LOST DISCOVERIES
LOST:
Hunting Party: Get Your War On
Created by: Jeffrey Lieber, J.J. Abrams and Damon
Lindelof
Written by: Elizabeth Sarnoff and Christina M. Kim
Directed by:
Stephen Williams
Air date: Wednesday, January 18, 2006
A Soulful Spike Society Review by Lola
As always, I give thanks to the wonderful s’cubies for their
comments and contributions.
Hunting Party is a Michael episode with hardly any Michael. In fact, we spend most of the episode either following Jack, Locke, Sawyer (and Kate) through the jungle or watching the disintegration of Jack’s marriage. The opening salvo for this episode may have been Michael and his search for Walt, but really, it’s the combination of all the “interactions” with the island Others (the kidnappings of Claire and Walt and various Tailies; the killings; etc.) that’s led us to the final scene – building an army to defend and, likely, strike back.
Other “Others” – A Declaration of War
I know I’m not the only one who’s beginning to suspect there’s more than one bunch of “Others”. After all, we’ve actually met Ethan and Goodwin and Rousseau and Desmond and Mr. BOG (bearded Other guy – thanks for that excellent nick-name, Rich!); we’ve seen some (perhaps all?) of Mr. BOG’s buddies and the ratty kids of the Tailies’ nemesis, the Clan of the Teddy Bear (thanks for this other most excellent nick-name, Anne!); we’ve heard about Ethan’s helpers and Rousseau’s son Alex and the dead French team and the also dead Kelvin and . . .
Well, heck. Our “classic desert island scenario” is getting to be more crowded than downtown Manhattan. And do you really see all these different folks belonging to the same team?
But let’s just concentrate on this week’s “Others”: Mr. BOG and his invisible torch-bearing cohorts. I kinda think Jack had it a bit right when he guessed that BOG didn’t have that many players. We saw torches that all lit up together, but I didn’t see the people holding those torches. And even if they were there, (your eyes may be better than mine), are they necessarily more in number than our now combined groups of plane survivors? I think Mr. BOG was bluffing while getting some more weapons and ammo.
Notice how Mr. BOG deliberately uses language that puts the survivors on the defensive and implies the superiority of his group: “not your island, our island”; “you only live because we let you live”; comparing the island to a man’s house – his house. He uses their names so they will wonder how he has been able to gather that much information about them . (Something that Locke not only cleverly picks up on and asks him about, but also uses it himself; calling Sawyer by his “real” name when they return to camp.) He laughs at the length of time they have been on the island, never of course giving up the information of how long he has been there, like a lifer might boast of his superiority over a newbie prisoner. He taunts them with an example of his group’s previous success over them: “very special” Walt, who’s just “fine” in their care, although I’d like to know his definition of “fine”.
Oddly enough, he didn’t bring up Ethan’s kidnapping of Claire, nor did he seem to recognize the name when Jack mentioned it. Just maintaining a good poker face and trying to pretend that never happened because Claire was able to escape or was Ethan actually from a competing island group? And they don’t have Michael, who is still out there as someone that could hurt them by removing Walt.
Chatty villains have a history of giving themselves away when they make their big speech to the hero, though, and I think Mr. BOG slipped up a couple of times. First, there’s the fact that he chatted with them at all instead of just killing them. Add this to his suggestion that they “go home” and we are led to the conclusion that the plane survivors have earned their own place, their own territory, in the island pecking order. As long as they don’t “cross that line”, then apparently they will be left alone. When someone makes a bargain with you in circumstances like these, they’re doing it because they have to. Because you have something they want or more power than you think.
And so, by the end of the episode, we see Jack making preparations to cross that line. Like the earlier line he crossed, also in defiance of a powerful man who warned him not to and told him to “go home”. Mr. BOG might be interested in how Jack took care of daddy.
Flashback, or should I say, FlashJack (Thanks to Matthew for that one!)
Jack and Gabriella and her father. Jack and his father. Jack and his wife Sarah. We had a flashback about trying to succeed when all the odds are against you. About not giving up. About how sometimes, that means you fail. And about what you might learn from those failures, even if it’s something you never wanted to learn.
