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Monday, February 1, 2010

Jacob's Foot: Season Six Looms in One Day + White Rabbit

IT IS FEBRUARY! ONE MORE DAY! ONE MORE DAY! ONE MORE DAY!

The frenzy of the beginning of season six has overwhelmed the internet and media. The first four minutes of the premiere are available, a screening of the first hour of the premiere happened on Saturday night, every print publication has or will have a write-up on the premiere looming, every online publication has or will have a write-up on the premiere looming. I am glad we are at this point. However, I'm not in support of the first four minutes of the premiere being available. I haven't watched and will not watch. I will you tell why: many moons ago (September 2005), MSN.com offered a few sneak peeks at some scenes for the season two opener "Man of Science, Man of Faith." The scenes: the exchange Hurley has with Jack about the numbers and being cursed, Kate's descent into The Hatch, and I think that's it but those two early glimpses ruined the premiere for me. No context, no fun. I also had trouble enjoying all of season two for reasons that include an insane re-run/new episode schedule. Did it all begin that fateful day when I previewed two scenes possibly? All I know is that I've waited patiently for 8 months to enjoy the experience of the premiere in its totality and enjoy in its totality I will! This time tomorrow...9PM...the wait will finally be over and it will be glorious. 8PM is the recap of course.

This leaves some time for the last pre-season six meaty entry of Jacob's Foot. Tomorrow I will deliver the pre-season rankings. Wednesday I will deliver a recap of (FINALLY!) a new episode. But those last two sentences are for the future. Now, it's time for the episode of the day:

THE 'LOST' EPISODE OF THE DAY


The episode: White Rabbit

Original Airdate: October 20, 2004

Written by: Christian Taylor

Directed by: Kevin Hooks

Content: The survivors begin to struggle as they realize they are running out of fresh water. Meanwhile, Jack continues to see his dead father's figure on the Island. Flashbacks in this episode show a little bit of Jack's childhood and also what Jack was doing in Australia.

Why It's Worth Re-Watching: I think it's safe to say Jack's story will be a critical part of the final season. After all, the man decided to detonate a hydrogen bomb as a way to try to erase the last three years, as a way to 'fix' the last three years. As the series progressed, the flawed nature of Jack became more and more evident. In this episode, Jack is struggling with the fact everyone wants him to be their leader but, as we see from the flashback, he has been scarred a whole lot by his father. After saving Boone from drowning and choosing not to save Joanna, Boone yells at Jack for the decision. Around him, people are becoming more hostile, highlighted by the water problem when people begin looking to assign blame.

The bulk of this episode, for Jack, takes place away from the fuselage and camp because Jack is following, what John Locke describes, as the white rabbit--his father. We find out Jack's father died in Sydney. And now we know how truly difficult his relationship was with his father and he still hasn't properly grieved or coped with his father's death because Jack must have some emotional guilt since he became the catalyst for Christian falling off the sobriety tracks and disclosing Christian's inebriation to the medical board. His father's death is fresh, painful wound in this, the fifth episode of the series, and it explains his reluctance to participate in the memorial service Claire put together in "Walkabout." One of the episode's most powerful scenes is when Jack remembers confirming his father's dead body followed by Jack crying as he sits by the fire. I think the whole sequence is terrific. This is when Jack discovers the caves. And yes, I do think the Island led him to the caves. The photography is beautiful. The score is mesmerizing. Here it is:



Another powerful scene is when Jack pleads with Oceanic to process the coffin so he can bury his father. Unfortunately, I can't find a YouTube clip to link of the scene.

Anywho, there's a terrific scene between Jack and Locke in this episode. In fact, it's fun to re-watch Jack/Locke scenes before "Do No Harm" because the two aren't, well Jack isn't, ready to strangle Locke to death. Jack is wary, though, of Locke before the Boone stuff happens. In "Hearts and Minds," he asks Charlie about Locke to which Charlie responds that he'd put his absolute trust in Locke to save them all. I digress though. The scene between them in "White Rabbit" is very significant. They engage in their first Man of Science/Man of Faith discussion though it's not hostile nor is it overt and Jack actually seeks some insight into why the heck he sees a man that cannot be there and contemplates what lostaways view him as: their leader. It's the first instance of the key theme of predeterminism. Here is the scene:



And, while I'm on this scenes kick, I can't leave out the speech from White Rabbit:



I'm a big Jack fan. There are some fans who dislike the character very much but I'm not among them. I think he's a fascinating, complex character. Naturally, I'm very excited for the final chapter in Jack's individual story. He's more lost than any other character perhaps. He's more together and focused in "White Rabbit" than he is when he's off the Island and he's still searching for...something once he returns to the Island. Carlton Cuse spoke about the possibility of redemption as a key theme that will be explored in the final season. Other than Sayid, I'm most interested in the possibility of Jack's redemption in the final chapter of this show.

As for the other happenings in the episode, Claire bonds with Kate and Charlie. Specifically, she's glad Charlie isn't afraid of her like most of the other lostaways. Oh, Claire. As I mentioned earlier, there's a good subplot that involves lack of water.

This is an absolutely terrific episode of LOST. It's the only episode of the show Christian Taylor wrote (though I'd love to know which scenes Damon wrote since I bet he wrote at least one) but bravo sir! Kevin Hooks directed this one. Michael Bonvillain DPed the episode and the entire cast & crew did a tremendous job.

That does it for (possibly) the last EVER episode of the day. Check out the latest issue of The Quad (wcuquad.com). And check back here TOMORROW afternoon for the season six pre-season LOST rankings.

ONE MORE DAY!

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