Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Lost 5.09: Namaste

This week's episode was awesomesauce, to quote a friend of mine. I must have said, "I LOVE THIS SHOW!" four times during the broadcast. But let's get on to business.

“Is that a runway??”
So there’s a runway on the Hydra island, meaning that Ajira 316 was always meant to land there, and the Others somehow knew it. To refresh your memory, in case you don’t remember the runway before, if you recall Kate and Sawyer when they were locked in the polar bear cages, during the day they were forced to do manual labour, putting rocks into wheelbarrows and clearing a particular spot. Later, in the season 3 finale, Sawyer walks across the island with Juliet and asks what the Others were forcing them to make:

SAWYER: So, when you pulled us out of those polar bear cages and put us on the chain gang, what the hell you have us breaking all those rocks for anyway?
JULIET: We were building a runway.
SAWYER: Runway, for what?
JULIET: [Turns to him] The aliens.
[She smirks]
JULIET: I don't know what for, do you think they told me everything?

Apparently it wasn’t for the aliens, but for another plane that was going to drop out of the sky three years later.

RADZINSKY!!!!!!:
Oh my god, I was hyperventilating when Jin tore off in the jeep to find Radzinsky. My arms flew up in the year and I yelled, “I’ve been waiting for this for three years!!!!” I swear every 6 episodes or so I say, “Could this person be Radzinsky?” For those readers who, like my husband, went, “Uh... who the hell is Radzinsky?” here’s the quick refresher: We saw Desmond arrive on the island in 2001. He was pulled into the Swan station by Kelvin Inman, who told him about his previous station-mate, Radzinsky. Radzinsky killed himself, and he points to a giant bloodstain on the ceiling of the station and says that’s all that’s left of Radzinsky. He tells Desmond that he took the body outside and buried it, but he had to do it really quickly because he had to be back at the Swan to push the button every 108 minutes. Radzinsky is the originator of the blast door map that Locke found in “Lockdown” and that we saw Kelvin working on, and Kelvin also said that the pieces of the Dharma orientation films were missing because Radzinsky had edited them. Now we know that Radzinsky was some Paul Giamatti lookalike who actually designed the Swan station. Because he’s still working on the model in this episode, it probably wasn’t completed until the late 70s or early 80s. It has a distinct 60s/70s feel, but the design could be earlier because maybe Radzinsky had been on the island a long time already, so his sensibilities were toward designs like the other stations. In this episode, he’s working at the Flame station (where we later see Mikhail).

“We’re gonna name him Ethan”
The baby’s name is Ethan! Big points go to “theothers108,” one of my readers, who predicted that one early in the comments for “LaFleur.” What I loved best about that theory is that in “A Tale of Two Cities,” when we see Juliet at her book club, there’s an elderly woman there named Amelia. She talks to Ethan with some authority, like he’s her son. Amelia = Amy. What caused some other readers to disagree, however, is that Ethan definitely looks in his early 40s in 2004, and certainly not 27, which is what he would be if he’d been born in 1977. Could he have time traveled, aged some more, and then bounced back? In any case, when I rewatch season 1 and see Charlie kill Ethan, that scene is going to be a lot sadder for me, now that I saw his birth.

Possibly the greatest line EVER on Lost:
Chang to Jack: “Based on your aptitude test, you’ll be doing janitorial work.” HAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! Score one for Sawyer!

There’s a new sheriff in town...
The tables have officially turned. Jack was always the guy in charge, and Sawyer was always made to feel useless. Now Sawyer’s the guy calling the shots, and Jack has to listen to him. Sawyer reminds Jack of the many casualties due to Jack’s bad leadership (ouch). In the first two seasons, Jack was the reluctant leader. I said it many times in my books that he had the mantle of leader foisted upon him, and was uncomfortable in the role. But he took it, and by the third season, he was the alpha male of the group and refused to let anyone else have their say. To this day he believes that he got everyone off the island, and apparently none of the rest of the Oceanic Six had anything to do with their own rescue. Sawyer, on the other hand, quietly lived under the radar of the survivors. He was the guy reading the heavy literary tomes, but he had the redneckness about him that made others assume he was some sort of buffoon. But Sawyer’s ignorance is all an act. He’s the more methodical leader, the one who started with four other people with him, and has only lost one, in three years. He figured out how to get the Oceanic 3 into the compound without anyone suspecting anything. He’s weaseled his way into the DI and is head of security. Sawyer is a smart man, and oh, what an amazing feeling it must be for him to have this showdown with Jack now after all these years of remembering how Jack treated him. He’s been waiting for them to return for three years: was it because of Kate, or was it for this moment? That said, Jack looks sincere when he admits it’s a relief to follow and not lead. But will he follow? Jack’s leadership philosophy was, “Live together, or die alone.” Sawyer’s is, “Every man for himself.” Will Sawyer continue to think that way?

