Moving on to episode 21, "The Greater Good," we come closer to ending season one. With news of
Boone's death sweeping the
camp,
Shannon decides to take the law into her own hands and go after
Locke, whom she blames for the tragedy. Flashbacks in this episode focus on
Sayid's time in
Australia and what he was doing there.
- Sayid is so desperate to find Nadia that he becomes a mole in a terrorist cell. It's sad now, to think that he spent so many years of his life striving to find a woman that he would have a very short time with before she was taken from him again - this time permanently.
- Charlie gives the baby the name turnip-head as a substitute until Claire decides on a real name. Charlie will keep calling him that, even after Claire names the baby Aaron. It's a nice genesis to a recurring theme on the show.
- Charlie tells Claire that no one will take the baby, though soon Rousseau will do just that. Charlie will also take the baby himself during season two, though his visions and nightmares are more guilty than he is.
- Locke reveals that he destroyed the transciever, though he hides his true motives. But, like I've said before, he'll destroy plenty of more things in order to stay on the Island.
- Charlie, while singing "The Itsy-Bitsy Spider" to Aaron, accidentally botches the lyrics, saying the rain "drowned" the spider out. This odd little scene was actually very neat foreshadowing to "Through the Looking Glass," when Charlie himself drowned. Coincidence or careful planning on the part of the writers? Let me know what you think.
- Walt asks Michael what would happen if a shark attacked, which Michael brushes off. However, after Walt is taken from the raft, a shark from the Hydra does indeed attack.
It's another short episode, I know, but this episode mainly serves the purpose of showing repercussions of Boone's death, and not of much else. Look for the blog for the next episode, "Born to Run," soon. You can discuss this episode in this
forum thread, read others' posts about it at the
rewatch hub, and
edit the episode's article.
Coincidence. I think it's still a little early for minor details like the Looking Glass and, more importantly, Charlie's death. From memory, the reason that it was Charlie that was chosen (by the writers, not necessarily the Island) was because his character had basically run it's turn. Charlie had kicked his drug habit. As much as many fans loved Charlie, he wasn't so important to the overall show anymore (indeed, Sawyer/Locke replaced him as the character third most important - unlike, say, the Pilot episode). To be honest, Charlie's death was really the only time I really found something in him that didn't exist within another character, exist maybe his actions in "The Moth". Anyway, good theory, Sam, but I'm not so sure.
ReplyDeleteAlso worth noting could be a link between this episode's C4 and those in The Flame ("Enter 77"). Sayid's good fun, and I do like that you Americans brought a Middle Eastern character into a post-9/11 show - very impressive.
James- I don't understand why you believe charlie is merely made up of parts of other characters. i believe he is quite different and his struggles and triumphs encompass some of the main themes of the show. Most obvious is how he is lost, but charlie is important and different from many of the characters because he later finds himself. also charlie takes on the role of father and is a good father which contrasts to the other fathers on the show. and there are interesting parallels like between his whole thing with eko and ben's momentary relationship with jacob. in other words it sort of sets up the coming conflict. i think charlie is instrumental to the series and not just because of his heroic death. although it is interesting that it is because of charlie that they can all leave the island (including locke) which later leads to jacob's death. however perhaps that fact that he changes his mind ("not penny's boat") is the reason that jacob seems to have such an affinity for him. charlie visits hurley (which jacob implies is a gift from him, alright that maybe a stretch) and then also jacob gives hurley charlie's guitar. also is it just me or does he kind of look like charlie?
ReplyDeleteI didn't mean exactly that he has nothing that everyone else does, but yes, he does find himself, and he generally is no longer 'lost'. This is why he died.
ReplyDeleteI can't say that I think he was that good of a father, either (thinking of his breakdown in fire and water). But I agree in that, compared to all the other best cowboys, he was probably one of the best on the show. Sadly.
Sorry for the confusion. And my comment about post911 americans wasn't in line either.
oh that is interesting that you say that he dies because he is no longer lost. i thought that was kind of true of shannon in a way too because she achieved an alleviation of her fear that sayid would leave her. and before eko died he renewed his faith (although perhaps misplaced) that he wasn't guilty. and boone died thinking he had contacted someone for the rest of the islanders. i think the theory breaks down with some of the deaths though, like ana lucia.
ReplyDeletebut regarding your father point, i agree he obviously wasn't ideal while he was "lost" but once he found himself he was great which is i guess when i was referring too.
and not to keep bringing it up but i don't think that your comment about 9 11 was necessarily out of line. it is true that there aren't as many middle eastern characters on tv.
I think it's pretty clear that many of the characters die on the island shortly after their issues (which we've seen in their flashbacks) are resolved.
ReplyDeleteBoone- couldn't let go of his feelings for Shannon. Locke gives him a vision of Shannon's death, and he feels....relieved. He has let go. Soon after....
Shannon- She felt no one in her life believed in her. Chasing Walt in the jungle, she pleads with Sayid to believe her, and he does. (And in general, believes in her because he loves her). Soon after...
Ana Lucia- suffers a traumatic attack and loses her child. She only feels "right" with a gun in her hand, and feels justice is best dispatched from the business-end of a gun barrel. She confronts Ben with the goal of killing him, but can't do it. She has changed. She gives the gun to Michael....
