Further Instructions

Locke wakes up mute after the implosion of the hatch, recovers his faith on the island and builds a sweat tent for self meditation. He has a vision of Boone guiding him through the airport before the check in of the passengers of flight 815. He goes with Charlie to rescue Mr. Eko from a polar bear in its cave, and meets with Hurley returning to the survivors' camp, who tells what happened with Jack, Kate and Sawyer. Meanwhile, Locke recalls his relationship with his new acquaintance Eddie in a community where he lived.

"Further Instructions" is the most disappointing episode of "Lost" that I recall. I agree that it is a hook for new mysteries in the island, but "Further Instructions" is below the average of the other episodes. I had a great expectation with the character Paulo, played by the Brazilian actor Rodrigo Santoro, but his participation in this episode is very short. There is a non-original plot summary written in IMDb that can be found in the most different sites in Internet and the scene described ("Claire is shocked to find Nikki and Paulo in Jack's tent") was not shown in the episode. I believe there are IMDb users using the same stuff as Locke and having visions about "Lost", since there are inclusive votes in the next episodes that have not been broadcast yet. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): Not Available

Note: On 5 April 2013, I saw this episode again on DVD.

Island Plot - In the aftermath of the destruction of the hatch Locke receives instructions from the island to save another castaways life.

Flashback - Locke brings a new friend to the commune he's staying at unaware that he's really an under cover cop.

This marked a unique moment in my lost viewing experience. It was the first Locke episode I didn't love. In fact it is one of my least favorite episodes ever. Definitely one of the most disappointing episodes ever. I had been looking forward to this episode since the end of season 2. What happened to Locke, Eko and Desmond when the hatch was destroyed was the cliffhanger I was most interested in. Unfortunately I still don't have an answer to what happened to them because the show never bothered to tell us.

It starts with Locke waking up in the jungle unharmed. Then we see Desmond running around naked in the jungle. How these two, especially Desmond survived has never been explained. Locke stumbles back to the beach where Charlie, who's still acting like the jerk he was throughout season 2, helps him "talk" to the island. What follows is an admittedly cool and trippy scene where the dearly departed Boone takes him via wheelchair around Sydney Airport where he sees all the rest of the cast. The big message he gets from this metaphysical experience – he has to save Eko from being eaten by polar bear. And that's the main plot of the episode – Locke and Charlie marching through the jungle to a bear cave to save Eco, which given future events kind of seems pointless, but whatever. They do manage to become friends again but since they barely have any scenes together after this episode even that seems kind of pointless.

Meanwhile Hurley makes it back to camp. After having his girlfriend murdered by someone he thought was a friend, being kidnapped by the others, and walking back to camp from the other side if the island he seems surprisingly carefree and unaffected . He runs into the very naked Desmond, loans him a shirt, and discovers something about Des that will be important throughout the season.

The flashbacks are some of the worst the show had ever had. Seemingly pointless and boring they are definitely Locke's worst flashbacks. At least I thought so at the time. Looking back from season six however they do seem to represent Locke's whole story throughout the series. So in retrospect I guess the writers had a point but it still bores the heck out of me.

Favorite Scene – The only really good scene in the episode. The scene with Boone in the sweat lodge.

When 'Lost' was in its prime, it was must-watch television. Remember first watching it, found it remarkably easy to get into, was hooked from the start and was on Season 3 by the end of one week. The general consensus is that the final season is a disappointment and cannot disagree.

Season 3 started off well with "A Tale of Two Cities" and "The Glass Ballerina" was decent, though neither are 'Lost' classics or among its best episodes. The season sees its first disappointment with "Further Instructions", not an awful episode but a pretty strange one and the weakest for me by quite some way since "Fire + Water". It was great to have a Locke-centric episode, and one where he is closer in characterisation to when he first started.

"Further Instructions" certainly has good things. As ever it is a stylish-looking episode and the music is subtle and chilling.

