The ODI

Comin' Back to Me

Of course the opening scene right away reflected the opening scene we saw of the good Doctor in the season’s opener, “LA X”, when he went to the restroom on the plane and caught his reflection in the mirror. There, he noticed a small wound on his neck. This time back in his apartment, he noticed the small scar that we all remember from where he had his appendix removed back on the Island in our “normal” time-line.


I feel very much like we are almost being teased at this point with how our characters appear to be having little bits and fits of memory and recognition issues in these new iterations of their lives. It would seem that Jack suddenly had no recollection of where the scar came from and had to ask his mom about it on the phone. Apparently it happened when he was a child, and he had even passed out at school from the failing organ. I would think that would definitely be something a kid of 7 or 8 years old would not forget, and that it would even more than likely be a downright traumatic experience overall. But nope, Jack only guesses that he remembers.

Curiouser and curiouser!


Let Me In

But before Jack’s conversation with his mom could get any further, he suddenly realized he was late, late, for a very important date…to pick up his son (insert multiple exclamation points) from school. Instantly we were shown that David and Jack really don’t have the best relationship. David is not only the typical, despondent teenager, but he is also the product of a failed marriage and only spends time with Jack once a month. And spending time with Dad to David is just getting through it. Jack makes every effort he can to connect with his son, but his attempts are only met with more detachment. From the Red Sox, to Alice in Wonderland, which we all remember Jack reading to little Aaron in the main time-line, Jack just can’t seem to relate to the kid anymore. It was kind of sad to watch, honestly.


One thing I want to mention was that Jack’s house was filled for the most part with nothing but stark, black and white décor. Even his choice of cookie was the black and white Milano, which David helped himself to in the kitchen while Jack had yet another call from his mom. The only room in the apartment that had any real warmth to it was David’s room, with its deep rusty orange curtains and basic earth tones overall. It was almost as if Jack’s inner desire to have a warm relationship with David was even reflected in how he made up his son’s temporary abode.


A Small Package of Value Will Come to You, Shortly

First they lost Christian’s casket, then they lost his will. Those Shephards certainly have had a hard time keeping track of all that surrounds the once-living patriarch of the family. It didn’t really seem like the will was even that difficult to find, but since in this iteration it seems that mom likes the drinky-drink, and not Jack so much, it made sense that she didn’t see that it was practically right in front of her eyes.


I really think she also just wanted to chat a bit with Jack, but not only for a little comfort from losing her husband and trying to manage the aftermath. The main crux of the scene served to tell us how David was now a mirror of how Jack was at the same age, and how David and Jack’s relationship overall mirrored Jack and Christian’s, with the son being terrified of somehow failing in the eyes of the father. I guess the Daddy issues run in the family, too.


Rock and Roll Island

The mirroring didn’t stop there, though. Just as Jack lost his father’s body both on the Island, and in time-line X, he then returned home to find his son missing. Jack raced over to David’s mother’s home, who was conveniently out of town so that her identity could remain unknown to us. Personally I am thinking mom is Juliet. For one thing, their relationship would then also be mirrored as one that did not last long in either time-line. The actor who plays David also looks like he could have her eyes. It’s obviously not Kate, and I just really doubt that they would bring Sarah back for this part of Jack’s story. Well, at least I hope not. Sorry Sarah fans, but she was just so blah.

Finally, it would not only give us the opportunity to have the amazing Elizabeth Mitchell back on the show, proving to us that as she was about to die after the Jughead explosion her character did indeed experience time-line X, but it would also then open the door for her and Sawyer to fall in love once again. I know that there are plenty more of you out there besides myself who are waiting to see them “go Dutch” on that coffee date she mentioned right before she expired in his arms.


With a key conveniently located under a ceramic white rabbit, Jack let himself in to what was probably once his home as well. We got to see David’s room, and learned that David was a huge fan of music from Beethoven to The Who. It was only from then listening to David’s answering machine that Jack found out that he was late, late, for another important date.


