MAY CAUSE NOSEBLEEDS

Yes, I’ll get to the review. But first: While I’m a huge fan of this show, I'm also willing to admit when a particular episode doesn’t WOW me. The Little Prince was one of them, if only because the writing seemed a bit forced and at times overly-dramatic. But amidst some hokey dialogue (Kate’s “I have always been with you,” was putrid), there were some great little moments. Let’s take a look at them, and I’ll even break up each section with quotations from last night that I didn’t hate. See? I’m forgiving!

THE OCEANIC SIX: THEY NEED TO GO BACK
“I THINK WE SHOULD SAY HE’S MINE”
The Little Prince began by planting the seeds of two important Oceanic Six motifs: Jack’s Sawyer-related jealousy and “the lie” (namely Kate’s usurping of the Aaron’s Mommy throne). Aboard The Searcher (a.k.a. The S.S. Actually Penny’s Boat), Jack and Kate form a pact, pledging to help each other further the early stages of the lie that will ultimately consume them. We also learned that Kate’s rationale behind claiming to be Aaron’s mom was due to the emotional appeal of “not losing” another person, after already having lost so many on the Island.

“THANKS FOR THE LOANER”
Later, we see Kate, Sun and Aaron together in the hotel room, where Kate is preparing to confront the mysterious lawyer who wants her DNA. Channeling Sun’s newfound boldness, Kate ventures out with determination, leaving eventual bad babysitter Sun in charge. Just as Kate leaves, a package arrives for Sun with surveillance photos of Ben and Jack, a loaded gun and – most importantly – chocolate. Because if Korean assassinettes love one thing, it’s chocolate.

This is a furthering of what has become an interesting character turn for Sun. She is now, in some sense, a hired gun. Whether she’s working for or against Widmore, she’s becoming the person she used to hate: pre-crash Jin. Ruthless, malleable, angry and without any real understanding of her purpose, Sun has taken on Jin’s worst qualities in his absence. Maybe she sees salvation and honor in what she’s doing. Or maybe she’s blind with grief. And maybe, just maybe, she’s kind of hot.

“YOU DID THIS TO YOURSELF”
After Kate’s confrontation of Mr. Norton fails with his calling of her bluff, Kate and Jack track Mr. Norton to a hotel where he meets with Claire’s mom, who Jack and Kate assume is his DNA-obsessed client. Turns out, she’s a red herring, meant to divert our attention – if only for a moment. She’s actually in LA to sue Oceanic and frustrate LOST viewers. Mission accomplished. I thought this was a fairly weak twist. Finding out Ms. Littleton was really behind the plot would’ve been big. But making us think she was for 30 seconds was a transparent attempt at short-lived mystery. Oh well, can’t win ‘em all. And I’ll stop bashing the episode now.

“THE ONLY SIDE HE’S ON IS HIS OWN”
Much more compelling was Sayid’s assassin-busting, Ben-mistrusting journey from coma patient back to certified bad ass. Does it puzzle anyone else that whoever wants Sayid wants him severely unconscious, and not just dead? Someone needs him for something, and I want to know what.

As Sayid and Ben split up with Jack, they go looking to bust out Hurley. Of course, this is Ben Linus. And this is LOST, not Prison Break. So in lieu of a dramatic breakout scene, we see that Ben is working with his lawyer – yes, THAT lawyer! – to spring Hurley based on a lack of evidence. Ben doesn’t need Hurley to be free for long, just long enough to take advantage of his ever-shortening 70-hour window.

“HE’S WITH ME"
With Hurley’s fate sealed, Ben and Sayid meet up with Jack and Kate at the docks (at slip #23! I bet that was intentional). This scene I liked, as we see Kate stricken with the same “Holy-shit-Ben-is-alive-and-off-the-Island” feeling we all got at the end of Season 3. It’s revealed that Ben was behind the DNA testing threats, and also that he didn’t leave his manipulative, secretive tactics back at the frozen donkey wheel. Yes, Kate is being brought into the fold. And you should check your pulse if you didn’t get an eerie, uncomfortable feeling from Jack’s “It’s okay, he’s with me,” reassurances about Ben. Come on, it’s Ben. Obviously, he’s up to something. Whatever it is, let’s hope the Oceanic Six aren’t its casualties.

Examining the Oceanic Six and their feelings toward the Island Return… we’ve got two in favor (Jack, Kate), two opposed (Sayid, Sun), one in prison and one in Huggies Pull-Ups. Ben’s still got his work cut out for him, but the pieces are in place. And if he’s got a few more tricks up his sleeve (which he does), we should see the Oceanic Six set out on their mission, even if it’s with some reluctance.

But enough of that old real-time, real-drama, off-Island craziness. Let’s talk time-leapers.

THE ISLANDERS: CHARLOTTE SOMEHOW CONTINUES TO LIVE.
Last night, the Island began in October or November of 2004 (based on the hatch light and Aaron’s birth). Then, it moved forward a bit, but we’re not sure to where. And finally we settled back in 1988 amid a very important shipwreck. I just wanted to put that timeline in place as we examine last night’s on-Island happenings.

