Allie “Where’s Peter?” Townsend: Theories. I’ll show you mine if you show me yours.
Mike “Of Many Trades” Williams: Great episode. A few things:
1) This is the first time (I think) that the writers had a flashback to something that happened on the island.
2) Jacob isn’t the first guardian, Jacob’s adopted mother isn’t the first guardian, who was?
3) Is this the Garden of Eden? That would suck.
AT: 1) I felt like the flashback to Adam and Eve skeletons seemed a bit misplaced. They’ve never done it before, and while it is important, I feel as though they could have left it for viewers to discover and argue over like we have with most other island events. That’s half the fun.
(More on Techland: LOST S06E14 E-mail Chain: Tick, Tock, Bomb & Locke)
2) This episode seemed to confirm that this will go down a bit Biblical. I know the Jacob and Esau theory is rampant, but this episode neither confirmed or denied that it might be valid, and instead, just teased us more. We do know that they are twins. We still don’t know the Man In Black’s real name. It seemed like the classic one brother falls from grace scenario, and I wouldn’t be surprised if this story line completely surpasses even the Bible, to be something more organic in the realm of spirituality. Maybe Jacob and MIB (possible Esau) were the men that the tales of the Bible were based on, debunking scripture as pure mythology as it reveals that our belief system is based on something more: a balance of good and evil?
3) Garden of Eden? Sheesh, I hope not, but then again, LOST has never been afraid to hint toward Biblical themed plots. See: Last Supper cast shot.
MW: I think it’s fair to say that we’re not going to get any further explanation as to what the Light in the cave is. That’s going to be up to each viewer to decide on his or her own. I personally think it’s kind of a macguffin. It doesn’t really matter what it is. All that matters is that it is protected.
(More on Techland: LOST S06E13 E-Mail Chain: I’m on a Boat!)
What I want to know is how did the mother take out a whole village of people and then fill in that entire cave with fresh earth? If she could do that why not do it right from the beginning?
AT: I have a feeling it has something to do with “choices” – the everlasting theme-go-round of the show. I think this ‘woman’ was centuries old, and was there to find her replacement at all costs. What I think is interesting though, is if she brought the ship to the island (much like the plane) or if it was by chance, and she seized her opportunity. Jacob handpicked his players, and based on flashbacks, we know he appeared to the LOSTies off the island when they were kids. If this is all part of Jacob’s divine power, then I’m sure the Mother had a ton of fairy dust up her sleeve as well.
MW: I suppose it’s not coincidence that this scenario directly mirrors the first years of Desmond’s life on the Island. ‘Pushing the Button’, if you will. The relief that the former stewards display upon finding a new sucker is always the same.
(More on Techland: What Would Make V Worth Watching Again?)
AT: Agreed. And I’m glad we got the origin story of that damn wheel, though to be honest, I’m a little unsatisfied with the episode as a whole. It felt a little “Hercules” to me… Until next week!
Update:P.S. – Graeme “I’m new here” McMillan:
You don’t think that the Jacob/Man In Black scene at the end of the last season was an island-based flashback? And I’m pretty sure we’ve seen flashbacks on the island for Ben and Juliet, as well, but maybe I’m getting that mixed up with time-traveling scenarios.
Random thoughts as I watch:
– “But we’re people. Does that mean we can hurt each other?” “I’ve made it so you can never hurt each other.” Notice that she doesn’t confirm that they’re people. We saw Jacob and his brother be born, so presumably they were people once, at least. But what about the adopted mother? What happens when you drink the magical golden McGuffin water? (“Now, you and I are the same.” Does that mean “we’re both immortal,” or is it more literal?)
– MIB: “One day, you can make up your own game and everyone will have to follow your rules.” Hello, heavy handed writing.
– MIB can see his dead mother, and then, post-Jacob’s death, repeatedly sees Jacob as a child. Does this make the equally dead-seeing Hurley the new MIB? If not, are we just supposed to assume that Hurley and MIB’s abilities are coincidence? That seems very unlikely.
(Which reminds me: Where is the show’s other psychic, Miles, not to mention Richard and Ben? We haven’t seen them in weeks, and there are only two episodes to go.)
– “She’s not your mother. I am.” Am I the only person who thought of Empire Strikes Back at that point?
– “You can never leave this island.” Clearly part of the same thing that made the kids unable to hurt each other. But what did she do? And
how did she do it? This episode is very frustrating… It’s “answering” the questions without answering them. Why is MIB trapped on the island? Because his adoptive mother made it that way. Why was he unable to hurt Jacob? Because his adoptive mother made it that way.
But without explaining anything about who that woman was, or why she did those things, it’s just swapping one mystery out for another (and adding the addition of “Oh, look, what’s that golden cave? It turned a man into a smoke monster!”), and I’m not sure I see the point.
– Is Jacob naive, or a moron? Why did he still think, as an adult, that there’s no way off the island when (a) he knows his adoptive mother has lied to him about the important stuff before and (b) that people have ARRIVED on the island, and therefore there’s every possibility that the reverse can happen? (Is Jacob the equivalent of Locke in the first season? Blind faith, but in his mother as opposed to the Island? And does that make MIB first season Jack, all wanting
proof and wanting to leave? Maybe I’m stretching too far.)
– Does Jacob have to take over as the guardian because his adoptive mother has killed the original Others? Is she unworthy of being the guardian because of that? It’s possibly just that she wants to get Jacob to agree before he finds out what she’s done and gets disillusioned entirely, of course.
– The adoptive mother thanks MIB for killing her. Presumably, she wanted to die… What if Jacob had wanted Ben to kill him, too? What if MIB/Fake Locke was doing Jacob’s bidding all along, without realizing it?
– Is the smoke monster really MIB, or does it just THINK that it’s MIB, a la Swamp Thing?
…Not sure that I really agree that it was a great episode. It feels like it was mistimed – On the one hand, I like the feint of ending last episode with the final confrontation all set up and Fake Locke saying that he’s going to finish what he’s started before, essentially, cutting to an interlude, but on the other, I don’t feel
like this episode really ADDED anything to the overall story. It felt like filler, in a way that it might not have, had it come earlier in the season. Part of me wishes it’d been the first episode this year, instead of the third-last – Made us wait a little longer to find out what happened after Jarhead exploded, but answer some backstory questions and follow up on the previous season’s finale appearance of MIB and Jacob.