Okay, so THIS was the fall finale.
Actually, I really enjoyed this episode. While I’ve spent virtually the entire season complaining about Michael and his crew working with people who are categorically bad people, my absolute favorite scene of this episode was the fallout following the shootout at the Scylla exchange. Yes, I have repeatedly argued that T-Bag is an unredeemable, murderous psychopath, I thought it was great that he, of all people, fought for Gretchen’s life. When he’s finally written out of the show, I hope the writers have the cajones to do it in a fashion that won’t leave the audience saying, “You know what? He wasn’t that bad after all…” Nevertheless, these occasional brief moments of humanity work.
Overall, I thought everybody played their roles perfectly. You had T-Bag arguing to spare her life, reminding them that she has a young daughter. Then you had Self – whose name is becoming more and more appropriate by the episode – arguing that she’s a liability that likely would have killed them anyway, and her daughter doesn’t even know that she’s her mother. Finally, you had an extremely torn Lincoln, who remembered everything she had done to him and his family. But was he willing to execute somebody in cold blood? Mahone knew the answer, but he also realized that he had to allow Lincoln to make that decision for himself. His encouraging, “We’re not like them” was brief enough that it didn’t sway his opinion. He simply pointed out what Lincoln already knew. This was perhaps one of my favorite scenes all season. Just great stuff.
While I’ve already mentioned this before, I am also a huge fan of the Lincoln/Mahone relationship. Much like Mahone and Michael the year before, a life or death situation has brought these two once enemies together. And considering all the crap Lincoln has given him up to this point (whether justified or not), it was great seeing Mahone come to his rescue. Speaking of Mahone, I’m surprised that more people aren’t commenting on the fact that he, too, used to be part of The Company. It seems like this is constantly overlooked, not only by him, but by others as well (did The General even discuss this, aside from a passing comment, when they originally stole Scylla?) I only bring this up because Gretchen mentions her past involvement with the organization every other sentence.
By the way, it was a pretty cool visual seeing Lincoln, T-Bag, and the crew all decked out in suits. We’re so used to them dressing like shlubs. It was a nice, sorta subtle symbol of Lincoln’s possible turn to the dark side.
Another interesting aspect of the past couple of episodes is the possibility that The Company isn’t entirely evil. This has been broached on shows like Heroes and Lost, as well. On those shows, The Company (Heroes version) and The Others constantly insist that they’re not the bad guys. And as we learn more about them, in a twisted way, you realize they might be right (that’s a big “might”). This past volume, The Company certainly seemed “good” compared to Pinehearst. Likewise, The Others seemed like the good guys in the battle against the Widmore and the freighter folks. However, much like those organizations, this might be a “lesser evil” type situation. The General is most certainly not a good man, evident by the ease at which he ordered Michael to be put down if he resisted. And while they have the means and capabilities to do great things for the world, it seems obvious they’re doing it for the power, not the virtue. So far Michael realizes this. Lincoln may not.
And perhaps my favorite part of the episode was the fact that Michael took a huge back seat. I mean no offense to Michael, who is a great character. I just feel like the characters on the show have become far too reliant on him. He’s always the hero and he’s always the one that accomplishes the brave act (even when it makes no sense). It was nice seeing everybody else stand on their own two feet, particularly Lincoln. I’m also not completely opposed to Michael and Lincoln at odds with each other for a few episodes. To be honest, they get along entirely too well for brothers, especially when you consider that there should be a lot of underlying resentment between them. I mean, really! Michael literally gave up his entire life for his brother, who continuously messes up and doesn’t seem to feel all that much remorse for it.
While the revelation that Michael’s mother is still alive adds a neat little layer to the story, it wasn’t something earth shattering. Truth be told, I wasn’t all that emotionally invested in the fact that she had died. That being said, last week’s hint, where the General indicated that somebody else survived the brain procedure Michael had received was a neat little case of foreshadowing.
Matt Basilo has been writing for Inside Pulse since April 2005, providing his insight into popular television shows such as Lost, Heroes, Prison Break, and Smallville. You can visit his blog at A Case of the Blog.
