It's time for some comic relief! Right off the bat we're getting some laughs as Hurley plows his way through the Swan pantry. As soon as he pulled a fully prepared steak dinner out of a cardboard box we should've known something was askew.
If not, Jin standing at the doorway next to the Mr. Cluck's mascot should have tipped you off. If not, Jin saying in pristine English, "Have a cluckety-cluck-cluck day, Hugo" should've been the clincer. If not, I have no idea why you're watching LOST at this point.
The parallel between the flashbacks and island storyline crystalizes quickly. In both cases Hurley realizes that big, big changes are imminent. He will soon be in a position of great responsibility, one which will inevitably draw wrath and scorn from people he cares about.
Hurley needs some assistance with his Swan responsibilities, so he enlists — hooray! — Rose Nadler. She cautiously tours the Swan with the same wide-eyed expression as those before her, then gets down to business with tracking the food. At one point Hurley convinces himself that igniting dynamite in the pantry is his only way out of his new job, and Rose talks him out of it. This is perhaps the only part of the storyline I thought was a bit ridiculous, even in the generous framework of credibility afforded to a comedic episode.
In addition to the humor spread evenly throughout the episode, there were a few strokes of genius from Kitsis and Horowitz: 1) Charlie finally scores REAL peanut butter from Claire, and 2) we discover that Rose was right about Bernard's fate all along. The closing sequence still brings the tears every single time.
As endearing as Hurley is all throughout this episode, Jorge himself it hot and cold depending on the scene. He's a tough one to figure out, for sometimes his facial expressions and tone of voice are exactly what I'd expect from a comedic actor. Other times he's just plain over-rehearsed.
His scene in Randy Nations' office is especially painful, with the prolonged "Uh... no?" followed by an even more prolonged "Uh....... yeah?". Ugh.
DJ Qualls (Johnny) earns two thumbs up for his guest role, one in which he actually carried certain scenes with his charisma and quirky humor.
Bonus points to L. Scott Caldwell (Rose) and Sam Anderson (Bernard), who cap off an hour of laughs with a truly heartwarming sequence.
The opening dream sequence is a noteworthy achievement in the visuals department, primarily the quick cuts of Hurley demolishing bags of chips and milk cartons.
Alan Taylor, in his only directing role on LOST, should be commended for the "beach party" scene where Hurley distributes the food. The previous few weeks had been pretty intense so this scene was the release that everyone — audience included — was looking for. It just feels good to watch.
It's also worth noting that the Arrow station, as plain and bare as it was, conveyed a real sense of dread and despair. I'm not even sure I can describe how or why that is, so by default I must throw some credit toward the directing and visuals crew.
If you catch EHH when you're in the right frame of mind, chances are you'll enjoy it whether it's the first viewing or the tenth. However, I imagine it would clash with certain moods and feel more like an episode to get through.
Other than the discovery of the Arrow station, and arguably the conversation between Jack and Sayid under the Swan floor, there isn't much significance to EHH in the grand scheme of things. That's not a harsh criticism, it's an objective view of one aspect of the Longevity category.
I'm giving EHH a pass on the "atmosphere" category, since it was never really the goal of this particular episode to establish any particular atmosphere. However, if success can be measured in terms of scoring laughs, this episode definitely fits the bill. There has never been a time when Carmen Reyes failed to make me laugh.
Regarding emotional impact, two scenes stand high above the rest: the beach-party sequence and the Rose/Bernard ending. Other than that, sorry, I can't really relate to the trials and tribulations of a millionare-to-be.
