Amenable for Coercion

Then said he to me, Son of man, lift up your eyes now the way toward the north. So I lifted up my eyes the way toward the north, and see, northward of the gate of the altar this image of jealousy in the entry. (Ezekiel 8:5)

Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. (John 3:5)

Why do you show me iniquity, and look at perversity? For destruction and violence are before me. There is strife, and contention rises up. (Habakkuk 1:3)

Eureka—from the Greek—means, “I have found it!” It is what Archimedes yelled out when he discovered a method for determining the purity of gold.

And so Locke attempts to make amends for his sins and regain the faith he’d lost in the almighty Island. But is the kingdom of the Island one of virtue or manipulation? After all, Locke has shown himself “amenable for coercion” in the past, and this episode doesn’t make any clearer whether or not we should take what the Island gives us at face value or question everything we see. He can be manipulated easily enough, as “Eddie” proved. All it took to gain Locke’s trust was to mention a dead mother and a drunk father. Easy enough for John to identify with. After seeing the consequence of not pushing the button, Locke sees no alternative but to renew the once-impervious faith he had in the Island and thus serve at its’ apparent beckon call. As with all mysteries of the Lost variety, only time will tell if Locke is worshipping a higher power…or a mere golden calf.

Anyhoo, we start the episode (and, in effect, restart the season) with what else?–another eye shot, bringing our Eye Tallyâ„¢ to four.

I’ve touched on some of what we see during Locke’s vision and journey to save Eko in the Quick Hits section below, so I’ll jump to some points of emphasis. Locke, by the end of the episode, seems to have established himself as the castaways’ new leader in Jack’s absence. Once again secure in his faith, he’s confident enough to rally them to save Jack, Kate and Sawyer, just as Desmond said he had…or would…

Which, of course, brings us to what could be the most important event in the episode: Desmond’s reference to Locke’s speech–before it happens. What in the eff? There have been myriad theories about the central conceit behind the show, from Purgatory to one, big dream, to a massive experiment to time loops and God knows what else. One theory that the show’s creators have actually hinted at, however, is that “time works a little differently on the Island.” Desmond’s sudden and uncanny prediction gives a lot more weight and muscle to that theory. He also certainly didn’t seem too fazed by his newfound abilities; what happened to him???

In true Lost fashion, of course, Desmond recognizes his slip and hushes up when Hurley questions him about the speech Locke had yet to give, so we’ll likely have to wait eighty-six more episodes before we find out what happened to Desmond from the time he turned the failsafe key to his naked run through the jungle. I do seem to remember that one of the Hanso Foundation’s experiments, back when their website was up and running normally, had to do with remote viewing–in essence, being able to see events from great distances away in your mind’s eye. You don’t have to stretch much farther to relate the concept of time to that ability.

Quick Hits

• Eddie is wearing a Geronimo Jackson shirt, the band we should now be familiar with from their LP down in the Hatch. Hurley was seen playing the record multiple times last season.

  

  Speaking of Edward Colburn, I’m guessing we haven’t seen the last of him, and I’m not sure I like his chances of escaping the Weed Plantation. As Locke said, those around him tend to get hurt. Humboldt County is in California, on a side note.

• We see season one’s ill-fated polar bear had a companion; an evil-looking mofo by the looks of him.

  

  He or she’s probably not too happy about having it’s mate shot by Sawyer. Fitting that Sawyer is now locked up in the cage the two bears undoubtedly once called home. Or, come to think of it, maybe there were more than two. Boone did say that “they’ve got (Eko),” after all.

• This is likely another product of my overactive imagination, but I found it interesting that Benjamin Linus/Henry Gale was depicted as an airport security guard during Locke’s spirit vision, screening Jack, Kate and Sawyer through the checkpoint.

  

  Perhaps a metaphor for what the three are going through? Are they being screened before leaving the Island? Are they being groomed to re-enter the real world, once shaped by the Others? Another thing I noticed during the vision was the fact that Boone referred to Claire and Charlie as being safe “for now.”

• I’ll have to check some other sites for this, but I think I remember seeing that Tonka truck in a flashback at some point.

  

• We find out what happened to at least one of the unfortunate Pearl Station crewmembers:

  

  The “Einsteins of the bear community” look like they’ve had plenty to dine on the last decade or so.