Lost 3.5: "The Cost of Living"
Written by Monica Owusu-Breen and Alison Schapker
Directed by Jack Bender
In which Eko struggles with the apparent spirit of his dead brother, while Locke tries to communicate with the Others and Jack faces a difficult decision…
Status Report
Quite often, “Lost” is about structure. The writers set up conflicts and let them play out over time, and when the purpose of a character has been fulfilled, that character is either placed in the background for later use or removed from the stage. The fact that a character is beloved is quite beside the point. Nor does it matter that fans might conceive a hundred different extensions of a character’s development. Only the creative minds behind a production have the sense of where the story needs to go.
Mister Eko, like Ana-Lucia, was created as a challenge to the existing power structure of the JackLocke tribe. Ana-Lucia’s was intended to push Jack into a more violent and militaristic direction, based on her own insistence that the tribe was living too softly at the expense of her own group of survivors. That shift did take place, and Jack was changed as a result, and so Ana-Lucia was no longer necessary. In fact, her death was required to push Jack into the emotional and psychological territory at the end of the second season.
Eko was designed to challenge Locke’s role as spiritual leader of the tribe, coming onto the scene during Locke’s crisis of faith. His desire for redemption was easier to accept than the idea of pushing a button, especially since Locke struggled to find meaning in his actions. Eko’s brand of spiritual guidance was less threatening and less obtuse. It didn’t matter that he was struggling to maintain a façade of religious authority; he was a recognizable beacon of light to many of the survivors.
By the end of the second season, he became convinced that coincidence was fate, and so he co-opted Locke’s role completely, pursuing the button with religious intensity. That forced Locke into a position to take action, which eventually resulted in Locke’s restoration of faith in “Further Instructions”. Eko’s role as challenger came to an end, and so his purpose was fulfilled.
Some shows have struggled with the decision to remove characters from the stage when their intended role is completed. “Buffy” was notorious, especially in the latter seasons, for keeping characters around far beyond their metaphorical utility. Characters like Riley, Tara, and Dawn lost their narrative relevance to various degrees, and many found the resulting subplots for those characters to be dissatisfying or unearned.
On the other extreme, there are shows that tend to eliminate characters for shock value, to ensure that the audience is hit with a steady stream of unexpected (and equally unearned) deaths. “X-Files” was known for eliminating minor characters whenever the writers wanted to make an impact, and “24” has been soundly criticized for killing off characters whenever the writers run out of ideas.
By eliminating Eko, the writers of “Lost” find a reasonable middle ground. Eko’s narrative purpose, as the metaphorical challenger to Locke, was fulfilled. Structurally, the story doesn’t need that function to exist anymore. The choice is to find another role for the character or eliminate the character entirely. Using Eko’s death as a reminder that the island can be deadly is a logical solution to the problem.
More than that, the writers used the idea to expand understanding of the Cerberus security system, which seems even more mystical and arcane than ever. This is the first time that the system has been seen in action, and it is brutal. It is also reasonably intelligent. The assumption that can be made, based on the information to date, is that the system is capable of producing holograms or otherwise manipulating the senses. It may also be able to manifest a solid projection.
Episodes like “White Rabbit” and “Dave” now have a completely different context. For that matter, the “Hurley Bird” from “Live Together, Die Alone” begs a second look. Given enough information about the survivors, could an artificial intelligence use solid projection resources to manipulate and judge inhabitants of the island? Or is the system just a marvel of Hanso/Dharma engineering, being used by a human intelligence that has yet to be revealed?
There is now evidence that the Others are not the only other inhabitants of the island (or islands), and so it’s quite possible that the Cerberus system is controlled by an unknown party with different connections to the Dharma legacy. If the Others do operate from a nearby island, then they might have been the descendants of those running the experiments on the Dharma Island. As such, they may be aware of someone else on the island and may have been avoiding them for a specific reason.
