The Cost of Living

Season 3, Episode 5, Aired

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8.9
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A delirious Eko wrestles with past demons; some of the castaways go to the Pearl station to find a computer they can use to locate Jack, Kate and Sawyer; Jack does not know who to trust when two of the Others are at odds with each other.moreless
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Fan Episode Reviews (137)

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  • Awesome.

    9.5
    "Superb"
    By Sarah_LOST, Oct 12, 2010
    Eko follows what appears to be his brother into the jungle. It turns out to be the smoke monster, which proceeds to kill Eko. Jack finds out that the reason he was captured was to operate on Ben's spinal tumor. Juliet conspires with Jack against Ben, telling him to kill Ben during surgery but to make it look like an accident. In flashbacks, Eko becomes a priest after Yemi is killed and Eko kills a few men to protect his town. We learn about Eko but sadly Mr Eko dies he was awesome and I cried when he died because he was in my top five favourite character. However, awesome storyline, I love his dreamsYummy Jack, I love him, I love the way he is with Ben. I really don't like the two random people - Nikki and Pabalo. I love the Jack and Juliet scenes - especially the "movie" scene oh and the Ben and Jack scene I also love the scene in the other hatch.moreless

  • Black and white morality vs. shades of gray.

    10
    "Perfect"
    By Hexsins, Oct 06, 2010
    Spoilers*

    This was a really underrated episode, in my opinion, because we begin to see for the first time how a complex life like Mr. Eco's cannot be understood (or stood for) by the binary morality of The Smoke Monster. Mr. Eco is the classic example of an in-between space -- he is a killer and a holy man, a drug dealer and an ascetic, a man of action and of thought. And because of these traits, he breaks down the simple black and white moral struggle of the good vs the bad. The Smoke Monster/Man in Black, as we will see later in the series, believes that people are inherently bad, so when they do not repent of their sins, they are punished, or pummeled as is Mr. Eco's case.

    This binary thinking is shown to be ultimately infantile, childish, as the altar boy asks Eco after he kills three drug dealers, "Are you a bad man?"

    As though killing is always wrong, no matter the context -- Mr. Eco proves that all meaning, moral or otherwise, is about context.

    A very powerful, and sad, episode.moreless

  • The cost is higher and the price far more telling

    9.5
    "Superb"
    By DavidB226Morris, Nov 15, 2009
    We've seen some interesting things on Lost so far this season., but nothing that has come as out of left field. Which is why that this episode has the most shocking finale that we've seen so far, arguably one of the better ones in this series history. Like all of the episode centered around Eko, there is a strong religious and ethical feel to it, which makes the ending seem biblical.

    Eko is still recovering from the injuries that he suffered in 'Further Instruction', when he begins to see visions of his brother, Yemi, saying that he has waiting for him. He should not have the strength to carry himself out his tent, much less march through the jungle. This is suggestive of something, but right now let's ignore and focus on the drama, which is enthralling.

    The flashback takes place not long after the action that we saw in 'The 23rd Psalm'. Eko returns to his brother's church, still numb, with the idea of resuming his responsibilities. He's there little more than a day before militiamen come and tell him that they have come for vaccine that his brother had negotiated for the village. Perhaps trying to demonstrate that he was worthy of being a new man, he tried to prevent this. When he failed, he reverted to his old ways, and slaughtered the militiamen in his brother's own church. Rather than expressing gratitude, the villagers responded by boarding up Yemi's church (thus explaining why Eko was so determined to build one on the island) This is a symbol of religion's seeing as things as purely good or purely evil. As we see in the teaser, Eko once stole from the church to feed his brother when he was hungry. The priest said he was wrong, but would it have been wrong for Yemi to starve rather than help his brother?. In 'the 23rd Psalm', Eko damned himself to save his brothers life, and then became a bad man. But there was good in him, even if his methods were wrong. Does this make him a bad man?

