Just like last week I didn’t watch the episode when it aired and had to watch it early the following morning. This time, however, it wasn’t because I passed out beforehand. As it turns out, I went to see a couple bands play instead. In retrospect, I should have stayed home and watched LOST, as the bands were mediocre at best. So, I ended up watching “The Last Recruit” at 5:30 AM, and again at 4 PM. Did I love this episode? Not really. I actually thought there was a fair amount of bad dialogue and questionable decision making in terms of how we’ve come to accept our characters. What’s more, I don’t know that it allowed for a lot of “theorizing” this week. In any event, let’s just get into it, beginning with…
1. Welcome to Camp FLocke. We begin right where we left off in “Everybody Loves Hugo”: with Jack, Hurley, Sun and Lapidus entering FLocke’s camp. FLocke wants to speak privately with Jack, but before Jack agrees to do so he gets “permission” from Hurley, as the new Jack has “let go” and doesn’t lead and lets things happen. Right? Right? Well, not exactly. We’ll talk about that later. Jack sits down with FLocke and says, “You look just like him.” He wants to know why he took Locke’s form. FLocke goes into a diatribe and says that Locke was “stupid enough to believe he was brought here for a reason” which wound up getting him killed, and that Jack was “kind enough to bring [Locke] here in a nice wooden box.” For his sake (and ours), Jack clarifies that Locke needed to be dead before FLocke could look like him, and asks, “Who else have you looked like?” FLocke knows what he’s getting at, and Jack outright asks if, his third day on the island, FLocke appeared to Jack as his father. “Yes,” says FLocke. [UPDATE: Keep in mind that we’ve seen Christian appear to other people in instances when, according to what we’ve seen on LOST, it couldn’t have been Smokey as Christian. I’m referring to him appearing to Michael on the freighter (as he would have had to traverse water) and when he appeared in the hospital to Jack in a flash forward (after the smoke detector went off, even though I said way back when that it was sign Christian was Smokey).] And why did he do it? “You needed to find water.” Curious, now, considering FLocke’s relationship to water (his inability to traverse it as Smokey). Flocke says that all he’s ever done is tried to help Jack and company leave the island. He points out to Jack that Jacob chose him as a candidate, and that Jack was “trapped on the island” before he ever got there because of it. In order to leave, he again points out that they all must fly away together. Jack is clearly still on the fence and begins to point out that Locke knew they were there for a reason. “John Locke was not a believer, Jack,” says FLocke. “He was a sucker.” Great line delivery by Terry O’Quinn, incidentally. He needs an Emmy for this season, no doubt. Anyway, we then flash sideways to…
2. Bringing Out the Dead.
Okay, maybe an obscure reference, but seeing as how it focused on ambulance drivers/EMTs, it seemed appropriate. Locke is on a gurney in the back of an ambulance en route to the hospital following his hit-and-run courtesy of Desmond. Ben is riding with him, but tells the EMT he doesn’t know Mr. Locke’s first name. (Look, I realize Locke is a substitute, but we’ve already seen at least two episodes this season – “The Substitute” and “Dr. Linus” – in which they spoke to one another in the sideways reality. At this point, I think he’d know his name. Again, I know this follows the theme all season of people “naming” Smokey and Locke; that is, people blatantly identifying them by name, and I’m fine with that. On the other hand, this just stunk as being an unrealistic detail.) What’s more, he doesn’t know who they should contact. “Helen Norwood,” whispers Locke. He says he was going to marry her. “You’re still going to marry her, Mr. Locke,” says Ben. “John,” he replies, “my name is John.” The ambulance pulls up at the hospital just as Sun is being wheeled in for her gunshot wound. Their gurneys are side-by-side and Sun, somewhat frantically, says, “No! No! It’s him!” The camera goes back directly over Locke’s face, and upon watching it the second time I have to say that his facial expression was, well, rather sinister. I tried to find a screencap but didn’t see one, so I urge you to go back and take a look for yourself. Now, Sun’s reaction could allude to the fact that she remembers John from Oceanic 815, but it wouldn’t explain her manic response. No, I have to think that she’s experiencing that moment of “awakening” in which her consciousness, at least in this instance, has shifted into this timeline. She has had a near-death experience and perhaps “woken up,” just as Desmond did after driving into the harbor. So, from there we go back to…
3. Siblings.
Jack and FLocke are making their way back to camp when Claire emerges from the shadows. When asked why she’s following them, she tells FLocke that Jack’s her brother, and he leaves them to catch up. “Did he tell you he was the one pretending to be our father?” asks Claire. Claire also points out that it means a lot to her that Jack’s coming with them, only Jack doesn’t know if he’s doing so yet. Claire then points out that he decided once he allowed FLocke to talk to him. “Like it or not,” says Claire, “you’re with him now.” I really liked how nonchalant her explanation was, even though I still don’t quite see why this is. I mean, is it enough to speak to Smokey to be “infected”? Again, this goes back to the whole Sayid stabbing Smokey before he spoke to him thing. Also, I noticed that FLocke didn’t offer Jack anything, so no sort of Faustian deal was struck. Hmm. So, a quick commercial and it’s dawn at Camp FLocke. Sawyer is explaining their escape plan to Hurley while Kate is filling in Sun. Hurley wants to know about Sayid joining them, but Sawyer says he’s “gone over to the dark side,” thus prompting yet another Star Wars quip from Hurley. Claire approaches like a lost puppy and hugs Hurley. And then, like a proud papa at the holiday dinner table, FLocke announces, “It’s so nice to have everyone back together again.” We then cut sideways to…
