Questions & Answers…and more Questions

A fine episode of Lost this week, chockful of tied-up loose ends and even more questions. As this is the last new episode until March 22nd, waiting for answers to those new questions is going to take a while. On to the observations:

• We don’t really get an answer to whether or not last episode’s hatch countdown actually caused Aaron’s sickness; particularly in light of the fact that Aaron seemed to be okay by episode’s end. So that begs the question, what is the purpose of the 4-8151623 42 serum? Desmond had obviously been using it for quite some time (which also means it’s in the current hatch if Claire ever needs it), but with what effects? Who’s actually infected here?

  

  The serum above appears to be a bit different from Desmond’s serum, showing “Rx-1GND,” whereas Desmond’s is just “Rx-1.”

• Locke gives Mr. Gale a book: The Brothers Karamazov, by Fyodor Dostoevsky. A summary below:
  

  The Brothers Karamazov (Братья Карамазовы in Russian) is generally considered one of the greatest novels by the Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky and the culmination of his life’s work. It has been acclaimed all over the world by authors as diverse as Sigmund Freud, Andrew R. MacAndrew, Konstantin Mochulsky, Albert Einstein, and Pope Benedict XVI and is often regarded as a masterpiece of literature and one of the greatest novels ever written. The book is written on two levels: on the surface it is the story of a patricide in which all of the murdered man’s sons share varying degrees of complicity but, on a deeper level, it is a spiritual drama of the moral struggles between faith, doubt, reason, and free will.

  You could interpret Gale as the (potentially) “murdered man,” with Locke and Jack being the “sons.” The references to “moral struggles between faith, doubt, reason, and free will” can obviously be tied into the show. Of note was Locke’s description of Hemingway and Dostoevsky’s relationship. Hemingway always viewed himself as being in Dostoevsky’s shadow as a writer. By episode’s end, this relationship is clearly evident in Jack and Locke; made ever so clear by Mr. Gale, who now clearly appears to be an Other.

• The other book in the episode, read by Sawyer, is Lancelot by Walker Percy. Description follows:
  

  Lancelot Andrewes Lamar, a disenchanted trial lawyer, finds himself confined in a mental asylum with memories that don’t seem worth remembering, until a visit from an old friend and classmate gives him the opportunity to recount his journey of dark violence. It began the day he accidentally discovered he was not the father of his youngest daughter. That discovery touched off his obsession to reverse the degeneration of modern America and begin a new age of chivalry and romance. With ever-increasing fury, Lancelot became a shining knight–not of romance, but of revenge.

  Kinda sounds just like Sawyer, doesn’t it?

• All kinds of good stuff to be found in Hatch #3, which I’ll call the Medical Station. Seemingly built underground, where in the world does that ESCAPE HATCH lead? An underground network of tunnels? The other 3 stations? Ethan seems to have some medical training, which could be indicative of his being a member of Rousseau’s old crew (that she says she killed), or perhaps an employee of the Dharma Initiative.

  

• Zeke (bearded man) makes his third appearance, this time sans beard. We later find that his appearance in the jungle a few episodes back was altered by some shabby clothes and a fake beard (evidenced by the theatrical glue Kate found). My initial thought upon seeing him clean-shaven was that the Others were forced to abandon the Medical Station for some reason, and have been out in the jungle on their own for a while; thus their disheveled appearances. Why did he go to those lengths to disguise himself? Is he actually a scientist “in” on the whole “island project?” Zeke made reference to a “him” that appears to be in charge. Alvar Hanso, perhaps? Dr. DeGroot?

  

• The Others know all about the Oceanic flight. Where the heck did they get the planes for that mobile? The tune from the mobile, I’m told, is “Catch a Falling Star,” which just happens to be the song Claire asked the potential adoption parents to play for Aaron.

  

• What is Eko doing with all those trees/wood? He asked for a saw at one point. What’s he building? A church? Nice scene with Eko at the end of the episode. The next time I kill two people with a rock, I’ll be sure to grow two chiggers on my beard.
• And lastly, we finally meet Rousseau’s daughter, Alex. And though she’s with the Others, she certainly doesn’t act like one. Perhaps she’s the only one NOT taking the serum, thus implying that the serum is the true “infection.”

  

As I said, no new episodes until March 22nd, so pore over the episode some more and look for “stuff.”