Episode 318 - "D.O.C." ends with "W.T.F?"

The apparently-dead apparently lived! The clearly alive are apparently dead!! And the almost dead will heal really fast!!! All this, plus the biggest head-scratching ending in Lost History, in the Jin-Sun Centric "D.O.C."

Flashback - Sun (guest-starring Jin)
Like all episodes featuring Mr. or Mrs. Kwon, D.O.C. spent some time with both. But make no mistake about it - this episode belonged to Sun.

Jin did not begin his married life as a thug for Lost's Korean Tony Soprano (Mr. Paik), but rather he began his married life with a modest but respectable job in Paik automotive as a factory foreman. We also learned the reasons he became a thug and would-be murderer for his father-in-law. Jin was ashamed to rely on Mr. Paik's charity, and insisted on providing for his own wife (who we clearly saw he deeply loves). But the desire for self-sufficiency was only part of the story. As it Turns out, Sun provided the push that sent her husband into a life of organized crime.

This push began with a simple trip to a Seoul park. Sun was greeted by a strange woman who pointed out Sun and Jin's wedding announcement in the Society Page. The conversation quickly turned sinister when the woman threatened to reveal Jin's scandalous parentage (his father? Not so much "dead" as "poor fisherman," and his mother? Whore). The stranger blackmailed Sun, demanding $100,000.00 to keep Jin's secrects from going public. As an aside, why would the blackmailer demand such a round amount in American currency, since they were in Korea?

Sun attempted the get Jin to reveal what he knew. While unpacking in their new apartment, she focused on pictures of her family, and asked Jin if he had any pictures with his parents. Jin maintained the story that his mother died in childbirth and his father died when he was younger. Unfortunately, Sun spotted the lie when Jin changed the story - he previously said his father died when he was 16, but now said he died while Jin was in the army.

Wanting the truth, Sun apparently hired a private investigator (the fastest one in Korea) to find Jin's father. When papa Kwon realized who this woman was, he immediately invited her in to his modest bachelor pad. He explained Jin lied about his death to avoid shame. When Sun asked about the story that Jin's mother was a prostitute, friendly tea turned to nervous sake. Mr. Kwon confirmed that Jin's mother had been with "many men" and that she abandoned Jin to him when he was a baby. The kicker of this conversation - Mr. Kwon was never certain that Jin was his child (given the theme of the episode, this was both thematically resonant and potentially a big reveal). He begged Sun not to tell Jin they had spoken (the shame would be too much), and confirmed the lie about Jin's mother was one he told Jin to protect him. Mr. Kwon asked Sun not to tell Jin that his mother was alive.

Not wanting to shame her husband, Sun knew she had to pay the blackmail. But where is a mob heiress to go for $100,000? Oh, yeah, to daddy! (Quick question - does anyone else find some sort of meaning in the design of the Paik Heavy Industries logo?) Sun refused to explain the need for the money, but Old Man Paik realized it was to protect Jin from something. She tried to pry the money with the Meadow Soprano tactic ("let's stop pretending I don't know what you really do") when daughterly love didn't work. But dad was all too clear - if she took this money to protect Jin, Jin would be in her father's debt, and he would work it off. Acknolwedging that she was condemning her husband to a life of thuggery in order to prevent his embarassment, Sun took the money.

After Jin discovered the money, and Sun lied again (daddy's gift so we can buy some nice furniture and go on a honeymoon), it became clear that in his deep-seeded desire to earn his keep and not accept charity, he would soon walk head-long into the servitude to which Sun had just condemned him.

Finally, Sun confronted her blackmailer. It was, indeed, Jin's mother, coldly saying she may have given birth to him, but that did not maker her his mother. Sun showed some of the strength we've come to know her for - she threatened her mother-in-law that any future attempt to contact either her or Jin would be met with a swift response from her "powerful family."

