Episode 39 of 82 concerns Claire, now and before. For the first time a flashback doesn’t go off island or pre crash, it concerns a missing 2 week chunk of Claire’s memory from back in the first season when she was kidnapped from the beach by a person who was not on the plane.
Episode 38 of 82 tells us how Sayid becomes a torturer for the US at the end of the first Gulf War, while on the island he gets to use those skills on a person that the French Chick has captured in one of her snare traps. She says that he is one of the “Others” and not to be trusted, the captured party says he is just a cross pacific balloonist that crashed on the island 4 months ago. His name is Henry Gale which is also the name of Dorothy’s uncle in the Wizard of Oz. It is also the name of an American physicist in the early 1900s who worked at the Mount Wilson Observatory in Pasadena, CA.
I’m thinking I’m going have to defer to my wife’s supervisor Brandon on this now. He once asked me which season of TDTVS was my favorite and I said, “One.” He said , “Two.” Tonight’s second season episode, number thirty seven of eighty two, was Sawyer centric and the writers have really hit their stride. The off island flashback concerned Sawyer’s intricate double con on a woman. While on island Sawyer, cons Locke into inadvertently handing over the islander’s gun stash with the help of recent pariah Charlie and an unknowing assist from Kate.
Halfway through Season 2 in Episode 36 of 83 we get another well written story that intertwines the off island flashbacks with the on island action. This episode is Charlie-centric and we see him trying to save his drug addicted brother, but it breaks up their relationship and their band Drive Shaft. On island he has dreams and sleep walks convinced he must save Claire’s baby Aaron, but all he does is make people think he is using heroin again and breaks up his relationship she and her son.
Even though is was still quite chilly, we put the top down in Williston and as we drove south and east the temperature warmed into a perfect fall day. We got to the condo, checked in and headed right out for an over-stuffed sandwich from Gruby’s New York Deli. After shopping we returned to the condo and settled in. I read and Donna napped.
Because we didn’t have time on Thursday, we watched two episodes of TDTVS with our heat up pizza dinner. It wasn’t until after that when it was fully dark that we took our first walk on the beach. There was a 1/4 moon high in the sky which was enough to relegate the flashlight to quick peeks to make sure we didn’t step on a beached whale or something. Because of the time of the year we saw no one else at all on our short half hour stroll.
Jack-centric episode 35 of 83 was almost as bad an episode as yesterday’s was good. The off island flashback felt forced and unbelievable and was there just to show one side of him that related to his on island action. Between those two stories they have turn Jack into a less likable character. Even the lying, cheating, stealing con man Sawyer is more sympathetic.
Episode 34 of 83 was centered around a new for Season 2 survivor from the tail section, Mr. Ecko. This was one of the better episodes so far. Partly because his back story was so interesting, but also because of how it intertwined to what was happening on the island with the dual themes of religion and drugs.