This Place is Death SE5 EP5

“He’s Korean. I’m from Encino”

I missed a big chunk of the scene with the smoke monster, so this episode will definitely get a rewatch, probably tomorrow night. More questions than answers in this episode. But I’m ok with that.

Sun Gun
Just as Sun is about to get out of the car to shoot Ben, her phone rings. Hmmmm….it always happens at the most inconvenient time. Pick up the phone, or kill Ben? She sees that it’s Ji Yeon and answers, “Hi honey, I miss you, I met a new friend for you, I love you. Mommy has to go kill someone now. Hugs to grandmom! Bye!”

With the gun in his face, Ben begins to negotiate with Sun. He has proof that Jin is alive. He talks Sun down from killing him, but loses Sayid and Kate—they don’t trust him there is no way they are going back to the island. Sayid tells them if he sees Jack or Ben again it will be….unpleasant. Sun agrees to go with Ben and Jack.

It’s a little hard to get used to the Season 5 Jack, isn’t it? He used to be so in control and sure of himself to the point of cockiness. Now he’s all “I do whatever Ben tells me to.” As much as the know-it-all Jack got on my nerves, I like this one less.

In the van, Jack and Sun are arguing about their destination, Ben’s trustworthiness, Jack’s deception etc. etc. Suddenly Ben slams on the brakes. “Stop this bickering or I’m stopping this car right now!” Ben’s had enough “If you knew everything I did to keep you safe, you’d be thanking me! Now either shoot me or shut up!” Sun opts to shut up.

BTW, a big hat tip to Sig for running the name on the side of the van, “Canton Rainier” in the anagram server. Mix up those letters and you get “reincarnation”. More on that below.

They arrive at the church and Ben gives Jin’s ring to Sun. It seems Ben had it on him the whole time, yet since time was of the essence, he took them to the church first. Sun, convinced now that her husband is alive and on the island, agrees to go back with Ben.

“What are you doin’ here?” we hear from the dark. Here comes our Des. I’d forgotten all about him and his identical mission. “You’re looking for Faraday’s mother too?” Ben looks puzzled but instead of questioning Des, goes into the church. The others follow.

Eloise Hawking is Faraday’s mom. Des remembers her right off as the woman who wouldn’t sell him Penny’s engagement ring. She’s not happy that Ben didn’t bring everyone. “I said all of them.” “It’s the best I could do on such short notice,” Ben explains. “It will have to do, then. Let’s get started, shall we?”

Stuck in 1988 with the Frenchies
Jin asks what year it is and is freaked out when Danielle tells him it’s 1988. Jin wants to find his camp (even though it hasn’t been built yet) but Danielle (she is not the crazy Rousseau yet) and her group want Jin to take them to the radio tower. As they are walking through the jungle, Danielle, seven months pregnant with Alex, gets a strong kick from the baby. They stop for a breather and playful banter ensues between Danielle and Robert, until they realize Nadine is missing. They hear the loud cicada sound and look to Jin to identify it. “Monster,” Jin says.

The smoke monster grabs one of the Frenchies, and the others run after him. They grab him and prevent it from dragging him down the hole, then the phone rings and Lisa misses about 5 minutes of critical plot development regarding the smoke monster.

After a flash, Jin finds himself alone at an ancient wall covered in hieroglyphics: The Temple. Hooray! He's not stuck with the Frenchies! He looks around in confusion since all the people who were there a few minutes ago are now gone…oh wait, there’s the arm, so they were here after all—but by the condition of the arm, it looks like it might have been a few weeks ago.

Jin heads back to the beach where Danielle is systematically killing all of the people she crashed on the island with. She has a bead drawn on Robert, who sweet talks her into lowering her weapon. She complies, he raises his gun and fires—dry. Danielle doesn’t give him a second chance and shoots him in the head. She looks up to see Jin. “You disappeared!” she accuses him, answering a question that had just occurred to me—which is, when these guys flash to a different time, what does it look like to those who stay behind? Answer: they disappear.

Several flashes later, Jin finds himself in a ditch with a gun in his back. It’s Sawyer. A joyous reunion ensues then Jin asks “Where Sun?” They tell him that Sun got off the island. Jin, speaking in Korean, asks Charlotte to translate his question: how do they know she is alive? “She just is and I just know,” explains Locke, helpfully. There is another flash and Charlotte collapses. When she wakes up, she is babbling something very disturbing to Jin. Then she says in English, “Don’t let them bring her back, no matter what. This place is DEATH!”

The flashes coming closer together and it looks like they are becoming more intense and more painful. Charlotte is now babbling, moving into different times. Locke wants to keep moving to the Orchid and leave Charlotte behind. “How will we find it if we’re not in the right time?” they wonder. “Look for the well,” Charlotte advises. “You’ll find it at the well.”

