My face told the whole story about this one. From the “whoooosh” of the traditional flashback sound up until the “boomLOST” at the end, I never once had my face in the neutral position during “Ab Aeterno”. I either had a dopey grin on my face (Richard riding horseback with “Canary Islands, 1867” on the bottom of the screen; the mention of Magnus Hanso), a frowny sad face (Richard discovering his wife, Isabella, dead; the padre telling him his soul was beyond salvation, many others), a eyes-wide, awestruck face (the Black Rock crashing into the statue), a cringing, agonized face (Richard struggling and failing to reach the raindrops falling through the vent; ditto with the nail; as he lay dying from starvation/dehydration) or a mix of them all. “Ab Aeterno” ran the full gambit of emotions and gave us one of the best self-contained stories Lost has ever told.
While “Ab Aeterno” might not fall atop my list of favorite episodes, I can certainly appreciate its greatness and I expect that I’ll grow to love it more with repeated viewings. Right now, my excitement after this episode probably doesn’t match the Lost communities as a whole, not because I didn’t really, really like this episode, but because the general delirium of the fan base is just so high right now. (Last I checked, it was second on DarkUFO’s episode rankings, barely trailing “The Constant”.) Either way, we were treated to a kick-ass episode last night and, as always, I’m going to focus on the positive. I’m going to say it again: I really really liked this episode, but it’s just not as good as “Through the Looking Glass” and it shouldn’t be rated as if it is.
We start off on the Island with the beach team sitting around the campfire trying to decide what to next. We learn from a continuation of Ilana’s flashback scene with Jacob that once she rounds up all the candidates, she needs to get in touch with Richard. He will know what to do. But when she suggests to him that he has all the answers, he flips out, tells everyone they’re actually dead, and takes off into the jungle to find the MIB.
This was a situation we’ve seen many characters encounter throughout Lost – the crisis of faith. Locke refusing to push the button. Sayid shooting young Ben. Desmond ready to kill himself in the hatch. Now Richard doubting Jacob. Sometimes they come out the other side with renewed faith (Locke, Des), other times it’s the beginning of a long spiral toward damnation (Sayid). Richard was ready to throw away his century-and-a-half long commitment to Jacob and the Others and join the MIB, but Hurley pulled him back from the dark side. I wish I had the mental capacity right now to go into this one more, but I think this whole “crisis of faith” discussion will have to wait for another time when I’m more clear-headed (and hopefully in a different line of work). It looks as if, like Ben, Richard will be able to resist temptation and continue on a better path.
I really liked the scenes on the Black Rock. I’ve said stuff like this before, but if you would have told me after Season 2 that we’d get a scene where the Black Rock arrives on the Island and smashes the statue in the process, I would have responded like Jerry Krause winning the draft lottery. My joy would have been expressed through violent neck-fat shaking.
But that wasn’t all. Next thing you know it, the Monster’s ripping threw the hull of the ship, devouring everyone in sight. Except Richard. Smokey snaps a couple pictures of him and books it. It was a clear parallel to the scene in “The 23rd Psalm” where Smokey sizes up a defiant Mr. Eko. And wouldn’t you know it, just like Yemi appeared to Eko, Isabella appears to Richard. She tells him they’re both dead, that they’re in hell, and that the devil could come back at any moment. Like with Yemi, it’s one of the MIB’s long cons. He’s putting Richard in a very vulnerable position so he can take advantage of him – a strategy that was successful with Sayid, Sawyer, and of course, Locke.
The theme of imprisonment stood out most to me this episode. Richard was held prisoner for murder, held prisoner on the Black Rock, and finally held prisoner in his own body. His chains kept him from escaping the Black Rock and then just out of reach of the rainwater and his nail file. His metaphorical chains kept him from ending what he began to feel was a pointless existence and joining his wife in whatever afterlife they would share together. What he once saw as Jacob’s gift became his biggest burden. Richard was chained to the Island in the exact same way he was chained to the Black Rock; he was doomed to suffer there until the end.
My favorite scenes were those of Richard alone in the Black Rock. Chained to the wall, he constantly found himself just out of reach of what he was trying to grasp. First it was the raindrops, then the nail he’d be using to saw himself free. I found these moments so incredibly painful to watch (see the descriptions of my face above), but that’s the kind of stuff Lost does so well. It takes me to very dark places. My favorite scenes are often the saddest – Jack’s “sick of lying” speech, Locke pounding on the hatch door, Ben watching Alex get shot, Sawyer strangling Anthony Cooper – all of them powerful and moving, but all of them showing the characters at their lowest. It’s the hope that out of the pit of despair there will be light, out of tragedy, triumph, and out of sin, redemption, that doesn’t just keep me from crying myself to sleep every night, but connects to something inside me that gives me hope in my own life, and maybe the world as a whole. I relate to Jack and his need to prove he doesn’t need anyone’s help. I relate to Ben’s need for control. I relate to Locke’s need to become something special. I can’t imagine another show hitting all these notes ever again.
End of overdramatic tangent.
“Ab Aeterno” pulled on the heartstrings like few other Lost episodes. And once again, I feel like I haven’t fully done it justice here. There was so much to discuss, so let’s move to some quick hits for the rest of it:
-Jacob likened the Island to a cork in a wine bottle keeping evil from reaching the world. This was a huge revelation, but it didn’t hit me quite so hard. Didn’t we already know that Jacob was preventing the MIB from leaving the Island? Yes we did. And that’s how I took Jacob’s little metaphor. But the Island preventing the MIB from leaving? That’s new. Maybe it’s just semantics. Maybe not. I for one never expected to get an answer to “What is the Island?” but this could be a hint that one is coming.
-The amount of Jack in these last few episodes has been unacceptable. There was that badass scene where he starred down the lit stick of dynamite, but other than that, bupkis. I hope this changes soon. And while we’re at it, I want more about what happened with Sayid. I realize he’s “evil” now, but what does that mean? Just more sitting on logs watching people try to kill one another?
-The scene where Jacob beats the crap out of Richard made me very uncomfortable. I didn’t like seeing that side of the Magnificent Man one bit. Up until now, he’d been this tranquil Wiseman who just went with the flow with this sense of confidence that everything would work out well in the end. This Jacob was angry and it totally clashed with my belief (hope?) that Jacob would turn out to be the “incarnation of good”, if you will. I didn’t expect that kind of rage, even if Richard was there to kill him.
-Along the same line, why did Jacob respond so violently to Richard’s attempted murder while he just stood there as Ben plunged a knife into his chest? That difference must be significant. I just can’t figure out what that significance is yet.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Monday, March 29, 2010
The Wish List - Halfway Home
Shockingly, and perhaps also sadly and excitingly, “Ab Aeterno” brought us to at the halfway point of the season. Only 9 more hours of Lost remain. I figured it would be a good time to check back in with the wish list I came up with before Season 6 began and see what mysteries have been answered, which ones we appear to be working toward answering, and which ones have fallen way off the radar. And I’m going to try to keep it under 2,500 words this time. Here we go.
23) Why wasn’t Lapidus flying Flight 815? – ANSWERED – In “Dr. Linus”, Frank told Ben that he was supposed to be piloting Oceanic 815 on September 22, 2004, but missed the flight because he overslept. I gotta say, that was kind of a yawner. I’m just going to assume that happened due to all the scotch he drank the night before. Also, it looked like Frank isn’t on the list of candidates, so I really don’t know what he’s going to be up to the rest of the season. Maybe he’ll help execute MIB’s brilliant plan of flying everyone off the Island on Ajira 316. Aaaaand we’re off to a snarky start. Satisfaction: 3.
22) How did the Dharma Initiative find the Island? – Nothing much new here. We did get a mention of Magnus Hanso, but nothing actually about the Dharma Initiative. We do know with (I think) more certainty that Jacob was responsible for bringing everyone to the Island, so I’m banking on the idea that he brought the DI there as well. I doubt they’ll go back to this. Old likelihood: 4. New likelihood: 2.
21) Where did the food pallet drop come from? – SPOILER ALERT: Damon and Carlton mentioned on the podcast that they will answer this at some point this year, but that it might not happen on the show. Very cryptic. Either way, I believe them. Old likelihood: 3. New likelihood: 10.
20) Who was in that cabin in "The Man Behind the Curtain"? – I rewatched that episode after “Dr. Linus” and thought I had it all figured out, but really, I didn’t get anywhere. It was like Jerry sneaking up on Rob Schnieder and then going back to Elaine thinking he’d solved the hearing aide mystery, but when she asks him if he knows anything of use, he says “actually, no”. I had almost the exact same conversation with my dad. The more I see of Jacob, however, the more it seems that he has always kept up residence at the base of the statue, so I’m going to say it was the MIB in the cabin. If we get any sort of MIB/Jacob flashback, that will probably provide an answer. And I think we will. Old likelihood: 9. New likelihood: 9.
19) Who's the father of Sun's baby? – Sun has only had, like, 6 lines this whole season and none of them have had to do with her child. So there has been no progress on this mystery whatsoever. I don’t think there will be any in the future either. Likelihood stays at 1.
18) Why was Libby in the mental institution? – Aside from this week’s Richard episode, there haven’t been any flashback episodes this year at all. I don’t think there will be any in the future either, and without flashbacks, I can’t imagine how we would find out how Libby ended up at Santa Rosa. Sorry Sophomore Ceddy and Malato watching Season 2. Old likelihood: 3. New likelihood: 1.
17) The Whispers – ANSWERED – At least for me they have been. In “LA X”, as Jack, Kate, Hurley and the gang dragged Sayid through the temple, we heard whispers, then saw some Others run across the dark hallway. Couple that with Ben’s warning to Rousseau last year that whenever she heard whispers she should run the other way and I think that’s as conclusive of evidence as we’re going to get that the Others are source of the whispers. Satisfaction: 8.
16) What happened to Claire and Aaron getting on the helicopter? – Not looking good for this one. Claire’s totally crazy, we haven’t seen Aaron, and as far as I know there isn’t a helicopter on the Island. I don’t know how I was so high on this one before this season, but right now it’s looking like this one’s going to get lost in the shuffle. Old likelihood: 6. New likelihood: 1.
15) A Jin and Sun reunion – At least they’re back in the same time period now. All either of them do is ask other characters if they’ve seen the other. Nikki and Paulo had more meaningful lines than these two have had lately. So this better happen soon. I think it will. Old likelihood: 10. New likelihood: 10.
14) How are people on the Island miraculously healed? – MOSTLY ANSWERED – Well, we know how Ben was healed after Sayid shot him. It was the magic healing pool at the center of the temple. How that pool became magical is still up in the air, and after Smokey’s rampage during “Sundown” wiped out the remaining temple residents, I’d be surprised if we heard more about it. The mystery of John Locke’s cured paralysis still remains, as does Rose, Ben and Jack’s respective ailments. It could be as simple as the special “energies” that each person has that can heal them, like Isaac of Ulru said. I’m not too confident they’ll completely solve this one, but I’m optimistic. Old likelihood: 8. New likelihood: 7.
13) What are the "rules"? – The only thing resembling progress we have on this one was the bloody kid in the jungle who told the MIB that he’s not allowed to kill “him”. We don’t know who “him” is (although I’m guessing he meant Sawyer and, more generally, the candidates), and even if we did, that probably wouldn’t tell us anything. Having Widmore back in play on the Island renews my hope that a more clear definition of the rules will present itself. Old likelihood: 7. New likelihood: 6.
12) Kate picks a side – In “Recon”, Sawyer took a big whiff of the dress Kate was wearing during their little time in captivity of the Others. She logged some tough hours smashing rocks in that dress, and I can’t imagine it smelled good, but he seemed to enjoy it. Now all I’m thinking is “skateskateskateskate”. Having said that, I think “neither” is the leader in the clubhouse. We’ll get an answer one way or another though. Old likelihood: 8. New likelihood: 10.
