Friday, May 30. 2008
LOST: There's No Place Like Home [ANALYSIS]
Since it's going to take a while to do the recaps for parts 2 and 3 of this three-hour LOST epic, I figured I'd go ahead and do the dirty work first. God knows this is going to take long enough as it is. 
We finally gain some insight into the inner workings of the island, as Ben shows us what's down below. We find out the identity of the corpse in Jack's coffin, the real identity of the person we only knew as Jeremy Bentham. This and so much more. But like all finales, these tidbits of knowledge come at a cost....
I've put all of this together in no particular order, so here it goes.
We finally gain some insight into the inner workings of the island, as Ben shows us what's down below. We find out the identity of the corpse in Jack's coffin, the real identity of the person we only knew as Jeremy Bentham. This and so much more. But like all finales, these tidbits of knowledge come at a cost....
I've put all of this together in no particular order, so here it goes.
The Freighter
Yes, folks, the freighter is no more. Consider season four to be "the freighter chapter" I think. Where season one was "the beach," season two "the swan," and season three "the Others".... And just like that its come to a close.
It's unfortunate, though, that Jin had to die. And, unlike Charlie, and probably some others, I don't think we'll be seeing him again (except maybe in a flashback.) Unless there's something else they've got up their sleeves.
BUT. There's Michael. The island wouldn't let him die, remember. Until now. When Christian Shepard (now the island's press secretary it would seem) shows up and tells him, "You can go now...." I think that pretty much seals it. RIP Jin and Michael...
Christian Shepard
Ah, and what of the senior Shepard? He's either a manifestation of Jacob, or (as he says) merely a spokesperson for him. In either case, he seems to be a sort of "grim reaper" now, the shadow of death. (Funny a guy named Christian and all...) He's claimed Michael, and probably Claire (but we still aren't sure of that.) What, though, of his appearances to Jack? Hmmm.....
The Third?
So who was the third death we were told would happen? I'm sitting here trying to think who else bought the farm, of the original Losties. And I can't come to it. Unless of course they are referring to....
Jeremy Bentham, or should I say...
They threw the name out early on, and if you caught my earlier post you have a brief idea of the relevance of the name. I knew it sounded familiar for some reason (and then I remembered the dissection of the newspaper obit from last season!)
Kate knows him, Jack knows him, apparently Sayid and Hurley know him. Even the wayward Walt knows him!!! It's unclear if Sun knows him at this point, and we know now that even Ben knows who he is. More importantly we know for sure its not Ben in the coffin.
But the mysterious JB, the man in the box, is actually (drum roll) John Locke. Wha? Why all the secrecy and code names?
This means that at some point, Locke has to get off the island. Either willingly or not. Which means that he has to either be forced out of grace with the Others, or willingly give up his new role as their leader. I think I'm going to throw up my hands and say, "show me!" because I really have no earthly clue how to piece that together.
I wonder if Locke's legs work off the island or not? I suspect we'll find out. Along with whatever else "Jeremy" has to say to them.
You All Have to Go Back
Ben's words at the funeral home were rather ominous. You all have to back. Otherwise the island won't have you. And by all, he means, ALL. Including the now deceased Locke. Does that include Ben as well? I don't think so, not after his little speech about consequences to Locke.
But that does raise a hint as to Locke's departure from the island. If Ben's not supposed to return, but Locke is, I guess we can say that the island didn't mean for Locke to leave?
The Lie
I wonder what snapped in Jack's head to finally make him believe Locke? Witnessing the disappearance of the island? Is that really enough? He came to that decision rather quickly on the raft, out of necessity more than anything, but still.
Claire
As if we needed any further proof that Claire is no longer with us, she
shows up in a dream to Kate. Now, I suppose that it could have just
been a dream. A subconscious desire on Kate's part to not revisit the
island. But who was she speaking of? "Don't bring him back, Kate!" About Aaron, I'm guessing. But why not?
The Orchid
Then there is the Orchid, a mysterious DHARMA station deep in the depths of the island. Almost a parallel to Dante's hell, with the deepest level frozen over.... Something to do with time travel, but obviously it can be subverted into other nefarious purposes, such as moving the island.
The "decor" of this particular station was interesting, though, in contrast to the other stations. Note the 80s-ish color monitors and VCRs, as opposed to the 60s-ish technology in the Pearl and Hydra stations, or the 70s-ish meets 2000 flavor of the Swan. And what was up with the giant scissor doors of "the vault?"
