Sea. 1, Ep. 17: ...In Translation

Wow. It's hard to believe, but we're nearing the end of the first season. Before we know it, we'll be meeting Desmond, Ana Lucia, Mr. Eko and seeing what's inside that mysterious hatch. But for now, we have to deal with a Jin-centric episode. "...In Translation" fills in some of the missing pieces from the Sun-centric episode we reviewed earlier (House of the Rising Sun).

In the beginning, the survivors on the beach are awkward onlookers as Jin berates Sun for wearing a two-piece bathing suit that reveals a whole lotta skin. He forcefully covers her up and knocks her down to the sand in his efforts, sparking Michael to step in and break up the couple. Michael thinks he's doing the just and noble thing until Sun slaps him 'cross the mouth. Ouch. Sun later apologizes to Michael (in English, of course), but he ain't havin' it. His pride's been hurt.

But Michael's not sweating it too much (well, not 'til later on). We can see that he's made a tremendous amount of progress on the raft. I've always had a little problem with how nice and neat the raft looked, but what can I do? It's just a minor complaint. The raft is big enough to accomodate four, and Jack is disheartened to learn that Sawyer has secured one of the spots.

It looks like the raft will be ready to go in a few short days. But that night people come running from all directions to see the conflagration that was Michael's vessel. Someone has set it ablaze, completely ruining it. Naturally, Michael fingers Jin as the culprit because of what happened between them that morning. An irate Michael demands Sun to tell him where Jin is. She doesn't reveal his whereabouts, but Sawyer finds him in the jungle.

Cut to the beach again the next day. The survivors are ready to lynch Jin because they're certain that he destroyed the raft. Of course, he can't defend himself due to the seemingly indomitable language barrier. I say seemingly because this is the huge turning point where Sun reveals to everyone--Jin included--that she can speak English. She is able to translate for a stunned Jin so that the others can hear his side of the story. Everyone is quite flabbergasted by this revelation ('cept for Michael and Kate) and it threatens to destroy Jin and Sun's relationship. Jin packs up his belongings and moves it to the beach, giving Sun the proverbial cold shoulder.

Things are in disarray. Namely the raft and some of the relationships on the island. In a mildly interesting final scene we learn who the true culprit was. Locke and Walt play some backgammon (black and white again!) and have a friendly chat. Then Locke asks Walt why he torched the raft. Walt's cornered, and he tells Locke that he doesn't want to move anymore. He's done it all of his short life and he's sick of it. You sorta feel for the little dude.

The flashbacks in this episode pair up nicely with those seen in "House of the Rising Sun" because we get to see some of the events that transpired in that episode from Jin's perspective as opposed to Sun's. We see that Jin takes a job working for Sun's father Mr. Paik (a veddy, veddy bad man) and that he's forced to do some unpleasant things to earn his keep. Remember how the Kwons' relationship devolved in "House of the Rising Sun" as Jin was sucked into his job? And recall that he stumbled home one evening with another man's blood on him? Well, we see where that red, red kroovy came from. Mr. Paik makes Jin "deliver a message" to someone with whom he's not pleased. Jin doesn't understand that this is the universal code of mafia types and that it means "kick the living snot out of that fellow."

So Sun's father is indirectly responsible for her tumultuous relationship with Jin. They're in need of counseling. But they don't go together. Jin pays a visit to his father to talk things over. Earlier in the episode, we were under the impression that Jin's father was dead. But Jin only makes it seem that way because he's ashamed of his father's lowly livelihood as a fisherman. And, oh, the irony is so rich. Jin's father offers him some sagely advice: don't work for Mr. Paik anymore! What genius!

Other things of note:

• The blossoming romance between Sayid and Shannon. Blech. I'm thoroughly convinced that this development in the storyline coincided with the writers' decision to kill Shannon off in the second season. If Sayid hadn't entered the picture romantically, there would've been no one on the island who cared a lick about this awful, awful character (remember that Boone will be dead by the time Shannon kicks the bucket).
• Locke serves as the voice of reason in this episode. First, he tells Shannon that she ought not to worry about what Boone thinks because his only goal is to win her attention (he sells out his hatch partner!). Secondly, at the beach he lectures about the real threat on the island. He reminds them that they all know there are others on the island and it's futile to pick fights within in the group when they should unite against the other unknown presence on the island. Right on, John Locke.
• The episode ends on a humorous note when the batteries in Hurley's CD player finally quit on him. You'll remember that his CD collection has provided the music for several of the episode-ending musical montages. Does this mean there'll be no more after this? I can't recall, but I think it might be.