4. L.A. Confidential.
Sawyer is interrogating Kate in the police station. He’s reading over her record, pointing out that she’s wanted for arson, assaulting a federal agent, and first-degree murder. Kate protests (twice, actually) that she’s not a murderer. (I have to wonder if this means we are actually going to see her murder someone in the island timeline. I mean, I know that in the actual timeline we have, in fact, seen her murder someone, but not in this timeline. So, I wonder if this was a foreshadowing of sorts.) Sawyer points out how weird it is that they met (again) the way they did, after having met a week ago in the LAX elevator. “It’s like someone’s trying to put us together,” he says. Kate figures out that Sawyer let her go because he didn’t want anyone to find out he was in Australia (which is true). Miles interrupts to tell Sawyer of the bodies found over at Keamy’s, as well as the “female GSW” (Sun) who was brought to the hospital. Fortunately the surveillance camera captured footage of Sayid leaving the restaurant. Sawyer sees it and says, “That’s our bad guy.” Again, this line seemed innocent and yet telling. We’re once again being directed back to the idea of the good guys and the bad guys, and here we know that in the other timeline Sayid is a bad guy. That is, he’s a murderer, a former gun-for-hire, a torturer. He was, essentially, beyond redemption, and is now, as Sawyer will later call him, a “zombie.” Or is he? We’ll get to that, too, as we jump sideways again to…
5. The Return of Debbie Hunt. Zombie Sayid is sitting on a stump. Kate tells Jack that Sayid “is different now,” to which Jack replies, “We’re all different now.” Ugh. Seriously, that line could’ve been out of any daytime soap opera or cheeseball ABC drama. (Oh, wait.) Yes, I understand that there’s more weight to the idea that they really are all different now, particularly folks like Locke in the literal sense. Still, it was so goddamn bad that I winced. Suddenly, Zoe walks into camp and wants her “package” returned to her. FLocke plays dumb and says he has no idea what she’s talking about. She gets on her walkie talkie, assures that they’ve got her position locked, and a missle (or shell or mortar or whatever) explodes behind them. She tells FLocke that unless her package is returned by night, they will bomb them. She gives FLocke the walkie talkie and leaves, which only leads to FLocke smashing it with his rather large Eko-stick. “Well,” he says, “here we go.” We then flash sideways to…
6. Ilana Dynamite, Attorney-at-Law. Pregnant Claire enters a high-rise office complex and signs in for her appointment with the Western Pacific Adoption Agency, located on the 15th floor (number alert!). Desmond approaches her and points out that they spoke at the LAX luggage carousel. She tells Desmond he was right about her being pregnant with a boy. A very persistent and intrusive Desmond notices she was going to an adoption agency and convinces her to see his friend, a lawyer, also on the 15th floor to discuss an adoption contract. The two enter the office of Desmond’s lawyer, who is none other than Ilana Verdansky, who was saw blow up only one week ago. (And by the way, was it just me or did she no longer have an accent?) As it turns out, Ilana had been “coincidentally” looking for Claire Littleton (and we’ll see why momentarily). And while this is a surprise/coincidence to both Ilana and Claire, Desmond clearly knew what he was doing in “pushing” Claire to Ilana (and ultimately Jack) once again in a Jacob-esque manner. We then jump sideways to…
7. The Best Laid Plans.
FLocke turns what happened around on Widmore’s people, saying that they’re “claiming we stole something from them,” which, of course, he did. He tells his people it’s time to head for Hydra Island, but first he gives Sawyer a map and tells him to follow it to a boat, which he’s to sail around to meet them. Sawyer asks Kate to join him, which she does. Sawyer pulls Jack away to tell him that they’re plan isn’t to meet up with FLocke, but to get to the island, steal the sub and get the hell out of there. He wants to Jack to grab Hurley, Sun and Lapidus and meet them by the boat dock. Jack asks about Sayid and Claire, but Sawyer tells Jack they’re not invited, since Sayid’s a zombie and Claire’s nuts. Meanwhile, FLocke pulls Sayid aside and tells him to go to the well and kill Desmond. Sayid hesitates, but FLocke again dangles the promise of reuniting him with Nadya, to which Sayid can’t pass up. Sayid approaches the well and points his gun down at Desmond, who is bloodies but very much alive. “So what did he offer you?” asks Desmond. “If you’re gonna’ shoot me in cold blood, brotha’, I think I have a right to know what you’re getting in exchange for it.” Sayid explains about Nadya and says that she’s dead, but Desmond wants to know why Sayid think FLocke can bring her back. And in a creepy, albeit touching manner, Sayid says, “I died, and he brought me back.” And in a last ditch effort to tug at the heartstrings of this “man” I thought no longer had a heart, Desmond asks, “So what will you tell her? This woman, when she asks you what you did to be with her again. What will you tell her?” We go sideways to…
8. Gotcha!
Sayid returns to Nadya’s house and begins packing a suitcase, telling her she no longer needs to worry but that he will never be able to come back. Hmm, kind of sounds like something a person facing impending doom might utter, no? Miles knocks on the front door and wants to inspect the place. Sayid tries to make a break for it through the backdoor, only to be tripped with a garden hose by Sawyer who slaps the cuffs on Sayid and arrests him. We jump back to the island for…
9. Sawyer’s Plan Revealed. Sawyer and Kate find the boat. He reveals to Kate that they’re not actually going back to meet FLocke, but getting the gang back together (including “the guy who looks like he stepped out of a Burt Reynolds movie”) and heading off in the sub. Kate asks about Claire, but again Sawyer explains that she’s not coming. “She’s dangerous,” he says. “You really want her around Aaron?” Well, Kate can’t argue with that (only she will later). We quickly jump back to…
