Lost: Season 1 Episode 11 "All the Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues" Review

"And why am I getting the evening news from a 6-year old?"

-Sawyer

Episode 11 of Lost picks up immediately where the last one left off.  Jack (Matthew Fox) and Locke (Terry O'Quinn) realize that Charlie (Dominic Monaghan) and Claire (Emilie de Ravin) are in danger at the hands of Ethan (William Mapother) and run off into the jungle.  They quickly realize Ethan has kidnapped them.  Jack chases head-long after them, while Locke goes back to the caves to get prepared.  Kate (Evangeline Lilly) and Boone (Ian Somerhalder) join him and they manage to catch up with Jack.  They find one of the bands Charlie wears on his fingers and realize they are being left a trail, but they find a second set of footprints as well going off in another direction.  They split up with Jack and Kate going one way and Locke and Boone going the other. 

During a rainstorm, Jack slips down a hill and gets separated from Kate.  He is attacked by Ethan, who warns him to back off or he will kill one of the hostages.  Jack tries to fight back, but is easily beaten knocked out by Ethan.  Kate revives Jack, who continues after Ethan, even with Kate trying to get him to turn back.  They come across Charlie hanging by his neck from a tree.  They manage to cut him down and Jack starts performing CPR.  It's apparently a lost cause and Kate tries to get him to let Charlie go, but Jack refuses to give up and manages to revive Charlie, who later tells them that all Ethan wanted was Claire.

Locke and Boone bond, but eventually lose any sign of a trail.  As Boone decides to head back, they discover something large and metal buried in the ground.

Sawyer (Josh Holloway) learns that Sayid (Naveen Andrews) has returned and confronts him threatening to get revenge for the earlier torture.  Sayid answers Sawyer's questions about what he saw on his journey and Sawyer decides to leave Sayid alone.

In flashbacks, we see Jack operating on a patient who ends up dying.  It terms out, she was the patient of Jack's father, Christian (John Terry).  A nurse realized Christian was operating under the influence of alcohol and severed an artery.  The nurse brought Jack in, but he was unable to undo the damage.  Jack threatens to tell on his father which would cause him to lose his medical license.  Christian manages to convince Jack to stay silent until he learns that the woman who died was pregnant at the time.  Jack changes his report, which caused the falling out with his father and led Jack to being on Oceanic 815.

What Works:

This episode is one of my favorite episodes of Lost.  I remember when it first aired incredibly clearly.  I had been dying with anticipation from the previous week's episode and "All the Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues" throws us headlong into this terrifying chase.  The second scene of the episode has Jack and Locke sprinting through the jungle and Michael Giacchino's brilliant score gets the blood pumping.  It's a great way to kick off the episode.

The trek through the jungle is one of my favorites.  Locke really sets the tone by telling us Ethan knows more about the woods than he does.  The atmosphere and the mysteriousness surrounding Ethan make this episode very exciting and scary.

The fight between Ethan and Jack is fantastic.  It's crazy how fast Jack gets the crap beat out of him.  This the first time we've fully seen Ethan in action and he's terrifying.  To this day, he remains one of my favorite villains on the show and this fight is one of his best moments.  The rain and the setting add a lot and help make this episode so memorable.

The discovery of Charlie's body in the tree is the single most haunting image from the show's run.  Dominic Monaghan was the only actor I was familiar with when Lost premiered and I was stunned that he was apparently killed off.  It's a horrific scene that leaves a lot to the imagination, which makes it even worse.  It's an emotional sucker-punch and the most powerful CPR scene I have ever seen in any movie or show.  I truly believed Charlie was dead and that made his revival so much sweeter.

We do get a tiny smidge of comic-relief from Sawyer.  He has a very funny scene with Walt (Malcolm David Kelly) and he gets some of the best dialogue in the episode.  I also really enjoyed the scene where Sawyer confronts Sayid.

Finally, the flashbacks are also excellent.  The story is interesting and watching Jack wrestle with doing the right thing even if it means hurting his father is powerful.  It gives us some much needed answers to Jack's backstory.

What Sucks:

I got nothing for ya.

Platinum Polar Bear:

The Platinum Polar Bear, which goes to the most useful character in an episode, was tough.  There's an argument to be made for Kate, Locke, and even Charlie, but I have to give it to Jack.  Although he was a jerk the entire episode and constantly charging headfirst into danger, his actions paid off.  Without him, they wouldn't have been able to get to Charlie, let alone save his life.  Jack made quite a few stupid calls in this episode, but they worked out.  This gets him his third Platinum Polar, which puts him in first place overall.

Verdict:

For a long time, "All the Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues" was my favorite episode of "Lost" and, while that isn't the case anymore, it's still up there.  The chase is very exciting, with some amazing scenes and powerful emotions.  Every part of this episode works for me and it has definitely got it going on.

 10/10: Amazing