Lost: Season 6, Episode 14 "The Candidate" Review

 "What if he's trying to get us to kill each other?"

-Jack Shephard

"The Candidate" starts off in the flash-sideways, with Jack (Matthew Fox) greeting Locke (Terry O'Quinn) after waking up from surgery.  After addressing that they have met before, Jack tells Locke he thinks he can perform another surgery on him to possibly help Locke to walk again, but Locke declines as Helen (Katey Sagal) arrives and thanks Jack.

Jack is unable to let this go, so he goes to see a dentist who did surgery on Locke after his accident, who turns out to be Bernard (Sam Anderson).  They discuss having both been on Oceanic 816 before Bernard directs Jack to another man who was in the same accident, Anthony Cooper (Kevin Tighe), who lives in a nursing home.  Jack runs into Helen there, who reveals Anthony Cooper is Locke's father and that he is in vegetative state.

At the hospital, Claire (Emilie de Ravin) meets with Jack and they discuss their father and discover they were both on Oceanic 815.  Jack then invites Claire to stay with him because they are family.  Later, Jack tells Locke that he went to visit Anthony Cooper to try and figure out why Locke won't do the surgery.  Locke reveals that he had just gotten his pilot's license and asked his father to be his first passenger, but they got in a crash.  Jack realizes Locke is punishing himself and encourages him to let go, but Locke leaves the hospital.

On the Island, Jack wakes up on Hydra Island with Sayid (Naveen Andrews) and the Man in Black (Terry O'Quinn).  They agree to work together to rescue Sawyer (Josh Holloway), Kate (Evangeline Lilly), Hurley (Jorge Garcia), Claire, Sun (Yunjin Kim), Jin (Daniel Dae Kim), and Frank (Jeff Fahey) from the bear cages.  Sayid takes out the generator, while the Man in Black attacks Widmore's (Alan Dale) men.  Jack frees everyone from the cages and they make their way towards the Ajira plane.

The Man in Black gets there first and kills the guards.  He discovers a bomb on board and tells the others when they arrive.  Since the plane might not be safe, the Man in Black suggests taking the submarine.  Sawyer agrees to that plan, but tells Jack to make sure to keep the Man in Black from getting on board, since Jack is unwilling to leave the Island.  As the group boards the sub, Widmore's men attack and Kate gets shot.  Jack knocks the Man in Black into the water before helping Kate aboard.  Sawyer leaves the Man in Black and Claire behind as Frank forces the submarine captain to dive.

As he patches up Kate, Jack finds a bomb in his backpack and realizes the Man in Black tricked them.  Sawyer prepares to disarm the bomb, but Jack realizes that the bomb won't go off because the Man in Black can't kill them directly.  He's trying to trick them into killing themselves.  Sawyer doesn't buy it, but only succeeds in making the timer count down faster.  Sayid tells them the location of Desmond (Henry Ian Cusick) before grabbing the bomb and running to the other end of the sub.  It detonates and kills Sayid.  The ensuing damage knocks out both Frank and Sawyer and traps Sun behind some metal.  Hurley helps Kate to the surface.  Jack tries to stay behind to help Jin save Sun, but Jin forces him to save Sawyer.  Jin refuses to leave Sun and the two drown.  Hurley, Kate, Jack, and Sawyer all make it back to the Island.

On Hydra Island, the Man in Black realizes that some of the candidate survived and takes off to finish what he started.

What Works:

This episode almost feels more like an action movie than a TV episode.  It's nonstop with the action and bloodshed.  This is what we've been waiting for since "Sundown."  We finally get to learn what the Man in Black is up to and the bodies pile up at record pace.  This episode is nothing short of thrilling.

I love watching the Man in Black work everyone here.  He plays them all like a fiddle and it's fun to watch Terry O'Quinn play this evil character.  I haven't mentioned his performance enough since O'Quinn became the Man in Black, so I thought this would be a good time to bring it up.

We lose 3 of the main cast in this episode and it's 3 popular and original characters.  It's absolutely brutal.  I think we all expected Sayid to go.  He needed some redemption and I think the only way he could get it was in death.  But Sun and Jin?!  They have a daughter they needed to get home too and the show kills them off!?  Awful.  Great television, but's it's devastating to watch.  I know some people criticize the show for not getting Jin off the sub, but I think it makes sense for the character.

This episode packs an emotional punch and it isn't just with watching these characters die.  Once Kate, Hurley, and Jack get to shore and the weight of what happened hits them, they all break down crying.  We just saw Sun and Jin drown and now we have to watch these characters cry.  God damn, I'm tearing up just thinking about it.  It's brutal.

Finally, the flash-sideways takes a bit of a backseat in this episode, but I love the conversation between Jack and Locke at the end.  It's refreshing to hear Jack tell Locke to let go.  It's very poignant and another well done emotional moment.  Terry O'Quinn kills it as he recounts the story of the plane crash.  It's heartbreaking that he actually had a positive relationship with his father in the flash-sideways and that it was taken from him.  Lost, please stop hitting me with these emotional gut-punches.  I'm already crying.

What Sucks:

I got nothing for you.

Platinum Polar Bear:

The Platinum Polar Bear goes to the most competent character of the episode.  For "The Candidate," of course this is going to the Man in Black.  He takes out Sayid, Sun, and Jin in one fell swoop.  It couldn't be anyone else.  This is the Man in Black's 10th time winning this award, which ties him for 3rd place with Locke and Sawyer.

Verdict:

Apart from the finale, this is my favorite episode of season 6.  The action is non-stop, but this episode also does a number on your emotions in both timelines.  It's a devastating episode and really well done.  Terry O'Quinn, Matthew Fox, Jorge Garcia, Evangeline Lilly, Daniel Dae Kim, and Yunjin Kim all do an absolutely fantastic job.

 10/10: Amazing