Quote: "You're not supposed to raise him, Jack."
I say my... my slow descent
into alcoholism, it went
to my head, where I really need it
with the views that remain untreated.
-The New Pornographers
I have to say, I'm loving Jack's slow evolution into the addicted, bearded crazy man we caught a glimpse of in last year's season finale. But I still can't believe we've had two straight weeks with no freighter! Arrgh! At least that will be corrected with next week's installment. Onward!
1. What happened to Claire?
Two things here:
1. Claire disappearing does give me some hope that she may survive the season, since there's now a path for Aaron to get off the island without her. Sawyer will bring Aaron back to the beach and give him to Kate and Jack who are leaving. Jack will initially refuse, but Juliet will then drop the "he's your nephew" bomb on him and he'll take him along using Kate as a mommy proxy. Jack certainly seemed to know Aaron was his nephew from his angry "you're not even related to him" remark to Kate.
The only problem with this is Desmond's vision of Claire and Aaron leaving the island together. Was he wrong or did he lie to Charlie to get him to swim down to the Looking Glass?
2. Going back over my previous thoughts on Aaron and Claire, this episode certainly gives credence to the "Richard Malkin wasn't a total fraud" theory, given that the "raised by another" meme appears to be important after all. This means that either 1) Malkin is an actual psychic or 2) he's a fraud who had at least one real vision in his life. I'm still leaning towards the latter given his scene with Eko, but I suppose it's also possible Malkin had a visit from a Christian Shepherd like ghost (or Ms. Hawking, perhaps) who convinced him what needed to be done.
So what did happen to Claire? Where did Smokey or Jacob lead her? Will she show up in Jacob's cabin next week? I hope we get an answer to this before the season is over.
2. What did Sawyer want Kate to do for him?
Presumably, check in on his daughter. And I imagine Kate was talking with Cassidy on the phone when Jack walked in. Sawyer probably tells her to look up Cassidy and make sure Clementine is okay. That'll probably be an amusing scene given Kate already knows her. :)
3. What's the flashforward timeline so far?
Putting together what we know about the post-island timeline so far.
1. Sun - July/August 2005. Hurley visited Sun shortly after she gave birth and, presumably, her due date was sometime in July.
2. Ben - October 24th, 2005. Ben asks the desk clerk at the hotel what the date was.
3. Kate/Hurley - June/July 2007. Aaron's pretty big by the end of the trial. Obviously they used the same young actor, but Jack and Kate must have started hooking up shortly after the trial finished. Hurley's flashforward probably took place shortly afterward (or even during Kate's trial) given that Jack had already started to drink by that point although he didn't seem to be living with Kate at the time.
4. Jack #2 - August 31st, 2007. Date of last year's three game sweep of the Red Sox by the Yankees. This date is fairly certain given the details of the game in the newspaper article.
5. Jack #1 - April 2008? If the newspaper clipping from "Through The Looking Glass" is to be believed, the date for this flashback is April 7th, 2007. However, given this episode's flashforward, that can't be correct considering Jack doesn't have his beard yet and has just started down the long road to addiction. According to Lostpedia, the writers have apparently said not to take the newspaper clipping's details as perfect canon. But April 2008 would seem about right, eight months after Jack's breakup with Kate.
6. Sayid - 2006 to 2008? Would have been at least a year after Ben's, given that Sayid had already completed a couple missions for Ben and he spent some considerable time in Berlin. Could have completely overlapped Jack's last two flashbacks.
4. Are the Island's healing properties fading away?
If so, it probably doesn't bode well for Rose (and I have to say I'm so happy she and Bernard have been given some significant face-time this season). And what of Ben's tumor? Or Locke's legs? Are we going to see Locke's wheelchair again before the end of the season?
5. Anyone else going to die this season?
Well, I guess Danielle's actually dead after all. That sucks. Now who's going to tell her story? Will she become a ghost on the island and tell it to Miles?
But I'm guessing we're probably not going to make it through the rest of the season without losing somebody. After this episode, I'd say both Jin and Claire's chances of surviving increased, given that there are not plausible scenarios for both Sun and Aaron to get off the island without their significant other... people.
