'Lost': Through the Looking Glass

Here we are, Lost fans. The episode that, like Charles Widmore, changed the rules. It's both the literal and figurative midpoint for the series. Season 4 felt NOTHING like what came before it, and we have the revelations contained within this episode to thank for that. Find a comfy seat, kids: this is a long one. Even for me. I know. Fear all that click "Continue reading."

(My initial take on this mind-altering ep can be found here. Read how morbidly wrong I was about the person in the coffin.)

Through the Looking Glass

4) In Short

"Can someone help pick up all the brain bits that are now on the floor? That would mighty helpful."

8) On the Island

Jack checks in with Sayid on the status of Operation: Others Go Boom. Sayid wants Jack to promise not to come back for anything. He's willing to risk his life if it means rescue for the rest of them. Elsewhere, Rose wants Bernard to repeat what she told him: "I am a dentist, I am not Rambo." Heh. Nearby, Hurley and Claire try to reassure each other that Charlie's OK. Just past them, Sun and Jin make their teaful goodbyes. Man, lot going on here, people. Must be a season finale or something. With all that done, Jack and Danielle start leading the Lostaways to the radio tower.

While walking along the shore, Naomi makes conversation with Jack. She wants to instruct Jack on how to use her satellite phone, in case anything should happen to her. They both wonder aloud how Charlie's doing.

Speaking of Charlie, he's getting a good beating in the Looking Glass. They want to know how he found out about the station; Charlie reveals that Juliet's turned on them. His attitude is one of absolute defiance, and he wears it well. As the two women go to contact Ben, he sees the blinking light from Desmond's vision.

In the Others' travelling circus, Ben is shocked to hear anything from the Looking Glass, which was apparently supposed to maintain radio silence from its two inhabitants Bonnie and Greta. Richard and Mikhail look equally stunned to find out Charlie is down there. Mikhail wants to know why Ben lied to them about the nature of the Looking Glass. Ben insists he has no time to explain, but asks Mikhail to trust him. Mikhail agrees to go, and will be there by dawn.

Ben turns his attention to contacting Ryan, but Ryan's gone radio silent. He and Tom are surveying the marked tents through binoculars. However, Sayid and Company are likewise spying from afar. The Others move silently through the camp, and it's never not creepy to watch them move without making a sound.

Sayid and Bernard successfully shoot the dynamite, but Jin misses his target. Yes, I'll refrain from any "shooting blanks" jokes. The three remaining Lostaways are soon captured by the remaining Others.  From afar, Jack's group realizes the plan didn't work. Panic ensues. Rose and Sun want to wait for their husbands, but Jack convinces the group to follow him.

Back in the Looking Glass, Charlie explains calmly that he's here to turn the jamming off. His calm resolve really unnerves his two captors. Even the fact that there's apparently a code he must enter to turn off the equipment doesn't faze him. Looks like his little swim's left a little moxie in his system.

Ben is FREAKING OUT about the loss of life at the Lostaways' camp. He orders them to find out where Juliet went. Ben uses Bernard's fear of Jin's death to learn that they are all going to the radio tower. He further reveals that Karl warned them of the imminent attack. Bernard is the worst prisoner ever.

The following morning, Ben plots a course for the radio tower. He wants Richard to take the rest of the group to the "Temple." Richard's concerns over recent events don't faze Ben in the least. When Alex asks to accompany Ben to the radio tower, he surprises her by agreeing to let her come. He further surprises her by letting her know he's aware of Karl's presence with the group. Richard wants to know how Ben plans to overcome 40 survivors who desperately want to leave the Island. "I'll talk them out of it," Ben replies flatly. Oh, OK then.

Kate confronts Sawyer near a stream. She wants to go back and check on Sayid, Bernard, and Jin. Sawyer's sarcastic reply is met with anger from Kate. She wants to know what happened when he left with Locke, and why he's been dead inside ever since. She tries to wake him up by telling him of her possible pregnancy; this is met with a nice friendly, "Well, let's hope you're not." Yes, that's EXACTLY the worst thing you could have said there.

Desmond wakes up from his oar-inflicted sleep to the sound of gunfire coming from Mikhail. He pulls himself down into the Looking Glass via the electrical cable. Luckily, he emerges just as the two women are arguing in the back. He hides in one of the lockers inside the station.

