Yes, it’s finally over for the season, and what a way to end it! I was captivated for the complete two hours, finding myself in total absorption. When I went back over the episodes again in the morning I did find some things worth mentioning. So, for the last time this season, here we go!
The meeting of Jacob and “the Man in Black”. I’m going to shorten his name to an acronym, MIB, just to keep it simple. I know other fans are using different names for him, such as Esau, but I like the connotation, since I think it speaks about his character, too. He’s there to talk to Jacob about the Black Rock sailing towards shore. “You’re still trying to prove me wrong, aren’t you? They come, they fight, they destroy, and they corrupt. It always ends the same.” MIB’s attitude toward humanity is dark and miserable with no hope of change. That, although we have free will, it really is a waste since all we do is succumb to our dark nature. Jacob, however, is the optimistic one. “It only ends once. Anything that happens before that is just progress.” To me, it carries the possibility of hope. Jacob believes that despite our carnal and savage nature, there also resides within us the possibility of progress and change. And it appears that this outlook also irritates MIB, for he conveys to Jacob his desperate desire to kill him. He warns Jacob of a future loophole that will allow him to finally get rid of him, and Jacob responds simply, “When you do, I’ll be here.” And we see later on in the episode that indeed, Jacob has been waiting for the “loophole” to arrive. One thing to note, Jacob’s tapestry has two sentences on it that have been translated to read, “May the gods grant thee all that thy heart desires”, and, “May the gods grant thee happiness”. Both of these quotes are used in Homer’s Odyssey but are also similar to sayings used in the Bible. They are uplifting and positive, which I believe is Jacob’s true nature.
Jacob meeting the Losties. Although they appear quite innocuous, there are some interesting things to note. First, that Jacob makes physical contact with each and every one of them using his hand. And secondly, that Jacob’s use of this touch along with what he says to them shows us perhaps how much he cares about our Losties. Thirdly, there is the different time frames in which each of them are visited, and one has to question whether Jacob decided one day to go back to several points in time and visit with them or whether he actually visited them as time occurred. I’m of the opinion that WHEN he meets them, HOW he meets them, and WHAT he says to them is very important. I also think it’s important to note those people he DIDN’T visit.
Sayid, Jack and the hydrogen bomb. Ok, this one folks has me a bit skeptical, not because I don’t think Sayid is an international man of mystery, but how does an Iraqi know so much about thermonuclear devices when we all KNOW that his country had no WMD’s? I also find it amusing that Sayid gives a two hour window of moving the device to the Swan sight in order to achieve Daniel’s plan without ANYONE having a watch or clock nearby. Just how does Sayid, who just showed up out of the jungle, know when Daniel’s timetable started?
Richard Alpert, the Egyptian consiglieri. Apparently, adviser to the leader is a widely defined job role with one significant requirement. He must do whatever the leader wishes without argument. So this explains why he stepped in front of the loaded guns aimed at Eloise and why he knocked her out to save her and her unborn Daniel from the hydrogen blast. It explains why he followed Ben’s leadership decisions, and now Locke’s. Even though he knows Locke was murdered and that “Dead is Dead”, he begrudgingly follows Locke’s wishes of taking them to see Jacob. This must be part of the deal he made with Jacob. I guess having that chat with Jack near the Jughead when Jack tells Richard, “not to give up on” John Locke didn’t help matters. He must have really wanted to curse out loud when he saw the real Locke roll like a dead lump of coal out from the metal tabernacle!
“If Edison was worried about the consequences, we’d all be sitting in the dark.” Radzinski’s zeal to continue to drill into that pocket is amazing, considering all the things going on around him. And quite frankly, the above quip that shuts up Pierre Chang is just bizarre. I didn’t realize that my son’s night light came at such a price! Had I known Thomas Edison invented the light bulb under such life threatening circumstances I would be writing these observations with a gas lantern and ink pen! There is obviously something PUSHING him to this event. I’d love to find out what it is!
John “the doppelganger” Locke. Well, we sure did notice something different about him these past few episodes. Who’d of thought it was because he’s NOT John Locke! As someone who has researched just about every word that has come out of his mouth, I was a bit skeptical of John being the courageous hunter again back on the island. He’s always been the dupe, the rube, the conned. I just never figured him for a ZOMBIE!!!
Ilana and Bram. I’m a bit confused about them, to be sure. They apparently know the island’s geography for they do not need a map or compass to get from the beach to Jacob’s cabin and then onward to the statue. This is interesting because Richard does not know who they are as they approach the statue. But she knows him, in particular, by his full name Ricardus. They also appear to be working in the best interest of Jacob, who visited Ilana in the hospital in Russia despite the nurse warning Jacob of her “condition”. She is obviously disfigured, perhaps from a chemical accident or burn. Chernobyl? Although Ilana recognizes Jacob from her past, he does not take off his black gloves to touch her like he did with the Losties. Could she be something like John the doppelganger?
