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. 14: Special

For a number of reasons, I've been eager to review this episode ever since I began the Rewatch a couple of weeks ago. Firstly, I only remember having seen this episode once before. I had spun through each of the first season's installments at least twice, but for some reason I think I only watched this one during my initial introduction to the series. Maybe I passed it over because I had written Walt and Michael off for the most part, but that leads me to another reason why I've been looking forward to documenting "Special." I want to know why the writers created all the hype around Walt and his "special" qualities only to remove him from the show, for all intents and purposes, during the second season. I understand that Malcom David Kelley, who portrays Walt, was on the precipice of puberty and that his real-life growth wasn't going to mesh with the timeline established on the show. I'm sure the writers were cognizant of this, too. So why did they devote a whole episode to emphasizing how unique Walt is if they didn't plan to flesh it out further? Is there going to be some sort of payoff for Walt fans in the cataclysmic sixth season? And will the litany of questions about this show ever cease?

But what of the episode itself, you ask? Okay. Let me get to it.

On the island, Michael searches for Walt. He's furious to find that his son is once again hanging out with the mysterious John Locke. Walt's learning how to throw knives like a circus pro, but Michael ain't havin' it. Locke tries to stick up for the boy, telling Michael that he should treat his son like an adult because the plane crash and the subsequent survival has given him a whole host of life experience. He also stresses that Walt is "different" somehow, the episode's first reference to Walt's vague powers.

Stewing over his confrontation with Locke, Michael declares that he will build a raft and try to sail away from the island. He feels that everyone has become too complacent and that no one's attempting to get back to their regular lives. He baldly tells Walt that he wants to control their destiny. It's another mention of that oft repeated concept.

Troubles continue for Michael, though, as he gets Walt to help him assemble materials for a raft. Walt wanders off under the pretense of procuring water, but Michael later finds him chumming around again with Locke (even though Locke is admonishing the boy to respect his father's wishes and stay away from him). The ensuing fight causes Walt to storm off. Michael needs to search for his son, and Locke assists him. It's a good thing he does, because Walt has run afoul of another one of the island's polar bears, and Michael and Locke need to work together to rescue the lad. Ultimately, they do, and everything is peachy keen and hunky dory after that.

The flashbacks in "Special" shed light on the reasons for the turbulent relationship between Michael and Walt. Just when you think that Michael is somewhat of an obnoxious, overbearing father, you get to see his side of the story and realize that Walt's mother treated him very unfairly. The witch even intercepted all of Michael's correspondence to his son. Walt had been living with his lawyer mother and lawyer step-father in Australia when she suddenly took ill and passed away. With Walt's mother removed from the equation, Walt's step-father wanted nothing to do with the young boy. He laid it all on Michael and essentially said that Walt weirded him out. A livid and reluctant Michael did the noble thing and flew to Sydney to take custody of his biological son. And we all know what happened on their return flight over the Pacific.

Other notes:

• I had forgotten that Michael nearly suffered the same fate as Sayid's beloved Nadia. After learning on the phone half a world away that Susan was with another man, an angered Michael recklessly storms into the street and his hit by an oncoming car. Was this Jacob's will? Or Jacob's adversary's will? If it was Michael's destiny to end up on the island with Walt, then it makes sense that he would survive this accident. We also see in the fourth season that Michael couldn't even kill himself when he drove a speeding car into a wall because Tom tells him that he still has business with the island. This wouldn't be an earth-shattering revelation. I'm just noting the coincidence of two characters being hit by cars in busy streets.


• Walt's powers are further scene in a flashback episode involving his mother and step-father. Droning on about birds he's learning about in school and angered that Susan and Brian are ignoring what he's saying, he shouts at them. In the same moment, a bird crashes into one of the room's windows and plummets to the ground, apparently dead. As the camera switches from the dead bird to Walt's book and zooms in, we see that the bird featured on the open page is the same one that just pulled a kamikaze into the window. So this means that Walt can will creatures toward him if given the proper motivation? We don't know for certain. Again, it appears to be a vague power and one that still has yet to be addressed by the show.

The final scene of the episode neatly presents a segue to the succeeding one as a bewildered Claire stumbles out of the jungle and greets Locke and Boone. Boy, howdy. At this point in the first season, things're gettin' good.

So, as usual, we've recapped an entertaining episode. I still have that bone to pick with the writers and their emphasis of Walt's unique abilities, though. I'm hoping that I've forgotten some of Walt's more specific talents and that further progress into the Rewatch will jerk the rusty chain that's attached to the lightbulb in my head.