Somebody to Love

It was quite a lovely touch to see David playing the piano, just like his Dad once did in his New Otherton estate back in our main time-line. And just like Dad, David was a “candidate”…well, at least for admission into what seemed like one very prestigious music conservatory. As Jack stood in the back of the auditorium listening to his son play the same Chopin piece that Daniel Faraday once played for his mother, you could see the amazement and pride well up in his eyes. I must say that some of Matthew Fox’s best acting of the series came from this episode.


However, before Jack could get back to David, he had to first have a fate-related encounter with time-line X Dogen who reminded him how hard it is to be a gifted kid under pressure, and how difficult it is to be a parent who feels like they cannot do anything to really help.


That seemed to be the final motivation that Jack needed to figure out how to re-connect with his son. All Jack really had to do this entire time was just open up and be honest with David. By sharing how he felt at the same age, terrified of disappointing a father who always seemed to be in overdrive, and by reassuring David that he could never fail in his eyes, Jack finally dissolved the wall that David had been keeping up around himself. The spell, and the history of Shephard father and son communication problems, was finally broken.


It's No Secret


In the first scene we were shown from Island-time, Jack was also staring at himself, this time in the waters around Temple Otherton. Here, Dogen and Jack shared some more words as they sat facing each other and reflected each other’s honesty about the current situation with Kate, Jin, and Sawyer who had taken off some time ago with no real intention of returning.


It didn’t really seem like much else had been going on in the meantime. The Others were back in the courtyard planting flowers and making hemp bracelets. Hurley and Miles had been tying each other in game after game of tic-tac-toe with cute little makeshift leaf-X’s and branch-O’s. Sayid was just wandering around getting stared at for rising from the dead and becoming “infected”. To me it seemed odd altogether how just a short while ago the place was on high-alert, but now the vibe seemed pretty relaxed again. I suppose if you have enough ash then you must be good to go.


Embryonic Journey

Thank goodness for Jacob and Hurley time! Those two are becoming one of my favorite parts of season six by a long shot. I love how Jacob really seems to care about Hugo, and how Hugo is no longer afraid to be a little more assertive with getting information from Jacob. I used to want to see a Hurley and Ben spin-off show, but Hurley and Ghost-Jacob might just have that wish beat by the end of the series.

Once again, Jacob had a task for our good buddy and newly-found “leader”. So with a literal arm-full of written instructions the Big H set off through the Temple looking for some secret exit door, but not before Dogen caught him and asked what he was up to. This was by far the best scene of the episode. I was so happy to have the writers give a proper shout out to my favorite film adventurer, Indiana Jones, since every episode this season has been reminding me of those films in one way or another.


But it was really Jorge Garcia’s acting that really had me in stitches as he portrayed a very nervous Hurley trying to deal with Jacob who stood right there, unbeknownst to Dogen, and told Hugo to stand up to “the Samurai”. Dogen’s expression when Hurley said that he could do what he wanted because he was a Candidate along with Hurley’s come-back, “Why don’t YOU go back to the courtyard?” was also pretty priceless.


However, the one thing Hurley forgot to bring along was Jack. Jacob was quite explicit about this, and so when Hurley tried to explain how difficult it was to get Jack to do anything he didn’t want to do, Jacob had just the solution. Once again I couldn’t help giggling as Hugo went out to the courtyard and told Jack to “stay cool” and “act natural” as if they were in some kind of secret spy adventure.

But there was no way that Jack could stay cool when Hurley let loose the magic motivational phrase Jacob gave to him to say. “You have what it takes” was the very opposite of what Jack’s father had told him as a kid; the one we learned that he had carried with him all his life. This was an exceptionally personal thing for Jack to suddenly hear, and with a mixture of fear, shock, and a maybe even a drop of anger in his eyes, he demanded that they go see Jacob that instant.




