Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz get back to what they do best: funny. This time around they mix it up a little bit by infusing elements you might see in movies such as A Beautiful Mind.
In terms of sheer entertainment value Dave is a slam dunk. Some of the dialogue still makes me laugh out loud even after a handful of rewatches:
Dave: Uh, hello? Kinko's? Photoshop? What, you think they really blew up the Death Star?
. . .
Sawyer: I got enough food now to open a chain of mini-marts. Hey, think Sayid needs a job?
. . .
Hurley: I like that I like chicken?
... and the list goes on. The one-liners are great but they don't overpower an otherwise serious theme. In the flashbacks and island storyline, Hurley's being hounded by his imaginary "friend" Dave — a friend who's hellbent on reinforcing his bad habits. Dave eventually leads him to a cliff on the island and implies that suicide is the only way to "wake up". Pretty grim for a comedy, no?
Luckily, Libby is the one that ultimately saves Hurley from himself, pulling him back from the edge and insisting that their budding romance is real. Naturally some of that catharsis is dampened when we see her sitting in Santa Rosa moments later, but I digress.
Now that I know the full LOST arc this episode can go beyond just a comedic, non-sensical chapter in Hurley's story. If you believe that Dave was actually the Man In Black attempting to manipulate him into suicide (i.e. kill off a candidate) it fits pretty well. The burning question is whether MiB was even a seed in anyone's mind at that point. Watching this episode the first time around was a frustrating experience to say the least. It wasn't fun to think this was the direction the series was heading, that everything we'd seen was merely the product of a mental patient's over-active imagination.
Luckily my fears weren't justified and this episode was retroactively redeemed.
I can't neglect a few brilliant exchanges between Locke and Ben. Sure, O'Quinn and Emerson put their usual brilliance on display but the actual dialogue is very well-written. This is the episode where Ben truly starts to get inside Locke's head, forming part of the foundation of the next two seasons.
I must start out by giving Jorge Garcia a great deal of credit. An overly narcissistic actor may not have been able to deal with a script that hit so close to home, but Jorge seems to not only accept it but embrace some of its themes. It's pretty clear to me that he dug a little deeper in this one, that he was interested in showing a bit more emotional range.
I'm not going to say his acting was spectacular, but it was certainly a step up from previous efforts.
Cynthia Watros (Libby) was the rock of the episode, showing us once again that her Daytime Emmy wasn't a fluke. She struck the perfect balance of being warm and caring without being clingy or saccharine. The last scene on the cliffs with Hurley just might be her best work on the series.
Simply put, Evan Handler (Dave) was phenomenal. He's the overbearing yet magnetic personality we've all met in our lives at some point. I love the way he interacts with Hurley without directly influencing the environment. His best work is probably the monologue where he gives Hurley examples of how the island isn't real.
Bonus points to Bruce Davison (Dr. Brooks), who could easily pass for a real doctor based on his temperament alone.
It's funny how comedic episodes tend to bring out the creativity in the directing/visual teams as well. It's pretty clear the cast AND crew had a little fun filming this one.
One example is Hurley's destruction of his jungle pantry. Brilliant use of quick cuts here, showing everything from a ranch-dressing geyser to cereal explosions. It felt like a spontaneous moment all the way around and I think Jack Bender deserves some credit for that.
Bender's use of wide/crane shots is perfect for certain moments, such as the Losties congregating at the DHARMA pallet and the cliff scene with Libby and Hurley.
One scene that's particularly impressive is when Dave leads Hurley through the jungle (before the cliffs). There are red and orange flowers mixed in with the lush jungle and it creates an almost surreal scene — which meshes perfectly with what Dave's actually saying at that moment, that everything Hurley sees isn't real.
So we have very good writing, lots of laughs, superb acting from the guest cast, and lots of visual nuggets here and there. Sounds like the perfect episode, yes?
Well... yes and no. It's a very good standalone episode but it's not one I actively seek out to rewatch on a whim. As is the case with most Hurley episodes, I need to be in the right mood for it. If I'm locked into the intensity of the Swan storyline or anxious to into Ben's character arc, the last thing I want to do is watch Hurley scoop peanut butter off a leaf and into his mouth.
The episode is important to the extent that it establishes a force which is actively trying to harm Hurley. It's a logical assumption that it's the Man in Black, the same force which disguised itself as Christian and nearly led Jack off a cliff.
Realistically speaking, the fact that Dave is never seen or mentioned again pretty much says it all. I think it's safe to assume this episode was always intended to be an independent, isolated body of work.
I'm giving Dave a pass on the atmosphere bit as I don't think that was a primary objective to begin with. In terms of emotional impact I think some credit is due.
Let's face it, we all can relate to Hurley in that we each have our share of vices and unhealthy habits. It doesn't make a difference if it's food or something else; we all have the occasional battle with that voice which tells us change is a bad thing. It's so much easier to convince ourselves that it's us versus the world.
Unfortunately there's a portion of the audience that'll only ever care about the literal explanation of what Dave is, rather than considering what Dave represents and/or personalizing the message.