    We'll get to that in a minute. On the other side of the island, Jack is let out to attend the funeral of Colleen, who has now figured out that the x-rays he saw belonged to Ben. Ben tries to deny it , but the urgency behind Jack's urging are enough for him to realize that he can't toy with him any longer. Of course, it's possible that this is part of a larger plan to try and make him do the surgery anyway, but it's hard to figure, even now.. Then there's his little bit in which, when asked if he believes in God, he replies: "Two days after I learn I have a fatal tumor on my spine, a spinal surgeon falls out of the sky. And if that's not proof of God, I don't know what is." As with everything Ben says, it's impossible to tell if he was lying or not. He was surprised to see the plane crash, but his faith, even now, seems more based in the island than any higher power. Hopefully, we'll learn more about this as we near the end.

    And then there's Juliet. By now it seems that Jack is beginning to trust her more implicitly, and it's not just because she went to a lot of trouble to make him a cheeseburger (we're still not sure how she pulled that off). Then she goes through a little exercise in which Jack supposedly is watches a movie while Juliet is begging him to save Ben's life. In actually, she is showing him cards with writing telling him that Ben can die during the course of the surgery, by accident. All the evidence we gather seems that she was acting alone on this. We'll later see that she, among the Others, had a particular reason to loathe him, but it's hard , even now, to see her as being this cold-blooded or merciless.

    Meanwhile, back on the other island, Locke is trying to find a way to help Jack and co. by investigating another one of the stations --- the Pearl. When Desmond tells him it's a hell of coincidence, he repeats Eko's old line "Don't mistake coincidence for fate." Difference is, now he believes in the latter than the former. At the Pearl, which des lead him to intercept Eko, he finds another camera which leads to another station. We don't know where it is, but there's a creepy man with an eye patch looking back at him. We're going to run into him again, too.

    Meanwhile, Eko has returned to the plane, and in a reenactment of Jesus in the new testament finds his brother's body gone, and his brother standing in a garden. When asked to confess his sins, Eko says he has none--- that he did the best that he could with the life he was given. To the end, he is embracing the gray area of the world--- and it is the end. The smoke monster appears again, and for the first time, we see onscreen an attack. Before Eko stared the monster down, and it ran away. But this time, he showed fear, and as if making him pay for that indecision, the monster kills Eko.

    Even now, the death of Eko is probably the most shocking of all the characters who have died on the series (Not painful, we'll get to that, believe me. Perhaps the reason, it baffled me most was why--- after surviving the plane crash, the hatch exploding, and the attack by a polar bear--- would the island decided now that he is unworthy of it, especially considering that he stares the monster down in this episode too. (Yes, his injuries were serious, but given what we learn on this island, there's an excellent chance he would have recovered.)Why have Locke go through the effort of saving him only to kill him two days later? The best explanation I can come up with was that saving Eko was Locke's test to regain communion with the island. Eko's test was whether he could face up to his sins. He refused, which made him unworthy of living.

    (It therefore came as a surprise to learn a little later, that Adewale Akinnouye-Agbaje was convinced by the end of 'The 23rd Psalm' that his story was so tightly written that he had no reason to stay more than a season and asked for his character to be killed. Talk about counter-intuitive) The last scene also has it's own repercussion. His last words to Locke were construed as being "We're next', meaning the group as a whole. I am more convinced that Eko was speaking to Locke alone, and meant You're next. Perhaps Locke's fate has not yet been written, but it does seem more accurate foreshadowing of what happened in later seasons.
    Even the possibility with that last shot of Eko and Yemi happily playing together, indicating that maybe something on this island showed Eko some mercy is questionable. Considering what we will later learn, it is possible that even in death Eko has found no rest.

    Whatever you believe about Eko's life or fate, 'The Cost of Living' offers a rarity of so many characters on Lost. A complete story has been told about a man, and his fate and history were revealing purely by his actions on the island. He faced his destiny on the island, and even if he came up wanting, at least, unlike so many other characters currently on the island--- he didn't deny who he was.
    My score:9.5moreless

  • Great Revelation and an Goodbye!!!!

    8.0
    "Great"
    By Dante_Edy, Jul 09, 2009
    Logic/Details - Now was time to focus again in the camp character. Since Locke restored his faith, Eko lost Is place in the story as a support character for Locke, like Ana Lucia was for Jack, so Eko fulfilled is role. With this , was essential to make is goodbye impressive and the writers could do it. The way the writers did it, leave us with one of the major mysteries to be revealed in Lost.

