Show me your LOST

The End

2010-05-25T17:07:00.000-07:00

LOSTaways-

I started this blog almost 2.5 years ago as requests for my infamous "LOST re-cap" emails mounted, and I never thought I'd enjoy something as silly as a website named after a character (named after a dead philosopher) from a television show about a magical island in the South Pacific as much as I have this one. John Locke's Pants has been my humble attempt at shining a (sometimes dull) light on the mysteries that shroud the greatest show ever made by humans. I wanted to offer my friends (and their friends and co-workers) a place of LOST-refuge where they could come and have some of the larger themes and minute details distilled in a coherent, cohesive format. You be the judge if I've succeeded or not. Some weeks I wasn't too sure.

Personally, I have loved LOST for its commitment to extraordinary story-telling, insanely in-depth character development, and for the way it seamlessly incorporates theology, mythology, popular culture, classic literature, wit, humor, and slow-motion close-ups. Make no mistake about it: there has never been another television show like LOST. It is unique in countless ways.

Think back to the first time you sat down to watch an episode on ABC, or more likely, sat down on a friend's couch to watch his Chinese boot-leg copy of Season Two (as Katie the Dog #1 ran frantic and violent laps around your kitchen's island). Think of how far we've come as fans/viewers. Think of how far the characters we've come to know and love have traveled; how much they have changed. It's been a wild, memorable ride. No other show has garnered the type of rabid devotion (or eaten up more text message charges) that LOST has.

I'm sad to see it go, but loved watching it leave.

There is more than enough to say about what transpired Sunday night over the 2.5 hour series finale. I know I didn't write a review of the previous episode, "What They Died For", so I will be encapsulating some thoughts on that hour as well. It just didn't feel necessary to write a re-cap for an episode that was so obviously a filler/prelude to the big finish.

Let me begin with this: I thoroughly enjoyed the way LOST ended. "The End" was a fascinating extended episode, and in my mind, a wholly legitimate way to wrap up a remarkable show. How do you end something as complex and layered as LOST? How do you make some 15 million fans happy about watching the last episode of the show they've loved so much for so long? Answer: you can't. Answer: you stay true to what the show was really all about all along...the characters themselves.

If you have been confused or frustrated since Sunday night with how LOST wrapped up, consider this: all six seasons...some 120 hours of television...have been one long tale centered around one man named Jack Shepard (and the group of people he experienced the most important events of his life with). The writers/creators of LOST have been consistent since day one in saying to anyone who would listen that the series was always (to them) more about the characters involved than the mysteries and fantastical situations they find themselves in. (More on this point later)

I mention this at the beginning of my final blog-post because I know that there are some who are greatly disappointed in the lack of "answers" about questions ranging from "the numbers" to "DHARMA's origin" to the caskets we saw down in the island's source this past Sunday night when Jack and Desmond first un-corked, then re-corked, the light. We don't always get what we want, but sometimes, we get what we need. And what we needed was closure for the story about the people who have been the vehicle through which all of these other mysteries have come to us.

So let me get to some actual re-capping of the events that transpired, and then I'll conclude with some parting big-picture thoughts on the show as a whole. Since we now know that the off-island, alternate-reality story-line was an after-life setting, I'll focus for now on what happened on the island itself in present time.

I assume everyone is aware of the fact that the on-island happenings were occurring in 2007. The castaways crashed in September of 2004, spent three months or so on the island, and then 6 of them left on a helicopter, while the rest spiraled through time with the bright, white flashes.

So on the island it is 2007, and the submarine has just exploded underwater with Sawyer, Jack, and Hurley barely escaping. Sawyer blames himself for the sub catastrophe, but Jack reminds him that Flocke is the man to blame. As they set out to find Desmond, the young Jacob appears to Hurley and asks for the pouch of his ashes that Hugo had been carrying since Ilana blew up on the beach a few episodes before. Young Jacob takes his own ashes to a fire where he begins to burn up what remains of himself. He tells Hurley that when the ashes stop burning, he (Jacob) will be gone for good. He adds, "We're very close to the end."

The rest of the crew sits around the fire and listens to what Jacob has to say. Kate wants to know what her friends died for, and Jacob proceeds to relay all of the pertinent information. He made a mistake when he pushed his brother into "the source". He is responsible for the Man in Black's smokiness. Because the Man in Black found a way to kill him, Jacob needs a replacement. He chose these people because they were all flawed, all alone, all looking for something they could not find. Kate wasn't disqualified from being a candidate, Jacob had merely been considerate of the fact that she was a mother (to Aaron) for those three years she was off the island.

While Jacob is recounting the situation to the group, Sawyer speaks up and says that Jacob should have left them all alone because they were doing just fine. Jacob points out that this is not the case. Each of the people he called to be a candidate was hurting, alone, and flawed. He says that they needed the island just as much as the island now needed them (or one of them, at least). Jack told Hurley earlier this season that he had come back to the island because he felt broken and hoped "this place" could "fix" him. Now Jack realizes that this task, to be the new protector of the island, is his purpose in life. He willingly accepts, Jacob has him drink some water, and Jack Shepard becomes the new Jacob.

While this is going on, Ben, Miles, and Richard are in Othersville looking for C-4 to blow up the plane. Something interesting Ben says at this time is "I always thought I was calling the Smoke Monster, but it turns out he was the one calling me." He finally realizes that the Smoke Monster had been feeding off of Ben's anger toward his father and used him as a puppet since he was a little kid. Perhaps this is why Richard was almost scared when he met a young Ben Linus in the jungle and Ben told him he had seen his dead mother walking around the night before. Richard knew that only Smokey could do that, and that Smokey was bad. He probably figured that he could help the young boy since Smokey obviously had him in his sights. But Ben's jealousy and bitterness and obsession with being in control played right into Smokey's hands and Linus became a useful idiot for much of his life.

Widmore and his gal-pal Zoe show up and tell Ben that they need to hide from Flocke and that he has a plan to defeat him once and for all. Ben tells them to hide in his secret room and then promptly goes outside to tell Flocke where they are hiding. Zoe gets her throat sliced open and before he gets capped by Ben, Widmore lets Flocke know that Desmond is a fail-safe weapon here to blow up the island if necessary.

Ben and Flocke go to get Desmond from the well, but he is already long-gone, thanks to Rose and Bernard (aka the most boring characters known to mankind). But Flocke isn't phased and lets Ben (and us) know that the finale is going to include him using Desmond to "destroy the island."

...And so we move on to that series finale, and for the last time ever, break down what happened on LOST....

The opening scene in the alternate/heaven/purgatory reality included a conversation that Kate and Desmond had in his car. Desmond, you will recall, had been busy for a number of episodes now. After coming into contact with his constant, Penny, on the steps of a football stadium earlier this season, his mind's eyes had been open to the fact that this wasn't just some alternate reality...this was some stage of the after-life and he was dead. They all were dead. The conversation he had with Kate Sunday night makes much more sense looking back. When she asks him "Why am I here?" he says, "No one can tell you why you are here...not the church...but this place (i.e. the after-life)." He promises he will "show her" what is going on soon enough, but that his motivation is the desire to "move on" (to the next stage of the after-life).

So Desmond, someone for whom "the rules" don't apply, has been playing the role of Clarence the Angel in It's A Wonderful Life. He is the guide for everyone else, working to open their eyes to the reality of their situation. And he has recruited some people, including Hurley, who takes Sayid to the same hotel they had a shoot-out at last season and where Sayid took a tranquilizer dart to the lat. Charlie's in one of the rooms drinking himself into oblivion, and when Hurley can't convince him that playing at the show (where he'll see Claire and have his mind's eyes opened to the fact that they are dead) is the most important thing he'll ever do...Pace gets tranq'ed.

At the hospital, my girl Juliet makes her return to the show as the doctor for Sun and Jin's baby, and as she is taking a peek inside Sun's belly, both Sun and Jin have their consciousnesses opened to their current (deceased) state. When Sawyer comes in a little while later, Sun and Jin tell Detective Ford that they don't need his help/protection. That is because they know they're already dead and nothing can harm them anyway.

This is as good a place as any to comment on the lives our favorite characters were living in their post-death reality. Desmond worked for the father-in-law who never respected him in his real life, yet now loved him and trusted him more than any other employee. James Ford, con man extraordinaire, is a police detective for LAPD. Jack Shepard is still a divorcee and a doctor, but now has a son who he reconnects with (something he and his own father never did). Locke's beloved Helen is with him, but his relationship with his father is still painful (although now it was Locke's fault for turning Anthony Cooper into a vegetable). My point in pointing these things out is simply to highlight the interesting inner turmoil each of these characters had.

Sawyer always felt bad for being the con man he was, so in the after-life he made himself a cop with a heart of gold. His flaws (i.e. wanting to kill a man named Sawyer) were still there, but his fake life was on a better trajectory. I'll talk more about it later, but this ties in with what Christian Shepard told Jack at the end of the finale when the two of them were talking in the back of Eloise Hawking's church..."You guys made this place so you could find each other." So apparently, in the mind of LOST writers, the after-life includes the ability to create your own new reality where character flaws still exist, but where the person's consciousness is given some lee-way in arranging his/her job, family, etc. This sounds a lot like...purgatory.

People have been saying that the island is purgatory for 6 seasons, but they were wrong. The island wasn't purgatory...the people who spent time on the island ended up in purgatory. It might sound like a distinction without a difference, but I disagree. I'm not disappointed in the least with that choice on the part of the writers.

But let me for now stay on track with breaking down the parts of the episode before exploring it as a whole (and the series as a whole)....

I totally called Juliet being Jack's ex-wife in the after-life reality. It just made too much sense and they kept refraining from showing who his ex-wife was so I knew it would end up being someone we'd least expect. Jack and her were ex's of sorts on the island. He loved her for a while before the island moved and he and Kate escaped for three years (while Sawyer and Juliet made a life together). Jack is the spinal surgeon master, and after a season's worth of sales pitches to John Locke, he finally got the original Man of Faith to come and be healed with back surgery. It works, of course, and in a scene that was eerily reminiscent of Jack's healing of his first wife, Sarah, Locke wiggles his toes and suddenly has his mind's eyes opened to the fact that he is in the after-life. Jack caught a fleeting glimpse of his real life back on the island, but instead of embracing it as his other friends did, he leaves the hospital in disbelief and confusion.

Meanwhile, Hurley brings Sayid (and a passed out Charlie) to the parking lot outside of a bar where he begins to try and convince our favorite Iraqi that he is a good person and that a large part of the reason Sayid ended up doing some bad things was that he had too consistently believed other peoples' negative appraisal of him. Sayid seems touched by the fat guy's kind words, but remains unconvinced that he is a soul worth saving. Suddenly a girl gets thrown into the alley behind the bar and Sayid runs to her rescue. It is Shannon, and the two of them embrace as only island lovers can. We learn Boone was in on the set-up with Hurley and both of them seem genuinely happy to have helped their friend/sister wake up to their current posthumous reality.

Then there is the crew at the rock concert and benefit show for the museum. Eloise Widmore's disdain for Desmond Hume makes so much more sense now that we know they're all dead. She didn't want Desmond waking up the consciousness of her son and for Desmond to "take him from me" because she knew her son waking up would mean he would have to realize that he he was dead...and perhaps she didn't want that because she had killed her own son in their earthly lives and wasn't able to move on with her boy? Or she just couldn't help herself. She had lived her entire life trying to control her son and trying to control the destiny of people like Desmond and Jack so why stop now?

Charlies sees Claire, Claire has baby (with help of Kate) and everyone remembers everyone else in the green room.

When Sawyer and Juliet bump into each other, they talk about going for coffee. In case you forgot, or are normal, this was a reference to the last thing Juliet said to Sawyer in the imploded Swan hatch at the beginning of this season. She was trapped under all of the rubble after Jughead went off a the end of last season, and Sawyer went down to console her in her final minutes. She seemed to be mumbling about getting coffee with Sawyer and that the two of them could "go Dutch." She then came to her senses and said "I have something very important to tell you." I believe that in those final moments before she died, she saw the after-life and knew that everything was going to be okay eventually. This is why she told Sawyer (via Miles), "It worked." So now, when they meet in the after-life at the vending machine, those memories came flooding back and she says the same line about going for coffee and Sawyer remembers. He even calls her Blondie and kisses her, just like he did before she died in the Swan station's rubble.

After leaving the hospital, Jack finds Kate at the benefit concert and she now recognizes him although the Man of Science refuses to accept his current state. She tells him that he will understand everything if he'll come with her to the church.

I'm gonna stop here and run through some of the on-island happenings, and then wrap up with a discussion of what went on in the church and in the conversation Jack had with his also-dead dad.

On-island:

Jack, Hurley, Kate, and Sawyer are trying to figure out what to do by the river, as Sawyer and Jack have a brief convo about Jack's new job as the island's protector. Jack says that Desmond is the key to the battle they are engaged in with Flocke, and that they must protect the island at all costs or "it will be the end of us." I must quickly stop here and stress this point: EVERYTHING that has happened on the island that we've seen since the first day they crashed to Jack's closing his eye at the end of this finale is real. It was all real. Jacob, Flocke, DHARMA, the numbers. Everything. I can't say this enough. It all mattered. Jack needed to defeat Flocke. The island did need protecting. The relationships they formed meant something. The numbers had some mystical component to them. The whole kit-and-kaboodle was not for nothing.

This is important to keep in mind because as we analyze (for the last time, sadly) what it all meant on LOST, if you are under the impression after watching the series finale that they all died the first time they crashed on the island back in season one, then your perspective on how you feel about how things ended last Sunday night will be skewed.

So Flocke believes Widmore that Desmond Hume is the fail-safe. He finds Dez at the hut of Bernard and Rose and threatens to kill the lovebirds (and Vincent the Dog, presumably) if Hume won't come with him to the island's source. Desmond says he will and on their way to the well of souls (or whatever you want to call it), they bump into Jack and his merry band. Jack had just told Kate that his task was to save the island. He told Kate that the island "is all I have left" and is the one thing he hasn't ruined. His marriage? Bad. His relationship with his father? Not great. His career? Tanked because he was perpetually tanked and popping pills. This task given to him by the hands of fate (and Jacob) is his purpose in life and by now he's embraced and accepted that.

As this is taking place, Richard and Miles are paddling to Hydra island to blow up the plane. They find Lapidus floating in the wreckage of the submarine and after they bring him aboard he suggests that if the goal is to keep Flocke from escaping...they should just get to Hydra and have him fly them outta there. This is a huge relief to Miles and Richard, especially Richard, who has just found his first gray hair (a sign that Jacob's death meant a normal, mortal life for the dark eye-browed Spaniard).

Back on dry land, eventually Jack, Flocke and Desmond split off yet again and head to the heart of the island together. Jack is convinced that whatever it is Flocke wants to do will not work, and even helps Flocke lower Desmond down the waterfall. Flocke mocks Jack for being the "obvious choice"...but Jack fires back with "I wasn't forced into this position...I chose it." Free will vs. Determinism. A timeless debate. Flocke is someone who wants to tear others down and make them feel like everything is out of their control. But he does this merely because he wants people to listen to him. He wants his own way and has found that an effective strategy at getting people to side with him is to prey upon their weaker instincts; instincts to blame others for their problems.

Jack is confident that Flocke will fail and that Flocke's plan to use Desmond to destroy the island will in the end destroy Flocke. He acknowledges that Flocke is more powerful than he, but puts his trust in the belief that he is there for a purpose and that this purpose will triumph over the selfish desire to destroy Flocke has. Jack is confident that the good guys will win, but admits to Sawyer before going off with Flocke and Desmond that he's not sure how it will play out. Think about how far Jack has come. He was someone who HAD to know everything, had to be in control of everything. Here he is letting go and embracing the Man of Faith mindset his deceased friend John Locke tried to inspire in him for 4-plus seasons.

Right before Jack lowers Desmond into the island's Source, Dez tries to convince Jack that none of the events on the island matter. He says that he will be able to use the white light's power to transport himself (and possibly Jack and the others) to another place where everyone is happy and everything is better. This points to Desmond certainly being the unique man (with unique powers) that he is...but also to his limitations. His mortal self still hadn't figured out that the other place he saw when he got flashed by Widmore's electromagnetic machine a few weeks back was the after-life they'd all end up at eventually. The only way he'd have been able to take Jack and the others to that other place would have been to kill them all. So he needed to try and defeat Flocke. Jack needed to persevere. His time wasn't up. His purposes were not complete. His mortal life mattered and would have eternal consequences. Desmond doesn't see it yet, and Jack isn't totally sure what will happen, but Jack is proven right.

Desmond un-corks the island's power source and things go haywire. The island starts to fall apart at the seems, with pieces of it breaking off into the ocean. But the effect Desmond was going for (i.e. flashing to the alternate reality he saw) didn't happen for him. The effect Flocke was looking for (i.e. the island crumbling in on itself) began to happen, but something else occurred as well: Flocke LOST his powers...he became mortal again. Jack punched him in the face and blood flowed down Flocke's mouth. Both men were shocked, but it seems that the un-corking Desmond did also released Flocke from his gaseous state. Just as Jacob's death released Richard from his eternal life request/curse, I think that when the water drained from the pool Desmond found at the island's source, Flocke was no longer Smokey. That is why Jack could kill him. So in a sense, both Jack and Flocke were right: the island did begin to fall apart when Desmond pulled the plug on the holy water...but pulling the plug meant the end of Flocke's powers (and the beginning of Jack's ability to actually kill the beast).

Oh, and by the way, a lot of people were confused about the skeletons and caskets Desmond/Jack both saw down by the well...I'm guessing those were simply previous "Jacob's".

Flocke knocks Jack out and bolts for the coastline and his sailboat. At the same time, Hurley, Kate, Sawyer, and Ben are waiting to hear what came of the trip to the island's source when the earthquakes hit their part of the island as well. A tree falls on Ben and taking pity on him, the other three work to pull him from under the trunk. The clock is ticking for when Frank, Richard, and Miles will take off back to the real world, so as soon as Ben is free the four of them head for the same coastline and boat.

One interesting thing about the plane and the various attempts to blow it up...looks like Hurley was proven right in the end: the plane should not have been destroyed after all. Perhaps Ilana was blown to pieces as a warning sign from the island to stop following her lead. The spirit of Michael that appeared to Hurley earlier this season was shown to be right in his advice to keep the Ajira plane in-tact.

Jack catches up with Flocke and the two of them have a Matrix:Revolutions, duel to the death, moment on the side of a collapsing cliff. Flocke stabs Jack with his Bowie knife and just before he is about to "finish" him...Kate fires a rifle round into Flocke's abdomen. All of the flesh-wounds that Jack had been seeing on his body in the alternate-reality this season were memories/echoes of this day on the cliff.

Sawyer and Kate decide to make a break for the plane on Hydra island. Oh, and remember how in Season Three the Others had Kate and Sawyer in cages and moving rocks to build a runway on Hydra island...in light of what we've now seen, guess why that was???

Ben decides to "go down with the ship" as it were, and because Hurley the Huge is afraid of heights (just as much as rickety wooden ladders on the sides of cliffs are afraid of people like Hugo) he decides to stick around with Ben and Jack as well. Sawyer and Jack have their final parting handshake, and it seems as if Sawyer has now forgiven Jack for all troubled history between the two of them (including Jack getting Juliet killed last season). Kate and Jack share one last magical kiss and promise to see each other again soon. Jack heads back with his two comrades to the island's source. His plan is to go down the waterfall and figure out how to reverse whatever it is Desmond did. Not knowing if he'd survive, Jack passed on his Jacob-bestowed power to Hurley. We've known Hurley was special for a while, but I think the island (or Jacob) knew all along that the best man for the job of island protector would be the sweetest, nicest caretaker of the whole bunch. Hurley was always the one trying to lift people's spirits. Certainly he had demons of his own, but no one else cared for people like he did.

I loved the exchange between Ben and Hugo where Hurley asks Ben to help him...to be his #2. This is a great reference/homage to the 1960's cult television series "The Prisoner." It was re-made this past year by AMC, but the original was much better. Ben also tells Hurley that the first thing he can do to help someone is find a way to get Desmond off the island and back to his loved ones. Hurley doesn't understand how he could ever hope to accomplish that, but Ben reminds him that Hugo is the new Jacob and can make "the rules" now. Jacob always tried to keep people on the island and made the place so hard to find. Probably because of his messed up childhood and because he knew if his brother (Smokey) ever got off and in to the real world, things would go to heck. Now Hurley can change things.

Sawyer and Kate get over to Hydra, convince Claire to ditch the loony-tunes act (and thousand-yard stare) and join them on the flight home. Even though you knew they would make it off on time, it was still exciting to see at least some of our favorite characters get a chance to escape. Who knows what kind of lives they ending up living, but I'm sure they were grateful for each moment they had.

When Jack gets down the waterfall, he finds a zonked-out Dez laying in a pool of his own electromagnetic juice. He wakes the Scottish superman up and tells him to shimmy on back up the rope and go home to his wife and son. When Desmond asks Jack what will happen next, The Shepard responds with my favorite (and most telling) line of the entire series: "See you in another life, brotha'" That phrase we've heard countless times in the past 5 seasons now takes on such a different and completed meaning. Jack puts the plug back in the well and the waters of island-life begin to flow once more. He smiles with delight as it becomes apparent to him that all the things he has been doing since returning to the island were indeed meaningful. He has completed the task the island (fate) had for him.

Things close out on the island with Jack waking up outside of the island's source and staggering to his final resting place: the same spot he woke up at in the very first few seconds of LOST's pilot episode. The final shot is of Jack's eyes closing as the Ajira plane with his friends soars across the skyline. The circle is complete. I don't know how Jack got out of the cave, but either some magical event happened and he was transported outside of the cave (while still being alive), or he died in the cave and this was a symbolic walk through the jungle. Either way, it doesn't really matter to the bigger picture of what took place. Jack saved the day and came to his final resting place on the island. I would have to say that I lean towards Jack being alive when he stumbles through the jungle and Vincent coming to lay down next to him wasn't just a call-back to the pilot episode, but was also a reference to the fact that some animals have been shown to be able to sense when someone they are close to is about to die.

Final Thoughts/Theories/Conclusions:

-Getting back to the scene in (and around) the church...the alternate reality was of course a stage in the after-life of our characters. The church represented the place where many of them had come together before to make a journey back to the island. Now it was a stepping off point to the great unknown of the rest of the after-life. There were two conversations that told me most of what I needed to know to "figure out" LOST. The first was Ben and Hurley's outside of the church. Locke chatted with Ben for a brief moment and the two of them made amends. Then Hurley came outside where Ben and Hugo exchanged a few words about their time on the island. Hurley said, "You were a great #2," to which Ben replied, "You were a great #1." This means that Hurley and Ben lived on after Jack died in the jungle. This means that Jack really did die when we saw him die in the jungle. He didn't die in the initial Oceanic Flight 815 crash. He wasn't "already dead" like some people are theorizing. He died when we saw him die. And Kate, Richard, etc. all escaped and went on to live their lives back in the real world. Everything we saw in the alternate reality this season was, in human years, decades later.

-Which brings me to the other critically important conversation: the one between Christian and Jack. Christian confirmed Jack was dead and told his son that there is no "now" in the after-life. It is eternity. Christian also confirmed/affirmed that everything his son and his son's friends did in their lives mattered. It was all real. "This place" (the church and the alternate reality we witnessed) was created by Jack and the others in some sort of spiritual subconsciousness. They needed to FIND each other in the after-life before they could move on. And here we get to the crux of the entire show...and forgive me if you feel like I'm repeating myself...the show wasn't REALLY about smoke monsters and numbers and mysteries of DHARMA. It was about people. It was about these people. It was about Sayid and Boone and Charlie and all the rest. It was about their relationships and the profound impact each of them had on each other. Ultimately, it was about Jack Shepard. It was his story of redemption that drove the larger story of LOST. That is why his eye opening and closing were first and last shots fans of LOST saw.

-But a word about all the details and exciting mysteries and literature references...any good story-teller includes these things to keep the audience interested. All of those things were supplementary things to the larger story being told. I think of it this way: I am a Christian who believes in the God of the Old and New Testament. My life has meaning. The little things, as well as the big things, in my life has meaning. Not only to me, but to my God. But I also know that some things are more important than others. What I had for dinner last night (Chipotle) is not of equal importance to who I marry or how I treat my kids some day. But the books I read, the songs I hear, the way I talk to strangers who cut me off in traffic all is part of my story and therefore matters. Those "smaller" things help form and shape my character and, I believe, my eternal soul. So in LOST, everything took place for a reason. Jacob vs. Smokey the Monster was real. The need to protect the island was real. The numbers were real. Fate bringing all of these interesting and unique characters together was real. But all of those things were secondary to the bigger story of the overall lives of those characters and the relationships they formed with one another.

-Another word about the theology in LOST...as a Christian I am always disappointed to see when Christianity is equated with other faiths. This isn't because I think the people who follow other faiths are stupid...but more so because Christianity makes such distinct truth-claims that it is either true or it is pure rubbish. To say Christ is the same as every other religious leader/founder is to say he is nothing. I'm thinking specifically of the scene between Christian and Jack in the back of the church where all the symbols of all the major faiths were in the glass window behind them as they spoke. But I also realize that this is a television show about a magical island. I'm not looking for profound theological insights from Hollywood writers...which is why I enjoyed the finale so much. I'd rather have faith in a Higher Power positively represented, as I believe LOST did, then to see even fictitious characters on an ABC show embrace the empty secular-materialist worldview that people like Christopher Hitchens and Richard Dawkins embrace. The themes in LOST were unequivocally religious, and many of them Judeo-Christian. I like that. I like for people to contemplate ideas of sin, redemption, forgiveness, atonement, etc....even if it isn't (to my liking) perfect theology.

-The last thing I'll say in defense of how the show ended is best summed up in a quote from my all-time favorite writer, G.K. Chesterton:

The old fairy tale makes the hero a normal human boy; it is his adventures that are startling; they startle because he is normal. But in the modern psychological novel the hero is abnormal; the centre is not central. Hence the fiercest adventures fail to affect him adequately, and the book is monotonous. You can make a story out of a hero among dragons; but not out of a dragon among dragons. The fairy tale discusses what a sane man will do in a mad world. The sober realistic novel of to-day discusses what an essential lunatic will do in a dull world

What Chesterton is saying here applies directly to how I feel about the end of LOST. This show was so much fun because it placed finite, natural human beings in fantastical, spiritual, supernatural situations. I want to see what people who have the same type of problems we all have (jealousy, hurt from our childhood, guilt, etc.) do when put in to extraordinary situations. LOST provided that. It gets to the heart of the Man of Science-Man of Faith debate that raged on for 6 seasons of the show. How can mankind, especially in modern times where so much of the mystery of life has been stripped from it by technology and secularism, still believe that there are miraculous, supernatural elements to this world and in our lives?

-For MUCH more on the finale, read this by Doc Jensen.

-I've been writing this for a couple hours now and sick of my own thoughts, so if I've left out anything you have specific questions about, post them in the comments section or email me directly and I'll write more about them in the next week or so (before turning down the lights on John Locke's Pants for good).

It's been real, folks. Hope you enjoyed yourself. Stay classy.

-JLP's.

My first and last philosophy, that which I believe in with unbroken certainty, I learnt in the nursery. I generally learnt it from a nurse; that is, from the solemn and star-appointed priestess at once of democracy and tradition. The things I believed most then, the things I believe most now, are the things called fairy tales. They seem to me to be the entirely reasonable things. They are not fantasies: compared with them other things are fantastic. Compared with them religion and rationalism are both abnormal, though religion is abnormally right and rationalism abnormally wrong. Fairyland is nothing but the sunny country of common sense.

It is not earth that judges heaven, but heaven that judges earth; so for me at least it was not earth that criticised elfland, but elfland that criticised the earth. I knew the magic beanstalk before I had tasted beans; I was sure of the Man in the Moon before I was certain of the moon. This was at one with all popular tradition. Modern minor poets are naturalists, and talk about the bush or the brook; but the singers of the old epics and fables were supernaturalists, and talked about the gods of brook and bush. That is what the moderns mean when they say that the ancients did not "appreciate Nature," because they said that Nature was divine. Old nurses do not tell children about the grass, but about the fairies that dance on the grass; and the old Greeks could not see the trees for the dryads.

-Orthodoxy

Somewhere, Beyond The Sea

2010-05-17T18:14:00.000-07:00

LOSTaways-

Jacob is a momma's boy. The Man in Black is "special". Boar-hunting is a perennial past-time on the Island.

And this week's song?

When I die and they lay me to rest
Gonna go to the place that's the best
When I lay me down to die
Goin' up to the spirit in the sky

Goin' up to the spirit in the sky
That's where I'm gonna go when I die
When I die and they lay me to rest
Gonna go to the place that's the best

Prepare yourself you know it's a must
Gotta have a friend in Jesus
So you know that when you die
He's gonna recommend you To the spirit in the sky

Gonna recommend you To the spirit in the sky
That's where you're gonna go when you die
When you die and they lay you to rest
You're gonna go to the place that's the best

Never been a sinner I never sinned
I got a friend in Jesus
So you know that when I die
He's gonna set me up with The spirit in the sky

No, I didn't just pick this tune because it was on the Soundtrack for Wayne's World 2.

Welcome to the 3rd-to-last blog ever on John Locke's Pants. It hurts to even say/type it, but it's true and we all need to start preparing ourselves to handle the cold-hard truth that the greatest show ever made by humans is drawing to a climatic end this month. Actually, as of the writing of this re-cap, we are less than one week away. Wow.

Now, I've already heard from some of my more cuter, brunette LOST-friends/readers that they did not care for this week's episode, Across the Sea. I respectfully disagree. Was it Richard-Alpert-Back-Story-Good? No. Few episodes are. I'll acknowledge that the child actors, who were necessary to tell this story, were less than stellar. Did it answer every question still burning in the hearts and minds of LOST fans everywhere? No. But we have been wondering who Jacob is for three seasons, and Flocke for more than one, and we were given some significant pieces of the puzzle to their mysteries.

Jacob and Flocke's mom was a Roman woman on a ship headed towards who-knows-where when it was "brought" the Island's shores "by accident". My guess is, like Jacob bringing the plane to the Island, the batty broad who became his mommy brought their real mother (the foxy Claudia) and her ship to our favorite tropical locale.

(Note: If you know of any God-fearing, conservative gals in their 20's who look like this chica to the left...and they are single...my email is rj@rjmoeller.com. Use it.)

There was, of course, much symbolism for the way in which the two twin boys came into the world. Jacob was born first (the opposite of the Jacob-and-Esau story from the Bible) and came down the hatch (LOST-pun intended) a calm baby. His brother did not get a name because Claudia didn't even know she had twins inside of her. He was the mistake. The Island's priestess (we'll be calling her Mother for the rest of this blog) wrapped baby Jacob in white swaddling and nameless brother (Smoke Monster) in black.

Oh, and then Mother bashed Claudia's skull in with a big rock.

The boys were her possessions. She needed them. She had hoped for one replacement, and now had two to choose from. She could raise them however she saw fit. She could play favorites, and more importantly, continue to play goddess of the island. She held all of the secrets and did everything she could to keep her fake-sons in the dark. She told them there was nothing else out there, which was more than enough to satisfy the contented Jacob...but for the Kid in Black, the future Smoke Monster, the answers Mother gave were not satisfying for his burning curiosity.

Eventually the boys started to grow up and Kid in Black asked more and more questions. It didn't help that he found a foreign game-board on the beach, a clear-cut sign that life exists somewhere else (perhaps across the sea). Kid in Black told Jacob that he "just knew" the rules of the board game, Senet. He addded, "One day you will have a game that you can make up all the rules for." Huh. You don't say.

Now is as good of a time as any to delve into a discussion of "the rules". We had the rules that existed between Ben and Widmore (i.e. "Don't kill my daughter and I won't kill your daughter") and that were broken when Widmore's boat-people stormed Othersville and capped Alex in the cranium. Widmore also allegedly broke a rule when he routinely left the Island and had a family (and a daughter named Penny) with a woman back in the real world. For that he was banished by Ben.

Then there were "the rules" alluded to during the discussion Jacob and Man in Black had on the beach at the beginning of the season finale episode "The Incident" last year (i.e. "We cannot kill one another directly.") During last week's episode, on the way to show the boys the magic cave they needed to protect (more on the cave upcoming), Mother said "I've made it so that you two can never hurt one another." This is obviously the genesis of the rules as we know them. It seems that whoever is the protector of the Island can set some of the terms by which other people must live. Perhaps there are limits to the rules themselves, but Mother was able to grant eternal life to her sons (see: When Kid in Black asked "What is death?", she said "Something you won't ever have to experience"), thereby protecting them from death at the hand of the other. She wanted to avoid the Cain and Abel tragedy of mankind's first family.

We've now confirmed that the little blonde boy we've seen running around the jungle this season is a younger Jacob, tormenting his twin brother (Flocke) with the constant reminder that there are rules. But what are these new rules that Jacob has set up? I used to think that they involved protection for his "candidates", but some of them, like Sun and Jin, did die. And indirectly because of Flocke, no less. So are these rules able to be broken? Are they completely arbitrary, beholden to the whims of the island's protector?

Moving right along...after the boys find the game, Jacob goes back and tells on his brother having a board game because he is a regular Honest Abe. Mother goes to confront Kid in Black, but ends up telling what I believe to be a lie: "I left that game for you to find on the beach." Maybe Mother did leave it, or maybe it really did wash up on the shore. I say she is lying because it would fit with her whole "I'm going to lie, cheat, steal, and bash people over the head with a rock to keep my island and its secrets safe" attitude. She needs to keep her boys from inquiring too much about the outside world, so lying about the game, in her mind, helps to defuse the young boy's curiosity.

She also tells her son that he is "special." This is the same thing Locke was told throughout his time on the island to keep him going as part of the Smoke Monster's plan. So it is interesting to see that the thing the Man in Black used to lure Locke in was the same thing that his mother had told him when he was a pre-smokey youngster. More than almost anything else, what I took away from this episode, in regards to the character development of Jacob and Flocke, is that Flocke is nothing more than an angry little kid who never really grew up.

Things come to a head for the three's company when the boys see that there are people in the island with them (and they love boar meat as much as the next jungle-dweller). Mother's plan of slowly indoctrinating her boys, which reminded me of Ben's plan to get Jack to want to perform surgery on his tumor-ridden spine in Season Three, was no longer an option. She knew if she was going to keep them from leaving her, and this duty to protect the island that weighed so heavily on her, she would have to cough up some good explanations for her deceptive parenting.

