Lost: Season 6, Episode 4 Review: The Substitute

The Substitute

Original Airdate: February 16, 2010

Writer: Elizabeth Sarnoff & Melinda Hsu Taylor

Director: Tucker Gates

Note: To avoid further confusion, when necessary, characters belonging to the flashsideways story will be referred to with a “LA X” prefix. Those belonging to the original timeline will have an “815” prefix.

The producers have said this season is meant to mirror the first, down to having many centric episodes correspond with the ones given back in season one. Next is Locke, and his flash sideways contrast his original flashback. His first episode “Walkabout”, besides being one of the series’ high points, revealed that under the cool demeanor was a man riddled with insecurity, loneliness & anger. Here in the flashsideways world, while he is the same character, he is not alone and can handle the problems he faces.

Instead of 815 Locke being mistreated by everyone he meets, those LA X Locke encounters, specifically those 815 Locke met on the island, help him deal with his problems: Hurley gives him a reference to a temp agency after he is fired from the box company Hurley owns, Rose gives him perspective as her acceptance of her cancer causes Locke to accept his much less lethal fate, & Ben, ironically, gives Locke a friend. It also helps that this Locke still has Helen, his fiancée here, in his life. Unlike Kate, whose life is at the same level it was in the master timeline, Locke’s life is unquestionably better, even if things don’t always go his way.

Having people in his life has kept the frustration in LA X Locke’s life at bay. Had 815 Locke fallen from his wheelchair and got stuck amidst the sprinklers, he would’ve had a fit instead of laughed it off. Of course LA X Locke’s life still has its disappointments, like Randy’s bullying (although he deserved punishment for wasting company money on a conference he never attended), his wheelchair lift’s failure to work, and after getting fired having to answer silly questions about what animal you’d like to be (from the woman who told Hurley’s fortune in the original timeline). However, LA X Locke’s contacts help him avoid becoming the target 815 Locke was. In fact, LA X Locke is very practical, the ultimate irony in this flash sideways is Locke, who we’ve known elsewhere as the man of faith, substitute teaching science.

As they plan their wedding, Helen mentions inviting Locke’s father. That obviously means they had a much healthier relationship in this reality. He didn’t put Locke against Helen and break them up, and it can be safe to say he didn’t push him out the window either that paralyzed him. Since he’s in a wheelchair anyway, the big question is how it happened in this reality. A possible hint comes when he shows interest in a construction job, where we can infer an accident caused it.

Continuing the connections that happen anyway, Locke meets none other than Ben Linus, teaching European history (which sounds like a perfect fit for Ben). Instead of their hostile meeting in season two, these versions bond over appreciation for tea, a “gentleman’s drink” as Ben says. Unlike LA X Kate & Claire’s connection, which was forced to a fault, this one feels more natural. Ben, as I joked, fits that type of teacher role well. Not to mention these characters are just so much fun to see together.

Besides the fun connection, it adds a layer to what exactly Jack & co. changed in 1977. Seeing the island sunk in “LA X”, I’d assumed everyone on the island who didn’t flash to 2007 died in the explosion and subsequent sinking. Ben surviving and making it to the main land means that just about anyone could’ve gotten off, and that maybe the island ending up sinking much later than originally thought. On the other hand, it also could mean the flash sideways have nothing to do with the bomb going off, playing off our expectations for a twist.

Back in the main storyline, Man in Locke goes about recruiting & playing mind games with Alpert. This shatters Alpert’s cool demeanor, which may have been part of his plan knowing he wouldn’t go on board. He finds a perfect recruit, however, in Sawyer. Man in Locke knows the broken man Sawyer has become, blasting nihilistic music while drinking himself to oblivion, makes him a perfect candidate (so to speak) to join his team. Sawyer doesn’t care about anything, but in Man in Locke, he sees answers, and possibly closure.

While Alpert warns Sawyer that he can’t trust Man in Locke and that the promise of answers is a trap, Man in Locke takes Sawyer to the cave, and a big piece of mythology returns. He reveals that Sawyer, along with Sayid, Hurley, Jack & one of the Kwons, are “candidates”, something Ilana introduced last season. Being a candidate means that Jacob thinks they may take up the throne when he’s gone. Each candidate is indicated with one of the numbers, which adds a lot of importance to them. I still doubt we’ll get a concrete answer to what the numbers mean, but connecting them to something like this is very interesting.

Although I don’t trust Man in Locke, he has some valid points. Jacob’s actions have been manipulative, planting seeds in the Losties heads to give them the illusion of choice. However, I don’t think anyone should go through the series taking Man in Locke’s words at face value clearly hasn’t been watching this show for five years. Man in Locke, much like Jacob, knows a lot about manipulation. The promise of answers and exit from the island is a good way to do it.

Much like Locke’s original episode showed the cracks in his confident exterior, here we see the first cracks in Man in Locke’s when a vision of a young boy with blood drenched hands appears. People have speculated that this kid is a young Jacob, or a being more powerful than either Jacob or Man in Locke. His warning that he can’t kill “him” (do they know how to use pronouns on this show or what?) could indicate some judge in this feud, and that unleashes the facet of Locke’s personally plagued with frustration. While teasing an important piece of Man in Locke’s background, having that piece of Locke come through may be where Locke will ultimately get his redemption, since this episode makes clear that Locke will not be resurrecting.

Ilana, Lapidus, Sun & Ben decide to bury the real Locke at Boone hill, which apparently is within walking distance of the four toed statue despite it taking the survivors 2 seasons to find it in the first place. There, they give Locke a proper burial. While Ben’s eulogy was uncomfortably awkward, but I think stands within his larger redemptive arc and his remorse for triggering the larger conflict they are embroiled in. He knows Locke deserved better, and all of this is his fault.

One thing that struck me was some of the directorial choices. I loved the smoke monster POV shot flying across the landscape, reminiscent of the evil force going through the forest in Evil Dead. Also some of the cinematography drew more attention to itself, but actually enhanced the viewing. So often on TV episodes stylistically look the same (for the sake of constricting time frame of shooting) that it’s nice when they change it up, even a little bit.

Despite still having the issue with how the flashsideways pertain to the main action, this episode’s subplot has me warming up to the concept. Of course Locke’s character tends to have among the best centric episodes, and this one, similar to “Walkabout” help sell people on the series, helped make the flashsideways much easier to digest.

Overall Score: 9/10