Episode 605 - Jack is Finally Ready to Find the "Lighthouse"

First off, a correction. Not from me, but from Team Darlton. In this week’s podcast, Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse confirmed that the ultrasound photo in “What Kate Does” was a prop error. It was supposed to read “9/22/04,” and not “10/22/04.”

Next, an observation. Recall in “What Kate Does,” when Justin tried to warn Aldo not to kill Jin by pointing out that Jin was “one of them,” and Aldo responded, “he may be one of them”? It’s now clear what Aldo meant was that Jacob’s list is unclear as to which “Kwon” is a candidate. But my big question is…how did Aldo know this, when Richard didn’t even know what a candidate was?

Also, thanks to the “enhanced” version of “The Substitute” for pointing out that the weird temp agency lady who Locke2 dismissed before meeting Rose2 was the psychic Hurley’s dad paid to try to convince him he wasn’t cursed.

Finally, one further observation, dating back to Season 1. Recall that, in the first season, the episodes went in a certain order: (1-2) whole cast; (3) Kate; (4) Locke; (5) Jack. See a pattern...

But enough about the past and the present. We’re living the future now (10 points if you get the reference).

Jack2’s sideways world has an unexpected addition! Claire goes Rousseau!! The weirdest island artifact yet!!! All this, plus an ax to the chest, in “Lighthouse.”

Alternaverse – Jack 2

Jack2 undresses and examines his appendix scar. He contemplates it carefully. His mother calls, and we learn that Jack2 doesn’t remember having his appendix out (reminiscent of his lack of recognition of the shaving cut on the plane). His mother reminds him that he had it out when he was a young child. This leads to some more heavy thought by Jack2, even as he (apparently) covers and tells his mom that, oh, yeah, he remembers that he dad wanted to be the one to take it out, but they wouldn’t let him.

Aside #1 – of course, island Jack had his appendix removed just before the Freighterites arrived, by Juliet (with Bernard acting as an anaesthesiologist). Query why the lack of an island somehow caused Jack2 to lose his appendix earlier, or why his memory was so muddled.

But of course, the big reveal is that Jack2 has a son – David (no “2,” because he has not island counterpart). Judging from David’s age, there’s no way he’s the product of a marriage between Jack2 and Sarah2 (which probably never happened, because, with no Jacob manipulating things, Sarah2 never would have crashed into the father of Shannon2). The episode seemed to go out of its way not to show us David’s mother (as Lost often does with a quick glance at a framed photo). As Doc Jensen writes:

BURNING QUESTION: Who's David's Mom? Who's the female participant in the creation of this inexplicably conceived Sideways child? Who's this phantom woman that Sideways Jack was once with and now isn't? Wouldn't if be totally ironic and fitting if she was the Sideways iteration of Lost's resident fertility doc/Jack dumpette, better known to us as Juliet? And you wanna know why she wasn't home last night? That's right, kids: Going dutch on coffee with new boyfriend Sawyer. (Your goosebumps? That's right, I did that.)

Gotta say, I like the Doc’s theory.

Jack2, after being late to pick up David from his private school, tells David he hooked up cable in his room, so can watch the Red Sox. David's less than thrilled response indicates how clueless Jack2 is to think his son shares his sporting affiliation. Jack2 tries again to bond when he sees David is reading Alice in Wonderland (the same book Oceanic 6 Jack read to Aaron when he tried to play daddy to him), but David walks away as Jack2 recalls reading the book to him as a child. Jack2 gives bonding one last shot by asking what he's listening to on his headphones, but David blows him off again, saying "you haven't heard of it." Frustrated, David piercingly moans, "we see each other like once a month. Can we just…get through it?" Jack2, still shocked, knows no better than to answer his cell phone (saved by the bell!) It's his mother, who says she needs him. David doesn’t want to go to his grandmother’s house.

Jack2 pulls in to his mom’s house. They search for Christian2’s will in boxes and desk drawers. She offers him a drink (there’s McCutcheon on the shelf!). Jack2 says no, and she says, “good for you.”

Aside #2 - Is Jack2's mom happy that Jack2 gave up drinking, or has the alterna-Jack never followed in his father's footsteps? Of course, if Jack2 never married Sarah, then he never suspected Christian2 of cheating with her, which means he never disrupted Christian2's first AA meeting, which probably means Christian2 didn't drink himself to death. So then what killed him?

Mom tells Jack2 that David was upset at the funeral, but Jack2 didn’t realize this. He says that communication is not his strong suit, to which his mother quips, "well, it runs in the family." Jack2 suggests his situation with Christian2 was different, because his father terrified him, which prompts his mother to suggest perhaps Jack2 terrifies David. As he contemplates this motherly wisdom, she finds the will. "Jack, did your father ever mention a Claire Littleton?"

Aside #3 - It kind of stood to reason that the same people in alternaverse would have the same parents, but what surprised me was that, in island world, either Jack's mother never looked for the will, or Christian never included Claire in it. The only other explanation was that she found the will, but when Jack got back from the island, didn't want to burden him with the knowledge of his half-sister (only to have Claire's mom spill the beans at the funeral).

Jack2 brings a pizza and some sodas home, but David’s gone. It gets dark out, and Jack2 calls David’s cell. He goes to look for David at his mother’s house (where, frustratingly, we see still see no identifying items). Under the rabbit is a key.

Aside #4 - remember my observation of the parallel structure between season 1 and season 6? The first Jack episode in season 1 was entitled "White Rabbit," another Alice in Wonderland reference, in which Jack searched for his father (and found the caves). Here, the search for his son leads him to a rabbit.

David’s room doesn’t look recently used. Jack2 finds sheet music, and pictures of the two of them together (that David's wearing a Dodgers, and not a Red Sox, hat, illustrates just how clueless a dad Jack2 is). There’s a message on David’s machine. He has an audition at the Williams conservatory, right at this very moment. The next message is Jack2 calling from Sydney, desperate for some basic contact with his son while fetching his father's body. Jack2 goes in to the conservatory audition, and finds David playing the piano for the judges. I’m no expert, but he seems rather good. Of course, he gets played over by the Lost score, so who’s to say. He finishes, then bows. A Japanese kid, probably next in line for an audition, assures Jack2 that David played very well. This other kid’s father…is Dogen2, still sporting the samurai haircut, but in a nice suit. He muses to Jack2, "they are too young to have this kind of pressure, aren’t they? It’s hard to watch and be unable to help. Your son has agift. How long has he been playing?" Jack candidly admits, "I don’t know."

Aside #4 - Doc Jensen elaborates on the music David was playing: The piece: ''Fantasia Impromptu in C-sharp minor'' by Chopin. Last season on Lost, another child prodigy played the same number for us. I am referring to Master Daniel Faraday in ''The Variable.'' We remember his fate: how his mother cut him off his from art; how she redirected his brilliance toward physics in a doomed bid to save him from her future bullet; how she drove him and rode him and smothered him. He died, anyway. A failure, anyway.

David walks out to his bike, where Jack2 finds him. "You were great in there," he says, and David, terrified (as opposed to just startled), whirls around, and responds, "you saw me? I missed a couple of notes." It's clear that David is rather down on himself over his imperfection. Jack2 comments that he didn't realize David was still playing, and David says he made his mom promise not to tell him he was still playing, since he was too into David’s practice. He didn’t tell Jack2 he was going to audition, because he didn’t want him to see him fail. At this moment, Jack2 fully rises above his own paternal baggage, and gets it right where his own father got it so horribly wrong. "When I was your age, my father didn’t want to see me fail, either. He said I didn’t have what it takes" (a shout-out to the first scene in "White Rabbit"). Jack2 promises not to make David feel that way. "In my eyes, you can never fail. I just want to be a part of your life." David bites, and they happily leave together to get some (probably really cold) pizza.

