Lost 6.4 - The Substitute
So we're back on Craphole Island for another week after spending pretty much all of last week at The Temple of Doom Redux. Quick recap of last week - Sayid came back to life, The Others ran him through a Smokey detection test, Jack was confused as usual, and we found out Sayid was "infected" by whatever the hell the Man in Black is... just like Claire was infected three years ago when the barracks blew up on the island.
Tonight's episode, though, dealt with the other group on the island... the one that is currently getting their marching orders from Faux-Locke. The episode, appropriately titled "The Substitute" was a Locke-centric episode in terms of the flash-sideways.
We opened in Locke's flash-sideways and immediately got the sight of him in the wheelchair, which malfunctioned, adding even more problems when he tried to get off the van lift. The entire opening scene was a great way of showing how sad his life in the wheelchair was, even if he did end up with Peggy Bundy (Who was spotting a shirt saying karma by the end of the episode). We also jumped right into discussion about Locke's talk with Jack in the airport regarding the spinal consultation. Helen brought up Locke's favorite word - destiny - which should plant the seeds of something big in the alternate 2004 if Jack helps Locke. Locke, pissed off the world, ran into Hurley, who helped Locke find a new job after being fired. I like the theme of everyone being nice to Locke in this timeline. This is key. And what do you know? Rose ended up at the temp agency to put Locke in his place. Sad thing is that it convinced Locke that he didn't need to be fixed. It's interesting that they used Rose as the character to change his mind. Locke ending up a science teacher was a great twist, considering he was a man of faith. Of course, it was great to see Ben being a teacher at the same school.
On the island, we opened with Smokey Vision, which quickly morphed back to Locke after finding Claire's machete in the jungle... along with a trapped Richard Alpert. His conversation was a classic attempt at recruiting Richard to the Locke-side, although it got interrupted when Locke saw the bloody boy in the jungle... posed very similar to the way Walt would look when he'd suddenly appear. The kid, whether it's young Jacob or even an incarnation of Aaron, is going to be huge from what I've gathered. The line about "not being able to kill him" is also key in showing that the people on Jacob's list are untouchable to Smokey (Just like how MIB couldn't kill Jacob outright). Still, seeing Richard scared out of his mind was pretty hilarious considering he's been the coolest customer in this show.
Locke's recruiting of Sawyer was inevitable as Sawyer is still vulnerable due to Juliet's death. He came across as the master of temptation... leading Sawyer into the wilderness (Hey, it's almost Lent so it was easy to find the religious meaning). Sawyer's retelling of "A Mice and Men" was pretty hilarious, especially when he was wanting to take the role of George. Locke did confirm he was "trapped" and that he did have a human form (The Man in Black). The cave Locke brought Sawyer to was very interesting as it represented the white and black balance of the island, which is, of course, HUGE to this series. The big reveal is the wall markings with the names and the numbers. Those on Jacob's list (The ones he touched in the past) are the only ones not marked off the wall. Locke made the reveal that each of them was meant to end up on the island after all.
We also got a very interesting scene inside the statue, especially with Illana gathering the ashes of Jacob. It makes you wonder if those ashes will be used as barrier in the future. We got a big reveal in that Man in Black is now stuck as John Locke, considering he no longer needs to be Christian. Locke's funeral was just what you'd expect for John Locke. Ben's eulogy was surprising. It's showing that Ben has definitely changed and is defeated at the moment. I do hope he gets to redeem himself in the clutch and returns to his true colors.
Line of the night goes to Frank: "Weirdest damn funeral I've ever been to".
Fantastic episode all around.