First, a brief word to my readers. Sorry for the delay in posting this recap. A new job, a sick baby girl (don't worry, she's doing fine now) and the longest, densest recap I've ever done took longer than normal. Of course, we have 8 months until the next episode of Lost airs, so I guess there was no hurry....but in any case, enjoy!
Catching Up On Where We've Been
Before we recap the finale to this most amazing fourth seson of Lost, which featured many out-of-order flashforwards, I thought I'd show you all a recap somebody else put together by editing highlights of all the flashforwards into what appears to be their "correct" order. Now, I have a few points where I disagree with this ordering, but it's generally how I understand things, and it serves as a great launching point to the recap proper...
...to tide you over. By far the best of several fan videos posted today on eonline.com, this one highlights the many off-island coincidental (?) connections between Lost's characters. Enjoy!
As for the Doc, his insightful place-holder column can be reached by clicking on the title of this post.
Some highlights:
1) The Doc asked Executive Producer Carlton Cuse about why, at the press conference, nobody asked the Oceanic Six about how far off-course the plane was when crashed in the Indian Ocean. Rather than an obvious answer, like "the wreckage was already found so it wasn't news" or "dude, we were in the cabin, so we have no idea why the plane was off course," Cuse responded that this issue will be addressed next season. Interesting...
2) Jensen also observed how post-rescue life for the adult Oceanic Sixers marks a return to the same state of being figuratively "lost" that these characters endured before the crash. Here's what he has to say about this:
Indeed, what we've seen so far is that the castaways are living new versions of their old lives:
JACK: workaholic surgeon; drives away woman he loves; father issues SAYID: loses true love Nadia during war; manipulated into becoming a hideous kind of soldier by his former enemy HURLEY: food; Numbers; mental institution; dead people guilt; seeing people who shouldn't exist We're still getting to understand the flash-forward lives of Sun and Kate, but the seeds have been planted for old unhappiness to grow anew. Before the crash, Sun felt trapped by a corrupt, unfulfilling life, not to mention her own secrets and lies. Once again, she's bargaining dangerously with her father for respect. Remember what happened when she came to her senses last time? She tried to run away. Similarly, Kate seems to have finally gotten what she's always wanted: a secure, stable home life. But like her fleeting marriage to that nice-guy cop, this idyllic life is built on a lie. It's only a matter of time before the Aaron deception gets smoked out. I have a hunch it won't be long before Kate is on the run again, pursued by a new iteration of that dogged dead marshal — her ex-husband.
3) Also, Jensen returns to the oft-cited parallels between Lost and The Wizard of Oz and predicts what will happen next.
In any case, we're only six days away from the "shock" ending that the producers have nicknamed the "Frozen Donkey Wheel." To put this in context, every season finale has had a "WTF" moment, which the writers gave a codename before it aired. In Season 1, the "Bagel" was Walt's abduction at sea by the Others. In Season 2, the "Challah" was the implosion of the hatch with Locke, Eko and Desmond still inside. In Season 3, eschewing the theme of Jewish bread products (and really, wouldn't "Matzoh" have seemed a bit flat?), the producers nick-named the revelation that Jack's flashbacks were actually flashforwards the "Snake in the Mailbox," i.e., something really shocking that you'd never expect. So for Season 4, we will get "Frozen Donkey Wheel," something that will occur before the final scene of the finale. They have declined to explain what the nickname means, because to do so would partially ruin the surprise, but they have promised that we would know it when we see it.
That's all for this week, Lostophiles. I look forward to checking in with you next weekend for my recap of the finale. Until then, Namaste.
This week, Lost Executive Producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse put out their final podcast of the season (which you can hear in its entirety by clicking on the title of this post). In the podcast, they clarified a couple of things we have seen in recent weeks:
1) The island won't let Ben or Charles die at this stage in the game. When Ben told Widmore that they both know he couldn't kill the old man, this was another example of a phenomenon we've seen a few other times. In other words, when the island needs you to do something, it will protect you, even from yourself. Thus, just as Michael failed twice to kill himself, and was saved from execution by the timely jamming of Keamy's gun, and just as Jack's near-suicide was thwarted by the car crash that conveniently launched him into hero mode, so, too, are Ben and Charles prevented from killing each other. (Perhaps this is also why Ben is so willing to take so many beatings and put himself in harm's way so often).
2) Abaddon's employer is meant to be a mystery. We are also meant to wonder, based on the clear disconnect between his three appearances (science team recruiter; Oceanic attorney; orderly) just who Matthew Abaddon (Lance Reddick) is working for. Is it Ben or the Others? Is it Widmore? Is it someone we have not even met? The point is, at this time, we're not supposed to know...
Finally, I bring you a spoiler from E! Online's Kristin Dos Santos regarding an apparent cast member departure, which of course I will not post here. If you want to see what I'm talking about, head on over to the Spoilers blog by clicking here.
Dramatic irony resolved! Sun's big power grab!! Keamy's device explained (or at least suggested)!!! The Others' return!!!! All this, and we're only 1/3 of the way through the fourth season finale!
Prologue
How does one recap a third of an episode? Gingerly. The Powers That Be have done a pretty good job this year of making each episode somewhat self-contained...a job that ended last night with the episode fittingly entitled "There's No Place Like Home - Part I." As such, I'll reserve most of the heady commentary on what we saw until the rest of the finale airs in two weeks, and just (for the most part) stick to the facts this time around. But don't worry - when the whole finale has come and gone, I will refer back to this initial piece in all my pontification...
