There's no writing team I'd rather have for Hurley's final centric than Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz. The most surprising part of Everybody Loves Hugo is that it keeps the storyline moving at a frenetic pace.
The flash-sideways (FS) show Hugo Reyes being honored for his philanthropic contributions. Yet again we get some insight into the heart and mind of a character we loved — if there was any question whether Hurley had a good heart, this should settle it.
Hurley ends up meeting Libby, who tries to convince him they know each other. His interest was certainly piqued until he learned she was in a mental health facility. But that's where Desmond, the super-cool agent of the flash-sideways, works a little magic. He doesn't club Hurley over the head and try to force anything; he simply gives him a gentle nudge encouraging him to find out more.
His advice would eventually lead Hurley and Libby to an impromptu "date" on the beach. A soft kiss from Libby triggers Hurley's awakening, which sends Desmond off to his next target — John Locke. He wasn't quite as gentle this time around, slamming into Locke's wheelchair with his car and speeding away.
The island storyline had some major ups and downs as Hurley's group endeavors to find fake-Locke (FLocke). Let's go with a list to see which is which:
* Ilana blows herself up with a bag of dynamite. This is a major UP even though I know some fans were upset about it. There is NO way I expected Ilana to meet her demise at that moment, not the way she'd been built up in previous episodes. I love surprising twists and this is the height of unpredictability.
* Hurley blows up the Black Rock. The end of an era, this is an UP.
* Hurley steps away from the group after they hear whispers, meets with Michael. This is one of the worst mystery reveals in the entire series. The answer itself doesn't really make sense when you piece it together with all the whispers heard throughout the series. But even if you set that aside the forced manner in which it was revealed was awful. Might as well have had Michael jump in front of the group and say, "Hey, guess what I am!?"
Other than the super-lame whispers reveal, ELH is a great episode and a proper bookend to the series of Hurley centrics.
Just as the writing had its share of ups and downs, so did Jorge Garcia's performance. It may just be a coincidence but it seemed as if his flash-sideways scenes were much more varied and plausible than the island counterparts.
His best two scenes are both in the FS:
1. Meeting Desmond at Mr. Cluck's. Almost everything Hurley says here cracks me up and it was interesting to see Hurley in a foul mood for once. He plays it well.
2. Meeting Libby at the mental health facility. Garcia leveraged Hurley's good-natured spirit in this scene, trying to make sure Libby was comfortable even as he didn't really understand her.
Major props to Cynthia Watros for sliding so smoothly back into her role as Libby. I still firmly believe she's one of the most underrated short-term actresses on LOST.
I have neither points or deductions for Harold Perrineau, but I will say that I feel for him. His character suffered a disservice to the bitter end, and it sucks that his last scene was such an expository cop-out.
Fun fact: this was Dan Attias' second and final directed episode of LOST, the first being Numbers. Talk about a serious case of nostalgia.
The directing itself is extremely good, never going too far in tipping off the upcoming surprises. Sure, we got a few shots of the dynamite Ilana was carrying but Attias didn't frame the scene in such a way that I simply waited for the kaboom.
Yes, the explosions in this episode were certainly satisfying. I especially liked how Attias framed Hurley in front of the Black Rock flames as the group decided to split up.
Another little bonus is some trickery in the opening scene with Hurley at Libby's grave. We hear an off-camera female voice calling out to him, and for a moment we're led to believe it's Libby but, alas, it's Ilana.
Deductions for the design of the well Desmond's pushed into by MiB. There's no other way to say it... it looked extremely fake.
This is a case where I feel extremely lucky that I enjoy the flash-sideways, otherwise ELH would be reduced to a few memorable moments in the island storyline. The only part of the episode that genuinely makes me cringe is the whisper reveal. Other than that I'm happy to watch this one repeatedly.
You can bet there's significance in every episode from here on out, ELH being no exception. Hurley's awakening would lead him to join Desmond's cause and seek out others to help them find their way. The destruction of the Black Rock is also significant in that it forces Richard to head to the Barracks for explosives instead. This splits Richard, Miles, and Ben off into their own team.
I admit I'm a little strange... it wasn't the Hurley/Libby kiss that choked me up, it was the scene they shared in Santa Rosa. I definitely felt for her when the tears welled up in her eyes from the disappointment of Hurley not remembering.
Sick as it may sound, I wasn't upset by Ilana's sudden departure at all, in fact I was thrilled at that scene. It's not that I hated her character — I certainly didn't — it's just that I love it when writers take risks and do the unexpected. I was completely surprised and appreciated the fact that they'd pulled a fast one on me.
That sense of shock was repeated in the final scene with Desmond smashing into wheelchair-bound Locke. My mind was working overtime trying to process the implications of all this. I was convinced that Desmond was trying to kill Locke and that it would have some sort of impact on the "original" timeline. Once again I had no idea what I was talking about.
