The Man of Faith

For the rest of this season, I don’t want to hear one complaint about LOST never giving us answers. Because for the last two weeks, I’ve felt as though we’ve stumbled upon the teacher’s edition of the LOST 101 textbook. Last night’s offering, “The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham,” picked up where “316” left off, filling in blank after blank about Locke’s post-Island journey and his efforts to recruit the Oceanic Six back to the Island.

While it might’ve been easy to dismiss the episode as a simple answer-fest, I think there was a deeper meaning behind Locke’s journey (isn’t there always?) and I’ll get into it later.

First off, a few housekeeping items: I think Caesar and Alana are our new Jack and Kate for the Ajira flight. I think Frank Lapidus and Sun took that boat in the middle of the night. And I think that when they passed over the Island, the Oceanic Six time-travel-flashed out of the plane to the 1970’s Dharma Initiative. My lingering questions: Is John Locke in the 1970s? But if the Ajira castaways landed neatly on the Island, as it appeared they did, did they time travel? It would make the most sense if everyone did. Though when does LOST ever make the most sense?

But those are questions for another week. I’m going to attack this episode much in the same way I do an Oreo cookie: start in the middle and work my way out. We’ll start with John Locke’s efforts to recruit the Oceanic Six, then work our way out to his mythology-packed meetings with the two sides of our integral coin: Ben Linus and Charles Widmore. And finally, a look at how John Locke’s life just flashed before his eyes.


Rallying the Troops
Jeremy Bentham’s Recruitment Tour of the Oceanic Six played out pretty much as expected, with a few small twists.

Before we get to them, we better talk about Walt. Yes, that Walt. As in, “Waaaalt,” of “I’ve gotta get my son back” fame.
Locke’s “checking in” on Walt scene mostly underwhelmed me, save for Walt’s revelation that he’s had dreams of Locke, dressed in a suit, surrounded by strangers on the Island who “want to hurt” him. That’s no dream, Samuel L. Jackson. That’s a vision of the future. And it’s one more piece to place in the oft-complicated, rarely-touched-upon Walt mythology. Here’s hoping we get a few more pieces before this show wraps up. But on to the O6.

Sayid, having already been burned by one Island shaman in his post-Island life, declined Locke’s offer in order to keep doing “real good” by building habitats (presumably for humanity). Hurley takes Locke to be a ghost, until an orderly tells him that the wheelchair-confined baldie he’s talking to is, in fact, real. Predictably, Hurley flips out and escapes in his size XXXXL bathrobe.

After the Hurley freak-out, John and his caretaker, Matthew Abbadon, finally have the Come to Jesus meeting we were all waiting for. Abbadon tells John to stop pretending he doesn’t remember who he is, and when Locke inquires as to the nature of Abbadon’s employment, the stoic intermediary replies, simply, “I help people get to where they need to get to, John. That’s what I do for Mr. Widmore.” When Widmore referred to Abbadon as John’s “driver,” he didn’t just mean chauffer. Apparently, Matthew drives souls to the Island as well. I like it.

When Locke visits Kate, she takes a page out of her on-again-off-again boyfriend’s playbook, becoming the Woman of Science and dismissing John’s destiny as a search for meaning in an otherwise meaningless life. She claims he’s “obsessed and crazy” because he’s never loved someone. That’s cold, baby. But if affects Locke enough for him to implore Abbadon to find his old flame, Peg Bundy…err…Helen.

Tragically, Helen’s life has been cut short by a brain aneurism. After Locke and Abbadon visit her grave, Abbadon is taken out of the picture (by Ben Linus, as we later learn), and Locke is forced to flee. His hurried escape and inability to transfer his giant, booted foot from the accelerator to the brake pedal leads to a spectacular crash. And that crash, as fate would have it, lands Locke in Jack’s hospital.

The Jack and Locke hospital scene seemed to serve as a temporary passing of the torch for Locke. He planted just enough doubt in Jack and made him enough of a Man of Faith to secure the Oceanic Six’s return to the Island. I wonder if Jack’s newfound faith aboard Ajira Airlines 316 will threaten Locke’s claim as Island know-it-all when they reunite. Eh, it’s something to ponder.

Locke’s 0 for 6 record sends him into a suicidal spiral, culminating in one of the best scenes of the season: Ben’s meeting with a despondent Locke. It was a perfect mirror of the scene that set Locke off on his journey: his meeting with Charles Widmore.

Fightin’ Words
Ben vs. Widmore. The war. The Tussle in Tunisia. The Melee on Mystery Island. The Rumble in the, well, Jungle. Last night, we got a look at the battle plans from both generals.

The (Wid)more You Know
After awakening in Tunisia, the exit port for the Frozen Donkey DeLorean, Locke finds himself in the company of a man he hasn’t seen in 4 days (or 40+ years, but who’s counting?). Widmore’s talks with Locke were remarkably revealing, an informational feast for those (like me) who can’t get enough of the Widmore arc. Seriously, every scene with this guy is an instant classic. Let’s examine.

First off, Widmore seems a little surprised that John dates their meeting at “four days ago” when, for Charles, it was decades ago. Does Widmore not know (or fully understand?) the time travel abilities of the Island, or were those abilities not a part of the Island he (thought he) knew?

Charles colored in some more of the backstory leading to this war by claiming that Ben “fooled” him into leaving, exiling Charles “the Peaceful Protector” Widmore from the Island. “There’s a war coming, John. And if you’re not back on the Island when that happens, the wrong side is going to win.” That almost amounted to a motivational speech, with Widmore further convincing Locke that returning the Oceanic Six back to the Island is the only way to restore the order.

Widmore claims his motivations are based on his deep investment in the future of the Island. Sounds a lot like something Ben Linus would say, no? Locke thought so, too, questioning Penny’s pa about his intentions before capitulating and accepting Charles as the good guy. Hell, at that point in Locke’s life, anyone who opposes Ben Linus can’t be half bad, right? We’ll see.

If there’s one way to John Locke’s heart, it’s by telling him that he’s special. Widmore trekked that heavily-traveled route last night, telling John that the Island needed him, and that, “it has for a long time.” This sense of historically-grounded, inevitable destiny genuinely – and quickly – motivates Locke, no matter how many times it leads him astray. Beholden to fate, Locke enters the car with his “driver.”

Quick note: why didn’t Widmore think John needed to die? Apparently he didn’t get the memo from Richard. Or is something more devious as play?


Surely You Won’t Trust Ben Again, Right John? John? Right?
Wrong. And Ben used every trick in the book to get that cord away from John’s neck… for a minute, anyway.

Deep in a suicidal spiral, Locke is interrupted again by Ben, who exploits John’s malleable mental state by painting Widmore as the true evil. And, like Widmore, he reminds John how special he is ( “You can’t do this. If anything happens to you…John, you have no idea how important you are. Let me help you.” )

Ever knowledgeable about other people’s business, Ben restores Locke’s faith by telling him that Jack has booked a trans-Pacific ticket, thus indicating an early glimmer of light in the imploded tunnel of hopelessness that had become Locke’s mission.

