Television review: Lost #610: 'The Package'

610: 'The Package'

Wr: Paul Zbyszewski & Graham Roland
Dr: Paul A. Edwards

Synopsis: Sun and Jin desperately continue searching for each other. Meanwhile, Locke confronts his enemy.

Review: After last week's superlative exposition-fest, you'd perhaps be forgiven for feeling a little underwhelmed by 'The Package'. Lost's latest sojourn into the somewhat dysfunctional and perpetually complex romance between our favourite Korean love birds sees a return to the more traditional motifs and paradigms favoured by earlier episodes of the show's final season; once again, we are presented with a 'flash sideways' that concentrates squarely on character beats that have been explored in quite comprehensive detail in years prior, while the counterpointing on-Island story takes a good hard look at the arc plot, but mostly strokes its chin for forty minutes instead of actually doing anything particularly productive about it. Thankfully, however, Zbyszewski and Roland's script is strong enough in other, far more critical, areas to help disguise this problem, and what the viewer ultimately walks away with is a feeling of tempered satisfaction; and while this may not be as preferable as the sort of pant-wetting excitement induced by 'Ab Aeterno', it is nevertheless sufficient to keep the show afloat and maintain an engaging level of momentum as we head into the final furlong.

Sun and Jin's 'what if...?' scenario essentially consists of a series of attempts to navigate the myriad obstacles which impede upon the actualisation of their relationship. The seemingly all-knowing and all-powerful Mr. Paik rears his ugly head once again, making his presence felt ever so strongly despite never physically showing up on screen. We discover that, as before, he quite vehemently disapproves of his daughter's fraternising and has elaborately orchestrated a false 'mission' for his aide to undertake in order to put an end to the affair. There is nothing particularly surprising in this, given that Lost has presented us with a number of episodes in which the characters have had to deal with his wrath, and so these minutiae threaten to stifle the plot, feeling like little more than a regurgitation of past motifs. However, 'The Package' attempts to rectify this by incorporating a few familiar faces into the proceedings, using Keimi and, perhaps more pleasingly, psycho-Russian Mikheil as the primary vehicles for Paik's plan. While it is tempting to read these as little more than playful fan-baiting, throwing old characters into the plot purely for nostalgia's sake, Paik's connections to DHARMA have been well established in episodes past, and so they are at the very least passable, if not entirely logical, developments. Significantly, Zbyszewski and Roland don't spend too much time dwelling on their presence, and instead offer the viewer a number of notable, and at times, rather amusing, differences within their characters; Mikheil's role as a translator (albeit one trained to use a gun) seems a far cry from his purpose on-Island, and his effective subservience is certainly somewhat interesting. Keimi, meanwhile, seems to have a far more considered air about him; for all there are sinister undertones to his actions (as demonstrated in Sayid's flash sideways), his interactions with both Sun and Jin are far calmer than would perhaps be expected from the man who rampaged through Otherton and put a bullet through poor Alex's head. He is an undesirable man, of that there is no doubt, but he is not one without reason and empathy; he cleans Jin's wound, expresses a certain level of regret at having to execute his boss's orders, and seems to sympathise with the dilemma that the lovers are facing. Of course, one could argue that all of this is borne of his unwavering loyalty to Mr. Paik, but nevertheless, there is sufficient ambiguity to suggest that, within the flash sideways universe, Keimi is a less tainted character.

These shifts certainly help to enliven the otherwise rather standard narrative; as with virtually all of Sun and Jin's flashbacks throughout the first three seasons, the beats concentrate on Jin's apprehension of and sense of loyalty to Mr. Paik on one hand, and Sun's desire for self-reliance and freedom from her father's imposing grasp on the other. Importantly, we discover that Jin's apparently archaic and rather controlling moment in the premiere, in which he demands that his wife fasten her top button, is actually a consequence of his fear that their illicit affair will be discovered; something that informs every last decision that he makes, right down to booking separate rooms at their hotel. And for all this is a fulfilling reveal, it is tainted somewhat by the familiarity of the whole scenario; hell, we're actually back to Sun hiding her ability to speak English, and suggesting that they elope in an attempt to escape from Paik's suffocating stranglehold. On a microcosmic level, yes, there are deviations from the prior course of events, but when examining the narrative as a whole, it becomes apparent that there is little fresh for the viewer to sink his or her teeth into. The dramatic irony upon which the story is predicated also seems to have a undesirably negative effect. While the structure of the plot is fairly sound, the viewer is aware of certain aspects of the outcome from the very beginning. Consequently, it is the aftermath that is the most desired plot point, and this doesn't come until very late in the hour. Arguably, interest is supposed to be derived from finding out exactly why Jin is locked in the kitchen, but sadly, this becomes clear from the moment it is revealed that he has to deliver something to someone. The mystery is entirely removed, and the viewer is left twiddling his or her thumbs, waiting for the most important moments to occur.

