The 23rd Psalm
Encyclopedia
"The 23rd Psalm" is the tenth episode of the second season of Lost
, and the 35th episode overall. The episode was directed by Matt Earl Beesley
, and written by Carlton Cuse
and Damon Lindelof
. It first aired on January 11, 2006 on ABC
, and was watched by an average of 20.56 million American viewers. The episode is centered around the character of Mr. Eko
(Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje
), who in flashback
s is revealed to be a former warlord
in Nigeria
, and in the present day events goes with Charlie Pace
(Dominic Monaghan
) to the Nigerian airplane which had crashed on the island.
The episode has an overall theme of redemption, and was written by drawing inspiration from "Deus Ex Machina
", the episode where the Nigerian airplane was first introduced. Reviews for "The 23rd Psalm" were positive, praising the flashback and Akinnuoye-Agbaje's performance as Eko. The episode's script was later nominated for an Emmy Award
.
n guerrillas
arrive at a small village, grab a young boy named Yemi and try to force him to shoot an old man. The boy hesitates and his older brother, Eko
, takes the gun and shoots the man himself, thus saving his brother from the act. The guerrillas are pleased with this, and force him to join their group, tearing his Christian cross
from his neck, which is then taken by Yemi.
Years later, Eko has become a powerful warlord
. He meets with a drug dealer who is trying to get his heroin out of the country. Eko offers to do him a "favor," buying the drugs at a low price and spiriting them out of the country. The drug runner agrees, but is killed after telling that he believed Eko had no soul. Later, Eko visits the church of his hometown, where Yemi has become a priest
. Eko asks him for a plane, because only United Nations
relief and missionary aircraft are allowed to fly out of Nigeria, saying he will fly the drugs away from the Nigerians and give his brother money for a polio vaccine. Yemi refuses to help. Later, Eko approaches his brother again, asking simply for Yemi to sign ordination
papers that make Eko and two associates priests so that they can arrange the flight themselves. His brother refuses, but reluctantly signs after Eko says that his two friends will burn the church to the ground if Yemi does not collaborate. Eko also buys Virgin Mary statues to hide the heroin within.
Dressed as priests, Eko and two associates are loading drugs onto a Beechcraft
airplane, when Yemi drives up and tells him not to leave. The Nigerian military arrives shortly thereafter, killing a henchman and shooting Yemi. Eko loads his brother onto the plane, but the pilot, who has a gold tooth, prevents Eko from boarding and flies away. Then the military approach and, mistaking Eko for a real priest, ask Eko, "Are you alright, Father?"
(Emilie de Ravin
) watches Eko whittling scripture
into the head of his club, and mentions that Charlie Pace
(Dominic Monaghan
) carries a Virgin Mary statue. Eko immediately demands to see the statue, which he breaks open and shows Claire the heroin inside. Eko then goes to Charlie, demanding him to take him to the plane.
Meanwhile, Locke teaches Michael Dawson
(Harold Perrineau) how to use a gun, and Michael then asks Kate Austen
(Evangeline Lilly
) to have her shift at the hatch computer. At the computer, Michael continues his conversation with his son Walt
(Malcolm David Kelley
), which is interrupted by the arrival of Jack Shephard
(Matthew Fox
), who remains unaware of it.
On the way to the Beechcraft, Eko and Charlie find a parachute in a tree, which leads to the corpse of a Nigerian man dressed as a priest that Boone Carlyle
(Ian Somerhalder
) and John Locke
(Terry O'Quinn
) had previously found
. When Eko sees the dead man's gold tooth, he tells Charlie that the man "saved his life." Charlie loses his way, and Mr. Eko tells him to climb a tree. As he is above the tree, explosions and a cloud of black smoke emerge from the jungle. It confronts him whilst flashing images to him of his past. Mr. Eko stands his ground, despite Charlie telling him to run, and stares at the smoke before it pulls back and disappears. Eko and Charlie then find the plane, inside which Eko finds another corpse which Eko recognizes as Yemi. After taking the cross from Yemi's body, Eko tells Charlie that it is his brother, gives Charlie a Virgin Mary statue "for the one [he] broke" and sets the plane on fire. Charlie asks Eko if he is a priest himself, and as Eko puts the cross around his neck he replies "Yes, I am." The two then recite Psalm 23
from the Old Testament
as the plane burns.
After arriving at the camp, Charlie apologizes to Claire, but Claire tells him to leave her and her son alone. Charlie then goes into the jungle, and opens a hiding place where he is keeping Virgin Mary statues to put the one Eko gave him.
