Quad Blogs

Well, it’s a sad day for Flyers nation because Simon Gagne has been traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning. It seems reasonable to assume Homer will use the cap space to sign the man who lost his job to Kari Lehtonen. No, that is not a ringing endorsement. Trust me. I had Kari Lehtonen on my fantasy hockey team for a season. Bad times. The man I refer to is Marty Turco.

Gagne was the longest tenured Flyer and the 2nd longest tenured Philadelphia athlete. Simply, Simon Gagne is awesome. I had to offer a small portion of today’s blog to Simon Gagne. Fans could argue that without Gagne returning in Game 4 of the semis against Boston that history would not have been made. Without Gagne’s amazing game 6 OT goal in the eastern conference finals, there would be no game 7 against Tampa Bay in 2004.

All we fans can hope for is that Homer finally devotes himself to understanding the cap because the dude has traded a huge amount of offense in the last year and a half to create cap space. Thankfully one of those deals landed the team Pronger. But I’m still not a fan of Upshall for Carcillo. Also, this quote from Raw Charge does not make one feel any better about getting Matt Walker and his 1.7 million dollar cap-hit plus the knowledge that he’ll just be waived to create more cap-space.

” Walker is solid but not flashy… Yet he’s overpaid while the Bolts have a load of defensemen in the system just waiting to prove themselves. For the Flyers to take Walker and his $1.7 Million per-year contract off the Bolts hands is breathtaking… Especially while wanting o clear cap space.”

Check out Post Collegiate Apocalypse for more Simon Gagne stuff.

Anywho, I write in here today because I have a happy announcement. There is a good chance the only one delighted by the announcement is me, the announcer. It is safe to say that The Foot has not been the same since LOST has ended. I know I gained a new reader or two since LOST ended because there was nothing to write about. I’m not Jeff Jensen and I do not have a long theory about how the Island had a flashforward 2,000 years before the characters arrived on the Island. As any loyal reader knows, I loathe the world of LOST theorists. In fact, I’ve barely surfed LOST message boards since the show ended. I wrote my 10,000 word finale piece and decided to let it be for awhile. I have not even been on pins and needles awaiting Damon and Carlton to end their radio silence. I may’ve sent Damon a tweet asking about the duration of radio silence but I have not experienced the feelings I felt after every season, and that is because of the conclusion. There were no insane cliffhangers. I’m happy with how the series ended and the story that Damon, Carlton and all of the writers told.

Obviously, the announcement involves LOST. I pre-ordered the final season on DVD last night with an Amazon giftcard. I even spent extra cash because I want the DVD on the day it is released. I know I said that Jacob’s Foot is no more; however, I lied. Jacob’s Foot has one last thing left to do and that is review the DVD. This DVD review will not be your typical DVD review. My initial plan has the review broken into four parts. Perhaps I will write about the entire season again, using the complete knowledge I have of the sideways. I will surely review all four commentaries in the format of an episode review like I did for the “Because You Left” commentary. I will review the bonus features and the deleted scenes. I look forward to the scene cut from “What They Died For” in which Claire defiantly stands up to MIB. I will review the LOST: On Location(s) because I’m a huge fan of that feature.

But, really, Jacob’s Foot has always been a place where I could write 4,000 words on an original episode. Jacob’s Foot, in all actuality, captured my experience of watching LOST as a fan. As all LOST aficionados know, the DVD features the final original piece of storytelling from Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse. The title is “The New Man In Charge.” It is 12 minutes of film devoted to Hurley and Ben’s life on the Island after Jack died and the Ajira plane left. Entertainment Weekly released a still in their latest issue. Here is the picture:

Michael Emerson told EW’s Adam B. Vary that Ben is going to Dharma installations and closing them down. Emerson notes that there are surprises and answers given in the 12 minutes. For the final time, I will watch original LOST content and then write about it and then post it to Quad Blogs. Anyone who wonders if I can write 4,000 words on 12 minutes, the answer is yes because I wrote over 1,000 for a webisode last year during the hiatus. I promise the big verbose entries are on the horizon.

In 1 month, Jacob’s Foot returns for the final time and will be around for as much time I need to cover all of the DVD and any interviews Damon and Carlton might give.

