Episodes 5.03 and 5.04 — "Jughead" and "The Little Prince"

Alright, so LOST is quickly picking up the pace and I will try to do the same. Unfortunately, I missed a recap for last week but I do hope to address some points from the two most recent episodes, “Jughead,” and “The Little Prince.” Chances are I’ll miss something big so please let me know and I will address it if time permits.

Well…off we go into the wild green jungle…

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1) Richard and Locke — “Jughead” really put the relationship between Mr. Guyliner and ol’ Johnny boy into new light for me. Prior to this episode, I had a feeling that Alpert was the one jumping through time keeping things on track, but now I feel he is traveling linearly down the stream of time. It’s possible that he has been visited by other time travelers throughout the last 50 years, keeping him updated on the shape of things to come. Was this “chance” meeting with Locke the first one?



Richard has spent many years following and checking on Locke because of this on-Island encounter in 1954. It appears we now know why Richard went to visit Locke soon after he was born…because future Locke told him to do so. We also know why Richard became upset when Locke chose the knife during his Dali Lama-esque test when he was a child. Locke was supposed to choose the compass…the one item that belongs to him. What else has Alpert done under the influence of time traveler visits? Has anyone else we know paid him a visit?

2) Widmore — Widmore…a young Widmore…on the Island?! That was probably the biggest “WTF” moment for me so far this season. Not that it’s surprising that Widmore was ever on the Island. I think we all saw that coming. Last year I was even talking about Widmore being the last to turn the frozen donkey wheel before Ben came into power. But nonetheless, when Richard shoved the gun out of his hands, referring to him as Widmore, my jaw dropped. It made so much sense. Everything is falling into place.

So, now we must ask what has happened with Widmore between then and when we see him off Island. Was he being groomed as the next leader? It certainly looked like he was the only one giving Richie a little lip. What happened to him to make him leave and “lose” the Island? Was there a transfer of power between Widmore and Ben similar to that of the power shift between Ben and Locke?

Oh, and for some reason I find it fitting to mention Ellie here as well. You know, that young, very-comfortable-with-a-gun Other? There are a LOT of folks who believe that Ellie is none other than Eloise Hawking aka Mrs. Hawking aka Daniel’s mommy. Remember that scene in “Jughead,” when Daniel notes how familiar she looks? I’m totally on board with this theory and I think there is a very good chance it will play out like this. What do you think?

3) The Sickness — So, the nosebleed is back. And spreading like craaaazy. According to Daniel, the length of exposure to the Island plays a role in this…sickness. But how long does it last? Do any other symptoms come to the surface? At this point it looks like a very mild and less intense form of what we saw Desmond suffer with last year in “The Constant.”

I think most of us have theorized that Charlotte had been to the Island before, and maybe even that she was born on the Island as a Dharma baby. But now we have Miles showing similar symptoms. Does this mean he has previously been to the Island? Or that he was born on the Island? I had a buddy send me a message the other day talking about a theory that has been growing on me since that Pierre Chang video was released at Comic Con last year. The theory claims that the baby we saw in the opening scene of Season 5 was our mysterious, ghost-whispering freightie, Miles. I’m not sure yet if this is the case, but I could definitely buy it…



4) 2004 Flash — This series of scenes in “The Little Prince” really set up a major theme for this season and the rest of the series. I think we are going to get an up-close-and-personal Island history lesson through the eyes of our time-traveling LOSTies. And it seems that our beloved LOSTaways are more connected to the Island’s history than I originally thought.

Seeing Sawyer watch Kate help Claire deliver Aaron was pretty intense. But of course he couldn’t say anything to Kate because he never did. I so wonder though if there have been other encounters between LOSTies from earlier seasons that did include a future time-traveling 815er with a 2004 version of a character. Locke did seem awfully aware of what was going on back then…



And I really like the theory that the whispers we heard so often in early seasons were actually the Lefties (815ers left behind), or other time travelers, talking to each other as they were whisked through the bowels of time. I think a lot of early mysteries will be coming to the surface again, although I wouldn’t be surprised if answers are given indirectly. We’ll have to come to a lot on our own, which honestly, I prefer.

Something else to note is that the Island flashes we have been seeing might seem random but I believe they are far from it. Wherever the Lefties have flashed, it has been a somewhat significant point in the Island’s history. And it seems that as soon as someone completes some sort of task, the Island feels its time to move on (think Daniel talking to Des, Daniel telling Ellie what to do with the bomb, Locke giving Richard the compass, etc.).

5) Ben and the O6 — After hearing confirmation than Ben was in fact leading the charge against Kate in the custody battle for Aaron, it certainly makes sense that he has been orchestrating everything to bring the O6 back together. The attacks on Sayid, the lawyer, everything, all seem like Ben’s handywork in hindsight. It’s kind of funny because whenever the O6 were asked who was following/chasing/attacking them, they had no answer. “It’s all in the mind,” I once heard a Beatle say.

And, really, are the O6 better off now that they are back home? Sayid has killed more than a few since his return; Hurley’s been in both the mental institution and the slammer; Jack has become a drug addict; Sun’s getting ready to kill; and Kate, while it seems she had the most normal life, was occasionally visited by Aaron’s real mom in dreamland. By the way, where is Claire? Does anyone on the Island care? I don’t think any of the Lefties have mentioned her, right?

6) Rousseau — Cooooooool! Young Rousseau and company discovering Jin! (C’mon, you didn’t really think he was gone, did ya?) I am very excited to see the French crew and I hope their backstory will take the lead in more than one episode this season. Does anyone remember what year it was when they crashed? Danielle’s distress call had been looping for 16 years, which would bring us back to 1988. But do we know how long the team was there before they were murdered?



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I must say that I’m having a bit of trouble going from an eight-month hiatus to dissecting crazy amounts of clues every week. I’m so glad LOST is back, but everything’s happening so fast and it’s a little overwhelming! We’re already on episode five! I don’t know what I’m gonna do when LOST….nevermind, I’m not going there now…

Oh, almost forgot, the van that Ben and Sayid were traveling in? You know, the "Canton Rainier" van? There's an anagram in that name, but I won't tell you here since it can be a fun surprise.

Anyway, I hope you all are well and I look forward to hearing you thoughts on the season so far.

Until next time…

Namaste…and good luck.

SFO