Summary: In flashbacks, Nikki and Paulo steal diamonds from a rich TV show producer but the diamonds make them grow apart. While on the island, Nikki is increasingly invested in finding the diamonds which makes Paulo paranoid that she doesn't care about him. Paulo finds them diamonds and hides them from her. Nikki finds out and paralyzes him with a spider but she gets paralyzed too. In the present, Hurley and Sawyer find Nikki and Paulo paralyzed but think that they are dead. They investigate to find out what happened but don't end up getting an answer. They end up burying Nikki and Paulo alive along with their diamonds.
The Good: This was a fun episode that tried something new. The characters of Nikki and Paulo hadn't done much before and weren't very well received so the writers chose to kill them off in what ended up being a pretty fun and creative way. This episode feels less like "Lost" and more like a murder mystery, which is a neat format break that allows the show to do something different in taking care of these two characters. Admittedly, the story for Nikki and Paulo is very well done. They're despicable people but are still human enough to understand and that makes this story resonate more than it should. By the end of the episode I understood their conflict very well and it was a little tragic to see their relationship fall apart the way it did. The final visuals of Nikki and Paulo being buried alive was pretty horrific and it felt like a suitably grim fate for the two of them, giving the episode a memorable conclusion. What made this really stand out was the details. This episode was impressively well written and packed with foreshadowing, Easter Eggs and group interactions that impressed me. The foreshadowing in this episode was lovely. Nikki's comment about how guest stars always die at the start of the episode was fitting considering that she and Paulo were essentially just glorified guest stars themselves. I also appreciated the nod to them not wanting to end up like Boone and Shannon with the irony being that they ended up being buried on the island just like Boone and Shannon. I was pleased with all of the callbacks. We got to see more footage from the crash that neatly integrated things like Boone searching for a pen, Ethan making an appearance and Dr. Arzt returning. The story allowed for these cameos to fit in organically so it isn't just meaningless fanservice. The episode also gave us some answers about the others when Ben and Juliet visited the Pearl (see: The Unknown). I appreciated that the survivors discussed some of the mysterious things that are going on, like the monster and Mr. Eko saying "you're next" when he died and what that meant. Furthermore, there was also some speculation on if Nikki and Paulo were in touch with the others which was another fun detail. Lastly, I was really happy to see Charlie making amends for attacking Sun back in "The Long Con". I'm glad that this storyline wasn't forgotten and it gave both Charlie and Sun some good moments in the episode. The Bad: This episode was filler though and that does hurt its quality. It's fun to watch but the episode doesn't fit in at all with the overarching story and could easily be skipped without missing anything. If this was the pay-off for Nikki and Paulo, I think the show would have been better off if they just hadn't bothered introducing these characters at all. They just feel like a waste of time now. Even if the episode wasn't bad, Nikki and Paulo didn't end up adding anything to the story. It seems farfetched that Nikki and Paulo would discover things like the Beechcraft and the Pearl and hear plans from Ben. What makes things especially bad is that the two of them told nobody about any of this which makes no sense. Surely they should mention these things right away! Instead it seems like they simply didn't care. Nikki and Paulo's death has little impact because nobody else really seems to care that they died, especially Sawyer who continually messes up their names. The Unknown: So the others knew about both the Pearl and the Swan. Why didn't they man these stations? Surely they could have taken both of them if they wanted, like they did with the Flame. Why leave these two? Did Ben simply not want to do experiments here? That makes no sense, especially considering that Ben hadn't even seen the Swan when he was first captured. Also, we learn that Ben was likely captured on purpose with the idea of manipulating Jack. Why did he make such a risky move? Who did he place in charge while he was captured? Why was the smoke monster involved in Nikki being paralyzed? Did it condemn Nikki and Paulo to death the same way it condemned Eko? Best Moment: Charlie confessing what he did to Sun was a powerful moment. It's nice to see Charlie making a conscious effort to redeem himself, knowing that his days are numbered. Even knowing that Sun would be angry at him, he doesn't make excuses but simply resigns himself to her judgement of him. It's a lovely piece of character growth. Character of the Episode: I'll give it to both Nikki and Paulo, why not. Conclusion: This was a solid episode overall. It was a lot of fun and was written very well, though it couldn't overcome the fact that this episode didn't need to exist and was the most filler episode of the show so far. Still, I had a fun time watching this and the score should reflect that. Score: 65
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Aaron DhillonJust a university student who loves to watch TV. And analyze it way too much. Archives
March 2024
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