Join me next time for the awesome Hurley-centric "Numbers."

Sea. 1, Ep. 10: Raised by Another

The tenth installment of Lost's first season offers us a series of flashbacks centering on yet another character. Man, the breadth of personalities on this show is nothing short of amazing, and, as I've said before, it's one of the myriad reasons that people get hooked on the series.

"Raised by Another" shines the spotlight on the adorable Aussie and mother-to-be Claire. It opens with her in the midst of a terrible dream. She wakes in the middle of the night and hears a baby's cries. She wanders around, finding Locke sitting at a table. He's dealing cards (probably tarot cards) and he tells her that "everyone pays the price now" because she gave her baby away. As he looks up at her from the card table, we see that his eyes are two different colors: his right eye is black and his left eye is white. And like good Lost students, we'll take note of that. Departing from here, she continues to follow the cries of the baby. They lead her to a bassinet in the jungle which contains bunch of blankets. She sifts through the blankets to get to the baby, but there's nothing in them except blood. She screams, and her shrieks in the dream carry her back into reality where she continues to scream. Charlie tries to console her, but he's not very effective. Now, here comes the twist: the blood she had on her hands in the dream is present in reality, too! Spookiness, right?

The haunting dream sets the tone for the remainder of the episode, which has some other freaky-deaky stuff. On the island, it mainly has to do with Claire getting attacked by some unidentified assailant with a long syringe. Sadly, we won't find out who the culprit was 'til season two. But of course, we should know that it was Ethan. Remember? He was tryin' to make sure Claire delivered a healthy baby, 'cause it probably would've been the first one delivered on the island since Juliet delivered him in 1974 (season five).

Ah, yes. Ethan. He's another freaky-deaky part of the episode. Good ol' Hurley decides to keep a record of everyone on the island, and his episode-long efforts culminate in the discovery that Ethan wasn't on Flight 815. In the final scene, Ethan's got Charlie and Claire alone and cornered in the jungle. Viewing this for the first time, we don't know what's gonna happen. We don't even know if Ethan has bad intentions. But we find out soon enough!

So, someone's trying to do something to Claire's baby, we just don't know much more than that. What of the baby, though? I thought you'd never ask, dear reader! That's where the flashbacks come into play. And, you guessed it: more freaky-deakiness.

Turns out Claire got pregnant when she wasn't expecting it. Baby-Daddy was all about it in the beginning, but then he decided he didn't want any part of it, so Claire was going to deliver the child and give it up for adoption. That is, until she visited some Australian John Edward who kept giving her different stories regarding the future of the baby. At first he declined to give her any reading because something he saw spooked him (he later claimed that he saw a "blur," which was a bad sign). At a later reading, he told her that she couldn't give the baby up for adoption and that she was the only one who could raise the child. According to him, the baby needed Claire's good energy incorporated into its life. Disregarding the psychic's admonitions, she attempted to give the baby up to some lucky couple. She reached an agreement with a husband and wife and was about to sign the child away when some greater force intervened. The pen with which she was prepared to sign the contract didn't work, nor did a second pen. Holding a third pen, she hesitated and backed out of the deal, going back to the psychic who had told her that he had some sort of a solution to her problem.

Get on the plane to Los Angeles, was the solution the psychic offered. He told her that there was a willing couple there, but that she had to take a specific flight. Oceanic 815 to be exact. While recounting the story to Charlie, Claire realizes that the psychic probably foresaw the crash of the plane on the island and told her about the Los Angeles plan so that she'd be stranded halfway there with no alternative but to raise the child herself.

So, the big questions posed in this episode about Claire and her baby (Aaron) are yet to be answered. There's been no sign of Claire since the fourth season, but the producers have said that the mystery surrounding her will be addressed in the final slate of episodes. I have to say that it's a storyline that I'm looking forward to for next year. Claire's not among my favorite characters, but everything with her has been so weird since Keamy's troops attacked her island house in the fourth season. She up and left Aaron and then was chillin' out in Jacob's Cabin with the specter of Jack's father. Awesomely spooky, if you ask me.

