On Lost: "316"
Last week I asked the question, "Where are we going?" It only took an episode to get that answer. Last night's "eye opening" parallel to the "Pilot" episode gave us so much information. At the same time, we also got some solid new mysteries and new characters that seem to set up the rest of the series.
We started out with the green eye of Jack Shephard in the middle of the jungle. At first glance, one would guess that this is a flashback to the series' pilot. Many have theorized that this scene will also be the last scene in Lost. Upon closer look, we see that this is not in fact the aftermath of the crash of Oceanic Flight 815, but in fact the crash (was it a crash?) of Ajira Airlines Flight 316 -- "316" being the title of last night's episode. The Bible verse John 3:16 is considered to be a summary of some of the most central doctrines of Christianity and is one of the most widely quoted verses in the world (yeah, I'm talking to you In 'N Out Burger!) The passage reads, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." And in his note to Jack, that other John simply wrote, "I wish you had believed me."
We got quite a bit of information about the island from Eloise Hawking and the new Dharma station (the first one that's not actually located on the island). This new station is called the Lamppost, a reference to C.S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia series. The Lamppost is a station that predicts where the island is going to be, giving us confirmation (if we didn't have any already) that the island is always moving, thus making the rescue of the 815-ers rather difficult.
But there were new mysteries that lead to new questions. Who got Kate, Hurley, and Sayid on board? Was it fate for them to be there anyway? Fate -- much like Frank Lapidus' stumble back into the island story? Was their arrival on Ajira 316 forced by Ben? What was this unfinished business that left Ben visibly injured? I really hope that he convinced the others to join the flight back and it wasn't an attempt to keep his promise of killing Penny Widmore. If that's the case, then I don't think I could ever forgive Ben. Nobody messes with Pesmond! Or did he have something to do with the mysterious disappearance of Aaron and the weird attitude of Kate?
John Locke was Christian Shephard's proxy. Hurley had an ovation guitar for his departed friend Charlie. Ben came in just as the flight was going to take off (like Hurley did on 815). Sun held her husband's ring for safe keeping in place for Rose. Kate seemed to be drugged out in place of Charlie. Sayid is now in custody a la Kate. Did he get busted for busting Ben's face?
Last night's episode concluded where we started off: the Oceanic 6's return to the island. Hurley, Jack and Kate seem to be together. We don't know about the rest, their locations or the time period they are in, and to close out the episode we had a double take of Jin dressed in 70s Dharma fatigues. This places the left behind Losties and at least Jack, Hurley and Kate stuck in Dharma time. How are they going to get back?
My question last week has been answered. I believe this episode gave us the foundation for the rest of the series. Enough new mystery and story for our Losties to get through. God, I love this show!
What do you guys think? Leave your questions, comments, and theories below about last night's episode.
If you crave even more Lost Talk check out my podcast, "The Lost Podcast with Jay and Jack" or on iTunes.
Loading comments…
Want to reply to a comment? Hint: Click "Reply" at the bottom of the comment; after being approved your comment will appear directly underneath the comment you replied to
Can Kate be pregnant--as proxy for Claire on the flight? I think Kate decided to go back to get Claire---if Jin can be alive, so can Claire. Once she decided to go back, she listened to Claire who said not to bring Aaron back. So I think she gave Aaron to Cassidy to keep him safe from Ben and/or Whitmore who dont know anything about Cassidy.
good episode....who beat up on Ben?? I'm thinking Kate did it because Ben took Aaron. My friend thinks it was Matthew Abadon because he "looks like he could deliver an ass-whoopin'!"
Ben was the one who said that "he who moves the island can never return." Ben is also a notorious liar.
I expect we'll see him on the island again.
As I evaluated other parallels of Flight 316 to Flight 815 such as Hurley carrying a guitar taking Charlie's place. I wondered who's proxy Kate was. Jay mentioned Charlie because she seemed so out of it and then I remembered Anna Lucia. Kate seems to have lost Aaron similar to Anna Lucia losing her baby right before she took her trip on Flight 815. Or have I just lost it? Lost fans what do you think?
The guy in line with Jack, who gave condolences about Locke, will become a character. He'll show up on the island. And remember Adam and Eve in the Cave.
Did the writers break the rule...he who moves the island can't come back...because the island is always moving would make it hard to find therefore hard to get back to There's nothing necessarily metaphysical about the statement..
Lampost station had to do some pretty heavy duty calculus to maybe find the right place to send the Oceanic Six. So far, it appears during Dharma's reign on the island people were coming back and forth on scheduled boats. Is it possible that Dharma used some of the power source on the island to "hold it in place" which lead to the accident and the pushing of the button. Then when the hatch exploded, the island was untethered again?
And I go along with Christian..when has listening to Ben every got anyone anywhere??? The guy lies like rug.
Why do Kate, Hurley and Sayid show up?? Likely we'll find out in flashbacks which I think for the pace of the show works. The writers needed to get everybody back on the island..flashbacks can handle the how.
Deselope had darn well better just be sipping tea looking at the sunset with their little Charlie or we'll be lining up to feed Ben to the Smoke Monster.
Loved this episode and loving season 5 so far...
The island was tethered until Ben moved it. We don't know if Ben is on the island. Locke STOPPED the island, so he can return, dead or alive.
Hope Desmond and Penelope have a full-time mission til the end of the series. Just happened to pop in my head about the 1-child family here; notice the characters don't seem to have brothers or sisters. Jack, Kate, Sawyer, Ben, Sayid? (we never were exposed to Sayid's family at all).....then there's Hurley, he's an only child........Jin......John Locke......Claire, Sun, heck, I think I'm on to something here. They are all "only children". Penny even. Except Desmond, where there was reference once to his having to bring up his sibling.
