1.26 Exodus (3)
Jack: "I don't believe in destiny."
Locke: "Yes, you do. You just don't know it yet."
When it comes right down to it, what is the ultimate when it comes
to survival? Children. All this time, we were led to believe the Others
wanted little Turnip-head, when what they really wanted was Walt. I
didn't see that coming, even after Danielle told us, "The Others
said they were coming for the boy."
What with Danielle being the Turnip-head-stealing culprit, I was starting
to think that there really weren't any Others after all (yes, I forgot
about Ethan), when boom, there they were: scuzzy, ragged, bearded, and
looking like trouble. It was kind of like "Deliverance;" you
could practically hear the banjos playing.
Why on earth would they want Walt? The most obvious possibilities make
me shudder. But then, what about the woman with the long, blond hair
behind the windshield? The only time we could really see her was when
she was throwing the Molotov cocktail onto the Raft. Was that Danielle's
daughter, Alex? If it was, then I'm even more confused about what the
Others could possibly want with Walt.
Was Walt a replacement for Ethan?
We got more clashing of Jack and Locke, and Locke even spelled out
exactly what the problem is: science vs. faith. Jack was almost petulant
here: "Everybody wants me to be a leader until I make a decision
that they don't like." I think what he said to Kate about Locke
being a problem was right on the money. But I also think the message
we got in this episode was that Locke is in control, not Jack.
The Raft failed. Sawyer was shot, and he, Jin, and Michael were left
fifteen miles out with a bunch of sticks. A failure of technology.
Locke's flashback was painful: no wheelchair, and the humiliation of
having to be carried on board the plane, which emphasized Locke's misery
and helplessness. (And how could he get to a bathroom during a fifteen
hour flight?) The absence of the special airplane wheelchair also symbolizes
a failure of technology. Stay with me a moment.
Hurley's The Graduate-like running for flight-815 flashback was the
last, and the longest. We saw Hurley's numbers everywhere; Hurley paid
$1,600 to use the old man's scooter, flight 815 took off from gate 23,
and there were those soccer jerseys. :) But what's more interesting
is that we saw technology failing several times:
-- His alarm clock wasn't working and all the electrical in his hotel
room had shorted out.
-- The car (which had the numbers 42, 23, 16, and 4 on the dash) died
for no apparent reason.
-- Arzt, in the long baggage check line, said, "You're taking
the computer out, now?" to one of the airline people.
Interesting that it was technology, in the form of the magnet and the
flashlight, that let Hurley see the numbers on the Hatch... but he was
still unable to stop Locke from blowing it. Locke wasn't going to let
anyone stop him after getting that far.
The Island wants Locke to go underground. The Monster tried to take
Locke down the hole. The Hatch also leads underground. Ergo, whatever
entity is in charge of the Island must be down the Hatch, and it wants
Locke. The Hatch seemed to go down forever (gateway to the Hellmouth?)
and the ladder rungs were mostly broken off and missing. I don't think
it's going to be easy to get down there, and almost impossible to get
back out. Hey, I wouldn't go down there... but I bet Locke will in season
two.
For me, the best scene in all three parts of "Exodus" was
the final flashback where they all came together on the plane: Claire,
Kate, the marshal, Sawyer, Locke and Jack, Charlie struggling with his
guitar, Sayid and his new photo of Nadia, Jin and Sun with Paik's watch,
Michael buckling Walt's seat belt, Shannon and Boone and her inhaler,
Arzt, and finally Hurley, in his two seats, with his Walkman... reading
a very familiar Spanish-language comic book. Note that there were only
two interactions: Jack and Locke nodding politely to one another as
strangers, and Hurley giving the thumbs up to Walt, who smiled back.
Character bits:
-- Claire doesn't know what "Aaron" means. According to my
baby name book, it means "lofty or exalted." And of course,
it's a biblical name: Aaron was the brother of Moses. Exodus? Moses?
-- Extremely interesting that the two main flashbacks we got in this
final hour were Hurley and Locke. I could swear the bird screeched their
names in part two.
-- Jin gave Michael Paik's watch. Very sweet, as well as symbolic.
Everything on Lost is freaking symbolic.
-- Michael figured out that Sawyer is suicidal.
-- Charlie showed such courage and determination, enduring so much
to retrieve Aaron for Claire. And then he succumbed to the heroin. How
disappointing. Of course, we haven't seen him take it yet, but still.
-- Sayid and Shannon made up. I knew it would happen.
-- Interesting role reversal, with Locke "operating" on the
Hatch, and Jack assisting.
-- Sawyer was eight when his father killed his mother and then himself.
Did we know he was eight?
-- Charlie has an exciting new scar, a symbol of his manhood. Unfortunately,
he also has a humongous stash.
-- Have you noticed that Hurley is always last? It must mean something.
Bits and pieces:
-- If you add the four Others to the 43 survivors, you get Rambaldi's
favorite number, 47. We're back to 47 again.
-- After Jack dropped the explosive in the hole, the smoke came up,
coalesced back into the tornado shape, and took off.
-- A working boat implies that the Others are there by choice.
-- There were no tracks or footprints leading to the torch on the beach.
Were they washed away by the tide?
-- How come Hurley's seat number (20) wasn't one of his numbers?
-- Michael: "You're either a hero, or you want to die." Sawyer:
"Well, I ain't no hero, Mike."
-- Sawyer: "Hey, Han, you and Chewie want to slow down a second?"
-- Locke: "Boone was a sacrifice that the Island demanded."
-- Jenna the flight attendant: "This is your lucky day."
-- During the two hour Lost finale and the Alias finale, we must have
seen a commercial for every single hot movie of the summer.
Fun and exciting to watch, but parts two and three lacked the emotion
and cohesion in part one. I'm mildly disappointed that we got lots more
questions and very few answers. But that's the nature of the show, after
all, and I do love the show.
Three out of four polar bears,
Billie
©Billie
Doux