Flashforward - Oceanic Six
We open on a Cargo plane, where the Oceanic Six, presumably assembled for the first time, are being flown to their reunion with their families. Jack is still their presumptive leader, but his hold over them is tenuous, and where he once provided comfort and inspiration ("live together, die alone," etc. etc.), he's now all about spin control. He reminds his peeps - if they get a question they can't or don't want to answer, just stay quiet, and people will think they're in shock. Sun reminds him, "we are in shock, Jack." Kate is already holding Aaron, having assumed the role of mother. Karen Decker of Oceanic Airlines (more on her later) comes back and informs the group they've been dubbed the "Oceanic Six." They land at a military airport West of Honolulu, with a gahering outside that includes Hurley's parents, Sun's parents, and Jack's mother. Mr. Paik gives Sun an odd look, and Sun barely registers his presence. Kate has...nobody, and neither does Sayid, but Hurley introduces Sayid to the Reyeses.
After the reunions, the group gives a press conference, which Decker moderates. She relates the "official" story, which Doc Jensen recapped as follows:
Oceanic 815 crashed in the Indian Ocean south of Indonesia. Eight people survived and made it to an uninhabited island called Membata. According to one online dictionary, ''membata-bata'' in Indonesian means “ambivalent.” As in The post-rescue demeanor of the Oceanic 6—profoundly conflicted; hearts divided — is a compelling definition of ambivalence. [Left out by Jensen - they survived this initial period because a derelict fishing boat washed ashore, giving them supplies. How convenient]. On day 108, six of them made it to the inhabited island of Sumba. And that was that. Not one word of ghosts, polar bears, or smoke monsters. (Interesting fact about the inhabitants of Sumba: They're known for their megalithic burials, in giant stone crypts. Megaliths usually bear symbols called ''cup and ring marks,'' pervasive throughout prehistoric cultures; they resemble a series of concentric circles, just like the Oceanic Airways logo, or a spiral, just like the Orchid logo, spotted in Faraday's notebook. These symbols reflect the belief of earlier cultures that there is spirit inside earthly substance, that all is connected, that time is eternally recurring. Or these markings could be some early Martha Stewart's good idea of sprucing up a crypt.)
The Oceanic 6 had some curious things to share personally, too. Jack embellished the cover story with some survival-at-sea detail. Hurley defused a question about their healthy appearance by humorously accusing the reporter of commenting on his weight. (He also boldly announced he was giving up his restored lotto winnings.) Sayid flatly denied that any of the other castaways had survived. Sun seemed to struggle the most as she reluctantly, bitterly claimed that Jin never made it off the plane. But Kate's lie had the most readily apparent implications. She claimed Aaron was her child — and tacitly confirmed a reporter's conclusion that she was five or six months pregnant when she got on the plane. One would think that this claim could be easily disproved; time will tell if anyone investigates.
Aside: Jensen goes on to state he's virtually heart-broken over how this seems to dash his out-there theory that the 6 escaped through some time-space anomaly. I don't think Lost has ever gone to such a place - sure, by now we know time travel is part of the show. But Lost has never been that big into Star Trek-style sci-fi whoppers like altering the time stream or parallel universes (as much as some imaginative viewers like to impose such concepts on the show). Rather, the sci-fi element in Lost is more akin to my second favorite show of all time, Battlestar Galactica, in which sci-fi merely sets the stage and lets character-driven story-telling do the rest.
On this point I add one interesting observation - the introduction in this episode of a new character (who may or may not play a bigger part down the line): Karen Decker, played by the inimitable Michelle Forbes. The casting of Forbes is notable because she has also appeared in each of the polar opposites of sci-fi fanboy favorites: she played Ro Laren, an anti-authority (and ultimately treasonous) character on Star Trek: The Next Generation, and she played Admiral Caine, the uber-authoritarian/ Machiavellian fleet commander in Battlestar Galactica. I don't know if the producers had these two series' conflicting uses of science fiction, or these two characters' conflicting views on authority, in mind when they cast Forbes as an apparent corporate mouthpiece for Oceanic Airlines, but if they did, then bravo!
After the press conference, Nadia awaits Sayid.
Their reunion is bittersweet - sweet for them, but tinged with sadness for us, as we know of Nadia's fate in the months to come.
Later, Sun, now visibly pregnant, scales the stairs to her father's office. Mr. Paik is mad about something involving 5 different banks. He dismissively tells Sun she wouldn't understand. Sun says not to pretend to be interested in the pregnancy, and that she knows her father hated Jin. She then tells him she bought a controlling interest in the company with the Oceanic settlement money.
Seriously? 1/6 of the money Oceanic paid out in settlement is enough to buy a controlling share in Paik Heavy Industries? Did Hurley kick in his share, since he doesn't want any money relating to his lottery winnings (and, really, he was on the plane because of those numbers)? And if he did, would 1/3 be enough to buy the company? Maybe Paik isn't all that powerful, after all.
She blames her dad (and one other unnamed person) for Jin's death. "I am going to have my baby, and then we are going to discuss the future of this company. Our company."
Hurley returns to his parents' mcmansion, in an old jalopy, carrying some Mr. Clucks. The door is open. There's a coconut on the floor. Whispers are audible. Hurley grabs a Jesus statue, opens a door, questions why he's doing this, and finds ... a surprise party! "Jesus Christ is not a weapon," cajoles his mother. Kate and Aaron are there. She says Jack's running late. Sayid and Nadia are there too. Dad made it an island theme (oops). His dad gives him the old red camaro (the one that started the season). "When I was fixing that, it was almost like I was with you." Hurley sees the odomoter - 4815162342....Hurley doesn't want any part of it, and runs away.