Highlights:
• Ben’s flat response to Frank asking where everyone on the plane disappeared to: “How would I know?”
• Hurley lifting Sawyer off the ground, and then saying he misses Sawyer’s nicknames.
• Hurley’s response to Sawyer’s announcement that it’s 1977: “Uh... what?”
• Hurley to Jin: “Dude, your English is awesome.”
• Angry Jin!
• Sawyer saying he’s not here to play Nostradamus to these people.
• Ben’s response when Frank pleads with Sun, telling her that when he came on the boat, it was filled with men who were just here to get Ben: “And how did that work out for everyone?” He’s SO slimy. I love him.
• Sun clocking Ben, and then saying in a very Ben-like way, “I lied.”
• “Based on your aptitude test, you’ll be doing janitorial work.” HAAAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!
• Sawyer calling Radzinsky “Quick Draw.”
• Christian!
• Phil: “Everyone say Namaste!” Hurley: “Nama-what?”
• The look on Sayid’s face when the boy says his name. It’s like he’s face-to-face with Hitler and has a chance to take him out before he can do any harm.

Did You Notice?:
• When Ilana first wakes up, she says, “Jarrah?”
• When Sawyer hugs Kate, she’s the only one he doesn’t give a nickname to. There was no “Freckles,” like some of us might have been expecting him to say.
• When Jack tells Jin and Sawyer who else was on the plane, he doesn’t mention Ben.
• On one of the Flame station monitors, you can see an episode of The Muppet Show. Ha!
• We’re seeing a bit of history repeating itself with the Ajira flight. When 815 crashed, Jack called everyone together and told them help would arrive. He then immediately took off with Kate into the jungle. Frank tells everyone to be calm, then takes off with Sun. Everyone has the same confusion, is going through the suitcases for supplies, and wants to know where the hell they are. Just as Sayid jumped up on a rock a few episodes in and challenged Jack’s leadership by not wanting to go to the caves, Caesar jumps the gun a little earlier and talks about searching for a radio or food, disagreeing with Frank’s instruction to stay put.
• That island magical disappearing post-pregnancy healing was as strong in 1977 (allowing Amy to look refreshed, showered, and flat-stomached the day after giving birth) as it was in 2004, when it did the same for Claire.
• When Amy says they’re going to name the baby Ethan, Juliet almost drops the kid. I thought that was very funny.
• No offense to Hurley – y’all know how much I love the guy – but there is NO WAY a baggy sweatshirt of Sawyer’s would also be a baggy sweatshirt on Hurley... unless it was Hurley’s sweatshirt to begin with. Even so, that would have come down to Sawyer’s knees.
• Radzinsky finds “the hostile” in Grid 325. In season 2, Ben sends Michael off the island by having him follow bearing 325.
• Jin might have learned English, but apparently he didn’t learn the subtlety of the wink. He pushes Sayid to the ground, tells him if he speaks, he’s dead, and as Sayid just stares at him in disbelief, Jin holds a rifle an inch off Sayid’s nose. Um... WINK?!
• In our discussions for “LaFleur,” we wondered if Sawyer knew about the Purge. His reaction when Hurley says, “You do know they all get wiped out, right?” seems to suggest he does know.
• The song playing when Sawyer et al pull into the Dharma camp is “Ride Captain Ride” by Blues Image:

Seventy-three men sailed up
From the San Francisco Bay,
Rolled off of their ship
And here's what they had to say.
"We're callin' everyone to ride along
To another shore,
We can laugh our lives away
and be free once more."
But no one heard them callin',
No one came at all,
'Cause they were too busy watchin'
Those old raindrops fall.
As a storm was blowin'
Out on the peaceful sea,
Seventy-three men sailed off
To history.
Ride, captain ride
Upon your mystery ship,
Be amazed at the friends
You have here on your trip.
Ride captain ride
Upon your mystery ship,
On your way to a world
That others might have missed.


