Charlie has prepared a beachside picnic for Claire, but she is distracted by her great idea to catch a banded bird from a passing flock and attach a message about the castaways. Desmond shows up, looking worried and imploring Charlie to come boar hunting with him. Charlie doesn’t want to. Desmond tries other things to stop Claire from catching a bird, including firing his gun nearby, and then claiming his had fired at a boar. Charlie also tries to convince Claire that she is wasting her time. Claire gets angry at Charlie’s lack of faith in her and kicks her out, but her curiosity about why Desmond and Charlie are so negative about her idea leads her to follow Desmond. She finds him trapping a bird that he somehow knew would be in a certain place. Desmond levels with her, telling her that he foresaw Charlie drowning on rocks while trying to fetch that very same bird. Claire finds Charlie and says she understands everything, and takes him back in.
Tensions between Locke and Sayid have escalated since Locke blew up the Flame. Sayid and Locke argue about whether to follow the electrical map, with Mikhail stating flatly that they are on course, and Kate breaking the stalemate by suggesting that they keep going.
Kate tries to ask Mikhail some questions; Mikhail says he came to the island by submarine. All other questions are not answered, with Mikhail patronizingly says that they are incapable of understanding because they are not on the list.
They reach a series of posts which appear to be a barrier around the barracks. Mikhail claims that is was a security grid, but that it stopped working when the hatch exploded. In response, Locke pushes Mikhail through the posts. Mikhail says, "Thank you", and then foams at the mouth and soon dies. The others conclude that he was killed by a sonar blast. Sayid and Kate are angry at Locke for pushing Mikhail through, but Locke claims it was a mistake.
Plan B is to fell a tree and climb over the barrier post. This works, and soon, the group is in a patch of jungle. There, hidden away, they are shocked to see Jack, having a football catch with Tom, and seeming to be quite happy and joyful while he is doing this.
Claire’s backstory: Claire is a young goth who, while driving a car with her mother as a passenger, is involved in a serious accident. Her mother is in a coma, with little chance for recovery. The hospital expenses are being taken care of by a mysterious person who wishes to remain anonymous. But he (Jack’s father) shows up for a visit, encouraging Claire to pull the plug. Claire does not, choosing to leave her mother in a comatose state, perhaps too wracked by guilt to take the final step.
Comments
We have learned in this episode that Locke’s recent bumbling has been perhaps by design. In some ways, he seems to have previous knowledge of Mikhail’s house. He nabbed some C4, but still blew the place up. He pushes Mikhail into the border fence and killed him, then seemed to protest too loudly that he had no idea Mikhail would die. I have the feeling that Locke is holding a huge secret about himself.
We also now know that Claire and Jack are half-siblings, although they do not know it yet.
It appears that Jack may have been brainwashed, although it doesn’t seem like enough time has passed for this to have happened. Or maybe, he has been cloned.
Nits
The speedometer in the car has both miles and kilometers, with the kilometers on the inside ring. This matches an American speedometer; however, the accident took place in Australia. In Australia, speedometers have had only kilometer measurements since about 1973.
In Australia, where this story takes place, medical expenses are paid for by Medicare, a government-funded system. There would be no need for Jack’s father to pay for any expenses. Additionally, even in America, it would be unlikely that the surgeon would be aware of or care who was paying for the expenses. This would be handled well behind the scenes by administration staff (this one is a common Hollywood script cliché).
If Jack’s father wanted to remain anonymous, why did he show up at the hospital room?
Quotable Quotes
"I woke up this morning and I thought, ‘It's time to stop feeling sorry for yourself and seize the day.’ And, I can't think of anyone I'd rather do some ‘day seizing’ with than you."
- Charlie to Claire
[Sayid pulls a block of C4 out of Locke's pack]
Sayid: I thought you didn't know there was any C4.
Locke: Well, I stand corrected.
Sayid: Why did you take it?
Locke: You never know when a little C4 might come in handy.
Sayid: You'll have to do better than that.
Mikhail: I misspoke. What I meant to say is, ‘You're not capable of understanding.’
Kate: And why am I not capable?
Mikhail: Because you are not on the list.
Kate: What list?
Mikhail: The man who brought me here, who brought all of my people here, he is a magnificent man.
Kate: If Ben's so magnificent, then why did he need one of us to save him?
Mikhail: Ben? Ben is not - I will try to make this as simple as I can. You are not on the list because you are flawed, (to John) because you are angry, (to Sayid) and weak, (to Rousseau) and frightened.
No comments:
Post a Comment