Episode 4 - The Substitute

Ahhh Locke-centric episodes are always very informative! We got a new character and new revelations galore! However I am never happy when there is no Jack, damn you Locke for being too stubborn to go see him for your FREE consultation! Oh well, on to the summary ...

SUMMARY

Off-Island (2004)

Locke returns home after the flight to his fiance Helen whom he plans on marrying, with the blessing of her parents and his father, in a few months. Locke tells her about his run in with Jack Shepard and she urges him to call for the free consult. Locke returns to work where he is promptly fired by Randy when he confronts John about not attending the conference in Australia that he was sent there for. He leaves the building and runs into Hurley who tells him to contact a temp agency and that everything will work out. He goes home to Helen to tell her he was fired when his missing luggage is returned and Helen opens it to find his suitcase full of knives. She assures him that she only wants to be with him and it's his choice if he wants to fix his back or not. He goes to the temp agency to work with the head of the office Rose and she shares with him how she has cancer and has learned to accept it and how she got back to her life once she was able to overcome her denial. He then accepts his life and is placed as a substitute teacher in an elementary school where he runs into Ben Linus, the frustrated European History teacher.

Island (2007)

Ilana was getting all teary eyed in Jacob's lair when Ben finds her. She asks Ben what happened and he informs her that MIB-Locke killed Jacob and threw him into the fire as Smokey. She accepts this and tells Ben that MIB-Locke is on a recruiting mission and that he cannot change shape. She takes some of Jacob's ashes before she leaves. MIB-Locke tries to recruit Richard Alpert by telling him he has answers for him but Richard refuses. That's when he sees a young blond boy with blood running down his arms. He continues through the jungle in Smokey form and finds a drunk Sawyer in Othersville. He convinces Sawyer to follow him for answers, and Sawyer, knowing that this isn't the same Locke he's come to know and love agrees to follow him. On their travels Sawyer runs into Richard Alpert while MIB-Locke runs after the young blond child again. Richard tells Sawyer that he is lying to him and to be safe Sawyer needs to follow him to the Temple. Sawyer refuses and follows MIB-Locke to a secret cliff-cave. Inside he removes a white rock from a scale and throws it into the ocean. He leads Sawyer to the back of the cave to show him the names of all his friends written in white chalk, some are crossed out and all are written after a number. MIB-Locke explains that this is why they are all here as he crosses off Sawyer's name, to become Jacob's replacements. He then offers Sawyer 3 choices - 1. do nothing, 2. become Jacob's replacement, or 3. leave with MIB-Smokey. Sawyer chooses to leave the island.

Wowsas! Lots of info so let's get right to it.

1. The numbers finally have some meaning!! Jacob is looking for his replacement and according to MIB-Locke, he's obsessed with numbers. So it looks like it was a process of elimination for Jacob and its looking like our remaining losties that are still in the running are assigned to our favorite equation. In case you missed it, the left over numbers are: 4 - Locke; 8 - Reyes (Hurley); 15 - Ford (Sawyer); 16 - Jarrah (Sayid); 23 - Shephard (Jack); 42 - Kwon (is it Sun or Jin? We don't know!) So this is Jacob's "list" and its been narrowed down. So why is Jack on it when waaaay back a few seasons ago someone said that Jack wasn't on Jacob's list? Is there some sort of significance why Kate wasn't on the list? My big guess would be that who would ever want her to control an island? Although she does have amazing hair ... but I digress.

2. The young blond kid - who is he? When MIB-Locke first sees him he looks stunned and it also seems that Richard Alpert cannot see him. My first guess was this is young Jacob appearing to him and reminding him of something that he had done wrong. Perhaps MIB isn't the only one who can appear to others on the island in a familiar form. That doesn't answer the question of how Sawyer could also see him. But I also love that he doesn't care, haha - he's so used to weird things happening on the island. Also he was drunk. So this little boy was very intriguing - he was scary and dressed like one of Jacob's people. He told the MIB that he knew the rules and he couldn't kill him. Was he referring to Sawyer? So there's rules too for how to recruit someone? And who is this little boy! I'm glad he was the only new character introduced, it's too late in the game for too many more and I really think that this little guy was Jacob.