Sawyer tells Jack he's going back to the beach. Kate, sensing her cue, tells him she's going with him. Heh. Sawyer flatly tells her he doesn't want to go with her. Juliet volunteers to come along, stating she knows where there are some guns. Jack and Juliet share their first kiss and depart. Kate's upset, and I'm indifferent.

Charlie's still making the two women bonkers with his singing. Guess the Others hate Britpop. Bonnie goes to get the spear gun, which happens to be in the same locker as Desmond. But just before she opens it, Mikhail pops up, all SCUBA-geared. He is surprised his fellow colleagues are not "on assignment in Canada." Busted, Bonnie. Busted, Greta. Busted for what? Um, I dunno...the Dharma Maple Syrup Initiative? Beats me.

Charlie turns the table on the Others, using their meat-and-potatoes structure of dividing and conquering by telling Mikhail his compatriots have been jamming all transmissions to and from the Island. Except, you know, for the literally thousands of transmissions Mikhail was receiving in the Flame as of a few weeks ago. I know, I'm nitpicky. Sue me. When Ben calls, Mikhail is mite angry at all the lies. But Ben insists that the Island is under attack, a greater attack than it has faced in many years. Ben asks Mikhail's forgiveness, and asks his help in cleaning up the mess he made. The clean-up? Killing Charlie, Greta, and Bonnie.

As the hike to the radio tower continues, Jack and Kate share a moment. He tells her that Sawyer only meant to protect her by keeping her away from the beach camp. He knows this because he recognized the same instinct from when he told her to stay away from him after the incidents on Hydra Island. He then tells her he loves her, which must confuse the blippin' hell out of Freckles, who just watched him suck apathetic face with Juliet like ten minutes ago.

Sawyer and Juliet discuss the chain gang aspect of their time on Hydra Island. She tells them they were building a runway, but they didn't know what for. Maybe a plane, maybe aliens, maybe as a project for Heidi Klum. We just don't know. But hey, maybe we'll find out in Season 5, hint hint. Juliet then casually reveals there are no guns to be found, but it was the only way Jack would have let them go. Hurley then shows up, huffing and puffing. He wants to go with them. Sawyer denies his request due to his size. Boy, Hurley's having a crap day.

Ben tells Alex that he's delivering her to her new family. When she confronts him about locking Karl in a cage, he tells her he didn't want Karl to get her pregnant. Most fathers of teenage girls suddenly really relate to Ben. Alex begs her to simply let the Lostaways go. With a look of earnestness not usually associated with Ben, he tells her he can't. Almost as if it's out of his hands.

Close-up of an eye. Locke's eye. He's still in the mass grave, thanks to Ben's bullet a few episodes ago. He finds himself unable to move his lower body. He finds a gun nearby, and turns it on himself. He cocks the trigger, puts it to his forehead, and...whispers. And...Walt. Like, a tall Walt. An Older Walt. He wants John to get out of the ditch. Why? "Because you have work to do," says creepy taller Walt.

Ben intercepts Jack and the others as they walk to the tower. He wants to have a word with their leader. Jack gets that Crazy Eyes look we've seen throughout the latter half of the season. Ben tries to talk with Naomi, but Jack orders her to stay quiet. Ben wants five minutes of Jack's time; after all, Jack did just kill seven of his men. Seem fair, in the world of Lost.

Mikhail emerges from the communications room. After confirming that the station would continue jamming even if flooded, and that only the two women have the code, he shoots Greta in the chest and Bonnie in the back. Before he can finish the job, Desmond emerges and harpoons Mikhail in the chest. Heh, awesome.

Ben and Jack sit down for a little face time. Ben tells Jack that history is about to repeat itself. A second Purge is in the making if Jack allows Naomi to communicate with the boat. He tells Jack that she represents a faction trying to find the Island. If Jack phones that boat, Ben says, every single person on the Island will die. He wants Jack to take the satellite phone and give it to him. When Jack refuses, Ben asks for his walkie back. Aaaaaand here we go.

Ben reveals that he has Sayid, Bernard, and Jin. Ben orders Tom to shoot them if Jack doesn't bring back the phone. Jack refuses. Ben wants to know what exactly Jack has to go back to off the Island. Twenty seconds. Ten. Three, two, one, and shots ring out over the phone. Holy sh$t. And Jack absolutely loses it, beating Ben as we've never seen anyone beaten on the show. Jack gets on the radio, and tells Tom that once he contacts the boat, he is coming to kill Mr. Friendly himself. Holy mother of Jacob, now that's a scene, people.

