Friday, February 19, 2010

More Questions ... Or Answers? A Look at "The Substitute"

     First of all, thank you to all my readers who have harassed me for a blog.  I am honored.  Honestly, there is not much for me to say.  I am truly "lost" with this season.  But I mean that in a fun way.  This season has taken me for a very satisfying ride and we are only on the third episode.  Well, I think it's clear to say that "The Substitute" was the first episode of the season that we know will be considered a classic.  Events such as Ben revealing himself as the European History teacher, the young stigmata child saying, "You know the rules.  You can't kill him," and even Helen suggesting inviting Locke's father to their eloping were even more satisfying than Jack sitting on the plane next to Rose in the first moments of the season.  But as I've been thinking what I want to say in this blog, I've come up with some questions and possibly some concerns about what we are going to see in the last thirteen hours of Lost.
    
The Stigmata Child ...

    Perhaps I am being too hasty by calling him the "Stigmata Child," but after many years of Catholic School, I know a Christ Allusion when I see one.  Though it's worth noting that the blood is running down his arms and not coming out of his hands.  Perhaps the child is actually bleeding from the heart (literally and figuratively).  Many are saying that the child is a young Jacob, which is completely possible.  Though one can't help but think that might be coming out of left field (that's a lot to say about a show that has a character who becomes a puff of smoke).  Why would a young Jacob be on the island?  Consider this: Aaron was wanted by the others because he was "special."  Could it be that a version of Aaron (perhaps the one that will eventually reunite with his mother, the rifle-baring Claire) is wandering the island making warnings to the Man in Black (and Jacob I would assume).  It seems to me that this specter is acting as a referee between the two opponents.  But who exactly is the "him" that the child speaks of?  Is is the already killed Jacob?  Is it Sawyer?  Or is it the already deceased and "ripe" John Locke?  
 
Is Jacob Dead? ...
    Was it just me or did Ilana look more upset about the death of her "What Lies Beneath the Shadow of the Statue" companion that she did about the death of Jacob?  It is my suspicion that the death of Jacob happens quite often and is the actual source of the white ash this group of followers uses to protect themselves from the Man in Black.  I also noticed that Ben doesn't even flinch when he watches her take the ashes.  To the naked eye, it seems that even Ben is out of the loop lately, but I am started to think more of our ambiguous friend.  Not to mention, he is a history teacher now ... those people are smart!
 
The Flight ... 1
    Are we sure that the flight we saw Jack and Rose on is the same flight that we saw Locke and Boone on?  What about Claire?  It has been noticed by many that Claire's sonogram contained the date October 22, 2004, one month after the date of Flight 815.  Blooper?  No way!  The producers would never let that happen.  First I considered the possibility that the flight in the "non-island" world took off a month later.  But then Helen (portrayed beautifully by Katey Sagal) mentions to Locke that their wedding is coming up in October.  Assuming the producers would not blow something so important, I am going to go out on a limb (at the risk of falling off) and say that Claire and Locke were on two different flights.  Could the same be said for some of our other castaways?  We know that Kate and Claire were on the same flight.  We know Kate and Jack were on the same flight.  We know Charlie and Sayid were on the same flight with Jack.  But did we see Locke with anyone but Boone?  Also, it has been reported that Shannon will be returning to the series.  Perhaps she is on the same flight as Claire, Jack, Rose, Kate, and the rest of the gang, following her brother one month later.  One more note: If Rose works for Hugo and they were on the same flight, wouldn't they have said hello or something?  Not if they were on a completely different flight one month apart!
 
     There is so much going on.  We have Kate helping Claire after kidnapping Claire (I think there is a lot of symbolism in Claire giving Kate her credit card - talk about identity theft!!).  We have Sayid coming back to life but being affected by something.  We have Richard's confrontation with the Man in Black.  What is it that he wants from Richard?  Also, we are one step closer to finding out what the hell those damn numbers mean ... or did we take two steps back?  We'll soon find out!

 


notes



1 It's worth noting that after some comments and further thought, there probably was only one flight.  A comment was made that the date on Claire's sonagram was most likely her due date.  That's a possibility.  I'm still wondering ...

3 comments:

  1. locke was on the same flight as jack and therefore the rest of the crew! jack nods to him when locke is being picked up from his seat. plus there's the brilliant scene in lost & found. :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yes, this is true ... good call. But why the later date? I can't imagine a blopper like that!

    ReplyDelete
  3. From what I've heard via the producers--the "later date" on her sonogram was Claire's DUE date, not the current date! According to "Dr. Goodspeed" she didn't have to have the baby yet, so she was still a few weeks away!

    (Will comment on the rest of it later--just wanted to share that bit!)

    ReplyDelete