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Comme un boomerang
Spoilerish thoughts on "Sundown" under the cut...
Apparently Not!Locke's is gathering a confederacy of killers around him (James, Sayid, Kate, Claire, they are all killers)while on Jacob's side we've got people" who may have caused death but never murdered anyone (Jack, Hugo).
Jin pretends to be on Claire's side, but he might leave Not!Locke's group. Did Jin ever kill anyone? I am not sure. He did some dirty work for Sun's father, he beat people, but did it go to murder?
Ilana is Jacob's girl but some of her followers do have blood on their hands (Ben at least)...so they will either split or it's going to be a key element.
Because I think I've figured it out!
Lost isn't about Good vs Evil; the obvious two teams thing is nothing but a mislead IMO(well, I hope so). It isn't about what people are (because there's so much ambiguity in all the characters)but about what they think they are, how they see themselves. It's all about the characters, not about the external stuff. The island and its mythology, the games, the time-travel, the pseudo-scientific stuff, the poetical licences, the alternate universes, the whole mystery, it isn't what matters; they are plot devices to tell something about the characters and their journey.
Lost is about people who think they are good and right(Like Jacob or Not!Locke, or Claire, or the Dharma people or Mr Friendly and many of the Others like Eloïse) and people who'd like to be good but deep down think that they are not good...like Ben (hence his touching eulogy to Locke) or James/Sawyer (hence his borrowing the alias of the bad man who caused his parents' death and his sending Kate away)or Juliet, or of course Sayid, so they embraced the dark side, thinking it's too late for them, thinking they are no redemption for what they did anyway.
No matter what Sayid told Dogen or what Alt!Sayid told Omer, he doesn't think he is a good man. The altverse was pretty clear about it, Sayid thought he didn't deserve Nadia so he pushed her towards the good brother, Omer––by the way Sayid reminded me of Juliet in the episode, she also did a lot of things for her beloved ones (her sister first, James later); Sayid tried to be a good man for a while, struggling against the demons of his past,but eventually he resigned himself to being a killer in both universes. It's like he quit struggling and accepted his fate.
So did Dogen eventually when he let go the baseball...
Characters like Not!Locke don't resign themselves to fate hence his using Locke's signature"Don't tell me what I can't do!". Jacob didn't resign to fate either. He kept looking for new candidates and bringing them to the island.
What does Kate think of herself? It's hard to say because she mostly reacts to situation to get herself out of trouble...but I rather think that she belongs to the first group. She has done questionable things, and she may have had moments of introspection in the first seasons, but I think she believes that she is right and good hence her attraction to Jack who embodies her idea of a good guy, or her coming back to the island in order of getting Claire and Aaron reunited. She talked herself into doing the right thing. But what is good to one is bad to others.
"Sundown" wasn't the best episode we had so far this season but the ending was powerful, and it was nice to see Keamy again (and I was so not surprised to see that Jin, former hench man, was in the hands of Keamy's guys too!). The episode was based on the metaphor of the boomerang, a dangerous toy that alt!Sayid brought from Australia to his nephew. The dagger that Dogen gave Sayid was another avatar of the weapon, since Sayid used it to slit Lennon's throat in the temple. Dogen caused his son's death because he had drunk too much...so his death by drowning made sense (apart from having his men drown Sayid to save him of course).
I wonder if the show will use the boomerang as a metaphor for the whole characters' journey and follow it to the end, and if then, in the finale, we'll find ourselves back to the first scene from the pilot.
Nota Bene: the episode was also very Asian-oriented. I hadn't realised until now how many Asian characters/actors we had on Lost: Jin and Sun, Sayid and his family or foes, Miles, Dogen.
ETA: Where is my Desmond, damnit?! I miss him.
How did Dogen prevent the Smoke Monster from entering the temple. The ashes were symbolical, it's Dogen who were the real fence. What was so special about him?
Where was James? Shouldn't he be with not!Locke? Or is he taking care of his buddy, Jin?
Can Not!Locke really give Sayid what he wants? Like resurrecting Shannon maybe? After all she died in his arms too...
Where is Walt? The dog always knew better than anyone.
