Summary: In flashforwards, Jack and Kate have moved in together and are happy. However, Jack meets with a guilty Hurley and has a vision of his father that prompts him to leave her instead of marrying her like he had planned. On the island, Jack gets appendicitis and Juliet operates on him to save him. Juliet is clear to Kate that Jack loves her. Jin and Sun go with Charlotte and Daniel to The Staff for medical supplies. Jin ensures with Charlotte that Sun will be taken off the island. Sawyer, Claire and Miles head back to the beach, but Claire walks off with Christian along the way, leaving Aaron behind.
The Good: The flashforwards told an excellent story. The Kate and Jack love story has been developing since the very first episode, and here we finally see it at its peak in the flashforwards with the two of them living together. It's a nice moment that pays off of seasons worth of interactions, and I did feel something seeing them together, even if their chemistry has been a weaker aspect of the show. Because of the longevity of the storyline, I bought into them living together happily. But of course it doesn't last, and we know beforehand that it doesn't last because of what we saw back in "Through the Looking Glass". The story is packed with a tragic sense of foreboding because we know that Jack will eventually leave her and fall victim to his regret of not staying on the island. The question that intrigues us throughout this episode is what happens to Jack that makes him give up his happy life with Kate? The answer is quite grim. After a visit with an insane Hurley (see: The Unknown), you can evidently see that Jack is shaken up by what he said and we see some hints of Jack's guilt popping up. But Jack being Jack, is stubborn and ignores his emotions, opting to push ahead with Kate by proposing to her. The episode does really well to connect us with Jack in this sequence. We understand his guilt, but we can also admire his courage as he does his absolute best to keep things moving with Kate. It's not until Jack gets visited by a literal ghost of the past (see: Best Moment) that he finally realizes that he can't go through with his dream life with Kate. It's a sad realization, and the fight between Jack and Kate is heartbreaking to watch. A lovely detail is how Jack is unable to let go of the idea of Kate doing a favour for Sawyer and latches onto it aggressively to kick off the fight with Kate to lead to their break-up. It's so in-character for Jack to become obsessive like this when he's aggravated, and a lack of trust has been something that we've seen from him in his relationship with Sarah. The writers have grasped the essence of Jack's character tremendously well. The island story has some smaller things that I liked a lot. Rose being confused about Jack's sickness is a logical development, and I like seeing the minor characters speculating about the powers of the island for once. The tense sequence with Keamy almost finding Sawyer, Claire and Miles was pretty good and establishes that he's still a big threat and that the smoke monster did not wipe them all out. The Jin and Sun subplot was pretty good as well, and I can't help but wonder if Jin choosing to save Sun over himself is why Jin ultimately ends up dying. The Bad: The island story is pretty weak. Obviously Jack is not going to be killed by appendicitis so there is no suspense at all. The main purpose of this episode is to resolve the love triangle with Jack, Kate and Juliet, a storyline which ended up being woefully unnecessary. The island plot of this episode highlights how the writers have failed to come up with a compelling storyline for Jack's camp this season. There hasn't been any plot progression at all and all of the interesting things have happened at Locke's camp, on the freighter, or in flashforwards. The Unknown: Is Hurley crazy in the mental institution? It's very possible that the island is somehow sending him these visions. Or, more interestingly, are they just a manifestation of his guilt? If that's the case, then how did Hurley know that Jack would be getting a visitor too? Or was the vision of Christian another manifestation of guilt rather than a legitimate vision? What was the favour that Kate did for Sawyer? Why did Sawyer choose to stay on the island? How did Jack save Kate? Why did Christian take Claire with him? What is he going to do with her? Why is he on the island anyways? What are his goals? Is Claire walking off with Christian the reason why she didn't get saved? Best Moment: Christian appearing to Jack in the flashforwards was a fantastic moment. The atmosphere of the scene was isolating and frightening, and that made Christian's sudden appearance feel every bit like a horrifying reminder to us as it would to Jack. The best part of the scene is how it's shot in a way that makes it unclear if this is all in Jack's head or not. The other doctor was calling his name, so maybe it was never Christian that called for Jack, but his coworker. Regardless, the entire ordeal leaves Jack incredibly shaken, and Matthew Fox does a fantastic job of portraying how big of an effect this moment had on Jack. Character of the Episode: Jack. Conclusion: Jack's camp has been the least compelling location to focus on this season, and that trend continues with this episode. Luckily, the character story is excellent and the character writing makes every scene enjoyable, so the episode is still really good. But the lack of momentum in the island story prevents this from being as good as it could have been. Score: 68
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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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