During the production of "Deus Ex Machina
", which introduced the Nigerian airplane, a corpse dressed as a priest with a gun, and Virgin Mary statues filled with heroin, the Lost writers decided that the story of the Beechcraft would coincide with one of the characters' flashbacks. They decided to use one of the tail section characters to be introduced in season 2, "essentially a bad guy who was forced to disguise himself as a priest, and how would that come about, and could he now be presenting himself as a priest". Since Eko and Locke are both spiritual leaders on the island - but with Locke having a "paganistic, ritualistic appreciation" for the island's powers and Eko, "pure religious faith" - writers Carlton Cuse
and Damon Lindelof
decided to write in this episode parallels with "Deus Ex Machina", where Locke and Boone find the Beechcraft. The biggest similarity is Charlie unwillingly become Eko's "acolyte", just like Boone
was being Locke's follower in their expedition to the airplane.
The main theme of "The 23rd Psalm" was redemption, which both Eko and Charlie are seeking, with Eko eventually getting his upon finding his brother. Charlie was chosen to be Eko's companion because the character did not have much screentime up to that point in the season, and the writers found similarities between Charlie and Eko, such as both having difficult relationships with their brothers. The writers accidentally transcripted Psalm 23 wrong, with "the shadow of the valley of death" instead of "the valley of the shadow of death," but decided to keep the mistake, feeling it was appropriate as Eko was never a proper priest.
The flashbacks had the intent of showing that Eko was the opposite of his religious brother, but eventually ended up similar to Yemi. Nigeria's depiction was described by art director Bill Matthews as a "very dusty-dirty brown kind of Nigerian-earth look", with touches such as vendors on the street, and a square where children play soccer. The interior of the church was an actual location in Haleiwa, and a facade
was built on the set to match it. While editing, the producers decided to separate a part of the final scene involving the airplane getting attacked and taking off, where a soldier confuses Eko for a priest, to juxtapose with Eko's spiritual epiphany on the island and set up his next flashback on "?
", where he is a priest in Australia. As the casting team was having trouble finding a Moroccan
to play the drug dealer, set caterer
Moumen El Hajji was selected for the role.
As the Monster had not yet appeared in the second season, the producers decided to expand on his mythology in "The 23rd Psalm", as they thought Eko was a good character to confront the Monster because of his spirituality and "self-awareness". Visual effects supervisor Kevin Blank suggested on adding imagery representing Eko's past on the smoke, such a cross and the man he shoots at the opening scene.
, being preceded by a clip show
titled "Lost: Revelations". It was watched by approximately 20.56 million American viewers, being third in the weekly audience ranking, behind the AFC playoffs and Desperate Housewives
.
Reviews for "The 23rd Psalm" were mostly positive. Entertainment Weekly
s Jeff Jensen gave the episode an A, describing it as a "wonderfully strange parable about redemption and fate". Mac Slocum of Filmfodder.com considered the episode a worthy return after the two month break, saying that Eko's "simple looks and simple phrases pummel the screen with gravitas and charisma". Ryan Mcgee of Zap2it
considered highlights of the episode the scene with the Monster, and the flashback, which in his opinion "[did] so great a job at explaining an entire character so succinctly". IGN
's Chris Carabott gave the episode an 8.3 out of 10, praising the development of Eko's character and the flashback.
Writers Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof's script for "The 23rd Psalm" was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series
. IGN ranked "The 23rd Psalm" 40th out of the 115 Lost episodes, calling the flashback "one of most action-packed and ambitious on the series". A similar list by Los Angeles Times
ranked the episode at 49th, describing it as "a great first chapter that sadly never got a worthy follow-up."
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...
, and the 35th episode overall. The episode was directed by Matt Earl Beesley
Matt Earl Beesley
Matthew Earl "Matt" Beesley is an American television director. He has directed episodes of television series such as CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Prison Break, Lost, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Criminal Minds, The Closer and CSI: Miami. He directed the 1998 Mickey Rourke film Point...
, and written by 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...
and Damon Lindelof
Damon 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...
. It first aired on January 11, 2006 on ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
, and was watched by an average of 20.56 million American viewers. The episode is centered around the character of Mr. Eko
Mr. Eko
Mr. Eko Tunde is a fictional character, played by Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje on the ABC television series Lost. He is introduced in the second season episode "Adrift" as one of the plane-crash survivors from the plane's tail section. Flashbacks reveal that he became the leader of a gang of guerrillas...
(Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje
Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje
Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje is a British actor, and former fashion model best known for his roles as Mr. Eko on Lost, Simon Adebisi on Oz and Nykwana Wombosi in The Bourne Identity.-Early life and career:...
