1.06 - House of the Rising Sun

Title’s significance: Punning on Sun’s name, the title refers to a ballad of the same name, which tells the story of a woman in a less-than-ideal relationship who ends up sticking with her husband anyway (just like Sun – see what they did there?).

Recap: Flashbacks reveal that Sun and Jin’s marriage began to deteriorate after he took a shady and bloody job working for her shadier father. Tensions flare on the island, especially between Jin and Michael. Charlie’s heroin habit gets a bit worse and leads to a bee attack, but Locke discovers the addiction problem and volunteers to help; Charlie surrenders his heroin to Locke, and his guitar magically appears in the trees. Jack wants to relocate to the caves, which creates a schism on the beach. Jin accuses Michael of being a thief (for finding Sun’s father’s watch in the wreckage), and Sun reveals to Michael that she can speak English – something she learned as part of a plan (which she later abandoned at the last minute) to flee her husband. Kate tells Jack she’s staying on the beach, and Michael gives the watch to Jin. The survivors split in half over location; some go to the caves while the rest stay on the beach.

Thoughts: Kudos to LOST for being able to pull off an episode focused around characters who don’t speak a word of English (or so we think). This episode also represents a simpler time when the greatest threat facing out survivors was a bee attack – not Others, not other Others, not the nefarious Charles Widmore, but bumblebees.

Favorite moment: Mythologically speaking, the introduction of Adam and Eve puts a wrinkle into the island’s history. In terms of humor, I love Jack’s comment, “You guys shot a polar bear last week, right? ...Where’d that come from?” as well as Charlie’s deadpan “I’d have guessed C’s, actually.”

Characters introduced (in order):

• ADAM AND EVE, mysterious corpses in the caves

What we learned:

• There’s something suspicious about Sun’s father.
• Michael’s only priority is getting Walt off the island (which becomes ultra-important next season).
• Sun has been able to speak English this whole time.

Questions:

• What’s the deal with Jack and his tattoos?
• What’s the deal with Sun’s father?
• What happened to Charlie’s band, Driveshaft?

Things that are going to be important in Season Six:

• I’d like to see Adam and Eve get addressed, but I think this is a mystery that’s going to slip through the cracks.