5.9 Namaste

Not every episode is going to have the wall to wall What The Fock? moments. This episode did a nice job of advancing a number of story lines, filling in some gaps in this year’s story telling, and setting us up for future twists and turns.

We begin on the Ajira plane, with the co-pilot recognizing Hurley as a celebrity. I had to ask myself, with Frank knowing that the plane was going back to the island, and that the original plane crash killed a bunch of people, how could Frank consciously keep the plane on course towards the island. Change course settings, you selfish mook. Sure, Frank is a fantastic pilot, but if one of your main jobs is to protect your passengers, how can you make the decision to sacrifice lives to do a favor for Jack and Hurley. Weak, dude. I hope you noticed how the plane started hitting turbulence when it was night time, and when they emerged from the clouds, it was high noon. Yep, the time difference strikes again, as Frank flies through the bubble that separates the rest of the world from the island’s circumference. Kudos go the Frank for keeping the plane from ripping into multiple pieces, unlike some other pilot from the ironically pilot episode who didn’t do such a good job. Maybe that is another reason the smoke monster killed that original pilot. He screwed up in the plane crash. And lo and behold, as the plane turns, they spot a runway. OK. How ridiculous does it sound to build a runway on a remote, lost in time island? Well, it was done on Ben’s orders. Remember back in Season 3, during the stretch of brutally awful episodes featuring Jack, Kate, and Sawyer being captives of the Others on the Hydra station island, Kate and Sawyer were hauling rocks all day as work duty. This must have been part of the runway clearance. It was mentioned that the time table for the project had been moved up, so there was certainly prior knowledge that a runway needed to be built, for this specific situation. How, how, how did the Others know? Jacob? Well, if my supposition is right that Ben can’t really talk to Jacob, then the answer is no. Ability to see the future? Maybe based on Walt’s gift, they were able to get some things out of the kid while he was a prisoner. Ben remembering things during time loops? My simple conclusion is that Ben is able to have knowledge of future events. That is how he stays in power. How, I’m not sure yet. I also feel bad for the co-pilot. If this is playing out like the Oceanic plane crash, he is going to die shortly. But he does an important thing first. He tries to call for help, and the signal is overridden by a voice saying over and over again, “4,8,15,16,23,42” This is of ENORMOUS significance. And something I completely missed hearing until I re-watched the episode today. If you recall, during Season 1, the Losties discovered Rousseau’s distress call transmitting over and over again in French. She said that she changed the message from the numbers being broadcast over and over again, 16 years prior. When Hurley traveled to Australia, he was told that the numbers were broadcast for a long time, where the military was listening to it. Jack and the Losties turned off Rousseaus transmission at the end or Season 3. Right now, there should be silence. Yet, he are hearing the numbers. Faraday is very wrong. Whatever happened does not mean is happens. Maybe during the time jumps this may have been true. But now that the island folks are stationary, and interacting with the past, something that was done has drastically affected the future, as we will keep seeing over and over again this episode, in very subtle ways. Well, that didn’t take long, the co-pilot is dead. Frank checks on the passengers. As Caesar checks Ilana, she mutters a name before waking up. I wish I had subtitles, but that has to wait until the DVDs come out. Was the name “Sarah” muttered? Well, the only Sarah in Lost is Jack’s ex wife. It also sounded a bit like “Gerald” and the only Gerald is DeGroot, a founder of Dharma. Don’t know the significance of the word slip at this point. Sun does not jump, confirming what we all strongly suspected. As Frank asks Ben what happened, we get a “How should I know?” Other than knowing the plane was going to crash, and you knew exactly how long the runway had to be to save your life, you don’t know a thing. Sure. 30 years earlier, Sawyer is staring at Jack, Kate, and Hurley. Well, mostly Kate, as Jack looks at this blatant ogling by sticking his hands in his pockets and looking like a glum idiot. Yeah, I slept with her a day or two ago, but by all means stare at her as if she was naked. Oh, that’s right, you’ve seen her naked. Never mind. I’ll just stand and sulk over here. Hugs all around, and Kate strangely calls LaFleur “James”. Is this the first time she called him “James”? Probably. Unusually formal. Both groups trade stories. Locke is dead (wrong again Jack), and that JKH are now in Dharma time, 1977.

