Episode 509 - DHARMA says "Namaste" to Jack and company

Foreword

A couple of weeks ago, after "Lafleur," I pointed out the apparent discrepancy between Ben's claim last season that Charlotte was born in 1979, and Daniel's belief this season that he saw young Charlotte running around the DHARMA barracks in 1974. On this week's podcast, Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse confirmed, this was a mistake. The original script of last season's episode called for Ben to say Charlotte was born in 1970. On the set, Rebecca Mader protested that she's not that old, so the line was changed to 1979. The producers, busily writing the rest of Season 4 in Burbank, were not there to explain the importance of the date, and they just plain missed the change while doing the final edit. Oh, well!

The Tease
Frank's super landing depicted! The whereabouts of Sayid and Sun revealed!! Radzinsky finally seen!!! All this, plus Sawyer's minor revenge on Jack, in "Namaste."

Ajira 316
Much as Lost first did with Oceanic 815, we were given the knowledge that Ajira 316 went down, without seeing it happen. Until now.

Just after Frank had his disturbing chat with Jack, he returned to the cockpit, where his copilot says he recognizes Hurley as one of the Oceanic Six. "Maybe he doesn’t believe lightning will strike twice in the same place.". (Heh heh). Frank takes controls ust as plane is engulfed in light. The plane stalls, then emerges into daylight (it had been nighttime just seconds before). Frank’s copilot spots a crude runway.

Frank skillfully sets the plane down, though the bushes at the end of the runway smash through the cockpit windshield, impaling the copilot. Frank goes back to the cabin. Ceasar awakens Ilana, who, semi-conscious, blurts out a name (my wife and I couldn't make it out. Ew.com's Jeff Jensen was semi-sure she said "Sarah"). Frank sees that the people he knows are gone…except Sun. Ben, awake and uninjured, tells Frank the others are gone. Frank asks where. “How would I know?”

Aside number 1 - one of the mysteries over the past couple of weeks was what happened to Sun when the plane went down. Unlike Jack, Hurley, and Kate, we now know she was not whisked back in time. Is the island mad that she didn't bring Ji Yeon?

Also, another explanation from this week's podcast was that the runway was, indeed, the same project the Others had forced Sawyer and Kate to work on back in Season 3. We're meant to have understood (though, without the podcast, I can't guess how) that Jacob, perhaps knowing that a runway would be needed in the future, told the Others to build one, which they dutifully did. Now that's planning.

On the beach, Sun plays with Jin’s ring. Ilana asks if she lost someone. She says she was traveling alone. Frank gathers the survivors. The radio is dead, but there will be a search party (I've heard that one before). Ceasar asks were they are. Frank says the island isn’t on his charts. As Ceasar points out the nearby Hydra station, and suggests they search it, Ben slinks off into the jungle. Sun follows.

In the jungle, Ben doubles back on Sun. Ben says he’s going “back to our island. You wanna come?”. Ben tells Sun about the 3 outriggers, which were apparently an Others stash. Ben slips off his sling.

Aside Number 2 - It would seem Ben is back in the island's favor. One day after sustaining his injuries, Ben has already been healed. That's a far cry from the island giving him cancer. Maybe Ben is not the bad guy he's seemed to be this season...

Sun asks Ben if Jin is on the main island. He says he doesn’t know, but that’s where he’d look. Frank finds them, and asks Sun if she thinks they can trust Ben. She says she has to. Ben leads them to the three outriggers. Frank asks Sun to be careful – the freighter had been full of commandos whose sole mission was to get him. "How’d that work out for them?" Ben interjects. Ben says there’s a dock a half mile across the water at the main islans, and he points it out. Sun then decks Ben with an oar. (Hence his infirmary-landing injury). “Thought you trusted this guy" asks Frank. Remorseless, Sun responds, “I lied.” (Never get on her bad side!)

Sun and Frank get off the canoe at a pala ferry dock, which in disrepair. The sounds that usually serve as a precursor to Smoky's arrival are heard, and the jungle moves nearby, but then it subsides. Sun says probably just an animal. "Animal, snorts Frank. " Right."

