“Lost” is about many things. It’s about a magic island. It’s about redemption. It’s about the ways in which our lives cross paths with the lives of others (and Others). It’s also about fathers. Locke and his kidney-stealing father. Kate and her wife-abusing father. Jack and his nothing-I-do-pleases-him father.
Throwing us another curve ball in the latest episode, “Lighthouse,” we find out that in the flash-sideways Jack not only has an appendectomy scar he doesn’t remember getting (Season 4, Jack! Juliet took it out! Remember Juliet?), he also has a son named David. Who’s the mom? Maybe Jack’s ex-wife, Sarah, whose spine he fixed, from the main timeline? My money is on someone else. The fact that they didn’t show her suggest David’s mom is going to turn out to be a surprise.
The cameo by Dogen wasn’t particularly noteworthy, I thought. We already know these characters pop up in each other’s lives, so I didn’t really see the point of this particular cross. Kind of neat, I guess, but not terribly important.
What I did like was Jack’s conversation with David outside the conservatory (did anyone notice the sign “Welcome all Candidates”? Ha!). Telling him that he just wants to be a part of David’s life, and that in his eyes David can never fail. It was a very touching scene and allowed us to see a side of Jack we’ve never seen on the show.
Hurley gets a mission of his own this episode and, on Jacob’s behest, takes Jack to a lighthouse. And not just any lighthouse! This one has a set of mirrors that allows the user to look into the lives of Candidates. Jack really doesn’t like the idea of Jacob peeping into his life and smashes all of the mirrors. I thought this was kind of a kneejerk response that seemed more plot-devicey than anything. Having the lighthouse around might have helped the Losties too much to understand what’s going on with the island, so the writers said it had to go. Kind of like how Dogen’s Others are never forthcoming with any useful information. The writers are trying to maintain an element of mystery, and while I understand that, this is the last season and I think it’s time to start giving up the answers.
Speaking of the lighthouse, even though the number 108 was only used to get Jack to come along, a screencap has revealed that the name at 108 degrees on the wheel is a crossed-out Candidate named “Wallace.” Also, 108 is the sum of the Numbers, and “Lighthouse” is the 108th episode of the show. Freaky, man.
Oh, and the person Jacob is trying to help get to the island? My money’s on Desmond. I think his appearance on Flight 815 in the flash-sideways wasn’t coincidental. Daniel Faraday said that “the rules” don’t apply to Desmond. I think his ability to flash through time is going to end up helping the Losties in that timeline and the main one converge. Or something.
By the way, when I saw Claire pick up that axe, I thought for sure she was going to chop off Jin’s foot a la Annie Wilkes in “Misery.” Sorry, Jin, can’t let you get an infection now, can we? Crazy Claire is so much fun! She’s even been palling around with the Man in Black for the last three years. I’m sure that’s a good thing! I mean, who wouldn’t want a giant pillar of black smoke for a pal?
