LOST - The Other 48 Days

By: Jason Davis
Review Date: Thursday, November 24, 2005

When Ana Lucia first appeared in "Exodus," I mused to former TV Wasteland writer Dave Wharton that a truly mind-blowing second season would abandon Jack and company in favor of following the survivors of the tail section for an entire season before uniting the two disparate casts for year three. Obviously, the realities of the television business being what they are, such a notion is completely insane--we won't even get into the resulting outrage from the show's substantial viewership. So, inane daydreams aside, it's nice to have the Tailaway's equivalent to LOST: THE JOURNEY to bring us up to speed on what Ana and company were up to before capturing our seafaring friends.

By its nature, "The Other 48 Days" plays like a greatest hits compilation with the most interesting moments following one another in rapid succession. The frenetic pace certainly lends a greater energy to the proceedings than in other recent flashback sequences. Across the time period recounted, Cuse and Lindelof do an excellent job of capturing the excitement of the first season's early revelations while economically defining the characters. In particular, Ana and the hitherto mysterious Mr. Eko benefit from their moment of breakdown on the fortieth day. In one short scene, the two of them have been better defined than Shannon was throughout the first season.

Speaking of Shannon, the creators are back to their old tricks--shoot a cast member at the end of the episode and then completely ignore the fact for the duration of the following installment. It's cheap, but it works. This time, the ploy has the added benefit of contextualizing the event within the paranoia developed the survivors of the tail. Along those lines, it seems that the tail caries another meaning in regard to its occupants. In many ways, their tenure on the island has been the opposite of the other crash survivors. Jack and company landed on the island while Ana's group had to swim in from the sea. Jack's folks had a breather before the Others began their abductions while Ana's people were taken almost immediately. Ethan's identity was quickly determined while Nathan afforded Goodwin a longer residency in the camp. The contrasts go on and on suggesting two sides of the same coin with the tails getting the worst of what the island has to offer.

As the story shifts back into forward gear, it will be interesting to observe Ana, Eko, Libby, et al with the insight this episode offered into their backgrounds. Like FARSCAPE's classic character-redefining "The Way We Weren't," this hour has offered a change of perspective that will henceforth alter the assessment of what happens afterward. In "Abandoned," the shooting of Shannon was shocking punctuation. In "The Other 48 Days," it's a logical conclusion to succession of facts. What it will become in "Collision" is anyone's guess.

On a related note, does it feel like Sayid's interest in Shannon cheapens him as a character. With much of his backstory devoted to the pursuit of Nadia, it seems strange that he would fall for someone so banal in the wake of a passionate idealist. Maybe it's just the prospect of living out his life on an uncharted island with no hope of rescue and certain death around every corner...what do I know?