Lost Season 6 Analysis and Commentary (Episodes 8 - Recon)

This week’s episode centered around James Ford....AKA Sawyer. In my opinion, Sawyer is one of the richest characters on the show. However, as I tried to write an introduction to this entry on his centric episode, I found myself struggling to describe him. When you look back at his character through the seasons, he has gone through more transformations than any of the other Losties. I think there was a clue in this episode as to why. In the flash-sideways, Saywer drinks from a “Hollywood” coffee cup. I think this cup tells us that Sawyer is an actor.....always playing a part and rarely showing us the real person inside. That real person is the hurt, lonely little boy who lost his parents....the one who continually reads his “Dear Mr. Sawyer” letter in Season 1. But most of the time, Sawyer is just playing make believe....a scared child who has grown into the great pretender. Sometimes he’s the cop, sometime the robber. He can play house with Juliet....or king of the mountain with Jack. And this week we see that no matter the universe, James Ford is always acting.

So, let’s begin this week looking at Sawyer’s flash-sideways. It starts with a familiar scene: Sawyer in bed with some babe....late for a meeting....briefcase falls open....and the con is on. As we’ve seen all season, in the sideways world something is always a little askew....and this week was no exception. Sawyer’s mark pulls a gun and says she know a con when she sees one. But the trick was on her. Sawyer says the magic word: “LaFleur” (gotta love that) and the cops come storming in. Turns out it was a sting, and our old buddy Jimbo is a cop....Detective Ford (always playing make believe). Now this is both an ironic twist (the con man turned cop) and a parallel to the island world (remember that Sawyer.....playing the part of Jim Lafluer....was the Sherriff of Dharmaville). And who is Ford’s partner? Why of course it’s his Dharma Deputy....Miles.

Whatever you do, don't shoot me in the chest...its my best feature.

Back at the station house, Sawyer is making personal calls on company time....trying to track down Anthony Cooper (the con man who was responsible for the death of James’ parents....not to mention he is John Locke’s father). But Miles is oblivious to this and is focused on getting Jim a woman (clearly a big problem for stunningly-handsome, often-shirtless cops).

Really? I won the Supertramp tickets!

The date turns out to be a fiery redhead....Charlotte (who cleans up very nicely). They make a little chit-chat and Charlotte asks James why he became a cop. To which, he replies, “You ever seen “Bullit”....Steve McQueen flick?” Charlotte calls him on this and asks for the truth. So, James replies, “I guess I got to the point in my life where I was either gonna become a criminal or a cop....so I chose cop.” If you ask me, his first answer was the truth: the pretender following another actor in his portrayal of a cop. The second answer was just giving Charlotte what she needed to hear to go on an archeological dig in Detective Ford’s pants. Also, recall last week I talked about choice and its importance in defining an individual. Here the choice is irrelevant. Either path....criminal or cop.....leads to the same objective....killing Anthony Cooper.

Are we sure it was the con that triggered the murder/suicide and not ridicule associated with the leisure suit in this photo?

Anyway, after a little fun, Charlotte opens one of James’ dresser drawers to find a tee-shirt and happens upon a file labeled “SAWYER”. Inside are details of James’ parents’ deaths. The true James emerges....the angry, hurt boy....and throws Charlotte out. Once the illusion is shattered, the actor can no longer be effective.

The next day at the police station, Miles confronts James about his recent trip to Australia. Little Orphan Jimmy surfaces and says, its “none of your damn business”. Miles has had enough of the lies and says I’m outta here. Alone in the locker room, Jim looks into a mirror (recall the recurrence of mirrors throughout the sideways flashes), sees his true self....and promptly shatters it with his fist. What we are left with is even more true than the clear image....the broken James Ford.

Later that night, James returns home to watch his favorite TV show, “Little House on the Prairie” (recall that in the Season 3, Kate made fun of Sawyer for referring to it as “Little House”). This is what he sees:

LAURA INGALLS: It's not me I'm worried about. I just don't know what I would do if anything ever happened to you or Ma.
CHARLES INGALLS: Anyway, nothing's gonna happen to us. Not today, anyway. That's the way you live this life. Each day, one at a time. Now, if you spend your whole life worryin' about something that's gonna happen, before you know it, your life's over and it's been an awful lot of just worryin'. (children’s laughter is heard) Hey, you heard that? Now that's what life's all about. Laughin' and lovin' eachother. And knowin' that people aren't really gone when they die. We have all the good memories to sustain us until we see 'em again.
LAURA: It's hard not being afraid, Pa...

