THE COST OF LIVING: LOST, EPISODE 3.5

Posted by on November 2, 2006 in LOST, Television | 0 comments


To be perfectly honest, this was my least favorite episode of Lost…ever. I am not thrilled with how the new characters are being introduced; their integration among the other survivors on the beach is awkward and not at all organic.  The only highlight for me last night was Juliet’s video. But don’t get me started with the freaking black smoke or Eko…

 

First and foremost, I have been the recipient of 2 MRIs and several sets of spinal x-rays during the last few months because of back pain. So I am quite familiar with the location of the L4-L5 lumbar spine, which is in your lower back. Last week when Jack noticed the x-rays in the Hatch, he noted that the tumor was located there. But last night, he focused on the neck. I think Jack is testing Ben, plying him with questions about pain and symptoms in the wrong location to see if he has a medical background or the tumor is indeed his.

 

Assuming the x-rays are Ben’s…we don’t know when they were taken. We know that the Others have a hospital in their Hydra Hatch, with broken and missing equipment, so it’s very possible that those x-rays are old. Has the island healed Ben too? Jack is not aware that Locke used to be in a wheelchair or that Rose had cancer before the crash, so he wouldn’t assume that Ben is healed. Although…perhaps only the island where the plane crashed has healing powers, and not the island where the Others live.

 

I don’t buy Ben’s new honesty act for one minute. He is a master manipulator, not a normal guy who would open up to Jack about his actual game plan. I think he was thrilled that Jack thought the x-rays were his, but it might backfire given Jack’s line of questioning about the tumor. I still don’t think the x-rays are Ben’s; I think he is toying with Jack, testing his ethics and moral fiber. I also still believe that the Others weren’t surprised to see the plane crash, that it wasn’t a miracle or coincidence that a spinal surgeon fell out of the sky to heal Ben. And frankly, if the Others do have contact with the outside world, why on earth wouldn’t Ben leave for medical treatment, to save his own life?

 

And what is with Jack’s lack of bargaining skills? Obviously Kate made a deal with the devil over breakfast with Ben about these two weeks, but Jack operated on Colleen and will probably choose to operate on Ben without so much as a ‘what do I get out of it?’ Remember that they supposedly have a file all about Jack’s life, so perhaps the x-rays and video were a set up, and Jack’s reaction is part of yet another big social and psychological experiment.

 

Juliet’s loyalty is also questionable. How did she make those large cue cards, then film & edit together a video tape, all without Ben finding out? He seems to appear in every single place she does, so that seems sketchy. Is she working in conjunction with Ben?

 

If Ben does have said tumor, he would die soon anyway.  Why involve Jack?

 

Also, wasn’t Juliet wearing the same outfit in the video that she had on in Episode 1 of this season? If so, the tape was premeditative, made in anticipation of the very scenario that unfolded last night.

 

To be honest, I don’t think Juliet looks much like Jack’s ex, Sarah, either in real life or on the show. Did they honestly think that putting a blonde woman in close contact with Jack would result in any additional insight into him?


What was with the matching white outfits for Colleen’s funeral? Now we’re to believe there are cult-like characteristics of the Others?

 

Regarding the mysterious man with the eye patch seen on one of the Pearl Station monitors…don’t forget that Eko found a glass eye in an abandoned Hatch last season.

 

Eye Patch Man seemed to know that he was being watched, and thus he covered up or broke the camera. How did he know that someone was in the Pearl Station, watching him?

 

They seem to be killing off Tail Section survivors, so is Bernard next? And what the heck ever happened to Cindy, the flight attendant who disappeared during last season? No one has been concerned about her life or fate since it happened.

 

Sayid was seen back at the beach, so where were Sun and Jin?

 

Did Eko tell Locke that he was next, or that ‘they’ were? It certainly seemed like Eko whispered more than just that one statement before dying, and I wouldn’t put it past Locke to keep that information close to the vest until using it to his advantage at a later date.

 

We now know for sure that Eko was building a church on the island. He was told he owed his brother one after killing the men in Yemi’s church. So will Charlie or someone else continue building his church now?

 

Does Eko have a connection to Charlie, who lived in London?

 

Is it a coincidence that there were vaccines being delivered to Eko’s village and Dharma vaccines on the island?

 

Why was Eko able to confront the Smoke Monster last season but it killed him this time? Is it because he refused to repent for his sins?

 

Apparently the producers want us to now believe that the Black Smoke Monster is a veritable shape shifting Ghost of Christmas Past, appearing as a manifestation of the survivors’ pasts. Clearly the Smoke took the form of Yemi last night.  Since Locke looked into the eye of the Monster, saw a bright white light and survived, does that mean he really is a ‘good’ person and the Others truly are interested in him?

 

What happened to Desmond’s newly acquired psychic skills? Did he know that Eko was going to die? And how did Desmond know that the computer in the Hatch could be used for something other than entering the numbers? He must have tried at some point. Did he have contact with the Others, like Michael did when he thought he was instant messaging with Walt?

 

Wasn’t Locke on a mission just two episodes ago to save Eko?  Why bother having him save Eko from the polar bear cave, only to kill him a short time later?

 

Regarding my overall thoughts about this episode, as both Locke and Eko have said on various occasions…I’m going to have to watch that again.

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