Season 3, Episode 10:
Tricia Tanaka Is Dead
♫Ah ooh yeah, on the road to Shambala.♫
Written by Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz.
Directed by Eric Laneuville.
"There is no curse. You make your own luck. You make your own luck. There is no curse!"
— Hugo "Hurley" Reyes
In flashbacks, Hurley's father walks out on his family while he is a child. He returns years later, after Mr. Cluck's Chicken is destroyed by a meteorite, killing a reporter named Tricia Tanaka. He admits he has returned because of Hurley's lottery win, but tries to rebuild his relationship with his son, even telling him to give the money away if it makes him happy. However, he fails to convince Hurley not to visit Sam Twomey in Australia.
On the Island, Hurley finds an old DHARMA Initiative van in the jungle, and recruits Jin and Sawyer, who has returned to camp with Kate, to help him get it started. Although their initial attempts fail, Hurley, with Charlie along for the ride, manages to get it started when the others push it down a hill, to the delight of all. Kate decides to rescue Jack from the Others, and recruits Danielle Rousseau to help, telling her that she has met Alex.
Tropes in this episode include:
- Bilingual Bonus: Because he used to work in a car factory, Jin tries giving some helpful advice to Hurley while they fix the DHARMA van.Jin: It will take a long time to fix this.Hurley: Looks good to me. Engine's fine, right? [...] I'm going to start the car now.Jin: No, don't do it yet. I need to check the engine first.
- Breather Episode: A light-hearted comedy episode with an uplifting ending that serves as a palate cleanser for the much darker second half of the season.
- Buffy Speak: Hurley's attempted explanation of the word crafty to Jin:"It's like, when you're good at ... crafts."
- Comically Missing the Point: Hurley, reading the name Roger and the title "Work Man" on the DHARMA jumpsuit of the skeleton he finds in the van, believes his full name is "Roger Workman", to Sawyer's amusement."It's Work Man, you blockhead. That's his job. He was a DHARMA janitor."
- Continuity Nod:
- Hurley mentioned that Mr. Cluck's was destroyed by a meteorite in "Man of Science, Man of Faith".
- During his interview with Tricia Tanaka, Hurley states that his best friend Johnny ran off with his girlfriend Starla. When Tricia asks why he bought Mr. Cluck's Hurley replies "I like chicken", which is one of the things he said he liked about himself during therapy in "Dave".
- Dare to Be Badass: Hurley gives Charlie a speech to this effect to convince him to ride shotgun when he tries to get the van started by pushing it down the hill, getting Charlie out of the funk he's been in since Desmond told him he was going to die."Look, I don't know about you, but things have really sucked for me lately and I could use a victory. So let's get one, dude. Let's get this car started. Let's look death in the face and say, "whatever, man." Let's make our own luck. What do you say?"
- Full-Name Basis: Hurley only ever refers to Tricia Tanaka by her full name, even when addressing her directly.
- Get A Hold Of Yourself Man: When Charlie remains apathetic about starting the van Hurley gives him a quick slap before his Dare to Be Badass speech.
- The Glomp: When he first sees Sawyer after his return to camp, Hurley runs up and gives him a big bear hug.Hurley: Dude! You're alive!! You're alive.Sawyer: Yeah, yeah, Snuffy. Good to see you, too.
- Hypocritical Humor: The psychic that Hurley's dad takes him to see is outraged when Hurley tries to pay her $1,000 to admit that he told her what to say, but admits it instantly when he ups the offer.Hurley: I'll give you a thousand dollars right now if you admit that my dad told you to say this stuff.Lynn: The mystic arts are not subject to bribes. How dare you!Hurley: 10,000.Lynn: Your dad put me up to it.
- Innocuously Important Episode: Although mostly a goofy comedy episode, the DHARMA van turns out to be an important Chekhov's Gun, and the skeleton of "Roger Workman" foreshadows a major flashback storyline later in the season.
- Lame Comeback: Hurley's attempted comeback to Sawyer's latest nickname is not very good.Sawyer: What's your problem, Jumbotron?Hurley: Shut up, Red... neck... man.Sawyer: Touché.
- Parental Sexuality Squick: Hurley puts his hands over his ears and lets out a Big "NO!" when his mother tells him she has "needs". He also calls his father's statement that his mother is a "very passionate woman" disgusting.
- Sequel Hook: The ending has Kate recruiting Rousseau to help rescue Jack from the Others.
- Shout-Out:
- Sawyer admits to having watched Little House on the Prairie as a child, while Kate mocks him for calling it "Little House".
- Sawyer calls Hurley "Snuffy" during their reunion.
- Silly Rabbit, Cynicism Is for Losers!: Sawyer learns this lesson by the end of the episode, as he spends much of it ridiculing Hurley's attempts to get the van started, and telling him that if he's looking for hope, he's on "the wrong damn island." However, he's proven wrong when Hurley gets the van working, and has to admit he's impressed.[admiringly] "Son of a bitch."
- Tarot Troubles: In one flashback Hurley's father takes him to a psychic who does a Tarot reading, complete with pulling the Death card immediately after talking about "darkness" surrounding him. Of course it turns out the woman is a Phony Psychic that Hurley's dad paid off which would explain the dramatic reading.
- Tempting Fate: When the news crew goes into Mr. Cluck's to shoot some B-Roll, Randy reassures Hurley that the fryers are cold and there's nothing that can go wrong. Seconds later, the place is hit by a meteorite.
- Women Are Wiser: According to Sawyer, two of the only three things a woman ever needs to hear are "I'm sorry" and "You were right."
- You Are Fat: Sawyer has a number of nicknames of this nature directed at Hurley in this episode, including "Snuffy", "Jumbotron" and "International House of Pancakes".