10. March of the Wooded Soldiers.
(You know, ‘cause they’re in the woods? Okay, that’s bad.) FLocke’s camp is marching through the woods en route to the boat and Hydra Island. Jack cozies up to Claire, and asks how long she’s been with FLocke. She says she’s been with him since they left as, “He’s the only one who didn’t abandon me.” Ouch! FLocke drops back to ask Sun if she’s seen Sayid, but when she doesn’t respond he accuses her of giving him the silent treatment. She takes out a pen and writes, “You did this to me!” FLocke tells stewardess, er, flight attendant Cindy to keep following the others while he goes to look for Sayid. Seeing this, Jack rounds up his group and they make their move to meet Sawyer and Kate, all under the watchful eye of Claire. (Gee, I wonder if she’s gonna’ follow them?) FLocke finds Sayid and asks what took him so long to dispose of Desmond, to which Sayid responds, “I just shot an unarmed man. I needed a moment.” Really? Since when do zombies need to collect their feelings? Which is why I’m going to say right now that A) Sayid didn’t kill Desmond (obviously); and B) Sayid, if he was some sort of zombie, has been “shown” something by Desmond. Now, in yet another terrible bit of bullshit writing, FLocke asks Sayid if he’s sure he killed him, to which Sayid tells him he can go back and check if he likes. So what does FLocke do? He essentially gives Sayid the “Nah, we’re good,” and goes on his way. Hell, why didn’t he just fist bump him?! I think I might’ve checked on that myself. Meanwhile, Jack and co. arrive at the rendezvous with Sawyer and Kate. Right after they board, Claire emerges with a rifle pointed at them. Kate talks Claire down and tells her that FLocke’s “not one of us.” Sawyer wants to leave Claire, but Kate says either they both go or Kate’s staying. Kate points out that she never should have raised Aaron and convinces Claire to join them. Again, in a really well-delivered line, Claire tells Kate, “If he finds out we’re gone, he’s gonna’ be mad.” We then jump sideways to…
11. I Love You, Man.
Jack and David enter the same high-rise Claire entered as Jack talks to David’s mom on the cell phone and makes plans to drop him off later. Jack and David are there to hear the reading of Christian’s will, and their new relationship is grossly precious. Seriously, this was another bit of “too close, too soon” that I could’ve done without. Something about their bonding (and their conversation a few minutes later, which I’ll get to) seemed too over the top. Anyway, they enter the office of Ilana who asks Jack if he believes in fate, as sure enough Claire is waiting for them. Jack, not realizing they are siblings, asks how she knew his father. Claire points out that he was her father, too, which understandably floors Jack. At that moment, he gets a call from the hospital and needs to reschedule the will reading, as he has to go in to perform an emergency surgery. We then go sideways to…
12. Man Overboard. The whole gang is at sea headed for Hydra Island. Lapidus approaches Sawyer and asks what their plan is, and Sawyer calls him “Chesty,” which totally cracked me up. Anyway, they retreat downstairs for food, except for Kate, Jack and Sawyer. Sawyer asks Kate to take the wheel so he can have a man-to-man with Jack. Sawyer is impressed that Jack was able to follow someone else’s orders. Jack tells Sawyer he isn’t sure they should leave the island, saying, “I remember how I felt the last time I left,” and noting the emptiness, like something was missing. He says he knows they were brought to the island to do something important, and if FLocke wants them to leave, maybe it’s because he’s afraid of them staying. Sawyer tells Jack that either he’s with the rest of them or to get off the boat. “The island’s not done with us yet,” says Jack. Again, Sawyer tells him to get off, and Jack complies, jumping into the ocean, but not before telling Sawyer, “I’m sorry that I got Juliet killed.” Kate wants to go back for Jack, but Sawyer tells her, “We’re done going back.” We then go sideways to…
13. Operation.
Sun wakes up in the hospital to find Jin at her bedside. He assures her that both she and the baby will be okay. “It’s over,” Jin says, “and we’re all going to be okay.” Again, if that isn’t a harbinger of doom I don’t know what it is. I still say the two of them are effed! Meanwhile, we cut to Super Dad in the hallway, where David is just now getting to questions like, “So, you mean you never knew you had a sister?” Please, writers! Look, Jack and David had to get from the lawyer’s office to the hospital. You mean to tell me they’re just now having this conversation? I call bullshit. There was no need for this exchange. Anyway, Jack has David wait there while he goes into surgery. And who is he operating on? Why, it’s none other than John Locke, who he recognizes and knows (from this timeline, mind you). (Also, did anyone else notice that Locke’s dural sac was destroyed? Isn’t this a callback to the first episode, when Jack accidentally cut the sac and had to count to five?) What’s more, there’s a dual mirror moment, in which Jack first sees himself reflected, and then sees Locke reflected. Interesting, though, is that we see Locke’s reflection, only he can’t see himself (as he is unconscious for surgery). We then go back to the island for…
14. The Double-Cross. Jack surfaces on the beach, where FLocke and crew have been waiting for him. “Sawyer took my boat, didn’t he?” asks FLocke. And speaking of the boat, Sawyer and his people are walking onto Hydra Island when they are greeted by Zoe, her band of dolts, and a bunch of shotguns. They lower their weapons as Zoe recognizes who they are, yet she realizes there’s no Desmond. She radios Widmore. Meanwhile, the long-awaited reunion between Sun and Jin takes place, and frankly it wasn’t all that great. It just didn’t feel as powerful as some of the other “reunions,” and here they’re married, for god’s sake. “We’ll never be apart again,” says Jin. “I promise you.” Again, bad choice of words, sir, as Zoe gets off the walkie talkie with Widmore and they pull their guns on Sawyer and crew. She tells them that the deal’s off and orders everyone on their knees. You would assume an execution, yes? Anyway, we cut back to the main island and the shelling begins. A bomb explodes and knocks Jack nearly unconscious. FLocke scoops him up and sets him against a tree, telling Jack, “It’s gonna’ be okay. You’re with me now.”
So, that’s “The Last Recruit.” Again, it just wasn’t my favorite episode and I’m not sure why. I don’t know if it was the writing or the lack of mythology or what. Sure, there was forward progress, but all in all it just wasn’t a great episode for me. Your thoughts? Did I miss anything? Agree or disagree with my assessment? Well that’s what the Comments section is for, silly pants.
Just so you know, there’s no LOST this coming Tuesday. Rest assured, though, that they’re back on May 4th. Until next time, have at it, you vultures!
BD
Cousin Brandon's Mr. Hipster Blog 
I concur. There was a lot of subpar writing and cringe-worthy moments. I really thought that someone was going to bust a cap in Jin’s head in the sideways hospital scene. It was the camera angle – too often used for “Surprise! Someone killed you from behind!” moments.
The whole ep had the feel of a “question/answer” bloodlessness to it. “You can only look like dead people?” “Yes. That’s is correct. Next please.” The viewers were inundated with poor examples of deux ex machina. How did Desmond know that Claire was going to be at that building at that time? How did he know that Ilana was looking for her? And why the hell didn’t Claire tell him to step off because he was sending an uber creepy stalker baby vibe, and any man that follows you into an elevator is a weirdo.