Now it has been a while since I’ve seen an episode of “Little House”, but I can’t quite recall pillars of black smoke slaughtering anybody on the farm. My guess is Pa wouldn’t talk so brave on the island....but I digress. Clearly, the message on the screen was as much for James, as it was for Half-Pint: Let go of your fear and live your life or it will consume you.

Last week, I drew parallels between LOST and the Harry Potter Series. This week, I want to reference another epic saga that clearly has had an influence on the LOST mythology: Star Wars. Recall Yoda’s words:

From “Episode I: The Phantom Menace”: "Fear is the path to the dark side: fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering."

From “Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back”: “Yes, a Jedi's strength flows from the Force. But beware of the dark side. Anger, fear, aggression; the dark side of the Force are they. Easily they flow, quick to join you in a fight. If once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny, consume you it will, as it did Obi-Wan's apprentice.”

(Who knew that Charles Ingalls had Jedi training?) Fear, anger, aggression and suffering....James Ford hit every one and is on the path to the dark side.

Sunflowers....nicknames....a Jedi craves not these things.

But, I guess James took Pa’s message to heart, because he decides to give Charlotte another go and drops by her apartment with the old LaFleur combo platter: A sheepish grin and a sunflower. Charlotte will have none of it (guess that trick only works on American chicks). I noticed something subtle, but interesting, in this scene....as James is standing outside Charlotte’s door there is a window at the end of the hall. In the distance you can see what appears to be the Santa Monica Pier Ferris Wheel. I believe this is intentionally placed in the scene for two reasons. First, I think it is representative of the circular storytelling we see on LOST. Second, I think it is symbolic of James Ford’s life....he is constantly spinning his wheels, but never really getting anywhere. The cycle is the same: fear....hate....suffering.

Perhaps though, that cycle can be broken. In the final segment of the flash-sideways, James tells Miles about the hunt for his white whale....Anthony Cooper. Almost immediately after purging his guts (the actor breaking character), destiny pays James a visit. His car is hit and the driver makes a run for it. James gives chase and apprehends the driver, who is revealed to be Kate. Something tells me James Ford is about to get off the ferris wheel and try a new ride. Only time will tell if that ride can take him off the path to the dark side and put him on the highway to heaven (a shameless Michael Landon tie-in...my apologies).

Let’s continue with Sawyer’s story on the island. After a couple of brief chats with Jin and Kate, Sawyer joins the Flocke army on a cross-island trek. Upon hearing that they may make camp for a couple of days, Sawyer challenges Flocke. Flocke asks Sawyer to step into his office and the following transpires:

FLOCKE: I wish you hadn’t interrupted me.
SAWYER: I’m sorry....I forgot my manners.
FLOCKE: I forgive you.

I thought this was fairly clever. Remember that the Smoke Monster has been described as one who passes judgment. Good thing Sawyer said he was sorry.....just ask Mr. Eko how is goes when you are unrepentant for your sins.

The interesting dialogue continued:

SAWYER: What happened back at the temple? How'd you know to rescue everybody from that smoke thing?
FLOCKE: I didn't rescue them. I am the smoke thing.

It is very surprising here that Flocke tells Sawyer the truth. More:

SAWYER: You telling me you killed all of those people?
FLOCKE: I gave them the opportunity to leave peacefully and they didn't take it.
SAWYER: Why not?
FLOCKE: Because they're convinced that they're protecting the Island from me, when in fact all I want to do is leave. So it's either kill or be killed. And I don't wanna be killed.

Call me crazy, but I believe him. I don’t think there is one untruthful thing Flocke said. However, I also believe he isn’t telling the whole truth either.

I’ll discuss Flocke more a little later, but I’d like to continue with the Sawyer storyline. So, Flocke sends Sawyer on a mission to Hydra island to do some “recon” (note the double meaning of “reconnaissance” and “to con again”). According to Flocke, the survivors of the Ajira flight might try to do them harm. But Flocke’s not worried about Sawyer running into trouble because he’s “the best liar I ever met.” I guess it takes a thespian to know a thespian.