11) Adam and Eve – When Hurley and Jack stumbled back into the caves, it was mainly to remind us of two long-dormant mysteries. This was one of them. I liked Hurley’s theory that Adam and Eve could be two of the Losties, a nice nod to all the fan speculation guessing the same thing. I think that means that won’t be the answer. But there will be an answer. Old likelihood: 10. New likelihood: 10.
10) What's the deal with Richard Alpert? – ANSWERED – One of the best episodes of the season gave us all the answers we’ll ever need about Richard. How did Jacob make him ageless? Richard asked for it in exchange for his loyalty in the Great Island War. How did he arrive on the Island? He was a prisoner on the Black Rock, as slave who turned his life over to Magnus Hanso to avoid being hanged. Does he see his agelessness as a burden? You betcha, especially after Jacob died and he figured his life was meaningless. Now, with his renewed faith, that could have changed. It was awesome having Richard’s history shrouded in mystery, but I like him even better now that we understand how he became the Island’s permanent Number 2. The story about his wife dying and the 150 years of suffering he’d endured since then was just heartbreaking. I loved it. Satisfaction: 10.
9) Why do pregnant women die on the Island? – No progress whatsoever on this one. My Taweret theory appears to be out the window, though. We saw Ethan’s birth on the Island in 1977, so we can safely say the pregnancy problems began after that. And since the Black Rock destroyed Taweret in 1867, it can’t be the statue’s destruction that caused the problem. But my crazy theory likening it to a psychosomatic symptom remains un-debunked! Or fully bunked. Whatever. I’m downgrading the likelihood here, but I’m not scared about this one. It’s too important. Old likelihood: 7. New likelihood: 6.
8) The Numbers – ANSWERED – After a trip to Jacob’s (or is it the MIB’s?) cave and then another to the lighthouse, we know that each of the Numbers correspond to one of our beloved Losties. Awesome. Even though some people still have questions about the Numbers – why these numbers, why do they show up everywhere - it’s way more info than I expected and way cooler too. It was like finding out Jacob had been following all the characters around for their entire lives – it just made sense. Satisfaction: 10.
7) How many hot dogs can Hurley eat in 10 minutes? – I like our chances. We haven’t had a Hurley Sideways story yet, so there’s a tale to be told there. From what we’ve seen of that world, he’s just some rich businessman/philanthropist. And he’s still fat. I could totally see him hitting the competitive eating circuit and just demolishing everyone in his path. But maybe hot dogs aren’t his specialty. Burgers? Jalapenos? Cake? It could be anything. I’m bumping up the likelihood here from 1 to 3.
6) Walt –The way I see it, there are two paths to Walt. The first is if he somehow gets involved in the Sideways world. The problem here is that with the Island out of the picture I don’t know how much they can dive into his specialness. Option two: he’s the one locked down in Widmore’s sub. I’m holding out hope for this one. I think I’d be more excited about finding Walt in there than Des at this point. I’m going to bump this one up too. Old likelihood: 2. New likelihood: 3.
5) Where is Christian Shephard's body? – They alluded to this one in “Lighthouse” when Jack told Hurley the story about the time he chased Christian through the jungle only to find the caves, water, and his empty coffin. I totally thought we were getting some Christian that episode. I guess we’ll have to hold out a little longer. Quick side note – I think the fact that Christian’s body is missing and Locke’s is not is critical to deciphering what it is we’re seeing when we see Christian around the Island. You want a theory? Get back to me in a couple episodes. Old likelihood: 9. New likelihood: 10.
4) Who is Jacob? – PARTIALLY ANSWERED – We’ve learned a lot of new stuff about Jacob this year, but I’m not ready to call this one completely answered just yet. I am ready to declare him the good guy in the fight, however. Old likelihood: 10. New likelihood: 10.
3) A showdown between Jack and Christian / Jack and Locke – Like I said, I thought we were getting a Jack/Christian showdown in “Lighthouse”. I’m not sure Jack was ready for it then, though. Now that he’s starred out at the ocean for a while, he’s getting there but I’m starting to think the showdown won’t come until the finale. Same with Jack and Locke. “LA X” gave us that juicy conversation between the two in the airport lost-and-found where Jack dropped this little ditty – “Nothing is irreversible”. That’s the theme of the season, and when it comes to these two characters, it’s about as loaded as three words can be. Locke’s paralysis, Jack’s Jughead plan, Locke’s death, their broken relationship, their wounded souls – it could apply to any of those. I can’t imagine that will be the last time we see these two face-to-face. But have you noticed Jack is one of the few who haven’t seen Locke as MIB? New likelihood stays at 10.
2) What is the Monster? – PARTIALLY ANSWERED – This question has morphed from “What is the Monster?” to “Who is the MIB?” We know that the Monster was once a person who was trapped on the Island at some unknown time, possibly by Jacob. He’s the “incarnation of evil” and the Island functions like a cork in a wine bottle plugging the path to his escape. He’s a slick operator with a troubled past who’s now recruiting everyone in sight – especially Jacob’s candidates – with the ultimate goal of leaving the Island. But what is that troubled past? And what exactly does he have against the Island? When did his rivalry with Jacob begin? How did it begin? Who is his crazy mother? And how did he become the Black Smoke? We’ll get the answer to all those questions. Old and new likelihood: 10.
1) Why are the Others on the Island? – Gotta say, I’m a little discouraged about this one. Some of those little questions I brought up in my preview, like why they speak Latin, how they built the statue, etc., look like they’re moving further and further off the radar with each passing episode. However, we did get a good look at the temple and with it came a few hints at the Others’ larger purpose. From what I’ve gathered to this point, the Others protect the Island from Smokey. Or they help keep Smokey cooped up on the Island. I can’t decide on which theory I prefer. I don’t think any of them are native to the Island, mainly because if an old-school dude like Dogen wasn’t, than I can’t imagine well-manicured men like Goodwin or Tom were either. So Jacob brings people to the Island to serve him in the war against the MIB, some of whom become candidates to replace him. That’s the best theory I have and I’m down it. I still hope we get a little more concrete of an explanation about it all. Old likelihood: 9. New likelihood: 8.
So if you’re scoring at home, that’s four answered, two partially answered, a bunch on the verge of happening, and only a couple looking grim. Not too shabby, if you ask me. Now, if we could only get some more info on the Hurley bird, Annie, the volcano, and the Tampa job, everyone would just shut the hell up. If only we were so lucky.
23) Why wasn’t Lapidus flying Flight 815? – ANSWERED – In “Dr. Linus”, Frank told Ben that he was supposed to be piloting Oceanic 815 on September 22, 2004, but missed the flight because he overslept. I gotta say, that was kind of a yawner. I’m just going to assume that happened due to all the scotch he drank the night before. Also, it looked like Frank isn’t on the list of candidates, so I really don’t know what he’s going to be up to the rest of the season. Maybe he’ll help execute MIB’s brilliant plan of flying everyone off the Island on Ajira 316. Aaaaand we’re off to a snarky start. Satisfaction: 3.
22) How did the Dharma Initiative find the Island? – Nothing much new here. We did get a mention of Magnus Hanso, but nothing actually about the Dharma Initiative. We do know with (I think) more certainty that Jacob was responsible for bringing everyone to the Island, so I’m banking on the idea that he brought the DI there as well. I doubt they’ll go back to this. Old likelihood: 4. New likelihood: 2.
21) Where did the food pallet drop come from? – SPOILER ALERT: Damon and Carlton mentioned on the podcast that they will answer this at some point this year, but that it might not happen on the show. Very cryptic. Either way, I believe them. Old likelihood: 3. New likelihood: 10.
20) Who was in that cabin in "The Man Behind the Curtain"? – I rewatched that episode after “Dr. Linus” and thought I had it all figured out, but really, I didn’t get anywhere. It was like Jerry sneaking up on Rob Schnieder and then going back to Elaine thinking he’d solved the hearing aide mystery, but when she asks him if he knows anything of use, he says “actually, no”. I had almost the exact same conversation with my dad. The more I see of Jacob, however, the more it seems that he has always kept up residence at the base of the statue, so I’m going to say it was the MIB in the cabin. If we get any sort of MIB/Jacob flashback, that will probably provide an answer. And I think we will. Old likelihood: 9. New likelihood: 9.
19) Who's the father of Sun's baby? – Sun has only had, like, 6 lines this whole season and none of them have had to do with her child. So there has been no progress on this mystery whatsoever. I don’t think there will be any in the future either. Likelihood stays at 1.
18) Why was Libby in the mental institution? – Aside from this week’s Richard episode, there haven’t been any flashback episodes this year at all. I don’t think there will be any in the future either, and without flashbacks, I can’t imagine how we would find out how Libby ended up at Santa Rosa. Sorry Sophomore Ceddy and Malato watching Season 2. Old likelihood: 3. New likelihood: 1.
17) The Whispers – ANSWERED – At least for me they have been. In “LA X”, as Jack, Kate, Hurley and the gang dragged Sayid through the temple, we heard whispers, then saw some Others run across the dark hallway. Couple that with Ben’s warning to Rousseau last year that whenever she heard whispers she should run the other way and I think that’s as conclusive of evidence as we’re going to get that the Others are source of the whispers. Satisfaction: 8.
16) What happened to Claire and Aaron getting on the helicopter? – Not looking good for this one. Claire’s totally crazy, we haven’t seen Aaron, and as far as I know there isn’t a helicopter on the Island. I don’t know how I was so high on this one before this season, but right now it’s looking like this one’s going to get lost in the shuffle. Old likelihood: 6. New likelihood: 1.
15) A Jin and Sun reunion – At least they’re back in the same time period now. All either of them do is ask other characters if they’ve seen the other. Nikki and Paulo had more meaningful lines than these two have had lately. So this better happen soon. I think it will. Old likelihood: 10. New likelihood: 10.
14) How are people on the Island miraculously healed? – MOSTLY ANSWERED – Well, we know how Ben was healed after Sayid shot him. It was the magic healing pool at the center of the temple. How that pool became magical is still up in the air, and after Smokey’s rampage during “Sundown” wiped out the remaining temple residents, I’d be surprised if we heard more about it. The mystery of John Locke’s cured paralysis still remains, as does Rose, Ben and Jack’s respective ailments. It could be as simple as the special “energies” that each person has that can heal them, like Isaac of Ulru said. I’m not too confident they’ll completely solve this one, but I’m optimistic. Old likelihood: 8. New likelihood: 7.
13) What are the "rules"? – The only thing resembling progress we have on this one was the bloody kid in the jungle who told the MIB that he’s not allowed to kill “him”. We don’t know who “him” is (although I’m guessing he meant Sawyer and, more generally, the candidates), and even if we did, that probably wouldn’t tell us anything. Having Widmore back in play on the Island renews my hope that a more clear definition of the rules will present itself. Old likelihood: 7. New likelihood: 6.
12) Kate picks a side – In “Recon”, Sawyer took a big whiff of the dress Kate was wearing during their little time in captivity of the Others. She logged some tough hours smashing rocks in that dress, and I can’t imagine it smelled good, but he seemed to enjoy it. Now all I’m thinking is “skateskateskateskate”. Having said that, I think “neither” is the leader in the clubhouse. We’ll get an answer one way or another though. Old likelihood: 8. New likelihood: 10.
11) Adam and Eve – When Hurley and Jack stumbled back into the caves, it was mainly to remind us of two long-dormant mysteries. This was one of them. I liked Hurley’s theory that Adam and Eve could be two of the Losties, a nice nod to all the fan speculation guessing the same thing. I think that means that won’t be the answer. But there will be an answer. Old likelihood: 10. New likelihood: 10.
