Let me begin by saying…
I… HATE… TIME TRAVEL…
My naïve hope was that it was all done with last season, but I knew better even as I wished it. Anyway, since apparently it will be sticking around for this season (and let’s just go ahead and accept for the rest of the series), I will make my peace now and not spend a quarter of every recap whining. However, you can expect lots of thinly-veiled sarcasm.
Now. On with the recap.
This being the inaugural episode of the season, I find the parallel between our 44th president’s inauguration too tempting to pass up.
I… HATE… TIME TRAVEL…
My naïve hope was that it was all done with last season, but I knew better even as I wished it. Anyway, since apparently it will be sticking around for this season (and let’s just go ahead and accept for the rest of the series), I will make my peace now and not spend a quarter of every recap whining. However, you can expect lots of thinly-veiled sarcasm.
Now. On with the recap.
This being the inaugural episode of the season, I find the parallel between our 44th president’s inauguration too tempting to pass up.
LOST
SEASON 5 (PREMIER)
INAUGURAL PROGRAM OF EVENTS:
OPENING CEREMONIES:
Willie Nelson performs “Shotgun Willie”
That is the name of the song playing on the record Dr. Marvin Candle put on as he went about his morning routine with the baby. Later, his training video is cut short by news of the problem at the Orchid Station. The big reveal here is that Daniel Faraday is hanging out in the past, apparently very interested in the “power source” they almost drilled into. My guess is that with the island now time-hopping all willy-nilly, Daniel has to harness that power source (the same that Ben used to move the island to begin with) in order to get it to stop. I expect we’ll be seeing how he gets to that point sometime this season.
That aside, one interesting thing I just remembered is that Dr. Candle was making a training video for the Arrow Station said to provide defensive strategies against “the Hostiles” which we’ve heard Dharma folks refer to in the past as the island’s “original inhabitants.” We see later that the survivors are bombarded with flaming arrows during one of their hops through time. Coincidence? Doubtful.
INVOCATION:
“Please don’t let time travel taint this season with its dark shadow of suckiness. Amen.”
OATH OF VICE-PRESIDENTIAL OFFICE:
“I, Benjamin Linus, do solemnly swear that I will support and defend The Island against all enemies, foreign and domestic—”
Which, in his new off-island capacity, is to gather the Oceanic Six plus one dead-ish Jeremy Bentham and get back to the island or else everyone left behind will die. By my calculations, between the siege on the old barracks when the freighter militia group was trying to flush out Ben, the freighter explosion, and the flaming arrow trap from last night… there might not be many people left to die by the time the O6 get back.
“—that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion—”
Yeah, right. Ben is King of evasiveness. Did anyone catch when Ben told Jack he needed to store Locke’s body “somewhere safe,” Jack asked was he really dead and Ben kind of didn’t answer. That begs the question, is Locke really dead? But that’s too much to contemplate at this point. I also don’t believe him when he claimed that the last time he saw Locke was at the Orchid Station and I believe he knows more about what happened to everyone after the Oceanic 6 left, but he’s not letting on.
“—and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me Jacob.”
I’m also curious about the apparent falling out between he and Sayid. At the end of last season when Sayid busted Hurley out of the asylum, my assumption was it was under the direction of Ben in order to get the gang all back together so to speak, but it was clear from last night’s episode that Sayid no longer trusted him. Not that I blame him.
INTERMISSION:
The lighter points of the night for me were all-things Hurley. Lots of good comic relief. I especially liked when he tried to explain to his mother what “really” happened on the island after they crashed. When season 1-4 are strung together in a run-on sentence like that, it really does sound crazy, and surely the writers are poking fun at themselves too. I can appreciate that. One of the best twists was when he decided to turn himself in to the police. It will essentially take a prison break to get him to the island now. NEAT.
Other minor points of interest include the mysterious lawyer visit to Kate’s house. I wonder if the maternity test is a plot by Ben to scare Kate into going on the run, and thus, becoming more willing to flee to the island.