3. So I feel like the series wants you to believe that Jacob has been defeated and the MIB has won but it still seems like the MIB is still very worried. He is however sticking by his guns that the island isn't special and worth protecting and he just wants off but it just doesn't make sense. Because we all know the island has great powers and Jacob has gone to great lengths to try and protect it. So I'm sticking with Richard Alpert and I think he has an ulterior motive. Ilana mentioned that he is recruiting as well so is he looking to make Sawyer his successor? Is he able to leave whatever prison he thinks he is in if someone else takes his place ... is he pulling the old Genie in a bottle trick with Jafar? I think he knows that Jacob is still around just waiting to get him and he's scrambling to get Sawyer to take his place so he can leave the island.

4. Off-island Locke seems more at peace with himself and has more patience than the old John Locke but he still struggles with the difficulties in his life. It was interesting to hear Helen reference his father, so if they are friends in this life then how was John injured? Seems like it was, as Helen said, destiny for John to be like this. I think the only reason for these drastic differences in these two worlds is Jacob. If he didn't touch them in the off-island world where the island has sunk, then this is how their lives would have played out. But in the world where they came to the island, Jacob touched each individual and altered their path which led them to the island. So this would mean he caused the rift between Locke and his father which led him to the island. Still doesn't answer the question of why he chose these people.

5. Good old Randy made an appearance! And while he is a jerk, he was completely justified in his firing of Locke. But luckily Locke meets up with Hurley who helps him get a job from Rose! She's the same old Rose we've come to know, kind and at peace with what life has dealt her. This resonates with Locke and we see him places in a job as a substitute teacher. I love love love that he has to cross paths with Ben Linus again and it looks like they're going to be friends! Oh Ben, he's so disgruntled in any life he's in.

6. The best part of the entire episode was Locke's funeral. I was just waiting for him to admit that he murdered Locke! And no one could do anything about it! Why does this man not have every Emmy they can give! Also, was it just me or was it weird to see Ben in a t-shirt doing hard labor?

7. Who is this Ilana woman and why does she know so much? She seemed to think that Jacob was truly gone but could she just have been weeping for her friends that came with her? I don't think so. Nonetheless she takes some of Jacobs ashes in that handy little pouch she has. What is it with these ashes? They protect everyone from Smokey and they also can be used to test people to see if they've been claimed? Is all the ash bodies of dead Jacob's past? We all saw him get stabbed and thrown into fire, and dead is dead, but I wouldn't exactly call Jacob human, so like I said, he's gotta be coming back. If he hasn't already in bloody kid form.

8. Richard Alpert looked truly terrified of the MIB. For one moment during Locke's speech to him I almost followed him but Richard is sticking to his guns. He is 100% convinced that this man is bad and that the Temple is the only safe place. Here's my confusion with this "Temple". When the French people were there didn't they get pulled under the temple by Smokey? So if this place is protected from the MIB then how did Smokey get so close?

9. Free Will seems to be the theme throughout this series. Everyone is getting choices. It truly has to be that these people were brought here to choose their destiny, which I realize is a contradiction but also has some truth to it. Will they live forever to protect the island by giving up their free will which makes them human (as it seems Jacob and MIB have) or will they continue to live their own lives devoid of the island? Looks like Sawyer chose to peace out so MIB scratched his name off the list. If I was on the island I would choose to live forever with Jack. He's dreamy, can you really blame me?

10. An awesome scene from this episode was where we saw the island from Smokey's point of view! It was like a rollercoaster! And at the end of the ride MIB-Locke appeared! So it is confirmed at this point that the MIB is Smokey, even though we already knew that! It reminded me of when Mr. Eko was killed and I realized, hey, he was killed by Smokey. So why could Smokey kill him, Keamy, etc. and not touch Sawyer? Maybe once they're crossed off Jacobs list are they game for Smokey? Watch out Kate!!

Okay so lots to think about, post your theories and tell me what you think of mine!

xo

B