Episode 5 - Lighthouse
18 March 2010
Review
Present: Jacob gives Hurley specific instructions on how to get Jack out of the Temple and where to take him. He also tells Hurley to motivate Jack by saying "You have what it takes." They run into Kate who continues her search for Claire. Jack admits he was broken and returned to the island hoping it would fix him. They find a lighthouse which has the names of all the candidates at each degree of a circle. When it focuses on Jack's name he can see the house he grew up in. He is furious that Jacob has been watching him and smashes the mirrors on the lighthouse. Jacob tells Hurley that he got them away from the Temple to protect them from a bad man coming there. Meanwhile Claire brings the wounded Jin and Other Justin to her camp. She helps fix Jin's leg while asking Justin where Aaron is. Jin tells her that Kate took Aaron but she kills Justin anyway. Jin decides to lie and tells her that Aaron is at the Temple. The Man in Black arrives and Claire claims he is her friend.
Flashback: Jack has a teenage son, David, in this reality. They don't get on well and Jack discovers that Claire is in his father's will. David goes missing and Jack finds out that he is at musical tryouts playing the piano. David admits he didn't want Jack to see him fail. Jack realises he has put the same expectations on David which Christian puts on him. He says David could never fail in his eyes and says he only wants to be a part of his life.
The Good: This flash sideways story is the most explicit message from the writers that what is going on here is the happy ending which these characters have been striving for. It's madness to predict anything with this show but it is the emotional journey which makes the most sense and Jack's story was more directly satisfying than either Kate or Locke's. We will doubtless see more of both of their stories, but at this stage Jack's story is addressing the core issue of his character.
Jack was the hero of the show from the opening shot of course, leaping out of the jungle to save the day. But we soon found out that what drove him to excel was a burning desire to win his father's approval and to some extent to surpass him. The scene where Christian told Jack he didn't have what it takes (105) always stood out as a bizarrely insensitive and on the nose statement from a father to a son. But it certainly helped explain why Jack was so intense and so determined to always fix problems himself. Jack's daddy issues continued to haunt him when he left the island (410) to the point where he turned into his father (323). An addict who was kicked out of his profession he realised he had become the man who he thought he had surpassed. As he admits here he came back to the island to be fixed. His foolishness in believing a nuclear bomb could solve all his problems has led him back to an angry, frustrated place.
From this context the flash sideways is showing us Jack finding a way to deal with his issues in the most positive way possible. Once he realises that he has managed to make his own son feel the way he once did he stops. In a genuinely heart warming scene which I thought avoided cheesiness he apologises and says his son could never fail in his eyes. The acting and writing were key. David was excellent throughout, playing awkward intensity which seemed exactly what Jack's son might have ended up like. But he played his joy at Jack's words very nicely, holding back tears and seeming content without any hugging, kissing or I love yous needed. In essence this was Jack finding a way to get over the burden his father had placed on him because now he won't become Christian, he has managed to free his son from what he had to deal with.
It has now become clear that the producers are mirroring Season One with their choice of characters to receive the flash treatment and Jack's story here echoed "White Rabbit" very loudly including an actual ceramic bunny (with the house key under it). He and Hurley revisit the caves (which Jack found in that episode) and although it is Hurley who sees him, Jacob is playing the role of Christian's ghost leading them where Jack needs to be next.
Jack has always been one of the strongest characters on Lost. Though his intensity and disagreeable nature have cost him many fans, he has remained a consistently interesting character whose stories receive genuine attention and depth. Something which really came together here was how Jack's daddy issues connected to his failed relationship with Kate (410). Of course his paranoia and anger played a part in that (and are clearly still issues as he smashes the mirror) but there is also the issue of him playing father to Aaron. Here we see David has a copy of the Anotated Alice which he read to Aaron. It gives you a new perspective on his issues and how perhaps he fretted over what kind of father he was going to make to Aaron. In the "present" Jack says he would make a horrible father and tells Hurley that he wasn't "cut out" to make things work with Kate. Clearly in this new reality Jack is finally becoming the man he wanted to be.
And if this new reality is created because of his time on the island then the flash sideways is definitely fitting into the overall theme ofLost. Which is of course that these people were brought to the island to improve their lives. We get the very explicit clue regarding Jack's appendix scar which he is having trouble remembering. Clearly this indicates some melding of what happened to our characters on the island to what is going on in this new reality. I do admit that I am choosing to see this storyline as a positive affirmation that the producers are moving the show in this direction. I can't prove anything.
The piano playing was good continuity too as we have seen Jack play several times (120, 313).
Hurley finding Shannon's inhaler is a fun piece of continuity (from 108 but also funny to those who pay attention to Lost's annual visit to Comicon). His speculation about Adam and Eve's origins is acknowledgement of what many fans speculated during season five's time travel arc. It's certainly interesting and encouraging to see that mystery addressed if not answered. I was glad Hurley asked Jack why he came back to the island, it was about time.
