Every Man For Himself (Lost)
Encyclopedia
"Every Man for Himself" is the fourth episode of the third season of Lost
, making it the 53rd episode of the series. It aired on October 25, 2006 on ABC, and was written by Edward Kitsis
and Adam Horowitz and directed by Stephen Williams
. The character of Sawyer (Josh Holloway
) is featured in the episode's flashbacks; on the island, his rebellious attitude causes Ben Linus (Michael Emerson
) and the Others to conjure a plan to keep him in check.
The episode was intended to show how Ben was a character that could manipulate even the best confidence man on the island, and if Sawyer could care for another person, as Kate Austen
(Evangeline Lilly
) is making her attempts to escape captivity. When the episode first aired, it was watched by 17.087 million American viewers. Reviews were positive, praising the writing and the cliffhanger ending.
), a man who has hidden ten million dollars. He warns Munson that the warden (Bill Duke
) is trying to con him out of his money. Eventually, Munson, worried that his wife will find where he has hidden the money, enlists Sawyer's help in moving the stash. Sawyer then reveals this information to the warden, in exchange for a reduced sentence and a part of the money, which he puts in a bank account for Clementine Phillips, a baby that previous con victim Cassidy Phillips (Kim Dickens
) has told him is his daughter. The warden sarcastically congratulates Sawyer on lying and cheating his way out of prison.
(Evangeline Lilly
) and Sawyer watch as the Others carry a critically injured Colleen (Paula Malcomson
), who was shot by Sun-Hwa Kwon (Yunjin Kim) the night before
. Sawyer realizes that the injury was inflicted by someone back at camp, and then devises a plan to break out from the cage; he intends to electrocute an off-guard Danny Pickett (Michael Bowen
) using a puddle he created outside his cage. However, Ben Linus (Michael Emerson
) overhears him via surveillance and switches off the electricity prior to visiting him. When Sawyer attempts to carry out his plan, Ben knocks him unconscious and has him carried into the Hydra station.
Sawyer wakes up to find himself strapped to a table, where Ben, Tom (M. C. Gainey
) and two other Others watch over him. Sawyer is gagged before inserting a large hypodermic needle
into his chest. When Sawyer awakens, Ben enters, carrying a rabbit in a cage; he shakes the cage vigorously, causing the rabbit to suddenly collapse, presumably dead. Ben informs Sawyer that they fitted him with a pacemaker
; should his heart rate reach 140, his heart would explode. Ben threatens to implant one in Kate if Sawyer should tell her of his ordeal.
Meanwhile, Juliet Burke
(Elizabeth Mitchell
) begs Jack Shephard
(Matthew Fox
) to help operate on Colleen. Upon arriving at the operating theatre, Jack notices some x-rays, but Juliet informs him that they are not Colleen's. During the surgery, Jack tries to save Colleen, but she eventually dies. Later, Jack informs Juliet that there was nothing they could do with Colleen, and then asks about the x-rays, which Jack knows belong to a forty year-old man with a spinal tumor, and asks who he is there to save.
Danny, aware that the Oceanic Flight 815 survivors are responsible, takes his anger out on Sawyer by violently beating him, who refrains from fighting back. Kate pleads with him to stop; Danny ceases only after Kate admits to loving Sawyer. Afterwards, Kate notices a gap in her cage, and manages to climb through. She tries to free Sawyer, but he bitterly refuses, remembering Karl's escape and bloody capture. Kate returns to her cage, insisting that she would not abandon him, and tells Sawyer that she lied about loving him so that Danny would stop.
The next day, Ben takes Sawyer for a walk to high ground. Sawyer learns that he has no pacemaker; it was merely a con to prevent Sawyer from leaving, and shows him the same rabbit from the day before, which had been merely sedated. Ben reveals to Sawyer that they are on a completely different island approximately twice the size of Alcatraz that overlooks the main island; escape is impossible. Upon asking why he was conned, Ben tells Sawyer that in order to gain a con artist's respect, they must be conned themselves.