And finally, Ben took a cue from Taller Ghost Walt by convincing John that he still had work to do. Well played, Mr. Linus.

With Locke’s loyalty once again redirected back toward him, Ben extracts the crucial piece of information from Locke: that the next stop is to Eloise Hawking. With that crucial intel in hand, Ben goes from mythological sherpa to cold-blooded killer, strangling the life out of John with the very extension cord John intended to kill himself with.

To me, this represented Ben taking fate into his own hands, quite literally. Fate would’ve killed John Locke with that extension cord around his neck. But Ben couldn’t stand another entity having control. So he manipulated the situation to put himself back in the driver’s seat. And don’t be fooled by the shallow contrition in Ben’s voice when he said, “I’ll miss you, John. I really will.” What he’ll really miss is having a very coercible, very meaningful pawn to play with.

Whose Side Are They On?
So did Ben kill Locke to eliminate his competition for Island leader? Or did Ben need to correct John’s course somehow? Because Ben said he’d miss Locke, I don’t think he knows that Locke will reincarnate on the Island.

And why didn’t Widmore think Locke needed to die? Why does Widmore think getting the Oceanic Six back to the Island is important?

You'll have to give your answers in the comments, as my mind has already moved on to what I think was the point of "The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham."

Have I Seen This Episode Before?
Wait, a plane crash on the Island? A mysterious man in a suit? Did I Frozen Donkey Wheel myself back to Season One?

No, but last night was all about a subtle nod to the notion of using future knowledge to change past events. Course-correction, fate and free will all rolled into the arc of LOST’s most pivotal character: John “Jeremy Bentham" Locke.

Here we go. Did you notice all the parallels between John’s post-Island story and his pre-Island story? Abbadon as his driver and wheelchair pusher. People constantly telling him he’s special. Dead ends on every road of meaning. A physical tragedy befalling him when he doubts himself. A doomed attempt at real love with Helen. Convincing non-believers that there was something bigger in life. And the heartbreakingly futile search for a father figure, with puppet-master papas pulling the rug out from under him while using him for their own personal gain.

Yes, Locke’s post-Island adventure mirrored the spiritual, romantic, emotional and fateful ups and downs of his pre-Island life.

At the end of both of these journeys, Locke found himself on the Island after an interrupted plane ride. But whereas both of his landings on the Island have found him in similar (vastly improved) physical states, the mental state he’s in varies markedly among the two journeys.

When Oceanic 815 Locke arrived at the Island, he was a broken man. He had been denied from the walkabout that he thought was his destiny. He was returning to a world that seemed to conspire against him at every turn, and his life was devoid of any real meaning. But Ajira 316 Locke crashed to the Island with a wealth of valuable knowledge, a sense of purpose and a mission, a destiny. A reason for everything, and an understanding for most of it.

Which makes me wonder, “What will Ajira 316 Locke do with this knowledge?”

While that question carries massive philosophical implications, it's also a concrete tie to the harrowing physical question of the new LOST. Faraday claims that one cannot go back in time with future knowledge to change the course of events. But now we have Locke, perched at the precipice of a destiny he knows more about than even he understands. Now, instead of being a passive observer who doesn't (or can't) interfere with his own life, John Locke can use his knowledge to avoid the pitfalls of his first Island journey. He can do things right this time. He can sidestep the soul crushing defeats of old. He can use his Island communion to fulfill his (and the Island’s) destiny. Wouldn’t you?

And this is precisely what I liked about last night’s episode (besides the abundance of on-screen time for Locke, which is always cool). It was LOST’s attempt at tying together the universes of science and faith, using the concept of changing the past as a sort of common ground.

Maybe Daniel Faraday's right: a time-traveler can’t go back and physically tinker with the past to change his future. But John Locke – who is virtually reliving the major events and themes of his life but with a completely redefined knowledge base – most certainly can.

Think of it as a victory for the Man of Faith.

Namaste.
Charlie

Preview: The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham

It will be as simple as the TiVo description: “Locke’s fateful journey off the island as Jeremy Bentham is revealed.”

It will likely be as consequential as any episode we’ve seen.

It will answer the questions that keep Charlie awake at night, looking out his window to see if someone is standing outside (someone is there, Charlie…be afraid…).

It will fill in more missing pieces than I have time to mention in this preview.

I will now stop trying to be poetic.

Rock. And. Roll. Time for Lost!

TONIGHT IS FINALLY HERE!!
Tonight’s episode, “The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham,” will likely begin at a time and place we’ve seen: after Locke’s fall-into-the-well, after Christian’s cryptic instructions, and after Locke’s stabilization of the off-axis donkey wheel. Locke has a series of goals:
(1) Convince the O6 to go back the island.
(2) Die. (Cue single tear…)

Okay, let’s talk about the most basic question: Where and when will Locke be time-and-space-catapulted? Our only Donkey-Wheel-Moving experience to this point threw Ben to Tunisia, not to mention one year forward in time. If you are trust Mrs. Hawking, the Lamp Post station (the one under the church) was built upon a pocket of electromagnetic activity, which is somehow connected to other such pockets around the globe. SO where are these locations? Some think that Tunisia (simply because Ben ended up there) is one of the locations. Some think that Issac of Uluru’s home in Australia (the guy Bernard took Rose to for healing) is a pocket.

Mrs. Hawking's map with the 'pockets' marked.

Frankly, I wouldn’t be surprised if a location near Portland, OR, ends up being a pocket. After all, the subs going to the island were launched from there, and it also serves as a hub of activity for Dharma and Hanso, including a base of the suspiciously unconspicuous Mittelos Biosciences and Heriat Aviation.

The skyline of Portland, Oregon. Freaking beautiful.

Seems to me a pocket in England would also fit into the Lost story quite nicely (possibly at Oxford, where Daniel experimented?). Finally, you have to wonder if Los Angeles is on this list, too. We know LA is important – lots of important people are there, and many important storyline-altering situations have gone down within the city limits.

So Locke stabilizes the donkey wheel and catapults to…well, my first guess is Portland (for no particular reason). My second guess is the same place Ben went - the Tunisian desert. My third guess is at Issac of Uluru's house. My fourth guess is Charlie's backyard in Lincoln, NE. When? Well, I’m going to guess sometime within a month of the O6’s return to the island on Arija 316. It gets a little tricky here, but if we can agree that, in realtime, the island is/would be in early 2005 (sure, there have been 15 time shifts…don’t get me started)…I think the donkey wheel movement moves him to late 2007 – let’s say December – because of the timestamp (“Three Years Ago”) that was on screen at the beginning of “The Lie”.

Confused yet?
Okay, so it is December 2007. He needs to visit the O6, but we also know he sees a few other people in the process. This list of people, and their locations at that point (if known), is as follows:







• Jack Shepherd: Jack has a really awful beard and is hooked on oxycodone. He is in LA.

• Kate Austen: Kate is still playing house (and looking hot, according to Charlie) with Aaron in LA.

