Flower Power: LOST, Episode 5.08 - "LaFleur"

Say you'll come back when you can.

WHENEVER your airplane happens to land.
Maybe I'll be back here too.
It all depends on what's with you.
Grateful Dead, "Cosmic Charlie"

I'm not even going to pretend that I truly followed the time line and shifts in this episode. I'll do my best to analyze and question the proper eras; at this hour, mistakes are likely so I appreciate your patience in advance!

So let's get started...

DHARMA LOGOS

Jerry and Phil were wearing the same jumpsuits as Jin and Sawyer. It appears that the star symbol denotes Dharma Security.

And I am thrilled that they showed Dharma mechanic shop as well, because when we were on the Lost Tour a few weeks ago...we saw that Motor Pool logo (wrench) and a scene being filmed there! Of course as a spoiler-free blog, I cannot divulge further details until that episode (14) airs.


EGYPT

In last week's blog, I posed the following:

"Is Hurley's drawing of Egypt going to come into play? Geographically...Egypt and Tunisia are only separated by one country (Libya). Could it be that Egypt is another island exit portal? And could the ancient 4 toed statue be related?"

I believe the answer is yes - Egypt is now integral to the overall arc:

• Dharma Paul (Amy's first husband) was wearing an Ankh necklace, which is an Egyptian hieroglyphic for eternal life (Alpert anyone?) and fertility (ding ding)
  
• There are hieroglyphics down below the Orchid near the FDW and on Ben's secret spy room door in New Otherton
• The infamous four-toed statue may very well be an important Egyptian god or creature (and an Ankh appears to be in the right hand)
  

FERTILITY

Amy successfully gave birth, as both mother and child lived. Did she conceive the child off-island, as Claire had? Is that why they survived?

Or...if 'the incident' had an affect on pregnant women, does Amy's birth signify that it hasn't happened yet?

And you just KNOW that they specifically didn't tell us the name of Amy and Horace's son. It has to be someone we already know. My guess is that it is Alex's boyfriend, Karl.

FROZEN DONKEY WHEEL

I assume this will occur in Season 6, but...who will be the one to next turn the FDW after the Oceanic 6/Ajira Five are all reunited with Sawyer & co. back in that era, returning them to real time?

POLAR BEARS

At that earlier point in time on the island, there were still polar bears around (presumably being housed in the cages over on the smaller Hydra island). So were the Dharma security guys aware of the animals because they were being brought over to the main island as guinea pigs to turn the FDW (thus the polar bear skeleton w/the Dharma collar in the exit point in Tunisia)? Or is it as simple as them viewing the bears in the Hydra station on the Dharma monitors?


THE SUB

Why is one sub docked there, and yet the other is being used every two weeks? Is it inoperable at that point?

Ethan and Alpert drugged Juliet for the rough journey to the island via sub. Is that really how they transported pregnant women too? Or was that a rouse so that she simply wouldn't know how long the trip was and what the route was?

SURGEONS

I love how Ethan Rom and Juliet worked as a plumber and mechanic (respectively) when they weren't acting in their true capacities as doctors on the island. In addition to Latin, were all of the Others required to take Auto Shop 101, etc.? Oh, and Marksmanship 202 of course.


TIME SHIFTS

It struck me when Miles commented that the last flash (after Locke turned the Frozen Donkey Wheel) felt more like an earthquake than those during the previous time shifts. Could it be that the turn of that wheel causes the island's previously dormant volcano to erupt at some point during this era, resulting in 'the incident?'

CHARLES WIDMORE & ELOISE HAWKING

Should we assume that they've left the island at this point?

If Ellie is Penny's mom, assuming she wasn't exiled like Charles...did she get pregnant on the island and take the sub back to have the baby safely? At that previous point in time was the sub even available to them or in operation to and from the island?

CHARLOTTE

Will we meet her parents? Is their identity significant?

Was she born on the island, or brought there when her parents were recruited by Dharma?

When Ben states her life's facts out loud after she first parachuted onto the island, his information about her age was either inaccurate or purposefully misleading. He said she was born in 1979 but I believe that we were viewing 1974 or so in tonight's episode, and young Red was two or three years old at that point...

We now know that Jin has been in Dharmaville for three years - is that how Charlotte learns to speak Korean? Does he bond with her as a child and teach her the language?

Will we see the point in time when Faraday becomes the 'evil man' that warns her never to return to the island or she'll die?

What is the significance of her deceased body moving through time? Is that why other bodies are buried (like Alpert's men tonight and Karl & Rousseau in the future)?

HORACE GOODSPEED

Was Horace the temporary leader between the Widmore and Ben eras?

When does he build Jacob's cabin?

Was he lying when he said he'd never heard of the Black Rock ship? Where else would he have gotten the dynamite? Was he the one who wired The Flame station with the C-4 (that Locke eventually used to detonate both that station and the sub)?

What happened to Olivia Goodspeed; was she his second wife? She was with him when they 'discovered' Ben immediately after Emily Linus gave birth outside of Portland, and Olivia was also Ben's school teacher on the island (she was teaching the class about the island's volcano; see photo above).

He is wearing an Arrow station Dharma logo jumpsuit. In Season 2, the tail section folks from flight 815 found the following items in the abandoned Arrow: a glass eye, a Bible containing missing sections of the Orientation film that Desmond had in the Swan hatch and a walkie-talkie. So...do any of those belong to Horace? Can we assume that the glass eye belongs to Mikhail?

