Quick Hits (cont’d.)
- We should talk a bit about Jacob and his “old friend” Esau (or the Man in Black; or Evil Locke; or Cerberus the Raging Tower of Black Smoke, if you prefer). When last we saw the pair, Jacob had been stabbed and thrown into the fire. I’d surmised then that, like Obi-Wan Kenobi, striking Jacob down might make him even more powerful than Esau could possibly imagine. Time will tell, fellow nerds. Jacob’s appearance to Hurley later on (and Hurley alone) confirms he’ll still be around to influence events.
(Does it bear mentioning Jacob was apparently made of ultra-flammable materials? No trace of him was seen in the fire pit under the statue.)
- Esau, having found his loophole (Ben) to kill Jacob, now appears to have taken the mantle of Island ownership. His first order of business? Cutting a swatch of carpet and cleaning his knife blade.
Am I reading too much into that act (undoubtedly)? Is there any significance to that carpet – is Esau too fastidious to just wipe the blade on his pants?
- I think we now have as much confirmation as we need, by the way, that Esau = Evil Locke = the Smoke Monster. Sure, it’d be nice to get some more details filled in as to why he makes mechanical noises while in smoke form, but you shouldn’t have to question its identity any longer at this point.
“I’m sorry you had to see me like that.”I liked the intentional good/evil juxtaposition as Esau explains things to Ben while leaning back into the shadows and out of the light.
Hearkens back to Claire’s dreams of a black-and-white-eyed Locke in season 1.
- The sand-like barrier we’ve seen numerous times in past seasons is confirmed to be ash. Jacob follower Bram holds Smokey back temporarily by surrounding himself with it under the statue, and we later see it used in bulk at the Temple once the Ninja Herbalist (more on him later) learns Jacob is dead.
I’m sure some other sites will have some research on the material’s significance in relation to biblical history and giant smoke monsters. I’ll keep you posted.
- I’ve got no patience for more Kate-on-the-run storylines, with or without Claire. You’re on your own unless that somehow gets interesting, folks.
- We finally arrive at the oft-mentioned but never-before-seen Temple behind the forbidding walls we’ve seen a few times.
I couldn’t help but think of Apocalypse Now when they arrived and met the Ninja Herbalist and his translator (bearing a striking resemblance to Dennis Hopper’s tripped-out photographer in the film).
There seemed to be a lot of reds in and around the Temple, from the large blooming flowers to the attire of the Others there (who were sent there by Richard a couple of seasons ago, if you’ll recall).
Searching for “significance of red + temple” yielded the following, incredibly relevant text:
The Burning of the Red Lotus Temple (Chinese: 火燒紅蓮寺; pinyin: Huo shao hong lian si) is a Chinese silent film serial directed by Zhang Shichuan. The film, adapted from the novel The Tale of the Extraordinary Swordsman, focuses on the rescue of a commander held captive in a temple full of traps.
Burning of the Red Lotus Temple is among the longest films ever produced and the longest major release, running 27 hours in total. The Mingxing Film Company production was released in 18 feature-length parts between 1928 and 1931. [Wikipedia]
Perhaps the most noteworthy aspect of the Temple was The Spring, in which the Others try to heal Sayid. The translator seems surprised when he sees it, saying the “water isn’t clear.” As if it’s somehow been contaminated or rendered less pure somehow (possibly as a result of Jacob’s death, I would think). Further evidence of its waning restorative abilities is presented when the Ninja Herbalist tries to heal his self-inflicted knife wound, to no avail. It’s safe to assume Ben was brought here as a child to heal his gunshot wound (courtesy of Sayid, ironically enough).
Despite Sayid’s apparent drowning as the sands (or is it ash?) fell through the hourglass, he wakes up very much alive at the end of the episode. Delayed effects of the Spring, or were the same powers that healed Locke’s damaged spine responsible for his sudden resurrection?
The Ninja Herbalist also mentions “there are risks” inherent in using the Spring. Richard made mention that Ben would be forever changed if he were to save him from his gunshot wound as a child. We’ll see what happens to Sayid if the Spring in fact saved him.
The carpet remnant evil Locke cuts off could in some way, correspond to the tapestry swatch Ilana takes from Jacob’s house in the woods?.
i thought the deafness was the result of the noise from them exploding the h-bomb.
me, too! with great effect!
nice to have you back, pants
I’m wondering if, just like Esau took over Locke’s form/dead body, Sayid is really dead and it’s really Jacob in his body.
Jacks missing pen was stolen by Kate when she brushed up against him coming out of the planes bathroom, it’s what she used in the airport bathroom to try and get out of the handcuffs.
Why did Hurley yell, “Jack!” right before the cut to Sayid “waking up”. It was almost as though Hurley was warning Jack as he saw something!
Just to get his attention before he got his ass kicked, I believe.
Thanks, trapdoor, I missed that.
Thanks for the recap Gordo! Excellent job!
nice work cheeba.
Jin tells Hurley they moved through time at the beginning of the episode. Hurley asks how he knows and he says, “white flash, headache, can’t hear: happen to me before.” Is Jin referring to the time travel last season? Or to the freighter explosion he miracuously survived? Bomb explodes on freighter; bomb explodes on Island…
Ninja Herbalist = “Dogen” = Dogen Zenji, the 13th century Japanese Zen Buddhist master, founder of the Soto School of Zen.
Last bit of follow-up on the premiere, courtesy of Doc Jensen: