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As the final season moves forward, so do our characters, both on island and off. So far, we’ve seen that the sinking of the island in the flash sideways has changed many things in the lives of our Losties. Hurley is no longer cursed, Locke is getting married, Sun isn’t married (or is she? What are your thoughts?) But this week, we were exposed to the biggest change we’ve seen thus far. In addition, this is the first episode of the season that truly feels like Season One to me. It’s as if we are being reintroduced to the characters we fell in love with nearly six years ago.

Off Island:

Back in 2004, we join Jack Shephard at home. He’s just got of work and is changing his clothes when he draws our attention to a scar on his abdomen. I immediately think about Juliet’s removal of his appendix on the island. While he contemplates his scar, the phone rings. It’s Mom. She tells him he had his appendix removed when he was 7 or 8-years-old. He ‘guesses’ that he remembers, but he doesn’t seem convinced. Realizing the time, Jack tells his mother he has to go.

Where is he going, you ask? To St. Mary’s Academy, where a young boy waits for him. As Jack apologizes for being late, the boy heads off the way Jack came, obviously upset.

Jack: Sorry, David. Okay?
David: Okay, Dad.

As Jack and David arrive home, Jack attempts to have a conversation with his son. It’s apparent that David is not interested, they do not appear to have the greatest father-son relationship, much to Jack’s dismay. Stopping Jack’s attempt to bond, he is called away to his mother’s house to assist in locating Christian Shephard’s will.

At his parent’s house, Jack helps his mother, Margo, look through his late father’s documents. Growing more and more frustrated, Margo takes a break for a drink. She offers a drink to Jack, who politely declines. (Did you notice the bottle of McCutcheon 60?) As Jack and Margo continue their search, they discuss father-son relationships. Margo compares Jack’s relationship with his father to his relationship with David, reminding him that Christian had a hard time getting conversation out of Jack, just as Jack’s having the same trouble with David. But Jack disagress, claiming that he was terrified of Christian. Suggesting that maybe David is terrified of Jack, Margo recommends that he talk to his son and to be forthcoming.

After a few minutes, Margo finally locates Christian Shepard’s last will and testament. She sits down at the large desk and begins to look over the document. Coming across something in the paperwork, Margo asks Jack if he knows a Claire Littleton.

Arriving back at home with pizza and soda, Jack finds that David has left. After waiting for a little while, Jack decides to check David’s mother’s house. While David is not there, Jack takes a look around his room, taking a moment to inspect sheet music and photos of Jack and David together. Checking the answering machine in his room, he discovers that David had an audition scheduled for that very night.

Jack drives to Williams Conservatory, where David is auditioning. He makes it just in time to catch the last bit of David’s performace and is nearly moved to tears by his son’s talent. As David finishes and Jack waits, who do we meet? None other than…

Outside the conservatory, David walks to his bike when Jack walks up and tells him he was great during his audition. David is surprised that his father saw him. They begin to discuss why David hid his interest in music and he confesses that he didn’t want to disappoint Jack. Jack quickly sees that his relationship with his son isn’t that much different than his relationship with Christian. He needs to make it clear that he does not expect greatness from David, contrary to the greatness Jack’s father demanded in him.

Jack: You know, when I was your age, my father didn’t want to see me fail, either. He used to say to me that…he said that I didn’t have what it takes. Spent my whole life carrying that around with me. I don’t ever want you to feel that way. I will always love you. No matter what you do, in my eyes, you can never fail. I just want to be a part of your life.

In all honesty, I teared up. It was touching. I can’t wait to find out how Jack and David’s relationship continues to form and what David’s place in LOST is all about.

On Island:

We last saw Jack with Dogen inside the temple. He just found out that Sayid has been claimed by a darkness, just as Claire was so many years ago. The pill Dogen tried to convince Jack to give Sayid contains poison. Sayid is no longer Sayid and must die.

This week, we find Jack standing outside the temple, staring into a pond of water. As he stares at his reflection, he takes in all he’s learned in the past few hours. Dogen joins him, confessing that he was afraid Jack had left the temple. Mildly amused by the thought, Jack asks if leaving is even an option. Dogen explains that “everything is an option” but he would have to stop Jack should attempt to leave. Jack appreciates Dogen’s honesty.

