(S03E04) This was an interesting episode. I remember reading about how this season was being split into two parts. First we'd get six episodes and then a nice long hiatus before the return in 2007. I remember reading that article because it said the two parts of season three would have distinctly different feels and themes. Well this episode certainly set-up what's in store for us in the next two installments before the break.
A Sawyer-centric episode, "every man for himself" has become our favorite con man's new slogan. As much as he'd like to find and help Jack, his priority is to get himself and Kate to safety first. Funny how priorities change though right?
First off, let's discuss the flashbacks. They certainly weren't the best flashbacks we've seen Lost give us... these were actually a little dry and 100% predictable. However, I loved how they related to the events of the rest of the episode, right up to the title. Sawyer spent some time in jail, following his "long con" with Cassidy (played by Kim Dickens). Turns out, Mr. James Ford has a daughter and her name is Clementine. Not sure how I felt about that. Cassidy presses charges against Sawyer for stealing her money, he gets busted and slapped with a prison sentence, and then she shows up to flash off some baby pictures? I thought that was kind of cold. Hurtful... but he did con her.
Now while in prison, Sawyer served with a guy named Munson. We found out that Munson had ripped off the government for millions. Now anyone with half a brain should have immediately realized that Sawyer was going to con that guy and he did. He worked out a deal with the warden and some guy from the treasury department to commute the rest of his sentence if he could secure the location of the stolen money from Munson and he did. So Sawyer became a free man and even made a commission from the recovery. He put the money in a bank account for his daughter though. See? He's not so bad. I hope we get to see more of Cassidy and Clementine in future episodes though. Now there was one thing about the flashback that I absolutely loved, but I'll get back to that.
On the island, lots going on. This episode picked up soon after Sun had shot Colleen on the sailboat. Her body was transported back to their compound (village? hamlet? town? whatever it is...) and Sawyer saw it as an opportunity to escape. So he drummed up a plan and it doesn't really matter what it is because Ben can still watch everything from his security station. Sawyer got a serious beat-down from Ben and his retractable night-stick and woke up strapped down on a table.
Upon opening his eyes, he was promptly knocked back out when a giant needle was shoved into his chest. When he woke up again Sawyer watched as Ben shook a bunny rabbit until it died. Ben went on to explain that the rabbit had a small pacemaker inside him. Since his heart rate shot up, the pacemaker caused the bunny's heart to pop. Sawyer now had the same device inside of him... not good. Fortunately, Ben also gave Sawyer a heart monitor watch so he would know if he was getting too excited. And he did, but not because he was trying to escape. Sawyer was just watching Kate change clothes. Funny scene. But it did get our man thinking. He can't try and escape because his heart rate will be too tense and then his love pump will be mushified.
Back inside with Jack, I found it interesting that he challenged Juliet's position within the ranks of The Others. I think she respected him for asking that. Regardless, she still required Jack's help to try and save Colleen's life. However, it was too late. Even Jack couldn't save her. He did see the x-rays hanging outside of the operating room. Apparently The Others have a terrible hospital... nice rooms, no crash carts. Who needs a defibrillator when you're sitting on top of a giant magnetic field, right? Or are they... I'll get back to that.
The x-rays. 40-year old male. Giant tumor on his L4 vertebrae. Jack is a spinal surgeon and there is no doubt in my mind that he was meant to see those images. So who is he supposed to save? My money is on Ben but we'll see. We did find out that Juliet is a fertility doctor so it seems likely that she was the one, along with Ethan, who tended to Claire during her captivity.
Now following Colleen's death, Danny (or Picket or Broken Nose Man) was angered. Colleen and him were an item... aww. So Danny took out all his aggressions on Sawyer and beat the hell out of him . He only stopped when Kate admitted that she loved him. She later denied that, when she almost escaped, but I think she meant it. She's just as headstrong as Sawyer is which is why they're a better match than her and Jack. I was surprised that Sawyer never broke down and told her what was in his chest though. He loves her, that's a certain.