In sum, the story provided some color to the Jin/Sun story, and really helped to hit home the extent to which Sun loves her husband. It's interesting that the producers told this story, and not the story of the affair with Jae Lee, this time around, though, given the main storyline of the week...

Real Time Part 1 - The Beach (Sun)

Jack (in his only scene) joins Sun in her garden. After the obligatory small talk , Jack begins to "play doctor," essentially interrogating Sun about her pregnancy symptoms. Sun, who continues to lead the charge in the "are we sure we should trust Jack after he spent a week alone with the Others" camp, asks Kate what she thought or heard about Jack's separate captivity. She is unsatisfied with Kate's response, particularly since Jack brought Juliet to the beach. Kate explains that Juliet helped save Claire, and her role as Other fertility specialist, and Sun's suspicion that the Others will want to abduct her the same as they did Claire (or worse, take her child) overcomes her. She charges over to where Juliet is working on something on the beach, and demands to know - "what happens to pregnant women on this island?" Juliet, realizing Sun must fit into that category, matter-of-factly explains, "they die. They all die."

After a moment of existential angst watching Claire and Aaron coo in their tent (they can't all die, since Claire's still around, right?) Sun is "greeted" in the middle of the night by Juliet, who does her best impression of Michael Biehn in The Terminator - "Come with me if you want to live."

Together, the two women march through the jungle by torchlight. Juliet tells Sun there is an ultrasound machine in the medical station. She also explains her theory - off-island conception is safe, but on-island conception is deadly, so it's essential to determine the titular "D.O.C.," that is, "Date Of Conception." The implication to Sun is clear - either she conceived a baby from an aduterous romp with Jae, or she's carrying Jin's baby, and will die. Not surprisingly, Sun is initially reluctant to discuss the details of her sex life with Jin...

Sun asks the question we all are thinking - how there still be an ultrasound in the hatch, after Kate, Claire and Rousseau found the hatch to be cleared out? The answer? Kate didn't know where to look. Still suspicious of Juliet, Sun asks why should help. Juliet explains that she lost 9 patients in 3 years, and she wants to go back to her old life, when telling a woman she was pregnant was good news. Sun confesses her affair with Jae, which explains why "good news" is relative concept. Juliet pulls a lever hidden in a locker, and a secret door opens, revealing a back room where everything Claire reported but Kate and co. couldn't find was stashed. Sun asks why the room is hidden away. Juliet explains, this is "where we brought women to die."

As the women fire up the ultrasound, Sun explains the extent of the dilemma. Off-island, Jin was diagnosed as blank-shooter. Juliet explains that, for whatever reason, the sperm count of men on the island is 5 times greater than off-island. It seems men are primed to impregnate women, but the women then die. Sun sums up her dilemma as Juliet takes measurements - "I lose either way." Juliet takes the measurement, and we get the answer to one of Lost's major questions - Jin is the baby daddy. The little timebomb was conceived about a month after Jin and Sun arrived on the island (query - when was Jin on that raft...)

Sun's reaction to the news was Yunjin Kim's finest acting moment on the show. I frankly wept seeing her tell Juliet - "you gave me good news." Yes, as we learned in the flashback, indiscretion notwithstanding, she truly, deeply loves Jin. And so I fully believe she does prefer the apparent death sentence to the idea of carrying another man's baby. Sun asks Juliet how long she has. Juliet tells her the women she treated all made it to the middle of the second trimester, but none made it to the third. Juliet promises to do everything she can to help Sun. Given that it's taken three seasons to depict three months on the island, though, I somehow doubt Sun's demise is too terribly imminent on the show.

