Summary: Flashbacks show Jin getting a panda for one of Mr. Paik's business associates who recently became a father. Flashforwards show Sun give birth to Ji Yeon off the island. She visits Jin's grave. On the island, Sun learns from Kate that Daniel and Charlotte aren't trustworthy and decides to go to Locke's camp. Juliet tries to stop her and tells Jin about her affair. Jin forgives her, Sun forgives Juliet and she decides to stay at Jack's camp. On the freighter, Sayid and Desmond meet the captain who tells them the freighter belongs to Widmore and that Ben is responsible for the fake flight 815 wreckage. Sayid and Desmond discover that Michael is Ben's spy.
The Good: This episode was defined by its two big twists. The first, and most meaningful, was the reveal that Jin is likely dead. The entire episode is structured around this twist reveal and it works pretty well even if it does feel a bit cheap (see: The Bad). Learning that Jin has died was a heartbreaking moment, especially coming right after a sweet moment of reconciliation between Jin and Sun on the island. Yunjin Kim does a magnificent job in this scene, and it is a suitably depressing moment. I also think that this reveal was a smart decision for the show. Because we know Jin is possibly going to die, all of his actions on the island will now become far more interesting to follow. This is a necessary move for characters like Sun and Jin who don't seem to have much direction at the moment, and if done well, this storyline could have impact similar to Charlie's story in season 3. Sun and Jin's island story was pretty good too. Sun's infidelity was a bombshell waiting to drop and I'm pleased to see that it came up here. More impressively, I was happy with how logically it was resolved. Jin has grown a lot as a person, so seeing him forgive Sun so quickly was both a pleasant surprise and a logical decision. While a bit cheesy, I did like the scene with Jin and Bernard as it nicely framed Jin's decision to stay with Sun and love her despite what she did. Jin's forgiveness also makes the aforementioned twist all the more heartbreaking. The second big twist came from the freighter storyline. The scenes on the freighter were the highlight of the episode for me as they were packed full of intrigue and mystery. Almost every scene had something strange going on and it was really engaging to watch and try to puzzle out what's really going on. I enjoyed the introduction to the captain, and it was so refreshing to see somebody say things as they are instead of needlessly lying or keeping secrets. The scenes on the freighter not only raised questions, but they also gave us some good answers, slowly tying together what's going on. Now all we need is to check in with Widmore and learn his motives and I think that we will have a pretty good picture of why this freighter is here and what the intentions of the crew are. The reveal that Ben was responsible for faking the flight 815 crash was a great dramatic moment, and it raises plenty of questions (see: The Unknown). But of course the defining moment was the reveal that Michael was the spy on board the freighter. The moment was executed superbly well and is a very exciting twist. The Bad: This episode had one major flaw and several smaller flaws. The biggest issue came with Jin's flashbacks. I understand why these are in the episode: they mislead us so that the twist at the end can be a real surprise. But, the way they are implemented makes them feel incredibly cheap and deceptive. The flashbacks serve no purpose from a character perspective and exist exclusively to deceive us. Is it really worth filming over 5 minutes of television for the sole reason of deception? It feels like wasted time and is unnecessarily manipulative. I don't hate this as much as most people, but it is annoying that the episode went out of its way to deceive us in a way that doesn't provide any natural storytelling. A lot of small things in this episode bothered me. I've grown weary of the constant questioning of if Daniel and Charlotte are here to save everyone. We already know that their primary goal is to find Ben and we know Widmore owns the boat and he's looking for the island. Since we already have the answers, it's frustrating to watch the other characters play catch up and continually ask these questions we already have answers to. It gets dull. Sun's decision to go with Locke makes no sense. Surely she wouldn't want to go away from the only two doctors on the island? Furthermore, the only basis for this decision is because Juliet keeps lying, something that only bothers Sun when she hears about Juliet's inexplicable lie about The Tempest from the previous episode. Don't get me wrong, I love it when a show has continuity and when previous actions influence future events. But the issue here is that the events to lead Sun to her choice are nonsensical, so it feels like the show went out of its way to write bad stories to try to justify Sun's decision here. Juliet has literally no reason to lie anymore, so for the show to keep having her lie as a plot device is frustrating. Another decision that is explained poorly is Rose's choice to go with Jack despite wanting to stay on the island. I'm sorry but the reason being Locke is a murderer is laughable, especially since everyone was killing the others last season. Hell, Jack literally tried to kill Locke in the season premiere! I appreciate that the writers are at least explaining Rose's decision, but they can do much better than this. Now I have a few very minor nitpicks. Sun's birth story is pretty dull because we've seen so many births and it's obvious that she isn't going to die. Michael's return has potential to be spoiled because Harold Perrineau's name has been in the credits since the first episode of this season. Surely he should have been omitted from the credits to preserve the surprise. Lastly, my immersion gets broken with how empty the freighter is. Was the budget low or something? There should be more extras on the freighter playing crewmen. The Unknown: Was Sun able to give birth safely because she left the island? Did the others never test taking their pregnant women off island to give birth? Why has the freighter been sabotaged? Is this Michael's doing? Is there any significance to the lima beans? Why does Michael warn Sayid and Desmond to not trust the captain? Is the captain essentially just Widmore's puppet? Was Ben actually responsible for the flight 815 wreckage or is this a lie? Why did he fake the crash? How did he pull this off? Where did he get the bodies? How does Ben communicate with Michael? With comms down it must be hard for Michael to be given orders. Did they work out what to do beforehand? How did Ben recruit Michael anyways? What is he doing going back to the island? What happened to Walt? Why did Regina kill herself? Is it really this strange cabin fever or is it something else? Where did Frank go with the helicopter? Who went with him? We don't see Keamy after Frank leaves, did he go to the island? Is Jin actually dead? Or was he just left behind on the island with everyone else? Hurley seems to suggest that Jin is dead, but maybe they are faking that he died when the plane crashed. If Jin does die, how does it happen? Best Moment: Sun crying at Jin's grave was really sad. Character of the Episode: Sun. Conclusion: This was a flawed episode, but there's a lot to love about it. The two twists are very impactful, and the continued mystery of the freighter remains a really compelling storyline. I'm excited to see what's to come in the second half of this season. Score: 66
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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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