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selenakLost taketh and it giveth, and after making me go through an all Jack, all the time episode last week, it gives me an all Locke, all the time episode this week, and verily, I am in fannish heaven.
First of all, the big one: I think not just Locke fans such as myself but the rest were certain he'd be resurrected on the island, BUT what I was absolutely not certain about was whether or not he'd be himself again afterwards, or only partly himself, or just an avatar. Dead Christian Shephard is an odd precedence; personality-wise, he's quite removed from the Christian who shows up in Jack's flashbacks, but on the other hand he is retaining enough awareness of his past self to think of Jack as his son. And we've yet to find out what exactly Claire is - dead, alive, something in between?
As it turns out, Locke isn't an avatar (yet?). He doesn't have Dead Christian's ghostly ability to show up wherever he wants, he's seen by everyone and can interact with them, and he can eat. So, until further notice, I'd say he's alive-ish. However, in case you haven't noticed, the show has started to play around with a certain imagery. (Making John Locke join the ranks of G'Kar and Gaius Baltar among least likely messiah figures.) Last week cast Jack as the apostle Thomas, the doubter. This week Ben gets to play Judas who both betrays and makes the resurrection and everyone's ensuing salvation possible. (So he did just hold hands instead of kiss, but still.) And there was the supper at Emmaeus where Jesus, post resurrection, did eat and drink with two apostles. So - we'll see. But I suspect they'll keep Locke alive without graduating him to messiah-dom yet, because we've still one and a half seasons to go, and Locke's flaws and limitations are a quintessential character trait.
Trivia observation, before I get to the flashbacks: seems Hurley didn't buy as many seats as we thought, or there were more people in the business class than was apparant. Either way, Cesar clearly is Up To Something, with the hiding of certain drawings. Wouldn't surprise me if he was working for Widmore. (If he was working for Ben, he'd have been able to identify him.)
Now: what surprised me wasn't that Widmore had the Dharma transport stations under observation but that Ben did not, though Ben might simply be shorter on man power. Anyway, Locke materializing in the desert as Ben had done in The Shape of Things To Come, but without being able to get up or get help = ouch. It also allowed the show to toy with us a bit longer in not revealing whether or not Locke's general healing by the island would stick once he had left it, though we found out when he did get up from the hospital bed. This, btw, means Rose will also be free of cancer when/if she leaves, which I'm glad to hear. I'm surprised to find through a cursory glance that a lot of people are ready to declare Widmore "the good guy" now; I think the show has made it pretty clear that neither Ben nor Widmore are. As Locke points out, sending Keamy & Co. - and Keamy, remember, did not just have the mission to capture Ben but to kill everyone else, which we don't have to take Ben's word for, as Keamy himself said so - isn't exactly trust-inducing in Widmore's general not-Ben-related benevolence. It's good to know, though, that Widmore has another mode than just "threatening" when it comes to interaction - it makes him a less one-note character.
The encounter with Sayid shoots down one of my theories as to what caused the parting of the ways between Sayid and Ben, but gives us something of a time table in addition to what we already have:
Three years ago: Oceanic 6 come back, Sayid marries Nadia
Nine months later: Nadia dies
Nine months and one or two days: Ben arrives in Tunisia after having turned the island wheel. (As he catches the news about Nadia's death on tv when he makes it from the desert to the hotel, it can't have been longer than that.) Sayid signs up for an assassin career.
Two years later: Sayid stops working for Ben.
Which leaves us with three months for Sayid to live in Santo Domingo, I guess.
I loved the meeting between Locke and Walt, both for continuity reasons - the friendship that developed between them in s1 was somewhat important then - and because it gave us Locke at his best, deciding not to drag Walt into the island conundrums again but leave him in a life Walt seemed to be happy in. (And also sparing him the news of his father's demise, though of course he didn't exactly lie when saying "when I last heard of your father, he was on a freighter".) Also, we got a hint of what's to come when Walt said he had dreams of Locke wearing a suit surrounded by people who want to kill him. I take it telling the newly crashed folk on the island the truth, which he did so far, won't go down too well. (Either because they think he's crazy or because they think he's lying and responsible for the crash, would be my guess.)
As far as the rest of the O6 were concerned, to my surprise the scene with Hurley was merely okay, while the scenes with Jack and Kate were amazing. The one with Kate started with something of an odd reasoning (what has being in love to do with Kate not wanting to return to the island? One would think Aaron would be the big argument here) but then continued to be such a good character scene for both Locke and Kate that I handwaved that. Evangeline Walton must have treasured the opportunity to at last play something other than object-of-love-triangle and damsel in distress; her "and look, how far you've come" isn't said viciously but sadly, which is I think why it hits Locke that hard. (And btw writers, good choice in making Kate not angry or accusatory but quiet and weary in this scene with Locke.) From Locke's pov, it's interesting that he sees the reason why his relationship with Helen failed as being rooted in a) anger and b) obsession (in this case his obsession with his father). Because this does leave out a third reason, c) the Lockian need to believe - in that case, that there was more to his father than just an exploitative conman. As far as that episode was concerned, Locke had a choice between his father and Helen, and though he refused to acknowledge it at the time, picked his father. Speaking of fathers, the scene with Jack, on the other hand, reminded me that this bearded, somewhat crazed version of Jack Shephard still is my favourite as far as this character is concerned, and makes me wonder whether or not Jack transferred some of his own Dad issues to Locke (in addition to the naturally grown Locke issues). Again, I think it's the lack of bad intentiont hat makes what Jack says - "Did you ever wonder whether you're just a sad old man and there is no point in your life, no specialness at all?" resonate with Locke.
And now for the big one. Watch me dance the dance of joy about getting an O'Quinn and Emerson scene again, with the promise of more to come. These two just play off each other like no one else does, and the relationship between the characters - Locke and Ben - is just never one thing or the other and so convoluted that it never stops to fascinate me. Of course, the current big question is as to whether Ben killed Locke after stopping him from committing suicide because Locke's death by suicide would not have allowed for whatever the island just did with the second plane crash/resurrection/time zone disposal, and whether Ben had planned that from the get-go, or whether he originally meant to leave him alive but changed his mind after hearing Locke mention Eloise Hawking. It might also be that Ben didn't realize Locke needed to die and be dead in order to trigger everyone's return before Eloise was mentioned; after all, he's been cut off from anyone on the island, including Richard Halpert, for three years, and it was Richard who first told Locke that he needed to die to save the island, and to contact Eloise. (As to why Eloise's name should settle for Ben that Locke needed to die, I suppose we'll find out soon.)
What I'm excluding is the possibility that Ben killed Locke just because he's EVIL (tm). Come on, people. Ben always has a point. Plus he was so insistent that they needed to take Locke's body with them that it's obvious he knew something would happen, though based on his "I shall miss you, John" after he had killed Locke, with that little break in his voice, I'd say he didn't expect Locke to come back as Locke once they had reached the island.
Speculation as to where they go from here (from someone who hasn't watched any trailers): hmmm. On the one hand, Locke never was vengeful about that time Ben shot him (partly I think because he gets why Ben did it, being a fellow worshipper of the island); on the other, he does have his limits about these things (see Anthony Cooper, who at last reached it with the throwing him out of the window stunt). I can't see him getting physically violent with Ben in either case, that's just not how they work. (Back when Locke was making a point about competition, he beat up Mikhail, not Ben.) What I can see happening is Locke trying to ignore Ben and/or refusing to help him (Ben looks in a pretty bad shape right now), but then, see above and Walt's prophecy, the remaining passengers of the newly crashed plane decide they need to go after the dangerous madman in their midst, and Locke 'n Ben make another alliance of necessity and go on the run together. Well, depending on whether or not Ben can run.
Lastly: okay, so the O6 obviously ended up in another time zone as Locke and the other passengers. The fact Ben did make it on the island, however, albeit injured, would indicate that so could Widmore, but presumably not alone, hence the need for Locke and the O6. Anyone willing to bet that Widmore, now without either O6 or Locke as guides, will try to make Desmond take him there, with or without Penny?
