Houston we have a problem, season 3 continues to stall before it can get started. For those of you unaware while this is the third episode but before broadcast it was planned as the second. This episode focuses on the camp and the aftermath of the explosion at the end of season 2. Before I go into the episode itself I don't believe that rearranging the episode does anything to help or hinder them as they are largely character based moody episodes that don't have much of an opening night feel to them it pains me to say it but despite the episodes being individually decent they do not flow together well which results in a tough sit.
The episode itself is a case study in John Locke in that he wakes up after an explosion and decides to go on a vision quest so the island can tell him what to do. Anyone else would have checked they were in one piece, checked everyone else was ok and then regrouped back at the camp. Needless to say via a memorable vision quest scene and an excellent cameo from Ian Somerhalder as the deceased Boone to go off and find Eko who is missing. The rest of the episode is Locke and Charlie mounting a rescue of Eko from a feral polar bear. The flashback is based around an episode of Lockes life when he's living in a hippy commune growing drugs and is duped by an undercover cop. Its good stuff as the more we find out about Locke the more we find that theres nothing to him as he goes through life being dictated too by other people and events feeling more and more sorry for himself with each of lifes defeats. Lockes strength as a character is his shallowness and the extreme lengths he goes to on the island to make himself look the opposite.
We also see Desmond and Hurley for the first time this season, Desmond appearing to be in shock and naked as he was at the epicentre of the explosion. We don't find out a lot about the explosion but we do find out it likes thirsty Scots. He hooks up with Hurley whose on his way back from the pier where The Others kidnapped Jack and co. The main thing of interest happens at this point as Desmond tells Hurley to relax as Locke has made a speech about making a rescue attempt - a speech he doesn't make until later in the episode! Something has happened to Desmond but we don't know what yet!
Watching this episode back there are a few surprising nods to Live and Let Die, ie the drugs and the hairspray moment. We don't find out anything about the explosion although there is the prospect of finding something out in the future with Desmond. This is a good episode enough to get a 6/10 from me but its frustrating as the season continues to open at a snails pace. Desmond steals the show despite having limited screen time and its nice to see Charlie doing something. Hurley though has gone through the ringer in the last few episodes he's had his girlfriend killed, been forced to go on an expedition, tasered, tied up, blindfolded, then told to bugger off by The Others and made to walk back across the island - poor sod! To sum up its a good episode but frustrating and it feels like the producers and the show have lost their way.
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