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Friday, 14 March 2008 |
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By John Keegan
Visit Critical Myth for an archive of John's TV Review archives, with more than 1100 entries.
| If the previous episode was somewhat divisive and (based on the subsequent ratings dip) dissatisfying, this installment focuses on pre-existing relationships on the island and relatively simple revelations on the boat. Both plot threads are ultimately compelling for their own reasons. This back-to-basics approach should help to overcome some of the disunity.
The writers have been largely using flash-forwards or flashbacks exclusively within an episode, though "The Constant" demonstrated how the format could be unusually applied. This episode takes that expectation and uses it against the audience in the best of ways. After clearly establishing that Sun's off-island story was off-island as one of the Oceanic 6, Jin's story seemed to follow in lockstep.
Of course, that wasn't the case, and because there is still some confusion regarding the classification of the Oceanic 6, the deception is maintained until the very end. At this point, one could reasonably conclude that the known Oceanic 6 are Jack, Kate, Hurley, Sayid, and Sun. One can assume that Aaron is not counted because he would have been born on the island, not mentioned in the passenger manifest. It's also reasonable to assume that Ben is still out of the public eye. With Jin no longer in the running, that leaves one slot still open.
The bulk of the episode is devoted to setting up the tragedy of the final moments. Sun's choice is not unexpected, but her doubts and questions are quite reasonable and have been a long time in coming. Sun had every reason to wonder if Juliet was being honest, and it's good to see her reacting so proactively towards her own best interests. At the same time, it was good to see Juliet make the tough decision to save Sun's life by betraying her trust.
The tear-inducing moment, of course, is the graveside "reunion" between father and daughter. While most of the episode was blatant foreshadowing (pretty much from the teaser), seeing Sun, Hurley, and little Ji Yeon standing in a cemetery was difficult. However, the most obvious explanation (that Jin died in the process of getting Sun off the island) is the least likely.
Jin's gravestone marked his death as 22 Sep 2004, which is the date of the plane crash. According to the Oceanic 6 cover story, all but eight of the passengers died; two others perished before the eventual rescue. So the implication is that Jin was eventually counted among those killed in the crash within the context of the cover story. Nothing else can be definitively inferred.
Sun's honest grief could be interpreted as a sign of Jin's actual death; he could have died between the "present" and the rescue, and this was a way to cover up the events leading to the rescue. But from the perspective of the Oceanic 6, everyone back on the island is lost. They will never see them again. So Jin could be back on the island for a very good reason, and Sun will still grieve because they will be (from her point of view) forever apart. The tragedy remains intact, but Jin would still be a viable character.
Perhaps to keep the audience believing in the seemingly mundane nature of the Jin/Sun plot thread, Sayid and Desmond's time on the boat was full of mysterious and disturbing tidbits. Michael, of course, turns out to be Ben's agent on the boat. That had to be a surprise to no one, and his story should be coming soon enough. Surprisingly, that's hardly the most pressing question, because the rest of the crew seems to be losing it.
As it turns out, the freighter's crew has been descending into madness, so much so that a suicide is considered routine. Proximity to the island has never been kind (ask Leonard from "Numbers"), but if the effect on the crew is any indication, mass exposure can be brutal. As it happens, the symptoms of exposure to strong electromagnetic fields are very similar to those exhibited by the crew. The question may not be why the crew is suffering so badly, but why the inhabitants of the island are not.
Captain Gault's story about the apparent Oceanic 815 black box is very interesting, because it definitely muddies the waters a bit. Ben's description of Widmore's activities in the previous episode seemed to fit the facts, but had to be considered through the filter of his biased perspective. Gault's explanations are equally biased, and his story seems to add fuel to the theory that Ben staged the fake crash of Oceanic 815. In fact, unless Ben's organization worked in record time, it refuels the old theory that Ben contrived the actual crash on the island in the first place.
Whatever the case, the truth is probably somewhere in between. Despite his machinations, Ben is remarkably consistent in his aspirations. If it's good for the island and its chosen people, then it's worth doing. Widmore's motivations are far less defined, and that's the source of the confusion. It's known that he has ties to Hanso, who in turn seemed to use the Dharma Initiative to his own ends (including the wacky fun of chemical weapons production at the Tempest). It's also obvious that he's sidelining Penny, who must be even more adamantly searching for Desmond after "The Constant". It's no stretch to say that Gault's explanations are questionable at best.
Sayid and Desmond clearly don't buy any of it, especially after the reaction to Regina's suicide, and that helps keep this transitional episode from losing identity within the larger framework of the season arc. While Kate is legally bound to her new life, her responsibility to Aaron makes any return to the island problematic at best. Sun is in a very similar position. This adds a new layer to any future plans to return as a group. If it were simply adults making decisions for themselves, it would be one thing; choosing for the children is quite another. |
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