3x02 The Glass Ballerina

[MM0602]

Lost Rewatch - The Glass Ballerina

http://lostpedia.wikia.com/wiki/The_Glass_Ballerina

A very underrated episode, I think.

The flashbacks are great in that they work to make you dislike Sun, whereas most of season 1 was about Jin being a jerk to her. I think that's one thing that makes me like them as a couple so much, that they are both flawed and both could have done things much differently that could have saved their relationship earlier. It makes the point that these two have gotten to in their relationship at the end of season 5 terribly tragic. The Sun and Jin reunion is definitely one of the things I'm most looking forward to in the final season, and I really hope they at least get a happy ending.

Then there's the Other couple introduced: Danny and Colleen... aka basically the most annoying Others :p Okay, maybe Colleen didn't do much, but her husband annoys me enough for the two of them. Definitely a turning point for Sun when she shoots her.

Good to see the runway now that we know what it will eventually be used for :) Nice scene with Sawyer and Juliet, and Alex and Kate as well.

The last scene of the episode is brilliant. One of Matthew Fox's best scenes up to this point in the rewatch really.

[hailey]

the best parts of this episode were the kate/sawyer kiss (especially at the time, as i was a shipper of theirs), and the end scene with ben and jack. not sure why i love that end scene so much....i guess its just that we are starting to see emerson playing a wonderfully creepy ben linus (as opposed to the wonderfully creepy henry gale)...and ben telling jack that the red sox won the world series... the others are getting more interesting every episode.

learning that sun slept with jae lee is a huge slap in the face for me. they try and counter it with having jin acting like a bit of a jerk in the on island scenes, but it still makes sun look to be the bad guy....i love sun and jin, and i agree that their reunion is one of the season six events i am most looking forward to.

im sure it goes without saying that i strongly dislike mr. paik, but i am glad that he keeps the reasoning behind how jae lee shamed him to himself... even if the overall purpose was a selfish one.

[CameraOne]

I just hated that the writers made Sun have an affair, and this episode basically was another indication that Sun lies, just as Jack fixes, Kate runs, Sawyer cons, Sayid tortures, etc. It was a continuation of Season 2's trend of making the original castaways into less likeable people by revealing more of their flaws .

But for some reason, and I don't know how the writers managed this, but the way this episode was done, I still liked and sympathesized with Sun despite what she did, and I can understand how she was driven to it.

It was surprising that Sun actually shoots and kills Colleen in this one.

I hated how Pickett treated Sawyer and Kate in this episode. It was abusive to say the least. Juliet was also a pill. Karl was cool, though.

I know when the episode first aired, there were a lot of comments about how people would rather see what happened to Locke, Desmond, etc. I didn't mind waiting, though. It made more sense to see what Sayid, Sun and Jin were up to since their mission was to save Jack, Sawyer and Kate.

[Jack&KatePlusEight]

It was really good timing that the Red Sox won the World Series at the time they did, and how they were able to use it in the show.

[Mrs.locke]

I remember the first time watching this thinking, "OMG! Is Jin even the father?!" and then trying to figure out the time line of when that was supposed to have happened. But I do like this episode, and we get to see Jin put his foot down and refuse to kill someone no matter the cost.

[Dr. Chameleon]

I really enjoyed this episode much more than I have in the past. Between this flashback and the one in "D.O.C.", I think that Sun's story becomes the most elegant of the castaways, particularly in terms of the larger themes of choice and consequences.

Now a little housekeeping: why exactly were the Others building a runway? Presumably for Ajira 316, but who knew that it would be needed? Jacob? Mr. X? Ben?

Why are some of the Others so dumb and violent (Danny & Colleen) while others are so cool and calm (Juliet, Ben)? Also, Colleen's comment that "we're not your enemies" along with the many other exhortations that "we're the good guys" does make me think that the Others are a cult more than anything. I'm starting to think that the majority of the Others really have no idea who Jacob is or what they are doing there, and that most are driven by blind faith and total submission to the current leader (Ben) and his rules. I sure hope that the show gives a good explanation for who these people are and what they think they're accomplishing. I'd especially like more of an idea of how the Others have changed over time, since it seems like the Widmore/Hawking era Others were a little brighter than the ragtag bunch Ben is leading. Certainly they were just as ruthless and mercenary, though. Why would they be ordered to kill one another before giving any information to the enemy, "the enemy" being anyone who makes the mistake of coming to the island -- speaking of which, did Jacob bring the U.S. military in the '50s, and if so, why? Are all of the accidental visitors brought by him (Gale, Yemi, etc.)?

