The Whole Truth

A good episode. Not a barn burner, but still a healthy serving of Lost-y goodness. After the last mythology-rich episode, I guess a story focused entirely on the characters can seem a little flat. But I liked the flashback, wherein at least we learned things we didn’t previously know, and where things are left somewhat ambiguous, rather than sewn up with a big twist. And on the island, the mixed loyalties and keeping of secrets are getting so thick, even our survivors sense that things won’t end well. (The “I’m the last to know” device is getting a little old, though.) I thought Daniel Dae Kim shined in this episode, and that Jin’s character got richer and more complex. Jen, however, was miffed at his early outburst, and suspects it’s a hint of a darker turn. We’ve both always liked Ana Lucia, though, and this episode was a good one for her.

So, is Sun’s baby Jin’s? I say yes, Jen says no. “It’s that look,” says she. A woman’s intuition. Is Henry Gale an Other? Jen and I still say yes — breathtaking preview for next week notwithstanding.

It was fun to see the Ala Wai Canal and the back of the Hawaii Convention Center featured so prominently in the flashback (and the city bus crossing the bridge in the background). True story: I was originally supposed to be a background extra in that scene. Even better true story: I ended up a background extra in next week’s episode instead. And that one looks like it’s going to be nirvana for the mythology fans.

Random notes and notions:

  • So was Sun unfaithful? Or is Jin not sterile (anymore)? If it wasn’t infidelity, one could theorize about the pregnancy two ways: either the island “fixed” Jin like it did Locke (both describe things in terms of a “miracle”), or the island made Jin’s deep desire come true (as some other character’s wishes have been realized, for better or worse).
  • Mirrors and reflections factored heavily in this episode. Jack and Locke’s shower scene, and several scenes in the flashback (Sun entering the hotel room, and later standing at the window).
  • Jack’s lecture to Sun about telling “the whole truth” sure seemed loaded. A secret he knows about Sun? Or foreshadowing more of his own backstory (given the sketchy pregnancy conversation he had with Sara before she left him)? Interestingly, Sun got advice from both Jack and her English teacher, and both of them qualified their advice by saying, essentially, “I’m hardly the person to say this, but…”
  • Voices speaking backwards again? This time, it’s the conversation between Bernard and Sawyer from Jin’s point of view, made unintelligible to illustrate his inability to understand English (a creative device used in Season 1). Still want to know what they said? Member gumpy5 at The Fuselage posted a transcript and an audio file with the voices reversed.
  • The pregnancy test is a product of Widmore Labs. Any relation to Widmore Construction? The company whose name was supposed to be visible in the background during Charlie’s flashback in London? That’s a pretty varied portfolio. Maybe Widmore and Hanso are competing multinationals.
  • Other or not, Henry Gale is turning out to be a great character. So good, in fact, that his comments about ending up dead are probably right. “Do you have any milk?” One of my favorite closing lines ever.
  • And how about that opening scene? (Opening in a flashback, no less.) Eye candy no matter your hormonal preference.
  • Charlie produces a gun, and no one asks, “Where did you get that?” Especially glaring since Charlie gave the best knowing smile when Ana Lucia said, “Jack and Locke are too busy worrying about Locke and Jack.”
  • Another book reference, and an odd one at that: “Are You There God, It’s Me, Margret?” Seems Sawyer’s running out of stuff to read. But Dostoyevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov made a second appearance, and I don’t know if any other book reference has spanned more than one episode. Can the epic tale of three brothers be a hint of what’s going on in “Lost”? At nearly 1,000 pages, it might be perfect summer hiatus reading. Or not.
  • Another quick (and fun) reference to Hurley’s hoarding. His secret is surely not long for this world. And some charming Rose and Bernard banter. Definitely a pair of characters we’d love to know more about.
  • Something’s being built, and it includes a dining table. Is that Mr. Eko’s project? (Most common guess is that it’s a church.) If so, I can see Charlie pitching in, but how did Sayid get involved?

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34 Responses to The Whole Truth

  1. NemesisVex says:

    Jen will love this episode. Jin sans shirt. I don’t think I needed to see much else after that. (Sawyer sans shirt — not impressive.)

  2. Ryan says:

    Heh. Jack got to show off, too (and Locke seemed to make an obliging glance).

  3. Maurice Tift says:

    This one is among my all time favorites. Sun and Jin are the central characters in this one, but there are some good Ana Lucia moments and a very interesting expedition with Sayid, Ana Lucia and Charlie. The Henry Gale character is incredible. Is he really from Minnesota? I’m not so sure. When it was over, I said “Noo! Not already!”