The boys are led, blindfolded, to a cave with a stream running in, and a glowing yellow light streaming out of it. She tells them that the reason they need to stay away from other people is that they are greedy and deadly and selfish and wicked. Her exact words, "They come, they fight, they destroy, they corrupt and it always ends the same," are the ones used by Flocke last season during his conversation with Jacob on the beach as a new ship of potential candidates rolls in on the tide. So again, we hear in Flocke an echo of the teachings he learned from the mother he hated enough to eventually stab. He is a guilt-ridden Smoke Monster if I ever saw one.

Mother says that the thing that needs protecting on the Island is "The Source", a well-spring of "life, death, and re-birth." This reminded of the Star Trek movie The Search For Spock in which the crew of the Enterprise launch Spock's dead carcass to a planet that apparently is capable of re-generating life. Mother says that some the light in the cave of life is in each human being. She says that although humans cannot possess "the source", they try to find it and horde it for themselves. Tale as old as time. I know this explanation Mother gave her sons (and we viewers) as to hat "the source" is might not be all too satisfying, but I am the kind of person who doesn't need everything answered right away so I am content for now. I do like that the island has an unmistakably "spiritual" component to it. If they tried to make every answer a scientific one, I'd be furious. The fact that the writers did not get too specific as to what that spiritual power is does not bother me in the least. A television show doesn't need to try to answer life's deepest mysteries.

Mother tells the boys that one of them will succeed her, but then that begs the question, "Who came before you?" She told Kid in Black that she "came from my mother"...did she really have a mother that gave birth to her on the island? There are so many other questions I now have about the history of the island, but for a show that only will run six seasons, and is much more about the people/characters involved than all the mythological mysteries, I doubt we'll hear much more about the island's back-story. The fact is that even the protectors of the island are human beings, not mystical creatures. Flocke is slightly different, but that is because he (unwillingly) went into "the source" and came out separated from his mortal body and in the form of a black pillar of smoke.

Mother had told Jacob that to go into "the source" was a fate worse than death. I'm guessing she knew what the result would be. Man in Black found out. The hard way.

Okay, so the biggest thing that jumped out to me from this episode was this: after the boys are shown the source, their real mother, my girl Claudia, appears to Kid in Black (and only Kid in Black). Jacob can't see her. Why is this? When Mother told Kid in Black that he was "special", like Hurley heard from Ben when he could see the cabin and no one else could in Season Four, did she really mean it? More importantly: who is Claudia? Is it just her spirit stuck on the island like Michael is now? Or is it another competing force on the island? Is there someone above Mother that is REALLY controlling the show? Or did Mother have an arch-enemy on the island that was able to appear in spirit form?

Assuming that Claudia is really just Claudia...like Richard's wife was really just his wife when she spoke (via Hurley)...like, presumably, Michael is really just Michael...then Jacob and Flocke are not the only ones on the island who have a say in what happens on it. I guess we already kind of knew this, but I think it is now confirmed. I think part of the writers' intent with this episode was to show us that much of what we thought was so important was really just the long-standing feud between two bitter brothers who never asked for any of this responsibility.

Claudia takes her "special" son to see the rest of the island, and after seeing what the villagers are up to, Kid in Black packs his belongings, tries unsuccessfully to convince his bro-bro Jacob to join him, and takes off for his new life with "his people." The villagers represent what DHARMA did: outsiders...people with greedy, selfish interests....people who come and fight and kill and ruin things for those charge with protecting the island. Kid in Black is drawn to them because he wants more for his life than what his fake-Mother picked.

Before leaving for good, Mother tells him "No matter what you are told...you'll never be able to leave the island." This becomes the young man's obsession for the rest of time (and the rest of the show, as we've seen it for 5-plus seasons). Think about it: almost all of the events on the island during the last five seasons have been, in part, influenced, affected, or directed by Flocke's drive to leave the island. That is a HUGE piece of the puzzle in terms of motivation. It's been talked about before this week's episode, but again, we had solid confirmation and got to see the historical and emotional reasons why Flocke wants off the island so bad.

The next 30 years of his life, Man in Black works with his hands (and his head) to discover a way off the island. They dig and find another pocket of the source's incredible power/energy. They build a big donkey wheel to bend time. So at first he tried to be civil about leaving. He was going to peaceably leave with his new invention and go back to whatever it is he thought waited for him back in the real world. But then Mother found out...she knocked her estranged son out with (shocker!) a rock, and then proceeded to kill all of the villagers he was with and bury the hole they had dug. Now, throughout the entire show I've been wondering how it is that The Others were so super-humanly strong. They beat up people much bigger than themselves. They tread softly in the jungle. They were super-soldiers. Now Mother, this middle-age woman in bare feet and a burlap sack for a dress on knocked her son out, re-buried a massive hole in the ground, and then killed men and women and burned down their homes. Does that strike anyone else as fantastical in and of itself?

When Man in Black comes to, he goes on a rampage and murders his own mother. The last thing Mother says before she croaks is "I love you...thank you." Maybe being the island's protector isn't all that it is cracked up to be? Maybe the stress she was under from having murdered and lied and deceived for so long was to much to bear? Nothing excuses the actions we saw Mother take to "protect the island", because many of them were heinous, but it's not always easy being a leader (See: Jack). Maybe the only way island-protectors can leave their post is if they are killed...and she pushed the son she loved because she needed someone to kill her and knew that Jacob never would. Just throwing out some possible ideas. We might never even find out, but it's fun to speculate, no?

The end of the episode is Jacob burying his brother and mother in the caves...Adam and Eve...and we see that Jacob is also a hurting son with childhood issues. He is a perceptive guy who knew that the fake Mother he chose to stay with when his brother left still loved the prodigal son more. That hurt him, as well it should have. But he remained faithful. He was the Man of Faith vs. the Man in Black's Man of Science.

I had finals this past week so I am all typed-out for now...but there are 3.5 hours left of the show and I promise a big finish to the John Locke's Pants journey you've been on with me for 3 years. Tonight's new episode is entitled "What They Died For" and is a one-hour venture. Then we have the Series Finale this upcoming Sunday, May 23rd at 8pm. That will be 2.5 hours.

Random Thoughts/Theories:

-The water in The Temple that supposedly has healing powers is, I believe, some of the water from "the source". Remember the under-water cave that Jack, Sayid, Richard, and pregnant Eloise Hawking swam under to get the nuke from? I bet that was the tunnel we saw Man in Black get pushed down into by Jacob this past week. To explain why the water can turn dark and not work (as in the case of Sayid)...I think when Flocke was pushed by Jacob into "the source", it sullied the island's full effectiveness and gave Flocke a certain degree of power/control. The water was sometimes darker because the island was now darker with the presence of Smokey the Monster. It was a battle for the island between good and evil, and even the healing waters of the Temple were caught up in the cosmic struggle.

-If you want a fuller re-cap, with some crazy/bizarre cultural references that I didn't have the time to more adequately research myself, then please read Doc Jensen's re-cap here.

Namaste,

Flocke's Pants

Save The Last Recruit For Me

2010-05-03T12:56:00.000-07:00

LOSTaways-

This week's song (slightly modified) is from that classic 90's one-hit wonder Joan Osbourne.

If Flocke had a name, what would it be
And would you call it to his face
If you were faced with him in all his glory
What would you ask if you had just one question

And yeah yeah Flocke is great yeah yeah Flocke is good
yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah

What if Flocke was one of us
Just a slob like one of us
Just a stranger on the bus
Trying to make his way home

If Flocke had a face what would it look like
And would you want to see
If seeing meant that you would have to believe
In things like heaven and in Jacob and the saints and all the Others
What if Flocke was one of us
Just a slob like one of us
Just a stranger on the bus
Trying to make his way home
Just trying to make his way home
Like a holy rolling stone
Back up to Black Rock all alone
Just trying to make his way home
Nobody calling on the phone
Except for the pope maybe in rome

We had to suffer through a week-off from LOST, which I guess when compared to the prospect of permanently suffering from weeks off from LOST is not all that bad. Two Tuesdays ago we were treated to the The Last Recruit, a rollicking good time of double-backs, double-crosses, and intense close-ups of characters staring/glaring at each other. Let's call this last episode what it was: a set-up hour for bigger things to come. Some of you might be checking your watches/calenders and are aware of the fact that we only have three more one-hour weeks before the two-hour season finale on Sunday May 23rd and are wondering, "How are they going to wrap this thing up with so little time left?"

Let not your worried heart be troubled. They've taken us this far, it's been one heck of a ride, and they have 5 more hours of television to go before you can critique or praise the Season Six story-line till the DHARMA cows come home from The Flame station.

Off-island, Alternate-reality:

The cliff-hanger from three Tuesdays ago was Desmond steam-rolling a wheel-chaired Locke back with his high-performance motor vehicle in the parking lot of the high school John, Ben, and Arzt all teach at. I pontificated then that perhaps Desmond was simply trying to "awaken" in Locke a memory of their real lives (the ones we've watched unfold the previous 5 seasons). In the immortal words of John Locke to Mr. Ekko in the season two finale: "I was wrong..."

It's clear to me now that Desmond was trying to kill the man that the Smoke Monster would one day use to enact his plan for an island escape. Desmond knows more than we know he knows.

On the way to the hospital, Ben, of all people, is the man in the back of the ambulance who is watching the man he once murdered (in another life, brotha') slip into unconsciousness on the gurney before him. Locke utters the name of his beloved "Helen Norwood" as his next-of-kin and it suddenly dawned on me that we were about to see a Locke-Jack reunion in the operating room. Of course we knew which hospital Locke would be taken to before we saw it. Sure enough, by the end of the episode, there was Jack standing above the prostrated body of John Locke. The big question on my mind: Will Jack promise John that he will "dance at your wedding"?

When Locke was being wheeled into the emergency room, Sun's stretcher "just happened" to be cruising next to his and when she looked over and saw the bald wonder she began to excitedly repeat, "It's him...It's him." We know that the Sun could not be saying this because of anything that has happened since the new Oceanic 815 flight landed at LAX in the season six opener. It HAD to be her subconsciousness awakening and remembering the Locke (or perhaps, Flocke) of the island life she once lived (or will live). Now that she is aware of their past/future lives, perhaps she will get Jin-son on-board for whatever scheme Faraday is hatching to course-correct their Jughead-induced alternate reality? You know something like that is coming...

We also saw Kate and Sawyer play their flirty games in the police station, but there was nothing too interesting or earth-shattering that happened there. The biggest news to come from that scene was that they knew Sayid was the man responsible for the shooting deaths at Keamy's restaurant. The dynamic duo race off to Sayid brother's house and use the old "tripped up by the unsuspecting garden hose" routine to capture the fleeing Iraqi. I foresee some lively, sarcastic banter between those three goons in a cop car in our near future.

Desmond "bumps into" Claire at the office building her adoption agency is located in, and offers to bring her to a lawyer who can really help her with all the in's, all the out's, of her complicated situation. The lawyer turns out to be recently-imploded Ilana Verdansky, and as luck/fate would have it, Ms. Verdansky is looking for Claire because she is also the lawyer handling Christian Shepard's last will and testament and Claire's gonna get a piece of the family pie. Which is why Jack and son David are in the building as well. We were treated to an awkward family reunion, one interrupted by an urgent call for Dr. Jack to come operate on a further-wounded John Locke.

All-in-all, we didn't learn a whole lot from the off-island story-line this last episode. It was supplementary material, hopefully meant for a bigger purpose and pay-off.

On-island:

Flocke and Jack decide to have one of their infamous pow-wow's in the jungle, and I thought it interesting how Flocke sat down but Jack declined the offer and instead struck an investigative pose...as if he were crouching down to get a closer look at a plant or insect he'd never seen before but wanted to learn more about. He was studying Flocke. He even said something to the effect of, "The thing that bothers me is I have no idea what the hell you are."

Well, at one point, Jack, he played the part of your deceased father on the island. He led you to water in the caves in season one. He used Christian Shepard's form to influence you, Claire, and John Locke in his grand scheme to bolt from the island and, if Jacob is telling the truth, unleash hell-on-earth.

Flocke still maintains that John Locke was a "sucker" and that Jack is too if he thinks there is any real purpose for him ever being brought to the island. Flocke blames Jacob and encourages Jack (among others) to do the same. He paints himself as the one who has been trying to help the castaways the whole time. He tells Jack that it has to be "all of us" (the candidates and Flocke) that leave together. This is the same thing that Eloise Hawking told Jack and the Oceanic Six back in the real world when she was convincing them to get of Ajira Flight 316. The whole "live together, die alone" mantra has been a consistent theme of this show from the word "go". But is it true now? Was it ever true? Is Flocke luring all of them together so that he can more easily dispose of them (and everyone else)?

Flocke and Jack are heading back to the camp after their pow-wow when Claire emerges from the dense jungle hoping to re-unite with her bro-bro. Flocke leaves them to it, and Claire thanks Jack for being a part of Team Flocke with her now...Jack says he hasn't made up his mind, but Claire sinisterly says "The moment you let him talk to you, you were one of his." What's with the "don't even let him talk to you" recurring warnings? Dogan tells Sayid to not let Flocke talk to him before he stabs him. Smoke Monster tells Richard back in the 1860's to stab Jacob before he talks. Now Claire's saying that the moment Flocke talked, Jack was caught in his venus fly trap. She seemed happy to have someone else caught in the same trap she is already in. Claire doesn't seem totally comfortable with what's happened to her or in her relationship with Flocke.

Back at camp, Sawyer's hatching a scheme to shanghai Flocke's boat and pick Jack and the gang up at another locale on the coast. Then, if that all goes according to plan, they will sail to Hydra Island where they will have to shanghai Widmore's submarine (while he's distracted fighting Flocke). Easy, right?

Well actually it all did go according to plan...except for the fact that first Claire shows up and threatens to shoot people because they ditched her, and then Jack does a...well...jack-knife off the skiff and swims back to be with his one true Flocke. With all due respect to Claire, of course they tried to ditch her. She's insane. She walked away from her baby in the middle of the jungle one night in season four because the dead dad she hated in real life (Christian Shepard) appeared to her and told her "Let's roll to my cabin crib." Then she lived on the island in a disgusting yurt and when Kate came to rescue her, she tried to stab her a few episodes ago.

I wouldn't want her serving me queso dip at Chilis, let alone on a long submarine ride in a confined vessel underwater.

But the big shock came when Jack plugged his nose and jumped-ship on the way to Hydra. Sawyer told him to get off his boat because James is tired and wants to go home and doesn't have the patience for "destiny" or "purpose" any longer. Not that he ever really did, but as soon as Juliet took some DHARMA scaffolding in her thorax/abdomen, he was checked out. Jack, on the other hand, has increasingly become a Man of Faith and was ready to become "the last recruit." Now, if he really intends on joining up with Flocke, or if he is just doing this as some sort of grand diversionary tactic, that remains to be seen. But I like New Jack. I like that he has decided to finish what his "friend", the real John Locke, began back in season one. What drove John is what drives Jack: redemption.

Locke was broken when he came to the island, and even though the two never saw eye to eye on much of anything the past five seasons, I think Jack finally now sees that John Locke was not some nut, not some "sucker"...just a man who wanted to be made whole again.

Widmore sends Zoe to bring a message to Flocke: we can blow you up at a moment's notice. That gives me pause because wouldn't Widmore know that Flocke cannot be destroyed with conventional weapons (like knives and bullets)? If that is the case, if Widmore does in fact know that Flocke cannot be killed with the missiles he's sending, then is Widmore making a veiled threat to Flocke that he will kill all of these people with Flocke (which would imply that Flocke needs those people)? I'm a little confused here, so if you have thoughts/insights, feel free to reveal them in the Comments section below.

Flocke also sends Sayid to kill Desmond who is chilling in the well he was pushed in to. Desmond appeals to what humanity is left in Sayid and challenges him on what the Iraqi will say to his lady-love when she asks, "What did it take for you to bring me back to life?" Dropping the "I had to murder an innocent man in a well" bomb on your woman likely doesn't go over as well as you might think. Desmond, obviously, is still alive. We'll see him again very soon I imagine.

Things wrap up with Sawyer's gang reaching Hydra Island and Zoe and Widmore's gang emerging from the woods and telling them that "the deal is off" and for Widmore (who is one radio's call away) to open fire on Sawyer, Kate, Claire, Frank, Sun, and Jin. I was shocked by this, but shouldn't have been. Widmore is still a creep, even if he is there to destroy Flocke. I think what is emerging is the fact that even the "good" guys aren't as good as we think they are. I was completely under the impression that Widmore was, in fact, a changed man...but I shouldn't have been. He is a man who disposes of all the things/people he no longer needs. He is ruthless and heartless. Now, it seems, no one can be trusted...almost like the writers of LOST wanted us slightly confused as we head into the home stretch of the show's sixth and final season.

The last line of the episode is Flocke telling Jack, "You're with me now." We shall see.

Random Thoughts/Theories:

-The "drink the kool-aid" line that Sawyer delivers in regards to Claire's mental state is a reference to the Jonestown Massacre where a bunch of kooks drank cyanide-laced purple stuff to get closer to God. The name of the cult? The Peoples Temple.

-Ben called Locke a "believer" at the small funeral they had for him on the beach earlier this season. Flocke called Locke a "sucker." Who do you say that Locke is?

-Just like Sawyer jumped off the helicopter at the end of Season Four for the good of the group, Jack does the same this time around by jumping off the boat. That assumes that Jack jumping off and going back to "be with" Flocke will end up being a good thing, I suppose.

-For more thoughts/theories, read Doc Jensen's more in-depth column here.

There's really not much more to say about The Last Recruit. It was an interesting, somewhat exciting episode, but I think we're in for a real treat with this week's "The Candidate."

TTYL.

-John Locke's Pants

Great LOST interview

2010-04-23T09:41:00.000-07:00

Wired magazine has done an excellent write-up on LOST, as well as an in-depth interview with the two main writers/creators of the best show made by humans. Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse are definitely nerds, but smart, funny, and talented nerds.

Enjoy the article, and be on the lookout for a re-cap of "The Last Recruit" (hopefully) this weekend.

He Love Me (Me = Hugo)

2010-04-19T19:15:00.000-07:00

LOSTaways-

Hurley does a Snow White impression, Desmond does a Baby Jessica impression, and Locke does a...well...Locke impression. Hurley's memory is awoken with a kiss. Desmond falls down a well. Locke gets violently injured, unexpectedly.

Quite a lot going on for a Hurley-centered episode, no?

Right off the bat, I must point out that another HUGE mystery was revealed this past week: the whispers in the jungle are the aimless souls of those who have perished on (or around) the island and "can't move on." So don't say we never get any secrets divulged. That is a big one in my book.

Also requiring immediate attention: Libby's back and she's battier than ever (Hey ya, Hey ya). Back in Season Two, in the episode where Hurley's imaginary friend (Dave) tempted him to eat and jump off a cliff, we saw a Mad-Lib Libby shaking and convulsing in the corner of the same mental hospital Hurley was in. Albeit her re-appearance came in the alternate-reality, off-island story, but Libby's return was another nice treat in an action-packed episode.

I'd also be remiss if I didn't briefly highlight the reference to another amazing book in this episode. My favorite fiction writer is Fyodor Dostoyevsky (I'm reading Poor Folk right now), and I was THRILLED to see Hurley uncover Notes From The Underground among Ilana's effects after she got "all blowed up." (More on what that book means to this episode and LOST on a bigger scale later.) I can't say it enough...there is NO SHOW in human history that goes to these lengths to include classic works of literature as well as profound moral and theological themes.

On to the episode, Everybody Love Hugo...

Off-island:

Hurley is honored at a dinner at the museum that Miles' dad (Pierre Chang) and Charlotte work at. He is portrayed as a generous man who has enjoyed great success and even better luck. He is the anti-Hurley that we know in many ways. But this new Hurley is still self-loathing and lonely. Hurley knows his own faults, finds ways to stay positive and live with them, but always seems unwilling to do something to change his situation. Things happen to Hurley...rarely does he cause them.

His mother sets him up on a date at Spanish Johnny's (not to be confused with the Spanish-speaking people who work at Johnnies Beef in Arlington Heights, IL) and instead he gets a rendezvous with Libby who is on a nut-house fajita field trip. She recognizes Hurley from somewhere, but Hurley the Hut has no recollection of the blonde bombshell. Like the Disney classic Snow White, Hurley's gonna need a smooch to wake his memory from its slumber. That kiss he gets a little later on the beach when he and Libby finally get that date on a blanket (one not soaked in Libby's flesh-wound blood).

But how did he get to the point of being willing to step outside his comfort zone, pay off a mental institute's director, and take Libby on a date? Short answer: Desmond Hume. Dez is playing the role that Eloise Hawking played in his own past life...namely, someone intervening in the lives of others in the service of the island. We don't yet fully know what Desmond off-the-island and in alternate-reality land knows (and when he knew it), but it seems like after his electromagnetic shock in the shack two weeks ago that he's becoming more fully aware of the existence of two time-lines for himself and all the other key players. That is why he asked for the Oceanic 815 passenger manifest list: he wants to hunt each person down and do what he can to arouse in them a self-awareness of their pre-Jughead lives.

All the stuff with Libby in this episode, while cool, was fairly self-explanatory so I won't be spending much time on what she had to say. She remembers her other life (which also included time in a loony-bin), she remembers Hurley and their relationship on an island, she remembers a plane crash, and she remembers that Hurley loves to eat copious amounts of unhealthy foods. Hurley doesnt...until they smooch, that is.

But the biggest, most shocking off-island moment clearly was the head-on collision between Desmond's car and Locke's unsuspecting body. I love how the moments leading up to that hit-Locke-and-run included Benjamin Linus confronting Desmond for leering at children outside of a school in the parking lot. But he wasn't pulling a Stranger Danger, he was peeping Locke's movements so he could line up his horse power just right and knock the Bald Wonder into next week.

So why did he do it? Locke survived the hit (which isn't surprising after living to see another day after an 8-story fall), so was Desmond's goal to wake Locke up to the other reality (in the same way Charlie woke Dez up by driving their car off the road into the ocean)? It seems that there are better ways to do that than hitting a man in a wheelchair. No, I think the more likely scenario involves the fact that Desmond is aware of both realities now and knows what Locke will turn in to...Flocke The Smokey One. I think Old Hume was trying to "off" alternate-reality Locke. (More on this in the Thoughts/Theories section below)

And questions surrounding the Locke-Hume relationship is a nice segue into the...

On-Island Story:

Hurley and Ilana share a moment on the beach when she stumbles upon Hugo talking to the grave of his beloved and deceased Libby. He wonders aloud, "Why haven't you (Libby) come to see me?" As we later find out, the voices and whispers are the souls of people who can't move on. So does this mean Libby did move on? Or is the Smoke Monster messing with Hurley and all of the people who appear are really Smokey himself? Didn't Flocke tell us he was a trapped soul (that couldn't move on)? Are the voices then good or bad?

Michael appears to Hurley on the beach after Ilana informs him of the plan to blow up the plane with Black Rock dynamite, and tells Hugo that people are listening to him now and if he lets people die by blowing up that plane it will be on his conscience. But I think Michael, assuming he is a trapped soul, might have ulterior motives for not wanting the plane to be destroyed. Perhaps his (and the other lost souls') fate is tied to Flocke's ability to escape. Perhaps if Flocke can get off the island, Michael and the whispering voices will be free? It doesn't even have to be that Michael is working with Flocke, but maybe they want the same goal: to get Flocke off the island and be freed from their spiritual shackles.

Either way, Michael's soliloquy has its intended effect and Hurley goes back to the beach-camp and begins his sales pitch against blowing up the plane. Ilana isn't buying it, and neither is Richard...but only one of those two explodes into a thousand little pieces of flesh and bones. Ilana does her best Dr. Arzt impression and the beach crew is left stupefied. How is it that the woman sent to protect them...the woman hand-picked by Jacob...the woman who seems to be on the side of "right"...that she has now been "called home" by the island? As Ben eventually put it, if that's how the island treats one of its guardians, what hope do the rest of them (and us) have?

First of all, Jacob himself wasn't above being killed. As in the case of the story of the life of Jesus Christ, sacrifice doesn't always make sense, and can be distressing to a leader's followers when he is killed or persecuted, but death isn't always the end of the tale. Especially on this island.

And if Jacob is fair game to be sacrificed, why not Ilana? To take the comparison in another, nerdier, direction, Obi-wan Kenobi in the first Star Wars trilogy sacrificed himself in the very first movie, only to play an integral part from beyond the grave throughout the second two installments. "If you strike me down, I will become more powerful than you could ever imagine," is what Obi-wan told the man in black, Darth Vader.

Newly-inspired and emotionally re-charged Richard Alpert is undeterred by Ilana's implosion and recruits Ben and Miles to accompany him to the Black Rock for more firepower. Ilana was told by Jacob that Richard would know what to do, Richard was told by his wife (through Hurley, of all people) that he needed to stop Flocke from leaving the island, and so he wants to blow up the plane. Assuming that Richard's wife Isabella was a legit spirit and not Flocke, this then speaks to Michael's spirit appearing to Hurley and telling him to NOT blow up the plane to be an illegitimate piece of advice.

I believe so much of this will come down to figuring out which dead people who appear are good, and which are bad? If Isabella appearing was actually Flocke (who was nearby in the jungle while Hurley was translating Ghost-speak for Richard), then Michael's warning against blowing up the plane is the right one to listen to. But if Michael is a spirit trying to break free when Flocke leaves the island, then Isabella was right and was probably sent by Jacob.

Hurley "changes his mind" and rallies the troops (and garners Jack's full trust and support) to go with Richard, Ben, and Miles to the Black Rock. Only, Hugo's plan is to listen to Michael's warnings and blow up the slave ship. We don't need to get into the creative license the writers of LOST took with somehow getting Hurley The Ranch-on-a-lead Eater to beat everyone else in a foot-race to the Black Rock...the important thing is that he did get their first and did blow it up. It was a line-in-the-sand moment for everyone there. Hurley was drawing the line to say "The plan was wrong, I know what to do...kind of."

A disgusted Richard takes off again to Othersville with Ben and Miles and warns the rest of them to not get in their way. So once more we have another faction splitting off to further complicate the dynamics on the island. I love it! Richard knew Hurley was lying because Hugo couldn't tell Ricardus "what the island is" (see: bottle of win explanation Jacob gave Richard 150 years earlier).

After the three amigos march off to find more explosives, Sun asks Frank if they've made a mistake hitching their wagons to Hurley's rising star, to which Frank wisely responds "Probably." Meanwhile, Jack conveys to Hurley why he is following him now: the island (and life) has broken Jack's spirit and he's ready to be a follower. It doesn't come easy to him, but he's tried things his own way for so long (with "mixed" results), that he's ready to put his trust in other people for the first time in his life. Even if by doing this Jack ends up dead, I love the personal growth that Jack's character has gone through. He's become a Man of Faith, despite the inner desire to control everything. He's showing his friend Hurley that he cares about, and trusts, him. Jack hasn't raised the white flag...he's merely relinquishing his insistence upon always being in charge and always having to be in the front.

Hugo also has doubts about his own abilities and decision-making skills, and the scene between he and Jack, both sharing their fears and doubts, was a good one.

Over on the other side of the island, Flocke, Sawyer, and the rest are waiting for word from Sayid about his trip to the Hydra Island. Flocke is whittling something from a large stick, and when Sawyer asks him what he's making, he responds with the cryptic "When the time is right, it will tell me." Wow. That's a brain-buster of a philosophical statement. Flocke and Jacob each seem to have separate powers and abilities. They are the representatives of Good and Evil on the island...men on the front line in the spiritual battle between heaven and hell. But they each seem to also be lacking certain things (and certain pieces of information...about each other...about the island...etc.).

Flocke, like Locke, is unhappy with his own fate and actively seeks out ways to change his circumstances. The stick in this week's episode, to me, represented the fact that Flocke doesn't have all the answers, but is ready and willing to respond to his chance to leave the island when it presents himself. It's symbolic of how Flocke has operated...sitting back...watching...studying (like, for example, how long he let Richard sit in the hold of the ship)...and then making his decision and sticking with it. Sure, he's a smoke monster that has some power, but he is limited in his knowledge and understanding and ability on the island.

Sayid returns and calls Flocke aside to show him a tied-up Desmond (looking completely un-phased). He apologizes for Sayid imprisoning him, and the two of them go on a walk together to the infamous well (where the frozen donkey time machine wheel is housed). Along the way Flocke begins his typical sales-pitch to Desmond...he reminds Dez of how bad the island's been to him, likely hoping to recruit him in the same way he did Claire and Sayid. But the New Desmond, the one who has been through the electromagnetic torture in the wooden shack, is calm as a cucumber and ready with a response to Flocke's reminder of how bad the island's been to Hume: "I'm not special, brotha'...this island has it in for all of us."

And boom goes the Black Rock dynamite. That comment from Desmond irks Flocke. He realizes that Desmond is indeed special and completely unafraid of him. Flocke needs people to either be his lackeys, or to greatly fear him. But Desmond, for whatever reason, is unmoved by Flocke. He sticks it to Flocke even more when he says, "Ya, I know who you are...You're John Locke." Now of course this could mean many different things, but what I took away from it was that Desmond somehow now knows that there is nothing to fear and that Flocke is ultimately a largely powerless being, subject to the same hand of destiny we all are. It could also be a jab at Flocke for having had to kill so many people (primarily, John Locke) to accomplish the things he has thus far. Or it could be Desmond appealing to the humanity of the Smoke Monster who has said himself that he was once a normal man himself.

Whatever the deeper meaning of Desmond's comments may be, the result is the same: he gets shoved down the well. This happens in poetic contrast to what happens a few moments later back in the alternate-reality world of 2004 where Desmond plunks Other Locke with his sweet ride.

Oh, I almost forgot...as Dez and Flocke are walking to the well, the same boy from earlier this season (the one with blood on his hands) appears again in the jungle. Both men can see the boy, and Flocke appears both angry and scared by the child's cameo. The boy did appear to be a little older this time, but that could be a "Walt" situation where the actor playing him hit his growth spurt in the last six months...or it could be a purposeful reminder that island time is different than all other times...or I could have thought about it too much and it absolutely is the same kid.

Regardless, my theory in the past was that the boy was either a younger Jacob (perhaps from when he and the Man in Black were first placed on the island) or is Claire's baaaaaaby, Aaron. I'm gonna amend that theory and include Charlie, Dez and Penny's son, as a possible candidate for who the boy is.

So Flocke flips out, shoves Dez down the well, and returns to his camp to tell everyone that Desmond won't be bothering them anymore. But was Desmond really bothering anyone? No, but he was Widmore's "secret weapon", and even though Flocke doesn't fully understand why Desmond is special, he knows that he is. And that's enough to land you in a well.

Random Thoughts/Theories:

-Hurley takes the pouch of Jacob's ashes out of Ilana's backpack...is Hurley the new protector of the island? Did Ilana blow up so that Hurley could step up and take a leadership role? The Island moves in mysterious ways...

-Does Michael want Hurley to team up with Flocke because all those trapped island whispering spirits will also be released if Flocke is?

-Flocke threw Desmond down a well. Desmond, after waking up in the post-Hatch explosion world of early Season Three was walking around with nothing but Hurley's technicolor tie-dye t-shirt on, like Joseph of the Bible. Desmond also then had weird visions/dreams. Joseph of the Bible had strange visions/dreams, and because of that, and because he was "special", his brothers threw him down into a well. You do the math.

-Was John Locke the Black Smoke all along?

-He (Doc Jensen at EW's LOST blog) churns great commentary on each episode out every week, but sometimes he loses even me in his ramblings...all the same, here is his take on Everybody Loves Hugo.

-While I'm not too broken up about Ilana biting the big one, she has been an intriguing character to me. Even more so after Hurley went through her nap-sack and found a copy of a Dostoyevsky novel. In her back-story we saw Jacob visiting her in a Russian hospital and the two of them speaking Russian. Might she have some connection to Patchy The Un-Killable Russian from Season 3?

-Notes From The Underground is a short novel/story that Dostoyevsky wrote in part as a critique on the intellectual and moral thinking of his day. The main character is a self-obsessed man who has convinced himself that everything wrong in the world and in his life is someone else's fault...but at the same time is entirely self-loathing and sees no good or value to his own life. Dostoyevsky was a master at showing man's inner-conflicts surrounding questions of God, mankind's purpose, and the problem of evil. In Notes, themes relating to free will, determinism, and existentialism get fleshed out in powerful ways. Just like LOST. Now why Ilana had this book in her bag, and what it means about her character, I can't say...but I think the themes that Notes touches upon are what the writers of LOST want us to think about (and have used consistently throughout the 5-plus seasons of the show).

-Who caught the Willy Wonka song being sung over the "Next Week on LOST" promo that ran at the end of this week's episode? It's that creepy song that Willy sings on the boat in that tunnel in a scene that scarred me for life. In keeping with the tradition of including a LOST-related song (almost) every week now, here's "The Rowing Song":

There's no earthly way of knowing
Which direction we are going
There's no knowing where we're rowing
Or which way the river's flowing
Is it raining? Is it snowing?
Is a hurricane a-blowing?
Not a speck of light is showing
So the danger must be growing
Are the fires of Hell a-glowing?
Is the grisly reaper mowing?
Yes! The danger must be growing
For the rowers keep on rowing
And they're certainly not showing
Any signs that they are slowing!!!

I just got goosebumps copy-and-pasting this song from Wikipedia.

Alright, that's what you get, cause this is all I got.

Namaste,

JL's Pants

Now "What?", but "Hume?"

2010-04-09T17:47:00.000-07:00

LOSTaways-

My little sister Mackenzie Marilyn Moeller (we just say "Kenzie") came up with the title of this week's blog before she even knew it would be a Desmond-centric episode. Guess how proud I was of her for that?

Yes, Penny's Beau made his triumphant return this last Tuesday night in one of the most brain-busting episodes we've seen in a while. "Happily Ever After" was a trippy trip through alternate-reality memory lane, where we learned that Dez DID IN FACT WORK FOR WIDMORE (as someone predicted at the beginning of this season), Charlie is still alive (and still a British brat), and Faraday's still sporting awkward clothes to match his awkward demeanor.

This week's LOST-related song?

