For the second time in Season 2 we take a few steps back and explore the other fork in the road. This time we rewind 48 days to witness the Tailies' brutal struggle to survive.
I like what Cuse and Lindelof are trying to do here in establishing Ana Lucia as the anti-Jack. Jack was reluctantly thrust into a leadership role, while Ana pretty much elected herself. Jack was extremely reluctant in resorting to guns, while Ana would've curled into a fetal position if someone had taken her gun.
We also learn why the Others were taking their sweet time in getting to the Losties — they were busy pickin' off the Tailies one-by-one (or more accurately, nine at a time). A cloud of suspicion hovers over the group, but Ana Lucia eventually pegs Goodwin as "one of them". And by "pegs" I mean shoves a sharpened stick through his chest.
The pace quickens from there, showing us the discovery of the Arrow station, the arrival of Jin, Sawyer, and Michael, the trek across the jungle, and eventually the 48th day where Ana Lucia puts a bullet into Shannon. For the second straight week we're left off at the same moment.
I can't justify too high a rating for this episode because of the low level of difficulty. It was extremely linear by LOST standards and didn't face the same challenges of almost any other episode (plot holes, parallel storylines, etc.). There were some great bits in the dialogue however, notably this exchange:
ANA: You waited forty days to talk?
EKO: You waited forty days to cry.
Bam. Nicely done, Eko.
This is the episode that made me appreciate the original ensemble cast all over again.
Cynthia Watros (Libby) was the most consistent actor of the episode, particularly in the beginning when she straightened a man's broken leg. She was also convincing with her concerned reactions to power-drunk Ana Lucia.
Michelle Rodriguez continued her annoying habit of over-enunciating and gnashing of teeth. Her attempt at crying near the end was especially painful — she looked closer to constipated than melancholy. If I knew she was as sweet and humble as Elizabeth Mitchell in real life I'd give her plenty of credit for flipping a personality switch. Unfortunately I can't say that based on what I've seen.
Brett Cullen (Goodwin) seems to have a mixed reaction amongst the LOST fan base. I personally don't think he's anything to write home about, and there were plenty of moments in The Other 48 Days when I thought his acting was wooden and campy. The same applies to Josh Randall (Nathan).
Even the usually solid Sam Anderson (Bernard) had his head-scratching moments. His enunciation of "infiltrate" takes about four full seconds and I have no idea how it made the final cut.
By far the worst part was the first five minutes. Zach and Emma reminded us how easily child actors can obliterate the reality of a scene. Worse yet, Glenn Lehmann (Donald) was truly awful as the man with the broken leg.
One of my favorite visuals in the entire series is the first 30-40 seconds of The Other 48 Days. The first time around I had no idea what was going on, in fact I might've even assumed it was a Corona commercial.
Then... what's that I see? A flicker of something in the sky. As I'm trying to discern what it is, another flicker appears. And then another. Then I see these things are rotating. And then... wow.
I can honestly say the directing of TO48D was right on par with LOST's standards. Good angles on the jungle journeys, nice gradual reveal of the Arrow station, and so on. Suffice to say everything *looked* like a LOST episode even if it didn't really feel like one.
Consdering all the Tailies (except Bernard) end up six feet under the importance of this episode in the grand scheme of things is debatable. I suppose I should award points for the fact that Libby was so influential on Hurley and that Bernard was able to survive the ordeal in order to reunite with Rose.
Each time I watch the episode I enjoy it a little less, so fair to say the trend is still pointing downward in terms of longevity.
This episode gives a glimpse of how LOST could've been if the original casting wasn't so excellent. It's not a pretty picture whether we're talking about the characters or the actors chosen to portray them.
There's no emotional impact at all because I didn't really latch onto any of the characters I was watching (with the possible exception of Bernard).