Underwater, Charlie's trying to get Bonnie to give up the code. Much to Charlie's surprise, his technique works, and Bonnie starts rambling a series of numbers. She tells him that a musician programmed the code, and that it's set to the Beach Boys' "Good Vibrations" on the keypad. A musician, you say? How convenient!

Jack drags Ben's beaten body to the group and orders him to be tied up. What a perfect first activity for a reunited mother and daughter! Ben introduces Alex to Danielle, who touches her daughter's face lovingly and asks for her help in securing Ben. Snicker. Danielle rules. By himself, Jack tries to drink some water and compose himself. As Kate tends to his wound, Jack reveals that Ben ordered the deaths of those left behind. He asks Kate to keep it quiet until they reach the radio tower. He also reveals that he didn't kill Ben so that Ben could see the moment he failed. After that, Ben's like, soooo dead.

On the beach, Tom's feeling less Friendly than expected. Turns out they didn't kill the would-be snipers, but merely shot bullets into the sand. Nearby, Sawyer and Juliet scope out the situation, when they hear something coming through the jungle. It's the deus ex shambala, with Hurley driving the Dharma van into (and over) a few Others. This provides cover for Sawyer, and an opportunity for Sayid to trip an Other and snap his freakin' neck with his freakin' ankles, all of which is freakin' sweet. Juliet stops Tom from grabbing a nearby gun. He surrenders to them, but Sawyer puts a bullet in his chest anyways. "That's for taking the kid off the raft." ICE. COLD.

Jack is surprised to hear Hurley's voice over the walkie. He's confused by Hurley's positive report from the beach, especially concerning those he thought dead. "Yeah dude, I told you, I saved em all," replies Hurley. Watch closely, folks. This is one of the last times you'll ever see anyone happy on this show.

Down below, Charlie asks Desmond to prep the scuba gear while he enters "Good Vibrations" on the keypad. After humming it for a moment, he successfully enters the code, which turns off the light. "So much for fate," he says, and walks away. But a beeping calls him back, with a new light flashing for, "Incoming Transmission." The screen reveals who else but Penelope Widmore. She's stunned to hear him call for Desmond, but confused about talk about a boat and Naomi.

As Des walks back to the room, he realizes that Mikhail is missing. Where is he? Outside the transmission room, with a grenade in his hand. Charlie quickly seals the room off from the rest of the Looking Glass. Des is shocked to see Penny on the screen, and screams out for her. The grenade goes off, the room floods, and Charlie's last act is to write "Not Penny's Boat" on his hand. Des understands, and tearfully watches Charlie make the sign of the cross before drowning. Sigh. No words. Just the weeps.

Naomi tells Claire that her boyfriend has rescued them all. However, the signal is still jammed by Danielle's transmission. Luckily, they are at the radio tower. Convenience: they haz it. Inside, Danielle tells Alex that she made the infamous recording three days before she was born. They turn off the recording, and go outside to finally radio the boat. Once outside, Ben implores Jack one last time to stave off "the beginning of the end." Just as Naomi gets a signal, she also gets something else: a knife into her back, courtesy of John Locke.

Uh oh, Crazy Eyes Shephard is back, and he's 15% crazier than ever. John orders him to stay away from the phone, but Jack announces he's done having Locke keep him on the Island. He grabs the phone before Locke has the chance to attach some C4 to it. Locke slinks away after failing to follow through on his promise to shoot Jack, telling Bug Eyed McGillicutty he's not supposed to do this. A man named Minkowski can be heard on the satellite phone, and Jack answers. Minkowski announces he's got a fix on their location, and will be right there. Sweet. Show over.

Right?

15) Off the Island

Grizzly Adams is having a drink on an airplane. Whoops, that's Jack Shephard, my bad. He asks the stewardess for what looks like Drink #27 on the flight; she hands him a newspaper instead. When the plane experiences some turbulence, Jack gets a look somewhere between fear and hope. He then catches eye of something in the newspaper that floors him.

