Lost: Season 2, Episode 16 "The Whole Truth" Review

"Jack and Locke are a little too busy worrying about Locke and Jack."

-Ana Lucia Cortez

"The Whole Truth" kicks off with a flashback.  Sun (Yunjin Kim) and Jin (Daniel Dae Kim) are struggling to conceive a child, which puts even more pressure on their already strained marriage.  The see a fertility doctor who tells them Sun is unable to conceive, which causes Jin to storm out in anger.  The doctor later tells Sun that Jin is actually the one who is infertile and was too scared to tell him.  Sun is also receiving English lessons from Jae Lee (Tony Lee), as she prepares to leave Jin for America, but it's apparent Jae has feelings for her.

On the island, Sun works in her garden, which angers Jin because that is where she was kidnapped.  Jin trashes the garden and Sun leaves.  Not feeling well, she gets Sawyer (Josh Holloway) to give her a pregnancy test, which comes back positive.  Later, Jin feels remorseful and repairs the garden.  Sun tells him about the test and that Jin is the infertile one.  Sun promises she hasn't slept with anyone else.  Jin accepts the pregnancy as a miracle and allows Sun to work in the garden alone.

Locke (Terry O'Quinn) asks Ana Lucia (Michelle Rodriguez) to talk to Henry Gale (Michael Emerson).  She convinces Henry to draw her a map to his hot air balloon, but doesn't tell Locke or Jack (Matthew Fox).  She recruits Sayid (Naveen Andrews) and Charlie (Dominic Monaghan) to go on a trek to find the balloon.  On the way, Ana Lucia apologizes for the incident with Shannon (Maggie Grace).  Sayid tells her it wasn't her fault, but the Others'.  They arrive where the map says the balloon should be and spread out to find it.

Jack allows Henry out of the armory to have some cereal.  Henry mentions drawing the map, which alarms Jack and Locke.  Henry then suggests if he was an Other, the map might lead to trap, but says it's a good thing he isn't an Other before asking for some milk.

What Works:

"The Whole Truth" is carried by its amazing B-plot.  It's one of the best of season 2.  Whoever decided to send the three least stable main characters of Ana Lucia, Sayid, and Charlie on this quest was a genius.  It's a fun group to watch, even if they don't seem to be having much fun.  Charlie has a couple of funny moments and we get some real development for both Ana Lucia and Sayid.

Ana Lucia is nobody's favorite character on Lost, but I think this is her best episode of the series, hands down.  She's extremely competent, somewhat likable, and talks some mad smack about Jack, Locke, and even Charlie.

Michael Emerson continues to be phenomenal as Henry Gale.  He kills it with every line delivery.  His talk with Ana Lucia is great and his monologue over cereal is one of the best scenes in the show and an incredible cliffhanger.  

Finally, there is a brief scene between Sun and Hurley (Jorge Garcia) where she hides her pregnancy test, while Hurley is caught with a candy bar.  Hurley and Sun don't have many scenes together, but they're fun when they happen and Hurley's attempt at a lie is really funny.

What Sucks:

Both the main plot and the flashback don't do much for me.  I don't like kids and pregnancy has always seemed gross to me, so having the majority of this episode focused on pregnancy and struggles to conceive has never connected with me.  I'm sure it does with most people, but I'm simply not the target audience for this episode and that's okay.  It's just not ever going to be my favorite episode.  

Finally, the climatic moment of Sun and Jin's story is Sun telling "the whole truth," except she doesn't.  We're going to find out in season three that Sun lied about sleeping with another man.  In  the grand scheme of the series, this reveal really does a disservice to the emotional climax of this episode and just continues the wheel-spinning that is Sun and Jin's storyline.

Platinum Polar Bear:

The Platinum Polar Bear goes to the most useful character in a given episode.  For "The Whole Truth," the award goes to Ana Lucia Cortez and it isn't close.  She got Henry to draw the map, she organized the quest to find the balloon, she kept Sayid in line, and had some emotional catharsis with Sayid.  This is peak Ana Lucia.  This is her second time winning the award, which ties her for 4th place with Sun and Rose.

Verdict:

The main story and the flashbacks of "The Whole Truth" don't really connect with me and their impact is lessened by later reveals.  However, the B-plot is incredibly strong thanks to Michael Emerson, Michelle Rodriguez, and a top-tier cliffhanger.  "The Whole Truth" has definitely got it going on.

 8/10: Really Good