This Week in Lost - 2/23/10

Because it's a day late, I decided to make this one extra detailed and spoiler filled... so if you still haven't seen the episode, don't look!

Episode 5 - "Lighthouse"

Zach says: This week's episode focuses on Jack, both in the current era at the island, and that of his "flash sideways" where we see what his life could have been like had the island been underwater.

On the island, he is still confused about his purpose and brokenhearted. Hurley talks to Jacob's ghost again, who instructs him to take Jack to this lighthouse to supposedly help someone get to the island, however, this is most likely a lie simply to get Jack to the lighthouse. Once there, Hurley tries to get Jack to set the degree to 108. When looking at the 360 degrees on the lighthouses' wheel, Jack notices each degree next to names, including his own. This would then explain the infamous numbers both on the cave wall and elsewhere referenced in the series. Jack and Hurley then notice some bizarre images in the lighthouse mirrors, infuriating Jack, as he believes Jacob has been watching and manipulating him for years.

Jack goes on a bit of a rampage, however, but Jacob assures Hurley that this is so Jack can realize how important he is, and that he needed to get Hurley and Jack far away from the temple, where something bad is about to happen.

From that, it would seem that Jack and Hurley are the most important characters, however, Kate, Sawyer, and Jin are also away from the temple. What does this mean for Miles and Sayid though? Are they unimportant or will they find a way to escape the impending doom? And what is this trouble that will befall the temple?

After Jin gets caught in that bear trap, he runs, not literally of course, into Claire, who has been on the island for 3 years. She isn't quite as sure of herself as she was when we saw her in the cabin a few seasons back. She thinks the Others have her baby, but Jin first says Kate has it, and then reverts back and says the Others have Aaron. Now, for some crazy reason, Jin says he can get Claire into the temple, and who happens to stop by, but Claire's friend, faux-Locke, who she knows isn't Locke. So, it would seem that the impending doom is going to come from both Claire and evil Locke. This leaves us with a few questions about Claire, her sanity, and who's side she's on. How long has she been friends with anti-Jacob and what has he told her? I'm sure we'll learn more in the coming episodes.

However, this is a story about Jack, so half of the episode revolves around his life on the main-land with his son, David. Yeah, apparently Jack has a son now, and he is suffering from the same thing Jack was with his dad; fear of failure. Jack and his son aren't very close, and Jack is very perturbed by this. However, by the end of the episode, they make up in a very heart-felt moment, and it was nice to see something good happen for Jack, who is always caught up in a bunch of shit that he doesn't deserve.

So that's basically it. More of a synopsis from me than usual, but yeah. Some interesting things are going on, but nothing too incredible. A few questions come up, like why is Kate all of a sudden looking for Claire? Or maybe that was her reason for going back to the island in the first place... it's been awhile and I don't recall. And who is number 108? Jacob instructs Hurley to position the lighthouse to degree 108 to help someone get to the island. Was he just saying that to get Jack and Hurley there, or is there really a person coming to the island, Mr. 108? Could it be Charles Widmore? Perhaps we'll find out in the future.
Zach's Score: 7.5/10

JDW says: Not like I can really say much more than that... but overall I felt this was a good episode, though it wasn't a great one. Not only were we treated to answers to questions like, "Where has Claire been?" "What are the numbers?" and "Why is Hurley the best character?" but we actually got to see character development. I personally really liked the alternate-Jack story between him and his son, and I think it's the first of these "flash sideways" that really hit with meaning, re-instating the show's running theme of father-related problems.

But what this episode also brought back was "the mystery of the island". Just when you thought you had everything about the island figured out, like giant statues, underground hatches, and secret temples, a new location is brought up, the lighthouse, and it's probably the most mysterious location yet. Perhaps when jack brings up "Alice In Wonderland" during the flash-sideways it's a reference to how the lighthouse is a looking-glass into the lives of everyone who has been on the island. Though maybe that's just over-thinking, but hopefully we'll find out who number 108 is soon enough, I hope it's Desmond.
JDW's Score: 8.5/10

Overall Score: 8/10

Missed the episode? Watch it on Hulu