Doc Jensen finds parallels between tonight's episode -- a big one for Sawyer -- and James Joyce's ''Ulysses.'' Plus: Why on earth would Ben save Locke -- and then kill him?, a new No Prize! contest, and the return of ''Totally Lost''
Buzz up!More
'LAFLEUR' The title of tonight's episode makes the Doc think of Ulysses — and it's a straight line from Joyce to Sawyer (you'll see!)
By Jeff Jensen
Jeff Jensen, an EW senior writer, has been despondent since the cancellation of ''Twin Peaks''WARNING: HERE THERE BE TEASERS!
Today's Totally Lost (the video is embedded at the end of this column) includes four teases about tonight's Lost, the official halfway point of season 5 (going fast, isn't it?), delivered with a huge wallop of senseless violence in our patented titillation-sans-spoilers fashion. For example: Michelle Dessler. Yes, that's a tease. You're saying, ''But...what does that even mean?!'' And I say, ''See! You have been intrigued and nonspoiled!'' It's just like the sign on the wall says: Doc Jensen: Serving provocative piles of nothing since 2006.
BURNING QUESTION OF THE WEEK — AND MAYBE THE SEASON: WHY DID BEN STOP JOHN LOCKE FROM KILLING HIMSELF — THEN TURN AROUND AND MURDER HIM SECONDS LATER?
Theory No. 1: It was a spur-of-the-moment decision. Ben had no idea how to get back to the Island until Locke let slip that Ms. Hawking knew the way. Quick-thinking Ben immediately saw an opportunity to bargain with Ms. Hawking: He would offer to do what Locke could not — motivate the Oceanic 6 to return to the Island — if she'd deal him in on the return trip, too. In this scenario, Ben may or may not have known that Locke would be revived. Regardless, it didn't really matter to him. There are other possibilities behind Ben's bloody flip-flop as well. But first!
DOC JENSEN'S ''NO PRIZE'' WINNER!
Last week, I asked you to identify the source of the following literary reference: ''Up. Out.'' As it turns out, there are two correct answers. The one most of you guessed was Charlie & the Chocolate Factory. Kudos to Jim Doyle of Washington, D.C., for getting that answer to me first. Ironically, though, Charlie was not on my mind when I cited the ''Up. Out.'' So congrats to Chris of Falls Church, Va., who submitted the answer I had in mind: Neil Gaiman's classic comic saga Sandman, and specifically the ''Brief Lives'' story line, in which Dream goes on a global search for his MIA sibling, Destruction. A new ''No Prize'' contest awaits...somewhere in this column.
Ben's bloody flip-flop: Theory No. 2: Information control. When Ben realized Locke was aware of Ms. Hawking, he couldn't let them meet, lest she reveal things to Locke that Ben didn't want him to know. Hence, he had to kill him — knowing, perhaps, that the Island was going to revive him anyway.
All Headlines
'Lost': 'LaFleur' plan?
'Lost' recap: It's about the journey
'Lost': The keys to Locke
Totally Lost: Sayid in action?
'Lost' recap: Keeping the faith
'Lost': 'Caspian,' see?
'Lost' recap: Married to it
'Lost': Time travel anxiety? Cured!
'Lost': Digging inside season 5
'Lost' recap: Life goes on
'Lost' (S5): My name is 'Prince'!
'Lost' recap: Time after time
'Lost': Doc Jensen on 'Jughead'
'Lost' (S5): Name theory
'Lost' recap: True lies
'Lost' recap: Past, present, and future tense
'Lost' (S5): Faith, Science, Scooby-Doo
Lost: Season 4
'Lost' trivia challenge
'Lost': Season 3 flashback!
''Lost'': Season 2 flashback!
''Lost'': Season 1 flashback!
Ausiello Files: 'Lost' seeks mini-Sayid
'Lost' premiere: We've seen it!
'Lost' love on Ausiello TV
Ausiello Files: 'Lost' mystery gal found!
''Lost'': Lingering questions from the finale
Coming soon on ''Lost'': The Big Answers!
Yunjin Kim & Daniel Dae Kim: Entertainers of the year
'Lost': Grading season 4 so far
''Lost'': The History Theory
Doc Jensen on 'Lost'
'Lost': 'LaFleur' Plan?
