"
The Variable" is the fourteenth television episode of the
fifth season, and the hundredth episode overall of
ABC's
Lost. It aired on April 29, 2009 on ABC in the United States and on May 3, 2009 on Sky1 in the United Kingdom. The episode was written by
Edward Kitsis and
Adam Horowitz and directed by
Paul Edwards and marks the one hundredth episode of
Lost
In 1977, following the events of the previous episode, "
Some Like It Hoth",
Daniel Faraday (
Jeremy Davies) has returned to the island, having spent three years in
Ann Arbor,
Michigan, conducting research for the
Dharma Initiative. He has returned because
Jack Shephard (
Matthew Fox),
Kate Austen (
Evangeline Lilly), and
Hugo "Hurley" Reyes (
Jorge Garcia) have managed to travel back in time and join Dharma. After learning from Jack that they were sent to the island by Daniel's mother, Eloise Hawking (younger:
Alice Evans; older:
Fionnula Flanagan), Daniel visits Dr. Pierre Chang (
François Chau) at the Orchid Station and warns him of a catastrophic event that is to occur at the
Swan Station in six hours. Dr. Chang does not believe Daniel when he says that he is from the future, and
Miles Straume (
Ken Leung) does not affirm Dan's story, even after Daniel informs Dr. Chang that Miles is his son from the future.
Later at the Barracks,
James "Sawyer" Ford (
Josh Holloway),
Juliet Burke (
Elizabeth Mitchell),
Jin-Soo Kwon (
Daniel Dae Kim), Hurley and Miles decide that they will flee to the survivors' original beach, abandoning Dharma. Kate, Jack and Daniel however, decide to visit the island's native population, among whom is Eloise, and warn them of the impending disaster. They arouse suspicion from Dharma's head of research, Radzinksy (Eric Lange), while trying to steal weapons and a gun fight ensues. The survivors are able to escape; however, Radzinksy brings his team to Sawyer and Juliet's house, where they find Phil (
Patrick Fischler) tied up. Meanwhile, Dan explains to Jack and Kate that he intends to detonate the hydrogen bomb buried in 1954 (from the episode "
Jughead") in order to prevent the construction of the Swan Station, which in turn will ensure that Oceanic Flight 815 never crashes on the island. Daniel enters the
Others' camp with his gun drawn and demands that
Richard Alpert (
Nestor Carbonell) take him to see Eloise; Eloise shoots Daniel in the back as they argue. Before Daniel dies, he tells her that he is her son.[sup]
[2][/sup]
In flashbacks, Daniel's relationship with his parents, Eloise Hawking and
Charles Widmore (
Alan Dale), is shown. At a young age, Eloise asks Daniel if he knows what destiny is and then tells him that he has a special gift — his brilliant mind — and that his destiny relies on this. After Daniel graduates from
Oxford University, Eloise gives him a new blank journal as a gift and again reminds him of his destiny. Meanwhile, Daniel has received an enormous research grant from Charles, who Daniel does not know is his father. Years later, following the crash of Flight 815, Daniel has suffered severe psychological effects from performing experiments on himself, has lost his mental acuity, and now lives with a caretaker. While watching the news coverage of the discovery of the Flight 815 wreckage in the
Sunda Trench, Daniel is visited by Charles, who tells him that he faked the found wreckage and that the real plane actually landed on the island. Charles invites Daniel to go to the island, which Charles claims will cure his psychological problems. Eloise later visits Daniel and further encourages him to go to the island, despite knowing that it means her younger self will kill him there in 1977.
In 2007, following the events of "
Dead is Dead",
Desmond Hume (
Henry Ian Cusick) is brought to a hospital, having been shot by
Ben Linus (
Michael Emerson). While waiting, his wife Penny Widmore (
Sonya Walger), is visited by Eloise, who apologizes for involving Desmond in everything that has happened. Penny later visits Desmond, who is expected to make a full recovery. Charles, who is also Penny's father, speaks with Eloise outside the hospital, but does not visit his daughter.
