Eko can’t be dead. He’s one of the more intriguing characters on the show and figures prominently in all the promo posters.
Alas, it’s true. Eko gets the snot kicked out of him by that mysterious black smoke. Now that we’ve finally seen the black smoke monster in all its glory, there is still no explanation as to what it is or how it came to be on the island. Perhaps it’s a Dharma Initiative experiment gone awry. And do the Others know about it?
One thing we do know: The smoke monster, or whatever it is, can take on other forms, depending on what demons haunt the person who sees it. Eko sees his brother. Locke sees a white light. Maybe it pretended to be Jack’s dad in the first season. Would Hurley see a giant fried chicken leg if he came across it? Wait, there was the whole thing with Dave, Hurley’s “friend” from the mental hospital who shows up on the island. And remember how Kate saw the same horse from her past in the jungle? You get the point.
During the course of the episode, Eko is grappling with some serious issues, namely all his past sins. When Eko’s brother “visits” him on the beach, asking him to confess his sins, the recuperating Eko secretly hobbles off for the downed plane to find his brother’s body. While stumbling through the jungle to his destination, Eko encounters all sorts of people from his past, including a young boy who worked at his brother’s church. When their eyes meet, the boy puts a finger to his lips to shush Eko. (Interesting note: Walt also shushed Michael when he appeared in the bushes in the second season. Coincidence, or does it mean something?)
Locke figures Eko is headed for the downed plane and decides to go too, since the plane crashed next to the Pearl hatch. He figures they can find Eko and revisit the hatch to hopefully gather some info on the whereabouts of Jack, Kate and Sawyer–and he invites his fellow Losties to come along. New girl Nikki, who is just giddy she’s finally been addressed, joins the trek with her reluctant boyfriend.
The group catches up with Eko and make it to the plane, but the brother’s body is gone. (The body of Jack’s dad also is MIA. Another coincidence?) While Locke is busy opening the hatch, Eko’s brother reappears to ask for a confession again, but Eko says he hasn’t done anything he’s regretted. He did what he had to do to survive and protect the ones he loved. Good for Eko.
Inside the Pearl hatch, Nikki suggests to Locke and Sayid they might want to check out what’s on the other TVs in the room [eyes rolling]. Like Locke wouldn’t have figured that out. Anyway, when Sayid starts messing with the electrical system, one of the TVs actually does turn on. It looks like another room, filled with computers. Suddenly, a man with an eye patch appears in the frame, looks right at the camera and then turns it off. Locke looks around at everyone’s stunned faces and says, “Well, I guess he’ll be expecting us.”
OK, we’re not loving the two new wannabe Losties. It seems a tad forced to have two new characters from the camp suddenly emerge, with lines and everything. It’s like when Dr. Arnzt from the first season complained to Hurley none of the other survivors were allowed in the “clique.” Whatever. And her “let’s see what’s on the other TVs” smells like a cheesy redeeming character tool.
Meanwhile, in the Others’ world, Jack confronts Ben about his big fat tumor. Ben first tries to deny he has one, but later confesses to Jack he is indeed dying—and he needs Jack to save his life. Ben confesses he initially had plans to “break” Jack down in a bid to get him to perform the surgery, but now hopes Jack will do it out of goodness. Jack can’t believe Ben would go to all this trouble just to bring Jack there to operate. But Ben believes in fate, “Two days after I find out I have a tumor on my spine, a spinal surgeon falls out of the sky.”
Later, Juliet visits Jack and suggests he watch a movie, you know, to pass the time, and pops a tape into a VCR. Jack is in no mood to watch a movie–but Juliet insists. She mutes the TV, which is behind her, and launches into a sappy spiel about why he should save Ben’s life. But when Jack glances over her shoulder at the TV, he realizes the tape is not a movie, but of Juliet delivering a message on written cue cards. The cards say Ben is very dangerous and needs to be stopped. The operation has to go badly, and Jack must make it look like an accident–and no one will ever know. While Jack is listening to Juliet praise Ben, he is reading Juliet’s true intended message.
Clever girl. But is there really a power struggle going on in the Others’ camp, or is this part of the game?
