Season 2, Episode 10:
The 23rd Psalm
In flashbacks, a group of Nigerian guerillas try to force Eko's younger brother, Yemi, into shooting an old man. Eko shoots the man himself to save Yemi, and is welcomed into their ranks. Years later, Eko returns to his village with a shipment of heroin, and is reunited with Yemi, who is now a priest. Eko asks Yemi to help him smuggle the drugs out of Nigeria by signing a document to make he and his gangster friends priests, to which Yemi reluctantly agrees. On the day the beechcraft is set to leave with the drugs, Yemi arrives with the military and begs Eko to come back with him. There is a shootout, and Yemi is shot. The smugglers drag Yemi on board the plane, but leave Eko behind.
On the Island, Locke teaches Michael how to use one of the guns from the Swan. Michael takes Kate's shift at the button, and uses the computer to contact Walt, but is interrupted by Jack.
Claire tells Eko about Charlie's Virgin Mary statue. Eko, remembering the drug smuggler's plane, smashes the statue to reveal the heroin inside. He demands that Charlie take him to the beechcraft. While in the jungle, they are approached by the Smoke Monster, which Eko stares down. It lingers for a moment before moving away. They find the beechcraft, and Eko discovers Yemi's corpse. He burns the beechcraft, and gives Charlie a replacement statue. An angry Claire tells Charlie she doesn't want him sleeping near her or Aaron anymore, and Charlie visits a stash of Virgin Mary statues he's hidden in the jungle.
Tropes in this episode include:
- Armor-Piercing Question: When Yemi criticises Eko for his crimes and fearsome reputation as a gangster, Eko reminds Yemi that he committed his first murder to save Yemi's life:Yemi: You may live far from here, but that doesn't mean I haven't heard of who you are and what you have done.Eko: Have you forgotten how you got that cross, brother — the day they took me? Is what I did that day a sin? Or is it forgiven because it was you that was saved?
- Becoming the Mask: Eko initially becomes a priest to smuggle drugs out of Nigeria while posing as a Christian missionary. At the end of the flashbacks, he is mistaken by the military for a real priest, and decides to take on that identity. By the time he reaches the Island, he is truly devoted to his faith.Charlie: So, are you a priest or aren't you?Eko: Yes, I am.
- Blatant Lies: Claire is not convinced when Charlie tries to claim that he had no idea there was heroin inside the Virgin Mary statue.
- Confessional: Eko confronts Yemi while he's in the middle of a confession.
- Good-Times Montage: The episode ends on a string of heartwarming interactions between the survivors, including Jin and Sun bringing Ana Lucia some fish, the first signs of Ship Tease between Hurley and Libby, and Jack, Kate and Sawyer chatting amicably. It's then subverted when Charlie and Claire don't make up and it's revealed Charlie has hidden another pile of heroin statues in the jungle.
- Heel–Faith Turn: Eko pulls one at the end of his flashbacks, leaving behind his life of crime to become a priest.
- Honor Before Reason: Yemi refuses to take part in Eko's scheme to sell the heroin and use the money to buy polio vaccines, considering the money tainted despite how many people it could save. He only relents when Eko tells him that his friends will burn his church to the ground if he doesn't.
- I Did What I Had to Do: Eko claims to Yemi that he has not sinned, despite the many murders he has committed, as he has only done what he needed to do to survive.
- Metaphorically True: Eko claims that the man with the golden tooth saved his life. In reality, he kicked Eko off the beechcraft and left him for dead, which meant that he wasn't on it when it crashed.
- Never My Fault: Charlie accuses Eko of getting him into trouble with Claire by revealing the truth about the statue, when he was the one who took it from the beechcraft knowing full well there was heroin inside and then lied about it.
- Religious Bruiser: Charlie notes that Eko's stick, on which he has been writing scripture, has a lot of dried blood on it.
- Shout-Out: Charlie sings "He's Evil" by The Kinks, much to Jin's annoyance.
- Staring Down Cthulhu: Eko faces down the Smoke Monster without blinking.
- Unreveal Angle: Michael sees Walt's response to his question of where he is, but the camera angle doesn't show the audience what he said.
- Wham Shot:
- This episode gives us our first full view of the monster, revealing it is a giant billowing mass of black smoke.
- Eko gives Charlie another Virgin Mary statue for the one he broke. He then puts the statue away...with a stash of half a dozen other statues.
- Would Not Hurt A Child: Even as a hardened gangster, Eko refuses to kill a young boy who witnesses him murder two drug runners.
- Your Approval Fills Me with Shame: Eko is noticeably uneasy when the guerillas praise him for shooting an old man and call him "a born killer."