Doc Jensen finds parallels between tonight's episode -- a big one for Sawyer -- and James Joyce's ''Ulysses.'' Plus: Why on earth would Ben save Locke -- and then kill him?, a new No Prize! contest, and the return of ''Totally Lost''
Buzz up!More
'LAFLEUR' The title of tonight's episode makes the Doc think of Ulysses — and it's a straight line from Joyce to Sawyer (you'll see!)
Mario Perez/ABC
By Jeff Jensen Jeff Jensen
Jeff Jensen, an EW senior writer, has been despondent since the cancellation of ''Twin Peaks''WARNING: HERE THERE BE TEASERS!
Today's Totally Lost (the video is embedded at the end of this column) includes four teases about tonight's Lost, the official halfway point of season 5 (going fast, isn't it?), delivered with a huge wallop of senseless violence in our patented titillation-sans-spoilers fashion. For example: Michelle Dessler. Yes, that's a tease. You're saying, ''But...what does that even mean?!'' And I say, ''See! You have been intrigued and nonspoiled!'' It's just like the sign on the wall says: Doc Jensen: Serving provocative piles of nothing since 2006.
BURNING QUESTION OF THE WEEK — AND MAYBE THE SEASON: WHY DID BEN STOP JOHN LOCKE FROM KILLING HIMSELF — THEN TURN AROUND AND MURDER HIM SECONDS LATER?
Theory No. 1: It was a spur-of-the-moment decision. Ben had no idea how to get back to the Island until Locke let slip that Ms. Hawking knew the way. Quick-thinking Ben immediately saw an opportunity to bargain with Ms. Hawking: He would offer to do what Locke could not — motivate the Oceanic 6 to return to the Island — if she'd deal him in on the return trip, too. In this scenario, Ben may or may not have known that Locke would be revived. Regardless, it didn't really matter to him. There are other possibilities behind Ben's bloody flip-flop as well. But first!
DOC JENSEN'S ''NO PRIZE'' WINNER!
Last week, I asked you to identify the source of the following literary reference: ''Up. Out.'' As it turns out, there are two correct answers. The one most of you guessed was Charlie & the Chocolate Factory. Kudos to Jim Doyle of Washington, D.C., for getting that answer to me first. Ironically, though, Charlie was not on my mind when I cited the ''Up. Out.'' So congrats to Chris of Falls Church, Va., who submitted the answer I had in mind: Neil Gaiman's classic comic saga Sandman, and specifically the ''Brief Lives'' story line, in which Dream goes on a global search for his MIA sibling, Destruction. A new ''No Prize'' contest awaits...somewhere in this column.
Ben's bloody flip-flop: Theory No. 2: Information control. When Ben realized Locke was aware of Ms. Hawking, he couldn't let them meet, lest she reveal things to Locke that Ben didn't want him to know. Hence, he had to kill him — knowing, perhaps, that the Island was going to revive him anyway.
Ben's bloody flip-flop: Theory No. 3: Simple. The Island doesn't like suicide.
PREVIEW: ''LAFLEUR''
That's the title of tonight's episode. ''LaFleur.'' Which is flower in French. Which reminds me of Ulysses, the James Joyce novel that Lost dropped into its mix o' hyperlink literary references two episodes ago. In the book, there's a pathetically poignant bit of business in which Everyman mock hero Leopold Bloom — painfully aware that his wife is having an affair with another man — tries to get into the infidelity game himself by trading correspondence with a would-be mistress using the pseudonym ''Henry Flower.'' We learn all this while the Irishman wanders around his island town, lost in a daze, deliberating whether to open his potential lover's latest letter and pondering his father's suicide.
Application to Lost: Letters? Pseudonyms? A character with a father who committed suicide? A character who may or may not be on the verge of romance with another woman? Hmmm: Sounds like Sawyer to me. Maybe we'll see if he's grown any closer to his would-be gal pal, Juliet — and how Kate's return to the Island might affect all that.
The intersection of Lost, ''LaFleur,'' Flower, and Ulysses leads us to another suggestive possibility. Each chapter in Ulysses correlates to a chapter in Homer's The Odyssey. The aforementioned Bloom chapter is modeled after ''The Lotus-Eaters,'' in which voyaging Odysseus and his crew discover an island community of peaceful, blissed-out people hooked on lotus flowers. Many of Odysseus' men get addicted to the narcotic plant themselves and lose their desire to go back home. Odysseus must resort to drastic measures to force his comrades to wake up and get back on point.
