Every once in a while there's an episode that's not very popular with the LOST community but it resonates with me. The Little Prince is one of those cases. I searched high and low to understand why it's so unpopular but I just can't. This is one of my favorites in Season 5 and undoubtedly my favorite Kate-centric.
Off-island, attorney Dan Norton is ratcheting up the heat on Kate to take maternity tests — and he's not about to entertain her "deal" to reveal his client's identity. This triggers a scramble between Kate and Jack to discover who the client is. Spoiler alert! It's Ben Linus. Yeah, so there was a bit of a cheesy misdirection to make us think it was Claire's mother but I guess the attorney coincidence can be written off as Ben pulling strings.
The beauty of the episode lies in the island storyline, where Locke determines he needs to return to the Orchid to make the time flashes stop. After all, the flashes are slowly killing Charlotte and giving Miles nosebleeds (for reasons we discover a bit later).
During their jungle trek they notice a distance beam of light. Any LOST fan's jaw should've dropped at that point, for it was an unexpected blast from the past. I was already thrilled with this little treat but it only got better. Sawyer hears a woman screaming in the distance and runs to investigate, only to stumble across... Kate and Claire!?
It's the powerful scene from Season 1's "Do No Harm" where Kate delivers Claire's baby Aaron. Cue Giacchino's amazing music along with the chills going all the way through me. This gets my vote for one of the most astoundingly beautiful moments in the series, and that's coming from a guy who finds Kate and Sawyer pretty reprehensible.
The nostalgic twists and turns weren't over yet. They finally reach the beach camp, which is populated with tents and structures but they're considerably aged and worn. What follows is the controversial "outrigger" scene. Locke's team finds an outrigger on the beach, and while they're padding around one of the island points they're chased and shot at by an unknown group on a second outrigger. A special note in the Complete Collection (a Black Rock journal entry) attempts to shed light on the identity of the second group but the fan base is debating whether it logically fits and/or is canon.
Personally I've never understood why it's such a big deal at all, but that opinion aside I don't see why the journal entry doesn't work, or even why the Ajira bottle in the second outrigger proves (or disproves) anything. It's entirely feasible that anyone within the island's range could've been caught in time flashes and tossed around just like anyone else. Therefore, I see no reason why it's impossible that the Black Rock crew got caught in a flash which sent them to the same time period as the outrigger shootout.
That mystery aside, there were two more major surprises addressed in one scene. Jin, who was presumed to be dead after the freighter explosion, was discovered by a group of French-speaking people on a raft. As I watched this the first time I started saying to myself, "No way... is that... no way."
Yes way. Danielle Rousseau indeed.
I need to get to the most special part (in my humble opinion) of this episode. One thing I love about LOST is the overarching theme of the internal struggle of human goodness versus everything contrary to it. Season 5 might seem like a complete departure from that theme, but maybe it isn't after all. Regret is a huge part of what makes us who we are, and can go a long way to keep us anchored down to the past. With that in mind, consider this exchange between Sawyer and Locke after seeing the hatch light and Kate/Claire:
SAWEYER: That light in the sky — it was from the Hatch, wasn't it?
LOCKE: The night that Boone died, I went out there and started pounding on it as hard as I could. I was ... confused. Scared. Babbling like an idiot, asking why was all this happening to me?
SAWYER: Did you get an answer?
LOCKE: Light came on, shot up into the sky. At the time, I thought it meant something.
SAWYER: Did it?
LOCKE: No. It was just a light.
SAWYER: So why'd you turn us around then? Don't you wanna go back there?
LOCKE: Why would I wanna do that?
SAWYER: So you could tell yourself to do things different, save yourself a world of pain.
LOCKE: No, I needed that pain — to get to where I am now.
In my view this one exchange constructs the entire theme of Season 5, or at least establishes its relevance in the series-long theme of one's ongoing struggle to find his way.
Congratulations to Melinda Hsu Taylor on an excellent LOST writing debut, as well as Brian K. Vaughan for teaming up with her on this fine episode.
This review's running long so I'll keep it brief. Evangeline Lilly and Josh Holloway were both unbelievably good in this episode, honorable mentions going to Fox and O'Quinn.
Deductions for Susan Duerden (Carole Littleton), who was much more stilted than her appearance in There's No Place Like Home. Her delivery of "Who's... Aaron?" was abysmal.
Once again I must acknowledge the scene with Sawyer discovering Kate and Claire. Not a fancy or high-budget effect by any means, yet extremely powerful directing and editing nevertheless.
Bonus points for the outrigger scene; frustrating as the mystery may be for some people it was still compelling cinematography. More bonus points for the fight scene between Sayid and the assassin in the hospital.
This is one episode where Longevity and Intangibles are inexorably linked. I can easily watch The Little Prince repeatedly because it affected me so much the first time around. I'll never forget the chills when Sawyer ran across Kate and Claire, or when Danielle Rousseau was revealed at the end. I'm happy to relive those moments any time.
Significance in the mythology might be debatable, considering this episode is merely part of the characters' path toward their respective goals. The O6 are still resisting their inevitable reunion and the Orchid is still a long way off.
As soon as Locke's team saw the Swan light I was mesmerized and stayed that way. I can't fully explain it but I'll say this: so many shows I've watched over the years had a very bad habit of ignoring their own past. But once again LOST dared to break the rules and risk alienating newer viewers who would have no idea what those scenes meant.
Part of my emotion was nostalgia, but another part was appreciation that LOST was taking the time to remember its roots. In my view, that's what makes this episode much greater than the sum of its parts.
