So let’s start in the sideways timeline. The Sun/Jin story picks up where we last saw these two together in the season premiere: the airport. We learn that the money from Jin’s bag, which was confiscated by customs officials, is $25K from Sun’s dad, Mr. Paik, for delivery with the watch. When they arrive at the hotel, we get confirmation of something many of us suspected after the premiere: Sun and Jin are not married in the sideways timeline.
Up in Sun’s hotel room, she slowly unbutton’s her top to seduce Jin...Sun you little trollop! (Is it just me or does Sun jump from average to smokin’ any time she is in various stages of undress?) This scene is clearly in contrast to the Season 1 instances of Jin insisting on Sun covering herself up, including buttoning up her blouse. Anyway, it is clear that these two have been carrying on an affair behind Mr. Paik’s back. Sun suggests that she and Jin run away together and make a new life with the money she has in a private account. Recall that in Season 1, Sun’s plan was to run away FROM Jin before boarding Oceanic 815. Here, her plan is to run away WITH Jin. However, before Sun and Jin can plot their escape, fate comes knocking at their door in the form of Martin Keamy – island mercenary, sideways hitman, and egg-chef extraordinaire.
However, on the way to the door Sun looks into the hallway mirror. This is in keeping with the recurring sideways theme of reflections this season. Notice though, that Sun hesitates when looking at her reflection....like she is noticing something she hasn’t seen before....similar to the way Jack and Kate have done in their sideways stories.
Oh no.....I forgot to set my DVR to record V!
So, Sun lets Keamy, who claims to be a friend of her fathers, in. She gives the watch to him, but he really wants the 25 Gs. At this point, Sun and Jin are going back and forth in Korean (and makes Keamy think he is in a “damn Godzilla movie”.....as a fan of classic Godzilla movies, I liked the reference, even if they were made in Japan, not Korea) and it becomes pretty obvious that Sun does not understand English in the sideways timeline. So, they need to bring in an interpreter:
KEAMY: What's that guy's name, the Russian guy, speaks like nine different languages, Danny's friend?
OMAR: Mikhail.
KEAMY: Mikhail. He speak Korean?
OMAR: Think so.
Now, while “Mikhail” is very clearly our eye-patched friend from the island, I thought it was curious that Keamy specifically refers to him as “Danny’s friend”. I have to wonder if this is a reference to Danny Pickett, the Other, who used to like beating on Sawyer in Season 3. It might be interesting to see if he is somehow connected to the sideways antagonists. In any case, it was great to see Mikhail, sans eye-patch, make a guest appearance.
Wait a minute....maybe an eye-patch could help me pick up chicks.
Once Mikhail arrives and clears up some of the Korean, they decide to split the two up. Mikhail heads out with Sun to get the money out of her account and Keamy takes Jin back to the restaurant where we saw him a few weeks back in Sayid’s flash-sideways. Jin’s biggest concern is that Keamy and company don’t tell papa-Paik that he is sleeping with Sun.....but good old trustworthy Keamy assures him that his “secret is safe” with him. Just as a point of baseless speculation, I wonder if Sun is perhaps engaged to Jae Lee (the man she cheated on Jin with in the original timeline) and sleeping with Jin behind his back. This would infuriate Mr. Paik (who would view Jae Lee as a more worthy suitor for his daughter). I doubt there is time for them to explore this on the show....but since the thought crossed my mind, I figured I would mention it. Anyway, Mikhail takes Sun to the bank where they learn that her private account has been closed by Mr. Paik. At this point Sun, and the viewers, realize that she and Jin are screwed.