Sea. 1, Ep. 11: All the Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues

We've made it to the fourth week of the Rewatch, yet I'm still finishing up the third week's episodes. I've spent a lot of time in the car during the past week shuttling myself between two family vacation spots, so I've fallen behind in the schedule. But I'm now back in front of my computer for the foreseeable future, and productive I shall be.

At the beginning of the previous post, I marveled at how many different characters there are on the show and how the writers kept centering on a different man or woman in each episode. Well, I spoke too soon, because today's episode is a character's first repeat episode: "All the Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues" is the second Jack-centric tale. But that's okay, because we always learn a bit more about the Losties through another 40-minute installment. And Jack's deep. And layered. He's a well. He's an onion. Actually, strike that. Jack and his father are both wells and onions. Drs. Well and Onion M.D.s.

Joking aside, this episode has some heavy stuff. Let's get to it.

On the island, everyone's in a mad scramble because Hurley's census revealed that Ethan--who had been living amongst the survivors of Flight 815--was not on the flight's manifest, which means that he had already been on the island. They're also scrambling because Charlie and Claire have gone missing. Oh, and they also remember that someone or something has been trying to harm Claire during the night. They're all in a tizzy over it, 'cept for Sawyer.

Conveniently, Jack and Kate are experienced trackers. Jack and Boone join them as they tenaciously tail the missing Brit and Aussie through the jungle. Jack and Kate are a pair, and Locke takes the young Boone under his wing. The former find Ethan and the moribund Charlie, but no Claire. The latter find something else entirely, and it'll keep 'em busy for many episodes.

Before I tackle what each pair finds, allow me to gloss over the flashbacks. They're quite good, but there's no need to recap them in great depth here. They simply involve Jack and his father Christian, who struggled with an alcohol problem. Christian botched an emergency surgery because he had a few cocktails with his lunch while he was on call and it resulted in the patient's death. He tried to coerce Jack into covering for him, and Jack nearly did 'til he had a crisis of conscience. He wound up telling a review board that his father was a boozer, and it presumably led to Christian's termination as Chief of Surgery. And that's probably why he went on the bender down under that killed him.

There. Now back to the island.

Jack and Kate follow the trail of tape that Charlie left for them. Remember how Charlie wears tape around his fingers? And he writes letters on them? L-A-T-E? Well, he hung them on different branches as a trail. It leads Jack and Kate to a rain-soaked showdown with the all-powerful Ethan, who proceeds to beat the living snot out of Jack, threatening that he'll kill either Charlie or Claire if they don't stop following him. Of course, Jack and Kate don't listen and proceed the chase. They come upon Charlie, blindfolded and hanging from a tree. They take him down and, in a bizarre scene, Jack tries to resuscitate the rock star to no avail. It looks as though Dominic Monaghan's run on Lost is a short one, because the sad music's playing and he's not showing any signs of coming back to life. Then, in a fit of frustration, a sobbing Jack beats on Charlie's chest as Kate has to turn away in disgust. Inexplicably, Charlie gasps back to life after Jack pummels his chest for what seems to be the thirtieth or fortieth time. After a moment of exultation, they get him back to the beach and beseech him to tell them what happened. Charlie can't remember, except that "they" only wanted Claire.

One of the greatest questions surrounding this scene is Ethan's apparently gargantuan strength. I know others have speculated on it, but I have to say that I don't really see any superhuman strength here. I mean, there's the comment about how he can whisk a grown man and a pregnant woman away into the jungle by himself. I suppose that's impressive. But he doesn't appear to have ungodly strength when he fights Jack. He just gets at him and gets at him good, I say. But if Ethan were to have super strength, the best explanation would involve his birth on the island, which we see in the fifth season. That would also explain why he was so enamored of Juliet when he met her in the third season (since she successfully delivered him in 1974), but, once again, I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's just say that Ethan's strong. Maybe not incredibly ultra-strong, but strong.