After landing, he drives to the middle of a bridge. Again, he's staring at the newspaper clipping. He's beside himself with grief. Dude, don't sweat it: not everyone can finish those Sudoku puzzles. He calls someone on the phone. He gets their voice mail, but can't finish the message he wants to leave. Instead of driving on, Jack climbs atop the railing along the side of the bridge, looking down at the long fall below him. He says, "Forgive me," but before he can jump, a car crashes behind him. As reflections of the flames dance upon Jack's face, he rushes to help the victim.

Jack's getting stitched up in the hospital. The nurse informs her that the press is waiting outside for him. In walks Sarah, Jack's ex. She wants to know what happened. "Well, there was this Island, and..." OK, he doesn't say that. He's pretty mum, really. Even for these two, there are a lot of pregnant pauses. The two part as they normally do: with extreme grief on both sides.

Jack examines the medical records of the woman he saved on the bridge. Next up, it's pill-popping time! Dr. Rob Hamill introduces himself to the "hero, twice over." Jack wants to operate on the woman, who has a spinal injury. Dr. Hamill denies his request, much to Jack's anger. As Jack leaves, he sees the 8-year old boy that he saved waving to him with his non-broken arm.

Nirvana's "Scentless Apprentice" is blasting in Jack's Jeep as he drives to a seedy part of Los Angeles. Again, he calls a mysterious someone, and again, he gets voice mail. He stares down at the same newspaper clipping as before, then across the street at a funeral parlor. He absently crosses the street into an empty parlor. Jack wonders if he missed the funeral. The director states there was only a viewing, but no one showed up. When he asks if the person was friend or family, Jack replies, "Neither." The good doctor stands over what looks like a coffin for a short individual.

At a pharmacy, Jack's request for a refill on his pills gets denied. He tries to write a prescription for himself, which is met with equal denial. Awkward. Awkward. Luckily, being a doctor and all, he's got access to the hospital's medical supplies. All he has to do is illegally open the storage facility and have at it. Dr. Hamill catches him in the act, and mentions that the woman from the accident only got into it after seeing a man about to jump off the bridge. Jack angrily snaps, telling him to take up any issues he has with his father, Christian. This provokes a confused look from Hamill, who says he's just trying to help Jack. "You can't help me!" screams Jack.

Hey, looks like we're in my first apartment. Oh no, it's Jack's. The man's not doing well, people. Dishes are undone, there's liquor everywhere, and there's way too many eps of "A Baby Story" on his DVR. Maps are strewn all over the floor. Once again, he makes a call to the mysterious stranger, but this time the person picks up. The person agrees to meet Jack at LAX that night.

And who pulls up? Kate. Wait, wait the...why is she...how do they...HOLY SH$T THIS IS IN THE FUTURE. This is not a flashback. The rules have changed, everyone. Looks like they got off the island, but this was not the end of the story. There's a strain between them, for reasons we can't begin to guess at this point. He brings out the clipping once more, wondering if she would go to the funeral. "Why would I go to the funeral?" she asks. "WHOSE FUNERAL?" ask the rest of us.

He tells her he's been flying a lot, thanks to the Golden Pass provided by Oceanic Airlines. He flies across the Pacific on a weekly basis. Why? Because he wants it to crash. He wants to go back to the Island. Sweet Jesus, this blew my mind. Maybe you saw this twist coming, but I didn't, and eps like this are why I stay spoiler-free. Kate says she has to leave, that "he" will be wondering where she is. As she leaves, Jack says the words that inspire this entire series of rehashes. Say it with him now, people:

"We have to go back, Kate. We have to go back!"

16) The Mythology

There's something crucial in what Bonnie says to Mikhail, when he asks her why they never questioned their placement inside the Looking Glass: "Because I trust him. And I trust Jacob. And the minute I start questioning orders, this whole thing, everything that we're doing here falls apart." Such unfailing loyalty is what kept Ben's grip over the Others so strong, and the arrival of his tumor, with the Lostaways hard upon, slowly unraveled the blind following of his support group.

But above and beyond that is Ben's role in the drama of Lost, one filled with lies and deception but also a sense of higher purpose. Ben utterly believes himself when he tells Michael at the end of Season 2 that he's on the side of the good guys. He can justify any lie or manipulation and, ultimately, death sentence behind that facade of righteousness. Moreover, so long as everyone thinks he's in tune with the will of the Island (with a potential nudge from Room 23), he can play everyone against each other while they smile merrily. Whether or not Jacob is behind ANY of his actions on the Island is for right now irrelevant: he seeks to protect the Island at all cost.