It is very well acted, especially by Terry O'Quinn. The sweat-lodge stuff is the most arresting "Further Instructions" gets and Hurley is an amusing presence with some great lines.

However, the story is let down by that the flashbacks are pretty dull and add nothing to either the episode or Locke's character. Nikki and Paulo's appearances were majorly misjudged and were similarly pointless and Desmond's contribution to the episode was just strange and didn't do justice to a great character.

Writing has been much tighter and sharper, apart from with Hurley it's pretty bland. Likewise with the pace, having too much that was unnecessary slowed things down. Didn't like Charlie here and how someone usually pretty likeable was made to be a jerk, it's enough to make one turn off him.

All in all, count me in as another fan who was disappointed. 5/10 Bethany Cox

"Further Instructions" shifts focus to Locke, revealing his journey of self-discovery and redemption after the implosion of the hatch. Directed by Stephen Williams, the episode begins with Locke emerging from the jungle, disoriented and mute, setting off on a quest to save Eko. The episode delves into Locke's past, including his involvement with a commune and the fallout from his actions.

Terry O'Quinn delivers a captivating performance as Locke, portraying his struggle to find purpose and redemption. The flashbacks provide critical insight into Locke's psyche, highlighting his need for belonging and his susceptibility to manipulation. The interactions between Locke and Charlie, played by Dominic Monaghan, add depth to both characters as they navigate the island's mysteries.

The writing in "Further Instructions" explores themes of faith, redemption, and the search for meaning. Locke's flashbacks are intricately woven into the present-day narrative, shedding light on his motivations and actions. The episode's focus on Locke's spiritual journey adds a mystical element to the series, deepening the island's enigmatic allure.

The cinematography captures the episode's mystical and introspective moments, using vivid colors and ethereal lighting to convey Locke's visions and the island's spiritual significance. The editing maintains a steady pace, seamlessly transitioning between flashbacks and present events. The sound design, with its haunting music and ambient sounds, enhances the episode's emotional and mystical atmosphere.

In conclusion, "Further Instructions" is a thought-provoking episode that delves into Locke's complex character and the island's mystical elements. Terry O'Quinn's performance is compelling and multifaceted. The writing, direction, and cinematography create a rich, engaging narrative that adds significant depth to the series' overarching themes.

I really want to like "Further Instructions", especially as it takes us away from the unbelievably awful (and make no mistake, nearly every second of it is worthless) Hydra island storyline, but it simply is not very good. Basically the episode covers what happened to Locke, Eko, and Desmond after the hatch implosion, but doesn't really get to Eko's part of things, instead focusing on mute Locke, annoying Charlie (who insists on reminding us constantly of "Fire + Water", as if "Further Instructions" wasn't mediocre enough already, and naked Desmond.

"Further Instructions" is in many ways indicative of the creative rut "Lost" was in at this point. Without an end date agreed upon, the stalling was becoming noticeable, and "Lost" was very, very close to 'jumping the shark'. This has it all- a rushed, poor script attempting to cover a bunch of things but failing to do so, some half-assed attempts at humor and 'action', crappy dream sequences, and most of all the completely useless and dumb flashback. Granted, all of this was done far worse in "Stranger in a Strange Land", which came very close to putting even me, an avowed enthusiast and defender of the show, off "Lost". Instead of being as aggressively, hilariously bad as "Stranger in a Strange Land" was, "Further Instructions" is kind of banal and bland, and leaves me wishing for it to be over half-way through. It's not absolutely terrible, but it's a frustrating mediocrity, especially because it had the potential to at least feature solid on-island scenes.

The script by Carlton Cuse (?!) and Elizabeth Sarnoff is surprisingly flat, the dream sequences/hallucinations fall flat as well (and aren't even visually interesting, though it's nice to see Boone and Shannon again), the flashback is quite bad (and even the Geronimo Jackson reference/connection/whatever doesn't quite work), and it's all a bland, pointless affair which is far, far from being as good as it should have been. On the bright side it's not set on the Hydra island, so it's not quite as bad as it could have been.

5/10