The Cost of Living (Lost)

Last updated
"The Cost of Living"
Lost episode
Episode no.Season 3
Episode 5
Directed by Jack Bender
Written by
Featured music
Production code305
Original air dateNovember 1, 2006 (2006-11-01)
Running time43 minutes [1]
Guest appearances
Episode chronology
← Previous
"Every Man for Himself"		Next →
"I Do"
Lost season 3
List of episodes

"The Cost of Living" is the 5th episode of the third season of Lost , and the 54th episode overall. It aired on November 1, 2006, in the US, averaging 16.07 million viewers, and on December 5, 2006, in the UK, being watched by 1.15 million viewers. The episode was written by Monica Owusu-Breen and Alison Schapker and directed by Jack Bender. The plot centers on the character of Mr. Eko (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje), who in flashbacks shows how he became a priest replacing his dead brother Yemi (Adetokumboh M'Cormack), and in the present day events is haunted by visions of Yemi while other castaways decide to visit a Dharma Initiative station.

Contents

The episode was written to finish Eko's character arc as Akinnuoye-Agbaje had requested to leave the show while finishing the second season. Reviewers subsequently praised "The Cost of Living" while considering that the departure of Eko made Lost lose one of its best characters.

Plot

Flashbacks

Shortly after the death of his brother Yemi, Eko is driven back to Yemi's village. Inside the church, Eko announces to the altar boy Daniel and his mother Amina that he will be taking his brother's place at the church. When Amina also inquires about Yemi's upcoming trip to London, a surprised Eko states that he would also replace him there.

Some time later, after Eko has become established in his new role as priest, he is confronted by militiamen, who Amina reveals that had a deal with Yemi to get most of the clinic's vaccines. Eko soon develops a plan to sell the vaccine on the black market before he leaves the country that coming weekend.

As the militiamen learn of Eko's deal, they attack him inside the church, but end up getting killed. The villagers respond by closing the church as they felt it was desecrated. Amina calls out Eko, saying she had been aware of the vaccine deal, and advises him to repent and make his peace with God, telling Eko that he "owes" Yemi one church.

On the Island

A delirious Eko has a vision of his brother Yemi (Adetokumboh M'Cormack) holding a cigarette lighter, who says it was Eko's time to confess his sins and, he knew where to find him. Afterwards, Eko's shelter catches fire, and Eko is rescued by Charlie Pace (Dominic Monaghan) and Hugo "Hurley" Reyes (Jorge Garcia). As John Locke (Terry O'Quinn) arrives to ask what happened, Eko has vanished.

The next morning, Locke suggests to Desmond Hume (Henry Ian Cusick) that he visit the Pearl station. Joined by Charlie, Sayid Jarrah (Naveen Andrews), Nikki and Paulo (Kiele Sanchez and Rodrigo Santoro), the group finds Eko on their way to the Pearl. Upon arrival, Eko does not find Yemi's body on the airplane atop the entrance, and decides to remain outside while Locke and the others enter the hatch. Inside the Pearl, Sayid tinkers first with the communication lines and, following a suggestion from Nikki, the monitors. Then one of the screens gets a live video feed of what appears to be another hatch, revealing a man with an eyepatch (Andrew Divoff) who then turns off the camera.

Meanwhile, outside the Pearl, Eko sees Yemi and follows him into an open field, where Yemi tells him it is time for Eko to confess his sins. Eko says he has not sinned, having not chosen the life he was given and that Eko had only done what he needed to do to survive. An angry-looking Yemi replies, "You speak to me as if I were your brother" as he retreats into the jungle. Eko follows him asking "Who are you?!", and then finds the smoke monster. An arm of smoke attacks Eko, beating him into trees before he is slammed into the ground. Locke and the others rush out of the station to find a bloodied Eko. Locke approaches Eko, who whispers his dying words into Locke's ears. Sayid asks what he said, and Locke replies, "We're next."

On Hydra Island

At The Hydra, Jack is invited by Ben Linus (Michael Emerson) to attend a memorial service being held for Colleen. On the way, Jack asks about the symptoms of Ben's spinal tumor, particularly pointing out that it will kill him. Ben professes not to know what Jack is talking about. Privately, Ben asks Juliet Burke (Elizabeth Mitchell) why she showed his X-rays to Jack. Juliet replies that she never told Jack whose X-rays they were, and remarks that Ben must have inadvertently confirmed Jack's guess.

The following day, Ben tells Jack that they had a perfect plan to convince Jack to operate on Ben's spine, but it failed when Jack saw the X-rays. Afterwards, Juliet brings to Jack's cell a movie, which consists of Juliet speaking through cue cards. As Juliet discusses how the surgery will proceed, on the tape she tells Jack that Ben is a liar and very dangerous, and thus the surgery should be intentionally botched to kill Ben, and that she will protect Jack if he does so.