Beyond the Sea, by Mr. Bobby Darin:

Somewhere beyond the sea
Somewhere waiting for me
My lover stands on golden sands
And watches the ships that go sailin

Somewhere beyond the sea
She's there watching for me
If I could fly like birds on high
Then straight to her arms
I'd go sailin'

It's far beyond the stars
It's near beyond the moon
I know beyond a doubt
My heart will lead me there soon

We'll meet beyond the shore
We'll kiss just as before
Happy we'll be beyond the sea
And never again I'll go sailin'

I know beyond a doubt
My heart will lead me there soon
We'll meet (I know we'll meet) beyond the shore
We'll kiss just as before
Happy we'll be beyond the sea
And never again I'll go sailin'

No more sailin'
So long sailin'
Bye bye sailin'...

Desmond loves Penelope. Penelope is the name of Odysseus' wife in Homer's The Iliad. That is a story, for those who don't know (and you should be ashamed of yourself if you are one of them), about a dude who is a long way from home and misses his wife and has to travel the seas to get back to her. That's why I picked this song.

Throughout the 4 seasons that we've gotten to know him, Desmond is the epitome of a tragic character. He's always been told (and felt himself) that he was special, but he doesn't know what that means or what to do about it. He loves a woman, but his inferiority complex won't let himself be loved. He good-natured trust of Kelvin when he rescued him after his ship-wreck leads to his being played for a sucker the whole time.

He just wants to be left alone to pursue his own desires, but cannot escape the determinist-like forces that his name-sake believed in.

But things seem to be slightly different this time around, in this alternate-reality we were given access to this week. Desmond, like all of the other characters in this alternate-universe, still certainly possesses many of his core characteristics, but the circumstances are changed and new choices are able to be made. When Dez saw "Not Penny's Boat" on Charlie's hand in the season three finale it was a foreboding warning of the danger that was on its way in the form of Charles Widmore's mercenary boat-men.

This time, "Not Penny's Boat", written on Charlie's hand on the sea floor in Los Angeles harbor, was an awakening....an answer...or at least a sign-post that will inevitably lead to answers and redemption. There was hope attached to this vision/flash that Desmond had. And there were people with answers for him...namely, Faraday.

Let's get into the episode itself, and to mix things up a bit, I'm gonna tackle the on-island hijinx first.

On-Island:

Dez wakes up in the Hydra Island's infirmary with a three-day roofie-induced hangover. Oh, and he also was shot a few days before all of this. Remember that Ben, in a fit of Linus Lunacy, went looking for Penny last season to settle the score with Widmore and ended up shooting Desmond in the wing (before getting pummeled by Hume and dumped into the water). So while he was in the hospital back in the real world in 2007, Widmore kidnapped him and transported him via submarine to the island.

A word about Widmore's return to the island...I think we will find out that Jacob visited Widmore off the island at some point in the past and told him how he could find the island. Because Ben was using the Looking Glass station to jam the frequency for the island, Widmore needed another way to find the island (and eventually did...see: Season Four). Perhaps Jacob didn't even like Charles back when he was on the island as a younger man, but I bet he sought him out now as a measure of last resort against Flocke.

When Desmond comes-to, and finds out where he is, he's less-than-cordial to Widmore for bringing him on this forced vacay. But Charles seems to know what exactly is at stake, and whatever it is, it is more important to him than anything. He acknowledges that he's had to sacrifice his daughter's love, knowing his grandson, and basically his entire life in service to the island. Ben has been his nemesis for a while, but now that Charles has figured out what Flocke is up to, he's dropped that obsession for a bigger cause. I foresee a great partnership between the two rivals (Widmore and Ben) in one of the next few episodes. They look at each other and one of them says, "Neither of us are happy to be here together...but let's let sleeping dogs lie, and kick some Black Smoke tail....deal?" And then they hug. Or something like that.

Jin asks Widmore what his plan is and why he brought Dez back, and tells him (and us) that all of our questions will be answered if we follow him outside to the Love Magnetic Shack he's constructed. Meanwhile, some dude who is testing out the giant electromagnetic field gets friend just to show the rest of us how dangerous the materials they are working with are. (And to make it even more dramatic when our favorite Scotsmen is un-phased by it all.) Widmore tells Desmond that he will be fine, but that they want to make sure that he will be fine, so they need to try something very dangerous on his person...oh, and then, if he survives, Widmore wants him to make a big sacrifice.

Tragic character? But "the rules" don't apply to Hume. He is zapped, has one of his flashes (more on that in the Off-Island recounting in a moment), survives, and wakes up in island-time only a few moments later. When he awakes back in the "It's My Magnet In a Box" room, Widmore tells him that he is vital to their mission. As Charles begins to explain the mission, Desmond, who at this point assumed a monk-like calmness and serenity to his demeanor, explains that he totally understands why Widmore brought him there and is on board for anything.

Phwaaa??? What did the guy see that we didn't? What does he understand that we don't? Is it really as simple as him seeing Penny and that was all he needed to know to be willing to help? Or was there more? Will we find out that in his flash more was revealed to him? Maybe he also saw the future, like before?

Widmore, happy as a clam with Demond's new acceptance of his role, sends him back with some of his Others to their base...only to be apprehended by a creepy Sayid lurking in the shadows. He tells the woman to "run", showing that he's still sort of a softie deep down, and then tells Desmond that Widmore's people are dangerous and that they must get out of there. Now here is the real brain-buster: Desmond goes along with Sayid. He says "of course".

See, this is why I think Desmond was shown more in his flash...either he was shown that he was supposed to go with Sayid to join up with Flocke if he wanted to see Penny and his son again...or he was shown that he must go kill Flocke and is willing to pretend to up for escaping with Sayid so that he can be brought to a personal meeting with the Smoke Monster. It might have seemed like a small part of the episode, but I think Desmond saying "yes" to going with Sayid will turn out to be a huge piece of the puzzle (or at least a step in the right direction to solving the puzzle).

Enough of the island story...For more on it, read Doc Jensen's column here.

Off-Island:

We find Desmond staring at his reflection in a pane of glass with the Oceanic Airways symbol on it. Very "Alice In Wonderland" of him (and the writers). I hear Derrek Zoolander looking into a puddle and asking himself, "Who am I?"

Well, in the case of Desmond, we soon find out who he is and what he's up to in alternate world. He's an employee of Widmore Corp. and seems to be some world-traveling secret agent company man. He's the "fixer". He's the deal-closer. He's the most trusted Widmore worker. A big turn around from real life where the guy couldn't get a break with Charles Widmore. (Or a drink of his MacCutcheson Whiskey...which he finally got.)

Desmond's mission is to retrieve the rocker Charlie Pace and escort him to his son's piano-meets-rock-band concert. His driver for this L.A. excursion is none other than Minkowski. You may remember him from such bloody-nosed hallucinations as "the last one he had before he died in Sayid's arms in the radio room of Widmore's boat back in Season Four". I smell a Dez and Minkowski spin-off where they cruise around L.A. in a limo investigating hard-nut-to-crack cases that all the other by-the-book cops can't solve.

Dez picks up a disgruntled and priggish Charlie Pace at the police station and after a couple of stiff drinks, and a "Woe is me... I saw a vision of Claire and wish I had died in the plane's john" rant from the Drive Shaft superstar, Dez gets him into the car and they set off for the Widmore's charity event. Now I know they say you shouldn't be texting while you drive, but where are all the PSA's warning against having a drunk, batty, and bizarre rockstar riding co-pilot with you when he's in the mood to die? Charlie snags the wheel and the car plunges into the L.A. bay. Desmond has a vision there, and then another one at the hospital in the MRI machine, of all the things he experienced in his real life with Penny. All of the ramblings from Charlie about seeing "truth" suddenly make much more sense. Desmond is intrigued, and when this guy gets a thought in his mind...its pretty hard for him to shake it.

But before he can contemplate what it all means, he has to first do his duty and go tell Mrs. Widmore (Eloise) that her event will be ruined. She doesn't seem to mind, but does flip out when Hume asks to see the guest list after hearing the name "Penny Milton" is on it. Hawking tells Dez that he's "not ready yet." This is the same broad who told Dez he couldn't marry Penny back in Season Three because he had to go save the island. It seems that Eloise and Widmore either have information that no one else does, or are just petty, meddling parent-types who have nothing better to do than busy-body themselves throughout space and time.

On his confused way back to the limo, Faraday approaches Dez and begins to explain his theory: He blew up a nuke in another life and now this life is not the one they were supposed to be living. Faraday also says that he saw the love of his life (CS Lewis) at the museum the other day and when he woke up the next morning, he drew equations that only a handful of physicists on the planet could draw. Then he informed Hume that Penny was his half-sister and that he could introduce the two of them.

And where was Penny? Running stairs like a sweaty doctor I once knew who had tried to save his future ex-wife and ran to assuage his guilt. Desmond shakes her hand and passes out. When he comes-to they make a Starbucks date and Dez returns to the limo with a smile on his face, love in his heart, and a plan formulated in his mind. He asks Minkowski to get the flight's manifest of all the other people on Oceanic 815. Why? "I need to show them something", Desmond explains.

Show us your flashes, Dezzy.

I've got more to say, so let's head to the...

Random Thoughts/Theories:

-If you wanted a review of the Jin/Sun alternate-reality story...sorry. I just don't care enough to go through it all.

-The box they put Dez in felt a lot like Jacob's cabin (that actually housed Smokey The Monster as we've now come to learn). He was even sitting in a chair, trapped in the wooden shack, like Smokey was. It also made me think of Ben saying that on the island there was a box...and in that box was whatever you wanted. Not sure how it all ties in yet, but welcome your theories.

-Was Widmore sending Desmond back to the alternate-reality on purpose, or was he just testing to see if he could survive another Hatch explosion? Does anyone other than Desmond know about the other dimension that the Castaways are living in back in 2004?

-Did you catch the painting on the wall in Widmore's office? It was of the scales of justice with a black rock on one side and a white one of the other. This got me to thinking...the ship was the black rock, and the airplane was white. They crashed on opposite sides of the island. Just saying....

-Did you catch the slight irony in the MRI technician telling Desmond to "not push the button" after all that time in his life dedicated to button-pushing?

-Penny is Desmond's "constant", so did something big happen when he saw her and we just don't know about it? Did it fix something that was broken (i.e. Desmond's mind), like when Desmond called her in Season Four?

-Penelope was Odysseus' wife in Homer's Illiad. I've written about the allusions to the Illiad in previous blog-posts, but I was reminded of it when Desmond said to Faraday that "Penny is more of an idea than anything else." She is his idea of love...of home...of safety...of rest. None of which Desmond seems to have in this alternate-reality.

I'm gonna try to add more thoughts on this episode before next Tuesday. The upcoming one is a Hurley-centric tale called "Everybody Loves Hugo", a call-back to the "Everybody Hates Hugo" Season Two episode.

Enjoy it.

Namaste,

John Locke's Pants

Great Ab (Aeterno) Workout

2010-03-29T11:00:00.000-07:00

LOSTaways-

I have the distinct feeling that I will be saying this again a time or two more before the series finale, but Ab Aeterno was the best episode LOST has presented to us in some 5 years. For all the people who have LOST hope and/or faith in the show this season (most commonly the result of not "getting" the alternate-reality storyline), Ab Aeterno embodied everything that is great and wonderful and mystical and mysterious about the people (and island) we've all come to love.

Think of how long we've been waiting to learn who Richard Alpert is, why he doesn't age, how long he's been on the island, and what his relationship to Jacob, Flocke and the Black Rock actually is??? Think of how many times you've banged your head against the proverbial wall and longed to know the secrets of Alpert.

Well, we were just treated to massive revelations about him, the island's history, Jacob, Flocke, etc. etc. Enjoy it. Soak it in. Be grateful and happy. Appreciate a show that has substance and suspense and masterful story-telling abilities. A key to happiness in life (and to enjoying its guilty pleasures...like a tv show that is clearly better than any other in the past 20 years) is the ability to revel in small victories. This episode was a victory. It was a reward for faithfully sticking with a show that, like any epic, has its more tedious and more compelling moments.

Enough on that.

"Ab Aeterno"brings us back to 1867, to the Canary Island of Tenerife, where Ricardo Alpert has rushed home to be with his sick and dying wife Isabella. Disease and sickness and physical suffering are common themes in LOST, as they sadly are in real life. Rose had cancer. Locke was paralyzed. Jack's ex-wife was in a tragic car accident. Rousseau's French expedition team was "sick" and each member needed to be put down like a lame horse. The noteworthy thing from this episode that ties into a larger them of LOST is in regards to how the main characters react to the physical suffering in their own life, and also, in the lives of those they love.

My main man Bernard couldn't deal with Rose's cancer and so he took them on a wild healing goose chase to Australia....which landed them on the island. Locke couldn't handle his paralysis and headed to the Land Down Under in order to prove to himself and others (or as Jin would say, "Udders...Udders") that he was still a full man in the figurative sense....which landed him on the island. Richard Ricardo couldn't accept his sick wife's TB-induced fate and ended up killing a doctor and stealing medicine...which landed him on the island.

The women in the lives of all three of these men (Rose-Bernard, Locke-Helen, and Richard-Isabella) were much more ready to accept the physical and emotional limitations of the situation that drove their men to rash action. The balance between accepting one's fate and fighting a losing battle to hold out hope is an often tenuous one, especially on LOST.

Richard promises Isabella that he will save her (Jack-style) and rushes off to murder the likely government-employed local doctor. It was in fact an accident, the murder, so let's just say "man-slaughter." He had brought with him the last of his money and the cross necklace that belonged to his beloved wife, but it was not enough to buy the medicine. I loved the line where Richard hands over the necklace and says, "There...you have everything now." His devotion to his wife is commendable, but it is also his downfall ultimately. Devotion = obsession for Ricardo.

Richard is arrested for his crimes and we next find him in jail. He is reading the Bible (Luke 4...more on that later) when the prison's priest enters to hear his confession. Now was it just me, or did that priest seem a tad callous and insane in his interactions with Alpert? The man was confessing his sin, admitting he had literally killed the doctor, but that it was an accident, and the priest tells him that he's LOST and should just get used to the fact that he's got a one-way ticket to Hades. No Protestant or Catholic clergyman would have said such things to Richard. Then, before the execution, he sells him into indentured servitude in what appears to be some illegal racket the padre's running from the prison.

The man who bought Richard, Jonas Whitfield, was in the employment of one Magnus Hanso, the captain of the Black Rock. Hanso ought to be a familiar name to all of you, as it was his great grand-son, Alvar Hanso, who originally funded the DHARMA Initiative (as seen on the original orientation film back in season two). Whitfield loads Richard onto the slave ship and we next find Richard aboard the Black Rock in the middle of a raging, tsunami-like storm. The waves were so abnormally high that the ship crashed into the top of the Egyptian statue and ended up in the middle of the jungle (where we've seen it the past 5 seasons). As they were crashing, another slave next to Richard can be heard yelling "I see the devil...this island is guarded by the devil."

Dude, you have no idea.

This week's LOST-related tune? The End, by The Doors.

This is the end
Beautiful friend
This is the end
My only friend, the end

Of our elaborate plans, the end
Of everything that stands, the end
No safety or surprise, the end
I'll never look into your eyes...again

Can you picture what will be
So limitless and free
Desperately in need...of some...stranger's hand
In a...desperate land

Lost in a Roman...wilderness of pain
And all the children are insane
All the children are insane
Waiting for the summer rain, yeah

When Richard and the other slaves wake up and begin to give thanks to God for saving them from the storm, they are greeted by a disheveled and distraught Whitfield who informs them that Captain Hanso is dead, they're in the middle of a jungle, and that he's about to off each of them with a saber to the gut so they won't try and escape or kill him later. In an inverse way, this scenario echoed the story in the book of Acts where an earthquake destroys the prison that Saint Paul is being kept in, and the prison guard is so worried that he will be blamed for prisoners escaping that he wants to kill himself. Except instead of the prison guard wanting to kill himself, this prison guard actually killed prisoners. That is, until Black Smokey appeared from the foggy mists and did his thing.

The only one left, the only one spared from the shipwreck and the Smoke attack is Richard. This wasn't by mistake. Jacob brought him there for a purpose, and Smokey spared him for a purpose. Jacob was looking for a mediator between himself and the people he brought there as candidates. Smokey was looking for someone who would be easy to manipulate due to a traumatized emotional state (due to, oh I don't know, a recent tragic death of a loved one).

Speaking of said manipulation, Smokey allows Richard to fester in his own stink, sweat and sorrow in the hold of the ship for a number of days before he appears to him in the form of his deceased spouse. Isabella tells him that they are in hell and that El Diablo is on the prowl. She then promptly runs out of the ship towards the sound of that prowl and gets whipped away to the chagrin of her still-chained hubby. It was so obvious that Isabella in that scene was Smokey, although later, she does I believe actually appear to Hurley when he is communicating between her and Richard. It was a Sayid-like setup from the start with Smokey who was hoping to win the allegiance of Richard in his quest to kill Jacob and escape his island constraints.

Alpert initially takes the bait, but after a run-in with Jacob, switches teams. But Smokey doesn't seem all too upset. He lets Alpert know that the offer will always still be on the table for him to change teams and help him kill Jacob.

I'm going to talk more about the discussion/interaction between Jacob and Alpert, which was the most important part of the episode in terms of LOST mythology and lore, but enough can't be said for how moving and touching that scene with Richard, his dead wife, and Hurley the Interpreter. Richard has spent nearly 150 years of his unnatural life trying to make up for his past sins and beating himself up for what happened to his wife. He buried "her" (her necklace) when he first got to the island and made his mission making amends for his past sins. When Isabella visits him (with Hurley's help) she "absolves" Richard of his "sins." It's the thing he has been craving and needing for so long. If you remember, Richard said that the entire time he's been on the island he has avoided the Black Rock and now we learn he had also avoided his wife's "grave." In the last few weeks we've seen Richard deal with both skeletons in his very old (and probably musty) closet.

On to the meaty parts of Ab Aeterno...

When Richard finds Jacob (and his fists) on the beach, he is still convinced that Jacob is the devil. He is also certain that he is dead, and already in hell. So what does Jacob do to convince him otherwise? He baptizes him in the water. How many times does he dunk him under the cresting waves? Four. Four? Cuatro.

Wonder if there's any religious metaphors or allusions in that act...

Something that stood out was Jacob's reaction to Richard's recounting of his time on the island thus far. Namely, that Smokey was now recruiting castaways to try and kill him (Jacob). Jacob seemed incredulous at that news. So were these two not always going after each other? Jacob said that the Man in Black/Smokey believes that any person can be corrupted because it is in their nature, so he (Jacob) brings people there to prove that this is not the case. Actually, let me just show you his exact words:

Jacob: ''Think of this wine for what you keep calling hell. There are many other names for it, too. Malevolence. Evil. Darkness. And here it is, swirling around in the bottle, unable to get out because if it did, it would spread. The cork is this island. And it's the only thing keeping the darkness where it belongs. That man who sent you to kill me thinks that everyone is corruptible because it's in their very nature to sin. I bring people here to prove him wrong. And when they get here, their past doesn't matter.''

Man, there's a lot to unpack here. I'm not going to get to it all this week, but fret not, we've got 8 or 9 episodes left to delve further into these themes by the time all is said in done in LOST land.

Richard wants to know why Jacob doesn't get more personally involved and Jacob says he wants the people he brings to the island to help themselves and figure more out on their own. Richard doesn't like the sound of that and suggests that if Jacob doesn't get involved, "he will" (Flocke). So then and there Richard gets eternal life (or until someone not named Jack is willing to light the dynamite's fuse) and becomes the middle-man between Jacob and those he calls to the island's shores for the little moral play he's concocted. Or maybe not concocted himself, but has been tasked to oversee.

The whole concept of the "candidates" obviously points to the fact that Jacob has not always been, nor always will be, the island's protector. He also seems to have many answers, but not all of them. By no means do I think that he is God and Flocke is Lucifer, but just as the angels in heaven don't know all of God's secrets, Jacob is an ambassador for the good guys. I see his role (and Flocke's) as being one more of appointed front-line defenders of each "side's" interest. The island is the cork in the bottle keeping hell from spewing forth on earth. At that convergence of energies and interests there are two men who have been selected to battle. Think of a David and Goliath situation. Not necessarily so much in the "big guy losing to little under-dog" sense, but more in the "the Philistines and Israelites did battle by proxy through two men, one representing each side" sense.

Jacob has power, and has access to off-island things and people, but he is not all-powerful. He can't cleanse Richard of his sins. He can see people all around the world through his magical peeping-scope in the Lighthouse. He can touch people and give them eternal life. But he can be stabbed (unlike Flocke). It almost seems like Flocke is more powerful than Jacob, but I think the better way to put it is that Flocke has different powers than Jacob.

We saw Jacob come to visit Ilana in the hospital last season, and this week we got a fuller view of what that conversation entailed. He told her he had 6 people to protect, that she had been preparing her whole life for this moment, and that after reaching the island and taking Jack, Hurley, etc. to the Temple, she was to find Richard who would know what to do.

Preparing her whole life for this? Is Ilana someone special herself, or just another recruit (like Dogen) of Jacob's? How much does she know about what is going on? She seems to have a deep, unwavering faith in Jacob and their mission, something we've seen even Richard lose.

But despite Jacob's promise that Richard would know what to do, Alpert insists he doesn't and that is when he heads off to find his wife's necklace and attempt to switch sides. We've covered much of that already.

Random Thoughts/Theories:
-Richard was reading in Luke 4 when the priest came in for his rejected confession. Among the many important things that happen in that chapter is the devil's attempt to tempt Christ to sin while he was in the desert for 40 days. Satan tempted Jesus by promising him power, offering him food, and encouraging him to put God to the test. Sound familiar?

-The dagger that Smokey gives to Richard is eerily similar to the one Dogen gave to Sayid to kill Flocke/Smokey earlier this season. Smokey's story to Richard, about having to stab "the devil", is basically the same thing Dogen told Sayid. So what gives? Was Dogen really bad and working for Flocke? That wouldn't make much sense. More likely, Dogen knew that Sayid wouldn't be able to kill Flocke and had sent him out there on a suicide mission. But then again, if Dogen knew that Sayid wouldn't be able to kill him, he would also probably know that Flocke would be able to con Sayid into joining his side. Maybe Dogen was an "inside man" who Flocke had no use for any longer and had Sayid drown him for him (and now Sayid is the new Dogen). Hard to follow that line of reasoning? Ya, me too.

-I've been asked a number of times in the past month whether I think Jacob or Flocke is the "good" one. As I've reflected on that question a few things have come to mind. First, this show has undeniable religious undertones. Greek Mythology. Egyptian polytheism. And most notably: Judeo-Christian, Old/New Testament theology and morality tales. So in a weird way I have approached analyzing which of the two main protagonists is "good" the same way I've come to certain conclusions about my own faith and who God is. In contemplating the word "good", especially as it pertains to good vs. evil in the biblical, moral, spiritual sense, I know that my definition of good and God's are not always the same.

I've come to what I consider to be a reasonable, rational conclusion about the seeming disparity between God's goodness and what I consider to be good: if I knew all the answers, I'd be God (or the person I thought was God would be exposed as a sham/impostor). The writers of LOST are blatantly influenced by the Bible and have interwoven complex themes of faith, trust, hope and belief into their story. So in trying in to the head of a LOST writer, and assuming that they are utilizing the Jewish-Christian religious tradition and understanding of God as some sort of basis for their unfolding drama on the island, I would say that Jacob is good...but perhaps not in the same way the characters (or even we the viewers) might think.

Few examples to explain what I mean. When asked by Ben "What about me?" at the end of last season, Jacob responds: "What about you?" The island and all the events going on around him were never all about Ben. He had selfish motives (i.e. power-hungry) for wanting to be a leader and felt scorned when he wasn't treated like a real leader by Jacob. God wants us to love Him because He first loved us. God wants us to serve Him for His glory, not our own. By our very nature as created beings we are subject to "rules" that are outside of our control, and what God asks for us is not a blind faith, one devoid of thought or rationality, but a child-like one that has at its center a love for Him as a child loves his or her parent even after they've been punished for not playing nice with their brother or sister. Jacob wanted Ben to be a servant-leader.

Jacob wanted Ben to stop thinking of how to grab more and more power and control, but to appreciate the privilege of being on a beautiful, magical island. Ben had been shown great and wondrous things, yet his heart was still hard and selfish. THAT was his problem and Jacob wasn't going to reward him for being a self-centered, manipulating putz his whole life. That didn't make Jacob evil or wrong, and in fact, I would say that made him good (if we're assuming that it is a good thing to be a nice person who doesn't let their daughter get capped in the cranium to keep their power).

Jacob in this episode dunks Richard back into the water those four times to wake up him and give him a kick in the pants. He doesn't reveal himself to people like Jack, but shows him enough so that Jack will be drawn back to him. Flocke meanwhile always treats everyone he's trying to get to join his side very nice and slyly (like a certain serpent in a certain garden). Flocke promises "turkish delight" while Jacob seeks out those who will follow him, even if they don't know every detail of the Who? What? Where? Why?

All of this is to say that I think Jacob is the good one. Not that he is God, but that he is representing the goodness of God against the evil, manipulating, lying wickedness of Satan (a.k.a. The Deceiver).

-Flocke poured out the glass of Whiskey that Sawyer offered him in Othersville earlier this season, and the other night smashed the flask of wine Jacob had given him. Jacob was seen eating a fish last year, which he offered to Smokey/Flocke, and Flocke turned a piece of fish down as well. Kind of like the cursed pirates in Pirates of the Caribbean, maybe Flocke is also cursed and wants to get off the island to eat a hamburger?

-Richard is told by his dead wife Isabella that he must stop Flocke from leaving the island or, as Hurley put it, "We all go to hell." So is Richard the new leader? Is he the one tasked with stopping (or killing) Flocke? Or was his wife speaking in more general terms...as in, "You guys all need to do this or the earth's in trouble"? I ask that because Jacob said to Hurley earlier this season that Jack was brought back for a purpose. Maybe the doctor who is obsessed with saving lives will be tasked to end one (Flocke's).

-"Ab Aeterno" means "from eternity" which fits perfectly in with the eternal life granted to Richard, but also I think points to just how long this island and cosmic battle has been going on.

-In the Vulgate (Catholic) Bible, Psalm 8:23 reads: "Ab aeterno ordita sum et ex antiquis antequam terra fieret." or, in English, "I have been established from everlasting, From the beginning, before there was ever an earth."

-Flocke said that Jacob "stole my humanity." So it is really Jacob's fault Flocke is there, or like Cain and Abel in Genesis, is Flocke simply jealous and mis-directing his anger at someone who really doesn't have control over him?

-When Richard is talking to Jacob on the beach, he asks him what is inside his statue home. Jacob responds with: "No one can come in unless they're invited." John 6:44 reads: "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day."

-Hurley has really come into his own as of late. Jacob has used him in special ways. He was seeing people like Charlie and Mr. Ekko while in the mental institution, and now on the island he's being used by people like Isabella and dead-Jacob to coordinate important activities. I still won't forgive him for that lame episode where he drove around in the VW bus (or the cannonball scene).

Okay, that's all for now. Leave your thoughts and comments below.

Swing away,

John Locke's Pants

Total Recon

2010-03-24T11:38:00.001-07:00

LOSTaways-

This is the first time I've done two Pants posts in one week, but I wanted to get us relatively caught up by digging into the Sawyer-centric episode "Recon" that aired last Tuesday night. But because I'm in somewhat of a hurry and very busy with class and other writing projects there'll be no song with lyrics that illuminate contextual themes in LOST this week (and this will be a tad shorter than usual).

So jumping right in to the episode, we take a gander at the off-island, alternate-reality hi-jinx of one Detective James Ford of the Los Angeles Police Department. Things open in typical Sawyer fashion with Sawyer's shirt being off in a hotel room with a sultry babe and an open suitcase of fash (fake cash). But this time we're treated to a REAL surprise...Sawyer's the good guy, still conning, but now for the greater good of the people of the state of California. I did think it weird that the chick he was with, Ava, pulled a gun on him so quickly, but apparently her husband was wanted for other various, nefarious activities so she probably walked around packin' heat anyway.

All it took was a name-drop from the past..."LaFleur"...and our boy Miles (Sawyer's cop-buddy partner) comes swooping in with a SWAT team. And while Sawyer was telling the truth to this woman Ava, and does seem to be a fairly decent cop, he is still a liar in many respects. He failed to mention to Miles that he wasn't really in Palm Springs in vacation the previous week, but in fact had traveled to Sydney to find the man (Anthony Cooper) who ruined his life. He seems to have been using his resources as a cop to track down the real Sawyer, which seems to me to be something the police force would frown upon. Not that the things the government oversees ever fall prey to the seductive allure of abuse of power or anything....

Moving on, Miles sets up his partner with everyone's favorite British red-head: C.S. Lewis. Charlotte was last seen croaking on the island. Actually, she was technically last seen as a grade schooler on the island back in the 1970's when Faraday creepily wept over her by the DHARMA swing-set.

Charlotte tells Sawyer that she is an archeologist, which matches up with her original character's profession, but this Charlotte seems different to me. First off, did anyone else get the feeling that Miles had purposely set Charlotte up with Sawyer because Miles and her are still working for Widmore (or someone similar)?

Think about it: Charlotte seemed to know exactly what she was looking for in that IKEA drawer of Sawyer's. Like she had been sent on a mission. Sayid-style. Not to kill per se, but to gather intel and report back to someone. If Charlotte is still an archeologist in this alternate-reality, then she probably still went to the island for a time, like we learned last week in Ben's episode that he and his father had. My money is on the fact that Charlotte and Miles are in cohoots with bigger, more powerful forces and have been using Sawyer to get information.

When Sawyer catches Charlotte rummaging through "the whites" in his IKEA drawer he kicks her to the curb in a huff. She does her best job to act like she wasn't really looking at anything, but the look on her face makes it clear that she knew she was caught and wanted to do what she could to keep Sawyer from digging deeper into why she was really looking at his top-secret folder. Later, as only a hillbilly could, he feels guilty after watching Little House on the Prairie and brings a sunflower and six-pack of cheap beer in hopes to win Charlotte's heart back. No dice, bro.

Sawyer's inability to let go of the past, and the anger he has accrued over the decades as a result, have made him nearly unlovable. Not because he doesn't have anything to offer a woman or friend, but because he hates himself so much that he doesn't think he's worthy of love.

Things off-island/alternate-reality end with Kate crashing into the car that Sawyer and Miles are driving around in. Sawyer hunts her down and is pleased to see the same babe he bumped into on the Oceanic Flight a few days earlier. I appreciated the symbolism of Kate, fugitive on the run as usual, forcing/crashing herself back into Sawyer's life in a very literal way. Those two can't seem to (or don't want to) escape each other's life.

All-in-all, I thought the Sawyer off-island stuff was fairly interesting. I did not see him being a cop coming. Well played, writers of LOST.

-----

On the island, things are heating up and we're well on our way to a climatic confrontation between Flocke and Jacob (with a little Ben vs. Widmore tossed in for good measure). Sawyer has an important role to play in all of this, and in this episode he is sent on a recon mission to discover what the people on the Hydra Station island are up to.

Before he is given that mission we see him and Jin talking strategy over in Claire's shanty town abode. Jin says he will not leave without Sun, and Sawyer, exposing the soft-spot he has for damsels in distress, promises he will do whatever it takes to help those two crazy Koreans link back up. I foresee that requiring Sawyer to sacrifice something big (like himself) to see that those two end up together.

Locke and his band of former Others get back from the Temple and a few interesting things take place. First, Claire tries to strangle Kate, seemingly out of nowhere. We know she threatened to kill Kate if she found out that the story about taking Aaron off the island was true...which it was...and she did. That freaks Kate out, understandably, but more interesting to me personally was the way in which Flocke handled Claire after she flipped out.

It was shocking to see Flocke slap Claire around and berate her because it had seemed like the two of them were close. Claire kept calling him "my friend" and always had a smile on her face earlier this season when talking about him. Yet he treats her like crap. He lies to her, manipulates her, and now even physically harms her, but she seems to still love him. This made me think of the hold that "the ring" had on people in the Lord of the Rings. They loved the very thing that was making them more and more evil, and were largely blinded by the negative affects their relationship to this evil thing was causing. Insert Smoke Monster for Ring in this analogy. He lures people in with promises of happiness he can't provide access to, and to keep his power he has to convince those he influences that there are other people trying to keep them from that happiness. Sounds like he should run for president.

The pit-in-your-stomach, what-is-happening-next feeling came in this episode from Sawyer's time on the Hydra Island. Promising Flocke that he will scout things out on the smaller, adjacent island in return for safe passage "off this rock", Sawyer does a little recon...and a lot of conning. When he gets over to Hydra he comes across a purge-like pile of dead bodies. A woman can be seen darting through the trees and after giving chase, James gets her song and dance about picking up firewood one day and the rest of the Ajira Flight 316 dropping like flies. Being the con-man that he is, Sawyer sniffs out her bogus tale and she calls out her legit band of Widmore Warriors who have been lurking in the shadows.

But before I move on...what gives with all the dead bodies from the Ajira flight? Did Smokey kill them? We know he can travel across the islands because he came over there to claim the shape of Locke's body last season; so was it him? Did Widmore get rid of them? I'm suspecting that Flocke murdered them, but Widmore did dig up a bunch of bodies and stage a fake Oceanic 815 crash on the bottom of the ocean. We're still not totally sure what his angle in all of this is.

We do know Sawyer's angle, and that is the one which is always pointing back to Sawyer. He cons Widmore into thinking that he's going to bring Flocke on a silver platter to the Hydra Island, and he convinces Flocke that he has his best interest in mind when he tells him Widmore's schemes. Those schemes include the building of another sonic fence to keep Flocke out...or more likely, to keep Flocke locked up after luring him into a trap.

I'd love to know how Widmore found the island, but he did, and for now, that's the important point. In the sub he is packing some serious heat, which necessitated a secret room on the submarine (with presumably powerful/nuclear weapons in it). Another Jughead-like blast in our future? Or maybe he's got someone locked up in there who the Smoke Monster cares about and he's waiting to use it as a trump card?

Widmore makes his deal with Sawyer, but seems to not fully trust him (and with good reason). It'll be interesting to see what Widmore's real plans are, and how far to Widmore or Flocke's side Sawyer really is. You can only sit on the fence so long on this island before push turns to shove and you're forced to choose this day whom you shall serve. As Bob Dylan put it: "You've gotta serve somebody."

The episode ends on the island with Sawyer and Kate planning the great escape on our favorite submarine. Poetic justice that they'll be attempting to escape on the sub that they were on at the end of last season and chose to get off of.

I told you this one would be short, so I'll close out with...