10) What's the deal with Richard Alpert? – ANSWERED – One of the best episodes of the season gave us all the answers we’ll ever need about Richard. How did Jacob make him ageless? Richard asked for it in exchange for his loyalty in the Great Island War. How did he arrive on the Island? He was a prisoner on the Black Rock, as slave who turned his life over to Magnus Hanso to avoid being hanged. Does he see his agelessness as a burden? You betcha, especially after Jacob died and he figured his life was meaningless. Now, with his renewed faith, that could have changed. It was awesome having Richard’s history shrouded in mystery, but I like him even better now that we understand how he became the Island’s permanent Number 2. The story about his wife dying and the 150 years of suffering he’d endured since then was just heartbreaking. I loved it. Satisfaction: 10.
9) Why do pregnant women die on the Island? – No progress whatsoever on this one. My Taweret theory appears to be out the window, though. We saw Ethan’s birth on the Island in 1977, so we can safely say the pregnancy problems began after that. And since the Black Rock destroyed Taweret in 1867, it can’t be the statue’s destruction that caused the problem. But my crazy theory likening it to a psychosomatic symptom remains un-debunked! Or fully bunked. Whatever. I’m downgrading the likelihood here, but I’m not scared about this one. It’s too important. Old likelihood: 7. New likelihood: 6.
8) The Numbers – ANSWERED – After a trip to Jacob’s (or is it the MIB’s?) cave and then another to the lighthouse, we know that each of the Numbers correspond to one of our beloved Losties. Awesome. Even though some people still have questions about the Numbers – why these numbers, why do they show up everywhere - it’s way more info than I expected and way cooler too. It was like finding out Jacob had been following all the characters around for their entire lives – it just made sense. Satisfaction: 10.
7) How many hot dogs can Hurley eat in 10 minutes? – I like our chances. We haven’t had a Hurley Sideways story yet, so there’s a tale to be told there. From what we’ve seen of that world, he’s just some rich businessman/philanthropist. And he’s still fat. I could totally see him hitting the competitive eating circuit and just demolishing everyone in his path. But maybe hot dogs aren’t his specialty. Burgers? Jalapenos? Cake? It could be anything. I’m bumping up the likelihood here from 1 to 3.
6) Walt –The way I see it, there are two paths to Walt. The first is if he somehow gets involved in the Sideways world. The problem here is that with the Island out of the picture I don’t know how much they can dive into his specialness. Option two: he’s the one locked down in Widmore’s sub. I’m holding out hope for this one. I think I’d be more excited about finding Walt in there than Des at this point. I’m going to bump this one up too. Old likelihood: 2. New likelihood: 3.
5) Where is Christian Shephard's body? – They alluded to this one in “Lighthouse” when Jack told Hurley the story about the time he chased Christian through the jungle only to find the caves, water, and his empty coffin. I totally thought we were getting some Christian that episode. I guess we’ll have to hold out a little longer. Quick side note – I think the fact that Christian’s body is missing and Locke’s is not is critical to deciphering what it is we’re seeing when we see Christian around the Island. You want a theory? Get back to me in a couple episodes. Old likelihood: 9. New likelihood: 10.
4) Who is Jacob? – PARTIALLY ANSWERED – We’ve learned a lot of new stuff about Jacob this year, but I’m not ready to call this one completely answered just yet. I am ready to declare him the good guy in the fight, however. Old likelihood: 10. New likelihood: 10.
3) A showdown between Jack and Christian / Jack and Locke – Like I said, I thought we were getting a Jack/Christian showdown in “Lighthouse”. I’m not sure Jack was ready for it then, though. Now that he’s starred out at the ocean for a while, he’s getting there but I’m starting to think the showdown won’t come until the finale. Same with Jack and Locke. “LA X” gave us that juicy conversation between the two in the airport lost-and-found where Jack dropped this little ditty – “Nothing is irreversible”. That’s the theme of the season, and when it comes to these two characters, it’s about as loaded as three words can be. Locke’s paralysis, Jack’s Jughead plan, Locke’s death, their broken relationship, their wounded souls – it could apply to any of those. I can’t imagine that will be the last time we see these two face-to-face. But have you noticed Jack is one of the few who haven’t seen Locke as MIB? New likelihood stays at 10.
2) What is the Monster? – PARTIALLY ANSWERED – This question has morphed from “What is the Monster?” to “Who is the MIB?” We know that the Monster was once a person who was trapped on the Island at some unknown time, possibly by Jacob. He’s the “incarnation of evil” and the Island functions like a cork in a wine bottle plugging the path to his escape. He’s a slick operator with a troubled past who’s now recruiting everyone in sight – especially Jacob’s candidates – with the ultimate goal of leaving the Island. But what is that troubled past? And what exactly does he have against the Island? When did his rivalry with Jacob begin? How did it begin? Who is his crazy mother? And how did he become the Black Smoke? We’ll get the answer to all those questions. Old and new likelihood: 10.
1) Why are the Others on the Island? – Gotta say, I’m a little discouraged about this one. Some of those little questions I brought up in my preview, like why they speak Latin, how they built the statue, etc., look like they’re moving further and further off the radar with each passing episode. However, we did get a good look at the temple and with it came a few hints at the Others’ larger purpose. From what I’ve gathered to this point, the Others protect the Island from Smokey. Or they help keep Smokey cooped up on the Island. I can’t decide on which theory I prefer. I don’t think any of them are native to the Island, mainly because if an old-school dude like Dogen wasn’t, than I can’t imagine well-manicured men like Goodwin or Tom were either. So Jacob brings people to the Island to serve him in the war against the MIB, some of whom become candidates to replace him. That’s the best theory I have and I’m down it. I still hope we get a little more concrete of an explanation about it all. Old likelihood: 9. New likelihood: 8.
So if you’re scoring at home, that’s four answered, two partially answered, a bunch on the verge of happening, and only a couple looking grim. Not too shabby, if you ask me. Now, if we could only get some more info on the Hurley bird, Annie, the volcano, and the Tampa job, everyone would just shut the hell up. If only we were so lucky.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Recon
“Recon” might not have been the strongest effort of the season, but it was still a solid episode of Lost. I wasn’t as invested emotionally as I was expecting to be in the first Sawyer episode of the season – and maybe the last ever (gah!)– but between the Island and the Sideways world, there was plenty to sink your teeth into. I’ll give this one everything I’ve got, but I kind of feel like Chad Fox taking the mound for the 10th day in a row right now. Work has worn me down. I’m not expecting any brilliant insights or even the usual level of mediocre analysis, but we’ll see what happens. Let’s get to it.
The Island happenings had two points of focus for me. I’ll begin with the first – Sawyer’s motives. The last we saw him he had just agreed to join the MIB in his quest to leave the Island. He restated that position to Jin at the beginning of this episode. The promise the MIB made to get him the Island really sucked Sawyer in. But to borrow words from Ben Linus, “What is it you’re so desperately trying to get back to?” Clementine? Did Kate mention something to him about her at some point? I can’t remember. Juliet? Does he think “It worked” means that she might exist somewhere off the Island in 2008? Could it be that the 2008 off-Island world is the Sideways world?
That would go nicely with my Season 2/3/4 way of thinking about the Island. Things like Ben saying “God can’t see this Island any better than the rest of the world,” led me to believe there was some bubble surrounding the Island. Other people theorized that pushing the button actually was sending the Island back in time 108 minutes with each push. And the weird time shifting we saw in Season 4 with Faraday’s rocket test and the doctor showing up dead on the Island days before he actually died lend even more credence to that line of thinking. So let’s go back to that bubble idea. Juliet blows up the bomb. “It worked”, so somewhere Juliet is still alive. The explosion activates the same energy that moves the Island with the donkey wheel, sending our Losties forward in time to 2008. But the “bubble” somehow preserves everything from the original timeline on the Island while the outside world exists as if the Island sunk. Maybe? Bueller? See, I told you I was worn out.
So we know Sawyer wants to get off the Island, but we don’t know why. Fine. But how is he going to do it? Is he really going to go along with the MIB? The rest of the episode works toward an answer to that. After a nice little heart-to-heart, the MIB sends Sawyer over to Hydra Island to check everything out over there, expressing his confidence in him by saying, “You are the best liar I ever met”. How nice. After a scene on an outrigger where I was 25% sure Sawyer was going to get shot, he lands on Hydra, scopes out the scene, get’s captured by some annoying woman named Zoe, and drops my favorite line of the episode, a perfectly smug “Take me to your leader”.
Surprisingly, Zoe obliges and leads Sawyer onto a submarine. This eliminated all the suspense about who the leader might be, as we saw Charles Widmore aboard a submarine just last week. Whatever. Our mystery itch was scratched when Sawyer commented on a locked door inside the sub (Who could it be? Penny? DES? My favorite guess? Walt.). We get some solid banter between Widmore and Sawyer, before Sawyer offers him this deal: he lies to the MIB and brings him to Hydra Island with his pants down in exchange for a trip off the Island. Deal. But when Sawyer gets back to Camp MIB, he spills the beans, telling him everything about Widmore, his men and his Sonic Fences, Travel Edition.
Wait, what? So he’s really with the MIB? Not so fast. After he walks away, Sawyer walks over to Kate. She asks him the same thing, “What are you doing running errands for Locke?” Sawyer says he’s not running anybody’s errands. He has a plan (he is a thinking man after all), and that plan is to let Widmore and the MIB and whoever else fight it out while he and Kate sneak off the Island. In the submarine.
Now, this was the second time a character said he was going to leave the Island in a way that seems a little crazy. First, Locke said he was going to fly away in Ajira 316, which CRASH LANDED on the Island. Now Sawyer’s going to pilot a submarine. I don’t think of these plans were too well thought out. No matter. I was thrilled that Sawyer wasn’t just the MIB’s errand boy anymore. He was being true to his character, living his motto – “Every man for himself”. But this is post-Dharma Sawyer, a man that once went by the name LaFluer. He cares about other people and knows that he needs them in his life, not just to help him when he needs it, but also to make him feel like a whole person. He’s going to bring Kate with him and I’d bet at least Hurley and Miles too. The scene at the Hydra cages where he picks up Kate’s dress was a reminder to him how much she used to mean to him and how much he still cares for her. I wouldn’t go out and say “SKate” is back in business, but you never know…
The second Island point I’d like to cover is the recent character development of the MIB. I thought that his line from “LA X” where he said “There’s no need for name-calling” was just a throwaway joke. Instead, it seems to be part of his obsession with order and manners, respect and subservience. He didn’t like it when Sawyer questioned him in front of the others, even though it was a rather harmless remark, and he made a point of accepting Sawyers sarcastic apology. His response to Claire was like that of a father scolding a misbehaving child. And he made a sincere apology to Kate after Claire attacked her. All strange. And then there was the whole story about his crazy mother. At first, I was thinking he was speaking as John Locke, but he wasn’t. He said he still had “issues” he was sorting through. Well, he’s on the Island, the best place in the world to sort out issues! Look around you MIB! But no, he wants to leave. I’m not going to pretend to know what any of this means, just something that needs to be noted and remembered.
I’m only going to touch briefly on the Sideways world because I’m running out of gas. It started off with Sawyer (or is just James Ford?) in a situation we’ve seen him in many times. In bed with a hottie, conveniently late for some important meeting, he rushes out the door, but as he grabs his briefcase it pops open and spills stacks of cash all over the bed. It’s the same con we’ve seen him pull numerous times, but this girl doesn’t bite. She pulls a gun on him, he pulls one on her, and like last week with Ilana and Ben, we’ve got ourselves a standoff. But instead of bearing his soul, Sawyer tells the lady he’s a cop and that when he says the magic word, a SWAT team will barge in and takes her down. She doesn’t believe him, but when he says, “LaFluer”, that’s exactly what happens.
