“Lafleur” Review: Clueless and Loving It
Wow. In keeping with the tradition of this season, once again Lost has left me absolutely bumfuzzled. Trying to see where this season is going is impossible. Lost has become an M.C. Escher painting reflected in a mirror, shredded into a thousand pieces then reassembled at random.
Which isn’t to say it isn’t great. In fact, I find myself loving this season more than any other. In past seasons, storylines became predictable and we all knew where things were going, so watching became a chore, waiting until the inevitable. Now, nothing is certain.
In “Lafleur,” the time aspect changed once again. As the season began, there was the time when the Oceanic 6 left the Island, three years into the future when they decided to go back, and all the time jumps on the Island. Now time is fixed once again, but, as Faraday said, they’re not on the song they want to be on.
So now we have the time in 1974 when Sawyer, Juliet, Faraday, Jin and Miles became stuck in the normal progression of time. We also have 1977, when Jack, Kate, Hurley and possibly Sayid or Sun arrived on the Island, presumably stuck in that timeline.
In a beautifully convenient piece of coincidence (or destiny), three years have now passed for both groups as they meet up again, it’s just that those three-year spans are from different times.
Then we also have Locke and the rest of Ajira 316 presumably in the present, which I would assume is early 2008. Unless the show intends to run the rest of its course with two groups of major characters at totally different points in fixed time, it looks like someone, somewhere, at some time, will be making a return trip to the frozen donkey wheel.
But is it that simple? Surely there must be other possibilities, but for the life of me, I can’t imagine what they are. I have no clue what will happen in the next episode, or in two episodes, or at the end of this season, or during next season. I have absolutely no idea.
And that’s just the way I like it.
One more thing: We had better start to get some answers. Sawyer, Jin and the rest of them have now been living as part of the DHARMA Initiative for three years. Surely they must have learned most of the secrets of the Island in that time. So I want answers. I’ll settle for simply knowing whether that giant statue Miles saw had four toes.
I think it’s a given that the statue had four toes.
Anyway, I disagree. This was easily the best episode of the season because it sets up the rest of the season, if no the rest of the show. I may not know exactly what’s going to happen, but I know where we’re going.
That’s why it was so much better for me than 316 or Bentham.
Comment by besch64 — March 4, 2009 @ 9:01 pm
oh, besch…
True, this is one of my top 2 episodes of this season- loved it, and you’re right about it pointing where we’re going this season, but “316″ pointed where we’re going for the rest of the show. I wish people had dug “316″ more than most of them did. But then again, I loved “316″ and hated “Jeremy Bentham.”
Comment by Comans — March 4, 2009 @ 9:25 pm
316 did nothing of the sort. It was a sufferer of middle-child syndrome: just connecting A to B.
The only thing that it set up were the stories of what happened to Kate Ben Sayid and Hurley pre-flight, which hardly seem of any importance any more.
Comment by besch64 — March 4, 2009 @ 11:27 pm
best episode yet.. this season now will have awesome flashbacks thanks to LaFleur and the 3 years that passed…
ben’s flashback about penny’s destiny, sayids arrest, jack and aaron, miles on the island, faraday and lil charlotte (oh and a boring one about charlie telling hurley to come back hihi)…awesome episodes left on this season
Comment by Marcelo Aviles — March 5, 2009 @ 4:48 am
This was a terrific episode, especially for Sawyer’s character. I reckon he should be pared with Juliet rather than Kate, though.
Loved the statue reveal
Haven’t we been waiting to see that for ages?
Comment by avoidz — March 5, 2009 @ 4:54 am
Why do we have to wait two weeks for another episode?
Comment by Thrill — March 5, 2009 @ 7:15 am
The eyeliner comment about Richard Alpert makes me think of one thing, especially after seeing the statue. Is he some ancient diety from ancient egypt that is stuck on the island. Did the Egyptians somehow find a way to teleport to the island from their magnificent pyramids. Why else would he want the body of paul if not to somehow use it to reincarnate some companion from egypt. Why was Ben so upset when Alex died if she is not really his daughter?? Why did Jacob tell Locke in the Cabin episode to help him??? Since the first two years of lost was leaving us with all questions. the final two seasons should reveal more answers each episode. Sawyer will end up with kate again
Comment by Gabe — March 5, 2009 @ 9:04 am
The eyeliner thing, in my opinion, was a writer’s joke…the actor that plays Richard has been in a ton of other movies and tv shows…and he gets the eyeliner jab from tons of fans…he has really thick bottom lashes…it could be connected to the Egyptian thing, given that the casting crew must have known about this joke when they picked him for Richard…
Comment by landryb — March 5, 2009 @ 9:35 am
No one is trying to guess who the little baby boy is? We know it’s not Ben (saw his birth), Jack (Dad is Christian), Locke (saw his birth), Sayid (different race), Miles (Marvin Candle), Jin (fisherman dad), Hurley (Cheech Marin), Faraday (Elly is his mom), Lapidus (too old, who cares), Christian (too old, saw his dad).
