And just when I think I've got it all figured out, something happens. The whole post was written, done by midnight after the premiere. And then I stumbled to lostpedia.com. They've published this most excellent screen shot of what Hurley saw in Jacob’s cabin:
Yes. That’s Jack’s dad. This post is long enough, so we’ll let that bombshell marinate until next week. If you'd like to see a bigger photo, click here. On to last night’s episode…“No. I’m Sick of Lying. We Made a Mistake.”
With this ominous confession last May, Jack left the LOST universe bewildered. “We have to go back, Kate,” he cried, “We have to go back.” This left many of us asking, “What mistake?” Season 4’s premiere, “The Beginning of the End,” may have given us an answer.
Apparently, the Oceanic Six are so named because they are the only ones thought to have survived the crash and get rescued – or so we are led to believe. Jack, Kate, Hurley and three others are the ones who survived the crash, survived the Island and got rescued. But LOST never answers a question without posing a new one to take its place. And if tonight’s episode told us that the “mistake” was leaving behind everyone else, it still left us wondering why the Oceanic Six did it. Obviously, Dr. Shepherd was regretting sacrificing the livelihood of all for the survival of six. The way I see it, as of now, there are three possible explanations for why the Oceanic Six left everyone behind.
- Everyone else wanted to be left on the Island. If that’s the case. I would assume that something will happen between now and the rescue that transforms all but six of the survivors into followers of the cult of Linus. Because if the LOSTies refuse to leave the Island, they are essentially buying into Ben’s promise that the Island is special and that it requires their presence. I repeat: all but six. So it’s something big enough and convincing enough to sway almost all of our remaining LOSTies. If this is why people stayed, I can’t wait to see what it is.
- The Oceanic Six cut a deal. Remember when Jack made a deal with the devil (the devil wore Coke bottle-bottom glasses) that he could leave on the submarine. To justify that to Kate, he said he would leave, but return to rescue everyone. So perhaps the good (or bad) doctor made another deal, this time with the freighter crew. It’s possible that the Jack-led Oceanic Six were promised that they could at least try to rescue their friends if they left with the freighter crew immediately.
- Somebody's got leverage. Leaving everyone behind came at a cost. Somehow, the Oceanic Six have been coerced, forced, convinced or manipulated into furthering the lie that the rest of the Oceanic 815 passengers died. So that gives me two questions. (1), who really gets the Oceanic Six off the Island? I don’t mean who physically takes them home, but rather who orchestrates their return to reality? This could be the freighter crew, whoever sent the freighter crew, or some as-of-yet unknown entity. And (2), whoever it is has something that they are holding over the heads of the Six in order to keep their mouths shut. What are they using as leverage to keep the Oceanic Six quiet? The threat of killing their friends? An exploitation of the Island’s secret? A promise of some more scenes of Kate running through the jungle in a wife beater during a rainstorm?
The New Hurley
Whoa. Forget opening a season’s on someone’s eye. I guess that Dharma Blog post was an exercise in futility. We open instead on a stack of Island-like fruit, which is soon pulverized by the Chevy Camaro: Cheech Marin Edition (Cheech played Hurley’s pa last season). Quick side note and general rule of thumb: if some kid ever tries to pick up any daughter of mine in a Camaro, he will be met with a swift kick to the pills and a door slammed in his face. No Nickelback-listening, Axe Body Spray-wearing, Camaro-driving inevitable disappointment is taking my daughter anywhere.Sorry. Back to Hurley. The smashing of the fruit was symbolic, for me at least, of the complete shattering of Hurley’s character arc; in a good way. Hurley referred to himself as, “Good old, fun-time Hurley” last year. But as his role has become more central and his character has taken on more responsibility, Hugo has cast some of his happy-go-lucky aside, replacing it with a darker, more pensive persona. I, for one, like it.
Part of this transformation is rooted in Hurley's deep psychiatric issues. But I think another part of it stems from Hurley’s onus of worth. Let me explain. For most of his life, Hurley was able to float by in the periphery of society. He worked at a chicken shack, he cruised the streets in an old beat-up van and he rarely ruffled a single feather. Then, the porch collapse that killed all those people broke his sense of apathy about the world. And then, the lottery win catapulted him into stardom, into prominence. Suddenly, everything he did affected someone. And whenever something went wrong, it hit Hurley hard. He missed the Hurley that only affected people when he was making them laugh.
