"Lost": "The Incident, Parts 1 and 2" -- Take two
OK, picking up where I left off in the wee hours of Thursday out of sheer exhaustion and from thinking so much about what transpired in Wednesday night's "Lost" finale...
Clearly, one of the big questions we're left to chew on is this "loophole" business and how it affected the corporeal John Locke. Or New-bad Locke as we've taken to calling him. (Round of applause here for Terry O'Quinn and Michael Emerson's fanastic work in this seg.)
Clearly, we need to figure out why there was such bad blood between Jacob and the other guy with the salt-and-pepper beard that he was verbally sparring with in the opening sequence. The other dude's promise that he would "find a loophole" to come back and do bodily harm to Jacob kicked things off on a nasty and oh-so-mysterious note. Are we to presume that salt-and-pepper is the guy who's inhabiting Locke's body?
And what the heck was the time period ofthat opening segment? Jacob and Angry Guy were speaking in contempo argot but the presence of a clipper ship (similar to the ship in the bottle Richard was building in last week's ep) and the full-bodied statue certainly hinted at Black Rock era of the late 1800s (I think?).
Even more tantalizing was the other guy's Jacob's comment about how "they come, they fight, they destroy, they corrupt -- it always ends the same" as he looks out on the ship. So we're to assume that motley crews have been arriving on the island for a long time? That would explain a lot, I suppose.
Cleary, we still need to figure out the Richard (Ricardos) connection in all this. And the Ben connection to Richard. I still can't shake the feeling that they are still working together despite everything that's gone down -- and Ben's promise to his vision of Alex a few episodes back.
Clearly, I need to watch the episode again to formulate anything like a coherent analysis of what we learned last night and where we're going in season six. Until then, let's review the great moments:
No. 1: The long scene with Jack and Sawyer in the jungle. First they communicated with each other like never before -- Sawyer opening up about his childhood, Jack expressing his love for Kate and regret for losing her -- and then they fought like never before. Chopsocky in the jungle! If it's a "Lost" finale, then somebody's getting beaten to a bloody pulp, but this one is by far a record for bloodied heads.
No. 2: Juliet's fall. O! M! G! My arm hurt afterward. R.I.P., Blondie. You went out (we think) with a bang. Fantastic work in this sequence by helmer Bender. And he couldn't have done it without the talents of Elizabeth Mitchell.
No. 3: Ilana and Bram and crew meeting up with Richard at the statue and dumping Locke's body out of the cargo container for all to see. That corpse sure gets around.
No. 4: Vincent, Rose and Bernard reappear! Thank you, Darlton, that was one for the fans. Loved seeing Bernard in Grizzly Adams mode. And loved the fact that they purposefully evaded LaFleur's efforts to find them after the flaming arrows business, as Rose explained, "because we're retired." Bernard amplified: "People try their whole lives to find a nice quiet place by the ocean." And when Kate started bleating about Jack having a bomb, Rose observed: "It's always something with you people." Priceless. I'm convinced now more than ever that Rose and Bernard are the island's Adam and Eve. They've found their Eden. I think the encounter with Rose and Bernard has a big impact on Juliet and Sawyer, in different ways.
No. 5: Juliet surprises by clocking the submarine commander, and then telling Sawyer: "You want out or you want to stay here and whine about it?" They surely seem like an old married couple.
No. 6: Ilana and Bram et al reach Jacob's cabin. Finally, we get a look at the place in daylight. A fixer-upper indeed. "Someone else has been using it for a long time," she surmises, suggesting that Ben has been play-acting there for a long time (something he basically confirms by the end of the episode). And who needs Post-it notes when you've got burlap sacks and hieroglyphics?
No. 7: Sun finds Charlie's Drive Shaft ring in Aaron's old crib. Sigh.
No. 8: The patented "Lost" season finale group-trek, this time led by New-bad Locke, complete with Michael Giacchino's stirring march-like theme.
No. 9: Locke's line after Richard leads him to the four-toed statue (aka Jacob's Place): "It's a wonderful foot, Richard, but what does it have to do with Jacob?"