We switch to the restaurant, where Keamy’s lackey Omar, bumps Jin’s head on the door heading into the cooler. I couldn’t figure out for the life of me why Keamy said anything about Jin bumping his head, until someone pointed out to me that Sun bumped her head on the island, as well (clunky writing again from Paul Zbyszewski &
Graham Roland....but better than their last effort, “Sundown”). Anyway, Keamy tells Jin, who can’t understand a word that he is saying, that Mr. Paik already knows about Sun and Jin and that the $25K is his payment to kill Jin. Now, at this point, how many of you rewound your DVRs, because you thought Keamy said, “just in case you figure out what’s about to happen to your island...”? Well, after about 10 rewinds, I’ve come to the conclusion that he says, “just in case you figure out what's about to happen to ya, I can't have you freaking out.” What a marble-mouth! But I forgive Keamy, because of one of his follow-up lines. He points to Jin’s chest and says, “The heart wants, what the heart wants.” This is a reference to Woody Allen’s justification for falling in love with ex-wife Mia Farrow’s adopted South Korean daughter, Soon-Yi Previn. I chuckled. As this scene ends and Keamy leaves Jin strapped to a chair, he says, “some people just aren’t meant to be together”. Is Keamy correct? As Ben Linus once told us, “Destiny.....is a fickle bitch”. So, is their destiny that they aren’t meant to be together (and Keamy’s words are foreshadowing an eternal separation) OR does free-will influence destiny (as Jack once said, “Nothing is irreversible.”) and allow them to find happiness together?
While Jin is tied up inside the cooler, we hear gunshots that we know are Sayid taking out Team Keamy. Sayid comes into the cooler and gives Jin a box cutter to help free himself. Apparently one of the handful of English words Jin knows is “free”....phew, what a lucky break!
When Mikhail and Sun appear on the scene, they find Keamy and friends shot.....but Keamy is still alive (he is like the Terminator....I wouldn’t be surprised if we see him again in the sideways story). Jin and Mikhail end up in a standoff....shots are fired.....and THANK YOU COURSE CORRECTING UNIVERSE.....Mikhail is shot in the eye.....putting all things back as they should be. All is not good though, as one of the shots hits Sun in the stomach....and she exclaims, “I’m pregnant!” Oh snap!
I knew I should have married an accountant!
OK, now there are a few ways I can see this playing out. First, we could have one of those magical moving bullets that ends up somewhere other than her stomach (like the one that appeared to pierce young-Ben’s heart last season, only to end up on the other side of his chest the next week). A second option is that a brilliant spinal surgeon at the hospital could suddenly become an expert at abdominal injuries and save both Sun and her unborn baby (maybe even with the help of fertility specialist, Juliet Burke). The third possibility is that Sun dies. I actually would like to see this happen (but it probably won’t....see the tomato discussion below), because I am interested to see the implications of death in the sideways universe on the main timeline.
Now let’s get to the island.....and I’d like to first tackle Sun’s portion of the story, which begins with Team Jacob waiting around for Hurley to return with Richard:
ILANA: Hugo will find him. He will track him down and bring him back.
MILES: Unless Alpert's covered in bacon grease, I'm not sure Hurley can track anything...
FRANK: Hey.....don't talk about bacon.
Ha...gotta love it. Ilana expresses here faith in Jacob’s plans: “Jacob has never lied to me before.” I just have to wonder how much interaction Ilana has had with Jacob and in what context....we need more Ilana backstory! Sun, though, wants nothing to do with any of this....as she has told us countless times before she is only interested in finding Jin. Quite honestly, Sun may be the only one with any sense left on the island. While everyone else is focusing on quixotic quests, Sun has a tangible objective: reuniting with Jin. This frustration causes her to storm out of the camp and find something else practical to do. She returns to the garden she began in Season 1 (this is another Season 6 revisit to a past LOST locale).
While working to clean up her garden, Sun cuts her finger. Flocke appears, greets her, and asks, “Bad day?” This is the same thing John Locke said to her in Season 2’s “...And Found” when Sun was tearing apart the garden in frustration over the loss of her wedding ring. I find Flocke’s use of Locke’s expressions and mannerisms to be curious. I mentioned this a few weeks back, but it seems like the soul of the real John Locke is somewhere inside Flocke, along with the Man-in-Black. We know Flocke has Locke’s memories, but I wonder if Locke can regain control of the body MIB is currently utilizing? Time will tell. Anyway, so Flocke tells Sun that Jin is with him and extends his hand to her:
FLOCKE: I can take you to him right now.
