This 108th episode of “LOST” took us back to the first few hours of this incredible show. We still don’t know whether “LOST” will succeed in answering enough questions and resolving enough loose ends. But the feel of the show, the growing sense of coming full circle after half a decade of storytelling, is fantastic. The spirit of “White Rabbit,” episode five from season one, was all over “The Lighthouse.” Jen thoroughly loved it. I enjoyed it. To me, some of the exposition and dialogue was a bit flat, and the ever clever fan-inspired commentary of Hurley was a bit too clever. But perhaps such things are unavoidable given the immense amount of explaining “LOST” will have to do in the limited time left. They need to spell it out for us, and they need to acknowledge how ridiculous some of it all sounds.
While on-island Jack is once again reaching a breaking point, off-island Jack is perhaps conquering his demons (his mom praises him for turning down a drink), acknowledging his daddy issues, and making amends with his son. His son! David plays piano like Jack, suffers under an overbearing father like Jack… and “has a gift,” perhaps also like Jack. But the big mystery now is, who is David’s mom? Whose house did Jack visit (and enter thanks to a key hidden under a white rabbit)? And why did she, frankly, miss David’s recital? David’s blue eyes made Jen think of Juliet immediately. Could we see her moving on, later this season, asking Sawyer out for coffee?
Jack’s inexplicable confusion over his appendectomy scar was intriguing. His appendix was removed by Juliet on the island, which could be one reason he doesn’t remember it in the LA X timeline. But his mother does. And seeing Dogen as a fellow parent was a nice touch. He perhaps is not as mysterious, special, or even immortal as we might have thought, if a twist in time leads him to being a dad in Los Angeles.
Mirrors and reflections continue to play a big part in this final season, perhaps never moreso than in “The Lighthouse.” There were literal mirrors, of course, but our requisite book reference is again “Alice in Wonderland.”
On the island, we find the lighouse, a major island landmark that nobody noticed because nobody was looking for it. Inside, another list of names, most of them crossed out, save for our dear survivors. Is it a different list than the one Unlocke showed Sawyer in the cave? Part of me thinks they’re the same list, and the cave scrawlings represent the efforts of Unlocke/Man In Black to track Jacob’s candidates. On the other hand, we see some names we didn’t see in the cave, most notably, “Austen.”
The lighthouse and its various degrees suggest that it was where Jacob “watched” his candidates, and perhaps guided them to the island. But rather than investigate further, angry Jack smashes the mirrors. At first it seemed ridiculous to me, how once again a major potential source for answers is conveniently destroyed. But in the narrative of Jack’s life, it makes sense.
In “White Rabbit,” Christian Shephard tells young Jack: “Don’t choose, Jack, don’t decide. You don’t want to be a hero, you don’t try and save everyone, because when you fail, you just don’t have what it takes.” We’ve seen Jack try to be the hero, and everything fell apart once he got off the island. We then saw Jack return to try and wait for his purpose to reveal itself, only to end up executing a plan that was apparently a catastrophic failure. Now, he finds a list of names that suggests that he’s part of a larger plan or game, and is also probably one of the last players still standing. That’d probably be enough to make anyone snap.
Of course, we’re still not convinced “Shephard” means him. Jacob’s first line to Sawyer after his name was pointed out on the cave wall was, “He’s not the only one.” And even though the mirror showed Jack’s childhood home, that house also belonged to Christian. Heck, we don’t know if the image of the house was from Jack’s past, or from the “LA X” timeline. A pity he had to smash the mirrors to bits.
And Claire. Creepy Claire. Jen said she was even scarier than Rousseau. And now the parallels are numerous. Claire, like Rosseau, has spent years living in the wilderness, setting traps, surviving, living in conflict with and hiding from The Others. And she’s also obsessed with finding her missing child. But it’s interesting that there’s a lot of old Claire in there, despite whatever sickness or darkness may have consumed her.
She says her father and “her friend” told her The Others have Aaron. Whether or not on-island Christian Shephard and Unlocke were one and the same (I wonder what form Unlocke took prior to the arrival of Ajira 316), I’m curious why they’d want her to believe her son was still on the island. Are they trying to encourage her to go to The Temple, or discouraging her? They’ve fed her paranoia and mistrust for three years, but to what end?
After what she did to Justin, we believe her when she says she’d kill Kate if Kate raised Aaron. But the whole conversation revives questions about how important Aaron actually is to the island, and also, why it matters who raises him. If Kate is truly motivated solely by reuniting Claire with Aaron, and Claire remains obsessed with finding her son, it looks like the kid will be key at the end of Season 6. Jin went out of his way to remind Claire how old Aaron is, which only made me think about the clearly older blonde boy that’s now haunting Unlocke. Taller Ghost Aaron indeed.
- This episode is at least the second time Hurley is given a message from an apparently departed spirit that is so important, he has to write it down. Charlie made Hurley write down his message for Jack in “Something Nice Back Home.”
