US: 3X05 - "The Cost Of Living" [ SPOILERS WITHIN ]

Basq · 03-11-2006 03:24AM

Was overall a great episode.. and probably better than last week though i found Eko's backstory a tad drab really.

Wasn't suprised Eko was killed.. was rumoured someone would be killed off in the promo discussion thread and puts bets on Eko as it was Eko-centric and i really got the feeling they had nothing more planned for his character.

The stuff in the Pearl was interesting.. can't wait to see them find "Blackbeard"... gaaaaarrrrggghhhh!

Yeah... Nikki and Paolo... it's a good thing Nikki is eye-candy. Have the distinct feeling they're both gonna be very under-developed until an inevitable backstory later in the season.

But the Ben / Jack and Juliet side of the episode was phenomenal.. love Juliet's message to Jack on screen. And yes, Michael Emerson deserves an Emmy this year. He deserved one last year for his portrayal of Henry... maybe he won't be overlooked this year as a regular. And he better not bite it in the next few episodes.

2 best lines of the episode (maybe not completely accurate word for word):

Ben: 2 days after i found out i'd a tumour on my spine, a spinal surgeon fell outta the sky. How can you not believe in a God after that?
Locke: He said "we're next!"

After a shaky opening, this series could well settle in quite nicely except for the fact next week is the last episode for 3 fecking months!

Anyways, gets a 9 / 10 from me.

Goodshape · 03-11-2006 03:52AM

7

Definitely seems to be picking up the pace this season.. an 8 for this one.

Last one for three months next week? don't like that

monkeyfudge · 03-11-2006 04:56AM

6

The two new characters really just seem to be a clumsy way of bringing people new to the show up to speed.

Goodshape · 03-11-2006 05:11AM

7

Actually.. slightly off topic, but I've always wondered :

Why is Michael Emerson so lauded by Lost fans? Granted he's quite good in Lost (although there's better actors on the telly tbh) but from his very first appearance people seem to be falling over themselves to let everyone know how fantastic it is to have him on board.

According to his IMDB profile he's a Broadway actor who's had a few bit-parts on various TV shows, nothing too substantial that I can see, and I certainly never heard of him before Lost.

Am I missing something, or is everyone big into their theater all of a sudden? (or is the praise solely based on his Lost work?)

The praise just seems a little overboard sometimes. Good character though, I'll give him that.

//edit
also.. the fact Emerson was originally hired for just a few episodes and then, as I understand it, taken on full time when he proved so popular - and as one of the most important characters no less, is just another one of those things which leads me to believe the writers are just making most of this stuff up as they go along (the Scottish guy being another example of this, and the fact that Jack was supposed to die in the very first episode). I'm sure they have some sort of plan for the overriding story, but I think the real genius of Lost is the ability to make entertaining and compelling television, which it admittedly is, out of sweet **** all. I don't see how pandering to the whims of your audience so much can coincide with having a clear vision for your characters and story.

Hyzepher · 03-11-2006 10:39AM

This may sound strange but I would like to see an episode that focuses on what happens to a character on the island when they die!

Hyzepher

Old_-_School · 03-11-2006 11:14AM

Poor episode. Spent most of it on a character they were going to kill off anyway. He was on Richard and Judy a few months ago. He deserved to die for that alone!
I fear that Paulo and Nikki are there for the sake of new users. The producers of Lost realise that thousands of viewers are dying every week (Don't panic - I mean in accordance with death rate statistics, and not that some black smokey thing is going around killing viewers) and quite a few have stopped watching it, while relatively few new viewers are attracted to the show because of how hard is to catch up (even with the excellent recap episode narrated by Benry) so they've Paulo and Nikki there to ask stupid questions to fill in the new viewers e.g.

Paulo: "What is Eko looking for?"
Nikki: "His brother is in that plane!"

I can't see any other reason for them. Otherwise why did they kill off Boone and Shannon if they were going to just replace them with even worse characters of a similiar vein?

PullMyFinger! · 03-11-2006 03:08PM

Savage episode, its all been said here really. 8/10 for the scene with Smokey at the end alone.