Aside #5 - Doc Jensen's take on this scene is worth noting: Jack the Born Again Father engaged his son and connected with him. How? By allowing himself to feel the pain of his frayed relationship with his father — and then redeeming that painful past by applying what he could learn from it. David shared that he felt the weight of his father's expectations and fears upon him — exactly what Jack felt about his father. And so he told him: ''When I was your age, my father didn't want to see me fail, either. He said: I didn't have what it takes. I spent my whole life carrying that around with me. I don't want you to feel that way. In my eyes, you can never fail. I just want to be part of your life.'' I was moved by Jack bid at reaching out to his son — and I was struck that his words included some extraordinary grace for his father. To me, it sounded like Jack understood his father loved him, even if he had a clumsy way of showing it, and that he himself bore some responsibility for choosing to believe in his dead father's judgment. Regardless, what I heard and saw in that scene was the forgiveness and catharsis that the Jacks of both Lost worlds have been chasing after for five seasons. Sideways Jack had finally gotten his, and walked into the future of his life finally liberated from the shackles of his past.

And so it would seem that Jack2 has his happy ending, and is able to have a real relationship with his son in the way Jack never did with Aaron. But this most likely is not the end of his story. Of all the alterna-versions we've met, Jack2 seems to have the most of a nagging sense of the history his other self has had, and if these two timelines will indeed meet - and the producers insisted in this week's podcast that they should not be considered separate realities - I think Jack2 will be a major impetus behind this.

Island – Claire and Jin

Claire checks Justin the Other for movement, and he doesn’t budge. She releases Jin from the bear trap. Jin asks how long she’s been out there, and Claire responds, "since you left." She asks how long that’s been, and he tells her 3 years. She says she’s leading him somewhere safe, but his leg is messed up, so he can’t walk.

Jin wakes on a mattress in a dilapidated tent, his leg is all bloody. Claire has a box of dynamite, and some surgical tools, as well as an empty baby crèche. Ok, not emptry – there’s a bizarre doll made out of a monkey skull and other random parts. Claire brings in Justin, who's not really dead. She ties him to a post, and asks where he’s hiding her son. She looks at Jin and syas they need to clean up his leg – "one thing that will kill you out here is infection." Jin asks if she’s been by herself all this time, and she smiles that she’s not by herself. When she steps out, Justin insists Claire will kill them both.

As Claire boils her surgical instruments, Justin tries again to convince Jin to loosen his ropes. Claire comes in. She apologizes about to Jin getting caught in the trap. Claires says she had to stitch herself up after the Others shot her once. Claire insists Justin’s going to tell where they have Aaron. Jin asks how she can be so sure the Others have Aaron. Claire responds, "first my father told me, and then my friend." Jin asks, "who’s your friend?" A momentarily paranoid Claire suspiciously asks, "You’re still my friend, aren’t you, Jin?" Jin nods. "Good. I’m glad." Claire grabs an ax and dangles it over Justin. Claire reveals who she (like Sayid) was branded, and poked and prodded by the Others. As she's about to swing, Jin stops her, and tells her that Kate took Aaron off the island and has been raising him for 3 years. Processing this, Claire buries the ax in Justin's chest anyway (yowza!)

Jin then insists that he was lying about Kate and Aaron to save Justin. He says Aaron is at the temple, but she’ll need him to get her there. She agrees to go with him. "I’m so glad you were lying," a relieved Claire says in a frighteningly casual tone, "because if what you said was the truth, if Kate was raising Aaron, I’d kill her." (And there's no doubt she means it!). Flocke suddenly walks in, and asks if he’s interrupting (query where Sawyer is...). Jin, looking confused, asks,“John?” Claire, smiling at her poor, silly, confused buddy, Jin, says, "that's not John. This is my friend." And Flocke smiles at Jin.

Aside #6 - E! Online's Kristin Dos Santos says - Claire Has Been "Claimed" by Her "Friend," the Man in Black: Since Claire was last seen hanging out with Christian Shephard and now is with Fake Locke, we can safely assume that the Man in Black was running around as Christian for quite some time, including when he pretended to be Jacob in the cabin. Also, the Island/Jacob is making sure that babies stay away from wild and possibly crazy mothers--first Rousseau and now Claire--and, remember, prevents pregnant women from conceiving and surviving on the Island. We don't want any babies getting "claimed" now, do we?

The Rousseau comparison obviously looms large, but I question how much Kristin got right about the rest of this. I'm still not sure that Flocke/Smokey is also Christian. My primary reasons for doubting it are that (1) when Hurley first saw Christian at the cabin, he was in there with someone else, and (2) if Smokey's MO is to appear as someone who will motivate the people he interacts with, why on Earth did he appear to Locke, Sun and Lapidus as Christian Shephard? Also, now that we know there is a "good" and an "evil" on the island - and for now I still assume Jacob, for his Machiavellian proclivities, is still the "good" guy - why do we think Jacob caused the fertility plague? Doesn't that seem like something Smokey would do to prevent Jacob replacements from popping up amongst the Others?

Island – Jack and Hurley

As strong as the Jack2 and Claire stories were, however, "Lighthouse" really lived in the Jack and Hurley adventure. It begins in the Temple, where Jack, again gazing at his reflection (here, in a pond), is greeted by Dogen, who admits that Jack can choose to leave the Temple, but he would have to stop him. Dogen pointedly asks Jack if Kate, Sawyer or Jin are coming back, and Jack candidly admits, "probably not." They thank each other for their mutual honesty.

Hurley, tiring of tic tac toe with Miles, looks for food in the spring chamber, but instead finds...Jacob. He says he has something he needs Hurley to do, and that it's complicated enough for him to need a pen to write it down. In a nutshell, Jacob tells him, "someone is coming to the island, and I need you to help him find it."

Sayid seems to scare the Others as he walks around the Temple courtyard. Jack says to ignore the stares. Sayid wants to know why Jack was hiding. Jack tells him about the poison, and how the Others think, whatever happened to Sayid, also happened to Claire.

Hurley has Jacob's instructions written on his arm. He checks hieroglyphs until he finds a ringed symbol (a Stargate?). Dogen comes in, and says Hurley shouldn’t be here. But Jacob shows up and tells him Hugo to say he can do what he wants, because he’s a candidate. Hurley repeats this. Dogen, wide-eyed, asks who told him that, and Hurley says, "doesn’t matter. Why don’t you go back to the courtyard." Dogen mumbles in Japanese. Jacob insists Hurley doesn’t want to know what Dogen said, and then scolds him for not bringing Jack along, as he was instructed.

Hurley approaches Jack in the courtyard. Jack smiles as Hurley acts like a secret agent on a mission. "Be cool, man. Act natural. We need to get up and go. Wait 10 seconds and then follow me. I found a secret tunnel." Jack is less than motivated to join him, even when Hurley says Jacob told him they should go. Hurley says he told Jacob Jack would say that, and that Jacob told him he'd have to tell Jack, "you have what it takes."

