As there’s no way to talk about this episode without spoilers, the whole post is behind the fold.
Months ago, the press coverage of the final season trumpeted a bloodbath episode in the approach to the season finale. Hard to imagine this wasn’t it. It’s not that LOST has no history of wiping out regulars (Boone and his sister, Eko, Libby and Ana Lucia, Michael, Charlie, Locke), but it’s never done so in bulk like this. Three of the original survivors from episode 1 were killed in a space of 2-3 minutes, plus (maybe) Lapidus.
But for the most part, I found their deaths somewhat unaffecting, and in the hours since watching, I’ve been asking myself why. I think the answer can be found in Quentin Tarentino’s brilliant film Pulp Fiction (no, really). And if you’re the last living person who has yet to see Pulp Fiction, you should definitely stop reading now.
If you know me at all, you know that I think Pulp Fiction is one of the great movies of all time, and arguably the best of the last quarter century. Possibly the most cunning aspect of Pulp Fiction is the sequencing of the tales. If the film were told in time sequence, it would open with the visit by Vincent and Jules to the wannabe drug dealer, followed by the accidental Marvin shooting and the cleanup by the Wolf. Then Butch would meet Marcellus about throwing the fight (and have his first unfortunate interaction with Vincent), and Vincent and Jules would go to the diner where they’d meet Honey Bunny and husband and Jules would decide to be the shepherd. Later that day, Butch would throw the fight and Vincent would have his dinner with Mia. Overnight, Butch and Marcellus would have the incident with Zed, and Vincent would bring the overdosing Mia to his heroin dealer for the memorable adrenalin shot. Finally, early the next day, Butch would return home for the Christoper Walken watch and shoot Vincent, before leaving on Zed’s motorcycle with his girl.
Sure, the movie could have been told that way. But the Vincent/Mia “date” would not fit well with the creepy basement “Bring in the gimp!” scene. Jules’ defining moment would happen much too soon. And most importantly, Vincent’s sudden demise would be immensely unsatisfying. Vincent would have appeared in nearly every scene until Butch’s appearance on the second day, and then would die on the john right before the end, without a word of dialogue.
Instead, Tarantino saves the diner scene for the end, and miraculously, we get more time with Vincent. We enter the scene knowing that Vincent’s end is imminent, but not knowing when it will occur, or more importantly, why Jules is not with him. Jules’ decision to leave the service of Marcellus is doubly meaningful, because we know that Vincent will be alone at Butch’s apartment when he’s shot. Thus, his hopeful and life-altering change proves bittersweet, because we already know how it will turn out for Vincent.
So – back to LOST. Last night, we lost three or four key characters in the space of a few tense underwater seconds. Sayid bolted away from the camera with the bomb to be annihilated offscreen. Jin and Sun had a powerful Jack and Rose moment as the submarine sank. I guess Lapidus got mashed by a door – it wasn’t all that clear.
But, as in Pulp Fiction, we’ll see these characters again, as we have every major character who has died on or off the island (with the exception of Eko, who has permanently disappeared due apparently to his unwillingness to sign on for any new episodes). In fact, given that Sayid, Sun, and Jin play central roles in the flash-sideways sequence that is ongoing, we’ll probably see them next week. Thus, their deaths, while sad, seem temporary. No less noble — Sayid sacrificing himself to save the others, Jin refusing to leave his trapped wife to drown — but more ephemeral.
Of course, as in real life, the loss that surviving mourners feel is often more affecting, more tragic, than the deaths themselves. And watching Hurley, Kate, and Jack sob at the loss of their friends was every bit as heart-wrenching as it should have been. Lest there be any doubt, these recent episodes show brilliant storytellers at the absolute peak of their abilities. The end of this six-season journey looks like it’s going to be every bit as good as we could have hoped.
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