Production

Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje and the producers agreed to finish Mr. Eko's character arc in early season 3. Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje Thor 2 cropped.png
Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje and the producers agreed to finish Mr. Eko's character arc in early season 3.

Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje signed to Lost on a one-year contract, as he did not want to make a long-term commitment to the series. As Michelle Rodriguez signed under similar conditions that lead to her character Ana-Lucia Cortez only appearing in the show's second season, show runners Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse negotiated with Akinnuoye-Agbaje to make his character, Mr. Eko, to appear in the third season as well, adding some space between the two character deaths to develop Eko's closure better. [2] As filming of season 2 ended, conversations between the actor and the writers ended setting Eko's departure during the first six episodes, prior to mid-season break, with "a shocking and emotional death". [3] To make sure the sequence was "big and impressive", effects supervisor Kevin Blank decided to set the death at the Jackass Ginger in Kalihi, a large space that allowed to make the Smoke Monster "flip him around in weird physical positions". [4] A stunt double was dragged through cables, and along with the digital monster and wire removal, fast editing made the scene akin to "a magician's trick", in Blank's opinion. [4] The episode was written by Monica Owusu-Breen and Alison Schapker, who had previously worked in another series by Lost production company Bad Robot Productions, Alias . [5]

Cuse and Lindelof stated that Nikki and Paulo served as a red herring as rumors were raised of an incoming character death, and the fanbase would expect this to happen to the newcomers "who were sort of just there all along" instead of a prominent and popular character as Eko. [2] Juliet's message to Jack is an homage to Bob Dylan's video for "Subterranean Homesick Blues", where the musician flips cue cards while looking at the camera. [2]

Reception

This episode attracted 16.07 million American viewers in its original broadcast on November 1, 2006, standing as the tenth most watched program of the week. [6] In the United Kingdom, the episode had 1.247 million viewers, ranking third in multichannel shows after Ford Super Sunday and The Simpsons . [7] In Canada, "The Cost of Living" had 1.15 million viewers, ranking as the 26th highest-rated program of the week. [8]

Reviews were positive, though most critics found that the character of Eko was killed too soon in the show. Writing for Zap2it, Rick Porter said that while "The Cost of Living" was the best episode of season 3 thus far with "an illuminating flashback, some heavy island juju and a nice mix of the campers and the Others", the death of Eko removed from Lost "one of its most compelling characters and best actors, which just flat-out sucks." [9] Kristin dos Santos of E! Online called Mr. Eko "the best character of the show", and was therefore very disappointed with his death. [10] Christine Fenno of Entertainment Weekly stated that she would miss Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, and found Juliet's message to be the best part of the episode, that like the rest of season three "answered a few questions (whose tumor?), raised a few questions (who's the eye-patch guy?), and ignored many long-standing questions (how did Yemi and Eko crash on the same island?)." [11]

IGN's Chris Carabott ranked the episode 9.3 out of 10, saying it was "one of the series' best efforts" exploring the series' mythology and providing new paths, while also featuring Eko in "one of the most refreshing flashbacks that the series has produced thus far" and "a shocking confrontation" with the Smoke Monster. The reviewer still complained about Nikki and Paulo's participation, considering them "poorly developed" and giving "the sense that they are being shoehorned in". [12] The website later ranked "The Cost of Living" as the 25th best episode of the series, saying that while early Season 3 "might have dragged a bit", "The Cost of Living" "saw the excitement and drama ramp up considerably. The only thing marring this otherwise excellent episode was the presence of Nikki and Paolo." [13] On the other hand, a similar list by the Los Angeles Times ranked it 96th, considering that despite being "actually a pretty good piece of TV", the episode was "just marred by the fact that the show was forced into killing Mr. Eko, a character whose story was far from over." [14]

Related Research Articles

<i>Lost</i> season 2 Season of television series

The second season of the American serial drama television series Lost commenced airing in the United States and Canada on September 21, 2005, and concluded on May 24, 2006. The second season continues the stories of a group of over forty people who have been stranded on a remote island in the South Pacific, after their plane crashed forty-four days prior to the beginning of the season. The producers have stated that as the first season is about introducing the survivors, the second season is about a 1970s scientific Dharma Initiative research station which the survivors discovered on the island and refer to as "The Hatch".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sayid Jarrah</span> Fictional character of the TV series Lost

Sayid Hassan Jarrah is a fictional character from the ABC show Lost portrayed by Naveen Andrews.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charlie Pace</span> Character from the American mystery fiction television series Lost

Charlie Pace is a fictional character on ABC's Lost, a television series chronicling the lives of plane crash survivors on a mysterious tropical island. Played by Dominic Monaghan, Charlie was a regular character in the first three seasons, and continued to make occasional appearances until the final season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Claire Littleton</span> Fictional character of the TV series Lost

Claire Littleton is a fictional character played by Emilie de Ravin on the ABC drama television series Lost, which chronicles the lives of the survivors of a plane crash in the South Pacific. Claire is introduced in the pilot episode as a pregnant crash survivor. She is a series regular until her disappearance in the fourth season finale. The character returned as a regular in the sixth season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jin-Soo Kwon</span> Character from the TV series Lost

Jin-Soo Kwon, better known as "Jin," is a fictional character on the ABC television series Lost played by Daniel Dae Kim.