As they depart the hatch, Juliet says she wants to double-check some of the measurements they took, and reenters the hatch, alone. Because recent experience tells us Juliet's word is not to be trusted, I was thinking, "gee, it would be a great twist for Juliet, alone, to reveal somehow that the baby is Jae's..." But that is not what happens. Instead, Juliet recovers a tape recorder left for her in one of the lockers. She leaves a message for Ben - the baby is Jin's, and was conceived on-island. Her next revellation goes to something I noted a couple of weeks ago - she's checking "Austen and the other women" and will report again soon. Yup, there was more to the master plan for Kate and Sawyer - they were thrust together as an experiment to knock Kate up. Finally, after turning off the recording, Juliet still continues her message to Ben with the three words that keep her on our good side - "I hate you."

Random thought - maybe Jin (and Sawyer), as men who came to the island, might not have lethal sperm (unlike, say, men on the island). Random optimism...

Real Time Part 2 - the Jungle

(Think Superfriends announcer voice...)

Meanwhile, in the jungle, Desmond, Jin, Charlie and Hurley tend to the mysterious parachutist...

Desmond tells his camping crew that he's never seen Naomi (trust me, that's her name) before. It appears Naomi was impaled with a branch on her way down from the sky. Delirious, she alternately babbles in Spanish, Italian, Chinese and Portuguese...Yes folks, Naomi needs medical help. But they can't move her (it might get worse), and they can't go running willy-nilly through the dangerous jungle alone. As they argue over how best to bring Jack to save their potential rescuer, Hurley accidentally fires Naomi's flare gun. Desmond clarifies the creation of the photo Naomi has - it's apparently a color copy of his prized "marina" photo (still no explanation of how that other copy ended up on Penny's nightstand).

Just as Desmond is about to ignore Charlie's protestations and run for Jack, a familiar face emerges from the jungle. It is this week's first "WTF" moment, in the form of Mikhail Bakunin, who has apparently recovered from his massive cerebral hemmorhage!!!

Mikhail’s appearance does not appear to be by pure happenstance – it is as if he were running towards the flare. Given the interest Mikhail would have in not letting the Losties know he was still alive, I can’t believe he was exploring the flare out of idle curiosity. Rather, he must have thought of it as a signal. But signal for what? Anyway, as any good sniveling villain would do, Mikhail turns tail and runs.

Jin (who, as a guest star in the flashback, needed something to do in this episode), chases after him. The two get into a super-cool kung-fu fight, and Jin ultimately gets the best of Mikhail with a sleeper hold. Charlie instantly recognizes Mikhail from Sayid's story (note to producers - please don't kill Sayid: he's the only one who tells anybody everything he learns!) and says they should kill him, to which Mikhail snidely replies, "I have already died once this week." Mikhail identifies himself as a former medic in the Soviet Red Army, and offers to help Naomi in exchange for a free pass to leave. Hurley lets slip the existence of the sat phone, to Charlie's chagrin, realizes his mistake, and defiantly refuses to reveal whether or not the phone works (that oughtta learn him, Hugo). Mikhail vents Naomi's lung. She utters something in Portuguese, which Mikhail translates as "thanks," but which online postings have revealed was really "I'm not alone." Where this will go promises to be interesting, to say the least...

Mikail patches Naomi up, and says she should heal in a day or two because on the island, "the wounds are a bit different”).

Let's tally this up...on the island, crush injuries (Boone) are lethal, gunshots (Shannon, Ana Lucia, libby, Pickett and his wife, Ethan) are lethal, pregnancy is lethal, but having an inch-wide branch shoved through your lung, or having a sonic blast fry your brain, leads to nearly immediate recovery. As long as we know the rules....

Mikhail turns to leave. Jin thinks to check Naomi's pack and, sure enough, the phone is gone. He finds it on Mikhail (who I'm really digging), who smiles and asks, "how could you respect me if I didn't try?"

Charlie wants to hold on to Mikhail, but, to his chagrin, Desmond insists on letting him go because 1) they gave their word, 2) it will be hard to carry Naomi and bring a prisoner back to the beach, and 3) by his count, the beach camp has killed more Others than vice versa. Hurley plays with the phone while sitting next to Naomi, who awakens and asks, in what sounded like an Australian accent, who these strangers are. Hurley tells her they are survivors from Oceanic 815, when, in the biggest twist of the season, Naomi reveals that they found the wreckage of flight 815, and there were no survivors - everyone was dead!!!