  4. Henry “the Wiz Gale did nothing But Again Manipulate Everyone and every situation to turn them on each other and Divide…..We is pulling the Strings and calling the Shots.
    locke has “Lost” most of my respect for not seeing thru it all. Even if they find a freakin’ Baloon, It prove nothing ,But a balloon Crashed at some time.
    Henry has TOO Many Answers…He Knew that Jack and Locke didn’t Know about Map and he used it ..
    .I say starve the Creep. Gag him and start loping off fingers till he .finally tells Truth, then Sayid can finish him off and Travel back in time to Save Shannon and Use the Balloon to Go Home to Kansas.

  5. PJ says:

    “The Whole Truth” ????

    What did we learn? Nothing new.

    No real clear conclusion to Sun’s flashback. Nothing new about Henry Gale (but he is truly devious … love it!). Sayid’s search party did not find the balloon.

    No movement in the storyline.

    But, the preview for next week was exciting. Will the episode live up to the “coming attraction” ?

  6. CanadianMike says:

    I thought the episode was a good one but it looks like it a setup for next week. As for the unanswered questions, i’ll give you my two cents. The baby is not Jin’s but I think Sun thinks there’s no way for him to find out otherwise but we’ll see. I still think Henry is an other, the fact that there is a balloon in the jungle does nothing to prove his innocence in my eyes.

    How about the “Widmore Labs” pregnancy test? A diverse company since they’re also in construction. I wonder where that will lead.

    L8R

  7. henri gale says:

    Remember Claire, she disapeared and came back pregnant, now it is Sun’s turn to ”catch” the pregnancy. I think it’s the Island disease. Troubles to come. It’s pretty sure that Analucia, charlie and sayid will encounter others and that Henri GAle is a mofokin’ other

  8. Paul V says:

    I’ve been watching a few of the season 1 DVD episodes lately and have a few observations related to this post:
    1. Jin’s ‘fit’ was really more of the early season 1 Jin. I think it would’ve seemed out of character (or foreboding) if he wasn’t just like that the first half of season 1.
    2. Watership down was visible in quite a few episodes, so this wouldn’t be the first multi-episode book.

    I love the fact that Henry mentions that he could have sent the group into a trap. As soon as they appeared in that clearing with no obvious baloon, it was the first thing in my mind. The writers are really good about addressing those subtle thoughts out front. Like, I was getting tired of hearing my wife say “Oh right … who carries a pregnancy test on a plane” … and instead got to hear Kate say it. Beautiful!

    I guess they’ve been reading so much of their viewer comments that they know what kind of audience they have. Why not just address these issues up front.

    Love your blog, btw.

  9. Jason says:

    A simple, non-mystical answer to the pregancy question is the Sun got IV fertilization from her “tutor”….. seems easy and quick…….

    Just a really great episode of facial closeups displaying the characters’ “looks”

  10. Gretchen says:

    No way Sun cheated on Jin! (And I resent the implication!) Why would she tell him that he was impotent/sterile/whatever and THEN tell him she was pregnant if it wasn’t really his? I just don’t see Sun as a person who would cheat on her husband, either. I can see leaving, but not cheating.

    Oh – and yay for episodes with shirtless hotties! But what was the story with Locke in the bathroom while Jack was showering? Weird.

    And is anyone else having trouble with Henry Gale’s accent? It’s all over the place. But he definitely AIN’T from Minnesota. Or anywhere else in the midwest, for that matter.

    Congrats to Ryan for your “star turn,” we’ll be watching to see you in the crowd on the next episode!

  11. Ana says:

    hey guys

    totally miss your podcast and your feed back guess I just have to settle for reading your reflections on last nights episode. Just want to say that I agree with Jen I don’ think that its Jin’s kid. and I think that we really need to start looking at all of the connections on the island and pre crash. I think that, thats where we will find most of our answeres. thank you for words and keep it up

    Aa

  12. I like the idea that the island pulled another “miracle” and fixed Jin (or is that unfixed). If Sun did cheat on Jin (thinking, of course, that she couldn’t get pregnant and thus couldn’t get caught) I think she’ll be found out by Rose. Note they took the time to point out that Rose knows, to the day of the week, how much time has gone by. I bet she’ll be the one to point out that Sun got pregnant before the crash… and I agree with Jen about “the look” on Sun’s face.

    I hope the baby is Jin’s, but who knows with this show! My wife pointed out that with the slow rate that time progresses on Lost… Sun is going to be pregnant for “like 8 years!”

  13. Rick3inATL says:

    Since Sun emphatically states that she did not sleep with another man, I suspect that she was artificially inseminated at the doctor’s office. Her look is too telling as she embraces Jin.

