Photo courtesy <a href="http://losteastereggs.blogspot.com/">Lost Screencaps</a>.
See more LOST chats here.
Last night’s episode, “The Package,” had all the romance you could stomach, if by “romance” you mean getting money while your lover’s held hostage by a crazy-eyed Martin Keamy. Yes, it was the long-awaited Sun-Jin episode, but it proved less satisfying than hoped. Our guest blogger Tracie from Jezebel chatted with me about Sun’s pregnancy, the symbolism of tomatoes, and which Jin we liked better. Via Jezebel, you can read Tracie’s post on the episode here.
Jen Phillips, Assistant Editor: Hi Tracie!
Tracie, Senior Writer, Jezebel: Hey!
JP: Overall, what did you think? Love, hate, neither?
T: Well, initially, i thought that it was sort of one of those boring ones that catered more to the emotional aspects of the show, rather than the mystical, but that like the Korean subtitles, there was a lot to be read from what was presented.
JP: The alternate timeline seems to be taking a turn for the darker, don’t you think? I think it’s definitely the MIB-wins timeline.
T: Well, I think for some people it’s darker, and for some it’s not. I think that how their lives turn out in the sideways world speaks to free will, and the choices that they’ve personally made: like that Sawyer decided to be a cop instead of a criminal, and Jin decided to be Sun’s “lover” instead of husband. It’s also interesting that in the sideways world, he defied Sun’s dad, and still had working semen, whereas in the original time line, he was kind of emasculated by her dad, and didn’t wasn’t able to impregnate her.
JP: So you think the sideways timeline is just free will? You don’t think MIB is influencing people like Jacob? I only say that because Sun touching Flocke’s hand seemed to be a decisive moment.
T: I think the sideways world isn’t so much where MIB wins, but where Jacob doesn’t have influence.
JP: I once heard that hell is simply the absence of God. Maybe sideways is simply a non-Jacob world, but I think I prefer the crash timeline.
T: Jacob seems really intent on people making the right choices, but he’s meddling, and screwing it up. He thinks that keeping MIB corked in the island, that people will automatically make bad choices. For instance, when he showed up at Sawyer’s parents’ funeral, he gave Sawyer the pen to enable him to write this letter to the guy who conned his parents. Sawyer carried that letter around with him for life and it shaped the con man that he became.
JP: Well, we’ve long suspected that good is bad and vice versa on the island. “We’re the good guys” and so forth.
T: Yeah, which is why I think that opening the episode last night with the night vision was significant in which what we saw—dark turning to light and vice versa—was different from what we can see with the human eye.
JP: There is also something important about island babies in this episode. Aaron and Ji Yeon are both discussed. Who raises them seems to be paramount, but neither seem to be back on the island anytime soon…
T: Oh, yeah, fertility is a big issue, as evidenced by that tomato Jack found and gave to Sun. Tomatoes are nightshades, which i think might be a clue.
JP: Tomatoes are also called love apples, I believe,
T: Ooh! Like apples in the Garden of Eden! Sun was tempted by Mocke in her garden. It’s interesting that those sonar fences are clearly his kryptonite. Sonar fences like that are usually used to control marine species.
JP: And let’s not forget Widmore’s sub, which navigates by sonar/radar.
T: Also electromagnetism played a big role last night with the map that Widmore’s employee had. I think that’s the key to why Desmond was brought back. He has a special relationship with electromagnetism, having been “gifted” with the flashbacks and flash-fowards from it. Additionally, night vision technology–like the kind that Widmore’s people were using to spy on MIB’s camp–enhance electromagnetic radiation, enabling humans to see non-visible electromagnetic rays.
JP: It reminds me of what physicist Daniel Faraday said, about light not bending right on the island.
T: As far as Desmond goes, I think that his whole thing is about looking to the future, not just because he has the ability to see it, but because he wants to just continue on with his life with his son and Penny but people keep trying to pull him back into their own crap. I think his outlook on life is sort of the message of the show.
JP: Magnetically, maybe he’s the opposite to the island, and so it’s attracted to him. Any last thoughts before we go?
T: After watching last night, with how Sun’s dad interfered with her life so much, I thought it showed a lot of the parallels between her story and Penny’s and how Penny didn’t give a crap about what her father thought and empowered herself to go after what she wanted.
JP: Good point. They’re both heiresses that have spunk and aren’t afraid to take on daddy, or the island. Sun was all badass in one timeline, armed and dangerous. Wonder if that’s why she got shot in the new timeline.
T: Well, in both timelines, she’s portrayed as being slutty (sleeping with guys she’s not married to) and she sort of had to pay for the consequences of that, and that really bugs the crap out of me because Sawyer sleeps with EVERYONE. He’s banged the most girls on the show (Charlotte, Kate, Juliet, Ana Lucia) and it’s not thought of as his “sin.” They definitely cast sideways Sun into the “Eve” role tempting Jin with her body double’s boobs.
JP: Ha! Even with all that, I like Jin. He seems conflicted with trying to do the right thing and what he wants. While Sun just tries to get what she wants.
T: Yeah, I liked Jin a lot better in the sideways world, since he wasn’t as controlling over Sun.
JP: Thanks again for chatting, Tracie. Can’t wait until the Desmond-centric episode next week.
T: No prob!