), who in flashback
Flashback (narrative)
Flashback is an interjected scene that takes the narrative back in time from the current point the story has reached. Flashbacks are often used to recount events that happened before the story’s primary sequence of events or to fill in crucial backstory...
s is revealed to be a former warlord
Warlord
A warlord is a person with power who has both military and civil control over a subnational area due to armed forces loyal to the warlord and not to a central authority. The term can also mean one who espouses the ideal that war is necessary, and has the means and authority to engage in war...
in Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
, and in the present day events goes with 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....
) to the Nigerian airplane which had crashed on the island.
The episode has an overall theme of redemption, and was written by drawing inspiration from "Deus Ex Machina
Deus Ex Machina (Lost)
"Deus Ex Machina" is the 19th episode of the first season of Lost. The episode was directed by Robert Mandel and written by Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof. It first aired on March 30, 2005 on ABC...
", the episode where the Nigerian airplane was first introduced. Reviews for "The 23rd Psalm" were positive, praising the flashback and Akinnuoye-Agbaje's performance as Eko. The episode's script was later nominated for an Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
.
Flashbacks
NigeriaNigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
n guerrillas
Guerrilla warfare
Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare and refers to conflicts in which a small group of combatants including, but not limited to, armed civilians use military tactics, such as ambushes, sabotage, raids, the element of surprise, and extraordinary mobility to harass a larger and...
arrive at a small village, grab a young boy named Yemi and try to force him to shoot an old man. The boy hesitates and his older brother, Eko
Mr. Eko
Mr. Eko Tunde is a fictional character, played by Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje on the ABC television series Lost. He is introduced in the second season episode "Adrift" as one of the plane-crash survivors from the plane's tail section. Flashbacks reveal that he became the leader of a gang of guerrillas...
, takes the gun and shoots the man himself, thus saving his brother from the act. The guerrillas are pleased with this, and force him to join their group, tearing his Christian cross
Christian cross
The Christian cross, seen as a representation of the instrument of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, is the best-known religious symbol of Christianity...
from his neck, which is then taken by Yemi.
Years later, Eko has become a powerful warlord
Warlord
A warlord is a person with power who has both military and civil control over a subnational area due to armed forces loyal to the warlord and not to a central authority. The term can also mean one who espouses the ideal that war is necessary, and has the means and authority to engage in war...
. He meets with a drug dealer who is trying to get his heroin out of the country. Eko offers to do him a "favor," buying the drugs at a low price and spiriting them out of the country. The drug runner agrees, but is killed after telling that he believed Eko had no soul. Later, Eko visits the church of his hometown, where Yemi has become a priest
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
. Eko asks him for a plane, because only United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
relief and missionary aircraft are allowed to fly out of Nigeria, saying he will fly the drugs away from the Nigerians and give his brother money for a polio vaccine. Yemi refuses to help. Later, Eko approaches his brother again, asking simply for Yemi to sign ordination
Ordination
In general religious use, ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart as clergy to perform various religious rites and ceremonies. The process and ceremonies of ordination itself varies by religion and denomination. One who is in preparation for, or who is...
papers that make Eko and two associates priests so that they can arrange the flight themselves. His brother refuses, but reluctantly signs after Eko says that his two friends will burn the church to the ground if Yemi does not collaborate. Eko also buys Virgin Mary statues to hide the heroin within.
Dressed as priests, Eko and two associates are loading drugs onto a Beechcraft
Beechcraft
Beechcraft is an American manufacturer of general aviation and military aircraft, ranging from light single engine aircraft to business jets and light military transports. Previously a division of Raytheon, it has been a brand of Hawker Beechcraft since 2006....
airplane, when Yemi drives up and tells him not to leave. The Nigerian military arrives shortly thereafter, killing a henchman and shooting Yemi. Eko loads his brother onto the plane, but the pilot, who has a gold tooth, prevents Eko from boarding and flies away. Then the military approach and, mistaking Eko for a real priest, ask Eko, "Are you alright, Father?"
On the Island
On the island, Claire LittletonClaire 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...
(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....
) watches Eko whittling scripture
Religious text
Religious texts, also known as scripture, scriptures, holy writ, or holy books, are the texts which various religious traditions consider to be sacred, or of central importance to their religious tradition...
into the head of his club, and mentions that 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....
) carries a Virgin Mary statue. Eko immediately demands to see the statue, which he breaks open and shows Claire the heroin inside. Eko then goes to Charlie, demanding him to take him to the plane.
