The ODI

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LOST is like a box of chocolates. Buried within any seemingly dark exterior there is always a chance there instead is something light and sweet on the inside. Or we might find something equally as dark, as with what we now appear to have with Sun Kwon and her rather sinister Valentine. Of course we can speculate as to whether or not Sun is being played by Widmore in her plot to assassinate Ben, as it is easy to see how he could be facilitating her supposed desire for revenge in order to serve his own desire to reclaim the Island.


But is Sun really after Ben? And is she really one to allow herself to be used as a pawn so easily? In the past she has shown multiple layers, an ability to hold within herself a depth of secrets and lies, and lately a cool, calculated cunningness. In addition, Widmore sent mercenaries in order to bring Ben back alive, so there is something slightly off about this situation to me, and I am not entirely convinced that Widmore sent Sun to off Ben so much as to just get close enough to follow them all back to the Island. It is also obvious that Ben is already being followed, as the photos sent to Sun of him and Jack outside the funeral parlor demonstrated.

Then again, how can we even be sure that Widmore is behind it all? What about the “Economist” from last season, whom Sayid had been hunting? Was this just a red-herring, and really perhaps just a code-name for Charles himself? Or could this person be a third as-of-yet unseen party in this race to beat Ben and find the Island?


Take Me With U

Sayid can’t even go visit the doctor without having someone show up and try and cap a dart in him. No worries, as we all know how the man can more than handle his aggressors with his Thundercat-like agility. The hunter is now the hunted, and again we must wonder who exactly is behind this little game of tranquilizer-tag. Candidates include the same parties mentioned as possibly working with Sun, except I do not believe that a man like Sayid could be tracked so easily without some inside knowledge.

I propose it is actually Ben who is sending these thugs after our beloved Iraqi, in order to flush him out and align him once more with Ben’s cause of returning the O6 to the Island. Sayid and Ben must have had some kind of falling out, as Sayid no longer seems to be in the assassination business. We know that Ben is all about manipulation, and he certainly understands how to get people to do exactly what he wants without them even being aware of it. The other hint that makes me believe it is actually Ben, besides the fact Sayid was being kept alive, is the fact the shooter had Kate’s address in his pocket as if she was next on the list to receive a little more “motivation”. Time is getting short, and I don’t put it past Ben to have a contingency plan in place to just capture them all, one way or another.


I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man

I hope that I am not the only one who noticed a little glimmer in Kate’s eyes when she saw Jack strolling up to her, beardless and reminiscent of his former, pre-drug addled self. Though a bit of an awkward meeting under very awkward circumstances, we needed to get these two back together on their own before attending to the rest of the group. I think this reunion ties in nicely to the opening flashback of when Jack first introduces the idea of lying about the Island to Kate alone, to make sure that she is “with him”. Jack is probably the only member of the O6 who can really influence her to do something as insane as returning to the Island. Kate did claim that she had always been with him, and this statement is about to be put to the test in a very big way.


Jack is also the only member of the O6 who also has a deeper connection to Carole Littleton, Claire’s mother and the Other Woman to Jack’s father. How convenient he went along for the ride, as he’s the perfect person to give her a visit when he and Kate discover she was a client of the lawyer who ordered that maternity test Kate had been running from. Yeah yeah Jack, we know, you’re going to “fix this” for Kate.


Except, there’s nothing to fix. It turns out that it was all just one huge coincidence that Ms. Littleton, Aaron’s biological grandmother, had been in L.A. at the same time a maternity suit was being filed against Kate. She didn’t even know that Aaron existed. It was also just one huge coincidence that she had been consulting with the same lawyer who filed said suit. Or is it? I am still not sure if this was really another false lead, or if there is indeed something more here, as I cannot understand why Carole would wait 3 years after the crash of 815 to seek a settlement from Oceanic for Claire’s death. I suppose we will have to wait and see on this one, but I’m not chalking it up there with one of my “need to know’s” at this point.


