I Am DB

I gotta tell you, the crazier this show gets, the harder these things are to write. There was a lot I wanted to bring up this week – things that dated back to some of the earliest episodes from Season One – but I just didn’t have time to get it all down and pop some of those old episodes into the DVD player to check my facts. So while this is already longer than you can probably bear to endure, it’s much abbreviated from what I’d hoped to assemble. As it is, I won’t tell you how long it’s taken me to write this friggin’ recap – one that is, frankly, not at all up to my personal standards. Anyway, I’ll revisit some of the episode’s most intriguing moments soon.

Try to contain your excitement.

PREMATURE
This pivotal episode began with an initially puzzling flashback that turned out to be the furthest trip yet into a character’s past. So far back, in fact, that the character wasn’t born yet. A pretty teenager named Emily dances to a Buddy Holly LP, preparing for a date with a boy twice her age. When the rebellious girl runs from the house to avoid her disapproving mother, she gets hit by a car and winds up in the hospital, forced to give birth to the baby she’s been secretly carrying for five or six months. The preemie survives against all odds, leading the nurses to dub him a miracle. Unable to face the responsibility of motherhood, the girl gives her special boy up for adoption. Thus begins the lonely life of John Locke.

BLASTS FROM THE PAST FUTURE
Baby John is only a few months old when he attracts the attention of a stranger. That’s right my friends: the enigmatic Richard Alpert resurfaced in this episode. He is first seen staring at baby John through a window as a nurse speaks to Emily’s mother. He returns a few years later, when John is a small boy living with a foster family, and introduces himself as a man “who runs a school for kids who are extremely special.” He believes John may be such a child (and notes with interest a picture John has drawn of what looks like a man being attacked by a whirl of black smoke). Richard proceeds to give John a test, not unlike the one Buddhist monks have used through the centuries to locate the boy who possesses the reincarnated soul of the Dalai Lama. According to the book Magic and Mystery in Tibet by Alexandra David-Neel, “A number of objects such as rosaries, ritualistic implements, books, tea-cups, etc., are placed together, and the child must pick out those which belonged to the late tulku [Tibetan Buddhist master], thus showing that he recognizes the things which were his in his previous life.” (Thank you Martin Scorsese, director of Kundun, for teaching me of this ritual. And thank you Wikipedia, for confirming my memory 11 years later.)

Similarly, Alpert lays out an array of objects on a table in front of young John, and asks the boy to look at them and think about them. Then he asks, “Which of these things belong to you already?” John seems to understand, and carefully peruses the items, which include a Mystery Tales comic book, a baseball mitt, and a tome titled “Book of Laws.” John selects a vial that contains non-descript granules, as well as a compass. Richard seems pleased, until John chooses a knife. For me, the moment when little Locke picks up that knife is like when Harry Potter identifies the wand for which he is destined; fate is clicking into place. But Richard is disappointed. In fact, he seems quite put-out, telling John that the knife does not belong to him and abruptly collecting the objects and leaving, saying that John is not quite ready for his school.

John gets one more chance years later. Now a bullied high-school student, his science teacher informs him of an exciting opportunity. The teacher has been contacted by a Dr. Alpert, from a company in Portland called Mittelos Laboratories, which is doing cutting edge work in chemistry and new technologies. They want John to attend their summer camp, but John rejects the idea, frustrated that things like this are the reason he gets picked-on. His teacher  tells him that while he may not want to be the guy working in the lab, surrounded by test tubes, that’s who he is, like it or not. “You can’t be the prom king,” he says. “You can’t be the quarterback. You can’t be a superhero.” Locke’s retort is one we’ve heard him use before: “Don’t tell me what I can’t do.”

So it seems that Richard Alpert, always defying the aging process, has been watching over John Locke for his whole life. But on whose behalf? And what is Alpert’s connection, if any, to another familiar figure who shows up in John’s pre-island life?

The fourth flashback captures John at the physical rehabilitation facility where he is living after being paralyzed. After a trying workout, an orderly wheels him back to his room. We don’t see his face at first, but the distinct voice registers immediately as he engages Locke in conversation. Soon enough we get a look at him: Matthew Abbadon. He calls Locke’s survival from an eight-story fall a miracle, and then suggests that Locke go on a walkabout, insisting it will do him good. Locke points out that he’s a cripple, ill-suited to walking about anything. Abbadon tells him, “I went on my walkabout convinced I was one thing, but I came back another. I found out what I was made of; who I was.” Before leaving John, he adds, “When you’re ready Mr. Locke, you’ll listen to what I’m saying. And then, when you and me run into each other again, you’ll owe me one.”

I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait until they run into each other again.

