2010 March 17 | life, and a little more

Recon Recap

Mar 17

metalman777Lost recap, season 6 1 Comment

“Recon” is the 8th episode of Season 6 of Lost and the 111th produced hour of the series as a whole. It was originally broadcast on March 16, 2010. The Man in Black tasks Sawyer with a mission. (Lostpedia.com)

Ok, I’m going to start this post a little differently! I found this video recapping last night’s episode, and it is hilarious!

Now, on to our regular analysis!

We’ve actually seen Mr. Ford working with police before. There were his Dharma days as Head of Security, of course. But, also, remember his flashback in Every Man for Himself? That situation was somewhat similar to this one – he was conning on behalf of the police. This time, of course, he IS the police. The woman remarks that he is a lousy con man, but man is she wrong. Though Lost has offered up no shortage of con men, Sawyer is without a doubt the best, as Flocke points out later in the episode.
Back at the station, Miles informs Sawyer that he’s going on a date with a “friend of mine – works with my dad at the museum.” I actually missed this upon my first viewing, but it’s pretty key. It would make sense for Pierre Chang and Charlotte to work together at a museum. We know based on what Roger told us in “Dr. Linus” that in the ATL, the Dharma Initiative and the island still existed at some point. If Roger and Ben were there, most of the rest of the Dharma crowd probably was, too. Chang was probably friends with Charlotte’s parents, and it would make sense for them to work together, and for Miles to know her (them both being Dharma babies and all).
This of course means that Miles was indeed born on the island in the ATL. Since we’ve never discovered how exactly Miles gained his power, my best guess is that it’s the result of some funky island electromagnetism. Since he wasn’t actually on the island for very long in the MTL, maybe whatever caused his powers happened very near his birth, or was even passed onto him at birth or conception from one or both of his parents being exposed to electromagnetism. This leads me to believe that Miles will still talk to dead people in this reality.
One more word on Miles – he mentions that he has a girlfriend. Want to guess who? Since it basically has to be someone we know, there are only a couple good guesses. It can’t be Kate, Claire or Sun, Shannon is still in Australia, if Libby shows up she’ll be with Hurley, Danielle is too old, Alex too young, Juliet will end up with Sawyer (getting coffee) if she appears at all, and we know it’s not Charlotte. You know who that leaves? Ana Lucia! Come on, that makes sense! She’s an LA cop, her bad attitude can match Miles… they’d be perfect for each other. I’m not spoiled or anything, this is just a guess. But really, who else could it be? (Second best option – Juliet’s sister, Rachel Carlson, as a way of introducing Sawyer to Juliet in the ATL).
The fact that he never wrote the letter might mean that Jacob never existed in this reality (or died much earlier). It was, after all, Jacob who pushed him to finish it after his uncle warned him not to. Jacob pushed James down the path of obsessive vengeance, of becoming a con man rather than a law man. Are we seeing a world without Jacob? A world where our characters are free to live their own lives without this meddlesome entity and his damned island? I must say, Jacob isn’t exactly looking like the good guy at this point (I actually don’t think Jacob or the Man in Black are all good or all bad, but I’ll discuss that in the Flocke section).
The fact that Anthony Cooper is still responsible for the deaths of Sawyer’s parents in the ATL raises some interesting questions, because it appears inconsistent with other information we have on Anthony Cooper. John Locke seemed to be on good terms with his father in “The Substitute” – he had a picture of them together on his desk and Helen mentioned that Cooper was invited to the wedding.
My honest guess – and that’s all this is – is that Cooper did cause Mr. Ford to kill Mrs. Ford, but he later came to feel bad about it/his con man ways. I’m also going to bet that Sawyer meets him, finds him to be apologetic, and forgives him. Wouldn’t that be a fitting way for ATL Saywer to find redemption
Flocke, however, is a much more effective leader than John Locke, because he knows when to be soft and he knows when to punch people in the face. After Sawyer raises his voice, Flocke privately scolds him and then says, “I forgive you.” This struck me as something a very powerful, important person would do. Flocke is kind of like a mob boss, isn’t he? He offers his protection to some people, he wipes out others.
Do we believe him, at this point? I myself have gone back and forth. After “The Substitute” I wrote extensively on the parallels between Flocke and Walter, the villain of Stephen King’s books, noting Walter’s use of rationality while simultaneously being full of deceit and evil. But last week, I changed my tune and discussed the notion that Jacob and MIB are not good and evil, they are merely personifications of faith vs. science and destiny vs. free will, previously identified by Jack vs. John. Now Jack is a man of faith and destiny, and John is dead, his body inhabited by a seemingly logical, free will-supporting entity.
Later, as Kate attempts a frustratingly difficult conversation with Zombie Sayid, Claire tackles her and attempts to stab her as Sayid watches, doing nothing. But Flocke comes to the rescue and even hits Claire in the face. Eventually, he apologizes to Kate and confesses to confusing Claire with his “the Others have your baby” nonsense. He was only trying to give her a sense of purpose. “Have you ever had an enemy?” he asks. “Someone that you needed to hate? Very powerful, isn’t?” We know of course that Flocke’s hatred for Jacob may very well have been his motivation for many of his actions. Perhaps it was the thing that kept him going when he was a prisoner for possibly years or decades or centuries.
We soon learn that Jacob may not be the only person whom the Man in Black hated. In what was undoubtedly the biggest reveal of the episode, Flocke tells Kate that he had a mother who was crazy. The craziest thing, though, is the way he tells it – with extreme hesitation/uncertainty. He struggled to form his sentences, and could only say that his mother was crazy, it caused him “growing pains”, and things could have been different. I can draw 3 different conclusions.
1) He struggles to tell the story because he’s making it up on the spot. So far there have been several cases where we’re not sure whether he’s telling somebody the truth or simply what they’d like to hear. This might have simply been an on-the-spot attempt to recruit Kate. Even so, I don’t like this explanation, because Flocke seems fairly bright. He may have been trying to recruit Kate, but I’d expect him to rehearse his story first.