So, 3 years have passed in the real world and on the island, so time moves at a somewhat similar rate in a large scale sense, but a day or two behind or ahead in a practical sense. When Jin hears Sun was on the plane, he loses his mind. Instead of doing the smart thing and running and hiding from a female that would make Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct get goose bumps, he goes to look for the plane. No doubt so he can find her and put a bullet into the back of her head. After 3 years, surely he has had time to reflect how much she has ruined his life. Juliet, playing the snooping jealous girlfriend, catches up with Sawyer and is stunned, in the bad way, that Jack, Hurley, and especially Kate are back. Hell, she probably watched Kate have sex with Sawyer in the polar bear cages on camera. She can’t feel good about having Kate around. Sawyer explains that they have to do something with them “before they screw up everything we got here”. This was left vague on purpose. Was he talking about Dharma and his life with them, or his relationship with Juliet? Both? Neither? As Jin arrives at the Flame station, long before Locke blew it up, I can’t help but wonder why a communication station was built at the base of a mountain. Um, reception might be spotty. A man looking like a scruffy Paul Giamatti is startled by Jin’s barging in and running around the place like either Tom and Jerry of cartoon fame. Turns out the guy in the station is Radzinsky, the guy that killed himself inside the Swan station Back on the beach, Frank is doing a Jack speech, gathering everybody together, giving a pep talk, and promising to look after them. Caesar starts to take charge, noticing the cages and houses nearby. Ben knows they are on the Hydra station island, and better skedaddle in case Caesar finds a picture or evidence of Ben in those houses. Sun follows him. Ben decides to double back rather than hide from Sun, and asks her to join him on the island. Why? I have no idea. Remember, that confused, mentally unhinged woman was trying to kill you a couple of days ago.

Juliet checks on Amy and the baby while slyly taking over the sub manifest. Very reminiscent of Ethan sneaking into the Losties camp, as she and Sawyer are trying to sneak JKH into Dharma. And wouldn’t you know it? The baby is named Ethan. Most likely the same Ethan who worked with Juliet, the same Ethan who kidnapped Claire, hung Charlie, and killed either Scott or Steve. Creepy Ethan. Juliet was repulsed, as if she was holding the baby Rocky Dennis. The main question here is how did Ethan end up with the Others down the road. Remember, we were led to believe that Ben was the only Dharma survivor from the purge, which is still many years away, as Ben was a grown up when he poisoned his father and many others. Ethan is a baby. So, do the Others kidnapp Ethan at some point? Did he convert? Did Horace have to give him up in some deal with Richard? Amy asks When are you and LaFleur going to have a baby? When the time is right. Bullsh!t. What Juliet meant to say was when Kate is dead. Jack admits to Kate that Hawking didn’t tell him anything about a time jump. I wonder if it would have made a difference as to whether the Oceanic 6 would have come back with this condition known. Hell, maybe Hawking had no idea this was going to happen. Interesting plan to sneak JKH into Dharma by way of sub. But since no new recruits are due for 6 months, does this mean that the island will be inaccessible to everybody for that time; the island is going to be hiding. Which makes me wonder. Since the purge happened in the future in some time line, not this one, but some time line, there really was no escape from it. Everybody was trapped, doomed to die, unless they had a gas mask. Or maybe make a dash to the Hydra station island. Anyway, Jack asks Kate what she thinks, and then Hurley chimes in. This is the exact opposite of what Jack would have done on the island the first time around. He did all the decision making and no listening. Quite a remarkable change. A red alarm goes off in the Flame, and Jin runs out to confront the hostile. Who happens to be Sayid. Sayid had a lot of practice putting on his surprised face this episode, as Jin points the gun at his head when Radzinsky shows up with his gun.

