Lost: Season 2, Episode 11 "The Hunting Party" Review

"Light 'em up!"

-Tom Friendly

The 11th episode of Lost's second season starts with Jack (Matthew Fox) being asked to perform surgery on Angelo Busoni (Ronald Guttman).  It's an impossible procedure, but Jack agrees to do it.  He throws himself into his work, while his marriage to Sarah (Julie Bowen) grows more distant.  Jack becomes close to Angelo's daughter, Gabriela (Monica Dean), and after Angelo dies on the operating table Jack comforts her and they kiss.  Jack returns home and confesses to Sarah.  In turn, she admits to cheating on him and was getting ready to leave him...and she does.

In the hatch, Jack finds Locke (Terry O'Quinn) unconscious in the armory.  Michael (Harold Perrineau) locks them both inside and tells Jack he is going after his son.  Kate (Evangeline Lilly) and Sawyer (Josh Holloway) free them and the guys form a hunting party to bring Michael back.  Kate wants to go with, but Jack angrily tells her to stay behind and push the button.  Kate doesn't listen and gets Hurley (Jorge Garcia) to cover the button and goes after them.

Jack, Locke, and Sawyer hear gunshots in the jungle, but eventually lose Michael's trail.  They are confronted by the bearded man who kidnapped Walt (Malcolm David Kelley), who we will one day know as Tom (M.C. Gainey).  He intimidates them by showing off that there is a large group of Others with him.  He tells them to drop their guns, go home, and never cross to their side of the island.  Jack refuses and Tom brings out Kate, who they captured, and threatens to shoot her.  Jack backs down.  They group hands over their guns and heads back to camp, where Jack approaches Ana Lucia (Michelle Rodriguez) about training an army.

Jin (Daniel Dae Kim) wanted to go on the mission to find Michael, but was stopped by Sun (Yunjin Kim) telling him not to go.  He later told her that he didn't like being told what to do.  Sun responds that she didn't like being told what to do for the last four years and Jin concedes her point. 

What Works:

This is another iconic episode of season 2 and probably the Others' peak level of scariness.  The lighting of the fires and the reveal of all of the Others surrounding our heroes is nothing short of fantastic.  The Others have been a huge threat so far in the show, but seeing just how dangerous they are and that there are a lot of them is great.

M.C. Gainey is a wonderful antagonist and this is hands down his best episode on the show.  He is so unfazed by Jack and Sawyer and was more than willing to shoot Kate.  What's crazy is that this is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of dangerous Others, but Tom will always be one of my favorites because of this episode.

Throwing Jack, Locke, and Sawyer on the quest together was an awesome choice.  Any pairing of these three is great, but now all three of them together!?  Pinch me, I must be dreaming.  The internal conflict among the hunting party is nearly as good as the conflict with the Others.

Finally, the flashbacks were really solid in this episode.  The scenes between Jack and his father (John Terry) were really interesting and Jack's breakdown as his wife leaves him is heartbreaking.  It's great that we finally understand what happened to his marriage. 

What Sucks:

I'm not a Kate fan.  It's nothing against Evangeline Lilly, but I can't stand Kate 90% of the time.  This episode falls into that 90%.  I get why she went after the hunting party, but that doesn't make it any less irritating.  She ruined everything and it's pretty frustrating.  Yes, Jack was a jerk to her, but ugh.  We're supposed to like Kate, but this doesn't make it easy.

Platinum Polar Bear:

The Platinum Polar Bear goes to the most useful character in an episode.  For "The Hunting Party", I'm giving the award to John Locke for his tracking ability, being the most level-headed person in the group, and trying to convince Jack and Sawyer to turn back when he realizes they can't stop Michael.  This is Locke's 5th time winning the award, which ties him with Jack and Sayid for first place.

Verdict:

Aside from Kate, "The Hunting Party" is an awesome episode of Lost.  The Others are so creepy, Tom, Locke, Jack, and Sawyer are all great, and the flashbacks are solid.  This episode has definitely got it going on.

 9/10: Great