Last night’s episode title, “The Little Prince,” refers to the book by the same name by French writer Antoine de Saint Exupery. Quite significant. The author, Exupery, who was French — like Rousseau’s science expedition — was met with disaster while travelling and disappeared under mysterious circumstances. Those that know the book know that it’s about a boy who’s never supposed to leave his magical little meteorite home, his community and his one true love (his constant). Once again, I’m grateful for a show that resists the urge to “be reasonable and explain everything to us small-minded, imagination-challenged adults.” (DH)
WHAT HAPPENED
More island time skipping and background fillings. See timeline.
HELPFUL TIMELINE
FLASH 1
Departure Point:
1954: The Others vs. The H-bomb-testers. (As seen in last week’s episode, ”Jughead”)
Arrival Point:
November 1 2004 — the night Boone died, Claire gave birth and Locke “made” the Hatch throw a blazing light into the sky: Season 1 Episode 20, “Do No Harm”. While stopped in November 2004, Sawyer spies Kate assisting Claire giving birth to Aaron. (Someone has to go back and watch that episode to see if they see any shadows in the trees!). If you like this show you like its continuity. This episode did a good job covering the progression of Kate’s bond to Aaron and it was rad to be reminded that, way back in Season 1, Kate tells Claire that ”this baby is all of us.”
FLASH 2
Departure Point:
November 1 2004
Arrival Point:
Hard to say. Clearly not a moment we’ve seen yet in the series, so I’m going to theorize that this moment has not yet happened: The castaways landed on a point in time after the departure of the Oceanic 6. That ”Ajira Airlines” (Yes, there’s a website and yes you should check it out) water bottle? I’m thinking it came from the airplane that’s going to bring the Oceanic 6 back to the Island. Is it possible that the other party in the other outrigger boat — the ones that started firing on Locke and company — was Jack and company?
FLASH 3
Departure Point:
TBD: ”Thank you, Lord!” Sawyer bellowed heavenward, carrying the castaways away from their attackers. (Quick side note…Sawyer has been a little over the top so far in season 5, but having Sawyer and Locke partnered up in the jungle has been cool — a little reflection and a little humor. The nicknames can be tiresome, but I know you smiled when he said “sorry to break up your I’m-an-other-you’re-an-other party.”)
Arrival Point:
Middle of a storm at sea sometime in 1988. (”I take that back!” Sawyer retorted to the skies.) 1988 was the year that Danielle Rousseau, fully pregnant with Alex, washed up on the Island with a bunch of French scientists. Rousseau! I’m stoked that she’s back — she was/is of my favorites. If you do any extra LOST digging this week, take the time to read a couple paragraphs about Rousseau’s Science expedition team. It’s fascinating and really connects the seasons.
THEORIES TO DISCUSS
1. Rousseau’s French Expedition team finds Jin floating in the water. As far as I see it, this means that the freighter was close enough to the island to time travel, or at least Jin was — Discuss! Also, at least for the moment, he’s now in the same time as Locke, Sawyer, Juliet and Co. right?
2. Theories floating around that Locke’s trip to the Orchid will have him discovering the frozen donkey wheel. Will he crank it back to the OFF position sending the Island into a time-halting skid (i.e., come to rest at a certain space and time)? Will that be what sends him out the wormhole and to his Jeremy Bentham off-Island death?
FACTS CONFIRMED
1. Did you catch the words ”Rainier-Canton” on the side of Ben’s van? That’s an anagram for ”reincarnation.” John Locke?
2. Additionally, “Besixdouze” (“B612”), the apparent name of the science expedition’s lost boat (as per the wreckage on the beach), is a reference to the asteroid on which The Little Prince lives in the book.
3. 333 555 0156 — Jack’s mobile number. Try it.
4. Ben, not Claire’s mother, ordered the blood test for Aaron/Kate, presumably to “help Jack with his Kate problem” and scare Kate into returning to the Island. He’s also hired the same lawyer to get Hurley out of jail. Maybe he’s hiring the attacks on Sayid? I still think Ben is on his own team.
BURNING QUESTIONS
1. ”There’s candy in the mini bar and over 100 channels on TV,” Sun says to Kate when babysitting Aaron. Is this how she’s raising Ji Yeon (her daughter)? I didn’t detect an iota of motherhood in that woman, did you? Where is Ji Yeon?
2. It seems Miles Straume may have been to the island before? Temporal replacement is occurring in the people that have been to the island before. Charlotte was born there, or so we think, Juliet has been there for 3 years plus — maybe Miles was as well. Is Miles Pierre Chang’s son?
3. Did the 1950s U.S. military have to travel through the offshore, time-travel, sickness-inducing anomaly … or was said anomaly a consequence of something yet to come at that point in the Island’s history?
4. It appears that only the castaways are traveling through time. Which means that the Island isn’t traveling through time. Maybe. But we saw the Island disappear in the season finale. So?
Comment away!
[Note: In this column, many weeks I borrow from other LOST sites, primarily Doc Jensen and EW.com. I’ll try to put as much of myself in these as I can, but EW gets to screen the episodes in advance and I certainly don’t … so … much love to the Doc, we couldn’t dig in quite the same without you.]