The blast door map in this episode got me thinking about the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, specifically their hit song "Maps." After all, it's easy to think of Locke screaming, "Wait, they don't love you like I love you!" to Helen, isn't it? Or pleading, "Wait, why don't you love me like I love you?" to Anthony Cooper. This assumes, Lost fans, that you can imagine a musical episode of Lost. Which, while amusing in theory, is something I hope never occurs. I'm fine with frozen donkey wheels in my Lost cereal; I just don't want Rose and Bernard to go all Captain & Tennille on us.

Lockdown

4) In Short

"Blacklight? Are we in a hatch or a dorm room?"

8) On the Island

Jack asks Henry to draw the map to the balloon again. Henry says he just made a stupid joke about the trap, and apologizes. Jack's having none of it, and orders Locke to put Henry back in the armory. Henry once again brings up the fact that Jack gives the orders while Locke merely takes them, which spurs Locke into angry action. He grabs Henry by the shirt and locks him back in the armory.

Sayid is yelling at Ana Lucia: it's been three hours and they haven't found one trace of the balloon. Sayid congratulates Ana Lucia on giving Henry another 48 hours to plot his escape. However, Charlie has found something: a makeshift grave. As they examine it, Ana Lucia notices that it's not raining in that particular part of the jungle. They look up, and find the balloon above them.

On the beach, Jack asks Hurley about Ana Lucia's location. Jack's frustrated by Hurley's lack of knowledge, but not as frustrated as Hurley is for being out of the loop. Libby asks Jack to tend to a sea urchin bite, noting that the current rate of exchange at Sawyer Pharmacy is pretty steep for something as simple as Neosporin. Jack eyes Sawyer with a plan in mind.

In the hatch, Locke works off his anger on an exercise bike, when he suddenly hears a strange voice over the jazz record he is playing. When he turns the music off, he hears strange static coming over the loudspeakers. Henry tries to ascertain the source of the noise, further annoying Locke. As the two argue, we hear the last eight seconds of a countdown, and then all the blast doors start to close. Locke manages to get a crowbar under one, preventing them from being completely trapped inside.

Back to the Island World Series of Poker, with Sawyer, Hurley, and Kate playing poker. Sawyer's egging Hurley on, trying to up the ante on the bet. Jack comes in and reveals quite a bit of knowledge about poker, then walks away. Annoyed, Sawyer tries to get Jack to enter the game itself. His plan having worked, Jack settles in "for a game or two."

After trying to wedge the door open, Locke sullenly announces that they are locked in. He tentatively asks Henry for help. Henry wants Locke's word that he'll protect him from the Lostaways, no matter what. Locke opens the door, and asks Henry his identity once last time. After Henry repeats the same details as always, Locke agrees.

Back at the poker game, Jack is cleaning up. After cleaning out Sawyer's fruit stash, Sawyer suggest they up the stakes. Kate, sick of the alpha male contest, leaves the men to their mano a mano struggle. Finally, Jack reveals what he really wants: the full medicine stash.

Henry and Locke successfully wedge the door open enough to slide the toolbox underneath. This leaves roughly 18'' inches of space, which is good enough for Locke. Unfortunately, it's not enough for the door, as the toolbox quickly gets crushed under the weight.  Henry eventually puts some of the weights from the hatch's home gym under the door to relieve the pressure. Henry says they'll simply wait until someone else comes. Locke suggests that they might not have that long.

Sawyer wants to know where Jack learned poker. Jack tells him "Phuket." Sawyer wants to know what Jack was doing in Thailand. (Sawyer: Dude, trust me, you do NOT want to know. It involves a kite and Bai Ling and oh look I'm bleeding from my face after smashing a rock into it repeatedly.) Jack quietly suggests that Sawyer deal again, having noted that Sawyer had stacked the deck during his Thai inquiry.

