"White Rabbit"

Written by Christian Taylor
Directed by Kevin Hooks


In which water supplies unexpectedly run out as the survivors begin to look on each other with suspicion, as Jack chases an all-too-familiar figure into the jungle...

Status Report - Final Analysis







Status Report
Now five episodes in, the series is a bona-fide hit and has been picked up for a full season. For many genre fans, this is a welcome development. Too many excellent shows have been prematurely cancelled in recent years, thanks to promotional blunders and network cowardice. Perhaps WB and FOX need to take a look at how strong the promotion for “Lost” was and consider how they might have done things differently.

Despite the short pre-production time for the pilot, it’s clear that Abrams and Lindelof took great pains to ensure a tight continuity. Certain elements are obviously not going to present themselves due to production constraints: Hurley’s not going to lose all that weight, and people aren’t going to run around half-naked. To compensate for the natural response of disbelief, the writers are making a grand effort to build compelling characters.

After six days on the island, the survivors are beginning to understand that rescue is not coming any time soon. This was made clear to a handful of survivors by the end of the pilot, but the rest are unaware of the situation. Since a leader hasn’t really emerged from the roughly four dozen, critical mistakes are being made. In the last episode, food supplies were down to almost nothing, and in this episode, the fresh water supply is nearly gone.

Focusing on Jack, this is an episode that delves even more deeply into the mystery of the island than previous hours. Jack’s story is actually rather simple. His father was a man of compromised morality, electing to detach himself so completely from consequence that his own son’s attempt at schoolyard heroism seems foolhardy and wrong. Jack’s earlier hesitation to put the marshall out of his misery is now placed in context, and it’s not pretty.

What’s interesting is the commonality between the three stories that have been revealed since the pilot. Kate, Locke, and Jack were all being pushed to the edge by extreme emotional circumstances. Jack has just suffered a major loss after years of dealing with a father who couldn’t accept his own twisted moral code. It’s certainly suggested that Jack’s father used drugs and alcohol to cover his suffering, and that was a result of attempting not to care. Jack seems to have lived his life struggling to overcome the lessons he learned from his father, knowing all the while that he could be sliding into the same self-destructive patterns.

When his guard is down, like the first half of the pilot, Jack made choices and took chances. He acted like a leader. But once the initial shock wore off, all those lessons from his father came crushing back down on him. He didn’t want to make those decisions anymore, because then he would be responsible. It takes Locke, a man with questionable mental stability, to point out that the others are already looking to Jack for leadership; Jack just has to decide whether or not to accept that role.

In a roundabout way, Locke is trying to make a larger point with Jack. A number of self-promoted leaders have a considerable amount of self-assurance and belief in their own ability to make choices. But true leaders understand that it’s not about knowing what the right decision is. It’s about making a decision because a decision has to be made. Not making a choice becomes an unacceptable choice itself. And in the end, that’s the realization that Jack comes to. It’s better to make a choice and be wrong than not to make a choice out of fear of failure and consequence.

Beyond the strict character development that Jack’s journey represents, there is the question of Jack’s apparent hallucinations. On the one hand, he describes how his medical condition provides a basis for his mental state, but Locke comes right out and suggests that the island itself is a possible (and even probable) source. This is supported by the fact that Jack seems to be led on a particular journey. The survivors need water and shelter, and behold, it is provided. The fact that some vision or spirit of Jack’s father leads him to that place, through a transformative journey to leadership, strongly suggests that there is a powerful guiding force on the island.

This suggestion points back to the observation that the three stories told so far all involved people at a traumatic emotional crossroads: Kate, Locke, and now Jack. What if the survivors were meant to crash on that island? What if some twist of destiny ensured that the right people would be on the island to face their hopes and fears? Each character seems to be approaching a point at which they get to decide whether or not to become the person they want to be. Could some entity or power exist on the island to manifest those desires, tapping into the subconscious?

Kate wanted to escape her past and be free; she now has the opportunity to do so, but she has to overcome her desire to escape consequence in the process. Locke wanted a chance to prove himself as a survivalist; now he has the chance, but he also must accept the responsibility that it incurs. Similarly, Jack wanted to overcome the lessons of his father; now he has that chance, but he must choose whether or not to become the leader his father never wanted him to be.

All that said, there seems to be a dangerous side to this opportunity for transformation. One has to be very careful about one’s hopes or fears. If the island has the power to grant one’s innermost desire, then it also seems to have the power to manifest one’s greatest fears. It’s quite possible that the unseen creature on the island is a manifestation of collective will; it appeared immediately after the survivors began to understand their plight, when most were terrified at what might be “out there”. And of course, as many fans have pointed out, there is the odd connection between Walt’s comic book and the appearance of the polar bear. Could Walt have been so immersed in his desire to punish his father that he brought the polar bear into being, tapping into the resources of the island itself?

