Lost: Season 5, Episode 9 Review: Namaste
Namaste
Original Airdate: March 18, 2009
Writer: Paul Zbyszewski and Brian K. Vaughan
Director: Jack Bender
As the last episode showed, the Island Five thrived inside the Dharma community. It was a pretty good gig, but the arrival of the returning castaways is the beginning of the end of such domestic bliss. It starts with a not quite smooth transition of the three of them, and it only gets worse when Sayid is mistaken for an Other. Much like the season premiere, this episode doesn’t have a clear centric focus, but rather spends its time setting up the two main threads for the rest of the season: the people in 2007 figuring out how to get back to those who went to 1977 and the 1977 people busy dealing with Dharma. Some may be critical to have the principal leads dispersed even longer, but this is something that has happened a lot since the first season, especially the last two.
By going forward without everyone, they “rolled the dice” as the producers say and ultimately Ajira 316’s passengers wound up in two times. Everyone besides the ones seen in “316” and Sayid went to 2007. Why they went is mainly decided by what works best for the plot, but on one podcast I listen to (I believe it was Lostcast), two interesting connections between the main characters who stayed and the four who went came up. The four who went were all contacted by Locke, and those who stayed were connected directly to Widmore. Whether or not it means something, it’s an interesting layer.
After two seasons, it’s safe to say that the runway Kate & Sawyer broke rocks for wasn’t just a demoralizing exercise, but done in preparation for this arrival. Assuming all of that is true, it means The Others have an impressive amount of precognition and can maneuver themselves accordingly. How they can is still unknown, but may tie in to other elements like them not shifting with the castaways when Ben moved the island.
For those in 2007, they hide the truth from those around them to a lesser degree than the 77ers. Certainly Sun knows a thing about hidden agendas among survivors of a plane crash and how their story may be too incredible to believe. Frank also encounters this when he tries to assure his passengers while Ceasar questions Frank’s much calmer than expected attitude. This element isn’t nearly much of an issue because Frank and Sun are long gone before Locke mentions that he’s been there before.
The vets (aside from Locke) decide to head to the main land. Ben’s injuries are explained as Sun smacking him with the oar and as no surprise, Sun and Frank were the ones who took the outrigger to the main island. There they see things at the Barracks have fallen apart. While I’m not sure that much damage can be done from 3 years being abandoned, there’s an obvious hint that the Smoke Monster has taken residency there, which, compounded with the whispers, may explain why Christian is there as well.
Sun & Frank encounter Christian in one of the abandoned houses. If he is acting on behalf of Jacob as he says, he needs to get everyone back on the same time line and that it is a long, arduous process. It’s another lead meant to raise speculation for what it means, whether it’s moving the island or something more. For both sides, there’s no clear solution on how to reunite besides the 77ers being patient, avoiding the purge and meeting up when they’re in their 50s and 60s (and of course not coming into contact with themselves from the first four seasons).
While the 07ers know those who disappeared are 30 years in the past, the 77ers have no way of knowing where their counterparts went or if they are still alive. All they have is the possibility of the plane appearing on anything Dharma monitors. Of course, knowing his wife was on the flight sends Jin to the Flame to investigate, where we meet none other than Radzinsky, the man behind the blast door map and who was previously seen as an aged bloodstain on The Swan’s ceiling.
Radzinsky and Phil will quickly become the most justifiably hated characters in the series. He is a control freak, obsessed with glory with a little bit of mad scientist thrown in. In his scenes, Radzinsky is shown building a model for what will become The Swan hatch, meaning the Incident that would require its construction hasn’t happened yet. Previously, I thought what happened after Desmond turned the key was the closest we’d get to an answer as to what the Incident was, but apparently they wanted to explore more.
Elsewhere, Sawyer manages to get the people he was reunited with in “LaFleur” into the Dharma Initiative under the guise of them being among the new recruits who happened to be coming in that day. While the Island 5’s recruitment had rough edges, this one is always teetering on the brink of disaster. Luckily they don’t have modern technology, where they could quickly find out that those who wound up in 77 are either children or newborns. However, they could’ve figured it out among the Island 5, which contributes to the “Dharma is a front so they don’t ask too many questions” theory for those who don’t want to see it as a plot hole.
No hint is given that the Island 5 had as much difficulty assimilating as the new arrivals aside from their introduction. They don’t slip with anything referencing anything that has happened after 1977. Sawyer calling The Others “Hostiles” represents how well they’ve blended into Dharma society. Even after finding out who Amy’s child is, Juliet reacts subtly that only a person who knew to look for would notice.