• Aaron (Littelton) Austen: Aaron is 3.5 years old, living with his hot Fake-Mom, Kate, in LA.

• Hugo “Hurley” Reyes: I’m pretty sure Locke visits Hurley while he is still in the Santa Rosa Mental Institution, per the conversation that he has with Walt when Walt comes to visit. So Hurley is at Santa Rosa, which is in LA.

• Sun Kwon: We have not heard any reference to a Locke visit with Sun. I’m not entirely sure if it happens because Locke would have given her Jin’s wedding ring during such a meeting like he promised, right? Well, Sun is a world traveler at this point in her life, so Locke could probably have met with her anywhere.

• Sayid Jarrah: We also have not heard any reference to a Locke visit with Sayid. Sayid is also bouncing around the world like an Iraqi Carmen Sandiego with a cache of weapons – Locke could probably meet him wherever.

• Walt Lloyd: Teenager Walt is living with the cute Grandma Lloyd in New York City. We know Locke visits him because the visit causes Walt to travel to LA with Grandma to visit Hurley.

• Benjamin Linus: Ben explained to us that, although Locke does not visit him, he does visit Locke. And if you’ve seen the previews for this week’s episode, you’ve seen that it looks like Ben is with Locke when Locke hangs himself. Sweet. Lord. I don’t know if I can handle this….

Okay, I know Locke is crafty, but how is he going to pull this off?
Well, that’s a great question. I think Locke is going to play an Ace of Spades for each individual – and Lord knows he has a few Aces of Spadeses…hahaha:

• Jack: It is pretty easy to make Jack feel guilty. I mean, his life repeats itself over and over again: guilt, which leads to “fixing” someone/something, which leads to ultimate disappointment (but that’s for another blog), which leads to guilt,…etc. I think Locke is going to play on that by convincing Jack that his departure caused such (drama and) danger…that he HAS to come back and fix it. While Jack might not show he agrees initially, I bet Jack will be Locke’s easiest sell.

• Kate: Six simple letters…S-A-W-Y-E-R.

Gratuitous Photograph of Sawyer.

Locke knows that Kate loves Sawyer. Sawyer is in danger. Blah blah blah. Kate will pretend like she doesn’t care, but she does. She is sort of like Jack – she probably won’t show that she believes him, but she does. Blah blah blah. Lame-o. Kate is in. So much so that she ‘eliminates’ Aaron from the equation…more on this shortly…

• Aaron: Well…uhh…Aaron is 3. He’s pretty trusting of anyone, including Asian Women with guns. Locke’s Ace of Spades for Aaron might as well be a Thin Mint Girl Scout cookie (freaking delicious). Basically, I think Aaron is in the bag. (P.S. What the heck did Kate do with Aaron? Any theories out there? Is he with Grandma Littleton?)

• Sayid: The more I think about it, the more I think Sayid would probably kill Locke if he came near him. So I don’t there will be a visit. But if Locke had an Ace of Spades, he is going to mention Nadia…play on that emotion plus revenge directed towards Widmore, etc.

• Walt: Walt thinks his Dad is still alive. It is ridiculous that no one has told him that Dad blew up with the Kahana (and no matter what you say, I am certain Michael is dead even though we haven’t seen a body). Locke will tell Walt he is trying to save Dad. Pathetic. That really makes me mad.

But Maggie, you forgot about Ben.
Charlie, come on. I didn’t forget about Ben. He is too scary to forget. There is more to say about Ben than a “bullet’s worth”, so I’m moving on to a new section.

Okay. The Locke-Ben meeting brings about the many super huge big questions surrounding the relationship between Ben and Locke: working together or fighting against each other? Wanting the same thing or serving selfish desires/interests? On their own or with a team (Widmore, Christian, etc…)? Or, as it has been theorized for a year or so, are Locke and Ben brothers?

Okay, I guess I’ll address this last question first. I think the answer is: no, they are not brothers. We can agree on the fact that Ben and Locke were both born to someone named Emily, with Locke being born about five years before Ben (according to his Holiness, Lord Jeff Jensen). Even though Ben’s mother died shortly after his birth, I guess it is not entirely implausible that Ben and Locke are (half) brothers. (Go ahead and tell me here that it isn’t the same Emily because "Swoosie" visits Locke later in life and we know she is his real Mom…etc, etc…yeah, yeah, I know.)

Swoosie Kurtz (of "Sisters" fame), as Emily Locke

Well, I tend to believe that the “Emily” connection merely highlights the from-the-beginning similarities between Ben’s and Locke’s fates. Huh? Well, think of it as yet another example of their parallel lives, in the same way as Locke’s multiple opportunities to end up on a course to the island (through Alpert’s “Super-Secret-Special-School-For-Kids-Who-Pick-The-Compass” or the high school “Super-Secret-Special-Science-Program-On-A-Magical-Island-Whoops-Didn’t-Mean-To-Say-Magic-Island-Forget-I-Said-That”), synching up with Ben’s father’s Dharma Initiative relocation to the island. Locke denies/screws up multiple chances to get to the island amidst encouragement from multiple sources; Ben, meanwhile, gets dragged there by his deadbeat, alcoholic, abusive, “Workman” father.

Clearly, whichever entity is operating the island has preferred Locke’s presence from the beginning.

And that is why I don’t think they are brothers. (and…scene.)

Okay, so back to Ben and Locke. This might be a small clue: in the DVD commentary for Episode 20 of Season 3 (“The Man Behind the Curtain”), the producers describe Locke's relationship with Ben as being a multi-chapter showdown for who will be the “Master of the Island.” For this reason (and others), I think Ben and Locke…

(1) Want the same thing: control/communion with the island.

(2) Both know that bringing the O6 back to the island is a requirement to gaining that control/communion.

(3) Are “fighting” against the same power-that-be (i.e. Widmore).

(4) Will forgo an opportunity to combine forces and officially beat said power once and for all…for completely and entirely selfish interests.

In my opinion, the linchpin in this scenario is the fact that Ben knows more of this reality than Locke. Locke is following Christian’s simple instructions (1. Turn wheel; 2. Bring them back), but other than “preserving the island/saving everyone,” he doesn’t understand why he needs to follow through. Ben, on the other hand, knows almost everything. And it appears he is poised to take Locke out of the game (“Here, John, use this cord to hang yourself…”)to claim victory. But what he might not realize is that Locke’s inevitable return to the island will throw Ben’s whole plan out of whack…because Locke is going to reincarnate and live again, much like Christian Shepherd has done.

Did that make any sense?
Meh. Sorta. I guess. But I really have no idea.

I should probably mention a blurb about the real Jeremy Bentham.
While I’m quite certain that Charlie and I addressed it at some point, I’ll now take a commercial break to recap the life and death of the real Jeremy Bentham.

Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) was an English political radical. He advocated for utilitarianism: “Act so as to produce the greatest good for the greatest number.” He was highly opposed to the theory of natural rights (a.k.a. universal, moral, inalienable rights…think U.S. Constitution), as tirelessly championed by (I’m so not kidding) philosopher John Locke. Bentham’s theories heavily influenced the work of the father of socialism, Robert Owen. In other areas, Bentham believed in individual and economic freedom, the separation of church and state, the freedom of expression, equal rights for women (woot!), the end of slavery, the abolition of physical punishment, and the right to divorce. Bentham is also considered the founder of University College London.

