Television Review: Through the Looking Glass, Part II (Lost, S3X23, 2007)
Through the Looking Glass, Part II (S03E23)
Airdate: 23 May 2007
Written by: Carlton Cuse & Damond Lindelof
Directed by: Jack Bender
Running Time: 43 minutes
At the very outset, Lost represented one of the most bold and innovative works of television at the time, a seismic shift in how narrative could be constructed on the small screen. However, by the time Season 3 rolled around, the audience might have begun to forget the brilliance of the pilot, bogged down by the increasingly convoluted mythology and the sprawling ensemble cast that sometimes threatened to overshadow the core mystery. Yet, the decision by the creators to actually end the series at a predetermined date proved to be a masterstroke. This constraint allowed them to be more focused on closing the increasingly complex plot threads, but it also allowed them to be bold again. One of the most significant results of this approach is the Season 3 finale, which not only steered the series in a completely new and unexpected direction but also succeeded in giving a frustrated audience exactly what they wanted in ways that were both unexpected and ironic, yet incredibly effective. This was achieved despite the second part of the finale being burdened by some of the traditional network television formula, such as annoying mini-cliffhangers that served only to stretch the tension rather than resolve it.
At this specific moment in the series, the audience at this time wanted the same thing as the protagonists – the departure from the Island. The efforts in that direction were a two-pronged. The first prong involved switching off the jamming signal at the Looking Glass station, while the second was switching off the repeating message from the radio tower, a task that had started in the first part of the episode and would ultimately succeed in this very episode.
The first part of the episode required the sacrifice of a major character, Charlie Pace. This was something that had been preordained and the fate, foretold by Desmond’s visions, Charlie had already accepted. The episode begins with Charlie looking as though he would fail, trapped in the Looking Glass station with Mikhail, Bonnie, and Greta. Mikhail is receiving an order from Ben to shoot him, together with Bonnie and Greta. Mikhail shoots Bonnie and Greta, but he fails to shoot Charlie, being hit by a harpoon fired by Desmond. Bonnie, before succumbing to her injuries, gives away the code that would allow Charlie to switch off the signal. Immediately after, Charlie receives a video message from Penny who, much to his surprise, tells him that she knows nothing about the freighter or Naomi having been parachuted. Charlie realises that the Losties have been deceived, but before he can tell Desmond, Mikhail detonates a hand grenade that would flood the hatch. Charlie manages only to write the warning on the palm of his hand before drowning, just as in Desmond's vision. It is a tragic triumph, the kind of narrative irony that the show excelled at, where the character believes he is failing but is actually succeeding in the grandest possible way.
Simultaneously with this tragic triumph, the second part of the Losties' plan is also achieved. Ben, flanked by Alex and fuelled with too much arrogance, confronts Jack thinking that he could simply talk him and his followers out of their intention to contact the outside world. In the end, he gets only viciously beaten by Jack for his efforts. As a defeated, broken man, Ben casually introduces Alex to Rousseau as her mother. The expedition arrives at the radio tower, the signal is switched off, and Naomi can now use her satellite phone to contact the outside world. Ben begs them not to do it, but few take him seriously. Then, out of nowhere, Locke, who has risen from the ditch and whose wounds have apparently healed, stops Naomi by killing her with a throwing knife. But he still can't kill Jack with a revolver, and Jack uses the phone, coming in contact with a name called Minkowski who promises that they will find their location and guarantee rescue.
This triumph is matched by another on the beach. Sawyer and Juliet arrive there and see a trio of Others, led by Tom, still holding Jin, Sayid and Bernard as prisoners, despite Tom saying that they should all be killed. Lacking weapons, Sawyer and Juliet contemplate what to do, but then, like cavalry in old Westerns, Hurley intervenes with the old van, running over one of the Others. Sayid, despite being tied up, uses the opportunity to kill another by snapping his neck. Tom surrenders but Sawyer kills him, because he had promised to do so after seeing Tom kidnap Walt. It is a chaotic, bloody, and satisfying resolution to the immediate conflict.
This triumph is in sharp contrast with the misery Jack experiences in the continuation of what in the first part of the episode looked like just another uninspired and unnecessary flashback. We see Jack not only as suicidal, but as even worse drunk than his father and hopelessly addicted to Oxycodone, unsuccessfully trying to abuse his position as star surgeon to obtain the drug. His unhappiness is further exacerbated with a newspaper obituary clip that leads him to Hoffs-Drawlar Funeral Parlor where he would be the only person to see the casket of a person only he cares about. Later he calls a person that he needs to meet late at night at the airport. That person is Kate, that looks very different and to whom he tells that leaving the Island was a mistake and that they need to go back.
The twist at the end of Season 3 was arguably one of the most effective twists in the history of 21st Century US network television. The series has literally changed direction – instead of looking into the past with flashbacks, it now begins to look at the future, with flash forwards, the technique even hinted by the anagramic name of the funeral parlor. While it clearly shows that the main plot issue has been resolved – that at least two of the survivors left the Island – the mystery still remains and has to be revealed in a different, more innovative and more demanding way. It was a narrative gamble that paid off, proving that the show could evolve even when it seemed to be running out of ideas.
Yet, the episode, at least for a moment, gives the audience and characters what they wanted. The Losties believe that they have finally reached contact with the outside world and they will be rescued. Ben and the Others are defeated, with their number thinned in what looks like Jacobean levels of bloodshed. Alex is reunited with her mother. Hurley, of all people, saves the day in heroic fashion. Sawyer gets another revenge, despite the killing not looking chivalrous. It is a moment of catharsis.
But, most importantly, Charlie Pace gets what he wanted – a heroic death that would give meaning and purpose to his life. His demise was hardly unexpected and, actually, demanded by actor Dominic Monaghan, who had wanted to focus on other projects, and, according to various rumours, had additional motive in the end of his romantic relationship with Evangeline Lily. This departure is an emotional and powerful moment, one of the strongest in the entire series. It humanised Charlie in a way his survival never could have. He died saving the people he loved, fulfilling Desmond's prophecy, and finding peace.
Some of the plot developments look too convenient, while also giving opportunities for Lost creators that might not have been handled in the best ways. Locke’s miraculous healing is a prime example of plot convenience that strains disbelief. Nevertheless, Through the Looking Glass, Part II is a very good episode, by that time the most memorable since the pilot. It manages to balance the epic, mythological scale of the show with intimate character moments, delivering a conclusion that, while imperfect, left the audience desperate for more.
RATING: 8/10 (+++)
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