I have been waiting for a Locke episode all season. My avatar on the Cinema Blend message boards was Locke for months, before I finally gave up and changed it to Ben. But now my boy is back! And while he's still a nutjob concerned only with the fate of the island, this episode has made him a much, much more interesting nutjob. In fact, pretty much everyone came out of this episode more interesting, meaning that I and my Lost-watching companions were constantly pumping our fists into the air, screaming, “Yeah!!!!” So, in honor of the greatness of this episode, let's do the five best fist-pump moments of tonight's Lost.
Fist Pump Moment #1: Richard Alpert! After a long, eyeliner-free season, our favorite ageless Other is back! And yes, even when young John Locke was eight years old, Richard Alpert was looking as fresh and pirate-y as ever, visiting young orphan Locke and trying to talk him into joining his “special school” for children. Could that “special school” also be known as “The Hostiles”? We don't get to find out, since when Alpert presents Young John with a choice of objects-- a jar of sand, a comic book, a knife and a compass among others-- John picks the knife, which Alpert sees as the wrong choice. Those of us who saw Locke work magic with that inexplicably FAA-approved knife collection back in season one, though, realize it was definitely the right choice.
Fist Pump Moment #2: Matthew Abbadon! We briefly visit Locke in his high school days, when Mittelos Bioscience-- yes, the very same-- wants him for their summer camp, and the guidance counselor tries to bully Locke into a life of nerdiness. Locke, who is resolutely interested in sports and hunting, tells the guidance counselor... say it with me now... “Don't tell me what I can't do!” Then, of course, we meet Locke later in life, when the one thing he can't do is walk. But never fear! A helpful orderly who once appeared to Hurley in the mental hospital by the name of Matthew Abbadon pulls Locke aside and tells him he ought to go on a walkabout. Yeah, the walkabout that Locke tried to go on in Australia, and resulted in him being on Oceanic Flight 815. It seems that, while some of the survivors of the crash may have been there by chance, Locke was chosen by whatever those mysterious forces are that control the island.
Fist Pump Moment #3: Horace Goodspeed! You know, one of the original Dharma guys who wore the gray jumpsuit and had his name and position stitched on his breast pocket? And who has been dead for 12 years, since he was shoved in that pit o' dead bodies by Ben? Yeah, he appears to Locke in a clearing, while he and Hurley and Ben are off on the magical mystery hunt for Jacob's cabin. Horace, it turns out, is building his own cabin ,and seems to be stuck in his own time loop-- he cuts down the same tree twice and introduces himself to Locke twice, after telling Locke, ”You've got to find me, John. You've got to find me. And when you do, you'll find him. Jacob. He's been waiting for you a real long time.” Also, Horace's nose is bleeding-- remember seeing that on another time traveler or two? Ben is none too happy when Locke tells him he had a vision-- “I used to have dreams,” he says-- but he goes along with Locke on a return trip to that pit o' bodies, where Locke retrieves a blueprint from dead Horace's pocket. From there it's just a hop, skip and a jump to Jacob's cabin. Oh man, guys, we're going back to Jacob's cabin!
Fist Pump Moment #4: Christian Shephard and Claire! While this trip to Jacob's cabin was a whole lot creepier than our last visit, it's also more informative-- kinda. Christian Shephard, sitting in Jacob's rocker, admits he's a spokesman for Jacob, and confirms for John that he's there because he was chosen, and there's only one question that matters-- “How do I save the island?” Oh, and Claire's there, looking as weirdly serene as she's been all season. I gotta say, the fact that she's just sitting there, hanging with Christian Shephard and totally calm about it, gives more credence to the theories that she's already dead. Oh, and Christian's solution for saving the island? They have to move it! Yeah, I don't even have the beginning of a theory on how that's going to work.
Fist Pump Moment #5: Lapidus the Helicopter Pilot! Oh yeah, remember everyone else on this show? Actually, we got to spend some time with most of the other characters, but they can be pretty much summed up under the umbrella of Lapidus' awesomeness. On the freighter, Michael admits to Keamy that he's the reason Ben knew everything about him, and even though Keamy tries to kill Michael, he can't-- yet another example of the island not letting Michael die. Keamy succeeds in killing the ship's captain, though, which makes Lapidus realize that Keamy is maybe a little bit unhinged. Lapidus tries to refuse to take Keamy and his death squad back the island, but they go ahead and fulfill a prophecy by killing the doctor-- you see, they got Faraday's Morse Code message about the dead doctor before the doctor was even dead on the boat. Confused? Me too. Anyway, Lapidus goes ahead and makes the flight, but drops the satellite phone on the beach to (presumably) let the beach dwellers know what's up. We haven't exactly seen how that will work out yet. And as for Sayid and Desmond, the dynamic duo of the freighter? They, sadly, are separated, with Sayid taking the freighter's mini-boat back to the island to rescue his fellow survivors, and Desmond sticking around on the freighter, waiting for Penny to come rescue him. I have a feeling that isn't the best plan, but if that results in Desmond's death... well, I'm not quite ready to contemplate that yet.
This episode was crammed with a whole multitude of wonderful moments, the rest of which might be better suited to list form:
- Locke drew a smoke monster as a child! And also played backgammon! It's like he was born to be on the island... well, actually, he was most definitely born to be on the island.
- Hurley thinks he, Locke and Ben can see Jacob's cabin because they're the craziest. Not a bad theory actually, and one I never thought of.
- According to some kind of list Keamy has on the freighter, Widmore knows where Ben will go in the event of an attack. Does that mean the Temple? Does it mean Jacob's cabin? How much does Widmore know about this island, anyway?
- Hurley and Ben share a candy bar while waiting for Locke in the cabin. Yeah, that's it. But it's a beautiful moment that you've just gotta see.
- Here's a quote from Ben that feels important, though it might just be because of Michael Emerson's spot-on delivery: ”I was told a lot of things too. That I was chosen; that I was special. Then they put a tumor on my spine and my daughter's blood all over my hands. Those things had to happen to me. That was my destiny. But you'll understand soon enough that there are consequences to being chosen. Because destiny, John, is a fickle bitch.” Can you really say “bitch” on network TV?
How can next week's episode top this one? Well, it seems we're going to get a glimpse of just how the Oceanic Six get back home. And it's not even the season finale yet!