First of all, the big one: I think not just Locke fans such as myself but the rest were certain he'd be resurrected on the island, BUT what I was absolutely not certain about was whether or not he'd be himself again afterwards, or only partly himself, or just an avatar. Dead Christian Shephard is an odd precedence; personality-wise, he's quite removed from the Christian who shows up in Jack's flashbacks, but on the other hand he is retaining enough awareness of his past self to think of Jack as his son. And we've yet to find out what exactly Claire is - dead, alive, something in between?
As it turns out, Locke isn't an avatar (yet?). He doesn't have Dead Christian's ghostly ability to show up wherever he wants, he's seen by everyone and can interact with them, and he can eat. So, until further notice, I'd say he's alive-ish. However, in case you haven't noticed, the show has started to play around with a certain imagery. (Making John Locke join the ranks of G'Kar and Gaius Baltar among least likely messiah figures.) Last week cast Jack as the apostle Thomas, the doubter. This week Ben gets to play Judas who both betrays and makes the resurrection and everyone's ensuing salvation possible. (So he did just hold hands instead of kiss, but still.) And there was the supper at Emmaeus where Jesus, post resurrection, did eat and drink with two apostles. So - we'll see. But I suspect they'll keep Locke alive without graduating him to messiah-dom yet, because we've still one and a half seasons to go, and Locke's flaws and limitations are a quintessential character trait.
Trivia observation, before I get to the flashbacks: seems Hurley didn't buy as many seats as we thought, or there were more people in the business class than was apparant. Either way, Cesar clearly is Up To Something, with the hiding of certain drawings. Wouldn't surprise me if he was working for Widmore. (If he was working for Ben, he'd have been able to identify him.)
Now: what surprised me wasn't that Widmore had the Dharma transport stations under observation but that Ben did not, though Ben might simply be shorter on man power. Anyway, Locke materializing in the desert as Ben had done in The Shape of Things To Come, but without being able to get up or get help = ouch. It also allowed the show to toy with us a bit longer in not revealing whether or not Locke's general healing by the island would stick once he had left it, though we found out when he did get up from the hospital bed. This, btw, means Rose will also be free of cancer when/if she leaves, which I'm glad to hear. I'm surprised to find through a cursory glance that a lot of people are ready to declare Widmore "the good guy" now; I think the show has made it pretty clear that neither Ben nor Widmore are. As Locke points out, sending Keamy & Co. - and Keamy, remember, did not just have the mission to capture Ben but to kill everyone else, which we don't have to take Ben's word for, as Keamy himself said so - isn't exactly trust-inducing in Widmore's general not-Ben-related benevolence. It's good to know, though, that Widmore has another mode than just "threatening" when it comes to interaction - it makes him a less one-note character.
The encounter with Sayid shoots down one of my theories as to what caused the parting of the ways between Sayid and Ben, but gives us something of a time table in addition to what we already have:
Three years ago: Oceanic 6 come back, Sayid marries Nadia
Nine months later: Nadia dies
Nine months and one or two days: Ben arrives in Tunisia after having turned the island wheel. (As he catches the news about Nadia's death on tv when he makes it from the desert to the hotel, it can't have been longer than that.) Sayid signs up for an assassin career.
Two years later: Sayid stops working for Ben.
Which leaves us with three months for Sayid to live in Santo Domingo, I guess.
I loved the meeting between Locke and Walt, both for continuity reasons - the friendship that developed between them in s1 was somewhat important then - and because it gave us Locke at his best, deciding not to drag Walt into the island conundrums again but leave him in a life Walt seemed to be happy in. (And also sparing him the news of his father's demise, though of course he didn't exactly lie when saying "when I last heard of your father, he was on a freighter".) Also, we got a hint of what's to come when Walt said he had dreams of Locke wearing a suit surrounded by people who want to kill him. I take it telling the newly crashed folk on the island the truth, which he did so far, won't go down too well. (Either because they think he's crazy or because they think he's lying and responsible for the crash, would be my guess.)
