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The episode opens with a young lad being offered a candy bar by his father (played by none other than Cheech Marin), and to never give up hope. As we find out, the young boy is actually Hurley - a very svelte Hurley, no less. Unfortunately, his dad left shortly thereafter, and we're left with the impression that he won't be back anytime soon.

So apparently the candy was simply his way of dealing with his father leaving. I can appreciate that. In fact, this is probably one of the most sensible backstories offered in the entire series, and it was done in something like the first 30 seconds of the episode. At this point, there should be more of this. A whole lot more.

Back on the island, Hurley is telling everyone the story of how he was left alone to tell them all about what happened to everyone else, and this just reminds us how he was left behind again. Not by his dad, but by The Others, who didn't think enough of him to take him along. Incidentally, he was also left behind by Libby, and it seems like he's also standing next to her grave while he's talking. That's a hat trick. You have to feel for the guy.

Next up, Charlie and Hurley are talking about Charlie's date with destiny, and Vincent comes up, wanting to play fetch. But just before throwing the stick, Charlie and Hurley realize that it's not a stick - it's an arm! Holy crap! Where did Vincent get an arm? For that matter, where has Vincent been all this time?

Before we can find out the answer to this more pressing question, Vincent takes off into the jungle, with Hurley in hot pursuit, and before long - it can't be long, because Hurley can't run far - they find a VW bus, all turned up on its side and mostly overgrown by the jungle. I'm thinking if I'd been trapped on an island for a couple of months, and there was anything within a mile or two that was even partially exposed, someone in the forty-odd people may have found it. But you have to suspend disbelief sometimes.

So we've got an old, wrecked VW bus, and Hurley does what anyone would do - he looks inside. There's a dead guy (named Roger, if you're curious) and... beer. A whole lot of beer. So Roger was on a beer run (b, double e, double r, u, n, beer run) and couldn't handle the turn. Where did he find the 7-11 on the island? Why would Dharma give one place beer and not another? And more importantly, why would they make someone drive beer from one place to another in an old VW van, on an island without any roads? That makes no sense.

In any case, it's time to jump back to the back-story. Hurley has now grown up, and he's won the lottery, and bought the Mr. Cluck's Chicken Shack where he used to work. The reporter's name is Tricia Tanaka, and she's not happy about this interview. She goes in to get set up, and WHAM! - the building gets hit by a meteor (asteroid, comet, meteorite, etc) hits the building, wiping out Tricia and Mr. Cluck's in one fell swoop.

After this monumental event, Hurley returns home, to find that his dad, missing for years and years, has returned, as if nothing has happened. And his mother has needs. All this over dinner. You think they could have waited to discuss it.

On the island, Sawyer and Kate have finally returned to the beach, and Sawyer, after a vigorous argument with Kate, has joined Jin and Hurley trying to get the van upright (although this may just be an excuse to drink beer), and now they are going to see if they can get it going again. Hurley has decided that they need something to believe in.

They find a massive pasture, that we probably haven't seen before, and it's perfect for rolling this non-starting vehicle that has seen many, many better days. There's just one problem - a bunch of sharp rocks at the bottom. But Hurley, going back to the message of hope from his dad, is convinced that he can get in that van and make it start before he crashes into the rocks at the bottom. So, after getting a hefty push from the other guys, he heads crazily down the hill, kicks it into gear, and just in time, starts the engine, then drives around until he runs out of gas. Hope there are no drinking and driving laws on the island.