Monsters of Television

“I’m sorry you had to see me like that.”

“Nothing is irreversible.”

Oh, Lost, how I missed you.

So many many many many things occurred over two hours (that had they been spread out of over 2 weeks, I might’ve felt less enthralled by the narrative and philosophical gymnastics the show is engaging in right now) that thinking about where to begin just seems daunting. I felt as if I would need my own ash circle (exactly like what they had around Jacob’s cabin! (at least initially!)) to keep my brain from exploding. But it’s exploding in good ways, ways that make clear why Lost is such great television, why Lost can deliver those one-two punches of humor (Hurley) and sadness (Juliet) and still mix in its beats of destiny and choice and some neat action sequences.

Did I mention that I missed this show?

Viewers were encouraged to revisit Season 1, to get a taste of where this season would be heading, and we open with Jack on Flight 815, complaining about his weak drink and Rose across the aisle, waiting on Bernard to return from the bathroom. Suddenly, turbulence. And you think, “Here we go again.” But you are wrong. I was wrong. Because Pilot Greg Grunberg comes on and explains that everything is okay. The plane doesn’t come apart and crash. We zoom out of the airplane window by Jack and swoop down, David Fincher style, into the ocean. Craphole Island is underwater. Entirely underwater.

It worked, you think. Jack’s supposedly dumbass idea to drop a bomb to set off Jughead to reset time worked. Except it may not have. Because there are Jack, Kate, Miles, Hurley, Sawyer, and a dying Sayid all on the Island, just at night. But in the current (well, current for them) day, because they’re at the imploded hatch site, not the 1970s site. Except it may have worked. “It worked.” Juliet’s ghost tells Miles. What exactly worked? They’re on the island? But there’s another timeline where they’re still on the plane (well…almost everyone’s still on the plane)?

And then there’s Locke’s body, inhabited by Jacob’s nemesis/the Man in Black/Esau/the Smoke Monster (oh yes, that’s right. He’s the gorram fraking smoke monster), ordering a totally flummoxed Benjamin Linus around (which, by the way, “flummoxed Benjamin Linus” is a phrase I thought I would never write), and then taking out some of Jacob’s bodyguards before kicking the crap out of Richard and hauling him off into the jungle.

Oh, then there’s the Temple. Complete with hippies led by Dogen, whose dialog is translated by Lennon (yes, a powerful Japanese person is ordering a guy named Lennon around). Oh, and there’s Cindy! And the kids! So this is where the good people go! Right?

That’s really just the overraching plot stuff. Let’s talk about what these new flash sideways mean (or at least what they potentially mean at this point). What we have here is a timeline without the Island’s redemptive possibilities, a place where Charlie is still a total addict, where Locke cannot walk, where Hurley seems comfortable with his luck, and so on. Without the crisis of the crash, without that test of character, these people will go about their regular lives, and seeing if they can work through their demons in an ordinary situation.  I’m not comfortable with saying that their lives have been reset, but until I develop a better idea of what’s going on here, I’ll stick with it.

The flash sideways also enhance one of the show’s main themes: fate versus choice. These people, based on Jacob’s interactions with them, were fated to crash on the Island. The new timeline, caused by Jack’s choice to cause the bomb to go off, creates a world wherein that fate is taken away. They now live based on choice, without the support of one another. (Live alone, die alone.)

There’s also the possibility of how these characters might find redemption (another theme of the series) within the flash sideways. Jack and Locke are not “rivals” with philosophical differences, but two men wherein faith and science may just restore Locke’s ability to walk. The flashbacks afford us that chance to see a life unlived played out. They’re home again, something John Locke never wanted but his doppleganger very much wants.

And then there’s Juliet’s “It works.” from beyond the grave. And Desmond’s appearance and disappearance from the plane. The thought here is that both Juliet and Desmond, due to their proximity to the type of explosions/implosions that have occurred on the Island have unstuck them from time. It seems reasonable to assume that Juliet was unstuck as well (but then died). Desmond, perhaps in better control of the ability, is now able to move about different time streams, checking in on things (or something).

The flash sideways also wink at us, knowing that we know how these characters end up in the other narratives. The conversation between Boone and Locke is rife with undertones: “If anything happens, I’m sticking with you.” and “You’re pulling my leg.” call attention to Boone’s attachment to Locke back in Season 1 as well as Boone’s leg injury that resulted in his death. Indeed, the meta-ness of the timeline, and that Jack seems somewhat aware that something is off, leaves open the possibility of the timelines connecting. I do want the timelines to somehow become aware of each other, but I cannot decide how just yet, or if that feeling is even a correct one to have.

There’s other things to unpack, like the role of the Temple folks in all this. Whether or not Jacob is possessing Sayid (that sounded like Naveen Andrews’ real voice, not his Sayid voice) like the Man in Black has taken Locke’s form. What exactly do Illana and her group plan to do about Smocke? How do Claire and Christian (not to mention Widmore) fit into all of this? I feel like we’re in a situation where these questions can be answered fairly quickly and satisfyingly that I’d rather not guess about how it’ll play out just yet. (Maybe I’ll do that next week?)

FINAL THOUGHTS

• Terry O’Quinn is clearly going to have the most work this season, having the chance to play two different characters on one show is going to be a treat, and I feel that O’Quinn has rapidly established Smocke in a very real way between his faces and his delivery (“I’m very disappointed! In all of you!”). Can he be nominated twice, once for playing John Locke and then once for playing Smocke?
• Jason Mittell mentioned that he wants Daniel Faraday around to feed “some good Faraday science expositional scenes, but poor Daniel is dead on the island and his pregnant mum presumably perished in the nuclear blast!” I suspect that Richard will fill in Daniel this season, at least with a great deal of mapping out the Island’s politics for us, which I hope leads to some brilliant work from Nestor Carbonell (who sold me on Smocke’s danger to the Island with that look of absolute fear when Smocke walked out of the statue).
• I won’t lie that I’m a little frustrated by the Temple crew’s rather sudden appearance, but I’m willing to give them a chance to play out a bit before fully committing one way or another. At least they weren’t totally dragged out over the season. Also fascinating to note that the Temple crew is significantly more diverse compared to the Others. Interesting racial politics going on there.
• With these two factions, Jacob and Smocke, making moves, I hope the show doesn’t lose sight of the characters on the Island to keep it grounded. Like I’ve said before, the action of the show is located in its characters, not its mythology.
• Ben’s near silence during the episode really shows how you can take apart a character who seemed so brilliant and turn them inside out. My hope is that once (if) Ben gets his bearings back, he comes after Smocke with a vengeance.