Wading in the Velvet Sea

Gone Daddy Gone

For only the 483rd time in the history of “Lost”, we learn in this week’s flashbacks that a character on the Island has daddy issues. Only whoops, my bad, we already knew Kate did, right around the time she done blew him up good. For reasons that escape me fully, she drove to confront her mother to essentially ask, “Didn’t you like the card I made you in school today?”, although in Kate’s case the question was more like, “Didn’t I make Dad explode most prettily?”

I’m all but convinced at this point that the show’s about the lack of proper father figures in the lives of these castaways. Papa Jack, Papa Locke, Papa Kate, Papa Aaron, Papa Gino’s, I mean, all of them turn out to be profoundly awful influences upon their childrens' psyches. One hug from any of them and Oceanic 815 lands safely, I swear. In this week’s flashback, we learn the lovely lesson, via Kate’s mom, that sometimes women just love bastards, and there isn’t anything you can do about it, except not blow them up. But if you do, make sure that if you crashland on a mystical island, to try and sleep with the guy who most resembles the bastard that beat your mom and sexually abused you. Fantastic lesson to be learned. Can’t wait for this episode to be recognized at the next NOW meeting.

All hyperbole aside, this week’s flashback served to essentially reinforce the plot on the main island, which can be summed up as “betrayal by those you loved”. Kate’s betrayed by her mother, Cassidy’s betrayed by Sawyer, Jack’s betrayed by Kate, and Juliet’s betrayed by the Others. OK, Juliet didn’t exactly LOVE the Others, but there’s a lot for the show to fill in, concerning her time with the Others up until Hydra Island. But honestly, what did the flashback do other than this? Connect Kate to Sawyer via Cassidy? I don’t care about Cassidy! When we found out that Claire and Jack were half-siblings, at least I cared about or had a history with the connecting person: Christian Shepard. If they hadn’t shown Cassidy on the “previously on” before the show, I never, ever, ever would have put two and two together.

Which begs the question: why involve Cassidy at all? Kate’s flashback ostensibly stems from her guilt over her selfishness in trying to help Jack. As Kate’s mom says, “What you did, you did for yourself,” in reference to the house fire that killed her father. That’s fine and all, but really served no purpose during her scenes with Juliet in the wilderness. As such, each time a flashback reared up, I groaned a little, since there were a whole lot of interesting things going on on the Island itself. But then again, don’t we all groan a little each time we get a Juliet flashback? Kinda goes with the territory, I guess.

Only You (And Sonic Fences) Can Prevent Smoke Monsters

Now here comes the “I told you so” moment. Or rather, what I posited in a letter I wrote to Entertainment Weekly “Lost” guru Jeff Jensen. He actually published the appropriate part today, in which I posit:

''I think that the notion that The Island can produce one's wishes/desires/worst fears is something The Others know about and have experienced…they may not be able to explain why it happens, but they acknowledge it. But they CANNOT control it. ... This gets us back to the sonic fence: what if it's meant not to keep the Lostaways out, but to keep The Others safe from Smokey?''

Ding ding ding! Yours truly gets one big ass Dharma Initiative cookie.

I don’t mean to brag, but like, this is the first thing I’ve correctly predicted in a long time about this show. I think at some point in Season 2, I correctly predicted that Ana-Lucia would look constipated in that night’s episode. Since then, I’ve been running a cold streak. So allow me a little hooting and/or hollering here.

So, what did we learn about Smokey this week? Indeed, that sonic fence keeps it out of Otherville, although as I’m sure 18 people over at Television Without Pity have already asked, “Why can’t it just go over the top?” I’m not even going to touch that question at the time, but we know have conclusively evidence that Locke’s Dad, seen two weeks ago, was NOT Smokey. As I mention above, Smokey is not the only shape-shifter/wish provider on the Island, but rather tied into those properties. Indeed, it may even BESTOW those properties around, tossing about those properties like so much fairie dust.

The other thing we learned this week? Why Locke saw a bright light upon first seeing the Monster. No longer do we have to worry about two monsters, one Light, one Dark (like the backgammon board, making an appearance in the Others Arcade tonight). As to why Smokey equipped its anti-redeye strobe upon Juliet/Kate, well, that is still a mystery. Maybe Smokey's been taking the photos to be developed at Dharma One-Hour Photo, and Jacob's there behind the counter saying, "Look, I know we've been over this, but...look, look, just give me the damn smoke camera so I can set the flash for you. Can't have the people on my list looking like the children of the damned."

