KatesFate’s Episode Review & Speculation
Episode 6.05
“Lighthouse”
Wow! Can you believe that there are only 13 more episodes of Lost to go and although we are finally getting answers, we still have no idea what is going on. I have been savoring each and every moment of Lost this season, knowing they will be the last. Something has felt off to me though and I couldn’t quite put my finger on what it was. Something just feels like it is missing. I figured out what it is though. It’s Juliet. I miss Juliet’s character. I like Kate, but in all reality with Juliet gone, there is no strong female lead anymore. She was always such a fascinating character to watch. I really wish they would have made her a candidate too.
As with the last four episodes and until one timeline is no more, I will split my review into on island and off island events. Let’s start with the off island timeline first.
Off Island Timeline
It’s A Boy!
In the beginning of the episode we see Jack arriving at his apartment and getting cleaned up after work. He walks past a full length mirror *(1) and heads to the bathroom to wash his face and sees his reflection in the mirror. * (2) Well looky there, its Jack’s appendix scar. At first I thought he was surprised to see it and would start freaking out, but it turns out he had it removed when he was 7 or 8 as confirmed by his mom. What was strange was that he called his mom to find out when it was removed because he had seemingly forgotten. Is Jack losing past memories because he never really lived them? I think this means that as they slowly remember being on the island, they will also slowly start to lose past memories they’ve never really lived anyway. In other words, he doesn’t remember because it never really happened. This tells me that these two timelines will converge into one and that in the end they will be on the island where they have always belonged.
After speaking with his mom, Jack rushes out the door and ends up at St. Mary’s Academy. Jack approaches the steps to the Academy and we see a young, brown haired boy sitting alone on the stairs. This is a moment where I can say, I saw this coming but at the same time I didn’t. In other words, I knew the minute I saw the boy that it had to be Jack’s son, however I was also very surprised by the fact that Jack has a son. Again, the casting director did a great job, because the boy really does look like Jack. We learn that Jack’s son is named David and that they do not have the greatest relationship. It is also established right away that Jack is no longer married to David’s mother and only gets visitation once a month.
We have another book reference here as well. Jack picks up a copy of Alice Annotations and tells David he use to read it to him as a child. This is the very same book he use to read to Aaron as well. Did Jack really read the book to David as a child or is he remembering reading it to Aaron and projecting those memories?
Since Jack’s past is obviously different, I immediately wondered if David’s mother is Sarah. It is quite possible that it is someone else. This really wouldn’t matter either unless it turns out to be another Lostie like Juliet or something. Go ahead, laugh all you want, but I am allowed to dream. I don’t really think it is Juliet, but I don’t think it is Sarah either. Maybe Ana-Lucia? Libby? Oh well, it’s fun to guess all the same.
Jack’s mom is frantic because Christian’s Will cannot be found and Jack heads to his mom’s to help find the lost documents, leaving David home alone with the promise of dinner when Jack gets back. When he arrives at his moms, she is frustrated about the lost Will. It would seem Christian’s Will is harder to find that the island itself. While looking for the Will, they discuss David and his inability to communicate with his dad. Jack’s mom reminds Jack that he felt the very same way about his father and suggests that Jack try communicating with David first. If only Christian had been given that advice.
I really liked Jack in this episode. He is so much more laid back and stress-free in this timeline. He doesn’t seem to feel the need to fix things anymore, instead he has more of an open mind and opts to try to set things right. He has a calming effect on his mother who is stressed out when normally Jack would be freaking out over something like this. I also noticed that Jack refused a drink from his mom and in response she said, “Good for you”. Does this imply that Jack had a drinking problem but doesn’t anymore? Or is his mom just happy he chooses not to drink like she does. I’m betting it’s the later of the two, because I am pretty sure Jack is drinking on Flight 815 this time around too. After all, we saw Cindy hand him one bottle of vodka instead of two. Maybe this time around Jack’s mom and dad are both alcoholics or just his mother is and Christian died of other causes. Just a thought.
Jack’s mother finds the will and starts to read it, she immediately asks Jack if his father ever mentioned Claire Littleton. For a moment Jack looked as if the name rang a bell. What really interests me though is that Christian left something for Claire in this timeline because I am pretty certain he didn’t leave her anything in the original timeline or Jack’s mother surely would have mentioned it to him when he escaped the island and went back home. I was happy to see that he and Claire are still related in this timeline too.
