The Candidate was filled with everything from excitement to tragedy, and if you watched it last night, you’re probably filled with a toxic mixture of emotions (betrayal, devastation, hatred, sadness, etc.) One thing is certain, however: The Candidate reaffirmed one truth that Lost fans are no doubt finding difficult to accept— Lost is coming to an end…and soon.
The plot events and inundation of emotional scenes in this episode is proof enough to prove this point and shows that Lost isn’t afraid to dispose of some major characters and shake of viewers emotions in order to tell its story.
As Widmore said referring to the Smoke Monster, “He’s coming”, and so is the end. With that, let’s take a look at The Candidate…
Locke wakes up from surgery with Jack hovering over him, refreshing his memory about what happened and how Locke got to where he is now. He remarks to Locke that he may be a Candidate for a new surgical treatment to repair his spine, hopefully making him mobile again. And…there we have it: a mention of candidacy in the FS timeline. How’s that for ironic? With The Candidate being the episode title this week, it’s natural to infer that the writers were referring to the one who will replace Jacob in the 2007 Island time, but ironically, it’s relating to Locke and his possible new surgery, which he refuses to accept. Jack puzzled, walks away.
I’m going to go out on a limb and throw out a theory here: since it seems like all of our Island Candidates are getting picked off, maybe none the names on the cave ceiling and Lighthouse will become the Candidate. With Jack referencing to Locke his surgical Candidacy, is it possible that maybe alt-Locke is the Candidate, the purpose to be revealed in a later episode? I mean, he was a Candidate before he died, so since he’s alive in the alt-timeline, why couldn’t he be?
Soon after, Jack goes into a dentist office and finds Dr. Bernard Nadler there, seemingly holding the same occupation in both timelines. Ah, there’s our Bernard! Though he’s pretty much MIA on-Island, it was great to finally at least get to see him again, no matter the timeline.
Jack asks Bernard for a patient file, John Locke, in an attempt to find out how he was paralyzed and in so, why he’s refusing a possible cure.
Both Jack and Bernard remember that they were on Oceanic 815, but Bernard seems more insightful than we know. He refuses to hand over Locke’s file, but gives Jack the name “Anthony Cooper”, saying that he was brought in with Locke three years prior.
Jack follows Bernard’s lead and finds Anthony Cooper at a nursing home, bumping into Helen upon his arrival. They make their way into a room where Helen goes up to a man in a wheelchair, turns it around, showing an almost brain-dead Cooper, and reveals him to be Locke’s father.
Considering all the shitty things that Cooper pulled on Locke in the 2007 timeline, it should’ve been very easy to hate him. Key words: should have been. However, once I saw that deep, blank look on Cooper’s face with his mouth hanging open, I couldn’t help but feel sorry for him. The acting of all the actors paired with the music in the scene made it very emotional (the type of scenes that would later infiltrate the remainder of episode) and the realization of the differences between Cooper’s situation in both timelines was tragic, and somehow extremely hard-hitting and realistic.
Later, Jack goes back to the hospital at stands at Locke’s bedside, listening to him in his sleep murmuring phrases such as, “Push the button” and “I wish you had believed me", once again showing another character seemingly connecting with their 2007 Island counterparts. Though, this is a tough one because on-Island Locke is dead so how is alt-Locke connecting with his dead self? Maybe through the memories of Locke remaining alive through MIB inhabiting his body? Who knows? But it sure is interesting to ponder.
In the hospital, Jack runs into Claire for the first time since abruptly leaving Christian’s will reading and Claire tells Jack that Christian felt it was very important to will her a music box, ironically enough, playing “Catch a Falling Star”, which conjures up contrasting images of sweet, innocent alt-Claire, with that of infected Claire singing the song as the Losties exit the Temple in Sundown.
Jack, however, doesn’t know the meaning of the gift and answers Claire’s question of how Christian died and how he was bringing the body back from Sydney. They both then realize that they, too, were on Oceanic 815 together and Jack offers to let Claire stay with him because they’re “not strangers, we’re family.”
A recuperated Locke starts to leave the hospital and runs into Jack, thanking him for his help (by the way, did you see Jin pass by with a bunch of flowers going into a hospital room?). Though, Locke is somewhat upset to learn that Jack invaded his privacy and tacked down his father to see how Locke became paralyzed. He then tells Jack that he was paralyzed via a plane crash (irony being that the Oceanic 815 crash reversed his paralysis in the 2007 timeline) which also put his father into a vegetative state.
