Wednesday May 2, 2007
319
After abandoning the Others, Locke takes Sawyer on a trek through the jungle to help him eliminate a common enemy. Meanwhile, back at the beach, the parachutist Naomi has crucial information about flight 815.
Read Full Recap » (warning: possible spoilers!)A defining for two characters ends in death hide show
Ever since he landed on the island, Locke has been on a journey that has been becoming increasingly solitary, and it seemed pretty clear that the survivors weren't going to see him again, especially after he blew up the sub. So when he shows up in the teaser of 'The Brig' and tells Sawyer that he has kidnapped Ben, and has brought him back, we are instantly doubtful, especially when he tells him that he wants to kill Ben. This is particularly suspicious considering that he's barely exchanged two words with him since Sawyer humiliated him by tricking him into taking guns. His behavior isn't that of a vengeful man, though; he seems more detached calmly reciting the list of all the wrongs that Sawyer had committed before he came to the island. To be perfectly honest, he now sounds a lot like one of the Others, and we can soon see why.
In the first flashback to an island event since Michael's encounter with the Others in Season 2's 'Three Minutes', we see that Locke was offered by Ben a chance to have the keys to the kingdom. However, Ben has been setting up Locke for his own special revenge, because of what we see. Everybody on the Others looks upon Locke with reverence, and it's clear they all think Locke is special. So Ben sets him up by telling him he has to make an offering--- the murder of his father. Considering all of the hell that we've seen Anthony Cooper put Locke through in his flashbacks, you would think that the man would jump at the chance to do him in. But as always, Locke has trouble following through. Cooper has a hold on him that he can't break, even when he truly does have all the power.
What Locke hasn't realized is that Ben's power is waning. Even though for the first time since his operation earlier this season, he is now able to walk, it's pretty clear that people don't trust him as much. This becomes obvious when Richard hands over Sawyer's file, all while reinforcing how special he is. Since Richard up until now has been seen as Ben's inferior, it's hard to believe he'd give in. We shall eventually learn that Richard has a longer history with Locke than he knows about--- mainly because it hasn't happened yet. (Confused? It will make sense--- sort of--- by Season 5.)
So Locke goes to see Sawyer and takes him to the Black Rock, which we haven't visited (though there've been a couple of trips there in Season 2) since 'Exodus' when they came to get the dynamite to open the hatch. Locke explains to him that this is a slaving ship, but doesn't bother to tell him how it ended up in the middle of the island, and Sawyer doesn't think to ask. (This just goes to prove how none of the survivors of this plane crash really seem to want an explanation for all the strange things that are happening on this island.) He then proceeds to lock Sawyer in the brig with Cooper, and then just sits there as Rousseau--- who we haven't seen since 'The Man From Tallahassee'--- comes to pick up dynamite. She doesn't ask about the noise; he doesn't ask what she wants the explosives for. Does anybody communicate around here?
Meanwhile, back on the beach, Hurley has persuaded his little group to bring Sayid in to their confidence about the woman who they saved. Her name is Naomi Dorrit, and she tells an interesting tale of what has happened to Oceanic 815, that she came hear to rescue Desmond because she was hired by Penelope Widmore, that there is a freighter roughly eighty nautical miles away, and that she may bring rescue if they can just fix her sat phone. They do fix it, but the signal is still being jammed. The secret doesn't stay secret for long because Kate finds out about it. No sooner does she learn about that then she runs straight to Jack and tells him everything. And Jack goes right back to the holier-than-thou man we had to endure for the last couple of seasons, especially in regard to Kate. And when she tells him that nobody trusts him any more, he doesn't seem to care much about that either. Have they gotten to Jack? They haven't, but his attitude sure seems that way.