Ben’s decision to reveal his methods and motivations to Jack must be suspect. On the face of it, this episode presents a logical interpretation of events. Ben is a bit of a dictator, and he would be more than happy to condition Jack into one of the Others to ensure that his surgery was successful. And it makes sense that Juliet would see this as an opportunity to rid her community of a dangerous leader.
All that said, Ben has always been willing to put his own life on the line to ensure the success of his goals. It seems clear in retrospect that Ben allowed himself to be captured in the second season, and that he used the knowledge gained to his advantage. It seems too simple for it to be about Ben’s health crisis alone. It’s all too easy to believe that Ben and the Others would use his medical condition to allow Juliet and the rest to bring Jack into the fold and sympathetic to their interests, even at the cost of his own life.
Telling Jack how he was being manipulated is, in and of itself, a tactic of manipulation. It gives Jack a false sense of security, allowing him to believe that he has some degree of power and choice. That leaves him open to a fresh source of manipulation, as he looks for opportunity and it’s handed to him on a silver platter.
Beyond the three main plot threads, there were a number of minor but notable elements explored. Sayid shows some of his early technical prowess and Locke shows the kind of confidence he had in the first season. This episode also highlighted two new characters: Nikki and Paulo. The conceit is that Nikki and Paulo have been in the background since the crash, and now the changing dynamic is giving them the chance to get more involved. Neither character makes a good first impression, and the actors seem overwhelmed by the better actors in the room, but it’s far too early to judge what purpose they might be intended to fulfill.
(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 provided some unexpected insight into one of the earliest mysteries of the island while introducing some additional complication into others. The audience is still left to consider what might be manipulation and what might be sincere, but that has become one of the highlights of the season. Several plot threads seem to be coming together for the fall season finale, and this was a necessary step in that direction.
Writing: 2/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 1/4
Final Rating: 7/10
Directed by Jack Bender
In which Eko struggles with the apparent spirit of his dead brother, while Locke tries to communicate with the Others and Jack faces a difficult decision…
Status Report
Quite often, “Lost” is about structure. The writers set up conflicts and let them play out over time, and when the purpose of a character has been fulfilled, that character is either placed in the background for later use or removed from the stage. The fact that a character is beloved is quite beside the point. Nor does it matter that fans might conceive a hundred different extensions of a character’s development. Only the creative minds behind a production have the sense of where the story needs to go.
Mister Eko, like Ana-Lucia, was created as a challenge to the existing power structure of the JackLocke tribe. Ana-Lucia’s was intended to push Jack into a more violent and militaristic direction, based on her own insistence that the tribe was living too softly at the expense of her own group of survivors. That shift did take place, and Jack was changed as a result, and so Ana-Lucia was no longer necessary. In fact, her death was required to push Jack into the emotional and psychological territory at the end of the second season.
Eko was designed to challenge Locke’s role as spiritual leader of the tribe, coming onto the scene during Locke’s crisis of faith. His desire for redemption was easier to accept than the idea of pushing a button, especially since Locke struggled to find meaning in his actions. Eko’s brand of spiritual guidance was less threatening and less obtuse. It didn’t matter that he was struggling to maintain a façade of religious authority; he was a recognizable beacon of light to many of the survivors.
By the end of the second season, he became convinced that coincidence was fate, and so he co-opted Locke’s role completely, pursuing the button with religious intensity. That forced Locke into a position to take action, which eventually resulted in Locke’s restoration of faith in “Further Instructions”. Eko’s role as challenger came to an end, and so his purpose was fulfilled.
Some shows have struggled with the decision to remove characters from the stage when their intended role is completed. “Buffy” was notorious, especially in the latter seasons, for keeping characters around far beyond their metaphorical utility. Characters like Riley, Tara, and Dawn lost their narrative relevance to various degrees, and many found the resulting subplots for those characters to be dissatisfying or unearned.