2) He struggles to tell the story because it’s true, and it’s painful for him. This is highly plausible. If you believe the Jacob and Esau Biblical connection, there should be a mother named Rebekah. Rebekah preferred Jacob whereas the father, Isaac, preferred Esau. But thanks to the machinations of Jacob and Rebekah, Esau was cheated out of his inheritance. If MIB is supposed to be Esau, he might very well think his mother was crazy. This could also account for a host of other things, including the inability of women to survive childbirth on the island. Perhaps Esau took revenge against all mothers in his domain by initiating such a curse (by toppling the Statue of Tawaret, maybe?)

3) He struggles to tell the story because he’s reaching into his subconscious and stealing it from John. John, after all, had a crazy mother who made his life difficult. While I think the parallel exists regardless, Flocke seemed to be taking on more and more of John’s better traits this episode. I still hold the view that the real John might be buried in his subconscious somewhere, available to be mined for information and mannerisms. How else could Flocke know what John was thinking when he died?
Anyway, I couldn’t help but wonder why Widmore was still in the sub. I think it’s possible that he can’t set foot on the island yet. Perhaps he needs MIB contained in order to do that, or something (his team is setting up a sonic fence-like border). Also, what do you think is in the locked compartment on the sub? Yeah, I’m rooting for it to be Desmond, but doesn’t some sort of explosive seem more likely, given the history of things that Widmore brings to the island? But if it were Desmond, that would be awesome.
But you know what? They might still have been working together. Sure, Sawyer seems like Lost’s greatest con man, but Flocke might be better. What if he is working with Widmore, and this whole reconnaissance mission was only Flocke’s test to see if Sawyer was loyal to him? This could be why Widmore almost seemed to be expecting Sawyer. Flocke could have told him – after murdering the Ajira folk – that he was going to send Sawyer over. “Tell him you want to kill me,” Flocke may have said, “and see how he reacts.” The pylons could have been part of the con to convince Sawyer of false enmity between MIB and Widmore.
Also, think about “Dr. Linus”. Remember when Flocke told Ben to head to the Hydra Station? Well, he told his group that they might not leave their present camp for a couple days, whereas he told Ben to ditch (and kill) Ilana and head for the Hydra right then and now. If Ben had shot Ilana and made his way to the Hydra, he would have fallen right into Charles Widmore’s clutches. Since I’m guessing that killing Ben might still be Widmore’s top priority, Flocke may have agreed to deliver Ben to him in exchange for help. (1-14 by Robz888 at Darkufo.com)
==================
This ”set-up” episode was all about set-ups, from its opening sequence fake-out that seemed to present Sideways James Ford as every bit the slutty, soul-numbed vengeance-questing criminal as his Island iteration, but then revealed himself to be a… slutty, soul-numbed vengeance-questing cop. No doubt the happy sunflower glory days of his previous life as Dharma Initiative security chief had prepared him for the gig. But alas, there was no Juliet in this sad sunflower’s life, and we were made to ponder if that made all the difference
And you know what, kids? I think I do know. Because it seemed to me that Fake Locke was pulling another con, too, one that may have revealed his true character. The episode was called ”Recon,” which itself was a con. We were clearly supposed to assume it was short for ”reconnaissance mission.” But ”Recon” was also a pun for ”Re-con” — as in ”a previously executed con, done again.” The story flicked at all of Sawyer’s classic con man stories, from ”Confidence Man” to ”LaFleur.” I think FrankenLocke picked one of those scams to repeat anew — and I think I’m pretty creeped out by the implications.
