Lost Landmark Episodes 20th Anniversary: Live Together, Die Alone

 

 

Before we begin this tribute in earnest a  very mild criticism.

While I am a huge admirer of Back to the Island every so often I sense the judgment of those who are holding a series that was filmed between 2004-2010 on network television for not meeting the standards of today. I've dismissed the arguments involving gender and race in my earlier articles but one that I find hard to understand is why, from time to time, both St. James and Murray seem to be judging Lost by the standards of the streaming mode which wasn't even a glimmer in the eye of Netflix when Lost debuted and still didn't really exist when it ended.

As someone who has never binge-watched a series in his entire life and has always scorned so many streaming services for introducing it into their mode of distribution of original series (I have less judgment then I did for those who watch TV this way) I find this an absurd criticism on its face. Considering that in many articles they praise it for being one of the last brilliant network series in terms of scope and scale, this strikes me as pedantic. And it comes up a bit in St. James mostly favorable review for 'Live Together, Die Alone'. After mentioning many of the reason why this episode is essential Lost viewing he adds: "It's also a chore sometimes."

His main reason is contradictory: "some of the storytelling decisions that make sense for a TV show – meant to be seen by people once a week for an indefinite amount of time – don't make as much sense for 121 chapter narrative that people can sit down and watch for big chunks." This seems to be blaming Cuse and Lindelof, who again were making a show for network television in the 2000s for not taking the thinking of those of us twenty years later who can binge watch it over a week. That's a line of thinking so dumb I'm used to it from Gen Z.

He argues that so many of the moments are jaw-droppingly exciting then and still are today but then says having rewatched the series, he says a lot of it seems like busywork. His two biggest examples are the decision for Jack and Michael to bring Hurley to the Others camp, only for him to be sent back to explain they can never come after them – "which doesn't sound like a job only Hurley could do." Then he argues one paragraph later that the Others' decision to disguise themselves as ragamuffins is for the viewing audiences benefit more than the castaways. '

The second argument is just dumb on its face; its criticizing a show that has a smoke monster in the woods in the Pilot isn't portraying its cast members in a realistic fashion. (I'd argue that in a sense this is an Easter egg that would start to pay off in future seasons but I'm not confident that Cuse and Lindelof had thought the show out that far in advance in Season 2, so I'll let that go.) As for this not being a role that only Hurley couldn't do, I agree from a plot standpoint it doesn't make much sense but as a character arc – and the kind of storytelling versus plausibility that Lindelof would argue for later on – it payoffs magnificently in this episode and beyond, which I'll explain later.

For all that, however, I'm less inclined to pass judgment on this part of Murray's review for a very different reason. Because what he considers the point that makes the episode work is exactly the problem I had with it when I first saw it 20 years ago.

To be clear I was somewhat disappointed that the series decided to tell the story of Desmond.  Considering that for two seasons Lost had been about so many grand themes – mystery,  fate vs. free will,  science, survival, betrayal, death – that to fundamentally spend the finale devoted to what seemed to be a love story seemed a disappointment. I don’t think I realized that in fact the writers were setting up the grand theme of Lost, one that got, well, lost under all of the mystery. The reason the series was such a success may have been initially because of the mysteries and the questions we had, but the reason it lasted was because we cared about these characters.  Lost is fundamentally a show about the human condition, and what is more human than love?

And in that sense the saga of Desmond and Penny stands alone not just among the entire arc of Lost but in much of Peak TV as whole. In the cynical world that 21^st century TV reflected, we were taught to believe that love stories were not the kind of thing that survived as entertainment anymore. (I think that may be the reason that such things as the romantic comedy, which had been the staple of movies for more than twenty years, began to fall out of favor around this same period.) Love was too pure an emotion to appeal to the viewer as much as more elemental things: lust was the pervading emotion, whether it be for sex or for power or money.  The story of Desmond and Penny fundamentally cuts through that narrative.  There are many fans of the series who have problems with so much of the show; I don’t know a single person who has issue with the love story of Desmond and Penny. I certainly didn’t; after my initial objections, I was fully onboard with it by the time Season 3 hit its groove. The fact that many of the fates of the survivors and the show itself are at the core around the love story of Desmond and Penny only proves this point.