Inquiring about Kate, Sawyer and Jin, Dogen asks Jack if they are coming back. He’s convinced that they are not coming back and Jack confirms, saying that no, they probably aren’t coming back. Dogen now appreciates Jack’s honesty. Either the men are forming a mutual respect for each other, or Dogen is playing Jack, which we know the Others are good at.

Meanwhile, Miles and Hurley play a giant game of tic-tac-toe when they decide it’s lunchtime. Entering the temple in search of a kitchen, Hurley finds Jacob knelt by the spring. He needs Hurley’s help. Someone is coming to the island and Hurley’s going to help them find it.

Outside, Sayid approaches Jack. Sayid asks why the Others are all staring at him. Jack tells him to ignore the Others. But Sayid knows something is going on. He recaps; the Others told him he was infected, then they give Jack a pill for him to take, which Jack tells him NOT to take, then Jack disappears. Sayid wants answers and demands, “What are you hiding from me?”

Jack: The pill was poison. They wanted me to kill you. Whatever happened to you Sayid, they say it happened to someone else…
Sayid: Who?

More on Claire and Jin in a bit. First, we’re going to join Hurley on his quest to complete Jacob’s mission. In a dark hall in the temple, Hurley follows Jacob’s instructions, which are written on his forearm. Searching the walls, we see numerous hieroglyphics etched in the stone. Finding the right one, Hurley moves to touch it when he is abruptly interuppted by Dogen, who wants to know what he’s doing. He tells Hurley that he shouldn’t be here and to go back to the courtyard. Suddenly, Jacob appears to help Hurley out of the hot seat.

Jacob: Tell him you can do what you want…Tell him you’re a candidate.
Hurley: (reluctantly) I’m a candidate and I can do what I want.
Dogen: Who told you that?
Hurley: Doesn’t matter. Why don’t you go back to the courtyard?
Dogen: (speaks in Japanese)
Hurley: (whispering to Jacob) What did he say?
Jacob: You don’t want to know.

Oh how I laughed during this scene. It is, without a doubt, my favorite scene in the episode. I just can’t help but absolutely adore Hurley’s character. I have a feeling Hurley’s going to play a big part in how this story ends.

Moving on… Jacob wants to know what Hurley’s doing in the tunnel. Hurley explains that he’s going through the secret passage, just as Jacob instructed him to. Jacob reminds him that he must bring Jack with him, he can’t do it alone. Frustrated, Hurley tells Jacob, “You ever tried to get Jack to do something? It’s like, impossible.” But Jacob has his ways.

Hurley approaches Jack, telling him to ‘be cool’ and ‘act natural’. He tells Jack that Jacob told him about a secret passageway to the jungle and that they need to go. Jack declines, stating that he’s not going anywhere. Knowing that he would say that, Jacob instructed Hurley to tell Jack, “Do you have what it takes?”

This piques Jack’s interest, as it was something his father always said to him. He now realizes that Jacob knows a lot more than he expected and Jack wants to meet Jacob. Telling him that Jacob will be where they are going, Hurley convinces Jack to come along.

As they trek through the jungle, Jack and Hurley find Kate, who declares that she is on a mission to find Claire. Jack tells Kate that, according to the Others, something has happened to Claire. Declining an offer to join the guys, Kate stays determined to find Claire. She takes her leave from the men, who continue their journey.

Jack and Hurley find themselves at a cave, the same cave the Losties lived in during parts of Season One. We see that the ‘Adam & Eve’ skeletons are still there and Hurley makes a curious comment about them.

Hurley: What if we time-travelled again, to like, dinosaur times? And then we died and we got buried here? What if these skeletons are us?

Jack doesn’t hear Hurley. He’s too busy staring at the broken remains of his father’s casket. He confesses to Hurley that he found the cave while he was “chasing the ghost of my dead father.”

Jack: He led me here. That was his coffin, before I smashed it to pieces.
Hurley: Why’d you do that?
Jack: Because he wasn’t in it.

The two continue their expidition through the jungle. Hurley asks why Jack came back to the island. Jacks explains, “I came back here because I was broken. And I was stupid enough to think this place could fix me.” Hurley apologizes to Jack, but Jack just wants to keep moving. Soon they come up on an old lighthouse.

Up high in the lighthouse, Hurley begins to pull a chain that moves a set of mirrors around in a circle. Hurley tells Jack to tell him when the indicator reaches 108°. As the dial begins to move, we see it passing numbers on its way to 108. Each number has a name written next to it. Next to 108 is the name Wallace, crossed out.