I'm not even going to pretend to explain "the vault" away. Some things we just have to take as they are, that there is indeed a large concentration of negatively charged exotic matter, er or something, down there. Where Ben went.
The Frozen Donkey Wheel
Yeah, we get that now. Down in the lowest frozen over level of the Orchid, in the cave behind "the vault," was a large, rather oldish looking wooden wheel. That did something. Something weird and wonderful. Who put it there? What's behind it? Again, just something we're going to have to take as it is until we learn something more I think. Although I'm going to throw out that it has something to do with the Black Rock. My first thought upon seeing it was that it looked like a ship's helm.
But we know what it does, don't we?
Moving the Island
So it's gone. But to where? And how? The whole bloody thing. Physically gone. No metaphorical philosophical mumbo-jumbo about spiritual transformations or dimensional juxtaposition. It's just frickin gone, dude! And it took Locke, Juliet, *Sawyer*, Charlotte, and the Others with it. Dude! DUDE!
Sun Kwan and Charles Widmore
Oooh, I didn't see this one coming at all. Is Sun really going to the dark side and joining up as Widmore's apprentice? Or is she going in undercover to subvert his efforts. I wish they'd have gone into more detail here. All in good time I suppose.
Sawyer
Full of surprises this guy. And what did he whisper in Kate's ear before he bailed out of the helicopter?
Desmond and Penny
Probably the most satisfying, and still unsatisfying part of this was the reunion of Penny, Charles Widmore's daughter lest you forget, with our Desmond. Is this part of the story over? Hardly I think. Two possibilities here: Either Penny's secretly been subverted to daddy's cause, (and I was waiting for her to kill Desmond, I really was!), or they've opened up a new story, with Penny and Desmond on the run from dear old dad. Either is possible, one is more "palatable" than the other, but either wouldn't shock me.
Charlotte Lewis
"Once you leave you can't come back." Or can you? What's the deal with Charlotte Staples Lewis? Is it possible that she was indeed born on the island? That would be a neat trick, given all that stuff about pregnant women dying before they give birth and all. Unless, like Claire, her mother wound up there after she was pregnant.... It's been hinted at before that she's either been there already, or at least knows enough about it to want to stay.
Daniel Faraday
Um. I'm poring over my notes, trying to figure out what happened to Faraday and the last batch of losties to get on the Zodiac, and I must be missing something. Was he on the freighter when it exploded or not? I don't remember seeing him there. At all.
We saw him leave the island, after talking to Charlotte. But nothing more was said of it. If he is dead, then "The Constant" was all for naught, don't you think? The final frames of that episode especially.
I don't think he's dead. I'm guessing he left the freighter and went back to the island for Charlotte, or he never made it. Or out of curiosity of "the secondary protocol." I think if he were on the ship they'd have shown him.
Even if he were on the water near the island, it looked like it would have been possible for him to have been transported as well. Remember, it's not just the whales, its the water!
If you saw him on the freighter when it blew, please say so in the comments. Otherwise I'll be expecting him next season.
Mr. Eko
Let me throw this out lastly. If (and a big if) Hurley is not really crazy, and the spirits of dead islanders (like Charlie) are somehow really speaking to him, and now playing chess with him it seems....
Was Eko really there? Hm. Wonder what else the priest has to say? Wonder who else he'll run into?
Note: I'm winging this right now, I'm sure there'll be something else I'll remember as I'm doing the recap posts, so feel free to chime in. I may add some more or change something if I realize I was mistaken.... or you guys line me out
Yes, folks, the freighter is no more. Consider season four to be "the freighter chapter" I think. Where season one was "the beach," season two "the swan," and season three "the Others".... And just like that its come to a close.
It's unfortunate, though, that Jin had to die. And, unlike Charlie, and probably some others, I don't think we'll be seeing him again (except maybe in a flashback.) Unless there's something else they've got up their sleeves.
BUT. There's Michael. The island wouldn't let him die, remember. Until now. When Christian Shepard (now the island's press secretary it would seem) shows up and tells him, "You can go now...." I think that pretty much seals it. RIP Jin and Michael...
