I say the first is wrong, the second is a matter of opinion, and the third I wholeheartedly agree with. I don’t think it’s going to be possible for me to say this season is good or bad until it’s over. Individual episodes so far have been decent, “The Substitute” was excellent, this week’s was better than “What Kate Does” but not as good as the premiere or “The Substitute.” In terms of story I think it’s fine. Did it answer anything? Not concretely. Am I bothered by this? No. I don’t think any of us should be watching this show with a checklist — I mean, I have a checklist, but if I’m watching each episode WAITING for something I think they should address, then I’m not paying attention to what they’re actually DOING.

There. I’m done with the whole “they’re not answering anything” bit, at least for a few weeks. But I definitely agree that the show works better when the group is together — if not physically, then at least within the parameters of a single episode. I miss Ben and Sun and Frank already, even though we saw them last week. I am eager for more of Ilana and her mission. I can’t wait for the timelines to reconcile.

Other things I want: Richard’s story, Desmond’s return (not necessarily to the island), the explanation for what/how/why Christian is.

OK. This episode.

You know, for a Jack ep I quite liked it, and I think that’s because it follows the course laid out last season, where Jack is not really in charge of anything. Here he’s following Hurley through the jungle (just as Sawyer follows Smokey) without knowing why, and when he tries to assert himself in bringing Kate along with them, both Kate and Hurley say no — not part of either’s agenda.

And I liked Sideways Jack as well — also not all that in control, but dealing with it. Doesn’t remember having his appendix out. In the original timeline, it was Juliet who took it out (Season 4, “Something Nice Back Home”). In the sideways timeline it apparently happened when Jack was a kid. his inability to recall this major event, in addition to Claire being named in Christian’s will — which I think would’ve been the first time Sideways Jack hears her name — points to the two timelines drawing closer together.

Sideways Jack has a son named David (who’s the mother? Don’t care. Could be Sarah, could be some random woman we don’t know, hell, it could be Juliet. David’s mom doesn’t seem all that important to the story at this point, so I’m not going to worry about it) who has just as tangled a relationship to Jack as Jack had to his dad, and as Walt had with Michael. Because really — they only see each other once a month? Horrible custody settlement, but maybe that’s because, you know, Jack didn’t have his shit together during the divorce proceedings (his mother’s “good for you” after he refuses a drink was telling). And the other parallel between Jack/Michael and David/Walt was, of course, Dogen telling Jack that David has a gift. It also hearkens back to what a number of people have told Locke over the course of his life.

Connections: David’s reading Alice in Wonderland/Through the Looking Glass, which Jack had read to Aaron; the sign at David’s audition for the Williams Conservatory said “Welcome all Candidates.” (Ha.)

Dogen: he and Jack have a nice moment at the Temple, echoed in the Sideways world, but it brings up the question of why/how Dogen is off island. Additionally, something I didn’t think of at the time but someone else raised via Twitter, how is Ben off the island in the Sideways world? Two possibilities that I can think of: 1) again, these anomalies (they should’ve gone down with the island — provided, of course, that the island DID blow up and what we saw at the bottom of the ocean was real and not another fake) point to the two timelines drawing closer to reconciliation; 2) if we follow the trajectory of the original timeline, then if the plane never crashes then Ben never gets shot and never gets taken to the Temple . . . and now I’m in Back to the Future mode where it’s better just not to think about this too much.

I’ll get to Hurley/the lighthouse in a second. Want to talk about Claire first. Claire makes me really uncomfortable now, as she’s supposed to, but still — that fake baby? CREEPY. Her face when she tells Jin that Smokey is her friend? So creepy. She doesn’t seem to recognize that Aaron would be three years old now, which is interesting. She also has rewritten history it seems, implying that her friends just left her on the island, when what did happen is that she left Aaron to follow Christian into the jungle — AND she told Locke later that it would be better if he didn’t tell anyone that he saw her. That she distinguishes between “my father” and “my friend” is intriguing and confusing. That she axed the Other was predictable, but I did like how it showed Jin that this is not the Claire he knew, and so he lies to her in order to bring her to people he thinks will be able to help her. Of course Smokey’s along for the ride now, and this is the bad thing that Jacob tells Hurley is coming.

OK. The one thing I did not like about this episode was the shoddy writing given to Hurley. He’s always been the audience stand-in, and the pop culture nerd with the Star Wars references and whatnot, but last night it seemed that all Hurley really did was string along a bunch of Hurleyisms, and that’s not fair, especially when it seems as though Hurley is poised to be the next Island Guy. (Jackie raised a good point last night about the numbers: that their assignation to the other Losties explains why Hurley is drawn to them. As far as I’m concerned, this is the only explanation for the numbers that I need.)

Though I did like his line at the cave, asking whether THEY are Adam and Eve. It reminded me of very early in Season 1, when he’s convinced that the monster is a dinosaur. Both of these explanations are things the television audience had thought as well, and I think the Adam and Eve line is just an acknowledgement of that.

And the Lighthouse. I am sure Jeff Jensen is going to have something to say about Woolf’s To The Lighthouse, which if memory serves has a lot to do with simply watching people, but it’s been a very long time since I last read the book (I should reread. It’s damn good). At the lighthouse we get the List again, and I saw more names this time: Dawson, Linus, Rousseau, and Austen, listed at 51, and not crossed off. This screencap, when clicked to embiggen, shows Radzinsky crossed off at 106 and I think Faraday crossed off at 101. (OK, I just like looking for the names.) And at 108, the degree to which Jacob told Hurley the lighthouse should be set, is someone named Wallace, but the name is crossed off. (My first thought: “Marcellus?”)

Lighthouse vs. cave: light vs. dark. Got it.

I’m not sure Jacob knew that Jack was going to smash the mirrors. And I’m also not sure that anyone is coming to the island now, or was ever going to, because the two points of the trip were 1) to get Hurley and Jack away from the temple, and 2) to get Jack to see why he’s important, and give him something to think about as he stares into the ocean. Jacob’s shrug that whoever it is will find another way to the island indicates that he’s not worried, and he might not be worried because he just made it all up in order for Hurley and Jack’s trip to have some sort of meaning for them.

But if someone is coming to the island, then my money’s on Desmond. Wishful thinking perhaps, but if 108 is still a significant number even if the name attached to it on the compass (?) isn’t, then he’s the one most closely associated with it, having pushed that button every 108 seconds for three years.

What were your thoughts?

Related posts:

1. Thoughts on Lost – What They Died For
2. Thoughts on Lost – What Kate Does
3. Thoughts on Lost – Everybody Loves Hugo