Episode 10 - The 23rd PsalmAbout last night’s episode, I’d like to quote “The Matrix’s” Neo – “Whoa!!!”
If I were to rate the episode out of 10, I think I’d give it an 11. It has got to be one of the best episodes yet.
I think that we just have to tackle this one first… the monster! What the heck?!?!?! Just what kind of monster is it anyway?? Argh!!! I needed answers, what I didn’t need is a dozen more unanswered questions.
Can we even call it a monster? It looked like a big ole black smoke/cloud thing to me. What I found totally fascinating though, is the fact that when it neared Eko, or went “trough” him, there some flashes of light visible within the monster, and I am so sure I saw “visions” or images, if you will, of what appeared to be a woman. Did anyone else catch those?
Also, what I found so interesting is that Eko tells Charlie that it did not harm him because he did not fear it. Now Eko is not the first person to have met the monster and lived to tell the tale, although truthfully speaking, the other person hasn’t told the tale as yet. I’m talking about Locke.
In an episode in the first series, Locke encounters the monster and seemingly walks away unscathed. I very much doubt Locke would have been afraid of the monster either – it’s more than likely that he tried to engage it in conversation.
Now Goodwin tells Ana-Lucia that they did not take Nathan because he was not a good person, and Danielle tells Sawyer that the monster is the island’s protection. I know there’s a point here somewhere, I’m just not sure where or what it is right now.
Anyway, as per the norm, we learnt a lot more about Eko. Even though the man is a ruthless, cold-blooded murderer, I can’t help but feel sympathy towards him. He is, after all, forced into a life he clearly didn’t want.
Eko, in order to prevent his younger brother (Yemi) from being forced into killing a man when they are still children, does it himself instead. He is carted away by the gangsters terrorizing his village. Years later, Eko himself is a ruthless drug lord while Yemi is a priest.
When Eko tries to enlist Yemi’s help in smuggling a shipment of drugs out of Nigeria, his brother refuses. Eko finally resorts to blackmail, and in the process, he and his gang friends become priests – but only on paper. While loading up the plane, Yemi arrives and reveals that he’s gone to the military.
In the ensuing commotion, Yemi is shot and killed, Eko is pushed out of the plane by his crony and the military assumes that he is the priest who called them.
Back on the island Claire introduces herself to him and eventually tells him that Charlie has a statue of the Virgin Mary. Eko smashes it open to find the drugs, and orders Charlie to take him to the plane. Claire’s faith in Charlie is severely shaken.
Charlie and Eko head off to the plane, and Charlie tries fooling Eko into believing he found the statue lying on the ground under a tree. Eko isn’t buying it and orders him to take him to the plane. Charlie takes Eko further into the jungle, complaining that Eko ruined his relationship with Claire and that Eko shouldn't judge him because it was his brother that got him addicted to heroin in the first place.
Charlie loses his way to the plane, and Eko tells him to climb a tree to get a better view, and Charlie shimmies up a tree. While on the tree, there are explosions and Eko is confronted by the monster. (See monster rant above)
Charlie is shocked when the monster leaves and tells Eko that usually when people see things like that, they run. I agree, I’d have turned and ran for all I was worth. Eko doesn’t seem to be phased by the monster, and they continue on their journey. They stumble across a parachute and a body and Eko states that this man had saved his life.
Charlie and Eko finally find the plane, and Eko finds his brother Yemi inside the plane. He’s heartbroken, and sets the plane alight, but not before he hands Charlie one of the statuettes – to replace the one he broke. While the plane is alight, Eko recites the 23rd Psalm (The Lord is my Shepherd), and Charlie joins in after a while. Charlie asks him if he is a priest and Eko replies, after a moment and a smile, that he is indeed a priest.
I really like Eko. I know I said that last week too, but I really like him. He’s like this uber-cool guy, and it was great to see those various emotions flitter across his face. I can only see Eko becoming one of the inspirations on this island… I think he and Locke could become great friends.
Back at camp, Claire has evicted Charlie and he later goes to hide his statue away… and we discover that Charlie has quite a few of these statues hidden already. Oh Charlie!! What are you doing boy?? I do love Charlie, so I have to say the following in his defense.
He’s a recovering drug addict, and he didn’t even really have a choice about going clean. Fair enough he threw his last remaining bits of heroin into the fire, but he didn’t really have a choice. Now, this is where his real battle begins. Having such a large stash of drugs available to him, is he going to be able to resist? To his credit though, he is still drug-free as far as we can tell.
I really worry about Charlie. My heart says he won’t use, but my head says that he will – especially now that Claire’s given him the boot.
In other parts of the island, Locke is teaching Michael how to shoot a gun. Michael seems to be making good progress. Michael then asks Kate to let him have her session and she agrees. He sits in front of the computer and has this conversation with Walt.
Dad?
(Michael) Are you O.K.?
Yes.
Are you alone?
(Michael) Yes.
Can't talk long. They're coming back soon...
(Michael) Where are you?
You need to com-
Unfortunately, he’s interrupted by Jack, who tells him that they have not forgotten about Walt and that as soon as they can, they will go out looking for him. When Jack glances at the monitor on his way out, it’s blank.
This leads us to yet more questions – is Michael really having these conversations? Or is he just imaging it? What really bothers me is that they have very clear instructions not to use the computer for anything other than the numbers. This is going to lead to trouble.
Other small stories on the island include Kate giving Sawyer a much needed haircut, Hurley helping Libby set up her shelter and Jin introducing Ana-Lucia to Sun, and handing her a freshly caught fish.