Random Thoughts/Theories:

- If you've never seen the movie Sawyer references when attempting to explain why he became a cop, Bullitt, then you are a lesser form of the person you could be. Okay, it's not that good, but it is the cop movie that all other cop movies have tried to mimic for 40 years. Here's the famous car-chase scene from the flick:

-Did you all catch the Charlie's brother Liam sighting in the police station? Are we going to get a Charlie-centric, alternate-reality story? Do we even want one? Answer: not if that Brit is still wearing pinky rings.

- Miles said his dad is working in a museum. That is the infamous Dr. Pierre Chang from the DHARMA orientation videos we last saw in the Season Five finale getting trapped under some scaffolding as "the incident" was taking place. If he works at a museum, and Charlotte is an archeologist who was introduced to Sawyer by Miles, wouldn't it stand to reason that this is yet more evidence that my theory that Charlotte and Miles are employed by larger, sinister (or perhaps not so sinister) forces? Think about it, but don't get crushed under the weight of my logic.

- Remember the little blonde kid running through the jungle in the Locke-centric episode earlier this season, The Substitute? I have a feeling that we're gonna see him again very soon and that he will turn out to be either Aaron...or Smoke Monster himself when he was a little kid. Not sure why I think that, but I like the way it rolls off my fingers.

- Flocke is reminding me more and more of the White Witch in The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. I've said this before, but everything he promises is like the Turkish Delight she promises to Edmund. It's a "chasing after the wind" situation. He deals in anger, bitterness, and resentment. He stokes the rage that already burns inside people like Claire and Sayid. I can't imagine how they would turn the tables on us and make Jacob (and his "side") the bad guys. So until proven otherwise, I'm gonna start fully assuming Flocke is the evil he has been described as by numerous characters.

- The chick Sawyer bumps in to on the Hydra Island is named Zoe. This is another C.S. Lewis reference, for those who care, specifically alluding to his discussion in Mere Christianity of the "zoe" (spiritual life) and "bios" (natural life). Perhaps this is a signal from the writers that she is on the side of "good" (with Widmore and presumably Jacob, who told Hurley and Jack that "someone was coming"). She says "thank God" when Sawyer tells her that there are in fact people still alive on the main island. Could this be because what we've heard about Flocke already (namely, that he wants to kill every living thing on the island) is actually true, and he intends to eventually kill everyone?

- There were some noteworthy literary references in this episode. The novel Watership Down was on a table in Sawyer's house. Here's how Wikipedia summarizes the book:

Watership Down is a novel by Richard Adams and was published in 1972. It is often seen as a social commentary done using a group of rabbits as the main characters, and chronicling their search for a new place to live after they narrowly escape the poisoning and excavation of their warren by men.
In the course of their search for a new warren, they encounter a supposed utopia, where the rabbits are nurtured and fed into apathy by the local farmer. However the newcomers come to realize that this strange warren is a trap, as the farmer has set snares all around the area.
Later in the book the group finds a suitable place to settle down, but require does (female rabbits) to continue their society. They approach Efrafra, a nearby warren run under the iron fist of a Chief Rabbit, and after capture and a protracted battle, survive to start their own warren.

Do you really need me to explain why the writers would allude to this story? Also on his table was one of my favorite books growing up, A Wrinkle In Time. Here's a brief synopsis of that wonderful tale:

The story is about two children, accompanied by a friend, who search through space and time for their father. It involves an evil (known as The Black Thing) that is expanding through the universe, "tesseracts" and multiple dimensions, culminating in a happy ending. The character of Charles Wallace is a psychic child.

LOST is a hybrid of some of the best stories of the last 200 years, and there will never be another show quite like it. The other book is a dark and twisted one entitled Lancelot.

Alright, we're caught up now to the Richard episode from last night, Ab Aeterno, and I'll have something on that this weekend and we'll be primed and ready for the "exciting" Sun and Jin-focused episode on March 30th.

As always, leave some of your thoughts and theories below in the "Comments" section.

Stay out of the deep end.

-Flocke's Darker Pants

The Life and Times of Dr. Linus

2010-03-18T20:26:00.000-07:00

LOSTaways-

We're already seven weeks into the final season of the greatest show in the history of humans, and I don't like how fast it's all going by. This week's episode, Dr. Linus, was one of those hours of LOST where you feel like next to nothing is happening while you watch it; but by the time all is said and done, some tremendously important and fascinating things have taken place.

This week's song that ties in to the episode we saw? A little number from Old Blue Eyes called "A Man Alone":

In me you see a man alone
Held by the habit of being on his own
A man who listens to the trembling of the trees
With sentimental ease

In me you see a man alone
Behind the wall he's learned to call his home
A man who still goes walking in the rain
Expecting love again.

A man not lonely
Except when the dark comes on

A man learning to live with
Memories of midnights
That fell apart at dawn

In me you see a man alone
Drinking up Sundays and spending them alone
A man who knows love is seldom what it seems
Only other people's dreams.

In the off-island alternate reality of 2004 we find Ben Linus as an over-qualified high school History teacher with a doctorate. He is a kinder, gentler Ben Linus. He is a man alone in a world that doesn't appreciate him, that doesn't understand his potential. He has sacrificed a lot, we're told by his ailing father Roger Linus. Presumably that sacrifice includes the need to take care of that same ailing father. Worst of all, he has to put up with the insufferable Dr. Arzt (who was much more enjoyable when he was all blown up back at the Black Rock in season one).

Things open in the off-island saga with Linus teaching his students about Napoleon's exile on the island of Elba. This past summer I read two fantastic books on Napoleon and the British general Wellington who defeated him at (or actually near) Waterloo. One was simply called Napoleon and Wellington, written by Andrew Roberts. Much has been written in the past 200 years about Napoleon, his temperament, his psyche, his motivations, his successes, and of course his failures, so I'm not trying to break any new ground in my analysis of why the writers might have put a Napoleon reference in this particular episode (about this particular character).

As Dr. Benjamin Linus so succinctly puts it to his students, Napoleon's greatest test was the loss of his power. This came at the hands of the British general Wellington. Napoleon was in many ways a confident man, but did everything he could to publicly disparage the reputation and talents of Wellington. He couldn't stand other people having power, or even coming close to the respect and control he commanded.

Ben is much the same way. Or I should say, the Ben we have known since Season 3 is that way. He did what he could to get Charles Widmore booted from the island. He hated that Goodwin was the object of Juliet's affection and sent him off on what turned out to be a suicide mission (at the hands of Anna Lucia). And most of all, he loathed John Locke for being "special". In that compelling scene is last season's finale, Ben lets all of his penned-up pettiness and jealousy out as he was berating (and then stabbing) Jacob.

Another comparison between the Old Ben and Bonaparte was injected into the episode when Dr. Linus mentions Elba. Napoleon was exiled twice, the first time to the island of Elba. While in that initial exile, Napoleon plotted his return to power. He had every intention of returning to France and continuing his single-minded quest to rule Europe (and then the world). Sound familiar? Ben left the island, but had every intention of returning. I still kind of think that he was never actually told to leave the island, like he said was Jacob's punishment for disobedience. Perhaps, like Napoleon, he saw that he was in trouble, decided to go and re-group and lull his enemies into thinking he was no longer a threat, while all along was plotting his return to power.

But this New Ben, and even by the end of the episode, the Old Ben, is different. (Or so we think.) Off-island, alternate-reality Ben, is a hard-working History teacher, caring son, and considerate mentor to Alex Rousseau. There is the principal at his school who mistreats and under-appreciates him, similar to how Ben felt Jacob had treated him on the island, but when given the chance to do what he does best (i.e. manipulate people for a power grab) Ben takes the high road and chooses Alex over his own ambitions.

Those ambitions to take over the school by blackmailing the principal for his sexual indiscretions (the same crime Charles Widmore was ousted by Ben for) were stoked by the wheelchair-bound John Locke (who, as we saw in an earlier episode) is the substitute teacher at Ben's high school.

I especially liked the scene between Ben and his dad Roger where Ben was gassing his father...but this time with life-saving oxygen instead of poisonous fumes during the Purge. In that same ironic light, did you pick up on the "formaldehyde" reference by Dr. Arzt (who is dead in the original time-line)? As Ben and his father chat around the frozen dinner table, we learn that Roger and his son Benjamin had still traveled to the island to be a part of the DHARMA Initiative. Something happened...like, oh I don't know, it was submerged to the bottom of the ocean...and the pair of them left, to the eternal regret of Roger Linus. I loved to see the relationship between Ben and his dad was different in this alternate reality. By leaving the island Ben missed being turned into a monster, and he and his dad developed a healthy, normal friendship.

The rest of the off-island happenings were fairly self-explanatory, although very interesting and engaging. I liked seeing a different Ben, and am excited to see where the writers are taking us with this alternate-reality set of characters.

So on to the juicy on-island, original time-line stuff:

Let's take the Jack/Hurley bumping into Richard Alpert first. The two of them are met in the jungle by a visibly disturbed Richard who beckons them to follow him to the Black Rock. Richard was "touched" by Jacob and cannot grow old, and because he has lost his faith in Jacob and Jacob's plan for island salvation, he is ready to end his own life. But, of course, he cannot take his own life (as we saw Michael have trouble with back in Season Four), and so looks to either Jack or Hurley to light the fuse of dynamite that will blast him into oblivion.

And here we witnessed what I propose to be one of the most compelling scenes in LOST lore. Jack v. Richard. An awkward staring match between the former Man of Science and the island's un-changing guru who has recently LOST his faith. Jack calls Richard's bluff and lights the fuse. Although Jack initally flipped out when he learned that Jacob had been watching him his whole life, after a cool-down session on the rocky bluff over-looking the ocean, he came to his senses and realized that despite his confusion and anger, what any rational person must do in his situation is accept things as they are and deal with them. Jack tells Richard that although he isn't sure what is going on, he knows that a man like Jacob would not go to such great lengths only to let him die in the hold of a slave ship in the middle of a magical jungle.

And he was right.

Jack came to the island to be "fixed" after a life-time of trying to fix other people. What he's finally realizing is that in order to be helped, one must be helpless. One must be humbled and broken and willing to ask for (and receive) the help. Jack has reached his breaking point internally, and as is so often the case in life, it is only when we stop trying to control everything ourselves can we see the truth: we can't do this (life) on our own. When we stop trying to explain away the incredible things in life and in this world, we realize that it all is pretty incredible. Jack has ceded his fight against the obvious, and I think, has become a true Man of Faith.

Oh, and by the way, in case you missed the previews for the episode coming up on March 23rd...it's a Richard Alpert back-story.

Now we turn to the occurrences at the Beach Camp with Sun, Lapidus, Ilana, and Ben....

Miles rats Ben out for having offed Jacob. Ilana is pissed, but bides her time until she can devise a plan to punish Ben for his crime of passion. Her plan entails tying Ben up to a tree and making him dig his own grave.

More coming later...I'm stuck in an airport but wanted to post something today. I'll finish things up tonight.

-JL's Pants

-----

I told you there'd be more. It took me two planes and 8 hours, but I finally got home from Miami, FL where I was attending a conference on economic issues, hosted by the Acton Institute. But back to the LOST parsing...

So Ilana ties Ben up and tells him that Jacob was the closest thing she's ever had to a father. Really? The closest thing? Said it's a bummer, lady.

Who in the world is this Jacob character, really? And why can he leave the island and play the father-figure role to crazy chicks, while Flocke is stuck 'illin on the island? Did whoever it was who set "the rules" between these two island entities give separate-but-equally-cool powers to each of them?

But for now, what is important is that Ben lied to Ilana about killing Jacob...Miles spills the psychic beans that it was really Ben who did the saber thrusting what did in old Jacob...Ilana lures Ben into thinking he's free and clear....Ilana then shows Ben he is not free and clear and is now tied to a tree, digging his own island grave....and eventually the tempter himself, Flocke, appears on the scene to entice Ben into making a break for it with him.

Ben waits for the worst possible time when Ilana is looking right at him, and commences the lamest jail break since Nicholas Martin sneaked out of the house to see "Night of the Bloodfreaks 4" in McGee and Me:

The just don't make marginally-average, poorly-acted, substitute-for-any-real-Sunday-School-curriculum videos like they used to...

But Ben runs all the same, as he had reached his breaking point. The man who showed no remorse or fear in order to retain power on the island was reduced to begging the ever-sarcastic Miles for quarter. As he was begging for his life to Miles, Ben did mention something fairly interesting: a network of people and resources back in the real world that he would have at his disposal should Miles help him escape. Now obviously the cynic in me assumes Ben is partially (or fully) lying, but we do know that there are Others-related people back on the mainland...we just don't know who is working with who, who is good and who is bad...and whether or not any of those people Ben is talking about want anything to do with him.

The scene between Ben and Ilana was powerful and very well-done, especially juxtaposed with Ben's redemptive story back in the alternate-reality storyline. Ilana sees and hears in Ben a hurt, broken man who is forever scarred by the decision he made to let Alex get clipped in the cranium in Season Four. I felt like for the first time we saw the real Ben Linus.

He had the chance to kill Ilana, something we know he has few moral equivocations about doing, but he chooses to bear his soul to her because he knows the alternative (going to Flocke on the Hydra Station island) will end in his destruction. Sharing his pain to a relative stranger like Ilana is the act of a desperate man, but not desperate merely in the sense that he is trying to avoid pain, but more in the sense that he's already chalk-full of pain and looking to unload that burden. Ben just wants to be forgiven.

He wants to be accepted.

He wants to be normal.

His childhood was taken from him. His innocence was LOST on an insane island full of black clouds of smoke and yurt-dwelling nut-jobs who run around barefoot and kidnap people identified by their names being written on parchments of papyrus leaves handed down from a mostly-invisible deity named after the father of the nation of Israel.

I think Ilana saw and sensed the genuine pain in his plea for her to stop trying to off him.

I loved how LOSTpedia.com described what happened to end the Ben-Ilana emotional encounter in the jungle:

Ben has lowered his rifle, and he asks to be allowed to leave. Ilana asks where he'll go, and Ben says he will go to Locke. She asks Ben why, and he responds that Locke is the only one who will accept him into his group. Ilana reveals that she is willing to accept him into her group, much to Ben's surprise. She then picks up her rifle and heads back to the beach. Ben stares in shock after Ilana for a second, then follows her.

Ben made so many enemies and burned so many bridges that the only one left who will have him is evil incarnate walking around in the form of the man he himself strangled to death in a seedy motel in Los Angeles. Ilana offers Ben grace and forgiveness because he hit rock bottom and was finally ready to accept those things.

The very end of the episode shows a Charles Widmore-led submarine emerging from the murky depths and because I am just writing this blog-post now (nearly two weeks after "Dr. Linus" first aired), we know that Widmore lands and sets up shop on the Hydra Station island. (More on this later this week when I post the review of "Recon").

I LOVE where things are heading. The "war" is coming.

Random Thoughts/Theories:

-Ben and Lapidus have an interesting conversation about destiny and fate in Sawyer's old tent on the beach. Lapidus remarked to Ben that he was supposed to be on the original Oceanic 815 flight and wonders aloud how different his life might have been. Ben, as only Ben can, sarcastically reminds him that the island still got him in the end. A consistent theme throughout the show, and across the spectrum of characters, is just that: an acceptance of their fate. This isn't to be confused with an apathy towards what actually happens in one's life. Failing to accept his situation is what drove Jack to make the mistakes he made along the way...and eventually he ended up back on the island looking to be fixed.

- It was a poignant camera shot we were treated to as Jack, Hurley, and Richard approached the beach and Sun ran to embrace them. There was the six "normal" people in the middle, with Ben apart from the group on the right, and Richard apart from the group on the left. Ben and Richard both had a spiritual awakening in this episode, but are both still on the outside looking in as far as the castaways (and Ilana) are concerned.

- Speaking of Sun on the beach...Ilana broke the news to her that either her or her husband (or both...think: Adam and Eve in the caves) have been chosen as candidates. Sun (and 10 million viewers) wanted more info from Ilana about what being the candidate all entails. No dice.

- Here is Doc Jensen's review at Entertainment Weekly.com. I haven't been able to read his stuff for a few weeks, but his columns are always top-notch LOST commentary.

-We got a long-awaited Nikki and Paulo call-back this week! How exciting...is what I would say if those two dopes weren't the worst thing ever perpetrated on the LOST-viewing audience apart from Claire's mom's acting "skills." Miles talked to the dead star-crossed lovers and found out they had a stash of diamonds buried with them.

- My theory from more than a season ago, that Richard Alpert came on the Black Rock originally, was finally confirmed in this episode and I want an "atta boy". Please. It's all I have.

- Richard said Jacob touched him, and that it was that act that made him "special." Is that why they made such a point of showing Jacob touch Sayid, Hurley, the Kwon's (what, no love for Bpo-Bpo), Kate, Sawyer, and Locke in the Season Finale last year? Is his magic caress the thing that separates the candidates from the Yemi's?

- Hurley asked Richard if, in light of his inability to age, he was a cyborg. If, as some suggest, this is an allusion to The Terminator series, then I am happy. The first Terminator is one of the best action/science fiction movies of all-time. In that first installment the cyborg (a young, buxom Arnold) comes back in time to kill the mother of the man who will one day lead the revolt against the cyborgs. In T 2: Judgment Day, Arnold returns as the same cyborg who must now protect John Connor, and eventually is willing to sacrifice himself to end the future human-cyborg war. Is this a foreshadowing of what will happen to Richard? Will he make some grand gesture and sacrifice himself for the salvation of these castaway strangers?

- As a student of all things political, I couldn't pass up making a comment about the Machiavelli reference. Here's how LOSTpedia describes its usage in the episode:

Principal Reynolds compares Ben to this 16th century diplomat and political philosopher, known for his cunning and deceitful manipulations. The Prince, his best known work, describes ways that a ruler can control his people. He recommends, among other things, that the prince should be a public figure above reproach, whilst privately acting amorally to achieve his goals. He also notes that sometimes good outcomes happen even though evil deeds are performed

That's all I got for now. Sorry this one took so long to post. I'll have Recon-related material this week and then try and get caught up next weekend. This upcoming episode on Tuesday night is entitled "Ab Aeterno" which is Latin for....something...but looks to be quite a doozy. Richard's story finally told!

See you in the funny papers.

-Pants

My Apologies

2010-03-18T20:18:00.000-07:00

On behalf of all of us here at John Locke's Pants, I want to apologize for not posting anything last week for Dr. Linus. I do have something almost complete for that episode and should have my thoughts on Recon ready soon as well.

The Sun Goes Down On Sayid

2010-03-04T18:52:00.000-08:00

LOSTaways-

I see it around me
I see it in everything
I could be so much more than this

I said my goodbyes
this is my sundown
I'm gonna be so much more than this

With one hand high
you'll show them your progress
you'll take your time
but no one cares

I need you to show me the way from crazy
I wanna be so much more than this

-This Is My Sundown (Jimmy Eat World)

Are you liking these songs that relate to LOST episodes as much as I am recalling them from memory? Good. I knew you would.

I was so happy to learn that this week's Sayid-centric tale, Sundown, had nothing to do with Sun. Well, I guess if we want to play Two Degrees of Sun Kwon, Sayid did bump into a bound-and-gagged Jin in the kitchen of a mobster's restaurant. (That mobster being Keamy of The Boat People from Season 4). But this was Sayid's story through-and-through. The troubled Iraqi seems unable to escape his troubled past, both on and off the island.

Another thing he can't seem to escape is a troubled relationship with his Iraqi dame Nadia. The episode started in the alternate-reality world where Oceanic Flight 815 landed safely at LAX and Sayid hopped a cab to what turned out to be his brother Omer's home in suburban Los Angeles. Omer, the brother who Sayid had to kill a chicken for when they were children, is married to Nadia, the woman Sayid feels he does not deserve. Yet again Omer needs Sayid the Chicken Strangler to strangle the chicken named Keamy who is picking on (extorting) poor Iraqi immigrant entrepreneurs who just want to expand their dry cleaning businesses. I wonder what the ACLU would have to say about this?

So Omer is scared and in need of Sayid's help, and Nadia is sad and in need of Sayid's affection. Quite a situation we got here.

As I watched the episode unfold, and saw the off-island Sayid reject his brother's requests to put a hurtin' on his extort-ers, I thought we were witnessing a brand new Sayid. A changed man. A man who would be able to make a fresh, new start. But as I thought more about (and saw the end scenes where he killed the bad guys), nothing has changed with this alternate Sayid. He said he was traveling the world as a translator for oil contracts, and had pushed Nadia into the arms of his own brother. Guilt is his middle name. But he's not even serious about dealing with his guilt. Last year we saw Sayid trying to escape his guilt by building houses in the Dominican Republic. This time he's globe-trotting. Banging a hammer and living abroad won't fix anything. Just like shooting everyone Ben Linus tells you to shoot won't bring back your dead wife. My point with all of this is simply to reinforce just how messed up Sayid is. The change he needs isn't of scenery, but of heart.

The whole off-island, alternate reality story-line is still largely a mystery to me (and I assume you as well), so I don't have a ton of theories or thoughts on the larger meaning of what went down in Los Angeles this week. It was cool that they brought Keamy back, and he's still the unsavory character we remembered him to be. What complicates things is who he had in his freezer: Jin. Jin and Sun were flying to Los Angeles so that Jin could deliver a watch on behalf of Sun's dad, Mr. Paik. The question then becomes, "Was Keamy the person the original watch was going to? Or is this new alternate reality changed that as well?" I also wonder if we won't find out in the near future that Keamy is working for someone...someone named Charles Widmore, just as he was in Season 4.

But the heart of this episode, and the place where some real theorizing and parsing can take place, is on the island...where the original Sayid has been resurrected from the dead for a purpose.

Sayid confronts Dogen The Drunk Driver in his inner lair and demands some answers as to why he was tortured and then almost murdered. Dogen fills him in on the fact that every man has a scale upon which good and evil are balanced. This, philosophically speaking, is often referred to as dualism. Sayid's scales, like the one Flocke took a white rock off of in Jacob's cliff-cave a few episodes back, have tipped towards the dark side. But were they tipped before he was shot, died, and rose again? Or was this reincarnation of his next to the dirty Temple pool what made him poison-worthy?

Which brings me to an aside on Claire...I think she died in Season 4 when Keamy and the Boat Mercanaries (which included Omar, the guy who made Sayid get in the car to go see Keamy in this week's episode) blew up the Othersville yurt she was sleeping in. If you remember, Sawyer went to get here, the house was hit with a rocket launcher, and she was found under a pile of rubble. Soon after that she wandered off in the middle of the night with Flocke (who was posing as Christian Shepard back in those days), never to be seen again...until she lured Jin into one of her bear-traps in the jungle 3 years later. If Sayid was raised from the dead by Flocke for the purposes of helping him do whatever it is he's doing now that the Temple's been pillaged, perhaps Claire was as well. Maybe she died from that rocket launcher and was resurrected like Sayid to be one of Flocke's disciples.

Getting back to Sayid and Dogen awkwardly fighting...

Wow, was that fight scene one fight scene too long or what? I mean I enjoy poorly coordinated stunts as much as the next blogger, but that was brutal (and dragged on brutally long).

The end result of the superfulous tussle is Sayid's temporary banishment, which lasts all of about 4 minutes. That is because Claire and Flocke are at that moment standing outside of the Temple (outside of a circle of ash), agreeing that Claire will go inside and give Dogen the message that Flocke wants to speak with him. The circle of ash is the same kind that was around "Jacob's" cabin in Season 3, and that Bram put around himself in Jacob's lair when Flocke killed him and his friends in this season's premiere episode. But later, when Flocke crashes the Temple party, has the circle of ash been broken? What was really keeping him out? Was it Jacob?

When Dogen is later murdered by Sayid in the same pool of water Dogen had Sayid drowned in, Lennon says to Sayid "He was the only thing keeping him out." So was it Dogen who had the power to keep Flocke out? It must have been because Dogen is the one Sayid was sent in to kill, and the one Claire was sent in to lure out.

What then was the purpose of waiting until Sundown to infiltrate the Temple? Just for show? Is there something in "the rules" about the time of day (or cover of night) that Flocke has to adhere to?

Sayid went out to kill Flocke for Dogen originally, and did in fact stab him, despite it being after Flocke had talked. It was later apparent that Dogen sent Sayid out there hoping Flocke would kill him, and it was at this point that our favorite Iraqi had had just about enough of the New Others and decided to accept the alluring terms of Flocke's deal: You kill Dogen, get me in the Temple...and I bring back Nadia.

Raise your hand if you think Sayid's being conned? Even if Nadia does reappear for him, she'll be nothing more than the Turkish Delight in The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe: a farce. Flocke's promise of having "whatever it is you want" is as empty as Christian Shepard's casket. And I think Sayid knows it. He's simply too far gone to care any more. The years of torturing, the years of running, the loss of his beloved Nadia (in the real world) have culminated with a Sayid who no longer wishes to fight the dark side of his nature. He's a defeated, broken man, and Flocke knows it.

By the way, if for some reason you were thinking that Dogen's warning to plunge the dagger into Flocke's heart before he spoke meant anything (or was true), you're wrong. It was another con on the most con-ridden island this side of Cuba.

Sayid is sent back to kill Dogen and warn the New Others that at "sundown" Smokey Flocke is going to raise hell in the Temple and kill all those who try to remain.

Meanwhile, a contingent among the New Others, led by the stewardess Cindy, decide to take Flockey Smoker at his word and remove themselves from the premises. Flocke does his thing (in one of the cooler scenes in LOST's history) and wreaks havoc in Temple, leaving bodies, hopes, and dreams strewn about the decimated landscape. I LOVED the shot of Kate hanging on the rope ladder with Creeper Claire in the Silence of the Lambs pit as the Smoke Monster went zooming by overhead.

He re-takes the form of Flocke and leads the New New Others, along with Kate, Claire, and Sayid, off into the jungle...allegedly to "leave the island." Flocke insists he will only kill those who won't listen to him, and that this new group of people who came out of the Temple before sundown is safe, but somehow I highly doubt that. If the numbers we saw at the Lighthouse mean that all of those people are "candidates", then everyone on that island needs to be killed. (That is of course assuming that Flocke has to whack each of the candidates to be totally free.)

The mischievously devious smiles that Claire and Sayid had on their faces when coming out of the Temple were priceless. That is actually tough acting to convey a complete turnaround in character with nothing more than slow motion, knowing glances. Another priceless look, from the king of priceless looks, was Ben's when he tried to convince Sayid to follow them out of the Temple through Hurley's secret tunnel. It was "too late" for Sayid. He'd already sold his soul to the Tasmanian devil who was at that moment pile-driving helpless New Others on to the jungle floor.

So we are left with two different groups heading out into the jungle for two very different purposes. Ilana, Lapidus, Ben, Miles, and Sun are off to find Jack, Hurley, and Sawyer. Flocke, Sayid, Claire and the rest of the New Others are supposedly going to "leave" the island. (Perhaps in body bags, but not in actuality.) I think both groups are actually heading to the Lighthouse and Flocke is going to try and meet up with whoever it is that is coming to the island (like Jacob told Hurley last week).

Random Thoughts/Theories:

-The Temple massacre had a "purge-like" feel to it. A clean sweep of those who stand in opposition to Flocke. The original purge was Ben's idea, and also was a clean sweep of the Dharma peeps who did not care about Ben or give him the respect he thought he deserved.

-In the on-going debate as to who is good and who is bad on the island between Jacob and Smokey the Monster, another piece of evidence was thrown our way this week. Before Claire went into the Temple, she asked Flocke if he was going to hurt the people inside. Flocke responded with "Only the ones who won't listen." It would be a hard sell to convince me that this is the statement/actions of a "good" being. Flocke is child-like in his pettiness and scorn. We keep hearing that he wants to kill every living thing on the island.

-The promise Flocke made to Sayid (that he could see Nadia again) echoes the talk of some "magical box" that Ben tried to sell John Locke on back in Season 3. It also made me think of two events that fit into the bigger mystery of who Jacob is and what he has been doing on the island all this time. Ben also promised Juliet that her sister could be cured of cancer if she would stay and continue to try and help Others get preggers. Jacob, we found out this week, made a similar promise to Dogen about his son. How in the world can the guy cure cancer? He's gotta be an angel, right?

-Cindy the Aussie Stewardess, among others of the New Others, were convinced by Sayid's sales pitch as to why they should leave with Flocke. Sayid, speaking for Flocke, said something to the effect of, "If Jacob's dead then you are free and don't need to be here any longer." They bought this. Why? Was everything riding on Jacob?

-Assuming that the Others were recruited by Jacob, did all he have to say to them is, "I'm looking for candidates to replace me as the island's protector...you aren't one of them...it's probably this spinal surgeon or wheel-chair bound bald guy with daddy issues or this fat chicken-loving Mexican...it's a whole thing...but would you mind wearing weird island garb and and whispering in the jungle and being extra spooky and mysterious for a number of years? Oh, and btw, if I get stabbed by my enemy, this entire plan is shot to H, so keep that in mind."

-All the talk of scales and "good vs. evil" in Sayid's nature ties in to the statue on the island. The statue is a representation of the Egyptian God Anubis, who is referenced in The Book of the Dead. Wikipedia describes it as follows:

A writing of Egyptian origin that described their belief of the afterlife and the trials that awaited the deceased. One of the trials, conducted by the jackal-headed god Anubis, involved weighing the deceased’s heart on the scale of Maat, counterbalanced by the feather of Truth. Only if the heart was lighter than the feather (i.e. not weighed down with evil) could the soul move to the reward of the afterlife. In this episode, Dogen explains to Sayid that every man has a scale and that his (Sayid’s) scale is "tipped the wrong way."

-I wondered what the symbol Ilana and Hurley both used to find an escape tunnel out of the Temple meant, and it is something called the Shen Ring. In Egyptian hieroglyphics, the Shen Ring is almost always carried by the god Horus (sounds like Horace). The Shen ring is an ancient Egyptian symbol of eternity and protection. In ancient Egypt, the Shen Ring also represents dual concepts of time; the cyclic line of periodicity and lineal time (into infinity).

-How many times does "Catch A Falling Star" have to be sung on LOST before we take more notice of it. Either the writers/director just love it, or its lyrics have a deeper meaning for the show (or clue to what it all means...or at least what Claire's story is all about). I will have more theories on this next week.

That's the blog this week, folks. For more commentary, here's Doc Jensen's LOST column at Entertainment Weekly's website.

Next week's episode is entitled "Dr. Linus" and we all know what that means.

Until then,

John Locke's Fake Pants

Show Me Your Lighthouse

2010-02-25T19:27:00.000-08:00

You may ask yourself
What is that beautiful house?
You may ask yourself
Where does that highway lead to?
You may ask yourself
Am I right?... Am I wrong?
You may say to yourself
My God!... what have I done?

Time isn't holding us
Time isn't after us
Time isn't holding us
Time isn't holding us

-Once In A Lifetime (Talking Heads)

Jack has a kid, Hurley has an invisible friend, and Claire does a hatchet-job on an Other...

The 5th episode of Season 5, Lighthouse, was a Jack-centric tale that was full of surprises, new faces, and bloody ankles. As I was cruising in my phat ride earlier today, I heard the Talking Heads song I have an excerpt from above, and I thought it couldn't be more appropriate for LOST as a whole, and specifically this season so far.

Time isn't holding the story of LOST, as we are being treated to peek into the lives of our favorite castaways both in the here-and-now, and also in some side-by-side, alternate reality.

Jack saw his beautiful house, and didn't like that Jacob had been Peeping Tom-ing him all this time.

My God! Jack, what have you done to those mirrors? Eeek!

I'll stop now.

I thought Lighthouse was a splendid episode and really helped move the story of Season 6 along. As usual, let's take the two story-lines separate from each other.

Off-island (co-reality):

Because the original crash in Season 1 happened in September of 2004, so we can safely assume that it is September 2004 in this alternate reality. Jack is still a doctor, as we know, but what we didn't know is that he has a kid. A boy. David. King David. David vs. Goliath. David the SHEPARD Boy. Getting the reference yet? We have Christian Shepard. Jack Shepard. And now David Shepard.

But who is the mother of young David? Who is Jack's ex-wife? My money is on it being Juliet. The episode in Season 4 when Jack has his appendix taken out, it was Juliet that did it. I know it's not a lot to go on, but have some man-of-faith.

Jack's kid is a piano prodigy, but is afraid of disappointing his old man. David sneaks off to play for the Williams Conservatory. Thankfully Jack is good at spying on people (see: calling every number in his wife Sarah's phone), and he tracked his kid down at a big tryout. He bumped into Samurai Dogen, whose own son was waiting to jam for the selection committee. Dave and Jack made amends and Jack said all of the things that his dad never got to say to him before boozing himself to death in The Land Down Under.

There's more to dissect (I guess) from the off-island story-line, but I don't feel like getting in to it. It was interesting, and I'm excited to see who David's mom is, but it was all fairly self-explanatory. It was nice to see Jack make good with his son. That's always good to see, even in a tv show.

On-island reality (the good stuff):

Things kick off with Jack staring at himself in the pond outside the Temple. What do you see Jack? Dogen comes out, they chat, and the most important thing to come from that exchange was when Dogen said if Jack had tried to leave, he'd have had to stop him. Why? Why can everyone else leave (i.e. Sawyer, Kate, Jin), but Jack's departure is such a big no-no?

Later in the episode Jacob says to Hurley "Jack's here to do something." We can assume that this "something" is special and unique and more important than whatever minimal service Jin is serving. Jacob said as much.

Hurley is hungry and heads to get a snack when who should appear but Jacob the Stabbed. He directs Hurley to recruit Jack for a special mission to the Lighthouse. He tells Hurley to tell Jack "You've got what it takes" and the Shepard Man is on board for a little jungle excursion. To get past Dogen, Jacob tells Hurley to say "I'm a candidate...I can do whatever I want, kemosabi." Dogen seems shocked that Hurley knows so much, and says something to him in Japanese that Jacob reassures Hurley he doesn't want to know the translation.

But you and I do.

What Dogen said was: "You're lucky that I have to protect you. Otherwise I'd have cut your head off.

Temper, temper. What I want to know is why doesn't Dogen or anyone else know anything about Jacob? Has he really kept himself that secret?

Jack and Hurley head off and soon almost get shot by the dumbest girl on the island, Kate. She is single-minded in her quest to find Crazy Claire, and tells the boys that she hopes they find what they're looking for. Jack and Hurley share a few poignant moments together as the trek across the island, culminating with an emotionally-vulnerable Jack explaining that he came back to island because he thought the place could "fix" him. (Cue Coldplay music.)

When you try your best but you don't succeed (You don't have what it takes)
When you get what you want but not what you need (Ben killing Jacob)
When you feel so tired but you can't sleep
Stuck in reverse.