SUN: I don’t believe you. You killed those people at the temple.
FLOCKE: Those people were confused. They were lied to. I didn’t want to hurt them. Any one of them could have chosen to come with me. And I am giving you that choice Sun right now. I would never make you do anything against your will. I’m asking you....please, come with me. Jin is waiting.
Notice here again how Flocke/MIB insists that it is a matter of free will for Sun to join him. However, Sun resists the temptation to fulfill her greatest desire and runs from Flocke. She hits her head and is knocked unconscious. Ben finds her, but she is unable to speak English. Once back at camp, Jack diagnoses Sun with Aphasia, as she is understands English, but can only speak in Korean. Jack assures her that she will be fine. How on Earth can Jack make this kind of pronouncement based on the most superficial of examinations? Someone really needs to look into his medical credentials.
I’ve got to get to the bathroom before this guy. He had tacos last night.
To lift everyone’s spirits, Richard returns, thanks to Hurley (....anyone smell bacon?). But Richard has no time for small talk, as he is energized by the mission his dead wife has set him on: destroy the Ajira plane and thwart MIB’s plan. Sun, again the pragmatist, yells in Korean that destroying their only way off the island is crazy. Either no one is listening or no one speaks Korean or both. She storms off in a huff.
Jack later goes to Sun with the one thing that can melt even the coldest heart....a tomato. On a little side note, do tomatoes even grow on pacific islands? OK....I guess if we can have polar bears there, I can accept the tomato. Anyway, Jack gives a pad to Sun to see if she can write in English (you’d think he would have thought of this as part of the aphasia diagnosis....but I guess not). Then Jack tells her about the tomato: “That’s one stubborn tomato. I guess no one told it it was supposed to die.” The tomato is clearly symbolic of Sun and her enduing drive to reunite with her husband. However, I think it also represents her vulnerability, as a tomato is a relatively fragile vegetable (or is it a fruit?). This is one of the reasons I think Sun may be next in line for getting killed. Although the stubbornness of the surviving tomato, likely means that she will survive to the end (both here and in the sideways timeline). At a minimum, I think Sun will survive long enough to find Jin, but there is still a chance she will joining some of the other dead regulars as Hurley confidants. We’ll have to see how prophetic that stubborn little tomato is.
The final moments of this scene with Jack are pretty important:
Jack: Locke, what did he say to you?
Sun: He said he had Jin.
Jack: Why didn’t you go with him?
Sun: I don’t trust him.
Jack: Do you trust me?
(Sun nods)
Jack: Sun, come with us and I’ll help you find Jin. I’ll help you find him and I’ll help you get you both on that plane and as far away from this island as you can get.......I promise.
Then Jack extends his hand and, this time, Sun takes it. Jack’s speech to Sun isn’t that much different than Flocke’s. Every week I am more and more convinced that Jack will indeed become the new Jacob. He is no longer ordering people around as he has done in the past. He is giving them choices. While he may not have know it at the time, Jack’s visit to the lighthouse has changed him. Before even formally accepting the position as Jacob’s replacement, he is living the role. He will ultimately help many of the Losties off the island, but remain behind to be the island’s protector (he already accepted the fact that he was never returning from the island last season before boarding the Ajira flight). Either that or he will die trying.
OK....the last major portion of this episode, and probably the best, is Jin’s island adventure. This part of the story opens with a night-vision-goggles view of Team MIB’s camp...and some high-powered audio equipment to pick up conversations. So, obviously Widmore has this group under tight surveillance.
For the first time since Jin fell in with Team MIB, Flocke has a direct discussion with him. After Jin acknowledges that Sawyer told him about the cave with the names on the wall, the following transpires (with Claire eavesdropping):
FLOCKE: Most of the names have been crossed off now. There are just a few left. Kwon is one of them.
JIN: Does that mean me or Sun?
FLOCKE: Well Jin, I'm not sure. But what it does mean is that the only way we can leave the island is if all the names that haven't been crossed off go together.
