Lost 6.01 and 6.02

[selenak]

Oh, Lost, you glorious show of mind games and answers only to raise more questions, how I love you, let me count the ways. Even if you kill off characters I'm fond of.

(On that note: did anyone genuinenly believe Sayid was Permanently Dead? I mean, yes, this show does kill some of its regulars, but there is a certain core which is safe, and to which Sayid belongs, at least until the show finale, when I suppose it's free game for everyone. BTW, this is also why I hold out hope for Real!Locke not being Permanently Dead, but more about that later.)

(Juliet, otoh, does not belong in that charmed circle, and so I was pretty sure she would not make it. Damn it. Also, her telling Sawyer she tried to make the bomb go off for his sake at least makes marginally more sense than sensible Juliet, who without the plane crash would have continued to live as Ben's minion on the island, suddenly be magically swayed to Jack's side of the argument in the last season finale, or of her burst of jealousy when Sawyer and Kate really did show the remotest flirting.)

Now: seems we're dealing with two separate time lines existing due to Jack's actions now. Thanks, Daniel, I do love parallel universes. In No Plance Crash Timeline - or do we call it Reboot!timeline, to honour certain other endeavours by certain producers/writers? - not only is there no crash but the island has sunk under the sea, which I suppose means I'm wrong about my Juliet statement; with the island under the sea since 1977, she would never have gotten there and would never have joined the Others, being a successful doctor instead. Meanwhile, other people's lives are not improved: Jin and Sun are still deep in marital enstragement and crisis, keeping secrets for each other (that money was there because Jin planned on running away with Sun, but she does not know this, and chooses to lie because of her own need for freedom), Charlie is a suicidal heroin addict, and Kate is arrested and on the run respectively. This was all predictable, but what surprised me, and what I found unexpectedly touching, was the connection Locke and Jack made in the lost baggage room. They're not in competition here, and Locke's capacity for faith, in lack of a better term, comes across as a comfort to Jack instead of the threat of irrationality, whereas meeting lost!Jack instead of leader!Jack results not just in Locke reaching out to Jack but Jack offering hope to Locke via his ability as a surgeon. How about that, as Sawyer would say.

Speaking of twists: this opening two parter was a good reminder that Kate, when they write her outside the stupid triangle and let her do things unrelated to romantic entanglements, can be an interesting and engaging character. She's at her best here in both timelines, the first one to notice Juliet's calls because she's listening instead of engaging in a shouting match, calming everyone down in Prime!Lost timeline (actually, might we say this is Kate-as-leader which was the original plan for the pilot?) and showcasing her outlaw resourcefulness in Reboot!Lost timeline. Considering she ends up with Claire there, and considering that in Prime!Lost, Kate said last season her reason for returning to the island was to find Claire, methinks that relationship could be important in both timelines. I could so be on board for that if it is.

Meanwhile, in the subplot of The Powers That Screw You (borrowed expression from Angel the Series), Ben clues in to the fact that Locke isn't Locke but the Smoke Monster. What I loved about the revelation scene is the way it plays for your emotions; one moment you feel sorry for Ben, then you remember that Mr. "You Used Me" was the king of using other people himself, and Smokey neatly returns the "how could you" to him by bringing up Real!Locke's death at Ben's hands. (The last season already had Smokey!Locke make the point to Ben that Ben is now in the position Locke used to be vice a verse him, only getting half answers and trying to make sense of this, following instead of leading.) And then of course we have the mystery of where Smokey (and Jacob) came from; "the one thing John Locke never wanted - to go home" indeed. So where is "home" for the Smoke Monster? Evidently Richard knows or can at least make an educated guess. Chains, huh? Methinks we'll get Richard's origin story soon, how he came to the island and where that whole immortality gig comes from. Considering Smokey's reaction and Richard's Jacob faithfulness, methinks that will entail Richard originally being on Smokey's side but then making a deal with Jacob which among other things is responsible for both Richard's immortality and Smokey's smoke monster status.

Another guess: the Doylist reason for the Smoke Monster appearing as Locke is simply because having Michael Emerson et all interacting with either green screen or a new actor is not as effective as letting Terry O'Quinn play it/him. But Watsonian-wise it works as well, going back all the way to s1 and Locke's reaction to the Smoke Monster not being one of horror but of revelation. Meanwhile, we'll also get Real!Locke in the other timeline, which is good because much as I am intrigued by Smokey, it's Real!Locke I love. And as I said, I still hold out hope the fact we've got Real!Locke's corpse on the island, so far without signs of decay, will mean the genuine article gets resurrected as well in Prime!Lost, especially now that via Sayid we've got another reminder this island can bring back the dead.

Also set up as a question for the season: where do the temple Others come from, why is there one among them who claims she was on "the first flight" with Our Heroes, why was Desmond on the plane in Reboot!Lost timeline (or was he? Only Jack saw him, after all), and who is the Japanese guy in charge? And lastly, since I doubt this show will end with two different timelines, how will Reboot! and Prime!Lost reunite in the end to one single timeline? Stay tuned...