It’s season six, and just when we thought that things couldn’t get any more complicated, they did. We encountered three Lockes in this episode: real island Locke (he’s dead), fake island Locke (alive?), and alternative-reality Locke (alive and living in Los Angeles).
Episode 3 Summary
Flash sideways: The Final Season debuted with a whole new type of “flash.” Previous seasons featured flashbacks and flash forwards, but season six has what the producers are calling a “flash sideways.” In this week’s “flash sideways,” we meet Locke after he returns from his Australian walkabout mishap. He’s still in a wheelchair, he’s still depressed, and he’s still angry at the world. On top of all this, his boss, Randy, fires him. However, we get a chance to see things finally go right for Locke. Alternative-reality Hurley promises to help him get a new job, and Locke’s future wife Helen provides more support than his wheelchair ever could.
Here are some abbreviations we might use to make things less complicated—so our readers don’t become completely lost.
RL: Real Locke (dead Locke)
FL: Fake Locke (the one on the island)
Second RL: Second Real Locke (alternative – the one living in Los Angeles)
Back on the island…
Locke: FL wants Richard to follow him and promises to tell him everything Jacob never did, although Richard refuses. While speaking to Richard, FL sees the illuminated shape of a young boy. He then goes to see Sawyer and says he knows why Sawyer is on the island. Sawyer agrees to follow him. The boy appears again and FL chases him. He trips, and the boy stands over FL and says, “You know the rules. You can’t kill him.” Richard, terrified, emerges from the jungle and tells Sawyer that FL wants to kill everyone on the island. Sawyer pulls out a gun to kill him, who tells him to see what happens. FL admits that he too feels “trapped.” Sawyer continues to follow the Locke look-alike, who has Sawyer climb down a ladder on a dangerous cliff. Sawyer nearly dies in the attempt but is saved by FL. They come to a scale at the front of a cave and walk back further, only to see names written by Jacob on a rock ceiling. The names have numbers next to them and reveal “candidates.” (Note: the candidates are as follows: Locke 4, Hurley 8, Sawyer 15, Sayid 16, Jack 23, and Jin or Sun Kwon 42). Jacob pulled them towards the island to be “candidates” for who will replace him as the next island protector. According to FL, they are protecting it from “nothing.” The options are waiting: take Jacob’s spot as protector, do nothing, or go home. Sawyer decides to go home.
Ilana’s Group: Ilana is taking the group at the statue to the Temple to find Jin and the others. They bury the RL, and Ben gets up to speak, calling Locke “a believer, a man of faith, a much better man than I will ever be.”
Destiny
Kate- The idea of destiny was central to this episode. Helen believes in destiny, whereas Locke, who on the island in the original timeline lived his entire life based on it, seems skeptical now. Again, FL brings up destiny as the reason why they are all on the island, as “candidates” to protect it, instead of Sawyer’s reason of a random string of events. The idea of destiny is reinforced in the alternative timeline, when all of the characters connect even without the island there to bring them together. They were still all meant to meet. However, a lot of the series has been contrasting the idea of science versus faith. Right now, the man of faith (Locke or RL) is dead, while the man of science (Jack) is still alive. I’m curious about which school of thought will prevail in the end. But because the island is so heavily centered in destiny, fate, etc., I’d say it’s going to be faith.
Candidate’s purpose
Kate- This idea of FL recruiting makes me think of battle. Is there going to be some sort of war over the island? Those that follow FL and those that follow[ed] Jacob? FL, according to Richard, wants to kill everyone on the island, but seems to think the safe place to go is the Temple. All of Jacob’s followers are going to the Temple now, including Illana, Richard, etc. That would also connect with the idea of the “candidates” protecting the island. They could be protecting it from FL’s recruits who are out to see the island destroyed by whatever they should be protecting it from
My first thought was that the names are part of Jacob’s list mentioned in season 3. However, Sayid, Jack, and Locke weren’t on that list and their names appear here. Names that are crossed out must be those that have died without protecting the island. Each has one of the numbers next to it, so do the numbers mean something when paired with each name?
I’d say FL is just saying the island isn’t in danger because he wants to get off of it. If what Richard says is true, and FL wants everyone on the island to die, he would want to get “candidates” off of the island to leave it unprotected and susceptible to destruction.
In addition, Alternative timeline Locke doesn’t seem to believe that he has a greater purpose. Because he no longer has that pull to the island as a “candidate,” the feeling that there is something greater he is meant for no longer exists in his mind. Locke’s perspective on life has changed.
Joey- I’ve stuck with “Lost” this long, and I’m not giving up. It’s gotten complicated, but it’s gotten good. This week FL promised to answer the almighty question: “Why is everyone on the island?” I’ve waited years for that question to be answered. FL claims that every single person was brought to the island by Jacob to take over his position as protector of the island. But then again, it’s Lost. The answer couldn’t be that simple.
Blonde boy
Joey- The boy that Locke and Sawyer saw was Aaron.
Kate- Not going to lie, that little boy creeps me out. It’s probably a young Jacob, but he looks oddly like Zach, the tail section survivor that got kidnapped by the Others. About what the boy said: FL already found a loophole when he had Ben kill Jacob? Whom is he referring to now? And if FL found a loophole the first time, I’d bet that he’d find one now.
Jenny- I want to believe that boy is a young version of Jacob, but wouldn’t that be too obvious for Lost? Maybe he’s a messenger for Jacob. But he kind of reminded me of Walt, after Walt had been taken by the Others and reappeared to the survivors.
The Smoke Monster
Jenny- So Locke is the Smoke Monster. Or maybe the Smoke Monster is Locke. Now that the RL is dead, maybe the Smoke Monster can take over his body when it wants to. The two characters are never together in the same scene anymore—FL always leaves before the monster enters, and he returns after it disappears again.
Black and White Rocks
Jenny- Earlier in season five, Locke wore black robes and Jacob wore white. The scene with the rocks on the scale could symbolize the balance of power between Jacob and Locke (and also good protector vs. evil schemer), and when Locke tosses the white one into the sea, it could be a metaphor for when Locke killed Jacob.
The Meaning of the Island
Jenny- Sawyer is revealed to be a candidate, and he wants to know from what Jacob wants to protect the island. FL responds, ”From nothing, James. That’s the joke. There’s nothing to protect it from. It’s just a damn island!” Sorry, FL, but I just don’t believe that this island is meaningless. The second the RL landed on the island, he could walk again. There’s obviously something special about the island—its healing powers, weird magnetic fields, and the presence of a creepy Smoke Monster prove it—so what exactly is it, and why does someone need to take over as the protector? I can only hope that these answers will be revealed by the series finale.
Kate Froehlich can be reached for comment at [email protected]
Joey Hoff can be reached for comment at [email protected]
Jenny Hottle can be reached for comment at [email protected]
Allison Walczyk can be reached for comment at [email protected]