Good afternoon, Lost friends. Welcome to my 3-episode analysis of this week's Rewatch! This batch of three was not particularly inspiring compared to previous episodes, but I did experience a potential epiphany about a very significant moment between Locke and Walt.Weekly Caveat
There are 8 other sites participating in this project. In order to provide the most fresh and honest perspective here, I do not read the recaps and analysis posted on my fellow ReWatch friends' sites until after I post my own. We all have different writing styles and are bound to experience similar epiphanies throughout this process. So if you come across any, please keep in mind that we've all seen these episodes multiple times and have analyzed them under relatively kindred microscopes for five years. Also...I am not perfect, nor is my memory; there are bound to be small mistakes here and there as I revisit and discuss all five seasons. So please excuse any errors in advance.
Goosebump-Inducing Dialogue
Do No Harm
Kate: "This baby is all of ours."
The Greater GoodSayid, to Essam: "Innocent lives will be lost, in service of a greater good." (sounds like the island's/Jacob's mantra)Born to RunSayid, to Locke: "I sense you might be our best hope of surviving here."
Sawyer: "There ain't anything on this island worth staying for."Life, Death, Choices* and then in Season 4 (episode 4.03, The Economist)...
Sawyer: "I ain't looking to leave. I ain't got nothing back there for me."
In Do No Harm...
Jack, to Boone: "I'm going to fix this. I am going to save you."
Jack CHOOSES to stay with the gravely injured Boone rather than help Claire deliver Aaron, just as he chose to 'fix' his future wife Sarah after she and Boone's step-father Adam Rutherford were in a car accident.Jack, to Sarah before surgery: "I'm going to fix you."
Also noteworthy: Aaron is born as Boone passes away. In The Greater Good...
Kate: "You wouldn't let her kill Locke. You had no choice."Loaded Titles
Sayid: "There's always a choice."
Do No Harm
If you think about all of the characters we've encountered both on and off the island...there are very few who haven't physically harmed someone (inadvertently or otherwise).
The Greater Good
Talk about a frequently used word. Among many other instances...Ben and the Others always asserted that they were "good" people and "the good guys," and when Jacob met young Kate he told her to "be good."
Significant Firsts
Jack delivers a Locke-line for the first of only two times, "don't tell me what I can't do!" The other occurs in Season 2 (Man of Science, Man of Faith), when Jack says it to Desmond.
A furious Jack attacks Locke for the first time.The Visual & The Visceral
In The Greater Good, Shannon holds Locke at gunpoint in the rain. In Abandoned (episode 2.06), Shannon is shot by Ana Lucia in the rain.
She is wearing the same blouse in both (obviously, since not much time passed between these two incidents).
In Born to Run, we get our first glimpse of the toy airplane that Kate and her childhood boyfriend Tom buried in their time capsule.
Young Tom was holding that very plane during Jacob's visit to young Kate in the S5 finale.
Whatever the Box/Case May BeBy now most of you know that I am somewhat fascinated by the contents and significance of boxes, cases, etc. on and off the island, given both Ben's infamous magic box speech and this J.J. Abrams video:
It struck me while watching Born to Run that Kate's was a TIME capsule.
...and that it wouldn't have existed if Jacob had not purchased it for her.
Locke
There is a moment in Born to Run that seems absolutely key to the entire series; one which makes me seriously consider for the first time whether Mystery Man/NotLocke OR Jacob had taken over Locke that early on.
As soon as Locke TOUCHES Walt's wrist, Walt pulls away and seems to be both scared and possessed:Walt: "Don't open it. Don't open that thing."
At that point, Walt did not know about the Swan hatch. We know that Walt has special cognitive abilities, but he seemed genuinely and unusually frightened at that moment.When Jacob made contact with some of the passengers before and after the crash, his touch seemed to be an unspoken influence on their fate and path in life. It made me wonder about Mystery Man making similar contact - if those he touches receive more direct messages/warnings.
