"LOST" RETROSPECT: (2.11) "The Hunting Party"I may be a bit picky about my tastes in television viewing. But I must admit there have been a few television episodes either dismissed or lambasted by critics and fans alike, but which I have come to like. One of those episodes is the Season Two episode of "LOST" called (2.11) "The Hunting Party".This eleventh episode from the series' second season picks up not long after the previous episode, (2.10) "The 23rd Psalms" left off. In the previous episode, Michael Dawson believed he had managed to contact his kidnapped son Walt Lloyd, while using the twenty year-old computer inside the DHARMA Swan Station. He also recruited the help of fellow castaway, John Locke, to teach him how to use a rifle. When "The Hunting Party" began, Dr. Jack Shephard found an unconscious Locke on the floor of the station's armory. Before he could do anything, Michael appeared with a gun trained on Jack and in a desperate tone, revealed his intentions to find Walt. Michael forced Jack to remain by Locke's side, before locking both of them inside the armory. When other castaways Kate Austen and James "Sawyer" Ford go to the station to have the latter's bandages changed, they free both Jack and Locke. Jack immediately reaches for a rifle and state his intentions to find Michael and bring him back. Both Locke and Sawyer volunteer to join him. Kate also volunteers, but Jack curtly orders her to remain behind and be ready to punch in the numbers for the station's computer. The three men leave without her. Despite Jack's refusal of her help, Kate recruits Hugo "Hurley" Reyes and Charlie Pace to monitor the station's computer for her, while she heads out into the jungle to join the hunting party.The episode's flashbacks start with Jack and his father, Dr. Christian Shephard, diagnose a middle-aged Italian man with a spinal tumor named Angelo Busconi. The two Shephard surgeons inform Signor Busconi and his daughter, Gabriela that his tumor is too far gone and that he is not eligible for surgery. However, Signor Busconi and Gabriela insist that they are interested in recruiting Jack's help. They had learned of the miracle he had achieved after performing surgery on his wife, Sarah Shephard, before their marriage. Much to Christian's dismay, Jack agrees to perform the surgery on Signor Busconi. The older surgeon also notices the attraction between Jack and Gabriela. And Jack also continues spending more time at the hospital, either ignoring or evading Sarah's company at home.Despite the opinions of other "LOST" fans and critics, I have always liked "The Hunting Party". I found the plot regarding the Losties' hunt for Michael very interesting. And believe it or not, I rather enjoyed the flashbacks regarding Jack's attempt to save Angelo Busconi and his troubling marriage to Sarah. But for the likes of me, I have always had difficulty making the connection between the on-island plot and the flashbacks. Exactly what is the connection? Was Jack's difficulties in his relationship with Kate and her attraction to Sawyer a reminder of Sarah's infidelity and the end of his marriage? Was his decision to embark upon a near impossible task - finding Michael and bringing him back - similar to his decision to accept Signor Busconi as a patient? Did I hit the mark regarding the episode's main plot . . . or what? After eight years, I am still confused.But I still like "The Hunting Party" . . . very much. It is one of my favorite Jack-centric episodes. The hunt for Michael showcased an aspect of Jack's personality that has been problematic - his inability to let go. The problem with Jack was he lacked a real instinct on whether to give up on an impossible task, or to continue it. On one hand, he never realized that Locke was right about letting Michael go. The choice to leave the Losties' camp and go after Walt was up to Michael, not Jack or any of the other castaways. I think Jack took his "live together, die alone" mantra a bit too far in his determination to get Michael back. However, it seemed a pity that he and the other Losties never extended that mantra to Walt. In the case of the flashbacks, I suspect that the Busconis' stroking of Jack's ego led him to accept Angelo Busconi as a patient. Even though the Italian father and daughter were grateful toward Jack's willingness to take a chance on the former, I cannot help but wonder if that was a chance Jack should have ignored.Both the on-island plot and the flashbacks also featured Jack's problematic relationships with the two women in his life. Two episodes ago in (2.09) "What Kate Did", Sawyer unconsciously expressed his love for Kate, while Jack was tending him. This bedside confession conjured feelings of jealousy within Jack, who