Wednesday April 12, 2006
219
Rose is surprisingly and vehemently opposed to Bernard's plan to create an S.O.S. signal; romantic sparks are rekindled between Jack and Kate when they trek into the jungle to propose a "trade" with "The Others"; and Locke begins to question his faith in the island.
Read Full Recap » (warning: possible spoilers!)Seems like its filler, but it reveals a couple of big secrets hide show
Considering that we're closing in on the end of the season, it comes as a surprise that the writers would choose to focus an episode on two lesser characters such as Rose and Bernard, who aren't even regulars. I didn't object much because Sam Anderson and L. Scott Caldwell are such fine actors that I was actually curious about their back-story. And it turns out to be more significant than you'd imagine
Since all we've known about Rose and Bernard is that its a love that has survived incredible odds, maybe it's not a surprise that there story is more of the same. Their love is one that the other romances on the island so far haven't matched, which is interesting because it's not as old as we thought. Rose has been suffering from cancer, and when she finally finds the nerve to tell Bernard, he doesn't hesitate a second before asking her to marry him. Jin and Sun are only now beginning to restore that kind of devotion. However, this love has been a source of guilt to Bernard. In his desperation to heal her, they traveled to Australia to visit a legendary faith healer., and on their return voyage, the plane crashed. (I'll get back to this in a moment)
Bernard is desperate to get off the island, and raises an issue that is actually very pertinent: why have there been no rescue attempts this season? In Season 1, Sayid spent the better part searching for a radio tower to try and make a transceiver work, and the rest of his time decoding maps. Michael built a raft, and after it was set ablaze, the castaway built and launched another one. But this season, everybody seems more determined to settle in. Sayid has spent the better part of the last few weeks mourning Shannon, and only came out of his stupor to begin interrogating this new prisoner that fell into their laps. Michael has been focused on getting his son back, and has been gone. Locke, we know, has no interest in leaving the island, but Jack has become more focused on the hatch then he has about life on the services. Two days ago, a parachute drop with a ton of food landed on the island. No one knows how got there. Both Sayid and Jack were there when they discovered it. Did Sayid begin scouring the skies for planes? Did Jack go to the beach and build a signal fire? No, they both turned to focus on the Other in their hatch.
Now Bernard actually comes up with a good idea--- build a giant S.O.S sign on the beach so that a plane might pick it u[p. You'd think this idea would get a lot of support, but when he asked Eko, the man who kept him safe for seven weeks for help, he shrugs him off, saying he's building a church (?). A lot of the other castaways don't want to do the work, and when the he tries to lead his team, including Jin and Hurley, both of them give up rather quickly. This is particularly bizarre, consider Jin spent a lot of time building the second raft with a man who initially despised him. Are the castaways just giving up and deciding to accept staying on the island? Or is there more to it than that?
Because Rose loves her husband, she does something that so far, none of the other castaways have really been willing to do--- tell the truth about something. The faith healer didn't fix Rose, but she he asked him to tell her that they did. But ever since Rose has been on the island, she has not felt the presence of her cancer, and she certainly hasn't manifested any of the symptoms. This is corroborated by the fact that she saw Locke in his wheelchair before they got on the plane. She has been healed and is now afraid that if she leaves, she will die (This is probably an ill-conceived notion given what we will later learn, but lets focus on the present.). When Bernard learns this, he immediate reverses course, and agrees that they will never leave the island. (Of course, there are people who think otherwise.)
Meanwhile, Locke has been trying to recreate the map that he saw on the blast door, but is getting nowhere with it. This isn't surprising because he's been losing faith in the hatch, the button, and the island, all season. Not-Henry has been pushing his buttons for the last week or so (in this episode he manages to do it without saying a word), so what good is a map going to do him? His pain is so great, he actually comes out of the hatch, and sits on the beach--- something he hasn't done all season. His remark to Rose is very telling ---"it's not my hatch'., but in her own quiet way she manages to restore his faith--- though that feeling won't last for long.
Meanwhile, Jack is fed up with waiting, and tries to do something proactive-- trade the Other for Walt. He asks for Kate's help, because he assumes that the Others don't want them (We're going to learn soon enough that was yet another lie.) This leads to the first discussion that Kate and Jack have had since the Others grabbed Michael, and they seem to be reconnecting, especially after they get caught in a net (Rousseau or the Others? We never find out, but it's probably the former.) But then, just as they seem to be reconnecting, Kate makes the mistake of telling him about the Caduceus Hatch,. and what she found there when she went out with Claire. Before you can say, self-righteous, Jack gets on his high horse with Kate about lying to him, even though that's exactly what he's been doing for the past week. This is a flashback we didn't need.
Big surprise, the Others react to Jack's demands with a deafening silence--- or do they? Because at the end of the episode, a figure comes running back to them with his head covered--- Michael has returned after being gone half the season. His action will lead us to the climax that we've been building towards.
Even though 'S.O.S.' ends with one of those musical montages (man, I thought we were done with them when the batteries in Hurley's CD player burned out) this remains one of the better episodes of seasons 2. It's nice to know that there's love on this island, and that someone was willing to tell the truth about it. (To themselves, not to anyone else, of course.) I would've liked to get to know Rose and Bernard a bit better. A shame they've kind of been buried in the newer group of castaways.
