Lost: Season 3, Episode 10 Review: Tricia Tanaka Is Dead

Tricia Tanaka Is Dead

Original Airdate: February 28, 2007

Writer: Edward Kitsis & Adam Horowitz

Director: Eric Laneuville

This is an episode Lost needed badly. Throughout this season, and the ill-managed three month break, the “haters” have been complaining endlessly about how “Lost” is, to use a non-clever word, “lost”. Too many unanswered questions, too much about the Others, not enough from the main cast, etc. It seemed to leave that behind when it came back with two solid episodes. However, “Stranger in a Strange Land”, generally considered a misfire made worse by misleading ads, ruined the newly earned good will. It gave the critics, largely quiet during the first two episodes, more than enough fuel to resume their declarations that “Lost” was past its prime and should be canceled. That is a pretty steep order for this episode.

Perhaps one of this episode’s strengths is that it takes a step back from the complicated mythology. While some have the unrealistic expectation that each episode will offer a mind blowing twist/advancement to the plot, they need to realize that “Lost” is a human drama surrounded in the mystery. This episode doesn’t have any major revelations, but it proves that a “Lost” episode doesn’t need that to be satisfying because it was invested in its human drama.

It certainly helps that this is a Hurley-centric episode. He’s been fan favorite since the beginning and it’s easy to see why. “Numbers” was one of the many highlights of the first season, with its darkly comic storyline and the introduction of the now iconic numbers. The following episodes, “Everybody Hates Hugo” and “Dave” were increasingly dark, focusing on his problems with overeating and his mental illness. His hard times have made him more endearing and complex than if they just kept him as light-hearted comic relief. They do a great job of reminding us of that in the heartfelt scene at the graveyard. In addition to losing Libby (we must remember than on the island it has barely been two weeks since she died), he and the rest of the Fuselagers are reeling from the abduction of Jack, Kate and Sawyer and Eko’s death.

Hurley has believed for a long time that he’s cursed, that using the numbers to win the lottery caused it. Many have wondered just what it is about those six numbers that can do that. But as his mental health problems took a major role in his character, the idea that Hurley is simply cherry picking bad incidents in his life, which just happen to be catastrophic, to support his idea that he’s cursed must be considered.

Like many characters, Hurley has some daddy issues. David left Hurley and his mom for some unknown reason, returning only after Hurley won the lottery. Regardless of the fact that he abandoned his family, David isn’t that bad a guy compared to the other dads. However, how threatening can a character played by Cheech Marin be? David’s big error was leaving Hurley without solidifying the idea that he can make his own luck. It’s worth noting that his dad’s name is the same as his imaginary friend “Dave”, who we met last season. There are some similarities between them, like when David gives young Hurley the candy bar when his mom forbids it. Perhaps Hurley created “Dave” as a way to deal with his father leaving.

Vincent (whom Walt left behind) has been suspected of being something more than just a dog. He seemed to lead Shannon on her journey last season, and in this episode he provides Hurley with the key. This could be reading too much into it, but the fact that Vincent has done things like that before is worth chewing over.

So we are introduced to the Dharma van and its driver, Roger “WorkMan”. A van in the jungle is enough to cause speculation, but considering the Dharma logo and the Dharma equipment (beer) in the van, it isn’t hard to believe that Dharma used vehicles to transport things throughout the island. Considering how decomposed Roger is, he likely died some time ago. Now his death could’ve been a number of different things, ranging from a van accident that no one was aware of to something “incident” related.

The scenes of the van crew were a blast to watch. Their real life friendship translates really well into the show. It also had much needed comic relief, like Roger’s falling head, Sawyer hitting his beer against Roger’s skull and Hurley’s poor nickname skills (“Red…neck…man”). This season has been lacking the levity of previous seasons and this bit made up for it.

“Flashes Before Your Eyes” explored the idea that no matter what any of the castaways do, fate will intervene to do what it finds fit in the end. In “Tricia”, we see that the individual has the ability to “look death in the face and say ‘whatever, man’”, as Hurley eloquently put it. Perhaps this motif of the series will culminate in some balance between fate and free will, where some things are beyond our control, but we are not completely at the mercy of forces more powerful than we are.

Like Hurley says, they needed some hope. This season has been the darkest so far, with many of our heroes in bad situations that keep getting worse. Those working on the van, besides Jin, could use some hope in particular. Following Desmond’s prophecy of Charlie’s impending death, it’s not surprising that Charlie would mope around the camp after that. Sawyer’s been stewing in the fact that his relationship with Kate isn’t what he wants.

The conclusion where Hurley gets the old Dharma van working is an utter delight. One would be hard pressed not to crack a smile or even cheer as the boys jump around the van yelling in triumph while “Shambala” blasts on the 8-track. The segue to a similar piece by Michael Giacchino was a nice touch to close the episode before the epilogue resumed the major island story.

Kate recruiting Rousseau on a rescue mission makes sense for her, but why she’s leaving Locke & Sayid out is a little puzzling. Yes, they don’t know what it was like stuck on the Hydra island, but Locke and Sayid both have personal stakes tied into The Others. Sayid has wanted some payback since early in season two, when some cast members didn’t think of The Others as a major threat.

There is a follow up to what Locke saw on Eko’s stick. Following on his idea to absolve himself for allowing the trio to be captured, he gathers that the scripture quote referred to him bringing the group back home. Kate & Sawyer returning eased that, but Jack there is still work to be done.

Sayid, considered to be the middle man between the science and faith debate, is obviously skeptical about how following the compass at a bearing of 305 will lead them to Jack. His brief comments in the epilogue hint at a larger unease between his partnering with Locke.

This episode seemed to be made for anyone unhappy with the previous episodes this season. It gives us a status update on each main character on the beach. There are no “Others” in sight. It focused on a fan favorite character and gave him a major victory, leaving many viewers with smiles on their face.

Overall Score: 9/10