must have recalled the kiss that Sawyer and Kate had exchanged in the Season One episode, (1.08) "Confidence Man". In "What Kate Did", Kate kissed Jack in a confusing moment and ran off into the jungle in tears. Between her action and Sawyer's confession, I suspect Jack found himself wondering if Kate ever loved him. This so-called "love triangle" must have reminded him of his previous marriage. The problems in Jack's relationship with Sarah proved to be more straightforward. Flashbacks in an earlier Season Two episode called (2.01) "Man of Faith, Man of Science" revealed how Jack and Sarah first met - she was a victim of a car accident that eventually killed Shannon Rutherford's father, and Jack was the surgeon that prevented her from becoming physically disabled. In the Season One episode, (1.20) "Do No Harm", flashbacks revealed that some time after Jack's successful surgery on Sarah, they got married. I never understood why those two had married. Was it gratitude on Sarah's part? Had Jack been caught up in the emotional relief over saving her? Who knows. But the flashbacks in this episode revealed that their marriage had slowly deteriorated to the point that it led to Jack spending most of his time at the hospital . . . and Sarah committing adultery and later, leaving him. Some fans had complained about the quiet manner in which their marriage had ended, despite the erotic moment between Jack and Gabriela Busconi. Actually, I found it very realistic . . . and very common among relationships.There were other aspects of the episode I found interesting. Locke revealed to Sawyer and television viewers, the latter's real name - James Ford. This revelation proved to be a mild shock, considering that viewers had already learned back in Season One that Sawyer was an alias. This episode also saw the return of the "Bearded Man" aka Tom Friendly, who had kidnapped Walt in (1.24-1.25) "Exodus". Tom and his fellow Others had trapped the hunting party before convincing them (actually through coercion) to return to their camp. Not only did the Losties' encounter with Tom provided another bump in the road for Jack and Kate's relationship; it also reminded viewers that Sawyer blamed Tom for shooting him (one of the members of Tom's party had shot him, when he reached for his gun). For the first time, Sawyer declared his intentions to seek revenge for what happened to him, proving that of all the series' characters, he was a master at combining revenge with murder in order to alleviate his pain. There was one aspect of this episode that I found . . . perplexing. Throughout most of the episode, Locke questioned Jack's decision to go after Michael, spouting free will as an excuse. And yet . . . he had decided to accompany Jack on this expedition, anyway. Locke was also not above enforcing his own will upon others. So, why did he join this hunting party in the first place? Even the state of the Kwons' marriage ended up affected by Jack's hunting party. When Jin learned about Michael's flight into the jungle, he considered joining the hunting party, until Sun stopped him. For the first time, Sun truly got her way since the beginning of the series. In a marvelous scene, she put her foot down and revealed her opposition to Jin's intentions. She also revealed how she had felt about his past controlling behavior toward her. The Kwons' marriage took a new step above the resentments, anger and lies that marred their relationship in the past."The Hunting Party" featured some solid performances from cast members such as Terry O'Quinn, Josh Holloway, Evangeline Lilly and Naveen Andrews; and guest stars that included Julie Bowen, Ronald Guttman, Monica Dean and M.C. Gainey. But in my opinion, the best performances came from guest star John Terry, Harold Perrineau, and especially, Matthew Fox. It seemed a pity that Perrineau never received any nominations for his outstanding work. And I find it laughable that Fox had to wait another four seasons before the Hollywood community was even willing to nominate him for his work on "LOST". But if many of us are truly honest with ourselves, acting and production awards are usually based upon popularity contests, not upon any worthy endeavors.I wish I could say that I consider "The Hunting Party" to be one of the best episodes that aired on "LOST". The narrative written by Elizabeth Saranoff and Christina M. Kim allowed for strong characterizations and some interesting subplots. Unfortunately, I found the connection between the on-island plot and the flashbacks rather weak. Even worse, the episode ended with Jack proposing to Tail Section survivor Ana-Lucia Cortez that they create an army to deal with the Others. And this potential subplot never went anywhere, in the end.