What did Eko whisper to Locke at the end? I know what Locke said out loud then ("we're next") but did anyone catch if thats what Eko actually said?

03-11-2006 03:24PM

7

PullMyFinger! wrote:

Savage episode, its all been said here really. 8/10 for the scene with Smokey at the end alone.

What did Eko whisper to Locke at the end? I know what Locke said out loud then ("we're next") but did anyone catch if thats what Eko actually said?

Doubt it was what Ecko said. Knowing Lost, it wasn't what it was at all.

Peace · 03-11-2006 03:32PM

So correct me if i'm wrong.

Did Sayid, sun & Jin just magically reappear in the camp. How about something to tie the two episodes together? It feels just a little disjointed.

Haven't a Clue · 03-11-2006 03:42PM

8

Just hit me. The smoke. I think I know what it is.

When yer man Yemi said "You talk to me as though I was your brother" and dodge off. Well, he was obviously leading Eko to the black smoke. However, I think that all these hallucinations are all the black smoke too. It would explain why wasn't Yemi's body in the plane? This also goes on because...

The same thing happened to Jack when he went after his auld man. He followed him around, granted didn't get the bejesus beat out of him, but again, his father wasn't in the coffin.

I also believe Locke's time on the island mightn't be last for much longer as he's already encountered the smoke. He's had so many bloody hallucinations, he mightn't be able to distinguish the difference between a trip to the sweat lodge thingy and the smoke.

Why didn't the smoke kill Eko before, i hear you ask. Well, I think that the smoke somehow tried to suss out someone from Eko's dark past so it could reinact them. Same as what happened to Locke in 'Walkabout', except we've yet to see any reincarnation of anyone. Maybe that's because Locke was usually on the end of bad things were as Eko was the creator.

It's just probably another theory, but the first one with any substance I've come up with.

mr_angry · 03-11-2006 05:22PM

8

The most interesting thing for me, and I'm surprised that nobody else mentioned this, is the way the smoke creature (or Cerberus, as the writing in the hatch mural seemed to call it) hid itself from Locke. Every time he came on the scene, Cerberus fled. I get the feeling that it didn't want Locke to see it in the same form as it had appeared to Eko. Why? Maybe like everything else in John's life, it wants to manipulate him. As the policeman stated in the previous episode, his psych profile suggested that he's amienable to coersion.

Cerberus' appearance also provided some other interesting clues. As noted already, its merely taking the appearance of other people on the island - not bringing them back to life or anything (or so it would appear at the moment). Secondly, it seemed very interested in Eko's cross, taking a lot of time to study it when Eko produced it. I think that there's definitely some religious significance to the monster, not least the ideas of confession and repentence. In Greek mythology however, Cerberus was the guardian of the underworld, which was kind of like a mixture of heaven, purgatory, and hell. It doesn't really map well onto Christian ideals. It'll be interesting to see how things progress.

Like most other people, I thought Michael Emerson was the star of the show. His appearance in scenes seems to wipe away all the petty crap and soap-opera tedium that goes before it. The scene with him interrupting Juliette and the cheeseburger really seemed to emphasise this. I agree that Juliette's mutiny plan is probably all just a ruse to test Jack. Now that their first plan has failed, they need to know that he wont just kill Ben on the operating table. The only question is whether Jack is stupid enough to fall for it.

Haven't a Clue · 03-11-2006 05:37PM

8

Good. So I wasn't going a bit mental. Never heard of the Cerburus thing before though...

Takeshi_Kovacs · 03-11-2006 06:26PM

On the bit where John said that Eko said "we're next!!" He probaly did say it, but i reckon that there was more than that, like as if Eko found a new brother in John Locke, and when John said that everything was going to be ok, and Eko finally found some peace (after been rejected by Yemmie/black smoke thing)
And yeah Emerson is a top class actor, can't wait to see a confrontation between him and Locke again..

Haven't a Clue · 03-11-2006 06:38PM

8

Next time Emerson and Jack'll meet, he'll be lying on a bed waiting for Jack to stick something into him.

