Lost: Season 3, Episode 5 Review: The Cost of Living

The Cost of Living
Original Airdate: November 1, 2006
Writers: Monica Owusu-Breen & Alison Schapker
Director: Jack Bender

If there was one moment in the mini-season that got fans riled up, it was the sudden death of Mr. Eko at the hands (or smoky tentacle) of the Monster. Eko was the break out character from the tailies. His first flashback, “The 23^rd Psalm”, was a high point of the season and “?” was great as well. It seemed like he would be a character we’d see developed further until the end of the series, or beyond the early part of this season. While Lost has dispatched several survivors, none have had the following or acclaim Eko did, and such an act may be seen as a move of desperation on the writers’ part.

This brings up the real life arrest for Agbaje, which had some people theorizing he was fired similarly to when Ana-Lucia and Libby were killed off last season (note: no confirmation was made as to whether their DWI’s influenced their deaths on the show). There is a major problem with this rationalizing in that these episodes were completed a long time before his arrest. There were also rumors that he wanted to be with his dying parents. No one can blame him for this if that is the case.

Perhaps Eko was supposed to die from the hatch ex/implosion, and Locke’s mission in “Further Instructions” was simply to bring his body back for burial. This could’ve made the scene where Eko assured Locke that he could still save the captured trio the way the writers may have wanted that scene to play out. Instead, The Monster kills him. This made many ask “why did they bother having him survive if he was going to die a few weeks later?” Well, if they knew he was going to die all along, while simultaneously wanting to bring back the threat of The Monster, it would make sense to merge them and rewrite the events of “Further Instructions” to fit this new mold. However, the end result feels a little sloppy.

In addition to The Monster’s comeback, a few insights are given in to its operations. If it can be assumed that Yemi was a manifestation of The Monster, any other manifestation we’ve seen, like Hurley’s “friend” Dave, Christian etc. could be The Monster as well. Since Yemi’s body went missing like Jack’s father, could The Monster have done something to the bodies to assume their shape and characteristics? This wouldn’t explain an imaginary character like Dave, but it may be something. All of these manifestations have brought characters on important journeys where they come to grips with their pasts. Only Eko, who took the bait and choose not to learn from his past, paid for it.

Another point is that Locke describes The Monster as a bright white light, whereas we’ve always seen it as this black cloud. What you see in The Monster is in many ways a projection of how the person is inside. The Monster can scan a person and show images from a person’s life like Eko. Perhaps The Monster is black to someone who isn’t a “good person”. Maybe Eko was always a bad person, but his pious actions threw off The Monster until this point, when it became weak.

Regardless, Eko’s death at the hands of the monster is brutal and unforgiving. It’s the first time we actually see it kill someone (and its first casualty since The Pilot). Assuming Rousseau was correct in calling it a security system, The Monster must’ve determined Eko’s indifference for redemption as a threat to the island, and its brutality represents how important protecting the island is to it.

If Eko’s final words can be trusted, then everyone on the island is a threat to the island. It could also be a warning that the way these characters are going will lead to doom. The Monster initially passed over Locke and Eko on their first encounters, but attacked on the second.

The shot of Eko’s unopened eye in the beginning of the episode offers a different interpretation of the frequently used opening eye shot. Eko not opening his eye is symbolic of his refusal to confess for the murders of the warlords, along with his other crimes. As we last saw in “Two for the Road”, those who forsake redemption are dooming themselves.

While Eko’s potential never was realized fully, he did get a solid foundation, unlike Libby, killed off before she could receive a proper flashback episode. Most of the characters killed off so far were minor compared to the leads, whose reactions to said demises were more important. Boone’s death was crucial to Locke’s crisis in faith and whether his mission was justified. Eko is probably the highest profile character fitting this description. He arrived to challenge Locke’s role as the man of faith. With Locke’s faith restored, he doesn’t necessarily need to be there anymore.

The merging of motives to go to the Pearl Station feels murky at best. It would make sense for them to go there to find Eko because Yemi’s body is there. However, wouldn’t Locke be concerned with finding Eko first, then deciding to see if he can communicate with The Others while they’re there? It seems like odd prioritizing.

Locke takes a refreshing approach when it comes to going on the “A-missions”. Instead of taking some of the insulated few, Locke gives an open invitation to all castaways who want to come. This action is meant to give newcomers Nikki and Paolo some airtime for a proper introduction.

These two were doomed in the eyes of fans from the second they came on, and this episode doesn’t help much. While Nikki points stuff out and looks pretty, Paolo comes off as a huge creep. Flushing the toilet to punctuate the scene is a sure sign of that. While these two are subject of a lot of scorn, these scenes are smaller than some critics depict it as.

The introduction of “Patchy” as he has been dubbed is another interesting development. He is in a Dharma jumpsuit similar to Desmond’s and Kelvin’s. The equipment there also resembles The Swan’s devices near the important computer. Of course, his noteworthy eye patch leaves him subject of much speculation, given the dangerous nature of the island. If he’ll be expecting them, will he be an ally or a hostile?

Ben, outside of being beaten by Sayid, shows some weakness when Jack confronts him about his spinal tumor. The awkward smile Ben had when attempting to shrug off Jack’s accusation was very telling (some great acting on Emerson’s behalf). While nearly everything The Others do can be construed as manipulation for an unknown goal, it appears that showing Jack the x-rays at this point wasn’t Ben’s plan.

Colleen’s funeral offers some insight into The Others’ society. Unlike the castaways, who bury their dead, The Others give theirs a Viking funeral, setting fire to a small raft where the body lays. The use of music is peculiar, “I Wonder” by Brenda Lee played over the old Dharma speakers. It seems like bringing Jack to this event was in hopes of humanizing his captors, although by this time Jack saw the x-rays and Ben’s “shot to sunshine” plans would have to be retooled.

It doesn’t help Ben that there is a rift between The Others, with Juliet and Ben acting like Jack and Locke from last year. This leads to the video where Juliet asks Jack to kill Ben and make it look like an accident. Such a power play can hint towards a decline in Ben’s power as leader of The Others. Why she appears to want Ben dead is unclear, but there has to be some history where Juliet has been on the receiving end of some poor treatment by Ben.

Whether Juliet wants Jack to kill Ben, there is a more playful interaction between them. The flirting and joking about the cheeseburger (they do have everything don’t they?) is not indicative of the interaction between The Others and the castaways. Ben was aware of that when he barged in on them, with Juliet sitting unthreateningly on the table cross legged.

This episode is a little bit messy, cutting down a character when fans clearly wanted more of him, but it does reinforce the theme of redemption that all the castaways are looking for and the consequences when it is forsaken.

Overall Score: 7/10