Last night we learned just how rough the transition from Ajira 316 crash victim to second iteration Island castaway is going to be for the Oceanic Six. Some got sucked out of the plane and into a time vortex. Some crashed on a runway and had to lie their way back to the main Island. And some (well, Hurley) are just confused as hell. Let’s get into it.
2008(ish)
316 Answers
LOST went in and finished sketching out the Ajira 316 arc last night. We saw a steely, confident Frank Lapidus dismiss his copilot’s ramblings and take control of his ill-fated flight to land it on the runway. Yes, the same runway Kate and Sawyer helped build four years ago. Raise your hand if you think Ben’s got a little more knowledge of future/past events than he lets on, and he had that runway built so Ajira 316 would have somewhere nice to land? You can’t see me right now, but my hand’s raised.
After a quick stint as de facto castaway leader, Frank is convinced by Sun – who knocks Ben out cold with an outrigger paddle –to move on to more important matters. We’ll get to those matters a little later.Choosing Sides
The big question: why did some people get sucked out of the plane in the time travel white light, while others simply crashed to earth? Jack, Kate, Sayid and Hurley warped into 1977. But Locke, Ben, Sun and Frank landed square in 2008(ish).
Here’s one idea. We’re seeing history begin to repeat (or precede) itself on this show. Things that happened in Seasons 1 and 2 (or 2004, Island time) are happening again in Season 5 (or 1977/2008). One of the major themes of those early seasons was the idea of “good” and “bad” people. On one of their first nights, the Others came and snatched half the tailies, claiming them as “good people.” Maybe what we saw last night was the Island doing the same thing: claiming those who were worthy. Hard to know who’s good and bad between the 1977ers or the 2008ers, but I would guess that where you land in time is not an arbitrary decision made by fate.
So what’s the common bond between Ben, Locke, Sun and Frank? What about Jack, Kate, Hurley and Sayid? Maybe it has to do with belief. Our 1977ers were our most vehement non-believers in their 2005-2008, off-Island lives. But our 2008ers (especially Locke) were fairly willing believers, or at the very least, were willing to go along with things. Is the Island rewarding the faithful? And if so, why did the Others have to do that manually when Oceanic 815 crashed? Wouldn’t the Island have separated good from bad for them? Or did something happen between 2004 and 2008 (hint: the not-supposed-to-happen Oceanic Six departure) to rob the Island of its powers of divination?
Side note: surely you noticed that we went from nighttime to daytime when Ajira 316 hit the bright light time warp, right? So are Ceasar, Ilana, et al, really in 2008?
Time Travel Purgatory
Before we get to the happenings of 1977, we need to discuss that little adventure that Sun and Frank had. While looking for Jin, they happened upon what seemed to be a sort of alternate universe. What the hell was that all about?
On the main Island, Sun and Frank find New Otherton deserted and in shambles. It’s obviously been a while since the Dharma Initiative has been around. But if the condition of the Dharma signage is any indication, it’s not 2008. And it’s not 1977. So when are they?Well, when uber-usher to the underworld Christian Shepherd shows up, logic flees the scene faster than me from a surprise Sheryl Crow concert. Christian informs Sun and Frank that Jin is with their friends…in 1977. Sun is understandably baffled, to which Christian not-so-reassuringly delivers the line of the night: “I’m sorry, but you have a bit of a journey ahead of you.”
It would seem that Frank and Sun are existing off the grid right now. For one thing, they’re talking to Christian Shepherd. So all bets are off. But when are they? Where is everyone? And what does this “journey” entail? Once again, LOST has set up a whole series of mysteries to be delved into in the next several weeks.
But Sun needs to get back to 1977. Because that’s where Jin is. And, that’s where shit is seriously going down.
1977
Re-u-nited and it feeeeeeels…so…freaking weird.
We picked up the Sawyer-Jack/Kate/Hurley reunion last night, with Sawyer issuing obligatory greetings to his ex-lover, ex-nemesis and ex-punching bag. But being the new thinking man (and ever the con man) that he is, Sawyer quickly strings together a lie in order to integrate his old friends into his new life. He’ll pass them off as Dharma recruits. But first, everyone’s got some ‘splainin to do.
First, Jack informs Sawyer that the entire Oceanic Six has returned. Sawyer sees Jack revelation and raises him a mind-melter: “We came back, and so did you. It’s 1977.” And Hurley, echoing the sentiments of LOST fans around the world, replies with, “Uhh, what?”
