LOST DISCOVERIES

LOST:

Everybody Hates Hugo

Created by: Jeffery Lieber, J.J.Abrams and Damon Lindelof

Written by: Edward Kitsis & Adam Horowitz

Directed by: Alan Taylor

Air dare: Wednesday, October 12th, 2005

LOST, EPISODE 2.4 “EVERYBODY HATES HUGO”

A Soulful Spike Society Review

www.soulfulspike.com

Ok, let’s get one thing straight before we get into the meat (or should I say peanut butter?) of this episode:

There will be no specially-marked sea creature or bar-coded coconut observations.

I don’t give a sweet rat’s booty that Alvar Hanso is an anagram for Has No Larva.

The fact that Jack stared at towel-clad Kate for precisely 108 seconds doesn’t mean…well, jack. It just means he didn’t stare long enough.

In other words, I’m not going to watch this installment 2 brazillion times to look for any hidden messages, nor will I play it in reverse 3 brazillion times to see if Vincent attempted to bark out a mysterious haiku to Shannon while she fed him Pringles.

Ok, maybe I’ll watch it a couple of times with 1Brazilian. What can I say? She’s a cutie…plus, as I’m contractually obligated to write this review, it probably wouldn’t hurt to keep a few details straight.

Right, then. Let us move on to…what’s that? Do I hear a question from the floor?

No…please, don’t apologize for the interruption. I was just about to offer a transcendant observation that’s already slipped my mind in these last few seconds, but don’t let that hinder you. By all means, gentle reader, continue.

Ah…you wish to know WHY I’m choosing not to delve into those technical details? Well…that is an excellent question. One I was going to answer brilliantly in later paragraphs, but hey! Let’s just screw with my flow and broach the subject now. No big.

Firstly, it’s absolutely not due to an utter lack of original ideas regarding What It All Means. No sirree. Quite the contrary: I know precisely what those numbers signify. I’m perfectly aware of ol’ Alvie’s reasoning for laying enough concrete to make Saddam’s bunker look like a pup tent. The science is elementary at best.

Hell, I even know exactly who tagged that shark, but let’s face it: the animal’s personal life is none of our business.

No, my Specific Answer Catalog (copyright pending) doesn’t belong here, because the episode we’re discussing performs the same function as the Hurley-centric installments of Season One. Multi-layered plot points are set aside, stripping things down to what really mattered to all of us in the first place: the characters who populate this island.

In fairness, it must be said that virtually every episode of Lost provides insight into the makeup of each character’s psyche; in fact, that’s what makes all those convoluted machinations tolerable. This isn’t to say Lost’s mysteries are bad; in fact, it’s just the opposite. They’re wonderfully clever. Still, after a while it all starts to become a bit much. No audience, however sophisticated and intelligent they may be, can bear the weight of everything this program throws at them on a weekly basis. In time, people just wear down from all the blasted thinking. An hour’s thoughtful and exciting entertainment can morph into a tortuous brain teaser with no light at the end of the tunnel…aside from that freight train of new questions that inevitably follow the slightest tidbit of knowledge.

J. J. Abrams, thankfully, appears to be aware of this, and it shows: whenever the viewers need a break from all the “wha?” he pulls out Lost’s not-so-secret weapon: Hugo Reyes. For he is a not a man of strictly science or faith…he’s a man of people.

On the surface, Hurley is not a person of great use to the castaways. His survival skills are limited at best; there’s no wealth of scientific knowledge lurking within his brain. Dude’s not the first guy I’d want at my side in a dark jungle fight, not by a long shot.

And yet…he’s become a trusted member of the “adult’s table,” as Charlie would probably say. The leaders and thinkers in the group almost always include Hurley in what’s going on. Their reasons, while unspoken, seem pretty clear:

1. Hurley’s not a guy with any discernible “agenda”.

2. He’s universally liked and trusted by everyone.

3. He’s utterly simple; what you see is what you get.

Reasons 1 and 3, of course, aren’t necessarily true; Hurley’s appearance of simplicity is deceptive. He’s got serious issues, just like everyone else populating This Island Earth. Let’s look at his pre-crash life. To the outside observer, things are far from ideal; our hero works a dead-end job and lives at home, sustaining himself on fried chicken, television and an overwrought smartass of a mother.