Also, the interaction between Sun and Widmore. Just confirmation of who she meant by “common interest” and—yep—she wants Ben dead. Of course I’m not so convinced that Widmore actually wants Ben dead. I think it’s more complicated than that. This goes back to their strange interaction when Ben visited Widmore in his penthouse last season and said, “You changed the rules” in reference Alex’s death, then stated he was going after Penny. Anyway, I wasn’t so convinced by Sun’s “I forgive you” to Kate either.
And let’s not forget. Frogurt. Just about the best Sawyer nickname ever.
OATH OF PRESIDENTIAL OFFICE:
“I, John Locke, do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of Leader of The Others, and—(blinding white light)—hey, where’d everybody go?”
That’s right kids, hold on to your hats because we’ve been “dislodged” from time. Bummer. That happened to me last Tuesday and I tell you what, no fun. Now I won’t get into the potential paradoxes of time travel because of our aforementioned uneasy truce, however, I will ask the question of why did the others not get “jumped” to whenever everybody else went? Now, my theory (since apparently any Joe Schmoe can make up “rules” about time travel) is that the others have all jumped through time in the past, therefore are not “in line” with everyone else. We know at least that Richard Alpart has likely been dipping his toe in the time travel pool, which could explain his apparent un-aging-ness. So, maybe time travel affects people of the same “point” in time. Since all of the survivors are at the same point in “real” time, they all got swept up together, whereas the others are at some other point in time. (Do you see? Do you see why this stuff is ridiculous?) Perhaps the others eat a high-fiber diet, which is the trick to remaining temporally stable in case you don’t have the benefit of a “constant” like Desmond is for Daniel.
“—and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend The Island because it healed my legs and let me seek vengeance on my dead beat dad.”
Apparently it will be a little while longer until Daniel figures out how to stabilize the island because Locke will be visiting Richard sometime in the past. Speaking of stabilizing the island, for those of you that need a memory jog, the woman at the very end of the episode that was doing the calculations and speaking to Ben in the church about how he had 70 hours, that was the same woman in the jewelry store in Desmond’s very first flashback when he decided to propose to Penny. She basically told him he couldn’t change the past so wasn’t going to really do it. At first, my thought was she was some crazy figment of his imagination or side-effect of his mental time travel or whatever, but apparently she’s a for-real lady that went back in time specifically to warn him not to change his own past, not that you can anyway according to Daniel, but I digress. $10 says she’s also Daniel’s mother who he told Desmond to find at Oxford.
21 GUN SALUTE:
Guns, indeed. Is it just me or did Hurley do just about everything short of setting up a Glamour Shots session posed up on the balcony with that gun? Geez, dude.
Other guns included Locke getting shot in the leg by Ethan. As to whether or not Ethan “remembered” Locke “after” that encounter when he “first” meets him “later” on “after” the Oceanic crash, who’s to say. That’s getting into what I promised I wouldn’t whine about, but I would like to point out that last sentence wouldn’t have needed so many dam(n) quotes if it weren’t for time travel. Of course Richard comes to the rescue on his next jump with a disconcerting briefing of, “Hey. You’re jumping through time. Give me this compass the next time you see me. Oh yeah, and FYI you’re gonna have to die soon-ish. See ya.”
Finally, there were the guns pulled on Locke and Juliet just before they threatened to cut off her arms, but Locke saved the day. I guess that means he’ll be hanging out with his old pals until he can once again be reunited with the others. What a sucky first day at the office. You officially meet your staff for the first time only to be swallowed by a worm hole to the past. I hate it when that happens.
PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS:
We’ve inherited quite a mess. And I’m not talking about the economy. The hope that we cling to is that all questions will receive their answers, in due time. Of course now even the phrase “in due time” becomes dubious as we’re yo-yoed across the space-time continuum, but nevertheless we maintain a trust that our patience and loyalty will bear fruit. As I mentioned in my last e-mail, I’ve read of a few potential plot points from seasons past that they hope to fill us in on this season or next. How did Libby wind up in a mental institution? What really happened with Danielle Rousseau’s crew of scientists? And what about the “real” Henry Gale (the hot-air balloon guy that Ben posed as), remember him? To me, that is what these last two seasons will be about, getting the Oceanic Six back and bringing all the questions to a satisfying close. Two more years… two more years…
POETRY READING:
Roses are read.