In last season's "Cabin Fever" episode, Horace spoke to Locke in a dream. He told him that in order to find Jacob, Locke would have to find Horace first. We then see Locke find a map in the pocket of deceased Horace's jumpsuit. However, that message could hold greater meaning now...I have a feeling that when Locke appears during this older era and runs into Horace, he'll finally discover how to find and communicate with Jacob.

JACOB

Was he a hostile or Dharma, or does his existence on the island date back to the days of the Black Rock shipwreck?

Did he play a role in the truce between Richard's hostiles and the Dharma folk? Does he have/take a side at that point?

JULIET

The sub was available to shuttle pregnant Dharma women back and forth from the island every two weeks. And we know that the sub was still functional a few decades later, because that is how Juliet arrived on the island. So did Ben make the decision to cut off that service to pregnant women, or just to lure/recruit Juliet?

Knowing that the sub could have transported women back to the real world to safely deliver their children...it is seeming more likely that Ben chose one life (Juliet's) over the lives of many women and their babies. We knew he had a serious/psycho crush ("you're mine, Juliet!"), but there has to be more to it than ever imagined. Even though I can't work out the logistics in my head right now (and the time shifts have allowed me to cross my suspension bridge of disbelief), Juliet may very well turn out to be his childhood girlfriend Annie.

You all know by now how I feel about Juliet. All I have to say about the new love triangle is, damn it Kate, run! (sorry Skaters, but I'm all for my girl finally getting some...love; even with your beloved Sawyer). And no, I don't think she was ever in love with Goodwin. And yes, I realize that Freckles is going to ruin everything for Dr. J. Sigh.

I love how Kate flat out refused to stay on the island for a minute longer when he asked her to, even though she had an established (albeit untraditional) relationship with Sawyer...and it took one conversation to convince Juliet to stay for two more weeks.

MIKHAIL

He'd lied about being an original member of the Dharma Initiative, but he was stationed at The Flame under Ben's leadership and era. They mention The Flame in tonight's episode, so I expected Patchy to show up on screen at any moment. I suppose he hadn't arrived on the island yet.


MILES

Does Miles use his ability to communicate with the dead during his 3 years in Dharmaville to gather information from the deceased?

IF he is Pierre Chang's (Dr. Marvin Candle) son, do they cross paths during those three years? And if they do, it would be doubtful that either would recognize one another...


RICHARD ALPERT

He appeared to be wearing the same modern clothes during the Horace Dharma era that he was donning during the soldier Widmore era. Yet when he encountered young Ben after he first arrived on the island, he was wearing the dirty Hostile attire. Was/is it an act for just him, or are the other Hostiles simply following suit? {pun only slightly intended}

Is immunity to the sonic fence a characteristic of being ageless?

Does Richard accept Paul's deceased body instead of punishing Sawyer for killing 2 of his men because Paul is a sacrifice that the island demanded? Will he offer or bring him to Jacob?

By the way, I LOVE the writers for Sawyer's shout out to and about our favorite Guyliner, Richard Alpert/Nestor Carbonell ("our buddy out there with the eyeliner").

SAWYER

Fulfilling his own prophecy:

New sheriff in town, boys! You all best get used to it.
James Ford (Episode 2.13, "The Long Con")

Just as Jack instructed the Oceanic 6 to lie to protect themselves off island, Sawyer is doing the same on-island for the Marooned 5 (Faraday, Jin, Juliet, Miles & Sawyer).

DID YOU NOTICE...

Dharma girl Rosie was wearing a Geronimo Jackson tee.

The Dharma security guys were probably named in homage to the Grateful Dead: Phil (Lesh) and Jerry (Garcia). My brother was a Deadhead in high school; I would have missed that otherwise.

NOT SO CRAZY THEORIES OF THE WEEK

1) Kate is expecting. In addition to being distraught about handing over Aaron to an unknown entity before returing to the island via Ajira 316, Kate was visibly upset because:

• She was unsure exactly HOW she'd return to the island; a crash could harm the baby.
• She was dreading a reunion with Sawyer because she is pregnant with Jack's child.
• During that infuriatingly vague breakfast with Ben on the beach back in Season 3, when she was handcuffed after being taken hostage along with Jack and Saywer...Ben told her she was about about to have a very difficult two weeks. My theory is that he also informed her that it was her destiny to provide/bring a third Shephard heir to the island. In typical Kate fashion, she rebelled by sleeping w/Sawyer at that time. And off island, once she learned she was pregnant with Jack's baby, she finally agreed to return to the island. Begrudgingly, she decided to stop fighting her fate.
  

2) Horace was present immediately following Ben's birth (he and Olivia 'happened upon' Roger and Emily Linus right after she gave birth to Ben in a forest outside of Portland), just as Alpert was present immediately following Locke's birth. Neither were coincidence.

Horace was the person assigned to recruiting Ben to the island (via his father). Ben was supposed to lead the island in the future. The island/Jacob/Richard believed that Ben was special, as they did Locke (and probably Widmore). That is why hostile Alpert told young Ben at their first encounter in the jungle that he had to be patient. Years later we saw Ben overseeing the Purge and exterminating the Dharma folk. He continues to hold a leadership position, at least with or over Alpert. The question remains...do Ben and Widmore cross paths on the island, and is that the 'war' that Widmore warns Locke about?
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After re-reading that last paragraph, I realized that it's time to shut down for the night. Please excuse any ramblings or inconsistencies. Hopefully I will do a follow-up post to this one on the weekend. Thank you for taking the time to stop by and read this particular; I appreciate it more than you'll ever know.

I would love to hear your comments; have a nice weekend!