Lost: Season 2, Episode 21 "?" Review
"If you will not continue to push the button, John, I will."
-Mr. Eko
"?" picks up with Mr. Eko (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje) having a dream where both Ana Lucia (Michelle Rodriguez) and his brother, Yemi (Adetokumboh M'Cormack), tell him he must make Locke (Terry O'Quinn) take him to the question mark. Eko journies to the hatch, where he, Locke, Jack (Matthew Fox), Kate (Evangeline Lilly), and Sawyer (Josh Holloway) discover Ana Lucia dead and both Michael (Harold Perrineau) and Libby (Cynthia Watros) with gunshot wounds.
Mr. Eko and Locke try to find Henry's (Michael Emerson) trail, but Eko quickly reveals he actually wants Locke to take him to the question mark and when Locke refuses, Eko knocks him out. Later, Locke shows Eko the drawing he made of the blast door map. They follow it and it takes them to the plane that Yemi was on. They eventually figure out the plane is on top of another Dharma station, the Pearl. They enter it and learn the Pearl was used to watch those living in the hatch and they were to document everything that happened inside. Locke now believes the button is just a big joke, but Eko becomes committed to pushing the button.
In the hatch, Jack realizes that Libby is not going to make it, so he has Sawyer and Kate go and get the heroin from Sawyer's stash, which forces him to reveal the location of the guns. Hurley (Jorge Garcia) approaches them and asks if they've seen Libby. They take him to the hatch where Hurley says goodbye. Libby tries to warn the group of Michael's betrayal, but dies before she can.
In flashbacks, we see Eko pretending to be a priest in Australia. He is planning on fleeing to the United States, but before he can, he is assigned to investigate a supposed miracle. A teenager named Charlotte (Brooke Mikey Anderson) drowned in a river and somehow came back to life during the autopsy. Her father, Richard Malkin (Nick Jameson), the psychic who manipulated Claire (Emilie de Ravin) into getting on Oceanic 815, tells Eko there was no miracle and she simply had hypothermia. Eko leaves, but at the airport, Charlotte approaches him with a message from Yemi.
What Works:
Having the main plot focus on Mr. Eko and Locke was a stroke of genius. These two are the most philosophical characters on the show and having them at odds with each other is very interesting. They interact well together and their scenes are my favorite part of the episode.
Terry O'Quinn gives a fantastic performance, as per usual, but I love this character the most when he is at his lows. Angry and bitter Locke is fascinating especially as he gets his hopes up when they find the Pearl, only to be let down again. His meltdown is probably my favorite scene of the episode and it's a great development for his character.
I also loved how hardcore and cold Jack was in this episode. He makes Sawyer choose between letting Libby suffer and giving up the guns. Does it make him more likable? No, but it adds some moral ambiguity to his character, which I always appreciate.
I have some problems with the flashbacks, but the tape the coroner plays for Eko is effectively terrifying.
Finally, everything involving Libby is just heart-breaking. Her last words, desperately trying to warn the others, Hurley and Kate sobbing, the haunted look on Michael's face. All of it is brutal and it's one of the saddest episodes in all of Lost.
What Sucks:
I will say that the flashbacks aren't great in this episode. In the grand scheme of the show, this never goes anywhere and Eko's investigation isn't very interesting. I would be much more interested in how Eko came to be a priest in Australlia. That sounds like a much more engaging story.
Platinum Polar Bear:
The Platinum Polar Bear goes to the most useful character of the episode. For "?," this award goes to Mr. Eko for getting Locke to cooperate, finding the Pearl, and somehow figuring out that the button is real even though most people would believe otherwise. This is Eko's 5th time winning the award, which ties him for 3rd place with Hurley.
Verdict:
"?" is a fantastic follow-up to the shocking events of "Two for the Road." Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje and Terry O'Quinn are both great, the Pearl adds an interesting wrinkle to the show, and the hatch storyline is brutally sad. I don't love the flashbacks, but this episode has definitely got it going on.
9/10: Great
Mr. Eko and Locke try to find Henry's (Michael Emerson) trail, but Eko quickly reveals he actually wants Locke to take him to the question mark and when Locke refuses, Eko knocks him out. Later, Locke shows Eko the drawing he made of the blast door map. They follow it and it takes them to the plane that Yemi was on. They eventually figure out the plane is on top of another Dharma station, the Pearl. They enter it and learn the Pearl was used to watch those living in the hatch and they were to document everything that happened inside. Locke now believes the button is just a big joke, but Eko becomes committed to pushing the button.
In the hatch, Jack realizes that Libby is not going to make it, so he has Sawyer and Kate go and get the heroin from Sawyer's stash, which forces him to reveal the location of the guns. Hurley (Jorge Garcia) approaches them and asks if they've seen Libby. They take him to the hatch where Hurley says goodbye. Libby tries to warn the group of Michael's betrayal, but dies before she can.
In flashbacks, we see Eko pretending to be a priest in Australia. He is planning on fleeing to the United States, but before he can, he is assigned to investigate a supposed miracle. A teenager named Charlotte (Brooke Mikey Anderson) drowned in a river and somehow came back to life during the autopsy. Her father, Richard Malkin (Nick Jameson), the psychic who manipulated Claire (Emilie de Ravin) into getting on Oceanic 815, tells Eko there was no miracle and she simply had hypothermia. Eko leaves, but at the airport, Charlotte approaches him with a message from Yemi.
What Works:
Having the main plot focus on Mr. Eko and Locke was a stroke of genius. These two are the most philosophical characters on the show and having them at odds with each other is very interesting. They interact well together and their scenes are my favorite part of the episode.
Terry O'Quinn gives a fantastic performance, as per usual, but I love this character the most when he is at his lows. Angry and bitter Locke is fascinating especially as he gets his hopes up when they find the Pearl, only to be let down again. His meltdown is probably my favorite scene of the episode and it's a great development for his character.
I also loved how hardcore and cold Jack was in this episode. He makes Sawyer choose between letting Libby suffer and giving up the guns. Does it make him more likable? No, but it adds some moral ambiguity to his character, which I always appreciate.
I have some problems with the flashbacks, but the tape the coroner plays for Eko is effectively terrifying.
Finally, everything involving Libby is just heart-breaking. Her last words, desperately trying to warn the others, Hurley and Kate sobbing, the haunted look on Michael's face. All of it is brutal and it's one of the saddest episodes in all of Lost.
What Sucks:
I will say that the flashbacks aren't great in this episode. In the grand scheme of the show, this never goes anywhere and Eko's investigation isn't very interesting. I would be much more interested in how Eko came to be a priest in Australlia. That sounds like a much more engaging story.
Platinum Polar Bear:
The Platinum Polar Bear goes to the most useful character of the episode. For "?," this award goes to Mr. Eko for getting Locke to cooperate, finding the Pearl, and somehow figuring out that the button is real even though most people would believe otherwise. This is Eko's 5th time winning the award, which ties him for 3rd place with Hurley.
Verdict:
"?" is a fantastic follow-up to the shocking events of "Two for the Road." Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje and Terry O'Quinn are both great, the Pearl adds an interesting wrinkle to the show, and the hatch storyline is brutally sad. I don't love the flashbacks, but this episode has definitely got it going on.
9/10: Great
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