Wow... Things really got moving with this episode of LOST as almost no time is wasted before you jump right into the fray.
...
Ha-ha!
(Just in case you didn't catch that, that was a joke...the LOST Season 5 promo music video featured a song by The Fray, which was "just pure crap," to quote Ron Howard...)
This episode was originally meant to be succeeded by "The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham," which was actually written at the same time as what has now been decided to be next week's episode: "316." Damon Lindelof chose this switch because he thought that it would be "cool." Bastard... That probably, in all reality, really translates to something of the nature of "We know that by switching around these episodes, you won't understand the big picture of the pair until you see the second. In other words, we want to screw with your mind -- that's right: even more." Bogus!
Anyway, here's a recap of "This Place Is Death."
- The ominous business-tycoon-yet-loving-mother Sun gets a call from her daughter Ji Yeon while she brandishes her new 9mm "toy." We finally get a glimpse of the "Three Years Later" Korean mama in action and wow -- what a contrast between her motherly sweet-talking and her previously exhibited lethal sense of foreboding.
- Sun gets out of the car, leaving Aaron to twiddle his thumbs in the backseat, and approaches Ben and company, expressing her clear intentions to kill Ben then and there. But, if you know anything about Ben, he's rarely surprised -- in fact, the only time I think I honestly have seen him surprised is when his poor not-technically-biological-daughter Alex was shot by the Kahana's head mercenary Keamy -- and surely enough, Ben has leverage. Ben reveals to Sun that her husband Jin is very much alive and on the Island. Sun, obviously floored by this statement, was of the impression that Jin was dead and was seeking revenge on Ben for her husband's death. She demands proof, and you and I can only help but think: "Ben wins again..." Sun leaves reluctantly with Jack and Ben to go see this "proof" that Ben claims he has. Unfortunately, Sayid and Kate bolt, both perfectly certain that they will absolutely NOT get involved in another one of Ben's schemes, especially one regarding going back to the Island.
- Ben takes Sun and Jack to a church -- yes, the same church as the one with the underground science lab of Ms. Hawking's and the creepy candelit room above -- where he has Jin's wedding ring. Sun is truly touched...and wants answers. Don't forget our old friend Desmond though. Des also arrives at the same church in search of Daniel Faraday's mother. The group heads inside and corporately meets a very disappointed Ms. Hawking who expresses her dissatisfaction with not all of the Oceanic 6 being there, at which point I thought "C'mon! Cut Ben a little slack. Hurley is a nutcase, after all..."
- Back on the Island, if you remember, Jin was united with Rousseau's 1988 science team. Pestered with more questions, Jin finally works out a truce, if you will, to try and find the radio tower on the Island where the numbers (4 8 15 16 23 42) are being broadcasted on a loop. (We know from non-canonical Lost info that this continuous broadcast was set up by the Dharma Initiative.)
- One of the French team members seemingly disappears on the way to the radio tower, much to the frustration of Montand, the obvious head honcho of the science team, who demonstrates verbally on more than one occasion that he is not afraid to assert his authority. Jin warns the group that it's time to go, simply saying, "monster." The group is not necessarily convinced but becomes dreadfully aware of the reason behind Jin's avid warnings when Smokey attacks Montand and drags him through the jungle to a hole which leads underground to some sort of tunnel which apparently leads to some sort of temple, covered in hieroglyphics and just sitting there in the middle of the jungle. The group tries to save Montand but fails to save, err, all of him; instead, they end up with just his arm. Nice...
- The rest of the group wants to head into the tunnel after Montand to try and save him. Jin insists that Danielle does not, citing the importance of her child's welfare, who she is probably somewhere around 7 months pregnant with (assuming she carried the baby for a typical 9 month term). Danielle relents but the rest of the group heads into the hole after Montand. There's a time flash and Jin jumps forward in time two months. Jin comes to the beach and notices the three other French science team members' bodies lying dead on the sand, decorated with bullet wounds to the head and chest if I recall correctly. He then witnesses a defensive, scared yet determined Danielle Rousseau holding her husband Robert at gunpoint. She claims that he has not been the same since he and the rest of the team went after Montand into the temple and that he, like the others, was infected. Robert convinces his wife to stand down and then makes his move, aiming his rifle at her and without any sense of hesitation squeezing the trigger. Unfortunately for him, she had removed the firing pin, though. He tries to protest his case but a reassured Rousseau this time has no trouble in pulling the trigger, downing her "sick" husband. She notices Jin, who apparently watched the action unfold and takes a few shots at him as well, chasing him into the jungle. Luckily for Jin, there's a time jump. In the new time, a still very confused Jin is held at gunpoint by a familiar voice from behind him: Sawyer.
- Jin joins the group with Daniel, Charlotte, Juliet, and Locke, etc. which is headed to The Orchid station in order to try and fix the time travel problem where it seems to have started. Locke believes that there he can find a way to leave the Island and bring back the Oceanic 6. More time jumps occur on the way, and Charlotte becomes so sickly that the group has to stop. Daniel chooses to stay behind with her so the rest of the group can move on towards their objective. Before Locke and co. leave, though, Charlotte tells Locke to look for a well if The Orchid station isn't there.