Hurley brings up the mass grave Dharma pit and if Sawyer is going to warn them. Sawyer counters with Faraday’s theories (which we know are wrong) and that he isn’t here anymore. Since we’ve seen all the other Losties and Widmores in their Dharma roles, with the exception of Daniel other than scene one of episode one of this season, you could speculate that Daniel may have left the island at some point. I prefer to think that he has left the island, mentally. He’s gone bat sh!t crazy. A mental meltdown. Sawyer reveals the plan of concealment as we arrive at a Dharma recruitment party, complete with alibis and fake work assignments. Sawyer is decisive, thinking ahead, and staying quick witted. He truly has become what Jack never was. Miles tells Sawyer about Sayid, who is moved to a holding area in the Flame. Ben leads Sun to a spot where several outrigger canoes are conveniently hidden. Again, an example of Ben knowing the future in advance, most likely. He knew he would need these vessels, like the runway. But, during the time jumps, all three canoes were at the Losties old beach. So….how did the canoes get from one island to the next, and specifically, on the opposite side of Lost island, since from the small island to the big island in a straight line from where Ben and Sun stood were the Barracks. Another example of things being wrong. Ben discards his arm sling, either showing off the island’s healing power, or a ruse designed to keep people from beating up a one armed man getting on a plane. Frank shows up, leaving a bunch of passengers behind to chase a woman who walked off into the jungle. Frank is an irresponsible dummy. Can you trust Ben? I have to. The more important question, oh foul wench, can Ben trust you. A showdown between the two biggest liars on the show, Ben and Sun. Frank points out that a boat full of commandos came after Ben. And the lovely comeback How did that work out for everybody. Sun shot Ben a dirty look, and I bet he knew it to. Brass balls on this guy. Ben explains how close he is to his own people just on the other side on the island, and he offers to help the plane crash victims. For his most generous dubious offer, Sun blindsides him with a canoe paddle. I lied. Yep, you sure did, Sun. And as a result, you knocked down the best chance of rescue those poor Ajira people had. Might not have been a great chance, but it was there only chance. They are all trapped in this world. And now Frank has to abandon those folks and go with you because your scrawny ass and flimsy wrists aren’t going to be able to handle the canoe in the open ocean. So, you screwed Ben, Frank, the Ajira folks. To go back to a huge island to look for Jin without the guidance of the guy that knows all about the island. Just to get a cute line in. Sun, will you ever win your constant battle to try to do something intelligent rather than succumbing to idiocy. I am overjoyed that Jin is 30 years away from you, and it’s still not far enough. Sun should be standing around a bubbling cauldron. Oh, yeah. How’s that kid of your’s doing? That’s right. You have a kid you abandoned, Ms Mother of the Year. You won in a landslide over the OctoMom. But don’t feel bad for OctoMom. She’s been cast as the villain in the next Iron Man movie: Iron Man vs. Iron Uterus. And all this happened before they looked around and discovered Locke was back near the crash site. Fools, every last one of them.