(Henry Ian Cusick
) offers to fix Claire Littleton
's (Emilie de Ravin
) roof, but takes it back after Charlie Pace
(Dominic Monaghan
) offers to do this himself. Desmond then uses one of Paulo
's (Rodrigo Santoro
) golf club to build a lightning rod
next to Claire's hut. As a storm brews, waking up Aaron, then lightning strikes the golf club instead of Claire's hut, Hugo "Hurley" Reyes (Jorge Garcia
) looks on in amazement, as, again
, Desmond seemed to have had a glimpse of the future
.
asked in an interview, "Until now, Sawyer's been the No. 1 con man on the island. What happens when he meets his match?" Fellow showrunner Carlton Cuse
added "Is he willing to put himself out there emotionally for another human being?". Evangeline Lilly
described the scene where Kate declines to escape as a major moment to the character, saying that "due to this hillbilly she's capable of returning to her cage. Josh Holloway
agreed, declaring that the episode revealed to Sawyer that "not everyone is evil". The flashbacks were shot in an actual penitentiary, the Halawa Correctional Facility, which had been previously used for the prison where Desmond was incarcerated in "Live Together, Die Alone
". While some of the interns were portrayed by extras with soy ink tattoos, bikers
with actual body paint were also used.
Referring to the scene in the third season where Ben seemingly fits Sawyer with a lethal pacemaker, Michael Emerson
comments "Sadistic may be the word, but he doesn't seem to take much relish in it. He's just sort of detached, he looks at it coldly. I sometimes feel like everything to him is a sort of scientific experiment and he is interested in a dispassionate way in how the experiment runs its course. I think some day if we ever find out what his parentage is, that his parents were people of science". He also described the events as a demonstration that "Ben has more cards than you think; (...) he's a step or two ahead, one layer or two deeper than anyone else who is playing the game". The rabbit was a reference to Stephen King
's On Writing
, where King uses a rabbit in a cage with the number 8 written on its back as an example for the connection between reader and writer. Emerson said that part of the appeal of the scene was that "bunnies look so innocent, and the audience feels so tenderly about them you can feel nothing but beastly being mean to them". But Emerson added the rabbit in the scene had problems reacting to his attempts to scare him - "it was unfazed, it barely blinked".
When asked in an interview whether she got sick of shooting on the Hydra holding cell set, Elizabeth Mitchell responded "I guess so. It was creepy because it was supposed to be underwater, so it was a little bit dingy but kind of great at the same time … what I will miss is just being one on one with another actor. And then also one on two obviously when it was Michael [Emerson] because the three of us, it was almost like being on stage. We were able to really work off of each other and I thought you don't usually get that in a TV show."
IGN
's Chris Carabott said that "now that Lost has finally wrapped up most of the loose ends from season two
, the episode can shift focus to this season's mysteries." He also felt the episode "offers a healthy mix of plot and character development with a fair share of revelations thrown in for good measure." Christine Fenno of Entertainment Weekly
declared herself "sold on the adrenaline-rush direction the show has taken", with praise to the flashbacks and the cliffhanger involving the reveal of the second island. Lost critic Andrew Dignan described "Every Man for Himself" as "quite the exhilarating episode, packing in enough thrills to make the 42-minutes fly by" in Slant Magazine
. Ryan Mcgee of Zap2it
considered "watching the con man get conned was brutally satisfying", saying that Sawyer "[ran] the whole gamut of emotions", and felt Colleen's death and the reveal of Ben's tumor "were good things, as people were already impatient by the glacial-like pace of Season 3." Writing for AOL TV, Jonathan Toomey considered "Every Man for Himself" as "an interesting episode" which set up many new elements, and while Toomey called the flashback "a little dry and 100% predictable", he liked how it related to the other events in the story "right up to the title". Mac Slocum of Filmfodder.com praised the episode for returning to the mythology
, as he considered the previous episode lacked "the slack-jawed wonder I'm so accustomed to experiencing with this show".