I totally agree that Jack’s relationship with his pseudo-son was totally unrealistic, Jin and Sun’s meeting was lame, and Sayid’s return to non-robotic being was just way too convenient.
Oh, and I’m a little disappointed that you didn’t go with Monty Python’s “Bring out yer dead!” scene instead. pssht.
By: a. on April 22, 2010
at 10:01 am
Last thing first, a. I already know that reader crohrer666 will be upset that I didn’t go with “Throw the Hume Down the Well.”
In terms of your overall comments, though, we’re pretty much in agreement. Since posting this, I’ve read a couple other recaps of “The Last Recruit” and they ranged from “Loved it!” to “Eh.” Obviously I fall into the “Eh” category. Look, we already did a good deal of positioning in “Everybody Loves Hugo.” Why, then, are we doing more of the same the following week? All in all, this episode just fell short for me.
By: cousinbrandon on April 22, 2010
at 10:13 am
Agreed. I was also annoyed that Sun and Jin didn’t speak in their native language together when they reunited… I’m sure they did it to show that Sun “got her voice back” but still, I thought that was stupid.
Also, does this mean that Claire is no longer a zombie too? Was she ever a zombie? Or was her zombie-attitude just a way for her to be accepted by Flocke and get Aaron back, and now that she thinks she can get Aaron back through Kate she’s done with Flocke? Or is she still on Flocke’s side and going with the crew as a spy?
By: The Hammer on April 22, 2010
at 10:15 am
And speaking of that scene, The Hammer, I forgot to comment on the worst bit of dialogue of all: “Looks like someone got her voice back.” Holy hell, Lapidus! Holy hell, writers! That pun/observation was the corniest piece of horseshit ever uttered on LOST. It was truly awful.
Again, I don’t know that Claire was ever really a zombie. I mean, I always read it as though she died in the explosion in New Otherton. However, this season would lead us to believe that she merely existed on her own for three years in the jungle and simply went batshit crazy. Anyway, I’m not convinced she’s come over “from the dark side,” so to speak, as her warning to Kate was rather ominous, no?
By: cousinbrandon on April 22, 2010
at 10:20 am
Wasn’t there a scene at the Temple after they brought Sayid “back to life” that they had to do it with Claire, and that’s why she was a kooky cookie. So I vote, yeah, that crazy bitch is a zombie. I think she’s just biding her time to hold Kate’s head under water.
By: a. on April 22, 2010
at 12:57 pm
I don’t think they ever once referenced “reviving” Claire, though I DID think there was talk of her being infected. That’s what I’m saying: it seems unclear as to whether she’s a zombie, too, or if she’s just nuts.
By: cousinbrandon on April 22, 2010
at 1:05 pm
Oh, and speaking of Lapidus… I don’t know if I missed a conversation about him previously… but what’s his deal?? Why is he even there?
And yeah, I agree, I’m not convinced about Claire either.
By: The Hammer on April 22, 2010
at 11:27 am
Lapidus has become something of an undelivered promise. That is, I think they needed to keep him around in order to make FLocke (and us) believe they had a pilot to captain the plane. At the same time, though, I think he’s become pretty useless. I really used to like Lapidus, but at this point I could never see him again and be fine with that.
By: cousinbrandon on April 22, 2010
at 11:37 am
I’m in line with the consensus about the sort of “meh” feeling on the episode. This was a table setter though and those episodes are generally not the best. I think that it’s really, really hard to put people where you need them over the course of a show (a movie has the luxury of being smaller productions and will have less moving parts to line up), particularly one as scrutinized as Lost, and they’re obviously putting things and various agendas in place to wrap everything up. I kind of believe there had to have been a better way to construct the current situation, but I’m not sure what the end game is yet. Anyways, I was entertained all in all and will just write it off that way. It does put more pressure on what they do with what they’ve built.
That said, some of the writing was unforgivable. I did love the “the guy from a Burt Reynolds movie” line.
Like you said, there really isn’t a ton of room for speculation here. I guess it just comes down to what happens next which I’ve tried to theorise about, but the places where my head go just don’t feel right at all. I just want to know how they are going to do with fusing the realities. Is the ultimate goal to cancel out the island reality? To somehow bring them together? As much as I’m interested in all of the nuts and bolts, that’s the thing that I’m the most curious about. How will they wrap that up?
By: WUWRobots on April 22, 2010
at 11:59 am
I think someone referred to the episode as feeling like kind of a “checklist” and that’s a good way to put it. OK, we need Jack and Locke to have this conversation. OK we need them on the boat and to get to Whidmore. Now we need to show that Jack and his kid’s relationship is strong. We need to isolate Jack.
Kind of felt like they were running out of episodes and they needed to get some stuff done for the finale.
By: WUWRobots on April 22, 2010
at 12:04 pm
It really is odd how many of the columnists/bloggers I typically read really enjoyed this episode considering how much I disliked it. Again, it was so wrought with awful dialogue and “I call bullshit” moments that I can’t believe they just overlook it.
You have to wonder if the ultimate goal is for Desmond (playing the role of Jacob) to wake everyone up in the sideways reality to make them realize that they do, in fact, have free will. Once that moment happens, Jacob wins and “everything ends once.” Granted, I think there will have to be some other momentous “event” in the sideways world beyond simply “waking” everyone up. Not sure what that is, though.
By: cousinbrandon on April 22, 2010
at 12:06 pm
We’re kind of in the same place on that. I actually wrote and deleted a more scatterbrained version of what you said about Desmond trying to cancel out the island reality and guide them to their destinies (and Sayid ends up kind of screwed since he has continually made the wrong decisions despite doing them for love maybe he ultimately finds redemption while facing his consequences, maybe Sayid takes the place of Claire in what I was saying before in making a great sacrifice after his conversation with Desmond), but I have no idea what to make of the people on the island and it all just feels a little too sunny. It feels like people are too cynical for them to go that way. I’d like it personally (so long as they don’t go all Lethal Weapon 4 on us, which of course they wouldn’t), but I don’t know how people will react to a more or less “ride off into the sunset” type of ending. I guess all of that comes down to the climax and the momentus event that you mentioned. I can’t wait to see what craziness goes down at the hospital.