While the hippie recruitment party is in full swing, including the orientation film recorded by Dr Chang, who explains that the compound is surrounded by pylons, the actual Dr Chang processes Jack. He mutters how disorganized they are on the other side, most likely a reference to Dharma in the real world, run by the DeGroots. Chang speaks highly of LaFleur, a good man, runs a tight ship. Another comparison to Jack can be made here, a common theme running through the episode until the conclusion. Based on aptitude, Jack will be a workman. Well going from doctor to janitor should make Jack feel like a legal U.S. immigrant. On the bright side, he doesn’t have to be a cab driver and deal with traffic all day long. Kate is questioned by Paul. I swear, the more I look at this lunkhead, the more convinced I am that they have a unibrow but they really don‘t. I’m talking about Paul and not Kate, so pay attention. He looks like one of those villains sitting at Dr Evil’s table from an Austin Powers movie. Maybe it was the lesbian golfer. Dunno. Juliet shows up just in time. She and Kate spend some time with idle chatter while staring daggers at each other. Juliet looked extremely psychotic. I think Kate will be working in the motor pool. Random thought. Remember when Juliet got branded back in Season 3. Was there any evidence of that mark last week when she was in bed with Sawyer? Radzinsky puts in his bid for craziest person of the episode with his paranoia over the Swan hatch plans, the future location of it, the hostile is a spy, and they need to shoot him. Well, if Radzinsky designed it, I guess I can understand how he ended up in the damn thing pushing buttons. Sayid confesses to being a hostile under the questioning and helpful hints of Sawyer. He is taken back to the Barracks jail. Frank and Sun arrive on the main island, and it’s dark. They walk along a dilapidated pier. We know this to be the pier the sub was stationed at during Season 3 and Juliet‘s flashback. The problem is that the dock is long abandoned, in desperate need of repair after a long period of time of neglect. But how can this be? After Dharma was purged, we saw the Others living at the Barracks. We saw this same dock just before Locke blew up the submarine. Things have changed based on actions from the past. Hey, the trees are shaking. It’s Smokey!!! And….nothing. Wow. Smokey left. Why? Was it coming for Frank, like it did in the pilot episode, killing the Oceanic 815 pilot in a gruesome way. Was it coming for Sun, for her willingness to partner with Charles Widmore? Was is called off by our next contestant on the price is right, Christian? As Sun and Frank wander around, I couldn’t help but make the connection of the Dharma Processing Center orange wall with the Jungle 6 time jumping, and Juliet looking at the wall and saying, Thank God we are in this time period before jumping immediately again. This was the same wall. A light comes on, and a man appears. But it’s no ordinary man. It’s Christian Shepherd, making an appearance, but this is not Jacob’s Cabin. And it makes his appearances less special if he is going to reveal himself to Frank and that evil Sun. I’m looking for Jin. Follow me. If I’m in that situation, I would probably think twice about walking into an old, dirty, unlit building, but nobody is ever going to call Frank or Sun smart. So Shaggy and Scooby Doo follow Christian.

Christian is searching for a photo. It’s as if Dharma just sort of disappeared, and the Others never moved in. Let’s face it, if you killed all these folks in a purge, would you keep their photos hanging up? Well, Christian confirmed the 1977 Dharma recruitment class contained Sun’s friends from the plane. Christian mentions a long journey ahead for Sun. Now, here is the thing. If Sun reunites with Jin, will it happen through the wheel in the Orchid. Will it happen with Desmond’s help, since he is special. And if Sun and Jin reunite at some point….hmmmm. Could this huge upcoming battle not be Ben vs. Widmore or something like that. How about Dharma vs. Hostiles. Locke and Richard vs. Horace and Sawyer. I don’t know how Ben fits in. Yet. But that would be fascinating. What if Ben doesn’t lead a purge? What if the Losties in the past have an effect on him where he doesn’t become an evil genius and Dharma survives. How would that have played out on the island? Probably with a Jughead detonation. The last scene of Lost is a mushroom cloud, and nobody outside the island’s little bubble ever sees it. Anyway, Sayid is escorted to jail, while he sees Jack, Hurley, and Kate about to have some burgers and punch. Yeah, life is a kick in the groin. Jack goes to look for Sawyer’s house, and is scolded by Paul not to call him James. Geez, these people are walking on eggshells around Sawyer. Juliet answers the door, and tells him Yep, it’s the right house. Jack didn’t see that one coming, Sawyer with Juliet. Sawyer sets aside his book, looking quite regal sitting on his living room throne. Concerning Sayid, Sawyer says he had no choice and refers to Dharma as “my