Lost 6x07: "Dr. Linus"

[Obiwanshinobi]

In the Lighthouse episode when Jacob says to Hurley that somebody is coming to the island. Somebody bad. So was that still just to get Hurley to get him and Jack away from the temple and get Jack to realize his true calling. Or was Jacob really describing Widmore as somebody bad that could thwart his grand plan. That sub could be Locke and company's ticket off the island.

 

[Hober Mallow]

Most important revelation? Alpert hints that Dead-Jacob isn't really Jacob but more Cerebus manipulations like Christian.

I didn't get that from Richard at all.

Nor did I. He's given up of Jacob, believing his life wasted. Nothing Richard said had anything to do with Smokey being Jacob. He seemed puzzled why Hurley could have talked to Jacob, but untimately just didn't care anymore.

So is everyone who was touched by Jacob invincible? Where does that leave John Locke?

Richard wanted Jack to kill him, so he's clearly not invincible and can be killed. Evidently, he can't kill himself. And, evidently, neither can Jack.

I wonder who's side Widmore is on. You'd think Jacob since he said someone was coming to the island, but you never know. I suppose him having to be on the same side as Ben would be interesting.

Ilana's people seem to think Widmore is on the wrong side. Remember, Bram told Miles not to go on the freighter for Widmore, and that he was playing for the wrong team.

I wonder if we'll see Christian again this season? If his deal in all this is never explained that will remain the biggest WTF for me. Unless every time we saw him earlier he was Smokey, but that doesn't quite jive I don't think. Does it? Hmmm.

Christian is Smokey. Just look at the evidence.

He recruited Claire in the forth season.

He sent Locke back off-island to get the others and told him he was going to sacrifice himself.

He appears to Sun and Frank (right after some Smoke Monster noises, if I recall correctly), tells them to wait for John Locke. Immediately after that, Locke appears to the Ajira survivors and Christian is never seen again.

 

[Hunter X]

I liked this one. I thought it held together really well, thematically, and it really brought the entire character of Ben Linus out front and center. He used to be a man of such mysteries, but now his motivations, his weaknesses, his good sides and bad, they're all brought out in the clear. His doppelganger's lecture in the beginning--about Napoleon getting to keep his title of Emperor, but it meaning nothing as he was exiled to an island for the rest of his life and stripped of any real power--informed Island Ben's decision later on to reject the Man in Black's offer of protecting the Island once everyone else had left. There were lots of cool little moments like that, actually.

We also had some little things confirmed to us:
--There are only six candidates left.
--Frank didn't pilot Oceanic 815 because he overslept.
--You can't commit suicide if the Island chooses you...but someone else can kill you. That answers a pretty big one about Michael. He couldn't kill himself because he was a candidate, but the Man in Black, as Christian, finally got him killed through the loophole of Keamy's bomb.

 

[Adm. Bonz]

Excellent from me.

Ben was awesome as always. But great stuff from Jack and Richard too!

 

[Seven of Five]

Freakin Excellent!

I loved how the flashsideways and the island story were linked thematically, it was like being back in season one. The alternate reality gave Ben the chance to do right by Alex this time, which made me smile a lot. I loved that Alex appeared, with Arzt being the icing on the cake.

Ben's heartfelt appeal to Illana was very moving, with Emerson knocking it out of the park. I knew that he wouldn't just up and leave with Locke, and I'm glad he wore his heart on his sleeve for her. She let him come back with her, but now the hard work of redemption comes for him.

Enlightened Jack is a very interesting character to me. He's totally the new Locke and is willing to stare down a stick of dynamite to drag Richarad out of his death wish. Poor Richard is totally dejected, thinking his life has been a waste, telling Hurley to ignore Jacob. Glad Richard is out of his funk and that he'll be with us for his inevitable centric episode. Interesting to note he did get to the island on the Black Rock.

We haven't seen much of the Losties' camp since it was firebombed in season 5, so I'm glad everyone is headed back there. I just about died when Sun and the rest were reunited with Hurley and Jack. And of course the joy was overcome with doom when we found out Widmore was coming to the island! Big yay for me! Hopefully that also means we haven't seen the last of Desmond and Penny.

 

[chrisspringob]

I just thought it was a little silly, and I was really hoping Rousseau would actually show up.

Ditto.

What I was most interested in, however, was that this is the first flashsideways that actually mentioned the existence of the Island and the Dharma Initiative. The question now is: why did Roger and Ben leave the Island?

That interested me too, and I assume that in this time, Ben was never shot because the Losties were never there. Roger probably got sick of his job and was allowed to leave.

Well, if the timeline split because of the nuke going off, then they *were* there. The Losties go back in time, do some stuff in the 1970s, culminating with the nuke going off, the timeline splits, and they return to their own timeline. Meanwhile, there are "sideways" counterparts of the Losties in the "sideways" timeline.

Other thoughts:

-Why does anyone ever agree to dig their own grave when ordered to at gunpoint? OK, I guess Ben was stalling. He has an excuse. But I've seen this happen elsewhere in fiction, and have even heard that it happens in real life! If the person is going to shoot you either way, then why would you agree to dig?