- Jack’s son’s name is David. We’ve noted the role of Davids throughout “LOST.” Libby says her late husband’s name was David. Hurley’s dad was named David, as was Charlotte’s father. And Hurley’s imaginary friend was Dave.
- David is listening to music, but says it’s something Jack wouldn’t know. Easiest guess? Driveshaft. But if Driveshaft is a “one hit wonder” from a band led by a “bloody rock god,” why wouldn’t Jack know them? Since David is also a classical music buff, I’d like to think that in the “LA X” timeline, “Driveshaft” is a moody, artsy, acoustic indie band or something.
- What funeral was Margot and Jack talking about? Presumably Christian’s, meaning they eventually proceeded without his body. I’m wondering how much time has now elapsed since Oceanic 815 landed.
- Speaking of classical music, David’s choice of Chopin is the same as Daniel Faraday’s in “The Variable.”
- In addition to “White Rabbit,” this episode ties well to “Something Nice Back Home” from Season 4. It’s the episode where his appendix comes out, where his domestic bliss with Kate crumbles, and where he reads from “Alice” to Aaron.
- Shannon’s inhaler? Didn’t see that coming. The whole skit with Jorge Garcia at Comic-Con last year was apparently part of the master plan.
- Hurley fires off so many pop-culture inspired lines, I don’t know where to begin. He lied to a samurai. He described Jacob as being like Obi-Wan Kenobi. And he tells Dogen he’s a fan of “Indiana Jones.” But I’ll take any of those lines over the groan-worthy chat with Jack over Kate.
- Locations: David’s school, “St. Mary’s Academy,” is St. Louis School in Kaimuki. The “Williams Conservatory” recital hall is Central Middle School near downtown Honolulu. David’s mother’s house is a private residence on Malama Place in Manoa. Watch for updates on my Lost Locations website.
What did you think?. We’d love your thoughts, theories, and feedback below. You can also e-mail us at lost@hawaiiup.com or call the LOSTLine at (815) 310-0808.
At the very beginning of the episode when Jack comes into his house/apartment in the parallel timeline, there is a photo on his sofa table of Jack, his father and a woman. Jack appears to be a teenager or young adult. Any idea who the girl is? Does Jack have a sister other than Claire?
Am I supposed to like Claire? Cause I DON’T.
However, I do love Jack having a son (great casting also), and all of this talk about who David’s mom is I’m wondering why it would not have been his wife, Sarah whom he was married prior and separated, right?
When Jack was looking turning the dial and seeing things in the mirror, I at first thought that the Asian looking home was Jin representing, Sun or Dogan for obvious reasons but then I remembered that Jack was in a place like that when he got his tattoo (the episode with Bai Ling in it) right?
Referencing Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, what Alice sees and it’s crazy how many things are similar right now.
Why is Jack’s appendix scar on the wrong side? When he looks in the mirror it’s clear that he is looking down at his left side. The appendix is on the right side of the abdomen. I find that a very odd thing. I can’t believe the writers don’t know where an appendix is located. What are they telling us?
@Sarah: Adam and Eve being Jacob & Flocke is an interesting idea (their original bodies?) It still would imply that there was time travel, wouldn’t it?
I’m wondering if David’s mom is SARAH – Jack’s original wife. But, a twist would be if it was Juliet… or AnaLucia… or Libby (but I still want Libby and Hurley to get back together!!!).
what I’d like to see resolved is Harper Stanhope – I thought I saw her name at the lighthouse last night, but don’t know what’s happened to her. Is she still at the Temple? Also, since Shannon’s inhaler came up, will we see her again? She is one of the only original cast members not to pop back up (Michael & Walt are the other 2 that come to mind)… so why is that? Story or Actor Contract?
@John Fischer – you are right, I caught that too. See my post earlier.
Haven’t had a chance to read all the comments, so I hope I’m not a repeat, but…
I’ve been wondering since S5 if Jacob is actually a good guy – but after this episode he really is looking more and more like a very manipulative person, and I mean one Ben would be proud of.
Did anyone else notice the blood stains on the righthand side of Jack’s blue-and-white-striped shirt in the flash-sideways? He seems to be catching all the other scars, what about that one? Or did Costumes make a mistake?
@ Lostyfan – yes…you’ve finally gone crazy. But I went Nuckin’ Futs several years ago…
@ Tim from DC – I think this is the perfect explanation for Smokey so far. He also became Yemi & possibly the other Nigerians…which begs the question…perhaps he can be more than one person at once. It seems that Smokey was able to separate into at least 3…smoke clouds.
My crazy for the day: There was a scene where Jack saw his reflection in water w/ the trees behind / above him. I think it was in the episode but could have been in the preview bits we got. Knowing that Jack was supposed to die in Season 1 does anyone think that there is ANY possibility that he changed somehow after he was almost attacked after the pilot? The scene reminds me of when the pilot was found in the trees. Jack comes back from that scene acting as if nothing happened almost and says whatever it was just went away….ugh….
