"The 23rd Psalm" is very much in the tradition of the great introductory "Lost" flashback episode, much like "Walkabout" or "Confidence Man" in its structure and purpose. It doesn't quite match the quality of those two episodes, as it is prone to mild slips in quality when not dealing with Eko, and it doesn't quite pack the same sort of punch those two episodes did, but it is still a great episode with a lot worth discussing.
I believe "The 23rd Psalm" to be one of the key appearances of the monster. During its encounter with Eko we see flashes, images in the smoke itself, and on the commentary track for the DVD release Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof note that having discussed the nature of the monster and exactly what it was with Kevin Blank, the visual effects supervisor, the images were put in based on that discussion. I'm not going to offer any theories but I have a feeling that when we do get an answer on the smoke monster we will come back to this episode and wonder why we didn't figure it out.
The episode does look very good, although the production design is lacking towards the end during the showdown scene, but in any case the main pleasures of "The 23rd Psalm" are found in the writing and acting in the scenes focusing entirely on Eko and/or his interaction with Charlie. This is some outstanding character writing here, even if I don't care for the specifics of the plot itself in the flashback, as Eko is well-developed enough as a character that we focus on him as opposed to the story surrounding him. My complaints about some of the plot aside, the very first scene with Eko being forced to commit murder as an adolescent is one of the most brutally effective scenes on the show.
Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje's performance is tremendously effective, particularly when he burns the plane late in the episode, and Giacchino's score here is one of his more inspired moments. This is a great episode with some minor but nagging faults.
9/10
I believe "The 23rd Psalm" to be one of the key appearances of the monster. During its encounter with Eko we see flashes, images in the smoke itself, and on the commentary track for the DVD release Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof note that having discussed the nature of the monster and exactly what it was with Kevin Blank, the visual effects supervisor, the images were put in based on that discussion. I'm not going to offer any theories but I have a feeling that when we do get an answer on the smoke monster we will come back to this episode and wonder why we didn't figure it out.
The episode does look very good, although the production design is lacking towards the end during the showdown scene, but in any case the main pleasures of "The 23rd Psalm" are found in the writing and acting in the scenes focusing entirely on Eko and/or his interaction with Charlie. This is some outstanding character writing here, even if I don't care for the specifics of the plot itself in the flashback, as Eko is well-developed enough as a character that we focus on him as opposed to the story surrounding him. My complaints about some of the plot aside, the very first scene with Eko being forced to commit murder as an adolescent is one of the most brutally effective scenes on the show.
Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje's performance is tremendously effective, particularly when he burns the plane late in the episode, and Giacchino's score here is one of his more inspired moments. This is a great episode with some minor but nagging faults.
9/10