Lost 3.3: "Further Instructions"
Written by Carlton Cuse and Elizabeth Sarnoff
Directed by Stephen Williams
In which Locke awakens after the destruction of the hatch, and after an apparent vision, embarks on a quest to save Eko’s life, while Hurley encounters a changed Desmond…
Status Report
Slowly but surely, the writers are covering the aftermath of the second season finale. It’s hard to imagine that the first “mini-season” is already halfway completed. The concept of breaking the third season into two uninterrupted blocks is a good one, but there is the question of pacing. Can the foundation laid in the first three episodes propel the next three installments towards a big enough moment to satisfy fans? Time, it seems, will tell.
Locke fans, at least, should have been satisfied with this episode. While some elements felt designed to re-introduce the character, ostensibly to those theoretical (and unlikely) new viewers, the rest was classic Locke. Locke has always been the man searching for deeper meaning and woefully falling short of it, feeding his own psychosis with each perceived and actual failure. This episode is not so different, but the incremental steps towards a new man can be seen.
Locke has always seen the island as a gateway to something greater. Looking back on the first season, he sought to create a reality around himself, fueled by his experiences on the island and the apparent revelations. Locke presented himself as a survivalist and a hunter, the most capable man on the island, and the pseudo-shaman for the newly formed tribe. Every moment became another proof of destiny, until his decisions led to Boone’s death.
The second season saw Locke struggling with the possibility that his inflated sense of destiny was all an illusion. He thought the hatch would open and reveal his destiny, but instead, it was a relic. It’s quite possible that he still doesn’t understand what was happening in the Swan Station (much like the audience), but he does know that things went badly once he stopped believing in the island and its role in his destiny.
Locke has been looking for his place in the world, and because of his own shortcomings and mistakes, that has been impossible. He has come to the conclusion that he can only find fulfillment in a role that elevates him in his “rightful place”. Appeals to mysticism are a part of that psychology: claims to secret and forbidden knowledge, the ability to speak from a higher authority, the assuredness of the zealot. It would be bad enough if these manipulations were simply tools used for population control, but Locke actually believes that the island is giving him direction.
The episode neatly walks the middle path between Locke’s version of reality and a more objective point of view. Locke may induce a vision that sends him off to find Eko, but once he starts on that path, the signs and marks are all mundane, appealing more to his tracking skills than his communion with the island. Yet it is abundantly clear that Locke succeeds because of his own belief in success. He is sure that the island wants him to rescue Eko, and so he acts with enough confidence to achieve that goal. The task only required that confidence, but Locke could have only discovered that through the restoration of his faith.
So it would be possible to conclude that Locke, despite his warped point of view, did all the right things to rescue Eko, things that anyone with the same level of determination and skill could have done. But it’s also possible to conclude that he was meant to find and rescue Eko, thus restoring his place as the spiritual leader of the JackLocke Tribe. Both interpretations are fully supported, thus taking the audience back to the philosophical territory of the second season finale, with each fan asked to choose faith or reason.
Complicating matters, Locke’s flashback is like the nagging voice of doubt in the back of his head, reminding him of past mistakes. This flashback takes place in the wake of the previous Locke episode, and once again, Locke demonstrates poor judgment. He’s looking for a place to belong, and he thinks he finds it at a commune. But his trusting nature, borne of a desire to fit into a destined role, leads to personal disaster. In Eddie, he thought he saw someone just like himself, and he thought it was his purpose to help Eddie find his own purpose. As revelations go, this one is minor, but it fits the episode rather well.
If Locke’s flashbacks supported the idea that his choices in this episode were driven by psychological issues, then his vision supports the idea that the island was really speaking to him. In Locke’s mind, Boone was the avatar of the island, telling him where to direct his energies. The comment about Charlie and Claire could be telling, especially if things begin to go wrong and he tries to warn them. But even that is hardly clear, since Charlie and Claire will almost certainly run into trouble, based on their own issues. It really does come down to Locke’s interpretation of events, filtered through his warped state of mind.
Hurley’s encounter with Desmond, however, balances out the voice of “reason” with more than a little “faith”. Desmond appears to have foretold Locke’s call to arms, and the fact that Desmond had little to no contact with Locke before his conversation with Hurley, that’s harder to dismiss. Will Desmond continue to demonstrate some form of precognition? If so, was that an effect of his exposure to the electromagnetic anomaly under the Swan Station? If that precognition plays out, what does that say about Locke’s claims of guidance from the island itself?
This episode proves what a number of fans already knew: Locke and his complicated psychology is one of the highlights of the show. Even a mediocre Locke episode is more than worth the time. This was something of a restoration for Locke, a return to a simpler and less conflicted direction for the character, and that means a more proactive Locke in the future. And that should make Locke fans very, very happy.
(As a sidenote: There is a podcast associated with the various science fiction reviews called “Dispatches from Tuzenor”. Current episodes cover “Lost”, so it might be something of interest. Go to http://entil2001.libsyn.com to listen to the show!)
Final Analysis
Overall, this episode was something of a restoration for the character of an important character, bringing him back to his roots and reminding the audience of his complexity. While the episode is told from his point of view, the conflicting interpretations of faith and reason are both represented and explored, giving this installment some much needed depth.