In my humble and uneducated opinion (I haven’t done much reading on the guy), Bentham’s post-mortem life is the most interesting of all.

[Note: If you are eating on something while reading this, I highly suggest you stop. Trust me.]

As requested in his will, Bentham’s body was preserved (gasp!) and stored (ugh!) in a wooden cabinet (huh?!), termed his “Auto-icon.” (BIZARRE!) Originally kept by his student (I just had an image of a preserved Dr. Ted Larson in Charlie’s living room…ha ha ha), it was acquired by University College London in 1850. To this day, Bentham’s Auto-icon is kept on public display (for real?) in the main building of the College. And beyond that, for the 100th and 150th anniversaries of the College, the Auto-icon was brought to the meeting of the College Council, where he was listed as “present but not voting.” Are. You. Kidding. Me.

Jeremy Bentham's preserved body-in-a-box.

The Auto-icon has always had a wax head, as Bentham's head was badly damaged in the preservation process (seriously, this is disgusting). His real head was displayed in the same case for many years, but became the target of repeated student pranks including being stolen on more than one occasion (wow, this takes student pranks to a new level). It is now locked away.

Gosh, I don’t know what else to say.

Guest starring tonight…
Oooh, tonight will be way fun in the area of guest stars. Some Maggie-and-Charlie-Favorites are poised to make appearances, including:

• Alan Dale as the ever-frightening Charles Widmore (Hmm. Does Widmore find out what Locke/Bentham is doing? Me thinks yes.)

• Lance Reddick as icy Matthew Abaddon (His eyes are piercing. It’s like he can see into my soul. Or kill me at any moment. Both are horrifying prospects.)

• William Blanchette as the adorable goober-who-loves-cartoons, Aaron (Okay, so I guess this answers my previous question…Aaron must be there at the Kate/Locke reunion. Wonder if Locke will give him a cookie. Or a lolly-pop. Or an Apollo Candy Bar!)

• John Terry as Daddy-Dearest Christian Shephard (Interesting…I guess we are going to ‘relive’ Locke’s exit from the island via the donkey wheel turn.)

• Malcolm David Kelley as pubescent Walt (How much do you want to bet that Charlie will comment on his ever-advancing age in his blog tomorrow? $20? You’re on.)

Dude! Come back tomorrow!
Last week, we had some impressive numbers in our comments section after Charlie’s review! Come join in the fun…Lord knows there will be things to discuss!

Namaste,
Maggie

A Bonus Theory, just because you’re special. (a.k.a. Maggie’s Mind is Wandering…)
In Season 1, when Locke was investigating the crash site of the Yemi’s drug plane, Locke’s legs stopped working. In Season 5, in the same location but during a different time period, Locke was shot and wounded by creepy Ethan.

An incapacitated Locke, watching Boone climb up to the drug plane...to his death.

Perhaps we should consider some connection between these two events.

Locke’s legs failed to work when he got near an area where (in the objective past) he was wounded in one leg. Following that line of logic, Locke’s legs only started to work when he reached the island, where, in the objective past (okay, I guess it would be Locke's subjective future…), his legs were working just fine. Now, I fully recognize this creates a bit of a circular logic issue, but maybe that's how the island works: it creates loopholes like that using various…uh…anomalies.

Okay, another example. In Season 1, Kate and Michael accompanied Locke on his first hunt for wild boar. One of boar charged them (remember when the boar came out from the bushes?). The three are knocked to the ground. Kate suffers a few scrapes, while Michael sports a leg wound from the boar tusk. At this very moment, Locke, once again, finds himself unable to move his legs. So, will Locke again be injured at the site of the boar attack sometime in the…past????

An incapacitated Locke in the middle of the boar hunt.

Then again, maybe Locke’s legs stopped working at those moments because, had he been able to move, he would have changed the future by his actions. So, the island acted to prevent course-changing. Or something like that…

I fully recognize this none may matter one bit. But….interesting, nonetheless?

(Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller? Stephan? Intermill? Kluver? Anyone there? Is this on? Hello?)

Right Back Where We Started

Good morning Dharma Blog! First off, a couple shout-outs. To my mom, Happy Birthday! Guess what I got you? A blog entry! Secondly, a shout-out to my Dharma Blog Constant and our resident preview artist, Maggie. Keep her in your thoughts and prayers, as she’s having a rough week. Love you, kid.

Now onto last night’s action. In many ways, 316 paralleled the earliest chapters of the LOST saga. An opening scene with Jack’s eye in the jungle, a flashback-style story telling. Jack trying to get a casket on a plane and more! Are the writers getting lazy? On the contrary, these familiar elements served a much grander purpose, which is what today’s posting is all about (you’ll see).

But for those of you wondering how long it was going to take LOST to get the O6 back to the Island, you got your answer pretty quickly last night. Immediately, in fact. Jack’s back on the Island. So are Hurley and Kate. And, presumably, so are Sun, Sayid, Hurley, Ben and Locke’s carcass. But how? Well to quote Ms. Hawking, “Let’s get started.”


The Layperson’s Guide to Paranormal Island Time Travel
With a classroom full of characters exhibiting a combination of disbelief and bewilderment last night, Professor Eloise Hawking took to the chalkboard to explai how one goes about returning to the Island. And man, it’s tricky.
Contrary to popular belief, I am not a scientist. A nerd, yes. But a scientist I am not. So I’ll spare you the science and get to the essentials. First off, our setting was The Lamppost, the underground laboratory that was once – get this – a Dharma Station! Built with the purpose of finding – and perhaps exploiting – the Island, the Lamppost has been hijacked by Professor Hawking. In this station, a Dharma scientist discovered that you weren’t supposed to look for where the Island was, but where it was going. That’s right, it’s been moving the whole time. I’ll save the intricacies of that mystery for another day.

I’m going to harken back to Season 2 for a second. Remember when Rose visited that healer, Isaac of Uluru? He explained the concept of “pockets of energy,” around the world that had extraordinary powers. That crackpot tangent was confirmed by Hawking last night, who explained that Dharma was only interested in one such pocket: Hot Pockets. Just kidding. The Island, silly (great guess, Sun)! Dharma had evidence of the Island’s existence, but not proof of its whereabouts (or whenabouts?). But using a series of ridiculously complicated looking formulas and that sweet pendulum to predict the Island’s movements, Dharma found “windows” of time through which one may enter the Island.

After the lesson, Desmond exited stage left, but not before issuing a stern warning to Jack not to heed the words of Ms. Hawking. Undeterred (and with the knowledge that “The Island isn’t done” with Desmond yet), Hawking asks Jack to come bang erasers after class. And by “bang erasers” I mean “comprehend his destiny.”

