?After the major shake-up in the final five minutes of last week's episode, it would be easy for this episode to be a major let-down.
And the honest answer is--yes and no.
Nothing was going to rival the dramatic intensity of what happened in the final five minutes of last week and the thing is Lost acknowledged this by not working to top it. I mean, sure it might have been fun in that melodramatic soap-opera way if Libby suddenly became conscious enough to reveal that Michael was behind the shootings instead of Henry. But that's a bit too easy and as we've come to realize, the answers on the island are not easy to come by.
On some level, as I watched events unfold this week, I wondered why Henry didn't hang around. If his mission is to create dissension in the ranks, then why not hang around and point the finger at Michael. This would clearly help widen the rift between Locke and Jack since I could see Locke believing Henry and Jack believing Michael. Also if Henry's goal was to come and bring Locke back, then he's failed in that mission. Or has he? Could it be that Henry came to help put Locke on the path that led to he and Eko discovering the observation hatch? If that is the plan, it seems like there's a whole lot of coincidence and manipulation going on to get the survivors from point a to point b. And does it set up a heirarchy of who the most important survivors are? Do the Others have a bigger interest in some and the others are all just red shirts?
The show just seems to pile on the mysteries this week. So, was Claire's pyschic really a fraud? Or was he saying that to get rid of Eko and deflect attention away from him? Why did the girl have a message from Eko's brother? And why was Eko so hell-bent to get on the plane and come to America? I know that there are some who may be annoyed that Eko's flashback has now sort of invalidated some of Claire's where the pyschic put her on the plane to the island. But maybe not. If we assume the man has some pyschic ability, then could he not know that Eko needed to go the island as well? And what better way than to remove the obstacle in front of him with the investigation of his daughter? Coming out and saying to Eko that he (the pyschic) is also a fraud would help push Eko toward the plane and the island.
This is just my theory and it may be completely disproven by those silly little things called facts. But it's a train of thought that occurs from watching the episode.
As for the island, it's interesting to watch Locke slowly lose his faith. Seems Henry was right and that punching in the numbers doesn't really do anything. Or does it? We have the log and I am guessing we could look at it and see if Henry was telling the truth or not. I was a bit disappointed that Locke didn't this right away. Perhaps it's because he so desparately wants to believe in the island that he can't bring himself to do it for fear of the truth proving his faith unfounded. Does this mean Locke and the island are on the road to a break-up? Will Locke start to lose his ability to walk if he stops believing in the power of the island? Or will the faith of Eko help him back to a path of believing? And will Locke tell Jack of the print out or just let everyone keep tapping in the numbers and keep silent?
One thing that bugged me was the internal continuity. It went from being full light outside to full dark this week in the early goings.
Lost is usually good about these things but this week it really stood out. Maybe I missed a detail in there somewhere from last week, getting so caught up in the events of everyone getting shot.
And it's interesting to see how Jack is using events to his advantage. He uses the death of Ana Lucia and Libby to make Sawyer reveal where the stash of guns is. I said last year that Jack seemed to be a reluctant leader, thrust into a role he may not have wanted (interesting to see he was a father-figure on the island in some ways when his own relationship with his dad was pretty much the poster child for dysfunctional.) But now we're seeing Jack accept that position and really abuse the authority and power he's given. Jack sees a potential for an advantage and takes it.
Only two more episodes left this season and still a lot of big questions out there. But then again, I bet we don't get any large definitive answers....or if we do, they'll come with some even bigger questions.
posted by Michael Hickerson at 5/11/2006 08:22:00 AM |
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