Then the numbers struck…and we learn what makes Hurley so extraordinary.

Does he jump up and down, telling everyone he knows that Hugo Reyes is to be a multi-millionaire? “Hey Ma, we’re set for life! None of us will ever have to worry about a thing!” Nope…far from it. He puts the ticket away and does absolutely nothing, because there are ramifications to consider. It’s a fascinating – and illuminating - reaction.

We’ve yet to learn why Hurley spent time “away,” playing Connect Four with a bizarre individual whose repeated whispering would change everything. We just know Hugo was in need of help, and apparently recovered sufficiently to be reintegrated with society. At some point along the way, I’m sure we’ll be given specifics of Hurley’s mental problems, and they’ll no doubt be important…but I think we know enough to hazard a guess.

That aside, one thing is certain: while Hurley doesn’t appear to be making a spectacular go of it from our perspective, HE’s reasonably satisfied with the status quo. It’s an uncomplicated, manageable life – working a piece of cake (if low-paying) job, hanging with good friends and shopping for the ultimate set of ear-cans (ah…NOW we see why those headphones were so important! A gift from a pretty girl, perhaps?).

Is his life perfect? Of course not…but perfect ain’t gonna happen. You hang to what works in this life, and to Hurley’s way of thinking, that entails putting off unpleasant reality as much as possible. You deal with stuff only when it’s absolutely necessary.

Winning the “mega ball” type of lottery, though…no one can begin to contemplate how to adjust to such a thing. Everyone knows the odds of those six numbered balls falling right are ridiculously low; we’re over 16,000 times more likely to die in a plane crash, for Christ’s sake.

Huh. Interesting…

Anyhoo, clearly a massive amount of dealing is about to ensue…quite possibly more than the (presumably) vulnerable Hurley can handle. Therefore he’s feeling his way along, desperately hoping the threads of his life don’t unravel around him. In this way, Lost’s writers are showing us Hurley’s hard-earned (and nearly priceless) gift: he has an instinctive understanding of the of the human condition, far beyond any of his future fellow islanders.

What’s that? You say all the castaways have complicated issues with guilt, betrayal and a lack of self-esteem? “Dude,” Hurley would respond, “who doesn’t? They gotta learn to chill.”

Too easy? Maybe…but sometimes glorious simplicity is necessary; otherwise we’ll miss the forest for the trees. The central theme of Lost isn’t numbers or hatches. It’s about what happens when a community of total strangers are forced to live and work together, while facing down their personal demons.

Hurley, at least to some degree, has already encountered a demon or two. His stay in that psych ward allowed him to face certain realities and seek out a comfort zone. In some ways, this works quite well…as Rose said, Hurley is loved by everyone. His own issues remain hidden to the island at large; he projects warmth, common sense and uncommon decency. It’s not entirely real, of course…it’s another mask, just like Jack’s bouts of self-importance or Sawyer’s smartass tough-guy…but unlike those, Hurley’s mask works much better when it comes to social interaction.

In short, his motto is: “Why make waves? Dude could drown that way.”

Locke has also chosen to coast through life in his way…but rather than avoid changes, he chooses to embrace them. To his way of thinking, the island provides him an opportunity to erase the horrors of his past. It literally wants him...and he so desperately needs to be wanted. Therefore, let the chips fall. The waves can take him to whatever shore he’s destined to beach upon…because anywhere is better than the real world from which he flew.

Thus we have the seeds of conflict between the two, and that brief scene between Hurley and Locke is very well-written and acted.

This leads to a logical follow-up question: just who is right? How does one lead the ideal life? Well…if I knew a one-size-fits-all answer to that, I’d bottle and sell it. Not only would I be happy and well-adjusted, I’d be one rich motherclucker.

However, if you want one reviewer’s opinion, I’d say neither of them…but Hurley’s a few steps closer in the right direction. There are a couple of reasons that spring to mind:

1. Hurley may be wearing that metaphorical mask…but unlike the others, he KNOWS he’s wearing it. It was a conscious decision.