IGN ranked "Every Man for Himself" 70th out of the 115 Lost episodes, saying that it "offered plenty of food for thought." On the other hand, a similar list by Los Angeles Times
ranked the episode as the tenth worst of the series, describing it as the "only outright stinker" of early season 3.
Michael Emerson
and Josh Holloway
submitted this episode for consideration on their own behalf respectively in the category of "Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
" at the 2007 Emmy Awards
, but neither was nominated.
Lost (TV series)
Lost is an American television series that originally aired on ABC from September 22, 2004 to May 23, 2010, consisting of six seasons. Lost is a drama series that follows the survivors of the crash of a commercial passenger jet flying between Sydney and Los Angeles, on a mysterious tropical island...
, making it the 53rd episode of the series. It aired on October 25, 2006 on ABC, and was written by Edward Kitsis
Edward Kitsis
Edward Lawrence Kitsis, also sometimes credited as Eddy Kitsis, is an American screenwriter and producer, best known for his work on the popular American television series, Lost and Once Upon a Time.-Life and career:...
and Adam Horowitz and directed by Stephen Williams
Stephen Williams (director)
Stephen Williams is a Canadian film and television director. Williams has directed several modern day television programs including work as a regular director on the ABC drama series Lost, where he was also a co-executive producer...
. The character of Sawyer (Josh Holloway
Josh Holloway
Joshua Lee "Josh" Holloway is an American actor and model from Free Home, Georgia. He is best known for his role as James "Sawyer" Ford on the American television show Lost.-Early life:...
) is featured in the episode's flashbacks; on the island, his rebellious attitude causes Ben Linus (Michael Emerson
Michael Emerson
Michael Emerson is an American actor who is perhaps best known for his roles as Benjamin Linus on Lost and fictional serial killer William Hinks in The Practice.-Early life:...
) and the Others to conjure a plan to keep him in check.
The episode was intended to show how Ben was a character that could manipulate even the best confidence man on the island, and if Sawyer could care for another person, as Kate Austen
Kate Austen
Katherine Anne "Kate" Austen is a fictional character on the ABC television series Lost, played by Canadian actress Evangeline Lilly. She is the de facto female lead...
(Evangeline Lilly
Evangeline Lilly
Evangeline Lilly is a Canadian actress, best known for her role as Kate Austen in the ABC drama, Lost.-Early life:...
) is making her attempts to escape captivity. When the episode first aired, it was watched by 17.087 million American viewers. Reviews were positive, praising the writing and the cliffhanger ending.
Flashbacks
Sawyer is in prison, trying to befriend Munson (Ian GomezIan Gomez
Ian Gomez is an American actor best known for his comedic TV work, the most notable of which are his series-regular stints as Javier on Felicity and Andy on Cougar Town.-Career:...
), a man who has hidden ten million dollars. He warns Munson that the warden (Bill Duke
Bill Duke
William Henry "Bill" Duke, Jr. is an American actor and film director with over 30 years of experience. Known for his physically imposing frame, Duke's work frequently dwells within the action/crime and drama genres but also includes comedy.-Early life:Duke was born in Poughkeepsie, New York, the...
) is trying to con him out of his money. Eventually, Munson, worried that his wife will find where he has hidden the money, enlists Sawyer's help in moving the stash. Sawyer then reveals this information to the warden, in exchange for a reduced sentence and a part of the money, which he puts in a bank account for Clementine Phillips, a baby that previous con victim Cassidy Phillips (Kim Dickens
Kim Dickens
Kimberly Jan "Kim" Dickens is an American actress and model.-Early life:Dickens was born in Huntsville, Alabama, graduated from that city's Lee High School, and attended Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, where she majored in communication...
) has told him is his daughter. The warden sarcastically congratulates Sawyer on lying and cheating his way out of prison.