So, assuming Flocke is being truthful, his objective is to get the remaining candidates (Jack, Sawyer, Sayid, Hurley, Sun/Jin...and remember this, because I am going to get back to this in a little bit) off the island. This is kind of an interesting juxtaposition whereas Flocke is trying to get the candidates off the island, Locke, in Season 5, was trying to bring the Oceanic 6 back to the island. There is also symmetry here as the means of conveyance for both journeys is the Ajira plane.
Flocke tells Jin that he will go find Sun and gets ready to head out to find her. Before he leaves, he checks in with Sayid:
SAYID: I don't feel anything.
FLOCKE: Excuse me?
SAYID: Anger. Happiness. Pain. I don't feel it anymore.
FLOCKE: Maybe that's best, Sayid. It'll help you get through what's coming.
Sayid’s situation is a sad one. He is aware of the state that he is in, but helpless to stop it. It is almost like the reverse of a stroke victim (all there on the inside, but unable to function externally), where he is empty inside, but is able to perform all necessary tasks.
After Flocke leaves, Jin is ready to get out of Dodge, when tranquilizer darts come flying into the camp. This scene reminded me of two other sequences: 1) The flaming arrow attack from Season 5’s “The Lie”, and 2) the dart ambush of Walt’s rescue party in Season 2’s finale “Live Together, Die Alone”. It seems like dangerous projectiles have always been a part of the Others’ repertoire of tactics....and Widmore, always an Other at heart, sticks to that game plan. With everybody on Team MIB subdued, Widmore’s flunkies, Zoe and Seamus, grab Jin and hightail it back to Hydra island. When Flocke returns, he is none-too-happy that Jin is gone and sets off on an outrigger excursion with Sayid to get him back.
Sayid, who ate the brownies I made last night?
SAWYER: What do you need a boat for? Can't you just turn into smoke and fly your ass over the water?
LOCKE: Do you think if I could do that I would still be on this island?
SAWYER: No, 'cause that would be ridiculous
Nice! A little old-school Sawyer sarcasm!
Jin awakens in Room 23, a DHARMA psychological testing facility for subliminal messages on Hydra Island, which we last saw in Season 3 as the place Ben imprisoned Karl for being a bad influence on his daughter, Alex. Jin inadvertently starts the film and we are shown 3 of the messages on the screen:
THINK ABOUT....YOUR LIFE
We are the causes of our own suffering
Everything Changes
Originally, I was going to break down each of these statements, but in thinking about it carefully, I came to the conclusion that the sum of these statements is really where there is meaning. When the characters reflect upon their lives (as we have seen them looking into reflected images all season long), they will find that the misery they have experienced is of their own doing (Jack’s inferiority complex relative to his father, Sawyer’s obsession with the man responsible for the deaths of his parents, Sayid’s inability to refrain from torture and killing, etc). However, as Jacob told Richard last week, when people come to the island, “their past doesn't matter.” They get a clean slate (“Tabula Rasa”).....”Everything Changes”. The opportunity is there to change the suffering of one’s life, if the right choice is made. Again, it all boils down to choice. Jacob gives them a choice. MIB gives them a choice. The island gives them a choice. Think about your life....everything can change IF you make the right choice.
After Jin shuts down the Room 23 film, he realizes that Zoe has entered the room. She explains that the room was part of the DHARMA initiative and says that Jin should know all about DHARMA. After a little tasing, Zoe pulls out a map of the island:
ZOE: These are grid maps that the Dharma people used to identify pockets of electromagnetism. Whoever signed these could really help me out. I know... I know the writing's difficult to read but... but it sure looks like it says Jin Soo-Kwon. So, is it you or isn't it?
This was my favorite little nugget of the episode. Pausing carefully to look at the map, it identifies THREE pockets of electromagnetism on the island. We know about the Swan Station. We know about the Orchid Station. So, what is the third pocket? There appears to be some as-of-yet untapped source of electromagnetism on the island. This is very exciting, as the Swan and Orchid have provided two of the best plot driving elements of the series. It appears this is going to be a key component of the end game of LOST. Exactly what Team Widmore wants with this info is unclear, but Jin’s role is about to change (“Everything Changes”). However, Jin won’t agree to do anything until he sees Charles Widmore.
