Really warred with myself on the rating but I decided on a 5. Perhaps I'm being too stingy giving out so many 4's. Yes, there are a few episodes that are absolutely incredible and outshine even eps like this one, but perhaps I shouldn't be penalizing the really good ones like these cuz of the few outstanding hours ever of television!
Gah! The way it opened with Jack back on the island! Totally nostalgic and got me giddy all over again.
So nifty that there's a hatch on the mainland! The Lamp Post. Know why it was named that? Because of the lamp post in Chronicles of Narnia which served as an intersection point between two worlds. I freaking love these writers and all the fine details they put into their work!
It was so fascinating to learn more about the island through Eloise! How she explained that the island is always moving and how the scientist figured out that they'd never find it by looking for where it was now because by the time they figured it out, it'd be gone. So they started to look for where it was
going to be.
I also loved how they recreated the original circumstances of Flight 815. Locke in place of Christian with the added touch of Locke wearing Christian's shoes. Sayid now serving as the fugitive. Hurley bringing the guitar case which could have served as a proxy for Charlie not being there. Frank Lapidus, the man who was originally supposed to have piloted Flight 815, piloting this plane. Ben with an injured arm could have served as the proxy of Locke's inability to walk.
I agree with you that I don't think Sayid planned this. He looked genuinely surprised. Think about how good Sayid is at a poker face. The fact that he started to react and barely stopped himself was, in my opinion, saying that he was extremely surprised. I think he didn't want the woman escorting him to know that he knew these other people.
Also, I
knew that was Frank on the comms as soon as the first word was out of his mouth. He's got a unique voice and I totally geeked out. That scene and his quote where he suddenly notices the other Oceanic 6 on board and says "We're not going to Guam, are we?" is one of my favorite scenes and quotes of the show. XD I always think of that line whenever I see Frank. XD
Eloise is awesome. Love her. I was laughing so hard when Jack asks if Ben is telling the truth and she so casually is like, "Probably not." I also agree that that room is awesome! The pendulum that they are using is called a Foucault Pendulum. It's an actual thing.
Here's some history on it from my Lost encyclopedia: The pendulum that swings inside the Lamp Post is a Foucault pendulum, which was first used in 1851 by French physicist Jean Foucault to demonstrate the rotation of the Earth. It consists of a weight attached to a very long wire that is fixed at the top to a universal joint that allows the pendulum to swing freely and match the Earth's rotation. The pendulum illustrates how the room is actually moving while it's the pendulum that swings in the same motion and direction, much like DHARMA's discovery that the island moves which the Lamp Post pendulum helps calculate.
How freaking awesome and brilliant and details are these writers??
You know, just when I start to let myself like Ben and think that he's not so bad, he says or does something that reminds me that I've allowed him to lull me into a false sense of trust, just like he does to the people on the island. When Jack asks him about the other people on the plane, his "Who cares?" is so cold and callus. He's a freakin' sociopath.
Also, that man is ALWAYS lying. One of your fav quotes is also one of mine; the one about how can you read and his mother teaching him. Well, that's a lie. We saw his mother die in childbirth. Even when being a casual smartass, he's lying!
I'm totally with you on the whole time travel thing and the current state of the show. I'm freakin' loving it so much! I want to binge it all! Jin showing up at the end! GAH! I need more! We know the Locke fixed the donkey wheel so that the island would stop time hopping but I'm also wondering WHEN they are! WHEN did the island stop on? That VW bus looks really new.
Another fun fact: The flight number is 316. John 3:16 is one of the bible verses that Eko carved into his Jesus stick. That verse is, "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever shall believeth in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life." In this case, it's as if the island or Jacob is the God-like role and Locke, its son that had to perish.
I'm telling you, there are a million layers to this show. It's so deep and philosophical with everything linking in one way or another. You could spend a lifetime continually discovering new things with rewatching the show and reading up on other people's discoveries online.
Favorite scenes/quotes:
Jack: Is he telling the truth?
Eloise: Probably not.
Frank: Sometimes I take the big birds into New [notices the group in first class]... Delhi. Is... that Sayid? And Hurley. Wait a second. We're not going to Guam, are we?
Jack: How can you read?
Ben: My mother taught me.