Lost Ep 3: Further Instructions

Few things on television make me happier than a Locke flashback episode on Lost. “Further Instructions” didn’t disappoint, though the flashback wasn’t nearly as interesting as what was going on on the island. In this episode, Locke awakes after the explosion unable to speak. Charlie and Claire seem to be playing house on the beach. Eko has been dragged into a cave by a polar bear. Desmond has awoken in the jungle absolutely nude (ah… there IS an island god!). Hurley has returned with news of what has happened to Kate, Sawyer, and Jack. And we finally see that the other two of the show’s new cast members… are other survivors on the island who have apparently been in the background the other time (which they haven’t). Suddenly Paolo and Nikki are main characters who know everyone, though until now they’ve never been seen. Weird.

Highlights: This was the first episode of the season with some very funny moments in it, mostly because Charlie and Hurley are back. Charlie telling Locke that polar bears are the Einsteins of the bear world, and Hurley asking Desmond if the explosion blew his underwear off, were PRICELESS moments. I laughed and laughed.

Locke’s dream:
I think a LOT of interesting stuff was shown to us in the airport. Claire and Charlie look like they’re a happy couple with Aaron, who, oddly, isn’t wearing any clothes. Jin and Sun are fighting like cats and dogs, and Sun looks like she has the upper hand. Sayid is acting like a comforting person to Jin, but doesn’t seem to exist outside of them. Hurley is the ticket agent, as if he’s somehow the one getting people onto the plane. Desmond is the pilot. (What are those two positions saying about who they are on the island?) Kate is giving alluring looks at Sawyer, and he’s all flirty with her back. Jack looks distressed, and is alone, and he’s taking off his watch, which is one of the last civilized things he has. (Is there a suggestion that Jack isn’t in the same time frame as the others? There’s definitely a point being made about time and Jack here.) Benry is the security guard, as if he’s the one who could keep them off the plane. Boone stands at the top of the escalator to Heaven, and Locke has blood on his hands, blood that’s now on the Jesus stick. He’s responsible for Boone, and if he doesn’t find Eko, he’ll be responsible for that, too.

Loved:
-Desmond. Naked.
-the horror effects used in Locke’s terrifying visit with Boone
-Charlie: I liked him a LOT more in this episode than I ever did in most of season 2. Sure, he was smug at times with John, but he had every reason to be after Locke slugged him. He was funny, he still went ahead and helped Locke, and deferred to him knowing that Locke knew better what was going on. When he lectured Locke about taking drugs (I don’t want you to have to start punching yourself), it was hilarious in a way his cruelty wasn’t last season.
-Eddie wearing a Geronimo Jackson t-shirt. But I wish he hadn’t actually mentioned it; it would have been much cooler if it had gone unmentioned, a little wink to the fans paying attention (Geronimo Jackson is the psychedelic band whose album Hurley and Charlie find in the hatch)
-Hurley’s entrance. HILARIOUS.
-Hurley changing his mind when he sees Desmond and yelling, “Whoa, Dude, I am NOT alone!” Hahahahahahaha….
-Desmond wearing the tie-dye shirt and it looking like a dress on him.
-Locke NOT shooting Eddie. I literally stopped breathing.
-Terry O’Quinn.
-Locke has become the new Jack for the moment. He’s the leader, and even CHARLIE looks up to him after he delivers the speech.

Didn’t love:
-Charlie’s haircut. What was THAT? He looked like a 6-year-old kid with a bad mullet, and it wasn’t anything like his hair in the finale. Similarly, Ian Somerhalder has grown out his hair for other acting gigs, but Locke only knew him with the short hair. It doesn’t make sense that Locke would have imagined him with the shaggy look.
-John saying grace and thanking God for not making him so angry anymore. Seemed rather contrived that he’d mention that point in this very flashback.
-the CGI effects on that polar bear. They still don’t have that right.
-us STILL not finding out what put Locke in the wheelchair. Sigh.

Interesting:
-Locke’s first name is Johnathan! That’s the first time we’ve seen that.
-Eddie uses Locke’s vulnerabilities to his advantage: he knows Locke doesn’t have a family and needs one, so he says Locke is his uncle, just to butter him up. Nicely done.
-Eko’s Jesus stick has new passages: “Lift up your eyes and look North” (interesting that the Others are North); Romans 6:12; Acts; John 3:05; CCN 13:14; Har (?) 1:3; 4:8:15:16 (written like a bible verse) (see p 235 of my book for the original Eko passages and what they mean
-Eddie and Locke are talking about “Lizzy” who is looking for a Daddy figure. Lizzy is another form of the name Libby (and we saw a Lizzy in Michael’s custody battle; she was the hardass lawyer).
-Justin Chatwin played Eddie, and he was in Taken (another AWESOME show), Weeds, and War of the Worlds. He’s been cast in the upcoming movie version of Michael Turner’s The Pornographer’s Poem, which is cool.
-I thought Mike was Pickett at first, and was very excited that Locke had had dealings with an Other, and then realized it wasn’t the same guy. Damn.
-why is there a Tonka truck in the polar bear’s cave? Have we seen that truck before? It looked familiar to me but I can’t place it.
-some reporter who interviewed me back in September told me a rumor that was going on about Eko, and by this episode, it looks like it’s not true. (I won’t say what it was, because that would be spoilerish and I don’t know if it will turn out to be true later.)
-Did Eko really say what he said to John, or did Locke just imagine it?
-Locke’s whole life has been a series of “If onlys” and it just doesn’t stop.
-the first thing Nikki says when Eko shows up to the beach is that they need Jack. But Jack’s been gone for days, and Nikki looks at Hurley and says, “When were you going to tell us this, Hurley??” as if he had been sitting there the whole time. What is up with her?

OHMIGOD, has Desmond become Isaac from Heroes now? Can he see into the future? Will he start making apocalyptic paintings… er, cave drawings? Pictures in the sand…?

Numbers:
-Locke’s address is 25164 Franklin St. His height is 5’10” (adds up to 15)
-Eddie’s officer number is 84023
-Eddie says to Locke that he’s been at the farm for 6 weeks, which works out to 42 days

Next week: Kate tries to break out; Benry takes Sawyer on a little road trip and cons him along the way.

I LOVE THIS SHOW.