I’ve had a chance to look back through “The Beginning Of The End” and have a few more comments.
As I said in my previous post, I really hate Locke right now. I was entirely ecstatic when Jack “shot” Locke. It doesn’t matter that the gun wasn’t loaded, I still loved the moment.
It’s kind of disturbing that I really liked all of the violent moments in the show…
I particularly loved Danielle for slugging Ben’s face when he called Alex “his” daughter. In fact, I’m very pleased with all of the beating that Ben is taking!
One of the gentle moments that I loved took place when Hurley was talking with Bernard about his lottery winnings. He was expressing how freeing it would be to get back to the real world, where the money won’t matter any more. Particularly sad when juxtaposed against what we’ve seen of Hurley’s future.
Hurley’s always been one of my favorite characters. It’s nice to know that Hurley is “special”… that he too has a connection to the spirit of the Island.
I’m wondering why Hurley saw Jacob in the form of Jack’s dad! Does Jacob present “himself” to each person differently? Does he take on different forms? What is the significance of Hurley’s vision?
There’s been much discussion about the “eye” that Hurley saw and to whom it belonged. My first (and still strongest) impression is that it belongs to Locke… he had been back to the cabin to commune with Jacob and get “further instructions”.
I laughed on my second viewing of the episode when Kate once again screws up by taking events into her own hands (remember when she followed Jack, Locke and Sawyer out to meet Mr. Friendly in season 2). She thinks she is helping by tracking Naomi, but ultimately her actions allow Naomi to warn her cohorts on the freighter.
Another reason I hate Locke: I hate how he preyed on Hurley’s grief when trying to convince Hurley to follow him. I think that if it hadn’t been for Locke’s pushing he would have stayed with Jack.
Although I will give this to Locke, he genuinely appeared sympathetic when he witnessed Hurley telling Claire that Charlie was dead.
But I got extremely angry again when Locke tells the gathered survivors “All I have ever done has been in the best interest of all of us.” To that I say CRAP!!! See my comment in the post below.
Finally a note about the split:
Locke’s group--
In the context presented in the episode, I understand Hurley, Claire and Sawyer’s decision to go with Locke. I get that Rousseau doesn’t want to leave the island, but I don’t quite get why Alex and Karl go with Locke, unless they just want to stay with “family”.
Jack’s group—
I think Sayid stays with Jack because he knows that even if the rescuers are “bad” that the survivors can deal with whatever they bring. We know that Juliette desperately wants to get off the island. I loved Rose’s answer to Bernard when he asks if she wants to stay (knowing that if she leaves her cancer will probably return)… “I’m not going anywhere with THAT man!” Smart cookie! I think Kate stayed simply out of loyalty (not love) for Jack. Finally, why does Desmond stay, even after he’s been warned that it’s “not Penny’s boat”? I’m not sure. We don’t know if he’s had any more flashes that would give him insight as to what is to come. He’s a mystery to me.