Application to Lost: I'm getting a strong castaways-in-Dharma-times vibe from this. But it also sounds like another iteration of a recurring theme this season: heroes who fall off the path of destiny (or are just hopelessly lost) and must be brought back to their senses. It's just like the story of ''The Good Shepherd'' from the Gospel of John in the Bible. Not for nothing did last week's episode give us that seemingly random moment with Matthew Abaddon and Locke in the car, right at the start of their journey, getting stopped by sheepherders wrangling their flocks across the street. Symbolism, people! Season 5 is all about shepherds and sheep. The burning question: Who's a ''good'' shepherd...and who's a ''bad'' one? (Speaking of Dharma-era intrigue, here's a shout-out to reader Molly Lee, who believes, as many of you do, that the voice the French scientists heard reciting the Numbers on the radio belonged to Hurley. Are we about to find out that time-traveling Hurley recorded the very broadcast that contributed to his cursing?)
Ben's bloody flip-flop: Theory No. 4: Ben the good shepherd was trying to teach Locke a tough-love lesson. Locke is often called ''the man of faith,'' but he is actually a parody of such a person; his ''faith'' is actually an expression of his ''father issues'' and his yearning to feel important. Consequently, he is easily manipulated by anyone or anything that tells him he has a ''destiny'' or that he is ''special.'' If he is truly to become the Island's newest guardian — and if he is to become a genuinely faithful person — Locke must confront and correct this weakness of character. And so, by betraying and murdering Locke — with full knowledge that he would live again — Ben was trying to get Locke to trust only in the Island, not in anything else. Ben's brand of brutal benevolence relates to my Flannery O'Connor theory of Ben: ''I suppose the reasons for the use of so much violence in modern fiction will differ with each writer who uses it, but in my own stories I have found that violence is strangely capable of returning my characters to reality and preparing them to accept their moment of grace. Their heads are so hard that almost nothing else will do the work. This idea, that reality is something to which we must be returned at considerable cost, is one which is seldom understood by the casual reader, but it is one which is implicit in the Christian view of the world.'' (Excerpted from page 112 of O'Connor's Mystery & Manners.)
THE ''NEW CREATIONS'' THEORY OF LOST
Do Grandpa Ray and Ajira Airlines have something to say about the resurrection of John Locke and the identity of Jacob? I say: Maybe! Plus: this week's ''No Prize'' contest!
Because I consider any little detail in Lost a potential clue, I've been puzzling over the significance of the name Ajira Airways and its logo, a tiger clutching a flaming sun. Did you spot the symbol on the airplane blanket that covered the Resurrected Locke like a veritable Shroud of Turin in last week's episode? I did. And I wondered...
If you input the word Ajira into the Official Lost Computer (i.e., wikipedia.org), you'll get redirected to Agira, a town in Sicily that is home to a ''sacred precinct'' (a plot of land reserved for kings and gods) devoted to a mythical monster known as Geryon. That's a pretty solid Lost allusion. But what about the tiger? Well, there's William Blake's poem ''The Tyger,'' from his collection Songs of Innocence and of Experience: Shewing the Two Contrary States of the Human Soul. ''The Tyger'' can be found in the Experience section, which bemoans ''the loss of innocence after exposure to the material world.'' That could speak to any of the fallen souls who've made their way to Redemption Island, but what those words most immediately evoke for me is Locke's off-Island odyssey through the material world, which left him broken, defeated, and fallen anew.
Ben's bloody flip-flop: Theory No. 4: Ben the good shepherd was trying to teach Locke a tough-love lesson. Locke is often called ''the man of faith,'' but he is actually a parody of such a person; his ''faith'' is actually an expression of his ''father issues'' and his yearning to feel important. Consequently, he is easily manipulated by anyone or anything that tells him he has a ''destiny'' or that he is ''special.'' If he is truly to become the Island's newest guardian — and if he is to become a genuinely faithful person — Locke must confront and correct this weakness of character. And so, by betraying and murdering Locke — with full knowledge that he would live again — Ben was trying to get Locke to trust only in the Island, not in anything else. Ben's brand of brutal benevolence relates to my Flannery O'Connor theory of Ben: ''I suppose the reasons for the use of so much violence in modern fiction will differ with each writer who uses it, but in my own stories I have found that violence is strangely capable of returning my characters to reality and preparing them to accept their moment of grace. Their heads are so hard that almost nothing else will do the work. This idea, that reality is something to which we must be returned at considerable cost, is one which is seldom understood by the casual reader, but it is one which is implicit in the Christian view of the world.'' (Excerpted from page 112 of O'Connor's Mystery & Manners.)