Oops, sorry Claire and Jack are brother/sister. Oh, well, back to square one.
I liked that I actually laughed out loud a couple of times.
"We're not going to Guam, are we?"
"How can you read now?" "Because my mother taught me how."
And knowing that are 5 or 6 more "why/how did they end up on this flight" storylines coming up.
I think something very mysterious happened to Aaron - like someone (maybe even Claire) spiriting him away. Kate looked really scared (and scary) when she talked to Jack. Nothing she expected - like Ben or his lawyers - would have freaked her out like that. She's a tough gal - it would take the supernatural to really get to her.
Jin's appearance as a Dharma dude reinforces my theory that HE is Marvin Candle's son (not Miles). It would be great if he now speaks fluent English and can't remember any Korean (not likely, though).
Has anyone mentioned anywhere that the cameraman filming Candle in the season opener looked a lot like a younger version of Sawyer? I'm starting to think a lot of our Losties have past ties to the island.
Poor Ji-Yeon. What's up with THAT?
Jay, it's Desnelope not Pesmond!
Seriously, I do think the interaction within the Lampost station was a bit weak. It felt like a corny exposition sequence from a 1950's B-film. I mean, Desmond comes in saying he has a special message from Faraday, and the Oceanic 6 doesn't seem a bit fazed?!?! However, I think I speak for many long time Lost fans that I thoroughly applaud the fact that we finally got some SERIOUS answers about what and where the island is.
The ending was perfect. I think it is going to be fabulous fun watching the Losties back in the era of the Dharma Initiative.
And, yes, Desnelope better still be alive.
Who predicts Locke's return from the dead?
Me.
Me too. :-)
Me three!
I agree this was as good as the very first episode in Season 1. Very well done; though I wish some of the 6 would be a bit more connected to each other; Sayid is aloof and Hurley as well, has lost some of his naivete and sweetness. I suspect the 2 people with Sayid are from his old Republican Guard camp......possibly bringing in another angle of interested parties who want the island's secrets.
So, the proxy of John Locke is a type and shadow of Abraham sacrificing his son Isaac and being stopped by an angel, and being given a ram to take his place. Also, in the New Testament, the sacrifice of God's son to take on the sins of mankind. Lost always seems to imply the island needs a sacrifice to take on the misdeeds of the islanders? Guess I'd better wait til next week.......
Oh, and just maybe Ben's still ON Flight 316, since he was told he couldn't return (tho that WOULD limit his involvement in the rest of the storyline.
Locke didn't move the island -- he stopped it. Thus he can return.
First, my jaw dropped when I realized Jack was back on The Island (I said to my brother "No! He's in someone's backyard, right?"). I figured we wouldn't have an Island return until the end of the season. I thought maybe they jumped the shark (if it is POSSIBLE for "Lost" to jump a shark -- expect perhaps literally) but there remain plenty of unanswered questions about that return to fill up several more episodes (Aaron's fate, Sayid's arrest, Ben's beating, Hurley's freedom, etc), not to mention the location of the other Flight 316ers, Jin's Dharma gig, Jughead (based on a true story -- look it up), etc.
I'm so excited!
Anyone note that the shoes were just the right item for Jack to give Locke? Now Locke is literally filling Jack's father's shoes(!) as Jack's foil, the man he wants to please but can't admit it.
Json: While Jack has seen a lot, his core is to be a skeptic. Even tho he's bought into the need to go back, his kneejerk "WTF?" response wins out when he's presented with new weird stuff.
what's jughead!?!?!
Jughead is the cracked nuclear warhead on the island in the time of young Widmore. Faraday attempts to fix it during one of their time leaps.
Karen is right. Jughead is a hydrogen bomb we met a few weeks ago. Faraday advised buring in in lots of concrete, because it had a crack and was leaking something.
The real Jughead refers to five H-bombs built but never tested as part of Operation Castle Bravo. Read all about Castle Bravo and the Jughead nukes on wikipedia or your local library.
(cuz reading is fun-demental!)
Definitely the weakest episode of the season, possibly the entire series. As viewers we have had to suspend our disbelief since the first time we saw a polar bear on a tropical island. And we watched the characters slowly buy into the whole mythology of the island since they were living the events and had no choice.
And now after everything that has happened Jack is suddenly skeptical and need reassurances?? The scene with him and eloise hawking was poorly written and if/when the series completely jumps the shark, I think we look back at that scene as the moment we stopped caring.
Other gripes:
I'm sure it will be covered in flashbacks, but why not show any of how Sayid and Hurley ended up on the plane?
We couldn't get a little more payoff from the Desmond/Hawking meeting that we have been waiting for all season?
Is there some reason that Jack would refuse to open the letter from Locke?
What ever happened to the "He who moves the island cannot return"? Locke and Linus are both on that plane!
On a lighter note, I wonder if any of the passengers in coach on the Ajira flight were looking at the Oceanic 6 thinking "why do those guys look familiar??"
"The island is not done with you, Desmond."
DUH, the payoff on that will come later, when we find out more about Desmond's casual reference that Eloise TOLD HIM TO GO TO THE ISLAND 4 YEARS AGO.
Stop ranting and be patient, sheesh.
while is criticism is over-the-top, his points are valid. Kate and Sayid were adamant about not returning to the Island and 36 hours later both are on the plane. I thought that the sequence between Eloise and Desmond would be informative (she'd explain her relationship or lack thereof with Faraday) but it was strictly confrontational. I still like Jack, but he his skepticism is basically him being a coward. most important, how are the writers going to explain Ben returning to the island? I realize it was Ben who said he couldn't return to the island, but given all the subsequent events, there is no reason for them to write that declaration into story and a season later he's back on the island.
there are still more answers to come so i'm going to watch unlike json
You must be logged in to comment. Log in or connect with
