Lost Marathon: Season 5, Episode 4 Review: The Little Prince
The Little Prince
Original Airdate: February 4, 2009
Writer: Brian K. Vaughan and Melinda Hsu Taylor
Director: Stephen Williams
Certainly Kate’s been criticized a lot, as her character has been used more as a piece in the love triangle than as one that could function outside of that dynamic. This is mainly fault of the writers, but an effort has been made to give her something more substantial to do as Aaron’s guardian/mother off island. As the lie was meant to protect those left behind from Widmore’s clutches, it made that purpose all the more strong. Unfortunately not much is done with the “raised by another” prophesy or Aaron’s importance in the story here and that leaves something to be desired.
Of the Oceanic Six adults, Kate has had the best outcome coming back. Aside from the occasional “you’re not his real mother”, she got off a rap that would’ve assured her life in prison and is wealthy thanks to the Oceanic settlement. Why would she want to head back to the island, especially as one of the terms of her verdict is staying put? The answer of course ties to Aaron, making it no surprise that Ben is the one trying to take him away.
The primary issue of Kate raising Aaron is that it defies the warning the psychic gave Claire before she boarded 815, which happened to drop her off in the one place where she couldn’t give him up (at least not for a while). According to him, Aaron can’t be happy without Claire as his mother, and she’s MIA. Sadly, nothing is followed up upon with the results of another raising Aaron, which may be something they’re holding onto for the final season.
On top of the DNA drama, Ben is also likely behind the man in Sayid’s hospital room. Sometime between the flash forwards of “The Economist” and last season’s finale, Sayid turned on Ben and now Ben has to use something else to get him to go along, in this case the constant threat of violence and abduction to show he’ll never be safe off island. The note in the man’s pocket containing Kate’s address is another ploy, as part of Sayid’s mission killing people for Ben was to keep the Oceanic Six safe.
Back on the island the big problem is that the threat of displacement is growing. Charlotte survived her breakdown last episode, but was unconscious for a while. Although it’s wrong, Locke’s assumption about getting the Oceanic Six back makes sense: the jumps started right after they left, so from his perspective they would stop after they returned. He doesn’t even think it has anything to do with Ben turning the wheel, but his limited knowledge brings him to The Orchid because it is the only thing they have that can get someone off the island.
The jump from the last episode takes them to November 1 according to Lostpedia, the first time any of them have been in proximity to their past selves. In this case it is Locke avoiding himself pounding on the hatch door the night Desmond almost killed himself. While he claims he appreciates the pain he felt that night as what got him to that point, the writers returning to this moment reminds us that despite his journey, Locke still has a lot of insecurity.
Through the time jumps, the love triangle is still a major piece of the episode. Besides Jack and Kate on the mission to find out who is out to take Aaron, there is the moment where Sawyer witnesses Kate deliver Aaron. Using Aaron to tie them together is pretty clever. I’m not as interested in the Jater/Skater stuff as Desmond & Penny or Sun & Jin, but Josh Holloway really sold it here: Sawyer is in love with Kate, and that is motivating him to go with Locke’s plan to return those who left to the island.
Then the Island Six are transported somewhere in the future, as indicated by the deserted camp. The only clues are two outriggers and a water jug with a logo for Ajira Airlines, a product seen in an alternate reality game, stuck on. As the castaways use one of the outriggers to paddle to the Orchid, they suddenly find themselves under fire by an unknown group using the other outrigger. Juliet, in a shot that professional marksmen probably couldn’t make, hits one of them, but they can only knock a few holes in Sawyer’s paddle before being flashed away. Who they are is up for a lot of debate. It could be anyone, including some of them from the future.
The importance of The Orchid station grows as Miles and Juliet begin to show symptoms of displacement. Daniel theorizes that the duration of your “exposure” ie, time on the island determines when you’ll begin to be symptomatic of whatever Charlotte’s been suffering from. With Miles and Juliet now showing symptoms, it can be assumed that both Miles and Charlotte have been on the island for more than three years.
The Oceanic Six story may shed light on the Freighties’ purpose on the island. Miles, Daniel and Charlotte may be unaware participants of an Oceanic Six type return mission. These first episodes this season and last season’s finale have dropped plenty of hints that the Freighties’ are connected to the island. Maybe Widmore is returning these people in his attempt to return to the island and claim it as his.
At last, this episode confirms that Jin survived the freighter explosion and was within “the radius” during each jump so far. With all the spoilers around, it’s a wonder they were able to keep that under wraps. Sure we knew he’d be back, but there was no telling in what capacity, with dead people popping up in visions and as the smoke monster.
As mentioned in an earlier review, Jin needed to be alive. The route Sun is heading, prepared to murder out of revenge, can only be corrected by having Jin back in her life. It really only mattered that she thought he was dead to motivate this change of character. Also him being alive is the only thing that’ll make her want to go back to the island.
The cliffhanger is a non-surprise. Who else would this crew be with everyone speaking French, a young pregnant woman and crewmen named Robert and Montand? That said, this is a good use of the island jumps to fill in blanks of the island’s story. Although most of the broad strokes of Rousseau’s story are known, the key mystery with the sickness her crew succumbed to is up for exploration.
It was rumored that Rousseau was killed off because Mira Furlan didn’t want to live in Hawaii, but they can use another actress because of the 16 year gap and overcome that obstacle in telling her story. Aside from being much younger, her face is much fuller than Furlan’s. This is an obvious choice, as Rousseau from the first four seasons was worn from 16 years of solitude, and here she’s young and kind, clueless to the horror she’s about to experience.