Brian in Atlanta – aka “NuckinFuts” ~ Team Dark
John Fischer- Perhaps that it’s a mirror-reversed reality.
It’s consistent that Jack should break the mirror because he’s always frustrating his desire to discover his purpose, his nature and frustrating his desire to be. At least in the mirror-reality, he does a better job being.
I loved the transition between Jack’s chat with Kate and his next scene with his mom. Kate wishes him, “I hope you find what you’re looking for” and the next line is his mother’s, “We’re never going to find it.” Jack replies, “Take it easy, Mom. It’s somewhere in here and we’ll find it.” Jack has until this new reality, always been searching and not finding.
Of the books behind Margo, I could make out Terminal, by Robin Cook, in which a company offers a cure for a cancer, but it turns out the villainous company created the disease as well as the cure, The Good Carbohydrate Revolution, about the battle between rival groups of sugars competing for control of the body, and Diagnosis of the Chest.
In earlier seasons, when the writers had lesser constraints on their use of screen time, I feel they’d have been more ambiguous about the health or disease of Claire. Now, they cut right to it. Not just that she kills Justin apparently needlessly, but that she clearly is pathological in her fantasizing. De Ravin pulls off the craziness well, I thought.
I agree with Ryan that Hurley’s line in the cave, wherein he muses about themselves being the skeletons, is clunky and forced. Why put in dross like that? To tantalize? To make Hurley more of a thinker and innovator?
The second time I watched the scene when Jack breaks the mirror, I thought again, holy monkeys, what a jerk Jack is! Ah well. Great scene, very powerful, very moving.
The boy who plays David, Jack’s son, is a great actor.
Note the contrast between the lighthouse, the highest point on the island, and the cave with Sawyer and Locke last week, easily the lowest point. Jacob wants Jack to see how important he is, that he is the subject of manipulation from high, mysterious influences. Maybe it’s not Jacob’s lighthouse nor Jacob;s manipulation. Someone’s coming to the island? Someone’s coming to the temple, someone bad. Tell us who, guy, or tell us why you don’t. Then again, these two, MIB and Jacob, never claimed to be in charge, though Locke seems to present as if he wants to be.
After that conversation, seeing there were maybe 5 minutes left, I wondered breathlessly, what could top this? there was O’Quinn’s trademark Mon Lisa Smile again to end the ep. THUD! I really like this ep.
I think the person who Jacob wants to get to the island is Aaron, who’s not there and of whom such a big deal is made.
The smoke monster temporarily assumed popokigirl’s shape, and the real popokigirl apologizes. 🙂
After reading so many thoughtful posts, how could my opinion be limited to the above?
@johntindale interesting idea about the way Jacob “visits” the outside world. It seems to me that he’s somehow more real out there than on the island–there he touches people, more people see him, and he isn’t locked away in some temple where only one person is allowed in. Jacob is more…social?…off island.
Claire’s change, it seems to me, is a result of being kidnapped, “tested” (tortured), and left alone on the island for 3 years. UnLocke probably didn’t have much to do to push her over the edge into crazy world. As far as Claire (and Said) is concerned, she’d already been there (the Temple). This “sickness” thing seems a wonderful device to justify killing people.
So are we setting up Jack/David as Abraham/Isaac? Don’t like that at all. Were Claire/Aaron and Michael/Walt previous, failed attempts? Is that what we are to gather from Eloise/Daniel (which would require me to give up my pet theory that Eloise, like Kate, is a substitute mother)?
On a related note, @Beth in Sacramento: 5) THANK YOU.
Is it the same wheel we see frozen, that moves the entire island to a different time? Or is it the mirror to the lighthouse wheel (like the dark cave is the mirror to the light house)?
@Sobaika so just like Desmond was to be the “relief” for pushing the button, maybe Jack (and Sawyer?) are to relieve Jacob and MIB? Love this!
@Ron: Right on.
@Carol from Boston: Great catches…it made me wonder if, in a sort of twisted mirror way, we can add Claire’s new relationship with her “dad” on island to the resolutions?
@Yann from France: astute as always. Your observation about Rousseau–do we know if she got taken to the Temple and “tested”? I can’t remember her saying anything about that. I think anybody who’d been put through the “testing” might have more anger issues like Claire. 🙂
@Rich in Cleveland: Awesome idea! I do love me some “Star Wars” references, and the idea that it is Ben who still has a job to do…for redemption?
@Rich in C and @steve: A completely immaterial reference (probably)–”pace” is also Latin for “in peace”.
Unlike many here, I was quite happy when Jack destroyed one of Jacob’s toys (lighthouse mirrors). Reading everything here makes me wonder, though, Who watches (or has been watching) the watcher?
