Solitary
Secrets have always been a part of Lost. Sayid and Rousseau try to pry each others secrets out of each other. We learn more of Sayid’s career as a torturer. It is evident as we go back and forth from past to present that Sayid and Rousseau are fairly evenly matched. We learn of the secrets that Sayid kept from his superior officers about his childhood crush, Nadia. She was the woman he was sworn to pry the secrets out of, but instead he helped her escape. Ironically the escape was very much like an escape we would see later on, that played out in the Swan station. Michael shot someone else, then himself to facilitate the escape of Ben. Sayid shot his friend, then himself to ensure Nadia’s escape. She was also described as charming and rich, which is reminiscent of Penny. One might even wonder if Nadia searched for Sayid, just as Penny searched for Desmond. Walt sneaks off to ask Locke to teach him how to hunt. Michael says no to this. However after Michael’s delinquency as a father, in completely forgetting about him, for hours, Walt joins up with Locke to learn how to handle knives. Rousseau claims to not believe in monsters, but yet she says that the growl might be one of the bears if they’re lucky. Doesn’t that statement suggest that she already knows that there is something lurking on the island that is worse than the polar bears?
Destiny was a concept that was made most evident in the John Locke character. However as we rewatch the series, it is easier to pick out more examples along the way. We open with Sayid sitting on the beach. It would seem that fate has parked him to sit right next to the cable that we will eventually learn, leads to the Looking Glass station. For now it leads him to discover Rousseau and all that she knows about the island. She is the first sign of any other live inhabitants. Kate shares her concern over Sayid not having returned from his self-imposed exile yet. Jack replies, “He’ll come back when he finds what he’s looking for.”
The theme of good and evil have been in the show since the pilot, however they reign even stronger now that it appears their is a battle over the behavior of mankind, at least the on-island variety. Sawyer accuses Jack of just giving him post torture, medical attention out of guilt. He says, “Now you figure you’ll patch me up and buy you a ticket into heaven.” Nadia’s photo inscription says, “You’ll find me in the next life, if not this one.” This is also similar to Desmond’s “See ya in another life, brotha.”
There were also allusions to the Nemesis character. Rousseau talked about the ’sickness’ and warned Sayid to watch his people closely. As we have probably all noted by this point in the rewatch, Locke’s behavior is very suspect. It’s unpredictable. He seems to know things, he shouldn’t. This time around we can’t help but wonder exactly when the ’sickness’ might have affected him for the first time, and to what extent.
Interesting to note:
1) Rousseau can speak at least 4 languages.
2) In Sayid’s flashback the camera pans back and forth, while focusing on his mouth, during this time he goes from speaking Farsi to English. I’m sure it was just a short-hand technique to let us understand the dialogue without having to read captions. The question is why? They have never done that for any other of the foreign dialogue that I can recall. They certainly never did that for any of the Sun and Jin flashbacks.
3) Sayid awakens with a jump after the effects of a sedative subside, just as he did in L.A. when he was with Jack.
4) Rousseau removed the firing pin from the gun Sayid took, just as she did with Robert during season 5.
Raised by Another
At the adoption meeting, Claire is given pen, after pen, after pen, to sign away her parental rights to Aaron. On the third pen, which we might assume would not work as well, she gives up and decides to quit the adoption process. It seemed to her, along with all of us, that fate was telling her not to go through with it. I am reminded now that in Jacob’s encounter with a young Sawyer, he handed him a pen. It was a pen that would shape his entire destiny. And before you think me crazy for reading to much into a pen, consider the fact that during “The Incident” Jacob gave Jack candy, Sawyer a pen, and Kate money. The writer’s went out of their way to show us that those were all the same kinds of items that Hurley had waiting in his personal effects when released from the jail. Candy, money, and a pen. And it’s also worth noting that Hurley was the only visited survivor that Jacob was honest with in the least about what his message meant.
Claire has a premonition style nightmare in which Locke appears to her, much like her psychic. He had the same table, lamp, tarot cards and crystals. However unlike anyone else, he appeared with eyes of impossible colors. One was white. One was black. He says, “You know what’s happening…It was you responsibility but you gave him away Claire. Everyone pays the price now.” At the time I think we all thought that this scene had more to do with the decision to raise the baby, that she was now be forced to make. Now, upon rewatch it could also be referring to the fact that she walked away from Aaron on the island, never to return to him. I have to point out that there is a bizarre sound effect used as Locke turns the first card onto the table. Instead of the familiar paper sound, it is the sound associated with a blade scrape. Why? I did see the image of a blade in her next nightmare. We do know that Richard was upset when young Locke chose the knife in the Dalai Lama test. I can’t help but wonder if the knife or blade is indicative of the Nemesis. Could it be that weapons represent the chaos that is Nemesis? Sorry folks, no strange bird calls in this block of episodes. Just the knife sound. Charlie makes a haunting promise to Claire, “I won’t leave you Claire, I promise.” Could this be indicative of a reset or premonition? Perhaps Charlie would want to will it to not happen. Also I couldn’t help notice that when Hurley was questioning survivors for his census, he asked Locke his name, saying, “John? John Locke right?” Of course now that we know an impersonator is at issue, this has deeper meaning . Richard Malkin’s crazed speech to Claire has always been scrutinized by the viewers. “…Danger surround this baby…Your nature, your spirit, your goodness, must be an influence in the development of this child…There is no happy life. Not for this child, not without you…The baby needs your protection.” I am wondering now if Nemesis might not be aiming his intentions on Aaron. It seemed a bit of a leap to me that Charlie could sense that Richard Malkin was purposely manipulating Claire onto flight 815 to ensure that she would have to raise Aaron. We knew that was the case, but I would think most rational people in that situation would be less likely to come to that conclusion. And once again John Locke is shown in the cave to be lit half in light, half in darkness. This is just as Sayid returns to the survivors in a fevered panic saying, “We’re not alone!”