The ‘shipper quadrangle has some really wobbly sides, doesn’t it? Actually, what I mean to say is that they are really wacked out, double talking, confusingly moronic sides. First, there’s Jack. We find out that the real reason Jack wants to blow up the nuke to change the past is because of Kate. Because he lost her and he says it’s too late to get her back. But when Sawyer tells him that if he changes the past he may never see her again, he responds, “If it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be.” My mind actually had to reboot when I heard that. Because it completely contradicts his earlier conversation. How can you say “if it’s meant to be” and then go off and blow up an entire island killing everyone in the vicinity just to get a second start with Kate? They are conflicting statements. Let me say this, too: It sure does seem like blowing up the island falls into MIB’s “they come, they fight, they destroy” scenario. And of all the people Jacob visited, Jack’s was the most impersonal with the least amount of contact.
Next we have Juliet. First she wants off the sub to save the island from Jack’s plan. Then she flips and takes Jack’s side saying they HAVE to do this. And her reason? Because if she never meets Sawyer, she’ll never have to lose him, even though she admits that Sawyer would stay with her forever if she let him. And again, I have to CTRL-ALT-DEL. I’m sorry, but did anyone else have trouble buying what she was saying? You can obviously see that Sawyer is as loyal to her as a golden retriever. He has said as much. Yet she wants to blow up everybody just because of a sideways glance. Are we watching Grey’s Anatomy here?
Then there’s Kate. I can’t even try to understand her character or her logic or her ping-pong behavior. She just needs to just go away.
The payback of Ben Linus. Here we are watching the greatest manipulator we’ve ever seen on television get played like a Stradivarius violin. Now, I am not one who normally has schadenfreude, but it was spectacular. I once wrote that to be a villain, one must have “wickedness of mind, selfishness of character and will to power. You can be horribly evil or grandiosely funny, but ultimately tragic.” I don’t think we’ve seen the last of Ben Linus, but you can be sure what he ended up doing beneath the shadow of the statue was indeed tragic.
It was good to see Rose, Bernard and Vincent living in their love shack by the beach. Not much to say here, but it looks like retirement has been good for them. A bit too good by the looks of the added pounds on Bernard! Maybe they could steal a treadmill from Dharma the next time they’re out scavenging for food. One thing to say, though, it appears as if they are living exactly like MIB said couldn’t be done. They don’t seem to be fighting, destroying, or corrupting. Could this be a sign that LOVE conquers our dark destiny of failure?
Jacob’s cabin. I’m starting to get the idea that perhaps the ash was not to keep Jacob confined within its perimeter, but to keep the darkness of the jungle OUT. Could Jacob have used this as a safe zone within the jungle as a meeting place with the Others without compromising his true sanctuary at the statue? Could the ash be some sort of deterrent from MIB and/or the Smoke Monster?
Sayid’s gut shot. Does anyone find it interesting that with all the struggles everyone has gone through, that the Losties just watch Sayid as he bleeds out against the back of the Jeep? No one holds his hand, no one makes him comfortable, no one gives him water, and many of them just seem to ignore him. I love the Lost characters, but I didn’t like Kate, Jin and Hurley at that moment very much. And since they used the Jeep as part of the rescue mission down at the Swan (“live together, die alone”), I guess they just left Sayid lying on the ground to die. With Hurley. Nice.
Hurley the “blessed”. The longest conversation Jacob has with those off island is with Hugo Reyes and it may be the key to what’s headed for us next season. There is something very special about Hurley compared to the others of Flight 815 who became his friends. Everyone else was visited by Jacob YEARS before the present time. But Hurley is visited by Jacob within 24 hours of flight 316’s departure. I think that that this timing and what Jacob says to Hurley is VERY IMPORTANT.
The knife. Does anyone find it interesting that the thing that young Locke picked out as a child that alerted Richard to his NOT being special is exactly what was used to finish off Jacob? I also remember a very telling conversation Locke had with Ben in the Orchid right after Ben stabs Keamy in the chest. (MIRROR IMAGE ANYONE???) Locke looks at Ben and says,”Why did you kill him when you knew it would destroy the boat?” and Ben replies, “Well, John, I really wasn’t thinking straight. Sometimes… good command decisions get compromised by bad emotional responses… I’m sure you’re gonna do a much better job of separating the two than I ever did.” I guess that would be the understatement of the year!
Enjoy your hiatus everyone! And don’t make Lostaholics a stranger these next few months for there are some fun things on the horizon to keep us all connected. Namaste!
Go to Source