Apparently Not!Locke's is gathering a confederacy of killers around him (James, Sayid, Kate, Claire, they are all killers)while on Jacob's side we've got people" who may have caused death but never murdered anyone (Jack, Hugo).
Jin pretends to be on Claire's side, but he might leave Not!Locke's group. Did Jin ever kill anyone? I am not sure. He did some dirty work for Sun's father, he beat people, but did it go to murder?
Ilana is Jacob's girl but some of her followers do have blood on their hands (Ben at least)...so they will either split or it's going to be a key element.
Because I think I've figured it out!
Lost isn't about Good vs Evil; the obvious two teams thing is nothing but a mislead IMO(well, I hope so). It isn't about what people are (because there's so much ambiguity in all the characters)but about what they think they are, how they see themselves. It's all about the characters, not about the external stuff. The island and its mythology, the games, the time-travel, the pseudo-scientific stuff, the poetical licences, the alternate universes, the whole mystery, it isn't what matters; they are plot devices to tell something about the characters and their journey.
Lost is about people who think they are good and right(Like Jacob or Not!Locke, or Claire, or the Dharma people or Mr Friendly and many of the Others like Eloïse) and people who'd like to be good but deep down think that they are not good...like Ben (hence his touching eulogy to Locke) or James/Sawyer (hence his borrowing the alias of the bad man who caused his parents' death and his sending Kate away)or Juliet, or of course Sayid, so they embraced the dark side, thinking it's too late for them, thinking they are no redemption for what they did anyway.
No matter what Sayid told Dogen or what Alt!Sayid told Omer, he doesn't think he is a good man. The altverse was pretty clear about it, Sayid thought he didn't deserve Nadia so he pushed her towards the good brother, Omer––by the way Sayid reminded me of Juliet in the episode, she also did a lot of things for her beloved ones (her sister first, James later); Sayid tried to be a good man for a while, struggling against the demons of his past,but eventually he resigned himself to being a killer in both universes. It's like he quit struggling and accepted his fate.
So did Dogen eventually when he let go the baseball...
Characters like Not!Locke don't resign themselves to fate hence his using Locke's signature"Don't tell me what I can't do!". Jacob didn't resign to fate either. He kept looking for new candidates and bringing them to the island.
What does Kate think of herself? It's hard to say because she mostly reacts to situation to get herself out of trouble...but I rather think that she belongs to the first group. She has done questionable things, and she may have had moments of introspection in the first seasons, but I think she believes that she is right and good hence her attraction to Jack who embodies her idea of a good guy, or her coming back to the island in order of getting Claire and Aaron reunited. She talked herself into doing the right thing. But what is good to one is bad to others.
"Sundown" wasn't the best episode we had so far this season but the ending was powerful, and it was nice to see Keamy again (and I was so not surprised to see that Jin, former hench man, was in the hands of Keamy's guys too!). The episode was based on the metaphor of the boomerang, a dangerous toy that alt!Sayid brought from Australia to his nephew. The dagger that Dogen gave Sayid was another avatar of the weapon, since Sayid used it to slit Lennon's throat in the temple. Dogen caused his son's death because he had drunk too much...so his death by drowning made sense (apart from having his men drown Sayid to save him of course).
I wonder if the show will use the boomerang as a metaphor for the whole characters' journey and follow it to the end, and if then, in the finale, we'll find ourselves back to the first scene from the pilot.
Nota Bene: the episode was also very Asian-oriented. I hadn't realised until now how many Asian characters/actors we had on Lost: Jin and Sun, Sayid and his family or foes, Miles, Dogen.
ETA: Where is my Desmond, damnit?! I miss him.
How did Dogen prevent the Smoke Monster from entering the temple. The ashes were symbolical, it's Dogen who were the real fence. What was so special about him?
Where was James? Shouldn't he be with not!Locke? Or is he taking care of his buddy, Jin?
Can Not!Locke really give Sayid what he wants? Like resurrecting Shannon maybe? After all she died in his arms too...