I'll say this though, regarding Danny and the death of Colleen. I really have no sympathy for The Others, including Juliet. They lie, they manipulate, they torture. And then they get indignant when everyone else won't come along peacefully? In Sun's position, any one of the other Losties would have pulled that trigger too.
Moving on, Ben finally took Sawyer for a stroll. Turns out that there is no pacemaker, but that made sense. Especially since Sawyer was one of the few that lie could have worked on. But as Ben said, to earn a con man's respect, you have to con him. All he put in Sawyer was doubt and that made Sawyer seem weak in front of Kate.
Now in the flashback, Sawyer was reading Of Mice and Men in prison. I loved how he quoted the book to act all smart and when Ben quoted the book back, Sawyer had no idea what it was from. Ben's message though? You can't run because you're on a different island. There are two of them and we saw them both. Creepy! I didn't see that coming but it sort of makes sense. That's why finding the others has been so hard... there's water in between them. It would also appear that the hatch explosion didn't affect The Others at all. But they were probably able to see the fireworks.
So what does all this mean? Was DHARMA spread over the two isles alá Jurassic Park? And what about Ben? If he does have the tumor as I suspect, I don't think Jack will be willing to operate on him. Unless this is the favor Ben had referred to before he popped in the Red Sox footage a few episodes ago? This would at least explain why Jack has been separated and taken better care of as opposed to Kate and Sawyer.
Desmond didn't really add anything this time around. He can predict the weather too apparently. I think that might actually come in handy though. And Paulo? Still bugging me. I know he was there, but he wasn't there... you know? It's just weird still. Overall though, a good episode. What did everyone else think?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 5)
10-26-2006 @ 12:01AM
stephen said...
next episode (the cost of living) trailer:
http://www.dharmasecrets.com/forum/index.php/topic,8808.0.html
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10-26-2006 @ 12:02AM
Ben said...
When they first told Sawyer they had put a pacemaker in him and that it would kill him, I thought it was quite possibly the dumbest thing I had ever heard and was convinced that Lost had finally gone too far. Luckily it turned out to be a con, which I should have seen coming, but with Lost, you kind of accept whatever you see without question.
I too was unimpressed with the flashbacks, especially when we got to the third commercial break and I realized there had been exactly one flashback in the first half of the show. And honestly, how unrealistic is it that not only would they just let Sawyer out of prison almost immediately for his information, but they would also let him have a cut of the money?
Paulo seems way out of place, especially the way he talks. I couldn't even figure out whether he had an accent or not. At least they explained where he has been for the first two seasons (golfing). I also thought it was really lame to do a repeat of Charlie's kiddie table joke by having him make reference to Desmond going off into the woods on some adventure since he would never participate.
Finally, the previews for the last two shows look great. The guy with the eyepatch already has me going crazy.
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10-26-2006 @ 12:37AM
jake said...
SPOILER FOR THOSE WHO HAVE NOT SEEN IT --
I'm so glad they didn't put a pacemaker in Sawyer -- I don't know about you guys but I am not a particular fan of the torture -- kinda reminds of this turning me off with alias at how there were these uncomfortable torture scenes. Had they really done what they claimed, it would have just changed the tone of sawyer completetely and because of this episode it made me appreciate Sawyer more than before. Evangeline Lily was phenomenal when she said they she loved Sawyer.
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10-26-2006 @ 12:37AM
Jamie said...
I suspect Jack is suppoed to operate on either the Muysterious Him or more likely, his son. I imagine the Mysteriou Him is Alvar Hano. From the orientation video, he looks old enough to have a forty year old son.
I agree the flashbacks were mediocre, but they did show further why Sawyer has a soft spot for when he seems to resent everyone else.
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10-26-2006 @ 12:38AM
chrisb said...
So now there are two islands? And they expect us to believe that Sayid and the others on the boat didn't notice another island? Wow, I'm really losing interest in this show fast.
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10-26-2006 @ 12:38AM
Scott Stowell said...