I’m also really surprised that anyone would consider that episode a particularly good one. It was fine and all. The moving parts advanced and it’s clearly building towards something interesting and there is value in getting that feeling across, but in isolating the episode you hit it. Some really bad writing, terribly contrived and over the top moments, and honestly even though stuff was happening, nothing really happened. It was all just moving pieces so they are where they need to be next. It was good, it was Lost and I’m excited to see what’s next, but ultimately. Meh.
By: WUWRobots on April 22, 2010
at 12:32 pm
I actually got distracted, “guide them to their destinies,” aside from just being a terribly pretentious thing to say, wasn’t what I wanted to say. Moreso, show them what they’ve seen over the course of the story. Ultimately, wake them up. I was just trying to say it differently.
By: WUWRobots on April 22, 2010
at 12:34 pm
Of all the terrible writing in the episode, I still say the dialogue/character moment that was the absolute worst (other than Lapidus’ cornball line) was the interraction between David and Jack. Again, Jack’s acting/dialogue wasn’t bad, in that he actually seemed to find his kid endearing. But the shit spewing out of David’s mouth was dowrnight offensive. And again, seeing their conversation about Jack not knowing he had a sister was the most contrived bullshit of all. I hate how writers presuppose that no dialogue/conversation takes place between one scene and another. Shenanigans I tells ya’.
By: cousinbrandon on April 22, 2010
at 12:48 pm
Cheers to that. I can see it now.
(in the car)
David “So, you never knew…”
Jack “Not yet, we nned to get to the hospital where the lighting is a little better. It also looks a lot more like a moving father/son moment when I’m not driving, the background music fits better and tests show that the audience relates better that way.”
David “You make a good point, we’ll just sit in silence until the scene is better. Thanks dad. You’re a much better dad than your dad was.”
By: WUWRobots on April 22, 2010
at 12:58 pm
WUWRobots, you forgot the line where Jack says “it will be much easier for the crew to set up a scene in the hospital than to do it here in the car”.
By: Richie on April 22, 2010
at 3:08 pm
Actually, it seems like it would be easier to show them walking OUT of the lawyer’s office and have the conversation in that hallway that they instead had in the hallway of the hospital.
By: Richie on April 22, 2010
at 3:09 pm
Ha. Its true, and also more expensive I would imagine.
If I were Jack and David asked me why not the hallway I would mainly go tell him that there was a risk of the lawyer’s office starting to become a stagnant location since they had already spent as much time there as they had. The risk of losing impact could outweigh the cost and effort of scene relocation. Plus, you get to cash in on the “Good, we’re done here. Now I’m going to go put on my cape and perform surgery” moment.
By: WUWRobots on April 22, 2010
at 3:20 pm
“maybe Sayid takes the place of Claire in what I was saying before in making a great sacrifice”
Bravo!
By: Richie on May 5, 2010
at 12:04 pm
The episode was fine. It wasn’t the greatest, but it certainly wasn’t the worst. Although, I do think it’s an odd episode for them to take a break at, since it wasn’t one of the strongest.
ASIDE from the fact that David and Jack had the conversation in the hospital, not the car, did you notice that Jack said to give him 20 minutes to get there? A lot can happen in 20 minutes, right? If any consciousness did bleed over (Sun recognizing Locke, Locke looking sinister, etc) I wonder how much, and what might have happened.
Oh, and before I forget about Jack, and it’s probably just me, but did anyone else think back to his LA X mirror scene, where he had the cut on his neck after the Widmore missile hit? It looked to me that he was bleeding in a similar place.
As far as Sayid not killing Desmond, and the MiB not checking up on him; FLocke knew that Sayid was lying. He not only looked skeptical, but he can tell when people are b.s.ing him. Here’s my thought process if I’m FLocke: We’re already 30 minutes behind schedule, and I can’t kill Hume myself. As a matter of fact, Sayid openly defies me, and I can’t kill him either, so what’s the point? Let’s move on and get to where we need to go.
What I want to know is, how did Widmore’s people know where to fire? FLocke broke the walkie, so they didn’t triangulate that. Did FLocke lead his flock to the slaughter? And was it just to save Jack?
And also, Sayid said that FLocke brought him back. That’s not how I recall it. Jacob told Hurley to bring him to the temple, where Dogen brought him back, as far as we know. Even more, Sayid didn’t know who helped him, or that he was even dead. He credited Jack for saving his life! Does he now suddenly have clarity, or are his thoughts even murkier than that temple water? I think Desmond may have helped him clear up some of his thoughts at the well.
Finally, on Christian; I guess I’ll have to buy their explanation, since I don’t know how much more they can go into it at this point. But I thought of some of the things that Brandon thought of, as well as some things I mentioned before, as to why FLocke couldn’t have been Christian at all times we’ve seen him. First, no need to tell Vincent, the Dog, “go wake up my son” in that webisode. It’s a damn dog! Also, he was on the Hyrda island with Ben after the Ajira landing, and then in the barracks with Sun. He said he can’t just fly across the water. Third, and most recently, Claire said that her father AND her friend told her that the others had Aaron. If she knew that MiB was her father and FLocke, why differentiate between the two? Plus, Claire said something along the lines of, “he told you he was pretending to be our father?” That could be seen as her confirming to herself what story FLocke told, not neccessarily confirming that it was the truth. Who the heck knows?
By: Major Minority on April 22, 2010
at 1:29 pm
I didn’t notice Jack’s neck, MM, but I’ll go back and take a look. I don’t really think this, but did anyone consider that perhaps Jack died in the explosion, which is why he’s “with FLocke now”? I know that’s a reach, but thought I’d put it out there.
Nah, I don’t buy your thought on FLocke knowing Sayid was lying. Look, Desmond is too important to both Widmore and, seemingly, FLocke. Why send Sayid out to shoot him and ensures he’s dead if it’s really not all that important? If that was the case, he would have just left Desmond in the well and not worried about ordering Sayid back there.