    Locke and Sayid trying to find Jack and Co, while Jack is having is conversation with Ben, who has to be saved by Jack or he will die. All this is a setup, the only thing that escaped the setups was Eko and the Smoke Monster ability revelation. This episode only reinforce that who find redemption only finds death.

    This episode feel like was rushed, suddenly Yami appear and want Eko confession, suddenly Desmond remembers that the computer in the Hath could be used to something else.

    Progress - One more character is death and Locke and Co have no clue where is Jack. Eko flashbacks only show what he really is and Jack now has a important decision to make due to the last scenes that he had with Ben and then with Juliet.

    Emotions/Stimulation/Highlights - There are two scenes in Eko flashbacks that are interesting, since this season concentrates on showing us the dark actions that some our characters made, even Locke and Jack, and Eko is not exception. The Last scene with Eko and his supposed brother was shocking and what Eko said to Locke was too. Of course this what happened with Eko and what he said to Locke was the best highlight of this episode. Other great highlights was Jack conversation with Ben and then With Juliet, very surprising, unpredictable and may cause serious doubts about Juliet true motivations.

    Ending - Like someone that watch this show can Expect, great cliffhanger and a nice and intriguing death sentence.

    Overall - What make this episode valuable is the dismiss of one of the characters and the way that occurred. The cliffhanger help too, and the conversation Jack had with Ben and principally with Juliet make this episode deserves at least a 8. Episodes like "White Rabbit" and "Dave" now have a completely different context.moreless

  • A totally underrated episode but still fantastic

    8.5
    "Great"
    By oceanic6, Dec 19, 2008
    In this episode; It's all about Mr. Eko and his personal battle between his consciousness both off and on the island. The off - island drama deals with the betrayal of his brother and how he killed men in his church, forever eliminating his chance of redemption. On the island he searches for his brother after mysteriously seeing him on the island, also Locke, Sayid and Desmond explore the Pearl station. Across the pond to the barracks; the Others farewell Colleen and Ben asks Jack to operate on a tumour on his spine, little does Ben know that conspiracy cooking between Juliet and the good doctor.

    Despite only being known for "the episode where Eko dies" this episode is stunning hour of Tv with enough action, drama, laughs and intrigue to keep any fan happy.

    The real theme of this episode is faith which is shown in different forms; through the sceptical eyes of Locke, the desperate eyes of Ben and of course the confused eyes of Eko. Having this theme as the heart of the episode really brings Lost to another level. As usual; the barrack business moves to slowely and uncovers too little to be memorable but it does provide a decent build - up as to whether or not Jack will spare the life of his enemy. The sub - plot with Locke and yet another station is over before it really begins but from what this simple critic can tell, the Pearl is the most boring station with nothing but white noise TV's and a toilet that works which was confirmed by Paulo. The real suprise was a TV which broadcasted as mysterious eye - patched man who promptly disconnected his webcam, it looks like he'll be showing his obscured face again.

    As you've most likely pieced together from the last 295 words of my review, this episode really is all about Eko, his tragic tale of losing his faith combined with a very powerful performance from Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje is what makes this stunning, too bad Eko is no more. While the Ben and Locke sub - plots are practically devoid of any mystery, Eko's story takes leaps and bounds in consolidating the supernatural powers of the island. Not only are there unexplained appearences of people from Eko's past but the good old smoke monster not only appears and confronts him but fatally wounds him by tossing him around until he dies. From this; two main questions emerge: What is the nature of his various visions and how is it connected to the monster? and Why did the monster kill him then and not in their previous encoutners. As much as i'd love to tell you that my hours of searching every Lost blog on the web wielded some answers to them, the truth is it didn't. Perhaps the most curious aspect of the episode which makes for an effective cliffhanger is Eko's final message to Locke, "You're next". While the survivors are perhaps the most oblivious to the nature of the monster than anyone; the information that it's deadly and after them should be enough for the time being. LOSTmoreless
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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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  • TRIVIA (10)

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    • Mr. Eko was originally supposed to be named Emeka, but Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje suggested they name him Eko. Instead they used that name for the warlord that appears in Eko's flashbacks.

    • Number 4: The youth picture of Eko and Yemi was found in a Bible book on chapter 4.