Christian Shepard
Ah, and what of the senior Shepard? He's either a manifestation of Jacob, or (as he says) merely a spokesperson for him. In either case, he seems to be a sort of "grim reaper" now, the shadow of death. (Funny a guy named Christian and all...) He's claimed Michael, and probably Claire (but we still aren't sure of that.) What, though, of his appearances to Jack? Hmmm.....
The Third?
So who was the third death we were told would happen? I'm sitting here trying to think who else bought the farm, of the original Losties. And I can't come to it. Unless of course they are referring to....
Jeremy Bentham, or should I say...
They threw the name out early on, and if you caught my earlier post you have a brief idea of the relevance of the name. I knew it sounded familiar for some reason (and then I remembered the dissection of the newspaper obit from last season!)
Kate knows him, Jack knows him, apparently Sayid and Hurley know him. Even the wayward Walt knows him!!! It's unclear if Sun knows him at this point, and we know now that even Ben knows who he is. More importantly we know for sure its not Ben in the coffin.
But the mysterious JB, the man in the box, is actually (drum roll) John Locke. Wha? Why all the secrecy and code names?
This means that at some point, Locke has to get off the island. Either willingly or not. Which means that he has to either be forced out of grace with the Others, or willingly give up his new role as their leader. I think I'm going to throw up my hands and say, "show me!" because I really have no earthly clue how to piece that together.
I wonder if Locke's legs work off the island or not? I suspect we'll find out. Along with whatever else "Jeremy" has to say to them.
You All Have to Go Back
Ben's words at the funeral home were rather ominous. You all have to back. Otherwise the island won't have you. And by all, he means, ALL. Including the now deceased Locke. Does that include Ben as well? I don't think so, not after his little speech about consequences to Locke.
But that does raise a hint as to Locke's departure from the island. If Ben's not supposed to return, but Locke is, I guess we can say that the island didn't mean for Locke to leave?
The Lie
I wonder what snapped in Jack's head to finally make him believe Locke? Witnessing the disappearance of the island? Is that really enough? He came to that decision rather quickly on the raft, out of necessity more than anything, but still.
Claire
As if we needed any further proof that Claire is no longer with us, she
shows up in a dream to Kate. Now, I suppose that it could have just
been a dream. A subconscious desire on Kate's part to not revisit the
island. But who was she speaking of? "Don't bring him back, Kate!" About Aaron, I'm guessing. But why not?
The Orchid
Then there is the Orchid, a mysterious DHARMA station deep in the depths of the island. Almost a parallel to Dante's hell, with the deepest level frozen over.... Something to do with time travel, but obviously it can be subverted into other nefarious purposes, such as moving the island.
The "decor" of this particular station was interesting, though, in contrast to the other stations. Note the 80s-ish color monitors and VCRs, as opposed to the 60s-ish technology in the Pearl and Hydra stations, or the 70s-ish meets 2000 flavor of the Swan. And what was up with the giant scissor doors of "the vault?"
I'm not even going to pretend to explain "the vault" away. Some things we just have to take as they are, that there is indeed a large concentration of negatively charged exotic matter, er or something, down there. Where Ben went.
The Frozen Donkey Wheel
Yeah, we get that now. Down in the lowest frozen over level of the Orchid, in the cave behind "the vault," was a large, rather oldish looking wooden wheel. That did something. Something weird and wonderful. Who put it there? What's behind it? Again, just something we're going to have to take as it is until we learn something more I think. Although I'm going to throw out that it has something to do with the Black Rock. My first thought upon seeing it was that it looked like a ship's helm.
But we know what it does, don't we?
Moving the Island
So it's gone. But to where? And how? The whole bloody thing. Physically gone. No metaphorical philosophical mumbo-jumbo about spiritual transformations or dimensional juxtaposition. It's just frickin gone, dude! And it took Locke, Juliet, *Sawyer*, Charlotte, and the Others with it. Dude! DUDE!
Sun Kwan and Charles Widmore
Oooh, I didn't see this one coming at all. Is Sun really going to the dark side and joining up as Widmore's apprentice? Or is she going in undercover to subvert his efforts. I wish they'd have gone into more detail here. All in good time I suppose.
Sawyer
Full of surprises this guy. And what did he whisper in Kate's ear before he bailed out of the helicopter?
