Lost: Season 2, Episode 17 "Lockdown" Review

"What'd you do, steal their livers?"

-John Locke

The 17th episode of season of Lost picks up in a flashback.  As John Locke (Terry O'Quinn) prepares a picnic so he can propose to his girlfriend, Helen (Katey Sagal), they discover that Locke's father, Anthony Cooper (Kevin Tighe), has died and go to his funeral.  Later, Cooper reveals himself to Locke having faked his deaths after stealing $700,000 from some men.  He asks Locke to get the money for him offering $200,000 for the errand.  Locke does so, lying to Helen in the process.  He brings the money to Cooper, but Helen follows him.  She is furious at Locke for lying and for needing Cooper's love more than her's.  Locke tries to propose to her, but she rejects him and leaves, as Cooper leaves as well leaving Locke alone.

On the island, Locke and Henry Gale (Michael Emerson) become trapped inside the hatch when blast doors come down.  Locke is forced to let Henry out of the armory to try and get to the button before the timer hits zero.  Locke gets pinned underneath one of the blast doors, so Henry has to crawl through the air vents to get to the button.  As the time reaches zero, Locke hears what sounds like the button being pressed and a map appears on the blast door for a few seconds before the doors go back up.  Locke thanks Henry for not abandoning him.

Jack (Matthew Fox) ends up in a game of poker against Sawyer (Josh Holloway) and Jack beats him winning back all of the medication.  On the way back to the hatch, Jack and Kate (Evangeline Lilly) discover a pallet drop full of fresh Dharma supplies.  Sayid (Naveen Andrews), Ana Lucia (Michelle Rodriguez), and Charlie (Dominic Monaghan) join them and head to the hatch, where they confront Henry.  Sayid reveals they found the balloon and the grave, but Sayid dug up the grave and found the body of the real Henry Gale inside.

What Works:

The main plot of this episode is really solid.  Having Locke's precious hatch turn against him and forcing him to work with Henry is really great.  It's an interesting situation, even if I question why Locke didn't just climb through the vent himself before letting Henry out or going under the blast door.  We get a lot of great interactions between Locke and Henry this way, so I'm willing to overlook the plot hole.

This episode also adds some interesting mythos to the hatch and the Dharma Initiative.  Why are their blast doors?  Where did the pallet of food come from?  What's up with the map painted on the door?  All great questions that add a lot to the show.

I love seeing Jack beat Sawyer at poker.  Jack is basically beating Sawyer at his own game.  It's very satisfying to watch.

Finally, the reveal that Henry is not who he says he is is a top-tier cliffhanger.  Sayid was right this entire time and Henry is an Other.  It's chilling way to end the episode and Michael Emerson kills that final shot without saying a word.  It's another amazing Lost cliffhanger and one of my all time favorites.

What Sucks:

The flashbacks don't do a whole lot for me, I'm not gonna lie.  They're mostly fine, but the climax of both Helen and Cooper leaving Locke isn't as good as it could have been.  I think it could have been much more emotionally devastating than the end product ultimately is.

Platinum Polar Bear:

The Platinum Polar Bear goes to the most useful character in a given episode.  For "Lockdown", I though about giving it to Jack for destroying Sawyer at poker, but ultimately I'm giving it to Sayid for digging up the grave and proving Henry a liar.  Sayid has been emotionally unstable, but his rage ultimately saved the group, so good for him.  This is Sayid's 6th time winning this award, which ties him for 1st place with Jack and Locke.

Verdict:

"Lockdown" is another awesome episode of Lost and one of the standouts of season 2.  Both on-island stories are solid, the new mythos is really interesting, and the cliffhanger is excellent.  I wish the flashbacks had a stronger emotional punch, but this episode has still got it going on.

 9/10: Great