Tricia Tanaka is DeadAnother flashback, more father issues this week on
Lost. I'm still covinced this is some kind of huge group-therapy session for everyone on the island.
As we've seen before, Hurley had one incredibly lucky event in his pre-island life followed by a whole string of not-so-good luck moments. It seems as if the universe it out to get him--even going so far here as to send a meteor crashing into the Clucky Chicken he's purchased the day before it opens. I have to start to wonder--was fate or some mysterious power driving Hurley to the island becuase he used the numbers to win the lottery? Was it some kind of payback for using them, some unintended consequence? If the universe is against Hurley for using the numbers, why can't he get rid of the money (we learned that in one of his flashbacks, I recall. He can't get rid of the money for some reason and every time he tries, he ends up making more. The universe having a big joke on friend?)
The flashbacks here fill in a bit about Hurley and the relationship with his dad. Despite abandoning Hurley and possibly pushing him into his overeating (Hurley clearly starts to ease his disappointment via food in the flashback), his dad's not all that bad a guy, given half a chance. At first, he's there to try and convince Hurley to not do something foolish with the money, but as the story progresses, we see the guy genuinely turn a corner. Seeing the car in the garage woke him up a bit and in the end, he asks for a second chance. But at that point it's too late as Hurley is clearly focused on going to Australia to rid himself of his perceived curse.
In both storylines, we see that Hurley is like a terrier, seizing hold of an idea and not letting go. He won't be disuaded from going to Australia or starting the van, no matter what the consequences to himself or those around him. It's interesting that Hurley rejects the palm-branch of his father, which is a bit of a turnaround from how many of the other storylines for various castaways have gone.
Hurley is determined to give the group a win and some hope. He brings out Jin, Sawyer and Charlie on his quest to start the van and gives at least three of the four some hope. Sawyer's final scene of sitting in his shelter, watching everyone else's apparent happiness while he sits along drinking was striking. At times we've seen Sawyer integrate with the group and at times we've seen him act out of his own selfishness. Will what has happened with Kate send him spiralling into more selfish behavoir?
Speaking of Kate, at least she asked the question I was most curious about--why didn't Locke and company try to rescue she, Jack and Sawyer? Yes, the Others sent Hurley back with a warning, but when has the group ever followed thier orders or warnings to the letter? Or did the Others take those three because they would be the three most likely to inspire the group to a rescue? Certainly I can't imagine Jack or Kate sitting around long, just waiting for the Others to make the next move or taking their words at face value. So if that was the purpose, why let Sawyer and Kate go--surely the Others must expect one or both of them to purse the path Kate is now pursuing.
I do have to ask one thing--why did they include Mira Furlan in the opening credits crawl? Seeing her name ruined all the surprise of who Kate went to find in the jungle for me. Of course, maybe that's just people like me who are reading the credits. But did it ruin it for anyone else?
And I can see why we needed hope, but I'm not sure spending the entire episode there was the greatest idea. It was nice to see some old faces back in the mix though. I just hope next week we don't jump back to Jack and the wacky adventures of the Others. We need some time with the rest of the island cast...
Oh and one more thing--should the van have started? Wouldn't the gas in the fuel tank and lines have turned to sludge and gummed up the engine? Or am I missing the point?
Labels: Lost, tv shows
posted by Michael Hickerson at 3/01/2007 02:43:00 PM |
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