Desmond has found himself back on the island and is thoroughly plastered when we meet him.  He spends much of the first half of the season premiere drunk and determined to stay that way.  Much of Season 2 is about characters losing faith and Desmond now seems to have become a pure nihilist.  He is the first character we’ve met who openly wants to leave the island, and now apparently thinks he is doomed never to leave it.  He sailed off two weeks ago and somehow he ended up right back here. He thinks the island is all that’s left.  He has only a tangential interest in the button he deserted, doesn’t seem that interested in either helping Sayid or saying goodbye to the boat he traveled on and when he talks to Claire about her baby’s father not be fit to the task, it’s very clear he’s talking about himself.  Desmond doesn’t have a purpose anymore, which is almost certainly the reason when Locke comes to him telling him everything he did for three years was a lie, he embraces it even though he should very well know better.

People have wondered why, since Desmond clearly remembers what happens when he sees the printout from the Pearl, he goes along with John’s decision to not push the button. Based on what we’ve seen in the flashbacks prior to this, I think there’s a very real chance that Desmond thinks that his actions did destroy the world and that is his punishment. That’s why he has come back to the island; he’s suffering for his sins. With the clock running, he actually asks John whether he’s doing this because he has a death wish. Maybe that’s why Desmond is doing this. He’s hoping that when the numbers run out, he gets punished for his sins.

And by this point we know that is not the real sin he thinks he needs to atone for.  Desmond walks out of a Scottish military garrison to meet with a man named Charles Widmore. We’ve seen signs of him in subtle product references in the second season, but we had no reason to think it meant anything. Now we learn that Widmore is a billionaire who clearly disapproved of Desmond’s relationship with his daughter, has done everything in his power to keep them apart, and wants to make sure it stays that way. Because Desmond clearly believes in honor, he decides to prove himself to Widmore by winning his race around the world.

We then flash back to the scene in the stadium – and it's there we meet Penny for the first time.  We will learn more about the saga of Desmond and Penny then almost any other characters on the show (though in the tradition of Lost we learn it backwards) but in a sense, we learn everything we have to in their only scene together in this episode.  They have not seen each other in years and there’s clearly hurt between them, but it’s just as clear that neither has moved on. The writers always choose the names of their characters with care, and they clearly made a point when they named Widmore’s daughter Penelope.  Anyone who has even a basic understanding of Greek mythology knows the significance of the name: Penelope was Odysseus’ wife who remained faithful to her husband for years even after he was presumed dead from the Trojan War.  Even on an island a world away from Desmond, she finds a way to reach out to him at the time of his greatest despair and she assures him that she will always love him no matter what. Desmond clings to that despite everything, and I think that before the climax of the episode, he says “I love you, Penny” because he wants them to be his last words.

Of course, they aren’t. In an outlier for a season finale, not just for Lost but almost any TV series in this century, no major characters die. (Is that a spoiler? It’s been nearly twenty years.) It looked like a lot of characters might be doomed in the last minutes, and a lot of characters are clearly in danger, but every regular we see in this episode turns up in the next season (or later on).

It's the fundamental nature of Lost that even while actions are going on that could destroy everybody on the island, a healthy portion of the survivors are not only unaware of it at the time, but they also don’t even learn about long after the fact.  Indeed, even Desmond’s arrival is barely noticed with any real interest by Jack, who barely seems to be bothered that the man who left the hatch (and knew before, remember) is now back on the island before going back on his mission to get the Others.  If ever there was an example of how narrow minded a leader Jack is, it’s now.  Does he see the boat as a potential for rescue? No, it’s a tool that he can use to get his revenge on the Others. Sayid is little better, considering it’s his idea to do so in the first place.