However, and this saddens me greatly, I'd say Juliet's chances of getting offed just went up like tenfold given that 1) she wants to get off the island more than anything 2) if she did, we would have almost certainly seen her in a flashforward by now and 3) she's already had an episode this season and it was a flashback. Since from Day 1 she was either going to get off the island or die trying, I'm now starting to think it's going to be the latter.
Boo! Elizabeth Mitchell was robbed of an Emmy nomination last year too. She and her character deserve better (although Juliet deserves better than Jack).
Other Tidbits
* The book Jack is reading to Aaron is "Alice in Wonderland"
* The prescription Jack asks Ericka to write for him is for Clonazepam, the same drug Hurley asked Jack for to stop him for seeing things back in "Dave."
* When Jack was reading the x-rays of someone with a tumor on their L4 vertebrae, I thought for sure they were going to end up being Ben's, given that that's exactly where Ben's tumor was growing.
* Some observations from friends and fiancées more perceptive than I:
Both Em and Fumiko are quite tired of Kate (with Em using much, much stronger language). :)
Em also was wondering if Jack had a scar from his surgery? I couldn't see one in any of the screencaps, but there really weren't any close ups. I don't think Hurley's idea that they died getting off the island was correct (especially given that Ben's flashfoward seemed quite real), but if it was, having no scar would be a cool touch.
Matt was amused by the "smokey-detector" going off right before Christian's appearance to Jack.
Is "CLAAAAIIRRREEE" the new "WAAAAAAAAALLLTTTTTT?" :)
Summary: Despite the great flashforward, this episode was a bit of a comedown simply because the whole appendectomy storyline seemed somewhat unnecessary (although, if the island's healing powers are waning, that does change things a bit). And even though I thought Kate was actually pretty good in this episode, I really wish they give her something meatier to do than fawn all over Jack and Sawyer. My hope is that, once the Oceanic Six begin to get the band back together to return to the Island (which I suspect is what Season 5 is going to be about), Kate will have to return a bit to her criminal roots. Remember that, at the very least, she can't leave the state, which may cause a few legal problems in trying to return to a remote Island. Still, I'll give it a 3.5/5 for effort. Greatly looking forward to next week.
9 comments:
You didn't mention my favorite part: Jin totally calling Charlotte out on knowing Korean. Also, I would have to say that his promise to Sun to get she and their baby off of the Island bodes ill for Jin. He doesn't necessarily die, but I don't think he gets off.
I also liked Rose's insight to Jack getting sick.
Ed and I also don't by Hurley's theory. Ed pointed out that while it may be too simple, you can't discard the fact that Hurley is a diagnosed schizophrenic who is/or should be on anti-psychotics. But also, as you pointed out, the Ben/Sayid/Widmore story seems too real, and Sayid has been listed as one of the Oceanic 6.
I really liked this episode, not so much for the main story (although I will agree with enjoying the fall of Jack- commendable job by Fox), but mostly for all of the little tidbits on the side: Claire, Jin and Charlotte, Rose, etc.
One last thing on Claaaiiiirreee! She's dead. If she's not, the writer's fucked up. There is no way she would leave Aaron behind. (Ed thinks she died at the blast. He thought it very odd that a) she survived, period and b)that she had no injuries.)
For me this episode was a bit of a let down also. I mean any episode of Lost is great, but it definitely wasn't in the top 10. I hate that Rousseau is really dead. I imagine we will still see her in flashbacks but still.... it sucks.
Yeah, it's a good theory, Claire dying in the blast. I don't know how she could have survived her house being blown to bits. Claire disappearing with "Dad" was very interesting and just another huh? What? haha.
Jin- cool as ever. Most of the men in this show are down right yummy, except Michael of course. I never liked the Michael character at all.
Sheesh, I don't know why but I just can't stand Kate either. EEK!
Jay your score on this ep was just about right.
I agree Jay, right around a 3.5/5 seems right.
