Well, about LIGHTHOUSE. I keep wanting to call it The Lighthouse, Jay and Jack did, but TV listings call it simply Lighthouse. However, I do like the title the way it is more. The Lighthouse would refer to a specific and singular lighthouse. Removing the word THE makes a huge difference. Now it could be anything, doesn't even have to refer to the lighthouse we saw in the episode. Although clearly that's the literal interpretation of the title. Lost however, is rarely about literal anything.
So, with that in mind, what metaphors could we come up with for lighthouse. Well a lighthouse is a beacon that helps ships find their way, and also provides a clear representation of a barrier between safety and danger. Well Jack definitely was a lighthouse for his son. He told him he loved him and made clear he could never disappoint him. Hopefully now his son will not feel what Jack felt his whole life. Jack's father didn't provide such love and allowed Jack to "crash on the rocks". Or at the very least didn't provide him with the direction he needed and forced him to search aimlessly out at sea. This forces Jack to be driven to show his father he does have what it takes. In the end he is successful, but he must bring down his father and put him down a road that would lead to his death. Jack carries quite a burden that he now hopes his son will not.Another lighthouse clearly is Jacob. Providing direction and comfort to Hurley. Jack on the other hand doesn't trust Jacob, probably driven by the same feelings that have brought him down his whole life. He doesn't trust anyone and is extremely paranoid. Now, in this case he does have good cause to be freaked out. But if Jacob is that powerful, did Jack really think breaking a few mirrors would hurt him? I don't think so. I think he just needed to get out his frustration and alert Jacob that even though he knows everything about him, Jack will do whatever he wants. Juliet calls him stubborn and she was right. Hurley basically says that to Jacob and Jacob confirms it in the end. That some people will do what you ask, and some need to find their own way.
I myself, am sometimes like Jack. I hate being told what to do, even if I know it's the right thing to do. I'm reminded of the line in Forgetting Sarah Marshall staring the amazing Kristen Bell. She asks the lead actor whose name I've forgotten to sit down during a fight, and he responds "Well, I'm going to sit down, but because I want to, not because you've asked me". That describes me in many situations and I really think it explains Jack to a tee. He always needs to be proven right and show off that he was right. Jacob watching him his whole life and bringing him to the island along with all the other people is the last thing Jack ever wanted to hear. While he is the new Locke, he doesn't have Locke's faith, nor patience in the Island. The only thing he really believed was the bomb plot, and as far as he knows it failed, and lead to the death of someone he cared about(Juilet), and the near death of his friend Sayid.
Personally I think this is why Jacob wants him. Jacob needs someone like Hurley. Hurley isn't helping Jacob because he believes the Island is a mystical and magical place where miracles happen. He's helping him because he can see him and Jacob is telling him he can help save his friends. Jack cannot see him, but Jacob needs him to follow him not because he "believes" or has "faith" but because he genuinely wants to help save the Island. I wonder how Jack will react when he's told he can't go back to the Temple to help the people there. That will be one of the first tests of his loyalty and trust in Jacob. Not faith, trust. Big difference in my opinion.
If being in the Temple is a bad bad thing and no one else can leave then we have to assume that's where NotLocke is going. His group includes Sawyer and Claire, and maybe Jin. I always hoped Sun would be on the side of evil(if there is such a thing) cause it would be a total flip-flop of where the series started. Besides, Jin didn't seem in the mood for being recruited, and besides he may not even be a candidate. He did seem afraid though, so I could see him going with them on a trek to the Temple. The side of Jacob appears to be Hurley, Jack(in training) and Ilana. Ben is a wild card, and might be in a prime position since it was he who killed Jacob. Frank and Sun are still pretty clueless so their story will be very interesting(I hope since I love both characters).
Kate is the true wild card. Many view her being on the wheel and still not crossed out as a HUGE deal. Why didn't NotLocke point her out to Sawyer, and why doesn't she have one of the numbers. Certainly Kate is a bigger character on Lost than the Kwons or even Sayid. I can think of two logical and interesting(since logical and uninteresting doesn't make for good TV I left those out) reasons for this.
First, NotLocke knows of Sawyer's past feelings for Kate, and was worried seeing her name there would give him a reason to stay. He likes Hurley and Jin, but at this point doesn't really care about any of them. Does he still care about Kate? Well, the scenes in What Kate Does would seem to say no. But if he thought she was going to die, I would bet money he would try and save her. I like this theory, but it doesn't explain the numbers. It has to be more than a fan thing. I mean it wasn't much of a fake-out if it's going to be revealed one week later. It's possible her name was visible in the cave and no one saw it, but that's doubtful. And if it was in the cave, I doubt NotLocke could take the chance that Sawyer would see it.