Every aspect of Jack’s plan is foolish from the get-go. He chooses not to tell any of his friends about what he is doing, and it is only when Kate and Sawyer realize that they are being followed that Jack is forced to tell them. Jack can barely be bothered to apologize to his friends, and his treatment of Hurley is reprehensible.

Jorge Garcia is truly fantastic in the season finale. He is the only person on the mission who is not motivated by revenge or desperation but because he just wants to help Walt.  When he learns the truth, he feels betrayed twice. When he realizes just how horrible Michael is – that a man he considered a friend killed two women in cold blood and can’t even be bothered to apologize for it – he clearly just wants to go back. He is not any happier when Jack basically forces him to keep going on the basis of a plan that is clearly flawed before they even realize that Michael has betrayed them again. When the trap is sprung by the Others, he does not bother to run away or fight, but rather just covers his ears. The fact that he eventually learns the only reason they wanted him in the first place was to send him is just one more blow.  There’s something truly sad about the guy who everybody likes, not being wanted or trusted by anyone.

It's also a measure of how bad a leader Jack is at this stage that at no point does he think to tell Locke about what’s happening or even ask him to come along when it’s clear he could help. That said, it’s pretty obvious that John isn’t in any position to help anyone, certainly not himself.

Much of what Murray considers busywork is done for a purpose: the machinations are done to divide the survivors in a way physically (if not ideologically as will become clear in later seasons) in a way Lost hasn't yet.  The raft's launching only involved four survivors; one of whom was never a part of the storyline after the finale in a real way and another whose part, unfortunately, has been greatly diminished. That physical division, which also involved the reunion of the Tail Section survivors, happened by the third mark of the season and while Jack and Locke have been engaged in an internal struggle, to this point it really hasn't divided the camp substantially considering all of it seems to center on the Hatch.

What the episode makes clear is how the division between the two reveals how each of them can be single-minded and destructive in their respective focus. Locke has been almost entirely focused on the button in the season and Jack's never been as committed to it. His major focus, ever since Michael disappeared, has been the Others and he's been deliberately leaving Locke out of that discussion.  Even after a full season he still has no plan for rescue and much of this does seem to be out of his vengeance at the Others more than anything else.

This division also leads to Sayid, the other major force of leadership in the camp to take the Elizabeth and Jin and Sun with him to sail around the island. This will divide the camp even further at the start of Season 3 – and leaves them unprepared to deal with the crisis that develops in the Hatch.

Terry O’Quinn is magnificent in the season finale as a man who has lost all faith and is clearly bitter and angry. He is enraged at Eko for having faith (and the fact that Eko uses his own phrase back at him must sting more) and ends up tracking down Desmond almost certainly because he wants to share in the misery and take Desmond down. There’s something very vindictive about how he shows Des the Orientation film and offers to make popcorn.

When Des and Locke are in the computer room, Locke seems more lost than he’s ever been.  He says that Charlie and Eko aren’t his friends and actually seems not to care if they’re hurt or injured. For much of the season he was obsessed with the button; now his obsession is in the other direction. When he tells Desmond why he lost his faith – and finally accepts his part in the death of Boone – it triggers something in Desmond. By the time he argues the Pearl Station is an experiment, it’s not a shock – that large field of notebooks that have never been read is a big honking sign. What is a shock comes when he learn that the Swan is real, and that there has been an incident – and that incident crashed Oceanic 815. (It also gives us an official date for the crash: September 22, 2004 – which is of course, the day Lost premiered. We’ll basically have a calendar of events for the next two seasons.)

Locke is now so much of a zealot that he no more listens to Desmond’s certainty that this is real than Eko’s evidence of destiny and he finally decides to prove it – by destroying the computer.  There’s a trace of uncertainty when he says that he’s saved them all.