Re the eyepatch guy in the preview:
I can't WAIT to find out how Saul Tigh got to the island!
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10-26-2006 @ 12:39AM
Jaimie said...
I liked this episode. If Ben is right, no animals were killed in the production of this episode. Good thing that or else there would be an animal rights issue to ponder. The pacemaker in Sawyer emasculated the most macho of the Losties. He cannot look at Kate dressing or his heart will break (so he thinks). A good clues blog on this episode is in the blog section in http://www.lostexposed.com/ . The spoilers blog were on too.
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10-26-2006 @ 12:39AM
Toby OB said...
So I guess whoever that guy was with the eyepatch in the monitor, he must be the owner of that glass eye from the Tailies' hatch.
One thing that's making it tough to get a fix on Paolo and Nikki is that their scenes apparently are being edited out. Last week we were supposed to be introduced to them (according to various spoiler sites) when Claire caught the two of them making love in Jack's tent. Had that remained, their sudden appearance near the end of the episode wouldn't have been so jarring.
(And they should have been included in Locke's hallucination to help cement that he knew of them all this time.)
This week, it looks like there was supposed to be a scene where Nikki talked to Desmond, not sure about what. But whereas Paolo's scene survived, Nikki was clipped out of existence for the episode.
I hope when the DVD boxed set comes out, these scenes will be placed back into the episodes and not just left as extras. I want the whole package as one seamless viewing experience.
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10-26-2006 @ 8:35AM
LC said...
From the previews, it appears that Jack is supposed to operate on Ben, but it could be a misdirect.
"It would also appear that the hatch explosion didn't affect The Others at all. But they were probably able to see the fireworks."
Actually, it did affect them. As Sawyer was regaining consciousness on the table, "Zeke" was heard telling ben something about the sky turning purple and losing all communication. Whatever they used to communicate to the outside world appears to have been affected by the electro magnetic pulse of the hatch imploding.
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10-26-2006 @ 10:12AM
Danny Cohen said...
I just want Nikki and Paolo to go away... I dislike them... much more than Anna Lucia. They just feel wrong being around. I hope they bite the dust
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10-26-2006 @ 10:12AM
Jothie said...
It was a decent episode, but nothing special. This years starting off slower than the previous 2 seasons.
I'm not so certain that Desmond can predict the future as much as that he figured out there is now ALOT of electro-magnetism surrounding the island that the golf club attracted. Perhaps when he turned the key he released it into the immediate surroundings. Or perhaps the electro-magnetism was soaked up by him and he was using the golf club to test if it was(this just came to me and suddenly makes alot of sense to me. He did turn the key and was standing at ground zero.) Either way I don't think it has anything to do with predicting weather. Its either alot of electro-magnetism in the air or he's causing the lightning strikes because whatever the button was that he was pushing is now inside of him.
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10-26-2006 @ 10:12AM
Shanna said...
Definitely, interesting about the two islands, did not see it coming. Next week looks interesing with the man with the eye patch and glimpses of a fight between Locke and Mr Ecko( sorry if spelling is wrong). Also shows Jack confronting Ben a.k.a Henry Gale about the x-ray. Should definitely be interesting. Things heating up between the Losties and the Others. What was with Colleen saying to Sun if you shoot me you'll just make enemies out of us which we're not as of yet? I would have shot her too. Others have been nothing but antagonistic towards Losties. I am sure there are many more revelations to come but with only two episodes left in the short season we know we are going to be left hanging, probably over a cliff.
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10-26-2006 @ 10:13AM
Baseball Guy said...
I loved this episode as my brother and his partner wrote it! Thanks for watching
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10-26-2006 @ 10:13AM
FP said...
"I'm not so certain that Desmond can predict the future..."
Jothie, interesting theory, but weather had nothing to do with him foreseeing Locke's speech in the last episode. I agree the episode was decent at best, but I am sick and tired of them lumping more question on my already pissed off brain, with no answers forthcoming. I mean, come on, a SECOND island? Remember how much fun the first season was, when we only wondered where they were, what was going on and what if anything they had in common? Its all way too exhausting, frustrating and unsatisfying now.
