Summary: Flashbacks show one of Jack's patients dying in surgery. Christian had been operating on her before but he was under the influence so Jack took over. Christian convinces Jack to claim the death was inevitable, but upon learning that the patient was pregnant, Jack tells the truth and Christian loses his job. In the present, Jack, Kate, Locke and Boone go looking for Claire. Ethan leaves two trails so the group splits up. Jack and Kate go the correct direction. Ethan attacks Jack and threatens to kill one of them if Jack keeps following. Jack presses on and they come across Charlie who has been hanged from a tree. Jack is able to resuscitate him but he doesn't remember anything. Locke and Boone keep searching and they find a mysterious structure in the dirt.
The Good: This episode had the most exciting, suspenseful plot since the pilot episodes. Following Claire and Charlie's kidnapping, there was a huge sense of urgency throughout the episode, and the momentum of chasing after Ethan made the episode work at a faster than usual pace with much more tension than what we usually get. As a result, this episode was very easy to watch and it would certainly be a highlight episode for the more casual viewers. That's not to say that the character stuff was reduced in favour of the plot, like in "Raised By Another". In fact, it's almost the opposite as this episode ended up having some of the strongest character development of the series this far. Jack's story is amazing to behold, and it's surprising how many new aspects of his character were explored in this episode. "White Rabbit" showed us Jack's most likeable traits: he's a leader, he's strong-willed, and he's heroic. In contrast, this episode shows us the more negative aspects of Jack's character. Throughout the episode he's angry, stubborn, obsessive, overly emotional, and very aggressive. But somehow the writing is so good that Jack never feels inconsistent with what we have seen of him so far, and it comes off that the writers are showing us the deeper aspects of his character. Like everybody else, even Jack has his flaws, and this makes him a much stronger character than he had appeared to be so far. The flashback story was terrific. One of the biggest mysteries from "White Rabbit" was what had happened between Jack and Christian. We are given the answer here in what ended up being a terrific examination of Jack's character. We get to learn more about why Jack was so anxious to see Christian buried. Not only was it because of their issues, but it was also because Jack himself feels responsible for the events that led to his father's death. Christian tried to get Jack to lie for him, going as far as to manipulate Jack in what was a pretty fantastic scene. But unfortunately Jack's heroic instincts haven't changed since his childhood, and we get to see Jack cave at the idea of lying, showing such integrity and dedication to the work he does by telling the truth. But Jack preserving his morals came at the expense of his relationship with his father, which was already somewhat strained. The flashback story ties into Jack's struggles on the island as well. We see Jack vehemently dashing through the woods, taking no breaks and refusing to care for himself until Claire and Charlie are found. Just like with Christian, Jack is feeling guilty about his actions which led to Claire storming off alone, and he won't stop until he has done the right thing and saved both Claire and Charlie. Jack's arc on the island is a combination of his willpower to do the right thing and the guilt he feels when his actions have unintended consequences, the two main aspects of his character that were explored in the flashbacks. Outside of Jack, there is a lot to love about the island story. There are several great moments throughout the episode that service other characters and also provide great drama. I appreciated the scenes with Michael as he gets dismissed by Locke in a lovely bit of continuity (back in "Walkabout", Locke saw for himself that Michael can be a liability). It sets up a nice bit of conflict between them while also making Michael seem more likeable as he decides to head into the jungle anyways. The fight sequence between Ethan and Jack is another highlight. The fight was short but sweet, and it was carried by the menacing threat that Ethan poised. William Mapother was very intimidating in this short scene, and his imposing presence gave me chills. Lastly, I thought the climactic scene where Jack and Kate stumbled upon Charlie was mostly fantastic. The moment was stunning, and it seemed like "Lost" may have actually killed off a key character already which would have been a devastating twist. Though that wasn't the case in the end, the scene still carried a lot of weight and it was really powerful seeing Kate crying while Jack desperately tried to bring Charlie back to life, unable to accept that he had caused Charlie's death. I liked the scene between Sayid and Sawyer. Their interactions were well written and well acted, giving us an electric scene with a lot of substance. We get to learn what Sayid has seen as a backdrop to the character drama of Sawyer confronting the man who tortured and nearly killed him. It's interesting to see Sawyer forgive Sayid, showing that he does have a human side and that he is well aware that he did deserve everything that he got. The Bad: Charlie coming back to life was a bit of a cheesy moment, but the scene was so well executed that it didn't bother me much. What did bother me was that Charlie conveniently didn't remember anything and only gave us vague details about what happened. The writers weren't ready for Charlie to give away much information, but they also weren't ready to kill him off. So instead of committing to one of these things, they took the cheap way out, which didn't feel satisfying at all. I'm disappointed that we didn't get to see more reactions to what happened to Claire. The idea that there are other people on the island and that their community had been infiltrated should be horrifying to everyone. Nobody should be able to trust each other, and there should be fear all around the camp. Yet the episode doesn't explore this at all which feels like a missed opportunity. Panic radiating through the camp would have made the episode even more gripping. Jack was too confrontational with Kate in this episode. I get that the writers were trying to show Jack's aggression, but the moment where he demands that Kate tells him something real didn't land with me. It was similar to the scene in "The Moth" when Kate raged at Sawyer. The moment wasn't earned and it only happened because the writers needed for it to happen. Did we really need such cheesy punch sound effects during the Ethan/Jack fight? The poor sound design stood out there. The Unknown: Why is Hurley known to be a warrior back home? Why was Jack the only one to hear Claire's screams? I wonder if this will be significant later or if it was just Jack's anxiety-filled brain imagining screams that weren't actually there. Charlie seems to suggest that more than one person attacked him and Claire. Did Ethan bring friends? Where are these other people anyways? Could it be that they are much closer to the group of survivors than we expect? Best Moment: Plenty of moments stood out so it's tough to choose. I'll have to go with Jack going with his guts and telling the truth about what happened during the surgery. I'll put that scene slightly above Jack trying to revive Charlie and Christian manipulating Jack. All are fantastic scenes. Character of the Episode: Jack. Conclusion: This was a spectacular episode that had rich character development and tons of action and tension. Though I had issues with the episode, there is just so much to love about this that I can't justify a score lower than an 80. Jack's story is simply remarkable and this episode has my favourite flashback and main island storyline so far. Score: 82
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Aaron DhillonJust a university student who loves to watch TV. And analyze it way too much. Archives
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