The rest of the Sideways stuff was entertaining enough, but I don’t have a ton to say about it (and my train is getting close to Cary). I loved the Sawyer-Miles partnership. I mean, Miles is probably the best friend Sawyer’s ever had. He had always been a loner, but he spent 3 years with Miles in Dharmaville, and it seemed like they’d gotten pretty close. He asked about him in the Island story this week too. It was nice to see them together off the Island. And I loved that Sawyer chose to open up to him with his Anthony Cooper secret almost as much as I loved the scene where he was calling everyone he could find with that name (Oh, the blood-thirst is unquenchable!).
This was critical for me. I’ve had a growing concern that this Sideways world was getting a bit too cute. Between Alex being a student of Ben’s, Ethan working at Claire’s hospital, and Keamy extorting Sayid’s brother for a loan, I started getting afraid that the Sideways world was just a fun excuse to bring everyone back together and to throw crazy curveballs at the audience (Woah, Jack has a kid!). But instead of saying, “Look! Instead of being a bad guy, Sideways Sawyer’s a cop! It’s the opposite!”, it showed us that Sawyer’s still the same guy; he just happened to make one different choice in his life. The same anger and hate still drives him, but he’s following through on it in a different way. Loved that. If this Sawyer-Cooper showdown is half as good as the one in “The Brig”, we’re all in for a very big treat.
So will Sideways Sawyer get his revenge or let his anger go? I was of the opinion back in Season 3 that Sawyer didn’t need to kill Cooper to put his mind at ease, that he’d already turned the page by bonding with the rest of the group. He became a dependable and selfless man at some point in Season 3, and the effects of that played out in Season 4 and in his time as LaFluer. I’ve wavered on when that page was actually turned over the years, but either way I think he could find a similar, non-vengeful, path to peace in this Sideways world. Live together, die alone, right?
Richard episode this week. It’s going to be redonkulous. It’s titled “Ab Aeterno”, which apparently means “Since the beginning of time”. That means these flashbacks could do anything. Literally cover any point in history. I’m doing my best to control my expectations, but I’m having no luck doing so with my excitement.
Until next week.
The Island happenings had two points of focus for me. I’ll begin with the first – Sawyer’s motives. The last we saw him he had just agreed to join the MIB in his quest to leave the Island. He restated that position to Jin at the beginning of this episode. The promise the MIB made to get him the Island really sucked Sawyer in. But to borrow words from Ben Linus, “What is it you’re so desperately trying to get back to?” Clementine? Did Kate mention something to him about her at some point? I can’t remember. Juliet? Does he think “It worked” means that she might exist somewhere off the Island in 2008? Could it be that the 2008 off-Island world is the Sideways world?
That would go nicely with my Season 2/3/4 way of thinking about the Island. Things like Ben saying “God can’t see this Island any better than the rest of the world,” led me to believe there was some bubble surrounding the Island. Other people theorized that pushing the button actually was sending the Island back in time 108 minutes with each push. And the weird time shifting we saw in Season 4 with Faraday’s rocket test and the doctor showing up dead on the Island days before he actually died lend even more credence to that line of thinking. So let’s go back to that bubble idea. Juliet blows up the bomb. “It worked”, so somewhere Juliet is still alive. The explosion activates the same energy that moves the Island with the donkey wheel, sending our Losties forward in time to 2008. But the “bubble” somehow preserves everything from the original timeline on the Island while the outside world exists as if the Island sunk. Maybe? Bueller? See, I told you I was worn out.
So we know Sawyer wants to get off the Island, but we don’t know why. Fine. But how is he going to do it? Is he really going to go along with the MIB? The rest of the episode works toward an answer to that. After a nice little heart-to-heart, the MIB sends Sawyer over to Hydra Island to check everything out over there, expressing his confidence in him by saying, “You are the best liar I ever met”. How nice. After a scene on an outrigger where I was 25% sure Sawyer was going to get shot, he lands on Hydra, scopes out the scene, get’s captured by some annoying woman named Zoe, and drops my favorite line of the episode, a perfectly smug “Take me to your leader”.
Surprisingly, Zoe obliges and leads Sawyer onto a submarine. This eliminated all the suspense about who the leader might be, as we saw Charles Widmore aboard a submarine just last week. Whatever. Our mystery itch was scratched when Sawyer commented on a locked door inside the sub (Who could it be? Penny? DES? My favorite guess? Walt.). We get some solid banter between Widmore and Sawyer, before Sawyer offers him this deal: he lies to the MIB and brings him to Hydra Island with his pants down in exchange for a trip off the Island. Deal. But when Sawyer gets back to Camp MIB, he spills the beans, telling him everything about Widmore, his men and his Sonic Fences, Travel Edition.
Wait, what? So he’s really with the MIB? Not so fast. After he walks away, Sawyer walks over to Kate. She asks him the same thing, “What are you doing running errands for Locke?” Sawyer says he’s not running anybody’s errands. He has a plan (he is a thinking man after all), and that plan is to let Widmore and the MIB and whoever else fight it out while he and Kate sneak off the Island. In the submarine.
Now, this was the second time a character said he was going to leave the Island in a way that seems a little crazy. First, Locke said he was going to fly away in Ajira 316, which CRASH LANDED on the Island. Now Sawyer’s going to pilot a submarine. I don’t think of these plans were too well thought out. No matter. I was thrilled that Sawyer wasn’t just the MIB’s errand boy anymore. He was being true to his character, living his motto – “Every man for himself”. But this is post-Dharma Sawyer, a man that once went by the name LaFluer. He cares about other people and knows that he needs them in his life, not just to help him when he needs it, but also to make him feel like a whole person. He’s going to bring Kate with him and I’d bet at least Hurley and Miles too. The scene at the Hydra cages where he picks up Kate’s dress was a reminder to him how much she used to mean to him and how much he still cares for her. I wouldn’t go out and say “SKate” is back in business, but you never know…
The second Island point I’d like to cover is the recent character development of the MIB. I thought that his line from “LA X” where he said “There’s no need for name-calling” was just a throwaway joke. Instead, it seems to be part of his obsession with order and manners, respect and subservience. He didn’t like it when Sawyer questioned him in front of the others, even though it was a rather harmless remark, and he made a point of accepting Sawyers sarcastic apology. His response to Claire was like that of a father scolding a misbehaving child. And he made a sincere apology to Kate after Claire attacked her. All strange. And then there was the whole story about his crazy mother. At first, I was thinking he was speaking as John Locke, but he wasn’t. He said he still had “issues” he was sorting through. Well, he’s on the Island, the best place in the world to sort out issues! Look around you MIB! But no, he wants to leave. I’m not going to pretend to know what any of this means, just something that needs to be noted and remembered.
I’m only going to touch briefly on the Sideways world because I’m running out of gas. It started off with Sawyer (or is just James Ford?) in a situation we’ve seen him in many times. In bed with a hottie, conveniently late for some important meeting, he rushes out the door, but as he grabs his briefcase it pops open and spills stacks of cash all over the bed. It’s the same con we’ve seen him pull numerous times, but this girl doesn’t bite. She pulls a gun on him, he pulls one on her, and like last week with Ilana and Ben, we’ve got ourselves a standoff. But instead of bearing his soul, Sawyer tells the lady he’s a cop and that when he says the magic word, a SWAT team will barge in and takes her down. She doesn’t believe him, but when he says, “LaFluer”, that’s exactly what happens.
The rest of the Sideways stuff was entertaining enough, but I don’t have a ton to say about it (and my train is getting close to Cary). I loved the Sawyer-Miles partnership. I mean, Miles is probably the best friend Sawyer’s ever had. He had always been a loner, but he spent 3 years with Miles in Dharmaville, and it seemed like they’d gotten pretty close. He asked about him in the Island story this week too. It was nice to see them together off the Island. And I loved that Sawyer chose to open up to him with his Anthony Cooper secret almost as much as I loved the scene where he was calling everyone he could find with that name (Oh, the blood-thirst is unquenchable!).
This was critical for me. I’ve had a growing concern that this Sideways world was getting a bit too cute. Between Alex being a student of Ben’s, Ethan working at Claire’s hospital, and Keamy extorting Sayid’s brother for a loan, I started getting afraid that the Sideways world was just a fun excuse to bring everyone back together and to throw crazy curveballs at the audience (Woah, Jack has a kid!). But instead of saying, “Look! Instead of being a bad guy, Sideways Sawyer’s a cop! It’s the opposite!”, it showed us that Sawyer’s still the same guy; he just happened to make one different choice in his life. The same anger and hate still drives him, but he’s following through on it in a different way. Loved that. If this Sawyer-Cooper showdown is half as good as the one in “The Brig”, we’re all in for a very big treat.
So will Sideways Sawyer get his revenge or let his anger go? I was of the opinion back in Season 3 that Sawyer didn’t need to kill Cooper to put his mind at ease, that he’d already turned the page by bonding with the rest of the group. He became a dependable and selfless man at some point in Season 3, and the effects of that played out in Season 4 and in his time as LaFluer. I’ve wavered on when that page was actually turned over the years, but either way I think he could find a similar, non-vengeful, path to peace in this Sideways world. Live together, die alone, right?
Richard episode this week. It’s going to be redonkulous. It’s titled “Ab Aeterno”, which apparently means “Since the beginning of time”. That means these flashbacks could do anything. Literally cover any point in history. I’m doing my best to control my expectations, but I’m having no luck doing so with my excitement.
Until next week.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Dr. Linus
Only three characters in the history of Lost have held the esteemed position as my favorite character. One of them is Benjamin Linus. But not unlike in the show, his time on top has passed. I still like Ben, but he seems to be drifting aimlessly of late. I have been hoping he would find a purpose or cause I could get behind. I think I got just that in “Dr. Linus”.
I fell in love with Ben back in Season 3. He was a man with a plan. He could always see 10 moves ahead of everyone else. He could pinpoint a person’s weakness and exploit it in order to get – literally – whatever he wanted. And he never let his own emotions get in the way. He was purely a thinking man. But the brief moments where he’d let his guard down, those were my favorite. When Locke demanded to see Jacob, or when he found out Juliet double-crossed him and his hand would start shaking or his horrible eyes would bug out a little more than usual, those were times where Ben was at his most vulnerable and you got a little peak at his cards. Ah, good times.
By Season 4, Ben was back to playing the prisoner like he when we first met him in Season 2, but he still acted like he was “right where he wanted to be”. He was still pulling Locke’s strings just like he did in the hatch armory. He was still in control. In vintage Ben form, he executed a plan with more steps than a Big Papi handshake to get out of captivity and back into the driver’s seat. He let Locke feel like he was calling the shots, but really, Ben was leading him exactly where he wanted him to go. Ben was still a sharp, conniving SOB with all the answers at this point. Once he got back to the Island in Season 5, all that was gone.
Off-Island Ben wasn’t the same guy as on-Island Ben. While he still has plenty of people like Jill the Butcher who will work for him when he needs them, he wasn’t giving orders and making the puppets dance like he did on the Island. To get back to the Island, he was totally dependent on Ms. Hawking, and even Jack, Kate and the rest of the Oceanic 6 – a look he does not wear well. After Ajira 316 crashed, it wasn’t long before he was bamboozled into following Locke and killing Jacob, all the while sulking around like a sad little puppy. In many ways Ben is still a child, and when he doesn’t get his way, he pouts. It was truly pitiful the way he asked Locke, “Why do you want me to kill Jacob, John?” It was like a punch in the gut hearing him submit to somebody else like that. It was not the Ben I knew. And I didn’t think I’d ever get the same rush from his character again.
That brings us to “Dr. Linus”. It was a good episode. A real good one. I’m going to like Ben flashes no matter what, especially if Roger Workman and Arzt are involved, and this one certainly didn’t disappoint. I totally bought into Ben as a history professor, and the way they integrated Alex and Locke and Ben’s lust for power and his selfishness all into this sideways world was remarkable. And awesome. I loved the parallels between his speech about Napoleon and his Island life, his plot against Principal Reynolds and his coup of the Widmore throne, and his decision to let Alex die and his decision to help Alex get into Yale. This is the type of episode that usually grows on me after a few viewings, and I look forward thinking about it again during my next rewatch.