Jack also notices that different locations are appearing in the mirror as the wheel turns. First he catches a glimpse of what appears to be a Japanese temple. Next we see the top of a church and tells Hurley to stop turning the dial. He notices the names next to the numbers and soon finds his own (which is nearby Rousseau.)

When Hurley hesitates to turn the wheel to 23°, Jack grabs the dial and turns it until the indicator stops at Shephard. Looking into the mirrors, Jack sees the house in which he grew up, a house he hasn’t lived in since he was a child. He quickly realizes that Jacob’s been watching all of them for a long time and he becomes angry.

He asks Hurley where Jacob is, but Hurley doesn’t know, which frustrates Jack even more. Poor Hurley bears the brunt of Jack’s rage until Jack finally takes his anger out on the lighthouse mirrors, shattering them one by one.

After leaving the lighthouse, Jack perches on the edge of a cliff and watches the ocean. Hurley is soon approached by Jacob, who doesn’t appear to be upset about the incident inside the lighthouse. He explains that the person he was trying to help get to the island will find another way. Hurley is confused, but very quickly realizes that Jacob wanted Jack to see what was shown to him. Jacob admits that it was the only way for Jack to see how important he is.

Hurley: That was your plan? I think it backfired, man.
Jacob: Jack is here because he has to do something. He can’t be told what that is, he’s gotta find it himself. Sometimes you can just hop in the back of someone’s cab and tell them what they’re supposed to do. Other times, you have to let ‘em look out at the ocean for a while.

When Hurley asks why Jacob didn’t just tell him what he wanted up front, Jacob says he couldn’t risk them not leaving the temple. Jacob wanted them far away because someone is coming to the temple, someone bad. Hurley moves to go warn them, but Jacob tells him it’s too late.

Elsewhere on the Island, Claire tends to Jin. But not before she makes sure the Others that were threatening him are dead, which they appear to be. Releasing Jin from the trap, he asks her how long she’s been out in the jungle. She tells him that she’s been out there since ‘you all left’. Three long years Claire has been running feral in the jungle.

Claire says she needs to get Jin somewhere safe, but when Jin stands up, he faints and drops to the ground. When he wakes up, he is alone at Claire’s camp with a mangled leg. As he pulls himself up, he notices a box of dynamite and used medical clamps. Using an oar, he investigates the makeshift room and very quickly notices a baby’s bassinet, which doesn’t hold a precious little baby, but a creepy animal skeleton covered with a baby blanket. Gross.

It appears our dear, sweet Claire is having some issues. Jin hears Claire coming back and quickly lies himself back down, tossing the oar aside. Claire arrives at the camp with Justin, the Other that tried to convince Aldo not to kill Jin. Sadly, his future doesn’t look so good with his life in Claire’s hands. She ties him up, saying they get to talk about where the Others are hiding Aaron.

After securing Justin to a post, Claire gathers the medical supplies to be sanitized. Jin asks her if she’s alone in the jungle, to which Claire replies that she’s not and leaves the shelter. Alone with Jin, Justin begs for Jin to untie him and let him free, claiming that Claire will kill them both if they don’t escape. Jin doesn’t buy it. He knows Claire. At least, he thinks he does.

Claire soon comes back into the shelter to stitch up Jin’s leg, apologizing that he got caught in her trap. Jin inquires about her living situation, asking her if she’s been there the entire time they’ve been gone. She explains that she’s had to move around because of the Others, claiming that she’s lucky she’s still alive. All she wants is to know where Aaron is; she knows the Others took him, a charge Justin denies is true. When Jin asks how she can be so sure, she replies that her father and her ‘friend’ both told her the Others have Aaron.

Jin: Your friend? Who’s your friend?
Claire: My friend. You’re still my friend, aren’t you Jin?
Jin: Yes. Yes, of course.
Claire: Good. I’m glad.

The small talk soon ends when Claire picks up a nearby ax, which she just finished sharpening, and directs her attention to Justin, telling him it’s his turn. As Claire begins her interrogation of Justin, it doesn’t take long for her anger to begin building and when her anger finally boils over, she swings the axe back, ready to strike. Jin tries to stop her from killing Justin, but Claire’s not convinced Justin is worth keeping alive. She explains that she was taken to the temple and tortured with needles and branding, much like Sayid experienced not long ago. In a last ditch effort to save Justin, Jin blurts out that Kate took Aaron with her when she left the island and has been caring for him for the last three years. Justin sees his opportunity and tries to convince Claire into freeing him. But she’s not listening. With a heavy swing, she slams the axe blade into Justin’s chest.

