Lost - Season 3, Episode 18 - "D.O.C" Recap/Review
(a.ka. "The better late than never" recap!)
The awesomeness of Lost's third season continues with another great episode, this week's "D.O.C."I loved how they went straight back to the parachutist from last week. Unlike the surprise ending with Locke's dad three weeks ago, the show continued on with their story without a big diversion and unnecessary filler (*cough*). At the same time, they were able to address another important storyline this episode, Who is the father of Sun's baby? AND continuing the whole Juliet/Trust issue. All in one solid hour! With one whopping surprise!
We start with Sun in her garden. She hears sounds nearby and the look on her face is sudden fear. Obviously, she's still traumatized from her abduction last season. But it's not someone scary, it's Jack. He's come to check up on her, but his incessant questions arouse Sun's curiosity.
Flashback! In a city in Korea (Seoul, perhaps?), Sun is walking along with shopping bags. She's smiling brightly. She receives a call on her cell. It's her husband, Jin. They greet each other with "Mr." and "Mrs." Kwon, enjoying the formality of the title, a sign that is early in their marriage. Sun goes to sit down on a bench near a woman reading a newspaper. The woman overhears Sun on the phone and sees a picture of Sun and Jin in the paper announcing their marriage. Coincidence? No. The woman seems to know a lot about Jin's heritage. She says his father was a fisherman (which we knew) and his mother was a prostitute (which we didn't). The woman says she'll spill Jin's secret unless Sun pays her one hundred thousand dollars. Drama!
We next cut to Desmond, Jin, Charlie, and Hurley standing over the parachutist. I was relieved to see she's still alive, but in bad shape. She's talking in random languages. Finally, she says something in Spanish and Hurley understands her. "She says she's dying!" Hurley exclaims. They look at the side of her abdomen, where a sharp branch has punctured her lung. Hurley goes to look through her bag for a medical kit while the others agree that they need Jack. Desmond says he'll run to camp and bring him back, but Charlie says that thats crazy. There's all kinds of scary things in the jungle and they can't just stay with the woman until then. Why? says Desmond. "No one knows we're here." At that moment, Hurley shoots off a flaregun from the woman's backpack that tells everyone on their side of the Island where they're at.
"Oops," he says.
On the beach, Sun is helping Kate rebuild her tent. They spot Jack nearby and Sun starts to comment about what happened to Jack when he was captured by the Others. Whether they should trust him at all now. She says, "He seems different." (I agree.) Finally, Sun admits he came to her asking about her pregenacy. She's concerned. Maybe The Others want her baby? Kate is quiet, but her silence betrays her knowledge. Finally, she spills the beans about Juliet and that "something" happens to pregnant women on this island. Enraged, Sun goes to see Juliet and confronts her on the subject. She challenges her, she wants to know what "her" people are up too. She demands, "What happens to pregnant women on this island?!" "They die," Juliet says.
Back at the landing site, the parachutist is still in pain on the floor. The guys are arguing about what to do when they hear brushes crackling nearby. Desmond pulls out his knife, when Mikhail (from the Flame!) comes running out of the jungle. Whoa! They all stare at each other for a moment and then Mikhail runs in the other direction. Jin pursues! He catches up with him and the two of them engage in a cool little fistfight. Jin wins, of course.
They take Mikhail back to the parachuist and Desmond throws him up against a tree with the flaregun pointed at his chest. But Mikhail refuses to talk. Charlie sheds some light on the situation. "He's that guy who shot Sayid." Kate told them all about it (when was that exactly? in the one day between when she got back and before this latest escapade. anyway..) Hurley voices the question we're all thinking. "Didn't that guy die?"
The parachuist moans a little and Mikhail smiles his Russian grin. He says he was a field medic for the Soviet army and he'll look at her. Desmond leads him towards the woman, gun still trained on his chest. Mikhail looks her over and says her lung has been punctured by the branch. "I can fix her," he says, "if you promise to let me go."Desmond agrees and asks, "What do you need?"
In Korea, Sun walks down a lonely (and familiar) dock to find Jin's father. She's holding a dossier on him, but he seems to know exactly who she is. He takes her back to his home where they drink tea and discuss Jin. He confirms what the woman said about Jin's mother. "She was with many men," he says. He's not even sure he's his real father, but who else would take care of the boy? Jin's father is happy to see her and happy to hear about his son, but he doesn't want Sun to tell him anything when she gets back home. It's a sad touching scene, also nice to see an reappearance of a flashback-land character again. (We last met Jin's father in the first season episode "...In Translation.")
