MrSocko
05-07-07, 12:01 AM
Well I am currently rewatching Seasons 1 and 2 of Lost, and I just watched this stellar Season 1 episode. I thought it stood out in many ways, one of which was the emergence of Boone as a solid main character. This is the one where he steps up from the kiddie table, and joins the A Team.
I think the Boone/Locke relationship is one of the best Lost has ever had, and the groundwork for it is set here, along with nice characterization of Boone as just a generally great guy. As soon as he hears about Claire being kidnapped, he jumps up and offers his help. This is very similar to when Johanna died in "White Rabbit," and Boone was the first one in the water to try and save her. This is one of the reasons why Boone is one of my favorite Season 1 characters: I think the writers do a great job of creating strong pathos for Boone. Its very easy to feel for him when he is trying his hardest to contribute to the greater good, even though he seems to always come up short.
Fortunately, this episode he comes through just fine. Despite Shannon's annoying bickering (and voice, for that matter) he still sets off with Locke, Jack, and Kate to try and find Claire. At first he seems to lurk in the back, just going along with the group, and does not truly emerge until he has a nice talk with Mr. John Locke. Their conversations about Locke's job at the box company are priceless. Again, Boone is given some great lines, and Ian delivers them perfectly. "Well, you're either a taxidermist or a hit-man," he says when asked what he thought Locke's job was. Right off the bat, Locke seems to like this kid, and treats him with a respect that he is probably not used to, considering his terrible relationship with Shannon. Also in this scene we learn more about Boone's occupation working for his mother's wedding business, and, again, Locke relates to Boone by saying that someone can run the company "temporarily." Unfortunately, we all know this is not the case, and Boone will not be able to reclaim his position.
Also unfortunate in this episode is that Boone receives "the kiss of death" when he chooses to handle the red shirt used to mark trees. At the time, this might have been taken lightly by the fans (I was not posting on these boards when this episode aired, so I don't know), because Boone addresses the humor of this directly. His line, "they always wore red shirts, and they always got killed," is met brilliantly with a typical Locke response: "Sounds like a piss poor captain." The chemistry between both of these guys is great even in these very early scenes, and sets the stage for later episodes where they are "joined at the hip."
And of course, no analysis of this episode can be complete without mentioning that one thing... what was it? Oh yeah, the HATCH. Sometimes it is easy to forget that the hatch is discovered so early in Season 1, considering how long we had to wait to find out what was in the damn thing. From a technical standpoint, the hatch is what made Boone a main character. Without it, his storyline would not reach much further than being Shannon's brother, and being the guy that seems to get knocked around all the time. Now, however, he has a true purpose and a true storyline to attach himself too. And luckily for him, it is with John Locke, who is perhaps the most interesting character on the show. Boone recognizes Locke's intelligence and the fact that Locke "gets it", in reference to their situation as a whole, which is why Boone sticks around and follows John through the painstaking and tragic quest to opening the hatch.
For a character that has not had a very important role thus far, and has not had a flashback yet, Boone's character is still one of the more interesting on the island, and "All the Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues" is really where he emerges from the background and becomes a solid A-Team type character. I really enjoyed rewatching this episode, having been such a huge Boone fan when he was alive.
http://www.lostvirtualtour.com/lost/screens/1x11DaddyIssues/daddyissues08_thumb.jpg
I think the Boone/Locke relationship is one of the best Lost has ever had, and the groundwork for it is set here, along with nice characterization of Boone as just a generally great guy. As soon as he hears about Claire being kidnapped, he jumps up and offers his help. This is very similar to when Johanna died in "White Rabbit," and Boone was the first one in the water to try and save her. This is one of the reasons why Boone is one of my favorite Season 1 characters: I think the writers do a great job of creating strong pathos for Boone. Its very easy to feel for him when he is trying his hardest to contribute to the greater good, even though he seems to always come up short.
Fortunately, this episode he comes through just fine. Despite Shannon's annoying bickering (and voice, for that matter) he still sets off with Locke, Jack, and Kate to try and find Claire. At first he seems to lurk in the back, just going along with the group, and does not truly emerge until he has a nice talk with Mr. John Locke. Their conversations about Locke's job at the box company are priceless. Again, Boone is given some great lines, and Ian delivers them perfectly. "Well, you're either a taxidermist or a hit-man," he says when asked what he thought Locke's job was. Right off the bat, Locke seems to like this kid, and treats him with a respect that he is probably not used to, considering his terrible relationship with Shannon. Also in this scene we learn more about Boone's occupation working for his mother's wedding business, and, again, Locke relates to Boone by saying that someone can run the company "temporarily." Unfortunately, we all know this is not the case, and Boone will not be able to reclaim his position.
Also unfortunate in this episode is that Boone receives "the kiss of death" when he chooses to handle the red shirt used to mark trees. At the time, this might have been taken lightly by the fans (I was not posting on these boards when this episode aired, so I don't know), because Boone addresses the humor of this directly. His line, "they always wore red shirts, and they always got killed," is met brilliantly with a typical Locke response: "Sounds like a piss poor captain." The chemistry between both of these guys is great even in these very early scenes, and sets the stage for later episodes where they are "joined at the hip."
And of course, no analysis of this episode can be complete without mentioning that one thing... what was it? Oh yeah, the HATCH. Sometimes it is easy to forget that the hatch is discovered so early in Season 1, considering how long we had to wait to find out what was in the damn thing. From a technical standpoint, the hatch is what made Boone a main character. Without it, his storyline would not reach much further than being Shannon's brother, and being the guy that seems to get knocked around all the time. Now, however, he has a true purpose and a true storyline to attach himself too. And luckily for him, it is with John Locke, who is perhaps the most interesting character on the show. Boone recognizes Locke's intelligence and the fact that Locke "gets it", in reference to their situation as a whole, which is why Boone sticks around and follows John through the painstaking and tragic quest to opening the hatch.
For a character that has not had a very important role thus far, and has not had a flashback yet, Boone's character is still one of the more interesting on the island, and "All the Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues" is really where he emerges from the background and becomes a solid A-Team type character. I really enjoyed rewatching this episode, having been such a huge Boone fan when he was alive.
http://www.lostvirtualtour.com/lost/screens/1x11DaddyIssues/daddyissues08_thumb.jpg