Lost Season 3 Episode 5: The Cost of Living

I was going to post about last weeks episode but didn't, for two reasons:

One, I didn't watch it until almost noon today.

And two, it was a pretty straight forward action episode.

Even so, some quick notes.

I think Sawyer's daughter is a con job pulled off by his ex-mark, and Kate's recitation of Jack's "live together, die alone" was a subtle rejection not only of Sawyer's philosophy but of the guy himself  (in favor of Jack).

And how Sawyer fell for that pacemaker bit was beyond me.

But all of that was mentioned days ago in other folk's posts, so on to this week:

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Locke continues to annoy me. Something about his kumbaya 'leadership' that he presents as an 'alternative' to the exclusive and just darned mean Jack makes me puke. And his freaky enthusiasm at what appears to be inopportune moments (read Eko's body language dude; leave him alone) just makes him all the more annoying

Why didn't he kick off in the hatch implosion again?

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I think Juliet's pulling a con of her own on Jack. Neat trick with the placards and the video though. I hope Jack doesn't go through with the plan to off Ben. There's a difference between refusing to help someone and actively murdering them.

I can't picture his ethics bending enough to do the deed. Then again, there's the inevitable cliff hanger over the mid-winter hiatus to think of . . .

The funeral, which I'm told is in line with Hindu traditions, struck me as very commune/'family' like, reinforcing some of the Others descriptions of their life.

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I didn't catch the new female Losties name, but YUM . .

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So Eko is dead, killed by a vengeful security system apparently angered by his refusal to repent. This opens a whole can of worms in theory-land: does the monster need the physical presence of a person to imitate his appearance, since Jack's Dad and Eko's brother both had their corpses go MIA? How is it able to sense what image will most deeply affect its prey? Why is it so concerned with good/evil/sin/redemption (note: in the past it bypassed Eko when he was still on the path to righteousness)? Does it think at all, or does it simply reflect the emotions of the prey back on themselves?

One thing bothers me though. Eko,to a large part, was right about how he led his life. He certainly crossed the line many many times over the years, but at its heart his life was determined by the simple need to survive in a brutal land.

But . . .

We've all seen him try, and try hard, to change his life. His acceptance of God and his duties didn't seem genuine - they reeked of honest conversion. He started to build the church for his brother on the island. He confessed to Ben/Henry and expressed regret for killing the Others. He baptized Aaron and at every turn seemed a changed man.

Yet when confronted by his brother's 'ghost' I'm expected to believe that he angrily rejects repentance and stands by his past?

Where did that come from?

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A bit of a confusing, not all together honest to the characters episode that was still very enjoyable.

And there was the hot new Lostie, don't forget.