So Sawyer paddles over to Hydra Island and finds the DHARMA cages he can Kate were housed in during Season 3. (I kinda like these visits to old LOST stomping grounds....just like Jack and Hurley’s pit stop at the caves a couple of weeks back.) In one of the cages, Sawyer finds a dress The Others forced Kate to wear. Sawyer squeezes the fabric tightly in his hands.

Dammit! Grass stains.

My wife interpreted this to mean that Sawyer still has feelings for Kate. I took it a different way. I believe it is Sawyer’s recognition that he will never experience the closeness he shared with Kate with anyone ever again. Throughout this episode (in both timelines), there are references to Sawyer’s solitude:

SAWYER: I ain't with anybody, Kate.

MILES: What is your deal Jim? You wanna die alone?

SAWYER: I don't need saving.

Recall, the much-repeated Losties mantra: “Live together, die alone.”

This is Sawyer in a nutshell. His only chance at salvation is to abandon the hate, anger, and suffering and get back to “laughin’ and lovin’ each other”. I don’t see it happening. James Sawyer Ford is a dead man walking.

But he’s not dead yet....so let’s continue. Sawyer finds the Ajira plane, but no people. He does find some tracks that lead to a pile of dead people (reminded me of the mass grave Ben led Locke to in Season 3). He does find someone alive, named Zoe, who claims to be an Ajira survivor. She is so relieved to see him:

SAWYER: There's a group of people back on the main island. I can take you back there.
ZOE: Thank God...
SAWYER: Trust me... God's got nothing to do with it.

This line was directed more to the audience than to Zoe. It is an implication that Flocke/Man-in-Black/Smokey is about as far from God as you can get. While I don’t want to get too wrapped in this single line, it could be a sign that the Jacob-MIB conflict is more than a generic good vs. evil battle and has religious implications. However, I’ll stand firm on my belief that Jacob and MIB are not God and Satan (more LOST theology below).

So anyway, Sawyer and Zoe head back to his outrtigger. Along the way, she peppers Sawyer with a few dozen questions. When Sawyer asks why she was travelling to Guam, Zoe says it was to see her boyfriend. Sawyer immediately pulls a gun. Good instincts detective.....any girl who asks this many questions can’t possibly have a boyfriend.

Well, it turns out Zoe wasn’t really being truthful (is anybody NOT acting in this episode?). She gives a little whistle and out of the jungle comes a band of armed men. Sawyer is then promptly escorted to Charles Widmore’s sub (passing some portable sonic fence pylons....handy). In the main hallway of the sub, Sawyer notices a padlocked door. He asks what is inside, but is told it is none of his beeswax.

I’m going to pause here for a little speculation. I’m going to guess that it isn’t a “what” inside the door, but a “who”. I’ve got a few possibilities...all of them children. Remember back to last season’s episode, “The Variable”. In this episode Desmond is rushed to the hospital after being shot by Benjamin Linus. An anxious Penny is told by a nurse in the waiting room, “He's doing fine. Come with me. This nurse will watch your son.” This always struck me as odd....especially since Charles appears in the next scene outside the hospital. Could it be that Charles has abducted his grandson, Charlie Hume, and taken him to the island? Remember Charles’ words to Ben in Season 4: “That island's mine, Benjamin. It always was. It will be again.” If Widmore plans to retake the island, wouldn’t he want his bloodline with him? From a story standpoint, this may also be the one thing that can bring Desmond back to the island. Two other options are Aaron and Walt. These two clearly have some significance to the island. We know that Aaron is important, as even Flocke mentions him this episode. We also know that Walt is “special”....but we have never really learned why. I don’t have a good reason to as to why Charles Widmore would bring Aaron or Walt to the island. Then again, as Widmore says to Sawyer, “It’s sad really....how little you actually know.” This line was clearly intended as much for the audience as it was for Sawyer.

In any case, Sawyer and Widmore have their first conversation, but they each already know of each other. After a little posturing, Sawyer tells Widmore the truth about John Locke sending him over (“We both know that is not John Locke”) and cuts a deal with Widmore to deliver Flocke/MIB to him. They shake on it. How many devils can Sawyer make deals with?

Now here's a man worthy of my MacCutcheon whiskey...not like that good-for-nothing son-in-law of mine.