(Also? I think I finally understand the implication behind this promo ad. Very, very, very intriguing in light of this week. Who is collecting these photos?)

Clearly, it was Juliet’s first encounter with the Monster, so perhaps the Monster was taking inventory of a new species. But if that were the case, why haven’t we ever seen this happen before? When Smokey met Eko in Season 2, we saw what looked like a computer screen playing Eko’s memories. It’s not a first occurrence, this flashing, but it’s the first we’ve seen it, and therefore, very important.

All this makes Locke even more vital to the Others than ever.

UnLocke-ing the Island

As I mentioned in my review of “The Man From Tallahassee” two weeks ago, Locke achieved a certain level of status amongst the Others due to his communion with the Island, and the metaphorical “magic box” on it. I don’t want to keep saying “magic box”, though, so from now on, I’m referring to it as “Copperfield”. I posited that he would be given a position of faux power within the Others due to this communion, especially with Smokey. And I posited this due to the fact that I felt the Others were living in a community that was the only place on the island fully protected from Smokey.

OK, so we know at least the latter posit was correct, which means that The Others, in a sense, have been trapped in that commune. That might explain two things we’ve always wondered about them: 1) why do they move with virtually no sound/tracks, and 2) why did they wear those god-awful brown clothes in Season 2? Note well that Juliet and Kate fell into a vat of mud just outside the sonic fence, mud that resembled the color of those brown-brown unis from Season 2, as if UPS and a fraternity teamed up against their will to produce a fashion line. Note well also that it didn’t take much more than Juliet’s stifled moans to allow Smokey to accurately locate them.

As such, Locke becomes the best protection from Smokey that the Others have ever had. Ben doesn’t trust Locke to know how to exploit his relationship with the Island, but definitely wants Locke on his side once John fully achieves communion on a conscious, not simply subconscious, level. Leaving Juliet and Jack behind makes sense for Ben as well, as these were the two biggest obstacles towards achieving total dominance within The Others. This type of social math: The Others – (Jack + Juliet) + Locke = A Much Happier, Stronger Ben.

As for the sounds Smokey makes: I’d love to hear what you hear in the sound mix. I hear a dot-matrix typewriter, some grunting, some foot-stomps, and what sounds like a 90-year old who’d been smoking Marlboro Reds since she was six. Also, did anyone notice that when Smokey retreated from the fence, it broke up into what looked like a herd of black horses?

Free Your Mind

One more thing and we’ll call it a week here.

I’ve mentioned the significance of rain on “Lost” more than once. It happens at critical moments in the show, and not merely for dramatic effect, I feel. One of the six Dharma Initiative projects centered around meteorology. This was one of the six factors in the Valenzetti Equation that predicted the end of the world. Dharma peeps were extremely interested in changing any of the six variables (hence the six stations). And tonight, we heard Juliet casually predict a rain storm just before it started. And not a simple, starts off slow, builds and builds, and then tapers, type of storm, oh no. This was a “hey, it was just sunny a second ago, and now we’re now in Katrina-esque weather here, people” storm. About the only kind of storm there is on this island.

So today’s study question: do The Others have access to more brainpower than the Lostaways?

This isn’t a question of smarts, but merely brain activity. After all, we’re always told we use, what, 10% of our brains? What if the Island allows you to access more brain functionality? What if the Dharma Initiative not only sent its workers there due its hidden location, but because they’d have braniacs galore at their disposal once there? Let’s think about this for a second. The Others know a ridiculous amount about each Lostaway, way too much to chalk up to mere briefings. They seem to read people very well, which could be a function of parapsychology or good ol’ fashioned psychology. They seem to have freakish strength and agility. And now, we have hints that they know when the weather’s going to change.

All of these things point to the possibility that The Others are superhuman. Human, for sure, but something qualitatively different than those on Oceanic 815.

Except for John Locke.

He’s the difference maker, belonging to neither The Others nor The Lostaways, but to the island itself. He’s the one to make or break things now on the island. For all their advantages, The Others still do not have whatever unique communion with the Island that he has. It’s why Ben fears him, and why he’s holding him closer to the vest than ever.

But by the end of Season 3, Locke will have grown tired of The Others. And that’s when things will start to get very, very interesting.