“REALLY BAD JET LAG”
Finally, some insight on Time Travelitis, albeit vague. Faraday leads off the on-Island drama with a suggestion about what has befallen his soulless Ginger kid lover:
Daniel: Our brains have an internal clock, a sense of time. The flashes throw the clock off. It’s like really bad jet lag.
Juliet: Really bad jet lag doesn’t make you hemorrhage, Daniel. You wanna tell me why it’s not happening to the rest of us?

As a matter of fact, Daniel might be able to explain that, too. Later, when Miles gets a similar nose bleed, Daniel offers the theory that symptoms of Time Travelitis correlate with the amount of time you’ve been exposed to the Island’s whacked-out elements. When Miles retorts by pointing out that he’s only been here two weeks, Daniel asks the question we all wanted to hear: “You sure?”

Yes! That little nugget gives serious credibility to the idea that Charlotte (and now Miles) are not on their first trip to the Island. We’ve postulated about this before, so no need to retill that ground here. But suffice to say, the prior connections that Charlotte and Miles have to the Island are, in my opinion, no small matter.

“IT DON’T MATTER. IT’S GONE NOW.”
In perhaps the most captivating scene of the night (and maybe the season), we see Sawyer come upon the moment when Claire – with Kate’s midwifery – gives birth to Aaron. The look of loss on Sawyer’s face was heart-wrenching, and you have to laud Josh Holloway’s progression as an actor over the past few years.

Quickly though, we need to talk about the scene prior to this one. While Ginger Kid Charlotte is bleeding profusely, Locke convinces Sawyer that they should return to the Orchid. He tugs the con man’s heart strings by dangling the Kate carrot just out of reach. And Sawyer bites. This really piqued my “LOST is a continuous circle of personal development” curiosity. Just as we see Sun becoming Jin, we are seeing Locke employ Ben’s Machiavellian tactics to his role. Is Locke drawn to Ben’s effectiveness as a leader, or is there something about the Island’s ambiguous destiny that necessitates and justifies deception and manipulation?

With that stage set, Sawyer sees Kate just out of reach. As he later tells Juliet though, he couldn’t do anything because “what’s done is done.” I took this as a thinly-veiled allusion to the idea that you can’t change the future by meddling with the past. Or was it Sawyer resigning himself to fate? It’s tragic, because if Locke is to be believed, the return of the Oceanic Six could very well alter the courses of history and the future. So there was Sawyer with the one thing he loved at arm’s reach; but with his hands tied behind his back by fate.

Either way, these glimpses of LOST’s early moments (Aaron’s birth, the hatch light) were heart-warming and nostalgic for an old softie like me. And there’s more to come…

“I NEEDED THAT PAIN”
Locke and Sawyer had more than one great, telling scene last night. Remember when Sawyer asked Locke why he didn’t just go revisit his hatch-pounding past self and warn him of the danger ahead? Locke said that the trials and tribulations from that time in his life were part of his journey, and that he “needed that pain.” For those of you wondering about the title of this episode, this is where it comes in. The idea of “valuing the journey” and not just the destination is a major theme of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's The Little Prince.

Personally I LOVED the juxtaposition of Season1 Locke and Season 5 Locke. There was John, pounding on the hatch door and begging for purpose, explanation and meaning. And 100 yards away there was Future John, looking back at that moment with a depth of understanding that reassured him that his struggles were a necessary part of his triumph. Struggling Locke and Self-Actualized Locke. A few yards apart, physically. Worlds apart emotionally. It was very cool.

I should mention, too, the Ajira Airlines water bottle that was found. This is part of the Ajira Airlines marketing done prior to this season, and it’s the early look at how that ties in with Season 5. But it’s midnight, I’m on page 4 of a Word document and I don’t know enough about Ajira to delve into it right now. Just keep it tucked away for future reference.

Because I still have to talk about last night’s big reveal. And it starts with me apologizing to Maggie for so vehemently disagreeing with her about something. Okay. I concede. Jin. Is. Alive.

“HELLO JIN, I’M DANIELLE.”
After the last time-warp of the night, we find ourselves in roughly 1988. An expedition of shipwrecked French scientists is coming upon the Island. And as they drift toward shore, a downward-facing dead body disrupts their path. Who is it? None other than Jin. Rousseau eventually introduces herself to him, at which point a look of sheer terror and utter confusion washes over his face. That’s understandable. I mean the guy went unconscious after the ship he was on blew up. He slept through about six time-warps. Then he woke up to an empty Island, with a 20-years-younger version of a Frenchwoman he vaguely knew greeting him.

I mean I’ve woken up in an…ahem…altered state of consciousness a time or two. But not like that.

And now we’re left to wonder how Jin’s presence in the Rousseau story arc will alter the course of events that leads to his 2004-appearance on the Island. Will he step on a bug and change history? Will he find Team Locke? Will he just warp away from the French folks? Here’s what I think we might finally learn: whether or not Faraday is right when he says you can’t change what happened in the past. Is that true, or is Jin about to shoot that idea to sunshine? We’ve already seen the cracks in Faraday’s theory. And the sudden appearance of Jin might just break that dam wide open. We’ll wait and see.


That’s all for this week. I’m sure as the next few days progress, we’ll talk some more about The Little Prince and uncover some things I’ve missed. If that happens, check the comments section. And until next week, keep a handkerchief handy for those pesky nosebleeds.

Namaste.
Charlie