Aside #7 - Doc Jensen's analysis of this scene is spot-on, as well: Hurley succeeded to motivate Jack to more by uttering the magic words given to him by smirky, all-knowing Jacob: ''You have what it takes.'' Jack did that eye flutter thing that he always does when he's profoundly flustered and rose to his feet full of piss and yearning. Take me to your Jacob. Take me now. It didn't need to be said what it was — or rather who it was — that Jack also hoped to find at Hurley's mystery meeting place. But in case you find me totally obtuse, I'll spell it out: I'm sure Jack was hoping for a rendezvous with dead papa — the long-delayed fulfillment of his failed ''White Rabbit'' hunt.

Hurley says Jacob is dead, and turns up whenever he wants like Obi Wan Kenobi. Jack bites – "let’s go see Jacob." In the jungle, Hurley chooses a direction. They stumble upon Kate by the water. Jack asks where Jin and Sawyer are. She says Jin went back to the Temple, and "Sawyer's on his own." Kate says she wants to check the beach for Claire, but Jack tells Kate that Claire is not at the beach, and that something happened to her. Jack invites her to join them, but Hurley insists, per Jacob's instructions, she's not invited. Kate doesn't push the issue, and says she's going back to the Temple, presumably to find out what they know about Claire.

Hurley apologizes to Jack for wrecking his "game" with Kate. He asks what happened to them. Jack says he guesses he wasn’t cut out for it. Hurley laments that he thought they'd have had kids, to which Jack scoffs, "I’d make a terrible dad." (and as we saw in Alterna-verse, unless he lets go of his own daddy issues, he's probably right). He finds Shannon's asthma inhaler, and they realize they’re back at the caves (another "White Rabbit" parallel). Inside are "Adam and Eve." Hurley, speaking for the audience, says he forgot they were in there. Hurley ponders a future time travel back in time which would make the skeletons the two of them. Jack asks if he ever mentioned how he found the place. He reveals how he was chasing the ghost of his dead father, and how he smashed the coffin to pieces because he wasn’t in it.

Aside #8 - I wonder if Jack means to bond with Hurley over their mutual "I see dead people" moments, or if he's just being supremely insensitive by acting like anyone who would follow a dead guy must be crazy?

Hurley calls their trek “old school.” "Us trekking on our way to do something we don’t understand. Good times." Hurley asks why Jack came back. Jack asks him back. Hurley tells him about Jacob getting in his cab, telling him he was supposed to. Jack laughs. Hurley defends himself, "if you’ve got a better reason for coming back, let’s hear it." In the most self-aware moment Jack has had on the show to date, he says, "I came back here because I was broken, and I was stupid enough to think this place could fix me." Alas, the self-awareness did not last long.

They come out of the jungle, and find... a lighthouse. Jack can’t figure out why they’ve never seen it before. Hurley surmises, "I guess we weren’t looking for it."

Aside #9 - I liked Jensen's take on this scene, too: Jack was baffled. How come they had never noticed this thing before? Hurley's loaded response: ''I guess we weren't looking for it.'' I might refine and narrow Hurley's response even further. I very much got the sense that the Lighthouse may have existed solely for the benefit of one person: Jack Shephard. And my guess is that he never had eyes to see it before because he was not yet the kind of man to admit the following: ''I was broken.'' There was more to the statement, but let's just begin with that phrase, an extraordinary admission of humility from a once-proud man of science who spent years arguing for the strength and supremacy of his own agency. But Jack's full statement was: ''I came back here because I was broken, and I was stupid enough to think this place could fix me.'' Jacob would later suggest to Hurley that Jack couldn't be more wrong, but the good news was that Jack had grown enough in his journey to summon a magical beacon, one that could to light the way to the his journey's homestretch. Literally.

I think the truth lies somewhere between Hurley's simple shrugged response, and Jensen's more metaphysical "the landmark only appears when you're ready." Recall my biggest complaint over the years about Jack - how can this guy think he's helping anyone without taking a few moments to try to figure out what the hell is going on with this island? The truth is, the Lostaways in general, and Jack, specifically, have been awful at trying to explore the island. To me, more surprising than the fact that Jack had never seen the lighthouse was the fact that this surprised him. When did he ever look for anything, or just try to piece together this strange place? Umm, never.

Jack asks if Jacob’s inside. Hurley assumes as much, but says, first, they have to turn it on. But the door is locked. Jack, whose sarcasm gets a little off-putting after a while, mocks, "it doesn’t say anything on your arm about the door being jammed?" then kicks it in.

They reach the top, into one of the most truly awesome locations we've seen on Lost. But Jack, always one to question why he isn't getting out of each adventure rather than trying to figure out what he is getting, demands, "where’s Jacob?" Hurley's only response is, "he’s not here yet." Initially, Jack helps Hurley turns the mirror assembly to 108 degrees. But then Jack sees names written on the wheel, one next to each bearing, many of them crossed out.

Aside #10 - Here's what Kristin had to say about the second straight reappearance of the numbers - The Numbers Are Ever More Important: Once again the almighty 108--the sum of 4, 8, 15, 16, 23 and 42, and the number of minutes Locke had to push the button--showed up tonight, as Jacob instructed Hurley to turn the lighthouse wheel 108 degrees. It might be a good time to remind you that the numbers proved to be evil in the world away from the Island, and did very bad things when Hurley (who heard them from a fellow patient at the mental institution) used them to win the lottery. In the sideways reality, the Island is underwater, the numbers were never overheard by the guy who told Hurley, and Hugo "Hurley" Reyes ended up the self-proclaimed "luckiest guy alive." A tip: What leaks out from the Island can and does very much affect the rest of the world, and the numbers are a clue to that.

I suspect this last quip from Kristin comes from some inside knowledge she's managed to crib from Darlton. Not sure what it means, so we'll file it away as a hint to keep track of. Now, some observations about the wheel. First, we now know that the numbers are not quite random, but in fact are bearings, one each from 1 to 360. More on the meaning of each person's bearing shortly.

Then there's some very interesting new names to point out. First, and foremost, there's #51, "Austen." Kate's surname is quite conspicuously not crossed out. But then, it's not one of "the numbers," either. While we can't assume that we saw everything in the cave last week, I'll go out on a limb and say "51 Austen" does not appear there. If it did, Flocke would have pointed it out to Sawyer. What does this mean? As I suggested before, I think Kate is Jacob's ringer, and she remains in something of a blind spot for ol' Smokey.

There are some other interesting names on the wheel. There's 20 - Rousseau.

And then there's number 108 - Wallace. I haven't the foggiest who "Wallace" is. But isn't that odd? Number 108 is certainly important - it's the time limit on button pushing in the Swan hatch, as well as the sum of the numbers. I wonder who Wallace is (or was - the name is crossed out). Other names crossed out in the image below worth nothing are "Friendly" (Tom's last name, though never revealed as such except in podcasts and cast sheets), "Linus" (Ben, or Roger?) and "Dawson" (Michael's surname). All are crossed out. I wonder if Ben got cut when he turned the wheel, or if Jacob had ruled him out even earlier.

Doc Jensen then describes what follows next brilliantly, so I won't even bother doing it myself: As the mirrors turn, Jack sees things in the mirror, including certain buildings. He finds their names are written corresponding to the numbers. He turns the lighthouse to 23 degrees (Shepard), and, in the mirror, sees his mother’s house. Hurley sees it too. He’s been watching us, the whole time, all of us, he’s been watching us. Jack asks agaon where Jacob is. Hurley – just assuming he’d be here. Jack demands to see him. Jack – why was he watching me? What does he want from me? With no answers, Jack smashes the mirrors.