That leaves two people. The one I’m thinking is that they will decide to name him Jacob. This will help set up who Jacob is and how he came to be. Being the only baby conceived and born on the island (that we know of) would make him very special indeed. Another possibility, although far fetched, is Sawyer. All we know is his parents were conned and his dad killed them. Could have been adopted, could have even been on the island when that happened. Horace and Amy would be right to name him after James LaFleur since he saved Amy’s life. They’re last name could be Ford. Why else would Sawyer change his name. Who cares if they know his real name is James Ford.
Any guesses as to the baby’s name?
Comment by Gavin — March 5, 2009 @ 9:38 am
And I know Horace’s last name is Goodspeed, but maybe Amy and Paul were the Ford’s…
Comment by Gavin — March 5, 2009 @ 9:41 am
Gavin - I’m surprised you would ask this question. It’s already been revealed to us via podcast 2 weeks ago directly from Cuse and Lindeloff that the baby is Ethan. This info has also appeared in the non-spoiler section of at least four other websites I’ve seen in the past 14 or so days.
Comment by Mike — March 5, 2009 @ 11:29 am
Word.
Comment by ianmalachi — March 5, 2009 @ 2:33 pm
I agree. LaFleur sets us up for getting everyone back together in the SAME time. How? Who knows. And what up with the big show for Mr. Goodspeed? Why’s he so important all of a sudden? I like the “Richard is Egyptian” idea. I thought that it was kinda widely accepted Richard was the statue. Any one else heard that?
Cheers.
Comment by Darth Holden — March 5, 2009 @ 3:33 pm
Darth- I agree with your Goodspeed comment. Other than his apparent building of Jacob’s cabin I don’t see the importance.
On the statue issue, there is a killer theory circulating on the sites. One guy has done a lot of digging and makes a GREAT argument for the statue’s identity. He pretty succinctly proves that the statue is not Annubis (keeper of the underworld), Richard, Sawyer, etc. Instead, he posts photographs of another Egyptian Goddess named TAWERET. The goddess Taweret (GOOGLE this name for cool photos) is apparently the goddess who PROTECTS PREGNANT WOMEN AND UNBORN BABIES! He theorized that somehow the goddess was displeased and her statue was knocked down somehow and this lead to there being no more babies born on the island.
The statue is pretty much as we see it from the back and THEN (THIS is why they didn’t let us see the front or side) the front of the statue is pregnant, holding an ankh, etc. I wish I’d discovered this as this person is VERY SHARP and I’m sure this is a solid theory.
Enjoy the googling and pass it on!
Comment by Mike — March 5, 2009 @ 9:07 pm
As a huge LOST fan, I don’t really see how people could love this episode. While parts of it were good such as Daniel grieving for Charlotte(Davies did great) and seeing Richard Alpert and getting a little more info about how the Hostiles and Dharma made a truce, I found most of the episode inconsistent.
Number one: Its 1974 and suddenly a three or four year old Charlotte walks by. She was supposedly born in 1979 which would make her 25 in 2004. It’s possible she lied to Kevin Johnson, but why lie about her age? She’s nearly ten years older if that’s the case which would make her 34 or 35.
Number Two: Why was Goodspeed acting so irrational? Wasn’t he calm and collected when Ben’s Father was yelling at him? And yet after knowing what a traumatic time his wife Amy went through getting captured by Hostiles and seeing her husband murdered, you would think he would be a little understanding when he finds her dead hubby’s necklace in HER OWN sock drawer. Geez! And then to throw a fit at her when she’s about to have his baby. Which he misses. What a guy! (okay, bombing the tree was pretty funny, but still)
Number Three: Why is everyone scared to knock on Mr. Lefleur’s door? Yes hes in a position of authority, but why be afraid of him when they’re just coming to tell him Goodspeed is drunk? Is that their fault? no. So why be nervous?
Number four: Sawyer asks Juliet to stay. Yes, she’s been supportive and he’s finally looking like a leader. But after just three years he’s sharing a house with Juliet and says he loves her but one phone call later, he’s jumping out of bed and leaving her stranded so he can run off to his long lost love. What a cad!!! I wasn’t wild about him being with Juliet, but after that scene, I felt a bit sorry for her. And the ending where he sees Kate again was basically like a replay of 316. Except Sawyer replaced Jin. Nothing to write home about.
Number five: Richard certainly looked nice. Not at all his long haired grungy self the last time we saw him around 1973. Why the change?
Those are just some of my observations and the things that bothered me. I don’t usually find that much fault with an episode, but this one I just didn’t really like. For me, it jumped the shark in some aspects but I can live with it. LOST is great. I hope the next few Dharmasodes are an improvement on this one.
Comment by Chelsy — March 5, 2009 @ 9:08 pm
I thought this was a spectacular episode, much better than the last couple. Seeing all of them blend in with Dharma and getting a peek into Dharmas inner workings was so cool.
