Lost 2.22: "Three Minutes"

Written by Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz
Directed by Unavailable

In which Michael gathers together an armed group to make an assault on the Others’ camp, but in the process, suspicions about his true motivations are raised…


Status Report

For some, the title will no doubt describe the actual progress of time in the episode, since this is essentially setting the stage for the finale. Not much happens, and while Michael’s flashback finally focuses on something other than the fact that his son was taken from him by his ex-wife, it covers ground that most fans had already assumed. Here and there, however, there were hints at new information.

The fact that only 13 days have passed since Michael went gunning for the Others is an indication of how much has happened in a relatively short period of time. If the episodes were airing in a regular schedule, the long-term storytelling approach probably wouldn’t seem so unnecessary. A lot has happened this season, and comparative to the first season, more has actually taken place. It’s just a matter of perspective.

After all, the first season had the benefit of primary revelations. Every character was new, and thus every character dynamic was new. A great deal of the first season was all about establishing relationships and conflicts. While new characters were introduced in the second season, thus far they have served the purpose of challenging existing roles and relationships among the original characters (at least, the ones that survived this long!).

With the overall plot arc driving events more than in the first season (for better or worse), episodes like this are a necessity. Season arcs require structure, and that structure leads to moments of transition and moments of revelation. Some moments are both, but when moments of revelation are on the way, there is the inevitable positioning that comes prior to that. This continues the process begun in “Two for the Road”, and while it is essentially transitional in nature, it packs an emotional punch.

Michael’s motivations are typically narrow, though the writers finally take that somewhere. Motivations can be rather plain and still interesting, so long as obstacles tossed in front of those motivations reveal hidden layers of the character in question. In this case, Michael’s focused desire to get Walt has revealed how far he will go, and it’s not pretty.

The writers don’t even try for sympathy; at least, not in the traditional way. Michael has killed for his goal, having made a terrible bargain with the current devils of the island. He knows that the Others can’t have anything good in mind for Jack, Kate, Sawyer, and Hurley. Yet all he wants is to get on that boat with Walt and get the hell off the island.

If the whole idea of Dharma as “study of human mentality under extreme pressure” holds any water, then Michael is unlikely to get Walt back. They seem to have chosen those four individuals for a specific reason, one that could factor into the goals of Dharma and the Hanso Foundation as a whole. Right now, the connective thread is not particularly obvious.

It was a little surprising that Sayid was the only one to figure out that something was seriously wrong with Michael. Michael was being just a tad too obvious about who needs to be in the 1st Island Division and who doesn’t, and military experience has nothing to do with it. Score one for Sawyer for having the most logical approach to the situation and telling Sayid about the raid.

As with so many things related to the Others, their goals and actions are hard to understand. Alex seems to understand her place in the group, and that certain actions are necessary, even if the methods disgust her. (And she’s cute, too!) The rest of the Others have a rather amoral approach to messing with the heads of anyone else they encounter. Michael was honest enough about what he saw, but how much of that was staged?

All the references to tests, as pertains to Walt and what the Others have been doing over the past few weeks on the island, are given credence by Walt’s reactions in the flashback. Nothing Dr. Klugh said to Michael can be taken as absolute truth, but Walt’s fear and terror seemed genuine. It was actually the most chilling moment of the episode. Whatever “greater good” the Others might be serving, they have no compunction when it comes to harming individuals to get there.

This was a good episode for touching on where the characters are and where they could be going. Jack is so driven by recent events and the desire to delivery payback unto the Others that he’s blinded to the fact that Michael is manipulating them. Sayid finally steps back into the story as the one person most likely to see through that manipulation. Sayid was sorely missed, so hopefully he will be more important in the third season.

Sawyer has been the victim of similar characterization issues, as if the writers felt the need to include him but couldn’t work out how that should happen. His tenure as “merchant prince” of the tribe has certainly degraded, which was one of the worrisome points of “The Long Con”. In essence, that episode was designed to give him edge again, yet many of the episodes since have squandered that edge. The fact that he has come to respect Jack enough to confide in him is a huge step in an interesting direction, especially since Jack seems to take it in stride.

Charlie was a bit more focused while he was working with Eko, but as usual, once Eko abruptly changed his mind about the church, Charlie made it all about his needs. Without Eko to obsessively follow, he has turned right back to Claire, using the pretext of helping the baby as a means of getting back on her good side. Charlie still hasn’t learned a thing about his obsessive side, even if he was willing to toss the heroin. It’s not about the drugs anymore.

Locke seems to turn a corner at the end of the episode, fulfilling Rose’s prediction that it wouldn’t take nearly as long for him to heal as it would in the “real” world. That act of shedding the splint was also neatly symbolic. Locke is now unfettered by doubts, and when Locke has a goal, it’s not necessarily a good thing. Especially since he and Eko are clearly on a collision course!

As anticipated, Libby’s death is pushing Hurley into a darker direction, which has its advantages. Being the funny and jolly character was fun for a while, but he needs something more to keep him from stagnating. Hurley’s particular madness has been generally self-destructive in the past, but now that he has something external to attack, his intentions and ability could mismatch enough to cause real harm to his remaining friends.

The appearance of the boat at the end of the episode could mean a number of things. It could be another small group “sent” to the island, much like the passengers of Oceanic 815. It could also be one of the Others or someone from Dharma. But in the interests of seasonal symmetry, it could also be Desmond, back from wherever he went for the past few weeks. If so, his arrival could trigger the anticipated revelations in the season finale.


Final Analysis

Overall, this episode was mostly setting the stage for the finale, much as all the episodes since “Two for the Road” have done. Many of the events are fairly predictable, but there are some minor revelations that keep the episode from losing momentum. Big changes are coming, and that sense of dread permeates this installment.

Writing: 2/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 1/4

Final Rating: 7/10

(Season 2 Average: 7.4)