Note – this is the second of two parts of this week’s recap. If you have not already read the island story recap, read no further. Click on the title of this post to be taken to the earlier-posted part one, then come back here when you’re done. Of course, if you already read part one, enjoy!
Sideways – Alterna-Hugo
The sideways story opens with the unmistakeable voice, and then image, of Dr. Pierre2 Chang, introducing a man of the year award at a museum in
Aside #1 – Not that there was much doubt, but it’s clear now that the father Miles2 said worked at the museum with Charlotte2 is, indeed, Pierre2 Chang, further evidence that the DHARMA high command just up and left the island in sideways world. Also, did you all catch the mention of Hugo2’s giving to the Human Fund – the fake charity George established in “Seinfeld?”
“You know who doesn’t love Hugo,” asks a bored mother Reyes. “Women.” Hugo2 makes excuses, but his mom won’t hear it. “You’re not too busy, you’re too scared.” She made him a date with Rosalita, who she describes as “willing to meet you.”
Hugo2 sits alone at a Mexican restaurant, “Spanish Johnny’s” (kudos if you caught the dual Springsteen reference; I did not). Rosalita never showed…but then she does… Libby2!!! She says she saw him from across the room, and she knows his name because…”do you believe that two people can be connected, like soul mates? You don’t remember me, do you?” Hugo2, kicking himself, asks, “Should I?” But then Dr. Brooks2 (the same shrink who in island world exposed “Dave” as a figment of Hurley’s imagination”) collects Libby2, who had wandered off from her
Aside #3 – How great was it to see Libby again, albeit Alterna-Libby? The ability to reconnect her with Hugo, even in the sideways reality, provided such a rich story for the flash-sideways. And to think, at the start of the season, it appeared as though Cynthia Watros (who will soon appear as
Hugo2 goes to a Mr. Clucks, and demands a bucket, from a star-struck employee. While he binge eats, Desmond2 spots him. Desmond2, who pretends to be surprised to recognize him from Flight 815 (Des2 lets slip that it’s been a week since they were on the flight), joins him. Hugo2 apologizes, “I eat when I’m depressed.” “Ah,” understands Desmond2, “so what’s her name.” Hugo2 relates the story about Libby2’s belief they already know each other. Desmond2, who clearly has an agenda, sees an opening. “Tell me something…did you believe her when she said she knew you? I say go with your gut. You should try to find out where she thinks she knew you from, before you give up.” They call Desmond2’s number (42, although he does not resemble Jin in the least), and Desmond2, having set Hugo2 on his quest, takes his leave.
Hugo2 goes to see Dr. Brooks, who doesn’t think it would be a good idea for a non family member to visit with Libby2…until Hugo2 donates 100k for a new rec room. As Hugo2 waits in the butterfly-adorned old rec room, Libby2 is brought in to him, ecstatic. She asks if he remembered. “No,” Hugo2 admits. “I’m sorry.” He asks how it is she thinks she knows him. A few days ago, she explains, she was watching TV, and his commercial came on. It was like she suddenly had memories coming back. Of her life. Only it was another life. She tells him about the plane crash, and the island. He was there. We knew each other…liked each other. This bizarre version of déjà vu convinced her to check in to
Aside # 4 – so, among the differences between island world and Sideways world is the fact that Hugo never spent time in
Hugo2 finally gets the picnic with Libby2 that his island self had been denied by Michael’s bullet. After he nervously babbles about picking up 6 different kinds of cheese, she comments that she feels like something is off. He asks if she’s been there before. She says it’s familiar, like a date they never had. He assures her she doesn’t sound completely insane. She assures him she wants to be with him, because she likes him. He says it’s because she’s delusional. But then she leans over and kisses him…and suddenly, he flashes to their past on the island. She asks what’s wrong. “Whoah, dude. I think, I’m remembering stuff.” She asks,” you mean, I’m not crazy?” “No,” Hugo2 says, surprised as the words come out. “I don’t think that you are.” In a car, Desmond2 watches. He sees the scene unfold, pushes his sunglasses up on his nose, and drives off, a sort of heaven-sent matchmaker content in a mission, accomplished.
Aside #5 – This may be reading more into the scene than it deserves, but I got the sense that Desmond2 had no memory of having met Libby2, and thus no memory of having gotten a boat from her that never led him to the island. This, of course, makes sense. With no prior relationship to Alterna-Penny, and no need to impress Sideways Widmore, Desmond2 had no need for a boat. Even if he somehow encountered Libby2 in the Sideways world, he would not have had a reason to strike up a conversation with her about his need for a boat. Not that there’s any reason to believe that she was previously married, or that her late husband left her the boat. After all, her grief over his death seems to be the most likely explanation we can surmise as to how island Libby ended up at
Meanwhile, if the Sideways story ended here, we’d already have had a
Desmond2 watches Locke2 wheel himself out of the school, until Dr. Linus knocks on his window, suspicious of a non-parent who appears to be stalking a high school parking lot. Desmond2 doesn’t really seem to recognize Ben2, but cleverly lies that he just moved there and was looking for a school for his son, Charlie. As Ben2 walks off, Desmond accelerates, and plows right into Locke2, and then drives off, as though he had just accomplished exactly what he he came for. As Ben2 runs to tend to his fallen comrade, Locke2, looking much like his island counterpart did when he was pushed out the window by his father, lies bleeding and twitching.