• Jin tells Sawyer there’s a 14J situation – we first heard that emergency code in “The Shape of Things to Come,” when the phone rings in Ben’s house and Locke picks it up, and you hear a woman’s voice saying, “Code 14-J.” When they run over to the other house to tell Ben, he freaks out, arms himself, and knows Keamy and his men are close by.
• Pierre Chang couldn’t be more wound up. Except when he’s saying, “Based on your aptitude test, you’ll be doing janitorial work.” HA! Okay, I’ll stop now.
• Sayid looks shocked when he sees Sawyer for the first time, since the last time he saw Sawyer, he was leaping out of the copter – most of them assumed, to his death.
• There’s a really creepy painting on the wall of the Flame. I’d love to see it close up.
• Smokey’s in New Otherton. If you listen closely, you don’t just hear the leaves rustle, but you hear that NY cab ticket sound that Smokey always makes right before an appearance. This would lend credence to the idea that Christian is a manifestation of Smokey. Watch when Christian hands the 1977 photo to Sun and the door blows open; you can see smoke in the doorway.
• Sawyer puts Sayid in the holding cell and tells Phil to get Sayid some food, adding, “We’re not savages.” In “Confidence Man” in season 1, where Sawyer is pretending to have Shannon’s asthma medicine, Jack tells Kate he’s going to kill Sawyer, but the only thing stopping him is, “We’re not savages, Kate, not yet.” In “The Other 48 Days,” when Ana Lucia has the man in the pit, Goodwin tells her to let him go, and says, “We’re not savages.”
• Jack hugs Juliet and tells her that he’d seen her earlier and wanted to say something, and Juliet says, “But we’re not supposed to know each other.” Yet it’s OK to hug in a doorway while Creepy Phil is watching suspiciously. Awesome.
• There seems to be a small continuity error. Sawyer sends Phil to get food for Sayid. Phil leaves, probably to tell Ben to fetch the sandwich. He’s crossing the compound and runs into Jack, who asks him where to find Sawyer. Sawyer is happily ensconced in his house, instead of standing by Sayid’s cell, where Phil had left him moments earlier. Maybe this is later in the evening, but if that’s the case, it took a VERY long time for Phil to get Ben to fetch the food Sawyer wanted to give to Sayid.
• I like how Sawyer decides he’s going to try to think things through, but come on... he hasn’t seen Jack, Kate or Hurley in three years, he’s been watching the shores for their return, and the moment they do, he doesn’t want to talk to them, find out how they’ve been, or catch up in any way? I realize he has to pretend he doesn't know them, but it wouldn't hurt to get to know the new recruits, even if just for 5 minutes apiece.
• In my blog for “LaFleur,” I said that Ben should have been in the camp by now, and I couldn’t figure out why Sawyer didn’t notice him. Now I see Ben IS in the camp, but my question still stands. Didn’t Sawyer pick up on the boy named Ben, who has a father wearing the Roger Workman jumpsuit that he later saw? I think Skeletor would have stuck with him.