I thought it was odd that Ben was so surprised by the boat, but I suppose it wouldn't make sense for them to have let Inman work on it for so long, so I guess they just missed it in that cove for whatever reason. Interesting to see how he mixes lies (althogh I suppose one might consider his trip to the temple a "rebirth") and the truth, and the irony of Jack being totally unable to comprehend why anyone would stay on the island.

[Just Thinking]

I also love how the Red Sox win is forever enshrined in LOST! (Guess that gives something away) Noticing similarities- when Colleen first comes in- don't you think she has Kate's general aspect? Then the guy who is talking to Juliet just before she gives Sawyer the water seems to be an Others Sawyer type. When Sun's father is trying to convince Jin, he puts hand to shoulder- just like Christian to Jack.

Sometimes I think the writers just like to repeat things the way you repeat flowers types in a garden-gives the planting unity.

The runway-did the writers really, really know they were going to have Losties come back to the island on a second plane that would need one? I'm a bit more convinced of their planning seeing it in this episode.

And the title- they are breaking the glass ballerina for us by showing us Sun's flaws.

[zeus22]

An interesting line for me was when Juliet said, "So they have a boat? Sailing in circles will keep them busy." We know that Desmond headed away from the island but came right back to it. I would like to hear another couple of sentences of explanation for this aspect of the island in season 6.

Does anyone remember the confusion following this episode regarding Jae Lee committing suicide? Some people were saying it was Mr. Paik who killed him because he sounded so suspicious when he said, "I heard he jumped from a balcony." Other people were saying that Sun pushed him off because the very next scene has Colleen saying that Sun is not a killer. A bit of irony, perhaps. Damon and Carlton finally confirmed on the podcast that Jae Lee had jumped.

The last scene with Ben and Jack is incredible for me. I am definitely not a Red Sox fan (Go Tribe!), but watching the last out of that World Series and Jack's reaction to it give me goosebumps. Great stuff.

Also, I think it's interesting that Jack asks Ben if the Others could leave the island, why would they still be there. I think we're still kinda wondering about the answer to that question. Why are the Others there?

[Just Thinking]

^ Yes- the Others. We know where many of them came from now, Ben, Ethan, Juliet, Alex-survivors that have been kidnapped. The only purpose they seem to have though is to somehow to be protectors of the island. What is it they are protecting and is it Jacob directing them?

Thinking more on repetition and ballerinas, we also have Rousseau's music box and real life dancer Shannon. I was going to say something about repetition without purpose being like Adrian Monk touching every lamppost. Then I saw that they represent the characters "issues"- Sun, lying to deal with angry controlling males, Shannon trying to feel competent, and Rousseau looking for the lost Alex.

So no OCD comments from me!

[cooker3]

I love the redsox scene. It absolutely makes the episode. As I just love that story in general and it's such a great little pay-off. The fact we know they win it and Jack doesn't. As usual Emerson is awesome in the final scene.

[MiezeSchindler]

This is so US of A ;) makes me smile...

In my old-europe point of view I will never really understand that a baseball team winning the series could be more touching/confusing than the reelection of mr. bush. Lucky you! :cool:

Talking about culture it´s very hard as well to comprehend why the hell Jin has to follow Paiks disgusting order or why Jae Lee commited suicide.

And the most mysterious civilization: the others, the cruel good-ones, not the enemy... I can´t wait to get to know them better.

[MM0602]

^ I think Jin felt he had to obey Sun's father because of how powerful he is. If he disobeyed him, some hitman might have been sent to take care of Jin instead. There's also that stuff about family that Mr Paik says. Jin just wants to be accepted.

As for Jae Lee killing himself, I guess he assumed Jin knew about the affair and his guilt/fear were too much to handle.