As far as how they knew where to fire, the only reasonable explanation I can come up with is that they were standing on the beach, exposed. From Hydra Island, perhaps they could see them via binoculars and figure out their coordinates as such.
I had the same thoughts on that. I don’t recall FLocke bringing Sayid back; rather, it was Jack (or at least that’s who he credited). I couldn’t understand if what he meant was more “FLocke has given me a new life (purpose)” in Nadia.
And as far as the Christian thing, I’m going to notch it up to this: he’s lying. He’s the smoke monster, after all. Has he ever appeared to Jack as Christian? Maybe. But I don’t buy that he was ALWAYS Christian, as there are too many instances when it either made no sense (off the island) or served no purpose (talking to Vincent).
By: cousinbrandon on April 22, 2010
at 1:40 pm
Am I able to sign up for follow-up comment notification without making a comment?
By: Richie on April 22, 2010
at 1:58 pm
Well, I’m not sure if simply clicking that little box below (“Notify me of site updates”) will do it, but give it a shot.
By: cousinbrandon on April 22, 2010
at 2:01 pm
That box just sends me an e-mail when you create a new blog post.
By: Richie on April 22, 2010
at 2:51 pm
It’s odd, really. I looked at my set-up on WordPress and it would appear I have the box checked that says “Allow Readers to subscribe to comments.” Hmmm. I’ll look into it, sir.
By: cousinbrandon on April 22, 2010
at 2:55 pm
Yes, I am able to get new comments e-mailed to me by checking “Notify me of follow-up comments via email.” But I seem to only be able to subscribe if I have submitted a comment of my own. It’s not a big deal.
By: Richie on April 22, 2010
at 3:03 pm
As usual, I have questions but no answers.
1) Did anybody else feel that Sawyer’s apple-eating while talking to Kate in the police station would be significant? It really seemed like they made a point to say “look at Sawyer eating this apple”. But nothing ever came of it.
2) Why was Jin free to just walk down the beach and greet Sun? Wasn’t he still locked up?
3) I thought it was lame in the ambulance when the paramedic asked Ben “do you know this man?” Uh, no. People ride in the ambulance with smashed up strangers all the time.
4) Now that Libby’s presence in the mental institute has at least been acknowledged (but not really explained), I think my biggest unresolved issue is Walt. He had some kind of special powers. Apparently smokey can only take the form of dead people, and various people have seen “ghosts” of dead people – but Walt has shown up to people on the island. He’s not dead, but he still shows up. Is it imagined? Does he transport to the island? Does Jacob or Smokey cause him to be seen?
5) Are we ever going to see Rose and Bernard again? Are they on the island in present-day, or are they stuck in 1977?
6) I still feel unsatisfied with the whole Dharma initiative. I sure hope it is explored a little more.
By: Richie on April 22, 2010
at 3:01 pm
1. Clearly the whole apple thing alludes to Adam and Eve. In this case, I guess you’d have to look at Kate as Eve and Sawyer as the snake, seeing as how he’s tempting her with an apple. This detail, though, is certainly intentional.
2. Yeah, I suppose that was a bit odd with Jin, seeing as how he was captured by Widmore’s people and just out for a nice stroll.
3. Well, in all fairness, he could have been a witness to the crime who hopped in the ambulance simply to accompany him. My point, though, was that I called bullshit on Ben not knowing his first name.
4. I think Walt’s story really got short shrift, and it’s all because he aged/grew and the writers didn’t know how to figure it out. I mean, his story was paramount in the first two seasons, and next thing you know it’s “So long, Walt.”
5. I see that we never see them on the island again, though we may see them yet again in the sideways world. Frankly, who cares. They’ve got enough to figure out without dredging them up (unless they end up being Adam and Eve, that is).
6. Agreed.
By: cousinbrandon on April 22, 2010
at 3:13 pm
Waaaaaaaalllllllllltt!!!!!
I first started watching Lost about a year ago with Season 1, Episode 1 and spent 6 months watching the first 5 seasons. Sometimes we’d watch 2 or 3 episodes in a row. Man, it got annoying hearing Michael scream his name every 10 minutes for 3 hours.
There better be a freaking payoff on Walt!!
By: Richie on April 22, 2010
at 3:18 pm
Yeah, there’d better be, only I don’t think there WILL be, not one that efficiently answers the questions. Bastards.
By: cousinbrandon on April 22, 2010
at 5:19 pm
Ok, I’m done with training for the day, so I get to throw in my 2 cents:
1. When watching Claire talk to Jack I originally thought that maybe only Jack could bring her back from being nuts but I was impressed that Kate managed to talk some sense into her. I also don’t see why Kate doesn’t tell Claire, “oh by the way, Aaron is with your mother now so at least he’s with his real family”.
2. The night to day thing annoyed me. It was completely dark out when Jack talk to FLocke then all of a sudden it’s light out (almost mid morning).
3. I’m surprised I haven’t seen any of you mention the fact that Sayid wasn’t shown on the beack with FLocke at the end of the episode. I re-watched the scene and he’s not there. So where is he? Did FLocke just leave him in the jungle?
Also, it is possible (although I don’t think probable) that Sayid did shoot Desmond and maybe the island just won’t let Desmond actually die and Sayid thinking that he is dead. I’m not really believing this but just a thought. Also, I think in terms of Sayid being a zombie and not feeling anything, I think he’s more like obsessed and the only real emotion he feels is just to get Nadia back into his life. Hence, Desmond was able to use her as a way to guilt Sayid to possibly not shoot him. Finally though, FLocke took a play out of the typical bad guy playbook and just assuming that the guy he wanted dead, did die rather than actually watch the “good guy” die.
4. One thing I also noted was it sucks to be a temple person. If you didn’t join FLocke, he killed you. if you did join him, you just got blown up by Widmore. All of the temple folk are basically dead now. Sucks for them.
5. Was happy to see Jin and Sun reunite only because now they can’t just say “where’s Jin/Sun”. Although, my biggest question is if Jin is with Widmore, why did they force him to the ground as well. And couldn’t one of his demands be to let Sun be with him?
6. I found Jack’s logic interesting about staying on the island. Also funny how when you relate that to the convo he had with FLocke earlier, Jack sounded exactly like John Locke at the end of the episode when talking to Sawyer.
