The Clicker Gets Lost
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The first half of season 3 has now ended for ‘Lost.’ The new two-part schedule has some people up in arms, ironically a large number of these naysayers were at the front line complaining about last seasons broken schedule. So how does ‘Lost’ stack up against itself, along with new stiff competition from ‘Heroes?’ I’m a huge ‘Heroes’ advocate; the NBC hit does what ‘Lost’ did wrong exactly right. There’s a large forward momentum to the ‘Heroes’ story, which is absent from ‘Lost.’ However, we may have to take some accountability for that as viewers. The expectation for a show to get to the point immediately isn’t entirely fair. Season 2 saw the writers of ‘Lost’ hedge toward too many questions, but with six episodes of season 3 in the tank a balance is being found.
Let’s jump right into the viper pit to start off. As the audience slowly returns to appreciating ‘Lost,’ the producers kill off one of the most popular characters. Mr. Eko’s death on the November 1st episode shocked many, and outraged most. Behind the scenes dealing between the actors and producers isn’t of interest to me this week. Instead I’m going to take the bold stand in saying that not only was Mr. Eko’s death well done, but it was appropriate and necessary. The character’s storyline was wrapped up, and his purpose on the island was served. Something more could definitely have been squeezed from such an intriguing character, but that doesn’t mean such an approach should be tackled.
Mr. Eko, the drug running priest, took up his brother’s mantle and then did not honor him by being the good Shepard. Up until his final episode we had assumed he was trying to make amends for his previous life of corruption. It turns out that Mr. Eko actually believed that he’d done no wrong, that he did what he thought was best. As Dr. Jones said, “The penitent man shall pass.” Eko was not penitent at all. He fought to reconcile his violent ways with what the general populace sees as good. In his most emotionally bare moment Eko knelt before his brother Yemi on the island and said, “I did my best.” That’s the truest statement of his life.
Why the smoke monster did kill Eko is not yet clear, as Locke acknowledged in the eulogy during the Fall season finale. But while Eko’s story was interesting, his purpose on the island was fairly obvious once he met Locke. We all watched John Locke’s fall from faith in season 2, and the spiritually castrated badass island advocate was a tough character to love as he abandoned all that had made him great. So Eko was brought to him, restored Locke’s faith, and with no more purpose the Jesus Stick wielding thug was killed.
Did he have to die? That’s what many are probably wondering. I think most of us can agree that Eko was used to restore Locke, but why such a permanent ending? For one, we really don’t know why he was killed yet. It’s one thing to comprehend the storyline and the natural termination point that has been reached. But what we also know about ‘Lost’ is that the fantastical elements do have a real world explanation (at least up until now they have). What possible explanation is behind a plume of smoke being able to grab a grown man will be interesting to learn.
The backlash against ‘Lost’s’ formula, mysteries and questions, since season 2 is interesting. Many people have taken the stance that there are too many questions and not enough answers due to the writers posing such huge mysteries and not answering for months. In season one we accepted the formula, but as the questions have piled up it’s become harder. Don’t get me wrong, because the show does pile too much on sometimes. But I would much rather watch a show which poses questions, then continues the plot along, and when the time is right reveals something new. Think of it this way: If the question of The Others was posed, and then in the next week’s episode we meet all them and get full explanation of their intent, what is intriguing about that? I watch ‘Lost’ to enjoy the show, not to be fed answers to what’s posed to me.
Some ‘Lost’ fans are losing sight of the simple fact that this is escapist entertainment. I don’t read the last page of a book because reading the entire tome takes too long. Instead I invest my time in what’s been created as intended. A serialized drama such as ‘Lost’ has a continuing storyline, that’s the nature of the show. Episode by episode the quality can vary greatly. With ‘Lost’ you still have one of the best serialized drama’s TV has produced. There aren’t too many questions with no answers, there are too few episodes currently out to answer them all. With another 10+ hours of story left in this season, I’m fine with unanswered questions. After all, why would we watch if we knew Ben’s endgame or who Jacob is?
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Staff Writer at CinemaBlend.