In fact, Hurley had a few lines that might as well have been spoken by the audience (“Nama-huh?”), most notably that whole time-travel-altering-the-future bit. Hurley asks Sawyer if he’ll prevent the Purge. Sawyer, half-heartedly subscribing to Faraday’s theory, says nope. And when Jack excitedly asks, “Faraday’s here?” Sawyer replies, “Not any more.”
So where’s Faraday? We know he stayed long enough to head down into the mines (as seen in this season’s premiere), but where did he go after that? Did he leave on the submarine to avoid haunting his dear Charlotte’s future?
The bottom line: the Oceanic Six is back. But the place to which they’ve returned doesn’t much resemble the one they left.
“The Other Side”
In continuing its self-reincarnation, LOST set Jack up last night to relive an experience of one of the show’s oft-forgotten characters. Based on his “aptitude test” scores, Jack is relegated to janitorial work. His incredulous reaction was strikingly familiar to that of Roger Linus, Ben’s deadbeat dad who was also branded a mere “Workman.” History repeating itself! Beautiful, eh?
I could dwell on that, but I’m going to veer off that road for a second. There was this throwaway line uttered by Orientation Film Star Pierre Chang in that scene with Jack. Unable to find Jack’s file, Chang notes, “Of course it isn’t here, could they be any more disorganized on the other side?” His use of the phrase, “the other side,” points to something that I’ve been beginning to suspect for some time: The Dharma Initiative ain’t one big happy family. Pierre had to be pulled from his “lab” (time-travel mineshaft) to go check in the new recruits, and he seemed annoyed by the menial task. It makes me think that, while the Shiny, Happy People Dharma Initiative preached free love and communal living (complete with Orientation parties!), there’s a dark side to the, ahem, force.
That side belongs to Pierre Chang and his devious, time-altering, mind-bending, world-changing experimentation. B.F. Skinner experiments and button pushing be damned, Pierre’s got bigger fish to fry. And that reminds me of the Ben vs. Locke battle. Ben (playing the role of 1970s Dharma Initiative) seems interested in the Island’s superficial qualities (think to when Richard told Locke that they need a new leader to remind them of their true purpose). But Locke (representing the Pierre Chang mentality) knows there’s something more to the place. History repeats itself…again! You don’t have to buy that one, but I dare you to defy me on the “rift” that we got a glimpse of last night.
Okay, indulge me on more instance of déjà vu iterations/history repeating itself moments: did anyone else see the assignment plastered on Hurley’s size XXXL jumpsuit? "Chef." Hasn’t he unwillingly been put in charge of the food supply before? Thought so.
The Other Woman
How about Juliet last night? Maggie thinks she looks like a Who from Who-Ville, but I think she’s a mega-babe. And last night, she continued her awesomeness. First off, she let the viewers in on the tidbit that Amy and Horace Goodspeed’s baby is, in fact, Ethan! Oh good. That creepy bastard is back. In baby form.
Juliet then saves Kate’s ass with some last minute paperwork, swooping in to fend off the ever-suspicious Dharma lackey, Phil. Juliet gives Kate a look that basically says, “Sorry I took your man, but I just saved you from being Smokey Chow, so hopefully this makes us even. We cool?”
Stop Looking at Me, Swan Station
After the North Shore reunion, Jin heads to The Arrow (Mikhail’s future stomping grounds) to see if Radzinsky knows anything about a plane crash. No dice. But for the audience, a treat: we saw Radzinsky constructing a model and some schematics of the Swan Station.
If you don’t remember Radzinsky, he was the Swan Station partner of Kelvin Inman, who was Desmond’s Swan Station mentor. Radzinsky drew the blast door map and then went crazy and shot himself. But last night, we saw Radzinsky as the Swan Station’s apparent mastermind. So how does he go from architect to social experiment slave?
Maybe he doesn’t. Maybe he tricked Kelvin into believing the same story that Kelvin got Desmond to buy: that the Island was diseased, quarantined and dangerous, and that pushing the button every 108 minutes was essential to the safety of the world. Either way, mark it as another example of LOST doubling back on its own plotlines.
Mr. 14J
While the search for the plane comes up empty, Jin and Radzinsky do stumble upon an intruder alert, as Sayid stumbles into the picture. Jin brings in Sawyer to fight off
Radzinsky’s vigilantism and keep Sayid alive. The tradeoff: now Sayid’s a prisoner of the Dharma Initiative.
But the good thing about being a Dharma Initiative prisoner is that you always get sandwiches. Jack did in Season 3. And Sayid did last night. And a nice young man brought him that sandwich. And that nice young man was OH ARE YOU EFFING KIDDING ME?