Now, naturally, he does it in a very Gollum-like way. The Island is his precious, and Ben's ultimate folly comes from his covetous nature. What one sees in this episode is the culmination of what had been building all season-long: Ben's firm grip slowly eroding, the master manipulator unable to spin his way out of any corner, until he's finally beaten (literally), seemingly stripped of all power, by the end of the Season. What one needs to ask is simple: why is the Island so important to him?

Let's look at the impetus behind the guilt and potential return to the Island by the Oceanic 6: they are not doing it to save the Island: they are doing it to save those upon it. This takes a potentially heady, esoteric goal and personalizes it. Can't we do the same for Ben? Can't we get past his obsession with the Island and call it what it really is: his obsession with Annie?

None of this may sound like mythology, but it gets to the heart of the Jacob/Ben dynamic. In between the two of them stands Annie. In some fashion, she's at the heart of the power play between them. It's a relationship that perhaps was once mutually beneficial but now is mutually destructive. I watch the show from the perspective that, like in all good dramas, there's a woman standing between two men. (Honestly, Annie should be played by Julia Ormond. She made like eight movies in a row where she took two or more friends/brothers and caused them to wage war over her cheekbones.)

In choosing Annie over the Island, Ben forgot about his primary responsibility. Such neglect allowed Jacob to fall victim to forces on the Island, "dark" forces if you will. Jacob, on the side of the "light," saw his glow dim as the relationship with Ben grew ever distant. All the while, a human element off the Island aligned with the dark slowly plotted their revenge, using various methods to locate the Island until the time was right and a man, pre-selected for this purpose, turned a fail-safe key that would ultimately reveal the Island's position and allow the end game to begin.

A theory rife with holes? You betcha. But it's my most current theory, and I'm sticking with it as the most interesting, if not most likely, of scenarios amidst many other equally plausible scenarios out there.

23) The Moment

When Kate stepped into the light at LAX, I freakin' lost my mind. (That's why Zap2It pays me the big bucks, people: for expert analysis like that.)

42) In Retrospect

I honestly can't believe Darlton are going to pay off the runway in Season 5. That sorta blows my mind. In this week's email to those that signed up for the ill-fated Dharma Initiative ARG, they all but admit it's crucial to the Oceanic 6 plus Ben and Locke (or as I call them, Jack and Kate Plus Eight) getting back to the Island.

Now here's the thing that will bend your mind: did someone unstuck in time order the construction of said runway, knowing the events to come depicted in Season 4? Before you think this is sci-fi time travel wankery, riddle me this: why is Ben staring at his own unconscious body in this deleted scene? If you're confused, don't worry, we all are. But there's plenty of precedent for this type of dual existence in the same time frame. (I'm looking at you, Prisoner of Azkaban-era Harry Potter and Hermione Granger.)

Throw in the existence of Adam and Eve (those skeletons found in Season 1), plus the very fact that it looks like everyone on the Island is now roughly thirty years in the past, and you're going to probably see the reasons for past events played out in the future. Or vice versa. Or present tense in the past and oh yay I've gone completely cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs.

(God, this show rules all.)

108) In Summary

What can you say? While it's not my favorite episode of all time, it's probably the DEFINING episode of the series. It's the show in which all the rules were thrown out, every preconception tossed aside, in which the audience realized they were watching a very, very different show than they thought they were.

Think about it: until this episode dropped, everyone assumed that "getting off the Island" was the ultimate endpoint for the show. They would stay there, by hook or crook, until triumphantly leaving at the end of Season 6. And Darlton took that preconception, used it against us, and clubbed us over the head with this 2x4 of an episode. Absolutely masterful, and delivered at the absolute perfect point.

Most importantly, this episode completely exploded the type of story Lost could be. Freed in ways both time- and space-related, Lost could now expand its narrative from a perspective that initially captured Jack's opening eye and zoom out until it encompasses not only the entire world, but potentially thousands of years of human history. Now that's a game changer, people. And we're all better for it.

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. He also encourages you to join the all-new Zap2It's Guide to Lost Twitter feed. Pretty soon he'll have as many platforms as Jack has future people that hate him.