2. While Locke pursues his beliefs with unquestioning fanaticism – tempered only by a few disturbing “Why has the Island forsaken me?!” moments – Hurley has an uncanny instinct about his own limitations, and the limitations of others.

Both Locke and Hurley are capable of doing remarkably foolish and selfish things in pursuit of their goals. The ramifications of Locke’s sins have been well-documented (and far more serious), but still and all, Hurley is willing to destroy the food supply in order to maintain what he considers an already-fragile status quo. Witness his statement to Sayid in last week’s episode, hoping for things to return to “normal” (as if such a state exists on this planet, much less on this island). Sure, everyone will eat plants and tagged seafood, but hey! At least now everyone won’t hate him!

Hurley surely doesn’t see himself as gifted, but remember his immediate aversion to Ethan Rom, even before cross-checking the passenger list? That would be Exhibit A. Exhibit B is his perfect choice of assistant in his new “job.” If there’s one person on the island who seems to have everything together, it’s Rose.

Rose has balanced blind faith and common-sense logic, quietly going about her business while the others (the lower case version) struggle and grope for any foothold they can find. Her philosophy is basic: quietly contribute as best you can, while being adaptable if necessary. Most importantly, be honest with everyone…especially yourself.

This exact method, incidentally, can’t work as easily for many of our castaways. Personalities and responsibilities differ. A prime example would be Jack; whether he likes it or not, the good doctor is the messed-up leader of this messed up bunch…making quiet acceptance an impossibility. He has his own specific answer to find…though I’d wager Rose’s basic principles are a fine place to start.

The point being this: Hurley was wise enough to find someone he could trust to save him from himself when the chips were down. Rose refused to allow him to simply blow up all that food without a reason…and then she listened, God bless her. All Hurley ever wants is someone to listen.

Locke, on the other hand, sought out a weaker person with the same issues he suffers from. Poor Boone simply didn’t have the strength to refuse Locke for long; he just wanted to be important to someone. Furthermore, even if Boone HAD stuck to his guns and used common sense, Locke wasn’t equipped to listen to rational alternatives at that moment.

My conclusion, therefore, is this: remove Jack and Locke from the leadership picture and let Hurley and Rose make all decisions! They make a darn good team.

One more thought before I get to the bullet point section: I’ve heard it said that Hurley did a silly thing passing out all that food at once. If that’s true, I can see the argument…but we didn’t get to hear the entire plan. Let’s do the math: there was enough food for one person for 90 days. That means 40 people could be fed for slightly more than 2. If they’d held back all rations as Jack originally suggested, there would’ve been endless bickering about who gets to eat, and when, and how much. Rather than deal with that pointless logistical mess, Hurley chose to give a meal to everyone…but there’s no evidence he handed out every bit of food. My guess is Hurley and Rose stored away a good deal of food for emergencies, but allowed everyone a feast for the sake of morale. A wise, measured decision.

On to the aforementioned bullet points…’cause I just love these things:

• I have a ton of problems with Jack, but give the man his due – he chose the right person to handle the food responsibility. It was an extremely difficult job from a PR perspective, and Jack followed through by trusting Hurley’s judgment once the decision was made. That requires genuine trust and respect. Good on you, Doc. Now please don’t tell me you left your wife because her paralysis returned.

• Speculation #1: Judging by Desmond’s appearance, I’m willing to bet there’s an overabundance of soap and shampoo.

• Such a sweet moment when Rose puts the Apollo bar in her pocket. Quiet, unobtrusive faith – my favorite kind.

• Rant time. Charlie’s behavior was that of a petulant child. He needs to do one of two things: grow up or snort the damned heroin already. Furthermore, don’t cloak your hurt feelings by going for the peanut butter and referencing Claire. You were going for special treatment, nothing more. How about this? We’ll get that record player and force you to listen to Petula Clark every 108 minutes. Hey, it’ll be better than Suckshaft.

• While I don’t agree with Locke’s philosophy of all change being good, he was correct about Hurley’s obligations to the castaways. That said, a bit of encouragement wouldn’t have hurt…but that was Rose’s job this week, I suppose.

