Lost: Season 2, Episode 18 "Dave" Review

"Great plan, Moonbeam.  After that we can sing "Kumbaya" and do trust falls."

-Sawyer

The 18th episode of season 2 kicks off with Hurley (Jorge Garcia) confessing to Libby (Cynthia Watros) that he has a hidden stash of food.  Libby encourages Hurley to destroy it all and he does, only to learn about the pallet drop of food.  Hurley begins to see a familiar face from his time in a mental hospital, his old friend, Dave (Evan Handler).  Hurley starts to spiral and gets into a fight with Sawyer (Josh Holloway) before deciding to go live in the caves alone.  On the way, he runs into Dave again, who tells him he is still in the mental hospital and the island is all in his head.

Dave takes Hurley to a cliff and tells him he has to jump off in order to wake up.  Dave proceeds to jump.  Libby arrives and convinces Hurley this isn't all in his head and talks him down.  They share a kiss and head back to the beach.

Sayid (Naveen Andrews) gets "Henry" (Michael Emerson) to admit to being an Other, but can't get any other answers out of him.  Sayid tries to shoot "Henry", but Ana Lucia (Michelle Rodriguez) stops him and kicks him out of the hatch.  Later, Locke (Terry O'Quinn) talks to "Henry," who claims he never pushed the button and the clock simply reset itself.

In flashbacks, Hurley is struggling inside of the mental hospital due to his eating disorder, which stems from his guilt about accidentally causing the deaths of two people.  Dave tries to convince Hurley he is fine and doesn't need to change or listen to his doctors.  Hurley later discovers Dave doesn't exist and is just in his head.  When Dave tries to convince Hurley to escape, Hurley decides to stay and try to change.

It's also revealed that Libby was in the same institution as Hurley.

What Works:

Jorge Garcia does a great job in this episode.  He is usually reserved for comic relief, and while we get a little of that here, we also see him get very emotional.  His scene where he talks to his doctor about the accident he caused is excellent and some of Garcia's best acting on the show.

Cynthia Watros is also very good.  This is by far Libby's best episode of the series and Watros really kills it.  She and Garcia have great chemistry and her performance on top of the cliff is awesome.  I like the reveal that she was in the mental hospital, even if that never goes anywhere.

Michael Emerson is as amazing as always.  He only gets two scenes in this episode and he is lying the entire time, but he is so convincing.  "Dave" is an episode that improves in hindsight and this performance is one of the main reasons why.

The other reason is Dave's appearance on the island.  He is used to address the idea that all of this is in Hurley's head.  It's fine, but we now know that Dave was actually the Man in Black trying to trick Hurley into killing himself.  That is much more interesting and makes this episode far more important in the grand scheme of things.

Finally, the fight between Hurley and Sawyer is freaking hysterical.  Hurley pulling Sawyer back underneath the tarp as he tries to escape is a wonderful image.  Jin (Daniel Dae Kim) watching and laughing just makes the whole thing even better.

What Sucks:

"Dave" is a bit of a disappointing follow-up to the end of "Lockdown."  I really wanted more time devoted to Henry and our heroes questioning him.  The focus on Hurley was a bit of a bummer and somewhat frustrating to be at this point in the season.

The biggest problem with "Dave" is Dave.  He's one of my least-favorite characters on the show.  He's annoying and obnoxious.  He's supposed to be a part of Hurley, but I don't get that vibe besides the fact that they both say "Dude" a lot.

Finally, the twist that Dave doesn't exist is pretty hackneyed.  I've seen this before a million times and it isn't executed especially well.  The clues that Dave doesn't exist are way too blatant and easy.  He doesn't touch anything.  He's always trying to get Hurley to eat.  It isn't subtle at all.  The character as a whole is just poorly written.

Platinum Polar Bear:

The Platinum Polar Bear goes to the most useful character in a given episode.  The winner for "Dave" is Libby, which is good because she's running out of time to win these.  She wins for being so supportive of Hurley and talking him out of jumping off the cliff.  This is her first time winning the award.

Verdict:

"Dave" isn't a great episode of Lost, but it has improved in hindsight.  Garcia, Watros, and Emerson are all great and the Sawyer/Hurley fight is wonderful.  Dave sucks, the twist falls flat, and there isn't enough progress on the Henry Gale story, but this is a fine episode.

 7/10: Good