So I experienced some mild flatulence of the brain during the first 10 minutes of this episode, which picked up right where we’d left off with Sawyer and Co. at the end of “This Place is Death,” as they stood over the ground where the well that Locke shimmied down had not yet been. (As though we had just pressed pause on them while Locke was gallivanting about California and Santo Domingo, getting propositioned and thwarted and killed and all other manner of unfortunate things. And then there was that whole conspiratorial business with Plane Crash 2.0. So, yeah, a lot has happened since then.)
First of all, when everyone slowly and very dramatically looked over their shoulders at the looming figure as proof of the fact that they were indeed in a time way before that of the well, my first thought was admittedly “dinosaurs!” rather than “the rest of that four-toed statue!” Very embarrassing.
Second moment: when the screen flashed the words “Three Years Later” at me, my mind automatically ran to Jack, Kate, and the rest of them, even though we have seen all that we need to see about their real world affairs (for now). Naturally, I was wrong. In actuality, it has been three years since Locke set the wheel back in place (stupid Ben), which restored the island such that time now progresses in an exclusively forward direction, albeit circa the 1970s. Sawyer (a.k.a. Jim LaFleur), Jin, Juliet and Miles—the jury’s still out on Faraday—are now consorting with the Dharma folk: living in their quaint little houses, wearing their fugly outfits, fixing their cars and delivering their babies. Charming, really.
It then occurred to me that the source of my confusion, other than a terrible habit of jumping to conclusions, is this “three years” motif: Locke landed in Tunisia three years into the future relative to the rescue of the Oceanic 6, and shortly thereafter the Oceanic 6 returned to the island three years after the record stopped skipping. Umm, what a coincidence? Also, Juliet told Miles that she had been living on the island for approximately three years. (That last one is probably irrelevant to my theory, which isn’t so much a theory right now as a series of arbitrary observations, but I thought it was worth mentioning anyway.)
Speaking of threes, this episode marks the third time we have crossed paths with one Horace Goodspeed, current Fearless Leader of the Dharma troopers. First, he was the one who brought tot-sized Ben and his father, Roger Linus, to the island as a Dharma recruit. Second, he was the man in Locke’s dream who kept cutting down the same tree and then provided him with a map to Jacob’s cabin. And now, he has fathered a son who, I imagine, will grow up to be someone we have already been acquainted with for quite some time. Jury is also still out on who that might be, although wouldn’t it be rather fantastic if it were Faraday?
And finally, The Question of the season: “Is three years really long enough to get over someone?” Judging from the look on Sawyer’s clean-shaven face when he saw Kate, and the fact that he lied to/withheld the truth from his fair-haired sweetie pie, I’m not so convinced that he is “absolutely!” sure three years is long enough himself.
Last thoughts, comments and deep-seated issues before our two-week hiatus
- There’s at least one person who must be thrilled about the latest turn of events: Daniel Dae Kim, who has said from the beginning of the show that he would love for Jin to learn English someday. Well, it sounds like that day has finally arrived!
- Little Charlotte was seen frolicking around the yard in a little red dress, which means slightly less little Ben must be lurking about the neighborhood somewhere, which means a Charles Widmore 20 years older than the scrappy young trigger-happy fellow Locke met in “Jughead” must be hiding in the bushes with Richard Alpert. Let’s meet them soon, please. (Also, I’d like to see some Dr. Chang, and perhaps finally get an explanation for Faraday’s trip down to the Orchid in the season premiere.)
- Faraday’s reaction to seeing little Charlotte’s shiny red locks and coy little wave was absolutely heartbreaking. I understand why he has to fulfill his role as bogeyman-with-an-ominous-message from her dream, and you just know he’s going to do it even though he seems to be trying very hard to convince himself otherwise. (But it’s nice to hear his heart give a piece of its own mind for once.) Things happened the way they did in the past because of what he’s about to do in the future, and to not do so would, well, mess everything up in the present. What I don’t understand is how their playing house with the Dharma folk can also be considered a constructive way of rewriting history, but I’m not a time-travel expert.
- I just about cracked a rib from laughing when Horace referred to the Others as “hostile indigenous people.” Also, I’m glad that someone finally acknowledged that fact that Rupert Alpert’s eyes are too glamorously defined to be natural.
Enjoy spring break, everyone. Toodles for now!
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