Sizing Up "The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham"

It was the best episode so far this season. It was the best episode in many seasons. By my count, it was the best episode in 86 swings of those white letters "LOST" amidst a black screen and that eerily delectable screeching sound.

For those that are curious, here's my running tally of the five greatest LOST episodes of all-time (subject to change, of course):

#5 - "Greatest Hits" (Episode #321; I was never a huge Charlie fan, but this episode about the greatest moments in his life and his willingness to sacrifice himself for everyone else was probably one of the most emotionally-charged episodes ever.)

#4 - "Exodus, Part II" (Episode #122; LOST's first finale. I'll never forget those WHAT-THE-#$*% feelings as Walt was stolen away on that boat and as we peered down into our first ever Dharma hatch, not knowing what in the world would be inside for several more months. These were the days!)

#3 - "Through the Looking Glass" (Episode #322; Season three's finale. A crusade against the Others! ZOMG FLASH-FORWARDS! MYSTERY COFFIN! "WE HAVE TO GO BAAAAAACK!" Purely epic.)

#2 - "The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham" (Episode #507; as this post will explain)

#1 - "Walkabout" (Episode #104; John Locke was in a frikin WHEELCHAIR! Nobody totally saw that coming. It was the episode that first pulled me into the power of this show. It hasn't ever let me go since.)

So let us consider the things that made this ninetieth episode of LOST so amazing.

I liked the opening of the episode with Ceasar and Illana (who?) in a darkened Dharma station. I wasn't too big on Locke "de-cloaking" himself after Ceasar asked for his name though. A little hyper-dramatic, I think (especially considering that we already knew he was to be resurrected based on the previews [and even without them]). But eh, that random cloak puts him right up there with Obi-Wan Kenobi as my favorite cloaked film/television characters of all time.

I'll be sure to formulate a top-5 for Favorite Cloaked Characters too.

"You asked me what I remember...I remember dying."

Truly one of the greatest things to ever come out of John Locke's mouth. And I loved his eating of the mango! John Locke + fruit = money. Every time.



See?

This scene on the shore showed Locke looking OUT at "the" island, so obviously Flight 316 landed on the small "Alcatraz" next to "the" island (where all those polar bear cages and everything are). Interesting that they'd crash there...

Can I just say that Charles Widmore is amazing? All this time we've been led (albeit through Ben's eyes) that he's this big, evil uber-villain...and here we see him having the pleasantest of conversations with Locke. I expected him to offer him some Earl Grey tea and a blueberry scone.

"There's a war coming, John. And if you're not back on that island when it happens, the wrong side is going to win."

So what is, pray tell, "the right side"? Is Ben "good," or is Widmore? My thought: neither is. I think they both want control of the island to themselves and the only true hope for the island sits with John Locke. But that's just me. Clearly this conversation was meant to steer us more toward the middle of this debate since over the past season or so we've been fed by Ben (again, by Ben) that Widmore is the bad guy.

And plus, Ben frikin strangled Locke. That helps make him look pretty bad himself.

Sayid speaks Spanish?! That's almost as shocking / borderline-ridiculous as Charlotte speaking Korean.

I loved that Abaddon played a much larger role in this episode than he's done in his other spot appearances on the show. He just has this amazing, dark aura about him (I promise that's not racist). If I ever have a personal chauffeur in a limousine (which, I mean, is a given for me someday), I want a Matthew Abaddon.

I absolutely LOVED the quick line he said to Locke when they were in New York and they saw Walt coming out of school.

"Boy's gotten big."

Little line; huge possibilities. I mentioned in one of my prior posts that the sexy theory out there is that Abaddon is indeed Walt - though of the Future Variety. Whether he really is or isn't, this line was absolutely written by the writers in response to all these theories. Either it's just a throwaway line intended to make us all astir...or it has actual meaning. Because how would Abaddon know what Walt used to look like?! Only if he was actually looking at HIMSELF, of course! After that line he then says something to John to the effect of, "I'll give you two some privacy" as he steps away. Interesting, interesting...



I was shocked (and sad) to see Abaddon meet an untimely end at the cemetery. A great place to die though as it saves a lot of the travel expenses in getting into the ground.

The acting in this episode was extraordinary. LOST has been blessed from the beginning with incredible acting, and this episode exemplified it perfectly. I've already mentioned that great interaction between Locke and Widmore at the start; well, there were plenty of other great conversations as well.

