Okay. I need to make a confession. There are a couple of things about Lost that I was somewhat spoiled to. The main page of the site where I get my Lost links mentions the "Dharma Initiative" so I knew that there was going to be something called the Dharma Initiative. The other thing I was spoiled to was the fact that the people in the tail side of the plane survived. I remember seeing commercials previewing that twist on TV at the time Lost was originally airing. I should also mention that I've been told that the ending to Lost was disappointing, but I'm not going to take anyone's word on that.
So anyways, I saw the big twist coming; and I actually feel like it has been pretty obvious that it was coming since Season 1, but I didn't want to comment on it. Maybe if I hadn't been spoiled, this would have blown me away. As it was, I just thought it was kind of cool. It was a good way of introducing more characters to the series, and because it was so clearly foreshadowed, it didn't feel awkward.
So, since I knew that there would be tail end survivors, how did I feel about them?
Is that black guy supposed to be Rose's husband? He seems a little young. Maybe I'm just being racist?
I totally called Anna Lucia being a plant, and turning on the three guys in the pit. By the way, why the hell do they have this pit? These survivors seem so much more savage than those on the front of the plane. Is that because they didn't have Jack to lead them, or because they've faced much more hardship? Have they been fighting the Others? I can't wait to get some Flashbacks from the new survivors.
Okay, now on to the Dharma Initiative. I knew that there was something called the Dharma Initiative, and I thought the name sounded hippyish. I figured it was just a name, and the real organization would be cooler. It wasn't. The Dharma Initiative is just a bunch of crazy hippies running a giant mindfuck. I love it. Watching the Orientation video, I just couldn't stop myself from laughing. The whole thing is so ridiculous, but it does explain everything. Well not the Monster, or the slaveship, or the Others, but it explains the Polar bears. And isn't that the most important mystery of them all?
I love all the stuff in the Swan (I'm calling it by it's name!) It provides all these new things for the survivors to interact with. There's technology, but more importantly there's books and music, and food! I forgot to mention Kate taking the candy bar in the last episode! This is quite a gold mine they've found! I like getting a new place to see, it adds a new visual element to the series. And it's nice to hear some music with some lyrics!
Now it's time to talk about Locke. His flashback is definitely the most depressing one we've gotten. His father is just SUCH a bad man. I enjoy seeing Locke bitter and angry like this, because on the Island he's been so happy and peaceful most of the time. He just can't let go of what his father did to him, and really I can't blame him.
"You're not wanted." That's such an awful thing to say to your son, and it completely demolishes Locke.
Is Helen also the name of that phone sex operator, because that is just really disturbing. I assume this relationship is going to end terribly despite him taking a leap of faith with her at the end. Locke is too obsessive to just give up on stalking his father.
In the present Locke has become obsessed with this button. Desmond tells us that he was recruited by some guy named Kelvin, who I'm gonna guess was one of the Others. Just a guess. Here we have our man of science, man of faith debate all over again. But first Kate rescues Jack by hitting Desmond with a gun, and causing him to shoot the computer and doom the world.
Desmond runs away, but not before bringing up the biggest point of the button to Jack. I 100% agree with Jack that nothing is going to happen, but this guy Kelvin was convinced that if he didn't push the button the world would end. Is anyone willing to risk that happening. Is anyone willing to take this man's hardcore belief lightly?
Sayid magically fixes the computer of course, because he's Sayid and he knows machines. Then we get the atheist vs. the believer.
"It's never been easy!" Locke shouts, and we can tell that he's suffered for his belief. In his other life, he lost something, and here on the Island he's been a constant outsider. He knows people think he's weird, but he believes, and he's willing to suffer for it. He's willing to push that button for the rest of his life; but he doesn't want to be alone. He needs someone to help him.
"It doesn't matter!"
"Nothing's going to happen!"
I truly believe that Jack has a conviction here of his atheistic ideology. Something in his past ripped away his faith, and now he feels the need to deny what's going on around him. In the end, I don't even think he pushed the button out of fear of the unknown. I think he did it just for Locke. He saw that Locke needed to believe, and let him have it.
So we are left with a new plot device. A Button. It must be pushed every 108 minutes (really more like 104 with the warning alarm and everything) or else there's a chance the world will end. And Locke is going to take the first shift.
Rating: 9 out of 10 countdowns.
There's an interesting philosophical/religious debate in this episode, and I truly think both sides got a fair shake. I also finally got to be truly spoilerfree, and learned that the Dharma Initiative is just a bunch of crazy hippies who apparently got a buttload of money. The tail-end survivors are alive, and now I get to be surprised by the role they take in the series. Yay!
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