On this map are the locations of three future Starbucks locations.
But before Jin meets Widmore, Flocke (Sayid is nowhere to be found) has a little tete-a-tete with Charles at the sonic fence perimeter on Hydra island:
WIDMORE: Do you know who I am?
FLOCKE: Charles Widmore. Do you know who I am?
WIDMORE: Obviously you’re not John Locke. Everything else I know is a combination of myth, ghost stories, and jungle noises in the night.
FLOCKE: I think you know more than that judging by these pylons.
This exchange raising questions about how much Widmore REALLY knows and where his allegiances lie. Based on Ben’s lack of insight on the conflict between Jacob and MIB, it is not too big of a stretch to think that Widmore may be misinformed as well. Then again, Dogan seemed to have an in depth understanding of Jacob and MIB. I wonder if Jacob’s plan, employed via Richard, is to compartmentalize information so that no one person on the island has the complete picture. Each player is only given the information needed to perform his or her role. Widmore is clearly NOT on MIB’s side...but we don’t really know yet if he is on Team Jacob or just playing for his own team. I expect this will become clearer next week.
If you ask me Charles, these pylons are just your way of compensating for something.
After Widmore denies that he has Jin, Flocke drops the news that the time for games is over:
FLOCKE: A wise man once said that war was coming to this island......I think it just got here.
Flocke is of course referencing Widmore’s own word’s to John Locke in Season 5’s “The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham”:
WIDMORE: ....there's a war coming, John. And if you're not back on the Island when that happens, the wrong side is going to win.
Looking back on Widmore’s words to Locke, I again wonder how much he knew then and how much he knows now (he seemed quite confident two weeks ago when he said to Sawyer, “It’s sad really....how little you actually know.”....but then again, Ben always seemed very confident as well). Does he know what he is doing or is he just as clueless as Ben was when he was duped into killing Jacob. Either way, I couldn’t be more ecstatic that we are on the eve of war....bring it on!
When Widmore returns to the Hydra station, he chews out Zoe about the Jin situation. Apparently, he wasn’t quite ready to confront MIB. Zoe tells him that maybe he should have brought along “a mercenary instead of a geophysicist”. Zoe probably doesn’t realize that this is exactly what Widmore tried last time with Keamy. It also is pretty clear that Zoe’s role as a geophysicist ties directly into the third pocket of magnetism I mentioned earlier. Widmore gets over Zoe’s screw up (“what’s done is done”) and tells her to get the “package” from the infirmary.
Widmore then introduces himself to Jin and gives him a camera that he said was found on the Ajira plan in Sun’s luggage. The camera contains pictures of Ji Yeon....Sun and Jin’s daughter. Here Widmore shows himself to be a master manipulator (just like Jacob, MIB, and Ben). Recall Ben’s words to Juliet from Season 3, when he was explaining how he would get Jack to do his spinal surgery: “Same way I get anybody to do anything. I find out what he's emotionally invested in, and I exploit it.” Here Widmore is doing the same thing. He needs Jin’s help and he is leveraging Sun and Ji Yeon to get it. Widmore tells Jin:
WIDMORE: I have a daughter too. I know what it’s like to be kept apart. I understand the one thing you want is to be reunited with your wife and daughter. But it would be short-lived, if that thing masquerading as John Locke ever got off this island. Your wife, your daughter, my daughter....everyone we know and love would simply cease to be. I came here to make sure that doesn’t happen.
So, Widmore lays the stakes on the table, and my guess is that Jin is going “all in”. But, in looking at Widmore’s statement, what does that really mean? Does MIB escaping the island mean that world will be destroyed? Or does it mean that everyone will be killed? Or does it mean that everyone will become like Sayid....soulless slaves to the MIB? I really don’t know....but I am interested to find out.