    • After the Monster throws Eko on the ground, whispers can be heard which decode as: "It's over " "The black man" (?) "(unknown)" "Right now / Right here" "Locke" "Eko" "(unknown)" "What happened" "Shhhh" "What's happening" "Now we got his… / I don't want to kill him" "What just happened" "What'd he say" "Help me up" "Is he following?"

    • In this episode, Ben claims that two days after he found he had a tumour, a spinal surgeon dropped out of the sky (in reference to the crash). However, in "One of Us" Juliet tells Ben he has a tumour one day before the crash.

    • The gesture the altar boy made to Eko when he appeared in the middle of the jungle is exactly the same Walt made several times to Shannon while appearing to her also in the early Season 2.

    • Island events in this episode take place on December 1st and December 2nd 2004.

    • Jack asks Ben if he is having symptoms of numbness and tingling to his fingers and toes, yet the tumor on his X-ray is assessed to be over the L4 vertebra and is clearly lumbar. Ben would only have paraesthesis in upper extremities if it was a cervical tumor.

    • The Number 23: Before the Smoke Monster grabs and kills him, Mr. Eko said the first verses of the 23rd Psalm. This would also be a reference to the episode of the same title in season 2.

    • In Juliet's tape, she is wearing the same outfit she was wearing in the flashback in "A Tale of Two Cities". She is also standing in her house in Otherville.

    • This episode takes place on Day 71 on the island--a Thursday.

  • QUOTES (24)

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    • Yemi: You speak to me as if I were your brother!

    • Daniel: Are you a bad man? My mum said you're a bad man. Eko: Only God knows.

    • Juliet: You want to guess what's for lunch? Jack: I'm not... I'm not big on mysteries.

    • Desmond: Would you mind if I asked you a question, Brother? Locke: Shoot. Desmond: Are we off to poke at a computer, or are we going after your man Eko? Locke: Two birds, one stone.

    • Locke: When you pulled him out of the tent, did he say anything? Charlie: Nothing coherent. Just mumbling 'My brother, my brother.' Locke: Sayid, pack your gear. We're going to that computer. Charlie: Wait! What about Eko? Locke: We'll catch up to him. We're all going to the same place.

    • Ben: (Speaking quietly about Jack) Why did you show him my x-rays? Juliet: I didn't tell him they were yours. But I guess you did!

    • Ben: I'm telling you this, Jack, because my wonderful plan got shot to sunshine when you saw my damned x-rays and figured out I was dying. Jack: All of this, you brought me here to operate on you. You, you want me to save your life. Ben: No, I want you to want to save my life. But we're beyond that now, so, all I can ask is that you think about it.

    • Locke: Everybody, we're heading out to the Pearl station. There's a computer there that might help us find our people. Anybody want to come along? Hurley: What do you mean, 'Anybody want to come along?' Locke: I mean, if you'd like to join us, it's a free island. Hurley: Yeah, see, Jack would go and do stuff alone. Or he'd take Sayid or Kate. Locke: Yeah, well. I'm not Jack. The more the merrier.

    • Desmond: The computer in the hatch wasn't only for pushing the button. I'm pretty sure it could be used to communicate with other stations. Sayid: This is fascinating. But you just told me the hatch exploded!

    • Jack: Does it hurt? Ben: Sorry? Jack: Your neck, does it hurt? Any numbness in your fingers and toes, like pins and needles when your foot falls asleep, but permanent. Jack: Why are you asking me these questions, Jack? Jack: Because, Ben, you have a tumor on your spine. An aggressive tumor that ... is going to kill you. I don't know when those x-rays were taken that I saw, but unless they were very recent ... you're not going to be taking walks much longer. Ben: I have no idea what you're talking about. Jack: Ok. My mistake then.

    • Locke: Oh, Eko. Eko: (Whispering) Sayid: What did he say, John? Locke: He said... we're next.

    • Locke: I saw a very bright light...it was beautiful. Eko: That is not what I saw.