7. My only thought when FLocke claimed to always be Christian was I wanted to go back and rewatch every scene that Christian appeared in to see if it made sense. However, CB, you already pointed out 2 examples where this doesn’t make any sense.
8. When Claire tells Jack that he’s with FLocke now because FLocke talked to him, that sounded too much like the whole Sayid-Dogen-FLocke and MiB-Richard-Jacob thing. It seems way too similar to not be the same thing about how allowing the person to talk gives them a chance to convince you of their cause.
Also, I think maybe the writer’s goofed with the whole Claire thing saying “my friend and my dad” when she knwos that FLocke was both. So unless she has another friend we don’t know about, we need an explanation there.
Think that’s it for now. Overall I enjoyed the episode. Not gonna say I loved it, but liked it because it did move things along and even if predictable, i still like seeing alliances formed and then double crosses happening.
By: dochielomn on April 22, 2010
at 4:06 pm
Sorry for the delayed response, dochieolmn. Let’s get into this:
1. This has been a point of contention all season. Seriously, how has she still not mentioned that Aaron’s with Claire’s mother?! It’s just as bad as Sun failing to talk about Ji Yeon, which annoys me to no end.
2. That sort of thing doesn’t bother me so much. Look, they’d been trekking through the jungle and then met up with FLocke’s camp. For all we know they’d been walking at 5 AM and by the time Jack and FLocke finished speaking, it was sun-up.
3. I’m pretty goddamn positive he did NOT shoot Desmond. Obviously FLocke is still manipulating Sayid in promising to return him to Nadia, but I think we have to view this as just another lie. Furtherrmore, with Hurley’s comment about Annakin and coming back from the Dark Side, I think we’re going to see that play out with Sayid. Hell, he’s already evidenced emotion, something he was supposedly devoid of.
5. Widmore got what he needed from Jin. He doesn’t give a damn about the Oceanic folks. He wants to exploit the island’s power. The other folks are disposable at this point.
6. Well, this is nothing new for Jack. We’ve seen him give over to become a Man of Faith for quite some time now, so his adopting Locke’s perspective isn’t at all out of the blue. Still, I like that Jack refuses to give up on his believe that they’re on the island for a reason. If he simply gives in to Sawyer’s plan, it’s as if Juliet died for nothing.
7. Yep.
8. Again, everyone seemed to think that was insignificant when it happened with Sayid, but I insisted it mattered. The whole point (as we even saw in the Richard episode) was not to let FLocke/MiB speak first. I took that quite literally. And they’ve been insistent upon this time and time again. It wasn’t just “Don’t let him convince you of anything.” No, it was “Don’t let him speak first.” Big difference.
Thanks for the comments, sir.
By: cousinbrandon on April 23, 2010
at 8:43 am
DocHiel and CB, listen, I know you guys don’t agree, but I’m almost 100% convinced that FLocke knew Sayid didn’t kill Desmond. He was concerned with timing, and, borrowing from the oft used Alice reference, he didn’t want to be “late” for a very important date.
Again, it harkens back to how Widmore knew where to fire. Sawyer didn’t tell them where the rendezvous point was. FLocke was concerned with the pace of the group. (Sayid being 30 minutes late, the larger the group, the slower it moves, etc.) And now, Jack is “with” MiB. The whole thing seems like a setup. FLocke wasn’t even that mad that Sawyer stole the boat, contrary to Claire’s claim that, “he’s going to be mad when he finds out we’re gone.”
Anway, FLocke knew that Sayid didn’t kill Desmond, but what could he do? He doesn’t want anyone else to know about Desmond, he doesn’t want to lose face in front of the others by being second guessed, and he didn’t want to be late. He made a tactical decision. What’s more important? Desmond dying, or getting Jack to be on his side? He picked Jack. And anyway, maybe Sayid did shoot Desmond, but intentionally, not in a kill spot.
As far as Anakin… we have Hurley’s line of bringing people back, but then we have Sideways Sayid. When he killed Keamy and his buddies, he essentially went over to the dark side, right? Well, he told Nadia that he can never come back.
And Sayid was never said to be devoid of emotion after his death. It was just at that one point. I know it’s farfetched, but what if he was going through the 5 stages of coping with loss/death? The first is denial, and I’m pretty sure he didn’t believe he was dead. The 2nd is bargaining… think of Sayid in the jungle with FLocke. Third is anger (killing Dogen and Lennon so violently.) Then we have depression, which makes one apathetic and emotionally dead inside. Finally, acceptance. And he did plainly state that he WAS dead, thus accepting what had happened to him.
Oh, one last thing… I’m looking foward to Ben, Richie, and Miles saving Sawyer, et al. Not only because it will probably be another dues ex machina moment, since we all know that they’re headed to the Hydra island anyway, but I want to see another confrontation between Ben and Widmore.
By: Major Minority on April 23, 2010
at 11:53 am
I can’t get into all of your points right now, but I still don’t agree with your assessment that he “didn’t have time.” Again, MiB has been on the island for God knows how long. Now that his plan has finally come together, do you really think he’s going to let a major detail like Desmond go overlooked simply due to the time factor?
Furthermore, I’m starting to think FLocke knew that Sawyer would steal his boat. I think he was actually planning on it. Perhaps it was a test to make sure Jack would return to him, as he might have actually realized that Jack really is “the one” he needs to have with him. Something just tells me that Sawyer taking the boat is exactly what FLocke anticipated.
And, yes, Ben, Richard and Miles will be on the scene soon enough.
By: cousinbrandon on April 23, 2010
at 12:06 pm
Quick question: would it be more helpful to have new comments at the top as opposed to the bottom? Or, are we okay with how it is?
By: cousinbrandon on April 23, 2010
at 12:02 pm
Yeah, it’s fine the way it is right now, to me, at least.
But Brandon! You damn hamburger hater! We’re just arguing in circles! If he can see through Sawyer’s long con, which I agree, he did, of course he knew Sayid was lying! And if Desmond’s death IS so important, than he wouldn’t let his plan be be foiled by a simple failure to double check work. So your arguement against my point also supports my point.
