Mar 31, 2010

The Package

Hey everybody, guess what? V returned last night. Of course, if you watched Lost, you couldn't miss the countdown clock throughout the entire episode. Lucky for the producers of Lost, fans are more outraged about the stupid V countdown than the lack of major plot movement with "The Package." While it was an OK episode, you knew it would be a let down after last week's Richard Alpert origin story.

Turns out there were more interesting things in the flash sideways story this week than the island one for me, but I'm still skeptical of that whole concept. Team Darlton keeps pumping them up and stresses that these aren't throwaway, what-if scenarios, but I wish we knew more context with them. My fear is that we won't learn exactly what the sideways world is until the series ends, so we'll have to go back and reanalyze them entirely. Oh well, at least we'll get to watch more Lost that way.

Flash Sideways Story
We pick up with Sun and Jin finally getting to leave the airport (man, it's been a while since we last saw them in "LA X"). Turns out they aren't married in the flash world, and Jin is serving as Sun's bodyguard, while also on an errand for her father to deliver a watch and $25,000. Unfortunately for him, airport security kept the $25K and neither Sun nor Jin can speak the English.

We soon learn that this is more than a bodyguard/boss's daughter relationship, but Jin is still worried about making Mr. Paik's deliver. He should be worried too because one Martin Keamy is at the door looking for his package. Jin hides in the bathroom, and Sun gives herself a quick glance in the mirror, fulfilling the flash sideways mirror requirement for this episode. Wonder what that means? Is it just the characters realizing something is off, or are they having memories of "the other side"? With Sun being the one who looked in the mirror and not Jin, does that mean she's the Kwon candidate?

Keamy comes into the room and gets his watch, but he still wants the money. He's no fool and soon figures out that Jin is there. With both Jin and Sun speaking in Korean, he sends for Omar to get Danny's friend who speaks nine languages. (Danny = Pickett?) Hmm, who was the person running the Flame communication station, who spoke a few different languages on the island? That's right, it's the return of Mikhail, aka Patchy, who is eye patch-less for now. Sun and Jin are split up with Mikhail going with her to the bank, and Keamy taking Jin to the restaurant, where they are meeting up with the Arab guy, aka Sayid.

The H is soon O as Sun learns that her father closed her account, likely after learning of her and Jin's relationship, and Keamy spills the beans to Jin that the money he was bringing was his payment for killing him. Turns out Sun's dad knew about there relationship. Good thing Jin can't understand English. (sidenote, I saw a poll that DarkUFO posted on Twitter asking what Keamy said to Jin when he had him in the freezer, and people are thinking that he said, I'm going to strap you in here, just in case you figure out what's going to happen to the island. I can't have you freaking out. I think he said was just in case you figure out what's going to happen to ya'. I can't have you freaking out and people are reading into this and grabbing for something that just isn't there.)

With Jin in the cooler, we hear the action from "Sundown" with Sayid killing Keamy and his men. Sayid discovers Jin and provides him with a box cutter so he can free himself. Mikhail and Sun arrive back at the restaurant and ultimately, Mikhail's right eye is shot out, but Sun also took a bullet to her belly. As Jin is rushing her to a hospital (Jack scene coming up?), she reveals that she is pregnant. Looks like the sideways world hasn't turned out too good for Sun and Jin either.

Like I said before, it's hard to put this new story into context right now, but it was looking like the sideways world was giving the Losties what they desired, but with a slight twist. This week, Sun and Jin are together but not married, and Sun is pregnant, but gets shot in her stomach. Man in Black's twisted way of fulfilling promises? The end result of the island war? A dream sequence that has no bearing what-so-ever?

A Nod to Simpler Days on Lost
This episode gave us a few nods to the earlier days of Lost. We revisited Sun's garden, and Jack and Sun had a conversation there that reminded of us of their earlier interactions. Of course, Jin was locked in Room 23, and it was cool to see the brainwash video once again as well. Then when Sun lost her ability to speak English, it was a reminder of season 1 when no one understood what Sun or Jin was saying. Luckily, this time around, Sun was still able to understand English and she gave Richard a piece of her mind about his plan to destroy the plane so Man in Black can't leave.

When Sun loses her ability to speak English, Miles speaks for the audience and asks, are we supposed to buy that? But Frank puts him in his place by reminding him that he communes with the dead. We got some good lines in this episode.