So Many Questions...
• Sawyer tells Juliet that he’s got to deal with Kate and company before someone else finds them and “they screw up everything we’ve got here.” Is he referring to Kate, Jack and Hurley? Does he find their arrival an unwelcome one just like Juliet does? Had he planned on staying in the DI for the rest of his life?
• Sawyer mentions Faraday, saying he has interesting theories on what they can and can’t do, but when Jack asks if he’s here, Sawyer says, “Not anymore.” I said in my post for “LaFleur” that when the alarm goes off, Faraday runs in the other direction, and I was wrong: you do see him in the house. But I added that when we don’t see him in 1977, I wonder if he disappeared into the jungle at some point, filling his notebooks with the info on the DI that we later see when he flips through them. Does he lose his mind? Does he time travel away? How does he make it back to the 21st century?
• Now we know why Ben was very bloody when Locke saw him lying in the barracks. Did he regain consciousness and talk to Ilana and Caesar? If he didn’t, then there’s no way Ilana would have known the information she gave to Locke, that there had originally been three outriggers, but Frank and “a lady” took one in the night. Since they’re not with the other survivors, how would Ilana have known that?
• Did Juliet purposely show up to the recruitment office a little late to let Kate sweat a bit? If so, that’s kind of awesome.
• WHEN did the rest of the survivors land? Are they really in 2007 or 2008? New Otherton looks more like what it would look like a few years after the Purge than the way it did when Ben was running it. You can see the sign for the Processing Centre hanging there, and there are Dharma symbols on the doors. Neither is there when the Others are living there. Have they landed in another time? Or is New Otherton actually completely gone, and it’s become as ethereal as Jacob’s cabin, with Smokey just making it look like however he wants it to look? Those yearly photos of the Dharma recruits weren’t in the rec room before.
• When Jack asked Sawyer, “So where do we go from here?” did anyone else get the song from Buffy in their heads?


Next week: Based on Jack’s aptitude test, he’ll be doing janitorial work. By the looks of it, Sayid believes he’s been sent to the island to kill Ben, Sawyer turns on the Oceanic 4, and Kate decides to try to steal Sawyer back from Juliet. Presumably so she can sleep with him and the pretend she doesn’t know him the next day.



UPDATE: My DocArzt column is now up.

227 comments:

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Hisham Fahmy said...

Nikki,
Next time you should aim for comment number 111, because it's Bilbo Baggins's most important birthday. And this is significant.

Random thought:
Did calm, polite, gentleman Sawyer remind anyone else of Steve Stifler when he was trying to seduce a classy girl in American Wedding?!

Anonymous said...

Lol Hisham! It doesn't quite sit comfortably with Sawyer does it? I'm sure the writers are going to pull something out of the bag to make him angry-son-of-a-bitch Sawyer again (I have my theories on what they are going to do, but I'm keeping it to myself)

Missing Georgia said...

Well, at least we know why Sawyer gets a nosebleed towards the end of the time jumping, since we know he lived on the island with Dharma for 3 years. Did Juliet get a nosebleed as well?

Hisham: I loved the Steve Stifler comment, too funny!

Benny said...

@MissingGeorgia: interesting, but it doesn't explain why Jin and Daniel didn't get one. Or why Miles' and Juliet's were significantly earlier than Sawyer's.

I think the nosebleeds were a result of having been on the island in their physical past (Dan's theory). DHARMA happens in their physical future.

To be honest, I don't think there is going to be more resolve to the nosebleeds than what we've seen, which is: you've already spent time on the island beforehand. Well except for Miles' not knowing he'd been there before.

Hisham Fahmy said...

I agree with Benny. For the time being at least. Dartlon had mentioned that we won't be seeing any more flashes for a while, which might mean that we would, but that would be in Season 6, I believe. Maybe our guys will have to turn the FDW again to escape the Purge?

If Faraday's theory is correct, then the nosebleeds happen for those who were on the Island longest. In order they are Charlotte, Miles(?), Juliet, and Sawyer. It doesn't explain why Locke and Jin didn't have any though. Perhaps because Jin was unconscious during most of the flashes. But that doesn't explain Locke. Then again, Locke was flashing to different times than the others. Notice in "Because You Left" that his weather, night and day were different from Sawyer and Co.

Benny said...

@Hisham: hmmm, I'll rewatch that episode soon but I still think they were during the same time shifts. We alternated between the two groups sequentially. That's what I took from it at least. I'll go into it thinking your view as possible.

Anonymous said...