Reader Zach Cohen (Zach, whoever you are, thanks for the shout-out) asks the big question on all our minds..."Is it possible that Jacob or Ben staged something so that the world would think flight 815 had no survivors so no one would keep looking for them? I doubt there is really some pergatory thing going [on]."

Here's my thoughts and observations on this piece of information. We saw the wreckage of the plane on the beach ("Pilot," "The Other 48 Days" (tail section), "Exposé") though it did promptly disappear (middle of season 1). Naomi said "no survivors," but it's unclear if that means someone positively identified all bodies. We also know the plane really did crash from the Super-Google search Mikhail ran to identify the island's new arrivals. So there are a few “possibilities” to consider.

1) Naomi is lying. After all, picture of Desmond notwithstanding, what reason do we have to trust her at this point?

2) Our Lostaways are in Purgatory (or some other state of existence that is not what we think of as “life”). This one has been disclaimed by the producers over and over again, so I doubt it.

3) The Others (or the island) did it. This one may have some potential. After all, if Ben and co are adamant about people not leaving the island, it would make sense to somehow ensure that nobody was looking for the plane that crashed. We know that Richard Alpert was still in the U.S. when the plane crashed, so there may have been other Others agents off-island to plant bodies, falsify DNA results, and place the wreckage where it was “found,” presumably someplace more on course. But, seriously, do the Others have the ability to sneak onto the beach and remove the wreckage themselves? Could it have been smokey? Are they in cahoots?

4) The universe “course corrected.” We know from “Flashes Before Your Eyes” the theory espoused my Ms. Hawking, that when something happens that is not “supposed to” happen, the universe will find some way to fix the “mistake.” It is this theory that makes Desmond’ s attempts to save Charlie’s life potentially futile, as it was for Ms. Hawking to try to save red shoe guy. Realistically, when a jumbo jet is ripped apart at cruising altitude over a small island in the middle of the ocean, 50 or so people are not supposed to survive. Maybe this course correction is so powerful, dead versions of our “survivors” were somehow manifest elsewhere. This theory requires something further, however, to work; namely, an explanation for who our characters are (and, indeed, Doc Jensen has recently teased that Charlie’s query after Sawyer shot the polar bear in the Pilot episode should have been, “guys, who are we?”) If the island can download memories, and manifest people and things who are not supposed to be there, could it be that our “survivors” are in fact remade versions of people who died in the crash? Could that explain why Locke and Rose (and other people brought to the island from the outside world) heal, or are fixed? On the other hand, why would the island create these phantoms and let them remain in mortal danger? I’m still working on this one…

I submit to you, loyal Lostophiles, that this option (or anything similar to it, such as “alternate realities” or “time travel”) bothers me, not because it’s impossible to tell such a story well, but because it would fundamentally alter the game on Lost. That said, Damon Lindelof and Cartlon Cuse have been clear that a moment would occur towards the end of the season that would fundamentally change the game, so to speak. I cringe, hopeful, that such a dramatic shift in story-telling, if it did indeed occur as we’ve been led to believe, can be pulled off without irretrievably damaging the narrative of Lost. Unfortunately, this is a real possibility. After all, the title “Lost” refers to the characters’ personalities, as well as their predicament. Their flashbacks, and the baggage they bring from their pre-island lives, are an integral part of understanding who these people are. If the survivors are indeed some form of copies or alternate versions of the people who died, must they actually be bound to the memories, the guilt, the emotional baggage of their past, or are they free to start over as entirely new people? And with that thought, I leave you for now, until next week, when the truth behind Anthony Cooper (and whether or not he’s the “real Sawyer”) will be at the forefront of “The Brig.”