Sawyer returns to Flocke and tells him everything he told Widmore. Flocke say, “I appreciate your loyalty.” (Remember back to the beginning of the flash-sideways when James’ mark asks, “How dumb do you think I am?” To which he replies, “Pretty dumb.” I am sure he was thinking the same thing about Flocke.) Flocke just told Sawyer he was “the best liar” he ever met and now he is falling for the lie himself? Sawyer is pulling the “Long Con” on Flocke....as he described it in Season 2: “It works by getting someone to ask you to do something like it's their idea, but it's not their idea, it's your idea.” But be careful Sawyer....the con man might be getting conned himself. This could be playing out exactly like the MIB wants it too.

Before leaving this portion of the episode, I want to reflect just a little more on Charles Widmore. My assumption was that in the coming war, Widmore would be aligned with MIB. Does what we learned this week change this? It certainly appears that Charles is opposed to MIB. Is he Jacob’s ally? Could be. Remember that when Charles was an Others leader, he seemed to be very dogmatic....no moral ambiguity (ordering the death of Rousseau and Alex)....only what was right for the island. This may be in line with Jacob’s philosophy (as many have been sacrificed for the good of the island). Another possibility though is that Widmore and MIB are aligned and are in on the same long con. Still a third possibility is that Widmore is aligned with neither Jacob nor MIB....and seeks island control for his on personal benefit. It’s sad really....how little I actually know.

The other major storyline in this episode was centered around Flocke/MIB/Smokey. His story opens with the group returning from the temple:

FLOCKE: Alright everybody, listen up. Come on in. Gather round. I know that everyone is tired. It was a... a long and traumatic night for all of us. And you all have got a lot of questions, I know. And I will make myself available to answer them. But right now we need to keep moving. We have to take advantage of the daylight.
CINDY: We want to know what happened to the people who stayed behind at the Temple.
FLOCKE: The black smoke killed them.

Zach and Emma (the 815-survivor-children from the Temple) are very upset by this. Flocke kneels down to the kids and says:

LOCKE: Hey... I know that what happened back there was really scary. But it's over. You're with me now, and I promise that I'm gonna take care of you. Okay?

I took this as a moment of genuine compassion. I think the notion that the MIB is pure evil is wrong. We get even more insight when he has a one-on-one with Kate:

LOCKE: I know what you're going through.
KATE: And how do you know that?
LOCKE: Because... my mother was crazy. A long time ago, before I... looked like this... I had a mother, just like everyone. She was a very disturbed woman. And, as a result of that, I had some growing pains. Problems that I'm still trying to work my way through. Problems that could have been avoided had things been different.
KATE: Why are you telling me this?
LOCKE: Because now Aaron has a crazy mother too.

It’s not an accident that we hear this speech in the same episode that Sawyer’s pain is explored. The Man-in-Black is not “evil incarnate” as Dogan stated a couple of episodes ago. He was once a boy, just like James Ford....full of fear, anger, and suffering. It lead him to the dark side. I also find it interesting that the man whose body the MIB chose to inhabit was also full of fear, anger, and suffering....John Locke (who also had a crazy mother).

After last years finale, when we were first properly introduced to Jacob and the Man-in-Black, I wrote the following about their encounter on the beach:

First, let’s talk about who/what these two men are. If one man is Jacob, there has been suggestion on the internet that the other man is Esau. In the bible, Jacob and Esau are the twin sons of Issac and grandsons of Abraham. It is written in at least two bible passages that God loved Jacob, but hated his brother Esau. Ironically, Jacob used deception to receive Esau’s birthright to become spiritual leader of the family, leading to protracted animosity and conflict, including Esau’s vow to kill Jacob. With that said, I don’t believe the men on LOST are literally the brothers Jacob and Esau. However, the parallels are indisputable, and may provide clues as to where things are heading. Jacob and Esau, become the leaders of Israel and Edom, respectively. In the Book of Obadiah (Hebrew Bible and Old Testament), Edom is destroyed with no survivors at the “end of days”. So, if you believe in the Jacob/Esau allegory, Jacob’s side will win the coming war.

After this week’s episode, I think we are seeing further underscoring of the Jacob/Esau story. Here we see the MIB state that his mother was crazy. Well, in the story of Jacob and Esau, their mother Rebecca favored Jacob over his brother and assisted him in stealing Esau’s birthright. Now, while this does not make Rebecca “crazy”, you can see how it might seem that way from Esau’s perspective. Again, I don’t think the LOST writers’ plan is to have our island deities be the actual biblical Jacob and Esau, but it is easy to see their story paralleled on the show. My theory is that these two characters represent an amalgam of opposing forces throughout classical and modern religion/mythology. As much as there is a parallel to Jacob and Esau, there is also to God and Satan, Horus and Anubis, Obi-Wan and Vader, Dumbledore and Voldemort. Then again, we’ve yet to learn the MIB’s real name....so the possibility that he is indeed Esau remains.

