Summary: Flashbacks show Locke being contacted by Richard at various moments in his life, from birth to his teenage years. On the island, Locke continues to search for Jacob's cabin with Hurley and Ben. He eventually finds it after some dreams and finds Christian and Claire in the cabin. He's told that he has to move the island. Keamy returns to the freighter in a rage and gets the secondary protocol against Captain Gault's orders. Keamy makes plans to return to the island to kill everyone. Gault helps Sayid escape on the freighter's zodiac raft so he can ferry people from the beach back to the freighter. Keamy orders Franks to take him back and when Frank refuses he murders the doctor and Gault. Frank takes Keamy back to the island but drops a sat phone to the beach camp while he flies over it.
The Good: This episode is all about destiny, and Locke accepting it. The flashbacks do a terrific job of showing us how the island has been calling for Locke since the very moment he was born. His birth was a miracle itself, and then in one of the episode's most chilling moments we see Richard watching Locke's birth from outside the hospital room (see: The Unknown). The flashbacks continue to show fantastic moments like these as destiny seems to call Locke, but Locke's desire to be somebody else (don't tell me what I can't do) impedes his progress in fascinating ways. His rejection of science camp because he wants to be "cool" is a good example and literally features his "don't tell me what I can't do", but it was Richard's childhood visit that I thought was the most well executed example. Richard lays out a very curious test for Locke (again, see: The Unknown) and Locke has to pick something that already belongs to him. While I'm not sure what the correct option was, it's telling that Locke picks up the knife, not something that already belongs to him, but something he wants to belong to him. Locke has been running away from destiny his entire life, but now on the island, he has finally embraced it. The island storyline with Locke is really compelling. Locke is his usual eccentric self on the journey to Jacob's cabin, taking orders from the island through his dreams, similarly to back in "Deus Ex Machina". He's a man on a mission, ready to accept his destiny. But right next to him is somebody who exists as a chilling warning to Locke that destiny may not be as glorious as it may seem. For the entire episode Ben seems much more subdued than usual, only making smug comments here and there. It's clear that Alex's death has shaken him to his core and he feels betrayed by what he thought was his own destiny. Now here Ben is looking at Locke as he takes orders from dreams, manipulates others, and follows what he believes is his destiny, and Ben can't help but see himself in Locke. Hence Ben delivers his warning that destiny "is a fickle bitch". It's an ominous warning to us that Locke may not find what he wants in his mission to save the island. The episode builds nicely to its ending moments as Locke finally enters the cabin and prepares to meet with Jacob. Instead we get a very unexpected reveal as Christian is the one waiting in the cabin for Locke and it's Christian who gives the orders (once again, see: The Unknown). The scene is brilliantly shot, and just like in "The Man Behind the Curtain", it is a spooky and intense experience. Plus we also get a lovely little scene as Hurley and Ben share a chocolate bar while waiting. The freighter storyline is also really effective and has a number of really strong developments and conflicts. Keamy seems to be taking the mantle as this season's main villain, and he's really entertaining to watch. Watching the power dynamic shift on the freighter is intense, and it culminates in a great final scene as Keamy murders both the doctor and Gault to get back to the island. Additionally, It's evident that it's Keamy, not Gault, who is Widmore's main man, and Keamy's desire to "torch the island" offers us some more insight on Widmore's motives (again, see: The Unknown). The scenes on the freighter were really strong and served as a perfect B-story that furthered the plot in an interesting way. The Bad: Nothing I'd call bad. This was a consistent episode with no major flaws. The Unknown: There are so many fascinating questions raised by this episode. This was easily one of the best mystery-building episodes of the whole series. In "The Man Behind the Curtain", you could chalk up Richard's same appearance in the past as poor make-up. But here Richard appears at Locke's birth looking exactly the same as he is now. Does he not age? How is this possible? Why is Richard scouting Locke anyways? What is it about Locke that makes him so special? Was Locke having visions about the smoke monster as a child? Why? What was Richard's test about? Which item was the correct answer? Why was it important for Locke to answer correctly? We learn that Horace is the one who built the cabin, so it is not that old. Why is this significant? If it's a normal cabin, how is it capable of moving? Is that Jacob's doing? How old is Jacob? He must have only been living on the island for a short time if he lives in a cabin that was built during the Dharma Initiative days. Why is he treated like a deity? Who is Christian? He says he can speak for Jacob. Is he one of Jacob's people? How does that work? Does Jacob resurrect dead people? Have all the visions of dead people in previous episodes been Jacob's doing? Why is Claire in the cabin too? Is she dead as well? Why is she happy to be there with Christian? If Jacob isn't in the cabin right now, then where has he gone? Does Jacob go to other places too? Could Jacob possibly be the smoke monster? It would explain how Ben was able to summon it if it was Jacob. I don't want to go too far into theorizing, but there are so many fascinating possibilities about Jacob after this episode. Ben confirms that wiping out the Dharma Initiative wasn't his decision. Does this mean it was Widmore's decision? Could this be why Ben has a major conflict with him? Because he's a ruthless mass murderer? What exactly is the secondary protocol? Why does Widmore want to murder everyone on the island? Keamy says that Widmore knows where Ben will be going. How does he know this? Where is Ben going? Is it the cabin? What is the device that Keamy has attached to his arm? Abbadon's appearance was one of the episode's most fascinating moments. Who is this man? Who is he working for? Ben? Widmore? Or somebody else? Did he somehow know about Flight 815? Did he send Locke to a walkabout knowing that it would take him to the island? Does he know that he will meet Locke again? Abaddon mentions that he had a miracle too. What was it? Best Moment: The cabin sequence. A dramatic and intense scene as Locke finally confronts his destiny. Character of the Episode: Locke Conclusion: This was a hugely effective episode that accomplished everything that it set out to do. There was a lot of set-up here, and many of the biggest mysteries were deepened by this episode. Add on a terrific central story surrounding Locke finally realizing his destiny and we have a terrific episode, one of the season's best. Score: 80
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Aaron DhillonJust a university student who loves to watch TV. And analyze it way too much. Archives
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