Violets are blue.
Where the hell did Miles get that dead bore?
I don’t know, do you?
That was way too weird and random to just let go. My suspicion is that he went into the jungle to commune with some dead people, as that is his talent, and they directed him to where the nearest food supply was, if that’s how that works. Who knows, but surely that will be addressed. Crazy.
BENEDICTION:
“Oh, Lord, please help the writers make it through to the end with sufficient answers to all lingering questions, without making me want to do bodily harm to them. Amen.”
INAUGURAL BALLS:
Ha! Ha ha! Balls…
Willie Nelson performs “Shotgun Willie”
That is the name of the song playing on the record Dr. Marvin Candle put on as he went about his morning routine with the baby. Later, his training video is cut short by news of the problem at the Orchid Station. The big reveal here is that Daniel Faraday is hanging out in the past, apparently very interested in the “power source” they almost drilled into. My guess is that with the island now time-hopping all willy-nilly, Daniel has to harness that power source (the same that Ben used to move the island to begin with) in order to get it to stop. I expect we’ll be seeing how he gets to that point sometime this season.
That aside, one interesting thing I just remembered is that Dr. Candle was making a training video for the Arrow Station said to provide defensive strategies against “the Hostiles” which we’ve heard Dharma folks refer to in the past as the island’s “original inhabitants.” We see later that the survivors are bombarded with flaming arrows during one of their hops through time. Coincidence? Doubtful.
INVOCATION:
“Please don’t let time travel taint this season with its dark shadow of suckiness. Amen.”
OATH OF VICE-PRESIDENTIAL OFFICE:
“I, Benjamin Linus, do solemnly swear that I will support and defend The Island against all enemies, foreign and domestic—”
Which, in his new off-island capacity, is to gather the Oceanic Six plus one dead-ish Jeremy Bentham and get back to the island or else everyone left behind will die. By my calculations, between the siege on the old barracks when the freighter militia group was trying to flush out Ben, the freighter explosion, and the flaming arrow trap from last night… there might not be many people left to die by the time the O6 get back.
“—that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion—”
Yeah, right. Ben is King of evasiveness. Did anyone catch when Ben told Jack he needed to store Locke’s body “somewhere safe,” Jack asked was he really dead and Ben kind of didn’t answer. That begs the question, is Locke really dead? But that’s too much to contemplate at this point. I also don’t believe him when he claimed that the last time he saw Locke was at the Orchid Station and I believe he knows more about what happened to everyone after the Oceanic 6 left, but he’s not letting on.
“—and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me Jacob.”
I’m also curious about the apparent falling out between he and Sayid. At the end of last season when Sayid busted Hurley out of the asylum, my assumption was it was under the direction of Ben in order to get the gang all back together so to speak, but it was clear from last night’s episode that Sayid no longer trusted him. Not that I blame him.
INTERMISSION:
The lighter points of the night for me were all-things Hurley. Lots of good comic relief. I especially liked when he tried to explain to his mother what “really” happened on the island after they crashed. When season 1-4 are strung together in a run-on sentence like that, it really does sound crazy, and surely the writers are poking fun at themselves too. I can appreciate that. One of the best twists was when he decided to turn himself in to the police. It will essentially take a prison break to get him to the island now. NEAT.
Other minor points of interest include the mysterious lawyer visit to Kate’s house. I wonder if the maternity test is a plot by Ben to scare Kate into going on the run, and thus, becoming more willing to flee to the island.
Also, the interaction between Sun and Widmore. Just confirmation of who she meant by “common interest” and—yep—she wants Ben dead. Of course I’m not so convinced that Widmore actually wants Ben dead. I think it’s more complicated than that. This goes back to their strange interaction when Ben visited Widmore in his penthouse last season and said, “You changed the rules” in reference Alex’s death, then stated he was going after Penny. Anyway, I wasn’t so convinced by Sun’s “I forgive you” to Kate either.
And let’s not forget. Frogurt. Just about the best Sawyer nickname ever.
OATH OF PRESIDENTIAL OFFICE:
“I, John Locke, do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of Leader of The Others, and—(blinding white light)—hey, where’d everybody go?”
