March 11,
2010
LostZone:
Dr. Linus or Dr. Dolittle?
By
Louis Bedigian
Minor
mysteries and Richard’s on-island escapades supersede Ben Linus’ weak flash
sideways.
To
paraphrase Tom Hanks in Forrest Gump, “Lost is like a box of chocolates:
you never know what you’re gonna get.”
This week,
as we bit into “Dr. Linus,” the final episode dedicated to Ben, the bitter taste
was almost too much to bear. At the end of the show, we were once again reminded
that there are only nine episodes left until the finale. How is it that Lost has
managed to make us feel like that number should be smaller? How is it that after
years of waiting for answers we are still subjected to mind-numbing stall
tactics that are typically employed by shows that have no idea when the end will
come? If “Dr. Linus” had been on par with “Lighthouse,” it would have been
applauded for delivering a relevant story that killed time respectably. Instead,
we got an episode that wasted an entire hour to show us that, in the sideways
world, Ben would have been a better man.
Wow. Thank
you, Lost writers! Thank you for taking the time to build a pointless story with
a predictable conclusion.
The only
redeeming parts of the episode were the few (and all too brief) moments with
Richard, whose anger over Jacob’s demise led to hints for what’s to come during
his long-awaited episode, set to air on March 25.
The Richard/Black Rock
revelations are coming!…in two weeks.
Claire
and Co., MIA
The smoke
monster happily showed his face again, but Crazy Claire and her fugitive
protector, Kate, were nowhere in sight. Darth Sayid was also absent, but that’s
probably because he was off killing younglings.
After
thinking about Claire’s mysterious personality fluctuations, I’ve come to the
conclusion that the truth is indeed right in front of us and that she has been
sick (“infected”) from the beginning. When the Others took her and injected her
belly with the vaccine (which was for Aaron, but trace amounts would inevitably
reach Claire), her dazed-out reaction was a side effect because she was already
ill. But since she was not yet under Fake Locke’s control, her reaction was
silly and serene.
When we see
her in “Cabin Fever” with her father – who I believe was actually the ghost of
Christian and not Jacob or the smoke monster as many fans predict – she is just
beginning to become symptomatic. With the smoke monster nowhere in sight, her
evil side had not yet kicked in. Thus, she appeared to be very calm but also a
bit strange (just as she reacted to the shot), as if her mind wasn’t entirely
her own.
Now that
Fake Locke has her in his clutches, her serenity has been replaced by insanity.
“Duuuude, I like totally
have no idea where the temple is.”
The Hydra
Mystery
Remember the
atrocious Jack-in-a-cell episodes from Season Three? Viewers may have been bored
by the imprisoning nonsense, but the underwater location where he was being held
– known as the Hydra Station – might actually have a purpose.
Fake Locke
plans to head there after rounding up his crew, which goes right back to the
one-word hint the producers gave about the finale: water. But what is it about
water or merely the Hydra Station that has intrigued the smoke monster?
There are
two likely (but very broad) possibilities: something mechanical or magical.
Almost every station on the island had at least one feature: surveillance,
electromagnetic discharge, communication with the outside world, etc. But after
Jack became “friends” with the Others and agreed to operate on Ben, we didn’t
see too much of the Hydra Station.
That’s about
to change, but why? If it’s mechanical, we could assume it’s a watercraft of
some sort, perhaps one more powerful than a submarine. However, that would be
way too simplistic for Lost. A device for time travel would be more complex, but
the show has already done that. Teleportation seems unlikely. Experimentation?
Hmmm – would Fake Locke really take the time to conduct an experiment before
taking off? Or could it be that one of the Dharma Initiative’s existing
experiments was successful and Fake Locke wants to take advantage of that?
All things
likely, however, it’s something as simple as magic or unexplainable science. The
Swan Station was built because of the unique electromagnetic energy that was
found beneath the soil; perhaps the Hydra Station was built for a similar reason
– to take advantage of (or cover up) some powerful anomaly that has yet to be
revealed on the show.
That being
the case, you can bet the smoke monster is planning to use that power, whatever
it may be, to destroy the people on the island. This may be the real reason why
Jacob has spent so many years searching for a candidate: to help defend the
island and its people against one final, unfathomable battle.
If Charlie looks upset, it’s
because he’s wondering how many more
episodes will end before he returns to the
show.
The
Doctor Is In and We Want Out
Sideways
Ben, whose teacher alter ego likes to be called Dr. Linus, lives a rather boring
life off the island. He’s a teacher at a school with Locke and Arzt, which
should have led to some very interesting scenes (it didn’t).
The whole
point of his scenario is to show that, when push comes to shove, Ben will do the
right thing this time around. Yeah, I said “this time around” because this
episode pretty much confirms the belief that the flash sideways are from the
future. If they weren’t, the writers wouldn’t have spent so much time reminding
us of how awful Ben was in his first life, only to choose to help his unofficial
daughter, Alex (who miraculously appears as Dr. Linus’ student), during his
second chance.
In the
sideways world, Ben has to choose between helping himself or his favorite
student. As expected, he ultimately decides to help Alex – a point that could
have been conveyed in a couple of minutes. Lost fans know this better than
anyone: rather than fleshing out Dogen’s tale in “Sundown,” we learned his whole
life story in less than 120 seconds.
If there’s
any part of these flash sideways that is worth noting, it’s that Ben’s father
(who lives with him in the sideways world) confirmed that, despite the island
being under water in 2004, the Dharma Initiative still existed in the 70s. That
little tidbit also confirms that the island wasn’t submerged until after The
Incident – an outcome that most could have assumed, but given the number of
changes that have occurred in the sideways world, anything was possible.
What we
don’t know is why Ben and his dad left the island, or how it was even possible
for them to leave. But given the content in this week’s episode, I doubt anyone
cares.
Sorry Ben, there’s only room
for one doctor in the sideways world. (Two if you count Juliet.)
Widmore’s
Return
Now that we
know that Charles Widmore is indeed the man coming to the island, we are faced
with a few important questions: Why is Jacob interested in his return? As far as
we know, Widmore isn’t much better than the power-hungry smoke monster. Does
Jacob believe he’ll be an asset in the end?
Also, what
event occurred that allowed him to find and return to the island? Dogen or
Jacob’s death? The destruction of the temple? Or something we haven’t seen?
Finally,
does Widmore have any more knowledge regarding Jacob than Ben? Or is he
unknowingly a puppet in this massive island scheme?
* * *
LostZone –
Previous Installments
March 4, 2010:
Sayid’s Fall to the Dark Side
February 25,
2010:
Claire’s (Freaky? Psychotic!?) Return and Sideways Significance with Jack
Shephard
February 18,
2010:
Giving Meaning to the Numbers, 4 8 15 16 23 42
February 11,
2010:
Season Three Stall Tactics and Claire’s Disappearance Explained!?
February 4,
2010:
Thoughts and Theories From the Mind-Blowing Season Six Premiere
February 1,
2010:
Are Lost and Final Fantasy VII Unofficially Connected?
* * *
LostZone is an
ngoing feature on GameZone aimed at discussing the show’s most breathtaking
moments (and, if necessary, its most depressing bombs) while dissecting its most
intriguing mysteries.
