4 out of 5 stars from me! Take Nikki and Paul out and it might have been 5, lol. I swear, they are absolutely horrible. So forced and their dialogue is so bad.
I feel really bad for the Lost writers having to come up with unplanned things in order to draw the series out by demand of the network. Networks need to let shows do their own thing. That way, we'd have more high quality shows. Things don't all have to be 10 seasons. Imagine how many good shows we'd get that only need one season to tell the story? Wish networks would think about that!
But anyway, back to the show. The kid actors for Eko and Yemi are such a great match. I definitely don't agree with the way the nun was handling things, forcing young Eko to confess. Dude, you can't do that. Confession has to be voluntary.
And by the way... Eko!!
I was so shocked and so sad to see him go. I read that it was Adewale's (the actor's) choice. He felt that the character of Mr. Eko's story had been told and that it was time. I think I also read that he didn't want to live in Hawaii anymore. At least I'm pretty sure it was him and not another of the actors that had said that.
He was a great character and I will miss him. There's now only one surviving member of the Tailies with the survivors. We know that Bernard isn't the only surviving Tailie though. Remember, the Others took some of them, including Cindy (the flight attendant) and Zack and Emma (the two kids). Where are they, I wonder? Juliet said to Jack that they weren't murderers so I have to assume they're alive somewhere.
Jack did a great job pulling one over on Ben. The look on Ben's face when Jack was telling Ben about his tumor was priceless! Then later, when Ben asks Juliet why she told Jack, she tells him that she didn't. Lol, Ben confirmed it himself with his reaction. So is that why they took Jack? If so, then why did they also take Kate and Sawyer? Leverage, maybe?
Ben is really conniving. His whole plan, which he spelled out for Jack, was to manipulate Jack into wanting to save Ben. Geez, why not just make a friendly approach to the survivors and ask for Jack's help? I think Jack would have agreed to help and if he didn't, then they could have abducted them. Still though, I think Ben already ruined their chances of a good relationship with the survivors when he had them infiltrated right off the bat. I wonder what his reasons were for that? Why not a friendly approach? It could be that something bad had happened to the Others the last time people had arrived on the island or it could be that Ben is just some sort of dictator that wants to control the island and everyone on it. Or both.
I'm thinking it's more of a controlling dictator-like tendencies, based off Juliet's video with the note cards. Juliet doesn't seem to be thrilled to be there. At least, that's the impression I get. Unless that's all a ruse as well. Either way, we've seen animosity from Juliet toward Ben without Jack around to witness it so Juliet definitely has a problem with Ben.
That's crazy though, that soon after Ben finds out he has a tumor on his spine, a spinal surgeon fell out of the sky. What are the odds of that?
We found out how Eko ended up where he did. He took his brother's place to serve on the mission in London and from London, he was send to Sydney to investigate that girl that had come back from the dead.
I liked that Locke used the phrase that Eko had once told him; "Don't mistake coincidence for fate." I also really liked that they referred back to the first season, fourth episode where Locke had seen the monster but we didn't get to see what he saw. He described it as a beautiful, very bright light. So weird. Every time we've seen the smoke monster, it's a black smoke. Did Locke see the same thing or was it something else? If it was the same thing, why did it appear differently to Locke? We know it can take different forms. It's even taken on the form of people.
So what exactly IS the smoke monster? That's the question I found myself revisiting after what it did to Eko. It seems to be able to read the thoughts of people (like when it first came face to face with Eko last season and flashed pictures within itself of Eko's past) and then it appears in the form of someone that person knew. For Jack, it appeared as his father and led him on a wild goose chase through the jungle where he almost died falling off a cliff, but then it also led him to the caves where his dad's coffin was (without a body!) but also where they found drinking water. What was the black smoke's purpose? Only for Jack to find the empty coffin or was it also helping by leading to drinking water?
And for Eko, it appeared as several people, all of which were trying to get him to confess. Boy was Smokey angry when Eko said that he did not sin, that he was proud of everything he did because it led to his brother being saved. Smokey killed Eko for his defiance. So again, what the heck is the smoke monster and why does it seem to judge people? How did it come to be and does it belong to the Others?
What about what Eko said to Locke as he died; that they're next? Creepy! Oh man, I shed a few tears as Eko died and the image of him and his brother walking away played on the screen.
Meanwhile, some of the survivors returned to the Pearl station and find out that the monitors all have a feed to a different station. We know there are 7 stations and since there are 6 monitors, we can assume each one is a feed to the other stations. Looks like most have been deactivated but one worked! Some dude with an eye patch went right up the camera. Scared the crap out of me! We called him Patchy and immediately, we started wondering if the glass eye the Tailies had found in chest at the Arrow station belonged to him.
We also found out why Eko was building a church on the island. He owed Yemi a church. The whole church building thing seemed to ridiculous at first but now that we learned why, it was so touching and heartbreaking.
Favorite quotes/moments:Locke: Don't mistake coincidence for fate.
Ben: Do you believe in God, Jack?
Jack: Do you?
Ben: Two days after I found out I had a fatal tumor on my spine, a spinal surgeon fell out of the sky. And if that's not proof of God, I don't know what is.
Eko: I did not ask for the life that I was given. But it was given, nonetheless. And with it... I did my best.
I was so shocked and so sad to see him go. I read that it was Adewale's (the actor's) choice. He felt that the character of Mr. Eko's story had been told and that it was time. I think I also read that he didn't want to live in Hawaii anymore. At least I'm pretty sure it was him and not another of the actors that had said that.
I was sad about seeing him go too... The strange thing is though, that I somehow felt he would die in this episode right from the start. Dunno, just felt it. And during the episode even more, just like the actor's own statement about Eko's story has been told.
Leverage sounds like a good reason. I also wonder about Ben's strategy though.
She is really good. Only thing though is that it always looks like she's smirking, no matter if she's sad, mad, or whatever.