Using Locke’s suicide letter and the father Jack can’t forget as emotional pleas, Hawking explains that Locke’s body will act as a “proxy,” or substitute, for the Oceanic 815 carcass of Christian Shepherd. To enable this, Jack is tasked with giving something of his father’s to Locke.

As if that weren’t enough for Jack, Ben then explains the story of Thomas the Apostle to Jack, as an allegory for leaps of faith. Yes, this is the same Ben that once said about the Island, “God doesn’t know where we are.” So did Ben Linus find Jesus? Nah. He found yet another way to get inside Jack’s head. Brilliant. Ben boiled down the message of the story in a very palatable form for Jack: “We’re all convinced sooner or later, Jack.”

A couple of things I noticed here. Did you see that US Military satellite photo of the Island? It was dated 9/23/1954, which confirms the Jughead story. Interestingly, that photo was taken exactly 50 years to the day (if you count the leap day in 2004) before the crash of Oceanic 815. Does that mean anything? And what did you make of Ben’s feigning of misunderstanding? How much does he really know? Ms. Hawking seems to think he knows more than he lets on, but he certainly doesn’t seem as knowledgeable and in control as usual.


The Return
So with missions in hand, the travelers venture off on what seem to be vastly divergent paths. Sun flees. Kate, Sun, Sayid and Aaron still aren’t buying the story. And Ben? He’s got some “loose ends to tie up” for “an old friend.” Side note: I think that friend was Locke. And obviously, that “loose end” involved beating the tar out of someone.

But divergent paths be damned! In a scene seeping with ethereal creepiness, Kate shows a change of heart and agrees to follow Jack. Her determination is evident. So much so that she seems to have discarded Aaron like a prom night dumpster baby. If you don’t believe she would really be that ruthless, I’d like to point you to the cavalier line she uttered when chiding Jack about his father’s shoes: “Why hold onto something that makes you sad?” So what happened to Aaron? And what happened to disintegrate Kate’s maternal instinct so quickly? And why do I find her even more attractive when she’s being crazy? Because I am sick.

If that weren’t enough for Jack, the rest of the O6 (+ Ben – Aaron) continued to fall into his lap. Sun had a change of heart. So did Hurley, for some unknown reason. Sayid was taken captive by a mysterious woman. Ben hobbled onto the plane at the last minute. And John Locke’s carcass cleared customs. Tonight’s episode wasn’t about explaining how everyone got on Ajira Airlines Flight 316. All we need to know is that they did, and my guess is that the remainder of the season will answer those questions in flashback-form (again, how very Season One of LOST).

But last night wasn’t about science class, creepy-hot Kate or any of the rest of the Oceanic Six. It was a return to LOST’s central Season One storyline: the hero’s journey.


It All Comes Back to Jack
The conflict between science and faith has always underscored the story of LOST. Last night, the Man of Science began his transition to Man of Faith. And it began with one hell of a leap.

Jack’s extra-credit session with Ms. Hawking served to remind us who Jack has been: untrusting, grounded in logic and stubborn. He scoffs at the “something borrowed” mission handed down by Hawking, to which she replies, “Stop thinking how ridiculous it is, and start asking yourself whether or not you believe it’s going to work. That’s why it’s called a leap of faith, Jack.” Suddenly, a glimmer of acceptance began to creep in amidst his incredulity.

Ben’s well-timed Sunday School lesson reiterated to Jack the importance of leaps of faith or, put another way, acceptance of fate. He leaves Jack with the ominous prediction that, sooner or later, the good doctor will abandon reason for feeling. And Jack, taking in this moment with the one prior, begins to believe.

The next stop is to Grandpa Ray, Jack’s nursing home-confined granddad from whom Jack apparently inherited his restless adventurer side. It’s here we see that Jack has convinced himself to get on the plane, as he tells granddad that he’ll be going away for a while. He leaves with his dad’s old shoes, returning home to a (drugged-up?) Kate, who only further reaffirms Jack’s path by agreeing to go with him. Because when you’re trying to decide between Science or Faith, the answer is always, always, always, “wherever Kate goes.”

At the butcher shop, Jack gives Locke his dancing shoes, and says, “Wherever you are John, you must be laughing our ass off, that I’m actually doing this. Because this, this is even crazier than you are.” Then, in a last-ditch attempt to circumvent his purpose, Jack leaves the letter with Locke. But the letter isn’t done with Jack.

It finds him on the plane. As does the Oceanic Six. Jack’s fate falls into his lap, with everyone but Aaron joining him on Flight 316 to confirm and validate his mission. And as he watches with amazement at the déjà vu airplane scene unfolding before him, his curiosity gets the best of him. He reads Locke’s note (“It feels like he needs me to read it.”), which simply says, “Jack, I wish you had believed me. JL.” If Jack was looking for a sign telling him to believe, Locke’s letter beat him over the head with it.

With that, midair turbulence set in for the second time in Jack’s life. But this time there is a key difference: in the battle between science and faith, Jack Shepherd has switched sides. He won’t try to explain this crash with logic and science, but with the tried-and-true John Locke maxims of destiny, fate, faith and purpose.

What Jack’s Journey Means for LOST
In a way, last night served as the reincarnation of LOST’s very narrative. In a show that prides itself on eschewing and reinventing every convention of the television universe, LOST’s penultimate season is right back where it started. An ill-fated but fully-intentional plane crash (well, maybe not a crash?) onto the Island, where heroes journeys will examine the struggles between faith and science, good and evil, right and wrong, predetermination and free will. At its core, many of life's biggest questions center on these struggles.

Remember, this show is about its chracters examining these central themes. By rebooting the narrative, LOST can now examine these heady motifs with serious depth. The O6 return and time travel angles will allow our characters a chance to change history, tool with destiny and reinvent themselves toward self-actualization. In doing so, they’ll encounter the paradoxes and pitfalls of some of those difficult questions. And I think the story we'll see will center around how the journeys to understanding some of life’s deepest, darkest philosophical questions is often more telling than the answers themselves.


In the coming weeks, we’ll see more about how we got to this point. What happened to Jeremy Bentham (which we’ll get next week), how Sayid, Kate and Hurley got to Flight 316, what Ben did, what has been happening to the Islanders and why the hell Jin is now a Dharma Workman. But for now, I’m going to enjoy 316 for what it was: a return to the roots of LOST, with a series of reminders about what I love about this show in the first place.

Until next week, Namaste.
Charlie

PS: Check out the awesome gift I got from Maggie:

Preview: 316. (Bonus: Maggie loses her mind.)

Howdy, everyone!

Have you recovered from last week’s episode, “This Place is Death”? If you are like Charlie and I (…but who are we kidding? We know we are beyond strange…), you’ve been thinking a lot about last week’s episode and trying to come to terms with some of the big ideas. Now, I’m not any closer to understanding what is going on than I was at 2:30 AM on Thursday morning when my review went up. However, I am charged today with getting you ready for what is sure to be a super sci-fi episode tonight, providing some much-needed answers to the big questions posed by this season’s time skipping. So….

Bring. It. On.