Not naming the baby in “LaFleur” lead to a lot of discussion over who the baby was (and in long dormant drafts for that episode, I once pondered that maybe it was Jacob who figured out how to appear in 1954). It turns out the baby was Ethan, a development that annoys me more than it should. This makes Ethan 27 years old when he died. Much like Rebecca Mader doesn’t look 34, William Mapother doesn’t look 27, not to mention details of his medical prowess seem far fetched for someone that age. Yes some actors on the show are playing characters much younger than they are, but in the cases of the two actors mentioned, they look their ages.
Age problems aside, Ethan is probably another person who helped Ben conspire with The Others in the purge, something made more chilling since his father, like Ben’s, is one of the victims (and when Ethan was 15 no less). Ben hinted that he wasn’t the only person to switch sides, so this is a welcome follow up to that. Amy’s fate is up in the air, and many have theorized she is Amelia, the woman Juliet spoke to before the book club the day of the crash.
After the rough start, they get their jobs and Jack is none too pleased to be a “Work Man”. Jack’s new job is Sawyer’s payback. Sawyer had to step up and bear the burden of keeping the few surviving castaways together after most of them were slaughtered. Sawyer protected them, so he resents Jack barging in wanting to be the hero after being away so long, not to mention that there is no imminent danger known to them. It’s another step in emasculating Jack, taking him from being the leader to waiting for a sign.
The cliff hanger was expected with the arrival of the Losties to 1977, the captured Sayid meeting a young Ben Linus (the camera work and lighting really did a good job making Sterling Beaumon look more like Michael Emerson). There is irony in this meeting, besides Ben meeting Sayid before vice versa, when Ben was first captured he pretended he wasn’t part of The Others whereas Sayid pretended he was, and both did so out of fear of execution. Clearly this is why the writers chose to send Sayid way back to 1977.
Critic’s note: for the sake of clarity, Ben when played by Sterling Beaumon will be referred to as “Young Ben” whereas Ben when played by Michael Emerson will be referred to as “Ben”.
Of course on Lost, every minor detail from a word choice to a facial expression gets dissected to death. However, the people behind this show are mere mortals like we are and make mistakes. Case in point, in the original airing, there is a woman in the background (behind Sun) when Sun and Frank meet Christian. A lot of people, myself included, guessed that perhaps this person was Claire, last seen under Christian’s care. It turns out that the woman was just a crew member who got in the shot. Whenever these bloopers make it into the final cut (which is inevitable even among the best shows) it always makes me question all the elaborate speculation I’ve made and how much of it was over flubs like this one.
This episode did a good job setting up the new status quo of the second half of the season. It would’ve been nice to have a character take center stage, but the way the story was, it didn’t seem likely that it would fit. For a show built heavily around character development, focusing on plot works almost as well.
By going forward without everyone, they “rolled the dice” as the producers say and ultimately Ajira 316’s passengers wound up in two times. Everyone besides the ones seen in “316” and Sayid went to 2007. Why they went is mainly decided by what works best for the plot, but on one podcast I listen to (I believe it was Lostcast), two interesting connections between the main characters who stayed and the four who went came up. The four who went were all contacted by Locke, and those who stayed were connected directly to Widmore. Whether or not it means something, it’s an interesting layer.
After two seasons, it’s safe to say that the runway Kate & Sawyer broke rocks for wasn’t just a demoralizing exercise, but done in preparation for this arrival. Assuming all of that is true, it means The Others have an impressive amount of precognition and can maneuver themselves accordingly. How they can is still unknown, but may tie in to other elements like them not shifting with the castaways when Ben moved the island.
For those in 2007, they hide the truth from those around them to a lesser degree than the 77ers. Certainly Sun knows a thing about hidden agendas among survivors of a plane crash and how their story may be too incredible to believe. Frank also encounters this when he tries to assure his passengers while Ceasar questions Frank’s much calmer than expected attitude. This element isn’t nearly much of an issue because Frank and Sun are long gone before Locke mentions that he’s been there before.
The vets (aside from Locke) decide to head to the main land. Ben’s injuries are explained as Sun smacking him with the oar and as no surprise, Sun and Frank were the ones who took the outrigger to the main island. There they see things at the Barracks have fallen apart. While I’m not sure that much damage can be done from 3 years being abandoned, there’s an obvious hint that the Smoke Monster has taken residency there, which, compounded with the whispers, may explain why Christian is there as well.
Sun & Frank encounter Christian in one of the abandoned houses. If he is acting on behalf of Jacob as he says, he needs to get everyone back on the same time line and that it is a long, arduous process. It’s another lead meant to raise speculation for what it means, whether it’s moving the island or something more. For both sides, there’s no clear solution on how to reunite besides the 77ers being patient, avoiding the purge and meeting up when they’re in their 50s and 60s (and of course not coming into contact with themselves from the first four seasons).