Yes, the much-anticipated meeting between our heroes and a young Benjamin Linus finally happened last night. Ben probed Sayid for information about the Hostiles, presumably angling to learn more about the people he so badly wanted to call family. But Sayid wasn’t giving up much, and when Ben introduced himself, a menacing calm washed over Sayid’s face. Based on the previews for next week, it looks like Sayid gets pretty angry. Will he go rogue and kill young Ben Linus before he has the chance to grow up and ruin everyone’s life?
The LaFleur Philosophy
But for all the time-travel loop repetitions, character introductions (Radzinsky! Ethan!) and déjà vu of last night, the most compelling lesson came from the meeting between Sawyer and Jack.
Despite exchanging bro-mantic glances at the beach reunion, the Con Man and the Surgeon soon went back to their old contentions ways. It was a battle of contrasting leadership styles.
Jack starts it (doesn’t he always?) by calling out Sawyer’s ambition, faulting him for reading a book instead of taking action to help Sayid. Sawyer’s reaction was sheer brilliance:
Sawyer: That’s how I like to run things: I think. I’m sure that doesn’t mean much to you, cuz back when you were calling the shots, you pretty much just reacted. See, you didn’t think, Jack. And as I recall, a lot of people ended up dead.
Jack: I got us off the Island
Sawyer: But here you are, right back where you started. So I’m gonna go back to reading my book, and I’m gonna think. Cuz that’s how I saved your ass today, and that’s how I’m gonna save Sayid’s tomorrow.
Soundly defeated, Jack tucks his tail between his legs. And then Sawyer lands a subtle, parting blow that is jam-packed with meaning: “Now ain’t that a relief?”
If you’ve read my reviews regularly, then something must be wrong with you. But you then know that I have purported on several occasions that this season is becoming more and more about how knowing the future changes how you act in the past. I thought the Sawyer/Jack interaction last night was a perfect example of that paradox.
Ever since the crash of Oceanic 815, Jack has struggled with the onus of leadership being thrust upon him. Last night, Sawyer handed Jack’s leadership style to him on a platter. He calmly, intelligently broke down Jack’s entire modus operandi. And when he finished, he asked Jack if that leadership lesson was “a relief.” Jack knows he screwed things up in the past. And now he’s in the way-back past of 1977, with an opportunity to right his previous wrongs. But last night, Sawyer basically told Jack that if he wanted to atone for the mistakes of his past, he was going to have to change his tune.
It’s been said that, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.” By that definition, Jack’s insane if he thinks he can storm back onto the Island and arm-wrestle fate with an iron fist. The world, according to the newly enlightened Sawyer, is a thinking man’s game. Brute force, sheer will and unwavering strength can only get you so far. If you’re not going to learn from the mistakes of your past, you’re doomed to repeat them.
Earlier in the episode, Sawyer mockingly noted Faraday’s time travel “rules.” But Sawyer wasn’t dismissing Faraday, he was just taking him with a grain of salt. What Sawyer has learned in his three years as Jim LaFleur, is this: Daniel's right that you can't change what happens in the future. But you can change how you deal with what happens, by learning from the mistakes of your past.
Not a bad lesson, Mr. LaFleur.
Namaste indeed!
Charlie
13 Snarky Comments:
Awkward meetings aside: Juliet's ewww, weird face while holding Ethan, Sawyer's awkward wave to Kate after the meeting with Jack, and of course the Jin, Sayid, LaFluer encounter. How did that picture of the New Dharma gang convince Sun that Jin was there? Wasn't he off with Sawyer, don't call him James, call him LaFluer, and Sayid at Patchy's old stomping grounds while that photo was taken? Maybe I just didn't see him in the picture because I was too concerned with the state of the Dharma docking station and the reappearance of Christian. Any insight on this would help me out. Thanks.
Wow, wow, wow. For one of the first times ever, I had to watch this episode twice to really get a handle on what went on. I echo Joe Smith's question above about Sun's understanding of Jin's whereabouts. She also has the additional mind melt of seeing a cast photo dated 1977 that includes people she had been with not 12 hours before.
I have many questions about Radzinsky but they all boil down to -what the hell is that dude's problem? Why so angry, sunshine?
As far as Jack's assignment when he arrives on the island, I would say that's something that Sawyer orchestrated. Dr. Marvelous clearly needed to be taken down a peg or two as Sawyer more directly pointed out later in the episode. That (other than Hurley's "uhm...what?" line) was my fave of this show. Jack has needed his ass handed to him for a while and Sawyer was just the one to do it.