Until then, expect the usual nonsense in the spinoff of Jacob’s Foot. I’m planning a Week of Whedon. I’m still unsure about reviewing Mad Men. Every now and then, I’ll chime in about the current seasons of True Blood and Entourage.

THE YOUTUBE CLIP OF THE WEEK

An absolutely fascinating episode of LOST. I think we might’ve just found out the significance of the Numbers. I’ll get into that. It looks like The Man in Black is not the Big Bad or whatever you want to call it. I’ll also get into that (but then again Richard looked absolutely terrified). It seems as if someone is coming to The Island. I’ll get into that. Perhaps I should quit writing “I’ll get into that” and actually, well, get into it. SO I WILL!

I have missed the real John Locke, folks. The sideways story had me once Helen walked through the door to help John up after he fell. He was still the same sad man we saw in “Walkabout,” full of self-pity and just awfully sad. He doesn’t believe in miracles. My mind immediately went to that scene in “There’s No Place Like Home” when Locke describes the Island, to Jack, as a place of miracles. He was denied a chance to go on the Walkabout. But his life isn’t all sadness anymore. He has Helen in this sideways world. Not only does he have her, he’s going to marry her. He met Hurley after being fired from his job and it turned out Hurley put him on track to find another job quickly. He met Rose in the job placement office and she told him to begin living his life again, that she did even with her terminal cancer. They were both healed, of course, when they landed on the Island. And Rose even told John, in her way, that she knew about his healing. Something that stuck me was Locke’s faith even when it appeared he had lost it. He told Helen that he’s aware he can’t do what he wants to do but he never stopped thinking or trying to do the things that he wanted. That’s John Locke. In the end, when he essentially accepted his fate, Helen tore up Jack’s card.

Once again, there were some differences in the Sideways world. But Doc Jensen beat me to the punch in stating all of them so swing over EW.com way for it. Continuing with The Foot recap:

I, of course, won’t continue with this recap without mentioning the words written on Helen’s shirt. “Peace&Karma.” Listen, EVERYTHING is significant in this show. I had half the mind to go back and carefully examine Jack’s card but I didn’t. Peace&Karma will not be ignored because those two words sum up what I hope the future holds for John Locke. Peace and the Karmic gods to do John Locke some good. I hope when/if there is a reconciliation of these two worlds that John Locke will find the ultimate peace. It would be the finest way to end John Locke’s story.

I also won’t continue into the meaty on-Island story without mentioning the fact that Benny Linus and Johnny Locke are now colleagues. Both teachers. European History is what Ben teaches and Locke is simply a substitute (and do I really need to break down the symbolism/significance/meaning of the episode title and Locke’s role in sideways world? I probably will, anyway). Locke is teaching biology. Science. Very sneaky, writers. I knew Ben would show up at some point. I was delighted when he did and delighted that he was chastising the faculty for not removing the empty coffee bag from the coffee machine. It’s going to be great to watch the working relationship develop between the two of them.

As for the actual John Locke substitute, Mr. NotLocke, Mr. Man in Black…he is not a happy man. There was quite a bit of story in that Island tale. NotLocke accused Jacob of manipulating the candidates to the Island. He told Sawyer that Jacob always wanted to protect the Island. When Sawyer asked NotLocke what the Island was being protected from, NotLocke said nothing. NotLocke reminds of a total and complete nihilist. He’s the Ippolit of The Island. Ippolit is a character in Dostoevsky’s “The Idiot.” Anywho, NotLocke believes in nothing. All three choices involved nothing. They could literally do nothing. Sawyer could protect the Island but NotLocke called protection meaningless and reduced it to nothing. The third is to leave the Island. Again, doing nothing. Nietzsche’s Superman rejected the traits of humility and passivity. Perhaps that’s what NotLocke perceived Jacob to be instilling into these characters. He insinuated Sawyer and the rest were pawns or puppets with no free-will, that they were here because of Jacob but their purpose is meaningless and no purpose actually exists. It reminds me of the ‘push the button’ question that dominated the second season. Faith vs. Science, predeterminism vs. free-will. Returning to Superman, the Superman believed traits of humility and passivity were devices of that powers-that-be to control man.