In the other search party, Mr. John Locke continues to mystify us. This is the episode in which he finds the fabled hatch with Boone, a plot development that will consume the majority of his actions for the remainder of the first season. Before that, though, we would be wise to examine the scene in which he predicts the onset of rain with uncanny accuracy. As he marches along with Boone, he turns and announces that it will rain in "one minute...give or take a few seconds." And, like clockwork, the skies above Locke and Boone open up about 60 seconds later. Seeing as how Locke remains an enigma, even in these early episodes where we think we should know him better, I'm hard pressed not to attribute this prediction to some special resonance with the island. When first viewing this episode, I think I counted this talent among his many survival skills (boar hunting, tracking). But dude's way too good, right? It's just a bit too convenient. We're going to have to remember that ambiguous interaction Locke had with Smokey and not be surprised when we learn in the sixth season that he's never been the John Locke we thought we knew. I'm just saying...

Further proof is shown in one of the final scenes of the episode. As night sets in, Boone thinks they should call it a day and head back home. But Locke ain't havin' it. Here's their brief little exchange:

Boone: Are we lost?

Locke: No, Boone. We're not lost.

Boone: Sorry. It's just...I don't see how you can still be following this trail. I think we should go back, man.

Locke: Don't you feel it?

Boone: Feel what?!

Locke: It!

At this point, Boone throws in the towel, telling Locke that he's headed back. Locke's okay with it, and even turns around to give Boone his flashlight. He tosses it to the younger one, but it falls through his grip and lands with an odd, metallic clunk. Lo and behold, it's the hatch.

So, again we're faced with a question about Locke. What was the "it" he was referring to? Is the finding of the hatch more evidence of his special commune with the island, or was it simply dumb luck? Maybe the electromagnetism contained in the hatch was pulling at the fillings in his teeth? Again, it's hard to say definitively, but I'm gonna lean toward the special commune. Looking back on these episodes, it becomes clearer and clearer that the writers had something special planned for Locke from the very start. All of these incidents can't all possibly be coincidence.

Look, that last line rhymed. That means I should wrap this up and hit the hay. I'll be back at it tomorrow with "Whatever the Case May Be."

Thanks for reading!

Sea. 1, Ep. 5: White Rabbit

Hello, hello.

Welcome to the second week of the Lost Rewatch. If you missed last week or you're slightly behind, then it's time to catch up. And short of watching the actual episodes yourself, my blog is a great place to get caught up. You can find capsules covering the first four episodes below. Don't be afraid to scroll down! But we've also got four more episodes to get through this week, so let's begin!

"White Rabbit" marks the first Jack-centric flashback episode, and along with the preceding "Walkabout," it's probably the best and most intriguing episode of the first season. We're introduced to the mysterious specter that is Dr. Christian Shephard, better known as Jack's father. Little did we know when we initially viewed this episode just how pivotal Jack's father and the strained relationship he had with his son would be in the Lost story.

Now, in getting to the episode I have one minor gripe about the opening scene that I wish to expound upon. Charlie's actions while the woman drowns out at sea will forever be puzzle me. As my wife astutely pointed out, when Charlie summons Jack to the water to help Boone and the woman that Boone is trying to rescue, he tells Jack that he doesn't swim.

Charlie doesn't swim? Really? Not at all?

If this isn't raising any red flags for other fans, then lemme just direct your attention to the third season's finale. CHARLIE SWIMS DOWN TO THE LOOKING GLASS STATION ALL BY HIMSELF SO THAT HE CAN SWITCH OFF THE SIGNAL THAT'S JAMMING THE RADIO FREQUENCIES ON THE ISLAND. Actually, prior to that, in the episode "Greatest Hits," Charlie counts his swimming lesson among his five greatest memories. Normally, I try not to be so critical of mistakes like this, especially when the writers have constructed such an enormous tale with so many different characters, but I felt that it was my duty to highlight this for others. Of course, if you choose not to believe that this was an error on the part of the writers, you could just say that the Charlie in this episode is still a junkie and that junked-up Charlie would never risk his own behind to save another person. I guess you could have it either way.

For Jack, the problems that accompany his role as leader continue to get worse in the episode. He's wracked with guilt when the woman drowns at sea, and he curtly tells Hurley and Charlie that he doesn't know what to do when they alert him to the lack of food and water left for the survivors. What's worse is that the mental and physical fatigue is beginning to take its toll on the good doctor, as Jack appears extremely worn down.

This segues into the first flashback involving Jack and his father. Our first impression of the elder Shephard is that he's a real bastard. The young, impressionable Jack is told that he doesn't have what it takes to make decisions. So much for paternal wisdom.