-I'm intrigued by Ben's lecture on Napolean and Elba. Are we meant to infer that Smokey is like Napoleon, and Elba is the Island? Was Smokey some really powerful dude back in the outside world, but was imprisoned on the Island?

 

[Stone_Cold_Sisko]

This was a strong episode, and the flash-sideways had a thematic link with what the character was going through on the island. Much better.

 

[Mr Light]

I'm pretty much positive that "Christian" was Cerebus all along, pretending to be good but manipulating the characters to his own end, just as he did as "Locke" before revealing himself. As for Cerebus being a historical figure from the past, I hope it's not Cain. Cain and Abel gets done way too much in fiction. Maybe he's Napoleon! Or Hitler!

 

[Checkmate]

We already know there's another supernatural force on the island. It's the one Smokey is terrified of, and the one who's apparently set all these rules in place. We know absolutely nothing about him/it/them, though, but it's likely Christian is either them or a servant thereof.

 

[gh4chiefs]

So this week we have Richard wanting to kill himself. But a few episodes back, he didn't want to die as he was "scared to death" of Smoky when encountering Sawyer in the Jungle.

OK.

 

[spinnerlys]

Very good episode.
And finally more questions, I was tired of getting answers anyway. That's not how life rolls on this island here.

But the Widmore part was spoiled due to the fact of Alan Dale being listed in the opening credits.

Another interesting tidbit: Mario Van Peebles directed this episode.

The promo for the next episode was quite silent in almost every aspect. Hmm.

 

[Mr Awe]

Above average. Nearly an excellent!

A theme I had talked about awhile back is growing in importance and I think will be an important part of the series resolutions. People need to create meaning in their own life. Don't be manipulated into following others, which ultimately leads to just being used for their own ends. The pawns will band together to save themselves. That's the resolution.

All of the flash sideways focus on the ways, large and small, that the characters have created meaning in their lives, often by looking after and taking care of others. They do this without having to follow some manipulator type person/power/entity. You don't need that to live a meaningful life, you can do that by yourself. You just have to figure out what is important and then nurture that.

Mr Awe

 

[Klaus]

I think Richard was a crewmember on the Black Rock [perhaps first mate? we know he wasn't captain], not cargo as someone suggested... it would fit with the show's redemption theme that he needed a new start and a chance to give meaning to his life outside of being in the slave trade. He was the original Sayid!

 

[Jenee]

I wonder if we'll see Christian again this season? If his deal in all this is never explained that will remain the biggest WTF for me. Unless every time we saw him earlier he was Smokey, but that doesn't quite jive I don't think. Does it? Hmmm.

Christian is Smokey. Just look at the evidence.

He recruited Claire in the forth season.

He sent Locke back off-island to get the others and told him he was going to sacrifice himself.

He appears to Sun and Frank (right after some Smoke Monster noises, if I recall correctly), tells them to wait for John Locke. Immediately after that, Locke appears to the Ajira survivors and Christian is never seen again.

Claire knows they are two different entities. She told Jin that "her father" ... visited? her, then "her friend". Then when notLocke walked in, and Jin called him Locke, Claire said "that's not Locke, that's my friend."

 

[Checkmate]

I think Richard was a crewmember on the Black Rock [perhaps first mate? we know he wasn't captain], not cargo as someone suggested... it would fit with the show's redemption theme that he needed a new start and a chance to give meaning to his life outside of being in the slave trade. He was the original Sayid!

The way he played with the shackles suggested he was the one in them, explaining why he had never come back to the ship.

 

[Jenee]

notLocke also said something like "it's nice to see you out of chains".

Which means he was probably in those chains.

That doesn't, however, mean he was a slave. Chains for the slaves on slave ships weren't for people to stand up, and they weren't in the same cargo hold with dynamite and other such things.

I'm guessing Richard was a member of the crew, but got himself in trouble - possibly tried to start a mutiny.

 

[Ryan8bit]

Claire knows they are two different entities. She told Jin that "her father" ... visited? her, then "her friend". Then when notLocke walked in, and Jin called him Locke, Claire said "that's not Locke, that's my friend."

Claire has also been quite deceived by being told that her baybay is at the temple with the others.

I'm not ruling out that they are separate, but we can't exactly say for sure that they are based on crazy-hair-Claire.

 

[Jenee]

It's not "Claire" saying it tho. It's the writers. I think that was supposed to mean something.

 

[LitmusDragon]

I think whats most confusing to me in regards to whether Christian was Smokey, is when we saw him in the cabin way back in season 3 or whenever it was. I thought during that time period that the cabin was still Jacob's place?

The whole time line of when Jacob controlled the cabin versus when Smokey controlled the cabin is confusing to me. I'll probably need a rewatch to sort it out.

 

[RoJoHen]

It's not "Claire" saying it tho. It's the writers. I think that was supposed to mean something.

I very much agree.

I just finished re-watching Seasons 1-5, and I definitely got the impression that there was a third entity floating around. I think, at least for a while, Christian and Smokey were on the same side, but I'm not convinced that's true anymore.