Eko- has felt consumed with guilt since Yemi's death, and judged himself a bad person, even though taking on the priest's robes. When confronted with the specter of Yemi in the jungle, he realizes that he is a good man, who made the best of a bad lot of choices. He did the best he could, and has committed no sins he need confess. Soon after...
This doesn't hold for everyone who has died (Libby was just collateral damage) but has happened often enough to not be a coincidence.
So if your favorite character suddenly has their sh*t all figured out, be afraid! Be very afraid!
ooohhh charlie,
ReplyDeleteProb one of my favorite characters in the show, I was quite sad when his was gone.
I never thought that charlie was that great of a father figure. Better then most of the other cowboys, but still a very inexperienced father, as I stated in the 1x20 post.
As for Hurley getting his guitar, I have one absurd theory...but I have to state it :P
When charlie is "killed", I really don't think he died. The water flowing into his airtight room would have stopped one it got above the window. Giving him an air bubble to breath, get his bearings and swinm out the hole that "Captain One-Eye" blew in the side of the station.
I jsut really like charlie and anticipate him being in the final season for a quick shot or two, but would love it if they could bring him back for more. Hell they had Rose and Brenard dissapear for 3 years...Charlie can do it :p
Don't have much to say about the episode as a hole so no 2 page articles today.
Ace Willco
I'll make my comment short right now.
ReplyDeleteIs it possible that Libby did indeed have her issues resolved? We have seen her in two flashbacks: one with Desmond, when she gives him her boat and another as a patient in Santa Rosa. She's sane in one but not the other. Chronologically, I'm not sure which one comes first, but what if she was insane before 815 crashed and the island healed her, the way it healed Faraday's brain?
That's really just a thought. We should also keep in mind that this is a show created by writers. To keep it interesting, new characters have to be introduced and to make room for new characters, some old ones must depart. That happened with Charlotte. In retrospect, was her role in the show that important? I don't think so. It's possible the writers introduced her with the hopes of developing the character more, but she turned out to be disappointing to they eliminated her. Kind of like Paolo and Nikki.
I think what's more important than whether a character's issues are resolved is whether he or she plays an integral role to the larger destiny of the island. Some of these people may play smaller roles in the course of the island while others play larger ones. Charlie played a key role, but it appears (for now) that the role had an end date, just as Michael's did.
If Charlie comes back, the song becomes prophetic of the course of Charlie's life, if you compare Charlie to the Spider:
ReplyDelete"The Itsy-Bitsy Spider climbed up the water spout (moon pool)/
Down came the rain, and drowned the Spider out (Charlie drowned)".
Then the part Charlie didn't get around to singing after being interrupted by Hurley:
Out came the sun, and dried the rain away ( [1] If Jughead goes off, it would be bright, and the result could change the course of what happened to allow Charlie to come back. [2] sun = Sun? probably would be coincedence)/
And the Itsy-Bitsy Spider climbed up the spout again (Someone's gonna have to turn off the Jamming Station... since it's a musical code, maybe it is Charlie's destiny. Doesn't mean he has to die this time though, maybe Desmond will remember, and finish the job on Mikhail)."
Wow. Brian. You really summed it up for me there about character deaths.
ReplyDeleteHowever:...Although one could argue that Libby's blossoming relationship with Hurley and Ana's realisation of her own limits were significant character changes, they did not die because of them. These events were not defining moments of redemption leaving them without anywhere else to grow, they died for shock factor. They died because Michael killed them, not the Island.
We've got to be careful labelling Island Will on very significant "boulders in fate's river" or whatever it was. You know what I mean
James,
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean. I was thinking after making my last comment about why Ana and Libby die. Michael killed them, of course. If Michael hadn't killed them, he wouldn't have been so eager to blow up the freighter in Season 4, in order to have some kind of redemption. If the freighter isn't blown up, perhaps the Oceanic Six don't get to leave the island. If they never leave the island, well, things would be different.
Taking the long view, it's easy to see how one change in events on the show have many repercussions. If Charlie doesn't free up the jamming coming from the Looking Glass, the freighter never finds the island and perhaps no one leaves, Desmond never gets reunited with Penny, and baby Charlie (who some believe could be Charles Widmore or Charlie Pace in some crazy time-travel deal) wouldn't be born.
Hey, Sam, are we going to have a Lost rewatch after the series is over? We'll then be able to see clearly the significance - or lack thereof - of each little detail.
One more thing... the thing that struck me the most: Sayid tells Locke, "I sense you might be our best hope of surviving here.” Another comment that details with Locke's status as a savior figure. (You might remember from the Ajira Airways website that there was an Easter egg that read "John 316" and John's corpse came back to the island of flight 316. The reference to the most famous verse in the Bible is unmistakable and it possible that the answer to "Who lies in the shadow of the statue?" is indeed Locke.)
ReplyDeleteSayid asks Locke what the hatch is as Boone mentioned it before dying and Locke responds while probaply standing a top of the Pearl: "A hatch? Two hatches on a plane, could be forward or aft."
ReplyDeleteJust thought it was a funny little foreshadowing of what to come. =)