Lost 2.1: "Man of Science, Man of Faith"
Written by Damon Lindelof
Directed by Jack Bender
In which Jack and Locke come to conflict over the decision to explore the hatch, and when Locke and Kate choose to act on their own, Jack finds his leadership under question…
Status Report
Since the first season finale, a lot has been said about “Lost” and reactions to the approach taken by the producers. In general, there are two schools of thought on this topic. One school sees this as a long-term mystery that focuses more on character development/arcs than an emphasis on answering questions. The theory is that the various questions pose challenges that reveal aspects of the characters that would otherwise be hidden.
The second school of thought is that the producers have no idea what they’re doing, because they didn’t answer all the questions in the season finale. The thought here is that questions should be answered on a short timetable, because otherwise, the writers must be making it all up as they go along. From this point of view, many of the character development moments are just examples of the writers “going nowhere”.
To be fair, there’s merit in each argument. The producers seemed to change direction once the series was popular enough to assure a second season, stretching out the story a bit more than they had originally intended. And they are fairly open in admitting that some elements of the mythology evolved over time, so the answers to some questions have changed. That’s not so surprising, of course, but it does suggest some element of truth hidden within the “no direction” criticism.
Statements from the producers during the interim were somewhat more reassuring. They speak of a season arc structure for the plot and characters, broken into the typical three-act format over roughly 23 episodes, with the progression over the course of the season more or less locked down. Assuming that ample room was left for tinkering if necessary, the question is this: does the second season begin with any indication of such a plan?
Arguably, the end of the first season set the stage: Jack and Locke at odds over how to respond to the challenges posed by the island. Jack wants to take a pragmatic, rationalized approach to survival, which gets things done but doesn’t necessarily satisfy the human need for meaning and context. Locke, on the other hand, has faith that there is a purpose to everything happening on the island, which gives some of the survivors a sense of direction, but also leads him to take unnecessary risk.
If this episode is any indication, then this is a logical extension of what Locke faced during the end of the first season. Locke was forced to consider that his assumptions about the island were incorrect; for better or worse, events eventually fell into his worldview rather neatly. Now it seems to be Jack’s turn. Jack finds it very hard to step beyond the cold, hard facts of a situation, and that affects his relationships. He can’t simply have faith that things will happen as they must; he needs to have that control.
As seen in the first season, a lot of that was due to his “daddy issues”, but from this episode’s perspective, it seems to go deeper than that. Jack may simply need that sense of a rational, predictable universe. This episode is all about defying that desire and Jack’s reaction to it. Needless to say, it should be interesting to see him struggle with the possibility that there might be more at work than simple coincidence. Locke must be terribly pleased.
One thing that’s sure to annoy the naysayers is the tone of the episode. This didn’t feel like a season premiere, so much as just another episode. In a way, that’s exactly what it needed to be, but expectations were rather high and it’s likely that some will react badly to something so small in scope. This episode really was all about Jack and Locke, and it’s clear that the events at the end of the first season will take some time to resolve themselves. (In this respect, “Lost” is very similar to “Battlestar: Galactica”, which has a similar pacing.)
Some minor questions were answered regarding the hatch. Desmond, a supposed world traveler and apparent risk taker, is somehow living in what appears to be some kind of quarantine bunker. Those injections could be some kind of booster or treatment against an unknown pathogen (in keeping with Danielle’s comments). Based on the technology and furnishings, one could guess that the bunker was established more than 16 years earlier, and therefore it predates the transmission. It looked as though repairs were constantly being made and that in some cases, magnetic materials were involved for some unknown reason. The presence of the tunnels was predicted by many, but how or why that would relate to the “security system” is not even mentioned.
Beyond that, not much happens. So much time is spent on Jack and Locke that there’s not much room for anything else. Kate is central to the episode, of course, but her motivations are typically hard to work out. As usual, it seems as though Jack falls short of whatever criteria Kate is setting for him, probably based on her relationship to Tom.
Sayid and Shannon still seem to be connected, though Shannon has certainly seen better days. The real question is why she saw Walt in that fashion. Was Walt casting out for help, and bringing that form into existence? Or was it some other phenomenon of the island? It’s too early to tell, but it does serve to remind the audience that Walt is not safe. It gives the survivors on the island a lot more tension over the fate of those on the raft.
Charlie and Hurley react in interesting ways to the struggle between Jack and Locke. Both Charlie and Hurley are searching for some meaning behind their circumstances. In Hurley’s case, he looked to Jack for some common ground, and Jack turned him away with his rationalist approach. Hurley could be tempted to sway support towards Locke. Similarly, Charlie seems to be questioning his allegiances. The question is: do they represent an isolated shift in power, or just the beginning of a process of eroding Jack’s leadership over the camp?
There are still a lot of questions to be answered; even the producers admitted that it would be three episodes into the season before any answers gained context. The question is whether or not the audience will be patient. Some will inevitably turn away, not wanting to invest the time, and others will simply assume the worst and claim that it’s a terrible show with no direction. Others will have been intrigued by the summer reruns and DVDs. Whatever the case, there’s plenty of fertile ground to cover, and this is an appropriate beginning.
Final Analysis
Overall, this episode was a surprisingly small-scale approach to a season premiere, focusing almost entirely upon setting the stage for conflict between Jack and Locke. While this certainly does much to establish the direction that will be taken in the second season, it may not have been expansive enough to satisfy the expectations of the mass audience. Some answers were provided, but ultimately, there’s little to satisfy those unwilling to trust the creators.
