The Episode…
Jeez, what an episode. Let’s make a (non-exhaustive) list of things that were absolutely insane reveals. Charles Widmore (who will henceforth always be known as Jonesey in my book) on the island? Richard Alpert being told to be present at John Locke’s birth? The dark past of Daniel Faraday? The Others speaking Latin? Desmond and Penny having a baby? Or maybe: there is a huge fucking hydrogen bomb on the island?!
One of the things that stuck with me troughout the episode was how impressive the work of some actors on this show is. Penny and Desmond – even though they are permanently together now – share this inexplicable chemistry together, and that is not only due to the daring script move of getting them back together but also due to the fact that Henry Ian Cusik and Sonya Walger are both great, emotional actors. The same goes for Daniel Faraday: Jeremy Davies does things with this role that are so unconventional and in my opinion tiring (for the actor) that he puts the role on an entirely new level. Every other sentence and its portrayal is simply awesome.
I was also happy to see Richard Alpert show up again. The compass thing is freaky: Richard gave it to Locke in the first episode, after having received it from Locke back in 1954 (so we know now). Has the compass been in a timeloop? where did it come from? Maybe it exists outside of time – kind of like Richard Alpert I guess. Richard seemed incredibly hostile in this episode, more than otherwise. I think we are missing a piece of the puzzle here – maybe Faraday and the rest of the Losties already met the Others before that moment?
The Questions…
Finally! A little closure on one of the freighter folk (Question 4)! We now know a little bit more about Faraday’s increasingly dark past. It’s obvious that he didn’t hurt that girl on purpose, though. If we read between the lines, we can also figure out some new info on Ben and Charles. Maybe Charles didn’t agree with the other Others anymore, got banished from the island and then tried finding it again? Maybe he started the Dharma initiative to do so? A few pieces of this puzzle are still missing but we are starting to see the bigger picture.
In all…
How do you judge an episode that was over way too fast? Even though I was on the edge of my seat throughout the entire hour and loads of stuff got revealed, I kind of got the feeling that things were only starting when they
flashed away from 1954 and Charlotte went bloody-nosed. I would say that the next episode will bring solace, but I know it won’t: they’re gone from 1954, and we will have to wait until they
flash back to it to find out how this story continues. Shame. But hey, we’ve got some off-island people too that are craving for our attention!
Favourite Quote:
Daniel: If I try anything{what, you’re gonna – you’re gonna shoot me? Is that right? Yeah, that would be perfect because, of course, rifl
e fire right next to – what would you call this – hydrogen bomb? Yes, fantastic idea. Really… inspired.