Jack arrives back home and David is gone. He calls his ex-wife’s house and leaves a message for David that he is coming there to look for him. When he arrives the address is 23 something, I couldn’t quite catch the rest. David is not there, but Jack finds pictures of he and David together stuck to David’s mirror. *(3) Jack decides to listen to the answering machine and learns that David is at an audition so of course he heads there.
As Jack enters the Conservatory where the auditions are being held, he views a sign that says, “Welcome all Candidates”. I love when the writers do little things like this. He arrives in the middle of David’s audition in what I felt was a very beautiful moment. Matthew Fox did an outstanding job in this scene. You could see the pride and love he felt for David in his eyes and facial expressions. Giacchino’s music in the background makes the scene that much better. Note while David is playing we see his reflection in the top of the piano. *(4) As Jack turns to leave, he is approached by the father of another child and it turns out to be Dogen The Temple Master. Dogen tells Jack, “It’s hard to watch and be unable to help.” I got the feeling that Dogen was not only referring to their children, but also his inability to answer Jack’s questions on the island.
After the audition Jack sits down and talks to David and in one heartfelt conversation he fixes their relationship. Jack figured out a way to make it work by facing his own fears about his father. This ties in nicely with on island Jack. He has to learn to let go and face his fears and understand that he can’t fix everything, but he can fix the one thing he was meant too. I am not exactly sure what that is yet, but I believe Jack is on the cusp of figuring it out.
Black and White All Over
This episode was loaded with tons of black and white images starting with Jack’s apartment. The pictures were black and white, some of the photo frames, the piano keys, the décor and Jack’s office were all done in black and white. We all know these colors play a role in Lost somehow, but why display them so prominently in a Jack centric episode? Maybe it is because Jack needs to realize things aren’t always black and white and that there is a grey area as well.
Reflective surfaces were also scattered throughout the episode and I am numbering them throughout this review. I will talk about these surfaces at the end of the review once I have covered the on island issues which I will do right now.
On Island Events
Girl, you so crazy!
I don’t know about the rest of you, but I am beginning to think Claire may have found Charlie’s old heroin stash or learned to harvest some “special” island herbs because she is off her rocker. I thought the “infection” was suppose to make you dark, not crazy! Is this how Sayid will start behaving? Will he make some sort of animal version of Nadia and give it a pair of sunglasses? Don’t get me wrong, I like this side of Claire, it is just odd to watch her behave that way, but on the plus side she has suddenly become a much more interesting person than she ever was before. The only things that made her interesting before were Aaron and Charlie.
Claire has Jin and Justin tied up in her house of horrors and she questions them about the whereabouts of Aaron. Here we learn that Claire was taken to The Temple by the others where she was tortured and branded just as Sayid was. All of this branding reminds me of Juliet and the way the others branded her as punishment for killing old what’s his name. Oh ya, Pickett. Is there a connection to the two brandings? Although Juliet’s was an obvious symbol and Claire and Sayids’ are just hot poker marks. Anyway, back to Claire who keeps making mention of a friend and we learn later that her friend is Flocke. That was no surprise. When Claire doesn’t get any answers that she likes, she decides to kill Justin by putting her ax right through his chest. Claire is scary!!! With Justin now dead, Jin changes his story and says that the others do have Aaron and Kate didn’t take him, like he had originally told her. Claire responds to this with the following, “I’m so glad to know that you were lying, because if what you said was the truth, if Kate was raising Aaron, I’d kill her.” Did you hear that Kate, Claire is going to get you and this time you have nowhere to run. So we have Locke, Claire, Jin and presumably Sawyer all together on the island heading for the Temple and Kate off on her own. Let’s see what the rest of the losties are up to.
You Have What It Takes
The second group of losties consists of Sun, Ben, Frank, Ilana and Richard and they are on their way to the temple. The third group is Sayid and Miles who are currently at the Temple. The fourth and final group is Jack and Hurley who are now at the lighthouse and may or may not be heading back to the Temple. Let’s finish up this review by only discussing the fourth group, Jack and Hurley.
The first on island scene begins with Jack’s face reflected in the pond. *(5) We then see Dogen approach Jack and they have an extremely brief conversation that allows us to see that Jack and Dogen are coming to trust one another. I am sure this will come into play later.