This episode was an average piece of transition, getting the characters to where they need to be for the next phase of the story. It’s not terrible, but a lot more could’ve been done with the mystery of Aaron’s purpose than just that Kate’s under pressure to protect him (and did we even need that opening flashback?)
Of the Oceanic Six adults, Kate has had the best outcome coming back. Aside from the occasional “you’re not his real mother”, she got off a rap that would’ve assured her life in prison and is wealthy thanks to the Oceanic settlement. Why would she want to head back to the island, especially as one of the terms of her verdict is staying put? The answer of course ties to Aaron, making it no surprise that Ben is the one trying to take him away.
The primary issue of Kate raising Aaron is that it defies the warning the psychic gave Claire before she boarded 815, which happened to drop her off in the one place where she couldn’t give him up (at least not for a while). According to him, Aaron can’t be happy without Claire as his mother, and she’s MIA. Sadly, nothing is followed up upon with the results of another raising Aaron, which may be something they’re holding onto for the final season.
On top of the DNA drama, Ben is also likely behind the man in Sayid’s hospital room. Sometime between the flash forwards of “The Economist” and last season’s finale, Sayid turned on Ben and now Ben has to use something else to get him to go along, in this case the constant threat of violence and abduction to show he’ll never be safe off island. The note in the man’s pocket containing Kate’s address is another ploy, as part of Sayid’s mission killing people for Ben was to keep the Oceanic Six safe.
Back on the island the big problem is that the threat of displacement is growing. Charlotte survived her breakdown last episode, but was unconscious for a while. Although it’s wrong, Locke’s assumption about getting the Oceanic Six back makes sense: the jumps started right after they left, so from his perspective they would stop after they returned. He doesn’t even think it has anything to do with Ben turning the wheel, but his limited knowledge brings him to The Orchid because it is the only thing they have that can get someone off the island.
The jump from the last episode takes them to November 1 according to Lostpedia, the first time any of them have been in proximity to their past selves. In this case it is Locke avoiding himself pounding on the hatch door the night Desmond almost killed himself. While he claims he appreciates the pain he felt that night as what got him to that point, the writers returning to this moment reminds us that despite his journey, Locke still has a lot of insecurity.
Through the time jumps, the love triangle is still a major piece of the episode. Besides Jack and Kate on the mission to find out who is out to take Aaron, there is the moment where Sawyer witnesses Kate deliver Aaron. Using Aaron to tie them together is pretty clever. I’m not as interested in the Jater/Skater stuff as Desmond & Penny or Sun & Jin, but Josh Holloway really sold it here: Sawyer is in love with Kate, and that is motivating him to go with Locke’s plan to return those who left to the island.
Then the Island Six are transported somewhere in the future, as indicated by the deserted camp. The only clues are two outriggers and a water jug with a logo for Ajira Airlines, a product seen in an alternate reality game, stuck on. As the castaways use one of the outriggers to paddle to the Orchid, they suddenly find themselves under fire by an unknown group using the other outrigger. Juliet, in a shot that professional marksmen probably couldn’t make, hits one of them, but they can only knock a few holes in Sawyer’s paddle before being flashed away. Who they are is up for a lot of debate. It could be anyone, including some of them from the future.
The importance of The Orchid station grows as Miles and Juliet begin to show symptoms of displacement. Daniel theorizes that the duration of your “exposure” ie, time on the island determines when you’ll begin to be symptomatic of whatever Charlotte’s been suffering from. With Miles and Juliet now showing symptoms, it can be assumed that both Miles and Charlotte have been on the island for more than three years.
The Oceanic Six story may shed light on the Freighties’ purpose on the island. Miles, Daniel and Charlotte may be unaware participants of an Oceanic Six type return mission. These first episodes this season and last season’s finale have dropped plenty of hints that the Freighties’ are connected to the island. Maybe Widmore is returning these people in his attempt to return to the island and claim it as his.
At last, this episode confirms that Jin survived the freighter explosion and was within “the radius” during each jump so far. With all the spoilers around, it’s a wonder they were able to keep that under wraps. Sure we knew he’d be back, but there was no telling in what capacity, with dead people popping up in visions and as the smoke monster.
As mentioned in an earlier review, Jin needed to be alive. The route Sun is heading, prepared to murder out of revenge, can only be corrected by having Jin back in her life. It really only mattered that she thought he was dead to motivate this change of character. Also him being alive is the only thing that’ll make her want to go back to the island.
The cliffhanger is a non-surprise. Who else would this crew be with everyone speaking French, a young pregnant woman and crewmen named Robert and Montand? That said, this is a good use of the island jumps to fill in blanks of the island’s story. Although most of the broad strokes of Rousseau’s story are known, the key mystery with the sickness her crew succumbed to is up for exploration.
It was rumored that Rousseau was killed off because Mira Furlan didn’t want to live in Hawaii, but they can use another actress because of the 16 year gap and overcome that obstacle in telling her story. Aside from being much younger, her face is much fuller than Furlan’s. This is an obvious choice, as Rousseau from the first four seasons was worn from 16 years of solitude, and here she’s young and kind, clueless to the horror she’s about to experience.
This episode was an average piece of transition, getting the characters to where they need to be for the next phase of the story. It’s not terrible, but a lot more could’ve been done with the mystery of Aaron’s purpose than just that Kate’s under pressure to protect him (and did we even need that opening flashback?)
Overall Score: 7/10
posted by Matt @ 11:02 AM
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