    • Ben: We had such a wonderful plan to break you, Jack. Jack: Break me? Ben: Wear you down till you were convinced we weren't your enemies. Get you to trust us. And then of course we'd lead you to believe that you were choosing to do whatever we asked you to do. All of this of course as soon that you would get invested. Jack: Invested in what? Ben: Has it not occurred to you that Juliet bears a striking resemblance to your ex-wife?

    • Hurley: No luck, dudes. We've looked everywhere. Eko's gone. Charlie: There's no trail. Hurley: Not like we know what a trail looks like.

    • Ben: Good evening, Jack. Jack: Good evening, Ben. Ben: I was hoping you wouldn't mind joining me for a walk. (Jack laughs.) Ben: What? Jack: Well, you say that like you're not just gonna throw a bag over my head and drag me outta here if I say no. Ben: (smiles) Then don't say no.

    • Eko: I ask for no forgiveness father, for I have not sinned. I only did what I had to do to survive. A small boy asked me once if I was a bad man. If I could answer him now, I would tell him that when I was his age, I killed a man to save my brother. I am not sorry for this... I am proud of this. I was not asked for the life that I was given, bit it was given none-the-less... and with it, I did my best.

    • Jack: I'm fine with her being here. Ben: And I'm thrilled that you're fine Jack, but it's private. Doctor-Patient confidentiality.

    • Desmond: That's quite a coincidence. Locke: Don't mistake coincidence for fate.

    • Juliet: He let you out? Jack: Gave me a new shirt too.

    • Locke: I think I know how to find Jack, Kate, and Sawyer. Sayid: (about Desmond) Can I ask why he is being included in the conversation? Desmond: Is that supposed to hurt my feelings?

    • Jack: You people have cheeseburgers? Juliette: You have no idea what I went through to make this for you. I killed the cow, processed the meat, baked the bun, and the fries... Try rendering animal fat. Jack: No ketchup?

    • Sayid: (about Eko) What happened to him? Charlie: Before or after we saved him from the polar bear cave?

    • Nikki: Projects. Maybe some of these TVs are connected to the other hatches. Locke: Well, suddenly I feel very stupid.

    • Ben: Do you believe in God, Jack? Jack: Do you? Ben: Two days after I find out I have a tumor on my spine that will kill me, a spinal surgeon falls out of the sky. If that's not proof of God, I don't know what is.

  • NOTES (5)

    ADD NOTES

    • The song that is played when Eko goes to the disco bar is called "Eko Lagos" by Femi Kuti. This song is from the album Fight to Win.

    • Emilie de Ravin, Josh Holloway, Daniel Dae Kim, Yunjin Kim and Evangeline Lilly do not appear in this episode.

    • International Air Dates: The Netherlands: March 30, 2007 on Net 5 Finland: September 13, 2007 on Nelonen The Czech Republic: September 30, 2007 on TV Nova Spain: Monday September 17, 2007 on FOX TV Spain Germany: Monday November 13, 2007 on Pro7 Macedonia: Thursday October 18, 2007 on A1 Denmark: January 3, 2007 on Kanal 5

    • The song that is played at Colleen's funeral is 'I Wonder' by Brenda Lee.

    • An Eko-centric episode.

  • ALLUSIONS (5)

    ADD ALLUSIONS

    • In Neil Gaiman comic book series, "The Sandman" the image of red flowers, always meant a death was near. Before Eko's death, he stands in a field of red flowers.

    • Pushing a dead body out to sea on a wooden raft, then setting the raft alight is a Viking burial custom.

    • Mr. Eko's tent is set alight straight after having a vision of Yemi; this could have been an allusion to Moses and the burning bush...

    • Locke and Eko pushing the large rock off of the entrance of the crashed plane to find that Eko's brother's body is missing, is a religious Christian allusion to the large rock removed from the tomb at Calvary to see that Jesus' body was missing.

    • Juliet: Is To Kill a Mockingbird. She's referring to the Robert Mulligan film from 1962. Based on the Pulitzer-Prize-winning novel by Harper Lee, it starred Gregory Peck, Mary Badham and Phillip Alford. It received several Oscar Nominations, including Best Picture (although it lost to Lawrence of Arabia), it is considered the 34th best film of all time by the American Film Institute (AFI) and Peck's character, Atticus Finch is considered the "Greatest Hero of American Film", also by the AFI.

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