    Henry sure has some blistering commentary for someone who is locked up in a hatch. Is he counting on being rescued by his Other friends? I just can’t believe someone in his current position would antagonize his captors without some really big secret.

  14. derzornhistology says:

    For one, I concur with the blogger that the power struggles are getting hackneyed. I would add, though, that none of the compelling elements of the show were addressed in the last episode. By compelling elements, I mean: the others, the hatch, the countdown/numbers, the dharma initiative / hanso, the reason for the crash, the effects on Ethan’s quackery on Aaron, Desmond’s involvement, Eko’s encounter with the smoke, the smoke itself). That’s an impressive array of intrigue – and it’s probably incomplete to many of you – so I was disappointed to see that the writers could do nothing more than lend a few minutes to the already open-and-shut case of whether Henry Gale is a schweinhundt ‘other’.

    My larger point, though, is that having watched the show, I feel a little used. Given utterances about a ‘5-year storyline’, I find it hard to believe that we’ll get many answers until much later. These claims taken together with the recent increase in reruns and plot fluff make it seem like we’ve only seen the tip of the iceberg as far as plot stalling and excruciating character study are concerned. Of course we won’t know for sure unless we watch, right? So we’ll keep watching just the same…

    Right or wrong on that last point, I maintain that ‘The Whole Truth’ saw Lost’s storyline falter seriously for the first time…

  15. rgzz says:

    Hi, I totally agree with Gretchen.

    Sun’s character is the most honest and authentic in the camp.
    I think she said the truth, she is pregnant with Jin’s child. If she was already pregnant in the plane it would’ve come up at Season 1… I mean 2 months without noticing?? she said the truth.

    I am 8 weeks pregnant and I started to have morning sickness 2 weeks after conception. SO… it is the whole truth… I’m convinced that they conceived after Jin returned home, and it has passed like 2 weeks? Jin fertility problem could be because he had slow sperm count in Korea (because of stress, the job he had, maybe) and now in the Island, living like his fisherman father in a natural environment, of course miracles like this can happen.

    About Sun’s misterious face after hugging Jin I believe she was begining to worry about raising their child on the Island and all worries for 1st time moms have for its all new and a normal fear I clearly detected.

  16. Ray says:

    I loved last nights episode. To coin a phrase, this is a marathon and not a sprint. I am an absolute nut for excruciating character study for two important reasons. (1) I have no character of my own and (2) all the rest of the island stuff is so intricate that it is nice to just sink into couch and play voyeur with this wonderfully fleshed out characters. All the mythology is great fun but it is (here’s another coinage for you) like hitting a moving target and I just love delving into these peoples lives. That’s my half penny.

  17. johnp says:

    I like how Sun’s eyes tell a lot of the story. She’s a good actress. I have to applaud Jin also. Both of them have to tell most of their story to an English speaking audience with facial expressions and body language.

    I hope we get to see more of Eko and Hurley.

    What 5 things will be resolved next week? Any guesses?

    Anyone listening to the ABC Lost Podcast?

    I enjoy reading everyones comments on this board.

    aloha

  18. Will G says:

    I think Sun is telling the truth about Jin being the father. I think her uneasy look is due to the difficulty Clair has had on the island, being kidnapped so the other could take her baby, Danielle attempting to steal the baby, Charlie’s misguided attempt to baptize Aaron, and just being pregnant on a weird island.

    I agree with Ryan, how hot did Sun look in that lingere?

    I must commend the casting director on the show for having a good mix of eye candy and real actors on the show. Adewale says more with his eyes then most actors do with their entire body. If they feature him more, he is a lock for a supporting actor emmy. The guy who plays Henry Gale is phenominal also.

  19. Will G says:

    Also, it was great to hear you guys on “Jay and Jack” yesterday. I miss your podcast and I hope you do more guest spots like this in the future.

  20. Mark says:

    First off, I don’t believe that Sun’s baby is the result of any infidelity–my bet is that it’s Jin’s offspring but the island, the Hanso Foundation, the Others, or whatever has stirred the pot is reversing her impossible chances of getting pregnant through Jin. The look of fear on her face comes from her belief that the Others are targeting her. Her male friend teaching her to speak in English in flashbacks is just a red herring.

    As far as the Island not really being an island is a good comment, since there’s never been a complete trek made by the Losties around the beaches of the Island(?) I’m starting to think that the Island is a sound stage for a Hanso-produced television show for the “OthersÒ€ℒ” entertainment … sort of like “the Truman Show” in which the whole world watched Jim Carrey’s daily life from birth to adulthood.