Aside #11 - among the scenes Jack sees en route to his own childhood home are the church that held the funeral for James Ford's parents...

...and the pagoda from the Kwon wedding.

Jack sits out by the ocean. Hurley gives him some space. Jacob appears and asks how it went. (I loved Hurley's "mission un-accomplished" response). Hurley's concerened about their apparent failure - "whoever you said we need to help find the island is totally screwed." Jacob confidently says he’s sure they’ll find some other way. Hurley realizes - Jacob wanted Jack to have the experience and reaction that he did. He tells Hurley that Jack can’t be told what he needs to do. "Sometimes you can just pop in the back of someone’s cab and tell them what they need to do. Sometimes you have to let them look out at the ocean for a while." Jacob insists he couldn’t risk Hugo and Jack not coming, which was why he didn’t tell the truth. He had to get them away from the Temple, because someone bad was coming there. Hurley springs to action to save Sayid, Kate, Miles, and the Others, and Jacob says he says they can’t warn them. It’s too late.

Aside #12 - a lot happened here. First, Jacob didn't drop the "someone is coming to the island" story. Which begs the question - who is coming? The two most likely answers are, of course, Desmond and Charles Widmore. Given how Bram, Jacob's guy, told Miles that joining Widmore put him on the "wrong side," I don't think Jacob wants Widmore to come back. So that leaves Desmond, who heard from Eloise Hawking that the island isn't done with him. But it could also be Alterna-Locke. Or Faraday2. Or...Wallace?

Then there's the threat at the Temple. Jacob could have told Hurley to bring Sayid. Or to find Kate or Jin or Sun. But he didn't. Does this mean that "4" and "23" are the last candidates standing? Has Jacob written off the others, as they're all making their way back to the Temple now (assuming Sawyer was with Flocke, and will join Jin and Claire on their trip)? Of course, Flocke most likely is the bad guy headed to the Temple.

Finally, what do we now know about the numbers? These are the 360 people Jacob could watch with his lighthouse mirror. As his observations (or their deaths) ruled people out, Jacob crossed names off the list. The remaining candidates (except for Kate) got assigned "the" numbers. And yet somehow those same numbers, as Kristin said, "leaked out" into the world, and found themselves in the post-war Valenzetti equation, then pinged onto the Swan hatch, then turned into the Swan code. How did these numbers spread out that way? And how doomed was the DHARMA missio to "change" one of the numbers? Was DHARMA really trying to arrange for its own candidate to emerge?

And with that, I leave you. Next week's episode is entitled "Sundown." If it follows the pattern of mirroring Season 1 - and the title suggests it will, next week will be a Jin/Sun episode (Episode 106 was the Sun-starring "House of the Rising Sun," another parallelism. But before we go, I leave you with another tease from Kristin. It's not particularly revealing, except in the timing...

What Is the Island? That very huge question will be answered in less time than you think--somewhere around halfway through the season, according to sources. Awesome, right? And you know who's going to help deliver the message? The fantastic, ever-youthful guyliner model Mr. Richard Alpert (Nestor Carbonell) and his longtime friend Jacob (Mark Pellegrino). It's gonna be good.

Namaste, y'all!

Episode 604 - "The Substitute" Locke is Lot More Likeable

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is what Willis was talkin' about!

The numbers make a shocking return! Ben's meek confession!! Sawyer's place of prominence!!! All this, plus (gasp!) a happy alterna-Locke, in the final season's best entry to date, "The Substitute."

Alternaverse - Locke2

Locke 2’s world is quite different than what we expect. When Locke2 suffers the indignities of his handicap - busted ramp, stuck in sprinklers - he laughs it off. That’s when we see he lives with Helen2…whereas Locke and Helen broke up before his injury. They discuss wedding plans, and yikes! She says they should elope with her parents and his father! Helen2 finds Jack2’s card, and suggests Locke2 should call, since meeting a spinal surgeon could be - destiny (Locke2 smiles - does he respond to destiny?)

Aside #1 – This initial look at Alterna-Locke was incredibly illuminating. We learned that while he, like his island-world counterpart, somehow ended up in a wheelchair, it most likely was not as a result of his con artist father, Anthony Cooper, having flung him out a window. Why do we know this? 1) Locke2 isn’t so bitter and angry as his pre-crash counterpart (a personality trait uniquely tied to Locke’s daddy issues); 2) Helen2 is still in Locke2’s life, whereas her island world counterpart was driven off by Locke’s obsession with Cooper, and 3) the most obvious clue – Helen2’s suggestion that Locke2’s dad should come to a small wedding. And yet, still, Locke2 is wheelchair bound. That silly universe with its course correction…

But Locke2 is also a bit of a liar. He told both Helen2 and Randy2 – his same douchy boss at that same box factory - that he was at a conference on the company dime, when he was, instead, doing something persona, i.e. his wheelchair walkabout. In a nod to pre-island life, Randy2 salutes John2 as “Colonel,” his Axis and Allies codename from way back in the seminal Season 1 episode, “Walkabout.” Randy2, however, already sniffed out the lie, and when Locke2 tries to charm his way out of discipline, he gets fired.

Aside #2 – kudos to Doc Jensen for pointing out these brilliant bits of set dressing at the box factory that I missed: The pictures in Locke's cubicle were interesting.
There was a photo of Locke (with hair) with his father, Anthony Cooper; they looked to be hunting, as we saw them back in ''Deus Ex Macina.'' There was also a photo of Locke with Helen in a tropical setting, presumably Hawaii. The curious thing about both photos: Locke appeared to be standing. When and how did Locke become dependent on a wheelchair for pedestrian perambulation? TBD. Island Locke didn't get thrown out of that eighth-floor window by Bad Dad leaving him below-the-belt paralyzed until after Helen dumped his father-fixated ass. So it appears that Locke's loss of lower legs was a trauma that he and his soul mate experienced together.

Locke2 tries to leave the factory with dignity, but his van ramp is blocked in by a big yellow Hummer - the boss’s car. Locke2 finally gets mad. Hurley2 sees the commotion, points out that Locke2 could have parked two spots over in the handicap spot, (a slightly less rebellious form of “don’t tell me what I can’t do,” eh), and introduces himself. He explains the reserved spot, and the fact that he owns the company. He introduces himself, and Locke2 says he just got fired. Hurley2 says Randy2 is a huge douche. He gives Locke2 a number for his temp agency, and tells him to call.

Aside #3 - Doc Jensen’s thoughts on this scene (and his set dressing observation) are worth noting: Locke snapped. This time, the insult to injury was too painful to not ignore. He could have avoided the sitch had he parked in the handicapped stall, but as Locke would explain, he didn't want to. Locke then had an encounter with Hurley, who in the Otherverse is large and in charge and not at all the fatalistic scaredy-cat Island dude we met in season 1. Was it just me, or did you get a Jacobesque vibe from Hurley, all empathetic benevolence as he responded to his ex-employee's prickly anger with patience and grace and supreme knowingness and the hooked him up with a new job via his temp agency, another division of Hurley's financial empire? Watching this scene, I couldn't help but think about Helen's earlier line about destiny. And I found myself flashing back to this scene later in the episode, when Helen challenged Locke's incredulity about miracles. Was the Locke-Hurley crossing total coincidence, quantum synchronicity, or divinely orchestrated appointment? An elemental faith/reason debate worthy of old school Lost. But I am reminded of the old adage that our world is chockablock with everyday miracles — they just don't look the way we expect them to. What we expect is something like, say, miraculous healing for crippled legs after falling from the sky. But a miracle could be other people, too — like meeting a guy who can give you a job after getting fired, and better than that, a guy who sets you upon your true destiny. But we'll get to the school in a minute. PS: Did you see what was in Locke's box of stuff in his lap? Was that a polar bear figurine in there?