@Gretchen: So I played your idea in my head…and it seemed completely plausible to me, particularly “Do you know how much I want to kill you right now?” coming from Sawyer.
@Lostyfan: Chills. Totally got chills reading your idea.
With all these religious references, and I hope as Beth in Sacramento says that they don’t start doing stories-by-numbers (pardon the pun), I suddenly found myself thinking of that spiritual: “When Israel was in Egypt’s land/ Let my people go!” And they were guided out by a pillar of smoke (white in the daytime, fiery at night). And a smoke monster convinced the guy holding them there to let them go (because it killed their firstborn male children…). Hmmm. The one keeping them there is Jacob, not MIB…who evidently doesn’t believe in the misery loves company idea and so doesn’t like it that Jacob keeps bringing people on the island.
Ryan and Jen, thank you again, many times, for your podcast and this blog. I came pretty late to this party, but I sure am enjoying it. Appreciate your hard work!
@ Tim in DC – RE: ” Smokey can also only be in one form and one place at a time. ”
Well…more about what I was saying….I would have to review that scene w/ Ecko to see if he saw more than one of the Nigerians from the plane…of course he could have been hallucinating some too…I can’t remember. After that he definitely became Yemi. But I would agree for sure w/ everything else you said….
@ Everyone – About the appearance & explanation of the lighthouse. Besides the similarity of how Jacob’s Cabin moved and disappeared, I wonder if it’s appearance was similar to Ben’s ‘Majic Box’? Do you have to imagine or look for something for it to be found? Maybe they should look for the source of the whispers, the meaning of the numbers, etc. and they will be granted their wish. They just don’t know what to wish for right now…I think they soon will.
Should say, though, that smokypopokigirl was right about neither one of us liking this episode. It’s just that smokypopoki went all Claire and Jack about not liking it instead of merely mentioning a preference for a gentleman’s drink like Earl Grey instead of coffee.
Another bit of speculation to add about the lighthouse and the cave, I think the cave is Jacob’s and the lighthouse MIB’s. Jacob can go off the island to manipulate but MIB cannot, so he needs the lighthouse to effect his plans whereas Jacob does not.
The names, therefore, are used by both of them.
Furthermore, MIB uses technology and Jacob does not. He’s not troubled that his person of interest will not manage to get to the island without the lighthouse mirror, he’s confident he will find his way.
I really wonder if Jack will ever find his way.
John Fisher,
Totally agree with you in thinking Desmond is 108. The historic Scotish name of Wallace has to have some connection to him. Adoption, Wallace is the father’s name and he took his mother’s name…something like that.
@Saif, Jack’s first wife was Sarah and I’m pretty sure that she has brown eyes. I do think that all the emphasis on the deep blue eyes links him to Juliet. Although, Sarah was pregnant in the flashforward so…….
I don’t know if people have looked at Vozzek69’s recap where he says that David is a reflection of Jack? wow…I really don’t know if I’m ready to go there because it means that nothing is real in the sideways world…but it would explain why there is no mention of the mother because there isn’t one other than Jack’s own mother. Ugh…my brain hurts as usual
You both have a point that 108 might be Desmond. My only problem with that, is that the name is crossed off. If we are going by what Flocke did in the cave, ie. Crossing off Locke because he could no longer be a candidate, then why was Wallace crossed off? I dont see a way to bring back Desmond to the island if his name is crossed off already. Obviously we need to see him again in our island reality because nothing has been wrapped up with Des yet.
@ John Fischer Also, the appendix scar was on the correct, right, side of his body. It might just look a little confusing because he is looking in the mirror. I wish you were correct, because I love the idea of a Mirror world.
and Finally, I kind of like the idea that the Light House belongs to Flocke and the cave to Jacob. The light house is technically is technology and we all know how Jacob feels about that. And if this is the case. It seems like Jacob has yet again used Hugo and Jack as pawns to mess with Flocke and wreck his mirrors and spy glass.
@John Fischer the photo of Jack in the beginning is with his father and his mother, that is a young Veronica Hamel (from Hill Street Blues).
Ever notice how certain flash sideways moments coincide (sp?) with island time. At the beginning of the episode Jack is wet from the shower looking at the mirror. On the island, Jack is wet from getting cleaned up and looking into water.
Also catch Jacob’s comment about how sometimes a person needs to sit and look at the water to figure things out (well something like that) the finale last year featured Jacob staring out at the water, waiting for the black rock.
Also my theory re: the Oceanic Six “the next generation” taking over, doesn’t hold up now, because Sun and Jin don’t have a child, Desmond and Penny might not have a child. It is Aaron and David and Walt right now. Sawyer might not have Clementine either if he wasn’t a con man.
I am starting to think they named the series “lost” because when you watch it you are “lost”.