White Rabbit

Hurley so very often serves as the voice of the audience these days, and when he mentioned how his trek through the jungle with Jack was “old school”, he hit the nail on the head. It really did take me back, especially to memories of the first and second seasons, to times when there were always separate little groups off on their own little missions, when the whispers were loud and mysterious, and when occasionally, someone would get knocked out from behind, or even taken.

And then they literally took us back.

The discovery of Shannon’s inhaler actually made me jump in my seat a little bit, and before the knot in my stomach had time to recognize it was from excitement, we were back at The Caves.


The two episodes on LOST that really solidified my infatuation with the show (well, after the Pilot of course) were “Walkabout” and “White Rabbit”. Besides being the two stories that really introduced us to our Man of Science and our Man of Faith on the Island, we have had this ongoing mystery surrounding the appearance(s) and disappearance(s) of one Christian Shephard. We first witnessed how his “apparition” seemed to tease and torment Jack, yet at the same time ended up helping him by leading him to fresh water and shelter right when he needed it most. He then showed himself again and claimed to speak for the then unknown character of Jacob, Leader of the Others. Christian was the entity who also told Locke to move the Island, and was then the last one seen with Claire before her long 3-year absence.

Now in the final season, we can pretty much say that his body was being used by the Man In Black to manipulate the 815 survivors for his various purposes. It feels strange to now look back and remember how Dead But Here Christian Shephard used to freak me out, how for awhile I was then led to somewhat trust him, and how now I feel a bit silly having been tricked by the Monster himself all along.


As Jack stood before that old smashed coffin and told Hurley the true story of how he found the caves, I believe there was a larger purpose besides providing the opportunity for the audience to reminisce a bit. The way that Jack delivered his speech and his general mannerism as he went on with his tale led me to believe that he too was feeling a bit like a fool at that point. Just as David in time-line X was learning there was no longer a need to have fear of Jack, I think Jack was realizing there was no longer a need to carry all of that same negative weight he had been bearing from his own father. These two storylines, on-Island and “X”, are really starting to connect with each other in some very profound ways.

Time-line X is more than just “what could have been". It’s more than just a reflection.

At this point, it’s progress.


Turn My Life Down

On the final stretch to the Lighthouse, Hurley and Jack opened up to each other in regards to why they each had decided to return to the Island. I have always enjoyed when the two of them talk, as it seems Jack is always able to let his defenses down more with Hurley than with anyone else on the show. Jack didn’t even flinch when Hurley just flat-out said that Jacob met him in a cab and suggested that he come back. But Jack’s reason was even more surprisingly honest, as he told Hurley that he was “broken” and thought that the Island would somehow fix him. Jack’s need to fix everyone and everything has always been mostly about his need to fix himself. Though it was heartbreaking to hear him admit it, I also felt that it was a good thing for him to confess, as it meant that he was perhaps finally starting to identify the issues that have plagued him for so long.



The Last Wall of the Castle

The Lighthouse was an impressive structure full of the classic mythology and strange technology that we have all come to know and love on LOST. Inside the tower was the massive wheeled contraption Jacob had asked Hurley and Jack to tend to so they could help the mysterious “someone” who was coming to the Island to find the place.


As Hurley began to turn the wheel to the designated bearing of 108 degrees, which is of course yet another one of those oh-so-important Numbers, Jack realized that each degree on the wheel’s table corresponded with a name, much in the same manner as the Cliffside cave that Lockeness had recently taken Sawyer on tour of. As the cogs turned its giant mirrors toward Jack, he could see strange places fading in and out in addition to his own reflection. We saw the location where Sun and Jin were married. Then the church where Sawyer’s parents’ funeral was held came and went. When Jack found his own name listed on the wheel, he demanded that Hurley turn it to the corresponding degree, number 23. The result was a reflection of his own childhood home, and he immediately demanded to see Jacob, who was of course nowhere to be found.