At Hydra Island
As Kate AustenKate Austen
Katherine Anne "Kate" Austen is a fictional character on the ABC television series Lost, played by Canadian actress Evangeline Lilly. She is the de facto female lead...
(Evangeline Lilly
Evangeline Lilly
Evangeline Lilly is a Canadian actress, best known for her role as Kate Austen in the ABC drama, Lost.-Early life:...
) and Sawyer watch as the Others carry a critically injured Colleen (Paula Malcomson
Paula Malcomson
Paula Malcomson is a Northern Irish actress born in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Malcomson is sometimes credited as Paula Williams.She starred as "Trixie" in the HBO series Deadwood and Colleen in ABC's Lost...
), who was shot by Sun-Hwa Kwon (Yunjin Kim) the night before
The Glass Ballerina
"The Glass Ballerina" is the second episode of the third season of the TV series Lost, and the 51st episode overall. The episode was written by Jeff Pinkner and Drew Goddard and directed by Paul Edwards, and premiered on October 11, 2006 on ABC...
. Sawyer realizes that the injury was inflicted by someone back at camp, and then devises a plan to break out from the cage; he intends to electrocute an off-guard Danny Pickett (Michael Bowen
Michael Bowen (actor)
Michael Bowen is an American actor. Films he has appeared in include Jackie Brown, Magnolia, and Less Than Zero. Bowen also had a recurring role as Danny Pickett on the ABC television series, Lost....
) using a puddle he created outside his cage. However, Ben Linus (Michael Emerson
Michael Emerson
Michael Emerson is an American actor who is perhaps best known for his roles as Benjamin Linus on Lost and fictional serial killer William Hinks in The Practice.-Early life:...
) overhears him via surveillance and switches off the electricity prior to visiting him. When Sawyer attempts to carry out his plan, Ben knocks him unconscious and has him carried into the Hydra station.
Sawyer wakes up to find himself strapped to a table, where Ben, Tom (M. C. Gainey
M. C. Gainey
Michael Connor "Mike" Gainey , better known as M. C. Gainey, is an American film and television actor whose distinctive mustache, 6'2½" height, and threatening look have given him supporting roles as Southern/Southwestern types, thugs, and criminals.Gainey attended the University of Southern...
) and two other Others watch over him. Sawyer is gagged before inserting a large hypodermic needle
Hypodermic needle
A hypodermic needle is a hollow needle commonly used with a syringe to inject substances into the body or extract fluids from it...
into his chest. When Sawyer awakens, Ben enters, carrying a rabbit in a cage; he shakes the cage vigorously, causing the rabbit to suddenly collapse, presumably dead. Ben informs Sawyer that they fitted him with a pacemaker
Pacemaker
An artificial pacemaker is a medical device that uses electrical impulses to regulate the beating of the heart.Pacemaker may also refer to:-Medicine:...
; should his heart rate reach 140, his heart would explode. Ben threatens to implant one in Kate if Sawyer should tell her of his ordeal.
Meanwhile, Juliet Burke
Juliet Burke
Dr. Juliet Burke is a fictional character on the ABC television series Lost played by Elizabeth Mitchell. Her character was introduced in the third season premiere.- Prior to arrival on the island :...
(Elizabeth Mitchell
Elizabeth Mitchell
Elizabeth Mitchell , is an American actress/modelwho is known for her roles as Dr. Juliet Burke on ABC's TV series Lost and as FBI agent Erica Evans on V. She has starred in such films as The Santa Clause 2, The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause, and Gia.-Early life:Mitchell was born Elizabeth...
) begs Jack Shephard
Jack Shephard
Dr. Jack Shephard is a fictional character and protagonist of the ABC television series Lost played by Matthew Fox. Lost follows the journey of the survivors of Oceanic Airlines flight 815 on a mysterious island and their attempts to survive and escape, slowly uncovering more of the much broader...
