The Tree Frog
When Hurley was asking Sawyer for some medicine in episode 2x18: Dave, he brought up the tree frog that he had helped Sawyer track. I originally thought that the tree frog storyline was superfluous at best, but hearing Hurley refer to it again made me wonder if it has some relevance to the plot. (Why would he have mentioned the frog if it was simply filler used to pad a midseason episode?)
After originally seeing episode 2x14, I guessed that the frog was probably poisonous and that by crushing it in his hand, Sawyer had doomed himself. However, I quickly forgot about that theory because if the frog were poisonous, either Sawyer or Hurley would probably at least have developed some skin irritation in their palms by this point.
Barring a season finale shocker revealing that that frog was a Dharma test subject or a beloved pet of Alvar Hanso, I think that that the tree frog story line served simply as a contrast for the wild boar in episode 1x16 that demonstrated Sawyer’s struggle to abandon his cruel tendencies. In both episodes, an animal was bothering no one but Sawyer and he tracked them with the help of another castaway. After successfully tracking the boar, he decided to let it go when he heard whispers in the jungle repeating the last words of the man he had killed. After finding the tree frog, he heard no such whispers, nor did he waste time in killing the animal even when Hurley suggested a humane alternative plan.
Perhaps the Dharma personal, black smoke, or whatever force monitors the events on the island was testing him with the annoying creatures. If so, it’s probably safe to assume that he failed the second test.
I realize that hoping for a significance to the tree frog may be wishful thinking on my part. I want the tree frog to matter because I hate to think that LOST would pad half an episode with a tedious and pointless story when so much other incredible stuff was going on, such as Henry Gale’s capture and interrogation and the castaway’s reaction to Sawyer’s theft of the guns. Then again, this season did feature a less-than-thrilling story wherein Sun lost her wedding ring while digging in her garden and then found it at the end of the episode. Sure, you could argue that finding the ring was another instance of the island delivering a person’s deepest desires when they exercised faith—such as Charlie recovering his guitar—but I think they were just killing a bit of time.
After originally seeing episode 2x14, I guessed that the frog was probably poisonous and that by crushing it in his hand, Sawyer had doomed himself. However, I quickly forgot about that theory because if the frog were poisonous, either Sawyer or Hurley would probably at least have developed some skin irritation in their palms by this point.
Barring a season finale shocker revealing that that frog was a Dharma test subject or a beloved pet of Alvar Hanso, I think that that the tree frog story line served simply as a contrast for the wild boar in episode 1x16 that demonstrated Sawyer’s struggle to abandon his cruel tendencies. In both episodes, an animal was bothering no one but Sawyer and he tracked them with the help of another castaway. After successfully tracking the boar, he decided to let it go when he heard whispers in the jungle repeating the last words of the man he had killed. After finding the tree frog, he heard no such whispers, nor did he waste time in killing the animal even when Hurley suggested a humane alternative plan.
Perhaps the Dharma personal, black smoke, or whatever force monitors the events on the island was testing him with the annoying creatures. If so, it’s probably safe to assume that he failed the second test.
I realize that hoping for a significance to the tree frog may be wishful thinking on my part. I want the tree frog to matter because I hate to think that LOST would pad half an episode with a tedious and pointless story when so much other incredible stuff was going on, such as Henry Gale’s capture and interrogation and the castaway’s reaction to Sawyer’s theft of the guns. Then again, this season did feature a less-than-thrilling story wherein Sun lost her wedding ring while digging in her garden and then found it at the end of the episode. Sure, you could argue that finding the ring was another instance of the island delivering a person’s deepest desires when they exercised faith—such as Charlie recovering his guitar—but I think they were just killing a bit of time.
posted by Chris at 9:43 PM
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