Meanwhile, Locke teaches Michael Dawson
Michael Dawson (Lost)
Michael Dawson is a fictional character played by Harold Perrineau on the ABC television series Lost. After losing a custody battle with Susan Lloyd , Michael does not see his son Walt for almost ten years. They reunite when she dies, but on their journey home, their plane crashes on a mysterious...
(Harold Perrineau) how to use a gun, and Michael then asks 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:...
) to have her shift at the hatch computer. At the computer, Michael continues his conversation with his son Walt
Walt Lloyd
Walter "Walt" Lloyd is a fictional character portrayed by Malcolm David Kelley in the American ABC television series Lost. The series follows the lives of over forty survivors of the crash of Oceanic Flight 815. Walt is introduced in the pilot episode as one of the survivors aboard the plane, which...
(Malcolm David Kelley
Malcolm David Kelley
Malcolm David Kelley is an American teen actor. He starred in the 2004 film You Got Served as "Li'l Saint". He also appears in the television series Lost as the character Walt Lloyd. A regular cast member in the show's first season , he has appeared only occasionally since due to a dramatic...
), which is interrupted by the arrival of 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 :...
), who remains unaware of it.
On the way to the Beechcraft, Eko and Charlie find a parachute in a tree, which leads to the corpse of a Nigerian man dressed as a priest that Boone Carlyle
Boone Carlyle
Boone Carlyle is a fictional character played by Ian Somerhalder on the ABC drama television series Lost, which chronicles the lives of the survivors of a plane crash in the south Pacific. Boone is introduced in the pilot episode as the stepbrother of fellow crash survivor Shannon Rutherford...
(Ian Somerhalder
Ian Somerhalder
Ian Joseph Somerhalder is an American model, actor and producer, best known for playing Boone Carlyle in the TV drama Lost and Damon Salvatore in the TV drama The Vampire Diaries.-Early life:...
) and John Locke
John Locke (Lost)
John Locke is a fictional character played by Terry O'Quinn on the ABC television series Lost. He is named after English philosopher John Locke...
(Terry O'Quinn
Terry O'Quinn
Terry O'Quinn is an American actor, most famous for playing John Locke on the TV series Lost. He made his debut in a 1980 television movie called F.D.R.: The Last Year. Since then, O'Quinn has had minor supporting roles in films and TV movies such as Young Guns, All the Right Moves, Silver Bullet,...
) had previously found
Deus Ex Machina (Lost)
"Deus Ex Machina" is the 19th episode of the first season of Lost. The episode was directed by Robert Mandel and written by Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof. It first aired on March 30, 2005 on ABC...
. When Eko sees the dead man's gold tooth, he tells Charlie that the man "saved his life." Charlie loses his way, and Mr. Eko tells him to climb a tree. As he is above the tree, explosions and a cloud of black smoke emerge from the jungle. It confronts him whilst flashing images to him of his past. Mr. Eko stands his ground, despite Charlie telling him to run, and stares at the smoke before it pulls back and disappears. Eko and Charlie then find the plane, inside which Eko finds another corpse which Eko recognizes as Yemi. After taking the cross from Yemi's body, Eko tells Charlie that it is his brother, gives Charlie a Virgin Mary statue "for the one [he] broke" and sets the plane on fire. Charlie asks Eko if he is a priest himself, and as Eko puts the cross around his neck he replies "Yes, I am." The two then recite Psalm 23
Psalm 23
In the 23rd Psalm in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament, the writer describes God as his Shepherd. The text, beloved by Jews and Christians alike, is often alluded to in popular media and has been set to music....
from the Old Testament
Old Testament
The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...
as the plane burns.
After arriving at the camp, Charlie apologizes to Claire, but Claire tells him to leave her and her son alone. Charlie then goes into the jungle, and opens a hiding place where he is keeping Virgin Mary statues to put the one Eko gave him.
Production
During the production of "Deus Ex Machina
Deus Ex Machina (Lost)
"Deus Ex Machina" is the 19th episode of the first season of Lost. The episode was directed by Robert Mandel and written by Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof. It first aired on March 30, 2005 on ABC...
", which introduced the Nigerian airplane, a corpse dressed as a priest with a gun, and Virgin Mary statues filled with heroin, the Lost writers decided that the story of the Beechcraft would coincide with one of the characters' flashbacks. They decided to use one of the tail section characters to be introduced in season 2, "essentially a bad guy who was forced to disguise himself as a priest, and how would that come about, and could he now be presenting himself as a priest". Since Eko and Locke are both spiritual leaders on the island - but with Locke having a "paganistic, ritualistic appreciation" for the island's powers and Eko, "pure religious faith" - writers 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...
and Damon Lindelof
Damon 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...
decided to write in this episode parallels with "Deus Ex Machina", where Locke and Boone find the Beechcraft. The biggest similarity is Charlie unwillingly become Eko's "acolyte", just like Boone
Boone Carlyle
Boone Carlyle is a fictional character played by Ian Somerhalder on the ABC drama television series Lost, which chronicles the lives of the survivors of a plane crash in the south Pacific. Boone is introduced in the pilot episode as the stepbrother of fellow crash survivor Shannon Rutherford...
was being Locke's follower in their expedition to the airplane.