Where is Walt? The dog always knew better than anyone.
no subject
Now that you mention this it makes me think of something that's bothered me about goody goody Jack for some time. He would have killed Locke at one point...but when he pulled the trigger, the gun was empty. The intent was there (unless I'm misreading that scene) so IMO he's no better than the others.
no subject
I guess, that the show clearly stated that anybody, even the best ones, may in certain circumstances become killer though (even Jack could have...).
In the flashback verse, Kate and James were the only murderers I think (Sayid was only a torturer), the others may have caused death but they didn't murder (unless Jin did?), but in the island verse (or in the flashforwards) they almost all became killers. Even Locke killed the girl sent by Widmore (don't remember her name). Sun killed the blonde girl on Desmond's boat.
I don't remember Hugo murdering anyone. Do you?
no subject
Soren Kierkegaard's Fear and Trembling (it was the French translation, Crainte et Tremblement in the cave), which presents a provocative interpretation of the Binding of Isaac by Abraham story as told in Genesis Chapter 22, and uses the story as an occasion to discuss fundamental issues in moral philosophy and the philosophy of religion, such as the nature of God and faith, faith's relationship with ethics and morality, and the difficulty of being authentically religious. Several story lines are explored in which Abraham killed Isaac.
So too is LOST a test of faith? To be ordered by your god and follow with intent to do something beyond what should be your comprehension of good, to that of evil. Already Ben has failed that test and killed Jacob. And others have succumbed in a like manner and been truly LOST.
Kierkegaard also considers a "Knight of Faith" who reliquishes everything having the faith (in the absurd) that he will get it back and contrasts him with the "knight of infinite resignation" who gives up everything for the infinite and yet mourns his loss for eternity. Jacob is that Knight of Faith and the Man in Black/Monster is the Knight of Infinite Resignation? Or the other way round... or something else? I don't know....
I think those we see with the MIB/Faux!Locke/SmokeMonster which we see as evil are 'knights of infinite resignation.' They've given up something which they would mourn for an eternity. For instance, James/Sawyer gave up his youth, his name, and even Juliet. Kate has relinquished every relationship she ever had. Claire foresook her own sanity when she walked away from Aaron. Sayid gave up his love, but perhaps more than anything he gave up his humanity. And they all mourn their relinquishments and this causes them to give up even more.
It is interesting on the other hand that Ben has always been a 'knight of faith' except in one instant. He's always chosen a path that leads to hope even if that path means a necessary evil (killing his father and the Dharma people, killing Locke in LA). On the other hand he forsook hope when he killed Jacob at the behest of his 'god' - the supposed John Locke (the act comparable to Abraham killing Isaac). Ben had a choice and saw no hope thus chose the way of the 'knights of infinite resignation.' But even so I believe that Ben has seen that error and while not finding hope, does have faith that he will. That is the beginning of the road to redemption.
Others too are 'knights of faith.' Despite Locke telling Jack that he was only a man of science and not of faith, Jack has always had faith that he would be rescued. And after that he had the faith that he should return and set things right on the island. Others with faith, Hugo, Jin & Sun (especially for their relationship). I'll stop there.... I have to go watch the episode!
no subject
Have you watched the episode now?
no subject
It is interesting that Sayid joined Faux!Locke as a 'knight of faith' - faith in the absurd proposition that Faux!Locke could reunite him with his wife. I still have hope for Sayid. Even if he killed Dogen. What Dogen did might have been a way of forcing Sayid to work in a specific way, but that his faith might yet bring him to do what must be done for the Island.
Moreover, I am sure now that it is not just one person that is important but all of them, and how they work together. We saw that with the bomb.... I think we will see it again in the furture. The 815 Losties must reunite to fight for the Island.
no subject
Not!Locke and Jacob are quite the same in the way they manipulate people and in the faith that they are both right.
no subject
ETA: Where is my Desmond, damnit?! I miss him.
I miss Desmond, too! In fact, I miss him so much I rewatched all the main Desmond-centric episodes of the series last week. He's had some great episodes! But The Constant still remains my favourite Lost episode of all time.
I hope we get to see more of him before the series ends.
no subject
"The Constant" is a pure gem, writing-wise and so romantic. The ending scene between Penny and Desmond on the phone is perfect and sounds like an opera, as if there were singing together.