Jack finally gives Christian a eulogy, written ten months earlier on a cocktail napkin. A woman approaches. She's Australian...and she tells Jack she was the reason Christian was in Australia...it's Claire's mom.
So, somehow, between the time Claire got on the plane and the time the O6 got home, Claire's mother awoke from her coma. Interesting... "He came to see his daughter...my daughter, Mr. Shephard." "My father didn't have a daughter." "Yes, he did...would you like to know the strangest thing about this, Mr. Shephard? My daughter was on the plane,...and you never even knew she was your sister. ...Her name was Claire. I didn't mean to burden you with this, but you needed to know. I am sorry for your loss." She tells Kate, "your son is beautiful."
Finally, at long last, Jack knows that which we've known for so long. Claire, whom he apparently left behind, was his sister. He left his sister behind, but saved her baby. Like I surmised ('cause I'm that good), this seems to be why Jack would go on to avoid Aaron, and explains just how pointed was his comment to Kate about Aaron not being related to her.
Island Time Unlike most weeks, I won't just pick one group at a time and follow them through their story, primarily because the groups kept mixing and matching this episode.
On the island, Rose speculates that Sayid and Desmond were in the chopper that had flown overhead. Sun suggests calling with the phone, so Jack hands it to Daniel, who sets it to "monitor only." They hear Keamy order the people to the Orchid - which Juliet doesn't know about.
Really? She knew about the Looking Glass, even while the Others didn't know it was used for jamming. But she didn't know about the Orchid? Was Ben being ultra-careful, even at the expense of his feelings for Juliet? Or is she just lying at a really inopportune moment?
Jack has Kate get guns and water - and Juliet tries to stop Jack, but Jack says he has to go, "because I promised those people I would get them off this island." "Don't bleed to death, Jack," says Juliet, in a bit of a huff, and walks off.
Daniel knows about the secondary protocol, and tells Charlotte, "We have to get off this island...right now." Daniel knows about it? Not even the captain knew what was in that folder. Just what is the "science" team's mission?
The next morning, Jack follows the signal on the phone, surmising that the chopper landed (since they're gaining on it). Kate sees he's bleeding. Jack says it separation, not bleeding. Kate calls him on the lie. Suddenly, Miles appears, followed by Sawyer and Aaron. Sawyer can't look them in the eye when he says they lost Claire. He had hoped she went back to the beach. Sawyer tells them they better hope Sayid is not with the chopper full of guys who just blew the hell out of New Otherton. "Just like Locke said they would," Sawyer (intentionally) hits a nerve with this one, a sort of "we told you so." Jack starts to goes off on his own, entrusting the baby to the others, but Sawyer goes with him, muttering, "you don't get to die alone."
Sayid lands with the Zodiac boat. He will start taking people back six at a time, because the chopper people will kill them all... and Juliet tells him Jack and Kate went running after the chopper.
Just when you thought we'd finally figure out how they became the Oceanic 6 - at one moment, Jack, Kate and Sun were on the beach, Aaron (carried by Sawyer) was on the way there, and Sayid was returning with a six-person boat. At that same time, Hurley no longer seemed to need to be with Ben and Locke, so Oceanic Six, right? Wrong! Watch how these six people keep moving around in various groups...
Ben leads Locke and Hurley to a "greenhouse" called the Orchid.
Remember last summer's Orchid video (if not, for the last time people, check it out in my July 2007 post by clicking here)? Edgar Halliwax said the Orchid was masquerading as a botanical station to hide its true purpose. Apparently, the masquerade was so complete, they actually built a greenhouse on top of the thing...
Hurley asks how they're going to move the island. Ben responds, as only he can"...very carefully." He says they didn't move the island before the mercs arrived because it's "dangerous and unpredictable - a measure of last resort." Ben uncovers a buried case, but Locke opens it, himself. Inside is a tin of 15-year-old DHARMA saltines, a mirror, binocs, rope, etc. Ben uses the mirror to communicate with "who do you think?" He gets a flash back at him, and says they can go now, but insists what he said is none of their business.
Daniel starts ferrying people on the raft. Juliet insists Sun go first. Kate returns, but says she needs to track Jack for Sayid to be able to find him. Sun takes Aaron, and they leave with Daniel, Jin, and a few extras. Jin watches Sun with Aaron, then reminds her with a smile that he had promised to get her off the island. In the jungle, Hurley asks about the fact that moving the island will take the mercs with them (i.e. not saving them from Keamy's goons). Ben says he's working on it. John tells Hurley it's too late to get off the island. Ben warns them to get down, and asks for the binocs, since they're at the Orchid. "We're waiting, John, because Charles Widmore...knows about this station and knows why we're here." Ben admits he "wasn't entirely truthful" when he said he had no idea what Widmore wanted with the island, and dodges Locke's well-timed response by noting the mercs are already here.
On the Zodiac, Daniel signals to Desmond and two deckhands. Des asks about Sayid, and Daniel says he went after Jack. Daniel heads back for the next group. Jin and Sun see Michael, who said the engines should be working. They start them up, but there's a problem - some RF interference on the boat is blocking the bearing reader gizmo (preventing their safe passage to the island), which is odd, since the radio room was trashed...
Jack tells Sawyer about the appendix, earning a surprised look as they find the chopper, where Frank is handcuffed inside. Frank says he dropped the phone so they could help him escape, enabling him to fly them back. Frank assures them they want to be nowhere near the area when Keamy returns from his Ben-grabbing mission (which would likely involving "nothing good" happening to anyone with Ben). Sawyer shakes his head, and tells Jack Hurley is with Ben. So they know what they have to do - save Hugo.