One last comment Entertainment Weekly dated 2/13/09 has an article about last year’s premiere. (pg 26) Here is an important quote from Damon Lindelof “The show was never about escaping the island, but rather staying on it”
@NuckinFuts: I like your “you need to look for it to happen”/magic box theory. Somewhere Over The Rainbow has been played at the end of last year comicon and it would be quite fun if eventually they ask the magic box to “go home” and make the Island disappear.
I dont think Dawson would be Walt.
First off, Michael wasn’t married to Walt’s mom so there’s at least a decent chance that he would have not been named Walter Dawson.
Even if he was – the guy she married adopted Walt, which would mean he took on that name.
On Lostpedia his name is Walt Lloyd.
And given that alt-Dogan is in LA with his kid, does that mean he hasn’t been on the island that long in the traditional timeline?
And just when we thought we understood the numbers a little bit, now they aren’t attached to the same names (for everyone) that we saw last week.
Ryan and Jen and you all everybody…..you people are awesome.
Remember when Locke and Boone are out in the jungle in Season One and Boone is injured slightly and then as Locke says the smoke “made him see” Shannon’s dead and mangled body, but she was actually on the beach with Sayid and very much alive?
If there is an open wound is it easier for the “infection” to break through?
Jin’s leg was ripped open by the bear trap is he more vulnerable?
It seems like smokie has been trying over the years to get to anyone he can out in the jungle and turn them…..Michael, Boone, Shannon, Ben, Rousseau, Widmore, Inman, Anna Lucia, Eko (he failed to turn him I think), Claire and now Sayid.
The temple spring water was clear for Ben but cloudy for Sayid, but were they claimed by the same entity or did Ben have a choice because the water was clear?
Ben moved a rock and seemed to release or call smokie from the grounds under his house when he wanted revenge on the freighties….how did he know smokie would respond like that? Was smokie actually trapped in there or was it just that he would sense the new opening and come to inspect?
It makes sense that Shannon came back to life after being crushed in the house, because Sayid has come back to life after he was drowned.
Other Jesse- I think you can rest easy that the two realities are in some ways mirror-reversals of one another, even though the scar is on the correct side.
Look how the Jack of the off-island is relatively confident and self-possessed and the one on-island is nearly a nut job, multiple failures in love and life, doesn’t trust himself, hopelessly looking for something external to fix his troubles.
Hurley confident off-island, Hurley less so, on-island. Maybe Hurley is becoming more self-possessed on-island, too, though.
Rose seems her usual self in both, though she showed more poise and less fear on the plane in the off-island reality than in the on-island.
Kate seems a bit more desperate off-island than on. The island seems to suit her.
Locke is learning to accept his condition and reach his potential off-island. On-island, he was a waste and a loss, always afraid, as MIBLocke correctly said, always looking externally for how to take care of himself. I think we see Sawyer off-island next week.
Well, it’s an idea.
@Fernando, thanks for the support. You are not the only one who agrees with me, I assure you. We have to remember, this show is being watched all around the world! For the writers to turn this into any kind of religion-specific parable will certainly make someone angry somewhere, and I don’t think the creators want that, especially as the show enters syndication in other countries…(changing the subject)
I was reading the Slate.com’s TV Watch today, and while it is not a great source of LOST conversation, someone posed a crackpot theory SO crackpotty that I sort of LOVE IT. They asked, since Daddy issues are clearly a subject, and the resolution of said issues is clearly an objective…
What if Jacob and the MIB are, themselves, father and son?!?
Why is this crackpotty? Well, we know that the actors (as portrayed by Titus Wellever and Mark Pellegrino) are about the same age. However, if they constantly change forms and are “stuck with” those forms until a new form comes along, this theory may become plausible. Maybe one or both of them have assumed new forms, so even though they look the same age, we could still be dealing with a grown man and his average, pissed-off son. I need to think about this theory, but on the surface, I think it is sort of awesome.
@ Tim from DC:
We basically have the same thoughts about Smokey and MIB with the exception that I would separate the following phenomenons:
1) MIB turning into the Smoke monster; no issues with this.
2) MIB taking on the form of unburied dead individuals; Christian, Yemi; Alex;
3) MIB’claiming’ or ‘infrecting’ dead individuals; Claire, Sayid, Rousseau’s team. Possibly that there is a way back from this ‘state’. Maybe that is how MIB does his ‘recruiting’ as Ilana says. However, the rules say that he cannot kill the candidates himself but they are fair game if they die by another’s hand. As Sayid and Claire did. Assuming Claire died during the explosion of her house and was claimed (came back to ‘life’ just as Sayid did after drowning).
@Harold
I too was blown away by the mirrored reality concept, but obvioulsy you’ll need other evidence.
Jacob said to Hurley “someone’s coming.” But I believe he followed this up with the plural form. “THEY will need help getting here.” I don’t know if this is my preferred path, but it seems to reference the passengers who landed at LA X entering the present reality.