Below is a list of my top five favorite episodes from Season One of "LOST" (2004-2010). The series was created by Jeffrey Lieber, J. J. Abrams and Damon Lindelof; and produced by the latter and Carlton Cuse. TOP FIVE FAVORITE "LOST" SEASON ONE (2004-2005) Episodes
1. (1.23-1.25) "Exodus" - This season finale served as a transition in the series' narrative, as an expedition sets out to find dynamite to open the hatch recently discovered by castaway John Locke. And the raft planned by Michael Dawson finally leaves the island with him, his son Walt, Jin Kwon and James "Sawyer" Ford, resulting in unexpected circumstances.
2. (1.17) ". . . In Translation" - This episode featured Jin Kwon's backstory in flashbacks and the further disintegration of his marriage, when he discovers that his wife Sun had learned English behind his back.
3. (1.04) "Walkabout" - While Locke and a few others set on a hunting expedition to find boar for the other castaways, his flashbacks reveal his reason for being in Australia.
4. (1.11) "All the Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues" - Jack Shephard leads an expedition to find two castaways that had been kidnapped in the previous episode. The episode's flashbacks reveal the events that led to Jack being responsible for his father's dismissal from the hospital they worked at.
5. (1.19) "Deus Ex Machina" - In their search for a means to open a hatch they had found, Locke and Boone Carlyle find a Nigerian small plane. And their discovery leads to tragic circumstances. In the flashbacks, Locke meets his parents for the first time, who prove to be major disappointments.
"LOST" RETROSPECT: (1.17) ". . . In Translation"Before I commence upon this article, I should reveal that the "LOST" Season One episode, (1.17) ". . . In Translation" is one of my all time favorites from the series. I will try to be as biased as possible regarding the episode, but do not expect me to succeed. To understand ". . . In Translation", one has to watch the previous episode, (1.06) "The House of the Rising Sun". The flashbacks in that episode revealed the backstory of the marriage between Jin-Soo Kwon and Sun-Hwa Kwon (née Paik) before they had ended up stranded on the island via Oceanic Flight 815. Told from Sun's point of view, the flashbacks revealed that Jin had to take a job working for Mr. Paik, Sun's father, for her hand in marriage. The couple became increasingly estranged, as Jin began spending more time doing his father-in-law's bidding than with his wife. One night, after they are married, Jin returned home covered in someone else's blood. Fearing that her husband might be a dangerous killer, Sun secretly plotted to leave Jin (hence the secret English lessons); but changed her mind while on route to Los Angeles, via Sydney. "The House of the Rising Sun" also revealed the growing animosity between Jin and fellow castaway Michael Dawson, when the former attacked the latter for wearing Sun's father's watch - something that Michael had discovered on the beach.". . . In Translation" continued the revelation of the Kwon marriage, only from Jin's point-of-view. The flashbacks revealed the circumstances behind Jin asking Sun’s father her hand in marriage, the bargain he made to work for the older man, Jin’s growing awareness of Sun’s frustration with his duties and more importantly the real circumstances surrounding the infamous blood on his hands that Sun had spotted. Sun saw a man who may have committed a brutal murder. What really happened is that Jin prevented a government official – who had refused to re-open one of Mr. Paik’s factories – from being murdered by one of his father-in-law’s henchmen by convincing the man to cooperate with a severe beating. Realizing that he was in danger of losing Sun, Jin decided to take his fisherman father’s advice to use a business trip to leave South Korea and stay in the U.S. for good. Only the crash of Oceanic Flight 815 intervened. Following the events of (1.14) “Special”, Michael Dawson decided to build a raft in order to get his ten year-old son away from the dangers of the island. The hostility between Michael and Jin finally come to a head when someone mysteriously set fire to the raft. Believing that Jin had set the fire, Michael attacked the former. Sun’s desperate cries for Michael to stop revealed her knowledge of English to Jin and the other castaways. The revelation not only led to a rift between the South Korean couple, but also to the beginning of a friendship between Jin and Michael, as they proceeded to rebuild the raft.Following the events of (1.14) "Special", Michael Dawson decided to build a raft in order to get his ten year-old son away from the dangers of the island. The hostility between Michael and Jin finally come to a head when someone mysteriously set fire to the raft. Believing that Jin had set the fire, Michael attacked the former. Sun’s desperate cries for Michael to stop revealed her knowledge of English to Jin and