Lost: Episodes 3-5

Bullet points on episodes 3-5 of Lost, Season 1, coming up after the jump (yes, spoilers).

Episode 3 (Tabula Rasa)

1. Sawyer’s got the nicknames going already. Freckles, Abdul, some other ones I didn’t bother to note.
2. Someone should explain to these guys that Rousseau’s automated radio message won’t matter for a while
3. Kate says “so we lie” about the aforementioned radio message. Shades of season 4, yes?
4. The federal marshal who brought in Kate is dying painfully. Solution? Euthanasia. Gritty!
5. This show really hit the ground running, guys. It’s pretty impressive how much they got right from the beginning–speaking less about plot here, and more about character. These men and women were well defined from the start (even if those definitions were filled in and retconned over the next 5 seasons).
6. Jack: “Three days ago we all died.” He means it metaphorically. Or does he???

Episode 4 (Walkabout)

1. The secret Locke told Walt a while back? That before the accident Locke was a parapalegic. But as of crash-landing on the beach, he could walk around and stuff. This was the first big deal surprise that came up via flashback (Kate being a criminal on the lam was really not that much of a surprise). I think this is where people realized that the show was doing things a little differently.
2. Some fearsome creatures–boars–show up early on, rooting around in the fuselage for dead bodies. Locke thrilled for something to hunt down and kill so he can show everybody how awesome he is.
3. Turns out Sayid knows how to triangulate some stuff! Interesting that the producers chose to combine the cold-blooded soldier with the magical-science-problem-solver.
4. Sawyer really goes at it with Hurley. Calls him a bunch of nicknames that mean “fat”. Funny that they end up being besties later on.
5. Here’s the first appearance of zealot Locke. At first he’s just spouting off about hunting the boars, but you and I both know he’ll end up raving about what The Island wants soon enough.
6. Great cuts from Locke’s seeming badassery re: boars to a conversation that sounds like he’s a military badass to the real truth: he’s a role playing game dork and he’s an office drone with TPS reports to fill out! Also, the printer at his desk sounds a lot like the smoke monster.
7. This is where the Rose/Bernard obsessives started stockpiling their crazy.
8. The next Locke flashback features destiny talk AND “don’t tell me what I can’t do.”
9. First appearance of Jack’s dad’s be-suited body. When it aired it seemed like Jack must have just been going crazy. In retrospect?
10. They have a memorial service for the dead (or lost). Let’s see if we get any names that come up later. Judith Wexler, wore contact lenses. Steve and Kristen, engaged to be married. Someone else who rented Willie Wonka. Other names that can’t quite be heard. Guess they weren’t thinking far enough ahead to include any Tailies.
11. And so, our third major mystery (after: 1) What caused that plane crash; and 2) what is that monster in the jungle?) is: how did Locke’s legs start working again?

Episode 5 (White Rabbit)

1. Starts with a quick flashback of Jack getting his ass kicked for refusing to let someone else get hurt. Okay, sometimes the viewer doesn’t need Lostpedia to get the point.
2. Charlie sees someone drowning but can’t save him/her because “I don’t swim”–later, of course, he becomes a veritable waterbug.
3. Boone: still useless.
4. The woman Jack couldn’t save: “Joanna”. She wasn’t even supposed to be on the flight! Jack beats himself up for her death, because somehow everything is always his fault. Just as he’s feeling guilty he catches a glimpse of his dad in a suit, standing in the water. It definitely seems like he’s going crazy at this point.
5. Jin to Sun: “I will tell you what to do.” Who was more two-dimensional at this point–Jin (domineering husband), Sawyer (who establishes himself as a selfish jerk), or Shannon (rich, stuck-up brat)?
6. Claire (and her unborn child) were so important early on in this series–seems clear that they’ll return to the forefront this coming season.
7. Jack’s already bristling at being the leader of the group. He hasn’t even said “<a href=”http://lostpedia.wikia.com/wiki/Live_Together,_Die_Alone”>live together, die alone</a>” yet!
8. So here we learn about how Jack’s dad was an alcoholic surgeon who insisted on telling everyone what to do. I wonder if we can think of anyone else like that! Also, his dad tells him “you just don’t have what it takes”, which is an awesome thing for a father to tell his son.
9. Boone says “I run a business!” I forget what the business is but I think it’s going to be a hilarious one. Tanning salon? Makeup shop? Tamagotchi cart at the mall?
10. So Jack finally sees that the guy he keeps seeing on the island is his father. But I don’t think it’s been revealed yet that his dad is dead. But we know now! OMG WHAT IS GOING ON ON THIS ISLAND?
11. Who stole the water??? Was it Sawyer??? Okay, it wasn’t Sawyer. But thinking it was him allows for the first Kate/Sawyer sexual tension. I forget who it really was but it’s probably Shannon, right? She’s a jerk. Oh right, it was Boone. Trying to impress Shannon. Everyone fights about it but then Jack comes back and gives a rousing speech about how they have to stop waiting and start saving themselves. It’s a pretty good speech. He finally says it: “if we can’t live together… we’re gonna die alone.” 
12. In flashback: “My father… is the chief of surgery!” Okay, Jack. Let’s try to cool off a little bit here. Back on the island, Jack’s chasing his father’s ghost through the jungle, which is seen via shakycam. I think this was a lot spookier the first time I saw it–now it just seems kinda cheesy. Oh, but he fell down and is hanging off a cliff! And now it’s going to commercial! Okay, it seems pretty clear that he’ll survive. He is the star of the show, after all. And it turns out that Locke saves him! Then they have a conversation about leadership and destiny. Locke assures Jack that he’s not going crazy: “crazy people don’t think they’re crazy; they think they’re getting saner.” That quote may come back in an ironic way at some point. Locke goes on to explain that he doesn’t believe in magic, but “this place is special”. He probably says that because the Island fixed his busted legs.
13. Claire passed out, which leads to Charlie helping her out, which leads to them falling in love, which leads to Charlie’s final swim!
14. Sidenote: various characters keep referring to the rest of the group as “the others”, which seems really confusing now.
15. All right, so now we find out that Jack’s dad died. Jack’s sad. On the island he finds the coffin! I wonder if he’ll open it and find it empty! (He will.) Now we see Jack at the airport before the flight, freaking out about getting that body on the flight. It’s… kinda intense, actually.
16. Boone stares mournfully out at the ocean, then shares a chat with Sawyer about how nobody likes them. Jack and Kate get cozy. Nice to have that relationship sorted out so we won’t ever have to deal with any weirdness between them!
17. That’s the end of this one. We got a lot of Jack’s back story here, but in terms of actual action on the Island… not so much. Shades of Season 2!

Things slowed down a bit after “Walkabout” but there’s still so much coming. It’s easy to forget how powerful and eventful the first season was–there are just so many characters, and so much information still to be revealed. It’s remarkable, considering at this point we haven’t even encountered any other Island inhabitants, or learned anything about what happened there before the plane crash. Hell, at this point the writers might not have known anything about that. Honestly, it was a while on before we even thought this was about anything more than getting off the Island–maybe not til the end of this season. We’ll see as this idiotic project continues.