Hurley and Miles play a very innovative game of tic-tac-toe. Tic-tac-toe is a game that rarely sees a winner or a loser and most often ends in a tie. Is someone trying to tell us something here? Hungry from all that banana leaf and vine tossing, Hurley sets off to find food and finds Jacob alone inside of the Temple. What was Jacob doing hunched over the water like that? I’ve read that some people believe he was pouring something into the water, but I can’t really tell while watching it. Does anyone have their own theories about what he was doing? If so, please let me know.
Jacob is there because he needs Hurley’s help. Per Jacob, “Someone is coming to the island and I need you to help them find it.” He tells Hurley he will need a pen to write this down. I thought this was funny because I can’t imagine the others using a pen and I wondered where Hurley would find one. It also reminded of me Boone in The Pilot and of the time in the mental hospital when Charlie’s ghost tells Hurley to write a message down for Jack in case he forgets it. Then I got to wondering if all of the ghosts that Hurley has seen are actually Jacob in the form of these people. Me thinks so.
Hurley sets off to run Jacob’s errand and gets caught by Dogen. No worries though because Jacob shows up to run interference telling Hurley exactly what to say. It turns out that if you are a candidate, you have complete run of The Temple and can do whatever you want. I loved Hurley in the scene, “Why don’t you go back to the Temple?” I’d really love to know what Dogen said to him in response. When Dogen leaves, Jacob informs Hurley that he needs to take Jack with him and Hurley wants to know how to do that. Jacob tells Hurley to tell Jack, “You have what it takes.” These five words set Jack off immediately and off he and Hurley went to presumably find Jacob. These words are the exact opposite of what Christian use to tell Jack as a child, “You will never have what it takes.”
While on route, Jack and Hurley run into Kate and blah, blah, blah Kate is off again to do her thing. I don’t mean to sound bothered by this part but Kate seemed just a bit to happy to me during this scene. It was kind of strange. She won’t look that happy when she runs into Craz…I mean Claire.
Hurley and Jack finally arrive at their destination, a giant lighthouse. Jack asks the exact question I wanted to ask, “How have we never seen this before?” and Hurley responds, “Maybe we didn’t need to before.” That explanation is good enough for me. Inside and at the top of the lighthouse, they find a wheel that Hurley has been instructed to turn to 108 degrees and as he is doing so Jack sees his reflection *(6) in the mirrors used to guide the ships in. Not only does he see his own reflection, he also begins to see images. He sees the building where Sun and Jin were married, the church Sawyer saw Jacob at as a child, and his own childhood home. It turns out that the wheel is marked with names and each name has a number. When the wheel is aligned at a specific name and number you see an image of that persons past in the reflective mirrors.
I really loved this and it made me change my mind about the cave Flocke took Sawyer too. I believed it was Jacob’s cave, but the lighthouse proved to me that it wasn’t. Why would Jacob need that cold dark cave to keep track of the losties when he had that beautiful lighthouse and wheel to keep track of them. Upon seeing his own home in the mirrors, Jack becomes very angry and demands answers from Hurley that Hurley just doesn’t have. When Jack doesn’t get any answers he smashes the mirrors into pieces. Although I can understand why Jack did it, it still bothered me because he had no way of knowing if that lighthouse could be useful to them somehow and he smashed it anyway.
The Man In The Mirror
After smashing the mirrors, Jack takes to a cliff side and does some thinking while Jacob pays Hurley another visit. We learn that Jack needs to figure out what his purpose is on his own and cannot be told what it is by anyone else. The trip to the lighthouse was a way for Jacob to show Jack how important he really is. There is something he must do, but he must do it on his own. Jacob also informs Hurley that someone bad is going to the Temple and Hurley wants to warn them but Jacob says it’s too late. My theory on this is that Flocke will get there and kill every other and lostie that is within that temple. Like I said earlier, only Sayid and Miles are there now. I think Flocke will kill them all and all of the other Losties will arrive at the Temple in a montage scene to find everyone dead.
I love Jacob, I really do. I enjoy watching him speak to Hurley and he seems so sincere. It seems pretty obvious to me now that Jacob is the good one here. When Jacob tells Hurley, “Someone is coming to the island. I need you to help them find it.” I believe that statement had two meanings. He was speaking about Jack’s need to realize why he is important but I also feel that someone is still coming to the island. The name Wallace at 108 was not crossed off. I don’t want to see a new character at this point, so I am hoping that Wallace will end up being Desmond or Faraday. I also wonder if Wallace might be Ilana’s last name as she is probably a candidate as well so her name should be on that wheel also.