THE ''NEW CREATIONS'' THEORY OF LOST
Do Grandpa Ray and Ajira Airlines have something to say about the resurrection of John Locke and the identity of Jacob? I say: Maybe! Plus: this week's ''No Prize'' contest!
Because I consider any little detail in Lost a potential clue, I've been puzzling over the significance of the name Ajira Airways and its logo, a tiger clutching a flaming sun. Did you spot the symbol on the airplane blanket that covered the Resurrected Locke like a veritable Shroud of Turin in last week's episode? I did. And I wondered...
If you input the word Ajira into the Official Lost Computer (i.e., wikipedia.org), you'll get redirected to Agira, a town in Sicily that is home to a ''sacred precinct'' (a plot of land reserved for kings and gods) devoted to a mythical monster known as Geryon. That's a pretty solid Lost allusion. But what about the tiger? Well, there's William Blake's poem ''The Tyger,'' from his collection Songs of Innocence and of Experience: Shewing the Two Contrary States of the Human Soul. ''The Tyger'' can be found in the Experience section, which bemoans ''the loss of innocence after exposure to the material world.'' That could speak to any of the fallen souls who've made their way to Redemption Island, but what those words most immediately evoke for me is Locke's off-Island odyssey through the material world, which left him broken, defeated, and fallen anew.
Ben's bloody flip-flop: Theory No. 4: Ben the good shepherd was trying to teach Locke a tough-love lesson. Locke is often called ''the man of faith,'' but he is actually a parody of such a person; his ''faith'' is actually an expression of his ''father issues'' and his yearning to feel important. Consequently, he is easily manipulated by anyone or anything that tells him he has a ''destiny'' or that he is ''special.'' If he is truly to become the Island's newest guardian — and if he is to become a genuinely faithful person — Locke must confront and correct this weakness of character. And so, by betraying and murdering Locke — with full knowledge that he would live again — Ben was trying to get Locke to trust only in the Island, not in anything else. Ben's brand of brutal benevolence relates to my Flannery O'Connor theory of Ben: ''I suppose the reasons for the use of so much violence in modern fiction will differ with each writer who uses it, but in my own stories I have found that violence is strangely capable of returning my characters to reality and preparing them to accept their moment of grace. Their heads are so hard that almost nothing else will do the work. This idea, that reality is something to which we must be returned at considerable cost, is one which is seldom understood by the casual reader, but it is one which is implicit in the Christian view of the world.'' (Excerpted from page 112 of O'Connor's Mystery & Manners.)
THE ''NEW CREATIONS'' THEORY OF LOST
Do Grandpa Ray and Ajira Airlines have something to say about the resurrection of John Locke and the identity of Jacob? I say: Maybe! Plus: this week's ''No Prize'' contest!
Because I consider any little detail in Lost a potential clue, I've been puzzling over the significance of the name Ajira Airways and its logo, a tiger clutching a flaming sun. Did you spot the symbol on the airplane blanket that covered the Resurrected Locke like a veritable Shroud of Turin in last week's episode? I did. And I wondered...
If you input the word Ajira into the Official Lost Computer (i.e., wikipedia.org), you'll get redirected to Agira, a town in Sicily that is home to a ''sacred precinct'' (a plot of land reserved for kings and gods) devoted to a mythical monster known as Geryon. That's a pretty solid Lost allusion. But what about the tiger? Well, there's William Blake's poem ''The Tyger,'' from his collection Songs of Innocence and of Experience: Shewing the Two Contrary States of the Human Soul. ''The Tyger'' can be found in the Experience section, which bemoans ''the loss of innocence after exposure to the material world.'' That could speak to any of the fallen souls who've made their way to Redemption Island, but what those words most immediately evoke for me is Locke's off-Island odyssey through the material world, which left him broken, defeated, and fallen anew.
But the Ajira logo isn't limited to a tiger — what about that sun, a flaming ball of life-giving energy? Consider ''Here There Be Tygers,'' Ray Bradbury's influential 1951 short story about space explorers who discover a Garden of Eden-like planet that responds to human consciousness, fulfills subconscious yearnings, and protects itself from exploitation with a jungle-dwelling, tiger-like monster. Sounds Lost-esque, no? I can't help wondering whether Jack's Grandpa Ray from ''316'' was a tip of the hat to Bradbury, whose deeply humanistic and spiritually minded science fiction certainly must serve as a Lost touchstone. (I might argue that Grandpa's desire to pack a bag and hit the road for one last life-expanding journey is a nod to Bradbury's semiautobiographical novel Dandelion Wine. And if you look at that flaming yellow sun in the Ajira logo, it totally looks like a dandelion.)