Back in the brig, a critical confrontation is building. Cooper then proceeds to do something Locke has not seen fit to tell anyone--- something about their history together. He also tells Sawyer that he's pretty sure that he's gone to hell--- especially since he was rear ended on the I-10. (Did the Others have something to do with it? I think so, but my guess is we'll never know for sure.) Then the minute Sawyer hears how Cooper conned Locke out of a kidney, he realizes something that some other fans had theorized the minute they heard Cooper was a con man--- he's the man who conned Sawyer's parents out of $38,000 and indirectly caused both their deaths. The second he realizes he's face to face with his lifelong nemesis, he hands Cooper the letter that he's been carrying for almost thirty years. Only Cooper refuses to play along. He doesn't read the letter all the way through, he insults Sawyer's mother and Sawyer himself. It is the act of ripping the letter Sawyer has carried all this time--- that survived the island, the raft blowing up, the Others,--- that throws him into a blind rage. But the moment it's over---he realizes that his pain isn't gone. His parents are still dead, and he got no satisfaction from the kill. We see that when he reels out of the brig, vomiting and sick. His life has been for nothing. It's brilliant work, and Josh Holloway should have gotten an Emmy nomination for that scene alone.
Locke, in the meantime, is filled with peace. He has finally triumphed over Cooper, even if he didn't deal the final blow himself. And his revenge has left him satisfied. When he puts Cooper's body on his back, he doesn't seem to feel the weight of it, because the burden of his father has been lifted from his shoulder at last.
Admittedly, this episode is a bit of marking time before we go into the final stretch. But two of the major characters have fulfilled their lifelong goals. Before he leaves Sawyer, Locke hands him the tape that Juliet left for Ben in 'D.O.C.' and reveals his plans. However, he then sets off after the Others. He has no interest in schemes, and definitely doesn't want to be rescued. But he doesn't know just where this journey will take him.
My score: 9
Epic Storyline and Great Setups!!!1 hide show
Objective - » With the last five episodes, it was time to setup all the events and to make another revelation and mysteries. Who is the most appropriated person for this? John Locke, the loved one. Locke is the focus, with both his situation on the Island and the flashback from the Island too. One nice Detail is how the old flashbacks details gain more importance and value when they are used to create a great episode like this. Another focus is Naomi, the new character.
Flashbacks -» Nice details there and the beginning was nice and mysterious. But since he is with tem, it is easy to create mystery, this also happens in the set of the complication phase, Ben really knows how to manipulate people and why the Others were expecting Locke is something to be revealed later in this episode. Ben makes Locke life more difficult to humiliate Locke and make is leadership strong. Also, I noticed that this flashback only sets the complication phase, so this is a setup. His conversation with Richard was nicely done too.
Locke Event on The Island -» This begins to be strong, when Locke appear only to James. This already set one of complication phase (more for James) when Locke says that he is infiltrated and he have Ben, so he want James to come with him and kill Ben, but we already know that his is not the case here. How he manipulates James was nicely done. The interaction between Sawyer and Locke is priceless. The climax for this James Complication Phase was is interaction with the Man responsible for his dark childhood, and again, is something priceless. The ending it is was you expect and this already set the next event on the Island
Sub Plot -» It is about the strange woman and everybody already saw the presentation, so this was about to set the complications, since the audience want to Know what this unknown woman until now knows about our survivors. Even Jack is not Trusted because of Juliet presence and this set the first complication, who they trust and the best person for this? Sayid, the torturer. This make his interaction with Naomi was another priceless interaction that only Lost can Provide. Things get more complicated since Jack and Juliet are sharing secrets
Overall:
1 - Plot Holes: Gold. Didn´t Notice.
2 - Time and Scenes Management: Gold. Even if two storylines are a setup, all the scenes seems very important.
3 - Surprises/Twist/Shocks/Cliffhangers: Gold. There are a surprise, that make this episode a epic one. No cliffhanger this time.
4 - Action: Wasn´t necessary.
5 - Funny: Bronze. Maybe Hugo lines
6 - Drama: Gold. Sawyer and Locke stole the moment.
7 - Tension/Fear: Exactly what the climax offers when Sawyer is applying is payback.
