Sunday, July 25, 2010

"This blog just may give you something you are looking for, but you have to give the blog something in return."

“House of the Rising Sun” is the first real look the viewer gets at Sun and Jin’s relationship on the island, interspersed with images of their life together before crashing. The Kwons’ relationship is an emotional roller-coaster when considered chronologically, but becomes even more disorienting when told from differing perspectives and time periods on the show. The biggest unresolved question about most characters who wind up dead by the end of the series is, what was their purpose on the show to begin with?

Sun and Jin are clumped together as characters so often in later seasons of the show, viewers often forget that they both have distinct story arcs. This episode belongs solely to Sun’s point of view, while “…In Translation,” later in the season, tells the same events from Jin’s perspective. It is necessary to view both characters and their journeys separately, considering why Jacob brought each of them for a life on the island.

Knowing the fate of their relationship, it is surprising to me how mean Jin comes off in this episode. We see him try to kill Michael with no hesitation, order Sun around on the beach, and witness from Sun’s perspective his violent jobs in the Paik Corporation. Solely considered from this standpoint, Jin seems like a pretty terrible guy. But we now know that Jin is just loyal and hard-working, even if it makes him a little stubborn.

It's easy to see why Sun could have been one of Jacob’s candidates; it seems like his only criterion was that the person be lonely, and Sun certainly fits this bill. In flashbacks, she and Jin build a relationship together just as quickly as that relationship begins to deteriorate. Jin spends more and more time at work, becoming less attentive to Sun’s feelings and their relationship. When communication between the two became almost completely irreconcilable, Sun learned English and literally began to speak a different language.

Sun makes plans to leave Jin, eventually using her knowledge of English so that she can move to America. Her planner tells her that she will not be able to bring any possessions with her and that, after awhile, her family will begin to suspect that she is dead. Oddly enough, these circumstances are very similar to the situation Sun faces once she arrives on the island.

Most of the episode is a commentary on how people from differing backgrounds and perspectives are able to live together. The most obvious example is Sun and Jin, who come from vastly different financial situations. Jin’s insecurity about his family’s modest background and Sun’s selfishness provide the main obstacles to their life together.

Michael and Jin are another source of conflict in the episode, as an intense hatred between the two develops. Michael shrugs off the conflict as simply black vs. Korean, but it isn’t that simple. Both men feel the need to protect loved ones on the island, Walt and Sun. This duty coupled with their similar sense of pride fuels a bitter rivalry. Jin and Michael will eventually develop a strong loyalty to one another, but only after this period of frustration and hatred.

The conflict between caves and beach gets its start in this episode, as Jack encourages everyone to move inland on the island for protection and easy access to the water. The rift this creates between the survivors is striking, displaying the differing goals among the survivors. Jack doesn’t realize it, but he’s instinctively drawn to remaining on the island from the beginning, with his choice of the caves as a place to live. His first priority is always to protect the other survivors, and he feels that this can best be accomplished at the caves. The whole question of caves or beach is really ridiculous anyway, as everyone has moved back onto the beach by the end of season 2.


Last, the discovery of the Adam and Eve skeletons at the grave—now revealed to be the Man in Black and his mother—merits some discussion. Even though Locke suggests the nicknames Adam and Eve, these two are not any kind of origin story for the island. The island has always existed, independent of the space and time around it, but these skeletons have no more permanence than the bodies of anyone else. They are just two more individuals who were stranded on the island and made a life there. The violent end of these two characters in “Across the Sea” doesn’t seem fitting, when one considers the peaceful feelings the skeletons illicit on their first discovery. I’m not sure that the characters of Allison Janney and the Man in Black were conceived all the way back in this episode, but it is comforting to know that the writers at least anticipated that duality would be a core theme of the show, suggested in the black and white stones.

Sun and Jin provide a good comparison against Jacob and his brother. Both are pairs of individuals who love each other greatly, but often find themselves in conflict. Just like Sun and Jin, Jacob and his brother grew up in completely different circumstances for much of their lives, but the two found some common ground as adults. Yet Sun and Jin end their relationship in loving embrace, while Jacob is ultimately murdered by his brother. The difference arose from the fact that Allison Janney only needed one candidate, and was forced to choose between the two boys as to whom she would trust with the island. If Jacob had been forced to choose between Sun and Jin as candidates, their destinies may also have ended in bitterness.