And the tears come streaming down your face
When you lose something you can't replace (Like your baaaaby, Claire)
When you love someone but it goes to waste (Sorry about Juliet, Sawyer)
Could it be worse?

Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you

You can find more of your own allusions in that little ditty. The simple truth is that, like good music, good stories contain big themes like love, redemption, pain, suffering, good, evil, death, and forgiveness. LOST isn't re-inventing the wheel when it comes to subject matter, merely in how those subjects are brought to we the viewers.

The pair of dudes reach the Lighthouse and Jack asks the obvious question: "Why the H haven't we seen this thing before?" Hurley, as only Hurley can, drops an obvious-bomb on all of us: "Maybe 'cause we weren't looking for it."

Fair enough.

Oh, I almost forgot...Jack and Hurley dropped by the caves for a trip down island memory lane. Just like when Jack was led to those caves in Season 1's "White Rabbit" episode, two bodies are found side-by-side and the thought comes creeping back that maybe "Adam and Eve" are two of our castaways "sent back in time." Who could it be? When Jack first found the pair, he pointed out that it was a man and woman. Jin and Sun? Dez and Penny? Bernard and Rose? Nikki and Paulo?

Back to the Lighthouse...Jack does his best Steven Segal impression and kicks down the door so that he and a breathless Hurley can ascend the stairs to and find yet another wheel of destiny (this one much less frozen than the last). On this wheel are 108 numbers, each one corresponding with a different name. Jack realizes that the mirrors aren't just there to reflect the fire out on to the open sea, but to spy on people. He's one of those people, and when once the wheel has been turned to his number (23), he is shown an image of the house he grew up in.

Phwaaaa?

Jack assumes, and it appears correctly, that Jacob has used these magical mystery mirrors to monitor potential "candidates" their entire lives. He's not too happy about it and ends up smashing the mirrors in a fit of Jacob-induced rage. Hurley's confused as to why Jacob never shows up to stop Jack, but after Jack wonders off to cool his jets, he does show up and lets Hurley know that things are chill. Jacob wanted to get the boys outta the Temple because "someone bad" is about to arrive there. That's got Flocke written all over it.

Speaking of Flocke...and Claire...elsewhere on the island the new Rousseau stitches Jin's wounds back up and hacks the black Other guy in the sternum. She says she was tortured by the New Others with a procedure that sounded awfully similar to the one they conducted on Sayid earlier this season. They also said that Sayid was sick like Claire was. Claire makes the dubious statement "Infection is what will kill you out here".

My boy Dan H pointed out to me that the whole shock therapy thing both Claire and Sayid went through with the New Others is similar to what Rousseau originally did to Sayid when she caught him back in Season 1. Was she testing Sayid back then after seeing what happened to her French peeps after they went in to the Temple? Or was it just torture, ironically perpetrated on a torturer who had just tortured someone (Sawyer) who was innocent?

Claire keeps referring to her "friend", who predictably ended up being Flocke. The interesting thing was that even Claire knew Flocke wasn't Locke. How is that? Why is that? Why doesn't that scare her? She was just about the most emotionally weak/fragile woman on the planet for so many seasons of the show...and now she's 'illin in the jungle, picking off Others, sowing up flesh wounds, and rollin' with other-worldly beings that look like her friend John Locke?

Jin lies to her and says that Aaron is back at the Temple with the New Others, and Claire says that his story about Kate raising Aaron back in the real world was no joking matter and that had Kate really taken her baaaaaaby...she'd kill her. Seems extreme. Maybe if you hadn't bolted in the night with your pops (who was actually the guy inhabiting your new "friend's" body), Kate wouldn't be anything but your gal-pal who helped deliver your kid.

Jin actually might be telling the truth and not knowing it...if that kid running through the jungle last week was Aaron somehow. Just saying.

And so we've reach the end of the episode re-cap and move on to...

Thoughts/Theories:

-When Jack bumped into Dogen at his son's tryouts, Dogen said "It is hard to watch and be unable to help." I think this speaks to a bigger plot-point in the show. Even though Ben and Richard said they were trying to help Locke become the leader of the Others back in Season 3, they couldnt kill Locke's dad for him. He had to do it on his own. Jacob operates the same way with many of these people. He intervenes from time to time, but this week he told Hurley that with some people you have to sit back and let them figure things out. It can be a frustrating feeling, as we all well know.

- This might seem like a crazy theory, but I'm liking it the more I think of it. Desmond stole Jack's dad's body and is bringing it to island so that Jacob can come back as Christian Shepard to fight Smoke Monster/Flocke. Desmond is working for/with someone (maybe Charles Widmore, maybe Jacob). Jacob sent Hurley and Jack to the Lighthouse supposedly to prepare it for someone who is coming to the island. That person is Desmond. Jack's dad = Jacob. Just you wait and see.

-This was the 108th episode of LOST. Gotta love the numbers, brotha'.

-For about the 10th time, Alice in Wonderland is referenced in this episode. The characters that Jack mentions to his son David when he finds the book on David's desk, Kitty and Snowdrop, are cats; one is white, one is black. Just like the stones Jack found in the front shirt pocket of Adam and Eve. Just like Walt and Locke playing backgammon. Just like Jacob and Esau/Flocke.

-Hurley compares Jacob to Obi-Wan Kenobi, the Jedi master from Star Wars. Obi-Wan isn't the best Jedi or the most important character, but he is the wise, older conscience of the entire Star Wars story. I think Jacob is important, and obviously knows more than anyone else we've been introduced to thus far, but either Jack or Locke or Aaron (or someone) is going to end up being the most important, "greater" character in this whole tale. Just like Anakin (and then Luke) were greater than Obi-Wan. Oh, and by the way, Luke Skywalker had a sister (Leia) that he didn't initially was his sister. Sound familiar?

-I found a cool literary reference connected to the title of this week's episode. It's a book called To The Lighthouse, and is described by Wikipedia as follows:

To the Lighthouse (5 May 1927) is a novel by Virginia Woolf. A landmark novel of high modernism, the text, centering on the Ramsay family and their visits to the Isle of Skye in Scotland between 1910 and 1920, skillfully manipulates temporality and psychological exploration.
To the Lighthouse follows and extends the tradition of modernist novelists like Marcel Proust and James Joyce, where the plot is secondary to philosophical introspection, and the prose can be winding and hard to follow. The novel includes little dialogue and almost no action; most of it is written as thoughts and observations. The novel recalls the power of childhood emotions and highlights the impermanence of adult relationships. Among the book's many tropes and themes are those of loss, subjectivity, and the problem of perception.

A novel about the power of childhood emotions? Set on an island with a Lighthouse that holds keys to the characters past? Themes of loss and the problem of perception? You do the math.

-Almost everyone reading this had been asked to read Lord of the Flies in junior high or high school, so hopefully you picked up on the allusion to that story when Jin found a boar's head in Claire's tent. Chick's batty.

-As a relatively new Classical Music addict, I loved the Chopin piece ("Fantaisie-Impromptu in C-Sharp Minor") that David Shepard was playing at his audition. It's the same piano piece that Faraday was playing when he was a young tyke. Dogen tells Jack that his son has a special "talent", just like Faraday was told when he was young, and Michael heard about his son Walt from Juliet and Ms. Klugh.

-Next week's episode is entitled "Sundown", so I think we all know who the main focus will be on. Vincent.

-Flocke has been recruiting Claire because he knows that she, Jack, and Christian Shepard are "special" in a special way. As in, not just candidates, but bigger, more important figures.

That's all I got for now. Hope you've enjoyed, and I'd love to hear any additional theories you may have, so leave 'em in the Comments section below.

Stay out of the deep end.

-Flocke's Pants

Pre-game before Lighthouse

2010-02-22T21:00:00.001-08:00

Tomorrow night's episode is less than 24 hours away, but here's something to bide your time between now and then:

An interview with Locke about the Smoke Monster inhabiting his body.

Substitute This

2010-02-19T07:50:00.000-08:00

Locke parks too close to the boss, Flocke recruits himself a con-man, and Jacob’s “got a thing” for Numbers.

LOSTaways-

We’re four episodes in to the 6^th and final season of the greatest show ever made by humans, and I’m loving the ride thus far. When you name a blog after an article of clothing worn by a particular character in a television show, you’re “fairly” excited to see an hour devoted almost entirely to that character (and the gaseous bad guy inhabiting his island body). This week’s episode, The Substitute, was one big step forward in terms of shining some light on the island’s mythology for us. We also got to see what the world of sideways-reality JL looked like after chatting with Jack in the LAX baggage claim terminal. Best of all: no Claire obnoxiously clamoring for that “baaaaaaaby” of hers.

Let’s get the less-cool, but still intriguing, stuff out of the way first and discuss the domestic life and times of John Locke in the alternate reality/sideways-flash world we’ve been introduced to in Season 6.

Thinking of the bigger picture for a moment, if we take what Juliet said (via Myles) in the first episode seriously (“It worked”), then it makes sense that when Jughead went off, it altered the timeline of the alternate reality we’ve been seeing this year. That means that missing the crash on the island isn’t what changed things for our loveable Oceanic 815-ers, but that Jughead’s detonation is what changed things. So while many of the characters seem to display similar characteristics to their original selves we met in Seasons 1-5, and have had somewhat similar experiences (i.e. Jack’s dad is dead, Locke can’t walk, etc.), these new versions of them are potentially different in more ways than we’ve seen so far.

For example, Jack seemed much more outgoing and faith-based in his conversations with Locke in the airport in that first episode. Locke seems much less faith-based, but also more willing to accept his limitations. He tried to do a bunny-hop off his car’s wheel-chair lift, which was sooooo Old Locke, but the rest of the episode he seemed to be having his resolve to fight circumstances and fate deteriorate. He seemed more willing to deal with the reality of his physical handicap. He seemed willing to finally embrace the Man of Science, farmer-instead-of-hunter moniker that Richard Alpert, the undercover cop who used John to spy on the weed-harvesting Commies he was living with, and his high school teacher all bestowed upon him in the life of the original Locke we knew. A strong hint that this is the case: what job did Locke up end up taking in this week’s episode?

Science teacher.

Helen-of-Troy, Locke’s sweetheart who ditched him when he couldn’t ditch his sadistic pops in Season 2, is still with John in this alternate reality, and it appears that Locke’s paralysis happened after the two met. She finds John laying in a heap on the front lawn with the sprinklers drenching him (which made me think of all the times Locke predicted rain storms in earlier seasons on the island, and now he can’t even remember when the timed sprinklers are going to turn on). She encourages John to call Dr. Jack, suggesting that perhaps their chance encounter was indeed “destiny.” Locke seems thoroughly underwhelmed by the whole prospect.

One character that hasn’t changed in our new reality is that egg-suckin’ boss of Locke’s at the box company: Randy. He still has it in for our bald-headed friend, and fires John for skipping out on the seminar he was ostensibly sent to Sydney for. Locke rolls himself out to his Astro van only to find that Boss-man Hurley’s phat Hummer is squeezing his ride. He again shows a flash of his old self when he yells at Hurley for suggesting that a handicap person should use the spot designated for handicap people, but then takes it down a thousand at the sound of another job from the chicken-eating CEO with disgusting mutton chop side-burns (that looked like amber-colored brillow pads).

That job opportunity brings him into contact with Rose, the wife of the least interesting character on LOST, and she gives him the what-for after he insists that he’s qualified for construction work. Hurley’s life has changed from unfettered bad luck to bold, confident good luck, but it appears that Every Rose Has Its Bernard still has cancer and plenty of her home-spun, suffer-no-fools wisdom (that she is only too willing to share).

I LOVED the scene when Locke finally came clean to Helen about his job-loss, his failed walk-about excursion, and his troubling knife addiction. You see a defeated John Locke who knows he’s run out of options, lied too many times to people he cares about, and has nothing but himself to offer to Helen. Earlier in the episode Helen mentioned the possibility of eloping to Vegas with just her parents and Locke’s dad (Anthony Cooper, who we last saw getting Jabba the Hut-ed by Sawyer in the brig of the Black Rock).

This suggests that perhaps Locke and his kidney-nabbing padre are on better terms than before. Might it be that this alternate-reality Locke is slightly more emotionally stable because he didn’t suffer the pain of having his own father con him out of a body part? Could it be that he sucks it up, accepts Helen’s love, and takes a job as a man/teach of science in part because Anthony Cooper hadn’t forever scarred his son?

What happened then between Locke and his dad? Or, better still, what didn’t happen? Look for this to be a big part of the alternate reality storyline.

The last point of note from the off-island story was of course the revelation that Benjamin Linus is a European History teacher at the same school Locke is “the substitute” at. Locke was the substitute for Christian Shepard, and it was the very man standing before him in this scene (Ben) who made that role possible for Locke to play. There’s nothing better than these two actors/characters on-screen together. I want the two of them to get a place together when this whole show thing blows over. I smell a spin-off!

The exciting stuff from The Substitute was obviously the on-island hijinx that focused primarily on Flocke and our boy Sawyer, but featured some interesting scenes with characters like Ben, Ilana, and Richard.

How great was that tracking shot from the perspective of the Smoke Monster? The Smoke-eye-view was spectacular, and at the end of his air-borne journey we learn where Flocke took Richard Alpert after their encounter back on the beach in episode one of this season. Alpert’s up in a tree, hanging like a sack of camper’s food during the night in the Boundary Waters, MN. This makes sense, what with bears being real threats in both places.

The most interesting thing divulged in the conversation between Flocke and Richard is that Alpert seems to know much less than we previously thought. He had no idea about the concept of “candidates” to take Jacob’s spot for him. Flocke makes his sales-pitch to have Richard join his “team”, but is rejected by the age-less wonder. It’s hard not to read devious motives and cunning lies into Flocke’s promises to Alpert (and later Sawyer) that he would “tell them everything” and “treat them with respect.” It had a very distinct “Serpent deceiving Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden” feel to it every time Flocke did his used car salesman routine. Are the writers just trying to set us up so we assume Flocke is bad, only to reveal that Jacob is really the jerk?

While talking to Alpert, a little blonde boy appears with blood on his hands. Richard couldn’t see the kid, but Flocke was visibly shaken and spooked. Later, when Flocke’s taking Sawyer to Jacob’s cliff-cave, the boy appears again and this time Sawyer (not an immortal) can see the young boy. Is Sawyer the “new Hurley” who can see things that others can’t? And if Sawyer now has special powers like that, does that mean all of the other “candidates” (i.e. Jack, Sayid, etc.) have powers too? Was Claire a candidate, but LOST out on the chance when she went over the dark-side like Dogen said last week?

And to really blow your mind…is that little boy in the jungle Claire’s son Aaron? Or maybe the grown-up son of Penny and Desmond? ( I believe they named him Charlie.) Or is it the new shape that Jacob has taken on the island?

Most likely we will find out that the little boy was either someone Flocke killed in his younger days or an island deity more powerful than Flocke or Jacobb. Sort of a rules-keeper/umpire for the island battle that has been raging for centuries.

Flocke said that the book Of Mice and Men (published in the late 1930’s) that Sawyer mentioned was “after my time.” He also said he used to be a man. These are some pretty distinct clues, even if they don’t fill in all the answers we’d like.

The scene in Jacob’s cliff-cave when Flocke takes the white stone off the scales of justice and throws it into the ocean was symbolic in many ways. Let me first say that the cave might not even be Jacob’s. It could possibly be Flocke’s. Or someone else’s. Maybe Flocke originally picked the candidates he wanted and Jacob’s been trying to protect them from Flocke’s devious ways.

But back to the cliff-cave scene…the scales were previously balanced, which implies that the Light and Dark were even-handed in their cosmic struggle for the soul of the island. Flocke takes the Light stone off and tosses it into the water, as if to say, “You are no longer my equal Jacob…what with the whole being stabbed thing…so now all the old rules we used to have to operate under no longer apply.” Now, what those “rules” are is another matter altogether, and we’ll get the answer to what those rules are when we learn who that little blonde boy in the jungle this week was.

Random thought before I forget it…When real Locke was being buried on the other side of the island, did anyone else see the shot where it looked like a spider was on Locke’s head? The same kind of spider that killed Nikki and Paulo in Season 3? A spider that only paralyzes its victim, and doesn’t fully kill them? Could this be a subtle foreshadowing of the Locke that is to rise once more? Of a Locke that isn’t fully dead? Or could I be up way too late right now, working on a blog about a fake tv show with flying clouds of smoke as one of its main characters?

Sawyer learns that he and the rest of his peeps were brought to the island because they were potential candidates to take over for Jacob. We did not see Kate’s name, but did see Sawyer, Jack, Locke, Sayid, Hurley, and one (or both) of the Kwon’s. All of the people that Jacob laid his magic hands on during the season finale last year. (Who called that the touching thing would be important last May?) Flocke tells Sawyer he’s got three options: 1)Do nothing and see what happens. 2) Take the position as island guardian. 3) Bolt back to the mainland.

The numbers associated with each “candidate” has to have some bigger or cooler meaning, but I do know that each of the numbers are retired Yankees jerseys. So there’s that. Jacob, we are told, has a “thing for numbers”, but what in the world that means is anybody’s guess. Were they Jacob’s numbers, or had they been passed down? I get the feeling that Jacob and Flocke are both beholden to some larger power. Flocke tells Sawyer that Jacob was basically an idiot for believing that the island was important and in need of protection. This was reminiscent of real Locke telling Desmond and Ekko that the button served no larger purpose and was a big con back in Season 2. Flocke also yelled “Don’t tell me what I can’t do” to that little blonde boy in the jungle who reminded him he couldn’t kill Sawyer.

It seems like “the rules” include a stipulation that if Jacob picks someone as a candidate, Flocke isn’t allowed to personally kill that person (or Jacob). He needs to get others (like Ben) to do his dirty work for him. I definitely think that Sawyer is in trouble hanging out with this goon.

Real quick, I loved the funeral Ben, Sun, and Lapidus held for real Locke. Ben’s “I’m sorry I murdered him” line was perfect. But more than that, it was nice to hear Locke eulogized so eloquently and kindly by his own killer who realized that Locke was a better man that he (Ben) ever could be. Original Locke had his problems, but he really did believe, and therefore was the biggest threat of all to Flocke because John would actually have wanted to stay and be the new Jacob. In the first episode of this season Flocke mocked John for being a sucker and loser, but I think it was all an act and really Flocke was terrified of John Locke and his fervent faith in the island and Jacob and the whole spiel. Real Locke was the biggest threat to Flocke, and that’s why he picked John as his victim.

Thoughts/Theories:

-This upcoming week’s episode is entitled “Lighthouse.”

-What is the significance of Ben being a European History teacher in the alternate reality, off-island, storyline? Is there any, or is that just what you would expect a nerdy, know-it-all person like Ben to be doing in the “real world”? The island (and really the whole show) is all about history and time and the past, so there’s that connection. Any theories from you guys?

-In the teacher’s lounge at the school Locke was subbing at, there was a banner that read: “Live in the present, plan for the future.” Do I even need to un-pack the implications of a sentence like that on a show like this?

-The argument that Flocke makes to Sawyer as to why he should want to just leave and hate Jacob is that Jacob directed the lives of all these characters and manipulated them to think that their actions were their own. Some have made this same argument against God. They say because the Bible teaches that God is the Creator of time (and therefore above it and privy to all of the events in it), they resent God and blame Him for making us all robots with no free will. It is akin to the determinist view that David Hume advocated in his philosophy, namely that we’re all set in our fates and we have no control over what happens to us next. I love a television show that gets into theological/philosophical issues this deep. Kind of like How I Met Your Mother.

-The ash that Jacob’s corpse left was white and Ilana put it in a small sack and brought it with her. She was also crying in Jacob’s bungalow. Will those ashes bring him back to life later? Was she prematurely crying like Lucy and Susan in The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, and we’ll see Aslan (Jacob) rise again in a little while?

-The song Sawyer was listening to in his Othersville house contained the lyrics “I’m the runaway son of a Nuclear A-bomb.” Pretty appropriate.

-Getting back to a little philosophy for a brief moment…did anyone else pick up on the Allegory of the Cave analogy with Flocke taking Sawyer into a cave to open his eyes to the truth of the world around him? Read the link I’ve attached here if you don’t know about Plato’s famous work. It was also noteworthy that Flocke and Sawyer used “Jacob’s Ladder” to descend into the cave of enlightenment. Jacob’s Ladder is an Old Testament reference you can read more about here. The key difference in this use of a ladder "belonging" to a dude named Jacob is that the original, biblical Jacob's ladder went up to heaven...could this one have led Sawyer down into a personal and proverbial hell?

-Richard was legitimately scared of Flocke and urged Sawyer to come to the Temple with him…why? What can Flocke do to someone who doesn’t age? Is Richard now vulnerable with Jacob gone? What was Richard doing that whole time if he didn’t even know that Jacob was looking for candidates to replace him?

I literally can’t write anything else right now. I might add some thoughts later this weekend, but until then…enjoy, and feel free to add your thoughts/theories as you see fit.

Namaste,

JLP’s

What Kate Does When Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia

2010-02-12T20:31:00.000-08:00

LOSTaways-

The title of this blog-post will make sense to a few of you, and will be found funny by even fewer. The "Other" named Aldo in last night's episode, "What Kate Does," was played by an actor (Rob McElhenney) who is one of the creators and stars of the F/X comedy show Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia. If you haven't seen it, keep your decency and self-respect and skip it.

Before I get in to the parsing of this week's episode, a thought occurred to me regarding Jacob, the statue, and the time-travel flashes we followed in Season 5.

So the statue is about 30-stories tall. It has been there since at least the 1800's (as seen in the Season 5 finale). The first time we see it (2004, island time), all that is left is one section of the foot (from just above the ankle to the base). What in the world, other than a massive explosion, could bring a 30-story structure down? Well, maybe a Noah-like flood, right?

I don't even know what my theory is, but that statue had to have been brought down by the nuclear blast or the flooding of the island (which we saw in the side-by-side, new reality in episode one of Season 6). Perhaps we will see yet another time-travel flash to before 1974 (when Sawyer, Juliet, Myles, and Jin arrived in Dharma time) and there the statue will be brought down.

But on to this week's "What Kate Does":

The episode was one of those "we're setting some things up, but we can't have every week be the type of deal where you are blown away by new revelations" weeks. Like any good novel/story, you have to develop your characters and set up the plot twists to come. Since there weren't any huge developments, other than the final scene's revelation that Claire is the new Rousseau, which we will get to later, I won't spend a great deal of time recounting the play-by-play.

Let's separate the episode into "On-island"-"Off-island" categories for the purposes of this blog.

Off-island:

Things picked back up with Kate trying to bolt, yet again; but after having her hands freed by a Kris Kristofferson look-alike at a body shop, the angel of her shoulder her to go back and try helping Claire out. Claire, who apparently hasn't taking any acting lessons since we last saw her in Season 4, accepts Kate's ride to the house of the people who were gonna adopt "my baaaaaaabbbbyyyyy". (It's like nails on a chalkboard when that Aussie chick talks.) Predictably, things don't work out, thanks to the adoption husband pulling a Tiger Woods on his wife, and Kate gives her "I'm shocked and sickened by everything everyone says" look at takes Claire to the hospital.

(Note: If you want more in-depth theories about what all the allegorical and metaphorical meanings of Kate's off-island story might be, read Doc Jensen at EW.com)

And who is waiting for them, but our old Other friend Ethan, the son of Horace Goodspeed, and protege of Benjamin Linus. He's also the guy who, on the island, kidnapped Claire (after sticking her with needles), and eventually ends up deader than Yemi when Charlie (who ends up deader than Ethan) puts a cap in his front-side. The obvious question is: What the heck is Ethan doing on the mainland, as an OBGYN? On the island he had been the Others' resident surgeon, the offspring of Dharma's "first couple" (Horace and Amy), and presumably, at some point, a recruit (kidnapped or otherwise) to the Clan of Other.

Depending on when the island sank under-water, as it is in this new time-line, we can guess that Horace was never on the island (because it was at the bottom of the ocean); therefore his son (Ethan) would not be running through the jungle hanging the dude who wrote "You All Everybody" from tree limbs and kidnapping pregger chicks.

But in the hospital, Ethan seems to be a good guy. I say "seems" because we very likely could find out that the Others (or something like them) still exist and he's keeping tabs on Claire for some mystical, higher purpose. Either way, it was a very cool plot-point to have Ethan be Claire's doctor in Brentwood, CA.

The only other thing of note is that Claire already "knew" to call the boy Aaron. When she said the name everyone in the room, Ethan and Kate, both looked up and took note. Now this could have been an understandable reflex reaction to having a pregnant lady scream the name of a baby that hasn't been born yet, but it definitely had a Biblical feel to it. John the Baptist was named before he was born by an angel of God. Jesus got his name in similar fashion when the angel Gabriel told Mary all about her son before she was even pregnant.

Claire was warned in Season 1 by a psychic about the "danger" that surrounded her baby, and the need for her to raise him. But then the dude called her 4 months later, gave her $6,000, and sent her to L.A. to meet a family he had found that wanted to adopt the baby. So did this happen again? In that same fashion? Who was that psychic, anyway?

In Season 1, Claire had a dream one night where Locke, whose eyes were one-black, one-white, has this conversation with her:

CLAIRE: What's happening?

LOCKE: You know what's happening.

CLAIRE: But I don't understand. Why --?

LOCKE: He was your responsibility but you gave him away, Claire. Everyone pays the price now.

Pretty creepy. Was the Locke in this dream the Flocke of the future, representing the Smoke Monster he would become? What did he mean "gave away", because she had Aaron with her until Season 4?

On-island:

These parts of the episode were infinitely more interesting.

Sayid wakes up from his temporary morbid slumber and it freaks even the New Others out. My boy Dogen has Sayid brought in for some "tests", which our favorite Iraqi promptly fails. The electro-shock therapy test I did not get, but the blowing of the ash dust over Sayid did make much more sense. We've now seen ashes associated with the Smoke Monster multiple times. There was the line of ash around Jacob's cabin (which turned out to be the home/prison of Smokey). There was the circle of ash that Bram put around himself in Jacob's bunker last week to keep the smoke monster from killing him (which worked out really well, right?).

I'm guessing that if the Smoke Monster has "claimed" you, or is you (in the case of Flocke), the ash being dusted over your bare chest would hurt much more than it apparently did to Sayid.

This, in conjunction with what Dogen had to say about the "infection" spreading, leads me to conclude a few things.

One is that Sayid, to my friend SVB's delight, isn't beyond saving. Not that he will be saved, but that he isn't a LOST cause just quite yet. I foresee some miracle of the island, or ridiculous "task" that Jack will have to do to save his once-dead friend. This might also mean that Jack can save his sister (Claire) as well, who apparently has already been "claimed" for the dark side.

Second, that the infection Sayid has right now is the same one Rousseau was so adamant about, both in Seasons 1 and 2, and in her back-story last year. If you care to recall, she shot her scientific research team with a rifle (and left them to rot on the beach), including her husband/baby's daddy. She said that when they went down in to the Temple after their one-armed friend Montand that they were never the same again. Other people who have "gone down into the Temple"? Ben and Locke last year (but Locke, as we now know, was the Smoke Monster and made Ben go ahead of him so that he could turn into Alex and tell Ben to go back up and follow...well...himself). Ben as a little kid. And now this year Jack, Hurley, Kate, Sayid, and Jin (and sort of Sawyer, who was brought in later).

What is it about the Temple that drives people bonkos? Is it a dip in the frothy wading pool that does something to them?

This got me thinking about the over-riding theme of "good vs. evil", "dark vs. light", etc., and how and why people are "chosen" or "claimed" throughout the course of 5+ seasons. (Side note: anyone notice that Claire had a Shamu stuffed animal, whose colors are obviously black-and-white...like Backgammon...like Locke's eyes in Claire's dream?)

When Richard took Ben from Kate and Sawyer last season to save his life from the gun-shot wound Sayid gave him, he said something to the effect of: "Doing this is very risky." A similar thing was said by the New Others last week when they took Sayid down under the allegedly healing waters (which, mysterious even to the New Others, were darker than usual). This is assuming, of course, that Richard took Ben into the same pool of water to "heal" him when Ben was a boy. With all of the "lists" and "who is good, who is bad?" stuff going on in LOST since it began, the fact that the waters of the Temple heal some and not others (or as Jin would say, "Udders...Udders") is logically consistent with what we know about the island, Jacob, etc. The Others (and New Others) seem to be only slightly more informed than our 815 survivors have been when it comes to WHY someone is good or bad. They are told as much by either Richard or Ben (via Jacob), and then sent to kidnap (or in the case of Juliet, "convince") them.

The Japanese leader of the New Others, Dogen, really intrigues me, and I look forward to a back-story or side-ways, alternative flash on him. He said he was "called" to the island, and I doubt they'll leave us hanging for very long on what that call entailed.

Dogen concocted some green (not eco-friendly...although, maybe it was...who knows) pill for Sayid to take, and that turned out to be poison. The pill had a very Matrix, Alice in Wonderland vibe to it, like Jack had this choice to make (on behalf of Sayid), but the new Man of Faith didn't have enough of it to suggest to Sayid he take it. Although, he did shove it down his own trap in an attempt to call Dogen's bluff. That took some degree of faith and/or insanity. Whatever it is that has infected Sayid is bad enough that the New Others feel he needs to be executed. This strikes me as odd though because Sayid's name was on Jacob's list inside Hurley's guitar case. Does the waters of the Temple pool killing someone supersede even Jacob putting your name on a list? After all of that, are the followers of Jacob really going to let Sayid bite the big one, and at their own hands, no less?

Kate's story on the island consisted of doing what she always does: the wrong thing. Nothing has bugged me more in LOST more than Kate's attitude of superiority, especially over men who are just trying to help/protect her. Jack let her down off the island with his jealousy and Michael Jackson-like consumption of narcotics, and Sawyer's no saint, but in Kate's world...Kate always knows best. Always. Jack says in Season 3, "Kate, run back to our people with Sawyer and please don't come looking for me", but because of her stubbornness, she comes to Othersville and because of that Locke blows up the submarine Jack and Juliet were about to hitch a ride to freedom on. This week she ignored Sawyer's request to be left alone for his memory lane reunion tour back in Othersville, and Jin ends up with a bear trap around his gams.

As Kevin McCallister's uncle Frank famously said, "Look what you did, you little jerk!"

I don't really care that much about what happened between Kate and Sawyer back in Othersville, but what stood out was Sawyer's heartfelt monologue about "not wanting to be alone", yet at the same time he was beginning to recognize that perhaps some people in this world are meant to be alone...doomed to suffer. This is such a complex and difficult issue (broadly called "The Problem of Evil"), but who hasn't felt these exact same things at some point in their life. Justified or not, especially when compared to the real suffering and loneliness people all over the world experience, Sawyer's remarks struck a chord with anyone who has a pulse.

And, being the Dostoevsky-obsessed blogger I am, I could not help but hear the old Russian's voice in my head after watching Sawyer's scene on the submarine dock. Specifically, his classic work The Brothers Karamazov, touches on the very ideas brought up this week. I won't go on one of my wild tangents here, but so many of the characters in Fyodor's novels feel just as Sawyer does. That despite their best attempts to "go straight" and avoid trouble and do the right, they are destined to suffer and succumb to their fatal flaws. These are tough questions to ponder, but they are necessary ones to ponder. The book is also about redemption though, and we've already seen some of that among the LOST characters, and, hopefully, we'll see it in spades by the end.

On that note, Claire shows up at the end of the episode. But instead of "redeemed" we learn that she has gone over to the dark-side and apparently forgot how to bathe. We really don't know anything else about Claire's 3-year ordeal since we saw her last (in Jacob's cabin, sitting with Christian Shepard, her dad, and smiling at the real John Locke who came in to find out how to move the island). She has set up traps and snares like her old pal Rousseau (who helped her escape from the Others when she was pregnant...but then took her baby at one point too) and I'm hoping we'll get a glimpse of what Claire's World has looked like this whole time...and how she ended up in a cabin with her dad...and if she's still as obnoxious as ever.

Few thoughts/theories before we part:

-Did Sayid really die? He had no recollection of it, and Miles seemed skeptical when he learned that Sayid didn't see or hear or remember anything.

- I've tried to come up with some explanation as to why Dogen had a baseball in the scene when he tells Jack that the pill is poison...and I got nada. Maybe its a call-back to Field of Dreams or something. If you have any theories, lay 'em on us in the Comments section below.

- Why was Aldo telling the other Other dude not to tell Jin or Kate about the location of the Aijira Flight 316 survivors? He was so angry about being hit in the head with the butt of a gun, I realize, but what's with the secrecy?

- This upcoming episode is entitled "The Substitute."

That's all for now, folks. Take care and stay out of the deep end...of the Temple pool, should the water be a murky-brown.

Love,
Pants of Locke

A Few Points of Clarification Before Tomorrow Night

2010-02-08T20:53:00.000-08:00

I was listening to the podcast that the two head writers for LOST (Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof) do each week after a new episode, and I wanted to pass along a few interesting points of clarification, straight from the horse's mouth (as it were).

1. The scenes on the plane and in LAX were not really an "alternate" reality, but a co-reality. Damon said that this will be reconciled throughout the season, but that the things we saw weren't potential occurrences...they were definite events. How all of this works out is obviously TBD.

2. The bomb did work, as Juliet said, but again...how it worked...well, that's the reason we're watching the show. A little bit more of mystery never hurt nobody. Both writers said they did not want to have Season 6 be one episode after another of answering all the questions of the show. They want to keep us on our toes the whole way through, with some answers along the way this year. (See: Smoke Monster = Esau)

3. Tuesday's new episode is entitled "What Kate Does", a call-back to "What Kate Did" from Season 2. Tv.com describes the episode as follows:

Kate finds herself on the run, while Jack is tasked with something that could put a friend's life at risk.

Sounds juicy.

Here's an interesting re-cap and pre-hash of Kate's story-line that I found on YouTube:

If you wanted to hear another LOST-related podcast, here's one that Jorge Garcia (Hurley) put together.

I'll have my own re-cap posted probably by Thursday of this week. Enjoy "What Kate Did".

-Flocke

The Space Between (LA and X)

2010-02-04T08:51:00.000-08:00

All my bags are packed I'm ready to go I'm standin' here outside your door I hate to wake you up to say goodbye But the dawn is breakin' it's early morn The taxi's waitin' he's blowin' his horn Already I'm so lonesome I could die

So kiss me and smile for me Tell me that you'll wait for me Hold me like you'll never let me go Cause I'm leavin' on a jet plane Don't know when I'll be back again Oh babe, I hate to go

Mr. John Denver must have traveled in time during one of the island flashes, 'cause this song sounds like the perfect tune to accompany the opening of LOST's sixth season. He even mentions the taxi that Kate hijacks (with Claire in it...but is she pregnant?) outside of LAX.