At Hurley2’s Temp agency, the quirky woman helping him asks Locke2 what kind of animal he describes himself as. He asks to speak to her supervisor. It’s Rose2! She questions if he’s a good match for a construction site coordinator. She asks him to be realistic. She discloses her terminal cancer. She got back to living whatever life she had left. So, how about we find you a job you can do?

Aside #4: Rose lives in L.A.??? Guess terminal cancer is enough of a reason to get out of snowy Buffalo.

Locke2 wakes up, and gets dressed. He seems…mopey, almost like we remember Locke after he was first crippled, just before Matthew Abbadon convinced him to go on Walkabout, only in alternaverse, Locke2’s melancholy doesn’t quite dip into depression. What an amazing job by Terry O’Quinn to play the nuances of two versions of the same character with similar, but slightly different, emotional responses. Locke2 pulls out Jack2’s card, and calls, but when the receptionist answers, he says she can’t help him, and hangs up. Helen2 overhears, and John2 tells her how he called Jack2, but wasn’t going to see him. He tells her he got fired, when there’s a doorbell. They deliver the lost luggage. She signs for the knife case. Locke2 confesses that he didn’t go to the conference. He tells Helen2 to open the case. It’s his knives (some things don’t change – query how “back to nature” a walkabout is with so many knives). He tells her about his walkabout, and that they wouldn’t let him go. (translation – Locke2 lied to Boone2). He had the same shouting experience as we saw back in Season 1, only here, he says they were right. “I’m sick of imagining what my life would be out of this chair” he fumes, more out of frustration than his island self’s anger. Fearing he’s upsetting Helen2, he warns her not to wait for him to walk down the aisle with her. “If you need me to get out of this chair, I don’t blame you, but don’t wait for a miracle, because there’s no such thing.” And Helen2 reveals the philosophy that seems to underpin the whole island-free but remarkably similar world we’re getting acquainted with – “There are miracles, John, and the only thing I was ever waiting for was you.” She tears up Jack2’s card, and they smooch. Finally, we see that Locke2, unlike his island counterpart, really has found acceptance of his condition, as well as the love that makes lamenting it pretty pointless.

Locke2 does find himself – at a high school. First, he teaches a girls’ gym class, and then a biology class (hello, Mittleos science camp). He tells the class, “today we are going to talk about the reproductive system.” (Hello, Mittleos fertility clinic). Locke asks a boy where the teacher’s lounge is. He wheels in, and finds another faculty member blocking his access to the hot beverages- it’s Ben2! He’s annoying as ever, ranting about the coffee. Ben2 introduces himself, and says he teaches European History, and Locke2 is a substitute (hence the title).

Aside #5 – Ben2’s presence off the island confirms part of what we suspected last week when we saw Ethan2 – the island did not sink or get obliterated immediately when Jughead blew up. Rather, Ethan2 (who was a DHARMA baby) and Ben2 (who was convalescing with the Others) had time to leave the island and rejoin the “real” world. I feel like when we learn more about Ben2, and what happened when Richard took him as a child into the temple, this prickly personality will be quite revealing. For now, it’s great to see course-correction bring these two together.

Island

As fascinating a character study as the Alternaverse sequences were, the heart of "The Substitute" lay in the mythology-rich island scenes.

Flocke flies over the island in smokey form - our first real look at his perspective since Season 1, when he looked down on Locke. He detects Sawyer in his house, does some flashing, then goes to where he left Richard, suspended in a tree.

Flocke, it seems, chose Locke’s form to get close to Jacob, because (like Frank), he was a “candidate.” Flocke mocks Richard for never getting bigger answers from Jacob, and instead offers to show him and tell him everything he ever wanted to know, if he joins him. Richard refuses, and Flocke warns that people don’t usually get a second chance. Richard asks what Flocke means by "candidate." Flocke smiles -Richard really knows so little. Flocke says he would never leave Richard in the dark like Jacob did, that he would respect him more. Richard seems pretty fearless, given how beat up his is. Flocke is suddenly distracted, when he sees a vision of a young blond boy, with bloody hands(?) But Richard turns around, and there’s nothing there. The boy clearly upset Flocke, who takes leave of Richard.

Aside #6 - So Flocke can see visions? And they're not him, i.e. smokey, taking another form? And they have an upsetting affect on him? Interesting...

Ben finds Ilana crying in the foot statue. He tells her everything that happened - except for the part where he killed Jacob (he blames Flocke, or rather doesn't correct Ilana when she asks if that's what happened). He explains that Jacob was kicked in the fire and burned. Ilana, to the tune of what sounds like an Indy Jones score knock-off, scoops up some of Jacob’s ash, and puts in in a bag. Ben asks why Flocke took Richard, and Ilana responds, “he’s recruiting.”

Flocke returns to Sawyer’s house, where loud music is playing, and James is getting hammered in his underwear. James sees him and asks, “I thought you were dead.” “I am.” James pours them both some scotch, then basically throws a glass at Flocke. “I don’t give a damn if you’re dead, or time travelin’, or the ghost of Christmas past.” he tries to order Flocke out, but Flocke points out it was never James's house. Sawyer sees right away - this is not Locke, because Locke was always scared, even when he tried not to seem scared. Flocke seems impressed by this level of insight, and introduces himself as the person who could answer the most important question in the world - "why are you on this island?" Sawyer tries to dismiss this, but Flocke insists he can prove the series of rotten luck - plane crash, raft destroyed, helicopter too heavy - doesn’t explain it.

Frank covers Locke’s body. Sun says everyone else was headed to the temple. Ilana says they should go, too. Sun, finally speaking up, asks, "what makes you think that I’m going with you?" Ilana's response chills her - "Because you want to find Jin. I know that if he’s on the island, and he’s alive, he’ll be at the temple." It's clear that Sun never mentioned Jin to Ilana, which is what convinces her to go along. Sun suggests they need to bury John, and Ilana sighs.

Flocke asks James why he isn’t with the others at the temple. The blond boy appears again (not bloody this time), and Sawyer sees him, too. This surprises Flocke. The boy runs, and Flocke chases. He looks up at the boy. “You know the rules," the boy scolds. "You can’t kill him." Flocke responds as would the man whose face he now wears - "Don’t tell me what I can’t do.” The boy shakes his head and walks off. “Don’t tell me what I can’t do!”

Aside #7 - wow. A lot to unpack. First of all, this brings up the time that Sawyer saw Kate's black horse vision in "What Kate Did." There has only been one other character - Sayid, seeing Shannon's Walt vision - who managed to see another person's private vision. Is there some connection between Sawyer and Sayid? Given the reveal at the end of the episode, that question looms large.

Then there's this blond kid. He's dressed like a Temple Other...or like Jacob? Is this young Jacob? And what about the discussion of rules? Is this similar to why Ben can't kill Widmore? Whey Flocke needed Ben to kill Jacob? And why was Flocke bothered by Sawyer's ability to see?

Sawyer calls to Flocke. “Look, whoever you are, you got about 20 seconds.” But it's Richard who staggers out, and tries to convince Sawyer to take him to the temple. Richard says Flocke will kill him. "He wants everyone dead, everyone you care about," warns Richard. Flocke returns and Richard runs. "You ever catch up with the kid," asks Sawyer," "What kid?" responds Flocke.

