Lost ReWatch Week #7: Exodus Parts 1 &2, Man of Science Man of Faith & Adrift

Open your eyes and look within;

Are you satisfied with the life you're living?

Bob Marley, "Exodus"

This was a particularly enjoyable batch of ReWatch episodes; a stroll down memory lane and reminder of just how impactful and stellar the end of the first season was. The emotional exchange between Jin and Sun before he got on the raft, the handoff of Vincent from Walt to Shannon and the raft departure from the beach were just a few of the more poignant and beautiful scenes from the S1 finale.

And I really think that that opening scene of Season 2 is the best to date; watching the events unravel down in the hatch as the others break into it above, and meeting Desmond - phenomenal and still riveting.

Crossing Paths

• Ana Lucia and Jack flirt at the airport bar before boarding Flight 815. We will later find out that she helped Jack's father Christian Shephard drink himself to death...which is why Jack came to Australia in the first place.

• Although Michael didn't notice, Locke is getting wheeled past him in the airport.

• Sayid asked Shannon to watch his bag at the airport; she turned him in to security.
  

• When Michael was chasing Walt in the hotel room, Charlie was in the elevator.

• When Hurley was trying to cut through security, Dr. Arzt was in line.

• Before the crash, Jack and Desmond met while running at a stadium.

Dark Territory

When we met Mystery Man/NotLocke in the S5 finale, he approached Jacob on the beach from an undisclosed location. It is worth pondering whether or not he might reside in the Dark Territory. It would certainly fit with both the black & white and good vs. evil themes.

[sidenote: anyone else now wonder if Jacob and/or Mystery Man had anything to do with the Black Rock relocating from the ocean to the middle of the jungle? they were watching it at sea together, after all...]

Distracting Discrepancy

I very rarely complain about the occasional prop or inconsistency error because I don't find those elements to be distracting and the production staff is only human. However, seeing the brand new washer and dryer in the Swan in 2004 still stands out to because they are the only modern machines to ever appear on the show.

I seriously doubt that they were dropped off on a pallet or delivered via sub, and regardless - why those particular appliances? Jacob and the Others seemed to outright dislike and/or avoid modern technologies altogether (case in point: the archaic computers). No real overall significance....just pointing it out.

Games People Play

In Exodus, Part 2...the following conversation between Jack and Locke is obviously quite integral.

Locke: "You ever play Operation?"
Jack: "You like to play games, John?"
Locke: "Absolutely."

There are some of you who are very frustrated with my speculation about Jacob and Mystery Man's possible connection to the characters in the earlier seasons, but I do believe that the writers intended for us to second-guess everything that has happened with them in mind. That is why, in this particular scene, a smug Locke taunting Jack reminds me of Jacob's attitude toward Mystery Man on the beach.

By the way, the irony is not lost on me that Locke asked the doctor if he's ever played...operation.

Backgammon, Chess, Mousetrap, Risk. The boxman is quite the strategist.

Goosebump-Inducing Dialogue

Exodus, Part 1

Ana Lucia: "Jack, the worst part's over."

Exodus, Part 2

Mr. Paik's goon, to Jin: "You are not free. You never have been, never will be."

Sun: "Do you think we're being punished; the secrets we kept, the lies we told?"
Shannon: "Who do you think is punishing us?"
Sun: "Fate."

Open Water

I assume that Big Tom and his theatrically dirty team of Others on the boat that took Walt knew about the raft's whereabouts because Ben was alerted to their presence when the ladies in the Looking Glass station picked up a signal from the radar that Sayid put together for the raft.

Significant Firsts

• Rousseau refers to Smokey as a security system.

• We see the Black Rock ship.

• Claire finally gives her son a name, Aaron.

• Charlie encounters the Virgin Mary heroin-filled statues.

• Jack and Locke determine that they are men of science and faith, respectively.

• We find out that the woman Jack saves instead of Shannon's dad in the ER is his future wife, Sarah.

• We get our first glimpse of NotWalt, as he appeared in the jungle to warn Shannon. {there are two prevailing theories here; a) that it was actually him, keeping in mind that Bea Klugh later tells Michael that Walt can appear in a place he's not supposed to be, and b) that it was a Smokey manifestation.}

• It is revealed that Desmond is the man living in the Swan hatch.

• We get our first look at a Dharma logo, their computer system and branded food supply.

• Locke enters the numbers on the hatch computer for the first time.
  

The Swan: Season 1 & Season 5

I think it's safe to say that most of us had no idea just how important the original hatch was going to be to the show in the long run. Some of the parallels between the first and fifth season finales are fascinating.

• In the S1 finale, Hurley asked Locke what he thought was inside and he answered "hope." Jack's decision to detonate Jughead in the Swan during construction in the S5 finale was based on hope as well.

• In the S1 finale, Locke said that "the path ends at the hatch." The same was true for S5.

• In the S1 finale, Jack needed reassurance from Kate that she "had his back." Sawyer repeatedly asked the same of Juliet toward the end of S5.
  

• In the S1 finale, Jack said that "if we survive tonight, we're going to have a Locke problem." We all know that WHENEVER and wherever Jack & co. wind up to open S6, they will definitely have a Locke problem.
  

The Visual & The Visceral

As much as it pains me to revisit that scene, when Jack and Kate were rescuing Locke from Smokey's clutches as it tried to drag him down into a hole, it reminded me of Sawyer's attempt to do the same when Juliet was pulled into the Swan shaft.

And while Juliet was dragged down there by actual chains, in Locke's case we only heard the sounds of chains and pulleys when Smokey attacked him.

Michael gives young Walt a stuffed polar bear as a goodbye present. And then one chases Walt on the island.

Danielle Rousseau

I am now wondering if Rousseau was indeed responsible for the black pillar of smoke that she said the Others lit. First of all, the Others did not tend to advertise their whereabouts or plans.

Second, the only other time that smoke appeared was during a time shift back to the late 80's when Jin saw Rousseau shoot her baby daddy Robert (see distant plume in photo above).

Jack

I now wonder if Jack would have been able to perform the 'miracle' surgery that allowed his future wife Sarah to walk again had Jacob not made contact with him before that time, during his residency.

Perhaps all of Dr. Fix-It's successes since then have been nothing more than enabled victories due to the brief touch of the real miracle worker...

Locke

As ridiculous as it sounds, one of my favorite Locke moments of all time occurs in Man of Science, Man of Faith...when he corrects Kate's grammar. A tip of the cap to Mr. Lindelof for this little gem:

Kate: "Why do you want to go down there so bad?"
Locke: "-ly. Why do I want to go down there so badly."

Sawyer

The first real inkling that Sawyer has a heart underneath the gruff exterior comes during one of my favorite scenes of the entire series...when he tells Jack about his encounter and conversation with his father Christian at a bar in Sydney.

On a Personal Note...

I never realized that Walt was watching Power Rangers in the S1 finale. While that is an absolutely insignificant point with regard to the overall series, it makes me laugh because I was an extra on that show in 1994.
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That wraps up this installment. Don't forget to visit my fellow ReWatch friends, who are providing their own perspective about each episode!

And apologies...due to my busy schedule this week at Comic-Con, I will not be able to complete the next ReWatch batch until next week. Thank you in advance for your patience!