I am sure you noticed the numbers I posted above certain sentences throughout my review. These numbers indicate everytime that Jack looked into a reflective surface. Jack also stared into a mirror when looking at his son. David served as a mirror for Jack and allowed him to look into himself and fix himself. Now that Jack has done this in the alternate timeline, I think he will also be fixed on the island, so to say. Meaning that Jack is going to figure out what he must do soon and I believe it will happen in the next episode. While he stares at the ocean and does some soul searching, he will finally come to realize that yes, he was brought to this island for a reason.
Things I Noticed
*Claire’s new baby is very, very ugly!
*I have always liked Jack but this episode made me love him.
*Hurley is still wearing a red shirt.
Best Lines
*Dogen – Go back to the courtyard.
Hurley – I’m a candidate and I can do what I want.
Dogen – Who told you that?
Hurley – It doesn’t matter. Why don’t you go back to the courtyard?
Dogen - #$&*(%@^%&$$&
*Jack – Jacob, where is he?
Hurley – He’s kind of dead. He just turns up whenever he wants like Obi Wan Kenobi.
*Claire – We gotta get that cleaned up. One thing that’ll kill you around here is an infection.
*Hurley – What if we time travled to like dinosaur times and then we died and got buried here. What if these skeletons are us? (referring to Adam & Eve at the caves). I think the writers are trying to tell us something here.
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Episode Review & Speculation 6.04 The Substitute
KatesFate’s Episode Review & Speculation
Episode 6.04 “The Substitute”
Four episodes down and sixteen to go until the series finale and all of our questions are finally being answered while new mysteries are still popping up. With that in mind, I have a lot to say about this episode so be prepared. Once again I have split the review into two parts, On Island and Off Island Events.
OFF ISLAND EVENTS
A Leap Of Faith
At the beginning of the episode, we see Locke arriving at home from the airport. As he attempts to lower himself from on the lift, it sticks and Locke is forced to take a leap of faith. Unfortunately he fails to land, falling on his face instead. This sort of mirrors what happened to Locke in the alternate timeline, he took a leap of faith and now he is dead. Locke surprises me when falling and shakes it off with a laugh.
Did anyone else notice that when the sprinkler system activated, it sounded just like Smokey? Another thing to note would be the water from the sprinkler falling down like rain upon Locke’s glorious baldhead. How very appropriate. I was elated when I saw Helen rush out of the house to Locke’s aide. Helen is by far one of my favorite flashback characters and I have been in love with Katey Segal since Married With Children.
So in this timeline, Helen and Locke are still together? As far as I can tell, the only issue they ever had as a couple was Locke’s obsession with his father, Anthony Cooper. The fact that they are together now tells me that Locke no longer has issues with his dad. Further proof of this is when Helen suggests that they just elope and only invite John’s father and her parents. Oh and there is also that lovely picture of Locke and his father hung in Locke’s cubicle.
This tells me that Anthony Cooper has a good relationship with his son in this timeline. Maybe Anthony was never a con man at all in this timeline. This revelation could also mean that Sawyer is not a con man in this timeline either. As I said back in my review for LA X, all of their pasts are different in some way now. They may all still be the same person at their core, but something about all of their pasts is different now.
John Locke not only has a different past, he also has a different personality. I love the way this runs parallel to him now being Flocke on island. Locke no longer seems as angry or lost in this timeline. (pardon the pun). In my opinion, it is because of the relationship he has with his father and with Helen. But if Locke has a good relationship with his father, why is he still in the wheelchair? I have no guess on this one, but I can’t wait to find out.
A Few Familiar Faces
Locke runs into a few people from his past in this timeline as well. Randy Nations is still his same old jerk of a boss at the box company. He meets Hurley after being fired by Randy. Since Hurley owns the company, he offers Locke some hope in the form of a new job. I have to mention here that I love the way we are getting to see how lucky Hurley is. That was great when Locke’s ramp stuck and it wouldn’t hit Hurley’s H2! When Locke arrives at the temp agency that Hurley referred him to, he is questioned by non other than the psychic whom Hurley’s father had hired to trick Hurley into believing there is no curse. When Locke then asks to see the supervisor, it turns out to be Rose. It turns out Rose still has cancer so it would appear that even though their pasts are somehow different, the core problems from their pasts are still the same.