Locke says that he received his pilot’s license and begged Cooper to be his first passenger. Though afraid of flying, Cooper went along, as Locke had said that he could trust him. Whatever the reason for the crash, Locke is certain that it was his fault. Jack tells Locke that he now has to accept that his father is gone, but Locke refuses to face reality, responding to Jack with, “he he’s not” (similar to Jack’s own denial of his father’s death). However, Jack reminds him that although a physical being of his father remains, he’s not really there. Locke blaming himself won’t get Cooper back, and is only making Locke’s own life worse, revealing that Locke refuses the surgery out of guilt at the possibility of being fixed, while his father is irreparable.
Again, we’re faced with references to the 2007 Island timeline as Jack remarks to Locke that “what happened, happened", and that Locke can "let it go".
Jack and Locke talk for a bit and Locke says goodbye and goes for the exit. Immediately, Jack calls after him exclaiming, "I can help you, John. I wish you believed me” but Locke goes, leaving us with Island Locke’s final message to Jack, now being spoken by Jack.
And so ends the Flash-sideways for The Candidate…
Now, I haven’t been a fan of many of the FS storylines and time usage for a large portion of the season, but I absolutely loved this one and think I am starting to finally understand and accept the reason for the writers inserting it as the season’s new narrative device.
Along with contrasting with the 2007 timeline, the FS timeline seems to be being used in order to show the consequences of Jack & Co. detonating the hydrogen bomb on the Island and the tragedy they caused. At some point, they’ll come to a realization that their selfishness caused others’ problems and tragedy and they’ll have to atone for their actions once again. Though, how the timelines will mesh together and fit in with the storyline, I’m not so certain. But I can pretty much guarantee that everyone in the alt-timeline will, at some point, congregate together and consciously form the realization that there’s another reality, with a different version of them present in it.
What really made the FS this week though, was more of the amazing acting between Jack and Locke. Their chemistry is amazing and shows a fantastic contrast with their past on the Island in 2007. Although Locke is dead on the Island, the writers have somehow find a way to make his story even more compelling and emotional, showing that the well that is Lost, isn’t dry just yet.
Picking up where we left off last week, Jack awakens to Sayid, the official greeter of Hydra Island. He breaks the news to Jack that the rest of Flocke’s followers went out and scattered in the jungle (ah, so that explains where Cindy and the surviving Temple folk are!) and then Flocke says that Widmore’s people are holding the rest of the Losties captive and that Flocke wants to help free them, seemingly caring for the well-being of the Jack and the Candidates. Seemingly.
Back at Widmore’s area, Kate, Hurley, Claire, Sun, Jin, Frank, and Sawyer are forced into the bear cages, Kate and Sawyer giving the impression of recalling their previous experiences in the cages back in season 3. Though this time, there definitely not doing what they were before.
Sawyer tells Kate that her name was crossed off on the cave ceiling, reaffirming Widmore’s statement that she’s totally dispensable. Meanwhile, Jin and Sun talk about Ji Yeon and Sun gives Jin back his wedding ring, ironically given away by Jin to not get Sun back to the Island. Well, that worked out perfectly. But wait…!
The generator powering the sonic fences dies, and we hear the familiar ticka-ticka-ticka sound of the smoke monster. Is it just me or has ole Smokey seemed to have taken on a grey color, as opposed to totally black in previous seasons? I’d like that mystery cleared up please. Forget about the statue, MIB, Candidates, etc. Just tell me why the smoke monster is grey. Maybe it’s just old age? In any case, Widmore’s team is attacked by the smoke monster in an attempt to free the caged Losties/Candidates. Several are killed including Seamus (aka Fatty), by being thrust onto the metal cage.
While Smokey does his thing, Kate reaches through the bars of the cage and tries to get Seamus’ keys to unlock the cage. Before she can though, Frank repeatedly kicks the cage door, while Jack simultaneously comes up with keys and frees the group. With the cage-Losties stunned at the appearance of the smoke monster, Jack calmly expresses, “I’m with him.” Nice Jack, real nice. Put your allegiance with a century-old killer mass of black smoke. But we’ll get to Jack’s decision later.
Once freed, they start on their continuous-episode trek to the Ajira plane where Jack says that he’s not meant to leave the Island, but will help the rest of them leave. According to Sayid, “Locke” is waiting.
He arrives at the plane and totally nonchalantly shoots Widmore’s guards pitifully guarding the plane, and takes a watch off one of the bodies. We see that someone has built some bamboo steps up to the plane entrance and Flocke goes up and finds a pack of explosives wired into the plane.