In camp, a sleeping Sun is woken suddenly by Juliet. She says she has answers for Sun, if she trusts her and leaves right now with her. Sun is dubious, but agrees. They set off walking to The Staff station. On the way, Sun pesters her with questions. Juliet admits that based on her research (specifically her experience with Claire), a woman who becomes pregnant off the island but gives birth on the island will be okay, but if Sun became pregnant on the island, she may be in deep trouble. At the Staff, they have equipment that will perform an ultrasound and they can determine the D.O.C, the date of conception. Sun is still unsure, since she knows that Claire and Kate and Rosseau found that station before and didn't find anything working. (That happened in the second season episode, Maternity Leave. Kate, apparently, loves to tell stories over the campfire.) Juliet just smiles, "They didn't know where to look," she says.
In Korea, Sun goes to see her father, Mr. Paik. She asks for one hundred thousand dollars. Her father doesn't give it too easily, but figures out it has something to do with Jin. He agrees to give her the money, but says that Jin will now work directly for him as payment for this favor. He gives her the money.
Back in the jungle, Mikhail is working under torchlight to save the woman. He prepares to reveal the bleeding in her lungs and needs someone's help. Desmond, gungho, leans down to help. The woman starts to convulse and seems to be on the brink of death when Mikhail stabs her with a hyperbolic needle and pulls out the branch. The woman says something in Italian. "Thank you."
Elsewhere in the jungle, Sun and Juliet enter the Staff and go to the locker room where Kate found Mr. Friendly's costume way back in the day. She pulls some secret door bullshit and they go inside a room littered with equipment, beds, and dolls. Sun asks, "What is this place?" Juliet, grudingly, admits, "This is where we brought the women to die."
Above the parachuist's body, Mikhail asks if they are going to let him go. Charlie says, "of course not!" But Desmond is a man of his word and lets him leave. As soon as he does, though, Jin notices the satelite phone from the last episode is missing. He takes off after Mikhail (again). The Russian just smiles, "How could you respect me if I didn't try?" Charlie again says, "We can't keep letting these people go!" but Desmond lets Mikhail leave.
In the Staff, Sun reveals to Juliet that Jin is infertile. But Juliet says, "Before you got to this island." She explains that men have an average sperm count of 60 and 80 million, but on this island, it's five times that. With that, Juliet begins an ultrasound examination on Sun's belly. After a moment, she sees the baby on the screen and hears the heartbeat. Sun asks if it's a boy or girl but Juliet laughs. "It's too early for that." She comments that the heartbeat is strong and healthy. She takes the necessary measurement and concludes that Sun got pregnant 53 days ago, and they've been on the island about eighty days.
In Korea, Sun goes to the bridge where she first met the woman. She hands over an envelope, the woman she demanded. She asks the woman why she didn't just say she was Jin's mother. The woman says, "I gave birth to him, but I am not his mother." Sun then threatens the woman to leave her and Jin alone forever or she will unleash her family's power and destroy her.
Outside the Staff, Sun wonders how long she has and assures Juliet she's happy with the news, despite the grim future. Juliet says she needs to go back inside in case she missed anything. (hmm...) In the locker room, Juliet opens one of the locker and takes out a hand held tape recorder. She records a message to Ben telling him that Sun is pregnant and was impregnated on the island and that she is "working" on getting samples from the other woman. She turns off the tape and whispers, "I hate you."
In the jungle, Charlie and Jin and Desmond are building a stretcher. Charlie says they should have never let Mikhail go. "We can't trust them," he says, despite their new friendliness with Juliet. "We should have killed him," Charlie says. Desmond says, by his count, they've killed more than the Others have killed the survivors. Further up the hill, Hurley is watching over the parachuist. She starts to talk, in English (finally!) She asks where she is and who Hurley is. He says his name and says that he's one of the survivors of Flight 815. The woman recognizes the flight. "Out of Sydney?" she asks. She shakes her head. "That's not possible. They found the plane. There were no survivors. They were all dead."
* * *
GREAT ending to a great episode! Lost's track record for this latter half of the season is right-on! Another surprise ending and lots of interesting revelations.
I had a little trouble with Sun seeming to trust Juliet so easily. (At the same time, I didn't doubt Desmond's difficult decision to trust Mikhail). But I guess it was a needed plot device. It was cool to see a Dharma station, as always, even tho the Staff is probably the least interesting.
But the writing and the pacing and always great character work with Sun and Jin really made this episode flow well. It's a powerful bridge between last week's "momentous" events and the last string of episodes before the end of the season!
Next week, we finally get back to Locke's storyline and see what's up with his dad!
The awesomeness of Lost's third season continues with another great episode, this week's "D.O.C."I loved how they went straight back to the parachutist from last week. Unlike the surprise ending with Locke's dad three weeks ago, the show continued on with their story without a big diversion and unnecessary filler (*cough*). At the same time, they were able to address another important storyline this episode, Who is the father of Sun's baby? AND continuing the whole Juliet/Trust issue. All in one solid hour! With one whopping surprise!
