They stated that Locke and Boone have been going to the hatch for two weeks, and I said that they found the hatch on Day 16. So I guess this is really Day 30 on the Island? We know 19 out of the 45 people alive on the Island. This was our second Locke episode!
Father/son stories really get me, so I was very much moved by this episode. For a while I thought that Locke's mother was for real about him having some grand design. I'm glad they went the other route by having it all be some scam to get Locke's kidneys. I felt so bad for Locke realizing that this relationship he thought he had found was all fake.
So I guess the other thing we learn from Locke's flashback was that he learned all his hunting skills from his father, or maybe that he learned all his survival skills as a way to impress his father, or emulate him? I'm not sure, but I rather like it.
"The Island will tell us what to do."
Locke built a fucking trebuchet. That's awesome.
So the main plot in this episode was Locke and Boone trying to open the hatch, while Locke is also somewhat secretly dealing with the fact that he is starting to lose the magical mobility in his legs. I was impressed by how much I was worried about Locke. I really don't want him to lose his ability to walk. I hope that the fact that he managed to walk with Boone back to camp was a sign that his problems in this episode were just temporary. The fact that I'm this worried shows that the writers have done a good job of making me care about these characters.
So this episode was called deus ex machina. Apparently that means "god out of the machine." It's a phrase that basically means that there's some unsolvable problem in the story, which is solved suddenly with the use of some unexplained or previously unseen prop or character or force. I guess the phrase refers to a problem that is suddenly solved by a God instead of by the characters involved in the problem. In this episode the deus ex machina was that the problem of the hatch that Locke had been working on all episode was solved by the mysterious light that came out of nowhere. Deus ex machinas annoy a lot of people, and they pretty much cancel out the plot aspect of a story. If the answer to a problem isn't something that the audience knows about, or can know about, then the search for that answer isn't really important. You have to be able to solve the mystery before the characters can or it doesn't work. So when stories have deus ex machinas in them, it's no long about the plot, it's about the characters. It's not important how Locke got the hatch open, the important thing is to see how his character reacts to NOT being able to open it.
And Locke's reaction of desperate anger and betrayal tells us a lot about Locke and how he views the Island. I loved it.
Boone's nanny died. I still don't him a lot, so I have trouble feeling sorry for him. I guess I don't want him to die though.
Another plane crash? This Island must be cursed or something...
Flight 815. That's the bank vault number or whatever that Kate was robbing. It's all connected! I'm going to have to keep track of where else that number shows up.
No! Not heroin! Damnit! Charlie's going to find it and fall off the wagon. Dammit, this is going to ruin his relationship with Claire.
I enjoy Michael picking up on some Korean from Jin. The friendship between the two of them is clearly building. I approve.
I also really loved the Sawyer/Jack/Kate plot of this episode. I'm glad that Sawyer doesn't have a real dangerous medical problem. I like that Kate has grown to care enough for Sawyer that she pushed the issue with Jack to treat him; and I like that Jack cares enough for her that he helped. The scene with Jack embarrassing Sawyer about sleeping with a prostitute and getting an STD in front of Kate was awkward but really funny. The vibe I'm getting from Kate here, is that she knows that Jack is a better guy than Sawyer, and she wants him to win over Sawyer. At the same time, I think that she believes that she doesn't deserve a guy like Jack, and so instead she'll end up going for Sawyer. At least at first.
That scene where Sawyer was trying on glasses, and then we saw Sayid make them was awkwardly put together.
What's inside the hatch?
Rating: 8.5 out of 10 mousetrap board games.
I really enjoyed this episode. I really hope that Locke can walk again in the next episode. I'm glad that this episode turned into a father/son story instead of some weird story where Locke finds out that he was immaculately conceived or something. The contrast between Locke's story and Sawyer's problem was nice to see. I hope that future episodes have multiple plots going instead of a single plot accompanied by flashbacks. I'm still waiting for the first episode without a flashback!
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