Think of that...

ixoy · 03-11-2006 08:58PM

Another good episode. Eko is/was certainly one of the best characters on the show, so it's a shame to have lost him. Not quite sure why they had him kidnapped by a polar bear only to drop him dead shortly afterwards but maybe we'll find out. At least his story arc closed quite well.

The black smoke shows people visions... I thought that was obvious from S2? It does pose a new question as to whether it's controlled, some form of sentient being, or otherwise. I'm sure the writers are also working out what it's up to but I'm assuming it's nothing to do with the Others and probably an experiment gone wrong on part of the Dharma initiative.

Jack was less annoying this week. I'm going to reckon he's still being tricked because Ben gave in too quickly to the truth. Also I imagine they want to leave us on a shocking cliffhanger next week and thus can't have told us clearly in advance that Jack's going to let Ben die.

Liked the fact that Locke invited anyone to come along and that Paolo had been complaining about never getting an invite - it's always pissed me off that noone else seems to want to do anything or that it's even acknowledged. However their characters were clunky afterwards, spouting exposition poorly. Maybe this experience will terrify them and they'll go away again...

Pretty hopeful for a good episode next, given there's a few good pieces in motion so happy enough for now...

Fidelis · 03-11-2006 09:10PM

8

Patchy knowing about the camera; maybe he's in another section of the Pearl (was there a lit cigarette when Locke & Eko first entered it ages ago?) and heard Paulo flushing the toilet? Or I guess there could have been a light on the camera at his end but the instructional video said that the other people didn't know that they were being watched so that doesn't make any sense.

Locke said "we're next" but maybe Eko said "you're next" to Locke?

And could the vaccine at Eko's church have been from DHARMA? Anyone who followed the Lost Experience or caught that video diary will know what I'm on about.

Shame to see Eko go, he was a fantastic character. It'll be interesting to see what Jack does... will he tell Ben about Juliet or trust her? She could be worse than Ben, but who knows.

eirebhoy · 03-11-2006 10:33PM

8

anotherlostie wrote:

Jack has improved so much in this series since Episode 1. Maybe being away from Kate and Sawyer is good for him, since he plays off Ben and Juliet so well.

Or maybe the directors just realised viewers are starting to dislike the characther???

tbh, I like the storylines with Jack in them. The Korean one's are pretty boring though.

anotherlostie wrote:

I'm really confused as to what is going on now. Has Ben even got the tumour, or is it just a plan to test Jack's commitment?

Ben asked Juliette why did he tell Jack so he definitely has a tumour.

btw - Who's Radzinsky and Kelvin? I recognise the latter name... You really need a good memory with this show.

Creamy Goodness · 03-11-2006 10:37PM

kelvin is the dude that was in the hatch with desmond, he was also the american corporal in one of sayid's flashbacks.

radzinsky on the other hand i haven't a clue.

Faith · 03-11-2006 10:45PM

7

Radzinsky was Kelvin's partner before he died, and was replaced with Desmond (yummy).

Michael Emerson is fantastic. Ben is so creepy yet so likeable at the same time. His scenes are my favourite.

stevejazzx · 04-11-2006 12:20AM

9

eirebhoy wrote:

btw - Who's Radzinsky and Kelvin? I recognise the latter name... You really need a good memory with this show.

kelvin is the ex us army guy who had syaid question his mate back during the the gulf war...
Full name is Kelvin Joe Inman. He laters rescues desmond from the beach after desmonds boat crashes.
He previous partner in the hatch was Radzinsky, who is supposedly responsible for the blast door map, had a photographic memory...and is now a stain on the hatch ceiling after blowing his brains out.
Kelvin s nane almost certainly refers to a unit of kelvin which a very extreme low temperature, his tagline was 'waht did one snowman say to the other snowman.

doonothing · 04-11-2006 12:35AM

5

tenner bets juliet is tricking jack too. maybe she wants to be king-other and take jack as her bride?
i still think its thick that jack "happened" upon the one thing thats gonna ruin all of ben's plans. especially the way ben goes on about "we were going to trick you", o so that cant possibly be a trick.
the xrays were planted, tenner bets.

doonothing · 04-11-2006 12:36AM

5

more importantly, that new nikki one is fiiiiiiine

gustavo · 04-11-2006 12:37AM

8

Haven't a Clue wrote:

Next time Emerson and Jack'll meet, he'll be lying on a bed waiting for Jack to stick something into him.