Which will get Jack and Hurley together as two of the O6...but what about Sawyer? Jensen's terrific take on the Jack-Sawyer scenes: "I dug the Jack-Sawyer tension as much as anyone. How about Sawyer rubbing it in Jack's face about how Locke was right concerning the freighter people? And how about Jack striking back by accusing the rogue of running away? But I dug it even more when these two put the sniping aside, find common ground, and play Superman and Batman together — in this case, saving Hurley from mad Island mystics Ben and Locke. I've always been a sucker for the rivals-who-become-allies arc in any kind of story. Rushing off to help Jack, Sawyer quipped, 'You don't get to die alone.' Perfect."
My own personal observation - it's odd that in a season that has not had a Sawyer-centered episode, he has truly matured as a hero in his own right. After his seemingly selfish decision to join Team Locke, Sawyer has risked his life twice for his fellow survivors - once to save Claire from the mercs' assault, and now to save Hurley. Please, Powers That Be, let Sawyer still be alive on the island after the Oceanic Six return...
Sun asks Michael how they got back to NY. They found an island, he says, and sold the boat, then hopped a cargo ferry. "I do not work for Ben." he insists. "I'm trying to help you guys out." Desmond shouts for Michael, and it's urgent. They have found the source of the interference - a massive amount of explosives, with a remote detonator. The implication is clear - the bomb is wired to Keamy's vitals, and if anything happens to him, boom! Captain Gault clearly knew this when he (fatally) didn't shoot Keamy last episode.
Kate finds different tracks than Jack's and Sawyer's, and the tracks are doubling back behind them. The man who left them steps out from the bushes. It's Richard Alpert. He insists they drop their guns, and before you can say "finally, the Others are back," they are surrounded by Others with guns. Richard disarms Kate and Sayid.
Ben gives John detailed instructions of what to do when he gets into the Orchid. Ben says he'll take care of the armed men. "How many times do I have to tell you, John? I always have a plan." Then Ben just walks off into the jungle, towards the Orchid.
Ben. Freakin'. Rocks.
So the pieces are now in place for the endgame: Sun and Aaron walk away from the freighter's bomb-laden cabin; Jack and Sawyer head for the Orchid; and, as the Others march Kate and Sayid to who-knows-where;Hurley and John watch Ben approach the greenhouse, hands up. Omar and others, including Keamy, come out to find Ben. "My name is Benjamin Linus. I believe you're looking for me." Keamy puts a gun to his head, then smacks Ben, knocking him out.
And that's that for two weeks, when we'll return with the final two hours of the finale. Some questions I think/ hope will be answered:
1. What makes those six people the Oceanic Six? 2. What happens to the rest of the survivors? 3. How does one move an island from an Orchid station? 4. How will Ben end up in the Sahara? 5. Who was in that coffin? 6. Why does Jack come to think the Oceanic Six need to get back to the island? 7. Will Keamy's bomb blow up the freighter?
So, folks, enjoy the 2-hour Grey's Anatomy finale next week, and we'll be back for Lost's last two hours in two weeks.
Whoah. I mean, full-on, Neo-from-The Matrix Whoah. The return of Richard Alpert! The return of Matthew Abbadon!! The pre-ordained death of Doctor Ray!!! And the return of...Horace Goodspeed???!!! All this and so, so much more, in "Cabin Fever."
This Week's Motif - Avoiding Being "Boxed In." I'm sure we Lostophiles all remember Locke's enraged scream to the tour company head in Season 1's brilliantly-executed "Walkabout," in which John, as it was revealed to us that he was wheelchair-bound, demanded not to be told what he could and could not do or be. This theme, of being boxed in, but not wanting to be kept to these limiting boxes, surrounded this week's brilliant, brilliant episode.
Borrowing Heavily From the Good Doc Since I don't believe in passing others' work off as my own, I'll be frank with you. Doc Jensen said a bunch of stuff in his recap that is far superior to anthing I could come up with. So I'll borrow heavily from his massive posting (Jensen's words appear in blue text). Much of what he had to say I am not too sure I want to agree with, but if you want to read the entirety of his column, please click on the title of this post. (And, to answer my friend, Joe's question from last week, I only link to Doc Jensen's column where, as here, I think it adds enough to my own post to warrant separate reading...). I begin with an excerpt from the Doc's initial sum-up of the episode:
Last night was for us. The cultists. The obsessives. The crazies who have committed to this long, strange trip and gotten lost in it. Like the candy bar Hurley generously shared with Ben while Locke was chatting with the spectral squatters inside Jacob's shack (a nod to the Neo-Oracle-cookie scene in The Matrix?), ''Cabin Fever'' was an episode packed with a chunky abundance of brain-fattening cryptonuggets to nourish our fevered theory making and message-board blustering. Comic-book references. Biblical allusions. Mythological connections. Double meanings to scores of lines. I loved Hurley's ''theory'' that he, Ben, and Locke were chosen for this vision quest because they were the craziest ones on the Island. ... Amid the clues, red herrings, and tomfoolery, I saw in the episode a fiendishly clever love letter to those of us who've become so locked up inside Lost that they've been somewhat deliriously messed up by it.
Flashback - John Locke I have to admit, when I first read that this week's episode would be a Locke flashback, I truly wondered why the producers would even bother delving back into a backstory that seems to have been fully realized already. Silly, silly boy - we learned so much in Cabin Fever, it's overstuffing my brain...