Ok, if Charlotte was about 3 (she looked it) when we saw her in ‘79 then she would have been born in ‘76 which would make her 28 in 2004, not 34 or 35 I don’t know where you got that from.
That is strange that Richard looked the way he did though. In ‘54 he looked normal in ‘79 he looked normal but when little Ben ran into him he looked all “Othered out”. Of course it could be that he was wearing a disguise like Mr Friendly and the Others did in season 2, but why would he do that?
But how cool was that when the alarm went off and everyone was freaking out and hiding and Richard just comes strolling up like he owns the place? That was bad-ass.
Comment by B*Locke — March 6, 2009 @ 12:39 am
I take that back, she would have been born in ‘74 making her 30 in ‘04, this time stuff is getting so confusing…
Comment by B*Locke — March 6, 2009 @ 1:07 am
Great episode. I’ve always thought first impressions are the correct ones. And when I saw the statue for the first time I saw Juliet from the backside. I still do. So you all are smart enough to know where my theory is going so I won’t bore you anymore. What Egyptian god is Locke gonna be brought back as??
Comment by Imp-a-lala — March 6, 2009 @ 10:05 am
I went back and reviewed LaFleur yet again and found yet another tidbit about the statue. Juliet has her jacket tied around her waist and looking at the statue it looks weirdly similar. Are they playing here?
And further research on the Richard/Horace leadership roles. RA and Horus were combined in later Egyptian Myth to be the same god. Go figure. Could this be a rebuild of the Egyptian Empire? Make sense to me, I’ve had this theory for a while. Heck more theories are shot down than live so who knows.
Comment by Imp-a-lala — March 6, 2009 @ 5:17 pm
Hey Mike-Thanks for the info! Check out the egyptian god Horus. Pay note to his symbols. Namely an eye looking very linered and a falcon. like the one we saw on the temple and in the swan. I still kinda feel like the statue is Richard. And Richard is the Egyptian god Horus. Still I can’t ignore the “guardian of mothers and pregnancy” bit…I’ve yet to find out if either of the gods (or ANY for that matter) had only four toes.
Just when I was over the statue, they have to bring it back.
Chelsy-Yeah, what up with the Dharmies being scared of LaFleur? Maybe it’s because he went and talked with Richard? That’s kind of a badass thing for some dude to do when he just got to town. Who knows. I just watch when they decide to NOT take a break. What up with that too. We have to wait eight months, we get eight episodes, and then a break? WTF?!?
Comment by Darth Holden — March 7, 2009 @ 1:09 am
AAAAAAAAAAnd also google the god Set. I think we have a candidate for Smokey!!!!
Comment by Darth Holden — March 7, 2009 @ 1:15 am
Yep ole Smokey, AKA Cerberus, I believe Locke is his (replacement, new ID, Meat) whatever. He was the only survivor that stared it down and survived. So there is two in my theory.
I need to write out my complete theory, But I’m not a writer and start rambling and my mind gets disconnected.
One last note, James LaFleur is most connected to Anubis. Being a scavenger and all.
Its only a theory, punch some holes in it. I can take it.
Comment by Imp-a-lala — March 7, 2009 @ 1:37 pm
Add to^^^ told you I get disconnected. Locke and Smokey both have serious anger management problems.
Also Kate came in close quarters with Smokey but she has a “purpose” on the Island.
Comment by Imp-a-lala — March 7, 2009 @ 1:40 pm
Lol! Well, that’s the point, B*Locke. Charlotte walked by IN 1974 and was about three, which would make her birth year around 1970-71 which would make her 34 in 2004. So there’s no way she was born in 1974, because Daniel SAW her in that year as Sawyer tells Juliet when he and her are sitting on the dock by the Submarine. It’s just inconsistant, is all. Of course if they wanted to write it off easily, they could say that her birth in the real world it was 1979, but on the Island it was still 1970, which is a little confusing in my opinion, but at least it’s a logical explanation. And I agree about Richard, he was very bad-ass and I love his character. His abrupt fashion changes just weird me out, is all. Same thing with Horace and his suddenly longer, blonder hair. He looked relatively well put together in Man Behind the Curtain, and now he looks like a worse drunk than Roger, lol! And I thought Olivia was his wife, but I guess she could be his sister. That was strange too, but I’m over it now. I think part of the reason I didn’t like the episode that well was because my channel was fuzzy, had bad sound and flashed black and white every now and then. If this is digital cable, I’m ready to switch back becasue that was LOUSY! The sound was terrible too, I had to turn the volume up to fifty!! I watched it again online and it really is a very good episode, it’s just not very consistant to previous episodes. Disregard that and enjoy it, and it’s a great episode. I just wish it had been kept more consistant is all, and then it would have been PERFECT! I’m looking forward to the next ones though, you gotta know there’s a little Ben skulking around there somewhere, and that’s going to be a lot of fun to see.
Comment by Chelsy — March 10, 2009 @ 8:56 pm