(Small aside: I am a right-brained person. This show is becoming WAY left-brained. I’m trying really really hard to make sense of it, so forgive me AND correct me if this completely wrong.)

Science Fun with Ms. Hawking
Tonight’s episode, “316”, is setting us up for some trippy science experiments in the basement of a church with (Professor) Ms. Hawking. The previews for tonight’s episode show a large swinging pendulum suspended over a map of the Pacific Ocean.

What the heck, right?

Well, speculation in the Lost universe is already rampant over this short 2-second clip. Many believe that Ms. Hawking has constructed her own Foucault Pendulum to determine the location of the island.

Before I continue, a quick pronunciation guide so you Dharma Blog Readers will both look and sound cool by the water cooler: Foucault is pronounced [foo (as in Foo Fighters) KOH (as in COpa Cabana)]. Pendulum is pronounced [PEN (like you write with) juh (like 'just' without the –st) lem (like 'lemon' without the –on)]. Spelled phonetically: fooKOH PENjuhlem. I know, I know. It looks like it should be foe-kalt. It isn’t. It is fooKOH. Trust me on this, guys. Trust me.

And now, back to our regularly scheduled program.

So Ms. Hawking has a Foucault Pendulum. What gives?
The Foucault Pendulum was conceived as an experiment to prove the rotation of the Earth on an axis. Simple enough, right? In 1851, the French (here we go again…) physicist Léon Foucault made his most famous pendulum when he suspended a 28 kilogram ball with a 67-meter wire from the dome of the Panthéon in Paris. (It is semi-interesting to note that the Panthéon was originally built as a church...and Ms. Hawking's Pendulum is in a church...) The apparatus consists of a tall pendulum free to oscillate in any vertical plane. The direction along which the pendulum swings rotates with time because of Earth’s daily rotation.

Small aside: You should all check out this animation.... http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/82/Foucault-rotz.gif

My Simple Theory about why a Foucault Pendulum would be of use to Ms. Hawking: 

Moving that much mass (the island) from one point to another on the surface of the Earth changes the Earth's rotation (i.e. it would cause a bit of a wobble). A Foucault Pendulum could be used to calculate this change and determine the location of the island in the present. (Sidenote: Charlie and I think that the episode title, ‘316’, represents the bearing by which the Oceanic 6 must reenter the island’s...uh...bubble.)

My Complicated Theory about why a Foucault Pendulum would be of use to Ms. Hawking:
Okay. When the island is stationary, it would appear to be in the same place (my duh statement of the day). But, the island is technically moving as the earth moves as it rotates.

(Charlie, are you confused? Okay. Give this a shot:  Imagine that in the middle of your office at Swanson Russell, there is a Foucault Pendulum (Just tell Dave I suggested he get one…it will be fine). Okay. So, every day, Lincoln, NE, revolves around the Earth at 790 mph (give or take). As the Earth moves, it carries Swanson Russell with it, and Swanson Russell carries the pendulum. As you watch the swinging pendulum over time, it will appear to travel around the base in a circle. However, in reality, the pendulum is always swinging in the same plane. It is the Earth’s rotation under the pendulum that causes this illusion.)

So think about this: what if when the island was dislodged (by the Donkey Wheel turn), the island actually BECAME a Foucault Pendulum? The island is remaining in the same physical place while the earth continues to rotate.

HUH?

Okay. Simplify, Maggie. Simplify.

Imagine that before the Donkey Wheel turned, the island was floating down the river on a raft. After the Donkey Wheel turned, the island got on a bridge over the water. So, as the water (which represents the earth) continues to pour by, the island stops rotating/moving with the water. The island has stopped. The earth has not. This would explain picking up all these random ‘things’ on the island…the polar bears, the Black Rock, etc. Throughout it’s history, the island has popped up in different locations!

(cue: shaking your head in confusion)

If I’ve lost you, stop reading. If you’re kind of with me, take a deep breath…
The unknown variable in my mind at this point is time. It appears that while the island is remaining stationary to the earth (fixed to one place as the earth revolves around it), it is also then oscillating in time. So, now you have the island moving on multiple different axis. This is why Ms. Hawking says they only have a 70 hour window, because that is when they will take the O6 back to the same time and place as when they left, which should, in theory, correct the anomaly and reunite them with those still on the island. (Without this moment, the “God help us all” scenario apparently takes place.) I suppose it is also possible that at that time, they will be somewhere (another geographic location with a similar Casmir effect) that can get them back to the original time/place.

Random Theory on the Electromagnetic Anamoly
Maybe this whole pendulum theory also explains the huge magnet. The magnet kept the island in a certain place. When the timer would get down pass zero in the Hatch, the island would start shaking violently. Perhaps that was the island slowing becoming dislodged from its original/connected-to-the-Earth’s-rotation location.

…meanwhile, back on the farm…
From the preview picture above, Jack is really confused about what is going on.  So, I probably will be confused.  And so will you.  However, we're all going to have to focus tonight in order to get through this.  What should we look for? Besides the Study Guide and/or Map that I hope Ms. Hawking has prepared so the O6 can return to the island, be on the look out for clues in her church basement laboratory and her story.

* What’s on the walls of the room? (Charlie and I saw some strange photographs.)
* What does the map on the floor depict?
* How does she know what she knows?
* Any indication that she is Ellie from the 1954 time skip?
* Why does she want to help the O6 return? What’s her motivation?
* What did she mean when she said “God help us all”?
* How much of this strategy does Ben know, or is he just as clueless as the O6?
* Any indication that Widmore knows what she is doing?

Come back! Please! Don’t give up on the Dharma Blog!
I know this preview wasn't great.  I know it probably gave you headache and confused you even more.  Well, don't give up on us.  TRUST ME:  you really want to come back tomorrow morning to hear Charlie’s take on this science lesson to end all science lessons. He has promised me that he will explain everything and answer any questions you may have. 

What a guy, what a guy.

...and.....DISCUSS!

Namaste,
Maggie

Review: This Place is Death. Plus, Maggie's guide to chasing butterflies.

After nearly a year hiatus from the reviewing burden, I’m back in the sleepless-Wednesday-night seat to give Charlie a good night’s sleep and a break. (On that note, I hope you all survived Charlie’s smelly boy preview Wednesday morning. Sorry about that.)

I’ll be honest with you: I came into tonight’s episode naïve about the intensity, significance and possibilities it would reveal.

But freaking WOW. That was some good Lost. I’m emotionally drained, physically tired, mentally confused…but elated and ecstatic all at once. I was extremely impressed with episode’s pace, and amazed at the scope in what seemed like a very short 44 minutes. (Episodes like this make me sad to think that the end of the series is just around the corner.) Also, the number of déjà vu moments were off the chart by the end of the episode (more to come on that).

Okay. I’ll stop with the meaningless banter. Time to dive right in. And….review!

Chasing a Butterfly
We picked up where we left off last week, with Jin’s reunion with Danielle and her crew. This week, though, they had names: Lacombe, Robert, Nadine, Montand. After making some quick assessments about the origin of the numbers transmission (which, I would remind you, took our survivors a few seasons to figure out), they were able to bridge the French-Korean language gap without any trouble and headed for the radio tower. Jin was in the lead and everything seemed to be going so well.