By: Major Minority on April 23, 2010
at 12:30 pm
But why, then, would he take that chance? It’s as if you’re saying that Desmond’s death is, therefore, inconsequential. Look, if Sayid follows out FLocke’s orders, Desmond is dead. If he doesn’t follow his orders, Desmond lives. Do you mean to tell me that it doesn’t matter one way or the other? I don’t buy that. I can get on board with sending Sawyer out on the boat, FLocke knowing that he will try to pull a fast one. In a sense, it’s FLocke’s way of “putting” people where he wants them. On the other hand, there is too much left to chance with Sayid. I mean, I simply can’t accept that whether Sayid does or does not kill Desmond is irrelevant.
By: cousinbrandon on April 23, 2010
at 12:35 pm
Perhaps the killing Desmond thing was a test for Sayid? To see where he really stands, and what he can really feel.
By: Major Minority on April 23, 2010
at 1:07 pm
Possibly, but I still say why risk it? Again, your theory still suggests that whether or not Desmond dies is irrelevant.
By: cousinbrandon on April 23, 2010
at 1:17 pm
But if it’s critical to Smokey that Desmond dies, shouldn’t he have gone back to make sure he was dead once he thought there was a possibility that Sayid didn’t fulfill his obligation?
By: Richie on April 23, 2010
at 1:41 pm
Right. I mean, that was my point in the first place. Look, you don’t throw a guy down a well and order someone else to shoot him unless you want him to die. Now, I realize that you and MM might be saying “But maybe he DIDN’T want Desmond to die, and that’s part of Smokey’s plan.” Ummm, if that’s the case, how do you take that chance? I’m saying that Smokey wanted Desmond to die, and his not checking to make sure Sayid finished the job was unacceptable. Again, you don’t push a man down a well and direct someone else to murder him unless you really think he’s going to follow through with it.
By: cousinbrandon on April 23, 2010
at 1:45 pm
Ok, 1st, replying back to CB’s response on my original post:
1. Just figured that had Kate bothered to mention this detail that Claire may not hate her as much and may not want to kill her since Aaron is with his true family.
2. Was just nitpicking at details. I don’t buy the sudden time change but don’t really care either.
3. Like I said, was just throwing out an idea. I think Desmond is alive as if Sayid did shoot him, I think we would have seen it.
5. What did Widmore actually get out of Jin? He asked for his help locating EM stuff on the island via some map that Jin made in the past or something like that. The Jin asked, why should I help you and Widmore pulled out Desmond and then we got into all of that. So how did Jin actually help?
8. I thought the point we were debating about was whether or not FLocke/MiB or Jacob could die if they were allowed to speak first? I thought your point was they basically became immune to any physical attacks if they spoke? I contend that Dogen and MiB said “don’t let him speak” because it just sounds better as oppose to saying “don’t let them sway you”. That would just sounds stupid and the character would have his choice of who he believed. “Don’t let him speak” sounds cooler and makes you think that you need to get rid of this person and should you allow them to speak, then maybe they’ll convince you to their side.
Now, for Major Minority’s theory:
Ultimately I got to agree with CB on this one. I think FLocke trusts Sayid to do his bidding now. On the otherhand though, doesn’t FLocke also have the ability to look at someone and sort of know the truth (like reading their mind or knowing their heart/soul)? So maybe he knows Sayid is lying. But as CB said, I just can’t see him allowing Desmond to live if he wanted him dead.
As for FLocke getting mad, when have we ever really seen him get mad at someone? He doesn’t throw hissy fits. He keeps his demeanor and unleashes his rage as Smokey when he chooses the time is right.
How about the fact that Sayid wasn’t on the beach at the end with FLocke’s group. Where was he?
By: dochielomn on April 23, 2010
at 4:32 pm
2. Apparently the writers have addressed the time changes before and have said, well, it’s just the shooting schedule. In other words, it means nothing, and even though it’s a continuity error, they’re aware of it.
5. I don’t know. I suppose it’s possible that Jin gave Widmore some sort of coordinates off camera, but who knows.
8. Again, I DO think it was meant literally. That is, I think we are supposed to think that if FLocke speaks first, you’re done for.
To your point to MM, we have seen FLocke mad, or at least panicked. When? Whenever the ghost boy is around, and I’m still saying it’s Aaron. So there.
By: cousinbrandon on April 24, 2010
at 10:09 am
Ok, you’ve got a point there about FLocke being flustered/mad but I’m discounting that as an unusual cirucmstance because obviously this boy isn’t “normal” and something weird is going on here. Especially since the boy was telling FLocke that he couldn’t kill someone because it was against the rules. With any regular human characters, I’m not sure he has lost his cool.
By: dochielomn on April 26, 2010
at 12:23 am
Holy hell! Any chance these are related?!
Here’s Jack looking at his neck in the mirror in “LA X”:
Now, here he is after being blown up at the end of “The Last Recruit”:
http://getlostpodcast.iimmgg.com/image/9f5c37a450f23352c8bc07193844a576
Thoughts?
By: cousinbrandon on April 26, 2010
at 10:22 am
My thoughts, Brandon, are that you don’t read my damn posts! I mentioned this in my very first one! You even responded to that point by saying you didn’t notice! For shammmmeee!
You have to stop letting Larry slip you ruthies…. for the sake of your consciousness and your cornhole. 🙂
By: Major Minority on April 26, 2010
at 11:52 am
“Oh, and before I forget about Jack, and it’s probably just me, but did anyone else think back to his LA X mirror scene, where he had the cut on his neck after the Widmore missile hit? It looked to me that he was bleeding in a similar place.”
Indeed you did, MM. Indeed you did.
And for the record, I have no idea what “ruthies” are. She sounds cute.
By: cousinbrandon on April 26, 2010
at 11:55 am
[…] no “Previously on LOST,” which surprised me considering there hadn’t been an episode since “The Last Recruit” two weeks ago. I’d have thought they’d fell the need to catch us up, so to speak. Anyway, […]
By: LOST – Season 6, Episodes 14: “The Candidate” « Cousin Brandon's Mr. Hipster Blog on May 5, 2010
at 9:55 am