@ Hisham: I'm not sure I agree with your logic there about Locke flashing to different times than Sawyer and co. I've just rewatched 'Because you left' and 'The Lie' (on 4x fast forward. it's quite funny, actually). Granted after the first flash, Locke is in the middle of a rain shower, and the others aren't, but I think that's just because he's on a different part of the island. The day/night flashes are the same. After the first flash, yes Locke is in the rain and the others aren't, but when we next see Locke it's not raining, and it's day time (it's when he sees Yemi's plane). After he gets shot by Ethan, he flashes to night, as do Sawyer and co. The next flash is from night to day, after Locke gets patched up by Richard, and admittedly, after the ad break and Locke's flash, we're back with Sawyer and co at night time, but they flash to day time. I think it's just because Darlton/the producers wanted to show that flash from Sawyer and co's point of view. Then there's the flash where Daniel talks to Desmond, but we don't see Locke's point of view for that one. Then we don't see Locke until the end of 'The Lie' where turns up at the end to pull a James Coburn in the Magnificent Seven to save Sawyer and Juliet. So I reckon they flash to the same time throughout. Sorry for the long explanation, but i thought it needed clarifying.

@Benny: LOL! I see you had the same idea.

Anonymous said...

One thing I did remember from rewatching 'Because You Left' that I meant to post ages ago, but assumed that someone else must have posted. Is it me, or is Desmond the only non-time-travelling person to notice the white flashes? He looks around at the sky when he's talking to Faraday like he can actually see what's happening to the sky. When Locke flashes away from Richard in the camp it doesn't look as if Richard notices anything wrong, and when Jin flashes away from Rousseau the first time, she doesn't notice either. Am I reading too much into it? Or could it be something to do with the fact that Desmond is 'special' too? Just a thought. Sorry if it's already been posted and discussed...

Benny said...

@batcabbage: I don't know if it's been posted but I remember noticing too. Maybe it was HIC jus tacting to the direction and it wasn't caught post-pro or it means that, since he's special, he can see the flashes.

We may get more in the episode aptly titled "The Variable".

Jazzygirl said...

I just realized something. If we are assuming that Miles is Pierre Chang's son, then is baby Miles there with them, along with adult Miles right now? (1977?)

Hisham Fahmy said...

@Jazzygirl:
We assumed that Miles is Chang's son when Dan asked him if he was sure that he was never on the Island before. But that isn't necessarily the case. Perhaps Miles did come to the Island before and he was brainwashed or hypnotized or something to forget about it for some reason.

Now, I'm not sure if Chang's baby was a boy or a girl, but what if it was a girl, and that girl was Sun, and that's why she couldn't have come back to 1977?

Missing Georgia said...

According to Lostpedia, Sun's date of birth is March 20,1980. If she was that baby, then that scene is later than we thought. It seems strange to me that Miles would be older than Sun, but maybe that is the case. If she is the baby from the opening episode, then it will be interesting to see the explanation of how she became part of the Paik family.

Missing Georgia said...

I am not sure if Lostpedia is right or how they have an exact date of birth for Sun. I just thought it was interesting if that date is true.

Hisham Fahmy said...

Missing Georgia, I'm not sure where Lostpedia got Sun's date of birth from either. I thought maybe from the face driver's license shown in the Missing Pieces episode "Buried Secrets," but after re-watching it, I saw that Sun's thumb was blocking the DOB area.
Perhaps from the episode where they showed she was attempting to leave Jin?

Benny said...

@MissingGeorgia/Hisham: Sun's DOB came from Jin's tombstone in Ji Yeon.
Obviously Jin's DOD is wrong, but it's safe to assume the both their DOBs are correct.

That does not include Chang's baby to be Sun or Miles, we still have no confirmation of when that scene takes place.

Benny said...

*does not exclude

Missing Georgia said...

Thanks, for the DOB information, Benny. I stated before that if the baby is Sun, then that scene is later than most people believed.

Nikki Stafford said...

Hey guys, just catching up now on some of the more recent comments (it's hard keeping up with all of you sometimes!!) And yes, Benny is correct; Sun's birth date is etched onto the marital gravestone marker for her and Jin. I really like the idea that she could be Chang's daughter, and while earlier, people were pointing out that in the video Darlton showed at ComicCon Pierre clearly shouts for his wife to take "him" outside (referring to their screaming baby), who's to say Sun couldn't have been born later? If Chang dies in the Purge, he could have had more than one child. That would mean Amy's NOT the last person to have a child on the island.

But the question is, how did Paik get a hold of her? Did he take her the same way Ben took Alex? Is Paik somehow connected to the island evil in some way? I remember way back in season 2 that many fans theorized Paik could be Hanso or some high-up part of the corporation (Paik is mentioned in The Lost Experience, if I remember correctly). I wonder if that's something to come back to now that people are wondering if she was born on the island somehow?