Flocke then explains that Widmore wired the plane so that he could kill them all together and shows them the C4 as proof. The new and improved plan (because the first one worked out so well) is to leave the Island in Widmore’s sub, but Hurley being the Hurley that we all love once again says what the audience is thinking: Flocke isn’t supposed to leave the Island. Oh Hurley, you are the heart of the show.
Flocke leads everyone to the sub and Claire apologizes to Flocke for switching sides, but is forgiven. Whether Claire truly is sorry or is just trying to remain on Flocke’s good side, much like the rest of the smart Losties, is uncertain. I think she’s not completely cured of the “sickness” and is a bit conflicted at the moment.
Though Sawyer said to Flocke that he trusts him, he later tells Jack the opposite and that Flocke cannot be allowed to get on the sub, laying out a plan for Jack and Flocke to be the last on the sub. A portion of the rest of the group makes it onto the sub and orders the crew to start it up.
Meanwhile, I’m getting nervous for the rest of the Losties on the dock. A shootout happens between them and Widmore’s tree-hopping people, with Sayid making it into the sub.
While that’s happening, Flocke asks Jack to reconsider his thoughts of staying.
Flocke: Whoever told you to stay had no idea what they were talking about.
Jack: John Locke told me I needed to stay.
With that, Jack is infuriated and with the power of the audience behind him, pushes Flocke into the water. Yes!
Then I almost died.
Kate is abruptly shot in the shoulder by Widmore’s tree folk and leaving Flocke treading water, carried an injured Kate into the sub. How great would it have been to hear Jack screaming, “KAAAAAATE!” like Michael’s, “WAAAALT!” Okay, not so great, but it’s a funny thought (not to mention much less annoying than Michael’s rendition).
The tension starts to speed up and I was starting to fear the worst: Kate was going to die. If we’re paralleling Sayid getting shot in the season 5 finale though, she’ll probably be fine. However, the injury looks pretty serious and with Hurley unable to locate a first aid kit…who knows.
As everyone boards the sub, Claire is left behind after trying to protect everyone against Widmore’s people (great aim by the way). Kate then realizes that they left Claire behind and Sawyer goes above to call for her to get in, but instead sees Claire and Flocke shooting more of Widmore’s people. Flocke goes for the sub hatch and Sawyer closes it, leaving both Claire and Flocke behind as the sub dives. Claire is shocked that she was left behind and runs toward the sub, but Flocke restrains her saying, "Trust me, you don't want to be on that sub."
And once again, I feel so sorry for Claire as she’s left out and left behind once again. She was just starting to learn to trust again, coming out of her “infection” and then she’s devastated that her once-friends have turned on her. Will this be enough to make Claire once again switch to an allegiance with Flocke, or realize his true intentions? This could play a huge part of the remaining episodes, as Claire clearly isn’t defined as totally good or totally infected as of yet.
Jack gets his backpack to help Kate and realizes that Flocke put the bomb from the plane into his bag and rigged it to a timer from the dead guard’s watch. I believe Jack was thinking something along the lines of, Oh crap.
The timer starts at 3:54 and Jack demands that they surface, telling Sawyer that Flocke intended to be left at the dock, but Frank informs them that it will take five minutes to surface.
Sawyer starts to take Sayid suggestion about disarming the bomb (by pulling the two wires out simultaneously) but Jack stops him saying that nothing is going to happen if they leave it alone. If they pull the wires…“Boom.” I forget who said it in this episode, but it paralleled Jin’s utterance of the same word on the freighter in the season 4 finale. C4+ship/sub=awesome parallel.
Jack realizes that they’ve done exactly what Flocke wanted by “he wanted to get us all in the same place at the same time. A nice enclosed space where we had no hope of getting out of", the same thing which he accused Widmore of, the lie now exposed.
Flocke has repeatedly stated that he needs all the Candidates to leave the Island together for it to work, but it seems as if the real reason he needed them all together was to kill them, so that he could get off the Island. Contrary to his claims in past episodes, Flocke cannot leave because of the Candidates…and unless they’re dead, he’s stuck on the Island.
Sawyer being Sawyer is unable to trust Jack that everything will be okay, and pulls the wires from the C4. And once again, my heart drops…and I hold my breath…
The timer stops at 1:31 but then rapidly decreases.
From this point on, the episode is an emotional rollercoaster: sadness, action, and complete chaos.
In a split second decision, Sayid grabs the bomb and runs off, but not before informing Jack of Desmond’s location (I’m pretty sure this is Jack’s first bit of information that Desmond’s back on the Island) and saying:
Sayid: “Locke wants him dead, which means you are going to need him."