That’s right kids, hold on to your hats because we’ve been “dislodged” from time. Bummer. That happened to me last Tuesday and I tell you what, no fun. Now I won’t get into the potential paradoxes of time travel because of our aforementioned uneasy truce, however, I will ask the question of why did the others not get “jumped” to whenever everybody else went? Now, my theory (since apparently any Joe Schmoe can make up “rules” about time travel) is that the others have all jumped through time in the past, therefore are not “in line” with everyone else. We know at least that Richard Alpart has likely been dipping his toe in the time travel pool, which could explain his apparent un-aging-ness. So, maybe time travel affects people of the same “point” in time. Since all of the survivors are at the same point in “real” time, they all got swept up together, whereas the others are at some other point in time. (Do you see? Do you see why this stuff is ridiculous?) Perhaps the others eat a high-fiber diet, which is the trick to remaining temporally stable in case you don’t have the benefit of a “constant” like Desmond is for Daniel.
“—and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend The Island because it healed my legs and let me seek vengeance on my dead beat dad.”
Apparently it will be a little while longer until Daniel figures out how to stabilize the island because Locke will be visiting Richard sometime in the past. Speaking of stabilizing the island, for those of you that need a memory jog, the woman at the very end of the episode that was doing the calculations and speaking to Ben in the church about how he had 70 hours, that was the same woman in the jewelry store in Desmond’s very first flashback when he decided to propose to Penny. She basically told him he couldn’t change the past so wasn’t going to really do it. At first, my thought was she was some crazy figment of his imagination or side-effect of his mental time travel or whatever, but apparently she’s a for-real lady that went back in time specifically to warn him not to change his own past, not that you can anyway according to Daniel, but I digress. $10 says she’s also Daniel’s mother who he told Desmond to find at Oxford.
21 GUN SALUTE:
Guns, indeed. Is it just me or did Hurley do just about everything short of setting up a Glamour Shots session posed up on the balcony with that gun? Geez, dude.
Other guns included Locke getting shot in the leg by Ethan. As to whether or not Ethan “remembered” Locke “after” that encounter when he “first” meets him “later” on “after” the Oceanic crash, who’s to say. That’s getting into what I promised I wouldn’t whine about, but I would like to point out that last sentence wouldn’t have needed so many dam(n) quotes if it weren’t for time travel. Of course Richard comes to the rescue on his next jump with a disconcerting briefing of, “Hey. You’re jumping through time. Give me this compass the next time you see me. Oh yeah, and FYI you’re gonna have to die soon-ish. See ya.”
Finally, there were the guns pulled on Locke and Juliet just before they threatened to cut off her arms, but Locke saved the day. I guess that means he’ll be hanging out with his old pals until he can once again be reunited with the others. What a sucky first day at the office. You officially meet your staff for the first time only to be swallowed by a worm hole to the past. I hate it when that happens.
PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS:
We’ve inherited quite a mess. And I’m not talking about the economy. The hope that we cling to is that all questions will receive their answers, in due time. Of course now even the phrase “in due time” becomes dubious as we’re yo-yoed across the space-time continuum, but nevertheless we maintain a trust that our patience and loyalty will bear fruit. As I mentioned in my last e-mail, I’ve read of a few potential plot points from seasons past that they hope to fill us in on this season or next. How did Libby wind up in a mental institution? What really happened with Danielle Rousseau’s crew of scientists? And what about the “real” Henry Gale (the hot-air balloon guy that Ben posed as), remember him? To me, that is what these last two seasons will be about, getting the Oceanic Six back and bringing all the questions to a satisfying close. Two more years… two more years…
POETRY READING:
Roses are read.
Violets are blue.
Where the hell did Miles get that dead bore?
I don’t know, do you?
That was way too weird and random to just let go. My suspicion is that he went into the jungle to commune with some dead people, as that is his talent, and they directed him to where the nearest food supply was, if that’s how that works. Who knows, but surely that will be addressed. Crazy.
BENEDICTION:
“Oh, Lord, please help the writers make it through to the end with sufficient answers to all lingering questions, without making me want to do bodily harm to them. Amen.”
INAUGURAL BALLS:
Ha! Ha ha! Balls…
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