"S.O.S"

NOVEMBER 12, 2010

FOCUS: BERNARD, ROSE
EPISODE: 2.19
AIRED: APRIL 12, 2006

Since she wouldn't appear again for almost a full season's worth of episodes, it's pretty nice that "S.O.S." was a Rose-centric hour (Bernard too, but Rose is the one with the meat in the flashbacks), shedding some light on this unusually calm and optimistic woman. If they had planned things out better, I bet we could have had more flashback episodes for supporting characters (Mikhail would have been a good one, or Mr. Friendly aka Tom). Oh well. At least we know how Jack got his tattoos.

The fun thing about this episode is that it actually STARTS with a twist of sorts. We see Bernard helping Rose push her car out of the snow, and they're bickering pretty much the entire time. So it seems like they're already long-married, but then we discover that they had literally just met and didn't even know each others' names yet. What a great meet-cute!

I also like that it's Bernard, a guy who rarely has more than 2 lines in an episode (if he appears at all), who seems to be the only one attempting a rescue. Sure, his plan involves way too much heavy lifting, but everyone else is spending their time chasing the Others, pushing buttons, and even building a church (something that was a bit odd - in the previous episode Eko wouldn't even tell Charlie what it was, but today Charlie reveals it as if it's old news). So I'm totally on Bernard's side, and I would assume others would be too, but I guess he's even more of a pain in the ass then they let on for everyone to quit on him. As a man, I would have stayed just out of "bro-rules", after Rose mocks him in front of everyone for no reason. Why does she need to play the "You're a dentist" card? Kind of a jerk thing to do.

Back to the church scene, Bernard enters and asks Eko why he doesn't call or write. If you notice, Charlie takes particular delight at this, which makes sense: he would use the line himself at least 2-3 more times over the show's run (which, for Charlie, isn't much longer). It's a phrase that irks me for some reason (others include "Wakey wakey" and, when introduced to several people at once, someone saying "there will be a quiz later!"), so that it got used so often (by the same guy) drove me nuts. I'll probably get over it.

Obviously they don't spend the entire episode on Bernard's rescue plan (the final shot, showing how far they got, is pathetically hilarious; I wish they made a running gag out of it), and a lot of the rest of it involves Jack and Kate going off to talk to Mr. Friendly to see if they'll trade Ben for Walt. It's a good ep for folks that want to see these two go at it in the sack (or a net), because they're back to flirty mode and even almost kiss until Michael stumbles in and ruins it. Huh, he REALLY ruins Hurley and Libby's date too - what's with this guy?

One scene drives me nuts though - Kate says that the Others are "sophisticated" and then explains to Jack about their "old clothes" and (terrible) fake beards. How is that sophisticated? They're spending most of their time in a bunker that has a library, a washer/dryer, a blender (with fresh strawberries!), etc. - has it not yet crossed their mind that the Others live in one just as good if not better? Do they really think they're all basically homeless people wandering around the island?

Speaking of the Hatch - best moment in the episode (well, besides the net - goddamn you, Matthew Fox) is when Locke is trying to recreate the blast door map and Jack has to remind him to push the button. "You going to get that?" and Locke does it practically in defiance. They bicker just like Rose and Bernard!

Where are we?