I know I’m sounding like a broken record here, but the pace at which the reveals are coming this season is just astounding. I guess after 4+ seasons of questions and answers that simply yield more questions, it’s just surprising to reach this point in the narrative arc. It’s satisfying, at least to me.
That said, I thought this episode came off a little disjointed. A few of the elements just sort of sprung up out of nowhere (like Jack’s grandfather – where did that come from?) and I thought some of the dialogue was kind of wooden. But this was countered by some great moments and plenty of juicy info. Here is my bullet-list review of the episode:
- Given the recurring theme of resurrection, belief and doubt, did anybody else catch the not-so-subtle episode title (“316”) allusion to a famous Biblical passage about eternal life being granted to those who believe? John’s suicide note (“I wish you had believed me.”) seems to scream this loud and clear. Which I find to be uber-cool.
- While we’re at it: Ben went to Sunday school…who knew? This was one of my favorite scenes this season; it begins with Ben on bended knee (praying? conniving? asking forgiveness for what he’s about to go and do?) and ends with the great line, “We’re all convinced sooner or later, Jack.” In between, Ben sermonizes on the life of an infamous doubting disciple. Again, good stuff. Yay, Judeo-Christianity!
- Ben tells Jack, as he scurries out the back of the chapel, that he has to tie up a loose end. The promise he made to an “old friend”? Gotta be his pledge to Widmore to kill Penny. Did he follow through? I hope not, but if he did, maybe this is how Desmond ends up going back to the Island. Penny’s death at the hands of Ben might just be enough to force Des and Daddy Widmore to team up and work together to find the Island and bring an end to Ben’s life.
- Mrs. Hawkings tells us that the Island has always been moving (“That’s why you were never rescued,”). She also tells our castaways that in order to return to the Island, they have to replicate as closely as possible the circumstances that first brought them there. Thus, we see Sayid boarding the plane in the custody of a law enforcement official, Jack checks a dead coffin, Sun boards bearing a feeling of estrangement from her husband, etc. I have no idea why Hurley is carrying a guitar case or what happened to Aaron (and if he doesn’t go back with them, doesn’t that mess this whole thing up?), but this should be interesting to follow.
- I totally called the whole shoes thing. I’ve always wondered what the significance was of Christian wearing the tennis shoes in the first couple of episodes. And weren’t there a pair of shoes dangling from a tree in the jungle in the opening scene of the series? Not sure that’s very significant, but not we at least know why Christian had tennis shoes on.
- Personally, I loved the opening scene with Jack and the eyeball. Classic. And Jack instantly reverts back into hero mode, only this time, instead of pulling people out of burning wreckage, he goes all Greg Lougainis, diving in to save Hurley and Kate.
- A friend of mine has a theory that every time someone comes to the Island, they have to be carrying a dead person with them. Obviously this is true for the Oceanic 815 crew (Christian) and the Ajira 316 flight (Locke). The Black Rock could’ve had somebody dead on there, I guess. Wasn’t Eko’s brother already dead when his plane crashed? I think he was shot before the plane took off. OK, so if this theory is true, then here’s my thought: When Rousseau and her crew landed on the Island, as far as I know none of them were dead. But they did find Jin floating around in the water. Which could mean….that Jin WAS dead, but once he made it to the Island, he was recussitated / raised from the dead. I’m not sure I buy this theory completely (I don’t remember anybody “being dead” when the Freighter people arrived), but it’s an interesting thought. Hmmm…..
already & not yet 
I loved the whole did Ben kill Penny question. I hope not!! And what about at the end (or maybe it was the previews) with Jin being in the Dharma suit? What was that about? I love this show!!
Disjointed? Yes. Very much so, but still full of so much.Things that bothered me: 1. Aaron: where is he, where did he go? Kate seemed very distressed about it (not too distressed to get in a quickie before going to the island though..)2. How did Hurley get out of jail?3. Why is Sayid in custody, and why would he be taken to Guam?4. How is Desmond still connected to the island?Also, I loved the Doubting Thomas line, and it made the whole episode better for me.Yes, there was a pair of shoes dangling in the trees, but it all made sense with the tennis shoe reference. However, I’m with you on the grand dad thing. It seemed to be a stretch, but, things that appear to be a stretch tend to end up making sense on the island.What happened to Ben, Sayid, and Sun? Also, did the island just suck them in? Did Lupides take the place of Aaron?And what did Ben do to himself/or have done to him that made him look like he should have been hanging in the butcher shop?