That being said - I have to tell you my biggest pet peeve of this show. The island is obviously supposed to be pretty big - whenever the Losties or the others need to go to other spots on the island it usually takes anywhere from 1-3 DAYS.
Knowing that, how is it possible that everyone keeps bumping into each other in the jungle? Think about it. Lapidus just happens to run into Sawyer, Claire and Miles, and Keamy's team is right behind? Even in past episodes....
- Keamy's team finding Alex, Danielle and Karl on their way to the Temple
-Kate bumping into Daniel and Charlotte in the jungle
I'm sure there are countless others, and it's just implausible for these random meetings to continue to happen! UUGGGHHH, it drives me nuts.
Mike
PS - Jay, I'm not too familiar with New Haven as I generally stay in Milford, but one great place is Sports Haven ( http://www.ctotb.com/sportshaven.asp ). Not sure if you like to gamble, but you can bet any horse track, dog track or jai alai match in the country there, as well as watch sports. Let me know when you arrive at Yale this summer and hopefully we can catch a Mets game.
Hi there Jay! You know there is something about Charlotte I just don't like, and watching Jin just call her out was great. Two things, you actually do see a scar on Jack when he is making coffee and turns to the kitchen island, you can see a faint, light scar above his towel on his right side. I rewound it during a commercial to look actually. And yes, that takes place Aug 07. I had a bet with my boss last summer on that series so I remember it well. (But, just to confirm it to myself, I also freeze-framed the article he was reading and then found the exact same article in the NY Times online from Aug 07 with a Google search).
I took Hurley's comments as more of a mental, spiritual death. It's like once you are on the island, once it has chosen you to come to it, you yourself are changed and can't go back to live a regular life. You have to go back, it calls you back. Like with Michael. Hurley was in a sense dead and Jack became that way too when they realized they had to go back. They were/are obsessed with it.
I agree it was likely something with Sawyer's daughter that Kate was doing, but I can understand Jack's concern with Kate lying to him. She does kinda have a history of that sort of thing. Why couldn't she just tell him the truth?
My feeling is that Claire is not literally dead at this point. The island wanted her for something. But what? why? how?
I totally forgot to mention the Jin/Charlotte scene (which I also liked). I did think that it's interesting Charlotte even knew Korean - we really need a flashback for her.
I actually just saw the screencap from Get Lost Podcast. You can clearly see the scar there (which is kind of a relief, honestly).
Claire already being dead is an interesting theory. I was pretty surprised too when she survived the blast. And I do like the fact that Sawyer has taken charge over her (and seems set to become defacto leader).
And, yeah, the Island seems to grow and shrink at the whim of the writers. Eh, what can you do.
I'll see how my schedule shakes out at Yale and let you know Mike. Always looking forward to a game. :)
Charlotte getting called out by both Jin and Dan was great. I liked that Jin was using his "work" experience to put the squeeze on Charlotte, even if he wouldn't really do it. It scared her good, and that's all that mattered. :-D
I'm tired of Kate's selfish skeeviness as well, and I'm also tired of Jack's self-absorbed whining. I think that they deserve each other, in a way.
I'm so sad about Danielle too. She didn't get to have her flashback! Unless the big thing that TPTB said had to happen first before we got it, was her death? I dunno, but you never know with hints from TPTB.
Good call on how Jack will find out about his sister, it didn't occur to me that it could be Juliet that tells him. It makes sense with her knowing his dossier and all that. I can't wait to see what goofy "Jackface" we get when he finds out. :-B
Great post!
I really love this show. I thought this ep was really good.
Great post as always.
P.S. That observation your friend made about the smoke alarm was so creepy! I didn't even notice that. Good Stuff.
I'd have to say you are much to picky when it comes to your "great" episodes. I thought this episode was great, considering that it had a flashforward. It is like Season 1..it's still new. Yet, it wasn't the GREATEST! I'd have to give it a 4.5/5 I mean at least! haha
CF
I thought the appendicitis storyline was unnecessary. On the other hand, the flash foward featuring Jack, Kate and Hurley was well done . . . and very important.
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