Looking at the Little Things: 5.07 “The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham”

(Author’s Note: OK, back to a regular schedule after this last late recap. I was in San Diego and Baja helping my brother get married with many attendant festivities starting last Wednesday night. Note to self, there’s a reason they call it “te-kill-ya.”)

Well…there you have it. The Passion of the Locke, as others have already been perceptive enough to call it. And did I call it? Of course I called it! But then, did anyone really not believe that Locke the Miracle Man’s™ story arc wasn’t leading him inexorably toward that ne plus ultra of miracles (and ultimate validation of his importance in the scheme of things), resurrection? Anyone? Bueller…?

Don’t worry, I wouldn’t own up to it either in your shoes after seeing the proof.

But before he could rise again, Locke needed to suffer the death of ego courtesy of his travels in the underworld, by which I mean the outside world. Shall we? Hang on…

I’ve heard of you. I heard you were dead!

This episode wasted little time in establishing several things. They are, in increasing order of importance:

• New guy Caesar is shifty and not to be trusted, possibly has Island knowledge, and is almost certainly a catspaw of Widmore.
• At some point, the DHARMA Initiative got its grubby little mitts on Faraday’s journal in order to make that copy.
• Frank Lapidus managed to land Ajira 316 reasonably safely on Hydra Island, leaving most if not all of the passengers alive. Can that man fly under adverse conditions or what?
• John Locke is back from the dead…and looking more than a little reminiscent of Obi-Wan Kenobi during the dramatic de-hooding as he introduces himself to the Ajira 316 survivors. Unfortunately for Locke, he doesn’t seem to have come back with any more knowledge than he had when he died.

However, seeing as I’m going to be spending the bulk of my time in this piece talking ’bout my main man, Locke, how’s about we start with Items 2 and 3 on that list, as they actually tell us something new and interesting and not immediately related to Locke’s strange journey?

What they tell us in no uncertain terms is that the knowledge of future events specifically included foreknowledge of the crash of Ajira 316, just as I theorized in my recap of “316.” Otherwise, why would Juliet and the Others have been clearing a runway there back in Season 3, hmm?

I told you Ms. Hawking was simply using the rather impressive and arcane environs of the Lamp Post as a set for her play of having spent a great deal of effort finding out about where the Island would be and which plane would be the most likely to get them through their “window.” She already knew exactly which plane would be crashing there on that particular day, as did whoever gave the order to build that runway, either Ben or Richard. Of course, as with the very best lies, hers contained a kernel of truth. I’m quite sure that the Lamp Post was used for exactly the purpose she says it was and could, in fact, still do that job if required. Hell, she may very well have still been crunching the numbers to verify what she already knew, but the fact remains…she already knew it.

Furthermore, if DHARMA had Daniel’s papers and journal, to say nothing of presumably having a period of access to Daniel himself, then it’s almost certain that a pretty extensive info-download occurred. This past year’s Comicon teaser video was a testament to that fact.

So, the gears of determinism keep grinding away to get us to the point at which things will finally have an unsure outcome. Really puts Abaddon’s remark about “getting people where they need to go” into perspective, doesn’t it.

Everybody’s coming, leave your body at the door. Leave your body and soul at the door.

Now, on to the Stations of the Locke. I’m not going to try to draw one-to-one correspondences here. I’ll leave that to the more fanatically detail-oriented among the Lost fandom. But the Passion imagery was simply too obvious to ignore, right down to Locke’s “why hast thou forsaken me?”-like lament to Jack (in the note) and Ben (in person).

The betrayal, the stumbles, the falls, the scourging, the sharing of the burden, the final death…it was all there, with Ben more than anyone playing Judas Iscariot and Widmore, despite protestations to the contrary, doing his best impression of Pontius Pilate.

Let’s start with Widmore. As is ever the case with paternal figures in Locke’s life (Cooper, Christian), he seems to be leading Locke down the primrose path by feeding Locke’s need to feel special and important. He makes sure there’s going to be medical attention available to Locke when he appears at “the exit” from the Island (a place known at the very least to himself, an unfortunate polar bear, and Ben), indicating that he knew someone would be there even if he didn’t know the precisely time. He expresses concern and support, gives him a new identity and resources, and sends him off with Lost’s answer to Charon, Abaddon.

