Agreed - everybody does love Hugo – but did last night’s Hugo-centric episode disappoint after Happily Ever After? I’m afraid the answer has to be yes. The device of giving each character an episode has been exhausted and with just FIVE episodes (YES FIVE!) I want more meat (chicken) in my sandwich!
So what did we learn about sideways Hugo? His life-long love affair with chicken has made him a fortune, he’s an all around good guy (as outlined by Dr Pierre Chang – I couldn’t see Charlotte or Miles in the audience by the way), his mammy is seriously concerned about his love-life and he and Libby are destined to be together.
Yet again it is love that connects our LA gang with the island and sparks their realisation of another existence (Desmond, Charlie, Daniel and now Hurley). Just wait for the fireworks when LA Jack meets LA Kate and that inevitable cup of coffee between LA Sawyer and LA Juliet (surely they can’t deny us that scene).
The fact is though that Hurley’s LA story was essentially a re-run of Desmond’s last week. Here is another person strongly focussed on his career (in Hurley’s case his business and philanthropy) happily living, despite his mother’s rebuke that he is too scared for love, until he is stopped in his tracks by a chance (there are no chance encounters in Lost so ignore that) encounter with Libby.
So oblivious was Hurley to the alternate reality that just meeting Libby alone was not enough to spark some awareness in him. It was his attraction to her that brought him to Santa Rosa admitting to her that he didn’t remember the connection she had mentioned. It was only when they kissed on the beach that Hurley experienced that flood of memories. He needed that physical connection with her. In Desmond’s case the flash of Charlie’s hand and the memory of Penny’s name was enough to open the floodgates and when he touched her a far greater level of understanding seems to have been achieved (but more of Des later and his dubious motoring skills).
The problem last night is that as much as we love Hurley and we do – we haven’t invested as much in his relationship with Libby as we did in the Des/Penny story so the episode left me a little disappointed. Don’t get me wrong I cheered loudly when Hurley finally got his picnic date with Libby but island Hurley’s activities last night were of much more interest to me.
Island Hurley has found himself in a position of leadership of sorts (particularly after the unexpected death of Ilana) and despite Jack’s apparent trust in him you can’t help but feel he’s winging it. From the start with IIana he adopted a position of anti-action. IIana has (sorry had) positioned herself as Jacob’s representative on earth so you would think that Hurley (who is the only one who has actually seen Jacob since his death) would be on board with her plan to blow-up the plane.
Not so – so who is Hurley listening to? Last night his only encounter of the ghostly kind was with Michael (or someone who was passing themselves off as Michael) but his instructions were unclear. He said he was there to stop Hurley from getting everyone killed but I can’t remember hearing him explicitly telling Hurley to avoid blowing up the plane. Hurley – in a brief discussion with the expert on all things ghostly (Miles) – told him that they yell at him but we didn’t hear anyone yelling so are we seeing all of Hurley’s other-wordly encounters?
What prompted his decision to go see Locke? Has he actually got something to say to him and is he simply following an instruction. By the look on Locke’s face when more candidates (Jack and maybe Sun) arrived in his camp you have to wonder if at some level Locke is actually pushing Hurley’s buttons.
It was Hurley strop which inadvertently led to IIana killing herself and there seemed to be some significance to what was in her bag. Certainly Hurley lingered over examining the contents and seemed spurred into action immediately afterwards. Ben yet again was banging on about IIana being hand-picked by Jacob (why her, not me? Get over it Ben) and then commented when the island is done with you it’s done. And so bang IIana went up in a cloud of smoke (flashes of Iceland anyone?). But I have to ask the question what did the island bring IIana there to do? She had proved herself handy with a gun and knew about the candidates but is that it? If so then it hardly seems to have been a significant contribution.
This brings us neatly to the subject of Desmond - who clearly has a far more significant role in both realities. Not alone has he recalled his alternate world but he has a mission in both and what happens in one can directly impact the other. We had assumed that MIB took over the body of Locke just on the island but is LA Locke part Smokie as well and did Desmond know this when he drove at it last night? The question also has to be asked – has Locke always had a little Smokie in him? What is the relationship between these two characters?
Desmond, on gaining insight, went straight for a bucket of chicken steering Hurley in the right direction en route and then proceeded to take out Locke. Surely his next stop is the hospital for a chat with Jack and then the cop shop for a Sawyer showdown. Stoic island-Desmond has a much more straight-forward mission apparently – surrender to Locke and allow yourself be chucked down a well (back in a hatch-of-sorts again).
Lots more to mention – what’s going on with Jack and the mysterious boy in the world – but unfortunately my day-job is calling and I have a meeting to go to so over to you guys!
Bree Treacy