Here’s why I explain my Numbers remark at the top of this recap. I don’t at all think the Numbers were explained. It’s merely the philosophy of NotLocke throwing out an answer to Sawyer’s question. His response is inherently nihilistic: “Jacob had a thing for numbers.” STEVE described NotLocke as wild. I totally agree. Here’s a dude who told Sawyer that he felt pain, joy, and the whole nine yards of humanity, that he is a man. But he’s been trapped. And now he’s absolutely miserable. I speculated he wanted to return to The Temple, that the Tempe is his home. Scratch that. This dude, as far I can tell, wants to get the hell off of the Island.

So, then what, do we make of Richard’s absolutely terror of him? Hm. I trust Richard. He still holds the greatest Other title. NotLocke was disgusted that Richard followed Jacob blindly. I think the idea of Richard disgusts NotLocke. Re: Nihilism. Richard is convinced he’s going to kill Sawyer and others. I don’t know. I really don’t know. It’s only the fourth episode!

How about that boy NotLocke saw? I’m thinking that was Jacob. “You know the rules. You can’t kill him.” I think that refers to Jacob. It was very creepy though and I loved it. It reminded me of the ol’ season 2 Walt vision days. That first shot of the boy was INSANE. This is going to be a dynamite season, folks.

We learned via Ilana that NotLocke is stuck looking like Locke. He is a permanent substitute. Interesting. Also, going back to the vision of the boy, perhaps NotLocke isn’t responsible for the Walking Dead. HMMM. The boy also reminded me of how Christian was in “White Rabbit.” HMMMMM. As for Ilana, I’m still intrigued by her. She’s more together than Richard is but, of course, she wasn’t beaten and hung up in a ball in a tree. I like the knowledge she possesses. If I’m Frank, Sun, and Ben…I feel safe. I also was touched by Ilana’s moment of mourning in the Foot. The four of them will be journeying to The Temple. But before that…

Sun wanted to bury Locke. And they did. They took him to the graveyard where so many of our beloved characters lie. Ben’s eulogy seemed sincere and heartfelt. I think he’s truly sorry considering the recent events in which he was manipulated into killing his leader, Jacob. He spoke truly of Locke. A believer and a man of faith. I really do hope Ben can be redeemed. Poor Sun was wary of following Ilana but Ilana assured her that Jin would be in The Temple. Poor Sun doesn’t know Jin left The Temple to find her and is now with a gun-toting Cliare and trapped in a bear trap. But I think Claire will not even harm Jin. The two are friends. FRIENDS. He tried to help her catch the Par Avion bird! I digress. I cracked up when Frank said the funeral was the weirdest he’s ever been to. You bet your Aldo bobblehead that Frank is going to rise in the rankings for that. Dear LORD how I laughed! Frank Lapidus, everyone!

Don’t think I forgot about Sawyer. Sawyer is in absolute “I don’t give a flying BLEEP” mode. He was drinking whiskey, listening to The Stooges, and basically inviting death to come. He knew MiB wasn’t Locke. And the man followed him for answers alone. NotLocke told him he could tell him why he’s on the Island. Sawyer chose to stay with NotLocke when a frantic Richard told him to get the heck away from him. Sawyer just wants get off the Island. He did choose number three: Get off the Island. What will it take to get off of the Island? I’m sure it’s going to be intense. Sawyer’s had some bad luck in his attempts to get off of the Island as he noted to NotLocke. Considering what he’s been through, I don’t blame him for wanting to get off the Island. I’m not sure what the future holds for Sawyer. STEVE thinks he will die. Perhaps he will. Perhaps a few characters I love will die. It is the final season after all.

The previews for next week hint that someone is coming. I think this is going to get very, very intense. Here’s some more thoughts:

–Ben covered his ass with Ilana. I mean, NotLocke essentially murdered Jacob. Sure Ben did the stabbing BUT NotLocke did kick Jacob into the fire which really killed him. And you know? NotLocke is essentially doing what he’s accused Jacob of doing. He’s manipulating the bollocks out of people so far.

–Had a thought while re-watching “What Kate Does.” Perhaps “The Incident” began the flash sideways. Bear with me. What sparked this thought was the scene between Kate and Claire when Kate asks Claire whether or not she’d be believed if she told Claire she was innocent. When Jacob visited her, he touched her hand and told her (i’m paraphrasing) to not steal again. She said yes. In the sideways, she may be innocent. I’m not much into theories but one can consider this is a theory. Am I saying they were all sideways? No. I’d be daft if I suggested that. It’s just a thought that I don’t really buy into myself. I also continue to have a love/hate relationship with message boards.