Aside number 3 - did Smoky come to check out who dared to come to his island, see Frank and Sun, and then just say, "oh, you two are cool.". Why would the island whisk the other 815ers away, but not mind Sun's presence? My theory - it wants her to leave and bring back Ji Yeon. After all, the island super-charged Jin's sperm count, which qualified as "shooting blanks" before flight 815. Since the island seems able to choose who it does and does not heal, it clearly had a reason for letting Ji Yeon get conceived. It would appear that reason has yet to be revealed. And Sun screwed up by not brining her along.

They walk to the barracks, which are still deserted from the freighter commando attack. The whispers make a return, and suddenly a light turns on in one of the houses. The door to the house opens, and Christian Shephard is standing there. He introduces himself as Christian. He tells Sun to follow him when she asks about Jin.

Aside Number 4 - my prior theory that the whispers were time-hopping team Sawyer's attempts to warn the 815ers of danger doesn't seem to work anymore. The whispers actually seem to be heard any time the island, itself, is about to act, such as here, when it sends Christian to meet Sun.

He leads them into an office, and shows them a photo from 1977, featuring new DHARMA inductees Jack, Kate and Hurley. Christian says Jin "is" there, too.

The door blows open. "I’m sorry," says Christian, "but you have a bit of a journey ahead of you."

Aside Number 5 - what I really wonder is if this photo containing Jack, Hurley and Kate was in the DHARMA barracks even when they were all previously in the Others-appropriated buildings. In other words, did they merely fail to notice their future, which would be in the past, hanging on the wall? Or have they changed the future by going back in time, a-la the disappearing McFlys in "Back to the Future?" Meanwhile, in the background of this scene, there was somebody else in that room!!!! Is that what the opening door was all about? What the frak is going on here?

Thirty years earlier…
The main action of the episode picked up where we left off after LaFleur. Hurley drops the guitar case, and gives Sawyer a huge hug. Jack shakes Sawyer's hand, and Kate tentatively gives a hug (If this were Grey's Anatomy, the dialog between Kate and Sawyer here would be something like, "is this weird? It's a little weird, right?" Since it's Lost, instead we got silent looks). Sawyer, smiling, says Locke said he was going to bring them back. Jack tells him Locke died, but says the how doesn't matter. For some reason, Sawyer doesn't ask a follow-up question (I swear these characters learned their interviewing skills from the Bush-era White House press corps. No matter what response they get, they just nod and say "okeedoke.") Hurley asks about the DHARMA jumpsuits. Sawyer explains that it’s 1977, to which Hurley responds, "uh, what?"

They compare notes – three years have passed for all of them. Jin knows he has to report in.

Jack mentions Sun’s being on the plane, and Jin takes off, saying if a plane landed, Radzinsky would know about it. Sawyer tells them to stay put until he figures things out.

Juliet finds Sawyer back at home rifling through their closet, pulling out era-appropriate clothes. He tells her Jack, Hurley and Kate are back. Juliet seems taken aback (will Kate get between her and Jim; will their arrival plunge this happily settled couple out of their current mini-paradise and back into constant peril; a lot for poor Juliet to process). James says he has to bring them in before anyone finds them and they screw up everything they’ve got there. Apparently reassured by this statement that Jim doesn't want anything to change, either, Juliet points out the next sub is coming in shortly, so they can be inserted into that group of newcomers.

Jin drives to the Flame station. Inside, we find Radzinsky, building a geodesic dome model - one we recognize as part of the scale model of the Swan station that was in the first DHARMA orientation film we saw in Season 2.

Aside Number 6 - At long last, we have met Radzinsky. He has been one of the shadowy figures of the island's past since the second season finale, "Live Together, Die Alone." In the Desmond flashbacks in that episode, we learned that Radzinsky was stationed alone in the Swan station before Kelvin Inman joined him there. Kelvin told Desmond that Radzinsky killed himself, and the blood spattered on the Swan station's ceiling was from Radzinksy shooting himself in the head. We also were told that Radzinsky painted the cryptic blast door map that Locke saw in the Swan station, although we know that Kelvin later added to it.

Now, it would appear, Radzinsky actually designed the Swan station, and had been present since well before it's construction. The first question this raises is how it is Radzinsky ended up trapped on perpetual button-pushing duty until his suicide - if it was a suicide - until Kelvin came along? More on Radzinsky later...

