People are saved in different ways.
-- Mr. Eko
That one line goes a long way to encapsulate the spirit of S.O.S., which happens to be one of my favorite episodes of Season 2. Steven Maeda and Leonard Dick took two peripheral characters and brought them into the spotlight where they belong. It turned out even better than I could've imagined.
The first twist: Rose and Bernard haven't been together all that long. Bernard's a "bachelor for 56 years" when he meets Rose in Brooklyn, then it's a hop, skip, and a jump to a marriage proposal and their trip to Australia. I guess you don't need twenty years to establish "old married couple" chemistry after all.
In flashbacks and on the island, Bernard is running himself ragged trying to save Rose. In both cases she implores him to stop, insisting she is at peace with her circumstances. There's an obvious parallel but there's also a key difference: on the island she senses her cancer has been cured. Since she's one of the few who'd seen Locke in a wheelchair at the airport, watching him walk around the island was all the proof she needed.
The Rose/Bernard story is beautiful enough at face value but it also presents an effective contrast between acceptance and rejection. Bernard draws a sense of purpose from taking action, from doing something to correct circumstances which aren't ideal. Rose feels that his motivations are pure but naive, that the only thing he's gaining is false hope. Neither approach is necessarily wrong and that's where the beauty of the conflict lies.
Luckily, the island has already stepped into their dispute and healed Rose of her cancer, allowing them to focus on each other and what is left of their time together. A satisfying conclusion to an emotionally powerful arc.
Another key moment occurrs in the Hatch, where Henry Gale finally delivers the mind-blowing line which removes any doubt of him being an Other: "They'll never give you Walt."
Wow. Looks like I wasn't just getting an overdue Rose/Bernard-centric, they were going to keep the momentum going on the Henry Gale storyline as well.
It's always interesting to see how actors respond when they go from background roles to center stage. I fully admit that I didn't give L. Scott Caldwell or Sam Anderson enough credit, since I figured S.O.S. would be a lighthearted novelty and nothing too memorable. I was wrong.
The scene that gets me every time is the obvious choice — the proposal at Niagara Falls. Anderson and Caldwell are both so wonderful in this scene while their characters reach new levels of vulnerability. Take that moment and contrast it with the scene where they're sorting DHARMA food and bickering like they've been at it for thirty years; that should give you an idea of how impressive their performances were.
If there was a weak link in S.O.S.'s acting I certainly couldn't find it. Even the secondary storylines featured solid performances by Fox, Lilly, O'Quinn, and Emerson.
Eric Laneuville returns to direct his second LOST episode, the first being The Other 48 Days. Any time an episode is able to affect me emotionally I don't just credit the writers and actors, I also have to credit the director for telling the story in a visually effective manner. One ill-advised wide shot can spoil the impact and momentum of a scene, but there were no such gaffes in S.O.S.
Exhibit A: the marriage proposal scene. Rose and Bernard couldn't have been any more vulnerable than they were at that moment. Laneuville recognized that and put most of the focus on their eyes. When Rose admits that she's dying, the look in Bernard's eyes says it all. That's the look of a man who's just been put through the emotional wringer.
The on-island scene where Bernard recruits help is another favorite of mine. The camera slowly pans around the group as he makes his case, then we cut to Rose every time she rains on his parade. It's a subtle enhancement by the camera crew but it's definitely appreciated.
Objectively speaking this episode is very self-contained and could be skipped with minimal impact on one's understanding of the mythology. There are a few significant bits with Michael returning and Henry Gale establishing himself as an Other, but even those pieces aren't critical in the grand scheme of things.
Subjectively speaking, none of the above really matters to me — at least not with this episode. The writing and acting is so captivating on so many different levels that I'd watch it repeatedly on its own merits.
This is one of a handful of episodes I'd specifically name when it comes to emotional impact. You have a newly married couple taking entirely different approaches to a matter of life and death, and though the conflict is very real there's no discernable protagonist.
I was emotionally involved in every aspect of S.O.S., but that's not to say it was warm and fuzzy every step of the way. When Bernard pitched his idea to the group I got very frustrated with Rose's cheap shots from the peanut gallery. I had no idea why she felt so threatened by his efforts, why she'd have the gall to embarrass him like that.
There's no question what I'd do in that situation — I'd volunteer to help Bernard with no hesitation. Whether it was false hope or not, his intent was pure and there was no harm in trying. I was just as baffled as Bernard at everyone's abrasive response to his plan.
The fact that I'm even considering what I'd do in that situation shows how emotionally engaging S.O.S. is, not to mention how satisfying it was when Rose and Bernard finally reconciled.