–I really am anxious to see Claire/Jin again. I’m SO INTO THIS SEASON! I want everything going on in one episode. NotLocke/Sawyer, Sun/Frank/Ilana/Ben, The Temple.

–How about NotLocke throwing the white stone into the ocean? He told Sawyer it was an inside joke. We saw those two stones with the skeletons in season one. Also: backgammon.

–The Aaron theories are abundant on the message boards. Tell me: how can the boy NotLocke saw be Aaron when Aaron is just three years old? I’m all for Aaron emerging as a character of mythic and epic proportions but I really think it’s simply about getting Claire and Aaron back together. Claire deserves it. Aaron deserves it.

–I don’t think I have much to say about the cave or about the names. It’s worth noting that Kate is not a candidate. Only males. And Locke had his name crossed out because he’s dead. NotLocke can be incredibly understanding and then incredibly harsh and cold.

–Ilana collected some of Jacob’s ash before leaving The Foot. If I’m NotLocke, I wouldn’t be all smiles with Ilana on the Island.

–This episode mirrored season three’s “The Brig.” I deemed “The Brig” one of the show’s most underrated episodes. I stand by that. In “The Brig,” Locke gets Sawyer to go with him with the promise that Ben is imprisoned in The Black Rock. In this, NotLocke lures Sawyer with him through the promise of answers. Murder soon follows in “The Brig.” Will murder soon follow? Hm.

–Terry O’Quinn was dynamite this episode. What an actor. I loved how he portrayed Locke in the Sideways world. Loved the NotLocke stuff. I’ve gotta mention Jeff Fahey for delivering one of the greatest lines in the show. I think Elizaberth Sarnoff and Melina Hsu Taylor wrote an outstanding episode.

–I’m predicting next week’s episode is a Jack episode. Why? Season Six has been following the blueprint of season one and, after all, the season is clearly mirroring season one.

TO THE RANKINGS!

THE OFFICIAL LOST RANKINGS

It was only a matter of time until Locke returned to the top 5 for me. It took me nearly 9 months and the Sideways story to properly rank Locke. He’s still one of my favorite characters and would’ve reclaimed the top spot if Jack wasn’t so badass and awesome last week. There was some exciting movement in the rankings. Sawyer dropped in both our lists. You know, this is a very tough numbers game. It’s the way the biscuit bakes, you know. Desmond retains the top spot for STEVE. MiB moved up for STEVE because MiB is wild. Here they are:

AFTER EPISODE 4

Ranked: 2/17/2010

CHRIS

1. Jack

2. Locke

3. Sayid

4. Desmond

5. Ben

6. Hurley

7. Jin

8. Miles

9. Claire

10. Dogen

11. Frank

12. Sawyer

13. Kate

14. Richard

15. Sun

16. The Man in Black

17. Ilana

18. Lennon

19. Widmore

STEVE

1. Desmond

2. Sayid

3. Sawyer

4. Ben

5. Kate

6. Miles

7. Jack

8. Jin

9. Frank

10. Dogen

11. Man in Black

12. Richard

13. Claire

14. Locke

15. Ilana

16. Sun

17. Lennon

18. Widmore

19. Hurley

What an episode! I’m so excited and pumped after watching that. It’s been 21 minutes since the episode ended and I’m so damn pumped!

Where do I begin? With Jack, once again, being awesome? With Claire, seemingly, returning as Rousseau no.2 (traps, gun, and all)? With how awesome Dogen is? The fantastic flash sideway with Ethan Goodspeed and the relationship between Kate, Claire, and Aaron? I’m such a fanboy that this recap is going to go every which way and insane! I told myself I’d settle down with these recaps, watch word count, and try to write with some coherency. I think I can do that. Don’t count 2,000 words out.

“What Kate Does” is the title of episode three of season six of LOST. “What Kate Did” is the title of season two’s ninth episode. This episode brought back some season two-ness and some season one-ness and some season three-ness AND some season four-ness AND SEASON FIVE-NESS. I’ll get into all of that later. I’m going to stay focused on the central Kate story first.