Anyway: Here's a cool little cartoon adaptation of ''Here There Be Tygers'' that some Russian animator made. Note the dog.
How might all of these bits add up? Like this: John Locke is no longer alive — not in the traditional, off-Island sense of being ''alive.'' The new Locke who washed up in last week's episode is an Island creation imprinted with the old Locke's consciousness. This is not the same thing as reincarnation, which is an eternal soul that puts on new flesh. New Locke can thrive only on the Island; if he strays from its life-giving power, he will gradually wilt like a flower denied sunlight. Similarly, as long as New Locke continues to think of himself as Old Locke — as long as he allows himself to fall prey to old weaknesses or return to old habits — he will not experience the fullness of strength that the Island provides its new creations. (And yes, I say ''new creations,'' as in plural. My hunch is that some or all of the other castaways currently experience life in this fashion. It wouldn't surprise me to learn that the Oceanic 815 castaways are actually divided between people who really did miraculously survive the crash and ''reasonable facsimiles'' of Oceanic passengers created by the Island.) And if all of this sounds vaguely reminiscent of a certain superhero comic book — you're right! This week's Doc Jensen No Prize goes to whoever can figure out the reference. Send your best guesses to JeffJensenEW@aol.com.
But here's the thing about New Locke: He has no soul. And herein lies the secret to the great saga of Lost. You see, John Locke's body, in any form, has NEVER had a soul. His life is the story of adulterated destiny — and radical course correction. Remember: Locke was born three months prematurely after a car struck his pregnant teenage mother. We never saw the driver. Locke grew up nagged by a feeling that he was meant for a different kind of life. And he was: We now know that the Island has been trying to bring him to its shores since he was a wee lad. My theory is this: Somebody went back in time to kill Locke's mom in order to prevent Locke's birth. It didn't work — but the would-be murderer (Ben? Widmore? Ms. Hawking?) did succeed in making a mess of Locke's predestined life. Locke's eternal soul was displaced from its body — and it went to the Island, where it's been waiting for reunification. And my guess is that this great, redemptive moment will occur...in the final five minutes of the last episode of Lost.
Ben's bloody flip-flop: Theory No. 5: Don't focus on the murder, which was merely a necessary means to an immediate end. The bigger mystery is why Ben tried to talk Locke out of killing himself — and I think there's an answer. Ben is actually a bad shepherd. Time and again, he has tried to lead Locke astray so that he could usurp his Island destiny. These efforts have always failed. Ben shot Locke in season 3. Fortunately, Locke wasn't killed. Ben tricked Locke into letting him turn the frozen donkey wheel in season 4. Fortunately, Locke got a second chance. Ben talked Locke out of killing himself — because, I suspect, Locke was supposed to kill himself. After all, that's what GOOD shepherds are supposed to do. From the story of the Good Shepherd found in John 10:11: ''I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.'' By the way, this story goes on to contrast good shepherds with bad shepherds, or false prophets. Jesus compares these fraudulent advisers to ''thieves'' (which is how Widmore sees Ben) and, most provocatively, ''hirelings'' — temps who don't really care about the sheep, who are really only looking out for their own self-interest, who only end up making a catastrophic mess of things. Dudes! That's Ben! He's a hireling! He was the replacement for Locke when Locke got diverted from his Island destiny back when the bad man ran over his mommy! But now that Locke is back on track, Ben wants to keep his job. He's the understudy savior who got to play the part while the guy who was originally cast in the role dealt with some offstage issues — and now he wants to hold on to it even though the initial actor is finally back in the theater. In other words, Ben = All About Eve: The Antichrist Edition. Alas, this gambit won't work either.
* * *
That's it for this week. Last week I promised you some more theories derived from my Jeremy Bentham ruminations; sorry for the bait-and-switch. I can be like Ben that way. But I promise: I will NEVER strangulate you. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,1550612_20245769_20262780,00.html?xid=email-alert-lost-20090304-item1 See you tomorrow at the recap. Namasté!
No comments:
Post a Comment