(Matthew Fox
Matthew Fox (actor)
Matthew Chandler Fox is an American actor. He is mostly known for his role as Charlie Salinger on Party of Five, and for portraying Jack Shephard on the supernatural drama television series Lost.- Early life :...
) to help operate on Colleen. Upon arriving at the operating theatre, Jack notices some x-rays, but Juliet informs him that they are not Colleen's. During the surgery, Jack tries to save Colleen, but she eventually dies. Later, Jack informs Juliet that there was nothing they could do with Colleen, and then asks about the x-rays, which Jack knows belong to a forty year-old man with a spinal tumor, and asks who he is there to save.
Danny, aware that the Oceanic Flight 815 survivors are responsible, takes his anger out on Sawyer by violently beating him, who refrains from fighting back. Kate pleads with him to stop; Danny ceases only after Kate admits to loving Sawyer. Afterwards, Kate notices a gap in her cage, and manages to climb through. She tries to free Sawyer, but he bitterly refuses, remembering Karl's escape and bloody capture. Kate returns to her cage, insisting that she would not abandon him, and tells Sawyer that she lied about loving him so that Danny would stop.
The next day, Ben takes Sawyer for a walk to high ground. Sawyer learns that he has no pacemaker; it was merely a con to prevent Sawyer from leaving, and shows him the same rabbit from the day before, which had been merely sedated. Ben reveals to Sawyer that they are on a completely different island approximately twice the size of Alcatraz that overlooks the main island; escape is impossible. Upon asking why he was conned, Ben tells Sawyer that in order to gain a con artist's respect, they must be conned themselves.
At the beach
Desmond HumeDesmond Hume
Desmond David Hume is a fictional character on the ABC television series Lost portrayed by Henry Ian Cusick. Desmond's name is a tribute to David Hume, the famous empiricist author and philosopher. Desmond was not a passenger of Flight 815. He had been stranded on the island three years prior to...
(Henry Ian Cusick
Henry Ian Cusick
Henry Ian Cusick is a Scottish-Peruvian actor of stage, television, and film. He is well-known for his role as Desmond Hume on the United States television series Lost, for which he received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination....
) offers to fix Claire Littleton
Claire Littleton
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...
's (Emilie de Ravin
Emilie de Ravin
Emilie de Ravin born 27 December 1981)is an Australian actress. She is commonly associated with her roles as Tess Harding on Roswell and Claire Littleton on the ABC drama Lost....
) roof, but takes it back after Charlie Pace
Charlie Pace
Charlie Hieronymus Pace is a fictional character on ABC's Lost, a television series chronicling the lives of plane crash survivors on a mysterious tropical island...
(Dominic Monaghan
Dominic Monaghan
Dominic Bernard Patrick Luke Monaghan is an English actor. He has received international attention from playing Merry in Peter Jackson's adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings and for his role as Charlie Pace on the television show Lost....
) offers to do this himself. Desmond then uses one of Paulo
Nikki and Paulo
Nikki Fernandez and Paulo are fictional characters on the ABC drama television series Lost, which chronicles the lives of over forty people after their plane crashes on a remote island somewhere in the south Pacific...
's (Rodrigo Santoro
Rodrigo Santoro
Rodrigo Junqueira dos Reis Santoro is a Brazilian actor.-Life and career:Santoro was born in Petrópolis, Rio de Janeiro. He is of half Brazilian and half Italian descent. In 1993, as Santoro was studying Journalism at PUC-Rio, he entered the Actor's Workshop of Rede Globo...
) golf club to build a lightning rod
Lightning rod
A lightning rod or lightning conductor is a metal rod or conductor mounted on top of a building and electrically connected to the ground through a wire, to protect the building in the event of lightning...
next to Claire's hut. As a storm brews, waking up Aaron, then lightning strikes the golf club instead of Claire's hut, Hugo "Hurley" Reyes (Jorge Garcia
Jorge Garcia
Jorge García is a U.S. actor and comedian. He first came to public attention with his performance as Hector Lopez on the television show Becker and later for his portrayal of Hugo "Hurley" Reyes in the television series Lost. Garcia also performs as a stand-up comedian.-Early life:García was born...
