Lost: Season 6, Episode 12 "Everybody Loves Hugo" Review

 "If I didn't know better, I'd say the Island has it in for all of us."

-Desmond Hume

"Everybody Loves Hugo" begins in the flash-sideways, where Hurley (Jorge Garcia) is a very successful businessman, but hasn't had much luck with dating.  His mom (Lillian Hurst) sets Hurley up on a blind date, but at the restaurant, he meets Libby (Cynthia Watros) instead.  Libby is convinced that they are soul mates, but Hurley discovers she is a patient at a mental hospital.

Hurley runs into Desmond (Henry Ian Cusick), who encourages Hurley to go after Libby anyway.  She claims to remember him from another life, but Hurley has no recollection of her, but asks her on a date anyway.  They go on a picnic at the beach and kiss, which causes Hurley to be flooded with memories of his time on the Island.

Later, Desmond goes to the school where Locke (Terry O'Quinn) is teaching and runs him over with his car.

On the Island, Hurley is visited by the spirit of Michael (Harold Perrineau), who tells him not to blow up the plane and if he does, a lot of people will die.  Ilana (Zuleikha Robinson) returns from getting dynamite from the Black Rock.  Her and Richard's (Nestor Carbonell) plan is to blow up the plane to stop the Man in Black (Terry O'Quinn) from leaving the Island.  Hurley tries to talk them out of it, but during the discussion, Ilana sets down the dynamite recklessly and blows up.

Richard leads the group to the Black Rock to get more dynamite, but Hurley sneaks ahead of the group and blows the ship up first.  Richard, Ben (Michael Emerson), and Miles (Ken Leung) plan to get explosives from Ben's old house at the Barracks and follow through with their mission.  Hurley convinces Jack (Matthew Fox), Sun (Yunjin Kim), and Lapidus (Jeff Fahey) to go and see the Man in Black and try to have a rational discussion.  On the way, Hurley is visited by Michael again, who reveals that the Whispers are spirits that can't move on.  He also asks Hurley to tell Libby he is sorry.

Meanwhile, Sayid (Naveen Andrews) returns to the Man in Black's camp and informs him that Desmond was brought to the Island by Widmore (Alan Dale).  The Man in Black takes Desmond out to a well and explains that people dug the well to find a pocket of electromagnetic energy and that Widmore is here for that power.  He then tosses Desmond down the well.  He returns to his camp and Hurley's group arrives to talk with him.

What Works:

My favorite part of this episode is definitely the flash-sideways.  The Hurley/Libby relationship was cut tragically short, so it's nice to get some more of it here.  The two have fantastic chemistry and I love all of their scenes together.  It's sweet that Hurley asks Libby out even after the talk with her in Santa Rosa.  And the revelation that Libby isn't actually crazy is wonderful.

I also really like the use of Desmond in the flash-sideways.  You can tell he's putting things into motion whether it be a simple discussion in a fast-food restaurant or running over Locke with a car.  He's a man who is taking action with a purpose.  We may not know exactly what he is up to, but it has exciting implications.

On the Island, I love Jack's development.  He actively chooses to let go of the situation and trust Hurley.  It's huge for Jack's character and I love the scene where Jack talks to Hurley about this.

Finally, this its the episode that really sets up that Hurley is going to rule the Island once this crisis has been averted.  He isn't so quick to just blow crap up (even though he does do that).  He wants to at least try diplomacy first.  It's why he ends up being the leader instead of Jack.  Jack is a man of action, but that isn't always what is needed.  Sometimes you need a guy who just wants to sit down and talk with the opposition.

What Sucks:

I don't love that Ilana gets unceremoniously blown up here.  She was set up to be a very important character and was even given main character status for season 6.  To kill her off before she gets to do anything important or before we learn much about her is disappointing.  I really wish we could have gotten more from her, especially after the truce she made with Ben back in "Dr. Linus."  It feels like a major missed opportunity.

Finally, I also don't love the reveal about the Whispers.  It's great having Michael back in this episode and he and Hurley have a nice moment at the end, but the Whispers part of it was unnecessary.  It's already been set up that Hurley can talk to the dead.  We don't need this extra layer.  The Whispers could have just been a mysterious facet of the Others that we never learn anymore about.  That's a much more satisfying resolution than what we ultimately get.

Platinum Polar Bear:

The Platinum Polar Bear goes to the most competent character of the episode.  For "Everybody Loves Hugo," I wanted to give it to Hurley, but I do think he makes some mistakes here.  He's partially at fault for Ilana blowing up.  So, I'm going to give it to Jack instead for learning to let go and trust Hurley.  That's not easy for Jack to do and I want to reward him for that.  This is Jack's 16th time winning this award, which extends his lead.

Verdict:

"Everybody Loves Hugo" is a solid episode that gets the most important stuff, the character moments, right.  We get some great scenes with Hurley, Libby, Desmond, Jack, and Michael.  I just wish the resolution for the Whispers and Ilana had been more satisfying.  This episode has still got it going on though.

 8/10: Really Good