Desmond and Penny
Probably the most satisfying, and still unsatisfying part of this was the reunion of Penny, Charles Widmore's daughter lest you forget, with our Desmond. Is this part of the story over? Hardly I think. Two possibilities here: Either Penny's secretly been subverted to daddy's cause, (and I was waiting for her to kill Desmond, I really was!), or they've opened up a new story, with Penny and Desmond on the run from dear old dad. Either is possible, one is more "palatable" than the other, but either wouldn't shock me.
Charlotte Lewis
"Once you leave you can't come back." Or can you? What's the deal with Charlotte Staples Lewis? Is it possible that she was indeed born on the island? That would be a neat trick, given all that stuff about pregnant women dying before they give birth and all. Unless, like Claire, her mother wound up there after she was pregnant.... It's been hinted at before that she's either been there already, or at least knows enough about it to want to stay.
Daniel Faraday
Um. I'm poring over my notes, trying to figure out what happened to Faraday and the last batch of losties to get on the Zodiac, and I must be missing something. Was he on the freighter when it exploded or not? I don't remember seeing him there. At all.
We saw him leave the island, after talking to Charlotte. But nothing more was said of it. If he is dead, then "The Constant" was all for naught, don't you think? The final frames of that episode especially.
I don't think he's dead. I'm guessing he left the freighter and went back to the island for Charlotte, or he never made it. Or out of curiosity of "the secondary protocol." I think if he were on the ship they'd have shown him.
Even if he were on the water near the island, it looked like it would have been possible for him to have been transported as well. Remember, it's not just the whales, its the water!
If you saw him on the freighter when it blew, please say so in the comments. Otherwise I'll be expecting him next season.
Mr. Eko
Let me throw this out lastly. If (and a big if) Hurley is not really crazy, and the spirits of dead islanders (like Charlie) are somehow really speaking to him, and now playing chess with him it seems....
Was Eko really there? Hm. Wonder what else the priest has to say? Wonder who else he'll run into?
Note: I'm winging this right now, I'm sure there'll be something else I'll remember as I'm doing the recap posts, so feel free to chime in. I may add some more or change something if I realize I was mistaken.... or you guys line me out
Trackbacks
LOST: There's No Place Like Home, Pt. 3 [RECAP]
(Part 1 Recap, Part 2 Recap)We now return to the continuing stooory of how the Oceanic Six came to be off the island. Stay tuned, folks, it only gets better from here! Click through to read the recap for part 3. This is going to be good.Just like Part
(Part 1 Recap, Part 2 Recap)We now return to the continuing stooory of how the Oceanic Six came to be off the island. Stay tuned, folks, it only gets better from here! Click through to read the recap for part 3. This is going to be good.Just like Part
Weblog: Planet LOST
Tracked: May 30, 10:25
Tracked: May 30, 10:25
solves how ben got in the middle of the desert.
i think the life raft was close enough to the island when it moved to move with it.
some funky stuff going on...
how about that hint of an actor strike? kind of tacky if you ask me.
thanks for your website, you're the greatest man!
Yeah after doing the recaps I noticed that I wrote that Faraday was still on the water when he saw the light, so maybe he was still 'in range'
I didn't touch on how Ben wound up in the desert. That just either kind of happened, or hasn't been explained yet....
how close to tulsa are you? i'm outside sapulpa on the west side.
#5: Whatever goes on in between Widmore and Ben, they are not allowed to kill each other. Remember in that epi a few weeks ago, when Ben confronts Widmore and says he can't kill him even though he (CW) changed the rules (by killing Alex)
Why does Kate say, "sorry" to Aaron? Is it because she already knows she has to take him back but doesn't want to?
I think there will be a war of wills with Desmond and Penny about which direction they should take...with the O6 or against the O6.
I wonder if Walt has to go back too since "Jeremy" visited him. And you could tell that Hurley didn't want to tell him that his Dad is dead.
I think Locke decided (or was told by Jacob) that he had to go gather the O6 (and maybe Walt too) back to the island, so that is why he left the island. He does have a "savior" complex.
Thanks for all of your work this season.
Thanks for your insight this season. Great show!
Many people suggest that there is no aging on the island, but I wonder if it is more of a usage of time travel. Think about how one of the others, Richard if I recall his name right, went to visit Locke as a child holding items- one of which was already Locke's despite the wear all objects had accumulated.
The submarine wasnt the only way off the island- any boat will do- think of Michael leaving. I would guess that there are other methods.