- With Daniel at her side, Charlotte has reached the point where she is jumping from one point in time to another, rather rapidly. Charlotte does manage to reveal to Daniel that she was born on the Island and that her mother left the Island, taking her with her at a very young age. Thereafter, whenever Charlotte would remember living on the Island and would ask her mom about it, her mother would simply dismiss it as a figment of her imagination. Charlotte even remembers that there was a man on the Island who warned her before she left to never come back to the Island or she would die; she believes that this man was Daniel. Unfortunately, Charlotte dies soon after, much to the dismay and sorrow of Daniel. Tough stuff...
- Locke and the rest reach The Orchid and find the well, just as Charlotte described it. Jin makes Locke promise to tell Sun that he died on the Island and gives Locke his wedding ring as proof; Jin doesn't want Sun to come back to the Island with their child in search of him. Locke takes the rope heading down into the well and begins to descend to the bottom. Unfortunately, there's a time jump and Locke falls from the rope and severely injures his leg. He lands in an underground cavern, the same one that Ben went through to turn the wheel in the Season 4 finale. Jack's dead father Christian Shephard approaches Locke, complete with creepy shadow-casting lantern. He reprimands Locke for ever relying on Ben and for trusting him. He explains to Locke that he has to get those who left the Island together and bring them to Eloise Hawking (aka Ms. Hawking). Locke asks about Richard's statement that he would have to die, and Christian Shephard merely replies, "That's why they call it a sacrifice." He tells Locke that he told him to move the Island, not Ben, and instructs him to turn the wheel, which is basically spazzing out at this point, and set it back on its axis. As a flash occurs, Christian asks Locke to say hello to his son. Locke inquires as to who his son is but it's too late... LOST
Story/Narrative - First of all, I loved Desmond's look of surprise as he saw the group consisting of Ben, Sun, and Jack at the same church that he was sent to. Beautiful. I can't help but think about Ben's promise to Widmore, that he would kill Widmore's daughter Penny, Desmond's wife, just as Widmore killed Ben's "daughter" Alex. I also can't help but take that thought further and imagine that Ben is already contemplating in the back of his mind how he'll get to Penny and exact his revenge. Damn it... I love Desmond and Penny. At least Ben is preoccupied for now and has seemingly more important matters to intend to...
Ben is still driving that darn Canton-Rainier van, which, as you may already know, is an anagram for "Reincarnation." In other words, the letters in the title Canton-Rainier can be rearranged to spell "Reincarnation," most likely signifying Locke's probable resurrection on his return to the Island.
Finally, I love the comparison and contrast between Locke and Ben. Locke is specifically thanked by Juliet for his sacrifice and dedication for trying to save the rest of them from certain, imminent death. On the other hand, Ben loses it and protests his own case to Sun and Jack, expressing the extreme amount of trouble he has had to go through to keep them all safe. A definite comparison between the two is drawn at the same time, however. Locke and Ben both, on their descension to the icy chamber housing the frozen wheel, injure their legs in a fall on the way down. Nice. The LOST producers truly are amazing. 5
Lost Theory/Mythology - The smoke monster struck again and, as consistent with its previous appearances, something new was revealed about it: Its apparent place of residence is The Temple. Furthermore, being a "security system" to protect the Island, Smokey seems to really be protecting The Temple..?..maybe? Finally, whatever is in The Temple, or perhaps just Smokey, is inflicting intruders with a "sickness" which makes them lose enough of a grip on reality to want to kill their own soul-mates, a la Robert. Crazy... Learning more about how Rousseau's team was "infected" and them getting "sick" and what that looked like was incredibly fulfilling and left me wanting to see more of Rousseau's past firsthand. This was incredibly refreshing and revealing storytelling.
As seen on the Blast Door Map in The Swan, the original "Hatch," the smoke monster again tries to drag one of its victims, like it did to John Locke in Season 1, down into a hole, which are probably what Radzinsky labeled on the Blast Door Map as "Cerberus Vents." "Cerberus" is the name which Radzinsky appropriated to the monster, who we belovedly know to as Smokey.
By the way, was this temple that we saw the same "Temple" that Ben sent his people, The Others, to for the end of Season 3 and practically the entirety of Season 4? I think it is, but we'll see...
Finally, with Locke and Christian Shephard's conversation, we again are shed more light on the apparently dissatisfactory situation that involved Ben being the leader of the Others and somewhat controlling Jacob while he had power. If you recall, the only thing Jacob has directly said in his own voice was to Locke in Season 3: "Help me." And if you recall, a sort of restraining soot encircled Jacob's cabin. When Locke noticed it in his first encounter with the cabin, Ben hurried him on, telling him to pay no attention to it. Unfortunately, I'm not sure that Jacob is that better of an alternative to Ben. With Jacob free to do as he pleases, considering Locke accepts his word as the proverbial Gospel truth, who knows what will happen on the Island and what that will mean for our beloved Losties. :/ 5
BAMF moments - Smokey strikes again! It had been too long, honestly... Beyond that, Montand lost his freaking arm!! I mean, c'mon!!!! Also, the scene involving Rousseau and Robert was super epic. From Robert's grand act and Rousseau's subsequent resolve to kill her "sick" husband, it was just intense all-around. 5
Overall Score - (5 + 5 + 5)/(3) = 5
No comments:
Post a Comment
Feedback?