In the final flashback of the episode, Sun makes a conscious decision not to leave Jin, as she had originally planned. Even though he provides gifts of increasing grandeur throughout the episode to her, it is a simple flower which provokes her to remain loyal to him. My interpretation of this scene is that Jacob may not have considered the great love between these two individuals (or any two individuals) as an obstacle to someone fulfilling the role of island protector. Neither is able to take Jacob's place because both of their lives are completely defined by their love for one another.

Thursday, July 15, 2010

"A rat will always lead you to its blog"

Jack’s first flashback episode sets up his struggle for leadership, so is especially relevant following "The End," an episode when this struggle is finally resolved. For the first time in the series, viewers realize that Jack is a vulnerable character who doubts himself.

As a child, Jack steps into a fight when his best friend is getting beat up on the playground. Christian, Jack’s father, later comments that Jack wasn’t being hurt in the struggle, so he never should have tried to save his friend. It’s not always possible to win the fight, according to Christian Shephard, so it’s ultimately best just to be able to wash one’s hands of any blame at the end of the day. Jack apparently takes this lesson to heart, because he repeats many of his father’s sentiments on the island as an adult.

Jack’s first instinct has always been to help others, into the water to save a drowning woman the same way he jumped up on the playground. But when Jack steps back and considers the situation, he just gets too scared of the consequences of being a leader. The drowning woman ends up dying in the water when Jack decides to save Boone first, so Jack just shuts down altogether. When the water in the camp begins to run out, Jack refuses to make a decision about what should be done.

Locke tells Jack later in the episode that a leader can’t lead until he knows where he’s going. Jack clearly doesn’t know where he’s going yet, as he spends most of the episode stumbling through the jungle looking for his dead father. Jack is literally lost. It's not until Jack finds out his purpose on the island--as one of Jacob's candidates--that he becomes a truly effective leader.

Jack’s attempt to save a drowning woman and the search for water are the two primary plotlines in the episode, continuing the heavy use of water as a symbol for renewal in the series. Jack is the one who finds the water at the end of the episode, allowing the rest of the survivors to drink of it and also experience change on the island. He does not leave the camp looking for water, but stumbles onto it by accident. Similarly, he stumbles into his position of leadership on the island accidentally, but his commitment will be tested many more times throughout the series.

The water is a sign of change (or stagnation) among other characters, as well. Michael tells Walt not to drink ocean water at the beginning of the episode. He hopes that Walt will not be on the island long enough for it to make a lasting imprint on his son; the desire to give Walt a life free of the island’s grip will define most of Michael’s decisions until he and Walt leave it.

Jin tells Sun that she looks dehydrated, but Sun responds that she does not need water, unwilling to change on the island and come clean to her husband. She eventually thanks Jin for providing her with water, to which he comments that this is a husband’s duty. It is only with Jin’s help that Sun is ever able to achieve meaningful change in her life, even though she constantly seeks independence from him.

Charlie’s encounters with the water also say a great deal about his character. Charlie seems like a coward to many, but is a brave and selfless individual when it comes to protecting those to whom he is the closest. The bond he forms with Claire in the first few episodes is enough to convince him that she is worth protecting, and he goes to great lengths in this episode to provide Claire with water. Even though Claire acknowledges that she is a time bomb of responsibility and risk, Charlie already cares about her.

He is afraid to take a plunge into the water to help a nameless survivor in the beginning of the episode, instead seeking Jack's help. The only times he eventually swims in the series are in attempts to save Claire. In “Flashes Before Your Eyes,” Desmond saves Claire because Charlie would have attempted to do so himself, at great personal risk. Eventually, he agrees to dive into the water and give his own life in “Through the Looking Glass,” also in the hope of providing rescue for Claire. Charlie is a character who feels intense attachment to those he cares about, and Claire is the first character for whom this attachment is evident.

Running concurrently to this search for water is Jack’s search for his father in the jungle, which we now know is a manifestation of the smoke monster. The smoke monster appears to be able to take the form of anyone who has died, whether or not their body is located on the island. When it manifests itself as John Locke, it does not inhabit Locke's body physically, only taking his form as a separate entity. For this reason, it can be assumed that Christian’s body is still somewhere; it was probably flung from the coffin as the plane crashed, explaining the white tennis hanging from a tree in "Pilot."

