I gave this a 5 out of 5 and I'm just gonna say right off the bat that that will probably be my rating for damn near every episode. The amount of work with the details and quality they put into the writing is just phenomenal and the show is just better and better with each re-watch.
First off, the title of the ep is Tabula Rasa which basically means clean slate. They beautifully weave this symbolism throughout the episode. In Kate's flashback, you've got Ray telling her that "Everyone deserves a fresh start" and later, when Kate tries to confess what she did to Jack, he tells her "It doesn't matter, Kate, who we were - what we did before this, before the crash. It doesn't really... 3 days ago we all died. We should all be able to start over." You've got the montage at the end of various survivors trying to make amends or make a fresh start with Michael bringing Vincent back to Walt, Sayid tossing the apple to Sawyer, Jin finally showing some tenderness toward Sun when he's been a complete ass to her up until now, all set to the beautiful song and lyrics of Wash Away by Joe Purdy:
I got troubles, Lord, but not todayCause they gonna wash away, they gonna wash awayAnd I have sins, Lord, but not todayCause they gonna wash away, they gonna wash awayI'd never heard that song before hearing it on Lost and fell right in love with it. Actually, I have a Lost playlist on my iPod that includes this song as well as Leavin' On Your Mind and several other great songs from the show.
I noticed that this ep actually did not start on an eye of any sort. I guess the writers hadn't yet locked in that symbolic theme and I'm sure they probably ended up kicking themselves and wishing they could go back to add it.
After the Pilot Part 2 and this ep, I was really interested to find out more about the past between Edward Mars (the marshal) and Kate. Why was he so fixated on Kate and harboring this intense obsession over her capture? There definitely seemed like some kind of history there. Either that, or he's kinda a sick, twisted guy who gets off on the hunt and this prey has eluded him longer than or more often than he likes. And what he said to Jack, "She got to you too, huh." Definitely couldn't wait to see more of her backstory! Of course, some of my fellow Browncoats who are also watching along with us will recognize Edward as Rance Burgess from Firefly.
He is indeed really great at being intense and scary!
Jack definitely does act as if Kate has gotten to him and it appears he expects a lot from people but at the same time, is easily disappointed because they don't live up to those expectations. It was evident in his crestfallen expression when he first laid eyes on Kate's mugshot and when Kate went to him to give him an update on what happened on the hike, Jack didn't blink an eye at the news that they couldn't transmit because there was already a distress call going for 16 years. Instead, he just asks, "Anything else?" It seemed so important to him for her to come clean and confess that anything else was trivial. Obviously Jack has issues in his past with disappointment and expectations not being met.
I enjoyed that scene as it seemed they were both playing a game of verbal poker. Making careful moves without showing your hand. Jack asked if there was anything else so Kate immediately wonders if Jack knows something and casually asks after the Marshal. Their short, carefully worded questions and answers gave nothing away but also felt like it left a lingering suspicion, feeding both of their issues with trust.
Hurley definitely endeared himself to me even more in this episode. He's got such great lines and his reactions are hilarious! He did such a great job with his fear of Kate! So funny when he came face to face with her, looking like a deer in headlights and when he saw the gun tucked into the back of her denims, hilarious! He couldn't wait to run away!
Shannon is doing a great job of continuing to be a snobby self centered spoiled brat but you've got to give it to her for vocalizing what everyone was thinking. "I wish he would just die already." It's a horrible thing to say but Edward's screams of agony were agonizing to hear. I'd have also been wishing he'd be put out of his mystery and feeling horrible about feeling that way but with their situation, it's the most humane thing they could do.
Jack, of course, has a fixation of fixing people. He can't let go of it to the point that keeping the marshal alive was more important to him than putting him out of his mystery. Even as far as the Hippocratic oath, giving Edward a quick and easy end would have been more in line with the oath but Jack's need to fix people overruled it. So Sawyer took it upon himself and when that backfired, oh man. Our reaction was the same as Hurley. That was a total surprise and a big "holy shit" moment. The acting for that whole situation was phenomenal, especially on Sawyer's part. That look of shock and horror, then the anger and at the very end, when he's sitting alone, you can see the unshed tears in his eyes and the pain on his face. No matter what an asshole he's been, he really made me feel for him there.
Jack was finally forced to do what should have already been done and after ending the marshal's life, the way he walked out of there in a daze, the look on his face... just chills. Also, toward the end when he's talking to Kate about them all being able to start over, you see him glance at his hands as if he didn't recognize them with the marshal's dried blood still on them but then he clasps them together as if coming to terms with what he did. After all, as Sawyer reminded him, they aren't in civilization. They're in the wild. The rules of what is right and wrong is different here.
As Jack, the man everyone seems to be looking to as leader, is preoccupied with his obsession of saving people, Sayid steps up to take on the responsibility of keeping order by organizing groups for different tasks. You see him later reporting to Jack. Sayid seems to have automatically fallen back into his role of a soldier reporting to his commanding officer. This is a good thing though because with the "leader" letting distraction stand in the way, the survivors need someone to help keep order and maintain as much normalcy as is possible in their situation.
Kate is basically a good person. I just know it. Whatever she did, you just know that there had to be a good reason for it. Even though Ray turned her in, she still asked Edward for one favor; to be sure Ray got his reward money. As Edward pointed out, she could have gotten away. Instead, she saved Ray. Sure, she's the reason they were in that car accident but in the end, she did the humane, unselfish thing. I love that exchange of when Edward tells her she could have gotten away if she hasn't saved Ray and when she says she did get away, the marshal points out that she doesn't look free to him. He's right. They're all trapped there. Imprisoned on that island and for a girl who is always on the run, you can see that look of a cornered animal cross her features when she realizes he's right.
Locke really earned points with me in this ep. He maintains this zen calmness as if he's completely comfortable in his situation. He took the time to whittle a whistle to bring Vincent back and went straight to Michael to be sure that Michael was the one to bring the dog back to Walt. He shows a respect for the father/son relationship and has seen how fragile that link is so he went out of his way to mend that link.
There are so many great and interesting dynamics we're starting to see on the show. Relationships of all kinds, people of all kinds, diversity in those relationships and in the types of people. All put together and it's so interesting to see their developments individually and with each other.
Favorite quotes and moments:Boone calling Sawyer a hick under his breathe.
Sawyer: Afraid the trees are gonna get us?
Sayid: No, what is knocking down the trees will get you.
Charlie: They have satellites in space that can take pictures of your license plate.
Sayid: If only we were all wearing license plates.
Hurley: Was it a dinosaur?
Jack: It wasn't a dinosaur.
Hurley: You say you didn't see it.
Jack: I didn't.
Hurley: So how do you know it wasn't a dinosaur?
Jack: Because dinosaurs are extinct.
Hurley: ... Oh. Yeah.
Hurley: He looks kind of... dying.
When Jack asks if Hurley checked inside the plane for antibiotics...
Hurley: But, the bodies are in there and they're all... dead.
Pouring rain, Michael talking to Walt.
Michael: I'm gonna get your dog back as soon as it stops raining.
Rain comes to dead stop, cut to Michael sarcastically quoting himself as he searches the jungle for Vincent.
He is indeed really great at being intense and scary!
So I loved this episode anyway!
Though I think I have seen him in another movie too, but I'm not really sure.