It’s the decisions that Ben makes at the end of the sideways flashes and the Island events that make this the perfect cap on the story of Benjamin Linus. Let’s face it, Ben needed a new direction. I don’t think a mopey, neutered Ben was going to do anyone any good for the remaining 11 hours (gah!) of the show. So they set it up like Ilana was going to kill him. But I didn’t buy into that ruse. If I did, I would have been in full-blown freak-out mode like I was during “Dead is Dead” last year.
So Ben’s digging his own grave next to the graves of Boone, Shannon, Nikki, Paulo and all the others who haven’t made it to this point, and he sees the MIB lurking in the jungle. He tells Ben that there’s a rifle waiting for him if he wants to make a break for it, and that with his loyalty, he will give back to Ben what he’s always wanted – leadership of the Island. With a quick dose of magic, the MIB frees Ben of his chains and Ben makes a break for it into the jungle with gun-toting Ilana not far behind.
Ben makes it to the gun and turns just in time for a classic standoff with Ilana. She’d vowed to kill him because she found out he had killed Jacob. That’s when Ben changes his ways. He stops lying, stops manipulating. He puts all his cards on the table. He confesses to Ilana that he did kill Jacob, and he did it because he was angry and confused. That he was afraid he was going to lose the only thing that ever mattered to him – his power. That he had devoted his life to a man who he had never even seen and it had cost him his daughter, whom he learned he loved even more than his power only after it was too late. He tells Ilana that he’s going with Locke. “Because, he’s the only one who will have me,” he says. Maybe because she can relate to all that, Ilana replies, “I’ll have you.” She walks away. And Ben follows.
I think the last part represents the most critical piece of Ben’s character. Sure he wants his power, but more than anything (and like many of our other characters), he just wants to be accepted and to be loved. Jacob was the closest thing Ben had to a father, someone who he felt loved him. When his real father would only push him around and say things like “It’s kind of hard to celebrate on the day you killed your mom,” Jacob’s people took him in and gave him a home. So Ben devoted his life to Jacob and sacrificed much along the way. And when Jacob rejected him with a dismissive, “What about you?” Ben felt the last walls of that home come crashing down. Yes, Ben did some horrible things in his life. And although he claims it all was for the Island, a lot of it was obviously to maintain his grip on power and his position as Island Dictator. But I think that was because he felt that was the only way he could hold on to the only family he’d ever had, the only people who would ever have him. It’s no excuse, but I’m not here to judge. I’m just here to understand. And “Dr. Linus” has done as good a job as any episode on bringing a single character into focus.
So now Benjamin Linus seems to be in position for some sort of redemption. He has acknowledged the error of his ways. He has his priorities in order. And he’s on the right team. Who would have thought the first person to reject a deal from the MIB would be Ben, especially with such a tempting reward? Good for him. This is a Ben Linus I can get behind.
A few quick hits about the rest of the episode -
-Loved the scene at the Black Rock. Jack showed some good faith there. Not any of that, “The Island brought me here for a reason and that reason is to blow up this nuclear bomb so no of this ever happened!” faith. But real faith that he’s special, that the Island is special, that there are things about it that he can’t understand. He’s certainly showed a lot of sack this season. That’s the Jack of the good old days.
-I think we got some pretty conclusive evidence that Richard came to the Island on the Black Rock. He said it was the first time he’d even come back to it since he’d been on the Island, and he gave a pair of empty chains an extra long stare. It was also interesting to hear how spiteful Richard seemed toward Jacob. I can’t wait to get more on this back-story.
-Ben made the selfless choice in both the Island story and the sideways story. So, like Sayid, he seems to be on the path to meet the same fate in both worlds. Something to keep an eye on.
-Widmore’s coming to the Island. I’ll keep my fingers crossed that Des was a stowaway somewhere on that sub.
-No Sawyer for the third straight week. “Recon” promises to change that. I’m giddy.
I fell in love with Ben back in Season 3. He was a man with a plan. He could always see 10 moves ahead of everyone else. He could pinpoint a person’s weakness and exploit it in order to get – literally – whatever he wanted. And he never let his own emotions get in the way. He was purely a thinking man. But the brief moments where he’d let his guard down, those were my favorite. When Locke demanded to see Jacob, or when he found out Juliet double-crossed him and his hand would start shaking or his horrible eyes would bug out a little more than usual, those were times where Ben was at his most vulnerable and you got a little peak at his cards. Ah, good times.
By Season 4, Ben was back to playing the prisoner like he when we first met him in Season 2, but he still acted like he was “right where he wanted to be”. He was still pulling Locke’s strings just like he did in the hatch armory. He was still in control. In vintage Ben form, he executed a plan with more steps than a Big Papi handshake to get out of captivity and back into the driver’s seat. He let Locke feel like he was calling the shots, but really, Ben was leading him exactly where he wanted him to go. Ben was still a sharp, conniving SOB with all the answers at this point. Once he got back to the Island in Season 5, all that was gone.
Off-Island Ben wasn’t the same guy as on-Island Ben. While he still has plenty of people like Jill the Butcher who will work for him when he needs them, he wasn’t giving orders and making the puppets dance like he did on the Island. To get back to the Island, he was totally dependent on Ms. Hawking, and even Jack, Kate and the rest of the Oceanic 6 – a look he does not wear well. After Ajira 316 crashed, it wasn’t long before he was bamboozled into following Locke and killing Jacob, all the while sulking around like a sad little puppy. In many ways Ben is still a child, and when he doesn’t get his way, he pouts. It was truly pitiful the way he asked Locke, “Why do you want me to kill Jacob, John?” It was like a punch in the gut hearing him submit to somebody else like that. It was not the Ben I knew. And I didn’t think I’d ever get the same rush from his character again.
That brings us to “Dr. Linus”. It was a good episode. A real good one. I’m going to like Ben flashes no matter what, especially if Roger Workman and Arzt are involved, and this one certainly didn’t disappoint. I totally bought into Ben as a history professor, and the way they integrated Alex and Locke and Ben’s lust for power and his selfishness all into this sideways world was remarkable. And awesome. I loved the parallels between his speech about Napoleon and his Island life, his plot against Principal Reynolds and his coup of the Widmore throne, and his decision to let Alex die and his decision to help Alex get into Yale. This is the type of episode that usually grows on me after a few viewings, and I look forward thinking about it again during my next rewatch.
It’s the decisions that Ben makes at the end of the sideways flashes and the Island events that make this the perfect cap on the story of Benjamin Linus. Let’s face it, Ben needed a new direction. I don’t think a mopey, neutered Ben was going to do anyone any good for the remaining 11 hours (gah!) of the show. So they set it up like Ilana was going to kill him. But I didn’t buy into that ruse. If I did, I would have been in full-blown freak-out mode like I was during “Dead is Dead” last year.
So Ben’s digging his own grave next to the graves of Boone, Shannon, Nikki, Paulo and all the others who haven’t made it to this point, and he sees the MIB lurking in the jungle. He tells Ben that there’s a rifle waiting for him if he wants to make a break for it, and that with his loyalty, he will give back to Ben what he’s always wanted – leadership of the Island. With a quick dose of magic, the MIB frees Ben of his chains and Ben makes a break for it into the jungle with gun-toting Ilana not far behind.
Ben makes it to the gun and turns just in time for a classic standoff with Ilana. She’d vowed to kill him because she found out he had killed Jacob. That’s when Ben changes his ways. He stops lying, stops manipulating. He puts all his cards on the table. He confesses to Ilana that he did kill Jacob, and he did it because he was angry and confused. That he was afraid he was going to lose the only thing that ever mattered to him – his power. That he had devoted his life to a man who he had never even seen and it had cost him his daughter, whom he learned he loved even more than his power only after it was too late. He tells Ilana that he’s going with Locke. “Because, he’s the only one who will have me,” he says. Maybe because she can relate to all that, Ilana replies, “I’ll have you.” She walks away. And Ben follows.
I think the last part represents the most critical piece of Ben’s character. Sure he wants his power, but more than anything (and like many of our other characters), he just wants to be accepted and to be loved. Jacob was the closest thing Ben had to a father, someone who he felt loved him. When his real father would only push him around and say things like “It’s kind of hard to celebrate on the day you killed your mom,” Jacob’s people took him in and gave him a home. So Ben devoted his life to Jacob and sacrificed much along the way. And when Jacob rejected him with a dismissive, “What about you?” Ben felt the last walls of that home come crashing down. Yes, Ben did some horrible things in his life. And although he claims it all was for the Island, a lot of it was obviously to maintain his grip on power and his position as Island Dictator. But I think that was because he felt that was the only way he could hold on to the only family he’d ever had, the only people who would ever have him. It’s no excuse, but I’m not here to judge. I’m just here to understand. And “Dr. Linus” has done as good a job as any episode on bringing a single character into focus.
So now Benjamin Linus seems to be in position for some sort of redemption. He has acknowledged the error of his ways. He has his priorities in order. And he’s on the right team. Who would have thought the first person to reject a deal from the MIB would be Ben, especially with such a tempting reward? Good for him. This is a Ben Linus I can get behind.
A few quick hits about the rest of the episode -
-Loved the scene at the Black Rock. Jack showed some good faith there. Not any of that, “The Island brought me here for a reason and that reason is to blow up this nuclear bomb so no of this ever happened!” faith. But real faith that he’s special, that the Island is special, that there are things about it that he can’t understand. He’s certainly showed a lot of sack this season. That’s the Jack of the good old days.
-I think we got some pretty conclusive evidence that Richard came to the Island on the Black Rock. He said it was the first time he’d even come back to it since he’d been on the Island, and he gave a pair of empty chains an extra long stare. It was also interesting to hear how spiteful Richard seemed toward Jacob. I can’t wait to get more on this back-story.
-Ben made the selfless choice in both the Island story and the sideways story. So, like Sayid, he seems to be on the path to meet the same fate in both worlds. Something to keep an eye on.
-Widmore’s coming to the Island. I’ll keep my fingers crossed that Des was a stowaway somewhere on that sub.
-No Sawyer for the third straight week. “Recon” promises to change that. I’m giddy.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Sundown
Wow. Now that's a great episode of Lost! "Sundown" was not only my favorite episode this season, but maybe the best since “There’s No Place Like Home”*. It just delivered at every turn - a gripping Island story, an intriguing and emotional flash-sideways, and an awesome, gut-wrenching ending. Just spectacular. Watching the likeness of John Locke lead Sayid and the rest of those traitorous Others out of the temple with that just-so-sweet-it's-creepy music playing in the background, I wanted to cry. And puke. And scream. That's Lost at it's best. And TV at it's best.
*When I say something like this mid-season, I generally mean it in terms of my initial enjoyment of the episode. That’s what I mean here. My opinions tend to change after rewatches for a variety of reasons (complexity, symbolism, interaction between flashes and Island events, overall significance, etc.), but right now “Sundown” is really revving my engines.
I'm starting my first day of big-boy work tomorrow, and with all the hoopla and anxiety that's accompanying that milestone, I don't have a ton of motivation to write a huge recap this week. This episode probably deserves better, but hey, that's what the DVDs are for. This won't be the last time I watch/discuss/write about Sayid's journey toward damnation I'm sure.
The big theme of this episode was summed up nicely by soon-to-be-dead Dogen when he told Sayid "For every man there is a scale. On one side of the scale there is good. On the other side, evil." Lost has tackled this theme many times before through many different characters, most prominently Sayid and Mr. Eko. Lets start with Sayid.