Yeah, I’m not buying the “dead person” to come to the island thing. Desmond didn’t have anyone dead with him, neither did the Others when they used the sub to and from the island (there was no one dead with Juliet), Dharma had lots of people shipped to the island. It seems like a stretch.Anyways, I LOVED this episode. Every episode this season seems to be better than the last, and this was definitely my fav of the season. The belief/316/Doubting Thomas Motif you alluded to fits so well into the overall narrative and internal conflict of Jack’s character. He has always struggled with the “man of science/man of faith” conflict (Sarah’s “miracle” healing, deliberations with Locke, coming back to the island), and Ben’s line of “eventually everyone is convinced” fits so well into that struggle. The spiritual aspects of the episode, the overall tension and pace of the episode, and the way it fits into the over-arching story of Lost (Jack again waking up back in the jungle/the parralells with everyone of this flight compared with flight 815) could possible put this in my top ten all-time episodes. I think we’ll look back and recognize this episode as one of the iconinc points in the show’s history.One problem I have, however. Jack’s supposed reason for going back is to save everyone he left behind. But when he left, there were only 30 or so survivors of flight 815 (and less now after the arrow attack, but he doesn’t know about that). So, now he’s willing to let 50+ people on flight 316 possibly die, just so they can save 30? Couldn’t Hurley have bought some more tickets?I’m very intrigued to see what happened with Ben getting beat up (I didn’t even think about the Penny thing), Sayid getting arrested, Hurley deciding to come, and what happened with Aaron. I agree, Jason, I thought Aaron not coming would mess everything up (Ben said “You all have to come back.”)I have no idea where the show goes from here. It looks like next week we find out about Locke, but then who knows after that?
Anon #2, I removed your comment. Family blog here. Clean up the language and post again.
Dylan,I'm thinking that we'll get a series of flashbacks, or at the very least one big flashback episode, that gives us all the details about the events we're in the dark about: how Hurley got sprung from jail, how Sayid got caught, Kate & Aaron, etc. I guess Walt's grandma could just open up her own daycare for all the Losties who leave their kids behind when they return to the Island. Or will Aaron and Ji Yeon somehow make their way to the Island? Remember, Desmond told Charlie that he saw a vision of Claire and Aaron getting on a helicopter and leaving the Island. It's always bothered me that that vision never came to fruition (especially when Charlie staked his life on it). But I'm guessing there's still time for that to happen. Of course, that brings up the question of why ghost-Claire would appear to Kate and say to her, "Don't bring him back, Kate. Don't you dare bring him back!"
Jason,Seems to me that Hurley brought the guitar case in honor of Charlie and/or to replicate Charlie’s possessions on 815. The REAL question is who told HIM that things had to be replicated!?!My guess . . . we get to see another conversation with dead Chahley . . . and speaking of Hurley, how was he convinced to go back? and other than the lawyer showing Ben that they had no evidence to hold Hurley, what OTHER circumstances helped get hom out of jail.
I’m thinking the 316 flight may not have crashed. I’m more inclined to think these people “flashed” onto the Island instead. You’d think Jack, Kate, and Hurley would have some kind of memory of the crash. However, you have to wonder what exactly was bringing Jin out to the lagoon, with a firearm no less. If there was a crash, it would be easy to imagine Chang or someone else in charge sending Jin to scout out the location, a la Ethan when 815 crashed. So maybe not. Either way, it’s odd that Ben is not pictured during the whole turbulence / flash scene. He’s never told to put on a seatbelt. He’s not pictured anywhere in the cabin. Maybe he was in the bathroom, just like Charlie was on the 815 flight? Just an interesting tidbit.
Skid,The guitar case seems an obvious homage to Charlie. But it’s interesting that when Jack asks Hurley what he’s doing at the airport, Hurley gives him a weird look and simply replies, “All that matters is that I’m here.” And clearly Ben isn’t directly responsible for Hurley being on flight 316. Hurley flips out when he sees Ben; Ben even asks him, “Who told you to be here?” So I’m inclined to think our favorite Hobbit might be making another appearance sometime soon.
I’ve got to say – the beginning of this episode was really hokey to me and teetered on the edge of shark jumping. I’m still watching, but they are starting to lose me a little with the time traveling / island moving stuff. And the thing about taking something of Christian’s and giving it to Locke made me roll my eyes as well.Now that they are back on the island maybe there will be less of that stuff.I did enjoy the religious references. But I guess Ben didn’t go to Sunday School the day they talked about loving your enemies and doing unto others.And I’m still amazed that Jin was able to survive considering the DUI charge he got last year. That is usually the kiss of death for a Lost cast member.