If Daniel is truly innocent, going to the house of the girl he was convicted of murdering at 3 a.m. and staring at her mother like a Peeping Tom might be a poor way to reinforce that innocence. On the other hand, when we see a flashback of Daniel witnessing a fellow prisoner bashing his head into a bloody mess, it gives us some insight into why he might be exhibiting some of his strangest behavior yet.
Up until today, the sixth day since he was released, Daniel’s return to the real world has been marked by simple steps, like buying a Slurpee or playing video games or watching a sunrise. But his middle-of-the-night excursion gives way to a mysterious and eventful day, beginning with being picked up by an odd, pot-smoking stranger played by W. Earl Brown who tells Daniel “not all who wander are lost.” Brown, a terrific character actor who is best remembered for his role as Dan in Deadwood gives maybe the best performance of this series’ young life. He asks Daniel to come along and help him “with a little chore” that involves the theft of a barn full of goats and the delivery of one said goat to a house. Daniel can’t go in but hears people talking along with the cry of an infant. His night is filled with short naps and strange dreams as he begins to wonder if his entire experience with the stranger is a dream, especially when he is taken to a cow pasture and shown an odd statue of a lady who’s part goat and holds a child’s head in her hand. “It’s the beauty that hurts you most,” says the stranger. “Not the ugly.” Then he proceeds to wrestle with Daniel. He physically wrestles him to what appears to be a draw.
It is about this time where I begin to wonder if the spirit of Lost hasn’t returned to television; I, too, am thinking that maybe Daniel’s encounter with the stranger really is a dream, especially when Daniel asks if he is going to run the goats off a cliff, “like the swine.” If the biblical reference isn’t enough to convince me that he’s been riding with the devil, Daniel’s submission to being baptized later that day does. At least I think it does. That’s the problem. I’m as confused as Daniel. But it’s an enjoyable kind of confusion, like the deciphering of a difficult puzzle.
But before Daniel makes it to the church revival he stops by the tire business and talks with his stepdad about his real dad. Then he visits his old school before officials come out and ask him to leave. When he gets home, his mother and Amantha are more than a little concerned about his disappearance and his seemingly sudden religious conversion. For the first time we see him lose his temper. “When I am cleansed,” he says, “I will be happy.” Regardless of his conversion, it’s good to see Daniel mix things up a bit. Until now it has felt like the show was in a constant flux of suspension and anticipation. Perhaps a release has finally come.
After the baptism Daniel speaks with Tawny, who is ecstatic until he begins to talk about spending the day with the goat man and the statue and seeing the lady through the window. When he tops it all off with asking if he could kiss her, I’m thinking that he’s really lost it, and the look on Tawney’s face says she’s thinking the same thing. He apologizes and leaves, ending up at the tire store again where Ted Jr. is closing shop. He tells Daniel to stay clear of Tawney, his wife. But as Daniel leaves Ted Jr. pushes too hard, casting aspersions on Daniel’s manhood for allowing himself to be raped in prison. The last thing we see is Ted Jr. being put to sleep with a chokehold from Daniel. That is, I think he’s only asleep. He could be dead. More suspension, further anticipation, and still no release. Next week: the season’s final episode.