But all of Abaddon’s actions in his role as Locke’s sherpa through Hades seemed to be intended to cause Locke very calculated distress. He brandishes that most hated symbol of impotence at Locke—the wheelchair. A crutch would have done every bit as well without being nearly so demeaning. He digs at Locke with every failed or passed-on attempt to persuade someone to return, adding insult to the injury inflicted by four of the O6 and by his struggle with the prospect of dragging Walt back into the fray. He plants the seed of taking Locke to see someone “who’d be glad to see [him],” likely knowing full well there would only be one person who matched that description, and she’s either dead or else has one very premeditated staged grave.

Clearly, where Locke “needed to go” was right into the pit of despair. Somehow, Widmore knew that it would be Locke’s failed attempts plus his suicide that finally drives the O6 into the vortex of events leading them to the Time Witch, then back onto another airplane known to be making an unscheduled stop on Mystery Frickin’ Island.

But then Ben seems to save Locke from Abaddon. Out of nowhere, he guns Widmore’s lieutenant down and, after losing Locke in the car chase and crash, tracks him down to whatever skeevy flophouse Locke was using for his last little leap. He gives a masterclass on improvised manipulation and then…strangles the man he just talked down?

Of course he does. He got the piece of information that he wanted out of Locke: that Ms. Hawking knew how to get the O6 (accompanied by Ben, of course) to the Island. He couldn’t have gotten that if Locke had killed himself first. I think that this information was all Ben ever wanted out of Locke, and that he always intended to kill Locke once he had it. Like Widmore, he knew that Locke had to be a corpse on Ajira 316.

But the big question now is whether either Ben or Widmore—or even Hawking, for that matter—knew that Locke would be resurrected once back on the Island.

What did he say to make you such a believer?

The Island, on the other hand, knew. It also planted, though zombie-Christian, the seed that germinated into Locke delivering the correct message to the correct O6-er to start the dominoes falling. This culminated in most of the off-Island Lostaways (even Frank…yay, Frank!) getting on their appointed flight to land on their appointed runway and find their appointed Island Messiah™.

Given Christian’s (and therefore presumably the Island’s) distaste for Ben, it also looks like Ben’s got some appointed comeuppance headed his way. If Ben was morose over the fact that Locke had been shielded against death from Ben’s bullet at the mass grave through the trifling expedience of having his kidney on that side conned out of him several years prior, just imagine how not-so-gentle Ben is going to respond to Locke getting up again after being dead for what I can only imagine was about three days.

So, our Locke has a destiny and is important. Important enough for the Island to have gone above and beyond merely “out of its way” to ensure that he’s where he needs to be when he needs to be there. Not premature birth in the ’50s, disability, or even death itself is being allowed to stand in Locke’s way, despite his moments of weakness and failure. Mark my words…somehow, some way, Locke will be the one who ends up either winning the “game” of the show or making the choice that decides all the temporal shenanigans. Either way, he’ll end up showing up both Ben and Widmore in so doing.

By the way, was it just me or was it not incredibly satisfying to see the Jackface (pictured right) issued by Matt Fox upon hearing the news that zombie-Dad passed along a wee greeting by way of that nice Mr. Locke? Yeah, I thought so, too!

And when the Zetas fill the skies, will our leaders tell us why?

There was also one major Cassandra-like warning in this episode which resonated nastily with some of the more mysterious goings-on in “The Little Prince.”

Taller Non-Ghost Waaalt had himself a vision of Locke in a suit on the Island surrounded by people who wanted to hurt him. Locke and the rest of the passengers of Ajira 316 land pretty miraculously intact on Hydra Island. Time-skipping Sawyer, Juliet, Locke, et al find the same outrigger canoes we saw on Hydra Island over at an ominously empty and disshevled Beach Camp. Subsequent unknown canoers take potshots at our time-skippers.

I don’t know about all of you, but I have to say I’m not terribly sanguine about the prospect of watching whatever Bad Dudes and Dudettes someone (probably Widmore) placed on Ajira 316 do nasty things to our beloved left-behind Lostaways and their camp. Though, I am kinda looking forward to seeing just who it was that Juliet was able to hit with that Olympic-caliber riflery of hers. Does that make me a bad person?

So it seems that poor John Locke is still beset on all sides and really does have “a lot of work to do,” even if he’s going to end up triumphant. But, if Team Darlton is listening, can you guys just lay off the poor man’s legs for the rest of the series? Seriously, guys…Joe Namath didn’t have this many problems, and his knees were reputed in New York to be “the best-known joints in town,” m’kay? Thanks.

Now bring on “LaFleur!”