My score:8.8
Bernard attempts to create an S.O.S. signal, but stops when Rose tells him that she wants to stay on the island because she thinks it has cured her cancer. Romantic sparks are rekindled between Jack and Kate. Locke continues to lose faith in the island. In flashbacks, Rose and Bernard have their honeymoon in Australia. Michael reappears to Jack and Kate when they try to trade Henry to the Others in exchange for Walt. Wow - what an awesome episode - I love this episode so much. I love the Rose and Bernard scene and back story. I love the Jack and Henry scene, I love them both. I love the scene with Saywer, Jack and Kate - Yay for Jack and Kate. I love the Jack and Kate scenes together, especially the scene where they are trapped together. I love the John and Rose scene amazing. I love Jack he is my other favourite character on the show. I love the ending where Jack and Kate are having a momeny nd then Michael runs out the jungle.
Transitional Episode, but it has good Scenes!!!! hide show
Logic:
Rose is the only character that did not have the chance to be the Main Character and her own flashbacks. So It was time to do it. Has expected, it could not be something trivial, it was necessary to do something special, like locke healed legs for example.
Through this mindset, her Storyline was construted with a beginning and a end. Since she is not a strong character, it was best this way.
Make sense that she is healed too, like Locke, but what was not necessary was for her husband to try to make the signal. This was only to fill the episode.
Other events, like Jack and Kate is a setup, the hatch too.
Emotions - » Since Rose is not a Strong Character, it was difficult to create better scenes, since the majority for the Audience would not care. All the Scenes featuring the her flashbacks is about Sadness and Hope. Typical Lost Drama.
Progression - » Since this is a setup, nothing essential happened, so this can be considered filler. This is all about doing a closure for a character that had not time to be one of the main Cast.
Ending - » Nothing special or impressive.
Overall - » Good Material, but not enough to be Great. Still, is a good Setup with some good material and closure.
Otro episodio que no esperaba. Me pareció acertadísima la decisión de darle vida a Rose y a Bernard (personajes supuestamente ajenos a la gran trama). Me encantaría que hagan esto, aunque sea un minuto, con cada uno de los que está ahí (hasta algún pequeño flash de Henry). Esto le da vida a la historia y la hace más real y llevadera.
Parece que todo intento por escapar de la isla es en vano y ya visto como una pérdida de tiempo. Parece que todos están resignados even all that food falling from the sky. Linda escena en donde en el aeropuerto Rose se encuentra con John y su silla de ruedas.
Bernard and Rose get a very decent 42 minutes, which manages to not just be a character-development episode by connecting to the island's magical healing properties! hide show
In many ways, I did prefer this episode to Lockdown. This will no doubt cause some consternation amongst other fans. I will honest that in terms of its scale, action, intensity, acting and attention to the mythology of the show, Lockdown wins hands down. But S.O.S is a very personal, emotional episode, and Lost knows how to produce these kinds of episodes too.
From the first time we caught sight of them I did like them alot but never thought much about them because they never got much screen time. Thus, it is surprising, firstly, that they should, out of nowhere, get a whole episode. Secondly, it is amazing that their backstory connects to the ongoing mythology. For those that still insist that nothing happened in this episode and that it was all filler, were you watching the same episode, I ask you? It is not a "Lockdown" episode, for sure, but it holds more mystery than any of Kate's episodes put together, for example.
The mythology referenced in this episode is more subtle than in other episodes. There is no DHARMA Initiative, orientation films, The Others [except a little of Henry Gale] or smoke monsters. It is similar to how the Season 1 episode, "Deus Ex Machina" approached the mystery of the island. It is the metaphysical and psychological approach which made the Season 1 episode and this one work so well.
It could have been so much less than what was shown. We could have been subjected to 42 minutes of Bernard trying to fish for Pearls and Rose doing a whole bulging basket of laundry, but it is smart that the writers decided to give these two seriously underused characters so many layers.
So we find out that Rose has an on-island connection to Locke. Now that is a first. Most of our character connections are off-island in some way. This plot thread harks back to Locke's first episode where we learn that his legs are healed by the island. Rose's cancer has also supposedly been cured by the island and explains her calm, fearless attitude towards her new surroundings.
Because of this connection S.O.S. is as much a Rose episode as it is a Bernard and Rose episode, but Bernard helps to carry it along and give it much emotional depth, as well as some wonderful comic relief. Perhaps the funniest moment was when we learn that he is a dentist, yet when we see his mouth he has worse teeth than probably most of his patients!!
The scenes between them when Rose confesses her secret to Bernard is heartwrenching and beautiful. But there is even more besides Bernard and Rose to engross in: Jack and Kate getting caught in a net, Jack shouting at The Line [wonderful camera work, by the way], Henry Gale being increasingly creepy, Locke's faith restored and the reappearance of Michael "Waaaaaalt!" Dawson. Because of everything that happens in this episode you get your money's worth and that is also why this episode is special!
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