable them to manipulate time. As he leaves the station, he bumps into
Daniel Faraday (
Jeremy Davies), who is dressed as a Dharma construction worker.
On December 30, 2004, following the island being moved in "
There's No Place Like Home", the survivors of Oceanic Flight 815, the freighter team, and
Juliet Burke (
Elizabeth Mitchell) begin to erratically jump through time, while the
Others are unaffected. The first jump takes them to the day when the
Beechcraft carrying
Mr. Eko's brother crashes onto the island.
John Locke is shot in the leg by
Ethan Rom (
William Mapother), who has not yet met him and therefore does not recognize him, while trying to help. Meanwhile,
James "Sawyer" Ford (
Josh Holloway), Juliet and the freighter team head to the
Swan Station in order to determine when they are. A second jump brings the group forward in time to after the destruction of the station, saving Locke from Ethan in the process. When pressed for an explanation by Sawyer, Daniel Faraday likens the experience to a record skipping. Locke is approached by
Richard Alpert (
Nestor Carbonell), who recognizes Locke and treats his wound. He informs Locke that they will be strangers at their next meeting, and thus gives him a compass to get his younger self to trust Locke. He explains that the only way to stop the erratic movements through time is to bring back everyone who has left the island, and to do that Locke will have to die. At the Swan station, which is now intact, Sawyer attempts to make contact with
Desmond Hume (
Henry Ian Cusick), who he believes is inside. When no one answers and Daniel explains that the past can not be changed, everyone heads back to the beach. However, Daniel stays behind and talks to Desmond (in a
hazmat suit), telling him that if Desmond's future self and the survivors of 815 made it off the island on the helicopter then he should go to
Oxford University and find his mother, in order to help the survivors. Another jump occurs just before Daniel can give his mother's name.
In 2007, following
Hugo "Hurley" Reyes's (
Jorge Garcia) breakout of a mental institution, he and
Sayid Jarrah (
Naveen Andrews) go to a safehouse, which has been infiltrated by two armed men. Sayid kills the men, but not before one of them shoots him with two potent drugged darts, knocking him unconscious. In
London,
England, while en route to
Los Angeles,
Sun-Hwa Kwon (
Yunjin Kim) is confronted by
Charles Widmore (
Alan Dale) at the airport. She tells him that she wants to kill
Benjamin Linus (
Michael Emerson), a desire they seem to have in common. Back in Los Angeles, two lawyers visit
Kate Austen (
Evangeline Lilly) and serve her with a court order for a maternity test for her and
Aaron,
Claire Littleton's (
Emilie de Ravin) son, whom Kate is raising as her own, but they refuse to reveal their client's identity. Meanwhile, Ben and
Jack Shephard (
Matthew Fox) have left the funeral parlor with Locke's body. They discover that Hurley has broken out, hindering Ben's plan to reunite the
Oceanic Six. On a boat in an unknown location, Desmond wakes up, having remembered what Daniel told him, and sets off for Oxford.