When they do, of course, they prove to be rather stunning. Yunjin and Daniel Dae Kim are absolutely excellent in the confrontation sequence, as they are throughout the episode, and there are a number of delightfully executed moments: the loss of Mikheil's eye is a nice touch, serving as a knowing wink to the dedicated viewer, while Sun's shooting is a genuinely horrifying development, coming completely out of left field and packing an even greater punch when her inevitable pregnancy is revealed. Crucially, Zbyszewski and Roland don't dwell on this point, removing us from the 'flash sideways' entirely in its wake, and leaving the audience desperate to find out more. It's this sort of powerful, well-written drama that has a lasting impact, and is the sort of thing that the 'what if...?' narratives could do with hell of a lot more of. Well, that and a walloping great dose of Korean; it's great to see this frankly rather pioneering level of multi-culturalism returning to the show, as not only does it magnify the believability manifold, but it also forces the viewer to work on understanding what is before them, to engage with rather than simply respond to. Oh yeah, and more post-coital scenes please; for all the build up to the sex is ridiculously gratuitous and more than a little corny, the aftermath is absolutely spot on, with Daniel and Yunjin both outdoing themselves again. And no, it's not just because they've got very few clothes on. Honest.

Perhaps inevitably, the essential purpose of 'The Package', its central concern, if you will, is to reaffirm the fact that Jin and Sun are soulmates, that they are meant to be together and that their romance will always blossom, no matter the odds. Off-Island, while this is supposedly their most desired state, things are quite distinctly bleak and their lives are fraught with danger, which is perhaps another attempt to illustrate the importance of the crash of Flight 815 to the personal development of the Losties. Still, in spite of all of these problems, they remain together, fighting to preserve their love. In the juxtapositionary narrative, Zbyszewski and Roland explore their quite literal separation, and the manner through which the gulfs of space and time that exist between the two actually serve to strengthen their relationship and their determination to unite once more. In this regard, Sun's frustration is very welcome and frankly, about time too. For the past season, her character has been reduced to asking about the whereabouts of her husband every five minutes, so to see her rage unleashed, to deal with some honest, humane feeling, is certainly a refreshing change. The scene in which she snaps is just brilliant, combining some considerably moving and heart-felt dialogue with a decidedly potent thematic realism to create something truly powerful. Yunjin Kim masterfully conveys this new-found sense of determination, and plays well off both Nestor Carbonell and especially Matthew Fox, whose subtle transformation of Jack from skeptic to dogged believer proves especially fascinating.

For Sun's 'other half', things are equally as fraught. Unrest ensues in the Smokie camp as Widmore and his cronies launch an ambush that cripples their forces and leaves Jin at the mercy of the deadly loudspeakers and subliminal messages of Room 23 (good to see Lost revisiting some of its more fascinating former plot points). Daniel Dae Kim is on fine form here, perfectly capturing the character's movement between perseverance, determination and frustration, and then practically stealing the show when Alan Dale shows him a series of photographs of his wife and daughter. It's a beautifully simple and understated scene, with the bare minimum of dialogue, which only magnifies its emotive impact, reminding the viewer of exactly how tragic their troubled love story really is. Of course, this is more than likely a manipulation on Widmore's part, since his stern cold-heartedness and dogged determination to return to his precious Island have been well established in previous episodes; what better way to convince Jin to do his bidding than to dangle the possibility of a reunion with Sun before his eyes? It's an interesting and beguiling development, this, since 'the Package' that Charles refers to appears to be none other than erstwhile fan favourite Desmond Hume. Exactly how is this former button-pusher and occasional time traveller going to win the proverbial 'war' and oust Smokie? Will he somehow be able to restore equilibrium and 'repair' those tainted by UnLocke's influence? (Sayid, my friend, I'm looking squarely at you... that confession scene is fascinatingly eerie). Might he ultimately affect the timeline and cause the flashes sideways to become reality? Only time, and a moderate level of patience, will tell.

With 'The Package', Lost returns to the standard narrative format favoured by its sixth and final season, marrying a character-centric flash sideways with a thematically related on-Island story. In the wake of an episode as mythology-heavy and downright stunning as 'Ab Aeterno', it was probably always going to struggle to compete and so, inevitably, the tenth hour does feel a little underwhelming at times, treading water rather than upping the ante. Nevertheless, there is a considerable amount to enjoy here, which is a testament to both Zbyszewski and Roland's mutual strengths as script writers and the unwavering skills and talents of Daniel Dae and Yunjin Kim, who once again bring Sun and Jin's relationship to life in the most vivid and engaging manner possible. 'The Package' may not be the most jaw-dropping episode Lost has ever delivered, but it certainly packs enough of a punch to hold its own. 8.3