3.04 - Every Man for Himself

Title’s significance: The title comes from Jack’s speech in “White Rabbit,” in which he says that “Every man for himself is not going to work.”

Recap: Sawyer’s flashbacks illustrate his time in prison after conning Cassidy, who visits him in prison and reveals he has a daughter; after conning a prisoner into revealing where he hid his embezzled funds, Sawyer gave the reward money to his daughter. At the beach, Desmond tells Claire her roof needs to be fixed, but she and Charlie don’t see a problem. Jack asks Juliet why he’s in a cell, but she’s called away when Colleen returns, wounded. Sawyer develops a plan to escape, but Ben thwarts it, roughs him up, and installs a pacemaker in his heart to keep him docile. Juliet brings Jack to save Colleen, but it’s too late; after Colleen dies, Pickett lashes out at Sawyer, and Kate admits that she loves him. When Desmond builds a lightning rod next to Claire’s tent, saving her from being struck, Charlie begins to catch on. Ben takes Sawyer for a hike, where he reveals that the pacemaker was a phony and that The Others live on their own separate island right next to the main island.

Thoughts: This was a good episode, let’s not kid ourselves – plenty of action, character, and suspense. But right around this point in Season Three, it seems the only mystery the show is concerned with is, “What’s up with The Others?” Most of our central cast is being neglected – when was the last time anyone saw Rose and Bernard, and is Charlie ever going to get more than one line each episode this season? Since this originally aired in a six-episode run with a long hiatus between, I guess it makes sense to have a six-episode mostly-self-contained arc, but on rewatch it feels every bit like stalling that it did during the original run.

Favorite moment: The moment when Ben kills the 8-bunny is so bizarre that it’s unforgettable, but Hurley’s baffled reaction to Desmond’s lightning rod – “Is that... art...?” – is priceless and classic.

Characters introduced (in order):

• MUNSON, an embezzling prisoner with Sawyer
• WARDEN HARRIS, a rotten warden imprisoning Sawyer off-island
• CLEMENTINE (mentioned), Sawyer’s daughter with Cassidy

What we learned:

• Sawyer was in prison for conning Cassidy.
• Ben hates needles.
• Sawyer has a daughter named Clementine.
• Colleen died from Sun’s gunshot wound.
• Kate loves Sawyer.
• Juliet is a fertility doctor.
• The Others are on another island adjacent to the island we know and love.
• Ben claims to be a better con man than Sawyer.

Questions:

• Whose spinal X-rays are up in the Others’ medical station?
• Was that the same bunny?

Things that are going to be important in Season Six:

• Unless Clementine becomes as important a baby as Aaron, not too much of mythological significance happens in this episode.