Sawyer asks Flocke if he reads, and brings up Of Mice and Men. "Nope," responds Flocke, "that's a little after my time." (No big surprise, after that whole Black Rock arriving scene). As Flocke walks on, Sawyer tells him about Lenny getting executed. "Doesn’t sound like a happy ending," says Flocke. "It ain’t," responds Sawyer, pointing a gun at Flocke's head. Flocke turns and dares him to pull the trigger, and Sawyer realizes it would be pointless. "What are you," asks Sawyer. "What I am is trapped. And I’ve been trapped for so long, I forgot what it was like to be free." Before that, Flocke explains he was a man. He knows joy, anger, pain, fear, and betrayal. He knows what it’s like to lose someone he loves. "You’re so close," he urges, "it would be a shame to turn back now."

Aside #8 - it seems Flocke will play part of the Faraday role this season - only moreso, this is a character who will flat out give us answers, though his answers will be skewed by his agenda.

Ben asks why Ilana why bring Locke's body to the statue? She says the Others had to see what they’re up against. For some reason, according to Ilana, Flocke is now stuck looking like Locke.

Aside #9 - or perhaps Ilana will be the new Faraday. She clearly knows more about the island than our Lostaways, and will impart knowledge upon them (and us) from time to time. How does she know so much?

They carry Locke to the graveyard, and bury him next to Boone, Shannon, and the others. Ilana asks if anyone wants to say anything. Ben steps up. "Alright, I knew him. John Locke was a…believer, a man of faith. He was a much better man than I will ever be, and I’m very sorry I murdered him." Frank, his back turned, mumbles, "This is the weirdest damn funeral I ever been to."

Flocke leads Sawyer to a cliff, with ladders leading down. Flocke is more than happy to go first. Sawyer watches, then gingerly starts to follow. Flocke switches to a rope ladder next to the bamboo one, which breaks under Sawyer’s feet. Sawyer grabs another rope ladder, but it comes loose and drops him against the cliff face. Flocke catches him and pulls him over to another ladder.

Aside #10 - it appears, rules notwithstanding, Flocke thinks he has a use for Sawyer beyond just having him die. Because there was no other reason to save him here. Will Sawyer, now missing Juliet, go along with it?

They reach bottom, and head for a cave. Inside is a scale, and some other artifacts. The scale is balancing a white rock and a black rock. Flocke picks up the white rock and chucks it into the ocean, and snarks, "inside joke."

Aside #11 - this little sequence made me want to rewatch season 1. There were so many references to black and white rocks. I couldn't help but wonder if the characters that had those dream sequences - Charlie and Claire come to mind - were somehow just on the edge of being aware of this strange seaside cave? And other than "Jacob and Smokey," what do these rocks stand for?

Flocke lights a torch, and leads James further in. That’s why you’re here. The names of the Lostaways are all written on the ceiling, the dead ones scratched out.

Flocke says he doesn't know if 42 - Kwon - refers to Sun or Jin.

Aside #12 - what the WHAT? So, these numbers, before they were Valenzetti's, before they were DHARMA's, were Jacob's? And he assigned them to names? The last six names correspond to characters who are still alive - or were just before Jacob died - and these, of course, are Hurley's lotto numbers.

Note that 23-Shephard points to the row that Jack sat in on flight 815. Except in alternaverse, where Jack2 sat in row 24.

Note also that, the Jin or Sun mystery is hardly so mysterious. I'm positive "Kwon" refers to Jin. Why? 1) Sun, unlike the others, did not time travel (Locke was already dead). 2) Other than Reyes, the other numbers all correspond to "J" men - John Locke, James Ford, Jack Shephard and Sayid Jarrah.

But Sun's not the only one missing - where the frak is Kate? "Austen" did not appear to be a crossed out name, as did Littleton (she's still alive!), Troup (author Gary), and a number of other variously familiar names. We could see "Jones" and "Mattingly" - the soldiers who the Others killed in 1954. We could see "Goodspeed," referring either to Ethan or to his father, Horace (or Amy)? What we see out of this is that Jacob had a list of names a loooong time ago, and brought them all to the island, each in his own time. Flight 815 was just the last batch of "candidates." (Thanks to my buddy, Grant, for pointing out a number of these names to me).

But Kate's not there at all, at least not in a way we could see...

Flocke tells him Jacob died, and Jacob had a thing for numbers. Flocke says Jacob came to Sawyer at some point in the past and manipulated him - "choices you thought you made were never really your choices. He was pushing you to the island." James is a candidate - nominated to take over for Jacob as the protector for the island. (Aha!)

Aside #13 - this explains all the mysteriously coincidental connections between the characters in their flashbacks. They were connected in that Jacob, if Flocke is to be believed, was manipulating them all towards the island! It's not just serendipity. But if there's no island in the alternaverse, how did the characters all end up on Oceanic 815?

Flocke tells James he has 3 choices - (1) do nothing, and his name gets crossed out; (2) - accept job, become the new Jacob, and protect the island - from nothing. "It’s just a damn island, and it will be perfectly fine without you or the others." The third choice - just go. Just get the hell off the island. "How do we do that," asks Sawyer. "Together," responds Flocke. "So what do you say, James, are you ready to go home?" "Hell yes."

Aside #14 - Doc Jensen unpacked this whole scene so well, I thought I'd just give you what he had to say:

The White and Black Rocks
What Smokey Said: Upon arriving in Jacob's cave, Un-Locke spotted two large stones, one white and one black, sitting on a scale. He grabbed the white rock and threw it out into the sea. Sawyer asked: Huh? Un-Locke replied, ''Inside joke.''
Percentage Chance I Believe Smokey: 100% Or maybe 0%, because I got the sense from Smokey's angry toss that this so-called ''inside joke'' wasn't all that funny for him. My guess is — obviously — that the white rock represented Jacob, and that tossing that rock was symbolic of Fake Locke's (apparent) victory, and, perhaps, his rejection of the white/black categorization of his morality and his relationship with Jacob. My guess is also that whenever and whatever was decided between Jacob and his nemesis — the nature of their conflict/game; the roles they would play; the rules they would play by — it was all hashed out and settled in the cave, and the deal was sealed with some ceremonial putting-rocks-on-a-scale thing.

The Castaways Were Brought To The Island For A Reason
What Smokey Said: Jacob had picked six castaways — Locke, Hurley, Sawyer, Sayid, Jack, Jin or Sun — and meddled with their lives and subverted their destinies and free will in order to corral them to The Island and groom one of them as his replacement as Island protector.
PCIBS: 91% What I didn't believe, though, was this:

The Island Is Meaningless
What Smokey Said: When Sawyer asked why the Island would need protection, Locke snapped: ''From nothing, James. That's the joke. There's nothing to protect it from. It's just a damn island!''
PCIBS: 0% My rejoinders to Smokey would include the following: (1) The Temple's magic healing spring. (2) Frozen donkey wheel time travel magic. (3) That Ghost Kid. (4) Oh, and uh… freakin' YOU, Smokey! Bottom line: The Island is totally special, and my guess is that whatever makes it special will prove to be Jacob's primary defense for playing god with castaway lives.