In “The Last Recruit,” the Lockeness Monster tells Jack that he appeared as Christian so that he could guide Jack to water. He is trying to gain Jack’s trust, but this simply is not true. The Man in Black, as Christian, leads Jack to fall down a hill in the jungle and eventually almost off of a cliff. Even though the smoke monster is not able to kill Jacob’s candidates directly, this is his first attempt to do so indirectly. Rather than scan Jack and try to use him as a pawn in the struggle for the island, the Man in Black instead attempts to cause Jack’s death. Unlike Locke, who is blinded by his faith in the island, Jack is unable to be so easily manipulated. How fitting that Jack is eventually the one who kills the smoke monster by throwing him off a cliff.

The episode culminates in Jack’s famous “live together, die alone” speech, an awe-inspiring moment in which he puts a lot of survivors at ease. This guy is pretty cool.

Saturday, July 10, 2010

"Don't tell me what I can't blog!"

John Locke’s first flashback episode, “Walkabout,” sets up many of the motifs which are associated with this character throughout the series. Here are my thoughts, organized thematically this time:

DUALITY

In its sixth season, LOST mostly came down to the struggle between Jacob and his black-clad nemesis. John Locke is a character used by both sides in this battle: the smoke monster takes Locke’s form and initiates the killing of Jacob, while Jacob uses John’s relentless faith as a tool to push Jack into his role as island protector. Because he has close ties to both sides of the battle, Locke is the perfect character to represent this duality so early in the show.

While none of the other main characters have lasting visible injuries from the crash, Locke has one very noticeable scar. A cut across his right eye is not only present in this episode, but remains on John’s face for the duration of the series. This cut draws attention to John’s two eyes, both windows into different sides of his character. At the time of the crash, John is arguably the most emotionally scarred of the main characters. He’s had his kidney stolen and been pushed out of a window by his father, he’s been left by Helen, and he’s been turned down from his Walkabout adventure in Sydney. Even though the island heals John and allows him a new, happier life, John’s scar is a visible reminder that he still carries the weight from past events. Even thought John’s the original man of faith on the island, he can’t help but be a little scared of what the island has in store for him, and the scar is a manifestation of this emotional burden.

When Locke first pulls out his knives, Jack comments that he either has “very good aim or very bad aim.” This is another sign that Locke is destined to become part of the larger struggle between “good” and “bad” on the island, personified later through white and black. Locke is probably the biggest supporter of Jacob’s side among the 815 survivors, commenting that everyone was brought to the island for a reason, pretty much the slogan of Team Jacob. But at the same time, he’s intrigued by the smoke monster.

This is the first episode in which a survivor has a close-up encounter with the monster. John Locke stares it down in the jungle, later describing what he saw as a very beautiful bright light. The light to which he is referring was probably the flashing of the smoke monster, as it scanned Locke to read his past. The monster approaches Locke the first of all the survivors, formulating the plan which will go into effect much later, with Locke's manipulation and death.

The roles Jack and Locke play in this episode offer foreshadowing of the roles they will ultimately play as successors to Jacob and the smoke monster, respectively. In this episode, Jack is asked by Claire to read a memorial service for those who have died on the plane, but he instead focuses on the characters still alive on the island. He advocates the burning of bodies in the fuselage, a practice the Others have also adopted (presumably) to prevent the smoke monster from taking their form. He is a calm and removed leader in this episode; rather than leading the memorial service himself or forcing Rose to eat or drink food, Jack takes a more hands-off approach as leader. This kind of leadership has Jacob written all over it.

On the other hand, Locke really shows his smoke monster-ish tendencies, going on his own walkabout through the jungle to hunt boar. More than anything, the smoke monster wishes to be free of the expectations of his mother, hoping to physically leave the island. Locke desires a similar freedom from the restrictions of his physical condition, saying again and again “Don’t tell me what I can’t do.” Just like smokie, John just wants to be free.

GAMES

John Locke is a big fan of playing games. He plays some kind of geeky board game with his coworker in the box company and insists on being called Colonel during their phone conversations during flashbacks. Games are Locke’s way of removing himself from the pain and misfortune of the real world; by escaping into a game, Locke can have his own simulated world with low stakes, rather than run the risk of being hurt.

To Jacob and his nemesis, the island is one big game, where both players can bring pieces to the island to be manipulated. Even though John Locke actually ends up on the losing side, he’s enjoyed just being a part of the game by the end of the series. In the final church scene, John forgives Ben for his murder and sits alone, contented with the wins and losses he endured throughout his life.