Two questions from me: 1) Do we know who beat the crapola out of Ben before they left on the Ajira flight (forgive me if I completely missed something there)? 2) Did anyone else notice the introduction of The Muppet Show that was playing on the upper left monitor when Jin came into Radzinsky's lair to find out if he had seen the plane? And what are the sinister implications of Kermit, Statler and Waldorf's presence on the island??!!
I'm surprised there's not more comments in here! It was such a great episode and I loved watching people's reactions all through out saying "what the EFF is going on!!!"
For Glamour Machine, I guess the Aljira flight folks eventually found Ben beaten up and deduced that Frank and Sun left on the kayak.
I don't understand the logic of Christian being there - IS he dead? an apparition? SO CREEPY.
One thing I don't get is that, the island WAS moving thru time, and finally landed itself in 1977. HOW can other people (Aljira) 'land' on the island in 2008 (or another time period)? Does that mean that the island WAS still around physically when all the last few episodes were happening?
We clearly saw the island 'disappear' - which could mean that the island is not in 2008 but in another 'time'. But even so, how can the island now physically manifest itself in 2 different time periods.
ANd where is BERNARD and ROSE?
p.s. does anyone else have a problem when they record LOST on ABC on a PVR, that it cuts off the last 5 mins?!
Ben actually shows up all beaten up at the dock in California before they get on the Ajira flight. The sling he tosses off while walking through the jungle with Sun is from before they left, as are the injuries to his face.
The Ajira flight (we presume) landed on "Alcatraz" the island that Kate and Sawyer were on when they were trapped in the polar bear cages. They landed on the runway that Kate & Sawyer were slaving on while they were there - that's why Ben wanted to take the outriggers to the dock he told Lapidus was a couple of miles away. That's all Sun needed to hear before she started swingin' the oar. I love that bold girl.
As Charlie mentions in his post - WHEN do Lapidus and Sun arrive at the main island? Clearly it wasn't 1977, but it doesn't seem to be 2004 or 2006 either. So are they dead or are they there sometime in the roughly 30 year span in between? Sun's daughter has already been born before she gets on the Ajira flight - is there a possibility they did not survive the crash? But we saw the dead co-pilot and how he died (the same way the Oceanic co-pilot died, thanks Gregg) so why would Sun and Lapidus' death be viewed any differently?
My head is now caving in on itself. Ow.
Two ideas that hit me...
Charlie this is Shawn BTW...I'm too lazy to create a real account.
Ben has known that Oceanic 815 was going to crash because he met them as a child. This explains why he was able to get so much info about them. He's been following them their whole lives! When he saw the plane crashing way back in season 3? He already knew it was going to happen and when. He had a plan and implemented it. This explains a lot about what happened the first few seasons.
That being said I believe that someone changes the past in 1977 stopping the purge which would explain why the buildings were run down. The others never lived there.
What do you think?????
But then there is that catch-22. Ben only knows about the plane crashing becuase the plane CRASHED in 2008, then they got transported to 1977. So supposedly, according to previous theories, Ben would only 'remember' meeting them in 2008 after getting whacked in the head by Sun.
But Shawn seems to make perfect sense, it doesn't align with the time travel/remebering things theory.
Another question I have is, how did Ethan survive the purge to become known as one of the others if in fact he was born into the Dharma Initiative?
And, do the pictures on the wall in the welcoming cabin have any clues as to the year that it is? Christian seemed to look through them to find when dharma came, or did the Others stop taking pictures after the purge?
I'm confused, and couldn't be happier.
Hey kids,
My apologies for being MIA on these questions.
Here goes:
Joe - Jin's not in that pic, but I think Christian showing her the photo proved himself to her, so she believed him about Jin's whereabouts. As for Ethan - remember how Ben "switched sides" from Dharma to Hostile? Same w/ Ethan I think.
Glamour Machine - Lots of theories on Ben's pre-Ajira exploit. The most popular being that he went to make good on that promise he made to Widmore to kill Penny. Either he succeeded, or Desmond scared him off after getting in a few good shots. I hope we see whatever it was that got Ben into that condition.
As for your muppet theory: yes, Jim Henson is Jacob. :)
Laura - I don't know how to reconcile the various time/space locations of the Island, expect maybe to say that I think Alcatraz has some special properties, too. I think we're yet to learn how it interacts with the Main Island, but if you look back at last week's post, I posited that maybe Alcatraz is the Main Island's constant. I know, I know.