the other castaways. The revelation not only led to a rift between the South Korean couple, but also to the beginning of a friendship between Jin and Michael, as they proceeded to rebuild the raft.This episode was aptly named ". . . In Translation", a take on Sofia Coppola's 2003 movie. If anything, it focused upon the main problem that surrounded the Kwon marriage - namely the bad communication that existed between the couple before and after the crash of Oceanic 815. For some time, Sun believed that Jin might be a murderer on her father's behalf, due to the blood she had spotted on his hand. This would explain why she had continuously declared to people like Michael and fellow castaway Kate Austen about Jin's dangerous nature and how "he was capable of anything". And this would explain why she took the trouble to learn English and not tell Jin. However, Jin was also guilty of keeping secrets from Sun. He never told Sun the details behind the blood on his hands, believing that it was not her place to know. More importantly, he lied about his father, Mr. Kwon, telling both Sun and her father that the latter was dead. Which is ironic, considering he left Sun after learning that she spoke English. Even more ironic is the fact that Sun knows that his father is alive . . . but never bothered to reveal this to Jin. Some viewers translated that last shot of Sun revealing her bikini without Jin hovering about, as a sign of her "freedom". Whatever ”="bondage" that Sun found during her marriage, had been created by bad communication between her and Jin. For me, Sun’s removal of her wrap struck me as a hollow and irrelevant gesture. Her "freedom" came at the cost of losing - at least for a while - the very man that she would always love more than anyone.On a minor level, a lack of communications also continued to exist between Michael and Walt. Most fans tend to blame Michael for this by accusing him of being a poor parent. Although there were moments when Michael became forgetful of Walt. And there were other times when Michael's jealousy of Walt's friendship with castaway John Locke got in the way. However, many of these fans failed to recall that Walt was just as responsible as Michael, due to his residual resentment toward the major changes in his life - losing his mother and gaining a long lost father. Because of this resentment, Walt had a bad habit of disobeying his father when he should have done the opposite. As far as these fans are concerned, Locke would have made a better parent than Michael. Personally, I disagree. Locke was adept at being a friend to Walt. Being a friend did not necessarily mean one is a good parent. The latter has to be an effective disciplinarian, as well. Unfortunately, being a disciplinarian does not jibe with the early 21st ideal of parenthood. A third storyline centered on the triangle that existed between Shannon Rutherford, Sayid Jarrah and Shannon’s stepbrother, Boone Carlyle. But I barely paid attention. In a nutshell, Sayid declared his intentions to court Shannon to Boone. The latter decided to stir up trouble by hinting to Sayid that Shannon likes to use older men for her own benefit. Needless to say, Shannon set things to right and resumed her romance with Sayid after receiving sound advice from Locke.Screenwriters Javier Grillo-Marxuach and Leonard Dick really did a great job in continuing the revelations behind the Kwon marriage in this very emotional episode. The island incidents balanced very well against Jin's flashbacks regarding his marriage. And this episode really worked, due to the outstanding performances from Daniel Dae Kim and Yunjin Kim. Also Harold Perrineau (Michael Dawson), Bryan Chung (Mr. Paik), and John Shin (Mr. Kwon) gave excellent support. Some of my favorite scenes in the episode included Jin's successful attempts to save the life of the South Korean government official, his marriage proposal to Mr. Paik and especially the poignant conversation he has with his father, Mr. Kwon, about his marriage. I also enjoyed the scenes that featured Michael's two attempts to bond with ten year-old Walt - the second being more successful. I also enjoyed Locke's revelation that Walt was responsible for burning the raft. But my favorite scene featured the moment when Jin discovered that Sun spoke English. Director Tucker Gates did an excellent job in conveying Jin's confusion with spinning camera work and muffled babble, as the the South Korean castaway tried to understand the English words that swirled around him. The only dark spot in this episode was Sawyer's attempt to form a lynch mob for Jin, after the raft caught on fire. It was an unpleasant reminder that Mr. Ford's penchant for resorting to violent retribution remained with him until the last season. Some time ago, I had created a LIST of my ten favorite episodes from "LOST". ". . . In Translation" ranked at number six on my list. After my recent viewing of the episode, that ranking still stands.