8 - Excitement Level (curiosity/Mystery/Doubt/Revelations: Gold. You want to discover more about the Others and their plan? Want to Know who is Naomi? Want to Know how Sawyer will apply his Payback? This episode is obligatory.
This episode is a setup, which has a storyline inside that has to be ended. However, what could be a normal setup, created a strong episode, one of the Best in this Season. Locke is an Character that the audience love to see, and Sawyer Vengeance which seemed impossible to be successful, could be done in this episode. The events in the bleach continue to be a setup too, but an interesting one. So, there is a 93% probability that you will like this epic episode.
Two character's traumatic Backstories are laid to rest along with the culprit in spectacular fashion! hide show
And thus begins Lost's outstanding Season 3 wrap-up!
Absolutely amazing episode, which I would agree with most people is the darkest hour of the series thus far!
Once again it's all about the performances, which makes the episode so special. We all know that Terry O'Quinn and Michael Emmerson have considerable talent, that is made manifest by the complex characters they are playing. Up until now, Josh Holloway hasn't had much chance to dig deeper into his acting soul. Most of Josh Holloway's acting skills required for this series up to now, at least on-island, has been to play the bad ass, the cocky southerner with a penchant for nicknames. However, here we are witness to a different side to Josh Holloway, one which is very welcome and is sure to be embraced by most watching. In every line he roars at Anthony Cooper inside the Black Rock you can feel the emotional pain Holloway's character feels. Never before has an acting performance on Lost stopped my heart at places like when he screams "Finish it!", referring to his letter. Kevin Tigh's portrayal as Anthony Cooper is also worthy of praise and is enough to give Josh Holloway the incentive to deliver his own 100% performance. Josh Holloway only goes to prove how much every actor/actress on the show has improved.
With performances like these who needs special effects, jungle chases, explosions, implosions and rampaging polar bears and smoke monsters to generate excitement.
With Sawyer being so pivotal to this episode and Josh Holloway stealing the show literally it is easy to forget that this episode is actually Locke-centric. I still refer to it as a Locke-Sawyer centric episode because it concerns them both just as equally. It is Locke-centric because to be fair Locke gets more episode screen time, owing to his on-island flashbacks, which tracks him following the cliffhanger of "The Man from Tallahassee".
Once again the concept of the "Magic Box" is raised and new light on this subject got my mind going back to Season 1. Ben tells Locke in this episode that Anthony Cooper came out of the box because Locke somehow willed it. In "The Man from Tallahassee" Ben says that the box holds what you imagine or hope would be in it, so, in essence, Locke imagined or hoped Cooper would be on the island. If Ben is telling the truth then this information relates directly to Walt in Season 1. As far back as the Pilot episode we were quickly introduced to Walt's powers. We saw him read a spanish comic with a Polar Bear in it, moments before a real one appears before several other castaways. Once again this connection was made more definitive in "Special" later that season when Walt's fury that his comic had been thrown in the fire by Michael on the Polar Bear page had been enough to imagine, hope and thus will the Polar Bear onto the island, maybe to seek revenge on Michael. However, the plan may not have turned out as hoped as Walt was trapped with the animal and Michael rescued Walt and himself from the attack. It is quite possible, thought, that Walt is unaware of his "Magic Box" abilities, just as Locke isn't. Locke can't understand how he could have used his "Magic Box" to bring Anthony Cooper to the island. Of course, even if Locke or Walt did imagine themselves up a Polar Bear or an Anthony Cooper or even when Charlie hoped his guitar would be on the island in one piece, it still doesn't explain how this all connects with how Cooper was actually brought to the island, which was supposedly by a car accident. The whole "Magic Box" issue does get us to wonder what things on the island are due to the imaginations of our characters and which are due to the Smoke Monster [see The Cost of Living, earlier this season]. At this time I believe that the manifestations of Dave, Christian Shepherd and Yemi are all creations of the monster, whereas Anthony Cooper [possibly], Walt's Polar Bear and Charlie's guitar came out of the magic box. The island is one large magic box where all your dreams can come true, physically or spiritually or both [Locke's legs and his faith].