Rose gives Locke a job as a substitute teacher and on his first day he substitutes as a health techer. The lesson plan for the day? Why the reproductive system of course. How nicely does this tie into the islands fertility problems? I loved it!!! While in the teachers lounge, Locke runs into an old friend. I knew the minute I heard his voice that it was Ben. It turns out that in this timeline, Ben is a European History teacher with a case of OCD. I for one, cannot wait to see more of this Ben.
I’ve been reading that some people feel these off island events have been boring, but not me. For me it is almost like watching season one all over again. Even in the final episodes, we are learning more about these characters and how their paths were always meant to cross.
ON ISLAND EVENTS
Blind Faith
Locke has Richard hostage in the jungle and he demands that they talk. We learn that Richard is clueless when it comes to Jacob’s agenda, which was kind of a surprise but does make a bit of sense. You’ve all heard me say it before and I’ll say it again, Lost will have some biblical explanation for all of this. Therefore, it makes sense that Richard would follow Jacob blindly. He has seen Jacob perform miracles first hand and he chooses to follow and believe in him, ignoring any and all temptation. Locke seems annoyed with Richard’s decision and you could just tell he was getting ready to kill Richard when he suddenly sees a young blonde boy standing in the jungle. Whoa! Who in the heck is that? He stood there surrounded by white light with blood on his hands. My first guess is that this boy is Jacob. It pretty much has to be. My husband thinks it is Aaron and who knows he might be right, but I doubt it. Love ya hon! I am sticking with the Jacob theory. Richard apparently doesn’t see the boy and Locke blows it off and warns Richard that he’ll be seeing him soon. I am not certain why Richard would not be able to see Jacob as well, but maybe Jacob can make himself seen by only those he wants to see him.
Something Wicked This Way Comes
The Smokey cam was kind of cool and I really liked the roller ocaster sounds as we traveled through the park, erm I mean jungle. Apparantly Smokey is out recruiting and his first choice after Richard, is Sawyer. As Smokey is arrives in Dharmaville, Sawyer is listening to “Searching to Destroy” and drinking heavily. I think, but I am not sure, that the osng Sawyer was listening to was done by Iggy Pop and was on the soundtrack of “The Deer Hunter” and “Apocalypse Now”, both movies about war. Sawyer, although he is drunk as a skunk, knows this man is not John Locke, yet somehow Flocke convinces Sawyer to come with him.
I have to take a moment here to bring something up about Sawyer’s appearance in this scene. I know he is meant to look slovenly and drunk, but was this shot really necessary….
Please writers/directors I beg of you, if we are going to get a shot of Sawyer in his skivvies, myself and every other girl in the world, would like them to be clean!
Flocke convinces Sawyer to put pants on, thank goodness (I can’t believe I just said that), and the two of them head into the jungle. While they are out, they run into the little boy Locke saw earlier with Richard, but this time, Sawyer sees him too. Why would Sawyer see him and not Richard? Got me, but like I said, maybe he wasn’t meant to. When Flocke realizes that the boy must be real if Sawyer saw him too, he takes off after him. Flocke catches up with the boy and the boy says, “You know the rules. You can’t kill him”, and saunters off into the jungle, leaving Flocke lying there screaming, “Don’t tell me what I can’t do”. It seems Flocke is starting to develop Locke’s personality.
So it appears that Flocke is not allowed to kill anyone who is a possible candidate. (I’ll get to all that later) If Jacob gives someone a number and makes them a candidate, the rules must state that Flocke (I wish we knew this guys name already), cannot kill a possible candidate until their name has been crossed off. I wonder how all of this works for Ben and Widmore. They seem to go by the same sort of rules, but keep in mind that Widmore supposedly broke those rules so who is to say that Flocke won’t break them too.
While Flocke is off chasing the boy, Richard appears and tries to get Sawyer to go back to the temple with him. Richard gets a chance to warn Sawyer that Flocke wants to kill him and everyone else and he won’t stop until……Until what? Most likely, he was going to say, until they are all dead. Sawyer chooses to stay with Flocke and it now looks like Flocke might have a genuine recruit. Sawyer may be following Flocke, but Sawyer is far from stupid. Sawyer was a pretty good con man and he still is. I think Sawyer may pretend to follow Flocke for a while, but that in the end he will betray Flocke in order to save the others lives. My theory is that this is how Sawyer will die. Yes, I said it. Sawyer will die. He will die saving the others from Flocke.