Writing: 2/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 2/4
Final Rating: 8/10
Directed by Jack Bender
In which Jack and Locke come to conflict over the decision to explore the hatch, and when Locke and Kate choose to act on their own, Jack finds his leadership under question…
Status Report
Since the first season finale, a lot has been said about “Lost” and reactions to the approach taken by the producers. In general, there are two schools of thought on this topic. One school sees this as a long-term mystery that focuses more on character development/arcs than an emphasis on answering questions. The theory is that the various questions pose challenges that reveal aspects of the characters that would otherwise be hidden.
The second school of thought is that the producers have no idea what they’re doing, because they didn’t answer all the questions in the season finale. The thought here is that questions should be answered on a short timetable, because otherwise, the writers must be making it all up as they go along. From this point of view, many of the character development moments are just examples of the writers “going nowhere”.
To be fair, there’s merit in each argument. The producers seemed to change direction once the series was popular enough to assure a second season, stretching out the story a bit more than they had originally intended. And they are fairly open in admitting that some elements of the mythology evolved over time, so the answers to some questions have changed. That’s not so surprising, of course, but it does suggest some element of truth hidden within the “no direction” criticism.
Statements from the producers during the interim were somewhat more reassuring. They speak of a season arc structure for the plot and characters, broken into the typical three-act format over roughly 23 episodes, with the progression over the course of the season more or less locked down. Assuming that ample room was left for tinkering if necessary, the question is this: does the second season begin with any indication of such a plan?
Arguably, the end of the first season set the stage: Jack and Locke at odds over how to respond to the challenges posed by the island. Jack wants to take a pragmatic, rationalized approach to survival, which gets things done but doesn’t necessarily satisfy the human need for meaning and context. Locke, on the other hand, has faith that there is a purpose to everything happening on the island, which gives some of the survivors a sense of direction, but also leads him to take unnecessary risk.
If this episode is any indication, then this is a logical extension of what Locke faced during the end of the first season. Locke was forced to consider that his assumptions about the island were incorrect; for better or worse, events eventually fell into his worldview rather neatly. Now it seems to be Jack’s turn. Jack finds it very hard to step beyond the cold, hard facts of a situation, and that affects his relationships. He can’t simply have faith that things will happen as they must; he needs to have that control.
As seen in the first season, a lot of that was due to his “daddy issues”, but from this episode’s perspective, it seems to go deeper than that. Jack may simply need that sense of a rational, predictable universe. This episode is all about defying that desire and Jack’s reaction to it. Needless to say, it should be interesting to see him struggle with the possibility that there might be more at work than simple coincidence. Locke must be terribly pleased.
One thing that’s sure to annoy the naysayers is the tone of the episode. This didn’t feel like a season premiere, so much as just another episode. In a way, that’s exactly what it needed to be, but expectations were rather high and it’s likely that some will react badly to something so small in scope. This episode really was all about Jack and Locke, and it’s clear that the events at the end of the first season will take some time to resolve themselves. (In this respect, “Lost” is very similar to “Battlestar: Galactica”, which has a similar pacing.)
Some minor questions were answered regarding the hatch. Desmond, a supposed world traveler and apparent risk taker, is somehow living in what appears to be some kind of quarantine bunker. Those injections could be some kind of booster or treatment against an unknown pathogen (in keeping with Danielle’s comments). Based on the technology and furnishings, one could guess that the bunker was established more than 16 years earlier, and therefore it predates the transmission. It looked as though repairs were constantly being made and that in some cases, magnetic materials were involved for some unknown reason. The presence of the tunnels was predicted by many, but how or why that would relate to the “security system” is not even mentioned.
Beyond that, not much happens. So much time is spent on Jack and Locke that there’s not much room for anything else. Kate is central to the episode, of course, but her motivations are typically hard to work out. As usual, it seems as though Jack falls short of whatever criteria Kate is setting for him, probably based on her relationship to Tom.
Sayid and Shannon still seem to be connected, though Shannon has certainly seen better days. The real question is why she saw Walt in that fashion. Was Walt casting out for help, and bringing that form into existence? Or was it some other phenomenon of the island? It’s too early to tell, but it does serve to remind the audience that Walt is not safe. It gives the survivors on the island a lot more tension over the fate of those on the raft.
Charlie and Hurley react in interesting ways to the struggle between Jack and Locke. Both Charlie and Hurley are searching for some meaning behind their circumstances. In Hurley’s case, he looked to Jack for some common ground, and Jack turned him away with his rationalist approach. Hurley could be tempted to sway support towards Locke. Similarly, Charlie seems to be questioning his allegiances. The question is: do they represent an isolated shift in power, or just the beginning of a process of eroding Jack’s leadership over the camp?
There are still a lot of questions to be answered; even the producers admitted that it would be three episodes into the season before any answers gained context. The question is whether or not the audience will be patient. Some will inevitably turn away, not wanting to invest the time, and others will simply assume the worst and claim that it’s a terrible show with no direction. Others will have been intrigued by the summer reruns and DVDs. Whatever the case, there’s plenty of fertile ground to cover, and this is an appropriate beginning.
Final Analysis
Overall, this episode was a surprisingly small-scale approach to a season premiere, focusing almost entirely upon setting the stage for conflict between Jack and Locke. While this certainly does much to establish the direction that will be taken in the second season, it may not have been expansive enough to satisfy the expectations of the mass audience. Some answers were provided, but ultimately, there’s little to satisfy those unwilling to trust the creators.
Writing: 2/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 2/4
Final Rating: 8/10
posted by John Keegan | 16:23
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