"LOST" RETROSPECT: (1.01-1.02) "The Pilot"The pilot episode of some of my favorite television series have rarely impressed me . . . if not at all. There are a few exceptions to the rule. And one of those exceptions happened to the be pilot episode for ABC-TV's"LOST". Created by J.J. Abrams, Jeffrey Leiber and Damon Lindelof, "LOST" aired on television for six seasons, between 2004 and 2010. As many fans know, "LOST" told about the survivors of a commercial passenger plane crash on a mysterious South Pacific island, while flying between Sydney and Los Angeles. While television viewers got to know these survivors during their time on the island, but also through flashbacks revealing their past. The series' first episode aired in two parts on September 22, 2004.(1.01) "Pilot (Part 1)" introduced the series' leading character, a spinal surgeon named Dr. Jack Shephard, who wakes up in the middle of the jungle following the crash of Oceanic Airlines Flight 815. He stumbles onto the beach and finds the chaos left behind from Oceanic 815's crash. As everyone knows, the plane broke into three pieces before crashing on the island. Jack and most of the survivors ended upon with the fuselage. The cockpit and the plane's first-class section ended deep into the jungle with no survivors, save the pilot. And the tail section fell into the ocean on the other side of the island. Jack and some of the survivors like John Locke and Hugo "Hurley" Reyes help other passengers with injuries or dodging burning pieces. After helping some of the passengers, Jack goes to another part of the beach to tend to his own injury, when he meets Kate Austen. She sews up his injury, while the two bond. Many other things occur during the episode. Survivors either form friendships or get on each others' nerves. During their first night on the beach, everyone becomes unnerved by sounds of a monster deep in the jungle. The following day, Jack heads toward the cockpit to retrieve the plane's transceiver and is accompanied by Kate and musician Charlie Pace. They retrieve the transceiver and encounter the badly injured pilot, who informs them that the plane had lost radio contact six hours into the flight and veered off course. Before he can share any further information, he is seized by a strange being and killed. Jack, Kate and Charlie make a run for it.(1.02) "Pilot (Part 2)" continue Jack, Kate and Charlie's flight from the monster that killed the pilot. During their absence, the dog of 10 year-old survivor Walt Lloyd finds a pair of handcuffs. A Middle Eastern survivor name Sayid Jarrah comes under suspicion from a Southern-born passenger named "Sawyer". Jack and his two companions make it back to the beach with the transceiver. Sayid, Kate, "Sawyer", Charlie and a step-brother-sister team named Boone Carlyle and Shannon Rutherford trek to the high ground to use the transceiver. Instead of contacting help, they manage to interpret a message sent earlier by a French woman on the island. One of the badly wounded survivors on the beach turn out to be a U.S. marshal demanding the whereabouts of his prisoner, a woman. Flashbacks reveal that the prisoner is Kate.I will not deny that "LOST" is one of my favorite television series. It is not on my list of the top ten favorite shows. But it is on my list of top twenty favorites. Despite my favoritism toward "LOST", I cannot deny that it also possessed some seriously flawed writing. But it was not on display in the two-part pilot. Well . . . somewhat. A few of the occurrences in this episode ended up contradicting the series' future narrative. It is ironic that the first villainous character to make his/her appearance in the series turned out to be the main villain - the Smoke Monster aka the Man in Black. The survivors heard its "roar" during their first night on the island. And he killed the Oceanic 815's pilot while the latter discussed the plane's location with Jack and Kate. In fact, the Smoke Monster killed another survivor in an early Season Three episode - Mr. Eko. While many fans are still debating the reason behind the MIB's murder of Mr. Eko, no one has figured out why the pilot was killed. Especially after Season Six revealed the list of candidates