Charlotte’s story
Clearly Widmore is behind the Dharma Initiative and that is where he culled his “team” from. Charlotte tells Daniel that she grew up here. “I was part of the Dharma Initiative. I left with my mum when I was a little girl. I never saw my dad again. Later when we were home, I would ask her about the island and Mum would say that it wasn’t real. That’s why I became an anthropologist. I’ve been searching for this island my entire life. I remember when I was little living here. There was a crazy man who told me that I had to leave the island and never ever come back. He told me if I came back I would die. Daniel, I think that man was you!” This little revelation could be what Charlotte was originally babbling about when she said, “This place is death!” Or not. It could really be death, too.

Charlotte is in really bad shape now, coughing and bleeding. Daniel is with her and tells her to hold on. “I told Desmond to find my mother. She can help us.” Daniel tells her. “Heh,” Charlotte smiles. “What is it?” Daniel wants to know. “I’m not allowed to have chocolate before dinner.” Then she dies. I guess it is death.

Gone in a flash
Upon arrival at the Orchid, Juliet rejoices, “Thank God! What are the chances that we’d have a time flash that landed us at the same time as this thing?” Flash. Sawyer, who now is suffering from nosebleeds as well, “You just had to say something.” They search through the jungle and find the well. “How did Charlotte know this was here?” Miles wonders.

“You don’t bring Sun back.” Jin makes Locke promise. Locke promises, but then says, “I won’t go to Sun, but what if she finds me? What do I tell her?” “Tell her I’m dead. Here’s proof.” Jin hands Locke his wedding ring.

Locke determines that what he needs at the Orchid is down in the well. We can see that a short time later, since the flashes appear to be emulating from the well below. Locke says he will climb down the rope. “You sure you don’t want us to lower you down?” Sawyer asks. “What would be the fun in that?” Juliet stops Locke and tells him, “John, if this works, thank you.” Locke begins his descent.

He’s about halfway down when we hear the telltale buzzing. Flash. Even through the pain, Sawyer is determined not to let Lock drop. He’s holding on to the rope for dear life with his eyes squeezed shut. “I think you can let go of that now,” Miles tells him. Sawyer looks down, horrified. The rope is now just coming out of the ground and he well is gone. Frantically, Sawyer begins digging, but Juliet stops him. “James. You can’t help him.”

Locke falls down the well and we hear a lovely wet snap that sounds like a compound fracture. When Locke examines his wound, the producers treat us to a nice close up of Locke’s exposed bone. But wait, there’s someone in the well with him. It’s Christian Sheppard. “What are you doing here?” Locke asks. Excellent question. “I’m here to help you the rest of the way.” Sheppard acknowledges that he told Locke he had to move the island but, “I said that YOU had to move it.” “Ben said he had to do it.” Locke explains. “Since when did listening to him get you anywhere worth a damn?” And another excellent point by Christian Sheppard. Finally he tells Locke what he needs to do: “There is a woman living in Los Angeles who will tell you how to get them back. Her name is Faraday’s Mom err…Eloise Hawking.” Locke begins to doubt himself. “What if I can’t get them all to come back?” “I believe in you John. You can do this.” Christian reassures him. Worried, Locke says, “Richard said I was going to die.” Christian purses his lips. “I suppose that’s why they call it sacrifice.” Now down to business. “There’s a wheel that slipped off its axis. All you have to do is give it a little push.” “Can you help me up?” Locke asks, remembering his compound fracture that we just had a lovely close up of. “No.”

Locke gives the wheel a little push and Christian asks him to “Say hello to my son.” “Who’s you son?” Locke asks as we fade to white.

More questions from this episode than answers
Reincarnation: Clearly reincarnation refers to Locke, who’s being carted around inside this van, but who is he reincarnated to? Or from?

Jack and Locke are going to end up being connected somehow. So far I believe they are the only character who didn‘t cross in the back stories.

What is the significance of Aaron and his being “raised by another”?

What’s up with the hieroglyphics on the Temple? Is there a connection with the countdown clock in the Swan hatch? Is it possible that Richard Eyeliner is actually an ancient Egyptian and the island is the fountain of youth(I raised this theory a couple years ago. Too tired to find it and link it.

Who is Charlotte’s father? For that matter, who is Charlotte? Have we seen her, or was she mentioned before?

Eloise Hawking’s name is probably an homage to Stephen Hawking. Who is she? And who is her son? How was Daniel a crazy man on the island when Charlotte was a little girl?

Finally, is Ben good or bad? I was just about convinced last year that Ben was good, but now I’m not so sure.

Next Week
Looks like a reunion of the Oceanic Six and a space time lesson from Ellie Hawking.