Lost (Episode 319) - The Brig

Written by six from the blog The Lost Chronicles on 19 Jul 2007
Favourite this post

Episode 319
The Brig

I’m quite chuffed with myself at the moment. It’s not often one can say that they actually figured something out in Lost and be right about it. But I’m happy to report that I actually figured out the link between Sawyer and Cooper in “Man from Tallahassee”.

It might seem like a small thing to rejoice over (and it’s possible that everyone saw it coming), but it at least gives me some hope that I am not as stupid as I was beginning to believe I was.

Anyway, there are many points/issues to discuss today. The first is of course Locke and Sawyer’s traipse into the jungle and the events at the Black Rock. Locke using Sawyer to kill his father was a very audacious, very strange and perhaps a very stupid move on Locke’s part. Locke is a man who is so convinced of his “specialness” and he is so convinced that Benry and the Others have what he is looking for that he is willing to do just about anything to attain it.

Using Sawyer to kill his father was just plain cowardice in my opinion. Locke doesn’t have the courage to do what it takes, but hey, he has the presence of mind to know how to get the job done. Before I get to Sawyer’s role in all this, one of the many things that trouble me about Locke using Sawyer is that I am sure that this is exactly what the Others want.

In Locke’s island flashback, Richard approaches Locke and spins him a few lines about Benry being scared that Locke may usurp his position on the island. Locke loves it, he laps it all up! But in true Other fashion, there’s a catch… Locke needs to get rid of Cooper, and wait… oh my, can it possibly be true… they know who can do it! Tsk tsk. Locke is repeatedly conned by the Others, and he doesn’t even realize it.

So, Locke goes off and manages to get Sawyer to come along. Sawyer, as Locke fully well expected, ends up killing Cooper. As much as despair over the fact that Sawyer has yet again taken a life, I just couldn’t help but feel for him. My heart broke for him as he made Cooper read his letter. I can understand why he killed him though. In fact, I would have totally understood if Locke had murdered Cooper too. But it doesn’t make it right, and it makes me worry for Sawyer.

Locke had a very slight moment of redemption (very, very, very slight) when he gives Sawyer the recording of Juliet’s to Sawyer. Anyway, Locke’s flashback was incredibly interesting. I love island flashbacks, they are always so interesting.

The problem here is that while we have a vague idea of what Locke was up to, there are 5 unaccounted days for. What has Locke being doing all that time? We also have received no clear answers on exactly how Cooper got to the island, although we can assume that he was kidnapped and transported to the island by the Others.

Also very interesting is the location that the Others made their camp in. It looks to me like an old ruin. This ties in nicely with the ruined 4-toed statue. Well, it doesn’t exactly, but it further reiterates the fact that the island could have been (and most probably has been) occupied by an ancient civilization.

Benry has once again demonstrated his absolute genius when it comes to manipulating people. I know I keep saying this, but honestly, how can one not admire his audacity! He is a master at his game.

Anyway, on the other side of the island, Desmond and the hunting party have returned with parachute woman, whose name is Naomi Dorrit. Interestingly, they choose not to reveal Naomi’s existence to Jack (who is/was the leader of the group) but to Super Sayid! Yay! I’m so glad that they went this route, because firstly, I believe that Super Sayid has been severely underused this season.

Sayid has almost always been someone who is cool under pressure. I just hope that he features more prominently in the closing episodes. And the other reason I am glad that they chose Sayid instead of Jackass, is because I am finding Jackass incredibly irritating. The losties are questioning Jackass’s motives, and correctly so. I think what troubles me throughout this entire thing is that Jackass is so disconnected from everything. I know I’ve stated that before, but this Jackass that we are seeing now is not that Jackass I have grown to dislike so much.

I didn’t feel the need to question his loyalties or his motives of that Jackass, even though I dislike him, This Jackass is an entirely other person. And it bothers me. The final exchange between Jackass and Juliet ("should we tell her") is very interesting. Did Juliet tell Jack about Ben's plan? And it also begs the question – Is Jackass a willing pawn in Benry’s dangerous chess game?

It was an incredibly frustrating episode. So many more questions, not enough answers. There are never enough answers.

Interesting points from this week’s episode

• Naomi’s story seems to be pretty much what I expected. She claims to be part of a search and rescue team, hired by Penny Widmore, to find Desmond based on geographic coordinates received that led her to the island. She claims not to have known that there was an island until cloud cover broke.
• Two separate people on this episode (who in all probability don’t know about the existence of the other) have claimed that the plane, along with the bodies of the passengers of Flight 815 has been found. Either they are both lying (though why??) or the outside world has indeed found something, that leads them to believe its Flight 815
• Danielle wondering into the Black Rock was also really interesting. She’s just popping in to get some dynamite. No questions asked. No answers needed. Just what does she intend doing with all that dynamite anyway?

• It’s clear that no-one should ever tell Kate a secret. She didn’t waste anytime is running off immediately to Jackass. Stupid!
• Locke is now “on his own journey” and can’t be bothered with the Losties anymore.

Interesting Trivia

• Kate is having sex with Sawyer even though she knows pregnant women die on the island.
• Every now and then, LOST likes to echo dialog from earlier episodes. Here, we have Ben telling Locke, “Don’t tell me what I can’t do, John.” This phrase, and variations of it, has been said by Locke, Jack, Jin, Claire, Charlie and Eko.
• Sawyer strangles Anthony Cooper with a chain, the same way Princess Leia kills Jabba the Hutt in Return of the Jedi. Producer Damon Lindelof is known to be an avid fan of that series of films.
• There is a book in ben's tent called The Oath.
The Oath is about a doctor who murders seriously ill patients for financial gain.

Interesting Screencaps