We start with Sun in her garden. She hears sounds nearby and the look on her face is sudden fear. Obviously, she's still traumatized from her abduction last season. But it's not someone scary, it's Jack. He's come to check up on her, but his incessant questions arouse Sun's curiosity.
Flashback! In a city in Korea (Seoul, perhaps?), Sun is walking along with shopping bags. She's smiling brightly. She receives a call on her cell. It's her husband, Jin. They greet each other with "Mr." and "Mrs." Kwon, enjoying the formality of the title, a sign that is early in their marriage. Sun goes to sit down on a bench near a woman reading a newspaper. The woman overhears Sun on the phone and sees a picture of Sun and Jin in the paper announcing their marriage. Coincidence? No. The woman seems to know a lot about Jin's heritage. She says his father was a fisherman (which we knew) and his mother was a prostitute (which we didn't). The woman says she'll spill Jin's secret unless Sun pays her one hundred thousand dollars. Drama!
We next cut to Desmond, Jin, Charlie, and Hurley standing over the parachutist. I was relieved to see she's still alive, but in bad shape. She's talking in random languages. Finally, she says something in Spanish and Hurley understands her. "She says she's dying!" Hurley exclaims. They look at the side of her abdomen, where a sharp branch has punctured her lung. Hurley goes to look through her bag for a medical kit while the others agree that they need Jack. Desmond says he'll run to camp and bring him back, but Charlie says that thats crazy. There's all kinds of scary things in the jungle and they can't just stay with the woman until then. Why? says Desmond. "No one knows we're here." At that moment, Hurley shoots off a flaregun from the woman's backpack that tells everyone on their side of the Island where they're at.
"Oops," he says.
On the beach, Sun is helping Kate rebuild her tent. They spot Jack nearby and Sun starts to comment about what happened to Jack when he was captured by the Others. Whether they should trust him at all now. She says, "He seems different." (I agree.) Finally, Sun admits he came to her asking about her pregenacy. She's concerned. Maybe The Others want her baby? Kate is quiet, but her silence betrays her knowledge. Finally, she spills the beans about Juliet and that "something" happens to pregnant women on this island. Enraged, Sun goes to see Juliet and confronts her on the subject. She challenges her, she wants to know what "her" people are up too. She demands, "What happens to pregnant women on this island?!" "They die," Juliet says.
Back at the landing site, the parachutist is still in pain on the floor. The guys are arguing about what to do when they hear brushes crackling nearby. Desmond pulls out his knife, when Mikhail (from the Flame!) comes running out of the jungle. Whoa! They all stare at each other for a moment and then Mikhail runs in the other direction. Jin pursues! He catches up with him and the two of them engage in a cool little fistfight. Jin wins, of course.
They take Mikhail back to the parachuist and Desmond throws him up against a tree with the flaregun pointed at his chest. But Mikhail refuses to talk. Charlie sheds some light on the situation. "He's that guy who shot Sayid." Kate told them all about it (when was that exactly? in the one day between when she got back and before this latest escapade. anyway..) Hurley voices the question we're all thinking. "Didn't that guy die?"
The parachuist moans a little and Mikhail smiles his Russian grin. He says he was a field medic for the Soviet army and he'll look at her. Desmond leads him towards the woman, gun still trained on his chest. Mikhail looks her over and says her lung has been punctured by the branch. "I can fix her," he says, "if you promise to let me go."Desmond agrees and asks, "What do you need?"
In Korea, Sun walks down a lonely (and familiar) dock to find Jin's father. She's holding a dossier on him, but he seems to know exactly who she is. He takes her back to his home where they drink tea and discuss Jin. He confirms what the woman said about Jin's mother. "She was with many men," he says. He's not even sure he's his real father, but who else would take care of the boy? Jin's father is happy to see her and happy to hear about his son, but he doesn't want Sun to tell him anything when she gets back home. It's a sad touching scene, also nice to see an reappearance of a flashback-land character again. (We last met Jin's father in the first season episode "...In Translation.")
In camp, a sleeping Sun is woken suddenly by Juliet. She says she has answers for Sun, if she trusts her and leaves right now with her. Sun is dubious, but agrees. They set off walking to The Staff station. On the way, Sun pesters her with questions. Juliet admits that based on her research (specifically her experience with Claire), a woman who becomes pregnant off the island but gives birth on the island will be okay, but if Sun became pregnant on the island, she may be in deep trouble. At the Staff, they have equipment that will perform an ultrasound and they can determine the D.O.C, the date of conception. Sun is still unsure, since she knows that Claire and Kate and Rosseau found that station before and didn't find anything working. (That happened in the second season episode, Maternity Leave. Kate, apparently, loves to tell stories over the campfire.) Juliet just smiles, "They didn't know where to look," she says.
