Lighthouse

The title of this episode was "Lighthouse", which is also the name of a Canadian rock band that formed in 1969. What do these 2 things have to do with each other? Nothing...I just thought it was interesting... I wish it had been called 'Firehouse" because then I could have linked it to THIS, which, had I been held back one more year in high school, would have been a sweet jam to slow dance to at the prom...
But alas, I was too smart to be held back...mostly because I used words like alas..
All of this reflecting back to the old days allows me to draw a direct reference to ALL of the reflecting that was going on in this week's episode... it opened with Jack staring at himself in the water.... then there were some shots of him staring into a mirror in his side flash bachelor pad...
Which leads me to point #1: Jack's appendix scar... he couldn't recall when that happened and his mom told him that when he was 7, he collapsed and his dad wanted to do the surgery but they wouldn't let him... Let me hypothesize this: Let's say Jack was born in 1970... In 1977, a hydrogen bomb exploded on an island in the South Pacific, blowing up a time traveling 37 year old Jack Shepard...at that same moment, a 7 year old Jack Shepard's appendix burst... hey, color me crazy but that's where my mind went...
But let's stick to the facts as they were presented to us....

Jack has a BOY!! Hey, congrats! A bouncing, bright, bushy haired malcontent who likes mint milano cookies and Pepsi....named David... now I don't want to get all Biblical on you guys...aw, who am I kidding... DAVID SHEPHARD..CHRISTIAN SHEPHARD... JACK SHEPHARD...oh wait...that last one wasn't in the Bible..but if you think Jack is a nickname given to a dude named John, well then...JOHN SHEPHARD.... I guess what I'm severely hinting at is that these Shephards are the chosen ones... to do something... be excellent doctors, piano players... Island protectors... but let's stay on course...

Another reference to "candidates"... SO I guess the stuff we've been seeing all this time is Jack's audition to become Jacob's replacement...but before we get there let's deal with the son of Jack..

Much like Locke's self realization and acceptance of his lot in life, Jack and David were able to rectify their situation and go share some pizza, making Jack Dad of the Day...which was a direct contrast to his on Island statement about being a terrible father... the old Jack would have been a terrible father, with the drugs and drinking and obsessive control freak things he had going on...but not new and improved side flash Jack..naw, this dude's got it together... which is nice to see... for once...
So if you ask me, we've seen Locke doing ok and now Jack is doing ok...now if this is the life they should have led without Jacob's "influence", then it looks ok to me... Or is it Matrix perfect? Everything settled nicely and neatly without much mess?
"The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist".... I've always liked the idea that what we see isn't what we get... especially with this show.. and I feel like this side flash is way too nice and neat... is it real?
Again I am getting off track...How cool was the courtyard meet up of Jack and Hurley? I think they should get their own spin off Odd Couple show...

Jacob gave Hurley the words to get Jack motivated, the opposite of what Jack's dad used to tell him.. You have what it takes... that was all Jack needed to get the old adventure juices flowing... of course, all this did was set Jack up once again to be toyed with, versus being told exactly what he should be doing..no...he had to see "how important" he was to the whole story...
So without rehashing the coolness of the Lighthouse and the names on the dial, here's the cliff notes in pictures:


Big wheel with names...

This doesn't seem to be doctored at all... check out number 20: Rousseau...

When the dial hits the corresponding person, then you get a peep show into their houses...in this reflection, its where Sun and Jin got married....another shot looked like the church where Sawyer's parents funeral was...and then there was Jack's house, which lead to this great shot:

HAHAHAHAH I love high definition! You wouldn't get this great a shot with some old VCR...hahaha
It all ended with Jacob telling Hurley that some guys you can just tell the truth to, and some guys need to trek across the jungle through time and space and blow up a hydrogen bomb, which killed an old girlfriend he kissed who took his appendix out before they realize what they need to do... it's really that simple....
But before I forget, this episode had some other developments, although I have yet to see the importance of this but in fairness to all readers, I wouldn't be doing my job without mentioning Claire..

I don't particularly care for this part of the story line...why wait until the last damn season to address this "infection" stuff? It better have a good payoff... does it explain why Desmond shot himself with those drugs before he went outside the Hatch? Are we going to see this stuff play out?
And what about Claire and the time jumping? Did she jump all those times that everyone else did? It doesn't sound like it, if the Others were hunting her all that time....and she was imprisoned at the Temple at some time as well, which makes me wonder how she got out of that...did her "friend" save her? How did he get in?
And who was her "friend"?

This smiling crazy guy right here... how do you think Sawyer's going to react when he sees both Jin AND Claire?? Something is bound to go down...
All this storyline does is add more mystery...and it's time to tone that stuff down and start answering some other questions....like where the hell is Vincent? Was that him in the crib in Claire's tent? Did she eat him?? WTF?
That's all I gots peeps.... too many questions raised.... crazy....