Until Nadine started chasing the butterflies.

At this point, I’d like to step onto a toad stool (I no longer say ‘soapbox’; I say ‘toad stool’) for just one moment and address the highly sexist commentary from the Lost watch party last night. I won’t name names or anything. Heaven forbid I’d throw Charlie, Lincoln, Noah, Jeff, or Ty under the bus. I wouldn’t do that. I wouldn’t just throw their names out onto the blog like that and acknowledge that they made comments that were unbecoming of a Dharma Blog reader…especially when I have it under good authority that each of these boys might be looking for a Valentine and/or Constant during the next few days. That just wouldn’t be fair. But I will say this: Just because stupid Montand said “that’s what happens when you bring women along” doesn’t mean you should follow that up with sexist comments…especially when your host for the evening happens to be the only female in the room. And that’s all I’m going to say.

Turns out Montand was wrong: Nadine wasn’t chasing butterflies. Our old friend, Smokey, appeared and took Nadine to an arguably happier place.

DÉJÀ VU #1: In season 1, Smokey put dead 815 pilot in a tree. Tonight, Smokey put dead Nadine in a tree.

Smokey returns to chase the French posse and the Korean through the jungle, only to grab Montand (clearly Smokey is a feminist and was punishing him) and wrangle him into a hole underneath the Temple. Apparently Smokey is stronger than 4 humans and managed to pull Montand into the hole, leaving behind his left arm (nasty). Montand’s friends decided to follow him down the hole, as he was yelling “I’m hurt! I’m hurt!”. (If my arm ever tears away from my body, I think even I’d have stronger words than “I’m hurt!”.)

DÉJÀ VU #2: In season 1, Smokey tried to pull Locke into a hole similar to what it did with Montand last night.

While I think this scene existed to remind us of Smokey’s power and existence, we also got our first look at the much-discussed Temple. As you will recall, the Temple is where many of the Others headed towards after abandoning New Otherton. Rousseau's baby daddy, Robert (You ARE the father!), clarifies Smokey's role as a “security system,” saying that the monster is specifically there to guard that Temple. But who built the Temple, who made all the hieroglyphics (which, as I recall, match some of the symbols from the Swan?)…and what, pray tell, is it there to worship? Or is it a Dharma Station? Or was it created before Dharma, during the time of the four-toed statue? So many theories, so few answers.

“It stole your soul.”
Jin disappeared from the scene shortly after the men went into the hole after Montand. He ran towards a black pillar of smoke, which led him to Danielle’s beach camp; arguably, only a short amount of time had passed since the Temple scene. After coming upon two bullet-ridden bodies, she heard arguing up the beach and came upon a powerful scene between Danielle and Robert, the father of her child.

Danielle told Robert that the monster “stole his soul” (which might be the only explanation we ever get of the sickness that drew Danielle to take their lives). Whatever was ailing them, it is clear that something WAS wrong with Robert. After all, he tried to kill Danielle, his pregnant wife (?), but thankfully, his gun was out of bullets.

DÉJÀ VU #3: In season 4, Jack pulled the trigger on John Locke, but there weren’t any bullets in the gun.

But don’t worry: Danielle had bullets. Lots of them. And after Danielle kills her Robert, she turns on Jin…who is Saved by the Bell…err, Saved By the Time Travel. Jin’s touching reunion with Sawyer (it was like Bromance!) that follows is interrupted by a cruel series of time skips that leave nearly everyone with a nosebleed (even Sawyer!) and Charlotte’s mind in a state of pure chaos.

DÉJÀ VU #4: In season 4, a ghostly Claire tells Kate “Don’t you ever bring him [Aaron] back,” which is nearly identical to what Charlotte yells to Jin.

“Turn it up. I love Geronimo Jackson.”
After Locke and company decide to leave Daniel and Charlotte behind (good decision, I thought), things start to go really wacky with Char-Char. Not only does she seem to be mentally flashing between realtime and her childhood, she also recounts a bizarre story to Daniel that throws him for a loop.

Charlotte claims that she lived on the Island before when her parents worked for the DHARMA Initiative. Charlotte said that, one day, she and her mother left the island and returned to England without her father. When she asked her mother about the island, her Mom would claim she made everything up. It wasn’t until she was on the island that she reclaimed an on-island memory from her childhod…a “scary man” told her she had to leave and never come back or she would die. It turns out that man was Daniel Faraday.

All together now: Holy HELL!

So what does this mean for us? Well, Charlie put it into perspective for me. Desmond’s on-island memory of his meeting with Faraday suddenly ‘reappeared’ after Daniel went back in time. In the same way, Charlotte’s memory has reappeared. Huh? Well, it seems to be setting us up for 1970s Daniel (the one who was playing Dharma Worker in the Orchid in the season 5 premiere) finding 1970s Charlotte (who is probably just a wee one) and likely scaring the bejeezers out of her…hoping that future Charlotte would have the memory and not go back to the island. I think this also implies that I was wrong earlier about the timeline of the Temple: Charlotte knew about the Well, which predated the Temple. So, maybe that Temple was created to harness/control Smokey?

WHEW.

But if your mind is too mushy to handle this time travel stuff, think about this simple question and the implications: who are Charlotte’s parents? Lots of people probably went right to Widmore. I, however, am going to throw out the possibility that Horace and Olivia Goodspeed (the Dharma workers that recruited Roger and Ben Linus to come to the island) are Charlotte’s parents. Why? I don’t know…other than I think they sort of, kind of, maybe fit the correct age range to be Charlotte’s parents. 

Charlie thinks Charlotte’s Mom is Annie, Ben’s childhood friend. I could go for that…although it does make the scene where Ben shoots Charlotte a little, well, tough to swallow. Would he really shoot the daughter of his long-lost, but not forgotten, love?

But back to Charlotte’s brain dump on Daniel before she dies. In a very short time, Charlotte manages to sputter out a lot of nonsense while she flashes to and from her childhood. I think we can all agree that these statements are absolutely positively clues intended to keep us awake at night and unproductive at work/school:

“Why can’t Daddy come with us?”: Obviously young Charlotte was not told by her Mom why they were leaving the island…and more importantly, why they were leaving Dad behind. The question for me is both why they left the island, and how they left the island?

“You know what my Mom would say about you marrying an American.”: I have no idea what this could mean. Can anyone think of a Lost character we’ve met who married an American? And why that would have any bearing on anything?

“I know more about Ancient Carthage than Hannibal himself.”: Is this the statement of a confident 8 year old who just finished a chapter in her social studies text book? Or was this a flash to PhD student Charlotte, finishing her degree in anthropology? Afterall, Ancient Carthage was located near modern-day Tunisia. Hmmm.

“Turn it up. I love Geronimo Jackson.”: Yes! Geronimo Jackson returns! DÉJÀ VU #5: This artist, whose record was in the Swan hatch, continues to appear and disappear. Oh, how I’ve missed Geronimo. Are we to assume Charlotte spent some time, on-island, in the Swan, listening to Geronimo Jackson?

