The rescuers have arrived, but it’s never that easy on Lost. The first ‘rescuer’ to parachute in is Daniel. He meets Kate and Jack, and, after some hesitation, Jack admits he is Jack. It all looks rosy when Daniel is able to contact his boat using Naomi’s phone and confirm their position. Daniel’s descent to the island was not pleasant: in flashback, we learn that he was basically tossed out of the helicopter as a weight reduction exercise, to try to avoid a crash. Rescue is imminent now. But why is Daniel carrying a gun? Why are they really there? The answers will have to wait until Daniel hooks up with other members of his team. The second jumper, Miles, has landed on a rock ledge near the ocean and appears to be injured. But when Jack gets close, Miles jumps up, gun drawn, and demands to see Naomi’s body. Why? In flashback, we learn that Miles is a ghost whisperer. He has the talent to speak to ghosts. But we also see he is using that talent to hustle people (and ghosts) for money. He puts one haunting spirit at peace by finding and extracting a large wad of cash that the deceased had probably stolen. He could have given that money to the deceased’s mother…but he didn’t.
Ben is doing his usual crap-stirring, this time with Sawyer. After goading Sawyer about how he lost Kate to Jack, Sawyer suggests to Locke that they kill Ben now, before he causes more trouble. Locke says only Ben’s mouth is dangerous. Sawyer asks how Locke got a bullet hole, then. Locke shows how the bullet went straight through, and muses that it would have killed him if he still had a kidney on that side.
Miles is highly agitated. He is led to Naomi’s body and spends some quiet time with her, speaking in a low voice away from the others. When he finishes, he concedes that Kate was telling the truth – they didn’t kill her. Jack asks Miles to lower his gun but Miles has no intention to do that, even when Jack says that their friends have guns trained on his head. When the bullets start flying from the hidden Sayid and Juliet, Miles changes his mind, and gives up his piece.
The third member of the team, Charlotte, is hanging upside down from a tree, her parachute tangled in branches. She unhooks and dives into the pond below. When she surfaces, she meets Locke’s gang on the bank. Charlotte, we learn from a brief flashback, is an anthropologist. She is thrilled to find the survivors of Oceanic 815. But they are not so thrilled to find her. She wants to use her homing beacon to contact the freighter. But Locke says they do not want to be rescued.
Miles has tracked another member of their team, running from something, and coming straight for them. Vincent the Dog emerges from the bushes, wearing Charlotte’s homing beacon. Jack states that Locke must have Charlotte.
Jack’s mob finds the fourth member of the team, Frank (the helicopter pilot). Frank is an older, Hawaiian-shirt-wearing ex-hippie type who not only survived the crash, but also landed the ‘copter. Sayid’s investigation reveals that there is minor damage but that bird will fly. Frank’s flashback reveals a connection to Oceanic: while watching footage of the dead bodies found in the ocean trench, he knew that the body pictured that was supposed to be pilot Seth Norris was not him.
There is a standoff when Locke wants to continue toward the barracks, but Charlotte wants to go her own way. Suddenly, shots ring out. Ben has grabbed Karl’s gun and shot Charlotte twice in the chest. She survives, thanks to her bullet-proof vest. Sawyer goes nuts and wants to execute Ben there and then, but Locke says he will take care of the mess. But just as Locke is about to do something bad, Ben recites an encyclopedia’s worth of personal information about Charlotte and her team. It seems Ben has a spy on her boat. Ben’s valuable information grants him a temporary stay of execution.
Finally, we learn that Naomi was the team leader and the only one with experience in whatever their main objective is. Naomi was hired by the same man that visited Hurley in the mental institution in a flash-forward. Naomi does not seem convinced that the assembled team was suited for the mission, but she is confident she can pull it all together.
When Miles learns that Juliet was not on the plane, he gets even more agitated than normal, and demands to know where Ben is. He magnanimously reveals the true objective of their mission: to find and get Benjamin Linus.
Comments
As yet we don’t know why this team is there to get Ben.
If Frank is right, and the underwater corpse is not Seth Norris, then whose body is it? And are the other bodies genuine? How could they be genuine – everyone would know their loved ones were not genuine when they tried to identify the remains.
Nits
First Jack and then Sawyer have taken turns repeatedly pummeling Ben’s face, yet afterward, Ben has no broken jaw or teeth, no blurred vision, and no permanent brain damage. Aside from a lot of blood, he seems to have nothing wrong at all. In real life, he would probably be dead from infection from all those open wounds from which that blood is flowing.
Charlotte dives into a muddy pond, but the water in the underwater shot of her dive is clear and blue (almost as if it was filmed in a tank).
Quotable Quotes
Jack: Put the guns down.
Miles: Now why would I do that?
Jack: Because our friends are out in the jungle right holding a gun at your head and his head, so I'm gonna forget about the misunderstanding, just put the guns down!
Miles: Come on, how stupid do you think I -
(Shots ring out, and Juliet and Sayid emerge from the bushes with guns aimed at Miles and Daniel)
Jack: I don't know, Miles. How stupid are you?
Ben: Mind if I ask you a question, James?
Sawyer: Yeah I do.
Ben: Why'd you leave Kate behind?
Sawyer: Wasting your time, Yoda.
Ben: I know it's not pleasant but, let's face it, you really don't stand a chance now...
Sawyer: Chance of what?
Ben: James. Look at yourself. Yes, on this island you're brave, daring, handsome; you're someone, but if you left with them, back in the real world a low-life scam artist like you could never compete with a first class surgeon. I think Kate was really upset when you made your choice to come with us. Thank God she has Jack there to comfort -
(Sawyer attacks Ben)
Sawyer: Anyone want to tell me why we're keeping this guy alive?
Locke: We're keeping him alive because he's been on this island a lot longer than any of us. Because he has information we need and because apart from his mouth, he's completely harmless.
Sawyer: His mouth put that hole in your gut?
Sawyer: You mind telling us who you're getting your orders from, Colonel Kurtz?
Locke: I got 'em from Walt.
Sawyer: What the hell do you mean you saw Walt? In a dream?
Locke: No dream. It was Walt. Only...taller.
Sawyer: Taller? What, like a giant?
"The light... it's strange out here, isn't it, it's kind of like, it doesn't, it doesn't scatter quite right."
- Daniel
Sayid: You say you are not here on a rescue mission and the world at large believes us to be dead. But here we are alive and well and you don't seem remotely surprised to see us.
Miles: (sarcastically excited) Oh my God, you guys were on Oceanic flight 815! Wow! (pause) Is that better?
Miles: Where's the chopper?
Frank: I saw a cow.
Kate: Dan? Your name's Dan, right? Listen, Dan, I know that you don't want anyone to get hurt, right? So why don't you put the gun away.
Dan: Because Miles would kill me?
No comments:
Post a Comment