Lost ReWatch: The 23rd Psalm
Season 2, Episode 10
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Hero of the episode: Yemi, Mr. Eko Zero of the episode: Mr. Eko
Quote(s) of the episode: “You have no soul.” –drug dealers before Eko kills them | “I’ve only done what I needed to do to survive. How is that a sin?” –Mr. Eko to his brother, Yemi | “I guess we are both sinners now.” --Eko; “Perhaps we are, but God will forgive me, Eko.” --Yemi
Music vibes: quiet, then loud with the roar of the smoke monster | comfortable/comforting at the end
Little things: “Pillsbury” –Sawyer’s new nickname for Hurley | Jin gives Ana-Lucia a fish he caught | Hurley helps Libby put up her tent
Episode notebook:
Mr. Eko-focused flashbacks. A young Eko protected his brother from gang leaders. Eko wasn’t born a criminal he was made into one.
Eko asks Claire why she chose to name her baby Aaron. Reminds her that Aaron, brother of Moses, was a great man.
Claire tells Eko about Charlie and the Virgin Mary statue. Eko forces Charlie to take him to the place where he found the statue.
Locke updates the combination to the gun closet. Locke teaches Michael how to fire a gun. Wonders if Michael is plotting to go after Walt?
Charlie hesitates to show Eko the real location he found the statue. Mr. Eko knows Charlie is lying.
Eko became a gang leader, while Yemi became a priest. Eko needs his brother’s help to smuggle drugs out of Nigeria.
Michael is still communicating, via the computer, with someone claiming to be Walt. Who is playing on his desperation?
Charlie admits to Eko that he knew drugs were inside the statue.
Yemi tries to stop his brother’s smuggling but pays a steep price for it.
Charlie is on the verge of relapsing.
Episode recap: Mr. Eko has been vocal when he wants or needs to. He has also been silent, much to the frustration of his fellow survivors. But he has a protective spirit; he knows how and when to step up—especially when others can’t. That protective spirit isn’t new, it’s been with him since childhood, when he protected his brother, Yemi, from gang leaders.
A young Eko and Yemi had their innocence stolen from them. Gang leaders invaded their village in Nigeria, taking children against their will and forcing others to make deadly choices. A gun was put in Yemi’s hands, he must kill a fellow villager or die himself. What kind of choice is that? It was a choice Eko didn’t want for his younger brother, taking the gun and firing it himself. It put Eko on a very different path, a life of crime, but it’s a decision that saved Yemi’s life.
Yemi is never far from Mr. Eko’s mind, even on the island. A conversation with Claire makes Eko realize that Yemi is closer to him than he knows. Claire believes that like Eko, Charlie is religious, revealing that he sometimes carries around a statue of the Virgin Mary. This lights a fire in Eko, he wants to know where Charlie got the statue. Claire doesn’t understand what’s so special about the statue. That is until Mr. Eko smashes it to pieces, revealing the hidden heroin bags. How did Mr. Eko know what was inside?
In the past, an adult Mr. Eko was a dangerous and violent person. He was someone to be feared. The one person who didn’t fear him was Yemi. Now a priest, Yemi has dedicated his life to doing good. He wants no part of Eko’s criminal world, but Yemi might not have a choice. Eko has a plan to smuggle heroin out of the country, under the guise of a church relief flight. Who will look at priests transporting medical supplies or Virgin Mary statues and think of drugs? Eko needs Yemi’s signature on ordination papers, to show that Eko and his crew are priests, not crooks. With his church under threat from Eko’s henchmen, Yemi reluctantly signs the papers.
On the island, Charlie says he’s willing to lead Mr. Eko to the spot where he found the statue, but his actions say otherwise. The spot they come to is clear and Mr. Eko instantly knows Charlie is lying. Eko knows the statue came from a plane, knowledge that’s stunning to Charlie. The plane, the place of Boone’s demise, is connected to Eko and is a symbol of his sins. Will the plane also be the source of his salvation? He might not get the chance to find out. The smoke monster makes an appearance, coming face-to-face with Eko. Most people retreat from the monster, but like Locke, Eko faces it head-on. Eko’s not afraid of the monster, but was the monster afraid of him? It retreats from him. Why? Watching this scene again, I got the impression that Eko was inadvertently controlling the monster. Like the monster got the feeling it should cower away from Eko. The man stared down a cloud of black smoke like it was nothing. Eko and Charlie continue to the downed plane.
Off the island, Yemi tried one last time to get Eko to walk away from drug smuggling. Just moments from the plane taking off, military forces crash the party. Yemi tipped them off, stopping short of revealing Eko’s part in the operation. But no good deed goes unpunished, Yemi is shot in the crossfire. Thinking Yemi could be saved, Eko loads his brother into the plane but is pushed out just as the military truck pulls up. His brother is likely dying and then Eko is betrayed by his own men. That betrayal saved his life and freedom, as the military believed Eko was the priest who called in the tip.
What will Eko do with this new lease on life? Well, that’s answered in another episode. In this one, Eko and Charlie finally reach the downed plane. Where Eko finally lets go of the grief for Yemi, giving his brother the funeral he deserves while reciting the 23rd Psalm. It’s the beginning of Eko making amends to his brother.
Charlie tries to make amends to Claire but is rebuffed. She doesn’t want an addict and liar near Aaron. If Charlie had just told the truth would things be different? Maybe. But Charlie is still lying to himself. He keeps saying he doesn’t need the drugs, but the episode ends with a shot of Charlie’s hidden stash of Virgin Mary statues. He’s been hoarding them all along, so everything he’s been saying has been performative. Charlie might not be using again, but the stash shows he’s teetering on the edge. Another bad day on the island, and Charlie could turn into the person he used to be—drowning in his addiction. Please come back next week for episodes eleven and twelve.