The inner turmoil that Jack had been dealing with since he was just a kid seemed to suddenly rage up as he realized that Jacob, or someone, had been watching all of the survivors for all of their lives. Those mirrors forced him to take one – no, actually 4 – good hard glances at both himself and his demons one more time.


Progress isn’t always pretty. Sometimes we need to destroy in order to build back up again. And in the type of outburst one would expect from someone who may not have been totally ready to learn such information, or take such a deep look at himself, Jack smashed each of the 4 mirrors and stormed away.


Afterwards, Jack just sat on the rocks to himself and stared out into the ocean as Jacob finally did show up to have a chat with one very deflated Hugo. Jacob actually didn’t mind at all that the Lighthouse mirrors had been broken. Instead, he was simply making sure that Jack saw what was up in that tower. The fact that it triggered some subsequent soul-searching on Jack’s part was exactly what Jacob had intended all along. He expressed to Hurley that Jack was very important, and that he needed to work through a few things. Jacob then also confessed that he wanted to make sure the two of them were as far away from the Temple as possible. Apparently, someone bad was on their way there, and now Jacob’s seemingly two most important Candidates would be for the moment at least, out of immediate danger.


Crazy Miranda


Speaking of immediate danger, I suppose I should briefly mention the whole Creepy Claire storyline that was also occurring through the episode. Personally it didn’t do a lot for me, but I am sure there will be more to see so I will wait for it to play out a bit more before I really make a judgment about it. Maybe the problem is that Emilie de Ravin is just too adorable to convincingly pull off true malice. The scariest thing about this storyline to me was the skull-headed squirrel baby thing she had in the bassinet nearby a poor, wounded and confused Jin.



My Best Friend

Of course, the final reveal was one that I believe most of us had been expecting. The special friend that Claire kept referring to, who had apparently told her along with her “father” that the Others had her bay-bee Aaron, was Lockeness himself.



CONCLUSION: Wooden Ships

Overall I really enjoyed this episode, as the Lighthouse was a sweet addition to the long list of fascinating locations we’ve come to know on the Island. My thought at this point is that the Lighthouse is Jacob’s place for keeping track of the Candidates, and the Cliffside cave is where the MIB keeps his own backup list of sorts.

I suppose now we are also meant to wonder who exactly it is that is coming to the Island that Jacob mentioned. My bets are on Desmond, since Eloise told him that the Island wasn’t finished with him yet, aka Des still Has Work to Do.

However I think the biggest mystery of all here relates to Jack, and whether or not he will be able to face whatever task is in store for him. This journey that he took seems to have at least set him on the right path, and so far Jacob seems to know what he is doing. Here’s to the hope that his time spent gazing at his reflection in relation to the wide, open ocean gives Jack the perspective, courage, and wisdom to finally fix things.




Namaste,
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.*

Doing the Unstuck

In fact, none of our O6’ers really have seemed like themselves since they left. I believe that is because their entire post-crash, off-island existence was never supposed to happen, and whether it’s the Island who tortures their conscience, or Ben, they were never meant to jump the timeline. What this has to do with the Island’s skipping, and how it’s supposed to fix the problem upon their return, well as Faraday put it, “that's where we leave science behind.”


That’s where I leave my time-travel paradox thoughts behind as well. I mean, why did Ben allow the O6 to leave the Island in the first place if becoming “unstuck in time” was going to be the result? I was under the impression that he had done this sort of Island-jumping-looping thing before, and even had knowledge of “the rules” in regards to what could and should not be broken. Even more confusing is that we later learn that when Ben turned the donkey wheel, he knocked it from its axis, and this is what is supposedly causing the Island’s little temporal hiccups.


Or so says Christian Sheppard a.k.a. the mouthpiece of Jacob. I wonder if we should trust this entity who says that Locke should have never trusted Ben. Could Ben just be using the O6 to facilitate his own journey back to the Island, because he for some reason cannot return alive without them? I do think it is the combination of a wiggy wheel and the O6's departure that has caused the time issue. But who is telling the complete truth here, if anyone?