In the hatch, Locke has explained the computer to Henry. Henry's skeptical, but willing to help. Locke feeds the Numbers to him, and suggests Henry access the dome via the vents stemming from the pantry. However, as Henry tries to access the vent, he falls down, apparently knocking himself out.

Hurley is scoping the game through a pair of binoculars. Libby asks him what's going on. Hurley replies, "Jack and Sawyer are finally gonna beat each other up." Snicker.  Meanwhile, in-game, Jack finally shows smarts and savvy, the type of which had been lacking for the majority of Season 2. He bluffs his way into winning, at which point Sawyer asks why Jack didn't simply try and get the guns. Jack merely says that when he wants the guns, he'll get the guns. I know I'm often hard on the good doc, but he out-badasses Sawyer hardcore in this episode.

Henry slowly comes to his senses in the pantry, thanks to Locke's exhortations. We see Henry climb into the vents, then see Locke's face as the alarm sounds the one-minute mark. Locke helplessly cries out, and then it happens: the low whirring sound we last heard when Locke didn't press the button in time is heard, all the lights go out, and after a few seconds, a series of black lights reveals a hidden map on one of the blast doors. Locke stares at it wide-eyed for a few seconds, taking in as much as possible. Finally, the black lights flicker out, the normal lights return, and the blast doors recede into the ceiling. Damn. Who needs a drink?

Locke crawls into the dome, looking for Henry. He sees the clock at "107," but no one at the computer. Locke's shocked to see Henry behind him. "You came back," he said incredulously. Henry helps him to his feet, and Locke thanks him for not leaving him. I wanna say "awww" but we all know what's going on.

Kate follows Jack into the jungle that night, hoping to get into the hatch. Jack lies about a busted pipe in the hatch lest she find out about Henry. The two then spy a blinking light nearby, and walk over to it. Attached to the light is a giant parachute, below which is a pallet drop consisting of a copious amount of food. They wheel around to find Charlie, Ana Lucia, and Sayid. Jack asks them what they found.

In the hatch, Locke asks what Henry did to lift the doors. Henry said he did nothing, except push the button. At that moment, the Pallet Drop Group burst in, ordering Henry to back away from Locke. Henry fearfully asks if they found his balloon. Well, did they? Take it away, Sayid!

We did find your balloon, Henry Gale, exactly how you described it. We also found the grave you described -- your wife's grave. The grave you said you dug with your own bare hands. It was all there. Your whole story -- your alibi -- it was true. But still I did not believe it to be true. So I dug up that grave and found that there was not a woman inside. There was a man. A man named Henry Gale.

15) Off the Island

Locke unrolls a sock in his drawer, pulling out an engagement ring. Helen is surprised that he's packed a picnic lunch for the two of them. Locke suggests she let him take care of everything while she reads her favorite part of the paper: the obits. She's surprised to find Anthony Cooper's name in that section.

John and Helen watch the funeral from a comfortable distance. Helen suggests that picnic might be a better way to spend the day, but Locke wants to attend. As they sit adjacent to the coffin, Locke notices two things: a pair of thugs to his right, and a silver car to his left. Locke says, "I forgive you," over the coffin as the silver car drives away.

Locke is inspecting a home for, of all people, Nadia. After finishing the inspection, he notices the silver car again. As he walks over, who should be inside but Anthony Cooper. The two share an awkward drink at a local bar. Anthony reveals that those two men at the funeral are looking for the $700,000 that Cooper managed to con from them. Since these men are watching the bank in which Cooper stashed the cash, Cooper wants Locke to access the safe deposit box. In return, Cooper will give him $200K of the stash.

Because Locke is Anthony's little lapdog, he goes to the safety deposit box. Inside, as promised, is the cash. He returns to Helen, happy as a clam, when he finds the two thugs from the funeral. One man, Jimmy, thinks Anthony might be not so dead. Helen yells at them, while Locke tries to calm her down. Jimmy wants to see the contents of Locke's backpack, thinking the cash is inside. However, only John's work supplies are inside. The thugs leave quietly. After they leave, Helen wants to know if Locke was lying to them. He was, and ups the ante by lying to her.