Jack asks why Sayid’s telling him this all of a sudden and responds:
Sayid: "Because it's going to be you, Jack."
If nothing else, this little dialogue shows that Desmond is alive and that his little speech/persuasion technique worked with Sayid at the well. Flocke is not going to be happy about this one.
With Sayid leaving us to wonder what he meant by that remark, he runs through the submarine, getting the C4 away from the Losties, and the bomb explodes in his arms and begins to sink the submarine.
Episode casualty tally: 1
Though Sayid was a main character, he’s been through a lot (especially this season) and it was nice to see that he was able to shrink away from his “infection” to such a point that he made the choice to sacrifice him for his friends. Much like many other dead characters, Sayid has redeemed himself through his actions, making his death that much more symbolic and easier for the viewer to accept.
The sub begins to take on water and Frank is knocked out by a metal door as a cause of the water pressure. Meanwhile, Hurley plays innocent hero and swims with Kate out of the sub (did I mention Hurley was the heart of the show?) before asking about Sayid’s status, prompting Jack exclaiming, "There is no Sayid", really forcing both the characters and viewer to realize the permanency of what’s occurred and what’s about to.
Hurley and Kate escape the sub but Sun is pinned against the wall by a giant metal cabinet and Jin, Sawyer, and Jack attempt to free her. They move the cabinet, but she’s still pinned by metal bars/piping.
Increasing the tension, Sawyer is knocked out by a metal bar and Jack is once again conflicted: to save Sawyer, or to free Sun? After deliberation prompted by Jin’s telling him to help Sawyer instead, he takes a look back at them both and leaves the sub.
And then there were two.
Jin and Sun are left in the sub alone, Sun still trapped beneath the bar. At this point, I think we all knew all too well what was about to happen, but just didn’t want to believe it. Damon and Carlton wouldn’t do that to us, would they?
The water rises to neck level and Sun begs for Jin to leave, his efforts to free her not getting anywhere. Spending 3 years trying to find each other, they vow never to leave each other again, and as the water rises and the sub sinks, they drown together holding hands.
The last image we have of Jin and Sun are their hands clasped together, and drifting apart.
Episode casualty tally: 3
Well, I’m going to just say it: if you didn’t at least shed a tear in the penultimate moments of this episode, you have no soul. Sun and Jin are dead. We might as well be too, right? After spending 6 years with these characters, it’s hard to let them go. Though, it didn’t feel like they were being killed just to do so. Their deaths had meaning and symbolism (which I could easily spend an entire post rambling over) and it seems as if the writers had as tough a time as letting go as we did. Although they didn’t make it to the finale and get that permanent happy ending, Sun and Jin were reunited and their brief happiness should be enough.
Jack and Sawyer make it to the beach and find Hurley with Kate, who asks about Jin and Sun. Jack shakes his head, confirming their deaths. Now comes depressing moment #3: Hurley and Kate breaking down into tears. Okay, I can handle character deaths and all that good stuff, but seeing them exhausted and having everything catch up with them was just too much…one of the most impacting moments on the show to date. To date.
Away from the group, Jack stands in the ocean and cries, looking strangely like Christian standing in the ocean in season 1. He looks up into the sky (for answers? help?) and takes everything in, quite possibly contemplating his decision to leave Jin and Sun in the sub.
Flocke is still at the dock with Claire and says that the sub sunk and that not all of them are dead. He leaved with his backpack "To finish what I started."
Saying that The Candidate was a roller coaster would be an understatement. A draining and chaotic rollercoaster sounds more like it.
With Sun and Jin dead, Ji Yeon is now an orphan and also prompts the question of, which Kwon is the 42 Candidate? Jin or Sun? I don’t think it matters much now, but if the writers wanted to pull a twist on us, Ji Yeon still qualifies as a Kwon…
Also, it seems as if Michael was correct: Hurley’s decision is following Flocke got a lot of people killed. It’s a shame (though I’m not sure the deaths can totally be attributed to Hurley’s actions) and Hurley probably realizes it, partially the cause for his breakdown on the beach.
In the end, we’re let with a fantastic episode but there’s still a lot of ground to cover:
- Who’s the Candidate?
- Will Desmond be saved? What’s his purpose on the Island and why does Widmore care?
- Did Frank make it out of the sub?
- How will MIB finish what he started now that the Losties are aware of his rue nature and intentions?
- Where the heck are Ben, Richard, and Miles?
Well, from the short promo of next week’s episode, I think we’ll at least get some answers and insight into MIB and his intentions. As for the rest of our burning questions, we’ll just have to wait and see…
Until next time…
Namaste
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