Back on the island, Jack's buggin' out because he keeps seeing his father, whom we later learn died in Australia. The ghost of Christian keeps walking into the jungle, and, naturally, Jack follows him. As we saw at the end of the previous episode, Christian leads his son to Locke, who was emerging from the jungle with a freshly slain boar. By the end of this episode, we see that the specter of Christian leads Jack to a freshwater source, which is obviously immensely needed given the paucity of bottled water from the 815 wreckage. So, this begs a question: if the specter of Christian Shephard is a manifestation of the Smoke Monster, like so many believe, then why does it lead Jack to food and water? I think we'll have to present the argument for Christian being the Smoke Monster at a later date, since we don't have evidence of it here in "White Rabbit," but let's run with that assumption. Does Smokey want the survivors to thrive on the island--which they eventually do--so that it can use them as pawns in its game? Is Smokey controlled by Jacob's adversary? That might explain it, since the finale of season five leads us to believe that Jacob and his adversary are playing some sort of game in which they exploit human beings to see what they'll do on the island. As always, this episode of Lost is raising more questions than it's answering, but the one burning thing we need to find out is why the specter of Christian is doing what it's doing. One last note: on the flipside, we must also remember that Jack nearly falls down a cliff into a pit of jagged rocks in the pursuit of his father. But it appears that he trips himself, and that no outside force sent him tumbling. But who saves him? JOHN LOCKE. Connection? Anyway, I suppose the nearly fatal fall is an example of Smokey's malicious intents? Kind of a weak argument if you ask me. Seems like whatever is controlling Christian was more directly responsible for the discovery of freshwater.

This episode also contains the conversation between Jack and Locke in which Locke elucidates his "destiny" position a bit further. He acknowledges that Jack's visions of his father may be a hallucination, but he offers a supernatural alternative as well. He tells Jack that he has looked into the eye of the island (WAS IT SMOKEY IN THE LAST EPISODE?) and what he saw was beautiful. Hmmmmm...this little detail appears to be increasingly important in light of what we've seen in the fifth season. How does Locke garner this information? Is it intuition? Did he literally see something revealed to him about the island? Again, I don't have answers, but this seems like it could shape up to be a crucial moment in Lost lore.

This great episode ends with the revelation that Christian suffered a massive heart attack in Sydney, and Jack was taking his body back on Flight 815 to Los Angeles to be buried. Of course, the big twist at the end here is that when Jack stumbles upon the freshwater source, he also finds Christian's coffin, and opens it up to discover that the body is gone. Truly a great OHMIGOSH moment. After seeing what happened with Locke's body this past season, I've been curious to know if we'll ever see Christian's death via flashback. This is just an odd thought I've had, but since Christian has turned out to have such a central role in some of the island's mysteries, wouldn't it make sense if we saw that before his death he was confronted by someone or something telling him of the work he was to do once he died? Again, this is just a thought I've had, but if we see a flashback of Christian's death somewhere in the sixth season, you'll have to give me some sort of credit for calling it.

Finally, Jack makes it out of the jungle and back to the beach and delivers his famous "live together, die alone" speech. Moving? Meh, maybe. But we see Jack reclaim his title of leader.

And so another episode is in the books. If this post seemed at all convoluted, I apologize. I'm a bit tired and I'm trying to get it out so I don't fall behind in the Rewatch. Tomorrow, we'll be onto the next one. And if we keep going at this pace, then January 2010 will be here before we know it. God willing.

Thanks for reading!

Sea. 1, Ep. 3: Tabula Rasa

“Tabula Rasa” gives us the show’s very first character-centric episode. That is, it’s the first episode in which the flashbacks focus solely on one particular character. As I’m sure you’re well aware, this Kate-centric episode creates the basic framework for storytelling: a balance of on-island events and flashbacks that help to illuminate why the characters act the way they do. So, without further ado, let’s jump into the episode that shows us how Kate Austen wound up on Oceanic Flight 815.

It was revealed in the second half of the pilot episode that Kate is a fugitive. At this point, we don’t know what she did or how she was apprehended, but she was seated next to the U.S. Marshall (Edward Mars) on Flight 815 and sporting a flashy pair of handcuffs. Of course we later learn that she was on the lam because she killed her father, who regularly beat the hell out of her mother. But that information remains a mystery in the early stages of the saga.