Jacob’s Ladder Leads To His Lair
Locke and Sawyer arrive at a huge cliff that leads straight down to the crashing waves beneath it. Attached to that cliff is a ladder that they must climb down. On the way down, Sawyers rope broke and I screamed. Bravo to that stuntman. Stunt people have some big, well let’s just say they are very courageous. Flocke reaches out to Sawyer and saves him. I definitely do not believe that Flocke saved Sawyer out of the kindness of his heart. He saved Sawyer because he needs Sawyer on his side. He needs an army and he needs one now. This was Flocke’s way of building trust.
Once they reach the bottom they enter a cave. I loved this cave. Imagine what it would be like to camp out inside of that for just one night! Too cool. Inside of the cave there is a scale that balances two stones, one white and one black, perfectly. This could signify what was a level playing field between Flocke and Jacob, but Flocke picks up the white stone and hurls it into the ocean. When Sawyer asks why Flocke says, “Inside joke”. Flocke has just thrown the game off balance and elimated the other side or at least that is his prime objective.
What comes next is something we have all waited a long time to hear the answer to. What do the numbers mean? Flocke shows Sawyer the place where Jacob keeps track of those he brings to the island and they each have a number. Per Flocke, Jacob just has a thing for numbers. Well okay then. The following losties are on the wall…..
Locke – 4 (Flocke crosses him off though)
Reyes – 8
Jarrah – 16
Ford – 15
Jack Shephard – 23
Kwon – 42
What is interesting is that Jack is the only one whose full name is listed. This must have some significance. He probably is more important than the others. Also for the number 42 it just says Kwon. Does Jacob mean Sun or Jin? Or does he perhaps mean both of them? I think he just means Jin and I’ll tell you why. Kate is not on the list and at first I was surprised by that because Jacob touched her too. After thinking about it, I realized that maybe Kate is not up there because she is a woman. Maybe Jacob can only be replaced by another man. This is why I think that Kwon means Jin. I still believe that Sun and Kate play an important role in all of this too.
I’m almost done here. Remember what I said, Sawyer is a con man and can smell a con a mile away. He is on to Flocke and Sawyer is set to pull another long con and I can’t wait to see it play out. Okay, I am done now. I will see you next week and thanks again for reading.
Little Things I Noticed
*The coffee cup Locke drinks from in the bathtub is half black and half white.
*Locke mentions wanting to dance at his wedding, just as Sarah did to Jack.
Best Lines
*Flocke – Hello James
Sawyer – I thought you were dead,
Flocke – I am
*Sawyer – Cuz Locke was scared even when he was pretending he wasn’t and you,
you’re not scared.
*Hurley – Chin up. Things are gonna work out.
*Ben – John Locke was a, a believer. He was a man of faith. He was a much better man than I will ever be and I’m very sorry I murdered him.
Episode 6.04 “The Substitute”
Four episodes down and sixteen to go until the series finale and all of our questions are finally being answered while new mysteries are still popping up. With that in mind, I have a lot to say about this episode so be prepared. Once again I have split the review into two parts, On Island and Off Island Events.
OFF ISLAND EVENTS
A Leap Of Faith
At the beginning of the episode, we see Locke arriving at home from the airport. As he attempts to lower himself from on the lift, it sticks and Locke is forced to take a leap of faith. Unfortunately he fails to land, falling on his face instead. This sort of mirrors what happened to Locke in the alternate timeline, he took a leap of faith and now he is dead. Locke surprises me when falling and shakes it off with a laugh.
Did anyone else notice that when the sprinkler system activated, it sounded just like Smokey? Another thing to note would be the water from the sprinkler falling down like rain upon Locke’s glorious baldhead. How very appropriate. I was elated when I saw Helen rush out of the house to Locke’s aide. Helen is by far one of my favorite flashback characters and I have been in love with Katey Segal since Married With Children.
So in this timeline, Helen and Locke are still together? As far as I can tell, the only issue they ever had as a couple was Locke’s obsession with his father, Anthony Cooper. The fact that they are together now tells me that Locke no longer has issues with his dad. Further proof of this is when Helen suggests that they just elope and only invite John’s father and her parents. Oh and there is also that lovely picture of Locke and his father hung in Locke’s cubicle.
