[LST] Further Instructions

TV Programme: Lost
Season: 3
Episode: 3
Date I watched this episode: 12/07/2009
Time since I last watched this programme: 7 days.
Centric for: Locke

This was the first episode to deal with the situation back at the survivors' base camp, and did not touch on the events going on with The Others, or the events going on at Pala Ferry. Instead, it focussed mainly on Locke, Charlie, Hurley and Desmond, with Claire, Eko, Paolo and Nikki also appearing.

Like I said in my last review, the fact that this isn't a season premiere means they are not forced to have such a dramatic introduction. However, it's almost like a premiere, as none of these characters have been seen before this season. So I was a bit disappointed with the way the episode opened. There was no real lead-in, no "you haven't seen these characters for (in the case of broadcast) a few months so let's spend some time with them." It was straight into the action, which is fine if done well. I think my main concern actually was with the music. It was just a bit too eerie and dominated the whole teaser, particularly the first scene between John and Charlie, where the music really seemed out of place for a "first scene together of the season", or even of an episode. Even the first scene where Charlie and Claire were seen together - the setting was not established, we just plunged back in as if nothing had happened. And the final part before the second commercial break, when Locke speaks for the first time to declare his intention to save Eko, sounded like it was meant to sound inspiring but didn't.

I'm being critical but things did settle down in general after the intertitle. The first scene after that is more along the lines I was expecting. Charlie was completely in-character, but Locke is a changed man, and truly was the centre of this episode. This one was about how the Discharge affected Locke, and how he is willing to do anything he can to get back on track after losing his faith. This worked rather well, and his faith is rewarded with proof that the vision he saw was really from the Island. This was a good storyline, and it was certainly nice to see Ian Somerhalder around again; I'm sure he enjoyed that gig too.

Locke's flashback sequence this time around was fairly incidental. No Helen, no Anthony; this was seemingly forgotten about. Truly the fact that Eddie was a cop was a bit of a twist, and I thought that seeing Locke in that situation was interesting, but it didn't have overall significance, and only served to introduce this "hunter vs farmer" thing. I think that really shows the struggle in Locke's character, and he exhibits elements of both at times. His "hunter" aspects have been supressed recently, but now it seems he is going to be able to go back on that journey.

Something very strange has happened to Desmond and it now seems he can see into the future. In fact, in general all of the three inhabitants of The Swan when it imploded had different fates. For some reason, Desmond's clothes were shredded, and he has now been given this gift. This show is getting more and more supernatural from week to week.

The other two new main characters, Paulo and Nikki, appeared briefly in this episode. No effort was made to introduce them and they merely appeared as if we the audience had known about them forever. They don't seem to be anything special, and their inclusion in the main cast seems completely random. (Apparently, a now-deleted scene was supposed to introduce the two in a better way).

Now Locke is charged with "bringing the family back together" and appears to be the new leader of the survivors. The Island has already told him (through Eko) that he "will find them", so we don't have any doubts there. So I'm guessing we're going to see a showdown between the survivors and The Others at some point.

All in all this was quite a variable episode, but was a great character-development episode for Locke, and set the foundation for an inevitably monumental rescue attempt.