I think we have only just scratched the surface of the "Magic Box" and look forward to where that story goes from here.
Another interesting plot point concerns the Others. We have been led to believe that there exists a great leader on the island, who is in control of the Others and quite possibly in charge of everything that goes on on the island. We will get clarification in the following episode that his name is "Jacob", a name that has been referenced numerous times this season. Beneath Jacob in the Others hierarchy there stands Ben as the sub-leader of the Others, the physical presence of a leader, against Jacob who seems to be at this stage of the game an unseen force of the island.
Ben seems to have taken on this responsibility for some time but it is becoming quite clear that his methods of leadership are not going down too well with the rest of the community. Certainly, Richard hints at this to Locke when he tells him that Ben has been wasting their time on fertility problems instead of seeking their true potential on the island. This makes Juliet's actions to Jack in the early part of the season much clearer. Juliet informed Jack that the community are unhappy with Ben and want him gone. Of course Juliet would later deny this but even Tom, when he finds out has an understanding expression on his face. Richard Alpert also tells Locke that, Ben aside, everyone in the community thinks Locke is special and important to the island, hinting that they believe they have found their new sub-leader to replace Ben. This would explain why, as Richard explains, that Locke doesn't want anyone to think Locke is special and wanted to see him fail to embarrass Locke and to boost Ben's self-esteem. Ben doesn't guess that Locke would return with the Others with Anthony Cooper on his back. Ben, obviously realises that Locke is somehow special and has a irrefutable communion with the island, due in part to his sudden ability to walk again and also his ability to somehow speed up Ben's healing process just by being in his company. But Ben is also aware that Locke could be his successor and tries to put Locke in situations that he knows he will fail in, just to prove to the Others that Locke is not what they think he is. Ben can't handle the fact that Locke would be leading Ben rather than Ben leading Locke, which is getting near to happening. The whole "sacrifice" at the Ruins was very creepy and many have speculated that the Ruins are connected to the four-toed statue seen last season. Back on the beach Naomi expands on her story teased at the climax of the previous episode. She tells a disbelieving Sayid that they found the wreckage of Oceanic 815 and all the dead passengers in a trench near Bali. Sayid is suspicious, as am I. We saw halfway in Season 1 that the tide was coming in to wash up the wreckage of the plane and the survivors camp so they had to relocate further down shore. Okay, it is possible that the tide could flush pieces of the wreckage out to sea but that far out and in one piece enough to be identified by people. It is just as likely for someone to go back down to their original camp and try to find any part of the wreckage. We also know that part of the wreckage was nowhere near the shoreline as some of it was found further inland in the jungle and also in the Caves. Rewatching "White Rabbit" from Season 1 when Jack first discovers the caves only confirms this. So this is a blatant lie by Naomi, one that should be picked up by more than just Sayid [assuming that this is not an inconsistency in writing! I sure hope not!]. Why anyone has not already investigated back at their original camp is unclear. The tide may have pulled back out again making investigations that much easier. So I am pretty convinced at this point [without revealing what I know in Season 4] that this is a lie from Naomi.
Anyhow, speculations aside this was a thoroughly entertaining episode, the darkest yet. In fact I would go as far as saying that Lost has produced a Film Noir episode.The moment when "Sawyer" strangles "Sawyer" with the chain is brutal and quite possibly the most violent thing we have seen up to this point.
It will be interesting now to see where Locke and Ford's journeys go now. Sawyer, now taht he has killed the very man that ruined his life by conning his parents and resulting in their deaths, will probably be much more relaxed and looser on the island and may be more content to become one of the team. Locke, now that the man that was responsible for his paralysis as well as one less kidney and subsequent misery in his life, will probably have the freedom to choose his destiny now, even if that means joining the "enemy" as Sawyer calls them. Locke is not choosing to join the Others out of spite for his fellow survivors, rather than as an outlet to gain a better understanding of the island and to prove or disprove in what he secretly believes. That belief would be sorely tested once again in the following episode.