Writing: 2/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 2/4
Final Rating: 8/10
Directed by Stephen Williams
In which Locke awakens after the destruction of the hatch, and after an apparent vision, embarks on a quest to save Eko’s life, while Hurley encounters a changed Desmond…
Status Report
Slowly but surely, the writers are covering the aftermath of the second season finale. It’s hard to imagine that the first “mini-season” is already halfway completed. The concept of breaking the third season into two uninterrupted blocks is a good one, but there is the question of pacing. Can the foundation laid in the first three episodes propel the next three installments towards a big enough moment to satisfy fans? Time, it seems, will tell.
Locke fans, at least, should have been satisfied with this episode. While some elements felt designed to re-introduce the character, ostensibly to those theoretical (and unlikely) new viewers, the rest was classic Locke. Locke has always been the man searching for deeper meaning and woefully falling short of it, feeding his own psychosis with each perceived and actual failure. This episode is not so different, but the incremental steps towards a new man can be seen.
Locke has always seen the island as a gateway to something greater. Looking back on the first season, he sought to create a reality around himself, fueled by his experiences on the island and the apparent revelations. Locke presented himself as a survivalist and a hunter, the most capable man on the island, and the pseudo-shaman for the newly formed tribe. Every moment became another proof of destiny, until his decisions led to Boone’s death.
The second season saw Locke struggling with the possibility that his inflated sense of destiny was all an illusion. He thought the hatch would open and reveal his destiny, but instead, it was a relic. It’s quite possible that he still doesn’t understand what was happening in the Swan Station (much like the audience), but he does know that things went badly once he stopped believing in the island and its role in his destiny.
Locke has been looking for his place in the world, and because of his own shortcomings and mistakes, that has been impossible. He has come to the conclusion that he can only find fulfillment in a role that elevates him in his “rightful place”. Appeals to mysticism are a part of that psychology: claims to secret and forbidden knowledge, the ability to speak from a higher authority, the assuredness of the zealot. It would be bad enough if these manipulations were simply tools used for population control, but Locke actually believes that the island is giving him direction.
The episode neatly walks the middle path between Locke’s version of reality and a more objective point of view. Locke may induce a vision that sends him off to find Eko, but once he starts on that path, the signs and marks are all mundane, appealing more to his tracking skills than his communion with the island. Yet it is abundantly clear that Locke succeeds because of his own belief in success. He is sure that the island wants him to rescue Eko, and so he acts with enough confidence to achieve that goal. The task only required that confidence, but Locke could have only discovered that through the restoration of his faith.
So it would be possible to conclude that Locke, despite his warped point of view, did all the right things to rescue Eko, things that anyone with the same level of determination and skill could have done. But it’s also possible to conclude that he was meant to find and rescue Eko, thus restoring his place as the spiritual leader of the JackLocke Tribe. Both interpretations are fully supported, thus taking the audience back to the philosophical territory of the second season finale, with each fan asked to choose faith or reason.
Complicating matters, Locke’s flashback is like the nagging voice of doubt in the back of his head, reminding him of past mistakes. This flashback takes place in the wake of the previous Locke episode, and once again, Locke demonstrates poor judgment. He’s looking for a place to belong, and he thinks he finds it at a commune. But his trusting nature, borne of a desire to fit into a destined role, leads to personal disaster. In Eddie, he thought he saw someone just like himself, and he thought it was his purpose to help Eddie find his own purpose. As revelations go, this one is minor, but it fits the episode rather well.
If Locke’s flashbacks supported the idea that his choices in this episode were driven by psychological issues, then his vision supports the idea that the island was really speaking to him. In Locke’s mind, Boone was the avatar of the island, telling him where to direct his energies. The comment about Charlie and Claire could be telling, especially if things begin to go wrong and he tries to warn them. But even that is hardly clear, since Charlie and Claire will almost certainly run into trouble, based on their own issues. It really does come down to Locke’s interpretation of events, filtered through his warped state of mind.
Hurley’s encounter with Desmond, however, balances out the voice of “reason” with more than a little “faith”. Desmond appears to have foretold Locke’s call to arms, and the fact that Desmond had little to no contact with Locke before his conversation with Hurley, that’s harder to dismiss. Will Desmond continue to demonstrate some form of precognition? If so, was that an effect of his exposure to the electromagnetic anomaly under the Swan Station? If that precognition plays out, what does that say about Locke’s claims of guidance from the island itself?
This episode proves what a number of fans already knew: Locke and his complicated psychology is one of the highlights of the show. Even a mediocre Locke episode is more than worth the time. This was something of a restoration for Locke, a return to a simpler and less conflicted direction for the character, and that means a more proactive Locke in the future. And that should make Locke fans very, very happy.
(As a sidenote: There is a podcast associated with the various science fiction reviews called “Dispatches from Tuzenor”. Current episodes cover “Lost”, so it might be something of interest. Go to http://entil2001.libsyn.com to listen to the show!)
Final Analysis
Overall, this episode was something of a restoration for the character of an important character, bringing him back to his roots and reminding the audience of his complexity. While the episode is told from his point of view, the conflicting interpretations of faith and reason are both represented and explored, giving this installment some much needed depth.
Writing: 2/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 2/4
Final Rating: 8/10
posted by John Keegan | 15:22
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