As always, this week’s Lost Idiot Vox is in the form of questions, answers and unconcerned rambling. And, crap-loads of spoilers!
SPOILER WARNING.
Ask me the one question that does matter. How do I save the island? I just love it when the show hands me a question on a silver platter. It’s all up to Locke, apparently, according to Claire/Jack’s dad’s creepy ghost, to move it. Follow-up question: and what the hell is that supposed to accomplish? Okay, I’m just going to go out on a limb here. There was a little bit of an issue with time this episode (you know, how the doctor was buried on the island before he ever got his throat slit). It’s clear that the island and the boat exist in different times. Maybe Christian Shepherd means to suggest that the island needs to move… into another zone… of time? I’m not even necessarily saying that that’s the same one that the boat is in — rather just a different one. One where the island will survive.
Does the island that needs to be saved mean “the island” or “the people on the island?” It’s obvious that they are two separate entities, especially since we know (or at least think we know) that only six people actually get off the island. Where do Locke’s loyalties lie when he asks the question?
Who was the leader of the Dharma initiative, if not Ben? Or, who killed all those bodies in the ditch? Obviously, Ben knows something that we don’t (I mean, what else is new). I’m sure everyone’s first instinct is to shout “Jacob!” but of course only because we have no real idea who Jacob is or how he’s connected to Dr. Shepherd.
Is Claire dead? Am I crazy for thinking that she was acting awfully cavalier for someone who just dumped her baby in a tree? In fact, both of the ghosts that we met this episode seemed to be awfully cavalier, why wouldn’t a dead Claire fit the same profile?
Were Ben and Locke separated at birth? I have yet to get out of the habit of seeing Locke in terms of Man of Faith vs Jack, Man of Science. Ben is clearly cut out of the same cloth as Locke, especially with that gem of a quote — “Destiny is a fickle bitch.” Ben reveals that he used to have dreams — that the island used to talk to him and tell him what to do. “I was told a lot of things. I was chosen, I was special.” But there’s a price to pay for that — what will Locke’s price be?
Lastly, Who was the orderly? I feel like this is one of the questions that I should know the answer to, given how many obvious “this person is important” close-up face shots we were treated to, but for whatever reason, I just expected him to show up in the cabin. But he didn’t. We’ll have to remember that face for next episode, because for whatever reason, he’s important. Jacob? Not that that wouldn’t be too obvious, or anything.
Answers we got this episode: All right, all right, Claire’s alive, or at least not out of the picture yet. We learned that Claire/Jack’s dad has a lot more to do with the island than we originally thought, and we learned that the Dharma initiative perished twelve years ago. We killed a couple useless characters and sent a psychopath to the island. Next week: the origin of the Oceanic Six? The best episode of the season yet? Maybe. But this one was pretty good.