Speaking of LAX, my suspicions Tuesday night were confirmed by LOSTpedia: there was a space between LA and X, so think of the X as you would a Roman numeral. Or think of it like this popular comic book that the writers of LOST say is one of the countless influences on the show.

Earth X is a 1999 comic book limited series written by Jim Krueger with art by John Paul Leon and published by Marvel Comics. Based on Alex Ross' notes, the series features dystopian future version of the Marvel Universe.
The series was followed by two sequels, Universe X and Paradise X.

A comic book about an alternate universe/reality that influenced the writers of LOST? Hmmm. Interesting, no?

Let's get the most pressing thing out the way first: the scenes on the plane and in LAX between many of our beloved characters from the original Oceanic Flight 815 were, from what I can gather, an alternate reality. I mean, it was clear that things were different (i.e. Shannon not being on the plane, Desmond being on the plane, etc.)...but everyone wants to know (or should want to know) "What the heck is going on here? When are they? Why are things so different?"

Here are some of the videos that the LOST people put out back at the Comicon Conference this past fall. One is about Oceanic having a perfect track-record in their company's existence. The next is Hurley in a commercial for the fried chicken joint he bought with his now-lucky millions. The third and final one is an "America's Most Wanted" story about fugitive Kate Austen (with some added/new twists to her insane flee from justice). All three videos are depicting another reality, contrary to the one we've witnessed the past 5 seasons, but also very similar to the original storyline as well. Things are different, but not that different (at least not yet).

I open with this because I wanted to establish that we really are dealing with what I believe to be an alternate chain of events. It's not in the future or in the past, but a different telling of the story that we originally saw. The bomb went off when Juliet hit it with a rock, and that time-line changed (and is the one we saw Tuesday night being played out on the plane and in the LAX airport). When half of the airplane landed on the Hydra island last season, with both living and dead Locke in-tow, they arrived in the future that was created by the rest of the gang (Jack, Kate, Hurley, Sayid, etc.) who went back to Dharma time and blew up the island...which likely sunk to the bottom of the ocean. (See: sunken four-toed statue)

I hope this helps clarify some things for those of you confused by what you saw in the season premiere. I also hope that it is right.

Let me move on to the parsing of the episode itself and the exciting new plot twists we were introduced to:

I'll start with what happened on the plane and in the airport.

As far as we can tell, all of the main characters from Season One are on the plane except Shannon. Locke is still crippled, both physically and emotionally, as exhibited by his apparent lie to Boone about the "walkabout" he likely never took Down Under. Jack is still boozing and a mess about his dad. (Although, and maybe it's nothing, the stewardess gave him two bottles of booze in Season 1 and only one last night.) Kate is still the hottest fugitive I've ever seen. Jin hasn't let his hair grow long or learned any English, and still treats Sun like their dog Bpo-Bpo. Rose and Bernard are still...zzzzzz....oh, sorry. I feel asleep because I was so bored even remembering those two pointless characters. Sayid and Sawyer still have proverbial chips on their shoulders. Hurley is all smiles as the "luckiest dude on earth."

The two characters that intrigued me the most on the plane were Charlie and Desmond. Charlie, because he tried to off himself in the lavatory (classy, bro) and then said "I was supposed to die" to Jack (the guy who saved his life on the island after my boy Ethan hung him like a sack of potatoes from a sycamore tree). I don't know exactly what I think about Charlie's cryptic comments regarding his own mortality, but I know there's something bigger there. "Whatever happened, happened" isn't the rule any more, but perhaps Charlie is in for another death scene shortly. His last (think: Not Penny's Boat) in the Looking Glass station at the end of Season 3 was actually really well done and powerful. Yet he was originally meant to die sooner than that, and if it hadn't been for Desmond....wait....isn't that Scottish yachtsmen on the plane as well this time?

Desmond pops up in first class with Jack and is reading a book by the mysterious real-life author Salmon Rushdie entitled Haroun and the Sea Stories. For more in-depth discussion of the book, it's connections to LOST, and correlating theories, read Doc Jensen's re-cap at Entertainment Weekly Online here. I'll just say that the book is about people who live in a city that is so old it has "forgotten its name." Sounds like that "might" touch upon some of the themes in LOST.

Jack recognizes Desmond, but Desmond doesn't remember him. The two of them should have met three years earlier while running sweatily up and down the stairs at a football stadium (presumably the Rose Bowl). Does Dez not remember Jack because that never happened in this alternate reality? Or does Dez remember him (because, as Faraday said last season, the "rules" don't apply to Hume and he is "special") and is just pretending to not know him?

Let's say Desmond does recognize Jack and is pretending to not remember him...could it be because he is now working for Widmore? Jacob? Smokey/Esau?

Or could it be because Desmond is on the plane to save Charlie's life again in this alternate reality? Lots of questions. If you have theories of your own on this specific point, post them in the Comments section below.

The rest of the "alternate reality" time is spent in the LAX airport terminal and much of what happened is self-explanatory. I can't pass up a chance to comment on the interplay between Locke and Jack, both in the plane, and then most notably in the Oceanic offices. Locke is looking for his knives and Jack just wants his dad's body back. (I'm Tom Jane.) For Locke, his refusal to accept that he is a "farmer" and not a "hunter" has plagued him his whole life, as we saw in Season 4's Cabin Fever. He cannot accept who he is, and those knives in part represent his refusal to let go of what he wants to be true (as opposed to the healthier acceptance and embracing of what is true). But Locke is a complicated dude, and who knows what the new future holds in store for him. His old ideological nemesis, Jack, became a Man of Faith and led the crusade to blow the island up, and here, in the new alternate reality, Jack befriends Locke. He even gives John his card and says, "Nothing is irreversible." Wow. What a loaded sentence that was! Especially coming from someone like Jack.

Okay, so let's move to a discussion of the happenings on the island itself. The year is supposedly 2007, and Jack, Jin, Sawyer, Kate, Hurley, Sayid, and a buried Juliet were transported from 1977. Juliet lets us know that "It Worked", but it's hard to say precisely what she meant by that. If she meant "The wreckage of the Swan falling on me to crush my body and kill me worked", then I totally on the same page. If she meant, however, that the detonation of the bomb worked in "fixing" things I have two simple questions: What? How? (Both how did it happen and how do you know, Blondie?)

Side note: I love Sawyer, but those lines he delivered under the Swan wreckage to Juliet were cheesy and over-acted.

Jacob, fresh off his stabbing in the foot of the four-toed statue, visits Hurley and tells him how to save Sayid: bring his Middle-Eastern carcass to the Temple's fountain-of-youth for some rejuvenation juice. Was anyone else wondering why Hurley didn't suggest that maybe they should bring Juliet with in case the healing pools were open for other miracles?

I know I'm jumping ahead, but Sayid "coming back to life" has to be Jacob indwelling his body, right? I guess it could be the Smoke Monster, but we know he is over with Richard and Ben on the beach. Plus Jacob was just murdered and would be looking for a new body. This makes me think that the body we know as Jacob now was someone else he took control of in days of island yore. Same thing with Esau/Smokey. They can take the shape of other peoples' bodies (see: Walt appearing to Locke in the Dharma mass-grave). They use the people drawn to the island as pawns in their cosmic game. It sounds similar to Shakespeare's The Tempest. Check it out and let me know what some of you think.

The New Others that the group meets in the Temple seem just as creepy and just as indifferent to human life as the original band. We've already seen last season that on this new island reality Othersville is destroyed so it is safe to assume that these New Others aren't faking their hobo garb and Spartan living conditions. They've built a new little society and have defensive protocols for how to keep "him" (Smokey) out. Some dude named Dogen is their leader and hates to speak English. (He should immigrate to America.) He wants to kill Jack and the Gang, but Hurley brings up Jacob and the old Egyptian wooden symbol in his guitar case and after finding a list of names unnecessarily hidden in the wooden symbol, Dogen agrees to try and help Sayid. They "help" Sayid die so Jacob can take control of his body.

On the beach, Richard and the group of people Jacob recruited to be on Aijira Flight 316 are wondering what to do about the fact that Locke seems to be both in the basement of the statue with Jacob and Ben, and also dead in a casket on the beach. Ben seems shell-shocked beyond words, although I loved his feeble attempt to trick Richard into going in to see "Locke". The guy is still learning.

Bram and a few of the Jacob-recruits do go in and get man-handled by Smokey. Some people are calling the Fake Locke "Flocke", so let's stick with that from now on. So, Flocke has his way with those saps who try to shoot a floating cloud of smoke that fights back. What I really enjoyed was Flocke's conversation with Ben about what real Locke was thinking before he died. Flocke commented on how silly and sad Locke was his whole life, and confirmed that he used Locke as his stooge because John was the most willing to give his all to the island...anything to avoid having to deal with the reality of his pathetic life back home.

Things wrap up on the beach when Flocke emerges and tells everyone there that he is "Very disappointed" with all of them. Phwaaah? Does he know all of them? Does he know their thoughts (like when he judged Mr Eko, appearing as his bro-bro Yemi)? What's this Flocke/Esau's deal?

He beats Richard up and puts him on his shoulders to go God only knows where. It was weird to see Richard get hurt, and even weirder that Richard recognized Flocke for the impostor he is only after Flocke said "It's nice to see you out of your chains." Is this a reference to the Black Rock being a slave ship and perhaps Richard Alpert was a slave (or criminal) on that ship when it crashed? Will we find out that the ship that was sailing in to the island's harbor while Jacob and Esau chatted at the beginning of last year's season finale was the ship Richard was on?

------

Alright, that's what I got for now. I may add some things this weekend if I think of anything else, so check back from time to time.

Here are my closing thoughts/theories going forward in Season 6:

-The book that Hurley picked up in the Temple was Fear and Trembling by Soren Kierkegaard, and is described as follows:

Fear and Trembling (original Danish title: Frygt og Bæven) is an influential philosophical work by Søren Kierkegaard, published in 1843 under the pseudonym Johannes de silentio (John the Silent). The title is a reference to a line from Philippians 2:12, "...continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling."
Fear and Trembling presents a highly original and provocative interpretation of the Binding of Isaac story as told in Genesis Chapter 22, and uses the story as an occasion to discuss fundamental issues in moral philosophy and the philosophy of religion, such as the nature of God and faith, faith's relationship with ethics and morality, and the difficulty of being authentically religious

Notice his pen-name (John the Silent), and the LOST-rich connections in even just that short synopsis. This show is just a little deeper than How I Met Your Mother, eh?

-A number of LOST theorists out there on the interweb have pointed out connections between this show and Dante's Paradiso. It is Dante's vision of what the after-life (Heaven) will be like. One thing that stood out to me was that in his version of heaven, there is a hierarchy among its inhabitants and some get to experience heaven in different ways than others. Almost as if there were lists of who was special and who was not.

- My money is on Desmond being responsible for stealing Jack's dad's corpse. He might be one of Widmore's street-toughs now. Or he is a wondering warrior who can move in and out of time (which would explain his disappearance act on the plane).

- Claire is still pregnant and Aaron will end up being more important to the story than we previously have seen. I still want to know what that psychic in Season 1 was talking about when he told Claire she "had" to be the one to raise Aaron and that evil surrounded him.

- All of the people Jacob visited in last season's finale are the people who went from 1977 time to new alternate reality time on the island. They were also all the people on the list hidden inside his weird, wooden Egyptian symbol. More on that next week.

- What was with Jack's flesh-wound on his neck when he was in the airplane's bathroom? Shaving-while-under-the-influence accident?

Thanks for reading. Thanks for loving LOST.

Namaste,

John Locke's Pants

Wishing I Was At "LAX"

2010-02-02T11:48:00.000-08:00

LOSTaways-

The greatest show made by humans is back tonight. The first episode is entitled "LAX" and I'm gonna go out on a limb and say it will have to do with the flight of Oceanic 815 from Sydney to Los Angeles.

There's not much I can (or want) to say about what I think will happen tonight, but I wanted to offer up a few reflective thoughts on what we've seen thus far in five seasons, and touch upon a few of the bigger, broader themes/story-lines/mysteries of the show.

My little sisters (Mackenzie and Megan) and I watched a whole mess of LOST over the holiday season, and seeing some of those old episodes from Seasons 1, 2, and 3 reminded me just want an enjoyable ride this show has been. I know many are nervous about how the writers may wrap LOST up at the end of this 6th and final season, but I think it's worth remembering just how much fun it's been already. I have faith things will end well, but Locke had faith that "the island" wouldn't murder him, so...

In Season 1 we saw the story of the survivors of Flight 815, well, surviving. It was focused on the back-stories of the various characters we've come to know and love/hate. One thing that stood out to me from Season 1 was the people the Smoke Monster chose to kill and/or not kill. Throughout the entire show we've seen such characters as the pilot of 815, Mr. Eko, and the soldiers from Widmore's (Not Penny's) boat taken by Smokey.

In Season 1 Locke is confronted early on by Smokey and yet Smokey does nothing. In light of that encounter, Locke says "I've looked in to the heart of this island...and what I saw was beautiful." It is after this encounter that he begins to become the warrior Man-of-Faith that inspired this blogger to start blogging about he and his pants. But at the end of the first season, when the gang is coming back from the Black Rock with dynamite in-tow, Smokey latches on to Locke and tries to bring him down (with Locke asking Jack to "let me go"). My point with all of this is this question: Is Smokey really controlled by anyone, or is it totally random who he goes after?

This then ties in to Season 5 and the conflict between Jacob and the dude who Jacob talks to on the beach in the season finale (I'll continue to call that character "Esau" until I hear otherwise). If Smokey = Esau, which I theorized last spring, then Smokey/Esau had planned and orchestrated so much of what had gone on these past five seasons. So are the people who have been attacked by Smokey really all part of Esau's plans to ultimately use Locke's body (and Ben's stabbing ability) to murder Jacob? Was Locke "the one" Esau wanted all along, or was it supposed to be someone else?

So to put a bow on that line of questioning, I want to know who/what Smokey is...but more importantly, I want to know what his/its motivations were in killing who he/it killed.

Moving on to Season 2, we enter the hatch (The Swan). Here the story shifts from the introduction of the main characters and their survival on the island to the mysteries and purpose of the island. It is a season about "Faith vs. Science" and thus it is really about Locke and Jack and the things they stand for and represent. Locke looses faith when he finds The Pearl station, but has his doubts come crashing down around him when The Swan implodes and Desmond turns the fail-safe key.

The biggest question in my mind from Season 2 is: What did turning the fail-safe key really do? We've never had this fully explained. Is turning the frozen donkey wheel under The Orchid the only way to mess with time? Radzinsky and Dr. Candle both said the power under The Swan was much more powerful than even what was under The Orchid. That's gotta mean something.

Locke losing faith led to Desmond needing to turn the fail-safe key...so was this part of Esau's plan too? Or did Locke end up being the one used by Esau because Jacob was punishing John for "losing faith" in Season 2? Did turning the fail-safe key make Desmond "special", or was he special before ever coming to the island? Lot going on here...

Season 3 was our (partial) answer to "Who the heck are the Others?" We meet Juliet, Ben, and what we thought was Jacob. I think from what we learned in Season 5 it is safe to say that Esau/Smokey was in that cabin and not Jacob (who lives in the bottom of the statue). He was the one who said "Help Me" to Locke. The night Ben took Locke to meet "Jacob", Locke saw that there was a ring of ashes around the cabin, and then in Season 5, Ilana and Lapidus (with Locke's dead body in-tow) see that the ring of ashes has been broken. More on this in Season 5 talk below.

In Season 3 we also get some memorable scenes like Sawyer killing Sawyer (Locke's dad), Naomi falling from the sky, Desmond trying to save Charlie, and Charlie sacrificing his own life to save everyone else. The big question that starts in Season 3 and continues on to the present is this: Are the "Boat People" bad or good? Is Widmore or Ben the "bad" guy? Who is on Jacob's side and who is on Esau/Smokey's side? Which of those two is the "good" guy?

Season 4 is our introduction to those very same Boat People. The mini-war takes place on the island, culminating with Locke being told to "move" the island. But what we learn later in Season 5 is that Locke wasn't supposed to let Ben move the island...he was supposed to move it. Time and again Christian Shepard is the one who speaks "on behalf of Jacob"...but in light of the fact that Locke ends up being used (literally) as the catalyst for Esau murdering Jacob, and Christian was the one who directed Locke to move the island both times, can we safely assume that Esau took the form of Christian Shepard to direct everyone where they needed to go?

But then things get even more complicated because Christian is the one who directed Sun and Lapidus to wait for Locke in Ben's old house in Season 5 (Dead is Dead) when they came to a broken-down Othersville after hitting Ben with a paddle and ditching the survivors of Ajira Flight 316 on the smaller Hydra Station island. So was Esau/Smokey both inhabiting Locke's body back on the smaller island while talking to Sun and Frank, or is Smokey (in the form of Christian) just a lap-dog for Esau?

My head hurts...but in a good way.

Season 5 is the story of Dharma and of getting back to the island. This is the season obviously most fresh in our minds so I won't re-cap much, but I have a few final questions/thoughts that I will close this blog out with:

-Due to some recent insightful text messages with a smart girl I know in Grand Rapids (JEH), the question I have is this: what was it about Locke mentioning Eloise's name that made Ben blow a gasket in Locke's hotel room the night he strangled John? Assuming Eloise is on the "side" of Widmore, you can see why Ben would be pissed that Locke had been in contact both with Charles and now with Eloise. But then Ben works with Eloise to help get them back to the island...what gives? Part of me feels that Ben is really a much bigger tool than we realize even now. Esau used him to stab Jacob at the end of the final episode, but that might be a metaphor for all of the using of Ben people have done this entire time (while he thinks he is in control).

- Where is Desmond, and how do I get him back in my life? We lost sight of him after Jack and the Gang got on Flight 316 and went back to separate island times.

- Is the reason Othersville is so ramshackle in the future when Sun and Lapidus see Christian because Juliet did set off the nuke and the island has been in rubble since that event?

- I think the scenes we saw with Jacob visiting the lives of Kate, Sawyer, Sayid, Jack, etc. in the Season 5 finale were the new future. The bomb did go off when Juliet hit it, and now Jacob is having to go and "mark" the people he needs to come back to the island. He touched each of the people he visited. That's gotta mean something.

-Who is Richard, and whose side is he on?

There's so much more to say and hypothesize about, but just enjoy the new episode tonight and look back later this week for a re-cap of "LAX".

Stay out of the deep end.

-John Locke's Pants

Season 5 Is Here

2009-12-08T12:41:00.000-08:00

Season 5 of LOST was released today, and I'm on my way to Best Buy after work.

Here's a good write-up on the release from The Washington Post.

Me in a tuxedo

2009-12-07T11:20:00.001-08:00

The Prisoner = LOST

2009-11-10T08:54:00.000-08:00

LOSTaways-

I'd give up Italian Beef sandwiches for LOST to be back on the air right now. Well...I'd at least eat a few Italian Beef sandwiches if LOST were back on the air right now. But about two weeks ago something happened that changed my LOST-loving life forever. Let me back up for a minute and say that for the last 3 years I have been a subscriber to the LOST Podcast on iTunes where the show's creator (Damon Lindelof) and co-head writer (Carlton Cuse) break down each episode and answer fans' questions.

Now, the "break down" is never very extensive or helpful in the sense of predicting what will happen on the show, but one of the main reasons I have listened to the thing is because I am fascinated by what influences the people who entertain, education, and/or inspire me. I want to know who C.S. Lewis read. I want to know who taught Mozart. I want to know who first fed Dick Portillo. Well, on this podcast Carlton and Damon frequently discuss the shows, books, movies, writers, and music that has inspired them to create and maintain the best show ever made by humans: LOST.

I'd say more than a few times these guys have mentioned the show The Prisoner, which originally aired in 17 episodes between 1967 and 1968 on the BBC in jolly ole' England. Like most things British, I was skeptical of it, but I do have enough faith in Damon and Carlton to follow through on many of their recommendations. Because of them I've become a Dostoevsky fanatic. I've watched a bunch of random old movies on TCM that they say they draw upon when writing LOST. I've started a weird blog that other weird LOST fans sometimes read.

I assumed, however, that there was little chance I'd ever find a copy of a British television drama that was discontinued the year Nixon first became president.

Back to two weeks ago...I went to my Comcast On-Demand screen to watch a past episode of the second best show on TV, AMC's Mad Men, and saw an option for "The Prisoner-1967." I couldn't believe my beautiful blue eyes. It was about 11pm at the time, and I had Greek Exegesis homework still to do, but before I could stop them, my fingers had clicked their way to episode one of the show and 4 hours later I was left wondering what had just happened to me and why had I been wasting so much of my life without The Prisoner in it?

The acting was a little over-the-top, the special effects looked exactly like they came out of 1967, but the story-lines were unmistakably LOST-like. (Or I supposed I should say that LOST is very Prisoner-like.) Check out this brief explanation of the show's plot and tell me it doesn't sound like the island:

"The series follows an unnamed British agent who abruptly resigns his job, and then finds himself held captive in a mysterious seaside "village" that is isolated from the mainland by mountains and sea. The Village is further secured by numerous monitoring systems and security forces, including a mysterious device called Rover that captures those that attempt escape. The agent encounters the Village's population, hundreds of people from all walks of life and cultures, all seeming to be tranquilly living out their lives. As they do not use names, they have each been assigned a number, related to their importance in the Village's power structure.
The agent is told by the Village authority he is "Number Six", and they are seeking "information" as to why he resigned; the task of doing this is carried by the ever-changing "Number Two", acting as the Village's chief administrator and proxy to the unseen "Number One". Number Six, distrusting of anyone involved with the Village, refuses to give such answers while at the same time trying to learn for which side the Village works, remaining defiant to authority while concocting his own plans to escape or learn more about the Village. Some of his schemes, while not resulting in an escape, do lead to the dismissal of an incumbent Number Two on two occasions. At the end of the series, the administration becomes desperate for Number Six's information, and more drastic measures follow that threaten the lives of Number Six, Number Two, and the rest of the Village.

The series features striking and often surreal storylines, and themes include hypnosis, hallucinogenic drug experiences, identity theft, mind control, dream manipulation, and various forms of social indoctrination. A major theme is individualism versus collectivism."

Wow, thats good stuff.

Since that fateful night two weeks ago, I've blown through all 17 episodes (although a few near the end get weird and Number Six is a cowboy or something). And the best part of all is that AMC has already done a re-make of the show and it will be airing over three straight nights starting this upcoming Sunday, November 15th.

Check out this extended trailer:

Of course I don't know if AMC will take a fabulous idea and ruin it, but I doubt they will (or can). The story of The Prisoner is so interesting on its own, they've got two incredible actors in the starring roles of Number Two and Number Six, and its on the same channel that makes Mad Men and Breaking Bad.

So set your DVR's or grab a bowl of Dharma popcorn and get to your TV's Sunday night. After the three-night event I will post some thoughts on the show itself and point out some of the subtle and not-so-subtle tie-ins to our favorite show: LOST.

Until then, God's speed.

-John Locke's Pants

p.s. Check out this time line which helps to better explain the pop-culture history of The Prisoner since 1967.

It's about time...am I right?

2009-10-09T17:02:00.000-07:00

Michael Emerson finally won an Emmy for the creepy role of Benry Gale-Linus. I don't know how he can hope to ever play anything but creepy bad guys for the rest of his career, right?

Here he is winning the award:

And here he is on the red carpet (with another special guest's pants):

LOST returns in Jan 2010

2009-10-08T22:08:00.000-07:00

The official/unofficial (because these things always change) return date for LOST is January 27th, 2010. How does that suit you?

Here's a video from Comic con in San Diego this year:

And here is the commercial that they played at Comicon that has some hints and clues that I believe confirm my theories from my last post back after the season five finale in May. Watch it. Read it. Love it.

Who else is happy to even be thinking LOST in October?

There was an Incident...

2009-05-17T15:22:00.000-07:00

LOSTaways-

It's a quarter to three
There's no one in the place
So set 'em up Joe
I got a little story, you outta know

We're drinking my friend
To the end of a brief episode
So make it one for my baby
And one more for the road

Thanks, Frank. I can take it from here. The end of the 5th season of LOST has left me blue, with more than eight months to reflect on the fact that we've only 16 episodes left of the greatest show ever made by humans. It seems like only yesterday Claire was whining about her baby, Charlie was addicted to smack, and that crazy French broad was still slumming it in the jungle. Times and people change, and people who seem to have come back to life really are still . Or are they? And the most important thing of all (to me and my pants) came to light: Locke didn't really turn evil...cause it wasn't him in the first place.

This will be the last LOST re-cap blog of 2009. But I did not come here to bury LOST, but to celebrate and honor what was a fantastic finish. On with the post.

So....Jacob, huh? The guy-behind-the-guy-living-in-the-statue was finally unveiled in this season's punch-to-the-gut-and-brain finale "The Incident" last Wednesday, and although many hoped for some dramatic introduction to Jacob, which reveals that he's really Vincent or that bird that yelled Hurley's name in Season Two, I LOVED the nonchalant intro the island's leader was treated to.

He's weaving tapestries, he's fishing for breakfast, and he's s up in the basement of the remnants of the four-toed statue. We find Jacob enjoying his fresh catch on the beach with what appears to be the slaving ship Black Rock in the island's harbor. Emerging from the jungle is a mysterious character who looks to be dressed in opposing dark colors to Jacob's bright, and by the end of the episode we confirm that the two men are sworn enemies engaged in some moral/literal battle for control of the island (and perhaps the souls of those on it...maybe the souls of the world).

The opening conversation between Jacob and, for the sake of argument, Esau (the brother of Jacob in the Bible, and what I'll call this new character in this blog), is fascinating! Esau accuses Jacob of "bringing" the ship to the island and warned him that the people who come to the island only bring with them fighting, corruption, and destruction. "It always ends the same..." This implies that many other groups of people have come before, but Jacob retorts with the equally cryptic and mysterious "Things only end once; everything before that is just progress." Esau reminds Jacob he wants to kill him, and will search for a loophole to accomplish this dastardly deed.

Now at this point in the series, if you aren't thinking there is some sort of religious/supernatural component to this show, or if you're disappointed that there is, then you'd likely be better off exiting out of this blog and getting back to your Golden Compass reading. For the rest of you, for those of you on my "list", let's continue.

At the center of all the warring between competing groups to control the island is this conflict: Jacob vs. Esau. They've both been there for a long, long time. Even longer than Richard, who said he is the way he is because of Jacob. They both have powers and capabilities above and beyond that of normal island-dwellers. They appear to be exact or near opposites. And knowing what we know now, that Esau somehow took over Locke's body for the purposes of offing Jacob, they both have the ability to bring or draw people to the island and coordinate circumstances (to an extent, anyway).

Without beating too much around the proverbial bush, I think that Esau is the smoke monster. He emerged from the jungle, is dark and mysterious, took on the form of John Locke like the monster has done with characters like Eko's brother Yemi to Jack's dad Christian Shepard, and plus it just feels right to guess this. Now the question really becomes, and where the show is obviously headed next season: Who are the "good" guys?

We know that the smoke monster is largely uncontrollable. Ben could "summon" it, but even he admitted that he had no say over what it did. Ben himself was ultimately judged by it. Speaking of which, remember that it was John Locke Part Deux, evil Locke, after the Ajira crash, who suggested that Ben go for his judgment to the Temple and knew the way there and special things about the island that Ben was amazed at. Come to think of it, when Ben summoned Smokey in that same episode Locke strangely was absent and out in the woods for a never-disclosed reason. And then conveniently when Ben was judged in the Temple Locke disappeared to "go find some rope" and then Smokey told Ben that he needed to follow Locke no matter what. We saw this week how that advice ended up: Jacob stabbed in Esau's "loophole" plan.

In the Temple's basement Ben saw a carving of the Smoke Monster staring down the Egyptian god Anubis as if the two were in a struggle or battle of their own. That Anubis fellow looks a lot like the figure of the statue, where Jacob lives, who happens to be in a struggle or battle with a mysterious man who might be the Smoke Monster...you connecting some dots yet?

Another factor to throw in here is the fact that when Ilana and Bram and Lapidus come to Jacob's cabin in the woods (which was weird that they knew where it was right away), they are alarmed at the circle of ashes around the cabin being broken. In previous blogs I mentioned how that in some mythologies and religions, a circle of ashes around a "spirit" is supposed to be able to contain that spirit. Ilana mentions that no one has used the cabin for a while. We can assume that Jacob at one time lived there, but my theory is that he (or his subordinates) were able to contain Esau (Smokey) in that cabin...until someone or some event (perhaps the "incident") freed him?

That's why things went haywire when Ben brought Locke there in Season Three, even though Ben had thought no one would be there because the Others had been told by Alpert that Jacob had moved to the statue's cellar. This was the moment when Locke heard "Help me" from what he thought was Jacob, but might in fact have been Esau who saw a chance to exploit the trust-happy Locke, the future leader of the island, in order to escape the confines of his cabin prison and emerge one day in the form of Locke himself to have Jacob ed. Complicated enough?

So then we think of Jacob's cabin moving around the island last season and the instructions he gave to Locke to "move" the island. And Christian Shepard appearing to Locke saying that he could "speak on behalf of Jacob". Then the whole moving the island, time-skipping stuff would become the work of Esau and not Jacob at all. The visions of people Locke saw along the way (like Horace Goodspeed chopping wood in the forest) were of, and from, Esau. Maybe that's part of why Ben shot Locke a few seasons back, because he knew that the voice Locke claimed to hear could not have been Jacob and therefore became, by default, something anti-Jacob and in need of elimination. Until Ben's meltdown at the end of the finale this week, he was loyal to the island and Jacob it seemed. But then one has to wonder how much Esau has been manipulating people all along. Then, again, comes the even bigger question: Is Jacob or Esau the one to fear?

The case for Esau being the "good" island son isn't too difficult to make, but very easily could be -wrong. Perhaps Jacob is bad or evil and is a mischievous spirit (in human form) and has led all these people to the island to try and prove to God (or whoever) that a utopia can exist on earth with the "right people" (see: the lists...and people being told "you're not on the list"). Let me go through the off-island encounters with Jacob that some of our favorite castaways experienced and continue to flesh out my theory that Jacob might be the bad guy.

First there was Kate as a little getting caught stealing a New Kids on the Block lunchbox. Already the little was sinking her pretty little teeth in to a life of crime, and implicating her friends in it as well. Jacob appears to pay for the lunchbox, seemingly doing a "solid" for a little who simply made a mistake. But what if Kate had been punished at such a young age? Might she not have learned a lesson that would set her on a different path in life? Wasn't Jacob encouraging the self-destructive behavior that eventually led Kate to being a wanted gal and in handcuffs on Flight 815? What looked like Jacob being benevolent or helpful might have been his own selfish plan to orchestrate the crash.

Then there was young James Ford, Sawyer, who was encouraged by Jacob (via him giving young Sawyer a pen) to let the and pain and anger of his parents' tragic /murder fester inside him with the writing of that open letter to the original Sawyer (Locke's dad Anthony Cooper). James' uncle comes up and tried to encourage him to let things go and move on with his young life. Things might have been different had he listened and put his talents to good use in life. He also wouldn't have been on that plane.

Or Sayid's wife being hit by a car right as Jacob asked Sayid for directions on a street corner in Los Angeles. That's what led Sayid to a life of assassinations and more regret and pain and eventually landed him back on a plane to the island. Now the reason my theory that Jacob is bad could easily fall apart is because he could have been doing all those things for noble, right reasons and after a few episodes in Season Six we could see those unfold and realize he had to be doing that to protect the island and/or these people from the evils of Esau (and whoever else).

Interesting to note that Jacob only visited certain people. Sun,Jin, and Jack were some of the others visited. Oh, and of course the Locke visit moments after his pops pushed him out the window, shattering his spine. Locke looks like he is when Jacob approaches him, but after Jacob touches him on the shoulder in what looked like a Vulcan grip, Locke wakes up. Was Locke there? Did Jacob already know that Locke would end up being his killer but came to his aid in that moment anyway? Or was Jacob really wanting Locke to be the island's leader and Esau, using people like Ben (full of anger and resentment), picked Locke to be the one he would use himself as the "loophole".

The most interesting visit though was to Ilana who was wrapped in English Patient-style gauze in some sort of infirmary in God-knows-where-astan. Jacob apologizes for not coming sooner and asks Ilana if she will help him. She and Jacob both are speaking Russian, by the way. Ilana agrees to help and Jacob touches her. He touches her also. We know that she (and Bram and presumably others) are with Jacob and know intel about the island already. Bram had told Miles when he kidnapped him that they were the good guys, the side that was going to win, and that Team Widmore was a losing team.

I assumed at the time that this meant the real battle was between Widmore and Ben for control of the island, but it's fairly obvious now that the real struggle is between Jacob and Esau. So if Bram-Ilana are with Jacob, they knew him beforehand and are potentially "special" beings themselves, or perhaps servants/aids of Jacob's like Alpert. If you've ever seen Highlander (either the movies or tv series), I'm getting that kind of vibe here. If you haven't seen Highlander, you're probably better off.

As far as Alpert goes, my money is on him having been on the Black Rock and we will see flashbacks next season to when he first began to work for Jacob after the crew of the slave ship came ashore. He has been playing island babysitter to the Others and errand boy to Jacob for some 250 years. His premonition that Locke (fake Locke) was "going to be trouble" last week turned out to be spot-on. He was understandably shocked when Locke came back to life, and that's because Alpert knows the island well enough to know that it isn't possible. is , you know.

Above all else, Alpert seems to be loyal to Jacob. Every time island leaders (i.e. Widmore or Ben) go astray or are in need of correction Alpert has been there and it has been at the behest of Jacob (according to what we know right now). Alpert is a prophet of Jacob's, you might say. As was the case in the OT, prophets were usually treated with a mixture of respect and disdain, often ending up martyred for the truth they were bringing the people.
I'll have a few more thoughts on Alpert, the Jacob-Esau conflict, and the line "they're coming" Jacob dropped before being pushed into the fire pit in my Thoughts/Theories section later.

I want to run through a few things regarding what all was happening in 1977, Swan Station explosion times.

Kate, with the help of Juliet, predictably gets Sawyer off the sub and they head back to stop Captain Jack's run. The whole Sawyer-Juliet thing turned out to be pretty real in terms of their affection for each other, but we all know Sawyer and Kate will end up together in the end, right?

