LOST Episode 6.04 “The Substitute” [Open Thread]

Episode Threads, Season 6 View Comments

Official synopsis: Locke goes in search of help to further his cause.
Written by: Elizabeth Sarnoff & Melinda Hsu.
Directed by: Tucker Gates.

What did you think of tonight’s episode? Tell us in comments below!

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  • jklocke
    since we knew the numbers now!!!! from where the hell Dhrama got the numbers to be the code on the saving the world computer??
  • Yorick
    Why is everyone giving that much attention to Kate not having a number? I actually think Kate has a special role to fullfill. Kate seemed to remember stuff regarding the island back in 2004. Where as Locke, Ben, Hurley and Rose seemed like they didn't.

    What was most shocking to me was the fact that all-knowing advisor Richard changed into someone just as in dark as all our losties are. Running out of the bushes scared convincing Sawyer to come with him, then again running as Flocke returns. Flocke indicating that Richard had no idea what working for Jacob all those years have meant. Wow!
  • Loved the episode.

    Did anybody notice how when Locke's in the tub and him and Helen are talking about their wedding she mentions Locke's dad?
    So they have a good relationship now?
  • Facu
    Cool episode.
    About the numbers, I think that it's not the characters defined the numbers, the numbers defined who were the candidates among those guys.
    Remember that the numbers were being heard a lot of years ago, so it would be strange that all the other names were crossed recently.
    I think that Jacob chose these 6 guys among all those names based on the numbers, that come from somewhere else.
  • 000rl
    i think that the kid is Aaron, he doesn t look like a three years old becuse kids appear older in the island, like when locke saw walt and said he looks older.
  • united_ron
    loved this episode after last weeks slightly disappointing one!

    love the whole concept of fate in the flashsideways. kate helping claire, christian going missing. thought it was rly interesting that helen told locke to get her parents and his dad and go to vegas. can we assume that lockes father never paralysed him and they had a realationship and he was paralysed in some other way, so fate always had him ending up in a wheelchair?

    found the Smokey/Sawyer scenes most interesting! funny how alpert couldnt see the kid but saywer could, reminded me of shannon seeing walt! Smokey talked bout being trapped as well and wanting to go home off the island. i have a theory that the man smokey could have been a candidate himself but started to question jacobs ways so jacob imprisoned him to stay on the island for eternity. this theory is on the lines of such religious themes this series, i.e lucifer and the fall in genesis.

    like the idea that its only men carved on the wall. maybe jacob touched kate because she had to come to the island and help shape the candidates (eg relationships with saywer and jack). or maybe it was because she murdered her father and jacob thought she wont be a suitable candidate? it was also strange how jacob touching the characters was a way of getting them to the island but didnt touch hurley and sayid until they were off the island, where they candidates before they crashed on 815?

    what a great episode though. flash sideways are being to come together! cant wait for next week!
  • Dan
    Partial theory here: As soon as Ilana put Jacob's ashes into the bag, I immediately thought of the Adam and Even skeletons with the pouch of rocks. Is it possible that the ashes become the white rock in the bag? A volcano was mentioned in season three. It could very well be the reason the Island sinks (taking into consideration the "epilogue reality" theory), and maybe the heat from the eruption crystallizes the ash? Hmm.
  • jLatino
    Awesome episode! My first thought when Locke was going over the list was where was Kate? He did touch her... So the woman not being protector theory makes sense. But he did touch Sun along with Jin too. Did anyone see Burke (Juliet)? Maybe this has something to do with women dying before giving birth on the island. Some kind of curse Jacob enacted to protect the island? Ugh... so good! BTW... Really, who would rather watch the Olympics than lost?
  • Samantha (staff)
    OK just rewatched the episode and had a thought during the conversation between Locke and Sawyer in the cave how Locke is saying that at some point Sawyer had to have met Jacob etc and since then Jacob had been pushing him to the island.. What if the battle between black and white and Jacob and MIB is really the battle between fate and free will and Jacob and MIB are personifications of those with Locke's explination Jacob would be fate hence MIB would be free will. Ok maybe that idea has been discussed and I missed it or maybe I am just too goofy but I thought I would throw it out there so have at it.
  • Which part of DO NOT TALK ABOUT THE PROMO FOR NEXT WEEK'S EPISODE don't you understand?

