OK, there are elements of this episode that were just amazing on a high level. It was, in some respects, a brilliant final season episode, tying up certain elements of hanging story arcs; however, it also proved to have several glaring weaknesses.
We’ll start with the weaknesses. Even to the most diehard of LOST fans, the coincidences have got to be growing tiresome. In this case, we’ve got the previously disclosed connection of Locke ending up in Ben’s school; however, we’ve also been presented with Doc Artz as Ben’s sidekick coworker and Alex Rousseau as his star pupil. My problem with this is that we don’t, at least on its face, have some form of driving force causing course corrections or causing the players to gravitate together. With the Island sinking that impetus has been vanquished. So the players coming together again is truly just coincidence… unless we see some driving force at the terminus of the off-Island timeline.
Ben-centric episodes have been, to date, quite excellent. Despite a few faults, this followed that pattern.
It’s actually well stated by Richard Alpert when he expresses to Jack that his dedication of his life to Jacob was for naught and all without meaning. We’ll ignore, for a moment, that Jack convinces Richard that his life still has meaning and that Jacob’s missions have a purpose by lighting a stick of dynamite that doesn’t go off. Richard has become an Island atheist and yet he still acknowledges the powers of the Island — Richard believes and perhaps knows that he cannot kill himself. We previously saw this from Michael, who the MIB (presumably) similarly kept alive until releasing him on the Telmarine freighter with a visit from Christian Shephard. That Michael was permitted to die via explosion in the hold of the freighter and that Richard was not permitted to do so in the hold of the slaver “Black Rock” was a very nice bit.
The questioning of meaning also is important for the purposes of the show in general. LOST fans have been conditioned (often times without evidence) that every little element of the show has a purpose, in Joycean fashion. If that weren’t the case, Doc Jensen couldn’t pen long essays and fans wouldn’t tune in and replay episodes with such fervor.
With that in mind I turn to our introduction to Dr. Linus the European history PhD. His lecture to his class is on Napoleon’s exile and that the isle of Elba was truly the Emperor’s end. Although granted free reign on the island, he had been stripped of his power, his meaning and his focus. On the Island in the original timeline, Ben is Napoleon… but an emperor still in name only. He’s completely impotent, hiding from his act of betrayal and anger at Jacob. He is also a leader without a people.
More discussion and some quick hits from the episode, after the jump. Read more…
