Summary: In flashbacks, Kate falls in love with a man named Kevin and marries him, hiding her identity as a criminal. She tries to make the relationship work, but she realizes it's doomed and ends up leaving him. On the island, Locke sees a message as he buries Eko and plans the group's next move. At the Hydra, Danny lets Kate know that Sawyer is going to die. The others take Kate to visit Jack and she tells him to do the procedure or else they will kill Sawyer. Jack still stubbornly refuses. Upset that Sawyer is on borrowed time, Kate goes over to him and they have sex. Jack manages to escape his imprisonment and sees Kate and Sawyer on the TVs. He decides to do the operation on Ben. As Jack starts the operation, Danny goes to the cages to kill Sawyer.
The Good: On the surface, this is a very good story. The emotions that stem from our investment in the Jack/Kate/Sawyer relationships carry the episode. After two full seasons, we understand the relationships between these three characters, and it is easy to root for them to escape and find a way out of captivity. Furthermore, the acting from all three is superb. The performances are very strong, and a number of scenes are really brought to life because I'm able to connect to the emotions that are being expressed. Some highlights include Kate's conversation with Jack, Kate and Sawyer arguing and ultimately having sex, and also Jack's reaction to seeing Kate and Sawyer together. These moments were done very well, and made the episode quite enjoyable. The climax of the episode is very engaging. The tension amps up naturally throughout the episode until Jack actually starts the surgery. What makes this so good is the sheer amount of things that are going on. Ben's life has been put into Jack's hands, and he has the motivation to do a lot of different things (save Ben, kill Ben, do something else entirely). The unpredictability gives this episode a lot of extra drama, making up for the fact that Ben is unlikely to die. Also adding to the drama is the situation between Danny and Sawyer. With this episode serving as a midseason finale of sorts, there is a nagging sense that Sawyer may die which adds even more drama to an already exciting climax. Things heat up to an extreme amount by the episode's end, and then we are left with a stunning cliffhanger in the middle of the surgery. Ordinarily, I would be appalled by cliffhangers like this, but I think this one works. The story of this episode does feel completed, and I get the sense that there is a lot more to Ben's surgery that is being saved for the next episode. Furthermore, instead of feeling cheated by the sudden end to the episode, I felt satisfied. Jack has essentially secured an escape for Kate and Sawyer, so the next episode will likely focus on their actual escape. And hopefully that can be just as exciting to watch. Some other things were very good. I loved Sayid and Locke's conversation. It makes perfect sense that Sayid wouldn't easily submit to Locke's lies, and it was also refreshing to hear Locke openly tell his plan to Sayid instead of keeping meaningless secrets. I wish that more time could be spent with Locke and Sayid this season since there has been some interesting developments on the main island. The flashbacks saw the return of Edward Mars, which is always welcome. Fredric Lehne is a joy to watch in the role. The Bad: Unfortunately two big problems heavily detract from this episode, and they are the same two problems that have hurt this season the most so far. The first is that the flashbacks are hugely underwhelming. We finally learn about Kate's marriage that was hinted at back in "Outlaws", and unfortunately it doesn't do a whole lot. Once again we see that Kate has a penchant for running away, but we knew that already. There really isn't anything special about these flashbacks and the story is really dull. Furthermore, the romance between Kate and Kevin isn't fleshed out at all and I don't understand why they love each other. The most important part of these flashbacks should be to explore Kate being in love, so it could tie in to her love for Jack and Sawyer on the island, but the episode doesn't even attempt to explore this. The other major issue is the portrayal of the others who continue to look woefully incompetent. All they have done so far in this season is senseless mind games, which have now become utterly pointless since Jack discovered the plan anyways. Furthermore, Ben is on extremely borrowed time so it seems absurd that he would waste his precious time on playing mind games when he could simply put a gun to Kate's head and get Jack to do the surgery. Outside of this worrying plot hole, there's Alex's unexplained role in the others' society. What is her purpose there and why is she allowed to do whatever she wants when she is seemingly just a loose cannon? It screams disorganization and it diminishes the threat of the others. Furthermore, Alex's escape attempt in this episode would have fit in with any typical bland drama. Additionally, Ben looks horribly incompetent as a leader since Juliet is openly plotting against him, and now Danny goes strictly against his orders to kill Sawyer. Why is Danny in such a powerful position if he is capable of flying off the handle so suddenly? He doesn't fit with the strict organization of the others at all. This episode does feel more melodramatic than the usual from "Lost". This show has made its mark by being unpredictable and different. With an episode that conforms more to your average TV show, "Lost" is no longer playing to its strengths and that hurts the show's ability to reach the heights that it has reached before. The Unknown: What's Alex's role as part of the others? What is her relationship to Ben? Why did they kill her boyfriend? What does the John 3:05 message mean? Where is Locke being led now? Who is Jacob and what is his list? Why wasn't Jack on it? Is Danny referring to the lists from "The Other 48 Days"? Will Kate and Sawyer somehow get away? How will they get off the island? What happens to Jack now that he's acted out? Will he still be allowed to leave the island afterwards? Were they going to allow him to leave anyways? Best Moment: The Jack and Kate scene resonated the most with me. They both haven't interacted at all this season, so their reunion is an emotional moment. They are both evidently concerned for each other, and extremely happy to see each other. The performances from both are outstanding. Kate is clearly hurting because she doesn't want anybody to die, while Jack is as frustrated as ever when he realizes that the others have broken Kate. It's unforgivable for him and the anger is evident on his face. This scene helps make Jack's decision to hijack the surgery (ordinarily an out-of-character moment) make total sense. Character of the Episode: Kate. Evangeline Lilly gave her best performance of the show here. Conclusion: This episode did a lot of things right, and on the surface this is great stuff with an emotional core to it. But when you look under the surface towards the poor handling of the others and the underwhelming flashbacks, this episode doesn't hold up nearly as well. It's an effective episode but it's still far from "Lost" at its best. Score: 65
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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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