After last week's lackluster episode of ABC's 'Lost,' we're in for a flashback courtesy of the lovable lug Hurley. It may not exactly be a groundbreaking episode, but it's a heck of a lot better than last week's show.
For whatever reason, seeing Hurley back in action was a pretty good throwback to the feel of season 1. Mainly, it's that people in the episode seemed to have fun. Before we get bogged down into some very good nitpicks, such as why have fun when one of your fellow castaways is captured or whatnot, it's important to note that the tone of this season has been very dark, and at the very least, seasons 1 and 2 of 'Lost' managed to have good episodes that were lighter in tone. Enter Hurley.
The title of the episode refers to the latest damage that Hurley's supposed numbers curse brings: during a news story being filmed on the re-opening of Mr. Cluck's (this time, Hurley's owner), an asteroid or meteorite lands in the new restaurant and kills the news reporter, Tricia Tanaka. Hurley once again believes the curse is real, but when he gets home to his mother, he finds a bigger surprise: his long-lost father, who happens to be Cheech Marin.
Cheech, who appears in one flashback when Hurley's thin and about seven, is meant to be a slacker who's come back because of Hurley's windfall. However, he attempts to help Hurley get over his curse by bringing him to a less-than-convincing psychic. Hurley just gets more annoyed and decides to go back to Australia to continue the mystery of the numbers.
Hurley's got this on his mind because, for whatever reason, he's found an old VW van in the middle of the forest. While this happens, Sawyer and Kate return to the main island to a happy reunion even though the two of them aren't yet done being annoyed at each other. Hurley manages to get Jin and Sawyer to help fix the old van, even though he really wants to cheer Charlie up, after Charlie's disturbing news from two weeks ago that he's going to die soon.
Though it seems hopeless, Hurley's able to get his friends to push the van to the top of a majorly steep hill. Charlie has finally shown up and offers to ride shotgun down the hill with Hurley. As they cruise down to a big tree, Hurley tells himself there isn't a curse and...voila! The van starts up and Hurley's able to swerve out of the way in time.
In important news, Kate, Locke and Sayid travel to the middle of the island for help, in the form of the infamous French woman, Danielle Rousseau. Kate tells her that she's going to help them find Jack, because she knows that Danielle's daughter is in the clutches of the Others.
Overall, this was a much better episode, if only because of the lighter tone and plenty of laughs. Hurley's episodes may not be hugely important, but they do make you feel good. Check back next week for another 'Lost' recap.