We learned that John Locke was born prematurely to a rebellious 16-year-old named Emily (she would not be put into that "good girl" box), who had hidden her pregnancy (by a man - presumably, Anthony Cooper - who was twice her age) until she was hit by a car on her way to a forbidden date with, we assume, Cooper. Though prior accounts had Locke born in 1956, Emily was listening to Buddy Holly's 1957 song, "Everyday," immediately before the accident.
After John was born, and spent a few months in an incubator (another box), the nurses told Emily and her mother that John was the youngest premie ever to survive in that hospital, despite numerous maladies, a real "miracle baby." As they prepared to take him out of the incubator so Emily could hold him for the first time, she fled the room, and her mother asked who to talk to about adoption. A strange figure watched from outside the room - Richard Alpert, looking pretty much exactly the same as he did the day 48 years later when he told John that Sawyer would kill Cooper for him.
Aside Number 1 - based on a Jensen passage I'll provide below, it seems this scene also took place about 16 years before young Ben encountered Richard for the first time in the jungle. That iteration of Richard was only different in the sense of wearing hippie clothes and long hair. Query - was that just a look Richard adopted some time between his John encounters, or was it a look designed to appeal to Ben at that moment in time?
Aside Number 2 - not that I like to revel in others' misfortune, but thank goodness Cane got cancelled, freeing Nestor Carbonnel to return to the role of the ever-mystifying Richard Alpert.
Aside Number 3 - you may recall that Benjamin Linus, too, was born earlier than expected, also to a woman named Emily, though this would occur roughly five years later. Could Ben and John be brothers, (unlikely, given John's adult visit with his biological mother, played by Swoozie Kurtz, and the death of Emily Linus in childbirth), or is "premature birth to Emily" the criteria for would-be island saviors?
About five years later, John, living with his adopted family, received a visit from Richard as John was playing backgammon. Richard said he ran a school for "extremely special" kids, and had reason to believe John may be one of them. John had drawn a picture that looked suspiciously like a child's rendering of an attack by the smoke monster, which Richard stopped to observe. Alpert gave Locke a test, and with that, Lost gave us a scene so dense with (potential) subtext it just might take all of the forthcoming eight-month hiatus to unravel it. The test was to determine which of these objects that Richard laid out before him was already John's: a mitt, a book entitled Book of Laws, a compass, a knife, a mystery comic book (see below for the rather humorous cover - observations are too obvious to note here), or a vial of powder.
Locke seemed to fail the test. He slid the vial toward him and off to the side. Then he picked up the compass and set it down. Both of these actions seemed to please Alpert. But then Locke chose the knife and held on to it, and even seemed to enjoy holding on to it, like a knight getting the feel of his sword. Alpert was not only crestfallen but vaguely pissed. ''I'm afraid John isn't ready for our school,'' he said as he left in a huff, and raced out to...catch the next time machine back to the Island?
Aside number 4: I'm not ready to explain everything by way of time travel, as the good Doc does here. But I share his interpretation of the events we saw, and add this note: What if John somehow sensed what the correct answer to the test was (and I'm open to suggestions on that score), but this was the first instance of young Johnny Locke not wanting to be put in a box? He wants to be action-jungle guy, the survivalist who intrigued us in the first season, and not whatever Richard wants him to be...
Eleven years later, a teacher freed 16-year-old John from a locker that contained a Geronimo Jackson (Hurley's favorite band) poster inside. The teacher relayed to John a private inviation from a Dr. Alpert (!) to spend the summer at a science camp run by Mittleos Labs in Portland (or, as we learned last season, "not exactly in Portland.") John denied that he was a scientist, and when the teacher said he couldn't be a superhero or quarterback, John belted out his familiar refrain, "don't tell me what I can't do" (more of that not being boxed-in thing).
Years later, we revisited the more familiar, wheelchair-bound and balding adult Locke, following a frustrating round of physical therapy. The orderly that wheeled then-despondent John away told him not to give up, because anything was possible. The orderly, once his face was revealed, turned out to be none other than Matthew Abbaddon, who reasured John that his survival was enough of a miracle to allow him to believe he might one day walk again. As Abbaddon menacingly pushed John to the precipice of a staircase, he obliquely mentioned that a miracle happened to him, too (but of course did not elaborate). He then suggested that John go on a walkabout (which of course we know he eventually tried to do). John, however, resisted, saying he was a cripple. "Is that what you are, Mr. Locke?" asked Abbaddon. "I went on my walkabout convinced I was one thing, and found out I was something else. Oh, I'm not just an orderly John." Abbaddon concluded this exchange by noting that, after walkabout, John would owe him one.
Aside number 5: It's great that one episode gave us glimpses of so many of Lost's sporadically-appearing but thoroughly perplexing figures. But none fits the bill more than Matthew Abbaddon (if that is indeed his name). We've seen him three times: first (in time, not on the show), he was a conveniently-placed orderly who planted an idea in Locke's mind that would eventually lead him to the island, by way of a foiled attempt to go on walkabout and an early departure from Australia on flight 815. Then, he recruited Naomi Dorritt and the freighter science team, we presume on behalf of Charles Widmore - though note the disconnect made ever clearer in this very episode, between discrete groups of Widmore's employees. Finally, after the Oceanic 6 returned home, he claimed to be an attorney for Oceanic Airlines when he visited Hurley at Santa Rosa and asked "if they're still alive." So who the frak is this guy, really, and what was the miracle he claimed to have experienced?
Finally, I'll let Doc Jensen take a stab at recapping the flashback as a whole, because he pieced this next passage together absolutely brilliantly...
Now, do the timeline math.
Locke is born early. At age 5, he takes a test that most likely would have taken him to the Island if he had passed. He didn't. That same year, Benjamin Linus is born.
