Television Lady: LOST: It Wasn't Purgatory, Season 2, Episode 19, S.O.S.

Wednesday, April 21, 2021

LOST: It Wasn't Purgatory, Season 2, Episode 19, S.O.S.

On-Island Events: Bernard and Rose disagree about how best to proceed with their new island lives; Locke attempts to reconstruct a drawing of the question mark map on the blast door. Jack tends to "Henry's" shoulder and informs him that he will try to trade for Walt.

Bernard rounds up a group of survivors and suggests making a sign on the beach for a new rescue attempt. Rose admonishes Bernard for giving people false hope. Later he approaches Eko and Charlie, who decline to help, and criticizes them for building a church instead of aiding in rescue plans. Locke yells at "Henry" through the armory door while "Henry" sits back and smiles at the chaos he's created.

Bernard accuses Rose of sabotaging his rescue plan; Rose suggests he just let things be. Jack and Kate set out to the disputed area to find "Henry's" people but get caught in one of Rousseau's nets. Locke and Rose sit together on the beach; Rose suggests with a knowing look that despite his broken leg, Locke will heal faster than he thinks.

Kate explains her theory of the others' sophistication to Jack, who is upset at having been kept in the dark about the hidden medical station. When they arrive at the disputed area, Jack yells to announce his presence and adds that he has their man. Rose discloses to Bernard that the island has healed her, and remembers seeing Locke in a wheelchair in the airport before the flight. Bernard understands and tells Rose that they'll never leave the island. As Jack and Kate wait for the others in the jungle, a frantic and exhausted Michael emerges.

Flashbacks: Bernard meets Rose when he helps her out of a snowed-in parking spot; she thanks him by buying him coffee. Five months later at Niagara Falls, Bernard proposes to Rose, who says she's sick and dying, but accepts. In the outback on their honeymoon Bernard takes Rose to a spiritual healer and the two argue about it. Bernard insists he needs to try to do something about Rose's situation despite Rose's own peace with it. The healer explains how he harnesses energy but tells Rose his is not the right place for her healing. Rose states she will tell Bernard he had fixed her anyway.

Greater Meaning: It seems important to note that since Rose and Locke have been healed by coming to the island, they do not wish to leave or get rescued. One wonders how this may play out down the line should an opportunity to leave or get rescued actually arise. Eko and Charlie's building of the church also suggests a comfort in settling in to island life, long-term. Should the survivors actually stay and carve out a new civilization to dwell spread out over the beach, jungle, and cave area, the issues with "Henry," Rousseau, and any others become more than just individual inconveniences. Jack's sentiment of living together or dying alone seems all the more important in this light; will the survivors be able to live alongside the island's more senior residents?

Rose has proven to be knowledgeable in many instances, in knowing Bernard was alive, in having a funny feeling about the hatch, and as revealed in this episode, in knowing the cancer had left her body once crashing onto the island. Electricity, magnetism, geology, and energy have come up several times in the second season; Rose's healer mentioned pockets of energy under the location in Australia where he practiced, the magnetic energy in the hatch still hasn't quite been figured out, and "Henry's" odd comments about no one being able to see or find the island suggests a unique geological energy at work. Can the island be explained, scientifically, or is there another influence at play? What could the island possibly have going on that would not only cure cancer but also paralysis and broken bones? Does Rousseau know about this property? Does "Henry?"