And why's Aaron so important? What's happened to him since Kate left him with his grandmother before returning to the island? Why was it so important that he not be raised by anyone else but Claire? Has he been imbued with special powers because he was born on the island? And what was the blur in the psychic's vision? Smokey?

The questions, my friends, pile up. And there'd better be some good ones about Claire and Aaron in the sixth season. I'm sure there will be.

Sea. 1, Ep. 6: House of the Rising Sun

As you can probably surmise from the title of today's episode, "House of the Rising Sun" focuses on Sun and, by extension, Jin. While some fans may be quick to dismiss this episode (I get the feeling that most people don't have a whole lot of interest invested in Jin and Sun, but I may be off target with that assumption), I think it serves as an example of another one of the show's many strengths: the devotion to developing a wide array of realistically complex characters. The episodes following the pilot gave us a healthy dose of Jack, Kate, and Locke, but "House of the Rising Sun" takes some of the focus off of those select few and reminds us that there are a lot of other people who survived the plane crash.

Up until this point, we haven't seen much of the Korean couple, but we have gleaned that Jin is a domineering husband, and Sun is his meek and subservient wife. Neither of them appear to speak any English, but toward the tail-end of the episode we learn about Sun's impressive bilingual skills which she has effectively hidden from everyone else, including Jin.

Okay. On to the events of the episode.

After the camera opens up on Sun's eye, we're treated to a morning scene on the beach where everyone's preparing for another day of survivin'. Things are sunny and serene 'til Jin comes out of nowhere and goes all Ronnie Lott on Michael. Jin wrestles him into the surf and punches his lights out, and he only stops when Sayid and Sawyer intervene and pull the two apart. In light of the attack, Sayid cuffs Jin to a piece of the wreckage on the beach. Jin is unable to defend himself or explain his actions, so the others ask Michael why he thinks he was attacked. He claims that he wasn't doing anything, and that may be true, but the audience most likely remembers how Michael stumbled across the topless Sun as she was washing up in a previous episode. Did Jin get wind of this somehow? Oh, it's very, very saucy. Actually, by the end of the episode we learn that Jin attacked Michael because of a wristwatch. Michael found it somewhere on the island and claimed it as his own. Unbeknownst to him, it belonged to Sun's father, and it was entrusted to Jin. According to Sun, being in possession of it was a "question of honor" for Jin. So it turned out to be one big cross-cultural misunderstanding. Not so saucy.

Elsewhere on the island, Jack, Kate, Charlie and Locke have gone to the caves to get a supply of drinking water. Charlie steps out momentarily for a taste of Sweet Lady H and stumbles upon a beehive. The others try to help him escape the danger, but Charlie panics and stirs up the whole nest. They all flee in different directions. Jack and Kate return to the caves and inadvertently find two old skeletons. One of the skeletons has a pouch around its neck, and Jack takes it off and inspects what's inside: A WHITE STONE AND A BLACK STONE. Ah, yes

. The classic theme established in the pilot episode reemerges here, though the significance is probably lost on us for the time being. Jack can't determine how the two died (though he does say that it looks like they've been dead for 40 or 50 years), but the good doctor is familiar enough with anatomy to know that one of them was a male and the other was a female. Locke dubs them the island's "very own Adam and Eve."

After reviewing this scene, we'd be remiss if we didn't venture some sort of guess as to who was laid to rest in the caves. After learning in the fifth season that Rose and Bernard of 1977 were living happily on their own in the jungle, I think they became the leading candidates to become 2004's skeletons. I would accept that, except that it wouldn't fit the timeframe (at most, they would've been dead less than 30 years) and we still have the mystery of the black and white stones. They might just be mere symbolism, but it could just as well be a plot device that the writers placed there so that at a later date we'd be able to figure out the skeletons' identities. I'm leading toward the latter, and I'll tell you why: in looking at what others have said about the skeletons, I came across a link to a 2007 Entertainment Weekly interview with Lost masterminds Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse. When asked directly about the importance of the skeletons in the caves, here's what they said:

What is the meaning or significance of the two skeletons that Jack and Kate found in the cave of season 1?
CUSE: The answer to that question goes to the nature of the timeline of the island. We don't want to say too much about it, but there are a couple Easter eggs embedded in [the Feb. 7 episode], one of which is an anagram that actually sheds some light on the skeletons and hints at a larger mythological mystery that will start to unfold later in the season. 
LINDELOF: There were certain things we knew from the very beginning. Independent of ever knowing when the end was going to be, we knew what it was going to be, and we wanted to start setting it up as early as season 1, or else people would think that we were making it up as we were going along. So the skeletons are the living — or, I guess, slowly decomposing — proof of that. When all is said and done, people are going to point to the skeletons and say, ''That is proof that from the very beginning, they always knew that they were going to do this.''

That interview can be found in its entirety here. But that's kinda cool. It sounds like they've known who the skeletons will be all along. When I first watched this episode, I figured that the skeletons were just there so we'd know that others have been on the island. Maybe they'll turn out to be Sun and Jin? I mean, they are the focus of this episode. It'd make sense...I guess. But I guess we can look forward to yet another moment of connectivity somewhere in the sixth season. In the meantime, we should find that February 7th episode (I'm not sure which one it is--I'll have to look it up) and scour it for an anagram!

Running alongside this excitement in the caves is the bulk of the episode, which concerns itself with a brief history of Jin and Sun's relationship. We see that originally Jin seemed like a nice enough guy. It appears that he loved Sun so much that he obsequiously took a demanding and dangerous position in her father's company so that he could earn his father-in-law-to-be's marriage blessing. But the new job was the beginning of the end. The relationship became so turbulent that Sun hatched a plan to ditch Jin when they were supposed to fly together to the United States. She would lay low until everyone thought her dead, and she would be rid of both her father and Jin. But the scheme falls apart at the airport when Sun is visibly torn about what to do. Sitting on the proverbial fence, she looks over at Jin, who's smiling warmly. He's wielding a flower he's purchased for her, to boot. This apparently melts her heart, and she decides not to leave him after all. Instead of making a break for it, she boards a flight destined to crash on some bizarre island. Good choice, Sun. No, really. Good one. I guess the moral of the story is: true love conquers all, and then you board a flight and survive a horrific electromagnetic event that breaks your plane apart like a dry twig. Or something like that.

One final note concerns Charlie and Locke. It's in this episode that Charlie begins his detox from heroin addiction. Locke learns about Charlie's habit and tactfully approaches him in a one-on-one situation. Then he starts talkin' that destiny and faith stuff again, which we'll soon come to know as trademark John Locke. He says that he's certain that Charlie's guitar will show up. In fact, he knows exactly where it is, but doesn't reveal the location 'til Charlie hands over his baggie of drugs. Charlie does it, and is delighted to see that his guitar made it through the crash in one piece. I know of at least two people (won't mention names) who don't like Locke, and I can see how they might not like his approach in these scenes where he's being a bit forceful with Charlie. But, c'mon! He has good intentions! He just wants to see Charlie off the junk! There. That's all I'll say on the matter.

And the episode comes to a close as Hurley listens to Willie Nelson ask, "are you sure that this is where you want to be?" Judging by the downtrodden looks on Jack and Kate's faces, I'd say no, Willie. No, it's not.

Thanks for reading!

Pilot, Pt. 2

This capsule covers the second part of Lost’s pilot episode. To read the capsule about the first part, click here.

The second half of the pilot opens up on Jack, Kate and Charlie making their way back to the beach with the newfound transceiver. It appears that day has broken, and we can assume they spent the night out in the jungle. A brief flashback reveals Charlie’s heroin addiction, and at this point, seasoned viewers of Lost recall that the show is still introducing the different characters. It may seem slightly tedious as we review these, seeing as how we’ve been acquainted with the myriad personalities for several years now, but it also serves to remind us why Lost is such a great show. The character development that begins here does so much to drag us in so that we personally invest feelings with those whom we love and hate. Me? I love Charlie! And who doesn’t? Sure, as a strung-out rock star, he doesn’t make the greatest first impression on us. But our opinion of him rises precipitously from here.