The main theme of "The 23rd Psalm" was redemption, which both Eko and Charlie are seeking, with Eko eventually getting his upon finding his brother. Charlie was chosen to be Eko's companion because the character did not have much screentime up to that point in the season, and the writers found similarities between Charlie and Eko, such as both having difficult relationships with their brothers. The writers accidentally transcripted Psalm 23 wrong, with "the shadow of the valley of death" instead of "the valley of the shadow of death," but decided to keep the mistake, feeling it was appropriate as Eko was never a proper priest.
The flashbacks had the intent of showing that Eko was the opposite of his religious brother, but eventually ended up similar to Yemi. Nigeria's depiction was described by art director Bill Matthews as a "very dusty-dirty brown kind of Nigerian-earth look", with touches such as vendors on the street, and a square where children play soccer. The interior of the church was an actual location in Haleiwa, and a facade
Facade
A facade or façade is generally one exterior side of a building, usually, but not always, the front. The word comes from the French language, literally meaning "frontage" or "face"....
was built on the set to match it. While editing, the producers decided to separate a part of the final scene involving the airplane getting attacked and taking off, where a soldier confuses Eko for a priest, to juxtapose with Eko's spiritual epiphany on the island and set up his next flashback on "?
? (Lost)
"?", typically pronounced "Question Mark" is the 46th episode of Lost and the 21st episode of the second season. The episode was directed by Deran Sarafian, and written by Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse. It first aired on May 10, 2006 on ABC. The character of Mr. Eko is featured in the episode's...
", where he is a priest in Australia. As the casting team was having trouble finding a Moroccan
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
to play the drug dealer, set caterer
Catering
Catering is the business of providing foodservice at a remote site or a site such as a hotel, public house , or other location.-Mobile catering:A mobile caterer serves food directly from a vehicle or cart that is designed for the purpose...
Moumen El Hajji was selected for the role.
As the Monster had not yet appeared in the second season, the producers decided to expand on his mythology in "The 23rd Psalm", as they thought Eko was a good character to confront the Monster because of his spirituality and "self-awareness". Visual effects supervisor Kevin Blank suggested on adding imagery representing Eko's past on the smoke, such a cross and the man he shoots at the opening scene.
Reception
The original broadcast of "The 23rd Psalm" was on January 11, 2006 on ABCAmerican Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
, being preceded by a clip show
Clip show
A clip show is an episode of a television series that consists primarily of excerpts from previous episodes. Most clip shows feature the format of a frame story in which cast members recall past events from past installments of the show, depicted with a clip of the event presented as a flashback. ...
titled "Lost: Revelations". It was watched by approximately 20.56 million American viewers, being third in the weekly audience ranking, behind the AFC playoffs and Desperate Housewives
Desperate Housewives
Desperate Housewives is an American television comedy-drama series created by Marc Cherry and produced by ABC Studios and Cherry Productions. Executive producer Cherry serves as Showrunner. Other executive producers since the fourth season include Marc Cherry, Bob Daily, George W...
.
Reviews for "The 23rd Psalm" were mostly positive. 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...
s Jeff Jensen gave the episode an A, describing it as a "wonderfully strange parable about redemption and fate". Mac Slocum of Filmfodder.com considered the episode a worthy return after the two month break, saying that Eko's "simple looks and simple phrases pummel the screen with gravitas and charisma". 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 highlights of the episode the scene with the Monster, and the flashback, which in his opinion "[did] so great a job at explaining an entire character so succinctly". 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 gave the episode an 8.3 out of 10, praising the development of Eko's character and the flashback.
Writers Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof's script for "The 23rd Psalm" was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series
The Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series is awarded to one television episode each year at the Primetime Emmy Awards. Often regarded as the highest honor that can be bestowed upon an individual episode of television, the nominees and winners often reflect outstanding achievement in...
. IGN ranked "The 23rd Psalm" 40th out of the 115 Lost episodes, calling the flashback "one of most action-packed and ambitious on the series". 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 at 49th, describing it as "a great first chapter that sadly never got a worthy follow-up."
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...