    ***

    Thanks for the theories and comments! I LOVED this episode!
  • adrian81
    A question I have not yet got an answer on that one: Why is the Smoke monster actually so "smoky"? Do you remember in season 2 and 3? The smoke monster then looked a lot darker, almost like black paint, not like smoke. There was that amazing scene in which Mr. Eko looked at the monster and it left again after a moment, but in that shot we saw a really black monster and it did not look like smoke. Is there an explanation? Is this only due to technical reasons? Would it be too expensive to have that black-paint effect or something?
  • george
    listen! i was right about that flashsideways(before the premiere i posted it here) and i think the candidate will be he/she who cares about the island. i dont think its sayid, jin,jack,kate,hurley noone. none of them cares about the island. the only person is ilana. she is crying when she knew he was dead, so it means they were close to each other, so i think she is his daughter. and we know when jacob goes to her in hospital and asks: will you help me? so i think the 14th episode is about ilana and it is called "the candidate" every character whose name was written down on the scale has his/her centric episode and it wont repeat. and the episode 6 is called sundown, lets remember the name of the episode six in season 1 "house of rising sun" and i think in this episode we will know the origins of "adam and eve". the kid which smokey chased is little jacob because he looks like him and says "you know the rules, you cant kill him". i think jacob and mib where friends: jacob was the guy who thought that island was special so i think some miracle happend. and mib was the person who didnt want do be on this island it means he had home and came on this island like jacob but he didnt believe in the islands speciality. they were to friends who found the island accidentaly i think and became(jacob) the "headmaster of the island). so as john locke and jack. the miracle happend to jacob as to locke and believed in islands speciality and jack who said:its an island john no-one needs to protect it(in season 4 finale). jacob start prooving him that he was wrong and brought that peorpe on this island which had personal(jack,kate,sawyer) and physical problems(rose and locke). i thought that after the season 5 finale( i swear). we see that the plane didnt crash but they met each other it means their destiny was to meet each other. so he/she who died on the island will die in the alternate timeline. everything will be like as it was on the island. we see the island is sank so i think in 2007 the volcano erupts(find the island map and see crater), the island energy will go out, so the (bright light) and travel in 2004 (where alternate timeline will be connected with the island timeline) where we see oceanic 815 flying above them (thats where it connects an they are in pennys boat) and they will land in los angeles safely. thats why there will be no spin-offs because the island is going to be destroyed. jack will die because: matthew fox said that he knows how does lost end and says that jack dies, so in this finale image jack isnt shown, so jack will die on the island in the finale and in alternate timeline. when i said that the oceanic 815 flying above them, i mean that they disappear and we will see them there where we stopped in alternate timeline but at that time its connected with island timeline. im not american and maybe i didnt explane my theory well. sorry !! its my own theory (i swear).
  • adrian81
    It's an interesting theory, mine is very similar. you're right, the fact that they said the show will definitely be over means the island is going to sink. What I also could imagine is that when the island did think that the flash-sideways will actually be the "real world" in which the Losties will continue to live. I just hope they all will remember who they are and what their island-past was, otherwise it would really be a pitty... What we don't know yet is actually what the endgame is. Why did Jacob choose the Losties? Why do all of them have a number? What is their destiny? If the island sinks, what good (if at all) will this do? Will they save the world by doing so?
  • adrian81
    Oh my god... I'm just so thrilled and amazed and absolutely stunned having just watched S6E04. First of all, they seem to continue to give three answers and only one new question, which is amazing.

    Further, there are so many things in this episode that are amazing, that ot's almost difficult to name all of them:

    -What an amazing camera perspective of Smoky flying through the jungle, that was wild...
    -Burying John Locke and Bens words - what an amazing moment! Those two characters still fascinate the audience even when one of them is dead!
    -answeromania: we now know more about the candidates, about the numbers and about "our" Losties. However: One should be really carfeul: What did we actually hear? Smoky's version of the whole thing. One mustn't forget that he said he once was a man before he turned into Smoky. So maybe there was a good reason why the smoke monster had to stay on the island. Can it be, that with "home" he meant the world outside the island? Was the island maybe his prison in order to keep humanity from disaster? Is the island something like a Pandora's box in which all the diseases are kept (=Smoky) and now that he freed himself he wants to go "home"?
    -Ben as a teacher is awesome! He had such a short appearance but together with Locke - oh dear, just the best two characters on Television, simply amazing...
    -And yes, in the Promo of next week Jacob seems to say that someone is coming to the island. I belive he meant those people he meant when saying: They are coming. Could it somehow be that it's our Losties from the other reality? Or simply some kind of an army? Another theory I have in mind: What about somone from outer Space? Remeber Jacob, when he said: It only ends once? Why did look up to the sky???
  • EkaterinaPervaya
    i like this episode......i waited it so long and i think its 10-perfect
  • As far as whether "Kwon" refers to Jin or Sun (or both), I'm going with Jin, because of that fact that they were not able to have a child off-island. Then Jacob got them to the island and they were able to conceive, however, Sun had to leave or else she and her baby would die. This is just telling me that Sun is not supposed to be on the island. She is supposed to be at home with Ji-Yeon.
  • holy "smokey" monster - 'the candidates" and "the recruits" lovely....more on that later
    so, no kate austen - not surprised - Mikhail told her she was 'not on the list'
    but he SAID Jarrah and Locke's name to them...(Par Avion)
    the smoke monster's army - the recruits and jacob's army - the candidates
    this is the war Widmore was talking about,
    and the "kid" in the jungle is reminding UnLocke about some of the 'rules' maybe?
    ====================================
    I wont even begin gushing about how I 'adore' what they are doing in the 'alt' universe!!!
  • J0HN_L0CKE
    Awesome!!!!!
  • Ram
    Did anyone else notice the picture behind Locke when he was talking to Rose about getting a job position? the picture was to the right of Locke's head and it looked exactly like desmond, with some other lady next to him, which looked very similar to Kate. If anyone else noticed this pic or could get a screen cap of it ide appreciate it. Thanks
  • miguel_lost
    hmmmm looks a bit like sawyer and kate outside a dharma house

    http://img199.imageshack.us/img199/6623/vlcsnap...
  • Ben Isaac
    Hey Ram,

    Thanks for the heads up, I looked through the scene and took a couple of screen caps:

    http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e11/Souzar/Lo...
    http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e11/Souzar/Lo...

