"Lost" Tricia Tanaka Is Dead (2007)

User Rating:

8.1/10   

Director:

Eric Laneuville

Writers:

Jeffrey Lieber (creator) and
J.J. Abrams (creator) ...

TV Series:

"Lost" (2004)

Original Air Date:

28 February 2007 (Season 3, Episode 10)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | Fantasy | Mystery | Romance | Thriller

Plot:

Having returned to camp, Sawyer's help is enlisted by Hugo, who has an obsession with retrieving an old VW van found on the island. More events in Hugo's life are also revealed, showing what brought him to be on the doomed flight.

Plot Keywords:

Plane Crash | Flashback | South Pacific | Survival | Doctor

Cast

Naveen Andrews	...	Sayid Jarrah
Henry Ian Cusick	...	Desmond Hume
Emilie de Ravin	...	Claire Littleton
Michael Emerson	...	Benjamin Linus (credit only)
Matthew Fox	...	Jack Shephard (credit only)
Jorge Garcia	...	Hugo 'Hurley' Reyes
Josh Holloway	...	James 'Sawyer' Ford
Daniel Dae Kim	...	Jin Kwon
Yunjin Kim	...	Sun Kwon
Evangeline Lilly	...	Kate Austen
Elizabeth Mitchell	...	Juliet Burke (credit only)
Dominic Monaghan	...	Charlie Pace
Terry O'Quinn	...	John Locke
Kiele Sanchez	...	Nikki Fernandez
Rodrigo Santoro	...	Paulo

Runtime:

43 min | Germany:42 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Korean

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Certification:

USA:TV-14 | Venezuela:PG-13 (DVD rating) | Netherlands:12

Filming Locations:

O'ahu, Hawaii, USA

Company:

Bad Robot

Trivia:

In the flashback to Hurley's mansion, you can see a portrait of a tranquil beach - a harbinger.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Vincent first runs out of the jungle holding the skeletal arm, he's holding it by the wrist, with the hand pointing to his left. After a quick cut to Charlie and Hurley, Vincent is holding the arm in the middle, with the hand on his right.

Quotes:

Charlie: Yeah, chase the dog with the skeletal arm into the creepy jungle. You be my guest.

Movie Connections:

References The Wizard of Oz (1939)

Soundtrack:

Shambala

All kinds of wonderful

In season one, in spite of the obvious threat of The Others and the fact that the characters had just survived a plane crash and were stranded on a mysterious island, "Lost" was a show where the characters could actually have fun, exchange some small talk, and have something to smile about. Gradually the show has gotten darker and more violent, and in many ways would become darker and more hopeless than ever in season 3 and 4. One of the few episodes in the latter two seasons (as of December 2008) which provided lots of light comedy and gave the cast (particularly Josh Holloway, Daniel Dae Kim, Dom Monaghan, and Jorge Garcia, who get the most screen time this episode) a chance to do something more presumably enjoyable recently, and a couple of those four have gone on record saying this was one of their best experiences on the show.

The episode itself is superb largely because while it has a life-affirming message of hope, it also thankfully acknowledges the point to which the show had come and the violent nature of many of the events on the island, in addition to how much the survivors had lost. It's a remarkably human script, one which portrays the characters without anything but their purest emotional traits. Hurley's determination to start the van is absolutely real, Sawyer's reaction to the beer is too, and their collective ecstasy when they get the van started is absolutely totally believable and human. Yet, there is a sad undercurrent to the whole affair, one which would not become entirely clear until later in the season.

The episode also benefits from particularly excellent direction courtesy of Eric Laneuville, truly one of the finest television directors working today. There is not a hint of amateurishness, not a hint of confusion about anything, and lots of neat, subtle little touches that stay on the right side of showboating. A really fun episode, but not a light one. The difference is huge, and "Tricia Tanaka is Dead" is most certainly a substantial episode, regardless of how many meteorites and jokes involving a Jesus statue and Hurley's mother's 'needs' it's got.