John Locke (<i>Lost</i>) Fictional character of the TV series Lost

John Locke is a fictional character played by Terry O'Quinn on the ABC television series Lost. He is named after the English philosopher of the same name. In 2007, O'Quinn won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for his portrayal of Locke.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mr. Eko</span> Fictional character of the TV series Lost

Mr. Eko is a fictional character, played by Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje on the ABC television series Lost. He is introduced in the second season episode "Adrift" as one of the plane-crash survivors from the plane's tail section. Flashbacks reveal that he became the leader of a gang of guerrillas to save his brother when he still lived in Nigeria. He assumed his brother's identity and became a priest after his brother was killed in a botched drug smuggle; Eko killed two guerrillas in defense, was ostracized, and left Nigeria to become a priest in Australia. After investigating the alleged miracle of a girl who came back to life after drowning in Australia in 2004, Eko boarded Oceanic Airlines Flight 815. This plane crashed and left Eko, along with a few other survivors, on a deserted island.

"Orientation" is the third episode of the second season of Lost and the 28th episode overall. The episode was directed by Jack Bender, and written by Javier Grillo-Marxuach and Craig Wright. It first aired on October 5, 2005, on ABC.

"...And Found" is the fifth episode of the second season of Lost, and the 30th episode overall. The episode was directed by Stephen Williams, and written by Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof. It first aired on October 19, 2005, on ABC.

"The 23rd Psalm" is the tenth episode of the second season of Lost, and the 35th episode overall. The episode was directed by Matt Earl Beesley and written by Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof. It first aired on January 11, 2006, on ABC, and was watched by an average of 20.56 million American viewers. The episode is centered on the character of Mr. Eko, who in flashbacks is revealed to be a former warlord in Nigeria, and in the present-day events goes with Charlie Pace to the Nigerian airplane which had crashed on the island.

"?", typically pronounced "Question Mark", is the 46th episode of Lost and the 21st episode of the second season. The episode was directed by Deran Sarafian, and written by Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse. It first aired on May 10, 2006, on ABC. The character of Mr. Eko is featured in the episode's flashbacks.

"Live Together, Die Alone" is the second season finale of the ABC television series Lost, consisting of the 23rd and 24th episodes of the second season. It is also the 48th and 49th episodes overall. The episode was written by Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, and directed by Jack Bender. It first aired in the United States on May 24, 2006, on the American Broadcasting Company. The episode was watched by 17.84 million people and received positive reviews.

"Further Instructions" is the third episode of the third season of the American science fiction television series Lost. It first aired on October 18, 2006, on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC), making it the 52nd episode of the series. The episode was written by showrunner Carlton Cuse and supervising producer Elizabeth Sarnoff and was directed by Stephen Williams.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Juliet Burke</span> Character from the American mystery fiction television series Lost

Dr. Juliet Burke is a character portrayed by Elizabeth Mitchell on the ABC television series Lost. Created by J. J. Abrams and Damon Lindelof, the character was introduced in the third season as a member of the hostile group referred to as "the Others" by the crash survivors of Oceanic Flight 815. Flashbacks reveal Juliet's past as a research specialist recruited to solve the Island's fertility problem where pregnant women die after conception. Prevented from leaving the Island and seeing her sister again by Ben Linus until she finds a solution, she quickly betrays Ben and the Others when she is sent as a spy to the survivors' camp. Juliet initially grows close to the castaways' leader, Jack Shephard, but ultimately falls in love and forms a relationship with James "Sawyer" Ford, with whom she moves on to the afterlife in the series finale. The character has also appeared in several spin-off webisodes of Lost: Missing Pieces, with Mitchell reprising her role.

I Do (<i>Lost</i>) 6th episode of the 3rd season of Lost

"I Do" is the sixth episode of the third season of Lost, and the 55th episode overall. It aired on November 8, 2006, on ABC. The episode was written by Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse and directed by Tucker Gates. The character of Kate Austen is featured in the episode's flashbacks, where her brief marriage to a police officer, Kevin Callis, is shown. In the present events, Jack Shephard considers whether or not to perform surgery on Ben Linus, and is motivated by Kate's claims that if he does not comply, Sawyer will be killed.