Sayid's episodes often explore how he balances the good and evil inside himself and how he deals with the balance he's struck. We've seen Sayid at one moment reluctant but willing to torture ("One of Them" flashbacks), at another, repentant of his actions (leaving camp after torturing Sawyer, building houses in the Dominican), and then at another, even eager and unremorseful (after putting the screws to Henry Gale in the hatch). After “Enter 77”, he appeared to swear off torture completely and for a while he held up that promise. The Island had benefited Sayid like it did many others; it allowed him to sort out his issues and reach a place where he was at peace with himself. Then he left the Island, Nadia was killed, and all bets were off.
Our first two flashbacks with Sayid established his love for Nadia and the great lengths he would go to in order to keep her safe. He shot himself and killed one of his fellow soldiers to allow her escape in "Solitary", then infiltrated a terrorist cell and put his life in mortal danger for the chance to see her again. She is the most important thing in his life and often his feelings for her cause him to throw his moral compass completely out the window when she's involved. See his vengeful killing spree and his sideways flash this week.
The day Nadia was killed was the turning point for Sayid. He didn’t have anything to live for anymore. The MIB might as well have taken the white stone off his scale and thrown it into the ocean right then and there. He had accepted his miserable fate. That’s what allowed him to pull the trigger on Ben and to go along with Jack’s crazy Jughead plan – he might as well take a chance and try to undo everything horrible that he’d done. I go as far as to say this means he was “claimed” even before he came back from the dead. He was beyond redemption because he believed as much.
Eko, on the other hand, refused to repent for all the bad things he'd done. When Yemi/Smokey asked for his confession, he answered with this - "I ask for no forgiveness, Father. For I have not sinned. I have only done what I needed to do to survive." He did not acknowledge the evilness inside him. And it appears he was killed for that. But I agree with Eko. Before he was killed, he said this – “A small boy once asked me if I was a bad man. If I could answer him now, I would tell him that... when I was a young boy, I killed a man to save my brother's life. I am not sorry for this. I am proud of this!” And he should be proud! He saved his brother’s life at the expense of his own. It was a totally selfless act (and one not dissimilar from the one Dogan had to make with his son). Man, I wish Eko was still around. I’d feel much better about our team if he was.
My theory about all this? The MIB realized that he couldn’t turn Eko to his side so he killed him just like he killed all the Others who wouldn’t leave the temple. The Monster might be judging people, but he’s not making his call and then punishing the guilty. He’s looking for the people who know they’re guilty so he can use them for his own personal needs – the war against Jacob and his quest to leave the Island.
Still, Sayid went into the jungle with the intention to prove his goodness to the Others by killing the “incarnation of evil.” He wasn’t a completely lost cause yet. He tried to kill the MIB, and was smart enough to know the MIB was going to ask him for something. But then, like with Sawyer before him, the MIB made him a Godfather offer, and this time it was for “anything in the entire world.” Sayid was hooked. He had succumbed to the dark side. His insane “Not for me,” followed by the crazy-evil laugh sealed the deal.
When the MIB said, “What if I told you that you could have anything you wanted?” I got Des-like flashbacks to Ben’s speech to Locke in “The Man from Tallahassee”. In that episode, he said to Locke, “What if I told you that somewhere on this island, there’s a very large box... and whatever you imagined, whatever you wanted to be in it, when you opened that box, there it would be.” He was talking about the now-fabled “magic box”. Notice the similarities in the two statements? Leading with “What if I told you”, the “whatever/anything you wanted…” in both. So I ask, is the Monster the magic box? Was Ben tempting Locke with dark side back in season 3? Something to think about.
Here’s another theory about the MIB. So he lured Sayid over to his side with the promise that he could give him anything he wanted in the whole world. For Sayid, this meant Nadia, whom he mentioned had died in his arms. The MIB more-or-less said that didn’t matter. Thus far, I think the MIB has been a pretty straight shooter. I don’t think he’s making promises he can’t fulfill. So somehow, I think he has the power to make this happen. And I think the result of that might be the sideways world. It was the way the scenes were spliced together that led me to this theory, and I think that’s intentional. That’s the conclusion we’re supposed to draw. But instead of being some lovely “happily ever after” for Sayid, it’s more of a “be careful what you wish for”. I don’t know if it all adds up perfectly, but that’s the impression I got from that scene. MIB=Magic Box → Sideways World.
That sideways world seems more and more like some sort of dream world to me every week. You know how in a dream sometimes you have people playing strange roles and appearing in places all of a sudden (or places they aren’t supposed to be? Walt? Please?)? No? Maybe that’s just on TV. But it’s like Locke’s trip in the sweat hut. In that vision, Ben was waving the wand at the airport, Hurley was behind the ticket counter, and Desmond was a pilot. Same deal in the sideways world. Keamy’s a loan shark, Des is on the plane, Jack’s a father, Ben’s a teacher, Rose works at the temp agency, and Ethan’s a doctor. It’s like the Wizard of Oz. That story has been referenced plenty of times on Lost already, and I wouldn’t be entirely surprised if it held some clues here.
One last thing about good vs. evil. The Others always refer to themselves as the good guys, and they seem obsessed with this idea of a "good person". Ethan told Claire that Aaron would be safe with them because "[they]'re good people." Ben (as Henry Gale) bargained for his life in "Dave", crying, "I'm not a bad person!" One of Ben's best lines came at the dock at the end of Season 2 when he says, "We're the good guys, Michael." And I’m sure there were plenty more instances. So if the Others really are servants of Jacob, then were they the “good guys” all along? Some of the stuff we’ve seen from Ben and Widmore indicate otherwise, but that could be more of a knock them personally than the Others as a group. They’ve been in a struggle with Smokey to maintain “balance” on the Island, and now it’s up to our non-corrupted Losties to reestablish that balance, with the battle lines drawn as such. On the one side we have Jacob, Hurley, Jack, Ilana, Richard, Sun, Miles, and Lapidus. On the other side, there’s the MIB, Sayid, Claire, and a bunch of faceless Others. I’m going to put Ben, Kate, Jin and Sawyer in the “wild card” column, but my gut tells me that they’d all go with Jacob if given the opportunity. Hell, I’m an optimist.
I think the reason I love this episode so much, aside from all the action and danger and creepiness, was how it just fits so perfectly into where we are at this point in the season. The good/evil dynamic has been lurking in the background since last season’s finale. We knew a war was coming. And Sayid was due for a flashback because of all the mystery surrounding him being “claimed”. Now, the war has arrived, we know which side to choose, and they seamlessly integrated an awesome character story with on-Island action, all under the spotlight of the very same theme. I’ll say it again – that’s Lost at it’s very best.
Well, I guess that ended up being just as long as usual, only with less proofreading. Oh well. Until next week.
*When I say something like this mid-season, I generally mean it in terms of my initial enjoyment of the episode. That’s what I mean here. My opinions tend to change after rewatches for a variety of reasons (complexity, symbolism, interaction between flashes and Island events, overall significance, etc.), but right now “Sundown” is really revving my engines.
I'm starting my first day of big-boy work tomorrow, and with all the hoopla and anxiety that's accompanying that milestone, I don't have a ton of motivation to write a huge recap this week. This episode probably deserves better, but hey, that's what the DVDs are for. This won't be the last time I watch/discuss/write about Sayid's journey toward damnation I'm sure.
The big theme of this episode was summed up nicely by soon-to-be-dead Dogen when he told Sayid "For every man there is a scale. On one side of the scale there is good. On the other side, evil." Lost has tackled this theme many times before through many different characters, most prominently Sayid and Mr. Eko. Lets start with Sayid.
Sayid's episodes often explore how he balances the good and evil inside himself and how he deals with the balance he's struck. We've seen Sayid at one moment reluctant but willing to torture ("One of Them" flashbacks), at another, repentant of his actions (leaving camp after torturing Sawyer, building houses in the Dominican), and then at another, even eager and unremorseful (after putting the screws to Henry Gale in the hatch). After “Enter 77”, he appeared to swear off torture completely and for a while he held up that promise. The Island had benefited Sayid like it did many others; it allowed him to sort out his issues and reach a place where he was at peace with himself. Then he left the Island, Nadia was killed, and all bets were off.
Our first two flashbacks with Sayid established his love for Nadia and the great lengths he would go to in order to keep her safe. He shot himself and killed one of his fellow soldiers to allow her escape in "Solitary", then infiltrated a terrorist cell and put his life in mortal danger for the chance to see her again. She is the most important thing in his life and often his feelings for her cause him to throw his moral compass completely out the window when she's involved. See his vengeful killing spree and his sideways flash this week.
The day Nadia was killed was the turning point for Sayid. He didn’t have anything to live for anymore. The MIB might as well have taken the white stone off his scale and thrown it into the ocean right then and there. He had accepted his miserable fate. That’s what allowed him to pull the trigger on Ben and to go along with Jack’s crazy Jughead plan – he might as well take a chance and try to undo everything horrible that he’d done. I go as far as to say this means he was “claimed” even before he came back from the dead. He was beyond redemption because he believed as much.
Eko, on the other hand, refused to repent for all the bad things he'd done. When Yemi/Smokey asked for his confession, he answered with this - "I ask for no forgiveness, Father. For I have not sinned. I have only done what I needed to do to survive." He did not acknowledge the evilness inside him. And it appears he was killed for that. But I agree with Eko. Before he was killed, he said this – “A small boy once asked me if I was a bad man. If I could answer him now, I would tell him that... when I was a young boy, I killed a man to save my brother's life. I am not sorry for this. I am proud of this!” And he should be proud! He saved his brother’s life at the expense of his own. It was a totally selfless act (and one not dissimilar from the one Dogan had to make with his son). Man, I wish Eko was still around. I’d feel much better about our team if he was.
My theory about all this? The MIB realized that he couldn’t turn Eko to his side so he killed him just like he killed all the Others who wouldn’t leave the temple. The Monster might be judging people, but he’s not making his call and then punishing the guilty. He’s looking for the people who know they’re guilty so he can use them for his own personal needs – the war against Jacob and his quest to leave the Island.
Still, Sayid went into the jungle with the intention to prove his goodness to the Others by killing the “incarnation of evil.” He wasn’t a completely lost cause yet. He tried to kill the MIB, and was smart enough to know the MIB was going to ask him for something. But then, like with Sawyer before him, the MIB made him a Godfather offer, and this time it was for “anything in the entire world.” Sayid was hooked. He had succumbed to the dark side. His insane “Not for me,” followed by the crazy-evil laugh sealed the deal.
When the MIB said, “What if I told you that you could have anything you wanted?” I got Des-like flashbacks to Ben’s speech to Locke in “The Man from Tallahassee”. In that episode, he said to Locke, “What if I told you that somewhere on this island, there’s a very large box... and whatever you imagined, whatever you wanted to be in it, when you opened that box, there it would be.” He was talking about the now-fabled “magic box”. Notice the similarities in the two statements? Leading with “What if I told you”, the “whatever/anything you wanted…” in both. So I ask, is the Monster the magic box? Was Ben tempting Locke with dark side back in season 3? Something to think about.
Here’s another theory about the MIB. So he lured Sayid over to his side with the promise that he could give him anything he wanted in the whole world. For Sayid, this meant Nadia, whom he mentioned had died in his arms. The MIB more-or-less said that didn’t matter. Thus far, I think the MIB has been a pretty straight shooter. I don’t think he’s making promises he can’t fulfill. So somehow, I think he has the power to make this happen. And I think the result of that might be the sideways world. It was the way the scenes were spliced together that led me to this theory, and I think that’s intentional. That’s the conclusion we’re supposed to draw. But instead of being some lovely “happily ever after” for Sayid, it’s more of a “be careful what you wish for”. I don’t know if it all adds up perfectly, but that’s the impression I got from that scene. MIB=Magic Box → Sideways World.
