Wading in the Velvet Sea

The Flashback

You know, I didn’t see Eddie-as-a-cop, but I did see the Sawyer-working-with-the-warden twist from about minute five. The reasons? Well, the damn episode is called “Every Man For Himself”, and secondly, I’ve taken the following approach to each flashback: take it to its obvious conclusion, look ninety degrees to the right, and there you’ll have the real answer. Jack’s Dad wasn’t the mysterious “other man” with whom Sarah was having the affair anymore than Sawyer wasn’t working with the warden. It doesn’t make any sense, except in the context of the “Lost” storytelling model, and so there I go, much like a polar bear after a fish biscuit.

As for Sawyer having a daughter…hrm. Maybe I’m burned out from Logan Echolls suddenly having a half-brother, but this didn’t serve to terribly interest me. The reason for her existence---namely, to show how Sawyer can have compassion for someone that he loves---was in fact proven in the main plot, so tacking it on to the flashback didn’t serve any other purpose as reconfirmation of something we already knew. I want my flashbacks to either illuminate action on the island previously unfathomable or show something that casts everything the person has done on the island into a new light. This one did neither. Toss in the fact that the “A” story completely overshadowed the “B” story in terms of drama, tension, and purpose, and you have a not-terribly-great flashback this week.

Yellow Submarine

I mean, Ben did say “The sub is back”, didn’t he? And like, cause my brain to melt out of my ears?

Having a sub makes a sort of sense. It definitely ties into the Alvar Hanso’s work with the military before founding his…um, foundation. So the fact that a sub could exist here is exciting but also plausible. A submarine would be a heckuva way to transport people to and from an island that you don’t want anyone else to find.

The fact that The Other have co-opted it, however, doesn’t automatically confirm them as ex-Dharma-ites. Just means that that have a Hanso sub. Much handier than any sub Jared could provide.

A Tale of Two Islands

When Ben et al took Sawyer up the mountain, I was convinced they were going to show him the LostVillage. Couldn’t figure out why Ben would do that, but then again, I couldn’t figure out why he was pulling a “Dead Parrot Sketch” on Bunny #8, either. The camera pans, and we see…the freaking island. Which means Ben, Sawyer, and the gang are either on another island, or looking at the biggest mirror anyone’s ever created. (Quick, someone look up if “funhouse mirrors” is a field of interest for the DeGroots.)

So, that opens up a hundred and twenty-seven new questions. About 65 of them are variations of “BWA?”

So, let’s revisit. Clearly the Hydra station exists on this island. But The Other don’t live there permanently, which we know because in the premiere of Season 3, we see their village being on the island on which the plane crashes. So, when The Others remove Jack, Sawyer, and Kate from the group, they also removed them from the physical island.

So how come we’ve never seen this island before?

At first I thought: well, maybe the electromagnetic shield that hid the island works to conceal the outside world from the island, but that wouldn’t make sense, since how could we see the island from Alcatraz Times Two? And if the Hydra is on Island #2, how in the Sam Hell did the polar bears get to the original island? Is there a ginormous tunnel between islands for ferreting people and polar bears back and forth?

One more thing. Ben quotes “Of Mice and Men” (this week’s entry in the “Books You Should Read In Order to Get the Subtle Nuances of ‘Lost’” section of Barnes and Nobles) and says, among other things: ““I tell ya, a guy gets too lonely and he gets sick.” Does this relate to the “sickness” we keep hearing about? Is the island really there? Was it’s hyper-real look bad CGI or intentional?

I personally hate the idea of a second island, as it removed the specialness of the first one. I like the idea of this one, singular place that’s unique in all the world. I want it to be a snowflake, damnit. But the Ockham's Razor explaination is that this seocnd, smaller island exists, always has, and thanks to Smokey The Monster and the general inertia of the Losties, they've never seen it before.

We shall see.

Oh Baby

So Juliet’s a fertility doctor, which furthers my theory that The Others are in fact infertile. Couple that with Pickett’s peculiar reaction to his wife’s death (namely, beating up Sawyer to get Kate to express her emotions for him), and you’ve got some serious signs of a people that aren’t getting any younger. As bad as death is…when there’s no chance to ever repopulate, it must be that much worse. They may be taking a child for every Other lost, through natural or murderous means. A bit early to say. But definitely worth checking out.

Ultraviolet (Light My Way)

Couple that with Mr. Beardy’s cryptic statements about how they are “blind…our coms are all down” since the implosion of the hatch, and we’re finally starting to see the beginning of potential weakness within The Others. Up until now, they’ve been damn near omnipotent, so much so that it’s occasionally hard to root for The Losties. It’s like rooting for the Washington Wizards when playing the Harlem Globetrotters. Not a fun time. (Ed. Washington Generals, not Wizards, as per the comment. I knew that. Sigh.)

Couple that with the fear over the boat (taken care of by the U.S.S. Dharma U-boat, apparently), we now know that a lot of their infrastructure, technologically speaking, is down. Couple that with Desmond’s precog powers due to the blast, coupled with Penelope’s potential discovery of the Island, and we can hopefully see the tide turning away from the Others to the Losties. Just turning really, really, really slowly.

(Also...anyone catch the "Pulp Fiction" shoutout by an Other? They get Netflix on The Island? And I couldn't get next-day delivery of "The 40-Year Old Virgin" for 3 months? Yet another reason I am glad I cancelled my subscription with them.)

But here’s something to ponder about the electromagnetic explosion:

Was that Locke’s x-ray on the wall?

Think about it. A tumor on the spine. On a forty-year old. We’ve never learned why Locke was suddenly crippled…only that he was at some point….but the island cured him. The island also cured Rose….who had an inoperable tumor before crash-landing.

The promo wants to make us believe Ben has the tumor, but look, ninety degrees to the right: there’s Locke.

This explains everything Locke’s ever felt about the island, why he thinks it’s so special, and why he’ll do anything to protect it. He went back into the wheelchair during his flashback because he was off the island: before the tumor was healed. While he undoubtedly wants to save Jack, Kate, and Sawyer, he almost undoubtedly also wants to never leave the island. Couple that with how Ben courted Locke last year in the hatch, along with the seemingly endless supply of knowledge The Others have about everyone on the plane, and you have every reason to believe that’s Locke’s x-ray up there.

Or, like, it’s Ben’s. Guess that’s a possibility too.

***

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