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.
Alternative Timeline
Wow. So Jack has a kid. He’s been married, but divorced, or perhaps never married and just had a kid on the side. Either way, the question that everyone is asking is: who’s the mother?! Maybe I missed something, but there wasn’t even a hint for us in last night’s episode. The only suggestion indicating a connection to another character we’ve met before is the sheet music which Jack finds in his son David’s bedroom: the same song that we see Daniel Faraday playing in one of his flashbacks. Remember, here Daniel’s mother—who we later learn was an important fixture on the island—discouraged him from playing the piano, insisting that he focus on his gift, which was his sciences.
Interestingly enough, when Jack meets the Samurai Man(!), Dogen, after the recital, Dogen tells him that David has a real “gift”. The language here, and the parallelism is interesting. What, if anything, does it mean? Your guess is as good as mine.
Claire is Rousseau
So we learned a bit more about Claire in this episode. She’s been visited by Jacob’s nemesis, in the form of her father (and Jack’s father) Christian Sheppard. She’s also been visited, and continues to be visited, by the nemesis in the form of John Locke. She knows it isn’t really John Locke and calls him her “friend”. She doesn’t know that both apparitions are actually the same entity—Jacob’s nemesis—because she refers to them as two different people: her father, and her friend.
Interesting though that Claire is so much like Rousseau. Like I’ve said before, there are strong links between the two, having both given birth on the island although there are distinct and important differences as well. Rousseau’s baby was stolen by the Others. Claire’s baby was taken by her own people, the survivors. Rousseau wasn’t infected (not that we know of) but instead was forced to fight off her shipmates, who became stranded on the island with her, when they became infected. Claire, however, seems to be infected, at least according to the Others. But, what do we really know? She isn’t acting any more strange than Rousseau was acting when we first met her. Perhaps the infection that the Others were referring to when they said a “darkness” was growing inside of Claire was merely the influence of Jacob’s nemesis.
Hurley and Jack at the Lighthouse
I absolutely loved this aspect of the episode and I having a feeling that every LOST fan will agree. Hurley is just such a hilarious and likable character; his attempt at a serious “undercover” voice with Jack was outrageous. His comment that their journey felt “old school” was just brilliant, too. On perhaps a sidenote though, I do think the “old school” sentiment is very important. As far as I can tell, or predict, or hazard a guess, LOST is going to end up being a very circular affair. The sudden appearance of Shannon’s inhaler, the scene at the caves, I think is all pointing the way—reminding the viewers—of events that took place before in order to swing things back around to where and how it all started. I’ve predicted before the return of older characters—namely, Mr. Eko—and I’ll predict it again. I think it would only make sense if someone we came 360, and I think that’s what we’re being set up for, in pieces, starting with this week’s episode.
The Lighthouse itself seems like a very interesting place but I’m torn about it’s purpose. On the one hand, a lighthouse is an indicator of land, a beacon to show sea (and sometimes air) traffic to come here. However, on the other hand, the lighthouse also finds practical application as a warning, an indicator of danger. Don’t come here! While I don’t think Jacob’s Lighthouse is literally used to call people to the island—he lied to Hurley when he told him to adjust the mirrors to help someone find the place—I would venture a guess that it isn’t even metaphorically used in that way. Instead, if you follow my previous theory that Jacob’s nemesis can call people, as well as Jacob, then the Lighthouse could be seen as a warning. After all, it seems like, somehow, through the Lighthouse, Jacob visited and saw the lives of the survivors—the same survivors he warned not to come to the island. We can’t deny that Jacob does call people, we saw this at the end of Season 5, with the Blackrock ship being called to the island. But the Lighthouse, I think, is a tool for warning. How interesting.
Final Thoughts
What I think is emerging in the storyline of LOST is a serious emphasis on the idea of choice. Since the formal introduction of Jacob and his nemesis, the concept of choice—of choosing between options—has figured heavily into the plot. I think this is going to be a very important aspect when all is said and done. Dogen, the samuari, makes an incredible comment when he appears in the alternative reality. Looking at Jack’s son playing piano, and referring to his own son who just finished his own recital, he says something to the effect of, “isn’t it so hard that you can’t help them.” You can only sit back, and watch. I think this is how Jacob and his nemesis work, too.
Jacob and his nemesis, forms of good and evil, or whatever they might be, are bound, I think, by the concept of free will, of choice. They’re able to influence characters, to ask them to do things and, in the case of the nemesis, are able to kill people, but they seem to seriously respect the idea of choice, to emphasize it. Jack, for example, is given a choice to follow Hurley into the jungle. He was given a choice to leave the island. He is given choices and it’s almost all about the results of his choices. This seems to figure pretty huge in the plot these days, and I think it will only get huger. Whatever the island is, whatever the show is all about, the idea of choice is important.
Like the post, Keith. In particular, I like idea that Jacob and his nemesis are influencers rather than actors.
About David, Jack’s kid: I assumed his mother was Sarah, Jack’s ex-wife. We don’t get confirmation, but I also don’t think it’ll be a mystery they revisit, as there can’t be much of a revelation there that wouldn’t be a cheat.
[...] strayed from it, so it seems. And this certainly makes the idea of free choice, that I’ve mentioned before, seem much more important. The book Jacob is reading, in the flashback I mentioned earlier, is very [...]