Aside #6 – Talk about a shock ending! How to understand this scene? First, I think there really is something to the fact that Des2 didn’t seem to recognize Ben2, as though this is the cross-time version of Jacob’s having asked Ben, “what about you?” just before Ben stabbed him. In the cosmic “things that are meant to be,” Ben apparently doesn’t matter at all, his Dr. Linus meek persona more in keeping with his actual station in the universe than his leader of men iteration.
But this chance encounter is not the big deal, obviously. Having just spent the hour coming to understand that Desmond2’s mission is to show his alterna-comrades the better lives they had forgotten, we see him commit an act of savage brutality, against, of all people, a crippled teacher! So how do we understand this?
The first, perhaps most satisfying explanation is that, when the “two Desmonds” forged what appeared to be a cross-universe understanding of each other, this came along with island Desmond’s talent to know the future. In other words, Desmond2 knew that somebody he thought was Locke had suddenly and brutally flung him into a well, even if that event was still 3 plus years in the future…in another universe…and involved someone only masquerading as Locke. In other words, this was some combination of revenge, or the idea that “I better take you out before you take me out.” Are you satisfied by this? I know I’m not. If for no other reason, there’s a serious pragmatic problem: Desmond2 just had a lengthy conversation, sitting in his car, with a teacher at the same school as his intended victim. Surely this would have caused him to change his plan and not run the guy down in the same car as Dr. Linus just saw him in, if simply taking out Locke for being the guy that attacked him on the island were the goal.
Here’s another possibility, one that brings up a theory I’d seen a few weeks ago and dismissed, only to find more sensible in this greater context: what if, when Jughead blew up, and Sideways world was born, this new universe became Flocke/Smokey’s escape plan. In other words, what if Flocke regained his humanity by taking his doppelganger’s form in this other universe? That could explain his slightly different, more measured reactions to similar stimuli. The biggest hint of this? Mr. Locke’s inciting Dr. Linus to carry out his coup attempt against the principal. If that didn’t strike you as an odd thing for a new faculty member – a substitute, no less – to do, particularly a guy who seemed pretty well adjusted, then I don’t know what your definition of “odd” must be.
So then, if this is Flocke, and Desmond2 somehow realized this when he flash-downloaded the other world, perhaps he discovered the only way to defeat this ancient evil in a world with no “cork” was to kill the now-mortal monster before he could do his real harm.
But, then again, there’s a flaw in this reading. Namely, if you truly felt you were trying to kill the embodiment of all evil, a shapeless monster, would you really go with such an unreliable, random, haphazard technique as hitting him with a car, and then driving off without checking to see if you finished the job? So this doesn’t work either.
Make no mistake – I do think both Desmonds know all about both Lockes. I think this is why island Desmond practically accused his captor of being John Locke, and why he had no fear when they were alone. Why fear when you know the attack is coming, and that it needs to come?
But that realization does not, by itself, provide the third explanation for the hit and run. This third option is, quite literally, the “I have no idea” option. But that’s not a cop out. What it is is simply the realization that we don’t yet have enough information to understand what Desmond was all about. That said, given his tactics – a dangerous, but hardly foolproof attack, with no follow-up – perhaps we can assume that his goal was merely to injure Locke2, to set in motion some set of circumstances (indeed, this week’s official podcast strongly suggests this non-explanation explanation is what’s going on).
So what could Desmond2 be trying to bring about? Perhaps what it takes for Locke2 and Jack2 to have the moment of clarity that Hugo2 and Desmond2 had when reuniting with lost loves is to spend more time with each other. After all, these are two guys whose sideways lives seem better and more fulfilled than their island lives, so why would they want to seek out a Libby2 or Penny2 for a memory upload? In the natural course of events, they may have had plenty of interaction, since Jack2 gave Locke2 his card at the airport for a consult. But then Locke2 had to let Helen2 tear the card up.
By now, you should realize that a rule of Lost is that
So that’s it for this week’s recap. Next week, we get one of Lost’s non “centric” episodes, in the ironically titled “The Last Recruit.” I say it’s ironic, because if the title refers to one person, you would think that would suggest a focus on one character. I of course can’t help but wonder who this last recruit is. By now, it seems almost everyone (and certainly all the Candidates) are already at Flocke’s camp. Who does he have left to recruit? Miles? Ben? Is it a reference to Jack’s decision to just go with the flow, more than his commitment to join Smokey? In any case, thanks for bearing with the double-dose recap this week. Until next week, Namaste!
No comments:
Post a Comment