There have many Kate episodes throughout this fantastic series. For the most part, in her flashbacks, she’s been running and she’s hurt a lot of people in the process. There’s Tom who was killed in “Born To Run” as she fled police. She caused a car crash when Ray, the farmer who took her in in Australia in “Tabula Rasa,” though she does drag him to safety. But she’s not a heartless, cold hearted person and never has been. She helped Cassidy while on the lam. She DID drag Ray to safety. She did a whole lot to preserve Tom’s memory (“Whatever The Case May Be”). She protected Kevin from any legal trouble once she realized she couldn’t have a life with him. Tonight, she WENT BACK to help Claire. After being terribly rude to Claire, she was moved to go back to her when she discovered she had things Aaron in her bag. She’s still very much on the run but she took time to drive Claire to the adopted parents (oh there’ll be more on that) and to the hospital when Claire experienced contractions. It was so awesome. My favorite scene in the sideways is the Ethan scene. Ethan Goodspeed. Confirmation that he’s the son of Horace and Amy. The interaction between he and Claire was such a reversal from the flashbacks seen in “Maternity Leave.” He tells her the last thing he wants to do is drug her, to stick a bunch of needles in her. That’s all he did to her while in The Arrow. She had a choice to make as well. Whether to have Aaron now or later. She decided later to wait to deliver Aaron and, after a brief scare, Aaron was a healthy as can be. I really enjoyed the scene that followed when they discussed Aaron’s name and how Claire said it just came to her. Kate told her that she should keep him. The most moving moment was when the camera revealed Claire holding Kate’s hand. I’m very glad that Claire is back.

I’ve written ad-nauseum about Kate, Claire, and Aaron (as recently as last week!) but I can’t help it. I love their story. I love how it’s evolved and how meaningful it’s become. Why would Claire trust Kate after that experience in the cab? I think it goes back to the idea of predeterminism and free will. Fate and destiny imply that individuals are pawns of fate but what if that isn’t necessarily it? I’m with Jacob. They have a choice. Kate had a choice. She could’ve kept running after going through her bag. She didn’t have to return to the Island but she did. What I’m writing is connected with Kierkegaard’s notion of the absurdity of faith. Of couse I think it’s all meaningful. These characters and their interactions and their experience on the Island. The episode is very aptly titled. It’s about what she does and about what they all do. The Temple represents this idea of predeterminism. The Others need Sawyer, Kate, and Jin in The Temple because, I presume, of what was written on that list of Jacob’s that was in the ankh. The sideways world is a representation of active free-will. I think the two ideas will reconcile as will the sideways and the present.

On The Island, in 2007, Kate followed Sawyer to New-Old Otherton where he really just wants to be alone. He’s just very sad. He blames himself for Juliet’s death because he asked her to stay with him that night in 1974. He didn’t want to be alone and now feels like he’s destined to be alone. I wrote last week that I thought Sawyer and Kate would end up together but I don’t think that’ll happen anymore. His love for Juliet might be diminished. While trekking with Jin, she told Jin that she was escaping and showed no interest in helping him find Sun which wasn’t too cool. She implied that she wanted to be with Sawyer and to stay with Sawyer somewhere that wasn’t anywhere near The Temple. She also asked for his help finding Claire but he just wanted to be alone. I can’t fault the dude. He needs to properly grieve. Kate cried and then it seemed like she’ll be returning to The Temple.

Elsewhere, in The Temple, some really, really, really cool stuff was taking place. Dogen and Lennon sought to diagnose Sayid after he returned to life after dying. Jack was there throughout, looking after Sayid and making sure he was protected. Dogen wanted to poison Sayid because he detected a darkness in Sayid that would consume him. Sayid had been claimed. Dogen stated that what would happen with Sayid happened to Claire. The entire story was/is fascinating. They tortured the torturer. I don’t quite buy what Dogen and Lennon were selling. Dogen attempted to use Jack’s past to get him to give Sayid the pill but Jack has learned from Jughead. He didn’t want to give anything to Sayid that he didn’t know everything about it. To learn, he put the pill in his mouth. Dogen finally told him the pill was poison. This story contained a whole lot about The Others, for a lack of a better word, methodology and lended discussion to the idea of predeterminism. In “LA X,” Dogen didn’t signal for the removal of Sayid from the water until the hour glass ran out. Did they run into Claire and cast her out? I get the impression she’s been Rousseau for the last three years, totally on her own, building traps and doing all she can to survive. Man of faith Jack took a backseat to man of science Jack tonight and I LOVED IT!

