1x19 Deus Ex Machina

[Lost Fan 4815162342]

I did notice that when Jack was yelling for Locke it was his final "LOCKE!" that we heard when Locke woke up from surgery. Whether that was just a sort of segue or a hint of some time-looping, I dunno.

[Captain Bunny Killer]

Originally Posted by spartan32

Does anyone else get the similar feeling between Locke's dream and the one Desmond had early in season 5? (Desmond from the past meeting Faraday and then Desmond in present time now has that memory). Is it possible that a Locke in the past saw the plane crashing and that is how the dream comes to be?

I hadn't thought of that but I really like that idea and, of all the theories and thoughts coming out of this rewatch after what we've learned specifically from S5, this one makes the most sense. I don't think we'll evr find out for sure if this is what Lindelcuse had in mind unless they mention it in a podcast but it works for me.

Originally Posted by Lost Fan 4815162342

But then I do like seeing the scene where the light comes on in the hatch. We have learned from Season 5 that Locke has decided that this was just a coincidence. One of the axioms of the show is don't mistake coincidence for fate.

Yes, Locke did say this to Sawyer in "The Little Prince" but I equate this to a tshirt I saw on Threadless.com (a great site, by the way): "Magic is just stuff science hasn't made boring yet." At the time of this episode, Locke believed the light coming on was a sign from fate and reconfirmed his faith in what he was doing. Though he later learned it was simply Desmond responding to his wailing on the Hatch door, I don't think we should dismiss his conviction as misguided. "Don't mistake coincidence for fate" works just as well as "don't mistake fate for coincidence;" the only variable between the two is a person's faith.

Originally Posted by Lost Fan 4815162342

I did notice that when Jack was yelling for Locke it was his final "LOCKE!" that we heard when Locke woke up from surgery. Whether that was just a sort of segue or a hint of some time-looping, I dunno.

I think it was a segue. We've heard this audio overlap time and time again throughout season one during the transition to a flashback, particularly in "Numbers" when Hurley was walking on the beach to a hip-hop song that segued into a flashback of him driving his Hummer to his mom's new home. As best as I can recall, these audio overlaps were (thankfully) abandoned in later seasons. It's the same as how the flashback whoosh didn't start until the third or fourth episode and how the "Previously on Lost" voiceover was a different voice in this episode: the writers are still tinkering with the signature staples of this show at this point in S1.

[Jack Shephard's twin]

Wow! One of the best episodes to date so far on Lost. We see so much foreshadowing in Locke's past as to what is actually going to happen in the future of the show. Life, death, lies, cons, deceipt, this episode just has it all. Am I the only one who at the time thought that Anthony Cooper coming back into his son's life was excellent, how wrong was I?! Even after the operation, when Locke looked across to an empty bed, I still didn't click until I saw the look on Locke's face, he knew exactly what had happened. On island there was just so much going on, I particularly liked the Jack/Sawyer/STD questions, Jack's reply of "He needs glasses" was genius.

On island however most of the action was about Locke and Boone. The dream/vision that Locke had, where Boone is repeating the line about Theresa, we see Locke's mam and the Nigerian drug plane is the most disturbing vision I think we see on Lost. The foreshadowing of Boone's death is awesome. Plenty of foreshadowing in this episode actually. We have the tailies on the other end of the radio, the Nigerian drugs plane which brings Eko into the show with a bang, I think it's safe to say that at this particular point in the show the writers knew where they wanted to take it. One of the most poignent moments of the show happens right at the end however, with that light coming on in the hatch. It is just a light, hell Locke even jokingly describes it in Season 2 to Desmond as "It was probably just you going to the bathroom", yet in the context of the show, it's way more than that. It rebuilds Locke's (faltering) faith in the island, but it also gives the viewer a sense of purpose. Now we know that there is something or someone in that hatch, and that we are more than likely going to find out about who/what that is at some point in the show, was just such an exciting moment for the viewer after the rollercoaster ride we've been on with Boone's fall. Without doubt one of the strongest episodes we've had, complete with an ending that has surpassed most endings to date.

[Just Thinking]

Just started to watch and noticed a couple of things. The first thing that Locke says about Mousetrap is that it is a game he used to play with his brother. I was thinking that Jacob and X could well be brothers, there seem to be lots of hints in ancient stories, and of course the name Jacob makes you think of brother Esau.