Regardless, my guess is that Sideways Ford will get a chance to prove his moral metal when he finally tracks down Sideways Anthony Cooper at… Sideways John Locke’s wedding.
But thinking through ”Recon,” I realized that looking at the forest was more valuable than examining the trees. This was a story about an authority figure — a lawman — who was working the system and abusing his position with it to pursue a self-serving, possibly evil agenda. I hope that sounds like the Man In Black to you, because it sure does to me. Until the events of ”The Incident,” what role did he serve on the Island? Rousseau: ”Security system.” Eko and Ben: Judge.
Like Detective Ford’s botched ”Pigeon Drop” sting, when Ford told the grifter woman that the cops wanted her husband, not her. The woman was a dead ringer for Charlotte Lewis, who during her brief time on Lost was romantically linked with… Daniel Faraday. Then there was time on the clock: 8:42. Back in ”The Substitute,” we learned that 8 = Hurley Reyes and 42 = Kwon, which could either be Jin or Sun. Interesting that as of last night’s episode, Hurley and the Kwons were the only Jacob candidates who have not gotten a Sideways episode yet. BTW: Jin is the only husband on the show — even if his wedding ring is currently in Sun’s pocket.
Sawyer fetched refreshment, while Charlotte searched for a T-shirt. Clever Lost. Charlotte: archeologist. What do archaeologists do? Dig up the past. What does Indiana Jonesette find buried in Ford’s sock drawer? The ruins of past. The ”Sawyer” folder, plus the wrinkled family photo. Together, a complex symbol of… the Law, broken justice, judgment/vengeance (Raiders); stolen childhood (Temple of Doom); a dark knight grail quest (The Last Crusade); a dream of family reunion that violence and ”answers” will never fulfill (Crystal Skull). We’ve seen Charlotte dig one other time on Lost — the season 4 episode ”Confirmed Dead,” in which she found a polar bear skeleton and a Hydra Station collar in the sands of Tunisia. And what happened later in ”Recon”? Island Sawyer went to Hydra Island, returned to the polar bear cage where he had been held captive, found Kate’s dress, and recalled their intimacy — a pivotal turning point in his heroic journey on Lost.
My theory that the 18 hours of Lost 6.0 are analogous to the long weekend of Jesus Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection is holding. ”Recon” — which took place the day after ”Sundown”/Good Friday — conformed to the part of the Easter story known as The Harrowing of Hell, wherein Christ descended into the underworld. Some traditions say Jesus confronted Satan; others say he liberated captives, especially prophets, leaders, and ”holy fathers” of the faith whom God had exiled to Hades because of Original Sin. The word ”harrowing” comes from a Greek word pertaining to a military mission — you know, like a ”recon.” The ”Hydra” in Hydra Island pertains to a six-headed female snake demon that guards the entrance of Hades. And what did we spy on Hydra Island last night? Cages. Dead people. And the former ”holy father”/chief prophet/leader of The Others, the exiled Charles Widmore.
I’d also use Abominable Faux Bunny as one more proof that Fake Locke really is some kind rotten apple, because he surely must have indulged this f’d up fantasy. I appeal again to The Great Divorce, which gives us a scene where a mother is denied entrance into heaven because she has no desire for God or truthful living. For her, belief in ”God” is just the means to an end — to be reunited with her young son, who had died 10 years before. Her idolatrous relationship to the memory of her boy is such that she never packed away his old room and refused to move out of the house, despite the wishes of her husband and daughter. She is told that her morbid fixations are ”the wrong way to deal with sorrow.” The mother snaps: ”You are heartless. Everyone is pitiless. The past was all I had.” This is why the Anti-Locke is the Anti-Christ: He keeps the castaways shackled to the past, to their demons, to their infernal affairs; he’s using the castaways as means to an end. And worst of all: it appears he sincerely thinks he’s doing right by them.