What happened all those years ago and why is Jack still having nightmares about it? Gabriella translated for her father, a terminal patient. Jack’s father said nothing could be done, but Jack took the case. Gabriella talked about needing a miracle, but later said she didn’t believe in them; she and her father were looking for candor, persistence and someone who wouldn’t give up – in other words, Jack. Jack wanted his father’s approval but instead got a warning about getting too close, getting too involved. Paralleling Mr. BOG, the senior Dr. Shepard told Jack that some people can cross that line, but not Jack. (Thanks Karen and other s’cubies for insights into this idea.) Jack and his wife had been drifting apart as he lost himself in his work. After her father died on the operating table, Gabriella kissed Jack, who (eventually) pulled away. Jack talked with Sarah, hoping for a renewal of their marriage, only to find it was too late – Sarah had already moved on. On to another relationship and out of their house.
We’ve been provided with a very relevant flashback in this episode. Relevant t the stormy relationship between Jack and Kate (see the s’cubie discussion thread for this episode to read some excellent observations by Sara and Spring and other s’cubies.) Relevant to the confrontation between the survivors and Mr. BOG. And relevant to the final dramatic and surprising scene.
Jack’s wife summed up a large part of their marital problems by telling him: “You will always need something to fix”. From what we’ve seen of Jack, she’s still pretty right on the money. That was certainly a big part of Jack’s motivation in creating the hunting party to go after Michael. The motivation that Locke was asking him about. And I’m sure it’s a large part of his motivation in seeking out Ana-Lucia and reviewing her credentials for army building. One thing has changed however. He’s not doing it alone. Perhaps the island has moved him from “I can fix this” to “we can fix this”.
But Lock had some other unanswered questions. What would Jack have done if they had caught up to Michael and he still didn’t want to come back? Who gets to tell someone else what to do? I guess we’ll see when they run across their first potential army recruit who doesn’t want to join.
Let’s Review the Troops, Shall We?
Michael: Palpably desperate and absolutely certain of what he had to do. No one could have doubted that he would go back out there after Walt, but it’s his certainty about how to do so that hints at a longer computer conversation that we’ve seen so far. A “father’s right”, a parent’s need to save their child is certainly something that is one of the more understandable and human aspects of this episode. Listen to his words, though: “I have to do it now. I have to do it alone.” Look at his actions (presuming Locke was actually tracking him): straight North, no deviating. Not toward the Clan of the Teddy Bear, but somewhere else, confidently. Smacks of inside information. But was it really Walt that was sending him a message or is this a trap? Then again, if it was Walt, he is “very special”. I’d bet he’d have a very special plan.
The Hunting Party: Well, first off, apparently they’re “everybody”. I’m sure that’s gonna come as quite a surprise to the other folks from the plane. Wonderful interplay between Jack, Locke and Sawyer all during the trek. I loved how they alternated serious tracking and sensible attention to the task with snarking and picking at each other. Oddly enough, it actually shows how they are starting to rely on each other, know each other.
Kate and Sawyer: “I’d have done the same thing.” An easy allowance of each others skills and some lighthearted smokin’ hot banter. Oh, and banana innuendo. Gotta love the banana innuendo.
Kate and Jack: Issues! More baggage than a luxury liner! Looking for approval from daddy!Jack. Looking through ex-wife colored glasses. Oy!
Sun and Jin:
“I don’t like being told what to do.”
“Being told what to do was my life for four years. I didn’t like it much either.”
“Right. I suppose you didn’t.”
Mutual understanding followed by an embrace. OK, people, this is how to do it!! Is it any wonder we’re given this scene right before the Kate/Jack and Sarah/Jack meltdowns? Compare and contrast.
Hurley and Charlie and Sayid: How cute were Hurley and Charlie, talking about girls and bonding over records? I was hoping they’d also do each other’s hair (especially after the lovely hair scenes from last week), but it was not to be. Alas, this being Lost, they are each, of course, doomed. Charlie will likely slide into a heroin spiral of ickiness. And Hurley will discover that Libby is a devious Other spy. Or, like, a demon. On the up side, Sayid got this episode’s funniest line: “This music is quite depressing.”
Locke and The Very Special Baby:
What can I say?
Jack and Ana-Lucia: Sittin’ in a tree, K I S S, let’s build and
army! I fully expect lots of pretty scenes
in the future of them together.
Getting’ sweaty as they drill . . .
the troops. Going over the . . .
armory, late into the night. Bent over
a table in the bunker . . . looking at battle maps.
Last Thoughts
We’ve reached a potential turning point in the series, I think. Our survivors could be poised to become an
active force on the island, acting rather than being acted upon. Of course, a lot depends on what direction
that action takes. Gee. I left that all vague and unresolved, didn’t
I?
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