My latest LOST blog is up at Smartpop. Here is a sample. Click for more.
Even Jack’s son — who looked weirdly like his mini-me here, in a suit like his dad’s — has my attention. The kid is just too intense looking, with that rich dark hair, for such a young actor. At times he reminds me of Malachi in The Children of the Corn almost. It makes me think he is going to do something crazy, like be the Man in Black. It now looks like the thing that is going to bring everyone together at the hospital will be the birth of Claire’s baby (maybe Sawyer and Miles, with Kate tagging along, will let Sayid see his brother one last time). That would be pretty satisfying — especially if there turns out to be a connection between the dark haired and light haired cousins Aaron and David, Jacob (light hair) and the Man in Black (dark hair as Titus Welliver), and the light haired kid and the dark haired kid we have seen on the island. That could be a really great moment. Plus ending a show with the birth of a kid is just classic television. It can’t be a minor thing that that kid is left to wander the hospital while his dad is in surgery: the hospital is where everyone is. And we still don’t know who his mom is. Pregnancy and generations has been a big thing on this show — this is how to end it surely.
I am still not at all understanding the whole -- once you talk to him you are already compromised thing. Anyone have any thoughts on that.
Firstly: This rules. The show rules. It all rules. Admittedly I am more 'LOST Kool-Aid' than man at this point, but still, a strong run.
ReplyDeleteThe Others swiped Desmond's boat from Sun, Jin and Sayid at the beginning of season 4. I do not think it has been seen again.
I'd also like a bit more on the mechanics of being compromised. The affects on Sayid, Claire, Sawyer and Jack are all pretty different.
Yeah, the 'being compromised' thing doesn't make sense. Sayid appears to have resisted it with Desmond. And Richard has done pretty well for a long time.
ReplyDeleteBut maybe we should consider the sources. Dogen had never met MiB, who was something of a boogieman for the Others at the temple - he might not have had a wholly accurate idea of how he operates. (The stabbing thing aside, maybe?) And Claire isn't exactly reliable.
Yeah, I'm not adding the "if he talks he's got you" thing to my Lost D&D rulebook - I think it's just a foreboding bit of business.
ReplyDeleteMe and my lady both braced ourselves for Jin and Sun to get brain-melted, too. Another unintentionally funny bit: when Widmore's team did their display of power 100 yards behind Locke, all I could thing was "man, would've sucked for them if that's where Locke was keeping Desmond".
Loved the possible redemption of Claire and Sayid, and holy hell Geoff that is a great spot regarding Aaron and Jack Jr. Who knew hair colour would be so important (I guess it's why Sawyer and Jack can never be bros.)
That was my biggest disappointment and only real complaint about this episode - that the Jin and Sun reunion didn't have the impact it should've (especially since it's the kind of moment Lost usually excels at). Partly because of the unfortunate fence thing, and partly because I have to think fairly hard to remember exactly when they last saw each other (3+ years ago!).
ReplyDeleteSeason 5 Episode 7: The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham
ReplyDeleteIt appears that John Locke is alive which is later revealed to be the MIB posing as Locke.
Illana explains this season that he is trapped in that form
However two episodes later, (season 5 episode 9, Namaste) Sun and Lapidus meet Christian Shepard in the ruined Darmaville
So.... is the MIB lying?
@Andy
ReplyDeleteI think you may have the chronology mixed up a little. Locke was still himself while trying to gather the O6 back to the island.
MIB was only able to take over his body once he was dead & ON the island. So MIB was able to still appear as Christian before Dead Locke arrived.
Seth: I think Andy has it right. When Christian is leading Sun and Lapidus around the island, FLocke is already active.
ReplyDeleteThat doesn't mean that MiB is lying, necessarily, but it certainly doesn't make things any clearer.
Aaaaaand I take it back. I just checked Lospedia, and it's clear that Christian is MiB (they hear the monster before Christian appears) and that this appearance happens before Locke has been miraculously revived. (Christian tells them to follow Locke, who they still believed to be dead.)
ReplyDeleteSo the chronology fits, at least in this situation.
I wasn't going to comment here, but the verification word was 'spasp', and you just can't pass that up.
ReplyDeleteSpasp.
Also, I mis-spoke. Desmond's boat was nicked at the outset of season 3.
Illana says he's stuck as Locke now, meaning something's changed to make that so. Pretty sure he hasn't been anyone but Locke since Jacob was killed...
ReplyDeleteOh, the other thing that bothered me about Jin & Sun: reuniting in English? "Looks like someone get her voice back"? Korean is no voice at all, I guess! Huuuuuge misstep, there.
ReplyDeleteI had taken it to mean that he was stuck as Locke as soon as he chose to become Locke - perhaps having something to do with becoming a candidate (I think I suggested before that maybe the candidates are candidates for BOTH of their jobs) - but it could have had to do with killing Jacob, too, yeah.
ReplyDeleteAnd I agree about the Jin and Sun in English thing. 1) It makes no sense that they would speak to one another in English, given that they never had before, 2) Lapidus' comments was, let's face it, racist, and 3) it was also one of those dumb lines that patronizes the audience - you know, the kind that Commander Riker always spoke on ST:TNG when someone needed to provide a simple metaphor in order to make a plan clear for the idiots at home.
"I had taken it to mean that he was stuck as Locke as soon as he chose to become Locke"
ReplyDeleteYou're right, the phrasing doesn't preclude that at all - I was forgetting the actual evidence that he wasn't stuck right away, which is that he became Alex to yell at Ben (immediately!) after being Locke.
You're right, they jumped around in the narrative so MIB could have been christian one more time and then posed as Locke on the beach.
ReplyDeleteHowever I'm stilp trying to figure out how all this could happen with fake Locke waiting above:
from Season 5 Episode 12, Dead is Dead
Ben then journeys on, looking at columns covered in hieroglyphs, pausing to observe a stone panel covered in Egyptian-style carvings, which depicts the Monster and a jackal-headed figure (possibly the Egyptian deity Anubis) facing each other. Below the carving is a stone grate angled upwards. Ben hears the trademark noises of the Monster, and witnesses it rise out of the grate in front of him. The Monster surrounds Ben, swirling about him. He is faced with memories of Alex and Widmore, including Alex's death at the hands of Martin Keamy. After showing these visions to Ben, the Monster abates, followed by the appearance moments later of an apparition in the form of Alex. Ben apologizes to Alex, admitting fault in everything, which she acknowledges. She then pins him up against a nearby column, informing Ben that she is aware of his plan to kill Locke again, and demanding his firm dedication to follow Locke's leadership, or she will "destroy" him. Ben promises, and Alex disappears. Locke calls Ben back to the hole and lowers a vine in order to pull Ben up. Ben reveals that the Monster has let him live
So maybe the murder of Jacob later is what locked Him into his final form?
Regarding the English/Korean deal, at that point, Jin had been trapped in the past for many years, he had learnt English, used it all the time and probably hadn't spoken Korean since the last time he saw Sun years ago, so it's not that big a misstep.
ReplyDeleteFor what it's worth, in one of the podcasts, Darlton said that it was Jacob's death which locked Smokey in Locke's form.
ReplyDeleteIt's worth a lot to me! That's one thing I've got right in 6 years...
ReplyDelete