Jumping Someone Else’s Train

If Ben wanted to remove Locke from the Island and keep it for himself, he more than likely would have let Locke turn the wheel and get whisked off to the desert. Was Ben so enraged by the murder of Alex that he needed to make a pit stop from The Island Express in order to deliver a personal threat to Widmore? I think it’s possible, but it also seems that he has plenty of off-Island Others working for him who could have more easily done the same, and without the need to for him put his own life in such risk. When Ben went down into the frozen chamber and started pushing on that contraption, he was without a doubt genuinely upset. We also know that he had been coming to the realization that he was no longer in favor with Jacob, so maybe this was an indication of his ultimate despair at being ousted.


Perhaps then it was Locke who did not deliver the message properly, which as much as I love the man, definitely seems like something he would do. Locke told Ben that “we have to move the Island”, while Christian specifically told Locke to move it. Is it possible that Ben just assumed that it was his own task, his final sacrifice and punishment for whatever reason that he and Jacob were at odds? Whatever the case may be, after everything that he has done, I don’t believe that Ben would have purposefully and willingly have left the Island and put Locke in charge unless it was absolutely necessary for the survival of the Island itself. It is an action of last resort and there seems to be no way to predict the ramifications. The rules have indeed changed, and I believe that Ben is out of his element now just like everyone else who never should have left.


Going Home Time

This is probably why Ben finally snaps and lashes out at the remaining group of two like a raging father driving a car full of hyperactive kids to Disneyland. Well, more like a slightly cold and creepy father. Sun just had to ask “are we there yet?” one final time, and Jack had to throw one last spitball over Dad’s shoulder. The entire van-brake slamming tirade was probably the most emotional we have seen Ben since he spun the magic donkey wheel. It was definitely the most amusing.


For once Ben really appears to have no idea what could possibly happen next, as evidenced by his obvious surprise upon seeing Desmond walking up to the church the same time his own party had arrived. It also seems as if he had to take a quick moment to process the fact that Desmond knows Ms. Hawking is Daniel Faraday’s mother. It probably will not take him long to figure the trail leads back to Widmore, and once he realizes the connection, I fear Penny’s life is suddenly going to become a lot more dangerous. At the moment though, there is no time for Q&A, and Ben herds the gang to rendezvous with LOST’s most mysterious matron.



The Holy Hour

I believe at this point it is safe to say that we have a new DHARMA station on our hands in the form of L.A.’s best kept-secret, Ms. Hawking’s Holy Basement Electromagnetic Super-Lab. Ever since we were flashed a new, unknown symbol in one of the season 5 promos earlier this year, fans have been guessing at its name and chomping at the bit to finally get a real glimpse. I couldn’t help but notice the DHARMA binders on Ms. Hawking’s basement shelf the last time we saw her there, the same type we have seen in other stations such as the Flame and the Orchid. Since I would rather not entirely spoil it for those of you who haven’t seen it, for all intents and purposes the symbol appears to be a lamp post, one similar to what you would see on any ordinary street-corner. How interesting it is that the first time we are shown the church in this episode we first see a close-up of the same kind of street light on a post.
.

Not only do we have the symbolism inherent with the idea of a beacon “lighting one’s way” back to the Island, but those who are familiar with the tales of Narnia by C.S. Lewis (also Charlotte’s initials) know it is the lamp post was used to signify the bridge between the world of Narnia and our own. In addition, there is a direct parallel that can be drawn between the potential location being in a church, and the idea of “the light” as it relates to the pure and the Holy and in Christian faith, Jesus himself. Of course I must refer to the Book of John:




We later see another exterior shot from further away with the lamp post again on the left and a large statue of Jesus Christ on the right.Could it be that a little of both worlds, above and below – faith and science, are needed to locate the window which will allow entrance back onto the Island?