The second theory is bigger and more Lost-like. Jacob was trying to keep that information from NotLocke. When asked what the numbers meant in association to the names, he didn't know, and told Sawyer "Jacob had a thing for numbers". I doubt very much he would lie to Sawyer about this. He's showing him this cave, telling him all this info. Why simply not say "Jacob has a lighthouse with a 360 degree wheel. The names correspond to the degree that person is on". That would have been bad TV style exposition perhaps, but they would have done it better some how. If anything it would make Sawyer want to join NotLocke more! Jacob spying on them their whole life! I definitely think Sawyer would have had a similar reaction to Jack to that info. SO, I think Jacob kept the lighthouse and the wheel away from NotLocke. I think the cave was in fact Jacob's, but it was a decoy. Like the Others' decoy village. It was designed to make NotLocke think he knew everything and could get the jump on him. Just like our Losties thought they could get the jump on the Others. But it was a big fake out. NotLocke doesn't have the important information. And that information is KATE. Am I saying Kate was the winner to take Jacob's job? No. Although she is a bit of a loner, and pretty good leader, and is pretty damn smart when she's not acting jealous. Sounds like a good Jacob candidate to me. But I don't think she was the next Jacob. I think she plays a key role. A role that only candidates can play. Hurley is VERY important cause he can see and talk to Jacob. Why is Kate important? I have no idea, but I do think she's important enough that Jacob will basically give her the Luke and Leia treatment. And the #51? A reversed 15 maybe? Hurley always said the numbers were bad, maybe not having one will turn out to be a good thing. But I have no idea about this.
I'll close with two things
1)if you read all of this you are a champ! and if you read all, some or none please leave a comment, we love them.
2)I keep going back to the discussion between Jacob and MIB on the beach. MIB is pissed more people coming and he knows Jacob brought them.
MAN IN BLACK: I don't have to ask. You brought them here. Still trying to prove me wrong, aren't you?
JACOB: You are wrong.
MAN IN BLACK: Am I? They come. They fight. They destroy. They corrupt. It always ends the same.
JACOB: It only ends once. Anything that happens before that is just progress.
What is MIB trying to prove? That humans are inherently evil? That they always will destroy each other? And he doesn't seem very happy about that either. MIB is saying it always ends the same, but Jacob saying it only ends once! Are they even talking about the same thing? Has Jacob known how it all would end since the beginning? Or is he saying that those horrible things had to happen, but they were not the ending, just progress toward the end. Those other encounters or events that MIB is talking about, were they just rungs on a ladder toward the inevitable end? And what is that end?
Well, I think that's the longest blog post I've ever made. And part of is really upsets me. Never again will a TV exist that I care about enough to make a blog post at 2:00 in the morning. I know I don't have to tell you folks this, but cherish this time. Lost is a once in a lifetime show, maybe more.
Anyway, thanks all. Namaste, and Byyyyyyyeeeeee!
pictures via Lostpedia.com
Posts
3 comments:
Definitely agree with your thoughts concerning Jacob and his own recruiting process. As he said to Hurley, "Sometimes you can just hop in the back of someone’s cab and tell them what they’re supposed to do. Other times, you have to let them look out at the ocean for a while." Jacob truly is a master manipulator, able to read his candidates and determine how to best recruit them to his side.
Hurley, Locke - they have first-hand experience. Locke was healed, Hurley can speak to dead people. The Island apparently bestowed gifts, bestowed miracles upon them, and as such, they have faith in all the craziness that has transpired around them. And perhaps that's because they were chosen.
Hurley is that geek who is willing to believe anything. He's the one that proposed the Monster was actually a dinosaur. That when Moonlight Sonata played on the radio, it was from a different time. That Adam and Eve are the Losties way back when. He was that same man before the Island. Jacob didn't change him and his beliefs. Merely rewarded him.
The same can be said of Locke. He's the one who was searching for a miracle. And the Island gave it to him. Rewarded.
Jack, on the other hand, has been struggling with the craziness of the Island from day one. And he continues to. He's not going to do something because Jacob told him to - as far as he's concerned, Jacob doesn't even exist. So he's forced to look out at the ocean and reflect, just as what was suggested with the mirror imagery prominent throughout the episode.
The Lighthouse, in a way, brought Jack into finally accepting his place on the Island. While Jack definitely sold, the idea now lingers in his mind. He's been watched, manipulated. And there's proof. The time travel, the smoke monster, the polar bears - perhaps it's not so ludicrous after all. Lighthouse guided Jack toward the shore, but it's now his decision whether he wants to accept the guidance.
Hey guys, can anyone else think of someone in L.A. before the plane crash, with blue eyes and a connection to the name David that Jack might have been married to? Is it possible that in this alternate Timeline that Jack and Libby were once married? Just a crazy thought.
Who do you think is coming to the island? Was the whole "108" a fake-out (so Jack would see the Lighthouse?) considering we have no idea who Wallace is?
Before the screencaps of "Wallace" I was certain that "108" was going to be Desmond. But now, who knows!
Love the blog...want more!
Post a Comment