Whatever the case, there is an underlying question emerging in these early episodes: why were these people brought to the island? What is the purpose of it all? It seems suspect that fate brought these exact individuals to the same exact flight, and the malfunction of the plane suggests that something made sure that the plane crashed over that island. Locke seems to think that he knows this secret, based on his own encounter with it in the previous episode, but as the season progresses, that will remain to be seen.

With all the emphasis on Jack, one would expect that the other characters get short shrift. That’s not quite the case, since the writers know how to take a short scene and make it count. Kate remains somewhat aloof, but she is also taking action when necessary. As Sawyer suggested, she is beginning to take responsibility for the civilization of the group, whether she admits it or not. Her hidden past is going to become an issue if she continues to enforce a code of behavior, because under such strained circumstances, trust is paramount.

Charlie seems to want to do the right thing, whatever that may be, but he also seems to lack the confidence to make decisions. If given the right amount of trust, he could be a valuable ally. Of course, his drug addiction could make that necessary level of trust hard to justify. Even so, he turns to Jack when there’s a problem, rather than letting someone else make the effort, and once again, he seems to have decided to keep an eye on Claire.

Hurley is also doing everything in his power to help, but beyond that, it’s hard to know what he has to offer. He’s generous in many respects, and he doesn’t seem to have much of a violent side. But that gentle exterior could be deceptive, or even worse, could be genuine and therefore could make him a target. He needs to find some way to contribute beyond pointing out problems; with Jack’s help, he could gain more confidence and actually start solving them.

Sayid continues to be an intelligent survivalist, but there is an edge to him that could be dangerous if he’s pushed too far. He’s willing to take action, but he’s also willing to keep secrets from the others and act with more authority than he should. That said, he is a strong character, and if his character development continues along the same lines, he could represent one of the most favorable depictions of a Middle-Eastern character in recent memory.

In stark contrast, Sawyer becomes more and more despicable as the days march on. He seems to take real pleasure in pissing people off, and his attitude with Kate and Shannon is degrading and disgusting all at once. He seems to have no concern whatsoever for the rest of the survivors, other than in terms of his own gain, and he looks for advantage wherever and however he can get it. The writers seem to be setting the stage for Jack and Sawyer to gain allies as time marches on, and if there is a division in the camp soon, it’s likely that the two men will be on opposite sides.

For example, Boone was smart enough to recognize the fact that Jack wasn’t stepping up to the plate, yet immature enough to resent Jack for saving his life. Boone is the kind of dangerous individual that doesn’t seem to recognize his own shortcomings. Leaders with that myopic point of view often lead their followers to ruin, and one can see Sawyer taking advantage of that by fostering the hostility between Jack and Boone. How Sawyer’s thoughts on Shannon would play into that is hard to tell.

Claire gets more screen time this episode, and as a result, her personality is beginning to shine through. She seems to be something of a “new age” spiritualist, though it’s hard to be certain. Her personality is very open and carefree, taking things in stride, almost to a fault. That said, when she starts talking with that gorgeous smile, it’s hard not to be drawn in. Her pregnancy, however, makes any lack of food or water a deadly proposition.

Michael and Walt continue to have their issues. Michael has no clue how to be a father, and Walt certainly isn’t trying to make it easy. Nor is there any reason for Walt to do so. Michael also seems to be back on his feet rather quickly after his goring by the razorback, which could be seen as an inconsistency. All the underlying tension between Michael and Sun continues in this episode, and Jin seems to be asserting his relationship with his wife. His dominating personality, however, continues to drive a wedge between them.

Locke does a very good job of appearing in control among the other survivors, and his quick rescue of Jack demonstrates that he has no fear of the island or its mysteries. When he describes his personal epiphany, however, he gets a certain gleam in his eye that speaks to his unsettled mindset. As a character, however, he remains fascinating, and his scenes are certainly never boring.

More than any other episode so far, this hour is filled with nervous tension. The “hallucination” of Jack’s father is visually disturbing, with shots that are framed perfectly for the purpose of freaking the audience out. The camera work is reminiscent of horror films, but the fact that there is no overt threat posed by Jack’s father makes it that much more chilling. Add to that the perfectly nuanced score, and this is an episode that simply works on every level.


Final Analysis
Overall, this could be the best episode of the series yet. The flashback format is working incredibly well, especially since the backgrounds of the characters are being expertly blended with the experiences of the survivors on the island. The direction is especially strong in this episode, from the camera work to the score, and there’s simply nothing about the episode that isn’t promising.

Writing: 2/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 3/4

Final Rating: 9/10




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