A New Beginning, Part 1

"A New Beginning, Part 1" is the first or a two-part episode of the first series of Split. Josh Jackson, and 15 other survivors of Flight Oceanic 815 find themselves lost, deep in a jungle. They try to struggle to survive in the harsh environment, but things become more difficult as they hear strange, loud and terrifying noises coming from the jungle at night. In the morning, the group of survivors split into 4 different groups. Josh, Charlotte and Alex all set off into the jungle to collect food, but as they get lost, the strange noises return, and they witness a terrifying act.

Flash Back
On board Oceanic Flight 815, Josh bumps into a pregnant girl, Claire Littleton. She drops her luggage, so Josh picks it up for her. The two chatted briefly to each other and then Josh mentioned her pregnancy. She told him she was giving the baby up for adoption. Josh apologized, but Claire assured him she was fine. She then told him about the psychic she talked too and why she was going to Los Angeles. The two then went their separate ways.

Later, as Oceanic Flight 815 was in the air, Josh was sat next to a woman, Anya. They talked about how the air steward, Cindy Chandler was flirting with another passenger, Jack Shephard. Josh then left to go to the bathroom. As he arrived at the bathroom, Cindy announced that people should put their seatbelts on. But, Josh ignored it, as he found a toilet, Charlotte quickly fell out of the room. She apologised and then left. As the turbulence got stronger and stronger, Josh sat back down in a seat. The plane crashes.

On The Island
Day 1

Josh wakes up at the crash site and sees everyone running and screaming after regaining his vision back. He notices a dark haired woman, Charlotte, and he helps her escape from the wreckage above her that is about to fall on top of her. After he saves her life, she is angry because of the man she had to leave to die.

Another woman, Melissa, is attending to two men. Samantha runs past, Melissa asks for help, but Samantha declines because she claims she is ‘worthless’. Charlotte then walks up and examines the men. After stating that one of them is dead, she comforts Melissa and tells her she is doing fine looking after them. Charlotte then walks away and searches the plane wreckage for medical supplies.

That night, the group of fifteen survivors set a camp fire and they all gather around it in small groups, and some people introduce themselves to each other. Abbie and Josh talk about what they saw whilst the plane was crashing as James stands up and explains that they should light signal fires. Elliot then stands up and offers help, but Samantha tries to stop him, but she fails when William stops her.

Whilst gathering around the fires, Josh stands and tells the survivors that no one knows where they are because he overheard the stewards saying that they were off course. After, Josh organises the survivors into 4 groups. Josh leads the food group, along with Charlotte and Alex. Joe leads the water group, along with Emma, James and Michelle. Anya leads the firewood group along with Hassan, Darien and Melissa. Samantha leads the shelter group along with her father, Elliot, her boyfriend, William and Abigail.

Later that night, whilst gathered around the fire, the group hear strange, loud noises coming from the jungle, and the trees start to shake and collapse.

Day 2

In the morning, whilst all gathered around in a big circle, Josh took charge and tells the groups that they need to start doing the jobs. He, Charlotte and Alex go searching the jungle for food, whilst the rest of the people stay and do their jobs. The water group start to set up tarps to collect water, but Joe is arrogant and refuses, but Michelle mocks him and tells him they need to. James then stated that it was going to rain soon. Joe then rolls his eyes and leaves arrogantly.

The firewood group were all searching along the tree line as they collected firewood. They all walked back to the camp and back to the trees as they placed the firewood down in a big pile. Anya then became curious and she started to walk slowly out into the jungle, but Hassan stops her.

The shelter group were all sat on parts of the wreckage in the middle of the camp, eating the remaining food and drinking the remaining water selfishly. Abigail then anxiously and guiltily told the group that they should save some of the food and water for the others. Williams face was strict as Elliot nervously nodded his head. William then says that they don’t need to build shelters because they are leaving to the beach. William then became angry as Abigail argued back, Samantha tried to stop him, but he yelled at her. Elliot watched helplessly and Abigail left with fear.

Later, in the jungle, while walking, Charlotte, Alex and Josh come to a dead end when they stumbled across a large, thick, impassable wall of bamboo. They decide to squeeze through the tiny gaps there is between each bamboo stick. As they ventured through, Charlotte found a black, baton. After an argument about it, Charlotte took it, and then they continued walking to an exit.

When they all got out the bamboo, Josh questioned why they were out so far to collect food. Alex then explained that he thought he heard boars in the night, and he thought he could catch some. Josh and Charlotte become outraged and then they start to shout at him. Suddenly, it started to rain heavily. They all run under a tree to take shelter. As they hid, the noises of the strange monster sounded in the distance. They opened their eyes wide and then they huddled in nervously next to each other.

At the crash site, all the other survivors hid inside the wreckage to take shelter. As they hid, Abigail and Anya walked to the front of the wreckage as they listened to the noises of the strange monster. Trees crashed, and thuds banged. They all looked out with shock.

Back in the jungle, Josh, Charlotte and Alex continued to hide. Then, the strange creature moved closer towards them, creating blackness all around them. They all stayed in a terrified silence, until they heard a man grunting in the distance. The strange creature then left and it moved towards the grunting man. Alex went to investigate to see if the creature had gone. He turned around to tell them it was safe, until, suddenly, the loud noises came back. Alex turned to them and he saw the cockpit of the plane and he saw the pilot getting dragged out by something dark in the shadows. Then two men and a woman ran out of the cockpit, screaming. Alex then turned to Josh and Charlotte and they all ran away.

As they ran through the jungle away from the creature, they came to a dead end when they came back to the thick bamboo grove. As they realised the creature has gone in the other direction, they calmed down and then they slowly started to head back to the camp.

Meanwhile, at the camp, the rain had eventually stopped and all of the survivors emerged from the wreckage. When they were in the open, Joe stood up in the middle and darkly told the others that Josh, Charlotte and Alex were dead. He then decided to take charge and he made the decision to move to the beach immediately. As they were all about to pack up, whispers started to surround the camp. Everyone stood still with confusion, until Joe, was knocked to the ground with a stick, held by a dark, mysterious shadow. Everyone screamed and retreated into the jungle in one big group, leaving Joe behind.

Trivia

 * Originally, there was going to be 16 survivors of the crash, but another woman, Olivia Taylor, was removed.
 * James Dorrit's name was originally going to be James Cook.
 * Alex was supposed to die in this episode after being attacked by the monster, but this idea was scrapped. Also, whilst searching for food, Alex, Charlotte and Josh where originally going to be separated from each other and Charlotte was going to be mysteriously attacked.
 * Most of the characters in the show where not originally cast. Abigail, Darien, James, Anya, Michelle, Emma and Hassan where not originally cast.

Recurring themes

 * The episode opens with Josh opening his eyes. (Eyes)
 * At the site of the crash, many people die. (Life and death)
 * The pilot, Seth Norris, dies. (Life and death)

Literacy techniques

 * Alex sees other survivors of Oceanic Flight 815. (Plot twist)
 * Josh's flashbacks introduce one of the main storytelling devices of the series. (Flashbacks)
 * Seth Norris is the first redshirt of the series. (Redshirt)
 * Josh meets Claire Littleton on Oceanic Flight 815. (Character connections)
 * Charlotte complains to Alex that he nearly got them killed by bringing them so far out into the jungle, but, if they stayed at the crash site, they could have been attacked. (Irony)

Storyline analysis

 * Josh and Charlotte have a small argument. (Rivalries)
 * Josh takes some leadership of the group. (Leadership)
 * Josh, Charlotte and Alex go searching the jungle for food. (A-Missions)