This tells me that Anthony Cooper has a good relationship with his son in this timeline. Maybe Anthony was never a con man at all in this timeline. This revelation could also mean that Sawyer is not a con man in this timeline either. As I said back in my review for LA X, all of their pasts are different in some way now. They may all still be the same person at their core, but something about all of their pasts is different now.
John Locke not only has a different past, he also has a different personality. I love the way this runs parallel to him now being Flocke on island. Locke no longer seems as angry or lost in this timeline. (pardon the pun). In my opinion, it is because of the relationship he has with his father and with Helen. But if Locke has a good relationship with his father, why is he still in the wheelchair? I have no guess on this one, but I can’t wait to find out.
A Few Familiar Faces
Locke runs into a few people from his past in this timeline as well. Randy Nations is still his same old jerk of a boss at the box company. He meets Hurley after being fired by Randy. Since Hurley owns the company, he offers Locke some hope in the form of a new job. I have to mention here that I love the way we are getting to see how lucky Hurley is. That was great when Locke’s ramp stuck and it wouldn’t hit Hurley’s H2! When Locke arrives at the temp agency that Hurley referred him to, he is questioned by non other than the psychic whom Hurley’s father had hired to trick Hurley into believing there is no curse. When Locke then asks to see the supervisor, it turns out to be Rose. It turns out Rose still has cancer so it would appear that even though their pasts are somehow different, the core problems from their pasts are still the same.
Rose gives Locke a job as a substitute teacher and on his first day he substitutes as a health techer. The lesson plan for the day? Why the reproductive system of course. How nicely does this tie into the islands fertility problems? I loved it!!! While in the teachers lounge, Locke runs into an old friend. I knew the minute I heard his voice that it was Ben. It turns out that in this timeline, Ben is a European History teacher with a case of OCD. I for one, cannot wait to see more of this Ben.
I’ve been reading that some people feel these off island events have been boring, but not me. For me it is almost like watching season one all over again. Even in the final episodes, we are learning more about these characters and how their paths were always meant to cross.
ON ISLAND EVENTS
Blind Faith
Locke has Richard hostage in the jungle and he demands that they talk. We learn that Richard is clueless when it comes to Jacob’s agenda, which was kind of a surprise but does make a bit of sense. You’ve all heard me say it before and I’ll say it again, Lost will have some biblical explanation for all of this. Therefore, it makes sense that Richard would follow Jacob blindly. He has seen Jacob perform miracles first hand and he chooses to follow and believe in him, ignoring any and all temptation. Locke seems annoyed with Richard’s decision and you could just tell he was getting ready to kill Richard when he suddenly sees a young blonde boy standing in the jungle. Whoa! Who in the heck is that? He stood there surrounded by white light with blood on his hands. My first guess is that this boy is Jacob. It pretty much has to be. My husband thinks it is Aaron and who knows he might be right, but I doubt it. Love ya hon! I am sticking with the Jacob theory. Richard apparently doesn’t see the boy and Locke blows it off and warns Richard that he’ll be seeing him soon. I am not certain why Richard would not be able to see Jacob as well, but maybe Jacob can make himself seen by only those he wants to see him.
Something Wicked This Way Comes
The Smokey cam was kind of cool and I really liked the roller ocaster sounds as we traveled through the park, erm I mean jungle. Apparantly Smokey is out recruiting and his first choice after Richard, is Sawyer. As Smokey is arrives in Dharmaville, Sawyer is listening to “Searching to Destroy” and drinking heavily. I think, but I am not sure, that the osng Sawyer was listening to was done by Iggy Pop and was on the soundtrack of “The Deer Hunter” and “Apocalypse Now”, both movies about war. Sawyer, although he is drunk as a skunk, knows this man is not John Locke, yet somehow Flocke convinces Sawyer to come with him.
I have to take a moment here to bring something up about Sawyer’s appearance in this scene. I know he is meant to look slovenly and drunk, but was this shot really necessary….
Please writers/directors I beg of you, if we are going to get a shot of Sawyer in his skivvies, myself and every other girl in the world, would like them to be clean!