Claire's "darkness" is an intriguing story. The idea that the Man in Black has been protecting her and perhaps advising her would explain why the Others haven't just gunned her down for attacking them. The Aaron substitute was really creepy. I thought Jin did a good job throughout his time with Claire demonstrating his conflicted emotions. I liked the way he told her simply that Aaron was three. It was an interesting way to have him try to help her realise that time has moved on and he isn't her lost baby anymore.
Seemingly the candidates all get assigned a number of degrees on a circle. That circle is on a seemingly invisible lighthouse which Jacob uses to watch people in another reality. Well that answers how people are assigned numbers I suppose.
The Bad: Claire's story did not satisfy me and re-watching I realised why. The acting isn't convincing. I have very rarely said this ofLost so I hope you won't think I am picking on Claire or Justin but their confrontations felt unconvincing and forced.
Justin seems an unfortunate piece of casting. The producers have specialised in superb casting throughout the show and the Others have benefitted particularly. From the arrogant Charles, the friendly Tom, the creepy Klugh, the mysterious Abbadon, the brute Danny and so on. They each had a clearly defined idiosyncrasy which made them in some way compelling to watch. Justin just seemed generic and perhaps that was the writings fault though he seemed to over emote and annunciate. At the very least he showed little sign of relatable panic or cunning which took away from the tension of his scenes.
But sadly Claire just wasn't cut out to play crazy. She had none of the loneliness and sorrow which Rousseau conveyed nor did she seem particularly threatening. I felt her emotions seemed very manufactured with her boiling frustrations not carrying the weight and fear they were supposed to generate. I could see what the producers were aiming for with the key moment when Jin told her the truth about Aaron. We were meant to see her refuse to accept that the last three years of her life were a lie. That her only friend had been lying to her. That she had killed people for no good reason. But it didn't have the gravity it needed. It gives me no pleasure to conclude that the depth of emotion such a character called for was beyond her range.
She was not aided by the scripting which was on the wrong side of the Lost scale of avoiding obvious questions and deliberately speaking equivocally. "Who's your friend" Jin asks simply - "My friend" she kind of nods back. Um, great. Not to mention that she didn't ask him any questions, like where he's been, where everyone else is or what he is doing back on the island? Yes I know she is crazy or dark now but that wasn't adequately written to cover these obvious points.
I was also slightly frustrated by Kate and Jack wishing each other luck. Do they have a plan to get off the island? Do they have a plan to meet up again in the future? It reminded me of the lack of communication which went on when the Oceanic Six decided to return to the island last season. It would still be nice if someone attempted to be honest and point out how scary it is to be stuck on a mysterious island and not know what to do next.
Jack's hyper rage which led him to smash up the mirrors just happened too fast to be a convincing moment. I believe Jack would be that angry, but it didn't seem like the result of his simmering dissatisfaction, it felt forced because of the speed at which it took off. It also appeared as if the writing was trying to mirror Jack smashing up his father's coffin from "White Rabbit" but the same frustration level hadn't been established.
It's also typically annoying that he doesn't address the clear insanity of a mirror on an apparently invisible lighthouse which can show a picture of his house back in the States. You would think a normal person might be curious and check out those numbers and names a little closer. A double frustration because then Hurley surely would have seen his numbers and got excited over this potential explanation for the curse which plagued him.
The Unknown: The appendix scar should be another key clue, like the cut on Jack's neck (601) which lead up to the explanation for how this new reality is created. Dogen, like Ben is off the island leading an apparently normal life. Which of course makes you wonder again what happened to the island in this reality? You could speculate over who David's mother is but I don't think that was the point of the story. What did Christian leave Claire in his will? Presumably this will lead to the family reunion which has been building since season two (220).
Claire's obvious similarities to Rousseau once more asks the question of whether Danielle was also touched by darkness. It still seems like she wasn't because unlike Claire she was reasoned with time and again. But we do need to know the connection between Christian and Locke and at what point and in what way the Man in Black became Claire's friend. And indeed how she became "infected" as well.
Who is "Wallace" the name at 108 on the dial? I assume the lighthouse was only visible when Jacob wanted it to be. Is there someone really coming to the island or was that entirely fabricated? Kate's surname was not crossed out on the dial which is interesting; she is not one of the numbers though.
Best Moment: Jack telling David "I just wanna be a part of your life." I thought that scene was really effective at showing Jack's emotional journey from son to father. David's overly intense facial expressions paid off handsomely here because his look of happiness came across as authentic and understated. Jack was very good as ever. For me it was a scene which communicated one man's story but also sent a message about the direction of the whole show. And that is one of Lost's great strengths.
The Bottom Line: A tough episode to assess. The Jack story was strong but the Claire one was not. The episode also contained some of those irritating Lost moments when no one will say the obvious. But the bad parts of Claire's story were mostly aesthetic. Where as the best part of Jack's story were seemingly crucial to the development of the overall story. So the episode may not have hung together as well as it could but it felt like a step in the right direction.
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