At age 16, Locke is invited to go to a science camp that again would have taken him to the Island. He refused. About that same time, Benjamin Linus and his father joined the Dharma Initiative.
The implication, it seems, is that Ben has been walking the path that was originally meant for Locke. Ben was the contingency plan — the course correction — for Locke's altered destiny. But Ben is his own person, of course, and he has done things differently from what Locke would have done, and this, in turn, has created further changes in the original order of things — changes that I think a certain ticked-off, Island-deprived billionaire named Charles Widmore is trying to reverse. The scene at the rehab center between paralyzed adult Locke and his wheelchair pusher, the creepy Matthew Abbaddon — who accepted the description of ''orderly'' with knowing irony — was meant to suggest one way Widmore is scheming to restore the original order: by getting Locke on that Island and taking back the birthright that was supposed to be his.
(Unless I’m getting this reversed: What if Ben was the man of destiny, but for decades, various forces — including Alpert and Widmore-Abbaddon — have been vainly trying to change destiny by getting Locke to the Island to supplant the über-Other?)
To this I add something the producers revealed in this week's podcast - in writing this episode, they heavily researched the process undertaken by Bhuddists to seek out and find their next Dalai Lama... Freighter Time ...which, as we confirmed again this episode, is ever-so-slightly distinct from "island time."
Sayid wakes Desmond as the helicopter returns. Dr. Ray - still alive, despite having washed up on the beach - helps unload the wounded merc. "What did this to him?" Ray asks. Keamy responds, "Black pillar of smoke threw him fifty feet in the air, and ripped his guts out." Keamy demands that Sayid tell him the locations of everyone on the island (as if!). Keamy then holds Captain Gault at gunpoint, and demands to know who gave him up to Ben. The captain leads him to Michael. Michael admits giving Ben his name. Keamy points his gun and pulls the trigger - but his gun misfires (I guess suicide isn’t the only thing the island won’t allow for its pawns). The captain, who really seemed likeable in this episode, says not to kill Michael, since, as the saboteur, he is the only one who can fix the engines. So Keamy just knocks Michael out.
Keamy's man dies, and Keamy demands that Frank gas up the chopper for a return trip. He then rips a key off the captain's neck, and uses it to open a safe, from which he retrieves his “secondary protocol,” a folder, which the captain has never seen, bearing a somewhat familiar DHARMA logo (see photo for where we’ve seen this image before).
He says that if he’s going to “torch the island,” there's only one place Ben can go (according to Widmore; and, based on the logo, I’d say that’s the Orchid station). Gault says torching the island was not what he agreed to do on this mission. Realizing Keamy can’t be reasoned with, the captain finagles some alone time with Desmond and Sayid (by sending Omar below deck), and tells them to hide as soon as Keamy leaves. (Note -as Omar left the deck, he finally received the Morse Code message we saw Daniel send two weeks ago). Sayid demands a bearing to the island and says getting his people off is the only way to save them, and Gault agrees to meet them behind a container in ten minutes to take the Zodiac boat.
Frank awakens Michael, and asks why he never told him he was an 815 survivor. Michael says Frank can't fly Keamy back, because he's going to kill everyone on the island. As Frank leaves, he sees Omar attach some kind of device to Keamy's arm (an anti-smokey thingee? If they had these, why not bring them the first time?)
The captain gives Desmond and Sayid the small Zodiac raft and a device that will provide the only safe bearing to the island. But Desmond says he can't go - he's been on the island for three years, and can never set foot on it again, since he knows Penny's coming for him. So Sayid leaves on his own, ready to start ferrying his fellow survivors back to the freighter (any guesses who will join him on the first jaunt?).
That evening, the mercs load ammo into the helicopter for battle. Omar tells Ray about the Morse code message saying he was dead. Frank refuses to fly them to the island, and, since Keamy can’t kill the only pilot, he makes his point a different way - by slitting the doctor's throat and throwing him overboard, menacingly asking, “does that change anything?” Gault appears with two men and shoots a warning shot. Keamy hands his knife to Omar, then shoots Gault with a hidden gun (so much for liking the captain). Frank has no more resistance, and says, “we're flying.” He boots up his sat phone, and conspicuously tucks it into a pack that sits on his copilot seat. Keamy retrieves his gun from the captain's body, and the mercs board the now heavily-armed chopper, as hidden Desmond looks on.
Keamy's sarcastic line after dumping the doc overboard was interesting: ''Did that change anything?'' It changed more than Keamy could imagine. As we saw in ''The Shape of Things to Come,'' the doc's corpse traveled through the offshore anomaly and washed up on the beach in the past. As a result, Jack and company confronted Faraday and Charlotte and finally confirmed that the freighter folk aren't there to save them. This is all to say that, thanks to the doc's death, Jack's camp knows to either avoid that helicopter or, if they follow after it, do so cautiously, and with a battle plan in their back pocket, just in case.
Island Time - The Beach
Juliet chides Jack for leaving his tent, for fear of tearing his stitches. Suddenly, the whole camp sees and hears the helicopter's return. As it passes overhead, a pack is dropped. It's Frank's, and it contains his phone, which shows the helicopter moving further away. Jack, of course, assumes they're to follow the signal.
Aside number 6 - Seriously, Jack? Haven't you figured out that it's time to stay away from those guys? Hopefully you're not as dumb as you look (and I don't just mean when you're wearing your Racer X costume from Speed Racer). But, and I've said it before, I love me some Frank.
Island Time - The Jungle
Of the myriad aspects of this week's episode, though, it was the quest for Jacob carried out by Locke, Ben and Hurley - the Holy Trinity of Weird - that proved most interesting.