Just as Long as We’re Together

Party at the marina! How fun it was to see Ben and the gang together again, as he has been collecting the O6 and now almost has the complete set. Jack was able to convince Kate to allow him to take her and Aaron somewhere “safe”, and thanks to Ben’s lawyer, who is revealed to be the same one who visited Kate and Carole, Hurley is getting a get out of jail free card and will be joining them in the morning. After a lot of suspicious glares and abrupt words, it is finally revealed that Ben was behind the plot to take Aaron away from Kate all along. I think most of us had figured this was the case, although the sudden arrival of Ms. Littleton had certainly thrown me off for a good few minutes. Ben knows exactly what will motivate each of them to come together and try to go back to the Island, and he has maneuvered these unknowing souls into place like a true puppeteer.


Of course we cannot forget Sun who shows up at the marina as well thanks to Kate’s instructions, and she watches from a distance with a gun in the front seat and a sleeping Aaron in the back. The episode’s off-island moments leave us here, but I have a feeling she isn’t going to be shooting anyone just yet.


Delirious

We pick up on the Island right where we left off, with dear Charlotte still laying unconscious from her latest timeflash-attack. Juliette is able to get a little bit more out of Daniel as to why this is happening to her, as he explains that her mind’s clock is basically having trouble keeping up with all of the trips back and forth. His metaphor of “extreme jet-lag” was as lame to me as it was to Jules, and I kept waiting for her to call Sawyer over to see if another slap in the neck-tie might get the truth out of our elusive physicist. However, at that moment he was a bit busy with Locke discussing a much needed trip back to the Orchid.


But the nosebleeds keep happening, and next to receive the sign that all is not well is Miles. When Dan tries to tell him he thinks the issues might have something to do with the duration one has spent on the Island, Miles claims he has never been there prior to his trip with freighter and company. Dan asks him if he is sure about that, and with this we are given yet another clue that points to Mr. Straume also having a history similar to Charlotte, who after various pieces of evidence appears to have basically been born there.


If what Dan says is true and the time-travelers are indeed experiencing the symptoms in order of their duration on the Island, than it could very well be revealed that the baby we saw with Dr. Candle at the beginning of ‘Because You Left’ was our ghost-busting friend Miles. It might also make sense that someone with such abilities, whether he is actually communicating with the dead, or something more akin to speaking to their consciousness through time, would be the son of a brilliant scientist working for an organization that studies related phenomenon such as psychokenesis.

Lastly, it is Juliette we see with a bleeding nose, so I think Dan was definitely on to something. If we consider that Charlotte may have been born on the Island first, then Miles, it makes sense they would immediately get the illness only to be followed a short while later by Juliette, who is the next person in line in regards to duration on the Island. If we keep along this pattern it won’t be too much longer before all of the castaways start to see red.


Count the Days


In this episode’s trip through the Island’s past, we get to see different perspectives on the night that Boone died and Aaron was born. When I first saw that pillar of light in the sky, I immediately hoped for the discovery of a new DHARMA station. Little did I know at the time it was from the Swan Hatch at the moment when Locke banged on that window in utter despair, and was renewed in his faith in the Island’s plans for him. I love that Locke accepts this path he took, knowing now where that light came from, and wanted to stay clear from chance of interfering. He explains to Sawyer, “I needed that pain to get to where I am now”. Those are words spoken like a true sage who realizes his destiny, and does not wish to alter it even though he is aware that he might end up being nothing more than a “sacrifice the Island demanded”, just like Boone.


The second encounter with the past is even more heart-wrenching, as a heart-broken Sawyer happens upon past-Kate assisting past-Claire with her delivery. Josh Holloway again puts on an amazing performance in this short scene, as we are with him in the bushes feeling his shock at what he witnesses, and the pain of knowing that he cannot do a thing about it. Sawyer seems to understand this to for a moment, then it seems he makes a sudden decision to call out to her. At that moment, another flash whisks them away, and the scene is gone, leaving a bewildered Sawyer and even deeper anguish for having to lose his dear Kate once again. Ah, course-correction. Something always comes along to keep you from changing the past doesn’t it?


