The writing for "Cowboys" was so poignant and powerful I had to double-check to make sure it wasn't the work of Damon Lindelof. Javier Grillo-Marxuach, I tip my hat to you for this one, for it's a rare case where the flashbacks are just as compelling as the island storyline.
A patient flatlines while Jack attempts an emergency procedure, then we learn that his father Christian was the original surgeon of record. Christian had one too many drinks and was deemed unfit (by an anonymous nurse) to lead the procedure.
This puts Jack in the impossible position of choosing between personal integrity and family loyalty. Christian asks him to sign a heavily modified post-op report, to which Jack replies with the brilliant line, "Looks like you fixed everything but the patient."
It's only after Jack learns that the patient was also pregnant that his decision is set. Jack revises his statement, Christian's career vanishes before his eyes, and Jack struggles to hold back tears. This was pure, 100% brilliance by Mr. Marxuach and opened plenty of debate over whether Jack's decision was justified.
Meanwhile, the hunt is on to find Charlie and Claire and their abductor Ethan. Jack and Kate split off in one direction, Boone and Locke in the other. The Boone-Locke pairing would prove to be very significant later in the season. After receiving a lopsides beating by Ethan, Jack leads Kate deeper into the jungle and they find Charlie left for dead.
On first watch it seemed a sure thing that Charlie was the show's first major casualty. In fact, if Jack had listened to Kate's incessant nagging that would've indeed been the case. But this time, and perhaps as a result of what we witnessed in the flashbacks, Jack's stubbornness ultimately saved Charlie's life.
All four members of the "hunting party" deserve accolades for acting, including Boone, Locke, Jack, and Kate. Both teams had separate but equally compelling dynamics, with Evangeline Lilly offering the most impressive performance of them all (despite the nagging I mentioned above). When Charlie was jolted back to life she scaled the entire emotional spectrum from deep sorrow to sheer joy.
Major bonus points for John Terry (Christian), who brought out the best in Matthew Fox during several intense father-son standoffs.
In terms of directing, the real stand-out is obvious: Charlie's near-death. From the moment they discover his body strung up in the trees, the whole sequence is downright chilling. When Jack grabs a hold of Charlie to lift his weight, we see his shoes slipping through the mud — a nice touch that I'm inclined to think was Stephen Williams' call and not directly in the script.
But the ultimate moment is, of course, when the camera pulls back to the wide shot. The music stops, Jack is despondent and crouching over Charlie's "corpse", Kate is beside herself and sobbing into her hands. Every cinematic cue we've ever associated with death is used here.
And then... WHAM! Round two, which went considerably better than round one. And thus completes one of the most powerful scenes in all of LOST.
As I've been rating episodes, I usually bear in mind that the flashbacks generally lag a bit in the Longevity department. But "Cowboys" is a different story, not just for the powerful writing but the fact that it's Jack and Christian. White Rabbit was a terrific Jack-centric, but in my view it was "Cowboys" that truly set the tone for Jack's series-long arc. That's what makes it fun to watch again and again.
Some people take it personally if they're completely fooled by red herrings or misdirection. Personally I love surprises of all kinds, even those that bruise my own ego, so I loved the Charlie non-death.
Bonus sentimental points for the discovery of the Swan door at the very end of the episode. The Swan is one of my favorite aspects of the entire series so that moment is quite triumphant.