Let’s return to the last line I mentioned from Flocke, “Because now Aaron has a crazy mother too.” While we don’t know exactly what this means, two things about it struck me as interesting. It shows again Flocke’s compassion for a child....which again seems genuine. He has concern that Aaron may face a similar fate as he has. It also reminded me of this exchange from Season 2:

CLAIRE: This is Aaron.
MR. EKO: Aaron? The brother of Moses?
CLAIRE: Yeah, that must have been tough to live up to, right? The pressure of everyone saying, "Why can't you be more like your brother, Moses."
MR. EKO: Yes, I'm sure it was. Why did you choose it -- Aaron?
CLAIRE: I just liked it.
MR. EKO: Aaron was a great man.

We see again parallel’s being drawn to biblical figures. Note the characterization of how difficult it was for Aaron to live up to Moses. So, too would it have been difficult for Esau (or MIB) to live up to Jacob.....the favored son, in his mother’s eyes. OK....enough theology....but Aaron remains a key piece of the puzzle.

Getting back to the Flocke and Kate dialogue, he tries to help her understand Claire’s erratic behavior:

LOCKE: Have you ever had an enemy? Someone that you needed to hate? Very powerful, isn't it? Claire was devastated without Aaron. She needed something to... something to keep her going. So, I gave her something to hate. And then... when you told her the truth... all those feelings, all that anger that she'd been holding on to for so long... it had to go somewhere.

Look at the strategy the MIB employed with Claire. It is right out of the Star Wars “Episode VI: Return of the Jedi”:

THE EMPEROR: The hate is swelling in you now. Take your Jedi weapon. Use it. I am unarmed. Strike me down with it. Give in to your anger. With each passing moment you make yourself more my servant.

The MIB has used Claire’s hate to control her. She is now a servant of MIB. Curious though that Dogan described her earlier this season as being “infected” and “claimed”, just like Sayid. But the contrast could not be more stark. While Claire is almost bipolar, unable to control her emotions, Sayid appears to be a zombie....the walking dead. How creepy was it when Kate asked him, “Sayid, are you alright?” and his response was a faint, “No”. I don’t have a good theory yet on why we are seeing such a difference between these two characters, but it is something to keep an eye on in the coming weeks.

I hope no one breaks up the cat fight.

To close out the Locke/Kate interactions, note that Flocke extends his hand to Kate to help her up. It is a gesture for Kate to join Flocke. However, she does not take his hand. This tells us that Kate, while staying with Team MIB, has not committed her allegiance to him yet. And even though she likes to pay booty calls on Sawyer, she will always side with Jack. Recall from the Season 5 episode, “The Little Prince”:

JACK: Are you with me?
KATE: I have always been with you.

‘nuff said.

I don't think he washed his hands after he went in the woods earlier.

Here are a few misc items:

- Best line of the week:
KATE: Very insightful....coming from a dead man.
FLOCKE: Nobody’s perfect.
- Honorable mention for Sawyer: “Take me to your leader.”
- When Sawyer is late for his meeting it is 8:42 (8 and 42 are two of the numbers)
- Claire’s skeleton baby is even creepier than the last time we saw it.
- Sideways Miles says he has a girlfriend (man, this alternative universe really is strange). Gotta be someone we know, right? As much as I’d like to guess Eloise Hawking....I’ll go with Ilana.
- Miles said that Charlotte works with his dad at the museum. Looks like Pierre Chang is alive and well. I think this further supports my argument from last week that the island didn’t sink when the nuke was detonated.
- Did you notice the three books on Detective Ford’s dresser? “Watership Down”, “A Wrinkle in Time” and “Lancelot” were all books Sawyer read on the island in the main timeline.
- Interesting to see Liam (Charie’s brother) in the police station. “I’m looking for my brother. He was arrested at the airport on a drug charge.” Looks like we are going to see Charlie again at some point in the flash-sideways story.
- A heck of a lot of people got off that tiny sub. They must have packed them in like a clown car.

That is a wrap for this week. Really looking forward to next week. No spoilers here....but it is gonna be epic!