Jin checks Radzinsky's printout, and demands to check his radar logs. Radzinsky is insulted at the idea he would miss a plane flying over, but Jin tells him to check with the other stations. He asks Jin why the plane is so important, but Jin keeps checking equipment without responding.

Juliet goes to see Amy, who’s sleeping in a hammock. The baby’s name is Ethan…

Aside Number 7 - according to this week's podcast, this Ethan is the same future Other who was obsessed with kidnapping Claire, until Charlie killed him out of revenge. He's also the same Ethan who, along with Richard, recruited Juliet to the island. In other words, if Ethan had not brought Juliet to the island in 2001, she would not have been there in 2004 to go back in time to 1974, enabling her to deliver Ethan in an emergency C-section in 1977. Trippy!

What this, plus the revelation that Radzinsky was around in 1977, tells us is that Ben was not the only survivor of the Purge. For some reason, Radzinsky will be left alive to push the button, while Ben and Ethan will join the Others. We know that Horace dies in the purge, as does Ben's father, Roger. Years later, Richard and Ben told Locke he could only join the Others by killing his father. There is something seriously Oedipal about this whole initiation thing the Others have going on...

Amy asks when she and Jim will have a baby. Smiling, Juliet deflects (and explains why she had snagged the sub manifest from sleeping Amy), by explaining she had come to help the new mom out by making some last minute changes to the manifest that called in - as a favor to Amy.

Still waiting for Sawyer to return, Kate asks Jack if Eloise mentioned they’d be returning 30 years ago. Smiling, Jack says she left that part out. Jack is not sure what to do now, but his new evolved self is content, for the time being, to just go with the flow. Sawyer comes back with his DHARMA bus. He tells them about how they’re masquerading as new recruits, but they have to hurry.

Radzinsky confirms for Jin there's no sign of a plane…when suddenly there’s a data blip. Hostile inside the perimeter! Jin charges out with his rifle. Radzinsky tries to follow. Jin finds…Sayid, still in cuffs. Sayid is overjoyed to see him. Jin asks where Sun is, but Radzinsky shows up at that very moment. Jin has to step into character, so he takes Sayid prisoner, “say another word, and you’re dead.”
In Sawyer’s van, Hurley asks James if he realizes DHARMA is going to get wiped out. Sawyer says they’re not there to be Nostradamus, and mentions Faraday’s theories, then says Daniel isn’t there anymore.

Aside Number 8 - really, guys? This isn't something you want to follow up on? The guy who apparently had some explanations for how they went back in time is gone, and you don't think to ask what happened?

Now let's crunch this "Faraday's gone" thing. In the first episode of the season, we saw Daniel present at the construction of the Orchid station. So we know he, like Sawyer, Juliet and Miles, managed to integrate into DHARMA. Is Daniel dead, or did he simply leave? Charlotte's memory of him from her youth was as a crazy man. Did he continue his downward spiral after her death? Did something go wrong at the Orchid, hurting him, or sending him away? Also, while I'm not quite ready to figure out what it means, I find it interesting that the Orchid was built before the Swan. Perhaps the two stations are connected, and the Swan was needed to deal with unforeseen problems at the Orchid?

They arrive at the welcome reception. Miles pulls up, and sees what’s going on. “what the hell are they doing here?" he demands, but Sawyer shuts him up. Miles tells Sawyer about Jin. Sawyer calls, and finds out about the Sayid/Radzinsky problem.

Our characters watch the Chang orientation tape in the welcome center. Phil (okay, I mixed up Phil and Jerry in my recap last week) calls off Jack’s name. Chang complains about how Jack’s file isn’t there. Chang asks who his shuttle driver was. Jack tells him LaFleur. "Good man, tight operation," says Chang. Jack gets handed a "work man" suit, and, like Roger, he's been assigned janitorial work “based on his aptitude test.” Even Jack has to smile at Sawyer's little dig here. Kate’s not on the list, or the sub manifest. Juliet comes in with a “revised” list, and Phil is satisfied. Juliet “introduces” herself to Kate.

