Thoughts on last night’s episode of LOST. (Stop reading if you don’t want to know what happened.) I don’t mind when they kill off characters on LOST. They writers have shown they can introduce other characters that can add depth and intrigue to the story. But I was a little saddened when Mr. Eko was killed by the mysterious black cloud. (I’m glad they brought the cloud back, BTW. I was starting to think the writer’s had forgotten about it.)
Mr. Eko was one of the two most fascinating characters on the island. (Locke is the other.) I loved his inner struggle between good and evil and coming to terms with whether or not he could be forgiven or redeemed for his past deeds. As evil as he may have been at times in his past life, we saw that at times he had a heart of gold and was willing to stand up and protect the innocent. He was also the driving force that united the passengers of the tail section with the passengers on the other side of the island.
Fortunately, it appears that Mr. Eko found some peace with the life he had lived. His last words to Yemi (or whatever it is) were: “I ask no forgiveness, Father, for I have not sinned. I have only done what I needed to survive.†I hope Mr. Eko found peace. His character will be greatly missed. And let’s hope the writer’s of LOST can bring up another character that’s just as captivating.
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After last nights episode it seems like there are many who are complaining about the number of characters being killed off on LOST. Yes, LOST is a real bloodbath at time but I think it adds a realistic dimension to the show and shows how the writers are willing to break some television taboos.
First, keep in mind the plane crash survivors are on some strange island with little life-saving technology and no law and order. When someone gets hurt, there’s no hospital to rush them too. The only doctor on the island has limited resources and is often unable to saves lives simply because he doesn’t have access to the life saving technology. One hundred years ago the life expectancy was about 25 – 30 years less than it was today. Why? People got hurt or sick and died because there were little others could do for them. Same is true on this mysterious island.
Even though there’s a general sense of community among the plane crash’s survivors, it really is every man (or woman) for themselves. I’m surprised more fights haven’t broken out over resources and other things. With no real law and order on the islands, the survivors are relying on each others’ sense of being nice to each other. It wouldn’t take much for someone to put a little band of people together and try to take control of resources and other things necessary for their survival. (I’m thinking along the lines of Lord of the Flies here.) All things considered, I’m surprised the death toll on the island hasn’t been higher.
Second, LOST has shown that it’s willing to be a ground breaking show in lots of ways. (See yesterday’s post for a link to an article that details that.) There seems to have been a general rule in television that you can’t kill off main characters. Go back to, say, The X-Files. Moulder and Scully found themselves in some harrowing experiences but did we ever really think that one of them was going to die? Of course not! We knew that somehow they would be saved or rescued at the last moment. On LOST we don’t know which character might be next. It makes the island and what the characters are experiencing more real and frightening and shows that the strength of LOST isn’t one or two people, but the story itself. LOST isn’t about Jack, Sawyer, Kate, Mr. Eko Desmond, or anyone else. It’s story about a group of people – a community – who are trying to survive.
I’m sure there are some characters that will stay on the Island from beginning to end, but LOST shows that it’s not one or two characters that are carrying the show. Rather it’s the powerful story that is keeping people interested. As much I didn’t want to see Mr. Eko go last night, the show will go on without him. There’s plenty of questions that need to be solved and an island to escape and LOST doesn’t depend on just one or two characters to move the story to it’s eventual conclusion.