people”. Ah, quite interesting here. Remember how Locke didn’t shoot at the Other (who ended up being Widmore) earlier this season because he was one of “my people”? Same thing with Sawyer here. Here is the moral conundrum. Do you put your loyalty into the people you’ve been living with for 3 years, including the people you time jumped with, including your live in girlfriend. OR do you have more loyalty to people you knew for 3 months, including a girl that playing kickball with your heart, folks that you haven‘t seen for 3 years? Yet, Sawyer kept looking for any survivors, any of these people. Was it loyalty to Locke saving their lives? Was it for Kate if she came back? But it must be nice to be on the island with knowledge of the future to guide your decisions as well. Sawyer points out he improvised, Sayid is safe. He likes to read like Churchill since it makes him think, something Jack never did. Jack always reacted. A lot of people died. I mean, Sawyer is really laying into Jack at this point, and Jack is simply a defeated person. He is simply along for the ride, taking a backseat to everybody. It’s not an accident I’ve temporarily discontinued the Jack sucks moments of the week, mostly because right now, Jack is a background character. How about that? Can you imagine this, based on watching Seasons 1-4? This is the complete opposite of when Jack dressed down Locke in the hospital after the car accident. Of course, a lot of people died that followed Locke, but let’s not quibble over details? Right? Let’s face it, Sawyer came off a bit pompous and egotistical. Probably because Jack had the opportunity to play Hide the Pickle with Kate for 3 years. Not that Sawyer was spending his nights alone by shacking up with Juliet. But this Kate issue is unfortunately not going away, and the responsible thing for the writers to do is to have Kate tied up in the boat house, stick a grenade in her mouth, pull the pin, and walk away. I bet you hear an explosion in less than 5 minutes as that girl won’t shut up. Jack!!!! Sawyer!!!!! Fight over me!!!!!! I have to be the center of attention!!!!!!!! BOOM!!!!!!!! Jack with a feeble “I got us off this island”. Um, Jack, remember that there were 48 original survivors. And that isn’t counting the Tailies. And how many people got off the island? Six? One of them wasn’t even an original passenger (Aaron). Jack, bubby, you aren’t exactly hitting a high percentage there. Plus, if Sawyer doesn’t jump off the helicopter, you go down in the ocean near a soon to explode freighter. How the fock do you brag about getting your best friends on the island rescued, while you left every body else to die. Juliet wanted off the island, but she kept letting other people go before her on the raft. That is an unselfish act. You jumped on the first chopper you could to get out while the getting was good. Jack, go pound sand. And the ones you rescued weren’t exactly having a fun time in the real world. Sawyer points out Yet here you are back. Exactly. Sawyer points out he saved Jack’s ass today, and he will do the same for Sayid. Yikes. Really, really egotistical. While it’s true Jack used to be the same type of goon leader, you don’t want to see Sawyer become the same monster. Plus, I’m not so sure how much Sawyer wants to save Sayid. Sayid and Jack conspired to torture Sawyer when they couldn’t find Shannon’s inhaler back in Season 1. Bamboo. Fingernails. This is a unique spot for Sawyer to get revenge. While I doubt he will do this, it might be a thought bouncing around the back of his head. Sawyer even points out Jack looks relieved that he is no longer a leader. What a brutal beat down. This was more cringe inducing than watching Dick Clark wish in the New Year by drooling on a microphone. More horrifying was Sawyer waving to Kate after Jack left. Yuck. It doesn’t matter how good life is for Sawyer. Ugh. All these characters on this show suck. I guess that is part of the appeal. I spend an hour each Wednesday watching, the next week complaining how much these imbeciles p!ss me off. It’s a terrific show with great writing and pacing. But can we make the characters less douchey. Please. It’s slowly turning into an MTV reality show. Where was I? Oh, a creepy looking young kid brings some food to Sayid. Turns out this kid is young Ben. Now, did I mention this kid was creepy. We’re talking Children of the Corn meets the Exorcist. Seriously creepy. I used to think that fidget in Jerry Maguire was the scariest looking monster I’d even seen, but young Ben would give him a run for his money. So, the main question at this point is whether this meeting with Sayid is before or after young Ben met Richard in the jungle. If it is before, Sayid might play a hand at keeping Ben from purging, by never meeting Richard, and Dharma lives on. If this is after Ben met the Others, this might be his curiosity in conversing with someone that piqued his interest into what he wants to become. A bonding situation. Either way, Sayid becomes a huge influence on Ben. And whatever happened, doesn’t necessarily happen.