"The Brig" was one of the best episodes of the season and the standard had once again been raised. Things would only get even better!
Despite Lost being a great show all round, there are still some episodes that make you realise just how amazing this show is. This is one of them. hide show
I have to say that when Lost is over there will be a handful of episodes that I will look back on with the most fondness. The Brig is one them.
This episode had everything: mythology, mysteries revealed, action, character development and alot of terrific acting. I will start with the terrific acting. When it comes to awards on this show, the writers tend to give the most emotional performances to the main cast members such as Matthew Fox, Evangeline Lilly and Terry O Quinn. However Josh Holloway proved in this episode that he is a world class actor with a lot more vesatility than giving Kate some alluring looks. The entire scene between Josh Holloway and Kevin Tighe was simply genious. In this episode we discover that Ben wants Locke to kill his father or he will never be able to join the others. Locke soon realises even though Cooper ruined his life he is not able to kill him and Ben seems happy with this. Until Richard Alpert gives Locke a way out...Locke should get Sawyer to kill Cooper. And that's when the mystery that has plagued fans of Sawyer since the season 1 episode, "Confidence Man," is finally revealed...Anthony Cooper is the real Mr. Sawyer and he is the reason that Sawyer's parents are dead. At the beginning of the scene were Locke has Cooper and Sawyer locked in the Black Rock (Also amazing!!) we see the utter shock and unrealisation that Josh Holloway is putting across when Sawyer realises what is going on. The man that he has dedicated his life to killing is finally at his mercy and he begins to play out his fantasy in much the way he imagined it. Kevin Tighe's comical quibs throughout the scene are both hilarious and cruel but it is still Holloway's screams of rage and looks of pure sadness that make me want to watch this episode again and again. If Holloway didn't win an emmy for this episode, then he should have. But whilst there was good acting in this episode the character development was also relevent. Locke finally let go of Cooper and is beginning his journey to find more answers, Sawyer is finally able to move forward in his life instead of hanging in this self hating limbo and there was even development going on at the beach.
The beach story I have to admit took a back seat but it was still fascinating to learn more about the mysterious Naomi Dorrit and why she is on the island. Sayid soon begins to distrust her when he asks Desmond whether he actually saw her helicopter but soon changes his mind when Naomi reveals she has a radio that they can use to contact her freighter. However Sayid is still refusing to tell Jack, still not being able to trust him since he brought Juliet back to the camp. When Kate finds out that no-one plans on telling him she does it herself but Jack's answer is extremely ambiguous. It seems he and Juliet know something we don't and this plays out leading up to the season finale. It seems that it was Evangeline Lilly's performance that was the pinacle of the beach scenes. The way she looks at Jack when he is sitting with Juliet is heartbreaking, simply because he seems not to be the man that she left behind at the others camp. He is becoming less and less the focal point of the group and she realises that he is becoming more involved with Juliet for it. If Jack and Kate will ever work things out seems to be something that will carry on throughout the next three seasons and lets hope its just as bumpy and emotional as it has been so far. All in all this episode was a winner and definately my favourite of season 3 so far. Anthony Cooper is finally dead, Jack and Juliet are planning something mysterious and Locke is off to join the others and learn more answers about the island. Most certainly an episode that defines this season.
A Locke-centric episode. hide show
As a whole, I thought that this was an absolutely amazing episode. The fact that I liked this episode so much really surprised me given the fact that this is a Locke-centric episode and I'm not a very big fan of the character Locke. Although, I have to admit that most of my enjoyment of this episode has to do with Sawyer's involvement with Locke's story line. Josh Holloway did an amazing job in this episode with his performance as Sawyer. This episode really proves that the producers made the perfect choice when they cast Josh Holloway as Sawyer. One thing that I didn't like about this episode was fact that Juliet wasn't feature very much in this episode. I love her character, so I wish they would have used her more in this episode. All in all, I thought that this was a very well written, well acted and well made episode of Lost, and I can't wait to watch the rest of my Lost: Season Three DVD so I can find out how the season ends.
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