I believe it’s clear that the cave and the lighthouse are the respective domains of Flocke and Jacob. But beyond having their own strongholds, they have very different methods and abilities as they play “candidate backgammon.” For instance, Jacob has a precisely ordered wheel listing all the candidates while Esau has a chaotic array scrawled on the ceiling of his cave, derived from an entirely different gift of vision.
Something just occurred to me about the absence of a name for Smokey. Recall that Ben told Locke the others had no name for what the survivors called the monster. However, Jacob is Jacob. He is constant and adopts no other form. Then consider all the names we call his adversary. I use them all because I’m never sure which will prove to be the best. Flocke, Esau, Unlocke, MIB, the dark man, smokey. I think we can describe him as variable.
Gretchen – Your first cockeyed theory ever is very intriguing. The Doc and Capt. Con reprising the scene on the beach? Nice.
But, I tend to agree that we are watching the conclusion in the Flash Sideways. This is a credit to the writing that this technique gives us a more full completion than would be possible in just a concluding episode or two, doing justice to five years of set-up.
Yes, now the role of the H-bomb appears to only thrust our characters out of the past, back to the present, to a reunion with Sun, Lapedus, and Ben. Flocke (ne Locke) has had major airtime, and I think counterpart Ben will soon be given equal billing, both in the ‘Sideways (that I am looking forward to) and on the island as a rallying point to the poignant position that the island is important and essential.
As a sympathetic character, Locke had me, but it is Ben, and his arc, that is coming to captivate.
I really have a hard time not seeing Rose/Bernard as Adam/Eve.
Jacob/white = good? Will happily go down with the notion if I am wrong, but I strongly disagree for reasons I have stated previously, and continue to see validated as we progress. Jacob is a capricious god of the Greek persuasion, playing with mortals for his own ends, while Flocke/Esau has long since lost patience with his BS. (Team Dark continues more than viable).
Hurley is much funnier (and more believably endearing) when he is not so cheekily over the top. Seemed a bit forced this turn as the voice of the voiceless audience.
Overall? Lost!! Excellent episode. Mystery, pathos galore, and enough of the numbers-candidate intrigue to fill a … blog. This show continues to delight me with excellence and a stubborn resistance to be TV.
Turns out Lost is nothing but smoke and mirrors.
@Steven in Bathurst
“Smoke and Mirrors” – My thoughts exactly after Tuesday night’s episode. And what is the definition of “smoke and mirrors”? An illusion.
I think 108 degrees is desmond or someone from his story because of the name connection to wallace. Also is the name Wallace based on Alfred Russel Wallace? He is known as the “father of biogeography” (wiki). It’s the study of ” is the study of the distribution of biodiversity over space and time”. (Wiki) Robert MacArthur and E.O Wilson, under the subject of biogeography…also published a Theory of Island Biogeography. Island biogeography is “that the number of species found on an undisturbed island is determined by: immigration, emigration and extinction”. THis is all in wiki….
I was just trying to find a connection to why the name wallace….of course there may be just a totally different explanation…just was thinking.
It was a really great episode. The reference of Obi Wan came out of my mouth about 2 minutes before hurley said it. Still proof he’s the voice of the audience. Love it!
The mirrors to other times and places totally reminded me of a Star Trek TNG episode with a similar device except in that episode they opened doors to other places/times. I don’t know if it’s truly a ST reference but it’s pretty close. Damon must be distracted with working on the 2nd Star Trek script. Too many ideas he can’t get them all in the next movie?
I thought Hurley talking about Adam and Eve was kind of forced dialog but I think it’s forshadowing that story to come.
The light house light dial was cool, but still, is there a connection between the dharma numbers and jacobs numbers? did jacob have something to do with the dharma numbers, were they just coincidental? what about the hyroglyphics when the countdown timer went to 00000? I hope that the whole dharma connection doesnt get lost in this season, I would like to see the connection between jacob, dharma, widmore, miss hawking, paik industries, etc. Jack reminded me of season 3 Locke, way to destroy such an important piece of information that could give us answers, Jocke. I’d like to see a close up of all the names on that dial, like who is 108? Wallace? Who’s that?
Claire says her father told her the others took her baBy. She also has a “friend” that appears to be the Locke Monster. So I guess that answers the question of is Christian the smoke monster? No.
And finally the preview for next week. The next episode seems to be really clouded in mystery. Must be some really good stuff. Can’t wait!
@ Beth in Sacramento
I really like your idea that the MIB and Jacob could be father and son. That would fit perfectly with one of the show’s overall themes of “daddy issues.” Jacob could be the father and MIB his very rebellious son.
@Nadia: Wallace rings straight to William Wallace for me. If a battle is coming wouldn’t you want to have him by your side to give everyone Braveheart… he would be the “free will” fighter no1!
More seriously, Wallace is crossed out, so I think it is more the “angle” 108 that was important for the Lampost, I think someone is at sea looking for the Island and to get a signal from the lampost would help him/her coming.