"Not in Portland" is the 7th episode of the third season of Lost and the 56th episode overall. It first aired on February 7, 2007, on ABC. The episode was written by Carlton Cuse and Jeff Pinkner and was directed by Stephen Williams. The character of Juliet Burke is featured in the episode’s flashbacks.

Man in Black (<i>Lost</i>) Character from the American mystery fiction television series Lost

The Man in Black is the main antagonist of the American ABC television series Lost. He appeared primarily as a cloud of black smoke until the final episode of season five where he appeared as a middle-aged man dressed in black. In season six, he primarily appeared in the physical form of John Locke. He exhibited the ability to "scan" the minds and memories of others, allowing him to confront characters such as Mr. Eko and Ben Linus, with "judgement", and to assume the forms and memories of the deceased, starting with the original Man in Black himself, his brother Jacob, or Christian Shephard, Yemi, Alex Rousseau, and Locke. According to Jacob, who explains this to Richard Alpert, it is the incarnation of evil, and its primary goal—to escape from the island—would be the "end of everything good".

Jacob is a fictional character of the ABC television series Lost played by Mark Pellegrino. He was first mentioned as the true leader of the Others by Ben Linus and was described as a "great man" that was also "brilliant", "powerful" and "unforgiving". He made his first appearance in the final episode of season five. Despite being killed in that episode, he continued to appear as a spirit, as well as in flashbacks in the episodes "Ab Aeterno" and "Across the Sea".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Friendly</span> Character from the American TV show Lost

Tom Friendly, often referred to as Tom, Mr. Friendly, or Zeke by Sawyer is a fictional character portrayed by M. C. Gainey on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) television series Lost. The series follows the lives of around forty survivors from the crash of Oceanic Flight 815. The survivors find themselves on a mysterious tropical island, and interact with a group they dub the Others, who appear to have lived on the island since long before the crash. Tom is an influential member of the Others, introduced in the season one finale "Exodus: Part 2", where he kidnaps one of the survivors. The character makes another fifteen appearances before being killed in the season three finale "Through the Looking Glass". Tom appears twice in season four in the flashbacks of other characters. Gainey was initially credited as playing "bearded man" and then as "Mr. Friendly" throughout season two before the character was given a first name. In a montage of deceased characters shown at Comic-Con in 2009, the Lost producers present the character's full name as "Tom Friendly".

References

  1. ↑ "Lost - Netflix". Netflix . Retrieved 24 November 2017.[ permanent dead link ]
  2. 1 2 3 Lindelof, Damon; Cuse, Carlton (2006-11-06). Official Lost Audio Podcast (Podcast). American Broadcasting Company . Retrieved 2008-03-24.
  3. ↑ Armstrong, Jennifer (2006-11-10). "The Tailie's End". Entertainment Weekly (906): 42.
  4. 1 2 Lost on Location for 'The Cost of Living'. Lost: The Complete Third Season (DVD). Buena Vista Home Entertainment. 2007-12-11.
  5. ↑ Adalian, Josef (2006-02-15). "New scribe tribe for Lost". Variety. PMC. Retrieved 2014-03-04.
  6. ↑ "I.T.R.S. Ranking Report: 01 thru 102 (out of 102 Programs); Daypart: Primetime Mon – Sun". ABC Medianet. American Broadcasting Company. 2006-11-07. Archived from the original on 2010-05-28. Retrieved 2008-07-23.
  7. ↑ "Top 10 Programmes". Broadcasters' Audience Research Board. Under the drop-down menus for the year, month and week, select "2006", "December" and "Dec 04 – Dec 10", respectively. Archived from the original on 2014-07-18. Retrieved 2014-03-05.
  8. ↑ "Top Programs – Total Canada (English)" (PDF). BBM Canada. 2006-11-05. p. 1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-01-18. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  9. ↑ Porter, Rick (2006-11-01). "Lost: Gonna miss you, Eko". Zap2it. Tribune Media Services. Archived from the original on 2012-07-14. Retrieved 2009-03-22.
  10. ↑ dos Santos, Kristin (2006-11-02). "Lost Redux: Why, God, Why?!". E! Online. NBCUniversal. Retrieved 2009-03-22.
  11. ↑ Fenno, Christine (2006-11-02). "Smokey and the Bandit". Entertainment Weekly. Time Inc. Retrieved 2009-03-22.
  12. ↑ Carabott, Chris (2006-11-02). "Lost: 'The Cost of Living Ballerina' Review". IGN. Ziff Davis. Retrieved 2006-10-12.
  13. ↑ Staff writers (2010-06-02). "Ranking Lost". IGN. Ziff Davis. p. 9. Retrieved 2010-12-13.
  14. ↑ VanDerWerff, Emily (2010-05-23). "Lost 10s: Every episode of Lost, ever (well, except the finale), ranked for your enjoyment". Los Angeles Times. Tribune Company. Retrieved 2010-07-27.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.