Locke goes to the Flightline Motel, as an Oceanic Airlines flight touches down nearby. He brings the money to Anthony's room. As Anthony counts the money, Locke reveals that he's going to propose to Helen that night. Anthony leaves Locke's share on the table, saying it will buy a nice honeymoon. Locke quietly states he didn't do it for the money. As Anthony leaves, Helen is at the door. She asks, "Are you him?" then slaps Anthony. Heartbroken, she leaves.

Locke tries to get her to stop, but is unsuccessful. He goes so far as to get down on one knee and propose on the spot. That doesn't work either, as Helen wordlessly shakes her head "no" and drives off. In the near distance, Anthony's cab also leaves. Once again, Locke is all alone.

16) The Mythology

I've pretty much covered the blast door already, so by all means re-read it if you like. It's a smashing read, really. Full of action, romance, and a great plot twist near the end where the guy is actually a twin. A bad twin, even.

Here's what I want to know: how much knowledge did Ben have concerning the mechanism of the Swan computer? Much has been made of the Purge's seeming disinterest in dismantling the operation of that particular hatch. Whether they simply didn't want the onerous task upon themselves, or saw strategic purpose in keeping an inherently isolated hatch in the dark, it's unclear. (You can make a strong case for either path, I feel.) But I do think that Ben had a pretty strong understanding of the activities inside. After all, from the Pearl Station he could monitor it at any time, and through his childhood he could have slowly gathered intel on every possible aspect of the Dharma Initiative as part of pledging membership in the Hostiles.

But here's another question: did Ben feed the four names via the Hatch computer? Because this is the only way in which he could communicate with the Others between his capture and his release in a few episodes. According the Lostpedia timeline, the lockdown occurs on November 21st, and Michael receives the list on November 22nd. That is either a HUGE coincidence or Ben took his opportunity to communicate with The Others via the hatch computer.

As for the pallet drops: according to The Lost Experience, Alvar Hanso ensured all Dharma recruits that food drops would be made "in perpetuity." Of course, "perpetuity" has a funny meaning when you're dealing with an Island on the other side of some bizarre time/space fluctuations. Let's look at a few possible explanations, ranging from the likely to completely ridiculous but fun to contemplate. I'll let you judge which is which.

1. The Hanso Foundation doesn't know that the DI has been wiped out, merely that they are incommunicado. Mikhail thus orders pallet drops from the Flame computer as per the protocol established by the Dharma Initiative.
2. Widmore is still providing food drops to the Island, part of a detente with Linus that ended with the freighter folk arriving on the Island.
3. Mittelos Biosciences ensures everyone on the Island still gets the creature comforts afforded the Dharma Initiative, even if they are all dead in a ditch.
4. Alvar Hanso merely set up a contract with Company X and Food Supplier Y and Helicopter Company Z to execute a pallet drop every six months at the start of the Dharma Initiative project. Due to the secrecy of the project, no company really knows what the true nature of the job is, and Hanso buried the funding of this so deep into the books of the Foundation that no one internally knows it's still going on.
5. It's the same food drop, on a loop, exploiting the time/space rift in a way that is scientifically whack but economically frugal.

Leave your pick, or your own explanation, below!

23) The Moment

The blast door map reveal just blew my freaking mind the first time I saw it. It expanded the Lost universe in the same way the reveal of the inside of the Hatch, radically extending the landscape of the show.

42) In Retrospect

1. I think a lot of the seeds for later Jack/Sawyer mutual respect were sown in the poker game. In fact, it repaired nearly all the damage done in their relationship, even though Jack got the upper hand. Sawyer's main criticism of Locke and Jack's leadership has been their inability to actually lead effectively. Sawyer, like many of us in the audience, had lost some respect for Jack over the season, and this episode went a long way towards rectifying that. (Course, then Jack pretty much ruins all good feelings by season's end, but we're not quite there yet.)
2. When Anthony opens the door, Helen asks, "Are you him?" An intentional shoutout to Desmond's words to Locke in the hatch, or am I reading too much into this?