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10-26-2006 @ 10:13AM
Chris W said...
Is there a problem with the comment posting system?
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10-26-2006 @ 10:13AM
Walt said...
Two Wild Guesses: (based on no evidence at all)
Ben just admitted to a con about the pacemaker. Then he shows Sawyer the second island. Tells him all his friends over on the other island. And everyone automatically believes that? Makes no sense to me. The bear cages on one island, but the bears are on the other island chasing the Losties around? Please.
When the plane crashed and the Others looked up, Ben/Henry assigned guys to to check it out. That puts them on the first island. What, the Others have a second village and commute back and forth between islands?
Second Wild Guess: I've suspected for a while that the show might have put in place in the mythos of LOST a long time split between the Others themselves, where Ben/Henry is on the winning side, the side that "believes the numbers" and perhaps even believes or takes instructions from the guy we saw in the video from this summer's online experience game. The would mean that Ben/Henry believes the original theory that the world is going to end and that being "born on the island" is special somehow. (Nobody said he was always a part of the Hanso stuff) This would perhaps be underscored by the tumor thing.
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10-26-2006 @ 10:14AM
Chris W said...
I'm tempted to believe that Desmond prevented lightning from striking Claire's tent, which is what might have broken it. But unless I'm mistaken, when it started to rain Claire's roof did bust and she and Aaron got soaked. So the "prophecy" of the roof being broken came true before the lightning even struck. Also, he did build a lightning rod which is meant to attract lightning. There's no telling where exactly it would have hit.
Also, from the previews... I think that eye-patch man is either Radzinski (whose glass eye was in the arrow hatch) or a Lostie from the future, possibly Desmond... The producers said that people would be WTF-ing the mini-cliffhanger and saying it would seem like a jump-the-shark moment. What would be more twisted than dual-timelines?
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10-26-2006 @ 10:14AM
Ian said...
Decent ep, lots of disconnects:
o As has been noted it's not credible for there to be 2 whole Islands and yet with all the boating and exploring none of the survivors saw the second island? NOT credible.
o Everytime somethjing happens in the others camp they HAVE to parade between the 2 cages? Come on as if here is no other way around that camp! Not credible.
o Ben/Henry says "We are not killers". Yeah like they instigate EVERY act of violence with indesciminate shootings and torture etc. The others are low life for sure.
o Yeah like they have all this broken down equipment and yet the communicate freely with the world at large and the internet? Not credible.
o Pacemaker? Like you could not feel something that big (have to be 30 year old technology/size)! ANyways the macho Sawyer would have been trying to rip it out in any other ep. I like the "new" heart beat watch. Not quite 30 year old model either! So no new defibrilator parts, but the latest sports watch..yeah...
o Yeah Sawyer how long was he in jail? He failed to see his ex gf growing a bump even during his trial in which she must have been the prime witness. ANd the child is a year old in the photo or more? Yeah!
o Yeah the 2 still haven't caught on that there is surveillance of the cages when everything they do or saw is known to Henry?
Producers, you are dropping a lotta balls IMHO this 3rd year.
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10-26-2006 @ 10:14AM
Lee said...
It was stated that Danny (or Picket or Broken Nose Man)and Colleen were married, not just an item. Also, the reason that Sawyer didn't tell Kate about the pacemaker is that Ben threatened to put one in Kate if Sawyer told.
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10-26-2006 @ 10:15AM
Mike said...
We can NOT conclude that the others have been hard to find because they've been hanging out on the second island. The season opener showed the Others running outside at the village where they live to witness the plane splitting in two and then crashing onto the very same island on which they reside. The camera zooms out to show the village in the foreground, with smoke rising from two points on the horizon - on the same island. Does a second island exist? Yes, but that doesn't explain why the village on the main island hasn't been discovered by the Losties. Unrelated question: Did anyone else hear Ben say that a "sub" had arrived ("sub" as in "submarine") ?
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