The Snakepit


It was probably easy to guess that for being a royal jerk to Jin since landing on the Island, Danielle’s comrade Montand was going to get it eventually. What I did not expect was the manner in which the Smoke Monster was able to completely tear him from his arm. Robert’s expression was worth several rewinds. It makes me remember how close Locke was to this same fate. Once the Temple was revealed I saw that it was everything that I had hoped it would be. There was a lot of speculation last season when we first learned of this place, as a small DHARMA symbol on Ben’s map had led some to believe that it was not at all what the name implies but rather another one of the D.I.’s scientific research stations. Instead it’s ancient-looking, covered in hieroglyphs, and from all appearances, one of Smokey’s bedrooms.


My only question now is in regards to what exactly turned Danielle’s crew against her? It would seem that somehow, they were changed when they went down into the Temple after Montand. However, I believe some time passed between the jumps that Jin experienced, and that it was a good deal later when he reappeared at their beach camp. There are several reasons why I do not think we have the whole story. For one, Danielle had told us already that her crew became sick after they had come across the Black Rock. Second, there is a case marked EXPLOSIVES among their things on the beach that suspiciously looks like the same crates that came from the hull of the old ship. In addition, we see the camp had looked to be lived in for a bit, more than two seats were by the fire and instruments were out of their cases, as if they had returned from the encounter with the Monster and all had been ok for awhile. I do hope that we get to find out what it was that changed her husband Robert to the point where he was about to murder his own pregnant wife.



Charlotte Sometimes


It’s a shame that the one person who might be able to figure out all of the ancient cultural leave-behinds on the Island has met an untimely end. Well, at least we finally discovered not only was she on the Island as a little girl, but she ran into ol’ Danny boy at some point in her childhood as well. I am guessing that Locke’s spin of the wheel might not totally stop our castaways from time-travelling, and that they have a trip to DHARMA-ville to look forward to. I mean, back to.


I am also glad they decided to revisit the fact that Charlotte knows Korean. I still wonder if it has not just to do with her being an anthropologist, but perhaps she is somehow connected to Mr. Paik as well. In addition, who is Charlotte’s dad and why couldn’t he leave the Island with her and her mother? I am willing to bet that he is someone important, and perhaps the reason why Charlotte also knew about that old well-chamber.

The final scene of her life was brilliant, as both actors really pulled off an emotional moment for a character that we were only just beginning to learn about. Combined with the score, the scenery, and the amazing direction of one of LOST’s best camera pull-back shots, I was truly moved by Charlotte’s death, and was taken aback by how touching it really was. I will miss her.



From the Edge of the Deep Green Sea

When a scatter-brained Charlotte rattled off how she knew more about Carthage than Hannibal, I immediately rushed to the encyclopedia to confirm that Carthage is indeed the same location as modern-day Tunisia. We already witnessed her find the skeleton of a DHARMA polar bear there in the desert, but later when a polar Ben suddenly appeared after spinning the donkey wheel, of course it became easy to assume this area is a drop off station for the Island Express.


But why Tunisia? For one thing if we were to take the earth, fold it in half, squash it flat, and then draw a straight line through the middle of Tunisia it would come out on the opposite side of the globe in the Pacific Ocean outside of Fiji, near the area where Flight 815 more than likely went missing. So in one regard one can look at the Island and the turning of the wheel as perhaps opening some kind of diametrical portal or wormhole between these two antipodes.

I believe another hint comes from the season two episode ‘S.O.S.’, where Rose and Bernard visit a healer in Australia named Isaac. When Rose asks about his methods he explains to her, “There are certain places with great energy; spots on the Earth like the one we're above now. Perhaps this energy is geological, magnetic…” The idea of Ley Lines, or intersecting points of energy that are arranged across the Earth like a grid, is not at all a new one. For ages mystics have been trying to tune into and utilize these special places where it is thought that the Earth’s energies are especially concentrated. Around the globe there are twelve special areas, or vile vortices, where additional bizarre occurrences are said to take place, the most infamous being the Bermuda Triangle and the Devil’s Sea. Strange weather, instrument malfunctions, and even disappearances have all been said to occur in these areas.


