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Written by Cayley
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Thursday, 03 May 2007 |
 Episode 3x19, The Brig, opens where The Man From Tallahassee left off,
with John Locke face to face with Anthony Cooper, the con man, absentee
father and kidney-stealer. Locke goes to him and removes his gag.
Cooper bites Locke. Thus begins an episode full of uncharacteristic
behavior, wild speculation and, of course, more questions about the
fate of the plane that brought our group to the island.
Right off the bat I wonder why Cooper would bite Locke. I understand that's what a cornered animal would do, and while he may be a snake, ultimately Cooper is a con man. A true con man would, in my opinion, try to charm his way out of such a situation. Cooper should have played to Locke's weird attachment to him. Beg his son to help him, not taunt him and humiliate him as he did while tied to the column in the camp. But Cooper thinks he's in Hell, it would seem. Perhaps he figures there's no point in trying to con a devil? He certainly seems to think he's the only one who has figured out that they are not on an island at all. The more I try to analyze Cooper's odd behavior, the more I am reminded of Hurley's "friend" Dave, who tried to convince Hurley that he was not on the island but in a hospital, hallucinating. Also, what about this task Ben gives to Locke, to kill his father? Ben tells Locke he will never be free until he releases the hold his father has on him. This reminds me of another episode. Back in season one; Locke drugged Boone with his Magic Mud concoction. In the hallucination that ensued, Boone saw Shannon die. Later, Locke asked him how that made him feel and when Boone said he felt relieved, Locke implied it was time to let go of Shannon. Is Cooper Locke's hallucination? Of course, Sawyer also saw Cooper. In fact, Sawyer did more than just see him. After talking to Cooper, figuring out who he was, confronting Cooper with the letter he wrote him almost 30 years ago, and having that letter laughed at and shredded, Sawyer strangled him. Is Cooper a manifestation of "Smokie," this time appearing to two people who need to let some things go? I found it interesting that when Danielle comes for her dynamite, we can hear only Sawyer banging on the door of the brig. When Danielle is not in the room, we can hear both Sawyer yelling AND Cooper struggling. It's an intriguing thought, and fun to toy with, but since Cooper actually died, and Locke had to haul that grisly package up on his back and head out to find the Others, then I have to believe that Cooper was an actual skin and bones human. Cooper's memory of being in an ambulance with a smiling EMT who places a needle in his arm speaks more to a kidnapping than a last breath, but Cooper is still naïve to the Other's mega-long-acting tranquilizers.
Back at the beach we learn more about Naomi's arrival and background. She is a helicopter pilot, part of a search and recovery team. (Not search and rescue? Hmm.) She has been sent by Penny to look for Desmond in some specific coordinates that had never before revealed an island. There is a freighter about 80 miles away, and she is promising those that help her will be rescued. Now comes the crazy part. She says (and this is later confirmed by the other new arrival from the outside world, Cooper) that the entire plane was found near Bali in an ocean trench 4 miles deep, and that a robot with a camera revealed the passengers were all in there and very much dead. Desmond, Charlie and Hurley discuss bringing in help in the form of someone that they trust, and of course, that's not Jack. They call in Sayid, a smart choice since they need to get that satellite phone working. Kate appears, gets filled in on the goings-on, and immediately works to help them get rescued. No, I'm sorry, she actually becomes a tattletale! What? This doesn't seem like Kate at all. I can believe she might want to go warn Jack his fellow castaways are leery of him, but to spill the whole story right there, so quickly? Even if she does still trust Jack, and even if she gives Juliet points for "saving" Claire, I just can not fathom this complete blunder. Especially since nobody tells anybody anything in this group. Why start now, and so egregiously at that? As Kate relates this information about rescue and satellite phones, Jack and Juliet exchange A Look. Juliet cryptically says, "we should tell her." But the show can't reveal too much in one episode so we need to wait until another Wednesday to find out what's in store.
In the Other's camp, Ben is getting along very nicely. He is now able to walk, and he is also oddly forthcoming with information about some planned abductions. At first some of the Others are looking at Locke like a bloody rock god because of his amazing transformation upon his arrival on the island, and because somehow his presence is what is speeding Ben's recovery. However, when he cannot kill Cooper in front of everyone, they are disappointed in him. Richard turns Locke in the direction of Sawyer to help him with this task. Is Richard the good cop to Ben's bad cop? Or is he going behind Ben's back to stir things up? And after Richard mentions it, why does Locke not ask what the more important work is on the island?
It was a great episode and I enjoyed it a lot. The scenes in the brig between Cooper and Sawyer were powerful and emotional. The scene towards the end with Kate and Jack was mind-boggling. And the evidence Sawyer is bringing back to camp brings great anticipation. The latter half of this season seems to be dedicated to not only answering many old questions, and resolving old conflicts (like this episodes two-fer solution for Locke and Sawyers quests for revenge) but to also move the viewers and fans towards even more excitement for the upcoming season ending episode and on to the far-off season 4 premiere next January.
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 14 August 2007 )
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