Later in this episode, when Michael tells his son Walt that they don't have to leave the island, Walt responds with "yes, we do." He knew. It was as if that touch by Locke installed a lifetime of premonitions in the young man.
Nadia
When the CIA mentioned to Sayid that Nadia was working at a medical lab, my immediate thought was that perhaps Nadia worked for Widmore Labs.
It isn't such a crazy thought when you ponder exactly why Nadia was in London (home & office for Charles Widmore) when Charlie saved her from being mugged (episode 3.21, Greatest Hits)...
---I apologize for the lack of content for these three episodes; thus far in the Rewatch, they combined to produce very few new theories or overall thoughts regarding the big picture. But stay tuned next week, as we are sure to discover anew little gems and questions as we finish off Season 1 (Exodus, Parts 1 & 2) and begin Season 2 (Man of Science, Man of Faith & Adrift)!
Posts
6 comments:
Excellent post. Yours have definitely been my faves to read throughout The Grand Rewatch.
I am completely anti-Locke-has-been-possessed-the-whole-time, so I would contend that it was Walt's power that made him sense Locke's experiences with the Hatch, not the other way around or some other type of symbiotic relationship. The theory that he was possessed the whole time destroys in a way the brilliance of Unnamed Nemesis's plan. If he had had possession of Locke the whole time, it would have been much easier to have Boone or someone follow him to Jacob and kill him.
The elegance of the plan was getting Locke killed and taking his soul, but only after he had ascended to a prominent enough position to lead everyone on the island. Plus, there is so much more evidence to support Locke being Locke for the first 4.5 seasons, primarily the severe personality switch we see when he is "resurrected" halfway through season 5.
Keep up the great reviews. They keep my brain a-bubblin'.
When the CIA mentioned to Sayid that Nadia was working at a medical lab, my immediate thought was that perhaps Nadia worked for Widmore Labs.
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Hmm. Possible!
Nice catch!
I was surprised during the rewatch how often Nadia appeared. That showed me how I watched Lost the first time on Warp 6… About Locke, I am sure he was himself till Ben killed him. All that conflict about the button in season 2 makes no sense at all when he was already posessed by 'Esau'.
one thing i would like to mention. in the rewatches. i have noticed that locke is often found sitting on the beach staring off into the ocean scape. this is clearly similar to the introduction of jacob staring ahead as the ship is coming in. not only that, but the only other person (that i can think of) that was healed by the island was Rose, who spent a lot of time early on sitting and staring ahead. I find that intriguing. ALSO and a BIG ALSO. you metioned that in Tabula Rasa when Locke (who is staring ahead at the ocean) is shown at the end, you can hear a faint sound of smokey, however....you can also CLEARLY hear the sound of smokey in Walkabout when Locke is in his cubicle typing into his adding machine. (the sound of the reciept printing). not only do you hear it, but there is an echo/reverb effect on the sound, which is EXACTLY like smokey. Not to mention that you had brought up how Rose said that the sound was "familiar" ....hmmmmmmm.
also...THANK YOU so much for posting the JJ Abrams video. So intriguing. I want to someday have a conversation with JJ and Jeff Goldblum, but for my own personal reasons, ha....but thank you for doing such a great job with this blog, and excuse my French, but GYOD DAYUM I love this show!...take care and much love.
I really like your point about Locke touching Walt. I didn't notice that. I did notice something similar in "All the Best Cowboys . . ." There's two separate occasions where Christian touches someone and it seems to persuade them. The first time is with Jack when he's trying to convince him to testify on his behalf about the botched surgery:
http://gallery.lost-media.com/displayimage.php?pid=22103&fullsize=1
The 2nd time is when the husband of the deceased woman is threatening to sue, and Christian's touch seems to calm him down:
http://gallery.lost-media.com/displayimage.php?pid=22363&fullsize=1
Man. Now I'm gonna have to keep my eyes pealed for possibly significant touches, especially from Locke and Christian.
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