In addition, we have vortices which relate directly to the LOST universe and which might explain how some of the Island’s other vessels may have gotten there. First, we have a Sahara Vortex corresponding to the “drop off point” in Tunisia. This could also explain how the Nigerian drug-smuggler’s plane could have reached the Island if it accidentally slipped into this portal. Second, there is a Fiji Vortex which might explain how Flight 815, Danielle Rousseau’s expedition, Desmond’s boat, and even the Kahana Freighter were able to access the Island. There is also the Black Rock ship which was said to have sailed from the coast of Mozambique. Wouldn’t you know, there is a Mozambique Channel Vortex as well.

Perhaps the anomalous electromagnetic properties of the Island and its ability to travel and exist in its own bubble of space-time are indeed somehow linked to this planetary grid system. I believe we are going to start seeing some of these ideas tie together a bit tighter as we learn more about how the Island itself moves around the Earth, if it even is a part of the Earth, and how our castaways are going to go about finding it again and returning.



The Same Deep Water as You


Once again we are given the idea that DHARMA definitely copped something that was there long before they were, as evidenced by the old well which served as a direct pathway to the underground frozen wheel chamber. One of my favorite parts of the episode is when John Locke refuses to be lowered into the well, as he replies, "where would be the fun in that?" and gives Sawyer this perfectly insane little smile. And with all of the excitement and fear we have come to know accompanies our favorite resident jungle-sage, Locke heads down the rabbit hole once more.


Poor Sawyer. If only Locke had only held onto the rope in that well, he wouldn’t have lost a friend. Again. I was really taken aback by how horrified he was and how quickly he sprung to the ground to try and dig Locke out, as if that was going to help. It kind of choked me up to be honest. Sawyer has become the third part of this Island Trinity, as he is truly the Heart to Jack’s Head and Locke’s Soul.


Poor Locke. If only he had clung to that rope in the well, he wouldn’t have busted his leg. Again. How many injuries does this make now, anyway? I think I am losing count of all the times he has had to limp through an episode, or fall to the ground from some ridiculous height, or climb down into some deep hatch, or make the heroes’ journey once more into the darkness below.


SYMBOL WATCH: Why Can’t I Be You?

I really don’t know of too many shows that have become so incredibly self-referential over the course of time and have done so to the level of success that LOST has. Let’s take a look at some more of the mirroring and repetition in this episode.

-- Locke becomes the “sacrifice the Island demands” just as he once claimed Boone was.

-- Once more once Locke must seek the Island’s advice and proceed on blind faith alone to set things right.

-- Jin makes Locke promise not to go and see Sun. Locke then says that he won’t go and see her, but she might go to see him. Later, Jack discovers Ben and Locke did actually meet up off the Island and says to Ben, "I thought he never came to see you." Ben replies that Locke didn’t come to see him, but instead he went to see Locke.


-- Sun lost her wedding ring the first time one of them left the Island, when Jin took off on the raft that Michael built. This is mirrored by Jin giving his ring to Locke to take it to his wife who is now the one who left.

-- Jin initially gives the ring to Locke as a symbol of divorce in order to keep Sun from returning to the Island. Sun later accepts the ring "in marriage" from Ben as proof the Jin is alive, and it becomes motivation for her to go back and find him.


-- Marriage and divorce is also a theme once more with Danielle and Robert Rousseau.

-- Locke receives thanks for his efforts to save the castaways, while Ben gets death threats and has to remind the O6 what he has done to keep them “safe”.

-- This is not the first time we have seen dead people falling from the trees, nor rotting dismembered arms, nor the idea of people losing their arms in general.