As far as the rest of the O6 were concerned, to my surprise the scene with Hurley was merely okay, while the scenes with Jack and Kate were amazing. The one with Kate started with something of an odd reasoning (what has being in love to do with Kate not wanting to return to the island? One would think Aaron would be the big argument here) but then continued to be such a good character scene for both Locke and Kate that I handwaved that. Evangeline Walton must have treasured the opportunity to at last play something other than object-of-love-triangle and damsel in distress; her "and look, how far you've come" isn't said viciously but sadly, which is I think why it hits Locke that hard. (And btw writers, good choice in making Kate not angry or accusatory but quiet and weary in this scene with Locke.) From Locke's pov, it's interesting that he sees the reason why his relationship with Helen failed as being rooted in a) anger and b) obsession (in this case his obsession with his father). Because this does leave out a third reason, c) the Lockian need to believe - in that case, that there was more to his father than just an exploitative conman. As far as that episode was concerned, Locke had a choice between his father and Helen, and though he refused to acknowledge it at the time, picked his father. Speaking of fathers, the scene with Jack, on the other hand, reminded me that this bearded, somewhat crazed version of Jack Shephard still is my favourite as far as this character is concerned, and makes me wonder whether or not Jack transferred some of his own Dad issues to Locke (in addition to the naturally grown Locke issues). Again, I think it's the lack of bad intentiont hat makes what Jack says - "Did you ever wonder whether you're just a sad old man and there is no point in your life, no specialness at all?" resonate with Locke.
And now for the big one. Watch me dance the dance of joy about getting an O'Quinn and Emerson scene again, with the promise of more to come. These two just play off each other like no one else does, and the relationship between the characters - Locke and Ben - is just never one thing or the other and so convoluted that it never stops to fascinate me. Of course, the current big question is as to whether Ben killed Locke after stopping him from committing suicide because Locke's death by suicide would not have allowed for whatever the island just did with the second plane crash/resurrection/time zone disposal, and whether Ben had planned that from the get-go, or whether he originally meant to leave him alive but changed his mind after hearing Locke mention Eloise Hawking. It might also be that Ben didn't realize Locke needed to die and be dead in order to trigger everyone's return before Eloise was mentioned; after all, he's been cut off from anyone on the island, including Richard Halpert, for three years, and it was Richard who first told Locke that he needed to die to save the island, and to contact Eloise. (As to why Eloise's name should settle for Ben that Locke needed to die, I suppose we'll find out soon.)
What I'm excluding is the possibility that Ben killed Locke just because he's EVIL (tm). Come on, people. Ben always has a point. Plus he was so insistent that they needed to take Locke's body with them that it's obvious he knew something would happen, though based on his "I shall miss you, John" after he had killed Locke, with that little break in his voice, I'd say he didn't expect Locke to come back as Locke once they had reached the island.
Speculation as to where they go from here (from someone who hasn't watched any trailers): hmmm. On the one hand, Locke never was vengeful about that time Ben shot him (partly I think because he gets why Ben did it, being a fellow worshipper of the island); on the other, he does have his limits about these things (see Anthony Cooper, who at last reached it with the throwing him out of the window stunt). I can't see him getting physically violent with Ben in either case, that's just not how they work. (Back when Locke was making a point about competition, he beat up Mikhail, not Ben.) What I can see happening is Locke trying to ignore Ben and/or refusing to help him (Ben looks in a pretty bad shape right now), but then, see above and Walt's prophecy, the remaining passengers of the newly crashed plane decide they need to go after the dangerous madman in their midst, and Locke 'n Ben make another alliance of necessity and go on the run together. Well, depending on whether or not Ben can run.
Lastly: okay, so the O6 obviously ended up in another time zone as Locke and the other passengers. The fact Ben did make it on the island, however, albeit injured, would indicate that so could Widmore, but presumably not alone, hence the need for Locke and the O6. Anyone willing to bet that Widmore, now without either O6 or Locke as guides, will try to make Desmond take him there, with or without Penny?