No. 10: Hurley getting discharged from the L.A. County hoosegow. Trying to convince the stone-faced administrator dude that he really needs to stay. And then he runs into Jacob in a waiting taxi, who steers him toward LAX. "You don't have to do anything you don't want to do." Yeh, right.
No. 11: Jack to Sawyer: "See you in L.A."
No. 12: The faceoff among Ben, Jacob and New-bad Locke. "You found your loophole," Jacob tells New-bad Locke. (Oh boy, big clue.) "Indeed I did," he replies. "You have no idea what I've gone through to be here." Meanwhile, Ben is reduced to whining and moaning about being Jacob's handmaiden for all those years and he didn't even have the decency to show his face. "What was it that was so wrong about me?" Ben obviously has no idea about the Locke mind-body switcheroo. Whoo hoo!
No. 13: Bang, bang, bang. "Come on, you son of a bitch." And everything goes white...
-30-
My goodness -- all of that and I still didn't touch on Miles, who seriously grew on me as a character, to Ken Leung's credit as a thesp.
Didn't touch on Sun and Jin's wedding, which was lovely.
Didn't touch on the strange alliance of Kate and Juliet -- the Thelma and Louise of the island!
Didn't touch on Phil's gory end, impaled by a thin metal rod. Yet somehow Radzinsky lives long enough to become a stain on the hatch, years later.
Didn't touch on Sayid getting shot, and seemingly resigned to his fate.
Variety's Team TV -- Cynthia Littleton, Stu Levine, Jon Weisman, Andrew Wallenstein and A.J. Marechal -- provides a roundup of stories big and small, as well as opinions and analysis from across the TV dial.
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Posted by: Cheap Vibram Five Fingers | June 22, 2011 at 12:43 AM
An awesome finale to say the least.
I think that ship the see in the beginning is the Black Rock. I also think that Richard was the Black Rock's first mate. Remember in season 4, when Desmond tracked down Widmore at an auction? The next item up for bid was the journal of the First mate of the Black Rock. It would make sense with Richard being an advisor, and not a leader.
Furthermore, I think we can think of the Black Rock in the same way as Oceanic 815. Crazy electromagnetic business probably messed with their compass, bringing them to the island, thanks to Jacob. Jacob and the other guy seem to be playing some big timeless game of chess.
Posted by: Scott | May 15, 2009 at 11:22 AM
Hi Cynthia, Thank You for your enthusiasm and attention to detail. My wife and I record Lost, and I usually read your recaps immediately after we watch an episode, knowing your observations will add to my enjoyment!
A few random thoughts on this episode:
- Is Sayid going to become the skeleton that Hurley found in the old VW bus? My wife thinks his jumpsuit has the same name on it as the one Hurley found.
- Is the loophole simply that Jacob and the other fellow can only "occupy" the 'unused' bodies of others? It would at least explain Locke as well as Christian Shepard. We may well find out next season that 'Jacob' as we saw him in this episode was indeed the body of someone else.
- Is the smoke monster actually the pure form of Jacob and the other guy? Is there more than one smoke monster? Or, is the smoke monster the collective consciousness of Jacob, the other guy, Richard, and the others (i.e. when they are not in bodily form?).
- I think Jacob and the other guy are some sort of travelers, either space or dimensionally. They are essentially awaiting 'rescue', which would explain the line from Jacob in this episode (after Ben's attack) "they're coming."
- Are Jacob and the other guy some sort of good and evil situation? In all of Jacob's flashes with the characters, he did something positive or at least helpful in urging them to fulfill their potential. With Kate, he helped her out of a pinch. With Sawyer, he expressed sorrow. With Jack, he said "I guess it just needed a little push" which of course referred to Jack, not the candy bar. Etc., etc., etc.. On the other hand, all we know about the other guy is that he was impatient, and really wanted to kill Jacob. And seemingly finally succeeded, although I doubt Jacob in the purest sense is dead.
- Going with the good and evil idea, it would explain the other guy's comment about what happens everytime people come. Is that a comment on humanity or do Jacob and the other guy wield an unseen influence on people once they are on the island?
I imagine none of this will make sense in a day or two, but it sounds good to me right now!
Posted by: 62Lincoln | May 15, 2009 at 05:14 AM