Miracles do happen. At least, they do on the island of Lost.
One recent miracle that we, as viewers of ABC’s hit psychodrama, have witnessed is that the storyline has actually started to progress and questions are beginning to be answered.
Producers of the show have recently been in negotiations with studio execs, attempting to set a definite ending date for the show, citing the weak final seasons of The X-Files as evidence of a show that aimlessly wound its way to the finish line, severely weakening the story as a result. And, of course, Lost is all about – as any quality TV drama is – a well-told story.
If the producers have their way (and hopefully they will), Lost will last no more than five, possibly six, seasons. Assuming that five seasons is the preferred limit, then we have just passed the mid-point of our story. So, it should be no surprise that episodes will become more exciting, that the drama will accelerate, that mysteries will be revealed.
Just the same, the majority of the episodes that have aired after the Season 3 hiatus have been astonishingly engaging, and even quite satisfying. The subtle hints in “Not in Portland” that give a glimpse of the deeper Nature of the Island and The Others and the truly Twilight-Zone-esque “Flashes Before My Eyes” provide much material to ponder about Time and Fate, but this article is focused on the three episodes documenting the mission to recover Jack and the discovery of The Barracks, the “suburban” home of The Others. Of particular interest throughout these episodes is the peculiar character of John Locke.
“Enter 77” begins with an intermission of sorts, a whimsical depiction of life on the island. Hurley finds a ping pong table and wants to set it up as a way to increase morale, but has no ball. Sawyer wants to be a rascal, somehow finds a ball, and challenges the other Losties to a game, with the stakes being the return of his scavenger stash.
It’s a typical scenario, but it is played well and is entertaining. More importantly, it is imperative that the writers keep us in touch with the bulk of the characters. One of the biggest complaints (and a valid one, at that) about the first six episodes of Season 3 was that too much attention was given to Sawyer, Kate, and Jack on Prison Island while those stranded on the main beach were barely featured. Season 2 also suffered from a similar pinpoint focus on certain characters or groups of characters.
After the first scene, setting up the ping pong situation, we are thrust into the meat of the story, beginning with a heated confrontation between John Locke’s “mystical compass bearing” and Sayid’s rationalism. This thematic conflict, highlighted often in Season 2 between Locke and Jack, adds a rich dimension to the show.
Sayid, obviously frustrated, asks John if he really thinks they’re going to chance upon The Others “by following the carvings on a magic stick.” John calmly replies, “I don’t know what we’re going to chance upon, Sayid.” The use of the word “chance” here could be revealing, since most of what occurs in connection with the Island and our characters involves coincidence.
Obviously not satisfied with John’s answer, Sayid brusquely heads off to forage, promising that he and John will have a “rational conversation” when he returns. Of course, once one heads off into the jungle by oneself, rationality dissipates. Sure enough, Sayid begins to hear cowbells, and then sees a cow in the middle of the jungle. But, fortunately for Sayid, before his brain suffers meltdown trying to process these incongruent observations, he hears the whistle of the cow’s owner.
And, thus, we are introduced to Mikhail and the Flame Station, the communications hub of the Dharma Initiative. Mikhail, a Russian émigré to the island and a veteran of the Soviet war with Afghanistan, is a striking character, complete with spooky eye patch, and his residence on the island, his “lighthouse,” is a veritable cornucopia of information.
Everything Mikhail says is suspect, especially since he is first posing as “the last remaining member of the Dharma Initiative” and is, in fact, one of The Others. But he does say a lot, and assures Sayid later that everything he said is true, with the exception of his guise as a member of DI.
Mikhail tells Sayid three key pieces of info. His recounting of the “war” between the Dharma Initiative(DI) and The Others (called by Mikhail, and presumably, by DI, The Hostiles) is part of the Island’s backstory that some have already speculated on. It is interesting to note that Mikhail says, not surprisingly, that DI initiated the conflict and, further, that it is referred to as The Purge. The other tidbits Mikhail feeds us, however, are even more tantalizing.
Mikhail mentions that he was recruited through a newspaper ad, which asked simply “Do you want to Save the World?” He also tells us that The Hostiles (The Others) were on the island a long time before the Dharma Initiative, emphasizing almost offhandedly, “a very long time.”
These two comments give us a glimpse of The Others as a purposeful group of people whose existence on the island stretches back rather far, perhaps even into antiquity (as evidenced by the four-toed statue seen at the end of Season 2). Also, if they do have a mission and it is to “save the world” (like the “mission” of the men in the hatch), perhaps their plans (or the plans of Those Whom They Serve) are quite grand and maybe even benevolent.
Of course, as nearly every episode of Lost does, “Enter 77” devotes a considerable chunk of the story to a character’s past. In this case we learn that Sayid, working as a chef in Paris, was tricked into coming face to face with one of his former torture victims, a woman whose arms Sayid had once scalded with boiling oil. Sayid becomes a captive of the woman and her husband, the torture tables turned.
When one reviews episodes for purposes of writing a piece like this, it is easy to see how unnecessary some of these flashback scenes are and how they rarely move the story further ahead and can even bog it down. However, much to the credit of Naveen Andrews, who is a superb actor, these scenes are intriguing and poignant. Sayid’s guilt or innocence in the torturing of this woman is never clear until the end, and when he breaks down, weeping in remorse, the redemptive lesson learned here – that everyone is capable of cruelty, but we have the freedom to choose not to lower ourselves – is effective.
Overall, this backstory of Sayid’s helps explain why Sayid has such high ideals and is so opposed to killing, thus figuring into the main narrative by giving a reason for his sparing of Mikhail’s life once our Losties gain the upper hand and take Mikhail prisoner. However, it is still a bit unnecessary. We already know that Sayid has a strong heart and is a true romantic.
Another thing we know about Sayid, which this episode deftly displays, is his keen senses as an observer and tactician. After calmly allowing Mikhail to remove the bullet from his arm (which Mikhail himself had put there) and listening intently to Mikhail’s story, Sayid states confidently to Kate that Mikhail is one of The Others and that he is not alone. How does Sayid know Mikhail is not alone? He had spotted a saddled horse outside the Flame Station, whose stirrups were positioned for a person shorter than Mikhail. When you rewatch the episode, you can actually see Sayid spotting the saddle and making note of it, a prime example of good writing (which is why this article is about Lost and not Ghost Whisperer).
Another example of good writing (and excellent acting) occurs when Sayid forces Mikhail to “show his hand.” Mikhail is surprised to hear that the Losties have a sailboat. Sayid shrewdly replies, “Yes, but your Hostiles stole it” and then casually adds, “At least, we were able to kill one of them,” watching carefully to gauge Mikhail’s reaction.
What is especially nice about this scene and many of the others in this tense and relatively action-packed episode is the way that the “players” make their moves strategically, carefully, decisively, as if they are pieces in a chess game. And, of course, while much of the action is occurring, John is sitting contemplatively amid the whir of computers, playing chess. He beats the game. He discovers messages from the Dharma Initiative. He enters 77. He blows up the Flame Station and with it destroys the best chance anyone had of communicating with the outside world.
In Part Two, we will question John’s motives and learn more about Claire, Mikhail, and The Others as we take a closer look at “Par Avion.”