for the island's new caretaker. I suspect that the MIB was simply being portrayed as a supernatural monster before the writers had decided to portray him as a villain with a purpose.I have two more complaints about the episode. Some of the characterizations struck me as one-dimensional. This was especially the case for Shannon Rutherford, who was portrayed as some bitchy Valley Girl; Jin Kwon, who was written as a cliché of the oppressive Asian husband; Sun Kwon, who was portrayed as the typically oppressed Asian wife; and James "Sawyer" Ford, who was not only unlikable, but also the one-dimensional Southern white male. In Sawyer's case, not only was his character portrayed in the worst clichéd manner possible, poor Josh Holloway was stuck with some pretty bad dialogue - especially in Part 2. He fared a lot better as the series progressed. Speaking of dialogue - yeech! Yes, I thought it was pretty bad. It was more than bad. I found it somewhat infantile and unmemorable.Fortunately, the good outweighed the bad. Despite some of the one-dimensional characterization and bad dialogue, there were some pretty good performances. For me, one of the best performances came from Matthew Fox, who dived right into the role as the series' lead character, Dr. Jack Shephard. Fox gave early hints of the complicated and deeply flawed character later revealed in future episodes. Fox's early revelation of Jack's flaws must have been subtle, for the later revelation of his flaws seemed to have taken many by surprise. Dominic Monaghan gave a funny and charming performance as the drug-addicted musician, Charlie Pace. And yet, his performance was skillfully shaded with hints of his character's drug addiction. Thanks to Naveen Andrews' subtle, yet intense performance and good writing, the character of Sayid Jarrah rose above the usual clichés featuring Middle Eastern characters. Emilie de Ravin was a delight as the pregnant Australian survivor, Claire Littleton. As for Evangeline Lilly, she did a pretty good job as Kate Austen, the survivor trying to hide her status as a Federal prisoner. However, I had some difficulty accepting her as the take charge type, as the script tried to portray her in Part 2. Terry O'Quinn was perfectly mysterious as John Locke, but viewers had to wait for another two episodes before he began to shine in the role. And Harold Perrineau gave a skillful performance as Michael Dawson, the inexperienced father of 10 year-old survivor, Walt Lloyd.I felt that the narrative for "The Pilot", which was written by Abrams and Lindelof, proved to be a well-written adventure. The story covered all of the elements for a story about survivors on a tropical island. The addition of the Smoke Monster injected a little horror and a great deal of mystery that would become the series' hallmark. One of the aspects of "The Pilot" that I found particularly interesting was that it started with a close-up of Jack Shephard's eye - post crash. In other words, this story did not start with the crash. Audiences were not treated to scenes aboard Oceanic Flight 815 and the actual crash, except during flashbacks. Very unusual. There were other scenes that I still find fascinating after nine years. My God! Has it been nine years? Those scenes include Jack, Kate and Charlie's escape from the cockpit, following the pilot's death; the discovery of Danielle Rousseau's message in Part 2; the encounter with the polar bear; and the survivors' first awareness of the Smoke Monster's existence. But the one scene that many consider outstanding - including myself - is that opening shot of the fuselage wreckage on the beach and the chaos that surrounded it. I must admit that not only did J.J. Abrams really outdid himself in this particular scene, it is probably one of his best directed sequences in his entire career.Despite a few hiccups regarding dialogue and some one-dimensional characterizations, "LOST" provided one of the best series openings I have ever viewed on television, thanks to some superb direction by J.J. Abrams, a damn fine cast and a well written teleplay. It is a pity that the series has never been able to maintain such excellent consistency during the rest of its six seasons on the air.