Jin is disturbed by Claire’s recent kill. Claire justifies her actions by claiming that if she didn’t kill Justin, he would have killed her. Claire wonders why Jin said Kate was raising Aaron. Jin lies to her and tells her that he was only saying that to try and save Justin’s life. He tells Claire that she is right. The Others have Aaron. He lies to Claire even further, telling her that he saw Aaron at the temple. He tells her that she needs him to get into the temple through a secret passage. Claire is relieved.

Claire: Thank you, Jin. Thank you. I’m so glad to know you were lying. Because if what you said was the truth, if Kate was raising Aaron…I’d kill her.

Suddenly, New Locke appears.

New Locke: Am I interrupting?
Jin: John?
Claire: That’s not John. This is my friend.

Thoughts on Lighthouse

With this episode came the realization that I don’t like on-island Jack. Frankly, he’s a jerk. Perhaps he has a right to be, but what has poor Hurley ever done to him? I mean, seriously? On the other hand, I really like our flash sideways Jack and his father role. But I have to ask…do you think Sarah is David’s mother? Was Jack able to save her after not being touched by Jacob this time around? Is there a chance that Jacob’s touch is was brought Sarah and Jack together? Their pairing by Jacob could have prevented the relationship with David’s mother. I think I might be looking a little too much into this, but what fun is it if I skimp on my theories just because I think they’re far-fetched?

And what about Christian’s will? I forsee Jack and Margo finding Claire and helping her raise her baby. Not such a long shot with this one, eh?

Back on-island, I’m leaning towards the theories that Wallace – 108 is irrelevant. I could be, and quite possibly am, wrong, but his name was crossed out. Is there any other reason to bring him, or her, to the island other than candidacy? Or is Jacob recruiting even those that are not eligible candidates? I believe the lighthouse dial was more to show us how Jacob knows so much about our Losties. And did you see the Japanese temple? I am theorizing that Dogen was not on the Black Rock, as I previously suspected. He was brought to the island just like everyone else. And I believe he arrived on the island after 1977. If he had arrived any earlier, how would he be present in L.A. in 2004? Did we just catch a glimpse of Dogen Yamada’s life? (Yamada was the name next to number 114. Check out the picture above. It was right after this shot that we saw the temple.) If this is true, why is Dogen no longer a candidate??

I’m glad to see that Claire is searching for her baby, but I think New Locke has more to do with this than first expected. He’s using the missing baby to drive Claire’s anger, but I don’t think it’s always been this way. I believe MIB waited until Aaron was off the island to begin drilling the prospect of finding him with the Others into her head. Just a thought.

Also during this episode, we see that Claire went through the same ‘diagnosis’ that Sayid experienced. She says the Others took her to the temple and tortured her. So, if they took her to the temple to test her, how did she become infected? I’m inclined to believe it wasn’t at the spring. And I’m also wondering if Sayid is indeed possessed by darkness…or light.

One last thing to mention (finally, right?!) before I wrap up with my favorite quotes. Why did Jin lie to Claire? Did he do it to protect Kate? In my opinion, no. He is trying to get Claire to take him back to the temple. The question is, why? For Claire to protect him from the Others? Or vice versa?

Favorite Quotes:

Dogen: What are you doing?
Hurley: Nothin’. Just, you know…looking. ‘Cause I’m a big fan of…temples and, like, history. Indiana Jones stuff.

Hurley: Okay, it’s bad enough you already made me write down way too much stuff…and I just lied to a Samurai.

Jack: Does it say anything on your arm about the door being jammed?

Jacob: You got ink on your forehead.
Hurley: I have ink on my forehead? That’s all you have to say? Jack broke your lighthouse, dude! Mission unaccomplished!

And that’s all I got. Like you would want more. Ha!

Until next week, Namaste!

Related posts:

1. LOST 6.05 Lighthouse Live Reaction/Recap Video
2. The Substitute – LOST 6.04 Recap by Erin
3. What Kate Does – LOST 6.03 Recap by Erin

Tags: Episode 6.05, Erin, Hurley, Jack, Jacob, recaps&reviews, Season 6