So Widmore proceeds to tell Jin that he needs to see the package....which is a “who”, not a “what”. I was right that the package behind the locked door in the sub was a “who”, but incorrectly guessed at it being Charlie Hume, Aaron or Walt. It turns out to be Desmond (remember the words of Mrs. Hawking: “I'm sorry to have to tell you this, Desmond, but the Island isn't done with you yet.”). As Desmond gets off the sub, he stumbles walking down the dock from the sub and sees Sayid playing frogman in the water....gathering the intell MIB is looking for. I’m glad everyone’s favorite Scot is back in the mix, whether he likes it or not (“You say the Island's not done with me? Well, I'm done with the Island.”).
Is that V countdown timer still here?
That covers the major portions of this week’s story, but let’s touch on a couple of other things that didn’t fit into the main story recaps.
First, let’s look at the discussion between Flocke and Claire:
CLAIRE: Um... what you said to Jin... about the names on the wall? You told him you needed them all to get off the island?
FLOCKE: Yes I did.
CLAIRE: So... was my name on the wall?
FLOCKE: No.
Flocke neglects to inform her that her name WAS on the wall, but it was crossed out....meaning she is no longer a candidate.
CLAIRE: Then... it doesn't matter if I get on that plane then. You don't need me--
FLOCKE: No. That's not true, Claire. I need you. And there's plenty of room on that plane for all of us.
Why does Flocke need Claire. She must have a role to play in MIB’s plan. I find it hard to believe that he wants to take her off the island just because he is a smoke monster with a heart of gold.
CLAIRE: When we go home, Aaron's not going to know me. Stranger to my own son. He thinks Kate's his mother. Was her name on the wall?
FLOCKE: No, Claire... it isn't. Not anymore.
But remember, Kate’s name was crossed off the wall in the cave, but was NOT crossed out in the lighthouse.
FLOCKE: But I need Kate.
CLAIRE: Why?
FLOCKE: Because I'm three people shy of getting off this island and Kate can help me get those people on the plane. But... once she does... then whatever happens, happens.
It seems to me that Kate will be bait for Jack, Sawyer, and Sun and then she becomes expendable. But if MIB doesn’t know about the lighthouse then maybe Kate is the secret candidate that can tip the scales back in Jacob’s favor. Recall, that Ilana has been tasked to protect 6 remaining candidates. Locke was likely already out of the mix in Jacob’s eyes....so maybe Kate is number 6. Also, I love the future tense of “whatever happens, happens”, playing off last season’s “whatever happened, happened”. So, maybe what Flocke is saying is that not only can’t you change the past, but you can’t change the future.....it is all preordained.
On the subject of Kate I’d like to take a look at something that happened related to her:
SAWYER: Where’d you go?
KATE: What?
SAWYER: Looked like you brain took a little stroll.
While this is probably nothing, I can’t help but think that this could be meaningful. I wonder if Kate checking out (as we have seen her do a lot in recent episodes) is indeed her brain taking a “stroll”....perhaps to the sideways timeline. I think about two of the Desmond episodes: “Flashes Before Your Eyes” and “The Constant”, where Desmond’s brain checked out and went elsewhere. Maybe the hesitations in the mirrors (like Sun had this week) are the characters in the sideways timeline getting flashes of the main timeline. Similarly, when a character zones out in the main timeline, they are seeing flashes of the sideways. I’m probably grasping at straws here, but I’m still waiting to see these to universes intersect.
Here are a few misc items:
- Best line of the week goes to Ilana:
BEN: What? Oh, for the fourth time, I was gathering mangoes and she was already unconscious when I found her. Why won't you believe me?
ILANA: Because you're speaking.
- Runner up goes to Frank:
MILES: She hits her head and forgets English? Are we supposed to buy that?
FRANK: Asks the man who communes with the dead.
- Jin’s English is significantly better in the sideways than it was in Season 1
- When Flocke is looking around the camp at the tranq-dart victims, in the Flocke-POV shots you can hear the faint tica-tica-tica of the Smoke monster.
That is wrap for this week.
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See you next week!
I like your recaps and funny picture comments.
ReplyDeleteThanks.