Those three love-birds beach their canoe on the same stretch of island where a two other love-birds, Rose and Bernard (aka, the two most boring characters on the entire show), who've been living on Walden's Pond together in serene bliss. They've adopted the attitude that come what may, so long as they're together they're unafraid of even . Ahh, true love. I very much hope that this was the writers' way of saying goodbye to these two dreadful actors/characters. Blah.

Meanwhile, Jack and Sayid were in the basement of an New Otherton home when Alpert knocked his "leader" Eloise out due to her pregnancy. Now was Richard really just worried about Eloise, or did he realize that the baby inside her (Faraday) was necessary to the history/future of the island. How much does Alpert really know? Regardless, he sends Jack and Sayid on their way with little concern about the fact that they were seeking to detonate a hydrogen ...which, if I'm not mistaken, might do some damage to Eloise and her unborn child (and anyone else on the island). Does this also point to Richard knowing how things would play out?

Eventually the two groups meet each other in the jungle after Sayid/Jack are picked up by the Jin-Miles-Hurley triumvirate of fun in the VW bus. Jack and Sawyer have their disagreement as gentlemen, a few fists are thrown, and in what can only be considered a satirical, ironic plot twist, the woman (Juliet) is the clear-thinking one who calms the boys down. Eventually even Kate accepts the idea that Jack is going to detonate that nuke.

One interesting point in need of some extra attention so far as the conversation between Jack and Sawyer is concerned. Jack says that Locke was always right about the island, that this was his destiny. Is that true? Is Locke's view of things legit or has it been compromised?

Locke was led to the island most notably by Matthew Abbadon, the mysterious adviser/lackey of Charles Widmore who Ben eventually shot when Locke left the island. Abbadon had visited Locke right after John broke his back and told him to go on a walkabout, and that he was doing Locke a favor in suggesting it and that perhaps some day Locke would be able to do him a favor. So was Abbadon working for Jacob there or Widmore or someone else when he first visited Locke?

Then once on the island, Locke became a new man, physically, emotionally, spiritually, and everything in between. In the first season he was able to stare down the Smoke Monster and when asked about it, John said: "I've looked this island in the eye and what I saw was beautiful."

But assuming that the Smoke Monster is Jacob's nemesis Esau, the guy who eventually uses Locke's body to bring about Jacob's demise, then most everything Locke was doing up until the time he died off the island was for the good of Esau.

So then Jack has also been duped and was being fed lines from a man being driven by inspiration and instruction from the person/being who wanted Jacob so badly that he was willing to let so much and destruction occur. (P.s. all of that I just wrote is grounds for suspecting that Esau isn't really good, and Jacob is.)

After Sawyer and Jack duke it out, you throw in a couple heart-wrenching scenes as the characters realize they won't know each other if Jack's plan works, and we end up with the climatic "incident" shoot-out at the O.K. Swan Station Corral. Dr. Chang's arm in the orientation films we saw in Season Two looked to be fake, and we got to see why that was (it got caught in a piece of falling debris when the electromagnetic power went haywire).

Phil, the Dharma security dope, gets his just desserts in the form of a 6' iron rod through his chest cavity. I'm not sure if we saw it, but sweet Venus I hope that Radzinsky got it to. But I'm guessing he didn't because the guy who trained Sayid to in Iraq, the dude named Kelvin, said that Radzinsky was with him in the hatch before Desmond showed up via boat race around the globe.

Anyway, Juliet falls to the bottom of the Swan's pit and hits the nuke 8 times with a stone and the screen goes white. For you fellow Soprano's fans, this reminded me of that show's climatic series finale where the screen went black with no follow-up explanation. But this time we get another season of our show to hopefully figure things out and be satisfied.

The debate here will be whether or not the nuke actually was detonated, or if the white flash was simply another round of time-skips. And if the nuke did go off, did it work? Has history been re-written or course-corrected or something else? Remember that the island in 2007 time (Present Island Time) is in shambles. Sun and Lapidus find Othersville run down with no explanation for why things were this way. If the nuke did go off in 1977, wouldn't it have destroyed the entire island more than just some run-down buildings and tumble-weeds? And wouldn't the island have been uninhabitable going forward for a while, what with radiation and all? If the nuke went off, things are drastically different, that much is certain.

Oh, and that was pretty sweet when Locke was revealed to still be in the casket. Wild.

More happened in this episode, but I feel like I've hit the key points. For more re-cap by a much wiser, more well-read man than I, check out this link to Doc Jensen's LOST column over at Entertainment Weekly. I'm moving on to some concluding thoughts and theories.

Thoughts/Theories:

-In Follow the Leader, Alpert was building one of those ships in a glass jug things and I believe that was a for sure signal that he was on a ship like that at one point and that the ship was in fact the Black Rock.

-Juliet was really sacrificing when she agreed to re-set the island's time with the nuke because she wasn't on Oceanic 815 and would still be with Ben on the island pining for her freedom and to see her sister again. Juliet will still be miserable. That is, of course, assuming that everything else on the island went somewhat the same for the Others and Ben and Widmore and the rest. I suppose Juliet at this point was just thinking, "This is all so messe up and I think Sawyer still loves Kate so I'm betting the farm on 'Red'."

-In the final Jacob-Ben-Esau scene, Jacob instantly recognizes Imposter Locke as being his nemesis. I mean without a hesitation. That has to be supernatural. These dudes have to be like angels or demons or Greco-Roman gods from days of yore or something. There can't be a purely scientific explanation of what is going on here.

-I loved Jacob's response to Ben the Whiner's diatribe about Jacob's lack of concern for the bug-eyed manipulator. "What about me?......What about you, Ben?" If Jacob is evil, then this was like Edmund in Lion, Witch, Wardrobe hearing from the White Witch's own mouth that she never really cared for him at all, that he was a pawn and had betrayed his siblings and Aslan (the true leader and power in Narnia). If Jacob is good, then what he said could be taken as "tough love" reminder to Ben that the island (and things in general) are bigger than him and his selfish worries about not getting enough attention.

-Jacob tells Ben that no matter what, he still has a choice and can simply walk away to leave the two dudes to discuss their "issues." Ben declines and OJ Simpson's him. There have been many "rules" referenced in the past two seasons, including the rules the precluded Ben and Widmore from each other (and the one Widmore broke by having Ben's daughter killed). Jacob in that final scene when Ben killed him had an air of inevitability around his . He seemed to be asking Ben not to kill him, but didn't seem too distraught when he was. (I also liked the Star Wars, Return of the Jedi-style burnt offering Jacob recieved.) The rule for Esau (in Locke's body) was that he couldn't lay a hand on Jacob personally. But if both he and Jacob are beholden to "rules", it implies a "higher power" still that the men are accountable to.

-One of the biggest mysteries up to this episode was what the answer to "What lies in the shadow of the statue?" was...and this week Richard answers the creepy question with a piece of Latin (the language of The Others, if you remember from earlier this season when young Widmore spoke it and Juliet recognized it). The answer to the question is "Ille qui nos omnes servabit", which is Latin for "He who will save [or "protect"] us all". It's more than fair to assume that this is in reference to Jacob. Richard knew the answer, Richard works for Jacob, Ilana works for Jacob, and Bram is taking orders from Ilana (who seems to be "in charge" of that whole new group).

-When Jacob says "they're coming", did he mean Bram and Ilana and them...or did he mean there are still others coming. Perhaps Widmore and more of his people? Widmore told Locke when he left the island that Locke needed to be on the island or the wrong side would win. Now that I think about it, Widmore also dismissed Locke when he said that the island told him he would have to die. He couldn't believe that. Christian Shepard was the one who told Locke he would have to convince the rest to come back before Locke turned the wheel, but if that Christian Shepard was actually Jacob's nemesis Esau, then things get more complicated. Man, there are many layers to this show. Almost like the writers don't want us to be able to figure it all out easily, like one can with an episode of Joey.

-The tapestry Jacob was weaving contained a quote from Homer's Illiad that translates to "may the gods grant thee all that thy heart desires", which is familiar to the text of Psalm 20:4. "The Fates" is a term from Greek mythology that has to do with three women who were weavers of history/destiny. There's plenty of symbolism in a timeless guardian angel-type like Jacob being "in to" tapestry weaving. One, off the top of my head, would be that while a tapestry is being woven together, from most angles and vantage points it is hard to tell what the end result will be...the person weaving knows where he is headed with his project...but not until it is all done, or someone gets the right view of it, can the average spectator understand what they are looking at. You like?

-For the sake of time/space here, just read more about the book Jacob was reading when Locke fell out of the window. It was a Flannery O'Connor book of short stories called Evertyhing That Rises Must Converge. She was a unique Christian writer who loved penning stories about lost souls finding redemption in unexpected ways. Very interesting stuff. Specifically, the story in that book called Revelation.

-In Kate's story, another Patsy Cline song is playing, and the lunchbox she tried to steal was placed in the time capsule she and her boyfriend at the time Tom made. The lyrics to the Patsy Cline song are VERY telling and speak to many of Kate's story-lines. Basically it's about a lady who had a man, another woman came along and took him from her, and now she's all on her own. Juliet, anyone?

-Read here about the Black Swan Theory. If Juliet did succeed in detonating Jughead, this could be considered a Black Swan event.

-One potentially big theory that I have is that, assuming Juliet did detonate the and change things, the "flashback scenes" we saw with Jacob in different castaways' lives will turn out to be the "new" history that is created with the help of a Jacob intervention or two along the way. Perhaps Jacob WAS NOT originally involved in their lives but after the nuke goes off, he is becomes involved to direct them all to the island any way in the future and the "they" in "they're coming" is gonna be Jack, Sawyer, Kate, etc. Not sure how that would all work, but I'm trying to look for a big twist in all that Jacob flashback footage.

-Now whether or not I'm right about that theory (or even parts of it), I think it would be cool next year to see how it was that Jacob "brought" the Black Rock slave ship to the island that day we saw him on the beach with Esau. If he does get involved in peoples' lives like we saw without castaways along the way, who else has he brought to the island, and how does he get back to the "real world" to "bring" them to the island? Did he invent submarines and man them himself?

-I might have mentioned this earlier, but the conversation between Ben and Jacob at the end had the tone of Job to it. In that book of the bible, a man is put to the test by Satan who has been allowed by God to afflict suffering (to certain points) on Job and his family. In the end, Job realizes that he is not in the position to question the Almighty about why things happen as they do. Ben obviously hasn't reached that point yet. But the Jacob-Esau conflict running throughout this episode has the God-Satan confrontation from Job feel to it as well.

Okay people, I literally have carpal tunnel now after this post, so I'll stop and bid you farewell from Season Five. We've had a heck-of-a-run this year. Some real answers have come our way and long-standing mysteries have had significant light shined on them. I plan on posting a few things summer here on Locke's Pants about some of the books I'm currently reading (and will read in the next few weeks now that finals are done) that have been referenced in LOST. I just ordered that Flannery O'Connor book actually so I will write a few short things up on any LOST-related books I get through this summer so check back from time to time.

It's been real. It's been fun. I'm off to lie in the shadow of the statue.

Blessings,

Jacob's Loom

Ace of Cakes

2009-05-14T09:38:00.000-07:00

The Food Network's show Ace of Cakes made a cake for LOST's 100th episode. Here is a link to more pics of it. Catch the episode if you can, because you get to see many of the actors making fools of themselves eating the cake. Especially Sawyer.

Follow The Lead Blogger

2009-05-08T11:08:00.000-07:00

LOSTaways-

Man, that was good. This is what it's all about, really. The episode before each season finale so far has always done an incredible set-up job, and this week's "Follow the Leader" was no exception. You know it's a pre-finale episode when there are large groups of people traveling together for some ridiculous purpose...in this case, to "kill Jacob." Last year we had various groups traversing around the island before it was "moved". Year before that, the 815 survivors were moving to Rousseau's radio tower and the Others were moving towards The Temple. I love it. I love it all.

This week's is gonna be a short re-cap, so enjoy it while it lasts. Please post more thoughts and questions and comments though below. I'm sure I'll leave some important stuff out, but I'm in a rush and this is a blog on a fake tv show named after an article of clothing of a character named after a 17th century philosopher-economist.

So Faraday is really dead it appears. We picked up this week where we left off last time, with a deadski Daniel laying amidst a gaggle of Others trying to figure out what the heck just happened when Eloise shot her son. Jack and Kate get picked up in the nearby jungle by Charles Widmore doing his best John Wayne impression. Alpert confirms that Widmore and Eloise are lovers (hopefully in the sacred bonds of matrimony), and that, like my Facebook relationship status, "it's complicated." So complicated that the two of them are arguing about what course of action the Others should take. Eloise seems to get her way and after hearing what Jack's plan is concerning Daniel's Jughead detonation plan, she agrees to help.

I will say here that I feel like Eloise has more tricks up her sleeve and isn't really going to be of as much help as Jack thinks she will be. Later in this episode, Sayid wisely (and Iraqily) points out that she could just be using Jack to rid the island of DHARMA. But for now, she offers to lead the way to Jughead through a very cool/creepy under-ground water tunnel.

Kate wants nothing to do with this plan, and even tries to convince Jack to abandon his "destiny" in favor of keeping the history the two of them have made together. This is more than Jack can currently handle, especially since on his watch many people died (i.e. Boone, Shannon, etc). The Man of Science has become a Man of Faith in many regards, but it still feels like Jack is doing all of this just as some alternative approach to dealing with his guilt and Savior-complex issues. Regardless, Kate bolts (with the help of the newly arrived Sayid) and says she will go and get their friends to help stop Jack's history re-writing plans.

The tunnels that are underneath Dharmaville were interesting to me. Why were they built? Why only access through the under-water cave? Why did they put the bomb where they did? Are these tunnels the paths that the Smoke Monster takes to travel around the island? It would seem to me that perhaps this accessibility to Dharmaville is what Alpert meant earlier this season when he told Horace that the sonic fence does not keep "us out."

How in the world will Jack get a hydrogen bomb to go off? Hopefully Faraday has that step-by-step procedure jotted down in his trusty notebook.

Back in Dharmaville above, our castaways have been discovered as impostors. Sawyer and Juliet are being interrogated by the insufferable Radzinsky and that twerp of a man, Phil. Both big dopes. Long story short, Sawyer and Juliet agree to divulge information on the whereabouts of the Others (and Baby Ben) in exchange for safe passage back to the "real world" on the submarine. It's hard to tell if Sawyer really just wants to get out of there with his lady-friend in one piece, or if he's got another plan already in place. For sure now with Kate being caught and thrown in the submarine for a love isosceles triangle, Sawyer will hear what Jack's plan is and be convinced (if he wasn't already) to go back and save the gang (and try and stop Crazy Jack).

Now to the good stuff...

Forward in time about 30 years, we get a taste of the Locke from season one with a boar-clad entrance to the Others encampment. Back in season one Locke had purpose (although he didn't quite yet know what it was) and exuded confidence. That was after going through a "re-birth" of sorts with the whole not being able to walk before crashing thing. There is something different about this new Locke now again ever since he was resurrected from the dead. I mean, different apart from being resurrected from the dead. Is this new Locke going to lose his faith and end up crying on top of a hatch door like the old one did in season one?

As he approaches, Richard is seen building one of those old ships in the glass bottle things. I've heard those take forever to make, and as we know, Richard seems to have no real trouble with having enough time. Locke says he has a new purpose, and needs Richard to help him. Sun finds out from Ben that Alpert is the island's "adviser", or in Godfather terms "consigliere". Alpert confirms for her that Jin and the rest had been on the island 30 years earlier and, sadly, he himself "watched them all die." Bummer.

The errand Locke has for them to run is the aiding of earlier-Locke after he was shot by Ethan in another island time-jump that we witnessed earlier this season. So then the question is "Why did new Locke tell old Locke (via Richard) that he was going to have to leave the island and die?" We presumed when we first saw Locke being told that he'd have to die by Richard that Richard had been sent by Jacob or the island or someone else. This would speak to some larger purpose in John's dying. But for now we have to assume that Locke has been shown other information that confirmed in his mind that he did in fact have to die and go through all that for things to work out. Who showed him that information? Not me.

Ben is either knows much less than we thought before, or is running a good con on Locke to pretend like he doesn't know what all is happening. I'm not sure where I fall on that, but I'd wager a guess for now that Ben still does know more than he's letting on.

Alpert also seems to know less than we imagined he would. Or maybe I should say he knows other things than Locke. John's surprised that Richard didn't know where Locke was the past three years. Locke's been shown more about the island, but obviously not enough to know what Richard's whole deal is.

Eventually the three of them head back, but not before Locke calls Ben out for not having ever seen Jacob before. Ben seems genuinely caught off guard by such a comment. How could this be true? Perhaps Ben really was the impostor Widmore called him out as. But has Widmore seen Jacob? Has Richard? Has anyone? So far we have some weird shadows and noises in a creepy cabin that moves, and a voice that called to Locke "Save me" in season three (in an episode called "The Man Behind the Curtain", no less).

When the three island amigos return to the Others camp, Locke gives a carpe diem-like speech in which he tells everyone that it's ridiculous they've all been "following a leader" who none of them have ever seen. He says he wants to go see Jacob and that everyone is welcome to join him. He disingenuously tells Sun that he's sure Jacob can help them find their friends in the past.

The fascinating thing is that Richard, after hearing all of this, confides in Ben that "John may be a problem in the future." Wow. Richard is all over the place. The man who used Locke to help get Ben out of power, after using Ben to help get Widmore out of power, is now not so sure Locke is the right man for power. What is going on here? Ben then tells John what Richard said, but Locke doesn't seem to care about much of anything any more...except for killing Jacob that is. Phwaaaaa? You gotta be kidding me with that ending line. "Kill Jacob"?

Consider my mind blown. There is a lot more to dig in to here, but I have a hunch that we're about to have a lot of big things answered in this season finale Wednesday so I will wait for my year-end review next week to dig deeper.

A Few final thoughts/theories:

-The Chicago Blackhawks will win their series vs. the Vancouver Canucks, but sadly will fall short of the Stanley Cup against the Detroit Red Wings in the Conference Finals next round.

-LOST's season finale will be really interesting.

-The scenes with Hurley, Jin, and Miles bumping in to Dr. Chang were great. I love how they're allowing Miles the chance to see that his dad did not hate him or his mother. Remember that Faraday, after telling Dr. Chang all his secrets last week at the Orchid station, was asked by Miles why he did in fact tell all of his secrets. Faraday answers: "So your dad will do what he is supposed to do." There's more to what Dr. Chang is going to do then we even now realize. Count on that.

-The title of this last episode is going to be The Incident.

Okay, that's all I got. Finals to study for. Thanks for reading. Please enjoy this week's finale, and tune in soon for the Season Five review before an un-Godly amount of time off before Season Six.

Namaste,
John Locke's Pants

Show Me Your Variable

2009-05-01T11:08:00.000-07:00

LOSTaways-

I'm a busy man the next two weeks with finals, so I'm gonna make this re-cap of The Variable shorter and sweeter and bloggier than most. Fantastic episode! The best part of it was the admittedly hard-to-catch allusion to my 4th favorite movie of all-time, Saving Private Ryan . As most of you have realized by now, Jeremy Davies who plays Daniel Faraday was also in SPR. He played the mumbling, cowardly cartographer Upham who ends up being the reason Tom Hanks gets shot in the end. The allusion in this week's episode came when Faraday was handed a gun at the motor pool and said he didn't know how to use a weapon. On a few different occasions in SPR, Upham says basically the exact same thing and the gun he is handed in LOST is the same type of gun he was carrying in the movie. Fun fact? Maybe.

But let's get to it, shall we...

Working forwards in time, we see a young Faraday playing the piano with the TIME being kept by a metronome. His mom, Eloise, comes in and commends him for playing well but reminds him that his gift is his mind, is science, and that he needs to put aside the frivolities of music and focus on his studies. Faraday insists that he can do both, but su madre wasn't having any of it.

I want to just jump right in to the fact that we learn by the end of the episode that Eloise Hawking knew from the time her son was born that she would be the one who kills Daniel. I know this is skipping ahead, but there are a few key points I want to make along the way.

For example, the next scene in Faraday's life is at his graduation from Oxford. He and his friend/research assistant Theresa Spencer are rudely greeted by Eloise and she does his darndest to push Theresa away from Daniel. Now that seems mean, and obviously was, but think of it from Eloise's perspective. She knows that time has to play out as it has...or at least we could say she believes that it does, because we still don't know a lot about what will happen with things like "the incident"....so in her mind, the reality of her son "having" to die means that she would actually in some ways be doing him a favor to push him away from any marriage or family life because that would ruin many other people's lives when Daniel ends up in the past and after coming to the island.

Plus, maybe part of Eloise was pushing Theresa away because she knew what would happen to that poor eventually (see: the whole brain frying thing that eventually makes her a vegetable). Who knows? The point here is that Eloise is a firm believer in the idea that things must play out as they are "supposed" to. Hence, the creepy scene in Season Three when she tells Desmond not to buy the ring and marry Penny. This points to Eloise having more power and information than we might think. By that I mean that she obviously knows more than just big details, like that her son is coming back and will be shot by her...she knew in that scene with Desmond that the guy wearing red shoes would be crushed in a construction moments later. That's pretty specific if you ask me.

So after the graduation scene, Daniel tells his mom that Charles Widmore is sponsoring his research. I'm guessing she knew this already. She gives him the journal that he will use to make the calculations to come back to the island. That journal will, in a sense, be the thing that leads Daniel to his own ...at the hands of his mum, no less. Weird.

The next thing we see in Daniel's saga is the rest of the scene from the beginning of Season Four when Faraday is watching the news coverage of the Oceanic 815 (fake) wreckage being discovered in the Indian Ocean. The woman in the room with Faraday is still undisclosed and I would venture a guess that she is inconsequential, like the lady who was taking care of Miles' mom last episode. Widmore pops (no pun intended) in and offers Faraday a job and the chance to travel to a magical island that happens to have healing powers.

Even his own real dad is pushing him on the idea that Faraday will be able to "continue your research." Everything in Daniel's life from both of his parents has been pushing him in his "work." Obviously Faraday is even more important that we currently realize if his own parents are that willing to push their son this hard and then sacrifice him for the "good of the island." Eloise finds Daniel later playing the piano again and suggests that he take the job and confirms that she'll be proud of the guy should he take the job. Emotional stuff. You can tell that this hasn't been easy for Eloise, but in reality, who cares about her feelings...Faraday's the one primed for a bullet in his spine.

In 1977 time, Daniel returns and quickly makes his way to the Orchid station. Apparently everything he does there, like telling Dr Chang that he's from the future and that Miles is his son, was an act of sorts, designed to set off a chain of events. Faraday tells Miles he did that so that Dr. Chang will "do what he's supposed to do." Faraday, again, knows more than we know he knows. How does he know it? Likely much of what he knows is in that journal of his, but perhaps Faraday has been time traveling more than we know. Or acquired the information from someone else who knows more. Maybe Desmond is that person. Maybe Desmond has traveled through time more times than we've seen yet. Maybe he visited Faraday in Ann Arbor during those 3 years he was gone from the island in 1977 time. Just a thought.

All hell is breaking loose as Sawyer and Juliet's Dharma world is crashing down around them. That moron Radzinsky goes nuts and finds the security dude stuffed in Sawyer's pantry. There is the shootout at the motor pool with Jack-Kate-Faraday before they make haste to the Others' camp. Just wait till my man Horace finds out. He's gonna be livid. Trust me. So Horace.

You can tell that Juliet can tell things won't be like they were between her and Sawyer. Sawyer's idea to "get back to the basics" on the beach was a dumb one to begin with, but admit it...you had a flutter in your stomach because when he mentioned the beach and the way things used to be, you thought of Season One and all the fun we used to have back then with our 815 survivors. But alas, it wasn't meant to be and now Sawyer and Juliet are in some hot water.

Jack is told by Faraday that he was duped by his mom in to coming back to the island. Again, there is more that we don't know yet, like why Faraday is so convinced that Jack didn't have to come back. I think Jack did need to come back and we'll see in these last three hours of Season Five what Jack's role is to play in all this. But you can tell that Jack is a little miffed and confused. He had just started to buy in to all the "destiny" and "fate" that Locke had tried to sell him for four seasons, and now this spaz physicist is telling him it was all rubbish again. Don't lose hope, Dr. Shepard. I predict an encounter between Jack and his dad before the end of this season, which will make it all worthwhile to the troubled spinal surgeon.

Faraday's basic understanding of how time works has changed to include the "variables" of human beings. 1977 is THEIR present, so for these band of time-travelers, the future is yet unknown and unwritten. I think in some ways, if not completely, that theory is de-bunked (at least in part) a few moments later when Faraday is shot by his own mom and he realizes that she knew this would happen all along and had in fact sent her son on the path he was even just then on.

When Jack, Kate, and Faraday get to the Others camp, Alpert is there and seems to genuinely want to help Daniel. He is incredulous when Eloise shoots the poor lad, and defends Faraday before they all learn that he is her son. I think we see here another example of Alpert being kind of his own man. Or...a physical manifestation of the island's power (or Smokey the Monster). He doesn't answer to anyone, apart from Jacob it seems. He goes around people's back to help who he wants (first with Ben when Charles is angry, and then later helping Locke when Ben is angry). Very interesting character, that Alpert is.

We also see present time back in the real world where Desmond has been shot by Ben and taken to the hospital for surgery. Penny is visited by Eloise who apologizes for the conflict Desmond and her have been caught up in. Eloise, however, says that for the first time in her life she doesn't know what is going to happen. Hmmm. This implies that up until that moment Eloise had been privy to information regarding nearly everything that would happen. Like my example earlier about her knowing that the guy in the red shoes would be killed when she talked to Desmond years back. Eloise tells Penny that Desmond's wound is her son Daniel's fault. I think she just means that because of the chain of events Faraday put Desmond on by going back to visit him in the hatch earlier this season when the island was skipping in time, Daniel led Desmond to this moment of being shot and in surgery. But there might be more there than meets the eye. More to Faraday's connection to Desmond, like I was mentioning earlier.

Finally, we learn that Faraday's plan is to blow up The Swan with Jughead and stop the chain of events that lead to 815's crash and The Freighter's expedition. More on this below.

So that's that for the episode itself. Here's a few brief thoughts/theories:

-Daniel counts the beats of the metronome is his head. The total is 864. 108 x 8 = 864. 108 is the total sum when the add up "the numbers."

-Faraday also goes to talk to little Charlotte on the swing set. She says the line about not being allowed to have chocolate before dinner, the last thing she says to him before she dies in the future in Daniel's arms. He thinks he can save her and change things, but it appears to me that this is exactly how it all played out before and nothing will be different. For this to be true, Faraday will have to be raised from the grave, Locke style...or the island will heal him...also Locke style. But then again, if Faraday is right and this is the present for he and Jack and the rest, then Faraday is really and that is that for him.

-Widmore is Faraday's dad, as we learned, and I called that earlier this season. Look it up.

-The way last season ended, with groups of the LOSTaways splitting up to run around the island for big tasks, is happening again. I love the continuity on this show. Almost like they planned it this way.

-Jughead, our favorite nuclear weapon, is the solution in Faraday's mind to all their island, time-traveling troubles. Some theories being tossed around include the idea that Jughead is buried in the "shadow of the statue", like Ilana and Bram have been asking people. I think that the "incident" Faraday thinks is just some electromagnetic energy being released might actually end up being the nuke going off. Not sure how that would work or how the island would inhabitable after that, but we haven't seen the last of Jughead.

-Sawyer calls Faraday "HG Wells", referring to the famous British novelist. Wells' books are classics and many of them have been referenced already in LOST or contain themes very similar to it. For example, The Shape of Things to Come was an episode title from last season, and is also the title of a Wells novel about a future world controlled a single government.

-There is a copy of Wired magazine on Faraday's couch when Widmore comes to visit him. That issue included articles about time-travel, and it was also thrown in there this week because LOST co-creator JJ Abrhams was the guest editor this month of the magazine in lieu of his sci-fi blockbuster Star Trek coming out this month.

There's more to say about this episode, as there always is each week. I'm donzo for now, but if you want/need more info about this episode, please read THIS week's Doc Jensen article at Entertainment Weekly's website. Enjoy it.

Thanks for reading and please leave comments below.

-John Locke's Pants

Something to hold you over until next week

2009-04-24T12:42:00.000-07:00

Man, I missed LOST this week. Here's a little tide-me-over blog from EW's Doc Jensen. Stellar as always. Enjoy.

Oh, and I included this pic, which has NOTHING to do with the article I have linked above, because it is the stupidest thing I've ever seen in my natural born live.

Apologize right this instant, parties responsible for this!

I Love The Way They're Hothing To You

2009-04-17T19:33:00.000-07:00

LOSTaways-

Star Wars. Black-van kidnappings. Hurley's special garlic mayo. What else would one want or need in an episode of LOST? I know it wasn't the show's best effort to-date, but there were some pretty interesting things revealed and we finally got to learn more about Miles and if nothing else I just love seeing those Dharma putzes in their natural habitat. We've heard so much about them and I've wondered/daydreamed so often about them so it's nice to finally observe how they do what they do. I think of it like watching Animal Planet.

But we're not here to quibble over whether or not this week's episode was better than you might have expected it to be. After last week's Dead is Dead, Some Like it Hoth never had a chance in winning us fully over.

Let's dissect the title first. For those of you like me who watch Turner Classic Movie channel, you already know that this is an allusion to the 1959 Jack Lemmon-Tony Curtis-Marilyn Monroe comedy Some Like It Hot. Briefly, the film is about two guys who witness a murder they weren't supposed to see and then spend the rest of the film trying to avoid the not-so-understanding mob boss who wants them dead. The duo disguises themselves and keep lies going the whole time to multiple sets of people. Think: Hurley and Miles getting knee-deep in a Dharma death they never wanted any part of. It's a pretty famous film and has been ranked in many lists as the best comedy of all time. Obviously those list-makers have not seen Monkey Trouble. Classic.

More important to me is the other cultural reference in the title of this episode. "Hoth" is the ice planet that Luke Skywalker and the Rebel forces have their secret base on in the second Star Wars film, 1980's Empire Strikes Back. I'll spare the normal among you the nerdy details, but just know that this show from the start has been clavical-deep in Star Wars references and allusions. Hurley trying to re-write what I consider to be legitimately one of the best movies ever made by humans was very funny to those of us who care about such things. The scene Hugo had written in his Dharma notebook was from early in the movie when Han Solo and Chewbecca shoot down some spy drones that Darth Vader has sent to spy on the planet Hoth. In the real movie, Han Solo shoots the drone. In Hurley's version, Chewey shoots it down. Perhaps one of those "modifications" he told Miles about?

Sticking with the Star Wars thing for one more point, Han Solo is a character who initially does everything he does solely for money. But eventually we learn that he is a smuggler with a heart of gold. His side-kick is Chewbecca, the giant, furry, Wookie-animal-thing. Miles seems to be playing the part of Han in this episode with all the million-dollar demands, but like Hurley (Chewey) points out, Miles really wants to care and wants people to care about him. He's a big softie, just like Han turned out to be.

Alright, on to the meat-and-potatoes of the episode...

We open with Baby Miles and his mom (Lara) moving in to a new apartment that happens to have a comatose dude on the floor a few doors down. And on the microwave in the apartment the time is 3:16. Oh, and not to rub one of my predictions coming true again, but if you check back to my re-cap of the first episode of this season five, you'll find that I predicted Dr. Chang's baby that we saw then would turn out to be Miles. Just like Charlotte, Miles had spent time on the island before his Freighter entrance last season.

Miles "hears" the dead guy, Mr. Vonner, and lets himself in to apartment #4. His mom and the landlord are understandably freaked out, and so were most of us. We never really learn why it is Miles has this talent. I'm guessing it has something to do with his time on the island as a baby/child, and we will for sure learn more about it soon. Or maybe his dad, Dr. Chang, was "special" and passed it on to his abandoned son.

Anyway, later we see an older Miles coming back to the same apartment with his best Rufio (from Hook) impression happening. His mom has cancer now and Miles hasn't been to see her in a while. This is his chance to make amends and get some answers from the mom he knows he likely has hurt both by his absence and lack of style. Cool piercings, bra.

His mom has no definite answers to speak of regarding Miles' past. I mean she tells him that his dad is dead, that he didn't want anything to do with Miles and her, but I don't buy it. I was definitely getting a "I can't tell you more and it's better you think your dad is dead because if you go looking for that island only pain and suffering and time travel will follow" vibe from Mama Miles. Maybe I'm wrong. His dad did seem like a total knob-job on the island, but we also saw Dr. Chang lovingly holding Baby Miles as Regular Miles leered with tears in his eyes from the shadows. My official prediction is that Miles will end up talking to his dad like Hurley suggested and will tell Dr. Chang about the "Purge" that is to come and that will lead Dr. Chang to get his wife and Baby Miles off the island...getting the idea?

Moving along, Miles later in life is now a paid ghost-talker and has been paid a lot of money by a Mr. Howard Gray to commune with Gray's dead son and ask the poor kid if he knew that his pops loved him. In a very Han Solo-like fashion, Miles cons the guy for some bigger bucks and walks off with a heavy conscience under that condescending, smug veneer.

As Miles is leaving Gray's somber pad, he is met at his car by our girl Naomi Dorrit, the chick who parachuted on to the island in Season Three with a copy of Catch-22 and pic of Dez and Penny in-tow. Naomi was recruited by Matthew Abbadon who works for Widmore, and she hired all of the people for the Freighter. She wants Miles to talk to dead people on the island when they get there, because there are so many dead people on that island who have either been killed by Ben or will at least know where he is. How cool is that? What an interesting addition to the story of the Freighter folks.

And it speaks some to the mythology of the island. We know that there are spirits and whispers and what not on the island. That they can be communicated with or "tapped in to" adds another layer to the narrative's cake. And I guess they are confirming that Ben has certainly killed many more people than we even know about.

The way Naomi tests Miles is by having him commune with some not-living guy named Felix. We've never seen or heard of this guy before. What he had on his person when he was killed was the information about empty graves and purchase orders for a giant plane. He was bringing them to Charles Widmore we're told. But whether he was bringing them to Widmore because they were the reciepts of Widmore's doings, or because Felix had gathered intel on Ben (or some other group) who was responsible for the fake Oceanic Flight 815 wreckage. Man, is this interesting or what?!?! I want to know more, and I want to know now! Regardless, Naomi likes what she sees from Miles and offers him $1.6 millon to join the team and Miles readily accepts.