Here is a thought. Lets assume that what ever happened to put the island underwater, happened because of the incident at the swan hatch. We know that Ethan was born on Island and that he is Clair’s Doctor. That might mean that the events leading up to the swan being destroyed still occurred. If this is the case everyone’s lives have changed for the better after this point in time. Does this mean that Ben was still brought to the temple and revived and changed somehow in both time lines? Did European history teacher Ben go through the temples and come out changed as well?
@Other Jesse: Mathiew Fox is born in 1966. Jack had an apendicectomy when he was 7 or 8… That is before 77. Is Jack supposed to be younger that Mathiew Fox? Sawyer has been influenced by Jacob (the pen to write is revenge letter) before 77 (his parent were killed in 76 so was the funeral I guess) so is he still the “influenced” Sawyer or James Ford? And now your Ben comment of whether he is “an Other” or not and how he left before the Island sank (and Ethan). I don’t know if we can connect yet the “Incident” with the flashsideways.
My partner Randy has a theory that seems plausible. He thinks that the island is everyone’s walkabout. After the bomb went off, everyone entered Dream Time, which is the flash sideways. They are working out there stuff there, that is why so many times they look puzzled about things, ie, jacks scar and many are constantly looking in the mirror. Very similar to Locks dream of the airport a few season’s back. I find this interresting and plausible. Will this help them defeat unlock? Maybe, seems likely still don’t know how.
@Other Jessie:
I think whatever happened at the end of the Incident, didn’t just reset things at the time in 1977. It reset things well before that.
@Mattfromnd
I agree. I’ve thought for a very long time that the bodies in the cave were Rose and Bernard. It makes sense at the last moment after Sawyer/kate/Juliet warn them about the nuke, they decide to take refuge in the cave.
desmond- maybe 180 degrees
between/middle both – special
i thought
@Other Jesse
I had been assuming that the island sank at the time of the Incident. (I never understood why people thought the flyby in the premiere showed New Otherton, and that it couldn’t just be Dharmaville, but that’s neither here nor there.) But Ben’s appearance in Locke’s flash-sideways is confusing. Ben, at least, was right there on the island as a kid in 1977. We never see him come out of the temple before the Dharma folks send the submarine off the island. Ethan probably got on the sub, so it makes sense that he should still be alive even though the island was destroyed, but how is Ben?
@nadia
Excellent catch. With the show’s heavy usage of eighteenth and nineteenth-century philosophers/scientists, Alfred Russell Wallace would make more sense than William Wallace, who predates the period they regularly draw from. ARWallace is from the c19th.
Also, Wallace and Darwin co-developed the Theory of Natural Selection, in that they corresponded, and Darwin credited Wallace for his input (but beat him to the publishing punch by a heartbeat). Although, with all the other memes populating Lost, is natural selection the major one? Don’t know. But with Wallace referenced at 108 – clearly the most important number on the island – and crossed out, is there a “survival of the fittest” (which is from Herbert Spencer, not Darwin or Wallace) thing we’re supposed to get? Is that too obvious?
But that does fall into the “Free Will” vs. “Fate” dichotomy someone mentioned above as the actual duality on the show as opposed to good/evil. Darwin thought Free Will was “synonymous” with chance. “Shake ten thousand grains of sand together & one will be uppermost: so in thoughts, one will rise according to law.” (Sorry to geek out there.) Does this still kind of goes with the idea of Faith/Reason that Locke/Flocke vs. Jack represent? I think I’m spinning myself into a corner here…
My question is though, weren’t Hurley and Jack supposed to see what was in the mirror at d.108? What’s the “mirrored” situation of Wallace, whoever they are referencing? I don’t think it’s Desmond. His last name is Hume, from David Hume, the c18th Scottish skeptic who argued against the existence of miracles (see: island, as place of). But then again, I’m willing to hope for a miracle if it means more Desmond! 🙂
@Colossus: Hume was more skeptic than just toward faith. He was skeptic about what we could know and that the only thing that proves us that the sun will rise is that it does so everyday. He told us that our knowledge is based on “repetition” which is quit funny since in the beginning of the show he repetitively pressed a button and now he seems to repetitively live is life differently (the magnetism pocket when destroy must lead to that and this time since they all participate in the detonation they all relived they life differently (and this time without someone to tell them that it will always end the same) with some memories of what happened before (as Desmond did during “Flashes before your eyes”)
I liked your 7wonders theory: Babylon/most of the Island or the Nigerian plane crash site precisely; Colossus: 4toed; Temple: Temple; Lighthouse: Lighthouse… I guess we will see a mausoleum some time (maybe the Wheel), but I don’t see Jacob having is Zeus statue and the Giza pyramid is just too big… unless it is the whole Island (filled with hieroglyphs! with its mausoleum at its center).
Hurley should definitely have had more of a reaction to the numbers at the Lighthouse.