The Numbers
What Smokey Said: Lost fans, prepare to rethink your Valenzetti Equations. With a dramatic reveal of the cave's ceiling, we learned that Jacob assigned each of his potential replacements a number. He wrote their digits next to their last names on the ceiling of his cave with chalk. Locke: 4; [Hurley] Reyes: 8; [James ''Sawyer''] Ford: 15; [Sayid] Jarrah: 16; [Jack] Shephard: 23; [Jin or Sun?] Kwon: 42. Why? Un-Locke shrugged. ''Jacob had a thing for numbers,'' he said.
PCIBS: 49% It's not that I think Jacob doesn't have a thing for numbers — I just think that Jacob has good reason for assigning numbers to his candidates, and more, that Un-Locke knows what that reason is and isn't telling Sawyer. DEBATE! Where's Kate?

Sawyer's Three Options
What Smokey Said: (1) Sawyer could do nothing, see how the drama plays out, and possibly get his name crossed off the list of candidates. (2) He could accept the job. (3) He could leave the Island with Smokey.
PCIBS: 100% I actually believe he's 100% truthful about the three options, although I'm also 100% sure he didn't tell Sawyer everything he needed to know about each of those options for him to make the most informed choice. Here's what I think Smokey omitted. Option 1: The reason why the names get crossed off when that candidate dies? It's probably because of Smokey's conspiratorial machinations. Option 2: If Sawyer took the job, Smokey would move heaven and hell to find some way to kill him. Option 3: Leaving the Island will obliterate the entire Island world reality, or delete from the history of the world the specific lifelines of the castaways that lave, PLUS the lifelines of anyone inextricably intertwined with those lifelines. Whatever Smokey has up its butt, I think he has a (quantum) suicide wish.

Sawyer's Response To Smokey's Offer
What Was Said: ''So what do you say, James?'' Smokey asked. ''Are you ready to go home?'' Sawyer replied, ''Hell yes.''
Possible Chance I Believe Sawyer: 0% Because I believe as heartbroken and furious as Sawyer may be… he ain't betraying the castaways to this monster. I think the minute Sawyer saw that ghost kid — that dead ringer for himself when he was a kid — and saw Un-Locke chase after him and then return without him, Sawyer made up his mind that this Fake Locke was one freakin' scary creep and needed to be brought down. Why didn't Sawyer put a bullet in him when had a chance? Because he needs to do what the Monster did to Locke: study him, observe him, figure out his weaknesses and how he can be mortally attacked, and then do so. In other words, Sawyer is doing what Sawyer does best: he's pulling a long con, the riskiest con he's ever pulled: fooling the devil into thinking he has an ally — and then stabbing him in the back with his own pitchfork. [Editor's note: my ''Totally Lost'' co-host Dan Snierson just informed me that my 0% assessment was ''crazy talk'' and demanded I increase my percentage to a more plausible... 2.7%. DONE!]

Back to the "where's Kate" debate. My guess - Kate is Jacob's ringer. If Richard and Ilana were right, Flocke is trying to kill off the candidates. So then perhaps Jacob never assigned Kate a number so that Smokey would leave her alone. Like she's an extra "Queen" in a game of chess between them. Maybe Sun is, too. And Frank, since Ilana thought he might be a candidate (I sure wish we could have seen the rest of that wall).

Finally, I got to thinking about the notion that Jacob was affecting everyone's lives since early on. Surely that one little moment we saw him meet each of the candidates in the Season 5 finale was not, by itself, sufficient to get them all to the island. What if Jacob fed Sawyer's informant the fake "Sawyer" intel that sent him to Australia? What if Jacob hit Locke's teenage mother with a car, forcing early labor, which sent Locke into the foster care system, leading to a lifelong quest to reconcile with his father...etc. etc. (Of course, Locke's mom got hit by a car in 1956, and the timeline didn't change until after 1977...this theory might need work...)

Anyway, love the mindblowing, theory-expanding nature of "The Substitute." Until next week, when we regather for "The Lighthouse," Namaste.

Episode 603 - "What Kate Does" is Go After Claire

This week, I'm a bit behind, so this will be a "broad strokes" type of recap...

The return of a missing "friend!" The return of a superfluous Other!! The reappearance of a contextually changed other Other!!!! All this, plus Kate2's big adventure, on "What Kate Does."

Foreword

The title of this episode invokes the Season 2 episode, "What Kate Did," which explained the crime for which she was wanted. For a very detailed look at parallels between the episodes, see Doc Jensen's ew.com recap.

Alternaverse

Kate2's story picks up where she left off last week - carjacking Claire2's cab at the airport. There's a thoroughly unamusing Arzt-channels-Dustin Hoffman moment, then they drive off. The cabbie gets bold at a red light, and takes off running. Kate2 hops to the front seat, and humanely lets Claire2 out, but refuses to let her take her suitcase.

Kate2 finds a chop shop, and pays the creepy proprietor to bust her out of the cuffs. She goes to the bathroom to change into something from Kate2's bag, and inside sees all the trappings of a mom-to-be, including a stuffed Shamu. Fun fact: this is the same plush toy that 2-year-old Aaron had in the Season 4 episode, "Something Nice Back Home."

Kate2, now free, knows what she has to do. She finds Claire2 sitting more or less where she left her. Claire2, after a brief "should I or shouldn't I" moment, hops in Kate2's cab. She explains that she's on her way to meet the family that's adopting her unborn baby, and rationalizes that they probably just forgot to pick her up at the airport. When they arrive at the house in "Brentwood" (Aside - Hawaii often does a good job of standing in for other locales, but semi-rural Oahu looks nothing like L.A.'s densely packed Brentwood neighborhood).

Sure enough, Claire2 finds her would-be adoptive mama crying, because her husband just left her (Juno, anyone?), and she says she can't do it alone. Suddenly, Claire2 experiences labor pains, so Kate2 rushes her to the hospital. Once there, Kate2 spots a cop car, so she sticks with Claire2 through admission. Kate2 goes to find an OB to come help the Thelma to her Louise, and the doctor turns out to be...Ethan2 (Rom) Goodspeed!? In an awesome bit of dramatic irony, the good doctor says he wants an ultrasound before he does anything too drastic, because, "I don't want to stick you with needles if I don't have to." (Get it? Because Other Ethan kidnapped Claire, and kept sticking her with needles?) Suddenly, Claire2 blurts out that the baby's name is Aaron, and Doc Ethan2 says, "I have a feeling Aaron is going to be quite a handful." (Chuckle Chuckle).

Unpacking the hospital scene - this sequence is the biggest, densest part of the episode. As on the island, Claire2 had flase labor pains shortly after flight 815. As on the island, Ethan2 is intimately involved in Claire2's late-term pregnancy. As on the island, Claire2 suddenly "realizes" that the baby's name is "Aaron," rather than just choosing that name based on taste or a favorite uncle or anything like that. And, as in island world, Claire2's plan to give up Aaron2 to an adoptive couple in L.A. is thwarted by forces beyond her control.

Philsophically, the biggest moments in this scene were, of course, the presence of Ethan2, and the ultrasound photo Claire2 saw. If this alterna-verse really split off after the incident, the presence of Ethan2 tells us that the Island inhabitants were not obliterated by Judghead (unless, of course, Ethan2, unlike Ethan, was successfully evacuated on the sub). Assuming the former, that tells us that Ethan2 survived, and then subsequently left the island, meaning the detonation of Jughead is not what caused it to sink, at least not immediately.

There's also the matter of the ultrasound, depicted here...