Sawyer gets to the Flame. Radzinsky is paranoid that Sayid saw the model of the Swan, and the plan of where to build it (which, unlike the rest of DHARMA, apparently threatens the Hostiles/DHARMA truce - strange, then, that Radzinsky will be spared in the purge). He suggests they shoot the spy. Jim demands the keys to the storage room where Sayid is being held. Sayid sees him, but knows to be quiet. Jim "reminds" Sayid of the terms of the truce – he needs to identify himself as a Hostile, or they shoot him. "We don’t refer to ourselves as hostiles, but yes, I am one of them." Sawyer leads Sayid off, and Radzinsky complains he’ll tell Horace about this unorthodox handling of a prisoner.

Phil leads the welcome photo - the same one Sun will be shown in 2007 or 2008 or whatever year she's in. Sawyer radios that he’s coming in with a "14-J." Phil asks everyone to hold back, and they see Sayid. Jim takes Sayid to a holding cell, and tells Phil to get him some food. He gives Sayid a knowing look, and Sayid stays quiet.

That night, Jack asks Phil where James LaFleur lives. Phil points it out, "but don’t call him James – he hates it." Juliet opens the door, and smiles. Jack hugs her. "I was looking for Sawyer, guess I came to the wrong house." "No," she assures him, "come in." Juliet leaves them in the living room. Jim invites Jack to sit. He says he had to improvise with Sayid. Jack asks where they go from here, and grumbles about how Sawyer is reading when there's a crisis with Sayid. Jim says he heard once Churchill read a book every night, even during the blitz. Jim challenges the results of Jack’s rule, noting how high the body count was when Jack was acting as the leader. "I got us off the island," protests Jack. "But here you are, right back to where you started." Ouch, Jim. Point, set, match. "So I’m going to go back to reading, so I can think." Jack heads off, and Jim sees Kate. He waves, she waves back, and they leave it at that.

Aside Number 9 - go Sawyer, it's your birthday (whoop whoop)! Jack was, in my mind, a lousy leader. he never asked enough questions to know what was going on around him. Single-mindedly obsessed with getting people off the island (and succeeding with only 7 out of 50), he never bothered trying to figure out what forces were keeping them there in the first place. Sure enough, after three years off-island, he just wanted to come back. I'm glad Sawyer called him on it. Really, Jack thought he was coming back to save those he left behind, when, in reality, it seems to be Jack and company that need saving (at least until the Purge comes along...)

Food arrives for Sayid, carried by…young Ben Linus. As he previously did when he first met Richard, Ben asks if Sayid is a "hostile." Sayid asks, "do you think I am?" Ben introduces himself, and Sayid says, "It’s nice to meet you, (pause) Ben."

Aside Number 10 - perhaps I am letting myself get led astray by the scenes from next week, but I think I have an idea where this is all going. Before "breaking up" with his fellow Oceanic 6ers, and subsequently showing up on the island, Sayid made no secret of his rising animosity towards Ben, or of his willingness to violently deal with Ben should they meet again. Perhaps on some level, Sayid has come to blame Ben for Nadia's death; given his paranoia, and his rejection of the two years he spent as Ben's assassin, such a belief would be consistent. I think Sayid sees his chance, now that he's in the past, to kill young Ben, preventing much of the pain from his future from happening. However, since DHARMA thinks Sayid is a "hostile," and since, according to Faraday, such an attack from Sayid is doomed to fail, I theorize that Sayid's botched attempt to kill young Ben will be the end of the truce...which will lead DHARMA to create the deadly gas...which will lead directly to the Purge. Or not.

One final note of interest from this week's podcast - the season finale now has a title - "The Incident." No doubt, this refers to the same "incident" written about on the Swan hatch door, and discussed by Chang/Candle in the Swan orientation video. If you recall, the "incident" has something to do with why the Swan button needed to be pushed every 108 minutes. It appears, by the end of this season, that will all make sense. Which is really funny, when you recall that, at the beginning of the season, Hurley himself commented on how he was never quite clear what that was all about.

As for next week, Sayid will be confronted with DHARMA's version of a tough interrogator, in episode 510, "He's Our You." Until then, rehashing the title of this week's episode, Namaste!