I enjoyed this episode. It gave me my Lost mojo back. I am not a fan of the cage part of Lost but the way they bring in some of these themes and grow their overall story is epic. I envy the talent of Damon Lindelof and the like.
The story really drew me to this episode. Sitting down to watch, I thought, oh brother .. can't wait for this cage crap to end. But the way they presented Sawyer was beautiful. He is mid his transformation here. It's Season 3, halfway through our story. We are getting to know Sawyer and he is changing. He isn't that selfish guy we saw fighting with Sayid in the pilot. He cares for Kate here. He cares for his daughter. He probably doesn't even want to. No matter how much he tries to hide it, he cares. I really identified with that here because quite honestly, that's where I am in life right now. (I wrote about it here on my blog.)
He eventually does care. About Juliet, about his role with the Dharma Initiative, even about the fate of the island and Jack. He's a changed man at the end of the show. All the characters change but I think they show it the best with him. He wasn't relatable until I saw his change. But now I feel bad for him when Kate tells him she doesn't really love him. She's doesn't. But he cares for her. And that's a difficult place to be in.
The book Of Mice and Men was referenced heavily in this episode. They use quotes from it, Sawyer is even reading it in the flashback. I read it in high school and (without giving too much away) it is a book about people who feel isolated and alone. Exemplfied here in this episode with the title and with Sawyer but everyone in this episode is kind of isolated.
Jack is isolated from his friends - showing it when they walk him through with a sack over his head so he won't see them and an alarm so loud he won't hear them. Juliet is isolated from the Others - I feel like this episode she wants to be aligned with Jack, asking if he is trying to make her feel better. She doesn't want to be an Other. But Jack isn't accepting her. She is isolated. Hydra Island is isolated.
Most of all, Ben is isolated. He is the loneliest one of this bunch. He has been lonely since birth. His father hates him. He's always wanted to be accepted. But even as "Leader of the Others" he is still lonely. He quotes from "Of Mice and Men" ...
"A guy goes nuts if he ain't got nobody. It don't make any difference who the guy is, so long as he's with you. I tell ya...I tell ya, a guy gets too lonely, and he gets sick."
This quote just reminds me of Ben so much. He's been lonely forever. More recently, he tries to be with Juliet. He can't. He has no one and now .. he's sick. If we were wondering whose x-rays those were after this episode, it is pretty clear they were Ben's after he says this.
And they can't be lonely. They can't have an "every man for himself" attitude. They all need each other. To get through this island stuff and to remember things in the flash sideways. This episode is an expository into how it is and how it's going to change. And from here on, the transition of this story is just beautiful. I hate the cage stuff. I hated Ana Lucia/Hatch Season 2 crap, but sometimes things are just beyond that.