That sideways world seems more and more like some sort of dream world to me every week. You know how in a dream sometimes you have people playing strange roles and appearing in places all of a sudden (or places they aren’t supposed to be? Walt? Please?)? No? Maybe that’s just on TV. But it’s like Locke’s trip in the sweat hut. In that vision, Ben was waving the wand at the airport, Hurley was behind the ticket counter, and Desmond was a pilot. Same deal in the sideways world. Keamy’s a loan shark, Des is on the plane, Jack’s a father, Ben’s a teacher, Rose works at the temp agency, and Ethan’s a doctor. It’s like the Wizard of Oz. That story has been referenced plenty of times on Lost already, and I wouldn’t be entirely surprised if it held some clues here.
One last thing about good vs. evil. The Others always refer to themselves as the good guys, and they seem obsessed with this idea of a "good person". Ethan told Claire that Aaron would be safe with them because "[they]'re good people." Ben (as Henry Gale) bargained for his life in "Dave", crying, "I'm not a bad person!" One of Ben's best lines came at the dock at the end of Season 2 when he says, "We're the good guys, Michael." And I’m sure there were plenty more instances. So if the Others really are servants of Jacob, then were they the “good guys” all along? Some of the stuff we’ve seen from Ben and Widmore indicate otherwise, but that could be more of a knock them personally than the Others as a group. They’ve been in a struggle with Smokey to maintain “balance” on the Island, and now it’s up to our non-corrupted Losties to reestablish that balance, with the battle lines drawn as such. On the one side we have Jacob, Hurley, Jack, Ilana, Richard, Sun, Miles, and Lapidus. On the other side, there’s the MIB, Sayid, Claire, and a bunch of faceless Others. I’m going to put Ben, Kate, Jin and Sawyer in the “wild card” column, but my gut tells me that they’d all go with Jacob if given the opportunity. Hell, I’m an optimist.
I think the reason I love this episode so much, aside from all the action and danger and creepiness, was how it just fits so perfectly into where we are at this point in the season. The good/evil dynamic has been lurking in the background since last season’s finale. We knew a war was coming. And Sayid was due for a flashback because of all the mystery surrounding him being “claimed”. Now, the war has arrived, we know which side to choose, and they seamlessly integrated an awesome character story with on-Island action, all under the spotlight of the very same theme. I’ll say it again – that’s Lost at it’s very best.
Well, I guess that ended up being just as long as usual, only with less proofreading. Oh well. Until next week.
Monday, March 1, 2010
Lighthouse
Lost delivered another very strong episode last week with “Lighthouse”. Aside from the premiere, I enjoyed this one the most from beginning to end, and I’ve enjoyed thinking about it even more (as I tend to with Jack episodes). Let’s dive right into the sideways world.
"You just don't have what it takes."
We start off with Jack shortly after Flight 815. His father has been buried, but they’re still looking for the will. We find out Jack has a son – David – who’s every bit as surly and distant as Jack was as a teenager. Jack’s late picking him up from school, probably not for the first time and we start to get the idea that Jack isn’t a huge part of David’s life. When David says, “We see each other like once a month. Can’t we just get through it,” it’s pretty obvious – Jack’s relationship with his son is just as awful as his with his father.
After dropping David off at home and making plans for dinner, Jack heads to his mother’s house to help her look for Christian’s will. Between the casket and the will, Jack will never be done looking for his father will he? Margo asks how David’s doing, saying that he was pretty upset at the funeral. Jack tells her he doesn’t know anything about that, adding, “Communication is not one of his strong suits.” His mother responds that he was the same way with Christian at that age. “That’s because I was terrified of him, Mom.” “How do you know David isn’t terrified of you?” she answers. That stops Jack dead in his tracks. If he hadn’t realized it before, he does now – he’s in danger of losing his son the same way Christian lost him.
Jack arrives back home to an empty house. David’s nowhere to be found. Shaken, Jack tries calling David, but there’s no answer. He leaves a message, telling him, “If I did something to upset you I am really, really sorry…Whatever I did, I'm sorry.” It was heartwarming to hear Jack so apologetic, but heartbreaking that he was so upset over the whole situation. But as Adam pointed out to me, it was the call that Christian Shephard never made to Jack, the one he tells Sawyer he should make while the two threw back shots at that bar in Australia. In my book, that makes Jack a better dad (and really a better man) than Christian ever was. Christian already knew that. As he said, Jack’s “a good man, maybe a great one”, and he “does what’s in his heart”. If Jack does what’s in his heart with David, he will be in pretty good shape. More on that in a bit.
After some snooping around David’s room, Jack finds out that David has a piano tryout at the Williams Conservatory. He hops in his Rover, books it over there, walks past the “Welcome all Candidates!” sign, and catches the end of David’s performance. The whole time I was afraid David was going to catch a glimpse of Jack and totally bungle the piece, but luckily he made it through the end without a hiccup. Jack was blown away. So was Dogen, whose son was also performing that night (How come these Others keep popping up in Los Angeles? Are they keeping an eye on our Losties, or did they just settle there and lead normal lives after the Island sunk? Questions for another time). Jack cast a large shadow in the wall of the Conservatory as he entered, but David’s performance went a long way toward getting him out from under it. That’s a struggle Jack can relate to.
Jack meets David outside. He tells his son how scared he was and how great the performance was, how he didn’t even know he still played. David tells his father that he made his mom promise not to tell him, and that he snuck off because, “I didn’t want you to see me fail.”
Jack responds with an impassioned speech to his son, one straight from his own tortured heart –
“You know when I was your age, my father didn't want to see me fail either. He used to say to me that...he said that I didn't have what it takes. I spent my whole life carrying that around with me. I don't ever want you to feel that way. I will always love you, no matter what you do. In my eyes you can never fail. I just wanna be a part of your life.”
Beautiful. Maybe Jack did something to make David feel the same way Christian made him feel. Maybe he didn’t. But right there, Jack prevented David from suffering the same tormented fate that we’ve watched him suffer through for six seasons. He broke the cycle. Sure, their relationship won’t be all happy and perfect just because of this conversation, but at least David knows he has his father in his corner, something Jack never could say.
Instead, Jack’s father told him “You just don’t have what it takes,” because he didn’t want to see him fail. Jack realized that his father felt that way, so he refused to ever accept failure. He needed to live up to his father’s expectations. He needed to make sure he didn’t let his father down. While David hid from his father, Jack wanted to show Christian that he would succeed. So he pushed himself even when the odds were stacked insurmountably against him. He kept pounding on Charlie’s chest. He trekked after Michael without a break for water. He poured his own blood into Boone. Jack threw himself into everything he did so his father would never see him fail. That’s why he smashed that coffin to pieces when he found it empty in the caves. And that’s why he needed that coffin to land in Los Angeles. He needed it to be done. He needed to bury his father. Otherwise, Christian’s still walking around, and Jack still feels him looking over his shoulder.
“You have what it takes.”
That’s where we find Jack on the Island in 2008. He needs to put his father to rest. I think I mislabeled him early this year. His calm demeanor isn’t a sign of a mind at peace; it’s a sign of apathy. As he tells Hurley during their hike through the jungle, he thought the Island could fix him, and it didn’t. To that I say, not yet Jack! The night is always darkest just before the dawn. Or something like that.
We join the action with Hurley in the temple looking for something to eat. He sees Jacob dumping an unknown substance into that filthy healing pool (something to clear it up maybe? A little Balance Pack 200?), and he tells Hurley that he needs to get Jack and go to the lighthouse. Somebody’s coming to the Island, and Hurley and Jack need to help them find it.
My immediate reaction was “DesDesDesDesDes”. Nothing that followed gave me a reason to change that opinion. Ms. Hawking told us the Island wasn’t done with him, and I think we’re a little too deep in the game to be introducing yet another new character. Who are the other options? Penny? No, not without Des. Charles Widmore? Maybe, but I still think that he’s aligned with the MIB, so I can’t see Jacob actively helping him find the Island. Dharma people? Nah, that wouldn’t make much sense. And that’s the whole list. It has to be Des. And he can’t make it there soon enough, in my opinion. It’s been way too long since we’ve got a good “brotha” or “aye”. Might be a little added synergy with “Man of Science, Man of Faith” - the debut of our favorite Scotsman - which I’ll discuss further in a minute.
Anyway, Hurley has a tough job ahead of him of convincing Jack to sneak out of the temple. Jacob armed him with a secret weapon – “He told me to tell you ‘You have what it takes’”. Well, that hooked Jack, not because of the nice, encouraging sentiment, but because Jacob (who I think this is the first Jack has heard of) knows about the deepest secret of his past. Off into the jungle they go.
After a brief run-in with Kate, Hurley apologizes for wrecking Jack’s game by not allowing her to come along (not that Kate was going to follow them anyway). Jack responds that there’s nothing left to wreck. Right there, apathy. Just a couple days earlier he was blowing up an atomic bomb to get another crack at Kate. Now, he’s letting her walk off without much of a fight. For all he knows, he might never see her again. He knows it’s over between them. And now he’s a rudderless ship. He’s not a doctor. He didn’t get the girl. No one looks to him as a leader. He can’t define himself in these ways anymore. He’s alone with himself, and he doesn’t like what he sees.
Jack and Hurley keep walking. They stumble on Shannon’s inhaler (Man, we could have used that about a million years ago. Could have saved some serious tension around the camp!). After that, they find themselves in the caves, the same caves Christian led Jack to in “White Rabbit.” Is Jack better off or worse off right now than he was that day? A question to ponder. They talk about the coffin. They talk about the Adam and Eve skeletons. It was a nice trip down memory lane. I don’t think it was all just for nostalgia-sake though. I think it was a not-so-subtle reminder about both, because they’re going to come into play pretty soon. I actually thought we were going to get some sort of Jack-Christian standoff at the lighthouse, but alas, it was not to be. Soon though. I can feel it.
They finally make it to the lighthouse. Jack does his best Sayid impression and kicks in the door. They make their way up the stairs and find a set of mirrors attached to a giant wheel. The wheel turns by degree, and each degree is labeled with a number and a name. Hurley’s arm-scribbles tell him to turn the wheel to 108, but as he does that, Jack notices that some of the names on the wheel are their names. 15 – Ford. 16 – Jarrah. 23 – Shephard. When Hurley lands at 23, Jack catches a glimpse of his house in the mirror. It’s the house he grew up in. Jacob has been watching him – and all of them – their entire lives. And Jack reacts how he always does when he sees something he doesn’t like, something that he kind of understands but doesn’t want to – he gets angry, demands answers, and loses his cool. He smashes the mirrors to pieces and walks away.
The important part is that Jack really does understand the meaning of it all, but he doesn’t want to admit it to himself. Last season, Jack came back to the Island looking for purpose, looking for his destiny. He’s given up on that. He doesn’t think he’s there for a reason and he doesn’t want to believe the Island is special. So when he sees something that challenges that worldview, he freaks out. It’s like when he saw Desmond in the hatch for the first time, and like when he came across his father’s empty coffin after following him through the jungle. He was confronted with a miracle and he refused to believe it. Same deal here. This is a clear message that he’s meant to be on the Island, that he was brought there just like Locke told him oh-so-many years ago, and he can’t handle it.
Jack is stubborn. He’s always been stubborn, and he will always be stubborn. That’s not what he’s there to fix. He’s there to get over his father issues, learn not to burden himself so much with commitment and guilt, and to believe in himself again. But first he has to believe in the Island. And Jacob’s trying to give him a little push. I loved Hurley’s response earlier in the episode to Jacob’s orders to get Jack to go with him – “You ever tried to get Jack to do something? It's like impossible.” Jacob has tried and it shows when he tells Hurley, “Sometimes you can just hop in the back of someone's cab and tell them what they're supposed to do. Other times...you have to let them look out at the ocean for a while.” I can’t wait to see how Jack responds to a little time looking out at the ocean.