Almost immediately upon arriving on Hydra Island, Sawyer found himself at the polar bear cages where he had once dined on fish biscuits, received a brutal beat down by Ben, and got busy with Kate. The sight of the cages knotted his guts. He found Kate’s dress — the one that Ben made her wear to breakfast with him on the beach. Sawyer picked up the dress. He felt the dress. Memories surely must have flooded his mind. What did this moment mean for Sawyer? The pessimist might say: heartbreak, pain, despair, damnation. The optimist might say: renewal; resurrection; reconstitution. The affair of the polar bear cage was a turning point for Sawyer. This wasn’t miserable-con-man sex. This was heart-full-of-love sex! Maybe it didn’t mean much to Kate. But it definitely meant something to him. He loved her. He wanted her to love him. He chased after her. She would never have said ”I do.” Still, he sacrificed himself for her, and when he thought she had died, he was heartbroken… but he grieved the loss
Then, the Hydraville Massacre. Sawyer followed a swath of trail formed by the drag of dead bodies to a pile of corpses hidden in the underbrush. Insects swarmed. He gagged, nauseated. Who killed these people? My chief suspect is Smokey. He’s demonstrated a proclivity for mass murder; see: the Temple. His motive? Among many options, including some kind of vampiric binge on human souls for some kind of demonic power-boost? I think Smokey killed these folks just so Sawyer would find them. Just like Ben wanted Jack to watch Kate and Sawyer hump in the cage to break and control him, I think Smokey wanted Sawyer to see the pile of death to better manage the threat Sawyer represents. The message Smokey was trying to impart: Don’t f— with me. You know Kate? You know your friends? You know all those people I took out of the Temple, including those little kids? I’ll kill ‘em. Especially the kids. I’ll kill ‘em all if you get in my way. And we are reminded: Thou shall not steal. And we remember why bad men kidnap kids: extortion.
We were left to wonder what exactly Kate was supposed to make of that story, and what she actually took away from it. To me, it sounded like FLocke was trying to convince Kate that Claire was an unfit mother. To me, it sounded like he wanted Kate to move off the dream of reuniting Clair and Aaron. To me, it sounded like he wanted Kate to think about saving Aaron from Claire lest he become a scary super-monster like FLocke. To me, it sounded like FLocke was… setting Kate up to murder Claire
Not the Daniel Faraday who was shot and killed by his crazy mother in 1977. And not the fetal Daniel Faraday who was growing inside his pregnant mother when she shot and killed adult Daniel Faraday back in 1977. I’m saying: It’s a freaky fusion of both, a disembodied mutant hybrid soul, essentially left behind on the Island as a consequence of the Jughead time reboot that also rebooted pregnant Eloise Hawking. It’s possible that this entity may have been grafted onto an eternal supernatural being that has lived on the Island performing some great spiritual function that it has now tired of. Or it could just be a feral supernatural force that’s been left to develop and grow haphazardly on its own, possessed by the dream of one day becoming a real human being again. Either way, Smokey Faraday is all kinds of wrong — and I think that’s why his father, Charles Widmore, has come to the Island. To take responsibility for his own Abominable Faux Son, and put it/him out of its/his misery. What does Charles have locked up in his submarine? A secret weapon. A weapon more powerful than the dream of vengeance that possessed Sawyer and Claire for so long: It’s the toxic brew of guilt and love, damnation and redemption. Her name was Theresa Spencer. She’s the woman that Daniel Faraday once loved, but whose mind he broke as a result of his time travel experiments that his psycho mom spurred him toward, a woman that Charles Widmore kept alive on his own dime for years, just so he could use her for this very moment. (15-26 by Doc Jensen at EW.com)