Shawn - How much Ben Linus does/doesn't know (or has/hasn't known) is the source of a lot of mystery right now. It seems the runway was a conscious decision based on some pre-cognitive knowledge. But he did seem genuinely surprised by the 815 arrival. Did 815's arrival grant him some of the precognitive abilities? Or is he somewhat special, like Desmond? This one's a BIG question, and one that the next two seasons are going to ahve to address.
Laura - You're referring to the concept of *when* your present self remembers something that you experience as a result of a time traveler. I don't think Ben would REMEMBER this meeting with Sayid until, actually, the day Sun hit him with a paddle. I'm also interested to know if that blow to the head might've knocked anything loose.
Whew! Here's a bonus thought for you:
I believe that Sun and Frank were in...the 2007 THAT RESULTED FROM Sawyer, Juliet, Jack, Kate et al. traveling back to the 70s. The 2007 New Otherton Camp that we know would've been the clean, Ben Linus-led group (though they vacated in 2004) that got rid of all the Dharma remnants. The New Otherton Camp that we saw Wednesday had been affected, somehow, by what our castaways are doing back in 1977. It'll be interesting to watch Sun and Frank, if indeed they're on this alternate timeline. Maybe they'll have some Back to the Future moments (people fading in and out of photos, stuff getting changed around).
*Also, this would seem to fly in the face of the Hawking/Faraday theories that you can't change things, unless the things you're changing are insignificant.
Okay. Now I am done :)
Enjoy March Madness!
Charlie
I'm not sure what's throwing people off so much about when people are in time.
Sun/Ben/Locke/Frank and the rest of the people on Ajira 316 landed on the Island in 'present day'. The reason the houses are all messed up and abandoned is because it's after all hell broke loose with keamy and the commandos. The Others ditched the camp and made haste to the Temple.
Hurley/Jack/Kate/Sayid all somehow went back in time to 1977.
Beginning reader (thanks ricki) , first time commenter.
I agree with Charlie that the "present" is affected by the Losties in 1977. The war for the island referred to by Widmore may actually be going on. And the 77 Losties must get back to reestablish the present they left. The long journey may be by Frank, Sun Desmond(!) to get them out of 1977. How?
When Sawyer said Faraday wasn't there, I think in the sense he is in a padded room, picking daisies saying she loves me, she loves me not. He is mobilized (re: the opening scene in mine ) and figures out the donkey wheel function, and Sawyer and gang dig out the well to utilize it to get back to the "real' present. Voila, end of season :-)
A couple of other questions:
1. Do you think Ben knowingly screwed up the donkey wheel push? Ben asked Jack in LA if Locke had told him what was going on , on the island. Jack said no, Ben said, I guess we'll never know (with a look like a cat with feathers in his mouth)
2.What about the canoes/people with the Ajira water bottle that the time travelers bumped into? We didn't see them but they had better weapons than the gun Cesar found.
3. I agree wholeheartedly with Charlie about Juliet's mega-babeness. How do you think Sawyer convinced her to stay? Small question but she deserves better!
One last thought-have we seen the last of Jughead?
Could the war be over the finding and/or control of the H-bomb?
Sorry to prattle on, looks like I picked the wrong day to give up Peeps and Diet Pepsi.
I agree with the second anonymous. I don't buy that there's any weird time shifting thing going on. I'm still on board with the Faraday/Hawking "whatever happened, happened" theory. It seems to me that the producers are using them to establish the Lost time travel rules, as it were. So any alternate timeline type theories are out for me until proven otherwise. I think Sun and Lapidus are in Newotherton in the present day after Keamy and co. blew it sky high.
I highly doubt we see any "Back to the Future" picture fades in the coming weeks.
Just as another side note, we have been told in the past that Radzinsky committed suicide, but if this whole "I'm going to trick you (Kelvin) into a quarantine situation," is true, what's to say Kelvin didn't put the shotgun in Radzinsky's mouth for him? Obviously he would hesitate to impart this knowledge to Desmond so he would lie.
I understand the ceiling bloodstain is a little telling, but I see no reason this isn't plausible.
--ZM
I just had an idea. What if the 'incident' at the Swan WAS Radzinsky blowing his head off? Who's to say Dharma hadn't been purged yet when he and Kelvin started their little two by two adventure, and if he wandered back behind the concrete encased door and whatever was back there made his brain take a trip to crazy town, that might be why they sealed it off. Unless the timelines don't match up, did they ever tell us how long Kelvin was down there by himself before Desmond?
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