Season 3 - Ep. 2 - "The Glass Ballerina"

Initial Episode Response:

In “The Glass Ballerina,” the second episode in season 3 of LOST, we watch as Sun acts in her own morality play, we learn that Jin is not a killer, that slave labor is alive and kicking on DHARMA Island, and that the Others have contact with the outside world. We also discover that Ben has lived on the island his entire life, or so he says.

For what the episode lacked in bulks of information, it made up in some much-needed tension.

It featured classic Sawyer, who delivered quick one-liners and a few solid right hooks before facing another shock-inducing punishment – an effective but non-lethal form of negative reinforcement seen throughout animal and human conditioning experiments.

The Others’ labor camp seemed to be occupied by several manual workers – the question to ask is if these are the tail section abductees. And with Sawyer getting a feel for the strengths and weaknesses of the guards, an old-fashioned uprising can’t be far behind. Though any rebellious plans that Kate and Sawyer could conjure up would quickly be identified as the bear cages are wired with microphones and cameras, which bring feedback to a small room that Ben occupies inside the aquarium.

The writers/the Others also took care of that boat problem. Certainly if they had not, we’d have clamoring from the beach survivors about who would try to find rescue next. More importantly, we have Sun shooting Colleen, an Other introduced in the episode, who is the love interest of fellow Other, (Danny) Pickett. Her shooting was probably predictable from the outset; however, the implications from her potential demise may be important. Before she was shot by Sun, Colleen tells her that they are not enemies, but would be if Sun pulled the trigger. Of course, Charlie emptied a chamber into Ethan with no ramifications as of yet.

Also, the stage is set perfectly for Jack to save Colleen. The angle of the shot Sun fired appeared to enter Colleen's right lower abdomen. It would kill her if untreated, but staunching the blood flow and applying a makeshift tourniquet would hold her over until she got into better hands. Whether Jack chooses to operate or not will probably go a long way ... he's already on the verge of hedging his bets.

Fittingly, we end with a pivotal scene between Ben and Jack. The Others’ leader brings forth what many had expected – they want Jack to do something for them. Ben will not tell him what it is yet, but he says that at the right time, he will. And if Jack complies, he gets to go home. It is also in this scene that we confirm that the Others have outside contact, that Ben has been on this island his whole life, and that the one thing that can get Jack out of his sedated state is the Boston Red Sox winning the World Series.

Analysis:

First we have the labor camp. The “job” Sawyer and Kate are employed to do is seemingly of no real value. The conditioning, on the other hand, is the focal point here. Like animals, the Others are controlling their subjects, forcing them to participate in a gradual training process. And if they don’t obey, they face discipline. Of course, Sawyer, playing the role of Cool Hand Luke, and Kate are not ones to conform. The Others have a challenge on their hands. The good cop act from Juliet may work on Jack, but Sawyer - as demonstrated by his dumping of the water from the canteen - has defied authority and order his entire life.

A quick, subtle point: we also have a better understanding as to why the Others put Kate and Sawyer together. As Sayid put it, it's to make sure that the other complies. Kate breaks the “rules,” and Sawyer receives a shock. Sawyer fights the guards, and Juliet threatens to shoot Kate.

Alex briefly shows up in this episode, only to reveal information very slowly and in a confusing manner. She asks Kate about Karl, Sawyer’s former nearby cellmate. A relationship between Alex and Karl is evident. Her motivations are unclear, but she is compassionate to Kate and Sawyer’s situation. Exactly why she is “different” than the rest is also murky.

The writer’s knocked Sun/Jin's backstory out of the park. They could have taken the easy way out with Sun, a character who comes across as pure, but she is morally complex.

We find out that Sun is a liar, and always has been. A young Sun breaking the glass ballerina and then passing the blame to the unwitting maid serves as an early look at how she avoids truth, even when she is well aware that the consequences others around her will suffer are much greater than any punishment she would face. A maid loses her job. Jae Lee loses his life. It’s a harsh statement. But it is also true. If Sun had been honest with Jin, her father would not have interacted. Honesty isn’t easy, of course, particularly when it comes to adultery, but this was her own doing.

Betrayal. Shame. These words resurfaced a number of times. Sun betrayed her husband – a husband, who, while far from perfect, would do anything to be with her. And Sun shamed her father – granted, a father that doesn’t deserve much to begin with.

How Sun’s backstory juxtapositions itself with her lying to Jin once again on the island just further reiterates that she can never reveal the whole truth. We don’t have a clear idea of the timeline, but the speculation that Sun’s baby is not Jin’s continues to grow.

As for Jin – when you think about his love for Sun, this question needs to be asked: what good has it brought him? Sun was unfaithful. Jin shamed himself by being Mr. Paik’s muscle.

Yet, there is no question their love for each other is strong, even more so since the crash. The island was, indeed, the panacea to their marriage – at least for now.

Finally, we end with Jack, who is either sedated (food drugged?) or has been completely broken down by Juliet in one fell swoop. I knew Jack was weak, but he has surpassed even my low regards for his mental toughness.

This time Ben is his “interrogator” as he calmly introduces himself as Benjamin Linus. It is in this final scene that we learn what many suspected – Jack is going to be asked to do something of the utmost importance. Ben will not say what (of course), but that at a certain time, Jack will have to make a decision. Jack is hesitant to believe anything that Ben tells him, and with good reason. But Ben is being upfront. He reveals that he has been on this island his entire life, which seems ultra-important and opens the doors to numerous questions (wouldn’t his age predate DHARMA, for instance).

To prove that the Others have contact with the outside world, Ben rails off a number of facts that have happened since Flight 815 crashed. One fact is that the Red Sox had won the 2004 World Series. This echoes back to comments from season one made by Jack’s father, who blamed all of his shortcomings on fate, i.e., “that’s why the Red Sox will never win the World Series.” Jack doesn’t believe any of it until Ben has one of his underlings roll in a television and play the clip of the Sox celebrating their championship. This was a really nice plot device used by the writers as the meaning behind it once again brings it back to Jack’s father.

Now Jack remains in limbo as he awaits the million-dollar “favor.” What it is, and the potential repercussion of this “choice” is shaping up as the climax of this six-episode story arc.

So Subtle It’s Probably Meaningless:

Benjamin Linus - as in the Peanut's Linus, of course, the smartest and most philosophical of the Peanut gang. Linus was well-known for his passive resistance and clever use of his intellect, and in that context, he has a similar temperament to Ben, minus the blue security blanket.

Maybe Ben is trying to find the Great Pumpkin. Well, not really, but there’s a metaphor to be extracted.

As Charlie Brown fans may know, Linus is a true believer in the Great Pumpkin, and while he tries to convince the rest of the Peanuts to believe, they always lose faith, while Linus keeps his.

In LOST, we can look at the Others’ goal as the Great Pumpkin, whatever that might be. Along the way, faith in the cause will waver, but it is Ben’s job to keep the lemmings in order, for believing in the Great Pumpkin is imperative.