Follow along! The episode guide for “Dead Is Dead” is in Finding Lost — Season 5, pp. 173-182, followed by an examination of the smoke monster on pp. 183-187.Quick note: I’m just going to post this one tonight and I’ll post Some Like It Hoth and The Variable tomorrow night. When I try to think of the standout episode of season 5, this is usually the one that comes to mind (aside from that finale, of course). My favourite aspects of season 5 are the Ben/Locke/Widmore moments, and to have all three of them in one episode? JOY…
Fun things I noticed:
• Does anyone else think 40-year-old Chuck Widmore is hot? In a Bill Sykes kinda way? Ok, let me start again… did anyone else think Oliver Reed as Bill Sykes was kinda hot? Have I revealed way too much about myself here?
• I LOVE the scene where Ben lies to Caesar and we know he’s lying… it’s like watching a master at work.
• Ben tells Locke one thing, Sun another. Who do you think he’s lying to? And why?
• Ben’s hurt a LOT of people, so why, of all people, does he think of Desmond the moment before he thinks he’s going to die? I still wonder if someone took Charlie out of the waiting room when Penny went in to see Desmond in the hospital.
Things that have new meaning:
• BEST moment: “What’s about to come out of that jungle is something I can’t control.” Rustle, rustle… Locke emerges. I remember laughing and laughing at the time (Ben thinks Smokey is going to step out) but now, in light of the finale, it takes on a new, much darker tone. For what comes out of the jungle IS something he can’t control.
• Locke says, “I assure you, Sun, I’m the same man I’ve always been.” But he’s not… there’s definitely something significant in this line beyond its irony later. Is it possible there’s always been some connection between the Man in Black and Locke?
• In the only time we ever see Not-Locke get unhinged, he freaks out on Ben in the jungle asking him if he likes not knowing anything and always having to be led around by someone else. Then he says, “Now you know what it was like to be me.” Think of that line from the mouth of the Man in Black… he was clearly led around by Jacob, who seems to have controlled him in some way like a prisoner.
• I say this in my book, but notice how Locke, Alex, and Smokey are never in the same room together (this one’s for the Canadians: he’s like Polkaroo!!). Could this be an indicator that they’re all the same entity?
• Ben says, “It let me live.” Could living be the ultimate punishment? Is it possible Smokey actually showed Eko mercy by killing him?
