I’m going to go ahead and skip the recap elements of this week’s review and get straight to the analysis, there’s a lot to go over. As always, I’ll bury any spoilers after the break.
2 Comments
Articles tagged ‘ABC’...
OK, so I’m seriously still reeling. Last night’s episode of LOST was simply the best this season. As Maria suspects, it’s only going to get better from here on in. Let’s debrief.
This week’s episode, titled “Dr. Linus” unsurprisingly followed Ben Linus through both the present timeline and the alternate one. In the alternate timeline, we learned previously, he’s working as a high school history teacher. In the present timeline he’s, well, himself. But despite being, literally, worlds apart, these two Bens are forced to make very important choices. Crucial choices.
This week’s episode of LOST, like last week’s trip through the jungle, felt a little bit like old times. Instead of moving forward the theory-based plots and revealing more about the nature of the island or Jacob and his nemesis, the story revolved around action and adventure. Easily the most action-packed episode of the season, it hearkens back to an older kind of LOST, before we got mixed up in all these wild theories and speculations—be that what it may, let’s debrief.
What I absolutely love about a show like LOST is how caught up you can get in it. Ever since the very first season—which Maria and I watched, in its entirety, during one winter weekend—the show has been wholly captivating. I love the layers. Every week I try puzzle it out, try to figure out what just happened, where the pieces fit, and the more you think about it the deeper you get. There’s so much depth to this show. As a disclaimer, I’m not an expert in Ancient History or Mythology—my History degree is mostly in modern, war-time history. Still, I’ve done some research and I want to take some time, maybe for the first time, to flush out some interesting mythological illusions and connections in LOST.
Since pretty early on in the show there’s been a lot of religious and mythological imagery both subtle and overt. Since the end of last season, when the island began to be revealed in a brand new way, it became obvious that there are distinct and clear connections to ancient mythology and, perhaps, ancient civilization. We’ve now seen the Temple, the wheel that moves the island, and the giant statute where Jacob lives. But there are plenty of more subtle nods to mythological ideas or creations, too.
My head is spinning. This week’s episode of LOST was pretty incredible. Lots of questions are being answered, bringing up, of course, lots of more questions but I feel like the story is really moving forward. Let’s break things down.
In contrast to last week’s episode of LOST, this week’s episode, “The Substitute,” actually got down to answering some long-standing questions. Like I had hoped for, this week’s plot focused around John Locke. We learned what happened when Fake John dragged Richard off into the jungle. And we get a glimpse into Locke’s life in the alternative universe. While there’s a lot that can be said about the alternative universe, and the John that lives there—the Hurley that lives there too—I want to focus instead on a pet theory of mine, and run it through a test case.
Whew, what a ride. According to the preview trailer for episode 4, called “The Substitute,” this episode will focus heavily on Jacob’s nemesis, as John Locke, on the island.
From the look of things, it’s going to be a very good episode. We see John and Sawyer, never the best of friends, interacting in the jungle; Sawyer with a gun pointed at John’s back, at one point. We see Richard, in the jungle, warning the Survivors that John wants to kill all of them, every last one. It looks like high stakes, and it looks like they’re focusing on what I had hoped they would last week: John and Richard.
Ever since Fake John dragged Richard into the jungle after killing Jacob and Ilana’s men I’ve been wondering what’s up, and waiting to find out. It looks like we’ll finally know.
First of all, it looks like Jacob’s nemesis either doesn’t have a chance to kill Richard, or decides not to, because Richard gets away long enough to warn the Survivors of the nemesis’ evil plan (which apparently is to kill everyone). How Richard gets away, or why he’s let go is still a subject of mystery, as is Jacob’s nemesis’ rationale for killing all of the Survivors. What exactly is his game? I have a thesis going that the entire premise of the show has been Jacob’s nemesis trying to have him killed, but why, after Jacob is dead, would he need all the other residents of the island killed? I have no idea. Obviously that’s his plan, because as soon as Jacob was killed, the Others at the temple began their fortification, but exactly what vendetta the nemesis has to settled, we don’t know.
I’m very interested in seeing how the whole Sawyer/John thing plays out. Remember, Sawyer doesn’t know that John isn’t actually John but he seems to figure it out, judging by the promo trailer. I’m frustrated by Sawyer, post-Juliet’s dead, and I hope a confrontation with John will shake him back into character. I understand he’s upset and brooding over Juliet, but all the tired mopping around and angst—I want to see the strong, tough, and tender-hearted Sawyer again! I want to see him kick John’s ass, too.
While last week’s episode was good, I really hope this episode moves the plot along a lot more, and answers any of the burning questions we’ve had for years. It looks like it might, so here’s hoping.