) looks on in amazement, as, again
Further Instructions
"Further Instructions" is the third episode of the third season of Lost. It aired on October 18, 2006, making it the 52nd episode of the series. The episode was written by Carlton Cuse and Elizabeth Sarnoff and directed by Stephen Williams...
, Desmond seemed to have had a glimpse of the future
Precognition
In parapsychology, precognition , also called future sight, and second sight, is a type of extrasensory perception that would involve the acquisition or effect of future information that cannot be deduced from presently available and normally acquired sense-based information or laws of physics...
.
Production
Leading up to the episode's broadcast, showrunner Damon LindelofDamon Lindelof
Damon Laurence Lindelof is an American television writer and executive, most recently noted as the co-creator and executive producer for the television series Lost. He has written for and produced Crossing Jordan, and wrote for Nash Bridges, Wasteland, and the MTV anthology series Undressed...
asked in an interview, "Until now, Sawyer's been the No. 1 con man on the island. What happens when he meets his match?" Fellow showrunner Carlton Cuse
Carlton Cuse
Carlton Cuse is an AmericanEmmy Award winning screenwriter and producer, most famous as executive producer andscreenwriter for the American television series Lost for...
added "Is he willing to put himself out there emotionally for another human being?". Evangeline Lilly
Evangeline Lilly
Evangeline Lilly is a Canadian actress, best known for her role as Kate Austen in the ABC drama, Lost.-Early life:...
described the scene where Kate declines to escape as a major moment to the character, saying that "due to this hillbilly she's capable of returning to her cage. Josh Holloway
Josh Holloway
Joshua Lee "Josh" Holloway is an American actor and model from Free Home, Georgia. He is best known for his role as James "Sawyer" Ford on the American television show Lost.-Early life:...
agreed, declaring that the episode revealed to Sawyer that "not everyone is evil". The flashbacks were shot in an actual penitentiary, the Halawa Correctional Facility, which had been previously used for the prison where Desmond was incarcerated in "Live Together, Die Alone
Live Together, Die Alone
"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...
". While some of the interns were portrayed by extras with soy ink tattoos, bikers
Outlaw motorcycle club
An outlaw motorcycle club is a type of motorcycle club that is part of a subculture with roots in the post-World War II USA, centered on cruiser motorcycles, particularly Harley-Davidsons and choppers, and a set of ideals celebrating freedom, nonconformity to mainstream culture, and loyalty to the...
with actual body paint were also used.
Referring to the scene in the third season where Ben seemingly fits Sawyer with a lethal pacemaker, Michael Emerson
Michael Emerson
Michael Emerson is an American actor who is perhaps best known for his roles as Benjamin Linus on Lost and fictional serial killer William Hinks in The Practice.-Early life:...
comments "Sadistic may be the word, but he doesn't seem to take much relish in it. He's just sort of detached, he looks at it coldly. I sometimes feel like everything to him is a sort of scientific experiment and he is interested in a dispassionate way in how the experiment runs its course. I think some day if we ever find out what his parentage is, that his parents were people of science". He also described the events as a demonstration that "Ben has more cards than you think; (...) he's a step or two ahead, one layer or two deeper than anyone else who is playing the game". The rabbit was a reference to Stephen King
Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King is an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy fiction. His books have sold more than 350 million copies and have been adapted into a number of feature films, television movies and comic books...
's On Writing
On Writing
On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft is a memoir and writing guide book by Stephen King, published in 2000. It is a book about the prolific author's experiences as a writer. In 2008, Entertainment Weekly listed On Writing 21st on their list of The New Classics: Books - The 100 best reads from 1983 to...