The scene in the hatch after the numbers run down is one of the great set-pieces in the entire series.  We watch as every metal object in the hatch begins to be drawn towards something, as Charlie and Eko frantically try to get out, as Eko makes his way back to the computer. Locke has not moved, even as the timer begins to contract to the magnetism. He meets Eko’s eyes and says three simple words. “I was wrong.” It seemed like the understatement of the century. In actuality, it’s the first thing Locke has said something that he is completely and utterly certain of.

Then Desmond turns the key and because Henry Ian Cusick was only a guest star, we naturally assume he’s dead. (See Locke’s statement above.) At this point, however, we’re dealing with the action on the pier where we finally get to see the Others in their (ragged) glory and officially meet the leader – Henry Gale. If Emerson was brilliant in his earlier performance, he’s incredible here as he talks coldly and business-like to Michael, about keeping his word and how he knows Michael will never tell what he’s done. There’s something almost military like about his posture now, something with authority. (While the sky is turning people and everyone is flinching, he doesn’t seem as surprised when it happens or when it’s over. This is the first sign we’ve gotten he might be the key to everything that’s happening, even before he makes it clear he's the leader.)

When Michael asks, utterly bereft: “Who are you people?” who among us can forget Henry’s answer: “We’re the good guys.” Now Henry has spent the entire season lying to everybody, but this is the first time he actually seem to believe what he’s saying.  We are no more inclined to believe him than we did Tom (the man we thought was the leader) when he said the survivors were interlopers or Goodwin when he called Nathan ‘not a good person’ or Ethan when he said he wanted the best for Claire’s baby…well, you get it, these guys have a credibility problem. And we know that when Henry tells Jack, Kate and Sawyer are coming with them, it’s not to invite them to a fancy dinner.  What we do know by now is that the Others really seem to believe it. But we still don’t know why.  Much of Season 3 will be spent explaining why they believe it, and for some reason when we spent so much time with them, a lot of fans turned on the series.

Season 2 ends like Season 1 did, with the castaways scattered.  Michael and Walt are leaving the island for home. (Gotta say that Henry might have thought it wouldn’t be for long: his departing words are not farewell or goodbye, but bon voyage) Sayid, Jin and Sun are on the other side of the island, not sure what’s happened to their friends. Charlie made it out of the hatch intact (and is kissing Claire) but Desmond, Locke and Eko might very well be dead.  Hurley is heading back to the camp, while Jack, Kate and Sawyer are going with the Others. It's a dispiriting series of images to end the season with.

 

 

Except… that’s not the final scene. For the first time, we leave the island and in fact seem to be somewhere in the Arctic Circle. Two men are speaking a strange language (we later learn their Portuguese). They look at a monitor that says, “ELECTROMAGNETIC ANOMALY DETECTED” . They started leaving through books, mutter things about “Did we miss it?” and one makes a call.  Then on the other end, we hear the line: “Miss Widmore. I think we found it.” 

And there’s Penny. Who said in her one scene with Desmond: “With enough money and determination, you can find anyone.” She is clearly set on using both to find Desmond. If that isn’t love, I don’t know what is.

So the reason I thought it was a chore is that we spent so much of the Season 2 finale dealing with a character I truly believed we'd never see again along with so many other unnecessary characters. (Boy was I naïve in 2006.) You know who didn't feel that way? Emmy voters.

To be sure they didn't nominate the series for Best Drama that year (and yes I still have a grudge about it) but they did nominate for 9 other awards. And 'Live Together, Die Alone' got five of them. Jack Bender was nominated for Best Director, Henry Ian Cusick was nominated for Best Guest Actor in a Drama and it was nominated for sound mixing, editing, and special visual effects in a series. This would also start a trend for Lost: from this point on until the end of the series, the season and/or series finale would be the biggest recipient of Emmy nominations by the Academy.

It was something I as a viewer and someone slowly entering the world of TV criticism respected then and even more now. As for where Lost was going to go in Season 3…well, we'll get to that in a different article.