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MARTIAL LAW
Let’s switch gears for a bit and focus on the freighter. It was a big night for Lost‘s Number One asshole, Martin Keamy, who returned to the freighter with his smoke-ravaged crew. Apparently, the Black Smoke did some pretty intense damage after all. When the freighter’s doctor (still alive despite already washing up dead on the beach) asks Keamy what attacked the most severely injured man, Keamy replies, “A black pillar of smoke. Threw him 50 feet in the air. Ripped his guts out.” He says this rather nonchalantly, without the slightest trace of surprise or bewilderment that he’d been attacked by a mass of thick smoke. Maybe because he wasn’t surprised? Maybe because he knew about the smoke? If Widmore knows about the Black Smoke – which seems conceivable – then maybe Keamy had been warned about it. Widmore seems to be keeping his man well-informed, considering that Keamy knows that the safe in Captain Gault’s office contains something he calls a “secondary protocol.” He opens the safe despite Gault’s objections that he’s breaking what I guess would be first protocol. Inside he finds a packet of papers that includes a Dharma logo. He tells Gault he’s looking for the one safe place on the island that Ben could go to if he expected the island to be torched. This place must be what Ben referred to as The Temple when he tried to send Alex to safety. I wonder if The Temple is the same place as the Dharma station known as The Orchid. I mentioned that station a couple of weeks ago, along with a link to a Dharma orientation video that sheds some light on just what the Orchid is equipped to study. Did you watch that video? Seriously…you should.

Anyway, Captain Gault is alarmed to hear of Keamy’s plan to “torch” the island. “That was not the agreement! I agreed to ferry you here for an extraction mission,” he says. Growing increasingly wary of Keamy’s intentions, Gault offers to help Sayid and Desmond protect their people by readying the freighter’s inflatable, motorized raft for them to take back to the island and start rescue runs. Desmond declines, telling Sayid “I’ve been on that island for three years. I’m never setting foot on it again. Not when Penny’s coming for me.” So Sayid heads off alone, keeping in mind Gault’s warning to stay on Faraday’s bearing.

Keamy’s comment about torching the island made me wonder: does he intend to wipe out the island’s inhabitants, or actually destroy the entire island? Because the latter agenda wouldn’t seem to be in Widmore’s best interest…unless Widmore, through the methods of time travel that seem to be taking on more significance, could then travel back to a time before Ben “stole” the island from him. Man, my head is spinning.

When night falls, Keamy begins loading up the chopper with his crew and a whole lotta heavy artillery. But Frank refuses to pilot him back to the island, objecting to Keamy’s mission and explaining that he was hired to fly scientists. Knowing that killing Frank won’t help his cause, Keamy instead tries to motivate him by slitting the doctor’s throat and tossing him overboard. (A mystery solved!!!) That’s when Gault shows up pointing a gun at Keamy and threatening to fire if doesn’t stand down. Keamy shows off some kind of device, which looks like a small radio or walkie-talkie, strapped to his arm. He warns that shooting him would be a bad idea. What is this device, and what will happen if Gault shoots? Keamy manages to shoot first, and Gault falls to the deck, apparently dead. Now properly motivated, Frank boards the chopper and discreetly starts wrapping a satellite phone in a backpack. From afar, Desmond watches this all unfold.

When the chopper flies over the island, the beach crew hears the propellers approaching and gathers to see what they hope will finally be their salvation. The chopper continues flying over the island, but as it passes the beach, a package is tossed out. It smashes the roof of what I believe is Claire’s tent, (the crib is visible next to it – the crib which still contains Charlie’s Drive Shaft ring). Jack retrieves the package, which turns out to be the backpack in which Frank put the satellite phone. Jack looks at it and sees the copter’s signal moving further across the island. He infers that they are supposed to follow. (Minor point, but I’ll mention anyway that Dan and Charlotte were nowhere to be seen when the chopper flew by. Given the grilling they’ve received from everyone on the beach, you’d think they’d be right there with everyone else watching the approach.)

One more note about the freighter activities. When Keamy discovers that Michael revealed his identity to Ben, he goes down to Michael’s room and finds him chained to the bed. Keamy tries to shoot him…but doesn’t. Did the gun jam, or was it empty? More to the point, is Michael still under the “protection” of the island? Is he, for the moment, unable to die? When Keamy learns that Michael is also responsible for wrecking the engine room, the beating begins. Sayid, starting to feel guilty for turning him in, later asks Gault if Michael is dead. “No,” the captain replies, “but not for lack of bloody trying.” How long will the island keep Michael safe? And when Frank went to help him out of his room later, was he really planning to take him down to the engine room as he told Keamy, or was he trying to help him get somewhere safe?

WE’RE OFF TO SEE THE WIZARD
We’ve talked so far about Locke’s past and two mysterious figures who have attempted to manipulate it. Let’s turn our attention to the man’s present as he, Ben and Hurley continue their search for Jacob’s cabin. While the others sleep, Locke dreams of an encounter in the woods with a Dharma mathematician named Horace. We’ve met Horace before, of course. He and his wife happened upon Roger and Emily Linus after she went into early labor while on a hike outside of Portland. They tried to get her to the hospital, but she died by the side of the road with her newborn baby, Ben, in her arms. Some years later, Horace brought Roger, with Ben, to the island to work for the Dharma Initiative. That didn’t turn out so well for Horace, who was eventually killed when Ben and his followers – including Richard Alpert – gassed all things Dharma in a massive purge (an act which Ben cryptically tells Hurley was not his decision. “But I thought you were their [the Others’] leader?” Hurley asks. “Not always,” Ben says). When last we saw Horace, he was sitting on a bench, dead, blood trickling down from his nose. Now Locke encounters him in the jungle, chopping wood to build a cabin for him and his wife. “You gotta find me, John. You gotta find me. And when you do, you’ll find him,” Horace says.

“Who?” Locke asks.

“Jacob,” answers Horace. “He’s been waiting for you a real long time.”

Is Horace going to take on more significance as the mystery of Jacob evolves? Did Horace really build the cabin that Jacob now calls home? If so, when did Jacob take possession of it? Was he on the island before the cabin was built? How long has Jacob been on the island?

Reinvigorated by his dream, Locke leads his companions to the Dharma mass grave, where he was shot by Ben not long before. He starts poking through the bodies until he finds the one wearing Horace’s uniform. Sure enough, he finds a map to the cabin in Horace’s pocket. The quest continues. All the while, Ben is unusually subdued. He appears to recognize that Locke’s role in the island’s future is growing while his own is dwindling. When John wakes from his dream with Horace, Ben is staring at him knowingly (in yet another perfectly-played moment by Michael Emerson – how does he do it??). “I used to have dreams,” he muses. When they finally find the cabin, accurately portrayed on Horace’s map, Ben declines to enter with Locke. “The island wanted me to get sick,” he says, referring to his spinal tumor. “It wanted you to get well. My time is over, John. It’s yours now.” But he has also warned John about what lies in store for him. “You’ll understand soon enough that there are consequences to being chosen. Because destiny, John, is a fickle bitch.”

Does Ben really believe that the sun is setting on him? Or perhaps he is once again manipulating Locke, bolstering his sense of purpose only to soon deliver another shot to the gut (if not literally, this time). As always, Ben is impossible to read. When Locke offers Hurley a chance to go back to the beach, but does it in a way that makes staying more attractive, Ben is impressed. Locke responds to Ben’s suggestion that he tricked Hurley into staying, telling him, “I’m not you.” And having just commended him, Ben brings him back down a notch, saying, “You’re certainly not.”

DEAD OR ALIVE?
Or something in between? Locke enters the cabin and does not find Jacob, but a man who says, “I can speak on his behalf.” That man is Christian Shephard…and he’s not alone. Oh no. As Locke soon realizes, Claire is in the cabin too! She seems quite calm, almost bemused, and certainly not quite herself. She also seems to share the level of knowledge that Christian has, which would mean she knows a lot more about what’s happening than Locke does. He asks why she’s there and where the baby is, but Christian assures him that “the baby is where he’s supposed to be,” and redirects Locke’s attention to the topic of urgency: Keamy’s imminent return to the island. “How do I save the island?” asks Locke – a question which I think will, in large part, define the final two seasons of the series.

Whatever happens next, we don’t know. We move outside to Hurley and Ben, who silently share a chocolate bar in a moment perfectly played, yet again, by Emerson and Jorge Garcia. (I’ve already made my case for Michael Emerson winning an Emmy this year, but Jorge Garcia has definitely earned a nomination for his stellar Season Four work). When Locke emerges, they ask him if Jacob told him what to do. Locke answers, “He wants us to move the island.”

Oh, is that all? Shouldn’t be a problem, right? If the cabin can move from spot to spot, why not the island? Does the island shift around with regularity? Is this why it is so hard to find? Why is the island so hard to find? Why is Ben so sure that Widmore won’t be able to locate it?

Hell, forget that. The real question? What is Claire doing in that cabin?!!? Some speculation I’ve read online suggests that she did not survive the explosion when Keamy blew up her house at New Otherton. If that’s true, then she continued to exist in some sort of in-between state – still corporeal enough to carry Aaron and be seen by Sawyer, but ghostly enough to attract some extra attention from Miles. If she is dead, what does that say about the vision Desmond had of her and Aaron leaving the island in a helicopter? Is that just going to be left unexplained? Charlie died for that vision, damnit! And all of Desmond’s other visions came true, at least until he personally interfered with the outcomes. So why should this one be any different? On the other hand, if she is alive, what does that say about Christian? How real is he if Claire is quite comfortably hanging with him in Horace’s love shack? For four seasons, Claire has too often been relegated to the sidelines. With this head-scratching new development, let’s hope her story arc is about to become more pertinent to the show’s mythology. (I don’t think it was an accident that the writers had Frank’s backpack crush Claire’s tent. Seeing the crib served as a reminder of what waits there for her if she ever gets back to find it…and if she did die in the explosion, the destruction of her beach house is a clever way of hinting at that fate.

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FINAL THOUGHTS
As I said at the beginning, there are a lot of things I want to point out about the events of this episode, but I ran out of time. There is a week off between tonight’s episode and the two-hour-finale; bad news for our drug habit, good news for my writing habit. I’ll use the week off to address all that I couldn’t fit in here, and I’ll leave you with this tease of some things on my mind: backgammon, premature babies and the mothers who birthed them, and the compass.

Tonight’s Episode: There’s No Place Like Home (Part I)

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