In this episode Lost looks at the last 84 days on the island from the perspective of two of the background characters “lives” and “deaths”. I am telling the story in chronological order. The actual episode cuts back and forth a bit.
Flashback:
As the flashback opens the episode, we think we might have stumbled upon a different show altogether. In the flashback, we see a young girl dressed in a short white coat confidently walking on a nightclub stage that we recognize as Nikki (one of the Losties). While doing her routine she notices a man walk past her and into an office. She follows the man and confronts him. She sees another man who shoots her 4 times. She falls over dead, or so we think! Seconds later, she jumps up and talks to the cast and crew of what is a TV show called Expose’. (Later we find out it’s a show about two crime solving strippers). She talks to the director, who we find out is also romantically involved with her. The next day they are talking over breakfast when Paulo the manservant walks in with a plate of food. The director man asks Nikki to take some and she spots a diamond necklace that the man is offering her. Nikki is impressed, but as they talking, the director man’s heart stops beating. Paulo investigates and when he notices the man is dead, he and Nikki happily make for the man’s safe. Inside they find more jewels and they take off with the money. The next day they read in the paper the man has apparently died without raising suspicion and they are free to leave Sydney with their stolen diamonds which they place in Paulo’s backpack. Of course they they are boarding flight 815 and they get a glimpse of Boone and Shannon from Season 1 arguing over a chair. Nikki says she does not want to end up like them. Ironic twist, they do end up like them.
On the Island
The next scene shows Nikki on the island in the aftermath of the airplane crash.We see the same events we saw from season 1, but this time from Nikki’s perspective instead of Jack’s.What’s interesting is we also see Dr. Arzt this time pull himself out of the wreckage.It’s an amazing special effects scene matching very closely the wreckage and events from the Pilot.Anyway, Nikki finds Paulo staring out into the ocean.All she cares about is the bag of diamonds, while Paulo is happy just to be alive.After revisiting a few more scenes from season 1, Nikki talks to Ethan about how to find their lost “luggage”.He says the plane broke apart into two pieces with artifacts spilled out across the island.So Nikki and Paulo go out and rediscover the crashed Beechcraft plane (and the Pearl station), and the two passengers underneath the waterfall.Here is where Paulo finds the bag of diamonds, but he does not tell Nikki.He tries burying them in the sand when Locke catches him and warns him that “things that are buried in the beach tend to not stay buried”, so he tells him to find a better hiding place.Paulo hides them instead in the Pearl station toilet.After many days of searching Nikki is ready to give up.
Paulo is glad and says the diamonds would only have caused trouble in their relationship.But as he unknowingly drops his nicotine gum (an item that was in his bag).Nikki realizes he has found the bag.So she asks Sawyer for a gun to confront Paulo.When that does not work she lures Paulo into the jungle and throws a paralyzing spider at him.While he is incapacitated she searches him and finds the diamonds.Unfortunately for her, this was a female spider and her scent has attracted the males in the jungle who bite her.She makes a quick burial of the treasure and stumbles to beach.Sawyer and Hurley see her but all she can say is “Paulo lies”, but actually it is “paralyzed”.She seems dead.They start to bury her and Paulo.Sawyer finds the diamonds, but when the group accuses him of killing Paulo and Nikki he gives them to Sun. Later saying they are no value she gives them back to Sawyer who just drops them into the grave.Nikki wakes up just in time to see sand shoveled onto her, but can’t speak, and so is buried alive along with Paulo.
Thoughts:
This reminds me of a Stephan King story about a man who was buried alive and returned from the dead “so to speak” to seek revenge. This could even happen on Lost as Locke commented that things buried on the beach tend to not stay buried.
The fans got what they wanted.Not only did Nikki and Paulo die, but it was an excruciating death as well.Unless, of course, they are not really dead.
Also, Nikki died twice once in her flashback and once sort of on the island.
Paulo really wanted to just please Nikki and was not after her money. Nikki was touched but Paulo’s saying he did not care about the diamonds, but she got mad that he was hiding information from her.
It was great reliving the scenes from Season 1 and 2. This episode was a “mirror image” of the episode from the Season 2 – The Other “48” Days. This one could be called “The Last 84 Days ‘of Nikki and Paulo'”
Paulo did get a walkie talkie, which the beach Losties can use to find the Others camp. So Paulo did serve some purpose on the show.
I really liked the scenes with Arzt and his exotic insect collection.
And I was really impressed that the writers did not leaving us hanging, they did show us how Nikki and Paulo were isolated from the other Losties because they were more interested in diamonds and each other than the rest of the group.
I have got to think we will see more of Shannon and Boone, since they only got to play one scene in this show.
Questions:
If they do survive the burial, how will they get out of the grave? I think Sawyer or someone will dig them up to get to the diamonds. Or they may really die as well.
What other things are buried in the lake by the waterfall? So far they have found guns (Kate’s plane) and diamonds.
Will the producer’s recut the Season 1 DVD’s with scenes from this episode to show that Paulo and Nikki were there all along?
Since Juliet and Ben do not smoke who did leave the burnt cigarettes at the Pearl hatch? Wasn’t the plane covering the hatch by then?
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My guess is that Paolo is really dead since he was bitten by the female Medusa spider and also by several males. Nikki, however, was — obviously — buried alive. Vincent uncovered the bodies once and I’d say he went behind the Losties and dug her up. Her body will be discovered missing when someone goes back for the diamonds.
Also, check actress Kiele Sanchez’s page on IMDb — she is listed as appearing on LOST episodes 3.19 and 3.20. Since Rodrigo Santoro’s page does not show the same, I’m assuming she will be back to provide a couple of twists before being killed off for good.
Dirk – I thought possibly both actors would return alive, but your IMDb research indicates it will be just Kiele Sanchez which makes sense to me. Especially since she was the one we saw open her eyes during the burial. Who or how do you think she will be “rescued”? Or will it be like “Carrie”, as in some supernatural force? I doubt the latter, but you never know on Lost.