The Substitute

First thing about this episode that I want to put out there is Terry O'Quinn is an acting juggernaut... He's like Obi Wan Kenobi...kill his character and he only becomes more powerful than before... Can you imagine what it's like to be an actor and read the scene where your character, the guy you gave blood, sweat and tears portraying for 4 years, is laying dead in a coffin at the end of the 4th of 6 seasons? I'd feel a little jipped! But my dude TO'Q just brought that much more to his love of acting and is right now playing a part that should win him an Emmy....
His portrayal of John Locke Side Flash is brilliant....To go back to playing the guy who doesn't have hope or a clear life path, stuck in a wheelchair, while also playing the newest most evil bad guy on the Island is sheer acting genius.
Ok...enough of my bromance with TO'Q.... let's get into it, shall we?
Hey LOOK! It's Helen!!
Aw sweet Peg Bundy... or if you are a fan of SAMCRO, you'd know her as Gemma Morrow, one bad mama...but I'm just bragging about other shows I like...

The Side Flash is starting to take a little shape..and the reason that might be will be explained later...for now, let's just embrace the fact that in this reality, John Locke is still a box man, lying about his walkabout, who's still bound to a wheelchair....but he's also got the love of his life, Helen with him...and they are getting married! Yay!!
And I know EG was beside herself during Locke's tub scene...that's a sweet shout out to an LFC Original! Hey E, you still have that toy Locke next to your bed?? LOL... she's gotta crush ya'll...
Again, I digress... The point was that Side Locke isn't that much different..still tired of people telling him what he can't do... and I don't know what to make of how he arrived in the wheelchair in this reality...the fact that Helen even suggested that his father come to the elopement was an indicator to me that his dad did not throw him out the window....so how was Locke injured? Will we find out?
Honestly, does it matter? It's just another mystery and this season is already short to begin with.. I think what the side way flashes are trying to tell us is that these characters are seeking their own redemption or acceptance of their lives...
So my gal Rose comes on the scene and basically tells Locke that he needs to start getting real...

That's life, she explained... If she was Clint Eastwood she would have said Either get busy livin', or get busy dying.... and Locke finally came clean with Helen that he was tired of waiting on a miracle, cause they don't exist... and she didn't leave him when he came clean either... She just told him she loved him and that's all she cares about, which is SO different than what we are used to seeing on this show...an actual resolution.. no weird looks or ominous music...an actual happy ending of sorts...

That is until Locke got his new job as a substitute teacher and now he's gotta deal with this SOB

HAHA I TOLD you guys that Ben would show up as a teacher... wow..it was like seeing Darth Vader bitching about who left the seat down... To see Ben complaining about the coffee and NO ONE was even giving him the time of day was a nice change of pace.. I hope we get to see more of this story... because if life changed for our LOSTIES in 1977, it sure changed for Ben as well... how is still to be determined..
A nice segue back to the island time is to mention the heartfelt eulogy Ben gave to Locke... seriously, that had to be the best line of LOST in a while...these guys are really packing a lot of one liners in this season that are cracking me up...

But while it was nice to see Locke finally looking like he wasn't getting the stinky end of the stick, this episode really wasn't about all of that...it was about Fake Locke, the Smoke Monster/Man in Black leading a recruiting party and swallowing up one of our fair heroes, James "Sawyer" Ford..

Seriously, how cool is this screen shot? I need this on a t shirt!
Sawyer knew he wasn't dealing with the same John Locke this time around...either he was drunk and playing it extremely cool or he really doesn't give a flip anymore... it was interesting to see the similarities of this episode in comparison of the episode where Sawyer followed Locke to the Black Rock and killed the real Sawyer Jabba the Hutt style... except this time Sawyer had shoes on...and a bad attitude.. demanding to know what was going on and getting a semi answer was actually pretty cool... but the Smoke Monster could have just as easily killed Sawyer than to deal with him, so why didn't he?

Because of this little dude.... who when first spotted by Fake Locke, had blood all over his hands... I dipped into my symbolism 101 handbook and came up with my take on that scene: Fake Locke knew that he had blood on his hands for Jacob's murder...seeing this vision reminded him that he messed up.. then when both he and Sawyer saw the boy, he appeared to be real, since Sawyer could also see him... which makes me think that Jacob was able to communicate with the boy and was using him to remind Fake Locke of the "rules".. "You can't kill him, you know the rules"... to which Fake Locke screamed out like the real Locke with a "don't tell me what I can't do!".... I love the little nuances this Fake Locke is picking up with his new body..The grasp of the machete, the taste of the bourbon Sawyer poured for him.. the yelling out of Locke like sayings... anyway..
So what are the rules?
Apparently the cast aways have been "chosen" by Jacob to take his place in protecting the Island, making them all "candidates"...I love when we finally get an answer to something that's more complicated than the question was in the first damn place...
But as Fake Locke put it, what if Jacob hadn't interfered in their lives? What if they had never been touched by him? What would their lives be like?
Well I think we are seeing this in the Side Flashes... and Locke's story so far has lead him to a happier place.. I think it's too early to see Kate's but it looks like we could say that the fact that she went back for Claire and helped her to the hospital was a sign of some redemption...may be more to come on that one...
So now Fake Locke has recruited Sawyer into helping him leave the island..and something tells me he has to get ALL of the "candidates" to choose to leave or else he won't be able to leave his trapped existence... Man, I CAN'T wait to see how his story plays out!!
Well that's my time!! See you on the flippidy flip, kiddos!