Okay, so I nicked the title from a Fringe episode, but I was really happy that we got to see more history of the Others this week. Here are my bulleted thoughts on the ep without rehashing too much of what I and others have already mentioned on the interblogs:* I appreciate that TPTB have given us some time to spend with Des and Penny and now their little family. Adorable. At least someone has gotten what they love and need on this show.
* I wonder why Des didn't know where Dan's lab was, since he had "been" there before? He looked like he was just walking around hoping to find a clue.
* It's too bad about Teresa, but could she have volunteered for the work? You know, the old Indiana Jones freshman crush kind of thing ("I'll do anything to help you Professor!")? I hope that we find out more about her part.
* Very interesting to learn about Widmore's funding of Dan's research, wow.
* Was Widmore forced to keep Penny away from Des in their past, as in, by the Time Lords? I know it's an old story, the rich old coot doesn't want his perfect daughter to find real love outside of their station in life. But he did go to a lot of trouble to try to separate them; hiding Des' letters, attempting to pay Des to leave, and the whole boat race, etc. Mrs.H didn't want them married either. But then again, if Wid wanted Des on the island he wouldn't have told him to stay out of it last night I guess. Unless Desmond's work is done, and now he's free to not concern himself with it anymore. Hmm.
* Why didn't Widmore tell Des about Ben trying to kill Penny? He was very coy in telling him to take good care of her without actually explaining why.
* I would have really liked to see Richard's face at the point where time skipped again and Locke disappeared before his eyes. :-)
* I don't understand, if Dan cares so much about Charlotte, why doesn't he explain to her what's going on with her problems? He's treating her the way the F-4s treated the Losties after they first landed on the island. Something's weird about that to me.
It was probably inevitable that TPTB would bring the history of atomic bomb research into a Pacific island story, and I'm happy about that because it's another one of my fave history subjects. They sure left a lot of clues to lead us to think that Jughead is buried in the Swan station, or they could be tricking again us to think something like that. One way that I could go with that theory is if, A) Jughead is patched up and encased as Dan described, B) the whole deal is buried in the ground, and C) some kind of magnetic containment devise is built to surround it to trap in any stray radiation. This could lead to the need for the periodical discharge of the radiation build-up every 108 minutes (this is pure fiction here, I'm not going by any real science) if the patch job was not quite good enough to contain it. Or, with the combination of the leaking radiation and the magnetic field mixing causing the same problem of buildup. And in that case, the Failsafe implosion could be the way to blow the bomb inward, so that the normal H-bomb explosion would not wipe out the entire island. Otherwise, if it's just Jughead in the cement containment hold in the ground, I can't see how there would be the magnetic force that pulls on fillings and metal keys and chains, or why the radiation would have to be discharged, or how the bomb could implode abnormally. Not that I'm Dan Faraday and know all these things, of course.
I also found it amusing that Richard's medieval look was apparently not his normal in-the-past accouterments, as he showed up nice and clean-cut in the 1950s. Perhaps by the time he saw Ben he was going through his hippie stage. To me the shirt he wore then just doesn't fit the raggedy-man costumes that Tom and company wore, it's got some kind of embellishment like embroidery and decorative buttons on it if you look close. Yes, those are the kinds of things that I notice. :-)
17 comments:
Maybe the rags that Richard is wearing when he meets young Ben are the Army uniforms/clothes from 1954 and they haven't held up too well in a jungle environment. :)
Tina Tresbien had an interesting thought: What if Charlotte is really Dan's daughter?
This season is as good as the last, they really are making us watch each scene and listen to every exchange. Desmond might not recall where Faraday's lab was for the exact reason Faraday never recalled meeting Des in 1995 (i.e., the radiation that might have been leaking in The Swan). Or it might've been a way to get Des to pass by several signs on doors that might mean something, I just took it as the former, though.
What I took away from this episode, the thing to keep thinking about, is Locke's role in all this. Richard takes the compass (without ever questioning if he had lost that compass or whatever, in the first place). He maybe doesn't even believe in time travel until Locke tells him he will not be born for two years. But when it comes to Locke mentioning Jacob and his leadership, Alpert takes that on simple faith. The compass was the chicken or the egg riddle, but now its something more. We've seen Locke question himself, in the Pearl station and later when the Swan imploded. In his flashbacks. Alpert seemed to be pliable here, and I'm not saying its wrong. I think its another thing that went bad. The O6 were never supposed to leave the Island, and, I do believe, Ben tricked Locke into letting him move the wheel, I'm guessing Ben knew Locke would have to die for the O6 to return, and Ben didn't want to die. (How many of us REALLY think Ben is banished?)
Ellie...Eloise Hawking (on the enhanced version), Eloise the rat. And why are we seeing arrows in every episode, to show us as primitives? Broken Arrow is code for a lost missile payload, time's arrow, well, we know.