SUBSTITUTES

It’s not until the sixth season that we see the Man in Black enter John’s body as a substitute and observe John as a substitute teacher in the afterlife, but substitution is a theme which has always been associated with Locke’s character in a number of ways. In this episode, John talks on the phone to “Helen,” who seems to be just a replacement for his former love. He calls and pays to speak to this “Helen,” hoping to build a real relationship with her and persuade her to come to Australia with him. In his mind, John builds up the illusion that “Helen” can serve as a substitute of his real love. The island itself is also a substitute for Locke, serving as the next-best-thing to his authentic Australian walkabout.

BURIAL

Locke's body is eventually brought back to the island buried, an action which presumably allows the smoke monster to manifest itself in Locke's form. The survivors' decision to burn the bodies in the fuselage, rather than bury them, is a coincidental act which may prevent the smoke monster from using these bodies as a weapon. Jack comments that any bodies they bury will not stay buried for long, a comment which takes on additional meaning when we see the smoke monster take Christian's form later in the episode.

Aside from the action going on with John Locke hunting boar, there are some touching moments among the other survivors, most notably Charlie and Hurley. Shannon uses Charlie to try and catch fish for her, distracting him from attempts to use drugs in the jungle. Again, it's evident that the only thing Charlie needs to stay clean from drugs is meaningful human contact. His adorable friendship with Hurley has its start in this episode, as the two attempt to fish together. In contrast to John, who seems to be at his happiest on his own, Charlie thrives in his relationships with others. Besides, even if she's kind of rude to him, Shannon's pretty hot.

I’d also like to begin a new segment in these posts, quite simply titled “Kate Screws Up.” I’ll be keeping track of everything Kate messes up throughout the series, beginning with dropping Sayid’s transceiver in this episode. Sayid is pretty angry when she returns the broken equipment to him, and rightly so. He spent days perfecting the wiring in what might be the survivors’ only hope of rescue. Kate dropped it out of a tree.

Friday, July 2, 2010

"You perforated his blog. It'll take hours to read out"

Here are my thoughts on "Tabula Rasa":

After Boone, Shannon, Sayid, Kate, Charlie, and Sawyer make camp for the night, the group decides to keep the French transmission a secret. Sayid comments that it would be a dangerous thing for the other survivors to lose their hope. This is another ironic line when one considers the path Sayid's character eventually follows. After Nadia’s death, Sayid has nothing left to live for. And we see later on just how dangerous Sayid is without this hope: he becomes all the more vulnerable to the temptations of the Man in Black.

Back at camp, the Marshal wakes up looking for Kate and comments that “she’s dangerous.” Besides providing some suspense for the viewer, this remark seems like a bit of an exaggeration. She killed a few people, sure, but most of the main characters on the show can say the same thing. The Marshal's not referring to physical danger, however. Kate's dangerous because she is manipulative; she can make pretty much anyone on the island (especially Jack and Sawyer) do whatever she wants. She seems innocent enough, but is capable of actions which are quite cold.

In flashbacks, Kate is found sleeping in a barn by Ray Mullen, an Australian farmer. She tells Ray that she likes to walk and likes farms, giving a clear indication of the character's motives. Kate consistently desires one thing: freedom. Ray agrees to employ Kate as a farmhand for a fair wage, and she discovers he has a prosthetic right arm when she goes to shake his hand. We’ve seen two other cases of prosthetic limbs on the show: Pierre Chang (Miles’s Dharma dad and that guy from the orientation videos) had a prosthetic arm in the video for The Swan station, and Montand lost his arm when pulled under the temple by the smoke monster.

It’s striking how often circumstances repeat themselves on Lost, whether on or off the island. The Man in Black eventually acknowledges this repetition in “The Incident,” when he comments that humans corrupt and destroy the island's natural properties every time Jacob summons them to the island. Misfortune has a cyclical nature according to the show, with the same tragic events playing out over and over again. Even though we see the end to Jack’s story on the island, it can be assumed that Hurley continues to bring people to the island, looking for an eventual replacement for himself. In this manner, it certainly seems that repetition of human circumstances will continue.

As soon as the A-team arrives back at camp, Kate betrays the trust of the rest of the group immediately by walking up to Jack and telling him everything they heard on the transceiver. Her actions seem like a sign of loyalty to Jack, but she doesn't find the time to admit that she was on the flight with the Marshal.

