Summary: In flashbacks, Locke learns that his father has died. He goes with Helen to the funeral and ends up running into Anthony alive and well. He has faked his death and asks Locke to bring him money. Locke does it but lies to Helen and says he hasn't seen him. When Locke brings Anthony the money, Helen follows him and leaves him for lying. On the island, Locke is trapped with Henry inside the hatch when a lockdown occurs and the blast doors suddenly come down. Locke tries to lift the doors and squeeze under but the door crushes his legs, trapping him. Henry goes through the vents and presses the button. The doors come up and Henry helps nurse Locke back to health. Meanwhile, Jack and Kate find a supply drop in the jungle. There they meet with the returning Sayid, Charlie and Ana Lucia. The group goes to the hatch and apprehends Henry. They found the balloon and the grave, but the man buried in the grave was the real Henry Gale.
The Good: The plot here was refreshingly strong. The lockdown was a big surprise since I had completely forgotten about the blast doors. Having Locke and Henry trapped together allowed for some solid character development while providing some tension with the timer counting down on the other side of the blast doors. The plot was engrossing and it built up organically to a wonderful climax where a mysterious map was revealed (see: Best Moment). The episode didn't stop there though. Sayid, Charlie and Ana Lucia's returns allowed for a wonderful twist at the end: Henry Gale is an other. Had this happened in any previous episode, it wouldn't have been a surprise. But this episode did an astonishing job of making Henry seem innocent through his growing bond with Locke. The shift in tone in this episode made the ending reveal a genuine surprise, proving once more that "Lost" is still capable of producing compelling twists. Locke's story is also quite good. His island and flashback stories don't correlate very much but they are both excellent stories in their own right. On the island, Locke has been succumbing to his frustrations more and more often this season. So naturally, the island tests his faith once again by taking out his legs. Locke's frustrations are prevalent once again, but then things turn around with the reveal of a surprise blast door map and Henry's decision to stand by Locke and help him. Locke's faith may have been building up once again, but now it seems that Henry was manipulating him all along. I can't imagine that Locke will have a particularly positive response to this reveal, and I'm excited to see where the character goes after this. In the flashbacks, Locke once again finds himself dragged down by his relationship with his father. In "Orientation" we see Locke leave his father behind and make his choice to stay with Helen. But when Anthony seeks him out, Locke finds it too difficult to simply leave behind an opportunity to get that fatherly love he so badly desires. Locke's response to Anthony is so understandable, and that makes it much more painful when this one unfortunate decision costs Locke everything as Helen leaves him for lying. Once again, Locke's desire for a father in his life has led to him making a very bad decision that ruined his life. I was pretty happy with Hurley commenting on how he's not in the loop and isn't allowed to know all of the secret information. At least the show is self-aware with how unrealistic it is to have all of these absurd secrets. The Bad: The poker story is a boring B-story that feels like filler. It only serves as an explanation for why Jack doesn't come back to the hatch during the lockdown. Furthermore, we get to see Jack completely own Sawyer in poker which feels like needless fanservice to show that Jack is still higher up on the island hierarchy than Sawyer is. The gangsters that showed up in Locke's flashback could not have been more generic. The leather jackets, the voice, the name "Jimmy Bane"? Come on now. The Unknown: Why was the lockdown triggered? Does it have anything to do with the supply drop that Jack and Kate found? Who dropped the supply drop anyways? Is the Dharma Initiative still operational? Who is Henry actually? It seems that he is an other. What is his position in the others' society? What was that blast door map? What is the "?" in the middle? Why did black lights come on anyways? Best Moment: The appearance of the blast door map was perfect. The episode built and built to the moment that the timer reached zero, and the tension had never been higher. And right at the moment of peak tension, the blast door map appeared and offered us a tantalizing glimpse at what this island has to offer us. And just like that, it was gone. Character of the Episode: Locke. Conclusion: This was an excellent episode. We had an engaging plot filled with mystery, and two fantastic stories for Locke. This is everything that I want from a "Lost" episode. Score: 75
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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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