Interesting to note:
1)Kate is found ’sinking’ into the sand. This is ironic, since it was only 4 episodes ago that she told Jack that she just couldn’t “dig in”.
2)Charlie offers a pregnant Claire some tea. In “The Incident” Bernard offers Juliet only, some tea and she declines. Some fans are using this exchange along with her touching her abdomen to be indications that she is in fact pregnant, or was, depending on the outcome of the final scene in season 5.
All the Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues
Secrets are brewing between Locke and Boone. They search well into the night for something. It’s not Charlie. He was found long before the closing scenes between Locke and Boone. Locke tries to ease Boone’s growing concern that they can’t be tracking any kind of trail at this point of the night by saying, “Don’t you feel it…It!” When Locke throws Boone the flashlight to help him on his solo hike back to camp, it slips and falls to the ground. It thunks on something hard and metal. This is what we will later find to be the hatch door to the Swan station. This is evidently the ‘it’ that Locke was tracking. Given what we know will happen to Boone, eventually, because of his association with John Locke, it is ironic that Kate is back at camp assuring Shannon that, “If there’s anyone on this island that your brother’s safe with, it’s Locke.”
The scene in Christian’s office seems very obviously to be hinting at a deeper destiny for both Jack and Christian. As the father tries to convince his son to sign the paper that will absolve him from any wrong behavior, in the process of a botched surgery, there is a deeper subtext that is occurring. Christian pleads, “This is a career that is all about the greater good…I’ve had to sacrifice certain aspects of my relationship with you, so that hundreds and thousands of patients will live because of your extraordinary skills. What happened yesterday, I promise you will never happen again, and after all… what I’ve given…It’s not just about my career. It’s my life.” During this scene, Jack’s eyes turn to a dark green, just for a moment, and then go back to brown. At the moment of the color change, Christian seems visibly unnerved. I would also like to point out that this is the same kind of wording that both Widmore and Ms. Hawking used in reference to their children. They sacrificed their relationships with them for some implied greater good. Jack follows the screams of Claire, that apparently only he can hear. I think only fate, or divine intervention can explain how Jack managed to revive Charlie after he was found hanging from a tree. After CPR failed, Jack began striking Charlie repeatedly on the chest to try and jump start his heart. I counted no less than 30 blows to Charlie’s chest. I would think that should have either killed him for good, or crushed his chest.
The theme of light and dark was definitely in this episode. It was in the form of just what were John Locke’s motivations. Locke seems to be working against Jack every step of the way, while he is trying to find Claire. The first time I watched this, I gave Locke the benefit of the doubt and assumed that he thought Jack was a loose cannon and was not thinking enough. Season 5 Sawyer would agree with this assessment. However on the rewatch, this behavior of Locke’s would lend itself to the idea that this could also be Nemesis. Locke slows Jack down while trying to track Charlie and Claire. When Jack starts screaming their names, Locke says “shh!”. Then Locke tries to convince Jack to start completely over by going back to the caves to form a search party. If he had done that the trail likely would have gone completely cold, especially after the rain. When Michael wanted to help, Locke wouldn’t let him go. Now Locke does try to admit some guilt in the matter that he spent a lot of hunting and tracking time with Ethan and he never ’sensed anything’. But given all that he did to fight the rescue efforts of Jack, I have to view it as a likely manipulation to distract him from how blatant his efforts were to slow down the search. When Kate finds a second trail and starts spouting tracker’s lingo, Locke looks downright angry, saying, “You’re just full of surprises.” Locke also displays his famous knack for predicting the rain, to the second.
Interesting to note:
1)Boone makes some good ‘red shirt’ jokes.
2)Sayid jumps awake again.
3)Walt said that his stepfather told him that he was the “luckiest kid he ever knew”, after Hurley catches him rolling every number he wishes for.
4)It was the ever strong theme of expectant mothers that made Jack decide to turn his father in for operating under the influence.
Whatever the Case May Be
Secrets are apparent as John is having Boone hide the fact that they are stealing the camp’s one precious axe to try to uncover or open this metal thing buried in the jungle. It is reasonable to assume that this decision could very well ruin the axe. This once again proves how dumb Boone can be. Secrets are all throughout this episode as we see how Kate carried out her bank heist. We also see yet another ‘art of the con’ story. This time it was Kate’s version. I feel compelled to point out the fact that Jack easily spotted Kate’s attempt at slight of hand. I couldn’t help wonder if the reason he knew the trick so well, was from all those afternoons visiting Grandad Ray at the retirement home with all the magic shows.
Rose says to Charlie, “It’s a fine line between denial and faith. It’s much better on my side.” Charlie breaks down crying and begs for her to help him. She replies, “Baby, I’m not the one that can help you.” Rose helps Charlie by praying for him on the beach. Now it is heavily implied through the prayer that she means that God is the one to help Charlie. However I can’t help but remember in “SOS”, Isaac of Uluru tells her that was not the place that could help her.
Interesting to note:
1)I was dumbstruck as Rose chastised Charlie for not talking, and being unproductive at the camp. Is she kidding me?!? Hello, Pot. This is Kettle… Seriously. She didn’t move for 2 days after they crashed.
2)What kind of robber wears a ballcap over their ski mask? It won’t fit, and it’s likely his hat which would be an identifying garment. Dumb.
3)Boone looks psychotic as he watches Shannon talking to Sayid.
Secrets and destiny will continue to be ongoing themes in Lost. What destiny is exactly for our islanders is still yet to be revealed. But as long as our Losties are unable to share their information and experiences with each other, the theme of secrets will never die on this show.
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