In fact, as the second half of the pilot episode unfolds, we get a first impression of lots of the characters in addition to Charlie. We see a spoiled Shannon, the vigorous Boone, Jin’s domineering attitude toward his wife Sun, the rough-around-the-edges Sawyer, and the good-natured Hurley.

Out from all of these character introductions emerges the plot of the episode: Sayid and Kate—joined by Charlie, Shannon, Boone and Sawyer—ascend one of the island’s highest points in order to get the clearest signal possible for the transceiver they retrieved from the cockpit. But on the way up, the group runs afoul of a polar bear, which Sawyer dispatches with the handgun he recovered from the U.S. Marshall. Early on in the series, this scene delivered one of the first big head-scratchers: How the hell did a polar bear end up in such a tropical climate? Of course, we later learn about the Dharma Initiative’s research with a variety of wildlife on the island, and can safely assume that that explains the presence of a polar bear. My wife still takes issue with this scene, however, because she contends that the animal research was done on the adjacent island, which we find out about in the third season. It was there that Sawyer and Kate were imprisoned in the large bear cages. All I can say at this juncture is that I didn’t pay too much attention to this detail in the past, so I’m hoping to come up with something as the re-watch continues. If you feel you can confirm or deny the presence of polar bear research on the main island, then go ahead and shout me down in the comments section!

Meanwhile, Jack is busy at work trying to save the U.S. Marshall’s life. The Marshall—who was escorting Kate back to the United States—survived the crash, but was critically injured. Jack’s not doing so well at reviving the Marshall, but we see his devotion to fixing problems (even if they’re seemingly impossible). Oh, and Hurley passes out while trying to help Jack pull out the piece of shrapnel embedded in the Marshall’s torso. A classic example of Hurley functioning as comic relief.

Cutting back to the transceiver group, they make it to the top of the peak and finally get a signal. Just not the sort of signal they were hoping for. As we all know by now, it’s the voice of Danielle Rousseau, whose ship arrived at the island 16 years prior. Shannon translates the French and says that something “killed them all.” I’ll admit that this was an intriguing mystery, and I was quite excited when we finally saw what happened to her crew during a fifth season flashback. Smokey got the best of ‘em. I also love this scene because at the very end, Charlie delivers one of my favorite lines from the series: “Guys…where are we?”

Aside from the crises of the dying Marshall, the encounter with the polar bear, and the ominous French distress call, this episode features the immensely interesting scene involving John Locke and Walt. Walt comes upon Locke playing backgammon, and Locke explains the history and concept of the game to Walt, who has never played it. In his explanation, Locke emphasizes that backgammon is played between two people who are represented by either white or black pieces. Now, far be it from me to insult anyone’s intelligence, but the whole “black versus white” or “light versus dark” thing goes way back in recorded history/literature and is essentially a representation of opposing forces, or “good versus evil,” if you will. The exchange between Locke and Walt is short, but this scene turns out to be quite noteworthy, as it establishes the whole idea of opposing forces which are omnipresent throughout the Lost saga. Just off the top of my head, there’s: reason versus faith; Jack versus Locke; Jack versus Sawyer; the Dharma Initiative versus the Others. Suffice it to say that there are lots of examples. This whole concept of black and white actually comes together quite nicely when one thinks about the opening scene of the fifth season finale, the most recently aired episode. Although it’s unclear as to which one could possibly represent good or evil, Jacob—garbed in a white tunic—is approached by his presumed adversary, who wears (you guessed it) a black tunic. The two proceed to have what seems like a friendly conversation until the adversary in black asks Jacob, “do you have any idea how badly I want to kill you?” Opposing forces? You bet your bottom. Anyway, as we continue with these episode reviews, we’d do well to note the appearance of opposing forces, whether real or symbolic. The writers went out of their way to make it a theme from the beginning, so we should naturally pay attention to it.

Thus concludes the recap of the pilot episode. Next time we’ll be moving on to the first of the flashback episodes with the Kate-centric “Tabula Rasa.” As always, thanks for reading! And feel free to comment. All types of feedback are welcomed. Just try to keep it PG, everyone. :-P