Lost 3.19: "The Brig"

Written by Damon Lindelof and Cartlon Cuse
Directed by Eric Laneuville

In which Locke recruits Sawyer for a mission with person implications for both of them, while Naomi’s arrival at camp exposes issues of trust, particularly when it comes to Jack…

Status Report

Since the beginning of the series, “Lost” has been dominated by the theme of personal redemption. Those who seek to shed the burden of the past and grow beyond psychological and emotional barriers survive and prosper. Those who reject such an opportunity tend to meet a disturbing and painful end. Most of the characters hover in-between the two extremes, challenged time and again by past and “present”.

Several episodes this season have returned to this theme, even as the season arc explores another important theme: the meaning of the Other. This episode actually tackles both themes with equal effectiveness. Two characters take a major step in their respective redemptive paths, and the JackLocke tribe threatens to fragment under suspicion.

Locke’s path has been a difficult and long one, filled with self-delusion and an endless desire for validation. His “daddy issues” have robbed him of any sense of self-worth, and he constantly seeks some special purpose to justify his struggles. For Locke, it’s all about destiny, and he’ll listen to anyone who feeds that hunger.

On the face of it, this episode appears to give Locke the opportunity to overcome that weakness. Ben sets the stage for Locke to do more than metaphorically kill his parent to become a man; he orders Locke to murder his father in front of a crowd to prove that he’s ready to assume his destined role. This is a particularly interesting order, because it may not be as clear cut as it seems.

If one takes the order at face value, what does this say about the Others? Ben does say that it’s about expressing free will and growing beyond personal limitations, and with so little information about the Others in hand, that’s certainly possible. As noted in this episode, it’s about more than the fertility issue, and Ben could see Locke as someone suited to some other purpose.

On the other hand, given Ben’s mastery over psychological manipulation, he must understand Locke well enough to know how to play into his assumptions of destiny. Ben wants something out of Locke, and for that to happen, Ben needs to convince Locke that he wants to provide it. He can’t appear weak in front of his own people, either, and looking to Locke as someone “special” undermines his own primacy. All that being the case, Ben could be manipulating Locke to ensure his own control over the situation.

The effect on Locke is relatively predictable. Locke wants to feel special, and with some prompting, he realizes that if he can’t kill someone in cold blood, someone else could do it for him. And so he makes the choice to manipulate Sawyer into killing his father, so he can win Ben’s continued approval. Whatever Locke might believe, this is not a step forward towards personal transformation. He’s simply replacing the need for his father’s approval with the need for Ben’s approval. (Something that adds to the overall suspicion, going back to Eko’s dying words in “The Cost of Living”, that Locke’s inability to evolve is leading to a bad end.)

Sawyer, on the other hand, has the opportunity to move past his search for the original Sawyer and work on what his life might be without that burden on his shoulders. This particular aspect of the episode is the near-perfect payoff to a possibility raised in the first season, one mentioned several times in previous reviews. Now it’s confirmed that Locke’s father was the original Sawyer, and Sawyer had the opportunity to face down the man who destroyed his life.

Unlike Locke, Sawyer has taken steps towards change, assuming more of a leadership role in Jack’s absence. If he no longer has to live for his old life, with his personal quest now fulfilled, what kind of person will Sawyer choose to be? Will the true James Ford emerge, or will he find it impossible to let go of the trappings of the past?

Moving to the second theme for the series, the nature of the Other, tensions at the camp are at an all time high. Desmond and his band of merry men have managed to bring Naomi back to the camp, and Desmond (once again playing Locke’s role as opposing force) convinces the rest of the gang to keep her existence a secret. They believe that Jack is too close to Juliet, and could now be one of the Others.

One could argue that the plot progression for this thread doesn’t make much sense. The gang decides to bring Sayid in on the secret, and he manages to get some detailed information about Naomi’s apparent purpose. As suspected, she’s connected to Penny Widmore’s attempt to find Desmond, and her unusual experience in finding the island matches nearly everything else mentioned about it since the inception. Even so, it’s hard to know if Noami’s story can be trusted.

All of that makes sense enough, but Sayid proceeds to work on the satellite phone in plain sight. Kate stumbles upon them, and is quickly given the full story. Not long after that, Kate gets angry when Jack refuse to speak with her privately, and she blurts out everything without a hint of hesitation. Desmond is likely to pissed, especially since it should have been simple enough to keep things quiet for a little while longer.

This does, however, lead to an interesting revelation. Apparently Jack and Juliet have a plan of their own, and Desmond’s new friend could complicate whatever that plan is. The most obvious speculation would be that Jack is aware of Juliet’s supposed “mole” status, and has been working with her to undermine Ben’s plan from the beginning. While it sounds a bit overly complicated to be viable, in this case, it makes sense in terms of their personal context.

The divisions aren’t confined to the JackLocke tribe. Apparently things are far from rosy among the Others as well. While it’s not the same as Alex’s overt rebellion earlier in the season, Richard’s discussion with Locke could be a sign that factions continually press for advantage among the Others. This would explain why Ben is constantly concerned with maintaining a sense of absolute control.

Amidst all the thematically satisfying elements, there’s more time devoted to the discovery, confirmed by Cooper in this episode, of a remains of Oceanic 815. According to Naomi, the plane wreckage was discovered at the bottom of an ocean trench with the bodies still aboard. This may seem to indicate that the passengers are really dead, but there’s no detail on whether or not the bodies were positively identified or assumed to be the passengers on the manifest.

What matters is that the world believes them to be dead, which will immediately destroy any false hope of a rescue just over the horizon. Beyond the Others and their worldwide network, there’s only Penny Widmore’s mission, and they’ve all but come up empty. Claire’s message will now likely be ignored, if it’s ever discovered. The potential is for a massive change in the survivors’ mindset; with rescue a near-impossibility, the tribe may be forced to take on the Others in a bid for their own long-term survival.

Final Analysis

Overall, this episode continues to resolve long-standing issues by focusing on character exploration. Beyond that, the plot continues to build towards the season finale, and for the most part, that progression is excellent. Contrary to popular belief, the series has been answering questions at a blistering pace of late, and while some of the answers lead to bigger questions, those with faith in the production have been well rewarded.

Writing: 2/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 3/4

Final Rating: 9/10

(Season Average: 7.6)