Listening to Locke tell his heartbreaking tale of Helen with Kate was amazing. This is why I love Locke! The way the camera slowly pans in on him, the way he contorts his face and says he was "obsessed"...the way Kate solemnly states, "Look how far you've come." Really heart-wrenching stuff.



Now, moving on to the conversation Locke had with Mr. I'll Never Believe: Jack. Re-live it with me...



I've never been a huge Jack fan. And that's basically since I've always been a huge Locke fan. Jack has always - for over four seasons - been Locke's counterpart. The staunch unbelief to Locke's faith. The accident to Locke's destiny. The miracles-can't-ever-happen-even-though-my-former-wife-was-suddenly-able-to-walk-again to Locke's absolutely-I-believe-in-miracles-because-I'M-FLIPPIN-WALKING-AGAIN.

But as of the airing of this episode...I have become a Jack fan. Yes, yes, I've been converted. The end is near. We saw him become "born again" the week before after Ben talked with him about Doubting Thomas (in a church, of all places...), but I loved seeing the exact MOMENT when it all started happening for Jack (he bought a plane ticket to Sydney later that day, according to Ben). Amazing kudos to Matthew Fox for this scene, because I was totally sold on it. The semi-slurred speech, the anger in his eyes, that pause as he walked away from Locke, and how he blinked his eyes when John said, "Your father says hello." Loved it. It's in my top scenes of all-time, for sure (definitely a much longer list than five items though!).

What a great cap to the episode with John's would-be suicide scene. All along I never seriously thought he actually committed suicide. Because...really? The savior for the island, for all these people, committing suicide? It just didn't fit right in my mind. And sure enough, just as Locke is about to step off and let gravity do its job...Ben shows up.

I don't know entirely what to make of the scene. Would it have been a "mortal sin" for Locke to commit suicide, and then his body wouldn't have resurrected upon his re-arrival to the island? Perhaps. Did Ben know all this, so that's why he talked him down, and later strangled him himself? Maybe so. When Jack asked Ben at one point if Locke was "really dead," Ben froze for a second and then just changed the subject. So why did Ben give a seemingly genuine "goodbye" to Locke as he hung limply from the ceiling, if he knew he'd rise again? I'm "hung up" myself on that one. Ben's had some dastardly moments on the show, and that moment definitely ranks right at the top. I'm eager to see how his and Locke's first meeting on the island will go. What do you really say to a guy you've strangled to death (and also shot / left for dead in the Dharma Pit)? I don't think there's a "MAKING GOOD WITH THE GUY YOU KILLED, FOR DUMMIES" out there anywhere.

All in all, a spectacular episode. Hope you guys enjoyed it as much as I did! A "LaFleur" recap will be coming soon!

John Locke = Jesus Christ?

No, I promise this won't be as heretical as you fear (or hope?). I love LOST for many reasons: amazing depth and breadth of characters who we learn about both on- and off-island, a beautiful location with such complex and cascading mysteries past and present (mammoth four-toed foot statue?!), and so much more. But perhaps one of the facets of LOST which I've most latched onto is the spiritual element. Mr. Eko is a Nigerian drug dealer-turned-priest, Rose clutches her crucifix necklace and prays often to her Heavenly Father, "The Others" make mention of some kind of mysterious "list" which separates the "good" from the "not-good," and characters with names like "Jack Shephard" and "Christian Shephard" conjure up images of David and even Christ Himself.

Since the early season one episode, "Walkabout" (Ep#104) with its epic closing scene, John Locke has been my favorite character on LOST. Far and away. He was rarely seen in the first three episodes, gets the fourth one dedicated to him with an incredible flashback, and from then on (in my humble opinion) the show has completely revolved around his presence.

I never really saw a metaphoric relationship between John Locke and Jesus Christ until the finale of season four and on into the beginning of this current season five. But looking back to the beginning of the series, the similarities are quite astounding...

• "No offense, mate, but if there's one person on this island I would put my absolute trust in to save us all, it would be John Locke." These are the words spoken by Charlie to Jack very early on in the show's history (Ep#113: "Hearts and Minds"). At the time they didn't appear to carry much significant weight, but now five seasons in, these words stunningly foreshadow (or since we're in the Bible Zone today, should I say "prophesy"?) the things to come several seasons down the road. Just as Christ is prophesied to do the exact same thing. Before He's even born, Jesus is described as the One who will "save his people from their sins" (Matthew 1:21). And in His famous words to Nicodemus in the dead of night, Jesus explained that "God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him" (John 3:17).
  