• How on earth did the term Suckshaft get past Standards & Practices anyway?

• Speculation, Episode 2: I didn’t need the previews of next week’s episode to spot the potential for attraction between Sawyer and Ana-Lucia. He likes his women with an edge to them…and Lord knows she has plenty of that. Kate will most certainly not be pleased.

• Speaking of Kate, Hurley’s best decision of the night was allowing her to take that bottle of Dharma’s shampoo. Thank heaven Desmond’s towels were just the right size.

• Let me think on this a moment. In layman’s terms, a geothermal generator uses natural heat from deep within the Earth to power things through steam or water. Apparently it’s as efficient as all get out, with minimal risk...these days. There’s an interesting story about some other stuff getting dredged up and vented on the Big Island of Hawaii in 1991…a real-life “incident,” one might say. Apparently not everything existing a couple of miles beneath the earth is meant to surface. But hey! I said I wasn’t getting into this sort of plotty stuff, didn’t I? Shame on me, forgetting the theme.

• Did you see that sexy smile on Ana-Lucia’s face when Sawyer threatened to kill her? She digs him. Jack will most certainly not be pleased.

• Wait, did I make reference to that Ana-Lucia/Sawyer thing a couple of bullet points above? Lemme double check…ok, I’m good. Same potential couple, totally different character getting jealous and refusing to admit it.

• Rant, Part II. When it comes to awards, serious dramatic characters always garner the nominations over those who provide lighthearted fare…especially in an ensemble series overloaded with wonderful actors. This makes it pretty likely that Jorge Garcia is destined to be criminally ignored by the Emmy/Golden Globe voters. Almost any actor will tell you how difficult comedy is, as opposed to straight drama…especially when one considers the minimalist type of humor Garcia employs. Honestly, how many actors can make you laugh by merely shifting his or her eyes and uttering the line “uuuuhhhh…no?” Not very damned many. Even worse, it’s a sad fact that his comedic abilities tend to obscure those dramatic skills in the eyes of many…and those skills are every bit as considerable as the rest of the cast. He’s brilliant in that final flashback scene, trying desperately to hold off the inevitable as they pull into that convenience store. I don’t know. Maybe I’m being too hasty in my automatic dismissal of the award nominations before they actually happen…but I doubt it.

• For Maggie Grace’s sake, I hope they don’t pay these actors by the word. Here’s your script, Mags – Scene 1: Shannon walks Vincent toward Sun’s garden while Claire hands over the bottle. Scene 2: Shannon eats something, then feeds Vincent the rest. Give us a call if you need help memorizing all that.

I’m sure I have more piercing thoughts about this very fine episode, but there’s a self-imposed deadline in effect here…plus, it’s 3:30 in the blessed morning here on the East Coast. Therefore I’ll leave you with –

Hey! Stop looking at me like that! I’m trying to devise a witty coda to this wacky composition, and you have to stare daggers. What the hell do you want from – no. No, I said! I vowed not to comment on any of the deep stuff way up in the second or third paragraph. Sure, I slipped a little on that bullet point, but that was a one-time thing! I stand by my – oh, fine. I swear, you people get an inch and want a mile. Will you let me put a hatch on this thing if I give you a little more wild speculation? Yes? Thank God. Here you go, then:

In that Orientation Film, Station 3 was to be a 2-person operation, lasting 540 days. According to Hurley and Rose’s inventory, there’s enough food for 1 person to last 90. Presumably, the Dharma Bigwigs think there are still 2 people in that bunker, which logically brings us to the conclusion that 45 days remain before…

Naah, I’m probably wrong. Interesting, though, how Season 1 took place over a 44-day period from the castaways’ perspective. Might make one heck of a season finale cliffhanger.

That’s all I have to offer. Cheers, everyone. Hope you enjoyed the episode as much as I did.

Good night, and good luck,

Rob Sorenson

P.S. Ok, you dragged it out of me. One last suggestion: when you get a chance, Google or Yahoo the phrase “effects of hydrogen sulfide on the human body.” Remind me, what exactly was it Kate said she smelled?

Might be a reason Desmond didn’t use that shower after all.

R.S.

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