I think Richard might be more raggedy because by the time the DI showed up, there might have been a lot of fighting, the sonic fence might have left the Others w/o supplies, etc. But I really am curious as to why Richard Alpert simply BELIEVES Locke. Its not just because he has the compass, the scene simplified that too much.
Looking fwd to hearing from Capcom and everyone. Nice thought, Maven.
The thing that bugs me about Richard's Hostile outfit is that it has embroidery and fancy buttons, not that it's raggedy. Tom's and Bea's raggedy clothes looked like they were made out of burlap bags, from what I can remember. And lets not foget RA's hippie-hair! X-D Oh well, it's no biggie, but it strikes me as funny and makes me think that Richard was more being his like his ancient roots back then (if that's what he is), and not just raggedy.
That would be really weird about Dan and Charlotte. Well, so far he has not given her any sexual-ish type looks, so until that happens it's open for possiblity.
You're right Wayne, once Locke tells RA that Jacob said that he's the leader, RA hopped right to it and acted accordingly with obedience.
Oh wow, what a great idea that Ben chose the lesser of the two inevitable bad outcomes -- bouncing off the island, or having to die to leave the island. Wow. Totally puts a new spin on his messing with Locke's head like we were saying at Bigmouth's blog. Like, "Don't worry Locke, I'll take the hit and turn the wheel and get bounced (snicker)!" :-D
A broken arrow is also a Native American sign for friend, according to a book that I had as a kid. It means that you break the arrow and fight no more. But I doubt that it means that here.
Thanks for reading posting, good thoughts!
Another blog of great thinkers.
I agree that the reason Ben had the eeeevil smirk on his face when he turns from Locke is that he knows the outcome.
I have a feeling we're dealing with a tear in the space/time continuum, and Mrs. Hawking is trying to fix it. I bet that all those in the "know" already have lived this loop - they all know what has happened is destined to happen again until they fix the rift.
That's what I think.
Interesting thought 80sPro! Thanks for stopping by! :-D
Richard definitely looks the worse for wear when he meets our young Ben. He should have been all over the fact that Locke knew who Richard Widmore was - he never mentionedit to Locke in their conversation.
TPTB are leading us to believe that Jughead is buried in the Swan, and that's what reminded Sayid of Chernobyl.
Good post Capcom.
I think the fact that John told Richard that "Jacob sent me" was the reason why Richard was so compliant. IDK, what do you think?
xxoo
I also think that the clothes Richard was wearing, with the embroidery and fancy buttons definitely speak to his origins...maybe the Black Rock? Hey, maybe he's first officer for Magnus Hanso? :D
xxoo
Ellen,
That's a good idea. Maybe just mentioning "Jacob" threw Richard for such a loop he let down his guard.
Yes, I know if I were Richard and someone mentioned my superior (or authority figure), I would be more apt to listen to them!
xxoo
Hi PGT and Ellen!
Yes, I also got the thought that Richard was reacting to Locke mentioning Jacob. You could almost see the inner "D'oh!" go off in RA's head when Locke said his name!
It sure does seem as if the Chernobyl/Jughead radiation containment thing is supposed to be similar.
nice thought that the clothes more resemble the Black Rock era than the Hippie Era. I DO think we are going to see Black Rock origins this season. AND I believe Widmore and Alpert (as well as Jacob) - hearken back to it. But I think the shocker's going to be that Jacob really is James. I mean, Sawyer's GOT TO BE more than just eye candy, attitude, and crazy monikers!
LOL 80sPro! From your typing fingers to TPTBs ears. :-D
Could Dharma have used the jughead to cause the Incident? Maybe they blasted a hole in the Island trying to get at the pocket of exotic matter...
Hi Big! :-) Wow you know, TPTB did make a point of showing us that the Others/DI used a lot of the other Army items left on the island! Why not Jughead?
Hey, everyone. -8 here but glad its Wednesday. Over at Powell's, something quite obvious was mentioned. Aside from Jughead, Widmore was wearing the (presumably dead) soldier's outfit that read Jones. Doh. I thought about the Archie character, always feeding himself, maybe a reference to the 108 minute button-pressing somewhere down the line. I had thought that might be a stretch, but maybe the Incident was the Island moving, sooner or later Widmore (and maybe Ellie) have to leave, right? That would cause Jughead to rupture again, decades later. I was discounting this in my head, but once Jones was tagged to Jughead, I think we know the bomb will end up in what will be the Swan. And as Bigmouth suggested here, and I'd take it a step further, it seems the Orchid and the Swan are fairly close (Ben said it was an hour's walk to the beach, the Swan is fifteen minutes, so that's 1-4 miles apart). So maybe each station is at the boundaries of the exotic energy. Widmore leaves by boat, when Jughead is used to tap into the energy, either the Island moves again or they button needs to be created.
Also, check that Powell's blog, there's a great idea on the compass Alpert gave Locke/Locke gave Alpert. Ties in with Boone's nanny Theresa falling down the stairs/falling up the stairs.
Awesome Wayne! And thanks for the reminder to read Wood's article, I forgot. :-)
Post a Comment