In Korea, Sun goes to see her father, Mr. Paik. She asks for one hundred thousand dollars. Her father doesn't give it too easily, but figures out it has something to do with Jin. He agrees to give her the money, but says that Jin will now work directly for him as payment for this favor. He gives her the money.
Back in the jungle, Mikhail is working under torchlight to save the woman. He prepares to reveal the bleeding in her lungs and needs someone's help. Desmond, gungho, leans down to help. The woman starts to convulse and seems to be on the brink of death when Mikhail stabs her with a hyperbolic needle and pulls out the branch. The woman says something in Italian. "Thank you."
Elsewhere in the jungle, Sun and Juliet enter the Staff and go to the locker room where Kate found Mr. Friendly's costume way back in the day. She pulls some secret door bullshit and they go inside a room littered with equipment, beds, and dolls. Sun asks, "What is this place?" Juliet, grudingly, admits, "This is where we brought the women to die."
Above the parachuist's body, Mikhail asks if they are going to let him go. Charlie says, "of course not!" But Desmond is a man of his word and lets him leave. As soon as he does, though, Jin notices the satelite phone from the last episode is missing. He takes off after Mikhail (again). The Russian just smiles, "How could you respect me if I didn't try?" Charlie again says, "We can't keep letting these people go!" but Desmond lets Mikhail leave.
In the Staff, Sun reveals to Juliet that Jin is infertile. But Juliet says, "Before you got to this island." She explains that men have an average sperm count of 60 and 80 million, but on this island, it's five times that. With that, Juliet begins an ultrasound examination on Sun's belly. After a moment, she sees the baby on the screen and hears the heartbeat. Sun asks if it's a boy or girl but Juliet laughs. "It's too early for that." She comments that the heartbeat is strong and healthy. She takes the necessary measurement and concludes that Sun got pregnant 53 days ago, and they've been on the island about eighty days.
In Korea, Sun goes to the bridge where she first met the woman. She hands over an envelope, the woman she demanded. She asks the woman why she didn't just say she was Jin's mother. The woman says, "I gave birth to him, but I am not his mother." Sun then threatens the woman to leave her and Jin alone forever or she will unleash her family's power and destroy her.
Outside the Staff, Sun wonders how long she has and assures Juliet she's happy with the news, despite the grim future. Juliet says she needs to go back inside in case she missed anything. (hmm...) In the locker room, Juliet opens one of the locker and takes out a hand held tape recorder. She records a message to Ben telling him that Sun is pregnant and was impregnated on the island and that she is "working" on getting samples from the other woman. She turns off the tape and whispers, "I hate you."
In the jungle, Charlie and Jin and Desmond are building a stretcher. Charlie says they should have never let Mikhail go. "We can't trust them," he says, despite their new friendliness with Juliet. "We should have killed him," Charlie says. Desmond says, by his count, they've killed more than the Others have killed the survivors. Further up the hill, Hurley is watching over the parachuist. She starts to talk, in English (finally!) She asks where she is and who Hurley is. He says his name and says that he's one of the survivors of Flight 815. The woman recognizes the flight. "Out of Sydney?" she asks. She shakes her head. "That's not possible. They found the plane. There were no survivors. They were all dead."
* * *
GREAT ending to a great episode! Lost's track record for this latter half of the season is right-on! Another surprise ending and lots of interesting revelations.
I had a little trouble with Sun seeming to trust Juliet so easily. (At the same time, I didn't doubt Desmond's difficult decision to trust Mikhail). But I guess it was a needed plot device. It was cool to see a Dharma station, as always, even tho the Staff is probably the least interesting.
But the writing and the pacing and always great character work with Sun and Jin really made this episode flow well. It's a powerful bridge between last week's "momentous" events and the last string of episodes before the end of the season!
Next week, we finally get back to Locke's storyline and see what's up with his dad!
posted by Elad at 6:01 PM
4 Comments:
Great recap Elad! So are they dead? Is it a cover up by Dharma or the Others? I think it is...
And the episode was really good - i'm glad they didn't give us a bullshit episode. although I am getting a little sick of juliet's two faces.
i also thought it was really good! i cant wait for these next few episodes!! if they are dead, we go back to my original prugatory theory, but i hear over and over, it defly is not that... i dont know what is happening, ubt im fairly sure dharma does not equal the others....
Ok i just have to let you know that this was episode 18 not 20. Have you been imagining extra episodes??
Hey anonymous - thanks for pointing out the mistake in episode number - it is fixed now. I think Elad got ahead of himself because he wants to know how the season is going to end!
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