As for Island Claire, I loved the return. I’ve been waiting. I don’t believe she’s been consumed by darkness. She’s Claire! She’s goodness and light. I hope we get a flashback for whatever happened to her the last three years. I’m glad Claire ran into Jin. She looked absolutely insane (and still so pretty) but she and Jin were close. He’s in good hands. I didn’t really pick up on what Aldo was doing when stopping Justin from saying anything. Now I understand. Justin was close to telling Kate and Jin about Claire on several occasions but Aldo stopped him every time. I’m thinking Claire did die after the explosion but was saved by the Spring. So, where does Christian fall into all of this?

I’m loving season six so far. Here’s some more thoughts:

–Emilie de Ravin was wonderful. I loved everything about the sideways story. Back to sideways Claire for a moment, a couple actually existed in Los Angeles. I wish Malkin would return for one episode. “?” is still messing with my mind!

–Speaking of the sidways world, listen to the latest Official Lost Podcast if you’re confused. Darlton are preaching patience and not thinking too deeply or too much about it. Just let it progress, folks. Let the story unfold.

–Dogen is amazing. The scene between he and Jack, in his office, when Jack asked questions that Dogen actually answered rocked. Dogen said he was brought here just like Jack. And Jack seemed like he scoffed a tiny bit at that.

–Kate was absolutely badass tonight.

–I mentioned the season one-ness so I’ll explain it here. Kate’s first flashback is the third episode of season one and she got the third episode of season six. Man in Black/NotLocke next week? The season three-ness was explained by Aldo himself. He was a guard on Alcatrez Island. The actor who created ‘It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.’

–Miles and Hurley were just hanging out somewhere around The Temple. I re-watched “LA X” and read the scene when Miles is attempting to communicate with Sayid differently. He says ‘nothing’ to Hurley when Hurley asks ‘what?’ Given the revelation about Claire, perhaps Miles sensed the same thing but didn’t want to cause alarm. I don’t know. I might be looking too much into it. We shall see.

–Josh Holloway’s been knocking it out of the park this season. The scene on the dock was terrific. I’m a fan of what they’ve been doing with Sawyer so far this season.

–Hurley asked Sayid if he’s a zombie. The Zombie season awaits, folks.

–Eddie Kitsis and Adam Horowitz wrote one heck of an episode. I loved every moment of it. Paul Edwards helmed the episode.

Such a great episode. I’ll be buzzed all week. I’m going to really miss this show. The rankings will be up ASAP. Me and STEVE didn’t have the chance to rank last night and I like to get a recap up as soon as I possibly can. Expect the rankings later in the week as well as additional thoughts.

IT IS FEBRUARY! ONE MORE DAY! ONE MORE DAY! ONE MORE DAY!

The frenzy of the beginning of season six has overwhelmed the internet and media. The first four minutes of the premiere are available, a screening of the first hour of the premiere happened on Saturday night, every print publication has or will have a write-up on the premiere looming, every online publication has or will have a write-up on the premiere looming. I am glad we are at this point. However, I’m not in support of the first four minutes of the premiere being available. I haven’t watched and will not watch. I will you tell why: many moons ago (September 2005), MSN.com offered a few sneak peeks at some scenes for the season two opener “Man of Science, Man of Faith.” The scenes: the exchange Hurley has with Jack about the numbers and being cursed, Kate’s descent into The Hatch, and I think that’s it but those two early glimpses ruined the premiere for me. No context, no fun. I also had trouble enjoying all of season two for reasons that include an insane re-run/new episode schedule. Did it all begin that fateful day when I previewed two scenes possibly? All I know is that I’ve waited patiently for 8 months to enjoy the experience of the premiere in its totality and enjoy in its totality I will! This time tomorrow…9PM…the wait will finally be over and it will be glorious. 8PM is the recap of course.