108) In Summary

The on-Island stuff is strong, with the B-plot (the poker game) approximately 645 times more entertaining and character-driven than the tree frog debacle in "One of Them." As for the hatch, well, it's notable that Locke is literally crushed by the weight of the Swan hatch, taking the metaphor and physically manifesting it for the audience. Seeing the map at the moment is an attempt from beyond the grave to wake him up.

Katey Sagal absolutely saves a fairly melodramatic flashback, one that adds little to Locke's story except for explaining how he ended up in a relationship with a phonesex operator he also called Helen. Anthony Cooper successfully cons Locke using his son's abandonment issues against him? You don't say? Cheesy Mafia types looking to collect their moolah? You're better than that, Darlton.

In the end, the reveal of Henry's true allegiance (if not identity) showed Lost knew how to answer at least some mysteries in a short time span. Everything about the way in which the Lostaways sought to obtain his identity was logical and character-based, with Henry throwing in some delicious multilayered lines along the way to make the audience as confused as his captors. Now, it's time to see how the Lostaways react knowing they have an Other in their midst.

Leave your thoughts about this episode below!

Ryan also posts every 108 minutes over at Boob Tube Dude, then peruses Zap2It's Guide to Lost Facebook group.

Comments

With the span of a single day between the lockdown and Michael recieving his list, I'd say he had to have used the computer to communicate it. In the time Ben was in the hatch, he didn't really see anything special that would lead him to establish "I can make Kate do things to protect Sawyer, and thus make Jack do things to protect Kate." However, you have to remember that Ben was probably spying on the Swan from the hidden cameras connected to the Pearl for awhile, and probably saw how Kate reacted to Sawyer while he was recuperating from his gunshot wound. And this is all in addition to any intel Ethan passed along when he took Claire to the Staff.

Now let's get metaphorical; the blast door crushing Locke's leg was neccesary, as it began to plant the seeds of doubt into him regarding his "path". By being semi-crippled again, it was like the Island was punishing him for following a false purpose. Although his coversation with Rose a few episodes later reconstituted his drive to translate the blast door map and continue the button-pushing, what he sees in the Pearl will shake the last vestiges of his faith in the hatch (which in turn, shatters Jack's already-thin belief in it as well), and ultimately drive these two guys further apart.

Other Sean | Sep 28, 2008 6:39:11 PM | #

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Oh, and I wanted to say that on repeated viewings, I'm glad they destroyed Ben's cover story this early on; it really let him bust out and be the Bad Ben we all know and love.

Other Sean | Sep 28, 2008 6:42:01 PM | #

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I didn't notice the "Are you him" comment until Ryan pointed it out. Yes, I think its important as "Lost" tends to repeat themes until you get them ("no one tells me what I can't do") and I think that this must be one of those "so important it has to be repeated" moments. The "are you him" question was also from "The Matrix".

Debra | Sep 29, 2008 2:16:16 AM | #

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I believe Ben could have used the computer but don't think so to give Michael the list of names. He had no interaction with Sawyer or Kate while locked up, therefore he had to have already picked them out via viewings from the other station or maybe from Jacob himself. It would be really nice to know what his true purpose was in infiltrating the camp....to check out the Losties firsthand? Or to check out one John Locke and see if he is in fact the One. Also, knowing how gung-ho Jack can be about people taking off and having to quickly go after them...whether it's Michael or whoever...I found it strange when he was all set to go after Sayid and Ana fearing their safety and then he gets distracted by a card game? I guess poker comes first and then the rescue of his friends.