“I’m not allowed to have chocolate before dinner.”: The first time through, I thought she said “children” instead of chocolate. I was happy to find out I was wrong…because that would have been messed up. But it is still confusing. Anyone have any ideas? Apollo Candy Bar, anyone?

The Passion of Locke
Upon Locke & Co. arrival at the Orchid, another evil time jump moves them to a time and place before the Orchid…but Charlotte’s mindflash memory of a well nearby comes in handy and the gang heads over. The tense scene that follows between Jin and Locke was well written and believable. Of course Jin doesn’t want Sun to come back – who would want their loved one to return to such a place? (Right, Sawyer. Hmm.) Well, I think it is a sign of Jin’s character – he is selfless and always has been selfless. It was a good, strong, consistent character moment. 

I know I’m a girl, but I was really touched that Jin asked Locke to keep his fate a secret from Sun. The wedding ring proof just broke my heart…and reminded me of DÉJÀ VU #6: Rose’s extreme attachment to Bernard’s wedding ring in season 1, which he had given to her before 815 took off, as her only remaining link to her husband. Either way, we know that Locke keeps his promise to Jin (Ben filled us in on that later on), which is a testament (I would argue) to Locke’s redeeming qualities.

So, Locke begins to shimmy down the well rope. Unfortunately, a time jump causes him to go crashing to the floor, injuring his leg again (Was that a bone sticking out? Gosh, can the guy get a break?). It is while he is writhing in pain that Christian Shepherd appears…and jaws around the world dropped. He gives Locke a demerit for not following the directions he received in the Cabin word-for-word (Locke was supposed to move the island, not Ben). However, he appears to be convinced that Locke’s current presence can overcome this and correct everything.

While I could have done without the “Passion of the Locke” scene as a plot device, it makes sense for the character. Locke needed to buy in to the declaration that he was going to have to sacrifice himself for the sake of everyone else. Up to this point, he had only been ‘told’ this fact; he hadn’t believed it himself. And so, I was able to stomach the single tear (cheesy cheesy cheesy) rolling down Locke’s face as he accepted his fate as the sacrificial lamb.

But before he goes sacrificing himself for the future of humanity: Ben broke the freaking donkey wheel and Locke needs to fix it. I am under the impression that the bouncing donkey wheel was causing the timejumps to occur closer and closer together. Faster and closer together each time. Thankfully, it looked like Ben did most of the heavy lifting on the ‘ole donkey wheel…Locke just had to give it a little nudge back into place (arguably finishing the rotation that Ben didn’t complete). And with that…well, we don’t know what happened.

But I think we’re supposed to believe Locke is headed to Los Angeles.

“I didn’t account for traffic.”
In his ever masterful, ever confident, ever freaky way, Ben maintained total control of the Marina (dock 23) scene…even with a Sun gun to his throat. With the 70-hour time window ticking, Ben is anxious to correctly play his cards and get the Oceanic 6 to go with him to Mrs. Hawking. By the end of this episode, he managed to get 2 of the 6 (Jack and Sun) to come with him. With Sayid all “If I ever see you [Jack and Ben] again, it will be unpleasant for everyone”, Kate all “Stay away from me, Jack!”, and Hurley all…in jail, Ben has his work cut out for him.

But back to the action.

In the Reincarnation Van (did you catch that anagram on the side?), Jack makes a very belated/canned/scripted apology to Sun for leaving Jin on the Kahana three years ago. Sun sarcastically (and rightfully) wonders if Jack's trying to talk her out of killing Ben. Jack insists that after the lawyer stunt, he’ll kill Ben himself if this doesn’t work out. Ben then throws what I call a “Daddy needs a break” tantrum, slamming the brakes and all but saying, “I will turn this van right around and go home! Then, there will be no Island for ANYONE! Is that what you want?” Ben tells them that if they knew all the things he'd done over the years to keep them and their friends safe, they would never stop thanking him. Anybody else want to join me in DÉJÀ VU #7: Desmond saving Charlie time after time after time after time… ??

Upon arriving at the church, Ben, Sun, and Jack encounter Desmond (which means Penny and Baby Charlie are nearby, FYI). With one small line “Are you looking for Daniel’s Mom, too?”, we hit the jack pot. After a couple weeks of wild theories (and arguments), it was confirmed that Mrs. Hawking is, in fact, Daniel Faraday’s mother. Though we haven’t received confirmation that Mrs. Hawking is Ellie from 1954 Island, it looks pretty darn certain at this point.

Here’s a question: do you think that Ben’s face suggested he did not know Mrs. Hawking was Faraday’s mother? I believe Ben was stunned to learn that Hawking is Faraday's mother. But rather than storm into the sanctuary and reveal his newfound knowledge, he's holding it close to the fancy new vest he bought…as he does so often (and so well).

Now, I brought this up in Charlie’s preview’s comments…but this whole revelation begs a lot of questions. Widmore's relationship towards Daniel puts Hawking’s relationship with Widmore into question, and if Christian is sending Locke to her, can she really be trusted? Will we learn she lied to Desmond during "Flashes Before Your Eyes" about course correction? AHH! So many questions, so little sleep ahead of me…

Once inside the church, Mrs. Hawking, although disappointed the entire returning crew was not there, declares: “Alright, let’s get started, then.”

And that, my friends, is where we left off. I would argue that this cliffhanger ending was more powerful than even some of our season finales. I was literally on the edge of my seat, boasting a rather large smile, followed by a series of laughs that meant (in order): No way; oh my gosh; are you kidding me (note: a smattering of swear words were included, as well). This is the Lost we love…and live for.

Anybody else giddy about next week’s episode? I can’t believe we actually have to wait a week to find out what the hell Mrs. Hawking is doing in the basement of this cathedral. FREAKY!

Observations and Questions still haunting me in this, the ungodly hour:
(1) Is Widmore trying to eliminate everyone who has ever had a connection to the island in an effort to keep it all to himself?

(2) Was everyone on the freighter former Dharma, except the mercenaries?

(3) Where are Rose/Bernard? (Doesn’t matter; just curious)

(4) This episode is a reminder that sometimes it’s simply not possible for the characters to know as much as we do. Desmond's never so much as laid eyes on Ben that I can recall, nor does he know that Ben blames Widmore for the death of “his” daughter. So, Desmond has no reason to immediately bolt at the sight of Ben…even though I was yelling for him to turn and run.

(5) Charlie touched on this point last week. And it’s not that I want to instigate a huge discussion about this, but...we know Aaron has to come back, but what about Ji Yeon? Does the island, or the rules governing it, consider life as beginning at conception, birth, or what?? (Whoah, Maggie…)

(6) Can Jack and Kate plus eight (hahaha) get back to the island already? Despite the upcoming Mrs. Hawking lecture “Time Traveling back to the Island”, I’m really really bored off the island.

Thanks for bearing with me on this review! It has been a pleasure. Now…discuss!

Namaste,
Maggie