Believe it or not, Jack, Hurley and Jacob weren’t the only characters in this episode. We also got a look at Claire, and three years in the jungle has not been kind to her. Way worse off than Danielle was after her 16 years in solitude, she’s angry, even murderous. She’s been looking for Aaron, killing Others, making creepy skeleton babies, and buddying up to the MIB. She tells Jin, “That’s not John, that’s my friend.” Does that mean she sees him differently than we do, maybe as a side effect of being claimed? I say yes. And that makes me ready to conclude that Christian Shephard isn’t a manifestation of the monster, but something entirely different. Otherwise, why would she refer to them separately? Any way you slice it, Claire’s fucked three ways toward the weekend. Luckily, Jin manages to convince her that Aaron’s at the temple, so that’s where they’re headed instead of hunting for Kate.
We’ve three other big storylines that appear to be coming to a head pretty damn quick. Jacob tells Hurley at the lighthouse that he had to find a way to get him and Jack away from the temple because “someone bad” was coming. We know that person is the MIB. We know Ilana, Sun, Ben and Lapidus are also headed to the temple. We know Kate’s looking for Claire. And now we know that Crazy Claire’s headed back to the temple with Jin and “her friend”. The stage is set for an epic confrontation at on the Others sacred ground. I have one prediction for what’s to come – pain.
Until next week.
"You just don't have what it takes."
We start off with Jack shortly after Flight 815. His father has been buried, but they’re still looking for the will. We find out Jack has a son – David – who’s every bit as surly and distant as Jack was as a teenager. Jack’s late picking him up from school, probably not for the first time and we start to get the idea that Jack isn’t a huge part of David’s life. When David says, “We see each other like once a month. Can’t we just get through it,” it’s pretty obvious – Jack’s relationship with his son is just as awful as his with his father.
After dropping David off at home and making plans for dinner, Jack heads to his mother’s house to help her look for Christian’s will. Between the casket and the will, Jack will never be done looking for his father will he? Margo asks how David’s doing, saying that he was pretty upset at the funeral. Jack tells her he doesn’t know anything about that, adding, “Communication is not one of his strong suits.” His mother responds that he was the same way with Christian at that age. “That’s because I was terrified of him, Mom.” “How do you know David isn’t terrified of you?” she answers. That stops Jack dead in his tracks. If he hadn’t realized it before, he does now – he’s in danger of losing his son the same way Christian lost him.
Jack arrives back home to an empty house. David’s nowhere to be found. Shaken, Jack tries calling David, but there’s no answer. He leaves a message, telling him, “If I did something to upset you I am really, really sorry…Whatever I did, I'm sorry.” It was heartwarming to hear Jack so apologetic, but heartbreaking that he was so upset over the whole situation. But as Adam pointed out to me, it was the call that Christian Shephard never made to Jack, the one he tells Sawyer he should make while the two threw back shots at that bar in Australia. In my book, that makes Jack a better dad (and really a better man) than Christian ever was. Christian already knew that. As he said, Jack’s “a good man, maybe a great one”, and he “does what’s in his heart”. If Jack does what’s in his heart with David, he will be in pretty good shape. More on that in a bit.
After some snooping around David’s room, Jack finds out that David has a piano tryout at the Williams Conservatory. He hops in his Rover, books it over there, walks past the “Welcome all Candidates!” sign, and catches the end of David’s performance. The whole time I was afraid David was going to catch a glimpse of Jack and totally bungle the piece, but luckily he made it through the end without a hiccup. Jack was blown away. So was Dogen, whose son was also performing that night (How come these Others keep popping up in Los Angeles? Are they keeping an eye on our Losties, or did they just settle there and lead normal lives after the Island sunk? Questions for another time). Jack cast a large shadow in the wall of the Conservatory as he entered, but David’s performance went a long way toward getting him out from under it. That’s a struggle Jack can relate to.
Jack meets David outside. He tells his son how scared he was and how great the performance was, how he didn’t even know he still played. David tells his father that he made his mom promise not to tell him, and that he snuck off because, “I didn’t want you to see me fail.”
Jack responds with an impassioned speech to his son, one straight from his own tortured heart –
“You know when I was your age, my father didn't want to see me fail either. He used to say to me that...he said that I didn't have what it takes. I spent my whole life carrying that around with me. I don't ever want you to feel that way. I will always love you, no matter what you do. In my eyes you can never fail. I just wanna be a part of your life.”
Beautiful. Maybe Jack did something to make David feel the same way Christian made him feel. Maybe he didn’t. But right there, Jack prevented David from suffering the same tormented fate that we’ve watched him suffer through for six seasons. He broke the cycle. Sure, their relationship won’t be all happy and perfect just because of this conversation, but at least David knows he has his father in his corner, something Jack never could say.
Instead, Jack’s father told him “You just don’t have what it takes,” because he didn’t want to see him fail. Jack realized that his father felt that way, so he refused to ever accept failure. He needed to live up to his father’s expectations. He needed to make sure he didn’t let his father down. While David hid from his father, Jack wanted to show Christian that he would succeed. So he pushed himself even when the odds were stacked insurmountably against him. He kept pounding on Charlie’s chest. He trekked after Michael without a break for water. He poured his own blood into Boone. Jack threw himself into everything he did so his father would never see him fail. That’s why he smashed that coffin to pieces when he found it empty in the caves. And that’s why he needed that coffin to land in Los Angeles. He needed it to be done. He needed to bury his father. Otherwise, Christian’s still walking around, and Jack still feels him looking over his shoulder.
“You have what it takes.”
That’s where we find Jack on the Island in 2008. He needs to put his father to rest. I think I mislabeled him early this year. His calm demeanor isn’t a sign of a mind at peace; it’s a sign of apathy. As he tells Hurley during their hike through the jungle, he thought the Island could fix him, and it didn’t. To that I say, not yet Jack! The night is always darkest just before the dawn. Or something like that.
We join the action with Hurley in the temple looking for something to eat. He sees Jacob dumping an unknown substance into that filthy healing pool (something to clear it up maybe? A little Balance Pack 200?), and he tells Hurley that he needs to get Jack and go to the lighthouse. Somebody’s coming to the Island, and Hurley and Jack need to help them find it.
My immediate reaction was “DesDesDesDesDes”. Nothing that followed gave me a reason to change that opinion. Ms. Hawking told us the Island wasn’t done with him, and I think we’re a little too deep in the game to be introducing yet another new character. Who are the other options? Penny? No, not without Des. Charles Widmore? Maybe, but I still think that he’s aligned with the MIB, so I can’t see Jacob actively helping him find the Island. Dharma people? Nah, that wouldn’t make much sense. And that’s the whole list. It has to be Des. And he can’t make it there soon enough, in my opinion. It’s been way too long since we’ve got a good “brotha” or “aye”. Might be a little added synergy with “Man of Science, Man of Faith” - the debut of our favorite Scotsman - which I’ll discuss further in a minute.
Anyway, Hurley has a tough job ahead of him of convincing Jack to sneak out of the temple. Jacob armed him with a secret weapon – “He told me to tell you ‘You have what it takes’”. Well, that hooked Jack, not because of the nice, encouraging sentiment, but because Jacob (who I think this is the first Jack has heard of) knows about the deepest secret of his past. Off into the jungle they go.
After a brief run-in with Kate, Hurley apologizes for wrecking Jack’s game by not allowing her to come along (not that Kate was going to follow them anyway). Jack responds that there’s nothing left to wreck. Right there, apathy. Just a couple days earlier he was blowing up an atomic bomb to get another crack at Kate. Now, he’s letting her walk off without much of a fight. For all he knows, he might never see her again. He knows it’s over between them. And now he’s a rudderless ship. He’s not a doctor. He didn’t get the girl. No one looks to him as a leader. He can’t define himself in these ways anymore. He’s alone with himself, and he doesn’t like what he sees.
Jack and Hurley keep walking. They stumble on Shannon’s inhaler (Man, we could have used that about a million years ago. Could have saved some serious tension around the camp!). After that, they find themselves in the caves, the same caves Christian led Jack to in “White Rabbit.” Is Jack better off or worse off right now than he was that day? A question to ponder. They talk about the coffin. They talk about the Adam and Eve skeletons. It was a nice trip down memory lane. I don’t think it was all just for nostalgia-sake though. I think it was a not-so-subtle reminder about both, because they’re going to come into play pretty soon. I actually thought we were going to get some sort of Jack-Christian standoff at the lighthouse, but alas, it was not to be. Soon though. I can feel it.
They finally make it to the lighthouse. Jack does his best Sayid impression and kicks in the door. They make their way up the stairs and find a set of mirrors attached to a giant wheel. The wheel turns by degree, and each degree is labeled with a number and a name. Hurley’s arm-scribbles tell him to turn the wheel to 108, but as he does that, Jack notices that some of the names on the wheel are their names. 15 – Ford. 16 – Jarrah. 23 – Shephard. When Hurley lands at 23, Jack catches a glimpse of his house in the mirror. It’s the house he grew up in. Jacob has been watching him – and all of them – their entire lives. And Jack reacts how he always does when he sees something he doesn’t like, something that he kind of understands but doesn’t want to – he gets angry, demands answers, and loses his cool. He smashes the mirrors to pieces and walks away.
The important part is that Jack really does understand the meaning of it all, but he doesn’t want to admit it to himself. Last season, Jack came back to the Island looking for purpose, looking for his destiny. He’s given up on that. He doesn’t think he’s there for a reason and he doesn’t want to believe the Island is special. So when he sees something that challenges that worldview, he freaks out. It’s like when he saw Desmond in the hatch for the first time, and like when he came across his father’s empty coffin after following him through the jungle. He was confronted with a miracle and he refused to believe it. Same deal here. This is a clear message that he’s meant to be on the Island, that he was brought there just like Locke told him oh-so-many years ago, and he can’t handle it.
Jack is stubborn. He’s always been stubborn, and he will always be stubborn. That’s not what he’s there to fix. He’s there to get over his father issues, learn not to burden himself so much with commitment and guilt, and to believe in himself again. But first he has to believe in the Island. And Jacob’s trying to give him a little push. I loved Hurley’s response earlier in the episode to Jacob’s orders to get Jack to go with him – “You ever tried to get Jack to do something? It's like impossible.” Jacob has tried and it shows when he tells Hurley, “Sometimes you can just hop in the back of someone's cab and tell them what they're supposed to do. Other times...you have to let them look out at the ocean for a while.” I can’t wait to see how Jack responds to a little time looking out at the ocean.
Believe it or not, Jack, Hurley and Jacob weren’t the only characters in this episode. We also got a look at Claire, and three years in the jungle has not been kind to her. Way worse off than Danielle was after her 16 years in solitude, she’s angry, even murderous. She’s been looking for Aaron, killing Others, making creepy skeleton babies, and buddying up to the MIB. She tells Jin, “That’s not John, that’s my friend.” Does that mean she sees him differently than we do, maybe as a side effect of being claimed? I say yes. And that makes me ready to conclude that Christian Shephard isn’t a manifestation of the monster, but something entirely different. Otherwise, why would she refer to them separately? Any way you slice it, Claire’s fucked three ways toward the weekend. Luckily, Jin manages to convince her that Aaron’s at the temple, so that’s where they’re headed instead of hunting for Kate.
We’ve three other big storylines that appear to be coming to a head pretty damn quick. Jacob tells Hurley at the lighthouse that he had to find a way to get him and Jack away from the temple because “someone bad” was coming. We know that person is the MIB. We know Ilana, Sun, Ben and Lapidus are also headed to the temple. We know Kate’s looking for Claire. And now we know that Crazy Claire’s headed back to the temple with Jin and “her friend”. The stage is set for an epic confrontation at on the Others sacred ground. I have one prediction for what’s to come – pain.
Until next week.
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