Jacoby | Sep 29, 2008 5:39:41 AM | #

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I don't think Henry/Ben used the computer to communicate any list to the Others. He only needed three people: Jack to perform the surgery, and Kate and Sawyer to bond together in their animal cages, thus becoming a motivational source for Jack to get off the island faster.
He already knew Jack was a surgeon and while I don't know how he knows about the sexual tension between Sawyer and Kate, I know he had no interaction with them while being a prisoner in the hatch.
I say he already had that list formed when he devised the plan with Juliet in the Pearly Station.
And for me, this episode makes me like Jack even less as he further displays how egotistical he is.

Dean | Sep 29, 2008 8:07:04 AM | #

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So the alternative, if I understand, is that he already had the 4 people good to go, and merely used the computer to say, "Come get me, now." Is that what you guys/gals are suggesting?

Ryan | Sep 29, 2008 8:25:06 AM | #

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I don't know what he did if in fact at all he used the computer...maybe as you say he used it only to tell the Others to release Michael so he can start on getting the list done and he could break him out of his jail cell. I do think part of his plan to be captured was to size up on John Locke. On another topic all different...if Aaron is so darn important to the magic of the island.....why didn't Ben try to capture him? Surely Richard should be aware of his power, whatever that may be, or Jacob, therefore making Ben aware.

Jacoby | Sep 29, 2008 10:36:13 AM | #

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Hi Guys

I was away from a computer all weekend so unable to coment until now!

I wanted to thank Ryan for taking my comment and making it a part of the review of "The Whole Truth". I love how the forums like this can help to flesh out an idea!

To clarify - I don't entirely have it sorted in my head but I think it may be somewhat an unintended consequences thing. The Others are unaware that something they are thinking is stopping children from being born. Like Ryan I am not convinced they are looking for "The One" but clearly actions on the island need desire as well as opportunity: "You have to want to do it" is a phrase we hear often! (Very much like the con-men Cooper and Sawyer - no???)

The unintended consequences of wanting something on this Island can perhaps best be seen when Ben somewhat jokingly refers to how he needed a spinal surgeon and one dropped from the sky. Also Desmond was getting stir-crazy and needed someone to replace him on button-duty.

I'm not saying that their desire brought down Oceanic 815 but clearly things happen here because of will as much as anything else

Please feel free to pick me apart - as I said it's not a fully-formed idea yet!

SFOBrit | Sep 29, 2008 10:36:28 AM | #

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Weird random thought that I wanted to throw out there. Locke and Helen met in anger management. Is it ever mentioned why Helen needed anger management? (Checking Lostpedia and this blog the answer would be no.) Could she be a possible plant like Libby? And if so, what would be her objective?

Would love to hear your thoughts...

Diana | Sep 29, 2008 11:15:02 AM | #

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I caved in and finally joined Facebook. So I joined the the LOST group, too. And thanks to Ryan for accepting me as a friend! -- Rosemarie

MK46 | Sep 29, 2008 11:50:39 AM | #

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Jacoby: The end of Season 2 proves Ben HAD to at least enter the Numbers, otherwise the Island/Hatch would have been sucked into the anomaly.

I'd love to see a "Ben Linus: This is Your Life!" ep, where we get certain scenes filled in: why he left for the Lostaways camp, what he did in the dome, what he did behind the hieroglyphic door, if he indeed is the one who let the dogs out, etc.

And way to cave, Rosemarie! You're an inspiration to us all.

Ryan | Sep 29, 2008 12:51:35 PM | #

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The cold, calculating skill with which Ben seems to be able to operate any DHARMA related piece of technology suggests he knew exactly what he was doing pushing that button.

JeffC | Sep 29, 2008 1:11:26 PM | #

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I tend to think he at least put in the numbers and pressed enter....but knowing what we know of Ben, I wouldn't bet the farm on it.

Jacoby | Sep 29, 2008 2:20:44 PM | #

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Diana,

Interesting point re: Helen and anger mgmt class = being a plant and your related questions.

Is it worthy of a Letter from the Flame? Maybe coupled with Libby as a potential plant, etc.

djc | Sep 29, 2008 7:37:06 PM | #

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