    Another possibility is that the Others are actually aliens and they’ve created the illusion of an earth-like environment (like the illusion that Jody Foster’s character had seen in the Movie, “Contact.”). This could be seen two ways:

    (1) the Others are studying mankind though their captives on the “Island” for the purpose of seeing if earthlings are civilized enough to become active members of the Intergalactic Federation of planets, or

    (2) the illusion of being on Earth was created for the Losties to keep them from realizing that they are actually being held captive in some sort of extraterrestrial zoo (ode to the Twilight Zone).

    Back to the episode: where is the Hanso cereal coming from? … wasn’t all of the pantry’s food (from the Hatch) distributed to most of the Losties by Hugo when Hugo realized that there wasn’t really enough food to last more than a day or so for the entire group?

  21. Christine O says:

    Given that Sun wasn’t feeling sick for two months, maybe she conceived on the island when she was having problems with Jin, possibly with Michael?
    I rewatched the pilot episode recently. Not sure if anyone picked up on this. But the sound of the “monster” in the woods (black smoke?) was very similar to the sound heard right before the plane went down.

  22. pupspals says:

    Pleeeeeeeaaaase post pics of you as an extra when it airs… Please!!

  23. Rinjo Njori says:

    http://rnanothersunnydayinpop.blogspot.com/2006/03/seeds-pushin-too-hard-featured-on-abcs.html

    It appears that the song featrured with the Grronimo jackson scene in Lost is news to the band as well

  24. James says:

    Awesome episode. I love the history of these characters! I hope that Sun was telling the truth, that she hadn’t been with another man. But anyway, thanks for keeping the blog up-to-date, doing an awesome job–even though I miss the podcast πŸ™

    Enjoy your weekend πŸ™‚

  25. Beltane says:

    In my humble opinion, I believe that the people who are saying this is where Lost plot and/or story falls flat are simply the people who are huge fans of Locke and are seeing something get to him.

    It is a pity that they had to bare a weak side. But remember – he was /very/ vulnerable and weak back in the ‘real world’ and had all kinds of nuanced flaws.

  26. Beltane says:

    Oh and no one mentioned the classic moment when Charlie did a ‘psych!’ on Anna-Lucia w/ the gun.

    I laughed sooo hard. Perfection.

  27. Medusa says:

    Mark, I had the same thought about the cereal – where did that come from? Wasn’t all of the food divvied up already? Did Locke save his share? And if so, is he really going to let Henry Gale have some of his hoard?

    As for Sun getting artificially inseminated in her doctor’s office… why would she do that? She was in the middle of an elaborate plan to run away from her husband in America. Would she really want to be pregnant when she did that? I think she was totally honest when she said she was glad not to be pregnant or have the chance of it. And I agree that she wasn’t pregant when the plane crashed.

    I liked this episode, but my biggest complaint was that the two halves (Jin/Sun storyline and search for the balloon) didn’t have any connection to each other whatsoever. They could have used anyone’s flashbacks as a backdrop to the Henry Gale bit. The “featured” characters, Sun and Jin, aren’t even involved in the other storyline – or even aware of it. At least in other episodes, it’s the person in the flashback who drives most of the episode’s plot (Claire looking for the medical hatch, Sawyer pulling a con for the guns, Charlie obsessing over Aaron, etc.) It felt very patched together for me.

  28. Arad says:

    I was going to say, I figure Charlie was able to fairly easily obtain a gun from Sawyer. After all they are in cahoots of sorts now.

    I hope that Locke and Jack will temporarily bury the hatchet, realizing it is obvious (other or not) that Henry is plotting the two and others against each other.

    Ryan, any insight you can provide into next week’s episode πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚

  29. Gretchen says:

    Has anyone else seen the stuff about the “whispers” on The Fuselage? Someone with expensive audio equipment and way too much time has decoded what they’re saying in several episodes. It’s pretty cool.

    http://lostlinks.net/whispers.htm

  30. Matt White says:

    Hi, I thought is was a really ep., but even cooler was hearing you two on the other Lostcast.

  31. Hi All;
    I just thought in case anyone here who is ‘LOST’ and seeking “The Whole Truth”, they might need to stop in…Books to Read
    But great layout and cool looking site.
    your humblr servant,
    Ancient Clown

  32. Kira says:

    Week late on my thoughts about this episode…
    I think that Sun swore to Jin that the baby was his because of how he wigged out on her plants at the start of the episode. Yeah, that’s a safe place to mention that ‘oh, by the way, YOU’RE the infertile one and this baby’s not yours’. I’m not saying it’s defintely baldies, but…

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