I won’t lie to you, friends. For as much as I was looking forward to this episode, I was somewhat worried after our first big “shocker” of the night. When the big reveal was that Locke was alvie and well back on the island, I was really doubting whether or not this episode would bring the goods like I had hoped. Because, really, who hadn’t already figured out that Locke would be resurrected when he got back to the island?
Nevertheless, the rest of the hour was an absolute emotional roller coaster in every sense of the word. Last night’s adventure was entitled “The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham”, so I suppose you could say we knew what were getting into. But even knowing those circumstances, Loststill managed to throw us a few curveballs along the way.
Night of the living Locke.
First, about that whole resurrection bit. Sexy Air Marshal Ilana informed us that the 316 survivors (who apparently crashed on the Hydra island) first saw Locke dressed in a suit standing waist deep in water, just as we saw Jack’s Dad after the 815 crash way back in season 1. But Locke’s reincarnation is not entirely similar to Christian’s first of all, everyone seems to be able to see him and interact with him, where as Christian seems to be a spectral figure that serves as Locke’s spirit guide. I’d spend more time ruminating on the inherent differences, but we both know we have a LOT of pressing issues to cover.
King of the Mountain
Just when we starting to trust dear old Benjamin Linus. I was pretty convinced that he was mostly a good guy. But to hear Widmore explain it to Locke, Ben is in fact a meglomaniacal tyrant who exiled him from the island. This scene between Widmore and Locke was one of many great scenes last night, mostly because both characters are so damn interesting they could pretty much just be reciting the phone book to one another and I would be hanging on every word. It took place after a rather gruesome scene where Locke had his compound fracture “treated” by a ragtag group of Tunisian doctors after being picked up at “the exit point”, as Charles called it.
Widmore went on to tell Locke that there is in fact a war coming and that it’s very important that John be alive and on the right side or else….well, we’re not sure exactly. The point is, the power struggle for the island is still very much in play. We’ll get to talking about Ben just a bit later. As a tease, I’ll just say: Damn, Ben…I mean….Damn.
Locke’s Magical Mystery Tour
As Locke began his jetsetting journey to round up his friends, Widmore again hammered home the point to Locke that he is special. I, for one, am glad that this is something that both Ben and Widmore confirmed, and that Locke is not just a pawn in the island’s game…I hope.
Locke was not alone in his quest. His driver and travelling buddy was none other than the uber-ominous and intimidating Matthew Abaddon, the guy who has been popping up both in Locke’s past and Hurley’s future. We finally got some intel on this dude: He “gets people to where they need to be” for Mr. Widmore. That’s why he put John on the plane that took him to the island. I’ve been pretty obsessed with this guy since he first showed up and I was pretty excited to see him getting some serious screen time. He was more than just Locke’s driver. He gave the Bald Wonder some pretty great pearls of wisdom last night.
Locke’s visits to our former castaways played out like a great series of one-act plays, with each one giving some perspective on Locke’s struggle to come to terms with his role in the island’s plan,
First we had Sayid, who was through offing people left and right for Ben and seemed to have a new lease on life, building homes in Central America. It was particularly heartbreaking to see Sayid so happy and so at peace with his situation, given that we already know he is going to get sucked back into the island’s web of drama and intrigue.
Next up was everybody’s favorite pituitary case, Walt. I love scenes with this kid. Just like last year’s scene with Hurley at the mental hospital just seeingWalt is a rather alarming reminder of just how far everyone has come since this whole ordeal started. It would also appear that he hasn’t lost his mental gifts, either. He dreamt seeing Locke on the island in a suit surrounded by people who wanted to hurt him. Pretty spot on, kid. In the end, Locke didn’t have the heart to drag Walt back into this mess, saying “the kid has been through enough.” Amen to that. I coudln’t help but think back of the iconic conversation these two shared in the Pilot episode where Locke asked Walt “Do you want to know a secret?” You get the feeling Locke feels responsible for introducing Walt to the island’s magical and dangerous properties and he can’t bear to do it again.
Hurley’s visit was almost entirely for comic relief, and it worked pretty perfectly. Of course Hurley thinks Locke is just a figment of his crazy imagination. Of course he freaks out at the site of Abbadon again.
I rahter enjoyed Kate’s lecture of Love to John. She insisted he wanted to go back to the island because he doesn’t have anything else and he never loved anyone. In a mission to prove her wrong, Locke set out to find his erstwhile flame, Helen. But, as Abaddon so delicately put it, her path led her to die. She had succumbed to a brain aneurysm in 2006. Here we were having such a great little meditation on life and love and destiny, when, in the span of about 30 seconds, my favorite character on the show gets capped and Locke T-bones his car right in the middle of West L.A. Talk about a classic rope-a-dope. I can’t ever remember going from smiling in content to complete panic attack in such a short span. What a fantastically planned scene that was.
If you notice, there isn’t much theory-venturing or mythology churning going on in this recap, and there is a good reason.
Little ditty…bout Jack and Locke.
Locke’s visit with the good doctor is why the Lost is the best show on television (Though Friday Night Lights is gaining on it, but I digress). I thought we were in for another tired Locke/Jack Science/Faith debate. The tension was amplified by the fact that Jack was well on his way to Crazy/Drunk/Pill Town, wherein he is the mayor. He railed on Locke saying he was just a sad old man who crashed on an island…and he won. Every scene like this has ended with Jack questioning what he believes in, not wanting to believe in Locke. But we had never seen the other side of that argument. Little did we know that he had the opposite effect on John. Their conversation left him so despondent that he knew suicide was the only way out. And that is what the is episode was really about. The painful, harrowing, heartbreaking, soaring and heroic journey of John Locke. sure there were questions, sure the mythology of the show remains shrouded in some mystery, but last night was all about heart. oh…except, of course…
Live and let Linus
Ben Linus has always been something of a difficult dude to figure out. But I really thought I was getting the hang of it. But there was Locke, about to make is his peace when in comes Little Ben Linus dropping all sorts of knowledge. “Don’t do it, John!” “Charles Widmore was going to kill you!” “You’re too important!” Just when he talked him off the ledge, Locke strated mumbling about Jin’s wedding ring and Mrs. Hawking and you saw those wheels start to turn in Ben’s head. He completely snapped and finished off Locke himself. Why? Clearly, Ben does not want John speaking with Mrs. Hawking. But did you sense the beat change when Locke mentioned Jin? Frankly, I can’t wrap my mind around what Ben’s precise motives were, but I gather we’ll get some answers next week, as he was among the wounded in the 316ers makeshift ER.
Well, the tale of Locke’s off-island opus is told. What did you think? I thought it was precisely the sort of heartfelt character piece this season needed, and it resonated on so many levels.
Some parenthetical thoughts:
How about those 316 survivors? Why is Ceasar hiding that nifty sawed-off shotgun from everyone else? What was he looking for in that DHARMA office? He seemed pretty dead-set on finding something, I’m betting he’s another Widmore lackey. Did you get a look at that mock up sketch he glanced at? Pause the DVR on that one. Also, it looks like Lapidus and Sun made off with one of the canoes that we know ends up on the mainland.? Also, what time are they existing in? If our survivors are in the 1970s DHARMA days, then why aren’t there workers in the Hydra Station? Is it possible Kate Hurley and Jack were sucked out of the plane into that time and the rest of the plane crashed elsewhere on the space-time continuum? And finally the most important question of the night:
Should we just give Terry O’Quinn the Emmy now?
