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Lost: The Hunting Party

Sawyer: "You and me ain't done, Zeke."

Don't get me wrong, because I adore Jack. But what I liked most about this episode was Sawyer.

It wasn't just his challenge to "Zeke." It was also that he insisted, despite his injuries, on going along to try and rescue Michael. And the way he was reeling Kate in at the beginning of the episode, pretending to be weak in a teasing way so that she would take care of him. And the way he tried to make her feel better after Jack acted like such a jerk. I think it's way past time for Kate and Sawyer to make with the smoochies, don't you?

We got another Jack back story. I usually like Jack back stories, but I found this one mildly disappointing. I was imagining all this life and death angst about Jack's marriage, and instead, they broke up because she was cheating and he needed another challenge, someone else to fix. All of the Lostaways are connected in strange and mysterious ways. Was Sarah involved with someone else that we already know? Could it be Desmond? Several people have speculated that the photo Desmond had in the bunker was of Sarah. If Desmond and Sarah already knew each other, it might also explain why Desmond confronted Jack that day in the stadium.

John Terry was back as Christian Shephard, Bad Daddy Extraordinaire. Here, we had Christian and Jack, Chief of Surgery and Chief Resident, coming up smack against each other in Oedipal conflict. Christian was threatened by Jack's success as a surgeon. I suspect Christian was secretly hoping Jack would fail, which was why he told Gabriela about her father's death before Jack could. I hope Jack's failure to save Gabriela's father wasn't an omen of bad things to come on the Island.

Because bad things are coming. The lawlessness just keeps getting worse. I bet the Others have been leaving the Fusies alone only because there are so many of them. But is an army truly the answer? Jack is a fixer, as was emphasized in this episode. He thinks he needs to "fix" the situation with Michael, Walt, and the Others, and sees a military force as the only way. But marching into the jungle and attacking the Others without knowing what they're getting into? Massive, massive mistake. Huge.

And hey. If there's an Island Army, Sayid should be in charge, not Ana Lucia. Ana Lucia is tough, smart, and trained as a cop, but Sayid is a war veteran, as well as the most effective leader on the Island.


Finally, that whole encounter with "Zeke" was exceedingly strange. I thought he looked almost like a mythological creature – like a faun or a satyr. Pan, perhaps. Or maybe a very scruffy, evil-looking Santa Claus. (There was light coming from below him even before they lit a fire, which of course made him look scarier.) Did a bullet just ricochet off him? How could that be? And hey. All of the Others lit their torches simultaneously, which was certainly dramatic and scary. It's hard to get any group of people to do something simultaneously. Did the kids get training to do that? Instant multiple torch-light training?

Character bits:

Was Sawyer shot again? At least it wasn't serious this time.

Jack's tattoos were missing in the flashback bedroom scene. When did he get them, and why?

Zeke said, "Bring her out, Alex." Alex is the name of Danielle's daughter.

Poor Evangeline Lilly. Why do the writers keep making Kate such a pain in the ass? For that matter, why the hell didn't Jack just let her come along? She has always been included in expeditions, and has proven her worth. Jack should have known that she would follow them.

Poor Vincent lost his third human. Why did Michael leave Vincent behind? Wouldn't Vincent be helpful in, oh let's say, finding Walt?

Locke checked the manifest and knows that Sawyer's name is really James Ford. Does Hurley know it, too?

Ana Lucia said she was a cop. Did she quit? Was she fired... by her mother?

Sawyer called Locke "Daniel Boone" and "Mr. Clean." ("All you need is an earring and a mop.") And of course, Kate is always "Freckles" these days.

I was shocked when Jin gave in to Sun. And then pleased when she finally talked to him about how she felt. They're actually communicating now.

Hurley was having lusty thoughts about Libby. That was so cute.

Was Charlie jealous of Locke's friendliness toward Claire? I honestly don't think he has anything to worry about there.

Bits and pieces:

— It's been fifty days since the crash... for them. For us, it's been nearly five hundred days. When we finally catch up with Walt, little Malcolm will probably be two feet taller.

— I've done all kinds of adding and subtracting and can't massage Locke's combination into any of Hurley's numbers. (3 turns to 25, 2 to 29, 1 to 40.) I suck at math, though, so I'm probably missing something.


— Geronimo Jackson? I don't think that's a real singer. Probably means something, though. Everything means something.

