In seasons 2 and 3, Lost developed a pattern. Both seasons started slowly, in a kind of disappointing way, and slowly built back to the levels we’re accustomed to. Ever since the show came back from its winter hiatus, it’s been, on most weeks, an exciting, engaging and gripping drama, and this week was no exception.
In recent weeks I claimed that Lost is at its best when it focuses on the action story of the trio’s mission to rescue Jack, and lacking when it comes to other stories. This episode was different as the story on the beach was just as interesting as the action part. Kate’s flashback, on the other hand, didn’t do much for me. It was just another way for the writers to add to the game of “Six Degrees” between the characters and didn’t really add much except for the official word about Sawyer being a father.
On the beach, Hurley showed he’s much smarter than people give him credit for, and that he also plays a very important role on the beach. People often tend to write him off as a comic relief and nothing more, and this is just wrong as Hurley is as vital to the story as any of the other leading characters. This week, not only was he able to read the situation on the beach and assess where things are going regarding Sawyer’s future role as leader, despite last week’s revelations, but he was also able to manipulate Sawyer into changing his behavior before he laid everything in front of him. Of course Sawyer doesn’t want that role, but he seems to realize he has no choice, and judging by his past actions, it wouldn’t surprise me to see him work this to his own advantage someway.
And then we have the bulk episode, on The Others’ village. Locke seems to have finalized his turn to the dark side, as he sided with The Others and left with them to whatever destination they took. Juliette, on the other hand, was deserted by them and was handcuffed to Kate and stranded in the woods. To borrow a term from wrestling, they’re the “wacky tag team partners who hate each other”. They can’t decide where to go, don’t trust each other and fight to the point that Kate dislocates Juliette’s shoulder. But they have no choice but working together when Lostzilla attacks. Yes, after being away for a few months, the black smoke is back and it went after Juliette and Kate. At first they were able to avoid it and hide for the night. They also shared a moment as Juliette told Kate the truth about why Jack didn’t her to return. After Kate popped Juliette’s shoulder back in, they thought it was safe an went back on the road but Lostzilla returned. This is where Juliette revealed she had the key to the cuffs all along and saved them both by activating the electronic defense system. Remember the poles from “Par Avion”? That’s what they’re her for to stop Lostzilla. And they actually work. There’s a code that activates them and the black smoke just stopped when it reached the force field. Juliette later gave a weak explanation as to why she was hiding the keys in the first place, but Kate didn’t really seem to mind it. Once they returned to the village, they found Jack and Sayid there with everyone else, including Locke, gone. The four (yes, that includes Juliette) are now heading for the beach.
Certain questions came up during this episode. The main one, for me at least, is what’s going on with Locke and Juliette. Did Locke really join The Others? There doesn’t seem to be many reasons to doubt that, as he blew away the submarine, but is he really with them or is he just trying to gain their trust and then double-cross them? Same with Juliette was she really deserted or is she on a mission to infiltrate the beach? I still don’t trust her. Another question is why the Lostaways won’t move to the village. They will have better living conditions over there, safe from changing weather conditions, with modern amenities and protection against Lostzilla. My guess is that the village is hidden and they believe they have a better chance of being rescued on the beach. The third question is where The Others went. It looks like they packed up with no intention to return. So where are they and what will their next action be?
I love where this season of Lost is going. As the team returns to the beach, I supposed we’re in for a bit of a power struggle over the leadership, as Sawyer, though reluctant to take the role in the first place, isn’t likely to give up his power. The questions that were raised this episode, as opposed to many of the unanswered ones we have, seem to be more of a plot device rather than a game the writers play and it’s the good kind of questions. Now I can firmly say that Lost is back to being on my must watch list and it stays there for the rest of the season.
