Ana Lucia was a cop, and she's had a rough past. It fit her personality like a glove.
Yes, it was premeditated murder. But I'm sorry, I have no sympathy whatsoever for Jason McCormack. Yes, she should have ID'd him and let the legal machinery run its course, but her life had been utterly destroyed, and she wasn't emotionally stable enough to make the right decision about that.
And he wasn't what I would consider to be an actual human being, for three reasons. He tried to kill a pregnant (that's one) cop (that's two) with hollow points. He was apprehended after attacking an elderly woman in Echo Park (that's three). I bet Ana Lucia thought McCormack would get away with it, and just couldn't handle the possibility. Didn't Sawyer do basically the same thing, except that the guy he killed was innocent?
Jack and Ana Lucia have a lot in common. Ana Lucia lost her baby. How far along was she, I wonder? She lost Danny (husband? boyfriend?) because of it. And then she lost her ability to do a job she clearly loved. Even though we still don't know exactly what happened to Jack and Sarah, it felt pretty similar, didn't it? Ana Lucia followed her mother into police work, and even worked directly for her. Jack followed his father into medicine, and worked for him. Ana is leader of the Tailies, and Jack the leader of the Fusies. It's almost like they're meant for each other. Maybe that's what the writers had in mind.
Oddly enough, as much as I hated it, Ana Lucia may have done the right thing tying Sayid to a tree. It kept him restrained long enough to defuse his anger. If Sayid had killed Ana Lucia in a fit of grief and rage, he would have hated himself for it, and Sayid has enough regrets already. As Ana does. I think that if Ana had it to do over again, she probably wouldn't kill McCormack.
It feels like forever since we were back at the beach. Jack and Kate's three hole challenge was such a marked contrast to the drama and deprivation experienced by the Tailies. Eko was looking around the "living room" in the Hatch, almost in a state of shock.
Eko does something in every episode that endears him to me more. This time, he defied Ana Lucia by picking up Sawyer and carrying him to Jack. "I'm not doing it for him. I'm doing it for me." I also liked what he said to Jack. "What do you want? Peace? Revenge? Justice? And you are going out with all these guns."
Kate really does care deeply for Sawyer. (I'm actually feeling very pro-Kate right now.) I love how she held him, talked to him, and nudged those pills into his mouth. I'm feeling much more interested in the two of them as a couple again, because Sawyer is not going to die. I absolutely refuse to consider the possibility.
The end of this episode was like a Christmas gift, with that gorgeous music coming up and all those touching reunions on the beach. Rose and Bernard, together at last, were just lovely. Jin and Sun were finally reunited, and I bet they have left behind all of their angry baggage. I even loved Charlie hugging Jin. My favorite may have been Michael's reunion with Vincent. That poor dog has lost two of his people now.
Character bits:
Ana Lucia's last name is Cortez. Hernando Cortez was an explorer and conqueror of Mexico, and he destroyed the Aztecs. Draw your own conclusions about how this relates to Ana Lucia.
There is more to Ana's story. She told Sayid that they never found the guy who shot her, which was a lie. What happened afterward? And how did she end up in Australia?
Michael and Jin stood up to Ana Lucia in order to protect Sayid. That felt good, especially for Jin, who is no longer an outsider.
Ana Lucia never put that gun down. Having a means of controlling things is very important to her.
Bits and pieces:
— There was no "eye opener" for Ana Lucia, although it did start with close-up at the firing range, with protective goggles.
— Maggie Grace was listed as a special guest star, and all she had to do was play a corpse. I still feel bad about losing her. It's just not right somehow.
— The title "Collision" wasn't just the two groups coming together; it may have been an acknowledgement that what Ana Lucia did to Shannon was an accident.
— When Dan saw the golf area, he said, "Have they been cutting the grass?"
— Ana Lucia and her partner were in Westwood. Westwood is in west Los Angeles near the UCLA campus.
— Hurley's numbers were mentioned several times. It was four months since Ana Lucia began working with the shrink. The call Ana and her partner answered wasn't for them: it was for "8 Adam 16." The clue to number 42 of the crossword that Locke was doing was "Enkidu's friend." Locke filled in the answer: "Gilgamesh." I wonder who is supposed to be Enkidu here, and who is supposed to be Gilgamesh?
— Ana's badge number was 68631, though. Not a string of Hurley numbers, for what it's worth.
Quotes:
Loved all the golf lines. Charlie: "Hurley, the woman's on bloody steroids."
And... Kate: "You giving me tips?"
Jack: "Kate, I'm a doctor."
And... Jack: "You know, the ladies tee at my club back home is about ten feet closer, so if..."
Kate: "Shut up, Jack."
Ana Lucia: "I guess you could say I'm one of those people who's better off alone." There were many references in this episode to her being alone.
I thought this was a fabulous episode. And it made me cry. Four out of four polar bears,
Billie
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Billie Doux loves good television and spends way too much time writing about it.
If it’s possible, I dislike Ana even more. When she pointed the gun at Libby, the woman was done for me. I genuinely don’t see her coming back from that.
ReplyDeleteI take your point about tying up Sayid and I see your argument about why she killed Jason. Yes, he was scum and might have gotten away with what he did. But, while he committed assault (unfortunately, killing a fetus is rarely considered murder), Ana committed first degree murder. I don’t care how messed up her life was, there were better ways to handle pain and grief than shooting someone six (yes, I counted) times at close range. Talk about overkill.
There was a lot about this episode I liked. I liked the Locke/Eko conversation; I liked Kate and the way she was with Sawyer; I liked the golf match. But, the crowning glory of this episode were the reunions. I cried through them all. The tears started welling with Michael and Vincent, began to fall during Rose and Bernard and were a virtual torrent for Jin and Sun. Absolutely wonderful.
And, what a great contrasting shot on which to end the show. After all the love and the hugs, we see Sayid “hugging” Shannon as he carries her back to camp. But, then we see Jack and Ana, yards apart, just staring at each other. Fade to black. Bloody brilliant.
ChrisB, it's so interesting to read your take on Ana, since I love this episode. I don't think she made the right choices (not even a little bit), but I understand why she made them, and how they haunt her.
ReplyDeleteI was struck on my rewatch with how much Ana's strategy for containing Sayid lacked (or needed) the bureaucracy of police work to make sense. Tying him to a tree was practically putting him in a holding cell or handcuffs, but there was no other cop to help Ana move past anger and into something more just (letting him go).
We know from the flashback that the force used to be her family (with the cake thing, which her mother ruined), but she lost faith in it and now can't help but act as a lone ranger.
Also: Bernard and Rose! Sob! Happy sob!
Suspending disbelief. Two things, why does Jin still have a handcuff on with everything else they have been able to do. Also, hugging a body hat has been dead in the jungle for several hours...ewww
ReplyDeleteLoved the ending shot, ChrisB already pointed out why. I'm glad it didn't have the usual sound effect this time when L O S T popped up. It was softer. I still remember how that uncertainty between them felt that first time, and me thinking whether Ana Lucia was going to become a problem for Jack. But she looked so vulnerable this time. So far it's been a great mini-rewatch, I'm already regretting not just doing a full one lol.
ReplyDeleteWouldn’t Ana Lucia’s actions here be construed as her trying to maintain a sense of control when everything in her world is coming apart? I mean, I hated her actions here as well, but the fact she’s compounding bad decisions with more bad decisions seems very in character for someone that has been trying to be a leader in an impossible situation, lost people under her care, and now realizes she is very, very screwed. Sure I hated what she was doing here, but I do have sympathy for her.
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