Episode 10 - The Package
3 April 2010
Review
Present: MIB tells Sun that she should come with him to be reunited with Jin. But she runs away, bashes her head and awakes unable to speak English. Richard returns insisting they go destroy the plane on Hydra Island. When MIB returns to his camp he finds everyone knocked out with tranquiliser darts and Jin gone. Charles Widmore tells Jin that he needs to stop MIB and shows him "the package" which turns out to be Desmond. Sayid sees this, having been sent by MIB to find out.
Flashback: Jin and Sun aren't married but are lovers. They can't recover their money from airport security but agree to deliver the watch to Keamy anyway. He arrives early and agrees to hold Jin at the restaurant while Sun goes to make a withdrawal. With Mikhail in toe as her translator she learns that her father has taken her money. When they arrive at the restaurant they find Keamy and co have been killed and Jin freed by Sayid. Jin kills Mikhail but a bullet hits Sun who reveals that she is pregnant.
The Good: Another "put the pieces into place" episode with plenty of sound developments.
The only moment approaching an emotional high point was Jin seeing the pictures of his daughter (see Best Moment). I do like the simple logic of those pictures being on Sun's camera. It was a clever gambit from Widmore to make a favourable impression on Jin too. That story had some interesting developments for the on island story. The first being of course that Desmond is back and it would seem that he is a vital piece of the puzzle (see The Unknown) which will please many. We also learn why Widmore's helpers look so physically unimpressive (compared to Keamy and co) when Zoe reveals that she is a geo-physicist and is interested in the island's electromagnetic properties. We also get it confirmed that Room 23 was a Dharma subliminal messaging experiment, not a brain washing room as such. Taken at face value that is an answer to a long standing question (307).
We had a nice moment when MIB let out a typically amusing smirk when saying "I come in peace." I also liked that he said "easy friend" echoing his own words while talking to Richard (in the previous episode) where he constantly said "my friend." Sawyer's desire to see MIB killed made sense, he is smart enough to realise that the smoke monster being killed is the easier option for his likely escape. His "no coz that'd be ridiculous" was a nice acknowledgement of the reveal that MIB can't travel across the sea as his smokey alter ego.
On the other side of the island I appreciated Sun's anger at the suggestion they would destroy the plane. All of these people ought to have one eye on how they will get back to the real world; it's what a normal person would think of. She absolutely shouldn't trust MIB after discovering that he is the smoke monster, so that was good to see too. Jack is finally returning to the sensitive leadership role he occupied in season one and realising that being open with people will win their trust more easily. I liked that Ilana suspected Ben of hitting Sun, again a logical deduction.
Once more the flashsideways followed the apparent pattern of justice or happy ending, though not entirely clearly. The positive part of their situation seems to be that instead of a damaged marriage, they are working together to escape Mr Paik. And presumably Jin was able to get her pregnant on his own (with no island assist), though now the baby's life may be in danger. The button popping seduction scene was a clever way to turn a recognisable incident into something quite different. It was also a nice irony that the gift of money was Jin paying his own assassin and Keamy played his role just fine once more. Mikhail was a logical and pleasing choice to play translator and of course he took a bullet to the eye for good measure. I liked Sayid's decision to help Jin; it was kind but also safe because he gave himself enough time to get away.
The Bad: The amnesia or aphasia storyline was always going to be derided. The producers knew this and deliberately scripted the exchange between Miles and Frank to acknowledge the obvious implausibility of Sun temporarily being unable to speak English. The suggestion which springs most obviously to mind is that Sun will now be in the position which Jin was in season one and so their roles will be reversed. The writing could well make that into a fitting irony but it would have to be superb to avoid some snickering. Any temporary or unlikely disorder like that was always going to look flimsy even in a universe as bizarre as this one.
There was something not entirely satisfying about Jin and Sun's off island story. I can see how the two of them working together to escape Mr Paik would be a happy ending. However Jin didn't seem to have thought of that plan before, apparently surprised by her suggestion. That seemed to take some of the gravity away from their original storyline where they both agonised terribly over whether to try and escape (106, 117).
Although there was nothing much in this episode which I had a problem with, it did strike a slight note of warning. The episode's tone was very similar to "Recon." The episode got us practically no further in time into the flashsideways world or further developed on the island. Many of the conversations which took place reinforced established character dynamics or rehashed plot points. The episode couldn't escape the feeling of being light on significance. To clarify: the writers are clearly moving important pieces into place with this episode and if next week the pace picks right up then I will have no complaints. However I don't think they can afford any more episodes like this or else fans will rightly feel frustrated at the lack of movement.
The Unknown: Why is Jin important to Widmore? Why is Desmond so important? Does this reflect Daniel's assessment of Desmond as special (501) and how does it relate to his presence in the flashsideways (601)? MIB says he needs three more people, presumably Jack, Hurley and Sun, then he will have all the remaining candidates. By taking them off the island does he somehow deny the island a Jacob and thus achieve freedom?
Sun takes a good hard look in the mirror before she lets Keamy in, continuing that theme from all the other flashes.
MIB implying that Claire can kill Kate at some point is more evidence in the "evil incarnate" column. It also continues Claire's love-hate paranoia about Kate which hasn't yet become entirely clear. We still don't really know whether the darkness makes Claire somehow inhuman or just pushes her toward bad decision making. Sayid describes it as feeling nothing. Yet he is willing to follow orders instantly, presumably driven by his desire for Nadia. Also, Kate's name wasn't crossed out on the Lighthouse, does MIB realise this?
Jack promises Sun that he will get her on that plane and away from the island. But Richard just said he had to destroy it. We also know that Jack believes he is there to do something important but doesn't know what it is yet. It would be nice if he clarified what he is there to do before he makes promises that he might have to break.
Best Moment: Jin seeing pictures of Ji Yeon was a really nice moment. I think that scene could have been given even longer for the emotional impact on him to really sink in. He played it with understated emotion and perhaps didn't want to weep in front of Widmore. What I thought was a beautiful touch was the shot of Ji Yeon playing with Popo, Jin's dog. Remember that Popo was a puppy when we first met him and Sun made arrangements for him to be taken care of when she was planning to leave forever. To see the dog now several years older and playing with Jin's daughter was such a clever way of showing all the time and memories which Jin has missed out on.
The Bottom Line: An episode which was absolutely fine in itself. Each development seemed logical and played out just fine. But in context its slow pace and repetitive dialogue was a little worrying. At this stage my faith in the producers is holding fine, but this needs to be the last of these episodes.
Feedback
Add your comments on this episode below. They may be included in the weekly podcasts.
’)