Marry Me!: Lost Recapped

I'm going to get this out of the way: this episode should have been better. It's not that it wasn't good, but it wasn't really what I've come to expect from a "Jack episode." If watching LOST has taught me anything, it's that when Jack episodes are good, they are the best of the series. But when Jack episodes are bad, they are just terrible (I'm still licking my wounds from the tattoo episode with Bai Ling.)

Tonight's episode fell somewhere in the middle.

Sure there were great Matthew Fox moments. That almost goes without saying. He spent most of the night popping pills and chasing them with beer. Plus he was so full of hubris and ego, he demanded to be awake during his island-filler appendectomy. And then of course there was the tortured emoting and messianic soliloquies that he spouted at Kate, like when he told her he "saved her."

But there was something missing.

Maybe it was the pacing. I'm all for LOST speeding through plot points and developments, but this particular episode felt really rushed. If I had to hazard a guess, I'd say that most of the two hours that Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse had to excise because of the WGA Strike occurred in this episode. Think about how fast and confusingly things happened.

Take Jack and Kate: for those keeping score at home, Jack went from being a "surprise witness" at Kate's trial, to living with Kate and Aaron, to proposing to Kate, to completely blowing up their relationship, in what seemed like a little over a week. I realize the show can't spend multiple episodes dealing with the Jack-Kate, post-Oceanic Six relationship, but still, things could have moved a little slower for my taste.

Also rushed was Jack's prescription pill addiction, which had some nice foreshadowing laid down during the last episode. Maybe I'm being naive, but I don't think one little hallucination of Christian Shepherd would lead to Jack being a full fledged mess a week later. It's not even like Christian talked to Jack about what a mistake he made, a la Dead Charlie (!?!?!?!?) talking to Hurley. He just showed up, said Jack's name and then disappeared into the ether. And then in the very next scene, Jack's five bottles deep in booze and pills? It was just too much. Jack descended into booze faster than Kirsten Cohen did after Caleb died (cue "Fix You.")

And speaking of Hurley, I was long in the mindset that Jorge Garcia could only play big, stupid and lovable, but apparently that mindset was dead wrong. If the fourth season of LOST has proved anything, it's that Garcia has a whole other level of talent that has only seen it's surface scratched. Sure, he was ill-equipped to make the big "live together, die alone"-esque speech in the season premiere. But as total creep ball, Garcia knocks it out of the park. Was there a better moment in tonight's episode than Hurley's, half-lobotomized, half-crying, all-BAT S#@T insane heart-to-heart with Jack in his dingy mental hospital room? It was like an outtake from The Ring mixed with b-roll from One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. I loved every second of that scene and when it was over, wanted to see more. One of my most treasured LOST reveals will be when we see how Hurley gets from point A to point B. And for the first time, I really think Jorge Garcia will be able to pull it off.

But back to the matter at hand. The other big element missing from this episode was an antagonist for Jack. Matthew Fox's best moments in the series have been when he's been able to bounce off Locke, Ben or his own demons. And since this episode was more focused on the start of Jack's demons, and since Locke and Ben were off for the week, presumably playing Monopoly with the Smoke Monster, there wasn't really any driving force for Jack to fight with. Even in his big scene with Kate, I didn't get my usual jollys as Jack so gleefully destroyed the one thing he really loved (besides himself.) And that's too bad. Because since the show has gotten so big with regards to the cast, there are fewer and fewer opportunities for Matthew Fox to do his monkey dance. It would have been nice to see some of that classic Jack stuff tonight.

If this episode did one thing, it answered some questions that have been on the minds of everyone who watches LOST. To wit:

1.) In the Oceanic Six future, Sawyer isn't dead! As Jack said, he chose to stay behind.

2.) Charlotte speaks Korean! And Jin promised her to take Sun off the Island! To me, this means that Jin doesn't die. Him and Sawyer probably have winners in the Locke-Ben Monopoly game.

3.) The Smoke Monster isn't as bad ass as we thought! Seriously, shouldn't the team of mercenaries have had more causalities?

4.) Since we saw her body, Rousseau is definitely dead!

5.) Or is she?!

6.) I mean, if Christian Shepherd is walking around, talking to Claire and walking with her into the jungle, maybe he's not as dead as we think.

While I'm on the subject of Claire, this seemed like a pretty big episode for her. First, we have finally separated her from Aaron. Let's assume that Sawyer and Miles take Aaron back to the beach, and Aaron goes with Kate (after she hardcore makes out with Sawyer to say goodbye.) Claire isn't dead, she's just running around the jungle with her dad.

And second, though certainly more shaky then that previous assumption, didn't it seem like Jack knew he was related to Aaron? That whole "you're not even related to him!" slam at a crying Kate seemed like a loaded dig. Maybe he was just lashing out at her, or maybe he'll figure out before he leaves the Island that Claire is his half-sister.

Next week, Locke takes center stage, apparently with some of the people that Ben killed in the purge. Normal. After that, it's the two-part, three-hour LOST finale. Hold onto your butts.....