Jack eventually reveals to Kate that he’s seen the mug shot, but does not allow her to tell him about her crime. Instead, Jack tells Kate that every person is allowed to start a new life on the island. He tries to persuade Kate--and persuade himself--that people can let go of their past lives on the island. But more than anyone, it's Jack who struggles to forget his past actions and let go of his obsessions.

Another torrential downpour strikes the island during “Tabula Rasa,” and it’s interesting that Kate and the Marshal are the only two characters seen harbored from the rain. These two characters are continuing to play the roles that they did before their arrival on the island, rather than being washed away by the rain. Kate might get time to change later on, but the Marshal isn't so lucky. The Marshal is obsessive and violent until his death. Named for the Roman god of war, Mars, the Marshal is a static character who is never granted time to atone for his past actions. Jack even says later in the episode that “he needs water,” but it’s already too late.

In flashback, Kate tells Ray Mullen that she has to leave the farm because she’s “got trust issues.” I don’t believe that Kate is leaving the farm because she is afraid of being caught for her crime—her willingness to stay an extra night shows that she actually trusts Ray. Instead, Kate’s trust issues stem from her inability to trust herself. Whenever she stays with someone for too long, she ends up hurting him in the end. She’s afraid of attachment to others because she fears what will happen when the truth about her identity comes out.

Michael’s relationship with Walt begins to suffer in this episode for a similar reason: Michael pulls away because he fears his own inability. Locke told Walt in “Pilot” that a miracle had happened to him on the island. This worries Michael because he isn’t able to comprehend miracles, choosing instead to remain firmly grounded in the real world.

Michael assures Walt that he will find Vincent, Walt’s dog, as soon as the storm subsides. Almost immediately, with a look of stubborn concentration from Walt, the rain abruptly stops. Many speculated that Walt’s “special” abilities allowed him to stop the rain, and that Walt’s reading a comic book about polar bears similarly led to the appearance of a polar bear on the island. I don’t think there’s any denying that something supernatural is at work here, but I think it's more about the island's power than Walt's power. In season three, Ben Linus tells John Locke about a magic box on the island, in which anything John wants could instantly appear. The island will give you whatever you want, but only if you are willing to embrace and have faith in its power. Locke and Walt are the two people with the most supernatural encounters on the island. Locke experiences the ability to instantly walk and Walt is a child; both are more willing than others to embrace the mysterious.

By the end of the episode, Locke manages to perform an actual miracle by finding Vincent in the jungle. Locke allows Michael to return to the dog to Walt, but this doesn’t put Michael anymore at ease. Because he is unable to understand and embrace the magical properties of the island, Michael feels unable to connect with Walt on the same level that Locke does.

As the storm rages on, Jack enters the dark fuselage to search for medicine among the bodies. He finds Sawyer looting the bodies, leading a conversation that highlights the early differences among these characters. Sawyer comments that he is “trick-or-treating,” while Jack is working for the good of the group. Sawyer is the first of many characters to remind Jack that civilization is gone and that he should instead be living “in the wild.”

By insisting that the rules of the real world do not apply to characters on the island, Sawyer places himself firmly outside of the games played on the island. This is interesting language, especially considering the rules which apparently govern the Man in Black's and Jacob's struggle on the island. Throughout the entirety of the show, Sawyer is playing his own game separate from everyone else. When Sawyer eventually chooses the camp of the Lockeness monster in season six, he constantly refuses to express complete loyalty to either side. His priority is to get himself and a few people he cares about off the island, allowing some characters to escape the fate-controlled game of the island’s manipulative caretakers.

Sawyer attempts to kill the Marshal, but his failure in doing so forces Jack to violate his own moral code and kill him himself. Even though she doesn't pull the trigger, Kate kills the Marshal indirectly by allowing Sawyer to do so. She proves here that she is no different while on the island, still trying to run away from her crimes rather than acknowledge them and accept consequences. During Jack’s and Kate’s talk at the end of the episode, both are wearing white shirts, a visual signifier of the clean slate that the episode’s title refers to. What both characters fail to realize, however, is that a clean slate is useless unless they are able to recognize and atone for their past actions.

In flashback, Kate is ultimately apprehended while being driven to the train station by Ray Mullen. If she had left the farm by foot, trusting herself rather than someone else, she probably wouldn’t have been caught. She takes extra time to pull Ray Mullen out of his burning truck, and this allows the Marshal to catch up with her. Kate is most likely to escape the law by remaining independent, but she cares too much about other people to be able to do so.