Sorry if someone else talked about this, but could the Lighthouse belong to Jacob’s nemesis? And did Jacob send Jack there to thwart his nemesis from using it to get off the island? Jus’ wonderin’.
Also, where is Sawyer? I thought he was with “Locke”. Maybe he’s just outside Claire’s tent.
@Yann From France
I love it! All of it! I’d forgotten about Hume and repetition, and coupled with Desmond’s button pushing at 108 min it seems obvious now. And Flashes Before Your Eyes fits really well there, too. Also, Hume (and John Locke – the philosopher) both had the “sensationist” skepticism, in that you had to rely on sensory perceptions, but Locke thought that you needed to have a correct model from which to make judgments about what you were experiencing. I think Hume was more of a tabula rasa empiricist? Correct me if I’m wrong. And I have no idea how that would fit with Desmond, if at all. Although if “Flashes” is referencing Hume’s blank slate, then it might go back to the idea of free will/fate. The sun is still going to rise every day, and Charlie is still going to die, no matter how you interact with the world.
Also, I really like the idea that the whole island is the pyramid. Although, I was wondering if the temple might be it (or the top of it?). It’s kind of shaped like a pyramid with the of hieroglyphics, and the lower tunnels have the place where Ben confronted Smokey as his daughter, and where Ben killed Jacob. It has the depiction of Anubis on the wall, who weighed souls, and (what I thought) was Smokey, who could be correlated to Ammit, Anubis’s crocodile that ate the hearts of those not worthy. Or, it’s the temple. I guess it’s hard to put a 1:1 beyond the obvious colossus and lighthouse… but if we’ve never seen the lighthouse before, what else is out there?
I think Lost makes me too thinky.
On another note, did anyone think it was interesting that in the replay of last week’s show – with the nifty commentary – they referred to Richard as an “adviser” to the Others, meaning he’s not really an Other? I’d always suspected he’d arrived on the Black Rock?
Here’s a thought that came to me today walking the dog:
It may be more than the obfuscation that the names are only last names. What if it is more the family lineage with those last names? And the Candidates are merely those that are forever locked in the cycle that ends the same? When 6 (or more) Candidates are together at one time it is powerful (creating a force that can break the rules/cycle whatever) and when those candidates actually come together in common cause especially on the Island then the balance can be restored to the Universe. “Man” can change “his” destiny. Harking back to StarWars again: the force is strong with these Candidates, if one fails, there is another…
This can explain why Smokey was blocking birth on the Island and wants to get off so He can do the same in the wider world to plunge the Universe into permanent imbalance.
@Cathy was musing about Jin and a link to “Genie”, which has a smoke association. It made me think about how we all thought Jin was dead after the freighter explosion, until he washed up on shore and came to. Maybe he did die and was claimed??
Locke went to Montpellier, France! Just like Sherlock Holmes!
Locke thought that we were in a state of Tabula Rasa when we are born then our ideas come from our perceptions. Our knowledge comes from our ideas. Knowledge becomes intuition when the idea fit the perception and you don’t need to be proven otherwise now because it wouldn’t fit our intuition thus it becomes certainty.
Sumed up: If your belief can apply to your life then you don’t need proof that you are right! You ARE right!
And that is how you became a man of faith.
Locke also worked on Nature’s law. And how it would be about all the men being free and equal and you would need to follow those rules because they would be divine: 1-no suicide because it is god’s gift 2-respect others and their freedom 3-no violence or only for self preservation 4-respect his word/truce
If that does not sound like the John Locke we know and how the Rules apply to the Island…
Hume was the one that thought that impressions “mold” ideas (like if you get the impression that “the universe will self correct” then you will try to fix things but your ideas will be “clouded” by your impressions)
@Yann
Brilliant! Excellent explanation. I never could wrap my brain around that stuff, and thanks for laying it out as clearly and concisely as you did. What I really remember about Locke is that he changed how society looked at the “mad,” in that they weren’t animals; they did use reason, but “put their ideas together wrongly.” As a physician, Locke opened up new avenues for treatment that addressed the mind, not the body. I also liked your “nature’s law” explanation. Sure does sound a lot like our Locke.
This is why I’ll stick to the little bit of history I do understand, i.e., Wallace and the 7 Wonders. I still think that Wallace isn’t Desmond Hume, but maybe, as @Bonita in Atlanta has surmised, it has to do with family lineages (daddy issues), and maybe Wallace is somehow related to the Hume line, which is why it’s crossed out? I suppose the writers do put in that kind of mixing (Faraday and his mother Hawkings…). Well, if it puts Desmond back in the story, I’m all for it.
Thanks again, and excellent (and appropriate) Holmes reference!
I was thinking that the lighthouse was Jacob’s laboratory and the cave with the names and numbers is actually Locke Monster’s. Seems to make more sense since the Locke Monster is more ram-shackled.