Flocke convinces Sawyer to put pants on, thank goodness (I can’t believe I just said that), and the two of them head into the jungle. While they are out, they run into the little boy Locke saw earlier with Richard, but this time, Sawyer sees him too. Why would Sawyer see him and not Richard? Got me, but like I said, maybe he wasn’t meant to. When Flocke realizes that the boy must be real if Sawyer saw him too, he takes off after him. Flocke catches up with the boy and the boy says, “You know the rules. You can’t kill him”, and saunters off into the jungle, leaving Flocke lying there screaming, “Don’t tell me what I can’t do”. It seems Flocke is starting to develop Locke’s personality.
So it appears that Flocke is not allowed to kill anyone who is a possible candidate. (I’ll get to all that later) If Jacob gives someone a number and makes them a candidate, the rules must state that Flocke (I wish we knew this guys name already), cannot kill a possible candidate until their name has been crossed off. I wonder how all of this works for Ben and Widmore. They seem to go by the same sort of rules, but keep in mind that Widmore supposedly broke those rules so who is to say that Flocke won’t break them too.
While Flocke is off chasing the boy, Richard appears and tries to get Sawyer to go back to the temple with him. Richard gets a chance to warn Sawyer that Flocke wants to kill him and everyone else and he won’t stop until……Until what? Most likely, he was going to say, until they are all dead. Sawyer chooses to stay with Flocke and it now looks like Flocke might have a genuine recruit. Sawyer may be following Flocke, but Sawyer is far from stupid. Sawyer was a pretty good con man and he still is. I think Sawyer may pretend to follow Flocke for a while, but that in the end he will betray Flocke in order to save the others lives. My theory is that this is how Sawyer will die. Yes, I said it. Sawyer will die. He will die saving the others from Flocke.
Jacob’s Ladder Leads To His Lair
Locke and Sawyer arrive at a huge cliff that leads straight down to the crashing waves beneath it. Attached to that cliff is a ladder that they must climb down. On the way down, Sawyers rope broke and I screamed. Bravo to that stuntman. Stunt people have some big, well let’s just say they are very courageous. Flocke reaches out to Sawyer and saves him. I definitely do not believe that Flocke saved Sawyer out of the kindness of his heart. He saved Sawyer because he needs Sawyer on his side. He needs an army and he needs one now. This was Flocke’s way of building trust.
Once they reach the bottom they enter a cave. I loved this cave. Imagine what it would be like to camp out inside of that for just one night! Too cool. Inside of the cave there is a scale that balances two stones, one white and one black, perfectly. This could signify what was a level playing field between Flocke and Jacob, but Flocke picks up the white stone and hurls it into the ocean. When Sawyer asks why Flocke says, “Inside joke”. Flocke has just thrown the game off balance and elimated the other side or at least that is his prime objective.
What comes next is something we have all waited a long time to hear the answer to. What do the numbers mean? Flocke shows Sawyer the place where Jacob keeps track of those he brings to the island and they each have a number. Per Flocke, Jacob just has a thing for numbers. Well okay then. The following losties are on the wall…..
Locke – 4 (Flocke crosses him off though)
Reyes – 8
Jarrah – 16
Ford – 15
Jack Shephard – 23
Kwon – 42
What is interesting is that Jack is the only one whose full name is listed. This must have some significance. He probably is more important than the others. Also for the number 42 it just says Kwon. Does Jacob mean Sun or Jin? Or does he perhaps mean both of them? I think he just means Jin and I’ll tell you why. Kate is not on the list and at first I was surprised by that because Jacob touched her too. After thinking about it, I realized that maybe Kate is not up there because she is a woman. Maybe Jacob can only be replaced by another man. This is why I think that Kwon means Jin. I still believe that Sun and Kate play an important role in all of this too.
I’m almost done here. Remember what I said, Sawyer is a con man and can smell a con a mile away. He is on to Flocke and Sawyer is set to pull another long con and I can’t wait to see it play out. Okay, I am done now. I will see you next week and thanks again for reading.
Little Things I Noticed
*The coffee cup Locke drinks from in the bathtub is half black and half white.
*Locke mentions wanting to dance at his wedding, just as Sarah did to Jack.
Best Lines
*Flocke – Hello James
Sawyer – I thought you were dead,
Flocke – I am
*Sawyer – Cuz Locke was scared even when he was pretending he wasn’t and you,
you’re not scared.
*Hurley – Chin up. Things are gonna work out.
*Ben – John Locke was a, a believer. He was a man of faith. He was a much better man than I will ever be and I’m very sorry I murdered him.
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