Hurley wants to know why they're cabin-hunting, and where they're going. Ben says he's been following Hurley, since he's the last one who saw the cabin. Following a bit of panicky confusion over this little Three Stooges routine, Locke insists they make camp, over Hurley's objection that the smoke monster is out there. "Dude," emphasizes Hurley, "what's going to happen when those freighter guys come back?" Locke pats him on the back and says, smiling (unconvincingly), "I don't know - yet."
Locke awakens - that eyeball closeup again - and hears what sounds like the chopping down of a tree. Ben and Hurley are still asleep, so John investigates and finds...Horace Goodspeed? Clearing some small trees? Horace says he's building a place for himself and the Missus. A place to take a break from the DHARMA Initiative. Blood trickles from his nose, and he says he's been dead for 12 years. "You gotta find me, John, you gotta find me, and when you do, you'll find him...Jacob. He's been waiting for you a real long time, man." Horace then rechops the same tree. It was a dream, and when John awakens, Ben is already up, and watching. Ben says, "I used to have dreams," and then nods.
So...who all thought they'd see Horace Goodspeed again? And that he would have been the guy who built Jacob'the s shack? Now, this was not the first time Locke had such a dream vision - remember the crashing drug plane? The pow-wow with Eko's brother, Yemi? And what did Ben mean, he used to have dreams? Is this tied to the start of Widmore's nightmares? Also, now we know when the purge took place - in 1992, 12 years before the crash.
Hurley theorizes only the craziest can see the cabin - hence he, Ben and John. They stop at the DHARMA gravesite, and John explains to Hurley how DHARMA suddenly disappeared after making all that ranch dressing he likes so much. Ben has an eerie look on his face. Hurley looks in, "whoah - what happened to them?" "He did," says John, indicating Ben.
John digs through the pit, looking for Horace. Ben muses that he should have realized shooting John wouldn't do anything, but he wasn't really thinking clearly. Ben says it wasn't his decision to kill DHARMA - it was the Others' prior leader.
The whosiwhatsit?
John finds Horace, and sees blueprints for the cabin, and a map to get there, in the dead mathematician's pocket.
John offers to send Hurley back to the beach, but being alone at night in the jungle doesn't thrill him, so he decides to stay. "He actually thinks staying was his idea," smiles Ben. "Not bad, John, not bad." "I'm not you," replies John. "You're certainly not."
Ben and Locke debate how certain the location of the cabin is. John says it won't have moved because he was told this was where it would be. Ben says he was told things, too, how special he was. But then he got a tumor and had his daughter's blood on his hands. There was going to be consequences to John's being chosen, because "destiny is a fickle bitch." Hugo points it out - they found the cabin. Ben refuses to enter - the island wanted him to get sick, and John to get well. He declares his time is over, and the island is Locke's now.
It would appear Ben's attempt to shoot Locke was his last desperate attempt to hold on to his special spot as the island's go-to guy. And if he hadn't changed his priorities before, the death of Alex has certainly made him less interested in the island's well-being, and more interested in revenge on Charles Widmore. But I wonder - Is the island but a pawn in the larger Ben/Charles game, or is Charles part of Ben's gambit for the island?
Hurley also is not thrilled to go in, so Locke goes by himself. Ben wishes him luck. Locke lights the lantern, then enters. Jacob is sitting right where we last saw him...only...it's not Jacob, but the figure says he can speak on his behalf. It's Christian! John sits down. "You know why I'm here?" "Yeah, sure, do you?" "I'm here because I was chosen to be." "That's absolutely right." And in the corner, there's Claire! "Hi, John," she says, with the same knowing smile her father has been sporting. "What are you doing here?" "Don't worry, I'm fine, I'm with him." "Where's the baby?" "The baby's where he's supposed to be, and that's not here. It's probably best that you don't tell anyone that you saw her." "Why?" "We don't have time for this. The people from the boat are already on their way back, and once they get there, none of these questions will matter one bit, so why don't you ask the one question that does matter? "How do I save the island?" Christian and Claire smile.
Penultimate Aside: Does that smile mean he asked the right question? Now, to unpack this whole scene...Christian has now appeared to both of his children, a dog, Hurley (briefly) and Locke. Locke has received appearances from Christian, Yemi and Boone. I hope somewhere there's a book of rules as to how this all works, because I'm confused. But one thing I'm getting less confused about is the likelihood that Claire Littleton is dead. It would seem she died in the explosion of her New Otherton bungalow, and was reborn as whatever it is that Christian has been since Jack first saw him shortly after the crash. Only for some reason, Claire seemed to need Christian to tell her what she is. But if Claire is dead, that what of the prophecy that she and she alone must raise Aaron, or Charlie's message that Jack is not supposed to raise him? And is Claire the only dead one? My wife has theorized that a number or our characters actually died way back in the crash - among them, Locke and Rose (which explains their healing). Does this also explain the "fake" flight 815, i.e., perhaps it's not a hoax, but the "survivors" are actually nothing of the sort? Ouch. My head hurts.
Outside, Hurley and Ben sit quietly. In one of those brilliant character moments that takes place without a line of dialog, Hurley pulls out a candy bar, sees Ben eyeing it, breaks off a small piece and offers the rest to Ben. John emerges. Ben asks, "Did he tell you what we're supposed to do?" "Yes, he did," says John, a little dazed. "Well?" "He wants us to move the island."
