Wednesday, January 20

This Place Is Death & 316 (S5, eps. 5 & 6)


The Rewatch Columns for "This Place Is Death" and "316" have been fitted with significant shoes for your reading pleasure on Chud.com
Posted by MMorse at 5:45 PM
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13 comments:

  1. Resident01January 20, 2010 at 6:13 PM

    I'm curious about Christian's conversation with Locke in "This Place Is Death." He insists that he never wanted Ben to turn the wheel. This may just be his way of playing both sides, or admonishing Locke so he'll "redeem" himself on his off-Island quest. But I wonder, what would have happened had Locke turned the wheel originally?

    The inconsistencies in Rousseau's stories don't intrigue/bother me as much as her having seen Jin in the past and not acknowledging that in the future. If I was in that situation, I'd certainly remember the Korean man disappearing before my eyes right after I shot my baby-daddy (Were they married? I don't recall.).

    I hope Charlie and Ray don't end up being young/old versions of characters we already know. That would take me completely out of the narrative.

    It's interesting seeing which characters mirror whom from the 815 flight. Hurley acts as Charlie with the Guitar case, Ilana and Sayid act as the marshall and Kate, Jack is Jack, Locke is Christian, Sun is Sun, Lapidus is Norris/himself, and Ben in Hurley (remember Hurley's last minute arrival for 815?). Is there a significance to it?

    What does everyone think of 316 not crashing until after Jack reads Locke's suicide note?

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  2. Resident01January 20, 2010 at 6:23 PM

    I'd also say that Jacob gave Locke a gift, the same that Sayid received: Life.

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  3. ErikJanuary 21, 2010 at 10:33 AM

    I suspect that dead Locke is in the guitar case. We've ended a few seasons with a reveal of Locke in a box, so it would be thematically consistent :-)

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  4. KelseyJanuary 21, 2010 at 10:37 AM

    Sneakers! I love the whole thing with the sneakers now that we know the importance of the sneakers identifying the real locke. When they opened the box at the end my first reaction was "THE SNEAKERS! I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN!"

    I have no idea if the whole sneaker thing has any real meaning in the narrative, but as a clue to the audience it's great. It's like the compass I think, it just side detail reinforcing a greater point. When you get to Jeremy Bentham closely watch Locke when he's with the Ajira crew on the island. The show makes a huuuge point to show locke's sneakers/feet numerous times in that episode and in following episodes.

    relate that back to the scene when locke falls down the orchid wall and encounters Christian. The first time you see Christian in that scene is a shot of his shoes - the sneakers.

    Random theory: Christian is the real/good Christian when he's wearing the sneakers? Otherwise it's the MiB posing as a fake Christian? I'd have to go back and look at Christian appearances to check. Does he ever not wear the sneakers?

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  5. UnknownJanuary 22, 2010 at 1:05 PM

    I agree that Rousseau's inconsistencies are not that major. The show has often relied on the narrative device of an "unreliable narrator" and a crazy woman who has lived alone in a jungle for 16 years can certainly be considered an unreliable narrator. There have been studies in fact that the more you access specific memories in your head, the more often you alter them. So something you haven't thought about in years is much more likely to be spot-on accurate than something that you have touched and told and adapted over time. So with that in mind, her real events are not inconsistent with her stated memories given that she's off her rocker by the time Sayid meets her.

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  6. UnknownJanuary 22, 2010 at 1:09 PM

    Kelsey, I've never noticed that Locke re-emerges on the Hydra island in sneaker rather than Christian's shoes that Jack gave him. Wow.

    However, I would think that if the fake Locke (MIB) is seen wearing sneakers, that that would further incriminate ghost Christian rather than excuse him. Basically, I don't understand where the sneaker piece would come from in fake Locke if it wasn't derived from sneaker-wearing Christian. And that would suggest that it is somehow the same source.

    By no means does it prove it know. Lost does a great job at setting up red herring exceptions to whatever rule or pattern they are illustrating.

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  7. UnknownJanuary 22, 2010 at 6:31 PM

    Kelsey, where did you see Locke or fake Locke wearing sneakers. I did some spot checking and he seems to be wearing normal shoes while visiting the Oceanic Six as Jeremy Bentham and is wearing black dress shoes when in a suit back on the Hydra Island and the Island after his body is brought back.

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  8. KelseyJanuary 23, 2010 at 1:21 PM

    That's what I meant, sorry for sounding confusing. The show makes a sort of subtle point of showing locke's feet when he's back on hydra island. He isnt wearing the tennis shoes that jack put on him. It's a neat (but incredibly odd) way of clueing us in that something is up with this locke...when they tip over the box at the end, that locke has the tennis shoes on

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  9. UnknownJanuary 23, 2010 at 2:50 PM

    ah, ok. NOW I see the confusion. You may want to check again, I'm afraid. Jack actually put a pair of black dress shoes (that once belonged to Christian and were in the keeping of Grandpa Ray) on Locke's corpse. Not tennis shoes.

    Jack later mentioned to Kate that he put tennis shoes on his dad in Australia because it's all he could find (or something). But Locke never had tennis shoes in this scenario or on flight 316.

    Would definitely have been an interesting clue if that had been the case.

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  10. KelseyJanuary 23, 2010 at 7:37 PM

    no way...wow. lol.. I wonder how much of this show I am making up. wait, Batman is still alive right? RIGHT?

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  11. The Lovely BonedJanuary 24, 2010 at 1:38 PM

    When are you finishing up the rewatch, man? My excitement is at the boiling point and I need to feast on your written words.

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  12. MMorseJanuary 25, 2010 at 11:56 AM

    Thanks for the kind words, brutha.

    The final column will be up on Chud the morning of the Season 6 premiere. There will be Jeremy Bentham and LeFleur columns up this afternoon.

    Hope they're enjoyed!

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  13. Resident01February 18, 2010 at 5:04 PM

    I love the fact that Jack and Sun talk about killing Ben like he's not there, forgetting that he's driving and could kill everyone.

    How did Charlotte know that the well leads to the wheel?

    The light from the flashes seems to be emanating straight from the well when Locke's climbing down. That's a nice little detail I hadn't noticed before.

    How did Hawking come into possession of the Lamp Post? Seems like Dharma would want to hang on to it.

    I kept expecting one of the cast to get hit by the pendulum. I'm surprised there wasn't a shot of that in the season 5 bloopers.

    Why does Hawking say that the Island's not done with Desmond? After he gets shot she says she has no idea what's going to happen next. That would also seem to include knowledge of who the Island needs.

    Jack's place is a lot more cleaned up than when we last saw it ("Through The Looking Glass Part 2").

    It's great that Frank doesn't turn around the plane after he realizes what's up.

    The last back-and-forth between Ben and Jack is great. It's more like they're old pals then enemies who happened to band together for a common goal.

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