It makes sense that Hurley would be the most visually memorable out of the Oceanic Six. Frank, to his credit, holds it together like a pro. And then we get turbulence, followed by the time shift effect, and the plane’s falling out of the sky. As spunkbuddy Larry spotted, Frank does indeed land that plane on the runway that Kate, Sawyer, and the other prisoners built. Way to go, Frank!
LOST Revisited: Season 5, Episode 9: “Namaste” (Mar 19)
Now, the dead copilot was pretty gory, but not nearly as disturbing as seeing that Sun was still on the plane. The rest of the Lostaways disappeared, but Sun’s still there, stuck in the present. They don’t address why that happened, but I wonder if the Island rejected Sun. Has she changed in a way that makes her unacceptable? I don’t know, but that was pretty agonizing. And, of course, that’s our cue to jump back in time thirty years.
In 1977, we pick up where we left off. Sawyer, face to face with Jack, Kate, and Hurley. That big hug from Hurley was really sweet, you have to admit. I like that after three years, Sawyer was still counting on Locke to come through for them. And then Kate ruins everything by asking “So, who else is still here?” Which is Kate-code for “Are there any women here who aren’t me that you may have spent time with over the last three years?” Kate cuts to the chase, folks. Also, what’s interesting about this scene is that Jack and the rest find out for the first time that they’ve gone into the past. Although we’re used to time travel right now, those three didn’t even know that was part of the plot. That’s a lot to deal with.
Sawyer raids his closet for clothing. He likes his life now, probably for the first time ever, and now he has to scramble to keep everything together. Meanwhile, Jin sets out to find Sun. His first stop is the Flame Station, which is where Mikhail will come to live in future years. There’s a low-budget Paul Giamatti there, and he’s kind of a jerk. However, he’s very important, and I didn’t figure it out until I searched my entire e-mail log for his name. Later in the episode, he’s identified as “Radzinsky”. Know where we’ve heard that name before? He was Kelvin’s original partner in the Hatch before Desmond came along! Radzinsky started the Island map on the wall (Desmond and Kelvin finished it), and he’s been referenced as the person who cut the footage from the Swan orientation film. And then, while Kelvin was sleeping, Radzinsky blew his head off with a shotgun and left a blood stain on the ceiling. So we are filling in Island history left and right here. Radzinsky is really patronizing when Jin asks for help. But, you know, if somebody accuses you of not noticing an airplane landing on the Island and your job is to notice things like that, you might get a little snippy.
In the present, Frank’s taking control of the situation. At least, he’s trying his best. Cesar is a bit of an instigator, and he wants to know what that building is and what the other Island is all about, and he wants to know now. His little freakout gives Benry the chance to sneak away. Sun follows, because she knows he’s up to something. Sure enough, Benry’s headed back to the main Island and invites Sun along. He’s even creepier than usual in this scene, by the way.
In the past, Juliet checks in on Amy. Hi, Amy! She’s a processor for the new recruits, but she’s taking the day off, what with having a baby and all. And in a genuinely surprising moment, she tells Juliet the baby’s name is Ethan. Ethan? Creepy Ethan? It’s always sad when you look at a baby and know that he’s going to grow up to kill somebody by breaking every single bone in their body. It’s also interesting to find out that Ethan started out with Dharma. I assumed he was a later recruit, like Juliet.
Sawyer’s got a plan to mainstream the Lostaways into the Dharma Initiative, and the first phase involves putting his friends in hilarious 1970’s clothing. He mentions that nobody meets anybody else until they’re processed. Since we find out later that they have to be sedated while they’re brought over on the sub, it seems as if Dharma doesn’t want anybody to have unmonitored interactions. It’s sort of like how nobody can talk to each other on Survivor until they get to their island.
Back in the Flame, Radzinsky spots a Hostile inside the perimeter. He and Jin run to intercept, but it turns out to be Sayid. And he’s still handcuffed! Man, that guy can’t catch a break. Jin does a pretty good job of pushing him around just enough to avoid suspicion, though Sayid’s clearly perplexed.
As Sawyer preps his friends, Hurley reminds him that the Dharma Initiative gets wiped out, and wonders if they can prevent it. Sawyer says that Faraday has some theories about what they can and can’t do. But when asked if Faraday’s still there, Sawyer responds “Not anymore”. Huh. Does that mean he’s dead? Is he missing? Did he join the Hostiles? We know he was with Dharma for long enough to work on construction of the Orchid, but that’s all we’ve got right now. And in the best joke of the episode, Hurley asks Sawyer if the processors are going to ask any questions that they can’t answer, “Like, who’s the President in 1977”. Ha! For Hurley, that is an unanswerable question. That amuses me to no end.
In the present, Benry and Sun head for the outriggers. Benry obviously doesn’t care whether Jin is on the Island or not – he’s just desperate to get home. I like his line “Waiting doesn’t interest me right now”. And he pulls off his sling, which some people took to mean that the Island healed him. However, the Island didn’t heal him on any other occasions. Does this mean the Island has finally accepted him? Or was he just being dramatic? At this point, Frank tracks them down. He doesn’t trust Benry either, and tries to talk Sun out of making the trip. Benry explains that he has supplies back in Dharmaville, and Sun whacks him with an oar. Awesome! You knew he was getting beaten up – it was just a question of when. Remember how Ilana told Locke that “The pilot and some woman” took one of the boats? Turns out Sun is some woman!
