3.05 - The Cost of Living

Title’s significance: Eko tells “Yemi” that everything he has done has not been wrong because it enabled other people to live – that he has paid “the cost of living” for others.

Recap: As Eko flashes back to his work as a priest in Nigeria, he remembers protecting the church from warlords who tried to steal their vaccine supply. On island, Eko sees an apparition of his brother Yemi, who tells him that it is “time to confess.” The Others hold a Viking funeral for Colleen as Jack deduces that it is Ben who has a tumor on his spine. Desmond tells Locke and Sayid that the Swan computer could communicate with other stations; realizing that Eko is heading for the Nigerian plane (but unaware that Eko is being stalked by the smoke monster), Locke sets out for The Pearl, saying “We’re all going to the same place.” Ben tells Jack that he needs him to save his life, while Locke meets up with Eko and discovers that Yemi’s body is no longer in the plane. In The Pearl, Locke sees a man with an eyepatch on one of the monitors, but Eyepatch Man knows he’s being watched. Juliet tells Jack that Ben is a dangerous liar and asks him to kill Ben during the surgery. Another apparition of Yemi lures Eko into an open field, where Eko says that he has nothing to confess; “Yemi” says he is not Yemi, and the smoke monster appears and kills Eko, who before dying tells Locke, “You’re next.”

Thoughts: Pretty good episode, though I’m sorry to see Eko go since he had become one of the most interesting characters on the show. I can understand that he no longer had a place, though; if Locke has regained his faith, there is no need for another person to feel as passionately as Locke without getting in the way. I also think that Kiele Sanchez is actually a rubbish actress, since there’s nothing convincing about her role as Nikki in this episode; her lines seem stilted and forced, and just about the only thing she has going for her is the fact that she’s a pretty face.

Favorite moment: I have to hand it to the interactions between Eko and the black smoke monster, at once fascinating and terrifying.

Characters introduced (in order):

• DANIEL, Eko’s altar boy
• AMINA, Daniel’s mother and a helper of “Father Tunde” (Eko)
• EMEKA, a ganglord who clashes with Eko
• EYEPATCH MAN, an unnamed mystery figure.

What we learned:

• The tumor is Ben’s.
• Yemi’s church was boarded up after Eko went to London.
• Eko built the island church to make up for the boarded-up church in Nigeria.

Questions:

• Why was the smoke monster following Eko?
• What station did Locke see?
• Who is the Eyepatch Man?
• Why does Juliet want Ben dead?
• If that wasn’t Yemi, who was it?
• Why did the smoke monster kill Eko?

Things that are going to be important in Season Six:

• With his faith safely back, Locke tells Desmond, “Don’t mistake coincidence for fate.” Which will win the day when the series is over?
• The smoke monster behaves very mysteriously in this episode (yeah, like that’s something endemic only to this episode). Its motives, its mechanisms (machine or otherwise), and its ultimate role in the island’s goings-on remains to be seen and is one of the chief mysteries that LOST must resolve to satisfy its audience going into this final season.