• The word "save" has many meanings for many different people. There's the temporary kind of saving: the physical, the tangible, the temporary. As in how I'll feel come May 9th after I graduate from college (76 days!). And then there's a more lasting kind of saving. The beyond-physical. The intangible. The eternal. Naturally, the word "save" on a show about a group of planewrecked survivors conjures up the image of rescue boats, helicopters, and a return to normal civilized life. But not for Locke, however. For Locke, crashing onto the island is what seemingly-paradoxically did save him. For not only did it restore his physical ailments, but it also restored his emotional ones. Psychological. Spiritual, even. Suddenly, his sucktastic life as office worker at a box company (can you honestly think of anything more mundane? perhaps working at a foam-peanut company?) had been fully infused with actual purpose. Destiny. Over the course of the next several seasons, John Locke serves as the link between the mysteries of the island and the survivors. Just as Christ serves as the link between God and man.
  
• So while the Oceanic survivors' notion of "saving" falls upon the tangible/physical/temporary variety, Locke's notion naturally falls upon the opposite. For Locke, the island isn't a place of isolation, hopelessness, or death. Not in the least. "It's not an island," quips Locke to the continually unbelieving Jack. "It's a place where miracles happen" (Ep#413/4: "There's No Place Like Home, Pt. 2"). And over the course of the series, Locke's made it his own personal mission to make sure the survivors not find temporary rescue off the island. Instead he destroys every opportunity for such rescue and in turn hopes for the survivors to discover a deeper kind of rescue. He quietly approves of Walt's destruction of Michael's first raft and even explodes The Others' submarine just as Jack and some portion of Otherville prepared to board it for "home." These various notions of "rescue" and "saving" interestingly parallel with Scripture and with there only being "one way" to be truly, permanently, eternally "saved" in Christ. "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6). With both Locke's actions and Christ's words, this concept of being "saved" is pinpointed to pursuing one and only one path, despite the many paths out there.


• Like Christ, Locke is sent on a mission that he knows beforehand will result in his death. As he agonizes over this reality with Christian in Mystical Donkey Wheel Land (Ep#505: "This Place is Death"), Jack's supposed-to-be-dead-Daddy offers Locke with one of the most powerful lines in the series' history: "I suppose that's...that's why they call it sacrifice." Matthew 20:28 succinctly describes Christ's own mission: "Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many." It's pretty mind-boggling, actually. That Jesus lived his life knowing that He was going to die for all humanity. And that He was going to die the cruelest death in history, at that. And yet despite knowing all this, He fulfilled His mission. And after staggering to his feet, Locke turns the wheel that sends him off the island and, ultimately, to the fulfillment of his own mission. His death.
  
• Which finally, brings us to Locke's death. As of the writing of this post, we've yet to see how exactly Locke has died and the specific details leading up to said death. Though we've currently never seen him alive off-island, we've been able to piece together the reactions of those he met with during the course of his post-island life. A basic summation? They hated him. They found him both crazy and vile. Who was once the hero who would "save them all" suddenly becomes the spurned and rejected one. Similarly after Christ received the embracing acceptance of much of the people, healing the sick, feeding the hungry, and speaking the Truth...he was rejected. Greeted with shouts of "Hosanna!" one week; shouts of "Crucify Him!" the next. "He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed" (Isaiah 53:5). Just as Christ was slain for our sins, so Locke's life was taken so that his own people could be eventually healed. Like Christ, Locke is the "proxy," the "substitute," as eloquently stated by my beloved Ms. Hawking (a heart-stirring topic for another day).

• And just as Christ astoundingly rose from the grave and brought hope to all humanity, so Locke will rise again upon his return to the island (courtesy his own Christ-like "tomb": the belly of an airplane's cargo hold) and restore hope to the remaining crash survivors. It's only fitting that with a dead Locke in tow, that this plane's flight number, 316, correspond to the penultimate verse in all of Scripture: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life" (John 3:16).

People either love Locke or hate him. There's not a lot of middle ground. Obviously I fall into the former of these two categories. One of my favorite scenes from the entire series thus far involves Locke, Walt, and the game of backgammon. There's no roaring smoke monsters, no Others attacks, no Sawyer nicknames, and no Dharma hatches. But I just find Locke's quiet storytelling about the birth of an ancient board game incredibly relevant to the larger-scale goings-on of the show. A battle between purpose and aimlessness. A battle between good and evil. A battle between light and dark. The formers of these comparisons all being things that the island can provide. Things that God the Father can too provide, as told by Christ.

Quite simply...Locke rockes.