This leaves some time for the last pre-season six meaty entry of Jacob’s Foot. Tomorrow I will deliver the pre-season rankings. Wednesday I will deliver a recap of (FINALLY!) a new episode. But those last two sentences are for the future. Now, it’s time for the episode of the day:

THE ‘LOST’ EPISODE OF THE DAY

The episode: White Rabbit

Original Airdate: October 20, 2004

Written by: Christian Taylor

Directed by: Kevin Hooks

Content: The survivors begin to struggle as they realize they are running out of fresh water. Meanwhile, Jack continues to see his dead father’s figure on the Island. Flashbacks in this episode show a little bit of Jack’s childhood and also what Jack was doing in Australia.

Why It’s Worth Re-Watching: I think it’s safe to say Jack’s story will be a critical part of the final season. After all, the man decided to detonate a hydrogen bomb as a way to try to erase the last three years, as a way to ‘fix’ the last three years. As the series progressed, the flawed nature of Jack became more and more evident. In this episode, Jack is struggling with the fact everyone wants him to be their leader but, as we see from the flashback, he has been scarred a whole lot by his father. After saving Boone from drowning and choosing not to save Joanna, Boone yells at Jack for the decision. Around him, people are becoming more hostile, highlighted by the water problem when people begin looking to assign blame.

The bulk of this episode, for Jack, takes place away from the fuselage and camp because Jack is following, what John Locke describes, as the white rabbit–his father. We find out Jack’s father died in Sydney. And now we know how truly difficult his relationship was with his father and he still hasn’t properly grieved or coped with his father’s death because Jack must have some emotional guilt since he became the catalyst for Christian falling off the sobriety tracks and disclosing Christian’s inebriation to the medical board. His father’s death is fresh, painful wound in this, the fifth episode of the series, and it explains his reluctance to participate in the memorial service Claire put together in “Walkabout.” One of the episode’s most powerful scenes is when Jack remembers confirming his father’s dead body followed by Jack crying as he sits by the fire. I think the whole sequence is terrific. This is when Jack discovers the caves. And yes, I do think the Island led him to the caves. The photography is beautiful. The score is mesmerizing. Here it is:

Another powerful scene is when Jack pleads with Oceanic to process the coffin so he can bury his father. Unfortunately, I can’t find a YouTube clip to link of the scene.

Anywho, there’s a terrific scene between Jack and Locke in this episode. In fact, it’s fun to re-watch Jack/Locke scenes before “Do No Harm” because the two aren’t, well Jack isn’t, ready to strangle Locke to death. Jack is wary, though, of Locke before the Boone stuff happens. In “Hearts and Minds,” he asks Charlie about Locke to which Charlie responds that he’d put his absolute trust in Locke to save them all. I digress though. The scene between them in “White Rabbit” is very significant. They engage in their first Man of Science/Man of Faith discussion though it’s not hostile nor is it overt and Jack actually seeks some insight into why the heck he sees a man that cannot be there and contemplates what lostaways view him as: their leader. It’s the first instance of the key theme of predeterminism. Here is the scene:

And, while I’m on this scenes kick, I can’t leave out the speech from White Rabbit:

I’m a big Jack fan. There are some fans who dislike the character very much but I’m not among them. I think he’s a fascinating, complex character. Naturally, I’m very excited for the final chapter in Jack’s individual story. He’s more lost than any other character perhaps. He’s more together and focused in “White Rabbit” than he is when he’s off the Island and he’s still searching for…something once he returns to the Island. Carlton Cuse spoke about the possibility of redemption as a key theme that will be explored in the final season. Other than Sayid, I’m most interested in the possibility of Jack’s redemption in the final chapter of this show.

As for the other happenings in the episode, Claire bonds with Kate and Charlie. Specifically, she’s glad Charlie isn’t afraid of her like most of the other lostaways. Oh, Claire. As I mentioned earlier, there’s a good subplot that involves lack of water.

This is an absolutely terrific episode of LOST. It’s the only episode of the show Christian Taylor wrote (though I’d love to know which scenes Damon wrote since I bet he wrote at least one) but bravo sir! Kevin Hooks directed this one. Michael Bonvillain DPed the episode and the entire cast & crew did a tremendous job.

That does it for (possibly) the last EVER episode of the day. Check out the latest issue of The Quad (wcuquad.com). And check back here TOMORROW afternoon for the season six pre-season LOST rankings.

ONE MORE DAY!