Thirty years earlier, some guy is riding his bike around the Dharma camp. That’s an image that’s been repeated over and over since Season Three, and I can’t figure it out. When Dharma lives there, a guy rides a bike through the shot. When the Others live there, a guy rides a bike through the shot. Heck, frames of a guy riding a bike through the Dharma camp turned up in at least one of the orientation films. I almost think the producers are just amusing themselves with this, because really, who takes a bicycle to an Island that is almost entirely covered by jungle?
Jack gets checked in by one of our favorite supporting characters, Dr. Marvin Candle. He introduces himself as “Peter Chang”, which is the same name he used in the season premiere. I tend to believe that’s his real name, but Dr. Marvin Candle is much funnier, so I’m going to keep use it. (By the way, there’s a local weathermen in Grand Rapids with the name of “Peter Chang”. We should see what that guy knows.) It appears that he has both of his arms this time, too. Jack gets a “Workman” uniform, so he gets to be a Janitor with Benry’s dad! “Based on your aptitude tests…” Ha! Sawyer wasn’t going to let that opportunity go.
Meanwhile, Kate’s check-in isn’t going quite as smoothly. Dharma Phil (who we saw in the last episode) very nearly freaks out that her name isn’t on the list. Seriously, he comes almost completely unhinged. Luckily, Juliet steps in with an updated list to save the day. And then there’s a colossally awkward moment where the two just stare at each other. This is not going to end well.
Sawyer heads to the Flame to check out the prisoner. Radzinsky is especially upset that Sayid might have seen his model for the Swan. Well, there’s a new fact. Radzinsky designed the Hatch! And as of 1977, it didn’t exist. So was there a powerful electromagnetic source already there, and they build the Swan to keep it in check? Or did they install the electromagnet when they built the Swan? That’s something for us to think about. In the meantime, Sawyer does his best to walk Sayid through the process, like heavily hinting that he has to identify himself as a Hostile. (The previous sentence brought to you by the letter “H”.)
In the present, Frank and Sun arrive on the dock. It’s dark, and something is rustling through the trees. Yeah, anytime you see the trees rustle around here, it is bad news. The Dharma village is empty, which leads me to wonder where the 2008 Others are. Are they hanging out at the Temple? That was back in 2005 when they started that trip. One would think they’d have gone home since then. Richard “Batmanuel” Alpert, what are you up to? A door opens, and Christian steps out to greet Sun and Frank. (By the way, if he would ever just introduce himself as “Jacob”, I’d be so happy.) He leads them to the Processing Center and shows then the 1977 group shot, with Hurley, Jack, and Kate front and center. Now, as Sun looks at the photo, the door blows open and smoke starts to fill the room. It was sort of a light-colored smoke, so it may not be Smokey. But then again, the trees were rustling. So we should probably worry. Also, Christian tells Sun that she “has a bit of a journey ahead of her”, which implies that the possibility exists that she could get back to 1977 herself. Fingers crossed on that one! But man, that smoke has me all nervous.
At night, Jack asks Phil for directions to “James La Fleur’s”. Phil points out his house, and warns him not to call him “James”, because “he doesn’t like it”. Well, of course not. That’s his real first name, and it’s a link to the life that doesn’t mean anything to him anymore. Jack is shocked to see Juliet, and even though he goes for the hug, Juliet reminds him that they’re not supposed to know one another. Of course, Jack assumes he has the wrong house, because Juliet and Sawyer couldn’t possibly be together, right? (By the way, am I right in thinking that there is broad support for this relationship? Everybody I know is really happy about it, at least.)
Jack’s kind of a jerk in this scene, getting in Sawyer’s face. You know, Sawyer read a lot in the early seasons, too. That was a running joke for a while there. And for the record, I think Sawyer is right when he says that he’s a thinker and that Jack was reactive. They were, of course, in very different situations. Jack had to deal with getting everybody from one day to the next, where Sawyer is able to plan and think about the long term. In a really nice touch, when Sawyer starts to go off on Jack, his accent becomes more pronounced and he slips back to his old dialect. Everything he’s made for himself, seeing Jack makes him feel like the old troublemaking hothead all over again. And let’s hear it for Josh Holloway, who is really knocking it out of the park lately. Besides playing a happy, meditative Sawyer for the first time, he did a really good job with sliding back to angry Sawyer for just a second. When Jack leaves, Sawyer notices Kate skulking around outside, just watching his house. Does she know that he and Juliet are together yet? I predict a meltdown.
And in a scene that has me ridiculously happy, a kid stops by Dharma jail to bring a sandwich to the prisoner. The little fella gives Sayid his meal, and then says that his name is “Ben”. And look at those eyes – there is no doubt that this is the one and only Benry! The casting office did a fantastic job with finding a kid who’s absolutely believable as a young Michael Emerson. So you know how I’ve been saying that Benry is going to learn about the future from the Lostaways, thus putting him one step ahead when the future gets here? That just took a big step toward being more plausible. And that is pretty awesome.
Great episode once again! We’re filling in the backstories of a lot of formerly mysterious characters and it’s tying together nicely. These guys, they know what they’re doing.
Before I call it a night, my sister reminded me of something right before I started writing. In the Pre-Game for this episode, I talked about time loops, and how the Lostaways might just be trapped in a loop where they cause the crash of Flight 815, only to eventually go back in time and have to cause the crash all over again. Anyway, she mentioned another famous creative work that’s also a time loop – the Epic of Gilgamesh. We can get into more specifics later, but this is worth noting because Gilgamesh was referenced multiple times in Season Two, usually in regards to Locke and Mr. Eko. So yeah, we just might be on to something here…
