Summary: In the flashsideways, a successful Hurley is forced into a date by his mom. He encounters Libby, who is in a mental health institute but claims that she knows him. Hurley has an encounter with Desmond who encourages him to follow through with Libby. Hurley talks more with Libby and they end up kissing, causing Hurley to remember. Desmond finds Locke and runs him over with his car. On the island, Ilana gets dynamite to help Richard blow up the plane but she blows herself up. With Michael's instructions, Hurley gets everyone to go to the Black Rock to get more dynamite, but it's a trick and Hurley runs ahead to blow up all the dynamite. Richard goes with Ben and Miles to stay away from MIB while Hurley gets Jack and Sun to go with him to talk with MIB. Hurley sees Michael again and discovers that the whispers are the dead souls trapped on the island. Hurley makes it to MIB's camp. Meanwhile, Sayid shows Desmond to MIB who takes him to a well and throws him in it.
The Good: There is a lot going on in this episode, and it pushes the plot forward significantly. There are big developments here like the destruction of the Black Rock, Ilana's death, Richard's group splitting away, and Hurley, Sun, and Jack joining up with MIB's camp. We also surprisingly get a straightforward answer for once as we learn about the nature of the whispers (though that reveal wasn't entirely satisfying, see: The Bad). All of this is good to see considering how recent episodes in this season have been mostly uneventful and have lacked urgency. There were some nice character moments throughout the episode. Jack's arc this season has been a highlight. It's so great to see him finally letting go and letting others take the lead. His complete trust in Hurley and his admission of guilt for getting Juliet killed were impactful moments that reveal to us exactly how and why Jack has changed this season. Hurley has a pretty good episode too as we get to see the show's themes of leadership extend to him for once. Usually the leader role would be limited to Jack, Locke, Ben, or Sawyer, so it's nice to see the show toy with the idea of Hurley stepping up and being in charge. The flashsideways story is pretty good. Hurley's as relatable as ever even with his good luck. Despite being the man of the year, he's still lonely and unable to find a girl for himself, which sets up a beautiful romance between Hurley and Libby, leading up to a surprising climax as Hurley remembers the island. It should be interesting to see the impact this has on the story (see: The Unknown), but more importantly, the moment stands out emotionally because it is a nice bit of bonding for Hurley and Libby. It was great to see Libby again, and even get some possible answers about why she was in the mental institute in the real world (issues with reality). There were some other small things I enjoyed. This episode was light on callbacks but we had some delightful moments like Dr. Chang being the spokesperson for Hurley and Hurley's mother being exactly the same as ever, even with Hurley being one of the world's most loved individuals. MIB's story with Desmond was solid and enjoyable. Terry O'Quinn is as great as ever, and there was a genuine surprise when MIB seemingly left Desmond in the well for dead. The Bad: Many of the developments here did not work for me, and I think that is because this episode did not make these moments resonate emotionally. Let's take the splitting of the main group into two smaller groups. This is something we have seen several times before in "Lost" (think "House of the Rising Sun" and "The Beginning of the End"), but it felt so empty and unengaging this time around. I think that's because the characters aren't making any interesting choices or developing interesting conflicts with this split. The conflict between the groups is practically nonexistent and it only comes to the forefront because of Hurley's choice to blow up the Black Rock, a decision that was played for shock value rather than any actual emotional value. As such, the conflict between Hurley and Richard has very little heart to it, and seeing the groups split up feels like the show going through the motions instead of making me care about what is happening. Ilana's death was awful. What a horrible resolution for a character who ended up being completely pointless. She didn't add much to the show, she was a forgettable character, her plot function could easily have been fulfilled by somebody else, and her death wasn't even any good. We already saw Arzt die the same way, seeing it happen again adds nothing whatsoever. It's a horrible way to end this character's story, and I can't help but be disappointed by how Ilana and her group amounted to absolutely nothing. Furthermore, I was frustrated with the lack of reaction to her death outside of one line by Ben. And even that line didn't land well with me. His claim of "the island was done with her" just reeks of the real meaning being "the writers were done with her". I also wasn't happy with the answer for the whispers. Having them just be dead spirits is really unsatisfying, and it isn't even a complete answer! We know that the whispers are connected to the others somehow, but the show doesn't tell us why this is the case, so it is an incomplete answer anyways. Furthermore, the reveal of this answer isn't a big dramatic moment, and it's not part of a character moment either. The episode comes to a halt specifically to give us this lame, half-assed answer, and that is just not worth it. I've always respected "Lost" for never sacrificing its drama for the sake of giving out answers. I'm alright with there being some minor mysteries left unresolved - obviously the show won't be able to tackle every tiny detail. But if we are getting answers, they need to be more thought out than this. The flashsideways story has its problems to. For one, it's really tough to buy into the idea that world-famous Hurley is struggling to even get a date. Furthermore, Hurley should not be surprised that Libby knows his name. He's famous! There are more significant issues with this story though, and they primarily involve Desmond. It's hard to connect with Desmond's journey when he is going around like a magical messiah to all of the Oceanic 815 passengers. His words to Hurley only seemed to work through blind luck. There were surely plenty of variables that could have prevented Hurley from remembering his past with Libby. Additionally, how does Desmond know about Hurley and Libby being together? I'm still unclear with how much Desmond actually knows. The ending scene of the episode is a big surprise, but I'm left scratching my head at how Desmond thinks that attempting to kill Locke will help him remember. I wish that we had more context on what is going on inside Desmond's head as he goes on his journey. The Unknown: How does Desmond know how to help Hurley? Why did he run over Locke at the end of the episode? How is that going to help Locke remember? MIB sees a young kid again when he takes Desmond away to presumably kill him. Who is this boy? Is it Jacob? MIB's younger self? Why is he appearing? Is he a manifestation of MIB's conscience telling him not to kill someone? What does MIB plan to do with Desmond? I assume that he survived being thrown in the well. Is someone else going to find him? Best Moment: It's tough to find a moment that really resonated. I'll go with MIB questioning Desmond and throwing him into the well. Character of the Episode: MIB. Conclusion: This was a weak episode, the worst of the season so far. There were plenty of developments but I felt indifferent to most and disliked a few. There was plenty of plot momentum this time, but that doesn't offer much when many of the developments fell flat. This middle section of season 6 has been disappointing so far. Score: 52
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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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