I think this is the picture of Hurley that the writers attempted to portray in the first 3 season of LOST. And now, we are seeing the rescue mission and Charlie’s death serve as another catalyst for change in Hurley. Obviously, it’s affected him deeply. He’s seeing imaginary Charlie in the real world. He leads a high-speed chase through a fruit stand. Then he lead a low-speed footrace through a parking lot, which predictably lasted about as long as me at a Sheryl Crow concert. Then he asks to be admitted back to the mental hospital that, earlier in his life, was like a prison to him. So perhaps the Hurley we are seeing right now is one that seeks the ignorance that so blessed his early life. A long time ago, he got sick of being nobody, so he asked for something to happen to him. When it did, he realized he’d gotten much more than he asked for.
So now we’re left with Oceanic Six Hurley, a man whose sense of self has been distorted by a series of tragic events. And Hurley has retreated to the relative safety of the mental hospital. But post-Island Hurley is a little more mature than the Hurley who lived at the mental hospital years ago. Now, he has his onus worth. People on the Island cared about him, and he cared about them. Namely, Charlie. Hurley's in the police station and has a vision of Charlie swimming into the window (Charlie's hand has been retagged with "They Need You" if you didn't notice), and then Charlie comes to speak to him at the hospital to reiterate that message. See, unlike Hurley's old imaginary friend (Dave) Charlie tries to convince Hurley to follow the good side of his heart. "They need you," he tells him. This is Hurley's conscience trying to convince him that he made a mistake in leaving. Eventually, Hurley buys into it.
Hurley’s mental hospital scenes were certainly eye opening. First, there was the visit by the “Oceanic lawyer” who conveniently left his business card at home. He’s obviously on to the Oceanic Six’s deception, and he wants answers. Hurley is apparently terrified of being exposed, which is part of the reason he freaks out and gets the “lawyer” out of his sight as quickly as possible.
Then there’s the game of horse with Jack – who sucks at basketball by the way. It’s here we learn that the Hurley flash-forwards are taking place sometime between the rescue and the flash-forward of Jack we saw last season (hence the beard conversation). It is also here that Hurley expresses his second-guessing of the Oceanic Six’s decision (or capitulation) to leave the other survivors behind and lie about it.
Whatever the Oceanic Six is hiding is enough to effect Hurley as much as the porch collapse and lottery incidents did. That's reason enough to believe that “the secret” is indeed the tapestry we are meant to unravel this season.
Team of Science, Team of Faith
Oh, the Battle of Jack and Locke manifests anew. Short of drawing an actual line in actual sand, The Man of Science and the Man of Faith made what is arguably their most definitive split ever in this episode.
First, we have the Team of Science – those who follow Jack. For argument’s sake, let’s call it Team of Reason or Team of Logic. These are the people who are straightforward enough to believe that there’s a boat that can get to the Island, and that the boat can take them off the Island. That’s all these people need or want to know. They’re willing to throw some blinders on to block out Locke’s warnings, as they have assumed the Jack/Juliet mentality of “survive, survive, survive.” Actually, that sounds somewhat illogical. The Man (or Woman) of Science would weigh all the facts, right? Well, yes. But that requires believing that Locke’s warnings are indeed “facts,” and not the crazy ramblings of a man who is obviously on a mission separate from anyone else’s.
So who does choose to join the Locke-led Team of Faith? I think it is, quite simply, those who are clinging to the belief that this Island means something, that the crash was not mere coincidence. Locke is the poster boy for this movement. And I think there are some people who don’t trust Jack, or who are at least weary of his tendency to have good intentions lead to dire consequences.I love the Jack vs. Locke motif. I think it’s a microcosm of so many bigger issues that this show addresses. But, for me, the really interesting twist from “The Beginning of the End” was toward the end. Hurley apologizes to Jack, regretting his initial decision to follow Locke. That tells us that Hurley not only regrets “the mistake” of leaving the Others behind, but also regrets whatever the Locke-led alternative was. Something tells me Hurley’s confusion on this issue will be a common theme this season, played out in the consciences of many characters.
We’ve seen who sides with Team Science and Team Faith. But who switches sides? Who wishes they hadn’t? And who the hell else gets off this Island?
And that’ll do it. I hope you enjoyed last night’s offering. I think it was an excellent kickoff to the season and I’m looking forward to seeing how it plays out.
One last note… In a few weeks, we’ll be welcoming a new member to my family. Fittingly, I’ve named him after one of my favorite LOST (and Peanuts) characters. Meet Linus.
Namaste..charlie