I thought it was interesting that when Man in Black tried to recruit Sun, he held out his hand for her to touch him, but she refused. Later in the episode, when Jack shows up with a the tomato from the garden (I'm sure there was a significance to the tomato, but seemed random to me) and they figure out that Sun can still write in English, Jack asks her if she still trusts him, holds his hand out, and she takes hold of it. We know there is something going on with Jacob and Man in Black's touch, but I'm wonder if Jack will turn out to be Jacob's replacement and if his touch is significant now too.

Who would you trust?

The War has Arrived
Widmore's group fired the first shot as they raided Locke's camp, while Locke was off trying to recruit Sun. Double whammy for him as he lost Jin and couldn't persuade Sun. With the loss of Jin, he makes for the Hydra island and takes the emotionless, but good swimming, Sayid along with him. Sayid points out that can't feel anything, and Man in Black says that may be best for what's coming. What is Sayid about to go through? Does he mean the war? Or perhaps he needs help eventually killing all of the candidates?

Sawyer confronts them before they leave to find out where they are going. It was an interesting but logical reveal that Smokey can't travel over the water. If he could fly over the water, then he could have just left the island at any time. Sawyer's reply to this reveal "No, 'cause that'd be ridiculous" = line of the night.

Locke arrives at Hydra island in the outrigger, but Sayid isn't with him. He walks up to the pylons, but can't cross them. Widmore and Man in Black come face to face, but on either sides of the sonic fence. Widmore denies having taken Jin, and Man in Black feeds Widmore's line from "The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham" back to him, "A wise man once said that war is coming to this island. I think it just got here."

I'm guessing that Man in Black is able to retain all of Locke's memories since he remembers Widmore saying this line. Makes me wonder how much Widmore knows and what side he's really on. We thought that Widmore was battling against Ben, but it looks like that was a minor scuffle, and Widmore has been privy to the entire situation on the island. So is he working for Jacob or himself? How did he know a war was coming, and why did he think it was important for Locke to be on the island, as he also said in "The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham"?

Jin's Important Thanks to His DHARMA Past
Widmore's group kidnapped Jin because of his DHARMA past, not because he's a candidate or anything. Jin had signed off on some grid maps in the 1970s that outlined the electromagnetic pockets on the island. Zoe, who's a geophysicist, tries to get Jin to help her, but he only wants to speak to Widmore.

When he gets his chance to speak to Widmore, we get one of the best scenes of the episode with Widmore giving him Sun's camera. Jin gets to see pictures of his daughter for the first time and after all this time, I'm glad he at least got to see pictures of her. Widmore gives a little more incite to what's going on and says that if that thing (Smokey/Locke) gets off the island, everything they know and love would cease to exist. Does this mean they all die, or do they all get rebooted to before the plane crash and live in the flash sideways world?

Widmore's plan involves the package, which isn't a "what" but a "who."

The Package
Man in Black sent Sayid to discover Widmore's secrets, as he said, he hates secrets. Turns out the package is Desmond Hume. This was supposed to be a big reveal, I guess, but many fans figured Desmond would be coming back to the island, and they put two-and-two together that he was behind the locked door on the sub. The question now is why did Widmore bring Desmond back? We know that Ms. Hawking told him that the island wasn't finished with him, and Daniel Faraday told him that he was uniquely special, that the rules didn't apply to him.

So is Desmond the only one who can truly stop Man in Black? What ability does he have that will help win the war? What does Man in Black know about Desmond? I also wondered if it was Desmond that Jacob told Hurley about when he said that someone was coming to the island. We assumed he meant Widmore, since Widmore arrived soon after, but he probably was referring to the more important Scotsman.

It was a funny scene when the intoxicated Desmond spotted the emotionless Sayid in the water. Sayid's expression didn't change, but Desmond was like, why the face?

Other Tidbits:
Another group takes the outrigger, yet we still haven't seen the mirror scene from "The Little Prince."

We were dupped. No Sun and Jin reunion just yet. But we did get that great moment when Jin got to see pictures of Ji Yeon for the first time.

Why can they only leave the island if all of the uncrossed off names (the candidates) leave too? Can Man in Black only leave if the island no longer has a protector (Jacob's replacement)? Or is he planning to kill all the candidates before they leave?

I guess Man in Black can only have people come with him willingly. Seems like he could have just grabbed Sun after she knocked herself out on the tree branch, but he left her there.

Is Kate a candidate or not? Locke said her name isn't on the wall anymore. What does that mean? It may not even matter as it still looks like Claire's still out to get her. Man in Black tells her that once he gets all the people he needs, whatever happens happens.

Other recaps and analysis on "The Package":

Next on Lost: "Happily Ever After"

*Photos from Lost-Media.com
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