[MiezeSchindler]

^ I think Jin felt he had to obey Sun's father because of how powerful he is. If he disobeyed him, some hitman might have been sent to take care of Jin instead. There's also that stuff about family that Mr Paik says. Jin just wants to be accepted.

As for Jae Lee killing himself, I guess he assumed Jin knew about the affair and his guilt/fear were too much to handle.

Yeah, might be. But Jae Lee already planed to leave the country with Sun. What´s the difference to leave without her?
So it´s probably about the guilt/shame/honour-thing, losing countenance and stuff... I know it´s very substantial in some cultures; I just can´t really empathize with.

The same story with Jin. I don´t understand why I is so important that Paik called him son for the first time.

All in all I wanted to say that this episode presented in detail different cultures - western, eastern, others - and keeps me from condemning the others unheard (as I know very little about their reasons right now).

[Richard Was Here]

I like this one.

I remember thinking when I first watched this one that maybe Ben wasn't so awful after all. I mean, he seemed almost downright decent to Jack during their talk.

Of course, you know he wants something - even then it was obvious that he was a man with an agenda. But nevertheless, at least he was polite, compared to the goons Sawyer and Kate had to put up with out on the runway project.

The first time I saw this, I had no idea they were building a runway. It would be cool if this was planned in advance of the Oceanic 6 coming back. But the one thing I wonder about this episode is why the heck Sawyer and Kate were on the list. I mean, if all The Others needed was manual labor, why did it have to be Kate and Sawyer in particular? Capturing Jack had a purpose...but what was so special about Kate and Sawyer? And why did it even matter if all they were gonna do was chop and haul rocks?

Finally, I love the association of Sun to the glass ballerina. A very fitting comparison given the events of this episode.

[Dr. Chameleon]

The first time I saw this, I had no idea they were building a runway. It would be cool if this was planned in advance of the Oceanic 6 coming back. But the one thing I wonder about this episode is why the heck Sawyer and Kate were on the list. I mean, if all The Others needed was manual labor, why did it have to be Kate and Sawyer in particular? Capturing Jack had a purpose...but what was so special about Kate and Sawyer? And why did it even matter if all they were gonna do was chop and haul rocks?

They are there to manipulate Jack into doing the surgery on Ben (p.s. it works). I am curious if they were building the runway for the Ajira flight, who knew that this was going to happen?

[sdorian]

Since they didn't know about the boat, either Inman's a DI (but weren't there other guys in yellow suits?) or a renegade Other?

just asking nicely wouldn't work...they need the whole torturing, manipulating, and breaking to get Jack to do the surgery? When, if they were observant enough, they'd know he helps even those he hates.

Sayid's strategy keeps failing. He assumed they'd come by land. But they've come by sea before, to kill the guy per Ethan's threat.

glad I'm not married to someone like Jin...

the Others probably keep saying they're good people because it's a good way to save their lives down the barrel of a gun, to create a moment of doubt; no one wants to kill a "good" person

What is the analogy Christian keeps making about the Red Sox? like their losing is a sign of inevitability, predestination, and fate. (or, as Jack put it, a way to shirk off personal responsibility, by ascribing fault to fate.) I think Christian's still ingrained this in Jack. So Jack seeing the Red Sox win is maybe philosophically shaking for him. If they can win, then there is no fate/predestination...? Maybe I'm barking up the wrong tree, but that's what I took from his big reaction to it.

I also like that Kate doesn't mind that Sawyer used her as a target/decoy to assess the strengths and weaknesses of their captors. It's what she would've done. She knew there was a reason behind the kiss. and,well, if it were me, I'd think Sawyer's pretty cool/badass to think that quickly and ascertain all of that in a brief scuffle. Kate and Sawyer would make a kickass Bonny and Clyde.

(really impossible here to imagine Sawyer and Juliet together)

[Dr. Chameleon]

Since they didn't know about the boat, either Inman's a DI (but weren't there other guys in yellow suits?) or a renegade Other?

It makes the most sense if Inman was in the Dharma Initiative. I was confused by the yellow suits thing, too, it was just some camera trickery to portray Desmond's condition when he washes up on shore. There's just Inman coming out, but because the image skips around in time and is blurry it looks like more than one guy.

[BrirerorTow]

good !