Episode 12: “Everyone Loves Hugo”

Introduction

This was an OK episode. Of course, I love the show and have enjoyed every episode of this season so far. But it was a bit on the weaker side; plus, it made no advancement of the bigger questions (although Richard did say he “knew what the Island was”). I have accepted, even if begrudgingly, that the writers feel content with some of their answering of the bigger questions in the episode focusing on Richard. They are now more concerned with connecting the alternate and real worlds together. (By the way, I feel as if we can call it the “real world” now, since a growing number of people in the “alternate world” feel as if their world is not complete reality – as if there is a “realer” world somewhere else.)

Flashsideways: 2004

I really enjoyed the reintroduction of Libby. Calling me sexist, but I feel that too many of the female characters in the show are bad actresses or “butch” egos – some are both. But Libby’s always played a good role. However, one of the reasons I didn’t like this flashsideways as much was because of this fact: we really learn nothing new about the connection between the two worlds through Hugo and Libby’s relationship. We still simply know that people are having memories of the “real” world. I’ll deal with Desmond’s running down of Locke later in this post.

Michael?

So, is Michael really Michael? And either way, whose side is he on? And either way, is he telling the truth? All of these questions need answering. When he first came, we heard eerie whispers, reminiscent of the Smoke Monster. This definitely created suspicion in the viewers – as intended. When Michael reappeared and discussed what the whispers were – the dead on the Island that can’t move on – he seemed a more positive character, especially when he said he was sorry for killing Libby. But why did Hugo listen to him? This leads me to my next point.

The Plane / What the Heck Should They Be Doing?

Are they supposed to blow up the plane? If we posit Jacob as good and true, then they should be listening to Richard. So why is Hugo, someone who has followed Jacob in the past and doesn’t seem disinclined to believe him, choosing to change up the plan on account of Michael’s one warning? It doesn’t add up exactly to me. But this situation opens for me one of my frustrations of the show from the “Season 1”: I keep asking, “So what the heck should they be doing?” What seems the correct course of action is often discredited in the following episode. Although this isn’t the worst thing in the world, it does create annoyance in me at times. Why? It discredits the previous episode and its conflict. For example, if Michael and Hugo are right and they shouldn’t blow up the plane, then Jacob’s message to Ilana to “follow Richard” and Richard’s revelation that they need to blow up the plane become meaningless. I’m sorry to be negative in this post, but I need to let this out. And I’m not finished…

Lack of Information Leads to Neither Moral nor Immoral Choices

When it comes to decision making and the conflicts that arise from this, there needs to be some indication as to what it the right and what is the wrong choice. If not, it is not really a moral or conscience-driven choice – in reality it’s simply a roll of the dice, an emotional reaction to a specific situation. As Joe noted (and I agree), if there is no indication as to what it good and what it bad – or if good and bad keep changing – the conflicts lose their meaning. Using this episode again, is Higo making the right or wrong decision? Well, there’s absolutely no indication as to an answer – and if there were, we could be sure next week they’d flop the sides again. As much as I love the show, this annoys me perhaps the most.

The Island Again

Richard made mention of the Island again, in his words, “I know what the Island is.” This sentence doesn’t exactly seem to imbue the Island with human-like or conscious qualities. Either way, I’m glad this has come up the last few weeks; this means they probably really want to answer it.

Desmond and Locke

So why does Desmond run over Locke? This is my theory. I think the alternate-Desmond is closely connected to real-Desmond. Now, whether this means he’s having vivid flashbacks or he is actually traveling between realities doesn’t matter. What I think happened is that alternate-Desmond thinks Locke is bad since real-Desmond experienced Locke tossing him down the well. Now, to us it’s obvious that Locke and Un-Locke are not the same. But let’s remember that when Un-Locke asked Desmond who is he was, he answered, “John Locke.”

Candidates / Conclusion

So who exactly are the candidates? I always assumed it was the following list: Jack, Sayid, Kate, Sun/Jin, Hugo and Sawyer. Was there more? Maybe. Maybe Aaron. Or are the Oceanic 6 the candidates? Either way, apparently Kate isn’t one anymore. Why? I don’t know. What I do know is that when Hugo and his companions join Locke at the very end of this episode, it seems that all of the candidates are in the same place (except if Jin is the candidate and not Sun).