Check out the date - October 22, 2004. Well, folks, that's a big deal. Remember, this is the same day that flight 815 landed with our alterna-characters...only, the crash of flight 815 took place on September 22, 2004. Supposedly, however, online chatter suggests that Lost's continuity guru, script supervisor Greg Nations, has revealed that something about the date on the photo is right, and something else is wrong. No idea what that cryptic clue means, but I am wondering a doctored photo made just for the episode could have a wrong date on it...something to watch out for.

The rest of the hospital sequence was fairly mundane. Claire2 covered for Kate2 when the police came looking for her. Kate2 asked Claire2 if she believed that Kate2 was actually innocent of what she had been accused of, but when Claire2 decides, yeah, she does, Kate2 seems less than convinced. And then, as Kate2 departed, she shared her unsolicited opinion that Claire2 should keep the baby.

Island World

Back on the island, we returned to the moment where Sayid first awakens from his apparent resurrection. Kate wonders to Sawyer how that could be, and Sawyer, still so angry about Juliet's loss, snorts, ''He's an Iraqi torturer who shoots kids. He definitely deserves another go around.'' Miles keeps giving Sayid weird looks, making me a bit annoyed that he just doesn't say which part of Sayid's death and resurrection is making his spider sense tingle. As they go outside, and Sayid wonders what happens, Hurley starts to assure him that the Others are protecting them, at which point Miles gives us one of his better lines, "as you can see, Hugo here has assumed a leadership position, so that's pretty great." Jack lets Sayid know that it was the Others, and not him, who saved Sayid's life.

The Others "ask" Sayid to go alone with them, and Jack insists, ah, no, not until you tell us what's up. "Once we've spoken with Mr. Jarrah, we'll be more than happy to tell you anything you want to know," says barefooted Lennon. Jack gets all, "oh no you don't, you sneaky Others," and says, "something tells me you won't be happy to tell us anything." During the scuffle that ensues, Sawyer gets ahold of a gun, and announces he's leaving. Dogen pleads with him, "please, you have to stay," to which Sawyer responds, "no, I don't" before directly addressing Kate, "don't come after me."

Naturally, Kate announces she's accompanying the Others' search party to bring Sawyer back, and so does Jin. Of course, they have their own agendas. Kate wants to get Sawyer to help her on her Claire-quest, and Jin wants to find the damn Ajira plane and, with it, Sun. They're accompanied by two bumbling Others, Aldo (he of the clocked over-the-head-as-part-of-the-Season-3-Wookie-prisoner-trick fame), and Justin, who apparently talks to much. I'm not sure why Aldo was so intent on stopping Justin from telling Kate and Jin anything; perhaps it was the bitterness he felt that Kate didn't seem to remember bonking him in the head with a rifle butt. In any case, Kate and Jin almost trip a couple of Rousseau-esque traps that Justin divulges can't be Rousseau's, because she's been dead for years, and Kate realizes she can intentionally spring the traps to escape. Jin refuses to go with her, though, because he wants to find Sun, so they part company.

Back at the Temple, Dogen tortures Sayid (turnabout!) with electric shocks to the chest and a red hot poker, after coating him with a fine dust. Lennon assures Sayid it was just a test, and he passed, but after Sayid is dismissed back to the bubbling pool room, Dogen confirmes Lennon's suspicion that Sayid did not pass the test.

Jack goes to demand an answer as to why Sayid was tortured, and the armed guards at the door find they really just have to let him pass. Dogen tells Jack that Sayid is "infected," which Jack scoffs at given the lack of a fever. Dogen pulls a much less subtle version of the ol' Ben trick and expressly tries to manipulate Jack. He asks if he feels responsible for Sayid's getting shot, and all the others who were hurt or killed helping him, then offers him redemption in the form of getting Sayid to take a weird green pill. Jack tells Sayid about the exchange, and Sayid says he trusts Jack, only Jack, humbly, admits he doesn't even trust himself.

Ultimately, Jack doesn't give Sayid the pill, and instead calls Dogen's bluff by trying to take it himself. Dogen forcibly heimlich's Jack to get the pill out, because it's poison. He and Lennon explain that, what's happened to Sayid is that he's been, for lack of a better translation, "claimed." There's a darkness growing inside of him, which, when it reaches his heart, will mean there is no Sayid left in there. When Jack asks how he can be so sure, Dogen relates that he knows because it happened to...Jack's sister (which is less a Luke/Leia moment since Jack has known for three years now about his relationship with Claire).

Kate follows Sawyer to the abandoned barracks, where Sawyer digs up the engagement ring he had for Juliet under the floorboards of their old place.

Exactly where does one acquire such an object while stationed with the DHARMA Initiative? Gues Lafleur had some pull...

Kate follows Sawyer out to the submarine dock, and Josh Holloway has just about the most beautifully emotive scene any Lost cast member has had to date. Kate tries to apologize for Juliet's death, but Sawyer, wracked with guilt, explains that Juliet dies because, three years before her death, Sawyer convinced her not to leave on the sub, because he didn't want to be alone. "Well, I guess some men are meant to be alone," he chokes back, and once again, the Sawliet relationship gets me all choked up.

But I have a prediction. They will meet again, and in fact, it will be over coffee, and Juliet will suggest they go Dutch. Lost has established this pattern - what seems to be a random babbling just before a character dies is actually the channelling of a memory/ vision of another encounter in another time with the character the dying one is babbling to. Remember Charlotte's bizarre parting words, "I'm not supposed to have chocolate before dinner?" Then we learned that's what young Charlotte said when she first met Faraday. I think the same thing happened with Juliet - in the moment before she died, she channeled her meet-cute with Sawyer2 from alternaverse. The universe, it seems, will course correct...or at least I hope it will.

Kate apologizes for going after Sawyer, and he forces a smile through his tears before tossing the ring into the lagoon. Sawyer then returns to his old house, presumably to mope himself to death, leaving Kate on her own in her quest for Claire.

Jin, meanwhile, gets ambushed by a very unhappy Aldo (and still pretty dense Justin). Justin suggests they take Jin back to the temple, but Aldo has had all he can stand with these uppity 815ers. He pulls a gun on Jin, and suggests maybe they should report that he died accidentally while they pursued Sawyer. Justin warns him, "he's one of them," and Aldo corrects, "he may be one of them."

WTF is that all about? I thought Jacob's list established their bona fides...

Anyway, at that very moment, Aldo and poor Justin are gunned down, supporting theory that it's better to be a red shirted away team member in Star Trek than it is to be an Other with a name in Lost.

As Jin looks up to see who saved him, he (and we) get a surprise - it's Claire, only she seems to have gone all feral, and rather Rousseau-esque...

So it would appear we've reencountered "the sickness" that Rousseau told Sayid took her crew, forcing her to kill them, way back in Season 1. It stands to reason that this is what changed her crew, including Robert, when they followed Montand into the chambers outside the Temple, since that's where Sayid was infected as well. It also seems that the sickness explains why Robert almost murdered Rousseau in cold blood when his firing pin misfired, and she killed him, instead - because he had the sickness. And now, we're told, Sayid has it, too.

But...if we also know that Claire has the sickness, perhaps it was Rousseau, and not her crew that got sick? Since Jin flashed from the Montand's arm scene to the time that Rousseau shot Robert, we didn't see what happened after they went in the hole. Maybe the reason Rousseau was so nuts was that she had the same sickness, which caused her to go all paranoid and kill her crew? But then she seemed to genuinely love Alex when they were reunited. Does this offer hope for Sayid, and, for that matter, jungle Claire?

Well, that's all for this week. Until next time, when we reconvene for "The Substitute," Namaste!