, where King uses a rabbit in a cage with the number 8 written on its back as an example for the connection between reader and writer. Emerson said that part of the appeal of the scene was that "bunnies look so innocent, and the audience feels so tenderly about them you can feel nothing but beastly being mean to them". But Emerson added the rabbit in the scene had problems reacting to his attempts to scare him - "it was unfazed, it barely blinked".
When asked in an interview whether she got sick of shooting on the Hydra holding cell set, Elizabeth Mitchell responded "I guess so. It was creepy because it was supposed to be underwater, so it was a little bit dingy but kind of great at the same time … what I will miss is just being one on one with another actor. And then also one on two obviously when it was Michael [Emerson] because the three of us, it was almost like being on stage. We were able to really work off of each other and I thought you don't usually get that in a TV show."
Reception
This episode attracted 17.09 million American viewers, standing as the seventh most watched program of the week.IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
's Chris Carabott said that "now that Lost has finally wrapped up most of the loose ends from season two
Live Together, Die Alone
"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...
, the episode can shift focus to this season's mysteries." He also felt the episode "offers a healthy mix of plot and character development with a fair share of revelations thrown in for good measure." Christine Fenno of Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
declared herself "sold on the adrenaline-rush direction the show has taken", with praise to the flashbacks and the cliffhanger involving the reveal of the second island. Lost critic Andrew Dignan described "Every Man for Himself" as "quite the exhilarating episode, packing in enough thrills to make the 42-minutes fly by" in Slant Magazine
Slant Magazine
Slant Magazine is an online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York Film Festival.- History :...
. Ryan Mcgee of Zap2it
Zap2it
Zap2it is an American website and affiliate network that provides news, photos and video, local TV listings and movie showtimes. The site is produced by Tribune Media Services , part of the publishing division of the Chicago-based Tribune Company...
considered "watching the con man get conned was brutally satisfying", saying that Sawyer "[ran] the whole gamut of emotions", and felt Colleen's death and the reveal of Ben's tumor "were good things, as people were already impatient by the glacial-like pace of Season 3." Writing for AOL TV, Jonathan Toomey considered "Every Man for Himself" as "an interesting episode" which set up many new elements, and while Toomey called the flashback "a little dry and 100% predictable", he liked how it related to the other events in the story "right up to the title". Mac Slocum of Filmfodder.com praised the episode for returning to the mythology
Mythology of Lost
The television show Lost includes a number of mysterious elements that have been ascribed to science fiction or supernatural phenomena, usually concerning coincidences, synchronicity, déjà vu, temporal and spatial anomalies, paradoxes, and other puzzling phenomena...
, as he considered the previous episode lacked "the slack-jawed wonder I'm so accustomed to experiencing with this show".
IGN ranked "Every Man for Himself" 70th out of the 115 Lost episodes, saying that it "offered plenty of food for thought." On the other hand, a similar list by Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
ranked the episode as the tenth worst of the series, describing it as the "only outright stinker" of early season 3.
Michael Emerson
Michael Emerson
Michael Emerson is an American actor who is perhaps best known for his roles as Benjamin Linus on Lost and fictional serial killer William Hinks in The Practice.-Early life:...
and Josh Holloway
Josh Holloway
Joshua Lee "Josh" Holloway is an American actor and model from Free Home, Georgia. He is best known for his role as James "Sawyer" Ford on the American television show Lost.-Early life:...
submitted this episode for consideration on their own behalf respectively in the category of "Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor - Drama Series
This is a list of the winners of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series.-1960s:*1960: no award*1961: Roddy McDowall – Not Without Honor*1962: no award*1963: no award...
" at the 2007 Emmy Awards
59th Primetime Emmy Awards
The 59th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards were held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California on September 16, 2007 and were televised live on Fox at 8:00 p.m. EDT for the first time in high definition...
, but neither was nominated.
External links
- Episode guide and photos at ABC.com
- Overview at TV.comTV.comTV.com is a website owned by CBS Interactive. The site covers television and focuses on English-language shows made or broadcast in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and Japan...