The next thing is that when the trebouchet fails to break the glass Locke yells "This was supposed to work!" Supposed to work according to Who or What? If it was just his disappointment at his own idea failing, seems like he would have said "This should have worked." I know it's a subtle difference, but if you think about when you say something was supposed to happen, doesn't it usually imply some outside source of knowledge?

[guibbs]

Locke saying something is "supposed to work" is just Locke being Locke, he is a man that needs to belive in his importance, that needs to have a purpose, a man of faith, and at this point he belives that everything that happened so far was leading to him finding and being able to open the hatch, and the trebuchet was probably the last idea he had to open it, and when that failed he got one of his faithless moments when he starts to question his actions, so he says that this was supposed to work because until now he was 100% sure that the trebuchet would've open the hatch.

[Just Thinking]

Originally Posted by guibbs

Locke saying something is "supposed to work" is just Locke being Locke, he is a man that needs to belive in his importance, that needs to have a purpose, a man of faith, and at this point he belives that everything that happened so far was leading to him finding and being able to open the hatch, and the trebuchet was probably the last idea he had to open it, and when that failed he got one of his faithless moments when he starts to question his actions, so he says that this was supposed to work because until now he was 100% sure that the trebuchet would've open the hatch.

Didn't mean to get on the "John is influenced " idea again- but it just keeps coming up. Another thing that make me wonder is the writers having Boone question Locke again about how he knows things-about how he now seems to be an engineer. This, when it seems the closest he got to building stuff was constructing the Mousetrap. And the fact that he believes in his "destiny" seemingly because of outside pushes, ie surviving the fall, being told he should do the walkabout and then ending up on the island able to walk as a result. These are real influences you can point to that make Locke think he is fated and they seem to have an intelligence behind them. Then there is just the way the line is read, which words are emphasized. I can't help hearing it and thinking "This is supposed to work-he told me this would work!" I read in a cast interview that lines are read different ways so the director can choose the one that fits and I think they chose this way on purpose.

[BeachBabe]

Originally Posted by Miss4pt0

I disagree. If John was upset about Boone, he would have been at the caves with Boone. He would not have been back at the hatch banging on the door. John wanted nothing more than to get in, Boone was a sacrifice he thought he had to make to get into that hatch, when he make said sacrifice and didn't get in - he started banging. The parallel story on/off island is Locke's sacrifice. Off island he sacrifices his kidney for his dad's love, on island he sacrifices Boone for the island to gain entrance to the hatch.

^ This. I really don't think Locke cared that Boone died. After all, he "was a sacrifice that island demanded."

[Mrs.locke]

Maybe the island was leading Locke to the Pearl, and not the swan.

[CameraOne]

In hindsight, I think the island sent Locke (and Boone) to the plane so it would topple off the cliff and destroy any working communications equipment within.

I remember in Season 1, I didn't care that much about the hatch so found the episode a little dull, though I was glued to Locke's flashback story. But now that I know about his horrible father, I hated seeing Locke conned like that. Nevertheless, fantastic performance and well written story.

I felt much worse for Boone this time around than the first time I watched it.

[Captain Bunny Killer]

Originally Posted by Mrs.locke

Maybe the island was leading Locke to the Pearl, and not the swan.

I have to agree with Mrs. Locke here. The first time I rewatched this episode last fall, it occurred to me that there doesn't seem to be any direct connection between Locke's vision and opening the Hatch and rewatching it a second time this week only reconfirmed this notion for me. I can see how his vision led to opening the Hatch in a roundabout way since his frustration after Boone's accident led to Locke witnessing the light coming on but it still didn't give him any direct solution to opening something "that has no discernible way of opening it."

Based on what we know now about Season 2, if the intent of the vision was to lead Locke to the Pearl station, that would have been a cool twist on what did happen. He would have learned not only what is in the Hatch through the camera monitors but also that, according to the Pearl orientation video, that the Swan Station is a complete sham. Without Eko there to point out that the opposite may be true, Locke would have opened the Hatch convinced that it was a ruse and thus the events of Season 2 would have unfolded much differently (and perhaps in a better way).