Final Aside - move the what now? That does not seem like an easy task. And yet, it is one I believe will be successful. If I'm not mistaken, as early as next week, the following will transpire: Sayid will return to the beach with a boat that fits himself and five others (Hurley and Aaron will average out to two people). The first group to leave will be Sayid, Hurley, Aaron, Sun, Jack and Kate (as for why they're each chosen, I have no idea). Sayid will attempt to return on the same bearing, but Locke will have successfully "moved" the island, making it impossible to find anyone else. This will also make it impossible for Frank, Keamy, or the rest of the freighterites to return to Kahana. Thus, the freighter, all but empty now that the science team and the mercs are on the island and the captain and doctor have been killed, will return to port with the O6, as well as Desmond and Michael. Desmond was not on flight 815, and Michael was under two layers of assumed names, so nobody will associate him with the flight - hence "Oceanic Six." Michael's real task - returning these six people to the real world - will be complete, and he will, at last, be free to kill himself, ending up in that coffin in L.A. from last season's finale. Or not.
Next week, lostophiles, the first part of the three-hour finale. Until then, Namaste!
Born in New Jersey in 1973, I've lived in Northern California, Hong Kong and, since 1996, Los Angeles. B.A. from U. Penn, M.S. (TV/ Radio/ Film Production) from Syracuse, J.D. from UCLA.
Jack is still their presumptive leader, but his hold over them is tenuous, and where he once provided comfort and inspiration ("live together, die alone," etc. etc.), he's now all about spin control. He reminds his peeps - if they get a question they can't or don't want to answer, just stay quiet, and people will think they're in shock. Sun reminds him, "we are in shock, Jack." Kate is already holding Aaron, having assumed the role of mother. Karen Decker of Oceanic Airlines (more on her later) comes back and informs the group they've been dubbed the "Oceanic Six." They land at a military airport West of Honolulu, with a gahering outside that includes Hurley's parents, Sun's parents, and Jack's mother. Mr. Paik gives Sun an odd look, and Sun barely registers his presence. Kate has...nobody, and neither does Sayid, but Hurley introduces Sayid to the Reyeses.
The casting of Forbes is notable because she has also appeared in each of the polar opposites of sci-fi fanboy favorites: she played Ro Laren, an anti-authority (and ultimately treasonous) character on Star Trek: The Next Generation, and she played Admiral Caine, the uber-authoritarian/ Machiavellian fleet commander in Battlestar Galactica. I don't know if the producers had these two series' conflicting uses of science fiction, or these two characters' conflicting views on authority, in mind when they cast Forbes as an apparent corporate mouthpiece for Oceanic Airlines, but if they did, then bravo!
Their reunion is bittersweet - sweet for them, but tinged with sadness for us, as we know of Nadia's fate in the months to come.
4815162342....Hurley doesn't want any part of it, and runs away.
Jack starts to goes off on his own, entrusting the baby to the others, but Sawyer goes with him, muttering, "you don't get to die alone."
He gets a flash back at him, and says they can go now, but insists what he said is none of their business.
He insists they drop their guns, and before you can say "finally, the Others are back," they are surrounded by Others with guns. Richard disarms Kate and Sayid.
Jack and Sawyer head for the Orchid; 
and, as the Others march Kate and Sayid to who-knows-where;
Hurley and John watch Ben approach the greenhouse, hands up. 
Omar and others, including Keamy, come out to find Ben. "My name is Benjamin Linus. I believe you're looking for me." Keamy puts a gun to his head, then smacks Ben, knocking him out.
John denied that he was a scientist, and when the teacher said he couldn't be a superhero or quarterback, John belted out his familiar refrain, "don't tell me what I can't do" (more of that not being boxed-in thing).
As Abbaddon menacingly pushed John to the precipice of a staircase, he obliquely mentioned that a miracle happened to him, too (but of course did not elaborate). He then suggested that John go on a walkabout (which of course we know he eventually tried to do). John, however, resisted, saying he was a cripple. "Is that what you are, Mr. Locke?" asked Abbaddon. "I went on my walkabout convinced I was one thing, and found out I was something else. Oh, I'm not just an orderly John." Abbaddon concluded this exchange by noting that, after walkabout, John would owe him one.
He says that if he’s going to “torch the island,” there's only one place Ben can go (according to Widmore; and, based on the logo, I’d say that’s the Orchid station). Gault says torching the island was not what he agreed to do on this mission. Realizing Keamy can’t be reasoned with, the captain finagles some alone time with Desmond and Sayid (by sending Omar below deck), and tells them to hide as soon as Keamy leaves. (Note -as Omar left the deck, he finally received the Morse Code message we saw Daniel send two weeks ago). Sayid demands a bearing to the island and says getting his people off is the only way to save them, and Gault agrees to meet them behind a container in ten minutes to take the Zodiac boat.
As it passes overhead, a pack is dropped. It's Frank's, and it contains his phone, which shows the helicopter moving further away. Jack, of course, assumes they're to follow the signal.
John sits down. "You know why I'm here?" "Yeah, sure, do you?" "I'm here because I was chosen to be." "That's absolutely right." And in the corner, there's Claire! 
"Hi, John," she says, with the same knowing smile her father has been sporting. "What are you doing here?" "Don't worry, I'm fine, I'm with him." "Where's the baby?" "The baby's where he's supposed to be, and that's not here. It's probably best that you don't tell anyone that you saw her." "Why?" "We don't have time for this. The people from the boat are already on their way back, and once they get there, none of these questions will matter one bit, so why don't you ask the one question that does matter? "How do I save the island?" Christian and Claire smile.
John emerges. Ben asks, "Did he tell you what we're supposed to do?" "Yes, he did," says John, a little dazed. "Well?" "He wants us to move the island."