Think of that...

I'd say theres plenty of women who would like to be in that position:)

Basq · 04-11-2006 12:48AM

Haven't a Clue wrote:

Next time Emerson and Jack'll meet, he'll be lying on a bed waiting for Jack to stick something into him.

gustavo wrote:

I'd say theres plenty of women who would like to be in that position:)

Heh!

...finally got a chance to use that WAV!

Beruthiel · 04-11-2006 08:56AM

7

Fantastic episode.
I am very upset that Mr. Eko is no longer with us though :mad:

eirebhoy · 04-11-2006 01:33PM

8

doonothing wrote:

tenner bets juliet is tricking jack too. maybe she wants to be king-other and take jack as her bride?
i still think its thick that jack "happened" upon the one thing thats gonna ruin all of ben's plans. especially the way ben goes on about "we were going to trick you", o so that cant possibly be a trick.
the xrays were planted, tenner bets.

They certainly weren't planted as I already said, Ben asks Julliette when they were alone "why did you show Jack my x-rays"... or something along those lines.

Rob30888 · 04-11-2006 10:22PM

What was the significance of Ben saying to Jack (something along the lines of) about Juilette looking like his ex-wife?

Also, how did Sayid make it back without the boat? Are they really not going to fill that part in? Have Jin & Sun just disappeared?!

cooker3 · 05-11-2006 05:59AM

Rob30888 wrote:

What was the significance of Ben saying to Jack (something along the lines of) about Juilette looking like his ex-wife?

Also, how did Sayid make it back without the boat? Are they really not going to fill that part in? Have Jin & Sun just disappeared?!

He walked, as for sun and jin absense, bit weird but sure last episode eko and locke weren't there despite action being in the camp, maybe actors were busy, sure it's nothing major.

FoxRiver8 · 05-11-2006 08:06AM

V sad to see Eko go, maybe because the more spiritual storylines struck a chord with me, and i always enjoyed his backstory. I loved the episode but then again im the most lenient critic in the world, especially this show and actually cant remember an episode which i didnt like in some way. Nevertheless, probably the strongest episode this season.

I know Lost is not renowned for natural progression of storylines in a linear fashion but am i the only one disappointed that there has not been even a mention of Penny/Charles/2 portuguese guys etc in the 1st 5 episodes? Like i said, i've long understood that Lost is not the show to be looking for straightforward storylines and progression but i think they lost the chance to build on the momentum of the series 2 finale. The series 2 finale the revelation that Penny was in real time looking for Desmond/the island, the idea of co-existence in real time between the outside world and island, i felt it was the most innovative storyline and something they should have built on right from the off in season 3.

L31mr0d · 05-11-2006 10:30AM

6

the more I try and think about the storyline of this show the more I give myself a headache, nothing in this show seems to mirror at all the way normal people would be reacting. Like the fact that the season 2 finale had the hatch imploding, and NOBODY seems to care that all 3 of its inhabitants are walking around just fine.

But i'm kinda liking this slow spiral away from any linearity because it leads you to accept that you have NO IDEA what is going to happen next week, which is what makes it so addictive, and also the show has positioned itself in such a way that they really could go down whatever avenue they think up. I'd say they have done this so that at the end of each season they find out what the viewers would like to see happen then steer the show in that direction.

Regarding the Jack dilemma. I think that Ben has actually got a tumer, and that the video asking Jack to kill Ben on the operating table is another test of his loyalty. Regardless of what it is though Jack will perform the operation and not kill Ben, either because he believes it is a test or just because he is a doctor and will only use his abilities to help people. I can't imagine him thinking he'd be better off with Juliet than with Ben. There something very clinical about her that leads me to believe that she is the real evil in the others, its like James said, I don't think she would have any trouble killing anybody.

US: 3X05 - "The Cost Of Living" [** SPOILERS WITHIN **]

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US: 3X05 - "The Cost Of Living" [ SPOILERS WITHIN ]