    To me it looks like Nikki and Paulo, which would make sense because she was an actress and the posters are some sort of lame motivational thing.
  • nintendowarrior
    My theory on the blond kid is Jacob.
  • jstephane
    What about FLocke yelling don't tell me what I can't do? That is a very Locke thing to say, not a Smoke Monster/Man in Black type of things to say. Did he channel the real Locke from somewhen else? Notice he was on the ground, i.e. not able to use his legs, when he said that. Did he really not see the kid?
  • bob
    Gin is the candidate. That is why he flashed to 1977 and Sun didn't when ajira crashed. That's my theory anyway.
    Question - Why is kate not a candidate?

    Also this episode was way too slow. Just saying.
  • CT
    Ben's rant about the coffee filter was awesome. I half stood up and actually started to clap when I heard his voice in the flash sideways. I'm so glad that we're going to see more Ben/Locke scenes, even if it's in another reality.

    And while I'm praising Michael Emerson, how about that eulogy? So good. 10 out of 10, for sure.
  • Tangaroa
    Am I right in that some of the names on the ceiling had numbers and others DIDN'T? Did Locke's name have a number? If not, why not?
  • jstephane
    Locke is 4
  • Damon James
    Really great episode. I still hope we get to see "Esau" as himself but I love him as Locke. Still not into the whole flash sideways thing but everything else was amazing.
    I don't think that was a really definitive answer on what the numbers mean. Theirs obviously more to it (Valenzetti equation for starters)
    Best line of the night "it's an inside joke."
  • Here's a theory I have:

    I don't think there is a Man In Black.

    Hold your horses--listen to what I have to say. Seeing as we know that Smokey can assume the form of the dead, I think the guy we saw talking to Jacob in 'The Incident, Pt. 1' was just Smokey using a dead man's body ("Thank you, I just ate"), and Jacob just knew who he was.
  • lockedinlost
    I loved Smokey-Cam!
  • lockedinlost
    The blonde kid seemed to speak with authority.
  • lockedinlost
    I thought Aaron.
  • lostjunkie
    best episode of the season..so far. I wonder who will assume jacob's position. jack? jack vs locke showdown at the end? does that mean jacob knew he was going to die? and he needed a replacement? god damn im confused.
  • 4.8.15.16.23.42
    I totally think Hurley will be the new Jacob... He's the only one that loves the numbers so much.. But it definitely seems like the Temple wants Jack. AWESOME episode.
  • 5 Star
    Wow, that was a lot of new stuff, some answers, some new questions.
    At least we're getting closer to figuring out the philosophies between Jacob and the Man in Black:
    Jacob believed that the Island was worth protecting, while the MIB saw it as a prison.
    The numbers were interesting; I think theres still more to be explained but it was a nice shout out.
    The flash-sideways story was cool: maybe not a whole lot of answers but I think Locke, with Helen's help, will believe in miracles again and go see Jack.
    Finally, the kid: I'm thinking Aaron, Ethan (looks kinda like he did in Ben's flashback, even though the timings wrong), or a young Jacob (no idea how that would work). It's probably Aaron, explaining why he was special. How special I guess we'll have to wait to find out.
    Quote of the episode: "Jacob had a thing for numbers." ~ The Man in Black
  • ellipsis
    @Ryan Was she really not up there? There are 6 numbers and Jacob touched 6 people in the S5 finale (if you put Sun and Jin together as Flocke did).

    What I am wondering about is... what is the earliest year that we have heard the numbers? Is it 1977 when they are building the hatch?
  • Alexlife
    4 - Locke
    8 - Reyes
    15 - Ford
    16 - Jarrah
    23 - Shephard
    42 - Kwon

    Kate is not in this 6 numbers but maybe she was written on the wall and then crossed out.
    In the Season 5 finale Jacob touched more than 6 people...
  • Jules
    He touched 8 people...I keep wondering where Kate is in all of this though, since she is part of the group that "isnt supposed to die." Is Kate #108?
  • indra
    It just occured to me that Sun and Kate were the only ones who got back to island solely on their own decision - Sun to find Jin, and Kate to find Claire. All others were forced (Sayid) or talked into (Hugo, Jack) returning to the island. So maybe Jacob cared only about getting the guys back?
  • Ryan
    I don't think so - Jack, Sayid, Sun/Jin, Hurley, Ford and Locke...?? Don't get it
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