So I decided that one good way of spicing this place up is by putting my only obsession besides Tsu, i.e. Lost, to work. Since I’m such a crazed fan and know so much of its trivia, why not start writing my own thoughts about each new episode? Not too shabby, I know.
So, without further ado and a week late, here’s the analysis for episode six of Season Five of Lost: “316″.
So, they’re back. The Oceanic Six-minus-One decided it was a nice day for a voyage – except our trusty Iraqi torturer/assassin Sayid, who woke up in the morning feeling like some sadomasochism “Cops and Robbers” roleplay – and, under recommendation from Ms. Hawking (“Guam’s lovely this time of the year, as long as you go there within 42 hours”), took Ajira Arways Flight 316, where ex-Doctor and ex-drunk Jack Shephard met with good pal Frank Lapidus, who had previously rescued the O6 back in the day.
Only Guam wasn’t their destination, as Frankie summised rather cleverly:
Not long after, BAM! Welcome back, Jack; Hurley’s drowning, do your thang.
Yes, it was all fun and dandy, up to the point they meet good ol’ Korean pal Jin, who’s taken a job as a DHARMA janitor. “WTF” faces all around.
But, of course, the focus of the episode was on how they got back, rather than the event itself. From Ms. Hawkings, a.k.a. “Creepy Timespace-Police Lady”, introducing the Pendulum Station – uh, I mean, the Lamppost Station, to everyone popping out of nowhere, leaving their unresolved baggage for later episodes, just in time for the Ajira Flight to Craphole Island.
Now, I’m skipping the description of the episode because no one wants to hear it all again, but I gotta make a bus stop here, because something really puzzled me. And that would be Sun’s behavior.
I love Sun, always have, but I’ve been watching Season One again these last few days, and I gotta question myself: what exactly provoked Sun to become a cold, and occasionally mindless, bitch? I understood her lust for Ben’s blood after Jin’s kaboom presumed death, but I had a hard time grasping the idea that her husby’s wedding ring is enough to convince her that Jin is alive and well.
I guess she really is that desperate to believe, but it just gets worse! Not only does she believe Lost’s resident pathologic liar, but she’s able to leave her daughter Ji-Yeon behind and go back to the Island, perhaps forever, just to find out if Jin really is alive or not. One would assume that after so much father-issues she’d be a good mother, but it’s not looking good.
Now, it all could be just a ploy orchestrated by Charles Widmore to defeat Ben with a cunning backstab, but… I dunno. Just doesn’t feel like Sun to me.
Anyway, besides those occasional “huh?” moments, I absolutely loved this episode. It’s earned a place on my list of favorites, and not exactly because it brought the O6-1 back to where they belong. For me, the best thing was the fact that the Darlton Duo (Damon and Carlton, in case you don’t know) managed to use all of Matthew Fox’s acting prowess to craft a truly compelling Jack-centric episode.
Personally, while I like all characters of Lost, Jack was never one of my favorites. Locke, Desmond, Ben, and more recently Dan are right there on top, but Jack has mostly been either second tier for me, or on the bottom of my preferences.
However, ever since Bearded Jack showed us the future back in the Season Three Finale, I’ve been loving Jack more and more. The character had an incredibly strong arc in Season Four, and the transition between “Hero of the Day” Jack and “Drunken, depressed mess” Jack was convincing, compelling and overall very well done.
And now, on the first Jack-centric episode of the season (later than usual, as well), we see Jack go from his “Drunken & Depressed” persona to something we’ve never seen before… the “Man of Faith” Jack.
It’s clear now that, ever since the Island moved back in early 2005, Jack’s been looking for a missing screw, one stolen by John Locke during their last conversation. A very confident speech from the Man of Faith himself, coupled with an event that no logic could ever explain, destabilized Jack’s world too much. The Doubting Thomas suddenly witnessed a miracle, but he was not yet a believer. At least, not until his very ideological nemesis suddenly popped out of nowhere, blamed him for indescribable evils, and died afterwards after Jack told him “STFU & GTFO”.
Ever since, Jack’s been looking for his way back (didn’t his Season Three Finale screams just echo through your mind?), and on “316″ we finally witness his return to glory, after a very confusing and weird quest from Ms. Hawking that sounded more like a test of faith than a real requirement.
Speaking of which, special reference to Grandpa Ryan Shephard.
I’ve seen a lot of fans questioning the relevance of that scene. Uh, hello? Isn’t it obvious? They’re setting up the character for future use.
Personally, I hope he becomes relevant to the mythology of the show, because I simply loved him. I’d love it if his talk of going to a place where he could never be found meant going to the Island.
Anyway, as I was saying, this episode worked well because it merged the mythological aspect of the show with great character progression. Fans of the mythology will have no doubt become delighted to have a few more pieces to build the big puzzle, while fans who prefer the portrayals must have loved Fox’s representation of a man who figures he’s been wrong all along and tries to atone for it the best he can.
By the way, the “Island always moves” revelation didn’t seem to add up to me, but one week later I’m actually thinking that it explains everything.
I mean, why else would have Charles Widmore, who’s been to the Island, taken so long to find it again? And it just explains why a Arctic listening post managed to detect the electromagnetic anomaly from the Season Two finale, why Sam Toomey and Leonard Simms bumped into the numbers’ transmission randomly one night, and, of course, how a Nigerian drug plane (from Nigeria) found its way into a Pacific island.
Still feels weird that the Kahana freighter found the Island so near to the spot where Flight 815 had presumably crashed, but I guess it was just coincidence. Or a call from Destiny.
“Are you Charles Widmore?”
“Yes, who’s this?”
“DESTINY. (Dun dun duuun)”
Anyway, later today we’ll have a new episode of Lost – “The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham”. Which will show us the life and death of Jeremy Bentham, in case you didn’t figure it out. Should be an interesting episode to watch with lots to discuss, so I’ll see ya after another episode, brethren!
Original screencaps kindly provided (i.e., borrowed without permission) from Get Lost Podcast.