— They almost missed hitting the button again. I'm sure we'll eventually get a button-missing cliffhanger, probably during sweeps or as a season finale.

Quotes:

Jack: "You're still on antibiotics."
Sawyer: "It's a good thing I'm traveling with my doctor, then."

Gabriela: "Your wife. She's the woman you fixed, isn't she?" And I immediately thought, maybe that's why Sarah wasn't getting pregnant. No kittens for Sarah.


Locke: "Who are we to tell anyone what they can or can't do?" Indeed. But someone has to. Again, I vote for Sayid.

Sawyer: "I don't know, Mister Clean. I probably would have gone around Mount Vesuvius."

Zeke: "A man wiser than any of us once said, 'Since the dawn of our species, man has been blessed with curiosity.'" Okay. Who said it? I'm not getting any hits on the internet. (p.s. I've gotten about a dozen messages saying it was Alvar Hanso.)

Hurley: "She's kinda cute, in an 'I've been terrorized by the Others for forty days' kind of way."
Charlie: "Yeah. There is that."
Hurley: "I think I have a chance with her. I mean, it's a classic desert island scenario."

Jin: "Honey, I don't like being told what to do."
Sun: "Being told what to do was my life for four years. I didn't like it much, either." You go, girl.

Two and a half polar bears. Okay, maybe three,

Billie
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Billie Doux loves good television and spends way too much time writing about it.

4 comments:

  1. While watching the "The Hunting Party", I found myself wondering why Sawyer had participated in the hunt to find Michael. It couldn't be for Michael's sake. He didn't bother to go after Michael in ". . .And Found", unlike Jin and Eko. And he was still recovering from his gunshot wound. So why did he go?

    Then Jack said something that made sense:



    "[Locke looks for the trail. Jack stares at Sawyer.]

    SAWYER: What?

    JACK: You out here for Michael, or -- is this pay back for getting shot?"

    Sawyer didn't bother to answer. Instead, he merely commented that they each had a reason to take part in the expedition.

    But when Tom Friendly ordered the Losties to give up their guns for Kate's safety, I noticed that Sawyer was the last person to do so. He seemed very reluctant to give up his weapon. And considering his feelings for Kate, I found that very interesting. It also made me realize that Jack may have been right. Sawyer did want revenge. His vindictive nature and desire for revenge was a lot stronger, at that moment, than any concern for Kate. I found that pathetic.

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  2. As I was watching this episode, I realised how messed up our group really is. We have a man with a saviour complex, two men who let faith guide them to the detriment of others around them, one man who has been hospitalised with emotional or mental issues, a heroin addict, two women who have committed murder, someone who has tortured and/or killed so many he has lost count, a con man hell bent on revenge, a couple who are only now beginning to work out their issues and a man driven to suicidal extremes by the loss of his son. In reality, not a group with which I (or, I imagine, a fair few of us) would want to spend a great deal of time. And yet, here we are rooting for them to become a group, to beat the Others and to somehow get off the Island. All credit to the writers and the actors.

    But, back to our hero with the saviour complex. I can understand how that would happen to a gifted doctor. Saving people’s lives on a daily basis might give any of us a God complex. And, I also understand his need to fix things. It sounds as though Christian wasn’t only a pretty bad father, he wasn’t much of a husband either.

    The apple falling. As much as I love Jack and as much as he is the hero of the piece, he is simply lousy with women. He ignored his wife to the point that she left him for another; he kissed Gabriella and then left her sobbing in the parking lot; he’s been pushing Kate away since the kiss; now he’s joining forces with the worst of the bunch. Bad, bad choices.

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  3. " It's hard to get any group of people to do something simultaneously. Did the kids get training to do that? Instant multiple torch-light training?

    Tee-hee.

    I think this is the episode, for me, where some of the flashbacks start to go downhill. Oh, well: the island stuff is fun.

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  4. Jack is trying to build a community,he's trying to protect it too:is an army a solution?
    The episode explores gender dynamics(Jack/Kate,Jin/Sun:who needs to be protected...)
    The kiss between Jack and Kate (in What Kate did)affects Jack'stubbornness on denyng that Kate attends to the hunting party. She's a cabable tracker,but he wants to keep her out of harm's way,he wants to stay clear and bright(doesn'want Kate around).

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