The Variable

"The Variable"
Lost episode
Jack Shepard, Kate Austen and Daniel Faraday are leaving to visit the "Others"
Episode no.	Season 5 Episode 14
Directed by	Paul Edwards
Written by	Edward Kitsis Adam Horowitz
Production code	514
Original air date	April 29, 2009 (2009-04-29)
Running time	43 minutes[1]
Guest appearances
Nestor Carbonell as Richard Alpert Sonya Walger as Penny Widmore Alan Dale as Charles Widmore François Chau as Dr. Pierre Chang Fionnula Flanagan as Eloise Hawking Patrick Fischler as Phil Eric Lange as Stuart Radzinsky Sarah Farooqui as Theresa Spencer Alice Evans as Young Eloise Hawking Wendy Pearson as Doctor Todd Coolidge as Paramedic Peggy Anne Siegmund as Caroline Jennifer Sojot as Nurse Spencer Allyn as Young Daniel Faraday Michael Dempsey as Tony Maya Henssens as Young Charlotte Lewis Ariston Green as Workman Marvin DeFreitas as Charlie Hume Brad Berryhill as Eric
Episode chronology
← Previous "Some Like It Hoth" Next → "Follow the Leader"
Lost season 5
List of episodes

"The Variable" is the 14th television episode of the fifth season of Lost, and the 100th episode overall.^[2] It originally aired on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) in the United States on April 29, 2009. The hundredth episode milestone was celebrated by cast and crew on location in Hawaii. In the episode, Daniel Faraday (Jeremy Davies) returns to the Island in order to warn the inhabitants of a catastrophe involving the DHARMA Initiative research station the Swan. Jack (Matthew Fox), Kate (Evangeline Lilly) and Daniel begin a fight with DHARMA, leading DHARMA to go after Sawyer (Josh Holloway) and Juliet (Elizabeth Mitchell). In flashbacks, Daniel's relationship with his parents, Eloise Hawking (Fionnula Flanagan) and Charles Widmore (Alan Dale), is shown.

The episode was written by executive producers Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz and directed by Paul Edwards. It serves as a companion piece to the season four episode "The Constant", another episode that heavily features the character Daniel, and the third Lost episode to deal directly with the concept of time travel. Since airing, the episode has received generally positive reviews from television critics, mostly complimenting Davies's performance.