Lost: Season 3, Episode 19 "The Brig" Review

 "One minute I'm in a car wreck and the next minute I'm in a pirate ship in the middle of the jungle."
-Anthony Cooper



"The Brig" picks up with Locke (Terry O'Quinn) returning to camp in the middle of the night looking for Sawyer (Josh Holloway). Locke tells him he has kidnapped Ben (Michael Emerson) and wants Sawyer to kill him.  A suspicious Sawyer eventually agrees to go with, but refuses to kill Ben.  Locke says he will change his mind when he hears what Ben has to say.

They make it to the Black Rock, where Locke has his prisoner in the brig.  He locks Sawyer inside with the prisoner, who turns out to be Anthony Cooper (Kevin Tighe).  After talking for awhile, Sawyer eventually figures out that Cooper is the original Sawyer, who stole his parents money and indirectly caused their deaths.  Sawyer takes out the letter and forces Cooper to read it.  Halfway through, Cooper rips up the letter causing an enraged Sawyer to strangle Cooper to death.  As Locke prepares to bring Cooper's body back to the Others, he gives Sawyer a tape that proves Juliet (Elizabeth Mitchell) is a mole and still working with Ben.

Back at camp, Desmond (Henry Ian Cusick), Charlie (Dominic Monaghan), Hurley (Jorge Garcia), and Jin (Daniel Dae Kim) manage to sneak Naomi (Marsha Thomason) into a tent without anyone else seeing.  Since there are some trust issues with Jack (Matthew Fox), they decide to bring in Sayid (Naveen Andrews) on the secret.  Naomi says Oceanic 815 was found at the bottom of a trench with all the bodies onboard.  She is part of a rescue team hired by Penny Widmore (Sonya Walger) to find Desmond.  Sayid goes to work on getting her satellite phone working, but is discovered by Kate (Evangeline Lilly).  Kate confronts Jack and Juliet and tells them everything and warns them that nobody trusts Jack.  Juliet wants to tell Kate something, but Jack says "Not yet."

In flashbacks, Locke journeys with the Others, most of whom are very excited to have him there.  Ben says he will show Locke the secrets of the island once he kills his father.  Locke is unable to do that.  He is approached by Richard (Nestor Carbonell), who is looking for a change of leadership within the Others.  Since Locke won't kill Cooper, he suggests getting Sawyer to do it.


What Works:

The highlight of this episode is definitely the confrontation between Sawyer and Cooper.  We've been waiting for this confrontation since season 1 and the fact that this villain is also Locke's father just makes it even better.  Cooper is arguably the evilest character on the show and to finally see him get taken down is cathartic.  And Josh Holloway is simply incredible as he realizes who Cooper really is and finally takes his vengeance.

Locke also has some great moments in this episode as he manipulates Sawyer into coming with on the journey.  It's clear he's learned a couple of lessons from Ben throughout the show and it's a fun pairing having Locke and Sawyer together.

Speaking of Ben, any episode where we get Locke and Ben interacting is going to be a good one and the majority of the flashback scenes are between Locke and Ben.  This is probably my favorite pair on the entire show.  They seem to get along well in this episode, but it's Ben Linus...there is always a hidden agenda with him.

Finally, the b-plot of the story continues to be really engaging.  We have a chance to get off the island.  That alone is exciting, but we also have the mysterious development of Oceanic 815 having been found with everyone dead.  Plus we finally get Kate telling Jack that nobody trusts him.  It relieves some tension, but continues to build as we still don't really know what is going on with Jack.


What Sucks:

I've got nothing for you.


Platinum Polar Bear:

The Platinum Polar Bear goes to the most competent character of the episode.  For "The Brig," this award goes to Locke for manipulating Sawyer into coming with him and getting him to kill Cooper.  This is the 9th time Locke has won this award, which ties him for 1st place with Jack and Sayid.


Verdict:

"The Brig" is a fantastic episode with excellent development across all three storylines.  The conflict surrounding Jack continues to bubble, Locke and Ben are great in the flashbacks, and we finally get to see the downfall of Anthony Cooper.  What more could you ask for?

 10/10: Amazing 




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