While in Australia, Kate took up work on a farm run by the widowed Ray Mullen. Ray tells Kate that his wife died eight months prior and that she left him with a “hell of a mortgage.” He hires Kate under-the-table because he needs help completing chores on the farm. His efficiency is hindered by a prosthetic right arm. Ray doesn’t mention how he lost his arm, but this detail about the Aussie should raise red flags in the minds of Lost fans. Although it’s purely coincidental, Pierre Chang (of the orientation video fame) also wears a prosthesis. It’s his left arm that’s missing, however. As we saw in the fifth season finale, Chang’s left arm became pinned during the incident when the electromagnetic force drew metal objects toward the drilling shaft. In some of the station orientation videos shot after the Incident, you’ll notice that he’s without his left arm; the prosthesis usually hangs at his side. Anyhow, this detail about Ray shouldn’t be scrutinized too closely, as it appears to be a coincidence, but it’s worth noting as we review these earlier episodes with the knowledge of following seasons.

As it goes, Ray eventually learns that Kate is wanted in the United States for murder. Stopping her late one night as she plans to flee, he doesn’t tell her that he knows she’s on the run and convinces her to wait until the morning so that he can drive her to a train station. But as the pair cruise down some desolate route in the Outback at daybreak, it’s revealed that he has turned her in so that he can collect the $23,000 reward to help pay his hefty mortgage. In a desperate attempt to escape, she grabs Ray’s steering wheel from the passenger seat and drives the truck off the road. But seeing that Ray is incapacitated and that the truck has caught fire, she pulls him to safety. Her oddly heroic efforts force her to stick around a little too long and lead to her capture by the Marshall. So her escape was all for naught and she’s under arrest and scheduled for extradition back to the States. And which airline do you suppose U.S. Marshalls prefer? Oceanic Airlines, apparently.

As Kate’s background unravels through the series of flashbacks, the on-island scenes in this episode continue to introduce us to the survivors of Flight 815 and explore some of their relationships. We see that Kate confides in Jack and tells him about the French distress call that the others in the “Polar bear party” agreed to keep a secret. This, of course, is something that will repeat itself often throughout the series. The cutesy—and at times, volatile—relationship between Charlie and Claire begins to take shape here as Charlie helps the mom-to-be assemble her luggage on the beach. And we see the strife between Michael and Walt as the two argue about finding Walt’s dog Vincent. Definitely not the most crucial argument between characters on the show, but it sets the trend for another one of Lost’s ever-present themes: the strained relationships between fathers and sons. Much like the “light versus dark” motif touched upon in the second half of the pilot episode, this sort of conflict appears again and again. Take for instance the interactions between Jack and his father Christian. Or how about Jin’s embarrassment over his father’s lowly livelihood as a fisherman (and to a lesser extent, his turbulent interactions with Sun’s father)? And even the genuinely good Hurley has a not-so-great rapport with his father. As another episode title suggests, all the best cowboys have daddy issues. And there sure are a whole lotta cowboys on this island.

“Tabula Rasa” marks another occasion in which the rain appears. This episode’s downpour sends the survivors on the beach scrambling for some sort of shelter, and its arrival coincides with Kate’s visit to the tent housing the ailing Marshall. His eyes flash open, connecting with Kate’s for an instant, and he summons a whole boatload of strength as he tries to strangle her. He collapses thereafter, with Jack informing Kate that the patient’s stomach has become rigid. The good Doc had said was a bad sign, and it signals the certain doom of Edward Mars. Mars later asks to be killed, a task which Kate gives to Sawyer. Sawyer shoots the Marshall in the chest, intending to hit his heart. The bullet instead punctures the Marshall’s lung, and he’s left to die an agonizingly slow death. Yikes.

The final portion of the episode shows us that Locke finds Vincent using the whistle he crafted on the beach. But rather than take credit for the job he did, he allows Michael to bring Vincent to Walt so that he can earn some parenting points. I remember when I first saw these episodes, I couldn’t figure out whether Locke was a good soul or pure malevolence. I mean, the writers sort of gave us a first impression of all the other characters, but they kept Locke mysterious for quite a while. I remember I was still having a hard time figuring him out when he was working on unearthing the hatch with Boone. So it’s interesting to review these early episodes. The final shot (following the musical montage of others on the beach) is a prelude to the Locke-centric episode that follows this one, but up until this point we only know John Locke as the reclusive backgammon man who finds Vincent. Knowing what we know now, perhaps this was the writers’ way of showing us how Locke was different from the rest; how he had the special commune with the island. I suppose the next episode does indeed show us how different Locke is! But that’s a capsule for another day (tomorrow, actually).

As always, thanks for reading! And comment away!