Speaking of wanting to know more...the next time we see Miles off-island he is abducted by what appears to be the same black van Vince Vaughn and Will Ferrell used in Old School during their pledge week. The leader of the pack in the van is Bram, the guy from the second island crash in the future. Last we saw him, he and Ilana had taken control of the Hydra Island and were asking people "What lies in the shadow of the statue?" Welll, Bram's back at it again and asks Miles the same thing and says because Miles can't answer that, he isn't ready to go to the island. Bram says that Widmore is the wrong wagon to hitch one's star to. He warns Miles against going on the Freighter, and says that if Miles comes with "them" instead, he'll learn everything he ever wanted to know about his powers, his dad, and life in general I suppose.

Miles, playing the tough guy, says he doesn't care, wants more money, and eventually gets escorted from the premises of the van. Bram claims that Miles is on the losing team and drives off. We heard Widmore talk of a winning team when he was at Locke's bedside earlier this season. He said to Locke then that if John wasn't on the island, that the wrong team would win.

Back in '77 Miles gets a call from Sawyer who is returning with Kate from handing Ben over to the Others. Sawyer wants security tapes erased to cover his tracks, but Miles gets distracted and never finishes the task. That distraction is Horace who has an errand for Miles: enter the "circle of trust" and go out to the forbidden part of the jungle and pick up a "package"...dead body, package...whatever. Of course that moron Radzinsky is involved and we learn that the original hatch, The Swan station, is being built on a part of the island where Dharma has agreed they wouldn't go.

This does explain why Radzinsky was so mad that Sayid, who he thought was an Other, had seen the plans for the Swan. But it doesn't explain why that tool gets so hot-and-bothered every time another human speaks. Get over yourself. He's the kid who rats on you in class cause you are playing Drug Wars on your TI-83. I will give him credit though for being fully devoted to Dharma and the Swan station.

So Miles is shuttling and talking to the dead body of a man whose filling in his tooth exploded through the back of his skull due to the electromagnetic forces at work around The Swan. Hurley joins in with his stupid sandwiches and gross facial hair. Han (Miles) and Chewey (Hurley) run the dead body out to Dr. Chang at the Orchid who mysteriously takes the dead guy in to this station and then re-appears and demands to be taken to the Swan. Where did that body go? What weird time-traveling experiments will he be doing on that dead worker's body?

I thought it was nice how Hurley tried to help Miles and his dad re-connect, but all of that spoke for itself and so I won't really be commenting on it. What was clear is that Miles is hurting and wants to re-connect.

Hurley did see "his hatch" being built and the numbers being put on the door to it. He has that look in his eye like he'll do something crazy to try and stop the hatch from being there when Oceanic 815 is flying from Sydney to LA.

Back in Dharmaville, Ben's dad Roger plays the drunken fool and starts suspecting Kate (aka the dumbest girl in the world who has literally the worst instincts imaginable) because she runs her mouth and gives her tell-tale glances. One cool thing was that while Jack was cleaning the class-room and talking to an angry, non-sober, Roger Linus, he is "erasing" some stuff written on the chalkboard about Ancient Egypt. Hieroglyphics, anyone? Erasing the past. Etc. Think about it. Blog about it.

That nerd Phil later confronts Sawyer with the security tape Miles never erased and Sawyer pulls a Season Three and earlier Sawyer move and puches his lights out and asks for rope. It's like Sawyer and Juliet have accepted the fact finally that their Dharma world is about to be changed forever. It was Sawyer saying, "I'm all-in" in terms of being on his friends' side. With that single punch he effectively crossed that line in the sand and joined back up with Jack, Kate, Hurley, etc. I love it.

The finaly note-worthy event was of course Faraday's creepy return on the submarine from Ann Arbor. University of Michigan is where Dharma began. Faraday's been gone for some time according to Sawyer's comments a few episodes back.

Thoughts/Theories:

- So now we potentially have Team Widmore, Team Ben, Team Locke, and possibly Team Bram/Ilana. Bram and Ilana are obviously not Widmore's people like I postulated before. (Or are they?...They aren't.) They are either Ben's people, and possibly they don't even know it yet which is why they didn't recognize Ben...or maybe they do know him and are all just acting (see: Ben telling them to "have a nice day" in Dead is Dead and he and Ilana and Bram all look at each other kind of funny)...but that might have been because the trigger for this new team to join up are questions like "What lies in the shadow of the statue?", and they were expecting Ben to bring that up when he approached them on the beach. Another alternative "Team" theory, one that my friend JEH helped me with, is that Richard is his own team and has been all along and that Bram and Ilana are Team Alpert. He seems to be playing all these different groups off each other and when he gets in a bind he plays the "Jacob told me to do it" card, which may in fact be legit, but seems fishy to me.

- Bram told Miles in that van that until he knew the answer to that statue riddle he wasn't ready to go. Ben used to tell Locke that until he did certain things he wasn't ready to know. And long ago Widmore (and Alpert now that I think about it) told a young Ben Linus that we was not yet ready to be "one of them". Is everyone in this show a bottle of wine that hasn't yet properly matured?

- I think Daniel joined Dharma with Sawyer, Miles, and Juliet three years earlier (the events we was in the episode LaFleur) and showed that he knew some juicy things about the island and moved up the ranks and was sent back to headquarters (or volunteered to go there) in Ann Arbor. When he gets off the submarine he is wearing the same black Dharma jumpsuit that those working on the Swan Station were. He must have some role in the harnessing of the energy that the Swan is built around. I don't think he's in charge of anything, but I believe that he is using the knowledge he has in the island's properties to gain a spot in Dharma, perhaps get back to the mainland for a while (where maybe he helps build that Lamp Post station his mom knew about and had claimed a "very smart man" built), all in order to find a way to save Charlotte.

- Remember that Faraday told Desmond that he was special, that "the rules" don't apply to him. I'm not sure if I've written this before, and perhaps it is fairly obvious, but this has to stem from Desmond's turning of the key in the Season Two finale. (Think: "I luv ya, Penny") When he woke up in the jungle (nakey) in Season Three he had his special flashy thingy powers. His dreams were magical (and he wore a technicolor t-shirt at the time too...no pants). I believe that was the point where the rules no longer applied to Dez. So the original hatch our survivors found has much more importance than we might have guessed. Maybe the nuclear bomb Jughead isn't really buried there, or maybe it is, but the important thing is that Desmond is important and so is our first Dharma station love, The Swan.

- Desmond is coming back to the island to put an end to Ben chasing his family and Widmore being his father-in-law. Or maybe Widmore will find Penny and Dez now and because of what Ben tried to do, he will be able to convince his daughter and son-in-law to join "his team" and head back to the island. I still want to believe that they will end up being the island's Adam and Eve bones that Jack later finds in Season One in the caves.

- I've been putting this off for a while, but let me tell you a little about the very cool and interesting movie that ties in with LOST. It is Frank Capra's 1937 LOST Horizon, a film about a hidden magical city named Shangri-la somewhere in the snow-capped Tibetan highlands. The story goes that a British diplomat and his brother have been sent to China to make sure that 90 British citizens escape out of the country as a domestic revolution occurs. Robert Conway is the main character and he is a man of incredible intellect and talents. After seeing to it that all the rest are evacuated from the city, Conway, his brother, a scientist, and con-man, and terminally ill woman all get on to a plane together and as they fly to what they think is safety, they realize that the pilot is an impostor, sent to kidnap them and bring them to what they later find out is the city Shangri-la. The plan "accidentally" crashes in the mountains and the pilot is killed in the crash. Terrified that they might die, Conway starts devising a plan for them to survive and even attempts to go for help.

Well it is just then that they discover they're not alone in the mountains and a group of Others-like people emerge and take the entire group back to their paradise land, which is located in a near-by valley tucked away between giant mountains. Even though it is snowing all around them, as soon as they enter this valley it becomes the Garden of Eden. Without getting too bogged down in the details, they discover that the people living there are an enlightened bunch with many of the modern amenities from back home in the West. Some of the men in the group develop crushes on some of the cuter women living in Shangri-la. The terminally-ill woman from the plane discovers that she is cured.

Conway talks to the head guru dude and learns that he and his friends were brought there on purpose because the guru is getting old and wants a wise replacement. Conway initially turns him down and he and his brother (and his brother's new dancing partner Margo) make a break for it to head back to the Real World. But as they get further away from Shangri-la, Margo starts to rapidly age and eventually dies an old woman in the mountains. Conway's brother is distraught and jumps to his death off a cliff. Conway goes on, finds a search party looking for him, and sets sail back to England aboard a Freighter. He has amnesia at first and isn't sure where he's even been the whole time. But soon he does remember and he jumps ship and heads back to Shangri-la to take over as the rightful, benevolent ruler.

So...LOST, huh? Lot in there for you to chew on.

Hope you enjoyed this week's re-cap. Sadly the show is on a two-week break. There is special thing next Wed night, but it isn't new material. Lame. FDR's legs lame.

Take care and stay out of the Temple.

Love,
John Locke's Pants

Dead = Dead

2009-04-09T09:53:00.000-07:00

LOSTaways-

What did I tell you? Last night's episode was to television watching what Barack Obama is to blowing through your children's inheritance: very good. Dead is Dead was so good that it made the prospect of dying more attractive. I have never been holistically judged in the cellar of a decrepit temple on a magical island by a pillar of black smoke that emerged from what looked like a waffle fry of stone...but that's about as close as one can get to that experience without having to live through it themselves. The acting, the writing, the directing, and the mood lighting in which Dan Hase and I watched the episode were all phenomenal. LOST has raised the bar yet again.

There's so much to say about this episode so let's just jump right in, shall we?

Working backwards in time, we find the Others camp in the jungle and a Heath Ledger-like figure riding on horseback towards the encampment. Turns out the handsome British-sounding bloke is Charles Widmore (wow did that guy get ugly with age) and he is none too happy with my boy Richard Alpert for taking Baby Ben into the bowels of the Temple. The 'tude Widmore gives Richard seems to dissipate with the mention of Jacob, but Charles seems still underwhelmed by the prospect of bringing in a new kid on the island block.

This seems to me to be because, as we will see later in both Widmore and Ben's attitudes, leaders on the island fear competition. Richard said to Charles "The island picks who it picks" and so it wasn't just that Alpert was saving some dorky kid from the Dharma and Greg Initiative, he was saving (and then grooming) the future leader. Widmore, by the end of this episode, might have moved neck-and-neck with, or ahead of, Ben as the front-runner for Bad Dude of the Year and Series.

But Charles eventually goes in and talks to Baby Ben who remembers other things, just not how he was shot. This was what Alpert had said would happen should he take and save Ben last week. Hence, he would not remember Sayid as the man who shot him later in life when our favorite Iraqi crashed on Oceanic 815. And along those lines, before I forget, it occurred to me recently that the whole "brain-washing thing when the Others save/kidnap you" is likely the explanation for why the stewardess and children from the tail section in Season Two were seemingly fine with living with the Others when Jack (who was in one of the polar bear cages) saw her and the two kids in Season Three.

Maybe I'm alone here, but I've always wanted to know why Cindy (the stewardess) and those kids who had been kidnapped by the Others would suddenly be cool with 'illing on the island with their captors. Maybe some who are "chosen" or taken go through the same type of process Ben did in the Temple and subsequently can't remember exactly why they are even with the Others and end up embracing the lifestyle of dressing up like 17th century hobos from the Count of Monte Cristo, living in tents, and intense encounters with supernatural forces beyond their control. I'm in, if you're reading this Others.

Back to the tent convo between Baby Ben and Widmore, Charles tells the

boy that despite his protests he will be going back to live among the Dharma people, but that the kid will always be "one of them." There's a lot of "one of us", "one of them" talk in this show. Actually those are two names of two different episodes. One of Them was when we first got to meet Benry Linus-Gale way back in Season Two and it turned out he really was "one of them." The One of Us episode was from Season Three and was a Juliet tale. It turned out (eventually) that she was one of the castaways, if only in the fact that she desperately wanted to get the heck off that island.

Moving right along in chronological order, we find Ben (with a Trump-bad hair cut) and a young, spry Ethan on the beach about to carry out Widmore's order to off Rousseau. Widmore has told them it is for the safety of the island. Ben is determined to kill the nutty French skirt and when Ethan offers to do it he gets mad. But when Ben gets in the tent he can neither end Danielle's life nor leave without taking the baby. So Ben warns Rousseau to never come after Alex or she will be killed, and in fact, if she ever hears "whispers" she is to run the other way. Ben returns to the Others camp and makes his case to an angry Widmore as to why they should leave Rousseau alone ("she's crazy") and why they should not kill the baby.

Now this two-part scene has a lot going on in it. First off, Ben is shown to have something of a softer side, and at the very least is more of a complicated fellow than we've been led to believe. At least earlier in his life he had something of a conscience. He did not want to kill Danielle and could not kill her child. Ethan, who was obviously much younger than he at the time, was willing to kill Rousseau for him which means Ethan knew his elder friend was a softie at heart. This brings to mind the fact that Ben was, later in life, so mean to Locke who could not kill his own father. Ben was the same way at one time. Maybe Widmore was testing Ben like Ben would later test Locke?

Second thing from this part of the episode that emerges is that Widmore's relationship with Jacob or the "powers" of the island seemed to be strained. First there was Alpert knowing about Ben's selection as an Other while he (and presumably Ellie) did not. Then there was when Widmore told Ben to go kill Rousseau, but didn't tell Ben about the baby, and when Ben came back to the tents and asked if Widmore had suggested they kill the two on the beach because of his own desires or because Jacob had told them he didn't really give a good answer. Then again, he did warn Ben that if the island wanted the two French ladies dead, it would happen. And it did.

Third thing, Ben actually and really did care about Alex from the beginning. I'll take more about this when I get to Smokey's Moral Trial in the Temple, but I thought they did a good job getting the audience to see that Ben had been (and could be) a nice guy who loved this girl. I know he stole her from her mom, but one reason for doing this really could have been that he thought Rousseau was nuts...which is a fair assessment. So he could have been acting out of kindness to the baby. But, one could also presume that Ben did this as one of his first "con's", knowing that if he returned to the camp and showed the rest of the Others that their fearless leader Widmore would not kill the child to carry out Jacob's alleged orders that the group would think at the very least that Widmore isn't in-tune with Jacob like he claims to be, and also that Ben might really be the great leader they want/need.

A huge character flaw of Ben's is obviously his compulsive lying. He does it so much and to so many people that we have to take what he says and does with a grain of salt at all times. For example, the next part of the story took us to the day Widmore was banished and before he is put on to the submarine Ben comes to say goodbye. Widmore accuses him of gloating but Ben appears to be sincere that he did not want things to end as they did. Charles, he says, is being removed from the island for "breaking the rules." Again with the rules. Apparently there were rules about leaving the island and having a second family back in the real world, because that's what Charles had been doing. This is how Penny and his corporation back in England enter the picture.

What does this tell us about the island that it isn't good enough to hold the attention of its leader? He's submarine-setting around the globe when he's got a fun, creepy island of mystery to oversee and carouse on. This is a common theme throughout human history: people are never settled with even the greatest of things. In the Old Testament, weeks after being delivered from 400 years of bondage and seeing the Red Sea parted in front of them, the Hebrew people built golden images to worship because Moses had, in their demented opinion, taken too long conversing with Yahweh on the mountain. King David, having all he could want in the world at his finger tips, took another man's wife and then had the man killed to cover things up. The list goes on (and doesn't just include OT Bible stories). From what we know as of right now, Widmore was corrupted by the power he had, and even though he might have been truly acting in what he thought was the best interest of the "island", he eventually LOST his way.

Ben would do the same eventually, and Widmore predicted it. It almost seemed like on that dock before Widmore got in to the sub he was warning Ben that not only was his own eventual corruption a possibility...it was an inevitably. What implications does this have for Locke I wonder?

The afore mentioned Dan Hase pointed out that the line "you had a daughter with an outsider" Ben delivers to Widmore before he's banished is akin to the often-repeated mandate of the nation of Israel to remove from the midst the foreign wives Hebrew men had taken. For those who don't know, the Old Testament is the story of God's chosen people, the descendants of Abraham, who after being brought out of Egypt were to be a holy nation, set apart from their pagan neighbors. Without getting in to all the examples and starting some historical/theological debate, it was a common theme for God to tell the people through his Prophets that the nation was suffering because they had brought "outsiders" in their midst that did not believe in Him. I mention this mostly because I know the writers of LOST put many interesting themes in their story-lines that have been borrowed from many great books, including the Good one.

Next in the time-line is Ben's visit to Desmond and Penny's boat. One quick thing, as Ben first walks down the dock, the name of the boat in the background is "Savage". I'd like to think its a shout-out to conservative radio talk show host Michael Savage, but I'm guessing it's a reference to the kind of person Ben can be. (And is about to try and be.) Ben shoots Dez in the shoulder blade, and with how good of a shooter and fighter we know Ben to be, it was apparent Ben didn't want to kill Desmond. He did however want to kill Penny, yet couldn't pull the trigger, especially after seeing little Charlie. Again, the fact that Ben would go this far to hurt Widmore's daughter I think shows how much he cared about his own daughter.

But regardless, Dez form-fit tackles Ben to the ground and unleashes a Scottish fury not seen since Braveheart. Ben is tossed in to the ocean and that's the last we are allowed to see of what happens in the confrontation. Now later Ben tells Sun to let Desmond know he is sorry should she ever get off the island. Could it be that he just meant he was sorry for even trying to kill the dude's wife...or will we later find out that Ben went through with it before he got on the Aijira 316 flight? My money is on Penny being alive and well...for now.

Now finally we arrive at Present Island Time. Locke welcomes Ben to the "land of the living" again and picks up right away on the blatant shock-and-awe Ben has at seeing his thought-to-be-departed protege. Ben says he knew that Locke would come back to life, which we later find out is of course poppycock. Locke seems to be wiser than ever and is done falling for any of Ben's old tricks. Ben was telling the truth that he was there to be judged, but it's hard to tell whether or not that is his TRUE or REAL purpose in coming back.

I mean the guy is still conniving and playing people off of each other. He tells Caesar that Locke is bad, but then steals Caesar's gun and shoots Caesar. He tells Locke he's only there to be judged but then seems to trying to avoid that the whole time. We're even left at the end of the episode wondering whether or not Ben will bite the humble-pie flavored bullet and tell Locke that the island wants Ben to follow Locke's lead from now on.

Regardless, they return to Othersville and find Sun/Frank in Ben's old house, even waiting in Alex's old room. Frank wants to bail and heads back to the Hydra Island. Sun, taking Christian Shepard's advice, follows the newly-risen John Locke and Ben to the Temple. First though, Ben goes in to his secret room, the one where he stored passports and currency that he would use to leave the island (like Widmore had before him), and summons Smokey. Smokey doesn't show, but Locke seems to know right where the trio ought to head. Again, something has changed in Locke since pulling a Lazarus. Even Ben can tell and comments on it. Locke finally gets a chance to really show Ben how he had felt the past two seasons (and really, the past 40+ years of his life), not knowing what is going on and trusting in people (like Ben) who keep letting you down (and trying to end your life).

Smokey also seems to want Ben to come to him. Other times Smokey judged people, like Mr Eko, out in the open, but Ben needs to come to Smokey's lair for his pronouncement. Ben is visibly and understandably terrified of what is about to happen as they approach the Temple.

Ben explains that there was a wall built to keep people out and that the actual Temple is some distance beyond that wall. But Locke knows Smokey isn't above ground, he's under it in the same hole that the French male scientists went down in to and came out "infected" (according to Rousseau). Ben, before going in the hole to test his fate, admits that Locke was right that Ben was there to be judged because he let Widmore's commandos shoot her in the head. In a way, you could say he was also being judged for ever having taken the girl from her mom. (More on this below in Thoughts/Theories.)

Ben and Locke enter the hole and Ben soon falls to another level even deeper in the recesses of the Temple. It appears, from the look on his face, that Ben either never knew about this place or knew about it but had never seen it. The hieroglyphics around the room were very cool. The ones back on the door in Ben's secret room in his house translate to "grief" and "summon." The ones in the Frozen Donkey Wheel that both Ben and Locke have turned stand for "resurrection", and those were also seen on the Temple wall before the pair entered it. Last night, some of the new symbols we saw included what appeared to be a portrait of Smokey facing the Egyptian god Anubis, the god of the afterlife.

Smokey then emerges from the Waffle-fry Stone grate at the base of that picture and surrounds Ben. He is shown a highlight/lowlight reel of his experiences with Alex, including her murder that he could have prevented. The Monster specifically shows Ben the part where he said he never really cared about Alex and that she meant nothing to him. Ouch. Zing. Alex then appears, but she was for sure just the Monster manifesting itself in the personhood of someone Ben was sure to get the message from. That message? STOP TRYING TO KILL LOCKE YOU PUTZ!!!

And here we have it irrefutably confirmed that Ben really did want to kill Locke all along and planned on trying to kill him (and his pants) again. Smokey as Alex makes Ben promise that he will both stop trying to kill JL, but will also now follow him faithfully. If Ben doesn't, Smokey vows to hunt Ben down and finish the job. Ben agrees and we're left with an emotionally-jarred Ben staring at an inquisitive Locke.

The last thing from this episode confirmed my prior prediction that Ilana is working for Widmore. When Frank gets back to the Hydra island he finds out that a few of the passengers have guns and appear to be some sort of sleeper terrorist cell that had been told to ask "What lies in the shadow of the statue?" to discover who else has been secretly sent by Charles. They have some giant case they are protecting and preparing to bring with them to the main island...maybe a nuke to finish the job that Jughead couldn't do? More on Ilana next week as more information comes to light.

Lets get to some...

Thoughts/Theories:

- Ready to have your mind blown....Rousseau was supposed to have been killed by Ben. Widmore was right. Even her lover Robert, after being in the presence of Smokey down in the basement of the Temple, emerged ready to kill the mother of his child. I think that when those French chaps went down the hole they were shown things and came out convinced that Danielle was supposed to die. Widmore later found this out and sent Ben/Ethan to finish the job. It didn't happen, Ben showed "weakness" (as far as the island is concerned) by not killing her and by taking the baby girl, and in the end fate (Smokey) had its way with both Parisian women.

-Locke and Desmond are the two people so far who have defied the way things usually work in the world of LOST. Desmond's time-line doesn't play by the same rules that everyone else's does. Locke can come back to life, even shocking the shocking Ben Linus. What implications does this have? Will Desmond be brought back to the island as the person to follow after Locke's done leading the group? Or is Desmond the rightful leader the island has REALLY been looking for all along? Maybe Locke's a stop-gap or temporary measure.

-The Temple and its wall in this episode has more allusions to the temple and city wall in the holy city of Jerusalem in the Old Testament. The temple was meant only for the people of Israel, with only certain holy men among the holy people allowed in to the inner sanctums. The wall of Jerusalem was destroyed and it was Nehemiah who helped get it rebuilt. Just thought it there were some interesting connections here, so if you have more ideas, please post them for all to read.

- Ben's house, where he found Frank and Sun, was in the same exact condition it had been the last time we saw anyone in it (near the end of last season when Alex was shot in the head). Yet the rest of the Othersville is messed up pretty good. Maybe it was Smokey's attack on the commandos that ruined things and now no one's been back to the town. But things just feel more ominous than that. Where are Benard and Rose and the rest of the beach-dwellers who we last saw running from the flaming arrow attack in 1954? Could they be linked to why the town is decimated? Or are they placing rocks in the sand to spell out HELP?

-Our Mutual Friend got another shout-out this week. That was the name of the Charles Dickens book that Desmond said he would make the last book he ever read before he died back in Season Two. It's also the name of his boat that he and Penny and Charlie live/float on. The writers of LOST said they got the idea to include this book from reading an article by another famous author (can't remember who...and it doesn't matter) who said he wanted to read that book before he died. The story might not have a ton to do with LOST story-lines, but in it a man forsakes his inheritance, conceals his identity and sets out to find out if the woman he was engaged to marry would like him for him...not because he's tough like Dirty Harry or makes her laugh just like Jim Carrey (he's like the Cable Guy). Some other books are shown in the episode on the book shelves of Ben's discheveled home, and those include: Flowers For Algernon, Roots, Uncle Tom's Cabin

- When Ben and Sun are talking outside of Ben's house they hear a noise in the bushes and Ben says "What's about to come out of that jungle...I have no control over" and what comes out isn't the Monster but Locke. Two things: One, this is showing that Ben's control/power over Locke is no more. Locke says a few key lines to back that idea up. Second, Ben and the Others have never had any control over the Monster. But then how does that sonic fence play in to this and how does it keep Smokey out? Especially if what Alpert said ("That fence might keep other things out, but not us") is accurate.

-When Ben summoned Smokey he unplugged some drain and water went down in to a hole. Then he speaks in to the hole, "I'll be outside." This shows some sort of personal relationship he must have with Smokey. Or it's just interesting, compelling writing for the audience's sake. Also important here is the fact that the house Ben lived in (and called Smokey from) was built before he even came to the island with his dad when he was a little kid so that, and that fact there is a sonic fence, means Dharma people must have known about Smokey and even built one of the homes over the room where Monster is summoned from.

Okay, I've written a lot here already so I will end things now. Next week's episode is called "Some Like It Hoth" and while I'm guessing Hoth will end up being the name of some character, its also the name of the frozen wonderland planet the rebel base is located on in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back.

Good luck and God's speed.

-John Locke's Pants

Whatever Happened, Happened to Vincent?

2009-04-05T18:27:00.000-07:00

LOSTaways-

Remember that dog? That beautiful golden lab. The animal who was basically the first thing we saw in the very first scene of LOST back in season one's pilot episode? What's his deal? Where is he? What's he thinking about right now? I believe the last time we saw Vincent was the night of the flaming arrow attack in "The Lie" earlier this year. But I promise you that dog is special and we've yet to see the last of his furry face.

Random start to that blog, I know, but as I was starting to type another title to this entry tonight I for some reason thought of Vincent and figured now was as good a time as any to show him a little Locke's Pants love. Read that link on his name above. Some interesting info about VTD (Vincent the Dog).

More importantly, we have an episode, entitled Whatever Happened, Happened, to re-hash. "Whatever happened, happened" comes from what Faraday said regarding the ability of our time-travelers to affect anything in the past. You kind of feel like the writers of LOST are sending us a signal to clear up the confusion about whether or not things can in fact be changed. So between what we already know from examples like Desmond being unable to prevent Charlie's ultimate demise, and now this episode, it seems to me that we are stuck with the history we've been given thus far. There are still many components of that history that we have yet to see. Hence, one more season to come.

I know the conversations between Hurley and Miles offer more complicated insight to the time-traveling story-line and we'll discuss that a little more in the Thoughts/Theories section at the end.

But for the episode at hand, I have to point out that I have been saying that Sawyer told Kate to go find his daughter Clementine since last season's finale when jumped out of the helicopter pre-island disappearing. Check the blog, suckers.

Of course Cas sidy has some understandable resentment towards James Ford/Sawyer for the way in which he both ditched her when they were conning together, and never tried to see his daughter after finding out she had been born. But was it just me or were the discussions between Cassidy and Kate a little aggressive and awkward? There seemed to be a lot of girlish hostility going on there. Even later when they had become friends and Kate came to her in tears Cassidy was a cold customer. Although, she did almost sound like a guy with her spot-on analysis of Kate's attempt to fill the void in her life by taking Aaron as her own.

Frankly, I'm getting a little bored with Kate, and the equally boring Cassidy didn't spice things up enough for my liking. Maybe had there been some Dharma or Widmore connection there I'd have taken the narrative's bait and cared at all what was going on in the Kate flashes this week. As a token to Kate lovers out there, I will say that there was distinct hint or whiff of LOST-style mystery when Kate misplaced Aaron in the grocery store and that creepy Claire look-alike was at the check-out counter with the blonde little boy.

Eventually Kate checks in to the same hotel as Claire's mom, otherwise known as the worst actress of this or any generation, and fills her in on what happened to her daughter. Kate also gives what seems a genuine reason for going back: to find Claire! Last week, in 1977 time, Kate had told Sawyer that she came back for one reason, and one reason only...and then Baby Ben's flaming VW bus-o-death came careening by. It was set up to appear as if Kate was going to say that she had come back to "make time" with Sawyer, but now it seems that she was going to say that she had come back to find the blonde babe who is likely in Jacob's cabin calling for her "baaaaaaby" right now. Or Claire might be necking in LOST heaven with Charlie if she is dead.

Back in 1977....Jin wakes up for Sayid's scissor-kick to find the Iraqi long gone and an adolescent Ben with a flesh wound. He takes the kid back and Juliet starts to work on him. Eventually it becomes clear that only Jack, our beloved island operation guru, can save the child. But that child is Ben. Jack, for more than one reason, says no to helping save Ben's life. Juliet is pissed and Kate is annoyed. Kate and Sawyer take Ben to The Others at Juliet's suggestion and Richard agrees to take and save the boy, but warns that Ben will never be the same...that he will lost his innocence...and that he will always be "one of us." Sawyer and Kate agree, knowing full well that they've just participated in making Ben the monster he will someday be. The same monster who locks the two of them in cages at one point. Richard walks off and ominously enters what appears to be The Temple.

That was a quick re-cap, so let me unpack a few things. Jack is the New Locke, or at least is talking like the Old one. He tells Juliet in the literally steamy bathroom scene that he has returned from the island, "beause I was supposed to." Wow. Very un-Jack of you. Not very Man of Science-like if you ask me. Something has changed in Jack. I know it seemed that he was being cold and callous to not save Ben, but this existential dilemma the castaways find themselves in, in regards to saving their enemy's life, is not an easy one. Jack it seems has now accepted his fate, but like Locke, is now searching for what that destiny might be.

Juliet told him that they didn't need to be saved, but how was poor Jack to know? He had been hounded by the likes of Locke and Ben to come back to the island, being told that it was HIS fault that everything had gone wrong. And so now he has humbled himself, given in to what seems to be the island's unavoidable calls to come back, and his reward is that he has to hear from Sawyer's new gal-pal about how little they needed his help. Rough. I like the new Jack. He was right when he reminded Kate that she, and many others, didn't like the Old Jack. Maybe he has finally let go of so much of the emotional baggage that had held him back from being a great leader and man in previous seasons. Or...maybe he's just a knob-job now and I'm dead wrong about all of this.

Another interesting thing was when Richard agreed to take Ben and gave Kate and Sawyer his spiel about Ben "forever changing" should he be healed by them, and one of the nameless Others says to Richard that "Ellie and Charles" won't like the decision to heal Ben. First of all, that is cool that we're getting some allusions to Ellie (who I still think is Eloise Hawking) and Charles (of Widmore fame) and can't wait till we see them both again. The last time we saw them was in the episode Jughead and it was 1954. The question I have is this: Was Charles always really the leader or was this Ellie character at one point in charge? Were they an item? If Ellie is Eloise, is Faraday's father Charles Widmore? And if he is his father, does Faraday know that? And for that matter, where the heck is Faraday?

Second point about what was said in the encounter with The Others was Richard's under-the-breath comment that he did not answer to either Ellie or Charles. Jacob, anyone? Remember that shadow that has looked like Christian Shepard every time we've seen him? Or maybe Richard answers to Smokey the Monster. But it is I believe a key piece to the puzzle to know that although Alpert is with the Others, appeared to be leading them back in 1954, speaks on their behalf to Horace a few episodes ago regarding "the truce", he also appears to be his own man, beholden to no one. Maybe he's been there MUCH longer than we may even now suppose?

Richard walking in to the Temple with Baby Ben in his arms was a chilling end to the scene.

And then we were left hanging for next week's episode, which will be called "Dead is Dead" by the way, with a classic Ben-Locke staredown in the Hydra Station 30+ years in the future. Locke sees the utter shock on Ben's face and simply says: "Welcome back to the land of the living." Wow. Lot going on there. Ben looked legitimately shocked which means he really thought he had killed Locke back in L.A. I had speculated that perhaps Ben killed Locke on purpose because Ben had known that that was the way things were supposed to play out, but Ben doesn't have a "Hey big guy...sorry about the murder thing, but you know how Jacob can be" look on his face, he has a "Rat-farts, I really put myself in a jam this time...this guy isn't supposed to be breathing" mug on his bug-eyed face. The commercials for next week look fairly intense and seem to offer the promise of tying up some loose ends with what all Ben has been doing since leaving the island.

Thoughts/Theories:

-There is some huge tie-in's between the time travel theories presented in this week's episode and the story of the comic book that Richard presented, among other items, to a young John Locke in last season's Cabin Fever episode. That comic book was called Mystery Tales and one of the stories in it was called "March has 32 Days" and is about a man who tries to go back and re-live a day to change a fatal mistake he made. Read more at the links I have here. Very interesting why Richard (and the writers of LOST) would pick such an item.

-Hurley brings up the Back to the Future reference we've all used about 100 times by now in our LOST viewing and exegesis. Kind of predictable, but here's more on that from LOSTpedia: "Hurley looks at his hand, waiting to see if he disappears, like in Back to the Future. In the movie, Marty McFly's hand starts to disappear as he was being erased from existence because he had interfered with his parents' past, preventing his mother from falling in love with his father. Seconds after this reference is made, Sawyer comes in in a rush calling Jack "Doc", the same thing McFly used to do in the movies when looking for Doc Brown."

-This episode contained the theme of what is known as the "Cassandra Complex" in Greek mythology. It is the curse of knowing the future (or past) and being unable to change it.

-I'm not afraid to admit that I am a huge Patsy Cline fan. Most of you likely don't even know who she is. The legendary country singer tragically died in, what do you know it, a plane crash in 1963. Her songs are played in every single Kate-centric episode. This week featured the tune, "She's Got You", in which Patsy laments the fact that all she has left from her previous boyfriend is the memories left behind from a broken relationship, while the new girl has the real thing to share her life with. There's more than a couple analogies in those lyrics to the Sawyer-Kate-Cassidy-Juliet love quadrilateral.

-We've seen Ben later in life when The Purge happens and he kills his own father. But will that now happen in a different way? We know things can't be changed in the grand scheme, but like Charlie avoiding some of fate's earlier attempts on his life, will Ben's being given to the Others now lead to an alternative Purge happening?

-Locke and Ben together in a scene, even a brief one like in this week's episode, is what gets me out of bed in the morning.

That's all for this week people. I'm telling you that "Dead is Dead" will knock your socks off and I'm saving some thoughts on that movie I've been promising to tell you more about for my re-cap next week. Enjoy the episode Wednesday and stay out of the deep end.

Love,

Locke's Trousers