While the 07ers know those who disappeared are 30 years in the past, the 77ers have no way of knowing where their counterparts went or if they are still alive. All they have is the possibility of the plane appearing on anything Dharma monitors. Of course, knowing his wife was on the flight sends Jin to the Flame to investigate, where we meet none other than Radzinsky, the man behind the blast door map and who was previously seen as an aged bloodstain on The Swan’s ceiling.
Radzinsky and Phil will quickly become the most justifiably hated characters in the series. He is a control freak, obsessed with glory with a little bit of mad scientist thrown in. In his scenes, Radzinsky is shown building a model for what will become The Swan hatch, meaning the Incident that would require its construction hasn’t happened yet. Previously, I thought what happened after Desmond turned the key was the closest we’d get to an answer as to what the Incident was, but apparently they wanted to explore more.
Elsewhere, Sawyer manages to get the people he was reunited with in “LaFleur” into the Dharma Initiative under the guise of them being among the new recruits who happened to be coming in that day. While the Island 5’s recruitment had rough edges, this one is always teetering on the brink of disaster. Luckily they don’t have modern technology, where they could quickly find out that those who wound up in 77 are either children or newborns. However, they could’ve figured it out among the Island 5, which contributes to the “Dharma is a front so they don’t ask too many questions” theory for those who don’t want to see it as a plot hole.
No hint is given that the Island 5 had as much difficulty assimilating as the new arrivals aside from their introduction. They don’t slip with anything referencing anything that has happened after 1977. Sawyer calling The Others “Hostiles” represents how well they’ve blended into Dharma society. Even after finding out who Amy’s child is, Juliet reacts subtly that only a person who knew to look for would notice.
Not naming the baby in “LaFleur” lead to a lot of discussion over who the baby was (and in long dormant drafts for that episode, I once pondered that maybe it was Jacob who figured out how to appear in 1954). It turns out the baby was Ethan, a development that annoys me more than it should. This makes Ethan 27 years old when he died. Much like Rebecca Mader doesn’t look 34, William Mapother doesn’t look 27, not to mention details of his medical prowess seem far fetched for someone that age. Yes some actors on the show are playing characters much younger than they are, but in the cases of the two actors mentioned, they look their ages.
Age problems aside, Ethan is probably another person who helped Ben conspire with The Others in the purge, something made more chilling since his father, like Ben’s, is one of the victims (and when Ethan was 15 no less). Ben hinted that he wasn’t the only person to switch sides, so this is a welcome follow up to that. Amy’s fate is up in the air, and many have theorized she is Amelia, the woman Juliet spoke to before the book club the day of the crash.
After the rough start, they get their jobs and Jack is none too pleased to be a “Work Man”. Jack’s new job is Sawyer’s payback. Sawyer had to step up and bear the burden of keeping the few surviving castaways together after most of them were slaughtered. Sawyer protected them, so he resents Jack barging in wanting to be the hero after being away so long, not to mention that there is no imminent danger known to them. It’s another step in emasculating Jack, taking him from being the leader to waiting for a sign.
The cliff hanger was expected with the arrival of the Losties to 1977, the captured Sayid meeting a young Ben Linus (the camera work and lighting really did a good job making Sterling Beaumon look more like Michael Emerson). There is irony in this meeting, besides Ben meeting Sayid before vice versa, when Ben was first captured he pretended he wasn’t part of The Others whereas Sayid pretended he was, and both did so out of fear of execution. Clearly this is why the writers chose to send Sayid way back to 1977.
Critic’s note: for the sake of clarity, Ben when played by Sterling Beaumon will be referred to as “Young Ben” whereas Ben when played by Michael Emerson will be referred to as “Ben”.
Of course on Lost, every minor detail from a word choice to a facial expression gets dissected to death. However, the people behind this show are mere mortals like we are and make mistakes. Case in point, in the original airing, there is a woman in the background (behind Sun) when Sun and Frank meet Christian. A lot of people, myself included, guessed that perhaps this person was Claire, last seen under Christian’s care. It turns out that the woman was just a crew member who got in the shot. Whenever these bloopers make it into the final cut (which is inevitable even among the best shows) it always makes me question all the elaborate speculation I’ve made and how much of it was over flubs like this one.
This episode did a good job setting up the new status quo of the second half of the season. It would’ve been nice to have a character take center stage, but the way the story was, it didn’t seem likely that it would fit. For a show built heavily around character development, focusing on plot works almost as well.
Overall Score: 8/10
posted by Matt @ 2:44 PM
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