515: 'Follow the Leader'
Wr: Paul Zbyszewski & Elizabeth Sarnoff
Dr: Stephen Williams
Synopsis: Jack and Kate find themselves at odds over the direction to take to save their fellow island survivors, Locke further solidifies his stance as leader of "The Others," and Sawyer and Juliet come under scrutiny from the DHARMA Initiative.
Review: 'Follow the Leader' has the unenviable task of cranking the narrative into third gear in preparation for the season finale, moving the pieces into place to ensure that next week's episode is one hell of a rip-roaring roller-coaster ride (thereby guaranteeing we'll all tune in), while simultaneously making sure that it is a satisfyingly engaging hour of television itself, full of plot movement and interesting character beats. That's no easy feat ladies and gentlemen; all too often, the 'bridge' episodes, as some in the industry call them, fall a little flat because they are too transparent. It can quickly become obvious to the viewer that the story is simply traversing necessary stepping stones and, when one considers how much more sumptuous the ultimate goal will be, it is easy to view these instalments as 'lesser', biding time before the real good stuff kicks in. The objective of set-up pieces, therefore, should be to disguise their function, to ensure that the audience's attention is never allowed to waver. Thankfully, Zbyszewski and Sarnoff manage to do just that, delivering a narrative trifecta that contains enough thoroughly meaty goodness to keep us satisfied.
On Island in the present, Terry O'Quinn continues to rise to the challenge as a 'changed' John Locke, ably demonstrating his new-found confidence in his role as Leader of the Others and also, a kind of Zen in his personality. His exchanges with both Nestor Carbonell and Michael Emerson are top class, asserting the character's independence while simultaneously avoiding seeming bullish or despotic. He seems to be a man of the people, throwing caution and tradition to the wind by having them all accompany him to visit Jacob. Of course, there is an alternative interpretation of this too: if the assertion he makes to Ben at hour's end is correct, could this be a play for power? Is killing Jacob really in the best interests of the Island, or simply the best interests of John Locke? While this interpretation does seem unlikely, his casual disregard for the wants of Sun does tie in with certain more selfish attributes that we have seen his character display in earlier episodes. But there again, one has to question whether the man who has risen above and beyond the duplicity and shadowplay of an individual like Benjamin Linus would really let him in on a secret that would undoubtedly cause a serious amount of dissent among the Others, and particularly their 'advisor' Richard Alpert. This could be a ruse of some kind, designed to somehow discredit Ben, much as the bespectacled one has done to Locke in the past. Of course, this is all conjecture and we'll undoubtedly find out the truth next week, but the fact that there is enough ambiguity to validate all of these possibilities speaks volumes about the quality of the writing.
In the Others' camp in 1977, Farraday thankfully remains dead as a doornail, further reinforcing the validity of the whole 'whatever happened, happened' approach to time travel that has already been established in the show's mythology. As much as I adore the character, I'm glad to see this decision taken as not only does it provide the perfect cyclical closure for both him and his story, it's also a very brave step for a programme to ruthlessly kill off one of the most popular members of its cast (and yeah, I will give Farraday that mantle: there's so much love for him on the online forums, it's untrue). It demonstrates a determination of vision, asserting that the writers will remain on course for their end-game, regardless of whether it may upset a few fragile souls along the way. And they clearly don't have a problem with knocking the main cast about either: just look at that delicious head injury that Jack sustains at the hands of Callous Other #43. That s**t is nasty; and while we're on the subject, Sawyer's face ain't too pretty by episode's end either... oh, and what about Juliet and her busted lip? Evil, evil Phil! Still, Jack, Sayid, Richard and Elousie all pals by the time the third act comes around and they're swimming into the tunnels under the temple to retrieve the hydrogen bomb. Now, while I'm suitably engaged by the whole 'we can change everything' plot strand, I have a hard time buying that this is how everything is going to play out. Lindelof and Cuse have placed far too much emphasis on the notion that the Losties in 1977 are unable to change the way the course of events play out in the future, only influence them so that they do play out in this way (Sayid shooting Ben, Farraday telling Chang the truth so that he'll evacuate the women and children off the Island, thereby ensuring Miles and Charlotte's respective histories are as they should be etc. etc.), for a complete about turn to be successfully orchestrated at this stage. Something is inevitably going to go wrong, although of what it is, I cannot be certain. Perhaps the actions of these four will have a bearing on the Incident at the Swan station. Perhaps the electromagnetic release will go some way to contributing to the return of the Losties to 2007. Whatever, if this thread does change the sequence of events that have already been established, it'll be a major, major let-down.
Our final plot element concentrates on the ever-decreasing fortunes of poor, poor Sawyer and Juliet who get smacked about a bit by the clearly deranged Radzinsky and eventually make a pact to leave the Island in exchange for the location of the hostiles. Well, this was a turn up for the books, wasn't it? They get on the sub? And actually seem to leave? Can't say I saw that one coming; I'm sufficiently intrigued as to how this will play out. Of course, there is the inevitable niggling suspicion that something is going to go wrong and that they won't be able to get away for whatever reason but still, congratulations to the writing staff for at least piquing my interest in this storyline in preparation for the finale. The only criticism I have here is of the convenient late arrival of Ms Austen, which feels more like a forced attempt to manufacture some conflict where it really isn't wanted. Convenience is the cause of the episode's only other weak moment too, as Sayid's sudden miraculous appearance just in the nick of time to save Kate from Callous Other #44 is more than a little unbelievable. These are both minor gripes however, and they have little bearing on the quality of the episode. 'Follow the Leader' sets the wheels in motion for next week's heart-stoppingly grandiose finale in deliciously fulfilling fashion. There's an abundance of points to ponder, some excellently written individual scenes and a whole barrel full of plot progression to boot. Let's hope that all the promise we see here is ultimately realised... and then some. 9.0
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