Let’s Go Crazy


Back to the future. At least, that’s where I am thinking our travelers ended up after their visit to a night from season one. The camp had been deserted, the beer cans emptied, and tell-tale signs of new visitors were left in the form of a couple of outriggers parked by the shore. We also get the first on-air glimpse of Ajira Airways from a water bottle left in one of the canoes. Ajira is an airlines company that had already seen some pre-show viral marketing, but I was honestly shocked to see it introduced so soon. Many including myself have been speculating this is how the O6 get back to the Island, but I don’t think it is our O6 who opened fire on Locke and crew. I think we are either looking at Widmore’s people, who followed the O6, or possibly even the first of the return of the DHARMA initiative to the Island. And if it is indeed the latter, they would more than likely see anyone on the Island as a threat since the last time they were there, they were purged.


U Make My Sun Shine


After a brush with death and a narrow escape thanks to the convenience of time-flashes, the O6 end up on a beach at night where they find evidence of a recent shipwreck after a storm. At the same time, somewhere nearby we see a group of French-speaking folks in a raft pull aboard someone who had been floating around as well. Of course it’s Jin on his own piece of shipwreck, hurling through time along with his friends, yet totally unbeknownst to them. It can now be assumed that when the freighter exploded Jin somehow managed to survive and float within the Island’s radius and was scooped up for the ride.


It can also now be assumed that we are in the year 1988, as one of the French women introduces herself as Danielle Rousseau to one extremely water-logged Jin. What a double-shocker! Now even more questions must follow this encounter. Did Danielle remember meeting Jin in 1988 when she comes across the survivors of flight 815 in 2004? In addition, are we going to stay long enough in this time period to see a bit more of what went down with Danielle and her expedition? Was the sickness related to the time-travelers and did she really kill her crew? How are they going to deal with this stranger, who after learning all of that English is now stuck with a bunch of French people and once again cannot communicate? This is all just too delicious to ponder, as the writers certainly know how to keep us happy. After years of cries to see more of Rousseau’s story, we have it, and in a manner I don’t think anyone could have guessed.


CONCLUSION: Baby I’m a Star

Just like the “Hoffs Drawler” anagram from last season that spelled out “Flash Forward”, the name of Ben’s coffin-toting van is “Canton Rainier”, an anagram of “Reincarnation”. However, this is not the first time the concept has been hinted at on the show. In “Cabin Fever” the test that Richard administers to a young John is reminiscent of the same test given to seek out the reincarnated Dali Lama. I think it goes without saying that we will see John Locke “alive” again on the Island after the O6 return, whether it is in a literal sense, or the white tennis-shoed Jacob-y kind of sense. I am not entirely convinced that reincarnation is really what is going to happen, or at least, not to Locke.

There is another special child to discuss though, one who bookends this episode and who might be what the title refers to. I believe there is a reason we were taken back to witness Claire giving birth, that the Little Prince could indeed be Aaron, and this is once more hinting at a much larger part for him in the overall scheme of things. For example, in the story by the same name, the Little Prince comes from an asteroid named B612. B612 in French is Besixdouze, which is found written on a piece of Danielle Rousseau’s shipwrecked mess on the beach. Furthermore in the tale, the Little Prince leaves his asteroid to explore and learn about the universe, but eventually ends up just wanting to get back home.


This is not the first time that Aaron and the celestial have come together in this way. In ‘Raised By Another’, Claire asks the couple about to adopt her unborn to sing a song for the baby that her own father, Christian Shepard, used to sing to her as a child. The name of the song is “Catch a Falling Star”, and it was also heard on the Others’ crib mobile in “Maternity Leave”. In “Raised by Another” there is also a mobile in Claire’s nightmare made of a single large star surrounded by tiny Oceanic model planes.


Later, as mentioned in my article on “Something Nice Back Home” we see another mobile over 3 year-old Aaron’s bed consisting of planets and stars. Again, the cosmic seems to hang over this boy, literally, and we can only continue to watch events play out to discover if there is really something to it all. Who knows, perhaps given enough time we might even see our time-trippers travel to a future where a grown Aaron leads the Others living there, as he has always been destined to do.



a.N



*I write about LOST because I love the challenge of deciphering the clues and adding the pieces together. My thoughts are based solely on the show, the LOST Experience, and random research, as I try to avoid spoilers, promos, and even future episode titles. I love to guess what is going on, but I also like to do so in a way that leaves some of the conclusions still up to you. I do not know the answers and am often wrong. Whatever the truth turns out to be, it has been the journey that has meant the most to me.*