Episode Report Card Cindy McLennan: A | 985 USERS: A- YOU GRADE IT You Spin Me Right Round Baby
By Cindy McLennan | Season 5 | Episode 1 | Aired on 2009.01.21
The Island -- whatever day: Shirtless Sawyer, Juliet, Daniel, Charlotte and Miles trudge through the jungle to all that remains of the hatch. Juliet asks Sawyer why he jumped out of the chopper. He says, "I told you. We were running out of gas. I wanted to make sure she -- I wanted to make sure they got back to the boat. Don't matter now anyway, does it?" Daniel picks the wrong time to hustle them along, so Sawyer snaps at him, demands his shirt (which Daniel, bless him, does not give over). More importantly, Sawyer wants to know what's going on. Daniel suggests he trust him. Sawyer points out that they don't even know one another. Daniel then makes the mistake of condescending to Sawyer in order to evade his questions -- telling him he'd have a difficult time explaining this to a quantum physicist, never mind the likes of him (oh sure, that last part's implied, but it's there). Sawyer hauls off and -- well, I think we're supposed to think he punches Daniel, but the sound effect guys make it seem like more of a slap and slow-mo is giving me no love, so let's just say Sawyer bitch-slapped Daniel, because that's way more fun, and possibly more likely, since Daniel didn't end up writhing in pain on the jungle floor. Besides, when Charlotte gets all defensive on Daniel's behalf and challenges Sawyer, Sawyer tells her, "Shut it Ginger, or you're getting one, too," so bitch-slap it is. Whee!
At Sawyer's command, Daniel explains that they should think of the island like a record spinning on a turntable -- but now that record is skipping. He suggests that whatever Ben Linus did down at the Orchid Station has dislodged them from time. Juliet exposits that that's why their camp is gone -- because the island is moving through time. Daniel offers an alternative -- they're the ones moving through time. He asks if everyone in their group is accounted for. Sawyer says, "Not everyone." He looks at Juliet then adds, "Locke."
And what timing! It's almost like someone scripted that line for Sawyer, because we see John Locke running through the jungle. At least it's no longer raining on the poor bastard. He climbs up a hill and as he nears the summit, a small, yellow prop plane flies overhead, and crashes a ways off. I yell, "The drug plane!" My husband looks at me with quiet concern. Locke watches as the remains smolder, when something lying in the tall grass catches his eye. He scoots down the other side of the hill -- in the general direction of the fresh wreckage, and finds a statue of Our Lady of the Poppies, so I turn to my husband and say, "See? Drug plane." My husband nods, and yet he confiscates my tranquilizers. Mean! Locke makes his way through the jungle and comes upon the site where Boone died. The plane though, is not a burnt-out wreck on the jungle floor (sheesh, I've already used that expression twice in this recap -- what a hack); it is still teetering atop the weird trees on which it landed, all that time ago, when Yemi died, which is apparently now. Um, no, I don't follow either (except I DO and that's scary). You think being defenestrated by his own father would leave Locke a little wary of heights, but no -- he's in full-on Action!Locke mode (with maybe a side of Redemption!Locke), so he scales the wall of root-like trunks or trunk-like roots, as the yellow plane continues to teeter overhead. A shot fires and ricochets off the tree thingies. Then another. Locke yells out, "Hey!" like you do when you're being shot at...I hear. Despite his protest, a third shot rings out, and Locke falls to the jungle...er...ground.