On the other extreme, there are shows that tend to eliminate characters for shock value, to ensure that the audience is hit with a steady stream of unexpected (and equally unearned) deaths. “X-Files” was known for eliminating minor characters whenever the writers wanted to make an impact, and “24” has been soundly criticized for killing off characters whenever the writers run out of ideas.
By eliminating Eko, the writers of “Lost” find a reasonable middle ground. Eko’s narrative purpose, as the metaphorical challenger to Locke, was fulfilled. Structurally, the story doesn’t need that function to exist anymore. The choice is to find another role for the character or eliminate the character entirely. Using Eko’s death as a reminder that the island can be deadly is a logical solution to the problem.
More than that, the writers used the idea to expand understanding of the Cerberus security system, which seems even more mystical and arcane than ever. This is the first time that the system has been seen in action, and it is brutal. It is also reasonably intelligent. The assumption that can be made, based on the information to date, is that the system is capable of producing holograms or otherwise manipulating the senses. It may also be able to manifest a solid projection.
Episodes like “White Rabbit” and “Dave” now have a completely different context. For that matter, the “Hurley Bird” from “Live Together, Die Alone” begs a second look. Given enough information about the survivors, could an artificial intelligence use solid projection resources to manipulate and judge inhabitants of the island? Or is the system just a marvel of Hanso/Dharma engineering, being used by a human intelligence that has yet to be revealed?
There is now evidence that the Others are not the only other inhabitants of the island (or islands), and so it’s quite possible that the Cerberus system is controlled by an unknown party with different connections to the Dharma legacy. If the Others do operate from a nearby island, then they might have been the descendants of those running the experiments on the Dharma Island. As such, they may be aware of someone else on the island and may have been avoiding them for a specific reason.
Ben’s decision to reveal his methods and motivations to Jack must be suspect. On the face of it, this episode presents a logical interpretation of events. Ben is a bit of a dictator, and he would be more than happy to condition Jack into one of the Others to ensure that his surgery was successful. And it makes sense that Juliet would see this as an opportunity to rid her community of a dangerous leader.
All that said, Ben has always been willing to put his own life on the line to ensure the success of his goals. It seems clear in retrospect that Ben allowed himself to be captured in the second season, and that he used the knowledge gained to his advantage. It seems too simple for it to be about Ben’s health crisis alone. It’s all too easy to believe that Ben and the Others would use his medical condition to allow Juliet and the rest to bring Jack into the fold and sympathetic to their interests, even at the cost of his own life.
Telling Jack how he was being manipulated is, in and of itself, a tactic of manipulation. It gives Jack a false sense of security, allowing him to believe that he has some degree of power and choice. That leaves him open to a fresh source of manipulation, as he looks for opportunity and it’s handed to him on a silver platter.
Beyond the three main plot threads, there were a number of minor but notable elements explored. Sayid shows some of his early technical prowess and Locke shows the kind of confidence he had in the first season. This episode also highlighted two new characters: Nikki and Paulo. The conceit is that Nikki and Paulo have been in the background since the crash, and now the changing dynamic is giving them the chance to get more involved. Neither character makes a good first impression, and the actors seem overwhelmed by the better actors in the room, but it’s far too early to judge what purpose they might be intended to fulfill.
(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 provided some unexpected insight into one of the earliest mysteries of the island while introducing some additional complication into others. The audience is still left to consider what might be manipulation and what might be sincere, but that has become one of the highlights of the season. Several plot threads seem to be coming together for the fall season finale, and this was a necessary step in that direction.
Writing: 2/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 1/4
Final Rating: 7/10
posted by John Keegan | 16:47
1 Comments:
I enjoy your reviews. You make a good point about Eko's character having served its purpose and therefore no longer being needed.However ,personally, I feel like it was an unnecessary loss to the program.Of all of the secondary characters removed thusfar, and the several still lingering about,Eko was definately one of the more interesting ones...the "new" couple seems like an unnecessary addition at this point.Their lines/actions could have been given to some of the other regulars....
Anyway ...keep up the great work.
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