-- On the Island, the Smoke Monster dwells underneath a Temple. Off the Island, Ms. Hawking dwells in a church basement.


-- On the Island Christian, Jack’s father, "lights" the way in the wheel chamber for Locke to leave the Island. At the same time off-Island, Ms. Hawking, Daniel’s mother, “lights” the way for the O6 to return to the Island.

I’m sure there are plenty more examples that can be discerned. In fact it would seem like they chunked in just about everything except perhaps the classic, “You need to pee on my wound” joke with Jin from the first two seasons. (I’m still waiting, LOST writers. Throw it in there soon, please, ok?)


Just Like Heaven


This is also not at all the first time the concept of the Underworld has been explored on the show. From the hieroglyphs on the Swan hatch countdown timer that actually translated into “Underworld”, to the name Abaddon, which means "destroyer" and in the Book of Revelations is the Angel of the Abyss, to John Locke’s father on the Island thinking that he was actually in Hell; it’s a major theme on LOST. Even the fact that the Island is volcanic can be tied to this idea, as many cultures used to believe that volcanoes were entrances to the Dark Below. Finally, and most pertinent to this particular episode is the Cerberus, the mythological three-headed creature that guards the gates to Hades, and the same name our Smoke Monster has been referred to. Both are basically security systems guarding underground secrets most travelers should never look to explore.

One of the more fascinating connections LOST has served up relates to the Egyptian hieroglyphs we have seen now in several places beyond the Swan Hatch. The secret door in Ben’s house he went through in order to summon the Smoke Monster was covered with them. So was the column of stone in the frozen donkey wheel chamber. Now we have a Temple covered with this ancient writing as well as a large pyramid carved above the doorway entrance.


One of the glyphs seen can be identified as ‘time’ or ‘the sun’ and another, the Egyptian sun god, Horus. Horus corresponds to the Greek sun god Apollo, which is also the name shared by the candy bar that DHARMA always seemed to have in ample supply. In addition, we also have the DHARMA scientist named Horace, who not only brought Ben and his father to the Island, but who also originally built the cabin that Jacob is so fond of.


Am I insinuating that the Island is a literal embodiment of the Underworld? Not necessarily. This Place definitely seems to be Death for some such the DHARMA initiative, Rousseau’s belligerent friend Montand, as well as poor, dear Charlotte. But at the same time for others like Locke and Sawyer, the Island is a rebirth, a chance to start anew, and a place for redemption. The Island in essence embodies both Apollo and Cerberus, light and dark, beginning and end.

And lately, both future and past.


CONCLUSION: Round & Round & Round

By now we are all quite familiar with the amount of repetition and mirroring on LOST, and how we are now watching our characters play through the same moves over and over, as the same themes are being repeated and flipped around again and again. It seems as if the Island is not only spinning like a skipping record, but also tends to keep replaying these events as if there were some ideal timeline, some ultimate preferred conclusion that it is trying to reach.

In this episode there is a brief yet somewhat out-of-place moment where Sun tells her daughter Ji Yeon about the new American friend she met for her, Aaron. This is the second time that Sun has brought up the idea of the two children playing together, and it led me to a very strange thought on the heels of last week’s installment ‘The Little Prince’. Could it be that somehow we will witness the two youngest of our LOSTies, Aaron and Ji Yeon, later in a future life together on the island?


I cannot help but think back to the caves from season one, and the skeletons (aptly nicknamed Adam and Eve) that were discovered there in ‘House of the Rising Sun’. The bodies were also found with two stones, one black and one white, the yin and yang. With all of the time travel going on, it would seem the future is not necessarily separated from the past, just as life is never too far removed from death’s edge. Might we see one final symbol of the cycle of birth and death and the infinite circle of time’s passing culminate in the discovery of the skeletons’ identities to be none other than Aaron and Ji Yeon?

Or am I just crazy for thinking something like this is even possible?



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.*