Could the infertility come not from pregnant women who CONCEIVED on the island, but pregnant women who were BORN on the island??

Hisham Fahmy said...

Why would a wife's date of birth be written on her husband's tombstone? Is it a Korean tradition or something?

Jazzygirl said...

Hisham: When a couple buys a burial plot together, their DOB and DOD are put on there along with their names. The DOB is put on there right away and then when they die, they add the DOD. I would assume this is a common practice in a lot of countries.
Yes, I knew Pierre made a comment about the baby being male but it DOES bring up interesting ideas about Sun. I think Nikki has a good point...but going with that thought...it debunks the Sun theory. She DID conceive on the island, unless Juliet lied about the date of conception, and it was the other guy's baby.

Benny said...

That's right, there is a mention of the baby as a "him" in the online video, but not in the actual show.

Aside from the Miles/Sun/whoever dilemma, it brings out another topic of discussion, one regarding the importance of information provided in non- or pseudo-canon material. For a TV audience like Lost, it may be somewhat inconsequential, but some viewers may not look at those or watch the enhanced episodes, or even play/catch up on the ARG.

In this particular case, much debate would be going on as to who Chang's baby is, Miles or Sun, since there is no mention of the sex. And others will debate adamantly that it has to be Miles since it was mentioned it was a boy.

This is kinda bringing back the debate we had early when the name "Eloise" popped up on the screen in a scene with Ms. Hawking.

Just my two cents!

Nikki Stafford said...

Benny: I totally agree with you about canon versus non. I used to argue that if it's not on the actual show, it shouldn't be counted. Finding out info about Lost from the ARGs in the summer is annoying beyond words for me, and as I said about the Eloise reveal, I want that told to me on the show, NOT in a stupid subtitle.

So you're right; I shouldn't actually be bringing up the ComicCon video: it runs counter to everything I believe in. BUT... the only reason I do is because the last couple of times they've shown one, we've ended up seeing a variation of it in the season itself. Last season the video we saw had the outtakes of the Orchid Orientation video, giving fans the heads up that this station exists long before it appeared in the season finale. We saw that video, albeit another version of it, and it became canon.

So the only reason I give any credence to that whatsoever is I assume we'll eventually see the lead-up to that moment, Daniel talking to Pierre, filming the video, the baby, etc. So far the videos haven't contained red herrings, but more fodder for the crazy fans like us. :)

But I agree, part of me wishes they'd just stop with screwing around with stuff like that and keep it in the series proper.

scotminusT said...

I'm kind of at the point where if Miles isn't Chang's son, his character is bordering on pointless. I love his one-liners, but the writers have pretty much put his psychic abilities into limbo. While I love misdirection, my spidey sense is screaming: that man has eaten Dharma-brand strained carrots.

Benny said...

@Scott: Miles has lost his purpose because not a lot of people have died so far on the island. Hopefully, starting this week, he'll have more friends to chat with!

scotminusT said...

@Benny: Agreed--send in the corpses ;-) Although if his abilities are/were working properly, it kind of puts to rest any nefarious goings on with regards to Paul, Amy and the two Others. Unless of course Miles is holding his cards close to his chest.

Anonymous said...

While listening to Sawyer's speech to Jack, it never occurred to me that his jealousy and resentment of Jack was really deep-seated. Then again, I should have known, considering the sardonic manner in which he called Jack a "hero" in the series' pilot.

I also noticed that while criticizing Jack for his leadership, Sawyer never realized that he would screw up as well. Or that his decision to remain with the Dharma Initiative had been his first major mistake.

RosieP said...

I cannot believe that Sawyer had the nerve to compare himself to Winston Churchill. He really considered himself a rational leader? Locke served as leader until the moment he left the island. After that, Sawyer's period as leader of the castaways lasted only a few hours, until he became Sheriff of Dharmaland, while running a long con.

Besides, his history of irrational behavior is just as long as Jack's. There was a smile on Jack's face, as he walked away. Many have claimed that it was a smile of relief. Personally, I can hear him thinking . . . "You poor boob! You don't know what you've gotten yourself into.".

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